Gaara's breathing came in ragged bursts.
He glared at Naruto, eyes flickering violently, as if something inside him was struggling to burst free.
"Damn you… damn you… damn you!"
His voice grew guttural, almost inhuman. Dark chakra leaked from his body like smoke, filling the air with a thick, suffocating malice.
Temari's face went pale. Kankurō took an anxious step back.
"Oh no… Shukaku's coming out!"
They could both see it—Gaara's sanity was crumbling. Once he lost control completely, the One-Tail, the monstrous Shukaku sealed within him, would seize his body and emerge in full form.
If that happened, it wouldn't just be a mess—it would be a disaster.
Naruto, however, looked completely unfazed. He folded his arms and smirked.
"You can't even control a single-tailed furball? Pathetic. Maybe you should quit being a ninja and go plant trees."
His words hit like a spark on dry grass.
Inside Naruto's mind, in the deep sealed space, Kurama lay sprawled lazily, tails swishing as he watched the scene like it was a comedy show.
"Hah! That idiot Shukaku's still a loudmouth. Come on out, raccoon brat—let's see you get smacked around for once," Kurama chuckled darkly.
"This'll be good."
Back on the street, Gaara's face twisted. "You… dare mock me?!"
His voice dropped several octaves, his chakra surging. Half of his face morphed grotesquely into Shukaku's—his skin cracking, sand cascading from his body.
Shukaku's beastly snarl echoed as he began to manifest through Gaara's rage.
Naruto's expression didn't even flicker.
"Sorry, but you don't get a say here, sand freak."
He blurred forward.
SLAP!
Naruto's palm connected cleanly with Gaara's cheek.
The sound cracked through the air like thunder.
Gaara froze. The tailed-beast transformation stopped mid-process.
Half-formed Shukaku let out a strangled roar of pain and—astonishingly—recoiled, retreating back into Gaara's body.
In seconds, Gaara's features returned to normal. His breathing steadied, but his expression was blank—like he couldn't comprehend what just happened.
Above them, the lingering roar of Shukaku faded.
But then—
"ROOOOOOAR!!"
The beast howled in fury. Sand exploded outward, swallowing half the street in an instant. The air turned to gold dust and heat; civilians screamed and fled.
Only one area remained untouched—the space directly behind Naruto.
He stood unmoving, an orange silhouette in a storm of sand.
The half-manifested Shukaku thrashed, rising from the ground in monstrous form.
Naruto sighed, looking up.
"Alright, that's enough out of you."
His voice dropped to a tone so cold it made the air tremble.
"If you don't calm down, I'll fish you out myself and toss you into the ocean for three years. Let's see how you like being seafood."
Suddenly—
The sky darkened.
For Shukaku, the world itself seemed to tilt. He froze as an overwhelming presence pressed down from above—vast, cosmic, suffocating.
It wasn't just chakra.
It was soul pressure.
A primal hierarchy written into existence itself.
The feeling was absolute terror—the kind that erased all thought.
In that instant, Shukaku, the mighty One-Tail, felt like an insect beneath the gaze of a god.
The sand began to crumble.
With a strangled yelp, Shukaku shrank back, retreating entirely into Gaara's body. The storm subsided.
The golden dust settled.
The street fell silent.
Gaara stood exposed once again—his breathing light, his expression hollow.
For the first time in his life, the voice inside him was gone.
Shukaku, the endless whisper of hate, was silent.
The world felt peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Gaara blinked, dazed, and tears welled in his eyes. Not of pain—of relief.
For the first time ever, he felt… calm.
Naruto turned, eyes steady.
"Listen, brat," he said evenly. "When you're strong, your tailed beast becomes weak. When you're weak, it controls you. So stop blaming it. Just get stronger. That's all it takes to shut it up."
Gaara raised his head slowly, those words sinking deep into his heart.
Naruto's tone hardened.
"And one more thing—" he turned his gaze toward Temari and Kankurō, his blue eyes cold and commanding. "I don't know what Sunagakure's planning, bringing your Jinchūriki here. But if you cause even one problem in Konoha—if anyone here gets hurt—"
His chakra flared, sharp as steel.
"I'll bury your entire village myself. Got it?"
Temari and Kankurō swallowed hard, their faces pale. They could only nod silently.
Naruto exhaled, letting the pressure fade.
"Good. There's still a week before the Chūnin Exams. Use that time however you want—train, explore, relax. Just don't cause trouble, and don't take lives. Clear?"
Even Gaara nodded quietly.
Naruto smiled faintly. "Good. Enjoy your time here."
He turned toward Karin, flashing her a knowing look—and then, with a puff of white smoke, vanished.
The entire street froze.
It wasn't even the real him.
Temari and Kankurō stared, slack-jawed.
"That… was a clone?"
Their minds reeled.
A clone that effortlessly suppressed the One-Tail Jinchūriki.
A clone that scared Shukaku—the tailed beast itself—into submission with a single look.
Temari's heart pounded. "What kind of monster is Uzumaki Naruto…?"
Kankurō muttered, "If even his clone can do that… we're doomed if our plan fails."
Gaara said nothing. His eyes were distant, filled with something new—confusion, awe… and the faintest flicker of admiration.
He whispered, "Who is that man?"
Temari glanced at him. "Uzumaki Naruto. Twelve years old. Konoha Jōnin."
"Twelve…?"
The words barely registered.
Naruto was his age. Yet the difference between them felt like heaven and earth.
Gaara clenched his fists tightly. "Uzumaki Naruto…" he murmured, committing the name to memory.
Behind them, Karin finally let out the breath she'd been holding.
"Whew… I thought we were all dead."
She straightened her glasses and approached, bowing slightly. "My apologies for earlier. I shouldn't have pushed so far. Do I have your permission to broadcast the footage we recorded?"
"Do whatever you want," Temari said flatly, too drained to argue.
Karin grinned, clenching her fist in triumph. "Yes! First interview—complete!"
Her eyes sparkled with pride. Everything had been recorded—Gaara's outburst, the storm of sand, and the moment Uzumaki Naruto appeared like a god descending to crush it all.
It was groundbreaking.
Not just for Red Sun TV—
but for the entire ninja world.
For the first time, the true face of a tailed beast had been captured on film.
Something only the leaders of the great villages knew was now about to be broadcast to everyone.
Karin turned to her cameraman. "You got everything, right?"
Dong Dagu nodded rapidly. "E-every frame!"
Karin sighed in relief, pushing up her glasses. "Perfect."
As the three Sand ninja walked away, Karin stared after them, murmuring to herself.
"Uzumaki Naruto… Why does that name—and that back—feel so familiar?"
She frowned, thinking hard, but the answer wouldn't come.
"Whatever," she muttered finally, smiling. "The truth always finds its way out… eventually."
-------------------------
For advanced chapters, visit patreon.com/Varnok