Kakashi: Me?

When Yamato led a rapid-response squad made up of four elite Anbu onto a rooftop opposite the Land of Stars diplomatic delegation's residence, the sight that met their eyes was Sasuke being completely suppressed by a sky-blotting wave of yellow sand.

The morning light was faint, gilding the yellow sand spreading through the street with a pale layer of gold, yet it could not dispel the killing chill and suffocating pressure brought by that raging dust storm.

Sasuke's figure looked especially battered amid the churning waves of sand. He was like a lone boat in a tempest, desperately shifting and dodging as he tried to evade the hands of sand coiling toward him and find a way to counterattack.

However, in the face of absolute power, his counterattacks looked so pale.

Gaara leaned against the gate, arms folded across his chest, his expression indifferent, as if what lay before him was not a battle, but merely a dull game of driving away mosquitoes and flies.

The sand flowing around him was like an army, offense and defense as one, moving entirely at his will.

At times it turned into giant palms that slammed down; at times it gathered into sharp spears that thrust forward; at times it spread like a swamp to restrict Sasuke's movement.

Every one of Sasuke's counterattacks, whether swift taijutsu or tentative Fire Release ninjutsu, was easily swallowed or neutralized by that seemingly endless sea of sand.

Beneath his mask, Yamato's brows drew tight.

He recognized that ability to control sand.

It was Sunagakure's Kekkei Genkai, passed down through generations—"Magnet Release."

The Anbu's Intelligence Division had also long since confirmed that this red-haired boy was the Fourth Kazekage Rasa's son, Gaara.

Moreover, the strength he had displayed during the Chunin Exams far surpassed that of a Special