Chapter 67: Kazuki - This is How We Do Things
As the sun began to set, warm golden rays of light slowly filtered through the tower windows.
Yamanaka Inoichi pinched the bridge of his nose, his temples throbbing painfully. His face was pale and completely drained of color as he said weakly, "I should be fine now, Kazuki."
Seeing the exhausted state of Yamanaka Inoichi, Uchiha Kazuki showed genuine concern. "Inoichi-san, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine... really."
Yamanaka Inoichi loosely clenched his fist and coughed lightly.
A forced smile appeared on his pale face—the clear result of chakra overexertion. "My chakra reserves are just seriously depleted. I'll be back to normal after a few days of rest."
"Thank you so much for your hard work, Inoichi-san."
Uchiha Kazuki expressed his gratitude sincerely, with a hint of apology in his voice. "If it weren't for your cooperation, none of this would have gone so smoothly."
"Don't mention it... cough cough..."
Looking into the young man's sincere eyes, Yamanaka Inoichi felt a deep wave of guilt wash over him.
What a good kid. Shikaku and the others worried for nothing.
During the Chūnin Exams, following Shikaku's plan, he had secretly used the Mind Transfer Technique to successfully infiltrate Uchiha Kazuki's inner consciousness. Without being detected, he meticulously explored and searched through the surface memories of the young Uchiha's mind.
How could he describe what he found? Pure and clear!
Like a clear blue sky without a single cloud—crystal clear and pristine.
This kid's inner world was completely pure!
At this point, Inoichi could say with absolute certainty—he could even stake his reputation on it—and assure both the Hokage and Shikaku: "Uchiha Kazuki is a loyal comrade. His heart is filled with nothing but the Will of Fire!"
Clap!
Yamanaka Inoichi suddenly patted Kazuki on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Kazuki, keep doing good work. The Hokage will definitely recognize your value."
"Uh, I will, Inoichi-san."
Uchiha Kazuki was slightly confused by the sudden enthusiasm, but still showed a friendly smile. "It's my honor to contribute to Konoha."
What a good kid.
Seeing those pure and clear eyes, Yamanaka Inoichi felt even more guilty. He secretly made a firm decision: "No, I absolutely must let the Hokage know that Uchiha Kazuki is the key to resolving the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha clan. We can't let such a pure-hearted young man down!"
"Don't worry—leave everything to me!"
Yamanaka Inoichi's eyes burned with determination as he clenched his fist.
Faced with this inexplicable burst of fighting spirit, Uchiha Kazuki was genuinely confused.
What's going on with him?
He hadn't used any genjutsu or given Yamanaka Inoichi any hints. How did this guy's entire attitude suddenly change?
"..."
Watching Yamanaka Inoichi's departing figure, Uchiha Kazuki smirked slightly. "Whatever. We achieved our goal anyway."
Setting aside the departed Yamanaka,
Uchiha Kazuki slowly stood up. His gaze swept across the group of genin sitting scattered throughout the tower plaza—their faces contorted and twitching as if they were trapped in terrible nightmares. He calmly formed a hand seal.
"Genjutsu... release!"
The next instant, dozens of genin trapped in the illusion suddenly opened their eyes, looking bewildered and disoriented.
Uchiha Kazuki had already covered his ears in preparation.
"AHHHHH—!"
"NO! STOP! AHHHHH!"
"HELP ME! SOMEBODY HELP!"
"DON'T KILL ME!"
"SAVE ME!"
"RIN—!"
A deafening chorus of terrified screams erupted like a tidal wave.
The enormous sound was so loud it nearly blew the roof off the tower. The Chūnin proctors who had been supervising alongside Uchiha Kazuki were caught completely off guard, their heads ringing from the noise.
Looking around the plaza, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a complete disaster scene.
Some genin were weeping bitterly. Some were punching each other in confusion. Some were crawling and writhing on the ground. And at least one person was still desperately calling out for someone named Rin.
It was hard to imagine that these once proud and confident "elite ninja" would ever lose control so completely. There was even a distinctly unpleasant odor in the air—clearly, someone had wet themselves during the ordeal.
"SILENCE—!"
Finally, the scarred-faced Chūnin proctor couldn't take it anymore. He roared with chakra-enhanced volume, instantly drowning out the screaming genin.
His thunderous voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
Only then did those genin who had suffered all sorts of inhuman torture in the genjutsu world finally snap back to reality.
"It was all... fake?"
"Thank god... I'm still alive... sob sob..."
"RIN—!"
"Damn it! It was all just a genjutsu!"
Upon learning the truth, the genin reacted in wildly different ways.
Some immediately started fighting with their teammates as friendships crumbled on the spot. Some ran to hug their friends and cry. Others simply collapsed in relief. But eventually, almost everyone turned to stare at the examiner on the elevated platform with pure hatred burning in their eyes.
If looks could kill, Uchiha Kazuki would have already been torn into a thousand pieces.
"As you've all now realized, everything you experienced was an illusion."
At that moment, Uchiha Kazuki stepped forward with a perfectly friendly smile on his face. "The primary objective of the second stage of the Chūnin Exam was to test how each of you perform under specific high-stress circumstances. Your final scores were determined based on four critical dimensions: survival, evasion, resistance, and escape."
"What a joke!"
A large, muscular genin from Iwagakure suddenly stepped forward, glaring angrily at the platform. "Is this how Konoha operates?! This is completely unfair! I'm certain you're rigging the results!"
"That's right! Exactly!"
His fellow Iwa ninja immediately chimed in behind him. "Konoha is definitely cheating! Using genjutsu to manipulate the exam—how shameless can you be?!"
"Oh?"
Uchiha Kazuki let out a soft, interested sound. He adjusted his glasses with one finger and looked directly at the protesting genin. "So you're not satisfied with the results?"
"Hmph! Of course we're not satisfied—and we're going to file an official complaint!"
The burly Iwa ninja gritted his teeth defiantly, showing absolutely no fear. He pointed accusingly at Kosuke Maruboshi and Might Duy, demanding loudly: "Using genjutsu is suspicious enough on its own—but these two? Do you seriously dare claim in front of everyone here that they're actually genin?!"
Maruboshi Kosuke simply shrugged helplessly. "I really am a genin, though."
"Me too," Might Duy added, scratching his head in confusion.
"You're completely full of it!"
The burly Iwa ninja practically spat with rage. He pointed accusingly at the two veteran shinobi. "Old man, what kind of genin is proficient in Water Release, Fire Release, AND Earth Release?! And you, watermelon-head—you literally kicked hard enough to nearly collapse the entire underground structure! You call THAT a genin?!"
He then whirled around to glare at the other Konoha genin present. "Tell me the truth—are those two really genin?!"
The Konoha genin who met his gaze immediately looked away guiltily, muttering under their breath: "Why couldn't they be genin? Can't genin be exceptionally skilled...?"
"You Konoha shinobi are absolutely shameless!"
The burly Iwa ninja was trembling with fury now, his finger shaking as he pointed. Then he turned his glare back toward the examiner. "This exam was completely unfair! We Iwagakure ninja demand a complete retest—and I'm filing an official complaint with the proctors!"
"Filing a complaint?"
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Kazuki's expression suddenly shifted into a smile. His eyes gleamed ominously behind his glasses. "Out of humanitarian consideration, I'll ask you one more time—are you absolutely... sure?"
Here it comes—that familiar demonic smile!
The Sunagakure ninja standing nearby visibly twitched. They knew this guy all too well by now, and seeing that particular expression again sent immediate chills down their spines.
"Hey, Sand ninja—back us up here!"
The burly man, though he appeared simple-minded, was actually quite clever. He was clearly trying to drag Sunagakure into supporting his complaint.
"No, no—we have absolutely no objections!"
Chiyoko Umezono's lips twitched nervously as she hurriedly waved her hands in fear. "We Sand ninja don't want to file any complaints, and we have zero objections to either the exam process or the results!"
"???"
The burly Iwa ninja's eyelid twitched violently. He cursed those cowards internally, then forced a strained smile. "Well, regardless—I'm still going to file a compla—"
Before he could even finish the word "complaint," his entire body was sent flying backward like a cannonball.
BOOM!!!
By the time everyone's minds caught up with what had happened, they turned around in absolute horror.
The burly man had been slammed violently against the tower wall by Uchiha Kazuki. The Uchiha's hand was wrapped around his throat, crushing him against the stone surface so hard his body had embedded several centimeters into it. The Iwa ninja's eyes had rolled back into his head, and foam was bubbling from his mouth.
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
The Iwa ninja's companions were completely shocked, their faces showing pure terror. "You actually dared to attack us?! You... you can't possibly mean—"
"Sorry about that."
Uchiha Kazuki smiled pleasantly and said in a calm, measured tone:
"That's just how we do things in Konoha. If you're not happy about it... well, I suggest you keep that to yourself."
[End of Chapter 67]