บท 58: Chapter 57
Chapter 57
Naruto jumped out from the stands as soon as Sasuke returned. Seeing him fight with Shino excited Naruto, and he could barely contain himself. So, even before his name was called out, he had already jumped down and strode to the middle of the arena. Naruto stretched as he waited for his opponent. He would beat down that freaky no eyebrow and show that he was better than Sasuke.
"You have no power," Naruto's smile dropped as Gaara approached him. "You have no ambitions. You only rely on your companions. You don't interest me. I will kill you to kill that with the same eyes as me."
The hot sun beat down on the arena as the crowd buzzed with anticipation. Naruto Uzumaki stood at one end of the arena, his blue eyes filled with determination as he looked at Gaara. In contrast, Gaara of the Sand, with his piercing green eyes, promised murder, and a gourd of sand strapped to his back, stood at the other. Naruto knew what his opponent was capable of from watching him fight Kiba.
But Naruto has trained hard in the past month and learned many things about himself and what was inside him. Naruto gulped down the saliva in his mouth to calm down. Those eyes that looked at Naruto were intense and terrifying. Seeing that both of them were ready, Gekko Hayate raised his hand to begin the match.
"Begin," As Gekko dropped his hand, Naruto burst from his place.
He charged forward, his orange jumpsuit becoming a blur as he closed the distance between him and Gaara. His hands moved even faster as he made hand signs, and with a burst of smoke, seven Naruto clones appeared, surrounding Gaara. It was a tactic he had used many times before. Gaara dismissed them with a glance. To him, it was a pointless attempt.
Naruto knew it, too. He remembered Gaara's fight against Kiba, so it wasn't a surprise as sand burst from Gaara's gourd and smashed against Naruto's shadow clones, destroying them. Gaara remained untouched, his gaze locked onto Naruto's. Those eyes that locked on Naruto's were terrifying, yet familiar. Naruto quickly snapped out of his daze and retreated.
As Naruto stepped back to plan his next plan, tendrils of sand were flunked at him. Naruto barely managed to jump around them and dodge the attacks. Still, it was too close as Naruto felt the wind, the sand tendrils created as they passed him. Gaara continued to advance, the sand following his every command.
The best Naruto could do now was to hurl shuriken at Gaara, hoping to distract him. Yet, Gaara moved his sand to block the shuriken. There was no weakness in Gaara's defenses. At least none that Naruto could exploit. His only choice was to overwhelm Gaara with his shadow clones. But even Naruto knew that wouldn't be enough. At best, it would only buy him some time.
"What's wrong?" Gaara asked, seeing Naruto hesitate. "Come."
Sand burst from behind Naruto before slamming down on Naruto. The ground cracked as Naruto was crushed under the sand. Instead of trying to free himself by force, Naruto remembered Kakashi's technique and buried deeper into the ground. His body hurt from the attack, but otherwise, he was still fine.
But it woke Naruto up. He had no time to think of a plan. He wasn't very good at that, too. He had to move and look for an opportunity. Naruto made a hand sign and burst from the ground. Looking at Gaara, who still stood in the same place since the start of the match, Naruto took a kunai from his pouch and wrapped it in an explosive tag.
When five of his shadow clones burst from the ground surrounding Gaara, Naruto leaped at Gaara. Gaara seemed disinterested as he batted the clones with his sand. Naruto didn't have time to get close to Gaara as he had already turned his gaze to him. Raising his hand, Gaara was about to control his sand to crush Naruto, but Naruto, seeing a chance, threw his kunai at Gaara.
Gaara used his sand to catch the kunai as he did with the shuriken. The moment Gaara heard the sound of sizzling, it was too late. The explosion rang through the arena. But as the smoke cleared, Gaara still stood. The sand shield protected Gaara. Naruto didn't look surprised as Gaara turned to him and used the sand from the shield to bash him once again. Naruto smiled as the sand engulfed him.
As Gaara thought he had crushed the bug, Naruto disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Gaara didn't have a chance to react as the real Naruto burst from the ground under him and punched him in the chin, blowing him into the air. Naruto didn't stop there as he grabbed Gaara's legs while he was in the air and slammed him into the ground.
As the ground cracked under Gaara's body, Naruto raised his leg and hammered at Gaara's chest, creating a small crater under Gaara. The arena trembled from the impact, and dust and debris filled the air. Gaara coughed up blood from his mouth. Even the sand shield on his skin couldn't protect him from this attack. He felt the force Naruto used on him.
Gaara, however, was not one to be defeated so easily. The sand swirled and shifted, forming a protective barrier around Gaara's body before Naruto could continue his onslaught. Naruto could feel the intensity of Gaara's cold gaze upon him, sending shivers down his spine. He knew that this battle was far from over.
"What is the reason for your existence?" Naruto was surprised by the question as Gaara stood up. "You don't have the same eyes as me. So why are you strong? I, who was born a monster that killed his mother by being born, can't be defeated by someone like you."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"By sacrificing my mother's life, I was created as the village's greatest weapon," Sand rose around Gaara as he continued to speak. "Within me is sealed an incarnation of sand. A monster that gives me unimaginable power. I am so strong that even my village fears me. They tried to kill me for six years, but they never succeeded. But you! You dare challenge my existence with your lack of strength! Lack of ambition!"
"I don't care!" Naruto shouted back, trying to shake off the fear he felt. "I don't care who or what you are. I was called a monster, too, but I don't care about it anymore. You can call me whatever you want. Because what matters the most isn't what you are but what you do. And I am going to kick your ass."
Naruto created a dozen shadow clones and rushed at Gaara. But Gaara created a sand dome around himself before he could reach him. As the shadow clones tried to punch through the sand, spike emerged from the dome, piercing Naruto's shadow clones and destroying them. Naruto gritted his teeth at another jutsu Gaara had under his sleeve.
Naruto had no weapon or technique he could use to pierce the sand. But he couldn't accept it. He would destroy Gaara's defenses, no matter what. Naruto closed his eyes and felt the existence within himself. He forced it to give him its power. As new chakra flooded Naruto's body, his wounds started to heal, and he was filled with energy.
"Shadow clone jutsu!"
Instead of dozens of clones, there were hundreds of them surrounding Gaara. Each of them took their kunai and explosive tags and rushed at Gaara. If he had to do so, Naruto would force his way through Gaara's defenses. With that thought, his clones ran at Gaara, throwing themselves at the dome of the sand, and while they disappeared from the spikes, they threw their kunai.
Naruto used all but one of his explosive tags, but Gaara's sand started to crack after dozens of explosions. Not letting his chances go, Naruto continued attacking Gaara. Punching the sand until finally, he was able to get through it. With a hole created, Naruto threw the last kunai with an explosive tag inside it.
Chunks of sand flew out as Naruto backed off. As the sand and smoke settled, it revealed Gaara kneeling on the ground, clutching his arm as blood dripped from it. Naruto felt proud of himself that he managed to do it. Naruto put strength into his legs and rushed to finish the fight. Yet Naruto's triumphant charge was abruptly halted as Gaara's arm transformed into a grotesque, monstrous appendage and struck him with astonishing speed and power.
The blow sent Naruto tumbling backward, crashing into the arena's ground with a force that left a deep crater. Even the crowd watching the fight let out a collective gasp at the sight of Gaara's transformation. Gaara rose to his feet, his sand swirling around him once more. Blood trickled from the wound on his arm, but his eyes remained cold and unfeeling.
Naruto, battered and bruised, slowly pushed himself up from the ground. He couldn't understand what was happening before his eyes as Gaara's body continued to turn into a monstrous form. His skin turned pale and intricate, and dark tattoos emerged all over his body. His eyes became bloodshot and took on a more sinister, crazed look.
Gaara's body swelled in size, becoming considerably larger and more imposing. His limbs thickened, and his muscles bulged, giving him a grotesque and monstrous physique. His hands and fingers elongated into clawed appendages. In a way, it was similar to the transformation Naruto underwent in the Forest of Death.
Now, Naruto understood why Gaara's eyes felt so familiar. They were eyes Naruto saw every time he looked in the mirror. Hurt and lonely eyes that hated the world around him. He might have the same eyes if not for his friends, if not for Iruka-sensei, Oji-san, Kakashi-sensei, and Kaen. That is why he couldn't be defeated here. He needed to prove to Gaara and himself that true power came from fighting for the people around him.
"My existence won't be put down!" Gaara screeched and sand shuriken at Naruto.
No matter how much Naruto tried to dodge or block the attacks, they never ended. Over and over again, he would be hit and thrown to the ground. He didn't even have a chance to create a jutsu to counterattack. And even if he created shadow clones, they would be destroyed instantly. Even though he didn't like it, Naruto had no choice but to take more power from within himself.
…
Even though Kaen didn't show it, he was concerned with how the battle was going on. Once Gaara started to change, he knew that he might need to interfere with the match, but seeing Naruto still willing to fight and even using his tailed beast chakra stopped Kaen. For now, he will continue to watch the fight. But the moment Kaen sees they are in danger, Kaen will stop them.
"This is too much," The Fourth Kazakage said.
"Isn't it what you hoped for?"
"This match will turn into a battle of monsters if we don't stop it."
"Monsters?" Kaen's eyes blazed as he looked at Kazekage. "That's how you see them, don't you? But I see two boys with troubled pasts trying to prove themselves before us and everyone else. But I am curious. Do you truly not see the pain in their eyes? Or are you simply refusing to accept it? Accept that is the pain you caused?"
"It shouldn't be any of your concern."
"Yes, but we will continue watching them to the end."
…
Naruto felt a change within himself as his body was flooded with more and more chakra from the beast inside him. He didn't know why but felt he couldn't lose against Gaara, no matter what. He felt his body strengthen as Gaara's transformed arm tried to reach him. Naruto didn't know how long he could keep it up before losing control, so he had to finish it quickly.
Ground cracked, and dust rose as Naruto leaped forward. He jumped over Gaara's arm and cut through Gaara's sand using his sharpened nails and strengthened arms. Finding a chance to breathe, Naruto created dozens of shadow clones. Every single one rushed at Gaara, and soon they reached them. Breaking through Gaara's defenses, Naruto and his shadow clones started attacks on him.
Gradually, his clones disappeared as Gaara fought back, but even when Naruto was left alone, he continued his attacks. Even when Naruto was hit as much as he was hitting Gaara, he didn't stop. His training with Jiraiya let him control his power better. Naruto still felt like he was losing his strength, while Gaara looked like he was getting stronger.
"I will prove my existence by killing you!" Gaara screeched as he struck Naruto to the ground.
"You don't need to prove anything!" Naruto replied by kicking Gaara's legs before jumping on top of him. "I have already accepted you. Instead of trying to prove your existence to someone else, prove it yourself."
"I am a weapon of murder!" Gaara grabbed Naruto by his deformed arm, but Naruto still held on to Gaara, not letting go.
"You are Gaara of the Sand! My opponent that I will defeat," Naruto replied, bashing his head on Gaara's.
Naruto bashed his forehead into Gaara's one, two, three times. Blood spilled and dropped on Naruto's eyes, but he continued, even when he felt losing grip on Gaara. As darkness started engulfing Naruto, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked at Kaen, holding him and Gaara back from each other. Then Naruto lost all his strength.
A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.
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