The spectators were disappointed again

After Sōsuke Aburame's farce, the competition entered its second round. Seven contestants had advanced: two from Konoha, Madara Uchiha and Hayato Hyuga; two from Sunagakure, Kazeya Fūya and Shama Che; one from Iwagakure, Takuma Iwakawa; and two from Kumogakure, Raikō Marukage and Lingchuan Ling.

Although the Chunin Ninja Exams brought together ninja from many different Ninja Villages, only Genin from the Great Ninja Villages had made it this far. That alone spoke volumes about the resources of the Five Great Nations.

"Let me make this clear in advance: in the second round of the main tournament, you may be drawn against someone from your own team."

As Madara Uchiha stepped forward to draw lots, Arakawa Kiba explained the rules for the second round to everyone.

"Itachi, I drew number two. What did you get?"

Once the draw was over, Madara Uchiha gave a knowing smile as Hayato Hyuga hurried over to compare their results, then took out his slip.

"I got number one. Unfortunately, we're facing each other."

In the first round, Madara Uchiha's opponent had fled without a fight, while Hayato Hyuga had swiftly defeated a Sunagakure ninja. Both had put on far too impressive a showing. Given Madara Uchiha's record of killing an opponent, even though the Hokage had surely made assurances to the other villages in private, the safest option was still to have his teammate Hayato Hyuga test his strength and willingness to fight.

With this arrangement, if Hayato Hyuga won, the other villages' Genin would not have to face a dangerous opponent like Madara Uchiha. If Hayato Hyuga lost, he could still reveal Madara Uchiha's true level and give everyone some idea of what to expect. Either way, one of Konoha's two powerhouses would be eliminated. Otherwise, if the exams ended with Hayato facing Madara in the final, the other villages would lose face completely.

"Damn it, those bastards definitely rigged this!"

Watching the indignant Hayato Hyuga, Madara Uchiha smiled in satisfaction. The boy had finally developed a little sense.

If this had happened before the Chunin Ninja Exams, Hayato Hyuga would probably have done nothing but shout that he would beat Madara, without bothering to consider why the draw had worked out so conveniently.

Although the orders the Third Hokage and Danzo had given Team One were frustrating, in a way, they had also helped Hayato Hyuga grow.

"Holy shit, it's starting! Konoha's prestigious Hyuga Clan against Konoha's prestigious Uchiha Clan! One has the Byakugan, the other has the Sharingan. What's their fight going to look like?"

"The Byakugan is better for reconnaissance, but in combat, I think the Sharingan is stronger. After all, Copy Ninja Kakashi made his name with just one Sharingan!"

"Nonsense! Didn't you see Hayato Hyuga's Rotation and Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm? Those are Byakugan secret techniques—even if the Sharingan copied them, they wouldn't be as good as the originals. I'm betting on Hayato Hyuga! Besides, how are you so sure Uchiha Itachi has even awakened his Sharingan?"

Amid the spectators' chatter, Madara Uchiha and Hayato Hyuga slowly stepped into the Arena.

Looking at the expressionless Madara Uchiha across from him, Hayato Hyuga felt his heartbeat quicken. Facing Madara Uchiha in an ultimate showdown with everyone watching—wasn't this the very scene he had dreamed of?

Hayato Hyuga of the Hyuga Clan defeating Uchiha Itachi, the Uchiha Clan's genius, before citizens of the Great Nations, the Hokage, the Kazekage, and even the Daimyo!

Just imagining that scene made Hayato's body tremble with excitement.

"Begin!"

As Arakawa Kiba announced the start of the match, Hayato Hyuga raised his trembling right hand.

"I forfeit!"

Dreams were beautiful, but reality was cruel. Over the past month, Hayato Hyuga had come to fully understand that he and Madara Uchiha were not remotely on the same level. Even if he were in peak condition and fought at two hundred percent of his strength, Madara Uchiha would still thrash him mercilessly. All his efforts would accomplish was to help the others glean a little more information about Madara Uchiha, playing right into their scheme against the two of them.

Now that Hayato Hyuga had wised up, he had no intention of letting anyone use him as a blade to probe Madara Uchiha. So, despite knowing the spectators would curse him for it, he raised his hand and surrendered without hesitation.

"Damn it, just how strong is this Uchiha Itachi? It's one thing for someone from Sunagakure to be afraid to fight him, but even Konoha's Hyuga Clan won't take him on?"

"Who knows? But I heard the kid killed his opponent outright in the preliminaries. Maybe that's why nobody dares to fight him."

Madara Uchiha had appeared in two rounds of the main tournament, and the spectators had eagerly awaited his performance both times. Unfortunately, both opponents had surrendered outright. The spectators hoping to see his true strength began hurling curses from the stands.

As the spectators vented their anger, the sound of shattering porcelain came from the Arena's seats of honor. The Land of Wind's Daimyo had flown into a rage.

"What is this? I can accept Sunagakure's ninja fearing death, but would your Konoha ninja actually kill their own teammates?"

"My deepest apologies, Your Highness. As you said, Hayato Hyuga and Uchiha Itachi are teammates. Presumably, they have fought countless times in private. Uchiha Itachi's strength is also far beyond that of a Genin, so Hayato's surrender is understandable. It is only natural that Sunagakure's Shachuan Mugan would fear him as well."

Although the Land of Wind's Daimyo was angry over Hayato Hyuga's surrender, the Hokage and Kazekage apologizing before him were both secretly delighted. The Kazekage, in particular, now had a much better impression of Konoha thanks to Hayato Hyuga's surrender.

If even Hayato Hyuga, who had performed so brilliantly, surrendered outright to Uchiha Itachi, how could anyone blame Sunagakure's ninja for falling short?

"You've finally gotten a little smarter."

After Hayato Hyuga surrendered, Madara Uchiha walked straight over and patted his shoulder in encouragement.

Faced with this rare praise from Madara Uchiha, Hayato Hyuga, who had still felt somewhat disappointed about forfeiting, immediately cast all his sadness and regret aside and broke into a happy smile. After all, this was the first time Madara Uchiha had praised him since they had met.

With Konoha's internal clash quickly concluded, one of the remaining five contestants advanced directly, while the other four fought. In the end, Konoha's Uchiha Itachi, Iwagakure's Takuma Iwakawa, Kumogakure's Lingchuan Ling, and Sunagakure's Kazeya Fūya became the final four of the Chunin Ninja Exams. The semifinal matchups were Madara Uchiha against Takuma Iwakawa, and Lingchuan Ling against Kazeya Fūya.

Takuma Iwakawa was a fat young man, 1.8 meters tall, with a plump, good-fortuned face. When he discovered that his opponent was Madara Uchiha, who had only fought once so far and had killed someone the moment he did, his features immediately crumpled into a picture of misery. How could I be unlucky enough to draw him?