At this moment, Anko suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, and her heart tightened. Her Kunai reflexively stabbed backward.
However, a hand precisely blocked her elbow, followed by a voice. "Bullying Genin isn't a good habit, you know."
Mamoru peeked slightly over her shoulder (he was actually standing on tiptoes to make this move), looking at her sideways with a smile, and said, "Also, I have a question I'd like to ask."
Anko clearly saw the young man behind her, a cold sneer appearing on her face, and she gloomily said, "If you don't want to die, it's best not to stand behind me radiating killing intent. What do you want to ask?"
"I just wanted to ask, if I beat up an examiner here, will I be disqualified from the exam?" Mamoru asked his question very directly, his expression unchanged.
Of course, he didn't care much about the Chunin Exams, but if it would affect the rest of his team, he would choose to endure for now.
"What do you think?" Anko didn't answer his question directly, but playfully retorted, "Kid, you've got quite the attitude. What's your name?"
"Uchiha Mamoru." He reported his name straightforwardly.
"Uchiha... Mamoru, huh..."
Hearing the name, a hint of surprise flashed across Anko's face, then she narrowed her eyes and said, "Mamoru, I'll remember you."
"Please... please don't remember me. I have enough with two." Mamoru took a step back, waved his hand, and replied with a baffling remark.
"There are quite a few hot-blooded newcomers this year. How exciting." Anko said, releasing Naruto, and turning around.
She loudly announced, "Alright, before the second exam begins, I'll hand these out to you."
She pulled a stack of documents from inside her trench coat. "These are consent forms. Everyone who wants to participate in the exam must first sign here."
"Why?" Naruto was the first to ask.
"Because some people might die here. We need to get prior consent for that, otherwise, it becomes my responsibility, ahahaha..."
After her laughter subsided, Anko pointed to the small wooden house nearby. "First, let me explain the procedure. After you sign, your three-person team will hand in the consent forms to the examiners sitting over there. Now, for the explanation of the second exam. Simply put, you will undergo an extreme wilderness survival challenge here."
Anko handed the consent forms to Naruto, who was closest to her. Naruto instinctively took them, and then the forms were passed around among the crowd.
"First, let's explain the terrain of this training ground. This Training Ground 44 is surrounded by forty-four locked entrances. Inside the training ground, there are rivers and forests, and a tall tower in the very center."
As she spoke, Anko unrolled a scroll for the examinees, on which a simplified map of the training ground was drawn.
"The distance from the entrance to the tower is about ten kilometers. Within this restricted area, you will challenge your survival limits. Weapons, Ninjutsu, and methods are all unrestricted. The goal is..."
At this point, she rolled up the scroll with the map. "The Scroll Battle."
"Scrolls?" Someone in the crowd asked in confusion.
"You must collect both the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll. There are currently 78 people remaining, which means 26 teams. Half of the teams have a Heaven Scroll, and the other half have an Earth Scroll."
Anko then took out two more scrolls from her trench coat, one in her left hand and one in her right, with the characters 'Heaven' and 'Earth' written on their exteriors, respectively.
"Each team has either a Heaven or Earth scroll, and to pass the exam, all three members must simultaneously possess both the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll and reach the central tower."
At this moment, Sakura's clear voice broke the silence, and she asked in a questioning tone, "So, the 13 teams whose scrolls are stolen will be eliminated?"
Anko put away the Heaven and Earth scrolls, further reminding them, "That's right, but only if it's completed within the time limit. The second exam lasts for 120 hours, which is a full five days. These five days are for you to compete for the scrolls."
At these words, a commotion immediately arose in the crowd, and many faces showed worry.
"Five days?" Ino couldn't help but exclaim, surprised by the lengthy time limit.
"Then... how do we get food?" Choji, as always, was most concerned about this core issue, looking eagerly at the examiner.
"Self-sufficiency. The Forest of Death itself is a natural treasure trove, there's enough food in it for you to survive." Anko said, a playful smile on her lips.
Kabuto interjected at the opportune moment, pushing up his glasses, "Man-eating beasts, unpredictable venomous insects, deadly poisonous plants... they are all equally abundant."
He added, "Therefore, discernment is crucial."
"How can this be..."
Choji seemed to have lost all his strength, his head drooping in frustration, completely deflated.
A tempting voice sounded from the crowd. "Choji, do you want to follow me? I guarantee you'll have more than enough wild game to eat for these five days."
Choji instantly recognized Mamoru's voice. He suddenly looked up, his face filled with anticipation, and eagerly asked, "Eh? Really?"
"Can I come too?" Ino eagerly leaned forward to ask, though her motive was clearly for someone else.
"Are you two idiots?" Shikamaru showed a troubled expression. "Following him would be like willingly handing over our scroll, wouldn't it?"
"Will Mamoru steal our scroll?" Ino finally reacted, looking anxiously at Mamoru.
"Heh..." Mamoru neither admitted nor denied, merely showing a meaningful smile. "Who knows?"
Now, even Ino somewhat dejectedly lowered her head.
Anko ignored the small interlude and continued in her oppressive voice, "Remember, the number of teams that ultimately pass will definitely not reach 13. As the exam progresses, the distance you need to travel each day will continuously lengthen, and your rest time will be correspondingly shortened. Plus, with enemies all around, you must remain vigilant at all times, making it impossible to rest peacefully. In this brutal Scroll Battle, injuries are inevitable..."
She paused deliberately, scanning each young face, then slowly spoke the most serious part, "Some people might even lose their lives."
At this point, she raised one finger, her tone softening slightly, but the content remained serious. "Now, let's explain the conditions for elimination. First, teams that cannot reach the central tower with both the Heaven and Earth scroll as a three-person squad within the stipulated time."
She raised a second finger. "Second, if someone in the team dies, or is too severely injured to continue."
Then, she raised a third finger. "Furthermore, there's another rule—no quitting midway once the exam begins. You must stay in the Forest of Death for these five days. Finally, and most importantly—"
Her gaze sharpened. "The contents of the scrolls are absolutely forbidden to be viewed before reaching the tower."