Eh!...

Guy pauses for a while as he stares at Kaito. ​​

Humph...

Kaito scoffs and turns around and leaves.

Ahem...

"The winner is Kaito of the Sunagakure."

Guy waves his hand and declares the winner.

"That's more like it."

Rasa clenches his fists.

Huh!

Tsunade and Mei turn towards him.

Ahem...

"Haha... It was a close match. The shinobis of Takigakure are really something." Rasa coughs slightly to calm down the awkwardness.

"..."

Tsunade and Mei silently nod their head and turn towards the arena.

"Damn it... I will certainly win the next bet."

Tsunade clutches her fists as she turns to Izuna.

"Now for the next match; our contestants are Shishio from Sunagakure and Kazami from Kusagakure."

Guy waves his hand as the contestants enter the arena.

"Hey... that's the flag guy from Kusagakure who was beaten by that Fan guy of Sunagakure."

Naruto points towards Kazami.

"He has some abilities to able to clear the second exam even after losing his scrolls." Sasuke remarks as he stares at the arena.

"Huh! What?... what are you guys talking about?" Lee questions them.

"Oh shit! We weren't supposed to talk about this." Naruto sticks out his tongue.

"It's nothing... nothing." He hurriedly shakes his hand to distract Lee.

"Look... look... the match is about to start."

Naruto points towards the arena.

"Guy Sensei!... Guy sensei will show his signature move again."

Lee turns towards the arena with shining eyes.

Sigh...

Naruto takes a deep breath as he curiously stares at the match.

Hmm...

Shikamaru opens one of his eyes as he stares at Naruto.

'He is hiding something. What a drag!'

In the VIP arena,

Tsunade takes out a fat stack of cash and passes it to Izuna.

"I will bet on that genin from Sunagakure. Previously, the Sunagakure genin won the match. I am sure, it will be the same this time."

Izuna holds the Ryo as he questions her with an uncertain tone.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Of course." Tsunade nods her head.

"Well... you said it."

Izuna places her bet.

"Start"

Guy waves his hand to start the fight.

Rasa notices the gambling held by Izuna.

'I also want to gamble. But I don't have any money to gamble. Will he take Gold dust instead of Ryo?"

Rasa hesitates as he stares at Izuna.

Ahem...

He clears his throat and points towards the arena.

"Hokage, it seems like you will lose your bet."

"Huh!... Why?" Tsunade turns towards Rasa for clarification.

"Shishio is a sensor type ninja; so, his fighting capabilities are subpar. His abilities are more oriented towards assisting his team in battle rather than direct confrontation." Rasa summarizes Shishio's abilities without specifying them.

"NO... my Ryo."

Tsunade bites her lips as her eyes almost overflow her tears.

---------------

Outside Konoha,

Swoosh... swoosh...

Multiple ninjas in Suna outfits gather at a spot.

"The intel was correct. That snake Orochimaru didn't sell us out."

A sand shinobi with a standard outfit of Sunagakure elder with the signature elder turban is in the lead of the sand shinobis. He has a deep tear trough across his cheeks and another running parallel to his nose. He also has long black hair and dark eyes.

"Granny Chiyo... what do you think about it?"

He turns towards Granny Chiyo, who has a child beside her.

The child has fair skin, green eyes, and short spiky auburn hair. The child lacks distinctive pupils and has black rings around his eyes. His hairs are parted on the left side of his forehead to reveal a red kanji letter for 'love'.

The child holds Chiyo's finger anxiously as he stares in his surroundings.

The rest of Suna Ninja avoids his gaze and turns their eyes away.

The child clutches his hands tightly as he senses their expression of loathing.

"What is the meaning of this, Jōseki?"

Chiyo pats Gaara's head as she glares at Jōseki.

"I need an explanation. Why would the village bring a child to such a dangerous mission when you can commission more shinobis for it?" Chiyo stares Jōseki in the eyes.

"Granny Chiyo, this child is a tool, a weapon meant for the destruction of our enemies. He is nothing more than a container of One-tails.

As a member of the Suna council, my responsibility and concern lie with the peace and stability of the village. Now, since the village is in such dire straits; we have to deploy every mean available to us."

Jōseki turns towards Konoha as he remarks.

"Besides, he is a failure of a jinchuruki and we need to deal with him one way or the other. This is an opportunity for us, we can leave him to Konoha to deal. With the One-tails rampaging, Konoha will be forced to send their elite forces to hold it back."

"JŌSEKI!!..." Chiyo yells at Jōseki.

"Oya... oya! Looks like I came at the wrong time."

Orochimaru licks his lips as he interrupts them.

Ahem...

Jōseki clears his throat and turns to Orochimaru.

"You came right on time. Let's get ready to deal with Konoha."

"That's more like it."

Whoosh...

Orochimaru throws a scroll towards Jōseki. Jōseki catches the scroll and questions Orochimaru.

"What's this?"

"This is a summoning scroll. The defense of Konoha is quite strong. We need to punch a hole through the barrier to invade the village.

There is a summoning formation on the scroll. Use these scrolls together with the summoning formation. The summoning jutsu uses quite a lot of chakra."

Orochimaru reminds him.

Hmm...

Jōseki nods his head and passes the scroll to a Jounin commander and explains the details to him.

"All preparations are complete. We have to only wait for the signal."

Orochimaru licks his lips and reunites with his Otogakure Ninjas.

---------------

Inside the VIP area,

"NOO... I lost again."

Tsunade stares at her empty purse with teary eyes.

"That's was my saving from past three years. Gone... all gone in the blink of an eye. Why? Why it has to be like this? Why can't I win a single gamble?"

Tsunade has tears in her eyes.

"Dame da ne...

Dame yo...

dame na no yo....

Anata ga, suki de…

sukisugite...

Dore dake…"

Izuna pitifully stares at Tsunade as he starts to sing. Three anbus beside him takes out a violin and plays it.

"…"

Mei is flabbergasted at this.

"NO… don't remind me of this." More tears flow from her eyes.

"It's ok. You will get it next time."

Izuna pats Tsunade's head.

"NO…"

Tsunade hugs Izuna's waist and bowls out her eyes.

"Don't worry, there is still one last gamble. I will loan you some money."

Izuna passes a stack of money to her.

'Either way, the money will return to me.'

Sob… sob…

Tsunade wipes her tears as she cheerfully snatches the stack of cash and counts it.

"…"

Izuna and Mei silently stare at her pace of cheerfulness.

"Izuna… what were they singing? Somehow, I found it funny but sorrowful at the same time."

Mei asks him.

"Oh! You know, during my time as an anbu captain; I was quite bored with the mission, as most of them were quite easy. So, in my spare time; I created a band of musicians with them. This is one of my 'Original' creation."

Izuna shamelessly takes the credit.

"Now, I am interested. I would like to listen to more songs from you." Mei has stars in her eyes.

Izuna sweat drops at her expression.

'I never knew she loves music. I can prepare a concert as my proposal.' Some wild ideas run through Izuna's mind.

In the arena,

Guy raises his hand, and he bolsters the enthusiasm of the crowd.

"Ladies and Gentleman! It's time for the final match of Round One. We have Chojuro of Kirigakure and his opponent will be Kabuto Yakushi from Konohagakure."

Whoosh… whoosh…

Chojuro and Kabuto enter the arena.

"Kabuto-san! It's you. I never thought I would meet you in the finals."

Chojuro faces off against Kabuto.

"What a strange turn of events? I never expected to meet you in finals."

Kabuto adjusts his spectacles.

"With this, the final match of Round one starts."

Guy raises his hand and announces the start.

Chojuro grabs the hilt of his sword and points it towards Kabuto.

"I am sorry, Kabuto-san. I have to prove myself to my master. I won't hold back."

Swoosh…

He infuses chakra into Hiramekarei as a blue glow appears on the blade.

"So, he is your successor." Tsunade stares at Chojuro.

"Yes, Chojuro is a hard-working boy. I am sure he will grow into a fine shinobi."

Mei nods her head.

"Then, I will gamble on Chojuro."

Tsunade places her bet on Chojuro.

"Then let me see what you have got."

Kabuto raises one of his hands.

Hmm…

Izuna frowns as he notices a large amount of chakra being kneaded in Kabuto's body.

"It has started, Tsunade."

Izuna yells as he warns them.

Kabuto smirks as he murmurs.

"Genjutsu: Temple of Nirvana"

Swoosh… swoosh…

Many white feathers start to rain from the sky as Kabuto casts a wide area genjutsu.

"Kabuto-san… this…"

Chojuro's eyelids turn heavy as his vision turns blurry.

Slump…

He falls into a deep sleep.

"No… you don't."

Guy yells as he performs a roundhouse kick.

"Leaf Hurricane"

Bang…

Kabuto is sent flying out of the arena.

"CHOJURO!!"

Mei yells as she jumps out of the VIP arena, breaking through the glass.