Naruto: The Weapon Master
Chapter 19: Defending the Home Turf Pt. 2
"Damn, what the heck is she?!" thought Sasuke as he stared at Gaia as half of her body was covered in sand and it has covered her hand in form of a claw, she was staring at Him as if he's a piece of meat.
Sasuke had been pursuing the sand siblings since they ran from the battle arena, Temari stayed behind to fight him but was defeated when he used a chidori as a feint which made her throw some and replaced himself with a log which had an exploding note, knocking her away before he continued on his way. When he reached Kankurou and Gaia, Temari had caught up with them and it was Kankurou's turn to buy them. But that was when Shino arrived to fight Kankurou and let Sasuke continue his pursuit.
But it was when he caught up that Gaia woke up and knocked Temari away forcefully, then the right half of her body started to change. Afterwards she started attacking with the ferocity of an animal, Sasuke tried to fight back but his was ineffective and the sharingan wasn't making it any easier. He wanted to use the chidori but hesitated as Kakashi had warned that he could only use it three times a day and the third time would only be half as effective and the cursed seal would take over.
But when Gaia taunted him by saying that his reason for existing was pathetic, it enraged Sasuke to use the chidori again to strike Gaia but it was not enough to damage her and the cursed seal immediately activated and covered his body, paralyzing it in with pain.
"Now die Sasuke Uchiha and let mother feast on your blood to prove my existence!" Gaia leapt towards Sasuke with the sand claw stretched out to impale him.
"Damn this can't be the end for me, I can't die until I've killed Itachi and avenged my clan!" thought Sasuke as he watched the claw draw close to him in slow motion when he heard a familiar voice.
"Flying kick!" A foot slammed into Gaia's face which sent her flying back, then a boy landed in front of him who was none other than Naruto Uzumaki.
"Sorry we're late Sasuke, we had to deal with stalkers and then had to take detour before we finally caught up with you," said Naruto with a foxy grin.
"Hmph, better late than never Dobe," said Sasuke through gritted teeth as the cursed seal pulsed through his body, making Naruto frown a bit.
"I thought Jiji said that the seal has been dealt with?" thought Naruto.
"My guess is that Sasuke must have pushed his body too far for the cursed seal to take over," said Chinami.
"We can talk about that later, we need to focus on Gaia and Shukaku!" said Kurama, Naruto nodded in affirmation as he turned to face the partially transformed Gaia before speaking to Sakura.
"Sakura-chan, I need you to get Sasuke out of here,"
"What but Naruto it's too dangerous for you to face her alone, even with the bracelet," Sakura protested as she was worried about him.
"Don't forget that our mission was to bring Sasuke back and that is our number one priority, besides I think I've got her full attention," said Naruto as he looked at Gaia smiling sadistically at him.
"Naruto Uzumaki, I've been waiting all this time so that I can fight to prove my existence and have mother feast on your blood!" shouted Gaia.
"Sakura go now!"
"Okay Naruto-kun, just please come back alive," said Sakura, Naruto turned and gave her a gentle smile.
"I will and that is a promise," Sakura smiled before she went to carry Sasuke and left, then Naruto turned around to face Gaia "I believe we should introduce ourselves before we battle as I'm sure that it will be an unforgettable one,"
"I am Gaia of the Sand, daughter of the fourth Kazekage and the jinchurriki of Shukaku," said Gaia.
Then Naruto took a stance and spoke up "And I am Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, son of the fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki and the jinchurriki of Kurama,"
Nearby Temari was surprise to hear who Naruto truly was "He's the son of the yellow flash and a jinchurriki?! Then why isn't he bloodthirsty like Gaia?"
Music Start: Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep OST; Rage Awakened –The Origin-
Naruto performed some handsigns and launched the jutsu "Fire style: Grand Fireball!," a large ball of fire raced towards Gaia who had her sand claw expand enough to form a shield around her to block the attack "I guess fire jutsu is out since it won't do a thing,"
"You can't use water jutsu either since there's no source of water nearby," said Chinami.
"Which only leaves you with wind and lightning jutsus to use against him, Naruto-kun watch out she's transforming again!" said Kurama. Naruto watched as the sand spread over Gaia's body till only her legs were uncovered and a tail was formed, "Naruto-kun, we have to stop her before she completes her transformation,"
"So it's a race against time, these kind of things are never easy," Naruto leapt towards Gaia and formed a handsign "Shadow Clone jutsu! Then several clones appeared and charged in.
"Wind style: Sandstorm Devastation!" Gaia took a deep breath with several mouths appearing on her body to do the same before releasing a powerful gust mixed with sand, the blast was powerful enough to sending Naruto and his clones flying back, dispelling them as well while Naruto crashed into a tree trunk. Fighting back the pain, Naruto performed some handsigns and took a deep breath "Wind style: Great Breakthrough!" before opening his mouth to release a power gust of his own to push back the sandstorm until they both dissipated.
"That's right Uzumaki, fight me and make me feeling alive!" Gaia crossed her arms "Sand Shuriken!" and lashed out, releasing sand projectiles. Naruto quickly placed a hand on the hilt of Mumei no Tamanoo "Secret Arts: Quick Draw!" he drew out the blade in a flash as the sand projectiles were slashed before returning to its sheath, the he sped through some handsigns again "Lightning style: Lightning Bolt!" then held a palm towards Gaia as arcs of electricity shot of it.
Gaia saw the incoming attack and stretched a claw towards a tree trunk to latch onto, then pulled herself over to avoid the jutsu and swung around like a slingshot and launched herself at Naruto with her claws bared. Naruto teleported away and reappeared on the trunk of a tree with chakra channeled to his feet to latch onto it, then he saw many sand tendrils of sand racing towards from different directions.
"Naruto-kun, it's all over if the sand catches you!" shouted Kurama.
"I know! Wind style: Typhoon Dance!" Naruto jumped off and spun in the air and the wind gathered and swirled around him, preventing the sand from getting anywhere close to him.
"I'm surprised that he can defend himself against Gaia's attacks in that form, but it's useless if he can't break through her sand defense," thought Temari as she continued to watch the battle from a fair distance.
"Girls I'm up for some suggestions, I can't get in close for the sand will crush me and attacking from a distance has no effect at all. So far I'm only using wind jutsus to defend against Gaia's sand attacks!" thought Naruto as he continued to deflect the sand tendrils with a Gale Claw jutsu.
"Despite having one tail, Shukaku-chan is known for her usage of sand to defend against any kind of jutsus hence the name absolute defense, her weakness is water jutsus since it will soak her sand and slow its movements, and lightning jutsus as they can pierce through her sand shields," said Kurama.
"But there's no water nearby for me to use and I've yet to ask Kakashi-Nii for lightning jutsus since I only know one which I created aside from the others plus won't be so effective,"
"Naruto-sama, I've just gone through the archives and found a weapon that can help you against Gaia and I'm sending the information to you now,"said Chinami as she came running out of the library which Naruto had made for her to store the knowledge of the bracelet.
Naruto felt the information flow into his mind before he placed a hand on the bracelet and channeled while calling out "Busou Renkin!" then there was a flash of light before it faded to reveal Naruto holding a small and sleek lance. It has a dragon motif with teeth-like patterns and hexagons although it closely resembles that of a sword, unlike normal lances that are held with two hands, Naruto felt that it could be wielded with one hand.
"How can that overgrown toothpick help you?!" shouted Gaia as she launched another barrage of sand shuriken at the blond, Naruto held out the lance and twirled it like a propeller as it deflected all of them before he held it with both hands and aimed it at partially transformed jinchurriki.
"Sunlight Slasher!" the tips and sides along with the end of the lance opened up to release yellow energy which quickly launched Naruto forwards. Gaia performed the Sand Devastation jutsu again to blow him back, but he simply pierced through it and kept on approaching. Tendrils of sand shot out of Gaia's sand body and wrapped around Naruto's limbs then it proceeded to squeeze him tightly, Naruto aimed the lance at Gaia's chest and called out "Expand!" the lance opened up and stretched out with the tip heading towards Gaia which forced her to throw him away right as the tip pierced her sand armor and almost reached her real body. Naruto flipped in midair and used the lance's energy propulsion to land safely on a tree branch.
"Naruto-sama, channel your lightning chakra into the lance, it will increase its power," said Chinami, Naruto did so and yellow lightning could be seen coursing through the lance. Naruto started swinging the lance repeatedly which released lightning energy waves at Gaia who used her arms to block them, but with each hit she could feel her body go numb.
"Now's my chance, Shadow Clone jutsu!" the clones appeared and dashed towards Gaia while channeling lightning chakra to different parts of their bodies. Gaia was able to destroy the first clones that come to her, but she was struck by two clones that approached from below and was soon followed by the rest with the sand being unstable as the electricity was messing with it.
"I can't believe it, he's actually putting pressure on Gaia?" thought Temari.
"Die Uzumaki!" Gaia lashed out with her claw, stretching it towards Naruto who stabbed the lance into it and is trying to hold it back but was slowly getting pushed back.
"This is all or nothing, Sunlight Slasher: Full Blast Lightning mode!" the lance released energy far more than before and rocketed towards Gaia while splitting the sand claw. Right as he got close, he pulled away at the last second and slammed a powerful punch infused with lightning, sending her crashing to the ground "Is it over?" then he heard Gaia scream out loudly.
"My existence will not be erased! There's no way I'll lose to someone like you!"
Music End
"Naruto-kun, you have to get out of there now!" shouted Kurama, Naruto quickly used the lance to propel himself away right as a cloud of smoke appeared, he turned to see a huge silhouette behind the smoke which cleared to reveal a giant raccoon completely made of sand and a long tail behind it.
"Oh no, she has released its full form, it's not me for me to be here," thought Temari before leaping away.
"If she's going big then I'll do the same, Summoning jutsu!" Naruto made the lance disappear before performing some handsigns and slamming his right palm on the ground, there was a puff of smoke before it faded to reveal Naruto standing on a giant toad with a scar across its left eye that was wearing a purple vest with a katana strapped to its side.
"It's you kid, what have you summoned me here for?" asked the toad.
"Gamabunta, I summoned you here cause I need your help against the Shukaku," said Naruto pointing at the bijuu.
"You must be in a real jam, I'll help out but next time we'll exchange a cup of sake to seal the deal,"
"How about when I reach a legal age then I'll be glad to do so,"
"Then you've got yourself a deal,"
Music Start: Kingdom Hearts 2; The Encounter
Then Gamabunta drew his katana from its sheath while holding it in reverse and held it by his side "Better hold on tight kid, it's gonna be a bumpy ride," before he leapt at the sand raccoon. Shukaku lashed out a claw to attack the toad, but Gamabunta dodged at the last minute and swung his sword "Take this, Toad Blade Cut!" the blade sank into the bijuu's arm but he was forced to let go right as the arm was cut off and fell apart with the sword stabbing into the ground with enough force to cause a minor quake. "Darn, his body was so heavy that I couldn't complete the cut, I'd better finish the battle,"
Then they noticed the sand shifting on the forehead of the Shukaku and saw Gaia emerge from it and sneer at them.
"To push me to revealing this form, you truly are interesting Naruto Uzumaki. I'll now show you the power of the sand spirit," Gaia formed a handsign and called out "Sleep Possum jutsu," then she slumped over as she fell into slumber.
"This is bad," said Gamabunta as he tensed.
"What do you mean?" asked Naruto.
"From what I've heard, those who are the jinchurriki for the Ichibi suffer from insomnia as they would have their psyche slowly eaten by it until they lose sight of who they are should they ever fall asleep. Now that she has set that jutsu in motion, the Shukaku will be unleashed," they saw the eyes one the Shukaku focus in before it raised its head to the sky and scream.
"Oh yeah, I'm finally out! Now I can crush whatever the hell I want!"
"That's Shukaku?" asked Naruto with a quirked eyebrow.
"That's not Shukaku-chan, I don't recognize the voice. It's as if it's a different person altogether," said Kurama as she watched through his senses.
"Ku-chan, I have an idea and I'll need your help," Naruto sent his thoughts to them and they agreed to the idea.
"We'll need to somehow get close to her for it to work," said Chinami.
"Kid hang on, I gonna jump!" said Gamabunta as he crouched while Naruto applied chakra to his feet to latch on.
Shukaku's stomach bulged as it took in air, then it raised its claw and slammed onto it "Wind style: Air Bullet!" it opened its mouth and shot out a giant ball of wind, Gamabunta jumped high into the air and went quickly went through some handsigns "Water style: Liquid Bullet!" and shot a giant ball of water at Shukaku who quickly shot another air bullet to cancel each other out. Gamabunta landed behind the bijuu and leapt into the air again, Shukaku turned around and shot three consecutive air bullet while Gamabunta shot two liquid bullets back but the third air was still inbound.
"Gamabunta, quickly direct your head towards the incoming attack!" despite being skeptical, Gamabunta did so then Naruto took a stance as a red rune with siddha characters surrounded him and flames appeared on his hands "Ninpo: Art of the Inferno!" then he put them together and thrust forwards as he shot a giant fireball that clashed with the air bullet resulting in an explosion.
"Good job kid, now all we need to do is wake that kid up in order to release that jutsu!"
"Got It!" said Naruto, then Shukaku shot an air bullet but Gamabunta dodged in midair and shot a liquid bullet although Shukaku jumped back to avoid it which resulted a splash of water, then Gamabunta landed in front of Shukaku and grabbed him by the shoulders. Naruto was about move in when Shukaku shook off Gamabunta's, forcing him to jump back.
"Gamabunta, I can't get in close if you don't maintain a proper grip on him!" shouted Naruto.
"Sorry kid, but my body lacks claws and fangs which is needed for that very purpose!" said Gamabunta while in midair.
"Then what should we do?"
"I suggest that you summon one of the Digimon that has what we need!"
"Okay then Gamabunta, I'll catch you later,"
"Good luck kid, and don't go dying on me before we have that cup of sake!"
Naruto leapt into the air as Gamabunta disappeared in a puff of smoke along with his blade and started going through handsigns as he descended towards the ground.
"What's the matter?! Did the little toad turned tail and ran?!" shouted Shukaku.
"On the contrary, I'm subbing him for someone who can put you in your place. Summoning jutsu!" there was a puff of smoke and it faded to reveal a giant saber-toothed lion with yellow fur and red markings on its body, mane and tail. "Thanks for lending me your chakra Ku-chan,"
"It's no problem at Naruto-kun, now let's stop Shukaku-chan!" said Kurama.
"Yo Naruto looks like you need some help," said the summoned Digimon.
"You're right about that SaberLeomon, I need you to restrain Shukaku so that I can stop it," said Naruto.
"I got the gist of it, alright Naruto here we go!" SaberLeomon crouched low before dashing towards the Ichibi, Shukaku shot several air bullets but SaberLeomon darted left and right to avoid the attacks before pouncing at the sand raccoon, Shukaku avoided the claw and swung its tail which was evaded when SaberLeomon dashed backwards before leaping into the air to evade and air bullet.
"Naruto-kun you must hurry, Shukaku's power will just keep on increasing!" said Kurama.
"Let's step it up SaberLeomon!" shouted Naruto.
"Got it Naruto, Hang on tight!" shouted SaberLeomon, then he took off at a higher speed than before and was soon running in circles around the Shukaku till all what one could see are after images, every time the sand raccoon launches an air bullet it would miss him completely. Then SaberLeomon came in from behind and lashed out with his claws "Howling Crusher!" cutting off the remaining arm. "No more air bullets for you, but I gotta that you don't cause any more problems, Twin Fang!" the 'hairs' on SaberLeomon's mane hardened before he dashed forward and tackled Shukaku, the bijuu tried to retaliate by swinging its tail but its body wasn't able to move.
"What the, why the hell can't I move?! I want to destroy more stuff!" shouted Shukaku.
"SaberLeomon's Twin Fang paralyzes his enemies upon contact which is why you can't move," said Naruto, then he turned to SaberLeomon "Grab him now!" SaberLeomon leapt forward and grabbed onto Shukaku with his claws digging into the skin.
"It's all you now Naruto, go for it!" said SaberLeomon, then Naruto jumped off and landed on Shukaku's head, he quickly ran up to Gaia and placed a middle and index finger on her forehead.
Music End
"Ku-chan, do it now!" Kurama channeled her chakra through the hand and Naruto felt his conscious being transferred as he closed his eyes. Then he opened them to find himself standing in a desert with a night sky and a full moon out. "I guess this is Gaia's mindscape, I'd better find Gaia and the real Shukaku before anything else happens," He was about to take off when he heard someone crying, Naruto trailed the source to a boulder and looked behind to see a little girl with red hair holding a teddy bear and was crying. "Hey there, what's your name and why are you crying?"
The girl looked up in surprise before she replied "My name is Gaia, and I was crying because my mommy was scaring me and she wasn't like that before,"
"I see, my name is Naruto Uzumaki and can you tell me where your 'mother' is?" then Gaia pointed in a certain direction and Naruto turned to see a pyramid in the distance.
"She's in there along with someone else but she doesn't let me go near her,"
"I understand, I'm going over there to find out what' going so you stay here where it's safe okay?" after receiving a nod of affirmation from the redhead, Naruto dashed off towards the pyramid.
As he entered the pyramid and drew close to the main chamber, Naruto heard a masculine voice echo throughout the building. "Where is that little brat? I was just about to destroy what's left of her psyche in order to take over her body when she ran off," Hearing this angered Naruto as he stepped into the chamber and came face to face with a man of tan complexion, bald hair, wearing some sort of priest clothes and bears blacks tattoos across his face. "Who the hell are you?"
"I am Naruto Uzumaki, now the question is who you are and what you are doing in Gaia's mindscape?" said Naruto as he glared at the man.
"I am Kazar the mad priest, I used to be the jinchurriki of the Shukaku until they sealed it into a tea kettle but they were unaware that my spirit was sealed as well. Ever since I was sealed into this girl, I would influence her by pretending to be her mother while eating away her psyche bit by bit until I eventually take control of her body and the power of the Shukaku," said the man with a crazed look on his face.
"So you're the reason why Gaia has been so unstable, I'm not gonna let you continue to control Gaia or Shukaku!" said Naruto as he drew Tsukiotoshi from its sheath.
"I've come too far to be stopped by a brat like you!" shouted Kazar as he drew out scimitar and took a stance.
Music Start: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days OST; Fight and Away
They both dashed towards each other and proceeded to clash blades with equal speed and skills, despite Tsukiotoshi being a heavy blade, Naruto was able to use it to the seemingly wild strikes from Kazar and fight back. Kazar was no slouch either as he could wield the scimitar with one hand in spite of it being normally a two handed sword.
Naruto slid on the ground with his blade forward to slash Kazar's but the mad priest jumped into the air and come down as he attempted to cleave Naruto in half, the blond rolled to the side leaving the sword to hit the ground then he came back with slash and was block by Kazar's sword receiving a punch in return. Kazar came in with an overhead slash and Naruto raised his blade horizontally to block until he noticed that the scimitar was glowing, the blade broke through the Muramasa and slash him across the chest.
"Dammit!" shouted Naruto as he jumped away from Kazar with a hand on his chest to stop the bleeding while holding the broken Muramasa in the other. "This guy's tough and nuts,"
"Once I'm through with you, I will destroy that Gaia and finally achieve the bijuu's power to destroy everything!" Kazar laughed maniacally.
"And I told you that I won't let you do this, you don't belong here so I'm gonna give you the boot!" shouted Naruto as he sheathed the broken Tsukiotoshi and drew out Mumei no Tamanoo before charging the mad priest with fire in his eyes.
Naruto moved in once again and this time was attacking with everything he got forcing Kazar to be in the defensive. The mad priest launched a one handed slash but Naruto blocked the sword to the side and jabbed the butt end of the Muramasa into his gut, making him stumble backwards. Naruto kept up the offence as he grabbed Kazar's head with his free hand and drove it into his knee, then he flipped over him and slashed his back as blood spurt out.
"Damn you brat, why don't you die already?!" shouted Kazar as he charged at Naruto in frenzy.
Naruto then stood with his legs apart and crouched slightly with the Mumei no Tamanoo held in front of him. "Secret Arts: Betting Slash!" then he stepped forward with the raised and brought it down right as Kazar tried to block the attack, but he sliced through the blade and across his chest. "An eye for an eye and here's the interest! Secret Arts: Running Slash 3x!" Naruto sent him into the air with an uppercut, then leapt after him and started slashing him while dashing left and right in midair, he positioned himself over Kazar then he stabbed the blade through him and landed below.
"It's all over you nutty priest, now get out of here you have an appointment with the Shinigami," said Naruto as he watched Kazar fade away while screaming in agony. He noticed someone peek out from the passageway and noticed that she was crying.
Music End
"Who was that man and what happened to mommy?" asked the frighten girl, Naruto walked over and placed a hand over her shoulder as he went down on one knee.
"The truth is that man had been pretending to be your mother and tricked you into hurting those people, but you won't have to worry about him anymore as I've sent him away for good," said Naruto then he saw Gaia cry again "Why are you crying?"
"It's because he told me that I didn't need anyone, not even my brother and sister, they don't even want to come near me again and I feel so lonely without anyone to be my friend,"
"If that's the problem, then I can solve it by being your friend," said Naruto.
Gaia looked at him with surprise and hope "R-really? Are you sure?"
"Definitely, and I know there's someone else who wants to be your friend but that man was preventing you from seeing her. Now let's go and meet her," Naruto held out a hand to Gaia and as she took it, she changed into her older form then they walked deeper into the pyramid until they came upon a double door which was locked with thick chains. "Gaia-chan, stand back so that I'll open it,"
Gaia stepped back and watched as Naruto placed a hand on the hilt of Mumei no Tamanoo then there was a flicker of movement, then the chains broke in pieces when Naruto sheathed the blade with a click. They pushed open the gate and looked inside to see a girl sitting in her knees brought up to her stomach and her head down but could see two small perky ears on top of brown hair. She raised her head to reveal black rings covering her eyes similar to Gaia.
"W-who are you?" asked the girl shyly.
"Ku-chan was right, she's quite shy I'm sure she would get along with Hinata," thought Naruto "I'm Naruto Uzumaki and this is Gaia, we came here to free you after taking care Kazar,"
"You mean that man is gone?" asked Shukaku, receiving nods of confirmation from the two before smiling "Thank you, and my name is Shukaku,"
"It's nice to meet you Shukaku-chan, I hope that we can be friends," said Gaia with smile and received a smile in return from the shy raccoon.
"All's well that ends well, I'll see you on the outside," said Naruto as he faded away from Gaia's mindscape.
When he opened his eyes, Naruto saw that he was still on the Shukaku, Gaia was awake and looked around confusedly until she saw Naruto and smiled happily. Then the sand started crumbling and Naruto quickly ran to grab Gaia in a bridal carry and jumped off to land on SaberLeomon's head.
"Whatever you did Naruto it worked, I'm heading back so I'll catch you later," said SaberLeomon after he lowered his head for them to get off before disappearing in a puff of smoke, then Naruto heard Kurama call out to him from his mindscape.
"Naruto-kun, are you okay?!" asked Kurama worriedly.
"I'm fine Ku-chan, and I was able to free Shukaku-chan from the influence of a spirit, I'll tell you later about it," thought Naruto.
"Kurama-neechan, is that you?" asked Shukaku.
"Shukaku-chan, I'm so glad you're okay now,"
"It's thanks to Naruto-niichan and Gaia-chan," said Shukaku happily when mentioning Naruto's name.
Then Naruto sensed two people land before and saw Kankurou and Temari look as they want to fight if Gaia hadn't spoken up.
"Kankurou-nii, Temari-neechan please don't attack him, he helped me," the sand siblings looked shocked at how their younger sister spoke to them without malice.
"Are you okay Gaia?" asked Temari as she glanced at the blond.
"I'm completely fine now, let's go home,"
"Alright then, we'll be going now," said Kankurou.
Before they left, Gaia turned and waved at Naruto "Bye Naruto-kun, I hope that we meet again," then they left Naruto as waved back at them.
"Bye-bye Naruto-niichan," said Shukaku shyly.
"Well I'd better get back help the others out, I hope Jiji's okay," said Naruto as leapt through the trees towards the Hidden Leaf village.
"Damn Sarutobi-sensei and that blonde brat, they'll both pay for ruining my plans!" ranted Orochimaru as he retreated from the village with both his arms looking rotten, Kabuto and the other elite members of the sound ninja kept silent to avoid incurring their master's wrath.
Weapon/Gear appearance
Sunlight Heart Plus = Busou Renkin
This is Hussbek online with another chapter, if you wondering why I didn't type the battle between Hiruzen and Orochimaru is because I want to keep you guys guessing. Anyway I hope that you enjoy this chapter and let me know how you feel through PMs and reviews as always. The chapter will be the hunt for the next Hokage so stay tuned to find out.
This is Hussbek from Ghana
Signing out.