ShuraZero
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Chapter 68: The Weight of Sand
🕑 Added 2025-08-23 20:35:50 +0000 UTC"Am I the only one who gets a bad feeling from this place?" Kiba's voice was a low growl, a complaint that cut through the tense silence of the march. "Akamaru won't stop trembling."
The small ninken let out a pitiful whine from inside Kiba's jacket, its claws scratching at the fabric. The gesture, more than his words, conveyed an urgency that made the rest of the group sharpen their senses.
"This place stinks," Kiba continued, wrinkling his nose. "And not like a swamp. Akamaru's sensing something, and he doesn't like it one bit."
"Fear is a constant variable in this environment," Shino replied, his figure nearly camouflaged in the shadows of the trees. "Logic dictates that discretion is the priority, not speed."
"Your logic won't save us if something jumps out at us," Kiba retorted. "We need to move."
Sakura, walking in the center of the group, stopped. She felt a vibration through the soles of her sandals, one that didn't correspond to an animal's movement. It was deeper, more violent.
"I feel vibrations," she said, her voice a sharp whisper. "In the ground. About nine hundred meters east. Like the earth is breaking apart."
Karin stopped short, her face turning pale.
"It's chakra," she murmured, her eyes wide behind her glasses. "I feel something… big. And furious. Multiple energy flows, clashing. It's a fight."
Hinata didn't need the confirmation; her senses were already focused in that direction. With the veins around her eyes pronounced from the activated Byakugan, her gaze pierced the dense foliage as if it weren't there.
"She's right," she confirmed, her voice losing its timidness and taking on a commanding tone. "There are six chakra signatures. One of them is immense, volatile. Two more are with it. The other three are desperate, about to be extinguished."
"Six? One team against another," Shikamaru analyzed, his usual laziness replaced by sharp focus. "How troublesome."
"Let's go check it out!" Kiba exclaimed, excitement overcoming his fear. "If they're weak, we could get an easy scroll."
"No," Sasuke's word was like a slab of ice. "It's an unnecessary risk. Let them kill each other."
"Ignoring such a large power source is more dangerous than observing it from a safe distance," Shikamaru said, his logic cutting through the argument. "We need to know what it is. It could be our next opponent. It's a matter of information gathering. What a drag."
Shikamaru's logic was irrefutable. With a grunt from Kiba and a furious glare from Sasuke, the group changed course, moving with a new purpose toward the source of the disturbance.
They found a small, weed-covered hill that offered a perfect view of a marshy clearing. What they saw chilled them to the bone.
Three ninja from the Village Hidden in the Rain, with sinister-looking umbrellas on their backs, were launching a desperate attack.
"Take this! Rain of a Thousand Needles!"
One of them opened his umbrella, and a shower of senbon rained down on a red-haired boy who stood motionless in the center of the clearing, an expression of utter boredom on his face.
Not a single needle touched him.
A layer of fine, swirling sand rose from the ground and the gourd on his back, forming an impenetrable spherical shield. The sound of thousands of senbon striking the sand was like a torrential downpour on a roof: dry, useless.
"His chakra..." Hinata whispered, her Byakugan active. "He's not just controlling the sand. The sand itself is alive; it has its own chakra signature. It moves to protect him before he even thinks it."
"A symbiotic defense," Shino murmured. "Fascinating. And illogical."
Sakura's analytical mind processed the defense's structure. It has no blind spots. It's not a jutsu that he activates; it's just there. It's like a law of nature around him.
The red-haired boy, Gaara, raised a hand with deadly laziness.
"Sabaku Kyū."
The sand shot out and enveloped one of the Rain ninja in a spherical cocoon. The man screamed, a muffled, terrified sound that was cut off abruptly.
"Sabaku Sōsō."
Gaara closed his fist.
The sound that followed was a wet, nauseating crunch. A dark red liquid began to seep through the sand, dripping onto the swamp floor.
Ino stifled a scream, covering her mouth with her hands. Choji looked away, his face pale.
The other two Rain ninja, paralyzed with horror, tried to flee. It was a mistake. The sand caught them, trapping their legs and dragging them back. Their screams were brief, choked off by the torrent that filled their lungs before their bodies were encased and crushed.
The Konoha group watched from the shadows, petrified. That wasn't a battle; it was an execution. The casual brutality and the complete lack of emotion on Gaara's face were more terrifying than any war cry.
When it was over, the sand receded, leaving three unrecognizable lumps on the ground. The silence was absolute.
And then, Gaara stopped.
He turned his head slowly. His pupil-less, aqua-green eyes locked directly onto their hiding spot. He wasn't searching for them; he knew exactly where they were.
The terror was instant and total. Akamaru let out a whine and hid completely inside Kiba's jacket. Kiba himself gasped, his muscles frozen. Karin let out a small shriek of panic that was muffled by Sakura's hand.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan on pure instinct. He saw the immense and violent chakra swirling around Gaara and, for the first time, felt that his own power was insignificant.
Shortly after, inside the central tower that marked the end of the test, the tension was different, but no less intense. Gaara's team had also arrived.
The silence that filled the hall was broken when Gaara fixed his attention on them. His presence dominated the room, replacing any of the Konoha group's internal rivalries with a primal fear.
Sakura observed him, her analytical mind working at full speed. She saw the sand swirling around him, a perfect defense with no blind spots. She analyzed his chakra: a vast, stable, yet incredibly volatile reserve.
Hinata, with her Byakugan, saw the chakra of Shukaku sealed within him, a swirl of hatred contained in a fragile human shell. The sight made her dizzy; it was a malevolence so concentrated it was almost physically painful.
And Sasuke, with his Sharingan, saw absolute power. An ability that transcended training and effort. An innate power, like his own, but on a scale that humiliated him.
Gaara's gaze swept over the nine from Konoha. a slow, chilling smile formed on his face. He took a step forward.
"More insects from the same nest," he said, his voice like sand on stone. "I was interrupted before. I think I'll finish my hunt now."
Temari and Kankuro instantly moved to intercept him.
"Gaara, stop!" Temari said, her voice urgent. "We're done. We have the scrolls. We've passed. There's no need to fight."
"She's right," Kankuro added, sweating visibly. "Look at them, there are nine of them. And that one is an Uchiha. Attacking them here is stupid, a waste of energy before the finals."
Gaara didn't even look at them. His eyes were fixed on Sasuke.
"They're weak. Numbers mean nothing."
"Maybe," Temari replied, her strategic mind searching for the right argument. "But there's a Hyuga with the Byakugan, that redhead is a sensor, and the Uchiha has the Sharingan. An ambush would be impossible, and a direct fight would draw the proctors' attention. It's a bad move, Gaara. Father wouldn't approve of such a reckless action."
The mention of their father was the key. Gaara's bloodlust, almost a physical entity in the room, faltered. The authority of his creator was the only leash that could restrain him.
He hesitated. His gaze locked on Sasuke one last time, a promise of a future battle.
"Fine," he finally said. "I'll kill him later. When it's more entertaining."
He turned and walked away with his siblings, leaving the Konoha group trembling but intact. The tension in the room didn't lessen; it just changed. The fear of Gaara was replaced by the raw reality of the power gap they had just witnessed. Sasuke's fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white, his face a mask of fury and humiliation. He hadn't just been threatened; he had been dismissed, his murder postponed like a trivial chore. The need for power, the need for what Orochimaru had offered him, became an absolute certainty.
Meanwhile, on a high branch overlooking the tower, Kakashi Hatake watched in silence. He was not alone.
A figure in a porcelain weasel mask appeared beside him in a silent flash.
"Orders for Kakashi Hatake. Directly from the Hokage."
Kakashi didn't look away from the tower. The silhouettes of his students were barely visible through a window.
"I'm listening."
"The threat is confirmed. It's Orochimaru," the ANBU said, his voice devoid of emotion. "A level-A security cordon has been decreed. Your mission is changing: your priority is no longer the genin's survival. It is the capture or elimination of Uchiha Sasuke if he attempts to defect."
Kakashi remained motionless. The wind stirred his silver hair. The order was a death sentence. His duty was no longer just that of a teacher. It was that of a potential executioner.
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Ari Gómez García
You're welcome My friend 🙂↕️
travis btmb
Tftc
