Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Naruto
It's happening, folks. Next week, the next upcoming Wednesday, is Ichigo Kurosaki vs Naruto Uzumaki. You read clearly. Screwattack's making it happen. Whether you agree or disagree with the soon-to-be outcome, I hope you can all just sit back and enjoy the show for what it is, entertainment.
Goten breathed in an intake of calming air, even it was heavily polluted by the smoke emitted by his family's signature technique; steam from the heated radiance billowing forth from his cupped hands. There was a slight feeling of impassivity overcoming him when the monstrous snake's vile Ki-signature vanished entirely from his senses. No joy or pride over his accomplishment of tainting Mother Earth of an unspeakable evil or even anguish of what his undeveloped mentality could potentially view as a sinful act of robbing a living being of life, even if it was ultimately for the greater good.
There was… nothing.
Not to say this unnatural sensation the usually jubilant boy was experiencing was empty like a void, far from it. He just felt indifferent; feeling a sense of relieved neutrality over doing what he strongly thought was the right thing to do.
Goten was humble and that humility didn't change even now. The feat of ridding the world of a bad guy was nothing to gloat or loath about. It just was, accompanied by the most bizarre feeling of constipation he had ever felt as though he had suddenly come down with a terrible case of diarrhea. Thankfully, the uncomfortable sensation passed with the sound of fabric tearing before he was forced to sit on the reasons of its instigation, which was convenient because the word "contemplation" wasn't even in Goten's vocabulary.
The newly emerged righteous protector of Mother Earth straightened out of his stance, childishly slipping his tongue through his teeth and pulling down his eyelid at the path of destruction wrought by his Kamehameha wave of cataclysmic devastation, "Mmmmmm!" He rubbed it in, banishing the last remnants of immature fury in his heart for the reprehensible creature he vanquished.
He turned, his pouting look of puppy dog annoyance melting into a blank stare of confusion to the bizarre, wide-eyed gawks his teammates were giving him, "Uh." He droned, raising an index finger, "Is there something on my face?"
Naruto pointed a shaky finger to his friend, because there was something on him, just not on his face. "You… You have a tail."
Goten blinked, now suddenly aware to the extra limp carelessly floating above his behind and over his shoulder on his thought commandment, "Hey, my tail grew back!~" And just like that, as effortless as flipping a switch, normal order resumed; his cheerful nature bubbled to the surface, small arms embracing the furry appendage, "Yay!"
Sakura released a breath she didn't know she was holding in, 'Thank goodness.' He was still that friendly, adorable airhead who had endeared himself to her. She hadn't realized it until right at the moment the seemingly animalistic boy was prepping up an atomic blast potent enough to eradicate anyone upon contact. Okay, she was still fairly ignorant to the world and potentially powerful fighters, but she had studied, though. She was relatively certain one had to be a literal God to survive a blast large enough to eclipse the entirety of the leaf.
For heaven's sakes, normal shinobi did not possess that kind of sheer destructive power on the level of a nuclear blast. The pink-haired kunoichi couldn't even see their Jounin instructor mimicking the blast Goten generated - judging by his lack of fatigue – without breaking a sweat, and he was famous, as noted by Zabuza's recognition of his reputation. And that worldly, civilization-ending, one-of-a-kind power wasn't what jarred her the most. That was saved for his near startling change in demeanour.
The way he dealt out justice was almost clinical, ruthless even, but not so much. From the outsider's point of view, he shut down his emotions to drench his hands in the proverbial blood of his enemy, something the pink-haired kunoichi could only relate to a defence mechanism. It was a terrifying thought, to know such a warm-hearted and patient boy could be so mercilessly detached to purge the world of repugnant villains.
It was such a shocking shift in character at first glance, but when she mused on it she concluded he wasn't all that different from his usual easy-going nature. He was still calm and patient, though in that state of emotionless justice-driven intent he just had a clinical edge in place of his vibrancy.
She shook her head to discard the topic, telling herself it didn't matter in the end, that he was still the boy she loved to dote upon even after undergoing a temporary metamorphosis from a bubbly spirit of patience to a detached warrior hell-bent on upholding justice. She'd quite liked playing Mother lion to his lion cub.
"Um." The ability to form words to concisely summarize his absolute incomprehension to the occurrence he could see with his own eyes was lost on Naruto, eyes squinting to his friend playing with his tail. Words alone couldn't express just how colossally lost the Jinchuuriki was. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the drawer, never paid even the slightest attention to his anatomy lessons teaching shinobi children from a young age the inner workings of the human body, but he was fairly certain humans didn't have monkey tails!
Naturally, being the blunt scatterbrain he was, he had little hesitation coming right out and saying what their other teammates were thinking, "So, um… Are you a monkey?"
The direct questioning of his species was so surprising on its own that it caused Goten to cease his cuddling of his regrown tail, blinking at the blond's earnest question. Sakura was about to reprimand Naruto on his insensitivity until Goten's bright clarification stopped in her tracks, "Yeah!" He chirruped, eyes lighting up in their typical exuberance, "Cool, huh?"
"Whoa…"
Sasuke buried his head in his hands, 'This isn't happening.' Super speed, super strength, powerful transformation, flight, energy blasts that generated abnormally sized explosions, and a now tail. Trunks and Goten were beyond supernatural at this point; two mystical humanoid monkeys? Just what the hell kind of reality was he in right now? 'This is all a dream. Yeah, a dream.' Hopefully, he could pinch himself and wake up real soon, like immediately, to find he had hit his head and fallen into an unconscious coma during the mission to the Land of Waves, that the monkey boys weren't real; conjured from his own wild imagination he never knew he had.
Honestly, he would take a horrible nightmare over the reality of there being humanoid monkeys capable of such divine power.
Pinch.
Damn.
Great. Now he would be stuck contemplating how in the ever-loving world did a monkey and a human get it on to produce those powerhouses.
Sakura sympathized with her crush's inner turmoil to accept the mystical reality unwinding itself before their eyes, flashing him a comforting smile, not that he noticed. Even in a world where kids of a specific clan learned – or, used - to shoot giant fireballs from their mouths or another clan who had complete control over their own spirits and could manipulate them to control their victims via a mind control, the possibility of there existing a humanoid animal tribe was unearthly. For as absurdly powerful as a few gifted shinobi could become there was always an element of grounded realism about them, though that could just be their ignorance of the world talking.
Sakura had studied much; it was why she was so knowledgeable and easily the most intelligent of her team. Never in all her seemingly ceaseless hours reading through books pertaining to her village's history had she ever come across a race of humanoid monkeys wielding techniques so ridiculously powerful, they bordered on transcendence. She had never found techniques that strong belonging to any shinobi, period. Not without the overwhelming forces of nature coming with costly drawbacks to the user. Hence lied the missing component keeping Goten from being grounded in reality.
None of his worldly abilities seemingly had any noticeable drawbacks. On top of admitting he essentially wasn't human, Goten had to realize just how out of place he was in a world of relative grounded normalcy.
"There's something you're not telling us," Sakura said bluntly, drawing a confound blink from the object of her nigh motherly devotion. She softened her eyes, offering him an apologetic smile that acknowledged her statement as ominous. She drifted forward, warmly clasping his shoulders as she fondly gazed upon him like a patient mother, "Sorry, sweetie. What I meant is, what kind of, uh, monkey, are you? I don't think you can be a normal one." Hoped he wasn't anyway.
Goten blinked, confusion melting in Sakura's motherly warmth, "An alien."
...
…
…
An uncomfortable silence plunged upon them like a ticking time bomb, Sakura's sweet smile seemingly fossilized in place, containing a hint of annoyance. Nowhere else was the undertone of irritation more profound than on Sasuke's face. Naruto mostly stared, blinking owlishly to the absolute implausible statement given by his roommate, compounded by the straight-face of neutrality in which he revealed his "race". So bizarre. He knew his friend was a bit of a scatterbrain (it was why he got along with him so well), but to so plainly claim he was essentially an extra-terrestrial being not originally from Earth went well beyond airheaded.
"Eh?" Naruto uttered, squinting his eyes suspiciously at Goten in an attempt to pressure him into revealing the punchline; the part where he would let up on the hoax he had tried to pull over on them for the sake of a laugh, but the wild-haired boy only dipped his head to one side in his patented adorable confusion.
"Goten," Sakura said, smile straining. The Saiyan could feel her grip tightening on his shoulders with a subtle firmness and smiled bashfully, "Don't be silly. Be serious. You're not really an alien, are you?"
"I am."
Sakura blinked, palms going limp on Goten's shoulders, "Uh… huh."
The sounds of small titters breaking through the dead muteness like pin needles penetrating a block of ice prompted the self-proclaimed alien, Sakura and Naruto to turn toward Sasuke's eruption of laughter; Sakura in concern, Naruto in annoyance and Goten with a vacant stare of dumbfounded confusion, because the laughter they were hearing and seeing from their teammate was not joyous, it was smug.
For what reason, they couldn't say, and their lack of understanding to Sasuke's spontaneous smug-filled snickers almost made them view him as slightly unstable. It was an odd sight to see Sasuke Uchiha even crack a smile unless it was a smirk at someone else's expense, (usually Naruto's) so seeing him laugh so uproariously was really unsettling.
"An alien? What nonsense!" The Uchiha asserted, calming his chortles to small titters once more as he fixed a hand on a hip, lowering his head and pinching the gap in between his eyes with his other hand, "And yet," He glanced up, the nigh hysterical delight gone from his eyes, "It all makes sense."
"What're you talking about?" Naruto demanded, folding his arms over his chest and squinting his eyes.
"Don't you see, Naruto?" Sasuke retorted, onyx gaze back to their usual indifferent pools, "Think back to Goten's fight with that… thing," The three original members of team seven all shared collective shivers to the necromancer Goten had just liquidated with the ease of taking a morning stroll in the park. First, it was a girl, then a guy. Horrible. They could picture themselves having nightmares for weeks straight following that encounter, "Yeah." Sasuke's scowl darkened, "Just try and focus on the blasts Goten used on him and his... pawns."
The point flew over Naruto's head, "Oh yeah!" He recalled, face brightening exuberantly, "The whatchamacallit?" He excitably mimicked the stance Goten took to perform his family's signature attack in a manner resembling a little brother wanting to copy his elder brother, "The Kaa-meee-haaaa!" He pushed his arms forward in a perfect play-by-play act of a Son family member doing the technique himself, though of course, nothing came out of Naruto's hands.
"Kamehameha, Naruto," Goten supplied helpfully with a bashful smile curling his lips.
"Yeah, that!" Naruto clarified, crystalline eyes sparkling like fireworks embellishing the night sky in its explosive beauty, small hands curled into fists, "That was awesome! You covered the whole darned forest with that thing, pal!"
Goten scratched the back of his head, falling back into his shell of winsome shyness, "Thank you." He slid his tongue through his teeth, this time in humble embarrassment instead of enraged immaturity, "My big brother taught it to me."
"He did?" Naruto asked, mouth widening agape when Goten nodded, "Whoa. He must be a total badass!"
"Yeah, my big brother's the best!" Goten said, eyes lulling over with a fondness for his elder brother as he threw his arms out wide as if to accentuate Gohan's badassery, drawing a good-natured snicker from his roommate.
"I bet."
Sasuke and Sakura both stared, expressions an unholy combination of flatlined and bug-eyed as awkward droplets of sweat ran down their outlandish deadpanned faces. They knew by now that both airheads were incapable of normal thought processes, but this deviation from their original topic was kind of ridiculous. It hadn't even been five minutes yet before they randomly started gushing over Goten's, apparently, amazing older brother.
"You're missing the point," Sasuke stated, voice raising a subtle yet noticeable notch in irritation.
Naruto looked at him blankly, "The point?"
Sasuke palmed his face, hard enough to produce the sound of an audible slap, though honestly, he was berating himself more than he was berating Naruto, "Humans can't be that strong, Naruto," He emphasized, tone calming with the utterance of Naruto's name; hands sliding in his pockets.
The widening of Naruto's cerulean eyes in recognition only had Sasuke kicking himself once more. Let it be known subtlety was not Naruto's strong point. If you weren't direct with your point then Naruto wouldn't get where you were coming from. This was why his only admirer, the Hyuuga princess, had failed to garner his attention. She just wasn't direct enough.
"What?" Naruto asked, visibly stunned, staggering back a step which drew a roll of the eyes from Sasuke, "I can't be as strong as Goten?"
"Doubt it." Sasuke said bluntly, "That power he used, in his… Kamehameha," He choked, still spooked, "Wasn't like anything I've ever seen before. How can humans ever hope to replicate that?"
Naruto dropped his head like an anchor plummeting into the great abyss of the sea of despair, curling his hands into fists with his entire body shuddering in a constant war of his acknowledged disbelief and stubborn refusal to believe his roommate's power was absolutely unreachable. He drew in an intake of air, exhaling in a shaky breath that garnered a look of worry from his crush.
Goten hesitated toward him, "Um, are you okay, Naru-."
"You're wrong," Naruto interjected suddenly, unintentionally cutting off his only friend. They blinked at him, confusion clouding their eyes until Naruto rose his head and flashed Sasuke the most biting glare of tenacity that he could muster, teeth a grit like an injured tiger told he couldn't go on but it soldiered on regardless, "I can get as strong as Goten, you'll see!"
"Yeah, right," Sasuke sighed in a deflated fashion in his sarcasm, feeling like an old grandpa who just couldn't get through to his rowdy, stubborn grandson, "Humans can't get that strong, Naruto. That would make you a go-."
"Shut up!" Naruto roared, startling Sakura, "I will, I will catch up to Goten, bastard!" He bridged the gap between them in one purposeful step, yanking the Uchiha to his tiptoes by his collar, "And you're not gonna stop me or put me down, believe it!"
"What are you doing!?" Sasuke demanded gruffly, roughly grabbing onto Naruto's collar with his own hands which only led to a mock-grappling match between the two long-time academy-bled rivals for superiority, "Let go of me, idiot!"
"Never! Not until you acknowledge anyone can be as strong as Goten with a little hard work!"
"Don't be delusional! Training alone isn't going to get just anyone to that level!"
"It will!"
"It won't!"
"It will!"
"It won't!"
"Sasuke, Naruto, quit it!" Sakura commanded, but all in vain, the two obstinate boys continuing their back-and-forth push-of-war with each negative and positive statement they shouted at each other. Left with no other option, she turned to Goten who was watching their bickering teammates in concern, "Goten, do something!"
Seemingly coming to his senses, Goten looked over to her as if to ask "Me?", but easily relented at Sakura's pleading look. He shrugged, instantaneously dematerializing before Sakura's eyes and reappearing behind Naruto, arms tucked up and over his in a full nelson. With such an ease of picking a bug off the ground, he gently pulled his roommate away from their teammate.
"H-Hey, what the-?" Naruto sputtered, struggling in vain to break free of the mighty hold before it occurred to him to look over his shoulder to see Goten's sheepish smile.
"Sorry, Naruto. Sakura told me to," Goten explained.
Naruto pouted miserably at her, wincing her name as though he honestly expected her to take his side, "Sakura..."
Sakura vacuumed in a large intake of preparative air, her breath practically spiraling into her puckered lips like a mini tornado, "Drop it, knucklehead!" She raged, threateningly waving a fist of righteous feminine fury at Naruto, effectively capping a lid on his shallow complaints. The blond winced sharply, leaning back against his friend and even squirming as if he was trying to get behind him to use him as a shield from Sakura's wrath.
The lone kunoichi sighed with a calming breath, shaking her head at Naruto's strong stance effortlessly collapsing under the intensity of her feminine anger, "Goten and I can't afford you two killing each other!" She levelled him with a stern glare, getting him to lower his eyes whilst Sasuke discreetly rolled his eyes, "Or did you forget the rule of the mission objective, idiot? All four of us have to make it to the tower together otherwise we fail, so just agree to disagree and drop it!"
Sasuke wanted to say the chances of Naruto forcing him to a death draw were slim to none but knew it would've been counter-intuitive with what Sakura was going for, so held his tongue. She was trying to be the voice of reason by putting a halting stop to their annoying squabble, which was what Sasuke ultimately wanted since he and Naruto started. Ironically, for as much as he argued with Naruto, he found no enjoyment in their vocal battles and clash of ideals, but at the same time, it also didn't sit right with him just letting Naruto have his way, like he was surrendering superiority to the blond in doing so.
And that was Sasuke's paradox.
He hated bickering but was too prideful to admit defeat. Just like Naruto.
The raven-haired Uchiha could see his blond nemesis glaring heatedly at him, which he returned, clearly in an inner war within himself weighing the pros and cons of just calling an unspoken truce to their war of ideals. A quick stern cough from the kunoichi had Naruto breaking the stare off.
"Oh, fine!" Naruto grumped, wasting no time crossing his arms once Goten slowly released him from his hold.
Sakura heaved an enormous sigh, the tension in her stiff posture of a strict elder sister abating leisurely, "There! Now, was that really so hard?" She teased, condescendingly, drawing a huff from Naruto before he looked away from her. Sakura sweetened her expression, patting her cheeks before glancing over at Sasuke, "Sasuke?"
Sasuke ignored her affection, stuffing his hands into his pockets and pivoting on a heel, "Let's go."
Naruto was going to glare at the last solidary Uchiha in Konoha's rankings for acting like the leader of them, but thought better of it; Sakura's own glare ensuring he did so. Instead, he bounded to his roommate's side, who was still smiling sheepishly from the whole affair, intent to strike up a conversation regarding his alien race while they followed after their teammates.
"So, Goten. Does your race have a name? Wait. Are there other alien races beside yours? How would you tell each other apart?"
"I don't know! Trunks and I just live on earth with everyone else. My big brother said we're Saiyans."
"Oh, so THAT's why it's called Super Saiyan. Alright. I figured it was just a really weird name."
Goten chuckled lightly before a seemingly random thought occurred to him. He lifted his head, gazing up at the sky as if expecting to find something worthy of interest.
"Um, will the moon be up tonight?"
"Don't ask me about that scientific-stuff, cause I don't know. Why?"
"Because I'll turn into a big monkey if I look at the moon."
And, that just about set them back to square one; right when they weirdly assumed they were numbed to the idea that teammate was basically an alien lifeform whose race wasn't originally born on earth, he dropped that bombshell on them.
Goten may have been simple in nature, but let the irony be known that anything pertaining to him was anything but.
New Kids on the Block
C
H
A
P
T
E
R
ELEVEN
The Walking Tailed Beasts
(Hokage's tower)
Hiruzen stared, and gawked, wizened hands practically frozen stiff around the outer circular edges of his crystal orb, mouth agape, jaw slacked, and weathered countenance paled like his remaining lifeforce was zapped out of him right there and then. A mixture of emotions ferociously swirled inside of him like the world's deadliest torrent.
Disbelief.
Shock.
Hope.
Fear.
Self-doubt.
Intrigue
And finally, sadness.
The seasoned veteran experienced something akin to a seizure-induced assault of bright colourful flashes so rapidly he was certain had he not been as experienced as he was, he would've lost his mind going through the plethora of emotions that he did.
Disbelief founded by the traumatic unbelieving shock that any human, much less a child, could have destructive power literally comparable to the Kyuubi's trademark tailed beast bomb he hoped to never see again since Minato deflected it away from Konoha all those years ago on the day of Naruto's birth, undoubtedly saving Konoha from its toasty demise.
Shock followed immediately after disbelief in the realization he wasn't just dreaming or at worst, hallucinating. That boy previously assumed to be merely Kage-level stood on the same immeasurable grounds of the fearsome Kyuubi no Yoko itself in terms of raw power output.
A seed of hope quickly sprouted in his heart, nurtured by his innate love for the twisted Snake Sannin on the end of Son Goten's tailed beast bomb-level blast. If all his people and soldiers under his protection and employment were his grandchildren, then his former students were his children, and as any loving father would, he would hold each member of the famous Legendary Sannin dearly, despite how far one had fallen.
Fear ensnarled his heart in a wave of death chains readying to shatter it at any given moment with the knowledge that no one man, even one acknowledged by the highly revered Hanzo of the Salamander, could ever survive a blast rivalling the nation-destroying power of the Kyuubi that'd already ripped through the formidable defensive walls Hiruzen's own master created.
Self-doubt hit him like a freight train. How could any respectable leader half worth his salt feel for a criminal, a bonafide megalomaniacal villain and even a traitor to his own village? He shouldn't want him to live. He should, by all rights, be relieved the Leaf's greatest enemy had been effectively dealt with. Ultimately, it was Hiruzen himself, at the behest of his old teammates, who sent out the execution order on Orochimaru; the very order that marked him as a rogue ninja. Despite all that, despite knowing deep down just how morally wrong it was to feel distressed at the death of a corrupt man, Hiruzen just couldn't bring himself to disregard Orochimaru. He could only regard him as his beloved son.
Intrigue provided him a much-needed distraction from his anguished thoughts of insecurity, taking him back to the story as told by his master and first discovered by the second of the two greatest clansmen to ever flourish from their respective tribes, Senju and Uchiha. Perhaps, with Goten's plain-spoken reveal of his alien heritage, that there was indeed some merit to the ancient myth of the rabbit goddess? If his Saiyan heritage was really an alien species not originally from Earth, then there was always the possibility of there existing other lifeforms out there in the vast galaxy, even the one belonging to the Rabbit Goddess herself.
He would need to specify the truths to Goten's claim even if he felt the boy was incapable of lying from the light surveillance he kept on him and Trunks throughout the week. Claiming to be from an alien species just wasn't something to accept without it being attested for. The idea of aliens even existing outside of earth was a concept straight out of a fairy tale, which was why for many years, Hiruzen always dismissed the myth of the Rabbit Goddess as just that; a myth.
A rhythm of beats thudding off of his door like a musical instrument pulled him from his thoughts like a hook stick yanking a poorly received comedian off stage.
Hiruzen's head snapped up to his door, features simultaneously smoothing out into a stoic look, "Proceed," He allowed, situating his elbows upon his desk, fingers entwining into a makeshift bridge that covered his nose.
The doorknob twisted, clicked, and the doorway cleared with a polite push, creating entrance for a much taller, male version of the blond Yamanaka of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, leaf headband wrapped around his forehead keeping the bangs out of his eyes and standard Chunin/Jounin attire on his person, "You wished to see me, Lord Hokage?"
"Ah, Inoichi," Hiruzen greeted, allowing a small smile to crack through his bland exterior, "Thank you for showing on such notice. I am certain you can correctly deduce which sudden veritable opted me to summon you without notice."
He could see the Yamanaka head clan leader shuddering, "Yeah," He confirmed, breath almost visible, "It's about that tailed beast-level explosion that eclipsed the entirety of the village, is it not?"
"It is indeed," Hiruzen clarified, nodding down by way of approval and to gesture to his crystal ball, "I have borne witness to the one responsible for such an insurmountably powerful explosion generated to vanquish our old comrade, Orochimaru, off the face of the Earth."
Astonishment staggered him back like he had a blow delivered to his face by the world's finest Taijutsu master, "Incredible." He breathed, eyes shaking, "How can anyone have that kind of power? It's unheard of," His eyes drifted back to his leader with solemn curiosity, "You said 'one'? Does that mean the one who made that isn't…?"
"I can assure you, he is very much a person," Hiruzen said, prompting Inoichi's eyes to shoot up in disbelieving shock, "Though, whether he is human remains to be ascertained," He continued, "It seems, amid his absolute eradication of Orochimaru, he has, by his own admission, regrown his tail."
One of the esteemed three of the highly renowned Ino-Shika-Cho trio flinched, eyes dilating again. 'A tail?' Regardless of learning of the utter absurdity of a proclaimed entity growing a tail, things were starting to fall into place, "I see. You wish for me to read his mind to learn of his origins?"
"Indeed," Hiruzen nodded, "He is participating in the Chunin exams as we speak, though I am certain it shalt not be long until he completes it."
"The Chunin exams!" Inoichi cringed in horror, entire face slowly turning pale, "You mean that dastardly Orochimaru infiltered the village just to participant in the Chunin exams my baby girl's in right now!?"
Hiruzen's face remained impassive; an unmovable ocean of stoicism despite the whirlwind of emotions threatening to contort it, "Afraid so."
Inoichi took another involuntary step back; the grim fate of his precious daughter sinking in with aplomb, "No," He murmured, dread quivering his eyes, before he lifted his thumb to bite down on the tip of it, 'Ino.' He glanced back up to his leader with renewed confident hope, "If I may ask Lord Hokage," He waited until he received a nod of approval before proceeding, "Did the… unnaturally strong entity discover the reason behind Orochimaru's decision to guise himself as a Chunin applicant?"
"To my knowledge, he did not." Hiruzen explained plainly, "I only caught the tail end of the 'fight' once Orochimaru activated Lord First's Triple Rashomon, which was still overpowered by young Goten's Kamehameha beam, or that tailed beast-level blast if you are more familiar with its explosive radius."
Not for the first time, Inoichi involuntarily soared his eyes to new heights, giving the impression his eyes were beady and enormous like a baby's, "Incredible." He didn't know anything of the demon-faced gates of hell personally, just that they were once called forth by the strongest shinobi to ever walk the war-torn grounds of the Elemental Nations. It was well known by all veteran shinobi of the Leaf that most, if not all, ninjutsu belonging to the lionized Senju brothers of legend were considered so powerful they were classified as forbidden techniques and listed on a scroll named as such.
For good reason to. Even Lord Second's famed Shadow Clone Jutsu, probably the least powerful of the slew of divine techniques, divided the user's Chakra cleanly in half. Given that the average shinobi didn't possess oceanic reserves of Chakra, a large majority could only conjure up two clones before running the risk of Chakra-depletion and death shortly after. Any technique potent to the degree that it could steamroll through a forbidden jutsu so powerful it came with costly side effects had to have been detrimental to the user if he wasn't a bonafide god already.
'I hope Ino didn't get caught in the crossfire.'
Hiruzen seemed to read his mind, "If you are concerned about your daughter's wellbeing," He started, a grizzled smirk tugging at his lips when Inoichi gawked at him, "I can assure you, it is misplaced. It seems, before the fight took place, dearest Ino was able to find her way to young Trunks. She and her team have been escorted safely to the central tower by Trunks and his team."
"Trunks." The implications were explicit to read, but despite all that Inoichi couldn't stop his eyes from darkening. What was his baby girl doing with some boy not even on her team? Rationality was chucked out of the window, replaced by headstrong resolve. He was giving that boy "the talk" because there was no way in hell was Inoichi Yamanaka ever letting some snot-nosed brat date his precious daughter.
If Hiruzen sensed the dark nature fostering within the Yamanaka clan head, he didn't show it. Instead, he twirled in his chair, sitting back leisurely, "Yes, he is the companion of young Goten, and, if the implications are to believed, of the same alien heritage as the boy," He chuckled, "Imagine this, we would have two walking tailed beasts in human skin as well as our own under our care. Perhaps, we have more of a right to boast being the strongest village in the notion."
"Yeah." It was the only thing he could do.
Roaming weaponized tailed beasts taken human forms or not, he was not letting that punk have his Ino.
xXx
"Woohooooooo!" The exuberant shout of pure bliss echoed in the winds of team seven's high altitude; the blond tenaciously keeping a firm hold on the left foot of the accelerating Goten with his rival clinging to his other foot with one hand; the other held in front of his face shielding his eyes from the fierce winds picked up from his teammate's sheer flight speed. The lone female of the team of fresh-minted Genin was a bundle of pink and red in Goten's arms, reminiscent of a husband carrying his newlywed.
This. This sensation of pure euphoria in his heart was exactly what he wanted to experience the instance he learned Goten had flight manipulation. Amazing didn't describe his overzealous excitement; in fact, it severely understated it.
The strong breeze colliding against his face, whipping the spiky locks of hair back like he was standing in a tornado, rustling his clothes to resemble loose bags of air, allowing the breeze to hurtle over his skin, the feeling of supreme satisfaction of finally sticking it to those stuck-up birds; there was nothing quite like it.
Soaring through the clouds bathed in the transparent aura of his roommate brought out his innate childlike jubilation.
"This is sooo~ cool!" Naruto crowed loudly, tasting a mouthful of milky-white transparent clouds as Goten raced through the sky's curtains. He could actually feel the softness of the clouds up close and personal much less taste them. He didn't even mind having to spit them back up, "P! Ack! It's so bland!" He laughed.
"Well, what did you expect them to taste like; ramen!?" Sasuke snapped, having to resort to Naruto's levels of loud just to be heard over the ferocity of their flight. This was the loudest Sasuke had ever talked, arguments with the blond notwithstanding.
"I don't know, maybe!" Naruto chortled back, far too high in spirits as well as heights to even contemplate arguing with his rival, "Wouldn't that be awesome, though!? Ramen-tasting-clouds!? Heck yeah! Sign me up!"
A rare pout of childish annoyance developed on the Uchiha's face, "You know, it wouldn't taste that great." He grumbled, sounding like he was looking for excuses to avoid acknowledging the inevitable; that he – Mr doom and gloom – was having fun being one of Goten's flight passengers.
"What!?" Naruto yelled, "Can't hear ya! Speak up, pal!"
"Tch. Little idiot."
"Hahahaha!"
Sakura sighed from her place cuddled in Goten's arms, feeling like an embarrassed mother needing to be carried to the infirmary by her son, 'There they go, at it as usual,' A dry smile spread across her lips, 'Even flying doesn't change that.' She mused, 'Still, I can see Naruto's point,' She risked a glimpse under Goten's arms, instantly wishing she hadn't as anxiety swallowed her eyes whole. 'W-Wow. From this distance, the trees almost look like broccoli.' A bead of sweat raced over her forehead, 'How does Goten do this?' And with such an ease that he could sustain enough concentration to endure a prolonged air battle too.
When they were going over the quickest routes to the tower after quite literally finding a random heaven scroll tossed without a second thought on the ground not long after they left the site of slaughter, she assumed he was just joking about his expert flight manipulation. Being carried by the boy himself as he maintained a steady pace piloting through the air, she now realized he was doing anything but joking.
Realization engulfed her like a void of endless nothingness. If Goten could easily sustain flight as he was portraying now as well as shoot destructive beams of pure energy from his hands, who could stop him? Flight wasn't exactly a common technique. If there were others who could utilize such a versatile ability, they had to be in the minority like Goten and Trunks.
In theory, all Goten would ever have to do against pretty much anyone not including Trunks was ascend to the sky and start peppering them with energy blasts, or even charge up his family's signature Kamehameha wave. In the air, no one would be able to stop him. Ninjutsu only had a certain range to them after all.
Sakura peered up at Goten's peaceful visage, expression a mix of apprehensive and curious. He very likely may have been too humble in nature to consider himself as such, but that didn't mean others wouldn't conclude he was, though. That was the case for Sakura who could only see Goten as invincible. With his abilities and divine power, who could take him down?
"Goten."
Goten glanced down at the bundle in his arms, breaking his peaceful contemplative expression of their surroundings to search the girl's troubled gaze with concerned eyes, "Um. Are you okay, Sakura?"
Sakura flinched. She hadn't meant to say that out loud, "Oh!" She laughed, uneasy, "I'm fine Goten!" She waved, banishing the notion like a bad idea brought to the table, "I was, uh, just thinking it shouldn't take us long at all to reach the tower at this pace."
As expected, her babied companion nodded in easy acceptance despite the obvious holes in her excuse.
Suffice to her excuse, though, the duration of their trip to their destination expired much shorter than if they had been tree-hopping, much to Naruto's disappointment.
"Aw, we're here already?" He whined, feeling his legs dangling like a pair of strings instead of flapping in the intense winds Goten's flight speed picked up. It said a great something if Naruto Uzumaki had lost track of their travel time.
With his short attention span, he could barely go five seconds without shamelessly repeating the phrase, 'Are we there yet?' over and over again. The journey had been too fun to complain about and he was noticeably sad to see it end as he felt Goten descend; his cerulean eyes scaling down the floors of the towering triangular building they had arrived at.
Once Sasuke and Naruto could come to grips with (the) solid earth beneath their feet once again, they released their holds on Goten's ankles; Sasuke nonchalantly and Naruto reluctantly.
"Man…" Naruto grouched, crossing his arms. He watched his ride nimbly drop to his feet as graceful as a figure skater, never once disturbing the pink-haired maiden still in his arms, "Couldn't you have circled the block or something? That was too awesome!"
"Maybe," Goten grinned, sliding his tongue through his teeth. He kneeled, letting Sakura elegantly slip from his arms, "But I think Sakura was feeling a little airsick."
Sakura looked comically startled by Goten's innocent accusation as a reasoning he may have subconsciously quickened their pace with her wide bug-eyed stare as if to ask "Me?"
"Sakura." Naruto's pitiful puppy-dog whine only fuelled her temper.
Thankfully, Sasuke's admirable indifference of infinite composure as though he were some highly trained secret agent to the girl's wild imagination easily cooled her infuriation at the blond's annoying tendencies, leaving her wet in more places than one.
"Let's just go inside."
"Oh, Sasuke! You're so smart!"
She faithfully trailed the Uchiha inside like a lovestruck puppy, not a care in the world to the stares of either blank confusion or envious resentment to her fanatic-like devotion to Sasuke evoked from her other teammates, Goten and Naruto respectively.
"Drats! Darn that Sasuke! Thinks he's so cool 'cause he has Sakura! One day, she'll love me like that when I steal her from him, believe it!"
"He is pretty cool, though."
"Aw, c'mon Goten! Not you too!"
"What'd I do?"
XxX
(Later)
XxX
"Damn it!"
"Would you give it a rest?" Sasuke demanded, Naruto's griping having grated on his last nerve.
The team of four were now sauntering – or marching grouchily in Naruto's case – through a neatly cleaned hallway, Naruto and Sasuke on the outside of Goten and Sakura respectively so they couldn't bite each other's heads off without wiggling past the muscles of the team, and, they were honest with themselves, knew was never going to happen.
"I can't believe we weren't the first team to get here!" Naruto complained.
Naturally they were stricken with surprise by the entry of their former academy teacher that the unfolding of both scrolls had birthed, but none more so than Iruka's admittance that they were the third team in a single day of remarkable events to progress through the next round of the Chunin exam; in less than an hour to boot.
This one was clearly for the history books: the first time three Genin teams had blitzed through the second phase of the Chunin Exam without an hour even being on the clock.
That was a millstone if there ever was one.
"I mean, who the heck could've beaten us here?!" Naruto continued to whine, "We were flying for crying out loud! C'mon! How's that fair?! We should've won this thing, yessiree! No ifs, ands, or buts about it!" He argued, earning very reluctant nods of agreement from Sasuke and Sakura. He did have a point they couldn't help but concede to.
Even if another exceptionally talented team of obvious sensory-types was able to locate one of the other candidates with their scroll counterpart they wouldn't have had the time to cover a significant distance before team seven overtook them by fast travel of flight. They weren't even held up for any long stretch of time during their run-in with the now deceased snake humanoid.
Goten made decidedly short work of him. Even counting the initial time it took the villainous man to initiate the confrontation with the team of newbies, it couldn't have been any more than twenty minutes at most before they stumbled upon a random heaven scroll out of nowhere and were on their way to the tower. The trip itself didn't last long at all if Naruto's bellyaching was any indication. Five minutes, if that, at most and they were there.
Who could've beaten them in under thirty minutes?
"I'm more curious to know what Lord Hokage wants with ape-boy here," Sasuke gestured to the other side where the tailed muscles of the team was blinking blankly, pointing to himself.
"Me?" He asked.
"Duh! Isn't it obvious?" Naruto shot back in teenager bluster, "The old man wants to know about his tail and his monkey transformation!" He crossed his arms, nodding to himself in content, "Totally obvious!"
"Idiot! Don't you think I know that!?" Sasuke snapped.
Naruto's face fell, "Huh? Then why'd you ask?" He screwed up his face, jutting his bottom lip out; eyes narrowing askance, "Seems pretty dumb."
Sasuke palmed his face, forcibly cooling his red-hot irritation of his blond rival's lack of foresight to heated annoyance, "No, you idiot. I was thinking it may also have something to do with the freaky snake-guy."
Naruto blinked, "Huh? What do you mean?"
"Oh, yeah," Sakura realized, accompanying her burst of recognition with a snap of her fingers, "Of course! That creep was way too strong to be a normal Genin."
Naruto's arms went over his chest again in a clear lack of understanding, "Goten is too strong to be a regular Genin-joe, though, so?"
"Here's the thing about that," Sasuke coolly offered, tucking a hand into a pocket, "We already knew Goten wasn't a shinobi prior to being integrated into the Leaf's ranks, and now we know he's an alien on top of that." He could see Naruto getting heated by the reminder of Goten's unnatural strength, though he was on hand to pacify his fury, "Even if you believe anyone can reach Goten's level, you have to acknowledge normal shinobi aren't that strong."
Naruto scowled bitterly. Even if he accepted Sasuke's compromise that didn't mean he liked it. Anything other than an outright victory in his favour to hold over Sasuke's head would leave a sour taste in his mouth, "Fine." He grumbled, "But what about Snake-face? He clearly wasn't normal or anything! Heck, he had you and Sakura peeing your pants!"
"What was that knucklehead?"
"Wah! Sorry!"
"Only to us," The Uchiha pointedly emphasized. Naruto blinked, gaze misted by confusion, "He was only strong in comparison to us," He clarified, "We're only rookies who haven't had the time to reach our full potential. I have no doubt had that freak been facing Kakashi the gap in power wouldn't have been that vast like it was between us and him."
He had his whiskered teammate folding his arms again, his eyes squinted in reluctance, "Hm, I see your point."
As the original trio of team seven drifted off to their own thoughts like a trio of boats floating uneasily away from each other, an uncomfortable silence descended upon the group like snowfall; Sasuke left pondering the vile necromancer's motives, Naruto wondering how in the ever-loving heavens was he going to catch up to Goten (Taijutsu training could only get him so far after all) and Sakura on her fluttering heart.
He may have been meticulous in his phrasing of their unfulfilled potential to avoid arguments, but just the fact that her crush had acknowledged her existence could potentially have some value set her on her way. Face pinkened like the colour of her hair, Sakura was handed a first-class ticket on cloud nine.
"Ah, Sasuke," She moaned lightly, cupping her cheeks and slightly swaying her body.
Goten blinked at her, 'Girls are weird.'
It wasn't long after that they reached a door on the end of the long corridor they were strolling through. Naruto, desperate to swoon Sakura with his supreme gentlemanly skills, bounded ahead of the group to grasp the doorknob. With all the cool suave he could muster, he stepped to one side, pulling the door open.
"After you, Sakura," He gestured to the open room with a sweeping arm, tipping her a flirty wink.
She ignored his attempts at game, making a show of turning her nose up before sweetening her smile to offer Sasuke the first invite through the open door. He in return barely acknowledged her revenge of Naruto's unwanted courtesy, giving as little as a grunt before sauntering through.
"Aw." Naruto moaned. Sakura didn't even grace him with a look; only stopping once she was past him to smile sweetly at Goten.
"C'mon, Goten."
Goten nodded, offering his roommate a comforting pat on the shoulder, "Thank you, Naruto."
"Yeah… don't mention it."
xXx
The dead leaves of the lifeless trees of the imaginary night swayed in a chilling breeze, producing eerie sounds that reflected the devastated moods of palpable depression of the recently eradicated snake sannin's henchmen.
Together they stood, in a triangle formation, feelings of intense yearning desire for the life of the only man to bizarrely give them a purpose in life, even if it was only as pawns to his endgames. No words were to be exchanged; they couldn't be exchanged even if they wanted to. Gazes despairingly locked to the extinguished soil that marked the death of Orochimaru.
"I," One of the twins choked, fist tightening at his side.
"I know," His brother acknowledged, masked visage contorting tearfully.
"How could this happen?"
"I don't know."
"We do know!" He retorted, a vengeful rage blazing within his lenses, "It was them, those freaks of nature!" He anguished, buckling his knees and letting loose a strangled cry, "I'll kill them, I swear it! I won't let them get away with what they've done to Lord Orochimaru!"
"Wait, Yoroi!" Kabuto implored, hastily rounding on the emotional shinobi.
"Don't try to stop me!" He raged, "How could you even try?! You of all people should be the most intent to avenge our lord!" His voice dropped, an admittance rambling from his throat like acid he was forced to swallow, "You were always his favourite."
Kabuto's features softened, "I do understand how you feel," The lenses of his glasses gleamed, "But I'm also rational. Make no mistake, I intend to make those kids pay dearly for the death of Lord Orochimaru. That said," He pushed up his glasses, "We need to strike a plan if we are to accomplish that because charging at them with an emotional onslaught so soon after they… killed Lord Orochimaru won't end well for us."
They flinched, eyeing their comrade in infiltration darkly; their voices measured with a precise amount of foreboding, "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying, for as brilliant as Lord Orochimaru was, he was still Ill-prepared," Kabuto answered, meticulously, "We won't be, because we know what they're capable of."
"You have a plan." It wasn't a question.
A diabolic smirk swept over his lips, "Of course," He assured, "It's really quite simple yet ingenious if I do say myself. First of all, we will acquire a sample of their DNA."
"I think I see where you're going with this."
"I'm thrilled," He said, half-sarcastically. Naturally, resuming their lord's work of integrating the intricate and powerful cells from other shinobi clans in his stride was the logical course of action, especially considering the insurmountable mountain of a challenge tasked before them, "Those kids aren't normal. They're special." He frowned, because that went without saying. Shinobi did not possess power all but clarifying them as tailless tailed beasts period, let alone in their adolescence.
Procuring their DNA was the only route Kabuto had access to, to even consider bridging the lofty gap separating their power.
The brothers knew this themselves, even if they had their own doubts pertaining to the hows of acquiring the DNA of one of the walking tailed beasts in human skin. They just wanted to avenge Orochimaru; hearts burning with that desire.
Resolve sharpening their gazes behind their respective lenses, they said, "We're in."
Veils of sinister shadows shrouded Kabuto's smirk.
Yes, he would inherit his beloved lord's will, acquire his murderer's DNA and ascend past the limitations of humanity.
Then the world and everything in it would be ripe for the taking.
xXx
(Omake – The Adventures of Trunks - Part one)
xXx
"Alright, we can do this."
"Yeah, so long as we avoid that kid with the freaky transformation I think we're good."
"Ugh! Don't remind me."
"Yeah dude. I almost shit myself when that guy turned on the light show!"
"Idiots! That's why I'm reminding us, so we can avoid the fuck out of him."
"Hey, that's a good point!" That was not hollered by anyone of the nondescript team hailing from the Village Hidden Among the Rocks, containing all the teenage bluster and mockery of a supremely confident individual. Speak of the devil was all too frighteningly appropriate in this scenario. The avoided nightmare of the team of fodders materialized on a tree branch, arms folded over his chest with all the cocky assertion of an older kid looking down at the younger kids.
"It's him!"
"Shit…"
The warrior's smirk naturally laced over his lips inherited from his father solidified to their fear of him, "Pooped yourself yet?"
The one who mentioned soiling his pants in exaggeration of his shock of the boy's power paled in realization, "Nuh-uh." He denied. It was all he could do after all. He didn't even have it in him to clarify he was only exaggerating about soiling himself.
"Right, right," Trunks nodded with an unconvincing tone. Suddenly, he sharpened his gaze with a predatory edge; eyes resembling that of a hawk's eyeing its preys. His victims were paralyzed, instantly breaking out into a cold sweat all over, "Listen, pal. If you don't actually want to crap yourself, you should cooperate. If you don't, well," He chuckled darkly, "You'll have to burn those pants once I'm through with you."
He didn't hesitate. He just turned to his teammate, "Give him the scroll dude!"
Trunks smirked in approval, "Smart choice."
"We're not scared of you."
The show of flimsy defiance of the threatened fodder's teammate didn't annoy Trunks as much as they thought it would. If anything, he looked even more dangerously amused, "Stupid choice."
"We're not scared of you!"
"I am!"
"Ryo!"
"Dude! You saw his golden form as well as I did! Do you really think we can take him on!?"
"T-That doesn't automatically mean he has a load of super powerful ninjutsu!"
"Yeah, well! I don't wanna find out!"
They stiffened at the object of their fear snickering mockingly, "Smart guy," He said, and then, he was gone; vanished throughout a trace. They didn't even get the chance to blink, or at least they assumed they didn't blink. How could they? They were so intently focused on keeping their frightened sights on him they forgot to even breath.
"W-Wha-?"
"Now if only your pals had even half that same mental capacity this might not be so hard on you." They jumped out of their skins, yelping in fright to the close proximity of their tormentor's voice. Nervously, and with loud audible gulps, the nondescript team hailing from the rock village half turned, finding the ability to wince even easier than an annoying D-rank "mission." Lo and behold, he stood right in the centre of their blind-spots, smirking coolly to the startling realization forming over their faces.
"H-How did you-!?" The audacious one of the trio tried, bravado crumpling like so many weathered pieces of stone; recognition ripping him from his comfort zone. Whether it was just pure speed or a burst of the tried-and-true Body Flicker Jutsu honed to the highest degree that didn't even leave a hint of its utilization, this guy could easily penetrate their defences, and for a ninja, getting in your opponent's blind spot would effectively ensure your victory, "…Fuck."
Trunks flashed his acceptance of the lose-lose situation his team was in a smirk, unfolding one arm and extending it toward the trio open at the palm expectantly, "You know what I want."
The two members of the trio didn't even attempt to debate it. They just hastily rounded to the middle guy and seemingly de-facto leader of their team with urgency written all over their faces, "Give him the scroll, dude!"
The leader grimaced in desperation, pride struggling to plummet down his throat as he placed a hand on the back of his pouch, trembling in helpless frustration, "Alright, alright!" He swallowed, shredding his skin of the last remnants of bravado he had. He slipped his hand into his pouch, pulling out a scroll he politely yet hesitantly placed on Trunks' palm, "Here."
"Pleasure doing business with ya," Trunks mocked, though a mere glimpse was all it took to wipe the smirk straight off his face. Cold water was poured all over his parade, 'Darn, just my luck.' He frowned.
"Uh, is something wrong?" They hesitated.
Their breaths hitched in their throats when he looked at them with a renewed look. Gone was that twinkle of manipulative smug satisfaction, hardened into a dimmed glow of annoyed indifference. They panicked, hoping they hadn't subconsciously given the mean-faced youth a fake scroll out of an innate sense of stubborn pride to never give up theirs.
That stare had fangs.
"Looks like it's your lucky day," He said, drawing blinks from his victims, several more soon following with the toss of their retrieved scroll landing by their feet. He then dryly quipped, "Lucky you."
"Wait!" One said, "You're just giving it back to us?"
"Duh."
"Why?"
"Because."
"Because why?"
"I already have that scroll," He shoveled out his ear with an index finger, zoning out the audible thuds of the group's dramatic face-faults, "Well, scare ya later."
And then he was gone; reminiscent of the wind, not even a hint of a sign left to point out to his sudden initiation of super speed. They didn't even see his feet move an inch. Just as soon as his smallest finger had cleaned the wax out of his ear, he just… disappeared, blinked out of sight as though he were never there to begin with. The team of nondescript rock ninja did the only thing they could do; they stared, not sure whether it was out of relief of being spared or fear of that occurrence just being a hallucination conjured from their own minds.
Minds adrift, mouths agape, they fumbled to their feet lifelessly, lowering their collected gazes to their heaven scroll.
It didn't even take them more than five seconds to reach a unanimous decision.
"So, where's the entrance again?"
"I think it's over there, dude."
"Let's just get the fuck out of here!"
Their story was officially over.
xXx
"Grr." A deep, thunderous growl threatened, casting an enormous shadow over a petite redhead.
'I'm so screwed,' Tears filled the crimson eyes behind the glasses of the small kunoichi. Already down and out for the count decisively, she lifted her leggings-clad legs up to her chest and pushed back on her rear, petrified desperation on her face evoked solely from the mighty creature of overgrown proportions stalking her down, saliva dripping hungrily from its mouth.
She knew she was in over her head the moment she sensed them; the two freakishly powerful chakra-powerhouses that literally made the five Kage feel like Genin noobs by comparison. She told her team that it would be in their best interest if they just dropped out considering they weren't outstanding even by their own standards by a considerable margin, but they were stubborn, insisting if they just avoided the walking manifestations of power itself they could make it through this.
In short -
They were wrong.
The irony of their deaths was that it wasn't even caused by the Titans the bespectacled girl had warned them about.
"Grr." The mammoth bear advanced on her, determined to send her to her teammates in the great beyond.
'NO!' She screamed internally, pressing her head down, clamping her arms over her head, and clenching her eyes shut as if the pleading act for mercy would somehow diminish the agony of her death. She waited, and waited, for death's frosty embrace to claim her, breathing quickening and heart thudding off of her chest.
The ground rattled beneath her like a stampede had passed through, followed by the sickening squelch of thick liquid spattering nastily all over her porcelain skin. She wondered, distantly, if the reaper had granted her wish of a painless death when she touched her face to feel blood on her person with a distinct lack of agony, until she realized had she died she probably wouldn't have been so aware of her surroundings.
That realization gave her whiplash.
'I'm… alive.' She pried open her eyes, gaze trembling at her blood-soaked hand, 'Then…' She balked, head snapping up to find what her senses were screaming at her to avoid like the plague had rescued her from death's clutches, 'No way.'
It was him - one of the insurmountably powerful forces she had been feeling since stepping into the first phase of the Chunin Exam – stood atop the headless mammoth bear who had decimated her teammates in cool indifference, 'Whoa…' She breathed lowly, cheeks lighting up and gaze fogging over.
"Alright, I was getting hungry," Trunks said, jumping off his kill and out of his skin, cringing to the redhead now clinging to his arm, "What the heck?" He yelled, "Where'd you come from?"
"So cool!~" She gushed, cradling the muscled arm in hers, much to the boy's clear discomfort. "Oh baby! You got abs! I love you! You're hot!"
"Yeah, about that," Trunks nervously said, slipping from her grasp and out of her private space. He backed up, hands held up, but the weird girl only continued to stalk him with an intense gleam of lecherous admiration shining in her eyes.
"Yes, baby."
"I'm kind of taken," His face turned as beef red as a tomato at the admittance. One girl embarrassing him was enough. He did not need two. The redhead was even the infinite greater of two evils. She just clung to him like a mindless fanatic. Ino at least had class with her flirting that he respected.
The hybrid's efforts to 'take himself off the shelf' of potential arm candy seemingly had the desired effect. The girl's approach halted with a screeching effect like a train making an emergency stop to avoid driving off the severed railing, allowing Trunks to cease his backpaddling from her, shrugging as the lustful look in her eyes glazed over into a blank expression of incomprehension like her emotions were shut down.
"Sorry.-"
"No!" She roared suddenly, drawing a startled flinch from her desired boyfriend, "I'm not losing my man to some hussy!" She charged him with reckless abandon, discarding the recent memory of the devilishly handsome cool boy unintentionally saving her from a foe neither she nor her team had any chance against, seemingly running through his terrified form, "Huh?" She stumbled, falling and crashing on her stomach.
"Ow," She rubbed her backside, pulling herself to her knees. Recognition kicked her brain back into gear like a rundown engine. She didn't care to spare a thought pondering the hows or even the whats of her beloved's disappearance gimmick, just that he was nowhere to be seen, "Baby, where'd you go? I'll find you eventually! I can sense you! You can't resist my sexiness!"
…
…
"Sheesh! She's nuts!" Trunks stated, soaring through the clouds with extra urgency, "Better stay the heck away from her."
Like, really far away; the other side of the galaxy far away.
Somehow, Trunks had the suspicion the nutty girl would still be able to hunt him down even if he was that inexplicably far away from her.
That's a rap, folks. Oh boy, questions galore now.
1. How'd Goten regrow his tail?
2. How will the villagers react to Goten now seeing him with a tail AND being buddies with the "demon brat?"
3. How will Kabuto go about acquiring Trunks or Goten's DNA.
Stick around next time for the answers and more. All will be revealed next chapter, but to give ya a little hint on Goten's tail regrowth, it pertains to GT's reintroduction of the relevance of Saiyan tails. One thing I did enjoy about GT, which was overall adequate and enjoyable to a degree, was how it made the tails relevant. They're cool after all. Take care now.