Naruto: Assistant to the Hokage

Forest of Death.

The selection test site for the second Nakanobu exam.

Konoha had never changed the location of the second exam, and could not find a place more suitable than this one to become a field exam site to test the comprehensive abilities of the Chunin Ninja team.

Just like the name of this examination center, the Forest of Death also had dangers that could cause death, including the dangerous forest environment and wild beasts that could be found everywhere...

As well as...

Rivals that could pop up at any time.

The eyes of everyone present would fall on two people.

One was Akihara Kagura and the other was Uchiha Itachi, both ten year olds who had taken the exam alone and were the only candidates who had passed the first session without examination.

The other shinobi had gone through a lot of trouble to pass the first round of written exams, but as a result, the two brats were waiting for them at the second exam without having to take the test, which always made people feel that there was something not quite fair.

"That brat..."

"What's so special about it?"

"Never seen or heard of it before."

"Why does it feel like there's some tit-for-tat between the Uchiha and that little brat...it can't be that he's a genius like Uchiha Itachi, right?"

"That's hard to say..."

"After all, a person who takes the Chunin Exam and has the consent of the village's higher-ups is surely not some simple brat..."

"That brat is the guy who tricked us into switching exam rooms!"

The Lower Ninja examinees present didn't know who suddenly came up with such a sentence, instantly causing the group to look in Akihara Kagura's direction with faces full of displeasure.

"Hey, that brat..."

"I did it."

Kagura smiled as he admitted what he had done and reached out his hand in invitation, "Welcome... everyone to my trouble."

"Don't get too cocky kid..."

A few guys who obviously weren't too easy to mess with approached.

Luckily.

The examiner of the second exam stopped the conflict.

The examiner of the second exam was named Yamashiro Aoba, wearing the green uniform of a special Konoha upper shinobi and a pair of sunglasses on his face.

Yamashiro Aoba sized up the group of lower ninja who wanted to cause trouble and spoke softly, "If you want to fight, you'll have plenty of time once you enter the examination room."

"Even..."

Aoba raised a thick stack of paper in his hand and continued, "After signing this Consent Form, even if you guys miss and kill your opponents inside the examination hall, no one will hold you accountable afterward."

"Of course."

"Anyone who signs this Consent Form may have an accident during this examination, and the safety of their lives will be entirely their own responsibility."

"Examiner."

Kagura raised his hand with a grin and voiced a question, "Do you mean that the second exam can be murderous?"

"..."

Aoba frowned in thought.

Every year's Chunin Exam always had some arrogant guys who thought they could excel within a single exam, and they often ended up dying under hubris.

Even geniuses...

Can perish in the Forest of Death.

However, Aoba was not a ninja with a crazy personality, his nature was even a bit cowardly and timid, he thought for a while or nodded.

"In terms of rules, it is possible."

Aoba glanced at the teenager and gently persuaded, "The most important thing about this exam is to fight against competition, besides that there is also a test of your wilderness survival ability."

"Even if you are able to get the props to pass from your competitors, you may not be able to avoid the dangers in the forest to reach the end of the exam..."

"The rules for the second Chunin Exam are fairly simple..."

"The battle for the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, all of the Ninja teams present for the exam will be given two different scrolls, the Heavenly Scrolls and the Earthly Scrolls;"

"For five days, any team will need to find a way to survive within the Forest of Death, as well as snatch the scrolls from other teams to get together the two types of Scrolls of Heaven and Earth, and within the Forest of Death Examination Center, there is no restriction on you using any tactics against your competitors."

"There is only one condition for victory."

"The team that must hold both the heaven and earth scrolls within the stipulated five days, and pass through the long Forest of Death, arriving at the tower at the end where the main examiner is located."

"The conditions for elimination, however, are many."

"First, the team that doesn't arrive at the end point with the Heaven and Earth Scrolls within the stipulated five days, all personnel will be eliminated."

"Second, there is a lack of team members within the team or the team members are unable to act, which means that in order to become the victor the squad must arrive with all of its members."

"Thirdly, the squad that violates the rules of opening the Heaven and Earth Scrolls before arriving at the end tower, because once you become a Chunin you may have access to super-secret documents, this is an examination of your ability to keep secrets."

"Friendly reminder."

"Strange things can happen when you open the scrolls illegally in the middle of the exam."

"Likewise."

"In order to give you guys time to adapt."

"All the candidates present will enter the examination room through several different entrances."

"This exam will surely eliminate more than half of the team, I hope that you all will be careful individually, and I will be waiting for the victor at the high tower at the end."

"..."

The candidates present quickly clamored.

Itachi's gaze still did not change in the slightest, he just organized his ninjutsu bag with extra care, because he promised his father that he would be able to pass the Chunin exam.

Kagura's eyes didn't change much either, he just lowered his head and signed the Consent Form, seemingly not caring that he was in danger within the Forest of Death either.

There was no shortage of people who had their eyes on the two teenagers, Uchiha Itachi and Akihara Kagura, as they were considered to be two squads, with one person holding a type of scroll.

Compared to competing with other squads, three people surrounding one person seemed to have a better chance of winning, except that there were a bit too many people who had their eyes on those two brats...

There are really too many wolves...

Of course.

Some people had a very strange focus.

"Where do I get my supplies?"

A fat man questioned Aoba in a loud voice.

Aoba answered the candidate's question quite seriously, "Wilderness Survival, there are abundant resources within the Dead Forest, it should be enough for you to be self-sufficient."

"..."

The lower ninja present felt that this was all a minor issue.

After all, they had all gone out on some missions and had all learned the skills of wilderness survival, so this little matter was not a problem at all.

Perhaps...

There was only one person who thought it might be a problem.

Kagura furrowed his brow and began to think about life, kind of wanting to ask if there was a squad of shinobi who wanted to act as cooks that he could lay claim to with this squad.

Kagura could fish, but was not good at cooking fish.

All this time, Kagura hadn't had to think about cooking, Orochimaru had kept him fit and healthy when he was at the experimental base in the past.

Later on, he was in the Root Organization, and Root's base had its own cafeteria, and while the standard of food may not have been too good, he was able to make do with what he had and not starve.

Kagura raised his eyes and glanced at the shinobi present.

If you don't know how to cook, can't you find a way to make some food? The resources within the Deadly Forest were enough to make people self-sufficient, so they could definitely find something to eat.