Deep within the Forest of Death, at Training Ground 44.
This rocky, craggy beach is perpetually covered by dense, towering ancient trees.
The sunlight could barely penetrate the layers of the tree canopy; only a few dappled, gray rays fell on the damp moss.
The air was filled with the musty smell of rotting leaves and soil.
However, at this moment, this dull smell was quickly replaced by a strong, pungent stench of blood.
"Pat-pat, pat."
That was the soft sound of blood dripping onto gravel.
In the depths of this desolate forest, it stood out starkly, sending chills down one's spine.
"Help... help me!"
A piercing, distorted scream abruptly shattered the silence of the forest.
Three genin wearing Forehead Protector from Amegakure were Genin in the mud, their faces filled with despair, their backs against the cold, rough rock wall.
Just minutes ago, they thought they had a clear advantage in terms of terrain.
They set up what they believed to be a foolproof ambush on this inevitable route.
When they saw a thin, red-haired boy carrying a huge gourd walking alone.
They even thought they had gotten a huge bargain.
However, the battle had barely begun when reality dealt them a cruel and despairing blow.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Dozens of poisoned Senbon were fired like a torrential rain.
However, the moment they approached within a meter of the red-haired boy, the yellow sand on the ground automatically floated up and transformed into an indestructible, thick sand wall.
All the Senbon) crashed against the sand wall, exploding with a series of ear-piercing metallic cracks, before falling limply into the dust.
They couldn't even touch a single hair on the other person's head!
What's even more terrifying is that the red-haired boy never once took his hands out of his pockets.
His eyes, with their deep dark circles, were so cold that they lacked any human warmth.
Only emptiness, coldness, and a deep-seated, bloodthirsty madness.
Sunagakure, the Jinchūriki of Gaara.
"The sand... that sand is all alive..."
The leader, Amegakure, was convulsing violently, his whole body trembling like a leaf.
He stared at the expressionless boy not far away, his eyes filled with the extreme fear of seeing a monster.
Their prized assassination skills and their ingeniously designed umbrellas were as laughable as clay toys in the hands of a three-year-old boy.
"Crack, crack..."
The sound of gravel rolling down filled the air.
The yellow sand on the ground seemed to have smelled the scent of blood, and began to crawl along the ground like tiny snakes.
The rustling sound of sand rubbing against the ground was like the footsteps of death, striking the hearts of the three Amegakure one by one.
"The scroll! We'll give you the scroll!"
With trembling, Captain Amegakure pulled a scroll of the Earth Scroll from his robes with his bloodied hands and threw it violently to the ground.
"Let us go! Please, let us go!"
They began to beg for mercy desperately, completely forgetting their dignity and mission at that moment.
However, Gaara didn't even blink.
His gaze didn't linger on the scroll that countless people were fighting over for even a second.
For him, the Chunin Ninja Exams, passing the exams and advancing to the next level, and even the honor of the ninja village, were all meaningless.
"Reel?"
Gaara's voice was hoarse and dry, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time.
"That kind of thing... it doesn't matter at all."
He slowly raised his right hand, his five fingers spread wide, and aimed it at the Amegakure captain who was slumped on the ground.
"Only blood... only the pain of your existence being erased can prove my existence."
The moment the words left his mouth, a sudden burst of yellow sand erupted from the ground!
" Sand Coffin!"
"Whoosh--!"
The vast expanse of yellow sand, like a giant, living python, frantically climbed up Captain Amegakure's legs.
In the blink of an eye, it tightly bound his limbs and torso.
No matter how much he struggled or how Kunai to slash with his kunai, the yellow sand only tightened around him.
The sand even seeped into his skin's pores, bringing a bone-chilling cold and excruciating pain.
" Sunagakure! You'll die a horrible death!"
In despair, Captain Amegakure uttered a final, vicious curse.
A sickly, cold smile appeared at the corner of Gaara's mouth.
His right hand, which was suspended in mid-air, suddenly clenched inward!
" Sand Burial!"
"Pfft! Snap!"
The dull thud of bones being crushed by immense force, accompanied by the sound of flesh tearing, exploded between the narrow rock walls.
There are no dazzling Chakra lights, only the most primal and pure physical compression!
The Amegakure Captain didn't even have time to let out a final scream before his body completely collapsed and deformed in the yellow sand.
Scalding hot blood seeped through the thick layer of sand, turning the originally yellowish sand grains into a shocking dark red.
The stench of blood in the air reached its peak at that moment.
The remaining two Amegakure Genin by what they saw that they lost control of their bladders and collapsed to the ground, completely drained of the strength to run away.
In the shadow of a giant tree not far away.
Temari and Kankuro stood there stiffly, their muscles taut to the extreme.
Cold sweat trickled down Kankuro's cheeks and dripped onto the puppet " Crow " behind him.
He didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
Even as his own siblings, their fear of Gaara was no less than that of the enemies from other villages.
From my childhood memories, this younger brother was the epitome of being unreasonable.
Anyone who tries to get close to him, defies him, or even just glances at him unintentionally will eventually turn into a lifeless pile of rotten flesh.
"I... Gaara..."
Kankuro gritted his teeth, his legs trembling slightly, and couldn't help but whisper a plea to dissuade him:
"The scroll... we've got the scroll. We've collected both the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll..."
"No need to fight anymore, let's hurry to the central tower..."
Kankuro's voice trembled with barely concealed emotion.
He was afraid.
He was genuinely afraid that if Gaara were to become too murderous, he would casually eliminate them, along with his two so-called companions, deep within this unknown forest.
However, upon hearing Kankuro's voice, Gaara simply turned his head slowly to the side.
Those cold eyes, shrouded in dark circles, were like two icy blades, piercing directly into Kankuro's face.
"Shut up."
The moment those two cold words were uttered, the temperature of the surrounding air seemed to drop by more than ten degrees Celsius.
"Say another word... and I'll kill you too."
Kankuro felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave; his heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly covered his mouth in terror.
Temari stood to the side, her face pale, her hands gripping the Three Star Fan behind her back tightly, but she didn't even have the courage to draw it.
They know it all too well.
At this moment, the seal within Gaara's body was violently fluctuating due to the stimulation of the blood.
The monster lurking deep within his soul is awakening!
"Da, da."
Light footsteps echoed from the nearby boulders.
Those were a small group of Konoha examinees who happened to be passing by.
They had originally been drawn over by the commotion from the earlier battle, hoping to see if they could reap the benefits of the conflict.
However, when they peeked out and saw Captain Amegakure crushed into a bloody pulp, and the crimson sand crawling all over the ground...
Everyone's pupils contracted to their maximum size in an instant.
"A monster... that's a monster from Sunagakure!"
"Run! Get out of here!"
Several Konoha examinees were terrified and turned to try to escape using the Body Flicker Technique.
However, it was too late.
Upon smelling the scent of fresh, living people, Gaara's deep-seated madness completely spiraled out of control.
He suddenly clutched his head tightly with both hands, his fingernails digging deep into his scalp.
The intense nerve pain completely distorted his pale face, turning him into the appearance of a ferocious beast.
"Mother..."
Gaara tilted his head back, staring intently at the dark sky above.
A shrill, inhuman roar erupted from deep within its throat!
"Mom's voice... is ringing out again!"
"She's craving blood! She's hungry! She's crying out that she's starving!"
"Not enough! This little bit of blood... it's not nearly enough to fill Mom's stomach!"
A frenzied roar echoed across the rocky beach.
A massive, violent, deep yellow Chakra, brimming with savagery and destructive intent, erupted from Gaara's young body like a materialized storm!
"Boom!"
The surrounding rubble and rock walls, within a radius of several hundred meters, began to tremble and collapse violently.
The will of One-Tail Shukaku, hidden within him, is frantically eroding his sanity!
Gaara abruptly lowered his hands, his bloodthirsty crimson gaze sweeping across the entire area, from the fleeing Konoha examinees to the trembling Amegakure.
Even Temari and Kankuro, who were far away, were completely locked onto by this violent killing intent!
"All of you... stay here!"
Gaara let out a beastly laugh and slammed his hands hard on the ground!
" Sand Waterfall Flow!"
"Boom--!"
The earthquake split the rocky beach, and in the blink of an eye, it was transformed into a raging, bottomless wave of quicksand!
A cloud of sand and dust rose into the sky, obscuring everyone's view.
That terrifying power clearly intended to crush and bury every living thing in the entire rocky area!
The aura of despair and destruction reached its peak at this moment!
However.
On the eve of this destruction, when the yellow sand obscured the sun and the world changed color.
Suddenly, a crunching sound of chewing on a rice cracker came from above the jumbled rocks.