Konoha Crush Plan

Because of Naruto, the final draw for the preliminary matches had changed drastically for Sasuke, but in some ways, much remained the same.

Neji Hyuga faced Temari. His Byakugan were much gentler than before, while his Gentle Fist was even more powerful.

After Genma Shiranui called, "Begin," Neji Hyuga fired an Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm at Temari, then took the opportunity to engage her in close combat.

Tenten's taijutsu naturally could not compare to Neji's or Rock Lee's. Temari might have been able to suppress Tenten with taijutsu, but she was no match for Neji. After only a few exchanges against his sharp Gentle Fist, Temari had her chakra points sealed.

Temari was swiftly defeated. Neji's clothes were still spotless. Neji Hyuga won the third match.

As Neji prepared to return to the stands, Hyuga Hiashi called him over and invited him to leave for the time being. As for why, Naruto knew best.

The fourth match was Sasuke Uchiha versus Gaara. Since Dosu Kinuta had physically disappeared, it had directly become a match between the two of them.

"Go, Sasuke! Don't lose to him!" Naruto cheered.

"Hmph!" Sasuke snorted softly and raised his head slightly, his expression clearly saying, Did you really need to tell me that?

The crowd was even more enthusiastic than before. The Uchiha name was clearly still renowned, and Sasuke's battle with Gaara had truly captured everyone's attention.

Standing in the arena, Sasuke looked at Gaara, then turned to glance at Naruto in the stands. His bracket happened to avoid Naruto's, meaning the final showdown would be between them. He had no intention of falling here. Whether it was Gaara before him or Neji Hyuga afterward, he would defeat them all and face Naruto in the end.

Unfortunately, Sasuke did not know what was about to happen. Plans could never keep up with change.

"Go, Sasuke!"

"Wow, Sasuke is so cool..."

Sakura and Ino, the two biggest fangirls, shouted the loudest in support of Sasuke.

Gaara's eyes were bloodshot, and his gaze at Sasuke was filled with madness. With Genma Shiranui's cry of "Begin," the fourth match started.

Sand drifted out from Gaara's gourd and attacked Sasuke, but Sasuke was incredibly fast, comparable to Rock Lee after removing his weights. Gaara's sand could not catch Sasuke at all.

Sasuke's strength had improved across the board. Even Might Guy was stunned by his performance. Rock Lee had put in tremendous effort to reach that level, yet Sasuke had achieved it in just a month.

"Kakashi, what kind of training did you put him through?!" Might Guy asked.

Kakashi still looked as lazy as ever. "Sasuke has the same Lightning Release chakra nature as I do. He used Lightning Release chakra to stimulate the muscles in his legs. But while he has reached a speed comparable to Rock Lee's, it also consumes a tremendous amount of stamina!"

Yet Sasuke persisted. Relying on his speed, he beat Gaara until Gaara could not fight back at all. Gaara's sand could not catch Sasuke, and left with no choice, it formed a sphere of sand that completely wrapped around him.

"Hmph. You think hiding in a turtle shell means I can't do anything to you?"

Sasuke formed hand seals. Chakra in his palm flickered with lightning, sounding like the cries of a thousand birds. The Chidori he had learned long ago finally made its appearance.

"Teacher Kakashi, what is that?" Sakura stared in surprise at the chakra lightning in Sasuke's hand. Kakashi had used this technique in the Land of Waves, but because of Naruto, Sakura had not been there at the time and had missed it entirely.

Might Guy said directly, "It is a thrusting technique that condenses Lightning Release chakra in the palm. It sounds like the cries of a thousand birds, so this ninjutsu is called Chidori. Kakashi once used this ninjutsu to cut through lightning, so when Kakashi uses Chidori, it is called Raikiri!"

Suddenly, Might Guy thought of something and added, "Of course, if Sasuke can use Chidori to achieve the same effect of cutting through lightning as Kakashi, then Chidori in Sasuke's hands will also be called Raikiri!"

"No way, cutting through lightning..." Sakura and Ino covered their mouths in shock.

"Hey, where did Naruto go? What is he doing?" Sakura suddenly looked around. Shikamaru and Shino were both there, but Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

Ino's attention was entirely on Sasuke, and she said carelessly, "Who knows? Maybe he fell into a toilet pit."

"Ugh!" Kakashi and Sakura both shuddered. Ino's words reminded them of Naruto throwing Orochimaru naked into a septic tank. It actually seemed possible. Who knew what Naruto might be plotting behind the scenes again!

"Chidori!"

Sasuke charged at Gaara. Chidori pierced through the sand sphere and struck Gaara's shoulder, making Gaara cry out in pain.

The cry gradually became beastlike. Sasuke saw sharp spikes suddenly form from the sand sphere and shoot toward him, so he quickly withdrew his hand and retreated.

A patterned palm reached out through the hole Sasuke had made and grabbed at him.

Sasuke hurriedly widened the distance. His Two-Tomoe Sharingan stared intently ahead. An ominous chakra was emanating from Gaara.

Gaara's transformation made Kankuro and Temari break out in cold sweat. Baki, the Sunagakure Jonin, also wore a grim expression.

"This is bad. If the monster inside Gaara appears now, then the plan..."

In the stands, Kakashi's expression was also grave. That had just been a tail, definitely not sand or anything like that. He suddenly thought of a possibility: Gaara was like Naruto. Sunagakure had actually brought a Jinchuriki to Konoha for the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Seeing that the situation could no longer be concealed, four ninja wearing Sound Ninja forehead protectors suddenly appeared behind the Kazekage. After throwing smoke bombs, they quickly occupied the four corners atop Kikyo Castle. At the same time, the Kazekage drew a Kunai and restrained Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Formation!"

A purple barrier surrounded the Kazekage and the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. The Kazekage also cast off his disguise, revealing his true face.

"Orochimaru!" Although Hiruzen Sarutobi had suspected it, when the moment truly came, he still felt deeply saddened. The disciple he had once spared out of a moment of softness had ultimately turned his blade against Konoha.

"Teacher Sarutobi, it has been a long time," Orochimaru greeted him.

Orochimaru spoke slowly, word by word. "Teacher Sarutobi, you have grown old. I have come to give a little momentum to Konoha's slowly turning windmill. This is the Konoha Crush Plan, which I personally devised. Its purpose is to kill you!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes turned sharp. Even while restrained, he showed no change at all.

Meanwhile, in the arena, the disguised ANBU that had hidden themselves unleashed a genjutsu. Everyone in the venue fell asleep. Jonin like Kakashi and Might Guy immediately broke free, and Sakura also dispelled the genjutsu.

A wave of chaos aimed at Konoha was on the verge of erupting. The Konoha Crush Plan, secretly launched by Sunagakure and Otogakure behind the Chunin Ninja Exams, had begun.