High above the arena, the Third Hokage sat in solemn silence, his pipe resting forgotten at his side. His aged eyes narrowed as Gaara's body convulsed, sand swirling around him, twisting into something monstrous. The boy's scream rattled the air, animal and broken.
Hiruzen's heart sank. He turned sharply toward the Kazekage seated beside him. "What is the meaning of this, Kazekage?! You dare unleash such madness within the village walls?!"
The man's head tilted, lips curling beneath the shadows of his headdress. The chuckle that followed was wrong, too sharp, too serpentine, dripping venom.
"Madness?" the false Kazekage replied, voice smooth with mockery. "No, sensei… this is my gift to you. Tell me, do you like it?"
The laughter spilled out fully then, cruel and mocking, peeling back the mask of deception. Hiruzen's eyes widened, the truth sinking like a blade in his chest.
"Orochimaru…" he breathed, voice hardening into steel.
The Sannin smirked, golden eyes gleaming with sick amusement. "At long last, the teacher and the student are alone together again."
Before Hiruzen could move, four figures in black cloaks landed on the roof's corners. Chakra flared, their hands moving in unison, and walls of violet flame erupted skyward. The barrier sealed them in, cutting off ANBU and enemies alike.
Hiruzen rose slowly to his feet, the weight of decades pressing down upon his shoulders. "So it begins…"
Down on the arena floor, Sasuke's pulse thundered in his ears. His first Chidori still burned in his arm, the crackling sound echoing in his memory. He had drawn blood, yes, but Gaara hadn't broken. Instead, his chakra had swelled into something grotesque, smothering the air itself.
Sand clung to Gaara's limbs, twisting his body into a monstrous half-form. His human eye was wide and crazed, but the other gleamed with the feral light of Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast.
Sasuke gritted his teeth, forcing his feet to move. He sprinted up the arena wall, sparks flickering faintly in his hand as he prepared the seals Kakashi had drilled into him relentlessly.
The crowd gasped as lightning shrieked to life once more, the Chidori blooming in his palm, bathing his face in harsh blue light. Stone cracked beneath his feet as he steadied his stance, Sharingan spinning furiously.
Below, Gaara's monstrous form bellowed, clawed arms tearing trenches in the earth as he charged the wall, sand scattering like waves in his wake.
Sasuke inhaled sharply, then ran straight down the wall, every muscle straining. The Chidori's cry filled the stadium like a chorus of birds screaming into the sky.
One blow. Straight through the heart. I'll end this now.
The impact came with a blinding flash. The Chidori stabbed into Gaara's chest with a crack of thunder—
—and stuck.
Sasuke's eyes widened in horror. His arm had plunged deep into the shifting sand, but instead of piercing clean through, it clamped down like a vice, locking him in place. The lightning sizzled uselessly across the creature's surface.
Gaara's face leaned forward, half-human, half-demon. His mouth stretched into a jagged grin, teeth sharp and gleaming. His voice rattled like stone grinding together.
"Got you."
Sasuke's heart froze. His Sharingan spun wildly, searching for an escape that wasn't there.
The Konoha 12 sat frozen, every pair of eyes locked on the nightmare unfolding below. The boy who put fear in their heart...gone...replaced by a monster tearing the exam apart.
But shock did not last forever.
Oto and Suna shinobi surged through the stands, their weapons flashing. Civilians screamed, stampeding for the exits. The illusion of a festival shattered in an instant.
Kiba moved first, Akamaru barking furiously as the Inuzuka pair leapt into the fray, spinning through enemy lines with savage precision. Hinata's Byakugan flared, her strikes landing with pinpoint accuracy, cutting off chakra flows in rapid succession. No trace of the timid and shy girl in sight.
Choji expanded, his massive frame plowing through enemy chunin like a wrecking ball. Ino and Shikamaru fell into step together, shadows stretching, minds snaring, buying seconds for families to flee. Shino's kikaichū swarmed in eerie silence, devouring the chakra of any Oto-nin foolish enough to draw close.
For a moment, they held.
But the flood did not stop.
On one side of the arena, Kakashi clashed with a masked ANBU...Kabuto. Genjutsu wove like invisible threads, scalpel knife in hand keeping Kakashi at bay. Kakashi's Sharingan flashed as he countered, but Kabuto was slippery, his smile smug as he slipped back into the chaos, leaving Oto-nin to swarm.
On the opposite flank, Gai exploded into the battlefield, a green hurricane tearing through enemy lines. His fists and feet blurred, each strike felling another shinobi. He was a storm given human form, carving a path of destruction that no one could match.
And then there was Lee.
Bandages tight, fire in his chest, he blurred into the fray. His Strong Fist shattered bones, his Soru made him vanish and reappear in blurs of motion, his Whirlwinds sent enemies flying. He was not yet at Gai's level, but he tore through chunin and genin alike, his every strike echoing with the weight of survival.
Still, his thoughts burned. This wasn't supposed to happen here. Gaara's transformation, Kabuto's genjutsu… the story is changing around me. And now… none of us know what comes next.
The shriek of a thousand birds tore through the chaos.
Every head turned.
Naruto's voice cut through the din. "Sasuke!"
Sasuke stood trapped, his arm buried in Gaara's chest, lightning flickering weakly. The creature loomed over him, grin wide, claw poised to end it.
"Naruto!"
The cry came from the stands, and then the blond blur launched into the arena. Shadow clones erupted around him in a flood, swarming Gaara from every side. They struck with fury, fists, and kicks pounding against sand.
For an instant, they held.
Then Gaara roared, his monstrous claw sweeping in a wide arc. Dozens of clones vanished in smoke, the survivors scattering.
"Damn it!" Naruto growled, reforming his clones with stubborn defiance. "I won't let you take him!"
Sasuke grit his teeth, arm still trapped, panic edging into his glare. "Stay back, idiot! You'll just-"
The words cut off as Gaara's claw raised high.
Lee's body moved before his mind caught up.
His muscles screamed as he pushed Soru to its absolute limit. The world blurred, his steps breaking into a rhythm so fast it left ghostly afterimages. In the span of a heartbeat, he was in front of Gaara.
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
His kick crashed against the monstrous chest, sand shattering outward in a spray. The impact knocked Gaara back just enough, Sasuke's arm wrenched free, the boy stumbling to the ground, gasping.
Lee landed in a crouch, his legs trembling from the strain of the technique. Sweat dripped down his temple, his lungs burning. But Sasuke was free.
Naruto skidded into place beside them, clones rallying again, forming a wall of bodies between Gaara and his friends.
Gaara's monstrous form snarled, sand shifting, eyes blazing with madness. The sound he made was neither human nor beast, but something in between, a cry that rattled the bones.
Sasuke steadied himself, Sharingan glowing red. Naruto's clones fanned out, teeth gritted. Lee dropped into stance, fists raised, fire burning in his chest.
The three of them stood shoulder to shoulder, bloodied, battered, but unbroken.
Above them, the Hokage battled his fallen student within a cage of violet flame. Around them, the village burned as Oto and Suna shinobi clashed with Konoha's defenders. And before them, Gaara loomed...half-boy, half-demon, the nightmare of the Sand made flesh.
The story was broken now, its script burned away. What came next was no longer written.
And together, they would face it.
To be continued…