Compared with the mature Chunin Ninja Exams system of later years, this inaugural exam skipped the written test altogether, impatiently bringing combat straight to the forefront.
The venue was finally set as the Forest of Death, Training Ground 44 on Konoha's border. Giant beasts and insects roamed this vast forest, which had been hastily cordoned off, while poisonous plants tested the candidates' wilderness survival skills. No place could have been better suited to testing the overall abilities of genin teams in the field.
Three candidates from Kirigakure, twenty-four from Sunagakure, thirty-six from Iwagakure, forty-two from Kumogakure, and the largest contingent, fifty-one from Konoha-a total of 156 carefully selected genin-gathered at the entrance to the Forest of Death, waiting for the exam to begin.
Accompanied and watched by Shamon of Sunagakure, Mu of Iwagakure, Hozuki Gengetsu of Kirigakure, and Igotsu of Kumogakure-the Second A-Hashirama Senju climbed onto the temporary platform in his Hokage robes, his expression solemn. Under countless gazes filled with respect, admiration, wariness, or hostility, he cleared his throat twice and began his opening speech:
"I want to thank everyone for coming to take part in this Chunin Ninja Exam..."
The moment Hashirama stepped forward to deliver his speech, Shingetsu's drowsiness surged as though triggered by a conditioned reflex. She yawned uncontrollably, one yawn after another. Knowing Hashirama, she was certain he would spout enough nonsense to fill the sky.
Sure enough, Hashirama's floodgates burst wide open. He talked about life before the village's founding and after it, moved from Konoha to Sunagakure, then from Sunagakure to Kumogakure and Kirigakure. Just when he had finally covered all the Five Great Shinobi Villages, he began chattering about the bloody history of the Senju and Uchiha clans-though naturally, the focus was on how he had met and befriended his dear friend