Whoosh!
The battlefield shimmered. A ripple of chakra pulsed through the sand at Gaara's feet before it surged upward like liquid gold. From within the swirl emerged another figure. It was a perfect copy, sculpted from sand, its face expressionless yet unmistakably his.
A sand clone of Gaara stood in front of him, motionless for a heartbeat before its hand snapped up. Between its fingers gleamed several spinning shurikens, the same ones Sasuke had launched moments earlier.
'What?!' Sasuke's eyes widened, his Sharingan spinning faster.
Whoosh!
Without hesitation, the clone flicked its wrist. The stolen shurikens tore through the air like bolts of steel lightning, their speed multiplied severalfold.
Sasuke reacted instantly. His feet dug into the ground, chakra surging through his legs as he disappeared in a blur.
Whoosh!
He reappeared mid-air, two meters from where he'd stood a heartbeat ago. The shurikens screamed past beneath him, slicing through the space he'd just vacated.
"…" Gaara's eyes lifted, calm and cold as ice, locking onto Sasuke's airborne figure.
For a fleeting moment, the two shinobi's gazes met, one expressionless, one blazing with fury.
Sasuke landed lightly, his sandals scraping against the arena's surface. The instant his foot touched ground, he shot forward, chakra bursting from his calves like compressed gunfire.
He closed the distance in an instant as his fists flashed.
"HAH!"
He launched a flurry of kicks and punches, each strike sharp enough to split the air. The clone met every blow, its movements eerily mechanical, its body rippling like flowing metal under each hit.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Every strike connected with a dull, echoing thud. Each time Sasuke's knuckles hit sand, it felt less like hitting earth and more like smashing against steel.
BOOM!
An abrupt burst of chakra detonated from Gaara's center. The sand around him compressed violently, swirling back into his defense dome before locking into an even denser layer of protection. The air rippled from the pressure, scattering the debris across the arena.
Sasuke's eyes widened. 'What is it with this sand?! Why did it suddenly become hard?'
He attacked again with a spinning kick followed by a downward heel strike, but each hit reverberated through his legs like striking solid rock.
Bang!
The clone's fist connected with Sasuke's chest, a devastating blow that sent him flying backward. He skidded across the dust, his breath ripped from his lungs.
'What—?!' Sasuke gritted his teeth as his feet dragged a furrow across the dirt. 'That strength… that clone—!'
Gaara watched with cold detachment, voice calm as still water. "Is that all you have, Uchiha Sasuke?"
The question echoed across the arena, carried by the wind, both mocking and emotionless.
From the waiting stands, Naruto leaned forward, eyes glinting. "Gaara's as strong as usual, I see…"
"Damn it!" Sasuke hissed, rising to his feet. Sweat dripped from his chin, but his eyes burned brighter than before. To him, Gaara looked less human and more like an unmovable monster made of sand.
'Let's see if the new speed of your sand… can compare to this speed!'
Gaara frowned slightly as Sasuke's posture shifted into one of calm, confident, and daring.
'Hmm? What does he want?' He thought, narrowing his eyes.
"Hmph." Sasuke's lips twitched into a smirk, and then he vanished.
Whoosh!
"...Huh?" Lee blinked from the stands, his single visible eye widening. "Where did he—?"
A split-second later, a sonic crack echoed. Sasuke reappeared behind Gaara, his fist cutting through the air.
'He's fast… just like that guy…' Gaara's eyes flickered briefly to the memory of Lee flashing before him.
BOOM!
Sasuke's punch slammed into Gaara's sand barrier, but the sand only buckled and didn't break.
Whoosh!
Sasuke vanished again, only to reappear behind Gaara once more, a blur of motion and precision.
BOOM! BOOM!
Each strike created ripples along the sand dome, dents that vanished almost immediately as new layers reinforced themselves.
'His sand is way too fast…' Sasuke thought, his fists flying. He darted around Gaara, moving faster than most could track, his body a flicker of shadow and lightning.
Gaara's eyes followed, wide and alert. 'He's… keeping up with my sand?!'
In the stands, the spectators gasped, unable to keep up with the blinding speed.
To Lee, watching the movements below, the sight was both mesmerizing and painful.
'You too… have achieved my speed, huh, Sasuke?' He thought, clenching his fists.
In his mind, the two images overlapped, his own past self trading blows with Gaara and Sasuke now dancing in the same deadly rhythm.
Even Gai, usually composed, leaned forward with wide eyes.
'He's fast! Nearly the same speed as Lee's base movement… incredible!'
Lee's throat tightened as he remembered. 'Sasuke trained with me… every day for those five days. He copied my movements… without using a single jutsu.'
As Sasuke's strikes blurred into invisible arcs, Lee's heart pounded.
'Now you've caught up to my speed… But I won't stop here! I'll train harder ten times… no, a hundred times harder... until I surpass you both!'
Neji, sitting nearby, heard Lee's quiet determination and felt his own chest burn with resolve.
'Those two have surpassed us,' He thought, 'but I'll work harder just like you, Lee.'
Tenten, sitting a few rows apart, clenched her fists. 'We'll all surpass them together… Kakashi's team won't always be ahead.'
Down below, Sasuke skidded to a halt, breathing heavily. His attacks hadn't broken through.
It wasn't that his efforts were meaningless. It was just that Gaara's sand had evolved; the particles were now packed with terrifying density under the pull of magnetic chakra.
"Given up?" Gaara's calm voice drifted through the air.
Sasuke lifted his gaze, sweat trickling down his temple, and smirked.
Meanwhile, Gai turned toward Kakashi, his expression tightening.
'Kakashi didn't even train him for a full month… That boy vanished, training on his own… To think he's come this far already.'
"Hmph!" Sasuke snorted, dropping his stance slightly.
Then the air cracked.
Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!
Lightning began to crawl along his arms, wrapping his body in flickering streams of electric chakra. The faint smell of ozone filled the arena as sparks danced across his form.
The crowd erupted in murmurs.
"What—what is that?!" Someone shouted.
Up in the stands, even the seasoned jōnin stirred.
Gai's eyes went wide, and Hiruzen leaned forward while Jiraiya's grin faltered for a second.
Orochimaru, still hidden under his disguise, licked his lips in excitement.
"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?!" A man in the audience shouted, standing up in disbelief as arcs of blue lightning illuminated Sasuke's silhouette below.
'Oh... what interesting developments,' Orochimaru mused with a sinister curl of his lips, his golden eyes glinting like a serpent spotting its prey. The faintest hiss slipped from between his teeth as he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, chin resting on the back of his hand.
"Sasuke-kun... you continue to entertain me," He whispered, his tone low and velvety, laced with delight and dark curiosity.
Jiraiya, standing not far from him, folded his arms across his chest, his grin a mix of pride and admiration.
"Heh, not bad at all..." He murmured. "The brat's got Kakashi's polish and his own edge. That's a dangerous mix."
His eyes narrowed in approval. "Guess the kid really didn't waste his training time."
Meanwhile, murmurs rippled through the stands like a wave. The crowd that had been holding its breath now buzzed in excitement.
--- ✦ ✦ ✦ ---
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