Although everyone had been stunned by the spectacle just now, the most shocked one inside the exam space… was the Nine Tails.
At this very moment, it even began to suspect its own existence.
Was I... just slapped?!
With a single blow, it had been sent flying, spun through 720 degrees, and crash-landed face-first!
Then, to top it off, it was carried back by the terrifying girl—by the scruff of its neck like a misbehaving puppy.
Its limbs, which were gripping Naruto's consciousness, had been brutally folded back. It had just started forming a Tailed Beast Bomb—mouth open, chakra surging—when it realized something horrifying:
Its chakra wasn't responding!
How was that even possible?
They were Tailed Beasts—living masses of chakra!
Without chakra, what even was it now? A stuffed animal?
Kyuubi stood frozen, utterly stunned. It had no clue what was happening anymore.
---
BOOM!
A soft fist suddenly cracked down on the top of its head. It turned sluggishly, dazed… and was met by a pair of glowing, pure white Byakugan eyes.
Those eyes...
Murderous.
The Nine Tails flinched and instinctively tried to bare its teeth—
But Hinata's voice rang out like a cold gust:
> "You hurt Naruto-kun."
She raised her fist again.
Naruto quickly grabbed her hand, terrified she might keep going.
He wasn't sure how Hinata had grown up, but somehow—even though she was smaller than him—her punches were monstrous.
That hit just now hurt more than when the fox had scratched him!
Hinata froze when Naruto held her hand. Her eyes went wide, her face turned beet red, and warmth flooded her whole body like a Genjutsu haze.
She forced herself not to faint.
But... she didn't pull her hand back either.
---
In the Yellow Team, seeing Naruto suddenly rip the monster out of his body and still walk around like it was nothing had left Gaara speechless.
His jaw dropped, eyes blank.
He looked like his entire worldview had just collapsed.
This wasn't what he was taught as a child!
Weren't Jinchūriki supposed to die if their tailed beast got extracted?!
Why was Naruto fine?
Was it because of the exam space...?
Then he recalled the subtitles from earlier...
Suddenly, hope and excitement flared in Gaara's eyes. His whole body trembled.
His consciousness dived inward.
Inside, he came face-to-face with a hulking, snarling mass of hatred and sand.
Gaara looked straight at Shukaku, then tore the seal wide open:
> "You... you can go now."
---
Chiyo's old eyes were full of astonishment.
Never in her life did she expect to witness a non-fatal method of tailed beast extraction!
This completely overturned the foundational knowledge of the ninja world.
And even more shocking—a Konoha girl had slapped a tailed beast and dragged it back like a sack of rice!
Konoha... really is full of monsters!
But just as she was still processing that revelation—
A twisted, powerful chakra surged behind her.
She gasped and spun around.
The Sand Shinobi surrounding Gaara had all backed away, watching his transformation in stunned silence.
> "That chakra... Is it—Shukaku?!"
---
Meanwhile, back atop Naruto's head, the Nine Tails sat up straight, alert.
Its ears twitched as it sensed the familiar, chaotic signature.
Another one?!
---
In the Black Team, Karin was trembling like a leaf in a typhoon.
She had collapsed to the ground, arms wrapped tightly around herself, eyes filled with dread.
Terrifying.
One horrifying chakra had just passed, and now—another one even more distorted.
They weren't evil like Orochimaru's, just... overwhelmingly massive.
Karin couldn't help but compare her chakra to theirs. It was like an ant versus a Kaiju.
> "T-This can't be real... It mustn't be real..."
So far, thanks to the exam space, she hadn't yet sensed the chakra of Nagato or Kisame—but just these two beasts were enough to nearly make her faint.
---
At that moment, all eyes from other platforms turned toward the Yellow Team.
Two tailed beasts in the same arena.
> "No way... Did the make-up exam just become a tailed beast convention?!"
---
> "Heh heh heh, finally free again!"
A massive wave of sand burst from Gaara as Shukaku emerged—its sand composing the shape of a giant civet with a wicked grin.
Shukaku looked down at Gaara's withered body... then bolted out like a squirrel on caffeine.
It was free!
And for once, without resistance!
Then...
It froze.
Why were so many people around it?
More importantly—why weren't they afraid?
Those eyes, staring at it—not with fear—but with... expectation?
Even the old hag it recognized—Chiyo—was ignoring it completely, eyes locked instead on Gaara with admiration.
> "What the hell is going on here?!"
Then, things got worse.
Chiyo began growing bigger...
And bigger...
And bigger!
> "???????"
---
Before Shukaku could even process what was happening—
The screen in the exam space flickered.
> [Candidate in critical condition. Initiating emergency healing...]
> [Peeling One-Tail… Performing surgery…]
> [Extraction successful.]
> [Restoring health…]
> [Recovery complete.]
---
SNAP!
Gaara's eyes flew open.
He looked at his hands first, then turned toward the now pint-sized Shukaku not far from him.
A wicked smile curled across his face.
For the first time in his life... he smiled.
And then—
He reached out and grabbed Shukaku by the tail.
> "You little...!"
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
He smashed the mini-Shukaku left and right into the platform floor, each hit echoing like a drumbeat of vengeance.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
His speed increased, his hands blurred with excitement.
Tears streamed down his face, soaking his sand armor, cracking it apart to reveal the boy with bruised eyes and dark circles beneath.
---
> "HAHAHA! YES! SMASH IT! MORE!"
On Naruto's head, the Nine Tails jumped up, tail spinning like a pinwheel in a storm.
It didn't even care that Shukaku wasn't being hurt for real—it just loved watching this scene!
> "That's it, kid! That's the spirit! I need to swap hosts!"
---
It was official.
Everyone inside and outside the exam space... was numb.
They stared at one another in complete silence.
Each person had the same dead, "what is reality?" look in their eyes.
This was no Genjutsu...
This was insanity.
---
> Tailed beasts—the most fearsome creatures in the world.
Able to flatten entire villages with one Tailed Beast Bomb.
Now?
A little Konoha girl had slapped one like it was a mosquito and dragged it back like a lost puppy.
And another just got smashed like a squeaky toy by a skinny teen with insomnia.
---
In the Purple Team, Killer Bee's expression froze as he watched Shukaku get humiliated.
Was this real life?
Suddenly, a voice echoed in his head.
> "Yo, Bee. Want me to come out and join the fun?"
Bee flinched.
Beside him, the Fourth Raikage's face turned instantly ugly.
> "NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT."
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