In a large office of the ninja school, this was originally the place where the school's teachers were in charge of the office, but due to the joint ninja exam, this place has been temporarily requisitioned by the examiners.

Although the first exam has ended, in order to wait for the candidates' results to be released, Ibiki, as the chief examiner of the first exam, still sat in a secluded corner of the office, reading the book while waiting for the examiner below to finish grading the test papers.

It didn't take long for Epiki to wait, and at about eleven o'clock, all the candidates' test papers were corrected. Summarized on a single form, whether it is the average score of the squad, or the total score, from high to low, it is clear at a glance.

"There are eleven groups in the team with a perfect score of 30 points, and there are 40 candidates who have received a full score, which is even lower than I imagined."

Ibiki saw the results on the report card and considered the wording.

"There's no way, after all, among the candidates, there are a lot of guys who are keen to eliminate other candidates, and it's actually not easy to maintain so many groups and candidates with full scores."

One of the Konoha who was in charge of grading the test paper said with a wry smile.

You must know that this time, in order to take care of the students in the examination room, they put in six people who know the answers to the test questions at one time, and according to the initial estimate, the group and candidates who got full marks cannot be so low. After all, there are close to three hundred people, and the shinobi who came to take the exam are all elites selected from each village.

But they didn't expect that the candidates would eliminate each other, which should have happened in the second exam, but in the first exam, it had already happened, which caught Konoha as the organizer a little off guard.

Ibiki nodded slightly, agreeing with these words.

Strictly speaking, the actions of Shinobu in the Oni Country cannot be regarded as breaking the rules. Candidates eliminate each other, which is also a mandatory item in the exam.

If it's just an interaction between the candidate and the examiner, it would be too boring and unfair to the candidate.

Therefore, the essence of the middle ninja exam lies in the fact that the candidates fight each other, and then select the best batch of shinobi and eliminate the unqualified products.

It's just that in the previous Zhongnin exams, very few people would do this in the first exam. Not only are the means possessed by the shinobi scarce, but most of the techniques are frustrating, and it is easy to have accidents in the exam, and it is already very good to be able to take care of themselves, and if you want to carry out other actions, you need to go further, for example, you have a strong strength that far exceeds that of the rest of the lower ninjas.

"It's a bunch of funny little ghosts."

Ibiki said with a sigh.

"Yes, the quality is indeed much higher than before."

Konoha Nakashinobu replied.

Ibiki didn't respond this time, but instead glanced at the report card.

"Naruto Uzumaki...... I didn't expect this guy to pass the blank paper. ”

Seeing a familiar name, a smile appeared on the corner of Ibiki's mouth.

Because the tenth question was a multiple-choice question, and it was not published on the test paper, Naruto's test paper was very clean, with only a single name written on it.

"It can only be said that it is barely qualified, the average score of the candidates this time is only 0.4 points, rounding is 0 points, and all candidates with a score of 0 or 0 are unqualified."

Zhongren said helplessly.

"The average score is not negative, which is somewhat unexpected. The Shinobi of the Oni Country is very good, but the rest of the candidates, It doesn't seem to be bad, it looks like there will be a dragon fight next. ”

Ibiki said happily.

Originally, he thought that if he was stirred up by the lower ninja of the Oni Country, the candidates' scores would fall directly into a negative state. Who knows, in such a bad situation, the candidates can still maintain an average score of 0.4, which makes Ibiki feel gratified.

But fortunately, it's not 0.5 points, otherwise the average score is 1 point if rounded.

Naruto, who only answered the tenth question correctly and left the other nine questions empty, almost failed.

"yes, this kid is really interesting."

There was a complicated look in Naminin's eyes, to be honest, he didn't like Naruto very much, and he really hoped that the other party would be eliminated from the first exam.

Unfortunately, it backfired, and the other party was lucky to pass the first exam.

"But in the second and third exams, you have to rely on your real ability, and it's useless to rely on a moment of luck."

This Konoha Nakashinobu said with an attitude of disdain on Naruto.

"Lucky?" Ibiki chewed on these words and said meaningfully, "Maybe he's a guy who is better at action than brains." ”

"What?"

"No, it's nothing, now that the transcript has come out, I'll go and report this matter to Hokage-sama now, and by the way, I'll hand over the work that arranged for the candidates to go to the Land of Wind in the afternoon. I'll leave the follow-up situation here to you. ”

Ibiki put away his report card, got up from his seat, and headed for the Hokage Building.

◎

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

At the Ninja School bulletin board, a list of qualified groups is posted on it.

The group that won the list was naturally happy, and the group that fell off the list was naturally depressed and left in gloom.

Looking at the bulletin board, the five groups of the Oni no Kuni Shinobi Squad, all of whom were promoted with full scores, also showed a satisfied smile on Asuka's face.

"A total of 46 groups of shinobi are qualified, which is a bit much."

Xiang Ryu was surprised to see that there were 46 teams that were qualified, that is, 138 shinobi.

"Compared with the 99 group at the beginning, it's already good, after all, more than half of the candidates have been reduced."

Asuka wasn't surprised, it wasn't much the same as he had predicted.

Although it did not reach the expected target of reducing the number of his staff by two-thirds, under the interference of some candidates, more than 150 candidates were still eliminated, and Asuka did not feel too disappointed with this result.

Anyway, the second exam that will be held in the Land of the Wind can continue to be eliminated for another round, so there is no need to rush at this time.

"However, there are sixteen groups of candidates who passed the first exam in Konoha, isn't this number a little too much?"

Aya looked at the group that cleared the first round of exams, and Konoha alone accounted for one-third of the total, frowning slightly.

"That's because the total number of candidates who took the Zhongnin exam is a lot, after all, there are more than eighty people, accounting for between one-third and one-quarter of the total number, and the number of people who have cleared the customs can only be said to barely reach the passing line."

Asuka groaned slightly and spoke.

In terms of probability, the pass rate of Konoha candidates is only about 60 percent, which can be said to be quite a miserable result. Needless to say, the pass rate of the lower ninja is undoubtedly the bottom of the big ninja village.

In villages like Iwakuin and Yunyin, the pass rate is maintained at more than 70 percent, far ahead of Konoha.

Oni no Kuni is one of the few countries in the first exam that advances to the second exam with a 100% pass rate.

In addition, there is also the three-person team of Wuyin Village, which is also promoted with a 100% pass rate. Although the Fog Hidden Village only sent three lower ninjas this time, it also proves that the strength of these three Misty Hidden Ninja is probably quite extraordinary.

At this moment, a clear cough sound came into everyone's ears.

The candidates who stayed behind were all shinobi who passed the first exam, a total of one hundred and thirty-eight shinobi, all of whom turned around and looked in one direction.

I saw a group of Shinobi from the six major countries coming over, a total of sixteen people, and the guide of the Asuka team, Shinobi Uchiha, was also among them. But the leader is a shinobi from the sand - Maki.

The other party is a close confidant of the four generations of Kazekage, and he is also the guide of my Airo team, he took the lead in walking at the front of the team, and when the candidates' eyes shifted, he stood still and said with a very serious expression:

"First of all, congratulations on successfully clearing the first test of the joint middle ninja exam, I am the upper ninja Maki of the sand and am the chief examiner of the second exam. The location of the second exam, as you might expect, is located in an area in the heart of the Land of Winds. ”

"In other words, we're going to go to the Land of the Wind right now, right?"

A candidate from Konoha asked.

"Yes. If you're not ready, I can give you an hour to prepare. An hour later, at three o'clock, assemble on time and head to the Land of Winds. If you don't have anything to prepare, you can go now. ”

Markey spoke in a very human way.

Unlike the first exam, the second exam comes with a very high risk, and many candidates who have taken the second exam of the Zhongnin exam have been defeated here.

According to his prediction, it is estimated that less than a quarter of the forty-six lower ninja groups will be able to pass in the end. Leaving twenty or thirty candidates is the limit.

Therefore, if you can prepare more, you can increase your chances of winning a little bit at that time.

The candidates looked at each other, and in the end no one spoke, but just looked at Markey with a determined gaze, and the meaning in his eyes was self-evident.

As if feeling the will of the candidates, Ma Ji nodded slightly, satisfied with the candidates' ability to act in advance, and said: "It seems that you have nothing to prepare, then, let's set off for the Land of the Wind now, what will greet you will be an extremely cruel trial, please be mentally conscious." ”

"Yes."

The candidates who have passed the baptism of the first exam have no trace of timidity and fear in their eyes, and they are all full of confidence in the next second exam, firmly believing that they will be able to pass.

◎

Two days later.

In the heart of the Land of Winds, a barren desert with almost no vegetation, the weather is already very hot in the summer, and when you get to the desert, the air becomes even more scorched. Under the strong sunlight, the entire desert is like a huge barbecue plate, and the candidates who come here are like meat on the barbecue plate, and their bodies have a feeling of burning fiercely.

The accompanying shinobi ignored this harsh heat and desolation, and they had been experienced in a hundred battles, and they had long been accustomed to such a scene.

Compared to a real battle of life and death, this level is nothing at all.

But the inexperienced shinobi, after coming here, most of them have been sweating, even the sand hidden shinobi who lives in the desert all the year round, can't help but complain about this vicious weather, don't want to go out.

But unfortunately, this year's Zhongnin exam time is located in the hottest month of the year.

The sun bakes the earth, and the air shows signs of distortion in the scorching light.

"It's a terrible environment, so we shouldn't be going to take exams in this kind of place, right?"

Xiang Li wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeve and glanced at the sun in disgust.

"This possibility cannot be ruled out. After all, this harsh and extreme environment is the best way to train the ninja's abilities. If I were the examiner, I would choose to do the same. ”

To test the survival ability of ninjas, there is no better place to test the second exam than this extreme desert environment in the Land of Winds. Asuka thinks so in his heart.

The examination room for the second exam is likely to be a 'survival' battle in the desert.

"If that's the case, then it's time to stock up on a little more drinkable water."

Xiang Rin muttered in her mouth.

"That's right, if you really take the exam in such a bad exam, you need to have enough water to ensure the survival space of the foundation. Now there are quite a few guys in the crowd who have started to get dehydrated. And the temperature here is estimated to be more than 50 degrees. As for the temperature at the surface, it may be close to seventy degrees. The need for water will become very important. ”

Cai squatted down and inserted her fingers into the sand, feeling the hot heat transmitted from the sand to her fingers, frowning slightly.

On his face, there was also a slight hot sweat. No matter how much you save your energy, in such an extremely hot environment, you will still feel extremely hungry and thirsty, and dehydration will be the first problem that candidates need to solve.

This extremely hot desert environment makes Sai, who has never been in contact with this kind of place, feel very uncomfortable.

Although there are many places in the country of ghosts with harsh environments for ninja training, it is also the first time he has experienced such an extremely harsh desert environment.

Next, the group did not speak, because the sun above their heads was constantly absorbing the water in their bodies, and it was squeezing out their physical strength, in order to save the necessary physical strength, everyone consciously shut up and reduce the outflow of physical strength.

Led by the top ninjas, after about ten minutes, they finally arrived at their destination.

It was a huge fortress in the midst of a raging sandstorm.

You can see the huge buildings towering in the fortress, and the huge black iron gate blocks the entrance and exit of the fortress, but on the walls of the fortress, you can see many figures standing there, performing the duties of garrisoning the fortress.

It was a patch of sand hidden ninjas, and roughly calculated, there were at least a hundred sand hidden ninjas standing on the high walls of the fortress.

If you count the undiscovered Sand Ninja in the fortress, the number may be even higher.

Not only that, but the walls of the fortress stretched far away, but not in a straight line, but in the traces of a crescent, forming a huge circle in the desert.

This fortress is most likely the entrance to the 'Circular Desert'.

"What a big building!"

From a distance, the fortress is already huge, but when you look closer, you can see that the scale of the fortress is larger than you think.

Naruto craned his neck, the massive iron-gray wall blocking his view, making it impossible to see what was inside.

"It's not easy to build a building of this scale in the middle of the desert."

Sasuke looked at the fortress with a surprised expression.

Most of the buildings he saw in Konoha were a mix of stone and wood, or pure wood, but the buildings in the Land of Wind were obviously very different from those in the Land of Fire, bringing a different new feeling to the candidates from other countries.

The iron-gray city wall has undergone a long period of weathering, and the wear and tear has been very serious, and there are a large number of potholes on it, representing its vicissitudes of history, which is obviously extremely thick and solemn.

Ma Ji walked at the front of the line and handed a document through the small opening of the pitch-black iron door, and it didn't take long for the pitch-black iron door to open from the inside, which was the sand in charge of the inspection work.

After opening the iron door, the sand hidden shinobi bent down and said respectfully to Maki, "It's been a hard journey, Maki Shangshinobi." ”

Markey nodded, and asked the sand hidden shinobi:

"Are you ready for room and board?"

"Yes, the work of food and lodging has been prepared according to your instructions. In terms of the test venue, there is no problem, and it can be used normally tomorrow. ”

Sand Hidden Shinobu replied.

"That's good, I'll take them in first."

After Ma Ji finished speaking, he turned around and beckoned to the team behind him, and the various countries in the rear followed Ma Ji's footsteps and marched towards the inside of the fortress.

When they arrived at the corridor of the fortress, the cool wind blew from both sides and overhead, and the candidates with dry tongues immediately exhaled comfortably, feeling reborn.

Unlike the hot air outside, the air inside the fortress is so crisp that you can subconsciously forget that this is a barren desert.

Walking along the long and wide corridor with the team, he was about to reach the end, and when he turned the corner, several figures suddenly flashed at the intersection, blocking everyone's way.

"Kakashi-sensei!?"

Among the several figures that suddenly appeared, Kakashi was among them, and Naruto immediately showed a surprised expression on his face, as if he wanted to go up and greet Kakashi.

Kakashi gestured for Naruto to calm down.

"It's been hard along the way, I won't say anything superfluous, I think you, as candidates, are already very tired now, and then we will arrange your dormitory here tonight, come with me now."

Several shinobi led by Kakashi are all from different countries and ninja villages, and they came to the Land of Wind one step ahead of the shinobi who led the candidates, and are responsible for the handover of work.

"Then this batch of candidates will trouble you, Mr. Kakashi."

Maki nodded, with great respect for Kakashi, and then walked towards the left side of the intersection with the Shinobu who had followed, where the meeting room was located.

Tomorrow is the official opening day of the second exam, and Markey, as one of the examiners, does not have much time to waste on chores.

And Kakashi and the others, who didn't have much to offer, took one hundred and thirty-eight candidates and walked towards the living area on the right side of the intersection.

Due to the large number of people, a group is equipped with a set of rooms to wash the dust for the candidates who come from afar.

One hundred and thirty-eight candidates were arranged, a total of forty-six groups of shinobi, and it didn't take long for the job to be completed in about ten minutes.

After that, Kakashi went to the room where Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were.

"Kakashi-sensei."

Seeing Kakashi coming, both Naruto and Sakura gathered around and greeted Kakashi warmly.

Kakashi stroked the hair of the two, his eyes swept to Sasuke, who was sitting by the window of the room with an indifferent expression, squinted and smiled, "First of all, I want to congratulate you on passing the first exam, I originally planned to congratulate you immediately after you finished the first exam, but since things can't go away here, I'm sorry here." In fact, when you were taking the exam, some of the Shangnin, including me, came to the Land of the Wind in advance to conduct a field survey of the second exam venue. ”

"So that's the case, no wonder I didn't see you in the village after the exam that day."

Naruto understood.

"I won't ask about the specific situation for the time being, then you can have a good rest, the second exam will start tomorrow morning, unlike the first exam, you must be careful about the second exam. If you have anything to say, wait until the second exam is over. ”

Kakashi let go of Naruto and Sakura.

Sasuke snorted lightly, he wanted to ask something, but he had to shut up at this time, and when the second exam was over, he had time to listen to Kakashi's nagging.

The Uchiha clan in another country, he desperately needed to understand.

"That is, we only have afternoon and evening preparation time?"

Sakura asked.

"That's right, I can't reveal the specific rules of the second exam, I can only say that you need to be careful."

Kakashi touched his chin and spoke words of advice to the three Naruto.

Compared with the first written test, the second test is to let the candidates fight with real guns, and the candidates who are lucky are likely to be cruelly deprived of their lives in the exam.

"No problem, it doesn't matter if you don't know, we'll get through it smoothly anyway. Isn't it, Sakura-chan? ”

Naruto put his hands behind his head with an attitude of indifference.

"Then look forward to your performance, Naruto. By the way, remember to go to the restaurant at 7 p.m., don't forget about it. Otherwise, I'm hungry at night, don't blame me for not warning in advance. ”

Seeing Naruto with an optimistic attitude, Kakashi also knew that it was useless to say more.

Only after experiencing specific things can we be enlightened.

He was looking forward to seeing how the Naruto trio would perform in the second exam.

"Well, I'll take my leave."

With that, Kakashi withdrew from the room and gave up space to the three.

Kakashi will not interfere with the rest of the day, whether it is a break or a battle meeting during tomorrow's exam.

What should be done, he had already reminded him before the Zhongnin exam. And he believed that with the ability of the three Naruto, he would not let himself down.

"In this way, the day of my 'revenge' will come soon."

Kakashi's eyes were filled with deep color, and the soft lines of his face vanished, transforming into a very unfamiliar and indifferent face.

"Really, Orochimaru-sama?"

As soon as Kakashi finished speaking, the chandelier in the corridor suddenly flickered and flickered, making the atmosphere here very eerie.

It was a tall, slender figure, with skin as transparent and pale as a candle, with eyes as vertical as a snake, and he slowly walked out of the shadowy corner as he stretched out his long tongue and licked it from his lips.

- Orochimaru.