"Tch! When you fight, it's all about real strength!"
After shouting that, Naruto straightened his back and strode forward.
He yelled with full force—his blue eyes blazing, locked onto the small boy opposite him.
More precisely… locked onto the tattoo on the boy's forehead.
"Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you've got 'love' written on your head!"
"Now—let Sasuke go! Or I swear I'll beat you so hard you won't even know what love is anymore!"
"…No, scratch that—I'll make sure you never have any love!"
Oh no.
The moment Naruto said that, Temari and Kankuro—who'd been shoved aside—went pale.
The kanji on Gaara's forehead and his dark circles…
Both were absolute taboo.
And now this random blond idiot had stomped right onto both landmines.
For a second, neither of them knew whether Naruto was incredibly lucky… or catastrophically unlucky.
They both hurriedly drew their weapons—
Half to defend themselves, half ready to stop Gaara if things went too far.
"…No… love?"
Those three words clearly struck Gaara.
His green eyes, usually dull and emotionless, instantly filled with bloodshot veins.
Then—
Madness.
A dead, suffocating kind of madness.
"…Die."
He lifted his gaze toward the blond boy and murmured,
"I'm… going to kill you."
As he spoke, his right hand slowly rose—
Then clenched.
Not toward Naruto—
But toward Sasuke, still wrapped tight in sand, only able to make muffled mmph sounds.
Sand Coffin.
CRUNCH!
In an instant, the sand binding Sasuke tightened with a horrifying grinding sound.
Grrrk—grrk—
Heavy grains compressed violently, pressure skyrocketing—
It looked like the boy inside would be crushed into paste at any moment.
"Stop, Gaara!"
"Stop right now! Do you want us all dead?!"
No one expected the most panicked people to be Gaara's own teammates.
Temari swung her fan, Kankuro rushed forward with his puppet, both charging at him in desperation.
"SASUKE!"
Naruto's eyes split wide at the sight.
A fury unlike anything he'd ever felt erupted inside him.
His mind went blank.
Only one thought remained—
Kill.
Kill him.
Kill that bastard.
He dared hurt Sasuke?
Unforgivable.
At that very moment, inside Naruto's sealed inner world, the Nine-Tails suddenly stirred.
The massive fox slowly rose to its feet—
Arching its body, ready for battle.
"Oh? The brat's finally angry, huh? Hoh hoh hoh, looks like I can finally—"
Halfway through getting excited, it suddenly remembered something.
Its arched body froze mid-motion…
Then quietly settled back down.
"Forget it, forget it… if that killing god shows up again, I'll just get beaten…"
"Hmph. Trying to bait an excuse to beat the great Nine-Tails? Kid, you're still too green."
The Nine-Tails had no intention of helping.
Because of that deliberate restraint, the murderous rage flooding Naruto's mind eased slightly—
Giving him just enough space to keep a sliver of sanity.
BUZZ!
But the next second—
Naruto felt a scorching, explosive chakra erupt from his abdomen.
Crimson chakra burst outward, instantly seeping through his skin and wrapping around his small body.
Fwoosh.
The chakra wove together, forming a thin yet dense red chakra cloak.
Behind him, a single fox tail made of blazing chakra slowly materialized.
WHAP!
With just one casual swing, the tail cracked the air with a sonic boom.
CRACK.
CRACK.
The solid ground beneath Naruto's feet couldn't withstand the sudden surge of power.
Spiderweb cracks spread outward for several meters.
FWOOSH!
At the same time, his blue sandals burned straight to ash.
Powerful.
Scorching.
Sinister.
The bizarre scene froze everyone present.
Especially Sasuke.
While struggling against the crushing sand, he stared at Naruto's chakra cloak.
Thanks to years of training under Kai—having gone through all sorts of absurd trials…
Including getting struck by lightning more than once—
His body was far tougher than most kids his age.
He could barely hold out.
"…This is…"
Across from Naruto, Gaara's tightening sand loosened slightly when he saw the transformation.
"…Is he… a monster too?"
That thought surfaced quietly in Gaara's mind.
Like unexpectedly encountering someone similar to himself.
For a fleeting moment, the violent killing intent inside him softened.
But then—
The blond suddenly charged.
"GRAAAAH!"
Feeling his body tearing under the chakra's strain, Naruto roared in pain.
Bloodshot veins spread across his eyes.
WHOOSH!
He moved.
One step—
And he shot toward Gaara.
Fast.
So fast only afterimages remained.
BOOOOM!!!!
A deafening explosion echoed through the street.
Naruto's crimson-wrapped fist tore through the air—
And smashed into Gaara's raised arm.
CRACK!
The sound of bone impact rang clear.
"—Hngh!"
Gaara groaned as the overwhelming force blasted him backward, arm and body sent flying.
The interrupted motion broke the Sand Coffin seal.
The chakra controlling the sand collapsed.
SHHRAA—
The sand binding Sasuke loosened instantly.
Seizing the chance, Sasuke's body jolted—
Lightning flickered around him as he burst free, scattering the sand apart.
Without Gaara's control, the sand was nothing but loose dirt to him.
Though…
He'd swallowed plenty of it.
Coughing violently, he glared at Gaara.
"Cough—damn… rock-gourd freak…"
Scarlet flickered in his eyes.
He was furious.
As the young master of the Uchiha, when had he ever suffered humiliation like this—
Aside from in front of Uchiha Kai?
His figure flashed forward.
Revenge. He had to take revenge.
"Fire Style — Great Fireball Jutsu!"
FWOOSH!
A massive fireball over ten meters wide erupted forward.
Against it, Gaara looked tiny.
At that moment, Gaara had only just carved a three-meter trench across the ground before barely stopping.
He hadn't even finished catching his breath—
And the inferno was already in his face.
No time to dodge.
His arm throbbed—likely fractured.
He could only summon sand in front of him.
Sand Shield.
BOOM!
The attack was blocked—
For now.
But in Gaara's green pupils, violent emotion surged for the first time.
That was Shukaku's fury.
No one was allowed to challenge its precious puppet.
Gaara snapped his head up, glaring at the crimson-cloaked Naruto.
"…Mon… monster!"
With a low snarl, he summoned flowing sand again—
Shaping it into a gigantic arm that lunged toward both boys at once.
One versus two?
He'd never feared anyone.
"Hmph. Asking for it."
Sasuke snorted coldly, flicking several shuriken forward.
Then he stood proudly in place, chin lifted.
"Today I'll teach you what it means to be Second Pillar!"
"One of the only two pillars holding up Uchiha glory!"
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> patreon.com/SorenSwiftTL