He can talk to it. I'm sure Anko is aware of this. Anyway, now that the trash is kicked out, we can proceed, Ibiki thought and cleared his throat.
"Now it's time for the tenth question," Ibiki said but was cut of by Kankuro, who came back from the toilet with one of the examiners.
"Just in time. Now that you are finished playing with your dolls, perhaps we can continue," Ibiki said and Kankuro was shocked.
He knew about Karasu, Kankuro thought, referring to his puppet disguised as the examiner behind him. Kankurou walked down the rows towards his desk.
"Alright, now before I can give you the tenth question, there are some additional rules," Ibiki said, "First you have to choose if you are going to take the question or not."
"What happens if we don't take it," one of the Genins asked.
"You're points will be reduced to zero and you'll fail along with your team," Ibiki replied simply.
"What's that for a dumb rule. Of course we will take it then," Someone else shouted out.
"However, if you take it, and get it wrong, you'll be banned from the Chuunin Exam forever," Ibiki said and the room fell quiet. That is until Kiba shot up, "That's bull! There are people here that have taken the exam before!"
"You're unlucky! Now choose! Wait until next year, or risk never taking it again at all " Ibiki said, emitting a faint bloodlust; enough to emphasize his threat. Murmurs filled the room. One by one, Genins gave up and left. Naruto inwardly sighed before taking a glance at Hinata. She didn't look very confident, and Naruto decided to help her.
"C'mon! Give us the stupid question already," Naruto said loudly. Ibiki looked at him, trying to see if he was serious.
"You realize that if you get this wrong, you'll never become Chuunin," Ibiki asked.
"I'll risk that," Naruto replied, his voice filled with confidence, "And then some! You don't scare me! I'll do what I must to fulfill my goals, consequences be damned! So give us the damn question akready!"
And with just that, the fear and uncertainty in the room was gradually dying down. Ibiki however tried again.
"You sure? After this, it won't be any turning back," Ibiki asked, but Naruto didn't reply. Ibiki sighed.
With a single statement that kid completely wiped out everyone's fear. Just like his father…anyway it's useless to wait anymore, Ibiki thought before shaking his head, "Everyone in this room…passes."
Deafening silence.
"WHAT?!," a not so silent question from all of the Genins in the room.
"What about the tenth question," one of the Genins asked.
"There was no tenth question. Or you can say the 'take or don't take' choice was the question. It was an impossible problem. Take it or not. Live or die. You could say that choice was the whole point of this test," Ibiki said.
"What? But what was the point to those other questions then," Temari asked.
"They served their purpose," Ibiki explained, "They weeded out those that are trash with no perception of information gathering. I'll say it again: you're here to become Chuunins. A Chuunin has to be able to get information. As you have noticed, the questions are difficult. To answer them, most of you had to cheat. Therefore we planted two Chuunins who knew the answers to the questions. They were to be targets for the rest of the room. Those that cheated without regards for themselves or their teammates were kicked out. If you find wrong information on a mission, then your teammates and village will be the ones to pay."
"But what about that tenth question," another Genin asked.
"Supposed you become Chuunin. You will be sent in on missions with little or no information on enemy forces. Should you choose not to take the mission because of the uncertain factors involved? The answer is no. When you get a mission, you have to complete it, or the village will be into an unfortunate situation. We are shinobis, and we're sworn to protect our village. Those that believe that 'there will always be a next year' don't deserve to become Chuunins. But those still in this room demonstrated that you're willing to place your lives on the line. That's precisely what ninjas do everyday. Congratulations on passing, and good luck in the next exams."
As Ibiki finished his explanation, he, Naruto and the more skilled Genins felt something flying towards one of the windows.
Please, Naruto begged, I hope it's not who I think it is…
A black ball flew through the window, sending shards of glass flying. The ball twisted and two kunai shot out of it into the ceiling, revolving the ball into a banner hiding Ibiki from view. In front of the banner stood a woman wearing a brown trench coat, shin guards, fishnet clothes and a very small dull orange mini skirt. She had purple hair and pupil-less gray eys. The banner read: "The second examiner: Mitarashi Anko."
Crud, Naruto frowned.
"This isn't a time to be celebrating! I'm the second examiner, Mitarashi Anko," Anko yelled, pumping an arm into the air.
Just my luck, Naruto thought. He recalled that two weeks earlier she ate him out of his pockets with more dangos, bean soup and sake than he was willing to pay for. The restaurant owner thought that Naruto was out of his mind treating Anko to a free meal knowing that she'd take full advantage of it.
Everyone else stared at the strange, and loud, examiner also known as Anko. Ibiki's eyebrows twitched.
"Read the mood," Ibiki said and Anko's mood deflated. She counted the remaining people and turned to Ibiki.
"Twenty-seven teams," Anko said sounding upset, "You let seventy nine people pass? The first test must have been too soft."
"There were a lot of excellent ones this year," Ibiki replied.
"No matter. By the end of the second exam, I'll cut them in half. (Turning to the Genins) Ask your senseis for directions to the next testing ground and be there tomorrow morning at nine. That's it. Dismissed," Anko shouted, and the Genins cheered. The Konoha Genins though knew that Anko was Naruto's Jounin instructor. Though they didn't voice it among the others, they thought that Naruto had an unfair advantage with his Jounin being the proctor of the second exam.
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