Chapter 269

"You seem to have figured out a way to deal with me."

Sasuke watched Gaara's actions, a smirk playing on his lips. He then drew Indra from his waist, held it up in front of him with his hand in a reverse grip.

"Unfortunately, your so-called method is completely useless to me."

"Open your eyes, Indra!"

Reiatsu erupted from Sasuke's body, and the Indra in his hand transformed into a blood-red blade, with Three Tomoe appearing at the Tsuba. The instant the Three Tomoe appeared, Sasuke immediately released a genjutsu on Gaara, controlling Gaara.

"Hmph, this battle is over!"

483. Tailed Beast VS Bankai

The moment the Three Tomoe appeared, Gaara stopped moving.

"They've been controlled by an illusion."

"Wow! They resolved it so quickly?"

In the audience, the viewers who saw Gaara stop moving couldn't help but gasp in amazement, especially Rock Lee. As someone who had fought Gaara before, he knew Gaara's strength best. He had worked hard for so many years, but still couldn't defeat Gaara. But now, Sasuke had controlled Gaara right away, making all his efforts over the years seem like a waste, not even as good as a single Sharingan!

Of course, the reality is that his efforts over the years are indeed not as good as Sharingan. After all, Naruto is also known as the Legend of the Eyes, not the Supreme Taijutsu Master.

"Hmph~"

Sasuke looked at Gaara, who was stunned, and spoke to Gekko Hayate beside him.

"I've taken care of him. You can declare me the winner. I don't want to waste any more time on this trash."

Listening to Sasuke's words, Gekko Hayate couldn't help but feel a string of black lines appear above his head.

But that's not the point. The point is that Sasuke actually thinks he's already won.

Gekko Hayate shook his head at Sasuke, saying, "I know your Three Tomoe is powerful, but only if you can control your Three Tomoe with it."

Sasuke frowned in confusion as he watched Gekko Hayate's movements.

"What do you mean? I've already controlled him with illusion magic."

Gekko Hayate was speechless. I'm the referee, bro. Do you expect me, the referee, to tell you that you didn't control the other side?

Fortunately, Gaara didn't make things difficult for Gekko Hayate. The once peaceful sand began to move again, and the sand scattered around Gaara transformed into a giant hand that lunged at Sasuke. Sasuke looked at the suddenly moving sand with some surprise and tried to use Flash Step to escape, but found that he couldn't move. Looking down, he realized that sand had grabbed his feet, making him unable to move. This sand had crawled out of the hole that Naruto Uzumaki had dug in the previous match.

In other words, Gaara had the sand crawl through the hole Naruto had dug and into Sasuke's back. Then, taking advantage of Sasuke's momentary lapse in concentration, Gaara directly restrained Sasuke's feet from behind, while the sand attacking from the front went straight for Sasuke's head.

"Hateful!"

Boom--

With a burst of Reiatsu, Sasuke unleashed a blue light that dispersed the sand binding his feet. Then, with a slash, he sliced the sand-covered hand that lunged at him in two.

"You weren't under an illusion?"

After slicing away the sand with a single stroke, Sasuke looked at Gaara with great confusion, but then he understood why Gaara hadn't fallen for the genjutsu.

"It's a stand-in?"

The Gaara standing before Sasuke is actually a substitute, but not the invincible substitute that likes to shout "Ora Ora!". Rather, it's a substitution jutsu, specifically the sand substitution technique that Ninjutsu Gaara at.

After Sasuke said it, Gaara, who was standing there, turned into sand and scattered on the ground. Then, a human shape began to rise from the sand and slowly turned into Gaara's appearance.

"You're just like that guy."

Gaara stepped out from behind and uttered a seemingly random sentence, leaving Sasuke somewhat puzzled.

"Who is that guy you're talking about?"

Now it was Gaara's turn to be silent.

Don't you even know the people in your own village?

Because of Sasuke's special circumstances, he did not encounter Rock Lee, so he had no impression of Rock Lee, nor did he experience being challenged and then failing to impress him.

Gaara didn't explain, but immediately attacked. The sand rushed towards Sasuke again, and Sasuke didn't hesitate to use Flash Step to leave his original spot and appear in front of Gaara, slashing at Gaara. This time, Gaara blocked the attack with the sand around him.

"You're faster than that guy."

In the match between Gaara and Rock Lee's incredible speed often left Gaara with no time to react before being hit by his attacks. So, when he discovered that Sasuke was even faster Rock Lee, he immediately used Sand Substitution Jutsu, hiding himself in the sand while having the substitute stand outside. This made Sasuke believe that his genjutsu had controlled Gaara. This preventative maneuver not only prevented Sasuke from using his speed advantage to finish him off in one fell swoop, but also tricked him into revealing his Three Tomoe.

This made Gaara feel that using the substitution technique was truly worthwhile.

In essence, Sasuke would not be fooled by a simple technique like the Substitution Jutsu, because after becoming Bleach, his sensory abilities changed from sensing Chakra to sensing souls. As long as there are living beings nearby, he can sense their souls, or rather, their Reiatsu.

As for why Sasuke didn't realize Gaara used a substitute, it's because Gaara's real body was right below the substitute. This caused Sasuke to perceive Gaara's soul as always being in the same location, leading to a misjudgment.

However, the threat of the Three Tomoe still exists. Although Gaara is somewhat mad, he understands what the Sharingan is. Facing the Sharingan, especially the Three Tomoe with its genjutsu abilities, Gaara must be prepared to deal with it.

Faced with the threatening Three Tomoe, Gaara clasped his hands together, and the sand around him began to rapidly gather, enveloping Gaara completely and turning him into a giant sand ball. The sand ball completely enveloped Gaara without leaving a single gap, and above this sand ball, an eye made of sand quickly formed. This eye, like a camera, floated above the sand ball and stared straight at Sasuke.

"I see. You completely wrapped yourself up, trying to prevent my Three Tomoe from hypnotizing you."

Sasuke immediately understood the other party's thoughts. Although the Three Tomoe Sharingan was powerful, it was necessary to make eye contact with the other party in order to cast a genjutsu. If the eye contact was not made, the effect of the Sharingan would be greatly reduced, leaving only perception and copying.

But against Gaara, neither insight nor copying is of much use, because Gaara plays with sand, Sasuke can't. This is Kekkei Genkai, and no matter how powerful the Sharingan, it can't copy Kekkei Genkai.

"If it were me ten days ago, I might have struggled against your turtle-like playing style, but unfortunately, I am not the same person I used to be."

Sasuke held Indra in his right hand and extended his left hand.

"The ruler, a mask of flesh and blood, all things, soaring high, bearing the name of humanity, truth and temperance, standing only as claws on the wall of a dream unknowing of sin!"

The entire arena was completely silent, save for Sasuke's chanting. This piqued the curiosity of the ninjas watching, who wanted to know the purpose of the chant, especially Orochimaru. His intuition told him that Sasuke was playing with something very new—something he had never encountered before.

"If I were fighting those guys, I wouldn't have time to chant. Fighting a turtle like you, on the contrary, gives me plenty of time to chant!"

"Take this! Hadō 33, Sōkatsui!"

Sasuke completed the incantation and unleashed Kido. Azure flames erupted from his palms, and a massive torrent of fire poured towards Gaara like a dam bursting.

Gaara, hiding inside the sand sphere, was also stunned by the sight through the Eye of Sand. The scale of the flames was beyond his imagination! But he immediately controlled the sand to block the Sōkatsui.

Unfortunately, the sand was no match for the terrifying flames of the Sōkatsui. The flames, composed of Reishi, burned at an extremely high temperature, turning the sand around Gaara into bright red glass crystals. But that wasn't all. After melting the sand, the azure flames rushed towards the sand sphere. The moment they made contact, the surface of the sand sphere melted into a layer of glass, and the Sand Eyes on the sand sphere were instantly melted away.

Gaara, who had been hiding inside the sand sphere, intending to use it for defense and counter-attacks, suddenly felt an intense heat gathering within it. He quickly used the little sand he had left to shatter the semi-crystallized sand sphere, jumped out, and then used Sand Body Flicker Movement to dodge the flames and avoid being burned.

But the flames of Reishi are not ordinary flames; they can attack not only physical entities but also souls!

Gaara accidentally burned his left hand with flames and immediately let out a terrible scream.

The pain in his left hand wasn't the main issue; the main issue was the burning sensation in his soul, which even Gaara, a ruthless person, couldn't bear, causing him to scream and collapse to the ground clutching his left hand.

"What kind of technique is that?"

"Release through chanting? Instead of hand seals?"

"Could that be...?"

The three village chiefs all looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Li Yue, who was standing silently beside him, and then nodded.

"It must be the soul ability that Sasuke learned from Mr. Li Yue."

What a terrifying technique!

The idea immediately popped into the minds of the three village chiefs.

"Moreover, Sasuke just said that it was the 26th of the Hadō, which means that this technique is ordered by numbers. The 26th is definitely not the last number."

Gaara's screams made the village chiefs realize that simple burning would not have caused him to scream like that. So what was actually being burned was his soul. Just contact caused this, directly attacking the soul. It was a bit too strong!

And there are probably dozens of such techniques.

"Seeing how curious you all are, I can reluctantly tell you."

Li Yue watched the village chiefs discussing and spoke up at just the right moment.

"The so-called 'Hadō' refers to the techniques used for attack, numbered from 1 to 99. The higher the number, the greater the power. Number 99 is the most powerful, and number 1 is the least powerful. Each type of Hadō can be released by chanting. Of course, when the number is sufficient, you can also skip the chanting and release it directly by raising your hand."

"Hadō... and there are 99 of them!"

The Raikage's eyes widened in surprise. He was determined to obtain the method of soul cultivation, even if it meant giving it away, he would send the girls from his village to Sasuke's bed!

"The key is not the 99 techniques, but these techniques. Once you're proficient in them, you can release them without chanting or hand seals. Fourth Raikage, do you know what that means?"

Seeing the Raikage's excited expression, the Kazekage reminded him, and the Raikage nodded in response.

"Ah, of course I know what that means."

This means the opponent can attack at any time and at any moment, which is simply excessive for a battle between ninjas. While the opponent is still forming hand seals, you have already raised your hand and released an attack. How can the opponent compete? Or you and the opponent are locked in a stalemate with your ninja swords, both of you exerting force, but you raise your hand and cause an explosion. Whether the opponent can form hand seals with one hand is another matter. Even if they can form hand seals with one hand, they can't compare to someone who can raise their hand and instantly release a skill.

Therefore, this inheritance of soul power must be obtained! Whoever obtains this inheritance first will be the overlord of the next era! Except for Konoha.

Seeing the village chiefs exchanging glances, Li Yue released another message.

"Of course, besides the Hadō, there is also the Kaidō, which is responsible for healing people, including healing their souls. The Kaidō is simpler than the Hadō because the main function of the Kaidō is healing, so it doesn't have as many serial numbers as the Hadō."

Healing the soul?

The Hadō of destruction) damages the soul, while the Kaidō of restoration) heals the soul. What a perfect combination!

The village chiefs nodded to themselves, marveling at the perfection of the soul power system.

The village chiefs were lost in thought, while inside the arena, Sasuke and Gaara's battle entered its next phase.

Because his soul was being burned, the pain caused Gaara to gradually lose his rationality. He was already somewhat deranged, but at least he managed to maintain a certain level of sanity, allowing him to fight with relative rationality. But now it was different; the pain in his soul was driving him insane, and he was gradually losing his reason completely.

It's one thing for an ordinary person to lose their mind, at most they'll go crazy for a moment, but Gaara isn't an ordinary person, he's the Jinchuriki!

The so-called Jinchuriki is a vessel containing a powerful monster sealed within its body. Gaara's body is sealed with Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, one of the Tailed Beast of the Land of Wind. Its ability is the same as Gaara's: controlling sand...

The pain drove Gaara mad, and then he exploded, his body began to grow enormous. Large amounts of sand appeared around him and gathered on his limbs, making them incredibly large. Then more sand appeared and completely enveloped his body and head, turning him into a miniature Shukaku.

"Fengying, what's this?"

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly begin to transform, Gaara couldn't help but glance at the Kazekage beside him.

The Kazekage glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi beside him. "You seem a little anxious. You've stopped calling me the Sand Village Chief and started calling me Kazekage instead. But there's no use in being anxious."

"Hokage, there's nothing surprising about that. He's just a Jinchuriki."

"You 'Jinchuriki to participate in the Chunin Exam?"

"But doesn't your Konoha also Jinchuriki to participate in the Chunin Exam?"

In the recent battle between Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga, Naruto was emitting red Chakra, which was the Nine-Tails 'Chakra. The village chief recognized it at a glance, and it was clear that Naruto Uzumaki was Jinchuriki.

So, since the Jinchuriki of Konoha can participate in the exam, then it's fine for the ones from Sunagakure to participate as well, isn't it?

"Um, but your village's Jinchuriki seems to be going berserk right now. This is different from the Jinchuriki in our village."

"There's no berserk mode to him. This is just his fighting style. This is how Shukaku fights. He only appears to be insane when he fights in order to adapt to Shukaku's power, but in reality, he has everything under control."

Kazekage believed what he was saying. Gaara below had clearly gone berserk, but Shukaku hadn't fully manifested yet. However, it was only a matter of time before Shukaku fully manifested.

But he wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he looked at Li Yue sitting next to him and found that Li Yue was still sitting there without moving. Since Li Yue thought it was okay, then it must be okay.

Inside the arena, Gaara's body, which had already transformed into a monster, began to grow larger and larger as more sand accumulated, until its enormous form surpassed the height of the circular arena, and the complete Shukaku was finally revealed.

"Aha! I'm out!"

Upon emerging, Shukaku immediately let out a strange cry, appearing extremely excited, and lowered its massive head to look at Sasuke.

"And as soon as I came out, I saw the person I wanted to kill!"

Clearly, Shukaku, inside Gaara's body, witnessed everything that just happened. He also wanted to kill Sasuke, not only because Sasuke had just mocked him as trash, but also because Sasuke's sword possessed Three Tomoe. People with Sharingan are a huge threat to Tailed Beast, because you never know when Tailed Beast could be controlled by a Sharingan user. So, if he could kill someone, he absolutely had to kill someone with Sharingan! This was a bloody lesson learned by Uchiha Madara!

However, Sasuke merely frowned at Shukaku's threat.

"I never imagined you could grow so big."

Sasuke, who didn't know what Jinchuriki was or what Tailed Beast Sasuke, thought that the Shukaku in front of him was Gaara disguise. The enemy had suddenly become so huge that it was impossible for the relatively small Sasuke to fight easily.

But it doesn't matter, because he also has ways to deal with it.

If it were ten days ago, he really wouldn't know how to fight such a big guy. He couldn't just hack at it with a knife, one slice at a time; that would make him look too stupid, and whether he could even cut it down was another matter.

However, the situation will be completely different after the restrictions are implemented in ten days or so.

"With such a large size, it's perfect for me to try out this move."

Sasuke gripped the sword in his hands with both hands, the tree standing in front of him.

"Bankai!"

Sasuke's Reiatsu intensified once again, becoming Captain level Reiatsu, and a huge purple figure appeared behind him, enveloping him.