Sasuke looked toward Gaara, who had been watching him the whole time.
Gaara revealed a smile, then turned from the waiting area and walked down the stairs. He walked straight to the center of the arena and stopped a few steps in front of Sasuke.
Kakashi retreated to the spectator stands and found Guy.
"Guy, do you have something to tell me? Your expression isn't right."
Guy crossed his arms, his face lacking his usual sparkling smile. He was silent for a moment, then recounted the battle between Naruto and Neji to Kakashi.
From Naruto using Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique to force Neji to use Revolving Heaven repeatedly, to the scene of the Rasengan shattering Revolving Heaven, as well as the overwhelming rhythm of the battle.
After listening, Kakashi's eyes widened. "Rasengan?"
The Rasengan was his teacher's signature Ninjutsu. Aside from Minato's teacher, Jiraiya, and himself, almost no one else in the Ninja World could fully master this A-rank non-seal Ninjutsu.
Could it be that Jiraiya has returned?
Kakashi pondered for a moment, pulling his thoughts back from the brief memory.
His gaze quickly swept over the Anbu deployment around the arena and his brow furrowed. "Aren't eight Anbu too few? How did Hokage-sama arrange this?"
"The Anbu configuration at the examination grounds is even sparser than usual. Even if all important locations were dispersed, this density is still too low."
Guy nodded, lowering his voice. "The enemy's specific location and scale cannot yet be confirmed. The main force of the Anbu has been dispersed to other key areas of the village. To be honest, I feel that Danzo has done quite a bit of maneuvering in this matter."
Kakashi turned his gaze back to the center of the arena. Guy stood beside him, arms crossed over his chest, his expression sinking.
At this moment, the battle between Sasuke and Gaara had already begun in the arena, following Shiranui Genma's signal to start.
Stimulated by Lightning Chakra, Sasuke's movement was swift.
Although Gaara's sand could defend automatically, the reaction speed of the sand was being pushed to its limit.
The sand wall was sometimes a fraction of a second too slow to block Sasuke's attacks. Several times, Sasuke's fists grazed the edge of the sand wall and struck Gaara's shoulder and ribs.
After taking several punches in a row, Gaara leaped backward to create distance, crossing his arms over his chest as a massive amount of sand poured out from his gourd, wrapping him layer by layer.
Ultimate Defense, Sand Sphere.
Zzzzt...
Seeing this, Sasuke unleashed the results of his month of training.
Chidori!
Subsequently, Sasuke transformed into a bolt of lightning, thrusting straight toward the surface of the Sand Sphere.
Pfft...
The Chidori tore a gap in the surface of the Sand Sphere, and Sasuke's entire arm pierced inside. Then, Sasuke's fingertips touched a warm liquid.
"Ah... is this my blood?"
Gaara's voice came from inside the Sand Sphere, containing terror.
Immediately afterward, the terror fermented into violent rage at an extremely fast speed.
Sasuke sensed something was wrong and tried to pull his hand out, but he discovered that his arm, which he had thrust inside, was being tightly bitten by the sand.
Gritting his teeth, he activated the Chidori again. The lightning exploded inside the Sand Sphere, scorching the internal structure of the sand, which finally caused the Sand Sphere's grip to loosen temporarily. Sasuke took the opportunity to pull out his right hand and retreated rapidly.
Just as he retreated a few steps, a sharp claw condensed from sand extended from inside the Sand Sphere.
The scale and shape of the claw had completely exceeded the scope of a human physique, and it was covered with patterns.
Naruto immediately recognized that this was Shukaku's hand.
Just then, feathers suddenly began to drift down from the sky.
'The Konoha Crush Plan has begun.'
Countless white feathers drifted down from high above, covering the sky over the entire arena.
The feathers reflected a soft luster under the sunlight. The audience felt their eyelids grow heavy, and their consciousness was dragged into darkness by an irresistible drowsiness.
Temple of Nirvana Technique!
Standing where he was, Naruto felt a foreign Chakra attempting to invade his body through his visual nerves and forcibly interfere with his consciousness.
He immediately used Absolute Control within a fraction of a second to grab the invading Chakra and expel it from his body.
'Genjutsu?'
The corners of Naruto's lips curled upward. 'Sorry, but I can exercise Absolute Control over my Chakra, which means I am immune to Genjutsu.'
At this moment, the entire examination ground had become a silent sea of slumber. Thousands of spectators were sleeping in disarray in the stands.
Naruto turned his gaze to the area where Hinata was located. His body vanished from where he stood, appearing next to her seat in the next second.
Hinata was leaning her head against the back of the seat, her brow slightly furrowed.
Kabuto saw Naruto arrive and retreated silently, leaving the scene.
Seeing the plan begin to execute, Temari and Kankuro quickly left with Gaara, and Sasuke immediately gave chase.
A puff of smoke dispersed in the VIP seating area.
"What is the meaning of this, Kazekage?"
Hiruzen was held hostage by Orochimaru, disguised as the Fourth Kazekage, with a Kunai at his throat, and brought to the roof.
Immediately afterward, the four hidden Otogakure ninjas each stood at a corner and performed hand signs simultaneously.
Four Violet Flames Formation!
Suddenly, a purple barrier separated Hiruzen from the Anbu. One Anbu accidentally touched the formation and was burned to ash.
Hiruzen was furious. "Kazekage, do you wish to incite a war between our two nations?"
Orochimaru laughed. "You really have been blinded by peace, Sarutobi-sensei."
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen understood everything in an instant, while internally cursing Danzo as a fool.
"Orochimaru, you bastard!"