"Since you're here, why hide? Come on out!"
Deep in the lush, dense forest, Gaara walked at the front with his arms crossed. Temari's ears twitched, and she called out to the bushes behind them.
The figures that subsequently appeared surprised them.
"It's you!"
It was none other than Hatake Kusuo, Hinata, and Naruto.
This is bad! Kankuro and Temari immediately went on high alert, as if facing a great enemy. The impression Kusuo had left on them before was simply too profound. They had been praying not to encounter them during the second test. They never thought they would run into them here. Their luck had run out.
Gaara had no such thoughts. His killing intent was palpable.
Temari immediately jumped to Gaara's side and whispered urgently in his ear, "This person is too strong. And that girl has the Byakugan; she's from Konoha's noble Hyuga clan. Killing them will bring big trouble!"
"That's right, Gaara! We've already gathered the Heaven and Earth scrolls anyway, why bother with this?" Kankuro also came forward to dissuade him.
But Gaara's icy gaze swept over them, instantly making the two feel as if they had been plunged into an ice cellar.
"I said... I will kill them."
On the other side, Kusuo had already drawn his sword and quickly pulled Hinata and Naruto back. "You two, don't get involved in the main battle. Just hold off the other two. I'll deal with the one in the middle."
Naruto nodded in solemn agreement and said to Hinata, "Yeah, that red-haired guy is annoying, but he's really strong!"
Just as they finished discussing their strategy, a fierce wind kicked up. Gaara's hands were already pressed down虚 (xū - emptily) in the air. "Sand Coffin!" A large amount of sand immediately surged from the ground like an earth dragon, biting at the legs of the three of them.
Swish! Swish!
With the sound of two sword swings, the coiling sand was instantly cut away.
"Fall back!" Kusuo shouted in a low voice. Hinata and Naruto jumped away at the same time.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto crouched on a treetop and used his signature technique. In an instant, the entire forest was filled with his clones.
"Byakugan!" Hinata activated her eyes, her palms forward in a battle-ready stance. The two of them each targeted one of the Sand Siblings—Naruto for Temari, and Hinata for Kankuro.
In the center, only Gaara and Kusuo remained.
Gaara licked his lips as he walked forward. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time."
"Sand Hand!" A pair of giant hands made of sand swung towards Kusuo, trying to grab him and crush him.
Kusuo stood quietly on the spot and, with a casual slash, SWISH! A flash of light. The white glint of the blade passed by, and the newly formed sand hands were directly scattered.
A large amount of sand followed Gaara like a shadow, surrounding him and preparing for the next round of attacks.
But... "Where are you looking?" a low voice sounded. A graceful figure suddenly appeared behind Gaara, and with it came a blade slashing towards his neck.
CRACK!
The blade was blocked by the Shield of Sand. Kusuo's expression didn't change. He withdrew his blade and slashed again.
BOOM!
An immense force was transmitted. Gaara was sent flying, crashing through several large trees before he could stop his body. His body, which was covered in a layer of sand, began to crack like porcelain, and pieces of sand armor shattered on the ground. The Armor of Sand had been broken by a single slash.
"Gaara!" Temari, who was entangled with Naruto, cried out in alarm.
"Hey, hey! Don't underestimate me!" Naruto shouted, angry that Temari dared to get distracted, and rushed forward.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Temari swung the giant fan in her hand. "Wind Style! Sickle Weasel Technique!" A great wind rose, destroying a dozen of Naruto's clones. Then, the two were entangled in a fight again, with Temari faintly gaining the upper hand.
Hinata, on the other hand, was actually pressing Kankuro, not at a disadvantage at all.
Kusuo, taking all of this in, had a faint smile on his lips. It seems Hinata's breathing method training is already showing results. Having preliminarily grasped the breathing technique, her physical abilities had greatly improved. Dealing with Kankuro was no problem.
"I'll kill you!" On the other side, Gaara, who had been sent flying, roared in anger and thrust a hand forward. In that instant, a massive amount of sand dust filled the air.
RUMBLE—
The sand, enough to blot out the sky, blocked the heavens. Combined with the towering trees, the entire battlefield was shrouded in shadow.
"Giant Sand Arm!"
A pair of sand arms, even larger than the previous ones, shot out from the ground and slammed downwards.
BOOM!
Kusuo retreated backward, just barely dodging the attack. The ground beneath the strike exploded, cracking apart.
"Sand Coffin!" Gaara roared again. Immediately after, Kusuo found himself surrounded by a large amount of sand. He swung the sword in his hand, the sword energy keeping the sand from closing in. But the massive amount of sand was endless. If he only relied on ordinary swings, he would never be able to threaten the distant Gaara.
If that's the case...
"Hah~!" Kusuo took a deep breath, his gaze sharp. Then, he slashed with his sword.
"Sun Breathing—Sixth Form!"
"Burning Bones, Summer Sun!"
Under the golden solar flame, a sword aura tens of meters high cut across the sky, as if splitting heaven and earth. Wherever it passed, not even a blade of grass remained, incinerated by the scorching sun. It was an astonishing slash. Trees were overturned, boulders were shattered. The sword energy was unstoppable.
CRACKLE!
The sound of high temperature burning the sand rose and fell.
In Gaara's widening pupils...
BOOM!
A massive explosion roared.
Temari and Kankuro looked back in horror. The center of the battlefield where the two had been fighting had been completely razed to the ground. It was a truly shocking sight
-------
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Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (150 Chapter)
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MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (60 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (50 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (180 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (50 Chapter)
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-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (150 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (150 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (60 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (50 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (180 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it.