Chapter 78: The Shattering Illusion
First Match: Gaara vs. Aizen Sōsuke!
As the proctor's voice faded, the arena erupted in a thunderous roar of cheers. The crowd had waited for this very moment, the promise of an electrifying clash.
Immense expectations rested on the shoulders of both combatants.
On one side was the genius of the Sand, Gaara, the Jinchuriki who sealed within him the One-Tailed Shukaku.
On the other was Konoha's rising star, the prodigy with dual chakra natures, Aizen Sōsuke.
The hype surrounding this duel had captured the entire audience's focus. Every eye was locked on the two young geniuses, watching with bated breath.
In the stands, Inuzuka Kiba and Hyūga Hinata sat side-by-side. They stared nervously at Aizen's back, their hearts pounding as if they were the ones standing on the sand.
Kiba waved his arms, shouting himself hoarse as he cheered wholeheartedly for Aizen. He believed with every fiber of his being that this humble, low-key genius would defeat Gaara and claim his honor.
Hinata clasped her hands tightly together, her eyes, clear as autumn water, fixed on the field. She prayed silently for Aizen, hoping with all her might for his victory. Whenever her gaze settled on him, a delicate blush colored her cheeks, a mixture of shyness and fervent hope.
In their own ways, they both cheered for Aizen, willing him to soar.
On the other side of the stands, Kurenai's beautiful eyes never left Aizen. She had always held the highest expectations for him and naturally hoped he would distinguish himself. No matter how much Asuma or other acquaintances tried to engage her in conversation, Kurenai remained distracted, her attention solely on Aizen, showing no interest in the world around her.
On the arena floor, Gaara stood with his arms crossed, his gaze sharp as a hawk's, locked firmly on Aizen.
This was not their first confrontation. In the Forest of Death, they had already clashed. There, Aizen had relied on his flawless Body Flicker Technique to evade Gaara's Sand Binding Coffin, turning the tables and overwhelming him. Yet, Gaara believed he had been the ultimate victor. Enraged, he had used his Sand Waterfall Funeral to utterly shatter Aizen's body.
When Gaara had thought it was all over, he was shocked to see Aizen alive and well in the preliminaries. The mystery had plagued him ever since, a puzzle he couldn't solve. He had seen Aizen turn to dust with his own eyes, leaving behind only a tattered coat. He wasn't the only witness; even Temari and Kankuro had been certain of Aizen's death.
"Letting you escape that day was my greatest mistake," Gaara hissed, his voice low. "No matter what, you will die by my hands this time!"
His eyes burned with a crazed killing intent. Seeing Aizen shine in the preliminaries, soundly defeating Yakushi Kabuto, had only poured fuel on the fire of his rage, until it completely consumed his thoughts.
Aizen stood calmly opposite Gaara, utterly unmoved by the provocation. His indifferent expression was that of someone looking down upon an insignificant insect.
Crack!
Gaara's fists clenched, his face a mask of pure malice.
With a sudden, sharp gesture, a torrent of sand erupted from the massive gourd on his back. Guided by his chakra, the granules swirled and floated around him, rapidly expanding into a vast, churning sea of sand. The sandy tide blotted out the sky, instantly claiming half of the massive arena.
Compared to this monumental sea of sand, Aizen's slender figure seemed as insignificant as a leaf tossed on a stormy ocean—a vast, visual disparity. From the very start, Gaara presented a truly shocking spectacle.
In this past month, he had immersed himself in nothing but intense training, constantly pushing his power higher. His sole goal was to claim first place in these exams. Anything less would be a profound disgrace.
"Starting so aggressively? How impatient," Aizen remarked, a slight smile on his lips. He remained perfectly composed, showing no concern for the oceanic threat before him.
It was this very arrogance that condensed Gaara's killing intent to its absolute peak. He thrust his palm forward.
"Sand Binding Coffin!"
Instantly, the sky-filling yellow sand surged violently, coalescing into several colossal rivers of grit. They swept across the arena like crashing galaxies, attacking Aizen from all sides with ferocious intent. The technique was vicious, designed to surround him completely and crush him into nothing.
"The same old trick?" Aizen's form flickered, and he vanished from the spot using the Body Flicker Technique.
Swish!
The audience gasped. Both combatants were demonstrating formidable power from the outset—Gaara with his overwhelming force, Aizen with his impossible speed.
"I anticipated you'd use that trick! Reveal yourself!"
A triumphant arc curled on Gaara's lips. His hands flew through a series of seals. The sand in the air rapidly shifted, breaking apart and then re-condensing into a single, massive canopy that blotted out the sun above the entire arena.
"No matter how fast you are, you cannot leave this limited fighting ground. If I crush the entire arena, I will catch you eventually!"
Gaara smiled coldly, then slammed his palms together. The condensed sandy sky plummeted downward like the peak of a mountain, smashing into the ground with catastrophic force before the eyes of thousands.
BOOM!
A deafening impact shook the stadium. The spectators felt their eardrums roar and their vision swim. When their eyes could focus again on the arena's center, they found it obscured by a thick cloud of dust and debris.
"Is he dead?"
The thought crossed almost everyone's mind. Many of the more experienced shinobi present were stunned by the sheer power of Gaara's attack. They asked themselves silently if they could have survived such an onslaught, and most concluded they would not have.
As seconds ticked by, the dust began to settle.
When the arena floor became visible once more, a collective shock ran through the crowd. Aizen's figure was still standing.
A massive earthen wall now rose above him, having borne the brunt of the sandy avalanche. It was unmistakably an Earth Style ninjutsu.
"What? He's not dead?!"
An uproar swept through the stands. Nearly everyone had been certain Aizen was gravely injured, if not worse. No one had expected him to not only survive but to astonishingly reveal a third chakra nature.
"A genius... a true genius!"
At that moment, the audience's attention was completely, irrevocably captured by Aizen. They were desperate to see what other surprises this young man held.
Aizen leaped lightly, landing gracefully in front of the earthen wall under the gaze of thousands. He took a few casual steps forward, closing the distance to Gaara, a strange, knowing curve slowly forming on his lips.
He stopped at the very center of the field.
Feeling the weight of countless eyes upon him, Aizen's smile deepened. He placed his palm on the simple katana at his waist and slowly, deliberately, drew Kyōka Suigetsu.
The polished steel of the blade gleamed dazzlingly under the sun, captivating all who saw it.
Aizen firmly grasped the hilt with his left hand and gracefully stroked the flat of the blade with his right. Then, he held Kyōka Suigetsu horizontally before him, its sharp edge pointing vertically towards the ground.
His voice, calm and clear, rang out across the suddenly silent arena.
"Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu."
The Zanpakutō that had once cast all of the Soul Society into illusion was finally, on this grand stage, about to unleash its true power upon a new world.