The pungent smell of blood filled the air.
Yuichi unhurriedly walked to the side and picked up the straw hat with wind chimes from the ground.
However, just as he bent down and his hand touched the hat, five or six more Suna ninja appeared.
They must have heard the commotion nearby and rushed over immediately.
Yuichi stood up again. He raised his eyes and looked at the few people not far away.
"..."
"What happened here?"
Looking at the corpses littering the ground, the faces of the Suna ninja gradually turned pale.
They tore their gazes away from the bodies of their comrades on the ground and stared intently at Yuichi.
"Did you do this?"
"Damn you! Which village's ninja are you? How dare you attack Suna ninja in Sunagakure! You're courting death!"
Swoosh!!
One Suna ninja was quite bold. Seeing the blood on Yuichi's fist, he immediately attacked without any hesitation.
As the opponent charged, Yuichi calmly took half a step back. He raised his hand, clenched his fist, preparing to strike when the opponent got a little closer.
But a sudden shout interrupted Yuichi's plan.
"Stop!"
The Suna ninja's steps halted instantly. He turned his head to look behind him.
"Lord Kazekage!"
The Suna ninja was stunned, then raised his hand and pointed at Yuichi. "Lord Kazekage, this guy broke into Sunagakure and killed more than ten of our ninja..."
"I know!" Gaara interrupted the Suna ninja with a cold shout. "Stand down."
The Suna ninja hesitated, but slowly moved towards Gaara.
Looking at the dozen or so bodies on the ground, Gaara's expression was extremely grim.
From the moment the roar sounded, he had rushed over as fast as he could. Yet, in just a few seconds, the dispatched ninja were all wiped out.
The surrounding civilians hadn't even been evacuated yet. And among the dead was a jonin from the village.
To be able to quickly eliminate a team of more than ten people led by a jonin in a matter of seconds... The opponent's combat power was terrifying.
Looking at the trench violently torn into the ground, Gaara became even more wary of Yuichi.
A trench over ten meters long, created by sheer brute force, was not something just anyone could do.
Against this rogue ninja from Kirigakure, sending anyone else would be suicide. Even Kankuro would be no exception.
"Kankuro! Continue evacuating the surrounding civilians."
"The rest of you ninja, fall back. I'll deal with this guy."
Gaara stepped forward.
The dozen or so Suna ninja who had arrived with Gaara all spoke up, trying to dissuade him.
"Lord Kazekage, it's too dangerous for you to fight him yourself! Let us handle him!"
Gaara looked at the Suna ninja. "If it's dangerous even for me, it would be even more dangerous for you."
He turned back to look at Yuichi, who was standing ten meters away, watching him quietly with a smile.
"I have my sand for protection. I won't be injured so easily."
"But, Lord Kazekage..."
Kankuro raised his hand, signaling the surrounding Suna ninja to stop.
"Let Lord Kazekage handle this! Hurry and evacuate the civilians."
Kankuro watched Gaara's back with a grave expression.
Gaara, you can't lose! If word gets out that Sunagakure can't even handle a single rogue ninja... Then our reputation as one of the five great ninja villages will be completely ruined!
Gaara crossed his arms. A rustling sound came from the gourd on his back. A large amount of sand floated out, hovering around Gaara.
"You!"
"Why have you come to Sunagakure?"
"What is your purpose?"
Gaara asked with extreme calm. His demeanor truly befitted a Kazekage.
Yuichi smiled and said slowly, "My purpose?"
"I've come to take something from here."
"Something?" Gaara asked.
"The One-Tailed Shukaku."
Yuichi spoke each word deliberately. The moment his voice fell, BOOM! He stomped his foot forcefully.
Spiderweb-like cracks instantly appeared. Yuichi's body shot out like a cannonball, hurtling towards Gaara.
In an instant, Yuichi appeared in front of Gaara, swinging his fist to blast Gaara in the chest.
Yuichi's sudden appearance made Kankuro's eyes shrink.
So fast!
That speed!
No one expected his first move to be so terrifying. The faces of the surrounding Suna ninja turned pale.
The speed caused a trace of shock to appear on Gaara's normally calm face.
He hadn't expected Yuichi to be so fast. It was a speed he couldn't react to.
Sand from the gourd formed a thin sand wall in front of Gaara.
Gaara didn't panic too much.
However, the moment the sand blocked Yuichi's fist, Gaara suddenly realized something was wrong.
Hmph! Yuichi snorted inwardly. Trying to block my attack with that level of sand? In your dreams!
The Kāma activated. Black markings glowing with a red light instantly appeared, spreading up his arm.
The next second, the sand was instantly blasted apart.
The fist that broke through the sand defense struck Gaara's chest hard.
Immediately after, an invisible shockwave erupted. A violent roar!
Gaara's figure was instantly sent flying backward. In a moment, he flew dozens of meters, disappearing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye, destroying all the houses in his path.
The sound of collapsing houses echoed continuously. A plume of thick smoke rose, forming a straight line.
"Gaara..."
Kankuro stared in utter shock in the direction Gaara had flown.
He never imagined that in a single exchange, the opponent could break Gaara's automatic defense, and with a punch of such terrifying power.
Just how much terrifying power was in that fist! For a rogue ninja to have this kind of combat strength.
BOOM!
Suddenly, the sound of something breaking the wind was heard. The thick dust and smoke were instantly cleared away.
In the distance, Gaara's figure reappeared in everyone's sight.
Gaara had just gotten up when he suddenly looked up, and Yuichi's figure appeared again.
Leaping into the air, Yuichi executed an extremely swift roundhouse kick, aiming fiercely at the just-risen Gaara.
A flash of anger appeared in Gaara's eyes. His chakra erupted instantly.
This was Sunagakure; the sand Gaara needed for battle was everywhere.
As his chakra flared, a massive amount of sand surged from behind Gaara, rushing violently towards Yuichi.
Instantly controlling the vast amount of sand, a cold glint flashed in Gaara's eyes.
In the blink of an eye, the sand submerged Yuichi's figure.
Seeing Yuichi blocked by the sand, he wouldn't let him be so arrogant anymore. It wouldn't be so easy to escape after being trapped by the sand.
BOOM!!!
A huge amount of chakra erupted from within Yuichi's body. The shockwave generated by this chakra instantly blasted Gaara's sand away!
An opening appeared in the sand. In that instant, Yuichi charged directly out of the opening.
And kicked Gaara in the jaw