Mamoru sat in his assigned seat, one hand lazily propping up his chin while the other idly toyed with the number tag on the desk.
His seat was in the middle of the row near the window, where light poured through the glass onto the desk, forming mottled patches of light. Over by the podium, a crowd was still lining up, waiting to exchange their tags.
Just then, a short figure walked slowly along the aisle between the desks. Mamoru instinctively looked over until the person stopped at the seat next to him, looked down to compare the number in hand with the one pasted on the corner of the desk, and after confirming, sat down silently.
It wasn't until the other party sat down that Mamoru fully snapped out of it, a playful smile curling at the corners of his lips as he greeted, "Yo, shorty, we're seatmates."
"Hmph." Gaara let out a short, cold snort from his nose, not even bothering to lift his eyelids, completely ignoring him.
"By the way, where's your big gourd? Where'd you hide it?" Mamoru leaned over curiously, his gaze scanning the empty space behind Gaara.
"Shut up." Gaara frowned, his sharp eyes cutting him like a knife.
"Don't be so heartless," Mamoru said, completely unbothered.
Instead, he leaned in closer and asked with a grin in a lowered voice, "How about letting me copy your answers later?"
"..."
Gaara crossed his arms over his chest and impatiently closed his eyes, expressing his refusal through action.
"Tch, so cold. You won't make any friends like this." Mamoru spread one hand, his tone flippant and teasing.
As soon as he finished speaking, Mamoru keenly noticed that Gaara's body, sitting in the chair, began to tremble slightly and unnaturally. His crossed arms tightened, and his fingertips pressed so hard they almost dug into his arm muscles.
Seeing this, Mamoru eyed him with surprise. He thought to himself, 'No way, is he going berserk already? Broken by just a few words? This psychological resilience is too poor, it's none of my business.'
Fortunately, after a few seconds, Gaara seemed to use great willpower to suppress his surging emotions, though his constantly heaving chest proved he was far from calm.
Mamoru didn't plan to provoke this dangerous element any further for now. He wisely remained silent and turned his gaze back to the podium.
Not long after, another figure walked over and naturally sat in the empty seat on Mamoru's other side. Mamoru couldn't help but glance over, and what met his eyes was an extremely peculiar face.
At first glance, it was impossible to immediately distinguish the person's gender.
At second glance, the contours and features of this face felt inexplicably strange.
And at third glance, that lifeless, expressionless face, stiff as a mask, made his skin crawl.
The more he looked, the more out of place it felt, like... like wearing a skin suit.
"Are you a brother or a sister?" Mamoru asked bluntly without any reservations.
"Hehe..."
The other party didn't answer, only letting out a sinister, spine-chilling chuckle.
Hearing this laughter, Mamoru understood. It was clearly disguised, but he could still hear the characteristics of a female voice.
"Which village are you from, sister?" Mamoru continued to chat.
"...Kusagakure."
After a brief silence, the other party replied in a raspy voice.
Just then, this "Kusagakure kunoichi" suddenly extended an unusually long tongue, quickly licking her dry lips before snapping it back in. This scene was caught by Mamoru, who was staring intently at her.
Mamoru's expression froze for a moment, and then he suddenly realized—this damn pervert is Orochimaru.
Immediately, he reflexively reached out to cover the back of his neck, his heart racing.
How could it be such a coincidence? Being so close, he wouldn't take the chance to plant that damn Cursed Seal on him, would he?
Thinking of this, Mamoru quietly shifted his butt a bit toward Gaara, trying to pull away from Orochimaru. This move caused Gaara to frown again, the annoyance on his face deepening, yet he could do nothing about him.
After a long time, the candidates in the classroom finally received their number tags and found their corresponding seats. The entire examination hall was gradually shrouded in a stifling silence.
Subsequently, the proctors began distributing the written test papers and pencils. The papers were passed back from the first row in sequence, creating a continuous "rustling" sound. That sound echoed in the quiet classroom, adding a bit more tension.
After confirming there were no errors or omissions in the test papers, the proctors sat scattered on both sides of the classroom, each holding a clipboard and a pen, striking a posture of being ready for anything.
Mamoru curled his lip, dismissive in his heart.
Putting on an act, they're just props used to confuse these candidates.
"In the first exam, there are several very important rules. I will not answer any of your questions afterward, so listen up."
As Ibiki spoke, he pressed the chalk heavily against the blackboard with a "snap," the crisp sound instantly drawing the gaze of all the Genin to him.
He turned around and began to explain the exam content in a low and slow voice, "First, the first rule. All of you start with 10 points. There are 10 questions in total on the written exam, each worth 1 point, the exam follows a point-deduction format. One point is deducted for each wrong answer. If you get three wrong, you only have 7 points left..."
As he spoke, he used the chalk to concisely write the key rules on the blackboard.
Then, he announced the harsh second rule in an even heavier tone, "The second rule. Whether you pass or not is calculated based on the total score of the three members of your team."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone in the examination hall couldn't help but let out a low gasp of surprise.
Sakura's wide forehead slammed onto the desk with a "thud." She jerked her head up and asked anxiously, "Wait... wait a minute! Based on the team's total, what does that mean?"
"Shut up!" Ibiki's face suddenly turned cold.
He swept a cruel gaze over Sakura and shouted sternly, "There is a reason for this, so shut up and listen! If you understand, then listen to the most important next rule!"
Under his pressure, the examination hall instantly returned to a silence where a pin drop could be heard.
He continued, his voice carrying an undisguised warning, "Cheating during the exam, as well as acts similar to cheating, will result in a 2-point deduction each time if discovered by the proctors. In other words, some people might be forced to withdraw from this exam early before the final grading."
"All shameful cheaters bring about their own destruction! Remember that clearly!"
At this point, a cold, sarcastic smile appeared on Ibiki's face. "You are people who want to become Chunin, after all. Since you are ninjas, take the exam like excellent ninjas."