Click, click.
The clock hanging on the wall ticked with a crisp, steady rhythm.
Beneath the sign marked 301, two genin wearing Konoha forehead protectors blocked the classroom entrance, refusing to let Rock Lee, Tenten, and the others pass.
The narrow hallway was packed with genin here for the exam. Judging by their headbands, most of them were shinobi from smaller villages like Agakure and Kusagakure.
"Move!"
"Ugh!"
Reasoning had failed, so Rock Lee and Tenten charged forward in anger, only to be casually knocked to the ground by the two guards.
Two red marks blood on Tenten's fair cheeks, and the surrounding genin imdiately burst into discussion.
"That's too much!"
"Those two are way too overbearing!"
Faced with the angry accusations from the crowd, Aoba Yamashiro remained unmoved. Hidden beneath the motions of his hands, he ford seals in secret, and faint ripples spread from the 301 placard, quietly releasing a ntal suggestion into the area.
Demonic Illusion: Hypnosis
It was a rare wide-area genjutsu that could distort the target's perception to a certain extent. Of course, since the technique itself was relatively simple, it could only fool weaker chunin at best. It was the sort of general-purpose illusion ant for clearing out riffraff and civilians.
Because there were far too many candidates this year, they had been assigned to handle the first stage of the written exam and weed out the deadweight who could not even find the examination room.
The girl with the double buns and the smaller green-clad "kappa" beside her were perfect examples of that sort.
And naturally, the many shinobi gathered here after being deceived by the illusion were exactly the kind who deserved to be eliminated.
It was not only the classroom number that had been distorted. Even the hallway clock had been altered.
The ti shown on it lagged behind the real ti by a full twenty minutes.
So while it looked like there was still plenty of ti before the exam began, in reality, if these people delayed any longer, they would all be eliminated for tardiness. The truly qualified candidates had already seen through the illusion and gone up to the third floor.
Raidō Namiashi looked down at Rock Lee and Tenten sprawled on the floor and continued mockingly, "Brats like you could never beco chunin. There's no point in taking the exam. Go ho and train for a few more years."
The mockery in his voice was cold and flat, almost careless, but that only made the contempt hit even harder. The surrounding genin beca even more indignant, but given the strength of the two n at the door, all they could do was get angry and stop there.
Hidden among the crowd, Neji Hyuga shook his head and swept his pale eyes across the gathered candidates, unable to hide his disappointnt.
Nobody wanted to expose themselves. Any real powerhouse had already seen through the illusion and moved on. There was nothing worth noticing among the people still stuck here.
"Let's go. There's nothing worth watching."
A familiar voice echoed from the stairwell.
Neji's pale eyes lit up at once, and he quickly turned toward the side staircase.
Silver-white hair swayed in the air as a gray-eyed girl walked up with graceful ease, two boys following a step behind her. The blond one kept glancing down toward the crowd below, his gaze focused mainly on Rock Lee lying on the ground.
That was Kono and her teammates?
What was going on with her eyes? She was not wearing the black cloth anymore?
Byakugan.
Forming a seal with one hand, Neji's eyes widened at once, veins bulging at his temples.
His vision locked completely onto those strange gray pupils. Ash-gray spread from the pupils into the irises, completely overtaking the milky-white gaze. Within the Byakugan's unique visual field, he could even see a faint and blurry phantom image.
Buzz.
The dark gray pupils turned slightly, and the vague illusion began to solidify. Inside it was a narrow corridor, and a Byakugan boy was crouched in the crowd, staring toward the stairs. His expression shifted from confusion to terror.
That was ?
Tap, tap, tap.
Light flickered in Kono's gaze as she lifted the hem of her kimono and continued walking up to the third floor. Neji and his group's performance just so happened to complent Aoba's role perfectly, so there was no way she was going to let Sasuke break the trap that had been set below.
After all, Aoba and Raidō had been sent there by her.
Originally, the roadblock had been ant for Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane, the classic gatekeepers. But because of the Kumo attack, they had died, so she had no choice but to use the stronger Aoba instead.
Aoba's genjutsu was more effective. With hypnosis layered over ntal suggestion, even an average chunin would struggle to resist.
This Chunin Exam was wildly beyond standard, and the Forest of Death's current state was not suitable for ordinary genin anyway.
These freshly graduated rookies still had their whole futures ahead of them. There was no need for them to throw their lives away over an exam.
That was one of the few rcies she still allowed herself.
The quota she had given Morino Ibiki demanded that at least two-thirds of the candidates be eliminated in the first exam. As for the second stage, the practical trial, she planned to cut it directly down to the top twenty. That way, there would be no need for extra rounds, and all that would remain would be the third stage once the Five Kage arrived.
She had no interest in playing with a bunch of fragile little genin. The audience in the third stage was the real feast she had prepared for.
The three of them kept moving in silence and quickly reached the real Room 301.
The corridor there was empty, save for Kakashi leaning against the wall with a copy of Icha Icha Paradise in his hand. The mont he saw Kono walking over, he let out a small sound of surprise. Clearly, even he had been stunned for a mont by her new appearance.
But he was not a teenage boy like Naruto or Sasuke. He recovered quickly, stood up, and waved at the three of them.
"Congratulations on passing the first stage. By the way, Kono, you finally decided to show your dojutsu?"
Kono saw through the lack of sincerity in his congratulations at once. He had never believed she and the others would fail to find the exam room.
"The dojutsu hadn't fully awakened before. It only completed its evolution a few days ago."
When faced with Kakashi's question, Kono chose to tell the truth.
Kakashi's Sharingan had always been able to see the chakra flow whenever she used the Byakugan. He simply had not known what kind of ocular power it actually was.
"Naruto, Sasuke, why are you two still here?"
Naruto asked in confusion.
"Of course I'm here…"
Kakashi's dead fish eyes narrowed into crescent moons as he tucked the newest issue of Icha Icha Paradise into his inner pocket.
"To cheer on my beloved students. Good luck on the exam."
"Don't worry, I'm definitely going to pass!"
With the red "Certain Victory" headband still tied around his head, Naruto shouted and clenched a fist, as if so mysterious power had filled him.
Kono and Sasuke silently shifted a step away from him.
It was dangerous to stand too close to an idiot. The stupidity might be contagious.
Seeing Naruto so fired up, Kakashi raised one finger with a smile.
"Just don't drag Kono and Sasuke down with you."
"Eh!"
Naruto froze on the spot again. His body looked like it had turned to stone.
"I'm kidding."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes, clearly quite satisfied with Naruto's reaction.
"All right, Kakashi-sensei. If we keep standing here, we really are going to be late."
Sasuke could not help urging him on.
It would be beyond ridiculous if the three of them had not even started the exam yet and ended up disqualified for tardiness.
Seeing that Sasuke was getting impatient, Kakashi stepped aside and leaned back against the wall, already pulling Icha Icha Paradise back out.
Coming to cheer the three of them on had only been incidental. He was actually one of the roaming proctors for the written exam.
"Go on in."
Looking at the door in front of him, Naruto swallowed hard.
The written exam was his greatest weak point. If he ssed this up, not only would five years of effort go down the drain, he would drag Kono and Sasuke down with him.
The more soone lacked sothing, the more they tried to emphasize it. The "Certain Victory" headband on his forehead made the fear in his heart painfully obvious.
Kono was in no rush. She pulled back Sasuke, who had been about to push the door open, and stood beside Kakashi, watching Naruto's tense back.
The first stage tested information gathering and courage.
When faced with the very thing he feared most, an exam, would Naruto have enough courage to face it?
Kono looked forward to his answer.
The three of them did not have to wait long. Naruto had plenty of flaws, but a lack of courage had never been one of them.
He closed his eyes, steadied his breathing, and strode toward the door spilling out thin strips of light.
Inside the massive lecture hall, candidates from every village filled the room.
Karui and Omoi sat on top of their desks, casually scanning the many Konoha shinobi who made up the largest group inside.
Since all the foreign shinobi had been housed together, they had already t most of the candidates from the other villages. Only the Konoha contestants were unfamiliar, so they were taking the chance to gather information.
"Omoi, do you see anyone from Konoha worth paying attention to?"
Omoi swept his gaze over the shinobi wearing Konoha forehead protectors but found no one particularly striking. The most noticeable were six Konoha genin gathered in one place, not because they looked especially strong, but because they seed visibly younger and greener than the others.
They were probably rookies who had just graduated this year.
Seeing the questioning look from his teammate, Omoi shook his head regretfully, indicating that he had not spotted any of Konoha's so-called prodigies.
They were not the only ones. The other villages' shinobi were also sizing up Konoha's candidates as the hosts of the exam.
"That puppy is kind of cute."
Kurotsuchi pointed at the white ninken perched on the wild-looking boy's head, a trace of interest in her eyes. As for the other Konoha shinobi, she clearly did not think much of them.
The Kirigakure trio sat in the back, murderously silent, their cold eyes sweeping over the Konoha candidates as if searching for prey worth killing.
The Sound nin clustered together as well, while a handso pale-haired boy with glasses covering his forehead coughed softly into his fist. The rest of them searched among the Konoha group for the last Uchiha survivor.
Kankuro of Suna was also looking for soone. He was trying to spot the famous Konoha number one genius, but looking at these Konoha shinobi, who were chatting idly and playing with dogs like they were on a field trip, he genuinely could not tell which one was supposed to be Kono Taketori.
These Konoha shinobi were just too ordinary.
That conclusion rose in the minds of shinobi from every village.
With that mysterious owl-masked figure from the night before still fresh in their minds, they had already ntally raised Konoha's threat level to the maximum. They had assud Konoha's shinobi would all be unfathomable, overbearing monsters. Add to that the villagers' endless praise of so number one genius, and their expectations had only risen higher.
But now, seeing these unremarkable genin, the gap between expectation and reality felt enormous. Even when a few of them did stand out, the foreign candidates still found themselves thinking they were nothing special.
Creak.
The classroom doorknob suddenly turned. The sound was not loud, but in the tense atmosphere of the test room, it rang out clearly. The candidates, who had already been waiting for so ti, all turned instinctively toward the entrance.
Gaara, who had been sitting with his eyes closed enjoying the rare calm, frowned. The chakra of the monster inside his belly abruptly shrank back, as if trying to hide in so other world.
The thing Shukaku feared had arrived.
Gaara opened his light-green eyes at once and looked expectantly toward the slowly opening door.
Creak.
The old hinges let out a harsh sound, and three figures quickly entered the room. But almost no one paid any attention to the two sowhat startled boys in front.
Every gaze in the classroom landed on the breathtaking girl behind them.
Gulp.
Karui was the first to swallow audibly. It was like the first shot of a race. In the next mont, similar sounds rose one after another all over the room.
As a woman, Karui had reacted like that.
The effect on the male genin was even more obvious.
"Karui, I found one from Konoha worth paying attention to."
Omoi crunched down on his lollipop so hard it cracked noisily between his teeth.
"That's Kono."
Kankuro, having recovered, quietly identified her for Gaara. He had seen a photo of her while gathering intelligence. The girl in that photo had worn a blindfold and looked sowhat different, but the distinct silver-gray hair was enough to confirm it.
A fierce light entered Gaara's eyes.
He could feel the chakra of Shukaku inside him shrinking away in fear.
So it was her.
She was the one Shukaku feared.
At the sa ti, the already oppressive crowd began to stir. Countless shinobi turned to one another, whispering and asking who the girl was.
So of the Konoha shinobi imdiately lifted their chins and, with unmistakable admiration, began saying Kono's na aloud.
The heavy atmosphere in the room was shattered in an instant.
"Your popularity really is ridiculous, Kono."
Shikamaru had taken in the commotion the whole ti. He turned and looked at Kono as she approached, and the closer she got, the stronger the impact beca.
He had always felt Kono was not really human at all, but so sort of yokai from ghost stories wearing human skin, a creature that lured grown n in and drained their essence.
Otherwise, there was no explaining this kind of inhuman, almost demonic charm.
"Third Hokage-sama told to advertise a little during the exam. Looks like the mission will be a complete success."
Noticing the faint fear in Shikamaru's gaze, Kono checked her own fear aura and found that it was being perfectly restrained. She could not help feeling a little puzzled.
"Kono's always been like this. Her popularity at the Academy was insane too."
Ino clenched her fists like a fangirl in full force. Beside her stood the handso Sasuke, and yet not even he could distract her in the slightest.
She had long since defected from Sasuke's fan club and joined Kono Society, eventually becoming its president in the fifth year.
In plain terms, she was Kono's number one fan.
"Woof, woof!"
Akamaru leaped from Kiba's head straight onto Kono's shoulder, little tail wagging eagerly. Kono smiled and poked his soft belly with a finger, and the little dog imdiately flipped over to expose it, letting her do as she pleased.
A sour look appeared in Kiba's eyes.
Usually, only he got to rub Akamaru's stomach.
As they spoke, the taciturn Shino, the wide-eyed Hinata, and Choji, who was still crunching potato chips, also walked over. As if they had instinctively found their center of gravity, they naturally gathered around Kono.
With that, all nine of Konoha's rookie genin were assembled.
"You people really are careless."
Kabuto Yakushi, the silver-haired glasses-wearing, damp, creepy man, seized the chance to approach and start a conversation.
But the mont Kono's gray eyes slowly turned toward him, the pressure crashing into his mind was so intense that it felt as if his brain were about to explode.
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