Chapter 59: The Trial Ends? (Please bookmark and recommend!!!)

One night passed, and the gloomy atmosphere of the Forest of Death remained the same in the early morning, though it was not as bone-chillingly cold as during the deep night. 

Within the past day, nearly three hundred exam participants had undergone the Ninja Qualification Exam, but it was unclear how many had been eliminated.

It was also unknown how much they had grown in these brief twenty-odd hours.

They were all ninjas or prospective ninjas; this was a step they would eventually have to go through. What awaited them in the future would be even more stringent.

After all, no matter what, this was merely a trial. Even if they failed, they would only lose the right to pass, but in a real mission or war, what they would lose would be their most precious lives.

"You two haven't slept either?" Miyazaki Satoshi was the first of the three to wake up. Being slightly older, he was more alert than Akasaka and Takenouchi Rin.

Besides, anyone would find it hard to sleep soundly in a place like this, right?

By the extinguished campfire, Minato and Kushina turned around. The former threw him one of the wild fruits they had prepared.

"We finished the animals we caught yesterday, so we can only eat this for now," Minato said. Hearing this, Miyazaki Satoshi couldn't help but laugh awkwardly. Kushina's cooking skills were excellent, so the three of them had eaten several roasted wild rabbits.

After catching the wild fruit, Miyazaki Satoshi looked at Minato and said, "Minato, thank you."

"What for?" Minato replied with a faint smile.

Miyazaki Satoshi scratched his head and said, "I know that for you and Kushina, the three of us are actually a burden. The things you said earlier were just to console us, right?"

"You two are geniuses, but different from the geniuses I've met before."

The Hiashi who had appeared before them the previous night was actually in the same class as Miyazaki Satoshi, but the two looked like complete strangers.

That was because, in their regular classes, Miyazaki Satoshi could never engage Hiashi in any conversation.

These geniuses from prominent clans seemed to exude an innate sense of distance.

However, Miyazaki Satoshi had never felt this from the equally or even more exceptional Minato.

This was the first time Kushina had been praised as a genius, and she couldn't help but feel secretly pleased. Upon hearing this, Minato gave another faint smile.

"Senior Miyazaki, thank you for the praise, but what I said earlier wasn't to console you."

Minato covered the extinguished campfire with soil and continued, "I said it before we came in: this Ninja Qualification Exam is inherently disadvantageous for us Academy students. To pass, we must band together. Besides, those here are all comrades from Konoha, not burdens!"

His words and gaze were filled with sincerity, leaving Miyazaki Satoshi unable to sense any falsity.

This was Minato's true belief, unlike anything Miyazaki Satoshi had encountered before.

"Good morning." At this point, Takenouchi Rin also woke up and greeted everyone.

Kushina walked over to her with a few wild fruits, and the two chatted and ate together.

After the previous day's events, they had become quite good friends.

Kushina looked delighted, as in the over one year since she had come to Konoha, her only real friends were Minato and Mikoto.

After Miyazaki Satoshi woke Akasaka up, the five of them ate a simple breakfast and then left.

And so, the second day of the Ninja Qualification Exam began.

Compared to the first day, on the second day, Minato's group encountered fewer and fewer other teams. The vast majority were groups of Academy students who had already been eliminated, usually gathering in small numbers.

With the rule that even if eliminated, they could not withdraw, it was difficult for individuals to survive in the Forest of Death relying solely on their personal strength, so they had no choice but to band together.

However, Minato's group did not frequently interact with these eliminated personnel.

They almost always concealed their movements, for the same reason as the first day: to avoid unnecessary conflicts at this stage.

Nevertheless, during this period, they did encounter two pairs of genin trying to eliminate them, but Minato and Kushina ended up eliminating those genin instead.

The group had never attacked any Academy students. In fact, from the moment they entered until now, they had not encountered any un-eliminated students.

Except for Hiashi Hyūga they met on the first night, that is.

Although they encountered fewer participants, the man-made traps in the Forest of Death became more numerous. However, none of those traps could escape Minato's eyes.

During his year of training under Master Jiraiya, a significant portion involved defending against ambushes from any direction and location. Having adapted to Jiraiya's methods, these traps set by genin at most were trivial to Minato.

So the second day of the Ninja Qualification Exam was comparatively smoother than the first day. However, until now, they still had not found any traces or information about Mikoto's whereabouts.

Then, the third day...

Night had already fallen, but Minato's group was still hiding in the tree trunks, concealing their presence.

With only a few hours left until the end of the Ninja Qualification Exam, they still had no idea how many of the original three hundred participants remained un-eliminated.

However, the number was surely more than ten, because Minato's group alone numbered five.

So everyone was probably searching intensely in the Forest of Death, trying to eliminate the remaining few participants.

But those who had survived until now were either highly skilled or extremely adept at hiding.

According to the rules, as long as the last ten remaining could pass. So some people must have been hiding to avoid direct confrontations.

However, no matter how vast the Forest of Death was, it would be difficult to avoid being found.

The five of them hid through the night, but even after several hours had passed, they had not encountered any enemies.

"Does this mean we've passed?" Miyazaki Satoshi muttered.

Minato shook his head. "I don't know, but I can't believe that by now, including the five of us, there are only ten people left."

There were still formidable opponents like the senior Nawaki and his teammates Uchiha Homura, Mikoto, Hiashi and his brother Hizashi, who would not be easily eliminated.

Moreover, among the genin, there could still be exceptionally powerful individuals.

Just as the five of them could not obtain any information or know if they had passed, a figure suddenly darted out in front of them.

"The trial is over. You can all come out now."

The figure moved so quickly that even Minato only caught a glimpse of his appearance - a white-haired, strapping man with a short sword on his back.

Sakumo Hatake!

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(End of chapter)