After collecting all the cards, Sora found a wooden plank and scribbled a warning on it: "The area within 300 meters is filled with explosive tags." He stuck the sign beside the mangled corpse, then backed away and found a spot to recover his chakra.
Though the battle had ended swiftly—virtually an instant kill—he'd used quite a few jutsu.
Starting with Shadow Clone and Earth Dive, followed by Super Exploding Water Wave and three different dragon-style techniques. Except for the first two, the rest were all at least B-rank, possibly even A-rank, and drained a massive amount of chakra.
Half a day passed. As the sun dipped westward, casting an orange glow, a team finally arrived at the central tower.
It was a squad from Sunagakure. They had avoided most of the combat, using their superior sensory ninjutsu to quickly locate a scroll and head straight here.
From a distance, they spotted the mutilated corpse and immediately grew cautious. Once they got closer, they saw the sign Sora had planted and were at a loss.
The body on the ground left no doubt—the message on the sign was very real.
Just as they hesitated, a calm voice sounded behind them. "Since you're here, I assume you have a scroll. Be good and hand it over."
The voice came from right behind them, making the trio jump in fright.
"Who?!"
They quickly retreated and turned around—only to see Sora. None of them dared underestimate him now.
Who else could sneak up on them without even the slightest sound?
Still, they weren't willing to give up the hard-earned scroll so easily.
Seeing their reluctance, Sora pointed to the ground beneath their feet and said casually, "You're all standing within the blast zone of explosive tags. If you don't hand it over, I'll just blow it all up."
They looked down—and their faces went pale. One of the girls muttered, "I scanned it... he's not lying."
"Throw me the scroll, and I'll let you out," Sora added.
Sora bore no ill will toward non–Exchange House ninjas. They'd be comrades during the Fourth Great Ninja War anyway—better to keep as many alive as possible.
The trio exchanged glances, then obediently tossed the scroll over.
Sora picked it up and used a near-max-level Body Flicker to instantly appear behind them before they could react.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three quick chops to the neck—and the Sunagakure Genin dropped like flies.
Dragging them over to a large tree within the explosive-tag zone, he strung them up—shirtless for the guys, fully clothed but upside-down for the girl.
Thanks to the censorship gods being too powerful, Sora didn't dare go too far—so the boys at least got to keep their underwear.
After handling them, Sora created a shadow clone to go hunting while he leisurely returned to his resting spot.
Not long after, the clone returned with a fat wild chicken. It plucked it, gutted it, roasted it—all in one smooth operation.
Once full, Sora strolled into the tower to rest.
He hadn't opened the scroll yet, which meant he technically hadn't passed. That meant he could keep guarding the entrance.
The Jōnin examiners in the tower could only watch helplessly. They knew they couldn't stop him.
What were they supposed to do—go out there and reason with him? What if he beat them up? They had seen his strength. They knew they'd lose.
"We should report to the Hokage," one of them muttered, gritting his teeth. "If this kid keeps going like this, every candidate will be wiped out!"
Just as he turned to leave, a cute little face appeared before him—and a voice that chilled him to the bone whispered:
"The outside is covered in explosive tags. If you try to leave... there won't even be bones left."
After delivering the message, Sora wandered back to his sleeping spot and promptly fell asleep.
He still wanted to end the Chūnin Exams in one go—no way he'd let them interrupt him now.
"What do we do?" the Jōnin asked helplessly.
Normally, he wouldn't care about strength or rank. If it were anyone else—even with Sora's power—he'd rein them in.
But this kid had way too much backing. Totally untouchable.
The Legendary Sannin—Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru. The Hokage, Minato Namikaze. The Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, Kushina Uzumaki.
Anyone else could maybe be reasoned with. But Tsunade and Kushina? They'd just punch you for laying a hand on their kid.
And no one in the village could stop those two.
Worse still, if he touched a hair on Sora's head, the villagers would probably force him to commit seppuku.
Sora was the one who reformed Konoha—everyone adored him. Even the Hokage might not be able to protect him.
Thinking of all this, the Jōnin felt nothing but despair.
Thud! Thud!
The next moment, he heard familiar sounds. Turning his head, he was dumbfounded.
The other four examiners had knocked each other out—literally.
"You guys... You could've at least included me!" he cried, tears welling in his eyes.
Looking at his own hand, he gritted his teeth, chopped his own neck, and collapsed with a loud thud.
With that, this final examiner made a silent statement:
You may defeat my body—but my spirit will never submit!
Sora, who hadn't yet fallen asleep, was stunned. His eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"Seriously? Was that really necessary? Come on…"
Unfortunately, there was no one left to answer him.
…
The next morning, Sora woke up.
He found the five unconscious examiners lying in much more comfortable positions—and there was even a roasted rabbit waiting beside him.
"...Thanks, I guess."
He muttered his thanks, though the five didn't react at all. The corners of his mouth twitched.
Wow, they're really committed to the act. Aren't they worried I'll fall asleep again later?
Still, he didn't expose them. After breakfast, he went back to guarding the gate.
After he left, the five examiners all smiled faintly.
There wasn't a single person in Konoha—aside from a few power-hungry schemers—who didn't like Sora.
To be blunt, Sora had done nearly as much for Konoha as the First Hokage. And he was adorable, polite, and kind.
Sora kept guarding the tower for three full days. Once he had collected all twelve scrolls, he dug up the explosive tags and ended the second round of the exam a full day early.
Some tried to resist—but they ended up swinging from trees alongside the three unfortunate Genin from Sunagakure.
Only Konoha Genin were allowed to keep their clothes. But even they couldn't avoid the tree-swinging punishment.
When the exam ended, the area outside the tower looked like a battlefield—dozens of ninja hanging like ornaments.
The five exhausted examiners had also been asleep for three days. They only dared sneak out to hunt while Sora was sleeping.
Feeling a little guilty, Sora promised to treat them to a fancy meal after the exam ended.
And thus, the second round of the Chūnin Exams concluded in the most bizarre fashion anyone had ever seen.
When Minato and the others found out, their jaws dropped. No one believed it at first—
Until cold hard reality slapped them across the face.
Sora cheerfully returned home and enjoyed Kushina's delicious cooking.
But Minato had a headache the size of the Hokage Monument. For the third round, he had invited the Daimyō and the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, to attend.
Now there was only one candidate left.
What the hell were they supposed to observe?
In desperation, he selected eleven more Genin from the pool of those eliminated to face Sora in the final round.
But Sora flatly refused.
He declared that anyone he personally eliminated had no right to stand beside him in the final exam.
He had gone through all that effort to end it early—why should he have to fight again?
Minato was just about to pull rank and force the issue—when Sora tattled to Kushina.
And Kushina responded by pulling rank—with her fists. Minato got a full dose of "domestic diplomacy."
In the end, they had no choice but to appoint someone else to take Sora's place—and directly promoted Sora to Chūnin.