The rising sun lazily crawled out from behind the horizon, illuminating the treetops with its crimson light.
The small birds, stirring, also remembered that they should hurry to announce the new day to the surroundings, so their soft chirping was a pleasant accompaniment to this peaceful landscape.
However, inside training ground forty-four, known as the Forest of Death, it was still quite dark. The gloomy atmosphere was broken only by a quiet but firm child's voice:
— Four thousand and five, four thousand and six, four thousand and seven…
— Ugh-aa, Naruto, do you really have to train during the exam? — Sakura asked, yawning.
— Of course, Sakura-chan, — Naruto replied cheerfully, while squatting on one leg with a log on his shoulders. — Exams are exams, heh... but training is on schedule... four thousand and eleven...
— But we'll need strength to fight other genin, — the girl remarked sleepily, rubbing her eyes. — To waste energy on training at a time like this is stupid.
— Don't worry, Sakura-chan... four thousand and fifteen... This is just a warm-up, dattebayo. After it, I'll still be full of energy.
The kunoichi just shook her head dejectedly. They had spent the night in the Forest of Death relatively calmly. They had settled down for the night in a small cavern that one of Naruto's clones had found.
The time after entering the training ground had passed somewhat routinely. Perhaps it was because they hadn't gone too deep and hadn't crossed paths with other teams. Once in the forest, Uzumaki created a dozen clones that went out to scout. Already in the cave, Sakura could enjoy a hearty meal cooked over the fire by Naruto's copies. The kunoichi also noticed that the clones periodically dragged some pouches and bags into the cave, but she didn't pay much attention to it.
The blond had come up with a plan: they would wait a day or two to stock up on water and provisions, and then they would make the final forced march to the tower, fortunately not far – they needed to cover just over ten kilometers. Uchiha and Haruno had wanted to go straight to the goal, obtaining the Earth scroll along the way, but Naruto dissuaded them, because at the destination they would still need something to eat for several days, and it was unknown if there was anything like a dining room or a food stall in that tower. And it was also unclear whether they would be allowed to go hunting after arriving.
It felt like it was somewhere around four or five in the morning; they didn't have a watch, so they couldn't say for sure. Sasuke had also gotten up, but unlike his hyperactive teammate, he wasn't training but remained meditating in the cave. Haruno didn't disturb him.
The girl didn't know how much time had passed. Maybe three hours, maybe more. Leaning against a tree, she would doze off and then periodically watch the blond's training, marveling at his stamina and strength. He had, by the way, already finished training his legs and had moved on to push-ups in a plank position. It had become noticeably lighter around them. Although the forest here was quite dense, the rare rays of sunlight were already pleasantly warming her skin, breaking through the massive crowns of the giant trees.
A clone with a bag in his hands passed by again. Like Naruto's previous replicas, he was heading into the cave. Sakura became curious and stopped the clone:
— Wait, what are you constantly carrying? Where is it from?
The clone stopped and, scratching the top of his head, replied with a smile:
— The boss ordered us to patrol the perimeter, dattebayo.
Questions seemed to arise above Sakura's head, so she decided to clarify:
— And? What do the bags have to do with it?
— Ah, well, we... — the clone stammered. — We were knocking out uninvited guests and taking their things. That's what the Boss ordered us to do.
— Wh-what?! — Sakura jumped up.
The clone, seeing the pink-haired girl's reaction, was slightly taken aback. Haruno, having heard the information, tried to pull herself together:
— Wait, you were knocking out genin and taking their things. Is that right?
— Uh-huh.
— So, you brought the Heaven and Earth scrolls too?
— Uh... — the clone froze. — I guess so...
The girl, forgetting about the clone, jumped up and ran into the cave. Seeing a decent pile of pouches, bags, and even clothes there, she began to rummage through them. Soon, among the throwing weapons, poisons, and other things, the desired items were found: three Heaven scrolls and five Earth scrolls.
— What the...? — Sakura blurted out. Casting an excited glance at the Uchiha sitting in the lotus position, she couldn't help but shout joyfully: — Sasuke-kun, do you see this? We have everything we need to finish the stage!
The raven-haired boy frowned at his teammate's shout.
— Sasuke-kun? Are you...
The Uchiha's eyes snapped open and flashed scarlet.
— I'm busy. Don't disturb me.
Haruno's shoulders slumped, and the girl trudged towards the exit, where the clone was already waiting for her:
— Sakura-chan, so what's the matter? You ran off so suddenly. Did something happen?
Sakura walked past him, heading straight for the original. He continued doing push-ups in a plank, drops of sweat dripping down his bare, sinewy torso.
The girl was just about to ask a question when Naruto suddenly stood up and threw the log aside. His gloomy gaze was fixed somewhere in the distance.
— This is bad, — he whispered, wiping his chest with his T-shirt. After which, he immediately formed a seal, and with a barely audible pop, five clones appeared next to him.
— Guard the perimeter, — he said. They nodded in response and began to carry out the order – four scattered in different directions, and the fifth stood beside Sakura.
— Naruto, what's go... — Sakura didn't manage to finish, as the blond's body tensed, and in the next moment, only small cracks remained on the ground, and a gust of wind hit her face – Uzumaki was gone without a trace.
Haruno stared at the newly created clone in bewilderment.
— Sakura-chan, please, go into the cave to Sasuke, — said the copy, whose face was extremely serious. The replica gently pushed her in the back, directing her towards the shelter.
— Where did Naruto go? — the kunoichi inquired.
— There were problems. But the Boss will handle everything. You have nothing to worry about. He'll be back soon, Sakura-chan. You just need to wait a little, — a wide smile lit up the copy's face, and his thumb shot upwards.
The image of a thick-browed boy immediately appeared before Haruno's eyes, and she shuddered slightly, but shook her head and followed into the shelter.
"I hope Naruto will be alright..."
***
— Man, this is stressful, — Nara Shikamaru drawled, surveying his opponents. Ino stood behind him, and Chouji on his right remained frozen in a fighting stance, ready to engage at any moment.
A team from the Hidden Sand. Nothing was known about their abilities. But they looked very strong. A special sense of danger emanated from the red-haired one with the gourd on his back – he stood with his arms crossed, an aloof expression on his face, as if nothing special was happening around them.
The Sand shinobi in a strange black jumpsuit with cat ears spoke:
— Gaara, maybe we should talk to them first? If we have the same scrolls, then we don't need to fight. — Nara agreed with him. He didn't want to fight at all. — Meaningless fights...
— Shut up, Kankuro, — the red-haired boy interrupted coldly. — I don't care. Everyone who catches my eye... must die.
Both the Sand team and the Konoha team swallowed dryly at this time, for a cold bloodlust emanated from Gaara.
The cork immediately flew out of the gourd, and then sand slowly began to stretch out.
Shikamaru had a bad premonition.
— Back! — he shouted.
Team Ten jumped back and tried to hide behind the trees, but the sand immediately rushed after them, behaving as if it were alive. Sandy tentacles reached for their targets, but because there were three of them, the sand behaved quite predictably. Although it was difficult for Chouji to dodge. During another maneuver, he pulled one of the special food pills from his pocket and threw it into his mouth.
— I'll take control of him, — Ino offered, but the strategist rejected her proposal:
— It's not worth it, I have a bad feeling about this. — Shikamaru threw a couple of shuriken in a jump – they were blocked by a shield of sand. Then he threw a kunai with an explosive tag, but a sandy defense appeared around the opponent, absorbing all the damage.
— Kuso... Of all the monsters to run into. And this killing intent... — the red-haired boy's bloodlust was indeed making him tremble.
Various moves instantly began to form in Nara's head. But due to the lack of detailed information about the enemy's abilities, any step could be fatal for the team. Moreover, only one Sand shinobi had engaged in the fight so far, and the others were just standing behind him.
Shikamaru couldn't use Shadow Imitation because the opponent wasn't using seals to control the sand right now, and immobilizing his body wouldn't accomplish anything at all. And the range of application was limited. Ino most likely wouldn't be able to take control of the target if her will was weaker. And leaving her own body defenseless during a fierce battle was a suicidal idea, because the other opponents wouldn't just stand there like statues the whole time... Chouji was the only one who could reach Gaara. But to defeat him... they had no chance. The only way out of this situation was to run.
— Don't let them get away, — Gaara ordered, as if reading Shikamaru's thoughts.
The other Sand shinobi nodded and immediately scattered in different directions, only to appear a few moments later in front of Team Ten, behind their backs. A disdainful expression froze on the blonde's face, while wariness was written on the face of the genin in the strange costume. The Sand shinobi blocked their escape routes, but hadn't yet engaged in battle. They hadn't even drawn their weapons.
Nara's gaze became serious, and he bit his lip, trying to find a solution. However, Gaara didn't wait and decided to change tactics. Seeing that the attempt to chase three targets at once hadn't been successful, he concentrated on one. And he chose the most massive one.
— Chouji, watch out! — the sandy tentacles formed into one massive hand, which rushed towards the fat boy with doubled speed.
Akimichi didn't manage to dodge the grab. The sand pulled him closer to Gaara, and soon Akimichi's body hung in the air right above the red-haired boy.
— This is the end for you, fatty, — Kankuro sneered, the blonde supporting her teammate's words with a satisfied grin.
Chouji roared:
— I'm not fat! Weight Increase Technique... Ha...
The fat boy broke free from the sandy grip, increasing in size, then brought his fist down on Gaara's head, but sharp sandy spikes suddenly appeared in the path of his fist.
Akimichi roared in pain, returning to his normal size.
A gruesome grin crept onto Gaara's face, and for the first time, his palms formed a seal.
— Ino, now! — Nara shouted.
The girl reacted instantly:
— Mind Transfer Technique!
The red-haired boy hadn't even finished the Sand Coffin Technique when his gaze clouded over for a moment. The sand imprisonment jutsu was interrupted, and the sand released Akimichi, who fell to the ground. But in the next moment, a desperate cry was heard from the recovered Ino:
— A-a-a-a! No-o-o!... — the girl, who had fallen just a moment earlier, lost consciousness again. This time from the recoil of her jutsu.
— To go into the head of a jinchuriki? — the blonde from Sand wrinkled her nose contemptuously. — What an idiot...
— Ino! — Chouji shouted, rising to his knees. His eyes turned red. Ignoring the bleeding wounds on his fist, he again used the Weight Increase Technique, this time his body grew three times in size: — Human Boulder!
A giant ball spinning at tremendous speed rushed towards the red-haired boy. Nara's shadow at that time had just reached Gaara's shadow – he froze in place in the same pose as Shikamaru. The Shadow Imitation Technique had reached its target.
However, contrary to the young tactician's expectations, there were no difficulties in holding the opponent, which seemed very strange to him.
At that very moment, Akimichi in the form of a human boulder crashed into Gaara's body. Shikamaru expected to see at least torn-off body parts, or even bloody minced meat in place of the Sand shinobi, but instead, the red-haired boy simply crumbled into sand.
— Damn, a clone! — Nara exclaimed.
Gaara's silhouette rose from under the ground, his hands clasped in an unfamiliar seal – the sand scattered around soared up and formed into a giant tentacle, which immediately enveloped the fat boy's enlarged body.
The shadow rushed towards the real Gaara; Nara was doing everything possible to distract the opponent from Chouji.
"Yes! But... Kuso!"
Veins swelled on Shikamaru's forehead, and a drop of sweat rolled down his temple. Now he understood that they should have run as soon as they saw the Sand team. He had barely managed to pull the Sand shinobi's hands apart, and this small action had cost him almost a quarter of his chakra reserves.
— That's the real one! — Nara shouted. — Chouji, attack!
Akimichi threw a yellow pill into his mouth and, with a battle cry, decided to use his strongest skill, but at that moment, blades of wind flew towards Shikamaru, forcing the tactician to retreat and dispel the shadow technique. The tree caught in the Fuuton jutsu was sliced to pieces. Sand bullets flew at Chouji, forcing him to retreat.
The shadow shackles fell from Gaara, and he coldly hissed:
— Don't interfere, Temari. If you get in my way again – I'll kill you!
— Sorry, Gaara, — the girl forced a smile. — But we don't need to waste energy. We only need to get one scroll – and that's it...
— I don't care, — the red-haired boy interrupted her. — Shut up and don't bother me. My sand thirsts for blood, and it will get it.
The fat boy again didn't manage to dodge the grab. He was still in his enlarged state, so the sand only covered the lower half of his body.
Gaara spread his hands, his fingers forming what looked like claws.
— Sand Coffin!
— Wait! — Nara shouted. — We'll give you the scroll, just let him go!
But the red-haired boy wasn't listening to him. Chouji convulsively twitched and screamed shrilly from the sandy grip.
Shikamaru tried to use Shadow Imitation, but this time the jutsu didn't work. Or rather, it was already too late, and the sand technique had come into full force.
The sandy tentacle squeezed tighter and tighter. Chouji could no longer maintain the Weight Increase jutsu and began to shrink. He lost consciousness from the pain.
— No-o-o! Cho-o-ouji-i! — Shikamaru roared, powerless to influence his friend's fate. Akimichi had only moments left to live. The sand began to move to the upper part of his body as well.
Nara threw a kunai at the red-haired boy, but he blocked it again with sand; it seemed as if the sand itself was protecting its master.
Impact!
Gaara flew back several meters, but, flipping in the air, landed nimbly on his feet.
Akimichi tumbled to the ground, blood flowing onto the grass.
Shikamaru turned his head to where the red-haired boy had previously stood – a cloud of white smoke was dissipating there.
"Who hit him?" Shikamaru wondered mentally. However, he quickly pushed the unnecessary thoughts out of his head. Ino lay unconscious behind him, and Chouji's bloodied body was in front of him; it was unclear whether his friend was alive or dead. Now was not the time for contemplation. He had to make a choice: take Ino and run, or go forward for Chouji, but then the others might attack the blonde. Shit! What to do?
He didn't have time to choose. Three blonds jumped out into the clearing... To be precise, three... Naruto?
"Illusionary clones?" flashed through Nara's mind. "No," he immediately dismissed. "The grass is pressed down, so they're either shadow or elemental."
The copies simultaneously threw kunai that flew straight at Gaara's head. He didn't move, only stared at his new opponents with a bloodthirsty grin. The thrown projectiles dissipated against the sand defense.
At this time, the clones formed seals, and another dozen copies appeared around them. Two of them rushed towards Chouji to drag the fat boy's body off the battlefield. Sand projectiles immediately flew towards them. The remaining clones rushed to intercept, holding back the attack with their bodies.
Two dragged Chouji away.
— Naruto? Where are you going?
The two didn't even turn around at Shikamaru's cry. Another clone of the blond appeared next to the tactician:
— Shikamaru, run after them.
— Wait, Ino is still here!
The clone, without taking his eyes off the red-haired boy, waved his hand to the side.
Shikamaru, turning around, saw that Yamanaka was also being carried away by Naruto's copies.
— They took them to Sakura, — Uzumaki explained. — She's a medical-nin, so she can provide first aid.
— Thank you, Naruto, — Shikamaru nodded. — We owe you...
— Thank the Boss later, — Naruto said. — These are just clones. Go, or you might get caught in the crossfire.
Without another word, Nara dashed off in the direction where Uzumaki's replicas had disappeared.
— I didn't let any of you go, — the red-haired boy declared, his bloodlust growing even stronger. After all, he hadn't managed to kill anyone he had just seen. — Only death awaits you all!
A rain of sand bullets covered them, but the blond managed to pull Shikamaru out from under the area-of-effect jutsu.
— Than...
— Just run already! — Naruto shouted, letting go of Nara. — We'll hold him until the Boss arrives.
And Shikamaru ran, weaving between the trees. And without looking back...
***
Due to the late start of the Second Stage, the genin from the Hidden Sand, like the other teams, were forced to postpone their journey to the Tower until the next day. After all, they didn't navigate very well in the dark. So, only after waiting for morning did the group set off.
There were a hell of a lot of people at this exam. And it took considerable effort for Temari to restrain Gaara from killing everyone left and right. They only needed to get the Heaven scroll. Fortunately, her brother had agreed before the exam to kill only those who crossed their path and showed hostility. But how long would his patience last?
They thought that finding a scroll with such a huge number of people in the exam would be a piece of cake. But today's reality turned out to be much more unpredictable. It just so happened that for the first couple of hours they had catastrophically bad luck. For some reason, the Sunagakure team only encountered naked genin without weapons. And naked – literally. Upon seeing the team from Sunagakure, these genin immediately fled towards the exit. They didn't even have pouches where the desired scrolls could be stored, so Gaara didn't pursue them. In fact, no one even thought of pursuing them, most likely because the Sand kids were in a stupor for a while. After all, it's not every day you see naked genin cursing some bijuu-like blonds. And all this at such a serious event as the Chunin Exams.
At first, Temari thought it was someone's stupid prank. However, after the fourth team they encountered, Kankuro suggested that it was some kind of exhibitionist flash mob. "Well, what do you expect?" he said. "Konoha has always been known for its eccentric shinobi..."
However, Gaara noticed that the protectors (one of the few things that the strange genin still had) belonged not only to Leaf genin. And many of their bodies were bruised.
Only when the team had already decided to head straight for the Tower and lie in wait for victims there did luck smile upon them. They finally encountered a team from Konoha, this time with belongings and pouches. Temari mentally thanked all the Kami, because her brother was already on the verge of a breakdown and was one step away from starting to kill his own... True, they still didn't let Gaara satisfy his bloodlust...
"Damn it! How many of these clones does he have?" Temari asked herself for the umpteenth time.
Surprisingly, the team from Konoha managed to get away, and all because of the bijuu-like blond. He was definitely dangerous. But it was unclear where the original was.
Temari had a good memory. Straining, she remembered the examiner Ibiki mentioning his name in the First Stage. It seemed this guy's name was Uzumaki Naruto.
"Could he be one of those Uzumaki? But they were supposed to be red-haired... like Gaara."
— You guys are tough, — one of the blonds drawled. Probably another clone. — We seem to have already taken out about seven teams. And you guys, it looks like you haven't even fought seriously.
— Kid, — Temari sneered, lazily unfolding her fan, — your wind and fire jutsu are just ridiculous.
Outwardly, she displayed relaxed nonchalance with a hint of arrogance. However, mentally, Temari cursed her wayward brother, who couldn't be dragged away from battles by the ears. And the battle had gained considerable momentum.
She still had to join the fight when there became too many clones. There were hundreds of them, and they all scattered around, attacking in groups one after another. Various combinations of fire and wind techniques flew at the team, but Gaara was safe under his perfect defense, and Temari used a storm to reflect the techniques back at the clones. As a result, the scorched trees around them were felled and torn to pieces. The grass was burning. It became difficult to breathe because of the smoke. Kankuro's puppets were practically useless in the current situation, so Temari was forced to protect not only herself but him as well.
And although outwardly the girl tried to hold herself together, everything inside her clenched with tension.
"If his clones are this strong, then what power does the original possess? And what will happen when he comes?"
The blond clone grinned:
— Guys, you can certainly dispel all of us, but it won't change anything. Because the Boss will be here soon. And it will hurt you a lot, dattebayo.
In response to these words, Gaara once again sent a dozen sand projectiles – the blond tried to dodge, but one of them still hit its target and dispelled the clone.
Kankuro laughed:
— What a fool you are. You have no idea who you've tangled with.
— And who is that? — the clones asked.
— Gaara is a jinchuriki, — the puppeteer explained. — Although, you probably have no idea who jinchuriki are.
— Jinchuriki, you say, — the clones pondered, their faces becoming gloomy.
— Yeah, — Kankuro began to get worked up, sensing the blond's confusion. — Shukaku, the One-Tail demon, is sealed inside him. And if you want to live – you better get out of here.
Kankuro apparently understood their situation and decided to get rid of the clones.
Temari exhaled loudly. This Uzumaki had enormous chakra reserves. But her own reserve had already dropped by a third after the battle.
But Gaara had a different opinion. A rain of sand bullets flew at the group of clones, dispelling several of them.
— If you're not chicken – come out, — Gaara said. — Your blood will make me even stronger.
Suddenly, a blond landed with a crash on one of the fallen trees. However, unlike his copies in orange jumpsuits, he was only wearing pants, his torso bare.
— Is that the original? — Kankuro asked quietly. — Looks like he's definitely an exhibitionist.
Skin with a light bronze sheen, a sinewy body as if sculpted by a skilled artist. Veins bulged on his tense arms. His head was slightly lowered, and sun-bleached light hair covered his eyes.
— You hurt my friends, — a hoarse boyish voice said.
— Unfortunately, I couldn't kill them, — Gaara said. — Because of your clones. You will repay the debt with your blood.
— You're the jinchuriki of the One-Tail, right? — the blond asked without raising his head.
— That's right. So what?
An oppressive aura descended on the burnt-out area from the flame techniques. Temari began to suffocate, she almost dropped her fan; Kankuro's legs trembled. The Sand siblings had never felt such suffocating bloodlust before. Even their brother's killing intent seemed like a light sea breeze compared to "this."
— I think, — the blond continued, cracking his knuckles. — First, I should knock some sense into you. At the same time, we'll find out who's stronger: the Jinchuriki of the One-Tail, or... — he raised his gaze, and eyes with scarlet irises and vertical pupils stared at them. — The Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi...