Ōnoki landed behind Gaara and placed both hands on his sand Gourd.
"Kazekage, I'll make Sand lighter. You restrain him, and I'll try to finish this quickly with Dust Release!"
Gaara said, "I won't agree to that!"
Ōnoki said, "Relax. I won't attack his whole body, only his feet. Once he can't move, he'll be helpless. This is the most direct way to save Naruto Uzumaki!"
Gaara said, "You... won't go back on your word?"
Ōnoki smiled. "If not for that last battle, I would have broken my word without hesitation! I would have eliminated the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and weakened Konoha's fighting power. But now... I won't!"
Gaara said, "Thank you!"
—Earth Release: Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique!!
Humm...!!
Gaara's Sand became lighter!!
"Go...!!!"
Whoosh!
A torrent of sand surged forth, engulfing Naruto-Madara at an astonishing speed!!
"!"
Startled, Naruto-Madara dodged at full speed!
Ōnoki... tampered with that Sand. The Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique!?
Whoosh...!
Naruto-Madara was fast, but Sand was just as fast and covered a vast area. He could hardly escape its grip!
Bzzzt!
Almost simultaneously, the Dust Release before Ōnoki's palms became a beam that swept along the ground, straight toward Naruto-Madara's feet!
"So that's your game!"
The corners of Naruto-Madara's mouth lifted.
—Scorch Release: Wind-Fire Wheels!
Boom!
He released Fire Release and Wind Release beneath his feet at the same time. Blending in near-perfect proportions, they formed spinning wheels that generated an updraft. The instant the Dust Release swept toward him, he broke free of Sand's grip and rose into the sky!
Naruto-Madara soared, laughing wildly. "Hahahahahahaha! Sand is lighter, but its grip is weaker too! You fixed one problem only to create another, Ōnoki!!!"
Ōnoki said, "Damn it! So he really won't go down that easily!"
"Let me deal with him!!"
Whoosh! Mei Terumi strode boldly into the