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"Gaara." Temari called out to him just as he was about to step into the arena.
He looked at her, slightly confused.
"Hinata Hyuga is the Lord Hokage's student," Temari reminded him. "It's fine if you win, but don't try to kill her."
The old, aggressive Gaara would never have listened, but the current one understood the implications. He nodded and walked toward the center of the arena with a calm demeanor.
In contrast to the Hidden Sand Village's confidence, the Hidden Leaf Village's camp was more subdued. Knowing that Gaara was the One-Tail Jinchuriki, they had already accepted that Hinata Hyuga couldn't win.
"Hinata, just do your best," Ino Yamanaka said, patting Hinata Hyuga's shoulder. "You've already done so well."
"That's right," Shikamaru Nara said lazily. "The Chunin Exam is just about getting the Chunin title anyway."
"We can leave this guy to Naruto," Kiba Inuzuka nudged Naruto Uzumaki.
"No problem!" Naruto Uzumaki said with a cheerful smile. "I definitely won't let him take first place, right, Sasuke?"
Sasuke Uchiha gave a faint nod. "He's nothing more than my defeated opponent." He had fought Gaara during a temporary mission with Kakashi Hatake's squad. With his Mangekyō Sharingan and Susanoo, he had naturally won. So, he wasn't exaggerating.
"I will do my best," Hinata Hyuga said, nodding firmly before leaving the viewing platform.
She understood what her friends were saying. Gaara's previous performance had been truly savage, and he was a Jinchuriki. His participation in the Chunin Exam was undeniably unfair to the others, just like Naruto Uzumaki's.
However, Hinata Hyuga had only used the Gentle Fist since the beginning of the tournament. The Exorcising Arrow Bow Sasame gave her and the Empty Palm taught by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki remained unused. She felt she had a real chance to fight. After training under Sasame for so long, she couldn't just give up because Gaara was a Jinchuriki. Besides, she wasn't that kind of person.
Sasame rubbed his chin from a distance. He regretted not securing the Tenseigan for her beforehand. Now, the outcome was genuinely hard to call. Unlike the one-sided view of the Hidden Sand Village, Sasame felt the match was a true toss-up, a fifty-fifty chance. He was ready to step in quickly, as he definitely wouldn't let Hinata Hyuga be harmed. And since Gaara was a Jinchuriki, it would be troublesome if anything happened to him, too.
The two stood in the arena and made the sign of opposition, officially starting the match.
Gaara was relaxed. He held a significant advantage against Taijutsu users, especially with his automatic defense shield, jokingly called "Mother's Susanoo." Ordinary Genin Taijutsu users posed little threat to him, save for someone like Rock Lee, whose speed, when the Eight Gates were opened, was too fast for Gaara's sand shield to react to. The Hyuga Clan was less about speed, but their combination of the Byakugan and Eight Trigrams was tricky. If struck, the enemy's chakra would be disrupted, leading to paralysis. But Gaara wasn't afraid of the Eight Trigrams because the sand shield covered his skin.
Hinata Hyuga looked tense as she assumed the Gentle Fist stance. Seeing this, Gaara raised his hand.
Sand Binding Coffin! Yellow sand billowed up, quickly condensing like a tornado to surround Hinata Hyuga.
Body Flicker Technique. Hinata Hyuga had seen this technique before and was constantly on guard. She flashed out of the way, avoiding the sand. In mid-air, she threw a dozen kunai. But as soon as they neared Gaara, a wall of sand formed in front of him. The kunai stuck uselessly in the sand. Hinata Hyuga landed. Looking up, she saw countless clumps of sand raining down like a storm. Sand Shower! Simultaneously, two clumps of sand erupted from the ground and wrapped around Hinata Hyuga's feet. Bang! Hinata Hyuga dissolved into smoke. It was a clone.
Gaara's eyes darted around. A huge hand of sand quickly formed behind him. Hinata Hyuga was forced to retreat before she could even land a Gentle Fist blow.
On the viewing platform:
"This guy is such a pain," Ino Yamanaka said, crossing her arms and frowning. Gaara only needed to move his hands to keep Hinata Hyuga running all over the arena.
"There's no way for Hinata to win with just Gentle Fist," Sasuke Uchiha said flatly. "She can't get close enough to break through Gaara's defense."
"Hey, Neji," Kiba Inuzuka couldn't help but ask. "Does the Hyuga Clan have anything besides Gentle Fist?"
"If it's Hinata, there might be something else," Neji Hyuga said grimly. The others looked at him in surprise, but before they could ask, the battle in the arena changed again.
Hinata Hyuga pulled out the Exorcising Arrow Bow. Neji Hyuga's eyes narrowed. He had seen this bow a few times and remembered it well. But for the others, this was the first time.
"Since when did the Hyuga Clan use a bow?" Terumi Mei muttered. She remembered Hinata Hyuga was Sasame's student. Could he have arranged this? After all, no Hyuga shinobi had ever used a bow or any other weapon before. The Hyuga Clan was famous for its fists.
Gaara was surprised, but he didn't react much. Hinata Hyuga's expression was solemn as she drew the bow and nocked an arrow. In the previous exchanges, she had realized the core issue: Gaara's automatically defending sand shield. She needed overwhelming speed to attack him effectively. Her Gentle Fist was fast, but its attack power was lacking. Any momentary delay would allow the manipulated sand to strike her, forcing her to interrupt the attack.
But the Exorcising Arrow Bow was different. It was forged by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Its body was actually the Box of Ultimate Bliss, and it had later absorbed the power of the Mōryō. In terms of sheer chakra, it was only slightly inferior to a Tailed Beast, but its power was far more focused. If Hinata Hyuga's opponent were Naruto Uzumaki, she might not win, as he had already mastered the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. But Gaara was different. His relationship with Shukaku was extremely poor. In fact, his strength had surged later in the story after Shukaku was extracted, meaning Gaara was unable to effectively utilize the Tailed Beast's power.
A translucent arrow of chakra formed. Gaara didn't wait either; he raised his hand. Yellow sand quickly formed a large hand, lunging toward Hinata Hyuga. Just then, the arrow left the string. In terms of sheer volume, the arrow looked like an ant compared to the sand. But when the two met, the sand instantly shattered.
An enormous sense of danger rushed toward Gaara. He immediately raised his defense. Desert Wave! Countless layers of sand swirled, instantly forming a thick, protective shell around him. In the original story, Sasuke Uchiha's Chidori had barely managed to pierce this defense. But now, the arrow instantly punched through. Boom! The shell cracked, and Gaara was sent flying backward.
"How is that possible?!" Temari shot up from her seat, her face a mask of disbelief. Kankuro had the same shocked expression. They knew how strong Gaara's defense was. Ordinary Jonin could barely scratch him. How could a seemingly ordinary arrow possess such destructive power?
The Hidden Leaf shinobi, initially shocked, were now overjoyed. However, since the victor hadn't been declared, they held back their full excitement.
Gaara slowly stood up. Blood was seeping from his chest, and yellow sand mixed with it. He frowned, a hint of killing intent flickering on his face. But he controlled it better than before; Sasame had beaten him worse. Gaara recovered and fixed his gaze on the bow. Its power exceeded his imagination. This match wouldn't be so easy.
Hinata Hyuga frowned. She hadn't realized Gaara had an inner layer of defense. The arrow she just fired was close to the maximum output of the Exorcising Arrow Bow. It was, more accurately, the limit of her current ability. The Exorcising Arrow Bow had a very high upper limit, but its full power depended on the user's skill.
Hinata Hyuga suddenly put the bow away. This action confused almost everyone. What is she doing? Giving up? Anyone with eyes could see that a few more arrows and Gaara wouldn't be able to withstand it. Even Gaara was startled. But Hinata Hyuga had already assumed the Gentle Fist stance.
Gaara frowned. What is happening? He decided not to think about it. The previous arrow had forced him to take the match seriously. With a thought, his gourd opened, and countless grains of yellow sand swept toward Hinata Hyuga. Against a Taijutsu user, this kind of long-range attack was undoubtedly the most effective unless she could instantly breach the distance between them. But that was clearly impossible.
Empty Palm: Sixty-Four Palms! Hinata Hyuga's face was resolute. She suddenly punched out. Vast amounts of chakra condensed in her palms. In an instant, she unleashed sixty-four strikes. The entire space seemed to tremble. Gaara's eyes snapped wide open. The sand, which had been tightly condensed like a blanket, was now pierced with sixty-four holes. The remaining chakra shockwave rushed toward him. Gaara focused his will. Layers of yellow sand condensed in front of him, but they were instantly shattered, landing on his automatic sand shield. The shield, touted as an absolute defense, immediately fractured. Gaara was sent flying again.
But this time, he didn't get up. The severe pain nearly drove him mad. Yet, when he instinctively tried to use Shukaku's power, he found he couldn't mobilize it. He froze. What is going on? Shukaku had always been excited to rush out when he was injured. But today, it was completely out of character. Gaara suddenly realized the truth. Shukaku knew that Hinata Hyuga was Sasame's student. It's afraid. It dared not intervene because Sasame was sitting in the viewing platform not far away. Gaara was speechless. He looked at Hinata Hyuga, then raised his hand. "I give up."
In reality, he no longer had a strong desire to fight. He had originally intended to simply defeat Hinata Hyuga. If he went too far, not only he but also the Hidden Sand Village would suffer the consequences. Now that Shukaku refused to emerge, fighting on would only lead to more pain for himself. Giving up was the best option.
"Gaara has grown up," Temari said after a moment of silence.
"In the past, he would have used the One-Tail's power regardless of the cost," Kankuro sighed. "Lord Kazekage would be very pleased if he saw this."
Temari sighed. Rasa had planned to come in person, but Sasame had refused. Sasame's reason was that he was busy flirting with the Mizukage, so why would Rasa show up to interfere? However, this rejection was perceived as disrespect by the Hidden Sand Village. If the Kazekage attended, he should, in theory, sit alongside the Hokage and Mizukage as equals. But this signal implied that Rasa was not qualified. This left the entire Hidden Sand Village deeply dissatisfied, but they were helpless.
Compared to Gaara, Hinata Hyuga's performance generated far more discussion.
"Was that Gentle Fist?"
"Impossible. Gentle Fist isn't like that."
"What kind of technique is that? It has so much power."
"The Hyuga Clan is truly amazing! They've developed a new jutsu."
A clamor of voices rose. Neji Hyuga also attracted many stares. He gave a wry smile. "I truly don't know. It must be something Lord Hokage taught her." As far as he knew, only Hinata Hyuga in the entire clan could perform that technique.
"So it was the Lord Hokage!" Kiba Inuzuka and the others immediately realized. If it was Sasame, then it made perfect sense. It was the reputation he had built up over time.
"The winner, Hinata Hyuga." The referee, Ao, announced. He looked at Hinata Hyuga in surprise. Since he was standing close, he could sense things more clearly. The new technique Hinata Hyuga used and the Gentle Fist seemed to originate from the same source. If it wasn't developed by the Hyuga Clan, it meant the girl's talent was astonishing.
Hinata Hyuga breathed a sigh of relief. She had won, and she hadn't embarrassed herself. She subconsciously looked toward the high platform. She suddenly noticed something odd. She hadn't used her Byakugan before and thought Yūgao Uzuki was Sasame. But after activating the Byakugan, she realized it wasn't him because the chakra signature didn't match. More accurately, her Byakugan couldn't see through Sasame; the fact that she could see through this person meant it wasn't him. Where did Big Brother Sasame go?
The excitement from defeating Gaara quickly dissipated. She had wanted to perform well for Sasame, but he wasn't even here.
"Are you alright?" Temari and Kankuro appeared by Gaara's side. They helped him up. Seeing the wounds on his body, they were slightly terrified. Gaara's body had an internal sand armor. Ordinary attacks couldn't break through it, but now he was full of holes. Fortunately, Jinchuriki had strong vitality, and Hinata Hyuga had held back, so the injuries weren't critical.
"I'm fine," Gaara shook his head. Temari and Kankuro sighed in relief. The three returned to the viewing platform, and medical ninja immediately rushed over to treat them.
Hinata Hyuga also returned to her seat. But someone was already sitting in her place.
"Big Brother Sasame?" Hinata Hyuga's face immediately lit up with surprise.
"You did great," Sasame praised her with a smile.
Hinata Hyuga immediately looked embarrassed.
"Sensei, it's our turn next!" Naruto Uzumaki said excitedly.
Sasuke Uchiha gave a soft huff, but his eyes were filled with eagerness.
"You two should restrain yourselves," Sasame said after a moment's thought. "This is the Hidden Mist Village. If you go too far, it will make the Hidden Leaf Village look rude." If Sasuke Uchiha used Susanoo and Naruto Uzumaki used Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, the Hidden Mist Village would need to be rebuilt afterward. Terumi Mei would kill Sasame.
Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha both looked disappointed. But they had to listen to Sasame.
"You'll have plenty of opportunities to fight," Sasame waved his hand. "Now, go."
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