I, Uchiha, will not be whitewashed!

Chapter 109 Defeating the Enemy in One Move!

Outside Konoha Village, deep in the forest, the ground trembled.

It wasn't an earthquake; something enormous was rolling, struggling, and roaring beneath the soil.

Trees fell in clumps, and sand gushed from the ground, rising up like a spring.

Gaara's body was completely deformed, covered in sand, with only one eye showing. The pupil was unfocused, filled only with pure destructive desire.

Shukaku's will dominated most of his consciousness. Shukaku was laughing, a muffled laugh that squeezed out from the cracks in the sand, like muffled thunder rolling in the clouds.

"You brat, let me out! Let me out!" Shukaku's voice echoed through the forest, causing the leaves to rustle and fall.

Gamabunta squatted opposite Shukaku, his two hind legs deeply embedded in the mud, his sword held horizontally in front of him, the blade reflecting Shukaku's ferocious shadow.

Naruto stood atop Gamabunta's head, his blond hair whipped back by the blast of air, his collar fluttering in the wind. He gripped Gamabunta's hair to steady himself, his eyes fixed on Shukaku's exposed eye.

"Boss Wen, are you any good?"

"Why should I fight this kind of guy?" Bunta's voice was deep, and he shifted the direction of his blade.

—This is really annoying for the toad. He just finished fighting Manda and now he's been summoned here.

And it's an even more ferocious monster.

One-tailed Shukaku!

"? Isn't the boss supposed to protect his underlings?"

Naruto looked bewildered.

Just as Gamabunta was about to refuse, he suddenly felt a powerful chakra approaching.

If that guy comes over, this fight is definitely in the bag.

He immediately changed the subject.

"Okay, okay."

Moon Tae moved first, launching the attack.

The massive body sprang up, and the short sword slashed down from above.

Shukaku's sand claws came at him, the blade slicing into the sand, sending sand flying, and Shukaku took a step back.

Gamabunta's sword got stuck in the sand claw and he couldn't pull it out. Shukaku's other sand claw slammed down from the side. Gamabunta released his sword and jumped, the sand claw grazing his stomach and sending up a gust of foul wind.

"Sand that toads hate!" Bunta landed, causing the ground to tremble.

"Listen, as long as you wake that kid up, the monster in front of you will be sealed away again."

"What do I do?" Naruto asked, completely bewildered.

"That's something you should think about. I'll take you up now!"

Gamabunta didn't give Naruto time to react.

He immediately jumped.

Naruto quickly formed hand seals and used the Shadow Clone Technique.

White smoke exploded, and dozens of Narutos poured out of the smoke, standing densely on Gamabunta's head, shoulders, and the back of his sword, like a swarm of ants.

They jumped down at the same time and rushed towards Shukaku.

Shukaku's sand surged from the ground, forming dozens of sand spikes that pierced towards the shadow clones. The shadow clones were pierced like falling leaves, turning into white smoke that exploded one after another.

With the cover of his shadow clones and the help of Gamabunta, Naruto's main body circled around to Shukaku's side, stepped on Shukaku's arm, and charged towards Gaara.

The Nine-Tails' chakra surged uncontrollably from his body, enveloping his fist in red light, and the scorching air currents dispersed the surrounding sand.

"Stop sleeping! Get up and fight me again!"

He punched the sand wall of Shukaku.

The sand wall shattered, revealing a gap in Shukaku's body, through which Gaara's pale face emerged. His eyes were half-closed, his lips were purple, and he was muttering to himself.

"Mommy—Mommy—"

"Haven't you weaned yet? Still looking for your mother!"

Naruto punched Gaara in the face again.

Gaara tilted his head slightly, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, and sand rushed in from the gap, trying to seal the breach.

Naruto was pushed out by the sand, tumbled several times in the air, and was caught by Gamabunta.

"His sand is protecting him." Gamabunta placed Naruto on his head. "When you attack his main body, the sand will instinctively defend itself."

"What should we do then?" Naruto's simple-minded brain couldn't come up with a good solution. If Shikamaru were here, that would be great.

"I'm just a toad, don't ask me everything."

Wen Tai growled with a dark expression.

Naruto took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Gaara—!"

The sound exploded through the forest, and Shukaku paused in his movements.

Gaara's eyes widened briefly, then closed again.

Shukaku's laughter grew louder, and sand poured out of his body, gathering more and more, thicker and thicker, until half of his body transformed into Shukaku's complete form.

A giant yellow sand beast with a round belly, a long tail, two huge ears, and a mouth that stretches to its ears.

"It's no use! This body is mine now!"

Shukaku's voice was no longer muffled; it was a clear, sharp, and piercing howl.

The sand behemoth's body was fully formed, with a round belly, two huge ears, and a mouth that stretched to its ears, revealing a row of jagged sand teeth.

Its tail swung behind it, each swipe knocking down a grove of trees, sending pebbles and broken wood flying everywhere.

Bunta's sword pierced Shukaku's sand claws, and using the force, he leaped up, his massive body flipping behind Shukaku.

Naruto jumped down from Gamabunta's head, grabbed Shukaku's tail with both hands, and the Nine-Tails' chakra surged out again, enveloping his arms in red light and snapping the tail off.

The sand shattered on the ground, and Shukaku lost its balance, falling forward. Its massive body crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Dust filled the air, obscuring the moonlight and the shadows of the trees; the sand stung his face like needles. Shukaku struggled to get up, the sand gathering beneath him as he tried to prop himself up again.

A golden light pierced through the sand and dust.

Minato's figure appeared above Shukaku's head.

The Flying Thunder God technique flashed on the sand surface, and he landed steadily on Shukaku's head. His feet were on the rough sand shell, and he could feel the surge of chakra within Shukaku's body.

The One-Tailed Beast's chakra churned beneath the sand like magma, poised to erupt at any moment. Minato crouched down, placing his left hand on Shukaku's head and forming hand seals with his right.

"Sealing Technique: Vajra Lockdown"

Golden chains surged from his palms, not like the multiple chains that Kushina Uzumaki had, but pure sealing power materialized in the form of chains.

The chains pierced Shukaku's sand shell and penetrated its chakra core, like a needle pricking a balloon, causing Shukaku's chakra to begin to dissipate.

The sand peeled off Shukaku's body, piece by piece, like plaster falling off a wall.

Shukaku's howl changed from anger to terror.

"You are one."

"Quiet."

Minato increased his chakra output, and chains spread within Shukaku's body, gradually suppressing its rampaging chakra. Shukaku raised its sand claws from the ground, attempting to knock Minato off its head, but the sand dissipated after only being half-formed.

The chains had penetrated deep into its core, and it could no longer control its chakra.

The sand peeled away faster and faster, turning from flakes to lumps, and from lumps to powder. Shukaku's body was shrinking, collapsing, and disintegrating.

It was unwilling to accept this and struggled desperately. Sand surged up from the ground in an attempt to reshape its body, but each time it tried to condense, it was shattered by the golden chains.

"No!!!"

Minato's voice came from above Shukaku's head, not loud, but every word was clear. "Behave yourself and go back to sleep."

Shukaku's howl weakened, from sharp to low, from low to whimpering, and finally turned into a roar of defiance.

The sand completely dispersed, like a sand sculpture being washed away by the waves, collapsing all over the ground with a crash.

Gaara lay at the bottom of the crater, sand sliding off his body to reveal the sand armor covering his skin, which was cracked and shattered into pieces. His chest heaved, his lips were purple, and his face was bloodless.

Shukaku's chakra was resealed, and the violent aura emanating from him disappeared.

Minato jumped down from the sand and crouched beside Gaara, pressing his fingers to the side of his neck. The pulse was weak, but there was no danger to his life. He stood up and glanced at Naruto.

"It's alright now."

Naruto plopped down on the ground, panting heavily. The Nine-Tails' chakra had dissipated, and blood was seeping from the wounds on his arms caused by the sand, but he grinned. "I told you, I could handle this."

"Did you handle this?" Bunta sheathed his sword and vanished in a puff of white smoke.

Naruto scratched his head. "More or less."

Minato didn't expose him. He looked in the distance in the direction where the Sunagakure reinforcements were coming, and Kankuro and Temari rushed out from the shadows of the trees and knelt beside Gaara.

Kankuro's hands were trembling as he checked Gaara's breath and felt his carotid artery to confirm he was still alive. He then collapsed to the ground.

Temari bit her lip, put the three-star fan off her shoulder, and didn't look at Minato or Naruto.

"Take him back." Minato's voice was soft. "The seal has been reinforced. There shouldn't be any problems in the short term."

Kankuro carried Gaara on his back, with Temari standing protectively beside him, and the two walked towards Sunagakure without saying a word. Naruto sat on the ground watching their figures disappear, brushed the sand off his hands, and stood up, his legs still trembling.

Minato stood beside him and extended his hand. Naruto glanced at him, took his hand, and was pulled up.

"Let's go. There's still a lot to take care of."

Naruto nodded. The two walked out of the forest one after the other, the moonlight illuminating their backs, one tall and one short, the hem of their Hokage robes fluttering gently in the wind.