For the rest of the journey, Kazuhiko Uchiha encountered no more enemies blocking his way. After killing a few Fierce Beasts that attacked him, he finally reached the vicinity of the Cloudrock Platform before nightfall.
Because of the terrain and the barrier, only two roads led to the Cloudrock Platform, one from the east and one from the west. After inspecting both, Kazuhiko Uchiha chose to stay near the eastern road, where the surroundings were better, and wait for some kindhearted examinees to deliver their Pass Tokens to him.
Kazuhiko Uchiha went to a clear stream and washed the ingredients he had gathered along the way. Then he collected some dry branches from the forest, lit a campfire with Fire Release, and prepared a lavish feast of wild game.
After eating his fill, he leaped onto the trunk of a large tree and began training his mental power.
Compared with training the body, improving mental power was much harder.
Despite practicing Sunstrider Meditation for so long, Kazuhiko Uchiha had only improved his mental power by about twenty percent. Although it had reached the threshold for awakening the two-tomoe Sharingan, fully crossing that threshold would still require considerable time and the right opportunity.
For now, all he could do was keep his mental power at its peak. That way, when the opportunity came, he could seize it and smoothly evolve his Sharingan into the two-tomoe form, where its abilities would truly begin to shine.
The night passed uneventfully. Still without a breakthrough, Kazuhiko Uchiha ended his meditation, ate a simple meal, and created two Shadow Clones, sending them out around the eastern road to await other teams.
After all, not even a full day had passed, and finding Pass Tokens in the vast Lota Mountains was extremely difficult. Kazuhiko Uchiha was in no hurry. Sooner or later, a team would pass his way before the exam ended.
Time flew by. For an entire day, Kazuhiko Uchiha saw no one at all. His only haul was a large pile of wild ingredients for cooking.
Just as Kazuhiko Uchiha was preparing dinner, one of his Shadow Clones on the outskirts of the eastern road spotted a team of Stone ninja heading his way. It dispelled itself, returning its information to the original.
After receiving the Shadow Clone's memories, Kazuhiko Uchiha left the ingredients on the ground and immediately slipped toward the Stone ninja to await their arrival.
Before long, three figures darting between the trees appeared in Kazuhiko Uchiha's field of vision.
As they leaped along, a female Stone Ninja with short white hair asked the black-clad Stone Ninja leading them, "Captain Huirang, are we really giving up on looking for Pass Tokens?"
"There's no need. None of us is good at tracking, and we haven't found a single clue in a day and a half. Rather than waste our time, we might as well lie in wait and snatch tokens from other teams."
Clearly, the black-clad Stone ninja named Huirang had the same idea as Kazuhiko Uchiha.
Another Stone ninja, whose clothes bore the name "Akiyama," teased the monkey ninja beast on his shoulder and drawled, "Baihui, stop asking so many questions. Just trust the captain. With our strength and Little Gold's, hardly any team can match us anyway."
The short-haired Stone ninja, Baihui Hanasaki, gave him a disgusted look, then turned away without another word and followed Captain Huirang in silence.
Hidden in the shadows, Kazuhiko Uchiha heard their entire conversation and felt a little disappointed. He had thought someone was coming to deliver tokens, but they had come to compete for his hunting ground instead. He couldn't help sighing.
"Who's there? Come out!"
Huirang caught Kazuhiko Uchiha's sigh as they traveled. He immediately alerted his teammates and landed on the ground, taking up a defensive formation.
Since they had discovered him, Kazuhiko Uchiha simply stepped out. Looking at the three startled, wary Stone ninja, he said in a tone that brooked no argument, "Leave this place, or I'll kill you without mercy."
"Aren't you being a little too overbearing?" Huirang frowned, displeasure showing on his face, and demanded sharply, "This isn't Konoha's territory."
Kazuhiko Uchiha scoffed and said as though it were only natural, "From the moment I arrived, this became Konoha's territory."
As the short-haired Stone Ninja Baihui Hanasaki looked at Kazuhiko Uchiha's handsome face, the disgust in her eyes grew even stronger. She urged from the side, "Captain, stop wasting words on him. Just kill him."
"Shut up." Huirang reprimanded her in a low voice, clearly displeased. "Baihui, this is your last warning. Don't let your hatred of men cloud your judgment."
After reprimanding his teammate, Huirang turned to Kazuhiko Uchiha and said, "If you insist, then we'll have to exchange a few moves with you and see whether you're qualified to claim this prime spot."
"If you're not afraid to die, come on." Kazuhiko Uchiha had been bored waiting around. Having the Stone ninja show up to entertain him wasn't a bad thing.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
Baihui Hanasaki unleashed Swamp of the Underworld, trying to restrict Kazuhiko Uchiha's movements, while Captain Huirang summoned a massive earthen dragon head and fired mud projectiles to test his strength.
"Go, Little Gold."
The Stone ninja Akiyama gave the monkey ninja beast on his shoulder an order, then formed hand seals, channeling his chakra and strength into its body as he used a unique enhancement secret technique.
"Secret Technique: King Kong Transformation!"
Under the secret technique's enhancement, the little monkey, originally only half a meter tall, rapidly swelled into a golden giant ape nearly four meters tall.
"Roar!"
The golden giant ape pounded its chest with boulder-like fists, its blood-red eyes filled with savage fury. Throwing back its head, it let out a long roar, then charged like a bulldozer, swinging its heavy fist at Kazuhiko Uchiha.
The golden giant ape's two muscle-bound arms were as thick as old tree trunks. A single glance made the immense strength within them obvious.
Kazuhiko Uchiha's gaze sharpened. Wanting to test his current strength, he immediately opened the Gate of Pain, entering his strongest state. He clenched his right fist and, without hesitation, struck the golden giant ape's fist with one hundred percent of his strength.
Bang!
The two fists, one enormous and one small, collided. A tremendous shock wave erupted and spread outward, sending fallen leaves and loose stones flying as dust billowed into the air.
Kazuhiko Uchiha felt his chest tighten and involuntarily took half a step back. He had underestimated the giant ape's strength, but it was still within what he could withstand, and his body suffered little damage.
"Roar!"
The golden giant ape fared far worse. Under Kazuhiko Uchiha's counterattack, its right arm shattered piece by piece. White bones pierced its thick, tough flesh, jutting out bloodily as it howled in agony.
Having finished testing his strength, Kazuhiko Uchiha pushed off the ground and leaped clear of the Swamp of the Underworld. A large amount of primal energy gathered in his right hand, and he drove a plain, unadorned punch into the golden giant ape's skull.
Boom!
The golden giant ape's screams abruptly stopped. Its head burst like a watermelon, and as blood poured out, its enormous body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
After dealing with the golden giant ape, Kazuhiko Uchiha flipped through the air and landed on the ground. He drew the Bloodwing Black Blade from system space and pointed it at the horrified Stone ninja.
"Now, do you think I'm qualified?"
Before you continue