Chapter 22: The One-Tail Appears
Under the gaze of the entire crowd, the most anticipated match of the entire Chunin Exams was about to begin.
Gaara of the Sand Village was widely recognized for his power. In the Forest of Death, even the small fraction of his strength he'd shown had shocked the other ninja.
As for Takahashi, he wasn't favored at all. His presence was so low many people barely noticed him. Most thought Takahashi was just unlucky. He might have stood a chance against others, but against Gaara? There was no hope.
In contrast, Lee and the others had total faith in Takahashi. Even though Lee was exhausted from his last match, he insisted on staying to watch Takahashi's fight before getting treatment.
Hinata was also in the stands, silently cheering for him. Takahashi-kun, you have to win. I believe in you.
Takahashi seemed to sense something. He suddenly found Hinata in the crowd and gave her a subtle, quick wink.
This made her blush slightly.
Then the match officially began. The two faced each other, a classic case of rivals meeting.
"Letting you pass before didn't mean I was afraid of you," Gaara said, his voice flat. "Show me your real power."
If possible, Takahashi didn't want to reveal his strength in such a public place.
But this was Gaara, an opponent with power rivaling a jonin, with a tailed beast sealed inside him. Holding back would be suicide.
Takahashi held nothing back. He used 80% of his power from the start, unleashing four or five Flash Kicks in a row. They slammed into Gaara's Sand Armor. The defense Gaara was so proud of was instantly covered in cracks.
Kakashi, who had been surprised by Lee opening four Gates, now gripped the railing in front of him, his eyes wide as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Guy! You need to explain what's going on with your student! Why is that power so similar to Minato-sensei's Flying Thunder God?!"
Might Guy could only shake his head helplessly. "I wish I could tell you, but I don't know. One thing I'm sure of is that it's definitely not the Flying Thunder God. He's doing it with his body alone."
"Impossible!" Kakashi denied it outright.
No one could understand his excitement. He tried hard to calm down and watched carefully. He saw this wasn't the Flying Thunder God technique. There were no hand seals, no special kunai thrown.
He, Kakashi, was the Copy Ninja, master of a thousand jutsu. But now, after watching for a long time, he couldn't figure out how Takahashi was doing it.
"Your student... is truly something else," Kakashi finally sighed.
The battle below raged on. Gaara's armor was breaking apart faster than the sand could repair it. Blood trickled from his forehead. The sand couldn't keep up with Takahashi's speed, leaving Gaara completely vulnerable.
Don't let the One-Tail out, Takahashi thought. If that tailed beast emerges, this will become a huge mess.
But there's a saying: whatever you fear most is likely to happen.
Gaara was being forced back, unable to even touch Takahashi. It was a completely one-sided beating.
Gaara flew into a rage. He slammed both hands on the ground. The arena shook as sand swarmed around Takahashi's ankles, trapping him, then surging upward to engulf him.
"Sand Waterfall Funeral!"
This attack was meant to kill. Up above, Lee and Tenten cried out in alarm.
Even Guy's palms were sweating. It wasn't that he doubted Takahashi's strength, but an opponent of this level was truly fearsome.
A cruel light flashed in Gaara's eyes. He had used this move with the intent to kill.
But he soon realized something was wrong. The feeling wasn't right. His sure-kill technique had hit nothing.
A sharp-eyed spectator shouted, "Look! Up in the sky!"
Gaara's head snapped up. There, high in the air, was Takahashi, his arms crossed over his chest, looking almost lazy, as if infected by the original owner of his fruit's power.
Hovering mid-air, he gathered countless particles of light around him, firing a blinding volley of light bullets down at Gaara. The area of attack was so large there was nowhere to hide. The bullets had incredible piercing power, instantly riddling the sand shield with holes.
Gaara spat out a mouthful of blood. His clothes were torn. He looked up at Takahashi with pure hatred. Suddenly, a red light erupted from his body, like a thick, viscous liquid starting to envelop him.
Temari screamed from the stands, "Calm down, Gaara! You have to calm down! Don't let it control you!"
Seeing her pleas had no effect, she turned to the proctor. "We forfeit! We admit defeat!"
But Gaara roared when he heard this, "I didn't lose! If you dare surrender, I'll kill you first!"
The murderous look in his eyes froze Temari in terror. It didn't seem like a joke at all. So what if they were siblings? She 100% believed Gaara would do it.
It was at this moment Takahashi finally got serious. The real enemy was appearing.
Seeing this, Kakashi felt a deeply familiar and evil chakra. "No! It's the tailed beast! The One-Tail inside Gaara is going wild! We have to be ready! If things change, we go down there and get Takahashi out immediately!"
Seeing this, Hinata covered her mouth in fear. Her Byakugan saw the terrifying chakra swirling out of control. "Be careful, Takahashi-kun!" she shouted. "His chakra is going wild! It's too dangerous!"
It was obvious. Gaara was losing control. The rough form of Shukaku began to take shape around his body. Every sound from the crowd made him more manic. Hinata's voice especially angered him.
Without a second thought, he hurled a ball of destructive tailed beast chakra straight toward Hinata's location in the stands.
Seeing this, Takahashi's rage exploded. His eyes turned red. Using the Mirror Jutsu, he flashed back and forth, arriving in front of Hinata at the last possible second. He held her tightly in his arms and, with a furious kick, sent the tailed beast bomb flying away.
His voice was colder than anyone had ever heard it.
"I don't care if you're a tailed beast or not. But right now... you've made me very, very angry."