The change had happened too quickly.
Everyone had been busy rescuing people.
No one had paid any attention to the battlefield.
Now they could only see that Rock Lee had already been carried to safety.
The one wearing the mask on the battlefield, the one who looked like Gaara, was actually Uchiha Sora.
"That's him? Has he gone crazy? I heard the kid only just awakened his Sharingan, and he's still not as strong as Sasuke!"
Asuma was just as shocked.
"He's causing trouble at the worst possible moment. How is that helping? We'll have to find time to rescue him later!"
Even Might Guy seemed unconvinced.
"Yeah... The kid's got some ability, and his weapon is pretty strange, but what use can he be on the front lines at a critical moment?"
Kurenai shook her head, looking doubtful as she got Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke settled.
"He said we should deal with the others first and rescue people along the way. He'll handle Gaara himself!"
Jiraiya couldn't help turning his head to look toward the center of the fight, not far away.
"Strange... This kid gives me the same feeling Minato Namikaze did back then. He just seems so trustworthy!"
Kakashi, standing beside him, drew in a sharp breath. "What... This kid is like the Hokage?"
For a moment, everyone hesitated.
At the critical moment, Jiraiya spoke up.
"Trust him! He's an Uchiha, after all, and we really don't have any hands to spare right now."
Everyone nodded. As they rescued people, they also kept an eye on Uchiha Sora.
Down on the battlefield, Gaara gave a cold laugh.
"Uchiha Sora! No matter how strange your weapon is, you're still no match for me. And even if you beat me, what difference would it make?"
He pointed toward the Hokage, who was being held captive nearby.
"Would it matter? The Hokage has been captured. Konoha is doomed today!"
Gaara was acting brazenly. He knew Konoha was already at the end of its rope.
At the top, they had Orochimaru and the Sunagakure experts.
They even had reinforcements from the Akatsuki.
At the middle level, there were also a large number of Sunagakure fighters. Since they were invading the village, its defenders would have to commit even more people to the fight.
With one side growing weaker as the other grew stronger, Gaara knew Konoha was nothing more than meat on a chopping board.
Uchiha Sora glanced around.
From the start of the battle, he had been analyzing the situation.
He understood that his appearance had caused the rebellion to happen earlier.
Although it had caught him somewhat off guard, the overall impact wasn't significant.
After all, everything was still under control.
He knew that as long as he took out Gaara, he could turn his attention to the others.
By then, Hiruzen Sarutobi would surely be able to kill Orochimaru.
Uchiha Sora knew that Itachi Uchiha was only there to watch the show.
He wouldn't get involved.
So the situation looked complicated, but it was almost exactly the same as in the original story.
The key was him.
He chuckled and tapped the barrel of the enormous Gatling Gun in his hands.
"You might not know what thermal energy transfer is. You probably don't know what 7.62 means, either. And you definitely have no idea what suppressive fire is!"
As Uchiha Sora spoke, the Sharingan in his eyes spun rapidly.
It was as though he had activated slow motion in a game.
He raised his weapon, aimed at Gaara, and immediately pulled the trigger.
The Gatling Gun's barrels began to spin, feeding gleaming brass-colored bullets into the chamber.
They fired in streaks of light, raining down in a dense spray.
The Gatling Gun Uchiha Sora was wielding was no longer an early model.
From the very beginning, he had built an automatic version, similar to the Vulcan Cannon mounted on an Apache attack helicopter.
It could fire more than 6,700 rounds per minute!
Its armor-piercing power could easily punch through twenty-millimeter-thick steel plates.
Even a tank's armor could be torn apart if he kept firing at it.
What's more, most of the power contained in these bullets came from chakra.
They were made with the Black Powder version of the top-grade chakra granted by the system.
That had taken the bullets' power to another level.
Now, the Vulcan Cannon roared, its bullets seeming capable of piercing anything as they instantly broke through Gaara's defenses.
And they had literally broken through his defenses.
The rain of bullets raked across his entire body, knocking large chunks off his face and body.
His arms and legs nearly came apart.
The sight left Gaara stunned.
Under the machine-gun fire, he couldn't even get to his feet.
The bullets looked small, but each one hit with the force of a miniature Chidori.
They tore into him as though they could scatter his whole body into pieces at any moment.
He was lucky to have the Tailed Beast protecting him. Its powerful chakra continuously replenished his, keeping him alive.
But if the barrage continued, he wouldn't be far from death!
His expression changed drastically.
"Impossible... What is that thing? Is it some kind of ninjutsu? Why is it so powerful? He isn't even using both hands to form Hand Seals!"
As a ninja, he had never seen a modern weapon before.
He was completely bewildered.
Pinned down, he could only gasp for breath and dodge back and forth.
Soon, he was covered in wounds.
Kakashi and the others saw it too, and they were just as shocked.
"Holy crap... Looks like the kid upgraded his gear. When he drove Orochimaru back, I remember it being really small. How'd it get so big?"
Kakashi stared at the roaring Gatling Gun in Uchiha Sora's hands, utterly dumbfounded.
Beside him, Might Guy's mouth fell open, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
"No way... Can that weapon grow? Is this its full form?"
As a weapons expert who specialized in all kinds of weapons, Asuma was even more shocked.
He'd never seen anything like what Uchiha Sora was holding.
"That's incredible! The projectiles look like miniature Kunai, but they're way too powerful. They can easily pierce a defense formed by a Tailed Beast!"
Even Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha, felt his scalp tingle.
"He's so strong! No wonder the Hokage personally took an interest in him. The kid really does have some talent!"
Then Jiraiya's eyes lit up.
"Doesn't this mean that if the kid is strong enough to take Gaara down, we'll be able to turn our attention to the others?"
Everyone grew excited.
Meanwhile, the Hokage kept fighting as he stared wide-eyed.
He watched the machine-gun fire below in disbelief.
"Good heavens... What is that? That's ridiculous! Is that really a ninja tool?"
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