For breakfast, they ate the fruits from the Forest of Death. Although this place was dangerous, the fruits tasted quite good. The three of them continued to swing through the forest like Tarzan.
Suddenly, as Asuma stepped on a tree, a gust of wind whistled above his head. He quickly jumped away, and a group of Konoha leeches, almost as tall as them, dropped down. Asuma patted his chest in relief and said, "Thank goodness. I almost got attacked. If it took a bite out of me, I'd be nothing but skin and bones, right?"
Such large leeches could probably suck a person dry with one bite.
"It's not too bad. They're easier to deal with than wolves."
Last night, they had spent quite some time trying to evade the wolves. The wolves could track the scent of their prey, and their noses were extremely sharp.
"This isn't the first time. The Forest of Death is really troublesome, filled with dangerous animals." Seisuke looked around. He didn't spot the tracker, but there were indeed many hidden predators. Besides getting a short sleep at the beginning of the night, they had been constantly evading the nocturnal predators.
Escaping to the trees didn't help much either, as there were pythons and other tree - dwelling predators.
They had been facing these creatures all night.
And who said tigers couldn't climb trees? Last night, that muscular tiger climbed up the tree in a flash, trying to eat them.
The result... well, a tiger - skin rug!
"No, we need to find a place to rest and be active at night. Otherwise, if there really is a tracker, we won't have the strength to escape." Seisuke thought for a while and said.
"By the way, Seisuke, don't you know the Summoning Jutsu? You can ask a big snake to keep watch for us." Kurenai suggested.
Seisuke shook his head and said, "No, the Summoning Jutsu has a time limit. The summoned big snake will return once the time is up and can't stay here."
"Okay."
"Let's not talk about this for now. Let's find a tree hole to rest in first." Asuma pointed to a big tree below and said, "There's a tree hole down there. We can go there."
"Alright."
Seisuke and Kurenai nodded. The three of them jumped down from the tree and came to the entrance of the tree hole. A musty smell wafted out. When they entered, they found it was very damp, with some animal bones and a strange odor.
Seisuke spread his hands and used fire to roast the ground, lighting the leaves on the ground and evaporating the moisture to make the place dry. The temperature inside rose, but it was still bearable on this cool morning.
"Wind Release: Breakthrough!"
He blew out a gust of wind to disperse the smoke inside and blow the ashes on the ground out.
Asuma walked out of the cave entrance. Not long after, he dragged back a pile of dry firewood and fallen leaves to block and camouflage the entrance.
With a flame burning in his hand, lighting up the tree hole, Seisuke said, "We'll probably rest until noon, and then we have to go out to find lunch. Also, what about the tracker?"
"Is there really a tracker?" Asuma lay on the ground with his hands behind his head and said, "Could Teacher Shinku be lying to us?"
"Based on Dad's personality, if he said there is one, then there is." Kurenai thought for a while and said, "However, we've hidden our tracks all the way and made a lot of false tracks to mislead. It should be very difficult to find us."
"Yeah, let's not talk about it. We'll deal with whatever comes our way. Let's sleep first."
"Okay."
"Alright, I'm exhausted. I'm going to sleep first."
......
As for Yuhi Shinku, since he couldn't find the three little ones, he had to resort to a man - power - intensive search to look for their whereabouts.
He was in a state where he couldn't find them, neither alive nor dead.
Their anti - reconnaissance ability was really embarrassing for him. What a shame!
Over the next two days, Seisuke and the other two wandered around the forest, not giving Yuhi Shinku a chance to find them. Yuhi Shinku, a respected jonin, couldn't locate them.
Two days later, the three of them emerged from the Forest of Death again, exhausted and dirty. Even Kurenai, who loved to be clean, was covered in dirt, not to mention Asuma and Seisuke. They were covered in dust and blood, with fallen leaves stuck in their hair.
Yuhi Shinku was silent for a moment. Although he hadn't caught up with them, it seemed... their days hadn't been easy either.
"You... What happened to you?"
"Three days!" Seisuke suddenly said, "Teacher Shinku, do you know how we spent these three days?"
"How... How did you spend them?" Yuhi Shinku asked.
"Dirty!" Kurenai.
"Starving!" Seisuke.
"Sleepless!" Asuma.
Yuhi Shinku put on a serious face. "This is the life in the wild. You should remember this experience. Keep in mind that when you go on missions in the future and encounter harsh environments, you might face even more dangerous situations. Do you understand?"
"Understood."
The three replied feebly.
Seisuke asked, "Teacher Shinku, what about the tracker you mentioned?"
Hearing this, Yuhi Shinku coughed and said, "Well, actually, there was no tracker. I just wanted to scare you."
If they knew he had lost their trail, he'd never be able to hold his head up in front of these kids.
Better not say it.
Kurenai said resentfully, "Dad, I never thought you, who seem so honest, would lie. I really misjudged you."
"Kurenai! As an illusion - type ninja, you shouldn't judge me based on your assumptions. Remember what I told you? Don't be deceived by the surface of things."
You're like Master Feng Qingyang!
Seisuke said, "I never thought Teacher Shinku, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, would also deceive us."
"Cough! Cough!"
"Yeah, my old man said Teacher Shinku is a good ninja who does things seriously and treats people honestly." Asuma nodded.
Yuhi Shinku coughed even harder.
No, I can't say it. For the sake of my future image.
He put on a stern face. "This was an exercise. Looking at you, well, it's very good. You've taken my words to heart."
Upon hearing this, Seisuke and the other two felt like hitting him. If they had known there was no tracker, they wouldn't have wasted their energy running around. They could have just stayed comfortably in that tree hole for three days.
What a rip - off!
"Okay, the exercise is over. Go back and have a good rest. Also, the Chunin Exams will start in a while. You need to prepare well during this period. Don't be 轻敌大意 (underestimate your opponents)."
"Yes!"
"Alright, go back and rest."
"I'm going back to take a bath!" Kurenai said.
"Seisuke, I want to go to your place to soak in the hot spring." Asuma said.
"Sure."
Kurenai looked at them enviously. She also wanted to soak in the hot spring, but soaking in the hot spring at Seisuke's place was out of the question.
"No, let's go to the hot - spring street in Konoha. It's big enough, and Kurenai can soak in the women's bath."
"Then I'll go home to get my clothes."
Yuhi Shinku said, "Since that's the case, I'll treat you to a hot - spring bath."
The three of them blinked and then stared at him.
"And a big meal!"
"Hooray!"