Waiting for Fish to Come

Qianye Lan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he had finally managed to gloss over the matter.

He then had a simple meal with the two girls, and they agreed to meet at the Forest of Death the following week.

When the three arrived at the entrance to the Forest of Death, quite a few people were already waiting there.

They had only just arrived when a familiar voice rang out nearby.

"Qianye Lan, you're here too."

Qianye Lan turned at the voice and found Minato Namikaze. He replied politely, "Minato, you're taking the Chunin Ninja Exams too? How come I didn't see you in the first round?"

Hearing Qianye Lan's question, Minato Namikaze explained, "I was sitting in the back row, so you didn't see me."

Qianye Lan nodded, and a somewhat awkward silence fell between them.

Qianye Lan and Minato Namikaze were only nodding acquaintances and did not have much to talk about.

Seeing that things were getting awkward, Minato Namikaze said, "There's someone I know over there, so I'll head over first."

Qianye Lan took the offered way out. "Sure. See you later."

Only after Minato Namikaze left did Uchiha Mikoto lean closer and ask, "That person just now was..."

Hearing her question, Qianye Lan explained, "A classmate from the Ninja Academy."

After hearing that, Uchiha Mikoto did not ask any further questions.

At last, the examiner in charge of the second round appeared.

The specific rules for this exam were the same as in the original story.

Each team would receive a scroll, which could be either Heaven or Earth.

Only teams that collected both a Heaven Scroll and an Earth Scroll and reached the central tower within five days would pass this round.

Anyone who failed to meet those conditions would be eliminated outright.

The mood among the candidates grew noticeably graver when they heard the rules.

These rules made it clear that this round would eliminate half the candidates, or even more.

That meant every team other than their own could be an enemy!

At that thought, some teams began gathering together to discuss their plans.

Half an hour later, the examiner looked around at everyone and said, "The second round begins. Please collect your team's scroll."

After leading the two girls to collect their scroll, Qianye Lan entered the Forest of Death with them.

Once they entered the Forest of Death, Kushina looked at Qianye Lan and asked, "Lan, what's our plan now?"

Qianye Lan pointed at the tower in the center and said, "We just need to go straight there and wait."

Neither Kushina nor Uchiha Mikoto immediately grasped what Qianye Lan meant, and they were somewhat puzzled by his decision.

Uchiha Mikoto asked in confusion, "Lan, I don't understand. Shouldn't we act as quickly as possible and look for the scroll we're missing?"

Qianye Lan turned to her and explained, "Think about the rules. Isn't collecting both the Heaven and Earth Scrolls all we need to pass?"

He had barely finished when Kushina suddenly spoke up. "I get it! Lan wants us to intercept people at the central tower because teams that reach the tower will generally have collected both the Heaven and Earth Scrolls. Then all we need to do is defeat them."

Hearing Kushina's words, Qianye Lan gave her an approving look.

"Kushina's right, but she missed one thing."

Kushina tilted her head and looked at him in confusion.

Qianye Lan continued explaining, "By the time they reach the central tower, they'll have been through fierce battles. Those battles will keep draining their stamina, chakra, and mental energy."

"While they're still fighting, we'll be resting and recovering at the tower. We'll even have the terrain advantage. Tell me, who'll have the greater advantage?"

Hearing Qianye Lan's explanation, Uchiha Mikoto nodded in understanding.

Kushina suddenly smiled and offered another point.

"Lan's lazy about everything except training. I bet he only came up with this plan because he couldn't be bothered to go around looking for people."

With his true thoughts exposed, Qianye Lan felt a little awkward and could only change the subject. "No time to waste. Let's get to the tower first."

Seeing this, Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto exchanged smiles, then followed him.

Three hours later, Qianye Lan arrived with Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto on the outskirts of the central tower in the Forest of Death.

The examiner waiting there looked at the three and asked in surprise, "You've already collected both the Heaven and Earth Scrolls?"

After speaking, he made sure to check the time.

His surprise was understandable. Normally, a three-person team would need about three hours to reach this place from the entrance.

And only three hours had passed since this exam began.

In other words, the examiner guessed that Qianye Lan's group had seized a team's Heaven and Earth Scrolls right after entering the Forest of Death, then made their way here without any obstacles.

Hearing the examiner's somewhat surprised question, Qianye Lan answered honestly, "No, but we will soon."

With that, he led Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto to find a place to rest.

The examiner quickly caught on and gave Qianye Lan a long look.

However, Qianye Lan had not broken any rules, so he could only let it go.

At that moment, the Third Hokage, who was observing the Chunin Ninja Exams from a distance, saw this and asked in surprise, "Someone's passed already?"

His tone was full of doubt.

"No." The Third Hokage answered his own question. "They don't look like they've completed the task."

Seeing this, the chief examiner beside him signaled with his eyes for a subordinate to find out what was going on.

The examiner at the finish line soon received an inquiry from his superiors.

He also shared his own guess.

Upon receiving the news, the chief examiner immediately informed the Third Hokage.

After hearing it, the Third Hokage smiled and said, "Young people these days are rather interesting."

The chief examiner hesitated for a moment, then leaned toward the Third Hokage's ear and said, "Lord Hokage, should we..."

The Third Hokage raised a hand to stop him. "The rules of this exam don't say they can't do this. There's no need."

With that, he watched Qianye Lan and the others with interest.

However, a long time passed without a second team arriving at the central tower.

The Third Hokage could only leave for the time being to attend to official business.

Two days later.

A travel-worn team arrived near the tower. They looked utterly bedraggled, their faces full of exhaustion.

One of them pointed at the tower ahead and said, "We're finally about to finish!"

The other two teammates nodded as well, their eyes filled with excitement.

Qianye Lan stood up at that moment and said, "Our scroll's here. Speaking of which, what scroll did we have again?"

Then he muttered to himself, "Never mind. Once I take them, they'll all be mine."

With that, he stepped out and said slowly, "Thank you. We'll gladly take your scrolls."

Just as the three were imagining how they would rest after reaching the tower, Qianye Lan's sudden appearance threw cold water on them.