Central Tower Examination Arena
Sakura's composite ninjutsu, the Water Bullet, had hit Gaara. As expected, Gaara's sand couldn't keep up with the speed of her charged water bullet.
Gaara wasn't a speed-type ninja. She didn't need to use a technique to trap him; as long as she focused, hitting him wouldn't be a problem.
However, the preparation time for those two water bullets was a bit long, and they consumed a considerable amount of chakra. If she could fire them instantly, she could unleash a barrage like a machine gun.
Without charging, the water bullets probably wouldn't be faster than the sand. Sigh, her control still wasn't refined enough. She'd need to train more after the preliminaries.
Gaara had already stood up. Layers of a sand-like shell were falling from his shoulders. His expression was twisted, and the sand around him was constantly clinging to his body, turning the same color as his skin.
"Ah... What's happening...? What's falling off of him?" Naruto asked, bewildered by the strange scene.
"That's the Shield of Sand. Fine grains of sand formed from sand can attach to his body, increasing his defense. It's one aspect of his absolute defense," Kankuro explained to Naruto, having recovered from his shock at seeing Gaara sent flying.
"Then Sakura-chan's attack was useless?!" Naruto realized.
"Yes... Although the attack hit Gaara, it didn't cause any damage," Kankuro confirmed.
"How can that be...?" Naruto looked at Gaara in disbelief.
Gaara was indeed unharmed. Sakura saw him stand up, the Shield of Sand reforming on his body, but there was no sign of blood. She knew that she had only knocked him back, not pierced his shoulders.
Sakura suddenly felt she should develop her wind or lightning affinities. Although her Water Cutter and Water Bullet techniques were powerful, they weren't as destructive as wind or lightning. Water's penetrating power simply couldn't compare to lightning. To increase damage, she had to rely on accumulating chakra, and she was the type who was often short on chakra.
"Is that all you've got?" Gaara asked.
"........" Sakura had no response. Most of her abilities were support-based. If her attack methods were countered, it was difficult for her to find a way to decisively defeat her opponent.
Seeing Sakura's silence, Gaara attacked. Sand filled the arena, surging towards Sakura, trying to capture her.
Sakura hurriedly dodged, but the sand's speed was considerable. She was forced to jump into the air, and the sand followed closely, reaching for her.
With nowhere to dodge in mid-air, Sakura was caught. She was instantly pulled to the ground, the surrounding sand quickly enveloping her. With no other choice, she once again unleashed a massive burst of chakra to blast away the surrounding sand.
She had to attack Gaara directly. The arena was now filled with sand; no matter how fast she was, there would be a moment when she'd be caught.
After another chakra blast to repel the sand, Sakura raised her hands, half-crouching. Then, water bullets fired like a machine gun towards Gaara.
Gaara was immediately covered by a wall of sand. The Shield of Sand blocked all of Sakura's attacks; not a single water bullet hit him.
"Why aren't Sakura-chan's attacks working! They worked before, didn't they?" Naruto asked, bewildered by the blocked attacks.
"Idiot, Sakura-chan's previous attack was charged up before being fired. These are just ordinary water bullets," Sasuke explained, his Sharingan observing everything clearly.
"Damn it, how is he so strong...?" Naruto watched, frustrated, as Sakura was forced onto the defensive.
Sakura was in a desperate situation. Calm down, think of a way to deal with this. Her opponent had once again taken advantage of the terrain. No, he had created a terrain advantageous to himself.
Why did she always encounter these types of opponents? Sakura felt a pang of frustration. From Zabuza to the Hidden Rain trio in the Forest of Death, they all used the terrain to their advantage. Although she had always won, it had always been a close call.
She considered what terrain advantages she could use. Earth Release, but she hadn't learned any offensive Earth Release ninjutsu. Water Release... she could use Water Release, but her Water Cutter and Water Bullet techniques offered no advantage in terms of terrain. Then there were some trapping and defensive techniques.
As Sakura stopped attacking, Gaara emerged from behind his sand shield. Seeing her pause, the sand on the ground surged towards her once more. Sakura hurriedly dodged the approaching sand.
"It seems your teammate has reached her limit!" Kankuro said, seeing Sakura struggling to defend.
"No way! Sakura-chan will definitely defeat that Gaara," Naruto retorted stubbornly.
"The sand now covers the entire arena. Your teammate's own speed isn't faster than the sand, and the attack that sent Gaara flying earlier seemed to require preparation time. Now, just dodging the sand is difficult enough. Defeat is inevitable," Kankuro analyzed the situation.
Kankuro naturally hoped Sakura would lose, but it wasn't because he wanted Gaara to win. He didn't care whether Gaara won or lost. Kankuro was only concerned about Gaara not unleashing the Tailed Beast here, as it would disrupt their plans. Sakura definitely couldn't win against Gaara, but he feared that she might push Gaara too far, and that would be disastrous.
Sasuke, hearing Kankuro's words, scoffed in disdain. He had already observed the sand's weakness with his Sharingan, and it was a weakness that only Sakura could exploit.
Hurry up and figure it out. Don't disappoint me, Sasuke thought silently, urging Sakura on.
Sakura's situation was precarious. Although she had ample chakra, she lacked effective attack methods. She had considered using Quagmire of the Underworld, but Gaara could simply lay sand over the swamp or use the sand to float himself, rendering it useless.
The Water Prison Technique wouldn't be very effective either. Even if she trapped him, Gaara could use his sand to attack her and break the prison. For the first time, Sakura regretted only learning trapping ninjutsu. The Quagmire of the Underworld, which had always been so effective, was completely useless against Gaara, and her Water Release offensive ninjutsu were limited by their elemental nature. Against such absolute defense, she felt powerless.
Finally, Sakura made a mistake. As she dodged to the side to avoid the sand attacking from the front, she crashed into a sand wall that had been secretly prepared beside her.
Gaara, observing Sakura's dodging patterns, had predicted where she might move. In a feint attack, he had driven Sakura to the predetermined location and captured her directly.
"Sand Binding Coffin!"
"I've caught you," Gaara said, his eyes devoid of emotion. "It's over."
"Sand Waterfall Funeral!" Gaara extended a hand, making a grasping motion in the air, activating his ninjutsu.
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