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In a classroom on the third floor of the Konoha Ninja Academy, Akio stared directly at the elite chunin who were about to undergo the jonin selection exam.
It had been two months since Akio had brought out his "last resort." The written portion of the jonin exam was about to begin. Akio had requested the position of written exam proctor from Tobirama so he could observe the candidates' "brilliant" reactions up close.
Unlike the chunin exams, the jonin written test no longer focused on ninja fundamentals or common knowledge. Instead, it tested how well they handled unexpected situations during missions.
Akio held the test papers in his hands. Each exam had only six questions. The first five were written by Tobirama and the village elders, while the final one was Akio's own contribution. Almost every test had a different set of questions.
There were 22 chunin candidates in total. Clearly, the various villages had only sent their most elite. Konoha had the largest contingent with eight candidatesāincluding Tsunade and Jiraiyaāand other young ninja from the major clans. Among them, Akio recognized only one "familiar face": Dan KatÅ.
The remaining candidates included three from the Whirlpool Village, three from the Sand Village, and one from the Hidden Mist... The final seven were "uncles" from the smaller ninja villages.
Calling them "uncles" was being generous. Akio looked toward a candidate from the Grass Village who, based on appearance alone, looked older than him.
"An inspirational tale, huh? Staying true to one's dreams at sixty years old, taking the jonin exam alongside your grandchildren," Akio thought, somewhat amused. "But compared to the big village ninjas, they really are far weaker."
"Proctor, are we starting or notā¦?" The gradually rising chatter brought Akio back to reality. With a flicker of expression, the twenty-two test papers floated gracefully to their respective owners.
Seeing the candidates from other villages silenced by this simple display, Akio smirked to himself.
"This technique really is too coolā¦ fits my image perfectly."
"Alright, you each have your own test now! The first five questions are bonus questionsā20 points each for a total of 100. If you get them all right, that's full marks. The last question is a penalty question and is mandatory. Points will be deducted based on your answer. Of course, unless you end up with less than 20 points in total, you won't be eliminated. But if you only get 20 points from the written test, you'll need to place in the top three of the practical exam to become a jonin. Otherwise, it's impossible!"
"A penalty question?" The candidates were visibly confused, especially the "uncles" from the minor villages. Many had taken the jonin exam before, but none had ever encountered something like this.
However, once they read the final question on their test, the room fell completely silent.
"Is Konoha screwing with me? How could I possibly accept a mission like this?!" GekkÅ Hanzuki shouted, slamming the table as he stood up.
Akio chuckled to himself. GekkÅ Hanzuki's question was:
"While escorting a client through a desert, your group loses its water supply, and the client is on the verge of death from dehydration. What would you do?"
"Seems like you already have an answer in mind. Don't rush. Sit down and write it slowly," Akio said with a smile.
He figured that Water Style techniques wouldn't work in the desert, which meant Hanzuki had only one option...
The other candidates showed equally rich expressionsābut some had already begun writing furiously.
Akio was startled to hear the sound of scribbling, and when he looked up, he saw Jiraiya with a confident grin. A bad feeling crept over him.
"I definitely didn't leak the question to himā¦"
The others soon followed, and Akio didn't need to worry about cheatingāthese kinds of questions had no standard answers anyway.
Ten minutes later, Jiraiya swaggered over. "Old freak, I'm done!"
Akio twitched as he accepted the paper.
After reading it for a moment, he sighed.
"Alright, draw a lot and go wait for your results," he said, inwardly muttering, "I really can't figure you outā¦"
Jiraiya would likely score 80 points on the first five questions. But for the last one, he'd lose 40.
His question was:
"If a client lies about the mission's rank and you discover it mid-mission, but the client begs for mercy or pretends to be pitiful, what would you do?"
This was essentially the same moral dilemma Naruto faced during the Land of Waves mission. Akio had expected Jiraiya to make a similar choiceāto continue the mission out of sympathy. That choice, while technically incorrect for a ninja, would only cost about 30 points. There was no zero-penalty answer; even abandoning the mission would cost 10 points.
But Jiraiya's answer was a single sentence:
"Any mission Lord Jiraiya accepts will be completed."
"That unfounded confidenceā¦ is it really okay to write that in an exam?"
Half an hour later, Akio saw off the final candidate. The answers on the tests were all over the placeāso bizarre he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Top score: GekkÅ Hanzuki. Full marksā¦" Akio chuckled. "This kid gave up his dignity. Probably traumatized for life by this jonin exam."
He glanced at Scorpion's father's paper and just shook his head silently.
Akio rattled the now-empty box of lottery sticks. As a "gambling god" and someone who could manipulate gravity, it was child's play to ensure everyone drew the matchup he wanted.
"Alright, the second stageāthe practical examāis a 'side character elimination round.'"
With his "behind-the-scenes manipulation," the first battles would likely wipe out all the minor village candidates.
"Jiraiya's a bit of a problemā¦ with only 40 points, he'll need to place in the top six in the practical to make jonin. But it should be doable."
"I wonder how well he'll do using my Sage Modeā¦" Akio muttered.
"Dai only got 20 points on the written test?" Akio was both amused and exasperated. "And I even gave him the easiest version of the testā¦"
"No wonder someone with his strength is still a genin. If Tobirama hadn't come up with the idea of a joint jonin exam, even with the Eight Gates, he'd probably remain a genin forever. That mission IQā¦"
Meanwhile, at the temporary lodging of the Sand Village candidatesā
"Motherā¦" A red-haired boy hesitated.
Chiyo paused. "Ki, was the test difficult?"
The boy shook his head. "Mother, do you know Water Style?"
Chiyo looked confused.
After a lengthy explanation, Chiyo finally understood, laughing and crying at once. "Was this Lord Akio's idea?"
The red-haired boy's final question had been:
"Suppose your mother is an ordinary civilian caught in a Water Prison Technique, and your client is also trapped in another Water Prison. Who do you save first?"
This was a classic question from Akio's previous life: "If your mom and I both fell into the water, who would you save first?"
In the world of shinobi, the client was placed above all elseāeven above a girlfriend, let alone a mother.
Chiyo fell into thoughtful silence, her expression complex. "That questionā¦"
"Mother, I would save you first," the boy quickly added, seeing her expression.
Chiyo shook her head, eyes filled with admiration. "It's not about who you choose to save. There's no perfect answer to this question. No matter what you pick, you're unlikely to score full marks. As expected of Lord Akioāhe understands the flaws in human nature."
If Akio knew he was receiving such praise from Chiyo, he'd be speechless. He was simply trying to drive a wedge between mother and sonā¦ because he was bored.
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