Evening, at a barbecue restaurant.
"So, the squad sent from Sunagakure—those are your disciples too?"
"You went and trained another village's elite team? What the hell were you thinking?"
Tsunade flipped the meat in front of her, her tone sharp as she criticized Kazuyama Gekkō's questionable judgment.
Across from them, Sakumo Hatake nodded in agreement.
"Exactly! You took the Taoist away, then the Fairy too—now this old man has to cover your classes at my age!"
"Kazuyama Gekkō, what kind of clan leader are you for the Gekkō family?"
"If it weren't for that Taoist of yours, I'd have already taught you a good lesson!"
Kazuyama didn't take their words to heart. The two of them—key figures of Konoha and old acquaintances of his—had long been used to ganging up on him.
It wasn't like there were few people who cared about him. Hardly.
"We're allies with Sunagakure anyway. And those brats got to where they are through their own effort."
"It's fine, it's fine. With Michihito and Senko participating in this Chūnin Exam, even that brat Gaara won't be able to stir up much trouble."
His words silenced both Hatake Sakumo and Tsunade. As the respective teachers of Michihito Gekkō and Senko Gekkō, they were all too aware of their students' capabilities.
"Hmph. At least you're showing some sense. You've put high hopes on Michihito and Senko."
"You've already gone to the Uchiha, haven't you?"
Once the talk of children ended, other matters took center stage.
Hearing Sakumo's question, Kazuyama took a sip of sake and nodded.
"The situation is still just as bad."
"Their goal is clear—they're after the Sharingan."
"You both know what happened that night. Even though I arrived, all I managed to do was capture three of those inhuman things. The two main culprits still escaped."
"And even if we had caught them, it wouldn't have mattered. They used a sealing chain that destroyed both the Sharingan and the Rinnegan."
"Damn it. It's like I was cursed that night."
The memory alone made Kazuyama grit his teeth.
They had caught three inhuman creatures, things similar to White Zetsu. But the moment they were subdued, the enemy triggered the Reverse Four Symbols Seal, erasing all three on the spot.
Not even the eyes—the Sharingan or the Rinnegan—were left behind. Damn it all.
"Their power can't be described as 'strong' anymore."
"To them, even the Uchiha elite were nothing more than targets for target practice."
Sakumo sighed. He wasn't sure when it happened, but he'd started to feel old.
With how fast things were escalating, he couldn't keep up—neither in strength nor in pace.
He'd been in that fight too, but even with his swordsmanship, he couldn't take down a single one of them. Instead, a massive puppet had sent him flying. His back still ached.
"Hmph. We'll run into them sooner or later. If they've already targeted the Uchiha…"
"Then Konoha's definitely on their list."
"But I don't get it—why keep going after Konoha?"
"They want the Nine-Tails? Or the Sharingan?"
Tsunade frowned. The intervals between attacks were too long, and the targets kept changing.
If not for the unmistakable presence of Sharingan and Susanoo, she would've thought it was two different groups attacking the village.
"Enough of that. The Chūnin Exams are in a few days, and that idiot Minato still made me the chief examiner."
"Ugh, more work."
Sakumo Hatake: …Brat.
Tsunade: With great ability comes great responsibility…
...
The next day, at Konoha's main gate.
Kazuyama Gekkō smiled as the group approached. The moment they spotted him, surprise and delight lit up their faces.
"Well, well, the three little troublemakers are here."
"Not bad. You've all grown quite a bit."
His gaze swept over Temari, Gaara, and Kankurō, a glimmer of approval flickering in his eyes.
Their energy and spirit alone were commendable—especially Gaara. The dark circles under his eyes were gone, and he looked alert and healthy.
"Kazuyama-sensei!"
"Sensei!"
"Hmph. Bastard. You're the one greeting us? Where's your Hokage?"
Kazuyama looked at the leader of the Sunagakure delegation—none other than the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
This was Sunagakure's first time joining Konoha's Chūnin Exams. If things went well, perhaps future exams would be held jointly.
To solidify the alliance, Rasa had come personally.
"Hah. I thought you wouldn't show up."
"But I see you understand the importance of this alliance after all, Rasa."
"Sunagakure's been doing well these past few years, hasn't it?"
Kazuyama and Rasa were like old rivals turned friends, a pair who understood each other through countless clashes.
Still, Kazuyama's words hit home.
Ever since the alliance with Konoha, Sunagakure's situation had improved greatly—especially in the living conditions of its shinobi, which had risen dramatically.
"Hmph. Save your concern."
"But I heard Konoha suffered quite the disaster recently."
"You're saying those attackers were the same ones you called the enemies of the entire ninja world?"
Rasa frowned slightly. He wasn't surprised Konoha had been attacked—but the attackers hadn't come from any of the Five Great Nations.
And the intelligence reports mentioned Sharingan combined with Rinnegan, and that massive puppet...
It was enough to make even Rasa take the situation very seriously.
"What do you think? Why else would it have turned out like this?"
"The enemy is incredibly strong. Even I wouldn't dare claim victory against them."
"Konoha took heavy losses that night. If we don't prepare properly, this kind of enemy will be a nightmare to deal with."
Kazuyama hadn't come just to welcome the Sunagakure delegation—he wanted to see his Sand disciples again, and to sound out Rasa's attitude.
After all, it had been his order that sent news of Konoha's attack to Sunagakure's intelligence network.
He wanted Rasa to understand the current state of the ninja world. The existence of such an enemy demanded that everyone take it seriously.
"What's their goal?"
"The Tailed Beasts."
"The Tailed Beasts?"
"Yeah. To be honest, besides what happened recently, this group hasn't just targeted Konoha. They've gone after the Nine-Tails too—but they failed."
Rasa's expression darkened. If their goal was the Tailed Beasts...
Then Sunagakure—was Shukaku their next target?
Kazuyama noticed his reaction immediately and gave a sly grin.
"You guessed right. Any Tailed Beast is fair game for them."
"So your Shukaku—your son—is also on their list."
Rasa: Bastard...