"Lightning Release: Chidori!"

"What are you looking at?" Gaara suddenly asked.

"My openings? I don't have any!"

The sand suddenly erupted, transforming into countless spikes that shot toward Sasuke!

Sasuke's pupils contracted. His Sharingan anticipated every trajectory, and his body dodged at impossible angles, narrowly avoiding every attack.

"Beautiful!" someone in the stands cheered.

Qingyu noticed that Sasuke was already breathing heavily.

Dodging at such high intensity took a tremendous toll on both his stamina and his mind.

Even with the Sharingan's exceptional perception, his body couldn't necessarily keep up.

Meanwhile, Gaara remained expressionless, as if this were nothing more than a trivial task.

"If this keeps up, Sasuke will lose," Qingyu said quietly.

"Not necessarily," Izuna suddenly said.

"That kid... he's observing. The Sharingan isn't just for dodging; he's also tracking the patterns in the sand's movement."

Indeed, although Sasuke was dodging, his eyes never left the sand around Gaara.

Finally, after dodging another attack, Sasuke formed Hand Seals. This time, he was using...

"Lightning Release: Chidori!"

A shrill birdcall ripped through the air.

Blue-white lightning gathered in Sasuke's hand, crackling as it illuminated his stern profile.

The stands erupted!

"Is that... Kakashi's Chidori?!"

Qingyu was stunned, too.

Sasuke had learned Chidori so quickly...

Wait, it seemed like a lot of things were happening ahead of schedule on this timeline.

And plenty of things were happening late, too. Why was everything getting stranger and stranger?!

Though it wasn't that different, really...

On the field, Sasuke gripped the Chidori and charged at Gaara again!

This time, the sand reacted even faster, forming several layers of shields!

But the Chidori had tremendous penetrating power!

One layer, two, three... The sand shields were pierced one after another!

Just as it was about to hit Gaara...

The sand suddenly changed shape, forming a giant hand that smacked Sasuke away!

Bang!

Sasuke crashed into the wall at the edge of the arena. He grunted, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

The Chidori's light faded.

"Too bad," Gaara said calmly. "You almost hit me."

He raised a hand, and the sand began gathering overhead, forming a massive sphere.

"It's over."

The sphere split apart, turning into countless sand bullets that rained down on Sasuke!

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke struggled to his feet and formed Hand Seals again.

"Body Flicker Technique!"

Three Shadow Clones appeared, and they scattered in four directions with the real Sasuke!

The sand bullets pursued them, destroying two of the Shadow Clones, but Sasuke and the last clone managed to dodge.

"You had that trick hidden, too..." A flicker of interest appeared in Gaara's eyes.

"What about this?"

He pressed his hands together.

The sand across the entire arena began to stir, and the ground trembled!

"Sand Binding Coffin!"

The sand surged like waves, closing in on Sasuke from every direction!

There was nowhere to run!

In the Uchiha section of the stands, not a sound could be heard.

Clan Head Fugaku's hand tightened around the armrest.

Itachi's expression finally changed... His brow furrowed slightly.

Shisui's smile faded, too, and his gaze turned grave.

Qingyu's heart leaped into his throat.

Was Sasuke going to lose? In the original story, Sasuke had...

Wait, in the original story, Sasuke had won this match... with the Chidori and his wits.

But now...

On the field, Sasuke looked at the encroaching sand and suddenly smiled.

Was that... a smile of acceptance?

"I see," Sasuke said softly. "Your sand has a weakness."

Gaara paused.

"Your sand defends you automatically because it's infused with your chakra," Sasuke continued, his Sharingan spinning rapidly.

"But your chakra isn't evenly distributed. The sand on your back reacts 0.3 seconds slower than the sand in front."

Gaara's pupils contracted.

"And also," Sasuke said, forming Hand Seals again. This time, he used one hand!

With his other hand, he pulled three specially made Shuriken from his ninja pouch.

"Your sand is weak against lightning!"

He infused the Shuriken with chakra and hurled them!

"Fire Release!"

The Shuriken collided midair and burst apart, transforming into three balls of fire that slammed into the sand covering Gaara's back!

At the same time, Sasuke's real body formed another Chidori and launched a frontal assault!

A two-pronged attack!

Gaara's sand split in an instant, some of it going to block the flames and the rest to stop the Chidori!

But that momentary distraction was all it took!

Sasuke's Shadow Clone had somehow circled behind Gaara. With a Kunai in hand, it thrust at the back of his neck!

"What?!" The stands erupted with cries of surprise!

Gaara whipped around, and the sand rushed back to defend him—but it was half a beat too late!

The Kunai pierced the sand, stopping just an inch from his skin!

Meanwhile, the Chidori in front broke through the sand shield and stabbed straight toward Gaara's chest!

Time seemed to stand still.

Everyone held their breath.

Then...

The sand suddenly went berserk!

It wasn't under Gaara's control. It erupted on its own, wildly, blasting Sasuke and his Shadow Clone away!

"Argh!"

An explosive shock wave swept across the arena, sending sand flying like bullets.

Qingyu's ears rang.

Gaara clutched his head and let out a pained roar.

The gourd on his back began to crack. Something was about to come out...

"This is bad!" Kakashi abruptly rose from his seat in the stands.

Several Anbu appeared at the edge of the arena in an instant, forming Hand Seals and preparing to intervene.

But Clan Head Fugaku was faster!

He stood up at once.

"Sharingan Genjutsu!"

An invisible mental shock wave spread outward!

Gaara's movements faltered, and the frenzy in his eyes subsided slightly.

At the same time, Baki, the Jonin leading the Sunagakure team, rushed into the arena and grabbed Gaara by the shoulder. "That's enough, Gaara! Stop!"

The sand slowly retreated into the gourd.

Gaara panted heavily, a trace of clarity returning to his eyes.

He looked across the arena...

Sasuke was down on one knee, covered in injuries, but still stubbornly holding himself upright.

The two stared at each other.

After a long moment, Gaara rasped, "You... won."

The referee froze for a few seconds before coming to his senses and raising a hand.

"The winner... Sasuke Uchiha!"

Silence.

Then thunderous applause and cheers filled the arena!

Qingyu let out a breath, slumping back in his seat.

That was close... He'd nearly gone berserk.

But Sasuke had really won... with his wits and tactics.

"That kid," Izuna commented in Qingyu's mind.

"Not bad. He's nowhere near strong enough, but he's quick on the uptake."

"His choice of tactics was sound," Tobirama agreed. "He exploited his opponent's weakness to create an opening. There's still hope for this generation of Uchiha."

Izuna laughed heartily. "That was awesome! The kid reminds me of myself back in the day!"

Tobirama replied coolly, "Don't flatter yourself. The tactics were good, but luck played too large a part."

Qingyu smiled wryly.

Teachers, why did your praise sound so awkward?

On the field, the Medical Corps rushed in to carry the two away.

The Uchiha took Sasuke away, while the people from Sunagakure took Gaara.

The match was over, but the discussion in the stands grew even louder.

"The Uchiha have produced another genius!"

"With those Two-Tomoe Sharingan... he has a limitless future."

"The Jinchuriki from Sunagakure is ridiculously strong, too, but unstable..."

Listening to the discussions, Qingyu found himself thinking about something else.

When Gaara went berserk just now, he'd vaguely sensed... a brief stir in the two souls inside his mind?

"You two, just now..." he asked in his mind.

"...It was nothing," Izuna replied, unusually evasive.

"It only brought back certain memories," Tobirama said, avoiding the subject as well.

Qingyu tactfully didn't press them.

It seemed the subject of Jinchuriki had touched on some sensitive memories.