Forest of Death

Kabuto Yakushi was something of a legendary figure in the story. In a Shinobi World where bloodlines reigned supreme, he had forcefully made a name for himself through Orochimaru's legacy.

At this moment, Kabuto Yakushi was chatting with Konoha's newest graduates. A faint, likable smile remained on his face as he swiftly used intelligence about other ninja villages to close the distance between himself and Konoha's Genin.

The Otogakure ninja did nothing, sitting quietly and properly in their seats. They had probably received some instructions from Orochimaru beforehand.

Next came the first round of the Chunin Ninja Exams. On the surface, it was a written test, but in reality, it tested information gathering. Everyone in the exam hall showed off their own abilities, while Naruto alone scratched at his head. He could neither answer the questions nor cheat.

Hinata shyly exposed her answers for Naruto to see. Well... her movements were far too obvious. How should one put it? At that moment, Naruto was all she could think about. She seemed to have completely forgotten about her teammates, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame. If her actions were discovered, all three members of their team might lose their qualifications for the exam.

No, that wasn't right!

There was no way the proctors could have failed to notice Hinata's blatant actions!

Sasuke understood. Hinata was the Hyuga clan head's daughter, while Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame also came from prominent clans. They were all predetermined candidates. How would the proctors dare eliminate them?

Naruto was the same. On the surface, he had moved the teacher with some passionate words and passed the exam despite handing in a blank paper, but in truth... those who knew, knew.

The second round was to collect the Heaven and Earth Scrolls in the Forest of Death.

"Sign it! Everyone taking the exam must sign this liability waiver," the proctor, Mitaraishi Anko, said.

"Each team will receive either a 'Heaven Scroll' or an 'Earth Scroll.' You will then have five days to operate within this forest. Your goal is not only to survive, but also to collect at least one complete Heaven and Earth Scroll set in order to pass."

As Anko spoke, Sasuke had been quietly scanning his surroundings. Kusagakure had already been wiped out. He wondered who Orochimaru had disguised himself as this time.

Naruto was still as spirited and energetic as ever, but once they truly entered the Forest of Death, he began to feel nervous again. Not long after entering, he had to go relieve himself.

Naruto truly was Naruto. He was very good at livening up the atmosphere.

Naruto went into a small thicket to take a leak. Sasuke's ears suddenly twitched. He raised a hand, and a faint mist drifted from between his fingers, seeping into a patch of ground within the bushes. Sasuke then stepped forward and activated Earth Release. The ground began to churn.

Just then, Naruto finished his business. Seeing Sasuke doing something strange, he directly asked, "What are you doing?"

"Collecting scrolls," Sasuke replied flatly.

Sakura and Naruto looked utterly bewildered, still unable to grasp the situation.

Splat— Sasuke's Earth Release overturned the soil, exposing a reddish-brown, foul-smelling, sticky humanoid mass to the air. It was thoroughly revolting.

"Sasuke!" Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened. "What is going on?!"

Sasuke did not answer. He merely rummaged around, clearly searching for something. That rotten, stinking humanoid mass had evidently been a living person not long ago, another examinee participating in the test.

"Look at the forehead protector. This guy should be from Hidden Rain. I wonder whether he has the scroll we need on him." Sasuke picked through the corpse, his tone utterly unmoved.

From the moment the corpse was dug up, Sakura's muscles had begun to tremble. She panted heavily, but did not dare make any obvious sound.

She had been frightened by the corpse's horrific state, and also by Sasuke's excessive calmness. The Sasuke she had imagined and the real Sasuke seemed worlds apart.

She leaned her back against the trunk of a tree to support herself, opening her mouth as she took deep breaths.

Naruto was also still shaken. After all, this was the first time he had faced a dead person. He wanted to say something, but Sasuke spoke first. "He signed a liability waiver before taking the exam. Even if he was killed, he couldn't blame anyone else. In other words, something like this could happen to you too."

Sakura immediately lost her strength and collapsed onto the ground, seemingly frightened by Sasuke's gloomy tone.

Sasuke turned and gave her a stiff smile. "I'm joking. You don't need to worry. Ninja from small villages wouldn't dare lay a hand on Konoha ninja. Forget killing us—even injuring us would make them think twice."

"???" Naruto was utterly confused by those words, but Sakura quickly caught on.

How could ninja from small villages dare act recklessly in a setting like this? Though it was the Joint Chunin Exams, this stage belonged to the major ninja villages. The smaller villages could only serve as supporting players.

The leaders of the smaller villages were not fools either. They would never send their promising candidates to compete. If their results were too good and they embarrassed the Five Great Ninja Villages, things would become troublesome. The kind and benevolent Third Hokage might not do anything excessive, but he had his best friend, Shimura Danzō!

There had never been fairness or justice among ninja villages and ninja. In the story, Sunagakure ninja could massacre people during the Chunin Ninja Exams, while Konoha's twelve young elites could conveniently use the lives of cannon fodder from smaller villages to see some blood, counting it as a vivid lesson for them.

Naruto felt somewhat strange. He did not understand what cryptic game Sasuke and Sakura were playing, and he always felt that a smart person like himself could not fit into their kind of brain-dead atmosphere.

"Sasuke." Sakura came back to herself. "How did you do that just now? That Hidden Rain ninja should have been hiding underground, planning to ambush us. Why did he suddenly just... die?"

What she really wanted to ask was why he had turned into such a badly decomposed corpse.

"Oh, it's a new ninjutsu I developed." Sasuke casually created a cloud of Decaying Mist and fired it at a nearby tree. The once lush tree instantly withered into dead wood, while the other two Hidden Rain ninja hiding there were conveniently sent to the Pure Land as well.

"I see." Sakura did not dare look directly at Sasuke, nor did she continue asking questions.

Sasuke did not mind revealing a few of his little secrets. Konoha was about to be finished anyway. What could those who were about to die do, even if they knew his secrets?

Sasuke found an Earth Scroll among the corpses of this Hidden Rain team. Sakura said nothing, while Naruto seemed somewhat resistant.

Just then, a chilling killing intent suddenly appeared, like a sharp sword hanging above their heads. Sakura took half a step back in fright, while Naruto furrowed his brow, inexplicably feeling something strange.

This killing intent was aimed at Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura were merely collateral. Soon, an unfamiliar ninja emerged from the bushes. His pupils were vertical, and a long tongue extended from his mouth. At a glance, he was clearly not normal.

Naruto stared intensely at the unfamiliar ninja before him. That indescribable strange feeling grew stronger and stronger, as though they had known each other before, making him involuntarily want to approach him.