Forest of Death

Forest of Death, a clearing.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Leopard began explaining, "Next comes half a month of wilderness survival in the Forest of Death. You will have no supplies, no help, and no right to withdraw. If you want to survive, you can only rely on yourselves..."

After laying out the rules that barely counted as rules, Leopard flickered away from the Forest of Death and hid in the treetops to observe the children. With no supplies, how would they survive in the forest for half a month?

The beasts in the Forest of Death were, at most, as strong as lower-level Chunin. After all, this was an examination ground for the Chunin Ninja Exams. Putting overly powerful beasts inside would only make trouble for the village's own ninja. As long as these children understood coordination and cooperation, they could make it through the dangerous period.

As Leopard vanished, everyone stood where they were, staring at one another. But Fū Yamanaka was the first to react. Since the goal was to stay alive and learn ninjutsu, they only needed to find a place to hide and study their chosen techniques. There was no need for fighting and killing. Aside from weapons, no one had any supplies, so there was no reason to kill one another.

"Let's go, Torune." Having figured that out, Fū Yamanaka led his good friend Torune Aburame into the forest, away from where everyone had gathered. Too many people could easily cause chaos, and they might attract carnivorous animals.

With his and Torune's Genin strength, hunting some game for extra meals in this forest would be easy enough. Surviving in the wild for half a month and learning their chosen ninjutsu would not be difficult either.

After that, Shin pulled Sai into the forest. The two were brothers to begin with, and together they could trust each other. Shin did not dare entrust his younger brother to anyone else if they teamed up with others.

Seeing two teams leave, everyone else began to entertain their own thoughts. After all, the instructor had never said they could not form teams. Everyone began looking for teammates nearby, and someone became curious about the numbers on their bodies.

"Why are you Number One?" someone asked, looking at the child standing at the front with a number one pasted on him.

"This guy was the first to faint during the run, so naturally he got Number One..."

"By that logic, doesn't the longer you lasted, the bigger the number on your body?" someone suddenly remarked, drawing everyone's attention. They then looked toward Numbers Thirty-Four, Thirty-Three, and Thirty.

Torune Aburame was Number Thirty-One, while Fū Yamanaka was Number Thirty-Two. Everyone believed that those ranked in the thirties had to be strong, so naturally they wanted to team up with them.

Since Torune and Fu had already formed a team, there were still three people numbered in the thirties here. Everyone fixed their eyes on Lin Chuan and the other two, wanting to approach and team up with them.

However, before anyone could come over, Number Thirty-Four removed the mask from his face. He looked at Lin Chuan, who had followed behind him during the run and had come in second only to him, then extended a hand with a smile. "Number Thirty-Three, I'm Terai. Let's team up!"

[Fu Yamanaka on the left, Terai in the middle, Torune Aburame on the right]

"Sure. Number Thirty-Four, I'm Chuan." Lin Chuan raised a hand to remove his mask and shook Terai's hand. This was called joining forces with the strong. He had no reason to refuse. Since it was his first time in the Forest of Death, it was better to play it safe.

"Hey! How can you two team up? You're so strong—you should be helping the weak!" Someone, hidden among the crowd, shouted in dissatisfaction at the two strong people joining forces.

"Who said that? Step out and say it!" Hearing someone shout, Terai turned toward the crowd with an angry glare. They were practically courting death.

"Just a dog barking." Lin Chuan casually waved a hand, put his mask back on, and headed into the forest. He did not believe someone who only dared to talk big would step out to seek death. He did not even know who it was, but that did not matter in the slightest.

"You're right." Terai put his mask back on as well, ignored the shouting behind him, caught up to Lin Chuan, and vanished into the woods with him.

Once they were gone, only Number Thirty remained in the clearing, becoming the most sought-after teammate. But there was a huge gap between Number Thirty and Lin Chuan's group.

The four of them had run for an entire day and night. Torune Aburame, Fū Yamanaka, Lin Chuan, and Terai had all finished within an hour of one another. Number Thirty had run six hours less than them. That was the difference.

The only ordinary person ranked near the back was Lin Chuan. Torune Aburame was from the Aburame Clan, and Fū Yamanaka was from the Yamanaka Clan. The one who had lasted the longest was probably a clan ninja as well.

Regarding this, Lin Chuan asked Terai, who was following behind him, "You're not an ordinary person either, are you? Which clan are you from? Can you tell me?"

"There's nothing to hide. Like Torune and Fu, I come from a ninja clan. I'm a ninja of the Shimura Clan." Terai smiled at Lin Chuan's question, but he was instead curious about Lin Chuan. "You're not ordinary either, are you? I almost lost to you..."

"I was the top student in my year at the Ninja Academy. My father is only a Chunin." Seeing how straightforward Terai was, Lin Chuan revealed his own background as well. This information was no secret to those with connections.

He just had not expected Terai to be a ninja of the Shimura Clan. Danzo had actually arranged for a talented child from his own clan to join Root. Was he trying to cultivate a reliable subordinate to handle his affairs?

Using ninja from his own clan, even without the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, such people would not betray Danzo. They were clan ninja, after all, and Danzo might even be an elder relative of Terai's. As expected, one could use one's own people with greater peace of mind.

"So you're a genius." Terai did not doubt Lin Chuan's introduction. Danzo had instructed him to build a good relationship with this Chuan. Danzo knew the other boy's background inside and out, so there was no point in lying. It could be checked as soon as they returned, making any lie obvious.

"You flatter me. I'm just the tallest among short men. Since no one else stepped up, I had no choice but to do it myself." Lin Chuan lightly waved a hand. There were too many geniuses here. Against Fu, Torune, or Terai, he was not certain he could beat any of them, so he did not dare call himself a genius.

"You're too modest. I remember there was an Uchiha among the children who enrolled with you. Being able to surpass an Uchiha makes you a genius in every sense of the word." Terai smiled and exchanged a round of mutual flattery with him. He did not dare underestimate Lin Chuan. A child Danzo paid special attention to was not someone he could take lightly.

"You're not bad yourself, born into a major clan." Lin Chuan suddenly stopped, gripping the hilt of his short blade and warily scanning the surroundings. He did not continue their mutual flattery. He sensed danger. It seemed they had been targeted by a beast.

Thanks to the limit-breaking effect of his kunai throwing, his perception of danger had become extremely sharp, and his sense of a target's direction had improved. Naturally, his awareness of being treated as a target had also strengthened. Though it was weaker than sensory ninjutsu, it could save his life at critical moments.

"Did you find something?" Seeing Lin Chuan's guarded expression, Terai moved behind him and stood back-to-back with him, scanning the surroundings with equal vigilance.

"Shh." Lin Chuan took out two kunai and threw them probing into the woods. Then he suddenly sensed deadly danger, rolled to the side, instantly drew his short blade, and slashed overhead.

Squelch—

The sound of a sharp weapon entering flesh rang out. The feel of cutting into flesh and blood was different...