As everyone fell silent, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and explained.
"You must seize these twelve Ninja Beast Eggs."
The moment his words fell, everyone began discussing.
"Seize?!"
The teenagers' murmurs rose and fell like waves.
The Third Hokage raised his hand to signal for quiet, continuing with a smile:
"Only student teams that obtain Ninja Beast Eggs will qualify for the second round."
After speaking, he slowly sat down, pulled out his smoking pipe, and leisurely blew out a puff of smoke.
"I will serve as the chief examiner for this first round."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tsunade on the platform took a step forward.
Her posture was upright, her golden hair shining under the sunlight, with an imposing aura.
A small number of Senju clan members among the students showed excited expressions.
"Alright, brats!"
Tsunade's voice was loud and clear, almost drowning out the noise in the square.
"You have only one hour to form three-person teams on your own!"
She raised her hand and pointed toward the distant forest.
"Assemble at the Forest of Death in one hour!"
In one corner of the crowd, Shikaku Nara rested his chin on his hand, lazily analyzing:
"Three-person teams... It seems this isn't just about pure strength, but also tests teamwork."
"Although a team only needs to obtain one Ninja Beast Egg to advance, if they can get more, they can reduce the number of competitors."
Nearby, Choza Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka naturally gathered around Shikaku Nara.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio naturally formed a team together.
On the other side, Kushina Uzumaki was waving her fist with an eager expression.
"Hey, this kind of free-for-all is my favorite! Just wait until I knock them all down!"
Mikoto Uchiha stood beside her, smiling lightly with a gentle yet somewhat helpless look in her eyes.
"Kushina, you're being too impulsive again. We need to form a team first."
"Forming a team..."
Kushina pouted, her red hair swaying in the wind.
"I only want to be in a team with you. Having to find one more person is such a hassle."
Mikoto covered her mouth with a light laugh, then suddenly turned her head to look into the crowd.
"Isn't there a suitable candidate right there?"
Kushina followed her gaze and saw a blond boy not far away, adjusting his forehead protector with his head lowered.
Sunlight spilled onto his hair, sparkling brilliantly.
"Minato is the top student in the first year, you know."
Kushina snorted, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow: "Hmph, him... His grades are good, I guess."
She deliberately turned her head away, but secretly glanced in Minato's direction.
The boy seemed to notice something, looked up, and gave her a gentle smile.
The smile was sunny and straightforward, much like the gentle breeze of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Kushina's heart tightened, and she quickly averted her gaze: "Whatever, let him join! It's not like I feel like looking for anyone else anyway."
"Hehe, it's settled then." Mikoto smiled and reached out her hand. "Minato-kun, would you like to form a team with us?"
Hearing this, Minato Namikaze showed a gentle smile: "Okay."
Meanwhile, countless teams were rapidly forming throughout the square.
The two young clan leaders, Fugaku Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuga, had each gathered elites from their respective clans, forming opposing teams.
As for the viewing platform, Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes while calculating.
In the older age group, the main teams were the Uchiha squad and the Hyuga squad.
Among the younger students, there were Minato's squad, the Ino-Shika-Cho squad, and the squad formed by Shino and the Ninja Hound clan.
Currently, these individuals represent the future core strength of the Hidden Leaf Village's new generation.
Hmm...
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his gaze toward Orochimaru.
He was the mastermind behind this entire exam.
However, he hadn't expected Orochimaru to offer the Ninja Beast Eggs as competition prizes right from the first round.
This was just as well—it allowed him to observe the combat effectiveness of these Small Artificial Tailed Beasts up close.
Simultaneously, deep within the cold and damp Forest of Death.
A white figure quietly emerged from the soil—White Zetsu.
It silently scanned its surroundings.
Then, slowly extending its hand, its fingertips transformed into root-like tentacles that gently pierced the earth.
"Gurgle!"
Countless tiny Leech Seeds instantly spread out, seeping into the ground like a virus.
They rapidly took root, devouring the existing tree roots and vines, quietly replacing part of the Forest of Death's ecosystem.
These newly rooted plants spread in a grid-like pattern. Though they couldn't cover the entire Forest of Death, they still managed to plant numerous seeds.
The textures of the trees gradually twisted, and faint Chakra Pathways appeared on the surfaces of their branches.
Having completed this task, White Zetsu gently shook off the soil from its body and slowly emerged from the ground.
Moments later, it arrived at the outskirts of the Forest of Death.
Black Zetsu was waiting there quietly.
"Why are you so slow?" Black Zetsu asked coldly, a hint of impatience in his tone.
White Zetsu grinned, revealing a row of pristine white teeth, its expression innocent to the point of being mischievous.
"Ah, I was just learning how to pee."
Black Zetsu's expression froze for an instant, a vein twitching slightly on his forehead, his tone stiff: "Don't tell me such things. What did you find out?"
White Zetsu then became somewhat more serious and began recounting the information it had overheard at the outskirts of the Forest of Death.
About the Hidden Leaf Ninja School's exam, the appearance of the Ninja Beast Eggs, the presence of the Third Hokage and Danzo, and the Three Ninja serving as examiners.
"Ninja Beast Eggs... even the Hidden Leaf is starting to use them openly now?"
Black Zetsu pondered for a moment, his tone turning colder: "First, relay this information to Uchiha Madara."
"Got it."
White Zetsu grinned, its body turning liquid-like as it slipped into the soil and vanished instantly.
At the forest's edge, only Black Zetsu remained standing alone.
A light drizzle began to fall as he sat down quietly, his eyes dark and unreadable.
"Ninja Beast Eggs..."
He murmured softly, his voice nearly drowned out by the rain.
The next moment, his chest slightly bulged, and his skin split open with a fine seam.
With a twisted, squirming motion, a pitch-black Ninja Beast Egg slowly emerged from within his body.
The egg hung quietly in the air, its surface shimmering with a faint dark red glow, as if breathing.
Black Zetsu stared at it, his expression growing increasingly complex.
An emotion he had never felt before surged within him!
It was a sense of closeness, an almost unsettling tenderness.
He reached out, gently cradling the egg in his palm.
In that instant, he felt an extremely real connection.
It wasn't a resonance of Chakra, but rather... emotion.
A feeling both familiar and strange slowly spread through his heart.
Warm, yet carrying a bizarre danger.
"This emotion..."
Black Zetsu murmured, his brow deeply furrowed.
"Aside from Mother, I've never felt this way about any other life."
He gazed at the egg, his fingertips trembling slightly.
I... actually want to hatch it with my own hands?
The thought flashed through his mind, sending a chill down his spine.
He could sense that this emotion did not originate from himself but was induced by this egg.
Indeed, ever since obtaining this egg, Black Zetsu had once again begun experiencing this subtle sense of familial affection.
This sent chills down its spine!