On the road to the Land of the Moon.
"Shikamaru, do you think this exam will be too easy if we just escort that prince back home?"
"It's not as simple as you think. The difficulty of pacifying the country later will definitely not be low. Also, Naruto, stay away from me!"
Shikamaru pushed away the approaching Naruto, his face full of annoyance. "We are competitors now."
"Don't be like that, Shikamaru. We can team up!"
Naruto hooked his arm around Shikamaru's shoulder, a signature dopey grin on his face.
"That's right, Shikamaru. The rules say we can use any means necessary, so teaming up is also allowed," Choji added.
Naruto excitedly said, "We can even trade information about Mikazukijima Island in the black market to lay the groundwork for future missions."
"Besides, any team that survives can enter the third round. There's no need for us to become enemies," Sakura also expressed her hope for an intelligent strategist like Shikamaru, which would make her feel very reassured.
"We also think we can team up for now." Six more people emerged from the woods.
"Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, you're all here!"
Naruto clenched his fist excitedly, "Our chances are even greater now."
"How come even you guys... Could it be!"
Shikamaru's eyes shifted slightly, and he then surveyed their surroundings. On the small path in the middle was a convoy of Prince Mikazuki's carriages, and in the surrounding woods, ninjas in different attire were leaping about, many already gathered in teams.
As expected, what Naruto could think of, others had already started implementing. No wonder even Neji had come to find them.
With sixty teams, they only had four here. The difficulty was a bit high!
Shikamaru scratched his head with a troubled expression and said, "Alright, let's temporarily form a twelve-person team. Do any of you have any information?"
Neji said, "I observed with my Byakugan. Most teams are heading towards the other four great ninja villages. However, several smaller ninja villages have gathered, seemingly led by a team from a village called the Sound Village."
"Sound Village? Aren't there any teams who want to join our Leaf Village?" Naruto pouted, feeling his village was losing face.
"Of course there are! Chickens!"
"What the heck! What kind of monsters are you!"
Three ninjas wearing chicken masks suddenly popped out from the grass next to Naruto, startling him so much that he immediately hugged the Sasuke beside him.
Sasuke's eyes were cold. "Take your hands off me!"
"Sorry, sorry, it was an instinctive reaction!"
Shikamaru stepped in front of the three, speaking in a deep voice, "Which ninja village are you from?"
"We are from the Chicken Village, chicken!"
"I'm Chicken Dai!"
"I'm Chicken Yon!"
"I'm Chicken Hachi!"
"We are the 'Scrawny Chicken Trio', our hobby is singing, and our specialty is running fast! Oh~ Chicken!"
A crow flew slowly overhead, cawing awkwardly.
Everyone's faces went dark. Were these three chickens here to perform?
Chicken Dai stepped forward and said, "Our Chicken Village greatly admires the Leaf Village. Especially us brothers, we really want to hold a concert in the Leaf Village, chicken!"
The other two chickens nodded continuously.
This left everyone speechless. Were they expected to listen to them clucking "ji ji ji" incessantly at a concert?
Neji asked, "Are you three skilled at concealing your presence? I didn't detect you just now."
Chicken Dai said proudly, "We three have practiced for two and a half years in our village. You can rest assured of our strength, chicken!"
"That's right! If we can't win, we'll run, chicken!"
Just as Shikamaru was about to say something, he saw Naruto step forward and curiously touch Chicken Dai's comb.
"Huh? Is this real or fake? It's so realistic!"
Chicken Dai blushed and slapped Naruto's hand away, saying shyly, "What are you doing~"
"Eww!"
Naruto felt goosebumps all over his body upon hearing that voice.
"Young man, in our clan, this is a sign of affection. Don't do that next time. I already have a favorite chicken in my heart."
Naruto disgustedly wiped his hand on Sasuke, an action that made Sasuke's eyelids twitch.
Had he not been beaten for a while, was Naruto getting restless again?
However, with many drones around, Sasuke suppressed the urge to act.
Suddenly, Lin Yu's voice came through the microphone on his collar.
"The Flower Ninja Village team from the Land of Flowers has lost combat capability and has been eliminated!"
"A team has been eliminated so quickly?"
The Leaf Twelve, present, were surprised. They hadn't felt any significant fluctuations, and there hadn't been an enemy attack.
Shikamaru said, "It must be that a major ninja village attacked a lone team. Only this can explain why they had no power to resist."
"It seems this first mission is to teach us how to cooperate as a team?" Rock Lee pondered.
Shikamaru shook his head. "Things are definitely not that simple."
Meanwhile, inside the Leaf Village's Duelling Arena, three large screens displayed multiple images, recording everyone's actions.
"The Hidden Cloud Village has started making its move? They eliminated a team so quickly, their strength is truly formidable!" someone exclaimed, watching the screen.
Killer Bee was confident in the strength of his three disciples, believing they would advance to the third round of the Chunin Exams. At this moment, all his attention was focused on the footage of the Leaf Village.
More accurately, on the three chicken ninjas.
"Yo! Didn't expect any ninjas to be interested in singing, but they're still too green. Next time I have a concert, I'll invite them to be my backup dancers, just me, an elder, mentoring the youth!"
Killer Bee seemed to be already thinking about his next concert, showing no interest in the current Chunin Exams.
Soon, the screen displayed several more lone teams being eliminated, as the weak never had the right to choose.
Lin Yu, seeing that the situation was progressing, said into the intercom, "You can proceed with the next phase of the plan."
Black Zetsu, far from the Leaf Village, replied respectfully into the intercom, "Received, boss."
"You, and you too, be sharp and hurry up and complete the mission!"
Black Zetsu arrogantly ordered several White Zetsu clones in front of him. He had finally managed to get away from Tobi for a few days, so of course, he had to act like a big brother!
And the White Zetsu following the team, not just these few, Lin Yu had deployed a thousand White Zetsu clones underground behind all sixty teams to ensure clear transmission of the combat footage to the Duelling Arena. Each of them held a camera, ready to sacrifice themselves for the audience.
"What! Is the information reliable? Okay, I got it."
Atsui ran up to Karui and said, "We've received intel from the Land of the Moon. Ministers led by Sabataba have gathered a group of rogue ninjas and occupied the country. The rogue ninjas are about Chunin level."
"Is the news confirmed?"
"Confirmed. It's an informant of ours in the black market. Their aura and chakra are correct."
Karui's eyes lit up. "Chunin level, and among rogue ninjas? Aren't they easily dealt with?"
Omoi reminded her, "Be careful. We barely passed the last exam. I have a feeling there's a trap in this Chunin Exam."
Karui hesitated. Although she had a fiery temper, she was still cautious...
"Beep beep beep..." After a burst of static, Lin Yu's voice came through the microphones on everyone's bodies again.
"Hello, all candidates. To provide you with greater motivation, our Prince Mikazuki has decided to offer an additional five hundred million ryo to the first team that helps him pacify the country. And as the chief examiner for this stage, I have also had a friendly exchange with the chief examiner for the third stage."
"We have decided to grant the winner of the second stage the opportunity to choose their opponent in the third stage!"
Boom!
As this was announced, all the teams' eyes turned red. They didn't have much chance to win the ten billion ryo prize for the overall championship, but the winner of the second stage would also receive five hundred million ryo. This was like pie falling from the sky.
News of the Land of the Moon was also spreading among the various teams. The smaller ninja villages that had initially planned to rely on the five great ninja villages suddenly became restless.
They were just a few rogue ninjas, and they could help Prince Mikazuki restore his country themselves, so why rely on the great ninja villages?
The teams that had just formed were instantly thrown into turmoil, on the verge of disbanding.
And on the Leaf Village's side, they also received the news. Coincidentally, just as Shikamaru was halfway through his sentence, Lin Yu delivered such earth-shattering news.
"Since your Chicken Village excels in speed and stealth, then join us..."
Swish!
The three chicken ninjas instantly bolted. Why would they join now? They could deal with a few rogue ninjas themselves.
"Charge, chicken!"
The three from the Chicken Village breaking away from the main group seemed to be a signal, immediately igniting the thoughts in the hearts of other teams.
"Just a few rogue ninjas, what's there to be afraid of!"
"Charge! First come, first served!"
At this point, who cared about teamwork or being ambushed? Whoever reached the Land of the Moon first and eliminated the rogue ninjas would be the winner.
It was like a rabbit and a tiger stepping on ants. Either of them could crush an ant with a single step, so why would the rabbit seek the tiger's protection?