Orange-red fur.
A jet-black nose.
Savage eyes and perpetually bared fangs.
Chakra so heavy it crushed down like a mountain, carrying hatred and resentment that could never be erased.
"Transformation Technique!!"
"BOOM—!!"
A cloud of white smoke erupted, even larger than when Gaara released Shukaku, even larger than when Naruto summoned Gamabunta. From within it burst an enormous orange-red paw. Just the length of its claws alone was nearly as tall as a full-grown adult.
From Kakashi and the others' perspective, the creature was so massive it completely blocked their view. Even sunlight could only leak through the edges of its silhouette in faint traces.
The beast that leapt out of the smoke was—
A fox?!!
"Aoooo—!!!"
A fox as large as Shukaku instantly shocked the ninja of this world. Its sheer size and the pressure it exuded on arrival were even more overwhelming than Shukaku's.
"A nine-tailed fox?!"
Temari never imagined that the blond brat could turn into something like this.
Kankurō asked Shino Aburame,
"What is that thing?! Is it some kind of Konoha mascot?"
"No," Shino answered without hesitation. "Rather than a mascot, it's what Konoha ninja fear the most. As for why…"
"Why?!"
Kankurō and Temari stared at him, as did Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Shikamaru Nara.
Rarely given this much attention, Shino paused for a moment before continuing,
"Because twelve years ago, Konoha's great hero, the Fourth Hokage, sacrificed his life to save the village from that very monster."
Shikamaru's mind began racing.
…
That Naruto once said, "My dad was Kakashi-sensei's teacher!"
Kakashi had said, "Minato-sensei is here too?!"
The Fourth Hokage of Konoha was Minato Namikaze.
Shino Aburame had once asked, "If he's that great man's son, shouldn't his surname be Namikaze?"
"I think it's because Dad had too many enemies, so I took Mom's family name."
During the fight between Naruto Uzumaki and Gaara, the Naruto standing before them had said,
"I'm the same as Gaara. We're both the village's ultimate weapons."
"There are several tailed beasts. The ones I know are the One-Tails Shukaku, the Three-Tails Isobu, and the Nine-Tails Kurama."
The Nine-Tails Demon Fox… Kurama.
…
All the clues converged in Shikamaru's mind, forming an almost undeniable conclusion.
He turned to Temari.
"Can I ask… who sealed the monster inside Gaara? The Sand's Shukaku?"
The others didn't understand why he suddenly asked that.
Temari didn't think it was anything worth hiding. She answered the man who had defeated her during the Chūnin Exams, even after she admitted defeat.
"It was sealed by our father, the Fourth Kazekage."
"By his own father?!" Sakura's face went pale with shock. "How is that even possible?! And you're both the Fourth Kazekage's children? Wait… you're siblings?!"
She had seen it herself. Gaara hadn't shown the slightest mercy toward these two teammates, even threatening to kill them if they disobeyed him.
Sasuke Uchiha stared at the terrifying monster in the distance.
"So Gaara… was turned into a monster by his own father."
Having once believed himself betrayed by family, Sasuke Uchiha understood that pain better than anyone. The bitterness of being abandoned by those closest to you.
Sakura and Sasuke both glanced at Naruto. Seeing that he had no intention of speaking, neither of them said anything more.
Sakura Haruno said softly,
"Naruto Uzumaki really admired the Fourth Hokage-sama. Back in the Academy, he used to stare at the Hokage Rock all the time and swear he'd become Hokage himself."
By now, Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Nara, and Sakura Haruno had all realized that the Fourth Hokage was that "Minato-sama." Kakashi-sensei's teacher. Naruto Uzumaki's father.
But only Shikamaru Nara had also guessed something else.
That the Fourth Hokage, like the Fourth Kazekage, might have personally turned his own son into a weapon for the village.
Having pieced everything together, Shikamaru instinctively looked at Naruto's expression after hearing Sakura's unintentional remark.
There was no extreme emotion. No hysterical hatred like Gaara's.
Even so, Shikamaru couldn't help but look at the Naruto of his world with concern.
…
The forest had completely become a battlefield for two colossal monsters.
The instant Shukaku laid eyes on the fox, he fired off his strongest Drilling Air Bullet without hesitation.
Transformed into the Nine-Tails Demon Fox, Gamabunta moved with leaps and dodges that were just as agile as before—if not more so. His fangs clamped down on Shukaku's neck, claws pinning his shoulders in place.
"Now!!"
At Gamabunta's command, Naruto released the Transformation Technique and leapt high into the air.
"Don't you dare fall asleep!!!"
That punch was fast, accurate, and merciless.
It smashed straight into Gaara, who had been using the Feigning Sleep Technique and never truly dared to sink into real sleep, knocking his entire body violently to the side.
"!!!"
Did it work?!
The Konoha ninja from this world watching the fight were so tense their hearts nearly stopped.
But Team 7 from the mission scroll world already knew.
"That punch will definitely work."
Naruto let out a long breath, the tension draining from him.
"So even without using the mission scroll's reward, I really can beat Gaara."
"Idiot. What was there to doubt?" Sasuke shot him a sidelong glance. "Or did you think your ninja way was wrong? That Gaara's way was the right one?"
Being acknowledged so directly by Sasuke, Naruto broke into a huge, radiant grin, stubbornly insisting that he hadn't been worried at all.
Sasuke snorted softly and turned his attention back to the battle between Gaara and the Naruto from the other world.
Although Gaara had been jolted awake by Naruto Uzumaki's punch, both Naruto and Gamabunta were completely out of chakra. On Gaara's side, there was still some strength left. Not much, but more than enough to kill Naruto.
Sasuke quickly assessed the chakra he had recovered.
Not even fifty percent.
But it was enough.
Enough for one Chidori.
He watched as Naruto was caught by Gaara's Sand Coffin.
Having seen Gaara use Sand Coffin: Sand Burial before, Shikamaru Nara, along with Sasuke, who had regained some chakra, both prepared to rush in and take over the fight.
The Naruto and Sasuke from the other world reached out, trying to stop them.
"Move!" Sasuke shouted angrily at his other self.
Shikamaru was getting anxious too. He turned to the Naruto in front of him and said urgently,
"Naruto Uzumaki isn't like you. He never received that person's guidance. He's already done more than enough in this fight. Leave the rest to us—"
The emotion in his voice caught Naruto off guard.
In his own memory, his relationship with Shikamaru had always been lukewarm. Shikamaru didn't dislike him, but he wasn't especially fond of him either, and Naruto felt much the same way.
But seeing Shikamaru defend the Naruto of another world so fiercely made him suddenly realize something.
Maybe, without even noticing, the people standing beside him had long since grown beyond just Team 7.
Just like Gaara never realized that, beneath his fear of them, his brother and sister still worried about him…
Naruto himself had never really noticed that back in the Academy, he'd already made far more friends than he thought.
Seeing Naruto frozen in place, Sasuke explained to Shikamaru Nara,
"That guy still hasn't used his trump card."
"A trump card?!" Shikamaru was visibly taken aback. Just how many cards did Naruto still have up his sleeve? "Don't tell me…"
Could he really use it?
That power, like Konoha's living nightmare?
While doubt lingered in his mind, on the battlefield, Naruto Uzumaki—trapped inside Gaara's Sand Coffin—shut his eyes tightly and formed the most commonly used ninja hand seal.
The Ram seal.
"Time to come out and pay the rent!"
["Heh. You've got some nerve, Naruto Uzumaki."]
"Just a little is enough. Please… lend me your power."
["Hmph. Fine."]
Whoosh—!!
Chakra surged violently from the seal on Naruto Uzumaki's abdomen, flooding through his entire body. Unlike normal chakra, that orange-red energy exploded outward in an instant.
The pressure from the chakra sent a fierce gust tearing through the air. Naruto's jacket zipper burst open, and even the forehead protector on his head was blown away.
"Red chakra?!" Sasuke exclaimed.
"Didn't you see it back in the Land of Waves?" Sasuke from the other world asked him. "Back then, didn't Haku's attack 'kill' Naruto once?"
"!!!"
Sasuke Uchiha suddenly remembered. He had heard that Naruto defeated Haku and shattered the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
With his forehead protector gone, Naruto's messy hair fell over his forehead and along his cheeks, revealing a side of him they rarely saw.
His stamina and chakra fully restored, he broke free from the Sand Coffin's restraints.
"I'll kill you!! Naruto Uzumaki!!"
Naruto locked his gaze on Gaara and threw a vicious punch.
"Don't even think about it!"
The sand automatically surged up again to protect Gaara. Just inches away, Naruto's arm and body were once more tightly bound.
"Damn it!!!!!"
If his hands and body were restrained, then he'd use his head.
"THUD—!!"
The impact echoed as if it rang inside everyone's skull.
For a moment, the world seemed to go silent. Blood poured from the point where Naruto's and Gaara's foreheads collided.
Crack… crack… crack…
The massive form of Shukaku fractured like brittle rice crust, then collapsed into scattered sand that streamed down to the ground.
But it still wasn't over.
Both of them, battered and bloodied, fell back on raw taijutsu, fighting in the most primitive way possible.
Bang—
Bang—thud!
All anyone could hear were fists slamming into flesh.
That feeling…was like two lone wolves locked together, refusing to let go even in death.
Those who should have rushed in to stop them found themselves unable to move, unable to look away from the brutal exchange.
Only when both finally collapsed onto the ground…did Naruto Uzumaki begin to crawl forward, inch by inch.
"Behind me is the Konoha Village. That's where my comrades are. That's my home. The place I must protect. That's why I absolutely cannot lose to you. Even if it means killing someone just like me, I can't hesitate…"
Yet despite those words, Naruto's eyes were filled with tears and sorrow as he looked at Gaara.
Because no one else in this world understood their pain the way they did. No one else understood the terror of living in hell like they did.
Those words—"monster."
Those cries—"Don't come near me!"
They had once cruelly denied their very existence.
"Don't… don't come closer…"
This was probably the first time Gaara had ever felt fear. Yet he no longer even had the strength to move.
"Why would you go this far for others, Naruto Uzumaki?!"
"Because they acknowledged my existence. They pulled me out of a hell where I was alone. If I lose them… if I lose them, I'll have nothing left!"
I'll have nothing left…
It was because he carried an even greater fear that he was truly fighting with his back against the wall.
So no matter whether outside power was involved or not, he would win.
He had to win.
Looking into Naruto's eyes, Gaara suddenly felt the will to resist drain away.
He had lost.
"Is it because someone trusted him… loved him… that he became so strong?"
"Mother… Yashamaru…"
And yet, you all hated me.
You all hated me…
"Your mother, and the ninja named Yashamaru… they both loved you deeply. They trusted you completely. Even at the end, they wanted to protect you."
At some point, Naruto from the mission scroll world had appeared beside him. His voice was quiet, his tone calm, but every word struck Gaara's soul like a heavy blow.
Gaara's eyes widened as he stared at this unbelievable person.
"What… did you say?"
"I said, you and I are the same," Naruto replied. "From the moment we were born into this world, there was someone destined to love us selflessly."