Enemy Spotted

It was 3:55 PM, and by then all the Genin squads were basically ready at their respective entrances.

"It seems there's no one around. Let's go over there."

At Gate 26 of the Forest of Death, only a Konoha Ninja dressed as an examiner stands motionless.

Just then, three figures quickly appeared in the woods not far away; they were the three members of Shuichi's squad.

The invigilators weren't surprised to see them appear at this time. As they approached, they asked directly, "Please show me the entrance number you received."

He took the exam papers from Shuichi and checked them, then continued, "Everything's fine. The exam is about to begin, please get ready."

At the entrance to the Forest of Death, Umino Ikkaku stared intently at the timetable. As the minute and second hands aligned, he announced loudly, "The Second Chunin Exam is now officially beginning."

As the other Assistant Examiner simultaneously announced the start of the exam, the Genin at each entrance to the Forest of Death set off without hesitation, beginning a fierce Scroll Battle.

"Swish!" "Swish!" "Swish!"...

Shuichi and his two companions were no exception, and together they quickly rushed into the interior of the Forest of Death.

"Then let's proceed according to plan, heading southeast first."

From the main viewpoint of Gate 26, after entering, Shuichi's squad headed 45 degrees to the left, clearly indicating their intention to actively search for enemies.

At Gate 31, a Chunin from the Sunagakure Ninja Sunaki asked Chunin about his plans.

Sunaki replied, "Go to the left."

Similarly, they also planned to actively seek out enemies. If Chunin still had to worry about their survival, then they might as well not be ninjas and just go home and raise pigs.

At Gate 40, a male and a female Konoha Ninja looked at their teammate beside them. "Southeast direction, follow me."

This time, the young man in sunglasses walked in front, with the other two quickly following behind him.

Shuichi and his group were unaware that there was a possibility of a collision between the various groups. For now, they maintained a steady pace, weaving left and right through the woods, and their straight-line speed was not very fast.

For a typical Genin, their ability to travel long distances is far inferior to that of Chunin.

A skilled Chunin can travel at least 30km in an hour. Of course, that's on a perfectly flat, straight road.

The environment of the Forest of Death does not allow for that kind of speed. Just like Shuichi and his group, the ninjas who use chakra in the examination room all follow a "Z" shaped route, taking some time to observe the surrounding environment before each jump.

So overall, everyone's progress is slow. And without special reconnaissance methods, squads could easily pass by their opponents without even realizing it.

A significant number of ninjas, lacking confidence in their own abilities, simply walked quickly around the Forest of Death, constantly alert to their surroundings.

The Chunin Ninja Exams are very difficult, and they don't want to waste any of their chakra, because they might have to rest for a considerable period of time after just one battle.

The last remaining team from the Kusagakure was in a similar situation. After hearing the rules for the Second Stage exam, Captain Hirama practically decided to give up on passing it.

As for the face of the country and the village, and the fact that the teacher leading the group insisted that they must pass the test, none of that mattered when it came to their own lives.

Therefore, they are being quite cautious now. If possible, Hirama even wants to stay not far from the entrance, even if it means awkward eye contact with the proctors, which is acceptable.

The problem that is forcing them to move forward is the water supply, as the exam requires them to stay in the examination room for three full days.

If it's a food problem, then they can make do. By hunting some wild animals and using the Soldier Pill they carry, they can survive for three days.

Even for ninjas, going three days without water would be mortal danger. Unfortunately, the entrance to Hirama's Hirama was the furthest vertical distance between them and the river.

Therefore, in order to obtain water, they had no choice but to slowly walk towards the river.

"Captain Hirama, I don't quite understand. Since you said it's for safety reasons, shouldn't we stick closer to the walls of the Forest of Death? It's much longer, but it should be safer," a Genin from Kusagakure asked, somewhat puzzled.

Hirama hearing this, Hirama smiled confidently. "Logically speaking, that's true. But in this kind of situation, you have to put yourself in their shoes."

"What do you think? When you are very strong and your opponent is very weak, how should the weaker party act in the Forest of Death?"

"Oh!" The Kusagakure Genin realized, "I see. Among so many squads, there must be some searching for the enemy along the border."

"In their view, a squad that uses this method of advance must be very weak, and they can easily take them down once they encounter them." Hirama thought that there would definitely be squads advancing along the edge, just as he had imagined.

"As expected of the captain! He's so thoughtful. Our slow, methodical approach—neither going through the middle to the Tower nor taking the edges—is the one with the lowest probability of encountering the enemy." The Genin looked at Hirama with a hint of admiration.

Their team was particularly special because all the other teams from the Kusagakure had been eliminated.

In the first test, Hirama, as the team leader, was lucky enough to sit in the last row. Thanks to his wisdom, the team managed to pass the test.

"Not at all, this is normal procedure." Hirama enjoyed his teammate's compliments. Although he wasn't flattered, he still felt quite pleased.

Quite some time has passed since the exam began, and the sun, which was originally hanging in the sky, is now slowly approaching the horizon.

"That's about enough, Akiha. Let's hurry up and find them," Shuichi said to Hyuga Akiha.

"Understood! Byakugan, open them!"

The menacing, bulging blood vessels on either side of Hyuga Akiha's eyes were visible. Because his main task was to find enemies, his field of vision was very wide, so he had to concentrate.

"No findings at the moment!"

Shuichi and Sarutobi Kohei provided cover on either side of her. The amount of information they could gather within a few hundred meters was immense, and their intervals between actions lengthened in order to locate other teams.

"Let's try a different direction; maybe we'll find a slower-moving group." After a while, still finding nothing, Shuichi decided to change direction.

So the three of them turned 90 degrees and began heading northeast. If someone could see from above, they would notice that Shuichi's squad's route was a small fan-shaped carving out of the large disc of the Forest of Death.

After about ten minutes, having not yet found any other teams, Shuichi decided to let Hyuga Akiha rest for a bit.

Before she could even speak, Hyuga Akiha's voice rang out.

"A team has been spotted. Their chakra activity is relatively weak. They are located approximately 500 meters north of here, at a 35-degree angle."