BOOM!
Glass shattered across all three examination rooms as a figure burst in through the windows.
Four kunai flashed through the air — shh! shh! shh! shh! — embedding themselves into the walls and floor in perfect formation. A massive black curtain snapped open, blocking Ibiki Morino from view.
Across the curtain, bold red letters flared:
"Second Exam Proctor — Mitarashi Anko, Please Enter!"
"I am the second exam examiner — Mitarashi Anko!"
A woman in a fishnet bodysuit and tan trench coat stood proudly before the stunned crowd. Her voice was loud, fierce, and full of energy.
"Alright, everyone, get ready! Next round starts now!" she shouted, thrusting her fist high like she was announcing a festival instead of an elimination test.
The room stayed dead silent.
Not a sound. Not a cheer. Not even a cough.
Anko blinked. "…Follow me!" she barked again, louder this time.
Still silence.
The awkwardness hung like a fog.
Behind the curtain, Ibiki leaned out just enough for half his face to show. His tone was ice-cold.
"Anko… learn to read the room."
Anko's face flushed red. She wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.
Her dramatic entrance — completely wasted.
She coughed, straightened up, and quickly switched tones. "Ahem… quite a crowd this year. Ibiki, you're getting soft. Too many people passed your test."
Ibiki grunted. "Plenty of talent this time. Every major village sent their best."
"Well, don't worry," Anko said with a smirk. "After I'm done, half of them will be gone."
Her grin returned in full force — like the embarrassment had never happened.
Ibiki just sighed. The room full of Genin all had the same thought.
"She's really thick-skinned."
Under Anko's lead, the surviving candidates were escorted to the edge of a massive, dense jungle.
The Forest of Death.
"Just like Naruto said," Sasuke muttered from a nearby treetop, watching the groups gather. "There really are strangers hiding among them. Some of these aren't even villagers — they've slipped in disguised as Genin. This isn't an exam. It's bait."
His sharp black eyes locked on a single figure among the Grass Village teams — one whose chakra felt wrong. Too calm. Too cold. Too dangerous.
"That one," Sasuke murmured. "If he's allowed to kill during the test, this'll turn ugly fast."
He melted back into the branches, quietly tracking.
Below, the forest gate buzzed with energy. Dozens of Genin squads gathered, restless and excited. Some laughed, others traded empty bravado — completely unaware of what awaited them inside.
Sasuke frowned. "Naive idiots. Let's see if they're still laughing after they meet the real ninja world."
"The second round of the Chūnin Selection Exams begins now!"
Anko's voice echoed through the trees.
The teams rushed into the forest through separate entrances, each clutching their assigned scroll — either Heaven or Earth.
The goal: capture the opposite scroll and reach the tower at the forest's center within five days.
Sunagakure Team — Gaara's Squad
"Gaara, we've got the Heaven Scroll. We need the Earth one next. Did you see which team—?"
"No need," Gaara interrupted coldly. "We'll wait at the central tower. Let them come to us."
His teammates nodded nervously, feeling the faint pulse of Shukaku's chakra leaking from him.
Iwagakure Team — Kurotsuchi's Squad
"Let's go!" Kurotsuchi barked. "We'll take out the next team we find and steal their scroll!"
Her teammate groaned. "Shouldn't we check which scroll they have first?"
"Doesn't matter. If it's not the one we need, we'll just find another. Keep moving!"
Kumogakure Team — Turui's Squad
"Omoi, you remembered which teams have which scrolls, right?" Turui asked as they sprinted through the underbrush.
Omoi nodded. "Yeah. Memorized them all."
"See? That's why I like you, Omoi," Turui grinned.
"Yeah," said Azui. "With Omoi around, we just fight — no thinking required!"
Kirigakure Team — Suigetsu's Squad
The three Mist ninjas were already arguing before they'd taken ten steps.
"Let's just camp near the tower," Chojuro said cautiously. "Wait and strike when they come to us."
Suigetsu scoffed. "That's boring. We hunt first, then wait."
"Don't underestimate the others," Chojuro warned. "This isn't the same as back home."
Suigetsu waved him off. "You think any of these brats can touch me? Please. I could knock out half this forest with one punch."
"Arrogant idiot," Chojuro muttered. "The other villages sent elites — Tsuchikage's granddaughter from Iwa, Kazekage's brother from Suna, and Konoha's Genin… trained for a month by Uzumaki Naruto himself."
Suigetsu's grin froze.
That name sent a chill through him.
He still remembered that crushing, suffocating pressure from Naruto — how helpless he'd felt before him.
"…Fine," Suigetsu muttered. "We'll gather scrolls first."
The three moved off quietly, unaware of a shadow stalking them from above.
A figure in a Grass Village headband whispered to himself:
"Hydration Technique — the Ghost Clan's secret art. Turns the body to liquid. Immune to blades, nearly impossible to kill. Perfect target for study."
His lips curled into a smile. "Let's start with Suigetsu…"
High above, Sasuke's Sharingan flickered crimson.
"So that's your plan. You think you're the predator," he murmured. "But you're already being hunted."
He leapt silently from branch to branch, tailing the assassin like a shadow.
Back outside the forest, a grim-faced Chūnin sprinted toward Anko's command tent.
"Proctor Anko! We found something!"
Anko turned sharply. "What is it?"
"The corpses of several Grass Village ninjas. All of them — melted beyond recognition."
Her heart froze.
She knelt beside the remains — her eyes narrowing at the burned, twisted flesh. She knew that technique. That scent. That chakra signature.
Her blood went cold.
"…This is Orochimaru's work."
Her expression hardened instantly.
"Orochimaru's already inside the Forest of Death!"
She straightened, her voice like steel.
"You two — get this to the Third Hokage immediately! I'll track him myself. Protect the examinees at all costs!"
Before either guard could respond, Anko vanished — leaping into the shadows of the forest, moving like a flash of lightning through the trees.
Izumo and Kotetsu exchanged a grave look.
Neither said a word.
They just turned and ran for the Hokage Tower — knowing full well that a storm had already begun to rise inside the Forest of Death.
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