Naruto: The new beginning

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"Gaaaaraaa!!!"

Naruto and Gaara both froze as they heard Kankuro's piercing shout from outside the village.

Naruto suppressed a laugh. While he admired the sibling bond between Kankuro and Gaara, he couldn't help but remember the anime.

Back then, Kankuro had shouted "Gaara" over and over, standing on a rooftop for what felt like an eternity, even as Gaara was defeated and captured.

Deidara, meanwhile, hovered confidently on his clay bird, surveying the damage he'd inflicted on Gaara's sphere of absolute defence. The once impenetrable sand barrier was cracked and misshapen.

"It's time to retrieve the One-Tail's jinchūriki," he declared, a smirk tugging at his lips.

The sand fell away, revealing… nothing.

Deidara halted his bird mid-flight, his confident expression faltering. "What's going on?"

Frustration crept into his voice. He had spent most of his remaining clay carefully studying Gaara's attack and defence patterns. He had even sacrificed his left arm to sneak explosive clay into Gaara's sand for the final strike.

Yet, despite his supposedly flawless strategy, Gaara was gone. Deidara was certain Gaara had been inside that sphere.

There hadn't been any time for substitutions or clones. So how had the One-Tail's jinchūriki escaped?

Hovering in the air, Deidara scanned the surroundings while rethinking his approach. It was almost dawn, and his chakra reserves were running low.

If Gaara had survived unscathed, Deidara might need to retreat. He wasn't eager to use his ultimate art unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Sasori must be getting impatient, hmm," Deidara muttered under his breath.

---

Gaara, far from the battlefield, stood with Naruto near the village's perimeter.

The two jinchūriki were arguing, or rather, their tailed beasts were.

"Stupid fox, keep your brat out of my fight!" Shukaku snarled, his voice dripping with annoyance.

Kurama snorted. "If Naruto hadn't intervened, you'd be in a cage by now."

"As if!" Shukaku snapped. "At most, that red-haired kid might've gotten hurt. That fly's attacks couldn't harm me!"

Kurama chuckled mockingly. "Sure, keep telling yourself that."

Shukaku bristled, his temper flaring. "Let me fight, boy!" he barked at Gaara. "I'll crush that idiot with one hand!"

Gaara, calm as ever, shook his head. "If you fight, the village will suffer."

Shukaku hesitated, unable to refute the point. He had no attachment to Sunagakure and wouldn't hold back in battle.

Naruto interjected, "We should lead Deidara out of the village. If that guy goes all out, he could level the entire place."

Gaara nodded. "His target is me. If I leave, he'll follow."

"Fine," Shukaku grumbled. "I'll lend you my chakra. But only because I don't want to owe that stupid fox."

---

Gaara felt a small surge of chakra but frowned in confusion. "That's it?"

Shukaku flushed with embarrassment. "Hey, brat! Open the seal! The chakra can't get through properly."

Kurama burst into laughter, rolling around in Naruto's sealed space. "Oh, this is rich! The great Shukaku, stumped by a little seal."

"Shut up, you overgrown mutt!" Shukaku roared, furious.

Naruto turned to Gaara. "Do you want to do it?"

Gaara nodded. Naruto placed a hand against Gaara's, channelling chakra to modify the seal.

"This is the key to the Four Symbols Seal," Naruto explained. "You can adjust it yourself in the future."

"Thank you," Gaara said, placing his hand on his stomach. "Undo."

The seal rotated like a roulette wheel, unlocking the flow of Shukaku's chakra. A surge of energy enveloped Gaara, forming a bubble-like tailed beast cloak around him.

Gaara clenched his fists, feeling the immense power coursing through him. "So this is what it's like to use a tailed beast's chakra normally."

Naruto grinned. "Feels great, doesn't it?"

Though Gaara had used Shukaku's power before, it had always been in a forced or unstable state. This was different. He now had control, and it showed.

---

The immense chakra radiating from Gaara drew the attention of every ninja nearby including Deidara.

Hovering on his clay bird, Deidara turned toward the source of the power. Despite losing an arm, he felt no hesitation.

"Looks like he's finally showing his hand," Deidara said, grinning. "They say One-Tail jinchūriki can't fully control their beast. He must've been pushed to his limit for this much chakra to leak out."

Confident in his analysis, Deidara reached into his clay pouch with his remaining hand-mouth, biting off a large chunk.

"So, what kind of art should I show him next?"

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