Gaara had practiced this technique in the desert before, to prepare in case he temporarily lost control over Shukaku. Yet even a few seconds of using it resulted in massive destruction, giving an idea of its immense power.
Using such a jutsu within another nation's borders was a serious matter.
He wasn't sure what Gaara was fighting, but they sped up, heading toward Gaara's location at twice their previous speed to find out what was going on.
The sand that formed Shukaku's head dissolved back into ordinary sand, falling back and reforming Gaara's usual defensive sand shield used in battle.
The enormous amount of chakra consumed by that attack was clearly visible on his face. Gasping for air, he said, "This wasn't a good idea. Forcing Shukaku into cooperation like that consumes far too much chakra."
Besides, since he had launched it so hastily, the technique hadn't reached its full potential.
But where had Naruto gone?
When Gaara unleashed that demonic jutsu, Naruto looked shocked, but there was no way he'd just float there in midair waiting for Gaara to attack him.
There was nothing above but open sky, and Gaara hadn't really aimed at him directly. Dodging should've been easy—Naruto simply needed to fall and let gravity take him.
[Tailed Beast Ball], Gaara?" Naruto's voice came from below, causing the One-Tail Jinchuriki to look down toward him. "You're seriously strong… way stronger than you were when we were kids."
Gaara could hear a hint of longing in Naruto's voice. "Back then things were simpler, weren't they? I mean, you attacked our village, and we fought back. It wasn't that bad—not like this, right?"
"Yeah… back then was simpler." Gaara quietly admitted, though Naruto still caught his words. "But back then I was also weak. I only fought for myself. It wasn't until later that I found real strength—by fighting for the people I care about. Using your strength to protect others, like how you fought to protect your village."
"Then why did you rush off to Amegakure, Gaara?" Naruto's voice held a note of desperation. "It benefits no one. Lead your people. Go home. You are their Kazekage—they need you. They're injured, they're scared. And yet you charge into Amegakure seeking revenge, trying to destroy everything just to feel better. That's exactly what Pain wants. You're acting selfishly now."
"I failed them, Naruto!" Gaara shouted before tears spilled over. "I hate Pain, I hate Amegakure—but not as much as I hate myself! If I had been there, none of this would've happened! I would've stopped him! If I had been there, he wouldn't have hurt anyone! I'm going because if I can't do the same to him, I'm not worthy of being their Kazekage!"
"Killing him won't bring anyone back!" Naruto shouted back, sunlight covering both of them. "Killing him won't rebuild a single building. Even if you succeed, he'll defeat you, Gaara! He's seen through your weakness!"
"Gaara, what're the odds a country he visits won't have rain? If anyone ever studied Amegakure's weather patterns, things wouldn't look good."
"But you're right. If you really acted like this, you wouldn't deserve to be their Kazekage, because you're just lashing out and destroying everything out of anger! That won't help anyone—it'll just get you killed for nothing!"
Gaara shot Naruto a furious glare as sand swirled violently around him, forming into a massive wave ready to instantly engulf Naruto. "Stop trying to stop me, Naruto!"
Hearing the madness in Gaara's tone, something inside Naruto snapped.
It was like Gaara had completely shut out reason. Maybe Kakashi had a point—emotions were the root of suffering.
"Fine then! Run off headstrong like Sasuke did!" Naruto shouted at his friend. "Go take revenge in Amegakure! Forget the people who depend on you and abandon your own responsibilities, just to kill some bastard with god complexes! That'll really make you live up to your name—a cold-blooded killer!"
This sentence froze Gaara's impending attack mid-air. He looked down at Naruto with a stunned expression on his face.
Was wanting revenge really wrong? Wasn't it only natural for those who hurt someone you cared about to suffer consequences? Didn't Naruto understand? Naruto always seemed to understand him, so why not this?
"Gaara, I wish I could tell you I understand how you feel," Naruto said sincerely. "I'm not a Kage, and nothing like what happened in Sunagakure has ever occurred in Konoha. But don't do this. The people need you—they need you most now. We'll get revenge for them, I promise, but not now, and definitely not in Amegakure."
Gaara's hands trembled, his heart torn between moving forward and halting. "I shouldn't be lectured like this…" Gaara said, clearly troubled by this decision. "I am the Kazekage, and I should be free to choose."
Even so, the sand still fell back to the ground, carefully avoiding landing on Naruto.
Noticing Gaara no longer channeling chakra into the sand, Naruto signaled to the Nine-Tails to stop transmitting Sage Chakra. The orange hue in his eyes faded back to blue. "Are you okay, Nine-Tails?"
"My nose has been twitching for ten minutes… honestly, how do you tolerate this junk chakra?" The Nine-Tails complained while disconnecting its chakra network from Naruto. "That sand-brained idiot actually thinks he can take on Pain. You should've decked him and sent him to hell weeks ago."
"Whatever." Naruto responded inwardly, ending his conversation with the Nine-Tails.
Gaara slowly descended back to ground level, and the sand returned to his gourd, signaling the end of the fight.
"Are you okay?" Naruto asked the now-calm Gaara.
"Not really." Gaara admitted. "But Shukaku was manipulating my thoughts, feeding off my urge to destroy Pain."
"I'm still full of rage, and I still want him dead," Gaara said. "But now I have to return to my village..."
"A village is more than just buildings, Gaara," Naruto replied, walking beside him toward the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. "It's also the people who live there. There are still a lot of people who need you."
"I know," Gaara responded, looking down at his still trembling hands. "I wanted him dead so badly. For a moment, all I could focus on was beating you and moving forward. I'm not even sure if I can blame that on Shukaku."
He shook his head and sighed in despair.
"Gaara!"
Temari and Kankuro appeared in the distance, shouting toward their younger brother.
As they got closer, they noticed the patch of sand, which looked strangely out of place in the Land of Fire.
"Woah," Kankuro said, looking around, amazed. "What happened here?"
Temari walked up to Gaara and wrapped her arm around him, while Kankuro stepped closer as well.
Naruto decided to give them some space. After all, Gaara had rushed off from Konoha the night before, and they hadn't gotten much time together since then.
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