Great Ball Spiral Destruction Absolute Defense

On the viewing stands, after the initial astonishment, a murmur laced with helplessness and awe gradually arose:

"This is way too tough, isn't it!?"

"Same as the previous matches—can't break through at all! Every attack gets blocked, how are they supposed to fight?"

"No wonder it's called the Absolute Defense."

"What a shame, that Konoha kid is so fast, and his tactics are good, but he just can't break the defense, no chance to get close."

"The gap in strength is still obvious; that female ninja hasn't even moved a few steps, she's just overwhelming him with Chakra and secret techniques."

"Looks like the championship is pretty much settled..."

On the high platform, the Third Kazekage watched the match, which seemed deadlocked but was actually firmly controlled by Karura, his expression growing more composed.

He turned his head slightly and said to the Third Hokage beside him, "Lord Hokage, this young ninja from your village has decent tactical execution and adaptability, and his will is commendable. However, in the face of an absolute gap in power, skill ultimately... appears somewhat feeble."

The Third Hokage continued to puff on his pipe with a cheerful smile, his expression unchanged, replying calmly, "Lord Kazekage speaks truly. But the outcome is not yet decided; the tenacity of youth can sometimes exceed our expectations. Let's watch and see."

On the field, after dodging another wave of sand surging from the side, Shinichi abruptly retreated, instantly putting over fifty meters between himself and Karura.

Then he stomped his right foot heavily, steadying his stance, took a deep breath, and the Chakra around him began to vibrate and boil with a unique, violent rhythm!

The surrounding air trembled, and fine gravel and dust were swept up by an invisible force field, starting to rotate slowly around him.

This was the precursor to unleashing Konoha's Dragon God!

For the first time, a hint of gravity appeared on Karura's gentle brows. She had watched Shinichi's previous matches and recognized this starting stance, clearly remembering the devastating power of this technique.

She had thought that after his fierce battle with his teammate in the last round, Shinichi's consumption would be too great for him to use this move again, but unexpectedly...

Yet this was undoubtedly the most threatening move against her—she absolutely could not let him complete it!

She held nothing back, her hands swiftly coming together, Chakra output at full power.

"Sand Shower!"

The vast amount of sand suspended in the air around her, always at the ready, was instantly mobilized. Instead of forming giant hands or walls, it was highly condensed and compressed into countless sand bullets harder than iron, raining down like a storm toward Shinichi's head and upper body vital areas!

Extremely fast, wide coverage, with a clear goal—to interrupt his charge and condensation!

However, the invisible air currents generated by the highly concentrated and rotating Chakra around Shinichi had already taken initial shape.

As these shooting sand bullets entered the air current's range, they hit a tough, elastic wall, their trajectories deflecting, slowing, and eventually being swept up and bounced away by the rotating airflow, unable to penetrate this increasingly powerful energy field!

Karura's eyes tightened, realizing that long-range interference was already ineffective. She hesitated no longer, pressing both palms forward onto the ground!

"Flowing Sand Waterfall!"

Vast Chakra rippled into the earth like ripples, instantly sweeping across the entire finals arena!

Before the crowd's incredulous gazes, the solid rock ground, centered on Karura, visibly turned to sand!

The hard rock softened, crumbled, and turned into quicksand. In just two or three breaths, the entire wide arena had become a flowing, sinking desert domain!

Her intention was clear: using this sand domain, completely under her control, to bind Shinichi's feet from below, interrupt his upcoming sprint and leap, or even swallow and bury him directly!

Unfortunately, just before the quicksand reached him, Shinichi had completed his charge!

This further exposed Karura's lack of combat experience and poor grasp of timing, as she had twice failed to interrupt Shinichi's condensation.

If she truly possessed the combat experience of a jonin, Shinichi's Konoha's Dragon God would have been hard to release smoothly.

On the field, Shinichi stomped hard, and the not-yet-fully-sanded ground exploded violently!

Leveraging this immense recoil force, he launched himself into the air, his body beginning to spin at high speed!

Whoosh, roar, roar!

Vast, dense azure Chakra erupted, sweeping upward!

The air currents around him instantly expanded and solidified, sand completely expelled, and a majestic, ferocious azure dragon head outline appeared at the front of the rotating hurricane, letting out a silent roar!

Konoha's Dragon God, once again!

Below, Karura's Flowing Sand Waterfall was already complete, the entire desert boiling under her will.

Facing the azure dragon charging down from midair with destructive momentum, she raised her hands upward, her gaze calm and resolute.

"Sandfall Burial!"

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!

The entire desert, all the sand transformed and controlled by her Chakra, was mobilized at this moment!

Like a sleeping yellow ocean thoroughly enraged, towering sand waves surged upward in reverse, their scale far exceeding any previous attack, as if to bury the entire sky, meeting the diving azure dragon god head-on with a terrifying momentum that would bury everything!

The azure destructive hurricane versus the yellow burial sea!

The next instant, without any tricks, they collided solidly!

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!!

An indescribably terrifying roar exploded, like a thunderclap from clear skies!

At the center of the collision, blinding white light and turbulent energy currents burst forth. The violent shockwave, mixed with shredded sand, Chakra remnants, and rock dust ground to powder, instantly formed a massive, rolling, rising gray-yellow dust cloud, like a small mushroom cloud suddenly expanding, swallowing most of the arena's center!

Vision was completely blocked, even the barrier walls trembled and hummed violently.

In that instant of obstructed sight and chaotic perception.

Whoosh!

A streak of icy cold light tore through the dust curtain, shooting out from the center of the chaos! It was a sharp katana, moving at incredible speed, its tip aimed directly at Karura's position.

Karura's brow furrowed slightly. Though startled, she remained composed.

The sand beneath her feet had already surged up automatically, and the familiar Sand Shield quickly solidified, ready to intercept this seemingly desperate thrown attack.

The long blade arrived in an instant, about to slam heavily into the surface of the newly formed Sand Shield.

Bang!

A soft sound—not the clang of metal, but the burst of smoke!

The katana mid-flight suddenly transformed into a puff of white smoke, and from within that smoke, a black figure emerged like a phantom—it was Higashino Shinichi!

And in his right palm thrust forward, a head-sized, wildly spinning azure Chakra sphere had already taken shape, radiating a heart-stopping aura of destruction!

Great Ball Rasengan!

Not good!

Karura's light brown pupils abruptly contracted. A primal, intense sense of danger screamed a warning!

She could feel it—the terrifying penetrating power and destructive force contained within this technique might actually... be able to pierce through her Sand Shield!

She wanted to retreat, to mobilize more sand for layered defenses, but her years in administrative work, lacking experience in life-or-death combat, once again exposed her weakness—her physical reaction lagged a beat behind her mind's recognition of the danger!

That fatal instant!

Shinichi let out a low shout, hoisting the head-sized, violent energy sphere, and slammed it hard against the Sand Shield right before him!

Boom!!!

A deafening explosion rang out again, but it was completely different from the previous clashes. The moment the Great Ball Rasengan touched the Sand Shield, the highly condensed and violently rotating Chakra displayed terrifying penetrating properties. The sturdy sand shield's surface emitted a cracking sound of unbearable strain, holding out for less than half a second before being forcibly drilled through and blasted apart!

Though the Rasengan's volume had noticeably shrunk during the penetration, and its glow had dimmed somewhat, the remaining energy was still ferociously wild, like a cannonball fired from a barrel, slamming solidly into Karura's arms, which she had hastily crossed to protect her chest!