The First Exam: Final Day

The hillside was desolate.

The barren soil can barely support a few scattered shrubs, which are yellowish-green and withered and listless.

Large swathes of bluish-gray rocks were exposed, and gray lizards darted swiftly across the rough rocks.

Looking up at the mountaintop, the towering stone pagoda stands out prominently.

"Whew! We're almost there!"

Sakura, panting heavily, staggered to a patch of gray stone devoid of weeds and shrubs, and lay down on her back.

Exhaustion, like the rising tide, almost overwhelmed her thoughts.

"Sakura, don't be careless. There could be an attacker popping up anywhere at this time!" Miki's face was also full of fatigue, Sharingan kept scanning the surroundings. Rindou followed behind with his head down and a limp, his dark circles showing his exhaustion.

They were exhausted from the journey, but initially managed to grab four signs without much trouble.

After that, they abandoned any further plans to attack other teams, focusing solely on reaching the stone tower at the summit as soon as possible to report for duty.

Unfortunately, they encountered a Sand Ninja squad on their way.

After a fierce battle, the three of them fled in a sorry state, completely outmatched. If it weren't for Rindou using his Shadow Clone to slow down their opponents, they probably wouldn't have been able to escape.

That wasn't the end of it. Those Sand Ninjas didn't seem to intend to let them go, chasing them all the way and forcing them to hide and take detours until they finally arrived here today, at the last minute.

"Sakura, I reckon there are quite a few people lying in wait around here! We can't let our efforts be in vain."

It was Senju Sayuri spoke up to remind her.

"I understand, Sister Sheath."

Sakura forced herself to stand up.

"Sheath, don't be so serious. There are six of us here! It's been ten days already. Those troublesome guys have probably collected all their number plates and entered the tower by now. The small fry who managed to get here probably wouldn't dare to mess with us."

The boy, who was sucking on a candy that looked like a cigarette to replenish his sugar intake, smiled, but the wound on his left cheek looked particularly gruesome.

"Haruka, shut up and eat your candy. We'll rest for five minutes, then continue up the mountain. Those three Sand Ninja will catch up soon..."

Senju Sayuri's face was also filled with exhaustion.

Hiruzen Haruka crunched the candy in half, obediently closed her eyes, and conserved her energy.

Their team wasn't very lucky; the other teams they encountered on the road had their number plates snatched first.

Therefore, they all planned to rush to the highest peak and wait for the rabbit to come to them!

Just then, they encountered Rindou, Miki, and the other two who were on the run. By using their extra number tags as payment, Senju Sayuri rescued the three and fought a fierce battle with the Sand Ninja squad.

As a result, Sheath and her group were defeated, and the six were forced to flee.

Fortunately, the six of them managed to hold out against the Sand Ninja squad's attack by working together; otherwise, Sakura and the others wouldn't have been able to escape this far on their own.

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Looking at the sun rising high in the sky, its dazzling white light made one dizzy.

"Let's go! Be careful the Sand Ninja catch up."

Senju Sayuri was the first to stand up and led the way to continue climbing the mountain.

Of the six, only Senju Sayuri, Hiruzen Haruka, and Miki Uchiha still possess full combat strength.

When Rindou fought the Puppet Master from the Sand Ninja team, his calf was grazed by a poisoned Senbon. If he hadn't been decisive enough to slice off a whole chunk of flesh with one stroke, he would have died from the poison long ago.

A piece of muscle in his right leg was cut off. He survived thanks to the powerful bloodline of the Vortex, but the wound healed very slowly. He could barely keep up with the others, and his combat ability was limited to throwing Shuriken.

Meanwhile, Senju Sayuri, Kaguya Shuuya's companion, was in no better condition than Rindou. His right arm was broken into several pieces, and it was completely limp, swinging as he walked. He couldn't even throw Shuriken.

As for Sakura, she wasn't seriously injured, but her combat power was completely negligible.

Therefore, Senju Sayuri took the lead and cleared the way, Hiruzen Haruka and Miki brought up the rear, and the other three followed in the middle.

While walking.

The mountain beneath our feet suddenly trembled slightly.

"Careful!"

Senju Sayuri roared.

Even without the girl's reminder, everyone saw the sudden surge of quicksand on the hillside, cascading down like an avalanche.

"Wood Release: Wood Sea Birth"

Senju Sayuri was able to convince Kaguya Shuuya and Hiruzen Haruka while disguised as a woman, which naturally indicates that she possessed considerable skill. Her mastery of Wood Style Jutsu was unmatched among her peers.

The brown trunks twisted and turned, and the dense, lush green canopies grew and expanded rapidly, forming a dense forest that blocked the way for the group of people.

Meanwhile, led by Senju Sayuri, the six of them ran quickly to the right.

"These trees can only hold out for a while; they can't withstand the force of the falling quicksand... Damn bastards, they actually went around ahead of us." Senju Sayuri looked gloomy.

The fact that the Sand Ninja squad had intercepted their path up the mountain was undoubtedly terrible news.

Everyone wore grim faces, racking their brains for a way to break the deadlock.

"It's my fault, it's all my fault. If I hadn't asked to stop and rest..."

Sakura started sobbing, feeling extremely guilty.

"Sakura, don't cry. This has nothing to do with you. We're all exhausted. Even if we don't rest, we probably won't be able to outlast those Sand Ninja bastards."

Senju Sayuri rebuked her, their brows furrowing tightly.

"Boom!!"

The rushing sand engulfed the forest, uprooting large trees and carrying them surging down the mountain.

You can't escape.

A cold voice came from above. Quicksand, slithering like a snake, sped down the hillside. Gaara, carrying a gourd, looked down at the six people below.

"Hand over your number plates now! We don't want your lives, we just want the plates."

The blonde female Cloud Ninja carrying a huge Iron Fan also shouted.

The final deadline was fast approaching, and with the stone tower so close by, they figured there were probably many Konoha ninja watching from inside, so they gave up their thoughts of killing.

After all, the Sand Village is now an ally of Konoha.

Killing Konoha ninja in broad daylight has a bad reputation; in places where no one can see, the bodies of more than a dozen Konoha Ninja have already been buried.

So, as a second-best option, they could simply take away all their number tags, forcing these six Konoha Ninja to leave the scene.

To be fair, that Konoha Ninja using Wood Style Jutsu was troublesome. If it weren't for Gaara, either Temari or Kankuro would probably be no match. Kicking Senju Sayuri out here for the second exam is undoubtedly a good idea. (To be continued)