Symphony of the Snake

10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven

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The fight that came up next was Sasuke vs Gaara. I had expected his match to be the last, but the crowd seemed to be too impatient to wait. Given the way the match would end, Shikamaru wouldn't have to fight Temari. That bastard would be screaming joy later. I would ask him to thank me at the end of this.

"Both contestants ready?" I asked for formality.

"Watch me, Naruto," Sasuke declared confidently.

"I will raze you to the ground, Uchiha," Gaara said blood-thirstily.

I glanced at the Jinchūriki. He was constantly emitting bloodlust. He had fucked up Lee and I could see he wanted to do the same to Sasuke. I should have tinkered with his Seal. At this point, Shukaku could break out of it as soon as Gaara lost consciousness. The boy was a flight risk. What a perfect tool for a suicide mission.

"Begin!"

Swish!

These kids are impatient, aren't they?

The fight began with Gaara sending a gigantic hand out of the sand at Sasuke, almost hitting me in the process. Making use of his speed, Sasuke nimbly avoided the hand. He threw some kunai and shuriken at Gaara, which Gaara easily blocked with his sand. With Shunshin, Sasuke appeared before Gaara and threw a punch. Again, Gaara's sand barrier proved to be a troublesome defense.

Retreating, Sasuke observed Gaara for a moment. He made use of his Sharingan and Bunshin before dashing at Gaara. He and his Bunshin threw kunai and shuriken at Gaara. This time, they powered the weapons with Fūton: Daitoppa. The projectiles gained speed, forcing Gaara to surround himself with his sand barrier.

Sasuke flashed through some hand seals and shot Katon: Gokakyū no Jutsu at Gaara. He spent tantamount Chakra on that Jutsu, turning the sand barrier into glass. At this moment, his Bunshin came at the sand barrier and shattered it, revealing an unscathed but shocked Gaara. Sasuke's Bunshin couldn't land damage on Gaara, but they distracted him. As such, he couldn't block the swift kick coming from Sasuke.

Bam!

The little psycho was launched into the air. Sasuke didn't stop there. He took turns with his Bunshin to kick the boy higher. When Gaara reached the peak of his flight, Sasuke burned him with another Gokakyū. The audience gasped. The battle had been a decisive and quick one. Few Chūnin could even fight like that.

"I thought you were something else, Uchiha."

"Tsk."

However, the fight was far from over. Gaara had substituted himself with his clone during his short flight. Sasuke failed to notice it as the Chakra in his Gokakyū was too intense for his Sharingan. With a scrunched-up nose, Sasuke faced Gaara. He sent a glance at me. I guessed he wanted to show me something.

"Prepare to die this time, Uchiha!" Gaara shouted with a crazed look. Shukaku had begun to take over.

"Well, send my regards to the Demon in hell," Sasuke mocked.

An armor of sand climbed up Gaara's body. Sand appendages emerged from his back, coming quickly at Sasuke. The said Uchiha remained still on his spot and flashed through hand seals. Soon after, lightning gathered around his hand, and the sound of a thousand birds chirping filled the arena.

"Chidori!"

"Die!"

Sasuke flashed across the arena. I could see his movement clearly, but it should be too fast for many to follow. Gaara's sand appendages failed to stop Sasuke. His sand barrier also failed to erect in time, so his sole means of defense was his sand armor. Unfortunately, that was not enough to stop Chidori's penetrating force.

Stab!

"Huh? What is this?" Gaara wondered in shock, madness receded from his eyes. "Pain…. This is blood. Blood! Blood!"

Madness returned to his eyes as his Chakra exploded. Sasuke was blown back but suffered nothing except for some scratches from their scuffle. In the audience seat, Kabuto immediately cast a mass-scale Genjutsu and put everyone to sleep. The invasion began.

Tsunade who was among the Jōnin audience flared her Chakra, thus freeing them from the Genjutsu. The Jōnin immediately understood what was happening and got to work. I used Shunshin to get in front of Sasuke. The boy was shocked by my speed even though he knew I was fast.

"Get the civilians to safety, Sasuke. I know you have a lot to ask, but let's talk about that when this is over."

Gigantic snakes peered over the arena and destroyed the wall to get inside. Oto and Suna Ninja filled the place, engaging in combat with Konoha Ninja.

"This will be an A-Rank Mission for you. If you do well, you will be promoted to Chūnin."

"Don't die, Naruto."

Sasuke punched my chest with a smirk. I smirked faintly and knocked his forehead with two of my fingers just to mess with him.

"Chop, chop."

He was too stunned to move, so I had to usher him. Turning my attention to the chaos happening, I saw the Suna siblings and their Jōnin sensei guarding Gaara who was in the center of a Chakra storm. I looked up to the Hokage booth and saw a barrier already standing. The idiot Jiraiya was standing outside the barrier, failing to get inside faster. The good thing was that he was trying his best to dissolve the barrier.

I took out my three-pronged kunai and threw it at the Suna siblings. They deftly avoided them which was something I knew they would do. I activated the Hiraishin Seal and appeared behind them. I could hear Baki's heart beating in trepidation as soon as I appeared behind them. With Rasengan in my hand, I pierced through the Chakra storm.

"Gaara!" Temari shouted.

The storm dispersed, allowing me to get ahold of the half-possessed body. I glared at the Bijū trapped inside him and that somehow pacified the raccoon. Sensing a movement, I created a Kage Bunshin and handed over Gaara to him. I tilted my body to the side and then caught the hand trying to drive a kunai at my jugular.

Pulling Baki in front of me, I drove my knee into his stomach. The Jōnin keeled over, unable to move. I had enough force behind that knee to shatter a boulder. It was impressive that he didn't die. The Suna siblings joined the fight. Temari swung her fan, sending a strong gale at me. Kankurō bombarded me with weapons from his puppet. The combination of the attack would have been dangerous to anyone but me.

With Shunshin, I appeared in front of Kankurō and shattered his puppet with pure strength. As shock overwrote the boy's face, I kicked his stomach and sent him rolling on the ground. Dashing to Temari, I knocked her fan out of her hand and bitch-slapped her. I could have done something damaging, but I believed it was more painful.

"Go take away your sibling with you, Temari. Gaara will be safe with me and I guarantee you Konoha won't charge you and your siblings with anything."

Temari looked at me incredulously while still holding her reddened cheek.

"I wanted to slap you on the other cheek, but I figured that wouldn't wake you up."

The other cheek, different from the one I was talking about, reddened.

"Go, take Kankurō with you. Konoha will win this invasion, so dying here is not worth it."

The Suna Princess nodded. The sheer obedience instantly made her my favorite girl. Without looking back, she took the enraged Kankurō with her. She instantly lost her calmness as she bitch-slapped Kankurō while hurling curses at him. I liked her.

"Keough! You… what have you done?"

Baki stood up shakily as he glared at me. I just shrugged and put him to sleep once again by chopping his neck. The invading Ninja took this as their cue to step into the fight. My Hiraishin kunai had been spread around the arena while I was having fun with the Suna siblings. Using them to my advantage, I flashed through the arena and decorated it with blood and body parts.

"Fuck! Using Hiraishin in quick succession makes me want to vomit," I groaned as I nursed my shaking stomach.

Some Konoha Shinobi stopped their fight and looked at me in awe. Their opponents, however, were so afraid of being targeted that they left the perimeter.

"Keep fighting, boys," I encouraged half-heartedly.

Without waiting for their response, I sensed my Hiraishin Seal that was on the Hokage booth and teleported beside Jiraiya. My clone dispelled itself and I received his memory of Jiraiya calling me crazy for taking Gaara to him. Even without that memory, I could tell he was not happy. He was still grumbling when I arrived there.

"How do you expect me to fix the kid's seal when he is so unstable? What if the beast escaped while I was doing it?"

"Shut it, Ero-Sennin. Take care of Gaara and those big-ass snakes. I will help the old man face Orochimaru."

"Huh?" Jiraiya looked at me as if I had grown another head. "Have you figured out how to dispel the barrier?"

"The old man has my Hiraishin Seal."

Jiraiya stared at my back silently. I didn't bother to figure out what he was thinking and immediately teleported myself beside Hiruzen. The reactions I got varied. Hiruzen was both elated and sad; Tobirama frowned at me; Hashirama grinned in excitement; and Orochimaru clicked his tongue in annoyance.