"This isn't the time to celebrate!"
The cause of the sudden disturbance in the exam room—Mitarashi Anko—stood confidently beneath the massive black banner. She threw her right hand outward, and with the motion, her coat flared open, revealing a striking silhouette clad in tight black mesh.
"I'm Mitarashi Anko, proctor for the second stage of the Chūnin Exams. We're moving on to the next round—now!"
She raised a clenched fist in the air, her voice booming.
"Let's go!"
...But the room remained dead silent.
In any other context, Anko—spirited, striking, and bold—would have instantly turned heads.
But these examinees had just barely recovered from Ibiki's psychological torture, and now they were being jolted again by what was clearly a dramatic personal entrance.
Most were too stunned—or too unimpressed—to respond.
Frankly, it was only their discipline as ninja that kept them from booing.
"…No one's paying attention to you," Ibiki muttered flatly as he stepped around the hanging banner, eyes half-lidded with amusement.
Anko flushed slightly, clearly embarrassed, but quickly regained her composure.
She swept her gaze across the classroom and asked, perhaps to redirect from her flop of an entrance:
"There are still this many left?"
She began counting heads.
"Seventy-five... Ibiki, you let twenty-five teams through!?" she said, frowning. "Was the test too easy or what?"
Ibiki gave a low chuckle.
"There were quite a few talented ones this year." His mind flicked to Naruto's performance.
"Tch, fine. I'll make sure there's less than half left by the time I'm through."
Her tone darkened as she shot a sharp glance around the room.
"Less than half!?" Ino, seated near the front, furrowed her brow.
"I'm getting excited already." Anko's body seemed to tremble—not from fear, but anticipation. She practically beamed as she shouted, "You all, follow me! I'll explain the next stage once we reach the field!"
"Where do you think she's taking us?"
Kiba Inuzuka asked as he leapt effortlessly across the rooftops, glancing back toward his teammates.
After leading them out of the village proper, Anko had broken into a full sprint.
"This is the outskirts," Shino Aburame replied, his voice calm. "Restricted territory. Normally off-limits."
He frowned. "But I believe this is part of a training zone. Most likely... the next round will be a field test."
"A real battle, huh!?"
Kiba grinned, performed a mid-air somersault, and landed smoothly before charging on.
"About time we teach those out-of-village punks a lesson!"
His gaze shifted ahead to a boy with a long ponytail and a high-collared black jacket. The boy's pace was steady—neither fast nor slow—and his presence unassuming.
But among the Konoha Genin, many eyes lingered on him.
He was Nara Shikamaru, the rookie everyone in the village was talking about.
Trailing behind him were his two teammates: a boy and a girl.
Kiba narrowed his eyes.
Hopefully I'll get a shot at him too. Let's see how my training holds up against that guy.
"I wouldn't recommend that, Kiba."
Shino's calm voice cut in.
Kiba looked annoyed. "What? You don't think I can take him?"
"Do you remember what both Ibiki and Anko said?" Shino replied without emotion. "This is only the second stage. There's likely at least one or two more rounds after this."
"If you fight Shikamaru now—someone that dangerous—others will observe and gather intel on your abilities."
"Unless you're confident you can defeat him immediately... engaging him would be a poor decision."
Kiba was silent for a moment, then reluctantly nodded. "Tch... fine."
The group's pace began to slow as they approached their destination.
Suddenly, Hinata Hyūga—who had been quiet the whole time—pointed into the distance.
"What's... that?"
Everyone turned.
A dense forest loomed ahead, towering trees casting deep shadows.
As they got closer, they saw that the area was surrounded by thick, high metal fences, the gates chained and sealed with fūinjutsu.
"This is the site of the second stage of the Chūnin Selection Exams—Training Ground 44," Anko declared as she finally stopped in front of the gate.
Her lips curled into a wicked grin.
"Also known as... the Forest of Death."
The vast trees beyond the fence stood silent and menacing.
The name, paired with Anko's expression, sent a chill through the Genin.
"This place gives me the creeps," Sakura muttered.
"You'll find out why soon enough." Anko gave a cold laugh.
Naruto, however, had other thoughts.
He remembered how Ibiki had tried to scare them with the tenth question—and how it had been a bluff.
Thinking he saw through Anko's scare tactics too, Naruto made a face and waved his hand dismissively.
"I'm not scared of your spooky stories, lady! Nice try!"
…Bad move.
Anko's grin vanished.
Without a word, she flicked her wrist—thunk!
A kunai shot through the air, missing Naruto by a hair's breadth and hurtling straight toward Chōji, who had been sneaking chips behind her back.
Clang!
A shuriken struck the kunai mid-air, knocking it aside.
It landed at Chōji's feet—along with the shuriken.
All eyes turned to Shikamaru, who had just lowered his right hand.
He had been the one to react.
That's the kid Asuma keeps talking about?
Anko appeared behind Naruto in a flash, grabbing him from behind like a teasing sister, licking the blood from his cheek with a twisted smile.
Her eyes flicked briefly to Shikamaru.
Fast reaction. Good instincts. Impressive.
"Okay, yeah—this proctor's crazy."
Even the usually unflappable Shino frowned.
And Shikamaru's reaction time… he really has fought Jōnin before, huh?
The rest of the Genin stood frozen.
None of them had expected the proctor to suddenly attack someone.
"Brash kids like you…" Anko whispered in a disturbingly sweet tone as she ran her tongue along Naruto's cheek again, "…usually end up spraying my favorite blood first."
Naruto didn't dare move.
"And you!"
Anko spun around, glaring at Chōji.
"When I'm talking, you'd better listen!"
Chōji gulped and quickly stashed the chips back into his pouch.
Anko smirked, then cast a sidelong glance at Shikamaru—but didn't say another word.
"You okay, Chōji?"
Ino asked, worried.
He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Before we begin, you'll each need to sign this waiver."
Anko pulled out a thick stack of forms and held them up.
"Because people might die during this test," she said brightly. "And I don't want to be held responsible!"
The Genin's expressions shifted uneasily.
Anko grinned wider.
"Once you've signed, submit the form as a team to the proctors in the cabin over there. If you're too scared—just don't sign!"
"Now let me explain the rules for Stage Two!"
Anko raised a finger, her tone sharp.
"You'll be participating in a survival battle in this restricted zone."
She pulled two elegant scrolls from her equipment pouch.
"These will be your targets. You'll be fighting to capture scrolls from other teams."
"One is the Heaven Scroll—" she held up a white scroll marked with the kanji 'Ten' (天).
"—and the other is the Earth Scroll—" a black scroll marked with the kanji 'Chi' (地).
"There are twenty-five teams total. Twelve teams will receive Heaven Scrolls, the other thirteen will receive Earth Scrolls."
"To pass this test, your entire three-man squad must reach the central tower within this forest, carrying one Heaven and one Earth Scroll."
"That means only twelve teams can pass. The rest—" she gave a mock sad pout, "—are out."
"You'll have 120 hours—five days—to complete the task. Once the exam starts, no one is allowed to quit. That means you'll be in this forest for the full five days—no exceptions."
Anko's eyes narrowed.
"If even one member of your team dies… or is too injured to continue… the whole team is disqualified."
She gave one last dangerous grin.
"And don't even think about opening your scrolls before you reach the tower."
"Because if you do—well—let's just say it won't end well."