Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing
On a personal note, I got to meet The Captain Hillstrand of America's Deadliest Catch today! The guy is so laid back and casual!
"Damn this guy's tough!" Naruto grumbled as he leaped and ducked like a man possessed, trying to get an attack in edgeways while avoiding a deathblow from Gaara. It was proving to be a difficult proposition. That damn sphere of sand foiled any attack and Gaara, with his amazing extendo arms, had the advantage in terms of range.
But Uzumaki Naruto would not be swayed.
No one, not Sasuke-bastard, not Gohan, not even the fucking Yondaime Hokage himself, could stop Naruto once he set his mind to something. This battle would end in Naruto's victory and nothing else. Losing…no failure of any sort, was unacceptable. Especially with his chief rival watching.
Naruto launched another attack, this one of the shuriken variety, but again he was foiled by the insurmountable shield of sand that seemed to work both independently of and in conjunction with Gaara's will. The blond was desperately trying to come up with a way to get around the shield, but for the moment he was flummoxed. Naruto just didn't have any jutsu that could pierce something like that, nor did he have the excessive speed that was needed to get around the barrier before it could form.
"Damn," Naruto swore as the shield stopped his attack cold, then he gaped as the stars sank into the wall of yellow grains. The whole mass, absorbed weapons and all, slithered and slunk its way down Gaara's arm, like some kind of mutant amoeba. "Oh hell no! You've gotta be kidding me!"
The Suna Jinchuuriki grinned madly as his sand formed that bizarre claw again.
"DIE!" He shrieked with a voice that was less than human. Naruto's own attack was thrown back at him, the stars wrapped inside small globules of sand grains.
Naruto leapt backwards, crossing his arms over his vitals in a vain attempt to shield himself. He cried out as red gashes ripped themselves all up and down his body, the kinetic force of event the glancing blows throwing him in a maddening corkscrew that threatened to send him tumbling to the ground below.
"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, watching his teammate fly off the branches. He tried to move to help, but the second he did, the black flames seared again, glowing an angry orange before advancing another few inches. He had to stop and force them to a halt again. He realized that it would take all of his power just to remain in control of his body. "Damn it," the Uchiha hissed, cursing his own helplessness. He was weak! After so much sweat, blood, and toil, he was still too weak to do a damn thing about anything! The frustrations he felt by being caught by Naruto, surpassed by Gohan, and encroached on by Sakura finally tore themselves from his throat in a long, drawn, plaintive scream that echoed off the trees, who stood by in mute and deaf testimony to what was transpiring in their timeless boughs.
Gaara's insane laughter underscored the scream, mocking him, mocking the Sharingan, impotent at this long range, and mocking the Uchiha and all their sacrifices.
I'm superior, the laughter seemed to say. You thought you were a gem, but you were just a dirt clod, and now you've caused another death.
"Damn!" Pakkun hissed. "I can't smell Naruto anymore…but how is that possible…unless!" He whirled, nose twitching like it was on speed, but his answer came a split second before.
"Uzumaki Naruto Ryu! Uzumaki Rendan!"
A group of five blurs dropped from the canopy, all plummeting towards Gaara.
"What!?"
A long arm of sand flashed out, sweeping the clones aside, but one had launched itself higher than the other two. It landed heavily on the arm, dashing up the appendage like it was no danger. A second claw emerged only yards ahead from Gaara and shot out.
Shuriken spun from Naruto's grasp just before the claw slammed into him, popping him like a bubble. The sand shield erupted, to protect its master from harm. The two shuriken exploded, twin Narutos erupting from the haze. Each rebounded of the sand shield and rained more weapons down on Gaara's head. The sand shield expanded, but in doing so it thinned out it thickness to cover more ground. Each Naruto grinned then one brought its hands together.
It became a kunai in a puff of smoke as the remaining clone grabbed the weapon and hurled it after throwing a tagged kunai. The tagged kunai detonated on impact and the last kunai flashed through the hole before it sealed. The kunai thunked into the wood inches short of Gaara's foot. The Suna Jinchuuriki had no way of knowing what had transpired with the two clones, his vision blocked as it was by his defensive measures.
He howled with laugher. "Again you fail, Uzumaki Naruto!"
The kunai at his feet vanished in a burst of smoke.
A fist flashed out, too close for Gaara to react, and even if he could, he knew no taijutsu and would've been hit anyway. The fist ground itself into Gaara's chin, lifting the container from his feet, throwing him across the battle area. He slammed into a tree hard enough to grind bark into powder and crack the hard wood.
"Got him!" Sasuke gasped, both from surprise and relief. Gaara wasn't invincible, someone who could only be beaten by another titan of strength and speed. If Naruto could do it…dammit why could he? What the hell was missing that Sasuke was so impotent!?
You simply lack the power, a silky voice whispered in his ear…or at least Sasuke thought it whispered. But Orochimaru can supply that power. All you have to do is forsake the Leaf. Turn your back on Konohagakure and everything could be yours.
Sasuke shook the voice off…but didn't shut it up. Maybe all he needed was a little training under a Sannin. Just a little.
"Dammit!" Naruto swore, vehement. He was nursing a hand and the pug tracker given to them by Kakashi noted the suddenly pungent scent of Naruto's blood. A few crimson drips and a dangling hand told the story. Naruto had split his knuckles open on Gaara's chin. That in and of itself was understandable. Hitting someone or something barehanded would indeed split flesh and draw blood, which was why so many shinobi wore gloves or bandages, but at the same time, it shouldn't happen with just one blow. Academy students were put through sessions with a makiwara board for just this eventuality, to build up calluses on their knuckles that wouldn't tear so easily. "It's like hitting sandpaper!"
Gaara was back on a branch, his chin dissolving as the sand armor he'd gathered around himself at the last second cracked, discolored, and then fell away from his face. It looked like he was made out of ice that had been dropped into warm liquid. A claw shot forward, moving with inhuman speed.
Naruto could only brace himself for the impending crunch of sand on bone.
Nothing happened.
"Jeeze," Gohan remarked, holding back the tide of grains with his good arm. "I'm always bailing you out, Naruto." He grinned to let Naruto know he was teasing.
Naruto laughed in return. "Oh shut the hell up and stop acting so cool." A pulse of ki blew the sand away. "Thanks. Now if you could get out of my way, I'll get back to the beat down."
"I think you need help," Gohan answered, looking concerned. "I mean, I had a hard time with him, you know."
Naruto shook his head. "No!" he replied firmly, "This is something I need to do myself! I mean… you and Sasuke and Lee and Neji and everyone else have always been so superior to me. Ero-sennin was great when he was training me, but I still don't know how well it worked."
Gohan suddenly understood. "I see. This is a field test."
The other nodded. "Alright then," Gohan agreed. "Go get 'em. But if you need help, all you have to do is ask." Naruto looked startled that Gohan would agree so readily then he grinned ear-to-ear, not noticing Gohan's lame arm. In truth, Gohan was relieved. He was feeling tired and wasn't sure how long he could go with Gaara. His time at the hospital hadn't given him much time to recuperate.
"You got it!"
Sasuke, however, didn't let such a detail slip by him.
'His arm…he can't use it? He was using it just a few hours ago.' Something inside him surged and the Curse Seal advanced far enough to be noticeable, but no one did. Gohan was too busy focusing on Gaara, watching Naruto's back, and Naruto was, understandably, distracted by his battle.
This is your chance, a voice whispered to him, soft and silky, like a snake tongue tickling his ear. You feel inferior to him right? You're inferior to Itachi for sure. Defeat this one in combat and you take one step closer to Itachi.
'A stepping stone,' Sasuke thought back at the voice. He wasn't sure if he was hearing voices, never a good sign, but he couldn't deny how it laid out its case. Gohan was indeed a stepping-stone, a method of reaching Itachi. Hell, Gohan might very well be leaps and bounds above the Uchiha's brother, but nothing ventured nothing gained. Sharingan in his eyes, Sasuke's paralysis left him, but the Seal didn't. It was powering him up, drawing out his top level, his best, his utmost. Even Gohan would be hard pressed to stop him.
Gohan, to his credit, wasn't totally unaware of what Sasuke was going through. He could hear a whisper in the wind, like a person was shouting across a very great distance and Gohan was just barely in earshot. Nor was he unaware of Sasuke's condition. He remembered all too vividly what had happened the last time those flame marks had showed themselves and now Gohan had to be extra careful, since he possessed one of those seals himself and if he didn't watch it, he would end up like the Uchiha across from him.
Nevertheless, he only just avoided the kunai that shot past him and embedded itself in the trunk behind him.
"Sasuke!"
He didn't get anything out after that because Sasuke was on him like a rabid animal, punching and kicking like his life depended on it. It was all Gohan could do, off balance and down an arm, to keep the Uchiha at bay, a feat not made any easier by his Sharingan. It wasn't like last time either. Last time, Sasuke had been hallucinating about his brother. This time, the clarity in Sasuke's eyes showed the other fighter that he knew exactly what he was doing.
Gohan's stomach leapt into his throat as his foot slipped off the bark of the tree. He dropped, instinctively reaching for his ki to fly back up, but a second later decided to run with it, to get his guard back up. So he rolled and pushed off the branch's bottom, shooting for the ground like a bullet. He frowned as he heard Sasuke giving pursuit, on him like an attack dog. A quick glance showed Sasuke's eyes burning with hatred and determination.
Gohan slammed into the ground and rebounded, streaking at a tree's trunk then rebounding again, turning around and flashing back at the pursuing Uchiha. Gohan's superior speed had paid its dividends, with the young saiyan far enough away that he was able to land a solid blow to the Uchiha's midsection, throwing him away with a satisfying thump of bone on soft flesh.
Sasuke twisted like a cat to alight on his feet. With no flight ability, Sasuke was wide open and Gohan obliged, dashing low over the forest floor, reaching Sasuke the second sandal touched rotting leaves. A leg flashed out and hit nothing. The renegade Uchiha had sent a colossal surge of chakra into his legs, the surge smashing into the ground and detonating, throwing the Uchiha clear like he'd been hurled by the earth itself.
Gohan's arm and legs began flashing through close-combat techniques, knees and elbows that would take off the head of anything unfortunate to be caught in the way. Again Sasuke's Sharingan allowed him to stay one step ahead of the game, and he didn't seem fatigued in the least by his exertion of his chakra. As a matter of fact, it was beginning to swirl about him, purple and almost physically reeking of Orochimaru.
"Sasuke!" Gohan grunted out as he took blow after blow on the meat of his arm and thighs. It cushioned the assault, but didn't make it any less painful. If anything it meant he would hurt longer, since cuts hurt all at once but bruises left the young warrior aching for weeks on end. "Stop it!"
"Shut up!"
The barrage intensified. Goku's son could feel himself slowing down, his blocks coming into place slower with each movement, his attacks gradually losing steam. He had no time to transform and Sasuke didn't seem eager to give him the chance. Just when Gohan thought that he would cave, a figure burst from the bushes nearby and tackled the Uchiha off of him.
"Sasuke stop it!" Sakura screamed as she beat back the other member of the team with the very techniques that Gohan had been teaching her only the day before. Sasuke sprang back like a cornered panther, bleeding from a split lip where Sakura had grazed him. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Get out of the way!" Sasuke thundered. He was interrupted when a collision sounded from the canopy and Naruto and Gaara tumbled down from the upper reaches in a waterfall of sand. Naruto landed hard on his shoulder, but Gaara was saved at the last second by his omnipresent sand.
"Dammit," the blond cursed as he tugged himself upright.
Sasuke took a quick glance back at the two and Gohan took the opportunity to flash into Super Saiyan, but as soon as he did, he realized that he still hadn't recovered much from his throw down with Kabuto. His injured leg was sore, arm still limp, and his ki was dropping by the second. Never mind that he was a Full Power Super Saiyan. Its drain on his body was down to even less than bare bones minimums, but it was still there and Gohan was beginning to feel it (along with the bruises he'd accumulated within the last day or so. Hard to believe it wasn't even two in the afternoon yet).
Already Gohan's breathing was rough in his ears and his pulse was pounding hard in his neck. He lunged at Sasuke as fast as he could, pushing his muscles to the limit, taking himself to the wall. Any further than this and he had nothing left.
His fist slammed into Sasuke's face of Sakura's shoulder, who looked startled to see an arm suddenly blossom beside her. Sasuke went tumbling head over heels, bouncing as he went, up over Naruto, and smashing heavily into Gaara, knocking the Suna Jinchuuriki to the ground in a heap, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of a flying Sasuke, even managing to make it past his sand shield.
Gohan's transformation gave out and he slumped against Sakura's body, breathing like he'd just run a million miles. He was vaguely aware of the strawberry-scented perfume he wore, ruined slightly by the tang of her sweat, but still very much at the forefront. Ordinarily he would've been mortified to have something like this happen, but he was too tired to care.
"G-Gohan-kun!" Sakura squealed, surprised by his sudden collapse and by his chosen place of support. At the same time, something stirred within her…happiness? But that didn't make sense so she dismissed it. "What are you doing!?"
"Too tired," Gohan muttered. "Kabuto…took too long."
"Kabuto-san? What does he have to do with this?"
"Traitor," Gohan whispered as Sakura got him off her shoulders and dragged him to a tree, propping him up against the mammoth plant's roots. "Working for…Orochimaru."
"Do you have proof?"
"Kakashi…saw him."
Sakura blinked. "Well that's good enough for me," she answered, disgust in her voice.
"Get away from him Sakura."
She looked behind her to see Sasuke, the one she thought she loved, and a treasured teammate and, she thought, a valued friend, standing behind her, the black marks covering him from head to toe, purple chakra bathing him in a shifting hazy swirl, throwing leaves and small rocks into the air. His Sharingan stared down at her like a hawk tracking a rabbit, steely and unforgiving.
"I'm not done with him yet."
"Sasuke!" Sakura pleaded. "Stop this! Why are you attacking Gohan-kun anyway!?"
"Because he's a stepping stone," Sasuke answered, his voice devoid of inflection, as if someone had whispered his answer to him and it was becoming his mantra. "Defeating him will bring me closer to Itachi." His form flickered and his voice came from behind Sakura. "You are unnecessary."
Pain flared in her neck and she slumped, but not before she heard both Naruto and Gohan scream "SAKURA!"
"What the hell Sasuke!? What crawled up you ass and died!?" Naruto demanded, paying for his lack of concentration by nearly getting smashed by Gaara, who'd tangled with Sasuke briefly until the Uchiha had managed to get free.
Sasuke didn't even glance at him as he looked back at Gohan, who was tugging himself upright, gathering what ki he had in order to slug it out with someone he didn't really care for, but would've laid down his life to defend anyway. He lunged at Sasuke and a deft backhand knocked him away.
Gohan landed in a heap as his opponent's hand began to flash through seals. "Katon. Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Sasuke exhaled a massive ball of fire that hissed like a big cat, illuminating the shadowy ground, the heat crisping grasses and leaves, setting the dead ones alight. It enveloped Gohan and the young saiyan was lost in the orange and red flame. Sasuke smiled dangerously. "Take that, bastard."
"I don't know what's going on, but I'm willing to bet that Gohan-san didn't have anything to prove to you, nor you to him," said a new voice. Sasuke whirled. It was Aburame Shino, pushing up his glasses coolly, Gohan slung over one shoulder, the teen weak, but his eyes blazing with their usual fire that was so akin to Naruto's.
The blob of ash on the ground had a few smoldering insects in it, kikaichu, Sasuke was sure of it. The Aburame had swapped Gohan for his bugs. "Stay out of this, Aburame," Sasuke growled. "It doesn't concern you."
"It does when you decide to take on a personal grudge during a battle for Konoha," Shino retorted. "This is neither the time no place, Uchiha."
"I'll only repeat myself once more, Aburame. This doesn't concern you."
Shino's eyes were sharp behind his sunglasses. "I beg to differ."
Sasuke's Sharingan narrowed just as dangerously. "Then I'll kill you along with him."
A swarm of black erupted from Shino, roiling and writhing as shadows come to life. The bug-user himself was covered with them, an indecipherable mass of black legs and clicking mandibles. Ordinarily, it would've unnerved Sasuke, but now he felt nothing but supreme confidence as he gathered chakra into his hand, the chirping of a flock of birds filling the air only moments later, his hard features lit with a flickering blue and white light as bolts of lightning zipped out from the Chidori in his hand.
"So be it," Shino said with a chilling finality. He slammed one hand onto the ground and a wave of bugs twice as tall as Sasuke himself erupted from the Aburame's body, cresting and falling towards the Uchiha like a tsunami. Instead of running, which would've been dangerous to do, Sasuke took a different approach. He redistributed the Chidori over his entire body and launched himself through the wave. Any kikaichu that came into contact with his body was incinerated instantly.
He erupted from the back of the wave to find Shino gaping up at him, mouth open in a rare display of emotion. Sasuke contented himself with the knowledge that it was surprise and maybe even a little horror. Following his inspiration with the Chidori, Sasuke pulled out a few kunai and coated them with the lightning. They flashed from his grip, becoming thunderbolts that rained down on the Aburame and weakened Gohan. The two were lost amid the puffs of dirt and flame that the lightning brought about.
Sasuke grinned, but it slid off his face like oil when he realized that the target in front of him was another mass of blackened bugs.
"Bug Clone," Shino explained from behind him, Gohan mysteriously absent. Shino threw his hands out, another river of bugs erupting from his body, roiling and writhing like a living thing as the air was filled by the low hum of frantically beating wings. Sasuke could even see some sparkles here and there as gossamer wings caught the light.
Following his success earlier with the Chidori-shield, Sasuke again brought the technique to life around him and waded right through the technique. He didn't know it yet, but he'd discovered the basics of his nature manipulation. Kakashi had told him that he had a lightning affinity, but didn't show him anything, only promising to show him later, after the tournament was over. In different circumstances, Sasuke would've been thrilled by the discovery, using it to show himself his own superiority, but now it was only a tool, an ingenious strategy for him to use, kind of like what Naruto was fond of doing. Trying things on the fly and hoping they worked.
'Not a way to fight,' Sasuke thought to himself, annoyed with himself for sinking to such a level, 'but I'll take it.'
An animalistic cry filled the forest, so much so that the two warring genin stopped their squabble to look over at Gaara, who was stumbling around, clutching at his face. He tripped over an exposed root, crashing to the ground, thrashing around like he was having a seizure.
"No mother!" He shrieked, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He kept repeating that over and over, his voice fading from agonized shout to a soft whimper. "I'll kill him, I swear, just be patient!" He seemed to get a reply because he made a noise that sounded like 'Alright'. Then he was suddenly sane and in control again, standing up to glare at Naruto, Sasuke, and Shino. "Now you've done it. Mother is going to kill you."
"Bring it on," Naruto said, but it was without his usual bravado. He was locked down and dialed in, plus he knew how Gaara felt. He knew about the demon Gaara possessed, was sure that that was what Gaara was talking about, but found himself totally sure he was capable of dealing with the creature, whatever it was. "I'm still gonna beat you down!"
"DIEEEEE!" Gaara howled, sand bursting from everywhere, gushing like an oil geyser into the air, clumping together as it did, until it formed a massive and ponderous sand raccoon, shot through with purple veins and a waving bushy tail, sand dripping off it in coarse streams. The eyes were golden, with a four-pointed starburst in the middle with a dot in between each point. The jaw as massive and serrated, like a caricature of a bulldog. Gaara himself was embedded in the raccoon's forehead from the waist down.
"NOW YOU'LL DIE!" Gaara screamed, bringing his hands up. "Ninpou! Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu!"
He swooned and passed out.
A change came over the giant raccoon. Even without Gaara, it continued to move. To the surprise and horror of the three below, and Gohan in his concealed refuge where Shino had dropped him, the sand horror stretched with a yawn and spoke with the same high-pitched voice that Gaara had used during the Second Exam when he'd fought Gohan.
"Ahhhh!" The thing said, scratching itself. "So nice to be out again." His awful eyes searched the ground and found the three shinobi and one passed out kunoichi with relative ease. "So you're the little bastards that my bastard was having problems with?" the demon laughed. "Oh shit, that's rich. He's so damn pathetic." One titanic limb lifted up, sand trickling from it like rain, before it started its descent.
Naruto's finger swept up to his mouth as he pleaded with his own inner demon to release some of its youki to him so he could take on the raccoon on even ground. The Kyuubi, since kitsune detest tanuki as a rule, granted the request. Naruto's teeth bit down on his finger and drew blood. The seals formed themselves.
Shino and Sasuke dove out of the way, to dodge the falling limb as Naruto stood his ground, Shino scooping up Sakura's limp form.
Seconds before the Ichibi's and crashed to earth, Naruto's voice pierced the silence of the forest. "Ninpou! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!" An explosion rocked the forest, sending crows and hawks into flight with a noise of angry chattering that almost matched the chattering of the Chidori. When the smoke pillar cleared, a massive toad, just as tall as the Ichibi himself, sat comfortably in the center of the forest, puffing on a massive pipe. He exhaled a cloud of smoke, eyeing up the massive demon across from him.
"Oh ho," he commented with stoic disinterest. If he was surprised by the demon, he didn't show it. "So who the hell's this?"
This was no ordinary toad. He was huge, with bandages wrapped around his midsection, holding a massive sword in place, a sword as tall as the massive redwoods and pines that surrounded Konoha. A scar adorned his left eye, a memento of his battle with the Kyuubi thirteen years ago. Over has back sat a tent-like haori with the kanji for shrimp on it. All in all, the titanic toad looked like an amphibious yakuza boss. This was Gamabunta, the head of the toads of Myobokuzan, and Jiraiya's friend and partner.
"Heya Boss Toad!" Naruto said jovially from his place atop the summons's head. "Can you give me a hand with this guy? It's Suna's demon thing."
"Suna's bijuu?" the toad asked, eyeing the raccoon, which was similarly eyeing him. The toad took out his pipe and knocked the ash out of it. "Take a hike."
"SAY WHAT!?"
"I don't feel like fighting on such a good day," the toad answered simply. "So if you'll excuse me, I'm taking a walk. Maybe even go swimming." He began to plod off through the trees, shaking the earth with each step, Naruto spluttering curses, oaths, vows, threats, and other things from his lofty perch.
"That's right!" Shukaku bellowed. "Run! I would too if I had to fight me! You're big, Warty, but you'll never be able to beat me!" He raised his hands, as he laughed, as if to fold them behind his head.
One arm went flying through the air, smashing to earth in a cloud of sand and dust.
"What'd you say punk?" Gamabunta demanded, sword in hand, eyes glinting dangerously. "I'm no match for you huh? Well then, I'll just have to kick your ass. Lemme tell you something. I fought with the Yondaime Hokage himself against the Kyuubi and I ain't about to get beat by some one-tailed wuss!"
Shukaku surveyed his severed arm with disinterest. "Oh?" He asked finally. "Looks like you're not all talk after all."
"Better believe it," Gamabunta snarled in return. "I'm gonna make a coon skin cap outta ya." He lunged with blinding speed, propelled by his massive hind legs at the raccoon. The blade pierced it with no resistance at all, and Shukaku started laughing.
"Are you an idiot!?" it howled. "I'm made of sand!"
A surge of sand burst from its gut like a battering ram, throwing Gamabunta away like a ragdoll. He smashed to with a crash that shook the entire area, from the forest to Konoha, knocking more than a few shaky buildings down. The toad was on his feet just as fast as he'd been thrown, Naruto looking faintly queasy from the wild ride.
"I don't feel so good," he muttered.
"Puke on my head and I'll sit on you!" Gamabunta shouted indignantly. "Now hold on!"
He leapt into the air just as Shukaku's arm shot past beneath him, ripping a massive furrow in the ground.
"Gahahahahaha!" Shukaku cackled. "In the air! Can't dodge!" His belly bulged, much like the snake that Naruto had blown up with the Kage Bunshin had done. "Futon! Renkudan!" He smashed his bulging stomach and exhaled a burst of air that shot into the sky at the leaping toad. The air caught the dust and debris that was still floating around, giving it visibility. It was a roiling mass of air, similar to the Rasengan's chaos, but over a hundred times bigger.
The sky lit with an explosion as Gamabunta took the brunt of the blow. The fireball fell to the earth as Shukaku laughed delightedly.
"I did it! Die you stupid toad! Die!! DIE!!!"
Gamabunta bounded from the column of smoke, snatched up his sword, and slashed off Shukaku's other arm in a fluid sweep of his massive weapon. "Sorry, the explosion must've rattled my brain. Who'd you kill again?"
Shukaku spluttered incoherently before sand burst up from two locations, the locations of the severed arms, and reattached themselves to his body, forming the limbs once again. He lashed out with the new arms, batting away the massive toad summon.
Naruto, though he was using chakra to stay upright, was still thrown down. "Hey!" He shouted. "Watch it Boss Toad! Not all of us are as huge as you!"
"Oh shut up!" Gamabunta retorted. Shukaku made overtones of an attack, his stomach distending again as he charged up a Drilling Air Bullet. "Here he comes!"
Shukaku belched the jutsu.
So that's it. The chapter was a little later than usual, but since it's summer break...well that's really no excuse, but still. It is summer.
Glossary
Futon: Renkudan (Wind Style Drilling Air Bullet): Shukaku belches a big blast of air that will explode or drill through damn near anything. Think of it as a King Sized Rasengan.
Ninpou: Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu (False Sleep Jutsu): Forces Gaara to fall asleep so Shukaku can come out to play.