Obito reluctantly took it, not daring to wipe off the slime immediately.
The snake vanished.
Obito finally exhaled in relief, wiped the map on his clothes, and unfurled it.
"Great! Let's hurry to the finish line."
"We should avoid any areas Sasori might have passed through. He could have set traps. Raj is unconscious and completely out of Chakra, so we can't afford any more risks," Rin said, immediately preventing the two hotheads from charging recklessly ahead.
Having experienced the battlefield earlier and without Kakashi's guidance this time, Rin's strategic thinking had matured significantly.
With Sasori's exposure, the exam site had descended into chaos.
The primary objective for many abnormal Genin was no longer the exam itself, but eliminating rogue elements.
Of course, Team Rin didn't need to participate in this purge.
Their mission was simple: complete the Second Exam, reach the Third Exam venue, and await the final stage.
With a map in hand, this proved straightforward, and they had already met the required number of protective headbands.
Along the way, Obito spotted a fragment of the map etched onto a stone.
Normally, they would have needed to collect the entire map.
However, Orochimaru had directly cheated to ensure their passage, saving them considerable trouble.
Sasori ultimately evaded capture.
Having anticipated this, he fled swiftly, outstripping even the Hyuga Clan's tracking efforts.
The Sunagakure ninja's "half-hearted pursuit" further aided his escape.
In short, Ebizo feared taking responsibility.
Regardless of Sasori's actions, his capture was unacceptable.
The matter was thus left unresolved, though Sunagakure would likely pay a steep price when the reckoning came.
Despite the pursuit, the exams proceeded as scheduled.
Due to the high number of casualties in the Second Exam, only a handful of candidates qualified for the Third Exam.
As a result, the final assessment could begin immediately, bypassing the need for preliminary rounds.
Raj, having exhausted his Chakra, remained unconscious until two or three rounds of the final assessment had already commenced.
To be honest, waking up after exhausting its Chakra felt awful, like staying up for three days and nights straight.
When it came to, its body was weak and its head throbbed.
No wonder Kakashi always had those dead fish eyes in the anime.
Anyone would be worn out after going through that repeatedly.
It pushed itself up and, while the three ahead were focused on the battle, slipped into a corner and checked its Points Panel...
'Whoa, over 1,200 points! Just a bit less than the time it scared Jiraiya when he was peeping. Sasori must have been truly disgusted.'
Raj sighed inwardly, then summoned two pouches of Cat Food.
Just as it was about to eat, the scene...
Hiss!
It couldn't bring itself to take a bite.
After shaking its head vigorously, it quickly tore open the two pouches of special Cat Food and devoured them.
Only then did its strength gradually return.
No sooner had it finished eating than the announcement for the next match rang out:
"Next match: Obito Uchiha versus Guy."
"Aww, finally... Ah, why is it Obito?"
"I've been wanting to fight you for ages! Let's have a man-to-man showdown!"
After their dramatic declarations, the two chuunibyou teenagers landed in the arena, formed the "Opposing Seal," and, at the Supervisor's signal, immediately clashed in a fierce battle of fists and kicks.
Raj, having regained some strength, leaned in to watch.
'How to put it...'
When Obito wasn't using his Sharingan, Guy was clearly the stronger fighter.
Whether Obito used Ninjutsu or Taijutsu, he was consistently outmatched.
But once Obito activated his Sharingan, the two became evenly matched.
After watching for a while, Raj lost interest.
'A battle between weaklings is just boring.'
He'd rather spend his time figuring out how to better utilize his explosive Ninjutsu.
The taste was truly overwhelming - even the originator of that sky-filling "dust" was chilled to the bone...
'This technique should only be used as a last resort. Otherwise, my reputation will suffer.'
For now, he'd rest.
When it was Rin's turn, he'd at least be able to lend a hand.
Raj thought for a moment, then curled up at Rin's feet to rest.
In the Land of Wind, Sasori fled back in haste, but instead of returning to the village immediately, he holed up in a hidden base outside the village, crafting human puppets.
That night, a figure silently approached.
"What are you doing?"
"Lord Third, please take a seat. Once I finish this puppet, I'll explain my grand creation in detail."
Sasori's face and body were splattered with blood, making him appear particularly gruesome.
The cave was littered with corpses.
The Third Kazekage swept a cold gaze across the scene, his heart heavy with sorrow.
Sasori was Sunagakure's genius, its pride.
The Third Kazekage had once believed he could groom Sasori as his successor.
When he secretly uncovered clues about Sasori's actions at Bellflower Castle, he didn't raise an alarm.
Instead, he came alone to confront Sasori at his hideout.
'So he really is here.'
"Why are you doing this?"
"For art, for the eternal beauty in my heart, for the advancement of puppet techniques... But what would a non-puppeteer like you understand of my pursuit?" Sasori replied languidly.
Eternal beauty? Puppet art?
The Third Kazekage frowned.
Glancing at the surrounding corpses, a chilling realization dawned on him.
Could Sasori's "art" refer to human puppets?
"Human puppets... Sasori, give it up. This is a forbidden path, an area that has been off-limits since the creation of puppets. If you insist on pursuing this, then I have no choice but to... Ugh, what's this?!"
"Heh heh heh... Did you really think I was just chatting with you? Lord Third, you will become a part of my eternal art, forever enshrined in my collection!"
The Third Kazekage had already released the Poison Mist the moment he entered the cave, and now the toxin had finally reached a critical level.
This poison was Sasori's unique creation.
Once it accumulated to a certain threshold, it would instantly kill an ordinary person.
Of course, this alone wouldn't be fatal.
It was merely a catalyst, triggering the latent poison he had deliberately left behind during his previous attempt to cure the Third Kazekage.
As a result, the poison struck with overwhelming speed and ferocity.
Sasori swallowed the antidote, his heart brimming with elation.
After years of longing, his long-cherished ambition was finally about to be realized.
Though poisoned, the Third Kazekage remained formidable.
But around him, human puppets began to "awaken," each a Kekkei Genkai user possessing extraordinary power.
Sasori regretted that the Sharingan had been destroyed by the Uchiha clan member before death.
Though he had obtained the corpse, he had lost its most powerful Kekkei Genkai.
But it didn't matter.
With his other human puppets, he could easily defeat the poisoned Third Kazekage.
As for escaping...
They were quite a distance from the village, and even if there was an antidote, the poison might be incurable.
Running would only delay the
Inevitable.
Thus, the Third Kazekage attacked.
A fierce battle erupted.