____________
[— Manga Scene —]
In one of the stadium's inner corridors, two Kusagakure shinobi blocked Gaara's path before he could reach the arena.
"Small tournaments like the Chūnin Exams are perfect for gambling, you know… Quite a few nobles came here specifically for that reason."
Gaara stood silently before them as one of the men continued.
"And because of that… we want you to lose this match."
It was not a simple request. The way they had blocked his path made it obvious they had come prepared to interfere and prevent him from participating if he refused to cooperate.
But Gaara said nothing.
The sand inside the gourd on his back began to move.
The two men's eyes widened.
"W-Wait…!"
The sand rushed toward them, wrapping around their bodies before they could escape, and their screams echoed through the corridor.
"Aaaaaah!!"
Nearby, Naruto and Shikamaru stopped the moment they heard the screams. The two cautiously approached and looked toward the source of the sound.
But what they saw froze them in place.
Blood covered the walls and floor, the remains of the Kusagakure shinobi scattered throughout the corridor, while Gaara stood in the middle of it all as the bloodstained sand slowly receded around him.
Then Gaara raised his head.
Half of his face was buried in shadow, his wide eyes gleaming within it with a terrifying stare.
He had just killed two men.
And yet, there was no anger in his eyes, nor did he even look like someone who had just finished fighting two opponents.
There was only that frightening stare that left Naruto and Shikamaru frozen.
Gaara began walking.
Step by step, he approached them while the two remained completely still, until he passed beside them and continued on his way as though nothing had happened.
Once he was gone, Naruto and Shikamaru sat down on the stairs.
Shikamaru wiped the sweat from his face.
"If it hadn't been us two… he probably would've killed us too."
He looked toward the path where Gaara had disappeared.
"I've never met anyone who kills that easily before… Even Sasuke had better watch himself. This is bad."
Naruto remained silent, worry obvious in his eyes.
"Sasuke…"
A short while later, Gaara arrived at the arena.
Sasuke was already waiting for him.
The proctor stood between them as the two exchanged looks, preparing for the long-awaited confrontation.
"Alright then…"
Sasuke fixed his gaze on Gaara.
Gaara returned the look.
"At long last…"
[— End Scene —]
The moment Gaara's stare appeared after he killed the two Kusagakure shinobi, the voices coming from the corner where the Uchiha Clan usually gathered inside the Art Store almost completely disappeared.
Only a few pages earlier, the clan members had been excited to finally see Sasuke return after an entire month of training. Some had already begun speculating about what techniques he might show against his opponent.
But now, no one was talking about Sasuke's training.
Dozens of black eyes, some marked by the Sharingan, were fixed on a single scene.
Not on the two corpses.
Not on the blood covering the corridor.
But on Gaara's face.
"Scary…"
The voice came from a young Uchiha girl sitting between her parents. Without realizing it, she moved closer to her mother while staring at the pair of eyes emerging from the darkness.
Her mother placed a hand on her shoulder.
"He's around the same age as the other participants, isn't he?"
Her husband answered quietly.
"Looks like it."
That did not make things any better.
In the nearby seats, a young Uchiha turned back a page, looking at Gaara when the two men first blocked his path before returning to the scene showing him after he killed them.
"Look at his eyes."
His friend frowned.
"I can see them."
"No, look carefully… after he killed them."
The other boy leaned slightly closer to the volume.
Silence passed between them for several seconds.
"He doesn't look angry."
"Exactly."
That was what made the scene worse.
The Kusagakure shinobi had not been innocent. They had blocked Gaara's path and were prepared to interfere with him by force because of some nobles' wagers, and in the shinobi world, a confrontation like that could easily end in death.
But the problem was not their deaths.
It was Gaara after their deaths.
He stood among the blood with those terrifying eyes, then simply continued toward his match as though the two men were no longer worth even another moment of his attention.
"He didn't lose control."
The words came from an Uchiha jōnin sitting nearby, a man in his forties who had spent many years on missions.
The two younger men looked toward him.
He continued.
"And that makes it worse."
He pointed toward the scene.
"If he had lost his temper when those two threatened him, then at least it would make sense. But the confrontation was already over."
His finger moved toward Gaara's face.
"So why do his eyes still look like that?"
No one answered.
…
"Dad…"
Young Obito watched the scene with wide eyes, the excitement he had shown when Sasuke returned to the arena now completely gone.
"He really killed them?"
Beside him, Uchiha Minoru silently watched the page.
"Yes."
Obito hesitated before asking.
"Just because they wanted him to lose?"
Minoru shook his head.
"It wasn't that simple."
Obito looked at him in confusion.
Minoru pointed toward the Kusagakure shinobi.
"They didn't come to ask him for a favor and leave if he refused. They blocked his path because of those nobles' bets, and it was obvious they were prepared to stop him from reaching the match by force."
Obito looked back at the scene.
"So they wanted to kill him?"
"Maybe kill him, or maybe injure him badly enough that he couldn't participate."
Minoru answered seriously.
"We don't know how far they were prepared to go, but they were shinobi who blocked another shinobi's path and intended to interfere with him. They chose the wrong opponent."
Obito looked at the blood again.
"So… Gaara was defending himself?"
"You could say that."
Minoru paused for a moment.
"But that isn't what worries me."
Obito blinked.
"Then what?"
Minoru pointed toward Gaara's face.
"That."
Obito stared at the scene.
"His face?"
"The confrontation is over, Obito."
Minoru's voice grew lower.
"The two men are dead, and no one is stopping him from reaching the match anymore."
His eyes narrowed.
"And yet, look at his eyes."
Obito did.
This time, he did not look at the blood or the bodies.
He focused only on Gaara.
A chill ran down his back.
Minoru said,
"Killing an opponent who attacks you is one thing… looking like that after everything is already over is something else."
Obito turned the page.
Naruto and Shikamaru appeared, hiding and watching Gaara.
"Even Naruto is scared…"
A small smile appeared on Minoru's face.
"Looks like he has a survival instinct after all."
Obito almost laughed, but stopped when he saw the next scene.
Gaara was walking toward them.
Naruto and Shikamaru did not move.
"Why aren't they running?"
Obito asked.
"Because they don't know what would make Gaara decide to attack them."
Minoru answered.
"In a situation like that, sometimes the best thing you can do is avoid giving the person in front of you a reason to even look your way."
Obito swallowed.
His eyes followed Gaara as he passed Naruto and Shikamaru.
'Even Naruto didn't dare say anything…'
…
Two rows away, Mikoto had placed a hand over her mouth, her eyes moving from Gaara's face to the scene showing Sasuke waiting for him inside the arena.
"That boy…"
Fugaku sat beside her with a calm expression.
Mikoto said,
"Sasuke is going to fight him now."
"Yes."
She turned toward him.
"That's all you have to say?"
Fugaku raised an eyebrow.
"What do you want me to say?"
"Maybe that this is insane?"
Fugaku returned his attention to the volume.
"We already knew Gaara was dangerous."
"I'm not talking about his strength."
Mikoto pointed toward the scene.
"Look at his eyes."
Fugaku did.
He remained silent for several seconds.
Mikoto said,
"Rock Lee was fighting someone who wanted to defeat him. But this… I don't know what he wants from Sasuke."
Fugaku did not answer immediately.
He too had noticed Gaara's strange interest in Sasuke, his confidence that Sasuke would arrive, and the way he had waited for him all this time.
But something else interested him even more.
"Sasuke didn't see Gaara's fight against Rock Lee."
Mikoto looked at him.
Fugaku continued.
"But Kakashi did."
She immediately understood what he meant.
Kakashi had seen the sand move automatically to protect Gaara.
He had seen the speed Rock Lee needed in order to break through that defense.
And he had also seen how far Lee had been forced to push his body just to reach him.
Fugaku said,
"Sasuke doesn't know everything we know about Gaara's abilities, but his teacher does."
His eyes moved toward Sasuke standing opposite Gaara.
"And after that, he spent an entire month training with him."
Mikoto asked,
"You think Kakashi took Gaara into account while training him?"
Fugaku looked at her.
"He'd be stupid not to."
Mikoto smiled slightly.
"Maybe you don't need to put it that way."
"But it's true."
She looked back at the page.
"Still… I don't like those eyes."
This time, Fugaku did not argue.
"Neither do I."
Mikoto quickly turned toward him, as if she had not expected to hear that from him.
But he had already gone back to reading.
…
Directly behind them, Uchiha Hōgaku sat in imposing silence.
His black hair was streaked with gray, his face marked by the wrinkles of authority and experience, while his three-tomoe Sharingan stared at the page with intense concentration.
The Uchiha Clan Head ignored most of the whispers coming from his clan members.
Beside him, his personal aide was far less composed.
"Hōgaku-sama…"
Hōgaku did not answer.
The man hesitated before continuing.
"Do you think that boy is… insane?"
Hōgaku's eyes slowly moved toward him.
"Do I look like a doctor?"
The aide stiffened.
"No, Hōgaku-sama."
"Then read."
The man immediately fell silent.
Hōgaku continued studying the page for several moments before speaking on his own.
"But there is something we can tell."
The aide raised his head.
Hōgaku pointed toward the Kusagakure shinobi.
"Those two weren't innocent bystanders. They blocked his path and were prepared to interfere with him by force because of some wagers."
Then he moved to the next scene.
"They chose the wrong opponent and paid the price."
The aide nodded.
But Hōgaku was not finished.
His eyes settled on Gaara's face.
"But this… this is what interests me."
Fugaku heard his father's words and turned slightly toward him.
Hōgaku said,
"The confrontation is over."
He pointed toward the blood.
"His opponents are dead."
Then toward the path ahead of Gaara.
"And there's no one left stopping him from reaching his match."
Finally, he pointed toward Gaara's eyes.
"But look at him."
The aide spoke quietly.
"It looks like… he still hasn't had enough."
A faint smile appeared on Hōgaku's face.
"You finally said something useful."
The man could not decide whether to feel proud or insulted.
Hōgaku turned the page.
Naruto and Shikamaru appeared.
He paused.
"Hoh…"
Fugaku asked,
"What is it?"
Hōgaku pointed toward Naruto.
"This boy charged at Zabuza, fought Haku, faced Kiba and Neji, and since the beginning of this manga, we've hardly seen him know when to keep his mouth shut."
One of the nearby clan members laughed.
Hōgaku continued.
"But here, he didn't move."
Fugaku looked at Naruto's sweating face.
Even Shikamaru had frozen.
Hōgaku said,
"This scene tells me more about Gaara than the corpses do."
Fugaku raised an eyebrow.
"How?"
"Rubiro can draw as much blood as he wants to show me that Gaara can kill."
Hōgaku pointed toward Naruto.
"But when he makes a boy like this afraid to even draw Gaara's attention… then I understand what it feels like to stand near him."
Fugaku slowly nodded.
…
Eventually, everyone returned to the final page.
The proctor stood between them.
Gaara on one side.
Sasuke on the other.
Only moments earlier, Gaara's eyes had been staring out from the middle of a bloodstained corridor, while Naruto and Shikamaru had not even dared to move as he walked past them.
And now…
Those eyes were fixed on Sasuke.
"Alright then…"
Silence once again fell over the Uchiha corner.
Even the children leaned closer to their volumes.
Gaara fixed his eyes on his opponent.
"At long last…"
Mikoto's expression tightened, while Fugaku's eyes grew more serious.
As for Hōgaku, he turned back to the corridor scene one final time.
He stopped at Gaara's face.
He stared at it for several seconds, then flipped back to the arena.
The same eyes.
But this time, Sasuke stood in front of them.
"Now look at him again," Hōgaku said.
The nearby clan members fell silent.
"Only moments ago, that stare was surrounded by the blood of two men."
He pointed toward Sasuke.
"Now it is directed at the last Uchiha of that future."
His aide said,
"That doesn't make me feel any better, Hōgaku-sama."
Hōgaku smiled.
"I wasn't trying to make you feel better."
Fugaku shifted his attention away from Gaara's eyes and toward the sand behind him.
The automatic defense.
The speed Rock Lee had needed to break through it.
Kakashi had seen all of it.
Then he had taken Sasuke away and trained him for an entire month.
Hōgaku noticed the change in his gaze.
"You've started analyzing the match."
Fugaku replied without looking up,
"Better than continuing to stare into those eyes."
A small smile appeared on Hōgaku's face.
Then he placed a finger on the edge of the page.
"Let's see, then."
Fugaku's eyes remained fixed on Sasuke, but for one last moment, the image of Gaara standing amid all that blood flashed through his mind.
Hōgaku turned the page.
"Let's see what the last Uchiha of that future will do… when that terrifying stare is directed at him."
____________
Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
____________
Chapter 243: Mother…
Chapter 244: The Reason We Were Late!
Chapter 245: What Lies Behind the Match
Chapter 246: Chidori
____________
Support the journey and unlock advanced chapters!
If you're enjoying Rob's story, his journey of publishing the Naruto manga inside the Shinobi world, and the impact it has on the world, and you want to know what happens before everyone else… there's always a way to stay ahead.
I work on this novel every day, developing its world and chapters, and every bit of support helps me keep delivering higher-quality content at a faster pace.
By supporting me on Patreon, you'll get exclusive access to advanced chapters before they're released to the public. You can move ahead in the story and read up to 30 chapters in advance!
📚 Support Tiers:
$5 → Read 5 advanced chapters
$10 → Read 10 advanced chapters
$15 → Read 15 advanced chapters
$20 → Read 20 advanced chapters
$30 → Read 30 advanced chapters
Every bit of support, even a small one, makes a real difference and helps me continue writing this journey that we're experiencing together.
Join now and start reading the stacked chapters before everyone else:
Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/BlackStar_BH
Thank you to everyone who supports the story and believes in this world. You are the reason it continues. ❤️
____________
Announcement:
After a hiatus of more than five months, I've decided to return to Creating Manga of One Piece with Book II, published as a new book! Thank you to everyone who's been waiting for this series to return. I'll share the link when the second book launches. It's time to set sail again! 🏴☠️
01/11/2026⏳