"That technique?!"
"How is that possible?!"
"Adamantine Sealing Chains..."
Every shinobi in the know was stunned.
Even the Third—upon seeing those chains suppressing Shukaku—stood dazed.
"Naruto, you've even learned that move? But right now... why is he still using the Transformation Technique?"
Kakashi was shocked, but Naruto's current state seemed... off.
"Hah... hah..."
Naruto was panting hard.
The absolute suppression of the Adamantine Sealing Chains had Gaara pinned and immobile.
[Damn, Naruko's every previous appearance was R-rated, but this one is straight-up HYPE]
[X-rated shows have always had the best hype tracks, you know]
[Naruto must have forcibly drawn out his mom's chakra, which triggered the transformation]
[This panting, exhausted Naruko... yeah, I'm into this]
[You idiots aren't reading the room, are you?!]
"Naruto... stop!"
Kushina's voice broke through in Naruto's mind.
Even she hadn't expected Naruto to be this reckless—violently wrenching her chakra out by force.
Kushina could have resisted, but that would only hurt Naruto more.
"No! This power is mine now!" Naruto stubbornly raised her head.
She had only one thought.
Beat Gaara.
"This power will change your body. You'll really become a monster! Please—stop!" Kushina called out desperately.
"I've been a monster my whole life!"
Naruto screamed inside.
"But some things—even a monster has to do!"
Kushina had no words.
The stubborn Naruto was exactly like her.
As a mother, she should stop this.
But also as a mother, she couldn't stop Naruto's determination.
"Your power..."
Gaara, bound tight by the chains, struggled to lift his head.
"Ha—scared now?!"
Naruto swept aside her lengthened hair.
She wasn't going to fuss over a changing body.
"Ugh..."
But then Naruto felt it—Gaara was getting heavier.
Her Adamantine Sealing Chains had pinned him down, but the chakra inside him couldn't be contained.
"...This is bad."
"Hey, hey, hey—the chakra inside that guy is still spiking! Something's trying to come out!"
Gamakichi's voice.
"Damn it. My training's not there yet."
Borrowed chakra could temporarily suppress the enemy, but there was a limit to what it could do.
Shukaku's power was only held back for the moment.
That massive silhouette from before would return.
"There's no time!"
One glimpse of that shadow had been enough. If that thing materialized here, there was no telling what would happen.
"I can't leave him in the arena! Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!"
Naruto summoned again.
BOOM!
When the dust cleared, Gamabunta stood in the arena.
"Hey, hey, hey—what is this place?!"
The arena could barely fit the massive toad. Every spectator in attendance was already slack-jawed.
"Boss, just—get out of here!" Naruto shouted.
"Hah? Why should I listen to you? Wait—you kinda look like that brat from before. Huh? Are you a girl?" Gamabunta turned to look at Naruto beside him.
"Dad!" Gamakichi hopped out. "This person protected me! Just—jump, now! Things are about to get really bad!"
"Gamakichi?! What are you doing here? Jump? Jump where?" Gamabunta was completely out of the loop.
"Anywhere—wait, outside! Outside the village!" Naruto shouted.
"Oh, alright then."
Gamabunta's tongue lashed out, scooping up Naruto.
And Gaara—still bound by Naruto's chains—was hauled up with her.
"What are you doing?!"
Gaara thrashed against the restraints.
"No—I still have to kill that man! I'll use Shukaku—to kill that man!"
Gaara's transformation had been deliberate.
He had one more objective.
To kill the Fourth Kazekage.
To use Shukaku on the Kazekage.
While destroying Konoha, he would destroy the Sand as well—or at the very least, destroy the Fourth Kazekage!
[This somehow boomeranged too]
[You're really gonna use Shukaku on the Kazekage]
[I legit thought Hanabi was just trash-talking for laughs earlier!]
[Hanabi: Wait no, I was kidding—you actually took that seriously?]
[I'm dead]
[Damn, Gamakichi is actually his kid?]
[That little toad gets cuter every time I see it]
BOOM!
Gamabunta launched into the sky. The sheer air displacement left the entire venue stunned.
Huh?
The contestant just... left?
Who won? Who lost?
Hayate Gekko was frozen.
The audience was blown—literally—into confusion.
And then a wave of drowsiness hit. One by one, the spectators began nodding off, and then collapsing into sleep.
"What's happening?! Genjutsu?!"
Sakura sensed the wrongness immediately, snapping her head up to scan the area.
"Kai!"
She released the genjutsu at once.
Ino wasn't so lucky—still dozing away.
"What just—ah!"
Fighting had broken out right in front of her.
"An attack?!"
Sakura looked up in alarm.
"Is it the Sand?!"
Kakashi had felt something off for a while and had been keeping an eye on the Sand shinobi. What he hadn't expected was that something had gone wrong with the Anbu stationed throughout the venue.
But when Kakashi looked toward the Sand side, Kankuro, Temari, and their Jōnin instructor all wore expressions of utter disbelief.
—What the hell? A giant toad shows up out of nowhere and carries Gaara off?!
What about our plan?!
By then, other Leaf shinobi had closed in.
"If I told you we're not the enemy—would you believe me?" Baki surveyed the scene.
"That's going to be a tough sell."
Sarutobi Asuma directed the Anbu to surround the three Sand ninja.
Kakashi arrived as well. "What did you do? Why did you launch an attack?!"
"Simple." Baki met Kakashi's gaze, face cold. "The Kazekage betrayed us. My objective—our objective—is to force the Kazekage to step down. And... to negotiate with the Land of Wind daimyō."
Though the methods wouldn't exactly be peaceful.
"...Shukaku?" Kakashi understood.
"Yes. We'll act based on Gaara's decision." Kankuro stepped forward. "Whether we attack Konoha or attack the Kazekage. But—"
"—Gaara's been carried off?" Kakashi scratched his head.
"Honestly, it might be for the best." Temari chewed her thumbnail. "Gaara was actually losing control toward the end. If he'd stayed, the daimyō in attendance would've been in danger."
Wait—could that have been part of Gaara's plan too...?
Temari shuddered at the possibility.