Chapter 9: Unforseen Complications
"Lord Gaara, what should we do?"
It took Gaara a few seconds before he even acknowledged his subordinates question. He just stood transfixed, overawed at the dramatic events unfolding before him.
"This battle has been taken out of our hands" Gaara responded, before turning back to the gathered forces. "We must focus all of our attention on defeating these metallic creations before us, this guy is way out of our league."
Standing just 50 feet away, Vegeta heard the conversation while continuing with his stare down.
"At least these fools know their place," he thought, smirking as he contemplated his superiority.
Seeing an opening, the Tuffle dived towards Vegeta in an attempt to attack. However, he had not accounted for Vegeta's speed, which was more than enough to simply dodge the strike and knock his opponent away. The Tuffle was back where he started and was quickly feeling frustrated.
"What do you think you know about us?" he spat, as he wiped a small amount of blood from his lip.
"Everything actually" Vegeta shot back. "Your ancestors were nothing but cowards, sneaking away from the planet as my father and the Saiyans killed the rest of your race. What's worse, you've been sulking away in some god-forsaken hellhole of a planet for the millennia, cowering in fear. Then to top it all off, you spent the time experimenting on other species in some ridiculous attempts to improve yourselves instead of simply training. You're all pathetic and would have been better of dead than being confined to this fate."
Vegeta's verbal attack seemed to have some effect; the Tuffle simply stared at the ground with his blond hair covering his eyes. He then reached up and grabbed his scouter from his eye and held it by his side.
"Your father?" he asked, without getting a response. "If your father was the one who attacked us, then that must mean that you are the Saiyan Prince Vegeta."
Vegeta didn't bother to reply and simply allowed his opponent to continue with his speech.
"I don't know how your still alive but I don't care. I will have the chance to avenge our people and destroy the one's who were really responsible!"
He then crushed the scouter in his hand and jumped into the air. He clenched his fists and pulled his arms back towards his body. He then let out a horrifying scream, sounding like as if he was in pain. As he yelled out, he was surrounded by a see-through aura and the ground beneath him began to shake. Huge gusts of wind appeared to emanate from his body, with enough force to make Vegeta brace himself. Gaara reacted quickly and raised the sand in the area so that his comrades wouldn't feel the effects.
Vegeta retained a calm composure on the outside, casually raising his arm in order to block the incoming wind. However, his thoughts betrayed his true feelings.
"It's so frustrating! If I had all of the power I had gained in Otherworld, this guy would be smaller than an ant to me. Yet, now he presents an actual threat . I can't take my chances with this one, I'll have to transform right from the start."
Wasting no more time, Vegeta yelled out and instantly transformed. He was covered by a bright light, which reflected the new colour of his hair. Small bolts of lightning flickered around his body and his muscles bulged under the pressure of the power that they had to handle.
Both warriors flew towards each other at speeds that the Shinobi could not follow on the ground below. They exchanged blows for several minutes, knocking each other around the battlefield while still in mid-air. Eventually, Vegeta was able to land a solid hit and send the Tuffle warrior to the ground below. He was able to land on his feat but his heavy breathing gave away how much effort he was putting into the battle. By comparison, Vegeta seemed to be rather relaxed.
"You've done well to keep up so far, I'll give you that," Vegeta mocked, as he hovered in the air. "But, this fight is over. You clearly don't have the stamina to sustain that power very long and I can feel your energy dropping with each passing second. This is what happens when you rely on science and don't train enough for your power. Typical Tuffle, a race of losers."
The Tuffle shook with anger; his breathing fractured and sweat dripping from his face. In one last attempt, he stretched both of his arms out in front of him and joined them by linking his thumbs. A small ball of yellow energy began to glow in front of them and it slowly expanded as the seconds passed.
'He'll be putting everything he's got into this attack" Vegeta realised, as he felt the energy drain for the Tuffle's body to the ball of energy in front of him. Vegeta prepared to counter by turning his body slightly, placing his palm on the back of his other hand. Purple energy gathered around him, before he thrust his arms forwards in anticipation.
"Photon Flash!" the Tuffle yelled out.
"Galick Gun, Fire!" Vegeta responded.
The gold and purple beams collided in the middle of the battlefield, creating a blinding light that engulfed everyone present.
The struggle to breathe was infuriating and the horrible cough he had made everything worse. He gulped down the vial of medicine that Kabuto had left behind, relishing every mouthful of the sickening liquid. After he was done, he licked his lips in anticipation.
"Not long now" he whispered, as laughter interrupted his own statement. "Immortality and a powerful new body all in one day. My, it will be satisfying."
However, as he spoke he felt a presence outside of his room. Initially, he presumed that it was Kabuto but the slowness with which the door opened suggested otherwise. Finally, the young boy outside walked in.
"Back already Sasuke?" Orochimaru asked, sounding both surprised and excited. "Even for you I have to say that is impressive. Now, set the Dragon Balls down and we can begin with our wish."
"I don't have the Dragon Balls, in fact no one will be able to use them ever again" Sasuke responded, to his masters outrage.
"You failed!" Orochimaru screamed, furious that his plans had fallen by the wayside so soon. "If that's true, why have you come back here so casually?"
"I came because I have my own agenda that I want to complete" Sasuke said, as he activated his Sharingan and powered up a Chidori. "I'm stronger than you now, Orochimaru and it's time for this hawk to take flight."
The kick to Tello's jaw came swiftly and completely out of nowhere. He had been keeping an eye on the horizon ever since the sky had suddenly turned dark, waiting for the arrival of whatever warrior had been summoned. His scouter didn't make a single sound before the attack came and it was destroyed by the blow before it could.
"That blonde hair" he gasped, as his assailant slowly walked over to him. "You must be a Saiyan right?"
Goku didn't dignify the question with any kind of response. He couldn't get the sight of all those bodies out of his head, especially the one that Tello had been standing over when he arrived. The elderly man lay unconscious on the ground, being brutally beaten by the unforgiving Tuffle. With enough motive to attack just about anyone, Goku charged at Tello at full force and engaged him in mid-air battle.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto thrust his signature attack into the enemy that had walked towards his master's body. He had to know, he had to see it with his own eyes. He refused to believe that Jiraiya was dead, there was just no way.
"Pervy Sage" he cried out, as he bent down and stared at Jiraiya's lifeless form. Tears began pouring from his eyes, before he began to break down crying. The only parental figure in his life, the one man that had ever looked at him with pride in his eyes, was gone. Naruto felt sick, as a mixture of grief and anger ran through his body. This soon made way for a wild emotion that felt familiar yet indescribable, causing him to shake uncontrollably.
"Naruto, wait!" Neji called out, as he ran over to him with his Byakugan. "It's faint but I can see his chakra still flowing through his body. He's just about alive, he can still make it."
However, Neji's words did not reach the Jinchuriki. The demon inside had taken over and there was not a single thing that Naruto could do about it. Red chakra encased him, first by bubbling up from the inside but then becoming much more severe. It was as if his skin split apart, revealing the beast - like form that lay beneath. He screamed out in animalistic rage and began to attack both friend and foe around him.
"Naruto!" Kakashi cried out, stunned at what he was witnessing. He had no way of suppressing that kind of chakra and he certainly had no way of fighting against it. Desperately, he began searching around for the one man could help while praying that he hadn't been lost in battle.
"Tenzo!"
After a number of panicked seconds, a man wearing the Leaf Village's ANBU uniform arrived at the scene.
"I'll do my best Kakashi," he muttered, as he began making hand signs.
Up above them, the fighting paused for a moment. Goku quickly looked beneath him, looking for the source of the new disruption.
"Where is that powerful energy coming from?" he wondered. "It's huge, yet there's something strange about it. Something inherently evil."
"You should be keeping an eye on me!"
For a second, Tello though that he had caught Goku with his guard down. But, he hadn't expected his opponent would suddenly disappear in the middle of battle. It was more than just speed; it was as if he literally disappeared.
"Dragon Fist!"
Without his scouter, Tello had not detected Goku flying up towards him until the final second, and by then it was too late. Goku charged towards him with his fist pulled right back, visions of a great dragon surrounding him. With tremendous force, Goku's fist punched straight through the Tuffle's torso and stuck out the other side. Tello barely had the time turn around, meaning that he was facing Goku when the attack connected. It was a gruesome way to end a battle and Goku didn't particularly like it. Yet, he had to finish the fight quickly and saw no other option available to him.
Tello stared straight back at Goku as he died. He showed no fear over his upcoming demise or any repentance for what he had done. All that could be seen in his eyes was the deep hatred created by a lifetime of resentment.
"You think you've won, don't you?" Tello croaked, using his final breaths to give his speech. "Well, you are a fool if you believe it. The thing is, that we're not the main invading force. We just came to check out the planet, see if any Saiyans were actually still here. Our King will arrive soon and he makes us look like complete jokes. I guess on a more personal level, my only regret is that I will not get to see him annihilate you."
His breathing became much more restricted after that, as the damage he sustained finally took it's toll. With his last breath, he spat the blood that had gathered in his mouth onto Goku's face as the light left his eyes. On the ground below, Tenzo was able to restrain Naruto with his Wood Style and suppress the harmful chakra that had consumed him.
Goku let the Tuffle's body fall from his grasp and simply stayed there floating for a number of seconds.
"Looks like this entire situation has become much more complicated."
A/N: Things are getting very busy for me at the minute; with exams only a few weeks away and with some assignments still to finish. So, I won't be posting another chapter until late June most likely (sorry about that). However, by the time I next update I hope to have edited all the previous chapters (including this one) to add some more detail and other things I may have forgot. Anyway, hope you enjoyed what was a slightly rushed chapter.
