Temari, as the most outstanding Wind Release ninja of the Sand's younger generation, was extremely sensitive to wind-attribute chakra.
At this moment.
From that terrifying "serrated sphere of light," she felt a horrific Wind Release chakra that was extremely condensed and filled with tearing properties.
It wasn't comparable to simple wind blades; it was the properties of "cutting" and "tearing" pushed to the absolute extreme.
"Gaara! Look out!! Don't try to tank that!!" Temari couldn't care less about anything else and screamed out, losing her voice.
Temari didn't dare to imagine.
If Gaara took that hit, would he survive?
Without her warning, Gaara had already sensed the threat.
"Desert Wave!"
Gaara slammed his hands together violently.
Whoosh!
All the flowing sand around him frantically rolled back.
Instantly, it condensed and compressed around his body, forming a massive, thick, spherical ball of sand.
Gaara was tightly encased within, leaving not a single crack.
Yao slowly raised his head, the Rasenshuriken in his hand now fully formed.
"Try this... Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"
Yao threw it violently. The Rasenshuriken, emitting a destructive hum and a piercing cutting sound, flew toward the sand sphere.
Because it was no longer being manually controlled, the highly compressed and intensely conflicting chakra structure inside suddenly expanded.
Vroooom!!!
The original shuriken shape rapidly expanded in flight, transforming into a spiraling storm several meters in diameter.
It spun and roared, carrying an aura that threatened to annihilate everything, and slammed viciously into Gaara's sand defense.
The moment of contact, the ultra-condensed destructive Wind Release chakra clashed violently.
Kzzzzzt!
A sound like a grinding wheel cutting through steel, mixed with a tearing noise that made scalps tingle, resounded through the arena.
Blinding azure light completely swallowed the entire sand sphere.
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion shot into the sky. The ground of the arena shattered and was ripped up as if it were made of paper.
A violent shockwave, mixed with thoroughly pulverized sand, expanded madly outward in a spherical shape.
Dust and turbulent currents of chakra drowned the entire venue.
The stands were dead silent!
Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the rolling cloud of dust, hearts in their throats.
Naruto forgot to shout.
Sasuke gripped the railing tight.
Sakura and Ino covered their mouths. Hinata's Byakugan was wide open. Temari and Kankuro's faces were pale as paper.
This power... had far exceeded that of a normal Chunin, perhaps even surpassing the scope of a Jonin duel.
How could a Konoha Genin possess such a terrifying Wind Release ninjutsu?
Could Gaara withstand it?
After a long time.
The raging dust and chakra turbulence finally settled and dispersed.
When the situation in the arena became clear, everyone was dumbfounded.
In the center of the arena, a shocking, massive crater over ten meters in diameter had appeared.
The walls of the crater were smooth, as if shaved down by a giant grindstone.
The bottom of the pit was covered in a thick layer of completely pulverized yellow sand.
And in the very center of the pit, Gaara knelt on one knee, one hand propping himself up on the ground, panting violently.
The Armor of Sand covering his body was covered in spiderweb-like cracks.
And on his chest, there were several terrifying holes, the size of fists and deep enough to see flesh.
Blood slowly oozed from those holes, dripping onto the sand beneath him, blooming into dark red stains.
"Alright, Panda-eyes!"
Yao looked at Gaara. "The warm-up is about over. Now, I'm going to get serious!"
He raised his right hand, and a blinding blue light erupted from his palm.
Massive amounts of chakra converged wildly! Spinning! Compressing!
The surrounding air was churned up, emitting a low, vibrating hum.
In the blink of an eye, a sphere of blue light, far larger in diameter than a standard Rasengan, appeared in his hand.
Big Ball Rasengan!
"That is..."
The Third Hokage's pipe nearly slipped from his hand, his face filled with astonishment.
The viewing area for the Jonin instructors instantly erupted into chaos.
Kakashi's eyes widened into perfect circles, his mouth hanging open unconsciously.
Asuma forgot to light his cigarette. Kurenai covered her mouth in shock.
Guy's thick eyebrows shot up high, forgetting to even shout about "Youth."
"Kakashi, is that the Fourth's Rasengan?" Guy asked in disbelief.
"It is the Rasengan! But the size is clearly much larger than a normal one!" Kakashi's voice trembled slightly. "Obviously, this is an advanced form of the Rasengan!"
He knew Yao had spent a day mastering the Rasengan and Chidori.
But he hadn't expected this.
Yao had actually mastered a derivative form of the Rasengan!
When did this happen? During the half-month after returning from the Land of Waves?
"How come Yao's Rasengan is so much bigger than mine?"
Naruto stared at the blue sphere of light, his eyes bulging. Subconsciously, he gestured to the size of the ball he usually formed, completely shocked.
"Idiot!"
Sasuke commented weakly, "He obviously injected a massive amount of chakra into the base Rasengan to develop a stronger variant!"
Sasuke felt a sense of defeat.
The three of them had learned the Chidori and Rasengan at the same time.
He and Naruto had barely mastered the basics of their respective techniques.
But Yao? Not only had he mastered the Chidori's derivative, the Chidori Sharp Spear, but he was also doing tricks with the Rasengan.
Is this guy a monster? Are we really twin brothers? Why is the gap between us so huge?
"Is... is that so?" Naruto listened, only half-understanding.
However, everyone's shock was clearly premature.
Just then.
The originally low hum of chakra suddenly turned sharp and piercing.
It sounded as if countless high-speed saw blades were frantically grinding against the air.
Around the blue Big Ball Rasengan, a clearly visible ring of razor-sharp serrated blades abruptly materialized.
These blades spun at high speed along with the core Rasengan, producing a cutting sound that set one's teeth on edge.
The originally stable spherical structure now looked more like a storm-forged shuriken filled with the aura of destruction.
"Th... This is..."
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, could no longer maintain his composure. His cloudy eyes were filled with disbelief.
"Adding Wind Nature Transformation to the Shape Transformation of the Rasengan? How is it possible to maintain both changes simultaneously and keep it stable?"
The Sand Village's leading Jonin, Baki, broke out in a cold sweat. "Lord Hokage, hasn't this kid from your village taken things a bit too far?"
Baki could sense the terror of the Rasenshuriken; it gave him heart palpitations.
Under his mask, Kakashi's mouth formed an "O" shape, his Sharingan in his left eye spinning madly.
He tried to analyze the composition of that terrifying jutsu, but the feedback he received nearly overloaded his brain.
Guy forgot to pose. Kurenai and Asuma were speechless. The Rasengan was a jutsu developed by the Fourth Hokage.
And now, this Uchiha brat had actually added nature transformation to it. It was simply outrageous!
Over on the Sand Village side.
The composure and sneers on Temari and Kankuro's faces froze instantly.
"Blo... Blood..."
Temari's voice trembled. "Gaara... is hurt?"
"He... he should be fine, right?" Kankuro gulped, his voice filled with terror.
"Blood... I'm bleeding..."
Gaara stared at the fresh blood on his hand, his entire body beginning to shake.
"I actually... bled... Unforgivable... Kill you... I'm going to kill you!!!"
BOOM!!!!
A wave of chakra, far more massive than before, erupted from Gaara.
The scattered yellow sand at the bottom of the crater, as if summoned by a king, surged and converged wildly.
In an instant.
A terrifying wave of sand, rising over ten meters high like a tsunami and carrying the destructive momentum to drown everything, swept toward Yao, blotting out the sky.
Quicksand Waterfall Flow!
"He took a hit like that... and he's still alive?"
"Not just alive... what is with this explosive chakra... Is this guy really a Genin?"
"Monster..."
"Yao-kun! Look out!"
The stands were in an uproar.
One second, everyone was cheering for Yao's earth-shattering strike.
The next, they were scared out of their wits by this terrifying wave of sand.
"It seems Konoha isn't the only one with a monster; the Sand has one too!"
Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, and the others tensed their bodies, staring intently at the arena, ready to jump in and save him at any moment.
This had far exceeded the scope of a Chunin Exam duel; one slip-up, and someone could die.
"Yao! Dodge it, quick!"
Naruto was so frantic he was clinging to the railing, half his body leaning out. His face was filled with anxiety, wishing he could jump down and shield Yao himself.
Sasuke gripped the railing tightly, unable to hide the tension on his cold face.
Although he always acted cool, he cared immensely about his only brother.
If anything happened to Yao... Sasuke didn't dare to imagine it.
In the arena.
Compared to the towering Quicksand Waterfall Flow that loomed like a tsunami, Yao's figure seemed incredibly small.
Before the wave even arrived, flying grains of sand were already hitting his face.
"I wanted to keep a low profile, but you're forcing me to show off!"
Yao slammed his palms together. "Wood Release: Hōbi Technique!"
Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!
A gigantic, dome-shaped shield with a demon face grew and rose from the ground, standing defiantly in front of Yao.
The surface of the massive shield had clear wood grain, and the center featured a distinct demon face pattern, radiating a steady and majestic aura.
It was the very same defensive Wood Release the First Hokage used to block Tailed Beast Balls!
The next moment.
BANG!!!!!!
The terrifying wave of sand slammed solidly against the demon-faced shield.
The earth-shaking impact made everyone's eardrums ache.
The force of the sand wave was enough to instantly destroy a wall of steel.
However.
The wooden demon-faced shield only trembled slightly, completely blocking the overwhelming tsunami of sand.
Behind the shield, not even the hem of Yao's clothes was lifted by the wind.
The flowing sand diverted along the sides of the shield, collapsing and washing over the ground, but it could not cross the absolute barrier.
Wood conquers Earth!
Absolute elemental suppression!
The entire arena fell into a dead silence.
The Third Hokage's pupils constricted violently as he stared at that demon-faced shield.
Wood Release!
It really is Wood Release!
This Uchiha Yao... has actually mastered Wood Release!
Kakashi had reported this to him, and the Third Hokage had believed it.
But seeing Yao use Wood Release with his own eyes was still utterly shocking.
An Uchiha... actually mastering the First Hokage's Wood Release?
It was too unbelievable!
"Wh... What is that?"
"A shield made of... wood? It blocked that kind of attack?"
"Wait! That jutsu's shape... could it be..."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Lord First's Wood Release Kekkei Genkai should have been lost long ago..."
The entire venue was in an uproar.
Guy, Kurenai, Asuma, and the others were dumbfounded.
Wood Release!
It was actually Wood Release!