"If I kill you here… I'm sure he'll come after me himself," Gaara said coldly. From the gourd on his back, a wave of golden sand surged forth, forming into a massive hand that shot straight toward Asuna.
But just as the sand claw came crashing down, a petite figure suddenly stepped in front of Asuna, bare-handed, she thrust her palm directly at the oncoming mass of sand.
"Idiot!" Gaara spat. He'd known all along that Hinata and her team were hiding nearby, but he hadn't expected anyone to be foolish enough to intervene, especially after witnessing his terrifying strength.
When she stepped forward to block his attack head-on, his face twisted into a mocking sneer. "A soft, pathetic blow like that… how could it possibly stop me- "
And then it happened.
"Gentle Fist!"
Hinata's small, delicate hand met the enormous wave of sand head-on, and instead of being crushed to dust like one might expect, the massive sand hand froze on contact.
Then-
BOOM!
The entire sand construct shattered and crumbled into dust.
"What?!" Temari gasped, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Gaara's attack… was neutralized?!"
Kankuro narrowed his eyes, his gaze locking onto Hinata's glowing, silvery-white eyes. "Those eyes… she's from the Hyuga clan of Konoha!"
"I've heard the Hyuga are known for a secret Gentle Fist technique… it targets the chakra network directly," Temari muttered as realization dawned. "Of course… that girl must have dispersed the chakra within Gaara's sand. Without chakra to control it, sand is just… sand."
Gaara's killing intent now fully locked onto Hinata. His voice was sharp and venomous. "You… intend to interfere as well?"
"Please, stop!" Hinata raised her voice, standing firm. "The person standing before you is none other than the Princess of the Land of Fire!"
With Hinata taking action, Kiba and Shino could no longer stand idly by.
"What? That woman is…" Kankuro looked at Asuna in disbelief. He'd nearly been stabbed by her earlier, assuming she was some kind of elite ninja, yet now he realized she wasn't even a trained shinobi.
Temari, however, was much sharper. The implications struck her instantly, harming the princess of a major nation was tantamount to declaring war on that country. This wasn't just a shinobi village skirmish, it would become a full-scale war between nations.
"Gaara, stop! You can't touch her!" she cried out.
"Shut up!" Gaara turned and shot her a deadly glare. Even toward his own siblings, his bloodlust never waned. "You want to interfere too?"
Temari's face turned pale. She knew all too well, once Gaara reached this point, there was no stopping him. And if they pushed him too far… they might be next.
"Hey, you Sand shinobi!" Kiba growled. "Do you even realize what you're doing?! This is a declaration of war!"
Temari could only shake her head helplessly. "It's not like we can just control him…"
"Yeah, good luck with that," Kankuro muttered with a bitter laugh. "You're on your own."
Gaara didn't care about any of their words. The rage in his heart had reached a boiling point. His bloodlust surged as he summoned more sand.
"This is your last warning. Get out of my way."
"No." Hinata's voice was firm. She stepped into stance. "Asuna is my friend. I won't back down!"
"…Hinata…" Hearing those words, Asuna was visibly moved. For the first time in her life, she felt her perception of shinobi shift. Perhaps, no matter the station or title, there were truly good people among them.
"Fr… Friend?" Gaara's expression twitched. He seemed to freeze, locked in some deep, personal thought. His mind spiraled into a silent void.
"Crap, he hit a nerve!" Kankuro blurted, eyes widening.
Gaara's face twisted with raw emotion, his voice rising into a rage-filled shriek. "Friend?! What the hell is that?! I don't understand!!"
The emotional shock sent him into a violent spiral. He condensed his sand into solid spheres, launching them like cannonballs toward Hinata with explosive force.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Hinata's Byakugan activated, 360-degree vision with no blind spots. Her arms moved with graceful precision as she struck down the incoming projectiles one after another.
"Friend? What does that mean? TELL ME!!" Gaara roared as he relentlessly formed more sand bullets, launching them at rapid speed.
"There's… too many!" Hinata gritted her teeth as she continued to parry the barrage. The rate of fire was increasing, and her stamina was starting to waver.
"Fang Over Fang!"
A spiraling whirlwind burst through the air, shredding the incoming projectiles like a massive drill. Kiba landed beside her, panting.
"Damn it… guess I don't have a choice anymore."
"You made the right call, Hinata," Shino said calmly as he stepped forward. "If anything happens to the princess here in Konoha, the Daimyo's wrath would fall squarely on our village."
Spreading his arms, a swarm of black insects poured out from his sleeves like a living shadow.
"One by one… you all want to stop me?" Gaara's fury only intensified. "Then I'll kill every last one of you!"
<><>---------------------------------------
45 Advanced Chapters on p(a)treon
p(a)treon.com/Aaltairr
200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapters