A silver-haired man stood before the crowd, wearing a very kind smile on his face.
Yet among the people—including a few like Minato—there was a vague sense of sharpness from his eyes, as piercing as a blade cutting straight into one's heart.
"It's actually Sakumo Hatake!"
Nearby, not far from Minato and his companions, Nawaki spoke with obvious excitement in his voice. Minato turned toward him and asked, "Aniki Nawaki, who exactly is our examiner this time?"
Nawaki immediately turned his head, speaking with evident admiration: "Sakumo Hatake—a prodigy from the minor Hatake clan in Konoha. His swordsmanship dominates the Ninja World. Even shinobi across other nations know his name. It's said he became a jonin in Konoha when he was only thirteen years old..."
This brief introduction caused Minato to feel an involuntary shock inside. Jonin were already true elites of the village, and even his teacher hadn't reached jonin status until he was fourteen.
As if knowing what Minato was thinking, Nawaki added, "According to my sister, Sakumo Hatake is the most enigmatic figure in Konoha next to the Third Hokage—it's practically unfathomable. Among everyone else, only the Third surpasses him. Even Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru are somewhat inferior to him."
Minato hadn't expected this young man before them to be so formidable...
The fact that he had been appointed as the chief examiner clearly demonstrated how seriously the village leadership regarded this trial.
Among the crowd were some from high-profile families—the Hyuga brothers, along with Yan Uchiha and Mikoto—had obviously also heard of this man's reputation. Their faces both lit up with surprise at the same time.
But most of the students had anxious looks on their faces, because the Forest of Death beyond the iron fence ahead loomed like a dark abyss, casting an eerie shadow over them.
At this moment, Sakumo Hatake spoke up: "I won't waste words explaining the rules of this chakra aptitude test again. What lies before you is the exam site—the Forest of Death. There are 44 entrances total, and shortly we'll assign your positions and you will enter through these gates."
"You may already know this place is often used during the Chunin Exams. However, considering your group's current skill level, none of you qualify for that kind of assessment. Therefore, this trial will be merely a straightforward test of ability."
"The rules are simple. For three days, eliminate your opponents until only ten remain. Those ten shall pass this trial."
Upon hearing the rules, most students from the Ninja Academy showed despair on their faces.
Because within their current opponents weren't merely fellow classmates—but actual ninja!
Such rules seemed grossly imbalanced.
Upon hearing the explanation, however, Minato felt sudden admiration for whoever had devised such a rule. Because passing this trial didn't rely solely on combat strength.
This rule, put another way, meant that even if you hid in the Forest of Death for three days, as long as you ended up among the final ten, you would still pass.
So, the exam tested far more than just their combat abilities.
Many of the genin wore cheerful expressions, as they considered the Academy students unworthy of being regarded as opponents.
"Three days? What are we supposed to eat in there?" Nawaki asked at this point.
Sakumo Hatake smiled slightly and replied, "That depends entirely on your own abilities. You'll have to find food yourselves."
For those genin, this was a manageable situation. After all, they had been ninja for almost a year now, though most hadn't taken on particularly high-level missions, they did have some experience with surviving in the wild.
But Minato and the others were different—they had no such experience whatsoever. Trying to find their own food in the wild, they'd probably struggle to tell if something was even toxic or not.
"Hehe, Kushina, Minato, follow me once we get into the Forest of Death," Mikoto couldn't help but smile smugly at the sight of the two looking troubled.
She had been trained by her clan since childhood—not just in combat, but in all aspects needed to become a true ninja.
Among the crowd arose continuous sighs and groans—most of them didn't even harbor hopes of passing.
Yet with three full days for the exam, simply trying to survive wasn't going to be an easy thing either.
"Once everyone enters the Forest of Death, try to stick together in groups. Our opponents are all experienced genin."
Minato spoke to his classmates beside him. He had just run over the rules again in his mind, wanting to ensure his own safety as much as possible. For most of the students from the Academy, grouping together was the most effective and safest method.
He asked each classmate to help spread this strategy further. Although they were all competitors at this moment, Minato still wished to ensure that no one got eliminated before even having the chance to display their true potential.
Minato's actions drew the notice of the chief examiner, Sakumo Hatake. Before taking this post, the Third Hokage had given him a specific task—and also mentioned this boy's name.
Identifying the flexibility within the rules so quickly and then sharing his plan with others...
"A disciple of Jiraiya?" Sakumo narrowed his eyes slightly, then loudly addressed everyone: "Once you enter the Forest of Death, you must rely entirely upon yourselves. The only guarantee the village can offer is that none of you will die inside. If you don't want to suffer for nothing, if you want to pass this trial and earn the reward—fight hard!"
"Now, begin forming teams!" After Sakumo spoke, the ten chunin began forming teams at random, as if they hadn't planned anything ahead of time.
"Minato, this time we're opponents. If I run into you, I won't hold back," Nawaki said beside him, yet still smiling while extending his arm.
"Senpai Nawaki, I won't go down easy either!" Minato extended his arm, fist-bumping him with a smile.
Meanwhile, Yan Uchiha's eyes never left Minato for a moment.
Shortly after, those ten Chunin divided nearly three hundred candidates into more than forty groups and led each group to different areas.
The Trial personnel entered the Forest of Death at different times.
Minato was grouped with Kushina, while Mikoto was assigned to another group.
A Chunin escorted about thirty candidates from four different groups, opening separate entrances for each. More than twenty people had already entered The Trial Grounds before Minato and Kushina.
They were the final pair. When the Chunin opened the last iron gate, Kushina slightly tightened her grip on Minato's hand out of slight nervousness. He shot her a comforting glance.
This must have been deliberately arranged by The Third, and Minato was determined to protect Kushina with all his strength.
The Chakra Aptitude Test had officially begun!
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