One After Another

In the Forest of Death, the Second Exam had entered its third day.

Sunlight filtered through layers of interlaced leaves and fell on the forest floor, driving away the dampness left by the night.

Tsukimi and the other five set out from the northwest of the Forest of Death and steadily advanced toward the southwest.

Unlike the first two days, when fighting had raged and Ninja from the four major nations could be found everywhere, the entire forest was unnaturally quiet today.

Throughout the whole morning, they encountered only two teams from Small Shinobi Villages.

Tsukimi's group gave them no trouble. After providing the Heaven and Earth Scrolls they needed, they let them go and urged them to reach the Central Tower and pass as soon as possible.

After that, the whole area fell silent. Nowhere within the Shadowkhan's field of vision was there a trace of Ninja from the four major nations.

They had just sent off the second team when Obito, Kunai in hand, idly kicked a pebble across the ground. Boredom was written all over his face, and he could not help complaining.

"This is weird. Where did all those guys from the four major nations go? They were everywhere the last two days. How come we haven't seen a single one today?"

Kurenai looked around the forest and offered a quiet guess.

"Could most of them have collected their Scrolls and gone to the Central Tower already?"

Asuma toyed with his Flying Swallow blades, looking just as bored as Obito, and picked up where she left off.

"Kurenai's right. That's definitely possible. It's the third day of the exam, so we're getting into the later stages."

"Most teams strong enough to pass probably don't want to keep fighting and wearing themselves down in the forest. Clearing