Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 196, Second Exam Ends

The explosion site resembled a meteorite crater.

The original forest was gone, and even the earth itself was smashed to pieces by the shockwave. Then, it was swept by the back and forth gales, leaving only large rocks behind. The entire land was scorched black by the high temperature.

The destroyed examination area covered one-tenth of the total area.

From the perspective of aerial drone surveillance, a circular black spot appeared in a vast forest, looking extremely ugly.

The edges of the black spots were haphazardly piled up tree remains, forming a wall as high as six or seven meters, like a dam built by beavers.

But even in the black earth at the epicenter of the explosion, there were still a few colors that stood out from the crowd.

Darui, a ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village, had his entire body crackling with blue-purple arcs of electricity. His Lightning Release Chakra Mode transformed his body into an indestructible wall of steel, protecting Shi and Samui in his embrace.

However, he was still too young, and his physical training and ninjutsu proficiency were not yet up to par.

Darui was slow to activate his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, and was just a little too late when the shockwave arrived, resulting in him sustaining serious injuries.

In another direction, a fortress made of white bones unfolded like a flower bud, revealing purple crystals inside.

As the crystal melted away, Kimimaro, Guren, and Jugo's figures were revealed.

Not far from Kimimaro's bone fortress, a crack appeared in the ground, and Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha emerged from underground, followed by the trembling Sakura Haruno and Karin.

Kakashi was unable to arrive in time before the explosion, and Naruto Uzumaki was unable to use Swift Release to quickly take everyone away. He could only use Earth Release: Underground Fortress to take the entire team 30 meters underground, into a safe fortress that was strong enough to withstand a terrorist attack.

Now that the footage of Karin with Konoha's Team 7 has been completely exposed, there will likely be some trouble ahead.

Xia Zuo curled his lip, secretly hoping that Uchiha Shisui's move to kill and silence witnesses would be carried out smoothly, so that he, as the Hokage, wouldn't have to step in and could just let the other department heads handle it.

If the murder and cover-up weren't handled properly, Shisui might have to make another trip to Kusagakure.

It is believed that even without the Hokage's intervention, Konoha Village will be able to gain the understanding of the Grass Ninja leader and issue an official ninja transfer document, officially transferring Uzumaki Karin to the status of a Konoha ninja.

You must understand, these are descendants of the Uzumaki clan. With the Uzumaki Village in the Land of Whirlpools no longer existing, Konoha Village is their last and most suitable home.

The Grass Ninja Village's refusal to release its inhabitants is tantamount to disrespecting the Fifth Hokage.

The consequences could be quite serious.

On the pitch-black earth, the most conspicuous thing was a patch of yellow sand. As the explosion passed, the sand moved rapidly, reshaping itself into a pyramid.

When the pyramid was finally completed, three people appeared at the top: Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari.

Gaara's panting appearance proves that the enormous pyramid was created by his own abilities, not by borrowing Shukaku's power.

Opposite the Yellow Sand Pyramid, a strange-looking ice mirror stands quietly on the ground, as if it had never been involved in the explosion.

However, Haku, who was creating and maintaining the ice mirror, was so exhausted that his whole body ached and he could only barely hold his own against the other ninja teams with the help of Hozuki Suigetsu.

What's most unexpected is that there was a Konoha ninja squad at the scene of the explosion, and they looked so relaxed.

The three Konoha genin, led by Tenten, were full of energy and showed no signs of injury or exhaustion, except that their clothes were somewhat disheveled.

Neji Hyuga seemed somewhat disoriented, perhaps due to being frightened.

You can't blame him, because he's the only normal person in the team.

When the explosion occurred, Captain Tiantian did not take any actual action. He simply released his own luck and then smiled at his teammates, saying, "Don't move, and don't leave Taiyuan. I'm lucky enough right now, everything will be fine."

Tenten has absolute confidence in herself, while Lee has no idea about his own safety. Only Neji Hyuga is terrified in the face of the violent explosion.

The shockwave from the explosion forced the ground down, creating a huge crater.

However, the depression itself also caused a surge in underground pressure, causing the underground rock slabs to break apart, and an enormous rock slab rose out of the ground, blocking Tiantian's way.

The massive rock slab, tilted at only 3 degrees, was enough to completely cover the Tian Tian team, and the slight tilt angle deflected the shockwave of the explosion; the three of them were only affected by the wind ruffling their hair.

When the storm of the explosion's echo struck, the rock slab broke under mechanical stress, and the flying rocks, as large as houses, landed right behind Tian Tian and the others. They then collapsed onto the broken rock strata in front of them, forming a sturdy triangular structure that blocked the echo of the explosion.

Tenten and Lee laughed heartily through the thrilling four minutes, while only Neji Hyuga worried about every dramatic turn of events.

He was fully focused on preparing for the [Gentle Fist Technique - Reversal of Heaven], but within just a few minutes, he ended up with a nervous breakdown.

As Deidara, engulfed in smoke, rode his third giant bird to join the other two, he happened to fly over the site of the explosion, inciting outrage from all the squads present.

However, Deidara's three giant birds flew at an extremely high altitude, far exceeding the range of ninjutsu.

The genin could only watch helplessly as he led his teammates towards the finish line.

Darui scoffed, "I didn't get to fully enjoy the second exam. How about you guys?"

Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha exchanged a glance, and he said with a smile, "We feel the same way. We really want to pin that blond guy to the ground and beat him up."

Tian Tian laughed and said, "Oh dear, I haven't even done anything yet, and I've already been hit by a huge explosion. I've wasted so much 'luck' and accumulated so much 'bad luck.' I need a target to vent my frustration."

Bai Wenrou smiled gently and said, "I think it's great that we don't have to fight to the bitter end here."

Kimimaro and Gaara were both not good with words, and they each snorted coldly, expressing their displeasure.

Darui said, "Very well, since everyone agrees, let's not fight each other here. Let's settle our scores in the third match."

Tian Tian nodded and said, "That's a good idea. Let's make a pact: if we run into each other before we beat up the golden retriever, we shouldn't fight to the death. It's not worth it."

Naruto Uzumaki loudly echoed, "I completely agree with Tenten's suggestion!"

Darui nodded and said, "Very good, that's what I think too."

Bai: "I agree."

Gaara and Kimimaro nodded, not even bothering to utter a sound.

The ninjas gathered in the meteorite crater were all the strongest ninja squads from various ninja villages. They had reached an agreement because of Deidara, and then began to disperse.

This group was actually the fastest advancing squad. Although a large-scale battle broke out, it didn't take up too much time, and they were still relatively far ahead.

In other words, some of these guys didn't have enough passes and needed to intercept the following teams before the finish line and snatch their paired passes from them.

If an agreement is not reached here, a major battle will break out at the finish line.

In this situation, some unlucky individuals might be eliminated prematurely, bringing shame upon their villages.

Because the risk is shared equally among everyone, no one is willing to bear such risk, which is why the agreement was reached by default.

Several ninja teams have approached the outermost edge of the crater, including Team 8 from Konoha.

Captain Shino Aburame, along with Hinata Hyuga and Kiba Inuzuka, proudly infiltrated the Broken Wood Dam, using their own methods to observe the situation ahead.

Although the ninjas in the arena were having a peaceful conversation, they were also using their auras to confront each other, and ninjas who were not qualified had no ability to speak.

The powerful clash of auras created a terrifying atmosphere, causing Shino Aburame's parasites to wilt, Kiba Inuzuka and his ninja dogs to tremble in fear, and only Hinata Hyuga was able to observe directly with her Byakugan.

Hinata was terrified by the chakra fields that erupted like volcanoes; she trembled even more violently than Kiba Inuzuka.

Fortunately, Naruto's chakra, which was like the sun, intentionally extended its aura to protect Hinata, allowing her to persevere.

After those terrifyingly powerful genin left, Naruto deliberately left last, and greeted Hinata with a chakra fluctuation, making Hinata's face turn bright red.

Fortunately, she had gotten used to Naruto's overtures over the past two years and quickly regained her composure, reconfirming the center of the battlefield.

Then Hinata said to her teammates, "They've all left."

Shino Aburame breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you for your hard work, Hinata."

"Thanks to you this time, my Parasite Bug and Fang's Red Maru still need more training when facing these monsters."

He then said strangely, "That's really strange. Although these guys are monsters, they're at most Jonin level. They shouldn't have scared us so much."

"Teeth, how do you feel?"

Kiba Inuzuka lay on the ground, completely disregarding his image, and sighed, "I feel like there's a super terrifying one among them, someone far more terrifying than a Jonin."

Suddenly, he cried out and sat up abruptly, frantically pulling the ninja dog Akamaru from his pocket.

Kiba said disdainfully, "Ah! Akamaru! You actually peed your pants from fear!"

Akamaru cried out with teary eyes, "Woof woof, woof~"

Kiba Inuzuka was incredulous: "Huh? How can you be so cowardly? How can you be so scared? You can only pee when you relax?"

Shino Aburame advised, "Kiba, don't blame Akamaru."

Encouraged by Naruto, Hinata felt much better and was able to say with a smile, "Yeah, Kiba, I can see you were terrified too."

Kiba Inuzuka's legs trembled as he stubbornly insisted, "No, I... I'm not scared at all."

Aburame Shino asked疑惑地, "What kind of monster is mixed in with them?"

At that moment, Nara Shikamaru emerged from behind and guessed, "He might be a Jinchuriki."

Aburame Shino suddenly realized what was going on and nodded thoughtfully.

Kiba Inuzuka looked confused, scratching his head as he asked, "What is a Jinchuriki? Who is a Jinchuriki?"

Nara Shikamaru rolled his eyes: "Kiba, being a Jinchuriki is common sense for ninjas, you should learn that, okay?"

"Furthermore, the Jinchuriki is the top secret of every village. How could a genin like me possibly know who it is?"

Yamanaka Ino covered her mouth and laughed: "Kiba, I really wonder how you graduated."

Shino Aburame said, "Shikamaru, let's go together from now on, our two teams."

Nara Shikamaru nodded and said, "We chased after them for this. There must be a robbery squad blocking the finish line ahead. We are no match for those monster squads."

"But if our two teams work together, it should make them think twice, and the safety level will be much higher."

Shino Aburame nodded and said, "Yes, have you collected all the passes?"

Yamanaka Ino nodded and said, "We've got them all. Shika planned the route perfectly. As soon as we came in, we stopped a small team from Hoshigakure and got the half-pass we needed."

She then asked, "What about you guys, Shino?"

Kiba Inuzuka chuckled smugly, "We've got them all, and we even managed to get one and a half extra."

Nara Shikamaru was overjoyed: "Great! Even if we are intercepted by the enemy, we can still use the extra passes to buy our way through."

Shino Aburame nodded and said, "Let's set off as soon as possible. If we are caught up by other ninja village teams, it will be a lot of trouble. The two teams will be mixed together. The reconnaissance team will be responsible for clearing the way and covering the rear, while the Ino-Shika-Cho team will be in the middle to prepare for a counterattack."

The second exam then saw many more battles break out.

But with that great battle between monsters preceding it, this ordinary battle seemed utterly mundane. Not only did the four shadows find it uninteresting, but even ordinary people felt their passion waned and they couldn't feel any excitement at all.

In fact, these seemingly "unremarkable" and "unexciting" battles are still very intense, even brutal.

In such neglected battles, many soldiers suffered injuries or even death.

Some squads hid their passes, which led to torture and interrogation.

Because the visuals were too horrific, Konoha ninjas did not broadcast similar scenes, thus concealing some of the bloodshed in the ninja world.

Ultimately, 11 genin teams arrived at the final destination with complete passes and successfully passed the assessment.

The second exam had an elimination rate of nearly four-fifths, with over a hundred genin dying and more than twenty others seriously injured or disabled, resulting in heavy casualties.

The Fifth Hokage in the private room stood up and said, "Everyone, today's assessment is over. I'm going to meet the genin who passed the assessment. Would you like to come along?"

The Fourth Kazekage, the Fourth Raikage, and the Third Tsuchikage all shook their heads. Onoki said, "We won't go. Fifth Hokage, please do as you please."

After speaking, the three Kage each used their own methods to leave in the most stylish way, showing off their power and coolness to the ordinary people in the venue, and defeating their own ninja villages.

The Fifth Hokage smiled and walked away like an ordinary person.

He no longer needs to show off like that.

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