A week had passed. Akihiro, Aiko, and Hiroshi gathered in front of the Ninja Academy, where the Chūnin Exams were about to take pce.

  —Are you ready, guys? —Aiko asked.

  Hiroshi nodded with an enthusiastic smile.

  —Of course.

  Akihiro also nodded confidently.

  —This will be easy.

  —I’m gd you’re so confident —Miyuki said, approaching with Kosetsu.

  —Sensei! —the three of them excimed in unison.

  Miyuki greeted them with a light gesture before speaking.

  —Things are going to change from now on, so I hope you all stay as excited as you are now —she said as she headed toward the Academy. —I’ll be watching, so you better not disappoint me.

  The trio nodded and waved goodbye to their sensei before entering the Academy, where they were led to the location of the first Chūnin exam.

  —What do you think the first exam will be like? —Hiroshi asked Akihiro.

  Akihiro shook his head.

  —No idea, it could be either a simple knowledge test or a practical test. Either way, we need to complete it —he replied. He knew how the Chūnin exams worked in Konoha, but he had no idea how they were structured in Kusa.

  They arrived at the waiting area for the Chūnin Exams, where they encountered numerous Genin teams, as expected.

  They stayed at one side of the room and looked around. Some recognized a few of the participants; Akihiro even came across some of his old cssmates. However, since the retionships weren’t deep, he didn’t approach them, just offering a small gesture from a distance.

  A while ter, the first Chūnin exam began.

  They were taken to an underground chamber a short distance from the Academy.

  An instructor stepped forward.

  —The first test is simple. You must go through this dungeon and complete it in the shortest time possible —he said pinly as he ushered a group inside.

  There were five doors, so five groups could enter at once.

  The first batch entered quickly, and in less than twenty minutes, the next group did the same. This continued until it was their turn.

  Akihiro and the others found themselves in a dark pce, where their senses seemed dulled, barely able to perceive what surrounded them.

  —Wait a moment —Aiko said, raising her hand. —There’s something here —she murmured as her senses wandered.

  She then pulled out a kunai and threw it upwards, only for an insect to fall. It was a centipede.

  —Poisonous insects, perfect —she muttered. The fact that she couldn’t sense them wasn’t exactly pleasant.

  —Can’t we just destroy everything with Ninjutsu? —Hiroshi asked. He didn’t like insects, especially not ones that could kill him with a single bite.

  —If it were that easy, everyone would do it. There’s probably Fuinjutsu here that negates rge-scale Ninjutsu —Akihiro replied.

  As soon as he stepped inside the pce, he could feel a complex web of Fuinjutsu spreading throughout the environment. He didn’t know how long it had taken to create that formation, but he had no intention of finding out.

  However, there was something strange. The formation itself didn’t seem like something a vilge like Kusa could make.

  —Anyway, it’s not my problem —he murmured weakly.

  —Let’s go —Aiko said, stepping forward and perceiving every detail around her with her extraordinary perception.

  The group moved quickly down the hallway. They immediately sensed the simpler traps, and Aiko detected some more eborate ones.

  The traps were arranged in such a way that a small one would activate a rger one, or a rge one would cover numerous smaller ones. It was designed so that it would be nearly impossible to advance without triggering at least a couple of traps, but even with that, they were able to proceed safely, ignoring the more complicated ones.

  It didn’t take them more than five minutes to reach the first fork.

  —Left or right? —Aiko asked, unsure of which path was the right one.

  —Better both —Akihiro said as he formed a hand seal. Although chakra was suppressed in this area, he could still perform simple jutsu.

  A small puff of smoke appeared as two clones materialized. They were material clones, better than the Cloning Technique, but inferior to the Elemental Clones or Shadow Clone Technique.

  Even so, they were useful enough for exploring the area.

  Each clone took a different direction. The group waited only a moment until Akihiro felt the connection with the clone that had gone to the right disappear.

  —Left —he said simply. And immediately, they set off.

  Not long after, they encountered the remaining clone, who was waiting for them with his arms crossed.

  —Traps ahead —he said before taking a step and being pierced by countless traps, disappearing as if he had never existed.

  —Be careful. I detect a lot of dangerous traps, and even more annoying ones that trigger even more dangerous traps —Aiko warned before advancing.

  The group walked, carefully following the path of the previous clone, making sure not to touch anything dangerous. It was a slow but sure process, and in less than three minutes, they had passed through the most dangerous area.

  —Hiroshi —Aiko said simply.

  He nodded and formed hand seals.

  —Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu —he announced, releasing a rge amount of fire forward.

  Due to the suppression in the area, the jutsu consumed more chakra than usual and only sted a few seconds.

  However, from the ceiling, walls, and floor, a rge number of incinerated insects began to emerge, perfectly hidden before.

  —Gross —he said, frowning.

  —There shouldn’t be much left, so let’s go —he added, and the group continued forward.

  After a while, they found themselves in an empty room, with nothing around them.

  —What is this? —Aiko asked, confused.

  —A Fuinjutsu formation —Akihiro replied, taking a step forward. —Stay back, I’ll handle it.

  Akihiro observed the formation and couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. The purpose of the formation was very simple: as soon as it detected a presence within its range, it would detonate the entire room, destroying everything inside.

  It was a simple yet extremely dangerous trap. Even a Jounin could suffer serious injuries if they entered without protective methods or safeguards.

  —But fortunately, it’s also easy to decipher —he said as he pulled out his scroll.

  He wrote a simple formation on it. The words on the scroll detached and crawled across the floor as if they had a life of their own.

  Akihiro’s Fuinjutsu and the one in the formation overpped, creating a safe space. He could destroy the formation with enough time, but it wasn’t worth the effort.

  —We can enter now —he said calmly.

  The group continued forward.

  After dodging more traps, insects, and some complex formations, they finally found the exit and managed to escape the dungeon.