Naruto: Zoro of Uchiha Chapter 20 20: A Mere Written Exam

Zoro's arrival did not go unnoticed. From the mont he stepped into view, he drew the attention of representatives from the other ninja villages. To varying degrees, they had all heard of his reputation—whispers of his feats had already circulated through intelligence networks.

"Darui, that's him."

C, a sensory-type ninja from Kumogakure with short blond hair and a composed deanor, spoke quietly to the dark-skinned youth standing beside him.

Darui narrowed his eyes slightly, his pale hair shifting faintly as he focused his gaze.

"So that's him?"

His tone was calm, but there was a sharpness hidden beneath it.

Kumogakure's relationship with Konoha had never been friendly. Beneath the surface, tension had always lingered. If an opportunity presented itself, eliminating a rising talent like Zoro would undoubtedly benefit Kumogakure.

Of course, Darui still did not know Zoro's true battle record.

Otherwise, he would likely realize just how naïve that thought was.

At that point, the question would no longer be how to deal with Zoro—but how to survive once his blade was drawn.

"Welco to Konoha Village. There is no need for to repeat the rules of the Chūnin Exam. As before, it will be divided into four stages. We will begin with the written exam."

Seated at the front, Hiruzen Sarutobi—the Third Hokage—spoke calmly, his voice carrying across the area as he sat alongside representatives from the other great nations.

"The participants in this Chūnin Exam are as follows: Konoha, forty-five; Kumogakure, fifty; Kirigakure, forty-eight; Sunagakure, thirty; and Iwagakure, forty. A total of one hundred sixty-eight genin are participating."

Judging purely by numbers, Kumogakure's younger generation appeared the strongest.

But numbers alone ant nothing.

Who would ultimately rise to the rank of chūnin remained uncertain.

According to Zoro's mory, during a later Chūnin Exam, more than a hundred participants had entered, yet only Shikamaru Nara had been promoted in the end.

The success rate was so low it could only be described as brutal.

"Candidates, enter the examination hall."

Following Hiruzen's order, the hundred-plus genin waiting outside began filing into the venue, passing through the designated entrance in an orderly flow.

"Rin, Obito, let's go."

Under the watchful gazes of his clansn, Zoro walked forward, joining Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha.

Since the second stage would be conducted in teams, Zoro remained part of Minato's squad.

"You're Zoro, right? I'm Might Guy! Let's get along!"

A boy in a bright green tracksuit suddenly approached, flashing a wide grin as he raised his thumb. His teeth glead with such exaggerated brightness that it almost seed to sparkle.

Might Guy glanced around, clearly searching for soone. When he realized that Kakashi Hatake was nowhere to be seen, a faint trace of disappointnt flickered in his eyes.

"Mm."

Zoro nodded with a slight smile.

So this was Guy in his youth.

But at his current level, Guy had yet to reach the point where Zoro would consider him a worthy opponent.

"So you're Zoro? Hearing about you isn't the sa as seeing you in person. I've finally t the real thing."

A girl with curly hair and striking red eyes stepped forward next. Her gaze lingered on Zoro, filled with curiosity—and sothing sharper, like excitent.

Rumor had it he surpassed even Kakashi.

If possible, she wanted to get to know him.

"And you are?"

Zoro looked at her, already recognizing the familiar face. Beside her stood a young man with a composed expression.

"Um, I'm Kurenai Yūhi. I hope we can be friends."

Kurenai Yūhi spoke openly, without the restraint typical of girls her age. There was a directness to her personality, almost boyish in its straightforwardness.

"All right, Kurenai. Let's head in. The exam's about to start."

Standing beside her, Asuma Sarutobi spoke flatly. Though his face remained expressionless, Zoro could faintly sense the hostility emanating from him.

It was obvious that Asuma had no intention of letting Kurenai get too close to Zoro.

"We're all Konoha shinobi, of course. If you're interested, you can visit the Uchiha compound anyti."

Zoro replied to Kurenai with a faint smile, though a subtle chill flickered beneath his gaze.

Naturally, he held no goodwill toward the bastard Hokage's son.

If he angered Asuma by talking to his beloved crush, all the better.

"Really? Then if I get the chance, I'll definitely co find you for a drink."

Kurenai blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected Konoha's so-called top genius to be this approachable.

Zoro continued forward, casually conversing with Kurenai as they walked.

Behind them, Asuma's expression darkened noticeably.

At this stage, Kurenai had not developed feelings for Asuma yet. It was nothing more than one-sided interest on his part.

"Zoro-kun… we're here."

Rin's gentle voice sounded from the side as she looked toward the exam room ahead.

She had been unusually quiet the entire ti.

Though she listened to Obito's constant attempts to engage her in conversation, her attention had never truly left Zoro.

And yet, she had not interrupted his exchange with Kurenai.

Not because she didn't care.

But because she cared too much.

She didn't want to leave a bad impression.

Soon...

"Rin, Obito—let's all do our best."

Zoro nodded and stepped into the classroom.

The familiar setting greeted him once more.

Taking his seat near the center of the exam hall, he settled into the large, connected desk designed to accommodate two candidates.

Turning his head slightly, his gaze landed on the person seated beside him.

A girl with erald-green eyes and long, reddish-brown curls.

Her outfit was striking—a strapless dress cinched at the waist with a white sash, accentuating a figure far more mature than her age would suggest.

"Hi~ What a coincidence."

i Terumī greeted him with a playful tone, lightly licking her red lips as her eyes curved into a teasing smile.

Zoro didn't respond.

His expression remained calm and indifferent as he simply passed the exam paper in his hand to the genin seated behind him.

"Oh? Playing it cool, are we?"

i covered her lips and let out a soft laugh, her narrowed eyes gleaming with a hint of cunning, like a fox sizing up its prey.

The ti limit was two hours. There were nine questions in total.

As the proctors entered and took their positions, Zoro prepared himself.

His gaze dropped to the exam paper.

Lines upon lines of densely packed text filled the page.

Mm.

If he looked at each word individually, he could recognize them.

But once they were strung together into questions… wasn't this just an incomprehensible ss?

It felt no different from sothing like advanced mathematics—every symbol was familiar, yet combined together, it beca completely unreadable.

Mm. First question… no idea.

Second question… also impossible.

Third… a bit complicated.

Maybe the fourth?

Forget it.

He might as well check the last one.

After scanning through the entire paper, Zoro arrived at a rather unfortunate conclusion.

He couldn't understand a single question.

As for topics like ninjutsu theory and structural principles—

That was sothing better left to the Sage of Six Paths.

Still, not understanding didn't an failing.

The two tomoe within Zoro's Sharingan began to spin slowly, locking onto the two chūnin at the front who had been arranged to write the correct answers.

Like copying a template, he didn't even glance at his own paper.

He simply mirrored their hand movents exactly, stroke for stroke, reproducing the answers with flawless precision.

Beside him, i noticed his actions and smiled faintly.

She had no need to cheat. For her, these questions were trivial.

Ti passed quickly.

Before long, the exam ca to an end.

One by one, candidates who had relied on crude or obvious cheating thods were called out and eliminated by the proctors.

This written exam alone removed nearly half of the participants.

In the end, only seventy-eight genin advanced to the second stage.

And that—

Was where the real trial began.

The second stage: the Forest of Death.

Within five days, they would have to reach the designated location.

For them, those five days would not only test their endurance and willpower—

But also their ability to cooperate, survive, and hunt under constant pressure.