"Kakashi, your squad put on quite a show—but that was completely a showcase match, wasn't it?"
Guy had seen right through it, of course.
Hanabi could have ended Sasuke whenever she wanted.
"More like a tutorial fight, to be precise." Kakashi scratched his head. "Hanabi is more dedicated as an instructor than I am."
"Hmph, of course Hanabi wouldn't lose!" Hikari beamed with pride.
"But why didn't she hand Sasuke over to the Medical Team? Even if it was a 'showcase,' Sasuke took real damage. If he doesn't get treated promptly, there could be lasting effects." Guy said.
"Maa, Hanabi knows what she's doing. I'll go check on him in a bit." Kakashi said. "Hm?"
While Kakashi was talking, Hikari had already moved to the competitors' area.
"Naruto, this one's all on you." Hanabi gave Naruto a quick pep talk.
"Is Sasuke okay?" Naruto asked.
"Of course. He won't miss your match." Hanabi said.
"Hehe, then let him watch how I take down Mr. No-Eyebrows! Let's go, let's go!"
Once he'd confirmed Sasuke was fine, Naruto couldn't wait any longer—he leapt straight into the arena.
The ninja outfit Hanabi had given him was light and easy to move in—he just wore it as a base layer underneath his signature orange jacket.
Compared to the "original" version, this Naruto was fairer-skinned and better-looking. Not bad for the cameras.
This match didn't carry quite the clan prestige of Hyuga vs. Uchiha, but it was still Konoha vs. Suna—plenty of people were paying attention.
Gaara was Sunagakure's last remaining contestant.
Gaara materialized in the arena in a whirl of sand.
"Uh…"
Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but the wave of killing intent rolling off Gaara made him flinch.
When had he made Mr. No-Eyebrows hate him this much?
"That person said I could get my answer from you." Gaara's gaze fixed on Naruto.
"That person…? Answer…?"
Naruto was completely lost.
He had no idea what Gaara was talking about.
"Now then, the match begins… cough cough."
The moment Hayate Gekko called it, Gaara broke into a savage grin. His gourd dissolved into sand and surged toward Naruto.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto immediately split into clones.
Gaara's sand missed, so he countered with a Sand Clone of his own.
Shadow Clones and Sand Clones began clashing.
But there was only one Sand Clone—Naruto's Shadow Clones were legion.
Two Narutos peeled off, bypassing the Sand Clone entirely and charging straight at Gaara.
The sand around Gaara's body activated its automatic defense.
"Rasengan!"
But Naruto already had a Rasengan ready.
The freshly gathered sand shattered on impact.
"Nani?!"
Before Gaara could react, the two Narutos were already throwing punches and kicks at the now-unshielded Gaara.
Gaara's taijutsu was clearly outclassed by Naruto.
No—it wasn't even outclassed. Gaara was getting pummeled one-sidedly.
"He's so heavy!"
But Naruto realized something was off.
Gaara's skin had a strange, hard quality to it. Naruto couldn't even kick him off the ground.
"Rasengan!"
Just then, another Naruto clone rushed in and slammed a Rasengan into Gaara's chest.
"BAM!"
Gaara was launched backward. The audience gasped.
But before Naruto could celebrate, the airborne Gaara began crumbling into sand, collapsing to the ground.
"An empty shell?!"
The Rasengan had only hit the outer layer—the Armour of Sand.
"Sand Shuriken!"
The real Gaara appeared behind Naruto. A barrage of Sand Shuriken tore through the air, obliterating Naruto's clones instantly.
"Why is this guy so heavy?! Is his whole body made of sand?!"
Naruto couldn't budge Gaara at all. Physical attacks on Gaara's body did virtually no damage.
But the Rasengan worked.
"Alright—strategy decided: Rasengan it is!"
If nothing else worked, stick with what did.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto split into a swarm of clones.
"Oh come on…"
Kankuro felt his scalp tingle at the sight of Naruto's army.
Especially since every single clone behind Naruto was busy rolling up a Rasengan.
"Sand Drizzle!"
Gaara countered immediately.
A storm of sand bullets rained from above. Naruto's clones burst into smoke under the bombardment.
"Dammit, he's got this move too!"
With sand bullets falling everywhere, Naruto had to drop the Rasengan-rolling.
Naruto's chakra reserves were even greater than in the original story, and he already knew the Rasengan—taking him down wasn't that simple for Gaara.
But aside from the Rasengan, Naruto didn't have many moves that could actually hurt Gaara. The field settled into a stalemate.
"Oh? Hanabi."
In the middle of watching the match, the Third Hokage noticed someone had appeared beside him.
It was Hanabi.
"That Sasuke… is he alright?" The "Kazekage" beside him looked at Hanabi.
Orochimaru had seen everything.
Hanabi had flatly refused to let the Medical Team take Sasuke, bringing him back to the stands herself.
That hadn't been part of Orochimaru's plan.
The plan was: after Sasuke's defeat, Kabuto—disguised as a medic—would step in and spirit Sasuke away.
But Hanabi had blocked Kabuto.
"Don't worry, Kazekage-sama. Sasuke's perfectly fine—my friend is looking after him."
Sasuke would come around soon enough. With Hikari watching over him, even if Orochimaru went over there in person, taking Sasuke would be impossible.
Especially when Orochimaru was sitting right here.
"This is the stage for the Kage. Coming up here uninvited is rather disrespectful, Hanabi."
The Third was lenient with the younger generation—he didn't mind much.
But with the Kazekage present, it was a different matter.
"Oh, Kazekage-sama~"
Hanabi strolled right over.
"Halt!"
The two Sand ninja bodyguards flanking the Kazekage immediately moved to intercept.
But the Hanabi before them dissolved like a mirage and vanished.
The two Sand ninja stood there, bewildered.
"Hm?!"
And when they sensed something and whirled around, they found—to their alarm—that Hanabi had somehow appeared right beside the Kazekage.
"That woman is dangerous!"
The Sand guards tensed.
Hanabi's geta alone were twin blades. She had essentially walked up to the Kazekage while armed.
"What do you want, little Hyuga girl?" the "Kazekage" asked.
"Oh, don't be so cold. It's not as though this is our first time meeting."
Hanabi stood behind the "Kazekage" with a smile, resting her hands on his shoulders as if giving a casual massage.
"They know each other…?"
The tension in the air spiked to a razor's edge.
Everyone was tense.
Everyone except Hanabi.
She simply loved the feeling of playing hopscotch right on the edge of getting herself killed.