Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

[Chapter 420 Mitarashi Anko]

This must be fate!

Bai pondered silently, thinking that Heaven had decreed that Lord Orochimaru was not destined to die, which was why such a coincidence had occurred!

Housen thought it would take a tremendous amount of effort and energy, risking being surrounded and annihilated by Konoha's experts, to conduct a thorough search of Konoha to find 'Anko,' but she just appeared in front of him on her own.

After the first round of the Chunin Selection Exams

Before the examiner of the first round of exams, Ibiki Morino, could say two words, an uninvited guest appeared before everyone, making a very flamboyant and exaggerated entrance, claiming to be "the examiner of the second round of exams, Anko Mitarashi," and then rambled on and on about a bunch of nonsense.

Bai didn't hear a word of what followed.

The surprise came too suddenly.

He was at a loss for how to react.

My mind just couldn't process it at that moment.

Karin almost jumped three feet high, but fortunately, Jugo was steady and reliable, and he reached out and held Karin down so she couldn't jump. However, he was also overjoyed. The fact that their target had appeared in front of them on his own meant that their adventure was probably coming to an end soon.

but--

Before that, we need to bring Bai back to his senses.

"Rush?"

Jugo softly called out Shiro's pseudonym.

"Huh? Heavy... cough cough, rye? What's wrong?" Bai came back to his senses.

"We're going to the new exam venue; we need to follow."

Jugo pointed, and Haku looked over and saw that the people who passed the first round of the exam were now following Mitarashi Anko toward the depths of the forest. It seemed that the next round of the exam would be held in a new testing ground... Well!

This is only natural; the nonsense that Mitarashi Anko just spouted should have been explained, but unfortunately, he couldn't help but get distracted at the time.

"Let's go! Let's catch up first, don't fall behind."

It was all for nothing.

Jugo and Karin refrained from asking about 'Anko Mitarashi', simply following beside Haku, trailing behind the main force, as they traversed the forest and streams, arriving at the barbed wire fence of a training ground that appeared to be several times larger than Training Ground No. 15.

It's not just that the venue looks much bigger;

The ancient trees that reached straight into the sky in the training ground were so large that one could only look up at them. The barbed wire fence that served as a wall was about six meters high, and there were rusty signs hanging on the wire that read "No Entry," which inexplicably gave people a sense of danger.

and also,

On that iron gate marked with the number 1, you can see heavy iron chains tightly binding it like snakes.

At that doorway,

There was a tent set up, and three Chunin Examiners were sitting inside.

"This is the examination venue for the second round of exams, Training Ground No. 44, also known as... [The Forest of Death]!" Mitarashi Anko stopped and turned to look at the thirty-two teams of ninety-six examinees behind her, a cold, serpentine smile appearing on her face.

That smile,

It sends a chill down one's spine.

"The Forest of Death?"

Ino swallowed hard.

Looking at the unexpectedly large forest before her, the howling wind and snow obscured the distant scenery, leaving only a vague outline of the massive, demonic shadows within the snow. An indescribable sense of oppression filled her heart, causing Ino's legs to tremble slightly.

of course,

It could also be because it was too cold and they weren't wearing enough clothes.

However, this is not just Ino's problem. Including the examiner Mitarashi Anko, almost all female ninjas prioritize beauty and style in their clothing and appearance, while factors such as temperature are relegated to a secondary position. As a result, as time goes by, they inevitably experience the power of nature!

"Shikamaru, have you heard of him?"

"No."

Shikamaru shook his head decisively. "I've never been here before. By the way, the plants here are huge! I had no idea there were places like this in the village. Seriously, trees this big... they couldn't have grown naturally, could they?"

Looking at the 'Forest of Death' before him, the Nara family genius frowned deeply.

He sensed something was wrong.

The difficulty of the Chunin Exams... feels much harder than I imagined. I almost failed in the first round, but luckily I made it in time at the last minute. However, compared to the other teams that passed the exams much earlier and looked calm and collected, they were in a terrible mess.

That's how it is.

It seems unlikely that I will pass this second exam.

There are quite a few people like them who whisper among themselves.

The discussion inevitably revolved around this 'Forest of Death.' The name itself was undeniably alluring, not to mention that most of them, as examinees, would be venturing into it; it was difficult for them not to be worried.

"You will soon find out why this training ground is called the Forest of Death."

Mitarashi Anko's gaze swept over the genin in front of her one by one.

A glint of excitement flashed in his eyes.

As Orochimaru's disciple, even though she refused to defect from Konoha with him, the girl inevitably picked up some unpleasant habits after studying with him for so long. Her bloodthirsty and belligerent nature was already set in stone and couldn't be changed.

To be able to witness, as the chief examiner, the fierce battles between these genius genin...

simply,

I'm so excited I'm practically going crazy!

"Ahem... Before the second round of the exam begins, I need to explain the rules to you." Mitarashi Anko cleared her throat, suppressing the distracting thoughts in her mind, and began to explain the exam rules. "Unlike the first round, the theme of this exam is an extreme survival trial."

Mitarashi Azuko tells her story in a gentle and detailed way.

Bai listened intently for a while and found that it was quite similar to the style of the first round of exams. As the name suggests, this No. 44 training ground had forty-four gates. The genin would enter this training ground with a radius of ten kilometers through different entrances and take an exam that would last for 120 hours, or five days.

The test content was certainly not limited to simply surviving in this snow-covered training ground.

Before entering, each team will receive one of the "Heaven" or "Earth" scrolls. They will then have five days to collect both scrolls and maintain a full complement of three members to reach the tower in the center of the training ground. This will be considered passing the second round of testing.

Generally speaking,

It's very similar in style to the first round of exams.

The first round of exams focused on the genin's combat and adaptability in a short period of time, without giving them much room to maneuver. The second round of exams, however, extended the time to five days and changed to an exam venue that was much larger than expected, which obviously gave the genin more room to maneuver.

While dealing with this harsh and extreme weather, they not only had to be wary of enemy attacks, but also had to hunt down the enemy.

It sounds like,

This "Scroll Scramble" is much more interesting than the "Capture the Flag" game, which is designed to weed out most of the fake players!

pity--

They will not participate in this round of exams.

Participating in the Chunin Exams was never their goal, but merely a means to achieve it. Now, they have already accomplished half of their objective, and the remaining half simply requires waiting for the right moment to strike.

"If you want to quit, do it now." Mitarashi Anko continued, "Once the exam starts and you enter the exam hall, everyone must stay inside for the full five days. No one is allowed to quit halfway through, not even if you suddenly fall ill and die inside."

She looked at everyone and said very seriously:

"So, while you're all thinking things through, those who want to continue the exam should go over there and get their scrolls from the examiners, and choose their entrance location. If you don't plan to continue, just tell me you're giving up. The time is 11:12 now. In 48 minutes, at exactly 12:00, everyone will enter the training ground together."

Having said that,

Everything that needed to be said has been said; now it's just a matter of waiting for these genin to make their choices.

Should we give up?

Or continue?

Mitarashi Anko watched these genin with great interest.

"Let's go! Temari, Kankuro."

Less than two seconds after Mitarashi Anko finished speaking, Gaara, carrying a gourd on his back, was the first to step out of the crowd and walk towards the shed that Mitarashi Anko pointed to. Temari and Kankuro hurriedly followed behind him. Kankuro had a stern face and muttered under his breath, "What kind of younger brother calls his older brother by his first name?"

Then Temari glared at him fiercely.

Their arrogant attitude was so obvious that everyone present could feel the arrogance of this Sand Ninja squad.

The best of Konoha, Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure all stared intently at the backs of Gaara and his group.

"Interesting! I'd like to see just how capable the Sand Ninja really are."

Hozuki Suigetsu laughed.

He immediately said, "Let's go too! Mikan, Rokuro, how about we go find the Sand Ninja and have some fun later?"

"Yeah!"

Mikan Shimizu smiled and agreed.

As for Rokuro Koji, he remained silent, but at this point, silence was tantamount to agreement.

Next-

The genin from Konoha, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure also started moving one after another. At this time, everyone showed good manners. No one dared to cut in line. They all consciously followed at the end of the line and walked into the tent in order to receive a Heaven Scroll or Earth Scroll from the three examiners.

To prevent the scroll from being seen by others

The examiners also drew two black curtains, so that unless one activated their White Eye or used other sensory means to peek, it would be impossible to confirm whether the scrolls held by each team were Heaven Scrolls or Earth Scrolls.

And here,

Under the watchful eyes of the examiners,

Obviously, no one dared to sneak a peek.

but,

The strong were confident they could seize the other half of the scroll; it was simply a matter of hunting a few more teams. They didn't need to peek at other people's scrolls or choose their targets beforehand. The weak, on the other hand, clearly lacked the ability to sneak a peek without the examiners' notice.

Even after going through the first round of screening.

However, the remaining thirty-two teams are of varying strengths.

The perception of upper and lower limits is far greater than imagined.

"You...aren't you going to collect the scrolls?"