Team Renjiro entered the Forest of Death. After going in, Mieko asked, "So, where should we go?"

Hoka replied, "We moved around 8 kilometers from where we were instructed. And I noticed that the Nara-Yamanaka-Akimichi squad wasn't approached by any chunin instructor. So they should enter through the gate there. Let's make a move on them."

Fujin replied, "Alright, let's go."

On deciding, the three begin moving quickly towards the route between the spot where they had a meeting and the tower.

While moving, Fujin wondered, 'Nara-Yamanaha-Akimichi… The famous Ino-Shika-Chou combo. This fight should be interesting. I should be wary of the Yamanaka though. Don't want anyone in my head.

They looked to be around 14-15 years old. So they should have been together for 2-3 years, meaning that their teamwork should be good.

Now, how to fight? Other than sparring, in all fights that I have been in, I have fought purely to kill. And killing them would probably not be a good idea. Should I leave the fighting to these 2 and just provide long-range backup?'

He looked at Hoka and said, "Hoka, the Nara are known for their intelligence. Keep activating your Byakugan occasionally to see if there are any traps."

Hoka nodded. Fujin asked them, "Anyways, any thoughts on how to assault them?"

Mieko and Hoka too were thinking about how to approach this fight. Mieko said, "These 3 clans are known for their teamwork. So I can put Genjutsu on one of them, and completely disrupt their teamwork. As long as we can knock one member out, the other 2 will fall easily."

Hoka replied, "Yes, but we shouldn't leave ourselves open to the other 2 while knocking one out." He frowned and continued, "Both the Nara clan and Yamanaka clan jutsus are annoying. Especially to a Taijutsu master."

Fujin and Mieko both nodded. Fujin thought for a bit and said, "The Yamanaka clan are known for being sensors. So we may not have the surprise element. But I think the best way to start will be with a Fire-Wind combo jutsu from a range. It should catch them off guard even if they notice us. And if the attack causes them to split, then it'll be easier for us."

Hoka nodded and said, "Yeah, if they split up, then I can defeat the Akimichi easily."

Mieko said, "I can take on the Yamanaka. He won't get a chance to use his jutsus against me."

Fujin replied, "Alright, I can take on the Nara from a distance."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Hoka asked, "What if they don't split up?"

Mieko said, "Then we will just have to fight while keeping an eye on shadows and the Yamanaka. Should be easy for you. Fujin might have difficulty though."

Fujin replied, "Yeah. I could just stay back and provide you long-range support."

Hoka said, "No point in thinking so much, let's go and fight."

Mieko said, "Yeah, no matter what, we will win easily!"

After saying that, both smirked and looked ahead. Meanwhile, Fujin had a deadpan expression, 'Just because you can't think of a good strategy doesn't mean that you shouldn't think of one.'

While Team Renjiro was moving rapidly, the team they were moving towards was also strategizing. As soon as the exam began, they rushed around 1.5 km from their location. However, instead of taking the straight route to the tower, they moved diagonally into the forest and hid there. They took a lot of care in not leaving any tracks behind.

After finding a hiding location, they all hide there.

Yamanaka Kaoru said, "Now that we are hidden, what's the plan Minori?"

On hearing this, Nara Minori sighed. He looked up at the clouds wondering, 'Why do I have to take the Chunin exams? That too for the 3rd time! Can't I just stay a genin?'

Yamanaka Kaoru saw his teammate looking up at the clouds and said, "Well, other than sighing, do you have any other plans?"

Akimichi Yutaka said sorrowfully, "Last time we had a day's break in between the 1st and 2nd phase. That's why I didn't pack any lunch. I'm already hungry!"

Yamanaka Kaoru saw both his teammates ignoring him and acting childish. He immediately got annoyed and yelled, "Enough wailing! Focus on the exam! I don't want to fail the 3rd time!"

This attracted the attention of his teammates. Nara Minori sighed, 'If I ignore him any longer, he might take over my body and do shameful acts again.'

He said, "This time, only 8 teams have passed into the 2nd round. So we will likely not see any quick results. All teams are far away from each other. So finding anyone will be tough.

We should wait here and set up traps. When someone finds us, we will surprise and defeat them. As there are only 4 Earth scrolls, they will desperately look for us."

Yamanaka Kaoru replied, "That makes sense. However, what if someone passes the exams with an extra heaven scroll?"

Nara Minori replied, "Then we will just be unlucky."

Yamanaka Kaoru immediately had a deadpan expression. He made a hand seal. Nara Minori immediately spoke, "But if the opposite happens, then it'll give us even more opportunities."

Yamanaka Kaoru said, "Yeah, but that's not something we can control."

Nara Minori replied, "Yeah, but we aren't exactly the strongest squad. Sure our teamwork is good. But if we have to fight 2 squads one after another on neutral ground, we will lose badly.

Not to mention, 2 squads have Hyugas. And both had their Byakugan activated when the scrolls were being distributed. So we should expect at least one of them to find us if they need Earth scrolls."

The duo kept discussing strategy, while Yutaka kept thinking about how to arrange for food. After some time, Yamanaka Kaoru suddenly stopped talking. Seeing his expression, Akimichi Yutaka asked, "What happened?"

Yamanaka Kaoru replied, "I just sensed someone sensing us. Get ready." He sat down and began sensing around him too. Unfortunately, he couldn't sense anyone.

Nara Minori got serious too. He didn't expect to fight someone so quickly. He asked, "Which squad is it?"

Yamanaka Kaoru replied, "I can't sense them."

That made Nara Minori even more alert, "This means that their squad has a better sensor than you." He frowned, "But which squad would have a sensor with a range exceeding 500 meters?"