"By what right!?"
"Why!?"
Gaara hammered the questions again and again in his mind. Why did others receive the love of elders and friends, while all he ever knew were curses, hostility, and an unbridgeable distance?
"Ahhhh!"
He roared, madness contorting his features.
His outburst set everyone on edge.
Kakashi frowned. "That Jinchūriki from the Hidden Sand Village… his condition seems unstable."
Jiraiya nodded after a closer look. "Long exposure to One-Tail chakra must've corroded his mind."
Tsunade added, "Or perhaps there's something wrong with the Sand Village's sealing technique."
Shizune, worried, asked, "Lady Tsunade, if he's this unstable, is it safe to bring him back to the village?"
Tsunade considered before replying—and then Naruto, standing beside them, murmured, "How pitiful…"
All eyes turned to Naruto. Gaara's face, wild with Tailed Beast chakra, hardly matched the word "pitiful."
Naruto scratched his head. "Can't you guys see? All he really wanted was to make friends!"
They all shook their heads in disbelief. To them, the Gaara who'd tried to kill everyone seemed the furthest thing from "just wanting friends."
Chiyo, still restraining Gaara, glanced at Kakashi. Though her heart burned for vengeance on behalf of her son and daughter-in-law, she forced herself to remain calm: only an alliance with the Hidden Leaf Village could ensure the Hidden Sand's survival.
Elsewhere in the Forest—
Thud!
Cloud Village's Omoi was sent flying, unconscious, by a single kick from Kimimaro. Now, in that Kumogakure three-man squad, only Darui remained standing.
Gone was his usual lazy swagger—Darui's eyes were grim, sweat beading on his brow. "Is this guy… a monster?"
He was one of the Fourth Raikage's chosen successors, famed for his physique and talent—his pride was legendary. Yet here he was, blood trickling from his mouth, pushed to his absolute limit by a mere Academy shinobi.
Wiping the blood away, Darui declared, "I have every reason not to lose!"
Kimimaro glanced at him coldly. "Boring."
Darui didn't flare up. Instead, he clasped his hands, gathering chakra. "Among all my peers, you're the strongest I've faced! From now on, I'll fight with everything I've got. Be careful… or you'll die!"
He unleashed his technique:
"Storm Release: Constricting Shackles!"
Whoosh!
Instantly, countless pillar-like beams of chakra shot from his palms, converging on Kimimaro from every direction.
Kimimaro's expression darkened. With a flicker of movement—Body Flicker Technique—he narrowly dodged, then slipped back into the dense forest. Darui surged after him without hesitation.
Moments later, Omoi stirred, groaning as he woke. Through haze and pain he cried, "Darui! You have to beat that bastard!"
Soon, the forest rang with the clash of battle—but gradually the sounds faded. Emerging from the trees was Kimimaro, carrying the unconscious Darui over his shoulder.
"Darui lost…? How is that possible!?" Omoi staggered. They'd come to the Hidden Leaf merely to test Kurama Yakumo's power—never did he imagine they'd be bested by a so-called Academy student before even facing Yakumo.
Kimimaro tossed Darui at Omoi's feet and said, "Seems this interception was… unnecessary." After Shinji's earlier intervention had shaken things up, Kimimaro realized he'd overestimated his own strength.
Back at the fray's edge—
Kakashi approached the jōnin leaders of the other villages. "Gentlemen, shall you send your own medics, or shall we from the Hidden Leaf dispatch a medical team?"
They looked awkward. Only days ago they'd pressured the Third Hokage to allow their shinobi into the Academy's exam—now many of their best had fallen without even meeting Yakumo.
Feigning nonchalance, Kakashi continued, "If you hesitate, the Hidden Leaf will uphold our alliance and send a medical squad anyway."
Mei Terumi snapped, "No thanks, we'll handle our own wounded." Iwagakure and Kumogakure's leaders quickly agreed, "Yes, we appreciate the offer, but we've got this."
"Very well," Kakashi said, then vanished.
Left behind, Mei ground her teeth, "Damn it." The others scowled, uneasy. Although this exam was only a contest among young shinobi, it had revealed a stark truth: the Hidden Leaf's next generation was overwhelmingly strong.
Beyond the Academy's Four Great Geniuses and Yakumo's Wood Release, even Naruto—who faced Gaara—and two ordinary Academy teams that held their own against Kirigakure and Iwagakure squads had all shown remarkable skill.
If such young shinobi were allowed to rise uninterrupted, the Hidden Leaf Village would once again dominate the shinobi world without question.