At night.
Some rejoiced while others despaired. Wherever someone was happy, someone else was bound to feel dejected.
One such person was the Amegakure ninja, who sighed as he packed his bags to leave.
He hadn't suffered any real injuries. After all, once the Shadow Possession Jutsu caught him, he had no teammates and no way to resist. He obediently surrendered and handed over his Scroll, so the examiner inside the tower declared him eliminated and escorted him out of the exam grounds.
As for his teammates, the two who had been eliminated in the first Exam were nowhere to be found.
Their luggage had even disappeared by the time he returned from the first Exam yesterday.
Perhaps they had felt too embarrassed themselves to even consider staying to cheer him on, and had left in a hurry.
"Ugh, what rotten luck. Going home without accomplishing a thing..."
With his pack on his back, the Amegakure ninja had barely passed through the Konoha Gate when he froze.
Someone stood in his path.
It was a thin, frail-looking man, covered in wounds as though he had just survived a fierce battle.
But those snake-like eyes sent chills down his spine.
"Go back and tell them that if they want me to continue... they must lure Jiraiya away from Konoha within two months. Otherwise, they can figure it out themselves!"
The man vanished after leaving him with those words.
The Amegakure ninja blinked and muttered, "What was that about? Did he mistake me for someone else?"
On the second day in the Forest of Death, a crow perched quietly on a branch, watching the empty Tree Hollow in a tree.
After resting for a day, Sasuke abruptly opened his eyes. He looked down at his palm, feeling as though his chakra reserves