"After all, she's from the Uzumaki Clan. Of course I have to ask."
"When the Land of Whirlpools fell, many Uzumaki survivors vanished without a trace. What a tragedy."
"If possible, I'd still like to take in more of their people."
Kazuyama glanced at Minato Namikaze, who sat quietly, lost in thought. It made sense—he was the Uzumaki Clan's son-in-law, after all. Naturally, he'd feel something for them.
Too bad, Minato. If you'd been Hokage back then, the Land of Whirlpools might have survived.
"Alright, enough. That's all in the past. No use thinking about it."
"Watch the exam."
"Look—they've all entered the Forest of Death."
Kazuyama watched the last of the examinees disappear into the thick treeline, his gaze sharp and amused.
That forest was his ANBU's special training ground—a place he knew better than anyone. He was familiar with every inch of it, every plant, every predator hiding within.
Sure, it was dangerous… but only for ordinary shinobi. Among these candidates were plenty of prodigies. That level of danger? Hardly worth worrying about.
"Hey, Kazuyama, what are you planning?"
"That smile… there's something sinister about it. Don't tell me you're—"
Kazuyama's grin widened. The sight alone made Minato's skin crawl.
He suddenly remembered his own ANBU training days. The Forest of Death had been a nightmare, and Kazuyama's name was whispered like a curse. Every ANBU who had survived that place regarded him as a demon in human skin.
He wasn't going to do something again, was he...?
"Heh, come on. They're just a bunch of bright-eyed kids. I'm not that cruel."
"At most…"
"Summoning Technique!!"
Laughing, Kazuyama bit his thumb, flashed through hand seals, and vanished in a blur.
In the next instant, he appeared high above the Forest of Death, palm extended downward.
The summoning activated instantly. Smoke erupted across the sky, billowing over the canopy like an explosion.
Within moments, proctors and examinees alike looked up in alarm.
"What's happening?"
"Did something blow up?"
"Damn it, the trees are too thick—I can't see a thing!"
"Something's wrong…"
Voices of confusion echoed through the forest, but three teams in particular reacted with sharp focus—Team Guy, Team Gekkō, and the Sunagakure elite team.
In other words: Team Hyūga Neji, Team Michihito Gekkō, and Team Gaara.
"This commotion… it's strange. Lee, remember what Guy-sensei told us about Kazuyama-sensei?"
"I remember, Neji! Sensei said Kazuyama-sensei is someone who can't sit still and loves causing trouble!"
Kazuyama: …Damn you, Guy.
Guy: Cough, cough! "Lee! Don't go spreading that! I didn't say that!"
"I used my Byakugan. Kazuyama-sensei has made his move—there are giant pythons everywhere."
"We should stay on guard."
Neji, who had also been trained by Kazuyama, knew exactly what kind of person his teacher was. Without hesitation, he poured chakra into his eyes and looked toward the sky.
Sure enough—dozens of massive serpents were slithering through the treetops. His face hardened immediately.
Meanwhile, Michihito Gekkō's team—Michihito, Senko, and Karin—had stopped in their tracks. Karin looked at them in confusion.
"Michihito, Senko, what's wrong?"
"Dad's making his move again. The old man must be bored out of his mind."
"Pythons, huh? Classic Dad move."
Three voices, three tones—but while Karin had no idea what was going on, the other two, as Kazuyama's children, knew exactly what to expect.
When Karin finally caught on to their conversation, her face paled.
"Pythons? You mean snakes?! That's terrifying! Why am I suddenly thinking of Lord Orochimaru?!"
"Michihito, Senko—if those really are pythons, what do we do? We won't run into them, right?"
"So what if we do? We'll just kill them. They're Ryūchi Cave snakes—once we smash them, they'll disappear."
"Hmm, python crystal powder… that could actually be useful."
Michihito and Senko were completely unfazed. To them, these snakes were nothing but overgrown worms. Both had once been protected by the Snake Princess of Ryūchi Cave—these common pythons didn't scare them in the slightest. To them, this was child's play.
Team Gaara had a similar reaction.
"Whoa, whoa, Gaara—you're saying Kazuyama-sensei's the one behind this?"
"Yeah. Pythons. My sand senses them. There are a lot. I knew it—Sensei was never the type to stay quiet as an examiner."
"What about our direction? Any nearby?"
Kankurō yelped, but there was a grin tugging at his lips. Temari smirked as well.
"Not yet, but it's only a matter of time. You know how our teacher works."
"The snakes will cover the whole forest before long."
Gaara placed his hand on the ground, channeling chakra through his sand to sense vibrations beneath the soil—detecting whether any massive creatures lurked nearby.
It was an effective method, and with Gaara's perception, their team wasn't worried at all. Even if they encountered one, fear wasn't in their vocabulary.
After all, Kazuyama had used these very snakes during their training to toughen them up. They'd been startled often enough to be immune by now.
But not everyone could stay that calm.
For most of the candidates, the moment they ran into the giant pythons, panic erupted.
Take Kakashi's team, for instance.
"Whoa! What the hell is that?!"
"A massive snake!"
"Wait—that's Kazuyama-sensei's summon! Crap! Run!"
Naruto Uzumaki had just gone off to take care of some "personal business." He'd barely found a tree when a massive python's head emerged right in front of him, its eyes gleaming.
He screamed, completely forgetting why he'd gone there, and bolted.
The python, of course, slithered after him immediately, moving with terrifying speed.
The noise drew Sasuke and Sakura's attention. They turned toward the commotion, weapons at the ready.
When they saw the python chasing Naruto, both their expressions darkened.
"A python… so that's what that noise was earlier?"
"Tch. Doesn't look like it belongs to this forest. More like a summoning."
Sasuke, as a Uchiha, had sharp eyes—even if not on par with his brother or Shisui.
"Naruto! Run faster!"
"Sasuke, should we retreat?"
Sakura's face went pale. The python was enormous—just looking at it made her want to flee.
"Retreat? Why retreat? It's just a big snake."
"Naruto! Get back here! We're fighting it!"
That was Sasuke Uchiha for you—prideful as ever.
But then, what else could you expect from a genius of the Uchiha Clan? There was no way he'd let himself be scared by a mere snake.