Gaara, I've Come to Help You

"Hmph, that thing could never break through my Absolute Defense!"

Gaara sneered.

He was currently in his strongest form, excluding the Feigned Sleep technique.

The Absolute Defense he was utilizing now was far beyond what he had used when battling Sasuke Uchiha.

In Konoha, only Naruto could stand against him, and now, he was going to defeat his only rival!

"Feel the hatred! You know the feeling of being abandoned by this world, don't you!"

Gaara could sense the dark aura within Naruto.

What was he pretending for?

As a Jinchuriki himself, he had truly felt a hatred far more terrifying than his own!

Why hadn't a Naruto like this descended further into darkness?

Why hadn't he come to loathe this world just like him?

"Hey! Before you start talking to yourself, don't you even look at your opponent's skills?"

In the blink of an eye, Naruto appeared before Gaara.

That indestructible, super-strong sand wall was finally shattered by the Thunderstorm Rasengan.

Terrifying destructive power and electric currents were unleashed from Naruto's hand.

They destroyed the sand inside Gaara's gourd, bit by bit!

Even his own sand could not escape such lethal force.

And so, beneath the brilliant radiance of the electric light, Sasuke Uchiha, feeling deeply powerless, witnessed the scene with his own eyes.

"Naruto Uzumaki is already this strong!"

Sasuke Uchiha felt a lump in his throat.

He didn't hate others for being stronger; he resented himself for not being strong enough!

If his peers were already at the level of opponents like Gaara and Naruto, then how could a Sasuke with only his current strength stand against them?

Let alone defeat Itachi Uchiha!

Weakness was the original sin of a ninja!

"How can I obtain greater power? How can I surpass him, surpass that man! Damn it!"

The brighter the light before him, the more painful Sasuke's heart became.

It had been a long time since he felt this kind of helplessness.

It started from the moment he let his guard down regarding his surroundings.

Sasuke touched his chest, right over his heart.

His consciousness was blurring bit by bit due to his injuries.

Because of Naruto Uzumaki!

It was that idiot, always talking about bonds, who made him feel a sense of security and caused him to let his guard down.

"Damn it!"

Sasuke had no one left worth caring about.

He would never trust anyone ever again.

"Sever it! Use the Chidori, use the blade, sever all bonds to become stronger!"

Sasuke grew stronger amidst his pain.

His blood-red eyes witnessed the battle.

Yellow sand transformed into a barrier, attempting to block the violent Thunderstorm Rasengan.

But it was all destroyed!

Naruto was shouting, his face filled with the joy of battle.

It was the happiness of successfully developing a self-created ninjutsu.

"One day, I will create the Wind Lightning God Rasengan! Hahaha!"

Naruto's attack made even Gaara feel powerless.

"You are releasing your hatred, your negativity, your darkness!"

Gaara's sorrow turned into joy.

In his eyes, Naruto had completely unleashed another side, becoming a person just like him!

"What is darkness?"

Naruto's palm exerted force, and the last of the Thunderstorm Rasengan's chakra was depleted.

"It's being like me."

Gaara had no companions, no empathy.

Not until he met Naruto, another Jinchuriki, who also harbored deep pain.

This made him feel both unfamiliar and curious.

The impact momentarily caught Gaara off guard.

More than ten large trees were consecutively snapped.

But half of his body had already turned to sand. Using Shukaku's chakra, Gaara, still fearless, rose again.

His combat ninjutsu, Body Flicker Technique, bloodline limit, and tailed beast chakra all seemed insufficient before Naruto.

Yet, in Gaara's view, seeing someone else consumed by darkness just like him was simply wonderful!

It was a feeling of kinship.

It was like being in boundless darkness, and even if the other person was far away and unreachable, you knew they were there.

In the darkness, I am not alone!

Gaara thought to himself.

For a lonely monster, such a vast distance was the mark of a fellow creature.

As for companions.

Don't even dream of it; just pretend you don't need them at all.

Gaara looked up at Naruto standing on the treetop.

"You are also in pain, and lonely, aren't you? You will never have companions either."

So good.

A fellow creature suffering immensely.

Gaara said frankly.

"Pain?"

Naruto looked down at Gaara.

With the posture of a victor, a superior.

"Don't joke, Gaara."

"Why would I feel pain and loneliness?"

Naruto leaned against the sky.

The sun was like a halo enveloping his figure.

The darkness and hatred Gaara felt were rapidly expanding and releasing.

Naruto, however, spread his arms in ecstasy, like a seraph descending into hell!

"Gaara."

"You are consumed by hatred and anger, and thus feel pain and loneliness, believing this is darkness."

"No."

Naruto unleashed endless darkness.

In Gaara's eyes, the sky turned pitch black and lightless.

"Without hatred, how can you seek revenge; without loneliness, how can you grow stronger; without anger, how can you be yourself."

"Darkness is the void that contains light. Transform all your darkness into power, and then shatter everything that makes you hate, lonely, angry, and in pain!"

Naruto pointed at Gaara.

He was dazzling at this moment.

"Gaara, I am here to help you!"

"First, make the guy inside you learn to obey. Either cooperate or be suppressed!"

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself like a kid from the Ninja Academy!"

Naruto was too powerful.

So powerful that even darkness was dominated by him.

What was darkness and loneliness to others was, to Naruto, merely an aura that crushed others!

You fear my power, that's your problem?

Why should I bear everything!

Did anyone volunteer to be a Jinchuriki from birth?

Naruto did!

"You're going to help me?"

Gaara felt he was losing control after being repeatedly struck by Naruto.

"No, no one can control a Tailed Beast."

"This is the destined pain of being a Jinchuriki."

"You're lying!"

Gaara had never seen anyone conquer darkness with willpower.

Much less anyone who could control it as a source of power!

Many had told him his killing intent was heavy, but being impacted by the aura of darkness was an absolute first.

"Gaara, what kind of madness is this?"

Naruto clenched his five fingers into a fist, and in the next second, he appeared before Gaara.

With Lightning Release Chakra Mode activated, every step was a Body Flicker Technique.

"Chakra Enhanced Strength!"

Naruto unleashed a punch that erupted with a chakra airflow powerful enough to shatter walls.

The Shukaku chakra in Gaara's abdomen was directly shattered.

One Chakra Enhanced Strength punch sent Gaara flying dozens of meters.

"Cough! Cough!"

Gaara, spitting blood, was about to stand up.

When Naruto stomped him to the ground.

"Hey!"

"Stop with the nonsense. Whether you can do it or not, first make that tanuki inside you get out."

"I've felt an annoyed fox since I started fighting you."

Naruto kicked down.

Gaara, who still had a sliver of consciousness, was completely stunned.

The yellow sand on his body rapidly intensified.

His body expanded like a sandstorm.

Sleeping Fox Technique!

"Hey."

Naruto, annoyed, kicked down again.

"Did I tell you to pretend to sleep?"

"I said, make that tanuki get out!"

Bang!

Another kick completely defeated Gaara, who was attempting to use the Sleeping Fox Technique.

Shukaku, no longer suppressed, finally unleashed its chakra with full power!