Chapter 116: Two People Who Despise the Exam Hall
Kabuto Yakushi didn't need to look.
Because his body involuntarily felt a sense of crisis. The chakra within his body wouldn't lie; the person behind him was Uehara Naraka.
Cold sweat continuously beaded on Kabuto Yakushi's face. He muttered in a low voice, "Didn't expect Lord Naraka would actually participate in these Chunin Exams..."
This guy!
To this day, Kabuto Yakushi still remembered the disastrous defeat when they were beaten by Uehara Naraka's summoned beast. In just half a minute, it had instantly crushed them.
Later, Lord Orochimaru personally mentioned that Uehara Naraka was the hidden monster among Akatsuki's group of monsters!
Absolutely... Absolutely... must not be easily provoked!
"Amegakure (Village Hidden in the Rain) was too boring, so I thought I'd come out and see."
Uehara Naraka crouched down, casually picked up a Ninja Info Card from the ground, and couldn't help chuckling lightly, "What, you don't have my intelligence here? Am I not worthy of you wasting an Info Card on me?"
"No."
Kabuto Yakushi's somewhat nervous mood gradually recovered. Years as a spy had made his mental fortitude very good; he had his own ways of dealing with any crisis.
Uehara Naraka coming to Konoha (Village Hidden in the Leaves) for the Chunin Exams definitely wouldn't mean starting a killing spree on the spot; this meant the crisis hadn't arrived yet.
Kabuto Yakushi inwardly breathed a slight sigh of relief and said in a low voice, "Lord Naraka's strength is too great; Info Cards are not yet worthy of recording Your Lordship's intelligence..."
"You're still so interesting."
Uehara Naraka finally couldn't help laughing out loud.
Sasuke Uchiha, listening to their conversation, felt somewhat displeased, and it showed plainly on his face, "So you're Uehara Naraka? Just a Genin from Amegakure..."
"..."
Uehara Naraka watched Sasuke Uchiha spouting nonsense, secretly making a mental note. The debt owed by the younger brother will sooner or later be repaid with Uchiha Itachi's life.
The next moment, someone suddenly appeared behind Sasuke!
Kaguya Kimimaro gripped Sasuke's throat with one hand. His movements were so fast that those nearby couldn't see them clearly at all.
"So fast!"
After Naruto Uzumaki exclaimed in surprise from the side, he realized his teammate had been restrained and immediately leaped forward, "Let go of Sasuke quickly! Hiss... So cold!"
Naruto Uzumaki slowly lowered his head. A patch of cold ice had appeared beneath his feet, freezing them and making him completely unable to support Sasuke.
"Let them go!"
Uehara Naraka waved his hand, looked at Konoha's rookies, a smile playing on his lips, "The Chunin Exams still have a long time to go. We'll play properly with them then. But next time we meet, if you're not careful... you might lose your lives!"
"...Ba... Bastard!"
Sasuke Uchiha's face instantly contorted with rage.
Just as Sasuke was about to charge forward again, an agile old man blocked Sasuke's movement and gently dissuaded him, "Alright, stop causing trouble. The first Chunin Exam is about to begin... If you continue making trouble, you'll be expelled from the exam hall."
"Yes yes yes, we understand."
Sakura Haruno quickly pulled Sasuke away, somewhat worried Sasuke would suffer a loss.
The others also dispersed one after another, lest more trouble arise. If they were expelled directly without even participating in the first exam, it would be too much of a wasted opportunity.
But as they dispersed, Kiba Inuzuka still asked somewhat curiously, "That old grandpa isn't also here to take the Chunin Exams, is he?"
Naruto Uzumaki also secretly glanced at the old man currently facing off with Uehara Naraka, and said with a complicated expression, "Can grandpas also take the Chunin Exams? Failing for so long without passing, just how hard are the Chunin Exams!"
"..."
The youth's innocent words added a trace of awkwardness to the air.
The Genin at the exam assembly point heard Naruto Uzumaki's words, looked towards the aged, short old man, and for a moment, the entire exam hall roared with laughter.
Only Uehara Naraka didn't laugh.
His face didn't even show the slightest hint of amusement.
Because this old man's name was Kosuke Maruboshi. He was Konoha's Eternal Genin, an individual who absolutely could not be underestimated.
Logically speaking, Kosuke shouldn't be participating in the Chunin Exams.
Kosuke Maruboshi definitely wanted to be a Genin for life. If he wanted promotion, he could directly be promoted to Jonin; why would he need to participate in any Chunin Exams!
At least Hiruzen Sarutobi had promoted him before, but he refused.
As a result, Kosuke Maruboshi was now participating in the Chunin Exams as an elderly Genin. It would be strange if there wasn't a problem here! Hiruzen Sarutobi must have sent him to protect their Konoha Genin, right?
This was a bit shameless...
Outside the assembly point's door.
Kakashi Hatake, listening as it gradually quieted down inside, felt slightly relieved, "Lord Third actually arranged for Kosuke-senpai to be in this exam? Really can't say if these kids' luck is too good or too bad..."
After a while.
As time dragged on and the Genin in the assembly point gradually began to lose their patience, a man with a fierce scar on his face walked in.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone."
The man with the fierce scar nodded slightly and said gravely, "I am the proctor for the first Chunin Exam, Ibiki Morino."
The Genin's commotion finally stopped.
One by one, they walked into the exam hall according to their teams.
The first stage of the Chunin Exams was a written test, ostensibly to assess a ninja's knowledge, but in reality, to assess a ninja's ability to gather intelligence.
Coincidentally, the person in the seat beside Uehara Naraka was precisely Kosuke Maruboshi. Uehara felt this old man seemed to be here specifically to watch him.
Haku walked to Uehara Naraka's seat, holding a glass of juice, and placed it on his desk, "Lord Naraka, it's already been iced for you."
Uehara Naraka casually picked it up, pointed to the old man beside him, "Haku, get a glass for this old gentleman too."
"Yes."
Another glass of juice was placed on Kosuke Maruboshi's desk.
"Thank you."
This elderly Genin tremblingly reached out, grasped the juice, and after watching Haku leave with narrowed eyes, said, "Ice Release Kekkei Genkai? Haven't seen that in a long time... Just using it to ice juice, truly a reckless waste of a heavenly gift!"
Uehara Naraka took a sip of juice, watching Kosuke unsteadily holding his cup, his mood somewhat unpleasant.
How come wherever he went, there was always someone competing with him for Best Actor?
Kosuke Maruboshi was different from others; he had pretended to be a Genin his whole life, a true veteran actor.
This written test process didn't have too many waves.
A group of ninjas each displayed their special skills, trying every means to get answers from the test-takers' papers. The exam hall was full of cheaters.
While other ninjas were rustlingly writing their answers, Uehara Naraka and Kosuke Maruboshi were slowly sipping juice, not even glancing at their papers.
"Slurp slurp..."
"Slurp slurp..."
When some ninjas were caught cheating, disqualified, and expelled from the exam hall, Uehara Naraka and Kosuke Maruboshi were still sucking on their juice.
Actually, only a little bit of juice was left, almost an empty cup, yet the two were still competing there.
"Slurp slurp..."
"Slurp slurp..."
After Ibiki Morino saw this scene, the muscles on his face twitched uncontrollably. He was about to explode with anger at their behavior! Someone actually dared to despise the Chunin Exams right in front of him!
Were they provoking him?
Seeing the other Genin being affected by them, Ibiki Morino finally couldn't resist throwing two shuriken, aiming at Uehara Naraka and Kosuke Maruboshi's cups.
Swish!
Uehara Naraka and Kosuke Maruboshi almost simultaneously extended their fingers and caught Ibiki Morino's shuriken, as easily as catching a paper ball.
"..."
Ibiki Morino was both angry and anxious.
If not for the Third Hokage's instructions, he would definitely throw them out right now!
The final assessment of this written test lay in fearless courage. As long as one persisted in taking the exam amidst the proctor's interrogative and pressuring words, they could directly pass the written test.
Answering the questions and such wasn't actually that important.
Uehara Naraka and Kosuke Maruboshi, sitting pretty, remained silent in their seats, watching Ibiki Morino's performance as if watching a monkey show.
This written test, the two of them passed with blank papers.
They actually could have answered or cheated, but there was no need for that.
No, it should be said three people passed with blank papers.
Besides Uehara Naraka and Kosuke Maruboshi, who were slowly drinking juice all along, there was also Naruto Uzumaki, who wanted to answer but couldn't, wanted to cheat but couldn't.
After the exam ended, Ibiki Morino's temper finally couldn't be suppressed. He said gravely, "This time, some people passed by luck. But when you become Chunin captains stealing intelligence in the future, you will regret what you did today!"
Uehara Naraka slowly said, "As long as you kill all the enemies protecting the intelligence, you can naturally obtain it. Enemies like the Proctor, I can fight ten of them."
"This method isn't necessarily correct."
Kosuke Maruboshi considered, nodded, and added, "The methods of the strong don't apply to the weak. Everything must prioritize the mission and teammates' safety. But for enemies like the Proctor, I'm old now; I can only fight nine."
"..."
After hearing this, Ibiki Morino really wanted to hit someone.
Fortunately, he was only responsible for the first exam. Anyway, during the second exam, these two guys1 wouldn't have any way to cheat through petty tricks.
Kosuke Maruboshi turned his head towards Uehara Naraka, "If I remember correctly, the second stage of the Chunin Exams should be a five-day Heaven and Earth scroll snatching battle, involving survival exercises. Do you want to act together with me? My cooking skills aren't bad."
"No thanks, I don't have such high requirements for food."
Uehara Naraka shook his head.
Kosuke Maruboshi really was responsible for monitoring him.
Since he knew this, how could Uehara Naraka still be willing to act together with Kosuke Maruboshi?
(End of Chapter)
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