Ok...I'm getting a burn out feeling. With the expectations that I have from my family and the expectations I have for myself on this story. If I vanish for a few days don't worry cause I just needed a little break ok? Well thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this new chapter!
"Speech"
'Thought'
"Kyuubi"
(Standard Disclaimer)
Chapter 37: Sand and Steel
Zaiaku made record time to the Northern exit, his body's chakra swiftly returning to his normal level from the pill Naruto had given him. As he landed with soft tap he turned his golden eyes to the south watching as the crashes of to Kazekage drew closer. He must be attacking Katsu, why else cause so much destruction?
In reality Zaiaku was only half right. At the head of this destruction was Katsu while Gaara was using his sand to guard himself and save anyone who was in the path of the monster. Where he gained so much strength to be causing all this damage was beyond Gaara but it didn't matter. This...THING was a menace to the entire ninja world and needed to be killed.
"Give it up Kazekage!" Katsu roared as he placed his hand on the side of a building, crumbling its foundation causing it to fall. Gaara's eyes widened as he rushed his sand to catch the falling building causing his attention to be removed from Katsu...
Katsu was a mere blur as he rushed for the gates of Konoha. A low harsh rumbling echoed from Katsu's gullet, his mirth evident in his distorted laughter. He had caused just enough destruction to get away and back to Master. Maybe Master could use this destruction as cover. If he made more maybe Master would be happy with him. Katsu's train of thought was cut off the second a heavy seemingly steel fist connected with his stomach sending him flying into a building.
"Katsu, I don't believe I've had the pleasure of kicking your ass today," Zaiaku's voice rose from the dust that had been kicked up. His chakra flared to it's normal levels and even higher thanks to the half pill Naruto had given him. "Let's rectify that," Zaiaku said with a sneer as he charged Katsu, his eyes pure gold with a black cross pupil.
Katsu laughed in his dark gravel voice while he pulled himself from the rubble and said, "do you honestly think you can kill me?" Zaiaku smirked and landed his hand right into Katsu's gut as his other grabbed Katsu's bald skull, "I know it!" Zaiaku pulled his own head back and with all the force he could muster he bashed his skull against Katsu's sending him flying into another wall.
Zaiaku held his head and stumbled around, 'ok not the best idea...' Katsu rose from the destruction, the only indication that he had been harmed was his forehead bleeding. "Congratulations Zaiaku, you got me to bleed with that barbaric attack," Katsu said as he wiped the blood from his scalp. "I know what game you play Katsu," Zaiaku said as he shook his head putting the world back in correct order.
"Oh you do?" Katsu asked with a smug air to his sandpaper voice. "You fight your opponents to exhaustion then destroy their innards with your gloves. Somehow you absorb their chakra into your own body but..." Zaiaku paused as Katsu rushed at him delivering a punch at the coin user. The punch connected with Zaiaku's chest but Katsu held back his chakra, he wanted to savor this fight.
"You have no idea how I move, or how I continue to get stronger while you get weaker," Katsu said smugly as Zaiaku rolled back from the powerful attack. "No one could figure it out except...him," Katsu said with a bit of admiration at the word 'him.'
Zaiaku coughed and used what little coins he had to wrap around Katsu and tighten like ropes. "Who is this 'him'?" Zaiaku asked as the coin ropes constricted further. "He is a great man, a man who could see the potential in nothing, a wonderful master. He could spot a perfect diamond in the pile of shit that was Konoha!" Katsu screamed as he let forth a burst of chakra destroying all the coins surrounding him.
Zaiaku shielded his face from the coin fragments and said, "so you're from Konoha. I've never heard of anyone named Katsu from Konoha." Katsu growled and clenched his fist, "well then, maybe you remember Gingami Amagumo." Zaiaku's eyes snapped open and his mouth dropped open in surprise. "Amagumo? You can't be..." Zaiaku said in disbelief while Katsu simply scoffed. "Expected that weakling from so long ago didn't you," Katsu said with crossed arms.
"Who the hell are you!" Zaiaku yelled while he stomped his foot, a habit he developed out of being frustrated. "Exactly who you think. Amagumo of the Gingami clan, a clan which holds only the BEST of the blood lines. However..." Amagumo said as he reached up to his scarf, "it only awakens when one dies!"
Amagumo pulled away his scarf revealing his face. His skin was grey and discolored while it was drawn so tight against his skeleton his face alone looked like a skull wrapped in leather. His lips moved but Zaiaku could see he was not drawing breath to speak. A box attached to his throat was what produced that horrible voice and lying around the crimson box were three paper tags. "You left me to die!" the box screamed as Amagumo's body began to heave heavily, preparing for something big.
"I was killed but then HE came along. He resurrected me, turned my very body into a weapon! You want to know why I grow stronger while you grow weak!" Amagumo said as he charged at Zaiaku. Zaiaku tried to defend but he found that his body was weaker then when he started. Even the pill Naruto had given him had begun to wear off and he had to rely upon his lessened chakra.
"When one of my clan dies their body becomes a completely different composition all together! More flexible then any human body but the best part of it is..." Katsu said as he got right up in Zaiaku's face, "I absorb the chakra from anything within a ten meter radius of my body. Payback for that cheap shot sinner." Katsu grabbed Zaiaku's arm with one hand and he attempted to grab his head with the other.
With immense speed and luck Zaiaku avoided Amagumo's hand aimed for his face but his arm did not fare so well. In an instant Zaiaku's left arm was turned into shattered bone but he held his scream of pain as he sent a small stream of coins for Amagumo's chest. Amagumo leapt back and easily destroyed the coins. "Well sinner, it seems you are out of your precious coins," Amagumo said smugly.
Zaiaku's eyes snapped open and glared at Amagumo with supreme killer intent. This was the monster that killed his teacher and almost killed his best friend. Amagumo would die here! If Zaiaku wanted to win he would have to use it! Wait...maybe not. Zaiaku's right hand furiously flew through some odd single handed seals and in a flash the black cross in his left eye opened to two times it's normal size. "You'll be the first person to know why I have so many tattoos..." Zaiaku mused with a smirk as from his eye came a bright wave of chakra that washed over his entire body.
Amagumo shielded his eyes from the bright light and when it had vanished he was on the defense. What the hell was that? Amagumo stayed in his defensive position for a few moments before relaxing and smirking. "What was the point of that?" Amagumo asked as Zaiaku began to chuckled. It was a light chuckle at that but it slowly grew until it broke out into a full out maniacal laughter.
Amagumo sneered and said, "time to shut that trap." Before Amagumo could move he felt something, a very massive presence behind him.. Amagumo turned to face a massive tidal wave of finely crushed rock that had turned to sand. He stared at the massive wave that seemed suspended in mid-collision. "Ryuusa Bakuryuu," came a cold voice over the silently suspended wave of sand.
Suddenly the sand fell and whip like tendrils flew from it wrapping around Amagumo and drawing him into the massive pool of sand formed by the wave. From the sky floating on a disk of sand was the Kazekage of Suna, Sabaku no Gaara. Gaara landed next to Zaiaku who at the moment was still laughing maniacally to himself.
"Kazekage of the sand. Why must you intrude on my fun," Zaiaku laughed as he looked the dangerous ex-demon vessel in the eyes. Gaara quirked an eyebrow while Zaiaku continued with, "I've always wondered what it would be like to have a good fight with you." "Are you sure you haven't experienced head trauma?" asked Gaara in his cold tone.
At this point Zaiaku was a little on the insane side as he said with a devilish grin on his face, "do you mind bringing him to the surface. There is something I want to talk to him about." Gaara took one step away from the Genin, is this what he used to act like? It was making him feel very uncomfortable but he followed through with the request. Surfacing on the massive lake of sand came Amagumo, struggling with all he's worth to free himself from the sand binds that held him still.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Amagumo yelled as he began to charge his gloves with chakra. "I wouldn't..." Gaara said but it was to late. The instant Amagumo released his chakra in the gloves the beads glowed brightly...then exploded leaving his arms shredded bits of bone, blood, and sinewy muscle. "The sand clogged your gloves instruments. It backfired apparently...how does it feel?" Gaara asked with a dark smirk.
Amagumo snarled as if he wasn't hurt and began his struggle anew. "I'll kill both of you! Let me out and I'll kill you!" Amagumo screamed while Zaiaku laughed and laughed. "How does it feel to be on the bottom of the ladder again Amagumo? Falling from killing people to being at our mercy." Gaara turned to Zaiaku with a look saying, 'our mercy?'
Zaiaku caught the look from Gaara and in an instant from his body flew coins, hundreds and hundreds of coins. All of them from all periods of time, from the ancient days of the five countries to the present day mints. "My tattoos are metal based so I can rip them from my skin and turn them into knife edged coins composed of pure chakra. And if you say you'll absorb the chakra then I respond with they'll cut you in half before you can even blink," Zaiaku said his tone going dark and his bright golden eyes dulling.
"I may have sacrificed my eye temporarily for this but it'll be worth it. Kazekage if you will?" Zaiaku asked while Gaara watched the conversation. This coin Genin was a very interesting person, had he been from Suna he would be a very good asset. No use thinking on the past though, it brought up bad memories. Gaara rose Amagumo from his Sand prison and in an instant Amagumo was free.
"Big mistake!" Amagumo screamed as he charge Zaiaku and Gaara with his destroyed arms waving limply at his sides. "If I may ask your assistance with a demonic idea?" Zaiaku asked Gaara. Gaara smirked and began to mold his own personal sand while Zaiaku's chakra coins flew into the mix. Amagumo smirked, those two were doing a poor job of fighting against his bloodline. There was no key to fighting him! He was INVINCIBLE!
Amagumo froze, oh this was really bad. Just bad enough to take back his words. Standing before him was a massive beast, about the size of Zaiaku's Taishokukan only this was much more...fearsome. It's body looked like that of the Tanuki sand priest Shukaku. Along it's back, shoulders, and face were spiked plates made of Zaiaku's chakra coins and on it's front legs and tail were blades made of the very same coins.
The sand flesh of this Shukaku was quickly sifting and changing, accommodating the coin skeleton to give it extra support and power just below the surface. Shukaku opened it's great mouth showing that the monsters oral cavity was indeed larger then its inspiration and it's horrible teeth were made of razor edge chakra coins. The kicker of the beast was the massive coin constructed tongue that could have put Orochimaru to shame. Gaara resolved to ask Zaiaku about that...feature later.
"Ijikitanai..." Zaiaku began as the blended Shukaku began to open its eyes to Amagumo revealing one of its sand Shukaku eyes. "Shukaku," Gaara finished as the completed beast stared at Amagumo, one eye resembling Shukaku and the other was shaped into a silver replication of Zaiaku's bloodline. Amagumo gulped as the demon faced him down, a disturbing grin on it's face while it's monstrous silver tongue dangled over it's lower jaw.
"You have preformed crimes against Konohagakure and by our treaty I am obliged to put you on trial," Gaara said calmly as the Shukaku approached one step towards Amagumo. "You killed my sensei and nearly killed my best friend," Zaiaku snarled as Amagumo took a step back in fear. "I find the only punishment is death," Gaara said as Shukaku's sand flesh shifted. "I will avenge them," Zaiaku said as the silver tongue whipped around the jaw as if licking it's lips in anticipation.
Gaara and Zaiaku looked at each other, their serious faces giving way to dark smirks. "Our beast will feast..." Gaara said with a tone he hasn't had since he possessed Shukaku. "On his rotten flesh," Zaiaku finished with a blood curdling malice. They turned their head to the Shukaku who in the blink of an eye charged and wrapped the frozen Amagumo in it's wild tongue.
Amagumo could only scream in pain and fear as Shukaku grabbed both his legs in it's metal plated claws and with one swift motion separated them from his body leaving nothing but bloody stumps. Opening its mouth wide Shukaku threw the legs into its cavernous throat then slowly drew its tongue into its mouth as if savoring the fear that was radiating off Amagumo.
"No! Stop! I'll tell you any thing!" Amagumo shouted as Shukaku stopped his feast. Taking that as his cue Amagumo began to plead his case as swiftly as he could. His information went from light details about Orochimaru's plans to his shoe size and underwear color. By the time he had finished he had lost so much blood that he was becoming faint and he struggled to stay awake and alive.
"Now will you let me go?" whispered Amagumo while staring into the giant Tanuki's mouth. "Let you go?" Gaara questioned with a smirk. "When did we agree to that?" asked Zaiaku as in one swift pull Shukaku had devoured Amagumo in one gulp. "You know I attempted my best to use my coins in my own way rather than copy your jutsu. I consider it thievery," Zaiaku said as he watched the monstrous Shukaku enjoy its feast.
Gaara smirked and crossed his arms, "too many people have copied techniques from others and twisted them. It is as if the world is being overrun by ninja to weak to create their own jutsu. They begin stealing jutsu and then twisting it with such perversion that it becomes their 'own'. I respect your decision even with your...remarkably similar usage of coins. However in this case..." Gaara held up his hand to the Shukaku beast while Zaiaku did the same.
"Ginkise Shukaku..." Zaiaku began as he focused chakra into his palm, "Sabaku Sousou," Gaara finished as both ninja clenched their fists compressing the massive Shukaku into a ball only one foot in diameter. Blood splattered from inside the ball and then began to leak from it. Lucky for both ninja Amagumo had already lost so much blood that the splatter was not anything like what it could be.
Both ninja released their hold and the ball fell to pieces, the bloody sand returning to Gaara's gourd while Zaiaku's coins simply turned to powder and vanished. As the ball fell apart several chunks of Amagumo fell from it including the three bloody tags that had been on his neck. Zaiaku stood for a total of three seconds before falling back onto his rear end. "Well...that was an experience..." Zaiaku said, his cool and calm tone back in full force.
Gaara smirked as he gathered the three tags and said, "I am sure the Hokage would be very interested in the information we gathered." Zaiaku tried to stand but failed and said, "I thank you for this unique opportunity Kazekage. It was very..." "Interesting," Gaara finished with a grin as he helped Zaiaku to his feet. Gaara summoned his sand and they began the flight back to the hospital on Gaara's Sabaku Fuyuu.
End Chapter
Well how was that? Good I hope but I understand if it's any other way. Well Q and A time! Well...if there was any. I'm sorry but I have no preview so all I have is a thank you and see you later!