Xero smirked, the unease he had been carryiing away entirely. His usual cocky fidence had returned, and there was a gleam in his eyes that suggested he was more than ready for whatever Anko had pnned. “Finally,” he said with a chuckle, “I was getting tired of sitting around.”
Reika, who had been silent up until this point, straightened in her seat, her posed demeanor shifting ever so slightly. A flicker of determination passed through her expression, a sign that she repared to face whatever came . “Whatever’s , we’ll ha,” she said, her voice steady and unwavering, a testament to the resolve that was already beginning to burn within her.
Kuro chuckled softly, his eyes meeting hers with a knowing smile. “That’s the spirit.” His gaze flicked between Xero and Reika, both of whom seemed far more at ease now that the phase was about to begin. It was clear that, despite the challehey had faced so far, they were all eager for the est. This world, with its sharp edges and uable nature, was ohey were beginning to uand, even if only just.
Anko’s grin stretched wider, clearly delighted by the stir she had caused. She reveled in the disfort she could provoke in others, and the students were no exception. She was an enigma, a woman whose presence made even the most hardened veterans pause—there was no telling what she would do .
“Get ready,” she called, her voice ced with dark excitement. “You’ve made it through the first hurdle, but this is where things get real. No more mind games, no more sitting around. The real i is about to begin, and if you thought Ibiki’s test was hard, well...” She let the words hang in the air, the unspoken threat clear ione. “You ain’t seen nothi.”
Her eyes flicked over the group of partits, an uling smile still pstered on her face. She khe fear, the ay, the desperate desire to prove themselves. And she kly how to push those buttons. This sed phase wouldn’t be about intelligence alo would be about everything they had learned, and everything they would have to sacrifice to survive.
As Anko’s words sank in, a weight of realization began to settle on the room’s octs. The in Exams weren’t just a test of strength, speed, or intelligehey were a test of everything that made a ninja who they were. Kuro could see it in the eyes of the others—Xero’s smirk had shifted into something sharper, more focused; Reika’s calm had only deepened, her mind already moving ahead to what might e .
Kuro himself felt that familiar itch of excitement stir within him, the kind that he only got when faced with a challenge worth his time. This wasn’t just an exam; it was a battle for survival, ohat would force them to front their limits, push beyond them, and maybe, just maybe, ge who they were by the end of it.
As the tension thied, Ibiki stepped back, his gaze never leaving Anko. There was a shared uandiween them—ohat ran deeper than words. This wasn’t just a test of their skills. It was a test of their very essence, of their will to eo adapt, and to survive in a world that could be as brutal as it was beautiful.
Kuro’s smile didn’t fade, but his eyes darkened with uanding. “This is where it gets real, huh?” he murmured to himself. It wasn’t a question. It was a statement of fact. And with that, he turned his attention fully to Anko, ready for whatever twisted game she had in store for them .
---
As the partits began filing out of the room, following Anko’s eic lead, they were immediately greeted by the sight of a vast and intimidating ndscape. The doors to the exam hall swung open, and the dense air of the outside world enveloped them. A massive, foreboding forest stretched out before them, the trees t high into the sky, their thick, gnarled branches weaving together to form a nearly imperable opy. The shadows beh the trees were long and foreboding, casting an eerie gloom across the uneven, leaf-strewn ground. The very sight of it sent a chill down the spihe forest seemingly alive with untold dangers waiting to be discovered.
Anko, as though reveling in the partits' unease, gestured dramatically toward the dark expanse of trees with both arms wide, a wild gleam in her eyes. “Wele to the Forest of Death!” she announced, her voice carrying across the quiet murmur of the group, each word dripping with a mixture of excitement and malice.
Naruto, his face a mixture of determination and , gulped audibly. “Why does it have to be called that?” he asked, his voice strained as he eyed the thick woods before them. The bravado he had been wearing earlier now seemed to falter, repced by a nervous energy that made his stomach twist unfortably.
Anko’s grin widened, an almost predatleam fshing in her eyes. She stepped closer to Naruto, her voice dropping to a whisper. “You’ll find out soon enough,” she said, her words hanging in the air like a chilling promise, each sylble ced with dark amusement.
Kuro, who had been the se with a quiet smile, took in the ominous sery with a gaze that betrayed none of the hesitation or fear that gripped the others. Instead, his smile deepened, an air of quiet excitement emanating from him. “Now this,” he said softly, almost to himself, “is going to be fun.” His eyes sparkled with an eagerhat trasted starkly with the tense expressions around him.
Xero, gng sideways at Kuro, couldn’t help but chuckle, the ers of his mouth curving into a smirk. “You’re way too excited about this, how many time you said this,” he remarked, his tone dripping with both disbelief and amusement. He could see the dahe uainty, a Kuro ractically glowing with anticipation.
“Maybe,” Kuro replied with a pyful shrug, his tone light but tinged with a certain iy. “But this is where you use your full force Xero.” His gaze flicked briefly to the others—Reika, Xero, Naruto, and even Ino—taking in their varyiions.
