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Crack... crack... crack..
It sounded as if something was breaking, the noise continuously echoing.
Kagaya frowned. "What is that?"
Although he had landed that kick on Gaara moments ago, the sensation hadn't been like kicking a human body. It felt more like he had kicked something extremely hard.
"I...I'm going to kill you!!" An enraged roar came through. Gaara stood up from amidst a cloud of dust.
The current Gaara's face was covered in cracks, looking as if his entire face was about to split apart. Staring at the cracks on Gaara's face, Kagaya thought hard and finally managed to recall what this was. It seemed to be a technique of Gaara's called "Sand Armor," covering his body with sand to act like a suit of armor.
That should be it.
However, looking at the clearly visible cracks on the Sand Armor, Kagaya smiled slightly and felt relieved.
"Can't even stand that kick?"
Kagaya's kick had been infused with chakra, packing immense strength. However, if it had landed on an opponent with extremely high defense, like someone in a tailed beast transformation, that kick wouldn't have caused any significant injury.
Yet, Gaara's Sand Armor had cracked under that one kick. This indicated that the defensive capability of Gaara's Sand Armor was relatively low. At the very least, it couldn't compare to the Fourth Mizukage's tailed beast transformation, and it certainly couldn't compare to Kimimaro's Dead Bone Pulse. It probably couldn't even compare to Gaara's own Absolute Defense. Most fatally, it couldn't block Kagaya's attacks!
Boom!
The moment Gaara stood up, right after roaring "I'm going to kill you!", he was kicked flying again. And that wasn't all. Gaara, flying through the air, hadn't even reacted before Kagaya caught up, lifted his foot, and stomped the airborne Gaara into the ground, executing a brutal "human brake."
Pfft!
Gaara spat out a mouthful of blood.
Kagaya looked down at Gaara, whom he had forcibly stopped. The Sand Armor on his body was now shattered beyond recognition.
Kagaya lifted his foot and kicked Gaara away.
"Is this your confidence?"
Kagaya looked at Gaara, who was now crawling weakly on the ground ahead of him. After a moment's thought, Kagaya continued.
"What will you do next? Rampage? Release the One-Tail inside you? I suppose that's all you know how to do. Haven't you always relied on that tailed beast's power? Without that tailed beast, what are you, really?"
Truth be told, in his previous life, Kagaya had quite liked Gaara as a character. But that was Gaara two years later, after becoming the Kazekage. The current Gaara was far too lacking compared to his future self. To put it bluntly, the current Gaara was like a wild dog that bit anyone he saw.
Thinking this, Kagaya paused, then spoke again.
"Think about it carefully. Apart from that immense power you borrow from the tailed beast, what else do you have?"
As he spoke, Kagaya glanced subtly at Temari and Kankuro, who were not far away.
"The things you don't care about might actually be your most important possessions."
With that, Kagaya turned around, ready to leave.
However...
"Kill you! Kill you!! Kill you!!!"
Pieces of Sand Armor kept falling from Gaara's face. With great effort, he stood up, his face twisted into a ferocious expression. A single, golden tail materialized behind him.
This guy... he was going to rampage!
Temari's eyes widened in shock as she tightly covered her mouth with her hands.
'He's going to rampage? Gaara is going to rampage?? What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?!'
Beside her, Kankuro was completely dumbfounded.
'What's happening? The second exam just started, and Gaara is already going berserk? We're dead! Dead! Dead dead dead!!!'
After being stunned for a few seconds, Kankuro grabbed Temari's arm and started pulling her away, running in the opposite direction.
"RUN!!!"
Immense amounts of chakra began radiating from Gaara's body. The quantity was staggering, even greater than the chakra emitted by the Fourth Mizukage during his tailed beast transformation!
This was because, at that time, the Fourth Mizukage had only undergone a partial tailed beast transformation. But the current Gaara had no control over the One-Tail. Once he rampages, it essentially leads to a full tailed beast transformation!
Facing such terrifying chakra for the first time, even if it was from the One-Tail, the tailed beast with the smallest chakra reserves among the nine, the chakra emitted when it went all out still gave Kagaya a huge fright.
Gaara raised his hand and formed a single hand seal in front of his mouth.
"Temple of Nirvana Technique!"
As he spoke, Gaara closed his eyes as if falling into a deep slumber. Simultaneously, vast amounts of sand surged forth, gradually coalescing into the shape of a monstrous creature.
Seeing Gaara close his eyes, Kagaya was momentarily stunned. He had originally planned to use his Mangekyo to suppress the One-Tail's rampage. But now, Gaara had simply closed his eyes?
'This is troublesome.'
Now, to suppress the One-Tail, he would have to wait until it fully manifested in its tailed beast form. Then Kagaya would have to try to make eye contact with it using his Mangekyo to suppress it.
However, Kagaya didn't know the specifics of how to use the Mangekyo to suppress a tailed beast. If the One-Tail was still inside Gaara, its power not fully unleashed, then even without knowing the precise method, Kagaya could probably use his ocular power to forcefully press it down.
But now, if he waited until the One-Tail fully emerged, Kagaya wasn't sure if he could suppress it anymore.
Kagaya instantly appeared beside Karin and Haku. "Karin, Haku, let's fall back for now."
Elsewhere, Orochimaru had just finished toying with Naruto's team and planting the Heaven Cursed Seal on Sasuke.
Right after finishing, an enormous surge of chakra suddenly erupted. Like the sole beacon of light in the darkness, it stood out glaringly within the Forest of Death.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Orochimaru's forehead.
"This immense chakra... it's the One-Tail, isn't it? Has it rampage? This is troublesome. Indeed, Jinchuriki are always such a nuisance."
Earlier, while dealing with Naruto's group, Naruto had also undergone a minor rampage, using the Nine-Tails' power to hinder Orochimaru. Finding Naruto a hindrance, Orochimaru had grabbed him and personally reinforced the seal on the Nine-Tails.
And now, right after planting the cursed seal on Sasuke, the One-Tail on the other side had also rampage, and it seemed to be a severe one, with massive amounts of chakra pouring out.
Therefore, Orochimaru felt extremely exasperated. He still needed to leave time for Sasuke to adapt to the cursed seal. Now, with the One-Tail running amok, it wasn't just causing trouble for Konoha; it was causing trouble for him as well.
Back with Kagaya...
While retreating with Karin and Haku, Kagaya suddenly remembered something. Karin seemed to be able to use the Uzumaki clan's "Adamantine Sealing Chains." If so, perhaps Karin could suppress the One-Tail!
Aim...
Forget it. There was no need to do that. Sure, the One-Tail was on a rampage now, but it didn't affect Kagaya and his group much. At worst, it might impact their subsequent plans a bit.
The ones who would be most affected were Konoha Village. Kagaya had no reason to go through great lengths to solve Konoha's problems for them.
Let Konoha handle it themselves. The One-Tail was no match for the Nine-Tails; Konoha shouldn't have too much difficulty dealing with it.
Holding this thought, Kagaya led Karin and Haku away without looking back.