After trying to make sense of the questions, Lee shifted his focus from the test paper to the classroom itself. He scanned every corner and examined each person closely, using his heightened senses to notice things others might overlook.
"Interesting," Lee thought, his eyes narrowing. Among the 153 candidates, he noticed a few who looked oddly calm and confident. While most examinees appeared stressed or deep in thought, these few were answering questions as if the exam were easy for them.
Something's off.
Considering the difficulty of this exam, even elite Chūnin would take time to figure out each answer. But these particular candidates seemed to breeze through effortlessly. Lee quickly realized that they were likely "decoys" planted by the examiners, hoping other students would try to cheat off them.
Looking around, Lee noticed that skilled candidates like Neji, Gaara, and Sasuke had also figured out the test's real purpose and were waiting quietly, their eyes scanning for information.
Then he turned to Naruto and couldn't help but shake his head. Naruto was sweating, fidgeting, and clearly struggling with the test. He hadn't realized that the challenge was about gathering information without getting caught.
Sitting next to Naruto was Hinata, who kept glancing at him, her cheeks pink. She looked like she wanted to help but was too shy to say anything.
"This guy… honestly," Lee muttered with a sigh.
He couldn't help but think about Naruto's father, the Fourth Hokage, remembered for his bravery and skill. Seeing his son struggle like this seemed odd. If only the Fourth Hokage could see his son now, Lee thought, a mixture of amusement and sympathy.
Suddenly, he noticed a flash of red in the room. Sasuke had activated his Sharingan. Clearly, he'd figured out the decoys and was using his Sharingan to copy their answers.
"Of course," Lee thought with a smirk. "Sharingan finally gets its time to shine."
Just then, a faint breeze blew through the quiet room. The wind was barely noticeable, but Lee's senses picked it up instantly. He traced it to Gaara, who was manipulating sand to gather information from others' papers.
"So, that's how Gaara's powers work. He's using sand to gather information," Lee realized.
Elsewhere, Akamaru, the little dog on Kiba's head, barked softly, signaling answers to him, and Kiba began writing them down.
The Sound village trio also made their move, closing their eyes to listen intently, using sound-based techniques to pick out the correct answers from subtle noises in the room.
A small fly buzzed around Shino, hovering close to his head. The insect moved in specific patterns, which Shino carefully interpreted. As a member of the Aburame clan, he was skilled at using insects to communicate.
One by one, the candidates from well-known clans—those with unique skills and secret techniques—started using their abilities. Neji activated his Byakugan to read answers off others' papers, while Sasuke continued copying with his Sharingan. Yamanaka Ino even used her clan's Mind-Transfer Jutsu on Sakura to see her answers.
While these skilled candidates worked confidently, those without special abilities were struggling. Some tried clumsy ways to cheat, only to be spotted by the proctors and promptly expelled.
"Thwack!"
A kunai zipped through the air and struck an examinee's desk, slicing his paper in half. The terrified candidate looked up, clearly shaken.
"W-What's going on?" he stammered, standing up in shock.
"That's the fifth time you've been caught cheating," a proctor with a bandaged face said coldly. "You're disqualified, along with your entire team. Now get out."
With looks of shame and defeat, the candidate and his teammates shuffled out of the room.
"Team 23, disqualified," another proctor announced.
"Teams 43 and 27, disqualified."
One by one, teams were expelled from the exam. Soon, the crowded room began to look emptier.
In frustration, a candidate from an outer village stood up and protested. "How can you accuse me of cheating? There's no way you proctors can watch every single one of us—"