Teams not yet informed continued to clash, fighting over the Heaven and Earth scrolls needed to pass the second phase of the Chunin Exams.
Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation, summoning the First and Second Hokages, not only trapped Naruto and Sasuke but also pinned down a significant portion of Hidden Leaf's forces.
Now, with the Akatsuki's Hiruko and Ranmaru infiltrating, the Forest of Death had descended into utter chaos when viewed from above!
…
Yakumo's Side.
Seeing Gaara refuse to stop his attacks, the Anbu's expression shifted. "What's wrong with Sand's One-Tail Jinchuriki? Has he gone berserk?"
Yakumo said, "His condition does seem off. Should we subdue him?"
The Anbu weighed the situation briefly and asked, "Can you manage it?"
Shion smiled. "If it's about sealing him, with me and Yakumo here, it shouldn't be a problem!"
The Anbu immediately replied, "Lord Hokage has ordered all Jinchuriki to take shelter, so Priestess Shion, Yakumo, we're counting on you!"
Shion patted her chest. "Leave it to us!"
Yakumo added, "I'll use Wood Release to restrain him first. You find an opening to act!"
Shion nodded.
At that moment, the sea of sand surged again.
Rumble rumble rumble.
Amidst roaring sounds, every tree in its path toppled under the sand's assault, transforming the forest's complex terrain into a wide-open expanse.
At the center of the sand sea, Gaara stood atop a small clump of sand, floating above, his expression twisted with ferocity.
Seeing this, Yakumo stopped dodging and formed hand seals, shouting, "Wood Release, Advent of a World of Trees!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Countless vines erupted from the ground, forming a tree sea that clashed with the oncoming sand sea, quickly turning the tide and restricting the sand's spread!
Feeling the ground tremble beneath, the Anbu marveled, "Is this the might of Wood Release?"
With the sand sea contained, Yakumo pushed harder, directing her Wood Release toward Gaara, floating above the sand.
The half-berserk Gaara didn't dodge, instead manipulating his sand to counter the incoming trees.
Yakumo shouted, "Now's the time!"
"Got it!"
Shion leaped into the fray, sprinting along the trees. As she closed in on Gaara, she thrust out a hand. "Demon Sealing Coffin, Bind!"
In an instant, four beams of solid black light rose around Gaara, closing together to form a coffin-like black box, sealing him inside.
"It worked!"
With Gaara sealed, the sand sea calmed, and Shion's face lit up with joy.
Not just her—Yakumo, the Anbu, and even Temari and Kankuro, trailing behind Gaara, all breathed sighs of relief seeing him sealed.
Swish.
But at that moment, a stream of sand shot up from the calmed sea, striking Shion and knocking her back, then whipping around to assault the black coffin sealing Gaara.
"How!?"
Yakumo, startled, quickly manipulated her trees to catch the airborne Shion.
Tenten shouted from the side, "Did the seal fail?"
The Anbu shook his head. "If the seal had failed, the sand sea wouldn't have calmed instantly!"
Temari and Kankuro, rushing toward the group, shouted, "The sand automatically protects Gaara! You have to seal those special sands along with him!"
Boom.
The returning sand slammed into the black coffin, unleashing a deafening crash, yet Shion's coffin didn't budge—not even a scratch from the fierce impact!
Shion, caught by the trees, was swiftly brought back to Yakumo's side.
The group watched the sand relentlessly batter the Black Coffin, marveling at Gaara's extraordinary ability. Normally, sealing a caster would disrupt their active jutsu, but this scene clearly defied that logic.
Yakumo couldn't help but ask, "How does he do that?"
Temari shook her head. "We don't know either."
Shion frowned. "Accurately sealing a specific handful of sand in that sea? That's impossible! Once it blends into the sand sea, who could tell it apart?"
"So it's the One-Tail Jinchuriki, huh? No wonder it's such a commotion!"
Suddenly, a mocking chuckle came from nearby.
The group turned to see Hiruko, clad in his red-cloud Akatsuki robe, standing on a tree, smirking at them.
"The Akatsuki?"
"Hiruko!"
"This is bad!"
The group was instantly alarmed, their expressions varied.
The Anbu knew of the enemy's intrusion but hadn't expected the Akatsuki to move so quickly, infiltrating the Forest of Death undetected.
Temari and Kankuro were even more shaken, knowing Gaara was their target!
Yakumo's face was grave.
The last time she faced Hiruko, she hadn't come out on top!
"He's already sealed? That saves me some trouble!" Hiruko paused, then turned to the side. "You go after the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Leave this to me!"
The group looked over, but there was nothing beside Hiruko, leaving them puzzled about who he was addressing.
Temari's face was grim as she asked the group, "What do we do now? Gaara can't fall into their hands!"
Yakumo asked, "Can you snap him out of it?"
"I—I can try!" Temari said, then emphasized, "Gaara's changed a lot recently and hasn't had issues. It's just that this time, he hit his limit and lost control!"
Yakumo took a deep breath. "I'll hold him off! Shion, unseal the coffin and release Gaara!"
Shion nodded.
"You think I'll let you succeed?"
Hiruko smirked, then vanished in a flash.
Whoosh.
Yakumo immediately activated her Wood Release, directing the tree sea to attack Hiruko while guiding trees to deliver Shion to the Black Coffin sealing Gaara.
With Swift Release enhancing his speed beyond normal limits and the terrifying insight of his Mangekyo Sharingan, Hiruko wove through the tree sea with ease. In just a few breaths, he bypassed Yakumo's layered defenses, reaching the airspace above the sand sea, poised to overtake Shion.
At that moment, a puppet shot out from the sand, lunging at Hiruko.
Thud.
Hiruko didn't dodge, activating Steel Release and shattering the puppet with a single punch!
"Wind Release, Wind Cutter!"
Whoosh.
Temari, from the side, fiercely swung her fan, unleashing her signature Wind Release.
Even Hiruko had to take the bone-slicing Wind Release seriously, causing his momentum to falter and his speed to slow.
Meanwhile, Shion, finally nearing the Black Coffin, ignored the sand rushing toward her and resolutely activated her jutsu on the coffin. "Unseal!"