Chapter 141 Sand Waterfall Funeral, Collecting Rent from Kurama

Gaara didn't seem to move a single finger; the sand revolved and flowed around him as if alive, forming an invisible barrier.

"Keep faking it, then."

Naruto's main body saw Gaara continuously keeping his arms crossed without moving, and his lips twitched slightly, feeling a bit speechless.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru hadn't been present, making it inappropriate to display his overwhelmingly powerful Kage-level strength, Naruto would have instantly defeated Gaara with a single move.

However, even without using his ultimate moves, dealing with Gaara was still very simple.

"Since that's the case, I'll play with you for a while."

Naruto's main body also crossed his arms, not intending to act personally.

Instead, his dispersed Shadow Clones formed hand signs, opened their mouths, and unleashed Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.

One Great Breakthrough might be nothing, but dozens of Great Breakthroughs attacking from all directions led to a qualitative change, combining into a greenish wind that swept over Gaara in the center.

"It's Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"With such a quantity of Great Breakthroughs, their power cannot be underestimated."

"Using Shadow Clones to perform a combination jutsu? With the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki's Chakra, this fighting style is quite suitable."

The spectators in the second-floor stands had varied expressions.

"Hmph, mere parlor tricks." Kankuro, holding his puppet Crow, scoffed with disdain.

Whoosh!

The air beside Gaara seemed to condense automatically! A large mass of sand appeared out of nowhere as if teleporting, instantly forming a thick, spherical sand shield that blocked the hurricane coming from all directions.

For a moment, it was as if a sandstorm had erupted within the arena.

The Great Breakthroughs, carrying countless grains of sand, raged both inside and outside the venue.

Amidst the murky yellow dust, Gaara was expressionless, but he silently conjured a Sand Eye, which opened quietly above his head, vigilantly scanning his surroundings.

"Buzz—!"

Suddenly, an incredibly sharp tearing sound ripped through the dust, accompanied by a blinding blue light!

"What is that?!" Sakura exclaimed in shock.

A Shadow Clone descended from the sky, piercing through the sand and dust, with a furiously spinning, ear-splitting blue Chakra sphere—a Rasengan—condensed in its right palm!

Gaara's Sand Eye captured this fatal blow!

The automatic defensive sand shield condensed once more.

But this time, the speed and power of the Rasengan far surpassed the previous Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

"Boom!!"

A deafening roar echoed within the arena! The Rasengan slammed violently into the sand shield, the blue Chakra sphere and the yellow sand shield fiercely grinding, compressing, and erupting with dazzling light, while the massive shockwave instantly dispersed the surrounding sand and dust!

"Crack—crack—."

Clear cracking sounds could be heard.

As the sand shield broke, the Shadow Clone continued its momentum, pushing the Rasengan into the sand shield.

To everyone's horror, the seemingly impenetrable Sand Armor on Gaara's left shoulder, which even Lee's Reverse Lotus had failed to completely break, was forcefully drilled open by the terrifying rotational force of the Rasengan, and spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread across a small area!

Fine grains of sand fell!

"What?! It—it broke through his Absolute Defense?!" Temari shrieked, her face pale.

Baki's face was terrifyingly grim as he quickly wrote something in his notebook: "The quality and quantity of the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki's Chakra are starting to show… and this Ninjutsu—"

"It's not over yet."

Unbeknownst to them, one Shadow Clone after another, each holding a Rasengan, appeared around him, attacking one after another.

However.

For the first time, Gaara's eyes truly showed a ripple—it was the shock of being wounded by an ant, followed by a chilling killing intent!

"Sand Binding Coffin!"

Gaara's voice carried an unprecedented coldness and fury.

He no longer held back, and a large amount of sand, like a bursting dam, surged wildly from his gourd and the ground beneath his feet, inundating more than half of the arena like a tide, instantly enveloping and swallowing the surrounding Shadow Clones, and even Naruto's main body!

The sand layered itself, forming a massive and heavy yellow sand sphere in the blink of an eye, imprisoning the Shadow Clones within, and the sand sphere contracted and compressed inward at a visible speed!

It was the Sand Waterfall Funeral!!

"Naruto!"

Hyuga Hinata and Ino Yamanaka cried out in fear.

The two girls, worried and distraught, wished they could immediately rush down to save him, but Kurenai Yuhi temporarily held them back.

"This is bad… the Nine-Tailed Chakra is being forcibly stimulated… if this continues…

Kakashi Hatake's hand was already on his forehead protector.

And Might Guy, Asuma Sarutobi, and other Jonin, all became tense.

As for Gekkō Hayate, it was no longer something a Special Jonin like him could intervene in.

The only people who could make the Konoha Village experts so nervous, apart from the Hyuga Clan's young lady, were probably Naruto, as the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki.

In the original work.

The battle between Hyuga Hinata and Hyuga Neji.

Hyuga Neji almost accidentally killed Hyuga Hinata at the end, and was restrained and saved by Ninja like Gekkō Hayate, Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma Sarutobi.

Inside the sand sphere, Naruto felt terrifying pressure coming from all directions, but with his physique and the defense of the Dragon Slayer Set in his [Equipment Slot], the pressure from a mere Sand Waterfall Funeral couldn't break his defense at all.

"How should I act next?"

"All the summoned Shadow Clones have been crushed by Gaara's Sand Waterfall Funeral."

"I got it—"

Naruto's eyes lit up, and he immediately went to the sealed space to collect rent from Kurama.

Outside the arena.

The Konoha Village Ninja were extremely nervous.

They were afraid that something big would happen.

If the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki were crushed to death by the One-Tailed Jinchuriki of the Hidden Sand Village, then the Chunin Exams would become a huge mess.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped smoking his pipe, frowned deeply, and his hand under his Hokage robe involuntarily clenched.

However, Gaara, who was overflowing with killing intent, gradually showed a strange and serious expression.

One Sand Binding Coffin after another had already been crushed.

Only the Sand Binding Coffin enveloping Naruto remained motionless, as if the sand had wrapped around an indestructible bedrock.

"Grrrraah—!!!"

Just at this critical moment, a violent, scorching, and hate-filled crimson Chakra erupted like a volcanic explosion from the cracks in the sand sphere!

The Chakra was so ferocious that it even let out a beast-like roar!

The binding sand was forcibly pushed open and torn apart by this power!

"Bang—"

The massive sand sphere exploded with a roar! Yellow sand splattered everywhere, like a sand rain!

Amidst the smoke and dust, a half-human, half-fox figure appeared.

Naruto, the actor, panted heavily, with multiple abrasions on his body, but what was most striking was—his fingernails had grown long and sharp, like a beast's claws, and his blue eyes now had pupils constricted into cold, wild, crimson vertical slits!

Strands of golden-red Chakra pulsed and surged around his body like restless flames!

"This is the Nine-Tailed power."

Kakashi Hatake lifted his forehead protector, his Sharingan instantly activating, observing Naruto's state with a grave expression, "His body must be forcibly enduring it—it's too dangerous!"