"Such is the world of Ninja."
"If you can't even accept this... how can you serve as a squad leader?"
Sasuke took a deep breath, recovering slightly before speaking with a cold expression.
Sakura glanced at him.
"Previous Chunin Exams weren't like this."
"Even the recorded Chunin Joint Exams weren't."
"This Chunin Joint Exam... Konoha's intentions aren't pure."
"Such a high mortality rate highlights its difficulty... small Ninja villages have almost no chance of advancing."
"This is..."
Before Sakura could finish, Sasuke raised his hand, his gaze sharpening.
"Ah—!!!"
Sakura's words halted as a scream echoed from deep within the Forest of Death moments later.
"That direction... Hidden Sand Village?"
"Correct."
...
Meanwhile.
Inside the Forest of Death.
Three spheres of sand floated mid-air, their earthy color stained red with blood.
Terrified screams emanated continuously from within.
Gaara remained expressionless.
Sand flowed from the sand gourd behind him like water, slowly leaking out.
Temari and Kankuro maintained their composure.
Compared to other Ninjas' killing methods.
Actually, the three of them were relatively better.
Killing without torture.
Those three had tried to attack them to steal their scrolls.
Gaara's trio naturally wouldn't hold back.
Gaara stared straight ahead, as if the sand spheres above had nothing to do with him.
"They feel no pain."
"Only fear... because I'm skilled enough to spare them any pain before death."
Thud—!!!
A dull sound.
The screams abruptly ceased.
Sand Coffin: Sand Waterfall Funeral.
Splash—
Blood rained down.
Then, the sand at Gaara's feet gathered above his head into an umbrella shape.
Blocking the falling blood.
Temari and Kankuro were also sheltered by the sand umbrella, avoiding a messy retreat.
In the distance.
Team Eight, who had been navigating through counter-surveillance traps, witnessed this scene.
"Manipulating sand... people from Hidden Sand Village." Kiba narrowed his eyes slightly.
His intuition told him those three Sand Ninjas were strong.
Even Akamaru was terrified by the blood scent in the air, curling up on Kiba's head, trembling all over.
"Strong!"
"Let's avoid confrontation. Akamaru's still young... too scared to move."
Kiba fell silent for a moment before gritting his teeth and speaking.
Akamaru's current state drastically reduced his combat strength, putting the team at a severe disadvantage.
Shino kept his hands in his pockets.
Behind his sunglasses, no information could be discerned.
"Naruto-kun mentioned those three before."
"If encountered alone, just run."
Shino slowly raised his hand.
A few Kikaichu crawled out from his sleeve.
"But that's for encountering them alone."
"Especially since our team encountered them."
Kiba glanced at the unflappable Shino and rolled his eyes.
Still, Shino had a point; he realized he'd been too influenced by Akamaru.
Thinking this, Kiba wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Hinata?" Kiba looked at Hinata.
If Hinata also intended to fight, they'd go all in.
Whether it was Uchiha geniuses or other prodigies, the Naruto Gang's second-in-command had always been this seemingly delicate girl, Hyuga Hinata.
Sakura's monstrous strength was impressive, right?
Every palm strike of her Gentle Fist rivaled a Monstrous Strength Punch...
Overwhelming force defeats all techniques...
Speaking the gentlest words, throwing the fiercest and strongest punches.
Seeing Hinata remain silent, merely raising her hands quietly.
Kiba's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly said, "We've already collected both Heaven and Earth scrolls! Fighting now would be pointless conflict!"
"The issue isn't whether we fight, but whether they want to fight." Shino's tone was flat.
A large swarm of Kikaichu had already emerged behind him.
Aside from Kiba, Shino and Hinata hadn't hidden their presence.
Hinata went without saying.
Shino?
Undefeated since his debut.
Kiba: "..."
Akamaru: "..."
The man and his dog seemed somewhat out of place in the team.
"Damn it!"
"We won't hold the team back!"
"Akamaru!"
"Beast Human Clone!"
"Woof~" Akamaru whimpered weakly.
Kiba: "..."
Whoosh—
At that moment.
Three streams of sand suddenly rose from the ground beneath the trio.
Piercing toward them like earthen spikes.
Bang bang bang—
The three didn't move.
However, just as the spikes were about to hit.
Hinata acted.
Two blood-red Chakra fox heads manifested on her palms.
She effortlessly shattered the sand.
Without even activating her Byakugan yet.
In the distance.
Gaara remained outwardly calm, but inwardly, he was startled.
"Hey hey hey!"
"Gaara!"
"If you won't touch that blond brat, fine!"
"But that little girl must die!"
"That girl has annoying Chakra... must be someone important to that blond and the stinky fox... kill her... no, seriously injure her!"
"I'll let you sleep one... two peaceful nights!"
"I, the great one, keep my word! I mean what I say!"
"..."
Inside Gaara's Sealing Space, Shukaku, who had been relatively quiet, suddenly grew agitated again.
His voice was sharp and piercing; ordinary people would find it ear-piercing and headache-inducing just hearing it.
But Gaara had endured it for years, and it echoed in his mind every time, unavoidable.
Gaara's breathing grew rapid.
Bloodshot veins appeared in his eyes.
"Oh?"
"Interesting!"
Temari and Kankuro were also surprised.
They hadn't expected Gaara's attack to be so easily blocked.
"I'll handle the bug guy."
"My puppets can counter insects like that."
"You deal with the Hyuga girl. She's only close-range; you have a big advantage, Temari."
As for the remaining Kiba and Akamaru, Kankuro simply ignored them.
Kiba Inuzuka: "What do you mean?!"
Kankuro: "Exactly what it sounds like. Looking down on you and your dog."
Kiba Inuzuka: "..."
Damn it!
What scared Akamaru was Gaara, not you!
Wait... maybe what scared Akamaru wasn't Gaara, but the Ichibi Shukaku inside Gaara!
But... all in all, their performance had indeed been poor.