To Uchiha Yusuke, Orochimaru was never worth losing sleep over.
If we're being honest, Orochimaru was a problem the Third Hokage created with his own hands.
Whoever caused the mess should be the one to clean it up.
Yusuke had no reason to take bullets for someone else.
So Orochimaru?
Let Hiruzen handle him.
Sasuke, however… was different.
Fugaku's eldest son, Itachi, had already been "led astray" by the Third Hokage.
If anything happened to Sasuke too, Fugaku and Mikoto would never be able to accept it.
Yusuke used to mooch meals at their house all the time—he genuinely respected the couple.
And more importantly—
Sasuke was one of his disciples in name.
If he couldn't even protect his own student, what kind of "mentor" would that make him?
Last night, Yusuke had already warned Orochimaru.
He believed Orochimaru was smart enough to make the sensible choice.
And even if Orochimaru went crazy and forced a curse mark onto Sasuke—
With Yusuke's current level, removing it would be effortless.
After his Fire Release Chakra Mode evolved, Yusuke had gained an initial grasp of Yin–Yang Release.
Orochimaru's curse mark was, at its core, nothing more than a cheap imitation of senjutsu.
But Yin–Yang Release was the origin of all things.
To reach the threshold of Six Paths power, Yin–Yang Release was a required discipline.
Naruto and Sasuke, after obtaining Yin–Yang Release, could even fight Six Paths Madara without being overwhelmed.
That alone showed how terrifying it was.
The Exams Continue
After the written test, the Chunin Exams entered Round Two.
Deep within the Forest of Death, over eighty candidates who survived the preliminaries clashed in brutal field trials.
Sakura might have been dead weight—
but Naruto and Sasuke were the ceiling of genin-level fighters.
With teamwork, Team 7 cleared Round Two without much trouble.
Other familiar names advanced as well:
Neji, Hinata, Shikamaru…
The "Konoha Twelve" all made it through—none were eliminated.
After Round Two, many villages were completely wiped out.
Even Sunagakure—one of the Five Great Nations—was left with only:
Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro.
Konoha still held more than half the remaining participants.
The Third Hokage basked in the glory.
Two Days Later: Preliminaries
Round Three began: elimination matches.
The rules were simple:
Fight.
Win and advance.
Lose and you're out.
Final rank and promotion would be determined by performance and results.
At the arena, the Third Hokage stood on the central platform and delivered the opening speech:
"You all performed well in the first two rounds."
"But if you wish to become true chunin, you must stand out in the battles ahead."
"I hereby declare—Round Three begins!"
The final contest began.
For people like Sakura, Ino, and Tenten—who more or less "rode the team" into this round—
it would probably end in the first match.
But contenders like:
Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, Neji, Gaara, Shikamaru…
were the ones with real potential.
Even just reaching the preliminaries was valuable experience for the rookies.
And in the calm before Orochimaru moved—
every bit of battle experience mattered.
Yusuke Watches… and Waits
Yusuke, Tsunade, and Kurenai arrived early.
Yusuke didn't sit in the VIP platform.
He casually found a seat in the stands.
If he didn't go to the honored seats, Tsunade certainly wasn't going either.
Genin-level bouts bored him.
But—
Orochimaru should be making his move soon.
That, at least, was worth watching.
The Signal
Growing impatient, Orochimaru sent the signal.
Kabuto immediately cast a wide-area genjutsu.
At the same time, Sunagakure's forces—Baki, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro—began to move.
"Operation begins!"
From the stands, Yusuke sensed the abnormality instantly.
So after all this waiting—
the real show was finally starting.
The arena fell into chaos.
Hiruzen's personal ANBU leapt into action, barking orders.
"We'll protect the Hokage!"
Yusuke curled his lip slightly.
With your level? Protecting the Hokage—are you serious?
On the VIP Platform
The Third Hokage slowly stood.
"Lord Kazekage… what is the meaning of this?"
"Are you trying to start a war?"
The "Kazekage" didn't answer.
But his eyes gleamed with danger.
Hiruzen's ANBU responded fast.
"Wood squad—up top!"
"Fire squad—down below!"
"The rest—come with me! Protect the daimyo!"
Daimyo held authority comparable to the Kage—
but their combat power was nowhere near.
The moment something went wrong, they became priority protection targets.
Protecting weaklings was hard… but letting them die was impossible.
In moments like this, daimyo were living burdens.
The ANBU cut down three or four suspicious Sound ninja immediately—
but the enemy had already blended into the crowd.
"Civilians" suddenly drew weapons and attacked.
Even trained ANBU found it exhausting.
Tsunade and Kurenai were itching to jump in.
Yusuke didn't stop them.
The enemies in front of them were mostly trash—
with their strength, there was almost no chance of them slipping up.
As for the fake Kazekage on the platform—
let him dance a bit longer.
It didn't matter.
The Trap Closes
The fake Kazekage pulled out a kunai—
and seized the Third Hokage, leaping onto the rooftop.
The Sound Four—disguised among Konoha's ANBU—immediately revealed themselves and followed.
They looked irritated.
"We've waited long enough. Is it finally our turn?"
Hiruzen's eyes flickered.
"These are… Sound ninja?"
His ANBU rushed to assist—
but the Sound Four raised their hands and activated a barrier.
"Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Formation!"
One ANBU tried to break through—
and was incinerated into ash.
Faces tightened across the arena.
"A barrier technique…?"
"They beat ANBU to it. These aren't ordinary opponents!"
Some shinobi tried to support—
but infiltrators moved to block their path.
The Third Hokage still hadn't fully processed what was happening.
"I never thought… the Sand would betray Konoha…"
The "Kazekage" didn't correct him.
Instead, he calmly taught his former teacher a lesson.
"So-called alliances…"
"are nothing more than smoke screens meant to deceive your opponent."
"The boring matches end here."
"From this moment—"
"Shinobi history will be rewritten."
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