"It's Naruto!"
"He heard me!"
Watching Naruto plunge into the massive sandfall, Sakura breathed a long sigh of relief. Although Menma refused to help, Naruto could now use the Nine-Tails' chakra, making him ridiculously powerful. Besides, even if Naruto couldn't handle it, the dark personality within him certainly couldn't ignore his younger brother's danger. In the end, Menma would have to come to the rescue himself! With his strength, Shikamaru and the others were definitely safe!
Thinking this, Sakura couldn't help but give herself a mental thumbs up for her cleverness.
Inside the sandfall, a crimson streak flashed past. Shikamaru, ignoring the injury to his leg, lunged at Choji and pried his mouth open, forcefully pulling out three pills that hadn't been swallowed yet.
"Spit it out, Choji! Don't even swallow your saliva!"
"Look ahead—did Naruto come, or did the Kazekage?"
Although these pills might not be fatal, Choji had swallowed all three at once! Shikamaru didn't want him to cause a blunder and sacrifice himself in vain just when they were about to be rescued.
"Ugh—!"
Hearing Shikamaru's words, Choji quickly spat out large mouthfuls of saliva. He even used his fingers to clean his throat, terrified that even a single dissolved pill would enter his stomach.
Ino, standing to the side, stared ahead in utter shock. The powerful figure tearing through the sand with his Nine-Tails chakra cloak was deeply imprinted in her eyes.
"Amazing!" Shikamaru and Choji exclaimed after finishing their pills. They also witnessed the incredibly impactful scene before them. A small body unleashed tremendous power, fighting against the natural disaster blanketing the entire sky. At that moment, Naruto looked absolutely awesome in their eyes.
They recalled the small figure they used to be, ostracized by everyone, forced to stay alone in a corner. Then they looked at that reassuring, much taller figure. Shikamaru couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
"Are you Naruto... or Kage!?"
Naruto, who only used the power of one tail and still possessed considerable rationality, turned his head away. A suppressed smile of murderous intent and rage tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"I'm Menma Uzumaki's younger brother, Naruto Uzumaki!"
Hearing that familiar catchphrase and its contents, Shikamaru laughed heartily. Naruto was finally no longer alone; he possessed immense power and an even stronger backing.
Choji, standing nearby, shouted, "Go Naruto! Beat this panda-eyed kid to a pulp!"
Naruto laughed, looking ahead again, his voice full of confidence and determination.
"Don't worry about me! I'll definitely get you all out of here safely!"
As he spoke, the crimson Nine-Tails chakra around him intensified. He controlled the fox tail blocking the sandstorm with even greater ease.
The next second!
"Split... for me!"
Rip!
The overwhelming sandstorm was finally split apart by the crimson chakra. The sand then rapidly spread towards the woodlands on both sides. In the blink of an eye, a desert hundreds of meters in size was formed.
Gaara stared at Naruto, who had suddenly appeared before him, and behind him, Shikamaru and the other two, completely unharmed. A hand instantly covered half his face, the other side contorted in rage.
"It's you! You actually managed to break through my Sand Waterfall Funeral!"
Gaara was furious, his voice filled with disbelief. This lackey, whom he had almost killed with a single blow before the exam, actually possessed such strength.
"This disgusting smell... it's that stinking fox Kurama!" a sharp, piercing voice echoed in Gaara's mind.
A fat, sand-like raccoon opened its eyes in the darkness, revealing jet-black, diamond-shaped pupils. Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast!
"Ptooey! Disgusting, utterly disgusting!!!" Shukaku, sensing the Nine-Tails' chakra, let out a piercing scream. At the same time, it frantically jumped and vomited in Gaara's mind. This noisy, piercing sound instantly gave Gaara a splitting headache.
"Damn it, don't bother me now!!!"
Gaara clutched his head, his expression turning almost manic. Drool dripped from his bulging, contorted mouth.
Naruto, on the other side, thought Gaara was yelling at him. He immediately glared angrily ahead, pointing at Gaara and shouting,
"Panda-eyes, show me what you've got! I won't let you hurt my friends, not even a tiny bit!"
"Friends!?" Gaara looked up abruptly at his words. He stared at Naruto, who was just as ferocious and terrifying as he had been when he went berserk. Then he looked behind him at Shikamaru and the other two, their faces filled with trust. The Suna ninja finally couldn't take it anymore.
"We're all the same! Why can you receive their love, while I can only feel my own?! Kill you, and I can feel everything! As long as I kill you, my existence will not disappear!!!"
Roaring maniacally, Gaara's left eye was covered in sand. In an instant, it formed the shape of Shukaku's left eye.
"Hehehehe, that's it, you brat!! Push harder, use it all, kill this stinking fox!!"
The Shukaku in Gaara's mind also laughed maniacally, frantically releasing its chakra. Gaara roared, slamming his hands onto the ground.
"Sand Burial!"
Rumble!
In an instant, the entire small desert began to shake violently. The sand covering the ground inexplicably began to flow at high speed, forming a vast expanse of terrifying quicksand.
"Oh no, it's starting again!" The moment he felt his feet sinking deep into the sand, Naruto leaped in front of Shikamaru and the other two. Before they were engulfed by the quicksand, he quickly used his Nine-Tails chakra cloak to pull them up and throw them outside.
"You still have the mind to save others?! Burn them two hundred meters underground and utterly crush them to pieces!"
Seeing Naruto still trying to save them, Gaara, enraged, bent his hands forward into claws and then clenched them tightly. In an instant, all the quicksand sank even faster. Simultaneously, small sandstorms swirled around, enveloping and compressing Naruto.
"Disperse!"
Naruto, trapped within, began to struggle frantically. His Nine-Tails chakra swept out continuously. But the sand, amplified by Shukaku's chakra, was like a persistent, insidious poison, dispersing only to immediately recede again. It was clear that he was completely encased, unable to escape. The cracking sound of the sand compressing him echoed continuously.
The Nine-Tails, observing this scene, couldn't sit still. He didn't want Shukaku to use this to mock him later.
"What an idiot! He can't even beat a Jinchuriki with only one tail, the weakest of the weakest tanuki!"
Saying this, the Nine-Tails glanced furtively at Menma not far away. Then, it subtly tapped the floor with its claws. Instantly, a tiny amount of pure chakra quietly seeped out.
"If this still doesn't win, then we won't give this stupid brat any more of our strength!"
...