He might still be able to hold on for a little while longer, but his opponent, Gaara, didn't look tired in the slightest.
It seemed that fighting by relying on speed like this wouldn't be very useful against his opponent if this battle dragged on endlessly.
He had to end it quickly. Sasuke rapidly retreated, leaping backward until he came directly to the edge of the field farthest from Gaara's current position.
And from Gaara's perspective, it seemed Sasuke was cornered and had nowhere else to run.
Seeing this scene, the headache and waist pain Gaara had felt earlier due to Shukaku's turmoil instantly vanished.
With a healthy and triumphant smile on his face, he extended his right hand and pointed straight at Sasuke:
"Sabaku Kyū! (Sand Coffin!)"
The sand that had been flowing and spreading across the arena ground now moved rapidly at Gaara's command, rushing towards Sasuke like a tidal wave of sand ready to swallow everything.
Sasuke watched this terrifying scene without any change in his calm facial expression.
He secretly began to form a series of hand seals with both hands.
The next second, the sea of sand truly managed to surround and cover Sasuke's entire body, forming a giant sand sphere.
A cruel and triumphant smile appeared on Gaara's face:
"Sabaku Sōsō! (Sand Waterfall Funeral!)"
He clenched his fist, ready to crush Sasuke within that sand prison.
"!!!"
Suddenly! As if there was the sound of thousands of birds chirping very loudly and piercingly, it suddenly came from within the sand ball, echoing throughout the competition venue.
And then, an endless and dazzling torrent of blue thunder suddenly burst out from within the sea of sand, like a bright star hanging high in the dark night sky, shining so brightly and dazzling the eyes of anyone who saw it.
Sasuke, with his arm enveloped in crackling blue lightning aura, managed to withstand and disperse the sea of sand that imprisoned him.
His eyes, now transformed into blood-red Sharingan, stared sharply at the shocked Gaara:
"Chidori!"
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
The Konoha invasion storyline that began during this Chunin Exam final round was, more or less, exactly the same as Hana remembered from her 'past'.
The tension in the arena had reached its peak, especially as the fight between Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku no Gaara was about to begin.
Suddenly, as all eyes were on those two strong Genin, a strange phenomenon occurred.
Fine white feathers began to fall gently from the stadium ceiling, like snow in the wrong season.
The initially confused spectators began to feel an overwhelming drowsiness. One by one, they fell asleep, slumping in their respective seats.
A large-scale sleeping genjutsu had been cast.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face, sitting in the VIP stands, immediately tensed and sank into worry as he saw the sudden change in the situation below.
His instincts as Hokage and a veteran ninja immediately screamed that something was very wrong.
He sensed a strange and unpleasant chakra flow. Unconsciously, he wanted to immediately jump out of the VIP balcony and go down to the field to check the situation, but before he could even move his foot, an arm suddenly wrapped around his neck from behind very quickly and strongly.
A cold and sharp kunai was now pressed tightly against his aging neck skin.
"Don't move, Hokage-sama. Or this precious neck of yours will get a little extra decoration,"
a familiar hoarse voice whispered, the voice of the Fourth Kazekage, right in his ear.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's facial expression didn't change at all, remaining calm and dignified as usual.
However, there was a slight chilling coldness in his calmness.
"Lord Kazekage,"
Hiruzen replied in a flat tone,
"what is the meaning of all this? Is this some kind of unfunny joke from Sunagakure?"
An ANBU wearing a mask, standing faithfully behind Sarutobi Hiruzen, immediately realized something was wrong with this situation.
He sensed a thick hostile aura from the Kazekage's direction.
But before he could even draw the tantō on his back or make any resistance movement, two shadowy figures leaped out with lightning speed from behind the Kazekage's seat.
The Kazekage just sneered coldly and didn't answer Sarutobi Hiruzen's question at all.
Instead, he tightened his grip on Hiruzen's neck, then with one strong leap, he jumped directly from the VIP balcony towards the high stadium roof, taking Hiruzen with him as a hostage.
The two strangely dressed people who had killed the ANBU earlier also jumped, nimbly following the Kazekage.
No, it turned out to be not just two people. But four.
Four individuals with very strange appearances and dark auras had now separated from the Kazekage's entourage.
They quickly and coordinately occupied the four corners of the stadium roof before the other Konoha ANBU could react or realize what was happening.
As their four feet landed perfectly on each corner of the roof, the four of them immediately formed a series of complex hand seals with extraordinary tacit understanding, as if they had done this many times.
"Ninpō: Shishienjin! (Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Formation!)"
the four of them shouted in unison.
Instantly, a transparent yet seemingly very strong dark purple light curtain appeared from the four corners of the roof, stretching high and forming a giant barrier dome that enclosed the stadium roof area, separating those inside from the outside world.
Sarutobi Hiruzen watched this scene calmly, although his heart was filled with anger and worry.
His sharp eyes glanced towards the Kazekage figure now standing behind him, a triumphant smirk clearly visible on his partially covered face.
"You... you have been waiting and planning for this moment for a very long time, haven't you, Lord Kazekage?"
Hiruzen paused for a moment, then continued in a colder tone,
"...no, I'm mistaken. I should call you... Orochimaru."
A wider and more terrifying smile now spread across the 'Kazekage's' face.
With a slow, theatrical movement, he removed the Kazekage's hat and veil that covered his face, revealing his true deathly pale face, with yellow snake eyes and a tongue that occasionally flicked out.
"Fufufu... In that case, Sarutobi-sensei, my esteemed teacher,"
Orochimaru said, his voice now turning hoarse and full of mocking tones, his original voice that Hiruzen hadn't heard in a long time.
"Are you and Konoha ready to welcome the joint invasion from the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Sound Village?"
"We have always been ready to face any threat, Orochimaru. Including from a traitorous student like you," Sarutobi Hiruzen replied calmly, but there was a deep tone of disappointment in his voice.
He nodded slightly, his gaze now shifting towards the Konoha village sprawling in the distance, the village he loved and protected all his life.
"I have already asked Iruka to move the Ninja Academy students and the most vulnerable civilians to the underground shelters first, long before this exam began. Most of the Chunin and Jōnin not on duty in the arena have also helped move other civilians to safe zones. Now, the only civilians left in this entire village... should be those inside this stadium, who have now become your bait."
"I know that, Sensei. I know very well how your mind, which always prioritizes the village, works,"
Orochimaru grinned widely and licked his lips with a disgusting movement.
"Your goal is to hold me here, inside this barrier, so I can't do more damage in the village. And my goal, of course, is to ensure this beloved Sarutobi-sensei dies here, on his own stage of honor. The two of us, in the end, are both using these innocent civilians as bait in our respective games, aren't we?"
How cold-blooded and cruel those words were.
Hiruzen could only remain silent, feeling the immense weight of responsibility on his shoulders.
"I... I will apologize to all of them later,"
Hiruzen muttered softly, more to himself. ('If... if I still have the chance to do so.')
Sarutobi Hiruzen then lowered his head slightly and looked at the kunai still pressed tightly against his throat, held by Orochimaru's cold hand.
"So, you really intend to kill me just by using this cheap kunai, Orochimaru? After all the preparations and grand plans you've made?"
There was a challenging tone in his voice.
"How could I do something so casual to a teacher I respect so much?"
The smile on Orochimaru's face slowly faded, replaced by a more serious and slightly... insane expression?
As the kunai in his hand moved slightly, not to injure Hiruzen, but he deliberately stabbed the tip of the kunai into his own palm until it pierced through.
Bright red blood immediately flowed profusely down the kunai's hilt and dripped onto the stadium roof.
Orochimaru then released the hand that had been around Sarutobi Hiruzen's neck and yawned loudly and exaggeratedly, as if he were truly bored.
"Haaah... I was too bored waiting for all this drama to start, and now I'm a little sleepy. So, I just wanted to refresh myself a little with pain. Nothing is more invigorating than a little blood, right, Sensei?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen turned around slowly and now looked at his former student with a calm yet disappointed and sad gaze.
"No need to act and pretend anymore in front of me, Orochimaru. I know you too well."
"You're so boring, Sarutobi-sensei. Always so serious," Orochimaru smiled sinisterly again.
"But at least, you've done something quite interesting before you truly die today. Jiraiya, that fool, is in the village now, right? And his purpose for coming here must be for that Kyuubi Jinchūriki, right? You finally decided to hand that brat over to him?"
Orochimaru actually never expected that Sarutobi Hiruzen, who in his opinion always seemed confused and hesitant in making difficult decisions, would actually dare to release and hand over the precious Kyuubi Jinchūriki to Jiraiya.
According to his understanding and analysis so far, he thought Sarutobi Hiruzen would eventually prefer to hand the Jinchūriki over to Danzō Shimura, his cunning and power-hungry political rival.
After all, once Hiruzen died today, Danzō would most likely be the person with the best chance to become the next Hokage and control Konoha.
"Danzō... he was never fit to be a Hokage," Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath, his voice sounding firm.
"I trust Jiraiya far more to protect Naruto and the future of this village."
"Hehe. You're so funny, Sensei," Orochimaru shook his head with a mocking tone.
"You still don't seem to truly understand the true nature of your beloved students, do you, Sarutobi-sensei. Among the three of us – me, Jiraiya, and Tsunade – Jiraiya is the least suitable and least deserving to be a Hokage. He's too naive, too emotional, and too attached to the past. Do you really want to see him have to fight and argue every day with those old-fashioned and cunning people on the Konoha advisory council? Or with that power-hungry Danzō?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent hearing Orochimaru's piercing words.
Indeed, he had to admit there was some truth to it. Although Jiraiya's personality was now much calmer and more mature compared to his youth, when it came to matters of principle and the safety of the village or the people he cared about, Jiraiya would definitely never compromise or simply agree with the controversial decisions of the Hokage Advisors, who often prioritized politics, or with the cunning maneuvers of Danzō's Root.
The Hokage Advisors were an important bridge for communicating and maintaining good relations with the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.
Whereas Root was an underground organization that conducted characteristic brainwashing management and often acted outside the law, and they would surely never obey Jiraiya's orders if he became Hokage.
Judging from Jiraiya's stubborn personality and his adherence to his own version of justice, he might just explode and create major chaos within Konoha's government structure after only enduring their dirty politics for a short while.
"I... I still believe in Jiraiya,"
In the end, that was the only sentence Sarutobi Hiruzen could say, his voice slightly trembling yet full of conviction. He had to believe.