"Naisu~!" Natsuki's friends couldn't help but cheer.
Everyone had seen how formidable Gaara's sand was during Lee's fight. Now, Natsuki had first used Doton (Earth Style) to create an enclosed space, then flooded it with water. Sand and water were a terrible combination—once wet, sand was done for!
Kakashi and Guy exchanged a glance, thinking the sa thing: "So this is how you counter him? Brilliant!"
Inside the water, Gaara was not doing well.
Living his whole life in the arid Land of Wind, Gaara barely dared to drink water, let alone be subrged in it. Maybe he didn't even know how to swim.
Luckily, he had chakra. By using chakra, he barely managed to float toward the surface. As for his sand—forget it. It was completely useless in water.
But just as he was about to break the surface, he saw Natsuki rapidly forming hand seals. Then Natsuki thrust both hands, crackling with electricity, into the water.
"Oh no...!"
"—Three!"
"Raiton: Dendō! (Lightning Style: Ground Surge!)"
As Natsuki's electrified hands plunged into the water, powerful currents surged through the entire area. Everyone knew water conducted electricity—how could Gaara possibly escape?
The next second, a scream erupted from under the water.
"AAAAHHHH!!!"
Even though the water muffled it, Gaara's scream was harrowing—after all, he had always been shielded by his sand and had never truly experienced pain. Now, the shock of being electrocuted was sothing he simply couldn't bear.
If it weren't for his chakra forming a weak barrier, he probably would've choked on the water too, unable even to scream.
"Gaara!!"
Temari and Kankuro ran around anxiously, but they couldn't enter the arena to save him.
The spectators, too, shuddered as they watched the water crackle with electricity and heard Gaara's agonized cries. They couldn't help but imagine just how painful it must have been to elicit screams like that—truly terrifying.
But soon, cheers erupted.
After all, this was a ninja battle, and such superhuman abilities were to be expected.
Besides, most of the audience were Konoha villagers. Seeing their own ninja so overwhelmingly suppressing an outsider—this was a matter of village pride. Of course they cheered and applauded!
Before long, the water surface split apart.
Gaara, wrapped in a cloak of chakra, burst into the air. Sand surged from his gourd, lifting him up and suspending him midair.
Natsuki wasn't surprised in the slightest.
Gaara was strong. Even if his sand was useless in water, his chakra reserves were considerable—enough to get him out of the situation. But judging by his scorched, battered appearance, and the look of utter hatred in his eyes, it was clear that the electrocution had hurt.
"Damn it! Kill! I'll kill you!"
Gaara roared, raising his hands to summon sand.
"Sabaku Sōsō! (Desert Funeral!)"
Whoosh! A massive sandstorm surged toward Natsuki, clearly aiming to crush him.
His friends couldn't help but feel tense.
Natsuki's expression remained serious.
With a swift Geppō (Moonwalk), he soared into the air.
For him, the sky was no longer off-limits—he could run freely in the air, and Raishunshin (Lightning Body Flicker) was at his fingertips.
He zipped across the battlefield, dodging the sand clouds, and in a blink, appeared right in front of Gaara—fist raised.
The sand tried to block him, but Natsuki's punch was no ordinary strike. It was heavier and more brutal than Lee's—even without the Eight Gates, a single punch was enough to shatter Gaara's sand defense and land squarely on his face.
Gaara, still drenched and without his sand armor restored, was stunned by the impact.
Blood stread from the corner of his mouth. For the first ti, he saw his own blood.
But Natsuki didn't stop. His fists rained down rcilessly, and Gaara's sand barrier couldn't keep up. In monts, Gaara was covered in injuries, unable to fight back.
Gaara wasn't skilled in taijutsu—he couldn't dodge Natsuki's blows at all.
He tried to counterattack with sand, but Natsuki's Raishunshin was too fast, while the sand was too slow. It was useless.
In the end, Gaara had no choice. He gritted his teeth and activated his ultimate defense—encasing himself in a giant sphere of sand, sealing himself inside a "black room" where no blows could reach him.
"Here it is! Gaara's ultimate defense!"
Temari and Kankuro breathed a sigh of relief. They had been terrified Gaara would be beaten to death on the spot.
This guy Natsuki was terrifying—his earlier fight with Orochimaru hadn't been because Orochimaru was holding back. It was because Natsuki was truly strong. And now, he was beating Gaara so badly that Gaara had no choice but to hide in his ultimate defense.
From the highest seats in the audience, the daimyos of the two countries exchanged glances.
The Fire Daimyo wore a satisfied smirk—clearly, Konoha had stolen the show.
After all, Konoha had the most candidates in these finals, and so far, all the matches had ended in Konoha victories. If they won this sixth match as well, it would be a total sweep for Konoha.
This Gaara of the Desert was supposed to be Sunagakure's trump card, but now he was being utterly crushed by a Konoha ninja.
The Fire Daimyo thought smugly, This round is mine! Wind Country? K.O.!
Natsuki looked at the giant sand sphere and clapped his hands together.
The seal on his left palm activated, and he summoned the Maken Senjin (Demonic Blade Senjin). He drew the blade from his palm, his stance exuding a cool and composed aura.
Channeling chakra into the blade, its fragnts extended outward, elongating into a piercing thrust. The blade, crackling with lightning, shot forward and pierced straight through the sand sphere—impaling Gaara's shoulder.
The electricity surged into Gaara's body again, scorching him inside and out. His screams this ti were even more pitiful than when he had been electrocuted in the water.
"In the face of overwhelming power, so-called absolute defense is aningless!"
Natsuki's words echoed through the entire arena, leaving the spectators—and the daimyos—deeply shocked and utterly impressed.
This would undoubtedly earn him top marks from the daimyos. Once Tsunade returned, Natsuki's Chūnin promotion would be a sure thing. Especially in a ti when Konoha desperately needed manpower, his status would only rise.
The sand sphere crumbled, falling away to reveal Gaara's battered and broken body.
Natsuki retracted Maken Senjin, returned it to his left palm, and perford another Raishunshin, appearing above Gaara. With a single punch, he slamd Gaara into the ground.
Boom!
Gaara smashed into the arena floor, creating a crater as he let out another agonized scream, mouth wide open in a silent wail.
Natsuki landed on Gaara's body, the tip of Maken Senjin resting against Gaara's open mouth.
"Maken Senjin will fragnt and burrow into your body, destroying your insides. Your so-called absolute defense is useless."
Natsuki's cold voice declared the outco as he glanced at Genma.
Genma quickly checked Gaara—he wasn't a sand clone.
"Enough! Winner: Natsuki from Konoha!"
Hearing this, Natsuki sheathed the blade into his left palm and turned away in a smooth, stylish motion—completely ignoring even Genma's look of admiration.
(End of Chapter)
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