Chapter 25: Death's Crag
Chapter 25: Death's Crag
Feng Ye's early submission of his exam paper caused quite a stir among the participants of the Chunin Exams. Many of them exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes widening in disbelief.
"He... passed?"
"How is that possible? Did he really answer all those difficult questions already?!'
Some students, who had not yet realized that the exam's focus was on 'cheating,' found it hard to believe. They hadn't been able to answer a single question, yet Feng Ye had finished the entire exam so quickly. Was he some kind of genius?
A few suspicious students narrowed their eyes as they watched Feng Ye leave the examination room.
"There's something off about that guy."
He had already guessed that the key to this exam was cheating, but the ninjas assigned to answer the questions and hidden among the crowd hadn't finished yet. It seemed a bit far-fetched that Feng Ye had already completed his paper.
"Could he have known the exam questions and answers beforehand? Damn it," he muttered to himself, scowling at Feng Ye.
Under the watchful and unfriendly gazes of the other examinees, Feng Ye exited the examination room.
As soon as he stepped out, he paused, noticing Kakashi Hatake leaning casually against the wall outside. Kakashi's usual aloof expression was on his face as he scanned the area.
Feng Ye turned to him and tilted his chin upward, asking, "What are you doing here?"
"Proctoring the exam," Kakashi replied, his arms folded across his chest. "I'm in charge of escorting out anyone caught cheating five times. Though it seems this batch of examinees is quite well-behaved..."
As he finished speaking, a voice rang out from inside the exam room. It was one of the proctoring ninjas.
"Number 51, you are disqualified!"
"...'
Feng Ye shrugged nonchalantly.
Kakashi also sighed and shook his head. He entered the exam room and escorted out three disqualified candidates, leading them away from the test site.
Watching Kakashi walk away, Feng Ye yawned and made his way directly to the test site for the second stage of the Chunin Exams. Soon, he arrived at a location he had learned about in advance.
Unlike the Forest of Death (Exercise Yard 44), which was often used for the second stage, the examiners had chosen Exercise Yard 31, known as Death's Crag, for this exam.
The exam site was surrounded by a wire fence, and at first glance, it seemed devoid of any vegetation. However, the terrain was extremely rugged, resembling the complex landscape carved out by flowing water in the Land of Water. Small hills were scattered everywhere, and numerous interconnecting caves could be seen.
"This is the Chunin Exams test site. You are not allowed to approach."
A ninja guarding the area noticed Feng Ye and quickly stepped forward to stop him.
Feng Ye retracted his gaze and showed his exam permit. "I'm a participant in the Chunin Exams. I've finished the first stage and came here early to wait."
"Hmm..."
The ninja glanced at the permit in Feng Ye's hand with a slight look of surprise. "Then wait here for the chief examiner to arrive. No one is allowed to enter prematurely."
"Alright." Feng Ye moved to the side to wait.
He didn't have to wait long before the first stage of the exams ended. Out of the sixty or so genin, nearly half were eliminated, leaving only about thirty candidates.
The three genin from Kirigakure and the three from Kumogakure had all passed. After all, they were the elites chosen by their respective villages, and such a basic exam was unlikely to pose a challenge.
"So, this is the venue for the second stage."
One of the Kirigakure genin surveyed the wire-enclosed Death's Crag, a slight smile forming on his face. He licked the corner of his mouth, his smile turning sinister. "Tsk, it's almost as if it was made for us.
"Indeed, it's very suitable... as your burial ground."
A discordant voice interrupted from the side, causing Kisame's smile to freeze, and the two Kirigakure ninjas beside him glared sharply in the direction of the voice.
They saw a tanned, muscular man with a 'Kumogakure' forehead protector speaking. He wore coarse linen clothes, and his voice carried a hint of challenge.
"It's not certain whose burial ground this will be."
"Watch your mouth, Cloud ninja..."
The two Kirigakure ninjas glared coldly at the Kumogakure ninja.
While this terrain was advantageous to them, it also favored the Kumogakure ninjas, who specialized in Lightning Style jutsu. Moreover, Lightning Style was strong against Water Style, so the Kirigakure ninjas often found themselves at a disadvantage against their Cloud Village counterparts.
The three Kumogakure ninjas were well aware of this, so they paid no heed to the threats from the Kirigakure ninjas, wearing defiant expressions that seemed to dare them to make a move.
Just then, a voice rang out.
"Quiet down, all of you!"
Kurenai Yuhi, the proctor in charge of the second stage of the Chunin Exams, walked over and said in a deep voice, "Before the second exam begins, you must all sign this consent form. There may be casualties in this exam, so if you are unwilling to sign, you may leave now."
The ninjas exchanged glances, but none of them were the type to back down, and soon they all signed the consent forms.
"Alright, now for the exam rules..."
Kurenai looked at the many genin who had signed the consent forms and said in a deep voice, "There are currently thirty-four people participating in the second stage of the Chunin Exams. Including those acting alone, there are a total of twelve teams. Next, we will distribute two types of scrolls to you."
"The objective of this exam is to obtain both the Heaven and Earth scrolls and safely arrive at the watchtower in the center of Death's Crag within three days..."
"Now, come and collect your scrolls."
After speaking, Kurenai indicated for the examinees to come forward and receive their scrolls.
Since there were only twelve teams remaining, the distribution of the scrolls was done openly. Six teams received the Heaven scrolls and stood on one side, while the other six teams, who received the Earth scrolls, stood on the other, eyeing each other with hostility.
The Kumogakure and Kirigakure ninjas both received Earth scrolls.
"We've received scrolls that are useless to us... There's no benefit in taking you out."
"Heh."
The ninjas from Kumogakure and Kirigakure exchanged cold glances but didn't bother to respond. Instead, they turned their attention to the teams that had received the Heaven scrolls.
The one who stood out the most and drew the attention of nearly all six teams with Earth scrolls was Feng Ye, who was alone with a Heaven scroll.
"That guy's really alone."
"Hey... He must have some confidence to participate alone. He's probably not someone to be trifled with, but the combat power of three people working together is not the same as that of a single person."
Many ninjas eyed Feng Ye with ill-intent.
(End of Chapter)
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