"Boom—!"
The earth trembled.
Faintly, a subtle beast roar could even be heard.
Kakashi and the others, who were rapidly moving through the cave tunnel, subconsciously looked up in the direction of the sound and stopped.
Kakashi, who was leading, frowned deeply, holding 'Akagami' in reverse in his hand, feeling puzzled.
It wasn't just because of the violent tremor, but also because of their current situation.
"Beast?"
"Could it be that Iwagakure's Jinchuriki has been unleashed?"
In this situation, even Obito couldn't help but be more serious than usual, his entire body tensed.
Due to the new education system after Konoha's reforms, the few who successfully graduated from the Ninja Academy were well aware of the weight of the words 'Tailed Beast'.
While studying at the school, Sawara even specifically invited Lady Kushina to demonstrate the initial process of Tailed Beast release to them.
That experience left a deep impression on Obito.
Although he knew that the Nine-Tails's standard was definitely much stronger than other Tailed Beasts, the fear derived from biological instinct was not so easy to dispel.
"But, this beast roar should be beyond the 'first stage', right?"
Nohara Rin's voice was filled with worry.
According to what they learned in class, they had already understood the three different stages of Tailed Beastification from Lady Kushina.
Before the appearance of Three-Tails belonged to the 'first stage', with the entire body covered in highly corrosive Tailed Beast Chakra; at four to six tails, basic Tailed Beast forms would appear, belonging to the 'second stage'; as for six to nine tails, bones, muscles, and overall form would appear, leading to complete Tailed Beastification.
If it was Shukaku, Matatabi, or other Tailed Beasts with fewer tails, they would directly enter complete Tailed Beastification from the first stage, which was extremely dangerous.
"That's right."
"To make such a sound, it would at least need to enter the 'second stage' to be possible."
"Even our drone hasn't detected any Chakra reactions nearby."
Kakashi's expression was even more solemn than theirs, his voice tinged with suppression: "It's just… what kind of guy could force that guy to reach Three-Tails or more?"
He pondered in his heart, then suddenly turned to Rin and asked, "Rin, how many Fork in the Road have we passed?"
"Eleven, currently estimated depth at two hundred meters underground."
"A total of three repeated paths were passed."
Nohara Rin was very professional; she had been memorizing the squad's direction and depth throughout the journey.
"Two hundred meters."
"However, the sound is coming from even deeper below."
Kakashi's sense of unease grew stronger, but he had no clue what was happening.
Could it be that the area below the Chunin Exams was infiltrated by others?
This was within Iwagakure's territory.
Or, had Sawara already discovered some conspiracy and preemptively attacked the enemy Jinchuriki?
'Among the Chunin Exams participants, those who could pose a threat to Tailed Beasts'
Suddenly, Kakashi's gaze shifted to the drone floating beside him, and the cards of unknown purpose in his special backpack.
His tone suddenly became a bit hurried: "How many enemy teams did we encounter just now, and from which Village?"
"Three teams, They are Kusagakure, Takigakure, and one team of rainbows—"
"Eh?"
Nohara Rin also reacted, confused: "We're quite lucky."
"We haven't encountered a single Ninja from a major nation?"
"Is there a problem with that?" Obito tilted his head, looking at the two of them, "Isn't it best to just pass the second stage directly?"
"No."
Kakashi's tone was serious: "There are a total of six Iwagakure examinee teams remaining from the first stage, one from Kumogakure and one from Sunagakure each. The small nation Ninja we dealt with were all of them."
"Based on probability, such an extreme situation is almost impossible."
"Therefore, it can only mean that the Iwagakure teams have reached some kind of understanding and are hiding from us."
"Or—they are concentrating their ambush deeper underground under unified command."
If there was anyone among the Chunin Exams participants who could pose a threat to a monster of a Tailed Beast's caliber, it would undoubtedly be the Konoha squad, which Sawara had left with special means.
If one were to also consider the peculiar atmosphere before the start of this Chunin Exams...
Kakashi's expression was even faintly grim.
'Could the teams from the other Ninja Villages have allied with Iwagakure?'
'Is it really necessary for them to go to such lengths for just a Chunin Exams?'
Kakashi felt the same doubt as Asuma in his heart.
However, just as he thought of this.
"Beep—!"
The surface of the drone floating beside him suddenly lit up with a red light, emitting a subtle alert sound.
Kakashi suddenly looked up:
"Enemy! Above!"
"Very fast."
Almost at the moment Kakashi gave the alert, Rin and Obito simultaneously rushed deeper forward.
"Boom—!"
Accompanied by a dull explosion.
A figure, completely enveloped in a Tailed Beast Chakra cloak, suddenly smashed down onto the ground from the vibrating hole above, making a dull thud.
"Damn it."
"That blustering bastard Killer Bee."
Han's voice carried a hint of anger, the surface of his surrounding Chakra cloak had bubbles like oil spots surging, and his eyes, which showed beast-like vertical pupils, stared directly at Kakashi and the others.
"But it's good, these little bugs didn't get away."
Wrong direction.
Two Tailed Beasts?!
Almost the instant his figure crashed onto this underground passage, a thought flashed through Kakashi's mind like lightning, his pupils suddenly constricted, and he abruptly shouted:
"Run!"
"Earth Release: Earth Wall!"
A thick earth wall instantly blocked the path behind the three, separating them from Han into two sections.
Han looked at the retreating figures, the corner of his mouth under the mask slightly curved upwards.
'Run?'
'Can you escape?'
The next moment, his figure charged forward like a heavy hammer, smashing through the obstacle in front of him in one go and rushing into the depths of the smoke ahead.
'Something's wrong! Ten, even nine parts are wrong!'
Even though he was in the middle of escaping, Kakashi felt his brain was unusually clear. His sprinting movements seemed to not interfere with his thoughts at all. Everything he had seen these past few days replayed in his mind, and this sense of incongruity grew stronger.
The grand Chunin Exams;
The high-status Jinchuriki from various nations;
An extreme death game;
And this hidden environment deep underground.
This series of clues connected in Kakashi's mind, and an answer that made his breathing quicken was on the tip of his tongue.
Iwagakure.
No, to be precise, it should be the other three nations.
Their target was not the limited-value Konoha Genin of this generation at all.
Instead, it was the person who would inevitably stop this Chunin Exams for certain reasons.
That is—
Sawara.
At this point, the upcoming third Chunin Exams was almost impossible to continue.
Therefore, the place to act was here, where Sawara's combat power could be best limited.
Deep underground.
However, where did they get the confidence to confront Sawara head-on?
Did they want to start a full-scale war?
Besides, if even I can see the problem, do they think Sawara wouldn't have noticed it at all?
'No, that's not right.'
Kakashi suddenly realized that his perception differed from that of the Ninja from other Villages.
To these young Genin, 'Sawara Kiri' was a gentle, kind-spoken, and occasionally eccentric, carefree young Ninja.
But, what was Sawara Kiri like in the eyes of those people?
Kakashi tried to put himself in the perspective of Ōnoki and others, and scene after scene he had witnessed since arriving in Iwagakure flashed through his mind.
The Third Tsuchikage's feigned closeness, the Iwagakure guards' demeanor as if facing a formidable enemy, Killer Bee's apprehensive expression at merely mentioning a name, other ordinary Ninja, even those from other Villages, only dared to refer to him as 'Lord' and never dared to utter Sensei's name...
A truly invincible absolute powerhouse who single-handedly subdued the entire Ninja World.
How would such a person react to their amateur trap, using Genin as bait?
Arrogance.
Even contempt.
Almost instinctively, this thought popped into Kakashi's mind.
'So, this arrogance, treating others as nothing, is their true confidence?'
The moment he thought of this, Kakashi felt as if a weight had been lifted.
Clearly.
Their imagined Sawara seemed to have a significant deviation from the man's true image.
Whether it was the special backpack distributed to each Genin, those special cards of unknown purpose, or... the drone in his hand.
As if he had thought of something, the corner of Kakashi's mouth beneath his mask twitched.
"Boom—!"
A deafening explosion, accompanied by a huge shockwave from behind, swept towards the three members of Hatake Squad ahead, making them stumble.
Kakashi rolled and ran towards the corner of the path ahead, looking at the light blue operation screen directly reflected on his retina. He suddenly lowered his voice and tentatively spoke:
"Sawara."
"You, you've been watching here, haven't you?"
He didn't actually expect this seemingly rigid operation interface to respond, but he held a faint glimmer of hope.
However, the moment he spoke.
Kakashi suddenly heard Sawara Kiri's voice, always with a hint of a smile, in his ear:
"Oh?"
"As expected of Kakashi."
"You found out."
A vein immediately popped on Kakashi's forehead. He tensed his body with all his might to suppress the roar that almost escaped his lips.
You old cunning fox who even tricks his own students!
Damn you!!!
He looked at the dark red figure behind them, chasing them at an extremely fast speed in the dust, and spoke with unprecedented speed:
"We are currently being pursued by the Five Tails Jinchuriki. The other Iwagakure and Killer Bee are all in on this. We—"
"Yes, yes, yes."
The voice in his ear remained unhurried: "Kakashi, you should have noticed, right? He's only chasing you, not immediately intending to kill you."
Kakashi rolled to dodge the rocks and Kunai shot from behind, while continuing to run forward, he quickly whispered:
"What should we do?"
In just an instant, he understood the hidden meaning in Sawara Kiri's words.
From the very beginning, everything that was happening was within Sawara's control.
After realizing this, even with a Jinchuriki still chasing them, Kakashi felt a surge of confidence deep inside.
Upon hearing this direct question, the smile in Sawara Kiri's voice seemed to deepen a bit.
"Next, you run in the direction I tell you."
"Then, help me destroy a small toy."
"That will be enough."
Hearing this, Kakashi's gaze immediately became more resolute, and he said in a deep voice:
"Yes."
"Phew—this is the last one!"
Looking at the puppet in front of him, with most of its body embedded within the cave wall, Baki straightened up, letting out a satisfied breath, and turned to Sasori beside him with a joyful expression, saying:
"As expected of Lord Sasori!"
"Such a complex formation, yet you completed it in such a short time."
"Now, even 'That Person' will absolutely not be able to escape the inescapable net we have set up!"
"It's just…"
As he spoke, Baki's voice couldn't help but carry a hint of hesitation again, asking: "Lord Sasori, what about the matter of pursuing the Third Hokage's son that we agreed upon with Iwagakure earlier…?"
"Hmph."
Sasori, who was quietly observing the connection between this puppet node and the surrounding sealing network, snorted disdainfully upon hearing Baki's question, his tone cold:
"Don't bother with those fools."
"If they want to move against Konoha's people, then let them."
Sasori, or rather, Sasori, who was remotely controlling this puppet, understood perfectly.
Given Sawara Kiri's mastery of space, if he had even the slightest suspicion about their actions underground, the first to die would be those most eager fools.
He wouldn't touch that bad luck.
Moreover, even if he didn't go, someone else would run into the firing line, wouldn't they?
It wouldn't affect the outcome anyway.
"Since you say so, Lord, then I'm relieved."
Baki heard the cold words, and the worry he had held in his throat inadvertently eased a bit.
Since these important figures had a plan, there was no need for a mere Genin like him to meddle.
When he turned to look back at this formation node, which he had helped to assemble, a sense of accomplishment couldn't help but rise within him.
He hadn't expected that besides the spatial locking barrier planned with Iwagakure and Kumogakure, Lord Sasori actually had such a hidden trump card.
A large-scale spatial distortion barrier powered by nuclear fusion explosions deep underground.
Let alone the people from the other two Villages.
Even he, who was responsible for assisting in building this barrier, only learned the relevant information after being given the corresponding barrier components.
The core part of the entire process was handled by Lord Sasori himself.
It was impossible for anyone to discover it in advance!
Top-notch Concealment!
At the same time, it provided a significant fallback for this operation.
Now, even Baki felt a bit of confidence in this ambush against Sawara Kiri.
Sawara Kiri wasn't some Sage of Six Paths.
He couldn't possibly have the ability to predict the future, could he?
Thinking of this, Baki couldn't help but show a confident smile on his face.
Just at this moment.
Sasori, who had just been standing in front of the puppet node, suddenly turned around. The puppet's Longtail, which was entirely knotted, suddenly swept like a whip towards the back, making a 'whoosh' sound.
Baki, who had just been confident, was suddenly startled. He subconsciously grabbed the Kunai at his waist to block in front of him, took half a step back, and turned towards the direction of the sound.
Immediately after, in his peripheral vision, he caught a glimpse of a figure being swept away by the Longtail.
"Ow—"
The figure swept away, accompanied by a cry of pain, flashed with a skeletal Chakra armor around its surface, and with a heavy whistling sound, it heavily slammed into the opposite cave wall.
At the same time, Baki also heard Sasori's urgent shout in his ear:
"Stop him!"
It wasn't until that sound rang out.
In Baki's just-reoriented vision, a flash of purple light was reflected.
"Lightning Release: Purple Electricity!"
In an instant, a dazzling light, like true thunder, pierced straight into the crowd, grazing past Baki and striking the surface of the puppet behind him.
Completely pierced through.