Beating Shukaku!

Inside Gaara.

The Sealed Space.

"Wood Release?! Damn it!! That's Hashirama Senju's Wood Release!!!"

Shukaku's sharp, grating voice exploded within the sealed space.

It clawed frantically at the bars, the entire space trembling.

"Why is there Wood Release? How can that Uchiha brat use Hashirama Senju's Wood Release?"

The fear of being dominated by the First Hokage rose from within. Shukaku flew into a rage, losing all reason.

"Gaara!!"

Shukaku roared furiously: "Give me your body right now!! I'll tear that Wood Release brat to shreds!"

"Wood Release... Shukaku... you're afraid of this too..."

Gaara muttered hoarsely, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Shukaku:

"Fine... as you wish... kill them all... every last one!"

Gaara stopped suppressing it. Instead, he actively released his hold on Shukaku, his hands forming a special seal.

"False Sleep Technique!"

Gaara's head slowly drooped, sinking into deep sleep.

Then.

An incredibly violent surge of Chakra erupted from within Gaara.

"ROOOOAAAR!!!"

Accompanied by an earth-shaking roar, endless yellow sand surged wildly around Gaara's body, swelling outward.

Under the horrified gazes of the crowd, Gaara's body began a terrifying transformation, growing massive.

His skin turned to sand, and a huge tail, composed purely of sand and Chakra, lashed out violently.

In the span of a few breaths.

A fat tanuki, dozens of meters tall, its entire body made of sand and covered in purple cursed seal patterns, appeared abruptly in the arena.

One-Tail Shukaku...

Fully awakened!

"What kind of monster is that?"

"It's a Tailed Beast!"

"Sunagakure's Tailed Beast!!"

"Run!!"

Kakashi, Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma, and the others' faces changed drastically.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression sank completely.

Sunagakure had not only brought a weapon of war to Konoha, but at a time like this, they had let their Jinchuriki tailed-beastify.

Were they trying to start a war?

"Gahaha... this lord is finally out... gaha!"

Shukaku let out a sharp, strange laugh, hopping and jumping in sheer excitement.

BOOM!!!

CRACK!!!

The sturdy tower crumbled like building blocks, collapsing easily.

Huge bricks and wooden beams, mixed with dust, came crashing down.

"Watch out!!"

"Get out of here!"

Chaos erupted instantly.

Kakashi, Might Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, and the other Jōnin moved at once, leaping to the front lines.

Some shattered the falling rocks with ninjutsu, others raised defenses, quickly directing their respective students to evacuate urgently.

"Naruto! Sasuke! Sakura! Go now! Get out of the tower's range!"

"Hinata, fall back!"

Naruto, Sasuke, and the others were already pale with shock.

Hearing their teachers' orders, they snapped out of it and fled in panic.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, retreated to the top of a relatively intact statue and barked out:

"Jōnin Baki! Your village actually allowed a One-Tail Jinchuriki to participate in the Chūnin Exams, and even let him fully transform into a Tailed Beast! What exactly are you trying to do?"

Baki broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead, unsure how to answer.

Their participation in this Chūnin Exams had indeed been with preparation.

But Gaara releasing Shukaku at this moment was not part of the plan.

"This Gaara..."

Baki ground his teeth in frustration.

Gaara's outburst had clearly thrown the plan into complete disarray; he didn't even know how to explain this to the Kazekage.

In the blink of an eye.

Amid the collapsed ruins, only two figures remained, facing each other from a distance.

On one side stood the One-Tail Shukaku, its body vast as a mountain, radiating endless brutality and the aura of destruction.

On the other side stood Uchiha Yao, small as an ant before the broken Demon-Faced Giant Shield.

Shukaku's roar shook the surroundings: "Wood Release brat, this lord is going to kill you! Die for this lord!"

Shukaku took a deep breath, its abdomen swelling grotesquely, then opened its massive maw: "Wind Release: Void Ball!"

Highly compressed violent wind spheres, fired like cannonballs in rapid succession, tore through the air and shot toward Yao.

Facing this Wind Release bombardment capable of destroying entire city blocks, Yao's expression remained unchanged. He pressed his palms together, chakra surging:

"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"

The ground exploded.

A wooden dragon burst forth from the earth, spiraling into the sky, claws bared as it charged to meet the incoming Void Balls.

The Wood Dragon radiated a dense life force, naturally suppressing Shukaku's chakra.

Boom boom boom!

The Void Balls slammed into the Wood Dragon one after another, exploding into chaotic gusts of wind, sending splinters flying.

The Wood Dragon's body trembled continuously, sustaining damage, yet it stubbornly refused to disperse. Instead, it twisted around and bit fiercely at Shukaku's gaping maw, which was spewing wind bullets.

"Roar! Damn Wood Release!"

Shukaku was both shocked and enraged. The appearance of the Wood Dragon had once again stirred up some very unpleasant memories within it.

Back then.

It had been pinned down and brutally pummeled by Hashirama Senju's Wood Release, utterly unable to fight back.

"This lord couldn't beat Hashirama Senju, but can't I beat you?"

Shukaku suddenly swung its massive claw, ignoring the Wood Dragon, and slammed it down toward Yao's main body on the ground.

Before the claw even struck, the terrifying wind pressure had already cracked the ground inch by inch.

"Come on!"

A sharp glint flashed in Yao's eyes as he unleashed his chakra without reservation.

"Wood Release: Wood Golem Technique!"

Rumble rumble rumble!!!

The ground beneath Yao's feet swelled violently as countless enormous wooden structures rapidly grew and rose.

In the blink of an eye.

A giant, dozens of meters tall, clad in simple wooden armor, with a face as majestic as an angry Vajra, rose from the earth and stood before Shukaku.

As soon as the Wood Golem took shape, it clenched its fist and, without any flourish, met Shukaku's descending claw head-on.

Boom!!!!!

A visible shockwave erupted outward, instantly leveling the surrounding ruins of buildings.

"Th... that's..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the towering Wood Golem: "He's even mastered the Wood Golem Technique?"

Kakashi, Might Guy, Asuma, and the others stared blankly, feeling as though their worldview had been shaken.

Not only had he mastered the First Hokage's Wood Release, but he had also grasped high-level Wood Release techniques like the Wood Dragon Technique?

What kind of monster was this?

Naruto's jaw dropped so wide it nearly hit the ground: "So... so amazing! Is that Yao?!"

Sasuke, meanwhile, stared fixedly at the battlefield, his mind in turmoil:

"Wood Golem... is this the true power my brother has been hiding all along? He can even fight a monster like that..."

Sasuke knew Yao was strong, and he had been desperately trying to catch up.

But at this moment.

The strength Yao displayed completely exceeded Sasuke's imagination.

Even someone capable of contending with a monster like that—when would he ever catch up to Yao? Sasuke felt a pang of despair.

Temari and Kankuro had long since lost all color in their faces, cold sweat soaking through their backs.

They had always feared Shukaku.

In their minds, Shukaku was nothing short of a nightmare! A living terror!

But they never imagined someone could face Shukaku head-on, and what's more, that someone was a Konoha genin!

What kind of joke was this?

That Uchiha Yao... just what kind of monster was he?

"Waaah! It hurts! Damn it!! This lord hurts so much!"

Shukaku screeched, retracting its claws, its attacks growing even more frenzied as Void Balls rained down on the wooden giant like a chain of cannon fire.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The wooden giant's massive frame became a perfect target in that moment.

The tough wood was torn apart by the violent wind release, blasting open gaping holes, splinters flying everywhere, riddled with scars.

"You brute with nothing but raw strength! Feel the terror of Wood Release once more!"

Yao stood atop the wooden giant's head, his hands shifting through seals again as he shouted, "Wood Release Secret Technique: Birth of Tree World!"

Boom!!!!

A surging vitality erupted from within Yao in an instant.

Countless thick trees and vines burst from the ground, growing and spreading at an unnatural speed.

In the blink of an eye.

The already ruined arena had transformed into a primeval forest.

This forest seemed to possess a will of its own, trees and vines madly twisting, strangling, and coiling toward the Shukaku at the center!

"This is..."

Shukaku was stunned with terror. It tried to move, but its massive feet were locked in place by countless tough roots.

Thick vines raced up its legs and body at breakneck speed.

Countless branches, like sharp spears, stabbed into its form.

"Roar!! Let this lord go! Aaaah! Damn it!"

Shukaku struggled wildly, its terrifying strength snapping countless trees.

But more trees and vines surged forward relentlessly, an endless tide.

Even worse.

As these wooden tendrils wrapped around it, they began draining its Chakra, its power fading at a terrifying rate.

At the same time.

The wooden giant took massive strides, charging to the heavily bound Shukaku, swinging its heavy wooden fist and slamming it into Shukaku's jaw.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

One punch!

Another punch!

The dull, drum-like booming echoed through the Forest of Death.

Shukaku, tightly bound by the Tree World, struggled to move, pummeled at close range by the wooden giant, letting out agonized roars as its sand-and-stone armor crumbled away.

The forest spread!

The vines tightened!

The wooden giant pounded away!

Everyone stared in stunned silence at this earth-shattering scene.

The fearsome Tailed Beast was being beaten down by a genin using Wood Release to create a forest and a giant, pinned and pummeled!

Were they dreaming, or had the world gone mad?