Their friends were fed a mouthful of dog food face-to-face and were more or less speechless.
Of course, there were also those who were envious, like Ino and Sakura. Both of them were actually quite focused on romance. Seeing Natsuki and Tenten being so affectionate, they naturally envied them greatly.
However, there were also those who were oblivious to romance.
Xiao Li raised his fist and said, "Don't worry, Natsuki, Neji and I will protect Tenten!"
Neji looked helplessly at the watermelon head and also said, "Yes, Xiao Li and I will protect Tenten."
Neji clearly had higher emotional intelligence. Natsuki and Tenten's conversation just now was clearly between a couple, and it was inconvenient for others to interrupt, but Xiao Li, being single-minded, was completely unaware and interrupted as if it were the most natural thing.
Neji could only go along with it to make it less awkward.
"Then I'll trouble you two."
Natsuki thanked them, but he didn't expect too much, after all, even if Xiao Li opened the Fifth Gate and worked with Neji, they couldn't beat Orochimaru. Natsuki would have to do it himself.
Of course, it would be best if they didn't encounter Orochimaru at all.
After all the examinees entered, they all signed a waiver, guaranteeing that they would not hold anyone responsible for deaths during the dangerous exam.
Then, everyone entered a sealed tent in their teams, received their team's scroll, and were then individually led to an entrance.
Natsuki's team received the Scroll of Heaven, and the scroll was placed with Natsuki.
The three of them waited silently at an entrance, with Yamashiro Rinne even staring down the Chunin guarding the gate.
Fortunately, they didn't wait too long. As soon as the signal sounded, the Chunin guarding the gate immediately opened it, and the three of them immediately walked in, instantly feeling enveloped by the entire forest.
The Death Forest is said to be the masterpiece of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
They say Yamato's Wood Release builds buildings, and Hashirama's Wood Release creates forests. Indeed, when it comes to Wood Release, you have to look at Hashirama Senju.
Look at these trees, each one thicker than a house, and all incredibly tall, basically over a hundred meters or even several hundred meters high, giving a feeling of a primeval forest.
The reason it's called the Death Forest is because the forest is very dangerous.
Wild beasts are secondary, but poisonous insects are the most terrifying. If you're not careful and get bitten by a poisonous snake or stung by a poisonous insect, you will definitely die if not treated promptly.
A group of Genin having to advance in such a harsh environment and also find a way to seize scrolls can be said to be a very severe test. And only those who pass the test truly have the qualification to become Chunin.
"Pakkun, see where everyone is."
Kato Megumi said, stroking the dog's head.
"Leave it to me."
Pakkun wiggled his nose and sniffed for a while, then said, "Team Ten is over there, only about one kilometer away. Team Eight is over here, a bit further, about three kilometers. As for Team Seven and Team Guy, they should be relatively far, I can't smell them yet. Their entrance should be on the other side, at least eight kilometers away from here. I need to get closer to smell them."
Ninja dogs have strong tracking abilities, but tracking first requires a trail to follow, or being close enough to smell. If the distance is too far, they have to search.
Natsuki couldn't help but frown, very dissatisfied with this distance.
The diameter of the Death Forest seems to be only twenty kilometers, and it's only ten kilometers from each entrance to the central Tower. He didn't expect Tenten to be so far away, even beyond the tracking range of a dog's nose. This was really quite troublesome.
Also, one point worth noting: if Team Seven and Team Guy are both very far, then the two teams might be very close!
This was not good news!
Natsuki gritted his teeth. He knew clearly that Orochimaru's target was Sasuke. After being abused by Itachi Uchiha, that guy was abnormally fixated on the Sharingan and most looked forward to Sasuke as a vessel, so if that guy really appeared, he would definitely go find Sasuke to place the cursed seal.
And if Team Guy was very close to Team Seven, they would definitely be implicated!
Natsuki immediately said, "Pakkun, I remember Team Guy and Team Seven went in that direction when they went to the entrance earlier. Let's go in that direction and search. See if there are any other people on the way, and we'll snatch some scrolls along the way."
Pakkun sniffed again and nodded. "Going in that direction, there are indeed a few strange scents not far along the way. I'll lead the way."
As expected of the smartest of the Eight Ninja Hounds, very reliable.
Kato Megumi stroked Pakkun's head and directly placed Pakkun on top of her head, probably worried that Pakkun's short legs wouldn't run fast, but this worry was unnecessary, that dog ran faster than anyone.
However, Pakkun accepted Kato Megumi's kindness very calmly, clearly very satisfied with his new owner.
Team Nine started to move, but for safety reasons, they didn't dare to rush too fast. Kato Megumi and Yamashiro Rinne weren't strong enough to keep up.
Fortunately, although Natsuki was anxious, he also had some confidence in Tenten's strength, and with three senzu beans in Tenten's hand, if she really encountered Orochimaru, it should be enough to hold on until his support arrived.
Soon, guided by Pakkun, Team Nine successfully found a team.
Looking at their headbands, they should be from some small ninja village, not very memorable.
When the opponent saw it was Runya, they didn't resist at all and immediately took out the scroll, which happened to be the Earth Scroll, and Runya accepted it without ceremony.
However, the opponent breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Runya had no intention of making things difficult.
Kato Megumi smiled and stroked Pakkun's dog head: "Pakkun, you're amazing.
Thank you.
I feel like I can help now."
Pakkun enjoyed the petting very much: "Megumi-chan, you're welcome.
If you really want to thank me, take me to Kiba Inuzuka's sister's pet hospital later.
I'm very interested in the service there."
"Okay, I'll take you after the exam this time."
Kato Megumi agreed, feeling very happy.
As expected, after she contracted a Summoning Beast, it really played a role, easily helping the team find the scroll.
Now, she just needed to help the boss determine the location of Tenten-nee-chan.
This feeling of being able to help is really great!
Yamashiro Rinne praised: "Megumi-chan is amazing!
Then, let's hurry to Tenten-nee-chan's side.
The boss is already anxious."
Team Nine continued on their way.
Team Guy also started smoothly.
They hadn't gone far before they encountered a team.
After a battle, they successfully snatched the scroll, and it happened to be the scroll they needed.
Xiao Li said happily: "We're really lucky.
We gathered the scrolls so quickly."
Neji nodded: "Then let's head towards the Tower next, avoiding unnecessary battles as much as possible, so Natsuki doesn't worry."
Tenten naturally had no opinion.
Moreover, she felt that Runya was a bit overly nervous.
Although this nervousness made her feel sweet inside, she wasn't a delicate flower and didn't need to rely on Runya for everything.
"Then let's head to the Tower now... Hmm?"
Before Tenten finished speaking, she suddenly frowned, seemingly hearing something.
Neji immediately activated his Byakugan and took a look, his expression changing instantly: "Oh no!
Orochimaru really came!
He's with Team Seven!"