Chapter 17: Sand Release: Sandstorm Gatling

Without direct intervention from Mukaze, the Chunin Exams proceeded according to the plot, step by step.

The only variables occurred during the preliminaries of the third round.

Rather than calling them variables, it was the exhilarating and awe-inspiring victory of the Sand Village in the second round that shook everyone.

Kankuro maintained his combat style as a puppeteer and defeated Ameyuri Ringo from the Sound Village using simple tactics of exchanging himself with his puppets.

Temari and Tenten faced each other, with Tenten using all her abilities to deal with Temari.

In the end, Tenten leaped into the air and used the ninjutsu tool "Double Ascending Dragons" to unleash countless projectiles towards Temari.

Temari looked at the barrage of needles, shurikens, kunai, Wind Demon Shuriken, and sickles coming at her from the sky.

She smirked in disdain.

"Hmph, playing with ninja tools against me? You're still too naive."

The folding fan fully opened, revealing a third circle.

She was going to unleash full firepower.

With a powerful swing of the folding fan, Temari unleashed "Wind Release: Sickle Weasel, Thousand Whirlwinds."

A violent storm swept through the central tower room.

Countless invisible vacuum blades attacked Tenten, while numerous wind funnels also appeared.

This was an improved ninjutsu of Wind Release: Sickle Weasel.

The large folding fan used by Temari, modified by Mukaze, concealed thousands of projectiles to enhance the lethality of the Sickle Weasel.

The Thousand Whirlwinds clashed in the air with the needles, shurikens, kunai, Wind Demon Shuriken, and sickles.

Temari's Thousand Whirlwinds were slender and small like needles.

However, their power was truly astonishing.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of dense and continuous impacts resounded in the air.

Tenten's ninja tools pierced, shattered, and brought down one by one, just like missiles hitting an airplane.

This outcome surprised Tenten greatly.

Her carefully prepared ninja tools turned out to be so vulnerable.

She became distracted.

Struck by the vacuum blades and the Thousand Whirlwinds, she fell from the sky.

With a cool demeanor, Temari caught her with the fan.

Kankuro cheered.

Gaara turned his gaze towards a Leaf Village ninja, Naruto, who had challenged him before.

Now it's your turn.

Behind them, Mukaze, with half of his face covered by a curtain, smiled contentedly.

As their teacher, he was proud to have such disciples.

They were the future of the Sand Village.

On the observation platform, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyebrows furrowed.

Leaf Village ninjas were cleaning up the scattered ninja tools.

Hiruzen watched as each broken tool was collected, sank into contemplation.

Since when did the Sand Village's ninja tools become so powerful?

Was it due to individual special ninja tools or was it a common occurrence?

For high-ranking and higher-level ninjas, their range of abilities was vast, and ordinary ninja tools didn't have much impact.

But it was different for middle and lower-ranking ninjas.

They are highly likely to exhaust their chakra in a battle and resort to taijutsu and using their ninja tools for slashing.

A sharper and more resilient ninja tool could become a crucial factor in changing the tide of battle.

It can be said that having better ninja tools would enhance the survival rate of mid- to lower-level ninjas.

Perhaps when they meet the Kazekage, they can ask about it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought this way.

In his view, the current relationship between Konoha and the Sand Village was very good, and exchanging some experiences about ninja tools should not be a problem.

As for the sudden appearance of the rogue ninja Orochimaru, he didn't connect Orochimaru with the Kazekage at all.

Next, Gaara and Rock Lee's battle shook the entire arena.

First, Lee's attacks were completely ineffective against Gaara's absolute defense.

All the attacks were blocked by sand.

Gaara carried his gourd on his back, arms crossed, and remained perfectly still.

His style directly overwhelmed the entire scene.

The surrounding participants were astonished and amazed.

They had never seen this fighting style before.

Kankuro couldn't help but show off to Naruto.

"Gaara's sand in the gourd can defend against any physical attacks. In other words, he is immune to physical attacks, and his sand can automatically form a sand shield to protect his body without his manipulation."

Naruto turned his eyes wide open.

There's such a passive ability?!

Gaara saw that Rock Lee had no new attacking methods, and he grew impatient.

He manipulated the sand and launched an attack on Rock Lee.

The ferocious sand directly slammed S Rock Lee into the wall.

Rock Lee quickly rolled and jumped to evade the sand.

Finally, with the permission of the teacher, he removed the iron weights tied to his legs.

The heavy iron block fell to the ground, causing the earth to tremble and raising a huge dust cloud.

Everyone was amazed by its weight.

And then...

Lee showcased his true power.

His near-instantaneous speed was too fast for the human eye to follow.

Even Gaara's protective sand, the "Shield of Sand," couldn't keep up.

Gaara found himself in a passive state for a moment.

Inside him, Shukaku asked, "Do you need my help?"

Gaara replied, "No."

Gaara removed the gourd and aimed its opening at Lee.

"Sand Release: Sandstorm Gatling."

Boom, boom, boom.

The gourd's opening unleashed a continuous barrage of densely packed sand projectiles.

The gourd had been modified by Mukaze to serve as a gourd-shaped ninja tool launcher, allowing it to not only store sand but also become an offensive tool.

By infusing chakra into the gourd, Gaara activated its electromagnetic emitter, which could propel the tiny grains of sand at high speeds.

A small grain of sand, with the added velocity, possessed astonishing power.

Lee was fast, agile in his reactions, swiftly transforming into a shadowy figure, appearing and disappearing everywhere.

Gaara held the sandstorm Gatling and chased after the shadow, spraying projectiles in a sweeping motion.

Crack, crack, crack.

A series of crisp sounds echoed through the air.

Lee, in his shadow form, appeared in mid-air.

His hands and feet were riddled with bloody holes from the sand projectiles.

He fell from the sky, crashing onto the ground.

He was defeated.