Chapter 49: Transformation!
[Chaos! Chaos! Chaos! Hahaha!]
A loud voice was ringing in Gaara's head as he clutched his head, grunting in pain.
He had partially transformed into his Jinchuriki form, but this made the voice of the One-Tailed within him grow stronger.
"...L-let me do my thing!"
Gaara complained as the pain intensified.
He wanted to finish off Sasuke, who had yet to give up despite the situation not being in his favor.
However...
"I'm sorry, but I have to end things here," Genma stood over Sasuke's beaten form on the ground, eyeing Gaara warily.
He silently thought, "This is dangerous..."
Even though he was a Special Jonin, he felt threatened by the intense pressure emanating from Gaara. He knew this wouldn't end easily, so he drew his kunai and spoke firmly, "I need you to stop right now."
[Let me take over! Let me take over! I want more blood! I want more chaos! Hahaha!]
"Ugh...!"
Gaara clutched his head again, feeling the One-Tailed Beast's chakra spreading throughout his body.
"Gaara!"
A worried voice called out as Kankuro and Temari swiftly arrived beside him. Baki was also there, asking urgently, "Can you continue with the plan?"
"...!"
Genma felt a surge of alarm, realizing he had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
He glanced at Sasuke, muttering, "Damn it... I can't fight freely with him behind me..."
Sasuke was too weakened to defend himself, and Genma knew the situation was spiraling out of control.
"We don't have time to be surprised..."
Tsuna's voice echoed, snapping Kakashi and Guy back to reality as they took in the chaos around them.
Kakashi frowned, noticing the ANBU Black Ops members heading toward the Hokage. One of their members seemed to have stayed behind and was now surrounded by enemies.
However, they were not attacking him at all, which made Kakashi sighed, "And Sound ninja as well, huh? What a nuisance."
"...An enemy has disguised himself as one of the ANBU?"
Guy frowned, recognizing what was going on immediately.
"..."
Kakashi turned to where the explosion originated, noticing a massive barrier had formed around where the Third Hokage was located.
His frown deepened, "Guy, Tsuna's right. Let's focus on the enemies..."
"I know..."
Guy nodded, glancing at Lee, who was still unconscious in his wheelchair from the genjutsu.
"I'll leave everything up here to you both..."
Tsuna's voice echoed as he jumped down toward the arena.
"Hmm...?"
Kabuto furrowed his eyebrows and quickly threw several kunai at Tsuna, who was in mid-air.
CLANG!
A loud metallic sound rang out as another set of kunai intercepted Kabuto's, deflecting them.
Kabuto turned toward Kakashi, who calmly asked, "Why don't you explain how you infiltrated the ANBU Black Ops? I thought they were the best. What is this?"
"..."
Kabuto fell silent, briefly glancing at the Sound Ninjas on his side.
Only four of them remained, as most had been incapacitated by the unknown teenager who had leaped into the arena.
"Who's that? Even Kakashi and Guy didn't react as fast..."
Kabuto pondered, feeling no threat from Tsuna as he did to the other strong Jonins in Konoha. Yet, it was that guy who reacted even faster and took down most of his team members.
"Seems like the plan is going well..."
Kabuto observed, relieved that Orochimaru had successfully isolated himself from the Third Hokage.
He redirected his focus to Kakashi and Guy.
"...Well, I guess I was in a pinch," Kabuto mused to himself, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead.
With this realization, Kabuto had only one thought in mind.
"Let's get outta here..." He thought, smirking behind his mask as he narrowed his eyes at the remaining Sound Ninjas beside him.
He silently chuckled, "Thank you for your services in advance..."
"..."
As Genma weighed the options of engaging with the enemies, Gaara let out a loud groan, his sand slowly covering his other hand with a similar pattern.
"That thing is taking control!"
"Damn..."
Temari reported while Kankuro cursed under his breath.
Baki furrowed his eyebrows as he observed the massive barrier surrounding both Kages. He muttered, "He wasn't supposed to transform here..."
If Gaara transformed here, Konoha would suffer minimal damage. Their plan was to unleash the beast within him right at the heart of Konoha, which was why they came to see if Gaara could be relocated.
However, seeing Gaara's state, Baki sighed, "I guess our plans can be a little more flexible..."
"Let him transform..."
"What?"
Baki's words surprised Temari and Kankuro, who looked at him with shocked expressions. Despite their urge to argue, they could only nod in understanding, clenching their fists. "...Understood."
However...
"Well, I'd like to disagree..."
A voice interrupted them, and they turned to see a newcomer entering the arena.
"You...!"
"...Bastard!"
Both Temari and Kankuro exclaimed as they saw Tsuna casually walking toward them.
"It's you!!!"
However...
Gaara's loud outburst reverberated through the arena as he recognized Tsuna immediately, ceasing his resistance against the One-Tails' chakra before it could spread further throughout his body.
[Yes! Yes! Don't resist me anymore and I'll shed his blood! Hahahaha]
The demonic voice echoed through Gaara's mind, intensifying his bloodlust.
"..."
Baki widened his eyes in shock and quickly leaped away from Gaara.
Temari and Kankuro mirrored his reaction, realizing that Gaara was on the brink of transformation.
The sand slowly covered his entire face, altering his features into a beast-like visage with dark eyes and golden pupils of a strange shape.
"...!"
Genma's senses were immediately on high alert as he rushed to Sasuke, swiftly moving him away from the sudden burst of terrifying chakra emanating from Gaara.
"I didn't expect you to be so eager to see me..."
Tsuna chuckled, taking a deep breath before seemingly blurring through the ground and reappearing sharply in front of Gaara.
"...!"
Gaara was taken aback by Tsuna's sudden aggression, swinging his sand arm toward him and shouting, "Die!"
But Tsuna merely smirked, "Did you know? I'd rather face you than any Chunin ninjas out there."
"You bas---!"
Gaara was about to curse, but he suddenly felt his body freeze as he watched blood trickle down Tsuna's mouth.
Tsuna stood in a wide stance, his hand gripping tightly.
"This is just like what he did before!"
Gaara's eyes widened in shock, anger bubbling inside him as he tried to force through, his hand trembling.
Tsuna noticed his control slipping and muttered, "As expected, my connection is still shallow..."
However...
"Let's get out of here first..."
[Earth Bending Technique: Mountain Eruption!]
Tsuna slammed his feet to the ground, causing the earth to tremble and rise like an erupting volcano, propelling him and Gaara out of the arena.
"...!"
The use of such a taxing Earth-bending technique made Tsuna lose his control over the sand and allowed Gaara to break free from his binding.
"Hahaha! You can't control me anymore!"
Gaara laughed loudly as he swung both arms toward Tsuna, attempting to crush him.
But Tsuna made a pushing motion, refocusing on his connection to the sand.
"Not so fast..."
[Sand Bending Technique: Sand Cannon!]
"...Huh?"
Gaara felt himself hurtling even faster as Tsuna, clasping his hand, levitated a boulder beneath him.
Locking eyes with Gaara, Tsuna used it as a foothold while Gaara shouted indignantly, "You bastard!"
"Gaara!"
Temari and Kankuro shouted as they leaped further away from the sudden earthquake.
Baki widened his eyes in shock at Tsuna's figure, "Earth Release? Is he from the Rock Village?"
Did this imply an alliance between Konoha and the Rock Village?
Was the Rock Village involved in this chaos?
Questions flooded his mind as he cursed, "Damn it, there's no point in thinking about it now. Temari, Kankuro, go after Gaara. I'll stick around to see what's going on!"
"Understood, Baki-sensei. Be careful!"
With that, both Temari and Kankuro vanished from the scene, pursuing Gaara and Tsuna.
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