Outside Konoha Village.
The crimson glow of sunset still lingered in the sky, though deep blue dusk was slowly spreading through it. As the last of the sunlight faded, the evening wind carried a faint chill.
Sarutobi Asuma led the shinobi stationed on the first defensive line, blocking the road into Konoha completely. The ninja from the other four great villages and Kusagakure were scattered throughout the forest, whispering among themselves.
Click.
A steel lighter sparked to life. Smoke drifted away on the evening wind. A cigarette hung from Asuma's mouth as he irritably ground another still-burning butt under his heel. A small pile of them had already formed at his feet.
Why is Shoma still not back?
Did something really happen in the village?
He turned to look in Konoha's direction, but the dense canopy blocked his view. Thinking of that gray light that had covered everything, a bad feeling rose in his chest.
That light had felt profoundly unfriendly to him.
When it fell on his body, it had felt as though even his clothes had tightened. Afterward, something in the surrounding natural environment had clearly changed. Even his Welcome Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder had been suppressed. He had poured all of his Sage Clan chakra into it, yet he had only managed to produce a golden phantom. He could not form the Bodhisattva image at all.
That was obviously not normal.
Asuma drew in a deep breath, and the fading orange ember at the tip of his cigarette flared bright again.
Talent of the Sage Clan was the secret art of the Fire Temple, passed down to no outsiders, and its demands on the mind and spirit were extremely severe.
One had to spend years reciting the temple's sutras and secret scriptures, then meditate in bitter discipline until reaching a strange state that was neither emptiness nor non-emptiness. Only in that state could one refine a special kind of chakra imbued with the intent of sagehood.
This chakra was upright, calm, and balanced. It could not undergo any elemental transformation. In terms of raw destructive power, it was not stronger than ordinary chakra. If anything, its tranquility made it weaker than normal chakra.
But when monks guided this special chakra outside their bodies, it could swiftly capture a certain special energy from nature itself and then use that natural power in battle with overwhelming force.
Because the might of this secret art was so terrifying, its creator had believed that it drew upon the power of heaven and earth, a force only the Sage Clan could wield. That was why this special chakra, which controlled the power of nature, had been named Talent of the Sage Clan.
Of course, Asuma Sarutobi was too knowledgeable to be fooled by grandiose mysticism.
As the son of the Third Hokage, no matter how rebellious he had once been, the amount he knew far exceeded that of the monks in the Fire Temple.
Natural energy was no great secret to him.
Though the title Talent of the Sage Clan sounded lofty, in his view its essence was simple enough. By taking advantage of chakra's ability to imitate other forces, one first entered a mental state close to harmony with heaven and earth, and from there one could simulate a kind of chakra imbued with the nature of natural energy.
Just like Fire Release or Water Release chakra.
Talent of the Sage Clan could just as easily be called chakra that had undergone nature transformation. Water Release chakra manipulated water in the outside world. Then naturally, chakra with a nature-aligned property ought to be able to manipulate natural energy.
Once that was done, one could shape that natural energy into a giant Buddha image for both offense and defense. With deeper cultivation of Zen, once one comprehended wrath from emptiness, one could even transform into a Vajra Wisdom King and gain supreme offensive power.
He had not yet reached the stage of manifesting the Wisdom King, but Welcome Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder was already second nature to him. There was no way it should have failed under ordinary circumstances. That meant the gray light had clearly altered the natural environment itself.
Asuma extinguished the cigarette that had burned down to his lips and pulled another from the pack in his pocket, lighting it casually. The evening air was growing steadily colder, and in the sky the faint crescent moon shared the heavens with the last traces of red dusk, forming a strange vision of sun and moon together.
The ninja from the different villages looked up at the sky and gradually realized that they probably would not be entering Konoha tonight.
The Kumogakure side was dissatisfied. The other villages were not much happier. But no one dared charge Konoha's defensive line, so they could only gather in little groups and chat while they waited.
Among them, the noisiest by far were the Kusa ninja. Some of them boldly speculated about the gray light, spouting shallow nonsense about ninjutsu that drew frequent laughter from the nearest Sunagakure shinobi.
By contrast, Iwagakure's side was quiet.
Han and Akatsuchi were both taciturn. Kurotsuchi had no one to chat with, so she could only prop her chin up with one hand and stare at the sky, lost in thought.
The Kirigakure side was also discussing the gray light, but these swordsmen had brains full of killing and battle. Their discussion went nowhere. Chojuro offered a few guesses only to shyly shoot them down himself, while Suigetsu had no ideas at all and turned instead toward Ao, whom he did not particularly respect, hoping the famed sensory ninja might have some insight.
But the moment he turned, he saw Ao looking like he had seen a ghost. His forehead and nose bridge were covered in cold sweat.
"Ao-sensei?"
"Hm!?"
The sudden voice made Ao jolt violently. Only then did he notice Chojuro and the others looking at him curiously.
"What is it?"
Ringo Ameyuri bared her rows of sharp teeth in what might have been amusement. Her face was beautiful, but that grin made her look vicious.
"Nothing..."
Ao wiped the sweat from his brow and did not dare glance again at the two female Kusa ninja.
The killing intent radiating from them was definitely not something genin could possess. At minimum, they were elite jonin. As for why they were disguising themselves as genin to infiltrate Konoha, that had nothing to do with him, a Kirigakure shinobi. He had no intention of sticking his nose into it.
Once he found the right chance, he would warn Chojuro and the others not to clash with Kusagakure during the exam. If necessary, they should even abandon the exam entirely and put survival first.
If elite jonin, or even Kage-level monsters, were really participating in a chunin exam, then Kirigakure's talented youngsters had no reason to throw their lives away fighting them.
At the other side, Orochimaru and Danzo were chatting idly while keeping an eye on Ao.
"He seems to have noticed us. We should find a chance to kill him."
"Fine. We can pin it on Konoha and drag the Mizukage into the mess. That might make the plan proceed even more smoothly."
The moment Orochimaru brought up that ridiculous Crush Konoha plan, Danzo clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"How do we split the Byakugan?"
"I'll worry about that later."
Their calm and casual exchange floated through the branches as if they had already marked Ao for death. Both of them were somewhat interested in the Hyuga Byakugan, though not enough to truly value it.
Then, from the Suna side, a trembling male voice suddenly rang out.
"Gaara, a-are you okay?"
Because of the fear in his voice, it came out high-pitched and sharp. At once, everyone in the forest turned their eyes toward the Sand team.
The woods fell silent.
Orochimaru and Danzo stopped speaking and looked over along with everyone else.
"Rrgh..."
Gaara clutched his forehead with one hand. As night drew closer, the dark rings around his eyes seemed even deeper.
Feeling everyone's eyes on him, he forced his eyes open wider. The whites were laced with blood vessels, and a low growl escaped his throat, something like the sound a beast made before it attacked.
"Hey, that Sand kid's eyes look crazy."
"Maybe he's sick."
"Looks like rabies."
Someone muttered in a low voice. Gaara suddenly felt as if he had been thrown back into childhood, once again being stared at as a monster. His already unstable mind deteriorated even further.
Rustle...
Bloody yellow sand began to spread quietly across the ground.
Han had been sitting there, watching Asuma with his Talent of the Sage Clan technique. The instant he sensed the abnormal chakra on Gaara's side, he lifted his head, and the chakra of the Five-Tails inside him started to heat up as well.
That one is a jinchuriki too.
Seeing the increasingly twisted look on Gaara's face, Han's eyes filled with something difficult to describe.
Back when he had struggled to control his own tailed beast, he had suffered through countless rampages. No one understood that state better than he did.
What is Sunagakure doing?
Why would they send an uncontrollable jinchuriki to take the exam?
Han felt a surge of dissatisfaction. Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi were capable, but they were no match for a tailed beast. The Third had been right. There really were no weaklings in this exam.
Akatsuchi, whose size was abnormal even by human standards, stepped in front of Kurotsuchi like a wall of stone.
Whoosh.
Temari's giant fan swept out and intercepted the sand, blocking the strange looks from the others as well. Standing before Gaara, she trembled with fear while trying to calm him.
"Gaara, calm down."
Behind her, Kankuro was already regretting blurting out that first frightened question. Seeing Temari move to block Gaara, worry immediately filled his eyes.
Once Gaara started losing control, he recognized neither kin nor friend. Blood relation meant nothing to him.
"Urgh..."
Struggle flashed across Gaara's face, showing that he still recognized Temari and was resisting the monster that always began to go mad once night fell.
For some reason, at the moment the gray light had appeared, he had felt Shukaku's influence weaken. He had even sensed a trace of fear coming from the beast.
It was exactly because he had felt that fear from the monster inside him that he had ignored Maki's orders and rushed toward Konoha.
But now, it seemed that whatever power the gray light had carried was fading, and the monster within him was growing restless again, even more violently than before.
That yellow, tailed-beast chakra began invading his consciousness.
Bloody killing intent surged upward. Gaara stared at Temari's trembling form, his eyes whitening as his rational mind was slowly swallowed by the tailed beast's chakra.
Rustle.
Yellow sand spilled from the gourd on his back. The sand, full of Shukaku's power, carried a faint smell of blood on the wind. Some of the grains had even turned a dark, disgusting red, as though they had buried countless corpses.
"The red-haired one's not right. Be careful."
Ao had already been driven jumpy by Orochimaru and Danzo. The moment he sensed the power of Shukaku, he immediately warned Chojuro, who had been glancing toward the Sand group.
At once, Suigetsu and Ringo Ameyuri drew ordinary swords from the smoke in their hands, since neither of them had inherited a true ninja blade yet. Chojuro, meanwhile, awkwardly began unwrapping Hiramekarei, the polite, studious look on his face hardening into something cold.
Ao's warning carried clearly in the silent evening air.
Everyone else noticed Gaara's condition too. Some of the ninja sitting on the ground sprang to their feet. Almost in unison, hands moved toward weapons.
A current like flowing water began to crackle over Darui's skin.
Clang. Clang.
Karui and Omoi drew their blades, cold expressions on their faces, taking positions to the left and right of Atsui's broad frame.
Only then did the Kusa ninja, who until now had been little more than a rabble, finally come to their senses. They fumbled hurriedly for their weapons, producing a clatter of metal.
Hearing all that noise, the already unstable Gaara became even more agitated.
His bloodshot gaze shifted to the bespectacled red-haired kunoichi from Kusagakure.
For some reason, he could not stop thinking of that disgusting man.
Whoosh.
He suddenly thrust one hand toward Karin, whose face had gone pale with panic. His eyes were full of madness.
"No, Gaara!"
"Don't go over there!"
Temari desperately tried to stop him, but Kankuro grabbed her instead. Even Maki was at a loss now.
If Shukaku rampaged here, then the entire Crush Konoha plan would be finished.
But Temari could not pull Gaara back, and Maki had no means of stopping Shukaku. He could only watch helplessly as Gaara's condition spiraled.
"Hey, you Sand brat, what do you think you're doing? Don't start trouble."
Asuma, already furious from waiting this long for word from the village, strode forward with a cigarette between his lips. His face, never especially friendly to begin with, was now full of irritation.
"..."
As that bright ember swung closer in the growing dark, Gaara, with saliva at the corner of his mouth, slowly turned his head. The murderous aura coming from him jammed the rest of Asuma's words in his throat.
"You..."
Whoosh.
A tidal wave of yellow sand, reeking of blood, exploded toward Asuma and swallowed him in an instant.
It's over.
Maki leaned back slightly, despair written across his face, as if the last sliver of hope he had been holding onto had finally died.
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