Fall and Protection
Shukaku screamed in agony outside, "No--! Don't lock me back in--!"
Gaara's eyes snapped open, his four-pointed star pupils slowly returning to a pale green. The giant beast's sand shell began to crumble from the top of its head.
Shukaku struggled desperately, frantically compressing its remaining Chakra, attempting to unleash a final Tailed Beast Ball to perish together with the enemy before disintegrating.
Naruto hoisted Gaara onto his shoulder with one hand and leaped out, his feet treading on the shattered sand. Facing the black death beam about to be spewed from the giant beast's mouth, he didn't even bother to dodge.
His blood and energy surged like a dragon soaring into the sky, and the green steam from the Gates of Gate of Healing and Gate of Life, mixed with the golden light of Yang Release, transformed into a tangible armor.
"You think you can yell at me just because you're tall? Today, I'll teach you what absolute violence really is!"
A punch landed.
The Tailed Beast Ball was shattered in Shukaku's mouth, and the violent energy backfired into the giant beast's body. Yellow sand poured down, and the massive body of the fully-formed Shukaku disintegrated, turning into a vast expanse of ordinary sand.
When Naruto landed, he was kneeling on one knee. He was covered in blood, his left arm was frostbitten from the backlash of Ice Release, and his right palm was charred black. The recovery of his Sage Body had almost come to a standstill.
He threw Gaara to the ground—not gently, but directly.
Looking up at Temari, who was still in a daze, he grinned. There was an undeniable weariness in his smile, but his stubbornness remained undiminished.
"Look. Your younger brother. Alive." He paused, catching his breath. "As for having a big, healthy son... let's talk about that after your older brother has had a couple of days to recover."
Temari couldn't stop crying. She didn't know if it was because her brother had come back to life, or because of something else.
The system's mechanical voice calmly sounded in my mind.
"Ding! S-rank target 'Temari's' favorability has exceeded 90! Trigger condition: Desperately rescue the enemy princess's loved ones. Current status: Unwavering devotion!"
[Supporting character's perspective: Sasuke Uchiha]
The pain was excruciating. It felt like a million ants were gnawing at my bones.
Sasuke leaned against the broken tree stump, panting heavily. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and each rise and fall of his chest pulled at his broken ribs, causing excruciating pain. The Snake Mark on the back of his neck was still throbbing faintly, its cold power unwillingly coiling within his meridians, suppressed by the warm Yang Release light on his shoulder.
He stared intently at the blond figure in the middle of the valley.
Watching Naruto, covered in blood, drag Gaara out of the sand shell, watching that invincible beast disintegrate with a roar, watching him throw Gaara like a rag doll at Temari's feet.
I'm not reconciled.
It grew wildly in my heart like a poisonous weed.
Those three seconds of window of opportunity were bought with his life. He used the power of the Snake Seal to unleash the Fireball Jutsu, creating an opening. But so what? Without Naruto's punch, his Fireball Jutsu wouldn't even have been enough to tickle Shukaku.
He gritted his teeth until they shattered, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.
The eldest brother is holding on. He's using the output of Third Gate to fight a battle of Fifth Gate level. Now, his back is swaying precariously, and he can barely stand up straight.
Even so, am I still not even qualified to be his deputy?
The image in the Sharingan gradually blurred. Not because of the blood, but because my eyes were sore.
"I'll get stronger," Sasuke murmured to himself, his voice so hoarse he could barely hear it. "One day... I'll catch up with you."
He closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. The warmth of the Yang Release Mark flowed slowly along his meridians, soothing the agitation caused by the Snake Seal. This feeling of being "protected" by his older brother made him feel humiliated, yet also... damnably safe. Karin collapsed at Naruto's feet, her red hair disheveled by the wind, a shattered lens on her red glasses, and her arm covered in dense, old teeth marks from her own biting. She trembled all over, holding her scarred arm to Naruto's mouth.
"Ding! S-rank target 'Temari's' favorability has exceeded 90! Trigger condition: Desperately rescue the enemy princess's loved ones. Current status: Unwavering devotion!"
Temari held the unconscious Gaara, crying uncontrollably.
Karin ran out from behind the boulder where she was hiding, pounced on Naruto's side, and brought her arm to her mouth.
Naruto! Bite me! Bite me now! It worked last time!
Naruto shook his head.
It's no use. This time it's not Chakra problem. It's the cells themselves going on strike.
His vision began to blur. His body fell backward as if all the bones had been removed. In the last second before he fell, he activated Mind's Eye of the Kagura with his last bit of consciousness, scanning the entire Hidden Leaf.
The image he sensed in that instant caused his pupils to shrink sharply. The system radar in his mind flashed an unprecedented dark red alert: An extremely dangerous level forbidden technique, Yin Release, had been detected erupting in the central area of Hidden Leaf.
Within the purple barrier at the center of the village, the Third Hokage Hokage's Chakra was visibly and rapidly depleting. This wasn't the consumption of normal combat; it was the aura of the Reaper Death Seal. The old man was trading his life for another. Orochimaru's Chakra, though also fluctuating violently, showed no signs of dissipating.
... Hold.
Naruto uttered a single word before his consciousness plunged into complete darkness.
The moment Naruto collapsed, Sasuke arrived at the edge of the valley. He saw that the figure who never fell finally collapse in a pool of blood. The image in his Sharingan was so clear it was gruesome: the purplish-black spreading beneath Naruto's skin, the ruptured blood vessels, the stagnant Chakra. His body was ice-cold.
He rushed over and lifted Naruto off the ground.
Brother—I'll take you back!
On the way back to the village from the valley, Sasuke carried the unconscious Naruto on his back, Temari held Gaara, and Karin followed behind. Kankuro, after being Temari, dragged his broken body and followed at the back. Along the way, a loud bang came from the direction of Hidden Leaf in the distance, and the purple barrier shattered. The Third Hokage Hokage's Chakra signal completely disappeared.
Temari, being from another village, didn't react. Sasuke paused. He glanced back at Hidden Leaf, then looked down at the unconscious Naruto on his back. His teeth clenched so tightly they cracked. He couldn't stop. His older brother needed medical attention. Everything else could wait until his brother woke up.
Meanwhile, in the secret passage of Hidden Leaf.
Haku stood at the end of the corridor. Kabuto Yakushi had already retreated. After confirming that Karin had left safely, she used Ice Release to seal all the entrances to the entire secret passage. Then she sensed that Naruto's Chakra signal was rapidly weakening from the direction of the battlefield, to the point that she almost thought he was dead.
Bai's expressionless face shattered at that moment. Something she had never seen before surged in her icy blue eyes—pure, undisguised fear. She turned and ran, towards Naruto's direction. Only one thought occupied her mind: if that person died, what was the point of her living?
Sasuke carried Naruto as they ran wildly through the dense forest.
The body on his back was frighteningly heavy. His body temperature was dropping, and the blood from ruptured blood vessels seeped through his clothes, staining Sasuke's back, making it damp and cold.
The image from just now kept replaying in my mind uncontrollably.