After that encounter, Hyuga Gakuya made no further moves. He simply waited quietly for the start of the Chūnin Exams.
Every day, he spent his time hanging out with Hikari and Karin, as if completely entranced by beauty—hardly the behavior of someone here to take a serious exam.
Considering Otogakure had only sent the three of them, no one really paid them any attention.
That is, until the Chūnin Exams officially began.
All three geared up with specialized Oto ninja tools and headed together to the exam meeting point.
Along the way, Gakuya saw plenty of familiar faces—Konoha's Twelve, the three-person team from Kumogakure, and the Sunagakure siblings led by Gaara.
There were also plenty of background characters—the likes of Oboro, Kagari, and Mubi from Amegakure, clearly just here to fill out the roster.
...
As Gakuya and his team made their way down the road to the exam site, three figures suddenly appeared, blocking his path.
It was none other than Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno—people he'd met once before.
Feigning surprise, Gakuya asked, "Oh, it's you three. What do you want?"
Naruto stepped forward and bowed deeply. "Chiba-kun, please… can you tell me anything about my parents? I'm begging you."
His two teammates behind him looked on with pleading eyes as well.
The scene quickly drew attention. Several examinees slowed their steps to watch the drama unfold, eyes filled with curiosity and anticipation.
Gakuya crouched slightly, whispering into Naruto's ear,
"Come find me during the second round—I'll tell you what I suspect. For now, make it look good. Don't let the Konoha higher-ups catch on. After I say my next line, take a swing at me and pretend to get knocked out. Got it?"
Standing upright, Gakuya raised his voice and said coldly,
"You? You're not even worth my time. Go get someone from Konoha who's actually qualified—I'm not here to babysit."
"You bastard! Don't look down on me!" Naruto shouted, launching a punch toward Gakuya's face as planned.
Gakuya easily tilted his head to the side, catching Naruto's wrist mid-air, then flipped him over with a clean shoulder throw.
The throw looked brutal, but Gakuya had controlled the force precisely—it startled the onlookers, but to Naruto, it felt more like a tumble than a slam.
Naruto shut his eyes and convincingly played unconscious.
"Naruto!" Sakura cried out, rushing forward in a panic.
Sasuke clenched his fists at the sight of his friend getting tossed.
"You bastard!"
Without hesitation, Sasuke charged at Gakuya, who only smirked in disdain.
"Fool."
Gakuya suppressed his speed and strength to roughly the level he had back when he first joined the Anbu. He stepped forward to meet Sasuke head-on, throwing a straight punch.
So fast! Sasuke was alarmed. Before he could react, Gakuya's fist smashed into his face.
Bang!
Sasuke flew backward, crashing to the ground. He rolled once, then was barely caught by Sakura before suffering more serious injury.
Among the watching crowd, Samui and the other two Kumogakure prodigies were stunned. The so-called small-time ninja from some obscure village… was actually a monster.
The surrounding examinees were all taken aback.
"He's that strong?!"
"Wasn't he supposed to be a nobody? Just here to make up numbers?"
"His speed is insane!"
Even the Sunagakure siblings paused to observe.
Gaara's eyes glinted with interest. "Killing someone this talented… might be fun."
...
Sasuke wiped the dust from his face, glaring furiously.
"You've really pissed me off now."
His Sharingan activated, red pupils spinning with two tomoe.
A wave of gasps swept through the crowd.
"The Sharingan…?!"
"No way—is that really him?"
The legendary last of the Uchiha clan—Sasuke Uchiha—had revealed his true power.
Sasuke launched himself again, this time moving like a gust of wind.
Gakuya raised a hand, stopping Hikari and Karin from interfering. "Let him come."
As Sasuke closed in, Gakuya calmly waited. The moment Sasuke was within reach, Gakuya threw another simple, straightforward punch.
Sasuke grinned—he'd finally seen it clearly this time. He moved to block… but suddenly, everything seemed to slow down. His arms weren't fast enough. He needed to move—faster!
But it was too late. Gakuya's fist crashed into his face once more. This time, Sasuke's muscles tensed on impact—he had braced himself, and didn't go flying.
He staggered back a few steps, barely staying upright.
"I saw it this time," he said.
But before he could recover, Gakuya vanished—and reappeared in front of him in an instant.
So fast! No one present even saw how he moved.
Gakuya's fists rained down on Sasuke like a thunderstorm. With each punch, he vanished and reappeared on Sasuke's weaker side, completely overwhelming his defenses.
Even with the Sharingan, Sasuke couldn't keep up. He saw the attacks, but his body simply couldn't react in time. Every time he tried to block, the next strike was already landing from another angle.
Blow after blow landed. Sasuke was completely disoriented.
Then came the final strike.
Gakuya spun his body 180 degrees, his arm lashing out like a whip aimed straight for Sasuke's neck—
—but he stopped just short.
The force of the wind from the near-miss ruffled Sasuke's hair.
"Let that be a lesson. Don't lose your head like that again," Gakuya said coolly, turning around. "Let's go," he told Hikari and Karin.
The crowd instinctively parted to make way, all eyes filled with awe and fear.
That flurry of attacks—no one present could say for sure they could have survived it. And Gakuya had clearly held back. If he'd gone all out, he would've been even faster. More dangerous.
Everyone who had thought he was just a pretty boy or pampered noble had just been harshly corrected.
Among the onlookers, Rock Lee's eyes sparkled.
This is youth. Facing ever-stronger opponents—and overcoming them.
Neji, on the other hand, frowned deeply.
"This guy… might actually be a serious threat."
Sasuke stood frozen, lost in the memory of their exchange.
So fast. So strong.
...
Sakura stepped in front of him and asked gently, "Are you alright, Sasuke?"
He shook his head. "I'm fine."
Just then, Naruto sat up and rushed over.
"Hey, idiot, you okay?"
Sasuke didn't respond to the jab. Instead, he asked, "What was that all about, anyway? Why did you suddenly start a fight?"
Naruto scratched his head and explained what Gakuya had whispered to him.
"So as long as we pass the first round… he'll tell us what he knows about your parents!"
Sasuke couldn't help but smile. This wasn't just helping Naruto—it was helping himself, too.
And this year's Chūnin Exams were packed with talent.
And Sasuke… was fired up.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo