Until You Want Me to Go (GaaNaru)

Part XIV: The Edge of Control

The ground was still cracking beneath them.

Naruto stood just beyond the ridge, his cloak of chakra flaring in brilliant golden arcs, ears sharpened, pupils slitted — Kyūbi Mode pulsing like fire wrapped around muscle and will.

Sand and rock smoked around him where the Fūton: Rasenshuriken had detonated moments earlier.

Tenten had helped Neji to stable ground, but there was no time for gratitude.

Because from the horizon—

They came.

A second group of masked shinobi surged across the dunes, chakra signatures thick with binding seals and elemental manipulation.

And behind them—
Something darker.

A massive sealing construct rising from the sand — made of obsidian panels and lined with kanji that distorted chakra fields.

Tenten hissed, "What the hell is that—?"

"A containment engine," Neji answered, grimacing. "They're trying to neutralize jinchūriki chakra."

Naruto didn't wait.

He flashed forward with a surge of chakra that made the sand spiral violently.

"Kagebunshin no Jutsu!"

Four clones shot forward — one launching into melee, another forming a second Rasenshuriken. But the chakra cloak around his real body stuttered mid-leap, the prosthetic arm twitching unnaturally.

Chkkk...

His balance snapped.

He slammed hard into the sand, teeth grit.

"Damn it—!"

:: Naruto. ::

Kurama's voice growled inside his mind.

:: You're pushing too hard. That arm isn't keeping up. Your chakra is cycling too fast — too violently — ::

"I can't stop now!" Naruto barked aloud, even as his arm trembled.

:: You're not regenerating fast enough in this state. This is not just chakra — it's your body breaking down. ::

"I said I'm fine!"

But the enemy was already on him — one of the masked shinobi swung with a massive scythe laced with lightning chakra.

Naruto twisted to block — but the prosthetic froze again.

CRASH—

The scythe carved a deep gash across his right shoulder, sending chakra sparks flying.

Naruto dropped to one knee — cloak flickering.

The clones vanished instantly.

Blood spattered onto the sand.

"Damn... it...!"

The enemy stepped forward to finish the strike—

And was obliterated by a spear of sand.

⸻

Gaara landed beside Naruto.

Sand curled protectively around him, rising high and sharp like fangs.

He didn't speak.

His eyes said everything.

You shouldn't be here.
But I'm here now.

Naruto forced himself upright, golden chakra flickering as Kurama snarled low within his chest.

Gaara stepped forward, raising one hand.

"Sabaku Sōsō."

The sand around three enemy shinobi rose and crushed inward, folding like an iron trap.

Another came from the left, blade whistling—

"Fūton: Ryūsa Bakuryū!"

A wave of sand surged, swallowing the blade and the shinobi behind it.

⸻

They moved together, now.

Naruto's cloak flared again — unstable but defiant.

He forced a one-handed seal.

"Rasengan!"

Gaara's sand lifted beneath his feet, boosting him forward.

Naruto spun in the air, chakra pulsing into the sphere—
And slammed the Rasengan into the final enemy with a roar.

BOOM—!

Dust swallowed the ridge.

⸻

In the silence that followed, Naruto dropped to one knee again, breath ragged.

His chakra cloak flickered wildly — unstable, cracking.

Blood dripped from the edge of his jaw.

Gaara stood over him, silent — sand forming a slow spiral beneath his feet.

"...I told you not to get hurt again."

Naruto chuckled hoarsely.

"Yeah, well... you also told me to stay back."

Gaara said nothing.

Then, slowly, deliberately, he reached out — steady, bare hand pressing to Naruto's chest.

"...You are too important to fall here."

Naruto blinked.

For a moment, his entire body stilled.

Kurama didn't speak.

And neither did Naruto.

Because in that moment—

He finally saw it.

⸻

TO BE CONTINUED