Ren was still enjoying Temari's earlier reaction when the doors of the examination hall suddenly slammed open.
A tall man with an intimidating presence walked inside.
The entire room fell silent.
Ibiki Morino stood at the front with his scarred face and cold gaze sweeping across the room. His appearance alone made several candidates swallow nervously.
"Now," Ibiki said in a deep voice, "the written exam begins."
The atmosphere instantly grew tense as papers were distributed across the room.
Ren glanced down at the questions and almost sighed.
Too easy.
Within a few minutes he calmly filled out every answer on his sheet. After finishing, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, resting as if nothing important was happening.
Beside him, Temari raised an eyebrow.
Ren opened one eye and smirked slightly.
Without making any noticeable movement, a thin thread of chakra quietly formed at the tip of his finger.
The thread slid silently across the desk like an invisible snake.
On Temari's answer sheet, letters slowly began appearing one after another.
Temari's eyes nearly popped out.
This level of chakra control…
She was a sensory-type ninja, and even she had barely noticed the chakra strings forming.
What the hell…?
She quickly glanced at one of the questions she already knew the answer to.
The answer written by the chakra string was correct.
Temari didn't hesitate any longer.
Following the faint chakra thread, she carefully copied the answers onto her sheet. One by one, the solutions appeared perfectly on her page.
After several tense minutes of Ibiki's psychological mind games, the written test finally came to an end.
Many participants looked exhausted from the pressure.
However, because of Naruto Uzumaki's unexpected determination during the final question, more participants passed the first stage than originally intended.
Just as Ibiki finished speaking—
CRASH!
The windows burst open.
A woman jumped dramatically into the room.
"Alright, kids!" shouted Anko Mitarashi with a wild grin.
"I'm your proctor for the second exam!"
Many candidates stared at her in confusion.
"The next stage will take place in the Forest of Death," Anko announced happily.
Her grin widened.
"Rest well tonight… you'll need it."
She turned toward the exit.
"See you tomorrow!"
The candidates slowly stood up and began leaving the hall.
Across the room, Hinata Hyuga, Ino Yamanaka, and Sakura Haruno waved goodbye to Ren before heading toward their respective teams and sensei.
Ren simply waved lazily back and began walking toward the exit.
He yawned quietly.
I should go home and take a nap…
Suddenly, a hand grabbed his collar and pulled him backward.
Ren didn't resist.
He had already expected it.
Temari spun him around and glared directly at him.
"Why did you show me the answers?" she demanded.
She had checked carefully after the exam.
Every single answer had been correct.
Ren yawned lazily.
"I wanted to," he said simply. "So I did."
Then he added casually,
"And I can't let my future wife fail the exam, can I?"
Temari's face instantly turned red.
"You bastard!" she snapped. "You think I can't pass without your help?"
She pointed an accusing finger at him.
"And who exactly is your wife?!"
Ren sighed in annoyance.
"Fine," he said lazily. "Think of it as a debt."
Temari narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"You did this so I'd owe you something, right?"
Ren stared at her for a moment.
Honestly, he just wanted to go home and sleep.
But this girl…
"Fine," Ren said flatly. "You don't owe me anything."
Temari blinked.
"What do you m—"
She froze mid-sentence.
Ren suddenly stepped forward and kissed her.
It was quick.
Casual.
And completely unexpected.
Ren stepped back with a smirk.
"There," he said calmly. "Now we're even."
Before Temari's brain could process what had just happened, Ren vanished down the hallway at full speed.
Temari remained standing there like a statue.
Her face slowly turned bright red.
Her first kiss…
…had just been stolen.
"RENNNNNNNNN!"
Her furious voice echoed through the hallway.
"You shameless! Perverted! Bastard! Baka! Idiot!"
Unfortunately, Ren was already long gone.
A moment later, Kankuro arrived, looking ready for a fight.
"Sis!" he shouted. "Did someone attack you?!"
He cracked his knuckles dramatically.
"Tell me who it was. I'll take care of him."
Temari slowly turned toward him.
Her face was still burning red.
Without warning, she swung her giant war fan.
WHOOSH!
A powerful gust of wind blasted Kankuro straight into the wall.
"GAAH!"
He slid down the wall in confusion.
Temari huffed angrily.
"Just you wait, Ren…"
Her eyes burned with embarrassment and fury.
"You bastard."
With that, she stormed away toward her room while poor Kankuro lay on the ground wondering what just happened.