Uchiha Hikaru stood where he was, his Mangekyō spinning like a miniature universe, as if it were devouring everything around him.
In just an instant, he had used his teleportation ability to send the Mangekyō's flames beside every single Zetsu in Konoha.
With the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan now awakened, the power of his dōjutsu had grown once again.
The flames of Mahāvairocana, his eye technique, were like the silent scythe of a reaper, reducing the Zetsu to ash without a sound.
It was a silent massacre. Very few could even sense it.
Just as the Idle Training System had warned him before—battle power level wasn't everything.
At this point, not even a Kage-level opponent could stand before Uchiha Hikaru.
He didn't fear Madara Uchiha retaliating over this strike against Zetsu.
After all, the current Madara wasn't the Six Paths Madara from the Fourth Great War.
If Madara truly showed up, Hikaru was confident he could make him stay in Konoha—permanently.
At that moment, Mito Uzumaki and Uchiha Ang rushed over, both wearing expressions of anxiety and urgency.
Behind them followed a squad of fully-armed shinobi.
Tsunade's parents, Uchiha Noboru, Uzumaki Ten, Senju Kaho—some of the village's most formidable ninja—were close behind.
The air felt like it had frozen, thick with tension and killing intent.
The leaves in the trees swayed in the breeze, as if rustling in anticipation of the battle to come.
Hikaru guessed that what he'd just done might have been a bit over the top.
The ripple of energy from killing the Zetsu had been faint, but the range had spanned most of Konoha.
That was enough to trigger an intense sense of crisis in Mito Uzumaki and Uchiha Ang, both of whom could sense it.
To be safe, they'd called in reinforcements—leading to the current atmosphere, thick with tension.
But the moment they saw the figure standing there was Uchiha Hikaru, they visibly relaxed.
Mito Uzumaki walked over and gave him a knock on the forehead, scolding him with a sigh:
"Didn't you promise me last time you'd let me know before doing something like this again?"
After setting off fireworks last time to surprise Tsunade, he had indeed made that promise.
So Hikaru scratched his head in embarrassment—he'd completely forgotten.
But this time was different from last time.
Strictly speaking, what he did today had been for the good of Konoha.
With that thought, his confidence returned. He rebutted:
"Grandma Mito, this time was different. I had my reasons for not telling you."
Mito Uzumaki frowned slightly at his words.
It wasn't that she distrusted him—she was simply concerned.
The power this child had displayed was already beyond his years. She feared it might blind him.
But when she looked into Hikaru's eyes and saw the unwavering resolve there, she realized—he had made up his mind.
So she gestured for him to continue.
Hikaru, warmed by the encouragement in her gaze, continued:
"I've made some progress recently, and I sensed something was spying on many locations around Konoha."
His tone turned serious.
"And I discovered these creatures moved extremely fast, with incredible stealth. If left unchecked, they could become a threat to the village."
His expression grew grim.
"So to take care of them all in one go—I handled it myself."
The people behind Mito Uzumaki were left speechless. They exchanged glances, stunned and confused.
For a moment, silence fell over the group, broken only by the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Senju Yosuke, Tsunade's father, was the first to speak. He stepped forward and stared at Hikaru sharply.
"Hikaru, do you realize how outrageous that sounds? How could you strike every corner of Konoha in a single instant and precisely kill all those creatures? That's just…"
"Unbelievable."
Uchiha Noboru picked up the thread, frowning.
"We could dismiss it if it were just us, but not even the sensory-type ninja noticed anything. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
He knew Hikaru had awakened the Mangekyō, but even in Uchiha history, no Mangekyō ability had ever gone that far.
Uzumaki Ten and Senju Kaho nodded, clearly agreeing.
Despite the doubts, Hikaru didn't get angry.
He understood their reactions. After all, what he did defied common sense.
The stories of the Sage of Six Paths were a thousand years old. The strongest ninja they'd ever seen were Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
But both of them had explosive, wide-scale abilities. A quiet, precision-based large-scale assassination like this was rare.
So Hikaru took a deep breath and calmly explained:
"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth. I didn't mislead you, and I didn't sense it wrong."
His gaze was firm and luminous, as if he could see through their doubt.
"If you don't believe me, go check for yourselves. I'm sure the corpses of those creatures haven't completely disappeared yet."
The strength of his conviction left them speechless.
Mito Uzumaki stood quietly to the side, watching him with a glimmer of approval in her eyes.
She knew this child. He wouldn't speak without reason, and he would never lie about something like this.
So she stepped forward and said:
"Let's not rush to doubt him. I believe that Hikaru wouldn't fabricate something so important."
Her words calmed the atmosphere and brought silence once more.
Her voice also conveyed deep trust in Uchiha Hikaru.
"Instead of arguing here, let's follow his suggestion and look for traces of those creatures."
At that, the others came to their senses.
What she said made sense—if those creatures existed, searching for their remains would confirm it.
So a few of them split off and began heading toward the locations Hikaru had mentioned.
Hikaru remained where he stood, smiling calmly.
There was no longer a need to hide his strength.
This open display of power was just the beginning—preparation for what was to come.
He had never deliberately hidden his abilities, but from now on, he would become even more bold.
He was ready to truly step onto the stage of the shinobi world.
With that in mind, Hikaru turned toward Mito Uzumaki, who had been watching him the entire time, and smiled.
"Grandma Mito, for this Chūnin Exam—let me compete under my real identity."
"It's about time the other villages remembered what it felt like when the First Hokage still walked the earth."