Chapter 237 The Crown Prince Meets the Crown Prince
However, as the fight progressed, Shukaku realized something was amiss.
It was true that Kurama's strength was considerably weaker than when it had last beaten him, but the difference was only in whether he would spin ten times or five times when struck. Against the now-energetic Kurama, he was still the one being beaten unilaterally.
"Damn it!" Shukaku roared, feeling utterly frustrated, and slammed down with its massive claws, the tips of which were packed with highly compressed sand, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound. "Try this! Sand Burial Seal!"
The sand beneath their feet seemed to liquefy, and a gigantic sand hand rose from Naruto's feet, attempting to drag him into the depths of the sand sea and seal him. At the same time, a terrifying wave of chakra condensed in Shukaku's mouth—"Wind Release: Sky Bullet!" A dark purple chakra cannonball, compressed with a massive amount of air and iron sand, its surface covered with sealing runes, roared out, heading straight for Naruto, who was trapped by the sand hand!
"You're really getting worse with age! As a tailed beast, you actually took the initiative to learn human ninjutsu!" Kurama, using Naruto's body, mocked calmly despite being trapped.
However, the next moment, Kurama raised its right hand using Naruto's body, and a Rasengan, a deep blue ball shimmering with golden light, slowly condensed. Its body shone brightly with golden light, and after breaking free from the sand's restraints, it charged straight at the incoming Rasengan.
The massive Rasengan, infused with a vast amount of chakra, shattered Shukaku's Rasengan in an instant. When Shukaku saw a golden figure holding a chakra sphere larger than his head appear before him, several large question marks popped into Shukaku's mind. "
Isn't that also a human ninjutsu?"
"Awesome! Kurama-nii, you even learned the Rasengan?" Naruto said excitedly inside the sealed space.
"This technique was originally developed by your father based on the inspiration he found in the Tailed Beast Ball, so it's naturally a piece of cake for me to use," Kurama said while enjoying his Rasengan and beating up Shukaku. "While this technique isn't as powerful as the Tailed Beast Ball, it's more stable and durable!"
With that, Kurama slammed the giant Rasengan into Shukaku's forehead, the rapidly spinning chakra sphere sending the sand that made up Shukaku's body flying everywhere.
"Damn you, you stinky fox!" Because the Rasengan was right next to his mouth, Shukaku, whose mouth was already partially damaged, spoke with a lisp.
"So many years have passed, and it seems you haven't improved much except for your mouth," Kurama said as he continued to beat Shukaku.
Shukaku was completely unable to lift his head, and his massive body shrank under Kurama's relentless barrage of attacks.
Seeing this, Naruto had to speak up and remind him, "Kurama, take it easy. This tailed beast is from Sunagakure, right? If we kill it, it'll cause trouble for the village."
"Why are you, a rogue ninja, thinking so much?" Kurama scoffed, but still slightly reduced his strength, stopping his Rasengan-sawing attack on the tanuki. Then, he kicked Shukaku, whose body was only half its original size, away.
Shukaku's body slammed heavily onto the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust. However, in Naruto's perception, the massive chakra fluctuation emanating from Shukaku at the center of the dust cloud vanished completely at that moment.
You'll never believe why I moved to… Karachi
MeetSingles
Looking for someone in Karachi today
Singleflirt
Looking for someone in Karachi today
Singleflirt
You'll never believe why I moved to… Karachi
MeetSingles
"Tch~ Boring." Shukaku, having been forced to retreat, and Kurama, losing interest, relinquished control of its body to Naruto.
Naruto, having regained control, scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then strode towards the center of the sandstorm.
Just then, some of the Sand Village troops lying in ambush could no longer remain still.
"Gaara!" Temari, the eldest princess of Sand Village, seeing her brother in danger, immediately rushed out.
"Hey! Temari!" Kankuro, seeing this, could only grit his teeth and follow his sister.
"What are those two doing?" Ebizo, in charge of the ambush, was annoyed, glaring at Temari with a look of disappointment. "They could have waited for the enemy to get closer, waited for the sealing team to prepare before attacking! With this kind of patience, they think they can be Kazekage?"
"Lord Ebizo, what do we do now?" Maki asked.
"The sealing team should prepare to attack. A tailed beast delivered to our doorstep, we have to try." Ebizo said.
"Yes!"
...
Naruto stepped into the smoke and dust. Where Shukaku had disappeared, a red-haired boy lay quietly. Just as Naruto was about to check on him, two figures blocked his way.
"Who are you? Ninjas from Sunagakure?" In Kurama mode, Naruto clearly sensed the hostility of the two before him, and his brows furrowed slightly.
"No matter who you are, don't come any closer, or Sunagakure will consider your actions a declaration of war!" Temari took a deep breath and warned righteously. Although at this moment, he and Kankuro's strength was no match for the opponent who could easily defeat the One-Tailed Beast, Temari couldn't stand by and watch her younger brother be harmed.
"But, it seems that it's Sunagakure that wants to attack me now." In Kurama mode, Naruto sensed that a tidal wave of malice was surging towards him.
The next instant, the sand beneath their feet began to spin rapidly, forming a huge vortex of yellow sand. At the edge of the vortex, various sealing runes slowly appeared.
"What is this technique?!" Temari exclaimed in shock, shouting at her Sunagakure comrades who were gathering around. "If you use this technique, Gaara will die!"
"The village has already given him many chances. Assassinating the Fourth Kazekage already makes him a sinner of our Sunagakure. This time, his rampage has caused heavy losses to the village. Using him as bait to capture this unknown tailed beast is his last bit of value," Ebizo said coldly.
"But!" Temari wanted to argue, but Naruto looked at the unresponsive Gaara and asked,
"Is he someone important to you?" Naruto looked at the anxious Temari and couldn't help but ask.
"He's our little brother," Temari said, gritting her teeth as she glanced back at Naruto.
"I see, our little brother?" Naruto looked at the unresponsive Gaara and couldn't help but think of his own situation before Kakashi took him home.
The Sand Village ninjas on the outer perimeter, despite being from the same village as the red-haired boy, conveyed an undisguised hatred to Naruto, as if they wished the four people in the center of the quicksand would die there together.
"If I were in that situation, Sasuke would probably make the same choice," Naruto sighed, looking at Temari and Kankuro.
Because Sasuke was born two months earlier, he had always tried to act as his older brother. Although Naruto himself had never admitted it, he knew that if he were in that situation, Sasuke would stand before him without hesitation.
"Hold out your hands," Naruto said.
"Hold out your hands? What do you want?" Temari looked at Naruto warily.
"If you want your brother to live, then hold out your hands." Naruto said, extending his fist towards the two of them.
"Who…who are you?" Temari looked at Naruto, who was enveloped in golden light, and couldn't help but ask.
"Uzumaki Naruto, a passing wandering ninja," Naruto said with a smile.
With nothing to lose, Kankuro and Temari, who was holding Gaara, each extended their hands, bumping fists with Naruto.
The next moment, golden chakra coiled around their fists and enveloped their bodies, giving them a golden glow, and a massive amount of chakra surged into their bodies.
"This chakra!" Temari and Kankuro both showed surprise. The amount of chakra surging into their bodies in just a few breaths was already ten times their original amount, yet their bodies showed no abnormal reactions. Instead, they felt incredibly warm and comfortable, like being bathed in sunlight.
"Hold your brother tight, don't let him fall." Naruto punched his palm, then stomped the ground forcefully, creating ripples on the sand. Naruto's figure transformed into a golden streak of light and soared into the sky. Behind him, two golden chakra arms grabbed Kankuro and Temari, who was holding Gaara, and the four of them were instantly in the air. Then
, Naruto's hands gathered in front of his chest, his palms forming a calyx shape, and a jet-black Tailed Beast Ball slowly condensed in his palms.
Naruto shouted and released the condensed Tailed Beast Ball into the distance. Using the recoil, the four of them flew away into the distance, quickly escaping the range of the Sand Village's sealing jutsu.
"Goodbye, everyone from Sunagakure!" After landing, Naruto waved in the direction of the Sunagakure ninjas, then fled into the distance with Temari and Kankuro.
"Hey! Put us down first!" Temari shouted as Naruto carried her away.
The Sunagakure ninjas naturally didn't want to let the four off so easily. Seeing that the sealing jutsu had failed, Ebizo also gave the order to pursue them. Seeing this, Naruto didn't have a chance to put the three siblings down, so he simply fled with them.
With Naruto in Kurama Chakra Mode fleeing at full speed, how could these Sunagakure ninjas, who hadn't even touched the Kage level, possibly catch up? Soon, the group disappeared from the sight of the Sunagakure pursuit force.
Night fell. By a campfire beneath a cliff in the desert of the Land of Wind, Naruto happily roasted several gerbils he had just caught. Temari and Kankuro, watching over Gaara, occasionally glanced up at Naruto, hesitant to speak.
"Ask whatever you want," Naruto said.
After spending some time together, Temari had lessened her fear of Naruto. This blond-haired man, though incredibly strong, seemed to have a good temper. Besides, he was, after all, their savior. So, Temari didn't try to run away. However, glancing at her surroundings, she couldn't help but sigh.
"Why did you bring us all this far away?" Temari said helplessly. "Now we can't even explain ourselves."
"Is it that serious?" Naruto shrugged. "Just think of you as hostages I kidnapped. You can take your brother back to the village tomorrow morning. You didn't shave your headbands in front of the villagers, so you can just explain when you get back."
"Besides, in the previous situation, I didn't even have time to put you down," Naruto said.
"It's not that simple." Temari sighed. "Gaara's identity is very special, and besides this time, he's caused trouble many times in a row. The village can no longer tolerate him."
"Moreover, we've been taken away by you for so long and returned to the village unharmed. I think we'll be suspected as well. In that case, I won't even have a last chance to save my brother."
"What did he do to make your fellow villagers hate him so much? Even for a Jinchuriki, this is too much." Naruto was also a little confused. After learning about his Jinchuriki identity, he understood why he had been treated so coldly as a child. At least the Konoha ninjas, especially some of the stronger ones, didn't harbor particularly strong hostility towards him. They would only keep their distance. But just now, Naruto had genuinely felt the undisguised killing intent of the Sunagakure ninjas towards Gaara.
"The tailed beast within him went berserk and killed our father," Temari said. "And this time, the One-Tailed Beast within him escaped its seal again, wreaking havoc in the village before breaking free. Both times it went berserk, many villagers died at its hands."
"Is that so?" Naruto frowned slightly as he looked at Gaara.
But just then, Naruto suddenly felt a surge of malice and grabbed Gaara's arm, who had awakened and was now attacking him.
Violent chakra surged within Gaara's body, his eyes bloodshot, his gaze towards Naruto like that of a wild beast.
"Yes! That's it! Kill this brat! Kill that stinky fox's Jinchūriki! My power is yours to use from now on!" Within Gaara's sealed space, Shukaku roared incessantly.
"Hmph!" The Nine-Tails within Naruto grunted, attempting to seize control of his body. However, Naruto shook his head, refusing the Nine-Tails' help. He grabbed Gaara's arm, swept him down with a leg sweep, and then delivered a chop to the back of Gaara's neck.
"Wait, if Gaara faints..." Temari was about to warn Naruto that if Gaara lost consciousness, Shukaku, now unrestrained, would cause trouble.
However, under the intimidating golden light emanating from Naruto, Shukaku within Gaara chose to yield.
...
________________________________________
Can't wait for the next chapter?
100+ advanced chapters are already available on Patreon!
👉 patreon.com/Horizons685
______________________________________
(End of Chapter)