Thanks to the tireless efforts of the earth-style ninja, the arena floor was finally repaired.
The lights for the second match flickered on, displaying two names:
Uchiha Sasuke vs. Gaara of the Sand.
Finally… it's about to begin!
The moment the two stepped onto the field, every noble in the stands fixed their eyes on them.
On one side: the last heir of the famed Uchiha clan—genius ninja Uchiha Sasuke.
On the other: the son of the Fourth Kazekage, the strongest genin of Sunagakure—the "Sandstorm" Gaara.
Many spectators favored this match. Even more expected it to be spectacular.
It drew the largest and most numerous bets of the exams—at least ten times the wagers placed on Naruto's match.
"Ohohoho… As expected of Danzō—you've got quite the eye for talent."
In the VIP room, a certain daimyō, flush with victory from betting on the last match, was in high spirits and spoke with even greater trust toward Danzō.
"Danzō, who do you think I should bet on this time? I'm leaning toward that Uchiha…."
"Gaara, of course." Danzō didn't even pause to think before replying. He shot Sasuke a dismissive glance from the corner of his eye.
That Uchiha brat… tch.
"Is that so? But I think that Uchiha Momo looks stronger," the daimyō said, sounding hesitant.
"Trust me," Danzō replied firmly. "The Uchiha are all show and no substance."
Two Root operatives at his side exchanged a brief glance—their eyes flashing faintly red.
Seeing Danzō so certain, the daimyō no longer doubted him.
"Since Danzō says so, I'll switch all my bets from the Uchiha Momo to the Ro-ro."
"If I lose, Danzō, you'll be responsible."
"Not a problem. My judgment is always accurate."
"Hurry up and finish him off, brat!"
Inside Gaara, the One-Tail Shukaku was bellowing so loudly that his voice rattled around Gaara's skull like an echoing war drum, drowning out all other sounds from the outside world.
"Do what I taught you—pound the hell out of Kurama and his jinchūriki!"
"You hear me?! Beat Kurama to a pulp!"
"Answer me!"
After gauging the power of Naruto's two-tailed form earlier, Shukaku was practically bouncing with excitement.
Gaara, however, felt as if someone had stuffed a giant subwoofer into his head—thump-thump-thump-thump—nonstop, with reverb.
Kurama? Jinchūriki? What was this tanuki even talking about?
"You two—before the match begins, anything you'd like to say?"
Shiranui Genma, senbon clamped between his teeth, addressed the competitors.
"Hmph." Sasuke gave a cool snort, indicating he had nothing to say.
"Huh? What did you say?"
Gaara could only see Genma's lips moving—he couldn't hear a word over Shukaku's racket.
"Hey, hey, hey—Shigeki! Shigeki! Shigeki!"
Fu had been staring at Gaara for a long while. Suddenly, as if making a great discovery, she grabbed Shigeki's sleeve, tugging excitedly.
Her voice was loud enough that people nearby turned to look.
On Shigeki's left sat the daimyō of the Land of Snow, Kazahana Dotō, who merely glanced over before resuming his view of the arena.
On his right was the daimyō of the Land of Grass, Sebone, whose face twisted in disdain as he gave the pair the kind of look reserved for commoners, accompanied by a distinctly rude snort.
Embarrassed under the stares, Shigeki quickly cut her off in a low voice.
"Fu, I'm busy right now. Go play somewhere else."
By all rights, as the next leader of Takigakure, Shigeki shouldn't have been seated among daimyō and nobles at all. But Konoha had arranged a seat for him—unfortunately, right between two minor-country lords.
It was an arrangement that made Shigeki feel like he was sitting on needles.
Shy by nature and no good at socializing, he didn't know what to say or how to act.
"Hmph!" Fu puffed her cheeks in annoyance when Shigeki ignored her. She glanced around the stands.
If you won't play with me, I'll find someone else.
Once she decided, she acted. In a flash, she zipped down toward the front row of the civilian spectator section.
Seeing her leave, Shigeki finally exhaled in relief, offering the Grass daimyō an apologetic smile—only to receive an even more disdainful snort in return.
I'm representing Takigakure here… I mustn't embarrass the village.
Fu had now reached the very front row, where she could get a clear look at Gaara.
He really is the same as me! It's my first time meeting someone like this!
Fu beamed.
"I'm gonna be friends with him! He's going to be my very first friend in Konoha!"
"Come on! Go on! Use your invincible sand and crush him flat!"
Shukaku continued to bark orders like some backseat commander.
"Hello, big tanuki," came a clear, girlish voice inside Gaara's mind. "Will you be my friend?"
"The hell?!" Shukaku nearly jumped in surprise, startled out of his ranting.
"Long time no see, Shukaku," came another, more androgynous voice.
Shukaku sniffed the air. After a moment's pause, he recognized it.
"Ah… so it's you, Chōmei. Been a while."
While Shukaku didn't get along with Kurama, he was on decent terms with the other tailed beasts.
The problem with Kurama was that the fox wouldn't stop claiming a beast's strength was tied to its number of tails. The Two-Tails might not have cared, but Shukaku? He had only one tail. He'd stormed off to the desert just to pick a fight over it.
"Huh? You seem different from before," Shukaku said, eyeing Chōmei.
Communication between tailed beasts was wonderfully convenient—they could converse and even "see" one another from afar.
A thousand years ago, Chōmei's original form was a plump, cocoon-like creature with seven stubby tails.
Now, however, Chōmei appeared as a giant winged insect.
The metamorphosis was complete—breaking free from the cocoon.
"Big tanuki, let's be friends, okay?" Fu suddenly jumped into the conversation before Shukaku and Chōmei could reminisce.
"No!" Shukaku refused without hesitation.
What kind of joke was this? He was the great Shukaku—he wasn't about to make friends with some random human brat.
"Come on, pleeease…" Fu had finally found someone like herself and was determined to befriend both Shukaku and Gaara. She pestered him relentlessly.
"Chōmei, your brat is annoying. Careful, or I'll eat her."
The human and two beasts bickered back and forth, much to Gaara's suffering—now there was an entire party going on in his head.
The single subwoofer had become a full surround-sound system.
He couldn't hear anything from the outside world at all.
The reason Gaara reacted this way was simple: Sunagakure's sealing technique was terrible.
Konoha's sealing (Naruto's) was airtight.
Suna's sealing (Gaara's) leaked like a sieve.
"Do you have any questions before the match begins?"
For what felt like the umpteenth time, Genma tried asking Gaara.
"What? What'd you say?"
Genma decided the kid was just messing with him. He gave up and made the call.
"Begin!"
Countdown: 2
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