"Haruno Sakura and Gaara, you two stay here. Rest of you, proceed to the waiting room outside the arena."

Sakura looked at Gaara with seriousness in her eyes. Knowing how difficult her opponent was, Naruto said, "Good luck, Sakura! You can beat him, believe it!"

Sakura nervously nodded as Temari and Kankuro chuckled, thinking, 'You'll be lucky if Gaara even leaves her bones intact.'

Hayate coughed, indicating the Genins to clear up. A minute later, Gaara and Sakura stood face to face in the middle of the arena. A determined expression appeared on Sakura as she assured herself, 'Get a grip, Sakura. Even though he is strong, you have trained hard for a month. You can't get cold feet now.

Not to mention, Sasuke still isn't here. He will be disqualified if he doesn't appear by the time his match begins. So, I have to stretch this battle as long as I can so that Sasuke can reach here. No!'

Sakura decided, 'I can't think that way. If I win this match, I can battle against Sasuke. Only that way I can prove myself to him. I'm no longer someone who has to hide behind the two of them. I'll follow Illumi sensei's plan and defeat Gaara!'

Unlike Sakura, who was going through emotional turmoil, Gaara stood without a single expression on his face. Much like the rest of the audience, he was more interested in fighting Sasuke and had no interest in Sakura. He didn't even consider her as a warm-up.

Even among the audience, there were several wondering whether Sakura was ready for this stage. Their murmurs fell on the ears of Kurama Illumi, who smirked and thought, 'I can't blame them. After all, I underestimated her as well. Who would have thought her talent in Yin Release would have been so outrageous… From everyone I have seen, only Yakumo's talent exceeds her's. Lord Third really knew what he was doing when he created Kakashi's squad.'

Even Fujin was watching intently. However, the reason why he was doing so was quite different from others. Instead, it was because Illumi had visited him the day before to ask for his help. Fujin looked at Sakura thinking, 'I wasn't expecting much from this battle, probably I still am not. However, she might spring some surprises…'

"Now then… Match one, BEGIN!" Hayate announced loudly. At that very second, sand rushed out of Gaara's gourd and moved towards Sakura. At the same time, Sakura grabbed two kunai with attached explosive tags and threw them at the sand.

The tags exploded as soon as the kunai touched the sand, dispersing the sand temporarily and covering the area in smoke.

Sakura concentrated chakra at her feet and immediately moved under the cover of the smoke. She launched more kunai with explosive tags at Gaara while thinking, 'Even though he can control sand flawlessly, his sand can't withstand the explosions. Step one is nearly completed!'

Several tags exploded around Gaara, each explosion slowing down his sand for a second. More importantly, the explosions created a smokescreen around Gaara, ensuring that he couldn't see Sakura.

In the stadium, surprise appeared on Ino's face as she muttered, "Incredible. She has been working hard…"

Ino clenched her fists. Just like Sakura, she trained hard in the previous month. Yet, she could feel the distance between them increasing slowly.

Lee shouted, "That's awesome, Sakura. Keep it up!"

In the waiting room, Naruto acted similarly.

Among the judges, Kotetsu said, "She is impressive."

Izumo nodded and added, "Not only has she created conditions suitable for her, but her chakra control is incredible too. She has continuously concentrated chakra at her feet, allowing her to move at a faster speed."

The common people were impressed as well and began cheering for Sakura. Of course, the truly strong ninjas could see that Gaara wasn't even a bit affected. He was still as expressionless as earlier.

A smile appeared on Illumi's face as he thought, 'This boy is quite fearsome. To think that a Jinchuriki would participate in the exam. There is no way Sakura could become as strong as him in a month. However, there is always a weapon that the weak have. It's arrogance that the strong possess. Do it!'

Sakura weaved hand seals while thinking, 'According to Illumi sensei's calculation, he wouldn't move from his spot. This is my chance!'

Suddenly, her eyes widened as noticed balls of sand moving towards her. Due to the smoke cover, she didn't notice them until the last moment. She desperately did everything she could to dodge them while wondering, 'How did he know I was here? Or did he attack in every direction?'

A few sandballs grazed her, leaving several cuts on her body. Even though blood dripped down her cheeks, arms, legs and waist, she didn't stop her hand seals or lose control of her chakra. She gritted her teeth and completed her jutsu.

'Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing jutsu'

Since he hadn't moved from his original position, Sakura's jutsu hit Gaara even though she couldn't see him in the smoke. Gaara's eyes suddenly widened. Smoke around him cleared as the figure of a bloodied man appeared lying on the ground. Gaara muttered, "Yashamaru…"

Hell Viewing jutsu was a Genjutsu tailored to exploit the target's worst fears. As soon as Sakura's chakra influenced Gaara, he recalled the events of that traumatic night.

Yashamaru extended his bloody hands towards Gaara and said, "My sister died because of you, Monster! Give me back my sister."

Suddenly, Gaara looked towards his right and saw Temari and Kankuro.

Temari hatefully said, "Because of you, my mother died and my father became distant. You're the cause of all our sufferings!"

Kankuro cursed, "A monster like you should never have been born!"

While Gaara was under Genjutsu, Sakura threw several shurikens at him. The smoke cover was finally clearing and she could see her shurikens going straight at him. With hope in her eyes, she thought, 'This is it! He won't be able to control sand while he is under my Genjutsu! I've won!'

From the waiting room, Naruto shouted, "Excellent work! Sakura! Get him!"

Next to him, Kankuro said, "She did very well. Unluckily for her, it's all useless."

Naruto snapped and asked, "What do you mea…?"

His and the eyes of most Konoha ninjas widened. Sakura and Illumi were no exceptions. Sakura couldn't help but exclaim in shock, "How? How can his sand still move?"

Despite being under a Genjutsu, Gaara's sand moved and blocked the shurikens.

Kankuro said, "Gaara's sand can move autonomously to protect him from any danger. Even if he can't see the attack coming, the sand will protect him. This strategy is useless against him."

Naruto and other genins from Konoha were surprised. They looked at Gaara, wondering how they could deal with such a technique. Temari smirked and said, "Even though she did well, that girl is dead."

The very next moment, Gaara's eyes landed on Sakura. Even though he had fallen to her Genjutsu, Sakura was no Itachi. It wasn't difficult for him to disrupt his chakra and break the Genjutsu. If anything, the sight he had seen just sent his anger soaring through the skies. He shouted, "Die!"

At the next moment, the soil in the arena began moving. Within seconds, Sakura's vision was filled by a massive wave of sand. She was still in shock that her attack had failed. Even if she wasn't, there was nothing she could do to dodge the massive wave.

Hayate's eyes widened. He cursed, 'Shit! I won't be able to make it!'

In the stand, Naruto, Lee, Ino and a few others were horrified as well. In front of their eyes, the sand engulfed Sakura, completely submerging her underneath!

"Sakura!!!" Naruto shouted in horror as he jumped down from the waiting room.

Most of the audience thought the same as Naruto. Quite a few were sad that such a promising kunoichi died. Of course, there were a few who became even more thrilled. And, there were a few ninjas who were glancing at a spot in the stadium.

Illumi breathed a sigh of relief as he thought, 'Even though I didn't know his sand could move autonomously, I made contingency plans in case he broke the Genjutsu quickly and attacked Sakura in rage.'

A serious look appeared on the 'Kazekage's' face as he analyzed, 'It feels like he has gotten even faster.'

Hiruzen glanced at the 'Kazekage' to study his reaction.

A solemn expression appeared on Baki's face as he thought, 'His speed is insane. An ordinary Jounin will stand no chance against such a speed. Even I won't last long if I fight him by myself.'

Hayate flickered in front of Naruto, who was running towards the sand where Sakura was 'buried' and said, "Naruto, calm down and look there."

Naruto barely controlled himself and looked in the direction where Hayate pointed. In an instant, relief and joy appeared on his face as he saw Fujin holding Sakura by the back of her neck.

Fujin could feel Sakura shivering in fear. He gently placed her down and said, "Calm down. You're safe."