Chapter 104: Second Stage of the Chunin Exam
While waiting, everyone observed each other.
Kaito noticed that Konoha still had three teams remaining, the Hidden Rain had one team, the Hidden Sand had one team, and the Hidden Mist had two teams. He didn't recognize any of the 21 ninja.
He thought to himself, Isn't the Hidden Mist in the middle of a civil war? Can they still send ninja to participate in events like this?
He thought for a while, then decided to put it out of his mind.
Oh well, it doesn't matter. The Fourth Mizukage won't appear anyway.
Remembering the Fourth Mizukage, a funny thought suddenly occurred to him.
I wonder if Naruto's Talk no Jutsu can dispel genjutsu, haha. Or even better, if he uses Talk no Jutsu on someone under genjutsu, will it affect the person casting the genjutsu?
Seeing Kaito laughing to himself, Mieko asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Kaito shook his head. "Nothing, don't worry about it."
Kaito then tried to sense the chakra levels of the remaining twenty-one ninja. He quickly came to a conclusion.
Alright, no one seems abnormal. There's one person from the Hidden Mist with considerable chakra reserves. But even so, it's still less than half of mine. The others are barely at chunin level.
Everyone present was trying to analyze their competitors in a similar way.
At 9:45, a smoke bomb exploded at the front of the room, drawing everyone's attention.
The smoke slowly began to clear. Soon, everyone heard very loud dog barks.
When the smoke cleared, a large dog could be seen glaring fiercely at the genin. However, no one was scared.
Behind the dog stood Inuzuka Tsume.
She observed the room and muttered, "Only eight teams. I knew letting that troublemaker be the proctor was a bad idea!"
She looked at all the genin and announced loudly, "I am Inuzuka Tsume, the proctor for the second stage of the Chunin Exams. Follow me and Kuromaru."
All the genin followed her. She led them through Konoha to Training Ground 44.
She announced loudly, "Your second stage exam will take place in Training Ground 44."
She chuckled. "This training ground is also known as the Forest of Death."
This put the genin on alert. At the same time, they were thinking, Why does she keep shouting?
She continued, "Before I explain the details and rules of the second stage, you must sign these consent forms!"
A genin asked, "Consent to what?"
She grinned eerily. "Your deaths!"
This made the genin very uneasy. She continued, "Death is common in this training ground, which is why it's called the Forest of Death! You might be killed by beasts in the forest, or by your competitors."
"By signing this consent form, you voluntarily agree to participate in this exam. Konoha is not responsible for any injuries or deaths that occur in this training ground and bears no liability."
Then one of her chunin subordinates distributed the consent forms. She said, "You must fill in your name, signature, and fingerprint on the consent form. If you're a coward, then don't sign it. You and your team will be disqualified from the exam!"
Upon hearing this, some genin felt excited, while others were worried. Kaito, Hodaka, and Mieko showed no reaction.
Everyone quickly signed and submitted the consent forms.
After checking all the forms, Inuzuka Tsume began to announce the exam details.
"I will now explain the rules."
"Each team will receive a scroll. Four teams will receive a Heaven Scroll, and the remaining teams will receive an Earth Scroll."
"To qualify for the next round, you must reach the center of this forest with both a Heaven Scroll and an Earth Scroll. Therefore, you must take the type of scroll you don't have from other teams."
"There is a tower in the center of this training ground. You have 5 days to collect both types of scrolls and enter the tower. Once you enter the tower, no more fighting is allowed. If anyone leaves the training ground or enters the tower without both scrolls, you will be disqualified."
"Furthermore, all 3 members of your team must be alive. If even one member dies, you will be disqualified."
She waited for half a minute, allowing the genin to digest the information. Then questions began to emerge.
A genin from the Hidden Rain was the first to ask, "Is there food in the forest? We can't go five days without food!"
Before Inuzuka Tsume could answer, Kaito noticed the Hidden Mist genin with high chakra levels grinned and asked, "Can we bring more than two scrolls into the tower?"
This made everyone look at that ninja. Inuzuka Tsume replied, "There are many animals, plants, and insects in the forest. Find your own food."
She then looked at the Hidden Mist ninja again. "You can collect any number of scrolls before entering the tower, so no more than four teams may pass."
After hearing all the instructions, Kaito thought, Hmm, just like in the original timeline.
No one asked any more questions. Soon, the scrolls began to be secretly distributed. Kaito wondered, Aren't they even giving us a little time to rest and prepare?
He looked at Hodaka. "Activate your Byakugan and check what type of scrolls all the teams received."
Hodaka nodded and activated his Byakugan.
Mieko went to get their scroll. She received a Heaven Scroll.
After the scrolls were distributed, Inuzuka Tsume shouted again, "Now, a chunin will lead each of your teams to the gate you'll enter from. Follow them."
Seven chunin each led one team.
Kaito observed the chunin walking toward their team and thought, Is this Ebisu?
Ebisu approached their team. "You three! Follow me."
He turned and started walking forward. The three followed him. Kaito thought, He should be promoted within the next three or four years. Anyway, there are only 8 teams. It seems the distance between us will be quite far.
He calculated for a moment and sighed. Assuming we're equidistant and covering the entire forest, then the closest team to us is about eight kilometers away. Much farther than we can sense or see.
Soon they reached their destination. Ebisu said, "The exam starts in seven minutes. Wait here quietly."
He watched them as he walked away from the three.
Kaito asked softly, "Do you still have enough weapons?"
Hodaka and Mieko both nodded.
Hodaka said, "Yes, I brought the scrolls sensei told us to carry for C-rank missions."
Mieko added, "Me too."
Kaito replied, "Good, me too. What about ration bars?"
This time, both of their answers were a bit awkward. Hodaka said, "I only have 5."
Mieko admitted, "I only have four."
Kaito analyzed, "Hmm, I have 25, so we have a total of 34, which should be enough for two days. If we complete the exam within two days, we won't need to find our own food."
Both nodded. Mieko asked, "So which teams have the Earth Scroll?"
Hodaka replied, "The Ino-Shika-Cho team, the Hidden Mist team that asked if they could get more scrolls, the Hidden Rain team, and the all-Hyuga team all have the Earth Scroll."
Mieko thought for a moment. "Those four should be easy to get."
Kaito and Hodaka nodded. Hodaka commented, "I don't think any team is stronger than us. Should we try to collect more scrolls and eliminate other teams?"
Mieko quickly said, "Yeah, let's do it! That'll be fun!"
Kaito shook his head. "No. Although we're stronger, we might get injured if we're not careful. In that case, other teams might gain an advantage over us. Another issue is that some teams might set traps and ambushes near the tower. We should stay in top condition."
Mieko complained, "Come on, Kaito! We can do it."
Kaito sighed. "The last round is usually individual sparring matches. If we eliminate everyone, how will we show our strength?"
This made Mieko give up. She dramatically slumped her shoulders and sighed. "Alright, fine."
They were about to continue their discussion when they heard the sound of the gates opening. Ebisu called out, "Your exam has begun. Go in."
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