Orochimaru arrives

Naruto's eyes were scarlet.

His mind hovered on the brink between madness and lucidity. His consciousness had already run completely wild, utterly shattered, yet deep within it, his fixation on Miki Yūya preserved that final sliver of clarity.

Deep within the seal in his body, countless chains bound the Nine-Tails' enormous true form.

These were the reinforcements that the chakra Minato Namikaze and Kushina had left inside Naruto had added to the seal after Miki Yūya's personal attacks made him pass out.

But now, Naruto's emotions erupted, forcibly drawing the Nine-Tails' chakra from deep within the seal.

Crack, crack-!

Fine cracks began spreading across the chains.

The chains shuddered violently. The reinforced seal was visibly loosening and breaking!

This was not the Nine-Tails breaking free on its own.

Naruto was actively borrowing its power.

Finally, with a snap, every reinforcement on the seal vanished.

The Nine-Tails' consciousness immediately surged toward Naruto's mind.

Its consciousness locked precisely onto Shukaku on the battlefield.

The One-Tail and the Nine-Tails had never gotten along.

The moment it sensed Shukaku, bewilderment and disbelief filled its mind.

It could clearly sense that the perpetually stupid tanuki had actually united his mind with his jinchūriki's, achieving perfect harmony.

A perfect jinchuriki? Did that mean Shukaku had submitted?

This perfect state granted a tailed beast immunity to most mental intimidation and genjutsu suppression. Their combined power and mental strength complemented each other, making them stronger than either could be alone.

But inwardly, the Nine-Tails sneered. Had Shukaku really sunk this low?

A mighty tailed beast, willingly binding himself to a weak human in symbiosis?

In the past, it would have seized the opportunity to erode Naruto's mind, take him over, and destroy his body.

But now, the moment it sensed Shukaku, the Nine-Tails suppressed its own agenda.

Rather than killing Naruto or interfering with him, it felt that making Shukaku suffer would be far better.

Not only did it refrain from interfering with Naruto's mind, it voluntarily lifted its chakra restrictions, letting Naruto borrow its power freely and tacitly permitting this bloody fight!

As for how long Naruto could endure its chakra, that was none of its concern.

On the battlefield!

Shukaku, whose sand palm had just been bitten clean through by the Nine-Tails' chakra, flew into a complete rage.

The yellow sand filling the air shook violently. In the perfect jinchuriki state, the power of his Sand Release Techniques doubled.

"You bastard, Nine-Tails!!"

Shukaku's deep, furious roar rang out. He and the Nine-Tails had always been at odds, and its sudden appearance now was clearly meant to make his life difficult.

Shukaku's massive body lunged at the rampaging Naruto.

Propelled by sand, Shukaku was far from slow. Wind pressure swept sand along with it as it blasted toward Naruto.

But Naruto was no weakling in his berserk two-tailed state, either.

A scarlet tail swept horizontally behind him!

Boom-!!

It met Shukaku's savage blow head-on with perfect precision!

The terrifying impact blasted sand into the air. Naruto's body sank beneath the sand, and ripples spread across its surface.

Before Shukaku could withdraw his attack, Naruto's other chakra tail shot out, slamming toward Shukaku's head.

Shukaku and Gaara reacted with incredible speed.

Flowing sand instantly gathered into a thick shield in front of them.

Boom!

The chakra tail struck the sand shield, making Shukaku's entire body tremble.

"The Nine-Tails' power... only two tails have appeared, and it's already this strong!"

"Impossible, old man... why? Why were you so unfair?"

The next instant, all the yellow sand across the battlefield stirred violently!

Densely packed sand spears, spikes, and blades rose from the ground, filling the air and stabbing toward Naruto from every direction, leaving no blind spots.

This was the full might of a perfect jinchuriki.

Shukaku no longer needed to divide his attention to keep his jinchūriki in check. He could devote all his power to controlling the sea of sand.

In wide-area offense, defense, and battlefield control, Shukaku and Gaara now overwhelmed Naruto in every respect.

The storm of attacks cut off every possible avenue of escape!

Naruto quickly drew both tails back to protect himself.

"Quicksand Technique!"

As Shukaku's voice rang out, the ground beneath Naruto abruptly softened and collapsed!

A vast expanse of quicksand formed out of nowhere, dragging frantically at Naruto's body.

Within moments, Naruto sank straight beneath the yellow sand.

Aboveground, Shukaku loomed over him.

"Nine-Tails!"

"So what if you have more chakra? In the end, you're nothing but a stinking fox that charges around blindly!"

"Hahaha!"

Shukaku was outrageously smug.

But Gaara sensed something wrong. He stared hard beneath the quicksand and spoke quietly:

"One-Tail, shut up."

"Naruto in that state... something's wrong."

"What's wrong with him?"

Shukaku was utterly dismissive.

"His mind's just been eaten away by the Nine-Tails' chakra, making him go berserk!"

"Once we disperse his Nine-Tails chakra, it'll all be over!"

Before he finished speaking.

The entire expanse of quicksand beneath Shukaku suddenly churned violently and exploded.

Rumble-!

Yellow sand shot skyward. Beneath the sand, scarlet chakra seeped out wildly.

Buried in the quicksand, Naruto had not been trapped. Instead, he used the soft sand to race underground, charging toward Shukaku.

Sensing the movement underground, Gaara and Shukaku immediately focused and braced themselves. The sand around them gathered once more, ready to strike.

Now!

Whoosh-!

Scarlet from head to toe, Naruto burst out of the sand ahead.

At the same instant, Shukaku and Gaara unleashed the ninjutsu they had been preparing.

"Sand Coffin Seal!"

An enormous mass of yellow sand instantly closed in, compressed, and hardened!

A thick, rigid sand prison formed, locking Naruto firmly at its center.

Layer after layer of sand walls tightened and squeezed, frantically suppressing the rampaging Nine-Tails chakra around Naruto in an attempt to seal him by force.

But the next instant.

Crack!

The supposedly indestructible sand coffin exploded from within!

A Rasengan of Nine-Tails chakra, condensed to the utmost, formed on Naruto's tail and shredded every layer of sand restraining him!

Naruto burst out of the coffin and shot into the air.

One long tail behind him suddenly extended, gripping Shukaku's enormous sandy body and pulling them closer together.

Without giving Shukaku any chance to react, he slammed the Rasengan on his other chakra tail into Shukaku's forehead!

Boom!!!

The Rasengan formed from Nine-Tails chakra struck the aged Shukaku's head hard.

Shukaku roared in pain. His tail swept sideways and slammed into Naruto's chest.

Naruto flew like a kite with its string cut, crashing to the ground and sinking deep into a sand pit.

Trading wounds like this did not favor Naruto. In their current state, Shukaku and Gaara were far stronger than him.

The Nine-Tails chakra around Naruto ate frantically into his flesh, and fine, bloody cracks kept opening across his skin.

Blood seeped out in thin streams, the pain cutting to the bone.

Yet that extreme pain did not break Naruto. Instead, it made his mind clearer-and more crazed.

Countless images flashed wildly through his mind.

Every one of them was Miki Yūya.

Miki Yūya, whose combat intelligence was extraordinarily high and whose talent far surpassed his own.

"If it were Yūya... what would he do? What would he do!"

"If it were Yūya, what would he do...!"

Miki Yūya was Naruto's last tether to lucidity. His fighting instincts were his own, but the only clearheaded tactical thinking he had left came from imitating Miki Yūya.

An unprecedented, frenzied fighting spirit erupted in Naruto's scarlet eyes.

Just as Shukaku's attack descended again.

"Tail Clone Technique!!"

What he unleashed this time was no ordinary Shadow Clone!

Formed from Nine-Tails chakra, more than a dozen tail clones appeared, each wreathed in scarlet tail silhouettes.

The densely packed, long tailed beast tails shot forward together, piercing through!

Shhk, shhk, shhk-!

Dozens of long chakra tails stabbed into Shukaku's condensed sand body.

They instantly disrupted all of Shukaku's chakra circulation!

The yellow sand he had controlled at will across the entire battlefield froze.

Everything came to an abrupt halt!

For one instant, the battlefield fell completely still!

Looking at Shukaku's enormous body, Naruto screamed wildly until his voice broke:

"Why!! Why did you treat him like that!!"

In his absolute fury, Naruto did something utterly insane-something that amounted to suicide!

The Nine-Tails chakra around his body contracted and gathered frantically.

The tails connected to Shukaku generated an enormous suction force, locking firmly onto Shukaku's tailed beast chakra.

He intended to forcibly devour and extract Shukaku's tailed beast chakra!!

Even if his flesh could not withstand the power of two tailed beasts, even if his body burst and he died instantly, he would take them down with him.

Deep within the seal in his body, the Nine-Tails sensed Naruto's insane action and was dumbstruck.

It looked around the water prison sealing it. Sand had actually appeared inside, and even part of its own body was turning to sand.

This brat had gone mad!

Completely and utterly mad!

"Idiot!! Stop!! You'll die!!"

The Nine-Tails roared anxiously, desperately trying to seize control of his body.

Outside, Shukaku, caught in Naruto's grip, also showed signs of panic!

"Gaara!! Stop him, now!!"

"This brat's gone mad! He's trying to take us down with him! We'll all die here!!"

Shukaku screamed in terror, his voice trembling!

Gaara's face was deathly pale and his breathing erratic. Enduring the agonizing pain coursing through his body, he spoke in a low voice:

"I know..."

He was already gravely wounded!

His earlier battle with Miki Yūya had exhausted his body, mind, and chakra.

The power he had displayed afterward as a perfect jinchuriki had been sustained entirely by Shukaku's strength.

He had no chakra or stamina left to unleash another ninjutsu to stop Naruto.

There was only one way!

He had to use Shukaku's body to perform the ninjutsu.

"One-Tail! I need to borrow your body!"

"The final technique-Sandstorm Funeral!!"

Hearing this, Shukaku did not hesitate!

With their lives hanging in the balance, he completely relinquished control of his body.

Vmmm-!!

The enormous sandy tanuki body disintegrated and crumbled.

Shukaku's entire tailed beast body turned to sand.

A colossal sandstorm erupted, covering the battlefield!

"Ninja Art: Sandstorm Funeral!"

Endless layers of yellow sand crushed down, engulfed everything, and buried it all!

This move made no distinction between friend and foe, between oneself and others.

At the cost of Shukaku's body, it forcibly immobilized and crushed every enemy within its range.

BOOOOM!!!

The enormous sandstorm came crashing down like an overturned bowl!

Naruto and Gaara were swallowed completely by the boundless sea of sand, entombed beneath it.

The perfect jinchuriki state ended!

Gaara could hold on no longer. His vision went black, and he lost consciousness completely, sinking deep beneath the endless layers of sand.

A deathly silence settled over the battlefield.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Rustle...

At the center of the thick, cracked sand, a pair of crimson hands struggled to break through the surface.

Covered in blood, his aura feeble, Naruto slowly clawed his way out from the depths of the heavy sand tomb.

Wounds covered his body, his crimson eyes were dim, and his two chakra tails swayed weakly. Then Naruto looked toward the only group still standing on the battlefield.

Only one sentence remained in his mind-It doesn't matter if you kill the wrong people. If you kill the wrong ones, it's on me. If you kill the right ones, the credit is yours.

Gaara lay buried in the sand, Miki Yūya lay half-dead in the distance, and Kidomaru and Tayuya had long since lost the ability to fight.

At the edge of the battlefield, the only people still standing were:

Orochimaru, Kimimaro, Neji Hyuga, Sasuke, Jirobo, and Sakon and Ukon.

They all stood in silence, watching the devastated battlefield and Naruto, who stood alone, drenched in blood.

"That guy... isn't going to charge at us, is he?"

Jirobo and Sakon and Ukon swallowed hard.

Orochimaru still had no idea what had happened. He had just used the Summoning Technique to emerge from the White Snake's mouth. The moment he came out, he spotted the motionless "villager" nearby, already at death's door.

The man's hand twitched repeatedly. Through those twitches alone, he somehow managed to turn it toward Orochimaru and raise his middle finger.

Hearing Jirobo and Sakon and Ukon's words, Orochimaru spoke.

"Kimimaro, Sasuke-kun, I'm counting on you."

With that, Orochimaru looked at Neji.

"Neji-kun, prepare to cover yourself with the Cursed Seal!"