Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!

Third Match:

Uchiha Yao vs. Gaara

"My turn!"

Yao nodded to Sasuke and Naruto beside him, then leaped down from the platform, landing lightly in the center of the arena.

The stands immediately erupted in a wave of cheers.

"Yao! Go! Go for it! Beat that raccoon-eyed bastard senseless! I've hated his guts for ages!"

Naruto gripped the railing, swinging his fists with fierce energy.

"Yao-kun! Do your best!"

Sakura shouted excitedly too.

"Yao! Be careful! That Suna guy is seriously strong!"

Ino called out with worry.

In the Forest of Death, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had personally witnessed Gaara killing other ninja.

It had left a pretty deep psychological scar on them; now, just seeing Gaara made them terrified.

Yao was strong, but in Ino's eyes, he wasn't as twisted as Gaara.

The cheers from Konoha's side drew displeasure from Sunagakure.

"Hmph, noisy Konoha brats! Shut up!"

Kankuro crossed his arms, a sneer of mockery on his face:

"Just watch! That Uchiha kid is about to get his teeth knocked out by Gaara!"

"What did you say?!"

Naruto was like a cat with its tail stepped on: "Yao's really strong! That raccoon-eyed guy is no match!"

"Defeat Gaara? Konoha brat, you're too naive!"

Temari clicked her tongue, her face showing confidence in her brother:

"At the Chūnin level, no one can beat Gaara. His strength is beyond what you can imagine!"

As Temari looked at Gaara, a flicker of fear passed through the depths of her eyes.

She knew better than anyone the monster sleeping inside Gaara, and his almost merciless power.

In the arena, Gekko Hayate coughed twice and announced the start of the match.

Yao and Gaara stood facing each other.

Gaara's eyes were hollow, numb, devoid of any emotion.

The lid of the gourd on his back silently opened, and fine sand slowly flowed out, swirling around Gaara's feet.

"Uchiha... Yao!"

Gaara's voice was hoarse and cold: "I will kill you!"

A few simple words, raw killing intent, yet it spread like a tangible presence.

"Is that so?"

Yao's expression was calm: "If you're talking about the monster inside you, I'm sorry, but you might be disappointed!"

Gaara's pupils contracted.

"Kill you!"

The moment Gaara's words fell, the yellow sand at his feet rose abruptly like a waking venomous snake.

The sand shot toward Yao with a piercing whistle.

Yao had anticipated this.

He moved with an easy, effortless grace.

In the instant before the sand touched him, he dodged by a hair's breadth.

The grit grazed Yao's clothes but couldn't stick to his body.

Gaara's eyes were cold as he controlled more and more sand, faster and faster, unleashing various techniques with ease.

Sand Shuriken!

Sand Binding Coffin!

Sand Shower Barrage!

Yao moved like a phantom, weaving through the net of sand with perfect ease.

His speed, reflexes, and body coordination were clearly faster than Gaara's sand.

This was no accident!

Before awakening the system, Yao had deeply understood the importance of taijutsu and had never slackened in his basic physical training.

After all.

When a ninja is pushed to the limit, with chakra exhausted, they still have to rely on taijutsu!

After obtaining the Sage Body.

Yo's physical abilities had undergone a qualitative leap—strength, speed, endurance, and reflexes all improved across the board.

Gaara's sand was fast, but catching Yo was still a bit lacking.

"Whoosh!"

Yo once again slipped out from the closing grasp of the sand hand half a second early, landing lightly on a rock.

He casually twisted his neck, producing a faint crack.

"Alright, raccoon eyes!"

Yo looked at Gaara: "The warm-up is about over! Next, I'm getting serious!"

He raised his right hand, and a dazzling blue light burst from his palm.

Massive chakra frantically converged! Spun! Compressed!

The surrounding air was stirred, emitting a low hum.

In the blink of an eye, a blue sphere of light, far larger in diameter than an ordinary Rasengan, appeared in his palm.

Great Ball Rasengan!

"That's..."

The Third Hokage's pipe nearly slipped from his hand, his face full of shock.

In the Jōnin observation area, chaos erupted instantly.

Kakashi's eyes went wide, his mouth hanging open unconsciously.

Asuma forgot to light his cigarette. Kurenai Yuhi covered her mouth in astonishment.

Might Guy's thick brows shot up, and he even forgot to shout "youth."

"Kakashi, is that the Fourth Hokage's Rasengan?"

Guy asked in disbelief.

"It's a Rasengan! But it's clearly much bigger than a normal one!"

Kakashi's voice trembled slightly: "Obviously, this is an advanced form of the Rasengan!"

He knew Yo had mastered the Rasengan and Chidori in one day.

But he never expected.

That Yo had actually grasped a derivative form of the Rasengan!

When did that happen? In the half-month since returning from the Land of Waves?

"Why is Yo's Rasengan so much bigger than mine?"

Naruto stared at the blue sphere, his eyes wide.

He subconsciously mimed the size of his own Rasengan, deeply shocked.

"Idiot!"

Sasuke couldn't help but retort: "He's clearly injected a massive amount of chakra into the base Rasengan, developing a stronger variant!"

Sasuke felt a sense of defeat.

The three of them had learned Chidori and Rasengan at the same time.

He and Naruto had only barely mastered Chidori and the Rasengan.

But Yo? Not only had he mastered the derivative form of Chidori—Chidori Sharp Spear—he'd also turned the Rasengan into something fancy.

Was this guy a monster? Were they really twin brothers? Why was the gap so huge?

"Is... is that so?"

Naruto only half-understood.

However, everyone's shock was clearly premature.

Just then.

The previously low hum of chakra suddenly became sharp and piercing.

As if countless high-speed saw blades were frantically grinding against the air.

Around the blue Great Ball Rasengan, a ring of clearly visible, sharp serrations abruptly appeared.

These serrations spun at high speed along with the core Great Ball Rasengan, producing a grating, teeth-grinding cutting sound.

The originally stable spherical structure now looked more like a shuriken made of storm, filled with an aura of destruction.

"This... this is..."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, could no longer stay calm. His clouded eyes were filled with disbelief.

"On top of the Rasengan's form change, he added Wind Style's Nature Transformation? How can he possibly maintain both changes simultaneously and keep them stable?"

Baki, Sunagakure's lead Jōnin, broke out in a cold sweat. "Lord Hokage, has that brat from your village gone too far?"

Baki could sense the terror of the Rasenshuriken, a feeling that made his heart pound with dread.

Kakashi's mouth beneath his mask had already dropped into an 'O' shape, his left Sharingan spinning wildly.

He tried to analyze the composition of that fearsome technique, but the feedback nearly overloaded his brain.

Guy forgot to strike a pose. Kurenai and Asuma were speechless. The Rasengan was a jutsu developed by the Fourth Hokage.

And yet this Uchiha brat had actually created a Nature Transformation for it—it was utterly absurd!

Over in Sunagakure's camp.

The calm and sneers on Temari and Kankuro's faces instantly froze solid.