Ibiki's intense aura had the entire room on edge.
Neji took the opportunity to grab Lee and enter the exam hall with Tenten.
"Don't even think about cheating. Everyone sit in your assigned seats. Team members will be separated as far as possible!"
At Ibiki's command, all the Genin began to take their seats.
Watching the crowd, Tenten looked worried. "What do we do? I thought we could help each other during the written test, but now..."
Neji smiled. "Don't worry. I've got this."
"You?"
Tenten looked at him skeptically.
---
The first stage was the written exam. It was incredibly boring.
For Neji, who could now use the Byakugan effortlessly, getting the answers was child's play.
After easily copying the correct answers, Neji finished the nine questions on his own test paper.
He then wrote out two copies of the answers on scrap paper, crumpled them into balls, and placed them on the corner of his desk.
"Byakugan!"
With the Byakugan's vision, he didn't just have x-ray sight; his ability to analyze data like distance and angles was precision-grade.
"9 o'clock direction, 7 meters away. And Lee is... behind me at 6 o'clock, 6 meters?"
"This distance is no problem." Neji took a deep breath.
He closed his eyes and began to refine his Chakra.
Exploding with Chakra was easy; true control was about extracting the exact amount needed...
"Rotation!"
Because the amount of Chakra was microscopic, the power of the Rotation was infinitely small. However, the Wind Nature transformation carried the paper balls...
After spinning half a circle, they landed precisely on Lee's and Tenten's desks!
"To think of a method like this... Neji is getting smarter every day!" Lee thought happily.
Time ticked by. Most of the Genin managed to get the correct answers through various cheat-skills.
"What about the final question?"
Finally, someone asked. The rules on the paper clearly stated that the first round consisted of ten questions, totaling one hundred points.
"The final question?"
Ibiki stood up and chuckled darkly. "Listen closely for the final question."
"To answer this final question, you must accept a rule. You must choose to stay, or to forfeit..."
"If you stay and answer, but anyone on your team gets it wrong, the entire team fails—and everyone on the team will remain a Genin for life! Answer correctly, and you advance. However, you can choose to forfeit now. Your team fails this time, but you can try again next year..."
"What?!"
"What kind of garbage rule is that?!"
People started complaining, but Ibiki slammed his hand on the table. "I make the rules! If you can't pass this, you'll never be Chunin!"
"Sorry... I forfeit."
Slowly, people began to leave the room.
"Me too..."
"I forfeit as well!"
Team after team walked out. Neji watched them go.
This couldn't go on. The more people in the second round, the more combat opportunities Neji would have. These people were his stepping stones; he needed as many of them to stay as possible.
"Wait a minute!"
Neji stood up. Tenten and Lee panicked—was he going to forfeit?
They exchanged a look. Neither of them wanted Neji to be so unconfident. Tenten sighed; in her eyes, a Genin of Neji's level shouldn't have come to the Chunin Exams in the first place!
But to their surprise, Neji stood tall, a confident smirk playing on his lips.
"Proctor, this choice is the answer to the tenth question, isn't it? This is just a test of our mental state, not an actual rule. It's presented as a question, but it's not written on the exam paper."
Neji's tone was calm, but he drew the attention of the entire room.
"Oh? And why do you say that?"
Ibiki tilted his head. He had never seen a candidate with the guts to question him so directly.
Neji chuckled. "You're testing everyone's ability to handle psychological pressure! Using the threat of 'never becoming a Chunin' is a scare tactic designed to weed out cowards. And putting the burden of that penalty on teammates? That's to weed out those with weak resolve."
"In the ninja world, comrades are important. But sometimes, to complete the mission, you can't be fooled by the enemy's mind games. That's the real answer to this question, isn't it?"
Silence fell over the room.
Neji's answer was like a sudden illumination in the dark.
"Did this guy... see the answer key?"
Several assistant proctors looked at him with disbelief.
Answer key? Buddy, I read the script.
Ibiki hadn't expected someone like this to appear in the exam hall. He peered closer. The kid was clearly a Hyuga, but the Hyuga clan hadn't produced any notable geniuses in recent years.
What interested Ibiki the most was that this kid didn't just figure out the trick—he dared to announce the answer to everyone.
Normally, a smart candidate would keep quiet, hoping more rivals would get eliminated. But this guy...
"Impressive. I admire your courage, not your intellect."
Ibiki finally stood up properly, though his gaze on Neji was still filled with disdain.
"You mentioned rules. Do you understand the rules of this ninja world?"
Neji didn't reply.
Ibiki took off his bandana, revealing a head covered in horrific scars, burns, and screw holes.
The sight was terrifying.
"Ninjas sometimes have to face much, much harder choices."
"Sometimes you have to abandon your comrades, or even sacrifice yourself to complete the mission. When that time comes, will you still have this resolve?"
"Your answer is technically correct. But you failed to read the room. You shared the answer with your future enemies. The brutal truth of the ninja world is 'Mission First.' This reckless 'burn the bridge' attitude is something only a fool would do!"
"By giving away the answer, you've essentially abandoned the advantage of the mission!"
Ibiki sneered at Neji. "As a ninja, you can't always take the safest path. You need the courage to take risks!"
Sure enough, things were developing in an unexpected direction.
But in that moment, a fire ignited in Neji's heart as well!
He lowered his chin slightly, his gaze becoming even more determined.
"This is the first written test of the Chunin Exams. It should test the courage to accept a mission and the determination to face it."
"The next round is actual combat. That tests the ability to complete the mission."
Neji's voice grew stronger, his eyes unwavering.
"But you... you keep asking us what we should do if we can't complete the mission. Isn't that admitting defeat before the battle has even begun?"
The room gasped. A mere Genin had such profound resolve? Many of them were just here hoping to get promoted so they could take better-paying jobs.
But Neji was standing there, debating philosophy with the Chief Proctor!
Neji laughed out loud. "You say that telling my enemies the answer shows I can't read the room? That I'm taking a reckless risk? But in my eyes... this happens to be the safest path for me!"
In that moment, the intensity in Neji's eyes actually rattled Ibiki.
The scarred Jonin flinched backward, stumbling a step!