Breakfast consisted of the fruits they found in the Forest of Death. The place might be dangerous, but the fruit tasted surprisingly good. The trio continued wandering through the woods like jungle apes.
Suddenly, Asuma stepped onto a branch, and a loud whooshing sound came from above. He jumped back just in time as a swarm of leech-like creatures, about the same size as them, dropped down from above.
Clutching his chest in relief, Asuma said,
"Phew, that was close. I almost got hit! If one of those things latched onto me, I'd be nothing but skin and bones!"
Those leeches were massive—just one bite might be enough to kill someone.
"They're manageable... better than dealing with the wolf pack last night."
They had gone to great lengths to shake off the wolves. Those beasts could track their prey by scent with frightening accuracy.
"This isn't the first time either. The Forest of Death is nothing but trouble... full of dangerous creatures," said Kiyosuke, scanning the area. He didn't spot any pursuers, but there were plenty of hidden predators lurking nearby. Since nightfall, they'd barely slept, spending most of their time avoiding nocturnal hunters.
Even climbing up into the trees didn't help—there were pythons and other predators up there too.
They had spent the entire night fending off these creatures.
And whoever said tigers couldn't climb trees? The tiger they saw last night, all lean muscle and sinew, scrambled up the tree in a flash, clearly intent on eating them alive.
But in the end... well, now they had a tiger-skin rug.
"We need to find a place to rest and move at night instead," Kiyosuke said after thinking it over. "If there really are pursuers, we won't be able to run if we're exhausted."
"Hey, Kiyosuke, don't you know Summoning Jutsu? Maybe you can summon your snake to keep watch for us," Kurenai suggested.
Kiyosuke shook his head.
"That won't work. Summoning Jutsu has a time limit. The snake will disappear once the time is up—it can't stay here indefinitely."
"Oh... right."
"Let's deal with that later. First, we need a place to rest." Asuma pointed to a massive tree below.
"There's a hollow at the base—we can stay there."
"Sounds good."
Kiyosuke and Kurenai nodded. The three of them leapt down and approached the tree hollow. A musty smell wafted out. Inside, the air was damp, and scattered bones hinted at past inhabitants. The odor was strange and heavy.
Kiyosuke raised his hand and used fire to dry out the area, igniting the leaf litter and evaporating the moisture from the ground. The temperature in the hollow rose, but it was bearable in the cool morning air.
"Wind Style: Breakthrough!"
He blew out a gust of wind, dispersing the smoke and clearing away the dust.
Asuma stepped back out and soon returned with a pile of dry twigs and fallen leaves to camouflage and block the entrance.
With flames flickering in his palm, Kiyosuke lit up the hollow and said,
"Let's rest until noon. After that, we'll need to head out to find lunch. Also... what do we do about those supposed pursuers?"
"Do you really think there are pursuers?" Asuma asked, lying on the ground with his hands behind his head.
"Could it be that Shinku-sensei just made that up to scare us?"
"If it's my dad we're talking about—if he says there are pursuers, then there are," Kurenai replied after some thought.
"But we've done a good job hiding our tracks and even created a few fake ones to throw people off. It shouldn't be easy to find us."
"Either way, let's not dwell on it. If someone comes, we'll deal with it then. For now, we rest."
"Yeah."
"I'm beat... I'm sleeping first."
...
Meanwhile, on Shinku's end, he still hadn't found the three brats. In the end, he had to rely on sheer manpower to search for their traces.
They had vanished without a trace—neither dead nor alive—just gone.
Their counter-tracking skills left him speechless. He was honestly embarrassed!
Over the next two days, Kiyosuke and the others continued roaming the forest, carefully avoiding detection. They gave Shinku no opportunity to catch up. Despite being a full-fledged jōnin, Shinku couldn't even locate his students.
Two days later, the trio finally emerged from the Forest of Death. They were completely worn out and filthy. Even Kurenai, who was normally meticulous about cleanliness, was covered in grime. As for Asuma and Kiyosuke—they were a mess of blood, dirt, and leaves tangled in their hair.
Shinku fell silent for a moment. He hadn't caught them... but judging by their condition, it didn't look like they had an easy time either.
"What... what happened to you three?"
"Three days!" Kiyosuke burst out. "Shinku-sensei, do you even know what we've been through these past three days?"
"W-what happened?" Shinku asked.
"We're filthy!" said Kurenai.
"We barely ate!" added Kiyosuke.
"We hardly slept!" Asuma chimed in.
Shinku put on a stern face.
"That's life in the field. You have to remember this experience. When you're on missions in the future, you might face even worse situations. Do you understand?"
"Yes..." the three groaned in unison.
Kiyosuke narrowed his eyes. "So, Shinku-sensei, where are these so-called pursuers?"
Shinku coughed awkwardly. "Ah... well... there weren't any. I just said that to scare you."
If they found out he'd completely lost their trail, he'd never live it down in front of them.
Better to keep that part to himself.
Kurenai glared at him. "Dad... I can't believe you lied. You always act so honest, and now this? I'm disappointed in you."
"Kurenai! As a genjutsu-type ninja, you shouldn't be so quick to judge based on appearances. Haven't I taught you not to be deceived by the surface of things?"
You're one to talk, you fraud...
Kiyosuke said, "Didn't expect someone like you, Shinku-sensei, all straight-laced and serious, to actually lie."
"Ahem."
"Yeah, yeah, my dad always said you were a hardworking and honest shinobi!" Asuma added.
Shinku coughed even harder.
No way he could admit the truth. Not if he wanted to preserve his image.
Putting on a stern expression, he declared,
"This was a training exercise. Judging by how seriously you took my words... I'd say you did very well."
The three of them wanted to punch someone.
If they had known there were no real pursuers, they could've just holed up in that tree hollow for three days and taken it easy.
What a scam!
"Alright, exercise over. Go get some rest. Also, the Chūnin Exams will begin soon. You'd better prepare yourselves. Don't underestimate them."
"Yes, sir!"
"Okay, head home and get some rest."
"I'm going to shower first!" Kurenai said.
"Kiyosuke, I'm coming to your place to soak in the hot spring," said Asuma.
"Sure, why not?"
Kurenai looked over enviously. She wanted to join too, but the idea of bathing at Kiyosuke's house... not happening.
"No, wait," Kiyosuke said. "Let's go to the public hot springs in Konoha. They've got plenty of space. Kurenai can use the women's side."
"Then I'll go home and grab some clothes!"
Shinku said, "In that case, I'll treat you all to a nice soak."
The three of them blinked... then stared at him.
"And a big meal too!"
"Yesss!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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