An outrageous order

"What the hell?! Does that kid from Sunagakure not even have the guts to fight?"

"What are we even watching this for if he surrenders right away?!"

The spectators, who had been eagerly anticipating a performance from Uchiha Itachi of the prestigious Uchiha clan, erupted in curses when they saw Madara Uchiha's opponent forfeit outright. It was not just the spectators—the daimyo seated above them was displeased as well.

"Kazekage, are all your Sunagakure ninja this spineless? If you're this useless, then perhaps we in the Land of Wind have no reason to spend money supporting a bunch of trash."

The complaints of the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, seated above Kazekage Rasa, reached the Kazekage's ears, but he could hardly explain his predicament.

Rasa had personally witnessed Madara Uchiha kill his opponent with a single move in the preliminaries. Clearly, Madara Uchiha was no ordinary genin. Though Shachuan Mugan's decision to forfeit outright was cowardly, it was not without reason. As Kazekage, he could hardly force his own subordinate to march to his death.

"Your Highness, allow me to explain. To be frank, Uchiha Itachi is a prodigy whose abilities far surpass those of his peers even in Konoha. That is precisely why he graduated early and became a genin at seven. As of today, Uchiha Itachi is only eight years old, yet his strength already far exceeds that of a genin. An eight-year-old child inevitably struggles to judge how much force to use, and during the preliminaries, Uchiha Itachi accidentally killed a ninja from Kumogakure. I imagine that is why the genin from Sunagakure did not dare fight him. If Your Highness wishes to see Uchiha Itachi's abilities, I will instruct Itachi not to use lethal force in his remaining matches. That should give his opponents a little more courage to face him."

As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi had always advocated peace. Sunagakure and Konoha were currently allies, but if the Daimyo of the Land of Wind stopped funding Sunagakure, the village might resort to war to seize resources and survive its shortages. Whether to preserve their alliance's dignity or ensure Sunagakure's safety, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not allow the Kazekage to lose the daimyo's trust, so he stepped forward to mediate.

"If Itachi isn't allowed to kill, that takes all the fun out of it. Oh, very well. It would be even more boring if all these genin surrendered whenever they faced him."

Seated high on the viewing platform, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind cared nothing for the ninja's lives. To him, ninja were merely tools, and he had come to watch the genin matches for amusement. If a few people actually died, he would have more to talk about with his wives when he returned.

Listening to the daimyo's grumbling, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Rasa felt displeased, but even as Kage, neither dared show the slightest trace of it.

"Itachi isn't allowed to hit hard anymore? Why not? Isn't that just telling him to hold back? What if Itachi holds back and his opponent doesn't, and Itachi gets hurt or even killed?!"

While helping the Kazekage out of his predicament, the Third Hokage also sent an ANBU member to deliver his orders to Kazuhiko, who then relayed them to Madara Uchiha. Hayato Hyuga happened to hear the orders as well.

After a month of instruction from Madara Uchiha, Hayato had come to regard Madara as another teacher. Seeing Madara being put at a disadvantage, Hayato spoke up for him before Madara could say anything himself.

Even though these were the Hokage's orders, Hayato questioned them for the sake of his teacher and friend.

"I understand. I'll hold back."

To Hayato's surprise, Madara Uchiha calmly accepted this deeply unfair order, leaving him thoroughly bewildered.

Hayato could not understand how Madara Uchiha, who had always been so proud, could accept such an outrageous order.

"The chunin ninja exams select the elite among genin. Besides strength, they assess a ninja's mental maturity and judgment. Uchiha Itachi, your strength has already met the standard. The moment you accepted Lord Hokage's orders without resistance, your maturity met the standard as well. I can guarantee that even if you lose to your opponent in the next round because you have to hold back, you have passed these chunin ninja exams. I give you my word as Kazuhiko, a jōnin: once this exam is over, you will be a chunin."

Kazuhiko was actually displeased with Lord Hokage's orders as well, but for a ninja, a superior's orders were absolute. Making the eight-year-old Madara Uchiha accept this unfair world was rather cruel, so after Madara accepted the orders, Kazuhiko went a step further and promised that he would definitely be promoted to chunin.

"Hayato, in the ninja world, don't talk about fairness or reason. Talk about strength and interests. Lord Hokage naturally has his reasons for issuing this order. All you and I need to do is obey."

Madara Uchiha did not need to think to know why the Hokage had given him such an outrageous order: the people at the top wanted some entertainment. Had Sandō not crossed a line Madara would never tolerate, Madara would not have taken this bunch of brats seriously. As long as they did not court death, he had no intention of killing them anyway. Agreeing to this condition cost him nothing, so he accepted.

"Hayato Hyuga of Konoha! Sato Ei of Sunagakure!"

Two more pairs fought after Madara Uchiha's match, and finally it was Hayato Hyuga's turn. By sheer coincidence, Hayato Hyuga's opponent was also from Sunagakure.

"So it's you, kid from Konoha!"

Though Shachuan Mugan's decision to flee without fighting Madara Uchiha was understandable, it was undeniably humiliating. As a fellow villager, Sato Ei naturally shared that humiliation. Now that he, too, faced an opponent from Konoha, Sato Ei wanted to personally reclaim the pride Shachuan Mugan had lost against them. Seeing that his opponent was Hayato Hyuga, whose performance in the first round had been less than impressive, Sato Ei grew excited.

"Do you think Hayato can win?"

In the arena stands, Kazuhiko saw Madara Uchiha taking a rare interest in someone else's fight and eagerly struck up a conversation with him. He also felt somewhat sorry about Lord Hokage's orders.

"I taught him for a month. If he can't beat a genin, he might as well die out there."

Madara Uchiha's eight-year-old body was still rather short, and the railing on the second floor was too high, so he simply sat on it. Hearing Madara Uchiha's words, Kazuhiko Sarutobi gave an awkward smile.

Come to think of it, aren't you just a genin yourself, kid? How can you sound so arrogant?

But recalling Madara Uchiha's astonishing performance, Kazuhiko Sarutobi swallowed his retort.

"Hayato Hyuga of Konoha. Got a problem with that?"

Knowing that Madara Uchiha had been treated unfairly, Kazuhiko Hyuga was in a foul mood. Seeing his opponent's flippant, dismissive attitude only made him angrier, so his reply was thoroughly impatient.

"No problem. I just want to beat you senseless."