Sudden Change

The regular triangular pyramid, over ten meters high and composed entirely of dense iron sand, weighed an estimated hundred tons or more. Combined with the high velocity granted by Magnet Release chakra, the energy it contained was enough to destroy the entire arena in a single strike.

But Naruto merely raised his left hand, grabbing the tip of the pyramid with precision, and brought it to a complete halt.

Naruto then exerted further force, snapping off the tip of the pyramid and slamming his right fist into the fractured surface.

Watching the pyramid fly backward and embed itself into the wall surrounding the arena, Naruto let out a disgruntled sound: "Tch, I thought I could shatter it."

"That iron sand is held together by Magnet Release chakra. It won't be dispersed until my chakra and Shukaku's are exhausted."

Gaara explained considerately, looking at Naruto in hopes that he would also explain his own abilities: "The sealing jutsu you used just now seems to have greatly increased your strength, but your chakra has become weaker. Why is that?"

"As long as you reduce the natural dissipation of chakra, the chakra you perceive will naturally become weaker."

Naruto gave a rough explanation: "When more chakra is used effectively, the power displayed will naturally increase as well."

"I see."

Gaara's expression didn't change much, though his tone softened slightly: "It seems this battle will be a contest of stamina and chakra."

Gaara stepped onto a mass of sand to gain height, using all his iron sand for the attack: "My iron sand is enough to cover the entire arena. How long can you hold out?"

Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method!

The black iron sand strips stretched and spread once more, transforming into thousands of black, ribbon-like shapes with sharp tips and keen edges, resembling countless blades meant to mince Naruto into pieces.

Seeing such a formation, the audience couldn't help but grow nervous, fearing they would see something "gory" and unsuitable for children in the next second.

Sasuke and Sakura remained relatively calm; they knew Naruto's strength better than the others. Although the power Naruto and Gaara were currently displaying exceeded the upper limits of Naruto's strength as they knew it, the mere thought of their Master gave them an inexplicable sense of security.

Naruto did not betray the trust of Sasuke and Sakura. Facing the overwhelming barrage of iron sand strips, Naruto met them head-on, his ruthless iron hands grabbing the incoming strips and pulling them into his grasp as if they were mere strips of cloth.

Gaara's brow furrowed slightly. He voluntarily let the iron sand strips in Naruto's grasp disperse, only to have them re-condense and continue the attack, all while remaining vigilant for any kunai Naruto might throw at any moment.

Naruto flung the dispersed iron sand forward, moved his body slightly to dodge five incoming strips, and grabbed them again.

Gaara followed suit, and amidst Naruto's repetitive cycle of grabbing and throwing, he gradually closed the distance to Gaara.

When the distance between the two narrowed to just over ten meters, Naruto suddenly pulled out six kunai, held them between his fingers, and threw them toward Gaara.

Gaara's eyes widened, and he rapidly extended a large number of iron sand strips to surround the six kunai.

However, Naruto did not appear near any of the kunai, but rather behind Gaara—back when Gaara had been distracted, Naruto's warning strike had left a chakra mark on the sand that formed Gaara's gourd.

When did he place a kunai behind me?

Gaara was astonished, but there was no time to think. At the critical moment, he chose the sand he usually infused with the most chakra, condensing it at super speed into a defensive Shield of Sand.

But Naruto was faster. His fist, marked with black patterns, pierced through the Shield of Sand before it could thicken, striking Gaara in the back and bursting out a cloud of sand—not a Sand Substitution, nor a Sand Body Flicker, but the Armor of Sand Gaara kept covering his body with at all times.

Gaara knew that Naruto's attack speed and intensity exceeded the defensive limits of his Shield of Sand, so from the start of the battle, he had spared no chakra or stamina to maintain the Armor of Sand over his entire body, all for this very moment.

Yet, Naruto's fist was completely unaffected by this layer of armor; without even a moment's pause, the force concentrated in his fist struck deep into Gaara's body.

He seemed to hear the sound of his own bones cracking, and a surge of intense pain rushed to his brain, causing Gaara to hallucinate that he was about to die.

"Too weak."

Naruto evaluated: "Both this sand of yours and your physique."

Gaara didn't take those two sentences to heart. As if triggered by some stress response, his mental state entered a "berserk" condition, and his body began to undergo Tailed Beast transformation.

"Something's wrong."

Naruto frowned. He sensed intense malice erupting from multiple locations in the spectator stands.

Immediately following this, a wave of intense drowsiness assaulted Naruto, but it vanished instantly at a disgruntled sound from Kurama: [Hmph, to think they would try to use genjutsu against a Jinchuriki?!]

"Genjutsu?"

Naruto shook his head and noticed that the audience members were falling asleep one by one, with only those ninjas possessing a certain level of strength remaining conscious: "These malicious auras are all unfamiliar. Are they from Sunagakure?"

[It can only be them.]

Minato's voice echoed from the Sealing Space, answering Naruto's question: [To think they would unilaterally tear up the alliance between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. What exactly is the Fourth Kazekage trying to do?]

Naruto: "Dad, now is not the time to think about that. Grandpa Third has been taken hostage by the Fourth Kazekage. Should I go save him, or deal with Gaara and Shukaku first?"

[Don't worry about the Third. Although he is old, he is the Hokage, after all; he will certainly be able to hold out until the Anbu arrive to rescue him. Subdue Gaara and Shukaku first. If you leave them be, the village will be destroyed.]

"Fair enough."

Naruto looked at Gaara, who was still swelling and growing larger. The sealing formula on his chakra cloak vanished, and he formed hand seals: "Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"

Five shadow clones appeared and immediately vanished, reappearing around Gaara. Together with the original, they released Golden Chains, binding Gaara, who had yet to complete his transformation.

Inside Gaara, Shukaku felt the power from the outside world but was unable to resist, helpless to do anything but complain unhappily: "Tch! Damn sealing jutsu!"

Just as Naruto prepared to seal Shukaku away completely, two Sunagakure ninjas attacked: one was the blonde woman who had fought Shikamaru—Temari—and the other was the puppet user who had been eliminated by Shino during the preliminaries—Kankuro.

"Let go of Gaara!"

Temari shouted, swinging her fan with force: "Wind Release: Sickle Weasel!"

Kankuro also released his puppet, Crow, controlling it to split into multiple parts and strike at Naruto simultaneously.

"Are you from Sunagakure planning to wage war against our Konoha?"

Naruto's tone was calm, yet filled with killing intent. Two of the Golden Chains binding Gaara split off; one blocked Temari's wind jutsu, while the other shattered all the parts of Kankuro's puppet: "Depending on your answer, I will decide whether or not to kill Gaara—and you lot as well."

Kankuro had lost his puppets, meaning his combat effectiveness was all but gone.

Although Temari could still fight, she knew she was no match for the opponent, and her gaze fell upon Gaara, only to find that he had almost entirely lost his human form, becoming little more than a living Shield of Shukaku.

Professionally, Gaara was the only Jinchuriki of Sunagakure, an incredibly important "strategic weapon" that could not be allowed to fall;

Personally, Gaara was Temari's own younger brother, and she would rather die herself than see him perish before her eyes.

"We do not wish to have a conflict with Konoha."

Temari lowered her Giant Fan and raised her hands in surrender: "But this was a decision made by the higher-ups in Sunagakure; we genin have no room to resist."