Interception Plan, Activated

"Are you okay, Yufeng?"

Once Uchiha Yufeng caught up with the two of them, Yuhi Kurenai hurried over, her face full of concern.

"Let's go!"

Uchiha Yufeng rubbed Yuhi Kurenai's little head and gave her a reassuring look before taking the lead.

"We don't have much time! Hurry up! I think some people are already getting impatient..."

"Some people getting impatient?"

Uzuki Yugao looked thoughtfully at Uchiha Yufeng.

The rest of the journey was much calmer.

As they drew closer and closer to their destination, Uchiha Yufeng picked up his pace even further.

Before long, they saw the Lighthouse in the distance.

Orochimaru was standing at the very top of the Lighthouse. As though he had sensed Uchiha Yufeng's gaze, he looked over.

Their eyes met, and the corners of both their mouths curled into inscrutable smiles.

"That must be the Lighthouse. We finally made it!"

Yuhi Kurenai was delighted when she saw their destination.

The three of them had barely stopped along the way. When they were hungry, they ate Military Ration Pills; when they were thirsty, they drank from their water flasks as they ran.

Fortunately, Yuhi Kurenai had trained in taijutsu before.

Her stamina had improved quite a bit. Otherwise, such intense traveling would have been too much for her body to endure.

As the Lighthouse drew nearer, the three of them made one final push and rushed over.

"Hand over your scrolls up ahead!"

Once they arrived, Uchiha Yufeng and the other two were led to the mission station by a Chunin examiner from the Sarutobi Clan.

"You are the first team to reach the Lighthouse. Your strength is truly impressive!"

Uchiha Yufeng merely smiled at the examiner's praise.

"We won't be handing in the scrolls yet."

The Sarutobi Clan Chunin examiner froze.

"There's still time left, isn't there?"

"Yes, there are still five hours until the end!"

The Chunin examiner nodded.

Uchiha Yufeng held out his hand toward Yuhi Kurenai, and she handed over the scroll she was carrying.

Uchiha Yufeng did not take it. Pointing at the scroll, he looked at the Chunin examiner before him.

"The Heaven and Earth Scrolls are right here. We can complete the mission whenever we want. But before I return, Kurenai, don't be in a hurry to turn in the mission."

The smile on Uchiha Yufeng's face widened.

The Chunin examiner stared at Uchiha Yufeng, his heart jolting as he guessed what Uchiha Yufeng intended.

He only felt that although the boy was young, this blind confidence seemed a little too excessive.

Every participant was an elite Genin from their village... and he actually had such thoughts.

"You'll get yourself into trouble doing this."

The Chunin examiner from the Sarutobi Clan still wanted to persuade Uchiha Yufeng.

Before he could finish, a hoarse voice rang out.

"Let him go."

Orochimaru walked out from behind a nearby building.

He looked at Uchiha Yufeng with an amused gaze.

"The rules have already been set. As long as they complete the Heaven and Earth Scroll handover within the allotted time, they pass. There is no need to worry about anything else."

"Lord Orochimaru!"

The Sarutobi Clan ninja greeted Orochimaru upon seeing him.

Uchiha Yufeng looked at Orochimaru calmly.

"Ding, Yakushi Kabuto (Shippuden) Fragment +5."
"Ding, Uchiha Sasuke (Mangekyō Sharingan) Fragment +2."

"Thank you for understanding, Lord Orochimaru!"

After saying that, Uchiha Yufeng looked toward Yuhi Kurenai and Uzuki Yugao.

"Kurenai, you and Yugao rest inside the Lighthouse. It's only five hours. I'll be back in no time!"

Without waiting for their response, Uchiha Yufeng used Body Flicker and vanished.

"Yufeng is going to..."

Yuhi Kurenai stared at the spot where Uchiha Yufeng had disappeared, her heart skipping a beat.

Beside her, Uzuki Yugao fell into thought.

She knew the rules of the second round.

As long as they turned in the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, they would have completed the second stage of the exam.

After that, they could no longer interfere with others continuing the second stage of the exam, but...

As long as they did not turn in the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, they had not completed the mission and could carry out certain special operations "within the rules."

"He wants to turn the entire Chunin Exams upside down!"

Uzuki Yugao murmured softly as she looked in the direction Uchiha Yufeng had vanished.

After leaving the Lighthouse and arriving in the surrounding area,

Uchiha Yufeng swept his gaze around and immediately locked onto a target.

His figure flashed, and he appeared directly behind a Konoha ninja, knocking him unconscious with a slap.

With a swipe of the Kunai in his hand, he pulled the scroll from the ninja's clothes.

"One!"

Uchiha Yufeng stood still and formed hand seals.

Uchiha Yufeng's figure gradually disappeared.

This time, Uchiha Yufeng did not strike to kill.

He was not a bloodthirsty person, nor did he wish to become a second Zabuza.

His goal in leaving the Lighthouse this time was merely to seize scrolls and eliminate opponents, not to slaughter them.

In the forest, ninja after ninja fell...

Before long, the forest within a ten-mile radius had fallen into deathly silence.

About three hours later,

a Sand Shinobi Squad arrived, looking utterly disheveled.

"Is that the Lighthouse ahead?"

"Yes! We've finally reached the Lighthouse! Let's hurry up!"

The three of them let out sighs of relief.

"Sorry, you three, but you can't go any farther."

Uchiha Yufeng jumped down from a nearby tree and landed on the ground.

"Y-you... it's you?!"

The Kunoichi with two streaks of face paint stared at Uchiha Yufeng as if she had seen a ghost.

"Maki, what's wrong? Do you know him?"

One of the ninja beside her cautiously took a step back as he looked at Uchiha Yufeng, then turned to Maki.

"He's the ninja who killed that giant snake earlier!"

The other two were instantly shocked.

The terrifying figure from their memories immediately overlapped with the person before them.

"It's him! This is bad!"

The three of them stood on guard against Uchiha Yufeng.

"I'm not interested in you. If... you can hand over your scrolls!"

Uchiha Yufeng crossed his arms and looked coldly at the three of them.

"Impossible!"

The Kunoichi named Maki answered resolutely.

"We entered the Chunin Exams with our dreams and our village's honor on the line, and we fought with our lives to make it this far! How could we possibly give up just because you tell us to?!"

Uchiha Yufeng's lips moved slightly as he listened.

"Dreams? Honor? Not giving up?"

Uchiha Yufeng shook his head.

This Kunoichi was actually trying to talk him down. Did she think he was Naruto?

"Since you refuse to hand them over willingly, I'll take them myself."

Uchiha Yufeng's gaze sharpened as he looked at the three of them.

He raised his hand, firing three Kunai.

"Water Release: Water Trumpet!"

Uchiha Yufeng rapidly formed hand seals and spat out a column of water toward the three of them.

The powerful Water Release, combined with the Kunai that had already sealed off their movements,

sent the water column crashing solidly into all three.

"Puh!"

The three were blasted by the water column until their heads spun, and they lost consciousness moments later.

Before absolute strength, they had no chance at all.

Uchiha Yufeng stepped across the water and arrived before Maki.

He quickly reached into her clothes.

Then he took out the Heaven and Earth Scrolls he had found and sealed them inside the blank scroll he carried.

"Y-you, you..."

Maki slowly regained consciousness, clutching her throbbing head. When she saw Uchiha Yufeng straddling her, shame and indignation filled her eyes.

Uchiha Yufeng glanced at Maki, somewhat surprised.

He had not expected this girl to be the first ninja in her team to wake up.

He lowered himself and gave her neck another chop.

Maki rolled her eyes and fainted again.

Uchiha Yufeng slowly rose to his feet, climbed up a tree, and hid there to wait for the next lucky one.

Time passed second by second.

With only ten minutes remaining until the final deadline, three figures finally emerged from the woods and sprinted toward the Lighthouse.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Uchiha Yufeng's voice rang out.

The three of them immediately tensed up.

"Uchiha Yufeng?! What are you doing here?"

As Uchiha Homura watched Uchiha Yufeng's face draw closer and closer, his heart sank.

"What am I doing? Of course I'm taking your scrolls. What, do you have a problem with that?"

Bang!

As he spoke, Uchiha Yufeng drove his fists into Uchiha Homura's two companions.

"Cough, cough!"

The two were completely unprepared. It felt as though heavy hammers had struck their chests, and they collapsed to the ground in an instant, seeing stars.

"Uchiha Yufeng, how dare you..."

As Uchiha Homura looked at Uchiha Yufeng before him, a trace of fear rose in his heart for no reason.

He seemed even stronger than before. Had he deliberately concealed his strength when he defeated him back then?!

Before Uchiha Homura could react, Uchiha Yufeng used Body Flicker to appear before him, throwing punches and kicks directly at his face.

Uchiha Homura hastily blocked, but every blow landed with bone-shaking force.

Uchiha Homura felt both his arms go numb from the impacts.

"This force... why has it gotten even stronger?!"

When Uchiha Yufeng's strike missed, he instantly flipped over.

He curled his body, planted both hands on the ground, and launched both feet into Uchiha Homura's chest.

Uchiha Homura's body flew uncontrollably into the air as he watched Uchiha Yufeng on the ground grow farther and farther away.

Uchiha Homura's heart leaped into his throat.

Bang!

Before Uchiha Homura could react, he felt a palm press against his lower back. His Sharingan eyes widened at once.

"What? Impossible!"

When he barely managed to look down toward the spot below where Uchiha Yufeng had just been, Uchiha Yufeng was nowhere to be seen.

Only one thought arose in his heart...

It's over!

"Lion's... Barrage!"