____________
Inside Sunagakure's Art Store, the Third Kazekage's attention did not linger on Sasuke's bleeding hand, nor on the sphere of sand that had completely swallowed Gaara. His gaze remained fixed on Baki, specifically on the panic that appeared on his face when Gaara began forming hand seals.
He reread Baki's thoughts, until his eyes stopped on a single word that seemed more dangerous than anything that had happened in the arena so far.
'Gaara is so worked up that he's forgotten the plan…'
"The plan…"
The words left the Third Kazekage's mouth quietly, yet they were enough to wipe the faint smile from Chiyo's face. She noticed that he had not turned the page for some time, and she recognized that kind of silence—the silence of a man who had found a small piece of information somewhere it was never supposed to be.
"It seems Gaara wasn't supposed to use that technique now."
Chiyo said this while glancing down at the manga, before Ebizo added:
"Or perhaps he was only supposed to use it when a specific time came."
That was exactly what bothered the Third Kazekage. If Baki had simply been afraid that Gaara might lose the match, there would have been nothing particularly suspicious about it; he was a jōnin watching one of his team members compete in an important exam. But Baki wasn't thinking about victory or defeat. He was thinking about the fact that Gaara had forgotten the plan.
'What is Sunagakure planning to do during a Chūnin Exam being held by Konoha…?'
He had no answer, and he wasn't willing to fabricate one out of thin air. The plan could be related to the team, the match, or something else entirely. But when a Sunagakure jōnin starts panicking because one of his students used a technique at the wrong time, dismissing it as an insignificant detail would be foolish.
…
Not far from him, Rasa had stopped at the exact same sentence, while Karura's eyes remained fixed on the sphere of sand. Gaara had completely sealed himself inside it, then started forming hand seals for a technique Baki knew so well that merely seeing it was enough to make panic appear on his face.
"Baki knows the technique."
Rasa said, and Karura nodded.
"Yes."
"And he also knows when it was supposed to be used."
"Yes."
Rasa finally turned toward her, only to realize that she wasn't looking at Baki at all. From the beginning, her eyes had remained on the sphere of sand in which Gaara had disappeared.
"You're not listening to me."
"I am."
Karura pointed toward the sphere.
"But after the previous chapter, I don't like Gaara being alone inside something where no one can see what's happening to him."
Rasa fell silent. Only moments earlier, Gaara had been speaking to someone he called Mother, promising her Sasuke's blood, before that strange pain struck him without anyone even touching him. And now he had vanished completely from sight and begun forming the seals for a technique that frightened Baki himself.
This time, Rasa didn't tell Karura that she was thinking too much.
Because he didn't like it either.
…
In Kumo, the Third Raikage initially had no interest in any plan. His eyes were on Sasuke, specifically on the fist that had slammed into the sand and come back bleeding. He watched the boy retreat after the strike, before a faint smile appeared on his face.
"That Uchiha is an idiot."
One of the Kumo shinobi nearby froze for a moment.
"Because he tried punching something that hard with his bare hand?"
"No."
The Third Raikage pointed at Sasuke.
"Because he only did it once."
The man became even more confused, but the Raikage didn't explain immediately. Sasuke had tested the wall, felt its hardness, injured his hand, and then stopped. He hadn't stubbornly repeated the attack, nor had he allowed his frustration to make him keep hammering the sand with his fists until his bones shattered.
"He paid a little blood for a piece of information."
The Raikage raised the page slightly.
"Now he knows ordinary force won't break that thing… Let's see what he does with that knowledge."
For a man accustomed to seeing power used directly, his real curiosity was to discover what Kakashi had managed to teach that Uchiha during an entire month. But his attention shifted the moment he read Baki's thoughts, and the smile gradually disappeared from his face.
'The plan… So there's something else happening behind this match.'
…
Inside Kirigakure's Art Store, Hōzuki Mizuro read Naruto's words without showing the slightest reaction.
He lives to kill others!
A young shinobi standing nearby frowned slightly.
"Isn't that an exaggeration?"
Mizuro glanced at him for a moment.
"He watched him kill someone only minutes ago."
The boy immediately closed his mouth, while Mizuro returned his attention to the page. He wasn't particularly interested in whether Naruto had chosen the most accurate words to describe Gaara. Something else had caught his attention entirely—the loud, reckless boy who normally charged straight toward danger was now asking someone else to stop a fight.
"At least he knows when the danger is real."
Mizuro said it calmly before returning his gaze to Naruto.
'Fear doesn't make everyone a coward… Sometimes it simply reveals what truly matters to them.'
Nearby, young Zabuza wasn't particularly interested in Naruto. His eyes remained on Sasuke and the sphere of sand, until an obvious question came to mind.
"If he has a way to break through it, why didn't he use it from the beginning?"
His father, Genma, looked toward him, but Mizuro answered first.
"Perhaps because it isn't a technique he can use without paying a price."
Zabuza's hand stopped on the page. He looked at Sasuke's bleeding hand, then at his final smile, and finally at Kakashi's calm expression in the face of Naruto's fear. He didn't know what the Uchiha was hiding, but his confidence no longer seemed like empty arrogance.
…
As for Iwagakure, Ōnoki burst out laughing the moment he reached the final page. One of his aides turned toward him in confusion, especially since the Tsuchikage had been following the battle with complete seriousness only moments earlier.
"Are you making fun of the Uchiha?"
"No."
Ōnoki wiped the corner of his eye.
"The author."
He raised the volume in front of him and looked back through the previous pages. Uzumaki Rubiro had made them watch Gaara build a sphere of sand that Sasuke couldn't break through, then brought in a terrified Naruto screaming that Sasuke was going to die, before revealing that Gaara himself had deviated from a plan Baki knew about.
And then came the final page.
There was a reason we were so late getting here.
Sasuke's smile.
Kakashi's calmness.
And the end of the chapter.
"That bastard knows exactly where to stop."
Several Iwagakure shinobi around him stared at their pages in frustration. And for once, none of them could find a reason to disagree with their Tsuchikage.
But Ōnoki's laughter didn't last long. His eyes returned to the wall described as the Absolute Defense, and the mockery gradually disappeared from his expression.
'Absolute Defense… What an arrogant name.'
Ōnoki had lived long enough to know that every technique had its limits. There was no defense that couldn't be breached, and no technique without a weakness; the real question was how much you would have to pay to find it.
"Do you think Sasuke can break through it?"
Ōnoki looked coldly at the shinobi who had asked.
"If the chapter had told me, I wouldn't be waiting for the next page just like you."
The man immediately shut his mouth.
…
Back in Konoha, Shikaku was watching Naruto's tense expression. He remained silent for a while before making a brief comment that caught his father's attention.
"Troublesome…"
Hiketsu didn't lift his eyes from the volume.
"What is it this time?"
Shikaku pointed toward Sakura and Ino.
"Naruto knows something those two don't."
Hiketsu raised his eyes slightly as Shikaku continued his analysis. Sakura and Ino could hear Naruto saying that Sasuke was going to die, but they hadn't seen what Naruto had seen in the corridor, nor had they stood before Gaara after he reduced two Kusagakure shinobi to blood.
"That's why his words sound exaggerated to them."
Hiketsu nodded.
"Information changes the meaning of fear."
Shikaku yawned.
"And it changes the meaning of confidence too."
His eyes shifted toward Kakashi. Naruto possessed information that made him believe Sasuke was going to die, while Kakashi possessed different information that allowed him to tell Naruto not to worry. And between them stood Sasuke himself, smiling in front of a defense he had failed to break with his fist.
'So the question isn't why Naruto is afraid…'
Shikaku's eyes narrowed slightly.
'It's what Kakashi knows that Naruto doesn't.'
…
Hiruzen, meanwhile, had remained quieter than anyone else when faced with that particular detail. His eyes weren't on Sasuke, Naruto, or even Kakashi, but on Baki's tense expression and the words that no one inside the manga world could hear except the reader.
'Gaara is so worked up that he's forgotten the plan…'
Hiruzen's fingers stopped at the edge of the page.
'A plan…?'
He didn't know what it was, nor did he have enough reason to accuse Sunagakure of anything. What he was reading was a future that had yet to happen, and a single sentence wasn't enough to condemn an entire village.
But caution was different from accusation.
After all, a Konoha jōnin had already died in this manga precisely so that he wouldn't reveal this plan.
Baki had killed him.
Hiruzen lifted his head from the manga for a moment and looked toward a group of Sunagakure shinobi discussing the chapter inside the store. He didn't stare for long, and soon returned his attention to the manga as though nothing had happened.
'Perhaps Sasuke and Gaara's match won't be the most important thing that happens during this exam.'
____________
Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
____________
Chapter 246: Chidori
Chapter 247: Has It Really Begun?
Chapter 248: Because the Third Hokage Will Die Here!
Chapter 249: Who Is Orochimaru?
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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⏳