One by one, the genin handed in their consent forms and received either the Heaven or Earth scroll before heading into the Forest of Death to begin their multi-day survival challenge.
During this time, they'd need to guard against the forest's dangerous flora and fauna, hidden traps, and, most importantly, other ninja. Their goal: collect both scrolls and reach the tower at the center of the forest.
After wrapping up their duties, Kiyosuke and Anko stayed behind to rest. Anko pulled out her favorite treat—sweet rice dumplings—and began chatting with Kiyosuke while eating.
They hadn't been talking long when a ninja suddenly appeared.
"Kiyosuke-sama! Anko-sama! We have a situation!"
"Hm? What's the rush?" Anko asked.
"We found three bodies... but there's something strange about them. Could you come take a look?"
"Alright, let's go," Kiyosuke said, getting up.
Anko followed quickly.
"Wait for me, senpai!"
...
Several ninja were gathered around. Upon seeing them, the group bowed and said:
"Judging from their gear and ID, these were Grass Village genin officially registered for the Chūnin Exams. As you can see… they have no faces."
Indeed, all three corpses shared one horrifying feature—their faces had been completely melted away, as if dissolved by something. Nothing remained but smooth, featureless skin.
Anko instinctively reached for her neck, where the Heaven Curse Mark given by Orochimaru was still sealed by a Fūinjutsu formula.
"Senpai…" she whispered.
Kiyosuke nodded.
"Yeah. It's that technique."
Vanishing Facial Copy Technique.
A jutsu that melts a person's face and transfers it onto the caster, allowing them to impersonate their victim.
Both Kiyosuke and Anko knew the technique, though they'd always found it disgusting and never used it themselves. Still, they recognized Orochimaru's handiwork instantly.
He could've erased the bodies without a trace using his abilities—but instead, he had left them here in plain sight, right in the middle of Konoha's territory.
It was a message.
He was back.
"This isn't like him," Kiyosuke muttered. "You—go inform Hokage-sama. I'll head into the Forest of Death to pursue him. Give me photos of the deceased. And make sure you mark this clearly: they died inside the Forest of Death."
"Understood!"
One of the ninja handed over the photos. Kiyosuke took them and departed.
Anko added, "Alert the ANBU. At least two squads. And make it quick!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The group dispersed.
...
Kiyosuke sprinted toward the Forest of Death. There was no doubt in his mind—Orochimaru was after Sasuke.
"Tch. Always stirring up trouble for me..."
He dashed into the forest. Screams echoed from within as the second exam was already underway. The forest had become a battlefield, with teams turning on one another to steal scrolls. It was a brutal free-for-all designed to weed out the weak.
The death rate was incredibly high—even worse than when Kiyosuke had taken the exam. Most genin would lose their lives here.
But Kiyosuke wasn't worried about his three subordinates. He'd trained them well in survival tactics.
He moved at lightning speed and quickly found Orochimaru.
The man's face was covered with a scorched layer of skin. His golden serpent-like eyes gazed coldly down at the three genin below.
Sensing Kiyosuke's presence, he chuckled with his hoarse, chilling voice.
"Found me already, Kiyosuke-kun? You're a bit late."
Beneath the massive tree, Naruto lay unconscious. Sasuke was out cold as well, with the Heaven Curse Mark already etched into his neck. Sakura, seeing Kiyosuke arrive, cried out as if she had seen her savior.
"Kiyosuke-sama! Please save us!!"
"Well? Planning to rescue them?" Orochimaru said, clearly amused.
"With your personality, you'll definitely fight. So? Want to go all out against your teacher?"
He tore off the charred flesh mask, revealing his pale face and the Sound Village forehead protector atop his head.
The Sound Village—Orochimaru's creation. It had been founded to secure more funding for his research.
The village was made up entirely of orphans Orochimaru had taken in and trained into ninja to carry out missions and earn money for him.
"You're really putting me in a tough spot, sensei," Kiyosuke said.
"But it's not the right time for a fight, is it? Maybe you should leave."
His tone was subtle and layered with meaning, making Orochimaru laugh.
"As expected of you. You've already noticed, haven't you?"
"My goal is achieved, so I'll be leaving."
With that, his body slowly sank into the tree beneath him.
Kiyosuke jumped down and landed beside Sakura, immediately checking Sasuke's condition.
"Go get Naruto."
"Yes!"
Sakura quickly ran over, carried Naruto back, and anxiously asked:
"Kiyosuke-sama, how's Sasuke doing?"
"He'll live. The curse mark is troublesome, but it's nothing serious. Bring Naruto here too—I'll take a look."
Sasuke was fine. A mere curse mark wasn't going to be a real problem.
Kiyosuke checked Naruto next. He lifted the boy's shirt and placed his palm on his abdomen. With each breath Naruto took, the seal script of the Eight Trigrams Seal appeared.
Around the seal were five distinct fingerprints.
Five Elements Seal.
A high-level Fūinjutsu that uses five chakra natures to overlay a new seal. Orochimaru had stacked it on top of the Eight Trigrams Seal, disrupting Minato's design.
Not only did it block the Nine-Tails' chakra from leaking out—it also interfered with Naruto's chakra control.
"What's that?" Sakura asked.
"A sealing technique. Tell me—did Naruto ever release a red chakra aura before this?"
"Yes! It was terrifying. He looked like a monster at the time," Sakura said, still shaken.
"That wasn't a monster."
Kiyosuke's expression darkened as he scoffed.
"It's nothing serious. He won't die. They can continue with the exam."
"But… look at them! How can they keep going like this?"
"And? You'd rather throw away all the effort they've put in up to this point?"
"They'll be fine. It's you I'm more concerned about. If you decide to forfeit on their behalf, they'll resent you for it."
"Naruto might let it go—but Sasuke won't. He's too proud to accept an exit like this."
"Let them continue. You just focus on keeping them safe."
"I..."
Sakura lowered her head.
This was the first time she had seen the normally gentle adult sound so cold.
In the end, she chose to accept Kiyosuke's words.
"I'll look after them," she said softly.