The sand in the gourd kept flowing away.
Though the monster stood motionless, its entire body resembling rotten mud,
within moments, most of its body had recovered once more.
In the end, it actually staggered back to its feet. The massive wound Chidori had inflicted had completely closed, leaving not the slightest trace of injury.
"Wind Release: Infinite Sandstorm Great Breakthrough!"
The monster took a deep breath, swelling into a round, bloated balloon.
As its body expanded, multiple openings split across it, like dozens of mouths, spitting powerful sand-laden wind blades in every direction.
Sakura had completely passed out.
In an instant, Naruto and Sasuke were both blown away and slammed into tree trunks.
Sasuke's vision went black, and he nearly lost consciousness.
Naruto was in just as much pain. He looked up and saw the monster standing there all alone.
Then a voice suddenly rang out in his heart.
So lonely... those eyes.
Such lonely eyes.
In a daze, Naruto seemed to see his childhood self, facing a mirror alone.
Gaara is just like me.
He has a monster inside him, too.
The image of the Nine-Tails churned in Naruto's mind.
Ever since he was little, every villager had treated him with cold indifference.
Everyone hated me. I didn't know what I was, or why people hated me.
Why did I even exist in this world?
"So that means you're the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed the village! Everyone in the village has been deceiving you all this time."
Remembering how Mizuki had tricked him into stealing the Sealing Scroll and told him the truth about the Nine-Tails for the first time, Naruto still felt the world spinning around him.
Ever since learning that the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was inside his body, the