Sasori had sohow eliminated its scent, making it nearly impossible to track.
Black Cat had to remain constantly vigilant to avoid being ambushed.
Fortunately, they had obtained two headbands.
Now all that remained was finding the exit.
The information should be inscribed sowhere in the forest.
But with such a vast forest, where would they even begin to look for a marked spot?
'It's like searching for a needle in a haystack!'
'Looks like we'll need to find soone to interrogate...'
Few iron n could withstand Black Cat's claws.
His interrogation thods were certified, even earning a thumbs-up from Minato.
Plus, he could earn so extra Points for his trouble.
After searching further, they discovered two more corpses.
The sa grueso fate.
Obito was terrified.
Raj had warned them earlier that Sasori was observing them from the shadows.
If Raj hadn't discovered and driven him off, Obito would now be lying among the corpses on the ground.
"We... we should run! I feel... I feel..."
"We need to inform the examiners and teachers," Rin said, taking a deep breath.
Her gaze swept over Obito, Guy, and Raj before settling on Raj.
"Raj, would you mind going?"
As a non-participant, Raj could climb the mountain without penalty.
Moreover, if danger arose here, Rin could use her Summoning Technique to call Raj back.
It was the optimal solution.
Raj understood this, but it was worried.
If even it couldn't track Sasori's movents, how could these three possibly evade an ambush?
Therefore, they needed to find a Hyuga ninja.
The Hyuga Clan had dispatched three ninjas.
Finding any one of them would suffice, as the Byakugan's capabilities were largely uniform.
The problem was the vastness of the forest and the potential for Sasori's poison traps.
While Sasori's primary target was Kekkei Genkai users, he was a madman.
Who could predict what a madman might do?
At least, Raj couldn't guess.
Fortunately, the traps could be disard by "slling" them out.
After a mont's thought, Raj shared his plan with the group, and it quickly gained unanimous approval.
First, they would find the Hyuga Clan mbers.
Then, Raj would notify Orochimaru and Ebizo.
Unbeknownst to them, a small snake was already slithering up a corpse behind them, its eyes fixed on the body for several seconds.
On the mountaintop, Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly, and a cold smile curled his lips.
'Sasori of the Sunagakure... Intriguing.'
He wondered if Ebizo knew what Sasori was doing beneath them.
Deciding to observe further, Orochimaru thought that if he could use this situation to trick Sunagakure, all the better.
Raj had little acquaintance with the Hyuga Clan ninja, having never interacted with them before, so he didn't recognize their scent.
This significantly complicated the search.
However, while they failed to locate the Hyuga Clan ninja, they soon stumbled upon another murder scene.
Previously, most of the victims had been from small ninja villages, but this ti was different.
Two Konoha ninja lay dead, their corpses bearing the sa grueso marks as the previous victims.
Guy imdiately rushed over, flipped the bodies over, and examined them closely, as if trying to identify the deceased.
"Do you recognize them?"
Obito and Rin eagerly rushed over to ask about the situation, but Raj knew it was a futile effort.
If Guy could recognize these faces, he'd eat this entire tree!
Guy pondered for a mont, then shook his head.
"No, I have absolutely no recollection of them. Are they really Konoha ninja?"
Rin was speechless.
After observing him for a while, she realized Guy genuinely had this peculiar flaw - perhaps a form of prosopagnosia?
Since Guy was useless, she crouched down to carefully examine the two ninja's faces.
They looked vaguely familiar.
Obito stared for a few seconds, his face growing paler by the mont.
Sweat broke out on his forehead as he trembled, reaching for Rin's hand, but Raj swatted it away with a paw.
"ow~ Spit it out!"
"Th-they're... they're teammates of my clan!" Obito's teeth chattered uncontrollably.
If Sasori had wiped out an entire Special Jonin squad, what would have happened if he'd attacked them?
The consequences were unimaginable!
He feared death, but he feared even more for Rin and everyone else.
"Special Jonin!" Rin gasped, her face draining of color.
Guy, standing beside her, dared not act cocky.
The enemy's power was truly terrifying; even if they fought with all their might, they likely wouldn't be able to inflict any damage.
But the most terrifying thing was...
"Wait, the bodies are still warm! Be careful!"
At that mont, Raj sensed an imminent danger.
He imdiately channeled Chakra to enlarge his tail and rapidly grow his fur, enveloping himself and the three humans in a protective barrier.
The dense mass of cat fur ford a massive shield, ready to withstand any incoming attacks.
Raj felt a series of light, continuous touches on his fur.
The hidden weapons hadn't breached his defenses.
Unwilling to deactivate his Ninjutsu, he opened a narrow slit to observe his surroundings.
He spotted Sasori standing in a tree nearby.
"Your abilities are truly diverse! Beco part of my collection, and I shall grant you eternal life!"
The lodramatic declaration echoed through the air.
Raj warily scanned his surroundings.
Only after the ominous premonition that had made his feline heart race vanished did he deactivate his Ninjutsu, causing a shower of fine needles to clatter to the ground.
Raj stepped forward, positioning itself protectively in front of Raj, its eyes fixed on Sasori.
"Phew, good thing we summoned back in ti," Rin said, cradling Raj with concern.
To ensure Sasori wouldn't catch up, she had run far before performing the Summoning Technique, which took so ti.
Fortunately, after checking Raj, she confird he was unhard, with no injuries - except for this sll...
"What sll?"
"It might be so kind of poison mist Sasori used. I think we should be cautious," Guy and Obito chid in, playing off each other's concerns.
Raj, having been summoned back unconscious and relaxed, would have jumped up and slapped them both if he were awake.
"Stop overreacting. It's not poison... Sasori doesn't seem to be chasing us," Rin said.
Rin ran a few steps, then glanced back curiously.
Sasori wasn't pursuing them; in fact, he was getting further away.
Just then, a snake slithered down from a tree.
Guy nearly kicked it, but Obito stopped him as the snake began to speak.
"You've done well. Leave the rest to us. Follow the path to the exit and complete the second exam as planned."
"Orochimaru!"
Guy was startled and imdiately stood at attention, answering in unison with Rin and Obito, "Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
"Good. Keep up the good work. I'll be waiting for you at the Third Exam site."
With that, the snake spat out a scroll.
The scroll was a map to the Third Exam site, still coated in slimy snake fluid that made it utterly repulsive.
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