Obito Is Watching the Show Too?!

"Naruto!" Sakura's scream tore through the brief silence.

The enormous sphere of sand had fully formed, its surface smooth, hard, and seamless. Naruto and Gaara were completely sealed inside, cut off from all sound and presence!

"What's going on?! Wasn't Shukaku suppressed?!" Gamabunta slashed at the sand sphere with his short sword, but only left a faint white mark!

Ling Yue's heart sank as well. This was absolutely abnormal!

There had been no such scene in the original story! Was this Gaara's subconscious backlash? Or... had some other force intervened?

She suddenly recalled the Rain Ninja who had tried to steal scrolls in the Forest of Death, Black Hoe who had tried to kill her during the preliminaries, and those faint, indistinct gazes from the stands... the Hidden Rain Village! Or rather, some other force that might exist behind them?

"Damn it! I can't break it!" Gamabunta roared irritably.

Sakura futilely clawed at the sand sphere with her hands. "Naruto! Naruto, answer me!"

Just then, dull impacts and muffled roars suddenly came from inside the sand sphere. It seemed Naruto and Gaara had clashed again within!

The situation inside was unclear, but it had to be extremely dangerous!

They had to break this sand sphere as quickly as possible!

Ling Yue forced herself to calm down, her mind racing.

A direct assault definitely wouldn't work. Even Gamabunta couldn't cut through it. She needed a more ingenious method...

She immediately contacted the system. "System! Scan the structure of this sand sphere and analyze its weak points! Or recommend a skill or item that can break it!"

[Scanning... Target is composed of highly compressed One-Tail chakra sand. Structure stable. Energy circulation sealed. Physical defense extremely strong. Conventional methods will struggle to damage it.]

[Recommended solutions:]

[1. Powerful spatial ninjutsu or space-time barrier techniques (unavailable to host)]

[2. Specific bloodline limits such as Dust Release (unavailable to host)]

[3. Locate an energy circulation node and destroy it internally (requires precise sensory positioning)]

[4. Exchange for special item [Boundary-Breaking Needle] (A-rank, one-time use, 800 points) to forcibly penetrate energy barriers.]

[5. Exchange for skill [Void Threads] (from Hunter, R-rank, preliminary Manipulator-type Nen ability): Condenses invisible threads capable of entering energy gaps for delicate operations or energy-flow interference. Requires extremely strong control. Exchange cost: Skill Card Voucher (R) x1, points x300.]

Spatial ninjutsu? Bloodline limits? She had neither.

Boundary-Breaking Needle? Eight hundred points was too expensive! And it was disposable.

Energy nodes? Internal destruction? Easy to say, but how was she supposed to find one? How was she supposed to destroy it?

[Void Threads]? Nen ability? Manipulator type? Ling Yue's eyes lit up! This seemed feasible!

Invisible threads that could enter gaps in energy... it sounded perfectly suited for this sort of delicate work!

And it only cost one R card plus three hundred points, leaving her some points for emergencies!

"Exchange for [Void Threads]!" she decided without hesitation.

[Consumed Skill Card Voucher (R) x1, Dimensional Points x300. Acquired skill [Void Threads] (Beginner).]

[Void Threads (Beginner): Can condense a small number of invisible Nen threads. Sensory range: ten meters. Possesses excellent chakra/energy conductivity and concealment. Can be used for scouting, delicate manipulation, disrupting energy flow, and more. Control precision and strength depend on the host's mental power and proficiency.]

A stream of information on how to condense and manipulate invisible Nen threads flooded into her mind.

This differed from chakra. It was more like an entirely different energy system, one that demanded intense mental focus.

"Hey, little girl! Do you have a way?" Gamabunta called anxiously. The commotion inside the sand sphere was growing more violent.

"I'll try!" Ling Yue had no time to practice. She could only force herself to do it!

She focused all her attention, pressing both hands lightly against the sand sphere's surface. Following the skill's instructions, she attempted to combine her mental power and chakra to condense invisible [Void Threads].

Tiny strands of energy, completely invisible to the naked eye, slowly seeped from her fingertips and cautiously probed the hard surface of the sand sphere.

The keen perception brought by her mastery of [Paper Arts] proved immensely useful at this moment!

She could clearly "feel" the sensations transmitted from the tips of the [Void Threads].

Get in! she silently urged, controlling the [Void Threads] with all her strength as they burrowed into the gaps!

The process was incredibly difficult. The One-Tail chakra within the sand sphere naturally repelled them, and the [Void Threads] advanced at a glacial pace, consuming immense amounts of her mental power.

Sweat soaked her forehead.

"What is she doing?" Sakura watched Ling Yue with her eyes closed in concentration, both hands pressed against the sand sphere without moving, feeling confused and anxious.

Gamabunta seemed able to faintly sense an extremely subtle energy fluctuation radiating from Ling Yue's hands, one unlike chakra.

Success!

Joy flashed through Ling Yue's heart! The first [Void Thread] had finally pierced through the sand sphere's outer layer and entered its interior!

Then came the second, then the third...

Her eyes remained tightly shut, all her focus immersed in controlling the [Void Threads]. Through the "senses" they extended, she tried desperately to investigate the situation inside the sand sphere.

Chaos! Violent chakra! Naruto and Gaara seemed to be fighting fiercely inside!

Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra and Gaara's Shukaku chakra crashed and tangled against each other!

She had to find the energy circulation node! Or... find Gaara himself and try to interfere with him directly!

The [Void Threads] struggled through the chaotic currents of energy.

Through the feedback from the Nen threads, she "saw" Gaara curled up at the core of the sand sphere, protected by massive amounts of sand. Yet he seemed to be in pain, as though he were resisting something.

Naruto was continuously attacking the surrounding sand, trying to get closer to him.

The energy node... where was the energy node?

She carefully manipulated the Nen threads to sense the energy flow pattern in the sand around Gaara.

There! At the center of his back! An abnormally stable and powerful source of energy was constantly outputting chakra, maintaining the sand sphere's stability! That was the node!

She had to disrupt or sever it!

Ling Yue concentrated all her mental power and controlled several [Void Threads], silently stabbing them toward that energy node!

However, just as the [Void Threads] were about to touch the node—

A cold, evil consciousness brimming with destructive intent suddenly surged back along the [Void Threads]!

Shukaku's consciousness?! It had noticed her!

"Ugh!" Ling Yue grunted. Her head felt as though it had been pierced by needles, agony exploding through her mind. Her mental power instantly fell into disorder, and the [Void Threads] nearly lost control and snapped!

"What happened?!" Sakura asked worriedly when she saw Ling Yue's face suddenly turn deathly pale.

"I'm fine!" Ling Yue clenched her teeth and desperately held her mind together. The mental resilience granted by [Resilient Body] came into play, barely allowing her to withstand that wave of mental impact!

She couldn't give up!

A ruthless glint flashed in her eyes. Rather than retracting the [Void Threads], she frantically poured what little chakra remained in her body into them!

She even invoked a trace of the violent nature of [Thunder Breathing]!

Tiny crimson arcs of electricity instantly traveled along the invisible [Void Threads] and struck the energy node directly!

Inside the sand sphere, Gaara spat out a mouthful of blood. The energy node at the center of his back violently fluctuated, and the energy circulation maintaining the sand sphere instantly became sluggish and chaotic!

Now!

"Boss Toad! Attack there!" Ling Yue pointed to a spot on the sand sphere that had just become slightly weaker due to the internal energy disturbance!

Though Gamabunta did not understand the principle behind it, his battle instincts made him act without hesitation! Powerful chakra gathered around his enormous short sword as he viciously stabbed at the point Ling Yue had indicated!

With a cracking sound, Gamabunta's full-force strike finally punched a hole through the surface of the sand sphere!

It was not large, but it was enough!

"Naruto! Get out!" Sakura screamed.

Yet no one emerged from the hole. Instead, Shukaku's even angrier, more pained roar came from within!

Along with Naruto's furious shout: "I'm not coming out! I'm going to beat this guy awake!"

Immediately afterward, even more violent chakra poured out through the opening! The sand sphere began to shake violently, more cracks splitting across its surface, as though something were about to burst from its shell!

"This is bad! It's about to go completely berserk!" Gamabunta's expression changed drastically.

Ling Yue also sensed a terrifying power beginning to awaken.

Just then, several figures shot out of the forest at incredible speed!

It was Kakashi, Guy, and several Hidden Leaf Village jonin! All of them were wounded, making it clear that the fighting in the village had been exceptionally fierce.

"What's the situation here?!" Kakashi immediately spotted the enormous sand sphere and Gamabunta, as well as the heavily injured Sasuke and the weakened Ling Yue and Sakura. His face became incomparably grim.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried as though she had seen a savior. "Naruto and Gaara are inside! The sand sphere is about to break!"

Kakashi looked at the violently shaking sphere. His Sharingan opened instantly, and he immediately sensed the two terrifying powers inside that were on the verge of losing control!

"We must force a seal on it immediately! Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable!" Kakashi made his decision at once, his hands rapidly forming seals!

The other jonin immediately spread out as well, preparing to jointly cast a large-scale sealing technique!

But it seemed too late! More and more cracks appeared across the sand sphere, and Shukaku's terrifying chakra was already leaking out beyond control!

At that critical moment, a green figure rushed to the opening in the sand sphere at speed beyond all limits!

It was Guy! He had opened the Eight Gates, blue steam blazing around his body!

"Youth must never give up!" he roared, plunging his bare hands directly into the opening in the sand sphere. The muscles in his arms bulged, veins standing out!

"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Before everyone's disbelieving eyes, he used pure taijutsu strength to forcibly tear the opening wide open!

It revealed the stunned Naruto and the wildly struggling Gaara inside!

"Now, Kakashi!"

"Evil-Sealing Method! Modified!" Kakashi and several jonin began casting the sealing technique. Huge chains of runes shot into the sand sphere and wrapped around Gaara!

Shukaku let out an unwilling roar and struggled frantically, but the opening Guy had forcibly torn open and the sealing technique temporarily suppressed it!

Trapped from within and without, the sand sphere finally collapsed completely! It turned into a rain of sand that fell from the sky!

Naruto seized the chance to grab the barely conscious Gaara and leap out through the opening, collapsing onto the ground.

The sealing runes rapidly shrank and firmly imprinted themselves onto Gaara's abdomen, temporarily suppressing the rampaging Shukaku.

Gaara's body fell to the ground, and he lost consciousness completely.

The crisis... seemed to have been temporarily resolved.

Everyone let out a breath of relief. Some collapsed where they stood, while others sat down.

Guy closed the Eight Gates, braced himself against his knees, and gasped for breath. He gave Kakashi a thumbs-up, flashing his dazzling teeth, then collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.

Kakashi also breathed a sigh of relief. He walked over to Sasuke to inspect his injuries, his brows tightly furrowed.

Ling Yue looked at the unconscious Gaara and Sasuke being carried away, then touched her throbbing head from overusing [Void Threads] and resisting the mental assault. Her feelings were complicated.

At last... it was over.

However, she failed to notice that in the shadow of a large tree in the distance, a figure wearing a spiral mask quietly appeared. The single eye behind the mask thoughtfully watched the direction in which she had just used [Void Threads].

"That method of energy manipulation... it doesn't seem to belong to the chakra system... This is getting more and more interesting."

The figure slowly sank into the shadows and vanished.