Chapter 46
Gamabunta launched himself at Shukaku, his blade ready to strike.
"Toad Blade Cut!" Gamabunta shouted and swung his blade. It connected under the beast's arm but it does not cut through. Gamabunta put all of his strength in pushing forward. He is finally able to slice off the arm but lost his blade. The large toad landed away from the beast and narrowed his eyes.
"That sand is dense! I barely cut through it!" Gamabunta said.
"Give me some oil boss!" Naruto shouted.
"Okay!" Naruto did hand seals and took a breath. Gamabunta's cheeks puffed up and prepared to fire.
"Fire Style: Toad Flame Bomb/Fire Style: Toad Flame Bomb!" They shouted. Naruto fire attack ignites the stream of oil that Gamabunta released. A large stream of flame raced toward the sand monster. Gaara saw this and raised a dome of sand around him as the attack hit. Shukaku was engulfed in flames, the oil keeping it burning. The two kept it up until Gamabunta ran out of oil. Naruto stopped his attack and the two watched as the sand monster burned.
Gaara could feel the heat and actually see that the sand was turning to glass. He was having a hard time breathing and felt his vision fading. He would not allow himself to lose at this stage. Gaara did a single hand seal.
"Playing Possum Jutsu!" Gaara shouted. It would be moments before the red haired genin suddenly fell asleep. Naruto and Gamabunta suddenly felt the air shift. A loud scream and a blast of wind dispelled the fire that was surrounding Shukaku.
"YESSS! I'M FREEEEE!" the voice screamed in happiness. Naruto looked forward to see parts of the Shukaku encased in glass, including a dome on the top of his head. The eyes of Shukaku turned toward him and Gamabunta with evil intentions. Shukaku pointed at them. "I'VE FOUND SOMEONE TO KILL!"
"This just got harder, didn't it?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, it has! Hold on Naruto! I'm going to jump!" Gamabunta said Shukaku slammed his claw into his stomach.
"WIND STYLE: AIR BULLET!" Gamabunta jumped just as a ball of air came flying out of its mouth. The sound was like a cannon, the booming sound was deafening. The jutsu tore through the forest and kept traveling until it hit a building. It was a good thing that there were no people there as the blast obliterated it. Naruto was stunned by the sheer destruction of the jutsu. In the air, Gamabunta did a seal.
"Water Style: Liquid Bullet!" Gamabunta shouted and fired an orb of water. The jutsu sped toward its' target, Shukaku moved to the side to avoid being hit and raised his claw again. He fired another Air Bullet. Gamabunta landed and jumped quickly to avoid the jutsu. Naruto just hung on for dear life. He looked back to see the sand monster preparing to fire.
"Boss!" Naruto exclaimed.
"AIR BULLETS!" He shouted and fired three bullets at the airborne toad.
"Liquid Bullets!" Gamabunta shouted and fired three to counter the attacks. The three attacks clashed creating a storm of water and wind. Naruto looked down to see that he couldn't see Shukaku. A crazy idea came to his head and he decided to go for it. Getting a running start, Naruto jumped off Gamabunta and into the storm. Shukaku watched as several clones came out of the storm and landed on his head.
"AHH, GET OFF!" He shouted. The clones rushed toward the glass dome, avoiding attacks from the sand. They came together at the dome before exploding together, shattering the glass. Lucky for Shukaku, Gaara was still asleep. The sand monster turned his attention back to Gamabunta who grabbed his weapon. "HA, THAT WILL DO NOTHING AGAINST ME!"
"You should be more concerned with my summoner!" Gamabunta spat. Shukaku was confused until he heard a loud screeching sound. The sound woke Gaara who screamed in pain, blood coming from his ears. Naruto shot forward and slammed his palm onto Gaara's chest.
"Wind Style: Gale Palm!" A huge gale appeared between the two. The power of the gale ripped Gaara out of the sand and sent him flying. The blowback also sent Naruto flying and the two fell down into the forest.
"NOOO! I JUST GOT OUT!" Shukaku cried out before he began to crumble into sand. Gamabunta looked on with a deep sigh.
"That boy is as reckless as his mother! Only she would have pulled a stunt like that!" Gamabunta muttered. He then chuckled as he sheath his blade. 'Still, good job Naruto. I wish I could watch the end of your fight but I am out of chakra. Good luck kid.' With that final thought, Gamabunta dispelled in a puff of smoke.
XXX
Shikamaru and Shino watched as the sand monster crumbled. They couldn't help but be shocked at what just happened.
"Man, Naruto just likes to do reckless stuff. Why am I friends' with him?" Shikamaru said with a groan. Shino could only nod in agreement. Kankuro and Temari were just as shocked as the other two.
"T-That's i-impossible." Kankuro said with shock. Temari had a more volatile reaction.
"GAARA!" she roared and quickly got to her feet. Despite her hands being bound and low on chakra, Temari launched herself in the air toward the battle site. She managed two hops before she was slammed into a tree. Everyone was stunned when the masked ninja just appeared. Three more masked shinobi appeared next to the genin. Shikamaru and Shino were quickly on guard, protecting themselves, their captive and Lee. The one with long purple hair looked at the two.
"When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flame." a female voice recited.
"The fire's shadow will illuminate the village and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew." Shikamaru and Shino replied. The two relaxed but didn't lower their guard. The purple haired woman looked them over while the large ninja came with Temari, kicking and screaming, under his arm. She looked at the two genin.
"I need a report genin." she ordered. Shikamaru nodded and began to speak.
"We managed to defeat Gaara together, which is why Lee is so hurt. Gaara then transformed into a huge sand monster. Naruto then summoned a large frog or toad or whatever to fight him. Naruto and his summon just managed to beat the sand monster. However, I don't think the battle is over." To prove his point, an explosion was heard.
"Tenzo, Ko, help genin Uzumaki and restrain Gaara. I will prepare Lee for transport. Shu, secure the prisoners."
"Ma'am!" they exclaimed and two of them vanished to help Naruto.
XXX
Naruto dodged another spear that was thrown at him. The blond countered with a kunai. Gaara raised the broken sand to form a wall. The kunai hit the wall before it glowed brightly and exploded. The power of the explosion sent Gaara flying into a tree. Naruto shot forward, a seal in his hand. While dazed, Gaara was able catch Naruto with the sand. Sand tendrils ensnared Naruto's wrists, ankles and stomach. The blond struggled against his bonds. Gaara was breathing hard and glared at Naruto.
"You thought you could defeat me? End my existence?! You may have lasted longer than the Uchiha but you will fall just like him! Now, die!" Gaara shouted. He formed another tendril to choke Naruto. The blond was slowly turning blue but he smirked at Gaara. Naruto glowed before exploding, consuming Gaara. Gaara stumbled out of the smoke and did not see Naruto coming. The punch was hard and sent Gaara to the ground. Naruto jumped and double stomped Gaara in the gut. Naruto then slapped the seal on his chest. Naruto was about to activate it when he felt a stabbing pain in his side. Naruto looked down to see a spear of sand. Ignoring the pain, Naruto activated the seal. Gaara suddenly couldn't move and felt ten times heavier.
Naruto rolled off Gaara and got as far from Gaara as he could. He pulled out the spear and used his jacket to stem the bleeding. He stumbled to a tree and sat down, leaning against it.
"Son of a bitch, this hurts!" Naruto shouted. He looked at Gaara who was still struggling. "Give it up Gaara. That seal works by increasing your weight ten times over. As long as that seal is activated, you aren't going anywhere."
"NO! I refused to be defeated! I must prove my existence!" Gaara shouted.
"It hurts, doesn't it? The loneliness and hate that you received just because of something out of your control?" Naruto said. Gaara stopped struggling when he heard that. "Yeah, I know that feeling. Seven years of my life, I was ignored and hated because of what I had. Never knew about it until I became a genin. To learn the reason for their hate, I was a little pissed off that they would blame me. I was just born and this burden was put on me without my consent."
"Then why do you defend them? They do not deserve your strength. Why did you not turn out like me?" Gaara asked.
"Someone, a guy my age, invited me to dinner with his family. He and his family let me in their home and treated me well. After that, he started losing his 'friends' so I kept my distance. Those 'friends' came after me and he came to my defense. We've been best friends after that. Then I made some more friends who don't care about the village's opinion about me. Granted, they do not know about my burden but they saved me from being lonely. My ambition to be Hokage is why I never became like you." Naruto explained.
"Then you were lucky." Gaara spat. "I have no one. The one person who I thought cared for me attempted to kill me. It was then that I learned that I could only live for myself. Yet, you defeat me. Your way worked while mine failed."
"It wasn't that your way failed. I was just more willing to fight to protect my village, friends and family." Naruto said. "It isn't too late you know. You can find those people like I did."
"I doubt that." Gaara stated. The conversation ended by the arrival of the two ANBU. The one with a tiger mask knelt down next to Gaara. He noticed the seal on him. He looked at Naruto who was being taken care of by his comrade.
"Hard day Naruto?" the ANBU asked.
"When is it not?" Naruto jokes, wincing in pain. He then looked at Gaara. "So Gaara, are you going to surrender?"
"Not like I have a choice." Gaara said. With that, Naruto deactivated the seal. Gaara did not resist as the ANBU secured him. Watching from above, Sasuke glared at the two genin. He couldn't help but be frustrated at them. Those two had defeated him and showed abilities way beyond he could fathom. It angered him and he would like nothing more than to do something about it. However, he knew that he was now being carefully watched. Things were very different towards him. However, he swore that his loses would not go undealt with.
Sasuke vanished, leaving the scene.
XXX
Orochimaru looked at Hiruzen with nothing but hate. The old man laid there dead but with that infuriating smile on his face. That smile mocked him as his arms hung limp. They were purple and looked decayed. The old bastard used a jutsu he never seen or heard of to seal away his jutsu. His sensei might be dead but he still dealt him a critical blow. It wasn't the only critical blow he was dealt.
"Take down the barrier. We're Leaving." Orochimaru spat.
"Yes lord Orochimaru!" the four ninja said. They dropped the barrier and quickly retrieved him, leaving immediately. Three ANBU chased after them but were stopped by a six-armed shinobi who spat out webbing at them. As they carried him,Orochimaru could see just how much his invasion failed. The village showed little signs of destruction. No dead bodies of Leaf ninja, no crying civilians. All he saw were signs of defeat and men fleeing, like him. It enraged him to see all his work amount to nothing. What really angered him was that his failure started by discoveries made by a bunch of brats.
His ignorance and arrogance led to this outcome because he dismissed the threat those kids were. It was only after he watched them perform did he realize the threat. Whatever new system his former sensei implemented, it was working. Because of this new path, his old village was much more prepared and he was made a fool. He lost his jutsu, his men and he lost face.
Orochimaru swore that he would not allow this failure to stand. He would find a way to get back his jutsu and when he did, he would make the Leaf pay. That he swore
XXX
In darkness, nine figures appeared. They all stood in a circle and faced each other.
"Report." a distorted voice spoke. The figure had ringed eyes and was looking at the figure with a large, rectangular head.
"The Hidden Leaf Village was victorious. Orochimaru and the Hidden Sand Village were completely crushed. Despite their victory, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was killed." he reported.
"Orochimaru was completely defeated, hmm? That loser, he continues to be an embarrassment to us. You should let me deal with him. Show him my art, hmm." the figure with a topknot asked.
"That is not our focus." a female voice said. "What about the containers?"
"They fought each other with the nine-tails being the victor. He is stronger than we assumed." the rectangular headed figure reported.
"It doesn't matter. Itachi, Kisame, it is time to make our move. Retrieve the one-tail and nine-tails." The two figures just disappeared. Soon, all of them vanished into the darkness.
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Authors' Notes
Well, this is another new chapter. It's a much different end to how I would have ended this particular battle. I usually follow the manga and would add my own little twist. Still, I like how it came out.
Anyway, enjoy the new chapter
