Kiyoshi turned and continued walking towards the right at the end of the corridor.
"Wait for me, Kiyoshi." Kurenai hurried forward.
Asuma scratched his head, wondering if Kiyoshi's intelligence was really that high.
Why couldn't he figure it out instantly?
Teikka Uchiha and the two Uchiha clansmen beside him exchanged glances.
The Uchiha clan had produced an extraordinary genius.
...
"Yo, does your hand still hurt?"
After testing the strength of the Inuzuka clan ninja, the two let their squad leave.
"That kid is not simple." The ninja who took Kiyoshi's Lightning Flash Finger attack raised the back of his hand. The metal plate on the back of his glove had two clear indentations.
The metal plate was made of sturdy material, enough to withstand a large long-range ninja tool like a Fūma Shuriken.
Yet, it now bore clear marks.
While his carelessness was a factor, Kiyoshi was the only ninja among all those he had tested and cleared who was able to achieve this degree of impact!
***
Stepping forward, Kiyoshi pushed the door open and entered the noisy examination room.
There were already quite a few people inside.
The sound of the door opening caused some curious ninjas to turn their heads.
"It's the little handsome man from yesterday." Mei Terumī, standing near the front, turned around to clearly see Kiyoshi's face.
"So what if he's here? He's no match for us." Hōzuki Mangetsu glanced at Kiyoshi.
Uchiha?
The Hōzuki clan's reputation in the Land of Water was no less impressive than the Uchiha's.
Their clan had produced genius figures like the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu, and possessed the secret technique passed down through generations, the Water Release: Hydration Technique.
This allowed the body to turn into liquid, granting immunity to physical attacks!
"A clan that controls fire, tsk." Hōzuki Mangetsu was dismissive of the Uchiha.
His clan's greatest natural enemies were the Hidden Cloud ninjas who were highly proficient in Lightning Release!
They were the ones he needed to be wary of next.
"The Uchiha clan." Pakura cast her gaze over, observing Kiyoshi.
What puzzled her was that after their eyes met for an instant, Kiyoshi continued to stare at her.
Pakura turned away uncomfortably. That perverted kid must be looking at her back!
She wore a sleeveless, backless ninja uniform because the climate in the Land of Wind was extremely hot and dry, like a barren desert.
"Are you being targeted by the Uchiha?" Maki found it strange.
Did Pakura have some kind of grudge with the Uchiha ninja behind her?
"No, I just arrived in the Hidden Leaf Village and have never met him." Pakura shook her head.
"Then..." Maki thought of a possibility.
His head was wrapped in white cloth, his left cheek was covered with a white mask, and two red markings were painted on his right cheek. His body was also heavily wrapped.
In the Land of Wind, besides the high temperatures, there were constantly blowing yellow sands, which required covering up with cloth.
Only Pakura, who possessed Scorch Release, was different. She could ignore these harsh conditions.
Instead, she focused on achieving greater flexibility.
"What is it?" Pakura glared at Maki.
Maki closed his mouth and said nothing further.
"These new ninjas have so much vitality." A slightly husky voice broke the tension.
Orochimaru walked to the blackboard at the front of the examination room, accompanied by two proctors.
"Quiet. Prepare to begin the first stage of the Chunin Selection Exam. Submit your application forms in order."
"Collect your numbered tags, and sit in your assigned seats. The written tests will be distributed shortly."
The two assistant proctors immediately began maintaining order in the examination room.
Before long, everyone was seated in their respective positions.
Kiyoshi was seated in the middle, Kurenai sat next to Pakura.
Asuma Sarutobi's position was to the left of Teikka.
The seating in the exam room was not according to squad members but was randomly mixed up.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Orochimaru."
After saying this, Orochimaru said nothing else.
The two assistant proctors exchanged glances and began explaining the rules of the examination room.
They wrote the key points of the Chunin Exam on the blackboard.
The maximum score was 10 points.
Example 1: Answering all questions correctly results in a maximum score of 10 points.
Example 2: Answering 3 questions incorrectly results in seven points.
"In this test, you are graded in teams of three, and the overall score is judged based on the combined total score of the three members."
"Furthermore, any detection of improper conduct, such as cheating or being perceived as cheating, will result in a deduction of two points, leading to elimination at zero points."
The entire examination room erupted in an uproar.
Each person only had ten points in total, meaning that being caught five times would immediately lead to elimination.
And how many questions they could answer correctly and how many points they would get were entirely unknown!
"Hmph, clumsy attempts at cheating are just digging your own grave. You must have heard my name, haven't you? I won't tolerate any slackness."
Indeed, after hearing Orochimaru speak like this, the faces of some candidates who had planned to cheat to muddle through turned pale.
This was one of the Sannin, who had achieved outstanding merits in the Second Great Ninja War!
No one had the confidence to try to fool Orochimaru.
"We're doomed now." Asuma quickly scanned the questions and realized he couldn't do most of them.
Especially the bizarre tenth question, which stated that the question itself would be given by the examiner 45 minutes into the exam.
"The difficulty is excessively high." Asuma found that much of the knowledge tested here had not been taught and was extremely esoteric.
Only someone who was well-read and had an extremely solid theoretical background could answer these questions.
After a moment's thought, Asuma secretly looked at Kurenai.
Although he could only see Kurenai's back, he noticed her pen was still.
"Kurenai can't do it either!"
Without even looking at Kiyoshi, Asuma Sarutobi had already foreseen the outcome for their squad.
Regardless of whether Kiyoshi knew the answers, if two members didn't, their combined score couldn't possibly be high enough!
"These are the Hidden Leaf's exam questions." Pakura frowned slightly.
Well, the difficulty was high.
There were many questions even she didn't know the answer to.
"Hidden Leaf... Hidden Mist... Hidden Waterfall Village..." Pakura scanned the room out of the corner of her eye, noticing that even the Hidden Leaf candidates looked troubled.
In that case... was this exam really testing the candidates' knowledge level?
Pakura sensed that something wasn't quite right.
However, seeing Orochimaru's constant, sweeping gaze, she suppressed the thought.
Even if one wanted to cheat, Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, was right here.
Orochimaru's vertical golden pupils scanned the candidates with amusement, taking in all their expressions.
Anyone whose gaze he met immediately lowered their eyes, avoiding contact.
Until... Kiyoshi Uchiha.
Orochimaru noticed that Kiyoshi Uchiha was staring back at him neither subserviently nor arrogantly.
Was this confidence?
Orochimaru found it intriguing.
The other two proctors recognized Kiyoshi as a member of the Uchiha clan by the fan crest on his clothing.
'Uchiha clan arrogance?'
The two of them thought to themselves.
"Alright, begin the exam." Orochimaru announced.
It was quite some time before the only sound in the examination room was the scratch of pens on paper.
***
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