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The readers in Konoha felt a chill run down their spines the moment they saw the group of examiners enter, led by the one known as Ibiki Moreno.
"Isn't that my son!!?"
At that moment, most of those present turned toward the source of the enthusiastic outburst.
The shinobi's face wore an expression of pure excitement as he stared at the man who had just announced his name as Ibiki Moreno.
"But what's the deal with all those scars?"
The man's voice dropped as he peered at the face of the person who was supposedly his son.
"Isn't your son Ibiki five years old right now?"
Another shinobi standing beside Father Moreno asked.
"That's right, my son is five years old currently… For him to become a Tokubetsu Jonin in the future… this is truly something, I'm moved… The boy is going to be so excited to see this!"
Tears gathered in father Moreno's eyes… He himself had never even reached the rank of Jonin, having remained a Chunin for many years.
To think he would see his son in the manga, as an examiner leading all the other proctors, it left him deeply shaken.
The crowd of readers, shinobi and civilians alike, glanced back and forth between the man and Ibiki Moreno in the manga. They could certainly see the striking resemblance between the two.
In the end, they concluded. This man was, without a doubt, the father of Ibiki Moreno in the manga.
…
[— Manga Scene —]
"Rule number one! Each one of you starts here with ten points." Ibiki Moreno began explaining the written exam that had terrified Naruto.
"The test has ten questions, each worth one point. For each question you get wrong, we subtract a point from you." Ibiki Moreno wrote the exam conditions on the blackboard, providing two examples.
"But if, for example, you answer three questions incorrectly, we take your ten points… subtract one point for every wrong answer and your total drops down to seven."
Hearing that, Naruto sat with his eyes shut tight, thinking hard.
('In other words, if I get all ten questions wrong, I'll end up with no points at all!')
(Author's note: Very clever!)
"Rule number 2: This written test is still a team event."
"Passing or failing will be determined by the sum of the points held by all three members of each cell."
"The object is for each team to have as few deductions as possible from its joint thirty-point total." Moreno announced this to a stunned audience, causing Sakura's 'magnificent forehead' to slam into the desk. "W-Wait a second!"
"The whole concept of the start points and the deductions is hard enough to follow… but what is this 'team total' you're talking about?" exclaimed Sakura.
[— End Scene —]
The readers were so deeply immersed in the events that they felt as though they were part of the exam themselves, with Ibiki Moreno's harsh voice ringing in their ears in response to Sakura's boldness.
Did you not hear the part about the ten questions? Shut up and listen.
…
"What an excellent examiner."
A smile appeared on Hiruzen's face as he followed the exam proceedings with an amused look.
"I wonder how many of them will grasp the true purpose behind this exam efficiently…"
Hiruzen exhaled smoke from his pipe, which vanished almost magically into the air of the art store, so completely that no one inside could smell any smoke at all except the person doing the smoking.
"Either way, it seems Naruto is going to struggle…" A soft, feminine voice spoke up.
Hiruzen turned toward its source and couldn't help but stare with blank eyes.
'How many months has it been… five? Then why does this woman still look this way, still this vibrant? Wasn't she supposed to be dead by now?'
'Since when can former Jinchuriki live this long even after having the Tailed Beast removed from their body?'
'I cannot wrap my head around this…'
Hiruzen glanced over at Danzo, who was also staring at Uzumaki Mito with the same bewildered expression.
'It seems Danzo can't wrap his head around it either…'
And indeed, more than half a year had passed since the Nine-Tails changed its host.
After Mito had removed the seal from her own body and transferred the Nine-Tails' seal to Kushina, she had stated plainly that she would spend her final days bedridden. Hiruzen had already been making preparations for a funeral.
Then the art store appeared, and everything changed, because on that very same day, this woman rose from her deathbed and came to his office to rein in both him and Danzo.
Since that moment, as Hokage, he had been forced to pay very close attention to the 'art store,' which over time had extended its reach beyond Konohagakure, beyond the other four great villages, and even further still, according to the latest reports.
Yet every time he returned to sit in this place, he would find the wife of the First Hokage reading the manga in perfectly good health.
'This makes no sense…' Hiruzen thought.
"But I trust that he'll find a way through this first exam, otherwise this Chunin exam would have no meaning to begin with." Uzumaki Mito smiled as she said it.
Hiruzen forced a smile onto his face as he replied, "Yes, indeed — he's bound to get through it somehow…"
…
"So this is the third rule, as expected…"
"You mustn't get caught while cheating…"
"Doesn't that mean cheating is allowed… You just can't get caught?"
"Exactly…"
"It seems the Chunin exam hasn't changed much over the years…"
In the area where the Uchiha clan members usually gathered, Uchiha Hugaku and his son Fugaku were exchanging thoughts about the written exam scene, one that hadn't changed much from what they already knew.
"No one in that exam hall can outdo Sasuke in this test," Hugaku said with a confident smile.
Who could cheat more effectively without being noticed than a member of the Uchiha clan?
Well, members of the Hyuga clan might be able to cheat slightly better, but that was their ceiling. They couldn't cheat with the same perfection as the Uchiha, could they?
These were the thoughts running through the minds of most Uchiha clan members who had reached this final scene of the chapter.
…
If you let the proctors catch you cheating, you'll bring yourself and your friends down!
If you aspire to become a Chunin… If you want to be the best ninja you can be, then you'd better start acting like you already are!
The first thing Father Moreno did, after returning home and bringing his young son with him to the art store, was purchase a language capsule for his boy, who didn't yet know how to read, and then hold the volume right up close to his son's face.
Saying, "This is what you will become in the future."
The eyes of five-year-old Ibiki (the same age as Guy, Kakashi, and Kurenai) went wide as he took this in, his eyes reflecting the words of Ibiki Moreno, whose face was marked by two long scars that made his expression look terrifying.
"Is that… me?"
…
[+1000 Art Coins from Ibiki Moreno]
[+950 Art Coins from Father Moreno]
Rob smiled as he saw these notifications, able to see the stunned father and son from where he stood.
'Seeing your counterpart in the manga… whether as a child or as an adult, it still stirs an immeasurable sense of awe in the hearts of the readers concerned.' Rob thought with a smile.
'I'd be just as astonished if that ever happened to me.'
'Unfortunately, that's not possible. I don't recall ever seeing Uzumaki Rubiro anywhere, not in the manga, not in the anime…'
'Maybe he died before he ever got the chance to appear…'
Rob sighed and returned to mixing drinks and serving wine to the customers… He had genuinely come to enjoy this job.
…
[— Manga Scene —]
"One more thing… If any individual loses all ten of his or her points, that person's entire team, regardless of how the other two members do… will be disqualified!!" Ibiki said with a terrifying expression, delivering the final blow to whatever hope remained in Sakura's heart.
'What?!' And apparently Sasuke felt the same.
"What did he say?!!" The color drained from Sakura's face.
She had previously assumed that she and Sasuke would be enough to guarantee the team's success even if Naruto scored zero points.
"I can feel them from here… both are ready to kill me!" Naruto said, breaking into a sweat.
[— End Scene —]
The first exam had truly begun, with the proctor giving them one hour to complete it.
Turning the pages, this is what both Kushina and Minato saw at the start of the following chapter.
"I feel genuinely bad for Naruto… why is he so hopeless at anything written?"
"Didn't his parents teach him how to stu—"
Kushina's words caught in her throat the moment she remembered that Naruto was, at his core, an orphan… with no parents and no foster family.
Kushina bit her lower lip, overwhelmed by a complicated mix of feelings and sadness… For a moment, she had genuinely forgotten such a harsh truth.
"Don't worry, Naruto will manage somehow…" Minato consoled her with a helpless smile.
Naruto resembled him in appearance, but in terms of the academic ability needed for tests like this, it seemed Naruto took after him not at all.
He was sorely lacking in that regard.
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 126: Cheating Is Required to Pass the Exam, but It's Forbidden.
Chapter 127: Passing the Test with Courage!
Chapter 128: The Second Exam Begins!
Chapter 129: Many Battles in the Forest of Death!
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