Kurenai didn't possess a massive sensory range like Saiki, but within a radius of about one kilometer, she could still detect his distinct chakra signature.
As they drew closer to Saiki and confirmed it was indeed him, Kurenai and her two teammates accelerated their pace.
Sensing the approaching footsteps, Saiki made no move to hide.
"Saiki?"
Kurenai arrived to see Saiki sitting on the ground holding Shizune, while Genhai stood to the side with his head hanging low. She couldn't quite figure out what had happened.
"Ah! Kurenai, you're here," Saiki greeted her calmly.
Glancing at the three corpses on the ground, Kurenai seemed to understand the situation. "Did something happen?"
"It's nothing!"
Shizune, who was still quietly sobbing, heard Kurenai's voice and hurriedly wiped her eyes before standing up. It was far too embarrassing to be seen like this.
Saiki using Genjutsu to force them to kill those men had been a bit cruel, but Shizune and Genhai both understood that this was the first mandatory step every shinobi had to take.
Kurenai didn't say anything as she looked at Shizune, who was avoiding eye contact. However, the two boys standing behind Kurenai began to furrow their brows in disdain.
"What kind of squad is this? They kill a few people and turn into emotional wrecks?"
Though they felt a sense of contempt, the fact remained that Saiki's team had successfully neutralized three Grass ninja, so the two boys didn't dare voice their thoughts aloud.
It could only be said that Saiki and Tsume Inuzuka had protected those two far too well during their previous mission.
In contrast, during Kurenai's missions with her father, Shinku Yuhi, she had undoubtedly already been "bloodied," which explained her indifference toward the dead.
"Which scroll do you have?" Saiki asked as he stood up.
Even though they were all Konoha ninja, the mention of the scrolls made the two boys behind Kurenai instantly tense up. Kurenai, however, answered without hesitation. "We have the Earth Scroll."
"I see. We happen to have two Man Scrolls. Here, take one." As Saiki spoke, he pulled a Man Scroll from his pouch and tossed it to Kurenai.
Seeing this, the two boys who had been looking down on Saiki's team immediately broke into wide, greedy smiles.
Kurenai, however, hesitated. "Saiki, you should keep it. You could use it to trade with someone who actually needs it."
But Saiki simply pressed the scroll into Kurenai's hand. "It's fine. Once Shizune and the others have rested for a bit, we'll just go out and snatch another one."
His words might have sounded arrogant, but seeing Saiki hand over a scroll so casually when they were now only missing the Heaven Scroll, Kurenai's teammates didn't dare object.
In the Chunin Exams, cooperation wasn't forbidden. Shinobi culture emphasized teamwork, and many average-strength squads relied on alliances with other teams to pass the second stage.
Elsewhere in this three-hundred-square-kilometer forest, specifically in Area 13, two squads were locked in a standoff. One side consisted of a single individual, while the other was a full three-man team.
Paradoxically, the side with the numerical advantage seemed to be the one in deep trouble.
"Take the scroll! We surrender!"
The three-man team wearing Konoha forehead protectors exchanged quick glances before the oldest of the group pulled a scroll from his pouch.
Even though they outnumbered him, the mechanical puppet controlled by the man in front of them was too terrifying. Their kunai, shuriken, and even their Ninjutsu had proven completely useless against it.
Creak!
Creak!
The man-shaped puppet moved with eerie, human-like fluidity, its wooden jaw clicking open to emit a raspy, grating voice.
"Just toss the scroll over here."
Standing a safe distance away, the Sand ninja—wrapped in bandages and looking incredibly gaunt—manipulated the puppet to extend a wooden hand.
Looking at the skeletal, bandage-wrapped figure, the Konoha youth spoke with desperate caution. "Fine. But give us the antidote first."
What made the Sand puppet masters so feared wasn't just their puppets, but the poison they employed.
The defensive capabilities of puppets were respectable, but they often lacked raw offensive power. Consequently, almost every puppet master was a master toxicologist, coating their puppet's hidden weapons in lethal, fast-acting neurotoxins.
During the battle with this Sand ninja, the Konoha trio had all been poisoned. Without the antidote, they were as good as dead.
This was why, despite being cornered, the youth had found the courage to try and bargain.
"The antidote?"
The Sand ninja let out a dry, raspy chuckle that made the youth's heart sink.
Seeing no other way out, the youth resorted to a threat. "If you don't give us the antidote, I'll destroy the scroll!"
Faced with the threat, the Sand puppet master merely sneered.
"If you dare damage that scroll, I promise you a death infinitely more agonizing than the one you're currently facing."
Hearing that the Sand ninja had zero intention of letting them live, a wave of profound regret washed over the youth. He never should have entered these exams. Being a "trash collector" Genin wasn't so bad compared to losing his life in this hellhole.
He looked at his two teammates, who were already succumbing to the poison, and felt a crushing sense of despair.
"Hahahaha!"
Seeing the look of total hopelessness on the boy's face, the Sand ninja laughed with manic, arrogant glee.
Back in Area 11.
"Let me carry you."
Looking at Saiki crouching in front of her, Shizune's small face flushed a bright red. She had spent years dreaming of Saiki treating her like this, wishing he would just hold her once.
Even though Saiki had been incredibly harsh earlier, Shizune had already forgiven him in her heart. She shyly pressed her body against his back.
Shizune was incredibly light. Carrying her was as effortless for Saiki as carrying nothing at all.
The only slight disappointment was that Shizune was currently a total "landing strip." Her flat chest provided Saiki with a rather firm, bony sensation against his back.
Watching Shizune lean happily against Saiki, Kurenai felt a surge of intense jealousy. She desperately wanted Saiki to carry her too.
Saiki, completely oblivious to the young girls' internal drama, turned to Genhai. "Hey kid, you aren't going to ask for a piggyback too, are you?"
"I'm fine, Boss!" Genhai replied with a sheepish, embarrassed smile.
Compared to Shizune, he was handling the trauma better. Though his legs had turned to jelly for a while, the spiky-haired youth had quickly regained his usual upbeat spirit.
"Let's move!"
With those words, Saiki took the lead.
"Kurenai, why the hell are we following this guy?" her two teammates whispered, looking irritated.
Kurenai shot the two idiots a sharp look and whispered back, "You've heard the name Saiki Shiroya, right? That's him."
"What?!" Upon hearing the name, the two boys shut their mouths instantly. Saiki was the man who had supposedly slaughtered an entire Jonin-led nine-man squad.
In Area 13, after disposing of the three Konoha Genin, the Sand puppet master began moving toward Area 11.
His squad had entered from Area 14 and immediately split into two groups. One group went toward Area 15 to intercept teams for their scrolls, while he moved toward Area 11.
Once they had snatched enough of the scrolls they needed, they would regroup at the central Area 14.
Even Saiki kept Shizune and the others close, but this Sand squad was remarkably confident in their individual strength. In fact, many squads from the Hidden Sand and Hidden Mist were employing similar "split and hunt" tactics.
While the Sand ninja was closing in on Saiki's position, Saiki was already moving to intercept him. It didn't take long for the two to cross paths.
"Shizune, hop down for a second."
While still a significant distance away, Saiki had already detected the Sand ninja hiding in the brush.
Saiki's back was warm, and his stride was so steady she hadn't felt a single bump, but Shizune still obediently climbed down.
Within the dim forest, the Sand ninja also possessed decent sensory skills. He noticed Saiki's group come to an abrupt halt.
"Oh? Did they spot me? Impressive perception." He pulled out another puppet, readying himself for a lethal engagement.
Once Shizune was clear, Saiki's pace accelerated instantly, and he vanished from their sight in a blur.
As the distance between him and the Sand ninja narrowed, the air suddenly filled with the piercing, high-pitched chirping of a thousand birds. Saiki launched into a full-throttle, hundred-meter sprint.
The entire forest floor was momentarily illuminated by a blinding flash of lightning. He transformed into a streak of pure electricity, cutting through the dense trees like a hot knife through butter.
Bolstered by Lightning Style chakra, Saiki's speed was astronomical. The sheer force of his movement left massive, cratered footprints in the soil. The explosive output of his chakra made him significantly faster than a standard Jonin. If Shizune had still been on his back, the G-force alone would have thrown her off.
For a normal ninja, covering a hundred meters would take a few seconds. For Saiki, it was a blink of an eye. He materialized directly in front of the Sand puppet master.
Despite Saiki's speed, the Sand ninja had sensed them early and was fully prepared.
Facing Saiki's head-on charge, the Sand ninja manipulated his puppet to exhale a thick cloud of toxic gas while simultaneously launching a barrage of poisoned senbon needles.
It was like a storm of lethal rain, yet Saiki simply slammed into the assault.
However, there was no sound of impact. A cloud of white smoke erupted. Before the Sand ninja could even process that he had hit a Substitution, he felt his entire perspective of the world begin to spin.
Without him even noticing, Saiki had appeared at his side. A single, ruthless swing of his blade had cleanly severed the man's head from his shoulders.
As the toxic mist and white smoke cleared, all that remained was a wooden log riddled with poisoned needles.
Saiki's movement had been so fast that none of the observers realized he had seamlessly woven a Substitution and a Body Flicker into his charge. It defied conventional ninja logic.
Only the petals drifting slowly from the trees provided a clue that Saiki had utilized another jutsu while blitzing with Chidori.
Seconds later, Shizune, Kurenai, and the others arrived at the scene.
Staring at the headless corpse on the ground, Kurenai asked grimly, "Who was this?"
"A Hidden Sand Chunin," Saiki replied. "He was disguised as a Genin. I picked up his signature from a long way off."
With his god-tier perception, the entire Forest of Death was his personal radar. The reason he had targeted this specific ninja—beyond his powerful chakra—was because he had felt three Konoha signatures abruptly vanish near this spot just moments ago.
Saiki's mission was to protect Konoha ninja and crush the foreign opposition.
Whether it was a personal grudge or a village directive, Saiki couldn't ignore someone slaughtering Konoha teams. Using his Flower-Flower powers to scout from a distance, he had seen exactly what the man was doing, and he hadn't hesitated to execute him.
After a quick search of the body, Saiki held three scrolls in his hand: Heaven, Earth, and Man. He casually tossed the Heaven Scroll to Kurenai.
Kurenai's teammates, who had been grumbling about following Saiki's orders, were now completely speechless. The sheer display of power they had just witnessed, combined with the fact that Saiki had just completed their set for them, left them stunned.
"There. You have a full set now, don't you?"
A task that could have easily taken five full days had been completed in less than ten minutes. To Kurenai, it felt like a dream. All she could manage was a quiet, sincere "Thank you."
"Are you going to head straight to the central tower now, or keep following us?"
Kurenai looked puzzled. "Aren't you guys going to the tower?"
"Not yet. The Sand and other villages have smuggled several high-level ninja into this exam. I need to 'process' them, or Konoha is going to suffer massive casualties," Saiki replied.
Blinking her large, ruby eyes, Kurenai smiled. "Can we stay with you? People are probably already camping the area around the central tower. It's too dangerous to go alone."
"Fine by me," Saiki nodded.
Shizune shot Kurenai a knowing look. She understood Kurenai's motives perfectly, but since the path to the tower was indeed a death trap, she didn't object.
As they continued forward and reached the spot where the earlier chakra signatures had vanished, they found three Konoha ninja whose bodies had turned a sickly, bruised purple from poison. Every person present looked away, their faces dark.
"Why would the Sand send a Chunin in disguise to do something so petty?" Kurenai asked, her voice tight with anger.
Saiki spoke with a hollow, detached tone. "Because this is what it means to be a ninja. This exam is just a miniature World War. It's an opportunity for villages to negotiate power and territory. To win more profit, they will use any means necessary."
"Boss... isn't war supposed to be caused by the accumulation of hatred between villages?" Genhai asked, looking confused.
Saiki turned a sharp, stern gaze toward Genhai. "Listen to me and remember this: ninja fight for profit and interests. Never hatred. Hatred is nothing more than a convenient fuse used to ignite the fire. If anyone ever tells you they're fighting purely out of hatred, stay as far away from them as possible."
Watching the horrific state of the three poisoned Konoha ninja had sparked a rare bit of emotion in Saiki. Despite his daily complaints about the village higher-ups and their incompetence, seeing his fellow villagers tortured to death still rubbed him the wrong way.
Though he didn't fully grasp the concept, Genhai nodded solemnly. "I understand, Boss."
The others stood in silence, looking as if they were hearing a fundamental truth for the first time.
Konoha's propaganda machine was a terrifying thing. Most ninja who lacked access to the upper echelons of power had incredibly narrow worldviews; they genuinely believed war was a matter of sentiment. The village leadership utilized this belief to drive the gears of their massive war machine.
After all, if you openly admitted the commoners were dying just so the elites could make a profit, the village would collapse into civil war overnight.
But if you framed it as "avenging our fallen brothers" and "hating the enemy," those who lost family members had a target for their grief and would work even harder for the village's cause.
Back when Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha founded the village and established the ranking system, the goal was to dismantle the clan framework and give commoners a path to rise. Unfortunately, Hashirama died too young.
Tobirama, lacking Hashirama's raw power, chose to manipulate the village's major clans into a delicate balance of power while suppressing the Uchiha. By the time it reached Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Uchiha and Senju had been effectively maneuvered into oblivion.
Then came the systematic marginalization of the Hyuga, the Cloud kidnapping incident, and the absolute humiliation of one of Konoha's most prestigious clans—all while the village gained nothing in return.
Meanwhile, clans like the Sarutobi, Mitokado, Shimura, and Utatane—who were technically noble clans—had seamlessly integrated themselves into the "commoner" ninja ranks.
The position of Hokage and the seat of power remained forever within the Sarutobi lineage. Using the commoners' strength to keep the Great Clans like the Uchiha and Hyuga away from the Hokage's office... Hiruzen Sarutobi truly was a master of the game.
In the end, the profits flowed to the clans that crowded around the Sarutobi line. Once the wars were over, the common ninja were left with nothing but trauma and hatred—perfect fuel to be burned in the next conflict.
Realizing he had let his emotions get the better of him and said far too much, Saiki felt a pang of immediate regret. Who gives a damn if Konoha ninja die? Why am I wasting my breath on this?
"Anyway, forget all that." Saiki changed the subject. "Are you sure you want to stick with us?"
Being a year older than Saiki's group, Kurenai's teammates were significantly sharper. They nodded vigorously. Finding a high-level carry to power-level them through the forest was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Why would they go off and die on their own?
"Let's move."
Saiki formed a seal, expanding his perception to the maximum. He had already locked onto the locations of two other Sand ninja operating as assassins.
Although Saiki slowed his pace to ensure Shizune and the others could keep up, they quickly crossed several sectors and arrived at Area 16.
Area 16 was five kilometers from the center, sitting right on the edge of the inner circle.
A Sand ninja was currently weaving through the trees in a panic, eventually reaching a relatively open clearing.
"Lord Sabaku! We've lost contact with the team sent toward Area 12."
Hearing the news, a man with brown hair wearing a dusty yellow cloak narrowed his eyes. "With their level of strength, who could possibly kill them? Was it the Hidden Mist squad?"
Faced with the crushing aura radiating from the man, the messenger shook his head nervously. "I'm not sure. Based on our calculations, the Mist squads shouldn't be operating in those sectors."
"Then who else has the power to take them out?"
Faced with Sabaku's dark, questioning gaze, the messenger thought for a moment before replying uncertainly, "Lately, there have been rumors circulating in Konoha... a Genin named Saiki Shiroya supposedly slaughtered a nine-man Cloud squad led by a Jonin."
Upon hearing this, Sabaku shot the messenger a look of pure skepticism. "I've heard of Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake. I have never heard the name Saiki Shiroya."
The messenger could only reply awkwardly, "The news is mostly rumors, Sir. I can't be sure if it's true."
"Useless trash. I'll go see for myself who exactly is acting so arrogant!"
While Saiki's group was heading toward the central tower, they continued through Area 16, casually thrashing two other squads that had tried to venture into the inner ring and then retreated.
Saiki was effectively using a map-hack. Everyone was within his sight. To eliminate the intruders, he simply had to move toward the largest and most powerful chakra signatures.
However, the enemy clearly had a sensor of their own. As Saiki drew closer to the cluster of powerful chakra, a three-man squad began moving to intercept him.
Initially, Saiki hadn't cared much about the Chunin Exams, so he hadn't bothered with any intel gathering.
Based on Kurenai's earlier briefing, the Hidden Mist and Hidden Sand each had three squads in the exam, while smaller villages had one or two. The team closing in on them now was likely the second Sand squad.