The First Exam: Into the Mountains

"One hundred and eleven from Konoha, thirty-six from Sand Village, fifty-seven from Cloud Ninja... No one withdrew, totaling two hundred and eighty-two people, ninety-four groups of examinees... That's a lot of people."

Looking at the statistics, Samui frowned, but then calmed down.

Once this exam is over, the number of participants will be reduced to one-third, or even less...

"Alright, before you receive your tags, let me emphasize this again: the only way to pass this test is for the entire team to reach the stone tower at the highest peak while carrying all three number tags. There are no other options. If any member of the team is eliminated, it means the test has been failed."

Samui looked at the examinees with a cold, indifferent gaze, as if he were looking at dead people.

"Now line up and go to that tent over there to get your number!"

To the right front, not far from the Taiseki, there was a simple shed with three long tables inside, and a Cloud Ninja sitting behind each table.

"After you get your number, don't wander off. Someone will call out numbers, like numbers one through twenty. Just follow them. All ninety-four groups of candidates entered the mountain from different locations..."

The crowd began to surge towards the tent, and a conflict broke out over the queue, with Konoha ninjas and Waterfall Ninja ninjas arguing.

However, this minor trouble was quickly brought to a halt by Samui before it could gain traction.

"You bunch of idiots, behave yourselves! Fighting among candidates is strictly prohibited before entering the examination hall. We'll let it go this time, but if it happens again, you'll be disqualified from the exam."

After this incident, no one dared to cause trouble at this time; everyone obediently lined up and received their number.

······

"Fifty, I didn't expect it to be a round number."

The number plate, made of fine iron, was heavy and substantial, estimated to weigh two kilograms. The front had raised numbers, such as fifty, while the back was smooth and without any marks.

Shuyuan weighed the thing in her hand, then tossed it to Sasuke, Sasuke looked at it and then showed it to Naruto.

The number plate circulated around and returned to Shuyuan's hands. Before taking the exam, the three of them had already discussed it and decided that Shuyuan would be the team leader.

"Numbers one through ten, come with me."

On the open ground of the platform, a Cloud Ninja shouted loudly.

Soon, ten teams passed by, including those from Konoha, Cloud Ninja, Sunagakure, Rain Ninja —a complete hodgepodge.

"The guys from the same ninja village have all been separated."

Sasuke said in a low voice.

"Hey, that's normal. More than a hundred people from Konoha have come this time, which is more than a third of the total. If they enter the mountain from adjacent locations and then join forces, this exam won't be very interesting."

Shuyuan smiled, holding the cold number plate, a glint of shrewdness flashing in her eyes.

······

"Numbers 41 to 50, come with me."

After waiting for two minutes, a burly, dark-skinned Cloud Ninja called out the roll in a deep voice.

"It's our turn."

Naruto perked up and was the first to step out of the crowd, followed by Shuyuan and Sasuke.

The Cloud Ninja Yunren man stood on the platform, his gaze sweeping around. He counted the names and then said, "Let me see all your signs."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shuyuan decisively raised her number plate, and then the remaining nine plates were raised one after another.

"Everything's fine now, come with me!"

After confirming that there were no problems, the Cloud Ninja man turned around and left without saying another word to them.

Shuyuan others followed closely behind. The group left the platform and then ran quickly along the mountain path on the left. They were walking downhill, and the altitude kept decreasing during this time. They encountered five or six forks in the road, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the foot of the mountain.

Many people in the group were slightly out of breath.

The downhill path was just as strenuous, no easier than the uphill path.

"Alright, here's a road. Number 41 should go up this way."

The Cloud Ninja pointed to a narrow, winding path that snaked up the mountain and disappeared into a dark forest.

The team holding number 41 was also from Konoha, but they looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, and Shuyuan and the others didn't recognize them.

Once this small team entered the narrow path, the Cloud Ninja stopped paying attention and led the remaining nine teams forward.

Over the next period of time, a path leading up the mountain would be found at regular intervals, and a small team would be sent in. The distance between the two locations varied.

Shuyuan and her team drew number 50, which happened to be the last team.

"Alright, you can come up from here!"

Four people stood at the foot of a barren, steep mountainside. There was no road, and looking up, all they could see was a bare mountainside and large, protruding Taiseki.

"But there's no road here!"

Naruto stared wide-eyed at the Cloud Ninja, waiting for their explanation.

"Isn't that a road?"

The burly Cloud Ninja clan coldly pointed, and the three of them looked in that direction. It was a winding ditch, eroded by rainwater.

"Can that thing be called a road?"

Sasuke's lips twitched.

"Hmph, that's the path for ninjas. Stop whining! Are you coming in or not? If you don't plan to go up the mountain, I'll disqualify you from the exam." The Cloud Ninja roared impatiently at Sasuke.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, about to lash out, when suddenly a hand reached out and pressed down on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Let's go, let's go! It's a bit difficult to walk, but it's not a big problem."

Shuyuan, pulling Sasuke and Naruto along, leaped nimbly onto the steep mountainside like antelopes. They released Chakra beneath their feet, which adhered to the mountainside, allowing them to maintain their footing.

When the three of them found a large, protruding Taiseki to use as a foothold, they looked back and found that the winding mountain path was deserted.

"Have they left?"

Naruto couldn't help but exclaim.

"No, there are many people hiding near the mountain path. They are probably Cloud Ninja proctors, preventing any examinees from escaping."

Shuyuan closed her eyes, formed hand Hand Seals, and used Mind's Eye of the Kagura's Mind's Eye to take in all the nearby movements.

Sasuke remained silent, looking at Shuyuan and waiting quietly.

"Well, let's discuss our next move now! This first test is proving to be much more troublesome than we anticipated."

Shuyuan opened her eyes and looked at Sasuke and Naruto.

Sasuke frowned, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I think the first thing we need to do is find food and water. Ten days isn't enough time with the rations we brought. If we can't find food and water, forget about passing the exam; we probably won't even last until the end."

"Food shouldn't be difficult to obtain. There should be plenty of animals on this mountain. I just saw a pile of droppings, which must have been left by some kind of wild beast. We can hunt those animals. As for water... I have Water Release Technique, so it shouldn't be a problem," Shuyuan said.

Sasuke nodded, then said, "If the food isn't a problem, the next issue is collecting the other number plates and getting to the highest peak..."

In other words, they intend to attack other teams. (To be continued)