Naruto: Flash Reborn — Minato’s Second Life

One night had passed, and the morning of the Forest of Death was just as gloomy as before, though thankfully not quite as cold and terrifying as it had been at night.

Over the past day, of the nearly three hundred participants in the Chakra Aptitude Test, no one could say for sure how many had already been eliminated.

No one knew exactly how much the participants had grown within those short twenty-odd hours...

They were all ninja, or future ninja. This was a step everyone would eventually have to take, a trial waiting for them in the future that would be far harsher.

After all, this was merely a test. Even if one failed, the only thing lost was eligibility. But out in a real mission or on the battlefield, what's on the line is far more valuable—your very life.

"You two haven't slept at all?" Satoshi Miyazaki was the first among the three to wake up. Being slightly older, his alertness exceeded that of Yu Akasaka and Rina Takeuchi.

Besides, who could sleep soundly in a place like this?

By the extinguished campfire, Minato and Kushina immediately turned around. Minato picked up a wild fruit he'd already prepared and tossed it to him.

"We've finished all the animals we caught yesterday. Now we can only eat this."

As Minato spoke, Satoshi instinctively let out an awkward chuckle. Kushina's cooking was truly excellent, so much that the group of kids had devoured several roasted hares.

Catching the fruit, Satoshi looked at Minato and said, "Thank you, Minato."

"For what?" Minato replied with a light smile.

Satoshi stretched out a hand to scratch his head. "I know to you and Kushina, we three are probably a burden. What you said earlier—it was meant to comfort us, right?"

"You're both geniuses, but different from the other prodigies I've met before."

The Hiashi who appeared before everyone last night was actually Satoshi's classmate, though the two seemed like complete strangers.

That's because in everyday class life, Satoshi couldn't even exchange a single word with him.

Gifted students from powerful backgrounds always seemed to carry an innate air of distance.

Yet from someone even more exceptional than that—Minato—he felt none of such aloofness at all.

This was the first time Kushina ever heard someone call her a genius, and she couldn't help feeling secretly delighted. Hearing this, Minato simply smiled faintly once again.

"Senpai Miyazaki, thank you for your compliment. But what I said earlier wasn't meant to comfort you..."

Minato fully covered the extinguished fire with dirt before speaking again, "Like I told everyone before entering, this Chakra Aptitude Test is inherently disadvantageous for students of the Ninja Academy. To pass, we must stick together... Besides, we're all comrades from Konoha. No one here is a burden!"

The sincerity in his eyes and words left Satoshi with absolutely no sense of falsehood.

It was a sincerity he'd never felt from anyone before.

"Good morning."

At this moment, Rina Takeuchi also woke up and greeted everyone.

Kushina walked over holding several wild fruits, and the two girls began chatting and eating together.

After a day of interaction yesterday, they had already become quite close friends.

Kushina looked genuinely happy. After all, despite having been in Konoha for over a year, Minato and Mikoto were the only ones she truly called her friends.

Later, Satoshi Miyazaki went and woke up Yu Akasaka. The five of them quickly had breakfast before departing from the location.

And so began the second day of the Chakra Aptitude Test...

Compared to the first day, Minato's team encountered fewer teams on the second day. Most of those they met were students from the Ninja Academy who had already been eliminated, usually gathered in small groups.

With the rule that even once eliminated you couldn't leave, surviving alone in the Forest of Death was nearly impossible, so they had no choice but to band together.

However, Minato's group didn't interact much with these eliminated contestants.

They almost always kept themselves hidden, for the same reason as on the first day: unnecessary conflicts needed to be avoided.

During this time, though, the five did run into two Genin traveling together who tried to ambush them. But they didn't stand a chance—they were quickly eliminated by Minato and Kushina.

They had never actually fought against any students from the Ninja Academy before. In fact, from the moment they entered until now, they hadn't met any contestants who hadn't already been eliminated.

Except, of course, Hiashi Hyuga on that first night.

Although the number of contestants was decreasing, human-made traps in the Forest of Death were becoming increasingly frequent. However, none of them could pull the wool over Minato's eyes.

During the one-year training under Master Jiraiya, a large part of it focused on spotting and countering ambushes from any direction. Compared to Jiraiya's tactics, these traps set by mere Genin were nothing to him.

As a result, the second day of the Chakra Aptitude Test went far more smoothly than the first. Yet even now, they still hadn't found any sign of Mikoto or word about her whereabouts.

Then came the third day...

The night had grown deep, but Minato and his two companions remained hidden, silently perched on tree branches.

This was because the Chakra Aptitude Test would end in just a few hours. Yet until now, they had no idea how many of the original three hundred contestants remained.

But the number must have been more than ten—Minato's group alone had five members.

Therefore, everyone was likely conducting tight searches throughout the Forest of Death, trying to eliminate the remaining contestants.

Yet those who managed to survive this long were either exceptionally strong or masters at concealing themselves.

According to the rules, the final ten survivors would pass. That means some people must've gone into hiding just to stay out of fights altogether.

Still... even though the Forest of Death was vast, it wasn't easy to remain completely untraceable.

The five of them stayed hidden all night. Hours passed, but no enemies showed up.

"Does this mean we made it?" Satoshi Miyazaki murmured.

Minato shook his head. "Not sure, but I can't shake the feeling... If you count us five, there are only ten left by now."

Nawaki Senpai and his teammates—Yan Uchiha, Mikoto, Hiashi Hyuga, and his younger brother Hizashi—were definitely not easy targets to eliminate.

And among the Genin, there might also be some formidable figures lurking around.

As the five of them sat in the dark, unsure if they'd passed, a sudden blur shot out in front of them.

"The test is over. You may all come out now."

The figure's speed was too fast; even Minato had barely managed to make out his appearance.

A man with white hair and an upright posture, carrying a tanto blade on his back...

Sakumo Hatake!

...

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