Chapter Seven: Naruto and Gaara head to Water Country.
Naruto was stood at the edge of Suna, waiting for Gaara. In Gaara's defense, it wasn't as if it had been long- Naruto had turned up early and was now regretting it- he was impatient at the best of times, but now when he had a world to save, he was even more impatient than usual. Knowing there was a new bijuu for him to capture excited him, as did the prospect of learning how to manage his newfound sand powers accurately. He didn't think it would work out very well if he were to have two bijuu and only use one of them: the other would invariably grow jealous of the one who was utilised and resent Naruto- something he never wanted to happen.
He looked back toward the city. It held many firsts for him. His first companion, his first sealing, his first meeting with a foreign Kage, his first stay in a hotel, his first meeting with another jinchuuriki, and perhaps the most important- his first new bijuu. It didn't take long for Naruto to see a head of red hair, carrying a gourd appear of the horizon. As the figure got closer, he noted that the gourd was connected to a vest which seemed to have plenty of straps and buckles all along every visible part of Gaara's body.
Holding his arm up high, Naruto decided to greet Gaara. ''Hey Gaara! Over here! I've been waiting for you for ages, I thought you'd never show.''
''Forgive me Naruto-sama, I shall never be late to one of our meetings again.'' Gaara bowed his head in obvious dissapointment.
''Gaara, Gaara, I was only joking you should relax every now and again. I reckon that without Shukaku messing with your head, you'll be a really chill kind of guy.'' was Naruto's thought.
''I doubt it Naruto-sama, I'm a very wary person by nature and I doubt I could relax completely around anyone except you.'' Gaara spoke, his tone betraying his reverence.
''Ahh, I guess that's okay Gaara, we'll get along just fine as long as you don't decided to bring anyone else along for the journey. I can't really believe that you're coming still- I had planned to be alone the entire time. It'll be nice to have a brother-in-arms to hang around with and help me out.'' Naruto returned to his relaxed form of doing things. He was a rather solitary person due to his many years of loneliness, but before he left the village he was rather upbeat- he hoped he could become like that again, if only to provide Gaara with a proper friend, not some half-assed attempt.
''I promise Naruto-sama, I shall not bring another person along on this trip if you wish it to be us alone.''
''Gaara, please stop calling me sama. It makes me feel like an old man, and I've heard it so many times today I think I might puke. Naruto-sama this, and Kazekage-sama that. It's too much for my un-noble mind to take.'' Naruto said, shaking his head and laughing slightly toward the end of his statement.
''Okay...Naruto. I have a question about our next course of action. Of course, we are heading for the Sanbi no Kyodaigame next, but it is rather obvious that we do not know where it is. All I can gather is that it will be in a body of water somewhere, so I can hazard a guess toward Water Country.'' Gaara reasoned.
''Hai Naruto, Kyodaigame-san is in the Water Country. He is in a large lake, nearly the size of a small ocean south of Kirigakure. We must hurry, however- the Akatsuki are planning to take him first due to his lack of a jinchuuriki, and are planning to get him out of the way soon- we don't know when they will begin, but they will start there I am sure. We must cut them off.'' the Kyuubi said, his voice almost urgent.
''The Kyuubi says you're right Gaara, he is just south of Kiri. He also says that whilst the Akatsuki will not begin their plans in the nearby future, he says that when they do, the Sanbi will be the first one they go for.'' Naruto said.
At this point, Naruto and Gaara had been travelling nearly half an hour away from Sunagakure. The Kazekage was beginning to wonder why Gaara was taking so long, and why he had insisted that he say farewell to the boy called Naruto alone. ''Oh Well...'' he thought. ''Without the Shukaku, he won't get very far. He will have to return to us in a few days.'' was his only thought. And people wondered by Gaara hated his father.
Meanwhile in Konoha
Iruka was worried sick. He had expected Naruto to be playing a prank and return to the hidden village in a week or so at max, but now that Naruto had been gone for years without any sign of return, or any note/message, Iruka was scared he had been killed or had become starved from his lack of wildlife skills. He was about to head to the academy again when a small note was slipped under his door by a small hand, which then poofed out of existance like a shadow clone. He walked toward the door and picked up the note.
Iruka-sensei! I sent a shadow clone to deliver this, I just wanted to clear up a few things I'm sure you're curious of.
No, I won't be coming back- at least not for another five years or so. I have many things to do in order to complete my missions. I sent this with my clone whilst I was in Sunagakure- but don't think I've been there a lot- oh no. I spent two days in Suna, and then left again. If you hear anything about a new Sunagakure missing-ninja called Gaara (you might have seen him at the Chuunin exams), that's because I took him with me. I need a bro out here. I wanted to let you know I was okay, and that I've manage to protect myself well. The Kyuubi has given my training in the Shinobi arts, and I must be at least as good as that guy Kakashi you were yelling at- I think he was a Jonin, right? Anyway, goodbye, and I will see you again in future.
Love, Naruto!
Iruka's heavy tears dropped onto the paper, causing small smudges in the ink. He ran to the Hokage.
Two Weeks Later, with Naruto and Gaara
Naruto and Gaara entered the Water Country. It hadn't taken long for Naruto to get the the border carrying Gaara (who had greatly protested but reluctantly relaxed into the position) but they had camped out for a while in Wind Country, training.
Gaara was a fast learning, almost instantly taking to taijutsu. He used a personalised style which involved large bursts of chakra as blades on his hands and feet. The clever thing was that Gaara made the chakra clear, which made it impossible to predict how far the beam of chakra was without either the Sharingan or the Byakugan *AN: At this point, Naruto nor Gaara know about Rinnegan*which was quickly acknowledged by Naruto as one of the most clever ideas he'd ever seen. The style included flowing circular movements and evasive techniques.
Naruto, on the other hand, had been training with his sand. Naruto found that the sand was hundreds of times easier to use when used with Shukaku's chakra, and he was using it on such a regular basis that his fluency with the sand attacks was nearly that of Gaara's when he had the sand control. He had also began work on his new jutsu's which combined both the katon jutsu's he used in Konoha and the new doton jutsu's he was learning from the Shukaku. He found that learning jutsu's was a lot of easier, when he had the bijuu simple funnell the information through into him. He still had to build up the control to use them, but he didn't have to learn everything about them..
However, when combined he discovered they created Yoton jutsu's, Lava releases which had great destructive and defensive capabilities, but required a great deal of concentration. Also, he had to figure out all the new jutsu's on his own- Shukaku and Kyuubi had never worked together before, and he had no scrolls on the subject which meant there was no way for him to fast track his knowledge. It was almost as if he had to invent each jutsu newly, which he did. Unbeknownst to Naruto, his work had unlocked two brand new yoton releases which had previously never been seen before- these being Yoton: Magma Lances which involved long spears of magma which continually smashed into the victim as long as Naruto supplied chakra- he could currently keep Gaara on the evasive for 10 minutes without needing to tap into Shukaku, which could fuel him for a further 15 minutes. The second technique he invented was Yoton: Swirling Ball of Magma in which a ball of superheated rock materialised in his hand and the hottest rock in the centre kept pushing to the top, keeping the exterior hot. It melted through things on impact and didn't leave until Naruto desired (like a awesome, not exploding magma rasengan.)
On the 9th day of their camp, they were ambushed by bandits. It hadn't taken long for Naruto and Gaara to defeat them, but it was a nice way to keep their skills sharp. The bandits had been weak and unorganised, and the perfect moving targets to test their new attacks on. Gaara had moved quickly, using his new style of taijutsu to create small but serious wounds in major arteries and veins along the bandits legs, necks and arms which made them quickly bleed out. He had proceeded to bury them in a mountain of sand, and ability Gaara had retained from his tenure with the Shukaku- admittedly his skills weren't quite as sharp anymore. Naruto used the opportunity to use a lava release in regular combat. Summing up his chakra, and giving a loud cry of ''Yoton: Swirling Magma Ball Jutsu!'' he had thrust the ball into one of the shinobi's chests, melting a large hole completely through it and thrusting the arm into the wound, the ball impacting and exploding upon the shinobi behind the original target. Naruto was pleased with the power of the jutsu, but decided to save its destructive power for a last resort, as it drained a great deal of chakra once it was expelled. He had speared another bandit wih his Magma Lances, and eliminated the final threat.
After that, it hadn't taken long for them to decide to move on into Water Country, and begin making their way to the lake near Kirigakure. Gaara had suggested they take kenjutsu lessons from the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, but Naruto rejected that idea- it had taken them a long time to enter Water Country, and they couldn't delay capturing the Sanbi for any longer, lest they lose him to the Akatsuki. Kyuubi had assured them it had not been taken by the renegade ninja yet. They had yet to encounter any failed shinobi and Naruto had swapped out his recognisable orange jumpsuit for a darker outfit with heavy protective materials and small sheets of armor in important places, such as over his chest, his shoulders, knees, hands and he had wrapped thick bandages around his neck to prevent lesser weaponry such as senbon from getting access.
Aside from vastly improving their combat skills, both as a team and against each other, Naruto and Gaara had discovered a friendly brotherhood. Gaara greatly respected Naruto for saving him from Shukaku, and allowing him to travel with him despite the fact that it was against his plans. Naruto was trying to get him to loosen up even more, and become more open- yet Gaara had openly told Naruto that he would resent almost anyone else, and would not deal with other people with mercy.
''But Gaaaaarrraaaaaaaa! What about the other Jinchuuriki? You have to put up with them! They might not be staying with us, but we have to stay with them for a while! Hahahaha, people-hating-Gaara! You're like a big ogre who eats people and..'' Naruto would continue in this vein every time the subject would come up, and then quickly divert it to something else the moment he was the hidden bloodlust begin to reawaken in Gaara's eyes.
Naruto also took to wearing a cloth over the lower half of his face (like Kakashi) he had told Gaara it was to protect him from all kinds of weapony that could be floating in the air. The blond haired dual-jinchuuriki also had grown slightly over his back. Carrying the gourd all day had improved his muscle mass very slightly due to the long walks he had been doing with an extra 40Ibs of weight on him at all times. He wondered how Gaara had maintained such a lithe figure without becoming a muscle man with such a weight.
They were currently on course for Kirigakure, when Gaara turned to Naruto. ''Naruto, what are your thoughts on...same sex relationships?'' Gaara asked. He quickly diverted his gaze back to the road ahead. He dismissed his nervous voice, and took on his previous monotone. ''Purely hypothetically, of course.''
Naruto thought for a moment. ''I'd say it's fine if you're gay Gaara, wave that rainbow flag! Just don't try and come onto me, mmkay?'' was his response, much to Gaara's chagrin.
Once Gaara had finished spluttering, he replied to Naruto. ''How did you know it was me? I thought my cover was airtight!'' he said, slightly exasperated.
''Once someone gets to know you real well, like I have, you're actually not that difficult to read. Whenever you talk about anything personal, you momentarily bring up your monotonous moniker again. I don't like it, stop doing that.''
''Hai, Naruto.'' Gaara answered, and then once again been silent. If he was still living in Suna, he knew he would probably have to take part in arranged marriage somewhere along the line, to secure a place in alliance for his father the Kazekage. He also knew the likelyhood was that he would be paired with a female so that he could sire offspring- something he had no wish to do. Now that he was a free man, the problem was less in having obligation to marry a female, and more in the fact it was very unlikely for him to ever meet someone who would be staying with them long-term. Gaara had no qualms with this. He didn't need a romance, he needed support and a strong friendship- both things Naruto easily provided for him.
On their fourth day in Wind Country, they came across a behemoth lake. Neither could see the end of the vast swathe of water for miles in either direcion, and it seemed to stretch beyond the horizon into the distance. They knew this would be the location of the Sanbi. It was the sole largest lake either of them had ever seen, and there was a powerful chakra energy within.
''Hai, Naruto, that is indeed the home of Kyodaigame-sama. He is a rather brute creature when free, but a valuable companion in strategy and deciding on the best course of action once he has gained conciousness.'' the Kyuubi spoke to him.
''Yeah Naru! He's a really fucking boring old fart. He likes reading a lot, and he knows facts!'' the Shukaku said it as if it were a dirty word, spat out of his mouth. Quickly dismissing both from his mind, Naruto moved forward over the lake. He knew this would be a huge battle.
''Naruto,'' the Kyuubi spoke up once more. ''I know I didn't teach you many raiton jutsu's- I don't know many. But try and use those you know here. They will be most effective for decommisioning Kyodaigame-sama. Once you have taken him down, use the second seal.''
''Hai. Gaara, this definately the place. We need to lure him out before we can fight him and seal him. This will be your first job for me, and ironically, probably the most dangerous you will have. Pulse chakra deep into the lake if you can.'' Gaara nodded.
The red headed ex-jinchuuriki sat crosslegged on the ground, eyes closed, brows furrowed in concentration and hands on the ground either side of him. Naruto could practically feel the intense wave of chakra he pulsed into the earth, and the second and third each stronger than the last.
After a few more pulses, each of increasing strength, the surface of the lake began to shudder. At first it was soft, small ripples echoing out from the focal point in the centre of the lake. The ripples slowly got larger as they gave way to powerful waves, slapping hard against the ground around the lake, and sending cold water in waves up Naruto, soaking the bandages across his face and neck. Then, eventually, the water buldged and a huge being emerged.
A solid spiked maw rose first, it's giant, vice-like face being twice the size of a tall man. It's body was thick and fat, covered in strong protective plates of what looked almost like steel, and last to emerge were the three giant, shrimp like tails. Naruto and Gaara were in awe- but the awe quickly turned to fear when the bright eye visible locked onto them and turned in their direction. Slowly, the entire form of the Sanbi no Kyodaigame turned towards them and offered a roar of anger, and a battle cry which shook them to the core. Now that they had a great view, they could see the plates where indeed made of some corrosion resistant, rust repelling metalloid. The eyes glowed and seemingly stared into their souls. Opening its mouth, the Sanbi gathered some of its chakra into a large ball which covered the front of his face from view.
Naruto and Gaara gulped...this was going to be tough.
