Early on the morning of the exams.
Near a large tree outside the Second Training Ground, a trio of one girl and two boys watched the twenty or thirty people in the training ground.
Up on a branch, a girl with upright braids beside her ears grinned, baring a mouthful of sharp teeth. "Hey, Kisame, how many of these people do you think will make it back to Kirigakure alive?"
"I don't know, Ameyuri." A little boy with a sharklike face spoke in a dull voice. "Haha, I'd say we should count ourselves lucky if even half of them make it back."
Ameyuri Ringo laughed. "Not one of them looks much like a ninja-oh, whatever."
She jumped down from the tree and landed beside her two teammates.
"Let's go to the Konoha Ninja Academy. You two had better not hold me back. Our teacher's counting on us to do Kirigakure proud."
Inside a ramen shop.
"Slurp, slurp-ah. Baki, why do you think the village sent so many people to take the Chunin Ninja Exams this year?"
A male Genin from Sunagakure asked Baki, who was observing Konoha as he ate his ramen, "Even Lady Pakura came."
"It must be some consideration of the village leadership," Baki said, his expression unchanged. "Just to give us more weight in our talks with Konoha."
Gulping down the rest of his ramen, Baki wiped his mouth and spoke to the little girl beside him. "Ameno, you've seemed a bit nervous these past few days. Are you all right?"
"I-I'm fine." Ameno tightened her clenched fists.
"..." Baki fell silent for a moment. "You probably won't make it to the elimination rounds. Just focus on staying alive during the exams, understand?"
"Huh?" Ameno froze in fright. "People can die in the Chunin Ninja Exams?"
Baki