Killer Bee and Naruto exchanged a smile.
They immediately understood each other's intent. By all appearances, they had succeeded—though the current state of the "sister-in-law," Yugito Nii, looked a little… unstable.
Naruto knew it too. He had truly let his big brother down.
After the war is over, I'm probably going to get beaten half to death…
But this was all for the future peace of the ninja world. It was worth it!
Brother Uchiha Hikaru is such a reasonable, upright person. He'll definitely understand… right? (;￣▽￣)
At that very moment, Uchiha Hikaru—who was in the combat command room, deploying shinobi units and issuing orders to the Allied Shinobi Forces through Shikaku Nara and the others—suddenly sneezed.
A strange chill crept up his spine.
"…Huh?"
He frowned slightly but didn't think much of it.
Maybe I've been overworking myself these past few days… I should give my kidneys a break.
Yeah. Definitely that.
"Naruto," Killer Bee muttered under his breath, lowering his stance slightly, "how do we take down these five?"
"Do we jump them together, or—"
The five jinchūriki, completely immersed in their game of Ninja Kill, hadn't noticed Naruto and Bee approaching from behind at all.
Naruto looked at the five figures in front of him and thought for a moment.
"Uncle Killer Bee," he asked quietly, "do you know what kind of people Lao Zi and Han really are?"
"…Hard to say."
Bee scratched his chin, thinking back.
"Hiss—"
"I'm not sure either. We all fought in the Third Great Ninja War, but I never actually crossed blades with them."
"It's said that Lao Zi's got a notoriously stubborn temper—totally opposite to Ōnoki's way of thinking."
"That other guy barely talks, but when he fights enemy shinobi, he gets strangely fired up."
"So yeah. Can't be sure."
Naruto took a deep breath, steadying his emotions.
"That's enough. Thanks, Uncle Bee. Leave the rest to me."
With that, he stepped forward slowly, his back straight, his eyes burning with resolve.
Killer Bee watched Naruto's back and suddenly realized—sometime in the past two years, Naruto had grown almost as tall as him. Sixteen… maybe seventeen already.
He was no longer the reckless kid who had first stumbled into Kumogakure.
You've grown up, Bee thought, smiling to himself.
Go get 'em, Naruto. Uncle believes in you. ✊
Naruto stopped behind Gaara.
"Gaara," he said casually, "is Ninja Kill fun?"
"Who're you playing as?"
Gaara turned around, startled to see Naruto so close. He averted his gaze slightly, looking a bit awkward.
"…You."
Naruto blinked.
"Huh?"
"The character I'm using is you," Gaara added flatly. "What a pain."
Naruto laughed, then seized the chance.
"Hey, you still have my ninja card? What skills does it have? Let me see!"
As he spoke, Naruto leaned down and picked up the card.
Printed on it was a photo of him from the Chūnin Exams.
Not bad, he thought smugly. I look pretty handsome. 😎
"[Rasengan]," Naruto read aloud.
"You may convert any Chakra Attribute Attack Card into a Wind Style Rasengan. Armor effects are ignored."
"[Power of the Nine-Tails]," he continued, eyes widening slightly.
"After the first time you enter a near-death state, you revive with full health and enter a tailed-beast-enhanced state for one round. Immediately draw three cards. Your attack range increases, allowing you to target all ninjas. During this round, Rasengan evolves into Vermilion Rasengan, increasing damage by 1 and dealing 1 point of splash damage to the two adjacent targets."
"…Wow. This skill design really is me."
Gaara nodded.
"It fits."
He had to admit—it perfectly matched his impression of Naruto. The explosive power of a jinchūriki unleashing their tailed beast chakra was something all too familiar.
Naruto placed the card back into Gaara's hand zone, then looked up at the five of them.
"It's a shame," he said quietly, "that with all these abilities… I can only use them in a card game."
The moment those words left his mouth, the five jinchūriki instantly understood what he was really saying.
It wasn't about the game.
It was a complaint. A bitter frustration.
They were jinchūriki—yet all they could do was sit safely behind the lines, protected by others.
Didn't they want to stand on the battlefield too?
Didn't they want to protect their villages and homes with their own hands?
Silence fell.
Naruto's words tore open the numbness they had wrapped around their hearts, ripping away the forced cheerfulness from moments before.
Yugito Nii looked at her friends, their expressions darkening. She opened her mouth hesitantly, trying to comfort them.
"But… this was the decision of the Five Kage," she said softly.
"It's for the sake of the villages. We… we don't really have a choice."
"Don't be sad. Let's just keep playing."
Even so, no one picked up their cards.
At that moment, Gaara let the cards in his hand fall to the ground. His [Shadow] identity card slipped free and landed at his feet.
He stood up and faced Naruto directly.
"What are you trying to do?"
"I don't want this any more than you do," Gaara said calmly.
"But as shinobi—and as jinchūriki—we carry too many responsibilities."
"Sometimes, we can't act on our own impulses."
"This is a decision made by the Five Kage and the Allied Shinobi command."
"They understand the risks of letting jinchūriki enter the battlefield."
"I remember your dream, Naruto—to become Hokage."
"I'm the same. I want to become the Kazekage."
"Our greatest contribution right now is preventing the tailed beasts from being taken by Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu."
"So don't be reckless. Don't delay the war."
His voice was steady, restrained.
Gaara's childhood had been drowned in darkness.
The Chūnin Exams—meeting Naruto, meeting other jinchūriki—had helped him crawl out of that abyss. But it hadn't erased the scars.
Even now, though he no longer hated his father, he still couldn't face his shadow directly.
Not until the ninja conference days ago—his father's apology, his sincere remorse—did Gaara finally understand something.
What shadow truly meant.
A shinobi is someone who endures.
And a Kage is the one who bears even more darkness, shouldering pain ordinary people never could.
All for justice.
Naruto froze for a moment, sensing the change in Gaara.
Then he smiled and patted Gaara on the shoulder.
"Gaara… looks like you've forgiven your father."
"Congratulations. You've finally stepped out of the shadow of the past."
Gaara smiled faintly.
"…Thank you. You're the one who saved me from the prison of loneliness."
But then Naruto's tone shifted.
His voice rose, his eyes sharpened, his expression turning resolute.
"But Gaara—are we really only allowed to fight inside a game?"
"We might be jinchūriki, but we're still shinobi!"
"I understand what you're saying. I really do."
"But how do you know that if we go to the battlefield, the tailed beasts will be taken from us?"
"How do you know the war can be won without us?!"
Gaara frowned.
"That's not for us to decide."
"This is an order from above."
"As Kage—and as commanders—they, and your elder brother Uchiha Hikaru as well, must know something we don't."
"That's why this order was issued."
"We shouldn't question it."
"Doubting the Kage… doubting a mission—those are taboos for shinobi."
His voice hardened as he spoke, leaving no room for hesitation.