"Whoa, whoa, whoa! No!!"
Facing the poisonous daggers thrown by Kankuro's Puppet, "Karasu" Naruto screamed in fear, closing his eyes tightly. Despite his fear, his body was involuntarily propelled forward at high speed, controlled by five blue Chakra Threads!
"Open your eyes and watch closely! How do you expect to become Hokage with such a small amount of courage?!"
Seeing Naruto's panicked expression, Yu couldn't help but chuckle. After using Observation Haki to sense the numerous fast-approaching Chakras, Yu smirked slightly, "Sarutobi-sensei and the others should be arriving here soon, so let's end this childish game…"
"Rasengan!!"
As Yu's words fell, in the shocked gazes of Naruto, who suddenly opened his eyes, and everyone around, a ball of blue-white Chakra light blossomed in his right hand. It spun rapidly, like a whirlwind, eventually forming a glowing Chakra sphere!
"What is that?!"
Standing beside Yu, Kurenai widened her beautiful eyes in astonishment. Yu had managed to control Naruto through five Chakra Threads to perform Rasengan, an A-rank, no-hand-sign Ninjutsu. This level of Chakra control was simply breathtaking!
Boom!!
Immediately following the crisp sound of shattering, everyone felt as if time had frozen before their eyes.
They saw Naruto, in shock, being forced to unleash the Rasengan in his hand. The powerful force shattered the incoming puppet, 'Karasu,' as if it were nothing, and then sent Kankuro flying through the air!
Bang!!
With the five blue Chakra Threads dissipating, Naruto finally regained control of his body. As he watched Kankuro spinning through the air and crashing into a tree, the onlookers finally snapped out of their daze.
"Kankuro!!"
Seeing her brother sent flying into the tree by Naruto's Rasengan controlled by Yu's Chakra Threads, Temari was the first to react and rushed out.
"What... what was that Ninjutsu just now?!"
As everyone else came to their senses, only Naruto stood there dazed, completely immersed in the astonishing Ninjutsu that had just connected with his fate.
"Although it's still too early for you…"
After retracting the blue Chakra Threads, Yu looked at Naruto's shocked expression and a meaningful, enigmatic smile appeared on his face. "But in the future, you will inevitably make this Ninjutsu shine…"
"Temari, take Kankuro back. Don't let him make a fool of himself here…"
At that moment, a cold voice suddenly came from a nearby tree, capturing everyone's attention. "Losing oneself because of an argument is the most disgraceful. Have you forgotten the purpose of our visit?"
"I... Gaara?!"
As Temari floated the unconscious Kankuro off the ground, she looked up in panic at the figure that had suddenly appeared on the tree.
Following Temari's gaze, everyone saw a ninja with short reddish-brown hair and wearing a dark red long coat perched on the tree. His pale face bore thick black circles under his eyes, and his emerald-green eyes constantly revealed a chilling and brutal killing intent. There was a blood-red 'Love' symbol on his forehead, and his imposing presence alone was enough to send shivers down one's spine.
So, he's finally shown up...
Upon seeing Gaara's appearance beside him, Yu finally showed a hint of interest on his face.
Strictly speaking, among the ninjas of Naruto and Sasuke's generation from the Five Great Shinobi Countries, excluding Naruto and Sasuke—who are exceptional due to being the reincarnations of the Six Paths sons—the true outstanding figures based on their own talent and effort are, in Yu's view, Gaara and Neji.
In the anime, Gaara's strength from his first appearance was overwhelming compared to other Genin of the same rank. Some might attribute this to the influence of the One-Tail, Shukaku, but by the time of Shippuden, Gaara was the first ninja of his generation to reach the Kage level.
Even after Shukaku was extracted from his body, his strength not only remained but improved. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, he reached an even higher level and received unanimous recognition from several generations of Kage, affirming him as a ninja with immense potential.
In fact, towards the end, when ninjas of the same generation were left far behind by Naruto and Sasuke—who had surpassed everyone else—Gaara was the only one who could barely keep up with them. This illustrates his remarkable standing.
"I am Gaara of the Sand…"
After coldly reprimanding his sister Temari and his brother Kankuro, Gaara's icy and brutal gaze shifted to Yu. "A person who can use Puppet Jutsu to defeat Kankuro in an instant, someone like you cannot be an unknown ninja. I'm very interested in you. What's your name?"
"I suggest you give up, the one with the gourd…"
Just as Gaara finished speaking, another voice came from the same tree. "While your strength might be considerable, that white-haired guy is not a monster you can imagine at your current level."
At this moment, the Genin from various ninja villages finally noticed that Uchiha Sasuke had also appeared on the nearby tree, only a tree trunk away from Gaara.
"Your perception has improved, Sasuke. At least you can see the difference in strength now…"
Hearing Sasuke's calm words, Yu nodded appreciatively, but his deep and sharp gaze suddenly turned to the empty space beside them. "Alright, you Genin kids, move aside. I believe the person we're waiting for has arrived…"
What?!
Upon hearing Yu's words, Gaara, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and all the other ninjas participating in the Chunin Exams were all taken aback, clearly not understanding what he meant.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!
At that moment, countless sharp black shadows flashed through the air. In the next second, the vast open space they were in was instantly surrounded by hundreds of fully armed ANBU ninjas, encircling them completely.
"Are these… Konoha ANBU ninjas?!"
"So many ninjas deployed… Could our plan have been discovered?!"
Seeing the numerous Konoha ANBU ninjas suddenly appear around them, all the ninjas participating in the Chunin Exams were shocked, especially Gaara and the Sand Jonin Baki, who had just arrived from the side. Cold sweat appeared on their faces.
"It's been over six years since that incident…"
"You've grown up and become an even more outstanding ninja, Yu…"
At this moment, a solemn and authoritative voice rang out. Amidst the astonished gazes of everyone, an elder in traditional ninja armor slowly stepped out from among the Konoha ANBU ninjas. The old man exuded an astonishing presence— it was none other than Konoha's Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen!
"However, considering our past teacher-student relationship… can you tell me the purpose of your return to Konoha this time?"
After appearing, the Third Hokage's gaze fell on Yu, who was surrounded by hundreds of Konoha ANBU ninjas. Despite the sharpness of his eyes, his aged voice conveyed an indescribable complexity.
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