"Are you not planning to come out? You three little mice..."
Sure enough, Gaara had already sensed that Hinata and Kiba Inuzuka were hiding in the grass, and he began to manipulate the sand in his gourd, making it slowly drift toward the bushes.
But just when Hinata and the other two were so nervous their hearts felt like they were about to leap out of their chests, a cold voice suddenly broke the heavy silence.
"If you haven't had enough fun yet..."
"Then let me join you!"
As the voice fell, two young figures appeared in the clearing—one with white hair and a cold demeanor, and the other with black hair and a cheerful smile.
Seeing the sudden appearance of Haku and Kimimaro, and sensing their powerful presence far exceeding that of other ninjas, Gaara's eyes, previously fierce and violent, narrowed. He began to slowly withdraw the sand that had spread out.
"The strength of these two..."
"Killing them both would definitely prove my existence even more, right?!"
Fixing his gaze on Kimimaro, who had just spoken, Gaara muttered with a sickly tone.
"Miss Hinata, are you three alright?"
"Leave this to Kimimaro and me; you three should go first!"
At this moment, Haku approached the bushes where Hinata and the others were hiding. With a slight smile at the frightened trio, he said:
"Why... why are you two helping us?"
Seeing the two young figures suddenly appear and willing to provoke the terrifying and bloodthirsty Gaara for their sake, Kiba Inuzuka was so surprised that he could hardly speak.
"Because Miss Kurenai is Yu-sama's girlfriend..."
"In situations like this, we can't just stand by..."
Haku maintained his cheerful smile, but his gaze shifted to the astonished Hinata. "And also, Miss Hinata, Yu-sama specifically instructed us to take good care of you during this Chunin Exam..."
"Yu-sama? So you are..."
Realizing that Haku and Kimimaro were ninjas under Yu, Hinata's previously confused pure white eyes suddenly shone with an inexplicable light.
"So you're ninjas under Kurenai-sensei's boyfriend..."
"Alright, no more questions, Hinata! We need to get out of here quickly!!"
At this moment, Kiba hurriedly tugged at Hinata's sleeve. Seeing the increasingly oppressive atmosphere, he unhesitatingly chose to flee.
As Hinata, Kiba and Shino—Konoha's Team 8—left, Haku smiled lightly, shook his head, and turned his attention back to the clearing in the forest.
"If I remember correctly..."
"You two should be under that man, right?!"
Temari, who had noticed the unusual strength of Haku and Kimimaro, asked, "Since you're not Konoha ninjas, why are you helping them?"
"There's no particular reason..."
"Since it's Yu-sama's request, we will definitely see it through."
At the same time, Haku's figure appeared in front of Temari and Kankuro, his calm expression showing no sign of wavering.
"I can feel it..."
"You two are far stronger than those little mice from before..."
Fixing his brutal gaze on the cold and aloof Kimimaro, Gaara's once relatively handsome face was now twisted by uncontrollable bloodlust. "It would be very interesting to kill you both!!"
"Perfect, we're also missing a scroll..."
"Maybe taking the one you three have would be just right!!"
Facing Gaara's murderous and violent gaze, Kimimaro remained indifferent, as if nothing in the world could alter his expression.
"Then you can go die! Sand Binding Coffin!!"
Hearing Kimimaro's cold provocation, Gaara's murderous intent erupted. With a bloodthirsty expression, he reached out with one hand, and a wave of yellow sand suddenly spread from under Kimimaro's feet!
Like a living giant hand, the sand reached for Kimimaro's ankles. If it succeeded in grabbing and immobilizing him, all of Gaara's sand would immediately rush in and crush him into a pulp!
Whoosh!!
However, facing the incoming yellow sand, Kimimaro's icy green eyes flickered as he used Body Flicker Jutsu to disappear from his original spot.
So fast!!
Seeing Kimimaro's burst of speed, Gaara's pupils constricted, and he lost sight of his opponent in an instant.
Bang!!
The next moment, when Gaara finally detected Kimimaro's presence, the sand that had risen high on his left side blocked an attack, creating a violent collision sound with Kimimaro's fist.
"Troublesome sand..."
"It seems like it automatically protects him..."
Seeing his attack instantly blocked by Gaara's sand, Kimimaro's expression remained unchanged. His speed surged, and he vanished from sight again in the blink of an eye!
Boom!!
Facing Kimimaro's full-out Taijutsu, Gaara's attention was still on the left side when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right cheek. He was instantly kicked away by a powerful force!
"Gaara... got kicked away?!"
Watching Gaara being kicked away by Kimimaro, Temari and Kankuro stared in disbelief with their eyes wide open.
From childhood to now, they had hardly ever seen Gaara get hurt. Any attack would be blocked by Gaara's absolute defense, and any opponent of the same or even higher level would be crushed by Gaara. Yet today, he was actually kicked away by Kimimaro, who seemed to be about their age!
"Your sand... seems a bit slow."
After kicking Gaara away, Kimimaro stood calmly on the spot. With years of guidance and training from Yu, he was clearly much stronger at this time than in the anime.
"I will definitely kill you!!"
"Your blood must taste delicious!!"
As Gaara, kicked away by Kimimaro, got back up from the ground, the cracked sand on his face continued to fall off, and his fierce, menacing expression looked even more terrifying.
"Oh? Using sand to form armor for protection, huh?"
Seeing Gaara standing up unscathed, Kimimaro's cold expression showed a hint of surprise. He hadn't expected to encounter an opponent in this Chunin Exam who was far beyond the level of a Genin or even a Chunin.
"Then I'll strip off your armor entirely. Without sand, you won't be able to do anything!"
As he spoke, the incredibly fast Kimimaro disappeared from his spot again, using Body Flicker Jutsu to move like a phantom at high speed.
"You're wrong. As long as I have sand, I can do anything!"
Sensing his opponent's extraordinary strength, the gourd on Gaara's back began releasing a massive amount of sand.
The air was filled with grit and dust, and there was even a strong smell of blood, hinting at how much Ninja blood his sand contained.
"Sand Drizzle!!"
The sand in the air instantly transformed into a torrential rain of sand, rapidly attacking Kimimaro. As long as the sand could trap the opponent, they would be at Gaara's mercy. With this technique, Gaara had already killed countless ninjas.
"Shikotsumyaku: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!!"
With a sharp sound breaking through the air, Kimimaro, while rapidly dodging the sand rain, flicked out ten of his finger bones with both hands. These finger bones flew towards Gaara like explosive bullets!
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
Kimimaro's Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets struck Gaara's sand shield, producing a series of intense collision sounds. The powerful force continued unabated and actually penetrated Gaara's absolute defense!
"Gaara!!"
Although Gaara was bloodthirsty and brutal, he was still their biological brother. Seeing Gaara get hit by Kimimaro's bone bullets, Temari and Kankuro beside him immediately exclaimed in shock.
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