Chapter 13: Here Comes the Pain! Part 2
"WATER STYLE: BARRACUDA BARRAGE!"
Kizuo slammed his palms to the ground. Instantly, a huge gush of water erupted from where his palms were on the ground.
The water formed into the shapes of deadly barracudas that instantly went after Gaara. Gaara used some of his sand to defend himself, but it soon proved to be useless as the sand became clumped together as soon as the barracudas touched it. Gaara was forced to dodge the barracudas attack.
Damn. That was a close one. Gaara thought. He dodged again as another barracuda charged at him. The barracudas continued their assault and Gaara continued to dodge them.
Kizuo only laughed at Gaara's new predicament. He then started to do the hand signs of another jutsu. "WATER STYLE: OCTOPUS ENTANGLEMENT!"
A large amount of water was summoned from Kizuo's palms and started to form a small pond. A large glob of water emerged from the bond and morphed itself into a giant octopus.
"Grab him!" ordered Kizuo as he pointed his finger at Gaara as he continued to dodge the endless amounts of barracuda that were after him.
The octopus did as it was told and grabbed Gaara as he jumped out of the way of a barracuda. The octopus wrapped its tentacle around Gaara's body and started to crush him. His sand gourd started to break apart in clumps as it couldn't handle the contact with the water.
"GAARA!" screamed Kankuro. He connected his puppet strings back onto Salamander and made the puppet fire kunai straight as Kizuo. Kizuo turned and noticed the oncoming kunai.
"Not quite." he said. "Water Style: Aquatic Barrier." A large amount of water rose from the pond and created a barrier that surrounded Kizuo. The kunai made contact with the barrier, but it didn't go through it. Instead, the kunai was absorbed into the barrier.
"What the?" said a stunned Temari. Kankuro was just as shocked.
Kizuo turned to the three onlookers. "Bye bye."
The kunai were immediately fired from the barrier; Daisuke, Temari, and Kankuro the intended targets.
"Daisuke, Temari, get behind Salamander!" ordered Kankuro.
Temari and Daisuke did as they were told and went behind the puppeteer and his puppet. Kankuro immediately raised up Salamander's shield to block the oncoming kunai.
"WATER STYLE: WATER PRISON JUTSU" yelled Kizuo.
Water leapt from the pond and started to surround Kankuro, Temari, and Daisuke. Soon, they were trapped in their own water bubbles.
"KANKURO, DAISUKE, TEMARI!" yelled Gaara as he watched his siblings and the advisor be swallowed by their watery prisons.
"You better pay attention, Mr. Kazekage, if you want to save them." said Kizuo.
Gaara could only grimace as he continued to struggle in the octopus' grasp.
"Admit it. I got you beat. Your siblings and that advisor are trapped in my water prisons and soon, they'll run out of air and we'll die in a watery grave. You, on the other hand, have a choice. You can either be crushed by my octopus here or, I'll cut your throat. Which one will it be?" asked Kizuo.
Gaara gave hive a cold, hard stare. "What about Izuka?" he asked with menace in his voice.
Kizuo chuckled. "Oh, the Sage? Like I said before, she'll fetch a pretty penny. She's one of the most sought after people in the bingo book. And with her having not one, but eight tailed beast sealed inside her, the possibilities are endless."
Gaara gritted his teeth at those remarks. He wasn't going to let anybody harm Izuka, his siblings, or any other people he cared about on his watch.
"I am going to kill you." said Gaara defiantly at Kizuo.
"Ha! Only if you can get out of my octopus' grip first." said Kizuo. "Crush him."
The octopus did as it was told and continued to crush Gaara to death. Gaara bit his lip so he wouldn't let Kizuo hear his screams of pain.
"GAARA!" screamed Kankuro, but it was a big mistake as he started to take in water as soon as he opened his mouth.
"KANKURO!" thought Temari.
"This is probably the end of us." thought Daisuke.
Gaara was getting more and more crushed by the second. He didn't want to admit it, but he was losing this battle.
"I won't last much longer like this. What am I going to do?" thought Gaara.
"How about calling a friend for help?" called an anonymous voice.
Gaara was on the verge of passing out when he recognized the voice. "Izuka?" he thought.
In response, a bullet of water hit Kizuo straight in the chest, which made him fly ten feet from his original position. He landed on his back with a sharp thud.
The water prisons dissipated and Temari, Kankuro, and Daisuke were freed. The octopus also ceased to exist and Gaara jumped out of the way before any more water could splash on him. When he landed on the ground, he almost collapsed. Lucky for him, a pair of hands held him up.
"You okay Gaara?" asked Izuka in a concerned tone.
"I'll be fine. Thanks for the save by the way." Gaara panted.
"Sure thing." Izuka turned her attention towards Temari, Daisuke, and Kankuro. "ARE YOU GUYS OKAY?" she yelled to the three.
Temari answered. "KANKURO IS SPITTING OUT SOME WATER HE ACCIDENTALEY DRANK IN, BUT THE REST OF US ARE FINE!"
Gaara let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to know."
The two then turned their attention back to Kizuo, who had gotten up from Izuka's attack.
"That was one nice water attack you hit me with, Lady Sage. Too bad it won't work a second time. I don't get taken by surprise that easily." commented Kizuo.
Izuka narrowed her eyes at Kizuo. "So, this is the guy that's been giving you a hard time huh?"
Gaara nodded. "Don't take him lightly. He's skilled in water jutsus." Gaara winced in pain as he touched his sore ribs.
"Gaara?" Izuka asked the redhead, concern being the dominant emotion in her voice.
Gaara turned to Izuka. "I'll be fine. Right now, we need to worry about Kizuo."
Izuka only nodded and returned her attention back to the task at hand.
"So you're going to fight me Lady Sage?" asked Kizuo. He took his katana back out of its sheath.
Izuka didn't respond. Instead, she pressed her palms together.
"ELEMENT ARTS: WATER SHIFT JUTSU!"
A large amount of blue chakra erupted from the bottom of Izuka's feet and enveloped her body. After a few seconds passed, the chakra retreated back into Izuka's body.
"What the hell?" said Kizuo astonished. Gaara only slightly smirked at Kizuo's expression.
The chakra changed Izuka's entire appearance. Izuka was now wearing a royal blue, long-sleeved, hooded crop top that had three stripes on it that connected to form a Y. She wore tights with a pair of shorts that went mid-thigh. She still wore the same sandals. Her hair was no longer tied into pigtails, but instead, she was wearing the same hairstyle as Neji. Her eyes were sea blue instead of the usual ice blue and she wore a pair of silver glasses. She wore fingerless gloves and her chain whip was tied around her waist. The purple amulet she wore with her rosary had shifted into the form of a royal blue teardrop.
"So this is one of your elemental forms, huh?" asked Kizuo. "Each form goes by a name. You go by the name Aqua in this form don't ya?"
"That's right." replied Izuka/Aqua.
"Where's your weapon?" asked Kizuo. He knew that each form that Izuka took on had its own specific element weapon.
Izuka responded by unclipping a royal blue stone from her chain whip. She threw it up in the air and did a few hand signs. The stone disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke dissipated, a trident appeared and fell back to earth. Izuka caught it before it hit the ground.
Kizuo gave Izuka a questioning look. "Huh. Didn't see that coming."
"It's time we finish this." said Izuka.
"Gladly." Kizuo then charged at the Sage. Big mistake buddy.
To be continued.
End of chapter 13.
Author's note: I decided to make it a three part chapter. Surprise. Please review and vote on my poll that's on my profile page.
By the way, if the water prison part seems familiar, I got the idea from Naruto when Gai's team fought the fake Kisame. Credit is given to the series for that part.