____________
[— Manga Scene —]
"Hah!"
Sasuke slammed his fist into the wall of sand before him, but the mass of sand gathered in front of Gaara barely budged.
Sasuke took a step back, breathing heavily.
Drops of blood trickled down his fingers.
'He's shifted his sand into defensive mode…'
He looked toward the massive sphere of sand that had completely enclosed Gaara.
'With sand that dense, I didn't think he could create something this solid…'
Sasuke clenched his injured fist.
"So this is what an absolute defense means, huh?"
In the stands, everyone's eyes shifted toward him.
Sakura.
Ino.
Chōji.
Rock Lee.
Kakashi.
Even those who didn't personally know Sasuke were beginning to realize that the battle had entered an entirely different stage.
Then, suddenly—
"Kakashi-sensei!"
Kakashi turned around.
Gai was standing behind him.
But it was the person beside Gai who made Kakashi's eyes widen slightly.
"Naruto!"
Naruto looked up.
"Yo!"
"What's up?"
Naruto raised his head, anger visible on his face.
"Please stop this match right now, Sensei!"
Sakura's expression changed.
Even Ino looked at him in confusion.
"Naruto… what are you talking about?"
But Naruto didn't back down.
He pointed toward the arena.
"He's completely different from the rest of us!"
His fist tightened.
"He's not normal!"
He paused for a moment, then shouted,
"He lives to kill others!"
Down below, Gaara was now completely hidden inside the sphere of sand.
"If this fight keeps going… Sasuke will die!!"
Inside the sphere, Gaara's hands moved.
He began forming hand seals.
Boar.
Monkey.
Snake.
Monkey…
Baki's eyes widened.
'There's no mistake… it's that jutsu!'
But panic quickly appeared on his face.
'No! Gaara's so worked up that he's not remembering the plan…'
Kakashi, however, remained silent.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
He looked toward Naruto.
Then calmly said,
"Well… don't worry about it."
"!"
Naruto fell silent.
Beside Kakashi, Gai looked toward him.
"There was a reason…"
Down in the arena, Sasuke raised his hand.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"…why we were so late getting here."
[— End Scene —]
For several moments, it wasn't the sound of turning pages that filled Konoha's Art Store.
It was the gazes of the Uchiha.
Only moments ago, Sasuke had stood confidently before Gaara. Now, blood was running down his fingers after a single collision with that defense.
Hōgaku raised his eyes slightly.
"Even the sand itself has changed."
Beside him, Fugaku stared at the sphere of sand surrounding Gaara.
The defense they had seen against Rock Lee had moved automatically to block incoming attacks.
This was different.
This time, Gaara had deliberately sealed himself inside the sand.
Fugaku said,
"He gave up the ability to see his opponent in exchange for defense."
Hōgaku replied without taking his eyes off the page,
"Then whatever he's doing inside must be more important than keeping Sasuke in sight."
Fugaku's fingers stopped against the page.
He didn't like that observation.
…
In another part of Konoha's Art Store, Sakumo was reading the chapter with young Kakashi.
Kakashi wasn't particularly concerned about Sasuke's injured hand.
He was watching his older counterpart.
Naruto was shouting at him to stop the match.
Sakura and Ino didn't understand.
But his counterpart didn't seem surprised.
'He knows.'
The thought came immediately.
Kakashi looked at the final page, at Sasuke's smile.
Then back at his counterpart.
'No… they both know.'
Sakumo suddenly said,
"A month."
Kakashi looked up.
"What?"
"Sasuke trained with him for an entire month."
Sakumo pointed toward the page.
"And now he says there was a reason they were late."
Kakashi needed nothing more.
His eyes returned to Sasuke.
For the first time, he wanted to see the result of his counterpart's training more than he wanted to see the result of the match itself.
…
Young Naruto wasn't among them to hear what his future counterpart had said.
But Minato and Kushina were.
And for Kushina, the scene was enough to make her tighten her grip on the volume.
"He was scared."
She said.
Minato didn't need to ask who she meant.
Naruto had seen Gaara up close before the match.
He had seen what Gaara had done in the corridor.
And then he went to Kakashi, without caring how he might look in front of everyone else, and asked him to stop Sasuke's fight.
Minato said,
"He isn't afraid for himself right now."
Kushina turned toward him.
Minato smiled faintly.
"That's the best part."
Kushina looked at Naruto again.
Then she smiled too.
"That stupid kid really does care about his friend."
…
Far from Konoha, the same chapter was creating an entirely different kind of tension inside Sunagakure's Art Store.
The Third Kazekage wasn't interested in Sasuke's injured hand.
He was looking at Baki.
That expression.
That panic.
Gaara's so worked up that he's not remembering the plan.
His eyes stopped there.
"The plan…"
This time, the word wasn't so simple.
Beside him, Chiyo had stopped smiling as well.
Ebizō said,
"So there was something he was supposed to do."
Chiyo replied,
"And at a specific time, apparently."
The Third Kazekage looked at Gaara inside the sphere of sand.
For several chapters now, Sunagakure's future had been raising more questions than it answered.
But this line was different.
Baki wasn't afraid that Gaara might lose.
He was afraid because Gaara had begun using a technique at the wrong time.
'What is Sunagakure planning to do during Konoha's Chūnin Exams…?'
He didn't like any of the answers that came to mind.
____________
Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
____________
Chapter 245: What Lies Behind the Match
Chapter 246: Chidori
Chapter 247: Has It Really Begun?
Chapter 248: Because the Third Hokage Will Die Here!
____________
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____________
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⏳