The second exam ends

The explosion site resembled a meteorite crater.

The original Forest was gone, and even the earth itself was shattered by the shockwave and then swept away by the fierce winds, leaving only large Rock behind. The entire land was scorched black by the high temperature.

The destroyed examination area covered one-tenth of the total area.

From the perspective of aerial drone surveillance, a circular black spot appeared in the vast Forest, looking quite ugly.

The edges of the black spots were haphazardly piled-up tree remains, forming a wall as high as six or seven meters, like a dam built by beavers.

But even on the black earth at the epicenter of the explosion, there were a few colors that stood out from the crowd.

Darui, Cloud Ninja, had his entire body crackling with blue-purple arcs of electricity. His Lightning Release Chakra Mode transformed his body into an indestructible wall of steel, protecting Shi and Samui in his embrace.

However, he was still too young, and his physical training and Ninjutsu proficiency were not yet up to par.

Darui was slow to activate his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, and was just a fraction too late when the shockwave arrived, resulting in him sustaining serious injuries.

In another direction, a fortress made of white bones unfolded like a flower bud, revealing purple crystals inside.

As the crystal melted away, Kimimaro, Guren, and Jūgo's figures were revealed.

Not far from Kimimaro's bone fortress, a crack appeared in the ground, and Naruto Uzumaki Uchiha Sasuke emerged from underground, followed by the trembling Sakura Haruno and Karin.

Kakashi was unable to arrive in time before the explosion, Naruto Uzumaki was unable to use Swift Style to quickly take everyone away. He could only use Earth Release: Underground Fortress to take the entire team 30 meters underground, into a safe fortress that was strong enough to withstand a terrorist attack.

Now that the footage of Karin with Konoha's Team 7 has been completely exposed, there will likely be some trouble ahead.

Shazo curled his lip, secretly hoping that Shisui Uchiha's move to silence him would be carried out smoothly, so that he, as Hokage, wouldn't have to get involved and could just let the other Department Head heads handle it.

If the murder to cover up the crime wasn't handled properly, Shisui might have to make another trip to Kusagakure.

It is believed that even without the Hokage's intervention, Konoha will be able to gain the understanding of the Grass Ninja leader and issue an official Ninja transfer document, officially transferring Karin Uzumaki to the status of Konoha Ninja.

You must understand, these are descendants of the Uzumaki Clan. With the Uzushio Village in the Land of Whirlpools no longer existing, Konoha is their last and most suitable home.

The Kusagakure's refusal to release its inhabitants is tantamount to disrespecting the Fifth Hokage.

The consequences could be quite serious.

On the pitch-black earth, the most conspicuous thing was a patch of yellow sand. As the explosion passed, the sand Flow rapidly, reshaping itself into a Pyramid.

When the Pyramid was finally completed, three people appeared at its apex: Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari.

Gaara's panting appearance proves that the enormous Pyramid was created by his own abilities, not by borrowing Shukaku's power.

Opposite the Sand Pyramid, a strange-looking ice mirror stands quietly on the ground, as if it had never been involved in the explosion.

However, Haku, who created and maintained the ice mirror, was so exhausted that his whole body ached and he could only barely hold his own against the other Ninja Squad with the help of Hozuki Suigetsu.

What's most unexpected is that there was a Konoha Ninja Squad at the scene of the explosion, and they looked so relaxed.

The three Konoha Genin, led by Tenten, were full of energy and showed no signs of injury or exhaustion, though their clothes were somewhat disheveled.

Neji Hyuga seemed somewhat disoriented, perhaps due to being frightened.

You can't blame him, because he's the only normal person in the team.

When the explosion occurred, Captain Tenten didn't take any actual action. He simply released his own "Luck" and then smiled at his teammates, saying, "Don't move, and don't leave Taiyuan. I'm lucky enough right now, everything will be fine."

Tenten has absolute confidence in herself, while Rock Lee has no idea about her own safety. Only Neji Hyuga is terrified in the face of the violent explosion.

The shockwave from the explosion forced the ground down, creating a huge crater.

However, the depression itself also caused a surge in underground pressure, causing the underground Rock slabs to fracture, and an enormous rock slab rose out of the ground, blocking Tenten's way.

The massive rock slab, tilted at only 3 degrees, was enough to completely cover the Tenten Squad, and the slight tilt angle deflected the shockwave of the explosion; the three of them were merely ruffled by the wind.

When the storm of the explosion's echo struck, the rock slab broke under mechanical stress, and the flying Rock, as large as houses, landed right behind Tenten and the others, tilting and supporting the broken rock strata in front of them, forming a sturdy triangular structure that blocked the echo of the explosion.

Tenten and Rock Lee laughed through the thrilling four minutes, while only Neji Hyuga worried about every dramatic turn of events.

He was so focused on preparing for [Gentle Fist: Rotation] that he ended up with a nervous breakdown in just a few minutes.

As Deidara, engulfed in smoke, rode his third giant bird to join the other two, he happened to fly over the site of the explosion, inciting outrage from all the squads present.

However, Deidara's three giant birds flew at an extremely high altitude, far exceeding the range of Ninjutsu.

The Genin could only watch helplessly as he led his teammates towards the finish line.

Darui scoffed, "I didn't get to fully enjoy the second exam. How about you guys?"

Naruto Uzumaki and Uchiha Sasuke a glance, and he said with a smile, "Me too, we really want to pin that Golden-Haired to the ground and beat him up."

Tenten laughed and said, "Oh dear, I haven't even done anything yet, and I've already been hit by a huge explosion. I've wasted so much ' Luck ' and accumulated so much ' Misfortune.' I need a target to vent my frustration."

Bai Wenrou smiled gently and said, "I think it's great that we don't have to fight to the bitter end here."

Kimimaro and Gaara were both not good with words, and they each snorted coldly, expressing their displeasure.

Darui said, "Very well, since everyone agrees, let's not fight each other here. Let's settle our scores in the third match."

Tenten nodded and said, "Good idea. Let's make a pact: if we meet before we take down the Golden-Haired, we shouldn't fight to the death; it's not worth it."

Naruto Uzumaki loudly echoed, "I completely agree with Tenten's suggestion!"

Darui nodded and said, "Very good, that's what I think too."

Bai: "I agree."

Gaara and Kimimaro nodded, not even bothering to utter a sound.

The Ninja gathered in the meteorite crater were all the strongest Ninja Squad from various ninja villages. They had reached an agreement because of Deidara, and then began to disperse.

This group was actually the fastest advancing squad. Although a large-scale battle broke out, it didn't waste too much time, and they were still relatively far ahead.

In other words, some of these guys didn't have enough passes and needed to intercept the following teams before the finish line and steal their paired passes from them.

If an agreement is not reached here, a major battle will break out at the finish line.

In this situation, some Bad Luck might be eliminated prematurely, bringing shame upon their villages.

Because the risk is shared equally among everyone, no one is willing to bear such risk, which is why the agreement was reached by default.

Several Ninja Squad have already approached the outermost edge of the crater, including Team 8 from Konoha.

Captain Shino Aburame, along with Hinata Hyuga and Kiba Inuzuka, proudly infiltrated the Broken Tree Dam location, using their respective methods to observe the situation ahead.

Although the Ninja in the arena were having a peaceful conversation, they were also using their auras to confront each other, and Ninja who were not qualified had no ability to speak.

The powerful clash of auras created a terrifying atmosphere, causing Shino Aburame's Kikaichū to wilt, and Kiba Inuzuka and his Ninja Dog to tremble in fear. Only Hinata Hyuga was able to observe directly with her Byakugan.

Hinata was terrified by the Chakra fields that erupted like volcanoes; she trembled even more violently than Kiba Inuzuka.

Fortunately, Naruto's Chakra, as powerful as the sun, intentionally extended its aura to protect Hinata, which allowed her to persevere.

After those terrifyingly powerful Genin left, Naruto deliberately left last, and greeted Hinata with Chakra fluctuation, making Hinata's face turn bright red.

Fortunately, she had gotten somewhat used to Naruto's attempts to befriend her over the past two years, and quickly regained her composure, reconfirming the center of the battlefield.

Then Hinata said to her teammates, "They've all left."

Shino Aburame breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you for your hard work, Hinata."

"Thanks to you this time. My Kikaichū and Fang's Akamaru still need more training when facing these monsters."

He then said strangely, "That's really strange. Although these guys are monsters, they're at most Jonin level. They shouldn't have scared us so much."

"Teeth, how do you feel?"

Kiba Inuzuka lay on the ground, utterly disrespectful, and sighed, "I have a feeling that there's a super terrifying one among them, someone far more terrifying than Jonin."

Suddenly, he cried out and sat up abruptly, frantically pulling the Ninja Dog Akamaru from his pocket.

Kiba said disdainfully, "Ah! Akamaru! You actually peed your pants from fear!"

Akamaru barked, his eyes brimming with tears, "Woof woof, woof~"

Kiba Inuzuka couldn't believe it. "Huh? How can you be so cowardly? How can you be so scared? You can only pee when you're relaxed?"

Shino Aburame advised, "Kiba, don't blame Akamaru."

Encouraged by Hinata Hyuga, Naruto felt much better and was able to laugh as she said, "Yeah, Kiba, I could tell you were terrified yourself."

Kiba Inuzuka's legs trembled as he stubbornly insisted, "No, I... I'm not scared at all."

Aburame Shino asked in confusion, "What kind of monster is mixed among them?"

At that moment, Shikamaru Nara emerged from behind and guessed, "He might be Jinchuriki."

Shino Aburame Satori what was going on and nodded thoughtfully.

Kiba Inuzuka looked confused and scratched his head, asking, "What is Jinchuriki? Who is Jinchuriki?"

Shikamaru Nara rolled his eyes. "Kiba, Jinchuriki is common knowledge for Ninja, you should learn that, okay?"

"Furthermore, the Jinchuriki is the top secret of every village. How could a Genin me possibly know who it is?"

Ino Yamanaka covered her mouth and laughed, "Kiba, I really wonder how you graduated."

Shino Aburame said, "Shikamaru, let's go together from now on, our two teams."

Shikamaru Nara nodded and said, "We chased after them for this. There must be a robbery squad blocking the finish line ahead. We're no match for those monster squads."

"But with our two teams working together, we should make them think twice, and the safety level will be much higher."

Shino Aburame and said, "Yes, have you collected all the passes?"

Ino Yamanaka nodded and said, "We've got everyone. Shika calculated the route, and as soon as we entered, we stopped a small team from Hoshigakure and got the half-pass we needed."

She then asked, "What Shino you guys, Shino?"

Kiba Inuzuka grinned smugly, "We've got them all, and we even managed to get one and a half extra."

Shikamaru Nara was overjoyed. "Great! Even if we're intercepted by the enemy, we can use the extra passes to buy our way through."

Shino Aburame nodded and said, "Let's set off as soon as possible. If we are caught up by other ninja village teams, it will cause a lot of trouble. The two teams will be mixed together. The reconnaissance team will be responsible for clearing the way and covering the rear, while the Ino-Shika-Cho team will be in the middle to prepare for a counterattack."

The second exam then erupted into many more battles.

But with that epic battle between monsters preceding it, this ordinary fight seemed utterly mundane. Not only did the four Shadows find it uninteresting, but even ordinary people felt their passion waning and couldn't feel any excitement anymore.

In fact, these seemingly "unremarkable" and "unexciting" battles are still very intense, even brutal.

In such neglected battles, many Genin injuries or even death.

Some squads hid their passes, which led to torture and interrogation.

Because the visuals were too horrific, Konoha Ninja did not broadcast similar scenes, thus concealing some of the bloodshed in the Ninja world.

Ultimately, 11 Genin teams arrived at the final destination with complete passes and successfully passed the assessment.

The second exam had an elimination rate of nearly four-fifths, with over a hundred genin Genin and more than twenty others Genin injured or disabled, resulting in heavy casualties.

The Fifth Hokage in the private room stood up and said, "Everyone, today's assessment is over. I'm going to meet the Genin who passed the assessment. Would you like to come along?"

The Fourth Kazekage, the Fourth Raikage, and the Third Tsuchikage all shook their heads. Ōnoki said, "We won't go. Fifth Hokage, please do as you wish."

After speaking, the three Kage each used their own methods to leave in the most stylish way, showing off their power and coolness to the ordinary people in the Meeting Hall and advertising their ninja villages.

The Fifth Hokage smiled and walked away like an ordinary person.

He no longer needs to show off like that.