The next second, Gekko Hayate appeared in front of the sand sphere. Just as he prepared to stop Gaara's sand, it froze in place, then spilled onto the floor.
The instant Gekko Hayate intervened, Gaara actually stopped what he was doing and stared coldly at him.
"Referee, you haven't even finished announcing the result. How can you just step into the arena and interfere?"
Suddenly, Karatachi Gui spoke from Kirigakure's side of the spectator area, his face full of smiles.
He did not care in the slightest whether his teammate lived or died.
Nor was he the only one. Taki Metsu and the Jonin leading Kirigakure's team, who had remained silent all along, both looked as though none of this concerned them.
"...The winner is Gaara of Sunagakure. Release your technique now."
As both examiner and referee, Gekko Hayate realized he had lost his composure for a moment. He also realized that both the people from Kirigakure and the Sunagakure boy before him had done this deliberately.
Were they making a fool of the referee?
Gekko Hayate narrowed his eyes, but still announced Gaara as the winner.
Gaara withdrew his gaze, and the sand instantly returned to his gourd.
The Medical Unit immediately approached and, once the sand was gone, lifted the unconscious Akechi Ichi onto a stretcher. He was as limp as a heap of mud.
Returning from the infirmary, Tsunade saw the mangled, bloody mass the Medical Unit had carried out of the sand. Her body stiffened unnaturally again for a moment before she shook her head and told the medical personnel, "Let me give him some emergency treatment first."
"Strange. Gaara actually didn't go for the kill?"
Inside Naruto, the Nine-Tails suddenly let out a startled murmur.
"That still doesn't count as trying to kill him?"
Kushina