The next day came quickly, and soon after a quick breakfast, the three of them made their way to the training ground.
Upon arriving, they found dozens of teams already there, with a few arriving after them as well.
Anko was there, dressed no differently than yesterday, something the male shinobi all greatly enjoyed.
And while Karin liked to think her own teammates were at least smart enough to see a honey trap when it was so obvious, Tōji was pretty much drooling at the sight of the proctor.
And Naho was busy glaring at him, clearly not impressed with his behavior.
Karin, however, wasn't distracted by the honey trap, which was no doubt intended as part of the test.
After all, a Chūnin naturally had to be able to deal with this kind of distraction.
And honestly, why else would someone wear something like that, if not for the exam?
Not that Karin gave that much thought; no, her focus was on someone else.
A team of Genin from Kusagakure.
Or what looked like a team of Genin from Kusagakure.
Because Karin clearly remembered the chakra signature of everyone who took part in the exam.
And while there were a few that stood out, only two truly stood out in a big way.
Naruto Uzumaki, the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
And Gaara of the Sand, the Jinchūriki of the One-Tail.
But this particular chakra signature was far beyond any normal Jōnin, far beyond the three Kusa-nin from yesterday.
Yes, there was only one, because that team had clearly been reduced to one person and two clones.
And it just happened that Karin knew that person.
Orochimaru.
And that raised the question: what the hell was he doing here?
Kaguya had told her about his betrayal of the Akatsuki and about his plan to strike at Konoha; that was, after all, why Karin was here.
But... why would someone like Orochimaru lower himself to take part in the exam?
That seemed far beneath someone like him, unless, of course, he wanted to do something that he could only do here during the second stage of the exam.
But even then, it seemed risky to replace a team from Kusagakure; wouldn't it have been better to take a spot from one of his own Genin?
One of those Sound ninja from Otogakure.
While Karin was looking at the Kusagakure kunoichi, she also turned her eyes onto her, and extended a long, snakelike tongue, licking her lips.
Making Karin shiver.
She never much liked Orochimaru; he was just... creepy.
Pain sure did collect all kinds of people, but among them, Orochimaru was the worst, the way he always looked at her.
Like he couldn't wait to cut her open.
The only solace Karin had was that he looked at everyone like that.
And that he didn't dare lay his hands on her, not as long as Kaguya was there.
It was one of the few reasons she was here; Orochimaru was going to launch an attack on Konoha, and no matter what Kaguya had told him, Karin knew he wouldn't show any restraint.
Which was why she had to keep an eye on him, make sure he didn't go too far, and that he didn't break the deal he had made with Kaguya.
"Alright, you maggots, I'm going to explain the rules of the exam to you. I'm sure most of you have already heard rumors about this training ground, and what you heard is true. This place isn't for the faint-hearted, and many of you are going to die," Anko started, clearly loving the reactions she was getting.
"But before we begin, we need to get these signed," she continued, holding up a form in front of her.
Each team got one, and once they had it in their hands, Karin looked it over.
It was an agreement to not blame the village for their death or the death of their teammates, and that they accepted the risks.
A rather straightforward document, one that even Tōji had no trouble reading, and one he signed without hesitation.
Of course, everyone understood that the document was pointless; if a village wanted to blame Konoha, then it was worth less than the paper it was written on.
It was all just politics.
Karin tuned it all out. Her focus was still on trying to figure out just what Orochimaru's goal here was.
Was it Sasuke?
It was possible; Kaguya had warned her that Orochimaru might target him, wanting the Uchiha clan's Kekkei Genkai.
But did that have to happen during the second round?
It just felt... too risky.
After all, Orochimaru was clearly planning a large-scale attack of some kind, so wouldn't this action of his risk exposing him?
More so since Karin was sure he had killed the Kusagakure team.
Not that Karin had any love for them, or for that village, but doing that still risked alerting Konoha.
Wouldn't his future plan be messed up if they were on guard?
Soon enough, it was time to enter the forest. Karin had sealed the scroll into one of her own storage seals, though not before giving it a brief look over.
She wasn't about to blindly accept some shady object and carry it on her person.
But it was innocent enough, a summoning seal, but one that couldn't be remotely controlled or tracked.
"Alright, Karin-sama? What is the plan?" Naho asked as the gates closed behind them, and the exam officially started.
"What else? We find a team and slit their throats. I say we target someone from Konoha," Tōji suggested, making Karin roll her eyes.
"Idiot," she cursed at him. "Have you learned nothing from our little talks? What is the best way to complete this exam?"
"Uhh, finding a team and taking their scroll?" he guessed, and she sighed.
"Yes, but we should target a weak, small village, not go after Konoha. Who knows? They might be cheating and have someone following them around to protect them. We target a weak team, get their scroll, that's the plan," she explained.
"Did they cheat like that?" Naho asked, looking around, and since they were still right beside the gate, there was, in fact, a Konoha shinobi standing on the other side, giving them a not-so-amused look.
And who could blame him? They had just been talking about killing some kids from his own village.
The fact that he hadn't acted showed far more restraint than most other villages.
"Nope, there wasn't anyone following them, though," Karin said, trailing off as she focused her senses on a few chakra signatures not far from them.
"We might not be that lucky," she added, and the other two looked at her in confusion.
The Konoha shinobi also joined in.
"Let's just say that Konoha seems very interested in the Uzumaki clan bloodline, though they have a funny way of showing it." And wasn't that the truth?
Other villages would have spared nothing to nurture someone from the Uzumaki clan.
Karin was young at the time, but she had heard from her mother how Iwagakure had tried to get them to join their village.
Any village would have used all means to make them love the village, and to get them to build bonds with the people there.
Hoping for a new generation, born and raised inside the village as soon as possible.
But Konoha?
They had treated Naruto like crap. No, even worse than that, they had let the villagers treat him like he was a plague.
It was disgusting.
And if it wasn't for Kaguya, she would have been the same.
This little bit of anger bubbled up in her heart as she thought about her fellow Uzumaki and how he was treated.
And she felt even less love for Konoha than she already did.
"I don't get it," Tōji said, but she didn't bother explaining.
There was no need for him to understand.
"You will, in this forest. I'm sure we will encounter plenty of Root," she said cryptically, more to the Konoha shinobi than her teammates.
Whether he knew who Root was, and if he would report it, hardly mattered.
If he did, great, it would save them some trouble.
If not?
No problem, Karin wasn't scared of Root.
Those cowards who only knew how to sneak attack in numbers—what reason did she have to fear them?
They were just Chūnin skilled in assassination, and trying to sneak up on her was beyond foolish.
That said, there would be a lot of death inside this forest if things went as she suspected they would.
"Come, let's get a scroll and get done with this exam; we can't allow a Konoha team to be the first to win, not in their own stupid test," she said, locking onto a nearby team of Genin. They were from Kusagakure, and they weren't very strong at all, a perfect first target.
With one team eliminated by Orochimaru, they didn't have many left, and Karin felt she would do everyone a favor by killing off another team right here.
"Right!" the other two agreed, and with her in the lead, they started moving.
All the while, she kept her senses wide open, constantly tracking the dozen or so Root shinobi following behind them the entire way.
It took the three of them less than twenty minutes to reach their targets.
And that was because Karin hadn't been in a hurry, and the Kusa team was rushing on ahead on their own.
But since Karin's team had a map hack, they eventually closed in on their target.
"So, what's the plan?" Naho whispered as they remained hidden and out of sight, but within line of sight of their unwitting target.
Karin considered it for a moment; this team was just Genin, no hidden experts among them. "First, we determine whether or not they have the scroll we need; if they do, we take it; if not, no reason to bother with them."
"So we just let them go?" Tōji asked, clearly disappointed.
"Who said that?" Karin asked. "We simply kill them and move on; no point in digging through their pockets and worrying about traps." She grinned.
"Fuck yeah!" Tōji cheered, a cruel smile on his lips.
"Now, let's go down there and be ready to act," Karin said before jumping down from where they stood and down to the Kusa team.
"Hey there," she greeted them, though they clearly hadn't expected anyone to appear behind their backs, as they jumped away in a panic and threw a handful of kunai toward Karin.
"Not much of a greeting, is this?" Karin mocked as she effortlessly deflected the thrown kunai with one of her own, before her teammates joined her on her left and right.
"What can you expect from a worthless village like Kusagakure?" Tōji joined in, mocking their village.
"How dare you!" one of the Kusa Genin shouted in rage but was held back by a comrade from attacking.
At least one of them had half a brain, Karin mused.
"What do you want?" the smart one asked.
"Naturally, we want the scroll we need," Naho answered.
"We have a Heaven Scroll," Karin said, showing off their scroll, which was indeed a Heaven one. "If you have one as well, there is no need for conflict. If you have an Earth one, well, then one team will leave here with a full set," she explained.
The smart Kusa Genin nodded, now understanding why the other team hadn't ambushed them.
In his mind, they were clearly worried about casualties, as even one dead teammate meant the entire team would be eliminated. So there was some logic behind trying to avoid unnecessary fights.
(End of chapter)
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