Chapter 288: Gaara VS Deidara
On the arena.
Ro, a ninja from the Hidden Waterfall Village who had not been particularly noticeable, suddenly declared that he would take down Deidara.
"Hahaha, such arrogance."
Deidara laughed as if he had heard the world's biggest joke, saying flippantly, "Then let's see if you can do it. Talking big won't help you. Unless it's my mouth doing the talking."
As he said this, he raised his hands in front of Gaara, revealing that each of his palms had a mouth, with tongues sticking out and making taunting expressions.
Facing the provoking Deidara.
Swish.
Sand shot out from the gourd on Gaara's back like an arrow, aiming straight at Deidara.
Without even forming the seal of confrontation, Gaara launched a surprise attack.
"Wait!"
Sasuke immediately frowned and shouted at Gaara, "Stop, that's against the rules."
"Shut up!"
"Get lost!"
Both voices rang out simultaneously, Gaara and Deidara telling the annoying Sasuke to stay out of their duel.
Swish.
Deidara deftly dodged to the side, evading the sand's attack.
Although he appeared carefree, Deidara was very cautious and had never underestimated his opponent, always watching Gaara's movements.
After all, someone who could make it to the semifinals wouldn't be weak.
Seeing Deidara evade the attack, Sasuke didn't say anything further, but his brows remained furrowed as he added, "Begin!"
The match officially started.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
Gaara immediately manipulated the sand to launch a frenzied attack on Deidara, seemingly intending to take him down quickly.
The sand was very advantageous for Gaara in a confined arena space. As a result, Deidara had no time to form seals and was chased around by the sand.
During this process, sand continuously poured out from Gaara's gourd, quickly covering the entire arena.
Does that gourd contain some kind of pocket dimension to hold all this sand?
Deidara glanced at it while dodging, puzzled, but quickly realized it wasn't the case.
The gourd contained only a small portion of the sand.
The majority of the sand on the arena came from Gaara pulverizing the rocks beneath the stage and turning them into sand.
"Finally noticed? Too late."
Gaara, expressionless, stretched out his hand and coldly said, "Quicksand Waterfall Flow!"
The next second.
With a tremendous rumbling, the entire arena sank, instantly turning into a desert.
Whoosh.
Fierce waves of sand surged within the stadium like a real sea, advancing relentlessly toward Deidara, aiming to engulf him.
Swish.
Even Sasuke had to retreat to the edge of the arena, his face shocked.
The ninja from the Hidden Waterfall Village, Ro, had turned the entire stage into quicksand, leaving Deidara with nowhere to stand.
At this rate, Deidara would lose.
"Hehe, not bad."
Facing the surging sand waves, Deidara still smiled confidently and then leaped into the air.
Leaving the ground temporarily?
It's useless, just a futile struggle. In mid-air, he had no leverage to change direction or dodge, becoming an easy target.
Without hesitation, Gaara manipulated the sand waves to sweep towards Deidara.
However, this battle wasn't going to be as easy as Gaara thought.
In the sky.
Deidara quickly reached into his ninja tool pouch, pulled out a small white clay bird, and then formed a seal.
With a puff of white smoke.
Swish.
The small bird transformed into a large clay bird with flapping wings. Carrying Deidara skyward, it swiftly escaped the range of the sand waves and flew above the stadium.
Seeing this.
"Hey, referee, that guy left the stage!"
"That should be considered cheating, declare him the loser!"
The ninjas from the Hidden Waterfall Village in the stands, along with some gamblers who had bet on Deidara, stood up eagerly, shouting.
However, Sasuke, frowning and watching Deidara in the air, ignored the noise and announced:
"The match continues!"
In Sasuke's view as the referee.
Ro's sand jutsu was too advantageous in the arena and unfair to other competitors. Since Deidara had a way to counter it, he should be allowed to use it.
Moreover, the match had just begun, and declaring a loss immediately would not have pleased most of the audience.
They hadn't had their fill yet.
As Sasuke's words fell, Deidara indeed launched a counterattack.
"Let's start with C1 chakra level and see what he's capable of."
Muttering to himself on the bird's back, Deidara reached into his ninja tool pouch and pulled out a handful of small clay spiders.
His art centred on this explosive clay.
Without preparation, making explosive clay during the battle would put him at a disadvantage.
Conversely.
If he prepared enough explosive clay beforehand, Deidara was confident he could use his art to defeat any strong opponent.
At this moment, he had two large ninja tool pouches on either side of his waist, filled with the explosive clay he had crafted overnight.
Kurotsuchi once thought Deidara was slack, not taking the competition seriously, as he stayed up late watching Konoha TV's entertainment programs before the match.
In reality, he was doing "handicrafts," actively preparing for the battle.
The explosive clay in these two pouches was enough for the semifinals and the finals. He even planned to save some "ammunition" to deal with Uchiha Sasuke.
With a swift motion, Deidara threw dozens of clay spiders, which floated down from the air, targeting Gaara on the ground.
"Quick, Camera 3, zoom in!"
With the director's urgent command in the studio, the tiny spiders were captured by the cameras in the arena and given a close-up on the big screen.
"Ew, what are those? They're so ugly and weird."
"Gross, they give me goosebumps."
In the stands, Sasuke's fangirls started complaining.
Idiots, they don't understand art at all.
Deidara sneered inwardly. Seeing the spiders descending on Gaara, he formed a single-handed seal and shouted:
"Art is an explosion, yeah!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a boom followed, and the small spiders exploded, turning into fierce flames that engulfed Gaara.
However.
Gaara stood his ground without dodging, relying on his sand.
When the smoke from the explosion cleared, a shield made of sand was floating above Gaara's head, protecting him from all the explosive impacts.
"The defense is quite strong. But… can it withstand C2?"
Deidara wasn't worried at all; after all, the previous attack was just a test. He then pulled out a chubby white clay pig and threw it out.
Boom!
The pig inflated in mid-air, transforming into a three-meter-long fat pig with two pairs of wings, flapping so fast that it left afterimages.
Whoosh.
The clay pig's speed was incredible, like a missile, easily breaking through Gaara's sand barrier and descending on his head again.
Moreover, Deidara had a hidden trick.
Just as the clay pig was about to reach the ground, it suddenly split into two, with one half targeting Gaara and the other unexpectedly flying towards Sasuke not far away.
Clearly.
Deidara didn't bother to wait for overtime; in his view, someone like Sasuke, who was hyped up, could be conveniently dealt with now.
Damn.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and with his Sharingan, he saw through the clay pig's flight path, reacting immediately by dodging to the left.
Boom.
The clay pig exploded anyway.
Despite Sasuke's quick reaction, he couldn't fully evade the sneak attack, and the explosion's power was too great, causing him to get injured.
Roll.
Sasuke flew out from the flames and smoke, rolling on the ground for dozens of meters. His clothes and hair were scorched, and he looked utterly dishevelled.
"Sasuke, are you okay?"
"Stop the match! Deidara actually attacked the referee!"
Sasuke's fangirls in the stands were all panicking.
However, regarding Deidara's intentional attack on the referee, he could easily argue that Sasuke and Gaara were too close, causing his clay missile to misjudge the target.
Moreover, Deidara was just a Chunin, while Sasuke was a Jonin. Even if it was unintentional, could Sasuke be injured so easily?
In the end, weakness was the original sin.
What was more concerning now was the situation with that "R" from Takigakure.
After all, in the face of Deidara's attack, even Sasuke barely escaped the explosion with his life. But Gaara didn't even dodge.
Could he be dead?
Unexpectedly.
When the smoke from the explosion cleared, all that remained on the ground was a sphere made of sand, protecting Gaara inside and leaving him unharmed.
Sand Shield.
"Even C2 can't penetrate the sand?"
Seeing this, Deidara was surprised but became even more excited. Such a guy was worthy of being his opponent, not that flowery pillow Uchiha Sasuke.
In the stands, Temari and Kankuro looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes. They both blurted out simultaneously:
"It's Gaara!"
No mistake.
The sand Gaara used was special because it was transformed from their mother Karura after her death, possessing defence far beyond steel and automatically protecting Gaara.
This was the Absolute Defense of the Sand.
After careful observation, Temari and Kankuro were now 100% sure that the Takigakure Chunin named "R" in the arena was their long-lost brother—
Gaara.
But why? Gaara was clearly kidnapped by the Akatsuki years ago. Why is he now appearing in Takigakure's team? And he doesn't seem to recognise Temari and Kankuro at all.
"What should we do now?" Kankuro asked.
"Don't act rashly."
Temari's eyes narrowed as she said in a low voice, "Gaara is a Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast. Don't forget, there's a rumor that the Sixth Hokage wants to collect all the Tailed Beasts to achieve some grand ambition. If Gaara's identity is exposed, he might be captured on the spot. And if a Jinchuriki has their Tailed Beast extracted…"
"I understand."
Kankuro nodded seriously, then stopped mentioning Gaara.
Fortunately.
Apart from the two of them, no one else was familiar enough with Gaara to recognise him immediately.
Or rather, they couldn't be as certain as Temari and Kankuro that the boy was Gaara.
At the highest stand.
"That child…"
Chiyo of the Sand had a puzzled look on her face. The more she looked at "R," the more familiar his appearance and jutsu seemed, reminding her of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
At this moment.
After being bombarded twice by Deidara from the air.
Rustle.
A large amount of sand quickly gathered at Gaara's feet, lifting him into the air.
The match had now moved from the ground to the sky.
Then.
As Gaara spread his arms, the stadium echoed with a loud noise. The sand he had created earlier transformed into numerous sand waterfalls and shot into the sky.
What a spectacular scene.
Whether it was the audience in the stadium or those watching on TV, they were all stunned.
And the exciting part had just begun.
In the air, Gaara manipulated countless grains of sand, relentlessly pursuing Deidara.
Deidara, on the other hand, rode his clay bird, performing various high-difficulty manoeuvres, narrowly avoiding Gaara's every attack.
Whoosh!
The clay bird flew a half-circle close to the stands, followed by sand sweeping through the audience seats, scaring many people into hiding under their seats.
The stands were a mess.
"Haha, this is fun."
Deidara laughed heartily, seemingly enjoying himself.
An idea struck him, and he even flew over the highest stands, making a funny face at the Five Kage and the Daimyo.
"Watch out, Lord Daimyo!"
"Protect the Daimyo!"
In an instant, Konoha's Anbu and the Daimyo's guards rushed out from the shadows, surrounding the frightened Daimyo.
"Deidara, what are you doing? Get serious!"
Onoki was furious, shouting at the departing Deidara and then hurriedly turning to apologise to the Daimyo.
"A troublesome disciple like this must be a headache. With the Tsuchikage being so old, he must be really worn out."
Mei Terumi sighed softly and then glanced at Danzo.
Deidara first provoked Uchiha Sasuke and now caused such chaos, clearly not giving any face to the Uchiha clan and Konoha.
Logically, as the Hokage, Danzo should be angry now, right?
But unexpectedly, Danzo sat leisurely in his chair, a faint smile on his face, seemingly finding it all amusing.
Mei Terumi shook her head.
This enigmatic Sixth Hokage, besides himself, probably no one knew what he was thinking.
For instance, Mei Terumi still couldn't understand.
Danzo had controlled her, the Mizukage, with the Sharingan, making her kneel and call him master, holding Kirigakure's fate in his hands.
But in the end, Danzo lifted the genjutsu on Mei Terumi without asking for anything.
Boom.
The explosion in the air brought Mei Terumi back to reality.
Looking up, she saw that Deidara and Gaara's aerial battle had reached its climax, about to determine the victor.
(End of this chapter)