"Gulp—"
The sharp sound of swallowing burst through the deathly silence like an icicle plunging into boiling oil. Cold sweat slid down temples and into collars, pooling in small hollows above collarbones before trickling farther down.
Even when it ran into their eyes, they dared not wipe it away.
Some of the less strong-willed ninja had dug their nails deep into their palms. The taste of blood mingled with salty sweat between their teeth, yet they could not even muster the strength to frown.
The contrast was especially stark in the sunlight.
Against the dim backdrop, that single crimson eye radiated a chill that crawled up the contestants' trouser legs. It was midsummer, yet their backs were already soaked in cold sweat.
The aura the Masked Man had just released.
It was not chakra,
but something closer to a hunting signal rooted in primal instinct.
And they
—were like rabbits confronted by a venomous snake,
frozen so completely that they had forgotten how to run.
In that red pupil, they saw death:
Shattered bodies, spraying blood, mangled organs, blood flowing across the ground, and dead comrades, teachers, loved ones... Their minds had been overwhelmed.
Or rather, they had been scared senseless.
The stench of urine quietly spread.
Naruto bit down hard on his lower lip. Only when he tasted blood on his tongue did he barely manage to suppress the sob lodged in his throat.
Inside him, the Nine-Tails slammed restlessly against the sealing, its chakra roiling like boiling water,
but he forcibly held back the urge—
Last time, in the Land of Waves, his reckless chakra outburst had nearly gotten Sasuke killed.
"Aaah, I'll kill you!" An old genin's howl caught in his throat, finally dwindling into ragged gasps.
There was a thud.
He collapsed onto the ground, the