Now that her Mangekyō Sharingan had evolved into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Chinatsu no longer needed to worry about blindness from overusing her dōjutsu. As long as her chakra could endure the burden, her eyes would never lose their light again.
Because of that, she became even more conservative with Kotoamatsukami.
If someone could be convinced normally, she would talk first. If they still refused to listen… then a slap to the face was usually more efficient.
After all, Kotoamatsukami was still Shisui Uchiha's ultimate genjutsu. Even with the Eternal Mangekyō reducing its cooldown and Hashirama cells strengthening her body, wasting such an absurdly powerful ability on every little problem would be ridiculous.
Besides, Chinatsu had already started thinking farther ahead.
The enemy in the Fourth Great Ninja War would eventually become Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, but if this world continued toward the era described in Boruto, then Momoshiki, Kinshiki, Isshiki, and the rest of the Ōtsutsuki Clan might also appear one after another.
Just imagining it gave Chinatsu a headache.
"No, no, no… absolutely not. Please let the timeline stop at Shippuden…"
This was not cowardice.
This was strategic foresight.
After assigning their tasks, Hidan and Kakuzu both looked miserable.
After all, they had only just staged an explosive "partner fallout" in front of Pain and Konan. They had argued, cursed each other, and nearly destroyed the Akatsuki hideout in the process. Reconciling immediately afterward would definitely look suspicious.
Still, no matter how troublesome it was, they had no choice but to continue.
Hidan had already been completely twisted by Kotoamatsukami into Chinatsu's most fanatical supporter, while Kakuzu was smart enough to understand where the true future lay.
The two nodded reluctantly.
Only then did Chinatsu turn toward Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fū.
"Your mission stays the same. Continue recruiting people quietly. Your clans possess secret techniques inherited through generations, so strength isn't my biggest concern."
Chinatsu crossed her arms.
"What I need most is loyalty… and brains."
"Understood!"
Torune and Fū answered simultaneously.
The two had also been altered by Kotoamatsukami long ago, so Chinatsu trusted them completely.
Just imagining herself brainwashing an entire organization in the future suddenly made Chinatsu feel like a true final boss.
An evil Uchiha manipulator secretly controlling everything from the shadows…
"…Why does that actually sound kind of cool?"
A dangerous smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of her lips.
Just as Chinatsu was about to dismiss everyone
BOOOOOOM!!!
A deafening explosion erupted outside.
The violent shockwave even caused the walls of the player lounge to tremble slightly.
Chinatsu jumped in fright.
"What the hell?! Did the old man Sarutobi suddenly master some forbidden super-nuke technique?!"
She immediately rushed outside.
The first thing she saw was Hiruzen Sarutobi standing from his seat high above the arena with the exact same stunned expression on his face.
Then she followed his line of sight downward.
The entire Chūnin Exams arena…
…had exploded.
Smoke billowed upward like a volcanic eruption. Huge cracks spread throughout the battlefield, and rubble was scattered everywhere.
Seeing this scene, Chinatsu instantly understood.
"…This has to be Sasuke's fault."
Her eyes immediately became completely dead.
After Naruto secretly mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique from the Scroll of Seals alongside the Multi Shadow Clone Technique, his fighting style had become increasingly unreasonable.
As for Sasuke, after learning Chidori from Kakashi and studying several Fire Release techniques from the Uchiha clan scrolls, his destructive power had also started skyrocketing.
Judging from the current situation, Sasuke was probably annoyed by Naruto repeatedly teleporting around with Flying Thunder God and smashing Rasengan into his face, so he simply escalated things with an overwhelming Fire Release counterattack.
Normally, seeing such a terrifying explosion would make an older sister panic and scream while rushing into danger.
But Chinatsu was not a normal older sister.
After the initial surprise faded, she immediately calmed down.
Sure enough, once the smoke gradually dispersed
"Cough! Cough! Sasuke, are you insane?! You almost blew me up!" Naruto's furious voice rang out first.
"Tch! You're the one cheating with Flying Thunder God! Why can you create new techniques whenever you want?!" Sasuke snapped back.
The two continued glaring at each other through the smoke while coughing violently.
The audience was completely stunned.
Not only were they alive…
They were practically unharmed.
Everyone thought the battle would continue, but only Chinatsu and a few sharp-eyed jōnin understood the truth.
The match was already over.
As the dust settled completely, Naruto stood there panting heavily with a Rasengan spinning in his palm, while Sasuke's hand crackled with Chidori.
"Naruto!!!"
"Sasuke!!!"
The two charged toward each other once more.
But before Rasengan and Chidori could collide
Smack! Smack!
Two merciless chops descended from above simultaneously.
Naruto and Sasuke instantly froze.
The Rasengan dispersed.
The Chidori vanished.
The two boys clutched their heads and nearly collapsed.
"Sis! What was that for?!"
"Yeah! I was about to win!"
The two immediately started arguing again.
Chinatsu sighed deeply and pointed downward.
"You idiots… look at your feet first."
Naruto and Sasuke blinked in confusion before lowering their heads simultaneously.
Only then did they realize
There was no arena left beneath them anymore.
The entire battlefield had collapsed into ruins.
If they continued fighting, they would probably blast straight through the spectator stands next.
Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately stood up and loudly announced:
"The final match is declared a draw!"
No one objected.
The Chūnin Exams were meant to evaluate shinobi overall, not simply determine a single champion at all costs.
Besides, rebuilding the arena just to let Naruto and Sasuke destroy it again sounded like a nightmare.
Even Hiruzen and Chinatsu silently reached the same conclusion:
Absolutely unnecessary.
Naruto and Sasuke looked dissatisfied, but after seeing Chinatsu's expression, they could only reluctantly accept the result.
Thus, the Konoha Chūnin Exams officially came to an end.
Afterward, Konoha gradually returned to peace once more.
Hiruzen Sarutobi temporarily left the village to negotiate with the Fire Daimyō regarding the territory Chinatsu wanted.
Hidan and Kakuzu returned to Akatsuki to continue gathering intelligence from within.
Torune and Fū quietly expanded Chinatsu's influence throughout Konoha like invisible parasites feeding on the village's foundations.
Meanwhile, Chinatsu herself encountered a completely different crisis.
Naming problems.
One afternoon, Chinatsu wandered through Konoha's streets while muttering candidate names to herself.
"Dark Power?"
Too chuuni.
Sounds like some terrible light novel title.
"The Uchiha Group?"
No… sounds like a shady construction company.
"The Chinatsu Clan?"
That somehow sounds even worse.
"The Akatsuki Extermination Squad?"
Too direct.
As Chinatsu continued muttering increasingly ridiculous names to herself, a flyer was suddenly shoved into her hands.
"Special discount on ninja tools today! Twenty percent off!"
Chinatsu blinked and looked up.
Standing before her was none other than Tenten, one of the Final Four from the Chūnin Exams.
The moment Tenten recognized Chinatsu, her eyes instantly lit up.
" chinatsu-neechan!"
Tenten practically rushed forward excitedly.
"Can you do me a favor?!"
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