Sasuke asked,
"Hey, Naruto... what's wrong with you? What happened?"
Naruto didn't respond.
Gaara sneered,
"You're not strong enough, Naruto! Run while you still can!"
Gaara hurled more shuriken at Naruto, but Naruto dodged them.
"Why am I so slow… Have my muscles atrophied?"
Mouths burst open across Gaara's body as he took a deep breath:
[Wind Release: Infinite Sand Cloud Destruction Surge]!
Gaara unleashed a massive gust of wind toward Naruto and Sasuke, whipping up a sandstorm that shredded branches and carved into tree trunks.
When the wind stopped, Gaara could no longer see Naruto or Sasuke—there was no trace left.
"What a shame."
Gaara turned around and saw Naruto standing behind him. Before he could react, Naruto punched him hard, sending him flying.
Naruto grinned at Gaara,
"I don't know what happened back then, but I'm not just some kid who can do Shadow Clones anymore. Let's see who's still standing when this is over."
Roaring in anger, Gaara stood back up,
"You're not stronger than me! You fight for others—that makes you weak!"
Naruto cracked his knuckles,
"I'll show you how wrong you are. Don't even blink."
With that, Naruto vanished.
Everyone frantically searched their surroundings, trying to find any sign of the blond boy.
Mocking laughter rang out from the forest:
"That earlier gust wasn't a real Wind Release jutsu. This—this is! [Wind Release: Gale Palm]!"
A powerful gust blew down from above the treetops, sending a hail of weapons flying toward Gaara.
Gaara crossed his arms to shield his vitals, and kunai and shuriken embedded themselves into his arms.
Lowering his arms, Gaara shouted loudly,
"Is that your best move, Naruto? Come out and fight me! Let me feel alive!"
"If you want to feel 'alive,' listen carefully now... Tell me what you hear now..."
Everyone fell silent. Temari's eyes widened—but it was too late.
Gaara was buried in sand.
"No! Gaara!"
An enormous explosion erupted, and moments later, Gaara crashed onto the ground.
The others could only stare in shock as the blond had taken down their strongest warrior.
Naruto's voice rang out again:
"Darn it, I should've killed you outright."
Gaara lay on the ground like molten sand.
Suddenly, multiple Naruto clones burst from the foliage, kicking Gaara high into the air, hitting him one after another, slamming him violently back to the ground.
Gaara lifted his head to look at the Naruto clones towering over him.
A thousand icy blue eyes glared down at him.
"No way... I can't lose to *him*!"
Suddenly, Gaara was completely engulfed by sand, expanding into the sky. Naruto's shadow clones were dispelled as Gaara's giant sand crushed them into pieces.
"Naruto, this ends now!"
Naruto was completely surrounded by Gaara's [Sand Binding Coffin].
"Ero-Sennin... this might actually work..."
Naruto bit his thumb and performed several hand seals.
Gaara performed hand seals with both hands.
[Sand Storm]...
[Summoning Jutsu]!
In a burst of smoke, Naruto found himself sitting atop Gamabunta's head.
"Hey, Boss Frog. How about helping me take this guy down?"
Gamabunta exhaled smoke from his pipe.
"One-Tail Shukaku... Kid, that's impossible."
Naruto pointed at Gaara.
"If you don't help me, I'll end up as nothing more than a bloodstain beneath its foot."
Gamabunta chuckled.
"Tough break. But we haven't had a drink together yet. Until we do, I can't recognize you as my summoner."
Naruto stared at him.
"I'm only a Genin. I couldn't even afford enough sake to get you tipsy."
Gamakichi appeared atop Naruto's head.
"C'mon, Dad. Help him out. I like this kid."
Gamabunta looked surprised at the little frog.
"Gamakichi? What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to see the world." He pointed at Gaara. "Then that guy tried to pick on me! This kid saved my life, started pounding him, but later he cheated by growing huge like that—and here we are."
Gamabunta got angry.
"Alright then, kid. You helped my son, so I'm grateful. I'll help you, but we're still having drinks later, understand?"
Naruto stood up and nodded.
Gamabunta drew his Tanto and charged forward, stabbing the blade into Shukaku's arm. With one mighty swing, he severed it.
Panting heavily, Gamabunta said,
"That nearly drained all my strength, and I only managed to cut off one arm."
Gaara performed hand seals with both hands.
[Feigning Sleep Technique]!
Shukaku's pupils whirled wildly as he let out a furious roar toward the sky.
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~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!