In the center of the Forest of Death, by the windowsill on the fourth floor of the high tower, Kabuto pushed up his round-rimmed glasses and looked through the glass toward the far end of the forest.
According to his calculations, Orochimaru should have already planted the Cursed Seal on Sasuke. Normally, Sasuke would need at least one to two days to adapt to the first wave of the Cursed Seal's impact, and Team 7 would likely only reach the Central Tower by the third day of the exams at the earliest.
He still had plenty of time to make preparations here, confirm Sasuke's adaptability to the Cursed Seal, and then continue to lie in wait.
Just then, he saw two figures rapidly moving through the forest at the edge of the woods.
Looking closely, he saw Naruto and Sasuke leaping out from the last dense forest area, one after the other, charging straight toward the Central Tower.
Sasuke was still carrying Sakura on his back, and the two were moving extremely fast. Based on their direction, they were clearly not being chased. Rather, they were heading toward the Central Tower with a clear goal.
Kabuto's eyes narrowed slightly.
He put down the ninja info card in his hand and tucked his pen back into his ninja tool pouch.
'It seems Uzumaki Naruto is indeed just as Orochimaru-sama said, he requires careful observation.'
Just as Kabuto was preparing to leave, he saw Naruto raise his head and glance in his direction.
'Was I discovered?'
Kabuto's habitual smile remained, but his pupils contracted slightly.
'What terrifying perception.'
Kabuto pushed up his glasses. 'It seems Naruto really needs to be observed closely.'
...
Naruto withdrew his gaze and pushed open the doors at the base of the Central Tower with Sasuke.
The light inside the tower was brighter than in the forest, and the torches on the walls illuminated the entire circular hall as if it were daylight.
In the center of the hall was a level stone floor, and on the wall facing the entrance hung a huge scroll, with the core philosophy of this exam written on it.
Naruto took out the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll from his pouch, placed them side by side on the ground, and pulled the ropes at the same time.
Immediately, two puffs of white smoke exploded simultaneously. After the smoke cleared, a figure wearing the uniform of a Konoha Chunin walked out.
"Good work. I am the Chunin messenger sent to receive you." Iruka spoke in the official tone of a proctor.
However, as his gaze moved past Naruto and Sasuke, landing on Sakura, who was unconscious on Sasuke's back, the muscles between his brows twitched imperceptibly.
"It looks like you went through quite a battle." Iruka dropped his official proctor tone, his voice carrying a layer of concern.
"Iruka-sensei, Sakura needs to rest. Although I'd like to chat with you a while longer, now is not the time."
In the past, every time Naruto saw him, he would pounce over and shout, "Iruka-sensei," but now he radiated a sense of composure that only comes from being tempered.
Iruka nodded and led them toward the resting area inside the tower.
"There are still a few days until the third stage of the exams, you should go and recover first."
"There is clean water and a medical kit in the room, and food will be delivered to the door at regular intervals."
"Take this time to adjust properly, there are tougher battles ahead."
Naruto nodded and followed Iruka through the corridor.
After Sasuke placed Sakura on the bed, he sat cross-legged in the corner without a word. He closed his eyes, and began to suppress the Cursed Seal that was faintly burning on his neck.
Naruto checked Sakura's forehead temperature, and after confirming she was just exhausted, he lay down on another bed nearby.
...
Time quickly reached the fifth day.
Anko stood on the top of the Central Tower, watching the last few disheveled candidates stumble into the tower gate. She clapped her hands to announce that the second stage of the Chunin Exams had officially ended.
The number of teams that finally gathered in the Central Tower hall was exactly half less than when the first stage of the exams had ended, matching what Anko had said about "at least half being eliminated."
Naruto stood in the crowd in the hall, his gaze passing over faces that were either exhausted or excited, and captured a few familiar figures in the crowd.
Kiba was leaning against Akamaru, complaining to Shikamaru about how difficult a team they had encountered in the Forest of Death.
Shino was silent as always.
Choji was grabbing every opportunity to stuff potato chips into his mouth.
Ino was standing with her hands on her hips, arguing with Shikamaru about some tactical issue.
Then he saw Hinata, who was standing next to Kiba and Shino. She was wiping mud off her hands with a handkerchief, occasionally looking up and cautiously scanning the surrounding crowd, as if she were looking for someone.
The moment her gaze collided with Naruto's, the tips of her ears turned red, and the handkerchief almost slipped from her hand.
Naruto smiled slightly at Hinata and nodded.
Shikamaru escaped from Ino's barrage and walked over to Naruto. "I heard you arrived on the second day? What a drag. We were chased by a team from Amegakure for three whole days, we almost didn't make it."
Choji added, "But in the end, we still managed to grab an Earth Scroll. Shikamaru used a trap to lure those guys into a mud pit."
Kiba squeezed over. He crossed his arms and looked at Naruto. "Naruto, you actually arrived so quickly. Don't tell me you found a tree hole and hid for four days?"
"You guess." Naruto didn't bicker with Kiba, just smiling.