Just as Sasuke predicted, the battle had only just begun.
To prevent any bystanders from getting hurt, Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned his personal sealing team to erect a Four Violet Flames Formation around the preliminary match arena.
However, this created a new problem.
Seeing the barrier go up, Might Guy asked in a serious tone, "If they are in mortal danger, how are we supposed to intervene?"
"I wouldn't worry about that," Kakashi Hatake replied after a moment's thought. He gestured to the empty roof above them and added quietly, "Besides, Naruto knows what he's doing. He won't hurt innocent people."
"That's a relief," Might Guy nodded.
Kakashi shook his head and patted his friend's shoulder. "And a defensive barrier of that level couldn't stop Naruto's attacks anyway."
Might Guy: "..."
In fact, Kakashi was right. The battle on the field grew more intense.
Gaara manipulated masses of yellow sand, chasing Naruto across the arena. He strategically left piles of sand behind, gradually shrinking the space Naruto had to move.
But the blond genin showed no signs of weakness. A spiral bullet shot from his fingertip, speeding toward Gaara, only to be intercepted by a wall of sand.
"Spiral... Shockwave!"
A massive shockwave of chakra erupted from Naruto's hand, instantly shattering a series of sand walls. The force was so great that Gaara was finally forced to move, dodging the attack.
As Gaara dodged, the Spiral Shockwave slammed into the Four Violet Flames Formation, causing it to tremble violently. It was clear the sealing team was struggling to contain the power.
Kankuro watched the battle nervously. "Temari, why isn't Gaara using his Absolute Defense...?"
"He can't," Temari replied, shaking her head. Her voice began to tremble slightly. "Gaara must believe his Absolute Defense won't be enough to block that attack."
She continued, "If he used it, he'd be stuck in one place, a sitting duck. With the power of that blond kid's jutsu... the chances of it breaking through his defense are high."
Temari's guess was spot on. After witnessing the power of the Spiral Shockwave, Gaara didn't dare risk using his Absolute Defense, which left him in a dangerous situation.
A giant hand of sand formed and lunged for Naruto, but it was immediately shattered by another Spiral Shockwave.
"In that case, how will you defend?" Gaara's eyes darkened as he slammed his hands on the ground. Fueled by his chakra, the stone floor dissolved into sand, transforming the entire arena into a small desert.
Gaara glanced at Naruto, whose feet were now sinking into the ground, and roared, "Cascading Sand Flow!"
Under his command, the desert churned, and a massive wave of sand rose into the air. It grew higher and higher, rushing toward Naruto and leaving him with no room to escape. The towering wave looked like it was about to swallow him whole. The blond genin seemed impossibly small against such a god-like display of power...
"Wind Style: Spiral Hurricane!"
A cyclone of chakra formed in Naruto's palm, and he thrust it forward into the overwhelming wave of sand. The simple Spiral Shockwave expanded rapidly, creating ripples in the air that covered the entire width of the sand wave, blowing away all the sand in its path.
His ninjutsu research had paid off once again. He had effectively used the principles of the Rasengan to create a horizontal tornado, completely dismantling Gaara's attack.
The Sand ninja wasn't discouraged. The entire arena was now his desert. Suddenly, two streams of sand shot up from the ground and wrapped around Naruto's legs. This time, Gaara had caught him.
More sand surged toward Naruto, crawling up his legs and threatening to envelop his entire body.
Gaara extended his palm, his expression cold. "Finally caught you..." he said in a low voice.
"Really?" Naruto allowed the sand to cover him completely, but his eyes remained fixed on Gaara, a confident smile still on his face.
Gaara suddenly clenched his fist, a vicious look twisting his young face. "Sand Burial!"
Aside from Team 7, the spectators watching from the sidelines grew tense.
"Sealing Jutsu: Devour!"
But the mass of sand, under Gaara's control, didn't crush Naruto as expected. Instead, it simply crumbled and fell away from his body.
Gaara's expression shifted to one of disbelief as his opponent reappeared, unharmed. "The chakra in the sand... it's gone..."
What terrified him even more was the swirling cyclone of chakra already forming in Naruto's hand.
"Spiral Shockwave!"
Naruto swung his palm, and a blast of azure chakra shot out, aimed directly at Gaara. A sand wall automatically rose to protect him, but the Spiral Shockwave tore through it instantly, sending Gaara flying.
He landed hard, and cracks spread across his face as the defensive shell of sand that coated his body slowly shattered and fell away.
On the viewing platform, Kankuro's face paled. "Gaara's defense was completely broken by that guy! How on earth did he escape the Sand Burial?"
This was something that had never happened before.
Beside him, Temari shook her head, a cold sweat forming on her brow. "I don't know. Maybe he knew he couldn't be controlled from the start... No... how is that possible..."
"Hey, Temari, what's wrong?"
"Kankuro!" The Sand kunoichi grabbed her brother's arm, her voice trembling. "That kid could have broken Gaara's defense long ago. He was just... waiting for a chance to land a clean hit..."
"What do we do now?"
"Go find our team leader, quickly!" Temari ordered, letting go of his arm. "Hurry, get Baki-sensei over here. Best case, Gaara surrenders... worst case, that monster inside him is going to awaken here!"
Temari was right. The Spiral Shockwave had hit Gaara head-on, shattering his defenses and injuring him severely. In his current state, Gaara couldn't continue the fight.
Down on the field, he watched his sand armor crumble away. He reached up to touch his wound and let out a creepy, low laugh. "Blood... heh heh heh... my blood..."
Then, a cruel light entered his eyes. He glared at Naruto, who was walking toward him, and screamed, "I'm going to kill you!"
Gaara's body began to swell grotesquely as a frantic, unstable chakra poured out of him. He had already transformed into a half-human, half-beast monstrosity. He stretched out a huge, malformed claw and lunged at Naruto.
"So you're finally out?" Naruto calmly watched the monstrous claw come at him. He raised his own fist, and as a ring of chakra shattered around it, he declared, "But it's still not enough... Spiral Punch!"
-----
Bonus:
Gaara: Shukaku, get out here and kill someone!
Shukaku: Fine. You take a nap, I'll take your body.
Naruto: Nine-Tails, you up for a fight?
Nine-Tails: Let's do it!
Shukaku: Oh, crap... it's that jerk Nine-Tails... Gaara, what are you doing sleeping?! Wake up and surrender