A gust of wind swept through the forest, rustling the leaves.
The vegetation in the Forest of Death was dense, and the area where Team Seven had stopped was shrouded in shade. The cool wind brushed against them, sending shivers down their spines.
"Someone is following us? Why didn't I sense it?"
Naruto scratched his head, looking around in confusion. In contrast, Karin silently drew a kunai from her ninja pouch and held it firmly. She trusted Sasuke's instincts because ever since they had entered the Forest of Death, she, too, had felt a lingering presence watching them. At first, she dismissed it as an illusion, but after Sasuke's warning, she became more vigilant.
"Stay alert." Sasuke ignored Naruto and whispered in a low voice. At the same time, he pulled out a kunai from his pouch and tightened his grip around it.
The three of them crouched in a triangular formation, carefully scanning their surroundings.
"Shushashasha." The leaves rustled gently in the breeze, casting shifting shadows on the ground through the canopy. The team had been on guard for a long time but found no sign of an enemy.
"Sasuke, are you sure you weren't mistaken?" Naruto, growing impatient, scratched his head and turned to ask. However, the moment he turned, a figure wearing a hat slowly rose from the ground in front of him. With his hands resting on his waist, he gazed down at Naruto.
"Naruto!" Sasuke caught sight of the intruder from the corner of his eye and immediately shouted, yanking Naruto behind him.
"Wood Release: Tree Binding Eternal Burial!"
On the other side, Karin had already completed her hand seals. Thick vines erupted from beneath the stranger's feet, rapidly coiling around him.
"Interesting… Wood Release?"
"However, at this level, it's far too weak!"
A flicker of surprise crossed the young man's eyes, but he soon let out a soft chuckle, allowing the vines to ensnare him. Yet, the moment they wrapped around his body, he took a slow step forward—and in an instant, the vines snapped apart as if they were mere twigs. Sawdust scattered in the air.
"Weak Wood Release." The young man curled his lips in disappointment and extended a hand toward Sasuke. A suffocating pressure engulfed Sasuke, rendering him unable to move.
"Damn it!"
"My body...!"
Sasuke watched helplessly as the stranger's hand closed in on him. His body trembled, paralyzed by the sheer weight of the opponent's aura. In desperation, he plunged his kunai into his own thigh. The sharp pain jolted him back to his senses, momentarily breaking the fear's grip. Without hesitation, he yanked the kunai free and hurled it at the young man.
He didn't know who this person was, but one thing was clear—he was no ordinary exam candidate.
Although the Chunin Exam had a broad age range, the aura emanating from this young man was unlike anything Sasuke had encountered before. Even compared to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen they had previously fought, this man felt far more terrifying.
Sasuke's kunai shot toward the young man in an instant. Without any wasted motion, the man casually extended two fingers and caught the kunai midair. His gaze lingered on Sasuke with mild intrigue.
"Using pain to overcome fear… A tenacious will."
"As expected of the one I've taken an interest in."
He muttered to himself, and then his eyes began to change. His pupils turned scarlet, and the black tomoe within them spun.
"Sharingan?!"
Sasuke's breath hitched. He hadn't expected their attacker to possess the Sharingan—let alone a fully matured three-tomoe Sharingan. Within the Uchiha clan, those who awakened the Sharingan were considered elites, and those who unlocked all three tomoe were usually Jonin-level.
Sasuke had lived in Konoha his whole life, yet he had never seen this Uchiha before.
"My name is Uchiha Madara!"
"Have you heard of me, brat?"
The young man smirked.
At that moment, Naruto leaped out from behind Sasuke, a Rasengan forming in his hand as he charged forward.
"I don't care who you are! If you're an enemy, I'll defeat you!"
"Naruto, stop! Don't rush in!"
Sasuke was momentarily shaken by the name Uchiha Madara, but he was even more shocked by Naruto's reckless attack. Against such a formidable enemy, Naruto still had the courage to charge in head-on.
"Hmph."
The young man exhaled through his nose in mild amusement. As Naruto closed the distance, he sidestepped effortlessly, grabbed Naruto's wrist, and with a slight twist, dislocated it.
"AAAAAAAGGHHHH!"
Naruto howled in agony.
"Naruto!"
Seeing Naruto subdued so easily, Karin panicked. She knew that her Wood Release was ineffective against this enemy, but it was her strongest technique. Gritting her teeth, she quickly formed another set of hand seals.
However, before she could complete her jutsu, the young man flung Naruto in her direction.
Karin barely had time to react. She caught Naruto in her arms, but the force of the throw sent them both crashing to the ground. They tumbled several times before coming to a stop—both unconscious.
In mere moments, both Naruto and Karin had been incapacitated.
"Naruto! Karin!?"
Sasuke's heart sank as he saw his teammates motionless on the ground.
"Sasuke Uchiha… I can see the ambition buried within you."
"You want to grow stronger, don't you? Stronger than your comrades, stronger than your father, stronger than your brother."
"You must have heard of me. Come with me, and I'll make you into the person you want to become."
"Konoha's shackles will only hold you back."
The young man cast a glance at the unconscious Naruto and Karin before turning back to Sasuke.
"Ambition? I have none!"
"I'm not going anywhere with a stranger like you!"
"Uchiha Madara? Don't be ridiculous! That man is dead!"
Sasuke gritted his teeth and shouted. He wasn't just rejecting the offer—he was also trying to bolster his own confidence. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out a handful of shuriken and hurled them at the young man.
"I am not dead. On the contrary, I am very much alive."
"Do you really have no ambition? Your father always favored your brother over you."
"Do you think you can surpass him with your current strength?"
"Don't you want your father to finally acknowledge you?"
"And your teammates… They have incredible potential. Can you truly keep up with them?"
The young man didn't dodge. The shuriken struck his body but clattered to the ground, unable to pierce his flesh.
"Enough of your nonsense! You won't manipulate me!"
"Is that why you came to Konoha? Just to mess with my head?!"
At that moment, a plant-like figure emerged from the ground.
"Madara, isn't it time to wrap this up?"
"Konoha has noticed the disturbance. They're on their way. Hurry up."
With that, the figure sank back into the earth and vanished.
The young man narrowed his eyes. He stopped talking and appeared in front of Sasuke in a flash. Before Sasuke could react, the man grabbed him by the throat.
"If you change your mind… Come find me."
Sasuke's vision blurred as he fell into an illusion and lost consciousness.
Before the young man could escape, two figures appeared before him—Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi.
The young man slowly turned his head and immediately recognized the two approaching figures. He had been keeping an eye on the Uchiha clan in Konoha and was no stranger to Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi. Seeing them appear before him, his expression turned uncharacteristically serious.
"This person is the enemy, right? Sharingan... Is he an Uchiha?" Shisui Uchiha gripped a short blade, the tomoe in his eyes swirling as he spoke in a deep voice. However, his question was not directed at the young man but at Itachi beside him.
"Judging by that level of pupil power… it's possible."
"But his target isn't Naruto or Karin—it's Sasuke?!"
Itachi had been the one to throw the kunai that forced the intruder back. Now, he glanced at Sasuke, who lay unconscious on the ground, his brows furrowing with growing anger. The emotions stirring within him only needed a spark to ignite.
"Itachi, let me go first. You support me."
Shisui stepped in front of Itachi, stopping him. He had noticed the unusual fluctuation in Itachi's emotions, and such a mindset could cloud his judgment in battle. Shisui's words were, in truth, meant to shield Itachi from being manipulated by the enemy.
"Be careful."
Despite his anger, Itachi understood how formidable their opponent was. He gave a silent nod and pulled out several kunai, gripping them tightly.
"Understood."
Shisui let out a short chuckle before dashing toward the young man at astonishing speed. Uchiha Shisui's taijutsu was incredibly refined, and his rapid thrust was nearly imperceptible. In the blink of an eye, his blade was already aiming for the young man's chest.
"So fast!"
The young man's Sharingan caught Shisui's movement, allowing him to begin dodging even before Shisui struck. However, he still couldn't completely evade the attack. He turned his body at the last moment, but the blade still grazed his chest, leaving a long cut—yet, strangely, no blood emerged.
"This sensation..."
Shisui frowned. His attack hadn't gone as expected, but he quickly followed up with a horizontal slash. The opponent leaped back, creating some distance. Shisui glanced down at his blade and murmured in surprise.
"Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi have grown stronger."
"Even though neither has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, their mastery over the Sharingan has reached its peak."
"Fighting both of them together would be troublesome."
"But my objective is already achieved. Retreating now is the best option. If that man arrives, escaping will be nearly impossible."
The young man weighed his options in silence, his gaze flickering toward the unconscious Sasuke. Slowly, his body began sinking into the ground. As he disappeared, his voice rang out:
"Tell Uzumaki Raiden to prepare himself—soon, I'll come to take his life!"
"Don't let him escape!"
Itachi growled, immediately springing forward. At the same time, Shisui moved in unison, his dagger flashing as he aimed for the enemy's vitals.
However, something strange happened.
Both of their blades passed through the young man's body without resistance—kunai and dagger crossing paths as if they had stabbed into thin air.
"What is this…?"
"A space-time jutsu?!"
In mere seconds, the young man's body had already vanished into the ground, disappearing without a trace. Itachi and Shisui exchanged glances, both seeing the same shock reflected in each other's eyes.
"Who is this guy?" Itachi murmured, his gaze shifting to Sasuke.
The enemy's target was his younger brother. No matter how Itachi looked at it, he couldn't understand what made Sasuke so important.
"These three are fine. Sasuke was caught in a genjutsu, but I've already dispelled it. He'll recover soon."
"The other two are just unconscious—they'll wake up shortly."
"Let's report back. Our teacher might have some insight."
"I have a feeling this has something to do with the Akatsuki organization we investigated a few years ago."
"But why Sasuke? We need to dig deeper into this."
Shisui finished checking the unconscious Team Seven members before turning to Itachi. He placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder and spoke firmly.
Meanwhile, as the two Uchiha discussed the situation, Karin, who had been knocked out earlier, let out a weak sigh and slowly sat up. However, by the time she looked around, both Itachi and Shisui had already left.
"The enemy... is gone?"
Karin scanned the area but found no sign of the mysterious attacker. Then, she spotted Naruto and Sasuke nearby. Letting out a small cry, she quickly ran over to check on them.
Naruto's wrist was dislocated, and the sheer pain had caused him to pass out. However, under Karin's calls, he soon stirred awake.
Sasuke, on the other hand, remained completely unresponsive. No matter how much Naruto and Karin called out to him, he showed no signs of waking up.
If not for his even breathing and the lack of visible injuries, both of them would have considered forfeiting the exam to seek help.
Hours later, Sasuke finally regained consciousness. His eyes slowly opened, and he stared at his surroundings in a daze.
Without saying a word, he lowered his head, lost in thought.
During that brief moment of unconsciousness, Sasuke Uchiha had seen many things.
He had seen glimpses of the Uchiha clan…
And he had seen the shadow of Uchiha Madara.
(End of the Chapter)