Mayuri Kurotsuchi Card Game, starting from Naruto

Chapter 37 The Exam Begins

"You'll be taking the Chunin Exams tomorrow, right?" After the lesson, as Shikane was leaving, Minato Namikaze suddenly spoke up, looking at Shikane with a smile and asking.

"Yes, Minato-senpai." Shiro nodded.

"Good luck. Because of the Chunin Exams, I can rest in the village for a few more days," said Minato Namikaze.

"I understand." Shiro nodded again. He knew that this was Minato Namikaze telling him not to worry about him suddenly leaving the village during this period, as he would focus on the Chunin Exams.

……

The next day.

The Chunin Exams venue.

The first exam was undoubtedly a written test. The Konoha Ninja Academy specially set aside classrooms for the genin from allied villages who came to participate in the Chunin Exams.

Here, the three of them also saw ninjas from other villages wearing headbands with various patterns.

Grass Village, Cloud Village, Sand Village, Rain Village...

The total number of people is around two hundred.

The written test was relatively simple. Neither Lu Nie nor Shi Shui had any difficulty with the questions on the test. The only exception was Hong Dou, who became increasingly reluctant to use her brain after teaming up with Lu Nie and Shi Shui, and her situation was uncertain.

After the written test results came out, I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I saw my name on the list of those who passed.

After the written test came the team competition, which simulated a ninja squad accepting a mission and successfully delivering intelligence to its destination.

Of course, there will be various obstacles when carrying out missions, such as poisonous insects, wild beasts, enemy attacks, and so on. The assessment itself inherently carries an element of confrontation and elimination.

The testing ground for the second round of the Chunin Exams in Konoha was the Forest of Death.

"After one round of selection, there are still ninety genin and thirty genin teams. According to the mission requirements, we must snatch different intelligence scrolls from the other teams."

Ideally, fifteen genin teams would advance. However, in reality, due to various unforeseen circumstances and the possibility of obtaining duplicate information scrolls, the number of people who clear the stage will be even smaller.

What should we do?

Standing in the examination hall of the Forest of Death, the three members of the Deer Nephew Trio squatted together on the branches of a giant tree and discussed.

"Let's go straight to the destination and wait. If we encounter them on the way, we can take action." Hearing Zhishui's question, Lu Nie recalled the list of those who passed the first round of written tests. There was no one on the list who reminded him of anyone. He replied directly.

The second round of exams has a five-day time limit, but Lu Nie doesn't want to waste five days in this Death Forest.

"Ambush them at the destination? That's a bit domineering." Shisui instantly understood Lu Nie's intention to take advantage of the situation. But at the same time, he also understood that if they were unlucky, their actions could provoke hostility from multiple teams.

However, he did not refuse. He believed in his own abilities, and even more so in the abilities of his teammates.

As for Red Bean, she didn't care at all. She even seemed eager to try, standing up on a tree branch and waving her finger energetically towards the target location in the Death Forest, taking the lead in the sprint.

"Save your energy." Lu Nie and Zhi Shui exchanged a glance, followed along with a somewhat helpless expression, and reminded Hong Dou.

"Shut up!" Hongdou stomped her foot on the branch and leaped high into the air, increasing her speed.

……

"Someone's coming."

A man with brown skin, well-proportioned muscles, wearing sunglasses and a headband from the Hidden Cloud Village suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Where?" His teammates immediately formed a triangular formation, their backs turned, alertly facing all four directions.

"Charging in without any concealment, are they just complete newbies who don't know how to hide themselves?" The bespectacled man pointed in a direction and made a hand gesture. His two companions understood and disappeared together on the ground.

Just as the three figures of Red Bean rushed out of the woods, flat lightning bolts flashing with electricity suddenly shot out from the dense foliage in front of them.

"Be careful!"

Shisui reached out and grabbed Hongdou's collar in mid-air, and in the nick of time, moved his body to avoid the lightning bullets before finally landing.

A figure leaped up as if anticipating Shisui's actions, quickly forming hand seals in mid-air, and then using ninjutsu the instant the three landed.

Water Release: Megaphone Technique.

Thin streams of water gushed from the opponent's mouth, transforming into a trumpet-like shape upon impact. A torrent of water forcefully pounded the ground, the force of the rushing water causing Lu Nie and his companions, at the center of the impact, to lose their footing.

The next moment, a streak of lightning, winding like a spider web, merged into the water along the ground, and the blinding light was instantly directed onto the three still somewhat flustered bodies.

Lightning Release: Earth Walk.

"Kouha brats, there's even an Uchiha? Goodbye!" The first person to use Lightning Release: Lightning Rat Shock descended from the sky with a long sword in hand, slashing the three unsteady and paralyzed Shika Nie one by one.

The entire attack was completed in an instant, leaving almost no time for reflection. The three attackers' teamwork was seamless, and their timing was impeccable.

Judging from the fact that the three of them did not use any other ninjutsu, they clearly had a very high level of confidence in their teamwork.

However, in an instant, the three of them felt that they had lost control of their bodies.

"What is this?" The bespectacled man from the Hidden Cloud Village, still holding a long sword, looked at the scattered wooden stake fragments on the ground and then looked with difficulty at the ground beneath his feet.

A shadow connected to him from behind, then leaped forward and connected the shadows of his two other companions in three.

The last thing he saw was an Uchiha boy with red Sharingan eyes, holding a short sword, and a girl holding a kunai, who instantly appeared beside them and slit their throats.

"Fishing success!"

Ignoring the splattering, still-steaming blood, Anko excitedly began looting the corpse. She had already seen dead bodies and killed opponents while on missions with Orochimaru outside the village.

"This is what we need." Taking out the scroll from Kumogakure and looking at the code on it, Anko happily stuffed it into her pouch.

"Now that we've gathered all the intelligence scrolls, let's continue on our way. This time, let's keep a low profile," Lu Nie said.

He had no intention of making a name for himself here or hindering others. All he wanted now was to get to his destination quickly and finish this round of exams.

The second destination was a huge gourd-shaped building in the Forest of Death, where Chunin wearing vests were patrolling and inspecting it.

After submitting two intelligence reports and verifying their accuracy, Lu Nie and his two companions, who had received the intelligence scrolls again, were put inside.

"Your speed of passage is surprisingly fast." In the spacious interior of the building, a hoarse and magnetic voice suddenly rang out behind the three of them.

The three of them turned around and saw Orochimaru, wearing a Shinigami vest, looking at them with his hands in his pockets.

"Come with me. The exam isn't over yet, and you'll need to stay here for a few more days. You're among the first to arrive, so you can choose your rooms first." Orochimaru turned and winked at the three of them, signaling them to follow.

"If we pass one more exam, we can become Chunin, right, Orochimaru-sensei?" Anko asked excitedly, following behind Orochimaru.

"Not necessarily, Red Bean," Orochimaru replied as he walked away.

"Huh?" Anko was surprised to hear Orochimaru's answer. Could it be that even if she passed all the tests, she still couldn't become a Chunin?

"The so-called Chunin Exams are like the bell-grabbing contest; the results aren't fixed. The organizers decide what kind of people can advance to Chunin based on their needs."

Of course, the requirements vary from village to village. Konoha, as the organizer, only provides the venue and the test questions; the requirements for advancing to Chunin are not uniform.

In small villages like Kusagakure and Amegakure, those who successfully pass the second round of team battles and return to their villages are generally promoted to Chunin.

"The standards for Chunin are higher in the ninja villages of the Five Great Nations! Of course, during and after wartime, these standards will decrease," Orochimaru said softly.

"What the hell!" Red Bean pouted, looking sullen.

"Ninjas are expendable resources during wartime, so ninjas during wartime are the easiest to die and the easiest to be promoted."

However, in peacetime, too many Jonin and Chunin would be a heavy burden on the village's economy and resource allocation. When there are enough, there is a huge difference in the price of a Jonin's mission, a Chunin's mission, and a Genin's mission.

Therefore, you'll find that during wartime, ninjas promoted to Chunin on the battlefield spring up like mushrooms after rain. However, in peacetime, the village's requirements for promotion solely through the Chunin Exams are much higher. It's even possible that only one Genin will be promoted to Chunin after a single Chunin Exam.

Orochimaru patted Anko's head and stopped in front of a room.

"This place is very close to my room, so you can stay here. Also," Orochimaru said, his gaze falling on Shikane, "Minato is also one of the proctors for this Chunin Exam. He doesn't live here, but he comes here every day."

Before the third round of exams begins, you can go directly to him to continue your sealing technique course.

Lu Nie nodded quickly. He passed the exam so quickly so that he could gain more time to learn more about sealing techniques from Minato Namikaze.

After all, Minato Namikaze doesn't get much rest, as he might leave the village at any time to carry out missions. Even when he returns to the village, he mostly spends time with Kushina. And after Minato Namikaze is promoted to Jonin, he will also have to consider leading a team.

This time he can spend learning sealing techniques from him won't last long. Naturally, Lu Nie needs to seize every second.

If we waste this opportunity, who knows when we'll get another one?

(End of this chapter)