"Next question, listen carefully!"
Without time to dwell on why the answer was invisible, all the examinees in the venue turned their attention to Might Guy on the big screen. Rather than agonizing over the previous question, they were more concerned about whether their teams could advance to the next stage.
They just hoped the upcoming questions wouldn't be like the first one!
Might Guy looked at the questionnaire in his hand and slowly said, "A hunter has a hunting rifle that can only shoot one meter. A rabbit, one hundred meters away, is killed by him. Why?"
*Swish!*
0.1 seconds after Might Guy finished speaking, a candidate quickly raised their hand.
"Neji Hyuga from Exam Room 43, you answer."
Neji stood up and calmly replied, "Because that hunter has a pair of Byakugan, which can precisely lock onto the rabbit."
This question was much more reasonable than the previous one. It should be a test of knowledge about dōjutsu. However, it was Neji Hyuga, who possessed the Byakugan bloodline himself, who was facing it. Such a question only required a 0.1-second reaction!
Neji was confident he would answer correctly this time.
"Incorrect answer. 50 seconds remaining."
"How is that possible!" Neji exclaimed, his voice filled with disbelief. Was there a dōjutsu with greater perceptive ability than the Byakugan?
Was it the Sharingan? Impossible, the Sharingan's perception was still inferior to the Byakugan.
What kind of dōjutsu could it be? Was this an obscure question?
Neji sat down, his mind racing through the ninja encyclopedias he had studied. Although he had lost his chance on this question, his teammates still had a chance.
"Is it the Sharingan?" a background examinee asked uncertainly.
"Incorrect answer. 40 seconds remaining."
Silence fell over the venue again. However, the train of thought for this question was clear: the hunter either possessed a dōjutsu with extreme perception or the ability to control metal. Otherwise, how could a rifle that only shoots one meter kill a rabbit a hundred meters away?
Controlling metal?
Temari's eyes lit up, and she raised her hand to answer, "Because the hunter possesses the Magnet Release bloodline limit and can control the bullets!"
"This student has a very good idea, but unfortunately, your answer is incorrect."
Although Might Guy acknowledged Temari's idea, he still shook his head.
Temari sat down dejectedly. Kankuro, seeing this, whispered to comfort her, "Don't worry, there are still 58 questions left. We'll have a chance to answer one correctly."
"I hope so."
Temari looked at Gaara, who had his eyes closed the entire time, and her tension eased considerably. Did Gaara have a plan?
"30 seconds remaining."
"15 seconds remaining."
"5 seconds remaining!"
Damn it, what was the answer? What dōjutsu could achieve this? I can't think of anything!
The examinees were going mad. How could this Chunin Exam be so difficult!
As time was running out, and a spot would be forever lost, Rock Lee, his face flushed, hesitantly raised his hand.
"3 seconds left... Oh! Rock Lee from Exam Room 43 has raised his hand. Please answer."
Might Guy looked at Rock Lee with encouraging eyes.
Lee's face turned red as he stood up. Although his answer might be ridiculed, he felt that if he didn't say it, he might regret it for the rest of his life.
Lee took a deep breath and said in a very serious tone, "Teacher Guy, because the hunting rifle is 99 meters long, it can kill a rabbit one hundred meters away!"
"Answer... correct! Congratulations, Lee! As expected of my disciple, my youth was not wasted! *Sniffle, sniffle*!"
Seeing Lee answer correctly, Might Guy was even more excited than Lee, tears streaming down his face.
"Teacher Guy, I did it! *Sniffle, sniffle*!" Lee also said, his eyes watery.
The other examinees were speechless at the master and disciple. They were treating answering a question like a battle to the death. Was it necessary!
The Leaf ninja who were familiar with Might Guy and Lee pretended not to know them. Even Lee's teammates, Neji and Tenten, didn't seem happy that Lee answered correctly.
"Neji, Tenten, I did it! We can advance to the next stage!"
"Uh... Who are you?"
"Neji, it's me, Lee. We can go now."
Tenten, seeing everyone looking at them, quickly said, "I need to go to the restroom."
"Ahem, me too," Neji said, and hurried out of the exam room.
"Neji, Tenten, wait for me!"
Another idiot answered the question correctly. What was wrong with this world?
The smart students present all had this question in their minds. Was this an IQ test? Was it a competition of who had the most questionable intelligence?
However, as time passed, many examinees began to understand what the first stage of the exam was about.
"Next question, why do foxes easily fall over?"
*Whoosh!*
After the previous two questions, many were reluctant to be the first to answer. But in Exam Room 42, someone lazily raised their arm.
"Shikamaru, do you know the answer?" Choji whispered.
"Nonsense, why else would I raise my hand!"
Shikamaru pouted. He didn't want to stay here any longer. This exam was less interesting than playing hide-and-seek with Naruto.
"Shikamaru Nara from Exam Room 42, please answer."
"The answer is 'fox feet' (cunning/sly)."
"Correct answer!"
Choji couldn't help but stuff a large handful of snacks into his mouth. As expected of Shikamaru, he could answer correctly on the first try!
He was riding on Shikamaru's coattails!
After leaving the exam room, Choji couldn't help but ask, "Shikamaru, where did you see this question before?"
Ino was also quite curious. She hadn't learned this type of question from school books.
"Idiot, this is the Chunin Exam. How could they just let us think of the answers? And with such little time."
Choji's mouth widened, "Shikamaru, you mean..."
"That's right. The proctor in charge had already written down the answer to the next question in advance."
Shikamaru leaned back on his hands and chuckled, "The first stage of the exam tests a ninja's ability to gather information. But the most important thing is reaction speed. Otherwise, even if you gather the information, it's useless if you don't report it in time."
"However, don't underestimate the proctors. They are at least Chunin level. If they discover you, you might be expelled from the exam."
"Of course, if everyone were like Naruto and Lee, gathering information would be unnecessary."
Shikamaru greatly admired those who could answer questions based on their own abilities.
I really don't know who designed this exam. The level of intelligence... is truly indescribable.
Soon, news of passing the exam intermittently came from the exam rooms.
"Congratulations to Exam Room 37, Gaara answered correctly..."
"Congratulations to Exam Room 26, Kimimaro answered correctly..."
"Congratulations..."
As time passed, after an hour, all sixty questions were answered. A total of 178 people entered the second stage of the exam.
In the studio, Might Guy tearfully announced the end of this stage.
"Waaah, seeing so many students emerge from the exam room, my inner youth is boiling! I can't! I must go find Kakashi to vent my excitement!"
With that, Might Guy burst out of the room, running to find Kakashi.
"Hmm? Is it over already?"
Lin Yu woke up from his lounge chair and stretched. He hadn't slept well last night. After handing the questionnaire to Guy, Lin Yu had just dozed off.
Lin Yu yawned and picked up the proctor's attire from the side and put it on.
"The second round of the assessment, it's my turn!"