Obviously, refusing wasn't an option.
Maki understood this reality with perfect clarity, the knowledge settling into his bones like winter cold.
Bitterness twisted at the corner of his mouth. For the first time in his long career, he felt genuine helplessness facing one of Konoha's shinobi. After struggling with the decision internally for several long moments, Maki finally asked with obvious reluctance, "Naruto, can I refuse?"
Hearing those words, Kankuro immediately raised his hand to his forehead in exasperation. He looked at his sensei with undisguised pity written across his features.
Rejecting Naruto? That's completely impossible. It'll probably make things even worse.
Why not just accept the beating honestly? Since you can't resist anyway, might as well try to enjoy it with peace of mind.
Sure enough, Naruto shook his head with finality. "No, you can't refuse."
This answer had been expected by everyone present. But those directly involved inevitably struggled against fate anyway. The survival instinct kicked in when facing difficulty, desperate for any escape route.
"Maki of Sunagakure, let's begin quickly." Naruto looked at Maki with steady determination. Although Maki seemed profoundly unwilling to become his friend through this process, that reluctance didn't prevent Naruto from wanting the friendship anyway.
If one beating couldn't establish friendship, then two would suffice. If two wasn't enough, then three.
To ultimately become friends with Maki, Naruto had already cultivated the necessary perseverance and patience. He wouldn't give up.
"Since Maki-sensei is my senior, I'll attack first out of respect for your experience and position." After speaking, Naruto stepped forward decisively, closing the distance between them in three long strides.
Naruto, you really don't need to respect me like this... Maki complained frantically in his mind. With your ability to make Orochimaru's body literally explode, do you honestly need to show me this kind of courtesy?
However, seeing that Naruto had already launched his approach, understanding in his heart that Naruto had no actual intention of killing them, Maki didn't respond with desperate measures or forbidden techniques.
The only emotion he felt was shame. Shame at the prospect of being hammered into an unrecognizable state by someone decades younger.
Naruto had made the first move. The arrow sat on the string, ready to fly. Maki had no choice but to respond in kind.
He acted instantly, hands blurring through seals. Wind Style chakra gathered and compressed. The Blade of Wind technique manifested, creating a whirlwind of cutting force that was theoretically unavoidable.
Of course, "unavoidable" always had exceptions. Sasuke could dodge when using Flying Thunder God. Naruto's Instantaneous Movement could evade as well.
But with Naruto's physical body, did he actually need to dodge such attacks?
"Crack! Crack! Crack!" The wind blades struck Naruto's body with all the irritation of a mild itch. Naruto simply walked directly through the wave of cutting wind, arriving before Maki without slowing. He punched forward with measured force.
A dull, heavy sound echoed.
Maki immediately fell straight backward, his body hitting the ground hard.
However, because of Maki's earlier refusal, his attempt to decline the friendship process, this encounter obviously wouldn't end with just one punch. Naruto decided to give Maki additional time, extending the friendly discussion. After fifteen solid minutes, Naruto finally concluded their exchange.
Maki lay on the ground, his face swollen to the point of being unrecognizable. The damage was genuinely hard to look at directly without wincing.
Naruto clapped his hands together, brushing invisible dust from his palms. He looked down at Maki sprawled on the ground, then asked with complete sincerity, "Maki-sensei of Sunagakure, are you willing to be my friend now?"
"Yes! I'm willing!" Maki shed tears. Whether they were tears of joy or pain remained ambiguous.
Seeing Maki's agreement, Naruto released a breath of relief. He'd been most afraid that Maki would continue refusing, necessitating yet another friendly discussion session. He helped Maki to his feet with gentle hands, then glanced meaningfully at Kankuro.
Kankuro immediately understood the unspoken command. He ran over and accepted Maki's weight from Naruto's supporting grip. Seeing that Maki's facial injuries were actually twice as severe as his sister's, Kankuro's eye twitched involuntarily.
Sensei, why did you have to say that? Why did you ask if you could refuse?
Maki had successfully become Naruto's friend, achieving the goal despite his reluctance.
Now, among the four members of Sunagakure's delegation, only Gaara remained.
Naruto's attention shifted completely. His blue eyes fixed on the red-haired boy.
Gaara's pale green eyes locked on Naruto with equal intensity.
Their gazes met and held, neither looking away.
"Hehe, Uzumaki Naruto." Gaara's voice carried dark amusement. "I'm not some useless weakling like them. No matter what your purpose is, as long as I defeat you, everything ends here. Hahaha..."
Gaara untied the massive gourd from his back, letting it drop to the ground with a heavy thud. He stared at Naruto with frightening seriousness, his expression completely devoid of fear or hesitation.
Hearing Gaara's declaration, Temari immediately raised her hand to her forehead in dismay. With Naruto's overwhelming strength, you think you can defeat him?
Though thinking about it more carefully, considering Gaara's identity as the One-Tail's Jinchūriki, he might actually be able to match Naruto blow for blow. The tailed beast's power could potentially bridge the gap.
Regarding Gaara's fundamental misunderstanding of the situation, Naruto explained patiently, "Gaara, I genuinely want to become your friend. Time will prove my sincerity."
"Stop your meaningless chatter!" Gaara sneered, raising his hand in a commanding gesture. The gourd's cork popped free. Overwhelming quicksand erupted outward, sweeping toward Naruto like a living tsunami.
Simultaneously, sand gathered on Gaara's own body, forming protective armor across his torso and limbs. The grains compressed into hardened layers.
Naruto didn't feel bothered by Gaara's aggressive response or the strangeness of his words. He'd anticipated exactly this reaction after learning about Gaara's identity as a Jinchūriki.
All Jinchūriki developed peculiar personalities. Isolation and fear twisted people in unique ways.
The only solution was speaking through strength. As long as your power exceeded your opponent's, they would eventually wake up to reality and accept connection.
Therefore, Naruto rushed directly into the quicksand without hesitation, passing through the churning mass. The next second, an eardrum-shaking sound resonated across the entrance area.
Dull, like an evening drum or morning bell. Naruto appeared directly before Gaara, his fist driving hard into the boy's stomach.
A clear cracking sound rang out. Gaara's sand armor gradually fractured under Naruto's measured punch, fissures spreading across the protective layer like broken glass. Naruto's speed was so overwhelming that even the quicksand surrounding Gaara, waiting for mental commands, didn't fully react in time to reinforce the defense.
Gaara's expression shifted minutely. Then the quicksand around him rushed to repair the broken armor and isolate Naruto from striking again.
While reconstructing the protective layer, some sand also surged toward Naruto, attempting to capture or restrain him.
"Too slow. Far too slow."
Naruto observed the quicksand attacking him, words emerging as barely audible whispers. Then his figure blurred. He appeared directly in front of Gaara again. Gaara felt impacts land on his chest, his back, every corner of his body. Naruto was attacking from all angles simultaneously, moving faster than the eye could track.
The defensive quicksand attempting to catch Naruto couldn't match his speed whatsoever.
This velocity exceeded even Flying Thunder God's instantaneous teleportation. Naruto's Instantaneous Movement technique operated on a completely different principle, generating pure speed that space-time ninjutsu couldn't replicate. It wasn't mere boasting.
In one continuous breath, Gaara's sand armor was completely blown away by Naruto's relentless assault. The protective quicksand, losing Gaara's mental control, fell uselessly to the ground in scattered heaps.
Gaara's face contorted with genuine pain. An expression he rarely showed.
Facing Naruto, he possessed no power to fight back whatsoever. This was the first time in his entire life he'd experienced such overwhelming physical pain inflicted by another person.
This agony was completely unfamiliar, something he'd never felt before and desperately didn't want to face. As the last protective layer of sand armor fell away from his body, Gaara's true form was completely exposed.
Naruto's fist landed directly on Gaara's unprotected flesh.
Starting from the initial impact point, pain erupted continuously in Gaara's mind. His eyes turned red instantly. A roar tore from his throat toward the sky. He'd completely lost rational control in a single devastating moment.
Gaara raised his head, staring up at the morning sky. A low growl emerged from his throat, the sound barely human, more like a wounded animal.
Simultaneously, the ground beneath everyone's feet seemed to respond to infinite energy. Under slight trembling, the earth cracked with fissures visible to the naked eye. Yellow sand surged upward from underground, flying chaotically around Gaara's position in a growing vortex.
"Such a dramatic reaction. I haven't even used real force yet." Observing the surging power manifesting around Gaara's body, Naruto took several steps backward. He genuinely hadn't applied serious pressure. The force behind his strikes on Gaara had been roughly one pound of actual impact.
That minimal force had still knocked Gaara's world completely upside down.
Gaara's transformation immediately alarmed the three Sunagakure delegation members. Maki's heart jumped with panic. He spoke urgently despite his injuries. "This is bad! Gaara's losing control! Shukaku is about to emerge! Everyone return to Sunagakure immediately and inform Lord Kazekage to come control the rampaging Gaara!"
Originally, Gaara losing control and releasing Shukaku would have caused significant damage to Konoha, serving as part of the Konoha Crush operation's opening move. But now that the invasion plan had been permanently shelved, there was absolutely no reason to deliberately trigger Gaara's rampage.
What truly worried Maki was the possibility that Gaara's loss of control might cause Naruto to abandon his friendship principles entirely. If Naruto decided to simply kill Gaara to end the threat, that would represent catastrophic loss. Tailed beast Jinchūriki served as strategic military assets for every Hidden Village.
Extremely important and irreplaceable.
"Right!" Regarding Gaara's deteriorating condition, even Temari and Kankuro didn't dare show the slightest relaxation. They hoisted Maki between them and immediately began retreating from Konoha at maximum speed.
Their destination was the nearest Sunagakure safe house, where they could transmit emergency news about Gaara's rampage.
"Why are you carrying me? Leave me behind! Save yourselves!" Because of the extended beating he'd received, Maki felt weak and couldn't walk independently. Temari and Kankuro were forced to support his weight as they fled.
Regarding Maki's self-sacrificing words, Temari shook her head with absolute firmness. "We can't abandon you, Maki-sensei. If Gaara's rampage causes irreparable damage to Konoha, leaving you here would make you a convenient scapegoat. You'd be implicated in the disaster."
Hearing Temari's reasoning, Maki had no choice but to let them carry him to safety.
Naruto didn't particularly care about the Sunagakure delegation's sudden panicked flight. He only focused on Gaara's ongoing transformation before him.
Witnessing Gaara's dramatic change, the Nine-Tails immediately set down his bag of melon seeds. He leaped off the boulder, bounded across the ground to Naruto's position, then jumped up to land perfectly on Naruto's broad shoulder. Together, they watched Gaara's metamorphosis with quiet attention.
Within the swirling yellow sand filling the air, a massive object gradually took shape. The form possessed a tanuki-like body, the distinctive features of a tailed beast. The creature stood more than twenty meters tall, absolutely dwarfing human scale. Gaara himself stood atop the enormous tanuki's head, eyes closed.
The massive beast lowered its gaze toward Naruto on the ground far below.
Naruto, I want you to feel this same pain, Gaara whispered in his heart. Then he closed his eyes completely, surrendering full control of his body to Shukaku, who had just emerged from containment.
Shukaku, freshly released after years of imprisonment, didn't immediately care about his surroundings or the situation. He'd been trapped inside Gaara's body for far too long. Unable to contain his joy at freedom, Shukaku shouted triumphantly toward the sky.
"Hahahaha! This great one has finally escaped! Damn Jinchūriki, keeping me trapped for so long! I was genuinely suffocating in there! Wahaha! The breath of freedom is absolutely magnificent!"
Shukaku inhaled deeply, savoring the open air. Then his nostrils fluttered. His expression shifted to something unnatural and confused. "Wait, why do I smell an unpleasant scent? It's very familiar. That irritating presence..."
"Shut your mouth, you fat lump. Try saying one more word." The Nine-Tails, perched on Naruto's shoulder, finally lost patience hearing Shukaku's complaints. His voice carried unmistakable threat.
"What?! Is that really Kurama?!"
The familiar voice registered in Shukaku's ears. His massive body couldn't help trembling slightly. He looked downward, spotting the miniaturized Nine-Tails standing proudly on a human's shoulder.
"It really IS Kurama! But how did you become so tiny? This appearance isn't majestic at all! Completely unworthy of our tailed beast dignity!" Shukaku's tone mixed mockery with genuine confusion.
"Oh? So you consider yourself very majestic?" The Nine-Tails heard Shukaku's jab. This fat idiot has always been arrogant. But he usually gets his face slapped pretty quickly afterward.
However, Shukaku's comment contained some validity. The Nine-Tails leaped down from Naruto's shoulder. With a resonant "Bang!", he rapidly expanded, growing to match Shukaku's twenty-meter height perfectly.
Regarding the Nine-Tails' dramatic size increase, Sasuke and the other friends of Naruto felt their hearts skip collective beats. Although they'd learned through family intelligence channels that Naruto is the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki with the beast sealed inside his body, actually meeting the giant version of the Nine-Tails still generated profound shock.
The sheer physical presence was overwhelming.
"Listen here, you bloated raccoon. We haven't seen each other in years, and you've grown increasingly cocky." The Nine-Tails couldn't resist needling Shukaku immediately upon achieving full size. "Seems like you've forgotten past painful lessons."
The Nine-Tails remembered clearly: back when they'd all trained under the Sage of Six Paths, this idiot standing before him had gotten beaten daily. Discipline had been served as regularly as meals.
"Hey, so THIS is the tailed beast sealed inside Gaara's body?" At that moment, Naruto spoke up casually. "It looks rather simple and honest, actually."
Shukaku, who'd been preparing to rage at the Nine-Tails for exposing his embarrassing history, suddenly heard words from that insignificant human. He lowered his massive head, glaring down at the tiny figure. Anger colored his voice. "Insignificant human! When we great tailed beasts are communicating, please refrain from interrupting! Otherwise, I'll make you experience true pain!"
"Show proper respect toward my Jinchūriki, you fat fool." The Nine-Tails waved his fists threateningly, the gesture carrying naked intimidation.
"Oh? You want to make me feel pain?" Naruto's face showed a meaningful smile. Simultaneously, his Iron Body technique activated at full capacity, transforming without damaging his physical form.
"Of course I'll..." Shukaku started speaking confidently. Then he witnessed the tiny human before him suddenly grow exponentially taller. In seconds, the figure matched Shukaku's own imposing height. Worse, power emanated from that transformed body that made Shukaku's heart palpitate with instinctive fear.
"Of course, you're very impressive! You can speak with us as equals now!" Shukaku changed the subject smoothly, his tone shifting to accommodation.
"Is that... a battle between natural disasters?" Temari and Kankuro, still supporting Maki's weight, glanced back toward Konoha's entrance. Through the swirling wind and sand, they spotted three giant creatures standing impossibly tall.
Taking in that terrifying sight, both siblings quickened their pace significantly.
The dramatic changes occurring at the village entrance, specifically the overwhelming presence of Shukaku and the Nine-Tails, generated such powerful chakra signatures that attention was drawn from across Konoha. Their auras were simply too strong to ignore.
In the Hokage Building, the moment Shukaku manifested, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up so violently his chair toppled backward. He stared intensely toward Konoha's entrance, his experienced senses recognizing the distinctive energy.
"That's... the presence of a tailed beast... and more than one..."
Detecting those familiar chakra signatures, Hiruzen immediately reached out to touch his crystal ball. The surveillance tool activated instantly. The scene at Konoha's entrance appeared on the sphere's reflective surface with perfect clarity.
A twenty-meter-tall khaki-colored tailed beast in tanuki form stood prominently. Opposite it, an orange-red fox of equal height, nine tails swaying majestically behind its body. And beside the fox, Naruto himself stood in giant form, his transformed state placing him right next to the massive orange beast.
"That's... the Jinchūriki from Sunagakure..."