Dark Forest

A giant python as thick as a thigh was sliced in two at the waist. Lin Chuan quickly moved away from the writhing snake. He had seen severed snake heads still opening and closing their jaws, still capable of attacking.

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

"Stop, it won't taste good if you chop it to bits." Lin Chuan selected several pieces of snake meat with alternating lean and fat, skewered them on 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. He followed Lin Chuan to the riverbank, where they prepared the meat together.

The two gathered some dry firewood and skewered the prepared snake meat, ready to grill it. Only then did they realize they had no fire and could only stare helplessly beside the stream.

"Why are you looking at me? I'm only good at Water Release. I don't know Fire Release." Lin Chuan spread his hands helplessly. He realized Fire Release was not completely useless. At the very least, it was convenient for starting fires and eating hot grilled meat. He had wronged Fire Release. He should not have looked down on it for being unable to kill people.

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

"Wait, you said you weren't good at Fire Release, not that you couldn't use Fire Release?" Lin Chuan caught the loophole in Terai's words. So the guy could use Fire Release after all.

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

"As long as you can use Fire Release, that's enough. We're not using it in battle. Starting a fire doesn't require particularly strong Fire Release." Lin Chuan stacked the dry wood and signaled Terai with his eyes.

"Don't laugh when I use it." Terai raised his hands and formed seals. It was the seal sequence for the Fireball Jutsu. Once he finished, he shouted, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique..."

"Pfft." Lin Chuan quickly covered his mouth with his hand. What was he seeing?

A tiny fireball the size of a fist came out of Terai's mouth. It burned amid the dry wood and set it alight.

"Didn't you promise not to laugh?" Terai lowered his hands. Seeing Lin Chuan struggling to hold back his laughter, he immediately got 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 at the corners of his lips. No wonder Terai did not use Fire Release. The Great Fireball Technique he spat out was so tiny.

It was just like the first Great Fireball Technique Sasuke had used. A secondary chakra nature required a great deal of practice and was not as easy to master as 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 blaze so strongly, Lin Chuan knew it was the perfect time. He quickly placed his snake meat over it. The meat instantly began to sizzle and drip grease, giving off a fishy fragrance. They had no choice but to make do with it.

"Fine, let's grill it." Terai stopped pursuing 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 the other guy know that ninja battles were battles of intelligence? Since ninjutsu was a ninja's secret, why ask what ninjutsu he had chosen? Wasn't that just probing for information?

Although they were temporary teammates, he still had to stay on guard. After all, the other guy'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, telling a lie against his conscience. In truth, he had chosen Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere.

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

The moment Lin Chuan heard that Terai had chosen Fire Release, he knew the other boy was being dishonest. 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 took the meat from the 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 within its canopy, and sat down to rest.

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

Meanwhile, apart from insect calls and rustling noises, the forest was frighteningly quiet. More than thirty of them had been scattered into the Forest of Death, yet they had caused no disturbance at all.

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

"If we stick 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 idea man's suggestion, everyone gathered around to listen carefully, eager to hear what good idea 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 will pass the ANBU selection."

"But they're all very strong. They can run for an entire day and break free from genjutsu. That means they already have the strength of Genin. How can we beat them?"

"Are you idiots? 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. Are clan ninjas so amazing? Tear their mouths apart and see how they laugh then..."

This guy was one of those unable to break free from the genjutsu on his own. Seeing the higher-numbered candidates looking down on them because of their superior talent, he was not merely jealous. His resentment had become so deeply suppressed that it had twisted his mind. Under the firelight, his face was already completely distorted as he wanted Lin Chuan and the others dead.

"Does anyone know any of them?"

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

"I know the orange-haired one. 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 incredibly talented kid..."

"I've seen the one teamed up with number thirty-three. He's from the Shimura Clan..."

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

"I know number thirty. He's one of the top students at the Ninja Academy. Like number thirty-three, he's a little older than number thirty-three..."

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

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