Tap, tap! A large group of ninja filed into the classroom that had been temporarily converted into an exam hall. Among them were Chunin, Special Jonin, and Jonin.
Representatives from the Three Great Villages were all present, though Konoha's numbers were the largest. At the front stood three Jonin—one from Sunagakure, one from Iwagakure, and one from Konoha—clearly serving as the lead proctors.
A fair setup. If one village controlled the exam alone, the others would never agree to it. At the very least, they needed their own people to keep watch. That was why the "all-Konoha" format of the future exams had to involve special circumstances or political reasons—it made no sense otherwise.
"I am Morino Tanikawa, chief examiner for the first round of the Chunin Exams!"
"The use of cheating is strictly forbidden. If you're caught, your score is zero!"
"Now—the exam begins!"
The Konoha Jonin wearing a black headwrap spoke with a voice that carried sharp authority, his presence heavy and intimidating.
Morino… Though not a major ninja clan, the Morino were one of Konoha's smaller established lineages. Clans like the Morino, Kamizuki, and Kadokawa families—there were countless such minor ninja families in Konoha.
After all, the village was built upon the foundation of large and small clans alike. Even though the Second and Third Hokage had worked tirelessly to nurture civilian ninja, the village's strongest and most elite still came from the bloodlines of ninja clans.
The other examiners began distributing papers.
Rustle—!
Shien looked down at the test sheet before him, and a flicker of trauma-born dread flashed in his eyes.
Question 1: You are standing atop a 10-meter tree, and your target is 32 meters away. The wind speed is level 3. How much force must be applied to your kunai in order to…
The question was absurd!
Shien's head throbbed instantly. Sure, this kind of thing had been taught in the academy… But for ninja, their bodies were usually far more reliable than their brains.
They could do these things easily in practice—but calculating them in theory? That was another matter entirely.
Theory vs. Practical— Every ninja excelled in the latter, few in the former.
Fortunately, Shien had once been a programmer before crossing into this world. So while the questions made his head ache, they weren't difficult for him to solve.
For everyone else, though? It was a full-blown cheating festival.
Bloodline techniques, secret arts, jutsu, puppetry—the room was a showcase of creative cheating methods. And that was exactly the point.
The proctors hadn't even hinted at it—they'd outright announced it. Cheating was fine—as long as you didn't get caught.
Because this first round wasn't about academic knowledge at all. It was a test of information-gathering ability.
Ninja were spies and assassins by trade. Of course they had to be tested on their ability to gather intelligence.
Of course, those like Shien who could actually solve the problems legitimately were an exception—and probably given a quiet nod of approval. After all, whether you passed through theory or espionage, you only needed to demonstrate one strength.
"You there—out!"
"Did you think we were blind?"
"Disqualified! Leave immediately!"
…
The proctors standing along the sides of the classroom shouted repeatedly, ejecting one sloppy cheater after another. Cheating was permitted—but only if you were good at it.
Within minutes, the number of remaining candidates had dropped below triple digits. Even factoring in the other classrooms, the overall total wouldn't be much higher.
Normally, the standards wouldn't have been this strict. But this was the Joint Chunin Exam, a stage representing the entire shinobi world. Naturally, the bar was raised sky-high.
The benefit of passing was enormous—promotion on this stage meant an unlimited future. That was why so many ninjas from every village came to participate every year, despite the difficulty.
And the array of creative cheating methods on display was an eye-opener even for the proctors— perhaps one of the reasons the Five Great Villages agreed to let outsiders join the exams at all: to let their new generation witness the diversity of the shinobi world.
Yamanaka Koji and Kakashi both did well. Their methods were clean—so clean that even if a proctor noticed, they pretended not to. After all, few tricks could truly fool these veteran Chunin and Special Jonin. They only disqualified those who lacked the skill or subtlety.
After a long while—
"Alright, time's up!"
Morino Tanikawa declared the end of the exam. The proctors immediately moved in to collect the papers and began scoring them on the spot.
An hour-long exam, with barely a dozen questions—clearly designed to encourage cheating. Anyone who could answer them legitimately didn't need nearly that long. And even if you weren't caught cheating, a failing score meant no entry into the next round.
The large number of examiners ensured grading was done quickly.
"Horiuchi Takashi—failed!"
"Kinohara Haru—passed!"
"Yamanaka Koji—passed!" …
Names were read one by one.
Those who remained were either strong in theory like Shien, or excelled in other areas. The pass rate was high—because the purpose of this first written test was never to filter the best, but to weed out the hopeless.
Letting those incompetents proceed would only make the next rounds duller—and far more troublesome for the proctors. A thousand examinees versus a few hundred was a world of difference in manpower and logistics.
There were no numeric scores—only pass or fail.
Once the names were done, Morino Tanikawa addressed them again:
"Congratulations on earning the right to participate in the second exam. But be warned—the next stage is extremely dangerous. Think carefully before deciding whether to continue."
The first round might have been safe, but the second was another story entirely. Still, not a single person backed out.
Ninjas learned early on that the world was cruel. None of them would quit just because of danger.
At that moment, a spiky-haired Jonin strolled in from outside the classroom.
"Tanikawa," he said lazily,
"these examinees have fought tooth and nail to get here. You think a few words from you will make them back out?"
Before anyone could guess his identity, the man introduced himself.
"Listen up, brats. I'm Mitarashi Jishō, chief examiner for the second round. I hope you can survive what comes next. Now—follow me."
With that, he turned and walked out.
The examinees quickly rose from their seats and followed. Yamanaka Koji and Kakashi came over to join Shien—their team had gotten lucky and been assigned to the same classroom, so regrouping was natural.
"Let's go," Shien said, taking the lead.
As they exited, they merged with examinees from other classrooms. A sea of genin wearing their village forehead protectors moved together— and the tension was palpable, like stepping into a jungle full of predators.
Because that was exactly what awaited them.
From here on, every participant was both rival and potential killer. Many villages had even sent assassins disguised as candidates—ninjas whose only goal was to hunt down the prodigies of other villages.
So despite the crowd, few would make it to the third round.
Their destination, located at the edge of the village, took some time to reach. By the time they arrived, it was already noon.
And as they stood before it, Shien finally laid eyes for the first time on that infamous place—
the Forest of Death.
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