Though it was still a bright, sunny noon, the dense canopy blocked nearly all the sunlight overhead, allowing only a few dappled rays to filter into the forest. This made the interior of the Forest of Death incredibly dark, giving it an eerie, terrifying atmosphere.
As he moved through the forest, Shikamaru vigilantly observed his surroundings while thinking to himself.
Before the second exam had begun, he had already discussed things with his fellow graduates. Aside from Naruto and Sasuke's team, the other teams had all agreed to join forces.
So his top priority right now was not to search everywhere for prey, but to rendezvous with the others as quickly as possible.
Once all twelve of them had gathered, the second exam would be in the bag.
Among the twelve were not only taijutsu experts like Neji and Rock Lee, but also Shion, who excelled in Sealing Jutsu; Yakumo, who was skilled in genjutsu; Kiba and Shino, who possessed exceptional scouting and tracking abilities; and Sai, who could fly.
With a lineup like that, even if they unfortunately encountered Deidara from Iwagakure, they might still have a chance in a fight.
In fact, according to Shikamaru's original plan, if all fifteen graduates from their class acted together, sweeping through the second exam would not have been impossible.
After all, Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji were not only formidable in their own right, but each also had an absurdly powerful giant summon. If the three of them joined forces, passing the second exam would be no problem at all.
"...Sigh."
Thinking of that, Shikamaru could not help sighing.
Ino, beside him, said worriedly, "I don't know why, but I keep feeling that the people from Otogakure look at Sasuke strangely. Shikamaru, shouldn't we go help Sasuke and the others?"
Because she