Ōnoki praising the Sand Shield's ability was no different from telling Rasa to his face that his wife's death was a good thing.
Rasa merely snorted, which was already a display of his restraint.
The dramatic scene unfolding on the Presidential Platform left Mei Terumī and Darui utterly bewildered.
Tomoki, who understood the reason after a moment's thought, flashed a brilliant smile, with no intention of revealing the truth.
People would eventually pay the price for everything they did.
The battle in the arena continued.
Naruto's remaining Shadow Clones' Rasengan began to dissipate from their hands; if Rasengan wasn't working, then it was time to try other Ninjutsu.
This scene drew a chorus of boos from the stands, but the boos quickly ceased.
Because Naruto's Shadow Clones began forming hand seals, and those in the audience who could afford tickets generally had some knowledge.
They knew what a Ninja forming hand seals represented.
'Tiger - Rabbit - Dog'
With just three simple seals, Naruto's Shadow Clones completed them in less than a second.
All of Naruto's Shadow Clones took a deep breath, then exhaled, their heads turning with the motion.
[Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!]
One by one, crescent-shaped transparent blades flew towards Gaara.
The audience in the arena could see them only because they cut through the air, creating a noticeable visual difference.
Danzo's signature Ninjutsu was now being performed by Naruto.
Gaara was a cannon, but wasn't Naruto too? Who wasn't a Jinchuriki here?
The first Vacuum Orb directly struck the sand sphere Gaara had condensed in mid-air, splitting it in two and causing it to fall as loose sand.
Facing such powerful Ninjutsu attacks, and countless Vacuum Waves behind them.
Gaara finally moved, slamming his hands on the ground, and a massive amount of quicksand, far exceeding the gourd's volume, surged from the gourd on his back.
[Sand Tsunami Great Funeral!]
The visual effect was similar to Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique, with endless quicksand forming a giant wave like a high wall, surging towards Naruto's direction.
"Oh~!"
The clash between the two sides ignited cheers throughout the venue.
This was precisely the battle they had hoped to see, a magical Ninjutsu showdown.
And many watching Ninja fell silent, looking at the grand spectacle in the arena with deep shock.
This was a Genin's battle?
Then what was he?
It wasn't just the Ninja in the surrounding stands who felt this way, but also the Ninja village leaders behind the Presidential Platform.
Were Jinchuriki really this terrifying?
They were still just children, why was the gap so immense!
Looking at the five chair backs not far ahead, their hearts were filled with mixed emotions.
In the arena.
Countless Vacuum Waves and sand waves began to collide.
With a single touch, the Vacuum Wave vanished without a trace, leaving only the sand wave scattered in place, making it seem as if Gaara had the upper hand.
But this was merely an amateur's observation.
The advanced Ninjutsu of Vacuum Wave, Vacuum Great Sphere, in Danzo's hands, was a Ninjutsu capable of blowing Susanoo to smithereens.
Naruto, as a beginner, was performing Vacuum Wave, which he had quickly learned through Shadow Clones.
Neither the nature transformation nor the shape transformation of his Chakra could compare to Danzo's decades of dedicated practice.
But a high-level Ninjutsu was still a high-level Ninjutsu; besides being difficult to master, its lower limit was also quite high.
Once used, it naturally had its intended effect. Although the Vacuum Wave and the sand layer dispersed upon contact, they fulfilled their mission.
They directly blew away the surface and even several meters deep into the sand layer. The sand layer didn't disappear only because it was continuously replenished.
And Naruto's Vacuum Waves also advanced one after another, constantly aiming at a single spot and fiercely pushing forward.
Continuous Vacuum Waves converged at one point, while the rest of Gaara's Sand Tsunami Great Funeral was merely for show.
Finally, under the relentless assault of the Vacuum Waves, the sand layer was completely penetrated, forming a huge hole.
Naruto saw Gaara behind it.
The penetrated sand layer lost its support and scattered into soft sand, once again obscuring the view, but for Naruto, it was enough.
As the Shadow Clones dissipated one by one, Naruto began to form hand seals with great seriousness.
Because one careless mistake and Naruto would be finished. With six seals, it took Naruto a full three seconds to complete them.
Having completed the hand seals, Naruto took another deep breath.
[Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!]
Based on his brief glimpse, Naruto, having confirmed his target, unleashed the highest-level Ninjutsu he had mastered towards the sand layer.
The Vacuum Great Sphere, capable of blowing Susanoo to smithereens.
Layers of crisscrossing air waves stirred the soft sand into a swirling dance, moving through the sand layer at a speed difficult for the naked eye to follow, and struck Gaara behind it.
A large amount of sand layer appeared out of nowhere in front of Gaara, but it only blocked for a moment before being broken through, hitting Gaara's true body before a new sand layer could appear.
Countless fine grains of sand emerged, as if to compensate for the previous mistake.
At this moment, the arena also fell silent, a rare occurrence, awaiting the final outcome.
Seconds later, gasps of surprise erupted.
"What is that?"
"Mon... monster!!!"
"....."
After everything dissipated, Gaara still stood firm, but his appearance had drastically changed. His ears and pupils were no longer human, half of his body was composed of yellow sand with intricate patterns, and a tail, also engraved with patterns, constantly swayed behind him.
The host body Gaara appeared, in a special half-Tailed Beast transformation mode.
Naruto looked at Gaara in the distance and thought to himself, 'Are you serious? Then so am I!'
The next instant, a golden, shimmering Naruto appeared in the arena.
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