Alright...
As someone who had been friends with Danzo Shimura for many years, Hiruzen Sarutobi understood him well. This was indeed the kind of thing Danzo would pull off.
But...
Is this something a person with a brain should actually do? Seriously? Do you even know who the Hokage is anymore? Do you know who your real comrades are?
Hiruzen was so angry about Danzo's actions that he could barely breathe. Countless words he wanted to shout at the man raced through his mind. A former Hokage advisor, a leader on the Konoha council for nearly forty years, and he was still secretly working with the leader of a rival village.
And to top it off, they had shared intelligence about the Akatsuki without Hiruzen's knowledge. This kind of behavior was even more infuriating than outright defection.
That idiotic fool!
Hiruzen's face twitched with anger, his expression so dark that even the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, sitting beside him, looked quite satisfied. The Kazekage… he really seemed to enjoy watching Hiruzen get annoyed.
Fortunately, Hiruzen's anger only lasted a moment before the situation on the field pulled his attention back. What mattered now were Konoha's immediate troubles. As for Danzo… Hiruzen found himself getting angry all over again just looking at him, still sitting in the audience. He'd just have to wait until everything settled down to deal with him properly.
However, while Hiruzen could keep himself in check, Nagato's group couldn't hold back any longer.
Just as Hiruzen and Rasa were agreeing to join forces against the Akatsuki's leader, a tall Konoha ninja quietly approached Nagato amidst the chaos and whispered a few words:
"Orochimaru-sama says… it's about time to retreat."
"This chaos was caused by the Sand Village ninjas."
"The purpose is to drive everyone out of the stadium."
"Kazekage has already discovered Pain's true identity. They want to team up with Konoha and capture Pain to interrogate him about the S-rank missing-nin Sasori and the whereabouts of the Third Kazekage..."
Obviously, this Konoha ninja was one of Orochimaru's, or more precisely, a spy Orochimaru had left behind in the village. After delivering his message, he quickly retreated, clearly not wanting to stay in such a dangerous situation.
"What!"
Nagato and Konan were both shocked. The fact that the Sand Village knew their identities and had set up a trap for them was something they had never imagined.
Or rather… no one would have imagined it. After all, the Sand Village was weak compared to the other great ninja villages; even their own daimyo didn't seem to like them much.
"We need to retreat right now!" Konan's first reaction was to urge Nagato to leave, her voice filled with anxiety. "Konoha is a trap!"
"...."
Nagato remained silent, but he was already manipulating Pain to look across the stadium. Konoha's ninjas were calmly evacuating spectators. Even Jiraiya and Tsunade had finished subduing the rampaging One-Tail.
The Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage still sat high on the viewing platform, watching over everything like they were above it all…
And Danzo?
Danzo was also watching Pain.
It seemed both Konoha and the Sand Village knew who they were now, and the entire Chunin Exam was a trap laid specifically for them.
But… at this point… was retreating still that easy?
And… did Konoha and the Sand Village really think they could keep him here?
Nagato was certain that no one in the ninja world could match him, not even his former teacher, Jiraiya. Aside from the person quietly watching from the shadows at the edge of the stadium, the one who also possessed the Rinnegan, there was no one who could stand in his way.
Of course, Jiraiya didn't see it that way. In fact, he was feeling unusually confident at that very moment.
"The One-Tail is so weak…" Jiraiya watched as Tsunade leaped into action, one punch flattening the One-Tail Shukaku into the ground. He couldn't help but grumble out loud, feeling a bit jealous.
Seriously... that One-Tail was just too weak.
He remembered the night the Nine-Tails almost broke out of Naruto; he and Tsunade had fought together against the barely-manifested Nine-Tails and were still utterly overwhelmed. Either of them could have died at any moment.
But now… teaming up with Tsunade to fight Shukaku…
No, maybe they didn't even need to team up. Tsunade alone could practically overpower it. Having such a weak tailed beast in the Sand Village seemed honestly enviable.
If Minato had faced Shukaku instead of the Nine-Tails twelve years ago, he and Kushina definitely wouldn't have had to sacrifice themselves.
"Uh…" Kakashi stood behind Jiraiya, watching Tsunade handle the One-Tail single-handedly, feeling a little unsure if he should even ask if she needed help.
"Don't let your guard down, Kakashi." Jiraiya gave Kakashi a look.
He might have relaxed a little about Shukaku, but he wasn't about to drop his vigilance completely. This was just a bit of turbulence. Orochimaru and Obito could still be lurking out there.
"Yes." Kakashi looked at the steadily emptying seats and asked, "What about the Chunin Exams…?"
"The audience has already been evacuated. The performers don't need to act anymore either." Jiraiya shook his head and turned his gaze up to Hiruzen and the Kazekage. "If nothing else happens, the old man and the Kazekage are probably discussing what just happened with the One-Tail. Once they're done, we'll decide how to handle the tests for those genin..."
"Kakashi-sensei! The crowd's all cleared!"
Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha landed next to Kakashi, followed closely by the rest of their genin classmates.
But their presence was awkward. They couldn't participate in the match, but they also didn't have a clear role to play. There was really no reason for them to hang around. Still, this group of kids was full of fighting spirit.
"Naruto, Sasuke." Kakashi thought for a moment, then looked toward the Sand Village ninja. "Go keep an eye on them."
"Got it!" Naruto said as he accepted the order but glanced back at the helpless Gaara.
He couldn't swallow his words. "Kakashi-sensei, that Gaara…"
Because he'd heard Gaara's story, Naruto understood the pain behind his murderous tendencies.
He really didn't want Tsunade to kill a guy whose fate was so miserable. After all, he and Gaara were the same kind of people. Their fates were actually pretty similar. Naruto was a lucky jinchuriki, while Gaara's life was full of misfortune.
"Lady Tsunade won't kill him," Kakashi said, seeming to understand Naruto's concern. Gaara was the One-Tail jinchuriki from the Sand Village. Even if things had gone wrong, as long as Sand and Konoha hadn't become outright enemies, Tsunade couldn't just kill him.
That would start a war, the loss of Shukaku would mean a deep grudge.
So, killing was out of the question. But the beating was definitely going to be painful.
Boom!
Tsunade's punch was heavy and powerful. This woman was showing the kind of strength few would expect from a medical ninja, slamming Shukaku straight into the ground and overwhelming the tailed beast all on her own.
Honestly… Tsunade was having a hell of a fight.
Against Tsunade at full strength, Shukaku was nothing but a big punching bag. Especially with Jiraiya backing her up, it had no chance to retaliate. It looked like the crisis of Shukaku going berserk was about to be handled.
Even so, Jiraiya could still sense something was strange. Hiruzen and the Kazekage still hadn't said anything, neither about Shukaku's rampage nor about evacuating the audience.
Just what… were they thinking?
After Tsunade thoroughly secured her victory, Jiraiya started actually looking around the arena. He noticed that, apart from the Konoha and Sand ninjas, there were three people who shouldn't have been there. Or rather, they were exactly the ones you'd most expect to stay.
The Hidden Rain Village ninjas.
Three exceptionally strong Hidden Rain ninja. Three people who shouldn't have been in this Chunin Exam.
On the waiting bench: Pain.
In the spectator stands: Zero and White Tiger.
The Rain squad was still here. Neither the Shukaku rampage nor the chaos in the stands seemed to faze them enough to even think about retreating.
Something was off.
Jiraiya tensed all over again. But before he could move, he saw Pain leap from the waiting bench and launch himself toward a spot in the stands.
At the same time, Hiruzen and Rasa both sprang forward from the viewing platform, heading straight for Pain.
While everyone had been terrified Shukaku would start a bloodbath, both Konoha's and Sand's leaders had been watching. The second Pain made a move, they both took action.
At that moment, Jiraiya's eyes were drawn straight to that Hidden Rain ninja.
His identity… the secret behind him… why he was really in the Chunin Exams…
The fact that his move made both village leaders jump in to block him, surely that meant this guy called Pain wasn't just some Hidden Rain big shot, right? Even if he was Hanzo, both leaders wouldn't look this tense.
"Lord Jiraiya!" An ANBU ninja landed next to him, quickly passing along Hiruzen's order: "Hokage's orders: subdue Shukaku immediately and help the Hokage surround the enemy!"
"Enemy?" Jiraiya only grew more curious.
Just what kind of enemy would require both village leaders, plus himself and Tsunade, all to move together?