The main event of the Chunin Exam was finally unveiled under the gaze of countless eyes.
The stands erupted with cheers, audiences from every nation waving their arms and shouting for the battles about to begin.
These Genin, who had survived the brutal preliminaries, would now fight here as representatives of their villages.
Sasuke sat with arms folded, leaning against the shadows at the very top of the stands, his gaze fixed on the tall figure in the VIP seats.
The Yondaime Kazekage of Sunagakure had arrived in person.
His whole body was shrouded in an oversized ceremonial robe and veil, revealing only a pair of golden slit pupils, exuding mystery and authority.
But Sasuke could clearly sense it… that same revolting, chilling aura he had once felt from Orochimaru.
'The Kazekage, huh…' Sasuke sneered inwardly.
'It seemed that the real Kazekage had long since become a corpse lying forgotten somewhere, and Orochimaru, confident in his disguise, couldn't resist sneering in that old fox's face during their meeting.'
What made it even more ironic was that the visiting Daimyo from other nations seemed to regard the matches as little more than gambling entertainment, already having wagered heavy stakes on their favored Genin.
The first battle was Nara Shikamaru versus Temari.
The fight turned out to be unexpectedly spectacular.
Shikamaru displayed astonishing tactical brilliance, trading blow for blow, maximizing his unremarkable strength to its fullest and even pushing Temari to the brink of defeat.
"Truly clever," Sasuke admitted silently, though he found his power far too weak.
The Nara Clan had always been renowned for their intellect, but someone with Shikamaru's sharpness was still rare.
Though Shikamaru ultimately forfeited with his trademark, "I'm out of chakra. What a drag.", the chess-like duel had nonetheless set the finals off to an excellent start.
Konoha had lost, but with honor.
The second match was the centerpiece of the entire exam.
Uzumaki Naruto versus Gaara.
Standing on the scorching sand, Naruto could feel the waves of cheering washing over him from all directions. His fighting spirit ignited completely.
All around the arena, the Konoha Military Police Force stood guard, maintaining order.
But in the more hidden corners, Sasuke caught sight of several Anbu flickering through the shadows.
Though they appeared relaxed, their presence was heavy, their vigilance unmistakable.
'So, they noticed too?' Sasuke smirked faintly.
'It seemed that Konoha's higher-ups weren't complete fools… they had already sensed something unusual beneath the surface of this exam.'
Sasuke waited silently, biding his time for the chaos he knew was inevitable.
"Your scent…"
In the arena, Gaara's rasping voice broke the roar of the crowd, "It's just like that black-haired guy's. Beautiful."
His expression twisted into something sickly ecstatic. From the gourd on his back, sand began to spill forth under his Chakra's pull, slithering like a living beast around his feet.
"I've wanted to fight you for so long. I just never had the chance."
Naruto was stunned by the words.
'Black-haired guy? Did he mean Sasuke?'
He grinned wide, brimming with confidence, "Then I'm sorry to keep you waiting!"
"The match begins!"
At the proctor's command, Naruto wasted no time, his hands forming the signature hand seal.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
Bang, bang, bang…!
Dozens of Narutos erupted into the arena, charging Gaara from every direction.
But Gaara merely stood motionless, not even raising a hand.
"Sand Coffin."
At his words, the sand beneath his feet surged upward like a pack of monstrous serpents, instantly forming dozens of gnarled arms. They snatched up every clone with ruthless precision.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Under the pressure of the sand, the shadow clones burst into puffs of white smoke one after another.
"Is that all?" Gaara's voice dripped with disappointment.
Just as he believed he had dealt with them all, a figure appeared above his head.
It was Naruto's real body.
The earlier human-wave tactic was just a feint!
"Rasengan!"
In his right hand, a swirling sphere of blue chakra roared to life, driving straight toward Gaara's forehead.
Facing this sudden attack, a hint of solemnity flashed in Gaara's eyes for the first time.
"Sand Armor!"
A thick layer of sand instantly covered his body, forming a defensive shell.
But the Rasengan's destructive force was beyond his imagination!
The seemingly indestructible sand armor shattered piece by piece under the Rasengan's terrifying rotational force!
"Ugh!"
Gaara let out a pained grunt. The force of the blow smashed him hard into the ground, kicking up a cloud of sand and dust.
The entire arena fell dead silent.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at the scene. They never expected that seemingly unremarkable blond kid to actually knock down the monstrous Gaara right at the start!
However, from within the dust cloud, a hoarse voice, filled with endless madness and killing intent, slowly rose.
"My blood... it's actually flowing..."
"I'll kill you!!!"
A Chakra more terrifying than anything before erupted violently!
At that very moment…
A strange chakra fluctuation materialized high in the air without any warning.
At the highest point of the stands, Sasuke's gaze slowly shifted away from the two figures confronting each other in the arena. He looked up, his dark eyes narrowing instantly.
Amidst the noise of the crowd, an anomaly had appeared without anyone noticing.
A few pure white feathers, like the first fine snow of early winter, drifted down soundlessly from the sky.
Then, more followed, denser and denser.
It's a Genjutsu!
And a large-scale one at that, powerful enough to cover the entire stadium!
"Hmm?"
In the VIP seats, Orochimaru, disguised as the Kazekage, revealed an amused smile.
Beside him, Hiruzen's face changed drastically the moment the feathers began to fall.
The spectators in the stands, their excitement and fervor not yet faded, fell asleep one after another.
Most of the Genin and Chunin were also affected, succumbing to the technique and collapsing.
'Genjutsu: Temple of Nirvana Technique...' The faces of the few Jonin who remained conscious were grave. They immediately dispelled the technique on themselves and warily scanned their surroundings.
In the shadows of the high platform, Sasuke coldly glanced at the chaotic scene below.
He knew the opportunity had arrived.
He cast a look toward another patch of shadow not far away.
Kakashi's figure emerged from the shadows and gave him a slight nod.
Just as the two were about to move, Kakashi's actions paused for a moment. His gaze caught a white figure leaping into the arena.
It was Jiraiya.
Seeing the legendary Sannin appear, the tension that had been gripping Kakashi finally eased slightly.
'With him here, Naruto would be safe.'
He didn't hesitate any longer. His figure flickered, following Sasuke as they soundlessly left the area.
"What's going on?!" Naruto was slapped awake by Jiraiya. He looked around in confusion at the audiences who had fallen over everywhere, his mind a complete mess.
"What is Sunagakure trying to do?" Jiraiya didn't address Naruto's question. His voice grew serious as he stared intently at the three figures flipping down from the Kazekage's seating area.
They are Gaara's two teammates, Temari and Kankuro, and a Sunagakure's Jonin wearing a dark flak jacket, his head and half his face wrapped in white cloth, their team's Jonin Instructor, Baki.
The three landed steadily in the arena, facing off against Jiraiya and Naruto from a distance. The atmosphere was tense.
Baki instructed without turning his head, "Gaara, continue with the plan."
"We'll provide cover."
Gaara slowly raised his head, his gaze falling on Naruto not far away.
Then, the sand from the gourd on his back surged out like a bursting flood.
Churning grains of sand gathered around him, finally coalescing into a giant sand sphere that completely enveloped him.
Baki's face darkened, the oppressive feeling emanating from the composed man before him made it hard to breathe.
He gritted his teeth, roughly pushing the still-stunned Temari and Kankuro behind him, and hissed in a low voice, "You two, fall back! He is not an enemy you can face!"
Temari and Kankurō's hearts sank. They had never seen their always steady teacher, Baki, look so grave.
"But, Baki-sensei..." Kankurō tried to argue.
"That's an order!" Baki's voice brooked no argument. He stared fixedly at Jiraiya, "Only after Gaara uses the Feigning Sleep Technique and unleashes the power of 'that thing' can we hope to match him..."
As he spoke, several sounds of rushing air could be heard. Several Konoha's Jonin flickered to the scene, led by the Tokubetsu Jonin with a senbon in his mouth, Shiranui Genma.
"Jiraiya-sama." Shiranui Genma and the others quickly took up positions, shielding Jiraiya and watching the Sunagakure's Shinobi warily.
"Leave this to me."
Jiraiya, however, turned around and gave him a relaxed smile, "Go help the others in the village. A Biju is something I can handle alone."
Genma was slightly taken aback but immediately understood the intention.
"Understood." He nodded, exchanged a look with his companions, and their figures flickered away again.
…
Meanwhile, at the entrance to a much more secluded underground passage elsewhere in Konoha.
This was one of the backup entrances to the Root's Headquarters, and the one Kakashi, relying on his memory, had found to be the least likely to be detected.
However, just as Sasuke and Kakashi arrived, several dull thuds and the sound of blades cutting through air came from deep within the passage.
The two exchanged a glance, tacitly suppressing all their Chakra, and slipped into the darkness.
At the end of the passage was a relatively spacious underground guard post.
Four Root Shinobi wearing animal masks already lay silently in pools of blood.
Standing amidst their corpses were three identically dressed Sunagakure's Anbu, the kunai in their hands still dripping with blood.
One of the Sunagakure's Anbu was about to step forward to investigate deeper into the post but was stopped by their captain.
"Our objective is only to create chaos and attract Root's attention. Don't get drawn into a prolonged fight. Retreat immediately!"
However, as soon as he finished speaking…
Whoosh…!
A wind blade materialized out of thin air, impossibly fast, instantly slicing open his throat.
The captain couldn't even utter a scream before clutching his neck and collapsing in disbelief.
"Who's there?!" The remaining two Sunagakure's Anbu were greatly alarmed. They stood back-to-back, warily scanning their surroundings.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
A cold voice sounded from the shadows deep within the guard post.
Two more condensed wind blades precisely harvested the remaining two lives.
Blood stained the cold ground.
From the shadows, an elderly figure leaning on a cane slowly walked out. It was Shimura Danzo.
And behind him, Aburame Torune and Yamanaka Fuu stood silently.
"Hmph, Sunagakure's trash, they actually managed to find this place." Danzō looked at the corpses on the ground and let out a disdainful snort.
Yamanaka Fuu stepped forward, giving a slight bow. His voice was utterly devoid of emotion, "Danzo-sama, disturbances have broken out all over the village. The Chakra fluctuations I'm sensing are extremely chaotic. Based on the situation, it seems Sunagakure couldn't hold back and moved ahead of schedule."
He paused before asking, "Should we send someone to support Hokage-sama?"
"Unnecessary." A cold light flickered in Danzo's single eye, "Moving out now would only deplete our strength prematurely."
He turned around, walking back into the depths of the darkness, his voice echoing faintly.
"We will hold our position."
"That old fool should pay the price for his naivety..."
He was waiting.
Waiting for Sarutobi Hiruzen to die in battle. Waiting for Konoha to be left leaderless. Waiting for everyone to fall into despair. Only then would he emerge in the guise of a 'savior' to clean up the mess and rightfully ascend to that position.
"Intercept any support troops attempting to reach the Hokage, especially the Hokage's direct Anbu forces." He coldly issued the order.
However, at that moment, Yamanaka Fuu, who had been sensing with his eyes closed, showed a barely perceptible change in expression.
"Danzo-sama."
"There is a very powerful Chakra source approaching this location at high speed."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a figure appeared soundlessly at the entrance to the passage like a ghost.
Silver hair, a tilted forehead protector, standard Jonin flak jacket.
It was Hatake Kakashi.
Danzo slowly turned around. His single eye narrowed, "Kakashi. At a time like this, instead of protecting the Hokage, what are you doing here?"
His voice was hoarse, filled with undisguised scrutiny.
"I came here to ask you about something, Danzo-sama." Kakashi's voice was soft, yet it sounded exceptionally clear in the dead silence of the underground passage.
This opening made the cold light in Danzo's single eye intensify.
He hadn't expected Kakashi to dare speak to him in such a questioning tone.
"Speak."
Kakashi's gaze refocused on Danzo's wrinkled face. He asked, word by word, "My father, Hatake Sakumo... chose to abandon a mission to save his companions... You should still remember this, right?"
Upon hearing the name 'Hatake Sakumo', Danzo's eye flickered almost imperceptibly.
"The tragedy of Konoha's White Fang is known to everyone in the village." He answered hoarsely, "What are you trying to say?"
"I want to know." Kakashi took a step forward. His entire aura became incredibly sharp at this moment, "What was the truth behind that mission?"
Danzō fell silent, his single eye fixed intently on Kakashi.
After a long while, he let out a cold laugh, his voice full of condescending arrogance.
"Hatake Kakashi, it seems these years of peaceful living have made you forget your place."
He tapped his cane heavily on the ground, "Some matters are not for you to inquire about."
"Hatake Sakumo's death was his own choice… a choice of cowardice, a violation of the Shinobi Code. He brought it upon himself!"
"Is that so?" A cold curve lifted the corner of Kakashi's mouth, "It seems you have no intention of telling me the truth."
He slowly raised his right hand and began to push the forehead protector covering his left eye upward.
"In that case..."
As the protector was moved aside, the crimson Sharingan abruptly lit up in the darkness, emitting an ominous glow.
"...I'll have to seek answers in my own way."