Sasuke stared at the test and the three-person total-score rule; pressure mounted. He knew Naruto and Kano had been the academy's dead-last—so everything rested on him.
But the questions made no sense; even a genius like him couldn't understand a thing.
No exam is impossible; he must have missed something.
Sasuke replayed Ibiki's words, and finally realized: this wasn't a simple test—it was an intelligence-gathering exam!
If you asked who in their squad was best at gathering intel, the answer was Kano. Even Kakashi found her ability uncanny—he still had no idea how she'd learned what she knew about him.
Sasuke glanced at Kano; sure enough, her pen was flying across the page.
In other words, he just had to trust her. She'd finish the intel-gathering, and all he had to do was copy it.
Which meant: Sharingan, activate! He duplicated Kano's pen strokes, transferring everything she wrote onto his own sheet without altering a single mark.
So Sasuke kept his eyes fixed on Kano's pen while his hand copied non-stop. No thought required—there had never been an easier exam.
By now the whole room had realized the real point of the test, and candidates were being eliminated one after another. A handful of genuine top students, however, were powering through with raw knowledge.
Hinata's gaze flicked to Naruto. Her first thought was relief that Naruto-kun didn't seem stumped; then she looked closer—he was actually drawing on his paper!
She couldn't tell who the sketch was meant to be; it looked pretty abstract. Had Naruto-kun already given up?
"Um… Naruto-kun… if you… don't know… you could… look at… mine…"
Naruto just waved her off.
"No need, no need—I've got my own way to pass."
Passing the test was a lie; securing Kano-chan's promise was the truth.
Seeing his confidence, Hinata decided not to interfere.
Time crept on, and more and more examinees were disqualified. Throughout, Kano's pen never stopped dancing—Naruto and Sasuke were equally busy.
To any observer, the three who answered without thinking looked like model students. Then—"Question ten, coming up!"
Ibiki on the podium spoke abruptly. Kano merely lifted her eyes for a second before lowering them again; Naruto didn't even bother.
Sasuke was too busy copying Kano's paper to listen. Once he finished, he figured, he'd be through.
Ibiki presented the classic trap: quit now and try again next year, or stake your future on getting this last question right.
Reactions varied. Under the strain, hands rose and candidates walked out. Sasuke noticed the commotion but, seeing Kano's confident smile, relaxed and kept copying.
"Then everyone still here—congratulations, you pass the first stage!"
"Done!"
The word rang out the instant Ibiki finished speaking, as Kano set her pen down with a snap.
"As expected of me—I'll definitely score full marks!"
Kano admired her masterpiece; Sasuke stared at the sheet he'd copied; Naruto beamed at his own answers.
While the room celebrated, only Shikamaru understood what Kano had meant by "hand in a blank page and you'll pass."
"You monster… you even collected intel on that? You never cease to surprise me."
Naruto kept admiring his drawing until it hit him—did that mean he'd passed? Huh?
"Aaaah, I passed! What a rip-off—Kano-chan's one request, gone!"
The whole room looked at him like he was nuts. Why was he miserable about passing? You'd think he'd lost a million ryō.
Sasuke leaned back, staring at the sketch on his sheet—understanding, yet not quite.
Kano had clearly known the exam questions in advance—far harder than gathering intel during the test. How she'd done it was anyone's guess.
Whatever. She's a teammate, not an enemy; that's all that matters.
Moments later, Anko, the second proctor, crashed through a window and began outlining stage-two instructions.
The group followed her to the next site while Ibiki collected the papers.
When he reached Naruto's desk, the unique answer sheet made him chuckle.
"Someone drew on the test? Is this supposed to be Kakashi? Hideous. And Uzumaki Naruto still passed—what a character."
He thought Naruto took the prize for audacity, but Kano's paper shocked him even more.
"Oh? Another doodler? Two in one room with nerves this thick? This one's actually good. Nara Kano—the konoha songstress everyone's talking about? Adorable. If she ever hits it big, this signed self-portrait on an exam will be worth a fortune. And she even wrote 'I'm so damn cute!' Haha, what a kid."
But the real kicker was Sasuke's sheet.
"A third artist? This year's batch is unbelievable. Uchiha Sasuke—of all people—those sharp eyes drew too. And why is it also Kano? The two pictures are identical, right down to the 'I'm so damn cute!' scrawled beside them.
All three in the same squad? Let me check—Kakashi's team. Hmm… gathering intel on the examiner herself? Impressive. The Uchiha boy? No, the Nara girl? Hahaha, looks like Konoha's got another prodigy!"
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