Thud!
The difference in power was overwhelming. In the end, Hinata and her team couldn't stand up to Gaara. One by one, they were knocked to the ground.
"Damn it… that sand of his is both offense and defense… Isn't this guy way too broken?" Kiba growled through gritted teeth as he lay sprawled on the ground, unwilling to accept it.
"His strength far exceeds the level of a Genin…" Shino had also been taken out. Against Gaara's absolute defense, even his kikaichū couldn't find an opening.
Hinata, with her Gentle Fist, could somewhat counter Gaara's sand-based attacks, but she was still just one person. Faced with an endless barrage from all directions, she had no choice but to keep defending. Eventually, her chakra ran dry, and defeat was inevitable.
"You bastard, stop right there!" Asuna watched Hinata collapse and gritted her teeth. Drawing her sword, she stepped forward and pointed it at Gaara in fury. "I won't let you hurt my friends!"
"Asuna…" Hinata struggled to lift her head. Her voice was weak but resolute. "You need to run… now…"
"No!" Asuna shouted, firm and unshaken.
But Gaara, seeing her stand up, only seemed more provoked. His face twisted into a terrifying snarl, and he growled each word through clenched teeth. "Even after seeing me like this… you still dare to stand?"
"You neurotic brat, what are you babbling about? Standing up for a friend, what could be more natural?" Asuna replied coldly.
Kankuro let out a mocking chuckle. "Touching scene… too bad it's wasted. That guy… he's incapable of understanding such things."
Sure enough, Gaara let out a savage roar and slammed both palms into the earth.
"Die!"
"Sand Tsunami!"
A monstrous wall of sand, ten meters tall, surged up from the ground, crashing toward Hinata and the others with crushing force.
Boom boom boom, The horrifying wave of sand swept through the forest, obliterating trees and reshaping the terrain. Against an attack of that scale, there was simply no way to defend.
Huff, Gaara's breathing grew slightly ragged. Clearly, that last move had taken a toll, even on him.
"You went too far," Temari muttered with a headache, already envisioning the massive fallout that would come after.
Kankuro was visibly stunned as he stared at the devastation. Even just watching it made his skin crawl. If he had to take that head-on, it would've meant certain death.
"Hmph… It's over."
A dead silence fell over the forest.
But then, suddenly, a voice broke the stillness.
"Don't you think you're getting a little too carried away, you gourd-wearing sand brat?"
"Hmm?!" Gaara and the others jolted, turning toward the voice, and froze.
There, standing completely unharmed where they should have been buried under the sand, were Hinata and the others, alive and well.
"Wha- "
Shing!
A blade, cold as ice, pressed against Gaara's throat. Just before it could dig into his neck, an automatic shield of sand surged up to block it.
"You again?!" Kankuro gasped. The figure who had snuck up behind Gaara and put a sword to his neck was none other than, Kirito.
"When did he- ?!" Temari was dumbfounded. "In just a split second, not only did he get everyone out of Gaara's attack range, he even made it behind us without anyone noticing…"
She shuddered to imagine, if his blade had been aimed at any of them instead, they'd be dead before they even knew what hit them.
Gaara slowly turned his head, his eyes cold as death. He stared daggers at Kirito and hissed, "So… now you're interested in me, aren't you?"
Kirito's gaze flicked toward Asuna and Hinata. Their hair was disheveled, their clothes dust-streaked… clearly roughed up. He said nothing, but his eyes returned to Gaara.
"No need to answer. I already know," Gaara said coldly. "Your eyes… they look down on everything, see no one. You only care about what you value. And though those things may be few, if anyone threatens them… you bare your fangs without hesitation."
"My eyes are the same. I see nothing in this world either. The difference is, I have nothing to care about. So tell me… what's the point of my existence? Maybe… if I kill someone like you, I'll finally find the answer."
Kirito stepped back just as spikes of earth shot up where he had stood moments before. At the same time, sand bullets blasted in from both sides.
Clang clang, Kirito struck them all down with a blur of his blade. For someone with his speed and agility, such attacks were meaningless.
Unlike before, when Gaara had crushed Hinata and the others with minimal effort, now he was animated, arms waving furiously like a predator finding its favorite prey.
His sand was moving at twice the speed from earlier.
Whoosh, But even at double speed, it couldn't catch Kirito. So far, none of Gaara's ferocious strikes had so much as brushed his sleeve.
"Hmph! How long are you going to keep dodging?!" Gaara growled, growing more and more agitated. What he wanted was a brutal brawl, not a ghost slipping away.
So, Gaara shifted tactics, his gaze turning toward Hinata and the others.
Whirl!
The sand above twisted sharply and came crashing down toward them.
"…!" Kirito blurred and vanished.
Boom!
"Kirito!" Asuna and Hinata both cried out.
The next instant, Kirito appeared right in front of them, taking the full brunt of the sand blast on his body.
"Got you." Gaara grinned, wicked and triumphant.
Kirito's arms and legs were instantly entangled by sand tendrils, wrapped tight like vines, he couldn't move at all.
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200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapters