The moment Yui's chakra started fluctuating violently, Hayashi immediately grabbed Himeji's wrist and left the area.
Takigakure might have succeeded in sealing the Seven-Tails inside a host, but controlling a Tailed Beast properly was an entirely different matter. Even the Five Great Nations still struggled with that problem.
If they remained there any longer and accidentally triggered the Seven-Tails' chakra, the consequences would be disastrous.
Foreign genin dying during the Chūnin Exams was unfortunate but acceptable.
Konoha genin being wiped out by a rampaging Tailed Beast during the exams would become an international humiliation.
That alone proved how reckless Takigakure truly was.
Sending a jinchūriki like Yui outside the village without proper protection was practically inviting danger. Organizations like the Akatsuki specialized in hunting isolated targets like her.
After leaving the academy grounds, Hayashi and Himeji slowly made their way toward the Hyūga Clan district.
"When are we going to the moon?" Himeji suddenly asked.
For someone with her quiet personality, showing excitement toward anything was rare. Yet from the way her eyes subtly brightened, she clearly viewed the trip as something special.
Almost like an outing.
Hayashi thought for a moment before replying.
"If everything goes smoothly, I should get the Seven-Tails' chakra today."
"After the Chūnin Exams end, I'll make a trip to Kumogakure. Once that's done, we'll head to the moon."
At this point, the only Tailed Beast chakra he still lacked were the Seven-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails.
He had already obtained a small amount of Matatabi's chakra during the war in the Land of Hot Water with Minato and Jiraiya. Even though it had only been residual chakra scattered after battle, it still counted as Two-Tails chakra.
As for Kurama's chakra, that could be acquired whenever he wanted.
Which meant the truly troublesome target was Gyūki.
Originally, Hayashi had planned to collect the Eight-Tails' chakra during the same period as the Two-Tails.
Unfortunately, after the Third Raikage died, Ai became the Fourth Raikage and immediately tightened security around Killer B.
Unlike the elderly Two-Tails jinchūriki, Killer B was both young and extremely valuable as a military asset.
Currently, he should still be training in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning.
Even Team Hawk had managed to locate him there in the future, so Hayashi doubted infiltrating the area would be particularly difficult.
Sooner or later, he would gather chakra from all nine Tailed Beasts.
And once that happened...
He would take Himeji to the moon and obtain the Tenseigan.
Thinking about it carefully, Hayashi realized his progress was becoming absurdly fast.
Obito and Uchiha Fugaku spent years preparing their plans from the shadows.
Hayashi had no intention of waiting that long.
Once Himeji awakened the Tenseigan, Kushina mastered the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, and he himself gathered all nine Tailed Beast chakras alongside his Bloodline Limit abilities...
Why wait for anyone?
At that point, they could simply crush every obstacle directly.
And if Uchiha Madara somehow returned in the future...
They would beat him back into the grave.
The thought alone improved Hayashi's mood considerably.
With only Himeji beside him, he casually hummed an odd tune while walking.
"The Great King told me to patrol the mountains, patrol the north mountain, then the south mountain..."
Himeji listened quietly for several seconds before tilting her head.
"What song is that? I don't understand the language."
Hayashi grinned.
"It's from a country very far away from the Land of Fire."
"I told you before to study more foreign languages, but you never listened."
Himeji blinked, her cheeks faintly reddening.
"Then... is it too late for you to teach me now?"
"Of course not," Hayashi replied casually.
"I can teach you whenever you want."
Himeji lowered her gaze slightly, the corners of her lips curling upward.
For her, that answer alone was enough.
After a brief silence, she spoke again.
"So what's on the moon?"
Hayashi immediately started making things up with a completely serious expression.
"An old woman who's lived for centuries while pretending she's still eighteen."
Himeji nodded thoughtfully.
"Like Lady Tsunade?"
"Exactly."
"What else?"
"There's also a princess with Byakugan eyes just like yours."
"She stole the old woman's golden fruit, fell asleep afterward, and now she's waiting for a shinobi to wake her with a kiss."
The moment he finished speaking, Himeji burst into laughter.
It wasn't the restrained smile she usually showed.
She genuinely laughed, bending forward slightly as soft laughter escaped her uncontrollably.
The normally quiet girl rarely showed emotions so openly.
Hayashi watched her silently for a moment before gently patting her back.
His eyes softened slightly.
"Once we deal with that old woman," he said lightly, "I'll give the moon to you."
Himeji's laughter slowly faded, though the smile remained on her face for a long time afterward.
Meanwhile, despite the earlier disturbance, the first stage of the Chūnin Exams concluded without major issues.
Not long after, the second stage officially began.
The exam location was Training Ground 44.
Better known as the Forest of Death.
The training ground was surrounded by forty-four locked entrances, forming a massive circular wilderness filled with rivers, dense forests, poisonous creatures, and dangerous terrain.
At the very center stood a tall tower.
The sixty participating teams were randomly assigned either a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll.
To qualify, they needed to obtain the opposite scroll from another team and successfully reach the central tower.
Just this rule alone guaranteed that at least half the teams would fail.
But the second stage was far crueler than that.
In addition to the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, five supply drops would be scattered throughout the forest during the exam.
Each supply drop contained four Human Scrolls.
Their locations would be marked by massive smoke flares visible from extremely long distances.
This meant the surviving teams would inevitably clash over them.
Even after the initial eliminations, only a fraction of participants could continue.
The Chūnin Exams were designed to encourage conflict.
More specifically, organized conflict between villages.
It wasn't just a test of strength, but also leadership, teamwork, tactical awareness, and decision-making under pressure.
The supply drops existed specifically to force temporary alliances and large-scale confrontations.
Naturally, this system was incredibly unfair toward shinobi from smaller villages.
But nobody in the Five Great Nations particularly cared.
The time limit for the exam was one hundred and twenty hours.
Five full days.
During that period, participants needed to survive entirely on their own.
Food, water, shelter, injuries, enemy ambushes, venomous animals, exhaustion, everything had to be handled without outside help.
Withdrawal midway through the exam was heavily restricted.
Deaths were not uncommon.
Because of this, every participant first had to sign a consent form acknowledging that their survival depended entirely on fate and ability.
Before the scroll distribution began, the genin were given time to sign the forms.
Some teams gathered together quietly to discuss strategy.
Others wandered alone while secretly observing rival participants.
Very few genin were actually intimidated by the waiver itself.
Anyone who reached the second stage already possessed enough determination to risk their life.
The real purpose of this waiting period was obvious.
Everyone was studying everyone else.
Strengths.
Weaknesses.
Personalities.
Potential threats.
Nawaki, acting as the chief examiner for this stage, patiently allowed the atmosphere to build before finally announcing the start of the second phase.
As the primary planner behind the Forest of Death exam, Hayashi was extremely satisfied with the final result.
In his mind, the entire thing resembled a massive battlefield survival game.
The Forest of Death Scroll Scramble.
And naturally, Team One immediately became the most aggressive hunters inside the map.
With their snake summons providing reconnaissance and their lizard summon specializing in genjutsu support, Kakashi's team moved through the forest at terrifying speed.
They ambushed opponents repeatedly, stealing scrolls almost effortlessly.
The trio practically looked like veteran assassins wearing full camouflage gear while hunting inexperienced rookies.
Meanwhile, Obito's Team Seven followed a completely different strategy.
They rushed recklessly from place to place, attacked whoever they encountered, then immediately fled somewhere else before anyone could retaliate properly.
Pure chaos.
===
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