Dark Forest

A giant python as thick as a thigh was sliced in two at the waist. Lin Chuan quickly moved away from the struggling snake. He had seen severed snake heads that could still open and close their jaws and remained dangerous.

"Damn beast." Terai slashed at the snake's head several more times, only stopping after chopping it into pieces.

"Stop, it won't taste good if you mince it up." Lin Chuan selected several chunks of snake meat with alternating fat and lean muscle, threaded them onto wooden sticks, and headed toward the sound of running water.

"Wait for me." Seeing what Lin Chuan was doing, Terai also picked out several pieces of snake meat and followed him to the riverbank, where they prepared the meat together.

The two gathered some dry firewood and skewered the prepared snake meat for grilling, only to realize they had no fire. They could only stand by the stream and stare at each other.

"Why are you looking at me? I only specialize in Water Release. I don't know Fire Release." Lin Chuan spread his hands helplessly. He realized Fire Release was not entirely useless after all. At least it made starting a fire convenient, and it was convenient for getting a bite of hot grilled meat. He had wronged Fire Release. He should not have looked down on it just because it could not kill people.

"I only specialize in Wind Release. I'm not good at Fire Release either." Terai spread his hands helplessly as well. It seemed they would not be having grilled snake meat tonight.

"Wait, you said you weren't good at Fire Release, not that you didn't know it?" Lin Chuan caught the loophole in Terai's words. So the other man did know Fire Release.

"Haha, you caught that?" Terai scratched his head awkwardly. He had both Wind and Fire chakra natures. Wind Release was his strongest, while his Fire Release was much weaker, though his affinity for it was still greater than for other natures. Otherwise, it would not have shown up on chakra paper.

"As long as you know Fire Release, that's enough. We aren't using it in battle, and starting a fire doesn't require some powerful Fire Release." Lin Chuan arranged the dry firewood and gestured for Terai to use Fire Release.

"Don't laugh when I do it." Terai raised his hands and formed seals. It was the seal sequence for the Fireball Jutsu. After finishing, he called out, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique..."

"Pfft." Lin Chuan hurriedly covered his mouth. What had he just seen?

A tiny fireball the size of a fist came out of Terai's mouth, burning amid the dry wood and lighting it.

"Didn't we agree you wouldn't laugh?" Terai lowered his hands. Seeing Lin Chuan desperately holding back his laughter, he became a little angry.

"I'm not laughing. I just thought of something happy." Lin Chuan calmed himself slightly and moved his hand away from his mouth, though a faint smile still lingered on his lips. No wonder Terai did not use Fire Release—his Great Fireball Technique was that tiny.

It was just like the first Great Fireball Technique Sasuke had ever breathed out. A secondary chakra nature required extensive practice and was far harder to master than one's primary nature. Sasuke's primary nature was Lightning Release, Terai's was Wind Release, and his was Water Release.

"Hurry up and grill the meat." Seeing the fire was burning so well, Lin Chuan quickly put his snake meat over it. The meat instantly began to sizzle with oil, releasing a fishy aroma. They had no other choice and could only make do with it.

"Fine, grilled meat it is." Terai stopped pressing the matter and grilled the meat with Lin Chuan. Then he suddenly asked curiously, "Which Water Release ninjutsu did you choose?"

"Water Release: Water Fang Bullet." Lin Chuan did not tell the truth. Telling the truth would make him a complete idiot. Didn't Terai know that a ninja's battles were battles of intelligence? Since he knew ninjutsu were a ninja's secrets, why ask what ninjutsu Lin Chuan had chosen? Wasn't he just probing for information?

They were only temporary teammates, so Lin Chuan still had to stay on guard. After all, Terai's surname was Shimura. He then asked in return, "And which Wind Release did you choose?"

"I didn't choose Wind Release. I chose Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet." Terai spoke without blushing, uttering a lie that went against his heart. In truth, he had chosen Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere.

This technique converted chakra gathered in the mouth into high-speed, bullet-like energy projectiles that were fired continuously, creating a dense barrage like a machine gun. Its shockwaves could penetrate an opponent's flesh.

The moment Lin Chuan heard that Terai had chosen Fire Release, he knew Terai was lying. When their eyes met, it was as though they had seen through each other's thoughts, and both burst out laughing.

Once the snake meat was cooked, Lin Chuan picked up the meat on his bamboo skewer and tore into it with his teeth. The sky gradually darkened. After dousing the fire with water, the two found a large tree, hid among its branches, and sat down to rest.

Learning their new ninjutsu could wait until tomorrow. After pushing their physical limits and enduring genjutsu torture, neither of them was in good shape. The others, meanwhile, had rested an extra day compared to them. To avoid being ambushed by other people or wild beasts, they had to recover as quickly as possible.

At the same time, apart from insect chirps and rustling sounds, the forest was terrifyingly quiet. More than thirty of them had been scattered into the Forest of Death, yet they had caused no stir at all.

Teams of two were relatively low-profile. Hiding in trees at night made them difficult to spot. However, one group had already formed an alliance. More than a dozen people gathered around a large bonfire. Faced with over ten people wielding weapons, even a bear would not dare approach them—because they were eating bear meat.

"If we keep sticking together like this, spending half a month in the Forest of Death won't be a problem..."

"Do you just want to muddle through and wait for death? Haven't you considered that the training ahead will only become more brutal?"

"What do you have in mind?" Hearing the group's idea man speak, everyone gathered around to listen carefully and find out what good plan he had.

"We have only one goal in the ANBU: survive by any means necessary. The instructors never said we couldn't form teams, make alliances, or hunt down the others. As long as we eliminate everyone else, only we'll pass the ANBU selection."

"But they're all strong. They can run for an entire day and break out of genjutsu. That means they have Genin-level strength. How can we beat them?"

"Are you an idiot? If one person can't beat them, can't a whole group of us attack together?"

"Especially Numbers Thirty through Thirty-Four. I hate the way they look down on people. So what if they're clan ninja? Tear their mouths apart and see how they laugh then..."

This man was one of those unable to break free from the genjutsu on his own. Seeing those with higher numbers look down on them because of their talent, he was not merely jealous. His resentment had become so suppressed that it twisted his mind. Under the firelight, his face had become utterly distorted as he sought to put Lin Chuan and the others to death.

"Does anyone know any of them?"

"The one with glasses is from the Aburame Clan. Their clan's ninja all like wearing sunglasses and playing with bugs..."

"I know the one with orange hair. He's from the Yamanaka Clan and did very well at the Ninja Academy..."

"I know Number Thirty-Three. That guy fought an Uchiha at the Ninja Academy and stole the title of Uchiha genius. He's an exceptionally talented prodigy..."

"I've seen the one teamed up with Number Thirty-Three. He's from the Shimura Clan..."

"And the black-haired and gray-haired ones are both orphans from the orphanage. We can start with them..."

"I know Number Thirty. He ranks near the top at the Ninja Academy. Like Number Thirty-Three, he's a little older than the others..."

"Then it's settled. Everyone should focus on learning ninjutsu first. Even if we don't use it in battle, learning ninjutsu is a mandatory task. If we can't learn it, we'll still be punished after wilderness survival ends. Learning ninjutsu is something we must accomplish..."

"We'll spend ten days learning ninjutsu first. After that, we'll hunt them down..."