After everyone entered the pitch-black tunnel, their previously dim vision quickly faded.
Kakashi and his team rushed forward into the cave at their fastest speed.
Once they confirmed no one was following them, they found a relatively spacious area to stop and observe their surroundings.
Operating in a confined environment is highly restrictive for Ninja, who are essentially agile assassins.
Not only is combat limited, but observation and strategic choices after engaging an enemy also need to be considered.
From the moment he heard the exam prompt, Kakashi began to ponder how the upcoming test should proceed.
The only fortunate thing was that Konoha was not entirely unprepared.
"Everyone, open your special Ninja tool backpacks."
"Yes."
Once they entered mission mode, even a troublemaker like Obito would not hesitate to follow Kakashi's orders.
This was not a matter of personal relationships but rather a strictly serious issue of mission execution, a top priority in Ninja Academy education.
Konoha Ninja, when operating independently as a team without external influence and formally executing a mission, typically carry three Ninja tool bags.
These are for personal use, medical supplies, survival, and special equipment.
The personal use backpack is a regular Ninja tool bag that they prepare themselves daily.
It usually contains primary and secondary Ninja tools, simple medicines, and three days' worth of compressed food and water.
Some may also carry sealing scrolls or other items, and the Village does not directly manage these.
However, the remaining three Ninja tool backpacks are all issued by the Village in the form of universal capsules before the mission begins.
After the mission ends, their usage must be accounted for in the Konoha Ninja's mission costs.
Due to the need for post-battle settlement, Konoha Ninja are often very cautious in their use of these three backpacks to avoid a situation where, after completing a mission, their income does not cover their expenses, leading to them having to pay the Village instead of earning anything.
However, when performing a mission like the World Chunin United Exams, which is participated in at the Village's request, there are not so many rules.
The Village will reimburse them.
The special Ninja tool bag, in most cases, contains various scientific Ninja tools for reconnaissance, combat, and defense.
Occasionally, it also includes experimental products that require feedback reports after free trial use, contributing significantly to the practical application of Konoha's high-tech industry.
The special Ninja tool bags used for this Chunin Exams were personally distributed to the many Genin by Sawara Kiri.
"What is this thing?"
After the three opened their special backpacks, Obito took out a perfectly spherical metal ball from the equipment, roughly the size of a person's finger, with a faint red glow flickering on its surface.
"Dead last."
Kakashi first mocked him with his dead-fish eyes, then explained, "Iris Type 13 reconnaissance drone, directly linked to Chakra and Perception Ninja, specifically used for perception, exploration, reconnaissance, and other tasks."
"Give that to me; you won't know how to use it."
Mocked by him, little Obito immediately jumped up, his face red, stomping his feet and shouting, "Who are you looking down on? I've opened my eyes! My perception ability is much stronger than yours in this terrain!"
"Is that so?"
"Then try using it?"
Kakashi stood by with his arms crossed, looking as if he was letting Obito decide for himself.
Obito was immediately stumped.
He looked at the small, round object; he didn't even know where the switch was, let alone how to use it, leaving him awkward in place.
Kakashi didn't have that much time to waste on him.
He snatched the small metal ball from Obito's hand, completed the Chakra authentication first, and then quickly formed three hand signs according to the usage requirements.
The red light on the metal ball's surface immediately turned green, then quickly faded, and finally, the entire object turned a dull gray, like a stone, completing its camouflage activation.
Obito stared blankly at his skilled movements, his voice even carrying a hint of unnatural guilt as he whispered, "When did you learn this, you guy…?"
"And you didn't even tell me."
"Here, the instruction manual."
Kakashi pointed to a small, palm-sized piece of paper at Obito's feet.
Obito's face instantly flushed red.
Damn it!
You just learned it too, didn't you?!
A mere Kakashi dares to be so arrogant!
Next time, I'll show him a trick when he's about to die, and get my revenge.
As they were talking, Rin also took out a square card from her special backpack, resembling a bank card with faint sparkling dots, and looked up, asking somewhat puzzled, "Did Sawara tell us about this kind of thing when he explained the special backpack?"
Kakashi first frowned as he looked at the square cards; there were exactly three of them, and he seemed equally puzzled.
However, considering the special nature of this Chunin Exam, and the strength already displayed by several foreign Village monsters, he seemed to suddenly understand.
Although he was slightly displeased with this method, which resembled cheating on an exam, he said nothing, calmly stating, "It's probably something like a Scribe, used to assess our exam process for post-event scoring."
"In any case, be careful what you say during this mission."
"Especially you, Obito."
"Shouting in a cave, are you trying to make sure others find us?"
"You—!"
Obito was about to say something more, but thinking of Kakashi's earlier words, he suddenly felt a bit weak.
Kakashi then emphasized his tone, saying casually, "Obito-kun."
"You wouldn't want to fail the Chunin Exams and then not even be able to attend the advanced academy, would you?"
"Guh…"
Obito immediately looked like a disgraced female knight, clutching his mouth with difficulty, barely managing to control his volume.
Kakashi's lips, hidden beneath his mask, couldn't help but curve slightly, then he quickly restrained himself.
He couldn't let Rin discover his bad habit of teasing Obito.
It concerned his image, so he had to be cautious.
Turning his head, Kakashi began to use the drone, which floated in mid-air like a stone.
Almost the instant his consciousness connected to the drone's interior via Chakra, a pale blue panel, visible only to him, was reflected on Kakashi's retina.
The usage of this perception drone was quite simple; one only needed to issue commands to the panel through consciousness, and the drone would automatically perform various functions.
However, the consumption of this drone needed to be provided by the user.
After quickly familiarizing himself with the drone's operation, Kakashi immediately followed the instructions on the panel, completing a super-long sixty-plus hand sign sequence in one go.
Immediately after, he placed his hands on the ground.
"Secret Art: Echo Mapping!"
"Buzz—!"
A subtle, insect-like vibration immediately propagated from within the drone into the cave, starting as a sharp hum and gradually becoming inaudible, quickly exceeding the range of human hearing.
At the same time, this drone was also floating and moving along the deep tunnels inside the cave.
A map of the tunnel within three hundred meters ahead of them appeared as faint red lines in the center of the pale blue panel reflected on Kakashi's retina.
'It seems Sawara had already guessed the exam question and prepared for us.'
Noticing this, Kakashi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although this subtle method, similar to cheating on an exam, made him, a top student who always ranked first, feel a bit uncomfortable, he instantly felt relieved when he thought that he was a Ninja currently executing an important Village mission and needed to use any means necessary.
External tools?
For a Ninja, there was no such thing as an external tool.
With that thought, Kakashi continued to quickly issue commands: "Obito, you wear the combat exoskeleton and handle frontal engagement. Rin, put on the stealth suit and provide side support, avoiding opponents as much as possible, and advance in a triangular formation along the designated path."
"Understood?"
"Yes!"
Just as Kakashi's team began their mission.
In another tunnel, a Konoha squad, also choosing to retrieve special equipment, began their initial reconnaissance.
"There's a three-way intersection three hundred meters straight ahead, and about one kilometer further, there are sixteen branch paths."
"There are special barriers on the surrounding rock walls of the paths, likely Iwagakure's shielding barriers, preventing examinees from peeking into other paths.
There's some observation interference, and the observation distance is compressed to about thirty to fifty meters."
"However, based on observations before entry, the absolute distance between different paths isn't very long.
If one has sufficient Earth Release mastery, they should be able to smoothly traverse between different examinee paths."
The one speaking was a short Hyuga Ninja with a very capable expression.
At this moment, grotesque blood vessels spread across his temples, and his pupils, condensed by Chakra, appeared ethereal, with a pale forehead.
Flanking him were Asuma and an Uchiha Ninja.
"Thank you, Tokuma."
The Uchiha Ninja who spoke looked even younger than Asuma, with a pair of quite feminine peach blossom eyes, though their overall facial harmony was somewhat disrupted by a relatively prominent button nose.
He looked very amiable when he smiled.
"No problem."
"Compared to Sawara's grace of rebirth, even if it costs me my life, I will not hesitate."
Hyuga Tokuma, who looked only eleven or twelve years old, spoke with a mature and steady tone, appearing very serious.
Clearly, he was also a former Branch Family member who had benefited from Sawara Kiri's 'Branch Family Liberation Policy,' thereby removing the Caged Bird Seal.
Unlike a regular team like Kakashi's.
The three members of this Konoha squad were all from Anbu, and only formed a team after Iwagakure proposed the Chunin Exam.
However, despite being newly formed, the three appeared very capable, showing the swift and decisive demeanor characteristic of Anbu.
Asuma, on the other hand, did not say much.
It was only after Hyuga Tokuma finished reporting the preliminary observation intelligence that he took out a scroll from his waist, unrolled it, and calmly stated, "Now, I will announce the Hokage's mission."
"To scout the hidden situations within the Chi Tu Mountains for other Konoha participating examinees and report back as quickly as possible via communication cards."
"If possible, eliminate Killer Bee, Han, and Sasori, three examinees from other Villages, here."
The moment they heard this mission, the faces of the other two present couldn't help but show a solemn expression.
Clearly, they had known for a long time that this so-called 'exam' was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
The demand to eliminate foreign Village geniuses and Jinchuriki necessarily indicated that the Village and these countries were, in some circumstances, perhaps already in a state of war.
Furthermore—
The strength of the opponents was certainly beyond what ordinary people could achieve.
However, at this moment, Asuma's face showed no wavering whatsoever.
As the son of the previous Hokage, he bore a heavy responsibility far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
"Based on preliminary observations, the importance of Killer Bee and Han is understandable."
"But, that Sasori…"
Hyuga Tokuma's tone was slightly hesitant.
As one of the key targets, he had observed that guy multiple times even before the written exam began.
But no matter how he looked, the opponent seemed to be merely a puppet powered by Chakra provided by Maki, the Sunagakure Ninja next to him.
He didn't understand why Sawara-sama attached so much importance to him.
"That's not for us to think about."
Asuma turned his head, looked at the short Uchiha next to him, and asked, "Shisui, do you have confidence against that guy called Killer Bee?"
"Leave it to me."
Uchiha Shisui nodded heavily.
The Seven Swords Style was indeed fast.
But, in terms of speed, he had absolute confidence.
Just as they were thinking this, Hyuga Tokuma, who had kept his Byakugan activated, suddenly looked up and spoke rapidly:
"Left side! Above!"
"A total of three squads' Chakra sources are flanking us via Earth Release!"
"Prepare for battle!"
Asuma immediately gave the order.
"Bang!"
Almost the instant the three completed their battle formation, a soft sound erupted from the rock walls on both sides.
Several figures swiftly intercepted Asuma's squad directly in front of them.
Judging by their forehead protector markings, they were all Iwagakure Ninja.
Indeed.
The opponents were also prepared.
"Oh, good luck!"
"The very first one is a big fish."
The leading Iwagakure Genin looked almost twenty years old, with a body like a pillar of equal width top to bottom.
That they could even participate, Iwagakure was truly shameless enough.
However, at a time of life and death, no one had time to think about such trivial matters.
The nine Iwagakure Ninja opposite clearly had established contact with each other through certain channels even before they began their action.
Almost as soon as they appeared, they completed their formation change, though due to their numbers, they were a bit cramped in the narrow cave.
"The Third Hokage's second son."
"Hey, remember to capture this guy alive!"
"Yes."
The Iwagakure Ninja behind him responded in a deep voice.
However, the three members of Asuma's squad showed no fear whatsoever.
Asuma's face even slowly curled into a smile.
Just let them see.
The capabilities of the Third Hokage's son.
Whether it was a suspended pebble falling, or a breath held for a moment.
The four squads on both sides, without any hesitation, charged towards each other almost simultaneously, creating a dull hum in the narrow cave.
In just an instant, the three figures in front of them suddenly vanished from the sight of the nine Iwagakure Ninja at an unimaginable speed.
As the encircling party, they all simultaneously lost sight of their opponents in the center of their vision.
The leading Iwagakure Genin's sinister smile had not yet faded.
A fiery gleam had already flashed across the edge of his vision.
"Uchiha Style: Sword Leap Flame!"
In a daze, his vision rotated.
In his somewhat blurry sight, a slightly familiar headless body was reflected.
Before losing consciousness, he heard a muffled thud.