I own nothing but my love of all things manga...roll camera.
Note: No tanukis were harmed in the making of this chapter.
Suna no Shukaku; Toad, dragon and Fox!
Sasuke stared in shock at the massive back of his giant teammate. "Domon?" he muttered dumbly, hardly daring to believe it as the giant grunted and turned around, the others climbing out of the woodwork. "Recca?" the Uchiha wondered out loud, "Naruto?"
The duo didn't answer, just strode towards their injured teammate, their faces unusually serious. Temari cursed the luck, wincing from chakra exhaustion as she eyed the trio from the safety of a tree branch.
'The Uchiha's teammates?' she moaned, 'Great…just perfect.' She shivered at the sight of the blonde Jinchuuriki, recalling just what had been sealed inside him. 'If he snaps like Gaara did…' she shivered, imagining something on the scale of the apocalypse, 'god help us!' She winced as a bright light caught off something, blinding her, 'The hell?!' she raised an arm to her face, 'Is that a mirror?!'
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura wailed, leaping through the foliage amidst a burst of sunlight and harp strings, unaware of the light reflecting off her brow, "You're alive! I was so-!"
The girl's face turned to one of shock, the light and music fading amongst the sound of broken glass and snapping harp strings as the trio began to kick the living shit out of the object of her affections.
"God Dammit Uchiha!" Recca yelled, ramming his heel into the avenger's back, "You just have to be a showoff don't you?!"
"What the hell were ya thinking?" Domon growled, holding back incase he accidentally finished the job for Gaara, "You only got one freaking arm!"
"You wanna get yourself killed?" Naruto yelled, looking particularly livid as he stamped on the avengers skull.
The Uchiha was hard pressed to answer, as he was currently being treated like a football in an Eyeshield 21 sketch, viz. mercilessly.
"STOP KICKING SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura shrieked; whilst Lee stared on in shock, holding the kunoichi back in case she did something stupid, like trying to stop them herself.
'Whose side are they on?' Temari wondered, huddled in the background with tearstains covering her eyes.
--
Naruto sighed as they left the twitching form of Sasuke to smolder on the branch. "That was good," he said with a smile, "we worked off all our frustration there."
"Not quite," Domon grunted, glaring at the hole in the trunk he'd made when he punched Gaara, "saved some for the freak there."
Recca grinned, sending a cheeky salute towards the redhead. "Hey Gaara," he greeted, "guess we're enemies again."
The transformed Jinchuuriki snarled and eyed them with one teal eye and one golden eye with star pupils. Naruto shivered, recognizing the scent coming off the boy. "I thought I sensed something weird," he muttered, "you're a Jinchuuriki too."
Gaara's feral smirk widened as he licked his chops, saliva landing on the branch he was standing on. "Uzumaki…Naruto…"
The redhead began to laugh, low at first then breaking out into a full on cackle, causing Domon to shiver. "This guy's gone off the deep end with weights." he muttered, the other shinobi silently agreeing with the giant's deduction.
"Subarashi…subarashi!" Gaara cried out sinisterly, his eyes brimming with insanity. "A challenge unlike any other! Two genuine monsters!"
Naruto scowled and moved into a ready stance, eyeing the redhead warily. 'That sand looks thick,' he noted, 'too thick for a regular sword attack.' He narrowed his eyes, 'I may have to get serious.' He blinked as Domon spat, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"Oi! You ignoring us ya damn freak?" the giant called out, gripping Kubikiri Houcho's hilt and scowling, whilst Recca summoned Saiha.
Gaara snorted dismissively, "You'll all die," he predicted, "and my existence will remain!"
With that the sand demon lunged forwards, causing the trio to leap into the air, having expected a full frontal attack. However, they were caught off guard when Gaara shot out an arm, which targeted the prone Sasuke. 'SHIT!' the trio cursed, each trying to change direction in mid-air, only for a pink haired projectile to get between the freak and his target.
"SAKURA-SAN!" Lee yelled, dashing to help as the kunoichi was trapped against a tree trunk in constricting sand, as Gaara let off a sinister chuckle.
--
"What now?" the redhead asked, "I have your friend as a hostage, what are you going to do?"
Naruto smirked, meeting the insane genin's glare head on. "From the way you just said 'friend' you obviously don't think much of the topic." He shook his head, "And you're wrong, the forehead freak is not my friend."
"Naruto-kun!" Lee yelled, looking shocked at the blonde's harsh words, causing the blonde to look at him.
"It's the truth Gejimayu;" Naruto muttered, "since graduating from the academy, I've never thought of anyone as a friend except these two knuckle heads, Fuko, Tokiya and Yanagi-neechan." He smiled at the Taijutsu specialist; "You and I became friends in the exam, Hinata at the hospital, and maybe even Neji back at the stadium." He shot the prone form of Sasuke a silent look, before snorting, "And as for that lazy bastard Shikamaru?"
Domon smirked, shaking his head in bemusement, "As he'd put it, he's a pain in the ass, but he's honest."
"Then he'd go take a nap." Recca snickered, exchanging a high five with the giant.
Lee looked confused, and was about to move when Recca stopped him by raising his arm. "Lee, you stay there and make sure Uchiha and Haruno are alright." He grinned at the teen, giving him the thumbs up, "We'll take care of this."
Lee blinked, and then clenched his fist, eyes on fire. "YOSH! RECCA-SAN! I SHALL DEFEND THEM WITH THE FLAMES OF YOUTH!"
Domon shivered, eyeing the possibly insane genin warily. 'Then those flames better be like Setsuna's,' the giant muttered, 'or you're screwed six times over.'
Naruto eyed the redhead, a look of understanding on his face. "Gaara," he called out, in his most unthreatening, 'talking to homicidal maniacs' voice, "I can't even begin to imagine what you've suffered." He shivered briefly at the insane light in the redhead's eyes, "And I don't think I want to."
He pushed his blade out of its sheath slightly with his thumb. "But you and your people attacked Konoha," he muttered, "and as Shinobi of Konoha, it's our duty to protect it."
Recca smirked, standing alongside his Outoto with Saiha at the ready.
"So get ready!"
--
Jiraiya cackled as his toad landed on top of one of his former teammates scaled companions. "HAR! LOOK AT YOU SNAKES," the sennin bellowed, "FROZEN AT THE GLARE OF A TOAD!"
Ibiki shivered as the sannin went through his bizarre dance routine. 'Hard to believe this guy's the strongest of the three,' he muttered, 'let alone the fourth's teacher.'
Jiraiya, after completing his bizarre ritual, gazed up at the purple field where his sensei was fighting, a scowl on his weathered face.
'Dammit' he cursed, 'don't you die on me, old man.'
--
Gaara howled as he converted to his second stage, appearing more demonic, save for his legs, crossing his massive arms.
"Suna Shuriken!"
The trio leapt apart as the hail of sand blades tore into the tree they'd been standing in. (Guys!) Naruto signed, (Operation: hailstorm!)
The other two grinned and flashed him a sign of confirmation, before getting to work, Recca using shunshin to appear above the sand-genin and smirked.
"Nadare:" he called out, "DAN EN!"
Gaara winced as the fireballs rammed into his armored hide, keeping him pinned but not much else. "MUDA-DA!" he growled, swatting a few out of the way, "You'll never beat me like that!"
"Ryusosen!"
Abruptly the genin felt several blows hit him in various parts of the upper torso, causing the armor-like skin to crack. 'This speed!' he grunted, slapping the blonde away, only for him to disappear in a plume of smoke. 'Where's the lummox?' he muttered, looking around for Domon, just as the Giant genin's fist rammed into his stomach, sending the sand Jinchuuriki flying backwards, his armor completely gone where the blow had hit.
'How-?!' the redhead gasped, as a shadow descended from above, blocking out the sun as it descended like the wrath of heaven.
"Ryutsuisen!"
The sheer force of the blow sent Gaara hurtling towards the ground, crashing into it like a meteor and plowing on through the forest floor to form a trench.
--
Temari shivered as she watched her little brother's fight, eyes wide. 'Gaara,' she whispered, 'when we were little, we were told to stay away from you…even when you asked to play, we weren't allowed near you.' She clenched her arms, 'If…if I'd made more of an effort to be a sister to you…would you have turned out like this?'
She trembled and held herself, eyeing the prone form on the forest floor.
"Gaara…"
--
Naruto made a seal and stuck to the underside of a branch, looking down at his opponent. "Operation hailstorm a success!" he yelled, raising his fists above his head.
"YES!" Domon whooped, copying the blonde's actions "Our collective powers did it!"
"Whadd'ya mean 'our'?" Recca snorted, casting an annoyed glare towards his rival "I held him down with Nadare!"
Naruto smirked, pointing at himself superiorly, "I took him down!" he boasted, whilst Domon shook his fist at them.
"Well My Futae no Kiwami took him off guard AND smashed that damn shell ta bits!" the Giant boasted, sparks flying between him and the other two. The three got into a fistfight whilst the onlookers sweatdropped, questioning their sanity, not for the first time.
Lying in his ditch, forgotten for the moment, Gaara growled in pain and irritation as he gazed up at the leaves, and the echoing sounds of idiocy.
'These…morons…' he grit his fangs and attempted to sit up, 'How can they…be so strong?!'
The demon inside his head howled for blood, lots of it, and for the first time in many years, Gaara felt a sense of understanding with the raving Tanuki.
"Yes mother," he growled, the sand surging around him, "you will have your blood…"
--
Domon, attempting to gnaw his rival's leg off at the knee, noticed that the semi-transformed Jinchuuriki was getting to his feet. "Oi! Hanabishi!" he roared, "He's still movin'!"
Recca paused in his endeavors to devour his outoto's head and blinked. "Damn" he moaned, shaking his head, "what is he…the terminator?"
Naruto slipped out of the tangle of arms and flinched as he felt his hackles rise, never a good sign when you're a Hanyou. "Guy's," he warned, backing away slowly but deliberately, "I think we better take cover…"
"RAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"
There was a massive gust of wind as something shot up out of the woods, sending dust and splintered trunks flying everywhere. Team seven blocked as much as they could whilst dodging the larger specimens, whilst Lee guarded an unconscious Sasuke and Sakura as best he could.
Temari lay trembling hidden in a patch of leaves, knowing full well what had awoken. 'It…it's finally here!' she shivered, eyeing the monstrous shadow that loomed over them all, a bright yellow eye gazing down on them maliciously.
"What…" Lee stuttered, "What is that?!"
Pakkun stared in shock, unable to speak at the sight, whilst Team seven glared at it in apprehension.
'That thing's bigger than the friggin monument!' Domon swore, feeling incredibly put on, even as Recca eyed the monstrosity with a flinch
'Nadare Saiha and Homura won't do any good here,' The enjutsu-shi realized grimly 'I may have to bring out the big guns.'
Naruto clenched his teeth and glared at the figure before him. "So that's it," he muttered, "that's the beast you have inside you."
Temari shivered and found herself gazing in awe at the monstrous figure that until a few moments ago had been her little brother.
"Gaara's…true form!"
--
Domon and Recca flinched, before appearing next to their teammate via shunshin. "This doesn't look good." Recca muttered, "I don't like the idea of fighting this guy…we could end up leveling the forest."
Domon grunted, agreeing with his rival. "Our mission was to track down Uchiha," he muttered, before sending a glare at the massive form of the sand demon, "but I doubt that freak's gonna just let us turn tail and run."
Naruto nodded, "I can tell by the look in his damn eyes," he muttered, "he's planning something..."
As if reading the blonde's mind, the figure raised a monstrous hand and clenched it, causing the trio to swear as sand wrapped around their legs.
"SHIT! Recca cursed, "He left some sand behind!"
Domon attempted to use the Futae no Kiwami, but the sand held the three of them firm. "OW!" Recca cursed, shooting his rival an angry glare "Domon! Get your elbow out of my face!
"I can't freakin' move!" the giant retorted, struggling futilely. Naruto, gritting his teeth in concentration, bit his thumb.
"Hold on guys," he warned them, making the seals, "I'll get us outta this…"
--
"Sabaku Kyuu." Gaara's voice echoed, as if from the depths of a cavern, watching the sand constrict below. 'To think I had to resort to this form against them…' he smirked internally, 'Ah well, it's over now.'
"Sabaku Souso-!"
The giant behemoth blinked as his sand exploded outwards, followed by a large section of forest being leveled by the appearance of a giant, one-eyed toad wearing a coat and dagger at his waist, smoking a pipe.
'What in the?!' he cursed, eyes going wide.
--
"Kuchiyose no jutsu…" Naruto muttered, palm on the frog's head, "the ninja art of summoning."
Domon and Recca were staring at the massive amphibian in shock, before eyeing their teammate. "When'd ya learn to do this squirt?" Domon asked, amazed at the size of the toad he was sitting on, which could have kept France in haute cuisine for several centuries.
Naruto smirked, "From the Ero-Oyaji that taught my mom and the yondaime." He replied, gazing fondly up at the sky, where Jiraiya's face could be seen.
--
In Konoha, the densetzu-no sennin, Jiraiya of the Sannin, sneezed and almost fell off his toad. 'Someone's talking about me,' he muttered, eye narrowing in suspicion, 'it better not be Oro-teme and Sensei!'
He then proceeded to Gama Yuendan the shit out of one of his former teammate's summons, reducing it to so much smoked leather and snake oil as he ranted on about the 'ass kissing serpents' and 'rumor-mongering old farts'.
--
"Oi!" the boss toad called out, "What're you lot doing on my head?!"
Naruto winced and hopped down to the boss' nose. "Sorry about that Oyabun," he said calmingly, "but it was an emergency."
The amphibian snorted, placated at the sight of his latest subordinate, and eyed the other two as they joined their teammate. "I take it these are the guys that you spoke of?"
Naruto smirked and nodded, "The one with the tekko is my aniki, Recca." He explained pointing over his shoulder, "The big guy's my friend, Domon."
The giant amphibian snorted, clearly unimpressed. "A shaved gorilla and a hot headed baboon?" he mocked, "You need better company kid."
"WHO YOU CALLING A BABOON YOU OVERSIZED FRENCH DINNER?!" Recca roared, head growing to match those on the monument, Domon's along side it.
"YEAH!" the giant yelled, "YOU WANNA DIE?!"
The boss blinked once, twice then grinned at the blonde on his nose. "Spunky…just like you kid…they pass." He wrapped his tongue around them and placed them on his head, eyeing the figure before him.
"Shukaku of the sands…if I remember right…" he muttered, "You damn blondes really know how to make a toad work…first the frigging Kyuubi, and now this?"
Naruto growled and tapped his foot on the toad's head, as a reprimand. "Say what you like about the fourth," he muttered, "but please remember that the Kyuubi was my old man, okay?"
Gamabunta chortled, and reached for his sword. "I'd thought to wait until we'd exchanged Sakazuki," he muttered, "but seeing as how I've grown fond of you, I'll lend you a hand."
Wielding his dagger he glared at the sand demon.
"Prepare yourself, hoodlum!"
Naruto winced as he felt the toad boss's legs tighten as he prepared to lunge forwards, making a seal to channel chakra to his feet. "Brace yourselves!" he yelled over his shoulder. The other two scarcely managed to comply when the strength in the toad boss' massive legs sent them hurtling forwards.
"Gamma Dosu Zan!"
The massive form of Shukaku shook as the right arm was lopped off, though the blade flew from the toad's fingers as he continued to sail upwards.
'What a guy,' Gamabunta muttered, 'it took everything just to complete the stroke!' The boss toad landed a good distance from his opponent and spun round to face him again.
"Oi!" Domon yelled, "There's wounded people across that way!" he pointed towards Lee's last known location.
"Warkata," Gamabunta grunted in understanding, "I'll avoid it as best I can…"
--
Lee stared in shock at the massive toad. "Sugoi," he gasped, "I thought only jounin were permitted to perform the Kuchiyose no jutsu!" He stared up at the blonde standing proudly atop the massive summon's head. "Naruto-kun…you truly are scary!"
Unbeknownst to the Taijutsu expert, a certain avenger was cursing as he raised his head to get a better view of the fight.
'Again' Sasuke growled, fingers digging into the tree bark, 'he's one upped me AGAIN!'
"You're fun!" Gaara's voice called out, ringing with madness, yet oddly mournful at the same time, "Tamashii-da! DOMON! RECCA!! NARUTO!!"
The redhead's upper body appeared on the demon's forehead, leering manically at the trio atop the toad. "Thank you all for keeping me entertained for so very long," he uttered, grinning all the while, "In return…allow me to show you the true power of the sand demon!"
--
"The medium shows signs of insomnia," Gamabunta grunted, "just look at those bags under his eyes, I could probably give him some competition there…"
Recca frowned, "What's he going on about?" he asked, eyeing the psychotic redhead in trepidation.
"Those possessed by the demon Shukaku, can never get a decent night's sleep," the boss-toad explained, "and with good reason: they're too terrified!"
The trio looked at their ally as he elaborated, shock growing on their faces.
"Their personality will be devoured by Shukaku, bit by bit, until they're gone," the toad narrowed his eye, "but only if the vessel falls asleep."
Domon shivered, "Man…it's like a nightmare that haunts you all the time." He muttered, causing Gamabunta to nod slightly.
"However that's to our benefit; you see, Shukaku's powers are suppressed whenever the vessel is awake…but if he goes to sleep…!"
Recca's eyes widened, "The demon would be released!"
"Tanuki Neiri no jutsu!" Gaara's voice called out, before his body drooped limply out of the creature's forehead, like a bizarre pimple. The trio and Gamabunta watched in shock as the massive form's eyes took on a different light, as he let out a squawking yell.
"YEEEHAAAAAW! I'M FINALLY OUT!" He spun his demented gaze over to the toad boss and yipped again. "HIYAHOOOO! HERE'S SOMONE I WANNA KILL RIGHT OFF THE BAT!"
Shukaku lifted his left arm and inhaled, causing his stomach to expand. "We're gonna jump!" Gamabunta warned, before leaping straight up into the air, earning a startled squawk from Domon.
"FUUTON: RENKUUDAN!"
The massive ball of air and chakra blasted through he woods where the toad had just occupied.
"Suiton: Suitaiho!" Gamabunta launched two massive cannonballs of water onto the beast, only for Shukaku to counter with five Renkuudan blasts.
"Oi! There's one left!" Domon yelled out, only for Gamabunta to swear as the blast rammed into his stomach.
"YEAH!" the massive tanuki screeched, eyes smiling, "I KILLED HIM! I KILLED HIM!"
As if mocking the beast, Gamabunta lunged out of the smoke, swearing like a sailor on his fourth round. "That hurt dammit!" he roared, "You pumped so much damn chakra into that freaking sphere!"
--
Naruto grit his teeth as the fight drew on, knowing that summons didn't have a habit of sticking round for long. 'This isn't good,' he mumbled, 'Gamabunta can't take much more punishment like that…'
"Gaki!" the boss yelled, "I'm gonna need a distraction, then you and I are gonna grab that thing and wake up the medium!"
Naruto blinked, "What kinda distraction?" he asked, looking confused.
"The big kind!"
Recca and Domon looked at each other, and then grinned sadistically, the flame wielder raising his right hand. Naruto blinked, knowing exactly what was coming. "Oyabun," he warned, "brace yourself!"
Recca went through the hand gestures and grinned.
"Ryu no en; nanashiki: KOKU!"
Everyone blinked in shock as the massive one-eyed dragon appeared in a burst of flames, hovering over the massive toad's back.
"Koku…" the enjutsu-shi muttered, "Aim a little to the left, then fire."
"But of course." The ancient Karyuu muttered, a sphere forming in front of his maw.
"One distraction coming up!" Naruto yelled as Domon braced himself, hands over his head, rear sticking humorously in the air.
"Koku:" Recca yelled out, pointing at Shukaku's left arm, "HADOU EN!"
Gamabunta almost wet himself as the laser beam launched from the dragon's mouth and ripped off the demon's remaining arm, as well as a good chunk of torso, not to mention leveling a good portion of the forest in its wake.
--
Lee's eyes resembled saucers as he fell on his butt, a damp spot staining his crotch. "Su-Sugoi" he muttered, trembling from the shockwave, "Such raw power…" He looked up at the enjutsu-shi, "Hanabishi-san…you're even scarier!"
Sasuke grit his teeth in rage, Lee having unwittingly sheltered him from the worst effects of the shockwave, and by proxy, from getting a good view of the Karyuu.
'Where did they get such power!' the avenger demanded, 'Why did they receive it! I need it more than they do!'
--
Naruto grinned as he braced himself, "Ready Oyabun?" he asked, ready to leap into the fray, only for Domon to slap a hand on his shoulder, causing him to blink and turn round.
"I got this one squirt;" the giant muttered, bracing himself, "you just get ready to knock the crap outta that freak when we get there."
Naruto smirked and abated, as the giant stood up and made a hand seal.
"Remember!" Gamabunta roared, "Claws and fangs!"
Domon frowned for a moment, before smirking, his own fangs glinting as his pupils disappeared. "Try topping this Hanabishi!" the giant genin roared as Gamabunta charged, "Combi-henge no jutsu!"
There was a massive plume of smoke, and when it cleared, the various onlookers were stupefied.
Launching out of the smoke, howling with rage and bloodlust was a massive fox, larger than the Hokage monument; it's fur redder than spilled blood and raging flames, eyes locked murderously on the startled form of the crippled sand demon. Nine massive tails waved behind it like serpents as it sank its powerful jaws into the startled Tanuki's hide.
"Domon…" Recca's voice called out, struck with awe, before grinning up at his rival. "You're a freaking genius!" he yelled under the illusion, causing the giant's grin to widen.
--
And there we have it! the battle between sand and leaf, taken to the next level!
Will Sasuke get the pwer he craves? Will Gaara verify his existence? And will Lee find a fresh pair of pants?
Find out next time on the next installment!
Kyugan: there, now back to pron...what the?! (Glares at monitor, Tsunade and Shizune are gone) Damnation WESKER!
(Alber wesker steps out of the shadows, dressed in the outfit from Code Veronica X) Yes?
Kyugan: Bring those two back here right now! i'm authorizing use of the T-003's!
Wesker: As you wish (Snaps fingers, Mr. X clomps out, decked out in green trench-coat) We will not fail...but if they're in the sewers...
Kyugan: Ah crap...Nemy's down there isn't he?
In sewers...
Tsunade: Jeez, what the hell is this thing? i keep hitting it and it just getsd back up!
Shizune: Tsunade-sama! Watch out for the tentacle thing!
Nemesis: P.R.O.N.Z...
R&R or be attacked by Hunters!!