"…Madara?"
The moment he heard the name, Sasuke was utterly stunned.
In Uchiha history, there really had been a man called Madara Uchiha.
A legendary figure who had founded the Hidden Leaf Village alongside the First Hokage, then left, then fought the First Hokage, and finally died.
"What kind of joke is this, are you messing with me?!"
If the other party hadn't had a Sharingan, Sasuke would probably have rushed him on the spot.
"Could it be—are you that man's subordinate?"
"Huh?" Hikari tilted her head.
What was this about?
Whether it was "that man" or "Madara Uchiha" or whoever, she honestly didn't know much about any of it.
Still, on one point Hikari wasn't lying—she really was Sasuke's "ancestor." Just not a direct line.
But regardless, she couldn't forget what Hanabi had instructed her to do.
Besides, Hikari Uchiha genuinely did want to see for herself what the last member of the Uchiha clan was really worth—to measure just how capable this weakling clinging to Hanabi actually was.
"Who the hell are you!"
This person absolutely wasn't an examinee. And he had a Sharingan.
Sasuke wasn't an idiot—this guy had clearly come for him specifically.
"I just came to see what kind of fool the last Uchiha turned out to be. If you're really just a piece of trash, then I don't think the Uchiha clan has any reason to exist."
"Kisama!!!" Sasuke spat through gritted teeth.
For Sasuke Uchiha, who intended to restore his clan, those words were the worst kind of provocation.
But then, a voice suddenly came from beside him.
"Still having fun with your little ninja game?"
"—!! What the hell is going on?!"
The figure had appeared right beside him in an instant.
Sasuke couldn't move.
The terror of being closed in on in a heartbeat, the pressure of killing intent bearing down on him—every sensation tangled together, and he was frozen stiff.
Meanwhile, Hikari's thought was… this is pretty fun.
Hanabi loved doing exactly this kind of thing—popping up next to people out of nowhere, scaring the life out of them.
There was a faintly smug pleasure to it.
"No wonder Hanabi likes pulling this stunt so much…"
"Move… move… move…"
Sasuke was trying to force his body to move, but every muscle was locked stiff, utterly unable to tear free from that suffocating killing intent.
"So this is all you've got, huh."
The "Madara Uchiha"'s sigh drifted past his ear.
Then the voice was suddenly back in front of him again.
"Boring. I figured I'd stop by and check on the last of the Uchiha bloodline on the way to retrieving my Nine-Tails. Never expected trash of this caliber."
"…Nine-Tails…?"
Wait.
After finding out the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was sealed inside Naruto, Hanabi had dropped bits of context on him here and there. Sasuke remembered now—back when Madara Uchiha had fought the First Hokage, he really had controlled the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox…
This man might not be Madara Uchiha, but his target really could be the Nine-Tails.
"Damn it—Naruto, you idiot!"
If that dumbass hadn't insisted on leaving, if Sasuke himself hadn't let him, none of this would be happening.
"You're taking Naruto…?" Sasuke pushed against the pressure.
"I don't care about him. I only need the Nine-Tails."
Yet another idiot who kept mooching meals off Hanabi—whatever happens to him is fine!
"Damn it…"
If the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was extracted from Naruto's body, there was only one road left for him: death.
"Move! Move, damn you!"
"Well, the boring little game ends here." "Madara Uchiha" flicked out a kunai, then turned to leave.
"Uwaaaahhh!"
His fingers could finally move!
"I won't… let you… leave…"
Sasuke snatched up the kunai and stabbed it into his own thigh, using the pain to jolt his senses back online, then dodged "Madara Uchiha"'s attack.
[Grass (a type of exclamation), one mention of Naruto and he's fired up huh]
[Plot twist incoming]
[I said the Chūnin Exams weren't gonna go smoothly]
[The Hunter Exam had a Hisoka too—is it really that weird that someone's here to stir the pot?]
[Hisoka was mixed in among the examinees though]
[Plus Hisoka is a pervert]
[But Sasuke isn't the protagonist either]
[So Sasuke's the Killua-type here?]
[Maybe Naruto's about to run into one of those perverts-in-examinee-disguise too]
[This is getting wild]
"Hm? Even though it was only a basic Temporary Paralysis Technique, I didn't expect you to shake it off so quickly." Hikari was a little surprised.
As the weapon of the Uchiha clan, her killing intent was not nearly as cute as her appearance suggested.
This was killing intent forged in the blood and fire of the Warring States era.
And Sasuke Uchiha was just a twelve-year-old kid who had been through nothing.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Sasuke spat out several phoenix-flower-shaped fireballs that streamed toward Hikari.
"Boring. Since you want to die so badly, I'll oblige you. Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
The same jutsu.
But Hikari's Phoenix Sage Fire collided one-for-one against Sasuke's, broke clean through, and kept coming—its momentum undiminished—straight at Sasuke.
"Damn, did she copy it with the Sharingan?!" Sasuke jumped back immediately, ducked behind a tree, pulled out a bandage, and wrapped it around his leg.
"I have to tell Hanabi, tell the examination staff, I can't let him leave—Naruto's in danger!"
In a flash, Sasuke had settled on his plan.
"What do I do… what do I do…" He was still working through his strategy.
And at that exact moment, Sasuke heard another terrifying voice.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Release Song Technique!"
Dragon Flame Release Song Technique—an extremely powerful Fire Style ninjutsu. She was going to burn Sasuke and the tree trunk itself to ash together!
"This way!"
Sasuke spotted a gap and tried to escape, only to find it was a trap Hikari had set. She kicked him clean into the air.
—The gap in combat experience between them was simply too enormous.
"This is all he's got?"
Hikari was a little disappointed.
When Sasuke had broken out of her killing intent, she had briefly allowed herself some expectation.
But looking at him now, this person wasn't fit to be Hanabi's teammate at all.
Better if she replaced him herself…
Ah, no, no, she couldn't do anything that would make Hanabi sad.
"Ungh…"
The pain in his gut nearly robbed Sasuke of the ability to speak.
"Shut up… I will restore the Uchiha clan…"
Sasuke ground his teeth.
"Hahahaha, that worthless clan should have been wiped out centuries ago!"
She meant that.
"Take it back… what you said…"
Sasuke lifted his head, resolute.
And at that moment, the Sharingan in his right eye finally… upgraded from one tomoe to two!
Congratulations. Congratulations indeed.
But just as the audience was gearing up for an explosive fight, the Stage cut to a different view.
This time—Naruto.
Director Hanabi had Team 7 arranged exactly as she wanted.