Chapter 77: The Action Begins
A few minutes ago.
The Chunin Exams Arena.
The battle between Sasuke and Gaara was still ongoing!
No... perhaps this wasn't a battle, but had almost become a one-sided affair of Sasuke toying with Gaara.
Sasuke's fighting style was different from that of Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura.
When Sakura fought Naruto, even if she was going easy on him, she wouldn't waste time with useless talk during the fight. When Hinata fought Temari, she also fought in silence.
But he, on the other hand, was striking and provoking Gaara both physically and verbally.
"Come on! If you don't come, then I'll make the first move!"
In the blink of an eye, Sasuke flipped over the sand wall that Gaara had placed in front of him with no room to spare. He supported himself on the ground with his hands and, with a heavy, upward kick, sent Gaara flying into the sky.
Sand and blood danced in the air.
"What's wrong? Is this all the strength you have?"
With an unreasonable burst of acceleration, he rushed into the defensive circle before the sand shield could close, and with the momentum of his charge, he slammed a heavy punch into Gaara's face, sending the latter toppling to the ground.
"I told you, I'm going to peel off your armor, layer by layer!"
The corner of Sasuke's mouth curled up as he said with a sneer!
He was almost successful—the hard Sand Armor on Gaara's body had already begun to flake off in large pieces under Sasuke's constant attacks, leaving only the final parts protecting his vital spots!
Rustle, rustle.
Small, loose pieces of sand constantly slid down from his neck and face, revealing Gaara's expression hidden behind the Sand Armor.
Saliva mixed with sand dripped from the corner of Gaara's mouth, making his expression a bit more ferocious and grotesque.
Then his ferocious anger gradually turned into a maniacal laugh!
"Hahaha... I will not lose!"
Gaara said, laughing wildly as he knelt on the ground.
As he spoke, the sand under his feet, like a swarm of writhing insects, crawled up his face, once again covering his entire body, turning him into a sand monster!
His only exposed eyes changed from bloodshot black pupils to turbid and terrifying pale yellow eyeballs!
What is this? All the ninja present asked in their hearts with surprise.
Damn it! Gaara has awakened "that thing" ahead of schedule! Baki's face darkened, secretly hating that Gaara was indeed not stable enough and had not acted according to the plan.
The plan has gone wrong...! Kankuro and Temari's faces turned pale, their hearts filled with unease.
On the field, Kakashi and the others exchanged a grave look and quietly tensed their bodies.
After a moment, after seeing clearly what had happened on the field below, screams erupted one after another from the spectator stands!
"A monster, a monster!" "My god, what is that?" "So scary!" "That Sand ninja candidate seems to have turned into a beast made of sand!"
However, the high-pitched screams and shouts did not last long before they died down.
"Hey, did you see that? Huh, I suddenly feel so... sleepy..." "Mon... ster... snore... snore..."
Several hidden chakra fluctuations quietly spread throughout the entire venue, turning the shouts and screams of the audience into deep snores.
"Genjutsu: Temple of Nirvana Technique!"
The large-scale genjutsu had pulled all the ordinary people present, whether they were commoners or dignitaries, into a deep dream. It was likely that even if the sky were to fall at this moment, they would not wake up.
The invaders who had cast the genjutsu stood up leisurely.
In the entire venue, besides them, only a few ninja were still standing.
"A genjutsu... which means, the operation has begun!"
Baki sensed the casting of the genjutsu and glanced at the spectator stands, understanding in his heart. He exchanged a look with Kankuro and Temari. The latter's face was pale with nervousness, small beads of sweat on their noses, but they still forced themselves to remain calm, clenching their teeth as they waited for the order.
"Kurenai..." "That's right, this is a large-scale genjutsu!"
Kurenai formed a seal with one hand, calmly dispelled the genjutsu, and said in a cold voice to Asuma and Kakashi. Her usually gentle, water-like eyes had at this moment suddenly become like frost and snow.
"Release!" "Release!"... "Release!"
On the contestant waiting platform, several Konoha Genin simultaneously formed the seal to dispel the genjutsu. Sakura, as a bonus, kicked the collapsed Naruto awake.
"Has the Sand Village also betrayed the treaty?" The faint smile that was always on the corner of Genma Shiranui's mouth was now completely gone.
He stood in front of Sasuke, looking coldly at Baki, in a standoff.
"Lord Fourth Kazekage... do you intend to start a war?!"
On the main platform, the Third Hokage slowly turned his head to look at the Kazekage, his words filled with awe.
With such a sudden change, the Kazekage was actually unperturbed, and with the strange state Gaara was in below, the only explanation was that the Sand had also participated!
Such an act was already no different from a declaration of war!
"If you stop now and seek a peaceful solution, it's not too late...! Because no matter how much Orochimaru gives you, it won't be more than what you will lose by attacking Konoha!"
Every word, every sentence from the Third Hokage seemed to contain the wrath of a thunderbolt!
In this moment, he had shed the warm and kind old man face he showed to the villagers and transformed into a fierce tiger perched on a great rock, a cold light flashing in his eyes as he stared at the enemy beside him!
When the Third Hokage said these words, even the air seemed to freeze. A heavy presence filled the air, as if a great force was pressing down on the Kazekage and the guards behind him!
The Fourth Kazekage also slowly turned his head. His deathly gray eyes, as if lifeless, met the Hokage's gaze.
The grave and stern presence from the Third seemed to have no effect on him at all. No emotion could be seen in his gray, defeated eyes. He did not respond to the Hokage's words, his lips under the veil moving slightly—
"Let's begin...!"
The Kazekage's calm and indifferent voice, like a rock, announced the beginning of the Konoha Crush plan!
A signal flare, it was unknown from which side, rose gracefully and exploded in mid-air, indicating the start of the battle here.
In an instant, everyone who was still conscious moved!
Dozens of Sound ninja in uniform appeared from nowhere, lining up in the spectator stands opposite the scattered Konoha ninja.
Under Sakura's dangerous glare, Temari and Kankuro quickly jumped down to the arena floor to join Gaara and Baki. Sakura was too lazy to stop them, just turning her gaze to the highest point of the venue—the main platform.
"Protect the Hokage!" The Anbu squad closest to the Hokage reacted first, instantly rushing towards the main platform.
At the same time, the two guards behind the Kazekage suddenly split into four and rushed to the four corners of the main platform, opening a barrier to block the Anbu's support.
And within the barrier, as soon as the Kazekage's words "Let's begin" fell, both sides attacked at the same time without prior agreement!
BOOM—!
A world-shaking sound came from the main platform, attracting everyone's attention.
When the raised dust settled, Sakura was stunned to see that the magnificent and winding main platform had actually been shattered to pieces by a single punch from the Hokage's guard!
A black figure was sent flying backward from the dust. It was the Fourth Kazekage, who had suddenly launched a sneak attack on the Hokage. He had actually been sent flying by a punch from the guard behind the Third Hokage!
Behind the guard, the Third Hokage took off his hat and his Hokage robes. His pair of tiger-like eyes looked gravely at the Kazekage who was leisurely standing up from the ruins.
"I never thought it would actually be you... Orochimaru!"
The Fourth Kazekage, no, Orochimaru, tore off the Kazekage's disguise, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and stood up, his expression becoming even more gloomy.
His long, narrow vertical pupils looked coldly at the Hokage's guard, and he sneered, "I also never thought it would be you... Tsunade!"
The figure standing proudly in front of the Third Hokage, her blonde hair flowing, her chest still heaving from her previous action, her incomparably beautiful face showed a calm smile under the shroud of Orochimaru's sinister killing intent.
The battle within the barrier was actually Orochimaru VS Tsunade and the Third Hokage!
The butterfly storm that Sakura had stirred up was finally big enough to change the main plot!
On the waiting platform, Sakura let out a cold laugh. Against two Kage-level powerhouses, could Orochimaru still kill the Third Hokage?
"Sakura, look out!" Just then, Naruto suddenly shouted.
It was a Sound ninja who, seeing that Sakura was paying attention to the Hokage's battle, had taken the opportunity to launch a sneak attack on her from behind!
Hearing Naruto's warning, the Sound ninja sneered, a thought flashing through his mind—It's too late to warn her now!
His kunai was already approaching the back of the girl's head. In a few more inches, it would pierce her skull, turning her white brain matter into a bloody pulp, and the flower-like girl before him would perish.
He had already decided that after killing this cute girl, the next thing he would do was to stab the annoying loudmouth next to her through the mouth with his brain-covered kunai, to let him have a taste of his comrade's flesh and blood!
This dish... how about we call it Scrambled Eggs with Tomato?
Then, the next moment—
Thud! Thud!
A sharp blade pierced flesh, making a dull sound.
This kind of sound, the bloodthirsty Sound ninja had heard many times. He had always felt that this was the sound of heaven. However, at this moment, that familiar sound was no longer heavenly, but made him feel the chill of hell!
Squelch—!
The sharp blade was pulled out from the body. Hot blood gushed out from the opening, hissing as it squeezed the air.
A vital point was hit. A life was about to be extinguished.
It was just that... the one who was injured was not the girl who had been ambushed.
The Sound ninja watched helplessly as the kunai in his hand stopped four fingers away from the girl's ice-clean skin, unable to advance another inch, while he himself was hit in a vital point by a crystal-clear blade that pierced through his body.
All the strength in his body was drained away by the girl's precise backhand strike!
Am I going to die?
His body gradually grew cold and numb as his blood flowed out madly. The ice blade was pulled out from the Sound ninja's chest. Having lost its support, the Sound ninja fell powerlessly to the ground.
The scene before his eyes swayed in a daze, gradually blurring and darkening. In the end, all he could see clearly was the transparent longsword stained with dark red blood and the indifferent expression on the girl's delicate little face.
The sword that took my life, was it made of ice? How beautiful...
That girl's gaze is even colder than ice...
Then, everything returned to darkness.
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