Simultaneous traversal: All Abyss difficulty.

Chapter 402 (Seeking Monthly Tickets) The Konoha Collapse Plan! Uchiha U makes his appearance!

The blazing sunlight shone on the center of the arena as Hiruzen Sarutobi, draped in his Hokage robes, slowly walked toward the VIP seats.

He caught a glimpse of Rasa, the Kazekage of Sunagakure, sitting at the table with a gloomy face. His right arm, wrapped in bandages, was resting on the armrest, and his knuckles were white from the strain.

"Lord Kazekage, are you getting used to the long journey?" The smoke from Hiruzen's pipe blurred his scrutinizing gaze.

Luo Sha snorted coldly, his hoarse voice sounding like it was mixed with chili powder: "Thanks to the Hokage, I encountered some blind insects on the way."

The witty banter between the two was interrupted by a sudden burst of cheers.

In the stands, the Konoha genin were cheering for Naruto Uzumaki as he entered the arena.

Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his voice and asked the Anbu behind him, "Has Danzo not arrived yet?"

The ninja wearing a tanuki mask knelt on one knee: "He has been missing since yesterday. The people from Root said he seems to be investigating some case."

"Investigating the case?"

At this moment, Danzo stood in the most secluded chamber of the Root base, his cane deeply embedded in the ground, his single eye, hidden beneath bandages, bloodshot with rage.

That wall, once covered with Sharingan eyes, was once densely packed with Uchiha treasures.
It was glaringly empty at that moment!

Every groove seemed to mock the root's incompetence, leaving not even a single magatama!

"Who did this?!"

A low, beast-like growl rolled from his throat, and his cane shattered the stone slab with a "crack".

The Root ninja who had been on duty last night knelt on the ground, cold sweat soaking his collar beneath his mask: "Sir, there were no signs of the barrier being triggered, and the guards' surveillance cameras also..."

"Useless!" Danzo kicked his subordinate to the ground. "Investigate first! After you find the thief, you can die!"

The man immediately kowtowed with gratitude, "Lord Danzo! I will definitely investigate and find out the truth!"

"Report!"

A Root ninja arrived instantly. "Lord Danzo! The Chunin Exams are about to begin, and the Hokage has inquired about them with you."

Danzo took a deep breath. "Okay, I understand."

Ten minutes later, Danzo arrived at the scene.

He glanced at Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, who was fighting Hyuga Neji, a genius of the Hyuga clan, and snorted coldly before sitting down not far to the left of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The elderly Hokage glanced at his old friend's condition, shook his head helplessly, and continued watching the battle.

"This punch of mine! It's for Hinata's sake!"

As Naruto spoke, he delivered a very cool punch to Hyuga Neji's face!
This punch directly made young Hinata Hyuga fall in love with Naruto!

Genma Shiranui jumped into the arena, declaring, "The winner is Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Ah! Ahh! Naruto actually won?!" Sakura Haruno covered her mouth, looking completely bewildered.

The crowd erupted in cheers!

Naruto covered the back of his head and walked towards the audience with a wicked grin.

When he got to Uchiha Yu, he found Uchiha Yu leering at him. Naruto quickly covered his backside and ran back to his own spot.

After sitting down, Naruto, still feeling quite shaken, muttered to Sakura, "You should tell Sasuke to stay away from the older Uchiha Uchiha! I don't think that guy's acting strange!"

Sakura frowned. "He does seem a bit off. He just said something, and..." Sakura's face flushed red, and she didn't finish her sentence.

"The game continues! The next player to play is..."

"Gaara of the Sand! Against! Sasuke Uchiha!"

The moment the list was announced, the audience's enthusiasm was instantly ignited, and the entire arena erupted in deafening cheers and discussions.

Supporters from Sunagakure waved flags and chanted Gaara's name, while the ninjas from Konoha anxiously looked around for Sasuke.

"Where's Sasuke? Why isn't he here yet?" Sakura clenched her fists nervously, her eyes constantly scanning the entrance.

Naruto stood up and peered out on tiptoe. "Could he have overslept? That arrogant Sasuke!" In the stands, Temari, one of the three siblings from Sunagakure, sneered. "The Uchiha clan of Konoha seems to be nothing special. They don't even dare to step onto the field."

Kankuro crossed his arms and chimed in, "He's probably afraid of Gaara. After all, Gaara of the Sands isn't called that for nothing."

The Konoha ninjas glared angrily upon hearing these words, but due to the occasion, they could only suppress their anger.

In the VIP section, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and whispered to the ANBU member beside him, "Go check on Sasuke's situation."

Danzo snorted coldly, a sinister glint flashing in his single eye. "The Uchiha clan is indeed unreliable."

Just then, Gaara's figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

He carried a huge gourd on his back, his indifferent gaze sweeping across the entire area before finally settling on the empty space opposite him.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Gaara murmured, his tone tinged with impatience and killing intent.

The audience's enthusiasm gradually turned into doubt and dissatisfaction, and whispers rose and fell.

"Could it be that they abstained?"

"How could that be! Sasuke-kun is not afraid of that Sand Village guy!"

But the time has already come!

Just as Genma Shiranui was about to announce Sasuke's forfeit, a commotion suddenly broke out at the entrance of the arena.

"Look! That's it!"

All eyes turned to the entrance, where a dark figure rushed in at incredible speed, creating a whirlwind.

The dark figure came to a steady stop opposite Gaara, raising a cloud of dust.

As the dust settled, Uchiha U urged Shiranui Genma, "Hurry up and count down! Sasuke's eliminated! It's my turn next!"

This left everyone in Konoha completely bewildered!

One of the Konoha ninjas remarked, "They mistook it for the arrival of a genius from the Uchiha clan, but it turned out to be an idiot. It seems Sasuke Uchiha is genuinely scared, considering that Gaara of the Sand injured Rock Lee so badly."

Uchiha U completely disregarded the audience's opinions and urged Shiranui Genma again, "Hurry up with the countdown! Are you going to show favoritism just because a Konoha ninja is late?"

Forced into this situation, Genma Shiranui had no choice but to start counting down.

"ten"

"six"

"two"

"Gaara wins."

Gaara glanced coldly at Uchiha U, seemingly quite dissatisfied with this victory without a fight.

He raised his hand and secretly used sand to bind Uchiha Yu's ankles!

Squeeze it hard!
The expected "click" sound did not occur!
Instead, it was Uchiha Ujin who looked at Gaara with an innocent expression.
Gaara was startled!
How, how is it possible!

Is this guy's bone really that hard?

Uchiha U then spoke up: "After the Chunin Exams, I will personally visit Sunagakure."

Gaara frowned. "Fine! I'll wait for you!"

No one paid much attention to this little incident. Genma Shiranui had just recovered from the result of Sunagakure's victory without a fight and turned to look at the names of the two sides in the next match.

"Next game."

"Uchiha U, battle!"

"Ryuta Kishimoto!"

(End of this chapter)