Chapter 184: The Protagonist

Strictly speaking, the shinobi of Sunagakure should have been able to shake off the pursuing Konoha shinobi.

First, Sunagakure's forces hadn't suffered significant losses because the retreat order had come in time.

Second, the Konoha shinobi were still primarily focused on Orochimaru and the shinobi from Otogakure.

However, Gaara's unstable factor ultimately led to Konoha's forces catching up to the Sunagakure shinobi.

The reason was simple. After hearing the name "Sasuke Uchiha," Gaara, whose mind had already been unsettled, lost control and entered his jinchūriki transformation, a state that was half-Tailed Beast, half-human.

He launched an attack on Sasuke, who had secretly been tailing them.

Baki immediately realized something was wrong, but it was already too late to stop it.

Once Gaara entered that state, even Baki, his teacher, was powerless to intervene. Of course, given their numbers at the time, the Sunagakure shinobi still could have taken down Sasuke Uchiha and continued fleeing.

But that's when one of the Konoha Twelve appeared, Shino Aburame.

Though still a child, Shino was already one of the strongest among the Konoha Twelve at this stage. His bugs caused significant trouble for the Sunagakure shinobi, and together with Sasuke, they managed to buy a bit of time.

As for why Shino was even there, though he often seemed low-profile, Shino actually took great pride in himself. During the Chūnin Exams, his opponent, Kankurō, chose to forfeit the match.

Shino had never let that go. So, when he noticed Sasuke leaving, he immediately sent some of his bugs after him and quietly followed behind. Still, he hadn't expected things to escalate like this: two kids facing off against so many Sunagakure shinobi.

Fortunately, the Sunagakure shinobi underestimated them a little.

They managed to hold out briefly, just on the brink of death, when Shino's father's bugs arrived.

Of course, it wasn't just about underestimating their opponents, Sunagakure's shinobi didn't dare strike down Sasuke and Shino.

Baki wasn't a fool. Though he was confused about the Kazekage-sama's sudden retreat order, he understood that the Konoha Crush plan had failed, and the Kazekage's strange condition had given Baki a sense of unease. So he didn't want to provoke Konoha too much.

With the arrival of Shino's father's insects, Kakashi, Guy, Naruto, and the others soon caught up as well.

And then, a full-blown battle broke out.

Sunagakure's shinobi vs. Konoha's jōnin.

Temari, Kankurō, and Gaara face off against Shikamaru, Shino, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura. 

It wasn't that Kakashi and the others had lost their minds by sending Naruto and the others to confront a jinchūriki like Gaara.

The issue was that Gaara, already in his partial transformation, had completely lost control. The only thought dominating his mind was to kill Sasuke Uchiha to prove his worth. Even with Asuma and Yamato arriving later, there were still only five Konoha jōnin in total.

Meanwhile, the opposing Sunagakure shinobi numbered in the hundreds.

Kakashi and the others were already overwhelmed trying to hold them back.

Fortunately, Sasuke and Naruto's performance stunned even the seasoned jōnin.

Sasuke's Chidori combined with Naruto's Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu actually managed to suppress Gaara's jinchūriki transformation state.

Then came the current scene, Gaara, growing more and more berserk, finally lost control completely and entered his perfect form.

"Roar!"

"Since you've given me such pleasure, I'll show you the true power of the Avatar of the Sand!"

Above the massive Shukaku, half of Gaara's body slowly rose, his voice sending chills down Naruto and Sasuke's spines.

Sasuke's eyes immediately glazed over, and Naruto's body trembled.

Fortunately, at that moment, Kakashi stepped forward, standing between them and said,

"Alright, Sasuke, Naruto, you both did well just now, but the next fight isn't for you to be involved in."

That was only natural, and Sasuke instinctively stepped back half a pace.

But Naruto stepped forward one step and said,

"Kakashi-sensei... I..."

"What is it, Naruto!?"

Naruto's unusual behavior made Kakashi a little suspicious, but then he seemed to understand something and reassured him,

"Don't worry, Naruto. You two take care of yourselves from here on. We're going in."

"Kakashi! What's that!?"

Might Guy's anxious voice rang out as he stared seriously at Shukaku.

Kakashi looked and saw Gaara atop Shukaku, who had fallen into a sleep-like state.

Kakashi was shocked, still unsure what was going on, but the nearby Sunagakure shinobi quickly gave him the answer:

"Damn, Gaara has activated Hypnotic Sleep Jutsu! Shukaku is about to awaken! Everyone fall back!"

The Sunagakure shinobi immediately abandoned their fight with the Konoha ninja and retreated, fully aware of how devastating Shukaku's power could be in this state.

At that moment, the enormous Shukaku let out a sharp, piercing cry.

"Finally, it's out!"

The sheer volume of the roar made Sakura cover her ears in terror.

"Is this the real Shukaku?"

The awakened Shukaku immediately noticed the surrounding shinobi. It didn't care whether they were from Sunagakure or Konoha and instantly roared,

"Excellent! The moment I wake up, I find humans I want to kill!"

In an instant, Shukaku slapped its belly.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Bomb!"

"Damn!"

A blinding white light filled everyone's vision.

"Earth Release: Multiple Earth-Style Wall!"

"Boom!"

A massive roar and explosion thundered in every ninja's ears.

Thankfully, a huge earth wall rose, protecting everyone inside, but the terrible airflow still caused Sakura to scream in fear.

After a minute, the explosion stopped. Naruto, still protected by Kakashi's earth wall, opened his eyes.

What they saw made their vision blur.

Kakashi's earth wall was now almost completely destroyed, only barely protecting them, and the once-forested area around them had become a vast wasteland.

"!!!"

The massive destructive power of the Tailed Beast jutsu had wiped out all the forest within a five-kilometer radius in front of Shukaku.

Asuma furrowed his brows.

"This is ridiculous... so this is the power of a Tailed Beast? If someone got hit by that, they'd be done for!"

This level of destruction was beyond any human effort to resist.

"Kakashi, what do we do now?"

Might Guy asked, but as soon as he finished speaking, everyone noticed Kakashi looked unusual, he was panting weakly, and his exposed Sharingan explained why he was so exhausted.

"Sorry, I've used a bit too much chakra."

At that moment, Naruto suddenly stood up, his gaze firm as he looked at the giant Shukaku far away, forming hand seals.

"Kakashi-sensei, leave this monster to me!"

"!!!???"

Everyone was shocked and stunned.

Though Naruto's earlier performance had exceeded all expectations, this was a Tailed Beast.

Even the jōnin couldn't handle it.

Sakura immediately shouted in frustration,

"Damn it, Naruto! This isn't the time to show off!"

Only Sasuke looked at Naruto's determined eyes, surprised.

Since they became teammates, Naruto's strength had shocked Sasuke again and again.

"Could it be..."

"This isn't a joke!"

At this moment, Naruto's hands finished forming the seals, radiating an aura of conviction.

Kakashi, seeing Naruto's hand signs, suddenly seemed to realize something, his pupils contracting sharply.

"Could it be that jutsu?"

Naruto's seals were complete.

"I'm going to use the jutsu Jiraiya-sensei taught me..."

"Summoning Jutsu!"

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