Mizukage's Pokémon Ninja Scroll

Chapter 427 The Importance of Intelligence (Fourth update, please vote!)

Ringo Ameyuri casually flicked away a paper shuriken that flew past her, sending it flying in front of a grass ninja examinee.

Then she gave the still somewhat clueless grass ninja a sweet smile.

However, what followed was the angry expression of another candidate whose upper face was wrapped in bandages because he hadn't received the answers from his teammate.

"Number 52, eliminated!"

The invigilator's cold, merciless voice rang out once again.

"What! How is that possible!"

The candidate whose name was called was the one with the bandaged face, and he immediately stood up indignantly.

"Why were we eliminated? We clearly..."

However, before he could finish speaking, a proctoring ninja whizzed past over the heads of the examinees.

Then he grabbed the examinee's head and flung him off his seat, slamming him hard against the white wall at the edge of the examination room.

The violent impact immediately caused the examinee to gag repeatedly.

Even so, he continued to struggle, clearly not believing that he should be eliminated.

until…

"How dare you become a Chunin when you can't even protect vital intelligence?"

The proctor whispered the reasons for his elimination in a voice barely audible, but to him it sounded like a booming bell, and he immediately gave up and stood there dumbfounded.

At this moment, his two other teammates also left their positions and walked to his side.

He offered words of advice with a forlorn expression.

"Let's go, Dragonfly, we'll come again next time."

Watching the three Konoha ninjas walk away dejectedly, all the other examinees perked up again, becoming more careful with their cheating methods.

However, Ringo Ameyuri, the instigator, completely disregarded the departure of the three.

"Tch, such low-level tactics deserve to be eliminated."

Thinking of this, Ringo grinned, showing her sharp little teeth, and gave a slight smile to the proctor who had returned to his seat.

And such eliminations continue to occur in the examination hall.

This also made even those candidates who understood the purpose of the exam extremely nervous.

"Time's up! Everyone stop writing!"

Although Toshio Utsumi's voice was still stern, it made most of the test takers breathe a sigh of relief.

However, his next words immediately put everyone on edge again.

"The exam results are now announced!"

"What?!" xN

With a whoosh, the entire examination hall erupted in uproar once again.

However, the proctoring chunin ignored their actions and stood up one by one.

"Numbers 24, 31, and 60 are eliminated!"

"Number 10, Number 58."

One by one, the eliminated numbers were announced.

Even Kabuto, who had been confident of victory, started to panic.

"How could that be? Don't exams need to be graded after they're over?"

"Even if these proctors are all elite Chunin, they can't possibly check everyone's answers just by glancing at them, can they?"

"Are all these people unable to answer even 21 questions in total? No! Even so, why not wait until all the papers are graded before announcing the results together?"

He was clearly not the only one who shared the same idea as Kabuto.

Immediately, one of the candidates whose name was called out and who was eliminated slammed his fist on the table and stood up!

"Snapped!"

"Why were we eliminated?! Wasn't this test supposed to assess intelligence gathering and communication? Our team scored exactly 21 points!"

The question this person raised was clearly the same one that all the genin present wanted to know.

All the eliminated candidates, at this moment, no longer cared about the dignity of a Jonin, and all stared intently at Utsumi Toshio, who was standing at the very front of the classroom.

This kind of inexplicable elimination is bound to be unacceptable to everyone.

However, such a small scene naturally wouldn't scare Toshio Utsumi.

At that moment, he looked at the examinee who had spoken with a mocking gaze.

"That's right, we were indeed testing your intelligence transmission and gathering abilities before."

"Then why?" the candidate was about to ask immediately.

"but!"

Utsumi Toshio's expression suddenly turned serious, and he looked coldly at the examinee who had spoken.

"You answered ten questions on your test, while your two teammates each answered seven."

"But, but those three extra questions are all wrong!"

The candidate was clearly very dissatisfied with the verdict.

Indeed, all ten questions on his test paper were filled in.

But that's because he received the information from his teammates after answering the first three questions, and only after confirming that the answers to those three questions were wrong did he fill in the correct answers to the remaining seven questions.

However, Toshio Utsumi ignored his questioning and instead looked around at all the examinees present, speaking in a cold tone.

"The first hour of this exam is indeed a test of your intelligence capabilities. Five instances of cheating will result in elimination, precisely to weed out those candidates with inferior methods."

"However! While the ability to acquire and transmit intelligence is important, even more important is the rigor in handling intelligence."

"If even one of ten crucial intelligence reports is wrong, it can still lead to the complete failure of a war, even if the other nine are correct!!"

"The harm caused by one piece of false intelligence outweighs the benefits of ten or twenty pieces of correct intelligence!"

"When you yourselves are unsure of the accuracy of information, proceed with caution! Trust your teammates! That's the responsibility a ninja should have!"

"Therefore, all teams that answer more than 21 questions will be eliminated!"

When he said the last sentence, Toshio Utsumi's eyes bulged with veins, and his sharp gaze was fixed on all the candidates in the room.

He was as captivating as an eagle hunting its prey.

In his mind, however, he was recalling that mission with the Air Force.

It was precisely because of the intelligence failure that their second squad suffered the greatest losses in history, and even Captain Jianchuan almost died in that mission.

The entire examination room fell silent as Toshio Utsumi was lost in his memories.

Even the candidate who had just angrily questioned the situation now lowered his head, looking dejected.

Only after the eliminated candidates' numbers were announced again did people begin to leave the examination room one after another, looking dejected.

Is this a matter of caution regarding intelligence? So, this exam paper isn't just about the exchange of information among test-takers; is writing down each question also equivalent to passing on a verified piece of information?

At this moment, Dou stared blankly at the test paper on the table, silently contemplating the significance of this exam.

However, what he didn't notice was that his other teammate was secretly wiping away cold sweat.

"Thank goodness I didn't start writing too early!!"

Ringo, who had been in high spirits after answering the questions, was now stiff and motionless, not daring to turn around and look at her two teammates.

"If I fail the first exam because of me, my teacher will probably beat me to death when I get back."

(End of this chapter)