Of course, it's Danzo's fault

Training Ground No. 44.

The deep forest shaded the sky, and even though it was the afternoon, the forest remained cool.

Bang!

"Who hit me?" A ninja from the Grass Village, lying on a huge tree trunk, touched the back of his head and shouted, "Hōsetsu, this prank is too much at a time like this!"

"What are you talking about? How could I hit you from this far away?"

Bang! Bang!

"Still not finished?"

This time, no one responded, and the surroundings were eerily silent.

"Hōsetsu? Akaimu?"

"Hey? You have the scroll, right?" A strange voice came from the treetop.

The Grass ninja's pupils suddenly widened, his breath quickened, and his muscles tensed as he jumped away in a panic.

"Who?"

After landing, the Grass ninja nervously looked around but saw no one.

"Where are you looking, idiot?" An extremely impatient and frivolous voice sounded from above the Grass ninja.

"What?"

The Grass ninja looked up, his heart racing.

A figure stood in the shadow of the treetop not far from him, wearing a white animal mask. He was dressed in yellow robes and black pants, with tactical gloves revealing his fingers. On his back, he carried a large katana, and from the holes in his mask where his eyes should be, a cold, eerie light emanated.

"You!" The Grass ninja shouted in panic. "Where... Where are my two companions?"

"What did you do to them?"

"Killed them." Naruto said expressionlessly.

The ninja attire he wore had been found in the space, and since the Nine-Tails didn't eat clothes, it was put to good use.

"You're not a participant! Is Konoha trying to break the exam rules?"

"So what?" Naruto replied indifferently, "Why is a small ninja village even in the Chunin Exams? Be smart and hand over the scroll. Get lost."

With that, the Grass ninja didn't even see the masked figure move. He only felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and passed out.

Naruto crouched down and rummaged through the Grass ninja's body, finally finding the scroll.

"A Heaven-tier scroll... duplicated." Naruto murmured, but he still tucked the scroll into his robe and left the scene.

The three Grass ninjas didn't die; they were just knocked out. Naruto wasn't being merciful, but there was no need for killing. Spilling blood could be sensed by sensory ninjutsu.

Moreover, Naruto wasn't targeting the Grass ninja trio; he just happened to pass by and refresh a small option.

Ding, Lightning Style Technique: Thunder Strike successfully learned.

Thunder Strike, a minor jutsu under the Lightning Style, was a bit useless for Naruto. But since he lacked Lightning-based jutsu, he spent ten minutes completing the task, took the scroll, and got a reward.

Wearing a light yellow robe, Naruto dashed through the forest, stepping on tree trunks and carelessly searching ahead.

Looking around, it seemed none of the Chunin Exam participants were capable of fighting.

Orochimaru's candidate for the Reincarnation of the Dead was incompatible, unable to perform at his full strength. As for Gaara, he was almost negligible. They would surely hold back to cooperate with the Sand Village's plan to destroy Konoha.

Naruto's main goal in eliminating the Sound Ninja trio was to act first and eliminate potential threats. Also, he clearly remembered that they were carrying the Earth scroll. Since casualties were allowed in this Chunin Exam, the situation became simpler.

The Death Forest was under complete lockdown for five days, unless there was an emergency like an Orochimaru invasion, in which case the Konoha Anbu would intervene.

From the moment they entered the Death Forest, Orochimaru's target had always been Sasuke.

But since Snake Uncle, who liked strawberries, didn't have any ill intentions, Naruto decided to leave first, deal with the Sound Ninja trio, and then reunite with Sasuke and Sakura. This approach would prevent him from being caught in a passive situation, and as for Sasuke's safety...

It was just picking strawberries, nothing serious.

Sasuke staying in Konoha would starve himself for three days, but following Snake Uncle, it was a road Sasuke would eventually walk. Anyway, the Uchiha clan was strange, and no one understood why Itachi massacred their clan, nor did they understand the point of leaving Sasuke alive.

Since Itachi was so powerful, why didn't he just take Sasuke and teach him himself? In the end, the cycle of revenge against the village and against everyone else seemed endless. Everyone was caught in revenge, like they were all going crazy, killing anyone they saw, wanting to destroy the world.

Even the mental coach Eren Yeager would give them a thumbs up.

In this world full of madness, Naruto's thoughts were simple. He respected others' fates and gave up on being a hero. He was just thinking of refreshing options quickly, hoping to remove the Nine-Tails from his body.

As for who possessed the Nine-Tails, it was none of his business.

"Anyone nearby?"

As Naruto sprinted, he suddenly stopped, held his breath, and cautiously made his way in a certain direction.

He pushed through the leaves, and indeed, three ninjas stood on the grass—two men and one woman. They were looking around as if searching for something. Naruto observed them for a while and recognized them as the Sound Ninja trio: Long-haired Tors, Sack, and the female ninja, Jin.

"Damn, where is Orochimaru's mark?" Sack said anxiously.

"It was right here," the female ninja Jin said, biting her teeth, clearly nervous about Orochimaru's mark.

"Hurry up and find it," Tors, the bandaged man with a hunchback, rasped. "Without the mark, we can't receive the next instructions from Orochimaru."

"Shut up!" Jin snapped irritably.

"What did you say?" Tors, enraged, shot a cold glance at Jin.

Just as the two were about to clash, Sack suddenly saw something and his eyes lit up. He ran toward some bushes, shouting as he went.

"Come quickly, I found Orochimaru's..."

Before he could finish, a cold blade suddenly pierced his throat.

The sudden event stunned the other two. Everything happened too fast. Naruto, who had been lying in wait in the bushes, exploded with force like a cannonball, drawing his sword and stabbing it deep into Sack's throat.

Sack's wide eyes locked onto the masked Naruto with black pupils, his life slipping away in an instant.

"Sack!" Tors immediately chose to backstab his teammate, releasing sound waves that indiscriminately attacked in the direction of Naruto and Sack.

Option 1: Eliminate the Sound Ninja trio. Reward: Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Jutsu.

Option 2: Interrogate for information about Orochimaru. Reward: Wind Style: Wind Blade Jutsu.

The mechanical sound of the system filled the air, and before Naruto could react, the translucent panel popped up, triggering the newest option.

Two standard ninjutsu choices, neither of which made much difference.

But as Naruto glanced at the remaining male and female Sound Ninjas, he immediately made his choice.

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