First Round

Of course, the Search Team would not take things too seriously. Otherwise, hardly anyone taking the exam would pass. The first round primarily tested teamwork, stealth, countertracking, and escape abilities. The second round was the true test of hard power!

A day passed quickly. As evening approached, the Search Team had already mobilized. Under Jiogan's perception, unlucky candidates had already been captured and eliminated. With Jiogan and Inuzuka Yoru, two Sensor Ninjas, Team 11 easily evaded several rounds of pursuit.

Might Duy's Team had no sensory-type ninja and encountered a Search Team. After some struggle, they successfully escaped at the cost of two injured members.

As for Anima and Okamura Taro, they were too far away for Jiogan to sense, so he had no idea how they were doing.

The Forest of Death was simply too vast. Jiogan could only sense one-fifth of its total area.

The Search Team continued making captures at night, and people were constantly being eliminated. "Looks like getting a good night's sleep over these three days is impossible!" Jiogan said.

The three were still near the river. Jiogan arranged, "I sensed Might Duy's Team moving toward our position. They should be looking for water. Once our two teams meet up, we'll move together!"

About ten minutes later, Might Duy and the others reached the riverbank. Just as they were about to collect water, Might Duy suddenly called out vigilantly, "Who is it? Come out!" The other two hurriedly drew their kunai and prepared for battle.

"Brother Duy, it's me, Jiogan."

Jiogan emerged from the forest, followed by Inuzuka Yoru and Kurama Feiyun.

"It's Jiogan! I thought someone from the Search Team was lying in wait by the water!" Might Duy also breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had escaped the previous encounter, two members of his team had been injured. If they ran into another patrol this time, it would probably not be so easy for everyone to get away.

"The three of us have been hiding nearby all day and avoided several searches. I sensed you moving in our direction, so I specifically waited for you. Let's have our two teams act together!" Jiogan said.

"But two people on my team are already injured. I'm afraid we'll hold you back!" Might Duy said.

"Don't worry. Yoru and I are both Sensor Ninjas. We'll redistribute the team members!" Jiogan said.

"Yoru, Brother Duy, and Kusama, you three will form one team. Feiyun, Tōji, and I will form the other. That way, both teams will have a strong point and a sensory point, while also distributing the injured members," Jiogan said.

"Fine, let's do that!" Might Duy said.

"The Search Team won't stop operating at night, but we can't go without rest twenty-four hours a day. We need night watches. Feiyun and I will take the first half of the night, while Yoru and Brother Duy take the second half. The injured don't need to stand watch!" Jiogan said.

After everyone reached an agreement, they collected water. Jiogan selected a concealed location, and everyone took up hiding positions. They stood watch in shifts as agreed, ready to relocate immediately if a Search Team crept over.

Fortunately, the first night passed without incident. After a night's rest, the injured members recovered well and regained seventy to eighty percent of their combat strength.

"I wonder how many people have been eliminated. I heard fighting in several places last night. The closest was only a kilometer from our hiding spot!" Might Duy said.

"There are too many uncertainties in the first round. Luck is also a form of strength. We can only wish the examinees good luck!" Jiogan said.

Everyone stayed put for another full day. Perhaps the place Jiogan had chosen through the Qi Sensing Technique was too well concealed; throughout the entire day, six Search Teams passed nearby, yet none discovered them.

"Jiogan, the place you picked is amazing. If we pass the first round this easily, everyone else is going to be furious!" Inuzuka Yoru said.

"None of those six Search Teams had Sensor Ninjas. My guess is that if too few people have been eliminated by the third day, the Search Team will send out Sensor Ninjas to speed up the eliminations," Jiogan said.

"Mm, based on the first-round passing rates from past Chunin Exams that I found, it's around thirty percent. In other words, out of the forty-eight people taking this Chunin Exam, only about seventeen will pass the first round!" Kurama Feiyun added.

It seemed the real test would come on the third day!

Another night passed without incident. Jiogan and the other five seemed to have truly been completely forgotten.

"How many people have been eliminated in two days?" At the Central Tower in the Forest of Death, Orochimaru asked his assistant.

"Lord Orochimaru, fifteen people have been eliminated!" the assistant replied.

"Only fifteen? The Search Team has gotten too lax!" Orochimaru said with a frown.

"Lord Orochimaru, the Genin in this batch are of very high quality. Several teams encountered the Search Team and escaped head-on!" the assistant said.

"Oh? Now that's interesting!" Orochimaru licked his lips in his trademark manner.

"Lord Orochimaru, should we send Sensor Ninjas to join the search?" the assistant asked.

"No. I'll personally make a move and see what this batch of Genin is made of. Hehehe!" Orochimaru revealed a sinister smile.

"Th-this... isn't it against the rules for the chief examiner to enter personally?" the assistant said awkwardly.

"Forget that rigid way of thinking. You need to learn to adapt. If I don't personally enter the field, and as chief examiner I just sit on the stage, what fun is there in that?" Orochimaru said.

With that, he leaped out of the Central Tower and vanished.

The assistant remained where he was, sighing. "Sigh, I'd better report this to Lord Hokage."

At that moment, the remaining thirty-three examinees still had no idea what kind of opponent they were about to face, or what kind of torment awaited them.

After entering the Forest of Death, Orochimaru summoned several White Snakes from Ryūchi Cave. He used them to control the local snakes of the Forest of Death and begin searching the entire forest. "Come on, find all those little rats!" Orochimaru wore his signature sinister grin.

In Konoha, at the Hokage's Office, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had already received a report from the examination grounds and learned that Orochimaru had personally begun capturing examinees. He took several deep puffs from his pipe and sighed. "That really is Orochimaru's style. Let him do as he pleases!"

At that moment, Jiogan and the others had no idea they were about to face a crisis brought about by the future Cold Lord of the Sannin, Orochimaru.

Orochimaru's snakes had already set their sights on Jiogan's group of six. It could not be helped—there were too many of them, making them far too conspicuous to avoid notice.

Jiogan used the Qi Sensing Technique at regular intervals, but he paid no attention at all to the snakes around them. There were simply too many snakes in the Forest of Death. Jiogan had never imagined that an oddball like Orochimaru would personally enter the field, nor that his group had already been targeted by Orochimaru's snakes.