(WIP)The Hidden Dragon Chronicles: Series 1

Episode 34: The Battles Continue: Naruto vs. Gaara!

Suddenly, a kick from a familiar yellow-haired ninja threw him off, and Pakkun arrived just in time, much to Gaara's annoyance.

He took a step back and examined Sasuke's wounds and scratches.

"This can't be... the curse seal," Naruto reasoned worried.

Naruto then moved his eyes to look at him, realizing that his body had turned into a half-beast shape.

He wasn't astonished that a beast could take possession of him, and he asked himself sympathetically. 'What did I do?'

Gaara only glowered at them in a sinister look, swaying his tail back and forth, ready to attack them like a predator seeking to devour his victim.

Naruto, on the other hand, was confronting him, ready to fight him in battle. He stood confidently and informed his friends softly.

"Leave this guy to me. I can take him." He tightened his fists and thought about his ideas.

He and Gaara were narrowing their eyes at one other in a heated moment, while a battered Izumi and Pakkun were watching to see if Naruto could overcome him. If everything else fails, Izumi will return to face Gaara.

"You..... you're the one I failed to kill at that time," Gaara remembered the blonde-haired child, who knew his dark, sunken eyes and the words whispered to him.

"I'd figured that maybe now, I can go for it instead of waiting." He began stretching his beast paw and watched Naruto assault after summoning his multi-shadow clone jutsu.

"Ahh!!" Naruto clashed his fists and kicks with the Gaara's beast claw, but was sent back hard against the branch.

Naruto flung numerous shurikens and kunai knives, each with bomb tags attached. "Take this!"

Gaara raised his beast claw as a protective barrier. There was just a tiny effect, and the sand disintegrated into bits.

However, it regenerates back into the form that made him smirk wickedly at Naruto's scared expression. His tail began swinging towards him, but he missed him.

One of the tree limbs fell to the ground with a thump, and Naruto jumped off to think of a plan. 'This guy... just what does he intend to do? Killing people off to make him feel alive and strong? Tch!... He's insane. If only I could somehow get through to him Wait! That's it.'

When he remembered what he had learned during his training with Jiraiya, a thought sprang to mind. After days of struggling to master the jutsu, he finally faced his opponent.

"Well! Are you going to fight me, or do you want to be preyed on?!" Gaara hissed, reminding himself. "I intend to become the strongest shinobi. I was born to be a monster.

Naruto closed his eyes to focus on his chakra and made a few hand signals, signaling that a technique was about to be performed. "This has got to work."

Gaara's head throbbed in anguish as he experienced a few memories of his past. He grunted deeply and collapsed to his knees, howling in agony and leading Naruto to defer his technique, much to their surprise.

Naruto and the others closely studied Gaara's actions and noticed that his condition deteriorated.

Temari's eyes shifted uncomfortably back and forth toward his half-beast form. 'His memories of the girl are presumably jogging through his mind.' She was concerned.

Naruto resumed his technique, using his Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu to shape his blue chakra into a sphere...

(continues on next page)