Sudden Turn

The more-than-ten-meter-tall triangular pyramid was made entirely of densely packed Iron Sand. It weighed an estimated hundred tons, and with the high speed granted by Magnet Release chakra, it carried enough force to destroy the entire arena with a single strike.

But Naruto merely raised his left hand and caught the tip of the pyramid with pinpoint precision, bringing it to a complete stop.

Then Naruto put more force into his grip, snapped off the tip, and punched the broken face with his right fist.

Watching the pyramid fly backward and embed itself in the wall surrounding the arena, Naruto clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tch. I thought I could break it apart."

"The Iron Sand is held together by Magnet Release chakra. It won't break apart until the chakra Shukaku and I have run out."

Gaara helpfully explained. Looking at Naruto, he hoped Naruto would explain his own abilities, too. "The Sealing Jutsu you just used seems to have greatly increased your strength, but the chakra around you has weakened. Why?"

"If you reduce the chakra that naturally radiates from you, the chakra you sense will seem weaker."

Naruto gave a rough explanation. "More of your chakra becomes available for use, so your strength naturally increases."

"I see."

Gaara's expression barely changed, though his tone softened slightly. "It seems this battle will come down to stamina and chakra."

Gaara rose higher on a mass of sand and used all of his Iron Sand to attack. "My Iron Sand can cover the entire arena now. How long can you keep this up?"

Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method!

The black bands of Iron Sand extended and spread once more, turning into thousands of strips. Their sharp tips and keen edges made them seem like countless blades, ready to cut Naruto to pieces.

At the sight of such a fearsome display, the audience grew tense, afraid that the next moment would bring some "colorful" scene unsuitable for children.

Sasuke and Sakura remained fairly calm. They knew Naruto's abilities better than anyone else there. The power Naruto and Gaara were showing now had already surpassed the limits of Naruto's strength that Sasuke and Sakura knew, but whenever they thought of their master, they felt inexplicably reassured.

Naruto didn't let Sasuke and Sakura down. Facing the Iron Sand strips sweeping toward him from every direction, he charged straight at them. With his unfeeling iron hands, he grabbed every strip that came within reach as if they were mere ribbons.

Gaara furrowed his brow and made the Iron Sand strips Naruto had grabbed disperse. He then gathered them again and resumed his attack, all while staying alert for Naruto to throw a kunai at any moment.

Naruto flung the scattered Iron Sand in his hands forward, shifted his body slightly to dodge five strips, and grabbed them as well.

Gaara repeated the same tactic, while Naruto kept grabbing and flinging the strips, gradually closing the distance between them.

Once they were little more than ten meters apart, Naruto suddenly pulled out six kunai, held them between the fingers of both hands, and threw them at Gaara.

Gaara's eyes widened as he quickly extended numerous Iron Sand strips to surround the six kunai.

However, Naruto didn't appear beside any of the kunai. Instead, he appeared behind Gaara. While Gaara had been distracted earlier, Naruto's warning attack had left a chakra mark on the sand that formed Gaara's gourd.

"When did he put a kunai behind me?"

Gaara was taken aback, but he didn't have time to think it through. At the crucial moment, he chose the sand he usually infused with the most chakra and rapidly formed a Shield of Sand for defense.

But Naruto was faster. His fist, covered in black markings, punched through the Shield of Sand before it could thicken in time and struck Gaara in the back, bursting into a spray of sand. It wasn't Sand Substitution or the Sand Body Flicker Technique—it was the Armor of Sand that Gaara had kept covering his body.

Gaara knew that Naruto's attacks were faster and more powerful than the Shield of Sand could withstand. That was why, from the start of the battle, he had spared no chakra or stamina to maintain the Armor of Sand over his entire body. He had done it for this very moment.

But Naruto's fist wasn't hindered at all by the Armor of Sand. It didn't even pause for an instant, and the force concentrated in his fist had already driven into Gaara's body.

He seemed to hear the sound of bones cracking inside him. A surge of intense pain shot through his head, and Gaara even had the delusion that he was about to die.

"Too weak."

Naruto gave his verdict. "Both your sand and your body."

Gaara didn't take in either of Naruto's remarks. As if some sort of stress response had taken over, his mind went straight into a state of "rampage," and his body began to transform into a tailed beast.

"Something's wrong."

Naruto furrowed his brows. He sensed intense malice erupting from several places in the stands.

Then a powerful drowsiness swept over Naruto, but it vanished immediately at the sound of Kurama's disgruntled voice: [Hmph. They actually think they can use genjutsu against a Jinchuriki?!]

"Genjutsu?"

Naruto shook his head and saw that the audience had all fallen asleep. Only the shinobi with a certain level of strength remained conscious. "I don't recognize any of this malice. Is it coming from Sunagakure?"

[It can only be them.]

Minato's voice came from within the Sealing Space, answering Naruto's question. [They've unilaterally torn up the alliance between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. What exactly is the Fourth Kazekage planning?]

Naruto said, "Dad, now's not the time to think about that. The Fourth Kazekage has taken Grandpa Third hostage. Should I go rescue him, or deal with Gaara and Shukaku first?"

[Don't worry about the Third. He may be old, but he's still the Hokage. He can hold out until the Anbu arrive to save him. Subdue Gaara and Shukaku first. If we leave them alone, the village will be destroyed.]

"Right."

Naruto looked at Gaara, who was still swelling and growing. The sealing formula on his Chakra Cloak vanished as he formed Hand Seals. "Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"

Five Shadow Clones appeared and immediately disappeared, reappearing around Gaara. Along with the original, they released Golden Chains and bound Gaara before his transformation was complete.

Inside Gaara, Shukaku sensed the power coming from outside, but he was unable to resist. He couldn't do anything except complain in irritation. "Tch! Damn Sealing Jutsu!"

Naruto was about to seal Shukaku away for good when two Sunagakure shinobi rushed in. One was the blonde woman who had fought Shikamaru—Temari. The other was the puppeteer boy Kankuro, who had been eliminated by Shino during the preliminaries.

"Let Gaara go!"

Temari shouted as she swung the fan in her hands with all her strength. "Wind Release: Sickle Weasel!"

Kankuro also released his puppet, Crow, and controlled it as it split into multiple parts, all of them striking at Naruto at once.

"Are you people from Sunagakure planning to start a war against Konoha?"

Naruto's voice was calm, but full of murderous intent. Two Golden Chains binding Gaara split off: one blocked Temari's Wind Release, while the other smashed all the pieces of Kankuro's puppet. "Your answer will decide whether I kill Gaara—and you, too."

Without his puppet, Kankuro had lost nearly all his fighting ability.

Temari could still fight, but she knew she wasn't Naruto's match. Her gaze fell on Gaara, who had almost completely lost his human shape and was now nearly a living Shield of Shukaku.

For the village, Gaara was Sunagakure's only Jinchuriki, an immensely important "strategic weapon" that they couldn't afford to lose.

Personally, Gaara was Temari's younger brother. She would rather die herself than watch him die before her eyes.

"We don't want a conflict with Konoha."

Temari lowered the Giant Fan in her hands and raised both hands to show she was surrendering. "But this was a decision made by Sunagakure's leadership. We Genin have no say in the matter."