As everyone knows, the Forest of Death is a place filled with danger and tension.
The moment candidates enter, they move cautiously, terrified that a single careless step might bury their hopes and their bodies—right here.
But as time passed, something very strange began happening inside the Forest of Death. Strange enough that it spread like a rumor with legs.
Because… for some reason… a large number of candidates were suddenly found doing bizarre exercises.
Not traps. Not battles.
No—exercises.
And whenever someone stumbled upon one of these groups, they always saw two or three people together, looking deadly serious as they performed completely incomprehensible movements like it was a ritual of life and death.
At first, everyone assumed it had to be some kind of trap to lure people in. No one dared to approach.
But the more people they found doing this mysterious "sport," the more the candidates started to realize—
This wasn't a conspiracy.
But if it wasn't a trap, then what was it?
Some whispered it might be a genjutsu.
But… no one could find the caster.
And an illusion of this scale would need constant chakra output.
So they dismissed that too.
Of course, none of them knew that this was simply the handiwork of Hidan—who was bored out of his mind and didn't give a single damn about the Chūnin Exams.
He was just amusing himself.
What really unnerved the candidates was that every single person doing these exercises had their Heaven and Earth Scrolls stolen. One after another.
That alone convinced everyone this wasn't done by other exam squads.
Because who in their right mind would gather so many scrolls?
Why not just go straight to the Central Tower and secure first place?
But again—no one knew how much free time Hidan had… and how little he cared about "passing."
At this moment, Hidan had just dealt with yet another minor squad.
But instead of forcing them into radio calisthenics like the others… he'd upgraded them to cheerleading.
After all, repeating the same game gets boring.
"Hm… Out of the twenty-six squads, I've already wiped out eighteen. That leaves only eight squads who actually made it through!"
Hidan paused and thought about it. Ever since entering the forest, he'd been mercilessly eliminating group after group. In his mind, they'd be eliminated eventually anyway—so why not speed up the process?
Now the only ones left were:
Konoha's Rookie 12
The Kusa team disguised by Orochimaru
The Oto team
The Suna team
And Kabuto Yakushi's group
"Emmmmm… I think I just came up with an amazing way to get rich!"
Hidan's eyes sparkled.
He currently held extra Heaven and Earth Scrolls. And at this stage, the remaining teams were all pretty equal in strength… except for the Oto trio, who were easily the weakest.
Orochimaru would probably just hand Sasuke a scroll later anyway to push his little "test." After that beating he gave Sasuke and Naruto, neither of them could fight properly.
"So that means I can sell scrolls to the remaining five squads. As for Shino's team, I'll just consider it a little favor for Hinata's group."
Hidan grinned wickedly.
He was about to give these squads a massive wake-up call...a harsh reminder that in this world, without money, you can't move an inch.
Having set a clear goal, Hidan immediately became more energized and began darting through the forest in search of buyers.
And then...
three shinobi wearing Oto Village's forehead protectors entered his field of vision.
"HEY! Stop! You hunchbacked, disabled dude in front!" Hidan yelled loudly.
The three Oto ninja almost fell off their branch mid-jump.
Hunchbacked disabled?!
When had Zaku Abumi ever been insulted like that?!
As the strongest of the three, being called "disabled" hit him like a kunai to the pride.
Zaku glared at Hidan murderously, and the other two—Dosu and Kin—also stared with cold hostility.
As subordinates of Orochimaru, kindness was not in their vocabulary.
"…Kill him." Zaku growled.
In an instant, the three formed a triangular attack formation and slowly surrounded Hidan. Hidan simply stood still, watching them with a lazy expression.
"Can you hear me out first?" Hidan finally said.
After all, his goal was to sell scrolls. Violence wasn't part of a businessman's etiquette.
But the Oto trio clearly had no intention of listening.
They closed in and leapt at him, shuriken in hand. Even though Hidan was alone, they still attacked with full force—like three lions trying to crush a rabbit.
"Ah… business these days is tough."
Hidan sighed.
Just as the shuriken were about to pierce him—
Hidan's figure vanished.
In the next instant, all three Oto shinobi felt a sharp pain in their abdomen.
Their bodies flew through the air before crashing onto the ground.
Groaning in pain, they forced themselves up.
They had never realized someone this strong was hiding among the examinees.
They stared at Hidan with deep fear, knowing they stood no chance of tracking his movements with their eyes alone.
"…Now will you listen?" Hidan said.
"I'm giving you a chance to advance to the next exam. All you have to do is pay—or write me an IOU."
"Such a great opportunity ruined just because you wouldn't let me talk."
"W-Wait… what do you mean?!"
"Is… is this some kind of shady Konoha Chūnin Exam deal?"
The Oto trio were completely stunned. They seriously thought they had stumbled onto some secret corruption plot.
And then—
Hidan took out a massive cloth bag from seemingly nowhere.
He dropped it onto the ground.
THUD!
A ridiculous number of scrolls spilled out in front of them…
"I… am I seeing things? Are these all assessment scrolls?"
Zaku Abumi stared blankly, his single visible eye twitching as confusion filled his mind.
Dosu and Kin were equally speechless.
Before them lay a mountain of Heaven and Earth Scrolls—eighteen complete sets.
"You… you're really a Konoha insider doing shady backdoor deals?" Zaku couldn't help asking. Curiosity overwhelmed even his anger. He silently lamented: sure enough, every village has its weirdos.
Hidan: …Are you treating me like a scalper?
"I wiped out the other eighteen teams," Hidan said proudly, "and I generously taught them a set of profound, graceful cardio exercises."
Then his tone turned sharp.
"Now—are you buying or not? If you don't buy, you can die."
The friendly grin vanished.
His voice went cold.
And the eyes behind the mask stared at them like a butcher examining meat.
In Hidan's mind, someone who doesn't complete a transaction isn't a customer.
At best… they're a corpse he might leave intact.
Cold sweat dripped down the Oto trio's backs.
They had already tasted how terrifying this man's speed was—and they remembered clearly the candidates they found earlier, mechanically repeating movements like soulless puppets.
Combined with what Hidan was saying…
This guy was terrifying and completely deranged.
"We'll buy!" Zaku blurted out instantly.
Not because they feared death—
but because Lord Orochimaru had given them a mission, and dying here before completing it was unacceptable.
Then, after a beat, Zaku's expression darkened like spoiled milk.
"But… we… we don't have any money."
They came for the Chūnin Exams, not for shopping.
Who would bring extra cash?!
Their pockets were cleaner than their faces.
But instead of flying into a rage, Hidan nodded kindly—too kindly.
"Didn't I say you could write an IOU? Just give me that."
The trio stared at him in disbelief.
Is this guy insane?
After the exams, they'd return straight to Oto Village—to Orochimaru's territory.
Would this lunatic even dare approach them there?
To them, Orochimaru was a god.
His power was absolute.
"Hurry up and sign the IOU," Hidan urged impatiently, "and then pick up your scroll and run off. You're wasting my time. If you weren't my first customers, I'd have sent you all to meet your ancestors by now."
"S-Sign! I'll sign!"
Zaku grabbed the IOU Hidan had prepared in advance.
But the moment his eye scanned the writing, his face twisted in pure confusion.
'Three high quality cells.'
What… what the hell was this?
They had expected extortion.
They had expected threats.
They had not expected something this bizarre.
But none of them dared question it.
If they stalled any longer, who knew what this psycho might do?
One after another, the three signed the IOU.
Under Hidan's mask, a satisfied smile appeared.
He pocketed the IOU, tossed a scroll toward them, and walked off happily.
"Good haul! Business is easier than I thought. Maybe I really do have the talent to become a big-shot boss."
Hidan whistled as he walked, admiring his IOU.
This second exam's focus on stealing scrolls?
He loved it.
There weren't many opportunities to get loot without spending anything…
Hidan immediately resumed his hunt for the remaining squads.
With his relentless effort, only the Sand Village team remained unfound.
All the other squads—including Konoha's—had already met him, recognized his terrifying power, and obediently signed their IOUs before entering the tower.
"…My god, did Gaara and his group bury themselves underground? The Forest of Death isn't even that big. How am I not finding these guys?"
Hidan hung upside-down from a tall tree branch like an irritated bat.
Given Gaara's personality, they shouldn't be hiding.
So what the hell was going on?
Unable to figure it out, Hidan sighed and headed toward the Central Tower.
Time was running out, and he needed to meet up with his two "disciples."
He had already told Shino and Kiba to head back early.
All he needed to do was regroup.
When Hidan reached the tower, he finally understood what happened.
Gaara, Kankurō, and Temari were all squatting pitifully near the entrance like homeless children abandoned by society.
The moment they saw Hidan, their dead-fish expressions lit up with hope.
"Hey! Need a scroll?" Hidan asked cheerfully. "I'll give you a discount—fifty percent off."
Gaara froze.
Then he understood.
Almost all the scrolls in the forest…
were already stolen by Hidan.
And everyone who purchased one had already entered the tower.
Gaara's team—one of the strongest in the exam—were left completely helpless because there were no scrolls left to steal.
It was the ultimate humiliation.
Hence their depressed squatting.
"It's you… so you're the one behind all those incidents."
Gaara's voice trembled—not with fear, but excitement.
He stared at Hidan like a hunter spotting rare prey.
But with only ten minutes left before the exam ended, there was no time for a fight.
"Name your price," Gaara said bluntly.
As the son of the Fourth Kazekage, money was meaningless to him.
"I love bold customers like you," Hidan said.
"Just sign this, and all the scrolls you need are yours."
He handed over an IOU.
But the debt listed wasn't money, gold, or silver.
When Gaara read the line, his expression changed instantly.
A sharp, murderous aura erupted from him and locked onto Hidan.
But after a moment...
he signed anyway.
Then he said, voice dripping with threat:
"I hope you live long enough to come collect what I owe."
Gaara grabbed the scroll set and entered the tower.
Hidan looked at the IOU in his hand.
Written clearly:
"I, Gaara, owe Hidan half a tailed beast — Shukaku."
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