The sand's clawed hand closed around Shino, and Hayate Gekkō, observing from the sidelines, furrowed his brow in confusion.
With Shino's strength and reflexes, he should've been able to dodge that attack. So why hadn't he moved?
If Shino could hear Hayate's thoughts, he would've answered without hesitation.
Because I'm not afraid.
On the battlefield, Gaara's right hand tightened into a fist.
"Sand Burial."
The sand hand compressed further, groaning with strain as it tightened around its target. But something felt wrong to Gaara—something off.
Instead of crushing flesh and bone, it felt like he was grinding a pile of dense stone.
A moment later, the sand started to loosen. It slipped from his control. The claw that had wrapped around Shino disintegrated from the outside in, turning into grains and falling to the ground.
"What is this…?"
Gaara's eyes narrowed. The chakra he had imbued into the sand was rapidly fading—devoured, neutralized.
Without hesitation, he reached behind him. The gourd on his back burst open. All remaining sand poured out, swirling into razor-edged disks.
"Sand Shuriken."
He launched the deadly projectiles into the crumbling sand pile in front of him.
The explosion that followed kicked up dust and debris—but standing there, completely unharmed, was Aburame Shino.
His body was cloaked in a living armor—thousands of black, scale-covered insects crawled over him. In the sunlight, the beetles shimmered with an oily, metallic sheen.
Those familiar with the Aburame clan would've assumed these were the standard kikaichū parasites.
But they weren't.
These were different.
These were evolved—hardened, reinforced.
The Scale Beetles.
Born from countless generations of controlled mutation and selective breeding, Shino's new insect species retained the chakra-devouring abilities of standard kikaichū, but with reinforced exoskeletons able to withstand pressure dozens of times greater. Their wings were stronger. Their lifespans, tripled.
This was why Shino had the courage to endure Gaara's Sand Coffin.
But for most of the audience, the sight was stomach-turning.
"What the hell is this? That's… disgusting!"
"I can't look—ugh! My trypophobia's kicking in—!"
"These bugs… they look unreal…"
The revulsion spread, but so did the awe. Among the shinobi in the Konoha stands, many began to reconsider their bets.
Aburame Shino had just stood tall through Gaara's strongest jutsu.
And back in Sunagakure's section, gamblers began to curse under their breath. They had bet everything on Gaara.
"Scale Beetles, disperse."
At Shino's command, the insects across his body extended transparent wings from beneath their armored backs. A sharp hum filled the arena as they lifted off like a synchronized swarm and surged toward Gaara.
The two shinobi raised their arms at the same moment, directing their respective forces—sand and scale beetles—into the air, crashing against each other in waves.
Shards of sand exploded. Insects spiraled, their wings sheared by the collisions. Fragments rained down across the field.
Gaara's sand, filled with chakra, was being slowly eaten away. The beetles—hundreds, then thousands—latched on midair and drained the chakra from every particle they touched.
Sand turned to dust.
Insects fell like ash.
The center of the arena became a battlefield of annihilation.
Apart from Uchiha Saya, whom he faced in the Forest of Death, this was the first time Gaara had encountered such a difficult, revolting opponent.
Still, he believed in victory.
After all, he wasn't like ordinary ninja. He was a Jinchūriki. His chakra was virtually limitless.
The gourd on his back cracked open fully, collapsing into sand that cascaded onto the arena floor.
The ground beneath his feet dissolved into gravel, then lifted upward—forming a floating platform that carried him above the field.
From high above, Gaara looked down at Shino, emotionless.
"You're strong. But your mistake was choosing a battle of endurance."
"You're out of your league now."
He raised his arms.
A third of the entire arena floor liquefied into sand, churning like a living ocean.
"Quicksand Waterfall Flow!"
The sand surged into a monstrous wave.
A tsunami of chakra-imbued earth barreled forward, roaring as it tore across the arena.
It wasn't just a jutsu—it was nature's wrath.
The crowd gasped. Even Konoha's shinobi tensed.
"This... this isn't something a Genin should be able to do."
"Even most Jonin couldn't control a jutsu of this scale…"
Over in the Sunagakure section, the tension flipped to delight.
"Come on, Gaara! I put a million ryo on you! Destroy that bug freak!"
"This is the power of a monster! Hahahaha!"
But Shino stood his ground.
Calm. Collected.
Beneath his glasses, his eyes gleamed. The corner of his mouth curled into a smirk beneath the collar of his coat.
"Perfect. It's time you saw what an insect army can really do."
He raised his hands to mirror Gaara.
The ground trembled.
From cracks in the shattered floor, from within the soil itself, thousands—tens of thousands—of scale beetles emerged.
Even those with torn wings or crushed shells from earlier began to crawl forward.
"Come forth, my children."
"A vast sea of insects… devouring all before them!"
The insects surged forward, throwing themselves into the oncoming sand like a living tide.
They swarmed up the wave, clinging, burrowing, biting, consuming chakra at every contact point.
Wave after wave of beetles launched forward without fear or hesitation.
Gaara's eyes widened slightly.
This… wasn't supposed to happen.
Besides Naruto, he'd never seen anyone else in Konoha wield this kind of overwhelming power.
His stomach twisted.
Did he… need to rely on Shukaku?
His hand hovered over his chest, ready to pull the beast's chakra into the open.
But he hesitated.
No.
Not yet.
He would win this by his own strength. And only then would his father finally see him as more than a weapon.
Gaara leapt from the platform, landing directly on the sand beneath his feet.
His eyes burned with resolve.
He poured nearly all the chakra in his body into the ground.
"Sand Burial!"
The entire sand sea responded at once, compressing inward.
The massive arena floor began to sink.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom!
The battlefield trembled as Gaara released everything.
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Send Power Stones
Bonus Chapter at 150 Power Stone
Second Bonus Chapter - 300 Power Stones
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