Sakura jumped over Hinata and took up a fighting stance between her and their attacker. Sakura was the strongest fighter available at the moment but Hinata didn't think that Sakura could stand up to the creature for very long. When it had been fighting her it had been giving off and aura of coolness and control, it had almost felt like the croc had been going easy on her, holding back just enough as to get a good feel for the way Hinata had fought and for how much power she really had.
Now there was none of that control.
The croc-creature was attacking with nothing less then it's full speed and power, not caring if it might get hurt or killed as long as it killed them.
Hinata just managed to get to her feet a second before the creature could get to her but she wasn't in any condition to fight or even move fast.
In frount of Hinata, Sakura pulled her fist back and built up a significant amount of chakra, compressed and deadly, in her shoulder and forearm. Ready to dish out some major pain to protect her friends. The croc leap at her, rolling in midair to bite her better. Sakura let her legs fold up, dropping her out of the path of those jaws and almost brushing her butt on the sand. Then she powered back up, her legs and back adding power to her punch, and slammed her fist into the creatures cheek but the jaws were so flat that Sakura's fist just skipped along the croc's face and neck.
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As Sakura's fist slid down the creature's armoured skin the croc lost interest in her as a target. scenes She was no longer in the line of his jaws, the croc-like creature promply forgot about her and reoriantated on a more availible target.
Hinata!
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The croc's head rolled slightly horizontal as it prepared to clamp down on the tasty little morsel.
Sakura was still trying to find some purchess so she could knock this giant, stinky lump of purse maturial into the next county. It was a race between Sakura's fist and the creature's jaws to see who found their target first.
Sakura's fist won! finding purchess in the flat area where neck met shoulder and slamming the creature to a stop not twelve inches from Hinata, then pouring on the last of her built up chakra, Sakura shoved the croc thirty feet back down the beach.
But as Sakura was launching the critter the critter's head swung around and slammed Sakura as it passed, sending her tumbeling to the ground with a pair of broken ribs and one hell of a concussion.
The creature was on it's feet the second it landed and restarted it's charge. No own was in any possition to do anything about it and it had the now dazed Sakura in it's sights.
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Naruto saw the whole thing as he and a clone were molding their chakra to form an Odama Rasengan. It was now or never and Naruto didn't do never.
"Let's go" Naruto and his clone started to sprint down the beach towards the fallen Sakura as fast as they could. Naruto would have tried to go faster but it had taken so much chakra to form the Odama Rasengan that the clone was starting to destablize as it was.
Yet they some how managed to beat the croc to it's target and slam the swirling sphere of chakra into it's shoulder.
"ODAMA RASENGAN!" the pair shouted before the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.
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Hinata slapped her hands over her eyes as the croc-thing charged for Sakura. she couldn't bare to watch as her friends was killed by the creature just because she was protecting a helpless failure that couldn't do the job right the first time.
"ODAMA RASENGAN!" what a minute that wasn't a death scream. Hinata spread her fingers so she could peak between them.
The croc had been stopped by a large sphere of chakra that was grinding into its shoulder, and holding it in place was....
"NARUTO!" Hinata's scream made everyone look up for the source. Hinata couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had seen him get killed in a very grusem way not ten minutes earlier yet here he was grining way, using both hands to control his jutsus when his clone was forced to puff away.
"Hey Acco buddy!" everyone heard him shout "chill now or I'll be putting you in the water! ka'peash!" the creature that seamed to be named Acco didn't make any signs of recongnition so Naruto planted his feet and pushed the Rasengan forwards and up.
At first Acco only seemed to slide a little bit, but then his feet lost traction with the ground and he was thrown several tens of feet over the water, manageing a full three head over tail flips before he slammed back into the the surf. Not that Naruto had it any better as he was sent into a tumbling, rolling slide when he was hit with the recoil from launching Acco.
"Naruto!" Hinata called when he finally came to a stop. Hinata forced herself to her feet and hobbled over to check on him. Naruto didn't stay down for long and had managed to get back to his feet by the time Hinata got to him.
"Are you alright Naruto?" she asked as she tried to check his injuries.
"Just some bumps and bruises Hinata don't worry about it at the moment" Naruto answered as he started to make his way back down the beach. Hinata noticed that he seemed to be favoring his right leg and that his right arm was bothering him as well. It wasn't hard for her to come to the concluesion that Naruto was seriously understating the severity of his injuries....aguin.
Naruto had only made it a few feet when he felt someone grab his left arm and waist. when he turned his head to find Hinata pulling him into a confertible grip so she could help him. When she noticed the confused look Naruto was giving her, Hinata turned so she could look him half way in the face, grab his callor and drag him so that they were nose to nose.
"Listen here Uzumaki, thats MY body that your abusing so I'll have a right to veto any claims of 'I'm alright' that you might make. You gettin' me Uzumaki?" she got rapid head nodding in return and felt that he had got the message well enough.
"Good" she said and pecked Naruto on the lips before letting him go and continuing back to the group. Hinata had a good laugh as she watched the flow of emotions over Naruto face for several seconds before it finally landed on discusted at what he had just seen.
"Hinata, we need to have a talk about this perverted inner persona of your!" Naruto finally said as they approached the group. Hinata couldn't help busting a gut at that but stopped rather obruptly when Naruto was pined by six very ticted off sets of eyes.
"You have some explaining to do young....ster!" Kuranei growled as she took a step towards Naruto, but Naruto held a hand up to stop her.
"I sware to Kuranei sensei but first I have to take care of something" Naruto started to walk towards the surf when Acco pulled himself onto the beach. He just managed to get clear of the water when he calapsed onto the sand breathing very hard.
"Hay there, old man. How you feeling?" Naruto asked as the rest of the group watched. They were all suprised when a deep, gravelly voice left the croc's chest.
"WWWOOOHHH!" was all Acco said.
"Ya, thats what I said," Naruto then went serious "so why'd you go Physco on us at the last second?" The croc looked at Naruto for a second before he answered.
"Your boyfriend there managed to hit me hard enough to have me flip" he said simply. Naruto looked between Hinata and Acco for a few moments before he fell over laughing.
"Hhaaa! oh thats rich man, you got owned by a girl in a boys body" Naruto thought he was going to die laughing. Acco started growling at that.
"Ya, ya, keep laughin' dipstick"
"You say somethin' ya walkin purse" Naruto growled back.
"Ya so what monkey butt"
"Lizard lips!"
"Naked Mole Rat"
"Gimpo..." Naruto never finished as his chakra use finally caught up to him and he passed out in front of everyone. Hinata and Acco caught Naruto before he hit the ground and Acco let out a exasporated sigh.
"Well lets find a campsite before it gets dark. I'll explain what was supposed to happen when on the way" Acco said as Naruto and Hinata were hoisted onto his back and the party started into the forest.
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DONE!
Thanks to Leafranger for keeping me on track and everyone who reviews. they provide exellent insight.