After taking over the snake uncle's foundation, Sasuke came to surrender on his own initiative.

If someone unfortunately steps into the abyss, he will definitely yearn for redemption.

For Youguimaru and Honglian, Yinzhu was like a ray of light projected into the dark abyss, and like a god, he suddenly walked into the hearts of the young boy and girl.

Sound Ninja Village.

"So this is ah......"

After listening to Youguimaru's story, Niutou nodded silently, glanced at Honglian whose face was full of happy fantasies, and a flash of loss passed in his eyes.

Then, he laughed at himself in his heart. "It's not surprising at all, is it? For people like us who are in despair, the sudden appearance of Master Yinzhu is indeed too shocking. No wonder Honglian would show such an infatuated expression just thinking of Master Yinzhu..."

However, even though he thought so, Niutou couldn't stop feeling more and more disappointed.

Compared to Karin and the others who were specially brought back, he himself was an experimental subject who was rescued incidentally. He had no sense of existence in this village, and even the vague love in his heart had to be hidden.

He gritted his teeth secretly, "I must become more valuable, so that I can be valued by Master Yinzhu! Be valued by Honglian..."

......

Konoha Village.

The moment you step into the Forest of Death, the world suddenly becomes cold and silent.

The July sun fell on the towering trees above the group, but not even a bit of it could shine through. This dim and eerie environment made the hairs of several girls in the team stand on end. They felt extremely uncomfortable and couldn't help but stop.

"Why are we taking the exam in a place like this? Which Konoha ninja came up with this idea? This is really enough!" Sakura, who was wearing a pure white combat uniform, couldn't help but shiver with her hands on her shoulders.

It wasn't that it was cold, but there seemed to be a chill in the air, penetrating under their skin from all directions.

"This environment is indeed a bit harsh for girls who are afraid of the dark." Bai, who was from the same team, raised his head and looked at the overlapping shadows of the branches above his head.

Karin shrugged helplessly and complained, "There's nothing we can do about it. After all, this is Konoha's home ground. They have the final say on what kind of examination venue to choose."

At this time, the several Sound Ninja teams in front also stopped and turned around to look at Sakura and the others.

Kimimaro frowned slightly, "What's wrong?"

"Uh..." Karin and Sakura looked at each other, both looking a little embarrassed, but too embarrassed to say that they were afraid of the environment here.

Bai was kind enough to help the two out and explained, "The road here is a little dark, just let the two girls get used to it."

Hearing this, Kimimaro glanced at Tayuya and Koto who were traveling with him, "They are both girls, but unlike Tayuya and Koto who stood out from the fierce competition of Orochimaru, it seems that Lord Ototake protected them too well..."

He thought so in his heart, but then a faint smile appeared on Kimimaro's face.

It is this human touch that makes Ototake more popular in Otogakure than Orochimaru.

At this time, the three members of Team White also caught up.

Apart from wearing a white mask on their white faces, Sakura and Karin only wore black contact lenses, which allowed them to use the power of the Sharingan in Konoha without any worries.

Bai looked at Kimimaro, then glanced at Neji beside him, and said, "It's okay, let's go."

"Yeah." Kimimaro nodded gently, but did not move immediately. Instead, he cast his gaze to Neji on the right, "How about we act separately? After all, if we act together, we will be too conspicuous, and it will be more difficult to collect the scrolls needed for the assessment."

However, Ningci shook his head slightly, "There is no need to go through so much trouble. Although the combat power of each of our teams is relatively evenly matched, and other assessment teams basically pose no threat to us, it is undoubtedly easier and more convenient to rush directly to the center to block them..."

"Is that so?" Kimimaro nodded suddenly, still feeling that what Neci said made more sense.

Compared to separating and searching for other contestants one by one in the huge Death Forest, it would be more convenient to just reach the finish line and pick up the ready-made ones.

So the group of fourteen set off again and headed towards the high tower as their destination.

......

"Fire Style - Fire Burning Technique!"

As Karin formed the "Tiger" seal with her hands, an orange-yellow fireball the size of an egg came out of her mouth, igniting the pile of firewood on the ground.

Soon the flames rose higher and directly covered the edge of the large pot on the pile of firewood.

"Hey, Karin, your fire escape technique is pretty good. At least it can be used to make a fire!" Sakura joked on the side.

"Can you?" Karin glanced at her indifferently, with disdain evident on her face.

"You! I, I just don't have the talent for fire-attribute chakra, otherwise I would definitely not lose to you. After all, even Brother Yinzhu has personally recognized my talent for chakra control!"

"Humph! What are you so proud of? Let's see who can open the three magatama first! Broad forehead!"

"Let's compete, who's afraid of a girl with glasses like you!"

"Broad forehead!"

"Girl with glasses!"

"...It starts again, these two..." Kimimaro and others around were no longer surprised and were doing their own things with expressionless faces.

Ten or so meters away.

Neji sat against the trunk of a big tree and rolled his eyes speechlessly. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed slightly and looked towards a certain place in the forest. "Oh? Isn't this the Cloud Ninja from that day? They actually came so soon?"

He sat up straighter, a smile slowly forming on his lips. "It's just right, by the time these Cloud Ninjas arrive from ten kilometers away, we should have finished our meal..."

After half an hour.

Whoosh whoosh—

Three figures were moving quickly among the woods. They all had dark skin and wore forehead protectors with a "floating cloud" logo on them. They were undoubtedly the ninjas from the Hidden Cloud Village.

At this moment, the pupils of a bearded Cloud Ninja in the front suddenly shrank slightly, and he squinted his eyes and tried his best to focus his vision. He found that there was a huge tree trunk lying across the road leading to their destination, and there seemed to be a figure sitting on the tree trunk.

As the distance got closer, the figure became clearer, until the familiar "?" logo on the forehead came into view.

The bearded Cloud Ninja's heart trembled, and he immediately raised his hands and shouted quickly, "Damn it! Run! It's those Sound Ninjas!"

Before he could finish his words, he spun his feet on the tree trunk suddenly, and the next moment he turned around and shot towards Luffy who was coming towards him.

only......

Swah——

The bearded Cloud Ninja, who was flying between tree trunks, suddenly felt his vision go dark, and he looked up in confusion in mid-air.

A pair of black ninja feet suddenly enlarged in his sight!