From the second stage onward, every genin participating in the Chūnin Exams was required to sign a liability waiver.
Once the document was signed, life and death were left to fate. Even if someone died during the exam, the other villages had no grounds for protest. Strength decided everything—if you were killed, it only meant you weren't good enough.
Of course, that was only because this wasn't wartime.
If it were an actual war, no one would care what kind of agreement you had signed. If there was a chance to kill you, you would be killed—simple as that.
"Two days have already passed since the start of the second exam… it's about time for me to move."
Ash slipped silently into the Forest of Death, his presence completely concealed.
"That bastard Orochimaru must have already placed a curse seal on Sasuke."
His figure flickered through the trees as he searched for his target.
"Found it."
The moment Ash activated his chakra perception, a familiar presence surfaced in his senses.
"This chakra… it can't be wrong."
"It's that girl."
Ash's objective this time was Hinata Hyūga—the bearer of the Byakugan.
"I'm done for… have we been discovered?"
Hidden in the tall grass not far away, Kiba Inuzuka felt a crushing killing intent sweep past him. His entire body stiffened.
Beside him, Hinata and Shino Aburame froze as well.
"Gaara, that's enough," Kankurō said nervously. "We already have the scrolls, don't we?"
He spoke cautiously to his younger brother.
Gaara was terrifying enough on his own, but the unstable seal of Shukaku, combined with his violent nature, made him someone even the shinobi of Sunagakure feared approaching.
The only reason Kankurō and Temari were assigned as his teammates was because they were his siblings.
"Afraid?" Gaara replied coldly. "Coward."
His pale green eyes never left the direction where Kiba's team was hiding.
"H-Hey, this might not be a big deal for you," Kankurō said quickly, "but it's too dangerous for Temari and me. One set of scrolls is enough. There's no need to keep going."
"Enough talk."
"I just want to kill them."
Ignoring Kankurō completely, Gaara slowly raised his hand.
Sand began pouring out of the gourd on his back.
"You've had enough!" Kankurō finally snapped, forcing himself forward and grabbing the strap of Gaara's gourd. "No matter what, I'm still your brother! Is it really so hard to listen just once?"
Gaara turned his head.
"I've never considered you family," he said calmly. "And if you keep talking, I'll kill you too."
"Gaara, don't be like this!" Temari cried out, alarmed.
Despite their fear of him, both Kankurō and Temari pitied Gaara deeply. But because of Shukaku's instability and Gaara's uncontrollable killing intent, they never dared to get close.
That isolation only twisted Gaara's personality further.
"What a show."
"I didn't expect to run into family drama like this."
A calm voice suddenly echoed through the forest.
All six of them froze.
"Who's there?!" Kankurō instantly summoned his puppet Karasu, placing it in front of him.
Anyone who could appear here without warning was definitely not ordinary.
"Heh… interesting."
As the voice faded, Ash slowly stepped down from a nearby tree branch.
The moment he appeared—
"Woo… woo…"
Akamaru, trembling violently in Kiba's arms, let out a low whimper and buried himself deep inside Kiba's jacket.
"What's wrong with Akamaru?" Kiba asked, shocked.
Beside him, Hinata looked just as pale.
Her dark-blue hair framed her gentle features, and her conservative clothing made her appear soft and fragile—but even she could feel it.
"This man…" Kiba swallowed hard.
"He's even more terrifying than the guy with the gourd."
"I've never seen Akamaru this scared before."
Cold sweat slid down Kiba's face.
"Byakugan."
At Kiba's urging, Hinata Hyūga activated her dōjutsu. Veins immediately bulged around her eyes as her vision expanded in all directions.
"Ah—!"
The instant Hinata's gaze fell on Ash, her Byakugan shut down on its own, as if forcibly severed.
"What's wrong, Hinata?" Shino Aburame asked calmly. Among the three of them, his composure never wavered.
"…His chakra," Hinata said, her voice trembling. "It's enormous… and he noticed me."
The image she had just seen was still burned into her mind. The chakra inside Ash's body was so vast it was almost indescribable—dense, oppressive, and terrifying.
"Don't stay here."
Suddenly, a frantic roar echoed inside Gaara's mind.
"That man—leave immediately! You can't fight him!"
It was Shukaku, screaming hysterically within the seal.
As a tailed beast, Shukaku's danger sense far surpassed that of ordinary shinobi. Combined with Ash's Uchiha chakra, the pressure was overwhelming. This was the first time Shukaku had ever spoken with such naked fear.
"Even you are scared?" Gaara muttered, his expression twisting. "If that's the case… then I'll kill him."
Madness flickered in his pale green eyes as he raised his right hand toward Ash, who stood calmly on the tree branch.
"Hmph."
Ash sneered in open disdain.
A Jinchūriki meant nothing to him.
Even if the Nine-Tails itself were present, Ash was confident he could suppress it without difficulty.
"Sand Coffin."
In an instant, a torrent of sand surged upward, wrapping tightly around Ash's body. It bound him completely, leaving only his head exposed as the sand compressed with crushing force.
"He's finished," Kankurō said.
The tension drained from his body as excitement replaced his earlier fear. He stared at Ash with barely concealed anticipation, already imagining the next moment.
After all—
Once Gaara's sand took hold, no one had ever escaped.
(End of Chapter)
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