Orochimaru had retreated, leaving behind a scene of devastation and a group still shaken to their cores. Naruto and Sakura struggled to help the unconscious Sasuke to his feet. The Cursed Seal markings had yet to fade completely. Staggering, they made their way toward the tower. Haku and Kimimaro, following Ling's orders, did not go far. Instead, they concealed their presence and followed alongside the team like ghosts, ensuring Team 7 could safely reach the finish line.
Ling remained hidden among the treetops, but his gaze had already shifted to another part of the forest. He sensed a far more violent chakra, seething with hatred and a desire for destruction, boiling and swelling somewhere in the forest! The chakra carried the pungent smell of sand and the distinctive savagery of a Tailed Beast—it was Gaara!
"System, locate Gaara and assess his current condition."
[Location confirmed. Target: Gaara (One-Tail Jinchuriki). Condition: Emotionally extremely unstable. Shukaku's chakra is leaking continuously; target is on the verge of losing control. Location: Southeastern area of the Forest of Death, engaged in combat with Amegakure shinobi.]
Just as he'd expected! Ling's eyes narrowed. The second critical event was about to erupt! He had to stop Shukaku from fully manifesting. Otherwise, not only would the Forest of Death suffer a devastating blow, but Naruto might also get caught up in it, even exposing his identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki ahead of time.
He didn't hesitate. The Flying Thunder God Technique activated, and he vanished from the spot.
Southeastern area of the Forest of Death.
Three Amegakure Genin stared in horror at the scene before them. Their opponent, a red-haired boy from Sunagakure, was sweating viscous sand mixed with chakra from the surface of his body! A gigantic claw made entirely of sand had replaced his left arm. It clutched the corpse of one of their comrades, blood and entrails dripping between its fingers.
"M-monster!!" The two remaining Amegakure shinobi broke down completely and turned to flee.
"Die... all of you, die..." Gaara's whisper sounded like a summons from hell. His one uninjured eye was bloodshot, filled with nothing but murderous intent. The sand claw swung out, coiling toward the fleeing pair like a giant serpent!
At that crucial instant—
"Whoosh!"
A flash of golden light! The two Amegakure shinobi on the verge of being swallowed by the sand claw felt the world blur. An irresistible force seized them, and the next moment they found themselves a hundred meters away, beneath a large tree, staring back at the spot in shock.
In the clearing, Gaara's sand claw had closed on empty air, leaving only a deep pit behind. A figure had appeared in front of it, back to Gaara. It was Ling, who had used the Flying Thunder God to save the pair!
"Who are you?!" Gaara whipped around, his bloodshot eye fixed on Ling. The sand claw changed direction and lunged at the intruder with a shrill whistle!
Ling didn't even turn around. He simply shifted slightly, and the claw grazed past the hem of his clothes. Raising a hand, he let pure Wind Style chakra swirl around his fingertips like the sharpest scalpel, then lightly tapped the enormous sand claw!
"Wind Style: Vacuum Blade!"
"Shhk—!"
The seemingly indestructible sand claw was effortlessly sliced open by the blade of wind. Sand poured down in a shower, as if it had lost all life!
Gaara let out a muffled cry of pain as the sand claw quickly withdrew. He stared at Ling in disbelief. This stranger had appeared at an incomprehensible speed—and had damaged his absolute defense with such ease?!
"Calm down, Gaara." Ling turned around and regarded the boy, who was almost completely consumed by Shukaku's chakra. "Being devoured by a monster doesn't feel good, does it?"
The words hit Gaara like a hammer! Shukaku seemed to sense a threat too, and let out an even more frenzied roar. More sand poured from Gaara's body, trying to bury Ling completely!
"Shut up! I'm the monster! As long as I kill all of you... as long as..." Gaara clutched his head. Between Shukaku's invasion and the crushing weight of his own painful memories, he was on the verge of collapse. The signs of Tailed Beast Transformation grew more and more apparent!
Ling knew words would no longer help. He had to force Gaara back with overwhelming power!
He stopped holding back. The One-Tomoe Sharingan opened instantly! It was only a single tomoe, but with his Sage Body and immense spiritual strength behind it, its ocular power far surpassed that of an ordinary user!
"Genjutsu: Sharingan!"
Ling met Gaara's crazed, blood-red gaze! A powerful surge of spiritual energy stabbed into the chaos of Gaara's mind like a sword!
"Roar—!" Shukaku's will let out an angry bellow, resisting the external intrusion into Gaara's mind. Ling's genjutsu wasn't meant to control Gaara completely. Instead, it acted like a pillar anchoring the sea, forcibly stabilizing the boy's mind before Shukaku could completely overwhelm it!
At the same time, Ling formed Hand Seals, drawing on his immense Senjutsu Chakra!
"Sealing Jutsu: Four-Symbol Binding (Simplified)!"
Four chains formed from Senjutsu Chakra appeared out of thin air, glowing pale green as they coiled around Gaara like serpents! They weren't meant to seal Shukaku completely, only to temporarily block and suppress the Tailed Beast Chakra leaking from him!
"Gaaah!" Gaara let out a piercing scream. The sand covering his body quickly receded, and Shukaku's will was forced back into the depths under the combined suppression of the Sharingan Genjutsu and the Sealing Jutsu. Gaara collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. The blood-red color faded from his eyes, leaving only exhaustion, fear, and... a trace of bewilderment.
Ling walked over to him and looked down. "Do you understand now? This is the true face of the 'power' you rely on. It doesn't belong to you. It only wants to devour you."
Gaara looked up at Ling's calm black eyes, which seemed able to see through everything. Ling had already deactivated his Sharingan. Gaara's lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a word.
"If you want to truly control power instead of letting it control you, you need to find an answer of your own." Ling left him with those words and said no more. He sensed Kankuro and Temari approaching at speed. He had to leave.
He activated the Flying Thunder God, and vanished once more, leaving Gaara collapsed on the ground and the two Amegakure shinobi in the distance, stunned to have survived.
A moment later, Kankuro and Temari arrived. Seeing Gaara's condition, they were shocked and afraid, and hurried over to help him up.
"Gaara, are you all right? That chakra just now..." Temari asked anxiously.
Gaara didn't answer. He only stared blankly at the place where Ling had disappeared, the words "find an answer of your own" echoing in his mind. For the first time, someone had pulled him back from the brink of losing control with such overwhelming force—and said something like that to him.
Fear? No. What he felt was more like an indescribable shock and... a faint hope, so slight that even he hadn't noticed it.
Far away, Ling's figure appeared once more on the branch of a large tree. He breathed softly, a little winded. Using the Flying Thunder God, Sharingan Genjutsu, and a simplified Sealing Jutsu in quick succession had taken a toll on him too.
[Successfully suppressed Shukaku's rampage and altered a critical plot point. Reward: Sage Body proficiency increased; Shukaku chakra sample obtained (trace amount).]
Feeling the vitality growing ever fuller within him, and sensing the wisp of dark-yellow chakra in the system inventory, Ling's gaze sharpened.
Of the two major threats in the Forest of Death, one had been dealt with for now. Next, he would wait for everyone to gather at the tower—and for the inevitable battle that would bring about Konoha's destruction!
Before you continue