While Louis was walking calmly inside the hall, looking for a suitable place to sit, three genin from the Hidden Cloud Village approached him. Their movements were confident, their gazes sharp, as if they did not care about the tension filling the room.
One of them stepped half a pace forward and raised his hand in a casual greeting.
"Yo… can we have a quick talk?"
Louis finally stopped and lifted his eyes to look at the speaker.
He was a strongly built young man, and on his shirt, bold words were clearly written:
"Raging Tiger."
Louis did not need more than a moment.
He recognized him immediately.
It was the same player…
The one who had tried to recruit him before the previous mission started.
Before Louis could say anything...
Ino tightened her arms and legs around him and glared at the newcomer with open hostility.
"And who are you supposed to be? Stay away! Don't interrupt our date!"
One member of the Cloud group froze, anger appearing on his face.
"You… how dare you..."
But his words suddenly stopped.
Raging Tiger only glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
Just one look was enough.
The young man fell silent at once, as if something was squeezing his throat.
Raging Tiger then turned his gaze back to Louis and smiled lightly, more polite than friendly.
"Sorry about my friend's behavior. So, what do you think? Do you have time now?"
Ino opened her mouth again, her anger clear.
"Didn't you hear me? I told you..."
But Louis interrupted her with sudden calm.
"Ino, could you leave us for a moment?"
"Huh? B–but…"
Ino stuttered, clearly unwilling to accept it easily.
Louis sighed softly, then leaned in slightly…
And gave her a quick, light kiss on the lips.
He moved close to her ear and whispered quietly,
"I'll make it up to you later, okay?"
Ino froze in place.
Her eyes widened, her face quickly turned red, then she nodded slowly…
And stepped away from him with rare obedience.
Raging Tiger watched the scene for a moment, then laughed lightly before looking back at Louis.
"Heeey… looks like you didn't just survive, but also made it to the Chunin Exams, huh?"
Then his tone became more serious.
"My name in this world is Kaito. Don't forget it… player of Stage Four."
Louis's expression changed slightly.
He looked directly at Kaito and said in a measured calm voice,
"Your information doesn't seem simple. Discovering my identity isn't easy. So… what do you want?"
Kaito smiled as if he expected the question.
"Figuring out who you are wasn't hard. From the information I got from the family… only one person survived the Uchiha clan massacre in this world. And that person is definitely not you, right?"
Then he continued without hesitation,
"As for what I want… it concerns the Chunin Exams themselves."
Louis narrowed his eyes slightly.
Kaito went on,
"Since each of us has a chain-type mission in this world, the main goal isn't missions… it's achievements."
Achievements?
Louis repeated the word silently in his mind.
"Our goal is to kill the main characters of this world before they grow any stronger," Kaito said casually, as if talking about the weather.
"That will allow us to record major achievements for the next stage of the story."
Huh…?
Louis almost laughed inwardly.
Is he an idiot?
Is he testing me?
Or does he think I don't know who the main characters of this world are?
Kaito carefully observed Louis's reaction, then added,
"So… are you an ally? Or an enemy?"
But before Louis could answer....
A rough, powerful voice echoed through the hall:
"Alright. Since everyone is here… we will begin the first test now."
All eyes turned at once.
Louis raised his head and looked at the speaker.
A large man with many scars on his face, and a harsh gaze that knew no humor.
Ibiki Morino.
The examiner in charge of the first test.
"Tsk…"
Kaito clicked his tongue as he turned to return to his seat.
"Think carefully about the offer. And as a small gift… let me tell you about the first test."
He stopped half a step and said without turning back,
"Just… don't do anything. You'll pass automatically, as long as your teammates aren't idiots."
His companions laughed quietly as they walked away.
"So… who were those guys?"
Sasuke asked, somehow ending up next to Louis.
"Just some trash,"
Louis replied indifferently.
"Don't worry about them."
Then he looked at Sasuke's face and noticed the new bruises, traces of his light clash with Lee.
He smiled slightly, with a hint of mockery.
"So… did you enjoy challenging others?"
Sasuke's eyes burned with anger.
But he said nothing.
He simply turned away and went to find a seat.
Louis watched him for a moment, then felt another presence beside him.
"What is it, Sakura?"
Sakura hesitated, her eyes looking slightly away.
"Th–that… you kissed Ino, so…"
Louis sighed.
"Alright. Let's meet later this evening, and I'll make it up to you. Deal?"
Sakura paused for a moment…
Then smiled brightly.
"Okay!"
She said cheerfully, before going to sit down, humming softly.
As for Louis…
He finally took his seat.
His eyes were calm and steady...
But his thoughts were moving fast, far faster than what appeared on the surface.
Everyone took their seats inside the large hall. Long rows of wooden desks stretched across the room. Faces were tense, and eyes were fixed on the platform in heavy silence. It did not take long before Ibiki Morino stood at the front. His presence alone was enough to silence any remaining whispers. In his rough voice, he announced the nature of the first test.
A written test.
Silence filled the room for a few seconds… then signs of despair spread like a disease. Many genin turned pale in their seats, some swallowing hard. Naruto was the most obvious of all. His eyes widened, and he froze in his chair, as if a death sentence had just been announced.
"A… written test?!" he whispered to himself, panic clearly written on his face with no attempt to hide it.
In complete contrast, Louis showed no interest at all. He already knew what this test was about, so he did not think much about it. Calmly, he placed both hands on the desk in front of him, closed his eyes, and rested his head on them, as if none of this mattered to him.
He simply decided… to take a short nap, until this whole performance was over.
Some of the proctors noticed what he was doing. They exchanged quick looks, but no orders were given. No one tried to wake him up. No one stopped him. The test did not forbid sleeping… because it was testing something deeper than that.
And so, time passed slowly.
Some candidates withdrew under the pressure, their faces pale and their steps unsteady. Others tried to cheat in strange ways…
Until time finally ran out.
Ibiki stood up again and looked carefully at the hall before speaking: "Eighty-five people are still inside the room… that's more than I expected."
He paused for a few seconds, deliberately raising the tension to its peak.
Then he continued: "In that case… the result of the first test..."
Everyone held their breath.
"...is that you have all… passed."
Shock filled the room. Eyes widened, murmurs rose, and countless questions appeared on people's faces. Some could not believe it. Others thought they had misheard.
Ibiki then gave a slight smile and began to explain the true nature of the test. The goal was not the answers, but endurance, self-control, teamwork, and the ability to make decisions under pressure.
As for Louis… he slowly opened his eyes, as if waking from a comfortable sleep.
The performance was truly over.