The changes before his eyes were something the Fourth Kazekage had not anticipated at all.
The Third Hokage's reason for refusal also seemed perfectly valid; what could he say?
He had no particular thoughts. He had already killed the father, so why would he care about the son? It had nothing to do with him; they could figure it out themselves.
He looked at Baki, the Jonin from Sunagakure, signaling him to come up with an excuse, even if it was completely unreasonable.
Baki racked his brain, pondering.
It was like two countries preparing for war, both sharpening their blades, but one country's army had just set out, and its vanguard was wiped out by a few villagers out for a stroll from the other side. This was too embarrassing.
Should they still fight? How could they fight?
Baki, as the Jonin leading Gaara and Temari, was thirty years old and had participated in the Shinobi World War, so he had good judgment.
The Five Elements Seal could not be dismissed as ineffective just because a Genin used it; on the contrary, it was an extremely sophisticated Sealing Technique.
Aside from Puppet Technique, which was an unconventional path, Sunagakure was inferior to Konoha Village in Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu. Its foundation was much weaker, and when it came to Sealing Techniques, which were considered high-level Ninjutsu among all Ninja Villages, it was even worse. Just by looking at their Sealing Technique for Ichibi, one could tell that the entire Ninja Village's Sealing Technique level was not high.
Facing the Five Elements Seal, a Sealing Technique involving the cyclical flow of five Chakra natures, Baki was completely bewildered. How could it be undone? He had no clue at all.
This was a technical skill involving a lot of knowledge; if you didn't know it, you didn't know it. Being brave and reckless was useless.
Could his own Kazekage undo this seal? He didn't know.
Don't mind the Third Hokage's cheerful demeanor, saying that Ino would unseal Gaara after the match.
Baki didn't believe a word of it. The other party would surely use Gaara's injury and need for rest as an excuse to negotiate terms.
Normally, he would negotiate, but they were now on the brink of war, at a critical moment when they were about to turn against Konoha. To suddenly say they would use the vanguard to negotiate terms? That was absurd!
An excellent actor is not necessarily an excellent politician, but an excellent politician is definitely an excellent actor.
The Third Hokage's old politician's face was well-known among all Ninja Villages. He couldn't directly detain the Sunagakure Jinchuriki, but delaying for ten days or half a month was no problem. Was this the time for delay? Not a day, not an hour could be delayed. Without the Tailed Beast assisting in battle, what good would they be?
Baki was in a dilemma.
After the Tailed Beast was sealed, the situation in the arena took a sharp turn for the worse.
Gaara's own Chakra was inferior to Ino's, so he had no choice but to use the sand in his gourd for defense.
Ino used Body Flicker Technique to move at high speed, so fast that Gaara couldn't keep up with her movements. One second, the enemy seemed to be on his left. He turned his head to the left, and then felt a fierce uppercut strike his chin.
He was forcibly knocked three or four meters into the air.
As he was about to land, Ino reached out a hand, grabbed his neck, and tightened her grip with her five fingers.
Gaara was only about 1.46 to 1.47 meters tall at this time. Facing the 1.65-meter Ino, he was a full head shorter. Now, with his body lifted and his feet off the ground, he appeared even more slender and small.
Many Sunagakure Ninja exchanged glances, completely surprised. They never expected their Village's monster to be beaten so badly by a Konoha Genin. With their meager strength, could they really defeat Konoha Village?
"Give up, you are no match for me at all," Ino said.
Gaara's weakness was too obvious now. Water Release restrained his sand, and his Ichibi was sealed. Any strong Taijutsu user could easily defeat him.
What was the point of just spouting threats?
Gaara now felt an unexpected calm. The monster still seemed to be roaring inside him, but the seal was extremely firm, like a high wall, completely isolating the two.
He had not experienced such peace for many years, and he found it on the battlefield in Konoha Village.
"I won't give up," he said with a firm tone. Discarding the hysteria, Ino already saw a hint of the future Fifth Kazekage's stubbornness in him.
Is this the quality of a Kage? Very good, very spirited!
She grabbed Gaara's red short hair and delivered a powerful straight punch to his face. Gaara cried out in pain and flew backward. Before he could land, Ino appeared behind him, raised her right leg, and delivered a whip kick to the back of his neck.
In a critical moment, the sand in his gourd automatically appeared for defense, but it was too rushed. The Sand Shield shattered instantly, and he was kicked more than ten meters away. Gaara spat blood, propped himself up with his hands, tried a few times, but couldn't stand up.
"Give up, Gaara! Hurry and give up!" Temari, his sister, was still good. She disregarded the Village's plan and ignored the gazes of several Sand Ninja, shouting from the competitor's seats.
"I won't lose. I can't lose. Mother, Yashamaru-father, I can't lose. Monster, give me your power, quickly give it to me!" Gaara continuously shouted in his heart. Ichibi Shukaku also tried to respond, but both were blocked by the Five Elements Seal.
Jiraiya, observing from afar with binoculars, saw Ino brutally beating Gaara and couldn't help but shiver. The beaten boy was truly pitiful.
The Jonin and heads of Ninja clans in the stands were all extremely surprised.
They looked at Ino, who was brutally beating the Ichibi Jinchuriki, then looked at their own children, sighing with emotion. "It's been hard on you, children! We looked at things with the old perspectives of our time, and we really didn't expect you to face such immense pressure! We understand, we understand you now; you truly have it a bit difficult."
Shikamaru looked at Shikaku with extremely complex eyes. "See? I told you hundreds of times, and you didn't believe me. Now do you believe me? Do you know how much pressure I'm under? I'm the one who's most caught up in this!"
"Hmm?" Ino sensed that the Tailed Beast inside Gaara was trying to break through the seal. The hostility on Gaara's body was rapidly fading. The two had reached a consensus; he seemed to be receiving Tailed Beast Chakra in a relatively calm manner. Were these two united against a common enemy because of her beating?
Never mind, I might as well collect Tailed Beast Chakra. I'm just idling anyway.
Ino stopped using Taijutsu and instead quickly formed hand signs, gathering all of her Chakra.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
Ino had made a comparison: her current'Spirit' stat of 9 was equivalent to three Tsunade, or six Asuma, or more than ten Kakashi.
Her Chakra was incredibly abundant. With just two hand signs, a large amount of physical energy was drawn from her cells. After combining with spiritual energy, the immense Chakra underwent Water Release nature transformation. The water generated by the Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave was even more massive, as if a giant gate had appeared out of thin air, directly summoning seawater from the ocean.
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