Blood rain fell upon the Forest of Death.
"This way, he won't feel any pain... because of my strength... he won't feel any pain as he dies…"
Gaara completed his triple kill of the Ame ninjas. Holding an umbrella, he admired his work, muttering dramatic lines to himself.
"The surging sands soaked in the blood and tears of the dead... will grant even greater power to…"
The brutal scene made the hidden Team 8 freeze in horror. They covered their mouths and didn't dare make a sound.
Akamaru curled up in Kiba's arms for warmth. Shino was drenched in sweat, and even the insects inside him were agitated. Hinata, with her Byakugan, saw it all most clearly, her pupils were trembling.
The new generation of Konoha had grown up in a near-modern time of peace. They had never seen such carnage in their lives. They were truly terrified.
A bloodthirsty maniac had slipped into the Chunin Exams, and he was terrifyingly powerful. It was clear they weren't his match. If they were discovered, they would surely die.
But in his homicidal phase, Gaara was extremely sensitive to the presence of others. He had already sensed the three people and one dog spying from afar.
"Sand Binding Coffin!"
Temari and Kankurō had just confirmed that the Ame ninjas' scroll was the Scroll of Earth they needed, but they were too late to stop Gaara's senseless killing. He was acting with terrifying decisiveness.
Ever since arriving in Konoha, his murderous intent had surged tenfold. Yes, this was Orochimaru's doing.
Gaara was in a killing frenzy!
"Anyone who stands before me… must die."
The raging sand gathered into a massive hand and came crashing down at high speed toward the three people and one dog.
"Run!" Kiba shouted to warn his teammates. Team 8 scrambled to run in the opposite direction with all their might.
But how could their speed outmatch the speed of sand ninjutsu?
In the blink of an eye, sand was in front of them, behind them, to the left, to the right, a sky-filling storm of sand!
They were in danger!
Grave danger!
"Fang Passing Fang!"
Kiba and Akamaru launched their full-powered combo attack, but not even that could break through a gap to escape. They shattered the sand in front of them, only for more to rush in, endless, overwhelming!
"We can't break through! My insects can't eat the chakra in this sand!"
"..." Hinata remained silent, only able to keep punching.
Her Gentle Fist and Shino's bugs were useless against the raging sand. They could only barely manage to shatter the grasping sand hands trying to tear them apart by focusing chakra into their strikes!
They were barely hanging on. Wounds accumulated on their bodies. The weakest among them would have perished long ago if not for her teammates' desperate efforts.
It was over.
The memory of the Ame ninja trio being crushed like bugs was still fresh in their minds. Team 8 was in utter despair.
Gaara's area-of-effect attacks were huge and overwhelming. At this stage, Team 8's resistance was merely a side effect of Gaara toying with them like a cat playing with mice.
"Konoha ninjas really are... interesting."
The murderous Gaara laughed, covered in blood, as he watched Team 8 struggle beneath his sand. Even Temari and Kankurō were paralyzed by his bloodlust. They wanted to speak up but didn't dare.
"But this is the end. There is no pain... because I've become so strong that even death feels like nothing."
He reached out with one hand, then closed it into a fist. The raging sand tightened, ready to engulf Team 8.
Was this the end of Team 8?
Would Shino fall before he could ever shine?
Would Hinata perish before she ever confessed her love?
Kiba, he still wanted to become Hokage! Was that dream now so far out of reach?
No!
Boom!
A fist wrapped in green, fiery chakra smashed through the sand, blasting open a massive gap. For the first time, Team 8 could see something beyond the yellow storm.
The furious sand paused, then surged even harder, trying to engulf the green figure as well, to complete a four-kill massacre!
"Revolving Heaven!"
Reliable reinforcements had arrived.
A deep blue chakra vortex collided head-on with the golden sandstorm. The clash of the two forces triggered a violent, high-intensity shockwave. When the storm subsided, Neji stood in front of the others, taking a Gentle Fist stance to face the raging Gaara.
His expression was grim. His Byakugan was fully activated, veins bulging around his eyes, the sand user before him was likely the strongest ninja in this exam.
Ever since learning the Revolving Heaven, he had believed himself to be the strongest among his peers. But now, he realized there was always someone stronger.
"Lady Hinata, I told you long ago, you're not suited to be a ninja. You should give up."
"Neji-niisan…"
Looking at Neji's back, Hinata struggled to stand. Team 8 had completely exhausted their chakra.
At this moment, Lee was supporting a bloodied and battered Kiba, who was coughing up blood. Akamaru lay at Kiba's feet. The brave Kiba had taken the brunt of the damage and was likely out of the exams for good. Also covered in injuries, Shino gave thanks to Team Guy and took Kiba from Lee's hands.
Ignoring Hinata's gratitude, Neji stared cautiously at Gaara and said, "I can't stand by while a comrade from the same village is killed."
A true embodiment of the Will of Fire.
From the earlier clash, it was obvious he had been at a disadvantage. Even his ultimate move had barely fended off a basic attack from Gaara.
Not a good sign.
"You Konoha ninjas are so annoying. But whatever." Gaara, now furious at having been denied a fourth kill, growled. "You'll die too."
More sand poured endlessly from the gourd on his back.
Lee stepped up beside Neji, raising his Strong Fist stance: "If you want to harm our comrades, you'll have to go through me first!"
A short distance away, Tenten stood on a tree branch. She opened her ninja tool scroll and spread it out, ready to join the fight at any moment.
Konoha's scouting team had been defeated, now the combat team had arrived!
"And us too." From a nearby bush, Shikamaru raised his hand. He stepped out, drenched in cold sweat, with a nervous Ino and Chōji following behind.
Gaara's large-scale commotion had drawn many eyes, and as a dramatic fighter, he'd gathered attention fast. Asuma's team had arrived on the heels of Guy's team.
Now, the ones surrounded were the Suna siblings.
Seeing more and more Konoha ninjas appear, Temari and Kankurō, who had been hesitating earlier, quickly moved to Gaara's side, instinctively forming a triangle formation. Gaara, of course, didn't care, the formation was entirely their initiative.
Temari shouted, "So Konoha's plan is to attack the few with the many?"
Shikamaru scratched his head and sighed, "So troublesome… But if you keep attacking, don't blame us for ganging up on you."
At this point, normally neither side would want to continue fighting. The battle should have ended. Temari and Kankurō had always been against senseless killing, Kankurō was just about to open his mouth to persuade Gaara to stop.
But...
"Shut up."
Gaara's mind grew more chaotic. The One-Tail was screaming louder and louder in his head. He closed his eyes, thinking about how to deescalate, even though he looked down on the Konoha crowd, a full-on fight could risk Temari and Kankurō getting hurt.
Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted from the back of his neck. A wave of evil chakra, shaped like tomoe, surged out. In his mind, the last image that flashed was of the Kazekage before the exam, what had that man done to him?
"Kankurō, Temari! GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
He roared.
"DON'T INTERFERE!!!"
His final shred of sanity was consumed by murderous rage. Now in full killer mode, he no longer cared about being outnumbered. With a wave of his hand, sand surged outward in all directions!
All Konoha ninjas must die!