Naruto: In Konoha Village, I awakened Wood Release at the start.

Leaf.

Inside the examination hall.

Ten minutes went by in a blink of an eye.

For many of the lower-ranking ninja in the examination hall, those ten minutes felt like torture.

Ibiki Morino stood on the podium, holding a stopwatch in his hand.

He raised his head, his scarred face sweeping across the room.

"Time's up!"

All the candidates stopped what they were doing at once.

Naruto quickly dispelled the miniature shadow clone.

His palms were sweaty.

I was so focused on copying that I didn't even notice the time.

Sasuke leaned back in his chair, the crimson color of his Sharingan fading silently.

Neji also closed his eyes, cutting off the Byakugan's line of sight.

On both sides of the examination room, the proctors, who were holding writing boards, all stood up.

They moved in unison, gathering the recorded list onto the podium.

Ibiki Morino took the list and flipped through two pages.

The classroom was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The hundreds of genin didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

"Now."

"I announce the results of the first assessment."

Ibiki Morino threw the list on the table.

He braced himself on the podium with both hands, leaning slightly forward.

"Eliminate those useless individuals who were caught cheating on the spot."

"Everyone still sitting in this classroom..."

He deliberately dragged out his words, his eyes sharp.

Sakura nervously clenched her fingers.

She knew Naruto definitely couldn't answer those questions, and she was already prepared to be eliminated.

"All approved!"

The moment those four words were uttered, the examination room fell into a deathly silence.

"What? It's approved already?"

"I handed in a blank paper!"

"Are you kidding me! The questions were so difficult, and the accountability was so strict, yet everyone passed?"

Two seconds later.

The crowd erupted in uproar.

The genin looked at each other, their minds filled with questions.

"Great! I passed!"

Naruto jumped up from his chair excitedly.

He cheered loudly and flashed a peace sign at Sasuke.

Sasuke snorted coldly and turned his head away.

He keenly sensed that things weren't that simple.

How could the examiners from Konoha possibly pull off such a half-hearted charade?

Gaara sat in the corner, the yellow sand around him subtly stirring.

His emerald green eyes stared at Ibiki Morino with wariness.

What exactly is this examiner up to?

Ibiki Morino slammed his hand on the blackboard.

The loud noise silenced all the discussions.

"This is just the first written test."

"You bunch of idiots who can't even gather intelligence, don't be too happy."

After saying that.

Ibiki Morino then turned around and opened the examination room door.

The news quickly spread throughout Konoha.

Thousands of candidates took the first written exam, but only a little over a hundred were ultimately eliminated.

More than 90% of the genin successfully advanced.

The Jonin leading the teams from the other ninja villages were all dumbfounded.

The pass rate is ridiculously low.

Is Konoha planning a massive free-for-all?

The Hokage Building, with a special viewing area on the top floor.

The Kage of the four great ninja villages are gathered here, overlooking the bustling streets of Konoha.

Ray Shadow Ai slammed his hand on the railing.

The steel railing dented instantly.

"absurd!"

"This is utterly childish!"

"A ten-minute written test, and they let people go without even a final screening."

"Does that kid Chiba even know how to manage a ninja village?"

"Is this some kind of Chunin Exam?"

Mizukage Terumi Mei stood to one side.

Her figure was alluring, and her red lips parted slightly.

"oops."

"Lord Raikage, please don't get so angry."

"but……"

"Konoha invited us all this time, making a huge show of it."

"The first match ended up with such a ridiculous result."

"This is really hard to understand."

Mei Terumi feigned coquettishness, but her eyes concealed a deep-seated apprehension.

Kazekage Rasa stood in the corner.

He was wrapped in a trench coat and remained silent.

Rasa knew perfectly well that Sunagakure was so poor they couldn't even afford to eat.

He came to Konoha this time with the intention of currying favor with Chiba.

Let the Raikage curse as he pleases, Rasa will absolutely not get involved.

If Chiba is angered, Sunagakure cannot afford the consequences.

"You guys are really getting more and more backward as you get older."

An aged yet powerful voice rang out.

Tsuchikage Onoki floated in mid-air.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed intently on the statue of Chiba on the Hokage Rock.

"Oonoki, what did you say, you old geezer?"

Raikage turned his head sharply and glared at him.

Onoki gave a cold laugh.

"Can't you see it?"

"Chiba doesn't care about intelligence gathering or code deciphering at all."

"The reason this exam was easy."

"Because he is sending us a message."

"Intelligence is a lifeline for the weak."

"But in the face of absolute power, all conspiracies, tricks, and intelligence gaps are nothing but a pile of waste paper."

"Chiba is telling us something."

"The current Konoha doesn't need to spy on others."

"They have enough force to crush any obstacle."

These words were spoken.

The Raikage, Mizukage, and Kazekage all fell silent.

The air around us seemed to freeze.

The Raikage's heavy breathing became exceptionally clear.

Images of the border line involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Chiba was like a god, single-handedly cutting through the five thousand-strong army of the Hidden Clouds.

The terrifying shadow of the Buddha statue atop his head still lingers in the Raikage's nightmare.

Onoki looked down at the bustling streets of Konoha.

"Take a close look at this village."

"The number of Chunin in Konoha has exceeded 10,000."

"This is not just an advantage in numbers, but a systemic defeat."

"Chiba revealed C-rank ninjutsu and introduced a merit point system."

"The genin in your village only know the Three Body Technique."

"And any genin from Konoha, if you just pick one out, can use proper ninjutsu."

"So many people passed the first exam."

"It's all so that in the upcoming actual combat, we can completely crush the geniuses of your village with the sheer number and quality of Konoha's genin!"

Lao Tuying's analysis is piercingly insightful.

The Raikage's fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

Mei Terumi took a half step back, her face drained of color.

They finally understood Chiba's intentions.

This is not a Chunin Exam.

This was Chiba's final ultimatum to the entire ninja world.

He wanted to destroy the confidence of other ninja villages in the most direct way.

This paves the way for the upcoming war to unify the ninja world.

The next morning.

The sixth training ground outside Konoha Village.

This area was originally a continuous forest.

But by this time it had been completely leveled, turning into a vast, boundless open space.

A circular tiered grandstand was built around the open space.

The stands were packed with people, every seat was taken.

Not only were there villagers from Konoha, but also a large number of merchants and nobles from various countries.

Colorful flags fluttered in the wind, and the noise soared to the sky.

The villagers of Konoha beamed with undisguised pride.

They looked at the examinees from other ninja villages in the center of the arena with eyes full of superiority.

Konoha is too wealthy and too powerful now.

As members of Konoha, they felt superior when they walked down the street.

Just then.

A ripple spread through the void.

Chiba, clad in a white divine robe, appeared out of thin air in the main seat.

"Hokage-sama!"

"Long live Lord Chiba!"

The villagers of Konoha in the stands were stunned for a moment.

next moment.

They erupted in a tsunami of wild cheers.

The sound waves came one after another, causing the ground of the training ground to tremble slightly.

That heartfelt worship and faith transformed into a visible aura of fervor that swept through the entire examination hall.

Inside the VIP viewing area.

The Kage of the four great ninja villages sat in a row.

Lei Ying felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the villagers shouting wildly around him.

He is not afraid of powerful ninjas.

But he feared the terrifying public sentiment that had reached such a peak.

An invincible shadow, plus a group of fearless fanatics.

Who can rival such a ninja village?

Onoki's whole body stiffened.

He felt an even more suffocating sense of oppression from Chiba than from Madara Uchiha.