Chapter 37: Senjutsu·Sand Secret Art·Heavenly Obstruction, Shattering Star!

How is this possible?

What kind of ninjutsu is this?

The fox boy widened his eyes, his face filled with shock and disbelief, his mind screaming in frenzy.

As the opponent who fought directly against Rojie, his perception was the most acute.

Just moments ago, as the overwhelming wave of sand was about to bury Rojie, the sand suddenly slipped from his control, flying uncontrollably to either side.

This strange technique, at first glance, resembled Gaara’s secret sand manipulation art using chakra, but upon closer feeling, it was utterly different.

At this moment, Rojie was activating the Technique of Object Manipulation, mastered after reaching the fourth level of the Taiji Xuanqing Dao.

Using this technique, he wrested control of the sand away from Gaara.

Although Gaara’s sand contained vast amounts of his own chakra,

under normal circumstances, no one else could even touch it, let alone control it.

But Rojie possessed the Technique of Object Manipulation, and now he was in Sage Mode, his body brimming with senjutsu chakra.

With the combined power of senjutsu chakra and the Technique of Object Manipulation, disrupting Gaara’s control over the sand was effortless.

In short, compared to Gaara’s chakra, the sand preferred Rojie’s senjutsu chakra.

It had already changed its allegiance.

Gaara watched this scene, his heart filled with shock and rage.

Damn, that’s some serious power.

Soon, the situation on the battlefield became fascinating.

Both Rojie and Gaara stood motionless, like two statues, utterly still.

Only the sand churned wildly across the arena, sometimes coalescing into massive waves, sometimes dispersing into countless tiny grains.

As if the sand had gained its own consciousness, engaged in a struggle.

The ordinary spectators stared blankly, utterly confused and bewildered.

“What’s going on?”

They whispered among themselves, debating endlessly, yet none could understand the battle unfolding before them.

Even many ninja, faced with this scene, were completely baffled, unable to fathom what was happening.

Of course, the two elders seated at the highest tier of the stands, as village leaders, understood the situation clearly.

The impostor Fourth Kazekage, Orochimaru, coldly glared at the Third Hokage and demanded: “What? Does Konoha possess our Hidden Sand Village’s sand secret art?”

In truth, Orochimaru didn’t truly care whether Konoha had this art—he wasn’t the real Kazekage.

His question was merely meant to humiliate his once-revered teacher, forcing him into an embarrassing position before him.

Hearing the accusation, the Third Elder’s face burned with shame, utterly flustered.

How could he know Rojie had mastered such an art?

Even if Rojie had mastered it, he shouldn’t have used it so openly in front of everyone!

How would the Kazekage view me? How would he view Konoha?

Forget it, better to lie and bluff my way out first.

The Third Elder cleared his throat several times, then spoke with earnest expression: “Fourth Kazekage, let me explain…”

He racked his brain, trying to concoct a plausible excuse.

Orochimaru listened silently to the Third Elder’s feeble lies, sighing inwardly.

Teacher, Itachi’ve become so weak now.

Under my questioning, Itachi can only stumble for excuses.

The once-revered Ninja Hero has turned into a puppet easily manipulated by others.

Orochimaru’s desire to see his teacher dead grew even stronger.

A flicker of resolve passed through his eyes.

At that moment, the situation on the battlefield shifted.

As time passed, the sand, having tasted the sweetness, largely abandoned Gaara and flowed into Rojie’s embrace.

Sorry, he offered too much.

And that was senjutsu chakra!

To be filled with senjutsu chakra—what a glorious thing.

Gaara watched the sand he had painstakingly nurtured for years being so easily stolen, his heart filled with fury and desperation.

As the sand collectively defected, Gaara’s expression crumbled even more than when he later lost Shukaku.

His eyes brimmed with resentment, yet he was powerless to stop it.

Worse still, Rojie showed no intention of ending the fight quickly—he was openly playing with the sand right before Gaara’s eyes.

The sand danced wildly across the arena, constantly shifting shapes, dazzling the onlookers.

Rojie was thoroughly enjoying himself, occasionally uttering delighted sounds: “Hehe, your sand is so fun.”

Gaara watched, his heart aching.

The sand he had carefully protected was now being toyed with so carelessly by Rojie.

And many of the tricks were ones Gaara, the original owner, had never even attempted.

“Stop it right now!”

The fox boy finally snapped, screaming hysterically.

Rojie merely smirked.

I just played with your sand a bit—is that really worth losing your mind over?

Besides, didn’t I leave Itachi some?

True, Rojie, being kind-hearted, didn’t touch Gaara’s mother’s Shukaku.

That sand contained the chakra of Gaara’s mother, Karura, and could automatically protect him.

Chakra is a fusion of spiritual and physical energy, inherently carrying the ninja’s will.

If Rojie took that portion of sand,

Karura’s chakra, once gone, could never be restored.

Gaara would lose his mother again.

Rojie wasn’t some evil monster.

He wouldn’t do something like that.

But after playing for so long, Rojie had had enough.

It was time to end this farce.

The next instant, his gaze sharpened.

The sand dancing wildly across the arena rapidly converged into one mass.

The sand compressed relentlessly, hardening to extreme density, then slowly rose into the sky, finally forming a colossal sand sphere that blotted out the sun.

BOOM!

The massive sand sphere plummeted from the heavens at incredible speed, generating violent winds that shook the entire arena.

This was Rojie’s newly invented senjutsu, born from the aesthetics of senjutsu violence!

Senjutsu·Sand Secret Art·Heavenly Obstruction, Shattering Star!

What? A pirated ninjutsu?

Madara’s dead—no one’s coming to collect royalties.

Rojie says it’s Heavenly Obstruction, Shattering Star—then it is Heavenly Obstruction, Shattering Star.

The spectators all looked up, stunned into silence by the sight before them.

Their faces were etched with shock and terror; some couldn’t even believe their eyes.

“Impossible… that kind of ninjutsu…”

“Can a genin really possess such power?”

Gasps and cries erupted from the crowd; some children were so frightened they burst into tears.

The Third Elder watched this scene, his emotions a tangled mess.

He was glad that, after witnessing the terrifying power of Konoha’s genin, the sponsors would surely flood Konoha with mission requests in the future.

But he was also pained by how he’d explain to the Kazekage why Konoha’s genin had used the Hidden Sand Village’s secret art.

One misstep, and he might alienate their ally, the Hidden Sand Village.

(End of Chapter)