2:40 PM.
Izayoi and Hinata first went to their usual meeting spot to regroup with Shino Aburame, and then headed to the outer area of Konohagakure's Training Ground 44.
Training Ground 44, also known as the Forest of Death, was one of Konoha's few training grounds not open to the public unless under special circumstances. It was also one of the village's restricted zones.
The proctors had already set up a canopy and tents outside, along with a sign marking the assembly point.
Although there were still twenty minutes before the exam began, Team 8 wasn't the earliest to arrive.
A large number of candidates were already gathered in the open field.
Grouped in threes, there were at least over a dozen teams.
In the next ten minutes, more and more examinees arrived, and the area became crowded.
"Yo, Izayoi, you guys got here pretty early."
"Long time no see, Izayoi-kun, Hinata."
"Long time no see, Minako."
Since Team 8 was standing near the edge, the newly arrived Team 7 and Team 10 spotted them immediately.
Another squad also joined them—it was Team 6, the one Inuzuka Kiba belonged to.
"Did you guys hear? Out of our class's ten squads, only the twelve of us passed and got recognized by our jōnin instructors. The rest were all eliminated," said Minako.
Hinata looked a bit surprised. "So, did the other students return to school for retraining?"
"Two squads went back to school to repeat the year. The rest were recruited into other departments. A few of them… seemed to have taken a hard hit and chose to drop out," Minako sighed. "Becoming a full-fledged ninja isn't necessarily a good thing. We did a C-rank mission last month and almost got wiped out by poison smoke from the enemy. Luckily, Akamaru saved me."
"Hang in there. You'll definitely get stronger," Hinata encouraged her.
After all, Team 8 was a sensory team. Her Byakugan had already been trained to the point where she could see things within a radius of over twenty kilometers—something she might never personally experience in her lifetime.
"I heard the Forest of Death is one of Konoha's restricted zones. This part of the exam might be a survival test in the wild, maybe even battles between examinees," Uchiha Sasuke said provocatively as usual. "If that's the case, you'd better be careful not to get eliminated by me."
Izayoi furrowed his brows slightly, raised his hand to press against his nose, and leaned back a little as he asked, "Did you drink?"
"No, I'm only twelve," Uchiha Sasuke replied, shaking his head. When he saw Izayoi's disgusted expression, he nearly sniffed his own clothes to check if he smelled like alcohol.
But what Izayoi said next instantly made Sasuke see red:
"Oh, I thought you were still hungover and talking in your sleep."
"Pfft..."
"Hahahaha..."
Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hmph, just you wait."
Uchiha Sasuke crossed his arms, once again showing his usual tsundere attitude.
Yet no one, not even Sasuke himself, realized just how much he had changed compared to five years ago in the academy.
It was as if... he had returned to his first-year self.
Seeing the lively and cheerful "rookie nine" chatting away, many other examinees turned their attention to them.
When they noticed the forehead protectors and appearances of the group, some of the smaller village ninja candidates were filled with wariness.
After all, among these twelve people, eight were already known to be difficult opponents.
Among them was the top student who had outshone the successors of other major clans.
There were also the heirs of the three great sensory clans: Hyūga, Aburame, and Inuzuka.
Not to mention the last Uchiha survivor and the new generation of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio.
They were either geniuses from civilian backgrounds or possessors of kekkei genkai and clan secret techniques.
Once they grew up, Konoha would likely be under their rule.
They looked like they had strong bonds with each other too.
When encountering them in the second exam, it would be best to avoid them at all costs.
Such were the thoughts of a portion of the candidates.
But there were also quite a few who had their eyes set on Izayoi and his group, thinking that killing the heirs of major clans in Konoha's own territory would be quite the feat.
Among them, one gaze was filled with greed as it locked onto the smug-looking Uchiha Sasuke, the owner of the gaze nearly licking his long tongue in anticipation.
There was also a red-haired girl, who was observing Hinata and the other girls.
Looking at the luxurious attire and noble demeanor of Hinata, as well as the obviously pampered Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino, Karin's eyes were full of envy.
So this is what kunoichi from a major ninja village are like?
At that moment, as if sensing something, Karin instinctively followed the feeling and looked over.
She saw a white-robed boy standing beside a kimono-clad girl, smiling gently at her.
Seeing that handsome face and warm expression, Karin—who had never seen such a good-looking boy before—instantly blushed to the same shade as her hair. She shyly turned her gaze away, but soon couldn't help sneaking glances at him again.
"Izayoi-kun, were you just looking at that kunoichi from Grass?" Hinata caught him red-handed and asked.
"Yeah."
Izayoi nodded without hesitation and admitted it, then added softly, "She has the same ability as me."
Upon hearing that, Hinata's expression changed slightly as she stared into his eyes without saying a word.
"Not that one," Izayoi said with a smile. "I mean the one you and Hanabi often use."
Hinata looked slightly surprised, then turned her attention back to Karin.
When she made eye contact with the girl, Karin immediately flinched like a startled rabbit and avoided her gaze, no longer daring to peek.
Hinata silently wondered to herself.
Could she be someone from Izayoi-kun's clan?
The Grass Village is near the Land of Fire. Could it be that Izayoi-kun's ancestors came from there?
"All candidates, line up to sign the death waiver. The second exam is about to begin!"
Soon, it was 3:00 PM.
Since the "rookie nine" were all standing outside the crowd, the original scene where Naruto provokes Anko Mitarashi and gets scolded never happened, nor did the awkward "reunion" of teacher and student.
All examinees lined up in several rows, signed the death waiver, then entered the tents next to the canopy one by one to receive either a Heaven or Earth scroll and were led by the proctors to their designated gates.
Along the way, the proctor explained the rules of the second exam.
As Uchiha Sasuke had predicted, the second round was a survival test in the wild. The exam duration was 120 hours—five full days.
Within five days, each team had to collect both a Heaven and an Earth scroll and make it to the tower at the center of the Forest of Death.
If they were late or failed to collect both scrolls, they would be disqualified.
If they tried to open the scroll prematurely out of curiosity, they would also be immediately disqualified.
After explaining the rules, the proctor stood in front of the team's assigned iron gate, waiting for the broadcast signal.
"Byakugan—Activate!"
Hinata formed the "Ram" seal with her hands, and the veins near her temples bulged.
A few seconds later, she reported, "Our gate is Gate 8. The teams at Gates 7 and 9 both have Earth scrolls."
"No worries. There are 24 teams in total, and 12 Heaven scrolls. Even if we don't make the first move, someone will come to us," Izayoi said as he looked at the scroll in his hand—marked with the Earth symbol.
Hinata's expression turned serious. "The team at Gate 7… one of them has extremely strong chakra."
"Oh? Who is it?"
Izayoi, who had not awakened his Tenseigan yet, asked curiously.
"Not sure… but he's wearing a Suna forehead protector and carrying a gourd on his back," Hinata described the person.
"That guy… Sasuke mentioned him yesterday," Shino Aburame said in his usual calm tone. "For Sasuke to remember someone, they must be formidable."
"Yeah, sounds like a powerful one," Izayoi replied with a smile.