Twenty-one squads, totaling 64 people. Adding the proctors responsible for supervision, the total number exceeded 80. However, in the face of the vast Forest of Death, this number was insignificant, like a drop in the ocean.
Menma and his group had arrived early. The vast majority of the other candidates arrived just in time. Among these people, Menma saw the figure of a young girl with the same fiery red hair as his.
Seeing that face, which was obviously very young but still familiar enough...
Menma was stunned for a moment.
Right. She wasn't Orochimaru's subordinate from the start. She lived in the Hidden Grass Village and even met Sasuke once in the Forest of Death.
The memories of the plot he had previously forgotten surged into his mind at this moment.
Karin Uzumaki.
Of course, perhaps calling her just Karin would be more appropriate. After all, the original story never explicitly stated what Karin's surname was. However, it was 100% certain that Karin belonged to the Uzumaki clan. The red hair didn't prove anything on its own, but the Mind's Eye of the Kagura and the Adamantine Sealing Chains were unmistakably exclusive skills of the Uzumaki bloodline.
Menma was the same.
He possessed the Mind's Eye of the Kagura.
Though the Adamantine Sealing Chains were nowhere to be seen for now.
Karin clearly noticed Menma's gaze. After glancing at Menma instinctively, she immediately lowered her head. A hint of hope and longing unknown to others flickered in her eyes, mixed with deep fear and panic.
Menma recovered from his momentary daze and immediately looked away, no longer focusing on Karin. Right now, he wasn't qualified to consider anything else.
He himself was a "bird in a cage" and had no energy to spare for others.
Menma's strange reaction lasted only a second.
Beside him, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke didn't notice. Their attention was focused on the gigantic training ground before them and the content of the upcoming exam.
After all, if the second round of exams was truly held inside here...
The difficulty of the content would definitely not be low.
Menma took a deep breath, quickly adjusting his mindset. But just as he calmed down...
Suddenly.
Three figures from the Grass Village entered Menma's line of sight.
The moment he saw the leader...
Menma's pupils shrank violently again.
In less than a second...
Menma naturally averted his gaze.
Orochimaru!
Without a doubt, that Grass ninja was absolutely Orochimaru. Leaving aside Menma's knowledge of the original plot, he could sense a massive chakra signature from that Grass ninja.
A level even more terrifying than Kakashi's.
At this stage...
In front of the Forest of Death...
Who else could it be but Orochimaru?!
"You're finally here, Orochimaru-senpai. I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
Menma instinctively clenched his right hand slightly, thinking silently.
Since the target had appeared as expected, the next step was to find a suitable opportunity to make contact. Although it involved some risk, Menma believed it was worth it.
At the scene...
Among the more than eighty ninja present, aside from Menma, no one realized that a big boss had already infiltrated the exam.
Even Anko, the Special Jōnin serving as the chief proctor, had absolutely no idea that her "beloved teacher" whom she thought about constantly was right under her nose. She was still eloquently introducing the content and rules of the second round to all the arriving candidates from above.
The furthest distance in the world is me standing in front of you, yet you cannot recognize me...
In this moment, Menma genuinely wanted to know what Orochimaru's attitude toward his only former disciple in the village was.
"That concludes all the content and rules for the second round of the exam. Now, I'll give you time to consider. Those who want to give up can do so immediately. Those with questions can raise them now. Once this time passes, you won't have the chance to regret it!"
Anko looked down at the sixty-plus candidates with a dangerous gaze, speaking playfully.
It seemed she wanted to use this method to further pressure these brats. Seeing some of them show expressions of fear, Anko's inner sadism was greatly satisfied.
"I have a question, proctor!"
"Oh? What question? Speak!"
Seeing someone actually raise a question...
Anko raised an eyebrow, looking at the Waterfall ninja who spoke up with an intrigued expression, and asked with a smile.
"According to the rules you stated, we are to fight for scrolls in squad formation. Among the 21 squads here, 20 are three-person squads, but one squad has four members. Isn't that unfair?"
This Waterfall ninja was clearly looking at the position of Menma, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura as he spoke loudly.
Following his words...
Everyone's gaze shifted to the four members of Team 7.
The first exam had been a written test, and the final score was calculated by average, so no one raised any objections initially. But this round was different. It was a scroll snatching battle based on squads. In a situation where everyone else had three-person squads, Menma's four-person squad stood out glaringly as unfair.
Even if ninja from the same village could cooperate inside the exam ground, they were still different squads. Having an extra person in the same squad made a huge difference!
Menma raised an eyebrow slightly.
Naruto and Sakura showed varying degrees of awkwardness. They had obviously thought about this problem too. Four people in a team was fine for normal missions, but in the context of the Chūnin Exams, it did seem very unfair.
Sasuke maintained his calm expression.
"Oh? You mean that squad? Don't worry, our Leaf Village would absolutely never do something biased toward our own people. This exam will definitely be fair. The four of them will absolutely not act together. I, Anko Mitarashi, guarantee this as the chief proctor. In this exam, no squad will exceed three people."
Anko smiled and spoke casually.
"How about that? Are you satisfied with my answer, Waterfall ninja?"
"Since the proctor says so, I will certainly choose to believe it. I also believe the Leaf must be fair."
The Waterfall ninja showed no fear, looking straight at Anko as he replied.
"Heh, interesting."
Regarding this Waterfall ninja's bold question...
Anko didn't feel offended in the slightest. Instead, she felt this ninja had guts. Lord Anko Mitarashi liked people with guts.
That way, the "game" would be more interesting, wouldn't it?
"Anyone else have questions? If not, then enter the tent in order to receive your assigned scrolls."
After scanning the crowd and seeing no one else asking questions or giving up, Anko nodded in satisfaction. With a wave of her hand...
She began distributing the scrolls to the candidate squads entering the second round.