Chapter 109: Cheating on the Exam?

“First question: ‘During a secret intelligence transmission, a message encoded with complex ninja seals appeared: “Shadow Seal, Mist Encirclement, Thunder Break, Sand Dance, Rock Solid, Wind Breath, Flame Blaze, Water Wave.” It is known to be a cipher combining multiple encryption methods, with the Shadow Seal as the initial encryption symbol...’”

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly, studying the question carefully, murmuring to himself, “Hmm, let me see... this Shadow Seal should be this one, then the Mist Encirclement...”

“...Second question: ‘During a ninja mission, four captives—A, B, C, and D—were taken from an enemy nation. A confessed: At least one among B and C is a traitor; B confessed: At least one among C and D is not in possession of accurate intelligence...’”

Naruto furrowed his brow, biting on the end of his pen, silently pondering, “Let me first assume...”

He was completely absorbed in his answers, oblivious to the surroundings.

At that moment, Hinata’s fingertips shimmered with a faint green glow. Her slender, fair fingers trembled ever so slightly. The pen in her hand quivered in rhythm, tracing one character after another on the paper, the words flowing vividly across the page.

Anyone observing closely might be astonished to discover that Hinata’s handwriting was nearly identical to that of a certain ninja answering fluently in the exam hall.

Her gaze inadvertently flickered toward Naruto, who was still engrossed in his test, and her pupils contracted slightly.

Then, a line of glowing green characters appeared at the top of Naruto’s answer sheet, visible the moment he glanced up.

This was Hinata’s carefully crafted message of answers, eagerly hoping Naruto would notice. Yet, Naruto remained bent over his paper, utterly immersed, completely unaware of the glowing script. A trace of disappointment flashed in Hinata’s eyes as she sighed softly, feeling somewhat deflated.

Behind Naruto, Sasuke maintained his usual calm and collected demeanor.

He glanced at the time, thinking that by now everyone should have made some progress. Without haste, he activated his “Sword of Heavenly Suspension,” halting the flow of time around him.

Unhurriedly, Sasuke left his seat and strolled through the exam hall. His sharp eyes scanned the room until he found the “mole” who was answering the questions skillfully.

Fixating on that person’s paper, he swiftly memorized the answers and then swaggered back to his seat.

Passing by Sakura’s desk, he noticed her hand resting on the edge of the table, palm open.

A faint smirk tugged at Sasuke’s lips—he understood Sakura was waiting for him to supply the answers. With practiced ease, he condensed chakra into a small illusionary chakra orb in her palm.

Once time resumed, Sakura only needed to crush this orb to have the answers vividly imprinted onto her retina through genjutsu.

When Sasuke passed by Naruto’s desk, he didn’t dare to peek closely.

To Sasuke, Naruto was somewhat uncanny.

His “Sword of Heavenly Suspension” seemed ineffective against Naruto. Past experiences had taught him that any attempt to use it on Naruto would immediately nullify the technique. Still, Sasuke placed an identical chakra orb on Naruto’s answer sheet.

He wasn’t doubting Naruto’s ability to finish the test on his own; he merely wanted to compare answers afterward.

Sasuke’s trust in Naruto was well-founded. Before long, Naruto completed the test, reviewed it carefully, found no errors, set down his pen, and stretched leisurely.

But when he looked around at the “chaos of demons,” observing the sneaky, furtive cheating all around, Naruto’s face fell in astonishment.

His heart brimmed with confusion:

“How can this be? So blatant? I, a mere examinee, can see so much cheating. Are the proctors all blind?”

Naruto raised his eyes, disbelief shining through as he glanced first at the diligently recording proctors, then at Morino Ibiki patrolling the front.

Suddenly, a kunai whistled through the air, striking precisely onto an examinee’s paper behind Naruto.

The proctor said coldly, “Number 82, you have cheated five times. You and your group, leave now.”

Soon after, several others were also dragged out.

Watching this, Naruto’s confusion deepened:

“But aren’t these proctors overseeing the exam properly? Why do they catch some cheaters but let others off? Is this blatant favoritism?”

Naruto’s vivid blue eyes widened, staring fixedly at Morino Ibiki.

Ibiki’s gaze swept slowly across the hall before resting on Naruto.

Seeing Naruto’s incredulous expression, a faint look of helplessness crossed Ibiki’s face. He thought to himself:

“This clever fool must be misunderstanding. This isn’t favoritism—it’s simply that those caught cheating with clumsy methods are the ones being expelled.”

Ibiki sighed deeply.

This exam tested the ability to understand hidden meanings behind orders, verify intelligence, acquire accurate information, and transmit it—all with extreme secrecy.

“You all,” Ibiki thought, “only need to cheat subtly enough.”

“Look at who we ignore—those who use puppets to impersonate proctors, those blatantly stirring sandstorms in Konoha’s rainy classrooms, or those openly wearing puppies on their heads to cheat... their methods are so crude that any experienced ninja can spot them instantly.”

“Still, their tricks might fool some unsuspecting ordinary folks, so they’re good enough to become Chunin and undertake C and D rank missions.”

“Now look at who we throw out—those idiots who practically pin their eyes on the paper! Such fools can’t even deceive ordinary people. They should spend more time learning from Jonin teachers, or else they’ll get their teammates killed on missions.”

Ibiki looked at Naruto, thinking helplessly:

“Sigh, only you, little prodigy, really believe this exam is about solid theoretical knowledge. Actually, it’s a test of cheating! You clueless fool, get a grip!”

He cast Naruto a look full of resignation.

Catching Ibiki’s pointed glance, Naruto finally had an epiphany, realizing the true purpose of the exam.

His mind suddenly recalled the Third Hokage’s words that this Chunin Exam was a performance meant to intimidate neighboring enemy nations.

It was also to showcase Konoha’s unity and future, with him leading his comrades to “fly” together!

“I get it! You want me to bring as many of us Konoha folks through this first stage as possible, right?”

“No problem! I’ll pass my answers to them right away!”

Naruto gave Ibiki a thumbs-up, flashing a smile identical to Rock Lee’s signature grin.

Ibiki watched Naruto’s expression and felt a bit uneasy, muttering to himself, “Just what exactly does this kid understand?”