"Sand Burial!!"
Splat, splat, splat...
As he watched Sasuke crushed by Sand Burial, blood raining through the air, Naruto froze, his eyes wide.
Thump, thump... thump, thump, thump!!!
Seeing the person he loved die horribly before him, Naruto's pupils instantly turned scarlet. An urge to destroy everything surged from the depths of his heart.
Fear, regret, guilt... all of them flooded Naruto's heart at once.
"Aaargh...!!!!!"
Naruto clenched both fists, raised his head slightly, and let out an anguished roar!
"Sasuke!!!"
But before the Demon Fox Cloak could emerge, a reproachful voice reached his ears.
"Naruto, why are you standing there in a daze?"
The instant Naruto heard that voice, the scarlet vanished from his pupils. He whipped his head toward the treetop on his right and saw Sasuke standing there, panting heavily and frowning at him.
"Sasuke... you're... you're okay?"
Seeing Naruto's eyes and the tears glistening at their corners, Sasuke replied, "As if I'd die that easily. All he killed was my substitute."
At the faintly smug look on Sasuke's face, Naruto darted to his side and pulled him into his arms. He was warm, and his scent was just as familiar as ever.
Held tightly in his embrace, Sasuke could clearly feel Naruto's body trembling nonstop.
"I'm really strong, you know. Don't underestimate me, Naruto."
Naruto said nothing. He only kept nodding.
While the two held each other close, Gaara, not far away, discovered that what he had crushed in his enormous hand was merely a piece of wood. He flew into another frenzy.
"I'll kill you both!"
His face twisted viciously, Gaara formed hand seals. "Wind Release: Sandstorm Shuriken!"
As his words fell, dense clouds of sand immediately appeared around Gaara, whose head, hands, and torso had already undergone Shukaku Transformation. He blew hard, sending a