After Ibiki Morino introduced himself, he led the Chūnin candidates to the very first test—the written exam.
Once the rules of the first stage were explained, Ibiki calmly crossed his arms over his chest and fell silent, his sharp gaze sweeping across the examination room as he observed everyone present.
Surprisingly, Naruto—who in the anime would have been panicking at this point—was actually scribbling away on his test paper.
Every now and then, he paused and glanced around, clearly considering whether he could cheat his way through. Still, somehow, he managed to answer most of the questions on his own.
With Kushina still alive, there was no way in hell Naruto could be a complete failure at school. Every time he did badly, he got beaten into studying harder. Because of that, his scores usually hovered around the bare minimum—but he wasn't the hopeless idiot he had been in the original timeline.
Aside from him, almost everyone else used their own ninjutsu to cheat their way through the exam—while a handful didn't even need to.
What surprised many people was Rock Lee.
Despite being wrapped in bandages from head to toe, he still showed up for the test.
His eyes burned with intensity as he briefly glanced at Sasuke, then immediately lowered his gaze and focused on the paper in front of him.
Inside the examination room, after quickly grasping the true purpose of the test, Haku quietly locked onto his target.
He formed seals with both hands.
Ice Release: Ice Clairvoyance.
Near the ceiling of the room, a small, prickly sphere of ice condensed in silence. Using its reflective surface, Haku redirected the image of another candidate's answer sheet onto the ice.
Karin and Kimimaro, who had been paying attention to Haku's movements the entire time, quietly raised their heads almost at once.
The three of them began writing at full speed—cheating flawlessly.
Hinata, who had been calmly answering the questions on her own, noticed what they were doing and smiled faintly, saying nothing.
Soon after, the first exam reached its climax.
Just like in the anime, Naruto passed the final question using his infamous Talk no Jutsu, and the written test finally came to an end.
Just as the candidates thought the ordeal was finally over...
BAM!
The classroom window shattered as a figure crashed through it.
A woman wearing a trench coat, mesh armor, and an unhinged grin landed atop the desk like a predator.
"Alright, you brats! Congratulations on surviving the first exam!"
Mitarashi Anko grinned wildly as she raised her arms.
"But don't get comfortable just yet!"
She bit into a kunai with a savage smile.
"Because the real fun starts now!"
"The second exam—The Forest of Death—begins immediately!"
Her laughter echoed through the room, sending chills down the spines of more than a few genin.
--
As the candidates exited the examination room, Karin couldn't hold herself back any longer.
"Sand Village actually sent a Jinchūriki too!"
"In a stupid Chūnin Exam, there are two Jinchūriki?! What are they trying to do—start a war?!"
"And I had to listen to all that long-winded nonsense for who knows how long. What's with all that talking? When it comes to fighting, strength decides everything. Who cares if you get a perfect score—nerds still get wrecked."
"And that female examiner—what was her name again? Anko or something? In the second exam, there's that kind of shinobi in Konoha too? She looked freaky as hell."
Listening to Karin complain nonstop, Kimimaro didn't react much. He simply spoke calmly.
"Leave them alone. The mission given to us by the lord is to observe the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki and Uchiha Sasuke of the Uchiha clan."
"Just focus on those two."
"Tch—don't lie," Karin shot back. "He didn't say anything like that. He just told us to have fun and do whatever we wanted."
She puffed out her cheeks slightly before continuing.
"I noticed people from Grass Village in the exam room."
"I've already memorized their chakra signatures. In the second exam, I'm going to slaughter them."
As Karin spoke, a trace of murderous intent flickered through her eyes.
She knew exactly what had happened to her mother in the past.
"Yes," Haku said softly, nodding. Though gentle by nature, that didn't mean he wouldn't kill those who deserved it.
"No problem," Kimimaro added calmly, nodding as well.
They had all heard about Chihori. There was no doubt—they were in agreement.
Even Hinata nodded slightly, choosing not to say anything more.
--
"W–What?"
"Where is this place…?" Naruto's eyes widened as he stared straight ahead, an uneasy feeling creeping up his spine.
After finishing the first exam, the candidates had been led here. In front of them stood a massive warning sign:
RESTRICTED AREA — DO NOT ENTER
Beyond it stretched an enormous forest, its towering trees dense and dark, guarded by numerous shinobi stationed around the perimeter.
"This," Anko said with a smile, her hands tucked casually into her coat pockets, "is the site of the second Chūnin Exam—Training Ground Forty-Four."
"Also known as…"
She paused deliberately.
"…the Forest of Death."
The wind rustled through the trees, sending an eerie chill through the group.
Naruto swallowed and muttered hesitantly, "Forest… of death?"
Behind him, Sasuke closed his eyes briefly. Inside, he found himself oddly impressed.
At least this woman knows how to set the mood.
"There's something really creepy about this place…" Sakura said, clasping her hands together, fear written all over her face.
"It's called the Forest of Death for a reason," Anko replied with a wicked grin. "And you'll find out why soon enough."
Suddenly, Naruto squatted slightly, arched his back, and—completely shamelessly—wiggled as he mocked Anko's tone.
"I don't care what this place is… it can't stop me anyway!"
Sasuke stared.
Then he quietly took a step back.
He didn't care about a lot of things—but being associated with this was not one of them.
Sakura, on the other hand, blushed hard and rubbed her forehead in embarrassment.
"Oh?" Anko raised a brow. "Pretty confident, huh? It's kids like you who die first—"
She flicked a kunai straight at Naruto.
Naruto tilted his head at the last second, narrowly dodging it.
"H–Hey!" he yelped, staring at her in shock. "What are you trying to do?! That could've killed me!"
Anko blinked, surprised—then smiled again, about to speak—
When a grumpy voice cut in.
"Hey, bimbo."
Everyone froze.
"Can you stop with this bullshit and get to the point already?" Karin said flatly, arms crossed, clearly fed up. "I'm getting bored. And when I get bored, it doesn't end well."
"Heh," Anko chuckled. "Looks like we've got a lot of hot-blooded kids this time—"
She vanished.
In the next instant, she appeared behind Karin, a kunai moving toward her neck—
Only for crimson chains to erupt violently from Karin's body.
They wrapped around Anko in an instant, binding her tightly before slamming her straight into the ground.
Boom!
"Argh—!"
Anko gasped sharply, shock written all over her face.
She struggled, pouring all her strength into breaking free—but the chains didn't budge.
When she looked up, she found Karin smiling down at her.
Anko's mouth twitched.
"…Okay. Okay. I surrender."
Only then did Karin release her.
"You're lucky," Karin said calmly. "I didn't sense any killing intent. Now start the exam already—I'm sick of this."
Anko stood up, dusted herself off, and stared at the red-haired girl in amazement.
To think a girl this young has this kind of strength…
This is getting interesting.
She glanced around at the other candidates, many of whom wore shocked or grim expressions.
Clapping her hands together, Anko finally spoke.
"Alright then. The rules are simple."
She quickly explained the second exam—how it worked, the Forest of Death, and the Heaven and Earth scrolls.
The candidates listened, each reacting differently.
"That's it," Anko finished. "Do your best. And before that—sign this."
She pulled out a paper.
"U-Um… what's that?" Airi asked cautiously.
"A waiver," Anko replied with a grin. "Signing this means I'm not responsible for the corpses you might become after entering."
A chill ran through the group.
This wasn't just an exam. This was a life-and-death gamble.
"You can still give up," Anko added, eyeing their expressions.
"…What a pain," Shikamaru muttered, frowning as he read the paper before sighing.
Choji read it with one hand while munching on a snack with the other, then nodded.
"Hey, big forehead," Ino smirked at Sakura. "Why don't you give up? You'll definitely end up dead."
"What did you say, pig Ino?!" Sakura snapped back. "You're the one who'll end up roasted!"
Sasuke read the paper silently, then signed it without hesitation.
He glanced toward Karin, then Kimimaro, then the rest of the Snow team, his eyes narrowing.
That move earlier…
He knew they were strong but he hadn't expected Karin to overpower Anko so easily.
Even if Anko had underestimated her…
It doesn't matter.
Sasuke clenched his fist.
I will win. Losing isn't an option.
He needed that power.
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