Eyesore

Oh crap.

The puppet's whole body started spinning, and it started to drill through my shield at rapid speed.

Soon, it would reach the heart-sand layer...

Backing away while gasping for air, I suppressed my panic and cleared my mind.

Thinking quickly, I started infusing as much chakra as I could into the sand. The shield hardened its grip, and the puppet started slowing down. I also drew more sand from outside to reinforce it.

The puppet continued drilling through, but with the constant grip and sand supply, it was visibly coming to a halt.

After what felt like the longest few seconds of my life, the massive needle's tip was only a few centimeters away from my forehead. Somehow, I managed to stop it.

"..."

The laughing voice from earlier had now turned silent. I quickly commanded the shield to grab onto the puppet, refusing to let go.

But suddenly, the puppet's arms started shaking and making strange noises. The metallic needles disappeared, being replaced by compressed air currents.

The air blasted my sand away, and the puppet retreated once again as I looked on in shock.

"I really didn't expect you to stop that... You really are the son of that filthy Rasa."

"You know me?! Aren't you afraid of the consequences?"

The voice turned shrill once more, assaulting my ears.

"Afraid? Who's afraid! At first, I thought that you were just some strong brat that managed to defeat that dumb woman. But seeing you manipulate sand like that... There's no doubt."

The voice then started laughing maniacally.

"It's my lucky day! I never expected the Kazekage's son to just appear right at my doorstep! I can finally wash away my shame by bathing in your blood!"

The puppet's arms started releasing even faster air currents that made them spin with unprecedented speed. They almost looked like miniature tornadoes.

"See you in hell!"

Steeling myself, I watched the puppet speed towards me. The sand shield reacted but was blown away instantly. Raising my arms, I braced myself for the impact.

'BOOM!'

With a loud bang, I was knocked away... Hitting the wall behind me.

...

"He's... dead! I did it!"

The puppet seemed to lose its control and fell on the ground, whilst a man appeared from the shadows. He was short and had a crooked back, with a massive scar covering half of his face.

He wore a black cloak that covered his whole body and was wearing no headband whatsoever.

With slow steps, the man came over to me and crouched down with a satisfied smile.

"I finally got my revenge... Because of that damn Rasa, I wasn't even able to become a genin! He exiled me from the village and I had to live my life as a mercenary!"

He laughed wildly, with a tinge of traumatic fear in his eyes as he remembered the past.

"Thanks to this scar, I became unrecognizable... And thus managed to enter the village once more as a citizen. Ever since then, I have been thinking of revenge while staying under the radar... Who would have thought that you would be kind enough to deliver yourself to me?!"

His laughter filled the tavern once more, but this time it was cut short.

"So that's why you attacked me... I understand now."

(AN: You knew that this was coming! Play this song to enjoy the experience more! http://bit.ly/2RQ2ba8 )

Sand started to gather at the man's feet, locking him in place. He struggled hard but wasn't able to free himself... Larger amounts of sand then started to cover his entire body bit by bit.

"What? You're alive?! Wait... your face! it's cracking!"

His expression was full of shock as my skin seemed to peel off. I got up from the floor and removed the sand armor.

"Man, that was a strong punch... I would've died if that had hit me."

"Impossible! Even if you had armor... The impact should have been enough to kill a mere kid!"

Laughing, I pointed at the wall behind me. The man shifted his gaze there and his expression went from shocked to scared.

The wall had a thick layer of sand on it. It had cushioned me enough to reduce most of the impact to nothing.

"Heh, you tried your best. I'll give you that, but now... You're dead."

As if denying my words, the man managed to free one of his hands, activating his chakra and sending strings to his puppet. It shook a little but didn't get up.

"Wait... Why isn't Mezawari moving?!"

Filled with incredulity, the man kept switching his focus from the puppet to me and vice versa.

Well, you really thought that I would let you use that ugly puppet again, huh? Smirking, I explained why this was happening.

"As soon as your puppet hit my shield for the first time, I started to silently fill its joints with small grains of sand. After a while of accumulation, it has practically become a useless toy.

The man's eyes became round like golfballs, and the sand gathering around him encapsulated his figure completely, only leaving his face out.

"Sabaku... Kyū!" (Sand Coffin!)

With apparent difficulty, I slowly raised my arm and the sand started lifting the man in the air.

"Wh-What are you doing!? Put me down!"

Staying silent, I continued raising my arm. Once he reached a certain height, I looked at him dead in the eyes.

"I've never killed before. But I have resolved to do so... only if my life is in danger. You... My friend, have caused your own death. Don't blame me."

"Wait! We can figure this out! I-"

"Sabaku Sōsō!" (Sand Burial!)

The sand compressed, creating so much pressure that the man's body exploded. Blood started raining, and I was drenched from head to toe.

The stench was metallic and foul. Surprisingly, I'm not feeling anything even after killing for the first time.

In fact, I think that I somehow... Enjoyed it.

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In the corner of the room, Shira had finally dug out of the sand barrier Gaara had encapsulated him in. As soon as he came out, he saw something that would scar him for the rest of his life.

A kid about his age... With hair as red as the blood that was covering his entire body... was smiling.