HIDDEN DREAM V - GREAT BEAST, ŌKAMI
Naruto wastes no time in charging at Gensui. He tries to sink his claws into him, but Gensui grabs Naruto's arm and stops his assault. The two try to push each other back but neither gives in. The ground beneath them breaks apart even more from the force they're exerting in trying to overpower the other.
"You did all of this just for some measly power?" Naruto yells in rage. "You killed your own villagers, your own shinobi, just for this?!"
"Someone like you would never understand! You've had power from birth, you've lived a comfortable life in a Great Village since birth, while the rest of us were forced to hide and cower."
"Your people chose this! They separated themselves from the world, no one forced them to."
"Typical Great Villages. Hiding the truth so the youth don't have to learn their bloody past. Then I'll just show you what we've been driven to."
The Ōkami opens its jaw and gathers dark chakra into a sphere.
"That's…" Naruto clicks his tongue. 'Shit.'
He tries to break free from its grasp and gain some distance but the hold is too strong. Naruto, however, forces it to release him by using his tail to smack away the wolf's claws.
Gensui fires the charged chakra in a straight beam of pure raw destruction, combined with Lightning Style.
[Great Beast Bolt]
Naruto uses his nine tails as a shield to block the chakra.
"It can use a Tailed Beast Bomb?!"
"It's similar enough, but this one's stronger than before."
Naruto is pushed back from the force that destroys his tails in the process, but he manages to regenerate them in time before he can be hit directly.
"You talk like you've been pushed down, but what about the others? Are Enzo and his clan not in the same position as you? He didn't seem like he wanted to kill innocent people!"
"Because he's too much of a coward to get it done. He had all this power sealed away, waiting to be used! Yet he never did. We could've ruled the lands by now if he'd awakened this creature."
"You truly have gone insane, haven't you? Fine. I'm done talking."
"A child like you never had anything of value to say, anyway."
Naruto jumps high in the air to lunge at Gensui, swinging his tails in offence. Gensui grabs them with both claws and tugs at them to pull Naruto in at a greater speed, to be impaled right on its horn.
Naruto manages to grab the horn before any real damage can be done but the electricity coursing through it is sent through Kurama's avatar, to give Naruto a shock. Naruto is slammed into the ground but manages to spin around to free his tails.
The two monsters continue their devastating battle to rend the forest that's been protecting the Hidden Dream for decades.
They claw and bite at one another; use their tails to swat away any attacks. They try to bring the other down but their strengths seem too evenly matched.
-x-
"Naruto!" Son Goku's voice snaps him to the Tailed Beasts' shared mindspace. "What's going on? Your chakra's going crazy."
"It's a Great Beast called Ōkami. It's way stronger than any of the others we faced."
"The wolf?" Shukaku growls. "Of all the lousy luck…"
"It's not just the wolf. The guy who released it became its junchūriki, so it's now much stronger."
"How long until you two arrive?" Naruto asks. "We could use the back-up."
"We're close, but if you're already fighting it, I don't know if we'll be there in time."
"That's fine. If you can just lend me some of your chakra, that'd be enough."
"That much we can do." Shukaku's sand spills out from behind his gate.
"Use it well." Son's lava sizzles forward, as well.
"I will, thanks."
-x-
"How about this, you bastard!"
Kurama's body bursts into flames as it becomes coated in a layer of magma that burns the trees near him.
[Sage Art Lava Style: Scorching Armour]
Naruto charges forward at the now apprehensive Gensui. He recognizes the obvious threat and that contact would be unwise. What he doesn't expect is just how flexible Kurama's form is. As Gensui move away from Naruto, Kurama's tails lash out forward and extend well beyond their reach, which catches Gensui by surprise.
The Ōkami is grabbed by the front paws and body, its fur already burning away as Naruto gets in close to burn it even further.
Gensui, however, has a countermeasure in place.
As Kurama holds Ōkami's body in place and burns it, its body becomes encased in even more armour as the exoskeleton expands. Kurama's form is forcibly pushed away by the hard shell that now envelops the Ōkami's body, resembling a dark ball.
[Protective Shell Ball]
"Like that'll stop me." Naruto gathers a swirling ball of lava in his hand.
[Sage Art Lava Style: Rasengan]
He slams it in the solid shell which proves even more resistant than he would've thought. He pushes the [Rasengan] down with all his might. He exerts as much force as he can before the shell finally begins to crack and eventually break.
When it does, Gensui springs into action. He uses the shell's debris as a diversion and launches them right at Kurama after charging them with Lightning Style. Even with the protective layer of magma, it still manages to break through and cause damage, giving Gensui ample time to gain distance once more.
The cracked shell on his back has enough time to mend itself from the [Rasengan] that broke through the shell.
The Ōkami raises its arms and Gensui charges its clawed hands with electricity.
[Lightning Style: Thunderbolt]
He fires the multiple bolts right at Naruto and his immediate vicinity to prevent him from properly dodging.
Naruto gather chakra to Kurama's throat and spews several boulders of molten rock.
[Sage Art Lava Style: Scorching Rocks]
The magma balls Intercept the lightning and prevent it from reaching Naruto. The redirected lightning and melting magma instead ruin the forest even further.
The whole field becomes blocked by fog from the forest and smoke from the lava.
When a sliver of visibility shows itself, Naruto sees the Ōkami charging more chakra. In anticipation of another beam of light, Naruto charges his own chakra in a sphere at Kurama's mouth.
He steps to the side to prepare to dodge out of the way and land a clean hit with his own jutsu.
[Great Beast Bolt]
The moment Gensui fires the jutsu, Naruto goes to dodge. However, in a split second spatial awareness, he realizes where he is. He realizes his position and more importantly, what's behind him. The Hidden Dream Village. If he dodges, the beam goes right past him and will inadvertently hit the village.
Instead of letting pass by him, he opts to stop the bolt on its tracks.
[Tailed Beast Bomb]
He fires directly at the Ōkami's bolt; the two powerful jutsu class in a reaction that renders the entire area under it a rocky wasteland.
When the dust settles, Gensui laughs.
"You had the perfect opportunity, jinchūriki, and yet you didn't take it. Is it because of those strangers behind you? Why concern yourself with the weak?"
"I wouldn't expect scum like you to understand what it means to protect others."
"Even though they were so eager to kill you just minutes ago?"
"That was only because of your lies. But now that they've been revealed, we have no reason for animosity. Once you're dealt with, things will be as they should."
"You still don't understand…" Gensui charges more lightning at Ōkami's claws.
[Lightning Style: Thunderbolt]
The bolts of lightning shoot out once again and Naruto prepares to block them, but he quickly realizes they're not aimed at him. No, each series of lightning bolts are instead aimed to his side; behind him, and they're far too spread out for him to block all with his jutsu.
Instead, Naruto extends his tails to intercept the lightning. Four tails on one side and five tails to the other.
"Protecting the weak will be your downfall, jinchūriki!"
While Naruto is distracted with the lightning style, Gensui fires another [Great Beast Bolt] that Naruto is forced to block with barely enough time.
"Protecting people is never a weakness!" Naruto shouts.
Gensui begins an assault aimed at the Hidden Dream forcing Naruto to go completely on the defensive. He continuously switches between Bolt and Thunderbolt to keep Naruto on edge to the point where he releases his [Scorching Armour] to focus fully on making sure the Hidden Dream is not destroyed more than it already has been.
He manages to find a precious moment where he has the time to summon [Shadow Clones] to take the hits instead.
"This! This is why you'll lose, jinchūriki!" Gensui laughs at Naruto's attempts to keep the village despite to the point of risking his own life.
Another, very familiar, voice fills the air despite the commotion. "Is this really enough to stop you, Naruto?"
[Amaterasu]
Black flames hit Ōkami's back; it whines in pain.
The giant form of a violet winged humanoid materializes from seemingly nowhere just above it.
[Susanoo]
A large blade manifests in the humanoid's hands that's sent straight down to pierce the shell. The blade meets the black flames and makes a big crack in the tough exterior.
The armour that covers the Ōkami's body expands to protect more; two additional insectoid arms sprouting from both sides of its body.
The Ōkami spins its body around, causing the blade to drive down and giving Gensui the opportunity to channel lightning at point black.
The gigantic form disappears from sight in an instant, before Gensui even has the chance to shoot the electricity from the Ōkami's additional hands.
The Susanoo appears right next to Kurama.
"Sasuke!" Naruto calls out. "What're you doing here?"
"Your toad delivered your report." Sasuke explains. "The Hokage sent me here as backup in case things go south, although… Looks like they already did."
"Yeah, you could say that."
The Ōkami breaks off the piece of its shell that was set aflame by [Amaterasu] and regrows it.
Sasuke watches the shell clatter to the ground. "Looks like you have an annoying enemy. So this is a Great Beast, huh?"
"And then guy, Gensui, I think he became its jinchūriki."
"Oh, great."
Gensui stomps on the ground. "It doesn't…" He growls. "Doesn't matter… how much backup…" He claws at the base of his horn. "Doesn't matter… GAH!"
"What's happening to him?" Sasuke asks.
"I.. don't know." Naruto answers.
"Oi, Naruto. Haven't you infused enough chakra into the ground?" Kurama reminds him. "Now's the time to end this."
"Oh yeah!"
Kurama sighs in exasperation.
Naruto slams his hands on the ground.
[Sage Art Magnet Style: Grand Sand Mausoleum Seal]
A tower of sand erupts from the ground around the Ōkami and buries it in it. The sand twists and pushes to create the solid form of a pyramid. Markings spread across the pyramid's layers to seal it away, but they don't all reach fully around its walls.
"Is it over? Just like that?"
Naruto grunts. "There's… resistance."
Static fills the air around the sand jutsu shortly before all the sand is sent flying back from a huge bursts of lightning.
The Ōkami howls loud enough to be heard throughout the land.
"Damn, using Magnet Style is hard; how does Gaara do it?"
"Controlling this many individual grains of sand requires a lot more focus than you're capable of." Sasuke adds in a dry tone.
"He possesses finesse that you couldn't hope to attain." Kurama states. "Just stick to Son's Lava Style, it's more your thing."
"Just whose side are you two on, anyway?!" Naruto protests.
The Ōkami bares its fangs and approaches them much more like an animal would.
"Has he gone insane?" Naruto wonders.
"It's possible his mind's been overtaken. To begin with, the Great Beasts are apparently unstable masses of our chakra so that would make it more difficult to become one with them."
"Sasuke," Naruto turns to his friend, "We need to keep it contained before the area gets destroyed.
Sasuke looks around at the turned over earth, scorch marks, burned and broken trees. "A little late for that, don't you think?"
"It's also about the Hidden Dream Village." Naruto points behind him. "It's still in the crossfire."
"And how do you propose we solve that?"
"Like this."
[Shadow Clones]
Four more Kuramas appear next to the original, each with a [Shadow Clone] to control it. They immediately spread out and head to different directions.
Ōkami immediately pounces at one of the Clones with lightning gathered in its claws but just before it swings down to slash at Kurama's back, Susanoo appears in its place and Sasuke blocks with the sword.
Sasuke swings his sword again to force it back, but it protects itself with its new sturdy exoskeleton. Naruto charges into the fray and the two of them keep it occupied.
The Ōkami now very visibly fights like a wild animal; the thought and calculated actions of Gensui are no longer present.
When Naruto and Sasuke surround it, it unleashes a burst of electricity that has some kind of additional force to it, almost like…
"That kinda felt like being hit by its beam, just… weaker." Naruto notes.
"Yeah." Kurama agrees. "It seems like it's assimilated Gensui's abilities with its own."
The four [Shadow Clones] get into position surrounding the original, Sasuke, and Ōkami. They go through the seals and clasp their hands; a red light emanates from them. The red light extends to form a wall that connects to the two Clones adjacent to each of them.
[Four Red Yang Formation]
Tha barrier is set in place. A crimson cube now surrounds them and limits the battlefield.
Sasuke looks around with a raised brow. "Isn't this… what the Hokage used in the 4th War? To stop the Ten Tails from rampaging."
"That's the one." Naruto says with a hint of pride.
"Since when can you use something like this?"
"I've picked up on a few things, y'know. Now, we can fight without worrying."
In its anger, the Ōkami charges another [Bolt] that's dodged by both of them. It tries to follow Naruto's path by fixing its aim but Naruto proves fast enough to keep ahead. The Bolt hits the wall of the barrier which does not budge, befitting its status as one of the most powerful barrier ninjutsu.
Naruto charges his own chakra.
"Naruto, aim it at me!" Sasuke calls out.
Without missing a beat, Naruto turns to him and fires the dark sphere.
[Tailed Beast Bomb]
The Ōkami had prepared itself for impact when it noticed the powerful jutsu being cast but it eyes it with suspicion when it's not aimed at it.
Sasuke waits for the moment before impact to act.
[Amenotejiraka]
Suddenly, the Ōkami finds itself directly next to the [Bomb] where it was just on the other side of the barrier. With zero time to prepare, it takes the brunt of it.
The [Tailed Beast Bomb] drives the Ōkami right up to the wall before it explodes in a massive burst of force and chakra. Naruto and Sasuke step back as far as they can in this barrier and brace themselves for the resulting shockwave.
"Sasuke, I'm going to need your help."
"What do you think I've been doing so far?"
"No, not about this!" Naruto shouts. "I need to enter its mind."
"You what?"
"I second the 'what'."
"You've picked up a few tricks, but you're not a Yamanaka; how do you plan on doing that?" Sasuke asks.
"I might have a way, but I'm going to need your help with it. If we combine our chakra, it might give me the boost I need."
[Great Beast Bolt]
Another beam of chakra and lightning follows, but this time Sasuke intercepts it with his sword. The blade crackles with electricity and is set ablaze by black flames that add to its power to more easily resist the Ōkami's jutsu.
[Blaze Style: Chidori]
With a single twist and swing of the sword, Sasuke pushes back the bolt of energy and ends the attack.
"Let's do this." Sasuke steps toward Naruto.
As Susanoo and Kurama get closer, their forms begin to meld and merge. The violet armour of the Susanoo slither across Kurama's form and manifests itself once more. Fullbody armour wraps itself around Kurama's body, armguards- around his arms, a helmet over his canine head.
[Six Paths: Nine Tailed Susanoo]
Naruto calls the sword to his arm, still burning with black flames, and channels his Wind Style into it. The [Amaterasu]'s flames rise like a curtain, now being stronger than before.
Ōkami charges forward with lightning channeled through its horn. The more the fight progresses, it seems the more energy and chakra it emanates. Its body is coated in a thin layer of chakra similar to what he fires through its [Great Beast Bolt], and with the addition of Lightning Style from Gensui, it becomes a powerhouse in its own right.
Naruto tries to swat the horn away with the flaming sword, but the Ōkami holds strong. It digs its heels into the ground to prevent itself from being knocked to the side. In the end, they both pull back and charge again for another assault.
"So what does this plan of yours involve?" Sasuke asks.
"I need it to stay put for a bit, so I gotta tire it out first." Naruto explains.
"I don't think it has any intention of slowing down. It'd be much easier to just kill it."
"We can't! Or… not yet. I need to make sure of something, alright? I need to do this." Naruto looks back to him with pleading eyes.
Sasuke sighs. "Fine. Do what you have to."
Naruto continues the fight with the goal to get the Ōkami tired enough. Using his superior agility, he practically dances around and even if it gets too close, Sasuke immediately uses his Rinnegan to swap places with a tree and catch the wolf by surprise.
The Ōkami puts on a fierce fight by using its natural weapons in conjunction with its newly enhanced body and abilities. It lets out bursts of raw chakra or Lightning Style which are countered with Naruto and Sasuke's combined might.
The fight goes on for a while longer with Naruto taking more control.
When he finally deems it enough, he summons three more [Shadow Clones] within the barrier.
"Alright, it's now or never!"
The three Clones run to surround the Ōkami. Similarly to the four that created the barrier, these three emit a green light that forms a triangular walled enclosure around the Ōkami alone.
[Three Directions Seal]
"Even fūinjutsu, huh?" Sasuke sounds mildly impressed.
The three Clones step closer to the Ōkami to close in the walls on it while it remains motionless.
Naruto presses his hand against the outer wall and focuses.
-x-
Naruto and Sasuke both find themselves in the same foreign space that Sasuke does not recognize. He's surrounded by nine torii placed in a circle, with Kurama above him and the One-Tailed Shukaku and Four-Tailed Son Goku standing to his right.
"Where are we?"
"This is the Tailed Beasts shared mindspace." Naruto explains. "It's how we can communicate over great distances."
"That sounds useful to have."
"Naruto, why are you here? Is it over?" Son asks.
"Don't tell me you kicked its butt already?" Shukaku laughs. "Guess we were worried over nothing."
"It's not over yet." Naruto clarifies. "I need you guys' help, too. I need to enter a shared mindspace with the Ōkami."
He's met by blank stares and a resounding silence.
"Oi." Kurama leans over to look at him. "Is this that grand plan of yours? These things don't have a mind, you know."
Shukaku nods. "For once, Kurama's right. You're wasting your time if you want to find anything resembling coherent thought."
The only one who doesn't diminish the idea, is the great ape. "Do you think this would work?"
"Son, you're not buying into this, are you?"
Naruto nods. "I do. Mito Uzumaki said that the Great Beasts are people who took in chakra from multiple Tailed Beasts and became corrupted beasts themselves. A more extreme version of what happened to Sora."
"Or the Gold and Silver Brother." Kurama recalls.
"If they were once a person, then they still have to be inside there somewhere. You guys have had multiple hosts, right? And you've tried to fight back and set yourselves free. Even when you take over your jinchūriki, their mind is still present; just not in control. If that's what's happening here, we might be able to connect with the person behind the Great Beast. We just need to dig deep enough."
The three Tailed Beasts exchange a quiet glance.
"If you think it might work, then I'm in." Son is the first to agree.
Kurama sighs. "Fine."
"Well, I can't be the only one to say 'no', can I?"
"Tell us what to do." Sasuke steps forward.
Naruto kneels down and places his hand on the ground. "Just flow your chakra through me."
All five of them channel their chakra and try to transcend the mindscape. The Tailed Beasts have experience jumping through; they each have their individual space that's shared with their jinchūriki if they have one, and another shared space- this space. They know how it works and know the logic behind it, but this requires forging a completely new path.
With Naruto serving as a connecting force between them and the Ōkami's body in the real world, they eventually begin getting a grasp of the wolf's mind. They start to become acquainted with its chakra.
"This chakra is… mostly mine." Kurama observes.
Son raises a brow. "I think I feel some of mine, too."
"And Matatabi and Kokuō, too." Shukaku notes.
The ground beneath them begins to rumble, the white void that they occupy begins to bend as they pour more chakra into this attempt to establish a link with such a foreign entity.
Sasuke grunts. "I don't think this'll work."
"It has to! If we can just..." Naruto pushes himself to the brink, using all of his chakra to overpower the barrier that exists between them.
Suddenly, their surroundings calms down. The ground no longer trembles, there's no longer a whirling and screeching to fill the air.
-x-
When Naruto and Sasuke open their eyes, they find themselves in a muddy room. A suspiciously omnipresent lightsource reveals the empty room; the brick walls are almost entirely bare, save for some patches of crusted mud that's found its way on there and moss that's begun growing under its favoured conditions.
Sasuke finds himself in ankle-deep mud and groans in disgust. Naruto, unfortunately for him, is in the same kneeling position he was until a moment ago which means his hands and knees are also now caked in mud.
He quickly jumps up and tries to shake the mud off himself. "Yuck."
"I'm going to assume it worked." Sasuke looks around the dungeon they've found themselves in and quickly spots a slightly elevated corridor that leads out of the room.
"I… think so? It looks kinda like Kurama's old seal." Naruto trudges through the mud to look around. "Be careful."
"You're the last person to tell me that."
Sasuke sees a small pebble outside of the muddy room and swaps places with it, using [Amenotejiraka].
Naruto rolls his eyes. "Show off."
With absolutely no warning, Naruto finds himself shunted from his spot in the mud to the end of the corridor, having swapped places with Sasuke. Being placed on the end of the ledge, he has to balance himself from falling backward back into the mud.
Sasuke reappears back in the corridor while another pebble plops in the mud where he just was. He grabs Naruto by the collar and pulls him forward.
"Give me a warning next time!" Naruto protests.
"It's faster this way." Sasuke ignores his complaining and just walks forward.
The corridor goes on for a while with only the squelching of mud and occasional bubbling to keep them company.
In the process of still cleaning his hands from mud, Naruto reaches over to clean himself off Sasuke's cloak.
At the last moment, Sasuke pulls it away from his grasp. "Don't even think about it." He says without so much as glancing back.
The corridor does eventually get darker to the point where Naruto has to pull out a flashlight so they can see their path better, not that it ever diverges beyond "straight ahead".
Before they manage to get to their wits' end, they enter a new room, finally! The mud here is higher than it is in the previous room and this one isn't empty- there's an unfamiliar man lying against the wall to the point where only his head and chest are visible above the mud.
"Hey!" Naruto calls out to the man and jumps in the room.
Sasuke facepalms. "Weren't you the one who said to be careful?"
As soon as Naruto begins trudging toward the man, a different voice calls out from the corner. "Jinchūriki?"
Naruto turns around to see a very distraught and very panicked Gensui Amagiri.
"It's you… It really is you!" Gensui gets up from the mud and slowly makes his way to Naruto. "You have to get me out of here!"
Naruto clenches his fist. "Why the hell would I do that?"
"Because, you help people in distress. That's what you hero types do, right? Well, I'm in distress!" He places his hands on Naruto's shoulders.
Naruto shoves him away and onto his back, sending him back into the mud.
"Is this the guy?" Sasuke asks.
"Yeah, this is the guy who betrayed his village."
Gensui lifts himself back up again. "We can argue about all of that once you free me from this prison!" He protests.
Growing ever angrier at the mere sight of him, Naruto sucker punches him and knocks him out in an instant. "It's better than what you deserve."
"It's not every day I see you get this worked up." Sasuke leans down and grabs the old man by the hem of his robe and props him up so he doesn't drown.
"You didn't see the village." Naruto stares at the unconscious Gensui. "What he did to his own people.."
With all of the commotion, the other man stirs awake. "You… Who are you?" As he shifts in the mud, there's the faint rattling of metal.
"It's okay." Naruto holds up his hands and walks closer. "I'm not here to hurt you. My name's Naruto Uzumaki. You mind telling me yours?" He kneels down in front of the man.
The man looks around in confusion. "I… I don't know? I don't remember. I'm… Uh, I'm just…" The man suddenly jolts up. "Wait! You have to stop me! Hurry! I can't control myself anymore! I can't hurt anyone else!"
It's only now, with his jerking his hands, that Naruto sees the manacles around his hands. This man is chained to the floor.
"It's okay, Sasuke and I stopped the wolf. You're alright now." Naruto reaches to place a comforting hand on his shoulder.
The moment he does, there's a flash before his eyes. Strands of chakra connect the two of them and Naruto's mind is filled with visions. He sees this very man growing up with his clan, surrounded by canines. He sees this clan vying for more power and stronger ninjutsu; the clan resorting to taking chakra leftover from the Tailed Beasts, and he sees this man take the chakra into himself. He sees the clan argue over this, the clan splitting and a faction parting ways from the rest. He sees this man gradually become unstable and unable to contain this much raw power. He sees the Ōkami take control and rampage.
Naruto gasps and falls back.
Sasuke rushes over to him, but Naruto holds up a hand to let him know it's fine.
"Your name…" Naruto pants. "It's Shino Inuzuka."
The man's eyes widen. "Yes. Yes! That's it! That's who I am!" He cries tears of joy.
"How do you know that?" Sasuke raises a brow.
"I just… did. I think Kurama's chakra he'd absorbed somehow resonated with me." Naruto briefly explains to the best of his ability before turning his attention back to the chained man. "Shino, huh? I have a friend named Shino, but he's Aburame, not Inuzuka." He smiles in an attemp to cheer him up. "Do you know where you are, Shino?"
"I'm… inside, I think? The wolf, it grew too powerful, I couldn't control. I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Shino looks up with a pleading expression. "Please, you have to believe me; I didn't want to hurt anyone."
"I know you didn't. Do you know how to get the wolf to calm down?"
"Please, you have to stop me. Please. I don't want to live like this anymore." Shino continues to plead.
"I promise I will; just tell me what to do."
"Please stop me." Shino continues to cry.
"Naruto." Sasuke steps forward. "I think you know how to help him." He says grimly.
"But…"
"I want to see my family." Shino whispers and falls back onto the wall, hitting his head but he doesn't seem to care. "Please. Please. I don't want to be like this anymore."
"Hey, do you- do you understand what that means? What I'd have to do?" Naruto makes sure.
Shino Inuzuka nods his head.
Naruto remains still and silent for a moment. He reaches to the holster on his behind, under his orange cloak, and takes out a three-pronged kunai.
"This'll only hurt for a bit, okay?" Naruto places a hand on Shino's shoulder; this time there's no reaction. He leans closer and hugs Shino with one arm, to not let him feel alone at such a time.
Shino gasps when a sharp pain hits his stomach. He coughs up blood and leans his head on Naruto's chest.
With a smile on his face, Shino manages to whisper, "Thank… you…" before his breathing slows.
-x-
Back in the real world, the Ōkami finds itself with a blade, coated in lightning and fire, stuck in its abdomen.
Naruto's three [Shadow Clones] release the fūinjutsu and dismiss themselves.
It howls and whines as its whole body becomes enveloped in [Amaterasu]'s flames. When struck on the body, it was able to coat itself in an exoskeleton and remove the pieces that were burning, but when the burning is on the inside, there's very little it can do.
The Great Beast falls to the ground and its body begins to shrink. The shell and horn that weren't originally part of its body break off and fall to the ground.
As the Ōkami's canine body disappears, there's only one figure left on the ground.
Gensui Amagiri lies dead on the ground with a stab wound through his abdomen.
Naruto and Sasuke release their [Nine Tailed Susanoo] and fall to the ground. Naruto's other four [Shadow Clones] remove the barrier and dismiss themselves.
Naruto walks over to Genui's body and stares at him for a moment.
"Are you okay?" Sasuke asks with genuine concern.
"Yeah." Naruto answers in a raspy voice. "I'm good."
Naruto summons two [Shadow Clones] that cover Gensui's body with their cloaks and pick up from the ground to carry.
"Let's go back." Naruto begins walking to the Hidden Dream Village.
Name meaning:
Shino Inuzuka (犬塚 シノ, Inuzuka Shino) - named after the fictional dog samurai of the same name, from Nansō Satomi Hakkenden / Tale of the Eight Dogs where Naruto's Inuzuka clan got their name from.
Trivia
In the game Naruto Shippūden: Kizuna Drive that this arc is ripped off from- I mean- inspired by, the beast is not a wolf but still very vaguely canine-like. It's simply called the Three-Headed Guardian Beast.