Inside the arena, the battle between Sasuke and Gaara was unfolding with fierce intensity.
Sasuke moved like a ghost, a rapid sequence of "Shave" techniques turning him into little more than a blur as he flickered in and out of Gaara's sight, his speed astonishing.
Gaara's brow was furrowed tightly. He tried to track Sasuke's trajectory, but even he couldn't fully keep up with the boy's near-teleportation speed.
"This guy, not only is his speed incredible, but…" Gaara thought with amazement. A moment ago, a light punch from Sasuke had shattered his sand armor completely—the strength behind it was beyond imagination.
But Gaara was not one to back down. With a flick of his fingers, waves of sand sprang to life like living creatures, swirling around him to form impenetrable walls that temporarily forced Sasuke back.
Then, he once again drew on the sand within him, layering it into a solid protective shell—his pride, the "Absolute Defense," which had repelled countless powerful enemies in the past.
Sealed within his defense, Gaara did not wait idly. Through his masterful control of sand, he silently launched attacks at Sasuke from every direction.
Yet Sasuke seemed to have anticipated the move. A cold smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as his body once again exploded with breathtaking speed, carrying him through the barrage of sand blades like a panther, straight toward Gaara.
This time, Sasuke's fist was coated in a faint black sheen—Armament Haki, honed through relentless training.
"Boom!"
A deafening crash echoed. Gaara's "Absolute Defense" cracked under Sasuke's full-force blow, then shattered, scattering sand in all directions.
"What…?" Gaara ground his teeth.
Watching from the sidelines, Temari and the others held their breath, deeply anxious for Gaara.
If his defense continued to be breached and he sustained too much damage, the One-Tail sealed inside him might seize the chance to break free.
Now, Gaara looked down at his bleeding shoulder. Suddenly, he let out a wild, chilling laugh.
As the laughter spread, an unprecedented surge of terrifying power began to swell within him, like a slumbering beast violently awakened.
In the stands, Orochimaru, disguised as the Fourth Kazekage, hid behind his mask, his sinister eyes gleaming with greed. He fought the urge to lick his lips, muttering under his breath, "How delightful, Sasuke-kun. Your rate of growth exceeds my expectations. In such a short time, you've become so much stronger."
As he spoke, his interest in Sasuke deepened, as if he could already see the day the boy would become his perfect vessel.
Below, Gaara's body underwent a massive transformation. He had fully entered a state of partial possession, the One-Tail's chakra surging through him like a flood.
Though his form remained somewhat human, the aura radiating from his entire being had completely changed—wild and dangerously menacing.
Sensing the immense chakra, Sasuke felt a chill rise within him, his scalp tingling. "This guy… he's a monster," he thought.
But despite his shock, Sasuke didn't retreat.
He recalled the trials he had endured, especially the days of harsh training under Garp and Zephyr—the pain that had forged his unyielding spirit.
"I've been pummeled by Old Man Garp. A monster like this probably couldn't even beat him," Sasuke mentally bolstered himself, his eyes growing resolute once more.
Taking a deep breath, he charged at Gaara again. This time, he summoned the limits of his ability—the most basic form of Armament Haki—coating his fist in a faint black glow as he struck with a wind-tearing punch.
But in the face of Sasuke's attack, Gaara merely cackled. With a wave of his hands, a mass of sand instantly condensed into an unbreakable shield, absorbing Sasuke's full-force blow.
The sand grains on the shield flowed as if alive, dispersing the attack completely.
"What?!" Sasuke faltered, stumbling back several steps, disbelief written across his face.
In the stands, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, watched Gaara spiral out of control with a grave expression, deep worry in his heart.
Kakashi, too, sensed something was wrong. He quickly shifted his gaze to Baki and noticed the man's equally serious expression, tinged with murderous intent.
"No… he's losing control." Kakashi muttered, scanning the surroundings.
At that moment, the chakra surging within Gaara was so oppressive and powerful that many examinees in the arena felt a primal dread.
"The monster's woken up," Shikamaru remarked dryly. In the face of such overwhelming power, any clever strategy seemed futile.
"This chakra… it feels a bit like the Nine-Tails' chakra inside me," Naruto said, frowning. It was eerily similar to the fox's energy within him.
Now, Gaara had fully succumbed to madness. Only one thought consumed him: to utterly destroy Sasuke, the one who had wounded him.
Driven by his will, countless grains of sand surged like living things, instantly swallowing the ground beneath Sasuke and turning it into a desert.
Sasuke, relying on his agility, barely avoided the sudden onslaught.
But that was only the beginning. The immense chakra around Gaara began to gather frantically. He used it to mix highly compacted minerals from beneath the earth into the sand, subjecting it to a series of complex transformations until it coalesced into a massive, solid spear.
The spear emanated a chilling presence.
"The Spear of Shukaku!" Gaara howled with crazed glee in his eyes.
It was his ultimate weapon, hailed as the hardest absolute attack—enough to strike fear into any opponent.
On the other side, Sasuke looked at the rampaging Gaara and curled his lips into a cold smirk.
There was no fear in his eyes—only the hunger for battle.
"It's only worth beating someone like this," Sasuke murmured to himself, then abruptly widened the distance between them and began forming hand seals.
In the next moment, wild arcs of lightning burst from his palm, writhing like silver serpents through the air.
"Crackle, crackle." The lightning shrieked, filling the air with a deafening roar—a chorus of a thousand birds that inspired awe.
"Kakashi, he's mastered that technique already… What a genius," Might Guy exclaimed in astonishment, unable to believe how fast Sasuke was progressing.
Kakashi gave a slight nod, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes.
He had found the opportunity to teach Sasuke the powerful Chidori, and to his surprise, Sasuke had mastered it so quickly.
"But… can Sasuke's Chidori alone break that spear?" Kakashi said with lingering concern. He knew Gaara's Spear of Shukaku was no ordinary weapon; breaking it would be no easy feat.
Yet Sasuke seemed to sense Kakashi's doubt. With a confident smirk, his eyes radiated self-assurance.
Over the past month, under Zephyr's rigorous training, he had made remarkable progress—the sweat and effort he poured in were beyond what others could imagine.
With a loud shout, he channeled all his strength.
The silver-white Chidori that crackled in his hand slowly began to take on a hint of black under the gaze of the crowd.
The black lightning was like a reaper's scythe, exuding an aura that made hearts shudder.