A struggle between ants

At Konoha's examination grounds, the vast crowd stood solemnly.

The Third Hokage's proclamation rang across the entire arena, echoing high above Konoha and lingering for a long time.

As the clamor subsided, order slowly returned.

Yet no one dared truly relax.

Today's Chunin Ninja Exams had long since ceased to be an ordinary trial for the younger generation. It was a grand gathering forcibly reduced to a lower dimension-all the geniuses competed on the same stage, all the powers watched from the shadows, yet one person alone had completely fixed its upper limit.

Lin Chen, standing silently in white, was the sole ceiling of this examination ground, and the inescapable shackle in everyone's heart.

At the center of the examination grounds, countless teams swiftly took their positions, their auras interweaving as undercurrents surged.

The three siblings from Sunagakure exuded a chilling presence. Gaara's eyes were vacant, a faint murderous aura flickering around him, yet those eyes that had once regarded all living things with indifference would uncontrollably glance toward Team 7 every few breaths.

That was an instinctive reverence for the strong.

Even the Tailed Beast's ferocity and instinct to kill lay completely dormant beneath the white-clad youth's oppressive power of rules.

The geniuses from Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure all curbed their usual arrogance and gathered in their own groups, their gazes cautious, not daring to show the slightest fighting spirit.

The stern orders from their villages' leaders were carved firmly into their hearts-no provocation, no probing, no antagonizing him.

Before the crushing weight of absolute strength, every genius's pride, superiority of bloodline, and fruits of grueling training were too fragile to withstand a single blow.

In the shadows of the crowd, the members of the Otogakure team exuded sinister auras, their eyes dark as they silently surveyed the grounds.

They were Orochimaru's blades, the executors of the Konoha Crush, who should have unleashed slaughter, stirred up chaos, and assassinated Konoha's elite during this examination.

Yet now, every one of them lay utterly silent and dormant, not daring to make the slightest move.

Orochimaru's orders had been utterly cold: as long as Lin Chen remained in Konoha, the plan would remain shelved. Every pawn was to watch and do nothing.

No one dared disobey.

The entire examination ground appeared to teem with contenders and excitement, but in truth, everyone was living with extreme caution beneath a game board Lin Chen could overturn with a casual gesture.

Within Team 7's ranks, the atmosphere was entirely different.

Naruto clenched his fists, his breathing slightly hurried, his eyes full of nervousness and anticipation. He feared neither powerful enemies, nor deadly battles, nor crushing defeat. He only feared that he was not working hard enough, that he would fail to keep pace with his companions.

Sakura looked composed. Her gaze swept over the geniuses around her as she quickly organized tactics and responses in her mind, fully prepared for the trial.

Only Sasuke Uchiha stood with an aura of cold, deathly stillness, utterly detached from the entire examination.

The Cursed Seal on his neck remained concealed and inactive, its black markings lying quietly against his flesh like a sleeping abyss, forever waiting to devour everything he had left.

The burning pain from the Cursed Seal entering his body had yet to fade completely. Threads of dark chakra still flowed slowly through his chakra pathways, transforming his physique and overturning the foundations of his past training.

Others merely thought him cold and aloof. No one knew that this boy's inner world had already been turned completely upside down.

Konoha's ninja way, the bonds with his companions, a bright future, his original resolve for vengeance... he had buried them all with his own hands.

All that occupied his mind now was darkness and power.

He shifted his eyes slightly, glancing sidelong at Lin Chen standing calmly beside him. Not a trace of emotion stirred in his eyes; only a deathly, obsessive stillness remained.

He had witnessed firsthand this man's supreme bearing as he annihilated a Level Three Rift, crushed an overlord from beyond their world, received the submission of the Five Kage, and made every village bow.

The more he had seen of that pinnacle, the more twisted and frenzied the longing in his heart became.

Effort was useless, talent was useless, the righteous path was useless.

This was the only truth he had grasped in his desperation.

Orochimaru's dark power was his only shortcut now, his only chance to touch the hem of a god's robes.

Even if that road ended in eternal damnation, he would embrace it gladly.

"First preliminary round: individual battle royale elimination!"

The examiner announced loudly, his voice ringing across the grounds, "Fight freely within the arena, conserve your fighting strength, and defeat your opponents. Those who hold out to the end will advance!"

The instant his words fell, fighting spirit ignited throughout the arena.

The long-suppressed geniuses from every village sprang into action, chakra surging and ninjutsu gathering, their fierce auras instantly filling the examination grounds.

The geniuses from Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure clashed in an instant. Fists flashed, ninjutsu thundered, and shock waves rolled as the brutal atmosphere of battle between peers erupted.

This was their only stage to prove themselves, the battlefield whose summit they had trained tirelessly to reach.

Everyone struggled desperately and fought with all their might, seeking to stand out among countless geniuses.

Yet viewed from above, this spectacular contest was utterly laughable.

To Lin Chen, the savage melee before him was nothing more than ants fighting one another.

He stood tall with his hands behind his back, his white robes untouched by dust, his indifferent eyes surveying the fighting throughout the arena without the slightest ripple in his state of mind.

The places in the next round, rankings among their peers, and future glory that these leading geniuses of the Shinobi World's younger generation fought for with all their strength meant nothing to him.

They competed over a tiny patch of the Shinobi World, seeking the utmost pinnacle of mortals.

He, however, sought dominion over the rules of all heavens and eternity, walking the supreme path beyond the mortal realm.

A difference in dimensions, a gulf between clouds and mud.

Beside him, Naruto could no longer restrain himself. He leaped into the arena, formed the beginnings of a Rasengan, and joined the melee in high spirits.

Sakura followed close behind, moving nimbly as she precisely evaded her opponents' attacks and calmly faced one powerful enemy after another.

Only Sasuke remained where he was, utterly motionless.

Battle roared around him and shock waves churned. The fierce winds from countless exploding ninjutsu swept over him, stirring his black hair and the edges of his clothes, yet failing to disturb his cold, deathly stillness.

He could not be bothered to compete with these peers.

What if I won? What if I took first place among the Chunin?

Before an absolute dimensional gap, all glory among one's peers was merely a self-deceiving joke.

His gaze remained on Lin Chen from beginning to end, like a crazed believer staring fixedly at his unreachable god.

He watched, compared, and yearned madly.

He wanted to see with his own eyes how these struggles between the Shinobi World's ants highlighted that man's singular, invincible supremacy.

He wanted to remind himself at every moment of his present lowliness and insignificance, to keep searing his obsession and force himself to plunge completely into darkness.

"Sasuke! Hurry up and help!"

Naruto called out loudly as he fought his opponent, his tone urgent.

Sakura also glanced over repeatedly, unease rising in her heart as she looked at Sasuke, who remained motionless.

Sasuke was far too cold and distant now, as though he had completely stripped away everything belonging to Team 7 and become a stranger separate from the team, the examination grounds, and the Shinobi World itself.

Sasuke remained unmoved by his companion's calls, not even shifting his eyes.

Then a genius from Kumogakure spotted an opening. His chakra surged, and his iron fist hurtled viciously toward Sasuke's face with the force of thunder, his killing intent chilling as he sought to crush this Konoha genius in a single blow.

The pupils of those nearby contracted slightly. They thought Sasuke Uchiha would be forced to respond hastily.

But in the next second, an abrupt change occurred.

Without a sound, the pitch-black Cursed Seal on Sasuke's neck suddenly lit up. Its dark markings instantly spread across his neck and climbed his cheeks as pitch-black dark chakra erupted.

There were no ninjutsu hand seals, no gathering of chakra.

Pure, savage, forbidden dark power swept around his body, and an icy, sinister killing aura instantly locked down the entire arena.

The Kumogakure genius's attack abruptly froze in midair. Every hair on his body stood on end, his mind reeled, and an overwhelming terror of death instantly enveloped him. His legs shook violently beyond his control.

He had never felt such a cold, pure aura of destruction.

The next instant, Sasuke slowly raised his eyes.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan was a red so vivid it seemed ready to drip blood. Black gloom completely shrouded his eyes, leaving not the slightest human warmth.

He raised his hand, his movement slow yet utterly forceful, and seized the opponent's fist, which was wrapped in Lightning Release chakra.

Crack-

The sharp sound of breaking bone abruptly rang out, echoing clearly through the chaotic examination grounds.

The Lightning Release chakra shattered instantly, and hard bones snapped with the sound. The Kumogakure genius screamed, his face turning deathly pale in an instant as the excruciating pain robbed him of all strength to resist.

Sasuke remained expressionless, his eyes cold and numb, and tightened his fingers slightly.

With another dull thud, his opponent was forcibly crushed down to his knees, completely unable to fight.

Throughout it all, there was no unnecessary movement, not the slightest disturbance-only ruthlessness, finality, and no quarter given.

There was no contest of ninja tactics, no exchange between peers, only pure crushing force and destruction.

In an instant, everyone fighting nearby stopped.