Gaara of the Sand

As Kankuro carried his puppet off the field, Takuma noticed him glance back.

Gaara stood with his arms crossed, the huge, unmistakable gourd strapped to his back. His eyes were fixed on the field without so much as a blink.

Dark circles ringed his eyes, as if someone had painted them on with ink. His pupils were unfocused.

Takuma looked away and leaped back to the Konoha waiting area.

The moment his feet touched down, Tenten squeezed through from the stands.

"Let me see your hand."

Before Takuma could react, she had already grabbed his arm and rolled up his sleeve.

Beneath the bandages, the Cursed Seal's blue-green markings were slowly receding toward his shoulder. His skin still radiated an abnormal heat.

"You used it again."

Tenten kept her voice low, but she couldn't hide her worry. "Did you forget that last time it nearly ate half your body?"

"I couldn't win without it."

Takuma pulled his arm back and rolled his sleeve down himself. "That puppet was too fast. If I hadn't used the Cursed Seal to speed up, I'd already be full of holes."

"Then you'd be full of holes. You heal anyway."

"Is that really something you should say?"

Tenten huffed.

She pulled a roll of fresh bandages from her ninja pouch and shoved it into Takuma's hand.

"Change them. The old ones were scorched by the Cursed Seal. They're disgusting."

Takuma glanced down at the bandages wrapped around his arm. Sure enough, several spots had been scorched by the Cursed Seal's energy, their edges an abnormal dark purple.

He briskly unwound the old bandages and wrapped on the new ones, layer by layer covering the marks left by the Cursed Seal.

The referee, Genma Shiranui, walked to the center of the arena.

"Next, Gaara of Sunagakure versus Uchiha Sasuke of Konoha!"

Gaara walked slowly into the arena with the gourd on his back.

Sasuke didn't appear.

Genma waited a moment, then announced again, "Uchiha Sasuke, report to the arena immediately!"

There was still no response.

Gaara stood silently in place, motionless.

Genma frowned and raised a hand, signaling the timekeeper to start the clock.

Orochimaru, disguised as the Fourth Kazekage, suddenly spoke. "Since he's a contestant from Konoha, there's no harm in letting him arrive a little late. Give him ten minutes."

The Third Hokage's gaze sharpened slightly.

He turned to look at the "Kazekage," considered the request for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"Then we'll wait another ten minutes."

Genma acknowledged the order and loudly announced the extension.

The spectators quieted down again. But the mood had changed. Anticipation had given way to unease, and a subtle tension settled over the arena.

Time slowly passed.

Figures moved about the arena. Kakashi appeared in the center of the ring with Sasuke, using the Body Flicker Technique.

Leaves still spun through the air. Kakashi rubbed his forehead and gave Genma an awkward smile.

"Sorry, sorry. We got held up on the way."

Genma gave him a flat look.

"Uchiha Sasuke has arrived."

"Begin!"

Sasuke didn't bother testing his opponent.

He hurled three kunai, followed by six shuriken.

The shuriken curved through the air, bypassing the Shield of Sand's frontal defense and closing in from Gaara's blind spots.

Sand rose on its own and gathered into a wall in front of Gaara.

The kunai and shuriken sank into the sand and disappeared beneath its shifting surface. Even the sound of impact was swallowed by the soft hiss of the grains rubbing together.

Sasuke flashed out from behind the sand wall and swept his right hand.

The Sand Clone exploded. A storm of yellow sand, carrying fragments of shuriken, shot back at him.

Sasuke's Sharingan spun rapidly.

His body slipped through the sandstorm.

In an instant, his mind calculated the best route to dodge.

He leaped into the air, then changed direction a second time mid-flight.

His right fist slammed into Gaara's chest.

The Sand Armor cracked at the point of impact, fractures spreading outward like a spiderweb.

Gaara's body flew backward and crashed into the stone wall at the edge of the arena. Rubble burst into the air.

Bloodshot veins appeared in Gaara's eyes.

More sand poured from his gourd, gathering in the air into spikes, each one aimed at Sasuke.

Gaara's right hand clenched hard.

The sand spikes shot forward in unison.

Sasuke weaved between them.

The Sharingan's predictions let him dodge each attack's path in advance, but there were too many spikes.

One grazed his shoulder, leaving a streak of blood.

He landed and formed Hand Seals.

Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu.

Small fireballs poured from his mouth in a steady stream, tracing arcs through the air and blocking Gaara's view.

Sasuke seized his chance.

Lightning Style chakra gathered in his palm, blue-violet sparks shrieking like a thousand birds.

The arcs struck the ground beneath him, leaving blackened marks.

Sasuke lowered his stance, his Sharingan locked onto Gaara.

Lightning tore through the sand wall in his path.

The Shield of Sand was as fragile as paper before Chidori. The electric current pierced the chakra links between the grains, and the wall began to collapse before the lightning even touched it.

Chidori pierced the Sand Armor's defense, its Lightning Style chakra striking home.

The blow sent Gaara flying backward, crashing hard into the stone wall at the edge of the arena. Rubble pattered down.

Gaara hung his head, curled up in the rubble, and didn't move. A crack opened in the gourd on his back, and sand trickled from it like blood.

Sasuke knelt on one knee. Blood kept seeping from the split skin between his right thumb and forefinger, and the recoil from Chidori left his entire arm trembling.

A sand hand reached out from the rubble.

Gaara rose from the pile of stones.

His right arm was completely covered by Shukaku of the Sand's arm. Beneath the sand, its muscles writhed wildly, and a twisted bone spike jutted from the elbow.

Beneath the torn sleeve at his shoulder, broad patches of purple-blue markings appeared on his skin.

His right eye had become a golden beast's eye, with a thin vertical slit at its center.

"Blood..."

"Give me blood..."

The sand arm suddenly swelled.

The sand beneath the center of the arena cracked, and more poured up through the fissures.

Gaara hunched over, dragging his right arm along the ground. The gigantic sand limb carved a deep furrow through the arena floor.

"Get out..."

Gaara gritted his teeth and grabbed his transforming right arm with his left hand.

"This is my body..."

Shukaku's wild laughter drowned out his whisper.

In the stands, Naruto gripped the railing.

"Sasuke!"

The Third Hokage's pipe stopped in midair.

He looked down at the battle below, then glanced at the "Kazekage" beside him.

A faint, almost imperceptible smile curled Orochimaru's lips.

Just then.

White feathers began to drift down from the sky.

Takuma felt his consciousness growing hazy.

Temple of Nirvana Jutsu.

Takuma struggled to lift his head and looked toward Konoha through a gap in the arena archway.

Thick smoke was rising. Three or four columns billowed skyward from different parts of the village at once.

The "Fourth Kazekage" seized the Third Hokage and landed on the rooftop. Four purple beams shot into the sky.

They met overhead and spread into a massive rectangular barrier, completely enclosing the rooftop.

Four Violet Flames Formation.

Purple light illuminated half the sky. When a bird flew into the edge of the barrier, it instantly burst into flames, leaving not even a feather behind.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood at the center of the barrier.

The "Fourth Kazekage's" face began to melt. White skin peeled away like wax, revealing a face beneath that was so pale it looked inhuman.

Purple eyeshadow extended from the corners of his eyes to his ears.

A forked tongue slipped from his mouth and licked his cracked lips.

He released Hiruzen, stepped back twice, and spread his arms as if welcoming an old friend.

"Teacher, it's been a long time."