Naruto stood unaware, his stance full of openings.
A flicker of bloodlust flashed in Yuichi's eyes.
In the next moment, Naruto's body shivered. The air around him seemed to grow colder, as though the temperature had suddenly dropped.
"Huh? Why does it feel so cold all of a sudden?" Naruto muttered, curling up slightly in confusion.
Boy, you'd better leave this place immediately…
A low, warning voice rang inside his mind.
Naruto didn't understand what was happening, but his instincts screamed danger.
It felt like he had stepped into a swamp—his body sinking slowly, something vital being pulled away from him.
The eerie sensation was like brushing against a ghost.
Naruto shuddered violently, and without another thought, he quickened his pace, running as fast as he could.
Up on a tree branch, Yuichi's kunai gleamed with cold light.
Ashura's chakra… That's my true goal!
Sheathing the blade, Yuichi turned her gaze toward Konoha. His figure blurred, vanishing in an instant, reappearing at the jagged edges of a shattered canyon.
Naruto stumbled onto the scene, staring at the broken earth—mudslides, deep fissures, collapsed pits. His eyes widened.
"What… what happened here?"
"Pervy Sage! Pervy Sage!" Naruto shouted, holding up two struggling fish. "Where are you? Come out, I caught dinner for us!"
"Pervy Sage…" His calls echoed, swallowed by the silence of the forest.
The only answer was a chilling gust of wind.
Far beneath him, a hundred meters below the collapsed canyon, Jiraiya's body lay fused with the rock and soil.
Meanwhile, in the realm of the Summoning Beasts—Mount Myōboku.
An elder toad reclined lazily on a chair, sipping tea and basking in the warm sun.
Suddenly, a small toad bounded into view, panicked.
"Master Shima! Master Shima, something's wrong!"
"What is it? Speak!"
"It's Lord Gamabunta! He's… he's gravely injured—unconscious and on the verge of death!"
Not far away, Gamabunta's massive form sprawled across the wide plain, his scorched body surrounded by toads of all sizes—some no larger than a child, others towering like mountains.
They all stared, horrified, at the once-mighty boss toad lying broken before them.
In the crowd, Fukasaku and Shima rushed forward.
When they saw Gamabunta's condition, both froze, speechless.
The next instant, Fukasaku vanished, appearing directly before the great toad.
"Lord Gamabunta!"
But he ignored the cries of the others, his gaze fixed on the burns and devastation marring Gamabunta's flesh.
"This… this is Fire Style…"
What a monstrous Fire Style jutsu. To wound Gamabunta like this…
The power unleashed in just a single instant is terrifying.
Normally, when a Summoning Beast faces mortal danger, it can cancel the summoning contract and vanish back to its realm unharmed.
Gamabunta wasn't a fool. Faced with such overwhelming power, he would have released the summoning without hesitation.
But this time… it had been too fast. Too sudden.
He never even had the chance.
And even if a beast were attacked while de-summoning, injuries of this scale should be nearly impossible.
Yet here he was—half-dead.
The sheer destructive force in that one moment was beyond imagination.
"Quick… tell the Great Toad Sage…"
The entire mountain of toads fell into fearful silence.
For such a calamity to strike one of Mount Myōboku's guardians… it was unheard of.
Yuichi, meanwhile, had already returned to Konoha, his inspection mission concluded.
He calculated silently. Seven days remained before the official Chūnin Exam finals.
In terms of strength, there was no problem.
Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen fought with everything he had, Yuichi was confident. But patience was required.
He needed the right timing.
A moment to appear as a hero—showing the brilliance of Wood Style.
A moment to step toward the title of Hokage.
Remaining in Konoha carried too many advantages.
Konoha was, without doubt, the strongest shinobi village in the world.
It possessed the Nine-Tails, the Hyūga clan, and—most importantly—Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.
Naruto's ultimate inheritance, Yuichi believed, must be Ashura's chakra.
And Sasuke carried Indra's.
Both were here, within Konoha's reach.
Naruto would never leave. Sasuke, however, was destined to follow Orochimaru.
But Yuichi had no intention of allowing that to happen.
It would be far better to keep Sasuke in Konoha, to mold him, to build something like a family bound by loyalty.
Brainwashing wasn't exclusive to Danzo or Sarutobi. Yuichi could do it as well.
If he left Konoha, his only option would be joining Akatsuki. While Akatsuki was valuable in its own way, the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra were far more critical.
As Yuichi considered his next move for the Chūnin Exams…
Inside the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen was deep in thought, staring at the latest report from the Anbu stationed in the Land of Wind.
Sunagakure had mobilized a large number of shinobi.
Such an action was anything but normal.
And more suspicious still—the Kazekage himself had accepted Konoha's invitation to attend the exams.
That alone was extraordinary.
The Chūnin Exams were usually a stage for Konoha to display its might. Rarely would other Kage or daimyo bother to attend, unless they sought favor.
Sarutobi was no fool. He could clearly sense the danger hidden behind these unusual movements.