Chapter One Hundred and Seventy: Forest of Death
The second exam was held inside the Forest of Death in Konoha. According to rumors—true or not—the entire forest had been created by Hashirama Senju. When it came to afforestation, Hashirama was said to be unrivaled in the world.
The Forest of Death was encircled by barbed wire along its perimeter. From the outside, it looked like a savage beast lying in wait, exuding a dark and terrifying aura.
Outside the forest gathered hundreds of students, a sea of black crowding the space. Forehead Protectors from various villages were visible everywhere. Sakura and her companions successfully located the large Uchiha group who were deliberately lowering their presence in the crowd.
Among countless Genin, Sakura's party stood out like a crane among chickens. Besides their distinct aura, the most eye-catching sight was that Sakura was holding the deluxe supreme edition of Make Out Paradise—the book every male ninja loved. For a young girl to read Make Out Paradise just felt oddly out of place.
"Stop chattering! Everyone, come forward one by one and sign these agreements nicely!"
Anko had a piece of red bean cake in her mouth, while a bowl of sweet rice soup sat on the nearby table. Sakura couldn't help but wonder if all those sweets might send Anko into diabetic territory.
Yet thinking about the Chakra system ninjas trained with, she quickly calmed herself down. Given their physical constitution, high blood sugar wasn't really an issue. However, if she remembered right, in Boruto's time, Anko had clearly let her sweet tooth get out of control, turning her once-slim figure into something more akin to a Titan—an absolute tragedy indeed.
Meanwhile, a chilling chakra presence nearby drew Sakura's attention. Glancing slightly from the corner of her eye, she noticed the forehead protector on this individual—it bore the symbol of the Grass Village. That could only mean one thing: this was Orochimaru sneaking into the exam site disguised as a participant. Judging by the sinister way Orochimaru eyed Anko, Sakura silently lit a candle for her. Although Orochimaru probably wouldn't kill Anko, some kind of punishment was likely inevitable. After all, Anko's earlier remarks had clearly ruined Orochimaru's reputation.
"Why do we need to sign anything anyway?"
A group of Genin began voicing their confusion and complaints.
"The Forest of Death isn't some safe zone. Once you step inside, your life or death depends entirely on yourselves!" A mischievous grin spread across Anko's face—one eerily reminiscent of Orochimaru's smirk. "Sign the death agreements now, and then whatever happens to you inside the Forest of Death won't be Konoha's responsibility at all!"
"What?!" The crowd cried out in shock. "Why are you allowed to do this? We've come here to take an exam in Konoha; shouldn't you be responsible for our safety?"
"Shzzt!"
Anko grabbed a toothpick she'd previously used to stab the red bean cake and flung it. It whistled through the air, grazing the cheek of the loudest complaining Genin before lodging itself in the tree behind him.
"Do not question my decisions casually. You can choose not to sign, but then your failure in this Chunin Exams will be officially recorded, which will definitely look bad on your ninja records!" Anko grinned widely. "Then you're not cut out to be a ninja at all!"
In the end, aside from a few who dropped out, everyone else signed the agreement and grabbed a random scroll from Anko.
"The scrolls in your hands come in two types: Heaven Scroll and Earth Scroll," Anko stood there explaining. "I've already counted, and the number of each type is exactly the same!"
"This time, your mission is to get across the Forest of Death and reach the Central Tower within a week. From then on, you're on your own. Also, during the exam period, you are forbidden to open the scrolls before reaching the Central Tower. To pass this second stage, you have to collect both scrolls! That's how you pass this stage!"
When the Genin heard Anko's words, their faces immediately changed. If there were equal numbers of Heaven and Earth Scrolls, yet every team only held one, then the requirement of collecting both meant they would have to fight other teams for their scrolls while protecting their own—this meant less than half of them might make it. No, actually even less than half. Obviously, not everyone could be lucky enough to obtain exactly the scroll they lacked. Plus, some people would deliberately attack others to reduce competition for the third stage; and naturally, some would end up dying along the way. In the end, only a small fraction would make it to the Central Tower and complete the exam.
"Heaven Scroll? We need the Earth Scroll!" Sakura glanced at the scroll in her hand. This test wasn't just about strength, but also survival skills in the wild and attitudes toward missions. Only the luckiest or strongest could hope to make it through this stage. That's when the real clash of titans begins.
"Then we'll just take more," Sasuke said coldly. "That way, we can eliminate some rivals for the third stage ahead of time."
"Let's just keep moving for now and not go looking for trouble!" Sakura smiled and said. "If we run into enemies, we can just take their scrolls. If we don't meet any trouble along the way, then we'll lie in wait outside the Central Tower and jump anyone who makes it through the Forest of Death!"
"Is that allowed?" Naruto asked in surprise. That strategy sounded great, but would the proctors really permit them to just hang around outside the Central Tower?
"No problem," Sakura shrugged. "The proctors didn't say we had to fight inside the Forest of Death. As long as we haven't entered the tower, we're still within the exam period. Taking scrolls outside the tower is completely fair play!"
"It's smarter to wait outside the tower and catch them there instead of wandering around the Forest of Death aimlessly."
"All of you, enter from different directions according to your assigned numbers. One last tip—don't die too soon!"
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