And so three days passed like this. On that night, Dosu, with a hunched posture, found Gaara who was watching the moon on a rooftop.
"Honestly, don't you sleep at night?!" Dosu frowned as he looked at Gaara.
"What do you want?" Looking at Dosu, Gaara said expressionlessly.
"I want to defeat you here. That way, the probability of facing Sasuke in the final match will also increase. After all, you are definitely the most unstable factor. Moreover, I understand your sand-based attacks perfectly. Compared to my sound, which one is faster?"
Just like in the original work, driven by the desire to fight Sasuke, Dosu decided to eliminate Gaara, this extremely dangerous existence.
After all, in the preliminary matches, the most dominant performer had undoubtedly been Lee.
Yet, despite Lee being like that, he still failed against Gaara. So, to face Sasuke, Dosu needed to overcome many obstacles. Apart from winning himself, he also had to ensure Sasuke's victory.
That's why he conceived the idea of eliminating Sasuke's strong rivals to guarantee Sasuke could reach the end and meet him. And Dosu possessed unparalleled confidence in his own strength.
However, ideals are beautiful, but reality is very cruel. At this moment, because of the full moon, the One-Tail inside Gaara was very restless. So, Gaara let go of his control over the One-Tail, turning into a partial transformation, easily defeating Dosu with a single blow...
"So powerful. Is this his true form?" In the distance, Kabuto, watching this scene, narrowed his eyes as he spoke with Baki.
"But... is that really okay? That Otogakure's Ninja..." Baki hesitated, looking at Dosu.
"It's fine. He no longer has any use," Kabuto stated calmly.
"I thought he was a tool to test that kid Sasuke's strength," Hearing Kabuto's words, Baki said in understanding.
The scene of the two talking was directly discovered by Hayate. Looking at the two, Hayate also sensed a huge conspiracy.
Then Kabuto even said there was no need to test Sasuke's strength… orders had already been issued to seize Sasuke. It's just that Kabuto's own action failed, and his identity as an Otogakure's spy was also exposed...
"Then, if our secret conversation here is discovered, the plan to destroy Konoha will come to nothing. I heard you are Orochimaru's right-hand man. How foolish to come find me after exposing your appearance," Baki then expressed his disdain for Kabuto.
"How unpleasant. To be precise, it's not that I was discovered, but I let them discover me. I wanted to test what moves Konoha would make. Seizing Sasuke later is not too late. If you fail, then we will withdraw immediately. This was originally Otogakure's plan. Sunagakure will absolutely not act unless absolutely necessary. That is the Kazekage's intention."
Kabuto spoke calmly. Being discovered by Kakashi wasn't because the plan was exposed, but because Kabuto actively revealed himself.
And Hayate, hidden in the shadows, overheard their entire conversation and prepared to report it to the Hokage. But just as he was about to leave, he noticed he was completely exposed.
Without further thought, Hayate directly and quickly chose to flee, and Baki similarly used the Body Flicker Technique to pursue.
Soon, on the roof of a large building, Baki directly intercepted Hayate. However, Hayate, possessing the strength of a Special Jonin at least, directly dodged Baki's sneak attack.
"If it isn't the proctor. What are you doing here all alone?" Looking at Hayate, Baki mocked.
"Cough... Looks like I have no choice but to fight!" Looking at Baki, Hayate drew the sword from his back.
"Konoha-Style, Dance of the Crescent Moon!" As Hayate's words fell, he swiftly charged towards Baki.
During the charge, Hayate's figure directly split into three illusions, all simultaneously launching a surprise attack on Baki.
However, while Baki was confused, the clones passed through Baki's body, but the real body appeared from a blind spot above Baki, slashing down at Baki's shoulder with his sword...
And with the sound of the blade entering flesh, blood soon splattered onto Hayate's face.
But just as Hayate tried to pull the sword out, he found it seemed stuck, unable to move.
"So this is the Konoha-Style Dance of the Crescent Moon. To master this technique at such a young age, Konoha truly has talented individuals emerging constantly. The swordsmanship is good, but being able to block this blade is only natural. However, the Wind Blade is something no one can block!"
Looking at Hayate, Baki even had the leisure to praise him. Then, as Baki launched his attack, feeling the sharpness of the Wind Blade, Hayate's expression drastically changed.
After that, there was no 'and then'. Under the attack of the Wind Blade, he was instantly killed.
His body was only discovered by Anbu the next day. One of the Anbu picked up his sword, a deep sorrow rising in her heart.
…
And this incident was treated with high importance. The Hokage once again summoned many Chunin and Jonin for discussion, as the matter might concern Orochimaru.
And Orochimaru, as one of the Legendary Sannin, his strength has reached Kage-level. If he truly allied with another nation to attack Konoha, it would undoubtedly be a disaster for Konoha.
But in the end, because there was too little information, they couldn't make wild guesses.
And Konoha's advisor, Utatane Koharu, also stated that acting rashly would plunge them into danger, and the enemy might have this very purpose. The other advisor, Mitokado Homura, also expressed great trust in everyone.
…
As for Takeru, after handling Karin's matters, on the fifth day after the preliminary exams, he went to find Guy. Because during the exams, Takeru had left a Shadow Person on him, naturally he could easily grasp his movements.
After bidding farewell to Ui and the others, Takeru sensed his location and then quickly ran towards it.
About ten minutes later, Takeru saw Guy, who was watching the injured Lee train relentlessly from a distance outside the hospital.
Lee's situation was basically known to all exam participants. Lee himself also knew his fate, but with his unyielding personality, Lee was still training with his severely injured body.
"Who?!" Because Takeru made no attempt to hide, as Takeru approached, Guy noticed the anomaly.
"Hello, Jonin Might Guy. Let me introduce myself. I'm Nara Takeru." Seeing the alert Guy, Takeru greeted him with a light smile.
"It's you. Is there something you need?" Seeing it was Takeru, Guy said in understanding.
Although Takeru hadn't shown particularly terrifying power during the battles, he had displayed remarkable insight and easily knocked Kankuro unconscious, enough to prove his strength wasn't weak.
Most importantly, when Tenten lost her match, Takeru was the first to appear and save Tenten. This left Guy with a fairly good impression of Takeru.
"Yes, there is indeed something. In summary, I came to find you because I want to make a transaction with you!" Looking at Guy's demeanor, Takeru said with a light smile.
"Transaction?" Hearing Takeru's words, Guy frowned in confusion.
"That's right. Rock Lee is a very important student to you, isn't he? You could even say he's your successor without much exaggeration." Takeru looked at Lee training with severe injuries in the distance and spoke softly.
"..." Hearing Takeru's words, Guy didn't answer immediately, instead calmly looked at Takeru. Although somewhat surprised at how Takeru knew he valued Lee the most, he was also very curious about Takeru's purpose at the moment.
If Takeru knew Guy's thoughts, he'd have to remark, 'You guys' relationship was too obvious. Even without knowing the plot, just your performance in the Chunin Exams alone could easily lead someone unaware to think you might be father and son.'
"Lee's condition is not optimistic. Moreover, if he continues forcing himself in his current state, he will become completely crippled!" Seeing Guy remain silent, Takeru continued.
"So, what exactly is your purpose?!" Hearing Takeru mention Lee becoming crippled, Guy's brow furrowed tightly.
"My purpose is simple. I want to make a transaction with you. I can heal Rock Lee, but I need the Ninjutsu Scroll for the Eight Gates in exchange." Seeing Guy somewhat agitated, Takeru directly stated his purpose.
"Eight Gates? What do you want it for?" Hearing Takeru's words, Guy became guarded. Although hearing Takeru could heal Lee made him somewhat excited, he quickly became cautious.
It was far too suspicious. The power of the Eight Gates is undeniable. Although the usage conditions are demanding, if used well, it could create a large number of suicide troops, easily causing great calamity for this world, even though the Eight Gates are difficult to learn.