One-Tail Shukaku

"Damn, that really hurt!" Naruto shook out his arm, formed hand seals, and stared at Gaara as he shouted, "I won't lose, Gaara! Let's start round two! Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

This time, Naruto went all out. More than two thousand of Naruto's Shadow Clones appeared densely throughout the forest, leaving Sasuke, Kankuro, and Gaara stunned.

Kankuro was frightened by the number of Naruto's clones. "H-How can there be so many clones?!"

"Naruto..." Sasuke stared blankly at Naruto. He had thought the gap between them had narrowed considerably, but it was still this vast. At this rate, would he ever be able to avenge himself against Itachi Uchiha?

"Everyone, charge!" Naruto shouted, carrying the momentum of an army of thousands as he rushed at Gaara.

Seizing an opening, seven or eight Shadow Clones kicked Gaara to the ground. Then, from every direction, hundreds of Naruto's clones came smashing down with Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan in hand.

Ultra-Big Ball Multiple Rasengan!

Boom!

Gaara cried out in pain. The sand he had used for defense crumbled, and Naruto's attack dealt him severe damage.

With a roar, Shukaku within Gaara completely awakened. At the same time, Gaara used the Feign Sleep Technique and fell asleep, allowing Shukaku to emerge in full.

Gaara's Tailed Beast seal was nowhere near as complete as Naruto's. Whenever Gaara slept, Shukaku could seize the chance to come out. Its massive body, dozens of meters tall, sat amid the forest.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Kankuro looked up at it. Sakura, Ino, and Pakkun, who had arrived afterward, were also left stunned by Shukaku's appearance.

"What is that thing? It's huge!" Ino cried.

"Sasuke! Naruto!" Sakura shouted.

"Wait, Sakura, don't go over there! If you go now, you'll only hold them back!" Pakkun stopped Sakura. With a grave expression, he briefly explained that Shukaku was an extremely terrifying creature, then vanished and left. After all, he was not a combat-type summoned beast, and there was no use staying any longer. The two girls could only watch from afar and silently pray for Sasuke and Naruto.

"Hahahaha... I'm out! I'm finally out..." Shukaku laughed wildly.

Shukaku noticed Sasuke and Naruto nearby. "Found you! Wind Release: Air Bullets!"

Sasuke and Naruto leaped backward. Naruto's Shadow Clones stood in front and blocked Shukaku's attack, but more than half of them were wiped out in that single blow!

It was not over yet. Sand filled the sky and surged toward Naruto and Sasuke, annihilating all of Naruto's Shadow Clones.

"Naruto, I'll stay and hold him off. You and Sakura need to get out of here!" Sasuke kept retreating. The feeling of helplessness filled him with despair, and under these circumstances, he made a decision.

"No, Sasuke. It's not over yet. We haven't lost!" Naruto kept leaping backward as the sea of sand spread, forcing him farther and farther away. There was no chance to use the Summoning Jutsu now. If he paused even slightly, the sand would bury him.

Nine-Tails' voice reached Naruto's mind as well. "So Shukaku has appeared, Naruto. I'll lend you my chakra. That way, you can quickly pull away from this sand and use the Summoning Jutsu to call those stinking toads from Mount Myoboku!"

"No... Kurama, I promised you. During these Chunin Ninja Exams, I won't borrow your power again!" Naruto replied.

"What?" Nine-Tails was startled, then roared, "Idiot! Why are you being stubborn at a time like this...?"

"I'm not being stubborn, Kurama. I mean it. Besides, I haven't reached my limit yet. This isn't even my full strength."

Naruto's gaze turned serious. The instant he stepped onto a tree branch, he kicked off with all his strength and leaped into the sea of sand.

Sasuke's eyes widened. As he retreated through the air, he watched the scene in disbelief and shouted, "Naruto!"

"I have no limits!" Naruto roared. His chakra suddenly erupted, shattering the sand wrapped around his body. Four golden chakra chains extended from Naruto's body, seizing Shukaku's massive form and locking it in place.

"This is it... Kurama, back then, when I sensed Hinata's chakra, it felt just like this..." Naruto felt his blood boiling. At that moment, he could clearly sense the chakra of Gaara, Sasuke, Sakura, and everyone else nearby. If he were not using the Adamantine Sealing Chains to restrain Shukaku, he could use Flying Thunder God Movement to instantly reach any of them.

Nine-Tails was dumbfounded. He was naturally familiar with the Adamantine Sealing Chains Naruto had unleashed. "Th-This is Kushina's... Mito's ability..."

Shukaku struggled fiercely, but Naruto held him firmly in place with the Adamantine Sealing Chains. Furious, he shouted, "Damn it, what the hell is this thing?!"

"Ow, he's strong..." Shukaku's thrashing was more than Naruto could bear, and he struggled to hold on. He shouted to Sasuke, "I can't move anymore! Sasuke, hurry and wake Gaara up! As long as Gaara wakes up, this monster will go back inside him!"

Sasuke snapped back to his senses. Without time to marvel at what Naruto's technique was, he ran at full speed, stepping across the sand and then onto Shukaku's massive body as he raced toward Shukaku's head. The Two-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes locked firmly onto Gaara.

Realizing Sasuke's intentions, Shukaku immediately panicked. He had been too carried away earlier and had left Gaara exposed outside.

"Bastard! I won't go back to that damned place..." Shukaku stopped struggling, easing Naruto's burden considerably. The Adamantine Sealing Chains also had a sealing effect, making it difficult for Shukaku to mobilize chakra. Using all his strength, he slowly sank Gaara's body back into himself.

Sasuke formed hand seals. The chirping cry of Chidori echoed through the forest as he stared at the place where Gaara was disappearing and leaped forward.

Chidori!

The Chidori in Sasuke's hand pierced through Shukaku's body.

"Ahhh..." Gaara's cry of pain made Shukaku let out an unwilling roar. His massive body vanished and returned to Gaara's body.

Sasuke's Chidori had pierced Gaara's shoulder, painfully waking him from his sleep. Gaara had exhausted too much chakra and reached his limit. He fell from the air and crashed onto the ground, utterly weakened.

"We did it, but..." Naruto also toppled backward uncontrollably. He had consumed too much strength and collapsed onto the ground.

"Hehe... Kurama, why did that feeling disappear again?" Naruto asked in utter confusion.

"Who knows? Hmph." Nine-Tails replied indifferently. Seeing that everything was over, he stopped paying attention to Naruto.

Sasuke landed steadily atop the ruined tree roots. Fallen trees and sand were mixed together, and an entire stretch of forest had been destroyed. He had just seen Naruto collapse and was deeply worried, so he hurried toward Naruto's location.