A Byakugan showdown

Uchiha Yi clicked his tongue. "Well, well. Just what I'd expect from Orochimaru, one of the Konoha Sannin. You noticed me ages ago?" He was genuinely surprised. He had hidden himself so thoroughly with Kamui, yet he had still been spotted.

Orochimaru soon supplied the answer. "Snakes are very sensitive, you know." Uchiha Yi understood at once. "So it was my body heat?"

Orochimaru flicked out his long tongue and stared at him. "May I ask who you are? And what do you want, following me around?"

"Nothing much. I just want to make a deal."

"A deal?"

"Right. Go ahead with your Konoha Crush Plan, but don't touch the Third Hokage," Uchiha Yi said seriously.

The moment those words left his mouth, Orochimaru's pupils contracted. "You're rather interesting, but..." His voice suddenly turned cold. "A mere brat dares act so insolently before me? Your arrogance knows no bounds!"

Orochimaru himself made no visible move, but two enormous snakes suddenly shot out behind Uchiha Yi, lunging at him with their bloody maws wide open.

Yet both snakes passed straight through Uchiha Yi.

Kamui: intangibility.

"Uchiha... Madara?" Orochimaru's pupils narrowed into slits, and he instantly went on guard.

Uchiha Yi clicked his tongue. "Tsk. Not Madara. You should have heard my name. I'm Uchiha Yi!"

"Heh, so it's you. But you've truly surprised me. Space-Time Ninjutsu just like Madara's... how enviable." Orochimaru gazed at him with undisguised greed.

Uchiha Yi frowned slightly and activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. "Amaterasu!"

Black flames erupted instantly, engulfing Orochimaru. Moments later, only a charred corpse remained.

"Stop pretending, Orochimaru. I know this much won't finish you."

The charred corpse suddenly split open, and Orochimaru crawled out of it. Uchiha Yi frowned at the sight. It really was disgusting.

"Those eyes of yours are impressive too. I find them very tempting!" Orochimaru stared at him, his eyes filled with desire.

"Oh, please!" Uchiha Yi scoffed. "You can't even beat Itachi, and you dare set your sights on me?"

Orochimaru's lips curled upward, and his hands rapidly formed hand seals.

"Summoning Technique!"

With a bang, a giant snake twenty or thirty meters long burst into view and lunged straight at Uchiha Yi.

Uchiha Yi's gaze turned cold. He decided he needed to teach this creep a lesson.

"Lightning Release: Chidori Sharp Spear!"

An enormous spear of lightning instantly pierced the giant snake. With a bang, it burst into smoke and returned to the summoning realm.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A gale howled through the area, instantly uprooting the surrounding trees.

This time, Orochimaru was truly going for the kill, unlike when he had held back against Sasuke.

But it was useless. Uchiha Yi used Flying Thunder God to appear directly in front of Orochimaru, grinned, and shouted his technique's name.

"Lightning Release: Lariat!"

It was the Fourth Raikage's signature technique. By concentrating chakra in the hand, it delivered far greater destructive power than Chidori.

The blow blasted Orochimaru to pieces.

Uchiha Yi was about to pursue him when the fragments suddenly split open, and Orochimaru appeared a short distance away, completely unscathed.

He frowned, thoroughly disgusted.

Orochimaru stared at him with hungry eyes.

"Interesting. So very interesting! First, Space-Time Ninjutsu just like Madara Uchiha's, and that was Flying Thunder God just now, wasn't it? And that last attack was the Fourth Raikage's technique?"

"I'm growing more and more curious. Where did you get all these ninjutsu?"

He made no further move to attack, instead craning his neck, his voice full of anticipation.

"Now I'm very interested in the deal you proposed."

Orochimaru hadn't wanted to make a deal with this brat, but the boy knew his plan. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and negotiate.

"That's more like it!"

Uchiha Yi nodded in satisfaction. "The deal is simple. Go ahead with your Konoha Crush Plan, but the Third Hokage must live."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "Yi, what do I get out of it?"

"Sasuke Uchiha."

Orochimaru paused. "Yi, I'm not quite sure what you mean."

"Come off it, Orochimaru. You think I don't know? You've set your sights on Sasuke because you want to use Living Corpse Reincarnation to steal my Uchiha Clan's kekkei genkai, don't you?"

Orochimaru instantly lost his composure.

The boy not only knew about Living Corpse Reincarnation, but also knew that he had already used it. This brat was far too dangerous.

Killing intent surged within him. He wanted to silence the boy.

Uchiha Yi noticed immediately.

"Don't even think about killing me, Orochimaru. To put it bluntly, even if you used every trump card you've prepared for this plan, you still couldn't beat me."

He wasn't bluffing. Even if Orochimaru summoned the First and Second Hokage with Impure World Reincarnation, it would do him no good.

The First in the Konoha Crush Plan had, at best, ten or twenty percent of his strength at his peak. With all the other restrictions placed on him, he was no match for Yi.

At his peak, Hashirama Senju could thrash even Madara with the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and the Nine-Tails. Orochimaru's current methods simply weren't enough.

Orochimaru's expression shifted. He wasn't certain whether the trump card Uchiha Yi meant was Impure World Reincarnation, but it almost certainly was.

"Relax. I won't do anything to you. In fact, I'll hand Sasuke over to you."

"When Itachi left Konoha, he made an agreement with me to protect Sasuke in secret. So don't think you can take him away without my permission."

"But that agreement has expired now, so..."

"So, as long as I agree to your deal, you won't interfere between me and the old Third Hokage?" Orochimaru regained his composure.

"Exactly!" Uchiha Yi nodded.

"Heh, it seems I have no choice. Even if I gave up on Sasuke, you'd still interfere between me and the Third Hokage, wouldn't you?"

"Yes. Glad you understand."

"Fine, I agree. I'll keep the Third Hokage alive. But are you sure you don't want me to call off the Konoha Crush Plan?"

Orochimaru stared hard at Uchiha Yi, trying to detect something else in his expression.

"No need. I only want the Third Hokage alive. Do whatever you like with the rest."

Uchiha Yi shook his head and turned to leave.

But just as he vanished, he left one final remark.

"Oh, right, Orochimaru. A friendly tip: when you're catching up with your teacher, be careful you don't end up like the Nine-Tails."

Orochimaru froze.

"The Reaper Death Seal?"

Interesting. This Uchiha brat knows so much. He's far too mysterious.

And he seems stronger than Itachi. Those Sharingan of his are more powerful too.

It looks like I made the right choice this time. The Uchiha bloodline really is something to look forward to!

As his voice faded, Orochimaru turned and withdrew. Although he hadn't fought Uchiha Yi head-on just now, it wasn't really out of fear. He knew perfectly well that a serious fight would cause too much of a commotion and ruin his entire plan. But after this encounter, his hunger for the Uchiha Clan's kekkei genkai had only grown.

With his deal with Orochimaru settled, Uchiha Yi slipped straight out of the Forest of Death. Anko's earlier encounter with Orochimaru had already put Konoha's Anbu on high alert, and a large number of them were heading into the forest.

Staying wouldn't have caused him any trouble, but his business was finished. There was no reason to linger, so he left.

Five days passed, and the second exam in the Forest of Death officially ended. Since too many contestants had passed, the Third Hokage decided to hold preliminary matches before the third exam began. They would be one-on-one fights, and only the winners could advance to the third exam. The process was exactly the same as in the original story.

By the time Uchiha Yi arrived, several matches had already finished. He got there just in time for Naruto's fight against Kiba.

Sharp-eyed Hinata spotted him first and called brightly, "Yi, you're here?"

Hinata added softly, "Um... thank you for everything!"

Uchiha Yi smiled and replied casually, "Hey, no need to be so polite with me."

After a pause, he added, "Just remember to keep it a secret."

Hinata blushed and nodded. "Okay!"

As they chatted, a green figure darted over. Rock Lee, with his thick eyebrows and wide eyes, bounded up to them. "Oh, isn't this Yi?"

Uchiha Yi greeted him with a smile. "Hey, Rock Lee. Long time no see!"

Might Guy came over too, his voice booming. "Haha, it's young Yi! I heard you earned your Chunin qualification early?"

Uchiha Yi looked a little embarrassed. "Uncle Guy, it was just luck."

Guy immediately waved that off and slapped his thigh. "What luck? This is the result of fiery youth blossoming! Rock Lee, don't you agree?"

Rock Lee clenched his fists, his face full of excitement. "Guy-sensei, you couldn't be more right!"

With that, the two tearfully crashed into a hug. Feeling a little awkward at the sight, Uchiha Yi looked away and greeted the others nearby.

Kakashi was there, but Sasuke was nowhere to be seen-he had probably received the Evil Sealing Method and was undergoing treatment.

Just then, Naruto came over, patting his stomach and laughing. "Yi, you're here too! Did you see that? I'm amazing! I beat Kiba!"

Uchiha Yi gave him a thumbs-up. "Yeah, definitely. Deciding a fight with a fart... that's quite the finishing move, Naruto!"

Naruto's face immediately fell, and he puffed up indignantly. "What? A win's a win! Hmph!"

He was probably a little embarrassed himself. After a few muttered complaints, he fell silent.

Uchiha Yi's attention had already drifted to the arena's large screen-the next matchup had appeared. Hinata Hyuga versus Neji Hyuga! The Main Family against the branch family. This would be interesting.

Kakashi watched the screen and remarked, "A Byakugan showdown."

Naruto leaned over, looking baffled. "Byakugan? What's that?"

Rock Lee immediately came over with a serious expression. "The Byakugan is the Hyuga Clan's kekkei genkai. Its perceptive abilities are even stronger than the Sharingan's!" He had always considered Neji his rival, so he knew all about it.

In the arena, Neji stared coldly at Hinata and opened with, "Lady Hinata, it's been a while."

Hinata clutched the hem of her clothes, her voice trembling. "Neji, i-it's been a while. You..."

Before she could finish, Neji interrupted impatiently. "Enough, Lady Hinata. Spare me the chatter! I advise you to forfeit now. You're no match for me!"

Tsk. That's Neji, all right! Before Naruto's 'talk jutsu' got through to him, he really was extreme. Uchiha Yi had expected this.

But he wasn't worried about Hinata at all. Ever since awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan, he had sought her out privately and secretly given her extra training. Unlike the Hinata in the original story, she was no longer so timid around other people, though she still grew shy around Uchiha Yi.

The reason she felt intimidated by Neji was that Uchiha Yi had told her about the branch family in advance, including the secret of the Caged Bird Seal. Hinata sympathized with Neji, but as a member of the Main Family, she didn't know how to face him.