"Forest of Death!!"
Standing with her hands on her hips, Anko cut an undeniably intimidating figure. Combined with her expression and the gloomy forest behind her, the warning carried real weight. "Each team must obtain one Scroll of Heaven and one Scroll of Earth. The only way to pass is to carry both scrolls to the Tower inside the Forest of Death! You have five days. Any team that has not reached the Tower with both scrolls when the time expires will be eliminated!"
Anko's words made the candidates look at one another. Clearly pleased by their expressions, she clapped her hands in an affected manner. "Oh~ right~~ One more thing. If you've made up your minds to enter this exam, sign a Consent Form proving that you're willing to accept the possibility of death. This forest is filled with dangerous creatures and plants, and when you're fighting over scrolls, I doubt any of you will be especially gentle. So, you understand. Go sign the Consent Form, then head to the shelter beside us to collect your team's scroll."
Those words immediately made the candidates nervous. Everyone had long expected that the Chunin Exams might endanger their lives, but an officially sanctioned struggle in which people could kill or be killed was still enough to make all of them uneasy. Only now could they feel more clearly that being a shinobi was not a gentle profession.
"Tch~ That old lady who's deliberately trying to act cute thinks she can scare anyone? Just watch. We'll definitely be the first ones to arrive!"
Naruto muttered unhappily, and his words were basically what most of the candidates were thinking. Needless to say, after some time, everyone present handed in a signed Consent Form, received their respective scrolls, and was assigned to a different entrance.
"Then let's go! Something interesting should happen in this forest!"
With a low shout, Hinata charged into the forest first, with Sasuke and Naruto following immediately behind her. As her Byakugan activated, her field of vision rapidly expanded. After a brief search, she fixed on a direction.
"Shikamaru's scent is this way. Let's go!"
Elsewhere, Kiba likewise used his sense of smell to accurately locate the area where Shikamaru's team had entered, then led Shino and Sakura there at the same speed. Without question, they intended to carry out Hinata's earlier plan to the letter.
With the assistance of the Byakugan and a ninken, it took less than five minutes for Hinata to spot Shikamaru's team not far ahead. Team 10 understood that regrouping was their first priority, so they had not traveled far at all. Instead, they were waiting with their backs to a large tree for the other members to assemble.
"Found them. It's Shikamaru's actual team. Let's go down."
After using the Byakugan to confirm that Shikamaru's group was not disguised with the Transformation Technique, Hinata jumped down from the tree with confidence. Noticing the Byakugan girl and the others approaching, Shikamaru frowned slightly and called out in a low voice. "Stop! Give the password first!"
"Shut up! I don't remember us ever discussing a password. Where are Kiba and the others?"
Hinata completely ignored Shikamaru's procedure, but her answer made the pineapple-haired boy relax. "All right. That arrogant answer sounds like the real you."
"Yahoo~! We're over here~! That means we've safely regrouped now, right?"
Kiba jumped down from another tree, then seemed to remember something and stopped before getting too close. Grinning at Hinata, he said, "All right, Boss. Use your Byakugan and confirm us too."
"Mm~ It's really you. Come over."
After likewise confirming all of Team 8, Hinata nodded in relief. Abilities capable of deceiving the Byakugan did exist, but no one in this Forest of Death could possibly possess that level of skill. The Byakugan was still extremely reliable for verification, which meant the first step of her plan had been completed smoothly.
"Good. Since we're all together now, then~! First, this way. Follow me!"
Hinata turned crisply, clearly intending to end things quickly. The rookies now held an overwhelming numerical advantage, which meant there was every reason to charge straight ahead for once.
Under the Byakugan's detection, camouflage and concealment were meaningless. The team Hinata locked onto had made it less than five hundred meters into the Forest of Death. Judging from their forehead protectors, they should be a group of Sunagakure Genin. Sunagakure had sent thirty Genin in total this time, including Gaara's three-person team. Yet judging from the final results, not one of the other twenty-seven Sand shinobi would pass the second stage.
Since that was the case, Hinata saw nothing wrong with the law of the jungle here. Besides, these people had come with malicious intentions to begin with.
"Wait. I think I heard something. Everyone, be careful!"
The leading Sand shinobi was clearly experienced, but before he could prepare a defense, an excited shout rang out. "Take this!! Passing Fang (Tsuga)!!"
With a roar like a howling tornado, a spiraling figure suddenly burst from the bushes. The three startled Sand shinobi hurriedly dodged in different directions, but the instant they avoided the Passing Fang attack in midair, they heard a lazy voice. "Shadow Imitation Technique, success~!"
"What?!"
Only then did the Sand shinobi realize that none of them could move. Without question, Kiba's Passing Fang had only been meant to seize their attention. At that exact moment, Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique had moved directly into position and effortlessly caught all three careless Sand shinobi.
"Take this! Human Bullet Tank!!"
Before the Sand shinobi could even think about what might happen next, a huge round object thundered through the air and rapidly expanded in their terrified eyes.
Splat!!
With a sound like wet mud slamming onto a stone slab, the three Sand shinobi's screams were swallowed by the ground. By the time Choji returned to normal, only three human-shaped craters could be seen in the earth.
"Tch~ That's miserable. I bet they won't be eating pounded rice cakes ever again."
Kiba looked down at the three Sand shinobi in the ground, clearly very satisfied with the outcome of this battle. He had drawn their attention, Shikamaru had restrained them, and then Choji had cleared the field with a single Human Bullet Tank. Clean and efficient.
"Stop joking around. Search their packs and see what kind of scroll they're carrying."
Hinata was not surprised by the result. Apart from the protagonists, Genin combat strength was rarely anything remarkable. At best, there was that Amegakure team from the original story capable of using Senbon Shower, and even they had been instantly killed by Gaara. By comparison, it was easy to imagine what level the other supporting-character Genin were at.
"Oh! Right. Mm~~ They're carrying a Scroll of Heaven. Perfect, ours is a Scroll of Earth."
Kiba rummaged through the Sand shinobi's packs and was just about to speak excitedly when he saw Hinata raise a hand slightly. Clearly, her Byakugan had already detected another group of Genin approaching rapidly.
"Set a trap. Everyone, hide."
Hinata gave the order in a low voice. According to the original story, the one who would deliberately come looking for Sasuke had to be that Orochimaru fellow, so this time they needed to proceed cautiously.
Soon, as footsteps drew closer, another team of Amegakure Genin discovered the devastated scene.
"Looks like someone was attacked. Hm? Is that... a scroll?"
One Rain shinobi examining the scene grew instinctively excited. "Looks like they either didn't need this scroll or didn't have time to take it. Lucky us!"
"Don't get careless. There may be an ambush nearby."
Another Rain shinobi looked around cautiously. Without question, the three unfortunate Sand shinobi had all been taken down at practically the same instant. An opponent capable of doing that absolutely could not be underestimated.
"Mind Body Switch Technique!"
However, there was no need for them to continue speculating. With a crisp feminine shout, the leading Rain shinobi suddenly froze, then spun around and grabbed one of his companions, yanking him off the tree branch where they were standing!
"Hey? What's wrong with you?!"
The remaining Rain shinobi was shocked, but before he could understand what was happening, another equally competitive voice rang out.
"Genjutsu! Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!"
With a scream, the last Rain shinobi stepped into empty air in terror and followed his two companions, falling directly from the high branch.
The ground below was not empty either. A huge mass of fleshy-red Blood-sucking Insects was waiting there. Once the three Rain shinobi fell into the swarm, there was little need to explain what happened. They desperately drove some of the Blood-sucking Insects from their bodies amid screams, but quickly lost the ability to resist.
"Sasuke-kun~ Did you see my excellent performance just now?!"
Once she confirmed that the Rain team had been completely wiped out, a blushing Ino moved close to Sasuke to claim credit. Not to be outdone, Sakura grabbed Sasuke's other arm. "Sasuke-kun~ How did I do? I cleaned up the loose end left by someone who didn't finish her job properly~"
"What? Forehead Girl! You only picked up the leftovers! What are you acting so proud about?"
"Hmph~ Someone failed to clean up her own work, had somebody else wipe her butt for her, and now she isn't even grateful~ Ah, how shameless~"
Watching Ino and Sakura, everyone else merely shook their heads as though long accustomed to it. Their cooperation this time had genuinely been excellent. With Genjutsu and the Mind Body Switch Technique, they had effortlessly caused the three idiots standing on the branches to fall into the swarm of Blood-sucking Insects below, which Shino had gathered with Secret Technique: Insect Gathering. Calling the entire battle one-sided would hardly be an exaggeration.
What should have been an exceptionally cruel battlefield of life and death had instead become a romantic battlefield where Sakura and Ino could safely compete for Sasuke's attention, precisely because of the strength they had displayed.
"Mm. These guys were carrying a Scroll of Earth, which matches our Scroll of Heaven perfectly."
Shikamaru frowned as he found a scroll on the three unfortunate Rain shinobi. Counting the Scroll of Heaven they had taken from the three Sand shinobi, Team 10 and Team 8 had now both completed their required sets.
"Ours is a Scroll of Heaven as well, but based on how we've divided combat strength, scroll priority goes to you first. We'll keep hunting for the next Scroll of Earth."
Hinata tightened the gauntlet around her arm, genuinely feeling slightly disappointed. From what she had seen so far, the difficulty of these Chunin Exams was simply too low for them. Before the nine gathered rookies, both the Sand team and the Rain team had been crushed completely one-sidedly. Which meant...
Aside from Gaara's team, Rock Lee's team, and Yakushi Kabuto's team, the other groups probably had no ability to resist them at all. The only team that could still be considered somewhat noteworthy was probably the trio from Otogakure (Hidden Sound Village).
"Keep moving. There's another team to the northwest. Let's let them rest early."
The Byakugan girl brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead, and an exceptionally gentle smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"After all, as the hosts of this examination, we ought to show a little consideration."