Stomping

"Begin!"

Not waiting for my opponent to move, I raised my arms and huge amounts of sand started flowing out of the ground; Before the match started, I had thought ahead and spread my chakra across the battlefield... Breaking down the minerals in the soil.

Picturing Shukaku's arm, I made the sand converge in front of Choji, slowly turning it into a massive arm that almost reached the audience in height.

Its claws were blue, and vein-like patterns spread across its surface. Choji stood under the arms shadow, visibly scared.

Lowering my arms with force, the massive sand-arm sped towards Choji, slamming him against the wall and creating a huge crater.

Knowing that it was over, I retrieved my chakra and the arm dissolved, revealing an unconscious Choji who's body encrusted in the wall.

The fat covering his body had mitigated most of the impact, leaving him with only a few broken bones and a concussion... I made sure to go easy on him.

"Incredible...!"

After a brief moment of silence, the arena came alive. People started clapping and cheered as loudly as they could, filling the arena with noise.

"That was amazing!"

"Did you see that?! The claw-thing was so huge that I felt it was coming for me!"

"Unbelievable... How fast was that?!"

Ignoring the crowd's chants, I sent Genma a look. Snapping back from his shock, he flickered next to the unconscious Choji and checked his condition.

"The winner is Gaara of the Desert! Akimichi Choji is unable to continue!"

After getting confirmation, I gathered sand around me and flickered into the participant's area, landing right beside to Kiyo and Shira.

Feeling everyone's eyes on me, I leaned against the wall like usual and crossed my arms.

"Good job, Gaara. That was a splendid fight."

Temari came up to me and offered her congratulations. I just shrugged, uninterested.

"You call that a fight? That Choji guy was just a weakling... Nothing to be happy about."

As Temari struggled for the right words to say, a familiar voice interrupted our conversation.

"Hey, You... No brows! Take that back!"

Naruto walked up to me and grabbed me by the collar, a visible look of anger in his face. I looked at him dead in the eye, and I felt something. There was something about his look... Something compelling... Almost overpowering.

"Back off... Kid."

Temari and Kankuro immediately flickered behind Naruto, ready to take him down. Even so, I stopped them.

"It's fine... No need."

Seeing this, Naruto clenched my collar even harder and came head-to-head with me.

"You're always walking around with your stuck up attitude... As if we were nothing but cockroaches... I'll defeat you... Mark my words, Dattyebayo!"

Looking back at Naruto, I mistakenly let some of Shukaku's personality erode me... A sadistic smile appeared on my face, clearly frightening Naruto and making him take a step back.

"Naruto... You're the same as me... There's a monster inside of you..."

Naruto was clearly shocked by my words. He took a few more steps back, clearly confused as to why I knew this.

"How...?"

Leaving him all confused, I turned around and headed back to my corner and started meditating. There was no use talking to someone that headstrong.

"Gaara! Kill that brat right now!"

Suddenly, Shukaku's voice resounded in my head. This was the first time I had seen him this angry...

"He's the Jinchuriki of that cursed fox! I can feel his presence, and it's making my blood boil! Kill him!"

To make me comply, Shukaku started flooding me with his chakra. Frowning, I controlled it and successfully stopped it from eroding my mind.

"Stay put, Shukaku... Your enmities have nothing to do with me."

"You..."

Ignoring the raccoon's antics, I watched as the next match took place.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

***[Third-Person POV]***

"Now for the second fight, Kankurō vs Hyūga Neji!"

"Finally..."

Hearing Genmas' words, Kankurō smiled... Licking his lips. He had been anxiously waiting for a chance to fight.

"Kankurō, don't go overboard, ok?"

"Hai, hai, Temari-Sama~"

Not too far away, Neji looked at his opponent's nonchalant attitude, making a vicious expression.

'You'll pay for underestimating the Hyūga clan... Insect!'

...

Down in the sand-filled arena, both contestants stared at each other, neither of them choosing to back down.

Smiling, Neji spoke in a provoking manner.

"Kankurō... Was it? You're that red-haired guy's lackey, right?"

"Heh, you've got a venomous tongue there, boy. Let's see if you can still talk after I'm done with you."

Kankurō smiled, unaffected by Neji's comments. Gaara's were usually more unpleasant anyway.

"I'll show you what strength is... Byakugan!"

As veins popped out of the corners of his eyes, Neji bent his knee and extended one arm backward, the other one facing forward. This was his signature stance.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'll show you what defeat tastes like..."

Kankurō pulled on one of the bandages that were wrapped around his arms, and they all started spinning around, revealing what was underneath.

Making grinding noises, Karasu was revealed, hovering in front of Kankurō. Its head shifted in different directions and its three eyes gave off an eerie vibe.

Once both of them were ready, Genma raised his arm.

"Begin!"

Kankurō immediately went on the offensive, sending out Karasu at insane speeds. Neji stood there, waiting for it to arrive.

Once it was close enough, Neji release chakra from all of his tenketsu and started spinning wildly. Suddenly, a massive dome of twisting blue chakra enveloped his body.

"Hakkeshō Kaiten!"

Neji timed it perfectly, meaning Kankurō was unable to stop Karasu's momentum before it got hit directly. With a loud bang, Karasu was sent flying back towards its owner.

"What?"

Although it hadn't been seriously damaged, Karasu had lost one of its four arms due to the impact. Picking it up, Neji smirked and threw it back at Kankurō.

"This is yours, I believe."

"Tch... Annoying brat. Don't get full of yourself because you hit Karasu once."

Kankurō looked angry on the surface, but in his head, he was already thinking of countermeasures for the spinning technique.

"Say what you want, but your puppets aren't going to get through my Revolving-Heaven technique."

"Revolving heaven, huh? We'll see about that!"

Reaching into his pocket, Kankurō retrieved a scroll. Opening it, he flowed his chakra inside and subsequently released a cloud of smoke.

"..."

Neji's Byakugan could see through the smoke, and what he saw made him frown.

There was another puppet, but this one was twice the size of its owner. It was covered in a black, tattered cloak which it's enormous, spike-covered arms protruded out of.

And above all... It faces. Looking at it, even the apathetic Neji felt a little weird.

The puppet itself had a layer of synthetic skin, that was melted on one side of its face. Coupled with its misplaced eyes and abnormally sharp teeth, Neji could only describe it as horrendous.

Smiling, Kankurō spoke while still inside the smoke cloud.

"Mezawari... Go!"

----------------------------

(AN: There are currently THREE advanced chapters available!

If any of you want to support me and get early access chapters, check out my p.a.t.r.e.o.n. at toxinfraser. Just type p.a.t.r.e.o.n.com/toxinfraser

I appreciate everyone on there!

Thank you, and thanks for reading/supporting this fic!)