Chapter 8: Can Change Between Man and Woman, and Even Give Birth Alone?
"Even though his chakra smells pretty nice…
it still can't compare to the Master's at all!"
Thinking of Byakuya, Karin's face immediately showed a faint, shy smile.
"Alright, that's enough.
The Master already said so.
The first stage is a written test.
Super easy—even turning in a blank sheet will let you pass.
So I'll just conserve my energy here.
I'll start focusing on Sasuke during the second stage."
Karin completely ignored the conversation happening over there between the nine rookie Leaf genin and that veteran genin, Yakushi Kabuto.
She quietly began exchanging cultivation insights with Ho-Oh.
…
At this moment, Sasuke felt a little panicked.
At the same time, he also felt tremendous pressure.
As the "last" Uchiha,
he believed he should shoulder the glory of the Uchiha clan.
First kill that older brother who betrayed the clan, then shock the world and revive the Uchiha name.
But…
ideals are always grand, while reality is cruel.
He felt his own talent was honestly too lacking.
Back in the Academy, he had always been firmly suppressed by Byakuya.
When it came to ninja ability,
Byakuya was forever number one, and he was forever number two.
Although he challenged Byakuya many times, he never won even once.
After graduating, he felt things had become much easier.
Because Byakuya had given up on continuing as a ninja.
And around him were now "noobs" like Naruto and Sakura.
So he felt very comfortable.
But good times never last.
He discovered that Naruto's potential was frighteningly high.
One day in the future, he might even be surpassed by that dead-last.
The thought of being overtaken by the class deadbeat put huge pressure on him.
Then came the Chūnin Exams.
And now he found out
there wasn't only that unfathomable monster Gaara from the Sand,
but also monsters from his own village like Hyūga Neji and Rock Lee.
Not long ago, Rock Lee had even "instantly defeated" him.
The pressure grew even heavier.
"Things are getting more and more interesting."
Sasuke looked around at the examinees in the classroom,
a cold smirk appearing on his face.
"I will definitely become much stronger.
Then defeat everyone here.
And finally… kill that man!"
…
The first round of the Chūnin Exams was a written test.
However, calling it a "written test" was mostly a formality—
what it really tested was information-gathering ability and courage.
Thanks to Naruto's protagonist halo,
Team 7 passed the first round without any real danger.
After the first round ended,
all the candidates were given half a day of rest.
Proctor Mitarashi Anko announced they would gather at a different location tomorrow.
The specific time and place would be obtained from their respective jōnin sensei.
…
The night passed uneventfully.
Early the next morning, all the participating ninjas gathered at the entrance to Training Ground 44.
"This is the venue for the second exam—Training Ground 44."
With a creepy smile on her face, the head proctor Anko slowly spoke:
"It is also known as… the Forest of Death~
You'll soon experience it firsthand."
The atmosphere in the field instantly froze.
A breeze blew past, and everyone suddenly felt a chill.
"Hmph~"
Naruto let out a snort when he saw this.
Then he scrunched up his face, bent over,
and started wiggling his butt while speaking in an exaggerated, mocking tone:
"It is also known as… the Forest of Death~
You'll soon experience it firsthand~
No matter how much you try to scare me, it won't work!
I'm not scared at all!"
"Oh really?"
Anko tilted her head with a grin.
"You sure are full of energy~"
With that,
she suddenly flicked a kunai.
It flew right past Naruto's face, grazing his cheek and drawing blood!
In the next instant,
Anko appeared behind Naruto in a flash.
"Kids like you are usually the first ones to die."
She grabbed Naruto's head in a headlock,
rubbing the blood flowing from the wound with her finger while murmuring:
"Spill out my favorite… fresh, vivid red blood~"
Just when she was about to do something more,
a figure wearing a straw hat suddenly appeared behind her.
With an unnaturally long tongue, it picked up the kunai from the ground and handed it back to her.
"Here's your kunai."
…
"So that's Orochimaru?
As expected… she already killed someone from the Kusagakure ninja village and took on their appearance."
Karin, who had been paying close attention the whole time, pushed up her glasses.
She firmly memorized Orochimaru's chakra scent.
During this period, she had often used "missions" as an excuse to chat with Byakuya through the ring.
From him, she learned quite a lot of strange and bizarre information.
"I heard right now he's in a woman's body?
Changes between man and woman at will…
and in the end can even give birth all by himself?
What a…
truly amazing person!"
Looking at Orochimaru, Karin's eyes were filled with astonishment.
You really have to admit—
girls love gossip.
Lately Karin was straight-up gorging on the juiciest rumors.
…
Anko quickly finished explaining the rules for the second exam.
Each team would receive either a Heaven scroll or an Earth scroll before entering the forest.
Inside the forest, they had to steal a scroll of the opposite type from another team.
Then, within five days,
all three members had to safely arrive at the tower in the center of the forest while carrying both different scrolls.
That would count as officially passing.
After signing the consent form acknowledging the risk of death,
everyone collected their scrolls and entered the forest.
Team 7, led by an examiner, arrived at the 12th entrance.
They silently waited for the exam to begin.
The moment the signal was given,
the three of them instantly dashed into the forest.
"Ahhh!!"
Not long after entering the forest,
a blood-curdling scream rang out.
"Th-That just now…
was that a human scream?"
Sakura nervously looked around.
"I…
I'm suddenly feeling really tense…"
"It's… It's nothing, Sakura-chan~"
Naruto put his hands behind his head,
looking tense himself but trying to act relaxed.
But he only held it together for half a sentence before he broke.
"I…
I kinda need to pee…"
"You idiot!"
Sakura punched Naruto hard enough to give him a huge bump on the head.
"What are you saying in front of a lady?!
Go do it in the bushes!"
A moment later, Naruto came back with a satisfied look.
"Whew!
What a huge piss~
Feeling so refreshed now~"
"That's exactly why you shouldn't talk about that kind of thing in front of a lady—"
Before Sakura could finish scolding him,
she saw Sasuke suddenly rush over and punch Naruto flying.
"Sasuke!
No matter what, there's no need to hit him, right?!"
Sakura looked at Sasuke in confusion.
But Sasuke completely ignored her.
He kept attacking Naruto nonstop.
"What the hell are you doing all of a sudden?!"
Naruto shouted while being forced to take the hits.
"You're asking me?
Funny—that's exactly what I want to ask you."
Sasuke charged again.
The two of them started fighting once more.
"Sasuke!
Please stop!"
"Pfft~"
Suddenly, a cold laugh came from the tree branch above the three of them.
"I never expected you guys to be this weak.
One got ambushed and tied up.
One can't even recognize their own teammate.
And one's been fighting a genin for this long without finishing it~
If the Holy Master hadn't given orders, I absolutely wouldn't come help weaklings like you~"
Karin lightly sniffed the air.
"Mmm~
I have to say… Sasuke's chakra really does smell nice~
Too bad… it's still nowhere near as good as the Holy Master's~"