The Forest of Death was massive. The trees were packed together so tightly that very little sunlight reached the forest floor. Looking at it from the outside, all one would see was a sea of green. Waves of leaves formed with the wind.
It was a forbidden area within Konoha for the villagers. There were countless stories of people just simply being swallowed up by the forest, never to return.
The goal of the second stage of the Chunin exams was to navigate to the center of the forest, alive, with all their teammates. In addition each team was given a single scroll of two possible types, Heaven and Earth. Those given the Heaven scroll would need to obtain an Earth scroll, and those given an Earth scroll would need to obtain a Heaven scroll. Teams were not told which scroll the other teams had.
Each team of Genin were set up on a circle surrounding the forest. They would all be entered in at different times within the day based on their results from the previous exam. The better the results, the earlier they were released.
This exam did not have any other rules. If you wanted to and had the ability, technically you could kill however many people you wished. Saul did not see himself as a psychopath; he wouldn't slaughter people if they surrendered. However, regardless of who he encountered within the Chunin exams, if they were an enemy... They would not escape the fate of becoming one of his new test subjects.
What about Kirisame and Hisame? Well... He had learned a lot of new things. In testing things out however, he was less careful with Kirisame. An experiment gone wrong had led to him becoming brain dead. He learnt valuable insights into medical ninjutsu trying to keep the man alive nonetheless. Saul had no regrets.
Hisame had also become fairly useless for a different reason. A new technique had resulted from it, but... Her mind was of no use to him any longer. He had accidentally broken his toy. So he had to get rid of her.
Because the Chunin exams were fast approaching, he could not afford to have a clone active every day outside of Konoha to take care of the 'research materials.' Even just one clone would half the amount of chakra his main body had access to. This was unacceptable. Thus, his experiments became more and more dangerous to their livelihoods until he broke them. He needed new toys.
"Hinata."
"Yes Saul-kun?"
"This stage of the exam is extremely important to me. No matter what we have to do, you can question me later. But not during the exams, ok?"
"These exams are also important to me, Saul-kun. They're everything to me." Her hair fluttered as she smiled at him. "I'll always follow you, no matter what. Y-you can count on me."
It would have been better if you didn't stutter during the last part, Hinata. Still, he got her message. Somewhere inside he was touched. He pocketed the Heaven scroll they had been given.
"Saul-san..." Yakumo asked politely, "Whatever could you mean by something like that? Aren't we all in this together? As a team? It's not just you two."
"What would make you think otherwise?" Saul returned the question. He lightly knocked the black haired girl on the head, causing her to crouch and hold her head exaggeratedly. "This one has a history of being hard-headed and going against my decisions. Isn't that right, Hinata?"
"Saul-kun is really really smart, Yakumo-chan." She said, turning to bow to him. "And I'm sorry for my prior actions; I'll make sure nothing like that will ever happen again."
Saul nodded. "I trust that, Yakumo, you won't be as stubborn and short sighted as this one." Hinata waved and giggled, "So I didn't call you out directly."
Yakumo didn't like how close those two were, but she was used to it at this point. Instead she felt comforted by his words.
"I'll follow you then as well then, Leader-san."
"Leader-san, leader-san." Hinata giggled again.
He guessed Hinata being so close to finally being free from the Hyuuga had put her in a good mood. Regardless of the fact that their lives would be at risk.
The Chunin in front of him received a signal and unlocked the gates.
"It's your turn. Enter quickly."
Saul and Hinata both made signs for the Shadow clone Jutsu. They both started light - three clones each.
"When we find a team, we'll be counting on you Yakumo. With your help more people won't have to die."
Yakumo nodded gratefully. "Thank you for your consideration, Saul-kun."
Somewhere Within the Forest of Death
"You see a red haired girl? From the Land of Grass?"
"Yes... Her team left her with the scroll."
"They'll be our next target. If we can't handle them with our Shadow clones, we'll call Yakumo."
Hinata readied her bow. No longer using a mere hunter's bow, Hinata was using a compound war bow commissioned from the land of iron. It had an insanely high draw weight, and the power of the bow required all of Hinata's strength. She aimed her bow at the Shinobi from kilometers away. Oi! Uzumaki Karin was basically a civilian at this point. She'd die!
He put a hand on her arm. "Hinata, I need them alive, remember? Lead me to them. I'll handle this."
"Mmmn..."
The two were much faster than the Kusagakure Shinobi. They routed them, showing up on their path forward in ambush. The two backwater shinobi didn't even know what hit them when they were struck out of the air.
"Kgahhhh!"
"Uoogh!"
Karin, who was running on the ground trying her best to keep up with the ninja jumping through trees, became wide-eyed. They both fell to the ground unconscious in an instant.
No... She had to protect this scroll with her life. Otherwise her village would literally kill her! But how in the world was she supposed to fight back? Those two were much much stronger than her, yet...
A terrifying man appeared in front of her! The chakra he radiated was a dark, ugly purple, the worst she had ever seen. Karin had seen murderers, ill intentioned shinobi, but this man... He didn't even see her as a human. She would be killed!
"AHHHH!!!"
She fell down on her ass. Her glasses also slipped down her face and broke. Saul didn't have time for this.
He lifted up the messy red haired woman's chin, staring into her teary eyes. A frontloaded mind-body palm sent her eyes rolling back into her head.
The Uzumaki had absolutely massive chakra reserves; his were like a speck in comparison. Yet under his Genjutsu, her chakra had no master but him. The girl's will was weak. So weak. Years of abuse had made her subservient to anyone who both had strength, and the will to use it.
Saul forced her back into consciousness, but this time he was in control.
"Karin."
The woman nodded. He manipulated her memories as he spoke, creating visions with Genjutsu, erasing now irrelevant memories, even using her own will-less chakra to do so.
"You were attacked by a giant bear... Your teammates, they died to its ambush. I happened to pass by and save you, in return for your scroll."
"Bear... Save... Handsome."
Hinata looked on impassively.
"You wanted to follow me for protection, but I refused because it would put you in more danger. Instead, I set up a Genjutsu for you that will hide you and keep you safe. As long as you stay within the range of this tree, you will be safe."
"Genjutsu... Never leave... Finally safe?" Karin's eyes were completely blank.
"Finally safe. You hope to feel that way for longer. I told you I'd come back for you soon."
"Yes...!"
Saul released the Genjutsu, and Karin fell to the ground like a log. Saul thought for a moment. He reached into his bag and threw down most of the rations he had brought along.
"Saul-kun?"
"This girl is special. I was curious as to why it seemed like two shinobi had brought a civilian all the way over to something like the Chunin exams. So I looked through her memories. Guess what I found out."
"W-what did you find?"
"This girl is an Uzumaki. Like Naruto, but with a way purer bloodline. She and her mother were captured by Kusagakure because they discovered if they bite into her, they can both heal and restore their chakra. They ended up accidentally killing off the mother through overdrawing on her body, though..."
"That's h-horrible... Are you going to help her?"
It seems he had given Hinata an unnecessarily positive impression. There was no need to burst her bubble though. He'd argue from a point that made use of her biases.
"Yes... And no. She's not from Konoha. I can't help her for free. I have no need of her for healing; and I am one person. She won't be forced to attend to the wounds of an entire village. This should be a much better situation for her."
"As expected of Saul-kun!"