Even the One-Tail, which had always shown utter disdain even toward his father, had actually felt fear because of a single voice. To Gaara, this was simply unbelievable.
Gaara, who had always been arrogant and domineering, now found himself deeply missing Baki. He sincerely hoped that Baki could help him clear up his doubts.
As time passed, one team after another arrived at the central tower carrying the Heaven and Earth scrolls.
There wasn't much difference from the original storyline—without exception, all of the "Konoha 12 rookies" made it through. The likes of Dosu Kinuta and his group, who had appeared in the original, didn't even participate in this exam. In their place were several teams from Kumogakure.
However, none of those people were familiar faces, so Hoshiyomi didn't pay them much attention.
Seeing that nearly everyone who could make it had already arrived, Anko, the chief proctor, appeared on the scene. She announced the end of the second exam and declared that the final exam would be held one month later.
This differed from the original timeline. In the original, there had been a preliminary round, but Hoshiyomi wasn't surprised by the change. The number of participants present had already changed, and the Hokage was no longer the same person—if the preliminaries still happened exactly the same way, that would have been strange.
...
After the announcement that the third exam would take place in a month, everyone dispersed and returned to their respective lodgings.
After returning to the inn where the Sunagakure shinobi were staying, Gaara did something extremely unusual—he took the initiative to enter Baki's room. Seeing this, Temari and Kankurō both wore strange expressions, inwardly thinking that something was seriously wrong.
Although Baki and Yugito had stayed in the inn the whole time, they had been closely monitoring what was happening in the Forest of Death. And the one Baki was most concerned about was undoubtedly Gaara.
When he heard that Gaara had gone berserk in the Forest of Death, Baki truly broke out in a cold sweat, almost believing that the plan was about to fail.
But later, when he heard that Gaara had somehow recovered from his rampage, Baki felt utterly baffled. He didn't believe that the current Gaara could possibly have earned Shukaku's approval.
When Gaara and Baki met, they almost simultaneously asked each other:
"How did you suddenly go berserk in the Forest of Death, and how did you suddenly recover?"
"I encountered something very strange in the Forest of Death."
Hearing this, both of them froze for a moment. In the end, Baki gestured for Temari to explain what had happened.
Temari looked at both of them, then nodded and began recounting the events. But when she reached the part where she said she had used their father to threaten Gaara and force him to regain his sanity, Gaara suddenly interrupted her.
"That's not how it was. I didn't recover because of that."
Seeing Baki look over, Gaara suddenly clutched his head and said:
"I heard it very clearly—someone spoke right next to my ear. He said that if kept making trouble, he'd kill me."
Hearing this, Baki's brows immediately furrowed. He looked at Gaara suspiciously.
"Just because of that?"
Seeing Baki's reaction, Gaara suddenly became agitated.
"You only think that because you weren't there! I clearly felt it at the time—the moment that voice spoke next to my ear, the thing inside me became obedient… It—it was afraid!
"Hahahaha… unbelievable, isn't it? That someone could make such a terrifying monster feel fear."
"No. If that's how you put it, then I actually find your story somewhat believable." Baki suddenly spoke these words.
Hearing this, Gaara suddenly raised his head and stared straight at Baki, wanting to hear what Baki was about to say.
Baki took a deep breath. His expression became incomparably solemn and serious as he looked at the three of them and spoke in a low voice:
"What Gaara just said reminded me of a man from legend—a man who led Sunagakure into the irreversible predicament it's in today."
Hearing this, Temari and Kankurō couldn't help but exchange glances. Did Sunagakure really have such a past?
A look of reminiscence—or perhaps fear—flashed through Baki's eyes.
"It was that man who severely wounded the Third Kazekage during the Second Great Ninja War. If not for that, the Third Kazekage would not have vanished under such mysterious circumstances, the Third Great Ninja War would not have broken out, and Sunagakure would not be struggling the way it is today."
Upon hearing this, Temari's pupils suddenly shrank. She immediately realized who the legendary man Baki was talking about.
"Baki-sensei, are you talking about the man known as the Konoha's Silver Moon?"
After saying this, Temari hesitated for a moment and then spoke softly:
"If it was him, how can you say he harmed Sunagakure? Wasn't it because of his help during the Third Great Ninja War that Sunagakure—"
"Silence! You have no idea what really happened back then, nor do you understand just how terrifying that man truly was!"
Startled by Baki's sudden shout, Temari shrank back slightly. Even though she didn't agree, she still closed her mouth in silence.
Seeing how tense the atmosphere in the room had become, Kankurō tried to lighten it a bit:
"Sensei, even if you say that, didn't Gekko Hoshiyomi disappear many years ago? Didn't everyone say he was already dead?
"How could a dead person suddenly show up in the Forest of Death? It's not like we ran into some kind of ghost, right?"
Hearing this, Baki's previously grim expression eased somewhat.
"You do have a point. However, what Gaara described cannot be taken lightly. You should know that back then, the most terrifying things about that man—aside from his unfathomable swordsmanship—were his eerie and unpredictable Transparent Release."
Thinking about the abilities of Transparent Release, Baki's heart sank even further. No matter what, Gaara's experience was something they couldn't afford to ignore.
If that man had really been quietly living within Konoha all these years, then their plan would be in serious trouble.
With that thought, Baki suddenly slammed his hand on the table and said:
"There's still one month before the third exam, right? During this month, aside from training, I want you to thoroughly investigate Gekko Hoshiyomi's whereabouts in Konoha. When dealing with this man, you must stay a hundred and twenty percent alert!"
After saying this, Baki left the room without another word. He was going to have a serious talk with Yugito from Kumogakure.
Inside Yugito's room, Yugito frowned at Baki and said unhappily:
"Didn't I already tell you? Given our special status, don't come looking for me unless there's something important."
Seeing Yugito like this, Baki frowned and almost turned to leave, but after hesitating for a moment, he still spoke:
"I came to see you precisely because it concerns our plan… I suspect that Gekko Hoshiyomi isn't dead. He may very well have been quietly living in Konoha all these years."
Baki had expected Yugito to mock him harshly upon hearing this, but when he looked up, he found that Yugito's expression was instead extremely serious.
"You just said… you suspect that Gekko Hoshiyomi is still alive?"
...
Drop some POWERSTONES to push the story forward!
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin