Title: A Demon's Tale
Author: swiftstar85
Genre: Drama/Friendship/Romance
Rating: T for some strong language, violence, suggestive material, and crude humor.
~Chapter Eight~
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, though I wouldn't mind if I did.
By the next day, they had finally arrived at the Tenchi Bridge.
It had been early morning when they reached it, but the moment it came into view, Gaara turned directly towards Kankuro, giving him a very serious look. He knew that this was where the two had to stop. If they went any closer, they could probably alert the spy their presence. So glancing over his shoulder at the rest of Team Seven, who did stop to wait for him, Gaara then turned his attention onto Quoi. "Stay with Kankuro and no matter what you hear or see, you are not to leave his side." He told him strictly.
"Yes, Master Gaara." Quoi told him, trying to stand up as straight as he could like a noble Ninja.
Gaara only nodded in satisfaction before looking at Kankuro next, looking directly into his eyes. "Protect him, Kankuro. Don't let anything happen to him and be very careful. I don't want you to interfere. Not unless you think it's necessary." He told him.
Kankuro could only nod as he glanced over his brother's shoulder over to the bridge then turned his eyes back onto the red head. He looked right into Gaara's eyes. "Be careful, Gaara. Don't go getting yourself hurt now. Temari'll kill me." He said, making a face, which made Gaara smirk. But then he looked serious again. "And don't worry about Quoi. Just concentrate on capturing that spy. The baka will be fine with me. I will die before I let anyone hurt him." He told him.
'That's what I'm afraid of.' Gaara thought as he turned away and looked at Team Seven, giving them a nod that he was ready. He walked away from Kankuro and Quoi who took refuge within the trees to hide from view of anyone. He knew very well that Kankuro could protect Quoi from any danger, and that he would. He knew that the Puppet Master would never admit it, but he cared about the kid just like he did with his own siblings. The boy had become a part of his life just like he had with Gaara.
Team Seven didn't have to wait too long for the spy to show up.
In fact, he was already there but he didn't even seem to notice that they had arrived. He was standing in the middle of the bridge, draped in a dark brown cloak which hid his identity very well. Not even Gaara could figure out who it was. He was staring off down at the long fall below, probably just trying to keep himself occupied while waiting for Sasori to show up. Once they saw the spy, Yamato immediately began working on his disguise, being very careful not to attract the spy's attention. He created it without even having the spy look in their direction.
Once the disguise was completed, Yamato turned to the other four and gave them a serious nod, which each of them nodded right back. Then he climbed into the puppet he created and started making his way towards the bridge. Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Gaara stayed on the end of the bridge, well hidden, thanks to some of Gaara's sand. They watched carefully as Yamato approached the spy, who kept their back to him. But when Yamato, as Sasori, finally approached the spy, the spy finally turned around and said something, though it was hard for the other three to hear. Gaara, however, heard it just fine. And he froze with shock. He knew that voice.
"It has been a long time, Sasori-sama." came that voice that he remembered. And then the spy turned around to face Yamato, revealing his face to not only Yamato, but to the other three. "It's been five years." Kabuto Yakushi said smirking at him.
Gaara sensed Naruto and Sakura's shock and he didn't blame them. He was surprised himself. He hadn't been expecting to see that gray haired ninja who had once been a Leaf Ninja again. He remembered how Kabuto also betrayed the Leaf Village to join Orochimaru's ranks and had been considered as the Sanin's right hand man. Gaara didn't like this at all. He knew there was no way at all that Kabuto would ever betray Orochimaru. He gritted his teeth but watched carefully through narrowed eyes.
"Were you followed?" Yamato spoke in the perfect imitation of Sasori's voice, hiding the fact that he was surprised too.
Kabuto smirked from under the hood but shook his head. He kept the hood over his head, just in case. "No. It is safe." He reassured "Sasori".
Yamato had the puppets head bob before he moved closer to him. He kept his eyes on the gray haired ninja though, being a little cautious. "How are you?" He merely asked.
Kabuto turned his head away but kept facing him. He had a frown on his face but it looked almost thoughtful. As if he was doing some careful thinking. "When your jutsu lifted, and I remembered who I really was, I felt somewhat disoriented. I am still somewhat heavy headed." he explained quietly to Yamato, thinking it was Sasori.
"Him again?!" Naruto whispered sharply beside Gaara and Sakura, making both of them glance at him.
But Sakura shook her head as she looked down at the bridge, watching Kabuto with surprise. "No way....Kabuto was an Akatsuki spy all that time....." She whispered.
Gaara narrowed his eyes though. He did not like this. He could only guess that Kabuto might have been under some kind of hypnosis by Sasori, making him believe that he was working for Orochimaru when in fact he was working for the Akatsuki. And seeing that he was an Akatsuki spy, as well as once a Leaf Ninja, who clearly knew about Gaara, there was no doubt at all that somehow Sasori had known that Gaara was alive the entire time while the rest of the Akatsuki had thought he had been dead. He must have known if Kabuto really had been his spy, keeping tabs in Konoha. Still, there was something wrong here. He felt Shukaku growling a little within his head and when the sand demon did that, it mostly meant someone else was watching or there was danger near by. Frowning, Gaara lift a hand without catching the other three's attention and formed a hand sign. Using his other hand, he created his third eye before squashing it and sending the sand out onto the wind to get a good look around the area.
Just in case.
"I have some questions for you." Yamato spoke with Sasori's voice though being very careful.
Kabuto nodded to the fake Sasori and looked at him from over the rim of his hood. "I have little time. So please make it brief. It was a great risk to slip away from Orochimaru to come here." he told him carefully.
Yamato only nodded the wooden puppet's head. "Tell me about....the location of your base and about Sasuke Uchiha." He told Kabuto.
There was a brief pause as Kabuto looked right into the eyes of the puppet before him before he smiled softly, almost friendly like. It was somewhat reassuring though. Still, Gaara hadn't liked it as he kept one eye on the two on the bridge while still looking for the source of Shukaku's unease. "We have many bases. To keep from being discovered, we change bases on a weekly basis." Kabuto explained. "There are, of course, bases in countries besides the Sound. Orochimaru's spies enter those countries and guide us. But we have various movement methods, which can sometimes be cumbersome. Our current base is hidden on a small island in a lake to the north. We will move from there in three days." He paused for a very long moment before his head dipped down. "Sasuke Uchiha is also there."
However, a strong wind began to blow through the valley, catching some of Gaara's sand and blowing it off course. The young Kazekage gritted his teeth but did his best to have the sand swirl closer to Yamato and Kabuto, seeing that they barely could hear anything now. He figured he'd have to see what was being said. He could hear Naruto complaining a little but with a sharp look at him, the blonde shut up.
A rustling noise close by, however, made Gaara tense up making his head jerk to the side, which the noise also caught Kabuto's attention. The gray haired ninja jerked around, looking very alert and nervous. But to both the hidden Kazekage and the Medical ninja's relief, it was only a rabbit. The rabbit quickly vanished though. Too suddenly actually and that made Gaara frown. He knew rabbits were fast and spooked too easily but Shukaku was still growling and it was causing his sand gourd to vibrate a little. 'Shukaku, relax. It was only a rabbit.'
'Do not tell me to relax, Gaara.' Shukaku growled at him from within. 'There's a snake close by. I can smell it on the wind. You can't because you're more a human than I. Take a very close look on the other side of the bridge. That's where it is.'
Gaara frowned but concentrated on his sand grains to float on the wind to the other side of the bridge. He kept some close to Yamato and Kabuto to keep an eye on them. But he let his sand move into the trees on the other side of the bridge. But something that Kabuto began to say caught his attention.
"By the way....about that one task you asked of me, Sasori-sama," Kabuto began. "Even after his transmigration, Orochimaru cast a Jutsu on the cellular specimen of the leftover corpse in order to protect it. I was unable to perform any data analysis of that specimen."
The Kazekage grew very tense, knowing very well that Yamato had too within the puppet. He knew very well that Yamato had no idea of what he was talking about. And if Kabuto asked a question about the specimen in particular, whatever he was working on, it could be a huge problem. But what specimen was he talking about?
The only answer that Yamato could answer was, "I see."
"Just what is he doing?!" Naruto whispered sharply gritting his teeth. "Why doesn't he just go ahead with the capture already?!"
Sakura shook her head beside the blonde, her emerald eyes flickering over to him. "This is Kabuto we're talking about here. If he were to get away, then things would end there. Taking things almost too carefully here is just what the captain needs to be doing." She explained quietly.
Sai, however, nodded as he merely looked right at her. "Still, if he takes things more carefully than he needs to and ends up arousing suspicion, then he'll lose his chance to capture the target." He said very quietly, almost too quietly that no one other than Gaara heard.
Gaara, however, grew very tense when he saw sudden movement, which made Shukaku snarl within his head. He saw it too. A purple snake sliding right out of the bushes, one he didn't know too well but remembered how Jiraiya once told him that most of Orochimaru's summon snakes were purple. 'Shit! He's here!' he thought, now starting to move a little.
But it was too late.
As Yamato was about to make his move, pulling out a kunai as if to fight Kabuto, the tall, pale serpentine ninja, himself suddenly appeared right behind Kabuto, who grew very tense and looked shocked, himself. The purple snake wrapped around both of them, bringing them back to back. Orochimaru was smirking his snake like smile while Kabuto looked surprised. "Your conversation seems quite amusing. You wouldn't mind if I joined in, wouldn't you?" He asked slyly.
Quickly, Kabuto leapt right out of his cloak and away from Orochimaru and his snake, joining by Yamato's side with a kunai in hand. He still looked very surprised but alert. "I almost wasn't able to step back in time, but thanks to you taking out your kunai, Sasori-sama, I was." He said, nodding his thanks over to the fake Sasori.
Gaara, like the other three, had grown very tense and had even started growling himself, matching Shukaku's growls. Seeing the snake like ninja, he felt like running out there to protect Yamato but knew very well that if he revealed himself, he would blow the Captain's cover, seeing that it hadn't been blown yet. He felt Sakura's hand wrap around his, which made him glance over at her. She looked just as worried as he was but she was doing her best to trying to keep him calm. She knew very well of how much he hated Orochimaru. The Sanin had tried to have him killed during the Chuunin Exams three years ago and had had killed the Third Hokage, whom had been somewhat kind to him. He linked his fingers with hers, trying to smile but couldn't really find himself to. So instead he looked back down at the mess going on down on the bridge.
"That cloak of yours.....it brings back memories, Sasori." Orochimaru said smirking at Yamato in Sasori's disguise, his arms folded across his chest.
Yamato dipped the puppet's head down, looking very menacing as he eyed the serpentine ninja. "So you followed Kabuto here then?" He asked darkly.
Orochimaru smirked at him but dipped his head into a nod. "What now....I just wanted to give you some thanks. That lovely boy there you sent me....I was able to make quite good use of him." His words surprised the hidden Ninja but made the Kazekage's eyes narrow. He wanted to know what the snake like man was talking about. Kabuto? "In order for me to develop a new Jutsu, I need to conduct experiments on well over a hundred live human subjects. Thanks to that boy's medical ninjutsu, I was able to use the same test subject any number of times. I have quite a hard time coming across enough test subjects, after all."
"What do we do now?!" Naruto asked almost panicking next to Gaara.
But both Gaara and Sakura shook their heads, not looking at him. "All we can do is wait for the captain's signal." The pink haired kunoichi simply said. But something made Gaara tense up immediately. He saw Kabuto now raising a hand and letting it glow blue, something knew well. He knew that Kabuto was using the Mystic Palm technique which allowed his hand to become basically a sharp blade.
And he swiped the puppet next to him, cutting it open to reveal Yamato inside.
'Damn it! Kabuto was playing Yamato!' Gaara thought, as he stiffened.
Yamato quickly jumped out of the wooden puppet, holding his arm where Kabuto had cut him with his mystic scalpel. So he was injured a little but his attention was quickly brought onto Orochimaru as he threw out his arm towards him, where several poisonous purple snakes shot right out of his sleeves and headed straight for him. Before Yamato could do anything, he was suddenly wrapped up by the many snakes, trapping him. The snakes even began biting at him, making the ANBU cry out in pain. But, a second later, Gaara realized that it was not Yamato they were biting. He had used a substitution jutsu, putting a wooden doll in his place.
As for the real Yamato, he was back on the bridge, still holding his arm where Kabuto had cut him. He was looking at Orochimaru through alert eyes, while the serpentine was smirking. "This is the Wood Substitution Jutsu." He began before snickering, holding his arm where the snakes were retreating up his sleeve. He was smirking at Yamato, who glared at him. "You couldn't be...." He was saying.
That made Gaara blink. He was surprised to see how Orochimaru was looking at Yamato as if he knew him.
"Orochimaru-sama, is that the real Sasori?" Kabuto asked straightening up.
Orochimaru snickered but shook his head as he eyed Yamato like a mouse to eat. "Kabuto, are you telling me that you, one of Sasori's own subordinates, don't even know his real face?" He asked with amusement.
Kabuto didn't look at Orochimaru but was smirking as he looked right at Yamato. "Well, he was a gloomy individual after all. He always hid in that puppet of his." He remarked.
"What are you talking about.....?!" Yamato asked frowning, straightening only a little. "Kabuto...you're suppose to be an Akatsuki spy. You should have been under the effects of Sasori's Jutsu all the while."
Kabuto only nodded as he continued to smile rather smugly but tilted his head towards Orochimaru, who had folded his arms as he continued to eye Yamato. "Ah, yes. That Jutsu....Orochimaru-sama freed me from it quite some time ago." He admitted.
Hearing that even made Gaara's face hardened. So all that time, he had always been working for Orochimaru. He had been Sasori's little puppet at one time but he also played Sasori, making him think that he was his information slave. The Kazekage might have hated Sasori because of what he did to the Sand Village but to be played like that by his own man, that was an outrage. He felt his fists clench tightly while the sand gourd rumbled a little on his back. He saw Yamato's face even harden from where he was standing.
"I wasn't expect you to change sides, acting as though you were still under the effects of Sasori's jutsu. I suppose this means you fell to prey to Orochimaru's jutsu then." Yamato asked dryly, ignoring the blood running down his arm.
Kabuto shook his head as he shrugged innocently, even though there was nothing innocent about him at all. "No. Not exactly." He then dropped his arms to his side, still smirking at Yamato. "All I fell prey too was Orochimaru's magnificent way of thinking." He shook his head again. "I chose this path myself. But tell me....who are you, anyway. We came here with the intention of killing Sasori, so this is quite the mishap."
It was Orochimaru's turn to smirk and shake his head. "Kabuto....I'll tell you about this little boy here, afterwards. But first things first....." He let his eyes flicker right past Yamato towards the trees. "Why don't you call out those three little mice hiding in the brush?"
His words somewhat surprised Yamato but then made his head dipped downward as a smirk formed on his face. He was very aware, as was the hidden four that Orochimaru believed that there were only three ninja backing up Yamato. So he must have not had a clue that Gaara was there too. This was going to be amusing. So the wood controller smirked and rose a hand, giving the signal. Immediately there were three flashes as Naruto, Sakura and Sai quickly joined him on the bridge, standing between Yamato and the other two, looking ready to fight him. Gaara hadn't exactly joined them exactly yet. He wanted to drawl out the drama a little. But the sight of the three made Orochimaru chuckle and Kabuto smirk coldly.
"You again....." Kabuto remarked with cold amusement.
Orochimaru shook his head, narrowing his eyes with his cold smirk on his face. "I've seen that face any number of times.....since the Kyuubi boy is here too....let's play with them a little bit......" He cut himself off while his face slowly fell with a look of surprise, which turned into horror as a whirlwind of sand began to spin around right next to Yamato, who was smirking as he glanced at the Kazekage, who just appeared out of nowhere right next to him. "No......No! Not you!"
Gaara opened his black rimmed eyes before smirking right at Orochimaru, who stepped back in alarm. He had his arms folded over his chest and gave the serpent like ninja a very cold smirk as he let his sand continue swirling around him. "Orochimaru." He said coldly.
"Give Sasuke back!" Naruto suddenly began growling.
Even Gaara had to frown when he glanced over at his best friend, seeing that a red aura had started to swirl around him, and his eyes had turned blood red. It was something he had seen before. When he had nearly died and Naruto's very own subconscious entered his own to stop him from leaving. Naruto's eyes had been flickering to red, due to Kyuubi. By the looks of it, he having a little bit of trouble controlling the Nine Tailed Fox. 'Shukaku, what's happening to Naruto?' He thought with concern.
'The foxboy doesn't really have good control over the fox. Kyuubi wants out.' The sand demon informed him.
"There is no giving back, Naruto." Kabuto said smirking. "Here, let me explain it to you......" He started to explain. "Sasuke came to us of his own free will. It's about time you got over it. Going on like that is hardly behaving as a man......."
"Shut your mouth, four-eyes!" Sakura snapped, her eyes full of hot fire. "You don't know a damned thing about Naruto's feelings! I've had more than enough of your "cool" attitude!" She snapped.
Orochimaru, who was eyeing Gaara with distaste, shook his head but narrowed his eyes. "If you want to know about Sasuke, why don't you try forcing it out of me?" He said trying to smirk at them.
Gaara's head dipped down lower as he gave Orochimaru a cold look but an even colder smirk curled on his face as he looked right into the snake man's eyes. He looked way too dangerous at the moment and it even made Sakura shiver of how cold he looked. "How about I just let Shukaku eat you? Then we can go to Sasuke, our selves?" He asked dangerously. He grinned almost wickedly when Orochimaru drew back a little. But a second later, his eyes flashed and he jerked his head around.
It was at that precise moment, there was a loud crack and wood began to crack right under Naruto's feet, causing Sakura and Sai to jump back a little as debris nearly hit them. They had to hold up their arms to protect their selves, while Gaara on the other hand, watched in surprise as Naruto, now surrounded by red bubbly energy leapt at Orochimaru, almost too quick to see him. He was practically a red blur, which even surprised Orochimaru as he came right up to him, grabbing him by the face. Everyone watched in shock as Naruto flung Orochimaru as hard away from him, sending him crashing into the trees on the other side of the ravine, and crashing through the trees nearly fifty feet away.
"Naruto!" Gaara found himself shout with shock at his best friend.
But Naruto didn't even seem to hear. He just stood in a crouch, growling like an animal as he glared right after Orochimaru. This was a side of Naruto that Gaara had never seen before. It was actually rather frightening. Even for Gaara's standards. He couldn't believe that Naruto's usual cheerful personality had taken such a turn like that. 'Naruto.....' He thought before he suddenly found Naruto's now blood red eyes glancing over his shoulder at him.
"Hmm." Kabuto started chuckling right from where he stood. "Naruto...I see you've developed very nicely as a Jinchuuriki." He remarked.
Gaara shot the gray haired ninja a very dark look but his attention was suddenly on the other side of the bridge again when Orochimaru was walking towards the bridge again, looking very amused. His pale skin was torn really badly though and there seemed to be someone else right under that skin of Orochimaru's. It only alarmed them all. "My, oh, my. You sure have become quite the Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki." He chuckled smirking at the glowing red Naruto. He then stepped onto the bridge, facing the blonde. "And that explains why you were chosen to watch over him. It would appear my experiments were some of help after all." He stated, but his eyes were only Yamato. The young Kazekage glanced over his shoulder at Yamato, who's head dipped down a little. It didn't take a genius to figure out that was who Orochimaru was talking about. "I should think Konoha would be a bit more appreciative. Wouldn't you agree, my dearest guinea pig?"
Yamato's eyes narrowed a little, not looking happy that he had just said that. Kabuto, however as smirking with amusement. "Guinea pig.....? Just who is this person?" He asked..
"Well, you see, the First Hokage was a Shinobi processing the most unique of abilities...his Wood controlling Jutsu." Orochimaru began to explain as he reached up and touched the huge hole in his face and when he removed his hand, his face was back in place. "And...what's more...he was able to bend the Bijuu to his own will. Oh how I coveted those gifts of his...." He shook his head as he lowered his hand again. "Having obtained data on the First's genome from his remains, I carried out an experiment in which his genetic traits were spliced into the cells of 60 different children, my test subjects. But their bodies didn't seem to like the foreign DNA, to say the least. They died by the dozens, one after another....." He explained.
Gaara's own teeth gritted and his sand began to swirl around him threateningly. He was understanding every word that Orochimaru had been saying. He knew very well that Orochimaru meant to say, he had performed inhumane experiments on children, trying to combine the First Hokage's powers with one of the children. But it only killed them. And Yamato-taichou had been one of those children. Tortured and experimented on by this....this.....'Monster!' He thought savagely.
"And here I thought they'd all shared the same fate.....to think that there was a lone survivor." Orochimaru said chuckling.
The young Kazekage glanced over at Yamato, who's face darkened. He didn't reply to anything that the snake was saying but Gaara knew very well that it was true. 'So.......the First Hokage had used his power over wood to control the Bijuus.' He thought before turning his head slightly as if to look at Shukaku within. 'That includes you too, Shukaku, right?'
'Please don't even remind me.' Shukaku growled at him. 'There was only one that he couldn't control and that was the Three Tail, Sanabi, wherever the hell he is. I don't even think he's been captured yet. I sense his presence.'
Gaara blinked in surprise to hear that. He wasn't entirely sure if he heard right. But before he could ask Shukaku, he heard Kabuto remark how Orochimaru was about to get his hands on a long over due test subject, which could only mean Yamato. This made his face darken and the sand swirl threateningly around him. He knew very well he was going to need to protect the Captain from the Sanin.
"Yes. But before that, I would wish to see our Sasuke fight the Kyuubi boy once. I wonder which has gotten strong......" Orochimaru was saying with a smirk.
"He isn't yours." Naruto said dangerously, which the red aura grew brighter and stronger. It was an energy that even made Gaara grimace, not pleasant at all. He could see the bubbly Chakra energy growing into some kind of figure all around Naruto and three appendixes began to form on his back side. It startled Gaara quite a bit to see that they were tails. "In my presence, don't you dare talk of Sasuke as though he belongs to you!!" Naruto snarled, his voice changing a little.
The air all around all of the ninja began to grow very hot and it stung everyone's skin quite a bit. Even Gaara had to wince of how vicious it was growing. This was serious, he knew. He could sense the Kyuubi's power over flowing within Naruto. And it only brought back memories of what happened when Shukaku took over his body. The same thing was happening now to Naruto. Naruto was losing control over Kyuubi. Black tentacles like energy strands began to wave all around Naruto and he started to take some kind of transformation. A very terrifying one.
Gaara could see the Nine Tailed Fox in Naruto's place, which made him grow very tense. 'I have to stop this! Naruto's losing control!' He thought rapidly.
'Kid! If you go up against Naruto and Kyuubi, they will rip you apart! I hate to admit it, but Kyuubi is ten times stronger than me!' Shukaku warned him.
Gaara glanced to the side, gritting his teeth. 'I have to try! He had done the same for me when you took over!' He thought to the demon.
'The only difference is, Brat, Kyuubi is ten times stronger than me! That means he's a hundred times stronger than you! With that sand or not! You are no match for him!' The Sand demon roared at him.
'And you were ten times stronger than Naruto when he beat us both up!' Gaara shot back. 'And he still wouldn't give up! Now I won't!'
The young Kazekage's attention shot back to what was happening before him to see Naruto's energy was now destroying the bridge right from under his bridge. The Nine Tail's energy was devastating. It was ripping the bridge to pieces all around Naruto. It just made Gaara shiver to think that his best friend was this powerful.
Suddenly, Kabuto was rushing at Naruto, his hands glowing blue with the intention to strike him from behind. It was in his intention to hurt Naruto while he was still developing his energy in the most worst way. But, of course, Naruto saw him coming and gave an animalistic roar at him, which caused a massive destructive wave, destroying the middle of the bridge. The impact made the entire bridge shake violently; too violently that it nearly threw everyone off their feet. Gaara staggered as the bridge shook under him but his eyes snapped wide open when he saw Kabuto get thrown back but he also saw Sakura get thrown off her feet and hit her head very hard on the bridge floor. She didn't get back up. "Sakura!" He shouted.
That was only the half of it. The middle of the bridge had been destroyed and now it was crumbling like dried bread and falling towards the ravine. Both sides of the bridge began to fall, which Yamato immediately took action. He snapped his hands together and wood shot out of the cliff walls and under their side of the ravine to keep it from falling. Gaara frowned firmly as he quickly called out his sand, causing his entire gourd to explode as he had the sand quickly join the ANBU captain to keep the piece of the bridge from collapsing.
'Gaara! Sakura's falling!' Shukaku roared.
That distracted Gaara enough. His head jerked around to see the piece of the bridge where Sakura was lying was so slanted now that she was sliding right off it. "NO!" He yelled in horror. He frowned when he saw Sai yank out a scroll from his pack and began panting rapidly on it. A second later, a large bird made out of ink exploded right out of it and Sai jumped onto it's back, having it dive right after Sakura.
"Sai!" Yamato shouted. "Help Sakura!"
Gaara felt his body tense up as he stood where he was, trying very hard to concentrate his sand to keep the bridge up. His wide eyes followed Sakura as she began to fall into the ravine. 'No, no, no, no, no, no!!!!' He was shouting within his head. 'Sakura!' He watched as she fell and hoped to high hell that Sai would take his earlier threat very seriously by saving her. He had to catch his breath as he watched Sai's bird fly right under Sakura, looking as if the pale ninja was going to catch her. 'Sai...I should have never doubted you.' He thought feeling his breath slowly let out.
But, to his horror, Sai flew right past Sakura, letting her continue to fall.
"SAKURA!" Gaara let out a terrible roar as he let go of his sand and raced over to the side of the bridge to jump off to go after her. He had his sand practically form sand made wings as he gripped the broken railing. 'I am going to kill him! I will rip him to shreds!!' He thought savagely as he got ready to jump over the bridge.
But suddenly, blue Chakra strings shot downward, surprising the young Kazekage, making him turn his head sharply, only to see Kankuro quickly emerge from the bushes with his Chakra strings spilling out of his fingers. He had arrived right on time to save Sakura, and even had his puppet, Crow diving right after her. The puppet quickly approached Sakura's falling form and caught her before she could fall even more. Crow's arms wrapped around Sakura, pulling her close to it's wooden body before lashing out one long arm, which caught another's. Gaara turned his eyes to see that Kankuro was now controlling Black Ant on the side of the cliff to catch Crow from falling. Both Puppets grabbed each other's hands and they swung right into Salamander, who was clinging right onto the side of the cliff. The safety compartment was open and Sakura was quickly placed inside before all three puppets were yanked upward by Kankuro's strength until they were safely on the ground.
"Kankuro!" Gaara called over to his older brother. "Where is Quoi?!"
Kankuro was too busy rushing over to his puppets' sides and pulling Salamander open to pull Sakura out and check to see if she was all right. But he quickly jerked his head around to look over his shoulder at Gaara. "He's safe! I left him right where we were suppose to be! I felt that nasty bit of Chakra and came as fast as I could! What was that?!" He shouted.
Gaara's body whirled around as he looked off to the other side of the ravine where he could see explosions within the trees. He knew very well who was responsible and he could see Sai flying off on his giant bird. Gritting his teeth in rage for the Root Ninja, he dipped his head down. "Naruto! It was him!" He jerked around again, giving Kankuro a stern look. "Take care of her! I have to go after them!" He yelled before he was running as fast as he could with his sand right behind him. He launched right past Yamato who was still concentrating on the bridge, who watched with surprise but slowly shook his head with a grave look.
Running as fast as he could, Gaara rushed through the trees with his sand trailing behind him like the wings of a dragon and he was about to spit fire. He swore he was going to kill Sai for this. He had been right there and he could have saved Sakura but he hadn't! He had flown right past her! 'I'll kill him! But first things first! I have to help Naruto!' He thought speedily.
Suddenly, Gaara felt a very hot energy slice right past him as the explosions grew louder and he came closer to them. He felt a sinister Chakra signature and he knew very well who it was. He had felt it before within his own mind when he died and Naruto fought to bring him back. He knew it was the Nine Tailed Fox. 'Naruto!' He thought quickly.
'Damn! Kyuubi's breaking out! He's growing too savage and he's ripping up the land!' Shukaku roared within his head. 'If you really mean to help your pal, you might have to transform into me! It's the only way of fighting him and not ending up dead!'
Gaara didn't like that idea. He didn't like the fact that he'd have to let Shukaku take over to defeat Naruto and knock him back into his senses. Depending on the sand demon like that?! He knew very well that Shukaku swore to protect him from now on but he still felt very uneasy about having to let him take over. He didn't want to repeat what happened the day of the attack on Konoha Village, when Shukaku tried to destroy everything. 'No!'
'There is no other way! You can't fight him yourself!' Shukaku roared at him.
"NO! I will free him, myself!" Gaara shouted before picking up his speed. He knew he needed to hurry.
There was a loud explosion up a head and something shot right at him; a tree! Gaara flinched, of course, deflecting the tree with his sand. The impact of it was pretty nasty though. The tree shot right through the sand and almost hit him, which he found some luck into leaping to the side. He looked wide eyed at the tree as it struck several others, destroying them into splinters. He swallowed hard, the young Kazekage turned to look at the long trail the tree had caused, only to see a large clearing where something had destroyed a very large portion of the forest. There were hardly and trees left in the area. But he could see into it.
And there in the center was a creature that resembled a demonic fox.
The creature was almost completely fiery red with black markings every where and it did look like a fox. There were four tails whipping out right behind it as it crouched down and was snarling viciously. The creature, Gaara knew, had to be Naruto. He had transformed just like he had that day he fought Naruto. "Naruto....." The red head breathed with horror.