Starts In Konoha: Unlocking Shadow Clone

"Me?"

Naruto was slightly taken aback, realizing there was no avoiding it.

He had revealed too much this time, so it was natural for Sandaime to dig deeper. Luckily, now that Sandaime was bound by the Servant Contract, Naruto wasn't too worried. His explanations were solely to reassure him.

Sandaime held up his pipe and said thoughtfully, "Naruto, how did you end up working with Orochimaru? And how did you learn these extraordinary techniques?"

With a quick thought, Naruto recalled Kakashi's earlier questions and spun a story accordingly, "The seal inside me contained the remnants of my father's will, the Yondaime Hokage. He informed me about everything, and so I trained secretly. I developed these unique techniques through years of research."

"And as for meeting Orochimaru, it was by chance. I was wandering near the Uchiha Ruins when Orochimaru found me. Out of necessity, I subdued him. The battle in the Uchiha area a while back was actually between the two of us."

Sandaime pondered and said, "I didn't expect that Yondaime would leave behind the legacy."

Sandaime also felt that this explanation was reasonable.

It made sense that Yondaime, even in death, would leave knowledge behind for his young son.

If he were the fourth generation, he would do the same.

With his doubts about Naruto settled, Sandaime turned to Orochimaru: "And why were you in the Uchiha Ruins? There are Anbu guarding it… you can't enter Konoha without being noticed."

"Anbu, guard?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, smirking with a mysterious expression, offering no further details.

Sandaime immediately caught on. He narrowed his eyes and said annoyedly, "So it's Danzo's doing again!"

It is impossible for Sandaime's Anbu to let Orochimaru in. So it is obvious that it was Danzo's Root who secretly let Orochimaru in.

After a moment of silence, Sandaime continued to ask, "Naruto, since it is Yondaime's legacy, why have you kept it hidden? And why didn't you report about Orochimaru? Just how much are you concealing from me?"

Naruto replied with a casual smile, "Well, I can't disclose everything. Everything I do is for my own benefit. All you need to know is that I won't harm Konoha… that assurance should be enough.

What else could he say? He couldn't reveal the existence of the system, after all.

Besides, his intention had been to develop in secret. Who would've thought he'd end up dragged into this situation? If not for Orochimaru's Konoha Crush Plan, he would've stayed out of it entirely.

"This... very well." Sandaime said with a resigned sigh.

As Naruto's servant, Sandaime had no choice but to comply. Naruto could even order him to destroy the village, and he'd be forced to obey. Naruto's verbal promise not to harm Konoha was a relief, however small.

"Let's hope you keep that promise!" That's all Sandaime could say.

"Don't worry, destroying Konoha wouldn't benefit me either. If there's nothing else, I'll be off. This entire conversation stays between the three of us and must not be shared with anyone."

With that command, Naruto left the Hokage's Office.

Now that the situation between Orochimaru and Sandaime has improved, he wasn't concerned about them spending more time together… they might even reminisce about old times. And with the Servant Contract in place, he had no fear of either of them rebelling.

Since all the worries in his heart were swept away, Naruto fell into a deep sleep after he returned home.

The night passed peacefully, and early the next morning, Naruto was woken up by a knock on the door again.

He opened the door and saw Sasuke and Sakura outside.

"Why are you two here again? What's the matter this time?" Naruto asked, somewhat puzzled.

Sasuke explained, "Kakashi-sensei just informed us that the Chunin Exam has been rescheduled. We're to meet at Training Ground 44 before nine."

"Got it, let me get ready."

Naruto nodded, quickly getting ready and then heading to Training Ground 44 with Sasuke and Sakura.

By the time they arrived, the area outside the training ground was packed with eager candidates. With the exam resuming, everyone seemed well-prepared for the challenges ahead.

Training Ground 44, or 'The Forest of Death', was enclosed by towering iron mesh fences and guarded by a massive iron gate.

At a glance, the forest appeared dense, the thick, dark green trees standing tall, their branches stretching out to block the sunlight, creating an eerie darkness within.

Occasionally, the distant roars of wild beasts echoed through the trees, adding to the forest's haunting atmosphere.

Soon, accompanied by a puff of white smoke, several Konoha's Shinobi appeared, led by a sexy woman in mesh clothes. She held a dango in her hand and said excitedly, "I am Mitarashi Anko, the proctor of this exam. You fools may think you've done something impressive, but don't get cocky! Let me make it clear… you won't all make it past my exam. Most of you will be eliminated!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the candidates immediately felt the tension in the air.

Anko continued, "The rules for this part are simple. Enter Training Ground 44, known as the Forest of Death, and locate the Heaven and Earth scrolls. Successfully reaching the Central Tower with both scrolls will mark your completion. The exam will last five days. A word of caution: do not open the scrolls, or you'll face the consequences!"

"What, five days? How are we supposed to eat and drink?"

"What do the Heaven and Earth scrolls look like?"

"And what's with this 'Forest of Death' name?"

The candidates asked questions that were in their minds one after another.

Anko snorted coldly, "The Forest of Death is so named because it's filled with man-eating beasts, and if you're not careful, you'll die here. Of course, you're free to hunt the creatures inside, and there are fruits to sustain you. As for the Heaven and Earth scrolls, they're hidden throughout the forest, so find them yourselves!"

"If you want to proceed, sign the consent form. After that, your life is your responsibility. If you are a coward who is afraid of death, just go home directly!"

"Now, the test begins!"

After saying that, Anko turned and left without saying another word.

The remaining Konoha's Shinobi were holding consent forms, waiting for the candidates to sign them.

"Naruto, what should we do?" Sasuke asked, frowning.

Several other candidates also hesitated, unsure of what to do.

"What should we do? This is a standard exam! If you lack the courage, like Anko said, you might as well go home."

Naruto shook his head helplessly and took the lead to sign the consent form.

Naruto quickly realized that unlike the original exam, where each team was given either a Heaven or Earth scroll, here, no scrolls were distributed initially, which made sense.

Ibiki's first exam tested intelligence-gathering, while Anko's second exam now focused on safely securing and delivering that information, which are vital skills for a Chunin.

Because Ibiki's test was forced to end with all candidates surviving, the second exam included an additional challenge of locating the scrolls, further assessing information-gathering skills.

However, Anko hadn't mentioned the number of scrolls, implying there wouldn't be enough for everyone. Since the first exam had no eliminations, this part would likely involve significant cuts.

So signing the consent form as soon as possible and rushing in to secure a scroll was the priority.

After Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura signed the consent forms, the gates to the Forest of Death opened.

At the next moment, the three of them rushed into the Forest of Death and began this cruel test of hunting and being hunted...