Akio felt a hint of mental fatigue.
Pulling over three hundred people into a genjutsu at once and giving each of them a completely different experience was taxing, even for him.
Still, the payoff wasn't bad.
He'd managed to overhear quite a few of the kids' "inner thoughts." Some of them were… surprisingly interesting.
Heh. An unexpected bonus.
After listening for a moment, Akio nodded in satisfaction. None of the two hundred eliminated candidates dared cause trouble.
Good. That meant he wouldn't need to enforce his "final say."
He shook his head and headed toward the third-floor exam hall. The written test had already begun. He planned to watch for a bit… maybe catch some cheating and give his overworked brain a break.
Inside the exam room
Naruto's emotions were on a rollercoaster.
From "Why is there still a written test?!"
To "Dad drilled me for these the past two days, I've got this!"
Then the test papers were handed out.
"…I don't know this. Or this. Or this. I don't know ANY of this. What the heck?!"
"Wait… Dad explained this one. I think I fell asleep halfway through…"
"No! If I fail, the whole team fails! Stupid rules! Let me try again; I can figure this out!"
"…NOPE. STILL CAN'T!!!"
Soon enough, his imagination spiraled out of control
A cartoon version of himself was sprinting for dear life, chased by a giant monster version of Sakura. His tiny legs couldn't keep up… and he was eventually caught and eaten whole.
"AHH! I'm totally doomed!" Naruto grabbed his hair in frustration.
"The candidate over there, no signaling during the exam. One more violation and you're out!" Ibiki's harsh voice cut through the room.
"S-signaling? Oh uh sorry!"
Sakura paused mid-writing, frowning.
These questions are insanely hard… Naruto probably can't answer a single one. We're done for.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
Even he couldn't answer more than half of them.
This doesn't feel like a normal written test…
His Sharingan activated.
A moment later, realization dawned.
"I see… it's an intelligence-gathering test. Let's hope that idiot Naruto figures it out…"
Naruto did not figure it out.
After five minutes of mentally watching himself get "eaten," he came to a different conclusion:
If I can't answer… I'll just copy!
He sneakily glanced toward Hinata.
The girl blushed, then mustered her courage, quietly tilting her paper so he could see part of it.
Naruto's face lit up
Then the classroom door suddenly opened.
He jolted upright in panic, instantly pretending to behave.
Akio walked in.
At a glance, he caught everything
Sharingan snapping shut. Byakugan deactivating. Sand eyes collapsing. Puppet strings going slack. Shadow techniques retracting. Mind-transfer jutsu cut off mid-use…
He couldn't help but chuckle.
"I'm just here to observe," Akio said casually. "There's a lot riding on this exam, gotta keep an eye on things. Ibiki, I heard you placed a bet too?"
"Cough please, have a seat!"
Akio smiled and sat in the chief examiner's chair.
"Carry on, everyone. Don't mind me, cheat however you like."
"…"
The proctors looked extremely uncomfortable.
Fortunately, none of the candidates were stupid enough to take that literally. Even if they cheated, they made sure to keep it subtle at least on the surface.
Akio rubbed his temples and leaned toward Ibiki.
"You still doing the final question later?"
Ibiki paused. "…Yes."
Akio thought for a moment.
The tenth question tested courage in the face of uncertainty.
Yeah… better keep it.
His gaze swept across the room, ignoring Naruto's pleading look and the chubby cat's resentful stare.
He was searching for one person.
Orochimaru.
"…Not here? Chickened out? Or just skipping this phase?" Akio muttered. "With things the way they are, he probably isn't interested in Sasuke anymore…"
With Akio not interfering, events played out much like the original.
The written exam ended with Naruto's bold declaration.
Ibiki explained the true purpose of the test, emphasizing the importance of intelligence and courage, using the scars on his head as a warning.
…Except
The scars suddenly vanished.
Akio withdrew his glowing hand and grinned. "On the house."
Ibiki: "…"
It wasn't like the scars couldn't be healed before.
He'd kept them on purpose as intimidation, and as a reminder to himself.
…And now they were just gone.
"…Thank you for the thought."
"No problem. Go on."
Ibiki rubbed his now-smooth scalp and sighed. "Anything you'd like to add?"
Akio considered for a moment.
"…You might want to wear a wig. The bald look's not doing you any favors."
Ibiki chose not to respond.
He turned to announce the end of the first exam
But suddenly
CRASH!
The window to the right shattered, glass scattering everywhere.
Akio shook his head with a laugh.
"Still her, huh?"
A bold female ninja burst in, dramatically introducing herself, using a curtain to block Akio and Ibiki from view.
Who else could it be but Anko?
She successfully earned a room full of stunned expressions
And Sakura's immediate verdict:
"She's basically Naruto in female form."
"…Accurate," Akio muttered.
He listened quietly as Anko announced that the second exam would begin the next morning, with thirty-two teams advancing.
Then, in a blur, he vanished.
Walking through the village streets, Akio muttered to himself:
"No reward yet… so the entire Chunin Exam must count as one big event. Guess I'll get everything at the end."
He smirked.
"Better be worth it. If it's not at least 300 points, all this work's a waste."
The next day
Training Ground 44, the Forest of Death.
Akio watched as candidates received their Heaven and Earth scrolls and entered the forest.
"Orochimaru really didn't show up…" he muttered, unsure whether to feel relieved or disappointed.
"If he's out, I might need to rethink the betting pool. If Tenten actually wins… all this effort goes down the drain."
He paused, frowning.
"…Wait. Didn't I say no rigging the game? That's a dangerous line of thinking…"
Meanwhile
In a hidden underground lab within the Sound Village
"Orochimaru-sama!"
A young man with short silver hair and purple-red eyes hurried forward.
Orochimaru licked his lips, forming a hand seal.
"Oh? Is it time?"
"The mark you left behind has reacted," the man said eagerly. "Orochimaru-sama, let me handle this mission"
"No," Orochimaru cut him off calmly. "You're not ready to show yourself yet."
"Why not? I've been stuck down here forever, you know that"
Orochimaru thought for a moment.
"…You can't go to Konoha."
A faint smile curled on his lips.
"But assassinating the Kazekage… that's fine."
"…Understood, Orochimaru-sama."
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