What the hell? My eyes zeroed in on the stands, the entire crowd slumped over as if someone had hit a switch. Thousands of people, unconscious in a second.
Then, a sudden boom cracked through the silence. My head whipped toward the Kage's booth where smoke billowed out.
I gritted my teeth. Of course, it's never just a simple fight. I'd barely started to react, instinctively stepping back to assess the situation when I felt a wild surge of chakra from behind me.
Gaara. He was shaking, hands slick with his own blood, his eyes wide and unseeing. Then his chakra spiked, dense and vicious. Sand around him whipped into a frenzy, forming a shell as it crawled up his body, covering him inch by inch.
This is bad.
"Hey, snap out of it!" I shouted, but he was lost to whatever primal fear was eating away at him.
Just as I moved to close the distance, I sensed movement from my left—a squad of Sound nin launched themselves at me from the stands. Typical. While half of them still hadn't even made it to the battlefield, a few of the overeager ones had already jumped in. Four against one. Perfect.
The first one swung a kunai aimed at my head. I sidestepped easily, watching his eyes widen as I caught his arm mid-swing, twisting it at an unnatural angle. He barely had time to scream before my blade pierced through his chest. I shoved him aside and moved to the next.
The second came in fast with a jagged blade, attempting a feint before jabbing at my side. I parried, letting his weapon scrape harmlessly against mine before I turned the blade and drove it into his neck with a single, swift strike. He fell, his eyes still wide with shock.
I raised my sword again, my gaze meeting the two remaining shinobi. They shared a look, circling me cautiously, their confidence beginning to falter. They're probably still thinking I look like easy prey. A smirk tugged at my lips. Big mistake.
The one to my left lunged first, kunai flashing, and I sidestepped his strike, grabbing him by the collar and slamming my sword straight through his midsection. Blood sprayed as I yanked my weapon free, and his body slumped to the ground.
The last Sound ninja froze, glancing back toward the stands as if debating whether he could escape. But I didn't intend to give him the choice. I stepped forward, my eyes locked on him. He backed away, desperation written across his face. Just as he turned to make a run for it, I was already moving, closing the gap. One quick, clean slice through his back, and he fell face-first into the dirt.
The faint stench of blood hung in the air, and I didn't give the fallen another glance. I turned back toward Gaara, who hadn't even flinched at the sudden massacre. His chakra still spiked dangerously, sand twisting into a monstrous form as it covered his body, inch by inch.
With a quick hand seal and a flicker of chakra, I willed the blood around me to rise. Chains, dark crimson and gleaming with a fresh, deadly sheen, twisted and solidified, weaving themselves into shape as I directed them toward Gaara. They slithered across the battlefield, reaching out like serpents as they wrapped around his sand-coated arms and torso, pinning him to the ground. He thrashed and roared, his monstrous form trying to claw its way free, but the chains held firm, restraining his chakra's surge.
Gaara isn't just dangerous. He's unstable. Keeping him alive is a liability.
My grip on my sword tightened. Eliminate the threat. My decision was immediate and cold, without hesitation, I took a step toward him, raising my blade. As I was about to drive the blade downward, a sharp gust of wind whipped across the battlefield from my side, kicking up debris and dust. I leapt back just in time, dodging a scythe of wind that sliced through where I'd been standing.
My eyes narrowed as I shifted my stance and glanced over to the source of the attack. Temari and Kankuro stood a short distance away, Temari's fan drawn and ready, Kankuro's puppets hovering at his side like eerie shadows.
"You're not laying a hand on him!" Temari snapped, her eyes blazing with fury. Kankuro looked just as resolute, his hands poised, ready to spring his puppets at a moment's notice.
Of course, the siblings would interfere. I shifted my grip on my sword, letting the blood chains remain wrapped around Gaara, pinning him with just enough pressure to keep him immobilized while I turned my attention to his reinforcements.
Kankuro's puppets are the biggest threat. Too much potential to blindside me with poison. Before either sibling could launch another attack, I activated my eyes, focusing my chakra directly toward Kankuro's gaze. Within an instant, his pupils dilated, and his hands slackened as the genjutsu took hold. His puppets collapsed in a heap at his feet, leaving him standing dazed and defenseless.
Temari's eyes widened, but I didn't give her a chance to react. I flickered behind her, blade in hand, and drove it cleanly across her back. She gasped, stumbling forward, but I swiftly channeled the blood seeping from her wound, bending it into crimson bands that shot forward and wrapped around her arms and legs, dragging her to the ground and pinning her in place.
Her face contorted with a mixture of pain and fury as she struggled, but the blood bindings held firm, rooting her in place.
Temari struggled against the bindings, her face twisted in pain and anger as she watched her brother thrash wildly in the distance. The bindings held firm, rooting her to the ground. Her gaze darted to me, desperation flickering in her eyes as she pleaded, "Please, don't kill Gaara."
I hesitated, the battlefield quieting for a brief second, only her heavy breaths and Gaara's growls filling the space. For a split moment, her words broke through the cool calculation driving me. But then, the sheer destruction Gaara had caused, and the lives he'd so easily risked flashed back in my mind.
Turning to meet her desperate gaze, I said, "I can't promise anything."
The air pulsed with a surge of chakra—intense, malevolent, and unmistakably coming from Gaara. I barely had time to react before the blood bindings shattered like they were nothing. My gaze snapped to him, only to be greeted by a creature slowly taking form around his figure, a massive tanuki-like beast materializing out of swirling sand. Its rough outline solidified, towering over the remnants of the stadium, every grain of sand shaped into something monstrous and otherworldly.
The thing let out an ear-splitting roar, a sound so guttural and powerful it sent me skidding back a step. Gaara, or whatever he had become, had transformed into an unstoppable force. He began thrashing, sending waves of sand and debris crashing into what remained of the stands. Each movement shattered the arena further, making dust and bodies indistinguishable in the haze. The civilians, those who hadn't managed to wake up or escape had been unfortunate enough to be caught in his wrath.
The colossal tanuki twisted on its heel and, with an incredible leap, sprang from the stadium, leaving behind what little remained of the once-packed arena. I watched it soar, taking in the chaos left in its wake. Then, a glimmer of movement caught my eye.
Please don't let it be…
But of course, there he was, sprinting across the shattered arena, eyes set on Gaara's beast as it took off into the distance. Naruto.
A part of me wanted to stay here, to let him handle whatever reckless plan was brewing in his head. But that idiot had somehow drawn the attention of others too, Sakura, Shino, and Shikamaru set off after him.
Damn it
Leaving the sand siblings bound on the ground, I jumped after them, my steps quickening as the monstrous chakra loomed ever larger in the distance.
-----------------
Leaping through the trees, I tracked the trail of destruction left behind by Gaara's rampage. Each broken branch, crater, and scattered debris led me closer to whatever showdown was unraveling ahead. I kept my pace steady, keeping my senses open for any sign of the people that chased after him.
Then, a commotion down below caught my attention. Shikamaru was in the thick of it, completely surrounded by at least fifteen Sound shinobi. He stood there, seemingly calm, but I knew even he couldn't take on that many by himself, not in such tight quarters.
Without a second thought, I landed on the nearest branch and formed the hand seals for my Earth Release: Bottomless Swamp jutsu. The ground beneath the Sound shinobi morphed into a quagmire, a sinking deathtrap pulling each of them in up to their necks. Their struggles barely even rippled the swamp's surface, making it clear they were going nowhere fast.
"Sorry, no lifelines today," I muttered, fingers weaving into seals for my next move.
I activated Fire Release: Great Flame. A roaring torrent of fire blazed from my mouth, catching the helpless shinobi in a flash of scorching heat. In seconds, the flames obliterated them, their heads reduced to nothing but ash atop the swamp's murky surface.
The air stilled as the fire dissipated, leaving behind a charred silence. Shikamaru, looking a bit more ragged than usual, raised an eyebrow as he surveyed the aftermath.
"Not that I'm complaining," he said, "but that was overkill."
I shrugged. "Just taking out the trash."