<em>Outside Konoha main village, just off to the east, stood an unusually dense thicket of forest.<br/><br/>This was no ordinary forest. <br/><br/>The huge, ancient trees crowded in on each other in the hundreds, creating a dark canopy of branches and leaves that kept the bright sunlight out, creating a murky darkness underneath the creaking boughs.<br/><br/>Deeper in, moldy wood-and-twine bridges had been strung up between some of the branches, although these looked as if they were set up years ago, and dangerous to step on for too long. <br/><br/>Rumours were abound of this forest, that was only used for Chunin examinations, that hadn't been used in the last examinations because it was apparantly cursed. The Green Shadow, however, being a practical man, and needing a place for the influx of new Genin to train, poo-poo'd such rumours and ordered the exam to go ahead here.<br/><br/>Still. Strange faces were painted on some of the older trees, frozen in silent screams, some shedding tears, some bleeding from their eyes. It isn't known who painted these faces, and if the elders in Konoha know, they aren't telling their young Genin. They say it's just the wind blowing through dead tree trunks that causes the eerie howling of a night time, and they say it's just old tree branches falling that causes the unnerving muffled crashes.<br/><br/>This is the place where the hopeful Genin will enter for five days and five nights. <br/><br/>This is the place where the next Chunin exams are being held.<br/><br/>This is the place where you will re-emerge as a middle ninja of Konoha, or you won't re-emerge at all.</em><br/><br/><br/>Ikuza had barely had time to down a jug of sake before he was due to arrive at the Hallowed Forest to initiate the next Chunin exams.<br/><br/><em>Barely got one group underway before we're forcing a whole new bunch of young'uns through the mill. I hope Green Shadow knows what he's doing.</em><br/><br/>Wrapping his red robe about him a bit tighter - it was cold outside this particular forest, even though the sun was shining - the Mad Hermit found an old tree stump, climbed up on the massive wooden slab, and sat cross-legged, twitching, muttering to himself, and waited for the Genin to arrive.<br/><br/>Behind him, a creepy whistling picked up from the Hallowed Forest, then seemed to die away again.