Naruto looked right at Gaara, sensing that he wasn't playing with a full deck. Naruto knew that Sasuke wasn't and that Sakura couldn't help, but he was going to have to use every trick he knew to win this battle. He had to use the same tricks he used against Neji—figure things out and go in fast. He asked for more power, the Nine-Tails' power to use in this battle. "Okay, Shadow Clone Jutsu," Naruto called out.
Naruto created a large number of clones around Gaara, attacking en masse from all directions. He watched as Gaara dispatched many of the clones, but as Gaara took them down, it gave others openings to hit him. Naruto saw this opening as he moved quickly, revealing his wrapped arms as he attacked, slamming Gaara up when his clones gave him an opening. "First Gate of Opening, open!" Naruto called out as he jumped up. "Primary Lotus!" Naruto shouted, wrapping his bandage around Gaara and pulling him close, slamming him as hard as he could into the ground.
Sasuke blinked, shocked. When did Naruto learn Lee's moves? That wasn't expected. He hadn't seen Naruto fight Neji, so seeing these moves was new and shocking to the Uchiha. Naruto was getting really strong and powerful. Sasuke felt pretty sure that Naruto had at least caught up to him, if not surpassed him. It made him feel extremely frustrated; if Naruto had caught up to him, he wasn't getting strong enough and would never get strong enough to get his revenge on Itachi.
Naruto pulled back, knowing that wasn't enough. He saw Gaara lying on the ground for a moment before Gaara sent his sand at Naruto, who just barely dodged it. Naruto attacked Gaara again, his clones hitting Gaara a second time, knocking him backward with a combination of attacks that set up Naruto for the finishing move. Naruto hit Gaara with a Leaf Whirlwind, and Gaara grew more and more frustrated by this annoying ninja using the same moves as his first foe, who had also been annoying.
Naruto could feel the impact of opening the first gate, and this was the second time that day he had used it. He was breathing heavily, but he would push through—he had to win this fight and protect the village. "I'm not going to lose, believe it!" Naruto declared, getting Gaara's attention. Talking gave him time to recover before the fight picked up again.
Gaara's eyes twitched with barely contained fury, his breath ragged and uneven. "You... you think you can stop me?" he spat, his voice filled with venom. "I'll crush you! I'll prove my existence by ending yours!"
Sand began swirling around Gaara, faster and more violently than before, reflecting his growing instability. His anger and frustration were palpable, and his movements became even more erratic. "You're just like him... just like Lee," Gaara growled, his eyes narrowing on Naruto. "But you'll fall just the same!"
The sand started to take the shape of a monstrous arm, a clear sign that Gaara was losing control and allowing Shukaku to take over. "You're nothing but a nuisance! I'll kill you, and I'll enjoy every second of it!" Gaara roared as the monstrous arm lunged toward Naruto, intent on crushing him.
Naruto was almost caught off guard by Gaara's words. He was still hit by the edge of the arm, driven back for a moment. Naruto collected himself and looked at Gaara. "Prove yourself? You can't prove anything by harming anyone and by losing control. I know being a jinchuriki isn't easy, but we can't let it control us. You can't give up. I'm sure if you show people that you're more than this side of you, it will help you."
Naruto looked at Gaara, who at this point was half-transformed, his right half completely changed. It was only a matter of time before he fully transformed. As Naruto watched, he heard Sasuke.
Sasuke, with his Sharingan spinning, used this opening and Gaara's focus on Naruto to use his third and final Chidori. He moved quickly, attacking and slamming the Chidori almost in the same place he hit during the exam. "Shut up, and die!" Sasuke declared as he struck Gaara with the attack.
Gaara roared, and his sand drove Sasuke off. He let out another roar as he turned into a mini Shukaku. Gaara looked less and less human as he transformed and now basically looked like a demon. His eyes were wild with a demonic rage and madness, and he let out a guttural roar. "You don't understand anything!" Gaara bellowed. "Proving my existence through the pain of others is all I know!"
Naruto looked at the transformed Gaara with determination. "I do understand, Gaara-san. But there's more to life than just pain and suffering. We can find a better way."
Gaara's monstrous arm swung again, and Naruto dodged to the right, jumping quickly. He landed several feet away from Gaara. "I see, so we both have these tailed beasts inside us, but we can choose how we let them define us!"
Sasuke, panting from the exertion of his last Chidori, looked on in frustration. "Naruto-san, we need to finish this now. He's only getting stronger."
Naruto nodded, knowing Sasuke was right. He summoned more clones, surrounding the transformed Gaara. "We'll show you that there's another way, Gaara-san. Believe it!"
Naruto and his clones attacked in unison, each one targeting a different weak point on Gaara's partially transformed body. The relentless assault began to wear Gaara down, but he fought back fiercely, his monstrous strength and rage driving him on.
"You think you can defeat me?!" Gaara roared, his voice a mix of his own and Shukaku's. "I'll destroy everything!"
Suddenly, as Shukaku took over, Gaara transformed into the full-sized Shukaku, towering over them like a giant monster.
Naruto was shocked by this. He knew he had to act fast. He quickly bit his finger. "Summoning Jutsu!" he declared, using a bit of blood to summon Gamabunta beneath him, lifting him high into the air.
"Boss, I need your help. I'm against the One-Tails, and I need your help to win this fight," Naruto declared to Gamabunta. He knew that at this level, he had to find a way to revert Gaara back to his human form. But how?
Gamabunta grumbled, "Alright, but you better not get yourself killed, kid." He lunged forward, engaging Shukaku in a fierce melee, using his agility to dodge the beast's massive attacks while looking for an opening.
Naruto mentally prepared himself. "I have to get to Gaara. If I can wake him up, we can end this."
As Gamabunta clashed with Shukaku, Naruto used the distraction to leap off the toad's head and land on Shukaku's arm, running up its length toward Gaara. Shukaku roared in anger, trying to shake him off, but Naruto held on, determined to reach his target.
"You're not gonna win this, Gaara!" Naruto shouted as he got closer. "We both know what it's like to be alone, to be hated, but we don't have to let that define us!"
"I won't let this you destroy yourself, I won't let you harm my friend, my village either," Naruto declared loudly as he moved, "Second gate, Gate of Healing open," Naruto said using both nine tails chakra and the two games he could open to burst forward with speed. "Gaara, wake up!" He managed to just barely out race the sand as he slammed his fist into Gaara's face knocking him away from the impact.
As Gaara woke up, Shukaku faded away. The two landed on the tops of two trees. Naruto looked ahead at Gaara, who was still able to fight but worn down. He was as well, having used the summoning jutsu, which had taken a lot out of him. Gamabunta, having seen this, took his leave from the battlefield, impressed by the kid's guts.
Gaara looked at his enemy, so strange, so different. He prepared to attack one more time. Before he did, he asked a simple question. "Why... why are you doing this?"
"Because you're not alone, Gaara," Naruto declared loudly, his conviction obvious as he looked Gaara dead in the eyes. "We can find a better way. We can be more than just weapons. We can be friends."
Naruto attacked at the same time as Gaara and slammed a strong right into Gaara's jaw, knocking him to the ground. Naruto landed, breathing hard and worn out. He knew the fight was over. He could go after Gaara, but he didn't want to. Gaara wasn't a threat to the village anymore. He hoped, no, he believed, that his attack might have opened Gaara's eyes and helped him find a better path forward in life.
Naruto saw Temari carrying Kankuro moving past them. He wondered who had defeated Kankuro, but he said nothing more, letting them go and hoping something good would come from this choice. He saw Sakura and Sasuke not too far away from where he was standing.
"Well, it seems they fled, and we won. Thanks for the help; we were really awesome," Naruto said with a huge grin. "Let's get back and see if there is anything else we can help with. I'm not sure if the battle in the village is over yet or not."
Sakura nodded, still looking concerned. "You did great, Naruto. But be careful. You're pretty beat up."
Sasuke looked over at Naruto. He had a lot on his mind, nodded.. "Yeah, let's go. There might still be enemies left, and we can't let our guard down."
Naruto's grin widened, despite the exhaustion evident on his face. "Right, let's move!"
Luckily for the three of them by the time they got back to the village the fighting was over with, the news of the death of the Third Hokage would come later, as it would be a sad bit of news to cap off the great attack on Konoha. Naruto had passed his test, and he had helped protect the village. What would happen next he didn't know, but he would do his best to be ready.
