Chapter 115: The Fierce Battle

Half an hour passed quietly. At this moment, in the Hidden Leaf Village.

The first stage of the Chunin Exams had concluded smoothly. After fierce competition, sixty-six candidates remained, divided into twenty-two groups. The chief examiner of the second stage, Hotaru Mitarashi, looked at the candidates before her, slightly frowning. She muttered that there were still too many candidates left and loudly declared that more than half would be eliminated.

The exam content was simple. Eleven sets of scrolls were distributed, each set containing two scrolls.

Each team of candidates needed to bring a complete set of scrolls to the tower at the center of the Death Forest.

But what if a team was missing one scroll?

They would have to seize it!

From other candidates.

Any means were allowed, even resorting to deadly force.

Before entering the Death Forest, everyone had to sign a life-or-death agreement.

Naruto stood silently on the sidelines, quietly thinking to himself:

“The exam rules have always been like this. The second stage was always destined to eliminate at least half the participants. Why does examiner Hotaru Mitarashi make it sound like this is entirely her own decision?”

He shrugged helplessly. Honestly, he didn’t pay much attention to the remaining candidates.

However, his gaze inadvertently swept over a particular candidate from the Hidden Sand Village.

That was a peculiar candidate carrying a large gourd on his back.

Naruto knew his name was Gaara, and he thought silently: This person, like himself, is also a Jinchuriki.

At that moment, the Nine-Tails inside Naruto suddenly let out a mocking laugh:

“Haha, that’s the scent of Shukaku, the One-Tail. That half-baked beast is always trying to break free, but it lacks the strength. It ends up tormenting its Jinchuriki to a near deathlike state, and it doesn’t fare much better itself. Look at me, so obedient, living comfortably every day.”

Listening to the Nine-Tails, Naruto silently agreed. It did seem to be the case.

He recalled how he had ‘renovated’ the sealing space of the Nine-Tails, spending considerable effort to make it as comfortable as possible inside. He also rarely drew on the Nine-Tails’ power, not wanting to cause it too much trouble.

Now, the Nine-Tails seemed to be enjoying life every day.

Eating well and drinking well inside that luxurious single room-like sealing space, sometimes acting like a leisurely old man, fiddling with a shogi board, humming unknown tunes, passing the days quietly.

Though it couldn’t often go out for walks, Naruto would occasionally share fresh news from the outside world, so for the Nine-Tails, whether it could roam freely seemed less important.

Naruto also noticed that the Nine-Tails’ body seemed rounder now. Sometimes when communicating with it, he would unconsciously reach out and stroke it, feeling that it was softer and more pleasant than before.

Among the crowd, Naruto also spotted a particularly notable group.

They were shinobi from the Hidden Waterfall Village, emanating an aura that felt strangely familiar to Naruto, compelling him to look at them more intently.

As Naruto’s gaze fell upon them, the leader of the Waterfall shinobi seemed to sense the attention and nodded slightly in greeting, giving Naruto a meaningful look.

Naruto was momentarily stunned and thought to himself:

“Hm? Wait—this familiar aura is…”

He frowned, searching carefully through his memories for a match.

Suddenly, realization dawned:

“Of course, it’s Fugaku Uchiha.”

His eyes then shifted to the other two companions nearby—one was Mikoto Uchiha, and the other was unfamiliar to Naruto but, judging by their attire and demeanor, seemed to be another Uchiha clan ninja.

Naruto murmured inwardly:

“An elite jonin leading two skilled shinobi, coming all the way to the Chunin Exam—what’s the occasion? Here to fish for trouble?”

But he quickly dismissed the thought, noticing that their eyes were almost glued to Sasuke. Their focused expressions suggested they intended to find an opportunity to contact Sasuke during the second stage.

Naruto could only watch silently; after all, when parents come to see their children, what could he say?

The scrolls were distributed one by one, each candidate signing the life-or-death agreement with a serious expression. Then, those who may or may not all have been candidates gradually entered the ominous Death Forest.

Outside the second stage exam site, Orochimaru, disguised as a Hidden Leaf shinobi, was secretly exchanging information with one of his covert operatives. At that moment, a merchant from the Dragon Assembly hurriedly approached. The merchant’s expression was anxious; without a word, he handed Orochimaru a note.

Orochimaru furrowed his brows as he took the note, his eyes scanning its contents. His face immediately turned grave.

The note bore shocking news:

Just half an hour ago, the Hidden Rain Village was fiercely attacked by an unknown iron giant. The iron giant seemed like a demon crawling out of hell, rampaging through the Rain Village and leaving devastation in its wake.

The Rain Village suffered heavy losses, and the Akatsuki, who ruled over the Rain Village, suffered significant casualties.

The Akatsuki leader, Pain’s Six Paths—the once fearsome and powerful figure—was now down to a single path, gravely wounded. It was said that if the Akatsuki’s senior members had not arrived in time to support him, the Six Paths would have been annihilated. However, those who came to aid also paid a heavy price.

Hidan, the “immortal” cultist who was once a Hidden Hot Water Village ninja, sacrificed himself to draw fire during the battle. The iron giant’s attacks rained down on him like a storm.

In the end, he was reduced to nothing but a severed head, a horrific sight that shocked all who saw it.

Additionally, Sasori, the puppet master from the Hidden Sand Village, also suffered severe losses, even exposing his true body.

He reportedly unleashed the devastating “Hundred Puppet Dance” technique that once destroyed an entire nation, with countless puppets whirling on the battlefield, but they proved useless against the iron giant.

He also deployed his prized creation—the human puppet—but still suffered heavy damage. Not only did he gain little advantage, but he also revealed himself as the culprit behind the abduction of the Third Kazekage.

Now, the Sand Village’s morale was shaken, and they seemed reluctant to continue participating in the plan to bring down the Hidden Leaf.

Meanwhile, the former Hidden Rock Village shinobi, Deidara, was said to have had both arms and legs severed, barely clinging to life with only half his vitality remaining.

If it were not for a ninja named “Abu” who timely intervened using space-time ninjutsu to eliminate the attacking iron giant, the Akatsuki would have been completely wiped out and vanished from the ninja world.

Orochimaru clenched the note tightly, pondering silently the upheaval this news would bring to the shinobi world.