Back inside the barrier, Hiruzen faced Orochimaru, who had shed his disguise. He muttered, "I guess this was why I felt a bit uneasy..."
"Kekeke..."
Orochimaru licked his lips, narrowing his eyes at Hiruzen.
The situation in Konoha had turned chaotic as a swarm of Sand Ninjas, supported by Orochimaru's Sound Ninjas, stormed the village.
In the arena, where the audience had been put to sleep by Kabuto's genjutsu, the Jonin who remained fought fiercely against the invading Sound Ninjas.
Thud!
Kakashi moved with swift precision, neutralizing one enemy after another.
Beside him, Guy also did his part with his formidable taijutsu, clearing a path through the onslaught while Asuma and Kurenai coordinated their attacks.
They couldn't go all out with the civilians around them as they had to move swiftly and mainly used their taijutsu.
More enemies poured in, while the one disguised as an Anbu fled the scene which made Kakashi frown at this.
BOOM!
"...We gotta finish this quickly."
However, he had no time for that as he had to finish off all the enemies here first.
Loud explosions echoed through the village, mingling with the harsh clang of metal against metal, the cries of dying ninjas, and the furious shouts of those still fighting.
Dark smoke billowed from various corners of Konoha, painting a grim picture of the ongoing battle.
Meanwhile, in a different part of Konoha, around the lush greenery of the training ground, the battle continued.
Swoosh!
BOOM!
The sharp sound of the wind cutting through the air was heard as Gaara's figure crashed violently onto the ground before a loud explosion echoed.
Gaara spread his sand to halt his momentum, stopping himself from crashing further.
He roared in fury, "I'll fucking kill you!"
"Haha, that's funny..."
Tsuna's voice echoed through the training ground, but when Gaara snapped his head toward the sound, he saw no one.
Gaara growled like an animal, his frustration mounting. "Why are you hiding? Get the fuck out! Fight me!"
Tsuna had led Gaara to a familiar terrain, the training ground surrounded by trees.
He knew the shadows and the layout of this place intimately, making it the perfect battlefield for an assassin like him.
"...You don't really think I'd come out, do you?"
The cracking sound of a tree branch caught Gaara's attention. He narrowed his eyes, his sand claw swinging toward the source.
BAM!
The impact shattered the tree, sending it crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
However...
"...!"
Gaara felt a sudden presence behind him and leaped away just in time. He turned and saw Tsuna had narrowly missed him.
A bloodthirsty grin spread across Gaara's face as he shouted, "You're dead meat!"
[Sand Release: Sand Shuriken!]
Gaara swung his sand claw, sending sharp shards of sand hurtling toward Tsuna, intent on taking his life.
"Are you sure you want to go that way?"
[Earth Bending Technique: Rock Wall!]
Tsuna grinned as he clasped his hands together and stomped his foot. The ground trembled, and a rock wall erupted in front of him, blocking Gaara's attack.
The sand shuriken shattered against the rock wall, the pieces falling harmlessly to the ground.
Gaara's eyes narrowed, his rage intensifying. "You can't hide behind that forever!"
"Huh?"
Gaara suddenly felt something was amiss from Tsuna's words.
[Earth Bending Technique: Rock Cannon!]
He turned his head just in time to see a large boulder of earth hurtling towards him. His eyes widened in shock, "Fuc---!"
BAM!
"Kuehak!"
Gaara was too late to react as the boulder slammed into his chest, even with the protective sand.
The impact sent him crashing through the trees, rolling along the ground until his sand managed to stop his momentum.
"Cough..."
He gritted his teeth, then coughed up blood.
Gaara stared at the blood splattered on the ground in disbelief, "B-blood...? Is this... my blood?"
His shock quickly turned into seething anger.
Gaara's face twisted into a snarl as he roared, "You bastard!!!"
A burst of chakra exploded from his figure, making leaves scatter in the wind.
However...
"Can you be quiet for a second?"
"...!"
Gaara suddenly widened his eyes as Tsuna's voice came from behind.
He tried to swing his arm in response, but he felt his whole body being dragged into the ground without resistance.
"Keugh!"
He groaned painfully as the sand around him seemed to constrict him.
Gaara heard footsteps slowly approaching from behind as he shouted, "What have you done!?"
"Phew... It's a bit tiring, but I guess this could do..."
Tsuna chuckled, feeling blood rush to his throat as the metallic scent filled his senses.
He glanced at Gaara, who glared at him venomously, and mocked, "You can't even move your body. What will you do to kill me now?"
"Bullshit!"
Gaara denied it vehemently, shouting as he attempted to focus his chakra into his sand, trying to force it to move.
"That's cute..."
"You...!!"
Tsuna's chuckle interrupted Gaara's growl.
Tsuna observed Gaara's struggling figure, maintaining his tight grip on the sand surrounding Gaara's body.
He was now fully in control.
If it were before, when Tsuna barely had a connection with the sand, Gaara might have been able to force his way out.
"...But not this time," Tsuna muttered with conviction.
However...
"Hmm?"
His gaze suddenly losing focus as he saw a woman with shoulder-length sandy-brown hair and indigo-colored eyes staring at him with a hopeful eyes.
"This..."
His eyes widened in shock as Gaara continued to struggle and curse him.
Before, it was just a fleeting moment, but now, he could vividly see the person who might reside within Gaara's sand.
"..."
A surge of complicated emotions washed over Tsuna as he began to realize who the woman was to Gaara.
He could feel the strong emotions from those gazes that he just recently gotten familiar with...
...familial love!
The woman suddenly smiled at him before bowing, leaving Tsuna slightly confused.
"...Did she realize I wasn't trying to kill Gaara?"
And...
"Keke... Hahaha... You're going to regret not killing me right away, you bastard!"
...a strong but ominous presence suddenly engulfed the area as Gaara burst into laughter.
A surge of pressure emanated from Gaara's figure as he seemed to tap into more of Shukaku's chakra.
He was on the brink of unleashing his full transformation as the Jinchuuriki of Ichibi!
"..."
Tsuna also realized things were about to spiral out of control as he felt his grip on Gaara's sand starting to waver.
He muttered, "Hmm, this might not be a good thing..."
However...
As he attempted to strengthen his grip and focus more on his connection, Tsuna suddenly felt his vision blur, similar to what he had experienced earlier but more intense.
"Wha?"
Suddenly, Tsuna found himself standing in a vast, empty desert, with endless, shifting sands and a dark, cloudy sky.
"Ahahaha so it's you!!"
A dark, maniacal laughter echoed as Tsuna widened his eyes, finding himself face to face with a humongous monster.
"..."
It was Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast!
"Hahahaha!"
The sand around Shukaku constantly shifted, and his massive form was both terrifying and powerful, with glowing yellow eyes fixated on Tsuna.
"Right, if I could meet that woman through the connection, I could meet this raccoon..."
Tsuna muttered to himself, feeling the immense pressure emanating from the monster before him.
Amidst the tension...
Plop...
A solitary water droplet echoed through the silent desert.
Tsuna and Shukaku turned simultaneously, their gazes locking onto the source of the approaching footsteps.
"Oh? Another one hahaha..."
Shukaku was confused at first before burst into laughter.
But for Tsuna, shock reverberated through him as he laid eyes on the newcomer.
"...Me?"
No, not quite.
It was his former self, from the previous life!
---
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