On the other side of the arena, a massive Tailed Beast Ball exploded. If not for the special barrier Kaede had placed around the field, half the stands might have already been blown away by its destructive force.
When the smoke cleared, the arena was half-ruined. The magnetic sand and trees that once covered the battleground had been pulverized. Everyone's eyes turned toward the source of the attack, but by then Gaara had already vanished from sight.
As the dust settled, Gaara emerged, standing atop shattered fragments of iron sand. His body was changing, enveloped in overwhelming chakra. His eyes flickered between his own and the raccoon eyes of Shukaku, the One-Tail. Dark circles deepened around his gaze, markings of the beast crept across his body, and behind him swayed a massive tail.
No one had ever witnessed this stage of Gaara's transformation. The entire audience fell into silence, as though the air itself had been muted. Not a single breath broke the tension.
How had he escaped that desperate situation? How had he reappeared there?
Was this the evolution of a Jinchūriki? It was said that when a Jinchūriki fully evolved, they would merge with their Tailed Beast and completely transform into it.
Gaara walked forward slowly, his gaze cold, fixed on the red-haired boy before him—a man in his twenties wearing the face of a fifteen-year-old. He raised his hand, chakra swirling around his arm like living sand, and in an instant, he twisted the puppet's neck.
But the body that crumbled was not Sasori. It was one of his childhood creations—the puppet of his father.
The real Sasori had already vanished. In his place stood the Third Kazekage puppet on one side and the Sharingan puppet on the other. Though lifeless, their presence at this moment exuded an eerie, suffocating dread.
The Third Kazekage unleashed his ultimate technique. Countless shards of iron sand surged like a storm of bullets toward Gaara. In response, Gaara swept up a gale, raising a storm of sand. Within moments, the battlefield erupted into a towering whirlwind. The iron sand was caught in the vortex, spinning violently out of control.
At the same time, the Sharingan puppet disappeared, reappearing at Gaara's back with a poisonous spike extending from its arm. A deadly thrust came straight for him.
Before, Gaara's so-called Absolute Defense had weaknesses—he could still be wounded. But now, his body had entered another stage entirely. His tail lashed out with raw power, striking the puppet and sending it flying.
The tables had turned. Where once Gaara had been pressed down mercilessly, now he dominated without pause. Chakra poured from him endlessly, like a flood breaking loose.
"This Gaara… he's far stronger than when he was in Sunagakure."
"Stronger? This is evolution! At this rate, his power is already at Kage level!"
"You're exaggerating, aren't you?"
In the original story, Gaara had indeed become the Fifth Kazekage through the power of the One-Tail, his strength reaching the level of a Kage. But compared to Kaede or even Minato, he was still far behind.
Even so, against Sasori now, it was complete domination.
The puppets were shattered one after another beneath Gaara's relentless assault. No technique could withstand his overwhelming power. Within a few crushing blows, Sasori's creations were reduced to fragments, scattered and motionless on the ruined battlefield.
(End of Chapter)
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