The next day.
In front of the central tower deep within the Forest of Death.
The examinees who had received the notice had already gathered here.
After a round of fighting and slaughter, casualties were unavoidable.
Originally there had been eighty-seven examinees.
Now, only a little over fifty remained.
Since Orochimaru had made all the examinees enter the Forest of Death through the same entrance to take part in the exam, the fighting and killing had naturally become even more brutal.
Even though only half a day had passed.
Quite a few examinees had already been eliminated.
At this moment, all of the examinees gathered here were filled with confusion.
They did not know what had happened.
Why had the Chunin Exam, which had a three-day time limit, been halted at this point?
An Iwa shinobi frowned and guessed, "Could it be because of that disturbance earlier?"
The companion beside him also said, "That's possible. Even though it was very far away, the disturbance earlier was far too intense. There's no way a Genin could have caused it."
Another person spoke gravely. "Even we probably couldn't do it."
They were not ordinary Genin, but Iwa Anbu shinobi.
They had been temporarily sent to participate in the Chunin Exam, and their strength had already surpassed the level of Genin.
Ordinary Chunin were not even their match in a single exchange!
But the disturbance from earlier had been extremely intense.
They did not think they had the strength to pull that off.
Clearly, something unexpected had happened in this exam!
Kisame had bandages wrapped around his body, showing that he was injured. His gaze swept across the others around him, and he muttered with a frown, "A temporary halt? It should have something to do with that Takigakure shinobi, but who exactly was that person, and why did he target us?"
Although they had taken the opportunity to leave earlier, they had still been targeted by that Takigakure shinobi afterward.
Facing a shinobi whose strength far exceeded theirs, they had no way to resist.
Both he and Mei had been injured, and Shimaichirō had it even worse. He was still unconscious right now.
Beside him, Mei bit her red lip, her cute face filled with worry. "If something happens to Shimaichirō, the Kaguya clan definitely won't let it go. We might all get dragged into it."
Shimaichirō was the young clan head of the Kaguya clan.
Now that he was so badly injured, if those madmen in the Kaguya clan found out, they definitely would not let the matter rest.
A flicker passed through Kisame's eyes as he said, "Facing that kind of enemy, the fact that we survived at all was already not easy. We can only report this situation to Fuguki Suikazan-jōnin and wait for him to decide what to do."
Mei pouted. "That's all we can do."
Although she had already had a feeling that this Chunin Exam would not be simple.
She had not expected a shinobi of that level to appear.
It was far too dangerous!
Seiryū, Duy, and Kakashi were also standing in one corner.
Kakashi looked at Seiryū and asked, "Seiryū, what do you think they'll do next?"
Seiryū shrugged. "Who knows? But the Chunin Exam probably won't be stopped. We just need to wait quietly."
Duy said, "In just half a day, so many people have already been eliminated, and quite a few are injured too. This Chunin Exam really is dangerous."
Seiryū swept his gaze across everyone in the area and said flatly, "People from the same village might show some mercy, but people from other villages are all enemies. Shinobi don't have thoughts like being soft-hearted. The fewer enemies there are, the more advantageous it is."
"Mm, aside from the shinobi of the Five Great Villages, almost everyone from the other villages has been taken out."
Among the more than fifty people present, the overwhelming majority were shinobi from the Five Great Villages.
As for the shinobi from the smaller villages, there were fewer than ten left in total.
Most of the survivors were injured as well.
Which was normal.
Shinobi from small villages would naturally be treated like easy prey.
The only reason they had not all been wiped out was because only half a day had passed.
Seiryū looked toward the Kumo shinobi. "The ones from Kumo don't seem to have suffered any casualties. Looks like they moved together."
There had been twelve Kumo shinobi taking part in the second stage of the exam, and all twelve were still here.
They had probably moved in a group.
Mm, that was within the rules.
The area was still noisy, with discussions everywhere.
But at that moment, a hoarse voice rang out. "Quiet!"
As the chief examiner of this exam, Orochimaru slowly walked over from one side.
His gaze swept over everyone, and after running his tongue over his face, he said calmly, "Because some unexpected changes occurred in this exam, and a shinobi beyond the scope of the Chunin Exam mixed in, this stage of the exam was temporarily stopped."
He briefly explained the situation.
Yet Orochimaru, the one who had caused all of this, still looked completely calm.
He continued, "However, the Chunin Exam has not ended. The same goes for this stage."
"Teams that have already obtained both types of scrolls will pass this stage. Those who have lost their scrolls are eliminated."
"Teams that have lost members will also be considered eliminated!"
"As for the remaining teams, they will participate in team battles tomorrow. The matchups will be decided by drawing lots. The winning side will pass, and the losing side will be eliminated."
This was the new replacement plan.
After speaking.
Orochimaru glanced toward Seiryū in the corner and revealed a meaningful smile.
Because his identity had already been exposed.
He could not continue making overly obvious moves against Kirigakure's Kisame and Shimaichirō.
That would leave evidence against him.
He had only collected some of their flesh and tissue samples.
Of course.
What he wanted more was Seiryū's flesh and tissue.
But clearly, there was no chance for that this time, so he could only wait for another opportunity later.
Anything Orochimaru set his sights on, he would absolutely find a way to get!!
It was just that.
What puzzled him was this.
Seiryū had actually not told Tsunade about what he had done?
Was it because he had no evidence?
Or did he have some other thoughts?
In any case, Orochimaru's interest in Seiryū was growing stronger and stronger.
"Tch, now I'll have to keep worrying about this guy's schemes in the future. What a pain!"
Seeing the smile Orochimaru gave him, Seiryū could not help cursing inwardly.
This guy really would not give up that easily.
From now on, he would have to stay on guard against Orochimaru's schemes.
What a pain!
After hearing Orochimaru's words, Ryōsuke spoke up. "If the condition for passing is obtaining both types of scrolls."
He took out the Heaven Scroll and Earth Scroll from his clothes and looked at Orochimaru calmly. "Then our team should count as having passed, right?"
Orochimaru shifted his gaze away from Seiryū and looked at Ryōsuke, a glint appearing in his eyes as he nodded. "Of course. Your team has passed."
The Uchiha clan was also among those Orochimaru had his eye on. The Sharingan was equally worthy of research.
But there was no helping it.
His plans had been disrupted by that brat.
Hiruzen had ordered this stage of the exam to be halted.
He could not continue acting, or being discovered would be troublesome.
"Then we've passed too."
"Not bad luck."
With Ryōsuke taking the lead, the other teams that had already obtained both scrolls also followed suit.
They successfully passed this stage of the exam.
A total of four teams had obtained both types of scrolls.
Twelve people in total.
Konoha's Ryōsuke squad, Kirigakure's Shimaichirō squad, one Iwa squad, and one Kumo squad.
As for everyone else.
They would have to wait until tomorrow and draw lots for team battles.
Only the winners would successfully pass this stage of the exam and advance to the next preliminary round!
(To be continued.)