In the blink of an eye, Dosu had closed in on Mamoru. Although the target had suddenly changed, the arrow was already on the string and had to be fired. He immediately threw a ruthless punch straight at Mamoru's temple.
But just as Dosu was about to succeed, the downward momentum of Zaku in the air suddenly intensified, as if dragged by an invisible force. He crashed straight down, landing on Dosu and completely disrupting the certain-hit attack.
Thud!
The two fell into a heap, overlapping clumsily.
"Small fry shouldn't come out to show off." Mamoru had his hands in his pockets, his posture so relaxed it was as if nothing had happened.
This sudden turn of events left everyone in the classroom stunned and speechless. The entire process had been so fast it was dazzling. Some people hadn't even seen clearly how the two had fallen. Of course, there were a few whose expressions remained calm, as if they had long anticipated this result.
Mamoru keenly sensed a greedy gaze locked onto him. The owner of that gaze even extended a long, snake-like tongue and licked their lips in extreme excitement.
He tilted his head slightly to the side, his blue eyes locking onto the long-haired female ninja not far away, a contemptuous arc rising at the corner of his lips. "Do you want to lie down with them too?"
Seeing her companions lying miserably on the ground, Kin took a wary half-step back, unsure of how to respond for a moment.
Seeing that the opponent didn't act rashly, Mamoru withdrew his gaze and stepped on Dosu's spiky head, his sole grinding down ruthlessly. "With this little strength, you're trying to play at sneak attacks? If we weren't in the village, I would have killed you long ago."
The two on the ground were now terrified, their bodies held firmly by an inconceivable force, unable to move at all. They barely heard Mamoru's threatening words, their entire focus was on resisting that bizarre force in an attempt to break free.
"Hmm... I remember who you guys are now." Mamoru looked up at the wary Kin and raised an eyebrow. "It seems you guys don't just like peeping, you like sneak attacks too."
"What did you do to them?" Kin shouted, her voice carrying an imperceptible tremor.
Mamoru ignored her question and instead frowned slightly, muttering to himself, "Hmm... they're coming so fast, no more fun to be had."
His Six Eyes had already clearly seen Ibiki rapidly approaching with a group of people.
"I'll give these two treasures back to you."
As Mamoru spoke, he deactivated Blue and casually kicked the two on the ground toward Kin Tsuchi.
Seeing two living people flying toward her, there was no way Kin could catch them. After only a brief hesitation, she quickly dodged to the side.
Bang!
The two brushed past her shoulder and crashed heavily into the crowd behind her.
Immediately, people were knocked over, and everything was in chaos.
"Aaaah—"
Sudden cries of pain echoed through the classroom.
As they say, there are risks to being a bystander, one must watch with caution.
In the middle of this chaos, a "poof" suddenly sounded on the exam podium, and a cloud of smoke spread out. From the smoke came a voice full of vigor.
"Everyone quiet down, you bunch of trash!"
The smoke slowly dissipated, and the Konoha proctor team made their grand entrance.
In the area where people had been knocked over, groans continued to drift out fitfully.
"Everyone shut up, do you hear me! Otherwise, you'll be treated as disrupting the exam order and your qualification will be revoked!" Ibiki shouted.
As soon as he finished speaking, all the wailing stopped abruptly.
There was no other way. No matter how much it hurt or how wronged they felt, they had to endure it. If they accidentally annoyed the proctor and had their qualification revoked, they would be left without tears. Many people were inwardly cursing the two troublemaking Otogakure ninjas and Mamoru, the instigator.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I am the proctor for the first stage of the Chunin Selection Exam, Moroino Ibiki!"
Standing in the middle of the proctor team, Ibiki introduced himself with steady authority.
As expected of the head of the Torture and Interrogation Force, his mere presence brought a chilling aura. His face was covered in scars of all sizes, and there was even a long, centipede-like scar running from his left forehead down across his lips to his jawline, making him look exceptionally menacing.
Most of the Genin present were intimidated by his terrifying appearance and the sharp aura he emitted. Several Genin from small countries instinctively shrank their necks.
Mamoru saw a few familiar faces among the proctor team—the Gate-keeping Duo, Kotetsu and Izumo, whom even the Twelve Guardian Ninjas and Pain would have to avoid.
There was also Yuya, with whom he had recently executed a mission. He had already noticed him, after all, his presence was too strong to be ignored.
Yuya gave Mamoru a helpless smile, as if to say, "It's something you caused again."
Ibiki gave Mamoru a deep look and said with a cold laugh, "Let me make this clear first. Without the proctor's permission, private fighting between candidates is prohibited. Even if permission is granted, actions intended to kill the opponent are not allowed..."
At this point, he paused deliberately, his sharp gaze slowly sweeping over every Genin in the exam hall.
He continued in an especially solemn tone, "Any pigs who dare to defy me will be disqualified immediately! Do you understand?"
Following Ibiki's words, the entire classroom fell into a nearly frozen silence.
Invisible pressure permeated the air; most candidates' faces showed a grim expression, their fingers tightening unconsciously. However, a few, like Zaku from Otogakure, still looked indifferent.
Zaku seemed to feel he had lost face in the conflict just now, so he deliberately raised his voice and said provocatively, "Hmph, doesn't feel like much, this exam..."
However, his bluster only met with the ambiguous sneers of the Konoha proctors—low and raspy laughter, as if carrying a mockery that saw through everything.
Mamoru couldn't help but mourn for Zaku for a moment. The eccentric behavior of these Konoha proctors was even more detestable than the villains in stories.
"Now, the first stage of the Chunin Selection Exams begins. Submit your applications." Ibiki held up a white number tag, displaying it slowly and powerfully to everyone.
His deep voice was exceptionally clear in the silent classroom. "At the same time, take this number tag, take your seats in order according to the number, and then I will distribute the written exam questionnaires."
"A-A written exam!?"
Naruto's terrified exclamation abruptly broke the silence, drawing many side-glances.
Tenten walked past Mamoru without a word. As she passed him, her footsteps paused imperceptibly, and her bright eyes shot him a look specifically, filled with clear reproach, before she headed straight toward Neji and Lee.
I'll settle the score with you later—Mamoru accurately grasped this deeper meaning from her glance.
He felt helpless and instinctively raised his hand to scratch his hair.