The genin rushed in as soon as the gates opened, each team sticking together and immediately beginning their search for the clowns. Some moved cautiously, while others sprinted ahead, eager to start collecting badges.
Satoru, Kaito, and Chosuke reached a massive tree and decided to stop for a moment. Satoru glanced at his teammates. "Do either of you know any sensory techniques?"
Chosuke raised an eyebrow. "What for?"
"At night, people might try to ambush us—either to eliminate us or steal our badges, maybe both," Satoru explained. "Sensory techniques will also help us track the clowns more efficiently."
Kaito hesitated before nodding. "I know one, but it's crude and easy to confuse."
Satoru turned to him. "What does it do?"
Kaito crouched down and placed his palm on the ground. "I send out a wave of heat at a specific temperature. When the wave returns, it reveals the location of everything hotter than the wave itself. The colder I make the wave, the more detailed and accurate the information… but it's hard for me to control."
Satoru considered it before nodding. "Alright. I know the Chakra Pulse Sensing technique. We'll take turns for surveillance while Chosuke acts as a guard."
With their plan in place, they decided to begin their search for the clowns while there was still daylight left.
Satoru placed his hand on the ground and sent a pulse of chakra outward. The pulse spread rapidly in all directions, then returned, bringing back information. He sensed movement to the north.
"There's something moving that way," Satoru said, standing up.
The team followed him, moving carefully through the dense foliage. After a short distance, they found a footprint in the dirt. Chosuke knelt down, inspecting it. "It's fresh."
They continued tracking the footprints, their movements cautious but swift. Eventually, they spotted something unusual—a figure dressed in bright, colorful clothes, playing tag with a rabbit.
"That's… a clown?" Kaito muttered in disbelief.
The clown laughed as it chased the rabbit in circles, completely oblivious to their presence.
Kaito stepped forward. "I challenge you!"
The clown stopped mid-step and turned toward him, grinning. "Have you challenged any other clown yet?"
Kaito shook his head.
The clown's smile widened. "Then I accept."
The clown giggled, twirling a kunai between his fingers. "Alright, listen up! I placed a jutsu on that rabbit so it can't go too far from me." He pointed at the small creature twitching its nose near his feet. "Your goal is simple—catch the rabbit without harming it. You have 30 minutes. Fail, and you lose the challenge… permanently."
Kaito stiffened. If he lost, he wouldn't be able to challenge another clown, leaving his team at a disadvantage for the rest of the exam. He clenched his fists. 'No room for failure.'
Before he could think further, the clown blew a whistle.
The rabbit bolted.
Kaito reacted immediately, dashing after it. The dense jungle, uneven terrain, and scattered roots made pursuit difficult, but he adapted quickly. He had trained under Shinichi-sensei in forests like these, sparring in rough environments to sharpen his movement and footwork.
The rabbit zigzagged unpredictably, leaping over logs and darting between bushes, making Kaito struggle to maintain his speed without crashing. Then, an idea struck him.
Instead of running, he started hopping.
By mimicking the rabbit's movements, he could anticipate its jumps and shifts in direction. He focused on its patterns, noting the small signs it gave before changing course.
Minutes passed, and Kaito got close several times, only for the rabbit to narrowly escape each attempt. Frustrated, he created a shadow clone to help. However, the rabbit used his own tactics against him, maneuvering in ways that made Kaito crash into his clone, losing valuable time.
His sharp eyes caught something—right before every jump, the rabbit flicked its left leg if it was about to go right, and its right leg if it was about to go left.
And… it avoided wet surfaces.
With a smirk, Kaito splashed water onto a section of the ground, subtly redirecting the rabbit's movement. Then, as the rabbit leaped over a log, his shadow clone was already in position.
Snap!
The clone grabbed the rabbit mid-air.
Kaito smirked as he took the rabbit from his clone's hands and walked back to the clown, his teammates watching with anticipation.
The clown glanced at the timer, then grinned. "Thirteen minutes! Not bad at all!" He flicked a badge toward Kaito, where his name glowed faintly.
"Congratulations. You earned it."
Kaito handed the badge to Chosuke. "You're the toughest among us, so you should hold onto the badges."
Chosuke took it with a nod, slipping it into his pouch.
Kaito turned to Satoru. "Should we look for another clown or start preparing for the night?"
Satoru crossed his arms. "We can multitask. Shadow clones can handle setting up camp while we go for one more badge. If we're lucky, we'll find another clown before dark."
Kaito nodded and was about to activate his sensory jutsu when the clown suddenly interrupted.
"You won't find the other clowns the same way you found me," the clown said, still giggling.
Kaito frowned. "What do you mean?"
The clown tilted his head. "You followed footprints, right?"
"Yeah," Kaito confirmed.
The clown clapped his hands. "Each clown has a unique way to be tracked. No two can be found using the same method. If you think you can just follow footprints again, you'll waste a lot of time."
Satoru narrowed his eyes. "And what exactly does that mean?"
Instead of answering, the clown tossed a smoke bomb at the ground, creating a thick red cloud.
Kaito instinctively stepped forward to chase, but Satoru grabbed his arm. "Don't. That smoke is bright red—it'll attract attention. We need to move before someone else shows up."
Kaito clicked his tongue but nodded.
Activating his sensory jutsu, he scanned the area. "Nothing within 200 meters."
Satoru raised an eyebrow. "Your range is 200 meters?"
"Yeah, why?"
"My chakra pulse only reaches 100 meters," Satoru admitted.
Chosuke whistled. "Guess we know who's on scouting duty from now on."
With that, the team continued moving north, keeping an eye out for both clowns and potential threats. By the time night fell, they had managed to find one more clown.
The night sky shimmered with countless stars, casting a dim glow over the campsite. Chosuke sat by the small shelter he had made using Earth Style, watching as Kaito prepared food. The scent of roasted fish and rice filled the air.
Chosuke furrowed his brows. "Why are we feeding the clown?"
Kaito sighed. "Ask Satoru. It was his idea."
A few minutes earlier—
The team had stumbled upon a clown in the middle of a bizarre workout routine—doing push-ups while balancing on his fingertips and making exaggerated grunting noises. Chosuke couldn't help but chuckle.
Satoru stepped forward. "I challenge you."
The clown stopped mid-push-up, twisting his head unnaturally to look at Satoru while flexing his muscles. "A challenge, huh?" He hopped up, striking a ridiculous pose. "We'll have a taijutsu match. First to land three consecutive hits wins! But be warned—chakra enhancement and any supportive jutsu are forbidden. Pure skill only!"
Satoru opened his mouth to reply, but then—
Grrrrrrr!
A loud stomach growl interrupted him.
Satoru turned to see Chosuke looking away, face red. Kaito chuckled, but then froze when Satoru's eyes met his.
A knowing look passed between them.
Satoru turned back to the clown. "I accept—but since it's getting late, why don't you join us for dinner first?"
The clown narrowed his eyes. "Trying to bribe me for an advantage?"
Satoru smirked. "I won't need special treatment."
The clown tilted his head, then shrugged. "Fine. But don't expect me to go easy on you after I'm full!"
Back at camp, Kaito stirred the pot of rice while Chosuke kept glancing at the clown, still unsure what Satoru was up to.
Satoru took one serving and handed the other to the clown while smiling mischievously. The clown squinted at him, clearly suspicious.
"Switch bowls with me, i dont trust you." the clown demanded.
Satoru sighed dramatically but complied, handing over his plate while taking the other. The team and the clown then began eating, with the tension momentarily easing.
After dinner, the clown stretched, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck. "Alright, time to fight!" He grinned, bouncing on his heels.
Satoru pulled out a pocket watch, glancing at it briefly before handing it to Chosuke. "Remind me when it's ten seconds before two minutes."
The fight began.
The clown lunged forward with a fast jab, but Satoru deflected it with his forearm, shifting to the side. The clown spun, aiming a backhanded strike, but Satoru ducked and countered with a sharp elbow. The clown barely dodged, his grin widening.
"You're quick!" he laughed, retaliating with a sweeping kick. Satoru leaped over it, flipping mid-air, and landed gracefully.
The two exchanged rapid blows—punches, elbows, and kicks clashing in a precise rhythm. The clown fought unpredictably, his movements erratic and tricky, while Satoru remained calculated, blocking and countering with precision.
The clown feinted a low strike before suddenly shifting his weight and swinging a fist toward Satoru's face. Satoru leaned back, narrowly avoiding the blow, then spun into a roundhouse kick. The clown ducked, but Satoru transitioned into a knee strike. The clown barely dodged, stepping back with a chuckle.
"Ten seconds left!" Chosuke called.
Satoru smirked. He feinted a punch, causing the clown to raise his arms, then pivoted sharply and drove a precise spinning back kick into the clown's temple—at exactly the two-minute mark.
The clown staggered, blinking rapidly before collapsing unconscious.
An Anbu landed beside them. "Poisoning your opponent? That's an automatic disqualification."
Satoru raised an eyebrow. "Poison? I just kicked him."
The Anbu crossed his arms. "I saw you slip powder into his food and time your attack perfectly."
Satoru smiled, pulling out a small pouch. "Sleeping pills aren't poison. No rules broken."
The Anbu chuckled. "Haven't met a schemer like you since the First Great Ninja War." He stepped back and vanished.
Satoru shook the clown awake. "You passed out after I kicked you."
The confused clown didnt know what had happened and just believed what satoeu said. The clown handed over the badge with Satoru's name added to it and turned to leave, but Satoru held out a packed meal. "Eat when you're hungry."
The clown stared at him and thought, 'Such a kind kid, if only I wasn't being observed by that anbu, I could've killed him easily!' before quietly accepting it and disappearing into the trees.
After the clown left, Chosuke turned to Satoru, his expression a mix of curiosity and disapproval. "Why didn't you fight him fairly? What was the whole point of the poison trick?"
Satoru didn't look up as he began attaching chakra strings to the surrounding trees. The strings glowed faintly in the moonlight as he expanded his electric fence technique—this time on a much larger scale than when he used it with Reiko.
"Those clowns aren't just random people," Satoru replied, his tone casual. "They're death row inmates. They work as clowns here to reduce their sentences or even get a pardon from the Hokage."
Chosuke frowned. "And how do you know that?"
Satoru continued securing the strings. "Danzo brings in prisoners—especially those with life sentences—to work in this forest during the Chunin Exams and other practical tests. That way, if accidents happen, there's no real loss to the village. Those clowns are either criminals or rogue shinobi with their chakra sealed away. Even with their chakra sealed away, they are still dangerous and it was better to poison that clown instead of getting injured and become a liability."
Chosuke fell silent, recalling how different the two clowns they had met so far had been. The first had been playful, almost childlike, while the second had been more serious and grumpy. Now, knowing what Satoru just revealed, it all made a strange kind of sense.
Before he could dwell on it further, Kaito's voice cut in. "Go to sleep, Chosuke. We've got a long day ahead."
Kaito settled into his sleeping mat and quickly dozed off, but Chosuke, still restless, turned back to Satoru. "How long until the electric fence is done?"
"Two minutes," Satoru answered.