"I'll go," Naraku volunteered, his reasoning quite sound. "My Body Flicker Technique is faster, so there's less chance of me getting caught."
Kakashi looked at Naraku with a hint of worry and admonished, "Be careful."
"Don't worry."
Naraku smiled, pulled some throwing weapons from his ninja tool pouch, and quietly snuck over.
Not far from the iron door of the stairwell, a patrol squad was approaching. Naraku listened to their footsteps, estimating their path and distance.
Just as the leading patrol member rounded a corner, about to turn left, a blade flashed, and a streak of pure white light filled everyone's eyes.
Immediately after, blood spurted from his neck and chest, staining the entire wall red.
"Wh—"
The others quickly drew their weapons, only to see a small dark shadow dart across the intersection, followed by a dozen shuriken.
In the brief moment they blocked, the shadow scrambled up the wall and ceiling, circling the corridor and coming up behind them.
By the time they turned around, the last member in the line was already on the ground, twitching.
The culprit was crouching, pulling a blood-stained kunai from the man's throat, his movements steady and calm, as if in provocation.
"You!"
Such a brutal and arrogant display enraged the Ninja, who were ostensibly guards but actually Examiners.
At least, that's how it seemed.
Naraku continuously used the Body Flicker Technique to escape, a group of pursuing Ninja hot on his heels, occasionally firing a few kunai or several shuriken, all of which Naraku deftly dodged.
He led his pursuers on a wild chase throughout the building, deliberately avoiding the areas where Kakashi and his team were lurking, while the possible infiltration routes for other examinee teams were thoroughly checked multiple times.
The pursuers caught several examinees hiding in different locations, but they couldn't get their hands on Naraku, calling for backup in frustration.
The crowd grew larger, and various throwing weapons and Ninjutsu rained down like a storm, quickly adding wounds to Naraku's body.
When he felt he had nowhere to run, he protected his head with his arms, smashed a sixth-floor window, and jumped out. One or two dozen people followed him, jumping out of nearby windows, determined not to give up until they caught him.
"Duy-senpai!"
As Naraku fell, he loudly called out his teammate's name.
"Here I come! Konoha Strong Whirlwind!"
A green shadow leaped from the ground into mid-air, spinning and kicking several people away, then using the last person as a springboard to jump clear, dodging several Fire Release and Water Release Ninjutsu, before pouncing to the other side and taking down another five or six people.
The pursuers who had dodged Might Duy's attack were about to counterattack when they saw a dozen explosive tags thrown from Neko Nakano's hands, flying towards them with sparks.
These poor "guards" who jumped out the windows to pursue were subjected to various beatings before most of them even landed, finally crashing clumsily to the ground.
Not only were they bruised, swollen, and dizzy, but Ryoichi Ota steadily finished them off, knocking them out completely.
Naraku landed steadily, his clothes torn in several places, some with bloodstains, but judging by the amount of blood, his injuries were not severe.
"Kakashi and his team are still inside. He'll signal when he gets the intel."
"Well done, Naraku!"
Might Duy gave Naraku a thumbs-up, his big white teeth gleaming brightly in the sunlight.
"To be able to attract so many enemies! It makes my blood boil! Youth should be like this, without reservation!"
Neko Nakano asked curiously, "How did you make them so angry?"
Naraku showed a slightly embarrassed, shy smile and quietly replied, "I used a Genjutsu."
Everyone silently marveled, "As expected of the Uchiha, it must have been a very powerful Genjutsu."
Just then, a sharp whistling sound came, and a red signal flare shot out from a window in the building, burning continuously in mid-air for a while before gradually fading.
Naraku exclaimed with delight, "It's Kakashi, he succeeded."
Might Duy clenched his fists and cheered loudly, "Yosh! Then let's quickly go meet him and cover his retreat!"
The group arrived near the location where the signal flare was shot, just as Kakashi also jumped out of the building to escape.
Upon meeting, Kakashi spoke rapidly.
"During the retreat, Kobayashi was caught while covering me."
Naraku unleashed a Fire Release Ninjutsu, temporarily blocking the Ninja pursuing Kakashi. "It's alright, as long as we submit the intel, Kobayashi will also pass."
"Third Gate, Gate of Life, Open!"
Might Duy roared, his entire Chakra surging like a boiling cauldron, his black hair standing on end.
"I'll cover the rear, you all go quickly!"
"We'll go too!"
"And me!"
Neko Nakano and Ryoichi Ota each pulled out sealing scrolls from their clothes, and rows of densely packed Ninja tools and throwing weapons of all kinds were unsealed, making Naraku's eyes widen.
Wait, you never said your family owned a Ninja tool shop!
There was no time to complain. Naraku and Kakashi ran at full speed, and with their Chakra almost depleted, they finally made it back to the examination room in time to submit the intel to the Examiner.
"Hmm, the intel is correct."
The Examiner made a few marks on the record board and handed Naraku six certificates.
"Your team has passed."
"The second exam begins tomorrow, promptly at 8 AM at the Forest of Death entrance."
"Anyone late will be considered to have forfeited their examination qualification."
Naraku took them with both hands, gave one to Kakashi, then carefully tucked the rest into his clothes, returning along the original path to find his scattered teammates.
When he found his teammates, the pursuers had already received the news that the team had passed the exam and had long since dispersed.
Katsuo Kobayashi, who had been captured, had also just been released. Including Might Duy, the four of them were sitting or lying on the side of the road, all utterly exhausted.
However, when Naraku pulled out the passing certificates, everyone immediately forgot their previous fatigue and pain, and happily decided to celebrate by eating barbecue...