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The Forest of Death lived up to its name. Trees with trunks two meters in diameter loomed overhead, and snakes and insects slithered through the underbrush, creating an atmosphere thick with terror.
Anko announced the rules of the second phase of the Chunin Exam.
As she had stated earlier, half of the participants would be eliminated. Each team was given one scroll, either "Heaven" or "Earth." Only teams that collected both types of scrolls could proceed to the tower at the center of the forest. The time limit was five days, and no team was allowed to withdraw once they entered. With these rules, at least half of the teams would fail—and those who encountered more ruthless opponents might not survive at all.
Naruto signed his name on the waiver, absolving Konoha of responsibility for any deaths that occurred within the forest.
After submitting the form, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura gathered on the grass.
"Sasuke, Sakura, do you understand the rules?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, everyone is our enemy, right?" Sasuke replied nonchalantly. He was confident that their team was the strongest.
As mentioned earlier, Sasuke had been feeling strangely overconfident ever since defeating Zabuza. But it didn't matter—he was about to get a reality check.
"Mm-hmm," Sakura nodded. She was a top student and understood the rules quickly.
But she still worried about becoming a burden to her teammates. Unlike the written exam, this phase could very well end in death.
Sakura had been working hard to improve herself, but she despairingly realized that she couldn't keep up with her teammates. It felt like they weren't even human—they were aliens. It reminded her of the stories Iruka used to tell about alien invasions. To her, Naruto and Sasuke were like undercover extraterrestrials sent to gather intelligence while posing as humans.
As for surviving for five days, neither Naruto nor Sasuke seemed concerned. With Naruto around—a walking pantry—it was entirely possible they'd leave the forest fatter than when they entered.
Food, clothing, shelter—none of it was a problem. Even though none of them could wear the clothes provided due to their dwarf-like proportions, Naruto had thread. At worst, he could knit sweaters. Knitting had been quite trendy back in high school.
Naruto knew how to knit too, though it wasn't exactly a useful skill. Should he knit a scarf for Hinata?
It wasn't impossible…
Back in middle and high school, Naruto occasionally participated in some odd trends. Besides knitting, there were Rubik's cubes, nine-linked rings, Gomoku (five-in-a-row), chess, marine life balls, sunflower seed cracking, and even memorizing the Tao Te Ching.
Naruto sighed. Other protagonists gained skills like crafting guns, cannons, explosives, or trains after being reincarnated. Their abilities were awe-inspiring. But here he was, stuck with useless hobbies like knitting.
---
When the time came, Naruto went to retrieve their scroll from a small wooden hut with a curtain covering the entrance.
Taking the scroll openly, Naruto walked out without hiding it. The large character "Heaven" printed on the scroll was visible to everyone.
As they approached the gate assigned to their team, Naruto continued to toss the scroll in the air casually, ensuring everyone knew they had the "Heaven" scroll.
Behind him, Sasuke—the cool guy—had his hands stuffed into his pockets, looking every bit the rebellious delinquent.
And behind Sasuke stood Sakura, worry etched across her face.
Naruto's plan was simple: let others see their scroll and wait for teams with an "Earth" scroll to come to them. With such a clear goal, he was confident in their team's combat strength. He almost wanted to declare to everyone present, "I'm not targeting anyone specifically."
But considering Orochimaru was also in the mix, he decided against calling everyone trash just yet.
Though confident in their fighting ability, their reconnaissance skills left much to be desired. Without activating Kurama's malicious intent detection, their group had almost no way to scout except for Sasuke's Sharingan. And rather than tracking enemies based on traces, which was too troublesome, they preferred waiting for enemies to come to them.
As time passed, the gates opened, and teams rushed into the forest.
Meanwhile, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura strolled leisurely. Naruto even began whistling.
"Twisted Nerve"—the eerie tune from Kill Bill that perfectly complemented the terrifying atmosphere.
After ten minutes, Naruto had already whistled the song nearly ten times.
"Can you stop?" Sasuke groaned, his usual cool demeanor cracking.
He had endured Naruto's whistling for ten whole minutes but still couldn't make out what exactly he was whistling. The melody remained consistent, but the pitch shifted unpredictably each time, making him feel… uncomfortably antsy.
"I'll be back," Sasuke muttered before darting off at lightning speed.
"No appreciation for good music," Naruto muttered under his breath.
In his mind, people simply had different worldviews and tastes. He failed to realize he was completely off-key. Just like when he sang karaoke in his past life, he thought he sounded great, but his friends always mysteriously disappeared to use the restroom.
A few minutes passed, and Sasuke still hadn't returned.
"Sasuke hasn't come back yet. Do you think something happened?" Sakura asked anxiously. The forest was filled with enemies, and Sasuke had been gone for so long…
[Did a snake bite his privates while he was peeing?]
Naruto snickered at the thought.
If Sasuke got bitten there, he'd probably never use the cursed seal again. In fact, he might go his entire life without letting anyone discover where it was located.
And then… the Uchiha clan would be doomed.
"Don't worry, Sasuke's strong," Naruto reassured her with a comforting glance.
The only person in the forest capable of stopping Sasuke was Orochimaru—and even Gaara couldn't stop Sasuke if he really wanted to escape. Besides, Orochimaru wouldn't kill him. He'd just plant a cursed seal. There was nothing to worry about.
True to Naruto's words, less than a minute later, rustling came from the bushes, and Sasuke emerged, expressionless.
"Hold on," Naruto called out, holding up a piece of grilled meat. "How many pieces of grilled meat did Hinata eat during our first group meal?"
This question was known only to the three of them. No enemy could guess correctly, especially since the size of the grilled meat in Naruto's hand made it impossible to estimate.
"32," Sasuke answered immediately.
He remembered being utterly shocked at the time. Combined, he and Naruto had eaten fewer pieces than Hinata alone. The memory was burned into his mind.
Sure enough, this question baffled not only potential enemies but also teammates. Sakura had no idea Hinata could eat so much. Looking down at her own flat chest, then recalling Hinata's modest curves, she thought:
[So there's a reason for it…] Sakura mused sadly.
She could barely eat four pieces now, whereas Hinata had eaten eight times that amount back then. What would she be like in the future?
"Where did you go?" Naruto asked, having confirmed Sasuke's identity.
"I saved someone," Sasuke replied indifferently, his hands still in his pockets.
"Male or female?"
"Female."
Naruto wanted to strangle him.
Here he was, worrying himself sick over whether Sasuke had been bitten by Orochimaru, and Sasuke went off flirting instead.
Sakura instantly became alert. While she didn't care about Sasuke saving someone—it even made him seem kinder and cooler—saving a woman raised red flags.
Her nose twitched slightly as she sniffed for traces of another woman's perfume on Sasuke.
"Let's go," Cool Guy Sasuke said, ignoring his teammates' reactions. If he saved someone, so be it. What were they going to do about it?
The trio pressed onward. Without Kakashi around, the awkward dynamic from Wave Country was absent. They hadn't encountered any enemies yet—whether they were tailing them or lying in ambush ahead remained unknown.
As dusk fell and visibility in the forest decreased, Sasuke suddenly threw a kunai at a tree.
"Come out. I saw you," Sasuke said, his Sharingan activated as he stared at the trunk.
A figure slowly emerged. Naruto pulled out a kunai, ready for battle—for it was a Rain ninja!
---
At the same time, somewhere in Konoha, Anko stared at three corpses lying on the ground. Their faces were unrecognizable, having been completely peeled off.
[This is the Face-Stealing Technique… Have you returned?] Anko thought anxiously.
"Bring me their profiles," Anko ordered.
Flipping through the pages, she found information on the three individuals.
[Rain Village Ninja.]
Anko grew even more agitated. She recognized these three Rain ninjas from among the candidates. Unless something unexpected had happened, they should currently be in the Forest of Death.
And yet, these three bodies had been dead for three days.
This meant someone had already infiltrated the exam disguised as one of them.
Anko looked toward the direction of the Forest of Death.
[What are you planning, Orochimaru?!]