Elias did not return to the tribunes as the crowd—now rested—enthusiastically reclaimed their seats. The nobles, who usually wore expressionless poker faces, were now passionately discussing the jinchūriki's performance during the exams and his clear superiority over his peers.
He was silently welcomed on the rooftop of the area reserved for the ninja clans by two masked Root operatives: one wearing an eagle mask, the other a cat's. They were clearly present for different purposes; otherwise, Danzō would have mentioned their involvement in Elias's mission.
Meanwhile, Sasuke stepped into the fighting pit to face his opponent: Gaara of the Sand.
The crowd watched with interest, though without the same excitement as before. They were realistic—despite it being an Uchiha in the ring, no one expected the spectacle to surpass the previous two matches, where Naruto had taken the spotlight.
"The fight between Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara of the Sand will begin shortly," announced Genma Shiranui. "However, due to the overwhelming display of power from our village's jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto, he will no longer compete—for obvious reasons. That said, in the future, missions may be submitted with a special request for his participation… for the appropriate fee."
Genma played his role as promoter well. The daimyōs stood up, and the crowd erupted in cheers: "Naruto! Naruto!"—even the typically aloof nobility joined in.
Orochimaru, from the stands, eyed the young Uchiha with intense curiosity. Sasuke clenched his fists. Naruto was now clearly far ahead of him. Frustration churned inside—what had he been doing until now? Had Naruto merely played the fool all this time, only to reveal his true strength when it truly mattered?
Gaara, on the other hand struggled to contain his fury. He had been feared and cast out since birth by his own village. Even his father, the Kazekage, had tried to have him killed. And now, to hear that someone like Naruto—someone also possessed by a tailed beast—was being celebrated and adored for the very thing Gaara was hated for... it felt like the ultimate betrayal!
Elias frowned. He could clearly see Orochimaru beginning to lose his composure—something important to him, something serious enough to crack his calm exterior, was about to unfold. That meant Elias's own time to shine was drawing near. And really, was there ever a better moment to strike than when everyone was completely distracted?
His opportunity was closing in, second by second. And the crafty fox wasn't going to miss the perfect moment.
Using his Cosmos to monitor the increasingly agitated fellow, Elias confirmed the deaths of two foreign ninja who had tried to intimidate the boy. Should he intervene? No. Who cared about two foreign shinobi? Their deaths were meaningless to him and to the Root.
After taking his sweet time, Gaara finally made his way toward the arena's fighting grounds. The entire atmosphere reeked of chūnyboo, and that was never a good sign. Elias could already feel the looming threat of secondhand embarrassment clawing at him. He knew it—very soon, he'd be battling a violent urge to facepalm himself into another dimension.
Just imagining what was coming made him shiver with disgust.
Then, the signal to begin was given.
Gaara wasted no time. He immediately unleashed the sand stored in his gourd, forcing Sasuke to fall back.
"Mother…" Gaara muttered, his voice crawling with eerie affection. "I fed you disgusting blood just now… I know… I know… but this time—this time, it will be a feast!"
Then he twitched, and his expression settled into something that could almost be called normal—for a psychopath.
Sasuke launched into his assault, unleashing a shuriken jutsu barrage, but Gaara calmly deflected the attacks, raising a humanoid sand construct to absorb the hits.
Team Seven's ninja, using his Sharingan, didn't miss a fleeting moment of inattention from his sand-obsessed adversary. Seizing the opportunity, he launched a spectacular acrobatic move into a flying kick—but it was blocked by Gaara's sentient sand. Undeterred, he used the rebound to spring back into action, chaining a knee strike, a fist, and an open-palm punch into a smooth combo. Two of the hits landed cleanly against Gaara's throat, and Sasuke used the energy from the final strike to bounce away once again!
As the sand retaliated, surging toward him, Sasuke flickered behind the startled Gaara and delivered a heavy punch to his face! The impact cracked Gaara's sand armor and sent him flying!
Then, in an attempt to play it cool, Sasuke mimicked Rock Lee's swagger and taunted:
"Is that the sand armor?"
The crowd, however, remained unimpressed. Compared to the jaw-dropping fights they'd witnessed earlier, this one felt like a warm-up at best. The Uchiha prodigy they had all been hyped to see looked more like a moody teenager improvising in gym class. Even Orochimaru frowned—was he wrong about Sasuke? Was the Sharingan just overhyped? Or was Sasuke simply a pigheaded amateur?
Undeterred by the lukewarm reception, the black-haired boy continued dashing around Gaara, landing a series of kicks—from behind, to the chin, to the guts. The sand armor cracked further but still held, successfully shielding its wielder.
Frustrated and cornered, Gaara resorted to his ultimate defense: Sand Cocooning no Jutsu. Enclosing himself in a thick cocoon of sand, he likely felt safe inside his personal anxiety pod—fighting off the crushing pressure of being the village's hated weapon, misunderstood by society since birth.
And, surprisingly, it worked.
The cocoon was harder than steel, harder than the emotional defenses of a toxic League player rage-quitting mid-match while hurling insults. It was more effective than a permanent ban. It even made the arrogant little Konoha ninja bleed—a psychological and physical win for the sand-encased Gaara. Anxiety zero, Gaara one!
But Sasuke, with the persistence of a Master Yi main, kept pushing forward. Then, in true chūnibyou fashion, he leapt onto the wall. With exaggerated dramatic flair, he grasped his bandaged left hand, as if struggling to contain the dark power sealed within! Lightning crackled from his palm, scorching a deep pit into the unfortunate wall!
He dashed forward—grinning like a lunatic—straight toward Gaara's supposedly impenetrable sand cocoon. The air around him grew sharper, more volatile, a screeching noise like a bird's cry echoed with every step as he accelerated.
And then, with violent force—crack!—he struck the cocoon.
Chidori!
From inside the sand egg came a guttural shriek:
"Gwaaaaaaaaaah! BLOOD!? My blood!?" Anxiety wins!
Sasuke, however, was now stuck—his arm buried in the cocoon's dense shell. Without hesitation, he unleashed another Chidori, forcing himself free. The sand screamed red, stained with fresh blood as more cries erupted from within.
As Sasuke jumped back, a large, clawed arm burst from the cocoon, lunging at him. It missed, retracting just as quickly. But the cocoon was left with a jagged hole—shaped like the eye of a bloodthirsty monster, staring out at its prey.
Then the egg cracked.
It collapsed, crumbling away to reveal an injured Gaara. Sasuke had missed the kill by more than ten inches, only managing to wound the boy's shoulder, but it was enough!
Suddenly, feathers began falling like snow from the sky.
Elias, was watching from above, as he immediately took note: the masked ANBU agents he spotted incapacitating select spectators earlier—were now casting a powerful genjutsu over the entire stadium.
As elite shinobi like Kakashi and Guy began fighting the illusion, trying to snap out of it or break it for others, the two Hokage—Hiruzen and the figure beside him—locked eyes in a silent, deadly confrontation.
The real battle was about to begin!
Suddenly, three giant snakes crashed through Konoha's walls, accompanied by the advancing forces of Sunagakure. In the arena, the remaining ANBU and still-conscious Jōnin of Konoha sprang into action, clashing with the infiltrated Sand ninja. Within moments, chaos erupted on all fronts!
The two masked Root operatives and Elias exchanged a brief nod before splitting up to carry out their respective assignments.
Gaara, now reeling from the backlash of his failed transformation, was in no condition to continue fighting. His siblings—Kankurō and Temari—moved swiftly to extract him from the chaos, but they didn't know they were already as good as dead. A silent predator, a cunning fox, was tailing them!
Elias moved unnoticed, slipping past multiple squads of Otogakure shinobi, stalking the trio like a phantom in the smoke. The fleeing siblings were significantly slowed by the terrain—first caught up by Sasuke, then intercepted by Shino Aburame.
Elias maintained his pursuit without a sound. It didn't take long before he witnessed something absurd: Gaara lashing out in a blind tantrum, punching and injuring Temari in a fit of rage.
Child soldiers in all their dysfunctional glory—lethal, yes, but lacking the discipline or maturity to act as responsible combatants. Expendable and easily manipulated. Yet Elias wasn't shocked by the inhumanity of this world's governments or their shady military organizations. What truly stunned him was the sheer stupidity of introducing one of their most valued military assets in the enemy territory while knowing it's unrealiability and instability. Did the higher-ups in Suna want to giftwrap a tailed beast and hand it to Konoha on a silver platter?
Was Orochimaru truly trying to destroy Konoha... or was he in fact it's most fervent ally?
So many questions. But one thing was certain: their actions were so recklessly absurd that even a brilliant strategist would struggle to outmaneuver such randomness.
Meanwhile, Sasuke, of course, caught up to them.
And there, beneath the wounded and helpless Temari, Gaara began to transform once more—into the monstrous Ichibi.
The altercation devolved into a brutal game of hide-and-seek. The jinchūriki was smashing through trees in a frenzy, while Sasuke kept retreating, shaken and utterly powerless. His body was beginning to betray him—his damaged DNA now working against him. His one-tomoe Sharingan started to twitch and bleed, a dull but growing pain blooming behind his eye, it was hardly the ideal time for such complications.
He couldn't afford to wait any longer. Chidori!
He lunged, lightning surging through his arm, and collided with Gaara—splitting the monstrous arm of the emerging Ichibi clean in two!
"Ahahaha! Now I understand why I'm so excited!" Gaara barked, his voice crazed and shrill."This pain... this pain means something! I'm finally fighting someone who can hurt me! I will kill you and feel more alive than ever!"
They clashed again and again as the tension kept rising with every strike!
Gaara began to change—his body growing more monstrous by the second. A tail burst forth as his power surged!
Sasuke, overwhelmed, resorted to a desperate gambit: he spit out a massive fireball, engulfing Gaara in flames but it wasn't enough!
Gaara retaliated viciously, Sasuke was struck hard, and got slammed into a thick tree trunk. He dropped to the ground, badly wounded—but he stood again, trembling, clenching his teeth!
"You're just a weak little boy!" Gaara sneered. "Your hatred... it's not strong enough!"
Sasuke roared, charging for one final clash—but it ended with a sickening snap. His arm broke. Blood poured from his mouth. He flew through the air like a broken kite, crashing through branches before smashing into another tree trunk!
This time, he didn't move.
Sakura rushed to reach him—but was struck unconscious before she could intervene. By who you may ask? By none other than yours truly!
The prey was in sight: helpless, broken and isolated! What a golden opportunity for the cute little fox!
And then—
Thunk.A sword embedded itself through Temari's skull, pinning her lifeless body to the trunk.
Gaara finally sensed that something was wrong—but it was already too late.
Death came from above!
Using White Eyebrow Phantom Kill, infused with the full burning force of his Cosmos, Elias ended his victim's life with ruthless precision. In the same breath, his other hand pierced Gaara's chest and pulled out the Ichibi's core.
The One-Tail couldn't even react! There was no struggle, no scream, just silence!
The demonic fox, with a glare as cold as the void, burned his Cosmos as attacked Shukaku's essence—destroying it, erasing it from existence.
Then, without hesitation, he swallowed the core. The hunt was over, and it was successful!
But he had no time to bask in victory. The fusion was far from complete. He needed a secure location—a den—to begin absorbing the spoils of battle. Within seconds, he crossed dozens of miles at tremendous speed, until he finally found a hidden cavern nestled in a mountainside.
Concealed from the world, Elias sat down and began circulating his energy: chi, chakra, and Cosmos, in perfect synchronicity—the same way he had done countless times during his simulations.
But this time… it was different.
He guided the three strands of parasitic chakra—collected from Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata—to stitch and fuse the Ichibi core into his own. The technique was perfect in theory, but in practice, the difficulty was astronomically higher than anything he had faced in his simulations.
Something was resisting. Something deep within the core did not want to be devoured! Something was trying to stop the fusion!
His mind calculated furiously. Fortunately, he wasn't alone—his "friends" were assisting him through the mental chaos. As the saying goes: four brains are better than one.
But after an hour of failure, a rare sensation began to bubble within him—urgency. A sensation he hadn't felt since reaching adulthood in his previous life.
Hubert Cumberdale was crumbling under the pressure.Jeremy Fisher was bleeding out.Marjory Stewart-Baxter was in tears.
And then—
Suddenly, with a dramatic BANG, a door inside his inner world burst open:
"NYAAAAAN!! Nyan-nyan miaaaw~!! Mew mew meeeew~! NYA!"
It was Mrs. Nyan, as beautiful and graceful as ever!
"Miaow miaow NYAN! Nyaaa~ nya nya nya!! Meeeeew!" She proudly announced, dragging in suitcases filled to bursting with catnip!
Apparently, she had defeated the Intergalactic Catnip Haters—and now, she had returned victorious!
As she dramatically recounted her triumph over the cosmic oppressors, something clicked.
The fusion process worked.
Ichibi's core began to assimilate.
Memories and raw knowledge poured into Elias's consciousness like a flood without a dam! The sheer overload sent tremors through his inner world. A splitting headache cracked through his skull, his spiritual foundation trembled—
But it worked.
He had done it!
He had absorbed the One-Tail's core!He had forced the fusion, using the alien chakra strands as threads in a tapestry only a madman could have woven!
He grinned in triumph!
And then—BOOM!
Ellias exploded into a mist of red!