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Might Dai entered the Forest of Death through the "B" entrance.
Before entering, he made eye contact with Sōsuke.
Grinning, revealing his white teeth, he gave Sōsuke a thumbs-up. It seemed like entering the Forest of Death was an embodiment of youth for him, showing a happy expression!
Next was Tsunade, who entered through the "A" entrance.
Seeing her pale face, for some reason, Sōsuke couldn't help but call out to her.
"Tsunade..."
Upon hearing his call, Tsunade immediately turned around, looking surprised at Sōsuke's smiling face.
"Be safe inside."
Maintaining a smile on his face, Sōsuke whispered softly.
However, he was genuinely puzzled by his own actions.
He wasn't someone lacking self-control, so he couldn't understand why he had involuntarily called out to her. It felt somewhat absurd to him.
Upon hearing Sōsuke's words, Tsunade's face turned slightly red, and she smiled sweetly, looking at Sōsuke happily.
"I know. You be safe too."
Then she waved and turned to walk into the dark depths of the Forest of Death.
For some reason, Sōsuke hesitated for a moment, not being able to say what he wanted to say to Tsunade.
He saw her happy smile and felt a slight sense of loss as he watched her disappear into the darkness.
Soon, it was Sōsuke's turn. He entered through the "C" entrance.
Unlike other ninja, he didn't quickly conceal his presence as soon as he stepped into the Forest of Death.
He strolled forward as if he were back in his own home, maintaining a calm and composed demeanor.
Sōsuke's lips curled into a smile, while in his mind, he contemplated what to do next.
Regarding this Chunin Exam, Sōsuke naturally had no worries about his abilities. Danzo and Himiko were also well aware of this.
In their eyes, Sōsuke was already on par with an average Jonin in all aspects, even though he had concealed much of his true strength.
Sōsuke's participation in this Chunin Exam was more because of Danzo's "Kage Prodigy" plan.
This included the missions he and Dai had been doing in the village over the past year.
All of it was for the sake of building reputation within Konoha Village.
At this point, Sōsuke was quite famous in Konoha Village, having become a ninja through his own efforts despite being from a civilian background.
Even as a ninja, he never showed any arrogance and always treated others with humility.
Naturally, he gained the favor of a portion of the villagers.
Combined with his status as a genius at the Ninja Academy and his handsome appearance, eleven-year-old Sōsuke had already gained considerable fame in the village.
Of course, having fame doesn't automatically make one the Hokage.
For young Sōsuke, all of this was just the initial groundwork.
For Danzo, this "Kage Prodigy" plan had been a long-term strategy spanning ten years.
According to Danzo's plan!
The next step was for Sōsuke to win over several ninja clans in the village.
Gaining support only from the civilians wouldn't be enough to ascend to the position of Hokage.
As a Hokage, it was necessary to form alliances with several ninja clans to maintain stability in governance. This was an inevitable outcome.
For Sōsuke, Danzo's task was to win over the younger generation of those clans and become the leading figure of the younger generation.
As for negotiations with those clans' younger generations, that would be handled by Danzo.
Sōsuke had a clear understanding of Danzo's intentions.
On one hand, by using Sōsuke as a means to establish cooperation between Root and the ninja clans, and on the other hand, he firmly held the power to control the conversation with the ninja clans, preventing Sōsuke, who could potentially become the Hokage in the future, from escaping his control!
Thinking about this, Sōsuke couldn't help but smirk.
In this past year of interacting with his supposed teacher, he had seen through him completely.
In the end, the "Kage Prodigy" plan was just Danzo's way of using Root to establish his control over Konoha.
However, in these ten long years, Sōsuke was confident that he could gradually manipulate the situation to be most advantageous for himself.
With this in mind, a subtle smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and his eyes flickered with a peculiar spark.
Uchiha... an interesting clan...
...
The sky gradually turned gloomy, and fine drizzles started to fall from the air.
Before long, the entire forest was soaked by the rain.
In the deep and quiet Forest of Death...
"Ah!"
A sudden scream shattered the misty rain curtain, startling the birds in the dense forest.
"Kaneda, are you okay?"
A grass ninja trembled as he looked at his comrade lying in a pool of blood mixed with rainwater, panic in his eyes.
Then, he looked at the two tall and thin ninjas who had appeared, and asked in terror, "Who... who are you?"
"Tch, not little leaf brats, but it doesn't matter. We're here to eliminate all the participants in this Chunin Exam... not leaving a single one!" said a disheveled adult man with wet and disheveled hair, his eyes bulging outward, in a sharp voice.
As he spoke, his hair covered one eye, leaving only a cruel smile visible on his face as he stared at the grass ninja.
"Little brother, we're here to take care of you little brats!" he added.
As soon as his words fell...
Suddenly!
The grass ninja couldn't even let out a scream!
The rain curtain turned into sharp needles that pierced the grass ninja like a porcupine, blood slowly trickling out and dampening the ground along with the rainwater.
"Tsk tsk, such pitiful little brats. But don't worry, soon there will be more people joining you. Whether they're grass ninja or little leaf brats, not a single one will be spared," the man with disheveled hair said, his one eye glaring and his voice sounding deranged.
Beside him, a middle-aged man with sunglasses and a scruffy beard seemed unfazed by it all, speaking in a deep voice.
"Yukogu, let's continue the mission. This mission is different from the past. We need to exterminate this group of brats before the Konoha ninja find out. Let's go."
After saying that, he turned and left. His burly figure quickly disappeared into the rain curtain.
Meanwhile, Yukogu, the ninja, still with wide eyes, continued to stare at the corpse, but his expression seemed to be growing more and more excited.
His eyes suddenly shifted, looking at the figure disappearing in the rain curtain.
He stuck out his tongue, licked the corner of his mouth, and murmured to himself.
"Little ghost, sooner or later... I will also taste your flavor... tsk tsk."