Naruto: I, Shikotsumyaku, Byakugan Princess

The Death Paradise is divided into three main areas.

The 'giant bowl' that Gray Glass blasted out with brute force is located in the very center of the park, and also in the smallest area.

The largest area is the Swamp Hell, located in the northwest.

All the decaying trees, withered weeds, and other vegetation that had been drained of life from the Death Forest were piled up there.

Over time, it slowly rotted into a disgusting swamp, while the dense, cone-shaped peaks and the endless vines were the place she had created specifically for the exam.

The poisonous miasma that permeates the skies above Death Paradise is, of course, a product of the fermentation of humus in the swamp.

The toxicity of this miasma is generally moderate, but it can cause breathing difficulties, hallucinations as if the brain has eaten poisonous mushrooms, and constant vomiting, making it extremely painful.

Once poisoned, one will immediately lose the ability to fight.

Secondly, there is the extremely terrifying White Bone Hell, which is mainly located in the southeast corner of the Death Paradise.

It's called the Hell of Bones, but the animal skeletons that Gray Glass has devoured over the years only make up a very small part of it.

The white, bone-like objects covering the ground are actually underground mineral deposits rich in salt and alkali, exposed after the vegetation was cleared.

The dark clouds overhead are the impure residue of life that is filtered out when life force is devoured.

She didn't interfere much with these scum at first, but one day she discovered that, catalyzed by the bones and remnants of life force, a strange bright red fungus was growing in the park.

This red fungus has both plant and animal characteristics, and can absorb the residue of life to reproduce and grow rapidly. Haili used Takamagahara to pile all the bones and life impurities together to create a giant red fungus culture dish.

This is how the so-called Hell of Bones was constructed.

What is the final round?

Upon hearing this unfamiliar term from Haili, Naruto admired the magnificent scene before him, but his eyes were filled with confusion.

Over the years, he has occasionally heard unfamiliar words from the other party, and he has become quite used to it.

"The places that qualify for the exam will be decided here; this is the final round," Hui Li explained, pointing to the giant bowl at her feet.

This is the final shrinking point she has decided on. The pale purple poisonous miasma in the sky has already begun to spread to the outer perimeter. It will take about two days to drive everyone to the vicinity of the giant bowl, and those who can arrive safely in the end will be the candidates for the third exam in the future.

The gray light in his eyes grew stronger, and the three-dimensional structure of the Death Paradise in his gray eyes opened, making the scattered genin teams in his eyes appear as if they were patterns on the palm of his hand.

Eighty-five people passed the written test, but nine ninjas didn't come down from the sky. Four of them were seriously injured after jumping down, and she has already asked Yato to send people to rescue them.

These four were essentially eliminated immediately upon landing.

Shikamaru, Hinata, and the other Konoha 11, along with Karui, Omoi's Cloud Village taijutsu team and the Mist Village ninja sword team, all fell into the swamp hell.

Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi's Iwagakure squad, Neji and Lee's Konoha squad, Gaara's Sunagakure squad, Kimimaro's Otogakure squad, and others mainly concentrated in the White Bone Hell.

In addition, there are sporadic small ninja village teams.

The three Star Shadows landed first and, taking advantage of their flight, approached the 'giant bowl' where Gray Glass and the others were located, but on the other side.

On the other side of Kusagakure, Karin was sitting at the boundary between the White Bone Forest and the outer edge of the Giant Bowl, treating the group of useless people who had been smashed and coughed up blood.

Rain Shadows had only one small team left, hiding in a swampy spot, using their gas masks to ambush someone.

Orochimaru and Danzo followed the Gray Team and are now near the giant bowl, releasing venomous snakes to probe outwards, presumably searching for her and Sasuke's whereabouts.

In an instant, the paradise, which had been completely devoured by the gray glass and left only in deathly silence, was a scene of vibrant life and flourishing vitality.

"So what should we do?"

Standing in this strange, giant crater, Sasuke was completely bewildered by this bizarre test.

The examiner, Hongdou, only told them to fight it out in the amusement park until only twenty people remained to pass the test, but now they were drawing their swords and looking around, feeling lost and confused.

There were fewer than a hundred candidates in total, but the area was so vast that if they were determined to hide, it might take two or three months to reach the required number.

"All the water resources in the entire Death Paradise are here; they will come to find them themselves," Hui Li explained to Naruto and Sasuke, pointing to the hundreds of blue streams converging towards the giant bowl, without mentioning the shrinking poisonous miasma.

"So what we need to do is take over this place and crush all the challengers coming from other areas!"

Sasuke instantly understood Haili's intention, his face already showing intense excitement, while Naruto was also eager to get started, his smile radiant.

They had long wanted to test their skills against ninjas from other villages, and now they finally had their chance.

Hui Li was reluctant to dampen their enthusiasm.

Orochimaru and Danzo are groping their way here and might arrive at any time. If she doesn't intervene, the two of them will probably be beaten to a pulp.

You smurf, I smurf, and we go from bronze to king.

There was no doubt that the Chunin Exams were no longer a viable option for Chunin to survive, and even the Jonin and elite Jonin were sweating profusely.

As for the lower-ranking ninja...

Even before the first written test, Yamashiro Aoba and Namiashi Raido had already eliminated all the real genin.

Come on, let me see who can get to me first!
The smile on her face remained gentle, but her gray eyes flickered, and the thick poisonous miasma in the sky surged like ocean waves in an instant.

The swamp and the bone hell near the edge of the wall were gradually covered by a deep purple, and the color gradually spread inward.

……

Gulp...

Tiny bubbles rose from the yellowish-green swamp, like a septic tank fermenting again after countless years of accumulation, and the air was filled with a foul stench.

"This exam room is truly tailor-made for us!"

The Rain Village trio, all wearing gas masks, crouched behind a reddish-brown stone pillar, their feet sinking directly into the swamp.

The three men wore raincoats-like cloaks covered in disgusting yellowish-green mud, making them look like ghillie suits. If you didn't look closely, you wouldn't even notice them.

"Lord Hanzo's breath is much stronger than this miasma!" Oboro chuckled softly, wearing a gas mask, completely unconcerned about the miasma that most people would avoid.

The camphor tree, its eyes covered by a thick blindfold, nodded quickly upon hearing the sound, just like Dreamfire.

In Amegakure, there was a highly poisonous black salamander. After it died, its venom sac was implanted into the body of the leader, Hanzo.

Whenever Hanzo breathes, those around him are forced to inhale the poison gas. Therefore, all the ninjas who follow Hanzo always carry a sufficient number of gas masks in their scrolls to prevent being knocked out by their leader's poison gas.

This swamp, filled with miasma, is a deadly poison to others, but to those of them who follow Hanzo, it's like coming home.

"Long, we are not afraid of poison gas, but what about food?"

"Those Konoha bastards took all our rations!" Meng Huo only showed one eye, still resentful about the rations being taken away.

Their Rain Village wasn't wealthy to begin with, and those military rations were something he had deliberately prepared for this exam. It was truly heartbreaking to see them all taken away.

Oboro's eyes flickered slightly as she casually said, "Since Konoha took our food, they must have left a way to get it here. Let others find food first; we just need to wait for them to deliver it to us!"

"just in case……"

"Don't talk yet!"

Meng Huo was about to speak again when Gui, standing next to him, raised his hand and interrupted him.

Oboro felt a chill run down his spine. Kagari was the sensory ninja of their squad. Although his eyes were covered by a cloth, he was not blind; rather, it was to enhance his sensory abilities.

After a moment of awareness, the campfire suddenly turned around:

"Behind me... Aaaaaah!"

Buzzing... Countless black flying insects surrounded and devoured the camp.

Yumehi and Oboro suddenly heard their companion's warning, but they were a third slower than Kagari. Before they could react, they heard a roar in their ears:
"Tooth-to-teeth!!"

Two enormous whirlwinds churned wildly like drills, blasting the two who hadn't even had time to react away. Countless insects caught them in mid-air, frantically devouring their chakra.

The screams grew weaker and weaker.

Before they even landed, the three of them had already exhausted their already limited chakra. The Amegakure trio, who were only good at ambushing and hiding, were completely powerless and collapsed in the swamp.

"Take it!"

"Wang Wang!"

Teeth covered his nose and stopped spinning with Akamaru.

He looked at the defeated Amegakure trio with excitement on his face. This stinking swamp was like hell for someone with his keen sense of smell!
The gas mask on the other person's face was a hundred times more important to him than food and water.

Shino and Hinata, who were in the distance, immediately smiled and gave their companion a thumbs up.

As Team 8, comprised entirely of sensory ninjas, the Amegakure members hiding in the swamp were easy targets. Hinata's Byakugan scan revealed their chakra reactions to be brighter than light bulbs.

"We found a large number of gas masks, kunai, senboku, and several shuriken; but no food, water, or medicine..."

Teeth worked swiftly, licking the three people's belongings clean in the blink of an eye.

Hinata was overjoyed to see so many gas masks, but sighed with regret when she heard there was no food.

There is no life in this swamp, let alone food and water. Even the air is slightly toxic. Shino said that there is no vegetation or insects here. It is a dead land.

They had originally planned to rob these people, but they didn't expect that they hadn't found any food either.

"Is it possible that there really is no food here?"

After stuffing the precious gas masks into the sealing scroll, Kiba distributed the masks to the two of them and then put one on Akamaru as well. Akamaru, who had been looking a bit listless, suddenly perked up and became energetic.

"Hoo hoo~ The examiner said we need to fight and kill for food, and it's impossible to live without food."

"Perhaps... as long as we get out of this swamp, we can find clues about food!" Shino's voice was a little muffled after putting on the mask, but his tone was much more cheerful.

Having been inhaling the foul air for so long, the parasites inside him had already started to help him detoxify. Luckily, he found this group of Rain Villagers.

"How are we supposed to find our way out? We can't tell which way is which here!"

Their keen sense of smell was sealed by the gas mask. Looking up at the sky, the cotton candy-like purple miasma completely blocked out the sun. Not to mention finding their way, if they stayed here for too long, they wouldn't even be able to tell time.

The environment here is really not friendly to him.

Upon hearing this, Shino was also somewhat troubled.

Even with a visibility of a full kilometer, they couldn't find a way out. The vastness of this swamp far exceeded their imagination. Now that they couldn't even determine their location, getting out was no easy task.

"Shino, over there!"

Just as the three were pondering, Hinata's muffled voice came.

Yawa Shino was immediately overjoyed:
"Have you found the route?"

"No, there's a very strong chakra reaction over there." Hinata's eyes were sharp as she looked up at the brownish-red mountain peak that resembled an inverted bamboo shoot a thousand meters away.
"Six, eight... a lot of people. Shikamaru and the others are over there too. Choji seems to be injured!"

"not good!"

"Wang Wang!"

Akamaru and Kiba are like twin brothers; they even speak in perfect sync.

Shino and Hinata were not surprised by this. Kiba had said a year ago that he would develop a powerful new ninjutsu, so he began to deliberately train in teamwork. Now, the results are beginning to show.

Just now, Kiba and Akamaru used Fang Over Fang, and the two of them attacked in perfect sync, which is why the two Amegakure members were killed instantly without even having a chance to react.

"Let's go too!"

After a moment's hesitation, Shino, the squad leader, decided to go and investigate. If Shikamaru was in mortal danger, they could lend a hand.

Moreover, with so many people gathered there, there's a good chance they might be looking for clues about food and water!

We cannot sit idly by, neither out of moral obligation nor out of reason.

The three of them made up their minds, tied Oboro and the others to the stone pillars, left them three gas masks, and then ran towards the mountain peak that Hinata had pointed out.

……

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru, I didn't know..."

"Don't say anything!"

Like an inverted bamboo shoot, the stone pillar was entwined with countless thick vines. At the top of the mountain, Ino and Shikamaru took out kunai and protected Choji, who was covered in blood, in the middle.

Meanwhile, on the vines that entwined the mountain peaks, numerous ninjas from the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Mist Village had completely surrounded the three of them!

Looking at the ninja from another village at the top of the vines, Choji gritted his teeth in regret, constantly consuming fat to convert it into Yang Release chakra to heal his injuries.

Their team's landing did not go smoothly.

He originally planned to use the defensive effect of the Multi-Size Technique to withstand the fall, and then have Shikamaru and Ino use him as a cushion, so that he could land without injury.

But who would have thought that the terrain here would be like this?

Countless shackle-like stone pillars, resembling traps specifically designed to catch wild boars in the wild, would have turned the multiplied Choji into a hedgehog if the pillars weren't so blunt.

Even so, he was seriously injured, with severe damage to his calf that rendered him unable to move.

And most importantly...

Choji turned to look at the open red treasure chest at his feet.

After the three landed, Shikamaru told him to rest there until his injuries had healed before searching for food and water. However, he suddenly noticed a strange box on the summit and instinctively opened it.

After that...

A red flare flew out of the box and pierced through the thick miasma clouds in the sky.

What's in the box you found?

Standing atop the massive, iron-like vines, Karui gazed at the three Konoha members who were on high alert, raising his single sword high and assuming the starting stance of the Upper Cloud Flow technique.

Omoi and Atsi stood on the left and right wings behind him, their three long swords standing upright like the horns of a rhinoceros.

"There's nothing inside, it was just a signal flare!"

Shikamaru had a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, but he didn't dare wipe it away.

He had already witnessed the speed of these Cloud Village ninjas during the written test. Even though they were still more than 20 meters away, they could close the distance in the blink of an eye and cut them into pieces.

Ino, standing to the side, rolled her eyes, one hand holding a kunai horizontally, the other already in the starting stance of "Heart-Rending Heart," aimed at the three members of Kirigakure on the other side.

"Who do you think would believe that?"

Hozuki Suigetsu slung his heavy longsword over his shoulder, his right hand hidden in his sleeve, aiming it in the shape of a pistol. Behind him, Chojuro and Ringo Ameyuri formed the same triangular formation as the Cloud Village side.

The three teams stared at each other, seemingly caught in some strange balance, and for a moment no one dared to make a move.

Only the clouds that had been pierced in the sky continued to emit a faint red glow. (End of Chapter)