Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 74, oh, it's Shukaku!

Three days before the tournament, Naruto failed to spot Sasuke at home, but sensed that Sasuke's chakra had been moved to the hospital. He sat on his bed, contemplating whether to go directly to the hospital and whether it would expose his senses. Before he knew it, he was already prepared, carrying a lunchbox. Today, he had nothing major to do; monitoring both sides was a piece of cake for the perpetually distracted Naruto. He figured he might as well go to the hospital to visit his fellow patient, who was still hospitalized.

It's worth mentioning that only two other people were hospitalized at the same time. Choji and Kiba, those two unlucky guys, encountered opponents from other countries and didn't win either. They've been hospitalized for a month now and still aren't getting better. As for what to bring when visiting someone in the hospital… Naruto simply bought two fruit baskets—saving time, effort, and worry!

"Sasuke? Why are you in the hospital?" Naruto feigned surprise as he lifted the curtain. "I sensed you at the hospital entrance."

Sasuke was a little surprised that Naruto would come, since he had specifically told Kakashi not to tell anyone!

"I was only planning to visit Choji and Kiba, so I didn't prepare a gift for you. Here, take this bento." Naruto had thoroughly reviewed Sasuke's medical records and confirmed that he had simply overused his chakra and was otherwise fine. Only then did he feel like playing with the kid, and sure enough, he saw a slightly aggrieved and angry face. But who exactly went to the hospital without telling him? If his senses weren't so sharp, he wouldn't have known at all, and the kid wouldn't even have gotten a bento!

After finally managing to calm the child down, they hadn't walked two steps out of the hospital when another troubled teenager showed up at their door.

The boy carrying the sand gourd had a cold gaze, slightly murderous, and his restless chakra filled the entire alley.

I've been with the mature Gaara for too long, I've almost forgotten he can be this volatile. Oh right, the Sand Village's sealing techniques are really weak; they only have a restraining effect when the Jinchuriki is conscious. Think about how he was after staying up for days, and then look at Gaara now—if it were him, he'd only be more volatile! Gaara has already tried so hard to maintain the seal, and those Sand Village people still think he's an unstable Jinchuriki… Don't be so demanding! Why don't they try it themselves!

"Hey, how about we bump fists?" Naruto, completely oblivious to the danger while being engulfed by sand, raised his fist, slowly extended it, and showed no intention of attacking. Because of this, his fist bypassed the absolute defensive distance and reached directly in front of Gaara.

The young boy was completely stunned. No matter how wildly he had just been shouting about killing, he was still dumbfounded when his "absolute defense" was breached. Why didn't those uncontrollable sands attack Naruto?

"What's wrong? Don't know how to bump fists?" Naruto's smile was always warm. He explained as if teaching a child, "It's like this: make a fist with one hand, then extend it over and touch it together."

Guided by those persuasive words, Gaara actually extended his fist. The moment their fists touched, the light suddenly dimmed, and the scene before him changed. Gaara was shocked and sprang backward, for this place was incredibly familiar to him—it was the place he always found himself in whenever he closed his eyes!

Naruto's smile remained unchanged, but he shifted his gaze slightly upwards, looking behind him. And just like that... his gaze was also drawn to a huge shadow, and an instinctive fear almost consumed him.

"Hahahaha..." A sharp laugh echoed through the space. The guy who was considered a devil actually spoke to the giant beast opposite him, "You dead fox! You've finally met your match!"

The nine-tailed behemoth flicked its ears impatiently and immediately lashed out with one tail. "Shut up! You damn raccoon. I'm doing this because I want to! Unlike you, who can be trapped by this tattered seal, tsk."

"We're both sealed away, what right do you have to laugh at me!"

"At least I could force Hashirama Senju to use his ultimate technique. As for you? I'd probably be done with a single Advent of a World of Trees."

"Damn it! You're asking for it!"

"Hey~ You've gotten more powerful, huh? Come on, spit one out again. This power is still not as good as my Jinchūriki~"

Gaara had never seen anything like this before. The two colossal beasts were fighting, and the situation was completely one-sided. The large orange fox was practically kicking Shukaku around like a ball; with a few flicks of its tail, Shukaku was sprawled out, completely disoriented. That was Shukaku, the creature considered a calamity by the desert people!

"Kurama! Don't bully Shukaku too much!" Naruto shouted loudly under Gaara's horrified gaze, which actually made the big fox retract its tail and instead pin Shukaku down, preventing it from moving. It even yawned leisurely.

"You actually told your name to a human?!" Shukaku's screams continued. "Are you still the Nine-Tails? Did I hear that right?!"

"I already said, I'm happy to do it." Kurama was in a good mood, having finally let loose and started causing a ruckus. Not wanting to hear the big cat's commotion, he used his tail to shut Shukaku up.

"Shukaku's personality is really... Why did he provoke Kurama?" Naruto didn't think that the tailed beasts fighting was a big deal, and that he had mediated too many times since then.

King Mu and Sun Wukong always lived together, but they also argued fiercely. Luckily, they remembered that the human world couldn't withstand too much turmoil, so they had to fight in Naruto's spiritual space, the transit point for the tailed beasts. Naruto was always caught in the middle, which was incredibly frustrating. Ultimately, this memory became just that—a memory…

"...That fox...is it the Nine-Tailed Fox?" Gaara's weak voice came from beside him, only then did he realize that Gaara had already curled up into a ball.

"It's Nine Lamas. If you want to make friends, it's important to remember their names."

"...Friends?" That word was utterly deafening. Naruto actually called the monster inside his stomach a friend?!

"To be precise, they are comrades-in-arms who have entrusted their lives to each other." Naruto reached out and pulled Gaara up, approaching the two tailed beasts without any fear. He first touched Kurama's fur, then touched Shukaku's purple markings, and said, "Huh? Is it really a body formed from sand?"

"Waaaaah, waaaah!" Shukaku's mouth was tied, so he couldn't make a sound, but no one cared about his cries at the moment.

"Gaara! Come and touch it!"

That brat! I'll tear him apart sooner or later!

This was an idea Shukaku could only dream about. With Naruto's incomplete Eight Trigrams Seal, he couldn't even bother Gaara anymore. The boy, who had been disturbed for over a decade, was still somewhat incredulous when he returned to reality, standing there for a long time, only able to hear the sounds of the street.

"Go back and get some rest, Gaara." Naruto, who had kept his achievements hidden, had already walked away, leaving only his back view.

We have to leave now, otherwise the guardians on both sides will become restless.