Central Tower Examination Arena
Sakura was completely enveloped by sand. The sand relentlessly squeezed inwards, making it difficult for her to breathe.
Just at that critical moment, Sakura created a Water Wall around her body, then, leveraging the massive chakra from the Strength of a Hundred Seal, she rotated the Water Wall.
Up in the stands, Kankuro, seeing Sakura encased in sand, said, "It's too late. Your teammate will be killed."
"Hmph, people with low skill levels love to talk big," Sasuke retorted, glancing at Kankuro. The Sharingan truly lived up to its name; Sasuke had already observed something unusual within the sand.
"Damn it, what did you say, brat...?" Kankuro was displeased by Sasuke's words, but when his eyes caught sight of the situation in the arena, he fell silent.
Water was steadily seeping out from the ball of sand that encased Sakura. The sand gradually expanded, and when it reached the size of a large sphere, it could no longer contain what was inside.
A violent torrent of water burst forth, completely washing away the sand that had trapped Sakura. The Water Wall continued to spin and expand before finally slowing to a stop, transforming into a puddle that spread across the arena floor.
"Th... This... Gaara's Sand Waterfall Funeral has been broken...?" Kankuro had never seen this particular ninjutsu of Gaara's countered before.
On the field, Sakura manifested the Mystical Palm Technique on her hands, healing the minor injuries caused by the sand's compression. She hadn't activated it quite in time, resulting in some slight damage.
Kankuro was once again shocked when he saw Sakura using the Mystical Palm Technique. "She... She's a medical ninja?" Kankuro found it hard to believe that the one who had been fighting Gaara for so long was a medical ninja.
"Hehe, that's right. Sakura-chan's medical ninjutsu is amazing. She also has a move..."
"Naruto, shut up," Sasuke glared at Naruto.
It was Kankuro's business if he wanted to reveal Gaara's information, but Sasuke had a strong sense of protecting intelligence. Moreover, Sasuke felt that Kankuro was there to pry information from them. Hearing Naruto about to blurt something out, he immediately stopped him.
Naruto realized he might have almost slipped up. He didn't argue with Sasuke this time, instead casting a wary glance at Kankuro.
On the other side of the stands, Neji looked at the ninjutsu that was remarkably similar to Rotation, his heart filled with astonishment. Rotation involved expelling chakra from the body's chakra points and, through one's own rotation, creating an absolute defense.
Sakura, however, used chakra to propel the rotation of the Water Wall, achieving an effect similar to Rotation. This was by no means simpler than Rotation. Neji couldn't help but admire Sakura's genius.
In the arena, Gaara saw Sakura escape from his "Sand Waterfall Funeral," and the blood that had slightly cooled began to boil again.
After healing her injuries, Sakura looked at Gaara, her head aching again. Although she had escaped a sure-kill move, she still didn't have a good way to attack Gaara. Was she just going to be stuck in this stalemate...?
Before Sakura could devise a strategy, the surrounding sand began to stir again, surging towards her. With a sigh, Sakura was forced to dodge. To avoid being caught by Gaara again, she had to break her dodging rhythm.
And so, the game of cat and mouse continued. Sakura dodged while racking her brain for a solution. Gradually, she noticed something odd. The sand's speed seemed to have decreased. Could it be that Gaara was running low on chakra...?
Sakura looked at Gaara. His expression was normal, and he didn't appear to be lacking chakra. So... what was going on...?
She looked at the sand attacking her. Its color was darker than before. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Sakura's head, and she mentally slapped herself.
Who said she didn't have home-field advantage? She had been so focused on breaking through the defense, on being faster than the sand, that she forgot: if she can't out speed the sand, then slow the sand down!
There's a saying on the internet: drag your opponent's intelligence down to your level, and then defeat them with your rich experience... Yeah, that's the idea.
Sakura no longer dodged the approaching sand. She directly unleashed another Water Wall, pushing back and soaking the surrounding sand. Then, she looked at Gaara with a mischievous grin. "Stoic kid, you've been bullying me for long enough. It's time for me to bully you."
"...."
Up on the stands, Sasuke, seeing that Sakura had finally realized how to counter the sand, mocked Kankuro, "Hmph, your teammate has no chance of winning now."
Kankuro also understood the situation on the field. His face was extremely unpleasant. He ignored Sasuke's taunt and left Team 7's side, returning to the Sand team. If Sakura had just been defeated, there would have been no problem. Now, the situation was troublesome. He needed to find Baki-sensei to discuss this as soon as possible...
Sakura formed hand seals and pressed her hands to the ground. Immediately, half-meter-high earthen walls rose around the perimeter of the arena, enclosing Gaara and Sakura within.
"It's not over yet!!" Sakura channeled a large amount of chakra to create a watery environment. In a short time, the area enclosed by the earthen walls was filled with water.
The purpose of the earthen walls was to prevent the created water from escaping, as the arena floor wasn't sealed. Although she could continuously generate water, it was better to conserve chakra when possible.
Gaara's sand was now completely soaked. Sakura nodded in satisfaction, then fired an ordinary water bullet at Gaara.
Gaara didn't dodge. The water bullet struck him squarely in the chest, sending him flying. The sand shield only formed a moment after he was hit.
It worked! The water added weight to the sand. While it might increase the sand's defensive capabilities due to the water, it significantly reduced its speed. Now, the sand couldn't keep up with her speed.
And since she had flooded the entire arena, even if Gaara extracted sand from underground, it would still be wet. To make the sand as fast as before, he would have to expend a massive amount of chakra.
And even at its previous speed, Sakura could still dodge. If it came down to a battle of attrition, Gaara's chakra would be depleted first.
"Hehe, your sand can't keep up with my speed now, can it, stoic kid?" Sakura taunted Gaara.
"...." Gaara hadn't expected this turn of events. Water could increase the cohesiveness of the sand, but it also required more chakra to control. Gaara hadn't anticipated that his opponent, after fighting him for so long, would still have such a large amount of chakra.
The jonin up in the stands were also surprised that Sakura could create so much water in a waterless environment. Even jonin weren't necessarily capable of such a feat. This young girl truly had an enormous chakra reserve.
"Kakashi, did you really train this young girl?" Might Guy compared his own three students and felt that they were slightly inferior to Sakura. Gai, who had been competing with Kakashi his whole life, was unwilling to lose here.
Kakashi turned to look at Gai, didn't say a word, just smiled slightly and made a "V" sign with his fingers.
Seeing Kakashi's gesture, Gai's eyes blazed with fiery determination. He grabbed Lee, who was still feeling down because of Sakura's performance, and began to motivate him.
"Are you ready to get beaten... stoic kid?" Sakura raised her arms, aimed at Gaara, and said with a playful grin.
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