Gaara frowned slightly as he observed the tied-up Black Zetsu. "What... are you doing here?"
Black Zetsu fell silent at his words, frustration building within him. What else am I doing? he thought bitterly. I've been tied up for three days. Three whole days! Does anyone understand what I've been through?
Those damn brats Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke had kept him tied up for the entire duration, not even letting him down at night. And they hadn't even bothered to hide him, leaving him blatantly exposed for anyone to see.
To think that he, Black Zetsuwho had secretly manipulated the shinobi world for so many years, who had played with legends like Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama with a mere flick of his handwould end up in such a humiliating situation.
Despite repeating seven years of schooling and spending twelve years as a student, he had always commanded respect in the academy. Everyone had called him 'Boss.'
Yet here he was, in his final graduation exam, being toyed with and humiliated by two little brats for the past three days.
Black Zetsu could already imagine that once the exam was over, his disgrace would undoubtedly make it to the front page of Shinobi Times
.With a heavy sigh, Black Zetsu tilted his head back slightly, his dull eyes gazing up at the sky. "Some things are better left unsaid... There's no point in talking about it... No point at all."
The weight of his words, filled with unspoken pain and silent struggle, caused Gaara to fall into a contemplative silence.
It seemed... Black Zetsu had truly suffered during this exam. But who could have done this to him? Who would go so far as to capture someone, not just eliminate them, but humiliate them like being tied to a tree, exposed for all to see? This was only an exam, not a battlefield.
They were all classmates, after all. Whether from Grass Academy, Sand Academy, or Rain Academy, they were all studentsfellow competitors, not enemies. Why would anyone take such extreme measures to demean someone like this?
The words "Friendship and Mutual Support" were still emblazoned in bold red letters on the academy walls. Had those ideals already been forgotten? Had they learned nothing about the spirit of Grass Village? Couldn't they see the redness in Black Zetsu's eyes? The utterly wrong expression in his gaze seemed to scream, Save me!
"I get it now!" Gaara finally spoke. Though he was often quiet, he cherished his current life. He was kind at heart and helped others when he could.
After a brief pause, he nodded and said, "I'll eliminate you. After that… take a proper rest."
He then stepped forward, raising his hand toward Black Zetsu. A large hand of sand quickly formed, reaching to grab him. But just as that happened, a loud, cocky voice cut through the air.
"Haha! I can't believe Gaara actually fell for it!" The voice was familiar and filled with amusement. "Black Zetsu, your plan was brilliant!"
Just as Gaara's expression shifted, a second, colder voice rang out, "Shut up, idiot! Move quickly, Gaara isn't someone we can afford to take lightly."
In the blink of an eye, Gaara spotted a familiar figure charging toward him. Sasuke. Though only one figure was visible in front of him, Gaara knew that the voice he'd just heard there was another one behind it.
"Take this! Wind Style: Uzumaki Bag-Wrapping Jutsu!" At that moment, a powerful whirlwind spiraled from above. One attack came from the front, and the other from above, had fallen right into their trap. Before Gaara could even react, darkness enveloped his vision.
"Hahahaha! I did it! I, the great Naruto, have succeeded!" And then, Naruto's triumphant, arrogant laughter echoed in his ears.
…
At the same time, the sudden turn of events left the entire audience on edge. After watching for the past few days, they were all too awareGaara was no ordinary opponent. For three straight days, he had dominated the battlefield with his masterful control of sand. Wherever he went, no student could challenge him. He was undoubtedly a top contender for first place.
Yet now, as the audience watched Gaara fall into the trap, whispers spread throughout the crowd. "Did he really fall for it?" "Is the winner of this exam really going to be decided this easily?" "Now this is what it means to be a true Grass Ninja!" "What kind of parents could raise such a genius student?" The crowd erupted into a flurry of conversations filled with admiration, others in disbelief, and a few in sheer satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Kushina had buried her face in her hands. She was utterly embarrassed because of what the other parents were saying, but because of Naruto's ridiculous jutsu just now… it had been too humiliating. More than that, she was starting to realize that she might not know her own son as well as she thought.
Sure, he was loud and carefree most of the time, even a little foolish at times, constantly saying things that made people want to strangle him... But judging by his performance in this exam, this kid… he might actually be a lot smarter than she had given him credit for.
As the surrounding spectators couldn't help but burst into laughter. Even Mikoto couldn't help but let out a small, amused sigh. "Did they actually pull it off?"
"It's not that simple," Pakura said calmly. As Gaara's adoptive mother, she knew better than anyone just how strong he was. A knowing smile played on her lips. "They'll have to do more than that to take him down."
Just as those words left her mouth, "The sack is moving!" A voice from the audience cut through the tense air. Instantly, all eyes snapped to the screen, where the bag that had supposedly trapped Gaara had begun to shift and bulge. In that moment, the crowd realized this fight was far from over.
Meanwhile, in the midst of the murmuring spectators, Akihiko's sharp gaze flickered with amusement. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
…
"Retreat!" The moment Sasuke saw the sack beginning to bulge, he immediately recognized the danger. Without hesitation, he shouted to Naruto.
Naruto snapped back to reality, sensing the shift in the air. Without a second thought, both of them turned and sprinted away at full speed.
Boom! But, in the blink of an eye, a deafening explosion reverberated across the battlefield. The sack exploded in an instant, and from within, a massive sphere of sand emerged, revealing Gaara's Absolute Defense.
"I knew it wouldn't be that easy," Sasuke muttered, still on the move. He furrowed his brow slightly, but quickly dismissed his concern. He had expected there was no way Gaara would go down so easily.
Meanwhile, Naruto groaned in frustration. "Damn it! I totally forgot about that. I should've just used Shadow Clones to beat him up the second we got the bag over him."
At that moment, the massive sand sphere began to dissipate, and Gaara stepped out, his eyes locking onto Naruto. He had clearly heard Naruto's previous comment, and his eye twitched with irritation.
Gaara glanced over at Black Zetsu, still tied to the tree. After a moment of silence, he spoke. "So, it was you two who put Black Zetsu up here... was this some kind of trap to lure in other students?"
"No, no, no~" Naruto and Sasuke both shook their heads in unison.
"It wasn't us," Sasuke said flatly, his expression as deadpan as ever. "That was Black Zetsu's own idea."
"Yeah!" Naruto added quickly, nodding vigorously. "Sasuke and I would never come up with something so low." He frowned slightly, as if to emphasize his point.
Both Black Zetsu and Gaara exchanged a deadpan look, as if silently asking, Who are you blaming here? Especially, Black Zetsu, his face darkened even further.
He glared at Sasuke, but after a brief moment, he fell silent. Because, technically, it was true. He had indeed come up with the plan. But he never actually said anything about tying himself up, only suggested that Naruto should lure the other students in.
As Gaara observed Zetsu's shift in expression, he quickly pieced together the truth. His gaze toward Zetsu became more complicated. So this guy... was actually insane. Had he even tied himself up? And to think, he almost fell for it.
"My mistake. I misjudged you and Naruto," Gaara said, his gaze settling on Sasuke. Around him, the sand began to stir again. "But now… It's time to finish this exam."
Sasuke stepped forward, meeting Gaara's eyes. He nodded. "Yeah. Let's settle this."
As Naruto prepared to step in, Sasuke lifted a hand, stopping him. "Naruto, stay out of this. I want to take him on one-on-one."
Before Naruto could argue, Sasuke had already moved. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" A massive ball of flames roared toward Gaara.
But Gaara remained unfazed. Without a word, a thick wall of sand surged up, blocking the attack with ease. The clash had begun.
Meanwhile, off to the side, Naruto stood there, staring at the fight. Then, pointing at himself, he shouted, "Wait, what about me?! I'm fighting for first place too, damn it!"