Konoha, Hokage Building.
The Third Hokage was dealing with paperwork as usual.
Ever since Souma had left to take the exam, it felt like part of his daily workload had vanished.
While that made him happy… it also left him oddly empty.
Fewer new jutsu lately.
Less excitement.
Speaking of which…
Naruto and the others should be graduating soon, shouldn't they?
After a moment's thought, the Third took out his crystal ball, intending to peek at what Naruto was up to.
Right then, chakra flickered outside the door.
He hurriedly put the crystal ball away, only to realize afterward—
I'm not doing anything shady. Why am I panicking?
"Lord Hokage, a letter from Sunagakure."
An ANBU knelt.
"The Chūnin Exam's over?"
The Third took the scroll, opened it, and quickly read through.
His brows lowered slightly.
That Orochimaru…
He let out a long sigh.
Forget it. When Souma gets back, he'd have to sit the boy down and talk to him properly.
He couldn't let Orochimaru sway him.
As he continued reading, his expression gradually turned grave.
"After Souma's investigation, we've found Sunagakure's actions to be full of contradictions. There is reason to suspect Orochimaru's presence in Suna was no coincidence…"
The Third, of course, had never believed it was a coincidence.
But—
Suspicions and evidence were two very different things.
Kakashi's report listed several indirect proofs.
Nothing explicitly stated that Suna was cooperating with Orochimaru, but it was enough to show:
Sunagakure and Konoha were not on the same side.
He was silent for several seconds, then continued.
His brows rose.
Recommendation for promotion to jōnin?
"Fourth Kazekage, huh…"
The Third narrowed his eyes.
This Rasa fellow didn't have much in the way of true ability, but he was full of petty, sly tricks.
"Has anyone else read this letter?"
"Only you, sir."
"Good. I'll write a reply. Deliver it to Tenzo as fast as possible."
"Yes!"
Before half a day had passed, that same evening, Tenzo received Konoha's response.
The content was simple.
Encouragement for their efforts.
A few words praising Souma's growth.
Promotion, on the other hand, was completely sidestepped.
Nothing about Suna's suspected betrayal was mentioned.
The upper brass focused instead on "Souma's future position requires more experience and discussion," and the like.
Summed up in one line—
We'll talk after he gets back.
As for the others…
No one else met the threshold for chūnin.
So the exam produced only one official recommendation.
Yagyu Souma.
The Third hadn't rejected it.
Which, in effect, meant it was already decided—
The only question was whether Souma would be a chūnin or a jōnin.
Meanwhile, on a rooftop in Suna, Kakashi and Souma sat side by side, looking up at the sky.
"So? How'd you like Sunagakure?"
Kakashi asked.
"Too windy. Too dry. Not as comfortable as Konoha,"
Souma replied.
"Hahaha, you can't just sa—"
Kakashi froze mid-laugh, turning to look in the direction of Suna's administration building.
Souma felt something too.
He followed the thread of killing intent with his senses.
Under the moonlight, an old woman with white hair stood quietly in the distance, gazing at them.
After a few seconds, she let out a cold snort and turned away, walking toward the outskirts.
Chiyo?
Souma watched for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and looked at Kakashi.
"Sensei, I feel like I've been dragged into one of your disasters."
"Don't talk nonsense. I'm the one who got dragged into your mess,"
Kakashi said confidently.
"You made Suna lose too much face this time."
"And it was dangerous, too."
Souma shrugged.
"Heh."
Kakashi chuckled softly.
If it had been anyone else, Kakashi would've warned them as soon as Rasa recommended jōnin promotion.
But with Souma…
He didn't say anything.
Because Souma didn't need a warning.
"By the way, who was that old lady?"
Souma asked.
"You kids might not know her name. Chiyo—a very powerful puppeteer. She commands extremely dangerous puppets. Unfortunately…"
Kakashi trailed off with a sigh and didn't finish the thought.
Why hadn't her techniques passed on?
Because her son had been killed—
by the Kazekage himself.
And years later, her grandson had defected from Suna.
To be honest, Kakashi was a bit surprised she hadn't attacked when she saw Souma.
Seemed like isolation had mellowed the old woman's temper somewhat.
He gave a helpless smile and shook his head.
"Old people's stories. In any case, we're leaving Suna tomorrow morning. It should be—"
"Kakashi-sensei!"
Souma cut in.
"Hmm?"
"That's the kind of line you shouldn't just say out loud."
"Don't be superstitious. Go to sleep. We're setting out early tomorrow."
Souma's worries about "flagging it" did not, in fact, bring disaster down immediately.
For Sunagakure…
This Chūnin Exam was far from a success.
A sabotaged first test.
A bizarre second round.
A written exam heavily monitored by Konoha ANBU…
Every piece of it wore down Rasa's mood.
Yesterday, he'd had Chiyo brought in for one simple reason—
Temari's injuries were too severe.
From the outside, it looked like a single bloody hole.
Inside, her intestines and organs had been shredded by chakra.
No one but Chiyo could handle that kind of damage.
This exam had made one thing perfectly clear to Rasa—
Decades after the last war, the gap between Suna and Konoha hadn't shrunk.
It had widened.
Keep waiting?
Konoha had already produced another top-level genius.
If they waited any longer, would they be waiting for Sunagakure's extinction?
Rasa's view of the future was deeply pessimistic.
And he wasn't the only one in Suna who thought that way.
In his office, Rasa and Baki were discussing their next moves when—
"Lord Rasa!"
"What is it?"
Rasa's voice hardened.
If ANBU barged in like this, it had to be serious.
"Gaara has gone after the Konoha shinobi!"
"…??"
Rasa shot to his feet and vanished from the office in a single flicker.
Endless desert.
The Konoha squad moved swiftly across the sea of sand.
All the while, Souma maintained his sensory net, tracking the giant ants' positions underground.
He didn't find the ants—
But he did find a tail.
"Kakashi-sensei, behind us…"
"I know."
Kakashi nodded slightly, not elaborating.
But obviously—
He'd sensed Gaara too.
Souma looked around them and relaxed a little.
Kakashi.
Might Guy.
Tenzo.
With that lineup…
Even if Gaara lost control, they could still pin him down.
If Guy opened the Sixth Gate or higher and went all out, Suna would be looking for a new jinchūriki tomorrow.
The one he actually felt sorry for was Suna.
Souma fell back slightly, quietly absorbing natural energy and circulating senjutsu chakra.
Before long, he sensed the giant ants stirring beneath a dune.
At the same time, the sand itself surged like a rising tide.
Gaara had arrived.
His eyes locked on two people in the group—
Yagyu Souma.
Hyūga Neji.
"I'll kill you. I'll kill all of you."
His voice was icy, soaked with madness and bloodlust.
As he spoke, the gourd on his back spilled sand infused with chakra onto the ground.
A rushing tide of sand surged toward Souma and Neji.
Souma narrowed his eyes.
Looks like he hates Neji even more than me.
Because he almost killed Temari?
"Fall back!"
Everyone scattered.
Kakashi and Tenzo formed hand seals, then slammed their palms to the ground.
Walls of earth rose up in front of them, blocking the incoming sand.
"Tenten, my—"
"Here."
She already had it ready.
"Thanks."
Souma took the sealing talisman, eyes fixed on Gaara in the distance as he considered how to plant it.
After thinking it through—
He decided to rely on the ants.
Up front, Kakashi and Tenzo exchanged ninjutsu with Gaara.
Behind their earth walls—
One giant ant after another burst out of the ground.
Tenzo kept up the Earth Release and had just sensed something strange behind him.
When he turned and saw—
He nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Where did all these huge ants come from!?"
"They're from the Demon Desert underneath. I asked them to wait for me here."
Souma quickly explained.
Everyone else stared, stunned.
The Demon Desert…
Wasn't that the Chūnin Exam site!?
So what you're saying is—
Souma didn't just walk away with puppet schematics.
He also dragged back a dozen ants the size of cows?
Leave him alone here a bit longer and Suna's entire ecosystem might get looted clean.
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