After successfully suppressing the Cursed Seal, Zi Xu asked Hatsumi what she thought of Konoha. In broad strokes, he wanted to know how she felt about the village. The answer was no surprise: she felt some attachment to Konoha, though it wasn't particularly strong, and she also believed Hiruzen Sarutobi's policies were to blame.
"Mm, that's enough. I might be making a big move soon. Want to work with me?" Zi Xu said something to Hatsumi, and after he finished explaining his plan, she eagerly rubbed her hands together. Given her personality, his plan must have sounded thrilling.
When Chino woke up, Hatsumi couldn't wait to tell her about the plan. Chino was a little shocked, but then again, it wasn't surprising that Zi Xu would try something like that.
The days in the Forest of Death passed quickly. For the other examinees, they were agonizing. They had to watch out for ambushes from other teams while staying alert to the dangers lurking everywhere in the forest. It was a real struggle just to make it through.
Only Zi Xu's team had a relatively easy time. They made it to the central tower, combined the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, and summoned Takeshi Goda without a hitch. By then, word had spread through the Forest of Death that there were two teams you didn't want to mess with.
One was the Sand Gourd Baby, who carried a gourd on his back. He was like a rabid dog, attacking every team he saw and refusing to stop until everyone in sight was dead. The other team was much more reasonable. Unless someone showed them serious murderous intent, they usually weren't in any danger. But once they made an enemy of that red-haired boy, he'd swiftly beat the entire team to death.
It