After talking and taking care of themselves for several minutes, the atmosphere around the area suddenly turned strange, and everyone kept an eye out for each other.
After they take rest from the fight they had with Orochimaru, the Leaf Genins remember that they are still in the middle of the Chunin Exams and the other teams are their competitors.
This also does not include the fact that they didn't know if other parties had already successfully stolen another scroll or not and also the fact that the other team had the necessary scroll they desired.
Naruto landed on the forest ground, attracting everyone's attention, and he slowly walked towards Satsuki and Hinata, who were already near each other.
Satsuki stared at Naruto with grievance in her eyes. How could she not feel it since throughout the entire ordeal Naruto didn't make a move to help them fight against Orochimaru despite having the strength to do so?
Satsuki believes that with Naruto's help, they were able to deal with Orochimaru in a short period of time, especially because while Orochimaru is strong, Naruto is the strongest.
Naruto noticed Satsuki's grievance, but he didn't care about it and acted obliviously.
The moment he got close to Satsuki and Hinata, Naruto calmly said, ignoring the stares of others.
"Are you two ready to leave?" Naruto asks in an indifferent manner.
"Yes," Hinata nods while Satsuki remains silent for a few moments before begrudgingly nods.
"Then let's not waste time and go," Naruto said and jumped to the tree branches, which Hinata and Satsuki followed.
Kaori, Sasuke, Karin, and Hikari are slightly surprised seeing the Team 13 moves but quickly focus on their own since they are still deadlocked with each other.
Keimei, on the other hand, is in her deep thoughts. She was still unable to decipher the hidden meaning behind Naruto and Orochimaru's actions, but she had a feeling it was related to the higher-ups of the village.
Just as she was about to think of various higher-ups in the village, a thought suddenly appeared in her mind.
"...How can I be this stupid?" Keimei cursed quietly.
The answer was so obvious that it was right in front of her this entire time, yet she didn't notice quickly.
'The one who attracts both Naruto's and Orochimaru's attention is none other tha—'
Before this thought fully completed, Keimei and others heard a footstep attracting their attention and making others on guard.
The one who suddenly appeared is none other than Minato, the Fourth Hokage of the Leaf.
"Bold of you to transform yourself into the Hokage," Kaori said while frowning and taking a kunai from her weapon pouch.
"It's not a Transformation Jutsu," Sasuke corrects, his Sharingan activating. Kaori gasps, which is shared by Karin and Hikari.
Keimei, on the other hand, remained calm while staring at Minato. To get close to her without being noticed by Karin and her senses already proves that it was the real deal.
If it's an enemy ninja, they will all die without a shadow of a doubt.
"L-Lord Hokage," Kaori and others greet in unison with uncertainty as the man shows a small smile for a moment.
Minato's gaze slowly moved across the group before landing at Sasuke and Hikari. His blue eyes lingered on them for a brief moment as if confirming something to himself.
"It seems I arrived at the right moment. I managed to meet the two of you at the same time," Minato said calmly.
Inwardly, though, Minato was slightly disappointed by the fact that he didn't find Satsuki in the area and had to waste time searching for her.
Minato feared that by the time he found her it would be too late, which was something he didn't want, especially since it was related to his friend's children.
Minato snapped out of his thoughts, and his face transformed from gentle to serious immediately, causing pressure to the Genins.
"I have unfortunate news for both of you, Sasuke and Hikari. Your lives may currently be in danger," Minato said, pausing for a moment to let the information sink in for the Genins, especially the two teenagers.
"For safety reasons, I had to withdraw the two of you from the Chunin Exams, and since one of the requirements to pass this test is to complete it as a team, your team will also be unfortunately eliminated."
"Lord Hokage, I think we all know what you're talking about," Keimei suddenly chimed in, attracting Minato's attention.
Minato stared at Keimei, and Keimei met his gaze without even an ounce of fear.
"I believe what you are talking about is an attack from Orochimaru, and he already appeared in this area, but he left only a few minutes ago," Keimei calmly added.
Minato's expression immediately darkened, and a deep frown appeared on his face.
'So I was too late...'
Minato rushed in here the moment he received bad news, yet Orochimaru still managed to slip away.
Minato's attention refocused on Keimei.
"Tell me everything that happens," Minato said in an extremely serious tone.
Keimei nodded once and began explaining the events, and others also chimed in for confirmation.
While the Keimei and others explain what happens to Minato, Team 13, meanwhile, already arrives at the center of the Forest of Death and enters the tower, preparing to finish the test once and for all.
Of course along the way there are many teams that try to attack the group, but they are easily dealt with by Naruto, making Satsuki and Hinata focus on recovering their energy.
Moments after they entered, Team 13 stopped in their tracks as they read the message on the wall.
If qualities of heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher. If earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack. When heaven and earth are open together, this perilous path will become righteous forever. This something is the secret way that guides us from this place today.
"Guys, I think we have to open both scrolls at the same time," Hinata said while staring at her teammates, who haven't spoken another word.
Naruto brings out the two scrolls, unraveling both and immediately noticing the sealing formula and guessing what's going to happen, so without hesitation he throws the scrolls on the ground a meter away from the group.
A cloud of smoke suddenly appeared from the scrolls, and the moment the smoke vanished, it revealed a familiar figure.
"Iruka sensei!" Hinata greets in a slightly high voice.
"Great to see you guys," Iruka said with a smile.
"What are you doing here, Sensi?"
"I'm here to congratulate you on passing the second exam," Iruka explains.
Hinata is happy to have passed the test, while Satsuki retains the frown that's been on her face for a while now; Naruto has an indifferent expression as always.
"On the second day, you three got here pretty early," Iruka added while taking note of the fact that Satsuki and Hinata are currently disheveled while Naruto remains tidy.
Iruka thought that the reason for such a messy appearance of the two teenage girls was due to Naruto's lack of skills, so the two girls had to compensate for it.
"Allow me to explain the significance of the second exam," Iruka said, clearing his throat. Hinata sweats drops, Satsuki retaining her cold expression and Naruto his nonchalant one.
With Minato and others.
"So that's what happened," Minato whispers while thinking about Naruto's action.
What he feared became true. Naruto's inaction really shows to everyone the fact he doesn't care about his teammates or fellow Leaf ninjas.
It was clear that Naruto would only act if he wanted to, and no one could force him about it thanks to the fact that he was so incredibly strong that even a veteran Jonin might not be able to defeat him.
Still, he can't think for Naruto at this moment since some bigger problem arises. He still needed to keep an eye on Naruto, of course, but he had to make sure it was as discreet as possible.
"Even though Orochimaru flees right now, it doesn't mean that he will never come back. For safety reasons I had the five of you come with me so I—"
"Uncle Minato," Sasuke interrupts, referring to the village leader by an old familiar term. It will bring a smile on Minato's face on any other day but not today.
"Please let us complete the exam first. I'll do whatever you need after, but my teammates need to advance," Sasuke said, causing Kaori to stare at Sasuke in surprise.
"So do I," Hikari chimed in. "I don't want to be the reason why my teammates are unable to pass the Chunin Exams."
Minato stared at the two Uchiha before releasing a defeated sigh. Minato brings out two of his trademark kunai and throws them at the two Uchiha, who catch them in surprise.
"Infuse chakra and line it along the kunai if you run into any problems out of the ordinary," Minato said, emphasizing the last part of the sentence, earning a nod from Sasuke and Hikari.
"I'll still need to speak to all five of you later. Until then, you're not to say a word to anyone about what you've seen today," he orders.
In the blink of an eye, the man is gone without a trace again, Kaori casting a nervous glance at the Uchiha. He hadn't mentioned the mark on his neck once to the village leader. That might be a problem later.