"Gaara, I'm going to beat you as quickly as I can. My real opponent is waiting for me."
After watching Neji and Naruto fight, Sasuke no longer wanted to play around. All he wanted was to face Naruto as soon as possible.
Up in the stands, Naruto's heart stirred when he heard Sasuke call him his opponent. They had grown up together, but this was the first time Sasuke had ever called him that—and in front of such a huge crowd!
The three-tomoe Sharingan appeared in Sasuke's eyes. He pushed the body he had honed since childhood to its limits, vanishing from his spot in an instant. A moment later, Gaara was sent flying.
"He's so fast! That's almost twice my normal speed!"
In the stands, Rock Lee clenched his fists as he watched Sasuke fight. He had never imagined that even Sasuke's Taijutsu would far surpass his own.
Gaara and his sand had already struggled to keep up with Rock Lee's speed. Against the even faster Sasuke, they stood no chance.
No one had expected a match they thought would be evenly matched to turn into a one-sided rout once the fighting began.
Sasuke surpassed Rock Lee in both speed and strength. Gaara became a projectile hurtling through the air, while Sasuke stripped away the Sand Armor covering his body.
The Sand Armor could cushion most of the damage Gaara took, but what would happen once it was gone?
"Is this guy a monster?!"
Up in the stands, Kankuro cried out as he watched Sasuke toy with Gaara. Temari turned toward their Instructing Jōnin, Baki, with a grim expression.
The Sunagakure group had never been able to imagine Gaara losing, but Sasuke's performance today had already filled them with fear.
Unlike Rock Lee, who needed to open a gate