The silent confrontation in the stands had finally come to an end.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He huddled in a corner, looking like a wronged little wife.
At the center of the arena.
Genma Shiranui, a senbon clenched between his teeth, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
He felt like he hadn't come here to referee today. He had come here to risk his life.
Any one of these big shots could blow him straight to the afterlife with a single puff of air.
"Ahem... um..."
Genma cleared his throat and forced himself to calm down.
He glanced at the match card in his hand, then raised his voice to announce the opening of the first grand finale.
"The first match of the Chūnin Exams finals! Uzumaki Naruto of Iwagakure!"
"Versus Gaara of Sunagakure!"
The moment his words fell.
Two figures, one golden and one red, leaped out from the contestants' seats at the same time.
Bang!
Bang!
With two dull thuds, they landed steadily at opposite ends of the arena.
The entire stadium instantly fell silent.
Tens of thousands of eyes focused on the two boys, both only twelve years old.
One was a mysterious blond boy who looked remarkably like the Fourth Hokage and had just stirred up a storm of public opinion in Konoha.
The other was the monster of Hidden Sand Village who had left a deep impression on everyone during the preliminaries with his brutal, bloody Sand Release techniques.
When these two clashed, it would be like Mars colliding with Earth!
"Go, Gaara!"
In the Hidden Sand Village stands, Temari clenched her fists nervously, her palms soaked with sweat.
On the arena floor.
Gaara carried that enormous gourd on his back as he slowly raised