"Has the monster inside you driven you insane?!"
"How pathetic—!!!"
Tejima Shinichi's words echoed through the woods at the other end of the Forest of Death, reaching the ears of Gaara's trio!
In an instant—the expressions of the three changed drastically!
"Wh... What did you say?!"
Kankuro cried out, instinctively moving a step away from Gaara. Temari gripped her Three Stars Fan tightly, her knuckles turning white.
Both of them looked toward Gaara simultaneously.
Gaara's body was visibly trembling, his pale green pupils contracting violently as bloodshot veins spread across them like a spiderweb.
The sand surrounding him surged wildly out of control, making a grating, tooth-aching sound.
"You... how dare you..." Gaara's voice was no longer raspy, but a crazed roar, "How dare you... call me... pathetic?!"
"This is bad..." Temari's face was pale, her voice trembling. "How long has it been... since he's made that face..."
Cold sweat broke out on Kankuro's forehead, and he subconsciously took half a step back. "Once he's like this... he won't stop until he's killed everything in sight..."
Tejima Shinichi acted as if he didn't see Gaara's terrifying, predatory state, turning his head to quickly command his teammates behind him:
"Takeshi, Yū, I'll leave the other two to you!"
"Be careful... the guy is a puppeteer, watch out for his puppets and poison. The girl is skilled in Wind Release and that large fan. Act cautiously, just stall them; there's no need to force a direct confrontation... Besides, I believe you can do it!"
"Understood!" Kobayashi Takeshi replied immediately.
"Leave it to us!" Satō Yū took a deep breath, her eyes locking onto Temari.
"I'll kill you!!!"
Seeing Tejima Shinichi dare to ignore him, Gaara let out another inhuman roar, completely losing control.
The sand beside him transformed into a wave that blotted out the sun, surging toward Tejima Shinichi!
"Sand Shuriken!"
Countless sharp shuriken condensed from sand were mixed into the wave, whistling through the air and covering all of Tejima Shinichi's escape routes.
Facing this violent attack, Tejima Shinichi stood his ground, his hands instantly forming seals in front of his chest.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Boom—!
A massive earthen wall appeared out of nowhere, blocking the sand wave.
The violent collision of sand and earth produced a deafening roar. Earth and stone mixed with grit flew everywhere as dust billowed!
"What?!" Kankuro's eyes widened. "Earth Release of this scale?!"
Temari also looked shocked. "His seal-weaving speed is so fast!"
Before the smoke could even clear—
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a blurred figure tore through the curtain of dust!
Gaara's bloodshot pupils didn't even have time to move before a large hand pierced through his automatic defense, the Shield of Sand—enlarging in his vision—as fingers like iron claws suddenly seized his entire face!
Looking at Gaara, whom he held by the face, Tejima Shinichi gave a cold snort:
"Go... flying—!!!"
Immediately after, Tejima Shinichi lunged forward, pinning Gaara and lifting him off the ground, instantly vanishing from the spot!
"Wha...?!"
Temari and Kankuro only felt a gust of wind hit their faces, blowing their hair back wildly and making their clothes flutter... Then... the Gaara who had been right there... vanished in an instant!!!
The next second—
Boom!!!
A dull, massive sound exploded from behind them!
The two turned back in horror to see Gaara's face being pinned down by a hand, his entire body slammed heavily against the trunk of a giant tree that would take several people to encircle!
The massive impact caused the thick trunk to let out a groan of distress. The bark cracked instantly, wood chips flew, and spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly from Gaara as the center!
Gaara's entire face was covered and distorted by that hand. Only those bloodshot red pupils, contracting violently from shock and pain, were visible through the gaps between the fingers, filled with unbelievable horror!
The Armor of Sand shattered, and the surrounding sand fell powerlessly.
Tejima Shinichi stood before the tree, his arm extended, looking indifferently at Gaara, whom he had pinned to the tree with one hand.
The entire forest fell into a dead silence.
Temari and Kankuro froze in place, their mouths agape, their pupils contracting violently, their minds going blank.
They hadn't even seen what happened.
In just an instant, the brother who was invincible in their memories... possessed by a monster... was like a helpless fledgling, crushed and pinned against a tree by the opponent in the most brutal manner!
Is... is this really a battle of the Chunin Exams?!
Temari and Kankuro's minds were completely overwhelmed by this inconceivable scene, falling into a brief blankness.
In that moment of mental lapse—
"An opening—!!!"
Kobayashi Takeshi's low shout and Satō Yū's movements were almost simultaneous!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Kobayashi Takeshi's chest puffed out, and he suddenly spat out a scorching fireball, blasting forward with rolling heat waves!
At almost the same time, Satō Yū's hands quickly formed seals.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A powerful whirlwind whistled out of her mouth, accurately swirling into the Great Fireball!
Wind aids the fire, and fire borrows the wind's power!
The Great Fireball, originally two meters in diameter, instantly expanded several times under the infusion of the gale, turning into a roaring firestorm. Its color shifted from crimson to a blinding bright white. The heat was oppressive, and its speed surged as it swept toward the wide-open Kankuro and Temari!
"Combination Ninjutsu: Storming Inferno—!!!"
"Not good!"
The scorching air current rushed toward them. Temari was the first to snap out of it, her expression changing drastically.
She wanted to swing her Three Stars Fan to counterattack, but the Combination Ninjutsu was too fast and covered too much ground. In her haste, she couldn't use her most effective defensive Ninjutsu in time!
Kankuro was even more terrified. He frantically pulled out Crow from behind him to defend, but it was already too late; the white-hot flames were almost licking the edges of his clothes!
"Get out of the way!"
"Wind Release: Sickle Weasel!"
Temari retreated sharply to the rear, while simultaneously swinging her fan with all her might, attempting to deflect part of the flames with wind pressure!
Kankuro also rolled backward clumsily, placing Crow in front of him!
Boom—!
The firestorm struck where they had originally been standing. The ground was instantly blasted into a charred shallow pit, and the surrounding vegetation hissed as it turned to ash.
Although they barely avoided the direct impact, the dissipating high temperatures and shockwave still left them breathless. Their hair, sleeves, and pant legs were singed, leaving them looking quite disheveled.
Tejima Shinichi didn't look back to see the results of Takeshi and Yū's side. His gaze remained locked on Gaara's pupils, which showed horror and fury through the gaps of his fingers.
He felt the strength of the struggle coming from under his hand, as well as that increasingly violent Chakra!
"It seems..." Tejima Shinichi spoke calmly, with a hint of playfulness, "that 'one' inside you is about to lose its patience!?"