Naruto: Uchiha Survivor Forced to Save the Shinobi World

Outside the fence of the Forest of Death, rows of shinobi academy students were standing in formation.

In front of the line, besides the academy's teachers, a group of Hidden Leaf jonin were gathered.

As the representative teacher of the shinobi academy, Iruka approached the group of jonin and spoke politely, "Seniors, sorry to trouble you this time!"

Kakashi waved his hand, indicating it was no bother.

Asuma on the side complained, "It's just an ordinary entrance exam. Is it necessary to come to a place like this?"

Kurenai also chimed in, "Isn't this place a bit too dangerous for the academy's students?"

Iruka was somewhat helpless, "I'm very sorry for troubling you. This entrance exam is at the instruction of the Elders. We have no choice."

Kakashi lazily yawned, "Go ahead and get busy. We were just complaining casually."

Iruka bowed and then withdrew to begin the preparations.

After Iruka left, Asuma muttered, "Never heard the old man mention this. Could it be arranged by some elder at the last minute?"

Kakashi seemed to have thought of something, his expression turning grim.

With her hands in her pockets, Anko noticed Kakashi's expression, "What's wrong? Is there something suspicious?"

Kakashi shook his head.

Asuma patted Kakashi's shoulder, then motioned with his mouth toward the distant woods, "Don't worry. Look over there."

Everyone looked over and saw several ANBU figures in the forest.

Clearly,

The higher-ups had already thoroughly assessed the safety of this academy entrance exam and arranged sufficient safeguards.

Shizune was somewhat speechless, "Is all this really necessary?"

Kurenai glanced at the group of students in the distance and laughed, "Don't underestimate those brats. There are quite a few monsters among them!"

"Monsters?"

Shizune also looked at the student formation, her eyes full of scrutiny.

Very quickly, she furrowed her brows and noticed some clues.

Within the student ranks, a few students stood out like cranes among chickens; even just standing quietly, they involuntarily attracted attention.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

The first one Shizune noticed was Sasuke, who had already awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan. His gaze was cold, and he stood with arms crossed. At this moment, even the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki beside him became merely a foil to his presence.

"Kimimaro."

Next, Shizune's gaze was drawn to Kimimaro, standing calmly with arms naturally at his sides. His eyes were indifferent, even a bit unfocused, as if his thoughts weren't here at all. Yet, that inexplicably made people feel wary.

"Hyūga Neji."

Moving her gaze, Shizune focused on Hyūga Neji, a noble-born youth who always carried a subtle melancholy. However, unlike before, Neji now seemed to possess a sharper edge than he once did.

After scanning the student ranks, Shizune retracted her gaze, "Those two brats from the Uchiha and Hyūga clans are indeed out of the ordinary. That boy from Kirigakure is also worth keeping an eye on!"

Kakashi said blandly, "You've missed one person."

Shizune asked curiously, "Who did I miss?"

Pointing to a corner of the student formation, where Uchiha Shinji was joking with Haku and Karin, Kakashi said, "He was the first place last time."

"I've heard!" After a pause, Shizune continued, "But this Uchiha Shinji hasn't awakened the Sharingan yet, right? How did he beat Uchiha Sasuke?"

Kakashi said, "Though luck played a part, aside from not having awakened the Sharingan, this brat is flawless in every other aspect. So don't underestimate him."

Asuma smiled, "It looks like this entrance exam won't be as boring as we thought!"

In front of the student formation, Iruka stood and shouted, "Everyone, pay attention. I will now announce the rules for this exam!"

The somewhat noisy formation immediately quieted down.

Iruka announced, "For this exam, we will continue with the principle of forming three-person teams freely. The exam will proceed in team format. Before it starts, you can freely form teams. Once teams are finalized, the team result replaces individual results!"

The students, who had known about this beforehand, remained calm.

Since the academy had announced the rule a few days ago, everyone had already formed their teams. In fact, most had kept their previous team lineups, with only a few teams changing members.

Seeing no objections, Iruka continued, "The content of the exam is simple. Starting from here, head to the central tower in the Forest of Death. The first team to reach it will be the winners!"

In the distance, Shizune, having heard this, said, "Is that all? That's actually pretty simple!"

The threats in the Forest of Death mainly involved the snakes, insects, rodents, and large beasts living in that primitive environment.

But if it's just traveling, even shinobi academy students should be able to manage.

Kakashi said, "Keep listening."

Sure enough, Iruka changed his tone and suddenly said, "One point to remind you: on your way to the central tower, there will be interception teams arranged by the academy. These interception teams consist of outstanding shinobi from the village temporarily acting as blockers. Once you encounter them, you will be attacked indiscriminately!"

The student formation immediately grew restless.

Shikamaru raised his hand, "Iruka-sensei, are the shinobi of the interception teams genin?"

Iruka shook his head, "No comment!"

Shikamaru pursed his lips and muttered softly, "This is bad!"

Choji asked, "What's bad?"

Ino also leaned over, "Shikamaru, did you notice something?"

Shikamaru said gloomily, "This so-called 'interception team' clearly isn't meant for us. They're obviously arranged by the academy to test Kimimaro, Sasuke, Uchiha Shinji, Neji, and the others!"

"Ah!"

Choji and Ino exclaimed in unison.

If the 'interception team' was meant to test those monsters in the academy, then ordinary students would be caught in the crossfire. Given those monsters' strength, ordinary genin wouldn't serve as a true test, so the interception team members were likely all chunin.

And if an ordinary student team encountered an interception team composed of chunin, the outcome was predictable.

Shikamaru wasn't the only one who realized this.

Just then, as the formation bustled with complaints, a single voice suddenly silenced everyone.

They followed the sound and saw that it was none other than Uchiha Sasuke, raising his hand.

Intimidated by Uchiha Sasuke's presence, almost no student dared to meet his gaze. Any slight exchange of looks ended with them backing down under the gaze of his scarlet Sharingan.

Iruka seemed to have anticipated this and nodded helplessly, "It is allowed for student teams to attack each other!"