"Uncle Sawada, if we all advance to Chunin this time, will we qualify for A-Class Missions?" Obito asked curiously.
The ninja leading Obito and the others to the designated entrance was none other than Sawada Kazuya, whom Obito often saw in the mission hall.
"No, but you can take on B-Class Missions at will," Sawada Kazuya replied.
"A-Class Missions depend on Jonin Minato's decision, as he is the only one authorized to take them on."
"Isn't Minato-sensei also part of our team? His authorization should be ours too," Obito was puzzled by Wada Sawano's words.
"Once you become a Chunin, it's different from being a Genin; you don't need Jonin Minato to take on missions. Moreover, during wartime, Jonin have significant responsibilities. If he has other tasks, you'll have to complete missions on your own," Sawada Kazuya explained.
The grading of ninjas is straightforward: only upper, middle, and lower, so Chunins indeed have the qualification to lead teams.
As he spoke, Sawada Kazuya led them to the 44th entrance.
Due to the participation of other Ninja Villages, there were many participants in this Chunin Examination; Konoha had 27 teams, while the rest of the Ninja Villages combined had 17 teams.
After reaching the entrance, Sawada Kazuya didn't open the gate immediately. He glanced at his watch and saw it was two o'clock, half an hour before the exam began.
Sawada Kazuya informed the three of the exam start time, then closed his eyes to rest while waiting for the exam to begin.
"Since we can't go in now, let's discuss our approach for this exam first," Kakashi suggested after some thought.
"No need to discuss; just find a team, grab their scrolls, and rush to the Central Tower," Obito thought they should follow the rules.
"How do we find them? Do we wander around hoping to get lucky, head straight to the area near the Central Tower and wait, or make a commotion to attract others?" Kakashi said plainly.
The goal is to rob the scrolls and head to the Central Tower, but there are many ways to accomplish this.
"Kakashi seems reliable in this aspect," Nohara Rin smiled softly.
Obito decided to go back and brush up on his knowledge in this area, determined to become a well-planned and strategic ninja.
Seeing Nohara Rin's support and Obito's tacit acceptance, Kakashi laid out his plan.
"On the first day, let's search for enemies nearby. If we gather the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, we'll head straight to the Central Tower. If not, in the following two days, we'll seek out other teams in areas abundant with food and water."
There are no stores in the Forest of Death; all logistical problems must be solved independently. Hence, Kakashi believed places with ample food and water would likely have people.
"If during the first three days we don't encounter anyone, we'll head directly to the vicinity of the Central Tower and ambush teams that have already gathered the Heaven and Earth Scrolls."
After speaking, Kakashi paused before continuing, "If no one has any other ideas, let's proceed like this."
Nohara Rin nodded, indicating her approval of Kakashi's plan, while Obito remained silent, which Kakashi took as agreement.
"You can go in now, come on over," at exactly two-thirty, Sawada Kazuya pulled out the key, opened the iron gate, and said to the three.
"Uncle Sawada, after the exam, make sure to pick a good A-Class Mission for us," Obito turned and laughed, waving at Sawada Kazuya as he entered the Forest of Death.
"First, focus on passing the exam. Be careful of those Hidden Mist Ninjas; this Chunin Examination is quite dangerous," Sawada Kazuya responded while locking the gate.
Sawada Kazuya wasn't worried about Obito's group facing off against ninjas from the Small Ninja Villages, nor would Konoha ninjas generally fight to the death. The true danger was from Hidden Mist Ninjas, both being from Great Ninja Villages.
Inside the Forest of Death, the three began their mission according to Kakashi's predetermined plan.
Kakashi and Obito took the front sides, while Nohara Rin followed two paces behind them in the center. The trio moved quickly in search of other teams.
The Forest of Death has a diameter of twenty kilometers; it's tough for over a hundred ordinary people running around randomly to meet each other, but to the ninjas' standard, the Forest of Death isn't particularly large.
After approximately an hour of action, Obito's team encountered their first team.
"Hand over your scrolls, and considering we're all Konoha Ninjas, we won't fight you. Otherwise, I can't guarantee your two teammates won't be seriously injured during the battle," said the tall and thin Konoha Ninja standing in front.
"I know Kakashi is much stronger than me, but even you might not be able to ensure a win one against three, so why not conserve your strength to take scrolls from the small Ninja Village teams?"
He was four classes ahead of Kakashi in school, but since Kakashi graduated early without finishing the third semester, his actual graduation was a bit later than Kakashi. Hence, he knew Kakashi was a genius whose strength couldn't be assessed merely by age.
Nonetheless, he believed even the genius Kakashi might not be able to defeat the three of them together, considering each of them had trained four more years than Kakashi, totaling twelve extra years of training.
As for Obito and Nohara Rin, he ignored them, assuming they were rookie graduates.
"Hey, hey, why are you making it seem like Kakashi is so powerful? I'm stronger than him," Obito couldn't help but speak up.
He was a bit annoyed; even three people hesitated to guarantee victory against Kakashi, yet they wanted to injure him.
"Who are you?" The tall, thin Konoha Genin signaled his two team members, then asked Obito.
The other two gradually spread out in a triangular formation to surround Obito's group, preventing them from making a sudden escape.
"Uchiha Obito!" Obito replied with pride.
"Never heard of you," the tall, thin Konoha Genin said, shaking his head.
Obito's fists clenched with frustration as he resisted the urge to act rashly.
"The ones who should hand over their scrolls are you. This guy's solo combat ability isn't inferior to mine," Kakashi remarked, shifting his breathing rhythm and entering Full Concentration: Breath of Thunder mode.
However, the tall, thin Konoha Genin didn't believe Kakashi's words and swiftly pulled out a kunai from his ninja pouch, saying:
"Kakashi, you know, talking big just makes others think you're bluffing."
He naturally dismissed Kakashi's claim that a seemingly naive Genin could match his strength; such a notion was inconceivable.
After finishing speaking, the tall, thin Konoha Genin signaled and immediately charged towards Obito. His two teammates initiated their attack swiftly upon receiving the signal.
"Breath of Flame, Full Concentration!"
Obito elevated his breathing to its limit, inhaling a large volume of oxygen enhanced by chakra to amplify his body.
Whoosh!
When the tall, thin Konoha Genin reached the front of Obito, he realized Obito's silhouette had vanished right in front of him.
"Could it be that Kakashi wasn't bluffing?" The thought quickly surfaced in the mind of the tall, thin Konoha Genin.
Boom!
Exploiting Soru, Obito instantaneously appeared behind the tall, thin Konoha Genin, delivering a full-force punch that sent him flying backwards, crashing into a large tree en route.
"Such incredible speed!" The tall, thin Genin was utterly shocked.
Boom! Boom!
Before the tall, thin Genin could think further, he noticed it was not just him; his two teammates were also sent flying.
"Hiss." The tall, thin Genin stood up, feeling the pain coursing through his body and involuntarily rendered a sharp inhale.
"This is bad; we've hit a hard wall," the tall, thin ninja felt uneasy.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Taking advantage of the momentum, Obito formed seals to perform a Fire Release, quickly condensing a three-meter-tall fireball under the enhancement of the Breath of Flame.
Upon witnessing Obito's exceptional Fire Release ability, the tall, thin Genin's initial resolve to fight was completely extinguished, and he hastily shouted:
"We admit defeat; we'll give you the scroll. Please, no more fighting."
The exam had just started; there were still plenty of opportunities. Getting injured here would greatly affect the upcoming exams.
Obito unleashed the unfinished Great Fireball to the side, then said smugly, "I've told you, I'm stronger than Kakashi. Remember the name Uchiha Obito well."
"Even without you saying it, I've already remembered." The tall, thin ninja sighed; initially, upon encountering Kakashi and the team, he thought he was lucky, but he hadn't anticipated this seemingly harmless squad to be anything but simple.
"Here's the scroll." The tall, thin ninja took out the white scroll with the word "Heaven" written on it and tossed it to Obito.
Upon discovering it was a Heaven Scroll, Obito's initially excited expression immediately turned to disappointment.
"All this for nothing; it's a Heaven Scroll." Obito sighed.
In this exam, possessing duplicate scrolls was useless; only a complete set of Heaven and Earth would suffice.
Kakashi slightly frowned; Obito's awareness of confidentiality was too poor, essentially revealing their scroll information to the other team.
"You have a Heaven Scroll too, huh? In that case, holding two Heaven Scrolls doesn't help; you might as well return them to us," the tall, thin ninja spoke with a glimmer in his eyes.
"Two Heaven Scrolls can't clear the exam, but they can be exchanged with other teams that have excess Earth Scrolls," Kakashi responded, denying the request of the tall, thin ninja.
Possessing two scrolls is better than one. Despite being fellow village ninjas, this was the Chunin Examination, and Kakashi didn't want to return the scroll they had seized.
"I can exchange for information; I've collected intelligence on numerous exam candidates from the village. It may not be useful for the second stage, but it might come in handy for the third," the tall, thin ninja said eagerly.
"It depends on whether your information is valuable," Kakashi didn't immediately agree; information is crucial for ninjas.
The tall, thin ninja rummaged for a bit, then tossed two small cards to Kakashi.
"Nara Shiomizu, a ninja from the Nara Clan, proficient in Shadow Possession Jutsu, extremely intelligent, maintains composure during battle…"
"Inuzuka Midori, a ninja from the Inuzuka Clan, excels in collaborative combat with ninja dogs, somewhat reckless…"
Kakashi gave the tall, thin ninja a curious glance; these cards even had small photos attached. He was curious how they managed to acquire them.
"Exchanging unneeded Heaven Scrolls for information; it's quite a bargain," the tall, thin ninja, observing Kakashi's apparent interest, seized the moment to say.
"I need to verify the accuracy of your information first," Kakashi contemplated, naming two Genin from Konoha he met during the first exam.
If the information is accurate, it would indeed be quite useful, but if it's false, it would lead to negative consequences.
The tall, thin ninja swiftly located the intelligence cards of the two individuals Kakashi mentioned and then threw them over.
After reviewing them, Kakashi found no issues; therefore, he agreed to the exchange of scrolls for intelligence.
Although they were basic pieces of intelligence, exchanging a surplus scroll for them was worthwhile.
"Thank you. If I don't succeed in advancing this time, I'll provide you with free intelligence next time." The tall, thin ninja grinned while retrieving his scroll.
"We definitely won't need it; we will certainly succeed in advancing." Obito answered confidently while examining the intelligence cards.
"Then I wish you good luck." The tall, thin ninja swiftly led his teammates back.
Continuing forward might lead them into encounters with other teams, and given their current state, meeting Obito could be punitive.
After organizing the intelligence, Obito, Kakashi, and the others proceeded, searching for the next team.
However, as they progressed, none of them noticed a half-black half-white figure silently observing them from the shadows.