After two years of dormancy, Gari of the Explosion Style was significantly stronger than before. With a powerful leap, he lunged toward the Cloud Jonin, Samui, with the momentum of a thunderbolt, and the surrounding rocks erupted in a blinding flash of light.
"Is that the Stone's Explosion Style...?"
Jogaki Shikasa, who had faced Gari several times during the battles in the Revelation Mountains, was familiar with his combat style.
"Why is this guy fighting so recklessly?" he wondered aloud. Gari's offensive was more aggressive and frantic than in the past, as if he were fueled by some hidden stimulant.
"You go out first later," Arashi whispered to Shikasa. "Puppet Mastery has great endurance in these types of scenarios."
As an intelligence officer, Arashi had analyzed the battlefield and wanted Shikasa to step out early to suppress the other villages' Jonin.
Shikasa's human puppets, crafted from the Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse) bloodline and augmented by the power of the Dragon Vein, placed his strength at the very top of the Jonin present.
On the peak, Samui had already prepared for Gari. While Explosion Style was formidable, it was ultimately a variation of Earth Style—and against her Lightning Style, Earth should be at a disadvantage.
Her tantō flashed, arcs of electricity dancing around her like a nest of silver snakes.
As a ninja of the Cloud, Samui specialized in Lightning Style Nintaijutsu. She closed the distance with extreme speed, her blade aimed at Gari's vitals.
Gari's eyes remained cold; he scooped up a handful of earth and stones, chewing them rapidly before spitting out a barrage of small rocks.
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted right in front of Samui. Facing the terrifying impact of Gari's Earth Style explosions, she used her Lightning-enhanced reflexes to twist mid-air, her blade tracing a silver arc as she evaded the blast.
Watching the Earth-style ninja hold his own against a Lightning-style specialist, many of the Jonin were confused. "This Explosion Style... perhaps he isn't a simple Earth-style user?" Shiraishi remarked.
Onoki's brow twitched. "Did the Kazekage notice something?"
"A combination of chakra attributes mixed with a bit of 'magic,'" Shiraishi replied enigmatically.
This Fifth Kazekage is indeed troublesome, Onoki thought. Shiraishi had identified Gari's subtle difference in just a few exchanges.
Minato Namikaze had noticed it too; having fought the Explosion Corps during the war, he saw that Gari was deviating from the standard playbook.
Cloud Style: Flying Blade!
Samui's blade ignited with light as she launched a precision strike, but Gari met her with a blinding surge of energy from his palms.
As the explosion cleared, Samui used a Lightning Clone to escape, only to see Gari grinning savagely. He clapped his hands together, and a massive Earth Style Giant rose from the ground.
The giant transformed into a torrent of mud, trapping Samui. She attempted to cut her way out with a high-frequency lightning blade, but to her horror, her electricity failed to sever the mud. Despite the elemental disadvantage, Gari's "clay" seemed immune to lightning.
BOOM!
Samui managed to survive the resulting detonation using a Substitution Jutsu, but the shockwave sent her reeling. Gari followed up with a brutal palm strike to her chest. Samui was sent flying, coughing up blood, and was instantly disqualified from the stage.
"A defensive Earth Style constructed from specialized clay?" Shiraishi murmured, exposing Gari's secret.
While the ability seemed similar to Onoki's, this specialized clay was specifically engineered to counter Lightning Style.
Gari was the Stone's trump card against the Cloud—a response to years of being bullied by the Cloud's Nintaijutsu.
As Samui was carried away, the Raikage's face darkened. Suddenly, a figure blurred onto the stage. Kakashi Hatake of the Hidden Leaf stood facing Gari.
"Hidden Leaf, Kakashi Hatake!"
The son of the White Fang? Gari sneered. He knew Kakashi was a Lightning user. Confident in his anti-lightning clay, Gari launched a violent wave of energy.
Kakashi moved with a speed that defied logic. He didn't just dodge; he seemed to anticipate every move Gari made.
This superhuman reaction speed stunned the Kage, until the masked guard next to the Mizukage hissed: "The Sharingan."
Behind his tilted forehead protector, Kakashi's eye revealed the spinning crimson tomoe of the Uchiha clan. Since witnessing Rin's death, his Sharingan had evolved. While the constant chakra drain was a burden, in a high-speed duel, the eye gave him a decisive edge.
The battle ended swiftly. Kakashi didn't just use Chidori; he combined it with a sophisticated sequence. He used Water Style to saturate Gari's clay giant, then followed with a burst of Fire Style to rapidly harden and crack the structure.
Finally, a single Chidori shattered the giant and sent Gari crashing to the ground. Kakashi had gathered all the intel he needed from Samui's fight and dismantled Gari's "invincibility" in seconds.
As Gari fell, Jogaki Shikasa appeared on the stage, his hands dancing with invisible chakra threads. As a student of Lady Chiyo, he wasn't about to miss a chance to strike at the White Fang's son.
"Son of the White Fang, I am your opponent!"
Onoki watched with interest. "That is the Sand's Puppet Mastery... but why is the user fighting personally?"
Shikasa was known as the genius puppet master of the new era, but he hadn't pulled out a single puppet.
Instead, when Kakashi launched a Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, Shikasa's fingers flicked, and his chakra threads became razor-sharp wires that literally sliced the massive fireball into pieces.
No puppets. No long-range kiting. Shikasa was moving in for a close-quarters brawl with the elite Kakashi.
"This guy... he really chose a direct confrontation!"
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