(A.N: sorry for such a big gap, I will try to make up for it with a mass release Soon)

  ***

  “Brother, shouldn’t we wait for others to try something first? What if we get eliminated because of this?” one of Deidara’s teammates, a rge-built ninja with brown hair, asked.

  “We have to get the code first and stop the other teams from getting it. Just imagine, we reduce the petition in the first round alone. We just have to destroy the codes after finding them. Simple. That’s why we ’t waste time like the others. Let’s just find the code, then I once again foy art,” Deidara replied.

  “Okay, brother.”

  “Wait,” Deidara said, raising his hand. A ninja was guarding the room.

  “So, this test is here to judge our intelligehering capabilities. These types of sarios are on during missions. Quite an excellent way to test us,” Deidara said, taking out some cy from his pocket.

  With the mouth in his haing it, he threw a small spider outside. It swiftly went behind the ninja and released its effect. But this time, it didn’t explode. Instead, it used a small pin ced with paralysis poison to immobilize the guard. The team went inside and easily found the code.

  From a distance, Kaida, Kabuto, and Itachi watched. Well, Kaida and Itachi saw everything and reyed it to Kabuto, but they noticed something Deidara and his team didn’t.

  Aside from the ninja guarding the gate, five more shinobi were hiding in the shadows, ready to act if any team harmed the guard.

  ‘So, we use force to get the codes, as long as we don’t get caught fighting the other teams. This is quite easy,’ Itachi said through the mental link.

  ‘Yup, let’s get the first ht now,’ Kaida agreed.

  ‘Guys, I think you sometimes fet I’m not an Uchiha. you expin your excellent pn to me as well?’ Kabuto said.

  ‘See for yourself,’ Kaida responded as he and Itachi suddenly vanished from their spot and appeared in front of Iwagakure’s team.

  With their Sharingan activated, Itachi pced Deidara under a genjutsu, while Kaida hahe other two.

  ‘I got it. Now, what should we do about these guys?’ Kaida asked.

  “Ideally, we should elimihem early for a better ce of winning in the end, but...”

  ‘Yup, they’re strong tenders. If there’s no good fight at the end, our victory will look easy, not grand,’ Kaida fihe thought.

  “Let’s just make them go bad wait for two hours. With their strength, finding five or six more codes in an hour is no difficult task,” Itachi suggested.

  “Okay,” Kaida agreed.

  Once again, both of their Sharingan revolved, and the Iwagakure team walked back to the examination hall. Eveeran Jonin could fall uhe three-tomoe Sharingan’s genjutsu, let alone Genin.

  The instructor in the hall noticed that the Iwa ninjas were under a jutsu but didn’t intervene, as it wasn’t breaking any rules. Even though he had a good idea who had cast the genjutsu, there was no 'proof.'

  ‘Konoha is really showing off,’ the instruirked.

  Slowly, more teams returo the hall, sitting in their seats and waiting. When the sixth team came back, the instructrew a little anxious.

  ‘Are they pnning on passing the first exam by themselves?’

  Aside from the Iwagakure team, the Sunagakure team had also returned. Only teams from smaller vilges were present. With most of the strong teams out of the petition, only four strong teams remained in the first stage: Konoha, Kumo, Kiri, and Amegakure.

  After an hour, the Konoha team returo the hall and submitted their paper to the Jonin.

  “Three is just the minimum requirement. You guys still have time and go for a higher score,” the Jonin said. Sihey had eliminated so many teams, he doubted that the Konoha team had gathered all the codes.

  “Sir, we have all the codes,” Itachi said in his aloof tone, submitting the paper. Then he, Kaida, and Kabuto returo their seats.

  ‘Konoha is not just showing off. They’re pnning to domihe in Exams,’ the instructor thought as he sent the answer sheet for evaluation.

  While he was thinking that, the Konoha team was having their own versation, though no one else could hear it.

  ‘Kumogakure repared for us, as was Sunagakure. They’ve developed a tingen against genjutsu,’ Itachi said.

  ‘Well, there’s no way Kumo didn’t know about you, so it’s uandable they’d prepare a defense against genjutsu. As for Suna, those beetles are annoying,’ Kaida added.

  ‘Yeah, but on the bright side, it’s good they have some defeherwise, this exam would have bee too one-sided,’ Kabuto said, realizing for the first time how vehe Sharingan was. Even the in guarding the gates had respectfully stepped aside after one g Itachi’s and Kaida’s eyes.

  ‘Let’s see how the sed round goes,’ Kaida said.

  ---

  After another hour, the teams that had been under genjutsu began to awaken one by one. Most of them quickly realized what had happened. Anxiously, they checked the time and, relieved they still had some left, rushed out of the hall to search for at least three codes.

  Not all of them were as calm, though.

  “Uchihaaaa! I’ll kill all of you!” Deidara shouted as he came out of the genjutsu. He remembered seeing two red eyes before everythi bck, and he began doing random things. For the st two hours, he’d been drawing a dragon on his desk. They hadn’t even eliminated him, as if to say, 'Eain us in the round.' They were mog his art.

  “If you fight, you’ll be disqualified,” the instructor warned firmly before Deidara could charge at the Konoha team.

  “You’ll get your the round, though,” the instructor added, his tone amused. He clearly saw what the Konoha team had done.

  “I will definitely kill all three of you in the round,” Deidara growled, about to storm out when—

  “Wait a sed,” Kaida said, standing up. He picked a small white spider from the ground. “Please don’t use tricks like this again. Even children wouldn’t fall for it,” he said, squashing the spider in his hand.

  “Hmph,” Deidara snorted, and his team left the hall.

  “Making enemies with everyone here... Quite reckless of you guys,” the instructor said with the same amusement.

  “The moment we decided to participate in the exam, they were already our enemies,” Itachi replied coolly.

  “Hahahahaha, iing! Very iing,” the instructhed heartily.