Several days passed, and the Ninja Academy had been designated as the testing site for the first written examination.
The playground, corridors, and classrooms were all crowded with people.
"There are so many people." Kurenai sighed.
It was her first time seeing so many foreigners.
"Before we go in, let me tell you something: later, for any questions you can't do, cheat directly. Copy the answers from the two ninjas sitting in the very center, or just hand in a blank paper." Kiyoshi revealed this inside information to them.
This exam was actually a competition of cheating ability, or in other words, the ability to gather intelligence.
As long as the cheating technique wasn't too sloppy, the examiners wouldn't interfere.
Of course, enduring the psychological pressure and handing in a blank paper could also lead to passing the first written exam.
It could be said that the core element here was the information gap.
And those ninjas who failed repeatedly and those who passed were all required to sign non-disclosure agreements, strictly prohibiting the sharing of exam questions, with violators subject to prosecution.
All of this was stated in the disclaimers on the application form, and signing meant agreement.
"Wait, Kiyoshi, you said cheat?" Asuma Sarutobi was stunned.
It was hard to imagine the word "cheating" coming out of Kiyoshi's mouth.
Kiyoshi had always cultivated the image of a genius.
"...Cheat." Kurenai knew Kiyoshi was not the type to speak carelessly.
But this matter was too incredible.
"Just remember to persist until the end of the exam, and let's go in." Seeing their disbelief, Kiyoshi stopped explaining.
His pupils blurred momentarily as he scanned up, down, left, and right at high speed, memorizing their basic physical information.
They walked for a while and reached the interior of the Ninja Academy.
A large number of ninjas were crowded around one of the entrances.
"No way, you dare to come to the Chunin Exams like this? Little brother, I advise you to forget it." Teikka Uchiha was covered in scrapes.
Behind him were two Uchiha Genin, looking angry.
"Their actions are too vicious."
"Yeah, why are there people blocking the entrance?" The surrounding people murmured.
"Hey, Kiyoshi, what is going on?" This scene clearly challenged Asuma Sarutobi's worldview.
How could people start fighting each other before even entering the testing site?
And judging by the clothes, they were Hidden Leaf ninjas.
"Who knows." Kiyoshi shook his head, not planning to explain anything.
He walked straight towards the commotion.
"The family crest on that guy's back is... Uchiha."
"His name is Kiyoshi Uchiha, right? I heard he's a genius."
"This is going to be good."
The commotion instantly drew the attention of many people.
"Kiyoshi." Kurenai quickly followed.
Asuma hadn't figured out the situation yet, but seeing Kurenai walk over, he also hurried forward.
"Kiyoshi, be careful, those two guys are not simple." Just as Teikka Uchiha was about to showcase his true skills against the two people in front, he saw Kiyoshi approaching.
"Take down the Genjutsu." Kiyoshi nodded slightly to Teikka, then looked at the two ninjas blocking the door.
These two ninjas were actually Jonin in disguise. Their purpose was to test the abilities of a portion of the Genin.
It would be detrimental to let those with insufficient strength proceed.
Naruto and Sakura encountered Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane blocking the door.
Kiyoshi found the two ninjas in front of him unfamiliar. They must be Jonin he didn't know.
"What Genjutsu?" Asuma was confused by Kiyoshi's words.
"It's the sign above the door." After Kiyoshi spoke, Kurenai looked closely ahead.
She realized that the "301" above the door frame was actually "201." This was the second floor!
"He's got some skill." The ninja on the left said, surprised that Kiyoshi could see through the Genjutsu instantly.
Even Teikka Uchiha, who had just been here, hadn't seen through it.
Moreover, Kiyoshi had done it without using his Sharingan.
As they spoke, the number plate above the door frame returned to normal.
"But just seeing through Genjutsu isn't enough." The ninja on the right suddenly lunged at Kiyoshi with a sweeping kick.
Kiyoshi's expression remained calm. He dodged the kick by stepping to the right.
Since their goal was to test the strength of the candidates, they couldn't fully exert their Jonin-level power.
And if their strength was contained within the Genin range, Kiyoshi didn't believe they could defeat him!
The chakra within his body surged at that moment.
*Crack!*
Tiny electric arcs flickered between Kiyoshi's middle and index fingers. He thrust them forward with lightning speed!
Lightning Release: Lightning Flash Finger!
"!" The ninja who had kicked immediately drew his arm back, blocking Kiyoshi's Lightning Flash Finger with the metal plate on the back of his glove.
*Bang!*
A dull sound burst forth, drawing the attention of candidates farther away.
"You have some capability." The ninja who blocked Kiyoshi stepped back, yielding the path to Kiyoshi, evidently acknowledging his strength.
"Good... so strong, I couldn't even see the speed just now."
"Did those two 'Gatekeepers' let him through?" The surrounding ninjas analyzed the scene they had just witnessed, trying to glean useful intelligence.
"Let's go." Kiyoshi turned back, signaling Kurenai and Asuma to follow. He told Teikka Uchiha on the side, "You guys come in too."
After saying that, he led the way inside.
"Whoa, whoa, Kiyoshi, what was that all about?" Once inside, Asuma felt everything was utterly baffling.
A conflict that started for no reason, and a fight that broke out for no reason.
"They were Jonin disguised as ninjas." Kiyoshi said.
"Jonin disguised?!" This time, it wasn't just Asuma who was confused.
A look of incomprehension also appeared on Kurenai's face.
"They were testing our ability." As they reached the end of the corridor and had to turn, Kiyoshi pointed behind them.
Kurenai and Asuma looked back.
One of the two ninjas walked to the door and closed it. His body suddenly grew larger with a *boom*, and he took out a cigarette, seemingly taking a break. He had clearly used the Transformation Technique.
Sensing Kiyoshi and the others watching, he made a shushing gesture.
This prompted Teikka Uchiha and his two squad members, who had hesitated for a moment before following them in, to turn back. They happened to see the ninja's gesture.
All of them stared in shock.
"Hey, hey, hey, Kiyoshi, how did you know?" Kurenai's lips repeatedly opened and closed, her curiosity piqued by Kiyoshi.
"Behind all seemingly unreasonable phenomena, there is often a logical rule. Do you really think a Hidden Leaf candidate would do something so offensive and pointless?" Kiyoshi said calmly.
Regardless of whether one had read the original story and knew the plot, this kind of situation immediately screamed that something was intentionally out of the ordinary.
Even if some people in the Hidden Leaf Village disliked the Uchiha, they would not openly act in such a disunited way in public.
No one was an idiot; doing that would be considered an open provocation of the Uchiha.
Sure enough, not long after Kiyoshi spoke, the ninja finished his cigarette in a few seconds.
His body suddenly shrunk back down to the Genin appearance he had while blocking the door. He pushed the door open and, along with the other ninja, began testing a ninja who was accompanied by a dog.
***
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