The Second Exam and Karin

Naruto raised his hand and slammed it onto the desk. "I'm not backing out now! I choose to answer Question 10. Even if I stay a Genin for the rest of my life, I won't give up on my dream!"

Sure enough, Naruto's impassioned declaration swept away every doubt the other candidates had.

Ibiki Morino looked at Naruto with a mix of irritation and resignation. He had worked so hard to devise Question 10 as a test of psychological pressure, only for Naruto to dismantle it with ease.

Now only three people had left because of Question 10.

Ibiki Morino waited a little longer. When no one else left, he had no choice but to announce the end of the First Exam. Only then did everyone realize what had happened.

Anko burst through a window in a way that left everyone startled and at a loss for words, announcing herself as the proctor for the Second Exam.

"If you want to take the Second Exam, follow me!"

After speaking, Anko realized the room had gone awkwardly quiet.

She turned to Ibiki Morino and complained, "Why are there still so many candidates left after the First Exam?"

Because Naruto had effectively cracked the Tenth Question, the room still held thirty-six teams—a full 108 people.

Before long, the remaining candidates arrived outside the Forest of Death.

Only then did Naruto notice Orochimaru, whose appearance had changed.

During the First Exam, the man had seemed almost nonexistent.

He was a frightening, cunning figure.

The other person who caught Naruto's attention was a cute girl with red hair and glasses.

A plan had already formed in his mind.

"This is Training Ground 44, where the Second Exam takes place. It's also known as the Forest of Death!" Anko said coolly, her hands in her pockets.

The candidates looked at the towering trees and the enormous beasts that appeared now and then. Dread washed over them, sending a chill through their hearts.

The Forest of Death was a circular training ground with forty-four entrances, rivers, woods, and the Central Tower. Every gate stood ten kilometers from the tower.

Inside, Naruto and the other candidates would have to survive in the wild—and fight.

Each team would randomly receive either a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll.

Only teams that obtained both scrolls within five days and still had all three members could enter the Central Tower.

In other words, once they entered the Forest of Death, every team around them would be an enemy.

Soon, all thirty-six teams signed the Life and Death Agreement. Each received a scroll and went to a different gate. At the signal, they surged into the Forest of Death.

Standing between Sasuke and Sakura, Naruto licked his lips and sprinted into the dark forest without hesitation.

He could sense the entire Forest of Death. He knew every team's position and movements.

That included Orochimaru, Karin, and the Anbu Ninja still watching him from the shadows.

As the three leaped between towering trees, Naruto's real body vanished the instant they passed a thicket. His Shadow Clone continued forward without missing a beat.

No one, not even the Anbu Ninja, knew he had slipped away.

His real body had concealed his chakra with the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to reach a tree he had marked earlier.

"Now, let the Shura Field begin!"

Naruto's real body closed his eyes and sensed the enemies around him. When he opened them, a cold smile touched his lips. He formed hand seals, and twenty Shadow Clones appeared beside him before racing in every direction.

His real body, meanwhile, followed the Shadow Clone ahead with Sasuke and Sakura.

After Naruto's Shadow Clone, Sasuke, and Sakura had traveled toward the Central Tower for three hours, they decided to take a short break.

Sasuke was about to fetch water when Naruto's Shadow Clone stopped him and took the canteen. "Let me. I need to take a leak anyway."

Sasuke nodded without objection, completely unaware of what he had missed.

Naruto's Shadow Clone grinned and headed straight toward Karin's position.

At the time, Karin still belonged to Kusagakure. She and two fellow Kusagakure Ninja had been sent to Konoha for the Chunin Ninja Exams. Orochimaru would not take her until later.

Separated from her teammates and with no one to help her, Karin had been cornered by a huge gray bear.

Just as the bear opened its jaws to devour her, Naruto's Shadow Clone appeared. A stylish flurry of kicks left the beast dazed and unconscious.

Karin's eyes turned into hearts.

A hero saving a beauty would not win every woman's heart. But when that hero was both handsome and strong, he was sure to win hers.

"What's your name?" Naruto asked, walking up to Karin where she sat on the ground and offering his right hand.

"Huh? I-I'm Karin." Blushing, she placed her hand in his, and he gently pulled her to her feet.

"It's too dangerous here. Hurry and find your teammates," Naruto said with a soft smile, leaving a Flying Thunder God Mark on her palm as he did.

Team 7 traveled for another three hours before someone finally spotted them.

An Amegakure Ninja wearing a gas mask suddenly ambushed Naruto's Shadow Clone, Sasuke, and Sakura.

Unfortunately, he had chosen the wrong target. Naruto's Shadow Clone used Flash Step to appear behind him in the blink of an eye and slit his throat.

His two companions farther away would not live to see him return, either. Naruto's real body found them, and death followed.

By then, Naruto could sense Orochimaru approaching after spotting them from afar. Two of Orochimaru's subordinates, meanwhile, had engaged the Anbu Ninja watching Naruto.

Naruto's real body did not head toward Orochimaru. Instead, he hid nearby and watched with interest as the two subordinates fought the Anbu Ninja fiercely.

That scene had never been shown in the original story, but it must have happened. After all, Naruto could not have entered the Forest of Death without Anbu surveillance.

Nor could the Anbu Ninja have stood by while Orochimaru sealed the Nine-Tails Chakra inside Naruto.

There was only one explanation: Orochimaru's two subordinates had dealt with the Anbu Ninja.

Both were Jonin Orochimaru had carefully selected from Otogakure. Even if the lone Anbu Ninja was also a Jonin, he could hardly withstand two Ninja of comparable strength.

The Otogakure Ninja's sound attacks were especially hard to guard against. With no experience countering them, the Anbu Ninja soon lost ground and suffered serious injuries.

Just as the two Otogakure Ninja were about to kill the Anbu Ninja, Naruto appeared disguised as the Red-Haired Masked Woman. Using Flash Step, she reached their backs, and two Immortal-Binding Ropes sprang from her hands to coil around them.

But they were Jonin. They reacted in time, using the Substitution Technique to escape to the side.