Central Tower Arena
Temari slowly walked towards Gaara, stepping carefully on the water-covered floor. To avoid provoking him, she cautiously put away her weapon.
"Gaara, you won. Don't forget why we're here," she said softly.
"..." Gaara looked at Temari, the killing intent in his heart lessening slightly, but he didn't retract his claw.
"Gaara, please, I'm begging you as your sister. Come back with me." Temari was still terrified of Gaara in this state, but for the sake of their mission in Konoha and Gaara's own safety, she had to plead with him.
Hearing Temari's trembling voice, something resonated within Gaara. He looked up at his unguarded sister standing before him, then glanced at Sakura, who was trying to sneak away.
Gaara's expression returned to normal, and the terrifying beast claw gradually receded. "No more fighting..."
"Round Four, Gaara wins," Hayate Gekko announced, the tense atmosphere around the arena instantly easing.
Hayate stepped forward and demolished the earth wall Sakura had created to store water, sending a flood cascading across the floor. Gaara slowly recalled the sand scattered around the arena, then followed Temari towards the viewing stands.
The Third Hokage sighed in relief. At least Gaara hadn't completely lost control. While this averted a crisis for now, it left a lingering threat for the future. Still, it gave them more time to prepare. If things went well, he could negotiate with the Kazekage and resolve the situation peacefully.
Unless absolutely necessary, the Third Hokage didn't want war. War meant more death, and if there was a way to achieve a peaceful resolution, he wouldn't resort to conflict. However, if war proved unavoidable, the Third Hokage wouldn't back down.
This approach might earn him the disdain of the village's hawkish faction, particularly Danzo, but it was Hiruzen who sat in the Hokage's seat, not Danzo.
"Send a message to Sunagakure. I wish to discuss the matter of the Chunin Exams with the Fourth Kazekage," the Third Hokage instructed an Anbu operative beside him.
"Yes, sir," the Anbu acknowledged, disappearing with a Body Flicker Technique to arrange for a messenger hawk.
Konoha had now discovered the Sand's movements; it was up to the Kazekage to respond. His decision would determine whether there would be a fight or a peaceful resolution.
When Gaara reached the stands, the Jonin, Baki, couldn't bring himself to scold him. This operation centered around Gaara, but Gaara was also an unstable factor. With this unexpected turn of events, Baki could only curse his bad luck.
Baki had anticipated that Gaara's strength would far surpass that of any Genin, preventing any unforeseen complications before the final plan. He hadn't expected anyone to be able to push Gaara that far.
Now, he had no choice but to report the situation to the Kazekage and let him make the final decision.
"Sakura-chan, are you okay? Why did you forfeit earlier?" Naruto rushed over to Sakura, his voice filled with concern.
"It's nothing. I just couldn't beat him." Sakura was already feeling frustrated about the whole incident, and her mood was quite somber.
Naruto opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but he couldn't find the words.
"That guy's right arm... the chakra was really strange. You sensed it too, right, Sakura?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah, I did. What did you see, Sasuke?" Sakura hadn't just sensed it; she already knew. But she was curious about what Sasuke had observed.
"That guy's right arm... it wasn't a ninjutsu..." Sasuke stated.
Of course, it was Shukaku's arm. She wondered how the old man, the Third Hokage, would handle things from here.
A jinchuriki appearing in another village was a terrifying prospect, especially when that village harbored malicious intent.
"Sakura, the Chunin Exams aren't solely judged on rankings," Kakashi said, attempting to comfort the slightly downcast Sakura.
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei. I'm fine." Sakura looked up and thanked her teacher. Although the exams weren't solely about rankings, she hadn't even made it to the third round. Kakashi was clearly trying to console her.
She needed to practice her chakra control techniques more after the preliminaries. If she could instantly unleash the water bullets that required charging, she wouldn't have struggled so much against Gaara. She also needed to develop new elemental releases; her current arsenal had weaknesses that needed to be addressed.
At that moment, the names on the large screen began to spin again.
Round Five: Tenten VS Temari
Although Tenten wasn't weak, her fighting style, which relied heavily on ninja tools, was countered by Temari's large-scale Wind Release techniques.
As expected, Tenten was defeated by Temari within a few rounds. Temari's victory was effortless.
After Hayate announced Temari's victory, the names on the screen began to spin once more.
Round Six: Nara Shikamaru VS Kin
"What a drag. It's a girl... this is going to be troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, tilting his neck as he looked at Kin.
"Hmph, then I'll just finish this quickly," Kin retorted, equally displeased with her opponent.
"Shikamaru!! Don't lose to her!!" Ino cheered from the stands.
Shikamaru turned to Ino, a small smile appearing on his face. "So troublesome."
"Round Six, begin," Hayate announced once both were ready.
Sakura watched the fight below with a lack of enthusiasm. Genin battles often came down to intelligence and strategy.
Shikamaru's solo combat style was straightforward, as his ultimate goal was always the same: to trap his opponent with his Shadow Imitation Technique. All his actions were geared towards connecting his shadow to his opponent's.
Even though his objective was well-known, Shikamaru's exceptional intelligence often led his enemies into traps without them even realizing it.
With a loud "thud," Kin fainted, and Shikamaru concluded the battle.
For some reason, seeing Shikamaru's method of victory and Kin crashing headfirst into the wall made Sakura want to laugh.
Shikamaru truly lived up to his brilliant mind, quickly identifying and exploiting any advantage he could find. In contrast, she often found herself being the one whose advantages were exploited by her opponents.
The names on the screen began to spin once again. When they stopped, two people in the arena became visibly excited.
"Alright, Sakura-chan! It's finally my turn! Just watch, I'll definitely win!" Naruto declared, brimming with confidence.
Sakura shot Naruto a resentful glance. This dense kid really knew how to rub salt in a wound. Couldn't he see she was already feeling down?
"Yahoo! This is practically a free pass! What luck, Akamaru!" "Woof, woof!" Kiba sighed in relief, his excitement palpable.
There were still several strong opponents left, and Kiba was thrilled to have drawn Naruto. This was in the bag.
"Hmph, don't get cocky. I'm not going to lose," Naruto retorted, annoyed by Kiba's boast.
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