Chapter 78 : The Chunin Exam - Second Phase

While waiting, everyone observed each other.

Fujin noticed that there were 3 other teams from Konoha, 1 from Hidden Rain, 1 from Hidden Sand, and 2 from Hidden Mist. He didn't recognize any of those 21 ninjas.

He wondered, 'Isn't Kiri in the midst of a civil war? Can they still send ninjas to participate in such an event?'

He wondered for a bit before dismissing it, 'Oh well, doesn't matter. Anyways, the 4th Mizukage won't show up.'

On remembering the 4th Mizukage, he suddenly had a hilarious thought, 'I wonder if Naruto's talk-no-jutsu can end Genjutsu, hahaha. Or even better, if he used his Talk-no-jutsu on someone who is controlled by Genjutsu, will his talk-no-jutsu affect the one who cast the Genjutsu?'

[A/N : One shot idea if anyone's interested :-) ]

Seeing Fujin smile, Mieko asked, "Why are you smiling?" Fujin shook his head and answered, "It's nothing, ignore it."

Fujin then tried to sense the chakra levels of the remaining 21 ninjas. Soon he concluded, 'Alright, no one seems abnormal. Only 1 guy from Kiri has a rather large chakra reserve. But even that is less than half of my own. Others are barely at chunin levels.'

Everyone tried similarly analyzing their competitors.

At 9:45, a smoke bomb exploded in the front part of the room, attracting everyone's attention. The smoke slowly began clearing out. Soon, we heard a very loud bark.

When the smoke was cleared, a large dog could be seen. It was looking aggressively at the genins. However, none were intimated. Behind the dog, Tsume Inuzuka was standing.

She observed the room and muttered softly, "Only 8 teams. I knew it was a terrible idea to make that ass a Proctor!"

She looked at all the genins and announced loudly, "I'm Tsume Inuzuka, the Proctor for the 2nd phase of the Chunin Exam. Follow me and Kuromaru."

All the genins followed her. She led them across Konoha, to Training Ground 44.

She announced loudly, "The 2nd phase of your exams will be conducted in the Forty-Fourth training ground." She smirked, "This training ground is also known as the Forest of Death."

This put the genins on alert. At the same time, they also wondered, 'Why is she yelling all the time?'

She continued, "Before I explain to you the details and the rules of the 2nd phase, you have to sign these consent forms!"

A genin asked, "What are we consenting to?"

She grinned and replied creepily, "Your deaths!"

This unnerved the genins. She continued, "Death is a common occurrence in this training ground. That is why it is called the Forest of Death! You may be killed by the wild beasts in the forests, or your competitors.

By signing this form, you state that you are voluntarily participating in this exam, and injuries or death caused in this training ground have nothing to do with Konoha, and Konoha won't be held responsible."

A chunin under her then distributed the forms. She said, "You have to enter your name, signature, and fingerprint in the form. If you are a scaredy cat, then don't sign. You and your team will be disqualified!"

Hearing this, some genins were excited, while some were worried. Fujin, Hoka, and Mieko didn't react.

Everyone signed the consent forms without much delay and submitted them.

After verifying all the consent forms, Tsume began announcing the details of the exam, "I'll now explain the details to you.

Every team will be given a scroll. Four teams will be given a Heaven scroll, while the remaining teams will be given an Earth Scroll.

To qualify for the next round, you will have to reach the center of this forest with both the Heaven and Earth scrolls. So, you will have to seize the scroll that you don't have from other squads.

There is a tower at the center of this training ground. You have a 5-day time limit to collect both scrolls and enter the tower. Once you enter the tower, there will be no more fighting. If anyone leaves the training ground or enters the tower without both scrolls, you'll be disqualified.

Also, all 3 members of your team need to be alive. Even if just one of your members dies, you will be disqualified."

She waited for half a minute for the genins to digest the information. Then the questions began flowing.

One Ame genin was the first to ask, "What about the food inside the forest? We can't stay without food for 5 days!"

Before Tsume could answer, the Kiri genin, whose chakra level Fujin had noticed to be high, grinned and asked, "Can we take more than just the two scrolls to the tower?"

This made everyone look at that genin. Tsume answered, "There are plenty of animals, plants, and bugs in the forest. Find and make your food." She then looked at the Kiri-nin, "You can collect as many scrolls as you want before entering the Tower. So it is possible that less than 4 teams pass."

Fujin heard all the instructions and thought, 'Hmm, same as canon.'

No one asked any more questions. Soon the scrolls were being handed secretly. Fujin wondered, 'We don't get a day's break?' He looked at Hoka and said, "Activate your Byakugan and check the type of scroll all squads get." Hoka nodded and activated his Byakugan.

Mieko went to take the scroll. She received a Heaven scroll.

After the scrolls were distributed, Tsume once again yelled, "Now, a Chunin will guide your team to the gate you will enter from, follow them."

7 Chunins approached 1 squad each.

Fujin observed the approaching chunin. He wondered, 'Is this Ebisu?'

Ebisu approached their squad and said, "You three! Follow me." He turned around and began walking. The trio followed him. Fujin wondered, 'I guess he gets promoted sometime in the next 3-4 years. Anyways, there are only 8 teams. So it seems like we will be quite far away from each other.'

He calculated for a moment and sighed, 'Assuming we get placed at an equal distance and cover the entire forest, then the closest one to us will be almost 8 km away. Much farther than we can sense or see.'

Soon they reached their destination. Ebisu said, "The exam will start in 7 minutes, so wait here obediently." He moved away from the trio while keeping an eye on them.

Fujin asked softly, "Do you guys have enough weapons?" Both Hoka and Mieko nodded.

Hoka said, "Yes, I brought the scroll that sensei makes us carry for C rank missions." Mieko said, "Same here."

Fujin replied, "Cool, same here. What about Ration bars?"

This time, both of them replied awkwardly. Hoka said, "I only have 5." Mieko said, "Just 4 here."

Fujin analyzed, "Hmm, I have 25. So 34 between us. It should last us 2 days. So if we complete our exams in 2 days, we won't need to make our food."

Both nodded. Mieko asked, "So which teams have an Earth scroll?"

Hoka replied, "The Nara-Yamanaka-Akimichi squad, the Kiri squad of that guy who asked whether we can kill, the Ame squad, and the all Hyuga squad got Earth squads."

Mieko thought for a bit and said, "All four should be easy to get." Fujin and Hoka nodded. Hoka commented, "I don't think any squad is as strong as us. Should we try to collect more scrolls and eliminate other teams?"

Mieko quickly stated, "Yes, let's do that. It'll be fun!"

Fujin shook his head and said, "No. While we are stronger, if we are careless, we might get injured. If that happens, other teams might get an edge over us. Another issue is that some squads might set up traps and ambushes around the tower. So we should stay in our top condition."

Mieko complained, "Come on Fujin! We can do it."

Fujin sighed and said, "The last round is usually a tournament between us. If we eliminate everyone, how will we show off our capabilities?"

That made Mieko give up. Her shoulders dropped comically and she sighed, "Alright"

They were about to discuss more when they heard the gate opening. Ebisu said, "Your exam has started. Go in."

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Chapter end