Deep within the forest, Sasuke knelt on one knee, gasping violently.
He looked at the five Naruto Shadow Clones that had appeared without a sound, his heart churning with indescribably complicated emotions. An uncontrollable sense of relief welled up within him. He realized that whenever he found himself in danger, the sight of that orange jacket gave him an almost instinctive sense of safety.
That realization brought him a measure of ease, but also an even stronger sense of humiliation.
Why was it him again?
Why was it that every time he gave it his all, every time he thought he could prove himself, this guy was always the one who came out to clean up the mess in the end?
Even if they were only his clones.
"It's you... you again! Great! I was afraid you wouldn't come!"
The deranged roar interrupted Sasuke's thoughts. Gaara had already transformed into a monster with half his body covered in sand. In his eyes as he looked at Naruto's clones, the fear left behind from the preliminaries intertwined with a morbid excitement. He did not care about these clones. He recognized only that presence that made him tremble and crave more.
He wanted to prove himself—to prove his worth to the man who had made him feel that he "existed."
"Then come."
Gaara gave up his final restraint over the monster within him and formed hand seals.
"Feigning Sleep Technique!"
His consciousness sank into darkness, completely handing control of his body over to the sealed beast.
Sand surged into the sky.
It crazily gathered and reshaped itself around Gaara's body. Bones, muscles, skin—everything was made of rapidly flowing yellow sand. A complete, gigantic tanuki-like monster erupted into existence within the forest.
The One-Tail, Shukaku.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Its mad roar shook the entire forest,