Chapter 105: Locking on the Attack Target
Team Renjiro entered the Forest of Death. After they entered, Mieko asked, "Which way should we go?"
Hodaka replied, "We've already gone about eight kilometers from the starting point. And I noticed that the Ino-Shika-Cho team didn't have any chunin instructors approaching them. So they should be entering from the gate we just passed. Let's go after them."
Kaito said, "Alright, let's go."
After deciding, the three began moving quickly along the route between the meeting point and the tower.
Kaito thought as he moved, Ino-Shika-Cho... the famous formation. This battle should be interesting. But I should be wary of the Yamanaka. I don't want anyone getting into my head.
They should be around 14-15 years old. So they've been together for 2-3 years, which means their teamwork should be solid.
Now, how should I fight this battle? Besides sparring in training, all the battles I've participated in were purely for killing. And killing them isn't a good idea. I should leave this battle to the other two and only provide long-range support.
He looked at Hodaka. "Hodaka, the Nara Clan is known for their intelligence. Activate your Byakugan from time to time to check for traps."
Hodaka nodded. Kaito asked them, "By the way, do you have any ideas on how to attack them?"
Mieko and Hodaka were also thinking about their approach. Mieko said, "These three clans are all known for their teamwork, so I can cast a genjutsu on one of them to completely disrupt their coordination. As long as we can take down one member, the other two will be easier to defeat."
Hodaka replied, "Yeah, but we shouldn't focus entirely on one while ignoring the other two."
He frowned. "Both the Nara Clan's jutsu and the Yamanaka Clan's jutsu are really annoying, especially for taijutsu specialists."
Kaito and Mieko both nodded. Kaito thought for a moment. "The Yamanaka Clan is known for sensory abilities. So we might not get a chance for a sneak attack. But I think the best way to start is with a Fire and Wind Style combination jutsu from a distance. This should catch them off guard before they sense us. If the attack makes them spread out, it'll be easier for us to deal with them."
Hodaka nodded. "Yes, if they separate, I can easily take on the Akimichi."
Mieko said, "I can handle the Yamanaka. He won't have a chance to use his jutsu against me."
Kaito added, "Alright, I can counter the Nara from a distance."
Hodaka asked, "What if they don't separate?"
Mieko said, "Then we'll just have to fight while keeping an eye on the Nara's shadows and the Yamanaka's mind control. That should be easy for you. But Kaito might have trouble."
Kaito replied, "Yeah. I can stay back and provide long-range support for you two."
Hodaka said, "There's no point overthinking it. Let's just go fight."
Mieko agreed, "Right! No matter what, we'll win easily!"
With that, both of them smiled and looked forward. Meanwhile, Kaito thought expressionlessly, Just because you can't think of a good strategy doesn't mean you shouldn't try.
While Team Renjiro advanced quickly, the squad they were approaching was also formulating a strategy.
As soon as the exam began, they'd quickly moved about 1.5 kilometers from their starting position. However, instead of heading directly to the tower, they moved diagonally into the forest and hid. They were very careful not to leave any traces.
After finding a hiding spot, they all concealed themselves.
Yamanaka Kaoru said, "Now that we're hidden, Shōri, do you have a plan?"
Hearing this, Nara Shōri sighed. He looked up at the clouds and thought, Why do I have to take the Chunin Exams? This is the third time! Can't I just stay a genin?
Yamanaka Kaoru saw his teammate staring at the clouds. "Hey, besides sighing, do you have any plans?"
Akimichi Yutaka said sadly, "Last time there was a day of rest between the first and second stages, so I didn't bring lunch this time, and I'm already hungry!"
Yamanaka Kaoru saw that his teammates were ignoring him and acting childish. He immediately got angry and shouted, "Enough! Focus on the exam! I don't want to fail for the third time!"
This caught his teammates' attention. Nara Shōri sighed. "If I ignore him any longer, he might take over our bodies and do something embarrassing again."
He continued, "Only 8 teams entered the second round this time, so we might not see action quickly. All the teams are far apart, so finding another team will be difficult."
"We should wait here and set traps. When someone finds us, we can surprise them and take them down. Since there are only four Earth Scrolls, they'll also be desperately looking for us."
Yamanaka Kaoru said, "That makes sense. But what if someone already passed and got an extra Heaven Scroll?"
Nara Shōri replied, "Then we're out of luck."
Yamanaka Kaoru immediately went expressionless. He made a hand seal gesture. Nara Shōri quickly said, "But if the situation is the opposite, then it'll give us more opportunities."
Yamanaka Kaoru said, "Yeah, but that's not something we can control."
Nara Shōri replied, "True, but we're not the strongest squad. Of course, our teamwork is very good. But if we fight battle after battle in neutral territory, we'll lose badly."
"Not to mention, 2 squads have members of the Hyuga Clan. When the scrolls were distributed, their Byakugan were activated. So if they need an Earth Scroll, we should expect at least one of them to find us."
The two continued discussing strategy, while Akimichi Yutaka was thinking about how to get food.
After a while, Yamanaka Kaoru suddenly stopped talking. Akimichi Yutaka saw his expression and asked, "What happened?"
Yamanaka Kaoru replied, "I just sensed someone sensing us. Get ready."
After he finished speaking, he sat down and began sensing their surroundings as well. Unfortunately, he couldn't detect anyone.
Nara Shōri also became serious. He hadn't expected to fight so soon. He asked, "Which squad is it?"
Yamanaka Kaoru replied, "I can't sense them."
This made Nara Shōri even more vigilant. "That means their squad's sensory ninja is better than you."
He frowned. "But which squad would have a sensory ninja with a sensing range of over 500 meters?"
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