"I Surrender!"
[The Deadlock]
Temari, battered and bruised, stared at the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki before her, her expression growing more serious.
She bit her finger and slashed a bloodstain across her left palm.
"Summoning Jutsu: Kamaitachi!"
Naruto froze for a moment, then quickly threw a Flying Thunder God kunai before Temari could finish her hand seals.
Just as the summoning was about to activate, Naruto teleported again with Flying Thunder God and punched Temari to the ground.
"Summoning with your bare hands?"
"Are you planning to lose that hand?"
"What does that have to do with you!" Temari, her face swollen, glared fiercely at Naruto. "I'll never beg you for mercy! You just want to satisfy your twisted desires, don't you?! Dream on!"
"Hey, hey, you can talk nonsense about anything, but not that." Sparks of lightning crackled in Naruto's hand as he spoke with an indifferent expression.
"I don't even like overly aggressive women. Don't flatter yourself, Princess."
"Ahhhh!!!" Temari was shocked by the lightning again, her eyes losing their sparkle.
Dazed, a warm sensation coursed through her.
"Kill me already!"
Temari's teeth chattered, yet her eyes were full of hatred as she glared at Naruto.
Naruto wasn't about to do something so stupid. He had already achieved his goal. Once the chaos ended, Konoha and Sunagakure would form an alliance.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm just a genin," Naruto said nonchalantly, his eyes cold and showing no patience.
Lightning Strike!
Again and again, he shocked her. Naruto was beginning to admire Temari's resolve.
Squatting down, he nudged the dazed Temari on the ground and said:
"I'm begging you, Princess. Just surrender, okay?"
"Never...!" Temari used the last bit of her strength, forcing the words through clenched teeth. "Either... kill me or..."
Hearing this, Naruto let out a long sigh and stood up.
"If that's the case, I have no choice. You win."
"Guess I'll just have to go kill Gaara instead. A fight between Jinchūriki isn't something villages can interfere with, right?"
"What... did you say?" Temari, driven by sheer willpower, tried to get up but collapsed. She glared at Naruto. "No!"
"What did you say?"
"Don't...!"
"Beg me," Naruto said casually.
Temari panicked completely. She now understood the terror of a Jinchūriki. This wasn't even a perfect Jinchūriki, yet he hadn't used any of the beast's power.
"I... beg you, don't kill... my brother. Do whatever you want with me."
-[Sealing Jutsu: Adamantine Sealing Chains, Activation Successful.]-
"See? Wasn't that easy?" Naruto openly glanced at her and uttered two words:
"Troublesome."
With that, Naruto's figure disappeared.
Temari struggled to sit up. Her injuries weren't severe, but her eyes flickered with resentment, quickly replaced by worry. She couldn't stop here. Even without her three-star fan, she had to find Gaara.
That guy is insane.
After some effort, Temari shakily stood. The massive trees within a hundred-meter radius had been felled, letting sunlight flood in. The white glow on her legs wavered but held firm.
With no time to fix her outfit, she glanced around resolutely, picked a direction, and limped into the forest.
---
Naruto sped through the forest, landing on a tree trunk and surveying the distance.
The silent forest carried faint echoes of far-off howls. It seemed the battle had started. He had wasted too much time on Temari. He wondered if Sasuke could hold out against Gaara's Shukaku.
Frowning, Naruto kept moving.
The towering trees zipped past as the forest opened up, and the sunlight grew brighter. Naruto knew he was about to reach the small plains of Konoha Forest.
The narrow path opened wide, revealing a clear area ahead.
The muffled sounds became distinct, and Shukaku's arrogant voice echoed across the plains.
"Yoo-hoo! I'm finally free!"
A massive, obese tanuki stood amidst the open space, roaring like a lunatic. Naruto's sweat dropped. What the heck is this? It's a hundred times uglier than in the manga!
The entire One-Tailed Shukaku, made of sand, dragged its massive body with strange blue markings on its belly. Its golden eyes radiated a chilling aura, searching for prey.
Whatever.
Time to find Sakura and the others.
Naruto vanished and soon found an injured Sakura behind a giant tree. After checking her condition and finding she was only unconscious, he took out a soldier pill from his pouch and fed it to her.
Lacking water, he tilted her head and forced her to swallow it.
"Sakura, wake up."
After some shaking, Sakura weakly opened her eyes.
"Naruto? You..."
"Where's Sasuke?"
"Sasuke, he..." Sakura coughed, spitting out part of the soggy soldier pill.
Without waiting for her to answer, a sharp crackle of electricity erupted in the distance. Sasuke's screams followed as he charged at Shukaku with Chidori.
"Where'd this brat come from?"
Shukaku didn't even take Sasuke seriously and swatted him away with a massive hand.
So, he activated the curse mark? No wonder he lasted this long.
"Naruto, forget about me! Go help Sasuke!" Sakura tried to get up but collapsed. "Sasuke's used the curse mark twice already. If this continues, he'll... die!"
Without hesitation, Naruto left Sakura and ran toward Sasuke.
That guy's insane. Using the curse mark twice is like opening the Death Gate—it draws energy beyond the body's limits, causing cardiac overload. He could die of heart failure.
Though Sasuke was always cold, Naruto couldn't ignore him.
Without hand signs, he unleashed Adamantine Sealing Chains.
With a boom, Shukaku slapped Sasuke away.
"Yoo-hoo! Got him!"
"Huh? What's that?"
Thick golden chains sprouted from the ground, rushing toward Shukaku like sentient vines.
Shukaku froze, suddenly realizing something was wrong.
It recognized the chains. They were Kurama's...
"Why?! This is impossible!"
The tanuki tried to flee, but it was too late. The chains bound it tightly, pinning it to the ground.
Shukaku let out a roar, inwardly crying: I really surrender!
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