Forest of Death (3)

"You broad-forehead!" Ino rushed over to Sakura again, and the two of them ran off to the side to bicker.

"Uchiha Sasuke... regardless, he is a formidable opponent." Neji watched Sasuke from the tree, having already marked him as a powerful rival in his mind.

As for Gaara, after being punched by Yin Xiang, he began to go on a rampage through the forest. Anyone he encountered was swallowed by his sand. Along the way, he even ran into Kiba's three-man squad, giving them quite a scare.

However, Kiba's team had already collected both the Scroll of Heaven and the Scroll of Earth and arrived at the Tower of Death.

"Since things are settled here, I'll be taking my leave. You all should hurry up and collect your scrolls," Yin Xiang said to the group.

"Have you already collected yours?" Naruto jumped up from the ground and looked at Yin Xiang.

"Yeah." Yin Xiang nodded. "I'm going to find some food, and then I'll head into the Tower of Death."

"So fast," Rock Lee remarked, watching Yin Xiang.

"If we hadn't delayed him, he probably would have been at the Tower of Death by now," Sasuke added, also watching Yin Xiang.

"With the Sound Ninja Trio gone, you only need to be careful of Gaara's team in this exam. I ran into them on my way here and provoked them," Yin Xiang cautioned Naruto and the others before departing.

After leaving the area, Yin Xiang headed toward the Tower of Death. Along the way, he evaded everyone tracking him. Once he had gathered enough water and food, he entered the tower. The Tower of Death had many levels and numerous rooms; Yin Xiang walked into one of them and waited there for the exam to conclude.

"Is there no one here?" Three sets of footsteps echoed outside the room where Yin Xiang was staying.

"Hm? There's someone inside." The person outside twitched his nose and looked toward Yin Xiang's room. "Even though he's masking his presence with chakra, I can still smell him."

"Hinata." He looked at the girl beside him, wanting her to use her Byakugan to see who was inside.

This was Kiba's team, consisting of Shino and Hinata.

"You'd better hide. There's more than just you and me in this tower." Yin Xiang walked over, opened the door, and looked at the three people standing there.

"It's... it's you." Kiba froze when he saw Yin Xiang. He had witnessed Yin Xiang's speed and read his file back in the classroom; he knew just how terrifying the person in front of him was.

"Otherwise, you can stay with me, but I didn't prepare food for you." After saying this, Yin Xiang walked back into the room and sat in the corner.

After the three of them exchanged glances, Hinata stepped forward and closed the door.

"Even if it's safer with him, I think we'll pass..." Kiba said at the door. Hinata and Shino nodded, and the three of them left the area. As it turned out, they ran into Gaara's team in a room downstairs.

However, the three of them only glanced at them and walked away, ignoring them entirely, though the encounter left Kiba's team breaking out in a cold sweat.

Three days later, the exam finally ended. Yin Xiang's food had been just enough to last him the three days. Fortunately, he had experience with wilderness missions, which allowed him to scrape by.

Yin Xiang carried the Scroll of Heaven and the Scroll of Earth as he walked down the Tower of Death. Hiding in that small room for three days had actually been to avoid Gaara. In truth, Yin Xiang wasn't certain if he could defeat Gaara, and if he really pushed him into a frenzy, things would get truly messy.

Yin Xiang entered one of the doors on the first floor. The area was very spacious, with only a scroll painting on the wall. The meaning was roughly that one had to open both scrolls. Yin Xiang created a Shadow Clone, and together with it, he opened the scrolls.

White smoke billowed from the two scrolls. Yin Xiang tossed them aside, and with a poof, a Chunin appeared before him. Yin Xiang reached out and performed the hand seals to dispel his Shadow Clone.

"Congratulations on passing the second stage of the exam. However, are you the only one?" the Chunin asked, looking at Yin Xiang.

"Yes, my team has always consisted of just me," Yin Xiang nodded.

"Very well. Regardless, congratulations on passing the exam. Please follow me to participate in the third stage."

"Understood." Yin Xiang nodded and followed the Chunin to the location of the third stage.

All the Genin who had passed the exam had already arrived, along with their respective Jounin leaders. The Third Hokage had also come to observe the third stage. Including Yin Xiang, there were twenty-two people who had passed.

"First of all, congratulations to everyone for passing the second stage!" Anko announced to the examinees.

Those who had passed included Yin Xiang, Naruto's team, Shikamaru's team, Kiba's team, Gaara's team, the Sound Ninja Trio, Neji's team, and Otohime Kabuto's team.

Except for Gaara's team, everyone looked quite disheveled. Yin Xiang was also covered in dust because of Orochimaru. However, everyone else stood in groups of three, while Yin Xiang stood alone, which looked a bit strange.

"Next, the Hokage will introduce the third stage. Please listen carefully," Anko said to the examinees. "Lord Hokage, I leave it to you." She then looked toward the Third Hokage.

"Yes." The Third Hokage nodded, stepped forward, and cleared his throat. "We will now begin the third stage. Before I introduce the rules, there is one thing I must make clear: the true purpose of this exam."

"Why do we hold this exam jointly with our allied nations? Yin Xiang, you tell them." The Third Hokage looked at Yin Xiang, wanting him to show his stuff in front of everyone.

"Yes, Teacher." Yin Xiang nodded. "It is to promote friendly coexistence among allied nations and to improve the level of our ninjas. That is the true meaning of this exam."

"Indeed." The Third Hokage nodded. "That is correct. If you misunderstand this, it could be troublesome. This exam can be said to be..." The Third Hokage paused for a moment before continuing, "...a microcosm of battles between allied nations."

"What does that mean?" Tenten asked from the back.

"Historically speaking, the current allied nations were once neighboring countries constantly at war. To avoid mutual destruction, they specifically selected this battleground. That is the origin of the Chunin Selection Exams."

"Wh... why must it be this way? Isn't this just to select Chunin?" Naruto asked, looking at the Third Hokage.