"The first match, Sunagakure Gaara versus Sasuke Konoha, shall begin!"
With the referee's announcement complete, the match officially began.
After a month of intensive training, Sasuke is now brimming with confidence, feeling that he is more than twice as strong as he was a month ago.
As soon as the referee's voice fell, he launched an attack on Gaara.
He fired several shurikens, which were easily blocked by the opponent's sand wall, but he didn't stop moving.
With a swift dash and a front flip, Sasuke easily dodged Gaara's sand wall.
Gaara was still in a daze when the other man arrived in front of him; his speed was so fast that even Gaara couldn't react in time.
"Wow, that's fast! This speed is already comparable to Rock Lee when he's unloaded!"
Might Guy looked at Kakashi, amazed that he had trained him to this level in just one month.
Sasuke ignored his bewildered opponent and immediately slapped him across the face, followed by a series of elbow and knee strikes, sending Gaara flying.
The people on the high platform were stunned by what they saw. They were not only surprised by Sasuke's outburst, but also felt that the move he had just used seemed familiar.
Karin and Rock Lee had this thought almost simultaneously: wasn't that the attack technique they used when they fought?
The opponent learned it so quickly? The Second Hokage Copy Ninja of Konoha?
Kai also had a existential crisis. He had worked so hard to train Rock Lee in Taijutsu for so long to reach this level, but Sasuke caught up in just one month, leaving him with mixed feelings.
The battle on the field did not stop because of everyone's thoughts. In the few breaths, Gaara was hit by Sasuke a few more times, Sand Armor on his body kept falling off.
"This can't go on! Maintaining the Sand Armor consumes too much Chakra!"
The sand could neither defend against the opponent's attack nor keep up with his speed.
Gaara, who was panting heavily, looked at Sasuke with a serious expression, and then seemed to have thought of a solution.
The sand gradually covered him, eventually forming an eggshell around him. Since his opponent wanted to fight at close range, he figured he could just prevent them from breaking through his defenses!
Seeing this, Sasuke fired several more shuriken, but they were immediately deflected after hitting the sand ball.
He then attacked a few more times, but there was no response. Instead, he was injured by the sand spikes thrust out by the opponent.
"Did the increased density also strengthen the defense? Is this his absolute defense?"
Looking at this eggshell, it's clearly a tortoise shell!
Looking again at the Sand Eye floating in the air, Sasuke still tried his Fire Release technique, hoping to roast it into a beggar's chicken.
However, the result was still unsatisfactory; it was impossible to conduct heat into the sand without baking it for half a day.
"Looks like we have no choice but to use that method..."
Next came Chidori's first appearance, a scene that immediately drew the attention of all the spectators in the arena.
While everyone was wondering how Sasuke would break through the turtle shell, Rasa on the high platform suddenly revealed a smile.
As Sasuke thrust Chidori into the sand sphere, Rasa also moved. The guards standing behind him walked over to Danzo, while Rasa stood up and went to the Third Hokage's side.
Upon noticing Rasa's unusual behavior, both Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo assumed that Rasa had come to discuss something with them, such as ending the match for the sake of their beloved son's life.
Just as I was thinking this, the other person's voice rang out:
"Danzo, Gaara concedes defeat in this match!"
"Lord Hokage, Gaara concedes defeat in this match!"
Just when they thought they had guessed correctly, a hand was placed on their shoulder.
On one side is Orochimaru, and on the other side is also Orochimaru, only disguised as a bodyguard.
The next moment, both Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi disappeared from their seats, and when they reappeared, they were already on the roof.
The sudden turn of events caught them off guard, and they immediately began to look around at their surroundings.
They were in a rectangular formation, with Kakuzu. The ninjas were Kabuto, Akado Yoroi, Katsumi, and Kin. This formation was none other than the Four Red Yang Formation!
"Lord Kazekage, what are you doing?!"
Upon seeing their surroundings, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo immediately turned their unfriendly gazes toward Rasa.
Seeing the two men's gloomy expressions, Rasa stopped pretending and immediately lifted his veil and goggles.
"Long time no see, Hiruzen-sensei! And... Danzo- nii!"
Upon seeing these familiar faces, both Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo were surprised. However, their extensive experience on the battlefield prevented them from showing much emotion; they merely frowned slightly.
"It's you! Orochimaru!"
Danzo spoke, his icy tone already filled with murderous intent.
If we're talking about who most wanted to kill Orochimaru, Danzo would definitely be at the top of the list.
Because Orochimaru had some leverage over him, which, although not fatal, was still a threat.
Orochimaru was not only a member of his gang who colluded with him, but also a tainted witness, so at this moment it felt a bit like meeting an enemy.
"Those days are truly memorable!"
As he spoke, Orochimaru gave Danzo a smile, a hint of reminiscence in his eyes.
However, when Danzo met his gaze, his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately looked away.
Because at this moment, Orochimaru's eye was actually Sharingan, and it was even Mangekyō Sharingan!
"I should have known this day would come, but I never expected you to join forces with Sunagakure to attack Konoha!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi also noticed Orochimaru's change, but he continued smoking his pipe, appearing quite calm.
Orochimaru seemed to have heard a funny joke, and immediately burst into laughter on the spot.
"Hahaha... You thought of that already?"
The two men were bewildered by Orochimaru's outburst, but they didn't immediately attack. They simply watched him silently for a while before hearing Orochimaru continue:
"That's right! You should have thought of that a long time ago!"
"The human experimentation was a project personally promoted by you, teacher. As for the cooperation with Danzo after it was stopped, don't tell me you didn't know!"
As Orochimaru spoke, he circled around the two of them.
"Afterwards, the culprit, your good comrade Danzo, was unharmed, while I, this sword, became Rogue Ninja! You take the spoils, and I'll take the blame! Do you think I, Orochimaru, am so easy to bully?"
He spoke these words with a tone full of resentment; he had had enough of the two men's behavior.
If you miss a single bite when eating meat, and don't get a single cut when being stabbed, then nobody can eat any meat. Are you going to flip the table or wait for the New Year?
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi paused slightly in his pipe-holding motion, while Danzo let out a cold snort.
"Hmph! I never forced you to do these things! And even if my actions were a bit excessive, it was all for the village, so I was willing to make this sacrifice!"
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. It turned out that Orochimaru had misunderstood the meaning.
And you keep saying it's for the village? You don't even deserve to say that!
"You keep saying you're doing this for the village, but I won't go into what happened with White Fang. You all know what's going on!"
Upon hearing the name again, their expressions became even more unnatural!