Escape From Konoha

There is a large office in the ninja school. This was originally the place where the teachers of the school were responsible for their offices. However, due to the joint chuunin examination, this place has been temporarily requisitioned by the examiners.

Although the first exam has ended, in order to wait for the results of the candidates to be released, Ibiki, as the examiner of the first exam, still sat in a secluded corner of the office, reading a book while waiting for the examiner below to mark the test paper. Finish.

I didn't make Yibixi wait long, and at about eleven o'clock, all the candidates' test papers were graded. Summarized on a form, whether it is the team's average score or the total score, from high to low, it is clear at a glance.

"There are 11 groups in the team that got the full score of 30 points, and the number of candidates who got the full score is 40, which is lower than I imagined."

Seeing the grades displayed on the report card, Yibixi considered the words he used.

"There is no way. After all, among the candidates, there are many people who are keen to eliminate other candidates. It is actually not easy to maintain so many groups and candidates with perfect scores."

One of the Konoha Churen who was in charge of grading the test papers said with a wry smile.

You must know that in order to take care of the students in the examination room this time, they put six chunin in at once who knew the answers to the test questions. According to the initial estimates, the number of groups and candidates who received full marks could not be so low. After all, there were nearly three hundred people, and the ninja who came to take the exam were all elites selected from various villages.

However, they did not expect that the candidates would eliminate each other. This was supposed to happen in the second exam, but it had already happened in the first exam, which caught Konoha, the organizer, off guard.

Yibixi nodded slightly, as if he agreed with these words.

Strictly speaking, the actions of the Ninja of the Demon Kingdom cannot be regarded as breaking the rules. Candidates are eliminated from each other, which is also a necessary item in the examination.

If it is just an interaction between candidates and examiners, it would be too boring and unfair to candidates.

Therefore, candidates fight with each other, and then select the best batch of chunin and eliminate unqualified products, which is the essence of the chunin exam.

It's just that in previous Chunin Exams, few people would do this in the first exam. Not only are the means possessed by the genin rare, but most of their methods are very poor. It is easy for accidents to happen during the exam. Being able to take care of yourself is already very good. If you want to take other actions, you need to go one step further. For example, if you have far more abilities than The great strength of the remaining genin.

"They are all a very interesting bunch of little guys."

Ibiki said with a sigh.

"Yes, the quality is indeed much higher than before."

The Konoha chuunin replied.

Ibiki did not respond this time, but glanced at the transcript.

"Naruto Uzumaki... I didn't expect this guy to pass even if he handed in a blank paper."

Seeing a familiar name, a smile appeared on Yibixi's lips.

Because the tenth question is a multiple-choice question, and it is not disclosed on the test paper, Naruto's test paper is very clean, with only a solitary name written on it.

"It can only be said that they are barely qualified. The average score of the candidates this time is only 0.4 points, which is rounded to 0 points. Candidates with scores lower than 0 or 0 points are all unqualified."

The chuunin said helplessly.

"The average score is not a negative score, which is somewhat unexpected. The ninja of the ghost country is very good, but the rest of the candidates don't seem to be bad. It looks like there will be a battle between dragons and tigers."

Ibixi said happily.

Originally, he thought that if the genin from the Demon Country interfered, the candidates' scores would fall directly into negative marks. Unexpectedly, under such harsh conditions, the candidates could still maintain an average score of 0.4, which makes Ibixi feel gratified.

But fortunately it is not 0.5 points, otherwise the average score would be 1 point after rounding.

Naruto, who only answered the tenth question correctly and left the remaining nine questions blank, almost failed.

"Yeah, this guy is really interesting."

There was a complex look in the Chuunin's eyes. To be honest, he didn't like Naruto very much and really hoped that he could be eliminated from the first test.

Unfortunately, things went against expectations and the other party was lucky enough to pass the first exam.

"But for the second and third exams, you have to rely on your true ability. Just relying on temporary luck is useless."

The Konoha chuunin said with a disdainful attitude toward Naruto.

"Are you lucky?" Yibixi chewed on these words and said meaningfully: "Maybe he is a guy who is better at practical actions than brains."

"What?"

"No, it's nothing. Now that the report card has come out, I'll go and report this matter to Hokage-sama now. By the way, I will hand over the work of arranging candidates to go to the Land of Winds in the afternoon. I will ask you to deal with the follow-up situation here. "

Ibiki put away the transcript, stood up from his seat, and set off towards the Hokage Building.

◎

2 p.m.

The list of qualified groups is posted on the Ninja School bulletin board.

The group that won the ranking was naturally overjoyed, while the group that failed the ranking, Xia Ren, naturally looked downcast and left in sadness.

Looking at the bulletin board, the five groups of Oni Ninja ninja teams were all promoted with full marks, and Asuka also showed a satisfied smile on his face.

"A total of 46 groups of ninjas have passed, this number is a bit too much."

Xiang Rin was surprised to see that there were 46 teams that qualified, that is, 138 ninjas.

"Compared with the 99 groups at the beginning, it is already good. After all, more than half of the candidates have been reduced."

Feiniao was not surprised, the result was similar to what he expected.

Although he did not reach his expected goal of reducing the number of candidates by two-thirds, with the interference of some candidates, more than 150 candidates were able to be eliminated. Feiniao was not too disappointed with this result.

Anyway, in the second exam that will be held in the Kingdom of Wind, you can continue to eliminate one round, so there is no need to rush at this time.

"However, there are actually sixteen groups of candidates who passed the first exam in Konoha. Isn't this a little too many?"

Cai frowned slightly as she looked at the group that had passed the first round of exams. Konoha alone accounted for one-third of the total.

"That's because they have a large number of candidates taking the Chunin Exam. After all, there are more than 80 people, accounting for between one-third and one-fourth of the total number. With this number of people who have passed, it can only be said that they have barely reached the passing mark. Bar."

Feiniao pondered for a moment before speaking.

Judging from the probability, the passing rate of Konoha candidates is only about 60%, which can be said to be a quite miserable result. Needless to say, the genin pass rate of the small country ninja village is undoubtedly the lowest among the big country ninja villages.

Villages like Iwagakure and Kumogakure have a pass rate of over 70%, far ahead of Konoha.

The Kingdom of Ghosts is one of the few countries that advanced to the second exam with a 100% passing rate in the first exam.

In addition, there is also a three-person team from Kirigakure Village, which also advanced with a 100% passing rate. Although Kirigakure Village only sent three genin this time, it also proved that the strength of these three Kirigakure genin was probably quite extraordinary.

At this moment, a clear coughing sound reached everyone's ears.

The remaining candidates were all genin who had passed the first exam. There were 138 genin in total. They all turned around and looked in the same direction.

I saw a group of Jonin from the six major nations walking over. There were sixteen of them in total, including Uchiha Yan, the instructor of Team Asuka. But the leader was a jounin from Sunagakure, Maki.

The other party was a close confidant of the Fourth Kazekage and the guiding jounin of Gaara's team. He was the first to walk at the front of the team. When the candidates' eyes shifted, he stood still and said with a very serious expression:

"First of all, congratulations on successfully passing the first test of the Joint Chuunin Exam. I am Sunagakure's Jonin Maki, and I am the examiner of the second exam. The location of the second exam is as you imagined. That way, it is located in an area in the hinterland of the Kingdom of Wind."

"In other words, we have to go to the Kingdom of Wind immediately, right?"

asked a candidate from Konoha.

"Yes. If you are not ready yet, I can give you an hour to make preparations. In one hour, that is, at three o'clock, gather on time and go to the Kingdom of Wind. If there is nothing to prepare, now You’re good to go.”

Markey spoke with a very human touch.

Unlike the first exam, the second exam is accompanied by extremely high risks. Many candidates who have taken the second Chunin Exam have failed here.

According to his prediction, it is estimated that less than a quarter of the forty-six genin teams will pass. Leaving twenty or thirty candidates is the limit.

Therefore, if you can make more preparations, you can increase your chances of winning when the time comes.

The candidates looked at each other, and in the end no one spoke, but looked at Marki firmly, the meaning in his eyes was self-evident.

As if feeling the will of the candidates, Ma Ji nodded slightly, satisfied with the candidates' ability to prepare for a rainy day, and said: "It seems that you have nothing to prepare, so let's set off for the Kingdom of Wind now. What awaits you will be an extremely cruel trial, so please prepare yourself mentally."

"yes."

The candidates who had passed the first test showed no trace of timidity or fear in their eyes. They were all full of confidence in the next second test and firmly believed that they would be able to pass.

◎

Two days later.

The hinterland of the Kingdom of Wind is a barren desert with almost no vegetation. The weather in summer is already very hot, but when we reach the desert, the air becomes even more scorching. Under the strong sunlight, the entire desert is like a huge barbecue plate, and the candidates who come here are like the meat on the barbecue plate, and their bodies feel like they are burning.

The accompanying Jonin ignored the harsh heat and desolation. They had experienced hundreds of battles and were already accustomed to such scenes.

Compared to a real life and death battle, this level is nothing.

However, most of the less experienced genin were already sweating profusely after arriving here. Even the Sunagakure genin who lived in the desert all year round could not help but complain about the vicious weather and did not want to go out.

But unfortunately, this year's Chunin Examination falls in the hottest month of the year.

The sun baked the earth, and the air also showed signs of distortion in the scorching rays.

"It's such a harsh environment. Shouldn't we have to take exams in a place like this next?"

Xianglin wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeves and glanced disgustedly at the sun that was emitting strong heat and light in the sky.

"This possibility cannot be ruled out. After all, this harsh and extreme environment can best train the ability of ninjas. If I were the examiner, I would choose to do this."

To test the survival ability of the ninjas, there is no place in the Kingdom of Winds that is more suitable for the second exam than this extreme desert environment. Asuka thought so.

The examination room for the second exam will most likely be a 'survival' battle in the desert.

"If this is the case, then we should reserve more drinking water by then."

Xianglin muttered.

"That's right. If you are really taking the exam in such a harsh environment, sufficient water can ensure basic living space. Now many people in the crowd have begun to become dehydrated. And the temperature here is estimated to have exceeded Fifty degrees. As for the surface temperature, it's probably close to 70 degrees. The need for water will become very important."

Cai squatted down, inserted her fingers into the sand, and frowned slightly as she felt the hot heat transmitted from the sand to her fingers.

There was also a slight flow of hot sweat on his face. No matter how hard you save your energy, you will still feel extremely hungry and thirsty in such an extremely hot environment, and dehydration will be the top problem that candidates need to solve.

This extremely hot desert environment made Cai, who had never been exposed to such a place, feel very uncomfortable.

Although the Kingdom of Ghosts also has many harsh environments that provide places for ninja training, this is the first time he has experienced such an extremely harsh desert environment.

Next, the group of people did not speak, because the sun above their heads continued to absorb the water from their bodies and drained their energy. In order to save the necessary energy, everyone consciously shut up and reduced the flow of energy.

Under the leadership of the Jonin, after about ten minutes, we finally arrived at the destination.

It was a huge fortress located in the violent wind and sand.

You can see the huge buildings rising up in the fortress, and the huge black iron gates block the entrances and exits of the fortress. However, on the walls of the fortress, you can see many figures standing there, performing their duties of garrisoning the fortress.

It was a group of sand ninjas. Roughly, there were at least one hundred sand ninjas standing on the high wall of the fortress.

If you count the sand hidden ninjas that have not been discovered in the fortress, the number may be even more.

Not only that, the walls of the fortress extend far away, but they do not extend in a straight line, but extend out in the shape of a crescent moon, forming a huge circle in the desert.

This fortress is likely to be the entrance to the 'Round Desert'.

“What a big building!”

From a distance, the fortress is already very large, but a closer look reveals that the fortress is larger than expected.

Naruto raised his neck, and the huge iron-gray wall blocked his view, making it impossible to see what was inside.

"It is not easy to build a building of this scale in the desert."

Sasuke looked at the fortress with a rather surprised expression.

Most of the buildings he saw in Konoha were a mixture of stone and wood, or pure wood. However, the buildings in the Kingdom of Wind were obviously very different from the buildings in the Kingdom of Fire, giving candidates from foreign countries a new and different experience. .

The iron-gray city wall has experienced long-term weathering and has been severely worn. There are a large number of pitted marks on it, representing its vicissitudes of history, and it is obviously extremely solemn and solemn.

Marki walked at the front of the team and delivered a document through the small opening of the dark iron door. Not long after, the dark iron door opened from the inside. It was the Sunagakure Chuunin who was responsible for the inspection.

After opening the iron gate, the Shayin Churen bent down and respectfully said to Maji: "It's been a hard journey, Maji Shangren."

Maji nodded, and asked the Sand Hidden Chunin:

"Are you ready for food and accommodation?"

"Yes, the board and lodging work has been prepared according to your instructions. There is no problem with the examination venue, and it can be used normally tomorrow."

Sunagakure Chuunin replied.

"That's good, I'll take them in first."

After Maji finished speaking, he turned around and waved to the team behind. The Jnin and candidates from various countries in the rear followed Maji's footsteps and marched towards the inside of the fortress.

Arriving at the corridor of the fortress, the cool wind blew from both sides and overhead. The candidates with dry mouths and tongues immediately exhaled in relief and felt reborn.

Different from the hot air outside, the air inside the fortress is very refreshing. When you are here, people will subconsciously ignore that this is a barren desert.

Leading the team to walk along the long and wide corridor, when they were about to reach the end and turned the corner, suddenly several figures suddenly appeared at the intersection, blocking everyone's way.

"Kakashi-sensei!?"

Among the several figures that suddenly appeared, Kakashi was among them, and Naruto immediately showed a surprised expression on his face, as if he wanted to go up and say hello to Kakashi.

Kakashi gestured for Naruto to be quiet.

"Thank you for your hard work along the way. I won't say anything unnecessary. I think as candidates, you are very tired now. Next, we will arrange your dormitory issues here tonight. Come here now."

Several jounin headed by Kakashi came from different countries and ninja villages. They came to the Kingdom of Wind one step ahead of the jounin who led the candidates and were responsible for the handover of work.

"Then these candidates will trouble you, Mr. Kakashi."

Magee nodded, showing great respect to Kakashi, and then led the Jonin who followed him towards the left side of the intersection, where the conference room was.

Tomorrow is the day when the second exam officially starts. As one of the examiners, Marki does not have much time to waste on chores.

Kakashi and other jonins who did not have many responsibilities took one hundred and thirty-eight candidates and walked towards the living area on the right side of the intersection.

Due to the large number of people, a group was assigned a set of rooms to accommodate the candidates who came from afar.

It didn't take long to arrange one hundred and thirty-eight candidates, a total of forty-six groups of genin, and the job was completed in about ten minutes.

After that, Kakashi came to the room where Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were.

"Kakashi-sensei."

Seeing Kakashi coming, Naruto and Sakura gathered around and greeted Kakashi warmly.

Kakashi touched their hair, glanced at Sasuke who was sitting by the window of the room with an indifferent expression, squinted his eyes and smiled: "First of all, I want to congratulate you on passing the first exam. I originally planned that you would finish first in the exam." I congratulated you immediately after the exam, but since things here can’t go away, I apologize here. In fact, when you were taking the exam, some Jonin, including me, came to the Wind in advance. country to conduct an on-site survey of the second examination venue.”

"So that's it. No wonder I didn't see you, teacher, in the village after the exam that day."

Naruto understood.

"I won't ask about the specific situation for the time being. You can have a good rest. The second exam will begin tomorrow morning. Different from the first exam, you must handle the second exam carefully. If you have any questions, please wait. Talk to me after the second exam."

Kakashi let go of Naruto and Sakura.

Sasuke snorted softly. He originally wanted to ask something, but he had to keep his mouth shut at this moment. When the second exam was over, he would have plenty of time to listen to Kakashi's nagging.

He urgently needs to understand the Uchiha clan in another country.

"Does that mean we only have preparation time in the afternoon and evening?"

Sakura asked.

"That's right. I can't disclose the specific rules of the second exam. I can only say that you need to be careful."

Kakashi touched his chin and spoke words of advice to the three Narutos.

Compared with the first written test, the second test is a real battle for the candidates. Candidates who are lucky may be brutally deprived of their lives during the test.

"It's alright, it doesn't matter if we don't know, we'll pass the level anyway. Right, Sakura?"

Naruto put his hands behind his head, with an indifferent attitude.

"Then I look forward to your performance when the time comes, Naruto. By the way, remember to have dinner at the restaurant at seven o'clock in the evening. Don't forget this. Otherwise, you will be hungry at night. Don't blame me for not reminding you in advance."

Seeing Naruto with an optimistic attitude, Kakashi also knew that it would be useless to say more.

Specific things can only be realized after personal experience.

He is looking forward to the performance of the Naruto trio in the second test.

"Then I'll take my leave now."

After speaking, Kakashi withdrew from the room, giving space to the three of them.

Kakashi will not interfere whether it is a rest or discussing the combat meeting during tomorrow's exam.

He had already reminded him of what to do before the Chunin exam. And he believed that with the abilities of Naruto and the three of them, he would not let himself down.

"In this way, the day before my 'revenge' will come soon."

Kakashi's eyes were full of deep colors, and the soft lines on his face disappeared, turning into an extremely unfamiliar and indifferent face.

"Really, Orochimaru-sama?"

As soon as Kakashi finished speaking, the chandelier in the corridor suddenly started to flicker and flicker, making the atmosphere here become very strange.

It was a slender and tall figure, with skin as transparent and pale as a candle. He opened his snake-like vertical pupils. While he stretched out his long tongue and licked his lips, he quietly emerged from the shadow-covered corner. Walk out slowly.

--Orochimaru.