The Chūnin Exams arrived as scheduled.
Reiji, who hadn't intended to get involved, received a last-minute notice—Third Hokage Sarutobi had assigned him to proctor the exams.
Not just one part, but all three.
His task was straightforward: ensure the safety of every Genin participating.
With nothing better to do, Reiji gladly accepted the simple assignment.
Soon, the much-anticipated joint exams began.
Since the event was being held in Konoha, the rules naturally followed Konoha's standards.
Three stages: first, a written test; second, a field exercise; third, a tournament.
At the Konoha Ninja Academy, inside a spacious lecture hall...
Jiraiya stood wearing the standard Konoha Jōnin vest, followed by seven or eight proctoring ninja. His stern gaze swept over the examinees.
"Enough with the chatter—here are the exam rules!
Cheating is forbidden. If caught, your entire team will be disqualified and banned from taking the exams for life.
No talking. No bathroom breaks. You're ninja—you should know how to endure!
Any other rules? Depends on my mood!
Behave, and I won't mess with you. But if I don't like what I see, your results are void!"
How willful.
Standing at the back of the room, Reiji couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.
The actual rules definitely weren't that simple, but Jiraiya clearly didn't feel like reading them all, so he just went with "depends on my mood."
Test papers were distributed, and the exam began.
The three members of Team 11 were scattered throughout the room.
Rie sat in the back row, while Teuchi and Fugaku Uchiha sat near the center, separated by four or five other students.
The exam began.
Jiraiya paced around the room. Before long, he strolled over to Reiji, and the two stood shoulder to shoulder like old partners.
"Reiji, your students are here too, right?" Jiraiya lowered his voice, quickly scanning the room.
Reiji nodded and motioned with his chin, pointing out the three kids.
Jiraiya's gaze followed.
Closest was Rie, sleeping soundly at her desk.
A short distance away, Teuchi pretended to scribble answers.
With his extensive experience, Reiji instantly recognized that the kid wasn't actually answering questions.
As for the youngest, Fugaku Uchiha, his head was slightly bowed, his gaze subtly fixed on a ninja ahead of him whose pen was flying across the page.
As a proctor, Reiji knew that the person Fugaku was watching was the "reference answer" Konoha had planted in the room.
Put simply, the first test didn't assess theoretical knowledge. It tested information-gathering skills.
This "reference answer" was the target. Spot him among the examinees and copy his answers—that was one of the goals.
As Reiji considered this, Jiraiya suddenly muttered,
"That Uchiha kid of yours looks like he's using the Sharingan to copy the 'reference answer's' movements."
"Yup." Reiji nodded.
Jiraiya glanced at him, puzzled.
"Then how's he passing the answers to his teammates?"
"Hehe~" Reiji grinned, leaned closer, and whispered,
"Take a guess. If you get it right, I'll treat you to barbecue for a whole month—every meal, until you're stuffed.
And I'll take you to the hot springs every day too."
At that, Jiraiya perked up.
Good kid. Nobody's ever managed to cheat under my nose!
I'm definitely cashing in on that month of barbecue.
With that in mind, Jiraiya stopped paying attention to the other students and focused intently on the trio's every move.
Midway through the exam, Fugaku finally set down his pen after filling the entire paper, exhaling with relief. He shot a smug glance at the other examinees around him.
Just then, his eyes met Teuchi's, who was still glancing around restlessly.
Tsukuyomi!
A silent cry in his mind!
The father of Itachi was the first to cast the ultimate Genjutsu, Tsukuyomi, on his teammate Teuchi Ōtsutsuki.
Inside the Tsukuyomi realm, countless single desks appeared.
On each sat a version of Teuchi, a pen and an exam paper in front of him.
Fugaku stood beside him, whip in hand.
"Teuchi, memorize the answers fast. Boss lady's waiting on us!"
Teuchi sighed, nearly in tears.
He'd relayed intel like this plenty of times, but he still had to say—using Tsukuyomi to cheat was absolutely insane.
In the real world, less than a second passed as their gazes met.
Then, Fugaku clutched his eyes while Teuchi held his temples, both looking completely drained.
Jiraiya, sharp as ever, immediately sensed something was off. He nudged Reiji with his elbow and whispered smugly,
"Those two are already cheating!"
"Oh?" Reiji nodded casually.
Truth was, Reiji had already figured out their cheating method back when Fugaku was scribbling away like mad.
After all, he had personally trained these three. He knew exactly what they were capable of.
But Jiraiya had no clue.
"Evidence, Jiraiya. You need evidence. You can't just go on a hunch!"
You suspect me of murder? Then prove it!
You can't just call me the killer every time I just happen to be at the scene of the crime! Maybe I was just delivering food, ever think of that?
Seeing Reiji's smug expression that practically screamed "you didn't catch me red-handed," Jiraiya's face darkened.
Still, he genuinely couldn't figure out how those two were pulling it off.
After all, knowledge about Mangekyō Sharingan's eye techniques was rare—and each Mangekyō had its own unique abilities.
Only close blood relatives might have similar Dōjutsu.
As for the ability in the other eye—it was Amaterasu.
The Sharingan, the eye that reflects one's state of mind.
Amaterasu reflected a desire to burn the world down when overwhelmed. Tsukuyomi? The desire to shut everything out and sleep.
Does that even make sense? It's completely bonkers!
While Reiji was lost in thought, Teuchi—who had been memorizing answers all day inside the Tsukuyomi realm—finished his paper.
He put down his pen, slowly slumped onto the desk, and pretended to be asleep.
At the same time, a hand hidden in his sleeve began forming hand seals.
Heavenly Transfer Technique!
In an instant, a faint, almost imperceptible flash of blue light streaked past, and a fully completed answer sheet appeared in Rie's sleeve.
Without hesitation, Rie formed her own hand seals.
Heavenly Transfer Technique!
A blank test paper appeared in Teuchi's sleeve.
With a sigh, Teuchi picked up his pen and started writing again.
Standing beside Reiji, Jiraiya suddenly frowned.
For some reason, he had a sinking feeling—like his sure-win meal ticket had just slipped through his fingers.
And that dumb-looking kid—hadn't he finished already? Why was he writing like a man possessed again?
With that thought, Jiraiya quickly strode over to Teuchi and glanced at his test paper.
The next moment, his pupils shrank in disbelief, and he couldn't help but mutter,
"It's... blank?!"