From the night of genocide, marching towards the strongest.

As Sakura dodged Gaara's sand attacks, she moved closer to him. Suddenly, she took a step forward, and her speed exploded, making her much faster.

Caught off guard, Gaara charged at him like a galloping horse and delivered a powerful punch to Gaara's head.

"The Fourth Hokage's Body Flicker Technique!?"

Upon seeing Sakura's familiar Body Flicker Technique, Kurenai Yuhi's eyes narrowed, and she exclaimed in surprise.

For their generation, the legends of the First, Second, and Third Hokage, and even the Legendary Sannin, are somewhat distant.

Only the Fourth Hokage was someone they witnessed growing up in the Ninja Academy, from a Konoha Jonin to the legendary "Yellow Flash," and finally to the Fourth Hokage.

Although Kurenai Yuhi was not the Fourth Hokage's student, the Fourth Hokage was the most admired idol for her generation, and she had personally witnessed his fighting style.

"I think so..."

Sarutobi Asuma took a deep drag of his cigarette and replied with a hint of surprise in his voice.

The gap is really widening!

The two exchanged a glance, and the same thought simultaneously popped into their minds.

It's going to be tough for the little ones to catch up with Class 7.

After regaining their composure, the two fell silent and refocused their attention on the competition field.

'This guy actually has another layer of defense?'

After blasting Gaara away with a single punch, Sakura looked at Gaara as he slowly got up, her gaze slightly somber.

Click, click!

The Sand Armor covering Gaara's entire body shattered into pieces, scattering as sand that slid off Gaara's face.

Gently wiping away the blood that had spilled from the corner of his mouth, Gaara, instead of being angry, laughed, revealing a terrifying smile.

"Pain, how long has it been since I felt this way?"

"Hehehe, what a wonderful feeling..."

Gaara, who had calmed down considerably, suddenly unleashed a heavy and frenzied killing intent, which looked somewhat terrifying as his lips gradually cracked open.

Gaara is injured?

On the stands, Maki, Kankuro, and Temari were initially incredulous when they saw Sakura hit Gaara, but their hearts skipped a beat when they saw Gaara injured.

Seeing this unexpected scene, Maki felt somewhat uneasy.

In his view, Gaara's strength was enough to crush all the Konoha genin in the exam.

Even if he were injured, it would only be a minor injury. He should be a ninja from a prestigious family like the Uchiha or Hyuga clans, not this commoner ninja of unknown origin in front of him.

Lord Kazekage, is your decision really the right one?

Konoha may not be as weak as we imagine.

Maki couldn't help but turn his gaze to the "Fourth Generation Kazekage" in the central stands.

Chapter 148 Victory

"If I kill you, Mom will be very happy, won't she? Heh..."

On the field, Airo became manic after his injury.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

His bloodlust was burning within him, and all that remained in his mind was the thought of killing the girl before him!

Is this guy about to lose his mind?

Is this what a Jinchūriki is?

Faced with Gaara's bloodthirsty killing intent, Sakura frowned slightly. Gaara's killing intent was not as fierce and confident as Zabuza and Kisame Hoshigaki, whom she had encountered before, but he was superior in his crazy bloodlust. It seemed that what she was facing was not a person but a beast.

However, I'm determined to win!

Sakura's calm face suddenly broke into a smile, revealing a confident expression, as she took out a smoke bomb from her waist pouch.

"boom!"

Gaara's killing intent suddenly erupted, the gourd behind him exploded, turning into clouds of yellow sand, which swept towards Sakura with a wave of his hand.

At the same time, Sakura also threw the smoke bomb in her hand onto the ground. With a bang, a thick cloud of smoke appeared and covered her figure.

Gaara's eyes flashed with even more murderous intent, as clumps of yellow sand darted back and forth in the thick fog, trying to catch the vanished Sakura.

At the same time, a cloud of yellow sand above his head transformed into a sand eye, constantly scanning all directions to guard against possible sudden attacks.

Bang bang bang!

Suddenly, dozens of fist-sized jets of water, like bullets, burst forth from the thick fog behind Gaara and shot towards him.

Water Release: Kunai Barrage!

This is a B-rank water-style ninjutsu that Sakura learned from Yamato. It involves covering the flying shuriken with water, combining the impact and resilience of water-style ninjutsu with the cutting ability of shuriken!

That annoying water-style technique!

Gaara's face contorted with rage. As a sand manipulator, he detested water-style techniques the most.

He also knew how powerful Sakura's Water Release technique was; simple sand couldn't stop her Water Release.

A cloud of yellow sand blocked his way, and Gaara tried to mix the hardest minerals he had gathered from the earth into the sand using chakra, but...

"Um!?"

Gaara's ferocious expression froze for a moment, as he was completely unable to move the soil and rocks beneath his feet.

In a moment of stunned silence, the solid ground beneath Gaara's feet suddenly loosened, and his feet sank into the swamp. In an instant, the ground around him turned into a huge swamp!

Earth Escape·Yellow Quan Marsh!

Earth Release ninjutsu that turns the soil beneath the opponent's feet into liquid, forming a huge swamp that traps the opponent and prevents them from escaping, until the enemy is submerged in the swamp!

This ninjutsu is not just a simple application of Earth Release; it also involves some of the fluidity characteristics of Water Release.

"She can actually use earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic that can be used to escape)!"

On the platform, Kankuro's eyes widened in surprise upon seeing this, and he exclaimed in astonishment.

This female ninja from Konoha has always showcased her exceptional Water Release techniques. Kankuro originally thought she was just a Water Release ninja, but he never expected that she could also use Earth Release!

Maki, standing to the side, narrowed his eyes, his unease growing stronger.

Can Gaara win?

After Sakura used Earth Release, Gaara, who had always been confident in his strength, now had some doubts.

Boom!

Like a bullet, the water swarm shot through Gaara's yellow sand and then embedded itself in the automatic defense sand shield beside him.

Almost simultaneously, Sakura's figure burst out of the thick fog, a roar resounded, and a fist-sized blue ball of light condensed in her palm, spinning rapidly.

"Gaara, watch out behind you!"

Seeing this, Temari quickly reminded him loudly. On the field, Genma Shiranui frowned and looked at Temari with great dissatisfaction.

But Temari's effect was achieved; she reminded Gaara, causing him to reflexively look behind him.

With a wave of his right hand, he was about to gather yellow sand again to block Sakura's attack.

Sakura's sprinting steps changed slightly in an instant, her steps were like scattered flowers, and her figure was like a ghostly shadow.

Gaara was startled. In a daze, he seemed to see cherry blossoms rising up, and Sakura's figure disappeared in the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind. At the same time, he froze.

Leaf-like Willow!

Gaara was already in a very difficult position on the Swamp of the Dead, and with the addition of Konoha Ryuu's restraints, he could hardly move at all!

boom!

Sakura's Rasengan struck Gaara hard in the chest, exploding like a cannonball. A powerful shockwave mixed with countless grains of sand and dust flew everywhere. Gaara was also sent flying dozens of meters away, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a large amount of mud, rocks, and dust.

Won!

On the platform, Kakashi smiled slightly. He knew all too well the power of the Rasengan; even a Jinchuriki would be seriously injured if hit by it.

Gravel and bloodstains flew through the air!

"Wow!"

Gaara had just tried to get up when he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood and kneel on the ground. The rapidly spinning Rasengan shattered his Sand Armor.

After pressing it directly against his chest, the highly compressed chakra exploded, causing enormous damage to Gaara's body.

Finally, I hit this guy!

Seeing this, Sakura thought to herself.

After a brief exchange, Sakura realized that her opponent's difficulty lay not in his overwhelming sand attacks, but in his triple defense, which resembled a turtle wearing two layers of armor.

Controlling sand is one layer, the Sand Shield that defends itself is another layer, and finally, there is the Sand Armor that covers the whole body with sand!

Sakura's Rasengan can only break one layer of defense, while the Water Severing Wave can instantly shatter three layers of defense, but it consumes too much energy, takes too long to charge, and has too low a margin for error.

Sakura ultimately chose to use Earth Release and Water Release to bypass two of the defenses and finish the battle with Rasengan!

Judging from Gaara's condition, she succeeded!

Splash splash splash

Blood mixed with chunks of sand slid down Gaara's face.

"You've already lost, admit defeat!"

Sakura spoke without changing her expression.

Although she deeply disliked the guy who almost killed Ino, Sakura wasn't a bloodthirsty person and only wanted to teach him a lesson.

More importantly, Sakura now knows Gaara's identity as a Jinchuriki. Since Sunagakure and Konoha are allies, she absolutely cannot kill Sunagakure's ace here.

"Hehehe... I will not lose."

Blood, saliva, and sand dripped continuously from Gaara's mouth. His pupils contracted rapidly, and blood vessels gradually filled his eyes, making him look incredibly ferocious.

"Oops!"