There is a large office in the ninja school. This was originally the place where the teachers of the school were responsible for their offices. However, due to the joint chuunin examination, this place has been temporarily requisitioned by the examiners.
Although the first exam has ended, in order to wait for the results of the candidates to be released, Ibiki, as the examiner of the first exam, still sat in a secluded corner of the office, reading a book while waiting for the examiner below to mark the test paper. Finish.
Ibixi didn't have to wait long. At about eleven o'clock, all the candidates' test papers were marked. Summarized into one form, whether it is the average score of the team or the total score, from high to low, it is clear at a glance.
"There are eleven teams in total that have achieved a perfect score of thirty points. There are forty candidates who have achieved a perfect score, which is lower than I expected."
Ibixi saw the results displayed on the transcript and thought about the words.
"There is no way. After all, among the candidates, there are many people who are keen to eliminate other candidates. It is actually not easy to maintain so many groups and candidates with perfect scores..."
A Konoha chunin in charge of correcting the test papers said with a wry smile.
You must know that in order to take care of the students in the examination room this time, they put six chunin in at once who knew the answers to the test questions. According to the initial estimates, the number of groups and candidates who received full marks could not be so low. After all, there were nearly three hundred people, and the genin who came to take the exam were all elites selected from each village.
But they didn't expect that the candidates would eliminate each other. This was supposed to happen in the second exam, but it happened in the first exam, which caught Konoha, the organizer, off guard.
Yibixi nodded slightly, acknowledging these words.
Strictly speaking, the actions of the genin of Oni no Kuni cannot be regarded as breaking the rules. Candidates eliminate each other, which is also a must-have item in the exam.
If there is only interaction between candidates and examiners, it would be too boring and unfair to candidates.
Therefore, the essence of the chunin exam is for candidates to fight against each other and then select the best batch of genin and eliminate unqualified products.
However, few people in the previous Chunin Exams would do this in the first exam. Not only are the means possessed by the genin rare, but most of their methods are very poor. It is easy for accidents to happen during the exam. Being able to take care of yourself is already very good. If you want to take other actions, you need to go one step further. For example, if you have far beyond The great strength of the remaining genin.
"They are all a very interesting bunch of little guys."
Ibiki said with a sigh.
"Yes, the quality is indeed much higher than before."
The Konoha chuunin replied.
Ibiki did not respond this time, but glanced at the transcript.
"Naruto Uzumaki... I didn't expect this guy to pass even if he handed in a blank paper."
Seeing a familiar name, a smile appeared on Yibixi's lips.
Because the tenth question was a multiple-choice question and was not disclosed on the test paper, Naruto's test paper was very clean, with only a single name written on it.
"It can only be said that they are barely qualified. The average score of the candidates this time is only 0.4 points, which is rounded to 0 points. All candidates with scores lower than 0 or 0 points are unqualified."
The chuunin said helplessly.
"The average score is not a negative score, which is somewhat unexpected. The genin of the Demon Country are very good, but the other candidates don't seem to be bad either. It looks like there will be a battle between dragons and tigers."
Ibixi said happily.
Originally, he thought that if the genin from the Demon Country interfered, the candidates' scores would fall directly into negative marks. Unexpectedly, under such harsh conditions, the candidates could still maintain an average score of 0.4, which makes Ibixi feel gratified.
But fortunately it is not 0.5 points, otherwise if rounded up, the average score would be 1 point.
Naruto, who only answered the tenth question correctly and left the remaining nine questions blank, almost failed.
"Yeah, this guy is really interesting."
There was a complex look in the Chuunin's eyes. To be honest, he didn't like Naruto very much and really hoped that he could be eliminated from the first test.
Unfortunately, things didn't work as expected, and the other party was lucky enough to pass the first exam.
"But for the second and third exams, you have to rely on your true ability. Just relying on temporary luck is useless."
The Konoha chuunin said with a disdainful attitude toward Naruto.
"Are you lucky?" Yibixi chewed on these words and said meaningfully: "Maybe he is a guy who is better at practical actions than brains."
"What?"
"No, it's nothing. Now that the transcript has come out, I will go and report this matter to Mr. Hokage. By the way, I will hand over the work of arranging the candidates to go to the Kingdom of Wind in the afternoon. I will ask you to handle the follow-up situation here. "
Ibiki put away the transcript, stood up from his seat, and set off towards the Hokage Building.
◎
2 p.m.
The list of qualified groups is posted on the Ninja School bulletin board.
The winning team was naturally overjoyed, while the losing team naturally looked dejected and left sadly.
Looking at the bulletin board, the five groups of Ghost Country genin teams were all promoted with perfect scores, and a satisfied smile appeared on Asuka's face.
"A total of 46 groups of genin have passed, which is quite a lot."
Xiang Rin saw that there were 46 qualified groups, that is, 138 genin, and was surprised by this number.
"Compared with the 99 groups at the beginning, it is already good. After all, more than half of the candidates have been reduced."
Feiniao was not surprised, the result was similar to what he expected.
Although he did not reach his expected goal of reducing the number of candidates by two-thirds, with the interference of some candidates, more than 150 candidates were able to be eliminated. Feiniao was not too disappointed with this result.
Anyway, in the second exam that will be held in the Kingdom of Wind, you can continue to eliminate one round, so there is no need to rush at this time.
"However, there are actually sixteen groups of candidates who passed the first exam in Konoha. Isn't this a little too many?"
Cai frowned slightly as she looked at the group that had passed the first round of exams. Konoha alone accounted for one-third of the total.
"That's because they have a large number of candidates taking the Chunin Exam. After all, there are more than 80 people, accounting for between one-third and one-fourth of the total number. With this number of people who have passed, it can only be said that they have barely reached the passing mark. Bar."
Feiniao pondered for a moment before speaking.
Judging from the probability, the passing rate of Konoha candidates is only about 60%, which can be said to be a quite miserable result. Needless to say, the genin pass rate of the small country ninja village is undoubtedly the lowest among the big country ninja villages.
Villages like Iwagakure and Kumogakure have a pass rate of over 70%, far ahead of Konoha.
The Kingdom of Ghosts is one of the few countries that advanced to the second exam with a 100% passing rate in the first exam.
In addition, there is also a three-person team from Kirigakure Village, which also advanced with a 100% passing rate. Although Kirigakure Village only sent three genin this time, it also proved that the strength of these three Kirigakure genin was probably quite extraordinary.
At this moment, a clear coughing sound reached everyone's ears.
The remaining candidates were all genin who had passed the first exam. There were 138 genin in total. They all turned around and looked in the same direction.
I saw a group of Jonin from the six major nations walking over. There were sixteen of them in total, including Uchiha Yan, the instructor of Team Asuka. But the leader was a jounin from Sunagakure, Maki.
The other party was a close confidant of the Fourth Kazekage and the guiding jounin of Gaara's team. He was the first to walk at the front of the team. When the candidates' eyes shifted, he stood still and said with a very serious expression:
"First of all, congratulations on successfully passing the first test of the Joint Chuunin Exam. I am Sunagakure's Jonin Maki, and I am the examiner of the second exam. The location of the second exam is as you imagined. That way, it is located in an area in the hinterland of the Kingdom of Wind."
"In other words, we have to go to the Kingdom of Wind immediately, right?"
asked a candidate from Konoha.
"Yes. If you are not ready yet, I can give you an hour to make preparations. In one hour, that is, at three o'clock, gather on time and go to the Kingdom of Wind. If there is nothing that needs to be prepared, now You’re good to go.”
Markey spoke with a very human touch.
Unlike the first exam, the second exam is accompanied by extremely high risks. Many candidates who have taken the second Chunin Exam have failed here.
According to his prediction, it is estimated that less than a quarter of the forty-six genin teams will pass. Leaving twenty or thirty candidates is the limit.
Therefore, if you can make more preparations, you can increase your chances of winning when the time comes.
The candidates looked at each other, and in the end no one spoke, but looked at Marki firmly, the meaning in his eyes was self-evident.
As if feeling the will of the candidates, Ma Ji nodded slightly, satisfied with the candidates' ability to prepare for a rainy day, and said: "It seems that you have nothing to prepare, so let's set off for the Kingdom of Wind now. What awaits you will be an extremely cruel trial, so please prepare yourself mentally."
"yes."
The candidates who had passed the first test showed no trace of timidity or fear in their eyes. They were all full of confidence in the next second test and firmly believed that they would be able to pass.
◎
Two days later.
The hinterland of the Kingdom of Wind is a barren desert with almost no vegetation. The weather in summer is already very hot, but when we reach the desert, the air becomes even more scorching. Under the strong sunlight, the entire desert is like a huge barbecue plate, and the candidates who come here are like the meat on the barbecue plate, and their bodies feel like they are burning.
The accompanying Jonin ignored the harsh heat and desolation. They had experienced hundreds of battles and were already accustomed to such scenes.
Compared to a real life and death battle, this level is nothing.
However, most of the less experienced genin were already sweating profusely after arriving here. Even the Sunagakure genin who lived in the desert all year round could not help but complain about the vicious weather and did not want to go out.
But unfortunately, this year's Chunin Examination falls in the hottest month of the year.
The sun baked the earth, and the air also showed signs of distortion in the scorching rays.
"It's such a harsh environment. Shouldn't we have to take exams in a place like this next?"
Xianglin wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeves and glanced disgustedly at the sun that was emitting strong heat and light in the sky.
"This possibility cannot be ruled out. After all, this harsh and extreme environment can best train the ability of ninjas. If I were the examiner, I would choose to do this."
To test the survival ability of the ninjas, there is no place in the Kingdom of Winds that is more suitable for the second exam than this extreme desert environment. Asuka thought so.
The examination room for the second exam will most likely be a 'survival' battle in the desert.
"If this is the case, then we should reserve more drinking water by then."
Xianglin muttered.
"That's right. If you are really taking the exam in such a harsh environment, sufficient water can ensure basic living space. Now many people in the crowd have begun to become dehydrated. And the temperature here is estimated to have exceeded Fifty degrees. As for the surface temperature, it's probably close to 70 degrees. The need for water will become very important."
Cai squatted down, inserted her fingers into the sand, and frowned slightly as she felt the hot heat transmitted from the sand to her fingers.
There was also a slight flow of hot sweat on his face. No matter how hard you save your energy, you will still feel extremely hungry and thirsty in such an extremely hot environment, and dehydration will be the top problem that candidates need to solve.
This extremely hot desert environment made Cai, who had never been exposed to such a place, feel very uncomfortable.
Although the Kingdom of Ghosts also has many harsh environments that provide places for ninja training, this is the first time he has experienced such an extremely harsh desert environment.
Next, the group of people did not speak, because the sun above their heads continued to absorb the water from their bodies and drained their energy. In order to save the necessary energy, everyone consciously shut up and reduced the flow of energy.
Under the leadership of the Jonin, about ten minutes later, we finally arrived at our destination.
It was a huge fortress located in the violent wind and sand.
You can see the huge buildings rising up in the fortress, and the huge black iron gates block the entrances and exits of the fortress. However, on the walls of the fortress, you can see many figures standing there, performing their duties of garrisoning the fortress.
There were tens of thousands of Sunagakure ninjas. A rough calculation showed that there were at least a hundred Sunagakure ninjas standing on the high walls of the fortress.
If you count the Sunagakure ninja who have not yet been discovered in the fortress, the number may be even more.
Not only that, the walls of the fortress extend far away, but they do not extend in a straight line, but extend out in the shape of a crescent moon, forming a huge circle in the desert.
This fortress is likely to be the entrance to the 'Circular Desert'.
“What a big building!”
From a distance, this fortress is already very huge, but when you look closer, you find that the scale of the fortress is larger than imagined.
Naruto raised his neck, and the huge iron-gray wall blocked his view, making it impossible to see what was inside.
"It's not easy to build a building of this scale in the desert."
Sasuke looked at the fortress with a rather surprised expression.
Most of the buildings he saw in Konoha were a mixture of stone and wood, or pure wood. However, the buildings in the Kingdom of Wind were obviously very different from the buildings in the Kingdom of Fire, giving candidates from foreign countries a new and different experience. .
The iron-gray city wall has experienced long-term weathering and has been severely worn. There are a large number of pitted marks on it, representing its vicissitudes of history, and it is obviously extremely solemn and solemn.
Marki walked at the front of the team and delivered a document through the small opening of the dark iron door. Not long after, the dark iron door opened from the inside. It was the Sunagakure Chuunin who was responsible for the inspection.
After opening the iron door, the Sunagakure chuunin bent down and said respectfully to Maki: "It's been a hard journey, Maki jounin."
Magee nodded and asked the Sunagakure chuunin:
"Are you ready for food and accommodation?"
"Yes, the food and accommodation have been prepared according to your instructions. There is no problem with the examination venue. It can be used normally tomorrow."
Sunagakure Chuunin replied.
"That's good, I'll take them in first."
After Ma Ji finished speaking, he turned around and waved to the team behind him. The jounin and candidates from various countries behind him followed Ma Ji's footsteps and headed towards the interior of the fortress.
Arriving at the corridor of the fortress, the cool wind blew from both sides and overhead. The candidates with dry mouths and tongues immediately exhaled in relief and felt reborn.
Unlike the hot air outside, the air inside the fortress is very refreshing. Being here, people will subconsciously ignore that this is a desolate desert.
Leading the team to walk along the long and wide corridor, when they were about to reach the end and turned the corner, suddenly several figures suddenly appeared at the intersection, blocking everyone's way.
"Kakashi-sensei!?"
Among the figures that suddenly appeared, Kakashi was among them. Naruto's face immediately showed an expression of surprise, as if he wanted to go up and say hello to Kakashi.
Kakashi gestured for Naruto to quiet down.
"Thank you for your hard work along the way. I won't say anything unnecessary. I think as candidates, you are very tired now. Next, we will arrange your dormitory issues here tonight. Come here now."
Several jounin headed by Kakashi came from different countries and ninja villages. They came to the Kingdom of Wind one step ahead of the jounin who led the candidates and were responsible for the handover of work.
"Then this batch of candidates will trouble you, Mr. Kakashi."
Magee nodded, showing great respect to Kakashi, and then led the Jonin who followed him towards the left side of the intersection, where the conference room was.
Tomorrow is the day when the second exam officially starts. As one of the examiners, Marki does not have much time to waste on chores.
Kakashi and other jonins who did not have many responsibilities took one hundred and thirty-eight candidates and walked towards the living area on the right side of the intersection.
Due to the large number of people, a group was assigned a set of rooms to accommodate the candidates who came from afar.
It didn't take long to arrange one hundred and thirty-eight candidates, a total of forty-six groups of genin, and the job was completed in about ten minutes.
After that, Kakashi came to the room where Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were.
"Kakashi-sensei."
Seeing Kakashi coming, Naruto and Sakura gathered around and greeted Kakashi warmly.
Kakashi touched their hair, glanced at Sasuke who was sitting by the window of the room with an indifferent expression, squinted his eyes and smiled: "First of all, I want to congratulate you on passing the first exam. I originally planned that you would finish first in the exam." I congratulated you immediately after the exam, but since things here can’t go away, I apologize here. In fact, when you were taking the exam, some Jonin, including me, came to the Wind in advance. country to conduct an on-site survey of the second examination venue.”
"So that's it. No wonder I didn't see you, teacher, in the village after the exam that day."
Naruto understood.
"I won't ask about the specific situation for the time being. You can have a good rest. The second exam will begin tomorrow morning. Different from the first exam, you must handle the second exam carefully. If you have any questions, please wait. Talk to me after the second exam."
Kakashi let go of Naruto and Sakura.
Sasuke snorted softly. He originally wanted to ask something, but he had to keep his mouth shut at this moment. When the second exam was over, he would have plenty of time to listen to Kakashi's nagging.
He urgently needs to understand the Uchiha clan in another country.
"Does that mean we only have preparation time in the afternoon and evening?"
Sakura asked.
"That's right. I can't disclose the specific rules of the second exam. I can only say that you need to be careful."
Kakashi touched his chin and spoke words of advice to the three Narutos.
Compared with the first written test, the second test is a real battle for the candidates. Candidates who are lucky may be brutally deprived of their lives during the test.
"It's no problem. It doesn't matter if we don't know. We will pass the level smoothly anyway. Right, Sakura?"
Naruto put his hands behind his head with a nonchalant attitude.
"Then I look forward to your performance when the time comes, Naruto. By the way, remember to have dinner at the restaurant at seven o'clock in the evening. Don't forget this. Otherwise, you will be hungry at night. Don't blame me for not reminding you in advance."
Seeing Naruto with an optimistic attitude, Kakashi also knew that it was useless no matter how much he said.
Specific things can only be understood after experiencing them personally.
He was looking forward to the performance of the three Narutos in the second exam.
"Then I'll take my leave now."
After saying that, Kakashi retreated from the room, leaving the space to the three of them.
Whether it is resting or discussing the battle meeting during tomorrow's exam, Kakashi will not interfere.
He had already reminded him of what he needed to do before the Chunin Exam. And he believed that with the abilities of the three Narutos, they would not let him down.
"In this way, the day of my 'revenge' will come soon."
Kakashi's eyes were full of deep colors, and the soft lines on his face disappeared, turning into an extremely unfamiliar and indifferent face.
"Really, Orochimaru-sama?"
As soon as Kakashi finished speaking, the chandelier in the corridor suddenly started to flicker and flicker, making the atmosphere here become very strange.
It was a slender and tall figure, with skin as transparent and pale as a candle. He opened his snake-like vertical pupils. While he stretched out his long tongue and licked his lips, he quietly emerged from the shadow-covered corner. Walk out slowly.
--Orochimaru.
