A Sudden Awakening

Shikamaru Nara, closely observing Ino Yamanaka's actions, initially thought his teammate had succeeded and was waiting to reap the benefits.

Five minutes later, with Ino still not awakening from her Mind Body Switch Technique, Shikamaru realized something was amiss. Forming hand seals, his shadow crept forward to rescue his ensnared comrade.

Before his shadow reached its target, a senbon needle dropped, piercing its tip. The Rain ninja, Amegakure no Yume, who had "accidentally" dropped the senbon, gave Shikamaru a mocking smile that left him with an extremely sour expression.

Daimaru almost burst out laughing at the scene.

"The power of example is truly boundless. I merely opened a door, and now there are those eager to rush through it."

It wasn't long before the Sand ninja, Shishio, attempting to aid his teammate Koji with a genjutsu, was thwarted by Neji Hyuga's Gentle Fist striking from a distance, dispersing the sand camouflage.

Noticing the Sound trio cheating by identifying pen strokes through sound, the Rain ninja, Takigakure no Fuki, tapped his pen lightly on the desk, mimicking the act of writing, which threw the auditory-dependent Sound trio into confusion.

Proctor Ibiki Morino kept his composure, secretly relieved.

Initially, only the proctors were vigilant, sometimes turning a blind eye.

Now, the examinees were sabotaging each other, and the outcome was no longer fully under control.

"If it weren't for the final question I've kept in reserve, this Chunin Exam probably wouldn't have many contenders left... truly..."

Examinees pretentiously working on their papers displayed various tricks, and meanwhile, several who couldn't contain themselves were "invited" out of the examination room by the monitoring Chunin.

Shikamaru was anxious, racking his brain for solutions but constrained by the environment.

"I was careless, underestimated the difficulty of the Chunin Exam, and didn't consider this scenario in my contingency plans."

Choji Akimichi, still waiting for answers, was oblivious to the plight of his two teammates.

Shikamaru wasn't sure how the Sand kunoichi, Senza, had ambushed Ino, but he suspected the mastermind behind the scenes was likely her teammate, the arrogant Daimaru.

As time ticked away, the examination room grew emptier. With examinees on high alert, cheating became increasingly difficult.

Soon, an impatient Kankuro began his puppet show.

Passing by Daimaru, Kankuro, alongside a puppet disguised as a proctor, was chilled by Daimaru's eerie grin.

Kankuro, barely managing to copy the answers in the restroom, was so startled he could barely relieve himself.

"Chunin proctors are nothing special, none the wiser. But Daimaru knew, and he didn't interfere. I owe him one!"

Meanwhile, Sasuke Uchiha, after much effort, finally obtained the answers; Sakura Haruno didn't need to worry, leaving only the tormented Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto, unsure how to begin with his blank paper, attempted to peek at Hinata Hyuga's answers, only to be intimidated by a sharp-eyed proctor, deterring any further attempts.

As the clock wound down, the time for the written exam dwindled, and more Genin, despite knowing the odds, began to take desperate risks.

The closer to the end, the more were expelled from the examination room.

Only then did Ibiki realize a significant loophole in the exam rules he had designed: as long as one held out without withdrawing, even submitting a blank paper could lead to passing the exam.

With a total of ten points, ten questions, one point deducted per wrong answer, and two points for detected cheating, zero points meant disqualification. The soul-searching final question, revealed in the last fifteen minutes, perfectly categorized the examinees.

The first category, the strongest and fewest, were extremely confident with a solid foundation to back it up, like the brash Daimaru, effortlessly passing all questions.

The second category, while not able to answer all questions, relied on their decent intelligence-gathering abilities and trusted teammates, often making it through by the skin of their teeth—Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee were prime examples.

The third category adhered to the rules but lacked the ability to answer all questions on their own. However, with a strong mind, they could pass through the final question's mental interrogation.

The fourth category, lacking the ability and willpower, gave up during crucial moments, rightfully eliminated from Ibiki's perspective.

The fifth category, the worst, lacked even basic ninja decorum, with poor intelligence-gathering skills, and disrespect for examination discipline—definitely disqualified by the proctors.

However, Daimaru's meddling drastically reduced the number of potential passers from the second and third categories, inadvertently raising the exam's difficulty and twisting Ibiki's original intent.

With the remaining examinees paralyzed by vigilant proctors and competitive peers, blank papers became increasingly common.

Ibiki realized that not just one or two from the third category would be submitting blank papers.

It wasn't that Ibiki hadn't considered this possibility; he simply didn't believe anyone could exploit this non-loophole.

Before the final question's revelation, no examinee could discern the true condition for passing the first phase of the Chunin Exam.

But now, thanks to a little guy's reminder, the strongest examinees from the first and second categories realized they could actively eliminate other competitors early on.

"The mental pressure is too much for these immature Genin! At this rate, we won't even need the tenth question; there'll be hardly anyone left!"

Unaware that enduring until the tenth question could secure their victory, many examinees refused to give up their last-ditch effort.

The ticking clock's hands, like a tightening noose, spelled doom for more desperate Genin, caught cheating in the final moments.

Even Shikamaru's former teammate, Shikaku Nara, was disqualified because his new teammate, Jūza, was caught cheating five times.

Not just Ibiki, but also the monitoring Leaf Chunin sensed the irregularity of the situation, signaling the proctor on how to proceed.

Glancing at Daimaru, who was resting with his chin propped on his hands, blissfully ignoring everyone in the room, Ibiki's lips curled into a cruel smile.