"Ah, the boss is right!" Naruto said as he approached Temari.
He then briefly explained to Temari the magic of the Golden Egg Shop.
"What?!" Kankuro and Temari were both shocked after hearing this. "There's such a magical golden egg?!"
"Hehe, of course!" Naruto replied with a smile.
"If you're lucky and manage to get one of those magical items, maybe you won't have to suffer from those dark circles or insomnia anymore!"
"Boss Haruto said that if you're lucky enough, you might even get an item that can bring the dead back to life!"
"But!" Temari looked at Naruto and asked, "Why are you willing to help us?!"
"We're the Sand Ninjas who invaded your village!" Kankuro added.
"Because..." Naruto looked down at Gaara lying on the ground with a somber expression. "I know exactly how he feels."
"I know what it's like to be isolated and hated by everyone in your own village."
Naruto recalled the way the villagers used to look at him when he was young: cold, indifferent, rejecting, and resentful—like he didn't belong in this world.
He knew how painful and lonely that kind of existence was.
And Gaara had it even worse.
Not only was he feared and hated for his dark circles and appearance, but he couldn't even sleep at night. That's a cruel fate.
When Naruto first met Gaara, he had been stunned by the coldness in his eyes.
He was even more shocked when Kankuro mentioned that a monster lived inside Gaara.
They were the same kind of people.
Both were hated, feared, and left questioning the reason for their existence.
Ever since he discovered the Nine Tails was sealed inside him, Naruto felt the villagers' stares grow even colder.
It was a pain he couldn't put into words.
Especially knowing that the Nine Tails had killed Iruka's parents, Naruto couldn't help but resent the beast inside him.
But now, he had people who acknowledged him—friends he could trust with his life.
So, even if he carried a demon fox inside him or was shunned by villagers, he didn't care anymore.
Because he was no longer alone.
Besides, with all the magical tools he'd acquired from Haruto's Golden Egg Shop, he had grown stronger and more confident. The influence of the Nine Tails no longer defined him.
But Gaara… Gaara was still trapped in that same darkness.
Naruto knew just how dangerous that isolation could be—it could drive someone insane.
That's why he was determined to help Gaara.
"I don't need your pity."
Gaara, still lying on the ground, suddenly spoke up.
"I exist only to kill everyone who isn't me. Teammates are just extra."
"I only need to fight for myself, to become a Shura that loves only himself."
"That's what it means to be the strongest!" Gaara said coldly.
Naruto looked at the stubborn Gaara and remained silent.
He could tell Gaara had long shut himself off from the idea of care or kindness.
He believed that as long as he was strong enough, nothing else mattered.
But people like that wouldn't listen to reason.
You had to break their beliefs through action—only then would they truly open up.
"The strongest?" Naruto said softly. "You think you're the strongest?"
"Just because you beat Lee?"
"That's right! If that guy Haruto hadn't interrupted us, I would've won a long time ago. That green-clad guy would've died by now!" Gaara sneered, referring to Rock Lee, who was resting nearby.
As for Sasuke, Gaara didn't even consider him a worthy opponent.
A guy who needed so much effort just to beat a no-name shinobi wasn't worth his attention. Even if he had the Mangekyō Sharingan, in Gaara's eyes, he was just another piece of trash.
"I get it," Naruto said as he pulled two large bottles from his ninja pouch—one red and one blue.
"Drink these," Naruto said, tossing them toward Gaara.
"You said you're the strongest, right? Then prove it. Let's find out who really is!" he added, turning his back.
"I'll use my fists to show you just how wrong you are!" Naruto said as he tightened the forehead protector on his head.
This forehead protector had been given to him by Iruka-sensei on the night he passed the Genin exam.
Lying on the ground, Gaara looked at the two bottles beside him and drank them without hesitation.
The moment he swallowed the liquid, his eyes widened in astonishment.
He could feel his chakra and physical injuries being restored instantly. Not even Shukaku's healing could match that speed.
"What… what kind of potion is this?!" Gaara asked in shock.
"Recovery Potion and Energy Potion!" Sakura replied with a frown. "They're magical items you can only find in the Golden Egg Shop!"
Even Sasuke had used them sparingly during battle. Yet Naruto just handed them over to Gaara, someone who had attacked their village!
"Golden Egg Shop?" Gaara repeated. "That's the shop they mentioned earlier?"
"That's right," Naruto said as he turned back to face him. "So, are you ready?"
Gaara snorted coldly. "I'm always ready."
In truth, he had wanted to fight Naruto for a long time.
While many of Konoha's ninjas were strong, Gaara sensed that the blond boy before him was the most dangerous.
Though he hadn't shown much while sparring with Kiba, Gaara could feel the hidden power and presence in him.
It was something only people with real strength could sense.
"Then here I come!" Naruto roared, stomping the ground as he charged.
"Don't underestimate me!" Gaara shouted back, his expression serious.
As their battle cries echoed, two powerful auras burst from their bodies and clashed violently.
From a distance, Haruto—who had just turned to leave—paused and looked back with a faint smile.
"Finally, no more talking. This… is the power of strength."
Almost at the same time Naruto and Gaara's chakra erupted, several other massive chakra signatures exploded from the direction of the Hokage battlefield—each one at the Kage level.
"Oh? The real show's starting now."
Haruto quickened his pace and rushed toward the battlefield.
End of the Chapter.
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