Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto Franchise that belongs solely to Masashi Kishimoto; I do not own Heaven's lost Property, High School DxD or any other Anime I borrow themes from. The only thing I claim is my OC's and original Story Plot.
Author's Note (A/N): Hey guys I'm back again with a new chapter and what a chapter it's turned out to be. It's one of my longest chapters to date but it wraps up the entire Hidden Leaf and Chunin Exam Arc with one climactic battle between Naruto and Gaara that will leave readers stunned. The creation and destruction of conflicting feelings will be stirring around this entire chapter as anger quickly turns to forgiveness. A lot of lessons are learned and many memorable moments are captured in this pivotal chapter that will shape Naruto's life for years to come. The time of Naruto's ascension is at hand and his journey will begin in the chapters to come.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy!
Chapter 65
The Will of Fire
All Naruto could think about doing was taking Gaara down. He attacked his children in his own home without his knowledge. To make matters worst Aria kept this from him. He was going to have a very long talk with his girls and Aria after all of this was over. No one kept secrets of that magnitude in his own home, especially when they concerned the wellbeing of his children. Punishment was on the way for all three of them but for now Naruto was keeping his anger in check as his daughters and Aria fought beside him.
"Ice Style: Icicle Impact Jutsu!" Naruto came in with a heavy slam upon Gaara's signature sand shield that froze on contact with the blond Jinchūriki's frozen swords. Gaara reflexively covered his face as his shield came crashing down around him which allowed Naruto to step within Gaara's personal space and grab him by his shoulders. Frost built up on Gaara's body as Naruto picked him up and slammed him to the ground with a textbook belly to belly body slam that rattled the bones in Gaara's back as his gourd took the brunt of the force.
Biting his lip in reflexive pain blood poured out of Gaara's mouth as he summoned a sand pit around their feet in an effort to bind Naruto. "Sand Coffin!" Gaara growled in pain as thick tendrils of sand snaked their way around Naruto's ankles which worried the blond Genin but with his years of experience in combat he had a solution to his problem. "Sand Burial!" Gaara roared as he tried to crush Naruto's legs, but Naruto had a direct counter to it. "Accel Turn!" Naruto's signature High-End Skill came in handy at this exact moment as a violent discharge of kinetic energy from the soles of Naruto's feet blew not only the sand away but Gaara as well who skidded back at least 10 yards. Skidding to a halt Gaara sent a sharp drill like mass of sand at Naruto who still had more left in him. "Tempest Turn!" Two of Naruto's accelerated clones spawned off of his body in an instant before charging straight in at the giant spinning drill with determination in their eyes.
The first clone suicide dived straight into the drill causing its body to erupt into a kinetic shockwave blowing the sand construct apart. The second clone in complete tandem took full advantage of this act as it barreled straight through the sandstorm in a split second which caused Gaara to panic and throw up a secondary wall of sand which the clone was all too happy to detonate himself against.
Gaara was expecting Naruto himself to appear though his dispersed sand shield to continue his assault but was surprised to see Chaos appear in front of him with a ball of tainted flames held within the palm of her hand. "Surprise!" Chaos yelled as she exploded the fireball right against Gaara's stomach sending him crashing into a nearby tree. Growling in anger Gaara slammed his hand onto the ground and unleashed a shimmering wave of sand that started to rise out of the ground in the form of spikes. "Impaling Sand Forest!" Gaara intoned as the sand spikes jutted out the ground with tremendous speed. Chaos smiled at this as she flew up into the air, but the others didn't have this luxury. Thinking quick Naruto grabbed Iris around her waist and jumped into the air with the tiny princess providing a boost to her father's jump in the form of a powerful gust of wind. Aria jumped into the air as well and landed on one of her glass barriers that acted as a platform for her to stand on.
Gaara's attack was nothing to downplay as the sharp spheres of sand tore through the trunks of nearby trees causing several of them to become unstable and loose. "Come here Uzumaki!" Gaara groaned as he gripped his head in excruciating pain. Random pulses of chakra were being generated from Gaara which in the grand scheme of things was a concern for Naruto considering that the chakra in question was from his resident Tailed Beast. It would appear that Shukaku the One Tailed Beast was starting to awaken within Gaara. This was looking bad from Naruto's perspective since he had no idea how he could fight another Jinchūriki, let alone one who was capable of transforming.
"We can't afford to prolong this fight. The longer it continues the more chances of Gaara falling back on his Tailed Beast. Aria put a barrier around Gaara to slow him down. Girl's we're going to bombard him and hit him with everything we've got." Naruto coached as he understood that this wasn't a fight he could play the long game on… Gaara sooner or later would unleash his Tailed Beast on the world and its first target would be the Hidden Leaf Village. That is the worst-case scenario and he wouldn't let his home be put in such a compromising position. It was a race against the clock and Naruto couldn't afford to lose.
"Yes, Master." Aria replied, but a noticeable somber tone could be detected within her voice. Her feelings and heart were crushed when Naruto turned his anger on her. She knew full well that their lie and secret would catch up with them eventually but to face even a sliver of her master's wrath was enough to make the young witch miserable with guilt. She would remember this day for the rest of her life and use it as a reminder and lesson on what not to do to hurt Naruto.
Sucking up her dejected personal feelings on the matter, Aria decided to put all of her focus on the task at hand. She'd worry about the aftermath and guaranteed punishment later. Channeling her strong telekinetic energy throughout her body Aria's witch hat and hair clip medallions lit up in response to her power. "Reflect!" Aria was thorough as she created multiple glass pane barriers around Gaara that she positioned into the format of a cage that had the Hidden Sand Jinchūriki trapped on all sides.
"You can't hold me Uzumaki!" Gaara yelled as his sand started to push up against the protective shields Aria put in place. A demented look was in Gaara's sea green eyes as he changed the form of his sand to sharp spears that he used to penetrate the barriers Aria was putting in place. "Aria hold him in!" Naruto encouraged as he started to fly through hands signs at an alarming rate. Iris and Chaos positioned themselves into attack positions as well while Gaara was preemptively surrounding himself in a large sphere of sand that looked exactly like the one he created in his fight against Sasuke.
The three Uzumaki relatives took aim as they built up their respective energies with their intent to end Gaara before he could get any more dangerous clear in mind. Time really wasn't on their side in this conflict. Gaara's Tailed Beast was awakening as this fight was progressing and the village was in imminent danger. They couldn't afford to take it easy on the Jinchūriki even if they wanted to, and Naruto certainly wasn't inclined to pull his punches on the homicidal preteen who attempted to murder his children without his knowledge.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Naruto roared as he channeled a substantial amount of chakra into his technique that he enhanced subconsciously with his merged Yōki to amp the technique to new heights. Iris was along the same lines as her father as she created a beautiful Magic Circle in front of her face that had her insignia as a Phoenix proudly displayed in the center of it. "Phoenix Fire!" Taking a deep breath Iris's eyes flashed green once more as a massive roaring jet of ethereal white flames came flying out of her magic circle that flew through the air and merged with her father's strong wind attack. Chaos had her signature smile on her face as she channeled more of her new black lightning into the palm of her hand. "Black Magic: Night Shade!"
These three attacks flew through the air with amazing speed and reached Gaara's sand shield within moments. The surge of power it gave off was noticeable as Gaara's shield was slammed into with such force that the ground around Gaara was scorched and dug out into a molten moat while the shield itself was scorched pitch black. Cutting the power to their attacks the three Uzumaki watched in trepidation how the charred sphere of sand began to crumble apart. Everyone in the area could feel a sudden surge of corrosive and dangerous chakra emanating from Gaara's position. "We're too late. He's using his Tailed Beast Chakra." Naruto growled as he started to flex his own chakra in retaliation.
A red bubbling aura of chakra started to surface on Gaara's body once he became visible around his crumbled shield. "It's just like your Tailed Beast state Naru… his chakra is so massive… it's unreal." Eva commented in surprise as Gaara was undergoing the same transformation Naruto has previously undergone. "His reserves are shooting up through the roof. We need to put him down now." Naruto suggested right before Gaara let out an inhuman roar that shook the entire forest around them. The trees that were damaged by his earlier sand attacks came crashing down in response to this with their thundering collapses resonating with the echo off of Gaara's roar.
The fighting around the Hidden Sand base came to a grinding halt with everyone giving their attention to the escalating conflict happening at the back of the compound. New sand started to poor out of Gaara's gourd which mixed into the bubbling chakra cloak to form a secondary layer around the young boy who collapsed to all fours as more and more sand poured onto his body over the chakra cloak until Gaara's physical appearance changed to look like a miniature Shukaku.
Gaara's entire body was coated in a dense layer of sand that took on the physical appearance of what Naruto and the others could only assume to be the form of his Tailed Beast. Gaara's face was now that of a Tanuki with his eyes being a vibrant golden color with a starshaped design in the center of it surrounded by black sclera. His arms were transformed into enlarged grotesque heavy arms with sharp claws at the ends. All across his sand cloaked body dark blue Fūinjutsu like seal patterns in the form of tattoos could be seen covering Gaara that Naruto took note of. His lower body had minimum changes to it as his chakra cloak didn't fully envelope his body but the noticeable rise in his Chakra reserves didn't go unnoticed by those present as a crazed and demented visage stared back at Naruto and his children who all took a small step back in trepidation.
Letting out a second roar which was even louder than the first Gaara narrowed his vision down onto Naruto in particular as his cruel smile widened. "UZUMAKI!" Shooting off like a bullet Gaara made a b-line straight for Naruto who could barely react in time before Gaara was upon him with a bone rattling shoulder tackle that took both preteens through the building closest to them and out the back straight into a second one. A trail of destruction was carved through the base with this assault which would continue as this scene mimicked one very similar that was happening back in the Hidden Leaf Village. Much like how that scene played out Naruto responded in kind through a pained filled body. "Accelerated Punch!" Naruto discharged a potent accelerated punch straight into Gaara's chest that rippled out a shockwave strong enough to bring down the building on top of their heads. Naruto flew to the opposite side of the building as the roof caved in on them causing Iris and Chaos to rush over in worry.
"Daddy!" Iris screamed as the building was a two-story barracks building which housed the majority of the garrison here. The entire building collapsed around the two Jinchūriki with the young princess scanning the wreckage with worry filled eyes. "Chaos is daddy okay?" Iris asked as Chaos's scanners came to life and caught the signatures of both fighters. Shaking her head yes towards her sister Chaos let out a giggle while deploying her wings. Getting the message Iris took out her war fans as the wreckage started to shift and move.
Another deafening roar blasted everyone's ears as the wreckage was blown away to show Gaara climbing to his feet while glaring at a particular spot in the wreckage. Charging at it with reckless abandon Gaara was soon met by a towering column of icicle spikes ready to skewer him alive as the sand Jinchūriki dodged out of the way at the last second possible. Blasting out of the destroyed building Naruto blurred in front of Gaara within seconds and started to rain down blow after blow from both his fist and feet which through Gaara off his game since he wasn't expecting such a bold attack from Naruto who had a rather viscous snarl contorting his face into a visage of rage.
Taking his club like arm Gaara smacked Naruto away into another building where he cracked the wall under his powerful velocity. "That anger in your eyes! Feed it Uzumaki… kill me! Kill me!" Gaara roared as Naruto in turn screamed a cry of anger and rage. Something wasn't quite right with Naruto as a white streak could be seen in his hair and his eyes were a dark navy blue. [Kill him… this monster attacked your children. Destroy him completely.] A whisper like voice spoke within Naruto's mind as a pulsating migraine took over his brain causing him to grip it in pain much like how Gaara was doing earlier.
Seeing his children running towards him in concern the voice in Naruto's head spoke once more. [Punish your children… they lied to you. Make them feel the betrayal you felt.] The voice prodded with an insistence to it that forced Naruto to act in the worst way possible. Iris and Chaos reached Naruto and both girls had worried looks in their eyes while Chaos was massaging her head in a worrisome way as that was the indicator that she was being poisoned by Naruto's emotions.
Feeling concern for her father Iris reached out her hand to grab the older boy but that was a big mistake. Naruto lashed out at Iris in an unforgivable way by slapping the young girl across the face with a deafening smack that had shocked looks playing out across Anko's and Aria's faces with the others present giving off very similar looks. The hit was so unexpected that Iris fell to her bottom with a face frozen in shock. A red bruise was on the girls face as tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably.
"Stay away from me! I'll fight this battle on my own!" Naruto yelled with a vicious snarl on his face that caused the younger Uzumaki to flinch back in fright. Chaos's legs gave out from under her as she crumbled to the floor in the same state of shock as her sister. The young Angeloid was dry heaving as the poisonous negative emotions her body was absorbing from her father was starting to affect her in a dangerous way. "Daddy… you hit me… why?" Iris whimpered with tears falling down her cheeks uncontrollably. She could sense the negative emotions wafting off of the blond Jinchūriki and noticing the white streaks forming in Naruto's hair Iris put the pieces together. Naruto was losing control and turning into a demon via the mysterious gem stone in Evangeline's body. Even with this revelation it didn't make Iris feel any better as her more childlike persona took over. Sōkyoku's influence receded in Iris for the moment as sobs escaped the young girls mouth. Tears were flowing down the emotional girls face with no signs of stopping.
"Master! What have you done?!" Aria cried in shock as she rushed over to Iris's side who like any child in this circumstance was curling up into a ball and crying. "You stay away from me most of all or I'll kill you." Naruto growled as he formed one of his swords in his hand and pointed it at Aria who backed away in shock. Naruto's hair was completely white now and anger was clouding his normally bright blue eyes with its malice which was all directed towards Aria who was going through a whirlwind of emotions.
Aria wanted to cry as well from the way her own loving master was treating her but seeing the state that her two mistresses were in snapped Aria back to her priority. "Master, I deserve to feel your wrath and I deserve to be punished for betraying your trust with keeping such a secret from you. It was wrong and as a father I know you care about Iris and Chaos more than anything in the world. But if you have to be mad at someone be made at me, if you have to hit someone hit me! But don't take it out on your own daughters. You know I'm incapable of disobeying any of their orders let alone yours. I did what I had to do, but it doesn't excuse what you've just done! You struck Iris! You're the one hurting your children not Gaara!" Aria challenged with tears shimmering in her eyes that were filled with determination. The person in front of her was not her master. He was being consumed by his anger and hatred that was being amplified by the gemstone in Eva's body.
"HOW DARE YOU!?" Naruto roared as he tried to strike Aria down but froze when he found himself unable to move. Looking down Naruto saw his shadow was pitch black and attached to Shikamaru's who was standing a few yards away. "I think that's enough Naruto… you need to get a grip and chill." The Nara clan heir stated with steel in his voice as the two long time friends stared each other down. Shino was next to Shikamaru with a guarded stance and a swarm of his chakra stealing insects in a cloud above his head. "This isn't you Naruto… you are acting highly irrational." Shino's stoic voice interjected. Even the ever stoic and socially reclusive Aburame clan heir was very uncomfortable with the bitter turn Naruto has taken. It was very uncharacteristic of Naruto to lose control of his temper from Shino's point of view.
"Naru you need to stop. Come back to me!" Eva yelled as she pounded on Naruto's skull which brought the blond haired Jinchūriki out of his trance. "Eva…? What happened?" Naruto asked in a daze as the white streaks in his hair turned back blond. Naruto couldn't hear the voice in his head anymore which was a plus but that didn't make Naruto feel any better about himself as he turned to see Iris was a bruise mark on her cheek and tears in her eyes. "Iris!" Naruto yelled as he attempted to reach out for his daughter, but she flinched back in fright which stopped Naruto in his tracks. "I… I did that to you…?" Naruto whispered in horror as Iris averted her eyes away from her father in shame.
"Naruto you weren't in control of yourself. Now's not the time to let that get to you." Shikamaru interrupted as he didn't need his friend breaking down right here and now. They needed Naruto to beat Gaara and it wouldn't do to have him out of commission in a midlife crisis. "Master… it's okay… we can all talk about it later." Aria said as she held Iris within her arms protectively which hurt Naruto deep down as a small tear fell out of his eye. He hurt his own daughter… he felt worse than scum. 'I hurt my own daughter… what kind of father am I? How could I do such a thing?' Naruto grieved in his mind
While this family drama was going on Gaara was biding his time by tearing into both Shinobi and demons alike who were getting in his way to reach Naruto and his family. "I'm coming for you Uzumaki! Prove my existence for me… these insects aren't enough!" Gaara roared as he ironically squashed a small insect like demon beneath his large tree trunk like arms. "Right… we have a lot to talk about. But for now, I'll settle this. Iris… I'm…" Naruto said in a soft and resigned tone as he attempted to apologize to his daughter but Gaara interrupted the moment by charging across the base towards the gathered family who now had no choice but to respond to this threat.
"Chidori!" Sasuke roared as he slammed into Gaara's charging form with his lightning covered fist that blindsided the rampaging Jinchūriki into a nearby wall. Gaara roared in pain as Sasuke's attack nailed him in the same spot it did earlier in their match and responding to this pain Gaara attempted to crush Sasuke beneath his massive arms but the last Uchiha fell back and launched a large fireball at Gaara who dispersed the attack with a show of force. In the confusion of this attack Sakura launched a hail of kunai with paper bombs attached to their handles at Gaara who crossed his arms to block the throwing knifes. Gaara didn't see the paper tags on the handles of the kunai due to a very quick and minute usage of Genjutsu on Sakura's part that masked their presence so Gaara was noticeable surprised when he and the building he was pinned against exploded in a massive fireball of destruction.
It didn't take long for Gaara to recover from this but what was even more worrying was the fact more of his body was transforming. Quicker than lightning Gaara lashed out with one of his claw like arms and slammed Sakura against a nearby building and detached the claw to reform his arm. The pink haired girl groaned in pain as the impact nearly knocked her unconscious. "Sakura!" Sasuke yelled in concern as he made his way over to his teammate in concern. Naruto had a sheen of worry in his eyes for Sakura as well, but he wouldn't let that stop him from doing his duty. "Sasuke get Sakura out of that thing… I'll handle Gaara." Naruto stated as chakra started to ripple out form his body in waves. "Girls… Iris… I'll make things right. I promise." Naruto said with an emotional tremor in his voice that Iris and Chaos picked up on causing them to look on in worry.
"Double Acceleration!" Naruto roared as a massive chakra shockwave rippled out from his body and propelled him forward at inhuman speeds. Naruto blitzed Gaara before he could even blink but instead of tackling him like everyone expected him to Naruto did the opposite and picked Gaara up into a fireman's carry by using his momentum to offset the large weight difference between the two boys. Before anyone could question Naruto's motives he shot off into the air and over the base's walls into the deep forest with Gaara over his shoulders. "Where's the brat going?" Anko questioned in surprise while ducking a strike from an opposing sand ninja. She was concerned for her surrogate little brother, but she couldn't chase after him with the present situation going on. Her allies needed her here.
Carrying Gaara a mile out from the base Naruto was forced to throw the wild Jinchūriki off of him when Gaara clawed at his back. Gaara slammed through a thick tree due to Naruto's vicious throw but the blond haired Uzumaki wasn't done as he used the last ounces of his Accel Turn to launch a preemptive strike against Gaara. "Tempest Turn!" Naruto shouted as three clones spawned off of Naruto's body and slammed into Gaara who was back first on the ground below. The explosions from his clones allowed Naruto the necessary time to recuperate and to contemplate the situation at hand. Naruto took note of a peculiar phenomenon on his way out of the base. His Double Accel Turn works by combining two Accelerations together and when the first runs out the second one kicks in after a small lag in-between the two. But this time the effect was continuous across the board and there was no need to switch to the second build up of kinetic energy. It was almost as if there were no intervals in-between the two combined moves. In actuality Naruto used the continuous momentum from his technique to travel this far distance away in one charge.
In Naruto's mind that was proof that his High-End Skills were evolving over time which internally made him happy since they are his original skill that he created as a child. It was his pride and joy. Naruto's inner thoughts were interrupted by Gaara's intrusion in the form of several high-speed sand bullets that tore holes in the thick tree trunks Naruto passed by while dodging said onslaught. "Keep your head in the game Naru." Eva coached as Naruto dodged several more of Gaara's sand bullets. "I know… I'm sorry." Naruto responded to which Eva gripped the hairs in Naruto's head. "That's not all you have to apologize for you know… we need to talk about what you did back there to Iris and the others. That wasn't like you at all Naru and I didn't think the stone in my body would affect you so easily. We need to deal with it one day soon. Hopefully sooner rather than later so that between the both of us we never hurt our family again." Eva spoke to which small tears appeared in Naruto's eyes because he agreed with everything his other half was saying. What he did back there was unforgivable, and he'd remember it for the rest of his life. They needed to get all of their affairs in order. "We will Eva… I promise."
Seeing how dead set Gaara was on killing him pushed Naruto to act so Naruto decided now was the time to truly go on the offensive and with that thought in mind he started to build up his chakra for a performance Gaara would never forget. "Eva you ready?" Naruto asked his partner who responded in kind. "Always!" Eva cheered as the partners synced up their chakra and Yōki respectively to reduce the interference of their individual energies to zero and to maximize the power they receive in return.
"Gaara I've been writing this handbook with all of my techniques and tricks over the years you see, and I've noticed that I don't really use my Shadow Clones all that much so how about I give you a crash course in a special technique I learned from the day I became a ninja!" Naruto conversed as he danced circles around the rampaging Jinchūriki who was growing angrier by the second. "Stop running around and fight me Uzumaki!" Gaara yelled to which Naruto smirked in irony. "With pleasure… Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto screamed as over two thousand shadow clones formed in the forest around them blotting out the natural green look to the forest in substitute for the orange that Naruto loves to wear.
"What is this…?" Gaara whispered in awe as he retained enough of his sanity to appreciate the sight before him. He highly doubted even he would have the chakra reserves necessary to replicate the same feat Naruto was performing. "Your village's plan ends today Gaara, and it ends with you." Naruto said as he and his clones swarmed Gaara who started to wildly swing his arms around to disperse as many clones as possible, but it was futile as there were just too many clones running around. "Wind Style: Infinite Sandstorm - Great Breakthrough!" Gaara roared as a massive sand storm blew out of the Sand Jinchūriki's mouth and dispersed over a hundred of Naruto's clones but again it wasn't enough as Naruto decided to turn up the heat on Gaara. The clones unleashed combos of shuriken's, punches, and kicks that was leaving Gaara's sand body deformed and battered beyond recognition.
The real Naruto came in with a partner and launched Gaara high into the air with an Accelerated Punch to which the real Naruto followed up on after his partner clone dispelled by using Tempest Turn to spawn four clones who alongside him followed Gaara up into the air. "NA!" The first clone shouted as it kicked Gaara further into the air then dispelled in a burst of kinetic energy that added to the force of the kick. "RU!" Chimed the second as the pattern continued with the third shouted "TO!" The fourth clone grabbed Gaara by his ankles who could do nothing to stop this onslaught while shouting "UZUMAKI" then proceeded to spin in mind air and fling him up into the sky were at the apex of his ascent was the real Naruto with his heal shrouded in Iris's golden flames. "TEMPEST PHOENIX BARRAGE!" Naruto shouted as he slammed his fire coated heel into Gaara's stomach that sent him rocketed to the ground with a miniature sonic boom.
Naruto dropped to the ground with sweat pouring off his brow due to the amount of chakra he expelled in his attack but the phoenix shaped scorch mark on the ground reassured him that his attack was successful in damaging Gaara. After the dust settled Naruto caught a glimpse at a barely conscious Gaara whose sand armor was once again charred black by the intense heat of Naruto's attack. 'Was that enough… I don't know if I can give the guy any more punishment.' Naruto tirelessly thought with short and haggard breaths burning his lungs.
"Amazing… you are what I've been searching for all along Naruto… Naruto Uzumaki you are the key to proving my existence!" Gaara started out with a pitiful mumble before steadily increasing his tone until he was screaming to the heavens as a chakra surge of unprecedented levels erupted out of Gaara and blew Naruto away. "NO!" Naruto screamed as he flew at least a hundred yards away.
Everyone back at the Hidden Sand Base could see it as a massive hulking figure rose up into the sky and let loose a roar of such magnitude that a miniature earthquake shook the surrounding land and threw everyone off their feet. "No…" Temari whispered as she collapsed to her knees in horror. Even if this was the plan her village envisioned all along it still didn't sit right with the teenage girl whose lived her entire life traumatized by her younger brother and the beast he held within. "What is that thing?" Sasuke and Shikamaru asked in tandem while Anko, Kurenai, and Asuma all had grim looks on their faces.
"Daddy…" Iris whispered as she scrambled to her feet which caught Aria's attention. "Little miss? What are you doing?" Aria questioned as Iris took her hand out of Aria's. "I need to help daddy." Iris said with a worry in her eyes. Chaos managed to recover from her internal damage now that Naruto wasn't leaking so much negative energy but the remorse and guilt he was feeling weren't good substitutes for the Angeloid who was still feeling nauseous. "Mistress… let your father handle this… what if you get hurt again… what if he…?" Aria pleaded with worry clear in her heart, but the tear stained face of Iris stopped her mid rant. "I don't care if I'm hurt or not and I don't care if daddy hurts me again. I won't let him face this alone. He needs me, and I'll go to him." Iris said with every word spoken straight from the young girl's heart.
"Iris…" Aria whispered in awe as she felt a swell of pride build up in her stomach for the bravery and selflessness of the tiny goddess in disguise. "I need to teach him that it's okay to forgive certain enemies. Not everyone is bad and not everyone deserves to die. Gaara has to live past this day and I can't let daddy kill him by mistake. Mercy and compassion are tenants that can exist in this world. Daddy's shown it before by sparing Zabuza and Haku and he can show it here again. He's just strayed a little form his path, but I can put him back on it." Iris said as a small beautiful smile graced her face. "If this is what you feel you must do then you know I could never stop you mistress." Aria said as she kneeled before her mistress in submission.
"Chaos stay here and protect everyone okay. I'll deal with this." Iris said as she patted her sister on the back and banished the residual negative energy poisoning her twins body. Casting her glance over at Sakura who was pinned to a wall Iris saw Sasuke cutting the pink haired girl loose with his Chidori. "Get back Sasuke." Iris commanded as she snapped her fingers and the sand claw spontaneously combusted into golden flames which quickly charred the sand into premature crystalline substances. Nodding his head in thanks Sasuke shattered the construct with a final Chidori which freed the young girl from her confines.
With one final glance to Aria and Chaos Iris took off in the direction Naruto took Gaara which wasn't hard to remember considering as of now Shukaku's massive form could be seen less than a mile away now. In the meanwhile, Naruto was considering his options with Gaara now in full Tailed Beast Mode. "This doesn't look good Eva… what do we do now?" Naruto asked the winter fairy who responded in a manner Naruto expected her to. "We do what we always do Naruto, we fight, and we win." Eva encouraged as Naruto smiled a faint smile while placing his hands into the ram hand sign. "As always Eva, your right. Thanks partner." Naruto warmly said as Eva blushed in appreciation.
"Let's fight fire with fire then. SUMMONING JUTSU!" Naruto roared as he slammed his hand on the ground and pumped not only his chakra but that of the Nine Tails into the technique which created a massive chakra surge that just like Shukaku could be felt from miles away.
In seconds Naruto was high into the air standing on top of a being he hasn't seen in a while. "What is this… I'm back here again?" Gamabunta's booming voice trembled out across the vast landscape which marked the Chief Toad's return to the human realm. "Hey Chief… sorry to summon you without notice but we've got a huge problem." Naruto calmly spoke while staring out at Shukaku's massive form. The Tailed Beast was a massive Tanuki with a fat and wide body with a pronounced belly and large hulking arms and gargantuan tail with hard layered scales on them. A common theme across Shukaku's body were the blue colored Fūinjutsu like marks tattooing his body.
On the center of the beast's head was Gaara's small human form that looked like a dot in comparison to the rest of Shukaku's body. "Shukaku the One Tailed Beast huh… we'll brat you certainly got yourself into some high-class trouble. To be fighting a Tailed Beast is no small feat or easy task." Gamabunta commented as he inhaled a puff from his smoking pipe. "I know… but I had no one to turn to but you chief. Our allies are a mile behind us in a forward command base set up by the Hidden Sand who is invading the leaf which is a few miles further behind. We need to keep both locations safe from Shukaku who was supposed to be summoned in the middle of the village." Naruto explained to the massive Sage Toad who closed his eyes in contemplation.
"I understand kid, leave this to me then. Hold on tight." Gamabunta stated as he grabbed his skyscraper sized Tantō blade from behind his back. He was ready for battle. "Naruto… you will give me what I've always wanted. Play Possum Jutsu." Gaara whispered as he fell into a forcible sleep which had the side affect of waking Shukaku's subconscious up and bringing it to the forefront of Gaara's mind. A crazed laughter tore through the valley as Shukaku screamed to the heavens.
"I'm back baby!" Shukaku roared in glee as he focused his sights on Gamabunta who groaned in displeasure. "This brat… is Shukaku. He's a bit crazy." Gamabunta explained to Naruto who had a weirded-out expression on his face. "Uh… ok."
"First time in years I've been out, and I have a fresh target waiting for me already. It must be my lucky day." Shukaku cheered as he grinned at Gamabunta who tensed in preparation. "Hear I come!" Shukaku shouted as he swung his long arm around to smash into Gamabunta who jumped into the air with his extremely powerful legs making this task child's play for creature of his species. Landing behind Shukaku with a terraforming touchdown that could be felt once more for miles around Gamabunta swung his sword and cut into Shukaku's back which caused the massive beast remarkable amounts of pain. "AAHHH!" Shukaku roared as the giant sand beast stumbled forward in pain. A deep gash was in his back right above his long tail which didn't sit right with the massive Tanuki who decided to let Gamabunta know exactly what he thought of this gesture.
"You bastard! Come here and let me kill you!" Shukaku cried as he swung his massive tail around and struck Gamabunta who couldn't dodge in time. As their names imply a Tailed Beast main visual feature are their tails and every one of them have excellent control over those particular appendages. Reeling from the powerful blow Gamabunta backed up outside of Shukaku's range who turned and pointed his massive tail out to the giant toad. "Sand Barbs!" Shukaku intoned as his scale like skin shot off like bullets towards Gamabunta who with masterful precision deflected each room sized barb with his Tantō. "Someone's got some fight in them huh? Good… I didn't want this fight to be boring!" Gamabunta taunted as he lunged forward with a massive leap and stabbed Shukaku right underneath his arm who took the blow with a small wince.
The ancient beast used the opportunity presented to him to get a rib shot off at Gamabunta who was now well within his range with his unused arm. "Damn he hits hard." Gamabunta groaned as he ripped his sword from underneath Shukaku's arm and pulling up chopped off Shukaku's right arm causing the appendage to fall to the ground with a massive thud. "You cut off my arm… you bastard! How dare you!" Shukaku roared as he seethed in anger. While his body was made of sand it didn't deter from the fact that he was a being composed entirely of highly concentrated chakra. Gamabunta cutting off his arm meant that a portion of his chakra was separated from his body. Chakra that he was going to need to recollect and absorb back into his body. It was a nuisance that Shukaku didn't want to go through.
"That's it… disappear frog boy! Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullets!" Shukaku yelled as he sucked in a large intake of air that swelled his already large belly to massive proportions. Taking his one good arm Shukaku with a quickness belittling his massive size slammed his fist directly into his stomach causing him to shoot out the pocket of air in an incredibly condensed ball of air that took Gamabunta and Naruto by surprise. "Dodge that!" Naruto shouted as the massive toad leaped out of the way at the very last second but the wind pressure alone from the attack knocked Gamabunta off his balance which caused Naruto to fall over on the toad's head. The compressed ball of air detonated half a mile away blowing every tree in the area away and flattening the ground to a smooth surface.
"That attack packs quite a punch. I wouldn't want to be hit with a couple of those." The Chief Toad commented as he saw the crater behind him smoking. "Do you have any Ninjutsu to counter that chief?" Naruto questioned as Shukaku geared up to fire again. This Tailed Beast was no joke in the destruction department. "Yes, now hold on tight tadpole." Gamabunta replied as he jumped high into the air just as Shukaku launched another air bullet. "Water Style: Liquid Bullets!" The burgundy colored toad yelled as a massive spherical glob of water was spat out of the chief's mouth that intercepted Shukaku's attack perfectly in an explosion of water that rained down on the land around them.
"Is that the best you've got frog boy! Try this!" Shukaku taunted as he launched several volleys of air bullets at Gamabunta who dodged as many of them as he could but one smashed into the ground right in front of his feet causing the Chief to fall to his side in pain. "This is getting ridiculous. This guy has so much chakra." Gamabunta complained as the land around them was devastated by Shukaku who was launching small sand bullets at Gamabunta's downed form who was scrambling to his feet as fast as he could. "Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as he threw up a massive wall of water that blocked most of the sand bullets before they could strike the great toad who was recovering. "Thanks for the cover tadpole. Now let's get them." The experienced toad encouraged as he molded his chakra to launch several more water bullets at Shukaku who in returned launched several wind bullets in return countering this barrage in tandem.
While most of the wind bullets were intercepted one slipped pass Gamabunta and headed straight for the Hidden Sand base behind Gamabunta. "NO!" Naruto shouted from the bottom of his heart as the base would be wiped off the map with such a devastating attack. 'Girls!' The only thing on Naruto's mind at that one singular moment was the fact he never apologized to Iris, Chaos, and Aria for what he had done. Not to mention his other friends and allies fighting bravely in the base. 'I'm so sorry.' Naruto choked, but before Naruto's heart could sink into his stomach a massive Aegis shield appeared in the sky around the base stopping Shukaku's attack cold but the devastation it's attack brought to the surrounding land around the base cemented the danger that Shukaku posed and what the massive sand Tanuki was capable of. His family was almost wiped clean off the map. That was far to close for comfort in Naruto's mind who turned to face Shukaku with a burning determination smoldering in his cerulean eyes.
Back at the base the fighting had stopped with that close brush with death. The leaf managed to kill off a vast majority of the Sound Ninja and demon horde that was summoned with Fū and Karin being a major contribution to this effort. The remaining Hidden Sand Shinobi surrendered to the squad of leaf ninja with no resistance at all. They all knew the destruction that a rampaging Shukaku could cause. Every one of those ninja present have had an encounter with their village's Tailed Beast at one point in time whether through first-hand accounts or through their families or friends who have either fought the beast or died at its hands. The Sand shinobi didn't want to relive the nightmare that Shukaku brings.
"Chaos you managed to stop that attack? No way…" Aria whispered in awe as the tiny terror had her hand held up to the sky with her wings spread to their utmost limit out in an array behind her back. The child Angeloid collapsed to the ground after taking down her shield with the Psychic witch catching her little mistress before she could hit the ground. "Dada would be sad if everyone here died… I'd be sad if you all died. I wouldn't have anyone to play with anymore." Chaos mumbled as her scanners cycled through her power systems.
~ Reactor Core: Power Supply Low ~
~ Negative Energy Corruption Level: 40% ~
~ Pandora Evolution System: Energy Low ~
Chaos listed off several vital statistics that were important to her current condition and after years of spending time with the young Angeloid Aria was able to get the gist of what Chaos's diagnostics were trying to explain. She was in decently bad shape but relatively speaking Chaos would be just fine after a short rest and recuperation period. In the end Chaos was better off here than she was back in the Land of Waves after their mission was through and everyone was recovering from Jūra's attack.
"Rest now little miss, the fighting is over now, and your father will take care of Gaara." Aria soothed as Chaos went into a low powered state to conserve the remainder of her energy. As Aria predicted, the little Angeloid would be fine with just a little rest. While Chaos was enjoying a period of recuperation the same couldn't be said for Naruto and Gamabunta who were in the heat of battle against Shukaku who was slowly gaining more power as the battle dragged on. Even though Shukaku himself had manifested in the world, most of his chakra that was still trapped within Gaara was slowly being dragged to the surface.
"Gamabunta let's do this! Shukaku has to be stopped!" Naruto encouraged as he could feel the pressure slowly weighing down on his shoulders. They had to stop this Tailed Beast or else the village would be destroyed. It almost wiped out the base behind them with Naruto's family inside and that served as a wakeup call for Naruto about how powerful and dangerous a Tailed Beast could be, and it also made him contemplate on how the Hidden Leaf stopped the Nine Tails if it is the strongest out of the Nine Tailed Beast. "I agree but I don't have any fangs or claws to dig into the enemy with. If I could grapple Shukaku and hold him down, you could go over their and knock that little brat awake. It would force Shukaku back inside of his seal." Gamabunta explained after trying to hold the sand beast down but due to a combination of Gamabunta having amphibian like appendages and Shukaku's body being made entirely out of sand made it impossible for the great Chief Toad to actually maintain physical contact with the Tailed Beast for more than a few seconds.
Taking this information in Naruto began to rack his brain for any solution to their problem when an idea struck his mind. "Chief since you can perform ninjutsu do you know the Transformation Jutsu?" Naruto asked to which Gamabunta widened his eyes in realization. "Yes, tadpole I can. But we'll need to do a combination transformation in order for this to work. Summon us up something with fangs and claws for us to use." Gamabunta agreed as he molded his chakra in conjunction with Naruto who dug deep into his imagination to find a creature who fit the description of what they needed for this battle.
In the deepest recesses of Naruto's mind, the Nine Tails itself growled out its displeasure at seeing its sibling again after so many years. Feeling his resident stirring in the back of his mind Naruto then knew what he had to do. "I've got it. Combination Transformation Jutsu!" Naruto and Gamabunta chanted as a massive plume of white chakra smoke erupted throughout the forest obscuring everyone's view of the massive toad. Moments later long orange tails and claws could be seeing poking out of the cloud of smoke as a being far larger than Gamabunta was lurking in the shadows.
'What is that?' Sasuke thought to himself silently as long massive tails could be seen protruding from out of the smoke cloud that was visible from the hidden sands base and even back at the Hidden Leaf Village if a person were to stand on top of a tall building. A loud roar filled the air that dispersed the cloud of smoke revealing the creature to the world which was an exact replica of the great Nine Tailed Fox of legend. The fur of the fox was a bright red-orange with black highlights around its eyes, ears, and mouth while its tails were at least three times the length of its main body making its total physical stature visually massive. 'No way… is that the Nine Tails!?' Anko gawked as her heart skipped a beat when she saw the powerful beast appear in the horizon beyond the base. 'Naruto… please be ok.' Anko pleaded within her mind.
Shukaku's eyes widened in absolute shock once he saw his own sibling appear before him. Shukaku hasn't seen any of his siblings since the Third Shinobi World War where the Hidden Sand and the Hidden Leaf joined forces to repel an invasion by the Hidden Stone across the border of the Land of Wind and Rivers when the Hidden Leaf wanted to sign a peace treaty. Back then he had run into his brothers Son Gokū the Four Tailed Monkey King, Kokuō the Five Tailed Dolphin-Horse, and the previous Jinchūriki of Kurama the Nine Tailed Fox. But that was more than twelve years ago and before that their last meeting was during the era of the First Hokage who captured all of them and distributed them to the Five Great Countries.
"Brother is that you?" Shukaku blurted out in surprise as the massive Tanuki stumbled back with his eyes widened in shock. Naruto himself was shocked to hear Shukaku refer to the Nine Tails as his brother. It brought up many questions in the young shinobi's mind. By Shukaku's account all of the Tailed Beast are related to each other by blood in a manner of speaking which means they all have a common origin. Naruto's never thought of this possibility before ever since finding out about his status as a Jinchūriki. A burning curiosity was now in the back of Naruto's minds about the origins of the Tailed Beast that have been in their worlds history for centuries. But for now, Naruto was content to let that curiosity remain on the backburner for now since Shukaku was a major priority for him. The powerful beast wasn't going to let him sit around and contemplate the secrets of the universe in the middle of their fight.
"No! It's me Naruto!" The blond haired Uzumaki responded as he charged at Shukaku who tried to respond in kind but was far to slow compared to the massive fox who biologically and physically was much faster than the fat and bipedal Tanuki. Starting off with a vicious claw strike that tore into Shukaku's shoulder, Naruto followed it up with a powerful swing from one of his massive tails that clubbed Shukaku across his head causing the sand beast to growl in pain. "Is that how you want to play kid! I'll show you which beast is stronger!" Shukaku roared in anger as he swung his own massive tail around and scored Naruto and Gamabunta once again in their ribs which launched the massive fox across the forest with earth shattering tumbles for each time they hit the ground.
"Disappear kid! Wind Style: Infinite Sandstorm – Great Breakthrough!" Shukaku shouted before releasing a massive sandstorm towards Naruto's transformed state who instinctively wanted to dodge the attack which he was physically capable of doing but with a glance behind him Naruto saw the Hidden Sand base only a small distance away. Naruto couldn't move or else the base would be decimated by Shukaku's powerful sandstorm. "Tadpole, use our tails to shield us." Gamabunta suggested to which Naruto instantly complied as the Nine Tails started to curl its massive tails inward until it formed a large dome around itself creating a large enough obstacle that when Shukaku's sandstorm slammed into them it passed over the base behind their body leaving the inhabitants completely unharmed.
Feeling the battering winds subsiding Naruto unfurled his tails out wide while letting out a loud roar of challenge that Shukaku returned in an act of spite. Naruto would have charged but he felt a tiny presence running along the length of one if his tails. Craning his neck back to see what this presence was Naruto was shocked to see it was Iris of all people running up the length of his tail. Deciding to make it easier Naruto pulled that particular tail closer to his head where Iris was able to land on the massive fox's head.
"Iris what are you doing here?" Naruto asked in an unsure tone as he wasn't sure how to speak to his daughter after what he had said and done to her. Naruto's heart was pounding within his chest in shame but the look in Iris's eyes gave him pause. "It's okay daddy… I'm here to help." Iris reassured as she braced herself against the fox's fur. Naruto instantly had a negative and protective reply to this claim, but the young phoenix had an interruption well on the way. "If you're going to tell me its to dangerous daddy then don't bother… I'm staying to help. You're low on chakra and far outclassed by Shukaku who's only gaining more and more power as time goes on. We need to do this together." Iris insisted with a certain amount of certainty and finality in her voice that stopped Naruto's thoughts cold.
"Ok… if we do this then we do this together." Naruto resigned as he shifted his focus back to Shukaku who was charging in to club them with his giant arms. He didn't want to admit it, but he was running low on chakra. This combination transformation was draining him rapidly and the massive showcasing he demonstrated earlier with his Shadow Clones was starting to catch up with him. "Brace yourself daddy, this may hurt a bit." Iris warned as her eyes glowed a familiar emerald green in primordial power.
Naruto wasn't sure what Iris's intentions were, but he nearly screamed in pain when a massive dosage of holy aura surged through his body empowering him to new heights but also dampening his comforting Yōki in the process. Naruto's gigantic fox body erupted into golden flames that shrouded it in a protective shroud. Black tattoo like outlines dotted the surface of the fox's body giving it an interesting design. A torrent of power rushed out of Naruto's body knocking Shukaku back and jarring Gaara around who was sticking out of the sand beast's forehead. "This is some power boost kid. I wasn't expecting such potent Holy power from a tadpole like you." Gamabunta commented as he acclimated to this surge of power alongside Naruto who had prior experience dealing with this beneficial… albeit painful phenomenon.
"This ends now." Naruto yelled as he charged at Shukaku who was trying to recover from such an unexpected surge of power. His sand like body was sizzling from the intense heat of Iris's flames which helped indicate for Shukaku that these weren't normal flames. In fact, the old Tanuki identified them to be Holy Flames which concerned Shukaku as to the identity of Iris who he knew to be the source. Shukaku gasped in pain as Naruto slammed all nine of his flame covered tails into different parts of his body while using a few of them to constrict Shukaku's own deadly tail. "Get away from me! Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullets!" Shukaku screamed in panic as he blew Naruto away with a point black attack which didn't faze the giant fox in the long run who recovered in record time.
Shukaku had no intention of messing with Holy Energy and he let these feelings known by unleashing another air bullet that was far larger than the first to emphasize this. "Phoenix Fire!" Iris and Naruto roar as father and daughter sync up and unleash a massive golden colored flamethrower that dominated Shukaku's wind attack with zero difficulty. The wind enhanced firestorm slammed into Shukaku's defenseless form who covered Gaara's exposed body in a casing of protective sand while the beast itself tumbled back and slammed into a nearby small mountain in searing pain. "This is it." Naruto zoomed in as he saw Shukaku defenseless and immobile. Charging in Naruto warped all of his tails around Shukaku's body which had the effect of searing his sand body to a crisp which caused the sand beast to scream in righteous pain.
Inching out a few drops of his Yōki Naruto painfully combined it with his remaining chakra to channel a surge of energy through his conductive tails causing massive outburst of frost to encroach all across Shukaku's body leaving him frozen and stuck to the side of the mountain he was leaning against. His massive burnt tail was frozen in a massive chunk of ice that was fused to the side of the mountain preventing the massive beast from moving at all. Shukaku was stopped or so Naruto thought.
"How dare you…! How dare you kid! Naruto Uzumaki! Gaara was right to want you dead you little bastard. You and that pathetic village of horrible humans are going to be wiped off the map completely. RRRROOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRR!" Shukaku roared to the heavens in justified but misguided rage as he expelled an unprecedented amount of chakra that began to compound around Shukaku's open mouth. A dark purple sphere of super condensed chakra began to form which shook the surrounding valley as more and more chakra was being piled on which sank Naruto's heart into the pit of his stomach. The power he was feeling coming off of that ball of chakra was unlike anything he's ever felt in his entire life. His sensory abilities he's been nurturing and developing since his childhood was blaring in his mind to the extreme. He was sure Karin who was at the base was having a huge headache with the amount of chakra she was sensing.
"We've got to do something." Naruto said in desperation as the purple ball of chakra grew bigger and bigger before his very eyes. Any action he was going to take was stopped abruptly when a bolt of searing pain shot through his soul paralyzing him on the spot. "Old man…" Naruto mumbled as he felt the overwhelming sensation to cry uncontrollably. His mind was assaulted by dozens upon dozens of memories of his time with Hiruzen over the course of his life time. Naruto never felt something quite so profound before but if he had to make a comparison then he'd say the feeling in his heart reminded him of when Shoko was in a near death like coma following her first encounter with the demons.
"What is this…? Why do I feel like this?" Naruto whispered in pain but before he could sink into despair Iris reached out inside their shared subconscious and places her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "It's a pain you won't soon forget… but Daddy I have to ask you not to succumb to the pain your feeling right now. If you do, then everything will be lost. Shukaku will destroy our home." Iris stressed in a soft angelic voice that betrayed both the panic and desperation of the situation and the total faith she was trying to instill within the blond haired Uzumaki.
"Did something happen to old man Hokage?" Naruto painfully asked as he felt that something was grievously wrong with the Hokage. "Yes… but if we don't do something about Shukaku now then we'll never get to him." Iris insisted while keeping her more inner thoughts to herself. 'Grandpa used the Reaper Death Seal on Orochimaru and now his soul has left this realm. I felt his departure but now isn't the time to tell daddy that.' Iris thought with her inner thoughts blending and being influenced by Lady Sōkyoku. The ancient deity knew that if Naruto discovered Hiruzen's death it would devastate him and leave him completely vulnerable and defenseless to Shukaku.
"Daddy do you trust me?" Iris asked in a serious voice which brought Naruto out of his inner turmoil. "Of course, I trust you with my life Iris." Naruto responded as he mentally held this critical conversation with his daughter who was looking at him with her piecing cerulean colored eyes. "Today all of our lives change. Things will never truly be the same again and I need to know if after all of this happens will you still love me daddy?" Iris asked with small uncertain tears leaking from her eyes. Naruto was completely taken a back by this bold and unusual statement. A lump formed in Naruto's throat as uncertainty with Iris's statement and the anxiety he felt from feeling Hiruzen in his heart was getting to him. Naruto wasn't sure what was happening, but he could still see Shukaku charging up his attack in slow motion through the filters of his subconscious. Time was moving at a snail's pace, but it felt even slower as Naruto tried to find the right words to say to his daughter who he knew to be a powerful goddess.
'This is what the girls have been alluding to all this time. This event. This day. It's finally here. I have to act now to make sure everyone is ok after this.' Naruto realized as every hint and warning the girls have dropped for him over the last few months came flooding into Naruto's mind in that exact moment while gazing into Iris's eyes. "Of course, I will always love you Iris. There is nothing in the universe that could make me do anything less." Naruto said in an automatic response. Of course, he meant what he said but for the life of him he couldn't fathom where this was coming from. A wide range of emotions were playing out within Iris's mind that was putting the young girl in turmoil, but her resolve to see this battle through was enough that Iris could stave off the negative thoughts she was having.
"Thank you, daddy." Iris said in a somber tone as Naruto gently removed a tear from her eye. The blond Uzumaki could tell a tremendous weight was settled on her shoulders. It was eating away at her conscience. "Just answer me one thing Iris. Why are you fighting so hard to save Gaara?" Naruto asked as the little girl intertwined her hand with her father. "Not every enemy deserves to die. No matter what they may have done to us. Gaara can't die here. He will have a part to play in the future as will many." Sōkyoku responded instead which grabbed Naruto's attention. "I never thought to ask this before Lady Sōkyoku but since you're a powerful goddess you can see into the future, can't you?" Naruto inquired and the ominous look he received back was all the answer he needed. "You know my future… don't you? You know how all of this will end?" Naruto said in a resigned tone as Sōkyoku's emerald colored eyes shimmered in shame. "I do… but don't focus on the future. Focus on the here and now. Our home needs us to be strong for them and that is what we'll be." Sōkyoku assured in a soothing tone as she saw the conflicting thoughts churning in Naruto's mind.
"We have so much to talk about you know…" Naruto whispered as he placed his hand on top of Iris's head. "I know… and I'm sorry for stringing you along for so long." Sōkyoku apologized with a weight lifting off of Naruto's shoulder in response. "It's ok… I'll stand with you Lady Sōkyoku. Let's finish this." Naruto smiled as his daughter cracked a beautiful smile in return. "Let's win this battle then. This is going to take a lot out of the both of us so brace yourself." Iris encouraged as she surged the last remains of her power through Naruto's body causing him to grit his teeth in pain. Sōkyoku's holy grace was extremely potent and slightly lethal to Naruto in high doses but this was a special occasion as the Phoenix was also using her powers to buffer and heal Naruto at the same time.
Time resumed in reality for everyone as Naruto and Iris completely synced up their powers causing the flaming aura around their fox form to flare to life. Gathering all nine of his tails Naruto positioned them to ark around and from up on his mouth that was condensing a massive white fireball to a small finite point. The amount of Holy Magic contained within the white-hot fireball was staggering to say the least. It was more than anything felt in this world before and every creature on the planet that was sensitive to this particular power went as stiff as a board.
"Take this you brat! Tailed Beast Ball!" Shukaku roared as he launched his ultimate attack with every ounce of force he could muster. Naruto and Iris weren't idle either as they launched a massive white colored flamethrower that shot off with a massive shockwave in retaliation. "Phoenix Fire: Alpha Force!" The two colossal attacks met in the middle of the forest with a titanic clash that shook the entire valley and brought everyone to their knees. A brilliant firestorm raged through the skies in the Land of Fire as Naruto craned his neck up and pitched the flamethrower up into the air forcing the dense Tailed Beast Ball to do the same. Everyone for miles around could see this spectacle going on as the dark purple ball of chakra flew high into the sky with a spout of fire underneath it. Once it hit the apex of its ascent the ball of chakra detonated in a massive explosion of energy that rippled out across the valley and sent gale force winds barreling into the great perimeter walls that protect the Hidden Leaf.
Both giant Tailed Beast were swallowed up in the explosion causing critical amounts of damage to Shukaku with half of his massive sand body being deformed and charred black by Sōkyoku's powerful fire magic. The transformation binding Naruto and Gamabunta fell apart due to both parties running out of chakra to sustain the costly technique. In the Chief Toad's final act before dispelling himself he threw Naruto and Iris through the air to Shukaku's forehead where they both landed in the abrasive sand dunes.
The father and daughter duo scrambled to their feet as fast as they could with Gaara's still body well within visual range. The red head was still asleep but covered in a thin layer of soot and ash from the explosion that had just consumed them all. Shukaku had made a last-ditch effort to conceal Gaara with a dense layer of protective sand that did its job. 'This isn't over just yet.' Naruto coaxed himself as he stood up on the unstable terrain to see Gaara's defenseless body lying limply a few yards away.
"Gaara… we Jinchūriki aren't weapons for everyone else to use." Naruto mumbled breathlessly while trudging through the sand to get to his fellow Jinchūriki. "Stay away from him!" Shukaku groaned in abject pain as he constricted a sand pit around both Naruto and Iris's feet to suffocate the blond Uzumaki's, but Naruto wasn't ready to give in just yet. "Daddy… I can't move." Iris struggled breathlessly as the tiny girl was completely depleted of all of her grace. She was completely defenseless. "It's ok Iris… I've got this so sit tight." Naruto encouraged while mentally digging deep within his mind. He had a battle to win. 'Nine Tails… we have this in the bag. Give me your strength.' Naruto coached within his mind as he heard the massive fox within his seal growl in annoyance. Naruto had his reservations about asking the Nine Tails for help directly but he needed the fox's help here. He was completely drained of chakra to the point he could be considered a civilian in terms of chakra reserves. Never in his life has Naruto been this low and it was quite the experience for him thinking of it objectively. "I'm not done yet!" Naruto roared. A red shroud of chakra shimmered to life around Naruto's body blowing away all of Shukaku's sand.
Running directly at Gaara the blond Uzumaki had a renewed fire in his eye as he clenched his fist in preparation for his final act. A quote from Hiruzen Sarutobi that was once told too him over the years was resounding through Naruto's soul as he threw his fist forward.
~ When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew. ~
The Third Hokage's words sung within Naruto's mind causing a lone tear to fall from his eye as he threw his punch directly into Gaara's face. "WAKE UP GAARA!" The punch landed with a resounding smack that jarred Gaara awake breaking Shukaku's possession on the red head's body. "NOOOO!" Shukaku screamed as his entire body collapsed with his subconscious receding into Gaara's seal. The great Tailed Beast wasn't going to be happy about this for a long time to come.
Naruto's and Iris's bodies fell through the air lifelessly with Gaara not to far away with all three children crashing through the treetops to the ground below. Naruto's landing was particularly rough with him ending up face down in the dirt. Gaara was only a few yards away with his Sand Gourd dissipated around him. A bruise was formed on his head with blood leaking out of it from Naruto's previous punch. Iris on the other hand was shown to have cuts and scrapes littered across her smaller body since she was wearing a dress along with lighter clothes in comparison to her father who wore thicker more reinforced clothing tailor made to shinobi.
A few droplets of ruby red blood could be seen dripping from Iris's body that had golden particles of divine grace mixed into it falling to the ground below. Everything that her blood touched bloomed to full health which was a common side effect of coming into contact with Iris's grace. The little girl grimaced in pain as she internally checked to feel how much grace she had left within her to use. She was low, dangerously low in comparison to the total amount of grace she used in the fight earlier.
'It's over now…' Iris thought as she watched her father crawl over to Gaara who had a panicked look on his face. "Stay back… Uzumaki… stay back. What are you? How are you so strong?" Gaara wheezed in pain as his body was completely paralyzed by chakra exhaustion.
"I can't do that Gaara… it would seem we've both lost our way for a while. I don't want to hurt you anymore. I want to do what I originally set out to do. To save you…" Naruto spoke with a cough while cracking a small smile. Gaara had a speechless expression on his face while he watched Naruto slowly crawl towards him. The sun was shining down into the clearing and was bathing Naruto in a celestial light from Gaara's point of view which left the Sand Jinchūriki at a spiritual crossroads in his life.
"Remember the day in the hospital. The story you told me… I've made up my mind Gaara. We Jinchūriki aren't weapons of war… we can be whatever we want to be, and I won't let your village use you in such a way. Join me Gaara and be my friend. We can change the world's perception of Jinchūriki, starting with your village so that no one will ever treat you this way again." Naruto offered with sincerity dripping from every word he spoke. A lone tear fell from Gaara's eye as his heart yearned for this eventuality. The offer Naruto was proposing was to much for Gaara to pass up on. He wanted to feel friendship, acceptance, and love. These were things Gaara has lacked since his very inception and now that it was being presented to him every fiber of his being begged for this proposal to be granted.
"Gaara… you wanted to prove your existence to the world… by being my friend, you prove that you're alive." Naruto said with a smile which brought a broken and unsteady one to Gaara's in return. "I would like that a lot Uzumaki. I want to prove to the world that I exist." Gaara smiled for the first time in his life with a tear of elation falling for Naruto to see. "Call me Naruto ok… friends don't have to be so formal with each other ya know." Naruto grinned an infectious grin that made the light around his form seem all the brighter in Gaara's eyes.
Words wouldn't come out of Gaara's mouth as he watched Naruto finally reach his body and scramble into a seated position. "… Oh, and as far as the incident with you and my family… I forgive you. It's so much easier to hate someone than it is to forgive a person for their actions." Naruto said as he patted Gaara on the shoulder. At this point tears were freely falling down Gaara's face as a crooked and unpracticed smile adorned his face. He's never felt such love and acceptance before in his life. It was to much for him to handle. "Thank you, Naruto…" Gaara said as he reached up with his hand struggling through the air to shake Naruto's hand that graciously met him halfway. "You're my friend now Gaara… it's what we do for each other." Naruto humbly responded as he looked over his shoulder to see Iris being supported by Chaos of all people. His other daughter wasn't alone as she was accompanied by Aria, Anko, Shikamaru, Shino, Fū, and Karin. The group came from the now captured Hidden Sand base that was now under the Hidden Leaf's control. Including Asuma, Kurenai and Anko's rag tag strike team an entire platoon of shinobi from the leaf arrived to secure the area. The battle in the village was over now and left-over shinobi could now be spared to be sent to locations like these.
"I'm glad you're ok Gaara. We can now put that whole fiasco behind us." Iris admitted with a beautiful smile that adorned her face. The mesmerizing young deity knelt down by Gaara's side with her natural calming aura lulling the previous homicidal Jinchūriki into a haze of complacency. Iris's very presence was naturally comforting to those that are around her. Gaara mumbled out a shy response to this while Chaos grinned and jumped on his back. The red headed boy tensed up at this unfamiliar physical contact that Chaos was so used to providing to others. This wasn't the first time she's managed to touch him before. Having physical contact with another person was extremely foreign to Gaara.
"You might have problems with your Tailed Beast in the future, especially with the outcome of this battle so I want you to have this charm." Iris spoke calmly as a green tint came to her eyes. A small magical glyph appeared in the palm of her hand and out of that beautiful glyph that had Gaara's and the others attention a small teddy bear shaped pendant was created. Handing the small pendant to Gaara Iris saw that the boy had a look of confusion on his face. "This pendant will suppress Shukaku's influence on you for as long as you were it around your neck. He won't be able to take over your body so easily while wearing this… you'll also always have a sense of tranquility around you as well. But that's just a small little side effect." Iris explained while giggling towards the end. Reaching around his neck Iris placed the pendant onto Gaara where it glowed a soft golden hue before returning to normal.
"See… all done." Iris smiled with a toothy grin. A soft smile formed on Naruto's face at the young girls' selflessness, but that smile was wiped off his face when he caught a glimpse at Chaos's scheming and mischievous facial expression. The little Angeloid was completely drained of power and she would need a large supply of negative energy to offset this imbalance. Unfortunately, Naruto knew who the girl would target… her sister. Before he could even open his mouth to warn Iris of her impending doom Naruto was forced to watch in slow motion as Chaos pushed Iris from behind causing the young girl to crash right into Gaara's face. A forceful peck on the cheek was Gaara's unexpected reward from Iris who looked to be turning the color of the sun. Her cheeks were so red that they were actually giving off real light.
"Hahahahaha!" Chaos's laughter was pervasive as the little Angeloid was rolling around on the ground in hysteria. "You see Dada… Iris has a crush on Gaara. She even kissed him." Naruto's jaw was unhinged in this moment and he could faintly hear Eva's own laughter in the background as the little fairy also thought this stunt was hilarious. Shikamaru slapped a palm against his face in mortification while Anko was blatantly doubled over in laughter while pointing a finger at Iris's glowing red face of embarrassment.
Gaara not knowing how to respond to such a bizarre situation like this carelessly states that he likes Iris back while not fully understanding the words he spoke. Hearing this Iris frozen in shock before her entire face exploded in a shower of flames. Falling over in shock Iris was barely responsive while her sister absorbed her wide range of emotions for her own needs. Seeing Gaara reaching out his hand towards Iris in what appeared to be concern Naruto felt an unexpected surge of energy despite his body's overexerted exhaustion.
"Oh no you don't! My daughter is not allowed to like boys nor kiss them!" Naruto yelled as he jumped to his feet in a jolt of overprotective jealousy. Jealous furry was burning in his eyes as he glared at Gaara in a comical way. By this point both Eva and Anko were on the ground laughing alongside Chaos who was now absorbing Naruto's energy who left himself wide open to this endeavor. Aria and Shikamaru had exasperated looks on their face while Karin had an oddly enough perverse expression on her face with her glasses shining white in the sun's rays with a small vein of drool escaping her lips. Fū on the other hand had a highly amused expression on her face while watching the play by play of the Uzumaki family.
Scooping Iris's limp body up into his protective embrace Naruto sent a pouting glare at Gaara who shrunk away from Naruto in confusion. These emotions and lighthearted scenes were all too much for the emotionally neglected Jinchūriki to process. He wasn't sensing any true hostilities from Naruto, so he wasn't quite sure why he was "angry" with him. Even though Chaos was being fed from her families' energy she still wanted more anarchy to go around. "Dada… Iris also likes you too since your souls are identical to each other." Chaos deviously stated while looking at her sister who popped out of Naruto's arms with mortification clear in her eyes. "CHAOS! SHUT UP!" Iris raged as she jumped her twin and attempted to place her in a choke hold, but Chaos was one step ahead of her embarrassed twin by summoning her blade like wings that she wrapped around Iris's body preventing her from touching Chaos. "Ah, ah, ah…" Chaos patronized with a devious smirk pointed directly at Iris whose face was steaming red.
"Chaos!" Naruto blushed in embarrassment since he's always known Iris is a daddy's girl at heart and thrives and supports herself on his attention. The amount of adoration and affection the young and gentle girl has for him borders on fanatical on the average day and is so much more on any other. Naruto was counting on Chaos doing or saying something highly embarrassing and he hated the fact he was right in his judgement. "But wait there's more!" Chaos announced as if she were acting in an infomercial. "Dada and Fū's souls are similar as well." Chaos chirped in a sing-song like voice causing the amused look on Fū's face to be wiped clean off. Iris was breathing fire at this point in righteous indignation, but her sister placed her head in a smaller Aegis shield to prevent her flames from reaching Chaos's face who was taunting Iris's with her usual dopey facial expression in place.
"Chaos don't imply such things!" Naruto reprimanded with an unconvincing stern edge to his voice that was ruined by Naruto's embarrassed blush. Chaos smirked at Naruto who was being drained of his humiliation by his maniacal daughter. "Well kid, your dad is a cutie, so I wouldn't mind if we were soulmates or whatever you said." Fū casually interjected with a teasing grin and a generous bashful blush staining her cheeks. Fū sent a playful wink towards Naruto who looked ready to pass out on the spot. The Mint Green haired Jinchūriki was of course teasing Naruto in her overly friendly persona but the words she spoke were true. She was always looking for new friends and she wasn't averse to experimenting around with gaining a boyfriend. In Fū's slightly naïve mind a boyfriend still has the context of "friend" in the name… and as far as Fū was concerned a friend was a friend.
"NO! Daddy isn't your soul mate! He doesn't need a girlfriend." Iris yelled with childish jealousy burning in her eyes. A fierce and adorable pout was in place as Iris temporarily shifted her anger away from her twin sister to place it on Fū who she now saw as a much different threat. "Oh… your sister was right. You do have a little crush on your dad. That's so cute…!" Fū squealed with an exuberant smile on her face as her inner feminine instincts were squealing in delight. Such situations were like music to a girl's ears.
While Naruto was prepared to give a comment on this matter he was dually interrupted by a rather perverse set of giggles that was coming from oddly enough Karin of all people. The red headed preteen had a trail of drool dripping down her chin and her glasses were reflecting the sunlight in the clearing causing her lenses to appear stark white to everyone else. "This whole scene reminds me of Icha-Icha: Ninja Harem." Karin giggled while rubbing her hands together in a pleasurable way. Everyone present except for Anko and Chaos had blushes on their face at the implications Karin was trying to advocate for. Everyone was familiar with the world wide famous erotic romance series written by Jiraiya the Toad Sage. His many different series have sold millions of copies and garnered him hundreds of millions of Ryo. Jiraiya is officially recognized all over as one of the top 20 riches individuals in the world.
No one was sure of what to make of Karin's rather shocking nature as most of those present haven't had much exposure to the red head. They were all fairly new to her so her more hidden nature was definitely a shock for all of them to get used to. While Naruto busied himself with reprimanding Karin on appropriate topics to bring up around his daughters with poor Gaara unintentionally caught in the middle of who was trying his hardest to keep up with the many social ques from everyone around them no one heard the touch down of two people on the opposite side of their clearing.
"My… my…my… what do we have here children?" A suave timber voice spoke which disrupted the peaceful and rambunctious atmosphere created by the children. Naruto was the first to turn around to see who was addressing their group and his heart immediately stopped upon recognizing one of the two men present. It was Kyōra of the Demon Brothers. The other man standing next to him clearly was a demon too based on his very similar appearance to Kyōra. The man was taller than Ryūra by a small noticeable degree with long navy-blue hair tied into a long braid down his back. The powerful demon had dark blue colored torso armor with golden trims over a white colored tunic. Around his shoulders were pauldrons that were stylized to be dragon claws. On the Demon's back Naruto could see the handles to two blades sticking over his shoulders.
"Run!" That was the one-word Naruto uttered with absolute fear in his voice that paralyzed those around him into not moving out of a sense of mass confusion. "Who…" Shikamaru began to mumble out in surprise as the fear in Naruto's eyes were genuine and nerve wracking. Anko had a look of realization on her face based on the very similar looks these two individuals share with Jūra who they ran into during the Land of Wave's mission. Iris's eyes widened in fear while Chaos's was comparable in shock.
"EVERYBODY RUN NOW!" Naruto screamed in fear as he willed his body to move despite the unbearable amounts of exhaustion and chakra depletion he was experiencing. Kyōra smiled his feminine smile before he unhooked his giant war fan from his back in one fluid motion. The red headed demon swung his fan around with such force that a massive gale of wind rocked the clearing everyone was in blowing the children off their feet. In the disorienting confusion of this unexpected attack Iris and Chaos instinctively reached out for each other as twins typically do and latched on to each other just before crashing into a large tree.
The blue haired demon was as calm as ever with a smug look on his face and arms crossed but a more devious smirk crossed his face as he purposely made eye contact with Naruto who was struggling to his feet. "Ryūra my brother… we shouldn't waste too much time. I'll grab the boy." Kyōra said while twirling his giant war fan around between his fingers. "Humph. Like I'd waste time on children." Ryūra boasted before simply disappearing from everyone's view in the blink of an eye. He crossed the distance between his original position and the girls who were at the base of a tree before anyone could so much as breathe. "Da…" Iris barely managed to get out before Ryūra harshly chopped her in the back of the neck while simultaneously doing the same to Chaos before either child could react.
"GIRLS!" Naruto roared as he launched a massive column of icicle spears towards Ryūra despite the fact he was practically running on empty in regard to all of his different energy sources. Ryūra simply glanced at the wall of ice coming his way and flicked his finger into the dangerous attack causing the entire column to shatter instantly. "Oh… my this will never do. I need you to behave yourself young man." Kyōra chided as he simply looked into Naruto's eyes and a gut-wrenching pain tore through Naruto's body like an inferno. Four large glowing claw marks could be visibly seen from Naruto's back causing him crippling amounts of overstimulation and pain forcing him to his knees instantly.
Before anyone knew it Kyōra had appeared in front of Naruto and just like with his brother Ryūra he knocked Naruto unconscious while he was paralyzed by his curse mark. "Get away from them." Anko roared as she pointed her hands at the two dangerous individuals. "Ninja Art: Vicious Rattlesnakes Jutsu!" The others around her weren't idle either as they all understood the seriousness of the situation at hand. Shino, Fū, Shikamaru, and surprisingly enough Gaara all responded to this threat with attacks of their own.
"Hidden Jutsu: Aromatic Mosquitos!" Shino intoned while unleashing a large black swarm of dangerous mosquitoes that took aim at Kyōra and Ryūra who had Iris and Chaos tucked away underneath his arms. "Wind Style: Divine Mountain Wind Jutsu!" Fū still has left over chakra to spare and she didn't hold back with this attack in the slightest while Shikamaru's shadow raced across the ground to Ryūra's feet. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikamaru was prioritizing who he should go after. The lives of two small six-year-old children were more important that a Genin of the village. Even if that Genin happened to be the children's father. Shikamaru knew that if worse came to worst and the demons got away Naruto would never forgive Shikamaru if the demons took Iris and Chaos while the others managed to save him. The survivors guilt and overall paternal feelings Naruto would be feeling would kill the young father.
"Sand Coffin!" Gaara growled as he would not allow his brand-new friend and his family to be kidnapped right before his very eyes. He had so much he wanted to experience with his new friends and he would not let such an opportunity be ruined and snatched away from him.
"Oh boy… how juvenile." Kyōra patronized before lifting up his unused hand that wasn't supporting Naruto and pointed it directly at the wall of techniques coming at him. "Yōjutsu: Red Dawn!" A powerful crimson colored bolt of lightning crackled off of the demon's finger and exploded against all of the groups attack neutralizing their effects before it could even touch him. "Let me show you a real attack." Kyōra smiled before grabbing his battle fan and swinging it at the gathered group of allies. "Yōjutsu: Crimson Demon Fan - Raging Inferno!" The bird themed demon yelled as a raging inferno roared to life in the clearing striking fear into the hearts of those present.
"Everyone brace yourself!" Aria screamed as she gathered every ounce of power she could gather as she sensed the amount of Yōki in Kyōra's attack. It would incinerate everyone here including the forest around them. This was an attack meant to kill them all. "Light Screen!" The psychic witch screamed as a large golden dome sprang to life around the allies saving them from the indiscriminate inferno of fire that would have killed them otherwise. It took nearly a minute for the fire to disappear and with Aria pouring such a substantial amount of energy into her barrier to protect everyone against a killing blow it was understandable that her barrier was flickering in and out of existence as the young witch exhausted her energy reserves.
Once Aria's barrier came down and the fires subsided everyone was left with eyes widened in shock and horror to discover that both Ryūra and Kyōra were gone without a trace with Naruto, Eva, Iris, and Chaos all gone with them. A bitter cold feeling washed over everyone present who couldn't fathom how such a situation could happen right in front of their very eyes. "I can't even sense them anymore." Karin whispered in bewilderment as for the brief time the demons were in front of her she could with her amazing chakra sensing ability detect their Yōki. Karin's sensory ability didn't just limit itself to sensing chakra, she could sense other energy types as well. "No… this can't be possible… what am I going to tell Shoko." Anko whispered with tears welling up in her eyes as her heart was racing away in her chest.
"MASTER!" Aria screamed with tears flowing down her face. All of her failures were crashing down on her today. In her mind she's failed in every possible way with all of it culminating in the abduction of her family and her powerless to do anything to prevent it. Aria would have nightmares about this day for many months to come.
While everyone was descending into a mass of hysteria and anger, they weren't the only ones feeling angered by the situation in front of them. In a tree deep within the forest Balalaika touched down and witnessed the last few moments of this fateful encounter. The demons disappeared into a teleportation circle while everyone was blinded by Kyōra's firestorm impacting Aria's barrier. If those two didn't choose such a quick exit strategy the mob boss of the Hidden Stone would have intervened personally.
"Those filthy bastards. I'll kill them all." Balalaika growled with the Genin team from the Hidden Stone standing behind her with trepidation in their eyes. Kurotsuchi knew that when the king pin got like this, heads would roll.
To be continued...
Jutsu Library
1.) Ice Style: Icicle Impact Jutsu - A Jutsu that Naruto developed that allows him to slam into an area and create a massive construct of ice that breaks apart and cuts deeply into anything in the surrounding area with millions of little icicle shards. It is an area effect Jutsu that covers large distances.
2.) Sand Coffin - With his ability to control sand, Gaara encases his opponents in a large amount of the special chakra-infused sand kept inside his gourd, immobilising them. It can be used to suffocate an opponent or in preparation for a deadlier technique, the Sand Burial. This appears to be Gaara's signature technique.
3.) Sand Burial - After wrapping an opponent with sand with either Sand Coffin or Sand Shower, Gaara will cause the sand to implode and crush whatever is within it. According to Gaara, when used to kill a person, the death is so quick that there isn't even time for the victim to feel any pain. The pressure also produces a sizeable fountain of blood. Gaara can control the pressure used in the attack, which allows him to either break bones or completely liquefy an opponent.
4.) Accel Turn - Accelerating Turn works by storing Kinetic energy in one's own body, reinforced by their own internal energy (Chakra, Yōki, etc.), and then releasing that kinetic energy through an opening in the shielding their internal energy is creating at the bottom of their feet allowing the user to reach and utilize explosive high-speed movements.
5.) Tempest Turn - Tempest Turn works by storing Kinetic energy in one's own body, reinforced by their own internal energy (Chakra, Yōki, etc.), and then giving form to that energy using their internal energy and shooting it out of their body. With this technique that is unique to only Naruto he can create multiple afterimages of himself that function similarly to Shadow Clones. However, they cannot interact with their environment like normal Shadow Clones. They are literally made up of the energy cloak Naruto creates whenever he activates his Accel Turn. The after images energy wise are indistinguishable from their creator but visually they have a light blue glow to them. The copies have a sizable speed advantage, but they are not moving at the same speed as when Naruto uses Acceleration. Also, the copies take up so much energy that Naruto can only create up to four copies with this move. Also, while using this move to its fullest Naruto is unable to use Acceleration because all of it is being used to maintain Tempest Turn.
6.) Impaling Sand Forest - A wide area of effect technique that allows Gaara to summon a literal forest of tall thin spears of sand that rise into the air from the ground which from ground level appears to make the spears look as tall as trees hence the naming of the technique. The sand spears are immensely powerful and can penetrate through thick tree trunks like the ones in the Land of Fire and potentially through solid steel objects.
7.) Reflect - A Psychic Type Technique that Aria uses. It allows Aria to half the momentum and velocity of any physical object with mass that comes in contact with her barrier that takes the shape of a square or rectangular pane of clear glass. When Aria packs a lot of Psychic Magic into this technique the glass will appear to have a kaleidoscope of rainbow like colors swimming around on the glasses surface. However, the weakness to this technique is that it can't block any attack against it that is not directly physical in nature such as a punch or a falling rock. If it was struck by a bolt of lightning or hit by a ball of flames the shield would break. If any energy based attacks or techniques are used against it, then the barrier will also break.
8.) Wind Style: Great Breakthrough Jutsu - A technique that simply creates a ferocious gust of wind, whose scale and usage varies depending on the user. If used by a superior shinobi, it has enough destructive power to knock down a large tree. The wind from the squall can blow away all things in the user's line of sight. The technique can also be used in the form of a devastation stream of wind expelled from the user's mouth.
9.) Phoenix Fire - The signature move of Sōkyoku the Phoenix Goddess. This technique is her go to move to usually start off and finish a fight. She builds up for her a small amount of Holy Magic and spits it out of her mouth in the form of a massive flamethrower. To others the build up of energy she releases is immense. The attack on her scale is small and the flamethrower itself is relatively small by her standards but the damage it causes is anything but. It can annihilate entire forested areas in an instant and carve gorges into the ground. The amount of Holy Magic in the attack is so much that it can instantly purify any tainted or evil presences within a certain radius of the attack. You wouldn't even have to be hit with the attack to be incinerated if you were a low level evil entity. She can also shoot this attack out of Magic Circles to focus the attack better or remotely shoot it from multiple angles or distances instead of shooting it out of her mouth.
10.) Black Magic: Night Shade - This technique is a very peculiar attack that Chaos can use that directly affects a person's body by damaging a victim's body based on the amount of energy they contain. Chaos fires a black or dark crimson beam which travels similar to lightning; outlined in red, blue, or purple from either her hands or wings at the intended target. Chaos can also use this ability in an omni-directional wave. Chaos's body is surrounded by a purplish aura that dyes her actual body a pale purple color. She then releases multiple crimson rings from her body at the target. When the rings hit the opponent, their body becomes surrounded in a pale purple like aura. The technique works by poisoning a person's energy reserves and causing it to shock the person's body from the inside out like a taser. If the victim has a small pool of energy within their body, then they will barely be affected by this attack. On the other hand, if the victim is a powerful being with large reserves of energy then their very own power will inflict pain on them. It will have the same sensation of being burned or electrocuted from the inside out.
11.) Accelerated Punch - The only known technique of Acceleration. By molding all of the chakra in the cloak to his fist Naruto can discharge a massive burst of both chakra and kinetic energy that can demolish at this point in time almost anything. However, at this attack can be canceled out by an attack of equal force of makeup.
12.) Chidori - The Chidori is a high concentration of lightning chakra around the user's hand. To perform, the user first gathers lightning to their hand; the high concentration of electricity produces a sound reminiscent of many birds chirping, hence the name. Once the chakra is gathered, users charge at their target and thrust the Chidori into them, piercing them and typically causing fatal damage. Despite the sound it makes, the rapid speed at which it's used makes it useful for assassinations.
13.) Double Acceleration - The first variant of Accelerating Turn that works the same way as the original. The user stores up kinetic energy in their body but the difference is at this point. The user separates the built-up energy into two separate pockets surrounded by a shell of the user's internal energy (Chakra, Yōki, etc.), the two bubbles of kinetic energy is pressed up against each other and concentrated at the user's feet creating which in turn creates tremendous amounts of pressure on the body. Once released the added pressure results in a massive shockwave of kinetic energy that propels the user forwards at incredible speeds. The user then releases the second and final bubble of kinetic energy after the first gets depleted allowing them to speed back up again. Because of this there is a brief amount of lag in between each jump but the lag spike is so short that only experienced fighters would be able to notice or counter it.
14.) Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu - The Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu is the advanced version of the Jutsu and creates hundreds of clones instead of just the average number.
15.) Wind Style: Infinite Sandstorm - Great Breakthrough - A technique used by Gaara in his miniature Shukaku form. He first inhales air with the mouths on his face and all over his body, and blows it out along with a chakra-coated sand cloud. This powerful squall covers a large angle in a stream sufficient to knock the trees down and damage them with the sand. This technique is extremely efficient even against multiple enemies.
16.) Tempest Phoenix Barrage - A variation of his standard and unique combo move named the Uzumaki Phoenix Barrage. A improvised move created by Naruto that mimics some aspects of Rock Lee's Primary Lotus as well as the modified improvised version Sasuke gained by copying Lee's movements with his Sharingan. Naruto replaces his shadow clones in the technique's sequences and instead uses Tempest Clones for an added kinetic explosive effect in the attacks. The combo finishes in the same way with Naruto smashing a downward arching heel drop into the skull or stomach of his opponent with his foot covered in Iris's Sacred Fire. A large Phoenix shaped scorch imprint is left on the surface of the ground in which Naruto's target is slammed into.
17.) Summoning Jutsu - The Summoning Technique is a space–time ninjutsu that allows the summoner to transport animals or people across long distances instantly and uses blood as a sacrifice. Before an animal summoning can be performed, a prospective summoner must first sign a contract with a given species. The contract comes in the form of a scroll, on which the contractor uses their own blood to sign their name and place their fingerprints and once signed it is valid even after the contractor's death as long as the contract itself remains intact. After this, they need only offer an additional donation of blood on the hand they signed the contract with, mould their chakra with hand seals and then plant the hand they signed the contract with at the location they wish to summon the creature. The amount of chakra used during the summoning determines how powerful the summoned creature can be. It is possible for a summoner to summon a group of the same contracted animal, as opposed to a single individual.
18.) Play Possum Jutsu - This technique forces the user to fall asleep. However, since the user is left vulnerable, the enemy can wake the user up using a direct blow; the difficulty on how to wake the user up is dependent on how long they have fallen asleep.
19.) Sand Barbs - A unique long range technique of Shukaku that allows him to fire off the barb like scales that makes up the surface of his tail like missiles that can travel extremely long distances and barrage a target and keep them pinned down. The barbs are extremely rough in texture and sharp enough to cut through practically any man made structure. They are all usually the size of a large room and given their enhanced velocity the barbs also have immense penetrative momentum.
20.) Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullets - To use this technique, Shukaku will first take a deep breath, and then pound its stomach to apply external pressure, the power of which it uses to shoot a highly compressed air ball from its mouth. The expelled air ball is mighty enough to hollow out the ground, and level an entire forest. Because of the large quantity of chakra kneaded into it, it explodes the moment it reaches its target, dealing an enormous amount of damage, as well as levelling anything in its path. Shukaku is able to fire multiple of these in rapid succession, having a certain level of control regarding the size of the bullets.
21.) Water Style: Liquid Bullets - After kneading and converting their chakra into water, the user will shoot one or more condensed blasts of water at the target. The size is dependent on how much water the user can store in their body.
22.) Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu - This defensive technique creates a wall of water around the user. Enemy attacks are completely intercepted by a fence of water blown out from the mouth and is raised from below with tremendous might. The water is blown out in the form of a circle around the user, and it makes for a defense without openings. It is also possible for the user to control the amount of water and duration at will. The wall's strength and resistance change following the quantity of chakra poured down into the water, so a skillful shinobi will be able to build a sturdy one. Furthermore, because the field of vision is maintained even while defending one can easily go on to the next move, which is a great advantage. The wall can also be formed from a pre-existing water source.
23.) Aegis - A unique ability that Chaos demonstrates. She creates a light blue shield that has hexagonal shapes as its pattern. The shield is in the shape of a large sphere that increases its diameter and can encompass anything Chaos wishes it to. Chaos can also summon her Aegis shield at long ranges to encompass objects that are not connected to her; effectively allowing her to trap people, objects, and targets within an inescapable prison.
24.) Combination Transformation Jutsu - An advanced form of the Transformation Technique, the Combination Transformation transforms two users into one being and also gains the physical abilities of the transformed entity. In some cases, when one user is preoccupied or cannot use hand seals, one may perform the necessary hand seals, while the other may provide the chakra.
25.) Forbidden Uzumaki Style Fūinjutsu: Reaper Death Seal - The Dead Demon Consuming Seal is a sealing technique developed by the Uzumaki clan to call upon the power of the Shinigami. After the hand seals are performed, the user's soul is partly separated from their body and suspended behind them. Behind their soul appears the Shinigami, which restrains their soul with its hair. Only the summoner is able to see the Shinigami at this point. Eventually, the Shinigami wraps its left arm with prayer beads and chants unintelligibly until a cursed seal appears on its arm. It then drives its arm into the summoner's soul, thus allowing the summoner to call upon the Shinigami to seal a target. The technique can either be initiated at close-range, immobilizing the target while their soul is extracted, or from a longer range. The Shinigami's arm emerges from the summoner's body and grasps the soul of the target, enabling the target to see the Shinigami as well. Once the target's soul is grasped, the summoner can remove the target's soul and seal it into their own body.
26.) Tailed Beast Ball - The Tailed Beast Ball is the ultimate technique of a tailed beast, which can also be used by a Jinchūriki while transformed. Tailed Beast Balls are made from an 8:2 ratio of positive black chakra and negative white chakra. Users must gather and balance this chakra in their mouths, shape it into a sphere, and then fire it at their target. Most users fire their Tailed Beast Balls as-is, while others may consume the ball and fire it from their mouth as a beam. Tailed Beast Balls are incredibly dense so much so that upon their creation they forcibly sink their creator into the ground due to the increase mass of the sphere. Despite how heavy they are, they move at an incredible rate once fired. They can move several miles in only a few seconds and reach far off places in under a minute. Tailed Beast Balls are very destructive, creating explosions that are visible from far away and that vaporise almost everything in the blast area. The extent of the damage is dependent upon how the ball is fired and how much chakra it has, but its "standard" size is enough to destroy mountains. Tailed Beast Balls are comparatively weaker if a jinchūriki uses one without entering their Tailed Beast Mode, yet it is still enough to represent a serious threat to people and infrastructures.
27.) Phoenix Fire: Alpha Force - The upgraded and 1st level to Sōkyoku's signature attack. With this move Sōkyoku's entire body becomes engulfed in flames and those flames then concentrate around Sōkyoku's beak. The attack is sometimes accompanied by Sōkyoku's Magic Circle, but it is not required for the technique. Sōkyoku gathers up a larger pool of power for this move that is actually somewhat noticeable for the goddess. When she shoots off this attack the release of the attack creates a shockwave so intense that it knocks over everything within a certain square mile radius around it just like a nuclear bomb. The heat of this attack is comparable to that of the sun and it scorches anything it touches to ash and leaves the earth beneath it charred black. Because the attack is Holy Magic and is from Sōkyoku of all being's, wildlife and nature will eventually grow back in the region where this attack is used, and the health and vitality of the nature and wildlife will be leagues ahead of anything else of the same species regardless of what it is.
28.) Ninja Art: Vicious Rattlesnakes Jutsu - A upgraded and much more powerful version of the Striking Shadow Snakes Jutsu. The user is able to summon a large horde of giant rattlesnakes that emanate a chorus of distinct rattles and vibrations on their way to their intended target making this technique very loud and not suitable for stealth missions. In terms of power it outclasses the standard technique and can smash through blockades with the snakes in question being larger than the ones summoned from the users sleeves.
29.) Hidden Jutsu: Aromatic Mosquitos - A technique of the Aburame Clan. Certain users of the clan who have colonies of mosquitos in their bodies can use this technique. Shino summons a massive horde of mosquitoes who will seek out the blood of his intended target and suck them bone dry in a matter of seconds if successful. The swarm is very noticeable and also makes a very loud and distinct sound which excludes this technique from stealth situations but in open field combat it is a viable choice since the victim will have all of the blood in their bodies viciously sucked away in a matter of seconds with their entire body being covered in dense layers of insects.
30.) Wind Style: Divine Mountain Wind Jutsu - An upgraded and more powerful version of its parent technique the Wind Style: Divine Wind Jutsu. This technique creates a vortex of wind so powerful that it can uproot boulders and trees and the current is focused down into a focal point to blast at a target.
31.) Shadow Possession Jutsu - This is the signature secret technique of the famous Nara Clan. The user extends their shadow on any surface even water and as far as they want as long as there is a sufficient area. Once it comes into contact with a target's shadow, the two merge and the target is forced to imitate the user's movements. If the target is out of range, the user can produce a better light source to increase their shadow's size or rely on pre-existing shadows for their shadow to freely travel through. It's also possible to split one's shadow, either to trap more opponents at once, or to create a distraction.
32.) Yōjutsu: Red Dawn - A very powerful technique at Kyōra's disposal that allows him to generate bright crimson colored bolts of electricity and lightning from any part of his body that is supercharged by his very potent Yōki. Kyōra has very accurate procision with his blasts as he is capable of singling out individual targets or launching a large wide spread blast of lightning that can plow through most defenses.
33.) Yōjutsu: Crimson Demon Fan - Raging Inferno - By swinging his war fan around Kyōra can generate massive infernos that are unlike most Fire Style Ninjutsu. The flames are shimmering with potent dosages of Yōki and can burn down entire forest with only a single swing. Kyōra also has very refined control over the flames themselves as he can manipulate the fire that is generated off of his fan to take any shape he wishes.
34.) Light Screen - A Psychic Type Technique that Aria uses. It allows Aria to stop any energy based attack or Natural force of nature that comes in contact with her barrier which takes the shape of a gold translucent barrier with a pulsating honeycomb like pattern in it. Aria can form the attack in a flat barrier in front of her with the barrier having no defining edge or space. She can form it into a flat pane like a square or rectangle just like her Reflect Technique. Aria can coat her body in this technique and wear it like a second skin. Finally, Aria can project this technique in the shape of a box around her or a target of her choosing. If her barrier was to come in contact with a physical attack in nature, then Aria's barrier will shatter instantly.
Author's Note (A/N): This was without a doubt one of the most important chapters to date with a cliffhanger years in the making. The 4 War Gods have Naruto and his children. What nefarious plans do these demon brothers have in store for the Uzumaki Family?
The chapter starts off with Naruto in a frenzied state attempting everything within his power to stop Gaara before he unleashes Shukaku into the world. A goal Naruto fails in with the One Tailed Sand Spirit returning to the world after years of confinement within Gaara's seal. The remorse and shame Aria feels is eating away at her throughout this chapter as she feels the weight of Naruto's uncharacteristic wrath brought down upon her. Naruto displays unusual spikes of aggression which is soon revealed to be the mysterious gemstone on Eva's stomach acting up and influencing Naruto to act in ways he would regret for the rest of his life.
Naruto lashes out and strikes Iris in a fit of anger that stuns everyone present. He follows this up with harsh words he would never speak to either of his daughters and even attempts to kill Aria when she rightfully points out his flaws and uncharacteristic behavior. Naruto has a lot to apologize for especially since he never actually got to properly apologize to his family for his behavior.
As far as the battle between the two Jinchūriki went. I wanted to make it as exciting and epic as I possibly could. I added lots of original scenes while still keep with the same general flow of the canon fight. Unfortunately I couldn't add Gamakichi into the chapter but he will be coming in the future. As far as Naruto sensing Hiruzen's death. He sensed it on a spiritual level the same way he sensed Jiraiya's death in the Manga and in this case he also sensed it on a more astral sense since he was currently synced up with Iris who is the Supreme Goddess of Life. Iris's ability to sense the passing of souls off into the afterlife as they travel through her body made it possible for Naruto to feel the exact sensation his daughter felt.
In this Gaara undergoes the same formated Jinchūriki transformation states that the other eight go through. Because Kishimoto hadn't come up with the proper structure of what all Jinchūriki share in common during this point in the story Gaara was left to undergo a unique transformation that didn't match up with everyone else's later on in the manga. I went ahead and unified it here and even gave Shukaku access to the Tailed Beast Ball which wasn't even invented back then.
A more peaceful setting takes over after the battle with Naruto setting himself back on the right path with Iris's heartfelt pleas. Naruto in turn offers Gaara his friendship which the redhead accepts without hesitation. Things become more lighthearted with Chaos forcing Iris into kissing Gaara on the cheek and the Sand Genin ignorantly admitting that he likes Iris back. It further spirals out of control with Naruto's overprotective instincts entering the mix with Chaos stirring up the pot further with her sadistic teasing. Fū was thrown into the mix with her in return purposefully teasing Naruto and his family back by stating she wouldn't mind becoming romantically involved with Naruto much to Iris's indignation. Karin even gets her own perverse input before all the fun is ruined by the arrival of the 4 War Gods.
Ryūra and Kyōra show up without warning and quickly knocks all three Uzumaki family members out while simultaneously dispatching the entire group present without breaking a sweat. Even with the groups combined assault they are no match for the duo who casually defend themselves against all of their attacks without the slightest bit of difficulty.
The chapter ends on a very bitter note with the unprovoked but planned abduction of the Uzumaki family which leaves those present in a mental state of defeat and Balalaika who was lurking in the shadows very angry. What will happen next? Revelations and a brand new horizon and destiny for Naruto and the world will be opened up to the Uzumaki family in the next chapter as their journey in these next few chapters will shape the long distant future forever.
Next Chapter: Chapter 66 (Hōrai Island: Part 1) – Alone at Home
The Fire on the Mystic Island mini arc is next up guys so get ready!
That's the end of Chapter 65 I sincerely hoped you enjoyed it.
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Published: 5/14/2018
