[A Naruto who never met Hanabi]
[I think "a Naruto who never met Iruka" fits better]
[Are these Tailed Beasts basically each nation's nuclear weapons?]
[Seems like it. Didn't you see how even the Third Hokage was shocked?]
[The Kazekage's decision was real galaxy-brain too]
[Something about this Kazekage feels off]
[Hanabi's out here playing with fire and the Kazekage didn't even flinch? Wild]
"No!"
Naruto's shout cut Gaara off mid-sentence.
But Gaara was unmoved.
He kept speaking. "I am a child loved by no one. Just as my mother named me—I will become a demon who loves only himself!"
"That's not how it's supposed to be!"
Naruto could feel it.
Gaara's body radiated terrible killing intent, and yet—somewhere in the clash between them, Naruto had sensed something unmistakably gentle.
"That's not who you are... Your teammates are your brother and sister! They love you! And your name—your name does NOT mean that!"
"Heheheh. I have never once considered them my siblings!"
[It's over, it's over]
[The boomerang's incoming]
[This is supposed to be a serious Talk no Jutsu scene, so why do I want to laugh?]
[Because the Road of Boomerangs has had way too many boomerangs]
[Boomeranging from start to finish, and it's still going]
[Even the MC's signature move is a spinning ball]
[Damn, that's actually true]
Unlike the audience's roasting, Naruto could feel something real.
Simple Talk no Jutsu wasn't going to get through to Gaara.
Because Gaara himself couldn't feel the warmth that surrounded him.
And then—sand began crawling up Gaara's body, reshaping his right arm into the limb of a monster.
"Kazekage-sama."
The Hokage stood up.
"Don't be hasty now, Sandaime-sama."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.
The entire situation had spiraled completely beyond his control.
Sasuke wasn't under his control. The Konoha Crush plan had run into problems.
And then there was this brat Hanabi, right beside him, interfering with every interaction he tried to have with his old teacher.
She was truly, deeply annoying.
"A battle between jinchūriki—isn't that entertaining?" Orochimaru smiled coldly.
"The Sand already know Naruto's identity?!"
The Third felt something was very wrong.
—Wait.
It shouldn't be possible, but... was this person really the Kazekage?
Ever since Hanabi had arrived, the Third had sensed something off.
But Hanabi was being a riddler as usual—she seemed to know something, yet said nothing.
The half-transformed Gaara had Kankuro and Temari breaking into cold sweats.
But the atmosphere in the arena only grew more electric.
It couldn't exactly be called bloodthirsty, but the spectacle was clearly to the crowd's liking. Only the shinobi realized the situation was deteriorating.
"Kakashi—that thing. Is that the Sand's Shukaku? They sent that to compete in the Chūnin Exams?!"
Guy came over to Kakashi.
"Probably because of the Nine-Tails." Kakashi said. "Are the Sand trying to pit Shukaku against the Nine-Tails in some kind of showdown?"
But that was insane.
There were important figures everywhere—dignitaries, even daimyō who'd come to spectate.
Was the Sand really okay with this?
Gaara, now gradually taking on Shukaku's form, unleashed power far beyond what he'd shown before.
But Naruto was like a cockroach that refused to die, dodging relentlessly through Shadow Clones.
Only this time, he wasn't using the Rasengan.
"Where's that annoying spinning ball of yours?!" Gaara sneered, drool dripping from his jaw.
"...Damn."
Naruto could barely keep up with evasion alone.
He'd already burned through an enormous amount of chakra just to break through the sand sphere.
"Please—Fox, lend me your strength!"
Naruto called out to the entity inside him.
No answer.
"Hey, you stupid hag—give me your chakra already!"
A different approach.
Still no response.
Kushina was watching everything from within.
After Gaara's Shukaku transformation, he'd become violent and feral. Like a genuine bloodthirsty monster.
She could easily suppress him with her own power.
But that would mean Naruto's body would continue to change.
Maybe one day, he really would become a monster...
By now, sand had fully engulfed Gaara, reshaping him into a miniature Shukaku.
The uninformed were still cheering. The shinobi who could read the situation were drenched in sweat.
"Kazekage-sama—this has gone too far!"
The Third's tone had hardened noticeably.
"Heheh. Isn't this wonderful? Subarashii! Totemo subarashii!"
The situation had exceeded expectations, but Orochimaru didn't mind this scene one bit.
The winds that were rising would change the Leaf.
"If I could use that technique, I could suppress him!"
Naruto sensed instinctively that Adamantine Sealing Chains could handle the current Gaara.
But the "Fox" inside him wouldn't cooperate.
"Then I'll do it myself! Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
Nothing happened.
No chains appeared.
Naruto's body just wasn't suited for that technique.
"Those eyes..."
They were lonely eyes.
The same as Naruto's own.
No—the same as his past self's.
But—
Iruka, Hanabi, Sasuke, Kakashi... Kushina-obasan.
Their faces appeared in Naruto's mind.
"Drowning in your own misery and feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to cut it, Gaara. And besides—there ARE people around you who still love you!"
Naruto shouted.
"Oh? So now that you've reached the shore, you think you can spout pretty words at someone still drowning at the bottom of the lake? I'm disappointed."
Naruto's words did not reach Gaara.
If anything, Gaara was let down.
This person was not the same as him after all.
"No."
Naruto raised his head.
"I can feel it—the weight... the weight of love!"
Even the BGM started to swell.
"Ara ara, so Naruto's a warrior of love too..."
Hanabi, at least, understood what Naruto meant.
The power shielding Gaara was his mother's love—and Naruto had sensed its warmth.
Hanabi was glad.
"Find your answer, Gaara!"
"Only when you truly find your resolve can you deliver a more beautiful chapter to the story!"
"Damn it—if I don't have the power, then let's try this! Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!"
POOF!
A cloud of smoke—and out popped a little toad.
Naruto's jaw dropped. The crowd went dead silent. Gaara looked at him like he was staring at an idiot.
Even the BGM collapsed in an instant.
"A... ra..."
Hanabi herself could barely hold it together.
What else could you say... truly the Number One Most Unpredictable Ninja.