OnPoint
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Hardly. Ryūsa Bakuryū will allow Gaara to dominate proceedings given the territorial advantage that the technique creates. It'll not only increase the volume of sand at the Kazekage's disposal, but also allow Gaara to more freely make use of his other abilities, such as Suna no Kanchi [
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]. Controlling the environment takes away Kakuzu's element of surprise (which is lessened further by the more plane landscape, as Ryūsa Bakuryū does indeed displace standing structures like trees [
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]) as anything which comes into contact with the sand can constantly be tracked. Doton: Domu restricts Kakuzu's movements greatly, so using it doesn't give him a means of overcoming his problem in the long term. Sure, he'll survive being crushed in the short term, but given his inability to properly move when in this state, he'll still remain trapped in the Kazekage's sand. He won't be able to engage Gaara, nor will he be able to ambush the latter as Gaara is aware of whether or not a target has been crushed [
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].Gaara won't need to continually send pulses through his sand if he's alerted to the fact that Sabaku Taisō was unsuccessful at the first attempt. His fighting style doesn't consist of irrational plays [
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]. If Kakuzu chooses to resurface, he must deactivate Doton: Domu, which, of course, makes him vulnerable to Gaara's assaults. It doesn't seem like he's able to release his threads when in a hardened state either, as his skin seems to seal itself shut, preventing anything from escaping from the inside [
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][
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]. Even in part I, Gaara was able to level the majority of the battlefield, and most of the obstructions, such as trees, were indeed displaced. If you consider the increase in scale of Gaara's Jutsu as he's progressed from part I to part II [
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], then it becomes apparent that Ryūsa Bakuryū only serves in aiding Gaara's cause and limiting how effectively Kakuzu can make use of guerrilla tactics. But they do help prevent Gaara from putting himself at risk - which makes Kakuzu's efforts all the more futile.
The face-off between Raikiri and Raiton: Gian doesn't give any indication of the latter being able to breach the best of Gaara's defences, particularly if one is looking for some sort of idea regarding piercing power. Gian simply doesn't have the feats which suggest that it can penetrate quantities of sand reaching these scales [
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][
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].I could give you many examples of instances in this manga where real life physics have been contradicted, because Raiton techniques for example (which you claim to hit such high temperatures), have been shown to not burn or cause an eruption of flames when in contact with burnable materials such as wood or human flesh [
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][
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]. There was no real indication that Sasuke's Chidori caused any sort of noticeable melting when it came into contact with Gaara's sand [
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]. Furthermore, the black flames which, although clear hyperbole, are supposedly 'as hot as the sun', didn't ruin Gaara's sand [
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]. This, in addition to Gian's less than impressive piercing feats, suggests that Gaara's more meaty defences will not be bested by such a technique. And yet, we can clearly see Gaara's sand being successful in its attempts at seizing the opponent [
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] or preventing a team mate from sustaining a serious injury [
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][
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]. And in all the examples given, each combatant had a speed equal to or greater than 4.0 (except Ē, although we know where he stands with regards movement speed) - pretty much all of them were seemingly 'quicker' than Kakuzu, and were still caught or intercepted by the Godaime Kazekage's sand. We can also see him grabbing the Sandaime Raikage (who was known for his speed) [
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] and defending against Sasuke's Enton [
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], which of course, isn't slow by any means.If Kakuzu wishes to protect himself from any of Gaara's omnidirectional attacks, he will need to harden his entire body. It will, essentially, incapacitate him. Given the environmental advantage the Kazekage is sure to possess, Kakuzu will find it more and more difficult to impose his preferred fighting style, since he is far more likely to spend the majority of his time on the defensive. Whilst Gaara's sand allows him to attack and defend simultaneously, Kakuzu doesn't benefit from such versatility. If he chooses to bring out his most famed defensive technique, he severely limits how well he can put Gaara on the back foot. The Kazekage has more options. He can play the waiting game if needs be.
Such a deduction may not prove wholly useful, as the techniques Kakuzu has at his disposal can still be dealt with by Gaara's defences. The Kazekage will surely identify the abilities of each individual mask, at which point he can act accordingly - such as rapidly subduing them with large quantities of sand (and then crushing them) or isolating the ones he feels pose the biggest threats.
Gaara'll be able to quite comfortably fight from an aerial standpoint. Even in the air, the hearts can still be crushed if they are caught by the Godaime's sand [
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]. He could also resort to Suna Arare [
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] in an attempt to knock the hearts from the skies.Kakashi doesn't possess an absolute defence, so his means of avoiding or overcoming Futon: Atsugai isn't the same as the one which Gaara must adopt. Gaara doesn't need to benefit from the Sharingan's ocular powers when he can quite quickly encase himself in a defence consisting of layers upon layers of solid, hard sand. Playing defensive isn't an issue for Gaara, because with the versatile nature of his sand, he can switch to an offensive state near instantly. The same cannot be said for Kakuzu, unfortunately.
Even if what has been said about the Raikage is dismissed, the fact remains that Raiton Gian doesn't have piercing feats which will enable Kakuzu to land a critical blow on Gaara.
Even with a reference to data highlighted in canon, the fact remains that the technique must still be strong enough to breach or best the element or force which it is up against. That is to say, there is no certainty in a small D-Rank Suiton defeating a large, A-Rank Katon. Gian simply isn't backed by feats in this case. Suggesting that the technique will be able to tear through the Crème de la Crème of Gaara's defences indicates a major underestimation of his abilities [
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], or a frightening overestimation of Kakuzu's.Gaara defeats Kakuzu by crushing each and every heart; that much is apparent. The only thing in question here is; how long will it take? Because Doton: Domu is Kakuzu's only real solution to being totally squished, and in this state, Kakuzu poses practically no threat to the Godaime. If Kakuzu wants to win, he'll need to make himself vulnerable. And unlike his foe, he can't drive on the offensive and protect himself in the same instance. Gaara can also resort to Suna Bunshin feints in an attempt to deceive or mislead Kakuzu into leaving himself susceptible to a damaging blow. This is also another way of overcoming Raiton: Gian, if standard tanking isn't already an obvious counter.
We've already discussed how Jiongu won't prove to be useful in this scenario when Gaara's Sand Sensing abilities are considered. It really does put him in a poor position, because he won't be able to effectively defend against Gaara's techniques. He could choose to concentrate his efforts on laying siege to the Kazekage's defences, but a lack of self awareness will only put him at risk of being seized by Gaara's sand, which will more than likely be occupying the majority of the landscape (after Ryūsa Bakuryū is used).
Feats are simply not on Kakuzu's side. His techniques will never be able to breach Gaara's sand, given what he's be shown to defend against [
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][
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][
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]. Kakuzu's Domu prevents him from being a threat to Gaara, and his threads cannot bypass his Sand Sensing ability. In fact, there seems to be some contradictions in your team's strategy. If Domu, as Varrah claims, is to be used to tank & observe aerial attacks such as Suna Arare or Suna Shigure, how, in his immobile state, does Kakuzu plan on avoiding the sand arms which so easily captured the Edo Kage? Remembering, of course, that Mū only avoided it because of his sensing abilities [
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]. Your initial argument emphasised the approach Kakuzu would take, but then went on to describe another - I sense a lack of continuity here. Ultimately, it is Gaara who will benefit from the landscape. Gaara who can constantly follow Kakuzu's movements; Gaara who can easily swap between both attack and defence. He can control the land whilst patrolling the sky. The sheer scale and versatility of the Godaime's abilities are what will allow him overcome this particular foe.
its not fair to argue points in this debate w/o it being a part of one of your official posts. #JustSaying
