"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Within the arena, Second Pillar leaped high into the air and spewed out a fireball five meters in diameter. The temperature around them rose at once.
Gaara stood below without any expression, but countless grains of yellow sand surged from the gourd on his back. The sand was viscous, clearly specially treated with chakra. In an instant, it formed a shield before him, blocking all the flames.
"Sand Hand!" With a light upward flick of one hand, the yellow sand transformed again into a giant palm that reached for Sasuke.
Sasuke's eyes turned blood-red as he swiftly retreated. The giant hand behind him seemed to have eyes, relentlessly pursuing him and creating a spectacular sight.
The surrounding audience erupted in fervent cheers. This was exactly what they had come to see.
Compared to the previous match, where Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga had exchanged taijutsu briefly before deciding the outcome with shadow clones, Gaara and Sasuke's battle was undoubtedly closer to their idea of what ninja combat should be, and far more entertaining.
After all, looking across the original Naruto story, there were truly not many who could surpass Gaara in sheer battle presence. Every move he made brought forth sand on a massive scale, vast enough to seem like the might of heaven itself. Setting everything else aside, his aura alone was enough to stun a crowd.
"Sand Shower!" Seeing Sasuke continuously evade, Gaara swung his other arm. More sand immediately emerged from the gourd behind him, condensing under chakra into tiny particles that shot out at high speed, intending to cut off Sasuke's escape route.
Sasuke's gaze shifted slightly, and his figure indeed came to a stop as he tried to change direction.
Yet at the very instant he stopped, his feet sank.