The rumbling and shaking were felt by the squad from the Cloud as well — or rather, by the squad from the Cloud that had been intercepted by Kimimaro!
"Hey, what's going on over there?!"
Omoi's face turned dark with embarrassment.
He had initially thought that this confrontation test would be nothing more than a low-level competition between academy students, barely above Genin level. Even those so-called geniuses the Hidden Leaf boasted about were nothing more than Genin or Chunin at best.
But the commotion in the distance was definitely not something a Genin or Chunin could produce.
Especially the tremors beneath their feet — that was no fake!
Darui, too, lost his laid-back demeanor, his expression growing serious. "Who's fighting over there?"
Kimimaro glanced back for a moment, then quickly looked away, his face indifferent.
A battle between top-tier monsters of the academy? There was nothing surprising about the noise. His job was to execute Orochimaru's orders and eliminate any forces attempting to spy on Kurama Yakumo, for Yakumo belonged to Orochimaru!
In a flash, his eyes turned to the three Cloud shinobi. "You're done here."
Omoi spat and clicked his tongue. "Tch, weren't the Iwa guys supposed to be the ones dealing with this guy? Where did they run off to? Typical, unreliable bastards."
Whoosh!
Before Omoi could finish his complaints, Kimimaro's figure disappeared from his sight.
Omoi's pupils contracted, and his body instinctively shot backward, his heartbeat thundering in his chest!
Darui wasn't any different, leaping to a high branch of a tree, taking a moment to stabilize himself.
Then, both of them froze in shock.
In their view, Kimimaro was holding one of their companions by the neck, his expression blank as he calmly stared at them.
The Cloud shinobi in his grasp was already unconscious.
"How fast!?"
"Impossible!"
Omoi and Darui were both stunned.
Their teammate, though weaker than them, was an elite Jonin's direct disciple and had been hailed as a genius within the Cloud. They never expected such a person to be instantly "killed" by Kimimaro, without even a single proper resistance.
Thud!
Kimimaro casually tossed the unconscious Cloud shinobi aside, a puzzled expression on his face. He seemed to be pondering why the Cloud sent such a weak individual to test Yakumo's abilities.
"Just a pawn?"
To send such a person to test Yakumo's strength, Kimimaro figured the three from the Cloud were most likely in trouble back in their village.
Omoi said, "Darui, be careful. This guy must have hidden his true strength! He's probably the strongest in the Hidden Leaf Academy!"
"Yeah!"
Darui nodded heavily.
He fully agreed with Omoi's assessment. The other party was indeed strong. The speed and lethal force with which Kimimaro acted clearly showed he had reached the level of a Jonin.
For someone like that to still be at the academy was simply unthinkable!
Elsewhere in the forest—
Feeling the tremors beneath his feet, Gaara's face lit up with excitement. "This is the feeling! This is what I've been wanting!"
Seeing Gaara's gradually worsening condition, Temari and Kankuro couldn't help but feel fearful.
Kankuro cursed inwardly. "Damn, why are we even taking part in this test?"
Temari looked up at the direction where the rumbling came from. "What's happening over there? Please don't let it provoke Gaara!"
As they feared, Gaara walked directly toward the source of the sound.
Temari and Kankuro exchanged a worried glance and reluctantly followed.
Before long, the three arrived at the outskirts of the battlefield.
What they saw ahead left them dumbfounded.
The entire forest seemed to come alive, with branches and tree limbs intertwining like waves, surging forward. On the other side, a vast array of wind and fire ninjutsu spread through the sky, turning half of it red. Even from a distance, they could feel the air becoming heavy, as though it was being consumed by the flames.
Kankuro's jaw dropped. "Is this a war? Is one of the villages invading the Hidden Leaf?"
Temari took a few steps back. "Could this be the legendary Wood Release?"
Gaara, standing between them, showed no fear at the sight. In fact, he became even more excited and crazed. "Kill! Kill!"
Temari gasped. "No, Gaara's been provoked. The One-Tails is taking over!"
Gaara's instability stemmed from the constant influence of Shukaku, the One-Tails sealed within him, which made it difficult for him to sleep. Over time, Gaara's once gentle nature had become increasingly volatile.
Especially after Yashamaru's death, Gaara seemed to have given up, allowing Shukaku's influence to deepen. Now, the slightest provocation sent him into a killing frenzy.
Kankuro glanced at Temari, silently asking what they should do.
Temari slightly shook her head.
In such a situation, there was nothing they could do. Back in Sunagakure, only the Fourth Kazekage, who controlled Magnet Release, could subdue Gaara when he was like this.
At that moment, Gaara took a step forward, moving toward the battle.
Temari made one last attempt. "Gaara, don't forget Elder Chiyo's warning!"
Gaara ignored her, continuing to march forward.
"Hey!"
Temari sighed helplessly.
The worst-case scenario had come to pass. If Gaara went berserk, all of the so-called geniuses from the Hidden Leaf Academy would be in serious danger — some of them might not survive!
Whoosh!
At that moment, a figure descended from the air and landed directly in front of Gaara, loudly declaring, "Hey, who do you think you are? If you keep moving forward, I, Naruto Uzumaki, won't hold back!"
"Naruto Uzumaki?"
Gaara froze for a moment.
Temari and Kankuro, standing behind, felt their hearts leap into their throats. They couldn't believe someone dared to block Gaara, who was on the verge of going berserk.
"This idiot is dead for sure!"
At that moment, Gaara snapped. His eyes filled with rage as he raised his hand, lightly squeezing it toward Naruto.
Whoosh!
Instantly, a wave of sand surged forward, wrapping around Naruto.
"No!"
Temari and Kankuro both cried out in horror.
Gaara's expression became vicious as he pulled his hand back violently. "Die!"
Whoosh!
The sand tightened around Naruto, twisting and crushing him until he was reduced to a bloody mess.
At that moment, a soft pop sound came from within the sand, followed by a puff of white smoke.
Gaara furrowed his brow and quickly realized that what he had grabbed wasn't Naruto, but a shadow clone.
Just then, Naruto's voice echoed from all around. "You guys made the first move!"
Temari, Kankuro, and even Gaara looked up in shock, seeing hundreds of Naruto clones standing in the trees surrounding them.