Scroll Battle

After the first test, the importance of intelligence had been deeply ingrained in the minds of these Genin, and no one dared to be careless anymore.

In the upcoming Second Stage exam, the proportion of Konoha Genin was even higher than in the first exam, a situation that led everyone present to make some connections.

"Captain, do you think the Genin squads from other ninja villages might team up? We from Konoha have the most people, but each squad could very well be attacked by two squads from other villages, especially from Sunagakure."

Sarutobi Kohei's conclusion was obvious. The Joint Chunin Exam were meant to showcase each village's abilities, and if they couldn't even make it to the third round, what was the point of talking about anything else?

Shuichi agreed with his point of view; he had also thought of this, and the current situation was completely different from that in the original work.

"Of course, that's why I decided to end the battle today, because you never know if you might be attacked by three teams at the same time later, which is quite possible."

The Chunin Ninja Exams Konoha in 1960 had become a tradition, while Sunagakure was plotting something sinister. That's why only the Kazekage's Child's group seemed threatening, in order to lull Konoha into a false sense of security.

"So we should try to make our move before they regroup." Hyuga Akiha agreed, believing that going all out on the first day was the best strategy.

At 3 p. m., the candidates present heard a sound coming from the Forest of Death ahead.

"Whoosh, whoosh..." As the sound became clearer, everyone could see three figures darting and leaping through the woods.

They quickly appeared before the crowd. After flashing past the giant tree near the entrance, the three figures continued forward, vaulting over the barbed wire fence, and then landed next to the thatched shed at the entrance of the examination hall.

"It seems everyone is here. I am the chief examiner for the Second Chunin Exam, Umino Ikkaku. Nice to meet you." Of the three Konoha Ninja, the chief examiner, wearing a ninja vest and standing in the middle, stepped forward first. The other two, judging from their attire, were probably the Assistant Examiner.

"Huh? This is someone I know. Isn't this Iruka's father?" Shuichi realized that the examiner was a character who had briefly appeared in the original work.

His appearance was very ordinary, even a bit strange. He wore Konoha Forehead Protector and had a small braid tied at the back of his brown hair, which was somewhat similar to the hairstyle of Japanese samurai in Shuichi's memory.

He has a lot of Byakugan in his eyes, which are set far apart, and he also has a mustache, giving him a somewhat beastly look that's completely unrelated to handsome.

"First of all, congratulations on passing the first exam. It seems you are all very excellent Genin." Although Umino Ikkaku looks a bit fierce, he speaks quite kindly, and he first praised everyone present.

"Because there were so many participants, Konoha increased the difficulty of the first exam, and we didn't expect so many people to pass."

He immediately changed his tone and said, "Of course, even if the first exam is stressful, it won't involve any life-threatening danger."

"The Second Stage exam is different. Although we don't want anyone to die, because you are all young and have bright futures ahead of you."

"But a ninja is a ninja. Once you become a ninja, you can't avoid the issue of death, let alone an elite like Chunin."

"Let me make this clear first: we've decided not to set a maximum casualty threshold for the Second Chunin Exam. In other words, it's possible that even if all of you die, it's still possible."

After emphasizing the seriousness of the Second Stage exam to all the candidates, Umino Ikkaku took dozens of sheets of paper from the Assistant Examiner beside him, shook them, and began to speak to everyone:

"So now, for any team that wants to participate in the Second Chunin Exam, I need all three members of your team to sign this agreement, and then send one person to deliver it to me. Only then will I reveal the specific exam content."

Soon, all the examinees present received this "Death Consent Form," which is essentially a waiver of liability. If a participating Genin dies or is injured in the Second Stage Chunin Ninja Exams, Konoha will not be held responsible.

No one was intimidated by the agreement. The Genin participating in the Chunin Ninja Exams were all handpicked by their respective villages, and those with weaker skills had already been eliminated in the first round.

Not long after, everyone had signed the "Death Consent Form," and each team sent one person to deliver the agreement to the Assistant Examiner under the thatched hut.

After seeing that the Genin had finished submitting their papers, Umino Ikkaku began to talk about the content of the Second Stage exam.

"Now, everyone listen carefully, the Second Stage test is the extreme survival test."

"Considering that most people are not familiar with the testing location behind me, I will first explain the terrain of Training Ground No. 44, which is the Forest of Death."

As he spoke, he pulled a Scroll from his vest, opened it, and displayed a large, flat map of the Forest of Death to everyone.

"The terrain of the Forest of Death is roughly a circular area with a radius of ten kilometers. This training ground is dominated by large areas of forest, with a river running through the center of the forest."

"At the very center of the Forest of Death stands a Tower, which is the final destination you need to reach for your Second Stage test."

"As you can see from this gate, there are a total of 44 entrances on the outer perimeter of the Forest of Death. Once the exam begins, we will have each team enter through a different entrance."

Umino Ikkaku showed everyone the map on the Scroll carefully, then rolled it up again and put it back on his person.

"Now, here comes the important part: the Second Stage exam will be Scroll Battle." As he spoke, an Assistant Examiner walked up to him and showed everyone two Scroll, one labeled "Heaven" and the other "Earth."

"Each team here will receive a Scroll, and the total exam time is 3 days."

"Within these three days, I require you to do everything in your power to seize the opponent's Scroll. Only the team that collects both the Heaven and Earth Scroll will pass the Second Stage test."

"What, it's that difficult?" Upon hearing this, some Genin instantly lost their composure. Surviving in the Forest of Death for three days wasn't difficult, but they actually needed to seize extra Scroll in such a short time.

"This Second Stage exam will be much more intense than in the original story," Shuichi the rules. "The three-day time limit will immediately put the exam in a fiercely competitive phase; it'll be a cutthroat competition from the very beginning."

"I know what you're thinking," Umino Ikkaku's voice continued, "But the rules of this exam were agreed upon by the higher-ups of Konoha and Sand Village; it's precisely to select the most elite personnel."

"The Third Exam will be held under the watchful eyes of everyone, so we must strictly control the number of Genin. Therefore, in the Second Stage exam, for the sake of the country and the village, please fight with your lives on the line."