Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

“I don’t expect him to seriously study the power of heretical paths.”

Madara Uchiha sat down at the desk. "Anyway, his final fate is already sealed. Those Rinnegan... they belong to me. Wait a while longer, until Obito has completely adapted to my Rinnegan, then you can make your move."

"Hehe! I will."

Black Zetsu chuckled sinisterly.

Madara Uchiha didn't laugh. Instead, he picked up the latest intelligence report compiled by Zetsu from the table and began to read it. He casually asked, "We don't need to talk about Obito anymore. The focus now isn't on Obito. Is there any unusual activity from Konoha?"

"Nothing has changed much."

Black Zetsu replied.

"Konoha is still holding the Chunin Exams. Of course, the Sixth Hokage sent the Anbu to track down our whereabouts, but given the capabilities of those Anbu members, unless they conduct a thorough search of the entire ninja world, they might not be able to find us even in a hundred years."

"What about the other villages?"

"There's been no movement, and things are no different from before."

"No movement?"

Madara Uchiha tossed aside the worthless documents in his hand, his brows furrowing slightly. "Uchiha Sogen... What exactly does this Sixth Hokage want to do? I don't know how he awakened the Rinnegan so early, and he also stole the Gedo Mazo... I don't believe he'll do nothing. Zetsu, keep a close eye on this Sixth Hokage. I believe he'll do something sooner or later."

"This is a bit difficult! Konoha's defenses are too tight now. Uchiha Muneaki captured several White Zetsu and stole their Ephemeral Technique power through some means, making it difficult for the White Zetsu to detect the ANBU lurking in the shadows. Moreover, there are just too many barriers in Konoha now. I can only arrange for the White Zetsu to monitor the changes in Konoha outside the village and in remote areas."

Black Zetsu is truly helpless.

Since Zongxian took over, no, to be precise, since Zongxian gradually gained control of Konoha, Konoha has become increasingly difficult to infiltrate. Let alone closely monitoring someone, to be precise, many places are simply inaccessible to White Zetsu.

"Just do your best."

After a moment of silence, Madara Uchiha said helplessly.

[Chapter 447. Uchiha Sasuke VS Shimizu Mikan]

Putting aside the petty tricks of these few necromantic scourges in the ninja world, the preliminary rounds of the Chunin Exams in Konoha have already reached the sixth round. The battle between Nara Shikamaru and Kumogakure Nurui in the third round has ended, and Nara Shikamaru has secured his ticket to the finals through his intelligence.

The fourth round was a battle between the Rock Ninja named Bedrock and the Cloud Ninja Karoi. Karoi, using the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, decisively defeated Bedrock. If it weren't for the quick action of the examiner, Hayate Gekko, the first surviving contestant would have been eliminated in the preliminary round.

After this round of battle ends,

The atmosphere between the Cloud Ninja and the Rock Ninja was extremely tense, with them glaring at each other. If it weren't for the inappropriate time and place, the two groups would definitely have started fighting.

Next, in the fifth round...

The two sides fighting were Hinata Hyuga and Yurui from the Cloud Ninja Clan. Although the girl from the Hyuga main family was shy, she was highly skilled in her family's Gentle Fist technique. She defeated the Cloud Ninja Clan member with only minor injuries.

And then comes the sixth round... which is currently underway.

but,

Judging from the situation on the field,

The outcome is already obvious. This round's contestants are Temari from Sand Village and Hashirama from Iwa Village. Both are quite pretty girls, and they are equally adorable. However, there is a clear difference in their strength.

Compared to Hotaru, who went into battle in the first round and encountered a formidable opponent like Rock Lee, Temari not only had a little more rest time, but the Iwa ninja girl named Hashirama Haze was clearly the worst among all the genin present.

"Just surrender!"

Temari, holding her unfolded three-star fan, issued an ultimatum to the girl opposite her, who was already covered in wounds.

"Don't even think about it! I absolutely will not..."

"Noisy!"

Impatient, Temari swung her three-star fan, the howling wind scattering the words of the Iwa ninja girl opposite her. The girl herself was also blown away, crashing into the wall with a thud before sliding down and landing sprawled on the ground, leaving a bright red stain on the wall.

"Temari player wins in round six and advances to the preliminary round."

Hayate Gekko ran to the Iwa ninja girl's side, confirmed that she was indeed powerless to resist and that it was not some kind of trickery, immediately declared Temari the winner, and then called for the medical ninja to come up and carry the still-breathing Iwa ninja girl away for emergency treatment.

As Temari walked back into the corridor, the electronic display screen hanging high above showed the names of the two sides fighting in the seventh round.

Uchiha Sasuke VS Shimizu Mikan

“Shimizu…” Sasuke stared at the electronic display screen, raising an eyebrow slightly. “If I remember correctly, this surname belongs to a powerful family in Kirigakure. Hmph, looks like it won’t be too boring.”

"Sasuke, be careful."

Sakura was a little worried, "Those few Mist Ninjas... seem a bit off."

The ruthlessness shown by Rokuro Karatachi in the past is still fresh in people's minds. It took two Jonin to stop him. In the end, he even dared to provoke the Hokage... It doesn't seem normal at all.

"come on."

Naruto raised his fist.

"Do not worry!"

Sasuke and Naruto bumped fists and quickly walked down. Shimizu Kanju was also walking down the other side. Their eyes met in mid-air, and the girl immediately showed an exceptionally sweet smile, as bright as the June sun.

"Humph!"

Sasuke withdrew his gaze, his voice snorting contempt.

The girl opposite him seemed oblivious to Sasuke's provocative actions, maintaining her bright and sweet smile.

The procedures before the competition are the same, so I won't go into details. After confirming that the boy and girl were ready and had no objections, Hayate Gekko immediately announced the start of the battle. The moment his voice fell, Sasuke made the first move.

The shuriken flew out.

but,

Mikan Shimizu's reaction speed was also extremely fast. As one of the best genin of her age in Kirigakure, the girl did not rely on her family's reputation to form a team with Suigetsu Hozuki and Rokuro Karatachi. Holding a kunai, the girl easily blocked all the flying shuriken.

At the very beginning,

The boys and girls then presented the audience with an extremely intense physical combat battle. Shuriken and kunai flew everywhere. Sasuke and Mikan Shimizu separated and reunited, and in the blink of an eye, they had covered every corner of the training ground. They even forced the examiner, Hayate Gekko, to go to the corridor to make room for the boys and girls to move around.

The current battle can be described as a clash of equals, a battle where both sides are evenly matched.

Unlike the obvious victories and losers in the previous rounds, the battle between Sasuke and Mikan Shimizu in this round left the Jonin unable to predict who would emerge victorious. However, in terms of taijutsu, the two were at the same level of skill, and it seemed unlikely that a decisive victory could be achieved in a short time.

It wasn't just the observing Jonin who realized this;

Both parties deeply felt how difficult the other was and realized that they had met their match; it was time to use their best skills.

"Sharingan - Shuriken Manipulation Technique".

Sasuke's eyes turned bloodshot, two jet-black tomoe spinning within them. He anticipated Mikan Shimizu's next move, and hurled two shuriken wrapped in transparent threads. At that moment, Mikan Shimizu, still running, swiftly formed several hand seals.

"Boiling Release: Flying Arrow".

Her movement speed increased dramatically in that instant.

It seemed to have transformed into an arrow released from a bow.

Not only did he easily dodge the shuriken Sasuke threw, but he also got right in front of Sasuke, raised his right knee, and used the force of his rapid charge to slam it into Sasuke's abdomen, sending Sasuke flying into the air with his back bent.

"puff!"

Sasuke spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air.

The dull pain in his abdomen made him feel a little dizzy. He tried his best to endure the pain and opened his Sharingan with both tomoe to observe the situation. He found that Shimizu Mikan, who had given him a knee strike, did not press her advantage and launch a series of attacks. Instead, she stood on the ground like a wooden doll.

It seems,

Is that sudden acceleration technique not usable continuously? Or is it that Shimizu Mikan isn't yet capable of continuous use?

Sasuke had a guess in his mind and dared not hesitate for a moment. He suddenly pulled the hand that was tightly gripping the transparent thread, dragging the flying shuriken back. One shuriken grazed the skin on Shimizu Mikan's neck, while the other was deeply embedded in Shimizu Mikan's right shoulder.

This was the result of Mikan Shimizu reacting after noticing the whooshing sound behind her. If she hadn't reacted in time, it wouldn't have just grazed her neck; it would have driven straight into the back of her neck.

"Ahem! Boil Release... that's actually quite interesting."

Sasuke struggled to his feet with considerable difficulty. The knee strike from Mikan Shimizu had been incredibly powerful, breaking two of his ribs. The pain was so intense that he couldn't even finish a sentence and was panting heavily as if he were about to collapse.

but,

Mikan Shimizu wasn't in much better condition than him.

The shuriken that pierced Mikan Shimizu's right shoulder has essentially crippled her right hand temporarily.

He couldn't even manage to form hand seals, let alone fight with a kunai.

"Transparent threads... Damn it."

Shimizu Mikan clenched her teeth, her face so gloomy it looked like it could be wrung out.

She had already severed the transparent thread tied to the shuriken, but the damage was irreversible. By the way, she hadn't pulled the shuriken out; the wound was too deep, it was embedded in the bone. Pulling it out would cause rapid and massive blood loss, which would be detrimental to her subsequent battle.

And regardless of whether it's pulled out or not, the right arm is temporarily immobile.

It's better to leave it as is. After the competition, professional medical ninjas will help treat it. Putting everything else aside, Konoha's medical technology is truly the best in the ninja world, so there shouldn't be any worries about any aftereffects.

"Don't think that just because my right hand is immobile, I can't do anything to you."

Mikan Shimizu threw the kunai she was holding at Sasuke with her left hand, and began to form hand seals at a very fast pace. Sasuke gasped as if his teeth hurt from watching her skill in forming hand seals. He dared not be careless and blocked the kunai. He immediately formed hand seals as well, and wiped his right thumb on the corner of his mouth, leaving a bright red stain.

then,

He slapped both palms onto the ground.

"The art of spirit communication."

At the same time, Mikan Shimizu on the other side also completed the hand seals with one hand, "Boiling Release: Clever Mist Technique".

"quack--"

The crows summoned by Sasuke flapped their wings and scattered in all directions, directly exposing Sasuke to the acidic mist exhaled by Mikan Shimizu. In just an instant, the white, acidic mist engulfed Sasuke. The scene inside the acidic mist was not very clear, but the people standing in the corridor could clearly see that the acidic mist had even corroded the floor.

"Sasuke!"

Sakura leaned on the railing and exclaimed in surprise.

If Naruto hadn't reached out and held Sakura's shoulder in time, the girl would have rushed down to save him.

"Sakura, calm down, Sasuke is alright."

Naruto gently comforted Sakura.

Of course, this wasn't just a comforting remark; it revealed the truth. His Kagura Mind's Eye technique was still quite a distance behind Karin, the girl who had been carefully nurtured by Orochimaru, in terms of sensing range, but it was more than enough to cover every corner of the training ground.

Sasuke's tricks fooled many people, but they couldn't fool him.

Just as he was comforting Sakura, a crow in mid-air suddenly transformed into Sasuke's appearance.