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Chapter 299: The Second Exam
Chapter 299: The Second Exam
As the time ticked closer to 12:50, Deidara couldn't help but eagerly make his way towards the notice board with Rin Nohara and Kakashi Hatake to await the posting of the test results.
"There sure are a lot of people," Deidara said, a bit taken aback by the crowd that had already gathered around the board. He had thought that arriving early would give him a head start, but it seemed many others were just as eager to see their scores.
"Let's just wait here. After all, this exam determines our promotion, so it's only natural that everyone is so passionate about it," Rin said with a smile.
Deidara nodded and stood beside Rin, refraining from forcing his way through the crowd.
"Make way, please," said two chunin-level ninja who approached a few minutes later, clad in their vests.
The semicircle of people around the notice board immediately and obligingly parted, creating a gap for the exam proctors to post the scores.
"Phew, that was close. Barely made it with 71 points. Any less and I would've been out," someone sighed in relief.
"You idiot," another person scoffed at their companion. "I gave you the answers, and you still only got 67. You failed the first stage; this is embarrassing."
Everyone around the board frantically searched for their names and scores.
Standing to the side, Kakashi observed the frenzied crowd with a calm expression. This scene was exactly as he had expected. Usually, those who anxiously awaited their results tended to perform less well. Those with absolute confidence in passing, like himself, would not be in a rush to know their scores.
"Let me through," Deidara said as he heard the discussions about scores begin. He pushed his way through with sheer force, not because he was worried about failing but because he wanted to find his score and rub it in Kakashi's face.
Deidara entered a state of full concentration, using his physical advantage to squeeze through the crowd.
He looked at the top of the board and immediately spotted Kakashi's score—a triple-digit number.
Ignoring Kakashi's score, Deidara scanned downward to find his own.
"Rin, you did great! 88 points, 18 points above the passing mark," Deidara exclaimed as he spotted Rin's score first.
"So, what about you? Did you pass?" Kakashi asked.
He wasn't concerned about Rin's score, as their team's only potential weak link was Deidara.
"Kakashi, come here!" Deidara called out, his eyes widening as he found his score. Ignoring Kakashi's question, he beckoned him over.
By now, most of the initial crowd had already seen their scores and dispersed, making it easy for Kakashi to join Deidara.
"Eighty points! Kakashi, say something!" Deidara exclaimed excitedly, pointing at his name on the board.
Following Deidara's finger, Kakashi saw his score—indeed, it was 80 points.
Kakashi was a bit surprised. While 80 points wasn't an exceptionally high score, it was remarkable for Deidara to achieve this, given his usual performance. A score of 80 from Deidara was rarer than a perfect score from someone who usually just scraped by.
Deidara wore an extremely pleased smile, proud of this unprecedented achievement.
"What do you want me to say? Getting 80 points just means getting a couple of questions wrong, doesn't it?" Kakashi replied nonchalantly.
Deidara was momentarily at a loss for words. Kakashi, with his perfect score, had undoubtedly answered all the questions flawlessly. For Deidara to get 80 points, he indeed only needed to skip a couple of questions.
"Deidara, you did great! Last time, during the Ninja School exam, you didn't even reach 50 points, but now you've scored 80. You must have studied really hard," Rin praised gently.
"Hehe, it's not that bad. Not as intense as you're imagining, anyway," Deidara replied, his smile returning at Rin's compliment.
Just then, Might Guy and Asuma Sarutobi arrived to check the scores as well.
"Great job! Everyone on our team passed!" Guy exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up to Genma Shiranui and Raido Namiashi.
"Our team did too," Asuma said after checking the scores.
"Let's all work hard together to become chunin!" Deidara enthusiastically pumped his fist in the air. They were all friends, and this was their first time taking the chunin exam.
"How amusing. Is the Chunin Exam in Konoha just a friendly get-together? Are you all cheering each other on?" Zabuza Momochi, passing by, sneered.
"Who knows? Maybe," Zabuza's teammate shrugged.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Asuma scowled, not appreciating their comment.
"It means exactly what it says," Zabuza replied apathetically.
He felt disdain for these Konoha ninjas. Why did they get to enjoy such harmony among themselves when his own village, Kirigakure, forced its young shinobi to engage in mutual slaughter from their school days?
"You'd better take back what you just said," Deidara said, standing beside Asuma and addressing Zabuza.
Even as an invited participant in the Chunin Exam, Deidara wouldn't tolerate such arrogance from a foreign village's ninja.
"Zabuza, Haku, don't cause trouble," Kisame Hoshigaki said calmly, noticing the situation.
While he wouldn't have minded sparring with these Konoha ninjas outside the village, he had no intention of doing so within Konoha itself. They had come to the village with a mission—to participate in the Chunin Exam.
With that, Kisame led the way, heading towards the location where the instructions for the second stage would be given.
Zabuza glanced at Kisame and then followed after him, leaving the Konoha ninjas behind.
"What a rude bunch," said Obito, clenching his fists. "If we end up fighting them in the later stages of the exam, I'll teach them a lesson."
Having already defeated many Chunin in direct combat, Obito believed he had the prowess to wreak havoc in this exam.
"Don't underestimate them," Kakashi interjected. "The others may be unknown factors, but that shark-faced guy is definitely not weak."
Although he couldn't sense ninjutsu, Kakashi's extensive experience alerted him to Kisame's exceptional abilities—his aura was unlike that of an ordinary ninja.
"I admit I might be a bit behind you in the written test," Obito said, "but when it comes to actual combat, I'm definitely confident."
"Haha! That's the confidence I expect from you, Obito!" Might Guy flashed his brilliant white teeth and gave Obito a thumbs-up.
"You two," Kakashi shook his head, sensing that Obito's arrogance might lead to his downfall.
While Obito's strength was undeniable, Kakashi knew that this was a joint Chunin Exam between two major ninja villages, and the genin they would be facing might not be ordinary.
Kakashi suspected that he might not be the only exception, and there could be other young Chunin from the Mist participating in this exam as well.
If they were to encounter such opponents, Kakashi didn't think Obito would have an easy victory.
The group arrived at a large open space beside the Ninja School's teaching building.
After waiting there for about half an hour, all the qualified students gathered, and Mu Yue, accompanied by two Chunin, stepped forward to address them.
"I am Mu Yue, the head examiner for the second stage of the exam." Mu Yue began with a concise self-introduction.
"Teacher Mu!" Obito waved excitedly at Mu Yue as soon as he saw her.
"Damn, it's that woman who ate my strawberry ice cream!" Kurenai Yuhi scowled, fixing Mu Yue's face in her memory.
Kurenai then glanced at Obito, committing his face to memory as well, intending to teach him a lesson during the exam.
"Bullying a fool is one thing, but your teacher ate my ice cream!" Kurenai's resentment grew as she thought back to the ice cream incident. She imagined how blissful it would have been to devour two strawberry ice creams in one go.
Mu Yue smiled at Obito and then continued, "Before I explain the rules, you will each need to sign a consent form."
The two Chunin began distributing the consent forms to every examinee.
"As there is a possibility of injury or even death during this exam," Mu Yue explained.
In essence, it was a waiver of responsibility. Once signed, all examinees could use any means necessary to attack and even kill their opponents without legal repercussions.
"You can choose not to sign, but if one person refuses, the entire team will be considered to have forfeited." Mu Yue paused after her explanation, allowing time for the students to sign the forms.
"We have to sign an actual consent form? This feels dangerous," whispered one of the genin.
"Yeah, I was asking a senior about the exam the other day, and they didn't mention this. I wonder if this exam is more intense than usual," replied another.
Some of the first-time genin examinees began to murmur among themselves.
"So, it's like a real-life battle simulation," Obito scratched his head, seemingly unfazed by the revelation.
"Asuma, are you going to sign?" Ino Yamanaka turned to Asuma Sarutobi, seeking his opinion.
"Of course," Asuma replied without hesitation. "If you fear injury, you shouldn't be a ninja." He signed the form decisively.
Kurenai followed suit, signing the form with determination.
Within a few minutes, all the students had signed the consent forms, and none had chosen to forfeit.
They were graduates of the Ninja Academy, and even if it was the most peaceful academy, it was still a place that taught the art of killing. When it came to life and death situations, these young ninjas displayed exceptional courage.
Mu Yue wasted no time and proceeded to the next part of the explanation. She held up a map and said, "This is the venue for your second exam—a circular arena enclosed by an iron net. The direct distance from the net to the central tower is approximately ten kilometers, and it is filled with venomous insects and fierce beasts."
After describing the exam venue, Mu Yue produced two scrolls, one white and the other dark.
"Each team will receive an initial scroll, which could be either the Scroll of Heaven or the Scroll of Earth. Regardless of which scroll you receive, you must collect both types of scrolls and reach the central tower to pass the exam."
"You will have five days to complete this task. If you fail to gather both scrolls and reach the tower within the time limit, your team will be disqualified."
Due to special circumstances, I'm updating late today. Sorry!
There will be another chapter later, but it might be posted quite late as I'm trying to adjust my sleep schedule.
(End of Chapter)
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