It was Arata's first time seeing Haku in person.
The boy wore an ANBU-style mask, his soft voice barely audible through the chaos.
When he saw Arata appear, Haku's eyes widened.
"Don't come any closer!" he shouted, panic breaking through his usual calm.
That single shout was enough to set off the beast.
"ROAAARRR!!"
Naruto's guttural roar split the night.
The air itself trembled.
Arata narrowed his eyes.
"That sound… he's losing control fast."
He exhaled quietly, frustration flickering across his face.
"I should've learned more sealing techniques from Kakashi-sensei… none of the ones I know can suppress a tailed beast."
If only he had mastered the Uzumaki clan's sealing arts, he could have forced the Nine-Tails' chakra back into Naruto's body.
Instead, all he could do was act.
"Raaaah!"
With another roar, Naruto lunged — a blur of red fury.
The chakra cloak around him rippled like living fire, tails of crimson energy whipping through the air.
Even from a distance, Arata could feel the hatred in it.
That chakra wasn't just power — it was pure malice, concentrated into form.
"That's not good…" Arata muttered.
"If he keeps going, he'll start killing indiscriminately."
He glanced at Haku — the boy looked terrified but resolute.
Arata knew the truth from memory: Haku was no murderer.
He'd never taken a life without reason.
And Arata couldn't stand by and let Naruto kill him.
BOOM!
In a flash of golden light, Arata vanished — reappearing between Haku and the rampaging jinchūriki.
The two collided.
CRACK!
A shockwave burst outward as claw met fist.
The ground beneath them shattered into spiderweb cracks.
Blood-red chakra clashed with Arata's golden lightning, two forces of nature tearing the bridge apart.
For a moment, it was impossible to tell who was human and who was monster.
Arata's expression remained calm, though his muscles tensed under the pressure.
"So this is the power of a jinchūriki in partial transformation," he thought grimly.
"That strength… it's terrifying. Even I can barely keep up."
Behind him, Haku stood frozen.
He could hardly believe what he was seeing — this boy, this Konoha genin, was fighting the Nine-Tails' host head-on.
He remembered the moment that red chakra had hit him — how a single blow had sent him flying dozens of meters, nearly breaking every bone in his body.
And yet, this boy named Arata… was matching that same monster strike for strike.
"That golden light around him…" Haku whispered.
"It's not chakra armor… it feels alive."
The golden barrier shimmered, radiating warmth — the opposite of Naruto's corrosive crimson cloak.
Where the Nine-Tails' chakra oozed hatred, Arata's lightning radiated life and clarity.
Each clash of their fists sent rings of energy rippling across the bridge.
After several exchanges, Arata leapt back, breathing evenly.
He frowned.
"If this keeps up, I'll run out of chakra before he does. I need to find a way to restore his mind."
Naruto's body might be small, but the Nine-Tails' power inside him was endless.
And if that chakra broke the seal entirely… even Arata knew he didn't stand a chance.
He couldn't allow it.
"Sorry, Naruto," he muttered.
"But I can't hold back."
He vanished.
In a blink, Arata appeared above Naruto and swung his leg down — his entire limb wrapped in golden lightning.
CRACK!
The kick landed cleanly.
Naruto was blasted away like a cannonball, crashing through the bridge's edge and into the dark sea below.
BOOOOOOM!
Waves exploded upward, reaching nearly thirty meters high.
Arata watched the rippling water below and exhaled softly.
He wasn't worried — not yet.
Naruto's body was completely enveloped by the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Even if he were injured, that monstrous vitality would heal him instantly.
Still, Arata had no time to hesitate.
His hands came together in a sharp seal.
"Water Release — Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
He leapt from the bridge, chakra flaring under his feet.
Before he even touched the surface, the ocean below began to twist and rise.
RUMBLE…
A shadow formed beneath the waves.
Then—
ROARRRRR!!
A colossal dragon of water burst from the sea, towering into the sky, easily three hundred meters long.
Its roar split the heavens.
The water dragon's scales shimmered with blue light, its body coiled around Arata like a guardian deity.
From miles away, the sound could be heard echoing through the night.
Even Kakashi and Zabuza paused mid-fight to look.
Kakashi's single visible eye widened.
"That's… Arata's Water Dragon Bullet?"
"It wasn't that big before—this one's over three hundred meters! Is that even possible?"
The normal technique barely produced dragons thirty or forty meters long.
Even the most skilled masters might push it to a hundred.
But this… this was something else entirely.
The dragon didn't just look like water — it felt alive, its eyes glowing with intelligence as it circled the young shinobi below.
Zabuza's hand trembled on his sword.
"What the hell is that kid?" he muttered.
"No wonder Raiya didn't come back…"
He grit his teeth.
"First the Nine-Tails brat… now this one. What's going on in Konoha lately?"
Meanwhile, Kakashi's gaze flicked toward the ocean.
Naruto's crimson chakra was flaring violently, his form writhing within the mist.
"He's growing another tail…" Kakashi whispered.
The second tail was forming — a sign the Nine-Tails' consciousness was pushing further through the seal.
If it broke completely… it wouldn't just endanger the mission — it could start a war.
His hands clenched.
"Naruto… please, stop before it's too late."
The sea raged below.
Wind whipped across the bridge.
And in the middle of it all stood Arata — calm amidst the chaos, golden eyes locked on the monstrous chakra emerging from the waves.
Above him, the massive water dragon circled protectively, its glowing eyes fixed on Naruto's red silhouette below.
Even the Nine-Tails could feel it — the ancient instinct that recognized another predator.
The water rippled as Naruto's tail lashed behind him, a second one beginning to form.
His roar tore through the storm.
"So… you can feel fear," Arata said quietly, lightning flaring around his hands.
"Let's see which of us the ocean itself obeys."
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