"You knew you were going to need these?"
"More or less. But don't worry, it's not like I cheated and got the questions ahead of time." Daigan smiled, signaling his teammates not to overthink it. "We're not rookie Genin anymore. To be promoted to Chunin, you have to gather some intelligence. A ninja's work is all about efficiency, which in some ways, makes them incredibly lazy. Once a simple, effective method is proven, they'll use it over and over again until it's completely run into the ground. Just like today."
Daigan's former Jonin captain, Sajin, had once told him about his own Chunin Exam, which had also involved a scramble for Scrolls of Heaven and Earth. A Chunin Daigan had met at the Northern Fortress had participated in a joint exam hosted by Konoha as well, and it too had been a scroll competition, just not in the Forest of Death.
"I told you guys, didn't I? The process for every joint Chunin Exam is basically the same. First a written test, then team-based combat—the scroll battle format is the most common—and finally, individual matches."
The candidates changed each year, and the scrolls might look a little different, but the core concept was always the same. Daigan sometimes harbored the malicious suspicion that this year's scrolls were just leftover stock from the last exam.
The first and second tests shared a similar flaw. Mitarashi Anko's biggest mistake was telling the candidates not to open the scrolls, but failing to tell them how to identify a genuine one. The exterior of a real scroll was unremarkable; it was the various formations laid inside that made it special. This gave Daigan's counterfeiting operation the opening it needed.
Just like in the first test, the top-tier candidates would be largely unaffected. But anyone who couldn't secure a quick victory would fall right into his trap. The chances for the weaker teams were now basically zero. Not that they were high to begin with, but Daigan had just snuffed out that last flicker of hope. Even the slightly stronger teams would have a tough time. It would be impressive if they managed to fight their way through the final slaughter.
If, that is, there weren't preliminary individual matches scheduled immediately after.
Yome and Chi exchanged helpless, wry smiles. They picked up the scrolls and began to help Daigan craft more fakes.
"Don't overthink it. Remember what the first proctor, Morino Ibiki, said? On a mission, a ninja can be influenced by false intelligence. Since the second test is the practical application of the first, it's only fair that I add a 'false intelligence' component for the candidates, right?"
"Are you sure this is okay?"
"I am. I know what I'm doing."
Daigan reassured his uneasy teammates, telling them to rest. Yome in particular needed a break; using her eyes for extended periods was draining, and with night falling, the poor visibility in the forest would render her scouting abilities nearly useless. There was no need to risk moving forward now. They were mere Genin, not powerhouses like Gaara. Venturing into the treacherous primeval forest at night was a fool's errand.
***
Not only was the elusive, murderous Orochimaru wandering the forest, but Yakushi Kabuto, who was observing Sasuke's performance, was also a major threat. If Daigan hadn't already secured a complete set of scrolls, he never would have distributed the fakes; that would have been shooting himself in the foot. But now, he had nothing to worry about.
Watching his two sleeping teammates, Daigan's frivolous smile vanished. He looked toward the direction of gate twelve, where Orochimaru was attacking Sasuke, and where Kabuto was likely lurking.
*Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro have probably already reached the tower. Ninety-seven minutes to clear it—that's more than four hours faster than the previous record. And the team with the tracking specialists—Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuga Hinata—finishing second isn't bad either.*
Aside from Kabuto's team, no one else was having an easy time. Sooner or later, most of the Genin would realize something was wrong.
Daigan's immediate goal wasn't to eliminate more teams. It was to force the stronger contenders—teams like the fated Team 7, Shikamaru's Team 10, the Sound trio, and the squads with Neji and Rock Lee—to exhaust their stamina and chakra. This would give the well-rested Daigan an extra edge in the preliminary individual matches. When the battered and exhausted Genin finally reached the tower in five days, only to be thrown immediately into one-on-one fights, it would be the perfect opportunity.
As for the official third stage a month later—an arena that would be stained with the blood and courage of ninja—people were going to die. Rivers of blood would flow. No matter how he looked at it, Sunagakure's chances of victory were slim. With a treacherous ally like Orochimaru, they had already lost half the battle.
In his memory, Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari had all survived. But could he count on things playing out the same way this time? Could Sunagakure surrender gracefully, produce the corpse of his cheap father-in-law Rasa, and win Konoha's sympathy? Manipulating Konoha into focusing its wrath on Orochimaru, painting themselves as victims misled by evil—that was a delicate art.
But first, he had to help Temari, Kankuro, and the others survive until Sunagakure's surrender. How much blood would have to be shed to pave that road to so-called peace? Daigan just hoped that he and Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara could all make it through safely, and that his other acquaintances would also weather the storm. The butterfly effect had begun the moment he arrived in this world. After struggling to survive for more than a decade, he wasn't about to pin his hopes on an unreliable "original story," and he certainly wasn't going to overestimate the mercy of Konoha's ninja.
***
The night was deep. After sacrificing a competent team of Rain Ninja, Gaara had acquired the Scroll of Heaven he needed and arrived at the central tower early with Temari and Kankuro.
Orochimaru, after roughing up Team 7 and successfully placing the Cursed Seal on Sasuke, casually slapped a Five Elements Seal on top of Naruto's Eight Trigrams Sealing Style. He then taught the proctor, Mitarashi Anko, who had sensed something was wrong, a lesson, warning her not to stop the Chunin Exam before vanishing.
Hiding in a hollow tree with the unconscious Naruto and Sasuke, Haruno Sakura had no idea that her location had long been discovered. The enemy was simply waiting for dawn to attack.
Team Otokaze, taking turns on watch, passed an uneventful first night.
Before the sun had even risen, as the first hints of dawn touched the eastern sky, Daigan was already urging his teammates to move. Yawning, Yome and Chi followed him.
"We're on the road this early?" Chi complained. "We already have our scrolls. There's no need to rush, is there?"
Yome looked in the direction they were heading. "Gate sixteen. That weaker team of Konoha Genin. Daigan, you injured that girl with the mental jutsu yesterday. Now you're going after them again? Don't tell me you're planning to apologize."
"Did we do anything that requires an apology? Don't be ridiculous," Daigan called back over his shoulder, not breaking stride. "Hurry and keep up. It's not easy to find a decent opponent in this forest. It would be good to get in a proper sparring match before the next stage."
"I have a feeling you've got another motive," Yome said, her eyes already scanning for their next unlucky target. "But this is fine. That Grass team was far too weak. They were completely useless as a benchmark."
Although Yome and Chi had only entered the exam at Daigan's insistence and hadn't held out much hope, their chances of passing the second stage now seemed incredibly high. As for the individual matches to follow, they would have to think carefully about whether to continue.
Unaware of the challenge heading their way, Konoha's Team 10 wasn't thinking about the future. They were too busy trying to figure out how to escape from Hyuga Neji.
"Come out. You can't hide from these eyes. Since we've run into each other, let's have an honorable duel. You have no chance of winning, of course, but there's no shame in losing to me."
"He's terrifying, Shikamaru!" Akimichi Choji, too scared to even eat his chips, placed all his hope in his brilliant teammate. "What do we do?"
"How should I know? If he'd agree to settle this with a game of shogi, maybe. But fight last year's top rookie? Forget it. We don't stand a chance."
"I can't count on you guys for anything! Looks like it's up to me, unless you want to just hand over the scroll."
"Hey, Ino, what are you planning? Don't make things worse."
"The honey trap, of course. I have to try."
Yamanaka Ino stepped out and began to strike a series of exaggeratedly flirtatious poses in front of the stone-faced Hyuga Neji, only to be met with merciless scorn.
"Get lost. I'd be laughed at if I took a scroll from incompetents like you."
The young lady of the Yamanaka clan, who prided herself on her unparalleled beauty and had been the center of attention her whole life, had never been so humiliated.
"You bastard! Are you blind? You can't even tell beauty from ugliness—"
Hiding in the bushes, Shikamaru scrambled out and clapped a hand over Ino's mouth. "Don't listen to her! We're leaving right now!"
He and Choji grabbed the sputtering Ino and dragged her away as fast as they could.
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