Just then, a figure burst through the window.
It was a woman in a beige trench coat over a black mesh bodysuit. Her short hair whipped in the wind, and a sharp, playful smile curled her lips.
Konoha Special Jōnin, Mitaraishi Anko.
"Quiet, all of you!"
Anko swept out an arm, and her coat billowed open, revealing a tactical vest covered in Kunai and Shuriken.
She surveyed the candidates packed into the hall. Her grin widened, and her eyes gleamed with excitement.
"I'm Mitaraishi Anko, your examiner for the second test!"
"Seventy-nine people? Too many, far too many. By the end of the second test, I'll cut that number by more than half!"
She licked her lips, looking both eager and as if she savored the thought of what was to come.
Before long, the candidates arrived at the gathering point outside the Forest of Death.
Anko stood before the chain-link gate.
"Before you go in, sign your liability waivers."
She slapped the stack of papers onto a nearby table.
"The second test will take place in Konoha's Training Ground 44, also known as the Forest of Death."
"You're signing this consent form because you could die during the test."
"I'm not forcing anyone. If you don't want to die, you can withdraw now."
"But if you sign and die in there, that's on you."
A stir ran through the candidates.
Some drew sharp breaths, some clenched their fists, and some had already begun to tremble.
In the end, not one of them withdrew.
Every candidate signed.
Anko nodded in satisfaction and spread out a huge map showing the terrain of the Forest of Death and a winding river.
"Now for the rules of the second test."
She raised one finger.
"First, this is a scroll-capture test. Each team will receive one scroll before entering, either a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll."
She raised a second finger.
"Second, your task is to collect both scrolls within five days and bring them to the tower at the center of the Forest of Death. Any team missing either scroll fails."
She raised a third finger, her smile turning crueler.
"Third, any team that fails to reach the tower within five days is eliminated. If any member of a team dies or becomes unable to continue, the team is eliminated. If your scroll is stolen or lost, you're eliminated."
"In short, of the seventy-nine people here, at least two-thirds will be eliminated. You need to survive for five days, take another team's scroll, and reach the central tower."
She licked her lips, her eyes gleaming.
"Come forward in order to collect your scrolls."
Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura stood in the middle of the line, each wearing a different expression.
Naruto clenched his fists, his face bright with eagerness.
Sakura was pale, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Sasuke looked calm, but his Sharingan was already scanning the other teams, especially the three from Sunagakure.
As for Zuo Hao...
He wasn't in line.
While Anko announced the rules, he had stood at the outer edge of the crowd with his hands in his pockets. His dark eyes seemed to wander idly over the candidates, but his gaze was as keen as a blade.
He was looking for someone.
Someone disguised as a Genin from Kusagakure.
Orochimaru.
Zuo Hao remembered nearly every detail of the original story.
During these Chunin Ninja Exams, Orochimaru disguised himself as a Kusagakure candidate and slipped into the Forest of Death.
There, he would place a Cursed Seal on Sasuke, then haunt him like a shadow for years.
When Zuo Hao had watched Naruto in his previous life, Orochimaru had been one of his favorite villains.
He had admired Orochimaru's devotion to Ninjutsu and his almost fanatical thirst for knowledge.
Orochimaru had betrayed Konoha, joined the Akatsuki, researched Forbidden Techniques, and pursued immortality. He had done it all to master every Ninjutsu in the world.
But things were different now.
Now Sasuke was his little brother.
Zuo Hao's gaze settled on an inconspicuous spot at the edge of the crowd.
Three Kusagakure ninja stood there. The one in the middle wore a conical hat pulled low, hiding most of his face.
He was tall and thin, and nothing stood out about his posture. But Zuo Hao noticed one detail: his fingers were long and pale.
That's him.
After collecting their scrolls, the candidates filed through the chain-link gate and entered the Forest of Death along their assigned routes.
Each team had been given a different entrance to keep them spread out at the start.
Zuo Hao hurried up to Sasuke, leaned closer, and lowered his voice. "Once we're in the Forest of Death, you three stick together. I'm going alone."
Sasuke frowned slightly, confusion in his eyes. "Why? It's dangerous in there. If you're alone..."
Zuo Hao patted his shoulder and gave him a gentle but firm smile. "Don't ask. There's something I have to handle on my own. Don't worry, I'll find you afterward."
Sasuke studied him for a moment, then nodded firmly. "All right. I understand. Focus on what you need to do. I'll take care of things here."
Ten minutes later, deep in the Forest of Death.
Towering trees shut out the sun. The damp smell of rotting leaves mingled with the scent of blood.
Zuo Hao raced through the tangled forest like lightning, his sharp eyes sweeping every shadow and treetop for any trace Orochimaru might have left.
He clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles whitened. "Damn it. I lost him..."
Meanwhile, at the other end of the Forest of Death.
Shikamaru leaned against a tree trunk with a blade of grass between his teeth, his eyes half-closed.
"What a drag. A scroll-capture test, five whole days, and we have to run around a place like this..."
Ino crouched beside him, chin propped in her hands. Her blond ponytail drooped over her shoulder, and impatience was written all over her face.
"Shikamaru, can't you take this seriously? The other teams are fighting for scrolls, and here we are, hiding like three turtles in their shells!"
"It's called strategic observation." Shikamaru spat out the grass and raised a finger. "Think about it. Every team has just entered the forest. They're rested and ready to fight, so any clash right now would be head-on."
"Let them wear each other down for a few days. Once they're tired and injured, most of the scrolls will have ended up with a few strong teams. Then we make our move and take the scroll we need with as little effort as possible. That's efficiency."
Choji sat on a tree root, pulled a bag of chips from his ninja pouch, tore it open, and started crunching away.
"Shikamaru's right. Besides, we've already got a Heaven Scroll. We only need to take one Earth Scroll. What's the rush?"
Ino rolled her eyes and was about to argue when Shikamaru suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth.
His expression changed in an instant.
His once-lazy eyes sharpened, his pupils narrowing as he stared into the dense forest ahead.
"Someone's coming," he whispered quickly. "Three of them. Moving fast. And they have... a lot of chakra."
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