In the center of the exam hall, Haku was surprised to see ‘Yukigetsu’ raise his head again, though his movements seemed somewhat odd.
He looked at the ice crystal in his left hand with confusion, then eagerly picked up the exam paper, muttering to himself as if reciting something…
Haku shifted her elegant body, her eyebrows slightly furrowed with unease. She felt that the once familiar boy had suddenly become someone else. Carefully, she asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
What’s wrong with you… what’s wrong with you…
The voice echoed in ‘Yukigetsu’s’ ears, startling him like a bolt of lightning. He cautiously glanced around but found nothing, letting out a sigh of relief before turning back to his exam paper.
“Are you okay… You suddenly seem so strange…”
‘Yukigetsu’ trembled all over, finally certain that the voice was not his imagination. Yet, looking around again, he still found no one. His thoughts spiraled, wondering if he was… seeing ghosts?!
Bang!
Yukigetsu’s head suddenly slammed onto the desk, startling Hinata beside him.
“Ah—” The girl’s scream echoed throughout the classroom.
Ibiki frowned, looking at the sweating Ino, and slapped the podium hard: “No talking during the exam!”
“Uh…” Ino quickly covered her mouth, shaking her head repeatedly in apology.
Yukigetsu, rubbing his forehead, looked up with a gloomy expression: “Silly girl, getting scared so easily… How could you be frightened by my sister Haku’s gentle voice…”
Pfft.
Haku giggled softly, “Hehe… Yukigetsu, you’re quite popular with girls! Hinata, Ino, Sakura… Do you like them?”
“No way… I only like you, Sis!”
Yukigetsu immediately denied it, making a heartfelt declaration, his serious expression almost convincing Haku.
“Yukigetsu-kun, are you okay?” Hinata’s concerned voice came from his right.
Yukigetsu’s voice turned soft immediately, “Ah… I’m fine, but it would be even better if Hinata could lend me her left hand.”
Hinata was puzzled. Why did he need her hand? Subconsciously, she never thought to refuse and shyly extended her small hand under the desk.
Yukigetsu’s lips curled into a smile as he gently took her soft hand into his, wrapping it tightly in his slender fingers.
Feeling his touch, Hinata’s face turned bright red, and she lowered her head with a shy squeak. She never imagined Yukigetsu would be so bold, doing such a thing in the middle of an exam while everyone else was so tense.
Even Haku in the Spirit River Space shuddered. Did this guy have no shame… Just now, he said he only liked me, and now he’s holding another girl’s hand intimately… This is a complete denial of my charm!
She seemed to have completely forgotten she was originally a boy…
Yukigetsu played with Hinata’s delicate hand, feeling her smooth fingers, tiny knuckles, and soft skin. They intertwined their fingers tightly.
While teasing the girl’s sensitive nerves, his eyes didn’t forget to observe everyone’s movements through the ice crystals.
Like Hinata, Neji Hyuga used his Byakugan to easily copy all the answers—what enviable ocular abilities!
Ino, having calmed down, chose Shikamaru as her target and used the same method to help Choji.
Sasuke used his Sharingan to perfectly copy a Chunin’s movements, another impressive ocular technique.
Sakura, true to her large forehead, seemed to be answering entirely on her own—definitely a top student.
Kiba… never mind, he couldn’t understand that dog language at all.
Kankuro, disguised as a proctor with his puppet, got the answers, then wrote them down in the bathroom and handed a copy to Temari. His method was the closest to Yukigetsu’s cheating techniques from his school days.
Tenten seemed to use the movements of her opponent’s pen, seen from the corner of her eye, to figure out the answers. She then pinned the answers to the ceiling where Lee could see them. Such manipulation of ninja tools was something even Yukigetsu admired.
Finally, he adjusted the ice crystal’s angle to observe Gaara…
Wow, this guy used sand to create a third eye connected to his optic nerve!
Thud!
As Yukigetsu leisurely observed others while playing with Hinata’s hand, a kunai suddenly landed on an examinee’s test paper.
The examinee stood up, sweating profusely, “W-what are you doing?”
“You’ve cheated five times…” the elite Chunin who threw the kunai said coldly, “You’re Disqualified from the exam!”
The examinee was shocked, stammering, “H-how…”
The Chunin pointed to the door expressionlessly, “Your two teammates are also disqualified. Get out quickly!”
With one team expelled, the scene turned into a domino effect, with more and more examinees being disqualified for cheating.
Yukigetsu was naturally indifferent to these people, but he was more interested in Naruto, who was sweating profusely on his left. This guy clearly hadn’t realized the proctor’s true intentions and still had no intention of cheating. His anxious scratching made Yukigetsu find it quite amusing.
“Hey, Naruto…” He suddenly leaned over and whispered, “Do you want to see my answers?”
Naruto was stunned, seeing Yukigetsu subtly slide his test paper over within viewable distance…
“Why are you helping me?” Naruto asked suspiciously.
Yukigetsu shrugged, “I just don’t want you to get eliminated so quickly.”
Naruto frowned. This guy’s mind seemed unusual. He scratched his head, glanced at the expelled examinees, and suddenly changed his expression: “This is a trap! You want me to get disqualified for cheating!”
Yukigetsu facepalmed, slumping on the desk… What kind of logic is this… If I got caught helping him cheat, we’d both lose points… How did Naruto conclude I was setting him up… Unfathomable…
“Hehehe… Those who should be leaving have mostly left… It’s been forty-five minutes since the start, it’s time…”
Ibiki’s cold voice drew everyone’s attention, “Alright! Now for the tenth question… and a few new rules for this question!”
Ibiki’s eyes darkened, and his indifferent gaze added pressure on most examinees. The raised collar of his coat covered half his face, only the scars visible, exuding a chilling aura: “These are… despairing rules…”
Gulp!
Everyone swallowed nervously.
Yukigetsu clearly felt Hinata’s hand tremble. He squinted around and saw that nearly everyone was tense at this moment. The proctor seemed to be deliberately creating this atmosphere… Interesting!
“First, I need your choice… Will you take the tenth question or not?” He slipped his hands into his coat pockets and spoke nonchalantly.
Yukigetsu rubbed his chin and asked, “If we choose not to?”
“Not taking it means zero points, and all three teammates will be disqualified!” Ibiki glanced at him coldly.
Everyone was stunned, and a few examinees quickly shouted, “Then of course we choose to take it!”
Ibiki’s lips curled into a sinister smile, like a viper, stabbing everyone’s hearts: “If you take it… and fail to answer correctly… you’ll never be eligible to take the Chunin Exam again!”
—
After testing intelligence-gathering abilities, what will they test this time… Or is the choice itself the test?—Yukigetsu—
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