Naruto: Boruto Returns to Shippuden

Chapter 80 Boruto VS Gaara

Boruto heard Shikamaru say that the person on the high platform was the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, and that Gaara's uncle was the Fifth Kazekage.

Orochimaru's plan to infiltrate Konoha was clearly much more complicated than Boruto had initially thought.

It seems Orochimaru's goal is not just to target Sasuke, but to assassinate both Kage.

Thinking of this, Boruto said goodbye to Shikamaru, "I have something to attend to, so I'll be going first." He was preparing to tell the Third Hokage about this.

Shikamaru said, "Where are you going? If Sasuke doesn't arrive soon, it'll be your turn!"

Boruto replied, "I'm just nearby. I'll be on the field when the exam starts."

As soon as Boruto finished speaking, he turned to leave, but at that moment, a wall made of sand suddenly rose from the ground, blocking his way.

Boruto turned around and his gaze fell on Gaara.

Gaara's face was serious, and he said in an unquestionable tone, "You are not allowed to go anywhere right now."

Boruto looked around and found that not only Gaara was blocking his way, but Temari and Kankuro were also in his line of sight, standing in different directions, forming a circle around him.

Kankuro's lips curled up slightly, revealing a sly smile. "Kid, deserting in the face of battle is not a good thing."

......

On the high platform, Kazekage's gaze never left Boruto and his surroundings. He would not allow any factor to interfere with his plans, much less let Boruto ruin his arrangements.

Seeing that Sasuke hadn't shown up for a long time, the Third Hokage lowered his head and said, "There's nothing I can do then. Sasuke has lost his eligibility to participate."

The Kazekage, who was standing nearby, asked, "You're saying Uchiha Sasuke is disqualified?"

The Third Hokage nodded in response, "There's no other way; the allotted time has already passed, so we have to make this announcement. After all, it wouldn't be good to keep the daimyo waiting."

The Kazekage shook his head and said, "That's not right, Lord Hokage. Please reconsider Sasuke's disqualification."

At this moment, the Anbu behind the Third Hokage retorted to the Kazekage, "Excuse my bluntness, but no matter how excellent a ninja is, if he is not punctual, he is not qualified to be a chunin."

"If there isn't a reasonable explanation that the ninja leaders and daimyo present can accept, then we can't continue waiting for him."

Kazekage said dismissively, "I see. But there are good reasons. Most of the ninja leaders and daimyo here, including myself, came to watch this match because of his reputation. After all, he is the only surviving Konoha ninja from the Uchiha clan."

After careful consideration, the Third Hokage nodded and said, "I understand. Let's postpone this match."

Then the Third Hokage looked at the Kazekage and said, "I didn't expect the Kazekage to pay so much attention to Uchiha Sasuke from our village."

......

Genma Shiranui, who was on the field, was immediately informed: "The participants of the next match have not yet arrived, so we will postpone this match and proceed with the next match first."

Upon hearing this news, Naruto, who was in the center of the field, finally relaxed a little.

He was initially worried that Sasuke would be disqualified for being late, but now that he knows Sasuke's match was just postponed, he has a chance to compete against him as long as Sasuke can participate.

Genma Shiranui turned to Naruto and said, "Then you should go back to the players' bench and wait. Let the next round of players go on stage first."

On the contestant's platform, Gaara's gaze briefly swept over Boruto, and then without hesitation, he strode towards the center of the arena.

Boruto followed Gaara's lead and walked closely behind him towards the center of the field.

On their way to the venue, Gaara and Boruto were walking along a dimly lit passage.

At that moment, the figures of two ninjas emerged from the shadows of the tunnel and approached Gaara.

One of the ninjas glanced quickly at Boruto not far away, then lowered his voice and said to Gaara standing next to him, "Low-level matches like these, at the Chunin Exams level, are perfect for gambling."

His tone carried a hint of disdain, showing he didn't take this low-level competition seriously.

The ninja continued in a low voice to Gaara, "Several daimyo have come for this purpose, so let's just lose this match."

Gaara remained silent, so the two ninjas assumed he was afraid.

They noticed that the gourd behind Gaara was shaking violently, so they took out a kunai from their pockets to threaten Gaara.

Suddenly, a stream of sand surged out of the gourd, like a nimble snake, and tightly enveloped the head of the ninja who had spoken earlier.

A moment later, the ninja whose head was covered by sand lost the strength to resist and collapsed to the ground, his body gradually being swallowed by the sand.

"A monster...a monster!" another ninja cried out in terror after witnessing his companion being swallowed by sand.

He panicked and immediately turned to run away, trying to escape, but the sand behind him seemed to have a mind of its own and kept chasing after him.

The sand flowed rapidly through the tunnel, forming a sand flow that kept approaching.

"Water Release: Waves!"

Boruto used Water Release: Gaara Path to collide with the sand, forming a wall of water that blocked the sand's movement and saved the ninja.

In Boruto's memory, Gaara had always been a calm leader, but he never expected Gaara to be so cruel at this moment, killing without hesitation.

After Boruto saved the ninja, Gaara merely glanced at him coldly, showing no emotional fluctuation whatsoever.

Gaara didn't linger. He silently continued walking along the tunnel, passing by Naruto who had just returned to the field.

After witnessing Gaara's cruel actions, Naruto was so stunned that he didn't dare to make a sound for a moment.

Naruto only snapped out of his daze when Boruto walked up to him.

Naruto gripped Boruto's shoulders tightly and said urgently, "Are you really going to fight such a terrifying monster? That guy is completely different from us! You could very well die if this continues!"

When faced with Naruto's concerns, Boruto calmly replied, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Besides, even if I don't go, he probably won't let me off the hook."

Before leaving, Boruto gave Naruto some instructions and then headed towards the training ground.

......

In the center of the arena, Boruto and Gaara stood facing each other, not far apart, their eyes fixed on one another.

In the stands, many people seemed distracted. They showed little interest in the match between Boruto and Gaara, and were more looking forward to the Uchiha match, believing that was the real focus.

Therefore, they only regarded this match as a warm-up activity before the game, and did not pay much attention to it or show much enthusiasm for it.

Genma Shiranui's voice echoed throughout the arena as he announced, "Boruto VS Gaara, let's begin."