A/N:
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"Gaara, since we've already secured both the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, there's no need to seek out any more ninjas, right?" Kankuro's forehead was dotted with beads of sweat, betraying his fear.
A few Rain ninjas had tried to steal their Heaven Scroll earlier, but Gaara crushed them with his Sand Coffin, turning them into a pile of minced flesh. The gruesome scene had left Kankuro, Gaara's elder brother, in terror...
On their way to the final destination of the Chunin Exam, Gaara suddenly stopped and looked ahead into the distance.
Kankuro immediately knew there were ninjas nearby. The bloodthirsty Gaara was about to kill again.
But something unusual happened this time. Gaara didn't immediately unleash the sand from the gourd on his back and charge ahead. Instead, he cautiously observed, waiting for the other party to approach.
"It's you."
Gaara's raspy voice broke the silence as he gazed at a tall tree. Kankuro and Temari were slower to react, turning their eyes toward the same spot.
"It's you!" Kankuro shouted in surprise.
"It's you~" Temari said with a smile, full of anticipation and joy.
Furen waved at Temari, greeting her, "Hello, we meet again."
"Yes, we do! What a coincidence, Furen-kun~" Temari responded shyly.
Gaara's raspy voice broke in again. "So, this is what you're after." As he spoke, he used his sand to pull out the Heaven and Earth Scrolls.
Furen smiled as he looked at the scrolls. "Looks like you know exactly what I want."
There was no smile on Gaara's face. His expression darkened as he lifted his left hand, and a stream of sand shot toward the branch Furen was standing on.
Boom!
The thick tree branch was torn apart as if it were made of paper.
Temari quickly covered her mouth to stop Gaara, "What are you doing?!"
"Don't bother me!" Gaara barked, his gaze locked on the spot where Furen had been. But Furen's figure had already disappeared.
Suddenly, the sound of shuriken slicing through the air echoed. Several kunai, with small blue beads attached to their tails, came flying toward Gaara.
In an instant, the kunai multiplied, as if using the Shadow Clone technique, increasing in number. Furen had improved the technique into the Ice Release: Explosive Tag Kunai Shadow Clone Technique!
Faced with the barrage of kunai coming from all directions, Gaara made no effort to dodge. Instantly, a layer of sand enveloped him, completely shielding him from the attack.
Watching from a distance, Kankuro, his eyes full of fear, said, "That's Gaara's... Absolute Defense."
"Gaara can freely control the sand in his gourd, using its immense strength to harden it into a defense around him. This is Gaara's unique technique, and it activates automatically without him having to think about it!" Kankuro continued, his voice trembling with awe and fear. "Absolute Defense... even if those kunai are loaded with explosive tags, they won't be able to break through!"
But the moment Kankuro finished speaking, Furen's kunai began to detonate!
However, instead of the expected explosive blasts, delicate ice flowers bloomed from the kunai's impact points!
Gaara's Absolute Defense, which had been transformed into a porcupine of kunai, was now fully covered in layers of ice flowers. The Ice Release Explosive Tag Kunai Shadow Clone Technique pierced through Gaara's supposedly impenetrable defense!
Furen snapped his fingers, and the ice flowers melted away. What remained inside the shattered Absolute Defense... was a mere sand clone of Gaara.
"A sand clone, huh..."
Furen smiled as Gaara reappeared behind him, lifting his hand again.
"Sand Binding Coffin," Gaara's emotionless voice rang out. Sand surged up, wrapping around Furen.
Gaara thrust his hand forward and clenched his fist tightly, a bloodthirsty smile spreading across his face. "Sand Burial!"
The sand enveloping Furen compressed violently, but instead of the expected scene of Furen being crushed into a bloody pulp, his body dissolved into a pool of ice and vanished.
"You're not the only one who can use clones," Furen's voice came from above Gaara.
Gaara's shocked gaze shot upward, where Furen was leisurely playing with the Heaven and Earth Scrolls he had snatched from Gaara's possession.
"You... win..." Gaara admitted defeat, slowly retracting the sand into his gourd.
Underneath Gaara's feet, the previously solid ground had been transformed into a smooth sheet of ice, slowing the movement of his sand...
It was Furen's Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
After snatching the Heaven and Earth Scrolls from Gaara's hand, Furen appeared in front of Temari, gently tapping her nose. "Sorry about this, I'll pay you back double next time..."
Temari was momentarily stunned, but then her cheeks flushed with a hint of red. She felt secretly delighted by Furen's playful gesture.
Temari's Favorability toward you increased by 5%.
"One set of Heaven and Earth Scrolls, not bad," Furen mused, stowing the scrolls he had taken from Gaara into his clothes as he headed toward the location where he sensed Kin Tsuchi.
"It's time to finish off Kin Tsuchi in one go. I wonder how I should do it..."