"Since that's the case, you can try my White Ice Shards too!" Ignoring the sand shuriken coming at him, Takeru summoned a massive number of sharp ice shards, even more numerous than Gaara's sand shuriken.
With a wave of Takeru's hand, all the ice shards shot toward Gaara. The multitude of shards quickly riddled Gaara like a sieve. Although he used his beastly arm and tail to block, Takeru's White Ice Shards weren't so easy to withstand.
They easily pierced his defenses, causing significant damage to his main body. Blood continued to flow from his wounds.
"Gaara!" Seeing this, Temari worriedly exclaimed, her gaze toward Takeru turning frightened.
Guy, Asuma, and the others, watching Takeru, couldn't help but gulp, 'That bizarre, formidable defense was one thing, but there was also terrifying strength and strange Ice Release? Was this really a Genin?'
They felt they probably couldn't win against him themselves.
"Damn it, damn it!" The injuries on his body drove Gaara even more insane. Soon, he changed again, his entire body transforming into a monstrous form. A miniature Shukaku appeared before everyone.
"That is...!" Seeing this, the Third Hokage finally fully reacted, even standing up involuntarily.
Takeru ignored others' reactions, focusing on Gaara. He felt it was about enough. If he didn't defeat him completely soon, once Gaara transformed fully, the entire arena might be destroyed.
"I'll crush you to dust! Wind Release: Infinite Sand Dust Breakthrough!" At this moment, Gaara thought of nothing but utterly defeating and killing Takeru to prove his existence.
Some spectators grew frightened, as this attack wasn't just aimed at Takeru, and many civilians could also be hit.
Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, and others could no longer stay seated, preparing to step forward to evacuate and protect the crowd. But they didn't have the ability to block the sandstorm. Even Kakashi using Earth Release could only protect the civilians and Daimyo to an extent.
Most helpless was Genma, who is still in the arena. Facing the impending terrifying sandstorm, he prepared for serious injury.
However, just as everyone grew nervous, a thick ice wall materialized out of nowhere, rising from the ground. As Gaara's attack was about to hit the crowd, it enclosed the battlefield. Others could only see the thick ice wall, completely unaware of what happened inside.
As for Genma, Takeru created an ice chamber to help him withstand the attack. Takeru himself faced the attack head-on.
"Too weak. Time to end this." Feeling the Infinite Sand Dust Breakthrough assail him, Takeru felt bored.
He appeared beside the miniature Shukaku form of Gaara, raised his arm, and delivered punch after punch. After over a dozen strikes, Gaara's original form was revealed again, covered in bloodstains, his consciousness somewhat blurred but not yet lost.
Now lying on the ground, he had lost his fighting ability. His gaze toward Takeru became vacant.
"Gaara, do you think you're just a lump of flesh filled with hatred and killing intent, that you've never felt love?" Looking at the dazed Gaara, Takeru stopped and spoke calmly.
"Love?" Hearing Takeru, Gaara struggled to lift his head to look at him.
"Yes, love. Your uncle once told you your mother was filled with hatred for you, right? And he himself tried to love you but ultimately hated you as the one who took his sister's life." Recalling Gaara's past from the series, Takeru continued.
"How... do you know?" Hearing Takeru, Gaara looked at him in shock.
"You've always longed to find love, yet it's been by your side all along without you realizing it. How much your mother loved you. Before dying, she stored her Chakra within you, protecting and accompanying you in this way. Have you never considered: if she truly hated you, why would she need to protect you?" Takeru added.
"Impossible!" Hearing Takeru, Gaara's heart wavered slightly, yet he desperately hoped it was true.
"And your uncle, Yashamaru, you haven't forgotten him, right? Do you know why he tried to assassinate you and said those things before dying?" Takeru shifted the topic to Yashamaru.
"Yashamaru... why?" Hearing this, Gaara felt somewhat agitated.
"Because of orders. Apart from the order to assassinate you, there was also an order to lie to you. The purpose was to test your so-called 'value', to see if you could control your emotions and suppress Shukaku. The result: your emotions went out of control, Shukaku went berserk, leading your father to deem you a failure."
"Why... why?!" Hearing this, Gaara found it hard to accept. The beliefs formed over years felt like they were crumbling.
"Finally, six years of continuous assassination attempts. If they truly wanted you dead, why always send people they knew couldn't really harm you, instead of acting personally to kill you directly?" With Takeru's final words, Gaara was completely dumbfounded.
Takeru said no more, casually casting a healing spell on Gaara, treating his physical injuries somewhat but not completely. Gaara's fighting ability wouldn't recover quickly either.
"Why... tell me all this?" After a long silence, Gaara looked at Takeru with a pained expression.
"Just felt somewhat emotional. But one thing: I think that man doesn't deserve to be your father. Also, you have two people who genuinely care about you by your side now, but the killing in your heart has blocked their care. That's all I'll say. The rest is up to you."
After speaking, Takeru dispelled the massive ice. As the ice wall shattered, sunlight once again fell on Gaara. He stared blankly at the sunlight above, and felt the world seemed different now.
The reason Takeru went through such trouble to persuade him was simply to potentially increase his mission world evaluation score.
Takeru didn't have personal experiences to relate, but with his knowledge of the plot, he could only try reasoning. If Gaara didn't listen, there was nothing more Takeru could do. But now, it seemed somewhat effective...
"Gaara!" Above, Temari, seeing the ice wall shatter and Gaara lying in a pool of blood, couldn't help but rush down to his side, calling his name.
Seeing the concern in Temari's eyes, Gaara felt somewhat dazed.
"Sorry..." After a long while, Gaara softly said to Temari.
"Huh?" Hearing Gaara, Temari was stunned, 'Did I just hear Gaara apologize?'
"Sorry."
"No, it's okay. As long as you're alright." This time, Temari heard clearly. Though she didn't understand what happened in that brief time inside, one thing was clear: Gaara had changed.
Subsequently, because Gaara lost his fighting ability, he was declared defeated. Having undergone a spiritual awakening, Gaara no longer clung to victory and knew he absolutely couldn't defeat Takeru.
So, supported by Temari and Kankuro, he calmly left the arena.
As Gaara left, Takeru also exited the now pitted and scarred arena. In the audience, fewer people remained, but upon hearing Takeru's victory, they still erupted in cheers.
Putting aside other factors, just the cool 'Ninjutsu' displayed by Takeru and Gaara alone left everyone awestruck.
The Third Hokage, seeing the situation calm down, sat back down, paying even more attention to Takeru.
He didn't understand why Takeru, possessing such strength, had always hidden it. This made him uneasy, and he prepared to investigate Takeru thoroughly.
However, Takeru was ultimately from the Nara Clan, which made him relatively trustworthy.
When Takeru returned to the competitor's area, Ui and Ritsu were the first to congratulate him.
Others looked at Takeru with strange and fearful eyes. Even Naruto now dared not speak of challenging Takeru, as the pressure Takeru had exerted earlier was too overwhelming.
Shikamaru's gaze at Takeru was also strange. He didn't know the Nara Clan had such a terrifying person. With this strength, Takeru could easily lead the Nara Clan.
Yet Takeru was just an inconspicuous figure. He had asked his father, who said Takeru, unable to refine Chakra, was assigned to a peripheral area. His father wasn't very clear about the specific details...