"Oh? You’ve got a lot of energy."
"Kids like you usually die first."
"Spill that pretty red blood I love so much."
Anko spoke as she moved in a flash behind Naruto, reaching out to touch his cheek.
Naruto was so shocked by what just happened, his mind went completely blank.
A cut appeared on Naruto’s face where the kunai had grazed him. Anko cupped his cheek, and he turned toward her, clearly shaken.
Unlike Satoru’s calm written test, this kind of hands-on test had to be a little bloody.
"Didn’t expect this teacher to be so intense. I’m actually kind of excited!"
Suigetsu’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Naruto and Mitarashi Anko, his face full of excitement.
Kimimaro and Haku both forced themselves to swallow the words "Are you some kind of masochist?" that had nearly slipped out.
Just then, Anko suddenly pulled another kunai from her sleeve, narrowing her eyes as she raised it, ready for anything.
But before she could point behind her, a freakishly long tongue curled around a kunai and brought it over.
"Here’s your kunai back."
Anko’s hand froze in mid-air. She narrowed her eyes and smiled.
"Thanks. But next time, don’t stand behind me with that killing intent."
"Unless you’re in a hurry to die."
That student might be a Genin, but the killing aura he just let out was very real.
But could a student really have that kind of intense bloodlust?
He didn’t feel like a Genin at all.
Haku looked suspiciously at the long-haired ninja wearing a hat, walking back to his spot.
It was hard to see clearly, but those people were probably from the Hidden Grass Village.
The Grass Village ninjas are good at seeing through others’ jutsu. Even though their country is small, they’ve managed to stay in the game by using smart diplomacy, weaving between the bigger powers.
"Keep an eye on that one. He’s dangerous."
Haku’s battle instincts kicked in almost instantly.
Anko might have made Naruto bleed, but that was just to scare him a little and make him behave.
But that long-tongued student? He really tried to kill Anko just now.
The vibe was completely different.
Kimimaro and Suigetsu both nodded without a word.
They came to the Chunin Exams thinking it’d be easy. But if there are enemies like that...
Then they’d better take this seriously.
"What’s with that examiner... she doesn’t seem normal at all..."
Sakura watched Mitarashi Anko nervously. No matter how you look at it, what she just did would make anyone uneasy.
Especially since she’s the examiner.
Most of the group was staring at her, whispering and a little scared. After all, she really did cut Naruto’s cheek.
Naruto himself didn’t seem too bothered—he was the one who provoked her first.
He looked at the student who had returned the kunai and was now walking away, then stuck out his own tongue thoughtfully.
How did he even do that? His tongue stretched out that far?
Mitarashi Anko pulled out a stack of printed forms from her jacket and started handing them out to the students around her.
"These are consent forms. If you want to take part in the exam, you need to sign here."
"There’s a chance some of you might die in this stage, so I need your signatures first."
"If one of you dies and I end up getting blamed, that would be a pain."
"If you’re afraid of dying, you can quit right now!"
Most of the students hesitated a little. On one hand, dying in an exam felt pretty ridiculous.
On the other hand, they had already passed the first test—backing out now felt like a waste.
Anko didn’t rush them to sign. After all, this was life or death. It was normal for kids their age to take a moment to think it through.
While they were thinking it over, Anko started explaining.
"Simply put, the second exam is an extreme survival challenge."
Anko unrolled a scroll in her hands, revealing a map of the training field.
"Training Field 44. It’s a round area surrounded by 44 locked gates."
"There are rivers and forests inside, with a tower in the center. It’s about ten kilometers from any gate to the tower."
The map on the scroll showed a river cutting through the middle of the forest in a circular area.
The tower was also right in the middle of the river, dead center of the circle.
"In this restricted area, you’ll be fighting to survive and battling for scrolls!"
"Eleven teams will get the Heaven Scroll, and the other eleven will get the Earth Scroll."
"To pass, your team must have both the Heaven and Earth scrolls and make it to the tower in the center—together."
"But there’s a time limit. You’ve got five days to finish. No quitting halfway."
After speaking, Anko put the scroll away and tucked it back into her clothes.
The whole setup was meant to feel like a real mission—no peeking at the scroll, harsh conditions, and the idea that anyone could be an enemy.
"They even have a waiver form? This exam is kinda fun."
Suigetsu looked at the paper in his hand with interest.
They were all people who had done assassinations before—living on the edge, dancing on a wire.
And now suddenly, they were being handed a piece of paper telling them they’d be responsible if something went wrong.
It actually felt kind of funny. Back when they were risking their lives on missions, there was never a piece of paper for them to sign.
And there was no backup plan then. They had no choice but to give it their all.
"Well, it’s just a test after all."
Kimimaro looked down and calmly signed his name.
While Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were still thinking, Suigetsu and his group had already walked up and handed their forms to Mitarashi Anko.
"Oh, those are the three guys Satoru knew from Kirigakure."
If they could be teamed up with Haku, the other two probably weren’t weak either.
Naruto pressed his hand on the paper. Suigetsu was even joking and chatting with someone nearby, clearly not taking the agreement form seriously.
It was kind of frustrating.
Sasuke clenched his teeth. He felt like they were already losing before it even started, and it bugged him.
Out of pure frustration, Sasuke quickly signed the form. They were already this far in—there was no turning back.
No way were they quitting now.
And every ninja mission was a life-or-death risk anyway. Backing out now would just show they weren’t ready.
The three of them soon signed and handed in the form too.
Inside a fully covered area behind a curtain, they were handed the scrolls for each team.
Before long, all the students were holding their scrolls and standing at the different entrances to the training area.
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