"What? You want to interfere with the next exam?"
Mei Terumī was stunned when she heard Shinji's intention.
"Yes, I suspect someone has infiltrated the ranks of the examinees, and there might be a conspiracy."
Shinji's reason for wanting to interfere with the next exam was simple. It wasn't to disrupt anyone's conspiracy, but to keep an eye on Sasuke.
Because he suddenly remembered that if Orochimaru wasn't dead, he might still disguise himself as an examinee and infiltrate, just like in the original story.
If Orochimaru were to trick Sasuke away then, wouldn't his mission fail?
Besides, cursed seals were only useful in the early stages; they were garbage later on. There was no need for Sasuke to improve his strength in such a way.
Therefore, after much consideration, even for the sake of the mission rewards, he had to defeat that little snake.
Of course, it would be best if everything went smoothly.
Mei Terumī frowned slightly, knowing that the other party wouldn't speak without reason, but the problem was...
"All the proctor candidates for this exam were selected internally by Konoha and have already been decided. Even if I were to go and discuss this with the Hokage now, there would be no result. The only way is for you to disguise yourself as an examinee and infiltrate..."
Shinji immediately shook his head. He wouldn't do such a low-level thing.
"There's no need to change the proctor personnel. There's never been a rule that an exam can only have one proctor. The vast Forest of Death is the exam venue. Besides the chief proctor, there will definitely be many assistants responsible for escorting eliminated examinees out. And personnel for this can be discussed with Konoha. I believe the Hokage wouldn't forcefully refuse you for such a trivial position. He'd likely do you a favor."
"But what's the reason? I suddenly want to insert one of my own people into the exam. There must be a plausible reason. Moreover, if I contact the Hokage privately, Sand Hidden will surely become suspicious, thinking I've leaked secrets and sided with Konoha. It would be more of a loss than a gain."
Mei Terumī analyzed calmly.
Shinji glanced at her appreciatively. "You're right. Therefore, this matter cannot be handled by you alone. You need to bring the Kazekage along! The reasons are already there. The exam venue is in Konoha, the exam content is from Konoha, and the proctors are all from Konoha. Even the number of Konoha examinees is half of the total. From the perspective of Mist Hidden and Sand Hidden, it should be reasonable to have some doubts about fairness."
"Moreover, who knows if the Konoha examinees will band together to deal with examinees from other ninja villages? This is almost certain to happen."
"Once these reasons are presented, to quell your and the Kazekage's doubts, and even to prove the fairness of the exam, the Hokage will definitely readily agree to your proposal."
"Furthermore, after this incident, Sand Hidden will trust you even more, believing that Mist Hidden is on their side and is trying to cause trouble for Konoha. That extremely ambitious Kazekage will be very happy to have his people inserted into the proctor team for the next exam."
"Hmm? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
After listening, Mei Terumī immediately examined him back and forth. "I'm fortunately I signed that contract back then. Otherwise, I might have been sold by you and still been counting money for you."
"You can't say that. I treat my own people quite well. You should know this well, Mizukage-sama~"
As he said the last part, Shinji deliberately teased the woman in front of him with a strange tone.
Mei Terumī immediately rolled her eyes speechlessly and turned to leave.
"Why are you leaving?"
"To run errands for a certain master. The next exam starts the day after tomorrow. If I don't go find someone now, will I make it in time?"
Hearing that dangerous and resentful tone, Shinji wisely shut his mouth and played dead.
...
Two days later, all remaining examinees gathered in the Forest of Death to await the assessment.
The chief proctor, Anko Mitarashi, quickly announced the content of this exam.
There were a total of 14 Heaven Scrolls and 14 Earth Scrolls, randomly distributed among 28 teams, meaning each team could only possess one of the Heaven or Earth scrolls initially.
The condition for passing was to collect a pair of Heaven and Earth scrolls within 5 days and cross the Forest of Death to reach the finish line.
This meant that this exam would eliminate at least half of the remaining examinees, or even more.
Each team would not only have to deal with various fierce beasts and traps in the Forest of Death but also be wary of other teams. Even people from the same village might not be trustworthy, and might even resort to murder!
Although these rules still couldn't prevent alliances between participants, they were sufficient to demonstrate Konoha's desire for a fair and just exam environment.
Therefore, before the exam began, when the Hokage learned of the Mizukage and Kazekage's joint intention to come, he readily agreed.
It was just two unimportant deputy proctors. Agreeing would not only prove the fairness of the exam but also show Konoha's magnanimity.
After all, as they left, the three Kages were all smiling happily in their hearts, feeling they had gotten what they wanted and had won big.
So, the question arises: in a three-way game where everyone wins, who loses?
Inside the Forest of Death, a female ninja standing on a tree with a cold gaze couldn't help but sneeze.
"Strange, why do I suddenly feel like I'm being watched?"
Rustle
"Roar!"
With a deafening roar, a giant bear, about ten meters tall, suddenly lunged at the woman on the tree.
More than ten seconds later, the giant bear lay on the ground, with countless poisonous snakes crawling over its corpse.
"Am I just being too sensitive?"
The woman casually tidied her hair. It had been accidentally messed up by the wind during the battle... no, it should be during the massacre.
She had to cherish this body.
Otherwise, if she died again, it would be troublesome.
But before that, perhaps she could find some fun and catch up with her former disciple.
The slightly immature fruit from back then was now ripe for picking. She imagined that after they met, she would be very pleased with this surprise!
For example, the kind of surprise that made her tremble?
After fantasizing, the woman suddenly smiled happily and became increasingly excited about her next actions.
However, she probably didn't know that while she regarded this place as her hunting ground and everyone else as her prey, others were already preparing to hunt her!
Shinji, who had entered the Forest of Death before the examinees, squinted his eyes, looked up at the bright sun, and then casually chose a direction to proceed.
"Alright, time to hunt snakes."
____________________
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