Twenty-six teams that had passed the first round stood in neat formation before the barbed-wire gates of the Forest of Death.
Morning light filtered through gaps in the canopy, falling across the tense or excited faces of the boys and girls. Beastly roars and the shrill cries of unknown birds echoed from deep beyond the wire fence, while the air was thick with the scent of rotting leaves and damp soil.
Chiba stood atop a raised platform directly before the gate. His black robe with gold trim snapped in the morning breeze, and the golden chief examiner's armband on his left arm was especially conspicuous in the sunlight. The emerald diamond-shaped mark between his brows gave off a faint, gentle glow as Wood Release chakra naturally seeped from it.
Anko and Yugao stood behind him, one on either side. Anko held a bamboo pick between her teeth with her arms crossed, while Yugao stood solemnly straight with a hand on her sword.
At the front of the formation, Naruto craned his neck to stare at the green mark on Chiba's forehead and tugged at Sasuke's sleeve beside him.
"Sasuke, look! That examiner has a green diamond on his forehead. He didn't have it yesterday. It looks a lot like Lady Tsunade's purple one."
Sasuke ignored him. His dark eyes remained fixed on Chiba atop the platform, and his Adam's apple bobbed.
Chiba spoke. He did not need to raise his voice; the resonance of Wood Release chakra delivered every word precisely into the ears of everyone present.
"The second round of the Chunin Exams is a survival exercise in the Forest of Death. The rules are simple. Each team holds either a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll. Teams that gather one of each and reach the Central Tower within