Volume Fifteen Manga Summary

[Hiro Onoyuga]

Chapter 127: "Feeling Alive...!!" – It turns out that at the meeting on the cliff where Sasuke learned the Chidori from Kakashi, Gaara walked away with the desire not to simply have a match with, but a duel to the death with Sasuke. Believing that he and Sasuke shared a common pain and reason for existing, Gaara yells for the hiding Sasuke to come out and face him. Sasuke answers the request with his second Chidori, slicing Gaara’s deformed arm between the fingers all the way down. But after a brief grimace, Gaara’s face lights up with laughter...




Chapter 128: "Beyond His Limits...!!" – The feeling of being hurt and truly being in a combat situation drives Gaara into elation and his gourd dissolves into a tail. Far more dangerous than before, Gaara begins to shred everything before him as he tries to catch Sasuke. Despite Kakashi’s warnings that Sasuke isn’t strong enough for a third Chidori in a day, Sasuke dashes out and begins the move. But halfway through, the two clash in mid-air just as Chidori fades… a second later and Gaara screams out in pain… and Sasuke’s curse seal breaks out from the guard Kakashi placed. However, it still isn’t enough to finish Gaara off. As the monster closes in, Naruto saves Sasuke at the last second with a kick to Gaara’s face!




Chapter 129: "Pain...!!" – Sasuke’s strength is depleted and his inexperience with the curse seal only makes his situation worse. As Sakura tends to him, Gaara once again feels the trauma of seeing someone being protected. Lashing out, he pins Sakura to a tree and knocks her out. His senses reel as his mind wanders back to his childhood, a feared emotional train wreck. An outcast, the only one who seemed to care was his uncle, Yashamaru. His memories surface of the time that he asked Yashamaru an unusual question that no other child should ever have had to ponder… “What is pain?”




Chapter 130: "Love...!!" – Yashamaru teaches Gaara the difference between emotional and physical pain. While wounds heal, only love can fix the pain Gaara feels in his heart. Gaara sets off to apologise to someone he hurt earlier, but is rejected and out of rage, kills the first person to upset him. As he regrets his journey, he is attacked again and fatally wounds his would-be assassin. As he lifts up their mask, his heart crumbles into pieces as Yashamaru’s bleeding face smiles back at him.




Chapter 131: "A Name Called Gaara...!!" – Yashamaru tells Gaara that his assassination was ordered by none other than Gaara’s own father, the current Kazekage. Gaara was born only so the demon, Shukaku, could have a host body. But Shukaku and Gaara were spiralling out of control, so both had to be killed. Gaara’s blame is aimed at his father, but Yashamaru confesses that not even he cared for Gaara and lied all this time. Even Gaara’s mother hated him before he was born and named him after her grudge. Yashamaru sets off an explosion but Gaara is protected. With his mind snapped, he scars a tattoo onto his face and confirms his name’s meaning – “A demon that is only loved by himself”. With the memories fresh in his mind, he turns his rage onto Naruto, who’s attempt to summon Gamabunta failed, with a regular toad arriving…




Chapter 132: "Two Boys... Darkness and Light" – Gaara transforms again and manipulates the sand binding Sakura to the tree to slowly crush her over time, with the only release being Naruto beating him. Naruto’s new summon is useless. As he takes a beating from Gaara, he feels that Gaara has a lonely look in his eyes, just like he had growing up with a monster’s shadow behind him. Gaara’s relentless attacks are too much for Naruto to handle, until he remembers what is truly at stake. Getting back up, Naruto shows Gaara what his friends mean to him.




Chapter 133: "Strong Guys...!!" – With a kunai wrapped in an exploding tag, Naruto displays an excellent performance of athleticism and Kage Bunshin control. Although the final move seems to be a joke as Naruto uses the embarrassing 1000 Years Of Pain on Gaara, the explosion takes out a huge chunk of his transformed body, detonating near to the only untransformed and unprotected part of Gaara’s anatomy. Sasuke and Naruto discuss a battle plan quickly, which leads Naruto to remember the courage and strength one gains when protecting someone else. With reminders of Haku and Iruka in his eyes, Naruto challenges Gaara and amplifies his Kage Bunshin, creating literally thousands of clones!!




Chapter 134: "Naruto Ninja Chronicles!!" – Naruto and his army bombard Gaara with shuriken attacks, physical blows and combinations. Frustrated and out of control, Gaara shifts into a perfect version of Shukaku, a titanic Tanuki. To protect himself and his friends, Naruto digs deep and summons Gamabunta. Convinced to fight by the toad Naruto summoned earlier, who is Gamabunta’s own son, Gamakichi, Gamabunta officially accepts Naruto as his underling and decides to help him out, drawing an enormous dagger and threatening to show the Shukaku what loyalty is all about.




Chapter 135: "The Fight Like a Storm!!" – Although Gamabunta slices Shukaku’s right foreleg off, Naruto urges him to move the fight away from Sakura. Gaara emerges from Shukaku and with a disgusted look, prepares for a move which causes Temari to flee for her life. Gamabunta explains to Naruto that he is aware of Shukaku and knows that if his host falls asleep, Shukaku will gain full control of the body. Gaara forces himself asleep and the demented Sand priest’s personality that became the demonic entity called Shukaku emerges! Gamabunta knows it’ll be a losing battle and Gaara needs to be woken. To get close enough to wake him up, Gamabunta suggests a combination transformation so he can grip Shukaku. As the two charge at him, Naruto embraces the vision of his secret and from the smoke generated by Gamabunta, the effigy of the Kyuubi itself comes, biting and clawing!!

[Ace Akau]

alive ur dead..