"Gaara, stop it!"
"This is Konoha! You can't just attack people here!" Kankuro said urgently. Konoha had stood proudly among the five great nations for many years. No matter what happened, the foundation of the number one ninja village was still there. Forget them, a small team here for the Chunin Exams; even a Kage-level ninja acting recklessly in Konoha would suffer the consequences.
Unfortunately, the current Gaara had not yet been softened by Naruto's "Talk-no-Jutsu."
CRACK.
The crisp sound was like a switch flipping. Kankuro and Temari froze. They turned their heads with difficulty and saw that the yellow-haired boy was already on the ground, clutching his arm. His face was pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
"Dammit!" Naruto was furious. He didn't understand why this person had suddenly attacked him without any reason.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
He formed a hand seal, and in an instant, the entire street was filled with a massive number of Naruto clones. Dozens, hundreds of them appeared out of thin air. The sight was intimidating. But the Sand Village team, far from looking concerned, looked at Gaara with even more anxiety.
A cruel, cold smile appeared on Gaara's lips. The sand from the gourd on his back shot into the sky, instantly blanketing the area.
"Sand Waterfall! Sandstone Rain!"
A sky full of sand stones, like fists the size of sandbags, rained down violently. Kankuro hurriedly summoned his puppet, and Temari desperately waved her giant fan. When Gaara went wild, he didn't even care about his own teammates.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
The clones Naruto had just summoned were instantly cleared away, leaving him standing there, stunned. "S-so strong."
Naruto was shocked by Gaara's technique. To be honest, aside from Hatake Kusuo, this was the first time he had met a peer who was so powerful. He stared blankly at the constantly churning sand in the sky. The massive scope of the jutsu blotted out this small patch of the heavens, creating a man-made shadow.
With a light point of his left hand, a large amount of sand followed Gaara's command and coiled around Naruto. "Not good." Naruto's face changed drastically. That small bit of sand from before had nearly torn off his arm. If he wasn't so tough, it might have been broken already. Now, with so much sand coming at him at once, Naruto didn't dare to imagine the consequences.
This was the middle of a Konoha street; he couldn't unleash his full power here. Without a second thought, he turned and ran. Unfortunately, under Gaara's control, the sand had no intention of letting him go and continued to chase after him murderously.
"Gaara, that's enough! Don't continue! If the Konoha ANBU get here, we're finished!" Kankuro was relieved to see Naruto run, but Gaara's posture made it clear he wasn't going to let him off.
"Are you giving me orders?" Gaara turned his head coldly towards Kankuro, speaking word by word.
BOOM! An immense pressure washed over them. Under Gaara's terrifying aura, Kankuro's body froze, not daring to move. Sweat dripped down his forehead.
Just then, the situation changed again.
"I was wondering what stray cat or dog this was. Turns out it's just someone from the Sand Village."
A black shadow flashed. A flying kick sent the sand that was relentlessly pursuing Naruto flying away. When they saw the true face of the person who had arrived...
"Sasuke!" Naruto cried out with surprise and delight, realizing that Sasuke had just saved him.
"Hmph!" Sasuke glanced at Naruto. "Still such a loser. I see your progress has been just as slow after we were put on different teams."
Mm. As always. Same old tone, same old arrogant bastard smell. Naruto was so excited he threw his arms around Sasuke's neck in a full-on bromance hug.
"Hey!" After finally shaking off Naruto, Sasuke didn't have time for anything else, his eyes fixed on Gaara.
Gaara's expression didn't change at all, only a flash of madness occasionally crossing his face. He stretched out his hands. The sand began to change shape, forming into sharp cones aimed at Sasuke and Naruto. Although it was just fine sand, the sharp coldness it exuded was definitely no weaker than real steel.
SWISH!
A massive number of sand spikes shot out instantly. The terrifying momentum was immense, sealing off the area. It was almost unstoppable. "Such a powerful jutsu!" Sasuke was shocked. He had never seen or heard of a jutsu of this scale. He instantly activated his Sharingan, relying on his keen perception to barely dodge.
This is so embarrassing! He had just arrived like a hero to save his classmate, only to be completely overwhelmed from the start. The huge disparity made Sasuke's eyes turn red. The joints in his knuckles cracked. "Dammit!"
Schlick! Schlick!
Although he had the help of the Sharingan and his dynamic vision was far beyond that of a normal person, his body couldn't keep up. It was all in vain. Sasuke was covered in bloody cuts. And this was after he had tried his best to avoid vital points. The sand spikes continued to shoot at him relentlessly, their rhythm deadly.
This guy... he's trying to kill us! Realizing this, Sasuke's pupils widened. He couldn't accept his life ending here. An intense unwillingness swirled in his eyes. A familiar pain began to pulse from his mind. This feeling! Sasuke's eyes lit up, thinking that in the next second he would—
Unfortunately, it was still not enough. The feeling stopped as abruptly as it had come. Still not enough! He slammed his fist into the ground and closed his eyes in despair. Naruto's situation was only worse than his. It seemed there was no other choice but to wait for death.
VMM!
Suddenly, a humming sword aura slashed through the air.
SWISH!
It passed by with the sharp whistle of breaking the sound barrier. The sword aura was so sharp that all the sand spikes, all the sand hanging in the air, was instantly pulverized. The sword aura swept through, turning the fine sand to dust.
"Who's there!?" Kankuro and Temari, who had closed their eyes, unable to watch, cried out in alarm when they saw this. Gaara also turned his head to the side, his face grim.
The next second, CHOO!
A sharp longsword thrust forward, aimed directly at Gaara's face. This one slash was going for his brow.
Sand from the gourd automatically surged out, forming a shield in front of Gaara's head. The longsword still trembled, slowly pushing into the obstructing sand wall.
Time seemed to stop at that moment.
"Bullying my comrade is not allowed, you know."
In their field of vision, a boy in red with an extraordinary aura slowly walked over with a leisurely gait.
"Kusuo!" Naruto shouted with joy.
Reaching out and gripping his longsword, Kusuo smiled at the problem child, who was just tall enough to reach his ear.
Then, he kicked out.
POW!
Gaara was sent flying dozens of meters away, crashing heavily into a wall at the end of the street.
"Uwaah!" He spat out a mouthful of blood.
Kankuro and Temari looked on with utter disbelief at the suddenly appeared boy in red. Their minds were already in turmoil. That kick... Gaara's sand shield didn't even have time to react!
-------
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