Chapter 55: The Big Wave Washes Away the Sand

The Chunin Exams had a survival test that lasted three days in total. It didn't just evaluate a person's combat abilities; surviving in the vast Death Forest and utilizing every factor to overcome stronger enemies was equally crucial, especially for the Genin candidates who made up only a third of the total participants.

With the significant gap in strength and experience, the academy students were inevitably eliminated one after another. However, there were a few exceptional children among them, just like Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

In a part of the Death Forest, three Genin stood in peculiar poses, their feet seemingly stepping on shadows that extended in front of a boy with a ponytail.

"Shadow Imitation Technique, success!" he said with a slight smile.

"These brats actually caught us!" One of the Genin lamented regretfully. Although the shadow's speed and range were limited, the ponytailed boy seemed to have predicted their every move from the start.

Beside him, an extremely overweight boy could instantly inflate his body, generating a force that even the Genin couldn't withstand directly.

They didn't lose due to a lack of strength but because of teamwork. However, these shadows couldn't bind all three of them for too long.

"Ninja Art: Mind Body Switch Technique!" The only one who hadn't acted yet, a blond boy, formed a strange hand seal.

In an instant, two of the three Genin lost control of their bodies, and their shadows retracted to the ponytailed boy. The remaining Genin laughed, thinking victory would be theirs once his teammates were free.

"Bang! Bang!" However, to his surprise, the two Genin pummeled their own chests, shattering their chakra seals.

"How is this possible?" he exclaimed, bewildered. Then, the overweight boy approached him and punched his forehead, dispelling his chakra seal and knocking him unconscious.

After that, the ponytailed boy retracted the shadow as the chubby boy, named Chōza, turned to the blond, Inoichi. "Inoichi, you truly are a genius of the Yamanaka clan. Not only did you control two Genin with your Mind Body Switch Technique, but you also put them in a trance."

"It's nothing," Inoichi replied modestly, crediting their success to the strategy devised by Shikaku Nara.

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, two Genin lay panting heavily, facing a black-haired boy named Uchiha Homura. The surrounding trees showed signs of burning, and the terrain was altered.

Homura walked calmly towards the exhausted Genin, pressed his hands against their foreheads, and shattered their chakra seals with a burst of force.

"So weak," he muttered, turning to leave. However, the Genin, unwilling to accept defeat from an academy student, stood up and charged at him.

In a flash, Homura disappeared and reappeared behind them, striking their necks and rendering them unconscious.

Sensing someone's presence, he addressed the nearby trees, "You've been following me. How long do you intend to hide?"

A black-haired girl named Mikoto Uchiha emerged from behind the trees.

"It seems your friends aren't with you now," Homura observed, causing Mikoto to tense up. She recalled their previous encounter, realizing he hadn't shown his true strength.

"Mikoto Uchiha, relax. As fellow Uchiha clansmen, I won't attack you now," Homura assured her.

Mikoto frowned, asking, "Uchiha Homura, what are you trying to do?"

"As you can see, you and the others are too weak. The Chunin Exams are merely practice for you, but for me, it's a real battle," Homura replied. "If you see Minato Namikaze, tell him not to get eliminated before facing me."

With that, he disappeared from Mikoto's sight. She grew concerned, knowing Homura still intended to challenge Minato.

"I wonder how they're doing," she thought, referring to Minato and the rambunctious Kushina Uzumaki, unaware of their whereabouts in the vast forest.

The brutal elimination continued in the Death Forest.

"No wonder he's the grandson of the First Hokage. Our strength is on a completely different level!" a group of exhausted Genin remarked as they leaned against a tree, their chakra seals dispelled by Nawaki Senju and his teammates.

"Sorry, guys," Nawaki apologized with a smile. His team's strength assured victory against any opponent in the forest.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, observed the events unfold in a giant crystal ball, watching the triumphs and defeats of the young ninjas.

"Children, forgive me," he sighed, "but I must do this to find the gold among you."

(End of Chapter)