Konoha: The Honored One

In the Chūnin Exam written test venue, the tension was so thick you could cut it with a kunai. All the Genin appeared to be diligently scribbling away, their faces masked in concentration. But if you looked closer—really closer—you'd notice something peculiar. Every single one of them was using their unique ninja abilities to cheat.

After all, these questions were absurdly difficult, bordering on sadistic. Even the sharpest minds among the Genin were struggling. Only a handful were actually solving the problems properly: Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara, and a strange kunoichi from Otonin Village named Jin.

Oh, and then there was Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto—of all people—was scribbling away furiously, his pen moving so fast it was a blur. He wore an expression of smug confidence, like he'd already cracked the code to the universe.

Could it be that Naruto—the self-proclaimed knucklehead ninja—was actually solving these questions?

No. It couldn't be. This was Naruto Uzumaki. There was no way.

"Teacher, I'm done."

The voice rang out like a clap of thunder. Heads whipped around, pencils stopped mid-scratch, and the room collectively froze. Jin, the kunoichi from Otonin, stood with an air of utter nonchalance, her paper held lazily between two fingers.

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Already? We're still on question two!"

Even Morino Ibiki, the proctor whose icy stare could make most ninjas crack, raised an eyebrow. He slowly approached, his coat billowing like a storm cloud.

"Scribbling will get you disqualified," Ibiki said, his voice low and menacing.

Jin smirked and waved the paper in his face. "Scary face, huh? Careful, sensei, it might get stuck like that."

The audacity.

Ibiki snatched the paper with a scowl and began skimming the answers. The room was silent, save for the soft sound of Ibiki's fingers flipping through the pages.

And then he froze.

One second passed. Then two.

His expression shifted from irritation to confusion to outright disbelief.

"These are…" Ibiki muttered, his voice barely audible. He flipped the page back, double-checking the answers. Then again.

"Perfect," he finally said aloud.

The room collectively gasped.

"Perfect?!" Sakura exclaimed, her pencil snapping in her hand.

"Is this girl some kind of genius?" Shikamaru muttered, though he looked more annoyed than impressed.

Jin, meanwhile, popped a lollipop into her mouth and leaned back in her chair, her smirk widening. "Take your time, sensei. Wouldn't want you to pull a muscle thinking too hard."

Ibiki's brow twitched, his mind racing. Who was this kunoichi? Her cocky attitude. Her bizarre ease. It felt… familiar.

And then it hit him like a well-aimed shuriken to the head.

Was this… Gojo Satoru?

He squinted at Jin, his hands tightening into fists. The lollipop. The smug grin. The unmistakable aura of absolute confidence.

It had to be. Gojo Satoru, somehow infiltrating the Chūnin Exams for reasons Ibiki couldn't even begin to fathom. But why Otonin of all things?

Unbeknownst to Ibiki, "Jin" wasn't Jin at all.

Gojo, in a stroke of sheer whimsy, had taken her place. Spotting the kunoichi arriving late, he'd incapacitated her with a quick jutsu, donned her form with his limitless transformation abilities, and decided to crash the test.

"Just for fun," Gojo thought to himself, suppressing a chuckle as he eyed Naruto's paper from across the room.

Naruto, in classic Naruto fashion, had somehow managed to write every single answer in the wrong boxes. Upside-down. And one of the questions just read, "Believe it!" in big, bold letters.

Gojo sighed dramatically. "This kid…"

With a snap of his fingers—subtle enough that no one noticed—Naruto's paper vanished from his desk, only to reappear a second later. This time, it was filled out perfectly.

Naruto blinked, staring at the paper. "Huh? Wasn't it…?" He scratched his head, then shrugged. Must've been an illusion.

"Time's up!" Ibiki's voice boomed, cutting through the growing chaos. He began listing off disqualified candidates, his eyes darting back to Jin—or rather, Gojo—more than once.

As the hall began to clear, Gojo leaned back in his chair, stretching as though he'd just finished a light workout. He caught Ibiki's sharp glare and smiled.

With a casual wave, he turned and walked out of the hall, muttering to himself, "This is gonna be fun."

As the minutes ticked by, Morino Ibiki raised his voice. "Time's up!"

The exam was officially over. As he called out the names of the candidates who'd been disqualified for trying to cheat, the tension in the room grew thick.

"Why? What did we do wrong?" one of the disqualified Genin asked, standing up in confusion.

"Quit asking," Morino Ibiki muttered as he stared down the rebellious candidates.

With a shrug, Gojo smiled, slipping the lollipop back into his mouth. Mission accomplished.

As he turned to leave, he cast one last look over his shoulder, smiling. This is gonna be a good show.