Victory in a Single Blow! Undercurrents Stirring
Gaara had a match with Rock Lee during the preliminaries.
In that battle, Rock Lee the Fifth Gate the Eight Gates, proving his youthful will with his strength.
However, he ultimately lost to Gaara, and half of his limbs were crushed by Gaara's sand.
That battle left a deep impression on Gaara regarding his Taijutsu.
At the same time, it instilled a sense of apprehension in him.
Although he won that battle, he did so in a humiliating way, Gaara attributed to his underestimation of his opponent.
Today, he will face this Red-Haired Kid squarely and use his strongest sand to achieve a one-hit kill!
On the opposite side of the battlefield, the figure of Shinki, who had opened the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates, became illusory and ran rapidly through the surging sand controlled by Gaara.
The next moment, with his absolute advantage in Taijutsu, he rushed to Gaara's side and unleashed a powerful punch!!
"Splash!!"
Purple lightning crackled around the fist!
This is a new Ninjutsu that Shinki improved upon based on his own understanding of "Piercing Hand," which allows him to directly attach Lightning Release Chakra to his hands without the need for hand seals.
However, its penetrating power and destructive force are somewhat inferior to those of the "Piercing Hand".
Shinki even gave this move an extremely cool name— Purple Lightning!
"Splash!"
Just as the Shinki unleashed its fist, which was imbued with Purple Lightning, the gourd on Gaara's back automatically opened its spout!
Large clumps of sand gushed out from it.
The sand formed a barrier, blocking the way before the Shinki's fist!
The next moment, Shinki's fist fell, striking the sand and dust squarely!
The sandstorm couldn't stop the Shinki's punches at all.
"Bang!"
The immense force shattered the highly compacted sand and hurtled towards Gaara's face!
"Splash!"
This blow landed squarely on Gaara's face!
"Whoosh!!"
With tremendous force, Gaara's body was sent flying!
With a loud "bang!" it slammed against the high wall next to the fighting arena!
Immediately afterwards, Shinki noticed that Gaara's outer layer of skin was peeling off!
That peeling "outer layer" was Gaara's sand armor!
Beneath the sand armor, Gaara's true skin was charred black by the Purple Lightning of the Shinki, and a considerable amount of blood seeped out!
On the high platform, Temari and Kankuro looked at each other in bewilderment!
"Gaara possesses Absolute Defense, is actually injured!"
Temari was surprised.
"Things seem to be getting bad! I hope Gaara doesn't forget his plan!"
Kankuro's expression was solemn.
Their meticulously planned Konoha Crush Plan, jointly devised by Sunagakure and Otogakure, cannot be ruined by Gaara!
On the other side of the stands, Kai was equally shocked by Shinki's move!
"That hand wrapped in lightning has the same starting move as Kakashi's Lightning Blade, but it doesn't require hand seals... Is it a ninjutsu that kid created himself?!"
Kai's eyes widened in shock.
"As expected of the Shinki, it's incredibly powerful; it makes you want to fall in love with it."
Tenten, standing next to Might Guy, looked at him with adoration.
"Stop being so infatuated. Even kids a year below us are this strong, we have to work hard too," Neji said very seriously.
After losing the match against Naruto, his uncle Hyuga Hiashi, knelt down to apologize and explained the truth of what happened back then. He then came to terms with some things.
Beside Might Guy's team, Asuma poked Shikamaru's head with a look of exasperation. "Look at Shinki, and look at yourself! You're useless! You don't do anything all Tenten and you just complain about everything! (ꐦ ಠ 皿ಠ)"
Shikamaru: "Asuma, stop talking. Talking to you is a hassle."
Ino and Choji, standing nearby. "..."
Immediately, Ino pointed towards the fighting arena. "Stop talking now, there's a new development in the Shinki match, Gaara has conjured an egg!"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked towards the fighting arena.
On the field, just as Ino had predicted.
At this moment, Gaara used sand to form a round ball and wrapped himself inside it.
Spikes formed on the sphere by the unevenness of the sand serve to defend against attacks from the Shinki.
He himself, however, had no idea what he was brewing in the sand.
"It feels like they're about to unleash a powerful attack; it gives off a bad vibe."
Upon seeing this, Naruto squinted and said...
Sasuke nodded in agreement. "I have a feeling that the guy playing in the sand is not simple!"
Inside the fighting arena, Shinki faced the sphere, pondering which suitable Ninjutsu to use to break it apart.
How about trying Sage Art?
However, before he left Jiraiya told him that his Sage Art, like Wood Release, should not be revealed casually.
How about using Wind Release: Rasenshuriken?
However, he was also afraid of accidentally killing Gaara inside.
The Land of Fire is, after all, a great nation; it should have a broader perspective.
Dilemma!
I'm so conflicted!!
After much thought, he formed a simple hand seal and used the Piercing Hand.
Pure Piercing Hands possess extremely strong penetrating power by utilizing the powerful force generated during running!
Furthermore, the paralyzing effect of Lightning Release Chakra can penetrate sand.
It can be said to be the best choice to break the deadlock.
After completing the hand seals, a violent surge of electricity erupted from Shinki's hands!
"Splash--"
Then, Shinki retreated rapidly, creating distance between them.
Once he determined the distance was right, he launched his attack.
"Whoosh!"
After opening the Sixth Gate of View, Shinki's running speed became extremely fast; his steps were almost imperceptible to the naked eye!
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the sand sphere Gaara had created, and unleashed a Piercing Hand crackling with blue lightning!!
"Whoosh!"
"Pfft!!"
Under the combined force of the immense power and lightning, the Shinki easily pierced through Gaara's sand shield, its Piercing Hand striking Gaara's left chest!
After completing all this, Gaara's sand shield condensed into spikes and thrust towards the Shinki!
Shinki was prepared for this and used the Flying Thunder God Mark he had placed on the ground earlier to quickly relocate!
Gaara's sand attack missed its target.
On the other side, the Shinki that had left using the Flying Thunder God Technique looked at the hole that had appeared in Gaara's sand shield.
The cave was pitch black, and Gaara could not be found. Only Gaara's deep, murderous murmurs could be heard.
After hearing this, Shinki was even more certain that Gaara was a psychopath.
The next moment!
Just as the Shinki's eyes were fixed on the hole in Gaara's sand shell, a yellow eye filled with boundless killing intent peeked out from it!!
Shinki:(≖╻≖;)
He was certain that those eyes definitely didn't belong to Gaara!
Is that some kind of special Ninjutsu?!
But the killing intent in those eyes and the massive amount of Chakra suddenly emanating from the sand shell convinced Shinki that there was indeed a powerful creature inside!
Seeing this, Temari said speechlessly, "Damn it, Gaara still couldn't resist."
Kankuro tugged at the bandage binding the Crow on his back. "What do we do now? Should we make a move?"
Temari: "No rush, let's wait for their signal!"
Meanwhile, outside Konoha, a large number of Ninjas wearing Sound Ninja and Sand Ninja Forehead Protector gathered.
They are inspecting their Ninja Tools and equipment, awaiting orders, and ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment!