A blinding light ripped through the sand that encased Agumon.
A massive, imposing figure emerged from within the radiant column.
Agumon Digivolved into... Greymon!
Agumon, who had been less than half a person tall, instantly transformed into a colossal being nearly six meters high.
Its head was covered in chitinous plating like a beetle's, resembling a helmet. Razor-sharp claws, enormous, ferocious horns, every part of its body was a weapon, highlighting Greymon's power.
"This... what is this?" Temari gaped, witnessing a live evolution for the first time. Was that even a thing.
"Careful, that summoned beast is dangerous!" Kankuro emerged from the concealing mist.
He had forgotten about Kiba, his attention completely focused on the monstrous creature that had just appeared.
"Amazing! It just... evolved! Did you see that, Akamaru?" Kiba stared at Greymon with undisguised excitement.
Such an intimidating partner was exactly what he dreamed of.
If only Akamaru could evolve like that too... His eyes were filled with envy.
"Roar!!!"
With a deafening roar, Greymon locked onto its target: Gaara.
It charged, the ground trembling beneath its massive feet.
Shield of Sand!
Gaara's sand formed a gigantic sphere, completely encasing him in a protective barrier.
BOOM!!!
Greymon's three horns slammed into the sand sphere, plowing it dozens of meters away, leaving a trail of toppled trees in its wake.
"How dare you!!! A mere summoned beast!! I'll kill you!! Die!" Gaara's face, visible within the half-destroyed sand sphere, was contorted in a furious snarl.
Others might be intimidated by this beast, but compared to the colossal nightmare of a demon that had tormented him for years, this was child's play.
Sand Binding Prison!
The sand beneath Greymon's feet shifted and collapsed, a wider and more encompassing version of the previous Sand Binding technique attempting to bury it alive.
Not enough!
Greymon swayed but remained standing.
Sand Hand! A giant hand formed of sand slammed down towards Greymon.
"Greymon, use Nova Blast!" Natsuki's command came from above.
As if triggered by a command prompt, the newly evolved Greymon instinctively opened its massive jaws and unleashed a gigantic, intensely hot fireball.
The sand in its path vitrified instantly. This time, a flicker of alarm crossed Gaara's face.
BOOM!!!
The giant explosion detonated against the Sand Hand, a raging inferno erupting.
Gaara's small form was sent flying through the air, trailing thick smoke.
"Gaara!"
"Kankuro, quickly go check on Gaara! I'll hold them off!" Temari yelled as she pulled out her giant fan.
With a powerful gust of wind, she extinguished the approaching flames and fanned the smoke away.
If something happened to Gaara, they wouldn't be spared.
These enemies were too strong. They couldn't even defeat their summoned beast, let alone the summoners themselves.
"Gaara at this stage is still a bit too weak, unless he uses the Feigning Sleep Technique and summons the One-Tail." Natsuki observed from above.
He could see that a large portion of Gaara's Sand Armor had been shattered.
However, it was still difficult to truly injure him. The vast amount of Tailed Beast chakra was rapidly repairing the armor.
'Well, a lesson is enough. I shouldn't let him unleash the One-Tail here.' Of course, he still needed the scroll.
Natsuki slowly raised his right hand, aiming it at Temari below.
The scrolls from the two teams that Gaara had defeated earlier were in her possession.
Universal Pull!
Temari, fully focused on Greymon while using her Wind Style to extinguish the surrounding flames with powerful gusts of wind, suddenly felt an irresistible force pull her upwards.
And then, she was airborne.
Her eyes widened in terror.
The feeling of weightlessness and the loss of control overwhelmed her. Her fan slipped from her grasp as she flailed her limbs uselessly in the air.
The next moment, her slender neck was caught in Natsuki's hand.
He held the panicked Temari aloft as if she were a kitten.
"Don't move, or you'll fall and break yourself," his voice sounded teasing.
Temari finally focused on the figure beside her. Natsuki was looking at her with a smile, the sunlight creating a dazzling halo behind him.
'He's...beautiful.' Temari's heart skipped a beat. She had never seen anyone so captivating.
'No, wait! He's the enemy, a demon! Even Gaara is no match for him.' Temari quickly banished the nascent flicker of attraction, forcing herself to see Natsuki as a threat.
"Hand over the scrolls you collected. They were ours to begin with," Natsuki said without preamble, subtly admiring Temari's figure.
Since arriving in this world, he had been interested in every character from the original story, especially the girls.
However, with Hinata so close, he couldn't afford to jeopardize his shining image.
"...Nonsense! Gaara fought hard for those. How can you say they're yours?" Temari retorted defiantly.
She resumed her futile attempts to struggle free, her limbs flailing like a kitten's.
But it was useless.
Natsuki even let go of her, yet she remained suspended in mid-air.
'What kind of jutsu is this? It's incredible!' Exhausted and defeated, she finally stopped struggling, her head drooping dejectedly.
Natsuki's gaze sharpened. "I said they're mine. Or I could just erase you right here, right now, just like you did with those other teams," he threatened, his voice taking on a menacing edge.
"Hmph, the battle's not over yet! Gaara still has a secret technique he hasn't used. Once he uses it, not even you will be able to survive, and this entire forest will be destroyed!" Temari retorted out of habit.
As the princess of Sunagakure, she wasn't used to being treated this way.
"Then you can try," Natsuki said, flicking Temari's forehead lightly, but he was a ninj , his physical strength far surpassing the ordinary, it did more than to just serve as a playful flick.
"..." Temari clutched her forehead, tears welling up in her eyes.
She couldn't risk that.
If Gaara went berserk and unleashed that monster, not even she would be safe.
Defeated, she reluctantly took out the scrolls she had barely had time to warm and said cautiously, "Fine, here you go."
After receiving the scrolls, Natsuki found that one of them was the Earth scroll they needed.
Now, as long as they reached the central tower, their team would pass the exam.
"Well, you have the scrolls now. Can you let us go?" Temari asked pitifully.
In this moment, she was a far cry from her usual boisterous self, appearing incredibly meek and submissive.
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