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[— Manga Scene —]
"Things are getting bad, but… we can't stop the exam!!"
In a strangely constructed, towering spire in the middle of the Forest of Death, Anko was speaking with the ANBU after her condition had stabilized due to the Cursed Seal.
"What do you mean?" asked one of the two ANBU.
But at that moment, an emergency occurred.
"We have been awaiting your arrival, Anko-san!! There is something I must report!!" An examiner entered the room to report a certain matter.
"What is it!? We are in the middle of an important meeting!!" exclaimed Anko.
"Take a quick look at this!!" The examiner shinobi pulled out what appeared to be a recording disc and began playing its content.
"A video?" said the ANBU.
"Now here!! Please take a look at the time!!"
"This is…"
"This is the recording of the second test, an hour and 37 minutes into it!"
The recording showed the trio from the Sand Village, where Gaara was staring coldly into the surveillance camera.
"The three shinobi from the Sand Country have passed the second test."
"How is that possible…? In only 97 minutes…" shocked Anko.
"This has never happened before… It is very abnormal…"
[— End Scene —]
Ninety-seven minutes. This number alone was enough to silence every voice in the Konoha Art Store for a single moment.
Seeing a team from outside Konoha break records… even if it was just in the manga, it left a bitter taste in their mouths.
"Only ninety-seven minutes…" The Third Hokage, Hiruzen, said it in a low voice while staring at the recording.
He had witnessed many Chunin Exams throughout his long career, but this number was something else entirely.
'A team from outside Konoha… and yet they bypass a test designed by Konoha shinobi with such incredible speed…'
His gaze returned to Gaara's cold face, staring at the surveillance camera as if he knew someone was watching.
'What are you hiding, boy of the Sand Village… Well, no matter. We will discover everything regarding you regardless… Sunagakure, your little conspiracy must be exposed!'
Ignoring the looks from Danzō, who seemingly wanted to speak, the Hokage turned to the next page.
He wanted to quickly finish this volume to return to his office and accelerate the pace of work.
...
"An hour and 37 minutes to pass a 5-day test…"
Sakumo repeated the number calmly, and in his calmness was something else.
Little Kakashi, who was sitting next to him, looked up, "Dad, does this mean they are very strong?"
"It means they are dangerous, Kakashi," Sakumo replied with a tone not devoid of reserved admiration.
A ninja who bypasses the Forest of Death's exam with this speed doesn't do it through strength alone, but through efficiency… and efficiency on the battlefield is the most dangerous thing you can ever encounter.
'The Sand Village… they didn't have anyone of this level in the last war I fought against them… or perhaps they did, and I didn't know?' Sakumo placed his hand on his chin.
'This boy, Gaara… something in his eyes resembles something I can't name yet.'
From a distance, his eyes met Gaara's in the recording for a moment, then Sakumo calmly shifted his gaze.
...
"Wow, so fast," Jiraiya said in an ostensibly playful tone, but his narrowed eyes did not reflect the same mirth.
"Did you reach the same conclusion I did?"
Orochimaru said with a soft smile without looking at his companion, his eyes still fixed on Gaara's face in the recording.
"Hmm? So, you have a conclusion about him? Tell me..." said Jiraya.
"Gaara… is a Jinchūriki."
Orochimaru whispered with a confident tone, as if he weren't stating a mere refutable theory, but an indisputable fact.
"Tone down your excitement, Orochimaru," Jiraiya said firmly.
"Oh, but I am very calm, Jiraiya…"
'The Sand Village Jinchūriki… clearly he is the Jinchūriki of their village's One-Tail…'
"There's no trace of anything showing he is a Jinchūriki. Seriously, why would the Sand Village send their Jinchūriki to participate in the Chunin Exams?" said Jiraiya.
Then he thought, 'Unless they are planning something…'
At that moment, Jiraiya and Orochimaru's eyes met for just a second, and each knew exactly what the other was thinking without either of them uttering a word.
...
"It's obvious they aren't at the Genin level at all…"
Tsunade sprang up from her seat with an uncharacteristic, child-like excitement, then sat back down as if remembering where she was.
"Tsunade, you're embarrassing~."
Nawaki said with a wide grin, seeing his sister's sudden reaction.
"Shut up, Nawaki!" Tsunade snapped back with an angry expression, looking ready to punch him.
Kato Dan laughed quietly beside them. This usual exchange between the siblings always brought him something akin to warmth.
"But honestly… this is absolutely extraordinary speed. Ninety-seven minutes… even if it were a full team of elite Chunin, this would be a feat worth mentioning." Dan said in a calm, logical tone.
"True," Tsunade agreed this time with a more serious tone. 'And Gaara's team are still Genin… what is the Sand Village hiding in this manga?'
...
In Sunagakure, the atmosphere in the store had changed. Not out of fear, but something closer to cautious pride.
The Third Kazekage, Saburo no Shazan, narrowed his eyes as he looked at the 97-minute figure.
"This is… acceptable."
He said it in a cold tone that those who knew him recognized as the highest degree of admiration the man could show.
"Acceptable!?" Ebisu bristled beside him.
"This number has never been achieved in the history of the exam in Konoha before, at least according to their words…"
"That is why I said acceptable, nothing more," the Kazekage replied with nerve-wracking calm.
Beside him, Granny Chiyo was completely silent. On her face was an expression that could not be easily described, the expression of an old woman who knows the true value of this number after decades spent on battlefields similar to or more complex than the Forest of Death.
"Is it because of that… power he carries?" Ebisu asked with a slight curiosity, remembering the previous scenes of Gaara.
Chiyo didn't answer immediately. 'Strength alone doesn't create this… power without control is nothing but chaos. But this team moved with efficiency… that means someone is thinking behind them.'
She looked at the recording where Gaara was staring at the camera with a chilling coldness that didn't fit his age at all.
'I hope it is just a power that doesn't fit his age… but those aren't the eyes of a child.'
...
Elsewhere in the Sunagakure Art Store.
Karura stared at the recording in total silence, then turned the page to the next chapter, which continued the same event.
Beside her, Rasa looked at the same scene, but his expression was more complex and harder to read.
"Less than two hours… Gaara finished the exam that fast," Rasa said in a flat, calm tone.
Karura didn't respond. Her eyes were still fixed on the frozen image in the recording… on that cold face that looked nothing like the child she imagined whenever she thought of her son.
'Gaara…' She felt something slowly tightening in her chest.
'Are you happy, Gaara… do you feel something when you advance like this? Or is it…' She cut off her thought before it could finish.
"It seems the next test will be exciting," Rasa said calmly.
"Yes," Karura replied with a calm expression; she didn't want to show any specific emotions to Rasa so he wouldn't misunderstand.
Nevertheless, her eyes did not move from Gaara's face.
...
Still in Sunagakure, but in another place.
Inside the house, Sasori sat on the floor. Before him were wooden puppets lined up in an order only he understood, and a manga book his father had previously bought for him, as he had no desire to go to the Art Store today.
He didn't read the manga the way adults did.
From his perspective, this manga told the story of someone else. It could be used as a reference, but it had nothing to do with him… this was the story of Uzumaki Naruto, not his own.
"Not even your story, Gaara, no matter how exceptional you are…"
He said in a flat, calm voice as he moved his two fingers, making one of his puppets take a single, calculated step forward. This was the Dragon-man puppet he had obtained from Rob in the past.
"If I were in his place, I would have finished this test faster than that."
He wasn't bragging. He was simply analyzing the way he had analyzed everything since he was even younger.
Beside him, his father looked at him with an expression that was a mix of affection and bewilderment… this child who saw the world through the lens of efficiency and precision alone.
"Sasori, come have something to drink." His mother called from the next room.
He didn't answer immediately. He completed the puppet's movement to the end with absolute precision, then placed it in its spot quietly.
"Okay." He stood up and walked toward the next room without looking back.
On the table he left behind, the puppets remained lined up in the same perfect order, as if they had never moved at all.
...
Back at the Suna Art Store, Pakura was reading the manga with a group of young shinobi beside her.
"What terrible timing… don't tell me they were just strolling on the way to the tower… finding the scroll they needed on the side of the road?" one of them said loudly, unable to restrain himself.
"This means the Sand team in the manga is faster than all the Konoha teams!"
"Of course! Are you surprised? The Sand Village is second to none," another said in a clear, triumphant tone.
Pakura smiled as she listened to this exchange. But her smile didn't carry the same simple triumph as the smiles around her.
Her eyes were fixed on Gaara in the recording.
'Such power in the body of a boy this age… this is not a normal thing.'
'And I wonder… does the village know what it's doing with power like this? Do they know how to protect it… or only how to use it?'
That question was much bigger than her, and she had no answer for it. So she didn't say it out loud.
"Anyway…" She said in a calm tone, returning to the following pages. "The Chunin Exam is going to get much more exciting from here on out."
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Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 148: A Rain of Blood…!
Chapter 149: Things Are Getting Exciting.
Chapter 150: Naruto Hates Having the Spotlight Stolen From Him.
Chapter 151: End of the Seventh Volume! A Nervous Orochimaru?
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