Naruto Dream Fulfillment Master

Page 163

After a moment, the old man chuckled and asked, "Rules? Doesn't the Kazekage think that this match is the most anticipated one for both Konoha and Sunagakure?"

"Wind Shadow" trembled almost imperceptibly.

He turned his gaze back to the arena, where Sasuke and Gaara were now standing opposite each other in the center of the final arena.

After a long pause, he chuckled hoarsely twice: "That's right... I'm really looking forward to this match."

In the audience, Naruto puffed out his cheeks and muttered dejectedly, "I should have been the one in the first match..."

He had originally planned to go easy on his "brother-in-law" during his official duel with Hyuga Neji today—

After all, Neji in real life was really miserable, and Naruto felt quite sorry for him.

Who knew that the competition order would be changed, and he wouldn't even have a chance to play!

The thought of missing out on a fight with Neji made Naruto purse his lips, his face full of disappointment.

Center of the field.

Sasuke stared at Gaara across from him, his expression somewhat complicated.

During the Chunin Exams preliminaries, he had initially thought this Sand Village brat was a bloodthirsty and brutal madman—

However, through everything that had been shown in his previous dream, Sasuke vaguely understood that the reason Gaara had become so violent was largely due to the influence of Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, within him.

Thinking of this, Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly, and the words that Kakashi-sensei had solemnly instructed him this morning came to mind.

He took a deep breath, his face returning to its cold and indifferent expression.

Immediately afterward, Sasuke suddenly spoke up, calmly saying to Gaara, "Don't worry—I'll go easy on you later."

Upon hearing this, Gaara's eyes widened in shock: "...Show me mercy?"

He paused for a moment as if he hadn't heard clearly, then his light green pupils suddenly contracted, his dark-circled eyes widened abruptly, and his expression instantly became extremely ferocious.

"You said... you'd go easy on me?!" He repeated in a hoarse, low voice, his tone revealing barely suppressed anger and murderous intent.

In an instant, the giant gourd behind Gaara burst open with a "bang," and a stream of sand cascaded down like a brownish-yellow waterfall, instantly gathering into a large patch of fine, flowing shallow sand at his feet.

At the same time, Gaara let out a suppressed, painful growl and abruptly covered his face with his hand. His body trembled slightly, as if he was desperately suppressing some kind of frenzied impulse.

The voice that escaped from between his fingers was hoarse and ruthless, filled with a chilling murderous intent: "I'll feed all your blood...to the sand!!!"

"Die—!!" With a hysterical roar, Gaara suddenly swung his right hand down!

In an instant, the restless sand beneath his feet seemed to be driven by an invisible force, and with a "whoosh," it churned up rolling waves of sand, rushing towards Sasuke with a roar!

Amidst the flying sand, Sasuke's eyes reflected the overwhelming sand rushing towards him, and he could even hear the sharp sound of sand grains cutting through the air.

His expression remained calm, and with a light step, his figure suddenly pulled backward.

However, the sand flow seemed to have a life of its own, relentlessly pursuing him. In just an instant, it caught up with Sasuke, suddenly wrapping around his left foot and trapping him firmly in place!

"Hmph!" Gaara sneered upon seeing this, grinning maliciously as he said sharply, "With this level of skill, you dare to boast about 'showing mercy'?! You've already lost!"

Amidst the rolling yellow sand, Sasuke's calves were tightly bound by the sand currents, as if a sand snake were biting his ankle.

Many viewers were on tenterhooks for Sasuke.

However, Sasuke, standing in the middle of the sand sea, still had his hands hanging down, his expression calm to the point of indifference, completely ignoring the restraints on his feet.

A slight, mocking smile played on his lips as he uttered two words: "Oh? Is that so?"

The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly reached Gaara's ears, who was not far away.

Sasuke's nonchalant attitude undoubtedly further enraged the latter.

Gaara's eyes sharpened, his fingers suddenly clenched, and he growled, "Sand Binding Coffin!"

In an instant, the sand that was wrapped around Sasuke's left leg suddenly exerted force, squeezing inward like a giant hand!

With a muffled "crack," the sand mass rapidly contracted under intense chakra manipulation, completely engulfing Sasuke's figure!

Logically speaking, even if someone hit by the sand-bound coffin isn't strangled on the spot, it's impossible for them to escape unscathed!

However, the next second, something happened that left everyone speechless—

"boom!"

Suddenly, a cloud of white smoke rose from the clump of sand and gravel, and Sasuke, who had been firmly bound, vanished into thin air like a bubble!

Instead, a flock of noisy, mournful black crows appeared!

"Caw—caw—!" The piercing cries of crows rose and fell, and dozens of black-feathered crows suddenly took flight from the sand, flapping their wings and creating a whirlwind that filled the sky.

Sasuke, who had been engulfed by sand, had vanished without a trace, leaving only a large flock of black crows circling overhead!

"What...what kind of move is this?!"

Gaara stared wide-eyed in disbelief, his face filled with shock.

Before he could even react, the flock of black crows suddenly changed direction as if they had received a command, and sped off to the other side of the training field.

At the edge of the once deserted arena, black crows rapidly gathered, and amidst the fluttering black feathers, a familiar black-haired figure gradually materialized from the shadows—

Sasuke appeared unharmed at the other end of the training field!

He maintained the same posture with his hands hanging down, his dark, tousled hair swaying slightly in the sunlight.

At this moment, three crimson, blood-red lines had appeared in his deep, dark eyes!

Sasuke slowly raised his eyes, his expression cold and confident: "Before these eyes, any of your tricks... are futile!"

The audience erupted in a thunderous roar of cheers!

"Great! That was fantastic!"

"My God, how did he do that?!"

"As expected of a genius from the Uchiha clan!"

From all directions, there were uncontrollable gasps of amazement and cheers.

The young female ninjas, in particular, were so excited they almost jumped up.

Sakura and Ino had somehow jumped up, their faces flushed, waving their fists and screaming, "Wow! Sasuke-kun is so cool!!"

Naruto, sitting next to them, was so shocked that his ears went numb. He lowered his hands from his ears and muttered in annoyance, "Tch, Sasuke is showing off again!"

Despite his complaints, his eyes betrayed his admiration as he stared intently at Sasuke in the arena. "However... his Crow Clone Technique is getting more and more refined!"

On the central platform, Orochimaru, disguised as the Kazekage, saw this scene and his pupils suddenly contracted, his heart filled with uncontrollable ecstasy and greed.

"Sparashi!" he couldn't help but murmur in admiration, his fingertips trembling slightly on his knees.

No wonder he's that man's brother!

He was able to fight the One-Tailed Jinchuriki with ease and composure.

Orochimaru felt a surge of excitement rising from the bottom of his heart.

In a daze, he seemed to see Uchiha Itachi through the figure of the black-haired boy before him—

Calm, confident, and unpredictable!

Orochimaru couldn't help but lick his lips, his golden vertical pupils flashing with intense light.

His gaze fixed on Sasuke was as if he were eyeing the most precious treasure in the world, wishing he could immediately possess this rare vessel!

Thinking back to the time when he couldn't plant the "Heavenly Curse Seal" on Sasuke in the Forest of Death due to various unforeseen events, Orochimaru felt a pang of regret and resentment.

However, a sinister smile quickly returned to the corners of his mouth.

"It's alright..." Orochimaru murmured to himself, "As long as we use the hatred in his heart and use Itachi Uchiha as bait to lure Sasuke Uchiha to his doorstep... Hmph, it's not a difficult task."

The thought of the prey within reach made his breathing become heavier.

Orochimaru suppressed his barely suppressed excitement and continued watching the battle with great interest, eager to see how many more surprises Sasuke could bring.

The battle on the field is becoming increasingly intense!

Sasuke and Gaara both began to display their signature skills, and the clash of ninjutsu was dazzling.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Sasuke shouted, his cheeks puffing out as he unleashed a massive, blazing fireball!

The orange-red fireball expanded rapidly in the air and crashed towards Gaara like a burning meteor.

Upon seeing this, Gaara quickly formed hand seals, and a large amount of sand surged in front of him, instantly forming a thick wall of sand.

"Boom!" The blazing fireball slammed into the sand wall, creating a deafening thud. The intense heat swept in all directions, distorting and shaking the surrounding air.

The surface of the sand wall was burned black, and a hissing sound came from the sand.

However, in the instant the fireball's power subsided slightly, Sasuke's figure darted out from the churning flames.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique!"

Dozens of small fireballs, each the size of a palm, shot towards the field like a shower of flowers!

These fireballs followed unpredictable trajectories, enveloping the sand shield from all directions.

Gaara's eyes flashed as he manipulated the protective layer formed by the sand grains, constantly changing to block the incoming fireballs one by one.

Although no flames hit him directly, the high-temperature shockwaves from each exploding phoenix fire penetrated through the gaps in the sand and scorched his body!

A wave of scorching heat hit him, and Gaara felt his breath catch in his throat. His cheeks burned and stung, and he instinctively clenched his teeth.

After several rounds, Sasuke's repeated fire-style attacks forced Gaara to defend himself and retreat step by step.

The temperature inside Training Ground No. 1 suddenly soared, becoming as unbearably hot as a desert under the scorching sun.

However, the spectators in the stands showed no signs of discomfort.

On the contrary, witnessing such an intense and spectacular battle only heightened everyone's excitement, with cheers and screams rising and falling.

"Is this the Uchiha clan's Fire Release technique? It's incredibly powerful!"

"Even that monster from Sunagakure was suppressed!"

The audience chattered excitedly.

At this moment, Gaara was panting heavily, and large drops of sweat dripped down his chin, soaking his clothes.

His Sand Shield managed to block Sasuke's Fire Release attack, but it couldn't completely block the intense heat.

As the temperature continued to rise, Gaara felt his throat go dry, and his physical strength and chakra were being consumed far beyond his expectations.

In order to withstand the relentless fire attacks, he had to continuously manipulate sand to form an all-around defensive barrier.