Raising Moon

Suddenly Breaker flies out from the top of the castle and lands in front of Naruto and Sasuke, Goku however is too worn out to fight and soon falls asleep due to exhaustion. Yamcha, Bulma, Oolong and Puar stand back being unable to fight due to injury or generally not being suited for fighting. Despite the robot having been repaired since their last fight, Naruto and Sasuke are too fast for the robot to hit with any of its arms. Naruto and Sasuke both plant Paper bombs onto the upper two arms after two attacks. However, as it began to reel its arms back electricity scorched the pieces of paper off and soon it began to change.

Pilaf had pressed another button and said while pressing the big blue button, "Breaker, switch to Thruster Mode!" Suddenly the Breakers' sides folded backwards and formed additional thrusters. outside armor peels outward and then flips revealing the spiked mode that withstood Goku's Kamehameha wave in the previous fight. Breaker said, "Thruster Breaker Active." Pilaf then explained, "This mode reduces the length of its arms, but it uses the power of my personal generator to create an electric shield. It also uses the power in my castle to power up these massive thrusters!" Pilaf finally said, "Breaker, I changed my mind, capture them, I want to punish them personally!"

Its size was reduced, and its mace arms were shortened, and its size is indeed reduced into a more spherical shape. It suddenly dashes past Naruto and Sasuke, surprising them with its speed. Suddenly Naruto and Sasuke hear a commotion behind them and when they turn around, they see it has wrapped its grabbing arms around Bulma, Sakura, Yamcha, Puar and Oolong. Pilaf then said, "I liked your idea from earlier. I'll be stealing it! Don't resist otherwise Breaker will roast your friends alive. Gritting their teeth and cursing their weakness Naruto and Sasuke raised their hands into the air in surrender. A few hours later everyone including Naruto and Sasuke woke up in a solid white room with a glass ceiling. There were bolts and nails embedded in the walls, and it was a tall, silver room. Naruto and Sasuke questioned where they were, to which Yamcha replied with, "Trapped."

Everyone gathers their bearings and sees that it's still nighttime. Yamcha leans against one of the walls and pounds on it with his good hand and lightly says, "Our previous strategy might not work. These walls are made of real steel." Sasuke uses his Sharingan to get a good look at where Pilaf and his gang were, but it was no good. He said, "Damn, I don't see them anywhere." Sasuke attempts to throw a punch at the wall only for it to do nothing.

Goku points to the ceiling and says innocently, "What are y'all talking about, the roof's wide open." Bulma tells him, "Not quite, that's shatter proof glass up there." Goku ignored the info and jumped high into the air until the glass ceiling stopped his great ascent into the air. He crashed back down rubbing his head yelling, "OW, OW, OW!" Yamcha then said, "If we can't get out of here, we can forget about getting the Dragon Balls back. We'll die here!" Bulma then chimed in with some pertinent information, "Either way we won't be able to collect them for a long time." Everyone looked surprised by that information, Bulma elaborated, "Once a wish has been made with the Dragon Balls, it takes a full year for them to regain their power. They just appear as round stones until a year passes, we won't even know if we're looking at a Dragon Ball or a random rock."

Everyone who had an interest in the balls reacted negatively, Yamcha lamented missing his chance to overcome his anxiety, Goku felt depressed at the prospect that he wasn't going to be able to get Gohan's Dragon Ball back for another year. This is when Pilaf's voice is heard from the microphones in the room. "Hey guy's nice job ruining my plans for world domination a while ago. As thanks I'm going to roast you alive for the trouble." Sasuke and Naruto yelled out together, "What?" Pilaf began to explain, "That's right, you see the glass ceiling above you right?" Pilaf answers despite not giving anyone a chance to answer, "Well yes, it's glass and when it hits noon tomorrow the sun will be amplified by the glass, and you will all be out of my hair forever!"

Everyone began to worry, "He had to pick now to start actually acting sadistic." Sasuke realized their situation was only getting worse by the second and immediately started to bargain with the pint-sized villain. He then said, "Don't be a fool, your crimes against Konoha are bad enough. If they find out, you are responsible for the death of two Genin on a mission you hired them for then you'll be put in the "Bingo Book". You'll be put on the Leaf's most wanted list. You'll be hunted down by the best of Konoha!" Pilaf didn't budge saying, "They can send whoever they want after me. The second I step into Western territory then I'm safe." Bulma chimed in, "You'll only make things harder for yourself. If you become a fugitive, then next year you won't be able to get the Dragon Balls. If you free us now, then we can make up a story that doesn't end in you being hunted!"

Pilaf scoffs, "Like I can trust a single thing you say, besides once I sell this place, I'll have the money to think of a solution later." Pilaf then said, "Well see you in the morning, I'll wake you up bright and early for the early morning "barbecue"!" Pilaf laughs maniacally and then turns off the mic leaving everyone to deal with their new situation. Sasuke hits the wall even harder; he ignores the pain in his hand as he speaks aloud, "I can't die here, baked under the sun by a moron!" Sasuke looked up thinking of his ambitions, his promise to his Clan. Sasuke then began firing off his Fire Style until he was out of Chakra.

Naruto spammed Clones while Goku and Sakura did their best to try and break out. However, neither fire balls nor paper bombs, or even countless numbers of Shadow Clones would leave so much as a charred mark. Not even Goku's supernatural strength couldn't put a dent in the wall. They were stuck and now they were running low on stamina and Chakra. With their Chakra dwindling, Team 7 would have to take a break to recover it and with the threat of the upcoming dawn steadily approaching their nerves were high. Sasuke looked at Goku, "We need a Kamehameha wave like the one you hit Breaker with." Goku said while puffing out his chest, "I can give it all I got!"

Goku fired off one last Kamehameha wave, but nothing came out this time. Sasuke peeked at Goku with his Sharingan only to see that that mystery energy he had in him has now dwindled to a single strand that rested at his core. Sasuke immediately collapses, his Sharingan sucking up what's left of his Chakra. Naruto and Sakura immediately came to his side, "Are you alright?" They said in unison. Sasuke put his hand forward in an attempt to alleviate their concerns. "I'm fine… i just gotta-." Sasuke pushes his back against a wall and lowers himself into a sitting position. "Just gotta sit down." Naruto sat next to him but Sakura with a shaky look in her eye walked elsewhere. Naruto was worried but Sasuke said, "Don't." Naruto shot a glare only for him to change it into a confused expression right after Sasuke said, "She needs time to herself." "She's been alone for, like, a week." Naruto said with confusion. Sasuke let out a pained sigh and said, "Why do you think we're here in the first place?"

Naruto realized what Sasuke was saying but argued, "But I don't blame her, you don't…" Naruto stopped fearing Sasuke would say otherwise. Sasuke doesn't reassure Naruto, saying in response, "She is the reason we're here. If she wasn't captured, then this whole situation could have unfolded in a number of ways." Naruto balled his hands into fists, "That's…" Naruto was about to speak but stopped for a moment only for Sasuke to say, "It's a fact." Naruto was thinking about making a swing at Sasuke only for Sasuke to say, "I'm not saying she holds the only blame." Naruto's expression turned from anger to confusion as Sasuke continued, "The purple moron didn't have a plan to counter us going to Konoha for help. If we hadn't acted on the possibility, she could get hurt then our situation would undoubtedly have been better."

Naruto tilted his head to the side saying, "Then why are we acting like this is all her fault?" Sasuke leaned forward, "Because that's what she believes." Naruto took a step back as Sasuke continued, "You might not have known this Naruto, but Sakura hasn't been contributing to the team as much as she would have liked." Naruto wanted to argue but he knew this was true. Their mission to the Land of Waves ended with their Sensei and them doing all the fighting while all she was doing was standing by the bridge builder's side. Objectively Sakura hasn't been pulling her weight. Sasuke then said, "This mission won't help with her confidence." Naruto suddenly said, "Then we need to talk to her." Sasuke argues, "We need to give her some space." Sasuke lets out an exhausted sigh and says, "We're her teammates, our words of encouragement could make her feel worse."

"Come on, that can't be true. We're supposed to have her back!" Naruto sounded agitated only for Sasuke to say, "She'll think we're just trying to spare her feelings, trying to deflect blame for her. That's why she left before we could begin to talk about it." Naruto was about to argue back but stopped, recognizing that Sasuke might have a point. He immediately sits down, being mentally exhausted from this depressing conversation. Everyone does the same and sits down in their own respective areas and just talks in order to conserve their strength and maybe brainstorm a solution.

Goku, Naruto and Sasuke hang out not far from where Sakura and Bulma, who was being filled in on the journey so far, were sitting. Yamcha hung out with Puar and Oolong not far from Goku's group. Bulma then finished her summary but afterwards noticed Sakura looking a bit down. She asked, "What's the matter?" Sakura paused for a moment and said with a melancholy tone, "It just feels like this is all my fault." Bulma gave her a puzzled look and asked, "Why's that?" Sakura said, "I got caught and that caused Naruto and Sasuke to get wrapped up even more in Pilaf's scheme. If I hadn't screwed up…" Bulma interjects saying, "If you didn't get caught then those three would still be chasing the Dragon Balls." Sakura suddenly said, "But I was also useless on our previous mission. I keep dragging my team down, what if one day I get them…" Bulma suddenly interrupted her saying, "Not so fast missy." Sakura gave Bulma a confused look. "If it wasn't for you then right now, we all might be waving Pilaf's flag." Sakura let out a brief, "But…"

Bulma ignored her and said, "You set us in the right direction, so what if it was because of a screw up. Next time you'll be prepared, right?" Sakura paused and then looked down at the ground and said, "But this wasn't like last time. I did nothing in our last mission and now things are getting tougher and no matter how much I train… I…" Bulma got her attention with a tap on her shoulder and said while looking her in the eye, "Then you need to train harder. If you feel like you're not making progress, then you need to try harder and get stronger." Bulma then put her hands behind her head and leaned against the wall, "At least that's what that Kiddo would say, ever the training freak." Sakura thought for a moment and thanked Bulma, feeling more motivated now than before.

Far above them at the top of the glass ceiling the two Anbu Shinobi peek down at them. Cat-1 says, "This is a dilemma, even paper bombs didn't put a dent in this ceiling." Fox then said, "It also doesn't look like this thing opens after being sealed so forcing the little bastard to open it for us won't work." Cat then says, "Even if we could, if he calls in his machine then we wouldn't fare any better than the others down there." Fox, looking at Cat, says, "We might have to wait for Konoha reinforcements before we can free them." Cat let out a long sigh and said, "That looks to be the case." They then retreat to a farther location to await the reinforcements they believe are heading their way. With Naruto's group, Naruto becomes frustrated and punches the floor in order to vent his frustrations, "Damn it, it can't end here, I'm gonna be Hokage one day. The Hokage doesn't die, baking in a hole in the middle of the desert!"

Goku looked at Naruto and remembered something he heard long ago, "Hokage, like old man Hiruzen, why'd you wanna be Hokage?" Naruto immediately started talking about his dream as if he had said it a million times before, "I wanted to become Hokage, so people would start respecting me." He folded his legs and placed his forehead on his knees speaking in a melancholier voice, "So that I could prove to them that I'm not a pest or a waste of space." Goku looked confused and said, "Why would they think that?" Naruto hesitated with an answer but decided not to give one. Goku then said as he stood up and took the turtle school stance taught to him by Gohan, "You gave me a good punch during that first fight, you just gotta show that side to them, they'll see how strong you are!"

Naruto let out a short laugh feeling better thanks to Goku's words and said, "Yeah, I can't go and give up now, I have a lot to prove." Sasuke then shot a question at Goku in an unusually quiet tone of voice, "How long did you have with Gohan?" Goku thought for a moment before saying, "Three years." Sasuke then said, "And you got this strong by three years of training and even more from surviving on your own?" Goku nodded in confirmation. Goku then asked, "Do you like getting stronger too?" Sasuke hesitated before speaking in a calm voice, "It's less that I enjoy getting stronger and more that I need to get stronger soon." Goku tilted his head and asked, "What do you mean?" Sasuke paused for a moment but then finally said, "I have someone I promised I would defeat and so I need to gain power as quickly as possible."

Naruto knew who Sasuke was referring to but didn't want to delve into this subject. Goku added, "I think I get it, a long time ago I wanted to beat dat' big bad monster that got grandpa." Yamcha, who overheard the fate of Gohan, jumped into the conversation saying, "You're telling me the Legendary Martial artist Gohan was killed by a monster!" Goku nodded and said, "Yeah, he smashed up all our trees and our house!" Sasuke looked at him surprised, thinking to himself, "Is this the same monster Naruto mentioned on the plane ride?" Sasuke immediately asked, "Did you ever find it?" Goku looked down and said, "No, whenever I would go out and look for it, I'd wind up falling asleep and wake up in the middle of the forest in the morning.

I eventually stopped looking, I guess it just moved away after Gohan died." Sasuke had troubled thoughts and asked, "Goku, did you do anything specific that led to you falling asleep?" Goku nodded and said, "Actually yeah, I'd look at the moon." Everyone heard this which led to everyone but Naruto stepping away from Goku. Goku was confused by the behavior and asked, "Hey what's o' matter with everyone?" Naruto had a sad expression as he said, "Goku don't tell me…" Naruto left the sentence unfinished as everyone stepped further and further away from Goku. Sakura said out loud, "T-tell me Goku, d-did you h-happen to look at the f-full moon on the night your grandfather died?" Goku thought for a moment and then said, "Now that you mention it, he did, he even told me not to look at it but then I went out to pee and… ya know…"

Yamcha began to mutter with a shaky tone, "I-I knew he wasn't a n-normal boy b-but I didn't expect…" Oolong then said, "W-we have to test it, make him look at the moon, just to b-be sure." Bulma then added, "Y-yeah but on the slimmest chance he does… well…" Oolong immediately agreed saying, "Y-yeah your right." He then looks at Goku and says, "Whatever you do Goku, do not look at the full moon, it's right behind you!" Goku reflexively looked behind him catching a full view of the full moon freaking everyone out. Goku then scratched the back of his head, let out a light laugh and then looked back at his friend and said, "Woops, I did it again." Everyone immediately calmed down believing that they were worried over nothing. Naruto felt a tad silly thinking to himself, "Yeah there's no way we would be that similar."

Suddenly Goku's expression turned blank, and his eyes shifted to a clear red, his pupils disappeared, and he began to change. Goku began to hear his heartbeat thumping over and over but his mind became blank and before everyone's eyes, his clothes were shredded as his body grew larger and larger, his teeth became larger, and he grew sharp teeth which is when brown fur covered his entire body. His body outgrew the ceiling pressuring it until it shattered into a million pieces allowing him to grow to full size and let out a single monstrous roar. The monster within was finally released and so the Great Ape, the Oozaru, was about to go on a rampage.