The first exam lasted an hour, enough time for Masashi to have a bowl of ramen and chat for a bit. The ramen hadn't arrived yet, so chatting it was.
"I heard you have a talented disciple now, from the Hōzuki clan. Have you resolved that… leftover issue?"
"Yeah, he's Mangetsu's younger brother," Zabuza replied. "I also heard your disciple will be competing."
"Wanna place a bet?" Masashi said with a smirk. "I think your disciple might end up crying."
"No thanks. I don't like gambling."
"Good habit." Masashi nodded. "Gambling, you know, a little can be fun, but go too far, and you lose more than just money, you could lose everything."
Zabuza didn't respond.
Though they were making small talk, it was clear that they didn't have much common ground for conversation. Both were heads of their villages' ANBU units. Talk too much, and they risked leaking classified information.
After a while, Ayame arrived with their ramen. Starving and done with awkward conversation, they simply focused on eating.
After finishing a bowl of ramen, with his stomach warm and satisfied, Masashi checked the time. There were only ten minutes left until the first exam ended. He wiped his mouth and stood up.
"I'm heading to the second exam site. You coming?"
"I'm waiting for someone."
"Alright, see you later then."
With that, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and disappeared from the shop.
A few flashes later, he reappeared in the southwestern area of Konohagakure. This area housed numerous training grounds, one of which was particularly famous.
Officially named the 44th Training Ground, it had more than 44 locked entrances. But Konoha's shinobi preferred to call it by another name, the Forest of Death.
He moved swiftly toward the entrance of the Forest of Death. This circular training ground covered more than 300 square kilometers and was surrounded by towering iron fences. Inside, a complete ecosystem allowed examinees to survive for days.
During his Chunin Exams years ago, this same location had served as the testing ground. Back then, two teams were thrown inside for a battle royale.
Every time Konoha hosted the Chunin Exams, the first test changed every year.
But the second test? Unchanging.
It always involved a survival challenge in the Forest of Death.
Just like in the original timeline, the examiner for the second round was still Anko.
Masashi had no intention of interfering with his former student's work. He was more curious, would Orochimaru still cause trouble in this exam? And if so, who would he target this time? He couldn't possibly still be after an Uchiha, right?
This timeline didn't have Itachi to instantly counter him with genjutsu.
As Masashi approached, the first thing he saw was the towering metal fence, over ten meters high. Yet, this height wasn't even a third of the trees inside the Forest of Death.
Not only that, but the thick canopy blocked most of the sunlight, making the interior appear dark and foreboding even from the outside.
Inside, the forest was teeming with wild beasts and poisonous insects. It housed a vast biodiversity. Candidates could roast meat over a fire or make fruit salads, but only if they could distinguish which ones weren't poisonous.
He had no hope that Sasuke or Naruto would excel in this aspect. If they didn't want food poisoning or to get paralyzed, they'd better listen to Hinata.
The iron fence had a small, locked gate. Beside it, a small tent was set up where three staff members were stationed. Their job was to distribute and collect consent forms.
Each form essentially stated: "Enter at your own risk. Life or death, it's on you."
Every consent form corresponded to one of the entrances.
When the three staff members saw him, they immediately stood up and greeted him.
"Thanks for your hard work," Masashi said with a grin. "I'm just here to take a look. That's not against the rules, is it?"
"Of course not. As long as you don't interfere with the examiner's work."
"Good. Just wanted to see how many passed the first test."
The first exam had been overseen by Ibiki as usual. Which meant this timeline likely wouldn't have Naruto pulling off an unexpected speech that flipped the entire test dynamic.
Just as he was thinking this, a large group appeared on the path behind him.
"So many?" Masashi was surprised.
Something wasn't right…
"Ah! Sensei!" A familiar voice rang out, followed by a familiar blonde running over in a very familiar manner.
"Sensei! I passed!"
"How did you pass?" Masashi pressed a finger against Naruto's forehead protector, preventing him from tackling him.
Had to keep his cool and stylish image, after all.
"I immediately figured out that the tenth question was just a test of willpower, so I passed with no problem!"
Oh, so you actually thought it was a real written exam?
No wonder so many people passed.
"This idiot," Sasuke walked over, his expression full of frustration. "I already passed him the answers, but he refused to use them!"
"You didn't actually figure anything out, did you? Stop making stuff up!"
"Shut up! A great ninja like me would never cheat!"
"Wow, good for you," Masashi muttered, speechless.
Naruto, still as dense as ever when it came to certain things.
At that moment, the other genin in the group finally caught sight of Masashi. As soon as they recognized his face, their expressions immediately changed.
Before coming to the exams, they had all been warned, there were certain people in Konoha whom they should be extra careful around. Their own jonin squad leaders had received the same warning. At the same time, their gazes toward Sasuke and his teammates became much more intense.
The disciples of the White Ghost, definitely a worthy target to defeat!
Completely unaware that he had become a hot commodity, Naruto was still enthusiastically bragging to Masashi about how cool he had been during the first test. After all, while everyone else had been crushed under the examiner's pressure, he was the only one who had engaged in an epic showdown of words.
He had completely forgotten that his first thought upon seeing the test paper had been: I'm doomed! It's over!
"Sensei." Anko walked over. "What brings you here in person?"
"Came to check on your idiot kōhai," Masashi said with a smirk.
Anko chuckled. Then, without hesitation, she grabbed Naruto by the ear.
"Idiot! You're in an exam right now, act serious!"
"Ow, ow, ow! Anko-nee, go easy!"
In this timeline, thanks to Masashi, Naruto and Anko were quite familiar with each other.
"Looks like I'm distracting you from work. Everyone's watching us," Masashi noted.
Those three from Kusa… don't seem like disguises.
During that brief exchange, he had already sensed the chakra of everyone present. The Kusa ninja were his primary focus. Only three Kusa genin had entered the exam, and none of them gave off anything unusual.
The Vanishing Facial Copy Technique was one of Orochimaru's preferred infiltration methods. Given his exceptional chakra control, its only known flaw was: just don't let anyone touch you.
He couldn't exactly walk up and start patting them down. What if they really were just regular Kusa ninja? To be safe, he had to take alternative precautions.
"Sasuke, Hinata, come here for a second."
Once they were close, he marked all three of his students with the Flying Thunder God mark.
"Alright, do your best. I'll be waiting at the tower for good news."
With that, Masashi turned, took a light leap over the fence, and vanished into the Forest of Death.
Anko, having witnessed his subtle actions, immediately became more alert. She knew her teacher well, he wouldn't do something like that unless something felt off. If he came all the way here, then he must suspect something. Connecting this to the strange shifts in the shinobi world recently, she no longer felt so at ease.
"Alright, your team should rejoin the others. Don't disrupt the exam process."
---
While the examinees outside remained unaware, inside the Forest of Death, Masashi was already making preparations as he ran toward the tower, marking locations as he moved.
The iron fence enclosed a perfectly circular area with a 10-kilometer radius. For now, the ANBU controlled the tower at the center.
On the fifth day, Namikaze would also arrive at the tower.
With his speed, Masashi reached the tower in no time.
Upon entering, he immediately summoned the officer in charge.
"Gather the team. Increase security around the training ground. Also, inspect the perimeter, check if any examinees have been attacked."
"Captain, what's happening?" The officer was startled, this clearly meant suspecting an intruder among the participants. But this was Konoha, the strongest it had ever been. Who would dare?
"Don't ask. Just follow orders. If anything comes up, report directly to the Hokage."
"Understood."
As the officer hurried off, Masashi shook his head. ANBU were such a hassle to command, always asking questions. Not everything needed a why.
With a sigh, he made his way to the tower's rest area, found an empty room, and lay down.
Closing his eyes, he truly went to sleep.
Orochimaru, I hope you didn't come.
---
Just as Masashi began resting, the gates of the training ground opened.
At Gate 6, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro entered.
At Gate 12, Sasuke and Naruto were already warming up.
Meanwhile, at Gate 15, the three Kusa genin squatted near the entrance, waiting for it to open.
They were clearly a long-standing team, each wearing a straw hat with a different kanji written on a cloth strip: Evil, Sin, and Punishment.
The one labeled "Evil" had long hair reaching their waist and was clearly the leader.
"The proctor has made it clear, we're allowed to kill."
"That makes things easier."
"Let's start with some rookies."
"How about the White Ghost's disciples? If theydies during the exam, even he can't complain."
---
As the locks at the entrance were undone one by one, teams of examinees rushed into the Forest of Death. Once all the participants had entered the forest, the Konoha ninjas stationed at the entrances locked them again.
As the exam proctor, Anko only needed to ensure that no cowards attempted to climb over the perimeter walls or linger around the outskirts to avoid the intense battles within the forest.
It wasn't unheard of for such things to happen. However, this time, the examinees seemed more courageous.
She listened to the screams already echoing from the outskirts of the forest, but she had no interest in enjoying the spectacle. Instead, her mind was on Masashi's previous actions.
What exactly did you discover…?
"Anko." Suddenly, an ANBU ninja appeared behind her.
"We have received orders from the captain. The ANBU will be conducting a sweep around the exam site. We are here to inform you."
Normally, the ANBU wouldn't need to do this, but Anko was a special case. First, in this timeline, she was a jonin rather than a tokubetsu jonin as she was in the original timeline. Second, she had been mentored by some of Konoha's top experts, one of whom was now the head of the ANBU.
Although Masashi found ANBU operations somewhat inconvenient, that didn't mean ANBU members didn't respect him as their leader. In fact, they respected him so much that it made his work difficult.
Since the founding of Konoha, five major factions had emerged: Senju, Uchiha, Sarutobi, Hyūga, and Uzumaki.
These factions had interwoven over time.
The Senju had faded from prominence due to Tsunade's departure and the dwindling of their lineage.
The Uchiha and Hyūga had long been kept out of the highest circles of power, but they remained noble clans with formidable strength. After their formal alliance, they had become Konoha's second most powerful faction.
The Sarutobi faction, built on the prestige gained from the three Great Ninja Wars, was not based on a single clan but rather a network of master-disciple relationships. It had the widest influence, despite losing Root after Danzō's death and forfeiting direct control over the Nine-Tails jinchūriki due to the Uzumaki clan's rise. Even so, they remained Konoha's dominant faction.
The Uzumaki, empowered by Minato and Kushina, had the potential to establish themselves as an independent force, but they were still in their infancy.
For the Sarutobi faction, the only real threat to their dominance was the Uchiha. And as the strongest Uchiha, Masashi, the head of ANBU, was both respected and guarded against.
Losing the position of Hokage Advisor had already been a bitter lesson for them.
Anko was originally part of the Sarutobi faction, but after her first mentor abandoned her, she naturally became associated with the Uchiha. However, many within the Sarutobi faction still held ambiguous attitudes toward her, which was why an ANBU ninja had gone out of his way to inform her.
"I got it," Anko replied. "Do what you need to. Don't worry about me."
The ANBU ninja silently retreated and disappeared.
Anko then leapt onto the rooftop, sat down, and waited for updates.
---
Meanwhile, in the Forest of Death, Naruto stared ahead.
There, an Ame ninja was slowly sliding down from a tree in the shape of a giant "X."
"You've gotta be kidding me. Jumping at me out of nowhere? I was peeing!"
He was furious.
He didn't have a problem with people standing behind him while he relieved himself, but someone suddenly lunging at him? That was unacceptable. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and avoided getting his pants wet.
Getting interrupted mid-stream had put him in a terrible mood.
Still irritated, Naruto immediately formed a Rasengan.
The Ame ninja, now back on his feet, stared at the ominous chakra sphere in Naruto's hand.
What the hell? What kind of monster genin was this?
And that was a jutsu, right? Sealless? But it looked way too dangerous to block…
Sealless jutsu weren't unheard of in the shinobi world, but they were usually meant for distraction or support, not direct combat.
This guy had interrupted his bathroom break and wasn't even apologizing. So, he slammed the Rasengan into a nearby tree.
The jutsu, developed by Minato for high-speed combat, immediately produced a deeply unsettling sound upon impact. Just from the sound, it's clear this isn't something you want to take head-on.
Connecting the dots, the horrifying speed at which Naruto had moved earlier and the devastating power of the jutsu, the Ame ninja suddenly realized something.
Attacking alone was a bad idea. Stealth is great, but it's useless if I can't win the fight.
"Uh, Konoha ninja… We'll meet again!"
"Meet again, my ass!"
Naruto, known for his incredible stamina, had more chakra than anyone at his level. As he spoke, a second Rasengan had already formed in his hand.
With Yellow Flash-style Body Flicker, he vanished from sight.
The Ame ninja barely had time to blink before an angry face appeared right in front of him. The next second, a Rasengan slammed into his chest.
That was the last thing he ever saw.
He was sent spinning through the air. By the time he hit the ground, he was barely clinging to life.
After one well-placed Rasengan, Naruto's anger faded slightly, but his resolve remained unshaken. He had already seen blood on his hands during missions with Masashi.
In the original timeline, he had never taken a life.
But in this world, both Masashi, Minato, and Kushina had taught him: If you can kill, don't just injure.
Naruto didn't like killing. But in a battlefield where everyone was fighting for survival, he had accepted it as a necessity.
After searching the opponent's body for a while, he was disappointed, there was no scroll.
He decided to head back and regroup with his teammates.
After walking a few steps, he hesitated, showing a conflicted expression. Finally, after glancing around to make sure no one was watching, he walked over to a tree and once again took out his lifelong companion…
A while later, he had found Sasuke and Hinata. Hinata was the same as always, while Sasuke looked visibly impatient from waiting.
"Naruto, were you digging a canal or something?" Sasuke asked in annoyance, carefully scanning Naruto as he approached.
"I ran into an enemy, okay?" Naruto retorted.
"Where is the enemy?"
"Hit by my Rasengan."
Sasuke didn't ask further.
Hearing "Rasengan" and considering all the details that lined up, this was definitely the real Naruto.
"Well, you got lucky, but we still need to agree on a secret code. There are strong enemies out there. Hinata, if we get separated, use your Byakugan to check first before reuniting."
"Okay." Hinata nodded.
"Also, let's come up with a secret code." Sasuke crouched down. "Come here, both of you."
Naruto and Hinata quickly crouched down as well. Sasuke thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up as he remembered something good. It was a song he had heard Masashi hum before.
"Alright, when we meet again, we start with 'Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind.' Got it?"
"Oh oh oh, I know this one! I've heard it too! The next line is 'Dust in the wind, everything is dust in the wind,' right,' right?!" Naruto responded excitedly.
"Hmph, at least you have a decent memory." Sasuke snorted, then turned to Hinata. "Hinata, what do you think? Can you remember it?"
"I've memorized it." Hinata nodded seriously, then asked curiously, "But this phrase is so strange. What does it even mean?"
"Uh… I don't know either. I heard Masashi-sensei sing it. Maybe it's a secret ninja technique or something."
Sasuke recalled his first time attending a clan meeting. Back then, Masashi's eyes had rings in them, and everyone had been shocked. When he got home, his father told him that it was an extremely powerful jutsu.
This must be the secret to Masashi's incredible strength! If he could master this, then surely Masashi would acknowledge that he was stronger than Naruto.
After agreeing on the secret code, the three of them stood up and continued forward. As they advanced, they encountered several enemy teams, including some from Konoha.
Even within the same village, unless they were close acquaintances, they had no choice but to fight under these circumstances.
However, sharing the same forehead protector didn't mean they were of the same strength. Since Konoha had the most participants in this exam, it also had the highest number of long-time genin. Some of these genin were already in their forties or fifties.
Experience was a peculiar thing, sometimes invaluable, sometimes worthless.
A jonin with ten years of experience and a genin with ten years of experience were completely different cases.
The former was considered seasoned, while the latter was often seen as "lacking talent" or "not good enough." If this timeline extended even further… The former would be regarded as a pillar of the village, while the latter would simply be called "surprisingly durable."
The Konoha ninjas that Sasuke's team encountered happened to be one of those long-time genin.
They swiftly and decisively defeated them. Of course, since they were from the same village, they didn't go too hard, and in order to prevent foreign ninja from taking advantage of the wounded, they consciously avoided inflicting serious injuries.
The defeated team handed over their scroll without resistance, but unfortunately, both teams had the same type of scroll.
After exchanging some well-wishes, they parted ways.
As they continued through the forest, they ventured deeper into its core. In this area, battles were frequent. The fights were intense and relentless, constantly claiming lives. The bodies of the fallen were left discarded, their scrolls and supplies looted clean.
Faced with this grim reality, the naturally timid Hinata became visibly nervous, while Sasuke and Naruto instinctively took on the role of protecting her.
As for Hinata, despite her fear, she did her best to use her Byakugan to scout ahead for her teammates.
If this had been just a normal exam, Team 7 would undoubtedly be among the top-performing squads, one of the best three in the entire forest.
However, regardless of the timeline, this Chunin Exam was anything but ordinary. The level of combat involved far exceeded what the examinees were prepared for.
And danger was approaching.