"Damn it. I'd already warned them, but I never thought this would still happen."
"Then... will Gaara stop like he did last time?"
Zeyu pondered, his brows furrowed.
With Lightning Armor bolstering him, he raced through the forest.
"No. I can't take that chance. I have to stop him."
"Ah—" A scream rang out just then, sending a flock of birds scattering from the trees.
At the sound, Zeyu quickened his pace.
"That scream... those Rain Ninja must have been killed. Next, he'll go after Hinata and the others. I need to hurry." Zeyu gritted his teeth and stared ahead.
Meanwhile, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino watched from the bushes as Gaara brutally killed the three Rain Ninja.
Their eyes were full of terror, and cold sweat streamed down their foreheads.
"Damn it, we have to go." Kiba forced himself to stay calm and whispered to Hinata and Shino as they prepared to leave.
After getting the Scroll of Heaven he needed, Kankuro was about to tell Gaara and Temari to head for the Central Tower.
"Shut up. That's not enough yet." Gaara cut him off coldly and looked toward the bushes.
The three in the bushes were about to leave when they heard him. They shuddered as a chill ran down their spines, and cold sweat poured from them.
"Damn it, he found us." Kiba gritted his teeth, his heart sinking.
Kankuro and Temari had also spotted the three in the bushes, but they had no intention of fighting them. They were still trying to convince Gaara to stop.
"Trash. Don't tell me what to do." Gaara glared coldly.
"Enough already!" Kankuro stepped forward and grabbed Gaara by the collar.
"You should listen to your older siblings once in a while."
Gaara slapped Kankuro's hand away and replied, his face still cold.
"Shut up. I don't consider you my siblings. Get in my way, and I'll kill you too."
As he spoke, he raised a clawed hand toward Kankuro. Temari stood to the side, looking worried as she desperately tried to persuade him.
"Come on, don't say something so heartless. Stop, Gaara. Please, okay?"
Hearing Temari plead with him, Gaara left Kankuro alone and turned his hand toward the bushes instead.
Hinata, Kiba, and Shino immediately sensed danger and silently prayed.
Kiba: "Damn it, are we going to die here?"
Shino: "Given the situation, we have no choice but to fight them. At least I can protect Hinata and get her out of here. I promised Zeyu."
Hinata: "I'm sorry, Zeyu. Things look bad for us this time. Thank you for taking care of me all this time."
Just then, with a whoosh, a figure shot out of the woods and landed heavily in the clearing.
The ground cracked, and clouds of dust rose into the air.
All six of them turned to look, their brows furrowing.
Akamaru, who had been trembling in Kiba's arms under the pressure of Gaara's killing intent, suddenly perked up and wagged his tail excitedly.
"What's wrong, Akamaru?" Kiba noticed his reaction and quietly asked him.
Shino and Hinata looked over, too. After understanding Akamaru's bark, Kiba explained.
"Akamaru can identify an enemy's chakra and scent with his nose. He just said that the person who suddenly appeared is one of our comrades—and that he's really strong."
"Huh? Who is it?" Hinata and Shino asked, looking toward the cloud of dust.
"Oh, this chakra... interesting," Gaara thought.
Before the dust had completely settled, Zeyu swept a hand and cleared it away, then pointed at Gaara.
"Gaara, lower your hand. Don't you dare hurt my friends!"
When Gaara saw Zeyu, he remembered the boy who had met his gaze before the event began. A vague irritation stirred in him, but he had no intention of lowering his hand.
He glared and asked,
"What's your name?"
"Zeyu Nichiro. I'll say it again: lower your hand." Zeyu's voice was cold and sharp.
Gaara grew even angrier when he heard that. He glared at Zeyu.
"What are you, to think you can order me around?"
Temari and Kankuro were sweating. The other boy was clearly no pushover, yet Gaara was still acting so arrogantly. Sand protected him, but it didn't protect them.
They hurried to urge Gaara to let it go.
But Gaara was too angry to listen. He glared at them and snapped,
"Get lost. Don't stand in my way, trash."
As his emotions surged, the sand around him began to stir, floating in the air and circling him.
Seeing this, Kankuro and Temari dared say no more and obediently stepped aside.
Hinata, Shino, and Kiba felt both happy and confused when they saw Zeyu.
Hinata: "It's Zeyu! This place is too dangerous. Hurry and leave!" Hinata stood up and called out.
Zeyu kept his eyes on Gaara as he answered Hinata. "It's all right, Hinata. I won't let him hurt you."
"Hey, Hinata, Zeyu's here to save us, and he doesn't look weak at all," Kiba said.
He clicked his tongue to himself, thinking, Tch, Zeyu looks so strong. He's been hiding his true abilities.
"This is surprising in every respect," Shino said.
Gaara looked at the red-haired boy with his brows drawn together, then glanced at Hinata and the others.
The corners of his mouth lifted in a playful smile as he addressed Zeyu.
"Heh. Since you care so much about them, how do you think you'll feel if I kill them?"
"Don't you dare!" Zeyu roared, stomping and shattering the ground beneath his feet.
As he spoke, Gaara turned his palm. Sand rose up around Hinata and the others, encircling them and creeping over their bodies.
All three were filled with terror.
Zeyu gritted his teeth. Lightning Release chakra erupted from him as he charged forward at incredible speed.
Gaara slowly turned his palm, and the sand nearly finished covering them.
"Zeyu..." Hinata called.
Zeyu had already reached the three. He swung his hand like a blade, and the sand covering them—and the bushes where they had been hiding—was all cut apart. A gash was left in a nearby tree.
Once freed, the three collapsed where they stood, their legs trembling.
"Phew, we're saved," Kiba said, sprawled on the ground.
"Thank you, Zeyu." Hinata looked up at him with teary eyes, her small hands trembling uncontrollably.
With his back to them, Zeyu turned his head and glared at Gaara with one eye, roaring,
"You're asking for death!"
A terrifying aura burst from him, and everyone present felt a powerful pressure.
Gaara was startled by the roar. He stared blankly at Zeyu, sweat running down his forehead.
Zeyu walked slowly toward Gaara, his face dark. Lightning Release chakra crackled around him, and even the air seemed to tremble.
The gourd on Gaara's back shook violently, and sand poured out of it. The sight jolted Gaara out of his daze.
He immediately swept his hand and sent the sand rushing toward Zeyu.
Hinata had only just been rescued and had yet to recover. Seeing Gaara's terrifying sand attack Zeyu, she couldn't help worrying and shouted,
"Zeyu, watch out!"
But Zeyu neither dodged nor retreated. He stood his ground and swung his hands like blades, cutting apart all the incoming sand.
Seeing this, Hinata let out a breath of relief.
Shino and Kiba were already dumbfounded. Temari and Kankuro, standing behind Gaara, were just as stunned. None of them could speak.
Seeing how composed Zeyu was as he casually cut apart Gaara's sand as if it were weeds,
Gaara felt sweat seep from his palm, and unease welled up inside him.
He immediately sent even more sand rushing toward Zeyu. The sand gathered together, forming a wave.
Zeyu faced the roaring sand wave and charged straight at it. He leaped high in front of it and soared into the air.
He clenched his fist and flew toward Gaara.
Gaara gritted his teeth, drenched in sweat, and frantically gathered sand over his head, trying to block the blow.
Temari watched Zeyu in the air, sensed something was wrong, and hurried forward.
She reached Gaara's back, opened the Giant Folding Fan, and swung it upward with all her strength.
"Wind Style: Wind Sand Dust!"
A fierce wind carrying sand swept toward Zeyu.
Zeyu tensed his body and took the hit head-on.
"I hit him!" Temari thought, secretly delighted.
However, protected by his Lightning Release chakra, Zeyu wasn't hurt at all.
The wind merely slowed him until he hung in the air.
Once the wind had passed, Zeyu swung his hand like a blade and struck at Gaara.
He hit the sand above Gaara's head dead on.
Violent lightning roared as the seemingly solid sand split, leaving a huge crack.
Temari hurriedly shouted for Gaara to run and grabbed his gourd.
But Gaara was still raising his hand to control the sand. It gathered from the side and wrapped around Zeyu.
Half of Zeyu's body was covered in sand, but he was protected by Lightning Armor and wasn't affected at all. He simply raised a hand, and the sand was shaken off.
Standing on the sand, he drew back his other fist and swung it at the crack.
"Bad! At this rate, Gaara and Temari are both done for." Thinking this, Kankuro stretched out both hands and sent Chakra Threads toward them—one connected to Gaara's gourd and the other to Temari. He yanked hard.
He leaped backward as well.
Zeyu's Lightning Armor-clad fist easily broke through the sand, and was about to hit Gaara—
At that critical moment, Gaara was pulled backward, along with Temari behind him.
Zeyu's fist struck empty air and slammed heavily into the ground, setting off an explosion.
The ground shattered, and bolts of lightning shot out in every direction.
Though the three avoided the punch, the blast's shock wave hurled them away, and the Chakra Threads snapped.
Temari was closest. She slammed into a tree trunk, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fell to the ground.
Kankuro rolled a long way away.
Gaara had sand protecting him, along with his Armor of Sand, but even so, his armor shattered and a wound appeared on his face, blood seeping from it.
Because he was heavier, he wasn't hurt too badly. After flying some distance, he landed and dragged his feet across the ground, leaving a long trail.