Anko's eyes swept over Shigure and his two teammates.
"They look like Kakashi's brats."
No wonder they had that air about them. Kakashi rarely even trains a Genin squad, and he almost never recommends one for the Chūnin Exams.
A prodigy… with two more monsters at his side.
Well, nothing she couldn't handle.
"Alright," Anko announced, "let's go over the rules for the second exam!"
The Scrolls of Heaven and Earth didn't need much introduction, but with so many Genin teams this year, she had almost run out.
In a normal year, there were only twenty-six squads. This time, there were fifty.
And the culprit behind that? Shigure—thanks to him, twice as many Genin passed the first exam.
Only three individuals had been eliminated.
The roster now stood as follows:
Ten squads from Sunagakure
Hidden Rain, Group 7
Kusagakure, Group 2
Takigakure, Group 1
Konohagakure, Group 29
Otogakure, Group 1
Fifty teams total—twenty-five carrying Heaven Scrolls, and twenty-five carrying Earth Scrolls.
That meant only twenty-five squads could possibly advance. Realistically, after factoring in ties and strong squads steamrolling weaker ones, maybe ten would make it. That would leave around thirty ninja moving on—still twice the number from the original Chūnin Exams.
But in the end? Only fifteen would survive to the finals.
The thought gave Anko a headache.
When she handed out the scrolls, she shot Shigure a sharp glare. If it weren't for this kid, her workload wouldn't have doubled for no reason.
Shigure held his Heaven Scroll and glanced at Sakura's—an Earth Scroll.
Without hesitation, he passed his to her. "This is for you."
Sakura and her teammates froze.
"Shigure-kun… if you give me your scroll, then you—"
"I'll just take one from someone else."
Sakura blinked. Even her teammates were caught off guard. Shigure wasn't exactly known for being generous.
Could it be… he liked her? It was almost too good to be true.
Once the departure order was set, squads began entering the Forest of Death one by one. Shigure's team was somewhere in the middle, with Sakura's group leaving at a similar time.
Inside the forest, Shigure led Naruto and Sasuke in escorting Sakura's team to their designated rendezvous.
They crossed paths with two foreign squads along the way, but the moment those teams recognized Shigure, they bolted without looking back.
Sasuke clicked his tongue. "Cowards like that have no business taking the Chūnin Exams."
After seeing Sakura's group safely to their spot, they turned back.
"What now?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke smirked. "We take the other scroll, obviously."
Shigure nodded. "Sounds good. But… to move faster, how about we split up?"
Even Naruto knew that was risky. Splitting up in the Forest of Death was practically asking to get ambushed.
But Shigure didn't seem concerned—he clearly just wanted to collect scrolls faster.
"Then why not make it interesting?" Sasuke suggested. "See who can grab the most."
That actually caught Shigure off guard. That wasn't something Sasuke usually said. But this Sasuke was already stronger than the one in the original timeline. Even Gaara might have trouble against him.
Naruto immediately took the bait. "You're on!"
Shigure shrugged. "Fine by me. This exam's boring anyway. If I beat every other squad here, we can skip the rest of the tests."
He had said it as a joke, but Sasuke and Naruto froze.
Wait… if they really defeated every squad, wouldn't that guarantee they passed?
Both started to seriously consider it.
Shigure stared at them. They can't possibly be planning to—
"Let's go!" Naruto shouted, darting off into the trees.
Sasuke looked at Shigure, gave a brief nod, and disappeared in the opposite direction.
Left alone, Shigure smirked.
"Take down every candidate? Not impossible. But… it might mess with a few people's plans."
The reason Shigure proposed splitting up wasn't just efficiency—it was bait. He wanted to lure a particular person out.
He could hardly wait to face that man.
Aunt Orochimaru.
Bang!
Deep in the forest, Sasuke drove his heel into a Takigakure ninja, smashing him into a tree trunk. His Sharingan eyes glinted coldly as he stepped forward, sliding his blade into the man's side before yanking it free—scroll in hand.
"...You're eliminated."
Without another word, Sasuke vanished into the trees.
The two remaining Taki-nin, sprawled in the underbrush, were still frozen in shock.
"The Konoha ninja… they're too strong. We're not even in the same league."
Elsewhere, Naruto darted from branch to branch, scanning the forest impatiently.
"Damn it! Why isn't anyone around? Where'd all these guys run off to?"
He tore through the woods like a headless chicken—if the chicken could break the sound barrier. The few ninja teams who spotted him didn't make a move; his raw speed alone made them think twice.
No one wanted to test a physical fighter that fast.
Meanwhile, Shigure strolled leisurely through the Forest of Death.
He'd already sensed several squads nearby—though "encounter" might not be the right word. They'd sensed him first, and quickly melted away.
He might as well have been a man taking a casual walk. No weapons drawn, no defensive stance.
And yet… no one dared to approach.
Fine by him. He had no interest in swatting flies. His goal was simple: set the bait and wait for something worth catching.
It didn't take long.
By now, Sasuke had already claimed three scrolls—one Heaven, two Earth—after dismantling three separate Genin teams with ease.
But as he bent down to secure his latest prize, the tree behind him seemed to shift.
A massive snake coiled down from the trunk, its forked tongue flicking in and out.
Its unblinking eyes locked on him… like a predator sizing up its next meal.
...
TN:
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