Chapter Thirty – The Counterattack
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Orochimaru stared in shock as the only snake that had penetrated the wall vanished. He tried to summon another snake, but even his Shadow-snakes were blocked by whatever had made the strange glow.
"What do we do, boss?"
Orochimaru snarled as he let Tayuya bandage the stump of his lost right hand. The fact that it had been effectively destroyed with a blade glowing with Youkai meant that the arm itself was already starting to rot and without his right hand, his ability to do Jutsu had been severely impeded.
Something told him that doing a body-shedding technique would probably not help.
"We retreat. They've countered most of my trump cards and with Sarutobi and Jiraiya around, even Suna's Jinchuuriki cannot overcome our disadvantage."
"And our forces?"
"Ignore them." Orochimaru said. "I have more where they came from and they were little more than sword-fodder anyway. The more damage they do before they get killed, the better-placed we'll be when we return to destroy Konoha. Let's go. And try to keep out of sight, let's let the damned tree-huggers think we're still here. The longer they think that, the easier we can escape. I'll need all my medical staff assembled, this injury may prove… problematic."
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"Gaara, hold still."
Temari tried to apply a bandage to her youngest brother's shoulder, but a sudden swirl of sand caused her to leap back as Gaara lifted his head, his eyes almost fixed with madness.
"He hurt me." Gaara ground out. "Mother wants his blood… I want his blood… I will kill him! He will pay for hurting me!"
Kankuro dropped down from the tree.
"I just received a message, a group of Konoha nin are following us and are about to be ambushed. That should buy a few more minutes for Gaara to get mobile, but we need to get into position to block Konoha reinforcements. Come on!"
With a worried look at her brother, Temari leapt into the trees.
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"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered as he shifted on Kyouka's back. "We're being followed. Lee and I will deal with it, you go ahead and catch up with Sasuke."
Shikamaru leapt off Kyouka's back and landed on the ground. Mobing into the shelter of a bush, he motioned for Lee to do the same, then he focused as a group of seven Suna ninja landed in the clearing.
"Kagemane no Jutsu, complete." Shikamaru said as his shadow branched out and caught the ninja. "Now, I can't hold you all for long, but I don't have to. Lee, please knock them all out as I let them go."
"Yosh, I shall do that!" Lee shouted as he blurred between the trapped ninja, striking at them as Shikamaru released each one and sending them into the trees or slamming into the ground. The last ninja, though, Lee threw into the trees above Shikamaru, who looked up just in time to see the thrown ninja slamming into a nija who was dropping down, Kunai in hand.
"Thanks, Lee." Shikamaru said. "Good job."
"Naruto-kun's pulled similar tricks on me before with his Kage Bunshin, so I was prepared." Lee said. "You are not as fast as I am, so climb onto my back and we shall head out after our youthful friends."
Shikamaru sighed. As he let Lee settle him on his back, he spoke. "Lee, no-one finds out we did this. It would be a real drag putting up with all the teasing."
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Sasuke landed on the edge of the clearing and stared at Gaara.
"We still have a match to finish."
"Mother wants your blood!" Gaara snarled, the sand rippling round him. In front of Sasuke's eyes, Gaara seemed to warp and grow as the sand formed round him, then Gaara lashed out with his left hand, the talons on the end of it slashed through the trees as Sasuke dodged.
"Time for you to prove my existence!" Gaara ranted, his eyes gleaming with madness. "Time for you to die!"
Sasuke dived under the second slash and threw his kunai at Gaara. The gourd on Gaara's back poured out more sand, which whipped round to swat away the Kunai.
"Oh, not good." Sasuke whispered as Gaara turned to face him, showing that half his face had been changed by the strange technique.
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"Puppetmaster to our left!" Hinata hissed as she dropped off Kyouka's back, "Wind-girl to the right. I can take Temari, Kiba, you and Akamaru take on the puppeteer. His puppet's just there, he's hiding over there."
Kiba sniffed slightly, then grinned.
"Got him." He said, pulling out a soldier pill. "Hey, buddy, you up for one more round? Excellent. Good luck, Hinata. Don't get killed."
"Same to you." Hinata said, pulling out her dagger and handing it to Kyouka. "Take this to the battlefield, the push some chakra into it. Naruto-kun'll take it from there."
Kyouka nodded and leapt away as Hinata performed a fast series of hand seals.
"Secret Technique Tiger Warrior."
A burst of smoke engulfed Hinata, dissipating to reveal her in her bipedal-tiger transformed state.
"Well, Temari," She growled as she strode forwards, Byakugan activated and claws extended, "Let's play. Come on out, little mouse of the sand."
From her position in the tree canopy, Temari swallowed nervously.
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Kankuro smirked as the beastlike Konoha-nin moved in closer to his puppet.
"Now you die." He whispered, only to freeze as a pair of talon-like hands grabbed his neck and arm.
"Did you really think I couldn't tell the difference between how puppets and people smell?" Kiba growled, his voice filled with dark amusement. "Be real."
Kankuro gulped before the ninja slammed him against the tree.
"Can… can we talk about this?"
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Sasuke slammed into the tree so hard that his vision swam. When it recovered, he found a pair of familiar feet in front of him.
"Well." Naruto said cheerfully. "Looks like I got summoned just in time. Thanks Kyouka, you'd better take the dagger back to Hinata now. I got this. Kuchyose no Jutsu!"
A cloud of smoke formed and dissipated to reveal a giant bipedal armour-clad lion.
"Krugeri-sama, I wondered if you'd like to join me in this fight?" Naruto grinned.
"I would indeed." The summoned warrior rumbled, unsheathing his sword. "I hear fighting in the background, maybe you should summon some others to help. At this time, you may summon the Pride, the Ambush, the Knights, the Leap, the…"
Krugeri trailed off as he saw Naruto's expression.
"The what?"
"They are how we Greatcats are defined. The Pride are Lions like myself. The Ambush are Tigers, the Knights are the Jaguars, the Leap are Leopards, the Prowlers are Snow Leopards. There are others, but I will instruct you in them later, when we have the time."
Before Naruto could respond, his reflexes cut in and he leapt sideways, barely avoiding Gaara's attack.
"Ah yes, the fight." Krugeri grinned. "Let us fight this one together, my summoner!"
Naruto grinned and sprinted forwards, slashing at the sand-arm that lashed out at him, then he rolled sideways, pulling out a Kunai with a tag wrapped around the handle. As Gaara blocked Krugeri's downwards slash with his tail, Naruto found himself in the perfect position to launch his attack.
"Konoha Hidden Village Techniqe, One Thousand Years Of Pain Kagetora Style!"
Gaara froze, a disbelieving expression on his face, then the explosion launched him headfirst into a tree.
Krugeri stared for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Kid, that was incredible! What a move… I'll have to remember it."
"What's going on? How's he doing that?"
Sasuke's semi-panicked question caused both Krugeri and Naruto to turn and look at the fallen Jinchuuriki. Although Gaara wasn't moving, his sand was a different matter, drawing itself in around Gaara and forming a new shape.
"That doesn't look good."
"No, I think we may have accidently allowed the Ichibi to take control." Krugeri mused. "The seal must be absolutely useless for it to happen this fast, though."
Naruto nodded as he stared up at the rapidly-forming giant beast.
"You know, I can't help thinking that the Toad contract would have been a good thing for you to have had as well as the Greatcat contract." Krugeri mused as the sand beast unleashed a burst of raucous laughter. "Having Gamabunta here would have been very useful. Only a Legendary Summons or a Jinchuriiki has a chance at fighting a Biju."
'Kit,' Kyuubi whispered in Naruto's mind, 'Tell him.'
"Ummm, Krugeri… I am a Jinchuuriki. I hold the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He told me to tell you."
Krugeri turned to look at him thoughtfully.
"The Kyuubi? Then we may have a chance. Kurama, will you work with me on this?"
'Tell him yes, Kit. I think I know what he's going to do. Just relax and let him handle the actual technique, I'll provide the power and you're the one that'll hold it together.'
"He says yes." Naruto said as the monster looked down at them.
Krugeri nodded and in a flowing move, nicked his own arm and Naruto's, then grabbed the boy and placed his bleeding wound against Naruto's.
"Ultimate Greatcat Jinchuuriki Co-operation Warrior Technique, Lord of Battle!" He roared and the world seemed to vanish.
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Naruto was confused, he felt wrong, but right at the same time. His body was clad in armour and was moving to a Will that wasn't his, Power was flowing through him, and he could feel both theWill and the Power drifting away. Almost instinctively he reached out and pulled them closer to him, and as he did so, the Power and the Will increased.
He let the world fade away from his awareness as he held onto the Will and the Power, bringing them closer as they flowed through him.
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Sasuke couldn't move. It wasn't pain that held him immobile, although he was indeed injured. It wasn't fear, although he'd never seen anything quite so terrifying in his life.
The giant sand monster loomed above the trees, its tail lashing and causing huge amounts of damage, but Sasuke's awareness focused on the giant armed figure facing it, the giant cat-like warrior armed with a sword bigger than a tree and a giant shield, a warrior clad in plate armour inscribed with runic symbols he'd never even imagined and which radiated great power.
"Free at last!" The sand-monster screamed out. "I'm going to destroy this fucking village and then destroy everything else!"
"THINE VENGEANCE SHALT NOT BE ALLOWED." The armoured figure rumbled, swinging its sword with the sound of a dozen hurricanes. "THOU SHALT BE THWARTED IN THINE SCHEMES, SHUKAKU OF THE ONE-TAIL, AND RETURNED ONCE MORE INTO THINE CONTAINER."
"Never!" Shukaku roared, "I will never lose! Do your worst, I can take it and give it back doubled!"
"AS THOU HATH CHOSEN, SO SHALT IT BE." Came the reply and the giant moved to attack, sword flicking out with a speed and power that no blade that size should be able to withstand while the giant's rectangular shield, braced firmly, withstood the slashing attacks of the sand-monster without a scratch.
"Naruto!" Hinata shouted, dropping the girl she was carrying as she stared up at the giant and Sasuke blinked.
"Naruto?" He gasped as the giant stumbled back a step before counter-attacking. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"THINE WEAKNESS IS OBVIOUS, SHUKAKU." The giant rumbled. "ONCE THINE JINCHUURIKI AWAKENS, THOU SHALT BE SEALED ONCE MORE."
Hinata sprinted towards the giant and leapt onto his tail. The giant glanced down at the sudden, albeit miniscule impact.
"I can see Gaara on that thing's head!" Hinata shouted. "Get me to him and I can wake him up!"
The giant nodded slightly, then plunged his sword straight through Shukaku, releasing the handle to punch his fist into the beast. Hinata braced herself as the tail whipped up, then she leapt, using the momentum gained to land just beside the sleeping form of Gaara. Pausing only long enough to regain her balance, she drew her hand back…
SLAP!
Gaara's eyes flew open.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo…"
As the Shukaku vanished into a pile of sand, the giant caught the falling forms of Hinata and Gaara and lowered them gently to the ground.
"AND THUS IS THE TASK COMPLETED, THE ICHIBI HATH BEEN DEFEATED. THE SUMMONER DOTH REQUIRE HEALING SLEEP. KEEP HIM SAFE, MOONLIGHT PRINCESS."
Hinata looked up as the giant glowed brightly before evaporating into golden sparkles, leaving only the form of Naruto lying on the ground.
"How… Why…?"
"What?" Hinata responded almost absently as she knelt beside Naruto, checking his vital signs.
"How did he defeat me? How did he manage to fight like that?" Gaara whispered.
"He fought like that because he was protecting people he cared about." Hinata said quietly, gazing down at the boy she loved. "He pushes himself to his limits to become stronger in mind, heart and soul, so that he can protect everyone around him. And it is protecting others that grants him the strength he needs."
Gaara pulled himself up into a sitting position, his face filled with conflicting emotions.
"He beat me… because he protects others?"
Hinata nodded, settling Naruto's head into her lap. "He cares for others, and those he truly cares about return that feeling. You have those who care about you, if you let them, Gaara. Your sister was crying your name as she saw you fighting."
"But… Temari never… cries." Gaara said slowly.
"…gaara…"
Gaara looked across at where Temari was lying, her one open eye staring at him.
"…gaara… you're still alive… thank Kami…"
Wincing at the pain, Gaara pulled himself to his feet and stumbled over to Temari. Sitting down next to her, he looked over at Hinata for a moment, then moved Temari so that her head was in his lap, looking up at him.
"…gaara…?"
Gaara looked down at her.
"I think… I think Iunderstand now, Temari. I understand what you were trying to say to me for all those years. I get it now. Get some rest, sister, I will protect you."
Temari smiled weakly and her eyes closed.
"Wow, guys." Kiba said, emerging from the devastation at the edge of the now-enlarged clearing. "You really don't do things small, do you?"
"Damn." Kankuro said as he looked round, reaching up to stroke Akamaru who was, for some reason perched on his head. "I thought Gaara could do damage, but this?"
"Now you know why I don't go after Hinata, despite how hot she is." Kiba said. "No way am I getting her fiancee angry at me, he's scarier than Hinata when you take the last cinnamon roll!"
"Kiba!" Hinata laughingly protested.
From the shadows, a silver-haired figure watched them before fading away, a scowl on his face.
