Hand Over My Brother, or You All Die!

"Lee, can you follow his movements?" Tenten asked quietly.

Rock Lee shook his head, his expression grave. "No. He's too fast."

But everyone understood.

That wasn't power a Genin should possess.

And it was far beyond anything the Chunin Ninja Exams could contain.

Ino had stopped struggling to rush out. She gripped her sleeve so tightly her knuckles turned white, her gaze fixed on the figure in the distance.

"When... did he get so strong?" Ino whispered, almost to herself.

Shikamaru didn't answer.

After a moment of silence, he said, "That Fire Release he just used—the scale and the precision of his control—even Asuma couldn't pull it off."

The others around him jolted.

Choji Akimichi nearly choked on a chip. His eyes went wide. "Seriously? Not even Asuma-sensei?"

Shikamaru lowered his voice. "The amount of chakra Zuo Hao put into that Fire Release was definitely Jōnin-level. And..."

He stopped.

"And what?" Ino pressed.

"And I don't think he's gone all out yet."

Shikamaru spoke almost under his breath. A bead of cold sweat formed on his forehead.

"Did you notice? When he pulled back that wave of fire, he could've burned straight through those walls of water. But he held back and only burned one person. Control that precise means he still had power to spare."

"He did it on purpose. He wanted people to see how strong he was. He wanted to intimidate them."

In the darkness farther away, several figures watched the firelight in silence.

Kankuro's brows drew together tighter than usual. "That Uchiha... why is he nothing like the intel said? Weren't there only two brats left after the Uchiha Clan Massacre? There's no way that kid's an ordinary ninja."

Temari snorted. "Even if the intel was wrong, it shouldn't be this far off. If you hadn't told me he was a Konoha Genin, I'd have thought that Fire Release came from one of our Sunagakure Jōnin in a live-combat drill."

Only one person said nothing.

Gaara stood half a step ahead of them, the enormous gourd on his back.

At last, he spoke, his voice carrying the faintest trace of emotion.

"...Interesting."

Temari and Kankuro both stiffened.

Kankuro asked quietly, "Gaara, what did you say?"

"That Sahiro Uchiha." Gaara kept his eyes on the scene, but his tone grew steady. "His killing intent is stronger than anyone's I've ever seen. But he controls it well."

"And attacks pass through his body. That isn't Genjutsu, and it isn't just an afterimage from Taijutsu." A thin strand of Gaara's sand rose, as though sensing something, then settled again. "His power... is like mine, in a way."

Temari and Kankuro fell silent.

"If he stood against me..." Gaara began, then stopped.

After a moment, he turned and walked in another direction.

"Let's go. Konoha's internal fighting has nothing to do with us."

Temari and Kankuro exchanged a glance. They could see the shock in each other's eyes.

Gaara had chosen to leave the battlefield. That said more than any assessment could: he acknowledged Zuo Hao's strength and might even see him as an opponent worth watching.

In the distant firelight, Zuo Hao seemed to sense something. His Sharingan flicked toward the direction Gaara had gone, and the corner of his mouth moved almost imperceptibly.

But he didn't give chase. He turned his gaze back to Yamanaka Fū, his voice still heated.

"Your men don't seem to be doing so well."

Yamanaka Fū's face darkened completely.

Zuo Hao seemed not to care. He took a slow step forward, grinding his toe into the scorched earth as flames crackled behind him.

"I'll say it one last time. Hand over my brother, or you all die!"

The air went still.

The Root ninja all slowed their breathing. Behind their masks, their eyes locked on the boy.

They felt like frogs caught in a snake's gaze, even though the one facing them was only a Genin.

Yamanaka Fū's pupils tightened. Then scorching rage surged from his chest straight to his head.

That brat! How dare he act so arrogant?!

He's just a Genin with a powerful Fire Release. He got lucky and awakened the Sharingan, and now he thinks he can throw his weight around in front of Root?

"Hand him over?" Yamanaka Fū laughed in fury and advanced step by step, his voice hoarse and sharp. "Zuo Hao, has your fever cooked your brain? Your brother is in our hands. What makes you think you can force us to give him back?"

He waved a hand. Several Root ninja stepped forward behind him, their killing intent converging on Zuo Hao.

"I was going to let you live because you're an examinee. But if you're determined to die, I'll show you what Konoha's Root really means!"

As his words fell, Yamanaka Fū's hands flew through seals.

"Mind Body Switch Technique!"

His mental power shot toward Zuo Hao's forehead like an invisible spear.

At the same time, the ground beneath his feet shifted slightly. Hidden in the shadows, Torune Aburame silently circled toward Zuo Hao's rear flank, poisonous insects spreading along his arms.

The attacks closed in from both sides in an instant.

But Zuo Hao didn't dodge.

He didn't even lift an eyelid.

Yamanaka Fū's mental power struck his mind, then... plunged into a boundless dark void, unable to find anything to take hold of.

"What?" Yamanaka Fū's expression changed sharply. The Mind Body Switch Technique couldn't lock on. It was as though his target's mind lay hidden behind another space.

Then Zuo Hao's Sharingan flared before his eyes. The Three Tomoe spun eerily, transforming into a deeper, more intricate pattern.

A crushing wave of mental pressure struck back. Yamanaka Fū's consciousness felt as though a giant hand had slammed it from a great height into the ground. He grunted, searing pain tearing through his head. He staggered five or six steps before steadying himself, a thin line of blood running from his nose.

"Fū!" a Root ninja cried out.

"I'm fine!" Yamanaka Fū clutched his forehead and glared at Zuo Hao. His voice had begun to shake. "What... are you?"

"Who I am doesn't matter," Zuo Hao said calmly. "What matters is that your time is up."

Before Yamanaka Fū could grasp his meaning, a stifled scream came from behind him.

He spun around, his pupils contracting.

The two Root ninja who had been guarding Sasuke deep in the forest lay on the ground. Each had a charred wound straight through the chest.

Another Zuo Hao held Sasuke in his arms as he landed steadily on a high branch.

"How...?" Yamanaka Fū cried. "That's... a Shadow Clone?"

"You can think of it that way." A faint smile touched the original Zuo Hao's lips. "Why else would I have wasted so much time talking to you?"

The words drove into Yamanaka Fū's chest like a dagger.

From the very beginning, the boy had never intended to negotiate.

He had kept everyone's attention on himself so he could rescue Sasuke in secret!

Blood rushed to Yamanaka Fū's head. His face twisted, his teeth grinding as he snarled like a beast. "You tricked me?! You brat from the Uchiha Clan, you dared to trick me! I'm Yamanaka Fū!"

"Yamanaka Fū?" Zuo Hao repeated with a hint of contempt. "A useless fool who couldn't even tell someone had slipped behind him thinks he has the right to bark at me?"

"You!"

Yamanaka Fū lost all reason. He yanked three kunai from his pouch and hurled them at Zuo Hao.

The kunai whistled toward Zuo Hao's face, only to pass straight through his body as though it were a phantom and bury themselves in the tree behind him.

"I forgot to tell you something." Zuo Hao's figure slowly faded, but his voice sounded beside Yamanaka Fū's ear. "This body of mine is a Shadow Clone too."