[Ding! Detected that the host's son, Michihito Gekkō, severely wounded Rock Lee with the One Thousand Years of Death during the Chūnin Exams duel! Inflicted heavy psychological and physical damage on the opponent!]
[This marks a major milestone in the legacy of the One Thousand Years of Death. Special reward granted: One Thousand Years of Death power increased. Current enhancement progress: 50%]
Far away in the village, Kazuyama Gekkō was in the middle of a strategy discussion when the system notification suddenly rang in his mind.
Michihito Gekkō severely wounded Lee with One Thousand Years of Death?
Those two actually got matched against each other?
Tsk tsk… poor Lee. Michihito learned the One Thousand Years of Death from him—truly a legitimate successor. After all, Kazuyama himself learned it from Hatake Sakumo.
Over the years, he'd used the technique countless times to "educate" students, steadily boosting its overall power.
But no new passive abilities had awakened. Even with the current 50% increase in power, the passive attributes remained the same.
A pity for such an art. With just him alone, spreading it properly was simply too difficult.
"Hey, Kazuyama, say something!"
"Unbelievable. The moment the topic gets serious, you go silent."
Minato Namikaze stared at him helplessly. What they were discussing was extremely important—if Akatsuki really attacked Konoha, they needed the best countermeasure.
And this guy zoned out?
"Ah, sorry. My mind wandered for a moment."
"Where were we? Evacuation? Easy. Use all the shelters behind the village."
"I'll set up a few more crystal barriers later. Just mark them properly."
...
Chūnin Exam Arena.
Lee had completely lost the ability to fight. The pain was devastating—piercing straight through his soul.
"Lee!"
"Michihito! Was this move taught to you by Kazuyama-sensei? Please, if you can avoid using it, don't use it again!"
Might Guy felt like crying. His student had lost, but losing to Michihito Gekkō wasn't that hard to accept.
But being struck by One Thousand Years of Death was fatal-level agony. He couldn't help complaining.
"Ah, Guy-sensei, this was the gentlest way I could think of."
"If I used anything else, I couldn't guarantee Lee wouldn't get seriously injured."
"One Thousand Years of Death just hurts for a bit… well, maybe for a day at most."
What could Michihito do?
They were all from the same village. He had chosen the softest option.
"Cough… cough…"
"The winner: Michihito Gekkō."
Hayate Gekkō shot his nephew a glare. He remembered that technique far too clearly—his own brother used it on him countless times back then.
It was a memory carved into his bones.
Lee's screams had nearly turned to silence. Might Guy helped him back to the stands.
There was no helping it. Even in pain, Lee insisted on watching the rest of the matches.
The later battles were quite dramatic.
Most were completely one-sided.
Like Karin versus Neji, or Temari versus Chōji.
The most tragic matchup was Kankurō's—he somehow drew his own younger brother, Gaara.
Gaara didn't react much. He simply grinned.
"Sorry, bro."
"I—I give up! This is rigged! Rigged!"
Wrapped in sand, Kankurō hadn't even touched his puppet before losing. But what could he do?
He was nowhere near Gaara's level.
In the end, twelve contestants were selected to advance to the third round.
Meanwhile, Kazuyama and the others concluded their final strategic decisions.
Konoha began operating at full capacity. On the surface, everything was about the Chūnin Exams—but behind the scenes, preparations were underway to face Akatsuki's impending assault.
...
Outside Konohagakure.
"Hey, Zetsu, all the 'soldiers' are in position."
"Are we not moving yet?"
Muren Uchiha stared at the ten White Zetsu behind him, each covered in stitched marks, radiating combat intent.
After all, the power these ten "soldiers" represented was far from ordinary.
"Wait. The scouts said Konoha will hold the third Chūnin Exam in a week."
"We'll attack then. That kid Kabuto will be there too—he's preparing a new batch of puppets."
"They'll be strong enough to breach Konoha's defenses."
"But don't forget your primary mission: capture Shukaku immediately."
"As long as we secure Shukaku, the objective is complete. As for the Sharingan recovery, I'll handle it."
Their roles were divided clearly. Black Zetsu guaranteed the Sharingan wouldn't be lost.
And capturing the Tailed Beast fell to Muren Uchiha—his dōjutsu was uniquely suited for the task.
"Relax. I'll handle the capture. Kabuto can focus on the assault and keeping Konoha occupied."
"His techniques are far more suited for direct confrontation."
Ever since his trip to the Land of Wind, Kabuto's puppet mastery had reached a new level.
And after retrieving Kakuzu's remains, he used Earth Grudge Fear to create puppets unlike anything before.
...
One week later.
Konohagakure Grand Arena.
"Hey, can you two sit down already?"
"Annoying, isn't it?"
Kazuyama Gekkō glared at Minato and Rasa, who kept pacing around in front of him. He wanted to kick both of them out with one strike.
Without thinking, his hands even formed the Tiger Seal.
Seeing that, both Minato and Rasa immediately retreated to their seats.
"Damn it, put your hands down."
"You used that technique back then! Damn it! Why is the memory still so vivid?!"
Rasa even jumped back to distance himself. Their first fight had ended with Kazuyama destroying him.
He'd been bedridden for half a month.
Even thinking about it now infuriated him.
"Exactly, Kazuyama. Today's important—you can't mess around."
"If we really fight today, we're the strongest assets."
Minato spoke quickly. He definitely didn't want to experience that terrifying One Thousand Years of Death himself.
From what he knew, Kazuyama's version was monstrous. Getting hit even once was unimaginable.
"Tch, I know."
"Everything's arranged. I'm certain they're going to act today."
"My clones are positioned throughout the village."
"The moment they appear, we strike immediately."
Kazuyama and the others had made extensive preparations for today. Kushina had already been moved to a safe location.
Tsunade was protecting her.
The entire village's elite combat force knew what might happen today and stood ready.
Take this grand arena, for example. Aside from ordinary spectators, everyone else inside was an elite of Konoha.