Naruto: Reborn as Neji Hyuga After Dying in One Piece-Chapter 56. The Chūnin Exams Begin!

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The sun rose over the Hidden Leaf, but for its genin... the day was anything but calm.

Whispers buzzed through the village like static tension in the air, nervous chakra thick enough to taste.

The Chūnin Exams had officially begun.

Neji strolled through the village with practiced calm. Unlike others, he wasn't nervous, just mildly annoyed. He'd missed watching Lee humiliate Sasuke during the application stage. That moment of glory? Lost forever.

Tragic.

Room 301 was already packed with ninjas from every major village. Neji, Lee, and Tenten were posted up quietly in a corner, low-profile and observant.

Then—

BAM!

The doors burst open as Team 7 swaggered into the room like they owned the place. Naruto, as usual, is loud and clueless. Sasuke, brooding but flashy. Sakura, already bickering with Ino before she'd even reached her seat.

More and more familiar faces piled in. Kiba, Shino, Hinata... the whole pre-genin class reunion. It was less of a covert selection test and more like a festival.

Neji smirked.

Tenten leaned in. "You seem... amused."

Neji's smirk deepened. "Watching these guys makes me realize... maybe I've been overestimating the competition."

Several nearby genin glared at him, their killing intent leaking out.

But once they saw the Konoha forehead protector?

They looked away.

Seasoned shinobi knew better than to bark before biting, but the way some of these rookies were leaking bloodlust, it was clear they hadn't been trained properly.

Lee frowned. His senses were sharp, and the malice in the room made his instincts twitch.

"...Neji. Some of these guys are dangerous. That one—" He pointed subtly. "—he's from the Sand. The aura around him... It's different."

"Of course," Neji replied coolly. "That's Gaara of the Desert."

And just then, he felt it.

Kabuto. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

That damn snake-in-glasses was already playing PR rep, flashing those knockoff "Ninja Info Cards" like trading merch. He'd casually name-dropped everyone in the room.

"Rock Lee. User of taijutsu only.

Gaara. Uses sand-based techniques.

Neji Hyūga. No known weaknesses."

Naruto, oblivious to subtlety, shouted, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm gonna be Hokage! You hear me!?"

Cue groans.

Cue eye-rolls.

Cue... the Sound Trio getting twitchy.

But instead of attacking Naruto, they lunged at Kabuto, smashing his cards and throwing him into full-blown dramatic faint mode.

So predictable.

BOOM.

The wall practically exploded as the proctors entered the room, led by none other than Ibiki Morino.

Scarred. Grim. Quietly terrifying.

The room went dead silent under his gaze.

"You impatient little brats," Ibiki rasped. "I'm Ibiki Morino chief proctor of the first stage of the Chūnin Exams."

He raised a hand and pointed to the Sound Trio.

"You three control yourselves. Or I'll eject you on the spot."

Genuine killing intent rolled off him in waves, a suffocating pressure that smothered the entire room.

The bandaged one, Zaku, shrugged. "Sorry. First time here. Guess we got overexcited."

Ibiki sneered but backed off.

Then he turned to the room.

"Listen up. This exam will be held in silence. No questions allowed. Only listening. Only survival."

Everyone froze.

Even the cocky ones looked rattled.

"The test consists of ten questions. You each start with a score of ten. Every incorrect answer deducts a point. Simple math."

He wrote it on the board:

[10 Questions – 10 Points – Subtraction Scoring]

"The kicker?" he continued. "You're not judged individually. Your entire squad is evaluated as one."

He tapped the chalk against the board:

[Team Total = 30 Points]

Groans rippled across the room. Sakura's hand shot up instinctively.

"Why group scores?!"

Ibiki didn't even look at her.

"Shut it. No questions allowed."

He continued.

"Third rule cheating. Or being suspected of cheating. It will cost you two points per infraction. Per person."

A quiet voice spoke from the side.

"We're trained to spot even the tiniest movement," said one of the proctors. "Your tricks won't work here."

A visible wave of sweat spread across the room.

Neji chuckled inwardly. Rookies.

Ibiki finished writing, then turned back around.

"Cheating without being caught? That's a skill. Getting caught? That's failure."

He paused.

"Final rule."

The room tensed.

"If any one of you gets a score of zero, your entire team fails."

Boom.

Dozens of faces went pale.

Sasuke clenched his fists.

Sakura looked like she might faint.

Naruto?

Sweating. Profusely.

He could practically feel the daggers being thrown into his back by his teammates.

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