In the realm of hyperspace surfing, Hiruzen was chatting with a recently added friend.
[Hiruzen]: So, you're Ace. You awakened in the prison cell after being captured, right?
[Ace]: Yes, a bit too late. In my current situation, I no longer have the power to change anything. So I hope to seek your help. Pops will pay a huge reward for this.
[Hiruzen]: It's not really about the reward. We ninjas take on all sorts of missions anyway. The issue is, my side hasn't even started Shippuden yet. I'm not strong enough. Even sending Jiraiya might not help much.
[Ace]: Then please at least change his fate. The Whitebeard Pirates shouldn't fall into ruin because of me. With Konoha's capabilities, it should be possible.
Hiruzen thought for a moment before replying, "So how can I get to your world?"
[Ace]: This hyperspace is magical. I'll provide your side with the coordinates of my world.
The hyperspace immediately responded: as long as a "Fate Awakened" like themselves from the other world agreed, someone from Hiruzen's world could be sent over.
So there were others like Ace?
As he was thinking this, a new button labeled "Portal" appeared in his sea of consciousness.
"Let me think about it. The power level in your world is a bit high. At least wait until I'm done dealing with Orochimaru..."
---
Training Ground 44 was commonly known as the "Forest of Death".
The second exam lasted a full five days. While the specifics varied slightly, the core format still resembled wilderness survival mixed with a battle royale.
Looking up at the distant tower, Sasuke had his hands in his pockets, a cool expression on his face. He thought, Finally, time to show what I can do. This is my domain.
He stood at the front of his team, not looking back, and said, "All we have to do is obtain the Scroll of Earth to complete this exam, right? Then let's begin."
Sakura looked at Sasuke showing off and hesitantly asked, "What if it's a team from our own village? Do we still attack them?"
"No need. There are plenty of teams to choose from," Sasuke answered without hesitation, quite in line with the Will of Fire, actually.
He pointed toward the far-off tower. "I have an idea. Every team has to head there eventually, right? Let's go wait at the tower. Teams that can't make it there don't deserve to move on to the next stage."
Sakura was shocked. From Sasuke's tone, it seemed like he intended to camp at the tower and size up whoever showed up.
This kind of Sasuke was cool, but...
What exactly did you and Kakashi train in?! Inner Sakura was screaming.
Naruto raised his hand and shouted loudly, "Wait, I've got something to say!"
Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. Let Naruto stop Sasuke, why did he suddenly want to become the enemy of every other examinee?
Both Sasuke and Sakura turned to look at what he was up to.
Naruto rummaged through his belongings and finally found something, a beautifully crafted letter.
It appeared to be made from heavy parchment, with the name "Uzumaki Karin" written on the envelope. The sender was "Sarutobi Hiruzen, Principal of Konoha Ninja Academy," written in elegant, classical handwriting. The envelope also bore the watermark of the Konoha symbol.
"I've got a secret mission from Gramps! I'm supposed to give this letter to a Kusa examinee named Karin, and invite her to join Konoha!"
Sakura and Sasuke took the letter and looked it over curiously.
The contents basically stated that this Karin from Kusa was a lost member of the Uzumaki clan. She was now invited to return to Konoha and enroll in the Ninja Academy. Any problems arising from this would be personally handled by the Third Hokage. The letter also included a photo of Karin and a pre-printed Konoha ID.
Sakura asked, "Uzumaki clan? Never heard of them. She's not the same as Naruto, her hair's red."
"She really is from the same clan. Supposedly it's just me and her left now. That's what Gramps said, which is why he gave me the mission," Naruto said, visibly happy.
Having always been alone, he was now full of anticipation, he'd just learned that there was someone from his own clan participating in the exam. Maybe she'd even come live in Konoha with him.
"Hehe, now I can be like that smug Sasuke and call myself something-something clan too."
"idiot," Sasuke sneered coldly, but inside, he felt a surge of empathy, so this guy was also the last orphan of a once-powerful clan.
"But how are we going to find her? We can't just go around shouting her name, right? Or do we do what Sasuke said and wait at the tower like... ha~ ha~"
Sakura was joking, but then she realized her teammates were serious.
No, please! This is so dumb! And what if Karin got eliminated before even reaching the tower?! Inner Sakura was frantically shaking her head.
"I think it's a good idea. I'm super strong now. Plus, at the goal point, we can ask other people to help us search," Naruto said confidently, nodding.
Who would help YOU look?! Inner Sakura facepalmed hard.
"Don't drag us down," Sasuke glanced at the overly confident Naruto. He was very curious, what exactly had Naruto been training these days? He almost wanted to fight him right now.
Whatever it was, he couldn't possibly be stronger than me.
Then Sakura watched as her two teammates confidently headed out. Inner Sakura rolled her eyes and followed along. Let's just hope this doesn't end in disaster…
---
Trouble came sooner than expected.
It wasn't Orochimaru, he was currently being personally intercepted by Hiruzen. He hadn't even had a chance to show up in the Forest of Death.
The Curse Mark? That thing was outdated, ugly, and weak. It was already irrelevant by late Shippuden. Hiruzen had no intention of giving Orochimaru another chance to plant that thing on Sasuke, so he was currently having a spirited debate with the Kazekage about the Will of Fire.
Instead, it was just a regular group of three Oto ninjas: Abumi Zaku, Kinuta Dosu, and Tsuchi Kin.
They were sent to probe Sasuke. As soon as the exam began, they went straight for his team.
"Extend—Adamantine Staff!"
Dosu was smashed by a staff as thick as a concrete pipe, sent flying and slammed into a tree, leaving a person-shaped crater in the trunk.
From the moment they attacked, Dosu had only managed to use his ninja tool Resonating Echo Speaker in combination with a sound-based ninjutsu to briefly stun their opponents.
At that time, he tilted his head and asked, "You're Sasuke, right?"
Then the pink-haired, overly talkative girl started backing up while forming hand seals, yelling something like, "What?! A bandage freak is attacking us!"
The black-haired boy suddenly sparked with lightning, and the first to suffer was Kin. He landed a punch right to her gut, it looked like she was about to throw up her breakfast. Then he kicked her squarely on the chin.
Kin's eyes rolled back as she was knocked unconscious, and the black-haired boy, still crackling with electricity, rushed toward Zaku.
As for Dosu's side, it was even worse. A giant monkey turned into an enormous staff and rammed toward him at lightning speed.
Blown away and seriously injured, his vision blurred. Against the backlight, he could only make out the silhouette of the blond boy. That guy spun his staff like a flourish, seemingly giving commentary on the completely one-sided fight.
"You were a decent opponent, though."
Dosu's blurred vision faded into darkness.
"Why do you have to talk like that? Naruto, you're such a showoff," Sakura stopped forming her seals and complained as she watched Naruto twirling his staff like a golden monkey.
So strong! Not just Sasuke, even Naruto has become powerful! I didn't even finish my hand seals, and they'd already ended the fight. Now I'm the dead-last… Inner Sakura screamed anxiously in her mind.
"Gramps always said that those who possess the Will of Fire must respect their opponents," Naruto said as he ended his summoning jutsu.
"Drown in the illusion of the Sharingan," Sasuke said coolly, hands in his pockets after the battle.
Zaku lay unconscious at Sasuke's feet, just like Kin, taken down with one punch to the gut and one kick to the chin. In mere moments, he had taken out two enemies. The lightning chakra-enhanced speed left the Oto ninja duo completely unable to react.
Thanks to his earlier training with Kakashi, and without the distraction of the Curse Mark, Sasuke might already be stronger than he was during the original battle with Gaara in the source material.
Sakura turned back and saw Sasuke also starting to act cool, mimicking Naruto by saying something like a "winner's quote." She couldn't help but complain again, "Sasuke, you were just using taijutsu!"
Usually, she only roasted Naruto like this!
Sasuke ignored her, instead glaring at Naruto and mocking him, "Dead-last, your strength only comes from relying on outside power."
He was just being stubborn, inside, he was seething with jealousy. He knew the significance of summoning a beast like Enma. Even a high-level ninja like Kakashi might lose in a one-on-one with the Monkey King.
Damn! Why didn't you give me a summoning contract with Enma?!
Naruto just grinned. "It's not just the Adamantine Staff! You'll see in the next round!"
"You think I don't have other moves too?" Sasuke's temper flared instantly. For some reason, Naruto always got under his skin.
Kakashi-sensei… Still no match for personal training by the Hokage.
"It's the Scroll of Earth!" Sakura called out, flipping through the Sound Ninja trio's items.
"That means we've got both scrolls!"
The three of them exchanged glances, and dashed off toward the tower.
---
Inside the tower, in front of a crystal monitor, Hiruzen stood beside the Kazekage, watching the second exam unfold.
They watched as Naruto wielded the transformed Enma into a mighty staff, sweeping through enemies like a storm.
"That kid really reminds me of my younger days," he said, puffing his pipe, clearly pleased.
The Kazekage put on a fake smile. "Is this your new student?"
"No. He's the pupil of my favorite student, Jiraiya. I just taught him for a few days, nothing much."
Your favorite student, huh... Orochimaru chuckled coldly inside, but kept smiling outwardly as the Kazekage. "They say Enma is part of the Hokage clan's exclusive scroll, right?"
"Eh, don't get caught up in ideas like 'clan exclusive' and such. That kind of thinking is too small-minded. Besides, Jiraiya's my favorite, the one with the strongest Will of Fire, and the most accomplished."
"Heh…"
Jiraiya's your favorite, huh? You'll regret that soon enough.
---
Meanwhile, over on Gaara's side, the Suna ninja trio were searching for Konoha teams.
But none of the three were scout-types, and trying to find a specific team in a massive forest was difficult. So far, they hadn't encountered anyone.
During the last test, the One-Tail had already started yelling in his head with even more intensity than usual. It was driving him insane.
When he cheated during the written test and saw Naruto's cheerful, hope-filled essay, it only irritated him more. Why? Why?! We're all monsters, why does he get to be the "good" one?
He just wanted to kill.
A nearby team from Ame happened to pass by, and instantly met disaster.
"Sand Binding Coffin."