Death Rock Cave

Feng Ye's early submission left quite a few students taking the Chunin Exams staring in astonishment, and they all looked up at him.

"...He passed?"

"What? He solved such difficult questions?!"

Some students who had yet to realize that the key to this exam was "cheating" had disbelief flicker in their eyes. They could not answer a single one of the ten questions on the test paper, yet Feng Ye had finished them all so quickly. Even top students were not this outrageous!

Someone narrowed his eyes at Feng Ye's departing back.

"There's something off about that guy."

He had long realized that cheating was the key to this exam, but the problem was that the Chunin planted among the crowd specifically to answer the questions had not even finished them all. Yet Feng Ye had already completed his paper. That was a little absurd.

Did he somehow know the test paper and answers in advance? Damn it. At that thought, he could not help cursing inwardly as he glared at Feng Ye.

Under the hostile gazes of the many examinees in the classroom, Feng Ye simply walked out of the exam room.

The moment he stepped outside, Feng Ye stopped.

Kakashi had appeared outside the exam room at some point. He was leaning lazily against the wall, wearing his usual detached look as his gaze swept across the area.

Feng Ye looked at Kakashi, lifted his chin, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Proctoring."

Kakashi folded his arms across his chest. "I'm responsible for escorting out examinees caught cheating five times, though it seems the quality of this batch is pretty good..."

Before he could finish, the voice of a Chunin proctor came from inside the exam room.

"Number fifty-one, you have lost your qualification to continue the exam!"

"..."

Feng Ye shrugged.

Kakashi spread his hands helplessly as well, then walked into the exam room and drove out the three examinees who had lost their qualification, escorting them away.

Watching Kakashi leave, Feng Ye yawned and headed directly for the venue of the second stage of the Chunin Exams. Before long, he arrived at the location he had learned of beforehand.

The second stage of the Chunin Exams was not being held in Training Ground 44, the Forest of Death, but in Training Ground 31, known as Death Rock Cave.

As far as the eye could see.

Inside the examination grounds, which were enclosed by wire fencing, there was almost no vegetation. The terrain, however, was extremely rugged, like the complex landforms carved by flowing water in the Land of Rain. Small hills of all shapes and sizes were scattered everywhere, and numerous interconnected caves could vaguely be seen.

"This is the Chunin Exams venue. No approaching."

A ninja stationed nearby spotted Feng Ye and immediately came over to stop him in a stern voice.

Feng Ye withdrew his gaze and took out his admission card. "I'm a Chunin Exams examinee. The first stage has already ended, so I came over early."

"Hmm..."

The ninja glanced at Feng Ye's admission card in slight surprise. "Then wait here for the chief examiner to arrive. Entry is prohibited before the exam begins."

"Alright."

Feng Ye stepped aside to wait.

It was not long before the first stage over there ended. Of the more than sixty Genin, nearly half had been eliminated in one go, leaving only a little over thirty.

The three Genin from Kirigakure and the three Genin from Kumogakure had all passed. As elites sent by two villages, such a basic exam naturally could not stump them.

"So this is the venue for the second stage."

A Genin from Kirigakure looked over the wire-enclosed Death Rock Cave. A chilling smile appeared on his face as he licked the corner of his mouth. "Heh, it's practically made for us."

This cave-riddled terrain was incredibly favorable for Mist Shinobi like them, who excelled at Water Release. Once they unleashed a Water Release technique, it would be hard for anyone to dodge!

Kisame Hoshigaki also smiled faintly. "It is quite suitable."

"Indeed. Quite suitable... as your burial ground."

An unwelcome voice came from nearby, wiping the smile off Kisame Hoshigaki's face. The two Mist Shinobi beside him also turned sharp gazes toward the speaker in an instant.

The one who had spoken was a muscular, dark-skinned man clad in coarse linen clothes, with a Kumogakure forehead protector around his brow.

"Whose burial ground it'll be is still up for debate."

"You'd better watch yourselves, Cloud Ninja..."

The two Genin from Kirigakure stared coldly at the Cloud Ninja opposite them.

This terrain suited them, but it also suited Cloud Ninja who trained in Lightning Release. Moreover, the Cloud Ninja's Lightning Release countered Water Release, so Kirigakure's ninjas often came out at a disadvantage against them.

The three Genin from Kumogakure clearly understood this as well, so they did not take the three Mist Shinobi's threats seriously at all. They looked as though they would gladly throw down if given the chance.

Just then.

A voice rang out.

"Quiet, all of you!"

Shinku Yuhi, who was in charge of overseeing the second stage of the Chunin Exams, walked over and said sternly, "Before the second stage begins, you must first sign this consent form. Casualties may occur during this exam... Anyone unwilling to sign may leave now."

The many ninjas exchanged glances. Naturally, none of those who had made it this far would back down halfway, and they soon signed the consent forms one after another.

"Alright, now for the exam rules..."

Shinku Yuhi looked at the many Genin who had signed the consent forms and spoke in a deep voice. "There are now thirty-four people participating in the second stage of the Chunin Exams. Including those acting alone, there are twelve teams in total. Next, you will each be issued one of two types of scrolls."

"The objective of this exam is to obtain both a Heaven Scroll and an Earth Scroll, then successfully reach the watchtower at the very center of Death Rock Cave. The time limit is three days..."

"Come collect your scrolls now."

After speaking, Shinku Yuhi gestured for the examinees to come forward and receive their scrolls.

Since there were not many teams left, only twelve in all, the scroll distribution was not concealed. The six teams that received Heaven Scrolls and the teams that received Earth Scrolls stood on opposite sides, glaring at one another with hostility.

The Cloud Ninja and Mist Shinobi had both received Earth Scrolls.

"We got scrolls that are useless to us... There's no benefit in taking you out."

"Heh heh."

After the Cloud Ninja and Mist Shinobi exchanged cold looks, neither side paid any more attention to the other. Instead, they turned toward the teams that had received Heaven Scrolls.

The most eye-catching among them—the one nearly all the members of the six Earth Scroll teams looked toward—was Feng Ye, standing alone with a Heaven Scroll in hand.

"That guy really is alone."

"Heh... If he dares to participate alone, he should have some confidence. He probably won't be easy to deal with, but the combat strength of three people working together is not the same as one person's."

Quite a few ninjas looked at Feng Ye with ill intent.