Skill Point Boost, Eight Gates Minor Mastery, Finals Begin

Above the rooftops, the wind and sand gradually settled.

Everyone in the arena kept their eyes fixed on the ANBU figure, awe, shock, and disbelief mingling across every face.

Uchiha Mu stood quietly at the edge of the roof, his mask concealing his features and revealing only a pair of swirling crimson Mangekyō Sharingan as he looked down indifferently.

His forceful suppression of the One-Tail's rampage had seemed effortless, but in truth, it had quietly brought about a tremendous leap in his strength.

System notifications flickered through his mind in rapid succession.

[Main Quest: Quell the Chunin Exams Disturbance — Completed]

[Rewards Issued: 100 Skill Points, greatly increased Eight Gates insight, significantly improved Tailed Beast Chakra affinity]

Mu focused his mind on the system panel.

His cultivation, which had originally been stuck at the peak of early Kage level, completely shattered its restraints after absorbing the vast amount of One-Tail Shukaku's chakra, firmly entering mid-Kage level.

The total amount of chakra in his body surged wildly, directly soaring to 15,600. His physical strength, meridian resilience, and ocular technique endurance all rose by an entire level.

More importantly, a thread of pure One-Tail Tailed Beast origin aura had appeared within him.

Should he encounter other Tailed Beasts in the future, his chakra absorption conversion rate and compatibility would far surpass ordinary people's. He could even gradually become immune to part of the Tailed Beasts' corrosive malice.

"100 Skill Points. Just enough."

Mu murmured inwardly. Without further hesitation, he poured all his Skill Points into his Eight Gates talent.

[Ding! 100 Skill Points consumed. Eight Gates has advanced to — Minor Mastery!]

Buzz—

A vast surge of physical power suddenly awakened and flowed through his body, as if every limb and bone had been forged anew.

His previously shallow grasp of the Gate of Opening and Gate of Healing, which he had barely been able to activate, instantly reached perfection.

Eight Gates Minor Mastery: the Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, and Gate of Life were perfectly connected and could be opened at will without burden; the thresholds for the Gate of Limit and Gate of Pain had been greatly lowered, while the limits of the body's endurance had multiplied several times over.

At this moment, Uchiha Mu no longer relied solely on ocular techniques and space-time ninjutsu to dominate. With physical taijutsu alone, he could already crush the vast majority of jonin.

If he fully opened the first three Gates, his explosive power would be enough to directly contend with late-Kage-level experts. Among those of the same rank, he was nearly invincible.

The confidence brought by his soaring strength made Mu's aura grow ever deeper and more restrained. Though he merely stood there quietly, he gave off an oppressive sense of unfathomable danger that warned others not to provoke him.

Below, the crowd gradually recovered from their shock, and murmurs rose and fell like waves.

"Who exactly is that ANBU? He's so young, yet he suppressed the One-Tail's rampage with a casual move!"

"He must be a legendary top-tier Kage-level expert, perhaps even more terrifying than an ordinary Kage!"

"Good thing he acted. Otherwise, the entire arena would have been flattened by the sand, and we'd all have been buried with it!"

Naruto looked up at the rooftop, his eyes full of admiration and yearning.

Big Brother Mu is way too strong. I have to train hard too. One day, I'll become as powerful as him and protect my companions!

Sasuke crossed his arms and coldly stared at the ANBU figure, his eyes filled with gravity and fighting spirit.

Uchiha... Another powerful Uchiha. The Sharingan, space-time ninjutsu, and unfathomable strength. I have to get stronger as soon as possible, catch up to him, and even surpass him.

Beside him, Sakura was equally shaken, her understanding of Konoha's powerful shinobi completely overturned. A man like that made her heart pound wildly.

In a corner of the arena, the Four Sound Ninja were pale as paper, their backs already drenched in cold sweat.

It's over... It's really over.

Even the rampaging One-Tail was suppressed with a casual move. If the four of us went up against him, we wouldn't even last a single attack.

Lord Orochimaru's plan still has to continue, but if we provoke a monster like that, there's no way we'll survive...

The four looked at one another, their hearts filled with despair and fear, trapped between advancing and retreating.

If they retreated, they would fail their mission, and Orochimaru would not spare them.

If they advanced, provoking Uchiha Mu meant they could follow Dosu's fate at any moment and die without a trace.

Inside a hidden attic, Danzo leaned on his cane and stared grimly at Mu on the rooftop, calculations churning endlessly in his heart.

"Fifteen or sixteen years old, mid-Kage level, mastery of space-time techniques, and capable of forcibly suppressing a Tailed Beast's rampage..."

"The Uchiha Clan bloodline truly is terrifying beyond measure."

The greed in his eyes remained intense, but it was now joined by deep wariness.

He had originally intended to send someone to ambush Sasuke amid the chaos and seize his eyes, but after witnessing Uchiha Mu's terrifying strength firsthand, he instantly suppressed the thought of taking such a risk.

"For now, we cannot act."

"That boy is too unfathomable. Acting rashly will only alert him and perhaps bring disaster upon ourselves."

"We will endure and observe for now. Once the Konoha Crush Plan begins, chaos erupts, and all sides become entangled in battle, I will strike when the opportunity arises and harvest the Sharingan of the two Uchiha brothers."

Danzo coldly made up his mind and signaled for everyone in Root to remain hidden and refrain from rash action as they quietly waited for the next opportunity.

At the center of the arena, Ibiki took a deep breath, suppressed the shock in his heart, and walked to the middle of the field to maintain order in a deep voice.

"Silence!"

"The disturbance caused by the One-Tail's rampage has been quelled. The competition will continue!"

"The remaining qualifiers will rest for fifteen minutes. After that, the Chunin Exams final ranking battle will begin!"

As his words fell, the geniuses from the various shinobi villages gradually calmed themselves and began resting and regulating their breathing.

The earth-shaking rampage just now, along with the mysterious ANBU's overwhelming display, had already cast a deep shadow over everyone's hearts.

Everyone understood that the true ruler of this arena was neither Gaara nor Naruto and Sasuke, but the masked Uchiha expert on the rooftop.

Fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

Ibiki stepped onto the field again, holding the final matchup list as he announced loudly.

"The Chunin Exams final ranking battle now officially begins!"

"It will use a chaotic elimination format. The last ten people remaining in the arena will be directly promoted to chunin! Everyone else will be eliminated!"

The rules immediately caused an uproar.

A chaotic battle was the most brutal format. There would be no fair one-on-one duels. Everything depended on strength, survival, and scheming against others.

The geniuses from every major shinobi village instantly turned grave, secretly guarding against sneak attacks from those around them.

The Four Sound Ninja exchanged glances, ruthless light flashing through their eyes.

Since they could not avoid it, they could only force themselves onward.

Using the chaos of the free-for-all, they would protect themselves while secretly carrying out the arrangements Orochimaru had given them, delaying Konoha's fighting strength as much as possible and paving the way for the coming Konoha Crush Plan.

At the same time, they had to remain alert for Uchiha Mu on the rooftop, terrified that he might descend at any moment to settle accounts.

From above, Mu took everything in.

With the Eight Gates at perfect Minor Mastery, his chakra surging into mid-Kage level, and the One-Tail's origin absorbed, he now possessed enough confidence to look down upon the entire Chunin Exams.

"A free-for-all..."

Mu murmured faintly, a chill passing through his eyes.

Perfect.

Using the chaos of the finals, he could crush the Four Sound Ninja in one stroke, making an example of them to intimidate Orochimaru, Danzo, and all the other ambitious schemers.

At the same time, he could complete the following system side quests, earn more Skill Points, continue refining the Eight Gates and improving his space-time ocular techniques, and steadily advance toward the peak of the shinobi world step by step.

Below, the chaotic final battle had already begun.

The geniuses of the major shinobi villages immediately tangled in battle. Ninjutsu roared, taijutsu collided, genjutsu intertwined, and the arena instantly became a battlefield of slaughter.

Naruto used the Shadow Clone Technique to sweep across the field. Sasuke used his Sharingan to see through every move as he darted around and launched sneak attacks. Though Lee had not fully recovered his stamina, he still crushed opponents of the same level with his powerful taijutsu.

Kankuro and Temari of the Hidden Sand Village each displayed their own methods, controlling puppets and using Wind Release to suppress their opponents.

Only the Four Sound Ninja moved together, relying on the Curse Mark's boost as they struck ruthlessly and viciously. While clearing out weaker genin, they secretly observed the situation, their eyes repeatedly flicking toward the rooftop with deep apprehension.

Mu quietly watched the entire arena, in no hurry to enter the field.

He would wait until the Four Sound Ninja fully exposed their ambitions and began slaughtering indiscriminately. Then he would descend in overwhelming fashion and crush them with absolute strength, making everyone understand that he was Konoha's savior.

He, Uchiha Mu, was the unshakable supreme ruler of the new generation.

Keeping a low profile? That did not exist.