Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
June 29, x788.
While Alfonzo was dealing with the shinobi surrounding Tsunade, Laki had jumped into the ring, right next to Hayate, where Gaara was Chasing Sasuke in an attempt to kill him.
"What's wrong?" Gaara asked in an unhinged tone. "Why don't you make me bleed again? Come on! That will make killing you prove my existence even further."
"Man, does this guy ever shut up?" Sasuke muttered to himself as he stepped back to avoid a claw strike from the monster-like arm made of sand on Gaara's right arm. Then, once the arm passed, Sasuke stepped forward with his katana sheathed. "[Flying Heaven's Sword-Style: Sōryūsen]."
In the next instant, Sasuke unsheathed his sword, cutting through the sand arm and opening Gaara's body up to an attack. Then, without giving Gaara any time to react or recreate his giant sand arm, as he had done a few times before, Sasuke pulled his sheath from his hip and slammed it into Gaara's torso.
*Bang!*
As a result, Gaara was sent flying backwards before slamming into the ground. And because he was not used to being hit, let alone sent flying, Gaara made no effort to break his fall. So, he was sent rolling across the ground without being able to stop himself.
Taking advantage of Gaara's current state, Sasuke then raised his sword over his head.
"[Flying Heavens Sword-Style: Doryūsen]." Sasuke chanted as he slammed his sword downward, striking the ground in front of him with his blade.
As Sasuke's blade struck the ground, debris shot towards Gaara with great force, enough to knock out most shinobi of the same rank with ease. Unfortunately, despite being barely conscious at this point, Gaara's sand defense needed no input from him. So, all the debris that would have struck him was easily defended against.
"Not fast enough *Pant*" Sasuke muttered through ragged breaths caused by his waning magic power.
Meanwhile, Laki and Hayate watched all this happen without interference.
"So, why are you just standing here?" Laki asked. "Dislike Sasuke?"
"*Cough* No, not at all." Hayate replied. "But I don't have the power to do any serious damage, either. So, I'm waiting for Sasuke to get winded before I step in for him. Then, we'll switch when I get tired, as well."
"I see." Laki replied. "I'll take care of this, then."
With that, Laki stepped forward and flared her magic power, drawing both Sasuke's and Gaara's attention. Then without weaving a single hand sign, she slammed her hands onto the ground and used a [Ninjutsu].
"[Wood-Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu]." Laki chanted.
A moment later, the ground in front of Laki exploded outwards. From the center of the explosion, the head of a serpentine dragon with long whiskers shot out of the ground. On top of that, it was made completely of wood with glowing yellow eyes.
Then, after surveying the surroundings, the dragon head shot towards Gaara, locking onto his left arm, that had just been turned into a monster arm like the right. On top of that, sand had also rebuilt the right arm that Sasuke had severed.
At this moment, Gaara noticed the incoming dragon that was over a hundred feet long. However, because he was under the violent influence of the One-Tailed Beast, he only swatted at it with his newly grown arm. However, that would turn out to be a mistake.
The [Wood Dragon] did not even try to avoid Gaara's swipe. Instead, it opened its mouth and bit down on the attacking arm.
As soon as the [Wood Dragon] had a secure hold on the sand arm, it quickly wrapped its long, serpentine body around Gaara, quickly immobilizing him. At the same time, the One-Tailed Beast's magic power was being absorbed into the wood making up the dragon.
"What is this?" Gaara asked in an angry, yet frightened, tone as he struggled to free himself.
Unfortunately, all of Gaara's struggles were in vain and he was slowly sapped of all the magic power he could use to struggle.
Meanwhile, Sasuke looked on in shock and awe. The foe he was putting his life on the line to defend against was so easily taken down by a technique he had never seen before. On top of that, because [Wood-Style] is a Kekkei Genkai, he was unable to copy it using his Sharingan.
"I had no idea she was really that strong." Sasuke muttered to himself after tracing the [Wood Dragon] back to its source. "I've never seen her use anything like that in training before."
At that point, Sasuke had a new found respect for the wizards from Fairy Tail, who had only helped most of them with their physical training before they graduated from the academy.
"Now, we wait for Alfonzo." Laki said as she stood up and checked her handy work. "he said he would seal the One-Tailed Beast properly."
Meanwhile, at the southern outskirts of the village, a squad of Leaf shinobi were facing off against a giant snake that was attacking the village's walls in order to let the five hundred or so enemy shinobi who summoned it into the village. And it looked like they were on the losing end of this confrontation.
"Everyone, just hold on!" The leader of the squad of Leaf shinobi shouted. "We only have to hold on until reinforcements arrive! Lord Jiraiya is in the village. Once he summons his toads, we'll be able to focus on stopping the shinobi while he deals with the snake!"
Having faith in Jiraiya, the shinobi on the defensive line roared, showing their determination to protect their home.
At that moment, a large magic power approached rapidly. And since the shinobi of the Hidden Leaf only knew a few people with that much magic power, they automatically assumed it was Jiraiya. The enemy shinobi were thinking the same thing, as well. But when they saw the relatively short blonde woman land on the battlefield, both sides were confused.
"Of course it would be a big snake." Lucy, the blonde woman who just made her appearance on the battlefield, said as she surveyed the situation. "*Sigh* I really don't' like snakes. But I guess I have to fight it, don't I?"
Reaching that point, Lucy reached into her Celestial Key pouch. Then, she pulled out a pair of Golden Celestial Keys.
"[Star Dress: Taurus]." Lucy said as she held the first of the keys up before plunging it into the center of her chest.
Immediately, Lucy was covered in golden light. Then, when the light reseeded, she was dressed in a cow-patterned bikini top and matching sleeves, a pair of pants with no right leg, leaving her entire right leg exposed, a pair of gloves and boots, as well as a belt with the symbol for Taurus on the belt buckle.
"Alright, this is where things really get started." Lucy said as she held up the second Golden Celestial Key and her [Soul Armament], Zodiac, which took the form of a whip with a purple handle, a dark blue body, and had a four cornered star at its tip, before inserting the key into the keyhole at the base of the whip's handle. "[Open the Door to the stars, Zodiac]."
Once the Golden Celestial Key was inserted into the whip and Lucy finished her release command, Zodiac glowed in golden light. Then, the four-cornered star changed its shape to that of a lion's head, making it clear that the key Lucy inserted into its keyhole was Leo's.
"What is that?" A shinobi from the Sound Village asked.
"It doesn't matter!" A Sand shinobi shouted. "Stop her!"
"It's too late for that." Lucy said confidently. Then, she swung her whip at the ground using all the strength her [Star Dress] afforded her. "[Regulus Wave]."
As lucy's whip slapped against the ground, the ground in front of her fissured. On top of that, large pieces of debris were shot towards the snake and the shinobi behind it. Plus, all those pieces of debris were glowing in Regulus' light, significantly increasing their destructive force.
Seeing the incoming wave of glowing earth projectiles, the snake widened its eyes. Then, it showed everyone present exactly how loyal it was.
*Poof!*
By unsummoning itself, leaving all the shinobi behind it exposed to the incoming attack.
After that, the sound of people screaming in fear, groaning in pain, and bodies being slammed into by rocks and soil at high speed echoed around the surroundings. Meanwhile, the shinobi on the defensive line only watched on in disbelief.
"One move." The captain of the defensive line said in a shaky tone. "She defeated them all with just one move. Just who is that woman?"
"I think she was brought in by Alfonzo Marcus." Another shinobi said.
"I know that." The captain replied. "But I've never heard of a wizard from Fairy Tail with powers like that."
"Phew!" Lucy said while breathing out tiredly. Then, she dispelled Zodiac's released state as she continued. "Using the [Star Dress] and your release at the same time really is tiring, Zodiac."
["Hmph!"] Zodiac snorted from Lucy's inner world. She then continued in a haughty tone. ["You just don't' train enough. If your body was stronger, you wouldn't have such a low capacity for magic power."]
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Lucy replied. "Anyway, let's get back inside the village. There are still a lot of enemies in there."
["Well, at least it's easy to tell friend from foe with these ninjas."] Zodiac replied. ["I mean, they all wear ID markers. It's like they work in rival companies, or something."]
In response, Lucy giggled as she rushed back into the village.
At the same time, Elicia and Cana also dealt with the snakes on the northeast and northwest of the village and did the same.
A moment later, Jiraya appeared on the battlefield Lucy just left.
"Don't worry, the Great Toad Sage of Mt. Myabōku is here!" Jiraiya shouted to raise the troops morale.
However, the response Jiraiya received was much different than he expected. Instead of cheers that showed their determination, he only received an awkward silence.
Jiraiya then took the time to survey his surroundings. And he noticed that there was no snake summon on the battlefield. On top of that, all the hostile shinobi were either dead or severely injured.
"Just what happened here?" Jiraiya asked while scratching his head in confusion.
While all of this was going on, Saeko was standing outside the hospital's entrance with her katana drawn. Around her, the bodies of more than a dozen shinobi were on the ground, their fates unknown. Meanwhile, Rika, who had taken up a position on the hospital's roof, was picking off shinobi around the village with her Mechashift weapon.
And with these two guarding the hospital, no one from the Sand or Sound could get close.
"These shinobi are rather weak. Saeko said. "I thought there would be more of a challenge to be had."
Despite saying that, the sadism in Saeko's smile was evident for everyone to see. Anyone who knew her would know that she was truly enjoying the violence she was inflicting on her enemies.
"I know you're having fun." Rika shouted down to Saeko from the hospital's roof after picking off a shinobi that was about to ambush Naruto's rescue team in the distance. "But don't' forget why we're here."
"I'm well aware." Saeko replied. "but who said a girl can't enjoy her job, right?"
Rika could only shake her head as she watched the hospital's surroundings through the scope of her rifle.
"We got more incoming." Rika said as she started shooting.
"I'm ready." Saeko replied as her lips curled into dangerously breath taking smile.
A moment later, the nine shinobi remaining after Rika stopped shooting approached the hospital.
"[Flying Heaven's Sword-Style: KuzuRyūsen]." Saeko chanted as she dashed towards the crowd of enemy shinobi.
In the next instant, Saeko appeared behind the crowd of Shinobi as she sheathed her katana.
*Click!*
Just as the sound of the handguard making contact with the mouth of the sheath sounded out, stab wounds appeared in the center of the nine shinobi's foreheads, piercing straight through their forehead protectors.
"Hey! Wasn't that move supposed to only attack the nine vital spots on one target?" Rika asked from the hospital's roof.
"That's right." Saeko replied with a nod as she returned to her position in front of the hospital's entrance. "But I modified it to have an area of effect, so to speak. Unfortunately, because I have to constantly change positions in such a short time, it drains stamina rather quickly."
"*Sigh* You're really scary, girl." Rika said while shaking her head. "You basically made a melee version of my [Multiscope] spell. Anyway, I wonder how the others are doing? Especially Alfonzo. He went to fight that creepy guy attacking the Hokage on the roof, right?"
With that, Rika took a moment to look in the direction of the barrier on top of the Chunin Exam arena before getting back to her duty of protecting the hospital. Looking through er scope to survey the village, she saw Ikaruga cutting down a group of Sand and Sound Shinobi while Grayfia froze any that she missed. Even Miyuki, who's combat style was no were near as flashy, defeated a similarly ranked opponent in hand-to-hand combat.
"Well, this should be over before too long." Rika muttered as she lined up a shot on a shinobi who was trying to sneak attack Miyuki. "We just have to wait for Alfonzo to take down the ring leader. Then, we can go back home. By the way, I wonder how this will affect the results of the Chunin Exam."