The Operation Begins

Let's rewind a few minutes.

The Chunin Ninja Exams venue.

The battle between Sasuke and Gaara continues!

No... this might not be a battle, but rather it almost became Sasuke toying with Gaara.

Sasuke's fighting style differs from Naruto's, Hinata's, and Sakura's.

When Sakura fought Naruto, even if she held back, she wouldn't waste time talking during the breaks in the battle. When Hinata fought Temari, she also fought in silence.

But he was simultaneously attacking and provoking Gaara both physically and verbally.

"Come on! If you don't come, I'll make my move first!"

In the blink of an eye, Sasuke flipped over the sand wall that Gaara was blocking his way with the shortest possible distance, braced himself with his hands, and delivered a powerful upward kick that sent Gaara flying into the air.

Gravel and bloodstains danced in the air.

"What's wrong? Is this all the strength you have?"

With an unreasonable and sudden acceleration, it broke into the defensive circle before the sand shield could close in, and used the momentum of the charge to deliver a heavy punch to Gaara's face, causing the latter to collapse to the ground.

"I'll strip away your armor, layer by layer!"

Sasuke's lips curled into a slight smile as he sneered.

⌒→⌒→⌒→⌒→,↖√ He's almost there— Gaara's tough Sand Armor is starting to peel away in large chunks under Sasuke's relentless attacks, leaving only the last part protecting his vitals!

Salah, salah.

Loose clumps of sand slid down his neck and face, revealing Gaara's expression hidden behind his Sand Armor.

Saliva mixed with sand dripped from Gaara's mouth, making his expression look more ferocious and grotesque.

Then his ferocious anger gradually turned into maniacal laughter!

"Hahaha... I will not lose!"

Gaara knelt on the ground, laughing wildly.

As he spoke, the sand beneath his feet, like a swarm of wriggling insects, crawled from the ice surface onto his face, covering Gaara's entire body once more, turning Gaara into a sand monster!

The only exposed eye had changed from a bloodshot black pupil to a murky and terrifying pale yellow iris!

"What is this?" all the ninjas present asked in surprise.

Damn it! Gaara awakened "that thing" ahead of schedule! Baki's face darkened, secretly cursing Gaara for being unreliable and failing to follow the plan.

The plan has gone wrong...! Kankuro and Temari pale, their hearts filled with unease.

On the field, Kakashi and the others exchanged a serious look and subtly tensed up.

After a moment, once they could see what was happening offstage, screams erupted from the stands!

"Monster! Monster!" "What is that?!" "How terrifying!" "That Sand shinobi examinee seems to have turned into a wild beast made of sand!"

However, the high-pitched screams and shouts soon subsided.

"Hey, did you see that? Ugh, I suddenly feel so... sleepy..." "A... monster... snoring..."

Several subtle fluctuations of Chakra quietly spread throughout the venue, turning the shouts and screams of the audience into deep snores.

"Genjutsu: Temple of Nirvana Technique!"

The grand Genjutsu spell pulled all the ordinary people present, whether they were commoners or high-ranking officials, into a deep sleep, and it's likely that even if the building collapses now, they won't be able to wake up.

The intruders who had cast the Genjutsu stood up leisurely.

Apart from those who were casting the spell, only a handful of ninjas remained standing in the entire venue.

"Genjutsu... In other words, the battle has begun!"

Baki sensed the Genjutsu being cast, glanced at the audience, and understood. He exchanged a glance with Kankuro and Temari, whose faces were pale with tension, beads of sweat appearing on their noses, yet they remained calm, clenching their teeth as they awaited orders.

"Red..." "That's right, this is a large-scale Genjutsu!"

Red One-Handed Hand Seals, calmly dispelling the Genjutsu, and said coldly to Asuma and Kakashi. Her usually gentle and tender eyes suddenly turned as cold as frost and snow.

"Solve!" "Solve!"... "Solve!"

On the players' rest platform, several Konoha Genin simultaneously Hand Seals to dispel the Genjutsu, and Sakura casually kicked Naruto on the ground.

"Did the Sand shinobi also betray the contract?" The faint smile that always graced Genma Shiranui's lips had vanished.

He stood in front of Sasuke, coldly staring at Baki, confronting him.

"Fourth Kazekage... do you want to start a war?!"

On the platform, the Third slowly turned his head to look at Kazekage, his words stern.

Given this unexpected turn of events, the Kazekage remained remarkably calm, and Gaara below the stage exhibited such strange behavior. The only explanation is that the Sand shinobi were also involved!

Such behavior is tantamount to a declaration of war!

"If you want to stop now and seek a peaceful resolution, it's not too late...! Because no matter how much Orochimaru gives you, it won't be more than what you lost attacking Konoha!"

Every word and sentence uttered by the Third Hokage seemed to contain a thunderous rage!

At this moment, he shed the kind and gentle old man's face he had when facing the villagers, and transformed into a fierce tiger perched on a boulder, his eyes flashing with cold light as he stared menacingly at the enemy beside him!

When the Third uttered those words, even the air seemed to freeze. A heavy aura filled the air, as if an immense force was pressing down on the Kazekage and the guards behind him!

The Fourth Kazekage slowly turned his head, his lifeless, ashen eyes meeting the Hokage's gaze.

The Third Hokage's heavy and chilling aura seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever; his ashen eyes revealed no emotion. He did not respond to the Hokage's words, his lips moving slightly beneath his veil—

"Let's begin...!"

Kazekage's voice, as calm and indifferent as a rock, announced the start of the Konoha Crush Plan!

A signal flare, its origin unknown, rose gracefully and exploded in mid-air, signaling the start of the battle.

In an instant, everyone present who was still conscious sprang into action!

Dozens of Sound Ninja in uniform suddenly appeared out of nowhere and lined up in the stands, facing the scattered Konoha Ninja.

Under Sakura's dangerous gaze, Temari and Kankuro quickly jumped off the field to join Gaara Kazuma. Sakura didn't bother to stop them, but instead turned her gaze to the highest point of the venue—the chairman's platform.

"Protect the Hokage!" The Anbu closest to the Hokage reacted first and rushed towards the platform.

At the same time, the two guards behind Kazekage suddenly split into four and rushed to the four corners of the platform, setting up barriers to block the support from the Anbu.

Inside the barrier, as soon as the Kazekage finished speaking, "Let's begin," both sides attacked simultaneously without prior agreement!

Boom--!

A loud bang from the platform drew everyone's attention.

As the dust settled, Sakura was shocked to see that the magnificent and winding platform had been smashed to pieces by a single punch from the guard behind the Hokage!

A black figure flew backward from the dust; it was the Fourth Kazekage, who had suddenly launched a sneak attack on the Hokage. He was actually blasted away by a single punch from the Third's bodyguard!

Behind the guards, the Third Hokage removed his straw hat and Hokage robe, his tiger-like eyes fixed solemnly on the Kazekage who calmly rose from the ruins.

"I never expected it to be you... Orochimaru!"

The Fourth Kazekage —no, Orochimaru —torn off his Kazekage disguise, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and stood up, his expression becoming even more somber.

Her narrow, vertical pupils stared coldly at the Hokage's guard, a sinister smile spreading across her face, "I never expected it to be you... Tsunade!"

The Third stood proudly before her, his golden hair flowing, his chest still undulating from his earlier movements. Under Orochimaru's sinister killing intent, a serene smile appeared on his stunningly beautiful face.

The battle inside the barrier was Orochimaru versus Tsunade and the Third Hokage!

The butterfly storm stirred up by Sakura has finally become big enough to change the main plot!

On the rest platform, Sakura sneered. Facing two Kage Level powerhouses, could Orochimaru still kill the Third?

"Sakura, Kokoro!" Naruto suddenly shouted.

However, a Sound Ninja saw Sakura focusing on the Hokage's battle and seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack on her from behind!

Hearing Naruto's reminder, the Sound Ninja sneered, a thought flashing through her mind—too late to warn him now!

The Kunai in his hand was already close to the back of the girl's head, just inches away from piercing her skull, shredding her white brains into a bloody mess, causing the beautiful girl before him to perish.

He had already decided that after killing this lovely girl, his next move would be to shove the brain-splattered Kunai in his hand into the mouth of that annoying, yelling guy next to him, so he could taste the flesh and blood of his comrade!

How about we call this dish "Tomato and Egg Stir-fry"?

Then the next moment--

Pfft!

The sharp blade pierced the ** with a dull thud.

The bloodthirsty Sound Ninja had heard that voice countless times. He had always believed it was him. However, at this moment, that familiar voice was no longer there, and it sent a chill down his spine!

Laugh--!

The blade was pulled from the body, and hot blood gushed out from the wound, squeezing the air and making a hissing sound.

A vital spot was struck, and a life was about to end.

However... it wasn't the girl who was ambushed who was injured.

The Sound Ninja watched helplessly as the Kunai in his hand stopped four fingers away from the girl's icy skin, unable to advance an inch, while he himself was struck in a vital spot by the gleaming blade and pierced through his body.

All the strength in his body was completely drained away with the girl's precise backhand strike!

Am I going to die?

As the blood drained away frantically, her body grew cold and numb. The ice blade was pulled from the Sound Ninja's chest; without its support, the Sound Ninja collapsed helplessly to the ground.

The scene before my eyes swayed and blurred, gradually darkening until finally all I could see was the transparent longsword stained with dark red blood and the cold expression on the girl's delicate face.

Was the sword that took my life made of ice? It's so beautiful...

That girl's eyes were colder than ice...

Then, everything turned to darkness.