At the entrance to the Forest of Death, the Genin from various nations who remained after passing the written exam had gathered.
The atmosphere was even more tense than during the written exam. Everyone knew that the second exam ahead was where the real danger lay.
Izumi, Itachi, and Chino stood together.
Looking at the forest entrance, Izumi recalled the close call during the written exam and could not help sighing. She turned to Chino and said quietly,
"Chino, you really went too far this time. The way you cheated during the written exam was practically waving hello to the proctors."
Still shaken, she continued, "Luckily, those proctors recognized you as Yūto-sensei's student. Otherwise, you definitely would have been caught cheating and disqualified on the spot."
Chino, who had been looking around, turned toward Izumi with bewilderment in her eyes. "Huh? They recognized me as Master's student?"
Only then did she understand. She scratched her head, an embarrassed, goofy grin appearing on her face.
"Hehe, so it was because of Sensei's reputation? I was wondering about that! I thought maybe they went easy on me because I was too cute!"
Seeing how oblivious she was, Izumi shook her head helplessly.
Uchiha Itachi said nothing beside them, but judging by the corners of his mouth, which he could barely keep straight, Chino had left him rather speechless too.
Just then, a familiar figure made her way through the crowd.
"Tsukimi!" Chino's eyes lit up, and she was the first to wave in greeting.
"Lady Tsukimi."
Izumi and Itachi immediately composed themselves as well, bowing slightly to Tsukimi in respectful greeting.
"Mm, you all passed the first exam. Good."
Tsukimi swept her gaze over the three and nodded in acknowledgment.
She did not stop, instead walking straight to the front of the