Panic erupted in the arena as the crowd scrambled to flee. The ninjas from both Konoha and the Sand Village knew this was no mere spectacle. They had seen Tailed Beasts rampage before, and they understood that the One-Tail hadn't been unleashed simply to defeat Sasuke Uchiha.
This was terrifying.
How could a Chunin Exam devolve into this?
Konoha had only recently endured the Nine-Tails incident, and the villagers' fear of rampaging Tailed Beasts was still fresh.
At this moment, no one cared about the exams.
Even the genin waiting on the reserve bench looked ready to retreat. A One-Tail rampage was a catastrophe. Gaara's sister, Temari, who was also a competitor, turned pale. She clearly never expected Shukaku to break free at a time like this.
The only person who didn't react was the competitor from the Rain Village, Pain. He remained perfectly still, showing no fear of the Tailed Beast. His calm, however, seemed more like ignorance than bravery.
But no one was paying attention to such details.
The Konoha ninja moved quickly to evacuate the civilians. As the head examiner, Jiraiya didn't have time to think. He and Tsunade instantly landed in the arena, commanding the jonin to prepare for a full-blown Tailed Beast crisis.
No matter what, he would not allow disaster to strike today. The One-Tail might not be as powerful as the Nine-Tails, but a Tailed Beast was still a Tailed Beast. Its rampage could cause massive, unpredictable destruction.
"Sasuke, fall back!" Jiraiya shouted, his face grim as he faced the enormous Shukaku. "Your exam is over."
"But my match with him..." Sasuke protested, his eyes fixed on Shukaku's form and the sleeping Gaara in its chest. He bit his lip in frustration.
"The exam is over," Jiraiya repeated firmly. "Leave the arena now! This is not something you kids can handle!"
"But—"
"Kid, move it!" Tsunade interjected, cracking her knuckles. She was more direct than Jiraiya. "This mess means the exam is canceled. Help with the evacuation!"
Staring up at Shukaku, she grimly joked about her luck, "First the Nine-Tails, now the One-Tail… I swear, trouble just follows us."
"What's going on with the old man?" Jiraiya wondered, glancing up at the viewing platform where the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage sat motionless.
From their high vantage point, the two Kage remained seated and calm, even as Shukaku raged and the crowd panicked. For a moment, it looked like a contest of composure.
Rasa sat as steady as a mountain. The Fourth Kazekage seemed completely unconcerned that the Sand Village's jinchuriki was exposed and on the verge of a rampage. This deeply unsettled Hiruzen.
As the host, he couldn't ignore it.
"Lord Kazekage," Hiruzen began, maintaining a polite tone, "this is not something that should be happening during the exams."
"There is nothing wrong with it," Rasa replied with a faint smile, as if Hiruzen were making a fuss over nothing. "Jinchuriki are weapons our villages control. It is not strange for them to appear in a military competition such as this, is it?"
"Or," Rasa continued, his gaze shifting to Hiruzen, "is it that Konoha is still incapable of deploying its own jinchuriki in battle?"
Hiruzen was silent for a moment. The truth was, Konoha never used its jinchuriki. Not even in the darkest days of the shinobi wars did they unleash the Nine-Tails.
They always kept their jinchuriki sealed away within the village. The key reason, of course, was that cleaning up after a Nine-Tails rampage was nearly impossible.
"We are different," Hiruzen finally said, his gaze sharpening. "You and I both understand the dangers of a Tailed Beast rampage. Their power is far too much for these children to handle. That alone—"
"Is that so?" Rasa cut in. "I do not see it that way. If the Hokage has no faith in his own ninja, you can always have your boy surrender. But it appears you've already ended the exams."
Rasa chuckled, glancing down at Shukaku and Sasuke. "As for Shukaku's rampage… surely Konoha, as the host, can handle this sort of mess?"
Hiruzen's face darkened. He couldn't back down. He understood this was a deliberate jab at Konoha's past troubles with the Nine-Tails. Furthermore, bringing a jinchuriki to the exams and allowing it to run wild was an act of aggression, one that could easily start a war.
Yet, Hiruzen was a pacifist. His pursuit of peace had sometimes been seen as soft and had occasionally harmed Konoha's interests, but he valued stability far more than pride.
"Even if this is some kind of arms race," Hiruzen said, unwilling to sever their alliance over this, "I will not force these children to face tasks beyond their abilities."
A Tailed Beast was exactly that. It was something even most jonin couldn't handle. To suggest that Sasuke, a mere genin, should fight it was outrageous.
"Fine," Rasa's attitude softened slightly. "I am prepared. If Konoha cannot handle this crisis, I will not simply sit and watch."
Hiruzen watched him, puzzled. The Kazekage's behavior was bizarre.
Was he really just showing off the One-Tail?
That seemed far too reckless. According to international agreements, Tailed Beasts were strategic weapons, only to be used in major wars to protect vital interests. Losing a Tailed Beast would cause a village's standing to collapse.
The Five Great Shinobi Villages were "great" not just because of their strength, but because their Tailed Beasts guaranteed their status as military powers. A village leader couldn't be so naive.
While Hiruzen was wrestling with his doubts, a Konoha ninja rushed in with an urgent report.
"Lord Hokage! A large force of Sand ninja is approaching Konoha!"
Hiruzen's eyes widened. He turned sharply to the unmoving Kazekage. He had been so focused on Orochimaru, Obito, and the Rain ninja that he never expected the Sand Village to make a move.
"Kazekage," Hiruzen's voice grew heavy as a terrible suspicion formed in his mind. "I need an explanation. Is the Sand Village attempting to start a war with Konoha?"
"Of course…" Rasa began, a hint of amusement in his voice.
Hiruzen's hand clenched into a fist.
"...not," Rasa finished with a chuckle. "Alright, enough joking. By now, our ninja should have halted their advance."
As if on cue, another report arrived. The Sand army had indeed stopped outside the village borders and was not engaging with Konoha's forces. They seemed to be waiting for orders.
"I need Konoha to cooperate with me and put on a show," Rasa said, finally revealing his purpose. "Don't worry, I will handle Shukaku's rampage. But I need the One-Tail to create chaos here to help evacuate the stadium, and I need Konoha to allow my forces to enter the village. Our villages are about to face a real threat together."
Hiruzen's face sank. This was no small request.
Did Rasa not understand the danger? How many could die if the rampage couldn't be stopped?
And he wanted permission for Sand troops to enter Konoha? An army approaching was a signal of war; letting them inside was an open invitation to invasion.
No matter the reason, Rasa should have discussed this with him beforehand. To unleash Shukaku and secretly move troops toward Konoha was something Hiruzen could never accept.
Watching the audience panic as Shukaku roared, Hiruzen's eyes grew cold. In that moment, he was once again the legendary God of Shinobi who had dominated the ninja world.
Everything he did was to protect Konoha. No matter what Rasa's true goal was, Hiruzen was not about to make a deal with him now.
Rasa spoke a single word that cut through Hiruzen's anger: "Akatsuki."
"I wonder if the Hokage has heard of this organization," he continued. "No... or rather, I'm sure you have."
"What does this have to do with today?" Hiruzen demanded, his gaze flickering between the evacuating crowd and the ninja preparing to fight Shukaku.
He stared coldly at the Kazekage. "Whatever you want, you must stop this immediately. Order your ninja to withdraw from the Land of Fire!"
"If you stop everything now," Hiruzen said, his voice softening slightly, "I will overlook your actions. Our alliance can remain, and I will act as if nothing happened today."
In truth, Rasa's actions were more than enough to start a war. But Hiruzen chose tolerance, willing to set aside his pride for the sake of peace.
"Lord Hokage…" Rasa looked down at the Rain ninja standing calmly amidst the chaos, his eyes narrowing. "What if I told you that the leader of the Akatsuki has already snuck into Konoha?"