Chapter 75: The Uneasy Baki
Baki was beginning to feel uneasy.
The battle on the floor below had already gone somewhat beyond his original expectations.
A Tailed Beast, even if it was just the One-Tail, possessed Kage-level combat power. As the vessel for the Tailed Beast, the Jinchuriki of the One-Tail, although Gaara was still very immature, his combat power far surpassed that of an ordinary Genin, reaching the level of an Elite Chunin to a Special Jonin.
In the Chunin Exams, where only Genin participated, he should have been able to steamroll his way through.
Not to mention facing the Genin who had grown up in a Konoha that had long been at peace and was in a generational slump.
Baki, who had grown up in a harsh environment, naturally looked down on these flowers cultivated in a greenhouse. The intelligence showed that there were a few so-called geniuses among Konoha's last two classes of Genin, but so what?
A rookie who had not been through storms and lacked tempering would surely be no match for Gaara, who was already numb to killing.
Even with the Uchiha bloodline, he shouldn't expect to get the better of Gaara; it would just be a little more troublesome, that's all.
As Gaara's mentor, Baki was very confident in his subordinate's strength.
Or rather, he was very confident in the strength of the One-Tail, Shukaku... As a Jinchuriki, Gaara's mental state was very unstable, and he was prone to rampaging. He had been fortunate enough to witness Gaara lose control several times. When the Jinchuriki transformed into a blood-red Asura and went on a killing spree, the astonishing strength he displayed was something even he did not dare to face head-on. The bloody scene had made even a tough man of iron like him frown deeply!
If it weren't for Gaara's spirit still being far from stable, he would even have Jonin-level combat power!
To some extent, Baki's thoughts were correct. If Team 7's growth experience hadn't been so tortuous, having successively fought against top-tier powerhouses like Zabuza and Orochimaru, if not for the fact that each member of Team 7 had a very special identity and extraordinary background, any other team would have had no chance of reaching the level that Team 7 was at now.
Under normal circumstances, Sasuke should have been no match for Gaara.
However, the match on the floor below was a complete one-sided suppression of Gaara by Sasuke!
From the beginning of the match until now, the sand, which had been invincible in the past, had not once managed to capture Sasuke's figure! Sasuke's blue figure on the field seemed to have transformed into a nimble deer, while Gaara's sand was like a clumsy wolf, fierce and sinister, pouncing left and right, but always unable to catch that agile little deer!
A smile of certain victory gradually appeared on Sasuke's face.
His handsome features, paired with such a slightly contemptuous smile and his beautiful scarlet eyes, showed a wicked beauty that was enough to make little girls scream—although under the high-speed combat, those superficial girls couldn't see this scene.
Sasuke had no time to care about these things either.
His mind was completely focused on the battle with Gaara.
In the vision of his two-tomoe Sharingan, all the movements and changes around him, as long as he concentrated on observing them, would become slow, clear, and traceable. Gaara's sand, which others found unpredictable and ever-changing, seemingly loose yet leaving no gaps, in Sasuke's Sharingan eyes, was full of openings and slow in reaction.
This was not a trap intentionally set by Gaara.
After a round of probing, Sasuke quickly realized this: he was faster than Gaara!
Kakashi's training had been effective.
Sasuke began to try to attack, to display the results of his one month of training with Kakashi, which was an astonishing speed!
Under the stimulation of his lightning-natured chakra, his body's activity and muscle strength were greatly increased, which gave his speed a huge boost. Just one short month of special training had given him a speed comparable to a Lee who had opened the third of the Eight Gates! And this was a speed that Lee had taken several years of hard training and the use of a forbidden technique to obtain. Moreover, Sasuke, who possessed the Sharingan, had astonishing kinetic vision. Even at such high speeds, he could still see his own and the enemy's movements clearly, and deftly change direction in the face of obstacles, instead of just rushing straight ahead like Lee. In high-speed combat, this was even more important than a faster absolute speed!
This was the difference between a cheater and a normal person...
Gaara, who had always looked down on his peers, was stunned to find that the scene of him being dominated by Lee's high-speed taijutsu in the preliminaries was replaying itself. The difference was that Lee's taijutsu was a suppression of Gaara with overwhelming power and speed. Lee, after opening five gates, was like a fierce wind; one could only see his afterimage but could not capture his figure at all. But when facing Sasuke, Gaara felt a sense of helplessness where he could clearly see his movements but his reactions couldn't keep up at all.
BANG!!
On the floor below, Sasuke was as swift as the wind, his steps a flurry of confusion, his figure a trail of illusions. The movement of the sand was only a fraction slower than him, and it could no longer keep up with his tracks, being completely played by him!
A fraction faster, and life and death are decided.
In the blink of an eye, Sasuke had bypassed Gaara's layers of sand barriers. He threw a heavy punch, which whistled as it fiercely struck Gaara's face, sending him flying!
Crack, crack.
The shattered Sand Armor scattered into sand and slid off Gaara's face.
Dark red blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. With one blow, even the Sand Armor couldn't block Sasuke's heavy punch. The fierce force had penetrated the sand and slammed into Gaara's face!
Gaara wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. That faint touch of red made his gaze even colder.
And on the spectator stands, the hearts of Baki, Kankuro, and Temari all skipped a beat, and the same sentence popped into their minds at the same time.
Gaara is injured again...
This was already the second time. Gaara, who had never been injured among the Sand ninja, had actually been injured twice in a row by Konoha ninja!
Is this the strength of the Konoha that was said to be in a generational slump in the intelligence reports?
The unease in Baki's heart grew even thicker!
Just Uchiha Sasuke alone was this difficult to deal with. And in the first match, that girl who fought with Water Style and Ice Style had shown truly astonishing strength, even a cut above Sasuke! Even if they defeated Sasuke, how to deal with that girl's Water Style and Ice Style was also a problem.
Can Gaara... win?
For the first time, Baki felt unsure about Gaara.
If Gaara could not win with his normal strength, then the plan to have him get close to the Third Hokage and then immediately transform into Shukaku to launch a pincer attack with the Kazekage would be completely in vain.
What was worse than the plan failing was Gaara losing control after being injured and defeated, unable to fight. Baki had been worried about this all along, and now, he could already see the signs of it on Gaara's face!
The Gaara on the floor below was beginning to become frenzied.
Baki thought to himself.
Bringing an immature Jinchuriki out to carry out a combat mission was a complete blunder. There are too many uncontrollable factors, and the risk is too great!
A Tailed Beast is the deterrent force of a ninja village. If Shukaku were to be lost in Konoha, the Sand Village would inevitably fall into a complete decline!
Lord Kazekage, what on earth were you thinking... The Konoha Crush plan, is it really worth the Sand Village betting everything on it?
He turned his gaze to the high and mighty Lord Kazekage.
As an elite Jonin who had grown up in the harsh desert environment, Baki had a temperament unique to the desert people. His gaze was fierce and sinister, his face as resolute and merciless as a rock.
Even though his heart was filled with doubt and unease, his face showed not the slightest hint of retreat, only that his brows were furrowed even tighter, his gaze even more gloomy.
He was a loyal ninja, but at this moment, a trace of doubt about the Kazekage sounded in his heart.
Let's not even talk about whether they could defeat the expert-filled Konoha. Even if the plan succeeded, could the Sand chew off this piece of benefit?
Even if they were lucky enough to win against Konoha, the Sand itself would inevitably suffer heavy losses, its combat power greatly reduced. The fruits of victory, won through hard work, would probably be snatched away in the blink of an eye by the various ninja villages watching like tigers!
Whether it was the Cloud Village, which was building up its army, or the Stone Village with its dark undercurrents, neither was something the battle-weary Sand would be able to contend with. At that time, the Sand would be thankful just not to be invaded, let alone taking a bite out of the big, fat piece of meat that was Konoha!
No matter how he gamed it out, the Sand's participation in this plan was a losing move.
The short-sighted elders in the village might not be able to see this, but why would the always astute and wise Kazekage also agree to this plan? Moreover, he had ignored the opposition of many Jonin and had forcefully agreed to this plan with the authority of the Kazekage. Afterwards, he had never discussed the plan's content with everyone, as if he had become stubborn and self-willed overnight, unable to listen to any dissenting opinions!
Everything had started to change from the ninjutsu that Orochimaru had given to the Kazekage as a bargaining chip.
Lord Kazekage had never mentioned that ninjutsu to them, only saying that it could summon a Kage-level combat force.
It was said that as long as one mastered this ninjutsu, they would have the confidence to block the attacks of other ninja villages.
From that day on, Lord Kazekage often went to desolate places to practice this ninjutsu. In just one short month, the texture of his chakra had gradually changed from sharp and ruthless to gloomy as an abyss.
His personality had also become stubborn and taciturn.
Even a staunch supporter of the Kazekage like Baki had begun to feel a little uneasy.
That crude plan only said to follow the secret signals of Lord Kazekage or the Sound Village's Kabuto, but did not mention at all what to do if an accident occurred, as if he didn't care at all about the condition of such an important Jinchuriki like Gaara.
Was it overconfidence, or did he simply not care about the life or death of the Jinchuriki?
Baki felt a little indignant about Lord Kazekage's rash decision.
And the battle on the floor below made his face as dark as water.
—Gaara was being beaten down by Sasuke!
"So this is the Sand Armor?"
Sasuke said with a light laugh as he smashed away the layer of sand on Gaara's face with a punch.
It was a contemptuous laugh.
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