A streak of golden light flashed — Hayashi Ren leveled up, reaching Level 11. Without hesitation, he upgraded his Leaf Shadow Dance skill.
"Sand Burial!"
Gaara roared in fury as countless streams of sand surged forth, forming a massive sand hand that clawed straight toward Hayashi Ren.
BOOM—!
The sand hand gripped Ren tightly before exploding in a blast. In an instant, Ren's HP dropped below half!
"Damn it! If only I had used Sand Coffin before Sand Burial — I could've finished him off!"Gaara cursed, filled with frustration.
"Nope. At most, you would've left me barely hanging on," Hayashi Ren replied coolly."You're only level 7. But me? I'm level 11 now."
With that, Ren used Leaf Shadow Dance, sending a fierce kick flying toward Gaara — BAM! Gaara was launched into the air.
CRACK CRACK CRACK…
Chunks of sand rained down as Gaara's Sand Armor broke apart, more than half of it shattered in midair.
"It's useless," Gaara said coldly."As long as Sand Armor is active, your attacks barely scratch me."
"Who said I planned to keep attacking?" Ren replied with a sly grin."If I timed it right, your Sand Armor should wear off right after you land."
"You—!"Gaara was furious.
At that moment, he dropped out of the air and hit the ground.
"The road to your defeat will be shorter than you ever imagined."Ren's voice turned icy as he stepped forward and punched Gaara squarely in the chest.
CRACK!
Gaara's Sand Armor shattered completely.
BOOM!
In retaliation, Gaara ignited Ren with a Burn debuff, and with a rapid BAM BAM BAM, unleashed a barrage of Sand Bullets.
Ren's health plummeted to a quarter in seconds.
"You're going to die!"Gaara bellowed, following up with several basic attacks.
Ren fought back with basic attacks of his own — but because Gaara still had remnants of his Sand Armor, Ren's attacks barely did any damage.
With the HP exchange favoring Gaara, Ren's health dropped into the danger zone.
Everyone watching the match held their breath.
"Wait… is Hayashi Ren really going to die here?"
"No... the one who's going to die — is you."Ren's voice was ice cold.
He launched another kick at Gaara, but due to the remaining Sand Armor, it barely dented his HP.
However — this was the final second of the Sand Armor's effect.
As Ren realized his attacks weren't doing enough, and his health was dangerously low, he turned abruptly and sprinted toward the Wolf Den.
"Don't even think about running!"Gaara roared, activating his Sand Coffin, which had just come off cooldown.
A sinister rustling of sand echoed as the Sand Coffin caught Ren just as he entered the Wolf Den.
"Weren't you all cocky just now? Look at you now — completely under my control!"Gaara grinned cruelly as he stepped forward, landing a basic attack on the immobilized Ren, followed by another burst of Sand Bullets.
"Die already!"
With that shout, the Sand Bullets slammed into Ren's body.
Gaara smiled — he had calculated everything perfectly. The moment Ren was trapped, a basic attack and a Sand Bullet barrage. Even if the control ended, Ren should have been dead.
But—
"This story isn't over yet!"
At the very instant the Sand Coffin wore off, Hayashi Ren exploded into action with a whoosh — activating Shadow Clone Jutsu, and together with his clone, unleashed a Leaf Whirlwind kick straight into Gaara.
BAM!
Gaara was sent flying. His HP dropped to a sliver of health — barely hanging on.
Just then, a lurking Shadow Wolf inside the den raised a claw and struck Gaara square in the back.
Instant death.
[Hayashi Ren has slain Gaara.][Triple Kill!][Godlike!]