Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

As Naruto finished speaking...

Bang, bang, bang!

Several figures rose to their feet one after another.

"I cheated!"

"I cheated too!"

"Me too!"

Those standing were all people close to Naruto. Among them were Gaara and Sasuke, both of whom had made pacts with him, as well as Kiba, who owed him a favor.

What surprised Naruto was that even Neji stood up. He wasn't sure why.

'Could it be that the damage of breaking his defense was so great? I have to ask him about it later.'

The admission of these people also triggered a chain reaction.

Kankuro, intimidated by Gaara, Ino, who liked Sasuke, Tenten, who usually followed Neji, and Shino, Kiba's teammate… all of them stood up as well.

There weren't many people in the room to begin with, and with these individuals rising, the effect was even more contagious.

"Either way, I can't guarantee I'll pass the tenth question. I'll admit I cheated. I'm not taking the exam this time. I'll try again later; I'm not risking my future for this!"

"Yeah, forget it! These rules are unheard of!"

"There are two opportunities a year, and there are plenty of opportunities, so why bother taking this test? I'm out! I'm not putting up with this!"

Those from other villages thought that Konoha was targeting them, and the Genin from Konoha's own village followed Naruto.

Soon enough, almost everyone was standing.

"Ah, this…"

Naruto hadn't expected such a strong response.

To be honest, his concern about being interrogated was genuine, but that didn't mean he was actually scared.

Just based on his identity as the Kyubi's Jinchuriki, the village would not let him come into contact with too many high-level secrets. After all, there are too many variables, and at least for now, he cannot be trusted.

Besides, with Kakashi as his Jonin Instructor, he wasn't worried about the Interrogation Department trying to take him by force.

Besides, even if things went south, Naruto had the skills to leave Konoha if necessary.

A mere Tokubetsu Jonin wasn't enough to frighten him.

Naruto's main reason for calling out the cheating was to make things fair. He genuinely thought that Kankuro's puppet and Tenten's tools were blatantly obvious methods, practically flaunting their way through the exam.

If the proctors could catch others cheating, why not catch these two?

He pointed them out only to put Ibiki in an awkward spot.

From the beginning, his principles hadn't changed. If someone treated him well, he'd return that kindness. But if they wronged him, he'd repay it a hundredfold.

If Ibiki hadn't specifically targeted him, he wouldn't have taken things this far.

But now that things have come to this, there is no point in saying more.

Bang!

Naruto slammed his hand on the desk, stood up, and waved his hand, saying, "This teacher has absolute power here; whatever he says goes. But if we can't beat him, we can at least avoid him, right? If you ask me, let's not take this exam. There's always another chance."

"Based on what I know, the Chunin Exams are meant to balance the power of the various villages. If this teacher fails everyone in the first round and angers all of us, no village will be pleased with this outcome."

"I doubt he'll get the chance to be an exam proctor again!"

"From my perspective, he won't get the chance. Next time, we'll take a fairer exam, won't we?"

Naruto's words struck a chord with every candidate.

Most of them understood that this exam was designed to test their intelligence-gathering skills, but Ibiki's absolute control over the rules had deeply frustrated these twelve- and thirteen-year-old kids.

Other examiners could be strict, but they wouldn't act as self-centered as this.

To put it bluntly, how was this different from the brutal rule of Yagura, the Yondaime Mizukage, who turned Kirigakure into the Village of the Bloody Mist?

"Let's go, let's go! We don't have to take this humiliation!"

Naruto beckoned with a wave and led the way out of the classroom.

Rustle!

One after another, Gaara, Sasuke, Kiba, Neji, and others stood up, and their companions followed them out of the room.

Naruto's approach had a similar psychological effect to Ibiki's, only it backfired, leading the entire group of candidates out of the classroom.

In just a minute, the only ones left in the room were Ibiki and the proctors.

"Ah...what should we do now?" One of the proctors asked.

In all the years they'd been proctoring exams, this was the first time they'd seen anything like this.

"Interesting little brat… He actually dared to stir up trouble for me like this!"

Ibiki's mouth curled into a faint smile. Whether it was an amused smirk or a reaction to some humorous thought, no one could tell.

Anyway, Naruto, who had already left the classroom, didn't know, nor did he care.

All he knew was that Ibiki was in for a serious headache.

If you're going to play, play big.

If you're going to cause a ruckus, make it earth-shattering.

As for the consequences? Who cares about the consequences?

After all, as the saying goes, the law doesn't punish everyone. The exam Ibiki designed had its own flaws, so whatever happened was no longer his problem.

"So, what do we do next?"

After leaving the classroom, Sasuke asked.

"Let's take it to the next level!"

Naruto grinned, then turned to the other candidates and said, "We still need to take the exam. I mean, it's not fair for you guys from other villages to come all this way for nothing. Let's all sign a petition and go to Hokage-sama to request a re-exam. What do you think?"

When this was said, not a single person objected.

After all, if there was a chance, who would want to wait another six months?

Those who had been eliminated early on, in particular, eagerly raised both hands in agreement upon hearing about a second chance.

"But just us alone won't be enough. Let's all go back to our team leaders, they'll be more influential in backing us up."

Naruto continued to rally the group.

There's strength in numbers. With so many involved, even Sandaime wouldn't be able to turn them down, especially when the reputation of the other Shinobi Villages was at stake.

"Yeah!"

The candidates shouted in agreement. Although there was still a sense of distrust and some guarded distance between them, it was a lot friendlier than the previous tension.

Coming together to tackle something as big as walking out of the exam and challenging the proctor, if they succeeded, they would surely leave a mark in Chunin Exams history!

Just thinking about it excited them.

After they each dispersed, Naruto also led Sasuke and Sakura to find Kakashi.

On the way, Naruto had something else on his mind.

It wasn't his next move in the Chunin Exams that he was concerned with, but rather the system reward he had just received.

[It is detected that the host has stayed in the first examination room for one hour. Sign-in successful. Reward: Pinhole Camera x1.]

[Pinhole Camera: Once filled with Chakra, it can operate for one month. The host can view the camera's feed remotely, regardless of distance.]

'The first exam was filled with various methods of cheating, and Gaara's third eye in particular acted like a surveillance device. It seemed this reward was inspired by that setup.'

This was Naruto's first time receiving a support-type tool like this.

While it didn't pack any offensive power, Naruto was thrilled and instantly took a liking to it.

This pinhole camera was as thin as a strand of hair, barely noticeable when placed anywhere. Just imagine if it were placed in a Kunoichi's room… just the thought was exhilarating.

The thrill of this kind of 'visual nourishment' was important too.

Of course, as an upright person, Naruto would never use it for anything improper. His intentions were purely academic, to learn and observe others' training habits and maybe uncover some secrets.

Whether or not others believed it, Naruto certainly convinced himself...