Chapter 50: The End of the Second Exam

"Sakura, are you alright?"

"Hehe… I almost got taken out, but luckily Yagyu arrived just in time."

Just as Yagyu finished healing Sakura, Hinata and Shino appeared with a swift movement.

Hinata immediately checked on Sakura's condition, using her Byakugan to examine the flow of chakra in her body, making sure there were no internal injuries. Fortunately, aside from some chakra depletion, Sakura hadn't suffered any serious harm.

The two friends then stepped aside to chat quietly.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Yagyu performed a hand seal and created three shadow clones. From somewhere, he produced three storage scrolls and sent the clones to collect the bodies of the Sound ninja trio.

Uchiha Sasuke seemed a bit surprised, unsure why Yagyu would bother collecting the bodies of the enemies. But he didn't ask, as these bodies were Yagyu's spoils of battle, after all.

Shino, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all. He assumed that Yagyu was simply being cautious, not wanting anyone else to discover his secrets.

Once the shadow clones had finished cleaning up the bodies of the Sound ninja trio, they returned the storage scrolls to Yagyu and handed him the Scroll of Earth.

Yagyu first stored the scrolls away and then raised the Scroll of Earth toward Sasuke, asking, "We've already gathered both the Scroll of Heaven and Earth. Do you want this one?"

"No, we'll get our own," Sasuke replied without hesitation, just as Yagyu had expected. His pride wouldn't allow him to accept help.

"Alright then, see you at the central tower."

Yagyu stored the Scroll of Earth and then walked over to Hinata, saying to Sakura, "Sasuke's awake now, so it's time for us to go. After all, we're competitors."

"Yes, see you at the central tower," Sakura responded with a reluctant but warm smile.

With a wave, Yagyu, Hinata, and Shino vanished in a flash.

Throughout the entire encounter, Sakura didn't bother to thank Yagyu because their friendship had deepened to the point where words weren't needed.

Team 8 sprinted through the forest, hopping from tree to tree.

Shino looked over at Yagyu and asked, "Did you find Team 10?"

"Yes, I did. They're fine and have already collected both scrolls," Yagyu replied with a grin. "Let's head straight to the central tower."

"Alright."

And so, Team 8 increased their pace, reaching the central tower in the Forest of Death within just a few minutes.

In less than 24 hours, they had passed the second exam.

Since there were still over 100 hours left until the exam officially ended, Team 8 was assigned to rest in the dormitories of the central tower while they waited for the other teams to finish.

They had time to rest, and the Leaf Village even provided food.

If the third exam were to start immediately after the second, the teams who arrived early would have a huge advantage. By giving them time to rest, everyone would have a fair shot in the next stage.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was four days later.

During this time, Yagyu encountered Gaara several times in the cafeteria. Gaara's gaze was filled with murderous intent every time he looked at Yagyu. Underneath Gaara's Sand Armor, his expression was likely twisted with excitement and savagery.

Yagyu, however, just smiled it off.

But his calm demeanor and fearless attitude toward Gaara didn't go unnoticed by Temari and Kankuro, who began to feel uneasy.

After the first exam, they had done some research on Yagyu, curious about how he had managed to keep Gaara under control.

They discovered that Yagyu was the top student of this year's class, and that he had been in the same team as Uchiha Sasuke, the last of the Uchiha clan, as well as the heirs of other prominent ninja clans. This led them to realize that this "genius civilian" was far more formidable than he seemed on the surface.

They understood that when the time came, Yagyu might be one of their greatest enemies.

On July 7th, Konoha Year 60, at 2:30 PM, Yagyu and his team were notified that the second exam was about to end.

When they arrived in the central tower's first-floor hall, it was already packed with other contestants.

Unlike the clean and unscathed Team 8, and Gaara's trio, the other participants were covered in bandages, had torn clothing, or were covered in dust—clear signs that they had not had an easy time during the last five days.

Yagyu and his team's arrival instantly attracted attention. Everyone's eyes were filled with caution as they looked at them.

Some relaxed when they saw Hinata's Byakugan, understanding that her ability to see long distances and through objects made it easier for their team to collect both scrolls and reach the tower faster than the others.

"Yagyu, Hinata, over here, over here!"

Ino's voice called out from the crowd.

Yagyu spotted her waving, her new hairstyle featuring blonde twin ponytails. Beside her stood a slightly battered Sakura, her clothes dust-covered.

With a smile, Yagyu made his way over to them.

As soon as he reached Ino, she pouted playfully, "Yagyu, you went to help Sakura, but why didn't you come find me?"

"Who said I didn't?"

Yagyu gently adjusted Ino's ponytails and smiled. "I checked on both of you. I only showed up to help Sakura because she was in danger. Once I saw you had your scroll, I felt reassured and left."

"Hehe… I was looking for you too. It wasn't until I ran into Team 7 two days ago that I found out Sakura had been in trouble."

"Sakura was amazing, by the way. The look she gave that Sound ninja was so cool. Too bad I didn't get a picture of it."

"Stop it! It's embarrassing."

"Yagyu, where do you even keep that camera of yours? Got any pictures developed yet? Let me see!"

"Take a guess."

"…"

As Yagyu and his friends continued to chat, the time reached 3 PM.

Suddenly, a large group of figures appeared on the second-floor balcony, including the proctor and examiners of the second test, as well as the jonin instructors and other unfamiliar jonin.

At the forefront stood none other than the Third Hokage himself.

The jonin instructors didn't come down to greet their students. Instead, they stood on the sides of the balcony, giving their students thumbs-up or nodding in approval.

Among them was Kurenai, raising her thumb with pride.

Seeing Yagyu, Hinata, and Shino standing there clean and unscathed, in stark contrast to the other contestants, Kurenai knew right away that they must have been the first to pass the exam.

Among the jonin instructors, only Kakashi Hatake descended, checking Sasuke's curse mark and offering to seal it immediately. However, Sasuke refused, not wanting to risk being disqualified for missing part of the upcoming exams.

Kakashi didn't push further and returned to the balcony, turning his attention to the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage then gave a speech, explaining the significance of the chunin exams and especially the third exam.

He emphasized that the chunin exams were an important demonstration of the power and prowess of each village in peacetime. This was especially true for the third exam, which would be held in Konoha's largest stadium. There would not only be a massive audience but also wealthy merchants and nobles attending.

Powerful villages and shinobi would gain the attention of these important figures, and in the future, they might be the ones who receive high-ranking mission requests.

However, only the elite would be able to participate in the third exam.

Even though many had passed the second exam, it was still a team-based event. The next stage would be a preliminary elimination round, pitting individuals against each other to halve the number of remaining contestants and determine the elite.

Standing in the back of the group, Yagyu counted the remaining participants.

Including himself, there were 24 who had passed the second exam.

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