Inside the classroom, many of the smarter candidates had already deciphered the true purpose of the exam and were now showing off their various skills:
On the left, Kiba Inuzuka was getting answers by using his ninja hound, Akamaru, to spy on others.
On the right, Neji Hyuga had activated his Byakugan, allowing him to see through the test paper of a candidate in front of him who had already answered several questions.
At the back, Gaara was using a floating sand eye to do the same.
Many others used such advanced techniques, but some resorted to clumsy methods.
The sharp-eyed proctors quickly spotted them, docked ten points, and immediately threw them out of the room.
"Damn it! What right do you have to say I was cheating?" one genin who had lost all his points protested, still trying to argue.
"Because I'm the proctor, and I'm an elite chunin who's a hundred times stronger than you. Not a single one of your movements escapes my eyes!"
The proctor who had caught him didn't waste any more words, grabbing him by the collar and tossing him out of the classroom.
Witnessing this, many of the others who were also using crude cheating methods turned pale, terrified that they would be the next to be caught.
'Phew~ Just the last question left.' After answering the first nine questions, Sakura let out a sigh of relief.
Tapping into her former status as a top student, she had successfully answered every question except the final, unknown one.
'I wonder how Sasuke and Naruto are doing.' From her position, she couldn't see Sasuke, so she could only look at Naruto, who was sitting in front of her.
'Hm? Naruto's ki? Is he about to use that technique?' Around the same time Sakura finished, Sasuke, who had copied eight of her answers, also stopped writing and breathed a small sigh of relief.
'I missed one, but this should be enough. The rest is up to Naruto. He's the key!'
Not long after this thought, his expression suddenly changed. 'Hm? Is Naruto finally about to make his move?'
After deciding to cheat, Naruto had been waiting quietly for the right moment.
'I've only got one shot at this, so I have to wait until he's finished answering all the questions before I can use that move,' he thought, glancing sideways at a candidate next to him who was writing at an incredible speed.
He was curious how this person could be answering so quickly, seemingly without even thinking.
What he didn't know was that this candidate wasn't a candidate at all, but a proctor in disguise.
His purpose was to write down the correct answers quickly so that those who needed to cheat could copy them.
There were several others just like him scattered throughout the room.
A short while later, the proctor stopped writing. Naruto's eyes lit up. 'Time to copy!' He could barely contain his excitement.
Heaven knows he had endured an agonising, on-edge wait for this moment, feeling like he was sitting on pins and needles under the watchful gaze of the proctors!
Now, he could finally escape this torture! After a brief moment of excitement, he began to recall how to use the technique.
'Hmm, I have to focus my ki on my forehead, and then convert that ki into light energy.'
Although Goku had taught him this move, he hadn't practised it much, so he wasn't yet proficient at it.
While recalling the steps, he placed his hands on his forehead, his fingertips propped against his head, and began to gather his ki.
He angled his body to make it look like he was stressed over the test.
A moment later, just as Sasuke and Sakura sensed the change in his ki, he roared in his mind, 'Here I go! SOLAR FLARE!!'
SHIIINE!!!
An incredibly blinding light suddenly burst forth from his body, instantly searing the eyes of almost everyone facing him, including all the proctors who had been monitoring the room.
"What is that light?!"
"Ah! My eyes! It hurts! I can't open them!"
"Damn it! What the hell is going on?"
Under this light, which was as blinding as the sun itself, everyone—proctors and candidates alike—was forced to shut their eyes, tears streaming down their faces.
Even the candidates who had their backs to Naruto couldn't resist turning around to see what the commotion was, only to be immediately blinded as well.
His objective achieved, the instigator, Naruto, snatched the test paper from the proctor beside him and began to copy the answers furiously!
'Faster! Faster!' He quickly scribbled down the answers with the shortest solutions.
Although the Solar Flare had blinded the proctors, it would only last for a short time.
Once they recovered, their vision would slowly return, and he wouldn't be able to copy anymore. He had to write down as many answers as he could.
He copied one question, then two, then... He swore he had never written answers so quickly in his entire life, not even when he was copying.
Time flew by. After copying four questions, he quickly slammed the paper back onto the other desk and covered his own eyes, pretending to be a victim of the flash as well.
It wasn't that he didn't want to copy more; he figured the proctors would be regaining their sight soon, and it wasn't worth the risk.
And sure enough, not long after he had stopped, the proctors began to rub their eyes, trying to force them open.
"Damn it, what just happened?" Ibiki muttered, squinting as he scanned a certain part of the classroom.
Although the light had been sudden, he had caught a glimpse of where it had originated. He was now searching that area, trying to find the source.
When his gaze fell on one of his own subordinates who was planted among the candidates, he paused.
The proctor was discreetly giving him a hand signal, indicating that the light had come from the person next to him.
Ibiki followed his subordinate's gaze. 'Naruto Uzumaki?'
At that moment, Naruto had no idea he'd been found out and was still covering his eyes, playing the victim.
Four questions copied.
That should be enough. At least I won't get a zero, so I won't be disqualified. Or... should I risk it and do it one more time?'
He was deep in thought, completely unaware that he was already being watched.
"Naruto Uzumaki," Ibiki suddenly said in a cold voice, after watching him for a moment. "Do you know what that light was?"
"Huh? What? I don't know!" Startled at being called on, Naruto's eyes snapped wide open as he looked at Ibiki in confusion.
He immediately realised his mistake and quickly half-closed them again. But it was too late.
Seeing this, Ibiki understood everything. The source of the light had been Naruto.
Although he didn't know how he had done it, it was clear that he had used the blinding light to create an opportunity to cheat.
'Hmph. Not bad, Naruto Uzumaki!' In all his long career as a ninja, this was the first time he had ever seen a method like this.
Others used clever, subtle techniques to cheat, which, while not clumsy, were still detectable by him and the other proctors.
But Naruto... he had just taken away their ability to observe entirely and then cheated in broad daylight. He was certainly one of a kind!
"Alright, the exam will continue. We will investigate the source of that light, so you don't need to worry about it,"
Ibiki announced, addressing the other candidates, who were slowly beginning to see again.
Even though he knew Naruto was the culprit, he wasn't going to announce it. He chose to handle it discreetly.
He recognised that if used correctly, this technique could be a major trump card in a real fight.
If he were to expose it now, Naruto's trump card would be revealed to all of these ninja from various villages, which would be a disadvantage for his future career.