"Hey… look at it…" Someone breathed.
"What the… is that…?" Another whispered, unable to believe what they saw.
The next moment, a passing breeze swept across the field, and the dust cleared like a curtain being drawn open.
Sasuke stood in the center of the devastation, unharmed. His breath was steady. The sparks of fading lightning crawled across his body like fleeting veins of light before vanishing into the air.
Every gaze in the arena locked on him.
But Gaara's eyes were fixed only on those crimson irises, gleaming like a pair of burning moons.
They were the famed Dojustsu of Uchiha Clan, the Sharingan.
For the first time, Gaara's composure cracked. His lips parted slightly.
'Those eyes…'
The word pulsed in his head like a drumbeat.
Around them, the crowd finally erupted with cheers, disbelief, awe, all mixing into one thunderous roar that shook the air.
But between the two boys standing in the center of the arena, everything went silent again.
The lightning still crackled faintly around Sasuke's hand and the sand floated weightlessly around Gaara, waiting for its master's command.
Their eyes met, one burning with defiance, the other trembling with something far more dangerous than rage.
The real battle had just begun.
------
"YYYEEEAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"
The crowd went crazy, after seeing Sasuke activate his Sharingan.
In the spectators' stands, the tension that had hung like a storm cloud finally eased.
Fugaku Uchiha's stern eyes followed the battlefield as the dust cleared and his son emerged unscathed. For the briefest moment, the proud father's composed façade slipped, his brows relaxed, and a flicker of pride glimmered across his face.
But just as quickly, it vanished. His expression returned to its usual, unreadable calm.
Yet behind that mask, the emotion lingered, full of pride and relief. He had been worried for his son, even if he would never say it aloud.
Not far from him, Kushina let out a long breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"So close!" She exclaimed, patting Mikoto's hand with a mix of excitement and relief. Her crimson hair swayed slightly as she leaned closer, her bright blue eyes still wide from the tension. "Your boy is really good, Mikoto! I was honestly worried for him just now."
Mikoto giggled softly, her elegant composure untouched by the chaos of the arena.
"It's all right, Kushina," She said with a gentle smile. "I believe in Sasuke. That child may be a little hot-headed, but he's sharper than most give him credit for."
Kushina grinned, clearly delighted by her friend's confidence.
"Hah! I can see that. This fight's been amazing, even more interesting than my son's match with that Hyuga kid!" She said, her tone full of playful mischief as she glanced toward the field.
Her grin turned sly as she nudged Mikoto's arm lightly. "Say… wouldn't it be fun if both our boys ended up fighting in the finals? What do you think?"
Mikoto's eyes softened, a hint of amusement dancing in them.
"I'd love that," She said warmly. "Naruto and Sasuke have always been rivals, haven't they? Always pushing each other, never backing down. Seeing them face each other at the end… it would be perfect."
Kushina chuckled, her voice low and full of fondness. "Heh, that would be something to see. The son of the Fourth Hokage and the son of the Uchiha head, fighting it out before the whole village."
Mikoto tilted her head slightly, her smile deepening. "Yes… just like their fathers once did, only this time, maybe it'll end with friendship instead of rivalry."
The two women shared a quiet laugh as the crowd roared again.
-----
Gaara's pale blue eyes remained locked on Sasuke, unblinking, unreadable. The dust still drifted in the air from the last clash, shimmering under the sunlight. His gaze didn't waver, only deepened with cold calculation.
'Did he really circulate lightning chakra through every part of his body… in just that instant?' Gaara thought, astonishment flickering behind his emotionless mask. 'He neutralized my Sand Burial completely.'
Across from him, Sasuke stood with his right hand gripping his sword, the blade angled behind him. His left hand slowly rose, fingers curling, a wordless provocation. The corner of his mouth lifted into a sharp smirk.
"Why don't you come at me?" Sasuke taunted, his Sharingan glinting dangerously, the red of his eyes burning against the haze.
Gaara's expression hardened. Without a word, his sand stirred hissing as if alive, coiling around him like a serpent preparing to strike.
Then it launched forward.
Whoosh!
The attack shot across the field, a roaring tide of sand cutting through the air.
Sasuke's response was instantaneous. The lightning chakra surged through his limbs with a crackle, wrapping him in an aura of electric blue. He dashed forward straight into the oncoming sand.
Whoosh!
The stadium could barely follow the motion. Sasuke became a streak of light weaving through the torrent, his feet barely grazing the shifting ground.
Whoosh!
In a blur, he slipped past the wall of sand and continued his sprint toward Gaara, eyes fixed on his opponent.
Gaara's pupils narrowed. "Tch."
BAM!
He slammed both palms against the ground, the motion so sudden that even the proctors leaned forward in alarm.
'What is he doing now?' Sasuke thought, pausing for just a fraction of a second.
Gaara's calm voice echoed through the arena, carried by the rising wind.
"Sand Tsunami."
The earth groaned and a deep, rumbling tremor spread through the battlefield as the ground beneath them split apart.
The audience gasped, and then the desert came alive.
From every direction, waves of sand erupted skyward, crashing over the terrain like a monstrous ocean. It was no longer a battlefield, it was a sea of golden destruction.
"W–What the hell is that!?" Someone in the crowd shouted.
"S–Sand! It's flooding the whole stadium!" Another screamed.
Whoosh!
Genma, the referee, blurred into motion, barely avoiding being engulfed by the surge. He landed beside Gaara, sand still pouring down behind him like waterfalls.
He exhaled sharply, brushing dust off his flak jacket. He thought grimly, side-eyeing the redhead standing beside him.
'I almost got swallowed by that ocean of sand back there…'
Gaara stood motionless amid the chaos, his chakra resonating with the desert around him, his face still calm, almost serene.
From the stands, the spectators rose to their feet in shock.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD—!?" One of them shouted.
"Did he just summon an ocean of sand!?" Another cried out.
The roars of disbelief spread through the crowd like wildfire.
Down on the field, Sasuke balanced on a high mound of hardened sand, lightning chakra still crackling faintly around him, his hair swaying with the charged air.
His crimson eyes narrowed, watching the endless waves churn and twist under Gaara's control.
'So this is the true power of that sand monster…' He thought, tightening his grip on the sword.
The storm of sand raged on the battlefield, transforming into a golden wasteland, where only two figures stood facing each other.
--- ✦ ✦ ✦ ---
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