Naruto's Ninja Handbook

Naruto swarms Gaara with shadow clones and lands his One Thousand Years of Death using a kunai wired to an explosive tag, cracking the sand around Gaara's partial form. Sasuke urges him to get Sakura clear, promising to buy them the time to escape. Sensing that Gaara shares the same isolation he once knew and recalling his talk with Haku, Naruto conjures nine hundred ninety-nine clones and buries Gaara under the Naruto Uzumaki Two Thousand Combo. Gaara answers by transforming fully and trying to crush him with a Sand Binding Coffin, but Naruto slips loose by summoning Gamabunta.

The toad names Gaara's monstrous shape as Shukaku of the Sand and, on learning that Naruto had protected his son Gamakichi, agrees to fight at his side, quickly lopping off the beast's right arm. Gaara counters by using the Feigning Sleep Technique, surrendering himself to Shukaku and sharply amplifying its strength. Realizing they have no hope unless Gaara is roused, Gamabunta lunges to grab hold of the creature. When the first attempt falls short, the toad instructs Naruto to use the Combination Transformation to reshape them into something with fangs and claws, and Naruto completes it just in time, turning the pair into the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

This entry belongs to the Konoha Crush storyline and draws on three consecutive manga chapters. It marks a turning point in Naruto and Gaara's relationship, framing their battle around the shared loneliness that Naruto recognizes in his opponent.