Chapter 211: The Second Exam Begins, Traces of Orochimaru
As it turned out, even though Akiyama Makoto had never attended the Ninja Academy, his level had long since surpassed it. By relying on his numerous simulations, he had worked in a wide variety of jobs, and he easily wrote down the answers to all nine questions.
When he looked up, almost everyone else in the class was still writing furiously.
He didn't do anything like turning in his paper early; he was here to watch the show.
Therefore, he released his sensory perception and began to enjoy the sight of the ninja showing off their various skills.
He then noticed Sasuke retract his gaze from him.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had just realized that Sasuke had been using his Sharingan to copy his movements. It seemed that his smooth answering of the questions had attracted the attention of others after all.
But it didn't matter. The Konoha Chūnin were already starting to make their move.
They kicked out those who were using clumsy cheating methods one by one, which made more people realize that this test was about their ability to gather and transmit intelligence.
Just as Naruto was at a loss, Sakura's voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
"Naruto. I'll talk, you write. Let's start with two simple questions."
Naruto's eyes immediately lit up. He obediently did as he was told, not even considering that this voice might be someone else's disguise.
Fortunately, it really was Sakura's voice.
The reason she was able to do this was not because she had learned the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques, but because he was in the process of teaching her the "Formless Wave." Ino, who had the foundation of her clan's techniques and his Dream Inheritance, had learned it very quickly. For Sakura, it was much more troublesome; she had to start from scratch and learn spiritual energy control. Even though Ino had unreservedly taught her the methods, she was still only at the stage where she could condense her spiritual energy into a voice in the target's mind. She was still two levels away from the "Formless Wave's" requirement of encoding genjutsu with spiritual energy.
But for now, it was just enough to save Naruto.
Naruto wrote furiously, and after writing down the answers to three questions, he finally relaxed.
Subsequently, more and more people were expelled. Seeing that the time was almost up, Morino Ibiki announced the final question.
"First, you must choose whether or not to take this final question."
"If anyone in a squad chooses not to take it, they will be disqualified, along with their teammates."
"But if you choose to take it, and if anyone fails, then all three of you will forever lose the chance to become a Chūnin!"
"Don't glare at me. It's just your bad luck to run into me. This is a rule I decided to change on the fly."
He looked at Ibiki with a bit of surprise. This condition seemed even harsher than the original. But for him, no matter how severe the verbal conditions were, it was meaningless. It could only be used to scare ordinary ninja. Any clan ninja or ninja from another village would know that they would never be permanently disqualified just because they failed a Chūnin Exam in Konoha. The reason was simple: how could Konoha's rules govern the affairs of other hidden villages?
What's more, the Sand and Sound were here for the Konoha Crush. Who cared about the exam rules?
His sensory perception swept over the expressions of the crowd, and he suddenly discovered something even more interesting.
He sensed Kurenai, Kakashi, Guy, and Asuma sitting together, discussing the exam. But after they had finished discussing Ibiki, the topic shifted to Kurenai.
"Kurenai, have you gotten younger?" Guy, as blunt as ever, started the topic.
Kakashi and Asuma, who had been wondering for a long time, immediately nodded. Although Kurenai had always been beautiful, "28-year-old beautiful" and "24-year-old beautiful" were two completely different styles. The former was mature and charming, while the latter still had a five-tenths "youthful" feeling, with every inch of her skin revealing a burgeoning life force.
Kurenai blushed. She had even deliberately worn light makeup before coming out today, but she had still been found out?
"Have I? Maybe I've just been in a good mood recently."
She gave a fake laugh, trying to muddle through.
But the "Shinku" (True Red) mark on her stomach suddenly felt hot... Wait, it's not a feeling, it really is hot!
A look of surprise flashed in her eyes, and then she realized that the chakra in her body felt a little strange.
In her excitement, she was just about to dispel the "genjutsu" she was under when his voice sounded in her mind: "Ahem. It's me. Just saying hello."
Kurenai was so angry her breathing became heavy. "I'm not going to ask what ability you just used," she said in her mind. "But this is how you say hello?"
"I... missed you."
Hearing his doting tone, Kurenai, both angry and amused, subconsciously softened her stern tone. "Stop messing around. After the Chūnin Exams are over, I'll go back to... home. After I've handled everything at night... you can do whatever you want."
"I'm working right now. You're not allowed to disturb me."
"Okay, wifey."
He withdrew his spiritual power. He had just used his Formless Wave from a distance to "flick" her True Spirit Seal, which was what had caused her strange feeling.
Kurenai returned to her senses, only to realize that Asuma was staring at her.
She asked, puzzled, "Asuma, is something wrong?"
Beside them, Kakashi and Guy looked at each other. Finally, Guy said, "Kurenai, you were spacing out just now."
"Ah, sorry. I was just a little worried about my students."
She found an impeccable excuse. Only then did Asuma compose himself and repeat, "After the first round is over today, how about the few of us go for a drink?"
"That..."
She had just promised him that she would go home right after the exam. Now, faced with Asuma's request, what should she do? His invitation was also very reasonable. It seemed a bit impolite to refuse now.
But she couldn't. She had promised him.
Although she kept saying that work was important, if she had to choose between work and his happiness, she would choose the latter without hesitation. He didn't like to be lonely, and neither did she. Now that she had her own family and home, she would absolutely not let her family down.
So she shook her head. "Sorry, it's not convenient for me today."
"Ah, I see..." Asuma scratched his head and gave a dry laugh. "Then we'll do it next time."
Beside them, Guy and Kakashi were silent. They had actually noticed Kurenai's recent movements; Konoha was a small place, after all. But they weren't qualified to say anything. Even Guy was too embarrassed to ask Tenten and the others what was going on. He was, after all, still wonderfully single.
On Makoto's end, he withdrew his senses. The next second, Naruto's roar entered his ears.
"Don't underestimate me! I'm not going to run away!"
"So what if I can't become a Chūnin! Even if I'm a Genin for life, I won't be afraid of you!"
"Who said a Genin can't become Hokage? In the future, I'll become Hokage and show you!"
Originally, he had felt nothing for Naruto's hot-blooded chicken soup. But when he heard "Genin Hokage," he almost couldn't stop himself from laughing. Although Naruto hadn't become Hokage as a Genin, he had become a Six Paths-level powerhouse as one. It could only be said that in the 68th year of Konoha, the protagonist duo's "hacks" had been off the charts. He would have to use even bigger hacks to catch up to or even surpass them in that year.
It was a long and arduous road.
Subsequently, Ibiki announced that the final question was to not be crushed by his rhetoric, and that everyone present had passed.
Amidst a chorus of boos, Anko Mitarashi made her飒爽 entrance.
"You all look pretty happy. Unfortunately, you're celebrating too early."
"The rest of you, follow me to the second exam! I'll make sure that less than half of the remaining 28 teams are left!"
Her two sentences stunned everyone into silence.
Even Tenten and the others, who were familiar with her, were startled. They were used to her being casual, and even shameless. But now, they realized that she was a Special Jōnin, a rank second only to Jōnin, and easily in the top 100 in Konoha.
Then, under her leadership, the remaining ninja came to the Forest of Death.
"Soon, you'll understand why this place is called the Forest of Death—"
After she said this, she frowned and looked in one direction.
The three ninja from the Hidden Grass Village were standing together. One of them, with disheveled hair, looked particularly conspicuous, even with their hood up.
She didn't recognize him, but she could faintly feel her cursed seal reacting.
And in the corner, he, who was also standing there, looked at this person's back. He had already clearly sensed that this was Orochimaru. Although he had hidden his chakra well, that twisted spiritual power could not deceive him.
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