Konoha Destruction Plan II

"Now I announce that the fourth match officially begins." After Shiranui Genma made the announcement, he stepped back and gave the center to the two of them. Gaara immediately opened his gourd, and sand continuously poured out, covering the ground around him. Sasuke merely watched him make his preparations, showing no intention of attacking.

Once Gaara had finished preparing, he stood there with his arms crossed, waiting for Sasuke to attack. His offense and defense were both formidable, so he was brimming with confidence. Only after Gaara was ready did Sasuke slowly form hand seals. "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique." Sasuke formed the seals very slowly, completely unafraid of being interrupted. He was doing it on purpose.

"Eh? Why is Uchiha Sasuke forming his hand seals so slowly? If Gaara attacked now, he might not even finish the seals."

"Yeah, and he even let his opponent finish preparing. I heard that kid from Sunagakure has astonishing defenses. Sasuke should know that, so why did he let him prepare? I really can't figure it out."

Ignoring the murmurs around him, Sasuke completed his technique and created three Shadow Clones. The three clones moved to surround Gaara from all sides.

"Shadow Clones are useless against my Absolute Defense. And you only have three of them. Could your speed possibly compare to that watermelon-headed guy's?" Though Gaara was young, his voice carried a weathered, heavy quality.

"Heh." Sasuke smiled and formed hand seals again, but this time, his speed was so fast that all four Sasukes' hands became a blur. His deliberately slow seals earlier created a visual contrast with his current speed, making people freeze for an instant. Not only was Gaara stunned, but so were the spectators. How could he form hand seals so quickly? And with so many seals?

"Water Release! Great Waterfall Technique!" all four Sasukes shouted at once. A massive waterfall immediately surged down from above each of them, all targeting Gaara. In terrain without water, Water Release relied on Chakra and moisture in the air. The Second Hokage and Kisame could create enormous amounts of water even where none existed. Sasuke did not create much water, only about as much as a single Shadow Clone's full Chakra reserves, but in this enclosed arena, it was more than enough.

With a loud splash, four waterfalls crashed down, aimed directly at Gaara's head. If he did not defend himself, the immense impact would sweep him away. The water contained Chakra, and its sheer weight was enormous, enough to inflict considerable damage. Sand automatically moved to protect Gaara, forming a sand shield above his head. The water was blocked, but the impact was too strong, and the shield was beginning to give way. Gaara raised a hand and placed it against the shield, channeling Chakra into it.

Water splashed everywhere as a large amount of it spread across the entire arena. It gradually rose to calf height before settling into stillness.

"Oh, not bad. He's so young, yet he can create such a huge volume of water." The spectators began talking again. Gaara, however, was suffering in silence. His sand had become far too heavy, and much of it was submerged underwater. Controlling it again would take great effort; he needed to drain away the moisture, which required Chakra. The sand he could control now floated around his body, draining his Chakra heavily. Meanwhile, Sasuke silently thanked One Piece. Good thing I read it. You use sand, so I use water.

With three soft pops, the clones vanished. Their Chakra had been depleted, and Sasuke began his attack. "Lightning Release! Earth Current!" It was a C-rank Lightning Release technique he had learned from Kakashi, suited for ground-based attacks. The entire arena was now covered in water, and water conducted electricity. Under Sasuke's control, an arc of lightning leaped through the water straight toward Gaara.

Gaara did not use his sand to block it. That would expose even more sand to the water, and the water's conductivity made it difficult to defend against. He directly leaped away, then rushed toward the trees in the arena. There, he could find footing and get away from the water on the ground.

"Hm? Why did Gaara retreat? Logically, a C-rank technique shouldn't have forced him back, should it?" Those who did not understand began to speculate. Some with rich combat experience started explaining, "When sand meets water, it becomes very heavy, even turning into mud. Sasuke used water to cut off Gaara's ability to use sand on the ground. That means he can't let his sand touch the ground anymore. Otherwise, the heavy sand will consume a huge amount of Chakra. I'd guess the sand he's controlling now isn't light either, considering it just blocked the Great Waterfall Technique."

Only then did those who did not understand realize what was happening. So that was Sasuke's plan. "As expected of a genius. His thinking and tactics are impressive. His purpose from the beginning was to make Gaara release all his sand, so he could restrict it to the greatest extent possible."

Gaara stood on a tree. He had not even attacked yet, but he had already been forced into the trees, confined to a very small area. If he wanted to attack, he would need to close the distance, but Sasuke was rather far away now. At that moment, Sasuke charged directly toward Gaara. Gaara froze again. Doesn't he know the advantage of keeping his distance? Why is he rushing over? What is he plotting? Sasuke's opening moves had made him somewhat suspicious of everything.

"Water Release! Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" It was a B-rank technique that formed a water dragon to attack the enemy, likewise using the force of impact. Sasuke had copied both of these techniques during his battle with Zabuza. Of course, Kakashi had also taught them to him, and they were the two Water Release techniques he used most proficiently. His hand seals were extremely fast.

A water dragon formed. There was already plenty of water on the ground, so there was no need to create more; using this water was enough. And Sasuke's goal was not to attack Gaara, but to use the attack as an excuse to break all the trees. He could have used Fire Release to burn them down, but that would have given Gaara a chance to dry out his sand. So he could only use this method.

A series of booming crashes rang out as all the few remaining trees in the arena were smashed apart. Gaara had nowhere left to go and could only stand on the wall at the edge of the arena. Only then did Sasuke smile. He wanted to see how long Gaara could hold out. Go on, keep all that heavy sand suspended.

Standing calmly atop the water, Sasuke took out a scroll. He shook it open before him, then repeatedly brushed both hands over its surface. Kunai and Shuriken began flying out continuously. It was a Sealing Scroll containing a large number of Hidden Weapons.

"Fuma Shuriken, Wild Dance." Sasuke shouted. Kunai and Shuriken flew out in an endless stream, some fast and some slow, with some even colliding in midair. Of course, it was not because his technique was poor. Sasuke used the collisions to alter their direction and speed, creating an attack that came at Gaara from every direction. This was a throwing technique Itachi Uchiha had taught the original Sasuke.