Naruto: The Ninth Tail: Chapter 17
Unfamiliarity
The rest of the group was ready to return to the Country of Sand. As they packed up, there was something tugging at Sasuke's mind.
"Hey, Naruto…"
"What is it?"
"Where the hell did you hide the scroll? I couldn't find it anywhere."
Naruto grinned. He pulled out of his pack the fake scroll.
"Here it is."
Naruto unrolled the summoning pattern.
"But that's the fake scroll. That's not the-"
Naruto peeled off the pattern to reveal, "The real scroll?"
There was a stunned silence after that. Sasuke didn't believe it. Sakura didn't believe it. Kankuro and Temari didn't believe it. Gaara… well… he just stood there with his usual look on his face.
Kakashi nodded. "As expected of the No. 1 Ninja at surprising people."
Naruto handed the scroll over to Gaara. "Here, this is yours."
Gaara nodded, and took it.
Naruto turned back to Sasuke, grinning. "Now, what was it that you owe me again?"
A drop of sweat formed on his cheek, and he said something inaudible.
"What? I didn't hear you."
"I said I don't have any money…"
Naruto started to grin. "Well, that's okay."
"Eh?" Sasuke was really puzzled. From his experience, he knew the blond really liked money. Everybody else knew that too.
"The satisfaction of knowing that I have more money than the Uchiha here is enough!" He pulled out his frog wallet, which was seemed to be ready to burst at the seams.
A few veins could be seen on Sasuke's forehead. "Why you…"
"Hehehe…"
Kakashi smiled. "We can worry about money problems later. Let's return this scroll back to where it came from."
"Ah…"
Gaara took a few steps, and then suddenly fell to his knees.
"Hey, Gaara!" Kankuro and Temari rushed over to his side. Gaara was clutching at his chest, his breathing irregular and shallow. Gaara looked at the horizon, his eyes clouded and unfocused.
"He's coming…"
"Who?" Temari asked, "Who's coming?"
But he didn't answer, for it was at that moment he chose to faint and collapse.
"Gaara!" Temari continuously shook the unconscious boy, but no amount of shaking pulled him out of his state.
Naruto could only stare as the scene unfolded before him.
"Just what's
"going on…?"
The ground was shaking as a rock-shattering earthquake tore through the cave. Deidara could barely keep his balance. The other members present were also having a difficult time. Just then, their leader appeared before them.
"What's happening?"
Kazuku replied. "Something's wrong with the demon-sealing statue!"
He was right. The hands of the statue were twitching uncontrollably, and one of the pupils of the nine eyes was uncontrollably dilating and constricting.
"This shouldn't be happening."
The leader turned to the other Akatsuki members.
"Did anyone tamper with the statue?"
Everybody shook their heads. The leader reverted his gaze back to the statue. Then, he saw something that he wouldn't have believed if he didn't see it. The pupil dilated so much that the whole eye was completely black. Then, it seemed like something started to move in the shadows of the eye. The Akatsuki thought it was a trick of the light, or lack of.
They thought wrong.
From inside the eyeball, something pushed against the inside, creating a protrusion. The unseen force slowed down, as if the eye was straining to keep the thing from within restrained. Then it ripped, releasing the beast within. The cave exploded with the roaring of wind and an echoing howl could be heard. All the Akatsuki members covered their heads, all except the leader and Itachi. They continuously stood their ground.
The eye of the statue was now burst open, and it looked like it was bleeding from the hole. Black liquid continuously flowed in rivulets down the statue's face. Then, a beige claw with blue markings grabbed the face of the statue, and pulled the rest of the body out. A yellow eye with a star-shaped pupil and four dots revealed itself from the darkness.
The Ichibi Shuukaku was free, and it gave an ear-splitting howl. It pulled the rest of its body out, and its tail whipped back and forth. It gave one look at the members of the Akatsuki, and then shot a concentrated blast of chakra-laced air at them. There were only two members who were actually there at the moment. The rest were all just images.
Nevertheless, the impact was strong enough to completely pulverize the two Akatsuki there.
"Kakuzu! Hidan!"
Shuukaku turned towards the exit, and stomped out of the cave, destroying the seal with an air blast. In the light of the sun, its body slowly dematerialized and floated into the wind. The Akatsuki members couldn't do anything but stare.
"… Sir… What's going on?"
"I don't know, Itachi. I just don't know…"