Obito still had no idea that the Chunin Ninja Exams had begun. He was wandering aimlessly.
After all, the Forest of Death was enormous, and Obito didn't know his way around. If no one came to help him, he could probably wander here until the exams ended.
Obito made his way through the woods, watching for any movement around him.
Meanwhile, the Shinobi squads had set out, each heading straight for the center of the Forest of Death. As luck would have it, Obito was on one of the paths leading there.
"There's something up ahead!" Obito suddenly stopped. After advancing to Jonin, his perception was much sharper than before.
Still, Obito decided to observe a little longer. After all, Kakashi and the others were the only people he knew here. If anyone else misunderstood, he wouldn't know how to explain himself.
Just ahead of Obito, Hinata's squad had been targeted by a squad of Grass Ninja as soon as they entered the Forest of Death. It had to be said that in Hinata's squad...
Shino was a reconnaissance Shinobi, and Kiba Inuzuka's summoning dog had an extremely keen sense of smell. Yet a squad was planning to ambush them in the woods.
Shino might usually have little presence, but at crucial moments he always managed to grasp what mattered. He discreetly signaled Kiba.
Kiba understood the signal and continued forward, leading the Shinobi following behind them along.
As a reconnaissance Shinobi, Kiba had long since familiarized himself with the surrounding terrain. With the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan there as well, Kiba knew exactly where every trap and danger lay.
When the Grass Ninja hiding in the shadows saw the group move, they quickly followed. As far as they were concerned, the group was already in the palm of their hands, so they paid it little mind.
Once Kiba had led them to the destination, the Grass Ninja squad stopped hiding and attacked from behind.
But before they could make a move, a huge number of leeches came tumbling down from the trees. The Grass Ninja had no time to react before the leeches landed all over them.
Once they came to their senses, they hurriedly retreated, hoping to get clear of the leeches. But they hadn't expected the traps the proctors had set behind them.
Caught off guard, they were snagged by a trap on the ground and left hanging from a tree in a net. The scroll they had been holding also fell to the ground.
Seeing this, Kiba quickly picked it up, but when he opened it, he found it was the same as their own scroll. He was bitterly disappointed.
"I thought it was a Heaven Scroll. I didn't expect it to be the same as ours," Kiba complained.
Obito was secretly watching Hinata's squad from nearby, unaware that he had edged a little too far forward and risked being spotted.
Even though Obito had done his best to hide, Shino still noticed something amiss.
There were too many insects in the forest, and every one of them could serve as Shino's eyes.
"Kiba, watch your back," Shino warned.
At Shino's warning, Kiba immediately noticed an enemy hiding behind a tree. He and Akamaru rushed forward to capture Obito.
"Don't misunderstand! I-I'm not an enemy!" Seeing that he had been discovered, Obito no longer intended to hide.
When Obito emerged from behind the tree, Kiba didn't believe him. After all, everyone here had come to take the Chunin Ninja Exams. How could they possibly have an ally?
"Hinata, Shino, let's go!" With that, Kiba charged in first.
"Fang Over Fang!"
Kiba and his summoning dog Akamaru spun rapidly, forming two tornadoes that hurtled toward Obito.
Hinata didn't hesitate after hearing Kiba. She might usually be very shy, but she wouldn't hold back against an enemy.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"
Hinata brought her hands together and used the Eight Trigrams Palm, the Hyuga Clan's secret Taijutsu. Combined with the Byakugan, it could inflict tremendous damage.
Seeing that he couldn't talk things out, Obito could only retreat, but Hinata and the others had no such intention. The three of them joined forces to surround him.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Seeing this, Obito had no choice but to fight back. Hinata and her teammates were nowhere near strong enough to threaten him as he was now. He used Fire Style and forced them all back.
How could Hinata's squad withstand an attack like that? Everyone else was playing with Kunai and Taijutsu, so why didn't this guy have any martial virtue? He was using Ninjutsu right off the bat?
At the Genin stage, being able to use even one Ninjutsu was already pretty good. But what was Obito's situation now? He could be considered Elite Jonin level, even if his combat experience was a little lacking.
But that didn't stop Obito from beating up some weaklings here.
After forcing them back, Obito hurriedly explained, "I'm really not a bad guy. I came looking for my friend and got lost by accident."
Obito's excuse was bizarre enough that any normal Shinobi would have refused to believe it. They were taking an exam, and he'd come looking for someone? Why didn't he just claim to be a proctor?
Seeing that none of them believed him, Obito desperately explained, "Really! My friend's name is Kakashi Hatake. You must know him."
"Hey, you don't have to go that far to lie, do you? We're taking an exam here!" Kiba said, speechless.
Hinata, however, looked thoughtful. She knew Kakashi Hatake's name; because of Naruto, she knew Kakashi was the Jonin in charge of his team.
"Kiba, look. This person is wearing a Konoha Forehead Protector," Shino said, noticing that Obito was wearing one.
That made it even harder to believe. Kiba didn't know every Genin in the village, but he knew more than half of them. Yet he had never seen the person in front of him in the village.
"Really, I know Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura too." Seeing that they didn't believe him, Obito had no choice but to name a few more people he knew.
Sure enough, Kiba only let his guard down a little when Naruto was mentioned. Someone could have falsely claimed to know Kakashi Hatake, but Naruto was a Genin. How would someone who didn't know him recognize his name?
Seeing the group lower their guard only after he mentioned Naruto's name, Obito finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Kakashi, why didn't mentioning your name work? Obito wondered. Once he saw Naruto, he would have to ask him about it.
"Speaking of which, if you're Naruto's friend, why did you come to our exam site?" Kiba asked.
Obito didn't know how to explain it to them. If he told them he'd traveled here from the past, would they take him for a fool?
Forget it. He had only just gained a little of their trust, so he shouldn't say anything reckless.
"I'm not really sure either. I was walking along and ended up in this forest," Obito said, making up an excuse on the spot.
Hinata and the others didn't suspect anything. After all, the Forest of Death was so large that some people were bound to get lost and wander in by accident.
"I want to find Naruto. Can I come with you?" Obito asked.
Rather than wandering around aimlessly on his own, he might as well follow them. That way, he might find Naruto and the others.
"It's against the rules, but since you're Naruto's friend, we're willing to help you out," Kiba said after discussing it with his teammates.
"I'm Kiba Inuzuka, and this is my summoning beast, Akamaru." Kiba introduced himself.
"This is Shino Aburame, and this is Hinata Hyuga." Both greeted Obito, but Hinata was shy, so her voice was too quiet for Obito to hear.
"Hello. I'm Obito Uchiha," Obito replied readily.
"What? Are you from the Uchiha Clan?" Kiba asked curiously.
"Of course! I'm a genius of the Uchiha Clan," Obito replied proudly.
Kiba didn't know whether that was true. As far as he knew, the Uchiha Clan had all... Forget it. He would take Obito to Naruto and ask then.