Rules of a Departing Heart

Inside the massive Dome Stadium of Konoha, a sea of people surged. Students from the middle and upper grades of the Ninja Academy, and even those who had graduated but had yet to become genin, were almost all gathered here at once.

Today was the day of the Genin Exam; all procedures began here.

Early in the morning, before the sky had even brightened, Yuhi Kurenai, wearing her red and white hooded cloak, arrived at the doorstep of Sato Hideaka. Her face was flushed red from the chill of the night air. Once Sato Hideaka opened the door and let her in, she sat prettily on the sofa in the living room, waiting for him to change his clothes and wash up.

As the sky began to pale, the two walked to the stadium together. The moment they stepped inside, Sato Hideaka found it packed with people. The air was thick with noise and the tide of the crowd was restless; the entire hall was practically overflowing. These people gathered in clusters, forming individual groups.

Most importantly, the noisy, chaotic environment made Sato Hideaka feel extremely uncomfortable!

"Kurenai, Hideaka, come here! Our class is all in this spot..."

A familiar girl's voice drifted faintly into the ears of Sato Hideaka and Yuhi Kurenai. The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw a girl waving at them amidst the crowd. Her short brown hair clung to the sides of her cheeks, and two purple stripes were painted on her small cheeks. When she smiled, her eyes seemed to curve into crescent moons, possessing a very healing quality.

Behind her were familiar faces: Uchiha Obito, Anko, Ibiki, Shiranui Genma, Might Guy, Uchiha Obito, Sarutobi Asuma, Hyuga Xiangning... basically all students from Yano Koji's class.

Yuhi Kurenai pulled Sato Hideaka through the bustling crowd until they finally reached the gathering place of Koji's Class. She patted her chest forcefully and said, "It feels like there are so many people for the Genin Exam this year. The whole stadium is almost unable to hold them all..."

Sarutobi Asuma watched Yuhi Kurenai and Sato Hideaka walking over hand-in-hand and couldn't help but step forward, saying sourly, "Kurenai, why did you come here with this transfer student today?"

"Because Hideaka has never participated in the Genin Exam before. I was afraid he wouldn't know how to get to the Konoha stadium, so I brought him along!" Yuhi Kurenai said as if it were only natural.

"Ah, why didn't I think of that..."

Among the group of girls, Hyuga Ningxiang covered her mouth and exclaimed softly, her white eyes revealing a look of envy. This caused the surrounding girls to tease her, making her face flush with shyness.

Seeing this scene, the boys in the crowd became even more annoyed. Sarutobi Asuma squinted his eyes and glared fiercely at Sato Hideaka, mocking, "He's already five years old. If he can't even find his way, why is he even here to take the Genin Exam?"

"Hideaka has great talent as a ninja, even Yano Koji says so. He will definitely be able to become a genin!"

Ignoring the teasing of the girls around her, Hyuga Ningxiang loudly retorted in the crowd.

All of this left Sato Hideaka speechless. Where did a group of children not even ten years old get such precociousness? Hyuga Hinata fell in love with Naruto Uzumaki because of a single act of heroism, and Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura broke off their friendship over a boy when they were only a few years old.

Now, Sarutobi Asuma was constantly provoking him because of his relationship with Kurenai, and this girl from the Hyuga clan also seemed to have something going on. Pity my nineteen years of bachelorhood in my past life—I didn't even have a single relationship. The gap is simply too huge.

"Everyone, good morning. I am Dan Katō, the chief examiner for this Genin Exam. I will be fully responsible for your examination, and I ask for your cooperation. The rules for our Genin Exam have changed this time..."

On the platform of the stadium, a man with long blue hair and delicate, feminine features, wearing a forehead protector and a jonin uniform, suddenly appeared. He announced loudly from the stage, though his voice was somewhat feminine and gentle, lacking authority.

Even so, the stadium fell silent. Everyone began to listen carefully to the rules of this exam; it was clear they attached great importance to this Genin Exam!

"This Genin Exam will be held in the Forest of Death. Inside, there are various terrifying man-eating beasts, as well as many deadly poisonous snakes and spiders. Therefore, this exam carries lethal danger; you must have the resolve to face death!"

"We will randomly form teams based on your registration from five days ago. Each team will consist of three people. Each team will be given one of two types of scrolls: Heaven or Earth. You must seize the other type half an hour after the start of the match. Once you have collected both types of scrolls, you must deliver them to the Tower of Death in the center of the Forest of Death to qualify..."

After finishing the above, Dan Katō paused suddenly, his expression darkening as he added, "This competition will be stricter than in the past. As you traverse the Forest of Death, you might suddenly encounter chunin who have just come down from the front lines of the battlefield. They may seize your scrolls, or they may injure you, causing your entire team to be eliminated..."

"Ah, chunin from the battlefield are participating in the seizure? This is too strict! Does this mean we have to hand over our scrolls and surrender?"

"Yeah, yeah. The scouting abilities of chunin are far superior to ours. We can't hide from them, and we can't beat them. How are we supposed to seize the scrolls!"

"To seize scrolls from other teams requires combat. If we can't quickly clear the traces of battle, we'll be detected and pursued by the chunin. Having to avoid the chunin while trying to seize scrolls—the difficulty of this mission is simply too high!"

Everyone began to complain. In previous years, the Genin Exam only had one of these tasks—either avoiding the pursuit of chunin or seizing scrolls from other teams. This time, both were happening simultaneously, which more than doubled the difficulty of the mission.

"Everyone, quiet down. I haven't finished announcing the rules. To lower the difficulty of this mission, we have decided to abandon the previous rule of team qualification. As long as any one person in your team obtains both the Heaven and Earth scrolls and brings them to the Tower of Death, they are considered qualified."

"However, you must be aware that... the person who obtains the scrolls can qualify, but teammates who do not arrive at the Tower of Death with them in time, or teammates who arrive before them, will be treated as eliminated!"

As soon as Dan Katō said this, the crowd erupted. What kind of crazy rule was this? This was supposed to be lowering the difficulty? Did this mean that in addition to guarding against the elusive chunin and other teams, they also had to guard against their own teammates?

Teams were formed by random selection, meaning they were likely complete strangers who didn't know each other at all, and in the upcoming test, they might even become competitors. With teams composed of people who had no prior relationship and no trust, who could possibly achieve absolute trust?

As long as one person in the three-man team took the scrolls and arrived at the Tower of Death alone, they could eliminate the other two. One less person meant one more chance. This rule, which attacked the heart, was practically designed for infighting!

The genin candidates in the stadium all consciously moved away from the people around them. Such rules made it difficult for them to trust the teammates they were about to meet. Everyone's heart began to close off, watching those around them with vigilance, guarding against the threats they might pose, and beginning to plot for their own qualification...

The competition hadn't even started, yet everyone present had already lost the most basic trust in their teammates!

Teammates without trust, elusive chunin teachers, and unpredictable competitors—once all the rules for this Genin Exam were laid out, it was easy to foresee that this would be the most chaotic competition in history. No one knew who their true opponent would be in the end.

Feeling the subtle change in the surrounding environment, Yuhi Kurenai swallowed nervously, gripped the sleeve of Sato Hideaka's garment, and said timidly, "W-what should we do? Hideaka, will I be on the same team as you? Why is this Genin Exam so difficult?"

"Tangible rules cannot be changed, but intangible rules can be shifted. Kurenai, you don't need to worry. I will help you!"