If the other candidates were trembling, it wasn't from nerves—it was pure fear of Akira's overwhelming killing intent.
In the crowd, Kabuto Yakushi, wearing round glasses, adjusted them slightly. A trace of seriousness flickered behind the lenses.
"So this is the mysterious Akira mentioned in the intel… he lives up to the reputation."
"To exert this level of pressure through presence alone… even rivaling Orochimaru-sama's killing intent… it seems taking Sasuke this time won't be so simple."
Although Kabuto had gathered information on Akira, most of it was superficial. Even Konoha's higher-ups likely didn't know the full extent of his abilities.
But his instincts told him one thing clearly—
Akira was far more dangerous than he appeared. This boy had likely already stepped into jōnin territory.
And yet… someone at that level was participating in the Chūnin Exams?
This was like a max-level player slaughtering a beginner zone.
Nearby, Neji and Rock Lee also tensed as if facing a powerful enemy.
It was the first time Neji had felt Akira's strength so directly. Even his Byakugan seemed to sting under that pressure.
The gap… was overwhelming.
But the most shocked of all were Akira's former classmates.
Shikamaru's team. Kiba's team.
Their eyes were practically popping out of their sockets.
The quiet nobody from the Academy… how had he suddenly become someone so terrifying?
"Akira!"
Ino and Hinata stepped forward, breaking the awkward silence.
Ino, ever bold, didn't hesitate—she rushed forward and threw her arms around him in a tight hug.
Unfortunately, she was much shorter—barely reaching his chin—so she ended up clinging to him like an overly affectionate kid.
"Akira! I missed you so much! Where have you been all this time? Why didn't you come find me?"
In truth, Akira had been free—but either training obsessively or meditating at home. He had no time for casual hangouts.
Beside them, Hinata blushed deeply, poking her fingers together as she spoke in a barely audible voice.
"A-Akira… it's… nice to see you again…"
For some reason, watching Ino cling to him made Sakura feel an irrational surge of irritation.
"Seriously?! Ino, have you no shame?! Get off him already!"
Ino shot her a provocative look and tightened her grip instead.
"Like you get a say, billboard brow."
With a full-blown clash about to erupt, Akira rubbed his temple and spoke calmly,
"That's enough. This is an exam hall, not a marketplace."
Sakura and Ino glared at each other, both clearly unwilling to back down—but they each huffed and turned away.
Akira could only sigh at the two of them.
Nearby, Shikamaru, Chōji, Kiba, and Shino watched the scene in confusion.
Since when had Akira become this popular?
Back in the Academy, he'd just been a background extra with a decent face.
Shikamaru leaned toward Naruto and asked quietly, "Hey… what's going on with Akira? How's he in your squad—and why is he suddenly this big of a deal?"
"That pressure earlier… that was him, right? When did he get so strong?"
Naruto glanced at Akira, who was now surrounded by attention. Though he felt a bit sour, he still answered honestly.
"That guy's been hiding it all along. He's ridiculously strong."
"Believe it or not—he can kill jōnin. Taking down chūnin is like chopping vegetables for him. On our mission to the Land of Waves, we ran into an elite Mist jōnin—even Kakashi-sensei struggled—but Akira killed him."
"And that guy had a partner with Ice Style. Sasuke and I got completely wrecked, but when Akira showed up, he wiped both of them out."
"Even now, his strength's a mystery. Bottomless. But I'm sure of one thing—he's at least jōnin level. So if you run into him during the exam… you'd better stay out of his way."
Naruto might call them lazy, but Shikamaru and Chōji were among his few childhood friends—he didn't want them getting themselves killed.
Shikamaru's jaw nearly dropped. The toothpick in his mouth almost slipped out.
"You've got to be kidding… beyond jōnin? Do you even know what that means?"
He couldn't tell if Naruto was misunderstanding power levels—or just exaggerating.
Naruto rolled his eyes. "You really are dumb. Someone even Kakashi couldn't handle got killed by him—what do you think that makes him? And he can one-shot people at chūnin level—do you really think he's still a genin?"
For once, Naruto's logic was sharp.
Shikamaru didn't want to believe it—but the memory of that suffocating pressure earlier made it hard to deny.
A chill ran down his spine.
Glancing at Ino, who was still chatting animatedly with Akira, Shikamaru thought,
"Did she know all along? No wonder she kept sticking around him back then… she picked a winner early."
In truth, both Ino and Hinata only knew that Akira was "strong"—they had no idea just how strong.
Kiba and Shino stayed silent, but their curiosity was at an all-time high.
What kind of experience could transform someone this drastically?
Just as the chatter continued, the bespectacled young man with a friendly smile approached.
"Hey everyone, this is still an exam hall. Maybe we should keep it down a bit."
Kabuto wore his usual polite, harmless expression—like a helpful older brother next door.
Akira looked at him, that fake smile, his own gaze turning subtly amused—half a smile, half a knowing look.
Kabuto was clearly older than the rest of them.
Naruto and the others looked at him curiously.
"Hey mister, are you here for the exam too?"
Akira couldn't help but think—Kabuto still blending in with genin at his age… his acting skills really deserved an award.
Kabuto adjusted his glasses and raised seven fingers, smiling awkwardly.
"This is actually my seventh time taking the exam."
Shikamaru instantly lost interest. "Seven times and still not passed? Your talent must be pretty bad… guess you're a lifelong underachiever."
Kabuto simply shook his head, smiling meaningfully.
"You rookies really are naive. Do you think the Chūnin Exams are like a school test? Surviving them is far harder than you imagine."
Shikamaru didn't bother arguing.
Sakura, however, lit up—like she'd found a lifeline.
"Senpai, since you've taken it seven times, you must know a lot about the exam, right?"
As a top student, Sakura excelled at gathering and analyzing information.
Even if her combat ability lagged, her mind was sharp.
Akira stood off to the side, watching it all unfold like a spectator at a play, his gaze never leaving Kabuto.
Under that stare, Kabuto felt increasingly uneasy.
From the corner of his eye, he caught that gaze—one that seemed to see straight through him—and felt a flicker of unease.
"Could he have figured out who I really am? No… impossible. My disguise is flawless. He probably just finds me strange, like Naruto does."
He steadied himself and forced himself to ignore Akira.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a stack of cards and smiled at Sakura.
"Of course. I've gathered quite a bit of basic information on this year's candidates."
At those words, Sasuke and the others immediately sharpened their focus.
Information was a ninja's lifeline.
Just then—
BANG!
A loud crash echoed from the front of the room.
A cold, oppressive killing intent swept through the hall.
A group of proctors in black coats appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
At the front stood a man with a face covered in vicious scars—
Ibiki Morino, Konoha's interrogation specialist.
"Shut your mouths! The exam is starting!"
Ibiki's blood-soaked killing intent instantly silenced the room.
But the candidates quickly realized—
Compared to the overwhelming pressure Akira had released earlier…
This was nothing.
With that comparison, their fear and respect for Akira deepened even further.
Akira took his seat calmly.
Ibiki's sharp, hawk-like gaze immediately locked onto him, his pupils narrowing slightly.
"So that's the Akira the Third Hokage specifically mentioned…"
"From the moment he walked in, the entire room's attention has been on him."
Even without witnessing the earlier scene, the strange atmosphere in the room—and the wary looks directed at Akira—told Ibiki everything he needed to know.
"Since you're someone the Third Hokage values, I'd like to see what you're really capable of."
The test papers were handed out.
Ibiki briefly and bluntly explained the rules—the core of the first exam was simple: cheat without getting caught.
The moment everyone flipped their papers, sharp gasps echoed throughout the room.
These questions weren't something genin were supposed to solve—they were absurdly difficult.
But Akira only glanced at the paper before calmly picking up his pen.
He had no intention of cheating.
Because to him, these so-called "difficult problems" were no harder than elementary school math.
Ibiki had originally intended to observe Akira's intelligence-gathering skills…
But instead, he found the kid actually… solving the test?
Skeptical, Ibiki walked right up to Akira's desk and stood there openly watching.
Akira's pen moved effortlessly, gliding across the page with a steady scratch, scratch, never pausing.
Ibiki's mouth twitched.
"I designed this to test intelligence-gathering… and this kid just answers everything outright? What's even the point of this exam anymore?"
It was like setting up traps to test someone's agility—only for them to bulldoze straight through.
Ten minutes.
All nine questions—enough to make genin despair—were already finished.
Akira set down his pen, crossed his arms, and calmly closed his eyes to rest.
Looking at the perfectly completed—and completely correct—paper, Ibiki felt a rare sense of helplessness.
Meanwhile, the rest of the exam hall had descended into chaos.
Aside from clueless types like Naruto, who was still staring blankly at his empty sheet, everyone else was using every trick they could think of to cheat.
Time dragged on painfully.
One by one, those with clumsy methods were caught and eliminated.
Finally, the decisive moment arrived.
BANG!
Ibiki slammed his hand onto the desk, the loud noise making everyone jump.
"Time's up! Put your pens down!"
Less than three-quarters of the candidates remained.
A cruel smile spread across Ibiki's scarred face as his gaze swept across the room like a blade.
"Now, I will announce the tenth question."
The air froze instantly.
"But before that, there's one additional rule."
"You may choose to take it—or not. If you choose to take it and fail…"
"You will permanently lose the right to take the Chūnin Exams. For the rest of your life, you'll remain a genin."
The room erupted.
"What kind of insane rule is that?!"
The candidates' mental defenses were on the verge of collapse.
Akira, meanwhile, rested his chin on his hands, completely unfazed—as if listening to a dull story.
Ibiki deliberately glanced at him multiple times, trying to detect even the slightest hint of hesitation.
He found nothing.
That calm, indifferent expression left even Ibiki—a torture expert—feeling defeated.
"This kid… does he even realize he's a candidate? Isn't he worried his teammates might drag him down?"
"His composure… it's like a rock."
Of course, Akira knew Ibiki was targeting him—but he couldn't care less.
In the end, thanks to Naruto's passionate outburst, the psychological battle came to a close.
Akira's entire team stayed.
Ibiki looked at those remaining, sighed in resignation, and—rarely—smiled.
"Congratulations. You all pass."
The room froze again.
"Pass? What about the tenth question?"
Ibiki removed his head covering, revealing the scars covering his head, and explained the true purpose of the exam—trust and courage.
Naruto, despite submitting a blank paper, passed with a dumb grin.
Akira, already familiar with how things played out, remained completely indifferent.
For him, whether he passed or failed—even if he remained a genin forever—it wouldn't change the fact that he was strong.
Besides, the Third Hokage had already guaranteed his promotion.
Just as Ibiki finished speaking—
Crash!
Glass shattered as several kunai flew through the window, pinning a large banner to the board.
A figure burst in right after, striking an overly dramatic pose amid falling glass shards.
"Now that the first exam is over, it's my turn!"
"I'm the proctor for the second exam—Anko Mitarashi! Follow me!"
Anko raised her fist enthusiastically—
Only to be met with awkward silence.
Everyone stared at her like she was crazy.
Black lines practically formed across their faces.
Akira couldn't help but chuckle.
"She really hasn't changed… still full of energy."
Even knowing her personality, seeing it firsthand was… something else.
Sakura facepalmed. "Why do I feel like this examiner is on the same wavelength as Naruto…"
Naruto, unknowingly caught in the crossfire, had no idea he was being compared.
From behind the banner, Ibiki leaned out and deadpanned, "Anko, no one's reacting. Stop posing."
Anko's face flushed instantly, embarrassment written all over her.
She coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject, scanning the crowded room.
"What's going on? This many people passed? Ibiki, are you getting soft in your old age?"
Ibiki replied expressionlessly, "This year's candidates are strong. There are quite a few promising ones."
As he spoke, his gaze drifted back toward Akira.
That boy… was impossible to read.
Anko smirked, licking her lips, a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"In that case… I'll eliminate more than half of them myself."
"The second exam… people die."
At those words, the candidates' hearts, which had just settled, tightened again.
A chill ran down their spines.
Akira quietly observed Anko.
A former student of Orochimaru—despite the curse mark that had tormented her for years, she was still a capable special jōnin.
Without her past holding her back, she could have gone much further.
Anko noticed his gaze and looked back, studying him.
"So this is the kid the old man mentioned? Good-looking, sure—but is he really that strong?"
Though unpredictable, Anko had a close, almost familial bond with the Third Hokage.
After a moment, she announced,
"Tomorrow morning, the second exam begins. Ask your instructors for the meeting location."
"Dismissed!"
With a poof, she vanished in a cloud of smoke.
The first exam ended without incident.
For Akira, it had been little more than a casual stroll.
After leaving the hall, Hinata and Ino stuck to him like glue.
Shikamaru, hoping to gather more information about Akira—and also to celebrate passing the first stage—suggested they go out for barbecue.
Naturally, Akira, now the center of attention, couldn't be left out.
Even those who had barely interacted with him back at the Academy quickly grew familiar over a lively barbecue meal.