Gaara

After defeating Kankuro, Uzumaki Hane quickly went after Naruto. Fortunately, dealing with Kankuro hadn't taken long, and he soon caught up with Naruto and the others. They picked up the pace and hurried toward Sasuke.

When they arrived, Sasuke was lying on a tree trunk, and Gaara was about to attack him. Naruto sent Gaara flying with a kick. Sakura hurried to Sasuke's side to check his injuries. Looking at Gaara's ferocious appearance, Naruto asked, "Who is this guy?"

Uzumaki Hane looked at Gaara and murmured, "Have his left arm and tail already undergone Tailed Beast Transformation? His strength is just right. I can test the results of my training lately." His figure flashed, and he appeared above Gaara, sweeping his right leg at him. Gaara raised his transformed left arm and blocked the kick.

Gaara grinned savagely. "Another person worth killing. Are you fighting for others?" His arm rippled slightly as he tried to make Uzumaki Hane's foot sink into it. Uzumaki Hane's expression tightened slightly. He had been a little careless. He swept out his left leg as well, catching Gaara off guard and smashing him away. Gaara blocked it with his tail in time, however, and wasn't injured.

Standing on a tree trunk, Gaara reached out with his left hand and tail to grab the branches in front of him, then pulled his body back. Using the recoil, he burst forward at a terrifying speed, shooting toward Uzumaki Hane like an arrow. Uzumaki Hane couldn't make out his moving figure and could barely spot a few afterimages. So fast! he thought. "Magma Heavy Fist!" His arms rapidly turned to lava, and he crossed them over his chest. Boom! The tremendous impact sent Uzumaki Hane flying into a massive tree behind him, snapping it in half.

Uzumaki Hane lay on the ground, his lava arms covered in cracks. He stood up, magma flowing slowly over his body, and his arms returned to their original condition.

Gaara stood on a tree trunk, looking down at Uzumaki Hane. His left hand and tail seized the branches again, and he launched himself forward. Uzumaki Hane's eyes narrowed, and he quickly crossed his arms over his chest. Boom! He was slammed into the ground, the tremendous impact splitting it with countless cracks and sending dust billowing in all directions.

"Hane..." Naruto shouted. His figure flashed as he charged into the dust and swept a kick at Gaara. Gaara caught Naruto's foot with his left hand and flung him away, sending him crashing into a tree and leaving a huge dent in its trunk.

Naruto sprang to his feet. "Damn it!" He wiped the blood from his mouth and was about to go save Uzumaki Hane again.

From within the dust, Uzumaki Hane roared, "Lava Super Heavy Fist!" Boom! Gaara flew out of the dust, smashing through countless trees. He had wrapped himself in his tail and left arm beforehand, however, so he wasn't injured.

Uzumaki Hane flashed to Naruto's side. His hands had already returned to normal. After all, maintaining their lava form consumed Chakra and affected his speed. Naruto asked, "Hane, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Uzumaki Hane said. "He's strong. That's just what I want. Hahaha..." He laughed in delight.

He charged at Gaara again. Gaara's left arm suddenly stretched out and smashed toward the approaching Uzumaki Hane. Still in midair, Uzumaki Hane shouted, "Lava Super Heavy Fist!" His right hand turned to lava and swelled to ten times its original size, smashing Gaara's outstretched left arm apart. It turned into countless grains of sand that fell to the ground. Uzumaki Hane's charge was also stopped, and he landed on the ground.

Gaara seized the branches with his left hand and tail and launched himself at Uzumaki Hane again. Uzumaki Hane shouted, "Lava Super Heavy Fist!" Boom! His massive lava arm stopped Gaara, who leaped away and landed on a tree trunk more than ten meters away. Crack! Cracks began appearing in Uzumaki Hane's enormous arm, slowly spreading across the whole limb. It turned to magma and fell to the ground, scorching the earth. Magma flowed slowly over Uzumaki Hane's body, and a new arm soon grew in its place.

Drool dripped from one corner of Gaara's mouth, running down his fang. "I'm going to kill you," he said savagely. The sand on his body flowed again, wrapping around his other arm and gradually spreading to his body and head. Everything except his legs had undergone Tailed Beast Transformation. Then he shouted, "Sand Shuriken!" He swung both arms forward, firing countless sand blades in a dense barrage that covered the area within a meter of Uzumaki Hane.

Uzumaki Hane shouted, "Lava Super Heavy Fist!" Both his arms turned to lava and swelled tenfold, shielding his entire body. The sand blades all struck his arms, slowly melting and merging into them.

Gaara looked at Uzumaki Hane and said, "You're a monster too. Are you going to fight for others? You only need to love yourself. You only need to fight for yourself. Hahahaha..." Gaara let out a strange laugh.

Uzumaki Hane stood up and looked at Gaara. "It doesn't matter who it's for. As long as I can fight, that's enough."

"That's a good answer," Gaara said savagely. "I won't let you die so quickly." He stretched out both arms and his tail, grabbed the branches in front of him, and pulled hard, shooting forward at an even more terrifying speed. This time, Uzumaki Hane couldn't see Gaara at all. Uzumaki Hane thought, This is bad, and shouted, "Lava Super Heavy Fist!" His arms rapidly turned to lava, but before they could grow larger, Gaara slammed into him. Boom! Uzumaki Hane flew backward, smashing straight through countless trees behind him.

"Hane... Damn it! Summoning Technique!" Naruto shouted anxiously. But it didn't succeed; he only summoned Gamakichi. Naruto could only charge at Gaara himself. Gaara swung his left hand, firing countless sand blades that drove Naruto back.

Uzumaki Hane rose from the ground and shouted, "Inugami Guren!" His right hand turned into a lava hound and blasted toward Gaara.

Gaara turned his right hand into a sand tanuki and blasted it straight at him as well.

The tanuki and the hound collided in midair. Boom! Sand and lava splashed everywhere, and a terrifying blast of air surged outward, whipping up a fierce wind.

Gradually, the lava began spreading over the tanuki. Gaara let out a scream and said angrily, "Damn it!" The sand on his body surged rapidly, holding back the spreading lava. But the lava soon gained the upper hand again and continued spreading.

Gaara could only abandon that portion of sand, and his right hand immediately returned to normal. He began laughing strangely. "Hahaha, you actually managed to push me this far." The sand on his body flowed rapidly, enveloping him completely before turning into a huge tanuki monster. Uzumaki Hane wasn't even as large as one of its claws.

Uzumaki Hane didn't attack, however, standing quietly on the ground. Looking at the tanuki before him, he said softly, "Its complete form?"

Suddenly, Gaara swung his right hand, and a huge crescent-shaped blade of sand swept across Uzumaki Hane's waist. Uzumaki Hane felt a sharp pain and looked down to see a huge wound across his waist, blood spraying from it.