Chapter 43

Slowly, Hikaru walks out of the shadow of the tree. His face was calm, his posture was straight and smooth. He walked like an elegant noble while maintaining his powerful presence.

This time, he wore some pretty normal clothing. A plain white shirt, black short anbu pants, and you can see his rings on his fingers. They were beautiful, to say the least.

"Hikaru, good timing, " Sasuke said in relief.

Hikaru simply stared at the red haired boy, and asked, "You three are pretty daring, eh? Hey apple head, what's your name?" Even though he already knew who these three are.

"Gaara." The red hair's short reply.

"Ho, the crazy jinchuuriki of Suna have come to Konoha?" Hikaru said.

Temari and Kankuro knew that they have to get out of this situation, urgently. This boy right in front of them knows something, they could see it in the way his eyes glints. And they have to worry about Gaara, too. This could get out of hand!

Suddenly, Gaara grinned maniacally.

"Mother, mother is calling for your blood! She screams your name in great displeasure! Mother is telling me to kill you! Skin you! And drink your filthy blood! You will prove my existence once more!" Gaara yelled in a voice full of deranged tone.

'Shukaku screams my name in great displeasure? What's happening? Does ichibi knows who I am? That's... surprising. Maybe she knows the Second? That's possible.' Hikaru thought, puzzled.

Temari got near Gaara to try and calm him down, only to receive an attack from his sand.

"Gah!" Temari flew away with blood dripping from her mouth.

Gaara seems to have ignored her and simply stared at Hikaru with his psychotic eyes.

Suddenly, Gaara's eyes started to change. His pupils became star shaped and around his eyes simply became sand.

"Kiran! I will kill you!!" This time, it wasn't Gaara's voice that came out, instead, it was a bit more beastly but it was screeching.

After he screamed that, Gaara's eyes suddenly returned to normal before going unconscious.

Seeing that Gaara had fallen asleep, Temari and Kankuro suddenly got terrified. Whenever he falls asleep, the Ichibi will come out! If ever he releases that beast inside Konoha. they're doomed! Their plan of invading Konoha is doomed!

But, he did not transform or anything. Instead, he just fell soundly asleep.

"Huh? That's weird?" Kankuro muttered out.

Hikaru looks at them and said, "I have restrained the Ichibi, you two can relax. But bringing a defect jinchuuriki here inside this village, your village really had the balls."

Earlier, when Gaara was on the verge of transforming, he used his mana to restrain Shukaku inside his seal. Mana really comes in handy every time. Though, it was slightly hard because his seal was not really made for sealing tailed beasts. It's more like a storage seal that's slightly bigger than normal. He'll talk about this with the Hokage later.

Even though Temari was injured because of Gaara's attack earlier, she still manages to speak out, "Wait, this is just a misunderstanding! We really just came here for the chuunin exams."

"How so? A defect jinchuuriki, the son and daughter of the Kazekage, and more importantly, if Gaara ever falls asleep, he would release the Ichibi inside him." Hikaru said while still holding down Ichibi with his Mana. He's currently transferring some of his mana to continue and suppress Shukaku for the time being.

Temari and Kankuro flinched, they knew that they've just been found out. No use fighting inside the enemy's village, it would simply be futile.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Konohamaru couldn't help but be shocked at the sudden turn of events. Suna was more likely going to invade Konoha with their unstable jinchuuriki but they don't know more.

Hikaru gazed at them coldly, and said, "You two will come with me to the Hokage's office. To be letting another village's jinchuuriki, Konoha's security system is really lacking these days."

He made a clone to lift Gaara while he "escorts" the two siblings.

He then said to Azumi, "Go home, I will meet you there. I just have things to take care of, " Before he walked away.

He may have just ruined the entire the invasion on Konoha. But this is better. Maybe the Third Hokage would still continue the exams, and try to kill Orochimaru. That rouge student of his is, after all, one of his greatest failures.

As he walks towards the Hokage Tower, the civilians he passed by glared at him with intense hatred.

'Ah yes, these people after all still thinks that Azumi is the demon fox. And, since I am be her side, they think that I'm also a demon. Their stupidity really goes somewhere. Though, I'll kill them the moment they touch even a single hair strand of Azumi. I've killed a few over these years, and they are always begging for their life for some unknown reasons. I just simply pull their spines, their teeth, and their limbs. No harm was done.' Hikaru thought sarcastically and mockingly.

He simply walks by pass them while ignoring their glares. They may try to harm him, or Azumi, but the moment they do, he'll kill them with the most brutal way possible.

The Third approved of this and made a law that no one can harm Azumi, or they will be executed on the spot.

(A Day Later)

The chuunin exam's still continuing. The third did not cancel the exam.

After interrogating the two, they managed to find out that Orochimaru was the one who proposed this idea of invading Konoha to them. Since Suna was becoming more financial unstable over the years because of Konoha taking away all of their missions, the Kazekage agreed to that snake's plan.

Hiruzen, though, came up with a plan. And that is to stop Orochimaru once and for all. He will call Jiraiya back to the village, and with the two of them, they should be able to kill Orochimaru.

And, he still cannot cancel the exam for an another reason. Kumo is also joining, and the lightning daimyo and Fire Daimyo are also coming as well. Konoha cannot afford to lose face in front of two Daimyos. Or they will lose some financial backing from their very own Daimyo.

With all these reasons combined together, Hiruzen had no other choice but to continue the exam.

( At The Exam Hall )

After meeting Kakashi, Team 7 proceeded to enter the exam hall. In there, they saw around a hundred and sixty genins. Every team hails from other villages. But the most surprising was that Kumo was in here, too. Though, there were only four of them. But it seems like one of them was the Nibi jinchuuriki, Nii Yugito. She seems to be the jounin sensei of these three genins.

But, those three genins were quite strong.

As the Team 7 enters the hall, every genin inside turned their heads to look at them.

"They seem strong, " Sakura said as she hid her fear towards them.

"Yeah, I could feel my skin crawling at the sight of them." Sasuke said.

"Really? They seem really weak, I could probably kill them with my pinky." Hikaru said nonchalantly.

"Hmm, I could probably take them on. I've been training my sword techniques this entire month." Azumi said as she held the hilt of the sword that Hikaru gave her. The Sunlight Straight Sword. Hikaru enchanted it with +10 Divine Lightning. It's one of his strongest weapons in his item box.

From time to time, the sword on her waist sparks yellow lightning.

Suddenly...

"Hikaru-kun! I've missed you!" Hearing that voice, Hikaru dodges side ways and Ino only hugged nothing.

"Ino, you should really pick the time and place." Hikaru said, annoyed.

Ino turned around and said, "Oh you~, I told you to call me, Ino-chan~."

"Can you not? Azumi is right here, you know." Hikaru said as he pointed at Azumi.

"Aww, why don't you just ignore her and go out with me? I'm sure it will be really worth your time~" Ino said with her seductive and sultry voice.

"You worthless pig!" Azumi took out her sword from its sheath before thrusting it towards Ino, but Hikaru just blocked it with a shield he took from the system. It was just buckler but it did the job before breaking apart.

"Azumi, put the sword back to its sheath. Don't kill a fellow Konoha shinobi." HIkaru said sternly as he discarded his broken shield.

"B-but she's trying to seduce you!" Azumi yelled.

"Don't worry, I won't fall for her. Just calm down, okay?" Hikaru tried calming her down.

"Okay." She complied.

Ino seems to have been petrified on the spot. She was really so close at being killed.

"Troublesome. Ino, now you see why you don't go after men who already has a lover? Anyway, you all really joined the chuunin exams?" Shikamaru's lazy voice said.

Choji's by his side, eating chips like always.

"Yeah, as you can see." Sasuke replied.

Another team from Konoha came, it was Kiba, Hinata, and Shino.

Kiba still wore the same style of clothes he had back in the academy. Hinata seems to have grown and showed a bit more skin. While Shino was silent as always. Hikaru and him just basically nodded at each other as a hello.

"Yo, it seems like the Rookie 10 has come together again." Kiba said loudly and Akamaru barked.

"Rookie 10?" Sakura asked.

"That's what they call us these days." Kiba replied.

"Hmm, there you are, Hikaru-kun." Hinata exclaimed before running towards him.

Hikaru stopped her mid-way, and said, "Don't, just don't."

Hinata was confused at first but when she saw Azumi's glaring eyes, she understood what was happening.

"Fine, but you will still go to the event that's happening this month in my clan's compound." Hinata said stubbornly.

"You don't have to keep reminding me. August 26, right? Okay." Hikaru seems tired of all these.

11 days from now, it will be the birthday of her grandfather, who's turning 77 this month. Hinata invited him a few weeks ago because her father keeps pestering her to marry some son of the Daimyo, and he's her only chance of getting away from that perverted bastard. The only reason he wanted to marry her was because he wanted her body, which, if they ever marry, the Hyuga Clan will grow even stronger. Also, he's a pedophile. That's why he wanted Hinata.

Hikaru's role is to kill the Daimyo's son silently, they're basically planning an assassination. But, you may think that this will be troublesome to do, and you're right, if the Daimyo ever liked his son. His son is a very dirty stain in his family, and that son also wants the throne for himself. But he cannot just do something about his son because that bastard has some power in the main capital. Many corrupt officials are rooting for him because, when he becomes the Daimyo, he'll basically give those corrupt people a free gate way pass to do horrific things inside the main capital.

In short, he's a must kill individual.

"You guys should really quiet down." A voice suddenly said. It was a white haired genin who wore a pair of round glasses and a Konoha headband on his forehead.

"Who're you?" Kiba asked him.

"I'm Kabuto, but never mind that. Look around you."

They did as he said, except Hikaru, and noticed a lot of eyes staring at them coldly. Their gazes made their body freeze a little.

"Hmph, so what? Glare all they want but nothing will change. They're still weak." Azumi said smugly.

The Suna Team looks at them.

Yesterday, Gaara slept, he only slept until he had enough of it. It was a bliss for him because for so many years, that was the first time he fell asleep without the Ichibi coming out. And it was so comfortable, he really would love to sleep like that again.

"Hey, Gaara seems more cheerful than usual." Kankuro whispered to his sister.

"Yeah, he's even smiling with a calm face. Maybe it's because of the Hokage fixing his seal more properly?" Temari replied.

"Yeah, but let me tell you, I like this version of him than the grumpy "I'll kill you" version." Kankuro said.

"True to that."

With the Rookie 10.

"This is freaking me out a little." Ino said.

"Yeah, you should be. Almost all of these people are elites from their village. That's why you should quiet. You might pissed someone from all your noises." Kabuto warned.

They went quiet as Kabuto told them.

"Anyway, would you lik-"

He was cut off when a large poof of smoke appeared in front of all the genins.

Ibiki and the rest of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force appeared after the smoke dispersed.

"Maggots, from this point on, the chuunin exams has started!"