The five people outside the window were laughing unscrupulously, not caring at all about the Anbu who had already surrounded them.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel!"
The five were only Chunin and were no match at all; they were captured before long.
Meanwhile, after sealing the room with sand, Gaara also wrapped himself in a sphere of sand to block the intrusion of the toxic gas.
Then, he slowly shrunk the outer sand, eventually compressing the toxic gas into a ball the size of a football.
At this point, Kankuro brought the five people in.
When they saw Gaara completely unharmed, their pupils constricted and their expressions changed drastically, showing looks of disbelief.
"How is that possible? With that much toxin, even an antidote would be useless."
After a long while, they snapped out of it and looked at Gaara with hatred: "You monster, you're just lucky."
Gaara's eyes held a hint of sadness, "Why did you try to assassinate me?"
"My parents and sister died at your hands. If not for someone protecting you, I would have killed you long ago. What right do you have to be the Kazekage?"
Others spoke up too, cursing him; they also had loved ones who died because of the Ichibi.
Gaara's face remained expressionless: "Kankuro, take them away and lock them up. Just follow the old rules."
Kankuro signaled the Anbu to take them away and said displeasedly: "Gaara, you're too soft on those guys. They tried to assassinate the Kazekage; they should have been executed on the spot."
Gaara rarely showed sadness in front of his older brother, "Killing doesn't solve problems. I cannot make up for the harm caused by the Ichibi's frequent rampages."
He paused, his voice dropping a few octaves: "I don't want to respond to hatred with hatred anymore."
"But..."
Kankuro wanted to say something but was interrupted by Gaara, who looked straight at him and spoke in an unquestionable tone:
"Kankuro, I am the Kazekage."
Meanwhile, Aoki Yoru watched the scene with interest from the room. Gaara didn't have it easy; even a few Chunin dared to assassinate him, which showed how frequent the attacks had been lately.
Moreover, the mastermind behind the scenes hadn't made a move yet. Otherwise, ordinary people couldn't get that much toxic gas; there was no place to even buy it.
...
Soon, the Chunin Exams in the Demon Desert were nearing their end.
At this time, the entire Demon Desert was covered by a massive sandstorm, which blocked perception; even Aoki Yoru's sensing was affected.
Everyone knew this scene was abnormal; it was definitely man-made.
Gaara knew it was aimed at him and rushed in without hesitation, before Kankuro could even stop him.
Aoki Yoru said to Asuma and the others: "Go check on the students; I'm afraid something might happen to them. I'll keep an eye on Gaara's side."
Although Aoki Yoru trusted them, who knew what butterfly effects might occur, just like Neji not participating this time.
They nodded upon hearing this. Although the Hokage asked them to protect Gaara, with Aoki Yoru there, it should be fine.
Then several people disappeared from the spot, also worried about their students.
Aoki Yoru also chased in the direction Gaara had left.
After a long time, Aoki Yoru finally found Gaara in the center of the storm.
At this moment, both Gaara and the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Fu, were pierced by a chain.
"Wait, is Gaara this weak? He didn't even know to dodge, or is he just too reckless?"
"And Fu too, she didn't even know who the enemy was and just rushed over recklessly. This brashness is on par with Naruto."
At this time, the monk Hoichi was plucking a biwa, activating the Sealing Jutsu 'Dharma Sealing: Senju Riki', drawing the Chakra of the two Tailed Beasts into his own body.
"Sunagakure has its talents too!" Aoki Yoru sighed.
This move was comparable to the Uzumaki Clan's Adamantine Sealing Chains; it was practically the nemesis of Tailed Beasts.
To be able to strip the Tailed Beast Chakra from the opponent and seal it into one's own body—even the Uzumaki Clan couldn't do that.
One must know that for the Akatsuki Organization to seal a Tailed Beast, all members had to gather and it took three days and nights to complete.
Yet Hoichi was drawing two Tailed Beasts by himself. Isn't he afraid of bursting?
Regardless, Bunpuku, who invented this technique, was a genius; he paved a path different from traditional Sealing Jutsus.
If the Ichibi had been sealed in Hoichi after Bunpuku's death, it might have been much better; at least it wouldn't rampage every now and then.
Unfortunately, Rasa wanted to keep the Jinchuriki under his own control, so he sacrificed Gaara.
At this moment, Aoki Yoru saw Fu forming a cocoon to surround them to slow down the loss of Chakra, and knew he had to act.
No other reinforcements had arrived yet, likely blocked.
"Whoosh—"
Aoki Yoru appeared in front of the white cocoon, reached out to touch the cocoon and the Chakra chains, constantly analyzing their principles.
When Hoichi saw Aoki Yoru's appearance, his eyes narrowed, and a solemn expression appeared on his face.
Fuyi had told him to pay special attention to this person; he was very strong, and even the Fourth Kazekage might not be his match.
Immediately, Hoichi planted six steel pipes around himself, Chakra erupted from his body, and he shouted:
"Dharma Barrier: Senjichu!"
Before his voice faded, a pale green barrier spread along the steel pipes, instantly enveloping his entire person.
Aoki Yoru didn't care about him, just drew the nightfall from his waist and slashed down at the chains.
"Crack—"
The chains broke upon impact, turning into bits of starlight and disappearing in the wind and sand.
For Aoki Yoru, there was no need to use the Byakugan to search for weaknesses like Neji; he could just use brute force to create a miracle.
At this moment, Hoichi's face looked grim as he stared at Aoki Yoru, not expecting his Sealing Jutsu to be broken so easily.
Then he used the plectrum in his hand to quickly pluck the biwa.
"Zheng — Zheng —"
As the speed increased, dozens of chains appeared on Hoichi's body, constantly attacking Aoki Yoru.
"If the attack power is too poor, no amount of quantity matters."
Aoki Yoru raised nightfall, wrapped it in Natural Energy, and swung it hard.
"Hum —!" A pale green shockwave from the slash exploded in a visible form, not only cutting all the incoming chains but also splitting a rift in the air, crashing straight into Hoichi's barrier.
With a crisp "crack," his green barrier shattered like glass, and the slash landed on his chest without any obstruction.
Hoichi's pupils constricted, his solemnity instantly turning into terror; he couldn't even let out a scream before a huge wound was torn across his chest, blood instantly staining his robes.
Hoichi spat blood, his face full of disbelief.
"Impossible, my 'Dharma Barrier: Senjichu' was torn apart so easily."
After saying that, he fell straight down, his breathing weakening significantly.
This time Aoki Yoru showed mercy; after all, it was Sunagakure's internal affair, and he couldn't make decisions for Gaara.
"I've left him alive; you deal with it yourself."
Gaara said gratefully, "Thank you for the trouble."
Then he said to his student Matsuri, who had rushed over to help: "Matsuri, treat Hoichi, don't let him die."
Then he disappeared from the spot; he wanted to have a good talk with the real mastermind. Sunagakure could not continue with such internal strife.