Anko seemed very satisfied with the examinees' reactions.
She took a thick stack of documents from one of the proctors and patted it, producing a 'slap slap' sound.
"This is the 'Death Liability Acknowledgement and Consent Form'." She held up one copy so everyone could see the dense fine print and the signature line at the bottom.
"As the words suggest, casualties are permitted in this exam. Once you choose to continue, sign this consent form, and enter the exam venue, all entrance and exit gates will be locked. There is no withdrawing midway."
She paused, her smile fading slightly, her eyes turning serious.
"If you die, you become fertilizer for this forest. Konoha will not be responsible for your death, and your village will not hold us accountable, because this was your own choice."
Hearing something as formal and cold-blooded as a Death Liability Acknowledgement and Consent Form, most of the Genin examinees who had never experienced true bloody combat felt a piercing chill rise in their hearts.
Some of the examinees with poorer psychological resilience had already begun to waver, their eyes flickering.
Although many of them had faced mountain bandits and wandering samurai, they had few missions involving true life-or-death Ninja Combat.
And this time, death was a real possibility.
Deidara sat on a large rock not far away, chewing on something that looked like gum but had a strange, clay-like yellow color.
Beside him stood Ku and Kirara, both expressionless.
When Anko said 'casualties are permitted', Deidara's eyes lit up, and an excited smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Now this is interesting, yeah," He said quietly, his right hand unconsciously flexing its fingers, as if kneading something.
Suigetsu, on the other hand, laughed out loud directly: "Haha! Compared to that slow, dragging written exam, this is what a Chunin Exams should be! Combat! Bloodshed! This is what I wanted!"
His voice was particularly jarring, and many examinees looked his way.
Temari noticed the long sword wrapped in bandages on Suigetsu's back and lowered her voice to Gaara: "That white-haired, sharp-toothed guy... the sword he's carrying is probably one of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swords, the Long Sword: Nuibari."
Kankuro nodded gravely as well: "That shy kid with glasses, Chojuro, the shape of the cloth bag on his back... it's likely the Blunt Sword: Kabutowari. And that red-haired female Ninja, I've heard she's called Uzumaki Honoka, a member of the Uzumaki Clan. Her Chakra Reserves are definitely extraordinary."
Gaara didn't speak. He slowly opened his eyes, his green pupils scanning the three from Kirigakure, then the examinees from other villages, before closing them again.
Examinees from other villages were also whispering among themselves.
Just then, Anko spoke again.
She pulled two scrolls from her coat. One was wrapped in white silk with a black character for [Heaven] written on it... the other was wrapped in black silk with a white character for [Earth] written on it.
"Look carefully, these are your objectives." Anko held the scrolls high.
"Each team will randomly draw one scroll, either Heaven or Earth. Your task, besides reaching the central tower within five days, is to acquire the other scroll along the way. Only by assembling a matching pair of Heaven and Earth will you pass the exam."
As her words fell, the faces of examinees like Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi, who had originally planned to 'avoid combat and speed through', turned sour.
"This forces us to fight—" Shikamaru rubbed his temples, looking troubled.
"And considering the death waiver just now... that means killing is also permitted during the scramble for the scrolls."
He glanced around at the foreign Ninja eyeing them like predators and sighed inwardly: "What a drag—"
Choji had also stopped eating his chips and said quietly: "Shikamaru, then we—"
"We'll just have to take it one step at a time," Shikamaru interrupted him. "Try to avoid the strong teams and look for easy targets. But the problem is—"
His gaze swept over the teams present.
The two teams from the Land of Stars looked dangerous at a glance.
The team from Kirigakure had two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen... their strength was unknown but certainly not weak.
The three from Kumogakure were physically robust, clearly Taijutsu-type Ninja.
Deidara, though he looked rather flippant, was representing Iwagakure in the exam... he was definitely not someone to be trifled with.
And Otogakure—
Although he had never heard of this village, that tall, thin man wearing a sedge hat gave off a distinctly chilling aura.
"Easy targets... there don't seem to be many," Shikamaru sighed.
Anko waited for the examinees to digest the rules, then waved her hand.
Several proctors immediately began distributing the thick Death Liability Acknowledgement and Consent Forms.
"Alright, those are the rules." Anko pointed to a temporarily set up platform with a curtain pulled around it.
"I'll give you fifteen minutes to think it over and discuss. After fifteen minutes, teams that have decided can come over there to register, sign the consent forms, and draw their scrolls. Then the proctors will take you to your respective entrances. This training ground has forty-four entrances, and you will be randomly assigned to one of them."
She looked at the sky and continued: "The exam will officially begin in thirty minutes. Remember, once you enter, the gates will be locked and won't reopen until five days later. There's no quitting midway. Unless you die and your body gets carried out."
Those last words were bone-chillingly cold.
The examinees took the consent forms and gathered with their teammates, beginning to whisper among themselves.
"Five days... I wonder if the rations I brought are enough—"
"And we have to guard against attacks from other examinees—"
"The most important thing is to protect our scroll—"
Hinata listened to the discussions around her, her small hand unconsciously tugging at the corner of Menma's clothes.
She said quietly: "Menma-kun... for five days of food... we can bring some soldier pills, but what about water—"
Menma gently patted the back of her hand, his tone calm: "There are water sources in the forest. Don't worry, I'm here."
Naruto then came over and said boisterously: "Yeah, yeah! With Menma-nii here, there's definitely no problem! It's just a survival challenge! I'm the man who's going to be the Hokage! There's no way a little test like this can stop me!"
Not far away, Sasuke, who was being clung to by Ino and Sakura on either side, heard Naruto's words, twitched the corner of his mouth, and said quietly: "This idiot—"
"I said, you guys are so annoying!" He broke free from the two girls' 'encirclement' and walked off to the side.
Ino and Sakura glanced at each other and snorted simultaneously.
"Forty-eight examinees, sixteen teams." Sasuke furrowed his brow, beginning to analyze the situation, his Sharingan silently activating, scanning every team present.
"Each team has one scroll. There are eight Heaven scrolls and eight Earth scrolls. To form a matching pair and pass... that means at least eight teams must be eliminated."
He paused, his voice dropping lower: "But considering unexpected events along the way… poisonous insects, ferocious beasts, traps... in the end, maybe only five teams, or even fewer, will pass."
His gaze finally settled on Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro of the Land of Stars.
'That is to say—' Sasuke's eyes sharpened.
'There's a high chance I'll run into him.'
For some reason, Sasuke felt a strange sense of unease.
That red-haired boy not only emanated a dangerous aura, but also gave Sasuke a feeling of disquiet that he couldn't quite place.
Menma walked back to Naruto and Hinata carrying three consent forms.
He handed two to them and kept one for himself.
"Sign it." Menma glanced at the clauses on the form.
Naruto took the consent form, didn't even look at the terms, flipped directly to the last page, picked up a pen, and was about to sign.
"Wait." Menma stopped his hand. "Aren't you going to read the contents?"
Naruto grinned, showing two rows of white teeth: "What's there to read! I'm going to sign it anyway! I believe in Menma-nii and Hinata! The three of us will definitely make it through together!"
As he spoke, he firmly wrote his name in the signature line: Uzumaki Naruto.
The handwriting was crooked, but the strokes were heavy, almost piercing through the paper.
Hinata, on the other hand, read through the terms carefully.
Her face was slightly flushed. When her eyes fell on the line stating 'Death liability shall be borne by the signatory', she took a deep breath, picked up her pen, and signed her name in elegant, delicate handwriting: Hyuga Hinata.
Then she raised her head, looked shyly at Menma, her white eyes sparkling with firm light: "M-Menma-kun... let's go together."
"Yeah." Menma looked at the two, smiled, and signed his own consent form as well.
Just as he was putting away the consent forms, he suddenly felt a gaze fall upon him.
That gaze was cold, sticky, like a snake's tongue licking across his skin.
Menma turned his head.
Three examinees from Otogakure were gathered under a nearby tree.
The leader was a tall, thin man wearing a sedge hat and the grey combat uniform of Otogakure's Ninja. He was sizing up Menma with interest, his long tongue extended from his mouth, licking his lips.
Menma recognized the person's true identity at a glance.
That cold aura, those snake-like eyes, that greedy look… who else could it be but Orochimaru?
Menma returned a smile to him, very gentle, very ordinary, like a polite, social smile.
Orochimaru also smiled.
The corners of his mouth pulled back, revealing gleaming white teeth.
He didn't speak, just nodded to Menma, the interest in his eyes growing even stronger.
"Menma-nii, what are you looking at?" Naruto came over, following Menma's gaze.
"Oh, it's the Otogakure's Ninja... that guy in the sedge hat looks really strange."
"Nothing." Menma withdrew his gaze and stacked the three signed consent forms together.
"Let's go register. Finish the exam early… rest early." Menma's words carried a hint of meaning.
The three walked towards the registration desk.
In a nearby Otogakure's team, Kabuto withdrew his gaze from Menma and pushed up his glasses.
On the other side, Sasuke was still thinking.
His gaze remained locked on Gaara, trying to analyze something from the other's expression and movements.
Suddenly, Gaara took something out of the pocket on his chest. It was a small pendant… a silver chain with a four-leaf clover shaped green crystal pendant that shimmered with a soft luster.
Gaara brought the pendant to his lips and gently kissed it.
That movement was very light, very quick.
But Sasuke saw what the pendant looked like.
In that instant, Sasuke was struck by lightning, his whole body frozen in place.
That pendant—
He knew it too well.
It was the pendant his mother loved most when she was alive… the four-leaf clover shaped green crystal, symbolizing luck and protection.
In Sasuke's childhood memories, his mother often wore it. He still remembered her gentle smile as she touched the pendant.
'Why—'
'Why was it in that guy's hands?'
'Was it the same design? Or—'
Sasuke's breathing became rough. The crimson light of his Sharingan flickered, the black tomoes spinning slowly.
He stared fixedly at Gaara, at that pendant, his mind in chaos.
At the night of the massacre, Itachi, who had slaughtered the entire clan, and Shisui, who had suddenly appeared a few days ago—
The Land of Stars… Gaara…
These clues spun like fragments in his mind, yet they wouldn't form a complete picture.
"Sasuke?" A voice pulled him back to reality.
Sasuke snapped back to attention and saw Sai pulling on his arm, his face wearing that unchanging smile, but his eyes held confusion.
"What's wrong?" Sai asked. "You don't look well."
His other teammate, Shigaraki, also looked over. He tilted his head towards Menma and Naruto, who were walking to the registration desk, and said: "Time's about up. We should go register."
Sasuke took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
He deactivated his Sharingan, but his eyes still showed shock and bewilderment.
"Nothing." His voice was somewhat hoarse.
"Let's go."
The three also headed towards the registration desk.
But Sasuke's gaze remained locked on Gaara's back.
He silently vowed to himself: Once inside the exam venue, he would find that guy and find out the origin of that pendant.
A line had already formed at the registration desk.
Anko sat behind the desk, with a stack of consent forms, a lottery box, and a map laid out before her.
She was lazily sitting cross-legged, a senbon in her mouth, watching the examinees come up one by one.
Menma, Naruto, and Hinata were the first group.
Anko checked their consent forms, confirmed the signatures were correct, then pointed to the lottery box: "Reach in and pull out a scroll."
Menma reached in and pulled out a scroll wrapped in silk.
Taking it out, it was the black Earth scroll.
Anko recorded it on the registration form.
"Team 7, Earth Scroll. Entrance is… Number 22." She said, pointing to a spot on the map.
"Walk east along the wall for about three hundred meters. There's an iron gate marked 22. A proctor will take you there."
Menma nodded, put away the scroll, and led Naruto and Hinata away from the registration desk.
One by one, the other teams then drew their scrolls and were led by proctors to their respective entrances.
Fifteen minutes passed quickly.
All teams had completed registration and the drawing.
Forty-eight examinees were now dispersed at various entrances to the Forest of Death, waiting for the signal to start the exam.
Menma, Naruto, and Hinata stood in front of the iron gate at Entrance 22.
It was a gate similar to the main one but smaller, also wrapped in chains.
The proctor who had brought them was a taciturn middle-aged Ninja... he just stood to the side, not speaking.
"I'm so nervous! What kind of enemies will we meet!" Naruto moved his hands and feet nervously, occasionally looking at the iron gate, then at the depths of the forest.
Hinata, on the other hand, gripped her ninja tool pouch tightly, her Byakugan observing the surrounding environment.
Menma leaned against the wall, resting with his eyes closed, though in reality, his Mind's Eye of Kagura had been quietly activated, covering the entire exam venue.
Time ticked by, minute by minute.
The forest was very quiet… too quiet. Even the sound of birdsong had disappeared.
As if all living creatures knew that something terrible was about to happen.
Finally—
A sharp whistle signal pierced the silence of the forest.
Immediately after, the iron gates at all entrances simultaneously emitted a 'click' unlocking sound.
The chains slipped off, and the iron gates slowly swung inward.
Revealing behind them the deep, dark forest that seemed capable of devouring everything.
Anko's voice echoed over the forest through the loudspeakers at each entrance: "The second part of the Chunin Exams—"
"The Survival Challenge, now begins!"
"Good luck, you brats. I hope to see you alive in five days."
As her voice fell,
Menma opened his eyes and said to Naruto and Hinata beside him: "Let's go."
With that, he was the first to rush into the Forest of Death.
"Alright! Charge!" Naruto took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and quickly followed.
Hinata also trotted to keep up.
The iron gate slowly closed behind them.
The chains again wrapped around and locked.
The exam had officially begun.