31-35

Chapter 31: Max-Level Character Slaughters the Newbie Village  

“So, what do you want from us?” 

Seeing that Kazama had taken all their ninja tools, and despite throwing everything they had at him, they still couldn’t beat him, even the usually stubborn Gaara had lost his fire. 

“Easy. Kankuro, you bullied Naruto earlier, so at the very least, you owe him an apology.” 

“Fine, I’ll apologize.” 

Though Kankuro was reluctant, he didn’t dare defy Kazama. 

“Thanks a ton, Kazama! Come on, I’m treating you to Ichiraku Ramen!” Naruto shouted, bounding over excitedly. 

“You and Sakura go ahead. I’ve got something to handle here,” Kazama replied. 

He needed to talk to Gaara about what was coming next. Kazama wasn’t just thrashing the three of them to show off. His real goal was to stop Gaara from attacking Konoha. 

“Cool, we’ll wait for you!” Sakura called out, flashing Kazama a heart-shaped hand gesture as she left. 

Wonder what Gaara, the eternal bachelor, thought of that. 

“What do you want with me?” Gaara asked, picking up on Kazama’s subtle glance. He quickly sent Kankuro and Temari away. 

“Gaara, don’t follow the Fourth Kazekage’s orders to destroy Konoha.” 

“What?! How do you know about our plan?” Gaara instinctively moved to attack, stunned that their mission, which hadn’t even started, was already known to an enemy—a ninja’s worst nightmare. 

But then he remembered his Sand Release was useless against Kazama. 

“Don’t worry about how I know. Just listen. The Fourth Kazekage is being manipulated by Orochimaru. That’s why he’s teamed up to attack Konoha. And it won’t be long before Orochimaru assassinates him. You need to be on guard. That’s all I’ve got to say—believe me or not, it’s up to you.” 

With that, Kazama turned and walked away. He knew Gaara was sharp enough to dig into the truth himself. If Gaara could see through Orochimaru’s scheme, the damage to Konoha would be minimal. 

Kazama had considered telling the Third Hokage directly, but if the Third was prepared, Orochimaru wouldn’t cause enough chaos. And without chaos, Kazama wouldn’t get his chance to take out Danzo. So, he came up with this balanced plan: let Orochimaru stir up trouble, giving Kazama the opening to kill Danzo, while keeping the chaos controlled to avoid heavy casualties. Plus, after dealing with Danzo, he could help Konoha fend off Orochimaru’s attack. 

As Kazama finalized his strategy, ready to shine in the Chunin Exams, he was suddenly summoned to the Third Hokage’s office. 

“Kazama, you don’t need to take part in the Chunin Exams. With your skills, you can be promoted to Jonin right now!” 

Kazama hadn’t expected the Third to open a backdoor for him. 

“Uh, about that…” Kazama hesitated, caught off guard. 

He knew the Third meant well. With his current strength, entering the Chunin Exams was like a max-level character stomping through a newbie village—pointless. But Kazama needed to fight different ninjas and absorb their jutsu to grow stronger. The Chunin Exams were his golden opportunity. 

“Thanks for the offer, Lord Hokage, but if I skip straight to Jonin, people might talk. It could hurt your reputation, too. So, please, let me take the exam.” 

“Alright, if you’re fine with the hassle, then Team 7 will participate together,” the Third said, clearly pleased that Kazama wasn’t looking for special treatment and even considered his position. 

“If you weren’t so young, I’d be tempted to pass the Hokage title to you,” the Third murmured, watching Kazama’s retreating figure with a sigh. 

Chapter 32: Sasuke’s Stubborn Show-Off Streak  

Not long after, Kakashi handed the Chunin Exam application forms to Kazama and the others. 

Kazama had already figured he’d be taking the Chunin Exams, so he wasn’t exactly jumping for joy. 

But Naruto, standing nearby, was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. 

Any chance to steal the spotlight? Naruto was all in. 

“There’ll probably be a ton of super strong genin at the Chunin Exams, right? I’m kinda freaked out!”  

Sakura, the weakest of the group, was naturally a bit hesitant about joining the exams. 

“Don’t worry, Sakura. You’ve got me!”  

“Kazama-kun!”  

At Kazama’s reassurance, Sakura shot him a look filled with adoration. 

“Damn it! This guy’s stealing my spotlight again!”  

Seeing Sakura swoon over Kazama instead of him, Sasuke felt a surge of irritation.  

He’d already made Kazama his target to surpass, so he was determined to one-up him at every turn. 

“What, you losers think you’re good enough for the Chunin Exams?”  

“Why don’t you just run home to your mommies?”  

“Haha!”  

As soon as Kazama and the others arrived at the Chunin Exam hall, they saw Rock Lee and Tenten sprawled on the ground, roughed up by a few genin. 

“Jerks! How dare they bully people!”  

Naruto, always ready to stand up for the underdog, was about to charge in. 

But Kazama quickly held him back. 

“Chill, Naruto. They’re letting themselves get beat up on purpose.” 

“Huh?”  

Naruto blinked, totally confused by Kazama’s words. 

“They’re hiding their real strength,” Kazama explained, stepping toward the rowdy ninja who were still taunting. 

“Excuse us, we need to get to the third exam room.” 

“Oh, the last two begged us to let them pass too, but ended up with their faces smashed in!”  

“Yeah, if you wanna get through, you gotta crawl under our legs first! Haha!”  

The Chunin Exams were cutthroat, and plenty of competitors tried to intimidate their rivals early on to scare them out of the running. 

“Alright, now it’s my turn to shine!”  

Sasuke’s heart leapt with excitement.  

Before Kazama could say a word, he charged at the two ninja.  

Kazama always got to play the cool guy, but this time, Sasuke was determined to steal the show and make everyone see him in a new light. 

But just then, Rock Lee—who’d been sprawled on the ground—sprang to his feet.  

With a single punch, he sent the ninja squaring off with Sasuke crashing to the floor. 

“You bastard! You stole my moment!”  

Sasuke silently cursed Lee in his head. 

“Lee, didn’t you say you were gonna hide your strength?” Tenten snapped, clearly annoyed. 

“What?! That guy was actually pretending to get beat up?!”  

Hearing Tenten and seeing Lee’s performance, Sasuke was stunned.  

But his shock wasn’t about Lee—it was about Kazama.  

From the start, Kazama had said Lee was faking it.  

Sasuke had scoffed at the idea, refusing to believe it.  

But now, everything Kazama predicted had come true. 

“Kazama’s insight is unreal!”  

While Sasuke was busy wrestling with envy and frustration, Rock Lee strode over to Sakura. 

“Will you go out with me?”  

Turns out, Lee had a crush on Sakura and had been putting on a show to impress her. 

“What the heck?!”  

Sakura nearly tripped over her own feet. 

“No way I’m into guys with bushy eyebrows! Plus, I already like someone!”  

With that, Sakura glanced at Kazama beside her. 

“Is it you? What’s your name?”  

Seeing Sakura’s eyes on Kazama, Lee turned to him. 

“Shouldn’t you introduce yourself before asking someone’s name?”  

“Rock Lee!”  

“Sanada Kazama!”  

“You’re Sanada Kazama?!”  

Lee’s eyes widened in shock.  

Word of Kazama trouncing Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro had already spread like wildfire through Konoha. 

“I heard you used to be the dead-last at the Ninja Academy, but now you’re strong enough to take down three Suna ninja! You’re a true genius to grow that much so fast. I want to test you myself—let’s see if you’re the real deal!”  

“The Uchiha clan is the true genius family. If you want a challenge, you’ll have to go through me first!”  

Determined not to let Kazama steal the spotlight again, Sasuke stepped forward. 

Chapter 33: Sasuke’s Attempt to Show Off Fails  

“Alright then! I’ll use you, the genius of the Uchiha clan, as my warm-up!” 

“Jerk! How dare you underestimate me!” Sasuke roared, charging straight at Rock Lee. 

Constantly overshadowed by Kazama, Sasuke was already frustrated with nowhere to vent. Now, seeing this guy in a tight green suit with bushy eyebrows daring to look down on him, Sasuke was absolutely livid. 

“Not bad spirit, but your moves are too slow!” 

“Konoha Whirlwind!” 

Rock Lee spun into a high kick, sending Sasuke flying into the air. 

“Konoha Gale!” 

A follow-up low kick knocked Sasuke flat on the ground. 

Just those two moves left Sasuke, no slouch in combat, battered and bruised, completely unable to fight back. 

“This guy’s taijutsu is even better than Kazama’s!” Sasuke thought, stunned but refusing to give up. 

He immediately activated his two-tomoe Sharingan. 

“If he’s that fast, I’ll just use my Sharingan to track his attack patterns!” 

But even with the Sharingan active, Sasuke kept getting pummeled in the fight that followed. 

Sakura and Naruto could hardly believe their eyes. They knew how strong Sasuke was. Aside from Kazama, no one had ever beaten him this badly. 

“You “You’re too weak. There’s no point in continuing this,” Rock Lee said, turning to Kazama. 

“You’re up. Otherwise, your teammate won’t be in any shape to take the Chunin Exams.” 

“Why did this happen? The Sharingan’s supposed to see through taijutsu! Why couldn’t I beat him?” 

“Because he’s too fast. Even if your Sharingan can track his attacks, your body can’t keep up,” Kazama explained, helping Sasuke to his feet. 

“Now it’s my turn.” 

“Finally, I’ve been waiting for this!” Rock Lee said, practically buzzing with excitement. 

He launched into the Konoha Great Whirlwind, an all-out spinning attack. 

But Kazama didn’t even dodge. He stood his ground, summoning the Mysterious Yellow Flame, which swirled around his body. 

The flame’s incredible defensive power made it perfect for countering Lee’s taijutsu. 

“Using Katon to defend? Is this guy out of his mind?” The onlookers, clueless about Kazama’s strategy, started mocking him. 

In their minds, Katon was for attacking, not defending. But they didn’t know Kazama’s flame wasn’t ordinary—it was a devastating, otherworldly fire. 

Boom! 

Just when everyone thought Rock Lee would crush Kazama, Lee’s spinning kick couldn’t even break through the fiery barrier around Kazama’s body, let alone touch him. 

“What?! What kind of Katon is this? Its defense is insane!” the crowd gasped. 

Even Rock Lee couldn’t believe it. The moment his kick hit the Mysterious Yellow Flame, it felt like slamming into solid rock. Not only could he not break through, but his right foot was throbbing with pain. 

“No way! I refuse to believe I can’t break your defense!” 

“Konoha Rising Wind!” 

“Dynamic Prelude!” 

Lee unleashed two even stronger techniques in quick succession. 

But the result was the same—Kazama’s Mysterious Yellow Flame held firm, completely unshaken. 

Chapter 34: Thrashing Rock Lee and Shocking Might Guy  

Even though Kazama hadn’t thrown a single attack from start to finish, anyone with eyes could see the gap between him and Rock Lee was massive.  

If you can’t even break through someone’s defense, how are you supposed to fight them? 

“Omote Renge!”  

With a fierce shout, Lee opened the Gate of Life and Gate of Rest. 

Kazama’s heart leapt with excitement. He immediately dropped the Xuanhuang Flame defense surrounding his body.  

His goal? To absorb Lee’s Omote Renge.  

That way, he’d gain the power of the Eight Gates.  

And let’s be real—fully opening all Eight Gates makes you way stronger than a Kage-level ninja, like, ten times over! 

Since Kazama had dropped his defense, Lee’s kick sent him soaring into the air in an instant. 

“Is Lee nuts? He’s using his ultimate move already?!”  

At this point, Hyuga Neji had been drawn over by the clash between Kazama and Lee. 

“No choice. His opponent’s the so-called monstrous genius, Sanada Kazama!” Tenten muttered with a sigh. 

“But Kazama’s Fire Release defense is gone. Looks like he can’t block Lee’s Omote Renge. If this keeps up, Kazama’s out of the Chunin Exams, and we’ll have one less tough competitor.” 

Just as Neji and Tenten were convinced Kazama was done for, Kazama—still airborne from Lee’s kick—flashed a sly grin.  

He’d already absorbed Omote Renge. 

Ding! Successfully absorbed Omote Renge. Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Ura Renge and the power to open the Third Gate of Life!  

Ding! Absorb two more ninjutsu to unlock a fourth type of Strange Fire! 

As Lee prepared to slam Kazama headfirst into the ground, Xuanhuang Flames flared up around Kazama’s body again.  

Burned by the flames, Lee had no choice but to halt his follow-up attack. 

“Damn it! I was this close to beating Kazama!”  

Tenten sighed, feeling bad for Lee. 

“Your defense is insane, but you haven’t attacked once. What, can you only defend?” Lee challenged. 

Kazama just smirked at Lee’s words.  

“I’m just worried I’d go too hard. If I crippled you, how’d you compete in the Chunin Exams?” 

“Then I’ll forfeit the exams!”  

“Alright then—Ura Renge!”  

“What?!”  

Lee, Tenten, and Neji were all floored.  

Ura Renge was a move only Lee and their teacher, Might Guy, could use.  

And now Kazama was pulling it off?! 

Before Lee could process his shock, Kazama’s supersonic strike was already barreling toward him. 

“Is this the gap between me and a genius? Guess I’m out of the Chunin Exams…”  

Lee knew how devastating Ura Renge was. There was no dodging it. 

But at that critical moment, a blue-clad figure leapt in front of Lee, perfectly neutralizing Kazama’s attack.  

It was none other than Lee, Tenten, and Neji’s teacher—the Blue Beast of Konoha, Might Guy.  

To outsiders, it looked like Guy had effortlessly countered Kazama’s Ura Renge.  

But Guy knew better. Blocking Kazama’s attack was no walk in the park.  

Every one of Kazama’s strikes carried the burn of Strange Fire.  

And the Yin-Yang Dual Flames Kazama now wielded were hundreds of times stronger than his old Xuanhuang Flames.  

The Yin Fire, in particular, could reduce an enemy to nothing—not even bones would remain.  

Kazama had gone easy, knowing Might Guy had been lurking nearby and would step in to save Lee at the last second.  

Otherwise, forget Lee—even Guy might’ve been incinerated by the Yin Fire. 

“No wonder you’re Kakashi’s student. Impressive!”  

“Holy crap! There’s a guy with even bushier eyebrows than Lee?!”  

Naruto couldn’t help but blurt out in shock. 

“Shut it! Don’t mock Sensei Guy!”  

“You shut it! Your eyebrows are already ridiculous, and now there’s a teacher with even thicker ones? How am I supposed to react?!”  

Naruto might not be the strongest, but when it came to trash-talking, nobody could touch him. 

“Alright, enough. Get to the exam hall already!”  

“Sensei, I lost…”  

After Kazama and the others left, Lee looked utterly dejected. 

“Don’t beat yourself up, Lee. Losing to him’s no shame.”  

“Why’s that?”  

As Lee puzzled over Guy’s words, he suddenly noticed his teacher’s hands—bloodied and battered from blocking Kazama’s Ura Renge.  

And just like that, it all clicked. 

Chapter 35: With Tsukuyomi, Exams Are Nothing to Fear  

“Lord Hokage, can I not be the proctor for the first exam?” 

While Kazama and the other genin waited in the exam hall for the proctor, Morino Ibiki, the designated proctor for the first round, was in the Third Hokage’s office. 

“What’s wrong, Ibiki? You’ve always been the proctor for the first exam in previous years,” the Third said, clearly puzzled. 

“But this year, there’s Sanada Kazama. That guy’s a monster! The first round is a written test, and to make sure his team passes, he’s definitely going to use Tsukuyomi on me. I can’t handle that!” Ibiki protested. 

He’d seen Kazama use Tsukuyomi on someone who attacked Konoha Hospital. A few seconds later, that person was a gibbering wreck. The memory of that terrifying genjutsu still gave Ibiki chills. 

“Hmm, about that…” The Third gave an awkward chuckle. 

“You’re overthinking it. You’re their proctor, after all. Kazama won’t go too far. Don’t worry!” 

“Yeah, right! I trust you about as far as I can throw you, you sneaky old man!” Ibiki grumbled inwardly. 

He’d heard Kazama had used Tsukuyomi on Koharu and Homura, two of Konoha’s elder advisors, right in front of the Third. Those two were still mentally scrambled from it. If Kazama didn’t even respect Konoha’s top brass, what chance did Ibiki have? 

But he couldn’t disobey the Third’s orders, so he dragged himself to the exam hall. 

“First round: written test. One hour. If you’re caught cheating, your entire team is disqualified!” Ibiki announced. 

“What?! A written test? That’s my worst nightmare!” Naruto wailed, practically howling. 

Kazama, though, knew the real point of this test wasn’t just answering questions. It was about testing their ability to gather intelligence. In other words, cheating was allowed—as long as you didn’t get caught. 

When Ibiki declared the start of the exam, he promptly put on a blindfold. 

This baffled everyone in the room, including his own subordinates. Ibiki had never done anything like this before. 

“Hmph. Ibiki’s already trying to guard against me?” Kazama thought, amused. 

It was obvious Ibiki was wearing the blindfold to avoid Kazama’s Tsukuyomi. 

“Too bad you underestimate my Mangekyo Sharingan. Tsukuyomi!” 

The moment Ibiki put on the blindfold, he was already trapped in Kazama’s Tsukuyomi world. 

“Oh no! This is…” Ibiki stammered. 

“Welcome to my Tsukuyomi genjutsu space, Ibiki-sensei,” Kazama said coolly. 

“Damn it! I knew this was coming!” Ibiki groaned, practically on the verge of tears. 

Only Kazama could reduce Ibiki, a master interrogator, to this state. 

“I’ll keep this short, Ibiki-sensei. You know how the Tsukuyomi world works. My request is simple: let me, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura pass this exam. If not, I’ll have to entertain myself with you for the next hour. Oh, and by the way, one hour out there? That’s a whole year in here. You ready?” 

Kazama smirked as Ibiki’s vision filled with gruesome torture tools—ones Ibiki himself had used in the past. 

“Alright, alright, I give! You win!” Ibiki surrendered. 

“Thanks, Ibiki-sensei!” Kazama said cheerfully. 

Back in the real world, Kazama plopped his head on the desk and started snoring. 

Meanwhile, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were sweating bullets. The questions on the test were completely incomprehensible. 

“We’re done for! Are we really going to fail the first round?” Sasuke muttered, feeling utterly helpless. 

Just as time ran out, something unbelievable happened. Ibiki announced their team had passed. 

Sasuke was floored. He hadn’t expected this at all. 

“The main goal of this exam was to test your ability to gather intelligence. Only those skilled at collecting information could pass,” Ibiki explained. 

Sasuke finally understood the test’s true purpose. But he hadn’t done anything—not even cheated. So why had they passed? 

He immediately asked Ibiki about it. 

“Well… you passed because of Kazama,” Ibiki said vaguely. 

“What does that mean?” Sasuke pressed. 

Ibiki clearly didn’t want to elaborate. “Ask him yourself.” 

Sasuke was too proud to go begging Kazama for answers. But seeing Kazama’s relaxed demeanor, he realized Kazama had outclassed him in every way, leaving him far behind.