Chapter 125: Second Stage of Chunin Exams

Rasa's concerns were something Hiruzen Sarutobi could understand.

But he still reassured him: "Don't worry. This time our two villages are extremely well-prepared. The other three villages barely had half a month to get ready before being forced to participate, so it'll be hard for them to put on any impressive performance."

Although what Hiruzen said made sense, Rasa was still deeply worried.

His face full of anxiety, he said, "Too much is at stake in this Chunin Exam; there's no room for mistakes! Lately, Kumogakure and Kirigakure have snatched away quite a few major clients.

"And not just them. Even smaller shinobi villages like Amegakure are showing strong competitiveness."

"If Konoha's and Sunagakure ninjas perform worse than Kirigakure and Kumogakure in front of dignitaries and leaders from all over, the losses we'll suffer will be immeasurable."

Rasa couldn't understand why the Third Hokage was so optimistic. After all, many people were arriving in Konoha for this exam.

If this Chunin Exam turned into a disaster for their two villages, the future would be even more difficult.

Hearing what Rasa meant, Hiruzen understood completely. Noticing the worry on Rasa's face, Hiruzen decided to give him a confidence boost.

"Kazekage-sama, from the start of this Chunin Exam, Konoha and Sunagakure have already been in an unbeatable position."

Rasa: (O_O)???

What? How come he wasn't aware that Sunagakure was already in an unbeatable position?

While Rasa was still puzzled, Hiruzen continued explaining:

"Besides the written test, the Forest of Death scroll stage, the preliminaries, and the final round all depend on pure strength!"

"This time, both of our villages are sending our jinchūriki. Kumogakure's jinchūriki is too old to participate. Kirigakure has one jinchūriki who's also too old, and as for their other tailed beast, according to the intelligence Konoha has gathered, they haven't yet sealed it into a jinchūriki."

Once Hiruzen finished speaking, Rasa's expression brightened at once.

Indeed!

In this Chunin Exam, the two villages' advantage was overwhelming. Apart from the written exam, the jinchūriki of Sunagakure—his youngest son Gaara—could practically sweep aside every other participant.

Thinking of that, the deep frown on Rasa's forehead began to ease.

Hiruzen, of course, noticed that Rasa's expression had relaxed. He also knew why Rasa suddenly felt so relieved—no doubt Rasa believed that the jinchūriki from Sunagakure was invincible. All Hiruzen could think was that Rasa was a bit too naive. However, he wouldn't say that out loud.

Wearing an aged face and a kind smile, Hiruzen said, "Under these circumstances, the more people come to watch this Chunin Exam, the better it is for Konoha and Sunagakure."

Rasa inclined his head slightly. "You're exactly right, Hokage-sama. Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and even Iwagakure's ninjas will all come serve as background while Konoha and our Sunagakure show off our strength. Indeed, the more big players show up, the better it will be."

As Hiruzen and Rasa talked in the Hokage's office…

Senshi's Mantra still blanketed all of Konoha.

Of course, he heard their entire conversation. He couldn't help chuckling, "Yes, the more leaders from all forces in the ninja world come, the better. That'll allow me to more effectively promote the mercenary group and the Amegakure Ninja Academy."

Meanwhile, the second stage of the Chunin Exam had begun.

Karin, Raimon Yukika and Raimon Hayate siblings, Uzumaki Musen, and all the other candidates who passed the written exam now gathered outside.

A beautiful female ninja dressed in a dull-yellow coat over fishnet gear appeared before the crowd.

That beautiful kunoichi was Anko Mitarashi.

Standing in front of everyone, she began her self-introduction and an explanation of the second stage of the exam.

"I am the proctor for the second stage, Anko Mitarashi."

"The second stage will take place in this forest behind me—what we call the Forest of Death."

"Now let me go over the rules of this part of the exam. Listen closely."

While Anko spoke, all the ninjas listened attentively.

This time, every one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages had sent elite ninjas to participate, so the competition was intense.

In an unchanged storyline, Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't be taking the Chunin Exam quite this soon, and that particular exam had only involved Konoha and Sunagakure. During the written exam in that older storyline, only 26 teams—78 ninjas—passed.

This time, however, not only are all Five Great Villages participating, but many other well-known small and medium shinobi villages have come too. Consequently, at the end of the written exam, 65 teams—195 ninjas in total—advanced, gathering outside the Forest of Death.

Seeing everyone's focus on her, Anko continued, "The time limit for the test in the Forest of Death is five days! After we begin, each team of three will be issued either a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll."

"You must secure both a Heaven and Earth Scroll and make it through the Forest of Death within the time limit to pass. Everyone else will be eliminated!

"Got it?"

When Anko finished speaking, the ninjas all nodded. The rules for the Forest of Death were simple: keep hold of your team's scroll while finding and seizing the other scroll you need, then cross the forest by the deadline.

Having explained, Anko did not waste time. She handed out Heaven and Earth Scrolls to each team of three. Once everyone had received their scroll, they entered the Forest of Death.

Naruto, Sasuke, and their teammate Kabuto set off for the forest like everyone else.

Not long after they entered, Sasuke said to Naruto, "Check which scroll we got."

Naruto promptly looked. "We got a Heaven Scroll. That means we need a team with an Earth Scroll if we want to pass."

Sasuke nodded slightly and began considering the best way to secure an Earth Scroll quickly.

Just then, Kabuto spoke. "Before we go on, let me take charge of the Heaven Scroll."

Naruto frowned. "Why should we give you the Heaven Scroll?"

Kabuto was thinking, Obviously because you two knuckleheads are completely unreliable. But instead he said, "I'm better at reconnaissance and defense, less so at direct combat. You two will have to put in the work to grab an Earth Scroll. I'm used to handling important items, so it's best if I keep the Heaven Scroll safe."

After Kabuto finished, Naruto didn't hand it over right away. He glanced at Sasuke. "Sasuke, what do you think?"

After a brief moment of thought, Sasuke nodded. "Let's give the Heaven Scroll to Kabuto-senpai. To get the Earth Scroll as fast as possible, both of us will have to fight."

Since Sasuke agreed, Naruto could only hand over the scroll with a scowl. Then he turned to Sasuke and, grinning, said, "Sasuke! Let's see who can snag an Earth Scroll first, huh?"

Sasuke responded flatly, "Boring."

Kabuto, listening, could only feel a headache coming on.

Naruto, seeing Sasuke refuse to compete, wasn't about to give up. He pressed on with a cheeky grin: "What's wrong, Sasuke? Don't tell me you're giving up without a fight?"

Sasuke threw him a casual glance. "Naruto, I've told you before—don't say stupid things."

Naruto shot back confidently, "Sasuke, don't underestimate how much I've improved recently!"

Sasuke said calmly, "Naruto, are you assuming I haven't improved as well?"

Naruto: "Sasuke!"

Sasuke: "Naruto!"

With that, they vanished in opposite directions.

Kabuto: (O_O)???

The instant Naruto and Sasuke took off, Kabuto was left speechless.

What the hell just happened?

Those two idiots… They're far too reckless!

If Naruto and Sasuke get taken out, then the three-man team of "Team Ino-Shika-Cho…no, wait, that's not them—Team 7 + Kabuto" will fail the Forest of Death too.

After briefly feeling sorry for himself, Kabuto decided to chase after Naruto, that hotheaded knucklehead. After all, Naruto acts first and thinks later, with zero regard for consequences. They're in the middle of the Chunin Exam, and those two want to hold a contest to see who can get the Earth Scroll first!

Elsewhere, Karin and the Raimon siblings—Raimon Yukika and Raimon Hayate—had also entered the Forest of Death.

Raimon Yukika looked at the scroll they'd received, opened it, and said, "We have an Earth Scroll. Next, we'll need a Heaven Scroll to pass the exam."

Raimon Hayate thumped his chest. "Leave it to me. I'll go grab a Heaven Scroll right now!"

Karin wagged her index finger with a grin. "No, no, no! Lord Senshi said that in the Forest of Death, we need to give our training the fullest showcase!"

Raimon Yukika nodded. "Captain, what do you have in mind?"

Raimon Hayate looked at Karin with the same question in his eyes, curious how she planned to 'show off their training results.'

Karin had already thought it through. She smiled mischievously. "We don't have to focus on searching for a team that has a Heaven Scroll. As we move through the Forest, whichever team we run into, we'll take their scroll. If they cross our path, that's their tough luck!"

Raimon Yukika: (O_O)???

Raimon Hayate: (O_O)???

The two siblings never expected Karin to be that aggressive! If they really do "take out whoever they see," the Forest of Death will become a nightmare for everyone else. After all, the three of them are extremely powerful—easily capable of wiping out anyone who stands in their way. Karin will "wipe them out," while the Raimon siblings provide the "gaga!"

Meanwhile, Uzumaki Musen and his two teammates had also entered the Forest of Death at top speed. They, too, ended up with an Earth Scroll.

As the three of them moved through the forest, Musen—who was quite the chatterbox—couldn't help speaking up. "A bunch of other Amegakure ninjas came this time, not just us six. I thought only the six of us from Ame were coming."

Lanwu replied casually, "Amegakure has been developing at a remarkable pace lately. There are plenty of ninjas who meet the requirements to be promoted to Chunin, so it's not just the six of us."

He paused, then added, "But our six-man squad is the face of Amegakure right now. Through every stage of this exam, we have to give it our all."

Hearing that, Lanyu nodded firmly. Musen, however, sounded a bit distracted. "I've got a suggestion."

Before he could continue, Lanwu and Lanyu cut him off in unison: "Shut it!"

No doubt they expected he was about to suggest some wacky idea. Musen didn't mind; he was determined to have his say:

"How about we split up? At our level, we won't face much trouble even if we're alone, and we'd get more individual training that way!"

Lanwu paused for a moment and then said, "That's a great idea. Don't bring it up again."

In Lanwu's eyes, since Lord Senshi had told them to go all out and not let their guard down, they couldn't afford the slightest slip. Each of them alone was indeed strong, but moving as a trio was safer and ensured a higher success rate.

Musen sighed. "So boring. If only I were on the same team as Karin… You two are way too cautious!"

Senshi, still keeping tabs on everyone in the Forest of Death, couldn't help twitching at Musen's comment. If Musen is "chaotic," Karin is on a whole other level of "more chaotic." Putting them on the same team would practically blow up the entire Forest of Death. Even now, without Musen, Karin's already planning to sow havoc throughout the forest.

Not only Senshi but the Five Kage were keeping a close eye on the forest as well. From these battles, they could assess roughly how strong the various squads really were. However, the Forest of Death was vast, and none of them had a Mantra like Senshi. They could only observe partial areas, missing the bigger picture.

By then, most teams in the forest had already begun trying to seize the scroll they needed. But a few teams were "special"—for instance, Gaara's team from Sunagakure.

Gaara, Suna's jinchūriki, was extremely bloodthirsty. Any team that ran into him was quickly crushed.

At that moment, a poor three-man squad from Iwagakure found themselves blocked by Gaara. Unfortunately, they had no idea how terrifying he was.

Gaara gave them no time to reconsider. He raised his right hand and said coldly, "Sand Binding Coffin!"

As he spoke, grains of sand rose from the soil. They moved as if alive and rapidly wrapped around the three Iwa ninjas, binding them before they could react. Their scroll was yanked away by a claw-like formation of sand and delivered straight into Gaara's hand.

Seeing that it was a Heaven Scroll yet again, Gaara wore a disappointed look.

Temari suggested, "Gaara, don't kill them anymore. Let's move on."

Kankuro kept silent. Although he was Gaara's older brother, Gaara never listened to him anyway.

And indeed, Gaara paid no heed to Temari. Right after her words fell, he said icily, tightening his right hand, "Sand Burial!"

Crack, crack, crack!

The intense pressure within the sand reduced the three hapless Iwa genin to nothing more than red paste. Not a scrap was left behind.

After finishing them off, Gaara moved on without changing expression.

So far, the three of them had run into three teams, but all had turned out to have Heaven Scrolls.

Continuing forward, Gaara said in an aloof tone, "Seems like there's no one worth my attention in this exam."

Temari shook her head. "You can't afford to underestimate them. The first two teams we ran into were from small villages. The last one was from Iwagakure, sure, but they weren't part of Iwagakure's elite squad—just some regular genin. We haven't seen any top teams yet."

Gaara merely replied, "Makes no difference to me."

Temari could only sigh in exasperation.

At that moment, they encountered a fourth group.

Kankuro looked at the other trio's forehead protectors and said, "They're from Amegakure?"

Temari nodded. "Be careful. Although Amegakure used to be just a small hidden village, it changed drastically under Lord Senshi. That red-haired girl over there is Uzumaki Karin, Lord Senshi's young assistant. She wields the Uchiha clan's Sharingan."

"The two blue-haired ninja beside her are the Raimon siblings—talents from Amegakure's Ninja Academy. This is definitely one of the strongest squads they sent."

On Karin's side, Raimon Yukika was also warning her teammates about Gaara's group.

She looked warily at Gaara. "That's Sunagakure's jinchūriki, Gaara. Apparently, he can tap into the tailed beast's power. He's very dangerous!"

Karin just shook her head. "He can use a tailed beast's power? That doesn't seem dangerous at all."

From Karin's perspective, tailed beasts were quite well-behaved and tame creatures. The ones she kept sealed in her Kamui dimension—Matatabi (Two-Tails) and Saiken (Six-Tails)—were very docile, never giving her any trouble. Whenever she asked them to help her test new jutsu, they always cooperated.

However, what Raimon Hayate said next made Karin more cautious.

He leaned in and whispered, "Captain, look at those dark rings around his eyes. I saw the same thing on Lord Hidan once, and they said it came from days and nights of nonstop mission grinding!"

"That means Sunagakure's jinchūriki has racked up a lot of mission time."

~~~

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