The moment Akira announced the rules for the third round, the outside world erupted.
It wasn't noise.
It wasn't cheering.
It was that pure, stunned silence that only appears when something impossible is announced with a straight face.
A test like this had never appeared in any Chūnin Exam—Konoha, Sand, Cloud, Mist—anywhere.
This was not a test of jutsu.
Not a test of strategy.
This was a test only one person in the world could even set up—
Uchiha Akira.
Or more specifically:
Akira's Mangekyō Sharingan.
A dojutsu that could freeze space and bend time like wet paper.
A dojutsu that could create a domain where chakra was forbidden, where every breath was pressure, and where every step was a fight against the fabric of reality itself.
A dojutsu that, in the words of one terrified chunin participant, was:
"Like fighting the Second Sage of Six Paths on a Monday morning."
And he wasn't exaggerating.
---
Around the village, crowds huddled near the broadcast screens.
Every ninja
Every civilian with even the smallest interest in ninja politics.
All watched Akira calmly explain an ability that violated at least twelve different natural laws.
The Jonin of other villages outside the arena, listening to the announcement via loudspeakers, froze in place.
Some swallowed hard.
Some lost color.
Some simply stopped breathing for a few seconds.
Because Akira's Mangekyō ability—
"Space Freezing" and "Time Dilation"—
was something beyond anything even the oldest ninjas had heard.
Even Konoha's legendary Flying Thunder God Technique…
Even the Raikage's Lightning Armor…
Even the other Space-time ninjutsu…
All useless here.
Inside Akira's domain, every one of those techniques became nothing more than nice stories.
The entire konoha tried to figure out a weakness.
They failed.
Every. Single. One.
Because Akira had only revealed half the truth.
Even if someone managed to crack that half…
they'd discover that the real ability was far, far worse.
---
This was Akira's second—and more important—reason for revealing his powers.
This wasn't just testing genin.
This was warfare psychology.
This was a direct message to Uchiha Obito.
In the original timeline, Obito terrorised the entire ninja world with a single Kamui—
the strongest long-term space-time ability ever known.
But now?
Obito would realize—
with cold sweat dripping down his mask—
that his Kamui was completely, brutally, mercilessly countered.
If Obito ever met Akira head-on…
He would die like a dog.
Not figuratively.
Literally.
Two Mangekyō abilities fired in sequence—
Kūkai no kago— Cage of empty space
Ashihara no Michi — Path of a Thousand Steps
Obito would be shredded before he could even activate Izanagi.
And even if he did activate Izanagi?
His "five minutes of invincibility"…
Inside Akira's domain…
would last about three seconds.
At best.
---
While the entire village shivered…
One man reacted differently.
Might Guy.
The moment Akira finished explaining the round, Guy's eyes flooded—
not with fear, but with unstoppable, burning passion.
He grabbed Kakashi so hard the silver-haired jonin's mask almost shifted.
"KAKASHIIIIIII!" Guy screamed, voice cracking, "THIS IS TRULY—TRULY—THE ROUND OF YOUTH!!!"
Tears shot out like twin waterfalls.
"This is BEAUTIFUL!
A test of WILL!
A test of the BODY!
A test where pure hard work SHINES LIKE THE SPRINGTIME OF ETERNAL FLAMES!"
He clutched Kakashi again.
"Let me go in! I MUST TEST MY YOUTH AGAINST SPACE AND TIME ITSELF!"
Kakashi blinked twice.
Expression:
Somewhere between "concerned," "Why me," and "accepting my life choices."
Without even looking at Guy, Kakashi muttered:
"…Sorry guy"
And then—
he simply tied Might guy with a rope to the steel pole.
Like a man who had been training for decades to do exactly that.
Guy continued crying anyway.
---
Everything was finally ready.
The genin stood exactly 200 meters away in every direction, arranged just outside the twenty concentric rings the proctors had drawn. Even the spectators had gone silent; the entire stadium seemed to hold its breath.
Akira exhaled slowly.
Then he activated it.
---
A deep vrrrmmmmmm hummed through the air as space buckled like stretched metal.
Akira's Mangekyō flared—black, starless, impossibly deep.
A moment later:
The space around him—200 meters in every direction—nearly froze.
Not completely, but enough that the air itself seemed carved from invisible stone.
Then time twisted.
A low droning sound filled every ear—
ZOOOOOOONNNNNNG—
like a massive tuning fork vibrating through the world.
Time dilated nearly one thousand times.
Outside the domain, a mere blink.
Inside the domain, an eternity awakening.
More than 200 participants stepped into the shimmering boundary—
And instantly understood the true horror.
---
Inside the Domain
Only their consciousness—their awareness—remained normal.
Every physical ability, every nerve, every muscle fiber had been slowed to a crawl.
A single step took minutes.
Even lifting their foot felt like pushing through liquid steel.
Their stamina drained rapidly—
because their bodies were resisting not gravity, not fatigue, but space itself.
There would be no food.
No water.
No rest.
Five minutes outside equaled nearly three days inside.
The smart ones immediately formed the same plan:
Walk the first 100 meters with minimal energy, then burn everything to gain points in the last stretch.
But knowing the plan and surviving the plan were different things.
---
Day One Inside
The pressure crushed them slowly, relentlessly.
Those with weak bodies collapsed before the end of a single hour.
The strongest pushed forward in agonizing steps.
At the end of the first day (inside the domain):
Rock Lee had gone the farthest—
already reaching 70 meters.
His body trembled, muscles screaming, but his eyes burned with green fire.
Second place was Yugito—her physique naturally beyond ordinary shinobi.
Third was Naruto, despite constant frustration that he couldn't use chakra.
Fourth, Gaara, moving calmly, sand swirling instinctively to protect his slowing steps.
Fifth was a Cloud shinobi, one trained under the Lightning Armor, his body hard as tempered steel even without chakra.
Behind them, the rest struggled desperately.
---
Day Two Inside
More collapsed.
Only those with monstrous willpower or brutal training remained.
Twelve candidates crossed the 100 meter mark.
Fewer than anyone expected.
Lee's lead remained uncontested.
Yubito, Naruto, Gaara, and the Cloud shinobi still held the next four positions.
Everyone else trailed by meters— meters that felt like mountains.
---
Day Three Inside
The domain devoured the last of their energy.
Many fell unconscious mid-step.
Some crawled.
Some simply couldn't move anymore.
And finally—
CLAP!
A sharp sound from outside the domain.
The Jonin proctors signaled.
The domain shattered like a glass bubble.
---
Collapse
All 200+ participants inside fell in unison—
their bodies unable to handle the violent snapping back of space-time.
The drastic shift from three days of slowed reality to normal time sent shockwaves through their systems.
Dozens fainted.
Some vomited.
Others couldn't even lift a finger.
They had given everything.
---
Akira stood perfectly calm.
His chakra slightly reduced.
His expression?
Mildly tired.
"Everyone who passed the 100-meter mark," he announced, "congratulations."
Three Jonin members immediately began healing and stabilizing the collapsed genin.
"In half an hour," Akira continued, "the list of those who passed, those who failed, and your current rankings will be posted."
The crowd listened silently.
"Three weeks from now—the final round of the Chūnin Exams will be held. Prepare yourselves well."
He gave a small nod.
"Well then. Sayonara."
He turned and walked away casually.
---
He didn't even check if people heard him.
He didn't care.
Because he had one mission now.
Not Hokage duties.
Not exam supervision.
Not political strategy.
Barbeque.
Watching everyone struggle for three days straight inside the domain had drained him emotionally.
"I swear," he muttered as he left the arena, "watching people get tired is way more tiring than doing it myself."
And just like that—
Akira left.
Without flare.
Without drama.
Just a man heading toward grilled meat.
---