An opponent who fled without a fight

After taking more than a hundred beatings from Madara Uchiha, Hayato Hyuga temporarily gave up on comparing himself to him. He was now thoroughly convinced of his eight-year-old teammate's superiority, but when he heard that Madara intended to teach him the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, he still found it hard to believe. After all, it was a Secret Technique of the Hyuga Clan.

"The Uchiha Clan doesn't know it, but I've seen members of the Hyuga Clan use it on the battlefield. The basic principle of the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm is to release powerful, highly concentrated chakra from your palm, forming a chakra shock wave to attack a distant target. Reproducing it isn't complicated. The reason other people don't use it is that they don't have your clan's Byakugan to pinpoint an opponent's position. Take the Uchiha Clan, for example. If I have enough chakra to use the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, I might as well just use Majestic Destroyer Flame."

As Madara spoke, he raised his right palm. Chakra flowed through his body, and a shock wave of concentrated chakra shot from his palm, striking Hayato directly.

When it came to understanding ninjutsu, Madara could probably claim to be the greatest in the world without anyone disputing it. He did not need to deliberately study many techniques; a quick glance was enough for him to grasp their underlying principles. As a member of the Uchiha Clan, however, he saw little reason to learn many of them. In his eyes, the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm was another worthless technique, but learning it would genuinely improve Hayato's strength, so Madara did not mind teaching him.

"Holy crap!"

After being struck by Madara's chakra shock wave, Hayato looked him up and down. Although Madara's Vacuum Palm lacked the precision of the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, the way he concentrated his chakra was undoubtedly the technique's foundation. If Hayato had merely been convinced of Madara's superiority before, he was now ready to fall to his knees in admiration.

Hayato had originally thought his talent was more than enough to earn him the title of genius among the younger generation. Who would have imagined that, compared to Madara, he was nothing but trash?

Once Hayato fully accepted where he stood, Madara's lessons became much easier. Essentially, Hayato did whatever Madara told him to do. A month flew by, and soon the formal tournament stage of the Chunin Ninja Exams arrived. As before, the fourteen successful candidates drew lots for the first round and fought in pairs, leaving seven winners. One of those seven would advance directly to the next round while the others fought in pairs, continuing until the winner of the Chunin Ninja Exams was decided.

"I need to make something clear: winning a match in the Chunin Ninja Exams doesn't necessarily mean you'll become a Chunin. Of course, if you win all the way to the end, you've practically secured your promotion. But even if you lose, you may still become a Chunin as long as you demonstrate your abilities during the exam. So if you realize you truly can't beat your opponent, surrender promptly. Don't throw away your future."

Before his students went out to compete, Kazuhiko Sarutobi reminded them once again. Although he seemed to be addressing both of them, the one he was truly worried about was Hayato. Given the strength Madara had displayed, Kazuhiko genuinely did not think any candidate in this year's exams could pose a threat to him.

"Don't worry, Sensei. Under Itachi-sensei's guidance, I'm no longer the person I was a month ago. I'm completely confident that as long as I don't face Itachi-sensei, I can beat anyone!"

After Madara agreed to take over Hayato's training, Kazuhiko had hardly seen Hayato come to him for help at all. Now, seeing how confident Kazuhiko was, Kazuhiko Sarutobi grew curious about just how much Hayato had transformed under Madara's guidance over the past month.

Unlike the previous arena, the venue Madara and the others entered this time was much larger. Spectators from countries around the world filled the surrounding stands. On the main viewing platform, Fourth Kazekage Rasa and Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi sat together amicably, waiting for the matches to begin. In addition to the two of them, the Land of Wind's daimyo had personally come to the arena to witness the younger generation's talents.

As in the Preliminaries, Madara and the others first went up to draw lots. This time, Madara drew number one, while Hayato drew number seven. Seeing that he had not been matched against Madara, Hayato immediately began celebrating. Kazuhiko Sarutobi shook his head with a wry smile at Hayato's unambitious display. It seemed the boy had been thoroughly beaten into submission by Madara.

"First match: Uchiha Itachi of Konoha versus Shachuan Mugan of Sunagakure."

When Arakawa Kiba discovered that Madara's opponent was someone from his own village, Sunagakure, he frowned slightly. Although a month had passed, the sight of Madara instantly defeating Sandō Raikō remained vivid in his mind. In terms of strength, Shachuan Mugan was not necessarily stronger than Sandō Raikō, who had been the first to pass the first stage of the exam. But with the Kazekage, the Hokage, and the Land of Wind's daimyo all watching, he could only steel himself and announce the contestants.

"Uchiha Itachi? So he's from the Uchiha Clan. They're one of Konoha's most prestigious clans. I wonder how he'll perform!"

"Oh my, that child is Uchiha Itachi? He's so cute! He doesn't even look ten, does he? A child that young has already reached the main tournament? What a genius! Even if he loses, he can probably still be proud of himself!"

The spectators came from far and wide, but the Uchiha Clan's name was renowned throughout the Shinobi World. Once they heard that Madara belonged to the Uchiha Clan, they eagerly anticipated the match.

Madara strolled leisurely to the center of the arena. In stark contrast, his opponent, Shachuan Mugan, practically trembled as he stepped onto the field.

Shachuan Mugan was a short boy with white gauze wrapped around his head. His specialty was the Puppet Technique, so he always carried a puppet on his back. Unlike Madara, this was his second time taking the Chunin Ninja Exams. Having reached the main tournament, he had a chance of becoming a Chunin even if he lost, provided he performed well. What he had not expected was that his opponent would be Madara—the one who had instantly defeated that Kumogakure ninja.

"Lord Kiba, I forfeit!"

Under the eyes of the entire crowd, Shachuan Mugan reluctantly raised his right hand and announced his surrender. Humiliating as it was, losing face was still better than losing his life.