Chapter 60: Camilla
We all gathered on the water as Shino reached down to grab one of his insects covered in mud saying regrettably, "How unfortunate they fought flawlessly but she got away."
"We will have to search for her again but this time I don't think she's going to want to be found." I said wrapping up my hands as Kakashi said, "We'll have to split up to find her… Naruto, you go with Shino and Yuna and Sai, you'll follow me."
"Right." we all said as I jumped off with Naruto and Shino knowing how badly Naruto wanted to find the little boy the woman was holding hostage.
After a while of searching I looked out at the lake seeing the seal was already beginning to widen meaning the girls were hard at work to seal the Tailed Beast. Going along the tree line Naruto and I stood beside Shino watching his insects scout the area.
"Where did that crystal user disappear to?" Naruto said angrily hearing Shino beside me say calmly, "Don't panic."
"I know but if we let her get away Yuukimaru will..." Naruto began seeing him close his eyes for a moment before opening them again, "I will find him before that."
"We will all find him before that." I said looking towards him as he smiled nodding while he began searching some more.
After a while I saw Shino stop turning as he said, "They've found her, she's by the Sealing team."
"Let's go!" I said running off in the direction of the lake seeing Naruto charging ahead jumping across the water watching the fighting in the distance.
"We must keep that seal from breaking." Shino said as Naruto bit his finger summoning the toads watching them attack the man who was about to break the seal.
"Alright, Shino now." I said as he raised his arms watching the insects go for the crystal user, but she kept pushing through them.
Watching her hit the seal the lock was broken feeling the water begin to move as a large roar was heard below us. Waves began to roll in as the Three Tailed pushed against the barrier seeing it jump out of the water. Turning my head, the sealing team couldn't hold it any longer watching them get swept up by the water. Doing my best to keep my footing I could feel the immense power of the Three Tailed gripping onto Shino's coat to keep me from falling.
"What chakra, this is the Three Tails!" Shino said holding my arm to keep me steady as the Three Tails roared looking towards us all.
"Brother I'm scared..." Gamatatsu said as his brother replied, "This shock wave… what kind of dangerous situation did you summon us to?"
"This isn't the time for that." I said seeing the crystal user Guren appear out of the water on her dragon with another enemy beside her saying, "We've successfully broken your seal."
"I will never forgive you!" Naruto yelled at her seeing her smirk going to retreat hearing Shino say angrily, "You won't get away!"
As his insects flew towards her the man threw a paper bomb at them causing an explosion which alerted the Three Tails seeing it begin to power up an attack. Tensing up it shot a water attack towards us and the enemy bracing myself as I was pushed forcefully underwater. Feeling someone grab onto me tightly we were pushed back and up breaching the surface as I inhaled deeply taking in the air.
Groaning I opened my eyes knowing Shino was the one who helped me standing up as the water calmed where we were. Looking around I saw Naruto running over to him seeing he was still breathing as I shook him.
Watching his eyes open he looked up towards us saying, "Where are they?"
"Over there." Shino said turning as I followed his eyes seeing the Three Tails going towards an unconscious Guren.
Watching it go to attack her it's tail suddenly stopped seeing it frozen in place looking up on a cliff noticing a beam of chakra surrounding a little boy. Was this the boy Naruto was talking about, did he really have that much control over the Three Tails?
"What is that?" Shino asked shocked as Naruto looked towards them saying, "I've seen it before… it's like back then… it's Yuukimaru he's controlling it."
"It must be to protect the woman." I said shocked knowing we should wait for the others to arrive before figuring out our next move.
Noticing the chakra beam faltering I took a step saying, "He can't hold it for much longer..."
Seeing it die completely the Tailed Beast began thrashing around attacking the cliff that they must have jumped to. After a while longer the chakra beam appeared again seeing it was stronger than before even breaking through the clouds above it.
"Naruto." we heard turning to see Kakashi and Sai looking towards them, "You're late Kakashi-sensei."
"What's going on, what is that bean of light?" he asked as I replied, "It's the boy that controls the Tailed beast… something is happening to him."
"I need to save him." Naruto said running off going to stop him but sigh replying, "We should help him, most likely he'll lead us to the enemies as well."
"Yuna's right, our new mission is to protect the boy." Kakashi said as we all followed Naruto towards the beam of chakra and the giant tailed beast.
Watching it begin to shoot blasts of water again I knew we had to hurry since it would surely want to kill the boy for controlling it. Dodging the blasts around us, the fog began to grow again barely seeing an attack coming at us, but we jumped out of the way in time. Dodging the attacks, I saw Naruto pushing forward regardless of the blasts seeing the determination in his eyes. I could make out Guren attacking the Tailed Beast but it seemed her attacks were useless.
Suddenly a crystal began forming around it trapping it in place but it didn't last long watching it crack open. Seeing in the distance a crystal with a person in it we began making our way towards it as Naruto began fighting the Tailed Beast. Guren was helping Naruto fight him knowing that he was the common enemy that needed to be dealt with first.
Watching the Tailed beast leap in the air onto both Naruto and Guren I yelled his name watching them disappear just as the crystal around the boy shattered. Making it to him I placed my hand against his neck feeling a weak pulse.
"He's okay..." I said relieved as Kakashi kneeled next to me saying, "This is the boy Naruto was talking about."
"Yea, his name is Yuukimaru." I said noticing the water was suddenly much calmer still seeing no sign of Naruto.
"We need to get him back to the others so we can tend to his injuries." Shino said making me frown replying, "What about Naruto?"
"Don't worry, once we get the boy to the others, we'll look for him." Kakashi said as I nodded knowingly following behind them to the other side of the lake.
Walking along the shore to not alert the Tailed Beast to everyone else we could see the others in the distance happy they looked okay. Once they noticed us Sakura got up to greet us but was whirled to the side by Hinata asking about Naruto.
"Who's that boy?" Sakura asked curiously as Kakashi said, "This is most likely the one who was controlling the Three Tails, he has very special powers."
Sakura turned towards me seeing my blood as she said, "We should all get to the hut, you guys need to be healed."
"I can fly up and see if I spot Naruto." Sai said seeing Kakashi nod while we all walked back into the forest to the hut Yamato made.
"The Three Tails has disappeared into the lake, but this isn't over by any means, we will wait for the sealing team to recover then try it again." Kakashi said feeling the warmth of Shizune's healing while I said, "With a few of the enemies down it should be easier, but we shouldn't move the boy."
Looking at the boy lying unconscious we decided to wait until he was up again before leaving to a safer spot to make the preparations. Seeing Sai come back inside he was unable to find any sign of Naruto nor the Three Tails making me anxious on what happened to them. Our main concern right now was finding Naruto so Yamato, Sai, Kiba, Hinata, and Kakashi were going to go out and look for him.
"Shizune you'll come with us in case Naruto is injured, I want him here before we try to seal the Three Tails first anyway." Kakashi began looking towards Sakura and Ino, "You two will look after the boy while the rest of you guard them. Yuna, you'll be in charge until we return, I'm sure the enemies will try to get him back so make sure that doesn't happen."
"I will protect that boy with my life!" Lee said enthusiastically while I nodded saying, "Understood."
Once they left, we all took points around the house as I sat on the deck looking inside towards Ino and Sakura who were hard at work healing the boy. Hearing Lee and Tenten talk about who should go where I smiled towards them seeing Shino standing beside me. Hearing movement I looked down seeing his insects pool at his feet dying as I frowned.
"Is that from battling the Crystal user?" I asked softly to not bother the girls as he said back, "I'm not sure… it could be because of the Three Tails, they've become quite weak."
Frowning I looked down at them before I hesitantly put my hand on his feeling him flinch ever so slightly as I said, "Thank you for saving me back there… I don't think I would have made it if you hadn't."
Feeling his hand relax under my own I could feel the vibration of his insects under his skin as he said calmly, "Of course you were in danger, and I couldn't sit back and do nothing."
Moving my hand away I smiled at him saying, "Should a time ever arise when you're in danger I'll be there to protect you, that's a promise."
He went to speak when we heard movement inside seeing the boy was awake hearing him say something was gone as he started searching around him. Walking into the room Sakura asked him what he was looking for seeing a crystal fall out of his coat kneeling to pick it up.
"Is this what you're looking for?" I asked kneeling down seeing him smile wide replying, "Yes…"
He held it out for us to see, noticing a Camilla encased in the crystal hearing Sakura say, "It's beautiful."
"It's not even scratched, I'm so glad Guren is alright." he said happily staring at it going to move but he kept falling as Ino helped him.
Letting him rest on her lap Ino sat with him as he held up the crystal happily making me cross my arms, could Guren really be using him or were they both being used? Walking over to him he looked at me worried, but I smiled seeing him smile back.
"You must be Yuukimaru, my name is Yuna, and this is Sakura and Ino." I said seeing him look between us shyly as I said, "You are probably hungry, I think I have something you can eat."
Reaching into my pouch I pulled out some bread handing it to him as he began eating it hungrily but stopped saying, "I know where Guren is… Naruto is with her… they're in the Three Tails tummy."
Blinking towards him I stood up looking at Sakura saying, "That could be possible… the Three Tails did jump at them..."
Yuukimaru giggled as he looked out the window saying, "They will be just fine, Guren will come back for me she promised."
Walking over to Shino I said in a hushed tone, "We should probably alert the others of this."
"Leave that to me, I still have some insects left to send." Shino replied watching some fly out of his sleeve looking over at the boy, if he was right Naruto may be in more trouble than we thought.