[Two Weeks Later — Chūnin Exam Hall]
A wide space stretched — brightly lit, the air thick with tension.Around the room, groups of shinobi milled about in wary clusters.Quiet conversations buzzed beneath the taut silence.
Teams from Konoha.
Sandaled feet of Suna-nin brushed over the stone floor — pale cloaks and colder eyes.
Smaller groups from Kusagakure, Amegakure, Takigakure — minor villages, their gazes sharp and hungry.
Predators. Prey. Rivals.
Everyone was sizing each other up.
The room had settled into a brittle silence — the air laced with the scent of old wood and sharpened nerves.
[Entrance]
The door creaked.
Naruto entered alone.
No teammates flanking him — no protective formation.Just the charcoal-grey cloak trailing behind him, presence calm but unyielding.
Eyes turned.
Konoha shinobi whispered among themselves.
"He doesn't have a team?" "Is that Uzumaki Naruto?" "Why's he here alone?"
He ignored it all.
Across the room, Shikako Nara's sharp gaze caught sight of him. She pressed through a small knot of genin, stopping near him.
Arms folded, voice low:
"You think you can handle this alone?"
Her tone wasn't mocking — it was assessing.
Naruto's expression didn't shift.
"I'll manage."
For a moment, her lips twitched — not a smile, but reluctant acknowledgment.
"…Tch. Don't die."
She stepped back, making room without further words.
Naruto's gaze flickered across the room.
There — standing apart — that red-haired boy from Suna. The same one he had passed while returning from the Land of Waves.
'You're just like me.'
The words echoed in his mind — cold, unblinking.
Now — he could feel it. A killing intent — thin as a blade, slicing toward him beneath the crowded air.
Naruto's brow furrowed slightly.
"So it wasn't just words."
He didn't know the boy's name.But that bloodlust? It was real.
Nearby, Nejire Hyūga observed the exchange — pale eyes narrowing. The stoic girl said nothing, but her gaze lingered a beat too long on Naruto, then flicked toward the redhead from Suna, her eyes narrowing further in quiet disapproval. She hadn't missed it.The faint, sharp spike of bloodlust — aimed directly at Naruto.
[Across the Room]
In the shadows near the rear of the hall, a single Kusa-nin leaned against the far wall — cloaked and hooded, features masked beneath a false veneer of flesh.
Orochimaru.
Golden eyes half-lidded, voice a faint hiss beneath his breath:
"So many little leaves gathered in one place…"
His gaze drifted lazily across the Konoha teams — lingering on each in turn.
Aburame… dull. Inuzuka… crude. Hyūga… yes, promising — but predictable.
Then — Uchiha Sasuke.
Orochimaru's pupils slit further — a slow shiver of anticipation coiling through him.
Fascinating… The Sharingan blooms in him already.
But another flicker caught his attention — an anomaly.
Uzumaki Naruto. Alone.
The snake Sannin watched as the boy took a place toward the rear — unbothered, alert.
A faint grin curled beneath the mask.
"Hmm… how intriguing."
His eyes gleamed with a sharper edge now — amusement, yes… but something darker stirring.
"Another puzzle. But first- the Uchiha brat."
[Naruto's Mindset]
Naruto stood near the back — back straight, arms loose at his sides.
He was acutely aware of the shifting gazes.
Of Red-head's distant presence, crimson hair stark against the crowd — the pulse of that bloodlust, a steady thrum.
Of the Kusa-nin's faint but strange chakra nearby — unsettling and heavy.
But his mind was clear.
Naruto's gaze flicked once toward Sasuke — unreadable — then forward, as Ibiki Morino prepared to speak.
The next trial was about to begin — and he would face it on his own terms.
[Chūnin Exam Hall — Moments Later]
The murmurs faded.
At the front of the room, the heavy-set man in the long black coat stepped forward — scarred head gleaming beneath the lights.
Ibiki Morino. Head of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Corps.
His presence alone seemed to pull the oxygen from the air — the genin stiffened instinctively.
Even Naruto, standing near the back, felt it — not fear, but the sharp weight of experience radiating off the man like heat from a forge.
Ibiki's voice cut through the silence, calm and edged like a blade:
"I am Morino Ibiki. Your proctor for this first test."
He surveyed the room with a cold gaze — stopping on no one in particular, yet seeming to see through them all.
"The Chūnin Exams are not for the weak of will. They are not for those who fight only with fists and jutsu. They are a test of judgment, discipline, and mental resilience."
A pause.
His lips twisted slightly.
"Today, we test your ability to endure uncertainty… and pressure."
The atmosphere thickened.
Ibiki motioned to a row of chūnin assistants along the side.Without a word, they began distributing sheets of paper to each desk.
"You will be seated according to the numbers on these slips," Ibiki continued. "Find your place. Sit. The test will begin shortly."
Genin moved, shuffling through the room — wary eyes flicking toward one another as they claimed their seats.
Naruto found his — near the rear left corner, beside the window.
He sat down without hesitation — cloak draped across the back of the chair, gaze steady.
[Rules Announcement]
Once the final seat was filled, Ibiki spoke again:
"Now — the rules."
His tone sharpened — every word landing with deliberate weight.
"This test consists of ten questions."
"You will have forty-five minutes to complete it."
A faint, knowing grin ghosted across his scarred face.
"Each question is worth one point. Simple enough — except…"
He leaned forward, hands braced on the desk.
"… you are permitted to cheat."
A ripple ran through the room — whispers broke out before Ibiki silenced them with a single glare.
"However."
His voice lowered — colder.
"You will be observed. If you are caught cheating more than five times — you and your entire team will be disqualified."
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly."A test of discipline… and how far they'll go to pass."
Ibiki continued:
"Do not ask your proctors for clarification. Do not attempt to leave the room. Do not draw attention to yourself."
He straightened.
"Finally — the tenth question will be given at the end of the allotted time."
Another pause — long enough for the tension to mount.
"You may choose not to answer the tenth question."
Gasps — barely stifled — swept through the room.
Ibiki's smile widened faintly.
"But if you choose not to answer — you fail. If you attempt the question and fail — you will remain genin… permanently."
Shock rippled across the genin ranks.
Ibiki let the silence stretch — watching who would fold.
Then, curtly:
"Begin."