The first match, to be honest, didn't have much of an impact.
Mainly because no one could see it. All they saw was fog rising, then bang bang bang, then the fog cleared, and the fight was over.
Haku won.
No surprise there. Just looking at the ice shards all over the ground, it was clear that Suigetsu had been countered. After all, Haku wasn't an assassin like the Yuki clan. Raised by Masashi, he followed a strong offense style. He managed his chakra properly and used the most stable strategy to defeat Suigetsu.
Even though the fight wasn't exciting to watch… No, actually, there was nothing to see at all. But those who were supposed to make money still made money, and those who lost didn't lose too much, so no one really complained.
The second match was Hyūga Neji versus Temari.
Many people who bet on Temari were quite happy at first. After all, it was against a Hyūga, everyone knew they were weak at long-range. But that was how gambling works. If the results were predictable, there wouldn't be an industry for it.
So, even though Temari's moves were fierce and impressive, she couldn't overcome the fact that Neji was just too fast. She couldn't land a hit, and once he closed the distance, fight over.
Neji was even polite about it. He only cut off Temari's chakra flow. Otherwise, if he had used a full-power Gentle Fist from the start, she wouldn't have stood a chance, no amount of body fat would have helped.
Up in the stands, Rasa's face was as dark as the bottom of a burnt pot, while Ōnoki downed an entire glass of juice.
"Oh my, Konoha's genin are truly extraordinary." He wiped his mouth, emphasizing his words. "And this batch, they're all rookies."
"Every participant in this exam is a rookie." Minato replied, smiling. "It's actually you who've been keeping your talents hidden, we haven't seen them at all."
"Hahaha, well, in Iwa, we don't focus on individual strength."
That was all Ōnoki could say at this point. At the same time, he was cursing internally. Does this guy even know how to make conversation?!
Meanwhile, in the arena, Masashi watched as Neji helped Temari unlock her sealed chakra points and nodded in satisfaction.
Not bad.
Neji, without the resentment from his original timeline, had fully embraced his naturally warm personality. But based on Masashi's experience, a girl like Temari wouldn't be swayed by kindness.
To conquer her, you needed someone like Shikamaru, a guy who made her believe she couldn't possibly lose, only to get utterly destroyed in their first match.
That was the type of contrast that worked.
If the contrast wasn't strong enough, it wouldn't work.
Someone like Neji, who radiated strength just by standing there? Even if he beat her, she wouldn't feel much about it.
"Did I… do something wrong?" Neji, who had politely escorted Temari off the field, felt uneasy under Masashi's stare.
Honest and straightforward, he truly saw the Suna ninja as allies. Which was ironic, considering he had taken down a bunch of them in the Forest of Death.
"No, you did well. You showed the spirit of Konoha." Masashi patted him on the shoulder. "Go rest."
"Yes." Neji nodded and left the arena.
Masashi glanced at the list and looked at the next matchup.
Oh.
It's time.
Up in the stands, the announcer had already started informing the audience about the next fight.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the next match will be between Gaara and Uzumaki Naruto."
An unusual tension spread through the crowd.
---
Back at the waiting area, Temari had just reached the top of the stairs when she saw Gaara approaching from behind.
"Be careful." She couldn't help but say.
She was scared of her little brother, but she was even more afraid of losing him. The Konoha genin were all monstrously strong.
In Suna, everyone called Gaara a monster, but she still remembered what he was like as a child.
He wasn't a monster.
Gaara's steps paused slightly, but then he kept walking, passing by Temari.
"Don't compare me to you."
With those words, he disappeared down the staircase.
---
Meanwhile, in the arena, Masashi was starting to get impatient.
Gaara had a habit. Either he wouldn't walk at all and would just use his sand body flicker… Or, if he did walk, he would take his time.
Literally one step at a time.
Back when he watched the anime, he thought it was cool. But now? It was just frustrating. Especially since today was blazing hot.
One of the worst parts about being an exam proctor was that you couldn't leave until the exams were over.
Naruto had already come down. Impatient as ever, he was getting antsy.
"Sensei, is that guy forfeiting?"
"If you forfeited, he still wouldn't." Masashi replied.
Gaara wasn't about to miss a chance to make his presence known.
Finally, his figure appeared in the doorway. Yeah… someone definitely tried to bribe him for a fixed match.
Masashi looked at him and figured that was probably what had happened.
Inside the building, Gaara's chakra had briefly reacted to others just moments ago.
"Since you're here, come on out." Masashi gestured for Gaara to step forward. "You need to acknowledge the audience first, it's a matter of etiquette."
Gaara stared at Masashi. The eerie energy around him faded a bit, and he silently walked up beside him.
Masashi positioned both fighters to face the audience. And at that moment, an unexpected event occurred.
"Gaara! You got this!"
"Gaara, you're the best!"
Out of nowhere, a section of the audience held up banners and cheered. It was… unusual.
They were all female fans.
Gaara: "???"
Naruto: "What the heck?"
Masashi: "..."
Did the promotional campaign go too far this time?
Even the Kage watching from the stands were caught off guard by this sudden development.
"Rasa, instead of wasting time on nonsense like this, why don't you properly train your ninjas?" Ōnoki clearly disapproved.
The excessive entertainment-focused promotions had been everywhere lately, and as an old-school, no-nonsense ninja, he felt that the younger generation was completely out of line.
Ninjas should earn respect through their strength and status, not through flashy gimmicks.
Rasa scowled. "I have no interest in such trivial matters."
He had explicitly told Baki to keep Gaara low-profile. This was low-profile?!
Annoyed, he turned to Minato.
"I understand that the joint Chunin Exams are an important source of income for the village, but this… isn't this a bit excessive?"
Minato, equally bewildered, replied, "I didn't arrange this either."
---
In the stands, Obito and Orochimaru watched the overly enthusiastic female fans and had the same first thought: "Has Konoha really fallen this low?"
No wonder Gaara's betting odds were so terrible!
"This is ridiculous. A serious exam turned into a circus. The entire ninja world will laugh at this." Obito scoffed.
Orochimaru, however, considered another angle. "Still, if the Konoha win this match, they'll probably make a fortune. Even the old conservative leaders have started bending to reality."
The ones who refused to bend… had long since died.
Whether people found it surprising or ridiculous, Gaara stood frozen, staring at the people cheering for him.
What are they doing?
His mind was still simple and direct at this point, he couldn't quite process what was happening.
Ever since that night, his world had been a desolate wasteland, devoid of color. A barren landscape where he walked alone. And in that silent, lifeless world, the only thing that gave him a sense of existence was the fear and agony of those about to die.
But for the first time, the voices breaking into his world didn't belong to someone on the verge of death.
He was confused.
They were calling his name, but they weren't enemies. There was no hostility. He had never encountered people like this before. He didn't know what their deal was, but it didn't matter, he only needed to be the demon who loved only himself.
Gaara quickly regained his cold composure, crossed his arms, and lifted his chin arrogantly.
His aloof attitude only made his fans swoon harder. They thought he was so cool, so cute! Their cheers grew even louder.
"…Sensei, am I getting overshadowed here?"
"Don't worry. Just smile, Naruto."
He vaguely remembered Naruto's nickname in some promotional materials… something like "The Smiling Kid"?
That definitely wasn't his marketing idea. He had only written up material for Gaara and Sasuke. The rest had been handled by Konoha's administrative team.
Still, this was a bit of a loss. Sasuke hadn't even entered the ring yet, and Gaara was already stealing the show. And Masashi had a feeling, this fight might not reach its conclusion.
---
"In the end, it's finally time for Suna's ace to fight…" Orochimaru murmured from the audience.
"Well then, I'll go make my preparations. You'll be fine on your end, right?"
"Of course," Obito replied. "Just don't waste my materials."
"Heh, don't worry, I wouldn't waste such valuable materials."
Sitting among ordinary spectators, the two conspirators whispered to each other without fear of being overheard.
"By the way, are you sure this kid can pull it off?" Orochimaru glanced at Naruto in the arena.
"Tanuki are very mischievous little creatures," Obito replied. "If their master isn't careful, they'll definitely bite."
"Then I'll be watching closely."
Orochimaru smirked, stood up, and walked toward the exit.
Obito, meanwhile, kept his gaze locked on Masashi in the arena, his hand gripping two scrolls tightly inside his sleeve.
Up in the high seats, Minato and Rasa watched the battlefield intently. But behind them, Fumiki's gaze kept flickering between the four Kage present…
Gaara's entrance felt like a signal.
The atmosphere was getting heavier.
---
At the northern gate of Konoha.
A woman wearing a tea-green long coat with black edges had already passed through the gate, walking toward the stadium. Behind her, a black-haired girl bowed respectfully to the gatekeeper ninja before hurriedly catching up.
"Lady Tsunade, please wait for me!"
"Annoying," Tsunade snorted in displeasure but slowed her pace. "Seriously, why did I even come back to this village?"
She herself didn't quite understand why she had done so. She had just been walking when she suddenly realized she was near the outskirts of the Konoha forest. Since she was already there, she figured she might as well enter the village. After all, there weren't many good gambling spots outside lately. Coming back for a few rounds wasn't the worst idea.
That was what she had thought before entering the forest.
But what was everyone in this village doing?
She clenched her fist tightly before loosening it again.
Her hemophobia had cost her the abilities of the Sannin, and the ensuing sense of helplessness had driven her to leave the Konoha ninja corps.
Of course, that departure had been her own decision.
She had left the Konoha ninja ranks, but her registration still belonged to Konoha.
Shizune had followed her for so many years, at least she had been quick-witted just now.
No, now wasn't the time to praise others.
Even though she had already warned the defense force, that alone wasn't enough. The enemy in the forest, while she had only sensed one group, exhibited a movement pattern that, as a veteran of two great ninja wars, she recognized as the scent of war.
Iwa had already betrayed them. What about the other so-called allies?
Now that she had encountered this situation, there was no way she could just stand by and watch. At the very least, she needed to issue a warning.
"Shizune, you're too slow," Tsunade said.
"I'm sorry… um, after notifying the Hokage, what do you plan to do?"
"Hmph, after this fight, I'm leaving. I knew nothing good would come from returning."
Tsunade's words made it clear, she wasn't worried that Konoha would suffer much. She had seen firsthand how much the village's strength had grown over the years. Even if there had been betrayals, the number of enemies that could infiltrate wouldn't be too large.
Surely, not every village had turned against Konoha at the same time.
If that were the case, then only her grandfather's generation would have been capable of handling such a crisis.
Thinking about her childhood memories, she felt annoyed and quickened her pace again.
---
Meanwhile, inside the stadium, an entirely different scene was unfolding. Everyone knew the identities of the two combatants, thanks to the month-long promotional buildup.
The son of the Hokage versus the son of the Kazekage.
This was one of the most anticipated matchups. The first two rounds hadn't been all that thrilling, Konoha had won without much effort, which made the fights feel a little lackluster.
At that moment, golden sand swirled across the battlefield.
Even though he had been momentarily bewildered by the crowd of female spectators when he entered, Gaara instantly switched into battle mode once the fight began.
He showed no mercy.
To ensure both his defense and offense remained at their peak, he used sand, not mere grains of sand, but the refined material created by the Second Kazekage's jutsu.
Gaara's sand techniques were agile, powerful, and radiated an intense killing intent.
Naruto's kunai, used for probing attacks, were either crushed into scrap metal or returned to him in full force.
Ever since the start of the exam, aside from his near loss against Lee during the preliminaries, Gaara had breezed through every match. His sand techniques had dominated the chunin exams.
His current opponent had been portrayed as much weaker than Gaara in the promotional material.
So when he attacked, some spectators even screamed.
But most people were watching with curiosity, wondering: How strong is the Hokage's son really?
And that was when they realized something. The chunin exam audience wasn't just ordinary people.
While civilians saw the spectacular visual effects of Gaara's sand, the experienced ninja saw something else, Naruto was surprising them.
His speed was incredible. It was hard to believe a mere genin could use the Body Flicker Technique so proficiently.
His chakra reserves and control were even more remarkable.
Using the Shadow Clone Jutsu in combination with the Body Flicker, he didn't seem to be struggling at all. On the surface, it appeared that Gaara's sand controlled the battlefield. But in reality, Naruto was dictating the pace of the fight.
Masashi, floating in mid-air on a platform of sand to avoid interfering with the battle, observed the match. This method consumed less chakra than the Lightened Boulder Jutsu and Weighted Boulder Jutsu.
With an unknown battle ahead, conserving energy was the smart move. Though his main focus wasn't on the exam, he was nonetheless pleased with Naruto's performance.
This was it, this was the proper way for the reincarnation of Asura's chakra to make an entrance.
Asura and Indra, when choosing their chakra reincarnations, they must have always selected the most outstanding individual from their bloodline descendants.
In other words, Naruto was chosen as the reincarnation of Asura's chakra simply because, in this generation, he was the strongest among those carrying Asura's bloodline.
As long as he had the right educational environment, he would become immensely powerful.
Hashirama had been the same in his youth. One could say he was a bit of an airhead, but that didn't stop him from being incredibly strong.
For the Konoha ninjas in the audience, watching the blond boy skillfully use the Body Flicker Technique gave them a strong sense of déjà vu, almost as if the title of "Yellow Flash" had finally found a worthy successor.
At the highest stand, Minato felt deeply gratified to see his son mastering the Body Flicker Technique so well. He was also pleased that Naruto had inherited his mother's chakra talent, allowing him to fight without the need to conserve chakra excessively, something he himself always had to do.
Chakra reserves had always been his greatest weakness.
Because of that, even though he had trained in Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode, his ability to use it had been shamefully brief.
After becoming Hokage, he had few opportunities to engage in real combat. As newer generations of elite ninja emerged, fewer and fewer people knew about this weakness of his.
Rasa, watching Naruto maneuver effortlessly under Gaara's sand techniques, was utterly shocked.
It was clear, once this kid matured, he would be an extremely terrifying enemy.
Suna specialized in intricate and tactical ninjutsu. Historically, when their puppet masters fought Konoha's shinobi, their biggest nemesis was always the Hyūga clan.
Hyūga ninjas, with their ability to sever chakra flow and their near-omniscient insight, were the natural predators of puppet users.
The only other major threat? Experts in the Body Flicker Technique.
Back in the day, Konoha's White Fang had slaughtered his way through the Land of Wind, thanks in no small part to his mastery of the Body Flicker.
The previous two battles had already showcased the incredible talent of Konoha's genin. Given that these were all rookies, it was clear, Konoha was experiencing a surge of new talent.
In contrast, things didn't look as promising for Suna… Rasa's mental scales were beginning to tilt.
"Your child is truly outstanding," Rasa suddenly remarked.
"Not at all," Minato replied humbly. "Your child is also very impressive, he has already mastered your village's sand techniques at such a young age. The Kazekage's legacy is in good hands."
As they conversed, Naruto suddenly launched a Rasengan.
The attack had an unexpectedly effective impact against Gaara's sand, carving a direct path through it.
"Isn't that… the Hokage's jutsu?" An older Konoha ninja recognized it instantly.
Special kunai and chakra spheres had been Minato's signature gear before he became Hokage. Since he had always been darting around battlefields, many people had seen his techniques firsthand.
---
In the audience, Obito watched intently.
"Sensei, you really trained this kid well…"
While calculating the timing of Shukaku's rampage, he also concluded that, based on Naruto's performance, he might actually survive this ordeal.
"Forget it, there's no need for me to make a move against this kid."
After some thought, Obito decided not to target Naruto.
After all, if everything went according to plan, he would be able to initiate the Eye of the Moon Plan within a few years. By then, the genin in this stadium would, at most, be ordinary jonin, not a threat to him.
For the sake of the Eye of the Moon, he was willing to do anything. But senseless slaughter was never his goal. Yes, anything, and not retrieving his other eye from Kakashi was definitely not because he was sentimental about it.
He simply didn't need it.
After all, Kakashi was an elite jonin of Konoha. If Obito forcibly took the eye back, it would attract too much attention. There was no need for that.
That was all there was to it.
The Rinnegan wasn't anything special, he could regain both his eyes at any time. He just hadn't bothered yet.
"Those two Kusa ninja are still quite useful… Nagato, you'd better make good use of Shukaku."
The estimated time was drawing near.
Obito stopped paying attention to the exam, stood up, and, like Orochimaru, left the audience seating.
It was time to begin.
---
At that moment, outside the stadium entrance, Tsunade's figure appeared.
The Konoha ninja guarding the entrance were young, part of the new generation. They didn't recognize her and immediately moved to block her as she attempted to enter.
"The exam has been underway for quite a while, you can't enter now."
"Move aside. I'm here to see the Hokage."
With a casual flick of her finger, she sent one of the guards reeling, just hard enough to make his head buzz, but not enough to injure him.
Before they could recover, she had already slipped inside.
However, she wasn't familiar with the layout of this new building. She took a wrong turn, and when she emerged from a stairway, she found herself in the contestants' waiting area.
The sudden appearance of a well-endowed woman startled all the competitors. Her outfit was completely civilian in style, making her stand out in the shinobi-heavy environment.
But some people did recognize her.
"L-Lady Tsunade?!"
Anko, who was overseeing the waiting area, was utterly shocked. She had seen Tsunade frequently as a child, there was no mistaking her. Even if she mistook the face, there was no way she'd mistake that chest.
"Huh? You recognize me?" Tsunade squinted at her. "You're… Orochimaru's… ah, never mind. How do I get to the Hokage?"
"Yes!" Anko didn't waste time asking, "Why are you back?"
She already knew something was off with this exam.
She immediately ordered nearby Konoha ninja to take over her duties before preparing to lead Tsunade to the highest stand, where the Hokage was.
However, just as she turned around, Tsunade suddenly shouted:
"GET DOWN!"
A deafening, inhuman roar erupted, drowning out every other sound in the stadium.