Duanmu VS Gaara

"Lord Hokage..." an Anbu member beside Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke in a low voice, his tone carrying a trace of worry. "The Flying Raijin Technique that child named Duanmu used just now... seems even more polished than what we have on record. And he can wield all five chakra natures at the same time. That's unprecedented."

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly lowered his pipe, his aged fingers lightly rubbing the armrest. Through the curling smoke, his deep gaze locked tightly onto the figure in the arena constantly maneuvering against the sandstorm.

How could he not have sensed the spacetime ninjutsu fluctuations around Duanmu that were exactly like Minato Namikaze's, as well as that rare talent for multiple chakra natures?

"Yes," the Third Hokage said, his voice carrying a barely perceptible hoarseness. "This child is hiding far too many secrets. The inheritance of the Flying Raijin Technique, an affinity for all five chakra natures... In the entire history of the ninja world, this is unprecedented."

He paused, his gaze growing even more complicated. "But right now, what matters more is whether he can hold out against Gaara's absolute defense. The tailed beast inside that child is not something easily dealt with."

The Anbu member said nothing, only observing their surroundings with even greater vigilance, afraid that any accident might occur in this battle that concerned a genius's fate.

Down in the arena, Duanmu's Lightning Style had just ended when Gaara's stiffness had already faded. The sand grains became violent again, turning into countless sand needles that shot toward Duanmu like a storm blotting out the sky. The air was thick with the aura of death.

Duanmu remembered how Sasuke had defeated Gaara back then, but he did not know Chidori right now. Perhaps the Big Ball Rasengan could do it.

But the amount of chakra in his body simply was not enough to support such a massive technique.

He clenched his teeth, his gaze darting rapidly around Gaara, trying to find a new opening.

Suddenly, he noticed that when Gaara controlled the sand needles, the Shukaku pattern on his brow seemed to flicker once, and the density of the sand needles also showed an almost imperceptible delay.

Now! Duanmu's heart tightened. His left hand swiftly formed seals. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" A powerful stream of air surged from his palm. Though its force was not enough to destroy the sand needles, it successfully disrupted their trajectory.

Using that fleeting moment of chaos among the sand needles, he gathered his remaining chakra into his feet. His body once again turned into an afterimage, narrowly avoiding most of the sand needles. He only felt a sharp sting in his right arm as a few stray sand needles tore through his flesh, and blood instantly dyed his sleeve red.

But he did not pause in the slightest. Using the recoil from the Wind Style, he lunged toward Gaara like an arrow released from the string. His right hand gathered the last trace of chakra, forming a kunai flickering with faint blue Wind Style light, and stabbed toward Gaara's brow.

Gaara's absolute defense activated at once. However, that kunai carried wind-nature chakra.

The kunai actually tore a tiny crack in Gaara's sand shield!

Though the crack vanished in an instant and the sand grains quickly filled it completely, that brief breach made Gaara's pupils suddenly shrink—his absolute defense had actually been shaken!

And the kunai passed straight through that gap, skimming past his cheek and slicing open his sand armor. Gaara's beads of blood slid down his cheek and dripped onto the ground, kicking up a tiny puff of dust.

He froze for a moment, as if he could not believe his defense had been broken. In those dead, lifeless eyes, clear astonishment surfaced for the first time.

Immediately afterward, a fury at being violated ignited deep in his eyes. Shukaku's will began to stir inside him. The sand grains around him spun even more violently, their color faintly tinged with dark red, as if they were about to devour the entire examination arena.

After landing, Duanmu quickly jumped back to widen the distance. Looking at the uncontrolled aura around Gaara, warning bells blared in his heart—Shukaku was about to come out.

But at this moment, his chakra was nearly exhausted. Even remaining on his feet was somewhat difficult, the wound on his right arm was still constantly seeping blood, and his vision was beginning to blur slightly.

Yet he did not retreat. Instead, he straightened his spine, his left hand pressing tightly over the wound on his right arm, while his right hand slowly rose. A faint glow of chakra gathered in his palm once more. Even if there was only a sliver of hope, he would gamble everything on it.

Duanmu's right hand began condensing a Rasengan. Though it was not the Big Ball Rasengan, this was a technique formed from all the chakra he could currently mobilize.

The Rasengan spun at high speed in his palm, letting out a faint hum. Though the blue chakra sphere was not large, it contained destructive power that could not be underestimated.

Gaara sensed that familiar energy fluctuation, and the killing intent in his eyes surged. The wave of sand behind him suddenly condensed into a massive hand of sand, slamming toward Duanmu with an apocalyptic force. If this strike landed, Duanmu would likely be smashed straight into pulp.

Just as the sand hand was about to touch Duanmu, he poured the last bit of strength in his body into his feet and narrowly twisted aside. The sand hand smashed into the ground with a boom, stirring up smoke and dust that filled the sky, leaving a huge pit in the examination arena floor.

Taking advantage of the instant when smoke and dust filled the air, Duanmu drove the Rasengan hard toward Gaara's chest—there, the spot he had just observed where the sand armor was relatively thin.

"Bang!" The Rasengan struck with precision, and the wild power of chakra erupted instantly. The sand armor on Gaara's chest shattered with a crack, and his entire body was sent flying by the tremendous impact, crashing heavily onto the ground more than ten meters away and kicking up a cloud of sand and dust.

Gaara lay on the ground, unable to get up for a long time, while after that attack, Duanmu also collapsed to one knee, gasping heavily. The Rasengan in his right hand had already dispersed, and his arm trembled beyond his control.

He could feel that the chakra inside him was almost completely depleted, and he nearly lacked even the strength to raise his hand. But his gaze remained fixed on the direction where Gaara had fallen, not daring to relax in the slightest.

The smoke and dust slowly dispersed, and Gaara's figure gradually became clear. A distinct dent had appeared in the sand armor on his chest, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. Those eyes that had originally been dead and lifeless were now bloodshot, clearly having suffered a considerable impact.

Gaara slowly raised his hand, using his last strength to control the sand. Duanmu's expression tightened. He remembered how Gaara had crippled Rock Lee in the original story.

But at this moment, Duanmu no longer had the strength to run away either.

At this critical moment, the referee's voice suddenly rang out. "Match suspended!"

It turned out the Third Hokage had noticed something wrong with Gaara's condition. Worried that the tailed beast inside him would lose control and harm the innocent, he immediately signaled the referee to stop the battle.

When Gaara heard the whistle, the crimson in his eyes gradually faded, and the violent sand grains around him slowly calmed as well. But the look he gave Duanmu was still filled with cold killing intent.

Duanmu slumped on the ground, gasping for breath. Cold sweat slid down his forehead. In that instant just now, he had truly thought he was going to die here.

Although this battle ended in a draw, everyone could tell that Duanmu, while drained of chakra, had still pushed Gaara to the point where he almost lost control. He had already earned everyone's respect.

Naruto ran to Duanmu's side, yanked him up, and excitedly patted his shoulder. "Duanmu, you were amazing! You actually pushed that monster this far!"

Sasuke also walked over. Looking at the wound on Duanmu's arm, he said nothing, but there was a trace of acknowledgment in his eyes.

Members of the medical team quickly rushed through the crowd to Duanmu's side and carried him away on a stretcher.