Chapter 7: Desperation
A sickening splutter came from the nearby room and the mere sound of it caused Mr Popo to sprint to the bedside of the small Namekian who made it. Dende's skin colour had drastically faded in the last week and he had been confined to his bed the entire time. He could no longer walk or feed himself and he had lost the ability to speak.
Despite all of that, the situation was harder on Mr Popo. He and Dende had lived in isolation for the past two thousand years, comforted each other through a near apocalypse and watched as everything they had known and loved was destroyed and rebuilt in a completely different way. Now, as Dende's life faded in front of his eyes, Mr Popo could only think back to the terrified child that had come to replace Kami all that time ago. He remembered how he would stand at the edge of the lookout, overwhelmed at the size of the planet that he was charged with taking care of. Every now and then, Mr Popo expected to see that little boy come running into the room, eager to ask a question about his duties. However, he knew that it wouldn't happen. Dende had ceased being that naïve child years before and had taken on a much more sorrowful outlook. Despite everything that he had done for the planet in the wake of Broly's destruction, Dende saw himself as nothing more than a failure. He had often lamented how he wasn't able to protect the planet and that everything was his fault. Mr Popo never believed a word of it but he had never been able to convince Dende of this.
Heartbroken, Mr Popo made his way over to the bed and took the seat that had been his vigil. He held Dende's wrinkled hand and squeezed it, hoping for a response. All that he could feel was a weak pulse and it seemed that Dende could no longer recognise the presence of another person. Realising that they may be his last words to him, Mr Popo edged closer to his stricken master. He tried his best to fight back the tears in his eyes, but the cracking of his voice betrayed him.
"Hang on in there Dende" he sobbed. "They still haven't summoned the dragon, you need to stay alive. It's time for you to show that you are not the failure you say you are. Please Dende, can you just hang on?"
A few seconds after he finished speaking, Mr Popo felt the faintest amount of pressure as the frail green hands squeezed back as hard as they could.
"As easy as it was to repair " Tello shouted, looking to frighten the gathered forces. "I am quite annoyed at how much damage you were able to inflict upon me. I will make you regret that by causing you the most pain that you have ever felt in your miserable and insignificant life."
In the blink of an eye, Tello had zoomed in front of Kakashi. Even with his Sharingan, he hadn't been able to track his movements at all. That one action displayed the difference in their powers and Kakashi knew that he was completely outmatched. Before he could even move, Tello struck Kakashi in the stomach. The hit had been so casual, a mere flick of the wrist that was nothing more than a glancing blow. However, it caused Kakashi to fly metres backwards and land in a heap on the ground. The damage to his body was intense and he could barely stand up again.
"I have just about one more shot with the Mangekyo" Kakashi thought, as he just about struggled to his feet. "If I can time it right, I might be able to take him out."
Jiraiya then moved in front of Kakashi, protecting him from the view of Tello. He stared down the enemy with no fear, despite the enormous disadvantage he was at.
"Oh look, the army's general has come to face me," Tello snorted, as he flicked his blonde hair out of his eyes. "Obviously, you are in some kind of hurry to die. Why else would you stupidly stand before me like this?"
Jiraiya smirked at the taunts, which caused even more confusion among the nearby Shinobi.
"I bet I'm not the only captain to confront the enemy head on" Jiraiya began, while thinking of the other Kage who had no doubt entered the fray on their respective battlefields. "I'm not sure why we do it, maybe we're just idiots."
"Maybe, we enjoy the fight too much" Ay said, while charging up a shroud of electricity around him as he prepared to attack the warrior on his battlefield.
"Maybe we're too eager to die for our comrades" Gaara said, as he rode his sand into the air to join the battle.
"Maybe we know that the next generation can handle things for us" Onoki declared, as he powered up an attack.
"Maybe, we feel we have some sort of duty to act" Mei laughed, as she finished making her hand signs.
"Whatever it is" Jiraiya continued, "There's one thing that remains constant."
"Which is?" Tello asked enjoying the passionate speech that Jiraiya was giving him.
"We are Shinobi" Jiraiya roared, "And we will not stop fighting until our last breath!"
Naruto glanced to the side and, to his horror, he saw the bodies of his teammates scattered around him. He couldn't tell if they were dead or if Sasuke had just knocked them out. Whichever it was, just the sight was enough to cause Naruto to feel the rise of the Nine Tails power. He did his best to contain it, as he knew the consequences of letting the beast take over.
"I won't ask you again" Sasuke spat, as he dug the sword a little deeper into Naruto's neck. He could feel a small amount of blood trickle down onto his collar and a small amount of fear came over him. For the first time, he believed that Sasuke might kill him.
"We need this Sasuke, the whole world is in danger" Naruto screamed desperately.
"Like I care about your petty problems" Sasuke replied. "I have my own goals and they have nothing to do with some war you have going on."
"It's pointless Sasuke!" Naruto yelled back. "You need the other six balls along with it for it to be any use. You have nothing to gain out of this!"
"The other six?" Sasuke asked, feigning confusion. "Oh, you mean these?"
Sasuke reached to a small black sack that he had attached to his belt and he held it aloft. Six small lumps in the fabric were clearly visible, which indicated one thing.
"How did he get all of the other Dragon Balls?" Naruto wondered, suddenly scared for the other teams. However, he didn't have long to dwell on it as a vacuum of air smashed into Naruto's stomach and forced both him and Sasuke to fly backwards. The attack had obviously caught Sasuke off guard too, as he dropped the valuable Dragon Balls on the ground. Neji had already made his move at this point and he picked up all seven Dragon Balls and placed Naruto behind him.
"I was waiting for him to unclip those from his belt. Now, take these" Neji demanded, as he forced the small orange orbs into Naruto's arms. "I'll hold off Sasuke, you need to make that wish."
"Wait, Neji I-" Naruto began, before being cut off.
"Just do it!" Neji shouted back, as Sasuke got to his feat. Naruto ran a few metres back and placed the balls on the ground in front of him. To his horror, they did nothing but emit a slight orange glow.
"Oh no you don't!" Sasuke cried, as he attempted to jump over Neji and towards Naruto. Neji had other ideas and used his Rotation to force Sasuke backwards.
"Why go over there, when your main challenge is here?" Neji asked, showing a cocky side that he usually tried to repress.
"Fine, but I won't bother sparing you like I did the rest" Sasuke rasped, as he quickly picked up his katana from the ground. "You are in my way when I'm so close to my objective, I can't afford to play nice."
With his Sharingan active and his blood running high, Sasuke charged at Neji. As they fought a vicious battle, Naruto stared hopelessly at the lifeless balls in front of him. They weren't supposed to be granting the wish, so the teams were never told what to do. He placed his arms in front of him and started saying whatever came to his head.
"I demand that you grant my wish!" he cried, which brought no reaction whatsoever. "Please grant my wish? I beg you to grant my wish?"
He went on for another two minutes trying different combinations of words, even bowing at one point, but it was to no avail. This was made even worse by the fact that Neji was crying out in pain as he struggled to contain Sasuke.
"What do I do?" Naruto screamed out, not expecting an answer.
"You're not saying it right," a voice said in Naruto's head. It was a voice Naruto had never heard before and it was enough to cause him to jump.
"Who the hell are you?" Naruto called out, while looking all around him. "Where are you? How are you doing this?"
"Too many questions kid" the voice called back. "We don't have time for this. All I'll tell you is that you have to say is these words: Eternal Dragon, by your name I summon you forth Shenron."
Naruto was sceptical about trusting the words of a strange voice inside his head. However, with time running out he had no other choice.
"Ok, so it was Eternal Dragon" Naruto began, trying hard to remember what he had been told just ten seconds before. "By your name I summon you forth." It was at this point that Naruto froze. What was the name he had to say again?
"Say Shenron!" the now frustrated voice screamed.
"Shenron!" Naruto cried, while staring intently at the balls. Suddenly, they began glowing even brighter than before, bright enough to almost blind him. The sky immediately turned as black as night and a swirl of light shot up from the pile of Dragon Balls. A loud whooshing noise filled the air as the light screamed upwards into the sky. Eventually, the light spread out across the sky and formed the shape of a dragon. After another couple of seconds, the light materialised into a green beast. The deep red eyes of the dragon shone menacingly and stared right at a terrified Naruto. Inside of him, the Nine Tails growled at the appearance of this new beast. It seemed that, for the first time, the Demon Fox had encountered something with power that surpassed it's own.
"State your wish" the dragon bellowed, it's deep voice echoing across the entire area.
"What do I say?" Naruto asked, suddenly trusting the voice in his head.
As Naruto spoke with this voice, Sasuke and Neji stared at the dragon in awe. Due to their dojutsu, they could appreciate the power before them much more than Naruto.
"All that chakra" Neji gasped, stunned at the size and nature of it. "I can't even describe what it's like, it has no resemblance to any kind of chakra I've ever seen before."
Sasuke was then drawn to Naruto and he noticed that his lips were moving. He realised that he must have been making a wish, which caused him to take action. In one swift attack, he broke free of Neji's confinements and ran towards Naruto and the dragon. Before he could get there, the light in Shenron's eyes noticeably disappeared. The dragon remained silent for a few seconds, before exploding in a mass of green light. The Dragon Balls turned to stone and Naruto looked around desperately.
"It didn't work?" he asked, getting no reply from the voice in his head. He knew that he said the right words for the wish, so what happened?
"You broke it?" Sasuke asked, furious at his former teammate. "Once again Naruto, you stand in the way of my goals. Except this time, you went too far. Now, I have no chance of ever seeing them again. Naruto, this is all your fault!"
With pain in his eyes and a Chidori glowing from his hand, Sasuke attacked a defenceless Naruto. Naruto didn't have time to react and Neji was too far away to help. Yet, before the Chidori could connect Sasuke was stopped. A hand covered by a white glove grabbed Sasuke's wrist and the Chidori dispersed instantly. Sasuke stared at the hand for a second and then brought his eyes up a muscular arm and past a sleeveless blue shirt. He then stared into a pair of cold, black eyes that were not unlike Sasuke's. The man then spoke, his deep voice twisted into a mocking tone that seemed so natural.
"Well, this is an interesting welcome" he said dryly, as he gripped Sasuke's wrist even tighter.
