Forest of Death (3)

"Big forehead, you jerk!" Ino charged at Sakura again, and the two of them ran off to the side to argue.

"Uchiha Sasuke... He's definitely a formidable opponent." Neji watched Sasuke below from his perch in the tree, already regarding him as his greatest rival.

As for Gaara, after Yin Xiang punched him, he went berserk in the forest. Anyone Gaara came across was swallowed by his sand. He even ran into Kiba's team along the way, giving them quite a scare.

Kiba's team had already gathered both scrolls and made it to the Tower of Death.

"Since everything's settled here, I'm leaving. You'd better hurry and collect the scrolls." Yin Xiang spoke to the others.

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

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

"That was fast," Rock Lee said, looking at Yin Xiang.

"If we hadn't held him up, he'd probably already be in the Tower of Death by now," Sasuke said from the side, looking at Yin Xiang.

"Without the Sound Ninja Trio, all you need to watch out for in this exam is Gaara's team. I ran into them on my way here and made them angry, too." Yin Xiang gave Naruto and the others a warning, then left.

After leaving them, Yin Xiang headed for the Tower of Death. He evaded everyone pursuing him along the way. Once he'd gathered enough food and water, he entered the tower. It had many floors and plenty of rooms. Yin Xiang went into one of them and waited for the exam to end.

"Is there no one here?" Three sets of footsteps sounded outside Yin Xiang's room.

"Hmm? There's someone in there." The person outside twitched his nose and looked toward Yin Xiang's room. "He's masking his scent with chakra, but I can still smell him."

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

It was Kiba's team: Kiba, Shino, and Hinata.

"You'd better hide. It's not just you and me in this tower." Yin Xiang walked over and opened the door, facing the three of them.

"It... it's you." Kiba froze when he saw Yin Xiang. He'd witnessed Yin Xiang's speed in the classroom and had read his profile, so he knew how terrifying the boy in front of him was.

"You can stick with me if you want, but I haven't got any food for you." After saying this, Yin Xiang walked back into the room and sat in a corner.

Kiba and the others exchanged glances. Hinata stepped forward and closed Yin Xiang's door.

"Being with him might be safer, but let's not..." Kiba said from the doorway. Hinata and Shino nodded, and the three of them left together. As it happened, they ran into Gaara's team in a room downstairs.

The three of them merely glanced at Kiba's team before walking away without another word, leaving the trio drenched in a cold sweat.

Three days later, the exam finally ended. Yin Xiang had just enough food to scrape by for the three days. Fortunately, he'd already been on outdoor missions, and what he'd brought was enough to see him through.

Holding the Scroll of Heaven and the Scroll of Earth, Yin Xiang walked down from the Tower of Death. He'd spent those three days hiding in that little room partly to avoid Gaara. Yin Xiang wasn't sure he could beat him, and if he drove Gaara completely mad, things would be disastrous.

Yin Xiang entered one of the doors on the first floor. The room was spacious and empty, save for a painting on the wall. Its message seemed to be that the two scrolls had to be opened together. Yin Xiang created a Shadow Clone, then opened the scrolls alongside it.

White smoke began to pour from both scrolls. Yin Xiang tossed them away with a bang, and a Chunin appeared before him. He then formed Hand Seals and dispelled his Shadow Clone.

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

"Yeah. My team has always been just me." Yin Xiang nodded.

"All right. Anyway, congratulations on passing. Now, come with me to the third exam."

"Okay." Yin Xiang nodded, then followed the Chunin to the site of the third exam.

All the Genin who had passed were already gathered there, with their team's Jonin standing nearby. The Third Hokage had also arrived to watch the third exam. Including Yin Xiang, twenty-two people had passed.

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

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

Everyone looked battered except for Gaara's team. Yin Xiang was covered in dust too, thanks to Orochimaru. But while everyone else stood in rows of three, Yin Xiang stood alone in his own row, which looked a little strange.

"Next, Lord Hokage will explain the third exam. Listen carefully," Anko told the examinees. "Lord Hokage, I'll leave it to you." She then turned to the Third Hokage.

"Right." The Third Hokage nodded, stepped forward, and cleared his throat. "The third exam is about to begin. Before I explain the rules, there's something I need to make clear: the true purpose of this exam."

"Why do the allied nations hold a joint exam? Yin Xiang, tell them." The Third Hokage looked at Yin Xiang, wanting him to show himself off in front of everyone.

"Yes, sensei." Yin Xiang nodded. "It's to promote peaceful coexistence between the allied nations and improve the level of their ninja. That's the true meaning of this exam."

"Exactly." The Third Hokage nodded. "If you misunderstand that, it will cause a lot of trouble. This exam can be called..." He paused, then continued, "a microcosm of the battles between allied nations."

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

"Historically, the nations that are allies today were once neighbors who fought one another constantly. To prevent both sides from suffering heavy losses, they selected this battlefield. That's how the Chunin Exams came about."

"Wh-why does it have to be this way? Isn't this just to select Chunin?" Naruto asked the Third Hokage.

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