The Indistinguishable Kusagakure Trio

I lifted the curtain and found that there were quite a few people sitting inside.

Ichiraku Ramen is now the most famous ramen shop in Hidden Leaf Village, bar none. The owner, Ichiraku, and his daughter have poured their hearts and souls into this shop. The key is that the father and daughter have never thought of cutting corners in more than ten years.

The price of Ichiraku Ramen is directly proportional to its deliciousness.

Therefore, for these ninjas from other villages who come to Hidden Leaf Village, the most famous ramen shop is naturally a place they will also visit.

Besides, like Uchiha Shingen, as the team leader, they hadn't eaten breakfast at this time.

Welcome!

Everyone in Leaf Village knows that whenever the Ichiraku Ramen Shop is moved, the first thing you hear is Ayame's sweet voice.

"Lord Shingen? It's been a long time!" Ayame exclaimed with delight, even though she and her father were extremely busy.

"Long time no see, Ayame." Uchiha Shingen walked into the shop, looked around, and thankfully there was still an empty table.

He happily walked over and sat down.

"Ayame, same old rules, you know what I mean."

"Yes, Lord Shingen, just you wait and see!"

Ayame, full of energy, responded and shouted, rolling up her sleeves to make Uchiha Shingen's favorite dish.

Uchiha Shingen sat in his seat, beginning to anticipate.

But before he could visualize the specific food in his mind, a huge dark shadow was already standing in front of him.

"Uchiha Shingen, it's been a long time." The newcomer's voice was deep.

Despite being interrupted from his culinary reverie, Uchiha Shingen wasn't angry, after all, there were a lot of foreign ninjas in the restaurant right now.

I came here to support my acquaintances and make sure no one causes trouble.

He recognized the person at a glance.

No eyebrows.

Bandages covered most of his face.

He carried Kubikiribōchō on his back.

"Isn't this Zabuza?" Uchiha Shingen chuckled. "Have you eaten? Let's eat together."

Zabuza Momochi is currently the leader of the Hidden Mist Village ANBU.

They were on equal footing in terms of status.

"Thanks," Zabuza Momochi voice.

He first took down the Kubikiribōchō and placed it against the wall, then sat down facing Uchiha Shingen.

"Ayame, please prepare another serving of drinks for me, thank you." Uchiha Shingen called out to Ayame, who was busy preparing the drinks.

Ayame nodded to him, indicating that she understood.

Uchiha Shingen then turned his gaze back to Zabuza Momochi.

Chapter 8 The Hidden Kusagakure Trio: Real or Fake?

The first exam lasted an hour, enough time for Uchiha Shingen to eat a bowl of ramen and chat.

Since the ramen didn't arrive, we can only chat.

"I heard you have a prized disciple now, from the Hozuki Clan, and the lingering problems have been resolved?"

"Yes, he's Mangetsu's younger brother," Zabuza Momochi said. "I heard your disciple will also be participating."

"Should we open a betting pool?" Uchiha Shingen said. "I think your disciple might get beaten to tears."

The way you're talking makes it sound like you're going to go and fight yourself!

"No, I don't like gambling."

"That's a good habit." Uchiha Shingen nodded. "Gambling is a thing; a little is harmless, but too much is harmful. If you're not careful, you can lose not only your life but also your family."

Zabuza Momochi didn't respond to that.

Although it was supposed to be a casual chat, Uchiha Shingen and Zabuza Momochi didn't seem to have much to talk about.

They were both leaders of their respective villages' ANBU; discussing anything too intimately would be considered leaking secrets.

After a while, Ayame brought over the ramen they had ordered.

The two, already starving and already having to engage in awkward small talk, gave up and started eating ramen.

After finishing a bowl of ramen, my stomach felt warm and satisfied.

Uchiha Shingen checked the time; there were only ten minutes left before the exam officially ended. He wiped his mouth and stood up.

"I'm going to the second exam room first. Are you coming with me?"

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Okay, let's talk again later."

After saying that, he Flying Thunder God and disappeared from the shop.

After a few flashes, when he reappeared, he was already in the southwest area of Hidden Leaf Village.

Here are many training grounds, one of which is particularly famous.

Officially named Training Ground 44, it has more than 44 locked entrances.

The Konoha Ninja preferred to call it by another name.

The Forest of Death.

Uchiha Shingen strode swiftly towards the entrance of the Forest of Death. This circular training ground, covering an area of over 300 square kilometers, was surrounded by high iron fences. The forest contained a complete ecosystem, enough for the examinees to survive there for several days.

Uchiha Shingen took his Chunin exam here.

Back then, however, they put two groups in to play team battles.

Every time Hidden Leaf Village holds the Joint Chunin Exams, the first round has a new twist each year, but the second round, without fail, always involves a visit to the Forest of Death.

Just like in the original timeline, the examiner for the second round was still Anko.

Uchiha Shingen did not interfere with the student's work. He was also curious whether Orochimaru would cause trouble in this exam, and if so, who he would target.

We can't exactly use the body of the Uchiha Clan, can we? There's no Uchiha Itachi in this timeline to instantly kill him with Genjutsu.

When Uchiha Shingen stopped, the first thing he saw was a steel net more than ten meters high.

However, this height is less than a third of the height of the trees in the Forest of Death. Moreover, the tall canopies also affect the lighting on the ground, so that from the outside, it looks like there are only a few big trees, but inside it is extremely dark.

This forest is teeming with wild beasts and venomous insects, a rich repository of life. Test takers can not only grill meat but also make their own fruit salads, but they need to be able to identify whether something is poisonous.

On this point, Uchiha Shingen didn't expect Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto Uzumaki to be any outstanding. If they didn't want to get diarrhea or be paralyzed, they'd better listen to Hinata.

There's a small door on the wire mesh, which is still locked.

A tent was set up by the door, and three staff members were already sitting there.

They are responsible for issuing and receiving consent forms to test takers.

The content naturally reads, "Refer to this and assume full responsibility for your own life and death." Each consent form corresponds to an entry point.

Upon seeing Uchiha Shingen, the three staff members stood up to greet him.

"Thank you all for your hard work. I'm just checking here. Is that against the rules?" Uchiha Clan asked with a smile.

"Of course, as long as you don't interfere with the examiner's work."

"Then I'll have to bother you all. I just want to see how many people have passed the first hurdle."

The first exam was still hosted by Morino Ibiki. In other words, it's highly unlikely that Naruto Uzumaki would suddenly use his "Talk-no-Jutsu" in this timeline, causing a drastic change in the atmosphere and making the deception impossible.

Just then, a large group of people appeared on the road he had come from.

"So many people?" Uchiha Shingen was taken aback.

This isn't right...

"Ah? Teacher!" A familiar voice rang out, and a familiar blond-haired boy came running over with familiar steps.

"Teacher! I passed!"

"Wait a minute, how did you get through this?" Uchiha Shingen pressed his finger against Naruto Uzumaki's Forehead Protector to stop the guy from lunging at him.

It will affect his handsome appearance.

"I immediately realized that the tenth question was actually a test, so I passed it easily."

So, you really treated that like a written test?

No wonder there are so many people.

"That idiot, I already sent him the answer, and he actually refused." Uchiha Sasuke walked over, his eyes practically burning with hatred for Naruto Uzumaki. "You didn't see anything at all, did you? You're just bragging!"

"Enough with the nonsense! A ninja as skilled as me would never cheat!"

"You're really great." Uchiha Shingen was speechless.

Naruto Uzumaki is still completely clueless in this regard.

At this moment, the Genin behind also saw Uchiha Shingen, and many of them changed their expressions after seeing his face clearly.

Before they came to take the exam, they had already been told that there were a few people in Hidden Leaf Village who they should behave themselves in Jonin the team.

At the same time, the gazes of these people toward Uchiha Sasuke and the other two became intense.

The White Ghost's disciple is definitely worth defeating!

Unaware that he had become a hot commodity, Naruto Uzumaki Uchiha Shingen how cool he looked in the exam hall.

After all, everyone else was so intimidated by the examiner that they didn't dare to breathe, but he had an incredibly impressive conversation with the examiner.

He completely forgot that his first thought after looking at the exam paper was—I'm doomed! I'm doomed!

"Teacher," Mitarashi Anko approached, "Why did you come in person?"

"Come see your silly junior brother, huh?" Uchiha Shingen chuckled.

Mitarashi Anko smiled too.

Turning her head, she tugged at Naruto Uzumaki's ear.

"Idiot, this is an exam! Be serious!"

"Ouch... it hurts! Sister Anko, be gentle!"

In this timeline, due to Uchiha Shingen, Naruto Uzumaki and Mitarashi Anko are also quite familiar with each other.

"I think I might have disturbed your work; everyone's watching us," Uchiha Shingen said.

[Those three from Kusagakure don't seem like pseudonyms.]

Using that moment as an opportunity, Uchiha Shingen had already sensed the Chakra of everyone present.

The ninjas of Kusagakure are the primary targets for sensory perception.

There were only three Grass Ninja who came to take the exam, and Uchiha Shingen didn't sense anything amiss from them.

The Vanishing Facial Copy Technique is a commonly used infiltration Ninjutsu by Orochimaru. Based on Orochimaru's superb Chakra control, it is said that its only drawback is "Don't touch me."

Uchiha Shingen couldn't very well make a move here; what if those three were actually Grass Ninja?

Just in case, he had no choice but to take some other measures.

"Sasuke, Hinata, come here for a moment." Uchiha Shingen called the other two over as well, and then placed the Flying Thunder God Seal on all three of them.

"Alright, you guys do your best. I'll be waiting for your good news in the tower."

After saying that, Uchiha Shingen turned around, lightly leaped over the iron net, and disappeared into the Forest of Death.

Mitarashi Anko clearly saw Uchiha Shingen's subtle actions throughout, and her familiarity with her teacher made her remind herself of something.

If something wasn't amiss, she believed Uchiha Shingen wouldn't have done that.

Judging from this, Uchiha Shingen's presence here likely indicates suspicion about something. Considering the recent strange shifts in the Ninja World, she no longer seems as carefree as before.

"Alright, your group, return to your positions now. Don't disrupt the other students' exams."

Leaving aside the examinees outside the forest, in the Forest of Death, Uchiha Shingen was making his seals as he ran towards the tower.