Mei Terumī had seen that look before, on herself.
What was this woman looking for?
Since sitting down here, her gaze had been searching among those candidates. It wasn't just a casual glance; she was looking for someone specific.
The Third Hokage took a puff of his pipe, the smoke escaping from the corner of his mouth and dissipating in the sunlight.
He recalled a sentence in the Anbu report:
"The Fifth Mizukage retrieved the rogue ninja Zabuza Momochi at the Konoha border, and then headed straight for Konoha. She seems to have a special interest in this Chunin Exams."
A special interest...
His gaze also fell upon the candidates below the stage.
They were all young faces. Some from Konoha, some from Sunagakure, and others from small ninja villages.
Who was she looking for?
Mei Terumī's gaze swept across face after face.
The Konoha Genin walked by in twos and threes. Some looked up at the dais, their eyes filled with awe or curiosity. Others walked by hurriedly, heads bowed.
Not him.
None of them were him.
She watched for a long time, until the crowd gradually thinned, until the last candidate disappeared around the corner.
Not there.
She withdrew her gaze and lowered her eyes.
Just then, a figure walked out from the exam venue entrance.
That person was not walking fast. His pace was steady, with every step landing at the same frequency.
He was wearing a Konoha Genin vest, a forehead protector tied around his forehead, and his black, messy hair was shining in the sunlight.
Mei Terumī's fingers tightened slightly.
It was him.
She had watched that back for fifteen years. From nine to twenty-three, from the ruins of the Hidden Mist Village to the high platform of the Mizukage.
The back of him standing at her door after every mission return.
The back of him shielding her in the rain at Kannabi Bridge.
The back of him standing at the edge of the high platform, watching her walk into the sunlight on the day of her succession ceremony.
Mei Terumī was too familiar with it.
So familiar that even if he turned to ash, she would still recognize him.
Her gaze followed that back, watching him walk into the sunlight, walk further away, and about to disappear around the distant corner.
Then she saw a girl.
With short, grayish-purple hair, white eyes, and wearing a Konoha female vest.
The girl ran out from the exam venue, caught up to him, and walked side-by-side with him.
She saw the girl looking up, smiling and saying something to him. He lowered his head to look at her and nodded.
The sunlight fell on them, making them both shine.
Mei Terumī's fingers tightened even more.
Her nails dug into her palms. A slight pain.
She stared at the two backs walking away side-by-side, stared at the way the girl looked up at him, and stared at his posture as he lowered his head to respond to her.
A very natural scene.
Like friends. Like teammates. Like...
Like what, she didn't know.
But she knew one thing.
The way that girl looked at him was not right.
It was not the look of an ordinary teammate. It was something else.
She had seen that look before, on herself.
A long time ago.
Mei Terumī took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.
There was still no expression on her face.
Only in those eyes, the fire sealed beneath the ice burned even brighter.
The Third Hokage said something beside her, but she didn't hear it.
She just watched those two backs walking further and further away, disappearing around the distant corner.
"Fifth Mizukage?"
Mei Terumī turned her head and looked at the Third Hokage.
"What did you just say?"
"I said..."
The Third Hokage smiled: "The first exam has ended, and the next is the second stage. Would the Fifth Mizukage like to return to her accommodation to rest first?"
Mei Terumī looked at him and was silent for a moment.
Then she said: "No need. I want to continue watching."
The Third Hokage nodded and said nothing more.
The second stage of the exam was in the Forest of Death.
The entrance was crowded with candidates, in groups of three, waiting to receive scrolls. There were two types of scrolls, Heaven and Earth, and both must be collected to pass.
The rules were simple, and any means were allowed.
Shinji stood at the edge of the crowd.
His teammates were two Konoha Genin he didn't know. They were put together temporarily because he had registered alone.
One was named Yamada, with a round face, looking honest and simple.
One was named Watanabe, tall and thin, his eyes always darting around, as if he was sizing up who was a soft target.
The two of them glanced at him without any special expression.
An ordinary, inconspicuous teammate was just right.
"Hey."
Watanabe leaned in and lowered his voice: "What's your level?"
"Genin," Shinji said.
Watanabe curled his lip and didn't ask again.
The entrance to the Forest of Death opened, and the candidates began to surge inside.
"Listen up."
The proctor at the entrance shouted loudly: "The rules are simple. Get the Heaven and Earth scrolls, and reach the central tower within five days. Life and death don't matter!"
Life and death don't matter.
These four words fell into their ears, and the atmosphere around them changed instantly.
The candidates who had been chatting and laughing just a moment ago now had darkened gazes.
Shinji followed the crowd inside.
Passing through the iron gate, the light immediately dimmed.
Towering trees blocked most of the sunlight, with only scattered spots of light leaking through the gaps in the branches and leaves, falling onto the thick, rotting leaves.
The iron gate slammed shut behind them.
"Let's go."
Yamada said, his voice a little nervous:
"Let's find a safe place first."
Before he finished speaking, a dark shadow darted out from the bushes nearby.
A ninja sword.
Aimed straight at the back of Yamada's head.
Shinji reached out and pulled Yamada to the side.
The ninja sword grazed his ear and nailed into the tree trunk behind, its end vibrating with a hum.
"Who's there?!"
Watanabe drew his ninja sword and looked around.
A low laugh came from the bushes.
Three figures walked out from the shadows.
Wearing Kusagakure forehead protectors, two men and one woman, with the kind of smile hunters have when they see prey.
"Good luck."
The man in the lead licked his lips: "Three Konoha brats on their own."
Yamada's face turned pale.
Watanabe gripped his ninja sword tightly, but his hand was shaking.
Shinji glanced at those three people.
Genin. At most Chunin level. Their Chakra fluctuations were very weak.
"Hand over the scroll."
The woman said with a smile: "We might spare your lives."
Yamada and Watanabe both looked at Shinji.
Shinji didn't speak.
He just took a step forward.
Those three people were stunned for a moment.
A Konoha Genin who looked the most ordinary, actually dared to step forward?
"You're courting death." The man in the lead rushed up, his ninja sword thrusting straight at Shinji's throat.
Then he flew away.
Shinji dodged to the side, letting the ninja sword pass, and punched him in the abdomen.
The man bent over like a shrimp, flew backward, slammed into the tree trunk behind, slid down limply, and stopped moving.
The remaining two people stood there, stunned.
One second. Two seconds.
Then they turned and ran.
Shinji didn't chase them.
He stood where he was, watching those two backs disappear into the bushes.
Yamada and Watanabe stood with their mouths open, looking at him.
"You, you..." Yamada's tongue was tied.
Shinji ignored them.
He walked over and searched the unconscious man for a scroll.
Opening it, he saw it was the Scroll of Earth.
"Good luck," he said.
Shinji put the scroll away and continued walking forward.
Yamada and Watanabe looked at each other and hurried to follow.
The first day in the Forest of Death passed just like that.