The shouting from the Hidden Grass Village still echoed in their ears, but those arrogant team members had already turned to ashes, dissipating into the air.
Seeing Uchiha Hikaru steadily closing in, no one present dared to make any rash moves.
In that fleeting moment, the scene of the burning flames made them realize that Death was wandering among them.
Dodai covered his severed arm as he stepped out of the crowd, his expression complex as he looked at the enemy who had taken his arm.
His eyes were filled with confusion, unease, and vigilance.
In a hoarse voice, he asked:
"What exactly do you want?"
Uchiha Hikaru looked at the tense nerves and terrified expressions of everyone there and sneered disdainfully.
Then, he spoke casually:
"Didn't I make myself clear? These scrolls go to the highest bidder."
"Tomorrow is the official Chūnin Exam, and according to our agreement, tomorrow's rankings will also determine future mission shares and compensation."
After a pause, he continued:
"Do you ninjas really want to see only Konoha performing on stage tomorrow?"
After saying this, his gaze swept over everyone, pressing an invisible weight upon them.
Hikaru's words changed the expressions of everyone present drastically.
They could imagine how awkward and embarrassing the entire scene would be if the audience knew that Konoha had eliminated all other villages in the preliminary round.
The crowd would focus only on Konoha's strength and victory, never questioning if unfair methods were used.
Besides, Uchiha Hikaru had defeated them outright.
They couldn't even find an excuse.
This contrast would make them look weak and incompetent, which was unacceptable to them.
Dodai and the Hidden Cloud ninjas looked especially grim, filled with anger and frustration.
They had heard Hikaru say he was a student from the ninja academy, which they at first thought was a taunt.
But now they understood his true intention: to emphasize their weakness and incompetence through comparison.
The key point was, their villages heavily depended on the daimyō's funding.
If what Hikaru said really happened tomorrow, the daimyō of each country would be deeply embarrassed and would blame them.
They couldn't bear that responsibility.
Thinking this, everyone present couldn't help but feel a chill down their spine.
Roshi, having personally witnessed Uchiha Hikaru tame the Four-Tails, knew best that his strength was irresistible.
So Roshi wanted to step forward and bid for those scrolls as Hikaru suggested.
But recalling he had lost command, he gave up the idea, somewhat disheartened.
His hesitation turned out to be a blessing for the Hidden Rock Village.
The Mizukage and the Hidden Sand seemed perfectly coordinated, both choosing to act almost simultaneously.
Obviously, although Hikaru's previous display of power intimidated them, it wasn't enough to make them fully give up resistance.
After all, they had not faced Hikaru's terrifying power directly, so their fear was not at its peak.
However, Uchiha Hikaru appeared quite impatient with their actions.
His eyes closed slightly, then suddenly opened wide.
The Mangekyō Sharingan appeared in his eyes, glowing with an eerie red light.
Immediately, his body was surrounded by what seemed like solid chakra, like a raging storm swirling around him.
Everyone gawked in disbelief.
They saw the chakra layers coil rapidly, condensing into the second form of Susanoo.
It was a towering giant, dozens of meters tall, seeming like a divine being made of chakra.
At this moment, Uchiha Hikaru stood inside Susanoo's head, looking down upon them like a god descending from the heavens.
His face showed a cold and arrogant expression, as if telling them their resistance was utterly futile.
Then, Hikaru controlled Susanoo and casually swung a basic attack at the Hidden Mist and Hidden Sand ninjas who had just charged.
The speed of the strike was too fast to react, and they could only watch helplessly as it struck its targets.
"Hoo~!"
With the swing, a powerful flame burst forth from Susanoo's hand, instantly slicing through space.
The scorching flames seemed capable of burning through anything, emitting an indescribable pressure.
The Hidden Mist and Hidden Sand ninjas had no time to dodge and were engulfed by the flames.
Some quick responders barely escaped the fire but were still knocked to the ground by the heat wave, looking utterly defeated.
Kurosuna and Akasuna exchanged grim looks; the Sand ninjas they brought had been wiped out.
For this exam, their team was mostly puppeteers besides themselves.
Puppeteers' abilities mostly resided in their puppets and were very powerful even below the shadows.
But their taijutsu was naturally weaker, so only Kurosuna and Akasuna escaped the devastating blow.
In contrast, although the Mizukage's losses were also heavy, five or six remained.
This discovery made Kurosuna and Akasuna's expressions even uglier.
After all, everyone fears comparison.
Though losses were large, to outsiders unaware of the full situation, the Sand ninjas looked weak.
Just then, one of the Hidden Mist ninjas suddenly emitted ominous chakra.
But his comrades shook their heads, and reluctantly, he retreated to his original position.
Uchiha Hikaru glanced at him thoughtfully, pondering:
'How could the Three-Tails have a jinchūriki? Is the difficulty level comparable to Uchiha Madara?'
With this thought, he had a premonition that tomorrow's exam might bring many upheavals.
So, he wasted no more words.
Rather than persuasion through speech, he preferred physical persuasion.
His Mangekyō eyes spun again, and Susanoo suddenly grew even taller.
Not only that, Susanoo donned armor, looking even more formidable.
This instantly shattered the already scant fighting spirit of those present; they were completely numb.
They had originally thought that their village's Kage having them demoted to take the Chūnin Exam was the safest move.
Unexpectedly, Konoha had played a trump card directly.
An outsider would think they were competing in the Kage exam.
Everyone began to understand why Konoha so arrogantly allowed them to form free alliances.
It turned out Konoha had such terrifying combat power as a backing, naturally allowing them to act recklessly.
Such strength could intimidate any opponent from making a careless move.
If their villages had such power, they would do the same.
"To step over ants without killing them—this power is hard to master."
"This is the last time."