The final arena of the Chūnin Exams.
The chaos triggered by Rasa's self-destruction was still ongoing. This time, no one used the Temple of Nirvana Technique to lull the civilians to sleep—everyone was forced to face the disaster head-on.
While shinobi have higher resistance to radiation, the unfortunate civilians were quickly cleared out of the area.
The Third Hokage had been temporarily restrained, and Sunagakure used the opportunity to unleash destruction throughout the village. Floating midair atop a platform of sand, Gaara looked down, admiring the hellish spectacle.
The Sunagakure ninja attacked recklessly, as if their lives meant nothing. Tireless, unfeeling, they fought until death with blank expressions frozen on their faces.
Only Temari and Kankurō still retained some trace of humanity. The other Sunagakure shinobi had clearly undergone some unknown transformation... They didn't seem human anymore.
Gaara, as the jinchūriki of the One-Tail, had always been hated and feared by the villagers of Sunagakure due to the village's policy toward jinchūriki. Behind his back, everyone called him a monster. Even his own father, Rasa, often subjected him to cruel and inhumane "tests."
The rejection from both villagers and family twisted Gaara further, and the more warped he became, the harder it was for the village to accept him—a vicious cycle.
That was until, some years ago, Gaara suddenly gained two companions. They laughed and played together like lifelong friends.
This anomaly immediately caught Rasa's attention. He ordered an investigation into the identities of the two children and found they were orphans from the village—children who used to speak ill of Gaara. Yet somehow, they had become his playmates.
Rasa didn't dig deeper. Instead, he chose to use their lives for a new "test" to see whether Gaara had control over the One-Tail—whether he would lose control.
In front of Gaara, those two companions were brutally slaughtered. Gaara simply cast them a flat glance, neither sad nor angry, then turned away to find two new friends.
Rasa felt a complicated mix of emotions at the time. Technically, Gaara had passed the twisted "test." But when Rasa saw how emotionally dead Gaara had become—so cold it was disturbing—he felt a chill deep in his bones.
What had Rasa really hoped to see?
He wanted Gaara to break down emotionally like a normal child, to struggle yet cling to his moral compass, to resist the taint of the tailed beast and come out the other side with a bright, hopeful smile—like Naruto.
Unwilling to give up, Rasa continued to try reshaping Gaara's mind. But then, something miraculous happened—the villagers started accepting Gaara.
As if he were no longer a monster but just a normal child, passersby stopped looking at him with fear or disgust. Kids his age even played games with him.
"Isn't this a good thing?" Temari said with a soft smile.
"This is impossible. Absolutely impossible!" Rasa refused to believe Gaara could be accepted. He couldn't accept that Gaara had become a perfect jinchūriki. To him, Gaara had always been a failure.
But no matter how much he denied it, Gaara changed right under his nose into a "normal person." Even the village's shinobi spoke highly of him. Baki, Chiyo, Ebizō—people who had once been deeply suspicious of Gaara—all changed their attitude at some point and told Rasa with matching smiles: "Gaara is a good child."
They all smiled the same way, right down to the curve of their lips. Their eyes lost all liveliness. They never tired, never felt pain, devoid of emotion, numb and unfeeling.
Rasa was terrified. And then... he became just like them.
His consciousness was trapped within his body. All his senses were stripped away, yet he remained forever aware. He could think—but he couldn't see, hear, or feel anything.
In Sunagakure, only three people remained alive: Gaara, and his siblings.
Everyone else had been turned into puppet-like constructs through some secret technique. Their bodies were still alive, but their minds were controlled by Gaara.
Under the horrified gazes of Temari and Kankurō, Gaara calmly told them:
"This is all thanks to Mother. She said this is the only way to be accepted by everyone. And she was right—Mother never lied to me."
To this day, Gaara continued to obey "Mother's" will—adding another brick to the foundation of the plan to destroy Konoha.
...
Neji strolled away from the chaos, pausing only to glance at Naruto. The usually energetic blond looked utterly dejected—like he had been drained of all color.
Neji swept his gaze across the area and spotted Hiashi standing protectively in front of Hinata and Hanabi. Truly a good father.
"If no one else can have it, then it's better that I take everything. When the Hyūga Clan no longer exists, the caged bird will lose its value. And the pain that follows... will vanish with it."
"Neji, where are you going?" Lee suddenly called after him.
Neji paused.
"I have something important to do. Take Tenten and find somewhere to hide. The battle ahead isn't something you two can handle."
With that, Neji disappeared without looking back.
...
Inside the Four Violet Flames Formation, Orochimaru and Sarutobi Hiruzen faced off.
Orochimaru seemed impatient. He stuck out his long tongue and licked his lips, his voice raspy.
"Sarutobi-sensei, let's get this over with quickly. I've been very busy lately."
Sarutobi, clearly provoked by Orochimaru's casual attitude, growled,
"Orochimaru! What exactly are you trying to do?!"
"What do I want to do? Isn't it obvious? You really have grown old, Sarutobi-sensei." Orochimaru sneered, though his snake-like eyes glinted with faint sorrow.
"Konoha... this windmill has completely rotted. And you, the axis that turns it, are beyond saving. So allow me—your student—to send you off."
Originally, Orochimaru had planned to use Edo Tensei to summon the First and Second Hokage—two former leaders of Konoha—to create a grand finale for Hiruzen's departure.
Given Hiruzen's current strength, he was already hard-pressed against Orochimaru alone. Add in two reincarnated Hokage, and it would be a miracle if he lasted.
Edo Tensei couldn't reproduce their full power, but half was still formidable. In the original timeline, Hiruzen went all out and defeated both Hokage despite the cost of his life. That battle solidified his reputation across the ninja world—after all, his enemies had included Orochimaru, Senju Hashirama, and Senju Tobirama.
The younger generation had never truly seen the First and Second Hokage in action. All they saw was the Third holding his ground against three legendary shinobi, nearly taking them all down.
It was a glorious send-off, one that earned him the title of "Strongest Hokage."
Whether Orochimaru had planned that outcome or it happened by accident was anyone's guess.
But this time, Orochimaru wasn't in the mood for theatrics. He didn't care about giving Sarutobi a dignified death—he just wanted to end it quickly.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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