Enormous pressure crushed inward from all directions.
Naruto's bones creaked under the force, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth—yet a stubborn grin still appeared on his face.
He suddenly raised his head.
Within his blue pupils, the Nine-Tails' crimson fury surged violently.
"You know something?"
"I hate being locked away in darkness more than anything!"
The instant those words exploded outward, the Tailed Beast cloak erupted violently, crimson chakra bursting forth like a blazing sun piercing through the sand prison.
Scarlet chakra roared outward like a raging tide.
The sand coffin shattered inch by inch, fragments melting into glass beneath the immense heat.
Naruto stood at the center of the shockwave, Nine-Tails eyes blazing with fighting spirit as the surrounding sand was blown away in every direction.
Gaara's pupils contracted slightly.
His sand defenses instinctively surged forth—
yet the crimson figure had already torn through the storm of sand and charged directly toward him.
Another Rasengan condensed in Naruto's palm.
This time—
it was even stronger than before.
"It's not over yet!"
Naruto roared like thunder.
He sprinted across molten sand, the Rasengan spinning faster and faster while wrapped in crimson chakra, as though carrying the Nine-Tails' roar and Naruto's unyielding will itself.
Gaara's pupils shrank sharply.
Layers upon layers of sand shields stacked together—
only to be torn apart the instant they made contact.
Just as the Rasengan was about to strike Gaara—
violent sand suddenly erupted out of nowhere, smashing directly into Naruto and blasting him away!
Naruto flew over twenty meters before crashing heavily across the ground, rolling several times.
A suffocating pressure exploded in his chest, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.
Before he could even rise—
shocked cries erupted from the audience stands.
Naruto looked up—
and froze.
A gigantic statue made entirely of sand now stood towering over the battlefield.
It resembled a fat tanuki wearing a hat, marked with crimson patterns.
The Ultimate Shield—
Shield of Shukaku!
Gaara stood beneath the enormous shield, his brown robes whipping wildly in the wind.
For the first time, genuine seriousness appeared in his eyes.
"What the heck is that?!"
Naruto stared at the giant tanuki statue in shock.
Inside his mind, Kurama's voice echoed out.
"Kid, that's Shukaku's technique—Shield of Shukaku. It's said to possess the greatest defensive power among all the Tailed Beasts!"
"Even though Shukaku only has one tail, its abilities are extremely strong."
"Back then, the old man divided our chakra evenly because he was worried Shukaku would be too weak and bullied by the rest of us."
"So he gave Shukaku two techniques: the 'Ultimate Shield' and the 'Ultimate Spear.'"
"One is said to defend against all attacks in existence."
"The other is said to pierce through every defense in existence."
While Naruto was speaking with Kurama, Gaara suddenly raised both hands.
The surrounding sand instantly formed two giant hands mirroring his movements.
Gaara swung one arm toward Naruto—
and the gigantic sand hands attacked simultaneously.
Naruto endured the pain wracking his body and rapidly dodged aside.
The giant hands slammed into the ground with deafening explosions and violent tremors before collapsing into countless grains of sand.
But the moment the sand scattered—
it instantly regrouped and continued pursuing Naruto.
"This won't work! I can't get close at all!"
Naruto gritted his teeth as crimson chakra surged wildly through his body like raging flames.
"Kid, stop pushing yourself!"
Kurama roared inside his mind.
"If you absorb any more of my chakra, you'll completely lose your mind!"
"And if that happens, I'll cut off my chakra connection to you directly!"
Naruto dodged desperately while staring at Gaara.
"So what if I lose consciousness…"
"Right now, my father and mother are watching me!"
"There's no way I can lose here!"
"My ninja way is this—"
"I never go back on my word!"
Kurama fell silent for a moment before speaking in a lower voice.
"If that's your resolve… then summon those damn toads first."
"If it really comes down to the last moment… I'll help you."
Naruto froze briefly.
Then he suddenly remembered—
the Summoning Jutsu Jiraiya had taught him!
Without hesitation, he bit his thumb, rapidly formed hand seals, and slammed his palm onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
BOOM!
A massive cloud of smoke erupted upward, covering half the arena.
Everyone craned their necks, trying to see what was hidden within the smoke.
Gaara also stopped attacking, watching the smoke cautiously.
Anything producing this much commotion required absolute vigilance.
As the smoke slowly dispersed—
a gigantic toad appeared in the center of the battlefield.
Orange skin covered in markings.
Sharp, intelligent eyes.
A smoking pipe clenched in its mouth.
And a massive short blade gripped in one hand.
Mount Myoboku's—
Gamabunta!
Gamabunta exhaled a puff of smoke and narrowed his eyes toward the Shield of Shukaku.
"Kid… you really dumped a huge pain in the ass on me this time."
Standing atop Gamabunta's head, Naruto bent over, hands on his knees as he panted heavily.
"Sorry, Boss Toad… but things are kinda urgent right now!"
Gamabunta glanced at him sideways and snorted.
"You brat… every time I get summoned, it's always some massive disaster. What exactly are you doing this time?"
Naruto raised his head, eyes filled with determination.
"Boss Toad, I need your strength!"
"There's a battle here I absolutely have to win!"
Gamabunta narrowed his eyes.
Feeling the resolve in Naruto's voice, he rumbled deeply:
"If you're this serious about it… then this old toad can't back down either!"
He tapped the pipe against his palm before suddenly leaping forward.
His massive blade tore through the air as he slashed directly toward the Shield of Shukaku.
"Then let this battlefield… truly erupt!"
The blade ripped through the atmosphere.
The sand construct shattered apart instantly as violent chakra exploded outward like a storm.
Logically speaking, Gamabunta shouldn't have been able to cut through the Shield of Shukaku at all—
but the current shield was merely a hollow shell.
Gaara simply didn't possess enough chakra to maintain the true defensive power of the Shield continuously.
Gaara's pupils contracted violently.
The sand rushed back desperately to defend—
but it was already too late.
The shockwave blasted him away, sending him crashing heavily across the ground.
"Now's our chance!"
Using the dust cloud raised by Gamabunta's slash as cover, Naruto instantly formed hand seals.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Dozens of Narutos burst from the smoke in a fan-shaped formation, surrounding Gaara from all sides.
"Good… good… GOOD…"
Gaara clutched his forehead as the world around him twisted and warped.
His voice trembled unnaturally.
"I'm going to kill you all…"
"Kill every single one of you…"
"Every… last… one…"
Gaara slowly raised his head.
Blood seeped through the gaps between his fingers, while those eyes—completely stripped of reason—overflowed with murderous intent.
Blood dripped down his arm.
His chakra erupted violently.
Sand surged skyward like a black tidal wave, rapidly forming an enormous Tailed Beast silhouette.
Naruto's pupils shrank.
He immediately sensed a pressure far beyond anything from earlier.
"This is bad! He's about to fully transform into the Tailed Beast!"
Gamabunta roared as he leapt forward, raising his blade defensively.
"Don't just stand there! Attack before he completely transforms!"
Naruto clenched his teeth as Nine-Tails chakra exploded around him like crimson fire.
"Too late!"
Gaara let out a hysterical roar.
The surrounding sand had already fully formed into the shape of the One-Tail Shukaku, patterns beginning to appear across its body.
A twisted grin spread across Gaara's face.
He formed hand seals.
"Feigning Sleep Technique!"
—------------------------------
Pat reon Advance Chapters: patreon.com/YonkoSlayer