Chapter 143: Examiner

(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly. https://www.p.atreon.com/INeedRest)

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Konoha's efficiency was impressive, taking only half a month to prepare for the Chunin exam.

Ninjas from various villages began arriving one after another. This time, Konoha had invited more participants, with Sunagakure contributing half the candidates. In total, there were 210 aspiring Chunins.

Both Shikamaru, Ino, and Hinata had already been successfully promoted to Chunin.

As a result, Choji had to team up with Shino and Kiba for this exam.

On the day of the exam, all the candidates gathered at the ninja academy, preparing themselves for the challenges ahead.

To their surprise, they saw Colt standing at the front of the examiners' line.

Many of the participants were puzzled.

This kid, who appeared younger than most of them, was an examiner?

"Who's this kid? Is Konoha so short-staffed that they're even using children as examiners?" a ninja from the Land of Mountains muttered in annoyance.

His companion pondered for a moment before realization struck him.

Konoha, young, Jonin…

It could only be one person.

"Shut up!" he hissed, quickly covering his friend's mouth.

His third teammate had also reached the same conclusion.

"That's Kamiyo Colt from Konoha!"

The silenced ninja's eyes widened in horror.

Of course, he had heard of Colt's name, but he had never seen him in person before.

Colt glanced coolly at the team from the Land of Mountains.

"The Hidden Mountain Village's team is hereby disqualified."

His words were calm, but they instilled a deep fear in the genins present.

"Any objections?"

"N-no objections! We'll leave right away!" The three of them scrambled away, their dreams of taking the exam this time crushed.

After this display of authority, the remaining candidates became notably more compliant.

"Neji, Colt is so cool now," Tenten whispered, her eyes sparkling as she nudged Neji beside her.

"This is the appropriate demeanor for Colt-san," Neji replied evenly.

Ever since Hinata's engagement to Colt, Neji had taken to addressing him more respectfully.

Despite Colt's attempts to correct this, Neji persisted. It seemed to Colt that Neji was becoming more and more like Hiashi in his mannerisms.

As Colt scanned the crowd of candidates, and nodded to himself.

Refocusing on the task at hand, Colt announced the rules for today's exam.

"There are 70 scrolls hidden throughout Konoha. Each team will receive an initial clue and a team number. The first 30 teams to retrieve a scroll will pass, while the rest will be eliminated. There are no other rules - you may use any means necessary, but you cannot destroy other teams' scrolls. Do not damage Konoha's properties, and absolutely no killing. The exam starts now, with a time limit of six hours."

The assistant examiners began distributing the team numbers and information to each group.

Colt's exam was designed to test the candidates' intelligence-gathering abilities and their skill in interfering with enemy missions.

He preferred practical challenges over written tests, believing that actual combat scenarios were the best measure of a ninja's capabilities.

After receiving their clues, many teams huddled together to discuss their strategy before setting out. They knew they not only had to find their own scrolls but also prevent others from turning in their scrolls before them.

The judgment and decision-making skills required were also part of the assessment.

Soon, teams began following their instructions and spreading out across Konoha.

The entire village had been prepared for this day, with ANBU guards stationed at important locations to ensure no secrets were revealed.

Examiners were scattered throughout to monitor the candidates and ensure no rules were broken.

"Are you ready, Yakumo?" Colt asked, turning to the young kunoichi nearby.

Before her stood a massive canvas to draw on and she had an unobstructed view of Konoha.

Yakumo smiled sweetly, excitement gleaming in her eyes.

"I'm ready to begin!"

"Let's start. After all, an exam I'm in charge of can't be too peaceful, can it?" Colt said with a smirk.

As Yakumo began to paint on the canvas, the sky above Konoha suddenly turned violent, filled with lightning and thunder.

The candidates searching for the scrolls found themselves struggling against the elements, their progress impeded by both the weather and interference from rival teams.

The effort of maintaining such a large-scale Genjutsu quickly drained Yakumo's chakra.

As she began to feel dizzy, she fell into Colt's arms.

Noticing his lack of any negative reaction, a flash of joy crossed her eyes.

Two hours into the exam, the first team returned with their scroll.

It was Neji's group, which didn't surprise Colt.

With Neji's Byakugan and familiarity with Konoha, it would have been strange for them to arrive any later.

"Colt-san, here is our scroll," Neji said, presenting it formally.

Colt nodded in acknowledgment.

"Go rest. The next stage won't be easy."

Heeding his advice, Neji's team found an open space to rest and conserve their energy.

As time passed, more groups returned one after another.

By the fifth hour, the thirtieth team - a group of Sand shinobi - stumbled in with their scroll, visibly wounded.

Although the rules prohibited destroying scrolls, battles over them were evidently fierce.

"It's finally over," Colt said, stretching as he rose from his seat and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"The rest are thus automatically disqualified. Now, you'll all be heading to the Demon's Desert in the Land of Wind. Some of you who reach their last will be eliminated, and the others will advance to the finals, but that will be decided by your examiners there."

With that announcement, he departed with Yakumo, leaving behind a chorus of dismayed candidates.

"This is too cruel! We just passed the first stage!"

"Yeah! Can't we at least have an hour to rest?"

The Sand shinobi team that had arrived last looked particularly grim. Each of them bore injuries, and now they had to set out again without even catching their breath.

Colt paid no mind to their complaints. This wasn't his decision, but rather a request from Gaara to test the candidates' perseverance.

Left with no choice, the 30 teams that had passed the first stage began their grueling journey. The distance from Konoha to the Demon's Desert was considerable, typically taking two days of non-stop travel at full speed.

As the examiner for the first stage only, Colt didn't need to worry about such logistics.

A while later, he arrived at the Demon's Desert base, accompanied by Temari.

Upon hearing of Colt's impending arrival, Sunagakure had prepared a proper welcome.

A group of officials waited at the entrance, with Gaara, now the Kazekage, standing prominently among them.