Naruto: Alliance of the Ninjas
Chapter 20: Predator and Prey
Sasuke felt Kankuro and Ayame's chakra signatures stop and he couldn't help be smirk slightly. She'd held up on her end of the bargain, slowing up Kankuro to get him to Gaara. Now it was his turn to deliver. He could feel Gaara and Temari up ahead of him and smirked wider, getting a burst of speed and catching up to the two Sand siblings. He managed to jump into the set of trees where Gaara and Temari were, Gaara looking worse for wear while Temari was a good few feet away from her younger brother. "Where do you two think you're going?" Sasuke asked with a glare on his face.
Temari looked up at Sasuke in shock. Sasuke Uchiha? Did he beat Kankuro already? No… no it couldn't have been him. It had to be someone else. Damn it, who else is on our ass?
"I don't know what you Sand village clowns having got going, but I'll stop it no matter what it is!" Sasuke shouted, causing a crack to form in Gaara's face armor due to anger. "Besides… I'm dying to know what you really are!"
Gaara started shouting in pain and anger as he gripped his head, trying to force the pain out. Little by little the sand armor chipped and cracked, causing Temari's eyes to widen in fear. "Gaara no!" Temari saw that her words weren't affecting him and gasped. "No… it's happening. Any second now he's going to let that thing out! No Gaara! Remember our mission!"
Gaara ignored her. "You and I are very alike Uchiha. You have friends but that's not what makes you strong. It's your purpose that does that and that's what makes us alike," his eyes went wild and crazy as his chakra started to soar. "But mine is the stronger purpose because only by killing you and everything you stand for can I exist! Only by killing you can I know what life is!" Gaara started screaming as he fell to his knees, his armor cracking. "Y-You are my prey! My prey! MY PREY!" Gaara shouted shaking his head back and forth wildly, his chakra spiking and his gourd breaking. Sasuke's eyes widened.
"Oh no… it's starting…" Temari mumbled.
Half of Gaara's body was being completely covered by a brownish looking sand skin. It looked like it was forming a new being on one side of his body. There were purple swirls and dots on the new 'skin' and his right eye was closed. As he opened his newly morphed eye, Sasuke saw that his eye was black with the irises green with a diamond in the pupil and four flecks on either side of the diamond. They looked positively demonic. Gaara surged forward with his now claw like arm, ready to strike at Sasuke. The Uchiha saw the attack and jumped out of the way as the huge elastic sand arm slammed into the tree he was just standing on, destroying it and sending a wave of wind through the trees from the sheer force of the blow.
Sasuke sat on a branch as the dust cleared, trying to catch his breath and calm his nerves. He bit his lip to calm himself before he exhaled. Looks like I won't wrap this up before you catch up to me, Ayame. I just hope you're as good friends with Gaara as you say. Sasuke's eyes widened as he sensed Gaara attacking again and jumped out of the way, just as the claw slapped where he was just sitting. Is this guy human or a monster?!
Gaara searched the area as the dust settled and didn't see Sasuke—or Temari for that matter. He grinned maliciously as he looked around. "Why do you hide Sasuke Uchiha? Do I frighten you?" Gaara taunted. Temari kept her head in her hands, trying to drown out the sound of her brother as she trembled in fear behind a tree. Sasuke hid behind a tree and tried to formulate a plan as Gaara kept talking. "Do you like my true form? Come out, come out, Sasuke Uchiha! To live I must kill! And you are my prey!"
Sasuke jumped out from his hiding spot and started heading towards Gaara. Gaara grinned. "So there you are!" Gaara let his arm surge out and take out Sasuke's side, before he exploded in white smoke, revealing a log.
"Guess again!" Sasuke shouted from behind him, hurling six kunai at Gaara.
Gaara merely grinned as he moved his arm so the kunai hit it. The blades absorbed into his skin. Sasuke's eyes widened before he landed on a tree branch and shot back off into the sky, away from Gaara. The redhead smirked. "Here you can have them back!" Gaara shouted as the kunai shot out of his arm and towards Sasuke, going so fast that fire appeared around them. They plowed right where Sasuke was, dispelling the illusion Sasuke had made of himself. Gaara's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Only a clone…"
"This guys a freak…" Sasuke muttered from his new hiding spot as he tried to collect himself once more.
"Why do you run and hide Sasuke Uchiha? Why don't you attack—" Gaara cut himself off as he shouted in pain and gripped his head. "W-Why do you always run away?" Gaara muttered to himself, remembering his childhood. He was never played with. No one ever cared for him. No one ever wanted to even look at him. But why? He hadn't done anything to them. He just wanted to play. He just wanted friends… why did they run? Why did they run? "I won't let you get away!" Gaara shouted, getting crazier and crazier by the second. "I won't let you get away, you hear Sasuke Uchiha?!" Gaara started swinging at all the trees around, destroying them as he tried to find Sasuke, laughing all the while.
Sasuke, who had thankfully been in one of the trees a good distance away from the new disaster area Gaara made, waited for the dust to clear to look at the destruction. This guy is unreal! His strength is off the charts! If this comes down to physical strength forget it.
"What's wrong Uchiha; you're not afraid of me are you? That's it isn't it! You live in fear every day I'm alive! What's wrong?! Are you really so afraid of me?! Is all your hatred and sense of purpose dwindled down to this? Abject fear! Is this the existence you live now, that of a coward?! Come out and fight me! Show me that I'm wrong! Show me that your existence is stronger than mine! You'll never know unless you fight me! You'll never feel it! Attack!"
Sasuke, having felt enough anger bubble up in him by Gaara's taunts and the memories of Itachi, stood up and formed a few hand signs, before bracing his left wrist as his Chidori manifested. He stepped out from hiding and faced Gaara, intent on killing him. Gaara grinned. "Yes, now we're going to have some fun, Sasuke Uchiha!"
I'll finish this with one blow! Sasuke thought as he lunged at Gaara with his Chidori. Gaara leaped at the raven-haired boy, the two colliding as Sasuke's Chidori ripped through Gaara's massive sand arm. He shouted in pain as Temari watched in shock.
"Gaara!"
Sasuke landed on the branch behind Gaara and smirked to himself. It seems that Gaara wasn't as invincible as he thought. He turned to look at the Sand ninja and his eyes immediately widened in shock. Gaara, who had been lying on the branch, sat up laughing maniacally. "I see! So that's what it is!" Gaara laughed.
Temari watched in awe. "Amazing… even after all Uchiha has been through, he was still able to counter Gaara's attack!"
"Now it's clear to me exactly why I've been looking forward to this! This pain…" Gaara spoke up, grinning maliciously. "It will be such a thrill to kill someone capable of wounding me so badly! Such a victory will teach what it means to be truly alive!"
I've never seen anyone manage to wound Gaara, and he's done it twice. He's a freak of nature, just like Gaara. But he's a freak in every fiber of his body. For all his strength, it's only Gaara's right arm that's been transformed, Temari thought to herself watching the battle in fear. Fear of such strong opponents.
Sasuke's eyes widened as the wound he had inflicted on Gaara healed itself as a tail appeared out of the same sand skin that had transformed his right arm and seemed to stem from his gourd. What the hell is this guy?! How many of those things are gonna crawl out of him! Gaara used his tail and right arm to propel himself forward. He's faster than before! Sasuke thought. He just managed to get his Sharingan on and jumped up just as Gaara tore through the branch he had just been on. Sasuke flipped over and used his chakra to hang upside down on a branch above him and looked around for where Gaara was. Only by predicting his moves will I have any chance of dodging them. Without my Sharingan I'd be dead already…
Gaara used the branch he had landed on to head towards Sasuke once again, laughing maniacally. Sasuke's eyes widened. I can't use my Chidori! He quickly made a hand sign and sucked in a deep breath. "Fire Style: Fireball jutsu!" He immediately exhaled, letting loose a huge fireball that hurled its way towards Gaara. Gaara didn't slow, and instead used his tail to wrap around himself as a shield. Once the fires dissipated Sasuke's eyes widened in shock to see Gaara still coming at him. It didn't even slow him! This level of jutsu is useless! It's Chidori or nothing! Sasuke thought to himself as he crossed his arms in front of his face to block the punch Gaara aimed his way. The force blew Sasuke back, crashing through three tree branches before he slammed his back on a tree trunk, creating a dent.
"Is that it? That is the best demonstration you can make of the value of your existence?! That's just pathetic, truly! Your hatred is weak! You're far too soft for killing! The greater the hunger for revenge the stronger the hate, and it's the hate that gives you the strength to kill! Your hate is weaker than mine, far weaker!"
"Shut up."
"You know what that means don't you?" Gaara continued on grinning sadistically.
"Just shut up!"
"It means you can't win! You're weaker than I am!"
Sasuke clenched his hands into fists as he looked down and started forming his Chidori once again, even though he knew the outcome could potentially kill him. There's a reason Itachi let me live. Whether I'm right or whether Ayame's telling the truth, there is a reason I'm alive. I am an Avenger! And I'll be damned if I let this freak threaten those I care about most! Images of Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura popped into his mind and he got up, forcing the Chidori to grow larger despite the toll it was taking on his body. If I die… so be it! This freak isn't going to live beyond today, I'll see to it! I won't let anyone else precious to me get taken away! Sasuke lunged forward with his Chidori in hand as Gaara did the same. Just as he was close to impacting, Sasuke's arm shook and his Chidori started to diminish before a loud explosion filled the area.
The two landed on opposite branches with their backs to each other. They stood like that for a while before Gaara's mutated right hand turned to sand and fell off, revealing his actual arm underneath it. Gaara shouted in pain as his left arm was then engulfed by the sand skin, creating a new claw. Sasuke held onto his Chidori with a narrowed glare on his face, even as he knew the curse mark had spread itself across his body and allowed him to continue with his jutsu. The power surging through him was unimaginable, but he could still sense the darkness and evil within the chakra he was receiving. The pain became unbearable for Sasuke before he collapsed on the ground, trying to push himself up.
Gaara saw this and seized the opportunity, charging towards the downed Uchiha. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, knowing he had to move but his body wouldn't cooperate. Sasuke, knowing he wouldn't be able to move out of the way in time, merely closed his eyes and braced for the impact. Before the blow could hit, however, someone had jumped in the way and kicked Gaara in the face, sending the redhead back where he grabbed onto a tree branch and skidded to a stop. Sasuke opened his eyes to see the very familiar orange jumpsuit wearing blonde in front of him. N-Naruto! But if he's here then… Before Sasuke could finish his thought, Sakura had landed right beside him and looked at him in concern.
"Sasuke!" Sakura called out to him.
Sasuke couldn't help the relief he felt at seeing them and knowing they were alive. But he also couldn't help the anger that coursed through him. "What are you doing here? You've got to get out! He'll kill you both!" He hissed at Sakura, despite the pain.
"We can't leave you like this," Sakura retorted as she placed a hand on his back and looked towards Naruto for him to agree only to see him get slapped away by Gaara. "Naruto!" Sakura called out in concern.
"This guy…" Naruto seethed as he pushed himself back up from the branch he had landed on.
"You both have to get out of here now! I'll handle him!" Sasuke ordered before he winced in pain. He pushed himself up to a his hands and knees, the effort causing him to breath heavily. "Get Naruto and get out of here, I'll kill him myself."
"No can do."
At the unfamiliar voice, Sasuke turned his gaze from Sakura's concerned face to see a dog beside the pink haired girls' leg. How he hadn't noticed the small animal earlier, he didn't know, but he didn't dwell on it. He remembered their fight in the Hidden Mist Village and he remembered how Kakashi had summoned all of those dogs to fight. He had no doubt this one belonged to Kakashi. "Kakashi wants you and the Rain ninja back ASAP."
"Yeah, where is Ayame?" Naruto asked looking back at Sasuke in worry of his redhead friend.
Sasuke was about to retort when his eyes widened. Gaara had lunged at Naruto when the boys' back was turned and his eyes were as bloodthirsty as ever. "Naruto, behind you!" Sasuke called out, trying to jump over to the blonde, but only succeeding in using more of his energy and falling back to his hands and knees again. Naruto looked back only to see Gaara barreling towards him.
I won't make it in time! The blonde thought as he crossed his arms in front of his face and hoped that the blow wouldn't take him out. A large explosion filled the area as a dust cloud blinded everyone. Sakura's blood went cold once the dust cleared and she saw that the branch Naruto had just been on was shattered and there was blood on it. "Naruto!" She called out in dismay. Gaara glared at the branch as he looked around, his teeth bared and saliva dripping from his mouth. He knew for a fact that he hadn't hit the blonde idiot, but he just managed to nick someone else. Who it had been, and where the two of them had gone, he didn't know.
"We had a deal Uchiha! What part of 'safely' don't you understand?"
Everyone's attention was drawn to a branch just above their heads. Sakura's eyes widened in surprise and relief while Sasuke looked up and snorted, even though he was internally grateful at the fact that the cavalry had just arrived. Ayame was standing on top of the branch with Naruto under one arm and Kankuro thrown over her shoulder, with four large cuts going across her right upper arm, the blood dripping down her arm and staining the back of Naruto's jumpsuit. She placed the blonde down on the branch beside her before she made a Shadow Clone to bring Kankuro down to where Temari had been hiding. "You took your damn time getting here so I had to improvise! Besides, he never agreed to the 'no killing' policy!" Sasuke retorted.
"A-Ayame…"
Ayame's attention was immediately drawn to the redhead boy who had uttered her name so quietly and with so much pain and sadness that it hurt even her. Gaara looked up at her, half of his body transformed into something she didn't recognize. He had some sort of sand tail coming out of his gourd and his left arm was engulfed in a sand skin. The right side of his face was comprised of the same sand skin, with an ear coming out of the side of his head. His left eye was black with a green diamond in the center, and his teeth, sharp with saliva dripping down. But she didn't focus on any of those things. She focused on the left side of his face, the same side that still held his green eye and the 'love' kanji on his forehead. She focused on the emotion that was clear as he looked at her. Shame.
"Gaara…"