Being a rogue ninja is worse than being Hokage.

"Now I will explain the rules of the second exam in detail."

Hongdou flicked the stack of papers in her hand: "When I explain the exam rules, please pass the consent forms to each other and sign your names."

Naruto took the consent form from the other examinees and skimmed through its contents.

It has a lot of words, but there's only one meaning between the lines.

That means that candidates are fully responsible for any death or injury they sustain while taking the second exam.

"I never expected them to give me compensation."

Naruto took the pencil from Sakura and signed his name on the consent form.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. After all, this is a joint exam involving multiple countries. If ninjas from friendly nations come to take the exam and die in Konoha and can't return home, they have to find another way to go back.

Konoha is not some poor, small ninja village, so it is naturally willing to use some compensation to resolve potential conflicts between countries.

"Naruto, this isn't funny."

Sakura took the pencil back from Naruto and handed it to Sasuke.

"It seems you've all signed your names."

Hongdou pointed to the small wooden house behind her, which was covered by a black cloth, making it impossible to see what was inside:

"Those who have signed the consent form will go to the exchange office in groups of three to exchange the consent form for the examination scrolls."

"However, before exchanging the scroll, please listen to my explanation of the exam."

Hongdou then pulled out a map of the Death Forest and displayed it to everyone.

The Death Forest is 20 kilometers in diameter and serves as both a training ground and an ecological park.

The second test was a "survival drill".

Candidates will be assigned to one of the 44 entrances to the training ground for the formal exam.

However, there are additional requirements.

First, candidates must proceed to a location within a 10-kilometer radius of the Death Forest, specifically to the high tower built in the center of the training ground.

Secondly, the second test was a team battle between ninja squads;

Thirdly, before the official second exam, the Chunin examiners will use the consent forms held by each ninja team to exchange for one of the two types of scrolls, "Heaven" and "Earth"—that is, the 60 candidates will be divided into 20 ninja teams, with 10 teams possessing the "Heaven" scroll and 10 teams possessing the "Earth" scroll.

Fourth, all three members of the same ninja class must collect both the "Heaven" and "Earth" scrolls and enter the tower in the center of the training ground to be considered to have successfully passed the exam.

Fifth, it does not restrict the means by which candidates compete for the scrolls, nor does it restrict their acts of killing.

Sixth, no form of withdrawal is allowed once the exam begins. The exam will last for 5 days, starting at 6 PM tonight and ending at 6 PM on the 5th day.

"The ninja squad that exceeded the exam time did not obtain the complete 'Heaven' and 'Earth' scrolls to enter the tower;"

Unauthorized opening of the scroll before entering the tower;

Furthermore, the death of a member of the ninja squad or being unable to continue the exam midway through the test—all of these situations will result in a failed exam.

Hongdou explained the elimination rules to everyone again.

"Examiner Hongdou! Time is almost up."

Other Chunin Examiners offered a reminder to Anko.

"I see!"

Hongdou turned her head and responded, then said to everyone, "Now wait for our examiner's call, and go to the exchange office to collect the scrolls in the form of ninja classes."

"Then each of you will choose your own exam entrance. The examiners waiting in front of the entrance will open it for you at 6:00 PM sharp!"

Anko handed over the remaining tasks to the other Chunin Examiners.

"Konoha, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura!"

Shouts came from inside the completely sheltered wooden house.

Unexpectedly, Class 7, who arrived at the examination hall last, became the first ninja class to receive the scroll.

"Let's go."

Naruto glanced at the other examinees, then gestured for Sasuke and Sakura to follow him as they headed towards the cabin.

……

Death Forest Training Grounds, Entrance No. 14.

The three students from Class 7 waited quietly for the official exam to begin.

"Time is up."

Suddenly, the Chunin Examiner in charge of opening the training grounds spoke up in front of them.

As soon as the entrance gate was pushed open, the three members of Class 7 rushed into the training ground.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto leaped across the tall trees in the order of front, middle, and back.

The sun can still be seen at six o'clock in the evening during the summer, but the densely packed trees in the Death Forest are simply too huge.

It's always "nighttime," no matter the time of day.

"There's no way to judge time by light, so you could easily exceed the 5-day time allotted for the exam without realizing it."

As soon as Sasuke entered the Forest of Death, he encountered his first thorny problem.

"We must find a ninja group as soon as possible that possesses an 'Earth' scroll that corresponds to the 'Heaven' scroll we have!"

Sakura responded.

Sasuke turned around and glanced at Sakura.

"There's no need to rush for now. As we discussed when we entered the training ground, tonight's main task is to search for places that can serve as a base. If we encounter other ninja squads along the way, we'll decide whether to engage them based on the actual situation."

Then Sasuke said to Naruto:

"Once we found a place to rest, Naruto used Shadow Clones to check the safety zone around the base. We tried our best to avoid conflict on the first night. Everyone was at their most energetic when they first entered the training ground. If we couldn't end the battle quickly, it might attract other people."

"I see."

Naruto replied to Sasuke that he understood.

But his mind wasn't on his conversation with Sasuke.

Upon entering the Forest of Death, Naruto immediately used the Wind Soothing Dawn Technique.

There was a powerful chakra that seemed to know the route Team 7 was taking.

They headed straight towards the direction where Class 7 was located.

Naruto knew very well who the owner of this chakra was—

Orochimaru is really... impatient.

"Danger!"

Sasuke finally noticed something was wrong and immediately shouted a warning to Naruto and Sakura.

But in the next instant, a violent hurricane blew towards the three members of Class 7!

This hurricane can even uproot towering trees in the Death Forest!

Damn it!

Sasuke cursed, and the hurricane separated him from Naruto and Sakura.

……

Naruto looked at entrance number 14 of the training ground.

With the help of the Wind-Soothing Dawn Technique, Naruto already knew that the Chunin Examiner who was originally responsible for opening the door had left after locking it again.

Just like in the original story, Orochimaru's attack on Team 7 was still a powerful Wind Release technique.

This saves Naruto the trouble of devising complicated backup plans.

Naruto reached out and erased the Flying Thunder God mark from the iron railing.

He used the Wind Soothing Dawn Technique once again to sense Sasuke and Sakura's locations.

Orochimaru was near Sasuke, but Sakura was much farther away.

Orochimaru, who craves Sasuke's body, will not kill Sasuke, and no matter where Sasuke is in the Forest of Death, Orochimaru will definitely find him.

But Sakura might not be the same.

Sasuke currently only has a single tomoe Sharingan. Orochimaru, who has studied the Sharingan, may very well try to kill Sakura in order to evolve Sasuke's Sharingan into a double or even triple tomoe Sharingan.

But as long as Sakura stays away from Orochimaru, Orochimaru won't waste any time paying attention to her.

Therefore, Naruto had marked Sakura with the Flying Thunder God Technique beforehand, and then, with the help of Orochimaru's hurricane, created the illusion that Sakura was blown away by the wind release.

Pull her out of the battle between Sasuke and Orochimaru.

Having confirmed that he had no more worries, Naruto sensed another surge of chakra.

It seems those three still couldn't escape their fate of being killed by Gaara...

Since that's the case—now it's time to deal with Kabuto.

Chapter 37 The Three in the Rain

The loud noise from afar made Kabuto Yakushi stop in his tracks.

That location... is near entrance number 14 of the training ground, right?

Yakushi Kabuto immediately analyzed the source of the loud noise in the Forest of Death.

If I remember correctly, Sasuke's ninja team chose to enter the Forest of Death through entrance number 14.

"Is that Lord Orochimaru?"

The pharmacist made a judgment based on his own experience.

Such a commotion couldn't have been caused by the genin who were taking the Chunin Exams in the Forest of Death.

"Hey, Kabuto! Why did you suddenly stop?!"

Kabuto's companion, Misumi Kensuke, wore a long black mask that covered half of her face and round-rimmed glasses.