From Naruto onwards, I've become a dreamer.

Chapter 429 The Great Escape from the Death Forest!

The second Five Nations Chunin Exams officially began amidst great anticipation.

Among them, the main force consisted of Konoha Village, Kirigakure Village, Iwagakure Village, Kumogakure Village, and Sunagakure Village, while the remaining slots were filled by the other smaller villages. A total of more than 1,200 genin gathered in Konoha.

It was equivalent to gathering the power of half the ninja world, a veritable gathering of heroes.

The older generation of Konoha civilians, seeing such a grand occasion, couldn't help but think of the Fourth Hokage, who streaked across the sky like a shooting star, leaving an indelible mark.

Even though that genius has been gone for more than a decade, he has become even more important in the hearts of the people of Konoha.

Furthermore, Konoha has a special day dedicated to commemorating the Fourth Hokage, and many former genin and chunin still regard him as their lifelong idol.

In Konoha Village, the Fourth Hokage's status was second only to the First Hokage, who founded Konoha.

"Zongyue, they seem to admire you a lot."

Erii licked the candied apple, listening to the surrounding villagers' discussion, her eyes sparkling.

"No, you're wrong, Erii."

Uchiha Muneki remained calm and expressionless, saying indifferently, "What they are worshipping is merely the person they imagine. As for what the real Uchiha Muneki is like, that's no longer important. He's more like a symbol, a tool used to unite and rule."

"Like Herzog?" Erii wasn't stupid; she understood immediately.

"That's right, people need a hero, so they created one."

Uchiha Muneki stroked her head and smiled, "As for the truth, who cares? Take Herzog, for example. He was the patriarch of the Snake Clan and a hero who sacrificed himself to drive out the darkness. But who knows that he was the source of all evil?"

“I think I understand.”

Erii nodded, regaining her senses.

Yes, those people don't understand Zong Yue's true nature at all. They just need an emotional anchor, a 'hero' who is infinitely bright and great, without any flaws.

As for what this fabricated 'hero' actually looks like, they don't care at all.

"Therefore, the truth is not important."

Uchiha Munezuki smiled gently: "People don't want to know the truth; they only believe what they want to believe, and that's the most important thing."

An insightful person is not bound by outward appearances; on a deeper level, it means having a clear understanding of the essence of the 'self'.

Only by understanding ourselves can we gain a deeper understanding of human nature, and even the minds of all beings.

Throughout history, many people have been able to see through others, but very few have been able to truly understand themselves and comprehend their true nature. Perhaps only those who have reached the level of a sage can achieve this.

While they were talking, Uchiha Munetsuki and Uesugi Erii arrived at the examination hall for the first test.

Sasuke had gone ahead to meet up with his teammates, so he arrived quite early. When he saw Erii, he waved his little hand enthusiastically: "Erii, I'm here, come here quickly!"

Most of the Konoha genin of this year gathered in the plaza, waiting for the screening to finish before entering in turn.

After witnessing the enthusiasm of the genius 'Uchiha Sasuke', everyone cast surprised glances at this elfin-like girl.

Her deep red hair cascaded down like a waterfall, tied back with a pure white ribbon. Her unique red and white shrine maiden attire added a touch of divine aura to this petite girl, making her seem like a work of art sculpted by the gods, perfect and exquisite.

The group of genin were immediately drawn to it.

"So beautiful!"

The moment the blond-haired man saw Erii, he seemed to feel guilty as if he had fallen for her.

Yes, he suddenly didn't like Sakura anymore. Compared to that violent girl, the girl in front of him was clearly more attractive!
"Ahem, I advise you, it's best not to make a move on her."

Lu Mingze's eye twitched, and he hurriedly tried to dissuade her: "I'm warning you, get as far away from her as possible, understand?!"

"what?"

The blond-haired man was taken aback.

Lu Mingze said quietly, "Don't blame me for not warning you. If you dare to have any thoughts, I'll kill you on the spot. I'm not kidding."

"???" The blond guy's lips twitched. "Are you kidding me? I just think she's pretty, I didn't say I had to pursue her!"

After the farce, things quickly returned to normal.

However, Erii's appearance still drew the attention of most of the genin, including many women.

After all, such a stunning girl was enough to make even a female ninja somewhat unable to control herself.

"Sasuke. And who is this?" Sakura had just started to compare, but after seeing the girl's face, she immediately lowered her head and lost her temper.

"Let me introduce you, this is Erii Uesugi, a ninja from Yugakure." Sasuke proudly puffed out his chest, introducing his 'best friend' to everyone, then glared fiercely at the male genin: "Stop giving me those disgusting looks, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

As she spoke, she clenched her fists and swept them over the group of lower-ranking ninjas in a defiant manner.

The title of first place among the new students is quite effective. The genin present had been beaten up by Sasuke many times when they were in school, and seeing that posture, they immediately shrank back in fear.

"Huh? Is she alone?"

Naruto scratched his head, somewhat puzzled, and said, "But, logically, three people are required to participate in the exam, right?"

"The Hokage allowed me to participate alone."

Erii's voice was cold, and she had almost no expression.

She has always been indifferent to people she doesn't know or isn't interested in; she's used to this expression.

"Ouch, it's so cold."

Naruto shrank his neck, suddenly feeling that Sakura was better.

At least, it's not that cold.

"Go ahead, but remember to be careful."

Uchiha Muneki gently patted the girl's back and gave her some instructions.

"Ah."

Erii nodded obediently.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you!" Naruto stepped forward, patting his chest confidently. "Even though we just met, since you and Sasuke are good friends, you're my friend too!"

"Heh, you'd better take care of yourself first, you loser."

Sasuke chuckled, but only she knew the deeper meaning behind Mr. Uesugi's instructions.

It wasn't that Erii should be careful of them, but rather that she should be careful not to go too far, lest she leave these people with psychological trauma.

"For the first exam, please enter the examination room in the order your numbers are called."

While everyone was chatting, the Chunin in charge of the exam came out and called out names in order according to the list on the paper.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Examination Room 1."

"Eri, Ishida Yajin, Matsushita Nagaya. Examination Room 2."

Because there were too many people participating in the Chunin Exams, Konoha implemented a strategy of dividing the exams into different venues.

"What a pity, we weren't even in the same exam room."

Sasuke looked somewhat dejected.

"It's okay, we'll see you in the second game."

Erii smiled gently and comforted her.

"That's right, then it's a date, see you at the second round!"

Sasuke rallied, smiling and waving goodbye to Erii.

As for Uchiha Muneki, after seeing Erii off, he went to the reception room specially used to watch the exams. The Jonin sent by various countries were basically all gathered together.

The exam process was exactly as described in the original story.

The chief examiner, Ibiki Morino, has a naturally villainous face and uses torture techniques to constantly push the candidates to their psychological limits.

However, due to the large number of test takers, the Chunin in charge of proctoring the exam were much stricter than in the original story.

More than half of the 1,200 genin were eliminated in the first round of the exam! The expressions of the jonin from various countries were quite interesting. After all, it was extremely humiliating to see their own genin eliminated, especially in front of other countries.

"Hehe, next up is the Forest of Death."

The Third Hokage, puffing on his pipe, said with a smile, "Please follow me to the Forest of Death."

Everyone agreed.

Uchiha Muneki was naturally among them, but he could sense that the Third Hokage's gaze was subtly watching him from beginning to end.

"Strange, for such an important exam, not only is Kakashi absent, but even Sarutobi Asuma is not here." He glanced at everyone, slightly surprised.

Kakashi's absence is somewhat understandable, given his history of being late.

However, the absence of Sarutobi Asuma, the son of the Third Hokage, is somewhat intriguing, given that he belongs to the Sarutobi clan.

Never mind, he's not an important person, not worth His attention.

Forest of death.

The rules for the second exam were simple: each team was randomly assigned a scroll.

According to the words on the scrolls, you must collect the two scrolls, "Heaven" and "Earth," within five days and reach the center of the Death Forest to pass the test.

In a sense, it can be considered Konoha's version of 'Battle Royale'.

Since Erii is alone and is considered the strongest, she is not given an initial scroll; she needs to obtain two scrolls to be considered qualified.

Erii herself didn't have any opinion on this. She was just there for sightseeing, and whether she could pass the exam was no longer a concern.

The proctor for the second exam was, of course, Mitarashi Anko.

The groups were instructed to depart in order, every half hour, and soon it was Sasuke's turn.

"Eri, let's go inside first!"

Sasuke waved and said with a warm smile, "If you run into us, remember to go easy on us!"

Soon, all members entered the Forest of Death.

Sasuke's team was stuck in the middle, which wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either.

At this moment, Uchiha Munetsuki looked meaningfully at a quiet figure, and the corners of his lips slightly raised: "They've arrived. Let me see how much you've improved over the years."

Upon entering the Forest of Death, Sasuke immediately led the other two towards the central tower at full speed.

"Wait, Sasuke!" Naruto asked, confused. "We haven't collected all the scrolls yet. Even if we reach the central tower, we still can't clear the level!"

"Idiot Naruto."

Sasuke gave the blond-haired guy a reproachful look and said, "Let's go to the central tower ahead of time, occupy a favorable position, set up traps, and wait for the other teams to come. We'll take advantage of their fatigue and weakness to wipe them out in one fell swoop. This way, we can save our energy and avoid the initial melee."

"I see."

After hearing the whole plan, Naruto looked enlightened, but quickly became angry and embarrassed: "I've told you a hundred times, don't call me an idiot!"

"So, I'll call you the bottom of the class?"

Sasuke smiled slightly and said with amusement.

"No, you can't call me the worst performer either!"

Naruto was so angry he was about to explode. If Sasuke weren't a girl, he would have already beaten her up.

Oh, and of course there's another reason: we simply can't beat them.

From childhood to adulthood, Sasuke's 'dominance' is beyond doubt. Anyone who faces him will be defeated, which is why he is known as a 'genius'.

"and many more!"

Suddenly, Sasuke stopped in his tracks, staring warily ahead.

"what happened?"

The person in front braked suddenly, and Naruto didn't have time to react before crashing into them.

A refreshing fragrance wafted through the air.

The girl's soft body made Naruto's face flush as if steaming, his skin as red as a roasted shrimp.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" Naruto said shyly, pulling away as he tried to explain.

However, the two streams of blood flowing from her nose caused Sakura Haruno, who was standing next to her, to look at her with a shocked expression, as if to say, "Are you a pervert?"

"Stop it!"

Sasuke's voice suddenly rose several octaves.

In an instant, Naruto and Sakura both realized that they had probably encountered a very tricky problem!

Otherwise, Sasuke would never have spoken in such a tone.

"Hehehe. Were we found out?"

At that moment, a hoarse and chilling voice came from the depths of the dark and lush forest.

It felt like a snake's tongue brushing across their skin, damp and cold, filled with a chilling killing intent, making the three of them feel a chill run down their spines!
"As expected of the last bloodline of the Uchiha clan."

A figure suddenly appeared on a branch deep in the jungle.

Her long, black hair fell naturally, her face was unnaturally pale, and her eerie, snake-like eyes sent chills down one's spine.

The moment Sasuke saw the other party, he realized that it was a terrifying enemy that they could not match at present!
Without his naked killing intent, it was as if a mountain was pressing down on you. The oppressive feeling surging from all directions made you feel as if you were in a ten-thousand-meter-deep ocean. Your skin and even your hair were trembling, and your soul felt as if it were being crushed to dust, letting out a painful howl.

Every cell in the body is sending fear signals to the brain.

"We are willing to hand over the scroll."

Sasuke, drenched in cold sweat, carefully took out the scroll marked 'Earth' and placed it down: "Please spare us."

Sakura was completely terrified; that killing intent was countless times more terrifying than Zabuza's!
No, to be precise, Zabuza's killing intent was as tender as an infant's in front of this person.

"Sasuke?!"

Naruto stared at the scroll in a daze. He had never seen the proud Sasuke lower his head and beg the enemy to spare him.

Immediately, a surge of anger welled up in his mind, even breaking free from the restraints of his killing intent: "Sasuke, what are you talking about?! Bowing down and begging for mercy from the enemy?! Is this really the Sasuke I know?!"

"Shut up!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth, his face pale.

How could she abandon her pride and dignity to grovel before an enemy?
The reason is very simple.

That person's strength was terrifying; his killing intent alone was enough to intimidate them. He was definitely not the kind of 'person' who should appear in the Chunin Exams!
“Giving up the scroll in exchange for survival is a smart choice.”

The man licked his lips, but his eyes gleamed with a chilling light as he grinned and said, "But what if I were to kill you all and steal the scroll?"

As Sasuke gazed into those eerie, murderous eyes, his anticipation gradually cooled.

She knew the other person was serious!

"Then, it's time for a fight!"

Since there is no hope of surrendering, let's completely abandon any illusions!

Sasuke Uchiha's pupils suddenly turned blood red, and his two symmetrical tomoe slowly rotated. His voice was cold: "Naruto, take Sakura away immediately and find the proctor. Report that there has been an intruder in the Forest of Death. Suspected to be a Jonin, no, an elite Jonin!"

"how about you?"

Naruto asked, stunned.

"I'll hold him off!"

Sasuke resolutely drew his kunai and stood in front of the two of them.

Yes, of the three, she was the only one with a chance of escaping from the enemy, so she was the only one who could carry out the task of covering the rear!
(End of this chapter)