Naruto: Uchiha Youngjo's Konoha Spring

Chapter 237 The Crown Prince Meets the Crown Prince

However, as the fight progressed, Shukaku realized something was wrong.

It's true that Kurama's strength is much weaker than when he was beaten last time, but the only difference is whether Kurama will spin 10 times or 5 times when he's hit. In front of Kurama, who is already in high spirits, he is still the one who is being beaten unilaterally.

"Damn it!" Shukaku roared, feeling utterly humiliated by the beating. Its massive claws slammed down, the tips packed with highly compressed sand, whistling through the air. "Taste this! Desert Burial Seal!"

The sand beneath their feet seemed to liquefy, and a gigantic sand hand rose from Naruto's feet, attempting to drag him into the depths of the sand sea and seal him away. At the same time, Shukaku's mouth gathered a terrifying surge of chakra—"Wind Release: Sky Bullet!" A dark purple chakra projectile, compressed with a massive amount of air and iron sand and covered in sealing runes, roared out, heading straight for Naruto, who was trapped by the sand hand!

"You're really getting worse as you get older. As a tailed beast, you actually take the initiative to learn human ninjutsu!" Kurama, using Naruto's body, mocked calmly despite being trapped.

However, the next moment, Kurama raised its right hand using Naruto's body, and a Rasengan with a golden glow in its azure blue slowly condensed. Its body shone with golden light, and after breaking free from the sand's restraints, it charged straight at the incoming Rasengan.

The massive Rasengan, infused with a huge amount of chakra, shattered Shukaku's Rasengan in an instant. When Shukaku saw a golden figure holding a chakra sphere larger than his head appear before him, several big question marks popped into Shukaku's mind.

Isn't that just human ninjutsu?
"Wow, Kurama, you've even learned the Rasengan?" Naruto said excitedly inside the sealed space.

"This technique was originally developed by your father based on the inspiration he found in the Tailed Beast Ball, so it's naturally a piece of cake for me to use," Kurama said while enjoying his Rasengan and beating up Shukaku. "Although this technique isn't as powerful as the Tailed Beast Ball, it's more stable and durable!"

As Kurama spoke, he pressed the giant Rasengan in his hand directly onto Shukaku's forehead, and the rapidly spinning chakra sphere sent the sand that made up Shukaku's body flying everywhere.

"Damn it! You stinky fox!" Because the Rasengan was right next to his mouth, Shukaku, whose mouth was no longer intact, was speaking with a lisp.

"So many years have passed, and it seems you haven't improved much except for your mouth," Kurama said while beating Shukaku.

Shukaku was beaten so badly that it couldn't lift its head at all, and its huge body was getting smaller and smaller under the Nine-Tails' storm-like attacks.

Seeing this, Naruto had no choice but to remind him, "Kurama, be careful. This tailed beast is from Sunagakure, right? If we kill it, it will cause trouble for the village."

"Why are you, a rogue ninja, thinking so much?" Kurama scoffed, but still slightly reduced its strength, stopping its attempt to saw the tanuki with the Rasengan, and then kicked Shukaku, whose body was only half its original size, away.

Shukaku's body slammed heavily onto the ground, raising a cloud of dust. However, in Naruto's perception, the massive chakra fluctuation emanating from Shukaku at the center of the dust cloud also vanished at that moment.

"Tch~ No fun." Shukaku was forced to retreat into its shell after being beaten, and Kurama also lost interest, handing over control of its body back to Naruto.

Having regained control of his body, Naruto scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then strode towards the center of the sandstorm.

At that moment, some members of the Sunagakure forces who had been lying in ambush could no longer sit still.

"Gaara!" Temari, the eldest princess of Sunagakure, rushed out immediately upon seeing that her younger brother might be in danger.

"Hey! Temari!" Seeing this, Kankuro could only grit his teeth and follow his sister's footsteps.

"What are those two doing?" Ebizo, who was in charge of the ambush, was also annoyed by what he saw. He stared at Temari with a look of disappointment. "They could have waited for the enemy to get closer and for the sealing team to be ready before making their move! Do they think they can become Kazekage with this kind of patience?"

"Lord Ebizo, what do we do now?" Maki asked at this moment.

"The sealing team should prepare to make their move. We have to give this tailed beast a try, no matter what," Ebizo said.

"Yes!"

……

Naruto walked into the smoke and dust. Where Shukaku had disappeared, a red-haired boy lay quietly. Just as Naruto was about to go forward to check on the boy, two figures blocked his way.

"Who are you? Ninjas from Sunagakure?" Naruto, in Kurama Mode, clearly sensed the hostility of the two people in front of him and frowned slightly.

"No matter who you are, don't come any closer, or our Sand Village will consider your actions as a declaration of war!" Temari took a deep breath and warned righteously. Although at this moment, her and Kankuro's strength was no match for the one who could easily defeat the One-Tailed Beast, Temari could not stand by and watch her younger brother get hurt.

"But it seems like it's Sunagakure that wants to attack me now." Naruto, in Kurama form, sensed that a tidal wave of malice was surging towards him.

The next instant, the sand beneath their feet began to spin rapidly, forming a huge vortex of yellow sand. At the edge of the vortex, various sealing runes slowly appeared.

"What is this technique?!" Temari exclaimed in shock, yelling at her Sunagakure comrades who were gathering around her, "If Gaara uses this technique, he will die!"

“The village has already given him many chances. He was already a sinner to our Sunagakure by assassinating the Fourth Kazekage. This time, his rampage has caused heavy losses to the village. Using him as bait to capture this unknown tailed beast is his last bit of value,” Ebizo said ruthlessly.

"But!" Temari wanted to argue, but Naruto looked at Gaara, who remained unresponsive, and asked:
"Is he a very important person to you?" Naruto asked, looking at the anxious Temari.

“He’s our little brother.” Temari glanced back at Naruto, gritted her teeth, and said.

"I see, little brother?" Naruto looked at Gaara, who showed no reaction, and couldn't help but think of his own situation before Kakashi took him home.

The Sand Village ninjas on the outer perimeter, despite being from the same village as the red-haired boy, exuded an undisguised hatred in Naruto's perception, as if they wished the four people at the heart of the quicksand would die there together. "If I were in this situation, Sasuke would probably make the same choice," Naruto sighed, looking at Temari and Kankuro.

Because he was born two months earlier than Naruto, Sasuke had always tried to act as his older brother. Although Naruto himself had never admitted it, Naruto knew that if he were in that situation, Sasuke would stand in front of him without hesitation.

“Hold out your hand,” Naruto said.

"Reach out? What do you want to do?" Temari looked at Naruto with some wariness.

“If you want your brother to live, then reach out your hands,” Naruto said, extending his fist toward the two men.

"Who...who are you?" Temari asked, looking at Naruto who was enveloped in golden light.

“Naruto Uzumaki, a wandering ninja passing by,” Naruto said with a smile.

With the idea of ​​trying anything as a last resort, Kankuro and Temari, who was holding Gaara, each extended their hands and bumped fists with Naruto.

The next moment, golden chakra wrapped around their fists and bodies, covering their skin with a golden glow, and a massive amount of chakra surged into their bodies.

"This chakra!" Temari and Kankuro both showed surprise. The amount of chakra surging into their bodies in just a few breaths was already ten times the amount of chakra in their own bodies, but their bodies did not have any abnormal reactions. On the contrary, they felt very warm and comfortable, as if they were being basked in the sun.

"Hold your brother tight, don't let him fall." Naruto punched his palm, then stomped the ground hard, causing ripples to spread across the sand. Naruto's figure transformed into a golden streak of light and soared into the sky. Behind him, two golden chakra arms grabbed Kankuro and Temari, who was holding Gaara. The four of them were instantly in the air.

Then, Naruto brought his hands together in front of his chest, his palms forming a calyx shape, and a jet-black Tailed Beast Ball slowly condensed in his palms.

Naruto shouted and released the Tailed Beast Ball he had condensed into the distance. Then, using the recoil, the four of them flew away into the distance and quickly escaped the range of the Sand Village's sealing technique.

"Goodbye, everyone from Sunagakure!" After landing, Naruto waved in the direction of the Sunagakure ninjas, then fled into the distance with Temari and Kankuro.

"Hey! Put us down first!" Temari, who was being carried away by Naruto, shouted.

The people of Sunagakure naturally did not want to let the four go so easily. After the sealing jutsu failed, Ebizo also gave orders to pursue them. Seeing this, Naruto did not have a chance to put the three siblings down, so he simply took the three of them and ran away.

With Naruto in Kurama Chakra Mode escaping at full speed, how could these Sunagakure ninjas, who hadn't even reached the Kage level, possibly catch up? Soon, the group disappeared from the sight of the Sunagakure pursuit force.

At night, by a campfire beneath a cliff in the desert of the Land of Wind, Naruto was happily roasting a few sand rats he had just caught, while Temari and Kankuro, who were by the campfire, kept an eye on Gaara and occasionally looked up at Naruto, as if they wanted to say something but didn't.

"Ask whatever you want," Naruto said.

After spending some time together, Temari had somewhat lessened her fear of Naruto. The blond-haired man in front of her, although extremely strong, seemed to have a pretty good temper. Besides, he was, after all, the savior of the three siblings. So, Temari didn't try to run away. However, after glancing at her surroundings, she couldn't help but sigh.

"Why did you bring us all to such a far place?" Temari said helplessly. "Now we can't even explain it to you."

"Is it that serious?" Naruto shrugged. "Just think of them as hostages I've kidnapped. You can take your little brother back to the village tomorrow morning. You didn't shave your headbands in front of the villagers, so just explain it when you get back."

"Besides, in that situation before, I didn't have time to put you down," Naruto said.

“It’s not that simple.” Temari sighed. “Gaara’s identity is very special, and besides, including this time, he has caused a lot of trouble. The village can no longer tolerate him.”

"Besides, we've been taken away by you for so long and returned to the village unharmed. I think we'll be suspected as well, and then I won't even have a last chance to save my brother."

"What did he do to make your fellow villagers hate him so much? Even for a Jinchuriki, this is too much." Naruto was also a little confused. After learning about his Jinchuriki status, he understood why he had been treated so badly as a child. At least the Konoha ninjas, especially some of the stronger ones, didn't harbor any strong hostility towards him; they just kept their distance. But just now, Naruto had genuinely felt the undisguised killing intent of the Sunagakure ninjas towards Gaara.

“The tailed beast inside him went berserk and killed our father,” Temari said. “Then this time, the One-Tailed Beast inside him escaped from its seal again, wreaked havoc in the village, and escaped. During these two outbursts, many people in the village died at his hands.”

"Is that so?" Naruto looked at Gaara with a slight frown.

But at that moment, Naruto suddenly felt a wave of malice coming at him, and then he raised his hand and grabbed Gaara's arm, who had woken up and was attacking him.

A violent surge of chakra churned within Gaara's body. Gaara's eyes turned bloodshot, and he looked at Naruto with the gaze of a wild beast.

"Yes! That's it! Kill this brat! Kill the stinky fox's jinchūriki! You can use my power as you please from now on!" Inside Gaara's sealed space, Shukaku roared incessantly.

"Hmph!" The Nine-Tails inside Naruto grunted, trying to take over control of Naruto's body, but Naruto shook his head, refusing the Nine-Tails' help. He grabbed Gaara's arm, swept him down with a leg sweep, and then chopped Gaara on the back of the neck.

"Wait a minute, if Gaara faints..." Temari was about to remind Naruto that if Gaara lost consciousness, Shukaku, now unrestrained, would cause trouble.

However, under the intimidating golden light emanating from Naruto, Shukaku within Gaara chose to follow his heart.

……

(End of this chapter)