Chapter 65: The Forest of Death
The cloaked figure looked at Neji, and then, with a sigh, he slowly removed his hood. "If you insist on seeing, then look."
Neji's eyes narrowed. "You're a cautious one," he said, a brow raised.
The mole was not a person, but a puppet. No wonder his movements were so stiff and unnatural.
What was truly curious was how he was controlling it from a distance. Such a technique was far beyond anything even the master puppeteers of the Hidden Sand were capable of.
"I have my reasons," the puppet's raspy voice said. "It is all thanks to the Main Family that I must appear before you like this."
Neji's pupils contracted. From the details in his words, it wouldn't be difficult to figure out his true identity.
"Let's talk about our cooperation," the puppet said.
Neji took a yellowed piece of paper from his pouch and tossed it to him.
The puppet caught it and read the faded text.
[Hyūga Tenjin, holding a giant 'eye' in his hands, entered a mysterious spatial portal and vanished from the shinobi world.]
[Several days later, a meteorite fell from the sky. The Hyūga clan announced that Hyūga Tenjin had died of a severe illness.]
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Hyūga Tenjin was active in the Warring States Period, over three hundred years ago," Neji explained. "His real name was Taketatsu. 'Tenjin' was his title. I want you to search the Hyūga clan's historical records for information about him, and find the Giant Tenseigan he took with him."
"The Tenseigan?"
"That's right."
Neji took off his goggles and, right in front of the puppet, he switched his Byakugan to the Tenseigan.
"The Uchiha's Sharingan can evolve from one tomoe to three, and then to the Mangekyō. The Hyūga are no weaker than the Uchiha. That is because our Byakugan can also evolve. And the Tenseigan is one of its branches."
His sapphire-blue eyes, which seemed to contain a universe of stars, gleamed with an otherworldly light.
So beautiful...
The puppet was momentarily mesmerized.
Neji nodded, satisfied. He had shown him the Tenseigan to convince him to take the search seriously.
The puppet studied his eyes, deep in thought. It was true that the Sharingan could evolve. The history of Uchiha Madara had been deliberately suppressed by the Konoha leadership. Even most Uchiha didn't know about the Mangekyō. But it was a logical explanation for his immense power.
The Byakugan had only two advantages over the Sharingan: its reconnaissance capabilities and the fact that it was easier to awaken. But in terms of overall power, the Hyūga were clearly inferior. To think that the Byakugan could also evolve...
"How did you awaken it?" the puppet asked.
"In my second year in the Hidden Cloud," Neji said with a sigh, "it just... awakened. Perhaps it was fate, or perhaps there was another reason. I don't know."
It was a lie, of course. But the puppet believed him. No one knew the Byakugan better than the Hyūga. Neji had been only four when he had left Konoha; he couldn't have had access to the clan's deepest secrets. For a six-year-old to have evolved his Byakugan into the Tenseigan through his own efforts... that was the real lie.
"I'll do it," the puppet said after a moment's thought.
"Good. A pleasure doing business with you."
The second exam was held in the Forest of Death.
The three candidates who drew the most attention were Deidara, Uchiha Itachi, and Hyūga Neji.
Just then, the proctor, Yamashiro Aoba, a man in a green flak jacket and sunglasses, walked into the clearing.
"Before we begin," he said, his voice grim, "you will all sign these. The second exam... is a place where people die."
The rules of the exam were well-known, but the sight of the death waivers still made many of the candidates nervous.
"Once you sign," Aoba said, holding up a form, "anything that happens in the forest is your own responsibility. Every year, there are some promising candidates who think they can dominate the forest, and end up dying a pointless death. Even a genius can fall. If you don't have the confidence... you still have a chance to back out."
"Excuse me," a Kiri-nin suddenly said, raising his hand, "is killing allowed?"
Aoba looked at the man, whose jaw and neck were wrapped in bandages, and his brow furrowed. The exams were brutal, but for the ninja of Kirigakure, whose own graduation exam required them to kill their classmates, it was like a fish in water.
"In principle, yes," he said after a moment's thought. "But meaningless killing is forbidden. And you are not to kill any candidate who has already surrendered."
"Tch," Zabuza sneered.
Mei, a long sword at her waist, just stood there, her expression calm.
The other Kiri-nin either looked on with cold indifference or with gleeful smiles. The other candidates subconsciously took a step back.
"The second exam is a battle for Heaven and Earth scrolls," Aoba explained after everyone had signed. "Each of your teams will be given either a Heaven scroll or an Earth scroll. Within five days, you must acquire the other scroll from another team and make your way to the tower in the center of the forest. Any team that fails to do so will be eliminated. Any team that reaches the tower with a missing or incapacitated member will be eliminated. Your comrades are more important than the mission. And any team that opens their scroll before reaching the tower will be eliminated."
"A battle for scrolls? Sounds interesting."
"That means only twelve teams can pass."
"Twelve is the best-case scenario..."
"The second exam is our home turf..." Zabuza chuckled.
Itachi stood by himself, impassively organizing the ninja pouch at his waist.
Deidara's eyes kept drifting toward him. Neji, noticing this, wondered when a conflict had arisen between the two of them. Knowing Deidara's personality, it was likely they would clash in the second exam. Itachi had not yet awakened his Mangekyō, but Deidara was also not yet at his peak. Neji cautiously favored Itachi to win. But Itachi couldn't be allowed to die just yet. For the sake of turning the Uchiha clan, he had to be the one to kill him.
"Excuse me, proctor," a Kusa-nin suddenly asked, "there are so many Konoha teams. If they all team up against us, isn't that unfair?"
"So you can team up as well," Aoba said with a smile. "Finding allies and choosing your prey is a required skill for any excellent ninja."
The Kusa-nin opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it. It was easy for the Konoha teams to cooperate. But the teams from the other villages lacked the necessary trust. The rules of the exam were already skewed in Konoha's favor.
"One more thing," Aoba added. "The Forest of Death is filled with hidden cameras. Your every move will be monitored. There are also four medical outposts. If a team member is seriously injured, you are to go there immediately. Of course, once you enter an outpost, you are considered to have forfeited."
The twenty-four teams were then led to twenty-four different gates around the perimeter of the forest.
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen, the two elders, Fugaku, Genkai, Ebizō from Suna, Yugito from Kumo, and representatives from the other villages sat in a spacious monitoring room.
Fugaku glanced at Hiruzen, who was watching the screens with a benevolent smile, but the two stern-faced elders on either side of him made him hesitate. He sighed and sat down, his eyes searching for Itachi on the monitors.
Swoosh...
The gates to the Forest of Death slowly opened, and the candidates rushed inside.
"Hey, brat! If you're too slow, you'll get yourself killed," a kunoichi at one of the gates said with a grin, looking at the leisurely strolling Cloud team.
"..."
Neji looked up at her. She had a bamboo skewer in her mouth, a tan trench coat, and fishnet stockings. Her purple hair was tied up in a messy bun.
"Get in there!" she said, pushing him inside and slamming the gate shut.
"What's your name, bun-head-neechan?" Neji asked with a smile.
"Heh?" she said, a surprised look on her face. "If you make it out of there alive, I'll tell you."
"I'll remember that," he said with a wave, and then he and his team disappeared into the forest.