Ascension of the Kitsune by Wandering Maverick

Chapter 17: Chuunin Exams (Part 3)

"Is that all you have?" Gaara's taunting voice called out.

"NO!"

"Good" Gaara replied before lifting his arm and pointed a finger at Rei, before his sand shot out once again.

"Its faster then before!" Rei thought, as he dodged the first few tendrils out of sheer reflex.

Gaara simply moved his arm in whatever direction Rei ran or jumped to, guiding his sand towards his prey. Unfortunately for Rei with the increase in speed of the sand, he was completely on the defensive barely being able to dodge the sand, and use his jutsu to turn it into glass even less often, let alone force a counterattack.

"Shit...if this keeps up" Rei thought worriedly.

Rei's thoughts however cost him his concentration and the next moment a tendril of sand caught his foot.

"DAMN!" He cursed as he was swung into the air.

Gaara's expression became one of pure bliss, as his sand played him an orchestra of groans of pain as bones cracked, and blood splattered across the arena grounds. Rei could do nothing at the time to get away from the hellish sand, while he was thrown like a rag-doll against nearly everything in range of the arena...the floor, the ceiling, the balcony itself, the walls...anything the sand deemed fit to crush him against it used to make it's master happy.

Fortunately for the Kumo shinobi, the sand lent up on it's assault for only a moment, but a moment was all the boy needed. He twisted his body in a rather sickening posture but it also allowed him to punch the sand that held him causing it to turn to glass and release him. Rei fell to the ground with a meaty thud, but got up as quickly as he could...his breathing labored, his body bruised, bleeding and some bones obviously broken.

"I...will...not...lose...here!" Rei yelled out in haggard breath, before he began a chain of seals which both Yugito and Akiko recognized immediately.

"No...he wouldn't! Even if he was losing this badly he couldn't...not in his condition!" Akiko thought out-loud in shock at just what Rei was about to use.

"What?" Temari asked, in slight worry for her brother.

"His strongest jutsu." Yugito simply answered, while inwardly smirking like a cat...finally being able to see Rei get his come-comeuppance, especially with knowing he was no match for a jinchuuriki...poetic justice if she had ever heard it.

The group just looked back with batted breath as to what would happen with the situation as dire as it now was. Gaara could sense the high chakra output for the jutsu, as well as the distortion to Rei's body which came in the from of a bulge in the boy's stomach and was slowly moving up his body. It was currently going up his neck and Gaara knew that his normal sand wouldn't be able to protect him for whatever it was, so for the first time in the fight he began hand sealing himself.

"Suna no Muya (Cocoon of Sand)!"

The sand surrounding Gaara quickly came to life and created a dome around Gaara's form, and not too son considering that Rei was about to release his jutsu.

"Raiton: Gian (False Darkness)!" The boy shouted, as a humongous lighting bolt shot out of his mouth snaking its way quickly at Gaara.

The lightning bolt took no time at all to impact and surround Gaara's sand dome. The sound it made was almost deafening to everyone as they watched in fascination as to what would happen next. Rei's jutsu soon came to a conclusion as the last bit of the lightning left his mouth and followed the trail to Gaara's sand, with the lightning still encompassing Gaara. Rei just smirked in triumph once again as he and the rest of the audience watched, as the yellow lightning soon took on a darker color, and before long took the color of a dark night sky.