Forest of Death

Outside the Forest of Death.

The twenty-one participating teams were scattered around the gate, quietly waiting for the second proctor—Anko Mitarashi—to give the order to begin.

"Entrance Seven." Izuno walked over from the drawing area and spoke in a low voice.

Naruto withdrew his gaze and nodded slightly. The rules for the second exam were quite reasonable—there were no rules.

There was only one objective: collect both the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll.

The examiner had just given them a Heaven Scroll, which meant that as long as they seized an Earth Scroll from another team and reached the Central Tower, they would pass this exam.

Izuno and Raimon also breathed a sigh of relief. They had truly been afraid that the second exam would be as bizarre as the first.

Though from a practical standpoint, the second exam was undoubtedly far more difficult than the first.

But they had confidence in themselves, and even more confidence in Naruto.

"Candidates at Entrance Seven, follow me!" an examiner said.

The three hurried after him.

After arriving at Entrance Seven, the three turned their attention to the Amegakure candidates at Entrance Eight on the other side.

The straight-line distance between them was only around a hundred meters.

In other words, if they were fast enough and lucky enough, they could advance directly.

At the thought of that, Izuno and Raimon could not help smiling.

"Those disgusting expressions... have they already decided we're easy prey? How interesting, how interesting..."

The Amegakure Ninja were not blind. They exchanged glances.

Coincidentally, they had been thinking the same thing.

As the six stared at one another, they all understood what the others were thinking from their eyes.

Time passed second by second.

Click!

"Go in." The examiner pushed open the entrance gate.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Both sides charged forward with fierce intent!

The hundred-meter distance vanished in an instant.

The lead Amegakure Ninja looked at the youthful faces across from him and gave a cruel smile. This was not his first time taking the Chunin Exams.

He had his own standards for judging whether someone was a seasoned veteran.

"Three rookies who just graduated from the Ninja Academy! Our chance is here!"

At his words, his companions all smiled.

After participating in so many Chunin Exams, had their luck finally turned around...?

When the two sides were only a few meters apart—

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Kunai with Explosive Tags tied to their ends became gifts exchanged between the two sides.

The violent explosions startled flocks of birds into flight.

Within the dust, a figure suddenly accelerated.

Drawing his blade, Naruto narrowed his eyes and locked onto a red dot. His figure moved like a ghost through the smoke, and the three Amegakure Ninja could not find him at all.

Squelch!

The familiar sensation of piercing flesh told him that the first enemy—

Eliminated!

"Damn it!" The two remaining Amegakure Ninja's expressions changed drastically as they frantically hurled the tools from their ninja pouches.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Naruto held his long blade horizontally before him and flicked it lightly, knocking every Shuriken aside.

Then he suddenly leaped into the air, his body striking like a hawk. He raised his blade high, locked onto one Amegakure Ninja, and slashed down viciously.

Squelch!

Hawk Strike!

"Lightning Release: Electric Shock!" "Cat Transformation Technique!"

Izuno and Raimon had not been idle either. Under their combined attack, the last Amegakure Ninja died on the spot.

"Not bad luck. An Earth Scroll!"

After a quick search, Izuno excitedly waved the scroll in his hand.

"Let's go. Our destination is the Central Tower." Naruto nodded slightly.

The Forest of Death had borne that name long before it became the Chunin Exams' testing ground, and not because of the examinees within it.

Predatory beasts, poisonous insects, harsh living conditions...

What brought death to the candidates was not necessarily hostile ninja.

A few minutes later.

Three ninja wearing Kusagakure headbands cautiously approached the site of the battle.

"Hey, hey, hey! You've got to be kidding me! We rushed here the moment we heard the noise..."

Looking at the Amegakure Ninja corpses on the ground, one Kusagakure Ninja's expression changed drastically.

"Is anyone else nearby?" Their idea of fishing in troubled waters instantly vanished. Their most urgent task now was figuring out how to stay alive against such monsters.

A red-haired female Kusagakure Ninja closed her eyes to sense the area for a moment, then shook her head slightly.

"Go! Leave this place immediately!" The leading Kusagakure Ninja breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Such a commotion would certainly have attracted more than just their team.

At 15:57 in the afternoon, Central Tower of the Forest of Death.

Naruto and the other two pushed open the door. Seeing the empty hall, they nodded in satisfaction.

"If there is no Heaven..." Izuno stared at the writing hanging in the center of the hall and read quietly.

Naruto, meanwhile, turned his gaze to the signature beneath the text—Third Hokage.

That old man's writing...

"Some key parts are missing," Raimon said, stroking his chin.

"Open the Heaven and Earth Scrolls and take a look," Naruto said after reading through the text.

"Honestly, I've wanted to open them and see what was inside more than once on the way here." Raimon grinned.

"Ninja regulations: confidential documents must not be viewed without authorization!" Izuno smacked him irritably.

"That's why I didn't dare open them."

Raimon muttered quietly as he unfurled the two scrolls.

"A person?"

Seeing the large character for "person" on the scrolls, Raimon hurriedly tossed them away.

"A Summoning Jutsu written on an exam tool? Are they kidding?"

Poof!

A cloud of white smoke burst forth.

As the smoke dissipated and a figure slowly appeared, Naruto froze.

"Iruka Sensei?" Izuno cried out in surprise.

Though they were not in the same class as Naruto, Iruka also taught their class.

Of all their teachers, Iruka's teaching ability and temperament were among the best. Though he was not their homeroom teacher, they still remembered him deeply.

"Long time no see." Iruka looked at the three with great gratification. In only half a year, they had already caught up to him.

"To be honest, I'm quite relieved."

"Of course. Look whose students we are." Izuno chuckled.

"Hahaha..." Iruka could not help laughing at that.

The three exchanged smiles as well.

"Children, congratulations on passing the second exam." After composing himself, Iruka spoke to them.

"I suppose I'm your receptionist and guide now. As someone who has been through it, I'll explain what it means to be a Chunin."

"The Third Hokage's handwritten message above contains the spirit and qualities a Chunin must possess..."

A few minutes later, Iruka slowly finished his explanation. He looked at them expectantly and encouraged them, "I hope you continue forging ahead and keep up the good work!"

"Yes!" ×3

Watching the three disappear around the corner, Iruka touched his face and murmured, "They've grown up, and I've grown old..."

Click!

Turning to look at the three Sunagakure Ninja strolling toward him, Iruka returned to his old profession.

Central Tower surveillance room.

Chief proctor Anko Mitarashi covered the back of her neck, which still ached faintly, and said to the two ANBU, "It has been confirmed that it was Orochimaru himself."

"You..." The ANBU wearing a white mask with red markings had just begun to speak when an examiner suddenly burst through the door.

"What is it?" Anko Mitarashi frowned slightly.

With three Jonin staring at him, two of whom were ninja from the Assassination Tactics Special Force, the examiner could not help swallowing.

"I'm terribly sorry, but you absolutely must watch this videotape!" The examiner hurriedly inserted the tape in his hand into the player.

"Please pay attention to the time here!"

"15:57? Less than ninety minutes since the exam began?!" Anko Mitarashi's expression changed.

Among candidates in previous years, the fastest record had been four hours.

Were this year's candidates going to defy the heavens?

The three figures on the screen were none other than Naruto's team...

Please vote!