Deadlock.
Temari was battered and bruised, and her gaze became more and more solemn as she looked at the Kyubi's Jinchuriki in front of her.
She bit her finger and drew a line of blood across her left palm.
Summoning Technique: Kama…
Naruto hesitated for a moment but quickly threw out a Flying Thunder God kunai before Temari could complete the hand seals.
Just as the summoning was about to be completed, Naruto activated Flying Thunder God again, teleported directly and threw a punch that sent Temari crashing to the ground.
"Using your hand to summon Kamatari?"
"Are you planning to lose that hand?"
"What does this have to do with you?!" Temari's face swelled up, and she glared at Naruto fiercely, "Even if I die, I won't beg for mercy! You just want to satisfy your twisted desires, right? Dream on!"
"Hey, hey, you can mess around with food, but don't mess around with words." Naruto said expressionlessly with lightning flashing in his hands again.
"I'm not into overly aggressive women, so don't flatter yourself, Hime-sama."
"Aaahhh!!!" Temari was electrocuted again and the light in her eyes dimmed instantly.
In her daze, a warm sensation spread through her body.
"You…! Just kill me already!"
Temari's teeth were chattering, and her eyes were filled with hatred as she looked at Naruto.
Naruto had no intention of doing something so foolish, as he just wanted to achieve his goal and obtain the reward. After all, when the chaos is over, Konoha and Sunagakure will form an alliance.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm just a Genin." Naruto said this, but his eyes were full of indifference. Right now, he was running out of patience.
Lightning Strike!
Lightning Strike!
After repeatedly shocking her, Naruto began to admire Temari's willpower.
He crouched down, nudged the dazed Temari lying on the ground, and said, "Consider this a request from me, Hime-sama. Please beg for mercy."
"Never!" Temari, using the last of her strength, forced the words through clenched teeth, "Either kill me, or…"
Hearing this, Naruto sighed softly, then stood up and said, "In that case, there's nothing I can do. You win."
"I guess I'll have to go kill Gaara then. Even the villages can't interfere in a fight between Jinchuriki."
"What did you say?" Temari tried to get up with sheer willpower, but couldn't. She glared at Naruto, "Don't."
"What did you say?"
"Don't."
"Beg me." Naruto said with indifferent expression.
Temari was completely panicked now. She finally realized how terrifying a Jinchuriki could be. What did they say about not being a Perfect Jinchūriki? The boy in front of her had not even used the power of the Biju yet.
"I beg you, don't kill my brother. I'll do whatever you want."
[Sealing Technique: Adamantine Sealing Chains successfully granted.]
"See, if you had done this earlier, wouldn't it be much easier?" Naruto said, giving her a brief, scrutinizing glance before uttering two words,
"So troublesome."
After saying that, Naruto's figure vanished from where he stood in an instant.
Temari struggled to sit up. The injuries on her body were not serious, and a trace of resentment flashed in her eyes. However, it was quickly replaced by worry. She couldn't just stop here. Even without her fan, she needed to find Gaara and Kankuro immediately.
'That guy is simply… a psychopath.'
After struggling for a moment, Temari staggered to her feet.
The towering trees within a hundred meters had been felled by her, allowing sunlight to pour down in large swathes, casting light over her. Her pale legs trembled slightly, but then steadied.
Without taking the time to fix her tattered clothing, Temari glanced around with a determined gaze, then chose a direction, and limped away into the forest.
Naruto was moving quickly through the trees, landing on a thick branch and glancing into the distance.
The forest was eerily silent, but faintly, he could hear distant roaring sounds, an indication that the battle had already begun. He had wasted too much time on Temari, and he didn't know if Sasuke could withstand Gaara and Shukaku.
Frowning, Naruto lowered his head and resumed his swift pace.
The giant trees on both sides blurred as he sped past, and the light ahead grew increasingly bright. Naruto knew he was approaching the small plain near the edge of the Konoha Forest.
The path was initially narrow, barely wide enough for one person, but after a few more steps, it opened up.
The previously muffled sounds became clear, and Shukaku's immature yet arrogant voice echoed across the small plain.
"Yoo-hoo! I'm finally out!"
A gigantic, fat tanuki stood tall, roaring like a madman. Naruto was dumbfounded when he saw Shukaku, thinking to himself, 'What the heck is that? He's a hundred times uglier than in the manga!'
The entire body of Shukaku was made of sand, with a large, pudgy frame marked by strange blue patterns on his belly. His golden eyes radiated a menacing gaze as he carelessly searched for anything living.
'Forget it.'
'I should go find Sakura and the others first.'
Naruto's figure vanished, and he quickly located the injured Sakura behind a massive tree. Naruto checked her condition and found that she had only passed out, so he took out a Military Food Pill from his ninja pouch and fed it to her.
There was no water, so he could only force her to swallow it by lifting his neck.
"Sakura, wake up."
After some shaking, Sakura weakly opened her eyes.
"Naruto? You…"
"Where's Sasuke?"
"Sasuke, he..." Sakura suddenly coughed violently and coughed out half of the wet pill.
Naruto didn't need her to point the way, as a sharp, crackling sound of lightning rang out from the distance. Sasuke's shout followed as he, now fully covered in the Cursed Seal, charged at Shukaku with a Chidori.
"Where did this brat come from?"
Shukaku didn't take Sasuke seriously, swiping at him with one of his massive hands.
'So he's activated the Cursed Seal? No wonder he is able to hold on until now.'
"Naruto, don't worry about me, go help Sasuke!" Sakura struggled to get up, but then fell to the ground powerlessly, "Sasuke has already activated the Cursed Seal twice. If he continues like this, he will die!"
Hearing this, Naruto didn't hesitate at all. He left Sakura behind and sprinted toward Sasuke.
He thought to himself, 'That stubborn idiot… He actually opened activated the Cursed Seal twice. He is really not afraid of death. That thing was almost like opening the Eight Gates. It over-extracts the body's energy and can cause heart failure if misused.'
Though Sasuke usually wore a cold expression, Naruto couldn't just ignore him.
Without forming any hand seals, Naruto directly activated the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
With a loud boom, Shukaku's paw sent Sasuke flying.
"Yoo-hoo!"
"It's a hit!"
"Huh? What's that?"
Thick golden chains suddenly erupted from the ground, like sentient vines, surging toward Shukaku in droves.
Shukaku was stunned, suddenly realizing that something was terribly wrong.
He seemed to have seen this chain before, then remembered that he had seen it on Kyubi before.
"Why! How! Impossible!"
Shukaku turned around and tried to flee, but it was too late. The chains wrapped around it, pinning him to the ground.
Shukaku roared, thinking to himself, 'Damn it! It's Adamantine Sealing Chains! You're cheating!'