The strange sound of the collapsing tower at the destination shook the Forest of Death.
A group of hidden Genin examinees finally couldn't hold back. Watching the destination disappear in the distance, they began to worry about their scores and quickly rushed toward the center of the forest.
Akihara Kagura sat on the steps in front of the ruins, watching the birds startled by the crowd in the forest, a slow smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Fish always take the bait."
Akihara Kagura controlled the massive wood dragon, which disappeared at his side, whispering almost inaudibly, "It's time to start, Wood Dragon."
It was obvious.
The first to arrive would certainly be those traveling light.
As one participating alone in the Chunin Exams, Uchiha Itachi didn't have to worry about his teammates' speed and immediately concealed himself when he reached the central area.
This genius youth of the Uchiha Clan hid among fallen leaves, secretly observing Akihara Kagura sitting in the ruins and the wood dragon behind him.
"It's him…"
The same shock was not exclusive to Uchiha Itachi.
Another team that arrived soon also saw Akihara Kagura's form.
Originally, they also intended to continue hiding, but as more teams gathered in this area, it was inevitable that some encounters would cause conflict...
"Why are you hiding here!"
"Bastard, trying to ambush us?"
"Let's take care of you despicable people first!"
"Don't throw shuriken recklessly!"
The scene quickly descended into chaos!
This area wasn't large, and small-scale skirmishes quickly broke out, and the chaos also affected others who were hiding!
This was an opportunity!
Due to the collapse of the destination tower, all teams were forced to gather in this area ahead of time, and some powerful teams were taking the chance to seize the Heaven and Earth Scrolls.
Even though Uchiha Itachi's concealed position was very hidden, he was eventually detected by battling ninjas and forced to join the melee...
"The situation doesn't allow us to just fight like this…"
"Uchiha Itachi, hand over your scroll, and we'll let you go!"
This team was no match for Uchiha Itachi and was quickly defeated by him, their scroll falling into Uchiha Itachi's hands.
"Very fortunate and very smooth…"
Uchiha Itachi collected the Heaven and Earth Scrolls and quickly withdrew to the side, not wanting to be involved in pointless disputes. His gaze fell back on Akihara Kagura.
"But…"
"Also not fortunate and not smooth."
Besides Uchiha Itachi, many others also recognized the threat of Akihara Kagura, running around and shouting for everyone present to gather together.
"Stop everything!"
"Get lost! We'll deal with you first!"
"Everyone, stop fighting! Let's deal with that brat first!"
"Don't forget about that wood dragon behind the brat; it's not something our team can handle alone. Don't let him reap the benefits!"
Unfortunately.
Once the fighting started, even if the participants retained some sanity, it wasn't easy to stop.
While one long-haired ninja was making an effort to call for everyone to stop the internal fighting, a childish voice appeared in the crowd: "Hey, trying to stop the fighting won't be easy, people might die this way… How about I help you?"
"Who?"
The long-haired ninja turned back somewhat delightedly.
However, his expression quickly froze because he saw the person he least wanted to see: Akihara Kagura slowly descending the steps of the ruins.
"Wood Release…"
"Deep Forest Emergence!"
The ground in the entire area started to tremble again!
Roots and vines swiftly shot out from Akihara Kagura's feet, and in the blink of an eye, a forest of towering trees had grown!
"What the heck is this!"
"Run!"
"Hurry up and help me cut it down!"
The branches and roots of these giant trees kept extending, quickly binding every Genin examinee they touched to the trees!
"Ninja sword is too inefficient…"
Uchiha Itachi swung his ninja sword to cut through an arm-thick branch, quickly sheathed the sword, and retreated rapidly, forming hand seals with his hands!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A giant fireball landed on the vines attacking him, and flames immediately spread, burning the vines back, even igniting a giant tree!
However…
This was still too slow!
The power of the Great Fireball Jutsu wasn't sufficient to destroy all the giant trees, nor was it able to stop the spread of the Deep Forest Emergence jutsu from extending outward!
"No way!"
"I've already got the scrolls."
"Let's watch from a distance!"
Uchiha Itachi looked at his two scrolls and decided to retreat first. His figure quickly disappeared from there.
The other examinees did not have his strength nor his good luck.
Akihara Kagura's Deep Forest Emergence was far beyond their ability to handle, and under the endless attack of vines and roots, the other teams' ninjas were utterly exhausted...
A group of Genin were hanging from the same tree...
This group swayed like fruits hanging from the tree.
Akihara Kagura stood atop the wooden dragon's head, slowly rising to their level and asked, "You're lucky. Although the second round of the Chunin Exams allows killing, Lord Danzo doesn't permit me to kill, so I won't kill you..."
"What do you want to do?"
A ninja asked the question everyone wanted to ask.
Akihara Kagura played with a scroll in his hand and asked, "First, hand over what I need. Second..."
"What are you doing!"
A slightly familiar female voice came over!
When Mitarashi Anko arrived with a group of Chunin examiners, she saw this bizarre scene, causing the group to stop in their tracks.
Akihara Kagura saw a group of arriving examiners.
The Genin hanging from the tree looked at the examiners, their eyes filled with hope, expecting this group to intervene in the exam and save them!
However...
The newcomer always claimed to be Konoha's most ruthless female ninja.
Mitarashi Anko ignored the hopeful Genin and pointed to the high tower reduced to ruins, loudly questioning, "Destroying the end point of the second exam, are you trying to make sure no one passes?"
"The village wouldn't let that happen."
Akihara Kagura looked down at the group of Chunin examiners and explained, "I just wanted to lure them out. I'm not very good at wilderness survival, so I had to use this method to force them out and snatch some food from these guys."
"What a pity..."
"I caught the fish, and it seems the pond owner has come looking."
"What a bizarre metaphor..."
Mitarashi Anko, a dango in her mouth, frowned and said, "Aren't you worried you'll be disqualified?"
"Not worried."
"Someone told me the passcode for the second stage in advance."
Akihara Kagura spread his palms and continued indifferently, "Strictly speaking, the requirement to pass the second stage of the Chunin Exams is just to collect the Heaven and Earth Scrolls and reach here. I guess someone present knows this."
"..."
Mitarashi Anko angrily took a bite of her dango.
"..."
Akihara Kagura licked his lips.
"Tsk, kid, are you hungry?"
As Mitarashi Anko continued to chew her dango, she seemed to think of something and suddenly grinned, "If you have the Heaven and Earth Scrolls and want to pass now, you can accept food from someone outside the exam."
When Mitarashi Anko said this, she even pulled out a bag of food, leisurely continuing, "If you stay here and eat what these people made, what if they poisoned it? There's quite a precedent for that during the Chunin Exams..."
Mitarashi Anko's thinking was clear; if she could get this kid out of the exam site, she could solve any potential future trouble in the exam venue.
To be honest.
This kid always causes trouble.
Akihara Kagura laughed, raised his palm, and the Heaven and Earth scrolls in his hand flew toward Mitarashi Anko.
"Tsk, you made the right choice!"
Mitarashi Anko caught the two scrolls, playfully saying, "Although normally, you would need to be taught how to open the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, I think that's a waste of time for you. Congratulations on becoming the first examinee to pass..."
"I choose to pass too!"
Uchiha Itachi suddenly appeared there without anyone noticing.
When Uchiha Itachi saw the Chunin examiners appear, he immediately realized that seeing the examiners meant a possibility of passing directly from them!
Because the end point tower had already been destroyed!
"Congratulations on being the second!"
Mitarashi Anko quickly glanced at Uchiha Itachi and added, "Uchiha kid, there's still time to buy three-color dango from the village's sweet shop!"
Because both of them were regulars at the Konoha Sweets Shop, Mitarashi Anko also knew that Uchiha Itachi liked three-color dango.
"Ah, thank you, senior!"
Uchiha Itachi nodded awkwardly and quickly leaped toward the exit!
Akihara Kagura paid no attention to any of it, his eyes focused on the food bag in Mitarashi Anko's hand as if waiting for her to give it to him.
Mitarashi Anko took a skewer of dango from the bag and continued biting into it, showing a fierce expression: "Kid, after causing us examiners so much trouble, you think I'd share my favorite sweets with you?"
"Tsk, fooled again..."
Akihara Kagura couldn't help but laugh, still looking at the fierce Mitarashi Anko: "Anko-senpai, I'm almost worried I'd forget you."