A couple of others chimed in, “Holy, they’re the worst. We’re all trying to focus here.”

  Kuro’s eyes glinted with mischief as he leaned in slightly toward Xero. “Well please stop now, it seems like we are too much of a distra now,” he said quietly, his voice ced with a hint of sarcasm.

  Xero, still grinning like a fool, nodded enthusiastically. “I knht? We’re just too much to handle.” He said it so seriously that Kuro couldn’t help but shake his head, his smirk widenie the collective annoyahey were causing.

  As the whispers died down and the room settled once again, it was clear—Kuro and Xero might’ve made everyone around them want to scream, but they were thhly enjoying the chaos they’d stirred.

  Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stepped into the room, their presence immediately drawing attention. The sheer number of petitors packed into one space left Naruto momentarily speechless.

  “Whoa,” Naruto muttered, his wide eyes darting around the room. The tension in the air seemed to hit him all at once, his usual bravado giving way to unease.

  Sasuke, oher hand, remained posed, his sharp gaze sing the room for threats. He was keenly aware of the scrutiny directed at him—the legendary Sharingan wielder of the Uchiha was a natural target for attention.

  Just as the three began to move further inside, a loud, high-pitched voice rang out.

  “Sasuke-kun!”

  The owner of the voice was her than Ino, who unched herself at Sasuke with uraihusiasm. She tched onto him from behind, ing her arms around his shoulders with a beaming smile.

  Sasuke’s expression twisted into one of pure annoyance. “Let go,” he muttered coldly, his tone carrying an edge that would have made anyone else think twice.

  Not Ino.

  “You’re so mean, Sasuke-kun!” she pouted, her grip remaining firm.

  “Get off him, you pig!” Sakura shouted, her face flushed with a mix of anger and embarrassment. She stomped toward them, her hands ched into fists.

  Trailing behind Ino were her teammates, Shikamaru and Choji.

  Shikamaru sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his head. “Why do I even bother with this?”

  Choji shrugged, reag into a bag of chips. “She’s not gonna listen to you anyway.”

  The otion quickly drew the attention of several other teams, and the noise in the room rose. Kuro stood off to the side, the se with mild amusement. The dynamic betweeeams was eaining, if chaotic.

  “This exam is already off to a chaotic start,” he murmured to himself, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall.

  As the room's chaos slowly simmered down, Kuro’s gaze shifted, taking in the various petitors scattered throughout the room. The buzz of versation and tension was still palpable, but Kuro’s foarrowed on the individuals who stood out among the crowd.

  His eyes first settled on a tall, posed figure with an aura of quiet iy—a boy with striking pale eyes, void of pupils, that seemed to gaze right through the crowd. His posture erfect, rexed yet somehow calg, giving off the impression that he was always a few steps ahead of everyone else.

  “Neji Hyuga,” Kuro thought to himself, immediately reizing the prodigy of the prestigious Hyuga eji’s reputation had spread far beyond the fines of the Hidden Leaf Vilge, and even in this room full of skilled ninjas, he stood out. Despite his calm demeanor, there was an undeniable aura of quiet menace about him. His eyes were trained on nothing in particur, but the sharpness of his gaze suggested he was taking ihing, every person, every movement. It was a remihat he could see through his oppos’ every move with the Byakugan—a gift and curse he carried with both pride and burden.

  Nearby, Kiba Inuzuka sat with his ever-present panion, Akamaru. Kiba’s usual exuberant energy was in check for now, but his alert posture and the way he sed the room suggested he was ready for anything. Akamaru, perched fortably atop his head, let out a low growl, sensing the tension in the air. The loyal dog’s eyes darted betweeher petitors, his fur bristling slightly in respoo the undercurrent of dahat buzzed through the room. Kiba, leaning slightly fave a small, approving nod toward Akamaru’s instincts. “You feel it too, huh?” Kiba whispered, though his voice was more a low murmur, like a predator ready to pounce.

  Standing just beside them was Shino Aburame, his usual quiet presence giving off a far more mysterious aura than Kuro had ever seen. Shino’s dark sungsses covered his eyes, but Kuro knew better than to assume that meant he wasn’t paying attention. The Aburame was infamous for using is as ons, and Shino’s stoic expression could easily mask a mind filled with strategies and tingencies. His body nguage didn’t shift at all as he observed the room, but there was something undeniably uling about his stillness. It was as though he was analyzing everything around him with plete precision, his eyes hidden but always watg. Kuro couldn’t help but admire the way Shi his emotions locked aerfectly in trol.

  Across the room, anure stood out—Gaara of the Sand. His presence alone seemed to create an invisible barrier around him, a kind of chilling aura that repelled those who might dare to get too close. His arms were crossed over his chest in a defensive posture, but it was more than that. His entire demeanor screamed isotion, even in the midst of the crowd. His expressioy aionless, looked as though it had been carved out of stone, an unreadable mask that made him even more unnerving to those around him.

  But it wasn’t just his expression that caught Kuro’s attention. Gaara’s gourd, strapped securely to his back, was a stant reminder of his deadly abilities. Kuro knew all too well that Gaara’s sand could move with a terrifying swiftness, proteg him and crushing his enemies in an instant. Gaara’s cold, pierg gaze sed the room, and there was a certaiiness in it, as though he wasn’t even seeing the people around him, but rather the whole situation as some kind of cruel game. The air around him seemed to thi with foreboding, as if the mere act of being in the same space as Gaara was a risk in itself.