"The last hidden question!" Ibiki Morino said. "Now, you can choose whether to answer Question 10. If you choose to refuse, then the entire team of three will be eliminated together."
"What the heck? Being eliminated for refusing to answer. Do we even have a choice?" a Genin spoke up.
"Yeah, who would choose to refuse?" another Genin echoed.
"Heh heh." Ibiki Morino explained. "If you choose to answer Question 10 and get it wrong, you'll be permanently deprived of the eligibility to take the Chunin Exams!"
"What—" The whole place was in an uproar, and everyone was shocked.
"What kind of rule is this! It's outrageous!"
"I've taken the Chunin Exams several times, and I've never heard of such a rule!"
"I can't accept it! Totally unacceptable!"
"Blame your bad luck. It just so happens that I'm the chief examiner this year." Ibiki Morino said with a sinister smile. "I set the rules. You either accept my rules or give up."
"If you give up, you'll still be eligible to take the Chunin Exams next year. But if you choose to answer Question 10 and get it wrong, you'll be a Genin for the rest of your life."
"Damn it." Many Genin on - site gritted their teeth and stared at Chief Examiner Ibiki Morino with hostile looks.
At this time, Hinata also showed a worried look. Naruto quickly moved closer to Hinata and said in a bright voice, "Don't worry. It's actually not bad to be a Genin for the rest of your life."
Hinata's face turned even redder. She didn't know how to respond and could only think in her heart: Is Naruto - kun concerned about me...
"Being a Genin just means lower pay and the reward for taking on missions will be much less. But at the same time, there will be fewer troubles and more free time." Naruto whispered in Hinata's ear. "Anyway, I'll support you in the future."
"Huh?" Hinata suspected she had misheard. She seemed to have heard something extraordinary. What did Naruto just say?
A rush of blood went to Naruto's head. The more he looked at Hinata, the cuter she seemed. Naruto shouted in his heart: I'm really ahead of the game. Thanks to once upon a time when I heroically came to the rescue of the young Hinata when I saw an injustice... That small act back then has led to these budding feelings today...
At this moment, Naruto had forgotten that he was actually a time - traveler. He almost merged Naruto with himself.
"Humph." Chief Examiner Ibiki Morino snorted and said, "This is a choice that will determine your lives. Once you make a choice, there's no turning back. If you want to give up, do it now."
Most of the Genin were now scared. Some were chattering their teeth; some were holding their heads in distress; some were trembling all over...
Seeing Hinata teased by him to the point of being at a loss, Naruto let out two giggles and then stopped teasing her. First, he looked around and found that there were still too many remaining Genin candidates. Then he cleared his throat and said, "Question 10 should be very difficult, right?"
As soon as he said this, everyone present became even more anxious.
"Ah." Chief Examiner Ibiki Morino said proudly, "It's more difficult than the sum of the first nine questions."
"I give up!" A Genin candidate ran out of the classroom crying.
"I also give up."
"Ah... " Some Genin candidates were on the verge of a mental breakdown, and their thinking became chaotic due to excessive nervousness.
Naruto looked around and found that the number of Genin candidates had directly halved. He wasn't quite satisfied, so he continued, "There should be no possibility of cheating on Question 10, right?"
All the Genin candidates were shocked again. Even the most outstanding group of Ninjas, such as Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, and Gaara, felt a great increase in pressure.
"Yeah, that's right." The chief examiner, Ibiki Morino, looked at Naruto with a puzzled look and said, "There is almost no possibility of cheating. You have to rely entirely on your own real knowledge to answer Question 10. If you answer correctly, you can advance to the next round of the assessment. If you answer incorrectly, you'll be banned from taking the Chunin exam for life."
Ibiki Morino thought to himself, "Naruto... He's very special. It seems he's cooperating with me to scare the other Genin candidates. Could it be my imagination? If he's really using me to scare the other candidates, then this kid is really something. Could there really be such a person among the Genin?"
"I can't take it anymore!" Another Genin candidate ran out of the classroom in a near - breakdown mental state.
"Ugh—" Some Genin candidates were so nervous that they vomited on the spot.
"I'd rather drop dead than stay in this place one more second!" A bunch of candidates withdrew from the exam.
Naruto nodded at this time. With just two simple sentences, he had eliminated so many Genin. With fewer competitors, the situation had been simplified a lot.
Naruto continued, "Humph! What's the last Question 10? If you have the guts, add two more questions."
Confirmed! This kid is really using me to scare the other Genin candidates and eliminate his competitors! Ibiki Morino exclaimed in his heart, "There's actually such a person among the Genin... He's really something... Naruto. I remember it says in the file that he's from Team 7 and is Kakashi's student... I'll remember you."
Sakura was furious and cursed Naruto inside out hundreds of times in her heart.
Sasuke was sweating profusely and thought, "What on earth is Naruto doing? The atmosphere is getting more and more oppressive. I'm having trouble breathing..."
Rock Lee's eyes were shining, Neji stared at Naruto silently, and Gaara glared at Naruto with a fierce look.
Obviously, Naruto's last words had offended all the Genin candidates present. Even the more than thirty invigilating Chunin present noticed that the atmosphere had become strange.
"Naruto - kun..." Hinata, sitting beside him, was worried about Naruto. She summoned up the courage to reach out and tugged at Naruto's corner of the clothes.
Naruto just gave Hinata a confident smile, which reassured Hinata a lot. Naruto looked around and said, "Tsk, the remaining people can withstand the pressure quite well. Then I won't play around anymore."
"Humph." Ibiki Morino, the chief examiner, knew that the final moment had arrived, so he said, "Congratulations to all of you who have persisted until now. You've passed the first round of the assessment."
"What!" The Genin candidates present were shocked again. Someone asked, "What about Question 10? What is Question 10?"
"Question 10 is very simple. As long as you can withstand the pressure and still sit here, you've passed Question 10."
Ibiki Morino analyzed, "You must already know that this test is about intelligence - gathering ability."
"The questions on the test paper are so difficult that Genin can't possibly solve them. So I arranged for Chunin who know the answers to pretend to be test - takers and mix among you, allowing you to get the answers by cheating."
"Question 10 tests a ninja's perseverance. Sometimes, as a ninja, you'll face many difficult situations where you have to make a choice, but you must have the courage to make a choice. If you don't even have this kind of perseverance, how can you possibly become a Chunin?"
"So, all of you who are still here have passed the test."