Chapter 32
"What the…?"
Kankurō stared in horror as he noticed Gaara's eyes bloodshot, fixed rigidly on Naruto in the distance.
He could even see Gaara's body trembling slightly…
"Gaara, what's wrong with you?"
Temari noticed too. As the older sister, she instinctively showed concern.
Gaara didn't answer his siblings. Instead, an inexplicable exhaustion washed over him.
Inside him, Shukaku… was terrified!
The fear coming from Shukaku directly affected Gaara.
For once, the One-Tail became unusually quiet.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
The Nine-Tails' chakra was already a nightmare for Shukaku.
But now? The Nine-Tails' chakra was right nearby—completely suppressed by Naruto's chakra, unable to move, unable even to respond to Shukaku's usual taunts!
What did this mean?
It meant that the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki—regardless of his actual combat strength—at least had chakra reserves terrifying enough to make every other tailed beast tremble.
Exhaustion kept flooding Gaara. With Shukaku finally silent, a long-lost drowsiness tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Finally… he could sleep…
Gaara's eyes closed, and he collapsed straight toward the ground.
If Temari hadn't reacted quickly, he would've face-planted.
On the other side, Kakashi rushed over with a squad of ANBU. He ordered everyone: "All students, move away from this area—the competition begins now!"
"Sealing team, prepare!"
Swish, swish, swish~
ANBU carrying massive scrolls quickly surrounded Naruto.
At the center, Naruto's chakra gradually dispersed.
Naruto looked helplessly at Kakashi. "Sealing team? Prepare for what?"
"This isn't a tailed-beast rampage!"
"What?!?!"
Under his mask, Kakashi stared at the calm Naruto in shock.
What was going on?
Moments ago, the amount of chakra Naruto had gathered exceeded even Kakashi's own reserves—yet he remained completely lucid and could still speak normally.
Kakashi looked Naruto up and down, checking carefully. No abnormalities.
Naruto was speechless. "I'm telling you, this ANBU… captain?"
"Can you stop interfering with my competition?"
Kakashi scratched his head awkwardly. "Alright then."
What a strange situation… better report this to the Hokage…
With that thought, Kakashi led his team away.
Meanwhile, it was Maki's turn to panic.
He urgently ordered his subordinates: "Sealing team, prepare!! Shukaku's coming out!"
Swish, swish, swish~
Several Suna ANBU appeared around Gaara.
But at the center, Gaara slept peacefully—even snoring softly~~
So… what exactly was happening?
The competition had just begun, and both jinchūriki were already having issues?
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