Son of the Sannin(Back)

Preliminaries, Part II

Author's note: Welp, while some reviewers complained, the backlash against the latest chapter wasn't so bad as I thought. I'm glad that most reviewers liked the fights and their outcomes so far. Let's hope you also like the fights from this chapter as well. Though I'm afraid that, just like the previous chapter, at least one of the fights will draw some controversy. Anyway, enjoy:

Everybody looked at the screen displaying the names of the next two combatants, many of them with their mouths agape.

Shino Aburame VS Gaara

"Oh man, that's all kinds of troublesome," Shikamaru commented.

"Boy, poor Shino," Choji added. "Not even the three of us could beat that sand guy and he has to fight him on his own."

All the eyes were on Shino, who as usual didn't openly display any kind of emotion. Then again, the bug-using ninja never saw Gaara in action, he merely heard about his exploits.

"Good luck, pal," Kiba said, nudging the Aburame in the shoulder.

"We'll be cheering for you," Tamaki added, smiling sympathetically at him.

Both Shino and Gaara descended upon the arena and walked in front of each other. Yugao made sure that both Genin were ready for the fight.

"Begin!" she shouted before making a chopping motion.

Shino placed some distance between himself and his opponent, and spread his arms sideways. Two swarms of kikai bugs emerged from underneath his sleeves –eliciting quite a few "ewww's!" from people at the stands– and commanded them to attack Gaara, who remained immobile, with his arms crossed.

The deadly swarm of flying insects soon found itself slamming against a nearby impenetrable shield of sand.. Shino mentally commanded the swarm to split into several groups, but a sand barrier would form whenever as mass of bugs tried to get close to Gaara. Shino then pulled three kunai from his tool pouch and tossed them at the sand ninja. The results were the same.

"Whoa, that guy is untouchable! How the hell is Shino going to hit him?" Naruto asked.

"He needs to find the weak point of that shield and exploit it," Kurenai replied.

"Does that sand barrier have a weak point?" Haku skeptically asked. "It looks like there's nothing that Shino can do to pierce it."

"Every jutsu has a weakness Haku, never forget that," Kurenai pointed out.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and analyzed Gaara's sand shield. "It seems like the sand is imbued with chakra, but...not in the way of the usual ninjutsu. It's a different chakra."

"That has to be the power of his Tailed Beast," Naruto concluded. "Boy, poor Shino, he got one of the worst possible opponents."

Gaara decided that he had already gave Shino enough time to attack, and thought it was time to end the match. He made a hand seal.

"Wind Release: Sand Shuriken!"

Gaara shot several projectiles made of sand at an impossible high speeds. Shino managed to expertly dodge most of them, but some sliced his skin at several points.

Unfortunately for the bug user, Gaara had just started. Making another hand seal, the sand formed five tentacles, and with another gesture, the hand appendages tried to lash or wrap themselves against Shino, forcing the Aburame into the defensive.

"Man, this is bad," Kiba noted, worried. "Not only does that redhead have an impenetrable defense, but his sand also packs quite a punch. It's bad to say this, but I'm glad that I don't have to fight him."