Naruto Shippūden: The Legendary Team 「伝説のチーム」

Chapter 5.3

"Stupid oyaji..." Shikamaru muttered, staring at his test in dismay. "You sure went all out on these questions..." He let out a sigh, closing his eyes and letting his mind drift.

Ino panicked as she skimmed the contents of the paper. These questions aren't what we were taught about in the Academy!

Shikamaru... She stared at her teammate who was about more than five inches away from her, boring holes into his back as if willing him for the answers.

Chōji released a bated breath. I... don't know any of them, he thought to himself, dispirited. He raised his head, spotting Ino at the far end. I hope those two find a way around this.

Tenten groaned. Neji could probably answer at least one of these...

Lee smacked his face on the table. Gai-sensei...! I'm very sorry...!

Shino stared at the paper in front of him. He could probably answer some questions, but most of them would only be hypothetical. He doubted that Shikaku would accept his answers.

Hinata squeaked as quietly as she could, swallowing the heavy lump in her throat. These are so difficult... Her lips trembled in apprehension. Every question seems to involve both conceptual findings and practical applications. Shikaku-san is amazing...

Kiba slumped in his seat, defeated. He had absolutely no idea what to do. Perhaps it would be better to just give up now and wait for next year, when Shikaku-san isn't the proctor anymore...

He glanced at his side. Although I think I'm much better off than that idiot...

Beside him, Naruto was as stiff as a statue, unmoving and sweating profusely. He had no problem with himself strength-wise, because he now had the power to protect his precious people. However, this was the first time that he felt completely, utterly powerless.

This was just crazy!

Sasuke finished answering the first question in the box, making his handwriting as small as it could be. For him, the question was rather more on a moderate level rather than difficult if one analyzed it very carefully.

He shot a glance at Naruto, whose bright, spiky blond hair was unmistakable. He seemed to be very rigid, and Sasuke would bet everything he had that Naruto had completely no idea what to answer or even where to start. Shaking his head at his teammate's predictable movements, he glanced at Sakura, who was seated at the far left.

His eyes widened.

Sakura looked as composed as she could be, answering the questions fluidly.

• • •

Sakura did not even hesitate. All five questions were intricate and took a lot of time to finish, so she had to hurry. That wasn't to say that she didn't find the test difficult. In fact, she thought of it as a challenge instead, something she considered a worthy workout for her brain. Her intelligence was her strongest suit, after all, and she wasn't about to waste it here. She had to try. She couldn't just fail here now.

But it's really weird... she thought as she hastily calculated the angle of a tree's shadow. One question alone requires a lot of space for its answer, and the size of this box is obviously inadequate for catering all five questions.

Where on earth is Shikaku-san going with this?

Even though she mostly studied the basics and fundamentals in the Academy, she hung out at the library many times than she could count whenever she had free time. She had a thirst for knowledge, and given her sharp memory, she soaked information like a sponge. Also, after Kakashi told her about her potential in genjutsu and medical ninjutsu, she desired to know more about those specific areas.