Chapter 262: One-Tail Shukaku
Outside Konoha Village, in a forest clearing.
After dispatching most of his shadow clones back to the village for support, Naruto's gaze returned to Gaara struggling painfully on the ground.
"Uuuugh... AAAHHH! My head... my head hurts so much! Mother... my head... it hurts...!"
In his half-Tailed Beast form, Gaara's face was covered with cracks like shattered pottery, fine sand constantly falling from the fissures.
Due to his current mental and physical exhaustion, his willpower at rock bottom, the seal had become extremely fragile. The One-Tail Shukaku inside was taking this opportunity to frantically assault the seal, trying to forcibly seize control of his body—this was the source of his severe headache.
Naruto approached and crouched down, showing no retreat despite that ferocious appearance. He extended his hand, gently placing it on Gaara's mutated, trembling shoulder.
Healing energy and life force slowly flowed into Gaara's body and spirit on the verge of collapse.
The severe headache receded like a tide. Gaara's tense body gradually relaxed, leaving only violent panting like someone who'd survived disaster.
"Feeling better?" Naruto's voice was calm. "Don't worry, trust me. After today passes, everything... will gradually get better."
However, this well-intentioned comfort instantly ignited the most sensitive, most paranoid fuse deep in Gaara's heart!
"Don't touch me—!"
He violently swung his arm, harshly slapping away Naruto's hand on his shoulder. His half-human, half-beast face twisted as he stared at Naruto with eyes full of hatred and madness, voice hoarsely roaring.
"Stop... stop this hypocritical sympathy!"
"What do you know?! Between people... there's only ever been mutual slaughter! Mutual betrayal! Mutual exploitation! That's the world's truth! Only by taking lives... with scorching blood... can I feel I'm still alive! Can I prove my existence has value!"
Facing this rage-filled roar, Naruto didn't argue or get angry. He knew well that this youth's twisted words and actions weren't his true nature, but rather a protective shell formed from being pushed to desperation step by step by that environment full of betrayal, isolation, and cruel exploitation.
He simply gazed quietly back at Gaara, those azure eyes holding no fear, no disgust, only... sympathy.
"No," Naruto's voice carried unquestionable firmness. "Between people, barriers and prejudice do indeed arise from misunderstanding and fear."
"But precisely because of this, we need even more courage to approach each other, to build bridges of understanding. I believe that in the deepest part of anyone's heart, there exists goodwill willing to understand others, and also hidden loneliness desiring to be understood by others. And I..."
He extended his hand slightly forward.
"...I want to take your hand and walk out together from that fog called 'loneliness' and 'hatred.'"
Can't understand! Completely can't understand!
Seeing this "goodwill" he'd long stopped believing in and even scorned once again, what little rationality Gaara had left was swallowed by deeper madness. He used his not-yet-mutated hand to tightly cover the half of his face constantly leaking sand and twitching in pain.
"Shut up! What do you understand about me?! Someone like you who's naturally powerful, surrounded by companions, with clear meaning for existence... and a monster like me who's only existed for slaughter since birth... we're completely different kinds of beings!"
His voice twisted and trembled from extreme emotion.
"As I thought... only by killing you! With your death can I prove my existence! Can I... become that Asura again who only knew to love himself, who only lived for slaughter!"
He abruptly lowered his hand, those beast-like pupils locking onto Naruto, filled with pure killing intent.
"You... can only be my prey! I can't wait... to see... what wonderful expression of fear that face always wearing false gentleness... will show before death!"
BOOM—!!!
Accompanying his crazed declaration, a massive, ominous Tailed Beast chakra filled with violence and hatred surged madly from within him like a bursting dam! This power was vaguely related to the Nine-Tails chakra on Naruto yet emanated a completely different aura!
"Gaara! Stop! Stop this now!"
Panicked shouts came from the forest edge. Kankuro and Temari had finally tracked here following the massive chakra disturbance, but when they clearly saw the scene before them, their faces instantly turned deathly pale—the situation had completely spiraled out of control!
According to plan, Gaara's complete Tailed Beast transformation had to occur inside Konoha Village to maximize destruction! Releasing Shukaku here would ruin everything!
But it was already too late. Accompanied by massive smoke and chakra shockwaves, everything before them blurred. After the dust cleared, a gigantic figure stood in place.
"This great me is finally out—!!!"
A sharp, enormous roar shook through the forest. The One-Tail Shukaku, having fully transformed and completely seized control of Gaara's body, released excited sound waves that spread like shockwaves, making surrounding leaves rustle.
"In the end... it still came out..."
Looking at this behemoth before her symbolizing absolute disaster and madness, Temari's legs gave out and she collapsed directly to the ground. The sense of failure beyond the plan was now drowned by more primal emotion—fear.
Would Gaara in this state really still distinguish friend from foe? Would he... crush everything before him?
Unlike the siblings nearly lost to fear, Naruto instead stepped forward several paces, looking up at the giant beast roaring excitedly to speak.
"You finally appeared, One-Tail... I understand your desire to regain freedom, but Gaara also didn't willingly seal you in his body. Isn't forcing a child like this a bit inappropriate?"
"Hmm?"
Immersed in the joy of breaking free, Shukaku heard this tiny voice and looked down puzzled. A human actually recognized it and dared speak to it in this tone? It saw clearly that ant-like figure at its feet.
On the other side, Temari and Kankuro completely couldn't understand the scene before them. Had this guy... gone insane from shock? He was reasoning with this kind of monster?!
Naruto seemed completely unfazed by the chakra pressure that could make ordinary ninja collapse, proposing a condition. "How about this—let's make a bet. If I defeat you, from now on while you're in Gaara's body, can you be more peaceful? At least... let him get some proper sleep, how about it?"
"Wha... what?! Pfft—HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Shukaku froze for a second, then erupted in laughter almost enough to overturn the sky. What was it seeing? A human brat was actually seriously negotiating conditions with it, even claiming he'd defeat it?
This utterly absurd scene made Shukaku laugh so hard all its sand grains violently shook.
"Just... just you, brat?!" Shukaku's voice was full of disdain and mockery.
"Ignorant human, have you started babbling nonsense from too much fear? This is hilarious! You... you are!!!"
However, as its words neared conclusion, when that soul-deep perception finally caught the certain extremely familiar yet intensely detested aura emanating from Naruto, Shukaku's massive beast face made of sand grains instantly froze, then transformed to undisguised panic.
It even instinctively stepped back, causing the earth to tremble.
But this panic lasted only an instant before being replaced by even more surging fury accumulated for who knows how many years. That beast face twisted from extreme rage, releasing a deafening roar.
"It's... it's you! No wonder so arrogant... so you're that stinking fox's jinchuriki!! Go die for this great me!"
Accompanying this roar full of ancient grudges, the One-Tail Shukaku took a sharp breath. High-concentration Wind Style chakra visibly rapidly gathered and compressed before its giant maw. Immediately after, its massive claw viciously struck its bulging belly.
"Wind Style: Air Bullet!!"
A massive chakra sphere containing destructive power shot out like a cannonball, tearing through the air with ear-piercing whistles, bombarding toward Naruto and Temari and Kankuro behind him!
Facing this Tailed Beast-level terrifying jutsu, Temari and Kankuro trembled all over, desperately realizing that with their speed, they couldn't possibly escape this attack's range. Death's shadow instantly enveloped their hearts.
Are we... going to die here...
BOOM!!!!
The deafening explosion and violent shockwave arrived as expected, the intense wind pressure making it nearly impossible to breathe.
However, the anticipated agony of being torn to pieces and eternal darkness didn't descend. Kankuro and Temari tremblingly opened their eyes that had closed from fear.
They saw a brilliant golden figure standing firmly before them. A giant claw constructed of golden chakra had caught head-on that Air Bullet sufficient to level a mountaintop!
The violent Wind Style energy struck the chakra claw, bursting into countless chaotic airflows and light, yet couldn't shake it in the slightest, ultimately dissipating unwillingly into nothingness.