Shukaku's form slowly dissipated, the gathered yellow sand falling to the ground, and the black markings disappearing into thin air. Gaara's body emerged from the sand, like being washed ashore by the waves.
Sasuke, almost out of chakra, panted heavily. "Did we succeed?"
After using Ninjutsu for so long, even the curse mark started to retract into his neck. Shukaku finally disappeared.
"Naruto?" Not hearing Naruto's response, Sasuke turned his head in confusion, his face changing instantly.
At this moment, Naruto's face was pale, almost no color, and his eyes were unfocused. He didn't even hear Sasuke speaking.
Sasuke supported Naruto, anxiously saying, "Naruto!"
Naruto seemed to hear Sasuke's voice, his unfocused eyes slightly regaining clarity. He turned to look at Sasuke, his voice hoarse and lifeless, "Sasuke... Konohagakure... Shukaku..."
"Konohagakure is safe, we defeated Shukaku." Sasuke said without hesitation, pointing to Gaara in the sand ahead, "That Sunagakure ninja is lying there, we just need to capture him."
"We... won?" Naruto seemed to find it hard to believe, his unfocused eyes unable to see clearly, only mechanically holding onto Kurama's chakra to keep it from disappearing.
"We won!" Sasuke nodded firmly.
Naruto smiled, a clean smile on his pale face, small but very clear, "That's... great..."
As he said the last word, the huge Kurama chakra form suddenly disappeared, the golden chakra around Naruto stopped flowing, and the black seal pattern on his stomach faded, no more chakra flowing out.
As the strength supporting his body disappeared, Naruto collapsed, falling towards Sasuke. They were inside Kurama's head, and now that Kurama was gone, they both fell towards the ground.
Sasuke gritted his teeth and carried Naruto, controlling their fall to ensure Naruto wouldn't get hurt...
Luckily, just as they were about to hit the ground, Kakashi and Asuma jumped to their sides, protecting them and landing safely.
Sasuke stumbled but immediately looked at Naruto, who had completely passed out.
Not only had Naruto endured more tailed beast chakra than he could handle,
but he also controlled the chakra flow beyond his limits and even used a tailed beast bomb. Naruto's condition was not good.
Kakashi gently laid Naruto on the ground, his face serious as he tore open Naruto's shirt. As the ninja undershirt was removed, the shocking wounds on Naruto's skin were revealed to everyone.
Kurenai gasped, covering her mouth in disbelief, "These injuries! How did he hold on until now?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth, his fists clenched tightly.
Under the clothing, Naruto's skin was almost entirely burned by Kurama's chakra, with red muscles and blood vessels exposed, even the white bones of his arm visible. The flesh smelled burnt, the muscles and bones blackened, he looked like he had just been pulled from a fire.
Skin? Except for his face, there wasn't a single part of Naruto's body that was unharmed.
Asuma lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. The smoke was exhaled, but the feeling of being blocked in his chest didn't go away.
Kakashi struggled to take off his Jonin vest and wrapped Naruto in it. Then, he carefully picked up Naruto as if holding a piece of art. "Asuma, Kurenai, Sasuke, take care of that Sunagakure kid. I need to take Naruto to the Konoha hospital."
Kakashi's voice was calm and steady, without a hint of shaking. But Asuma and Kurenai, who knew Kakashi well, understood what this meant.
Since the deaths of Rin, Obito, and the Minato couple, Kakashi hadn't spoken in this tone. The last time he spoke like this was after his father's suicide. At that time, Kakashi's rationality was terrifying.
Kurenai opened her mouth as if to say something, but Asuma stopped her with a hand and gently shook his head. He then said to Kakashi, "Leave it to us. This is what we should do."
Yes, this is what we should do.
Kakashi took a deep breath and suddenly disappeared from the spot. Using Lightning Release Body Flicker alternately with Body Flicker Jutsu, he ensured his speed reached the theoretical maximum. Of course, the chakra consumption would increase rapidly, but now was not the time to worry about that.
The cold wind blew on Kakashi as he watched the desolate land retreat behind him. He looked at Naruto's only somewhat intact face, the golden short hair, and the iconic whiskers. He recalled the reliable look and the courage to stand in front of the tailed beast.
His fists clenched tighter.
"Minato-sensei, did I do something wrong?"
Kakashi asked himself.
...
"Hey, Naruto, if you don't wake up now, you'll never wake up again." Kurama, like a hungry husky, kept banging on the cell door.
Outside the cell, an intact Naruto lay in the water. Although his face was still pale, it was much better than his miserable appearance outside.
Maybe the banging on the cell door was too loud, and the next moment, Naruto opened his eyes. His unfocused eyes stared at the ceiling of the sealed space. "Am I... dead?"
"Surprisingly, you're not dead." Kurama stopped banging on the cell door and disdainfully picked his nose. "Since you're not dead, get up quickly. You just borrowed a lot of my chakra, so get used to it and let your body adapt to this power."
Hearing Kurama's words, Naruto's previously unfocused eyes instantly sharpened. He lay weakly on the ground. "Kurama, you're even worse than Pervy Sage. At least Pervy Sage knew I had the ability before pushing me off the cliff. Now you want me to get up and get used to your chakra. Will I really not die?"
"Ha, who do you think you're looking down on?" Kurama looked at him disdainfully. "That amount of chakra, if gathered, would be at most four to five tails. With your Uzumaki clan's body, you probably won't die."
"No one! Understands whirlpools! Better than me." Kurama said seriously.
Naruto: "..."
Although he didn't know what Kurama was talking about, Naruto felt that this guy was mocking him.
Naruto bitterly propped himself up. Even a spirit body could feel tired, let alone his body, which was still in a severely injured state.
But there was no choice. Kurama was indeed stricter than Pervy Sage.
Naruto sat cross-legged in the water, forcing himself to stay upright. He closed his eyes and formed hand signs to gather chakra.
Kurama was very pleased with Naruto's current state, but he still had to say, "Oh, by the way, your body has been eroded by my chakra. You won't be able to use chakra for a long time, not just my chakra, but even your own."
Of course, it will heal itself, but this time the injury is too severe, and the healing time will be very long. Kurama didn't know exactly how long.
It's a good time to cause some trouble.
Thinking of this, Kurama couldn't help but grin.
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