As long as Mangetsu dodged Kiyoshi's attack, once he created distance, it wouldn't be easy to force him into such a predicament again.
"The Bloodline of the Kaguya clan, is it?" Kiyoshi paid no attention to the bone, the electric arc spreading within his body.
The Kaguya clan could freely control the bones inside their bodies; anything related to "bone," whether calcium or osteocytes, could be controlled at will.
The hardness of their bones was even greater than most ninja tools, making them difficult to destroy.
But... what did that matter?
Kiyoshi's lips still held that faint smile, his black hair swaying in the wind.
The next moment.
Kiyoshi refined his chakra, converting all of it into chakra with the Lightning Release nature.
The sudden increase in control from his Sharingan allowed Kiyoshi to perform subtle manipulations of the chakra within his body to an extreme degree.
The nerves in his palm were further activated by the current, and Kiyoshi abruptly increased his speed.
The scope of the [Merciless Iron Hand] upgrade also included the wrist area, enabling Kiyoshi to output an even greater amount of chakra.
If it were anyone else, there would be only one outcome.
Getting hurt by the backlash of this massive amount of Lightning Release chakra!
*Pfft!*
Blood splattered, and a head that still carried an expression of having narrowly escaped death instantly flew up.
The smell of scorched flesh permeated the air.
The faces of the surrounding ninjas changed drastically.
They finally realized that the Uchiha before them was far more terrifying than they had imagined.
In their shock and fear, no one dared to launch another attack.
For most ninjas, passing the Chunin Exams was their ultimate goal; seizing a Bloodline was merely an extra honor.
If they lost their lives, none of the village's rewards would matter.
"Mangetsu!" Mei Terumī's eyes reddened.
It was the rage of a comrade being killed.
Kiyoshi looked back at Mei Terumī but didn't immediately charge forward.
He realized that time was also being counted here.
So, as time passed second by second, the scene fell into an eerie silence.
Kurenai and Asuma, who had wanted to help, held back, observing the situation.
Homura Hyūga sucked in a cold breath, looking at the scattered bodies on the ground, not daring to breathe loudly.
He even forgot to put his forehead protector back on.
Natsu Hyūga looked up at Kiyoshi, her heart heavy.
It was ill-fated that a genius of the Uchiha clan had overheard their conversation.
Natsu Hyūga dared not imagine the political conflict that would arise if Kiyoshi told the Uchiha clan leader.
Now, all she wanted was to quickly finish the second stage of the exam and return to the Hyūga clan to inform Ginka Hyūga of the situation.
Finally, the [Trait] progress reached one hundred percent.
[Trait: Battlefield Rose (White).]
[Requirement Achieved: Dance in a battle of 30+ people and persevere for 100 seconds.]
[Progress: (Completed).]
[Effect: Your fighting spirit is high, and your battle is ceaseless; your "Yin" Release chakra is increased by 5% on top of the original base.]
[Note: Can be further evolved later.]
[Evolution Path One: Integrating "Merciless Iron Hand (White)" and "Merciless Fire Extinguisher (White)" can evolve it into "Burning Heart (Green)"]
As the announcement finished, Kiyoshi's mind gradually became completely clear, his thoughts sharp.
Kiyoshi noticed that his thinking speed had increased significantly.
The last time he obtained [Impartial Treatment (White)], it also increased his "Yin" Release chakra by 5%.
Adding them together, he had a ten percent increase.
This would save Kiyoshi many months of arduous training.
One should know that improving mental energy was difficult, requiring significant time and effort.
So-called "Yin" Release was a manifestation of mental energy.
To improve mental energy, one mostly relied on diligent training to hone the will, or by learning more knowledge to become more knowledgeable.
Kiyoshi looked at the completed Trait and nodded in satisfaction.
"Hand over all the scrolls you have. I can let you go."
Silence.
After several seconds, the first ninja couldn't bear the pressure and threw a scroll to Kiyoshi.
Then, a few more ninjas followed suit, tossing scrolls to him.
Once someone took the lead, the number of ninjas choosing to surrender their scrolls increased.
A pile of scrolls accumulated at Kiyoshi's feet.
The living gazed covetously at Kiyoshi, while the dead lay on the cold ground.
Mei Terumī looked at the dead, a fire burning hotter and hotter inside her.
Everything that had just happened occurred in a very short span of time.
Mei Terumī hadn't even had a chance to attack, only to see her comrade, with whom she had traveled from the Land of Water, die at Kiyoshi's hands.
"Water Release…" Mei Terumī raised her hand, forming the first hand seal.
"So many people have retreated. Are you going to resist me?" Kiyoshi watched Mei Terumī's hand sign, the flames on his ninja sword undiminished.
If Mei Terumī dared to form a second hand seal, Kiyoshi would charge.
"Enough, Mei Terumī." Shōshi Kaguya reached out to stop Mei Terumī from continuing the hand seals.
Fighting now was meaningless.
Kiyoshi's power instilled in him a sense of pressure.
And a deep... tremor.
This wasn't fear, but desire!
The Kaguya clan was a clan of battle.
However, Kiyoshi was currently at his peak, and Mangetsu Hōzuki was already dead.
Even if they defeated Kiyoshi, they wouldn't have much strength left.
The rabble gathered on the field would definitely turn on them, competing for the Bloodlines.
Moreover, the Hidden Cloud, Hidden Stone, and the Hidden Sand, which had unknowningly fled earlier, might appear to snatch the fruits of their labor.
"Mangetsu…" Mei Terumī looked at her comrade's head lying on the ground.
"That's how it is for ninjas. Who knows if they'll live past tomorrow? We are all important ninjas to our villages; we cannot die like this." Shōshi Kaguya shook his head.
He possessed the Shikotsumyaku, and Mei Terumī possessed Lava and Vapor Release—both rare Bloodlines.
And the Hōzuki clan had a large population; Mangetsu's death here was simply his fate.
"Here you go, Uchiha Kiyoshi." Shōshi Kaguya quickly tossed several scrolls to Kiyoshi, urging Mei Terumī to prioritize the bigger picture.
Seeing that even the Hidden Mist had surrendered scrolls, the last remaining hesitant Genin finally threw their scrolls to Kiyoshi.
Kiyoshi let the ninjas who surrendered their scrolls leave.
After everyone had gone, Kiyoshi called Kurenai to help him collect the scrolls.
He himself went to take all the valuable items from the corpses.
"Kiyoshi, why are you collecting all this?"
"To sell for money."
"…" This strange reason left Kurenai speechless.
Should she say Kiyoshi loved money?
Soon, Kiyoshi used the clothes from the corpses on the ground to weave a makeshift cloth sack and slung the scrolls over his back.
As for the corpses.
Neither Asuma, Kurenai, Natsu Hyūga, nor the others showed any pronounced emotion.
For ninjas, death was a very normal occurrence.
When Shikamaru's mission resulted in casualties, and Neji and Choji were being rescued, he was depressed.
Temari directly asked Shikamaru if he had undergone mental training, questioning why a grown man was so fragile.