Forest of Death

The group did not slow down, and soon arrived at the location of the next exam site. The proctor for the second exam was Ibiki Morino's colleague—Anko Mitarashi, a female ninja with long purple hair, dressed in a black fishnet outfit, with a huge scroll wrapped around her waist.

She leaned sideways against the doorframe at the exam entrance, a lollipop between her lips. Her gaze was lazy but appraising as she looked the arriving examinees up and down, the corner of her mouth always carrying a cynical smile.

When she saw Duanmu's squad, her gaze lingered on Duanmu for a few seconds, as if she had developed a trace of interest in this unfamiliar yet unusually calm examinee. Then she turned to Naruto, and when she saw his loud, restless manner, she could not help letting out a scoff.

Once everyone had arrived, Anko began announcing the rules of the second exam. "Welcome to the Forest of Death. This is the venue for the second stage of the Chunin Exams—'Survival Exercise.' You will need to survive in this forest for five days. Your objective is to seize other teams' 'Heaven Scroll' and 'Earth Scroll,' gather both types of scrolls, and reach the tower at the center of the forest within five days. Do that, and you pass. Remember, there are not only other examinees in the forest, but also over a hundred kinds of poisonous creatures and traps I've set up. Of course, you may also choose to attack each other, or even... kill your opponents."

She licked the lollipop, her gaze turning sharp. "Now, you have ten minutes to prepare. In ten minutes, the exam officially begins!"

As Anko announced the start of the exam, all the squads rushed into the exam grounds from their respective entrances.

Some teams had already begun setting traps along the way, while the members of Team 7 were still walking aimlessly down the path.

Suddenly, several Shuriken shot toward them, aimed straight at Sasuke, who was walking at the very front. Sasuke's eyes sharpened, and his body almost instinctively retreated diagonally backward. At the same time, he drew the Kunai at his waist to block. With a crisp clang, the Shuriken were knocked away with precision and buried deep into a nearby tree trunk.

Seeing this, Naruto immediately assumed a fighting stance and swiftly formed hand seals. "Shadow Clone Technique!" This time, he finally managed to create two decent clones. Though the chakra consumption made sweat bead on his forehead, his eyes were unusually alert.

Duanmu stood where he was without moving, his gaze already locked onto the source of the attack—several black figures flashing through the bushes ahead. They were ninja from the Sound Village. Their faces carried undisguised malice, and the leader licked his lips before saying in a hoarse voice, "Konoha brats, hand over your scrolls, and maybe we'll let you die a little easier."

Before his words had even faded, the other two had already charged forward in a pincer formation, the Kunai in their hands flashing with cold light.

Sasuke gave a cold snort and was the first to meet the enemy on the left, his taijutsu bringing up a gust of force the instant he moved. Naruto directed his clones to circle around from the right, while he himself held the front.

Just as the group was still exchanging blows, a figure flashed through the middle of them. The Sound Village ninja were sent flying backward in an instant. When that figure stopped, everyone finally saw clearly that it was Duanmu.

Duanmu had not intended to take their lives. He had simply closed in at extreme speed the moment they attacked and struck the acupuncture points beneath their ribs precisely with the side of his palm.

The Sound Village ninja only felt a burst of severe pain in their abdomens. All strength drained from their bodies in an instant, and they collapsed to the ground like puppets with their strings cut. The Kunai in their hands also fell into the grass with a clatter, and they could no longer stand.

Naruto stared with his mouth agape. Duanmu's movements just now had been so fast that he had barely seen them clearly. He had only felt his vision blur, and the enemies were already down. He could not help opening his mouth wide. "Duanmu... that was way too awesome!"

Sasuke also put away his Kunai and looked at Duanmu with an even more complicated gaze. He could tell that Duanmu's strike just now had seemed casual, but in reality, his control over timing and force had reached an extreme. It was absolutely not a level an ordinary genin could achieve.

Duanmu patted his hands, took the scrolls from them, and said in a flat tone, "It's handled. Let's keep moving. Staying here too long will easily draw more trouble."

As he spoke, he was the first to step forward, his stride steady, as if the brief episode just now had never happened.

The other members of Team 7 exchanged glances and immediately followed after him, continuing deeper into this crisis-ridden Forest of Death.

In the end, they had not gone far before a strong wind came sweeping over. Duanmu immediately formed hand seals and summoned an Earth Wall to block it.

When the strong wind subsided, everyone finally saw the scene ahead clearly—a massive ancient tree had been snapped in half at the trunk, the cut at the break smooth and even. It had clearly been severed in one strike by some powerful force.

Amid the drifting smoke and dust, a figure slowly walked out. Duanmu recognized at a glance that this was Orochimaru, only the face he was using now was not his original appearance, but that of an unfamiliar middle-aged woman. However, those cold, narrow eyes and the heart-pounding pressure emanating from him were exactly the same as the rumors described.

Orochimaru's gaze swept over the four members of Team 7 and finally stopped on Sasuke. The corner of his mouth curled into an eerie smile, as if he had discovered some interesting prey.

He did not immediately launch an attack, only spoke unhurriedly in a hoarse, deep voice. "Oh my, if it isn't the little brats from Konoha? How surprising. You actually made it all the way here."

He took out the scroll Naruto and the others wanted and stuffed it straight into his mouth, then instantly released a massive amount of killing intent.

Aside from Duanmu, the other three members of Team 7 were pressed by that terrifying aura until they could barely breathe.

Naruto's face turned deathly pale, and his body trembled uncontrollably, yet he still gritted his teeth and stood in front of Sakura. Sakura had long since gone weak with fear, her hands tightly clutching Sasuke's sleeve, her eyes filled with terror. Though Sasuke forced himself not to retreat, the bulging veins on his forehead and his tightly clenched fists betrayed the tension in his heart. He could clearly feel the powerful force from the other party, one far beyond anything he understood, as if the other party could crush them at any time with a mere whim.

Sasuke had just been about to say they should hide, only for Duanmu to charge forward and shout to them, "You go first. I'll hold her off."

Orochimaru had Kage-level strength, so Duanmu naturally did not expect to defeat him. But Duanmu had Flying Raijin. As long as he could delay long enough for Sasuke and the others to leave safely with the scrolls, he could use the Flying Raijin Technique to escape.

Chakra surged beneath his feet, and his figure rushed toward Orochimaru like a phantom. At some point, a Kunai flashing with cold light had appeared in his hand, stabbing straight toward Orochimaru's face.

A trace of surprise flashed through Orochimaru's eyes. He had clearly not expected this seemingly ordinary youth to dare take the initiative and attack him. He neither dodged nor evaded, only extended his tongue and lightly licked out. That long tongue was like a nimble whip, accurately coiling toward the Kunai in Duanmu's hand.

With a crisp snap, the Kunai was caught by the tongue. Duanmu felt a tremendous force transmitted through it, and his arm went slightly numb. But his reaction was extremely fast. He turned his wrist, released the Kunai with the motion, and at the same time swiftly formed seals with his other hand, shouting in a low voice, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A huge ball of flame spewed from his mouth, carrying scorching waves of heat as it swept toward Orochimaru.

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, and his figure instantly drifted backward, easily avoiding the attack of the great fireball. The flames slammed into the ancient tree behind him with a boom, burning the trunk pitch-black as thick smoke billowed upward.

"An interesting little brat." Orochimaru licked his lips, the interest in his eyes growing even stronger. "Unfortunately, with that bit of strength, you're still not qualified to show off in front of me."

He rapidly formed seals with both hands, and several thick snakes suddenly burst from the ground, opening their bloody maws as they lunged to bite Duanmu. Duanmu's expression did not change. His footwork shifted, and he wove through the swarm of snakes as if dancing on the edge of a blade. At the same time, he continuously formed seals and released ninjutsu, alternating between fire style, water style, and earth style, temporarily holding back Orochimaru's attacks and buying precious time for Sasuke and the others.