Chapter 66: Poor Little Panda - The White Eyed Princess of Konoha

Chapter 66: Poor Little Panda "Byakugan!" Hinata activated her Byakugan, gesturing subtly behind her to Naruto and Sasuke, whispering, "Quickly, get into position for the ambush. When they arrive, hit them hard." Naruto replied with determination, "Alright! Hinata, just leave it to us!" Without turning back, Hinata said, "Naruto, you're better off waiting. You don't have any jutsu. Once Sasuke and I execute our main attacks, you can send in a bunch of shadow clones to overwhelm them." Through the sight of her Byakugan, Hinata saw Gaara's team leaping swiftly from tree to tree, racing toward the central tower at a rapid pace. Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke each hid themselves carefully, with Hinata clenching her fists in anticipation, waiting to unleash a powerful attack the moment Gaara and his team arrived. But then she recalled that Gaara was to become the Fifth Kazekage of the Sand Village in the future. He had saved Rock Lee during the pursuit of Sasuke and would later risk his life to protect Naruto. There truly wasn't a need to kill them now. "Alright, I'll use the Air Palm." Hinata's ambush was ready just in time for Gaara's team, who were approaching the tower. Leading the way, Gaara strode in silence, with Temari and Kankuro following behind him, both trembling with trepidation. Ever since they had stopped Gaara from attacking Shino, Kiba, and Sakura earlier, he had been radiating intense hostility like an ominous shadow of violence. Finally, the central tower loomed within sight, allowing Temari and Kankuro a moment of relief. At last, some respite from being stuck with this monstrous Gaara. 'Whoosh! Whoosh!' Two barely audible sounds pierced the air. Gaara's team halted, looking up to see the two silhouettes against the glaring sunset. Even in the shadows, they could slightly make out that one of them was the girl who had put Kankuro in the hospital seven days ago. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" "Twenty Gods Air Strike!" As soon as Gaara's team entered the ambush zone, Hinata signaled for the attack to commence. Sasuke unleashed the strongest fire style jutsu he could manage, while Hinata started with a powerful attack, joining the air palm to strike. The two attacked from either side, enveloping Gaara's team. Sand erupted from the gourd on Gaara's back, encasing him in a protective shield the instant before the attacks struck. In Gaara's current state of mind, he wouldn't care for Temari and Kankuro's well-being. With danger imminent, Temari unfurled her three-star fan and shielded herself, commanding, "Sickle Weasel Jutsu!" Wind and fire clashed fiercely. Temari, caught off guard, couldn't deploy her big moves and found herself at a disadvantage against the Dragon Flame Jutsu with just the Sickle Weasel Jutsu. As the searing heatwave washed over her, she leaped, trying to dodge, only to feel a powerful force slam into her chest mid-air. Pure chakra coursed through her acupoints and meridians, wreaking havoc on her internal organs. This is... Gentle Fist? Temari had witnessed this technique before; Kankuro had once been seriously injured by Hinata with this very move. *Cough.* Coughing up blood, Temari was thrown backward. At that moment, she could only think: What on earth did I do wrong? Do I look that easy to bully? Why do the fire jutsu and air palms always target me? *Crash!* Her body collided heavily with a tree, her chest aching fiercely, blood streaming from her mouth, her mind spinning with dizziness. Before fainting, Temari noticed Kankuro getting flung away as well, in an even worse state, spraying blood in mid-air and losing consciousness before hitting a tree. As she succumbed to unconsciousness, Temari felt a strange relief: At least there's someone worse off than me. At least I'm not the only one hit. Plus... wait, why am I feeling glad about this? Taking out ten air palms in one fell swoop. "Whoosh!" Hinata leapt up onto a branch, surveying the scene below. Temari and Kankuro were already down; Gaara was encased in sand, locking eyes with Hinata coldly. "A perfect sneak attack!" Hinata thought to herself, grateful that Gaara at this time lacked a sense of teamwork or concern for his comrades. If he had shielded both Temari and Kankuro, today might have been a bitter battle indeed. Just as Hinata was mulling this over, she sensed a shadow cast over the sky. An overwhelming horde of Narutos was raining down like a deluge of debris toward Gaara. That idiot... 'Bang! Bang! Bang...' Predictably, Gaara didn't even flinch, nor did he spare Naruto a glance. The sand morphed into small balls, like a shower of rain, striking the clones and scattering them into smoke. "Now's my chance!" Hinata's eyes gleamed. With Gaara focusing on attacking Naruto, the sand around him was bound to thin. Without hesitation, Hinata sprang from the tree, swiftly closing the distance to Gaara. Gaara's gaze tracked her movement, and a tidal wave of sand surged toward her. Gracefully, Hinata traversed the sand waves, seemingly fluttering like a butterfly in a calm breeze. Despite appearing slow, she managed to narrowly evade Gaara's sand assault, closing the gap between them. Perched on a branch, Sasuke watched Hinata's battle with Gaara intently, fists clenched tightly, a mix of unwillingness mounting within him. In this fight, he couldn't intervene. The sand waves were slightly faster than Sasuke, and his involvement would only hinder Hinata. This reality gnawed at Sasuke, in a battle among peers, to find himself unable even to join the fray. Grinding his teeth, Sasuke's expression twisted with frustration. Observing Hinata gracefully navigate Gaara's tempestuous attacks below, her face bore an ease, as if she wasn't even trying her hardest. Unknown to Sasuke, some people merely appear effortless on the surface; but in truth... they are indeed effortlessly so. Closing the distance to within two meters of Gaara, Hinata's feet moved, accelerating further. At a speed nearly imperceptible, she dodged all the sand waves, appearing directly in front of Gaara. In Gaara's stunned disbelief, Hinata's right hand coiled into a fist, azure chakra amassing, and struck Gaara's chest with fervor. Hinata wasn't certain if Gaara was wearing his sand armor; if he was, solely utilizing the Gentle Fist would likely prove insufficient to harm him. The Twenty Gods Air Strike, however, imparted not only the internal organ-targeting effects of the Gentle Fist but also the physical damage output of a hard punch, boasting immense destructive power. *Boom!* Gaara's body was propelled backward at astounding speed, creating a blurred silhouette in the air. Before he smashed into the tree behind him, exploding the trunk into fragments. "NARUTO!" Hinata yelled out. With Gaara effectively out of his sand's protective embrace, deploying multiple shadow clones to deliver melee damage now would be the most cost-effective strategy. Naruto, having eagerly awaited the chance, descended with another swarm of shadow clones, pouring toward Gaara. "Rotation!" Hinata, swifter than Gaara's sand, intercepted between the sand and Gaara, whirling rapidly and utilizing Rotation to deflect all the sand, clearing a path for Naruto's close-range strike.