The Survival Battle!

The next day, all the Genin taking part in the Chunin Ninja Exams gathered at Konoha's Forest of Death. The exam consisted of two stages. The first was a survival battle, meant to train ninja to survive under harsh conditions and seize the enemy's resources to replenish their own supplies. The second was a combat tournament. No matter how good you were at surviving, you still couldn't become a Chunin without strength. A cockroach that couldn't be killed might sound impressive, but in reality, a single stomp could crush a whole bunch of them.

The Forest of Death, usually avoided by everyone, was now surrounded by crowds. The Genin from every village had arrived, gathering in groups of three or five to discuss the exam. Li, Minato Namikaze, and Kushina stood together in an empty corner, waiting for the examiner to arrive.

Before long, the examiner showed up. It was Orochimaru, who would oversee this survival battle. He walked past all the examinees and stopped in front of the main entrance to the Forest of Death, facing them. As soon as he came to a halt, the examinees fell silent and turned their attention to him.

Orochimaru wore a faint smile, but with his snake-like face, it did little to put anyone at ease. Instead, it sent a chill down their spines. By chance, Orochimaru spotted Li and his two companions standing in the corner. A glint flashed in his eyes, but he quickly looked away and calmly addressed the examinees below. "I don't need to tell you much. You should all know that I'm the proctor for this exam. My name is Orochimaru!"

At Orochimaru's introduction, murmurs quickly rippled through the crowd. During the Second Shinobi World War, three ninja had fought Hanzo of the Salamander, the man known as the Demigod of the Shinobi World. Not only had they avoided defeat, but Hanzo had also bestowed upon them the title of Sannin. Their names had long since spread throughout the Shinobi World. Some examinees even gazed at Orochimaru with admiration. They were ninja from other villages, but that didn't stop them from looking up to the strong.

Orochimaru paid little attention to the unusual looks. After giving a slight nod, he continued, "This exam is a survival battle. It will test your ability to survive in the wild. The Forest of Death is home to all kinds of venomous insects and snakes, as well as some man-eating beasts. Your task is to enter without any preparations, stay inside for three days, and take the Heaven and Earth Scrolls from another team!" As he spoke, Orochimaru pulled two scrolls from his robes. One was marked with the character for "Heaven," and the other with the character for "Earth."

"Each team will receive one of these scrolls, either Heaven or Earth. Your task is to seize the other scroll from another team within these three days. You'll pass the exam once you have a complete pair of Heaven and Earth Scrolls!" Orochimaru smiled, then pointed to a temporary registration station set up in an open area nearby. "If you have no questions, go register over there. The staff will give you your scrolls."

At that, everyone began heading for the registration station.

"Li, let's go too!" Minato said to Li when he saw that everyone else had set off.

"Mm." Li nodded, but soon felt several gazes sweeping over him. He looked up and saw three Sand Ninja watching him with ill intent. They were the same three he'd encountered on the street yesterday: a burly, plump man; a somewhat scrawny one; and a rather frightening-looking one, whose head was almost completely wrapped in white cloth, leaving only his right eye exposed. He also hunched slightly.

"Li, what's wrong?" Kushina asked, puzzled.

"Nothing!" Li came back to himself and shook his head slightly. Then he looked toward the registration station and said calmly, "Let's get our scrolls first."

Sunagakure must have set its sights on him because of what happened three years ago. The Third Kazekage and Elder Chiyo still hadn't forgotten, and they wanted to use this opportunity to get rid of him. But since they both knew how strong he was, those three Genin were probably no ordinary opponents.

"Here are your scrolls. Remember, don't let anyone find out which one you're carrying. Understood?"

When it was Li's team's turn, the ninja handing out scrolls gave him a special warning, perhaps because they were all Konoha Ninja. He wanted to make sure they didn't get caught at a disadvantage. After all, Li and his teammates were very young. At nine years old, he was taking the Chunin exam—a rare occurrence in Konoha, though not quite unprecedented. There were fewer than five such cases. As a fellow Konoha Ninja, the examiner hoped their village would produce a few more geniuses.

"Mm, I understand." Li nodded calmly, then took the scroll and glanced at the character written on it. It was the Heaven Scroll. That meant their next task was to seize an Earth Scroll.

Once everyone had received their scrolls, all the examinees gathered in front of the Forest of Death again, waiting for Orochimaru to open the gate. The forest was extremely dangerous. Even an ordinary Chunin might not make it back alive after entering, so the whole area was enclosed by an iron fence. This kept clueless children from wandering inside—and, more importantly, stopped the venomous snakes and wild beasts from getting out.

"I'm sure you've all memorized the rules. Then, the first stage of the Chunin exams—the survival battle—begins now!"

At Orochimaru's words, the Konoha Ninja assisting him slowly opened the gate to the Forest of Death. In an instant, all the examinees rushed inside, each team choosing a different direction to hide.

"Let's go too!" Once everyone else had entered, Li narrowed his eyes slightly and looked toward where the three Sand Ninja had disappeared. Then he turned to Minato and Kushina.

"Oh, I've been waiting for this!" Kushina clenched her fists excitedly, her little face flushed. She was eager for the battle ahead. At last, she would get to fight alongside Li.

Minato simply smiled, then followed Li and Kushina into the Forest of Death. In the blink of an eye, the three of them vanished among the trees. The Forest of Death was aptly named: its trees grew so thickly that they nearly blotted out the sky. Once you went in, you were hard to find unless you came back out on your own.

"Kid, I hope you make it out alive." Orochimaru smiled faintly as he watched the spot where the three had disappeared and murmured to himself. He could tell that the Sand Ninja examinees had set their sights on Li. This matter was probably more complicated than it seemed.

Thump!

The three Sand Ninja stopped on the trunk of a large tree. The burly, plump man grinned at the one whose head was wrapped in strips of white cloth and asked, "Boss, should we wait here for that kid to come, or go after him ourselves?"