Chapter 61: The Aftermath of a Battle

The small Konoha–Suna alliance moved like a storm across the desert, their speed pushed to the absolute limit as they raced toward the distant tree line Temari had indicated.

“Damn it! We’ve been running all night and we’re still late!” Temari gritted her teeth, the worry for her brothers a palpable force driving her forward. “Gaara and Kankuro would have met Sasuke Uchiha hours ago! We have to hurry!”

The woods loomed just ahead, a dark green smear against the pale gold of the dunes.

We’re almost there, Kakashi thought, his single eye scanning the horizon. I just hope we’re not too late.

Just as the group neared the tree line, a cataclysmic BOOM! erupted from deep within the forest. The very ground beneath their feet shuddered violently, forcing them to skid to a wary halt.

“What was that?!” Sakura cried, her voice high with alarm.

“An explosion… from inside the woods. A battle… and on a massive scale,” Shikamaru deduced, his usual laziness replaced by sharp focus.

“Look! Up there!” Naruto yelled, pointing toward the sky above the forest.

The team’s eyes followed his trembling finger—and froze.

Three colossal, demonic iron gates had erupted from the canopy, towering over the trees like monuments to some ancient, terrible power. Hideous faces carved into their surfaces seemed to snarl down at the world.

“Whoa… so huge! What… what is that?!” Naruto gasped.

“Kakashi-sensei, what kind of jutsu is that?” Ino asked, her voice a mixture of awe and fear.

“That… is the legendary ultimate defensive ninjutsu,” Kakashi said, voice low and serious. “The Rashomon Gates. I’ve read about them in Konoha’s archives. They were a technique used by the First Hokage…” He trailed off as another deafening event rocked the forest.

A blinding flash erupted from the base of the gates, followed by a sound like the world itself tearing apart. A visible shockwave of compressed air and energy radiated outward, flattening everything in its path.

“Take cover! High-energy impact!” Kakashi shouted, though there was nowhere to hide.

The shockwave slammed into them like a physical blow. Dust, snapped branches, and shattered leaves coated their bodies as they tumbled, winded but alive. Moments later, as abruptly as it had begun, silence descended—a haunting calm over the devastation.

“Kakashi-sensei…” Naruto mumbled, spitting out dirt. “What the heck was that?!”

“That,” Kakashi said, brushing debris from his flak jacket, “was the aftershock of an attack. The residual force from whatever destroyed those gates.”

“Just the… aftershock?” Choji stammered, pale. “What kind of battle is going on in there? Is this really Gaara and Sasuke?”

“Speculation won’t help,” Kakashi said firmly. “The fact there’s a fight means we’re not too late. Move out. Now!”

The group surged forward, leaping over fallen trees and skirting fresh craters. The scale of destruction left them speechless. They were getting close.

“Wait!” Ino suddenly cried, skidding to a stop. “Look! Over there!” She pointed to a thicket crushed beneath a fallen tree.

Kakashi signaled a halt. Peering into the brush, they discerned a dark, crumpled shape obscured by foliage.

“It looks like… a person?” Shikamaru ventured.

“Let’s check it out.”

They approached cautiously, weapons at the ready. As the figure came into clearer view, it resolved into a young man lying motionless. Kankuro. His face paint was smudged, clothes torn—he had been thrown there with tremendous force.

“Kankuro!” Temari shrieked, dropping to her knees. “Wake up! What happened?!” She shook him gently, but there was no response.

“I’ve trained in medical ninjutsu. Let me see,” Sakura said calmly. She knelt beside him, hands glowing green as chakra flowed into his body, diagnosing injuries.

After a tense moment, Kankuro stirred. His eyes fluttered open, confused and pained. “I… how did I get here?” he mumbled weakly.

“You’re awake!” Temari exclaimed, relief short-lived. “What happened? Where’s Gaara? And Sasuke Uchiha?”

The mention of his brother seemed to jolt Kankuro fully awake. Panic widened his eyes. “Temari? You’re here… Gaara! Gaara’s in danger! You have to help him! That guy… he’s too strong…” He tried to rise, but agony forced him back down.

“Don’t move!” Sakura commanded, hands still glowing. “Your chakra network… your spirit has been severely damaged. This isn’t just a physical injury. You’ll need to stay still.”

“But… damn it!” Kankuro cursed, slamming a weak fist into the dirt. “I couldn’t do anything to help him!”

“Start from the beginning,” Kakashi instructed, calm but firm. “You fought Sasuke Uchiha? What’s his goal? Is Gaara still fighting him?”

Kankuro shuddered, forcing the words out. “After you left for Konoha… Gaara and I went to meet Sasuke Uchiha at noon, as demanded. He… released the captured shinobi first. Then he said why he was here.” His face twisted with fear and anger. “He said he wanted to… to borrow the One-Tail’s chakra. Shukaku’s power inside Gaara.”

The Konoha shinobi exchanged stunned glances. Tailed Beast chakra… what could Sasuke want with that?

“Gaara refused,” Kankuro continued. “He doesn’t rely on that monster anymore. The moment he refused… Uchiha attacked. We expected a fight, but… we didn’t expect that.”

A cold sweat broke across his forehead. “His eyes… he used a genjutsu. A terrible, terrible genjutsu. I’ve never felt anything like it. It was… an eternity of agony in a single second.”

He looked up at them, haunted. “That’s the last thing I remember clearly. I don’t know what happened after that. But if Gaara was forced to use Shukaku’s power against something like that…” His voice trailed off, but the implication was clear.

The apocalyptic battle they were witnessing the aftermath of was not just between Gaara and Sasuke—it was between a monster and a force powerful enough to push it to its limits.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep