The examination hall was cloaked in an eerie silence, broken only by the faint scratching of pencils on paper.
Morino Ibiki, the grim-faced head examiner, stood at the front, his sharp gaze sweeping across the rows of Genin candidates before him.
Sakura Haruno glanced briefly at the test paper in front of her. The questions were far beyond the typical knowledge expected of a Genin. Without hesitation, she picked up her pencil and began writing at lightning speed.
To Sakura, this was child's play.
With one hand supporting her cheek, she casually twirled the pencil in her fingers, her gaze drifting out of the window as if the test didn't matter at all.
Not far behind her, Yamanaka Ino cast a quick glance toward Sakura and her spinning pencil. Her eyes lit up with understanding. In a flash, she formed a hand seal.
Mind Body Switch Technique!
It was the secret jutsu of the Yamanaka clan—allowing her to project her consciousness into another person's body and take control of their actions.
Like the shadow techniques of the Nara clan, it was a form of Yin Release.
Buzz!
The moment Ino's technique landed, Sakura's expression blanked momentarily.
She stared as her hands, now out of her own control, began to pick up the test paper and rapidly scan the answers.
Is this Ino's Mind Body Switch? Sakura thought.
She had a strange sensation—if she willed it, she could instantly eject Ino from her body.
Is this... Inner Sakura?
Sakura vaguely remembered that in the early part of her life, she had another personality known as Inner Sakura. Supposedly, Inner Sakura could resist genjutsu and techniques like the Mind Body Switch.
During the Chunin Exams in the original timeline, Inner Sakura had indeed played a key role in Sakura's battle with Ino.
Sakura thought for a moment and decided to let Ino continue controlling her.
This was a good opportunity to test how effective Ino's jutsu really was against her. There would be plenty of time to test it again later. For now, the exam was more important.
After memorizing all the answers, Ino quickly returned to her own body. She still had to help Shikamaru and Choji complete their tests.
As time passed minute by minute, many candidates who had failed to cheat subtly enough were expelled from the exam room.
In the final ten minutes, Naruto loudly declared his ninja way and, through sheer dumb luck, managed to scrape through the exam.
Next came the second stage of the Chunin Exams.
This was the stage Sakura viewed with the most seriousness.
Why? Because in this stage, Team 7 would encounter the legendary Three Sannin...
Suddenly, a figure burst through the classroom window. Two kunai shot across the room and pinned a huge banner on both sides of the wall.
Anko Mitarashi!
"Idiot," Morino Ibiki muttered under his breath as he watched the dramatic entrance.
"Idiot," Sakura echoed silently, her face expressionless, recognizing the woman as a former squadmate from Anbu Team 7.
"Dun dun dun~~"
"I'm the proctor for your second exam!"
"Anko Mitarashi—sama~~~" Anko announced dramatically, her violet hair swaying as she spoke with exaggerated flair.
Halfway through her self-introduction, however, her tone faltered.
Her eyes had landed on a familiar pink head in the crowd.
No way... Why is she here?!
Anko's expression turned strange as she stared at the unmistakable pink hair.
It was like someone had tossed a ferocious great white shark into a pond full of harmless minnows.
She instinctively looked at Ibiki for answers.
But Ibiki merely shrugged, clearly just as clueless.
Yes, he knew Sakura too—but wisely chose not to say much. As far as he was concerned, his duty was simply to administer the test.
The pink-haired girl among the examinees?
A recent Genin graduate. That's all she was.
"Everyone! Follow me!" Anko called out, leading the group out of the classroom with her usual high energy.
—
Forest of Death
Anko stood before the young Genin, all still looking rather green and unsure of themselves—except for that one pink-haired anomaly.
She began explaining the rules of the second test.
A seven-day survival trial.
Each team would be given either a Heaven or Earth scroll. Their goal was to collect the opposing scroll and reach the central tower within the time limit.
Once her briefing was complete, Anko began organizing the teams into their designated entry gates.
Sakura stepped toward Gate A4, ready to enter, when Anko suddenly threw an arm around her shoulder, pulling her aside.
"Hey! Let go of Sakura, you manly woman!"
Naruto jumped up, ready to intervene, thinking Anko might be harassing his teammate.
"It's okay, Naruto. I know her," Sakura said calmly, holding Anko's arm as if to prevent her from throwing a kunai at the loud blond.
"Huh?" Naruto blinked in confusion.
Anko gave the kid a mischievous smirk, then leaned in close to Sakura's ear and whispered:
"What's going on? Why the hell are you participating?"
Her breath tickled Sakura's ear, making her flinch slightly.
"Don't ask too many questions. During these seven days, have Kakashi and Might Guy stand by. Watch for my signal."
"If anything happens, I need backup immediately."
Anko was stunned by her words, puzzled by the seriousness in Sakura's tone.
Even though she didn't fully understand, she nodded and agreed.
Sakura's gaze locked onto a red-haired figure entering the testing area. Her tone turned urgent.
"Don't worry about this. Just do what I say. I'm going in."
"Wait—hey! At least give me a heads-up about—"
But before Anko could finish, Sakura was already walking away with Naruto and Sasuke, heading straight into Gate A4.
"Who was that woman to you?" Naruto asked, wrinkling his nose. "She seemed super smug."
Sakura didn't answer. Her eyes scanned the dense forest around them. Without another word, she grabbed Naruto's and Sasuke's hands and dashed forward.
"Let's go. We're tracking someone."
Naruto scratched his head, confused but obediently following behind her.
He had a ton of questions, but for now, he held his tongue.
Sasuke, trailing silently, furrowed his brows.
He remembered the Grass Ninja from earlier—the ones with the same Heaven scroll that Team 7 possessed.
Was Sakura holding a grudge against them?
She was ignoring everything else, not even looking for the Earth scroll… That could only mean one thing.
She had a personal vendetta.
That was the only explanation Sasuke could come up with.
Still, he didn't oppose her plan.
He also needed a solid battle to test his current skills.
And the Grass Ninja seemed like decent warm-ups.
With that thought, Sasuke quickened his pace.
The pink-haired girl leapt nimbly across tree branches, a sly grin playing at her lips as she led the way.
You're mine now, Karin...
(End of Chapter)
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