Ibiki's trembling "Pass" was like a resounding slap, viciously striking every Leaf Village ninja present across the face.
The first stage of the Chūnin Exams had ended in an absurdly humiliating fashion.
Iwagakure had simply flipped the table with the most unreasonable physical means possible—and scared half the examinees unconscious in the process.
Half an hour later, outside Training Ground 44, the Forest of Death.
The air carried the heady stench of rotting leaves mixed with damp earth.
Towering wire fences surrounded the entire gloomy forest like a giant steel beast.
"Welcome to my territory, little brats!"
A voluptuous woman in a beige trench coat descended from above, a bamboo skewer clenched between her teeth.
With her hands on her hips, she flashed a grin of pearly white teeth, looking every bit as valiant and dashing as she was imposing.
The second exam's proctor, Special Jōnin Anko Mitarashi.
Clearly, she had yet to receive word of the "disaster" in the first examination hall. She was still eagerly looking forward to putting these rookies in their place.
"I'm Anko Mitarashi, and for the next five days, I'll be your nightmare!"
Anko waved the two scrolls in her hands, one black and one white, marked respectively with "Heaven" and "Earth."
"The rules are simple. Steal!"
"Get both the Heaven and Earth Scrolls and crawl out alive from the other side of the forest, and you pass!"
She deliberately emphasized the word "alive."
Sticking out her long tongue, she licked her lips and smiled like a demoness about to enjoy a feast.
"One more reminder: you aren't the only competitors in this forest."
"There are giant snakes, fierce tigers, and all kinds of venomous insects that devour people bones and all."
"Every year, if not a hundred examinees die here, then at least