A guttural shriek emanated from within Gaara's sand shield, and the hateful kernel of chakra exploded. "DIE!" A shockwave of sand and chakra rocked the stadium, splitting the arena floor with a deep ravine. Sasuke was sent flying into the back wall. The flames at the center of the arena dispersed, showering the stadium with molten debris.

Sasuke used a burst of speed and strength to adjust his position and lessen the impact, but the force of Gaara's attack still managed to knock the wind out of his lungs and send a sharp jolt down his spine. What jutsu is this? Just how much chakra does he have access to? His body was bruised from the thrashing winds, his hair and clothing were singed from the sandstorm-turned-firestorm, and his stamina was waning from the bursts of speed and fire-style ninjutsu.

Sasuke nearly drew from the cursed seal.

He cleared his mind. He processed the shock. The pain wasn't so bad, he could still move. No limbs had detached. He had lost his tanto in the blast, it had landed about ten meters to his left. The fire-style ninjutsu had used a lot of chakra, but he had more.

"No way," said Shikamaru. "Are we really going to act like this sand-freak isn't chunin-level yet?"

"Get the hell up, Sasuke!" yelled Naruto.

Gaara hurtled toward Sasuke, bursting out of the settling cloud of dust and sand, eyes morphed into thin yellow slits. He was covered in a thick casing of spiked sand armor. Sand flew up in his wake, and his right arm transformed into a giant claw.

Sasuke collected his wits and centered his chakra. He perceived Gaara's amplified chakra output, most of which was concentrated in the giant sand claw. Monkey-dragon-rat-bird-ox-snake-dog-tiger-monkey. Raiton: Chidori. The screeching crackle of electricity in his palm sounded like one thousand birds chirping throughout the arena.

Sasuke was off like a streak of lightning. He met Gaara halfway, dodging past the downward swinging claw with a final burst of speed. Sasuke's chidori sliced through the fast-forming sand shield and sand armor, and cut into Gaara's side. He screamed out in pain. Gaara sent a blast of sand back in a blind throw, catching Sasuke as he shot by. Both young shinobi staggered to the ground.

Gaara looked down at the blood on his right hand, fresh from a tender touch to his side. It was a non-fatal blow, but pain was such an uncommon sensation. He screamed in agony.

Temari watched from the stands. Her eyes were wide, jaw agape. She had never seen Gaara suffer the slightest scratch, let alone this kind of maiming. She wanted to jump into the match, but she found that she couldn't move. She became aware of the loveliest music from above, a melody played on a flute. Temari was paralyzed. All those around her were paralyzed as well. Everyone that heard the flute began drifting into a sleepy paralysis. Temari's chest was heavy, and she fell back into her seat. Her head was spinning. Is this the next phase of the plan? But I can't move. Genjutsu?

Temari slumped over in her seat, and her head happened to turn so that she saw the figure on the edge of the arena roof. She was a red-haired flute-playing kunoichi.

Operation: Konoha Crush advanced to the next stage.

Hiruzen resisted the flute genjutsu. He detected the assault on his mind instantly, and through chakra control and willpower he broke free and remained alert. His physical and mental agility were remarkable for Hiruzen's age. He dodged Rasa's wind-style sword thrust, the force of the attack blasting apart the Hokage's viewing booth. Rasa performed the tiger hand seal, summoning dust and sand from all corners of the roof, and from within his own robes. The dust and sand formed a wave that forced Hiruzen out onto a nearby rooftop.

"Hiruzen! I thought you might resist the genjutsu," said Rasa. His skin was covered with a hexagon pattern, like a thin tattoo across his face and neck. "Master of one thousand illusions. Do people still call you that?"

"What have you done, Rasa?" said Hiruzen. "You bear Orochimaru's cursed mark… you are a fool to ally with him."

"Orochimaru knows of paths to great power, you cannot deny it," said Rasa. "You trained him well."

Hiruzen's expression hardened. "So, you mean to kill me? Your talks of peace were all lies? Come and see if you can defeat this old man. I will never let Konohagakure fall to you."

Hiruzen looked around at the audience. It seemed that everyone was under the spell, frozen in place. The only other movement was the flute-kunoichi on another roof on the side of the arena, and four figures that stood around her. They emanated the aura of Orochimaru's cursed energy. Rasa formed a platform out of glittering sand and rode it up into the air, hovering over the arena. He raised his arms and sand began to swirl on the rooftop below, forming a ten-meter tall sand humanoid. Suna no Goremu: Sand Golem!

For several seconds, Kakashi was trapped in the dizzying musical genjutsu. The illusion was strong, he was completely paralyzed, limp in his seat. He was struggling to regain the flow of his chakra when a Kurenai's gentle hand pressed against his shoulder. She imbued Kakashi with her own chakra, disrupting the genjutsu and helping him break free from its grasp.

"Kurenai, thank you," said Kakashi. He wiped sweat from his brow. "I was careless."

"That genjutsu was powerful," said Kurenai. "It looks like almost everyone in the stadium has been incapacitated."

"I should have known you would resist it," said Kakashi. "Asuma and Guy are still paralyzed."

Kurenai and Kakashi helped break Asuma and Guy out of Tayuya's genjutsu. The flute song continued to play, but they were no longer affected. Asuma leaned against the handrail, mentally recovering from the stifling technique.

"We have to protect the old man," he said. "Lord Third."

"There are at least six hostile shinobi over there, including the flute user, and the Fourth Kazekage," said Kakashi. He had unmasked his Sharingan. "They're strong. Judging by their chakra signatures, each one is at least jonin level."

Asuma surged with chakra. "We'll cut through all of them!"

"Asuma, wait!" said Guy. "We can't just charge in. We need to form a plan. And what about the flute user?"

A thunderous boom resonated through the arena as Rasa's sand golem brought a fist down on the roof. Hiruzen darted out of the way, revealing combat gear under his formal robes. He hurled a handful of shuriken up at Rasa. Shuriken Kage Bunshin! With a puff of smoke, the airborne shuriken multiplied into a dense volley. The golem stretched out a morphing sand arm, blocking most of the shuriken barrage. Rasa remained elusive in the sky.

Shuriken Bunshin Daibakuha! Hiruzen clapped his hands together, and the shuriken clones embedded in the golem's arm detonated, spraying sand across the arena. In a matter of seconds, the sand arm reformed, seeming to erase all the damage that Hiruzen's technique had inflicted. Rasa laughed from his vantage point.

"Follow me," said Asuma. "Guard Lord Third with your life!"