"This is the Forest of Death-your testing ground for the second exam."
Before them stretched a vast forest filled with unknown dangers. Gloomy and deep, its terrain was complex, its air humid and stifling. The strangely shaped trees looked like grasping demonic hands, and even the hanging moss and vines wound around their trunks resembled demonic fangs.
Xue Ge and Muzi, both regular visitors, showed little reaction, but the other Genin, who were here for the first time, felt varying degrees of unease.
"What a creepy atmosphere..." Gari frowned. Beside him, Han stood with his hands on his hips and clicked his tongue. "I don't like how filthy this place feels..."
Ameyuri and Kisame both looked uncomfortable.
"So stuffy..."
If this place was too stifling for the people from Kirigakure, then it was too damp for those from Sunagakure.
Baki and the others, who felt as though even their clothes had turned clammy, watched the forest ahead with some caution.
"This place probably breeds plenty of venomous insects, snakes, and rats... Watch your step in there."
Apart from Konoha, Kumogakure was the only one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages whose people showed little reaction. Perhaps that was because the vast majority of them were thick-skinned and tough.
"I hope you'll all be careful in the forest. After all... this place is called the Forest of Death." Sakumo stood in front of everyone with his arms folded across his chest. "The name alone should tell you this is no vacation spot."
With that, he flicked a kunai backward, pinning it into the ground.
Beside a Rain Ninja's feet, it pierced a snake almost exactly the same color as the grass.
"Eek..." The Rain Ninja jumped in fright.
Sakumo's icy warning followed. "This snake's venom is potent enough to kill a