A scorching light bloomed...
The first line of defense, the Four Violet Flames Formation, was completely destroyed. The second line, the Earth Style: Mud Wall Castle, collapsed under the force of the explosion.
The entire preliminary match arena was reduced to ruins. Hiruzen Sarutobi anxiously directed the ANBU to rescue the injured. Fortunately, there weren't many people watching the fight at this time.
The most heavily injured person... was the proctor, Hayate Gekko.
In order to be ready to rush in and prevent a death among the examinees, Hayate had been standing just outside the Four Violet Flames Formation. This made him the person closest to the center of the battlefield.
Anko Mitarashi and Ibiki Morino shared a strange, unspoken feeling. They stood in silence for a moment before hurriedly carrying Hayate toward the hospital.
The proctor of the first exam, Ibiki Morino: scrapes.
The proctor of the second exam, Anko Mitarashi: minor injuries.
The proctor of the third exam's preliminaries, Hayate Gekko: heavy injuries.
Looking at Hayate's condition, the jonin, who was a master of swordsmanship, would clearly be unable to oversee the final round of the exam. It was anyone's guess who would replace him.
Because the jonin instructors had been extremely responsible, their teams didn't suffer much damage. Only Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga of Team 3 had some scrapes, a result of their teacher's rather rough method of retreat.
Asuma Sarutobi looked at the bickering members of Team 3 and couldn't help but rub his forehead. "At least Guy's heart was in the right place..."
"Where's Naruto!"
Sasuke Uchiha climbed onto the ruins, trying to spot Naruto amidst the swirling sand and dust. That idiot never considered the consequences of using a jutsu like that!
Kakashi Hatake leaped up, grabbed Sasuke, and pulled him back to the ground just as a Vacuum Bullet shot past, hitting the exact spot where Sasuke had been standing. The scene was terrifying.
The white-haired jonin ruffled Sasuke's hair and placed him with Sakura. "You two stay here. I'll go take a look."
"Lee, Neji, take good care of your juniors!"
Might Guy, Asuma Sarutobi, and the others did the same, each leaping toward the center of the ruined arena. This match had to be over.
When the jonin arrived, the two opponents were still in a tense standoff.
The Tailed Beast cloak on Naruto Uzumaki was receding. Even though he knew it was the Nine-Tails' power protecting him, he didn't hesitate to absorb its chakra to replenish his own strength. On the surface, it looked like they were evenly matched. Shukaku was covered in wounds, but it was also slowly repairing its injuries and could still continue to attack.
Inside the seal space.
"The power of the Spiral Wheel still isn't strong enough..." Naruto looked at Shukaku's injuries and frowned. "There isn't enough chakra. Is it because Kurama can't leak enough out?"
The Nine-Tails was silent. How did the blame get twisted and thrown onto me!
At least the Spiral Wheel jutsu had been successfully developed. Its power was not to be underestimated; Shukaku's chakra was already showing signs of weakening. As long as Naruto undid the seal in the future, the power of this jutsu could be greatly enhanced. At that point, it would be a ninjutsu as powerful as the Tailed Beast Bomb.
It was just a pity that Naruto's current stamina wouldn't allow him to form another Spiral Wheel. Otherwise, defeating Shukaku wouldn't have been a problem.
The Nine-Tails sighed and said in a deep voice, "Then you should try this jutsu. I think that fellow Shukaku will no longer be able to resist..."
The name of the jutsu was the Adamantine Sealing Chains. It was a special sealing jutsu passed down through generations of the Uzumaki clan. No other clan could perform it.
The preliminary match arena had long since disappeared.
When Baki arrived and saw the scene, his face grew even more anxious. He hurriedly led his two disciples toward the Third Hokage and the other Konoha jonin. "Lord Hokage, there was an... error with our jinchuriki. Could you possibly..."
"This is more than an 'error'," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, staring at the Sand jonin. "The jinchuriki has not undergone a proper sealing at all. Jonin Baki, do you know what this means?"
For Konoha, this was a disaster. If this accident had occurred during the final matches, countless people would have died.
Baki shook his head and said in a muffled voice, "I am sorry. Konoha has a complete sealing method. Our Sand Village's technology for jinchuriki is not yet mature enough. We all believed the jinchuriki was a success."
This put them in a position of weakness. In the entire ninja world, no village was more skilled at sealing Tailed Beasts than Konoha, thanks to the Uzumaki clan's sealing jutsu. Other villages simply didn't understand what a properly sealed jinchuriki was.
Having said that, Baki continued, "Lord Hokage, the Sand Village sincerely wishes to participate in this Chunin Exam to maintain our alliance with Konoha. For this reason, Lord Kazekage specially sent his eldest son and eldest daughter. The One-Tail jinchuriki on the field now is also Lord Kazekage's youngest son..."
"Lord Kazekage's child?" Hiruzen frowned. He glanced at the worried-looking Temari and Kankuro, then at Shukaku on the field. "The Sand Village did not report this beforehand," he said in a low voice. "I hope Lord Kazekage can give me an explanation before the third exam."
"We were also worried about intelligence on the jinchuriki being leaked..." Baki's mind immediately relaxed. He quickly bowed his head and continued to explain, "Although everyone in the Sand Village knows of your magnanimity, Lord Hokage, it's hard to guarantee that the news wouldn't be leaked to rival villages, especially that gang of Stone ninja..."
"..."
That was skillfully said. Even Hiruzen had to admit that Baki had struck a nerve.
Although the Stone ninja were defeated in the Third Great Ninja War, their strength under Onoki's leadership was still not to be underestimated. The very reason Konoha maintained its alliance with the Sand Village was to curb the Stone Village's growth. Even if the Sand Village was a poor ally, it still held the position of one of the Five Great Nations. The quantity and quality of its ninjas far surpassed those of smaller villages.
Hiruzen raised his head, looked at Shukaku who was recovering and replenishing its chakra, and said in a deep voice, "Konoha will help you temporarily solve the problem of the rampaging jinchuriki, but that child must absolutely not appear in Konoha again. Otherwise..."
"Lord Hokage," Baki quickly took a step forward, a nervous expression on his face. "There is another reason we sent the jinchuriki. We wanted to take this opportunity to ask Konoha to help us completely eliminate the possibility of the jinchuriki rampaging..."
Hiruzen looked at him, speechless. Does this Sand jonin really have a brain? Even if their nations were allies, Konoha couldn't possibly help the Sand Village solve a problem like that.
"The third Chunin Exam is about to begin. Before Lord Kazekage arrives in Konoha, we will keep an eye on the jinchuriki from our village," Baki said, a hint of pleading in his eyes. "As for the differences between us, how about a meeting between Lord Kazekage and yourself?"
No matter what, he had to find a way to keep Gaara here.
"Then we must first deal with the rampaging One-Tail..." Hiruzen frowned, looking at Shukaku. "After Konoha resolves the One-Tail issue, we can talk about this in detail."
"Yes!" Baki breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, golden lights shot out! Four golden chains tightly bound the One-Tail Shukaku, immobilizing it.
A flash of that golden light passed before Hiruzen's eyes, and he also let out a sigh of relief. "Adamantine Sealing Chains... It's been a long time since I've seen them."
-----
Bonus:
Baki: Lord Kazekage, what if Konoha finds out?
Rasa: You cry first.
Baki: ???
Rasa: First, cry about being poor. Then, cry about being weak. That old man won't blame you then.
Baki: I, a dignified jonin of the Sand...
Rasa: ???
Baki: ...can cry on command.