The smoke burst open, and a golden toad as big as Shukaku appeared out of thin air!
"What… is that?"
"A giant toad? Why is it golden?"
Kankuro and Temari had thought Gaara in full form would be enough to handle Naruto, but they didn't expect Naruto could summon a "giant toad monster"!
Standing on Gamaken's head, Naruto patted it and said, "This is your first real battle, don't embarrass me. Use all the fighting skills you've got, got it?"
"Gold coin!"
Gamaken gave a serious croak, but its eyes were as pure as a child's, which made Naruto a little uneasy.
It shouldn't get killed… right?
Even Gamabunta could only fight Gaara's controlled Shukaku.
Once Shukaku took full control of the body, even Gamabunta couldn't gain the upper hand in a direct fight! He was even injured by Shukaku and forced on the defensive!
"Hehehehe, interesting, Uzumaki Naruto, you're so interesting. Even more exciting than Uchiha!"
Now fully merged with Shukaku, Gaara spoke with a twisted voice, "To thank you for bringing me so much fun, I'll give you a proper reward!!"
"Sand Coffin!"
Gaara stretched out Shukaku's hand toward Naruto and the Gamaken.
The next moment, floating yellow sand appeared around them!
Naruto calmly stood on top of the Gamaken without moving. This fight was something he had prepared to slack off in, and it was also for the Gamaken to handle.
Unless the Gamaken's life was in real danger, he wouldn't step in!
The Gamaken also understood what Naruto meant. Its pupils, shaped like copper coins, turned slightly, and it suddenly made a frog jump to escape the Sand Coffin's attack.
"Gold coin!"
While in midair, the Gamaken shouted, then suddenly opened its huge mouth and spat out a giant gold coin!
"That's a huge coin!"
Naruto's eyes widened at the sight of it, though it seemed this big coin was the Gamaken's weapon, so there was no way it was giving it to him.
"Gold coin!!"
The Gamaken made a flying leap in front of Shukaku and slammed the big coin straight into Shukaku's face, forcing it back a few steps.
"Gold coin?"
The Gamaken seemed surprised that Shukaku could take a hit like that—its full-strength smack had only pushed it back a little.
At that moment, Gaara, inside Shukaku, glanced at it with a vicious glare that startled the Gamaken. In response, it raised the big coin and began wildly smacking away.
"Coin coin coin!!"
"..."
Under the Gamaken's frenzied beating, Gaara's Shukaku was already flattened, no longer even looking like Shukaku.
So weak!
A trace of doubt flashed in Naruto's eyes. Was Gaara's controlled Shukaku really this weak?
Or was the Gamaken just that strong?
That didn't make sense… the Gamaken's wild beating had no real technique—it didn't look like it had any battle experience at all.
Its strength shouldn't even be as good as Gamabunta's.
But seeing the solid muscles on the Gamaken's two arms, Naruto fell into thought.
Could it be the saying "wild punches can beat a master"?
Just then, Gaara's Shukaku suddenly controlled the sand to knock the Gamaken back, quickly pulling some distance from them.
"How could I lose to a toad?!"
"Unforgivable!"
"Unforgivable!"
The crazed Gaara suddenly emerged from the top of Shukaku's head.
He quickly formed hand signs, and in the next moment, he fell into sleep!
Feigning Sleep Technique!
For a Jinchuriki possessed by Shukaku, sleeping was extremely difficult—sometimes even impossible!
That's because once the Jinchuriki fell asleep, Shukaku would take the chance to seize control of the body, causing the power to go out of control!
And if a Jinchuriki stayed awake for too long, their mental strength would become much weaker. That's why those possessed by Shukaku often ended up insane, mentally unstable, and unable to use their power properly!
Although both situations caused the Jinchuriki's power to go out of control, there was still a difference in the level of power!
When Shukaku controlled the body, it could use much stronger powers—like the Tailed Beast Ball or Wind Release: Air Bullets—which Gaara couldn't use while in control.
As Gaara fell asleep, Shukaku's consciousness began to awaken, and the color of its pupils changed.
"Finally, I'm out!"
Shukaku shouted excitedly, its whole body instantly returning to its full form.
Clearly, the Gamaken's earlier attacks hadn't really harmed Shukaku!
"You stupid toad, you sure had fun being scared just now!"
Shukaku pointed at the Coin Toad and shouted, his belly swelling like a frog's before slamming it hard.
"Wind Style: Air Bullet!"
"Roar!"
A huge ball of wind shot out from Shukaku's mouth, heading straight for the Coin Toad.
Seeing this, the Coin Toad smashed the coin onto the ground, fixing it in place, then hid behind the massive coin.
Boom!!!!
The wind ball slammed into the coin, pushing the Coin Toad back dozens of steps!
It was a bit of a struggle, but at least it managed to block it.
"Coin! Coin!" the Coin Toad shouted to Naruto from behind the coin.
Naruto couldn't understand it, so he guessed, "You can't beat it?"
"Coin!"
"Then fall back for now."
In this fight, the Coin Toad didn't perform that well, but it wasn't completely useless either.
Shukaku, able to suppress Gaara's control, wasn't much weaker than the toads in general, though its combat skills barely showed.
The whole fight, it just hopped around and smacked things with its big coin a few times.
Totally like some random street thug's fighting style!
Looks like from now on, Gamaken will need to help it train its combat skills more.
Thinking this, Naruto jumped off the Coin Toad and faced Shukaku directly!
He still hadn't fought a Kage-level opponent before, so this battle was also a valuable trial for him!
Whoosh!
Naruto fired a laser beam at Shukaku, causing a huge explosion, but it still didn't pierce through completely!
"Defense got stronger?"
Just now, the Coin Toad's big coin could smack Shukaku flat, but now even his laser couldn't shoot through it!
Armor of Sand?
Or was Shukaku just too fat?
"Brat, die!"
Shukaku, enraged by Naruto's probing attack, opened his mouth and spat out another Air Bullet.
Naruto frowned, jumped onto the Coin Toad's big coin, spread his hands, and three massive light screens appeared in front of him.
Light Style: Triple Rashomon!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Air Bullet from Shukaku shattered the three light gates Naruto had summoned with ease.
It finally hit the Coin Toad's big coin and was completely stopped there.
This was a move Naruto had come up with on the spot, so its lack of strong defense wasn't surprising.
Still, having it broken through so easily left Naruto a bit disappointed.
How could light be made into something truly defensive?
Without an answer, Naruto pressed his thumbs against his pinkies, gathering a huge amount of light energy.
Yasakani no Tomoe!!
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