As for Uchiha Hikari, she chose to confront Kisame head-on with Water Release.
She brought her hands together, and a whirlpool immediately emerged from the ground beneath her feet. A vacuum formed within the Water Dragon Tornado, which spread upward in an instant.
"Water Release—Water Shockwave!"
The tornado-like rising current absorbed and seized all the surrounding water, continuously expanding the Water Dragon Tornado's size.
In moments, it formed a magnificent sight: a slender Water Dragon Tornado twenty to thirty meters tall raced across the water's surface toward Kisame Hoshigaki.
Kisame immediately understood her intention. He had not expected Hikari to be so skilled in Water Release as well. His own ninjutsu had instead become a means for her to approach him.
He drew the Samehada from his back and prepared to meet her attack.
But at that moment, Gaara seized upon Uchiha Hikari's attempt to counterattack Kisame and intended to ambush her.
After all, he knew full well that there was absolutely no hope of winning in a direct confrontation. Only by catching her off guard and using a powerful impact to knock her out of the arena would he stand a chance.
He could not injure her, but according to the rules, falling out of the arena meant elimination!
He continued exerting himself where he stood, creating as much sand as possible to prepare for the coming assault.
And there would only be one opportunity: the instant Uchiha Hikari forced Kisame Hoshigaki out of the arena and came close to its edge herself!
At the same time, it was not only Gaara. Sasuke had arrived at the same conclusion.
"Naruto, Hinata, we'll seize the moment later. We just need to force Sister Xiaoguang out of the arena."
"Watch my signal and move."
Naruto nodded. "Got it!"
Watch his signal,