When the time reached two-thirty, the Chunin in charge of the gate quickly opened the doors for everyone. Amidst Anko's shouts, the second exam officially began.
Some impatient individuals immediately charged into the forest.
"Let's go, Ui, Ritsu," Takeru said, leading them into the forest with a leisurely demeanor.
Of course, although he appeared relaxed, Takeru's Observation Haki was continuously maintained within a five-hundred-meter radius. Within this range, three other teams were present in Takeru's perception.
Naturally, Ui and Ritsu's Observation Haki wasn't as strong. Ui could usually maintain a best effective range of ten meters continuously, which was already somewhat strenuous for her.
As for Ritsu, her optimal range was even smaller, and her duration of maintenance was very short.
A few minutes later, compared to Takeru's group who were still leisurely strolling, teams like Shikamaru's had already encountered a team of Ninja from Takigakure. However, Shikamaru's perception was quite sharp. He had hidden Ino and Choji when the enemies approached.
The three Takigakure's Ninjas checked the area in front of Shikamaru's group. However, finding nothing unusual, they quickly left. Thus, the two teams avoided a direct confrontation.
Elsewhere, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino also encountered enemies… a team from Amegakure. The enemies stood on a tree not far from the three, observing them. Hinata's team didn't seem to have noticed the enemies' arrival and were simply talking amongst themselves.
"Anyway, everyone's goal is to reach that tower, right? Then the best strategy would be to set traps as much as possible around the tower area," Kiba said directly.
However, his eyes were scanning for the enemies' location. In fact, when the enemies approached, he and Akamaru had already picked up their scent...
"Hmph, just kids. Standing in such an obvious place, are they afraid we won't find them?" One of the Amegakure's Ninja said with a sneer.
"They seem to have noticed our presence, but they don't seem to have found our exact location yet. Huh? Your face looks terrible," Another Amegakure's Ninja said, also smiling, before suddenly noticing his companion's pale expression.
Then, a large brown insect burrowed out from the back of the first speaker.
"Wha... what is this?!" The first speaker cried out in pain.
As his words fell, a swarm of insects descended from higher up, instantly landing on the other two as well, attaching to their heads...
"Argh!" Accompanied by the Amegakure's Ninja's cries, they quickly attacked the insects, but the areas where they were attached began to bleed profusely.
"The Konoha's blood-sucking leeches. They sense sweat and body temperature, then swarm onto their prey. If they suck blood for even five minutes, you're off to the next world. We use this habit to set traps along the path enemies might escape."
Looking at the fallen, groaning Amegakure's Ninja, Kiba calmly explained.
"Damn it!" One Amegakure's Ninja struggled to his feet, glaring angrily at Kiba. But because of the leeches, the one who stood up failed to notice the trap ahead. He triggered a tripwire, and a large net bundled them up, hoisting them into the air.
"One down!" Looking at the groaning Amegakure's Ninja, Kiba showed a confident smile.
"They've already started this quickly?!" Anko outside also heard the cries from within, showing a cold smile.
On Takeru's side, after hearing the Amegakure's Ninja's cries, he reacted. He expanded his Observation Haki to its maximum range and quickly noticed that Orochimaru seemed to be heading towards Naruto's location.
"Ui, Ritsu, there's a good fight ahead. Let's go take a look," Takeru said calmly to the two.
"Alright!" Hearing Takeru's words, the two naturally didn't doubt him. They nodded quickly and followed Takeru forward.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Naruto, being overly nervous, had gone to relieve himself. But when he returned, Sasuke noticed something off and threw a hard punch at Naruto.
Naruto didn't react in time and was sent flying into a large tree behind him.
"Sasuke, what's going on? You didn't have to hit him!" Sakura was also taken aback by Sasuke's sudden attack. Even if Naruto had been a bit careless, he didn't deserve to be hurt like that.
"Wha... what's the big idea?!" Naruto, on his part, wiped the spot where Sasuke had hit him, looking at Sasuke in disbelief.
But Sasuke ignored him, kicking at Naruto again. This time, Naruto was on guard. He dodged several times, avoiding Sasuke's attack, and even jumped onto a tree.
However, Sasuke had no intention of stopping. He kicked again at Naruto, who was now on the tree, sending him tumbling to the ground.
"What are you suddenly doing?!" Naruto, still unaware why Sasuke was attacking him, questioned directly.
"You're asking me what? That's what I want to say!" Sasuke said, even drawing a kunai.
"Fine, have it your way!" Seeing Sasuke's move, Naruto quickly drew his own kunai.
Then, Sasuke launched an attack at Naruto. Naruto skillfully blocked with his kunai. For the moment, neither seemed inclined to use Ninjutsu, engaging only in Taijutsu sparring.
The clashing sounds of kunai rang out continuously. Sasuke's expression remained cold as he faced this 'Naruto'.
Finally, after several exchanges, the two separated again.
"Sasuke, please, stop!" Sakura pleaded with Sasuke again.
"Take a good look at that guy!" Hearing Sakura, Sasuke reminded her.
"Tell me, where's the real Naruto?" Before Sakura could think further, Sasuke spoke again.
"Huh? What are you talking about? I don't understand," the 'Naruto' said, feigning surprise.
"What happened to the wound on your face?" Seeing the impostor still trying to pretend, Sasuke directly exposed his poor disguise. After all, earlier, Naruto had a cut on his cheek from Anko's kunai, but it was gone when this 'Naruto' returned.
"Besides the wound from the proctor, your shuriken pouch is tied to your left leg. That guy is right-handed. Your Transformation Technique is even worse than Naruto's, you fake!" Sasuke mercilessly exposed his disguise.
Being able to notice these details in an instant was enough to show how observant Sasuke was of his surroundings in daily life.
"What bad luck. Exposed... It can't be helped," The impostor said upon hearing Sasuke. He stopped pretending, revealing his true appearance… a Amegakure's Ninja wearing an eyepatch and a mask resembling an oxygen tank.
"Who has the scroll? Hand it over quietly, and I'll spare your lives," The Amegakure's Ninja said seriously, looking at the two.
Sasuke and Sakura didn't answer him, their determined eyes telling him they wouldn't just wait to be attacked.
"Is that so? Then I'll just take it by force!" Seeing their attitude, the Amegakure's Ninja charged straight at Sasuke, ignoring Sakura, who seemed to pose no threat at all.
Seeing the Amegakure's Ninja rapidly approaching, Sasuke performed a backward jump, simultaneously forming hand seals in mid-air.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" Upon completing the seals, several scattered fireballs shot towards the Amegakure's Ninja. Noticing the fireballs, the Amegakure's Ninja performed several leaps to dodge them.
The fireballs struck the ground, creating small craters, but didn't harm the Amegakure's Ninja.
Then, their kunai clashed again. The Amegakure's Ninja sensed Sasuke's strength was somewhat beyond expectation. Using the force of the collision, he quickly retreated.
"Hey, Sasuke!" The real Naruto, tied up not far away, wriggled and called out to Sasuke upon seeing him.
"Honestly, that super-idiot!" Seeing this, Sasuke felt annoyed. Nevertheless, he threw a shuriken towards Naruto. It accurately cut the ropes binding Naruto and landed beside him.
"See? An opening! Lucky!" The Amegakure's Ninja, who had been fleeing, saw Sasuke momentarily distracted by saving Naruto. He quickly threw five kunai towards Sasuke's position.
Sasuke also noticed this. He flipped down from the branch, switching to hanging from it with his arms, letting the branch block the kunai.