I Have to Protect You

Once he was sure Gaara was completely spent, Lin Mu breathed a sigh of relief.

He turned his palm over, and a black card appeared in his hand.

Deep Forest Bloom Experience Card!

This was a technique Senju Hashirama had developed specifically to suppress Tailed Beasts. The user's palm would display the character for "seat." By infusing it with chakra, they could create wooden cuboids to suppress a Tailed Beast's chakra.

During the battle at the Valley of the End, Senju Hashirama had used this technique through the hands of the Thousand-Armed Guanyin Statue to control the Nine-Tails.

Yamato had also used this technique to suppress Naruto when he went berserk in his Nine-Tails form.

This jutsu was tailor-made for dealing with Tailed Beasts!

Lin Mu was just about to crush the Deep Forest Bloom Experience Card, suppress Gaara, and bring this special mission to an end.

"Wind Release: Kamaitachi!"

Suddenly, a razor-sharp blade of wind came slashing toward him. Lin Mu couldn't dodge in time, so he could only cross the Wooden Thorn in his hands in front of him.

Whoosh—

The raging blade of wind struck the Wooden Thorn in his hands!

Lin Mu's expression changed at once. The Wooden Thorn wasn't being reinforced with chakra, so it wasn't hard enough.

That single blade of wind had nearly cut the Wooden Thorn in two.

After barely blocking the attack, Lin Mu quickly retreated, but a cold gust suddenly brushed past his ear.

He ducked almost instinctively.

Several black, poison-coated needles hissed past his scalp.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted a menacing black puppet lunging at him.

That was Temari's Wind Release and Kankuro's Puppet Technique!

Lin Mu didn't dare let his guard down. He quickly retreated until his back was against a large tree, then fixed his eyes on the two of them.

Temari and Kankuro exchanged a glance, then each unleashed a jutsu at Lin Mu.

Gaara was too important to Sunagakure. They couldn't afford to let anything happen to him!

In terms of individual strength, neither Kankuro nor Temari stood a chance against Lin Mu.

But Lin Mu had just fought Gaara. Though they had only exchanged blows twice, he had gone all out both times, and now he had little chakra left.

Temari and Kankuro were siblings, and they worked together with perfect coordination.

Their eerie Puppet Technique and powerful Wind Release complemented each other perfectly.

For a while, they put Lin Mu under considerable pressure.

They weren't a serious threat, but they did manage to tie Lin Mu down and deny him the chance to suppress Gaara directly.

As Temari and Kankuro kept Lin Mu occupied, Sasuke Uchiha was also unable to move, drained by the Cursed Seal's power and his depleted chakra.

Gaara was now in no danger at all. He could recover his injuries and chakra as much as he pleased.

The sand covering Gaara gradually settled. His fierce gaze shifted, fixing on Sasuke.

"Sasuke Uchiha, you're still going to die!"

Then he leaped up and lunged at Sasuke once more!

Thud!

Another heavy impact rang out. Just as Gaara neared Sasuke, a figure kicked him away!

"Naruto!"

Sasuke cried out in surprise. He hadn't expected Naruto to arrive at that moment.

Lin Mu noticed the commotion too, but he wasn't surprised.

He had known all along that Naruto would come. It was exactly what he'd expected.

Sakura Haruno had also arrived by now. When she saw Sasuke lying motionless, tears immediately spilled from her eyes.

But Gaara wasn't about to give Sakura time to cry. To him, the two newcomers were nothing but helpless "prey"!

He slowly straightened up. His body was changing again.

Before, only the upper half of his body had turned monstrous. Now, more sand spilled from the gourd on his back.

It slowly covered the rest of his body. A huge, sharp claw began to form in place of his left hand, and a massive tail gradually unfurled behind him!

Now, everything but his legs had become monstrous!

"He's almost fully transformed!"

Temari glanced at Gaara's changing form, her thoughts in turmoil.

If this continued, even she and Kankuro would be in danger!

When Gaara reached his complete form, he wouldn't distinguish between friend and foe. He'd kill everyone!

Naruto and Sakura were naturally shaken by Gaara's transformation as well.

Gaara didn't care what his "prey" thought.

He extended his claw and grabbed straight for Sakura Haruno, who was closest to him!

Sakura had never seen a monster like this. She froze in terror.

But this was a battle between shinobi of this caliber. There was no room to freeze!

Naruto Uzumaki reacted instantly, rushing at Gaara in an attempt to shield Sakura from the blow.

"Sand Shuriken!"

Gaara didn't stop attacking Sakura. The sand covering his body surged violently, instantly forming countless sharp Sand Shuriken that shot toward Naruto.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Naruto had rushed in without thinking. Now, he had no time to dodge.

The Sand Shuriken struck him head-on in a storm of blades!

As he fell from the sky, the violent sand blasts hurled him upward before he slammed into a large tree in the distance!

Sakura Haruno was stunned. Gaara grabbed her and slammed her hard against a tree!

"Sakura!"

Naruto and Sasuke were horrified, but there was no way they could help her now.

However, Gaara didn't kill her outright. His shoulder slowly broke away, and the massive claw pinning Sakura to the tree remained there!

He grinned and chuckled:

"Beat me! Otherwise, this claw will keep tightening, and this girl will die sooner or later!"

Naruto Uzumaki's eyes instantly reddened at those words.

At that moment, he didn't care about anything else.

He had to save Sakura!

Gaara watched Naruto Uzumaki charge at him without a thought for himself, a look of disdain on his face.

With such a vast difference in strength, nothing Naruto Uzumaki did would make any difference!

Thud!

Thud, thud, thud!

Naruto Uzumaki was sent flying again and again, but each time he got back up and charged at Gaara once more, as if he never tired.

Gaara curled his lips and swung his claw down hard.

The blow made Naruto's vision go black. His body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! I'll kill every last one of you!"

Gaara had gone mad, laughing wildly.

"Ah..."

Pinned beneath the claw, Sakura let out a pained groan.

Every sound reached Naruto's ears with crystal clarity as he lay on the ground.

"I..."

Naruto Uzumaki struggled with all his might, slowly pushing himself up.

"I have to protect you!"

Naruto Uzumaki swayed as he rose, then struggled to steady himself.

His hands moved through several seals.

Chakra surged wildly inside him, spilling out of his body.

It blazed like a raging fire.

"Ninja Art: Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!"

A rapid series of sounds rang out, and dense clouds of white smoke filled the forest.

When the smoke cleared, everyone in the forest stared wide-eyed, as if they'd seen a ghost.

The entire forest was filled—with figures standing on branches, on tree trunks, and on the ground...

Countless—

Naruto Uzumakis!