Naruto: Journal of Hope
After the second half of the Chunin Exams Naruto is passed over by Kakashi to train Sasuke. Angry, he storms out and runs far away to an almost forgotten place. There he stumbles across a journal, written by his mother and holding the secrets of his lineage. Inspired by his parents' love, hope and dreams, he decides to become the Ninja his parents believed he could be.
Chapter XIII: Invasion Part I
Before the assembled masses at the final rounds of the Chunin Exams stood two titans about to square off in a battle for the ages. On one side was Gaara of the Sand, the current Jinchuriki of Shukaku the One-Tails Tanuki, and on the other was Gamabunta, the Boss of the Toad Summons and standing on the roads head was Naruto Uzumaki, the current Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox. The sudden appearance of Gaara's Tailed Beast form was one thing, but seeing the same summon that the Fourth Hokage had used Thirteen years ago was just as astonishing.
"Holy hell…" Kiba said as he and the others looked upon the giant toad as Naruto stood upon his head. "What the hell kind of match is this!?" he shouted as everyone else was just as stunned.
"I-I'll admit…this is way more than I expected…" Tenten said as she stared up at the giants. "Makes me kind of glad I lost in the preliminaries…"
"Holy…Kakashi, what the heck is this kid?" Asuma asked, finding it hard to believe a genin summoned a boss-level summons by himself.
"To be honest, he surprises me just as much as you. Though I must say I never thought I'd see Gamabunta again," Kakashi said as he looked upon his former mentor's summon.
"Kakashi-Sensei, you know what that thing is?" Sakura asked as Kakashi nodded.
"His name is Gamabunta, he's considered the boss of the Toad Summons. To summon him requires a massive amount of Chakra. He was once my former sensei's, the Fourth Hokage's, personal summon. The last time anyone saw him was thirteen years ago during the Nine-Tails attack…" Kakashi explained as they all stared up at the giant toad.
'Ironic that he's doing exactly what his father did years ago, and face down a Tailed Beast,' Kakashi mentally compared as he watched Naruto stand upon Gamabunta's head as he crossed his arms.
'Okay, things are looking bad, Gaara seems to have taken on his Tailed Beast's form, I will question that later. But now my main focus should be getting him away from the others and taking down Gaara, not going to lie, it will be a challenge. But if I have Gamabunta's help this should allow me to put the suppression seal on - !' Naruto mentally prepared.
"Hey!? What the hell am I doing back in the human world!?" Gamabunta's voice boomed as Naruto looked down.
"Sorry Gamabunta, but I kind of need your help!" Naruto shouted as Gamabunta looked up at his head.
"Oh, it's you again…" Gamabunta said as he looked around and then laid eyes on the form of Gaara. "Are you kidding me, have I been summoned to fight another Tailed Beast?" Gamabunta complained upon seeing the sight of Shukaku, as he blew smoke out of his mouth from his pipe.
"Listen Gamabunta, I need your help! This guy is seriously dangerous and I need your help to stop him!" Naruto shouted down to the Toad who seemed apathetic to help.
"Nope, not going to happen…" he said as Naruto and nearly everyone fell over.
"What!?" Naruto shouted as Kakashi sighed.
"Ah…I forgot, Minato-Sensei said that Gamabunta was often a rather difficult summon to command," Kakashi said as he recalled his Master telling him about Gamabunta.
"That's not good, if Naruto can't command the Boss to help, we'll be in serious trouble," Asuma said as he and everyone looked up at the two bickering at each other.
"What the heck!? Why won't you help!?" Naruto shouted as Gamanunta took the pipe out of his mouth to tap out the ash, dumping a big pile on the ground.
"Granted he's no Nine-Tails, but the Shukaku of the Sands is no laughing matter," Gamabunta said as he placed the pipe back into his mouth. "Tailed Beasts are a pain in the neck to fight. Besides, why should I listen to you? Granted I have accepted you as my underling, but we haven't even sealed the deal with a cup of sake…"
"Are you kidding me right now!? I'm not even 20 yet!? I can't drink Sake!" Naruto shouted as he scratched his head. "Forget that! Listen, this guy is trouble! Please help me with this! I promise to make it up to you, but right now my friends are in danger unless I stop him!"
"Why should you be the one to fight him, hmm? Doesn't this seem above your paygrade, best leave it to someone else…" Gamabunta nonchalantly said as Naruto glared and got angrier.
"Why you! - huh?" Naruto said before he noticed feathers starting to fall all around him. "What is…" Naruto said as everyone in the stands noticed the falling feathers.
"Hmm, what the?" Gamabunta noticed as he and the others noticed the feathers falling all around them. "This is…" he said while in the stands the Shinobi were on high alert.
"Kakashi," Gai said as Kakashi nodded.
"Yes, a Genjutsu," Kakashi said as he and the other Jonin to Chunin nodded and placed their hands together.
"Release!" they shouted as the Genjutsu was dispelled from them.
"Kiba!" Hinata said as she and her teammates noticed the Genjutsu and nodded, luckily for both of them they had been trained under the Genjutsu Specialist for the past few months.
"Release!" they shouted and dispelled the Genjutsu. Sakura and Sasuke noticed everyone falling around them as well, as they too dispelled the Genjutsu.
"Sasuke, what's going on!?" Sakura shouted as Sasuke glared.
"Nothing good," he said before Sakura's eyes widened.
"Wait, what about Naruto!? He can't undo Genjutsu!" she shouted as Sasuke cursed and looked over to the toad as Naruto started to wobble.
"Crap, this is a…Genjutsu…" Naruto said as he felt the effect of the start to take hold. "No, not again…" Naruto grunted as he put his hands together. "Release!" he shouted as he released his chakra and dispelled the Genjutsu on him. "Damn, that was close, Gamabunta are you okay!?" he asked as the Boss toad nodded.
"I'm fine, a Genjutsu of this calibre is too weak to work on me," he said before his eyes narrowed. "But a Genjutsu now can mean only one thing…" he said, while Kanuto smirked under his mask as the Genjutsu took effect.
'Forgive me Lord Orochimaru, but with the Toad Boss in play, I figured it would best to start the invasion,' Kabuto wagered as up in the Kage box the tension between the two Kage had become intense, as Sarutobi glared at the 'Kazekage'.
"...Lord Kazekage…What is the meaning of this?" Sarutobi asked as the Kazekage grinned.
"Shall we?" he asked rhetorically as his two bodyguards rushed forward and threw down a smoke bomb. The bomb exploded in a cloud of smoke, and the sound of metal clashing could be heard. Baki, Temari and Kankuro narrowed their gaze as they saw the signal.
"The Operation has started, it took them long enough…" Baki growled. While at the same time, an Anbu team noticed the smoke as they rushed to the Kage box.
"Li team, above with me to assist the Hokage! Ro team, below and protect the dignitaries!" the Anbu captain Zo commanded as he and his team rushed forward. They were instantly met with two of the Kazekage's bodyguards as they bisected the two in half. "Out of my way!" Zo said as he and his men rushed forward. But from the smoke, the Kazekage and the Hokage appeared as the Kazekage held the old man hostage with a Kunai at his throat and landed on the roof.
"Now!" the Kazekage shouted as the bisected remains of his 'bodyguards' sprung up and revealed themselves to be four Sound Shinobi. A large man with orange hair, a man with six arms, a red-haired woman, and a man with two heads as they stood on the four corners and activated their combined Jutsu.
"Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Formation!" they shouted as a purple cube-shaped barrier surrounded the rooftop. One of the Anbu tried to break through but was instantly set alight as he tumbled off the roof.
"Damn, a Barrier Jutsu…We aren't getting through that," Zo cursed as he looked at the barrier, while he and his team could only watch on.
"What the hell's going on!?" Naruto shouted as he turned to the Kage box and his eyes widened as the purple barrier sprung up. "Old man!" Naruto shouted before several Anbu jumped out front he stands, revealing themselves to be Sound Ninjas.
"Not good, kid. It looks like you summoned me in the middle of an invasion!" Gambunta said as Naruto snapped at him.
"What!? An invasion!?" Naruto shouted as the Sand and Sound Ninja attacked the citizens in the stands. "Crap! Sasuke! Sakura-Chan! Hinata!" Naruto shouted as two Sound Ninjas lunged at them before Kakashi killed them effortlessly with two Kunai to the head.
"Sasuke, protect Sakura and stay down! The Chunin Exams are officially over!" Kakashi said grimly as the battle started. "Now the real battle begins…"
Meanwhile, out near the walls, the Sand and Sound Ninjas saw the smoke they instantly realized the meaning. The signal had been sent, it was time to invade. The Sand Ninja activated the summoning Jutsu as they summoned several giant snakes near the walls of the village. Jiraiya looked at the explosion and narrowed his gaze.
"So…they've made their move…" he said as he flexed his hand. "Guess I should get to work," he said as he smirked and dashed forward. Back in the arena, the Sand and Sound Shinobi were attacking the Leaf Ninja, as they clashed with the unconscious civilians, dignitaries and lords.
"Kakashi-Sensei! What's going on!?" Sakura shouted as she hid near the chairs, while Ino and Choji were passed out from the Genjutsu.
"The Sand and Sound have allied themselves and are invading, Sakura," Kakashi said, as he defended his students. "It looks like they had been planning this for a while, and were waiting on Gaara to transform," Kakashi said as he narrowed his gaze. "Which means he's key to the invasion," he said while Naruto looked out into the chaos.
"Crap this is not good…Why the hell is the Sand and Sound invading us!? Wait…" Naruto said as he turned to Gaara. "Is he part of the invasion too? If that's the case…Gamabunta!" Naruto shouted as the toad looked up at him. "Please help me! We need to stop Gaara now!" he shouted.
"And why should I? This isn't my fight? Why should I risk my life fighting that demon?" Gamabunta said as Naruto glared and then got up right into his eye.
"Listen asshole! I don't have time for your attitude! My friends are in danger and I can't help them unless I take that guy down! You helped my dad years ago with the Nine-Tails, so I'm begging you to help me now! Please, they're the only thing I have close to a family!" he begged, as he gripped the toads' skin. "And I don't plan on losing any of them!" he said with the utmost determination as the Toad stared into the boy's eyes and he saw the familiar presence of his previous summoner before him.
"...Okay brat…" he said as Naruto looked up with surprise. "I'll help you in this fight, you are my underling after all…" he said as he drew his blade. "Now, let me show you what we toads can do!" he shouted as Naruto smiled before schooling his face into a serious expression and nodding.
"Thanks, Gamabunta, we just need to stop Gaara. I have a way that could suppress his Chakra. But it's too crowded in here, we need to take this battle somewhere else! Away from the civilians!" Naruto said as he hopped back onto the toad's head. But not before summoning a Shadow Clone. "Go find Kakashi-Sensei, tell him I'll try to lure Gaara away from here!" he commanded as the Naruto clone nodded.
"On it!" the Clone shouted and jumped down, while Naruto turned his attention back to Gaara. "Now, let's get him away from here," Naruto said as Gamabunta held up his blade in defence.
"And how do you suppose we do that!?" Gamabunta asked as Gaara had grown impatient as he roared.
"Uzumaki…Naruto! Face me!" he shouted as he raised his arm and sent a wave of sand at the two.
"I don't think that will be a problem, he's super pissed at me!" Naruto said as Gamambunta nodded.
"Fine by me! Hold on tight!" he shouted as Gamabunta lurched forward and then jumped, sending a huge gust of wind in his wake, as it nearly blew everyone off their feet. The Sand attack missed as it crashed into the dirt. Gambunta and Naruto soared over Gaara's head who turned his attention away to follow them.
"Come back here! Face me!" he shouted as he turned the massive body and began following them away from the Stadium.
"Crap this isn't good! Gaara's going off the reservations!" Kankuro shouted as Temari nodded as they watched the massive beast lumber away from the stadium.
"Let's find Baki-Sensei, he might know what to do!" she shouted as she and Kankuro jumped away. Meanwhile, Baki and Genma were facing each other as they clashed with their Kunai.
"So, the Sand has betrayed us," Genma said as Baki glared.
"This is necessary, our idiot Feudal Lord left us no choice!" he growled as they both jumped away.
"Baki!" he heard as Baki turned to see Kankuro and Temari. "Gaara's wandered off after the Uzumaki, what should we do!?" Temari asked as Baki kept his eyes on Genma.
"...Go after him, this operation is a complete disaster. The Uzumaki has proven to be more troublesome than expected. Find Gaara, and do the following. If he's managed to kill the Uzumaki, then try and lead Gaara to the village, if the Uzumaki has defeated him…then retrieve Gaara and leave, that is an order…" Baki told them as the two nodded.
"Understood, come on Temari…" Kankuro said as they jumped after their brother. Meanwhile, Shino had observed them but decided it was best to rendezvous with his sensei and inform her of the situation.
Earlier with Kakashi and the others, they were busy fighting off the Sand and Sound Ninja, while protecting the civilians.
"Asuma, Kurenai! Protect the civilians!" Kakashi ordered as he took down another with a Kunai to the neck.
"What about the Third?! We can't just leave him up there!" Kurenai as she fought off the Sound and Sand shinobi.
"With that barrier up, I doubt any of us are going to be of any use to him. Just focus on the enemy before us!" Asuma said as he sliced an enemy in half. "Besides, my old man isn't going to let it get in his way of protecting the village, it's his job after all…" Asuma said as he held up his blades. Suddenly they felt the wind from Gamabunta's jumping as some of the Leaf Shinobi used it to their advantage and turned the numbers against the enemy.
"Shit, Where's he going!?" Kiba yelled as he stood in front of Hinata to protect her, while she hid near the bleachers.
"Kakashi-Sensei!" they heard as they saw Naruto jumping towards them.
"Naruto? No, a Shadow Clone," Kakashi said as the clone avoided the sand ninja. "I'm guessing you're leading Gaara away from the stadium?" he asked as the clone nodded.
"Yeah, the real me wanted to let you know he's going to try and lure Gaara away. He thinks he's key to this invasion and figured it was best to lead him away…," the clone informed as he looked to see the retreating form of Gaara. "The guy is super pissed at us," he said as Kakashi nodded.
"I see, good work, but I don't think it's wise for him to be on his own. Sasuke and Sakura, go after the real Naruto. Gaara is more dangerous than I realized, get to him as fast as you can!" Kakashi ordered as Sakura and Sasuke nodded.
"I-I want to come too," Hinata said as she and Kiba ran up to them.
"Hinata," the Clone said as he looked at her, "You okay?" he asked as she nodded.
"I'm fine, but Naruto-Kun needs our help," she said as Kiba nodded.
"Yeah, Gaara is insane, but the idiot will need all the help he can get! No offence dude," Kiba said as Akamaru barked as the clone shrugged.
"Eh, none taken…dog breath," he muttered under his breath, while Kurenai appeared next to the Genin.
"Hinata, I'm sorry, but I can't let you go with them. You're still recuperating and you may just slow them down. I need you to stay here, and help protect the others, understand?" Kurenai said as Hinata wanted to argue before the Naruto clone placed a hand on her shoulder.
"No, she's right. Hinata, you still haven't fully recovered yet," the Naruto clone said as she looked at him. "I know you're strong, but right now the real me would just be worried about you if he found out you were in danger. So please, stay here where it's safe," he asked her as she nodded.
"I…okay…I will," she said as the Naruto clone nodded.
'Hold on, since when did Naruto and Hinata get so chummy?' Sakura asked as she watched the small exchange.
"Thanks, I'll see if I can make a few more clones. They won't be much, but they should be able to help protect the civilians. Sorry, but if I spread any more of my Chakra, I'm afraid I will dispel," the Clone said as Kakashi nodded.
"Understood, Sasuke, Sakura and Kiba will go after Naruto. While we stay here, and protect the civilians," Kakashi said as the genin nodded.
"I will come too," they heard Shino as he appeared. "It looks as though the siblings of Gaara are going after him as well, Naruto may not stand a chance against all three of them. I managed to place one of my bugs on them, so tracking them will be easy," he said as Kurenai and Kakashi nodded.
"Good thinking Shino. It's not wise to send a large group, but at the moment, you lot are safer in numbers," Kakashi said as he deflected a Kunai.
"...I will come as well," they heard as they looked behind them to see Neji and Tenten rushing over to them.
"Neji!" Hinata said as he hobbled slightly. "A-Are you okay?" she asked as Neji nodded.
"I'm fine, my injuries were healed by the medics, and Tenten got me out of the infirmary just as the invasion started. I would advise you to head back to the Hyuga Compound Lady Hinata, it's not safe for you," he advised as Kiba raised a brow.
"Since when do you care about her? You put her in the hospital in the first place!" Kiba accused, as he glared at the Branch Member.
"Can we not argue about this!? There's a war going on!" Tenten shouted as Neji nodded.
"No, it's fine. I'm aware of what I did, but…my battle with Naruto has…given me a new perspective…and I realize I was being childish, and ask for your forgiveness," Neji said as Hinata shook her head.
"I-It is okay Neji, but like Kiba said, nowhere is truly safe. The Hyuuga Compound is too far, and my father has already taken Hanabi back with him during the chaos. Besides, I am still a Kunoichi, I have to help," she said with a surprising determination in her voice that surprised him as well as Kurenai.
"And I'll look after her, I may be a clone, but I'm not going to let anyone hurt her, you have my word," the Naruto clone said as Neji nodded.
"You better, Uzumaki…or the next time we fight, I won't go easy on you," Neji said as the Clone smirked.
"Well then, if that's all sorted," Kakashi said as he cut his thumb, went through hand signs and placed his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" he shouted as a small puff of smoke appeared and a small pug wearing a blue jacket, tape around its right paw, and the leaf village headband.
"Hey Kakashi, what do you need?" the dog asked as most of them blinked.
"...is that, a dog?" Sakura asked as Kakashi nodded.
"This is Pakkun, one of my best trackers. He'll be able to locate Naruto through his scent," Kakashi informed as the pug sniffed the air.
"I've already got his scent…kid smells like Ramen noodles," Pakkun said as Sakura and Sasuke sighed.
"Yeah, that's Naruto," they both said, while the Naruto Clone pouted before Sasuke turned to Kakashi.
"If we find Naruto, what should we do?" he asked as Kakashi debated sending Sasuke out during the invasion, but right now Naruto was in a much tougher fight, and he couldn't be picky.
"...Just find Naruto and get him out of there, Gaara was far stronger than I realized. If he somehow managed to defeat Gaara, capture him. If not, then get him and yourselves somewhere safe. I will defer to your judgement," he ordered as Sasuke glared before nodding.
"Understood," he said before Pakkun wandered over to Shikamaru.
"Hey…" Pakkun said pointing at the prone Nara, "This guy's pretending to be knocked out," he pointed as Shikamaru pretended to not hear until Pakkun bit down on him.
"Ow! Damn it!" Shikamaru yelled as he pulled the pug off his leg.
"Shikamaru!? What the hell man! Why are you trying to pretend to be knocked out!?" Kiba shouted as Shikamaru pulled him off.
"Cause I didn't want to be attacked, this whole thing is a real drag. And Naruto can handle himself," he said before a Sound Shinobi appeared behind them ready to attack until he was slammed into the wall by Gai.
"F-Fast…" the dying Sound Shinobi said before Gai smirked.
"Not just fast…" Gai said before punching him through the wall. "I'm just as strong too, with the power of youth!" he grinned, as Kakashi appeared beside them as he pointed.
"Shikamaru, go with the team and find Naruto! We'll hold off the enemy!" Kakashi ordered as the team nodded and jumped out of the newly made hole, while Shikamaru sighed.
"What a drag," he said as he jumped after them. The Clone Naruto then looked up to the barrier, as he glared at it and thought about the Third Hokage.
"Old Man…" he said before he crossed his fingers. "Shadow Clone Jutsu," he said as a few more clones appeared. "Man, really stretching my Chakra at the moment. Okay, You guys help guard Hinata and the civilians, I'm going to check on the old man," he told the clones as they nodded and drew their Kunai knives.
"Work in teams, and don't get destroyed. We don't have a lot of Chakra left, but we need to help as much as we can," the clone told his fellow clones as they nodded. "Kakashi Sensei, I'm going to check on the Old man!" the Clone shouted as he jumped away.
"Wait, Naruto!" Kakashi shouted, before he had to block another Sand Shinobi's attack, Gai kicked another man to death.
"He'll be fine Kakashi, that one is just a clone after all, it's the others I'm worried about, do you think they'll be alright?" Gai asked as he defended his unconscious students and civilians. The Naruto clones stood around the unconscious Ino, Choji and Lee, while Hinata kept a watchful eye on them.
"We've got no choice, the best we can do now is hold off the enemy," Kakashi said as he and Gai stood back to back against the sand and sound forces.
Meanwhile, up in the Barrier, Sarutobi glared as the Kazekage ripped off his face, to reveal himself to be his former protegee, Orochimaru. Who looked out amongst the chaos of the invasion as a small tear came to his eye.
"Are you that happy seeing your old home burning like kindle on a fire…or…do you perhaps?" Sarutobi asked as Orochimaru glared before he brought the Kunai Knife closer to his neck, and plunged it into his hand.
"Ah…That's better…I was simply tired. I yawned too much and a tear came out of my eye," Orochimaru said with a smirk as he let go of the Third Hokage.
"I figured as much," Sarutobi said as he glared at his student. "So you've finally decided to come home…but I doubt this is based on vengeance for being denied the Hokage's seat. You are not the kind of man to act on those feelings, you have neither goals nor reason to do so," Sarutobi said as Orochimaru shrugged.
"Hmm…Maybe, perhaps I do have a goal in mind. Well, more to say that I enjoy watching things in motion. This peace has made the world so dreadfully dull. Like a windmill that's stopped moving, it isn't worth watching. However, it can be good to watch from time to time, when the wind finally does pick up. For me, I want to get the windmill spinning again…with the Wind that will start it..is the Destruction of the Hidden Leaf…" Orochimaru declared as Sarutobi glared. "Although I must say the invasion has gone a little…off track…who would've guessed the Nine-Tails Brat could've interrupted so much of my plan…but I will admit, he gave quite the show. More talented than I realized, but he's still no Sasuke, but to progress so much in only a month…if he weren't the target of a certain group, I would very much like to dissect him, find out what makes him tick…" he grinned as Sarutobi raised a brow at this.
'A certain group? What is he talking about? No, that's not important right now,' he decided as he threw off his robes to reveal his old Shinobi Armour. "You won't touch any of them! I will stop you here!" he declared as Orochimaru grinned.
"To fight you again, it brings back such Nostalgic Memories…" Orochimaru said he removed his guise as the Kazekage and grinned. The Four Sound Shinobi nodded as they erected barriers to protect themselves.
"I figured you wouldn't make it easy on me, I trained you too well for that," Sarutobi said as Orochimaru smirked.
"Well, I was your best student once. And even I must take precautions against the once feared 'God of Shinobi', even if you are a decrepit old man now…" Orochimaru smirked as they glared at each other.
The long-awaited battle between Master and Apprentice was about to begin.
Meanwhile - Deeper into the Forest
Naruto and Gamabunta landed in the middle of the forest, having drawn Gaara away from the village where he could keep him from causing any more damage. Gaara glared from behind the eyes of his sand construct as his entire being wanted to kill the Uzumaki.
"Uzumaki Naruto! Face me!" he roared as crashed through the forest, leaving a trail of destruction in his path.
"Man, he is pissed. Okay Gamabunta, this is where we hold him off. Do you think we can use Toad Oil and turn his sand to glass?" Naruto asked the Toad who shook his head.
"Not likely brat, there's too much sand and you don't have enough Chakra to repeat that Jutsu you used with Gama. The only way we take him down is if you take out his host, once he's down that walking body of his will crumble to dust." Gamabunta shouted as Naruto nodded.
"Okay, any suggestions on how we do that?" he asked as Gamabunta raised his sword.
"We cut our way through the sand, now hold on!" he said as he charged at the towering sand giant, his blade clashing against Gaara's arm as Gamabunta tried to cut through the sand, only managing to cut off his right arm. The gigantic blade crashed into the forest along with the arm, and it fell apart like loose sand. "Shit, damn sand is too tough!" he said as he lost his grip on his blade.
"Gamambunta, you okay!?" Naruto asked as Gamabunta nodded.
"I'm fine, but that sand of his is way too tough to cut, I lost my grip just trying to cut that arm off!" Gamabunta grumbled as Gaara suddenly emerged on the head of the Sand Construct. Gaara glared as he went through a hand sign and started chanting. "Oh boy, this is not good," Gamabunta said as Naruto looked down at the toad.
"Why, what's he doing?" he asked as Gamabunta narrowed his eyes.
"That kid, the rings around his eyes are a sign of the Insomnia caused by being the Jincuriki of the One-Tailed Tanuki, Shukaku. They are constantly tormented by Sand Demon, not letting them get a good night's sleep, because of the terror Shukaku inflicts upon his hosts. The lack of sleep makes the Jinchuriki unstable, and violent. But so long as the host is awake, the Tailed Beast is suppressed. Which I think is about to change…"
"Thank you for such a fight…as a reward…I will show you the Sand Spirits' true power!" Gaara declared as he cast the Jutsu. "Ninja Art: Feigning Sleep!" he casts as his body goes limp and the One Tails Chakra circulates in his body. The sand construct's eyes became more lively as the Sand Tanuki took control.
"Yahoo! Free at last! Hahaha! It's been too damn long!" Shukaku cheered with glee at being in control after so long. Naruto and Gamabunta stared in horror as Shukaku looked at them and grinned.
This was going to be a long fight.
Meanwhile with the re-enforcement team
The team of Neji, Sakura, Sasuke, Kiba, Shino and Tenten rushed through the forest as they followed the trail of destruction left behind by Gaara when he chased after Naruto and his toad summon.
"So uh, any plan for when we catch up with them? I mean no offence, but you saw how big Gaara got, right? How the heck are we supposed to fight that!?" Kiba asked as they jumped from tree to tree.
"We're not supposed to fight Gaara, merely help Naruto get away from him. If by some miracle Naruto manages to beat Gaara, then our orders are to capture him and await further orders. However, if it's the opposite, then we just grab Naruto and find somewhere safe," Tenten said as Neji and Sasuke led the way.
"Still, you heard what Kakashi said, right? He called that form Gaara took, a 'Tailed Beast', what is a Tailed Beast?" Sakura asked as Shikamaru pondered that.
"I'm not sure, I've never heard that before, but that toad said he had faced one Thirteen years ago, that was the same day the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked the village, so maybe there's some connection to that," Shikamaru said as Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
"But what does that have to do with Naruto and Gaara?" Kiba asked as Shikamaru pondered. He had some ideas, but none of them he could confirm unless he talked to a higher-ranking Shinobi or Naruto and he figured neither of them would be willing to spill the beans.
"It doesn't matter, right now we just need to get to Naruto and help him get away from Gaara, assuming he isn't dead. Neji, can you use your Byakugan to see ahead of us?" Shikamaru asked as Neji nodded.
"Byakugan!" he activated his doujutsu as he scouted ahead. "I see the Sand Ninja from the exam, they're ahead of us, but I don't think they've noticed us yet…I also see, yes, I see Naruto…" he said as he saw the battle ahead of him.
"How's he doing?" Sasuke asked as Neji's eyes widened as Gaara's physical body went limp and red chakra filled his coils, taking the form of Shukaku's face as it roared at him.
'W-What is that!?' Neji was stunned at the sight.
"Hey, what's happening!?" Kiba asked as he shook his head.
"I…I don't know…they're still battling, but it looks like something else is happening inside Gaara. And those Sand Ninjas are ahead of us, we need to speed up!" Neji said as they nodded before Pakkun sniffed the air.
"We've also got another problem, we've got enemy Shinobi tailing us!" Pakkun said as their eyes widened. Kiba and Akamaru sniffed the air as they nodded.
"Yeah, I smell it too, but I can't make out the exact number yet," Kiba said as they dashed through the trees.
"How many?" Sasuke asked as Pakkun sniffed the air.
"I smell two squads, consisting of eight…no…make that nine enemy shinobi, they're coming after us!" Pakkun informed them.
"Shit, they must be trying to stop us!" Kiba growled in annoyance,
"Or they're just hunting down any shinobi, regardless of rank. It doesn't mean anything to them, they want to wipe out the entire Leaf Village. Men, women and children…this is a war after all," Shikamaru said as their eyes widened.
"Then we should throw them off our trail, or set up an ambush. We know these woods like the back of our hand, we can take them by surprise," Tenten suggested as Pakkun shook his head.
"That won't work, these enemy shinobi are subordinates of Orochimaru, who was once a former Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. Any secrets he knew he told his men, the geography of this land, key locations, he would've taught them how to read it," Pakkun explained.
"So, the only option we have is for some of us to stay behind and delay the enemy, by acting as a decoy…" Shino said as all of them looked at each other. "Question is, who should we leave behind?"
"I will stay, I can hold them off for as long as I can," Neji suggested as they moved through the trees.
"No, we need you to keep an eye out with your Byakugan. Kiba, Akamaru and Pakkun can sniff out the enemy, and Sasuke will need to help Naruto take down Gaara," Shikamaru said before he stopped, causing them all to stop. "I'll stay behind, the Shadow Possession Jutsu was made to hold off enemy forces after all, now get going," he said before Tenten stood beside him as well.
"Then I'll stay too, I don't have a lot of weapons with me. But the ones I do have might be useful to set up traps with if we can trick them," she suggested as she patted the scrolls she kept with her, as Shikamaru nodded.
"It will be risky, but it's all we got," he said before he turned back to the team. "Go, we'll hold them off," Shikamaru said as the team begrudgingly nodded.
"Fine, just…damn it! Don't die on us! Either of you!" Kiba shouted as he dashed off.
"Tenten…" Neji said as he looked back at his teammate. "Be careful," he said as she nodded.
"I will now go help Naruto," she said as he nodded and followed after them. Shikamaru then sighed as he scratched the back of his head.
"Man, this is not the life that I wanted…" he complained while Tenten rolled her eyes.
"Yeah well, it's the life we do have. Now come on, we don't have long. Any bright ideas?" she asked as he shrugged.
"A few, but you aren't going to like them," he said as she smirked and pulled out one of her hidden scrolls.
"Just tell me what to do," she asked as he nodded, before looking back to the group heading towards Naruto's location.
'Be careful guys, and Naruto…don't get killed, you and I have a lot to talk about,' Shikamaru pleaded before he noticed the clouds above get darker. An ominous sign.
Meanwhile
Kankuro and Temari were speeding through the first as they sped towards Gaara's location. They were hesitant to do so, as they vividly remembered the last time Gaara' lost control. The terrifying creature he had become was forever ingrained in their memories. It was the reason they feared him.
"This whole invasion…I hate it…" Temari said as he jumped alongside her brother. "Why did Father have to make Gaara into a weapon? Why did he have to divide our family?" she asked as Kankuro kept silent. "I mean, what's the point of it all?"
"...I don't know…but what other choice do we have?" Kankuro asked as Temari grimaced. But before they could continue a swarm of bugs blocked their path and they stopped.
"That's as far as you go!" they heard as they snapped behind them to see Neji, Shino, Sasuke, Sakura and Kiba glaring at them. "Surrender, and we won't have to kill you," Shino ordered them as his bugs surrounded the pair.
"Damn it…they caught up!" Kankuro growled as he removed his puppet from his back. "Temari, I'll hold them off, you get to Gaara!" he ordered as he got ready to fight. Temari nodded as she drew out her fan and blew a section of the insects away, as she rushed away to escape.
"Damn it! We've got to go after her!" Kiba shouted as he and the others tried to follow, but Kankuro blocked them with his puppet.
"You ain't getting near her!" he shouted as a single blade missed Kiba and Shino's eyes widened.
"Be careful! His weapons have poison on them! One scratch could prove fatal!" Shino wanted as Sasuke and Neji glared.
"We can't waste any more time, two of us will have to keep him busy while the rest go after Naruto," Neji said as Shino nodded.
"I agree, Sasuke, Kiba, Neji, Sakura, go ahead. I will stay behind and keep him occupied. He and I still have a match to settle," Shino said as they nodded and attempted to leave.
"I said you're not going anywhere!" Kankuro shouted as he stretched his puppet's limbs towards Sasuke and Neji.
"Fang Over Fang!" Kiba shouted as he deflected the arms with his technique, being careful not to get scratched by the poison, while Kiba stood between Kankuro and the others. "I'll stay with Shino, we stand a better chance together. Now go, we'll hold him off!" Kiba said as Neji and Sasuke nodded and jumped away. Kankuro cursed as they ran away, while Kiba and Shino glared at the Puppet user.
"Well, this will be one heck of a fight, eh Shino?"
"Just be careful, and follow my lead," Shino said as Kankuro got his puppet, Karasu, ready as he prepared to fight for his life.
Meanwhile - Shikamaru and Tenten
The Sound Ninja followed the tracks as they were led deeper into the forest. "These kids are amateurs, they think just because they live here they can outsmart us," the Sound Ninja said as they followed the tracks. They stopped when they saw a trip wire as the head Sound Ninja Smirked. "Nice try kids, but we're not dumb enough to fall for a simple trip wire - gah!" he stopped as he and the rest of his men went stiff.
"You're right…you're not dumb enough to fall for a simple trip wire," Shikamaru said as he smirked. "But then again, that wasn't the point was it?" Shikamaru smirked as he held the group with his Shadow Possession Jutsu.
"Damn it! To think we got tricked by a kid! This was one of the Jutsu's Lord Orochimaru warned us about, the Nara Clans Shadow Binding Jutsu!" the Sound Ninja said as Shikamaru smirked.
"You guys really shouldn't underestimate us," Shikamaru said as he counted the numbers. 'I only count eight, which means the ninth one is still in hiding…' Shikamaru wagered as he looked around. 'Tenten's still in hiding, but I can't risk her trying to weed him out…so I'll have to do it instead, hopefully, she'll be able to locate him because I'm nearly out of Chakra, and weapons. Once the binding is free, we'll be outnumbered,' he thought as he subtly looked to the bushes behind him as Tenten nodded in hiding.
She got her weapon ready, as Shikamaru threw the Kunai and Shuriken at the Sound Ninja before they were deflected by their hidden ally.
'There!' Tenten spotted as she threw the Kunai knife at the man, who was forced to evade the Kunai.
"Damn brat! You think that will-!" he failed to see the ninja wire behind him as several Kunai traps were launched at him and impaled him in the back as he fell from the trees.
"Got him!" she said as the man's corpse fell to the floor, and Shikamaru nodded. But despite this victory, he knew that it wasn't enough and that the Jutsu was about to come to an end.
"Damn, it…Tenten…you need to get out of here, now…" he told her as she blinked in confusion.
"Why? You have them captured, I can take some more out if-!" she asked as Shikamaru shook his head.
"Yeah, but I'm nearly out of Chakra and you don't have a lot of weapons left. And my Jutsu is going to be released soon, and these guys know it. There are too many of them for both of us, but you have a better chance if you go," he told her as Tenten stared at the boy before she shook her head.
"I can't, if I left now, I'd never be able to forgive myself," she said as she drew her reserve weapons and brought out a sickle and chain. "Besides, even if I escape there's no guarantee that I'll be able to get far. So if we go down, we go down together," she said as Shikamaru sighed.
"Man, why do people have to be such a drag?" he asked as the Sound Ninja smirked as they prepared to kill the two brats just as the Shadow Jutsu released.
"Well now, any last words before we kill-gah!'' The Sound Ninja never got to finish as his head was lopped off his body. The rest barely had time to react, as they were all cut down faster than they could blink as Asuma Sarutobi stood in the centre of the ninja's pile.
"Geez, that was close huh? Glad I caught up with you," Asuma smirked as Shikamaru and Tenten's eyes widened.
"Asuma-Sensei!? But why are you?" Shikamaru asked as he grinned.
"Yeah, well I got a bit worried so I followed after you. Don't worry, this was all the pursuers, so take a moment and rest. You two did good," he told them as Shikamaru collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.
"Fine by me…" he said while Tenten walked up to the Jonin.
"But what about the others?" she asked as Asuma pointed in Naruto's direction.
"Kakashi, Kurenai and Gai are still looking after the others. And we sent others to back your friends up, don't worry, I'm sure they'll be fine," he told them as they took a moment to relax, while Asuma looked back in the direction of the Stadium.
'Old Man…he thought as he worried about his father.
Meanwhile - Kiba, Shino and Kankuro
Kiba, Akamaru and Shino glared at Kankuro as they squared off in the forest. Kankuro had his puppet fully out, as he moved it to protect him from the two shinobi.
'Damn, this will be a challenge. If it was one-on-one I could probably handle them, but two of them will be tough. Luckily the dog one is a bit of an idiot. He'll be the easier of the two to poison,' Kankuro observed as he kept Karasu close to him.
"Alright Shino, I hope you've got a plan because I can't get too close with my Gatsuga, because of that damn poison!" Kiba growled as he and Shino glared at their opponent.
"He may have great range, but I believe he has a weakness with close-quarters combat. Otherwise, he wouldn't have used the puppet during the preliminaries. If we can get past his puppet, we may be able to take him down. I will use my bugs to distract him, you and Akamaru can take him down," Shino advised as Kiba nodded.
"Copy…" he placed his hands together and shouted. "Beast Human Clone!" as Akamaru was transformed into an exact copy of Kiba. "Right, let's do this!" Kiba shouted as he and Akamaru rushed forward. Both drew Kunai and threw them at Kankuro, who used Karasu to block the Kunai. Shino sent out his bugs after Kankuro who was forced to jump back from the swarm, using Karasu to defend himself.
"Take this! Gatsuga!" Kiba shouted as he and Akamaru became swirling vortexes and flew straight towards Kankuro. The Puppet User cursed as he had to jump back from the attack, he used Karasu's hidden launcher to fire two poisoned Kunai from its mouth at Kiba and Akamaru, who had no choice but to dodge.
"Damn! That was close!" Kiba remarked as Kankuro brought Karasu closer to him, but he was then stopped by a wall of bugs as Shino appeared behind him, ready to ensnare him with his Kikaichu bugs.
"It's over…" Shino said as Kankuro smirked.
"Not quite," he said as Karasu's arm opened from the elbow and fired a projectile at the pair, which exploded and covered them in a cloud of thick purple smoke.
"Shit! What the fuck is this! It smells awful!" Kiba shouted as he tried to cover his mouth, while Akamaru did the same in human form.
"This smoke, Kiba! Get out, it's a poison smoke bomb!" Shino yelled as Kankuro took the opportunity to hide, while the smoke covered the three, as they jumped out of the smoke. "K-Kiba, did you inhale the smoke?"
"(cough)...yeah…I did…" Kiba replied as he felt a little woozy. "D-Damn it…even just a little is enough?" Kiba asked as he and Akamaru started to lose consciousness.
"J-Just stay awake…" Shino said before Karasu appeared behind them, "Look out!" He shouted as he pushed them out of the way, as Karasu beheaded Shino.
"Shino!" Kiba shouted, only it was revealed to be nothing but an Insect Clone.
'Damn! An Insect Clone!' Kankuro cursed from his hiding spot. 'He shouldn't even be able to move with that poison in his system!' he thought as he kept his eyes out for the bug user. 'Damn it, One of the flaws of a puppet, is that the puppet can't see the enemy unless I see them as well. This guy is more resilient than I thought. But the Canine user is in no shape to move, so if I target him, he'll have no choice but to come out and save his friend,' Kankuro thought as he deployed Karasu's blade and was prepared to stab Kiba and Akamaru…
Until he noticed Karasu wasn't moving.
'What!? Why isn't Karasu moving!? Wait…don't tell me!' he realized as swarms of bugs began to crawl out of the puppet's joints. Meanwhile, hanging off the side of the branch, Shino smirked under his collar.
"It's futile, your puppet can't move anymore. I planted the Beatles deep into the puppets joints, keeping you from controlling it." Shino said as the Beatles began to travel down the chakra threads.
'Shit! The bugs are already following the Chakra threads, shit! That's right, the Abarame Clan was known for their bug's ability to eat Chakra! If they follow my Chakra threads back to me, they'll reveal my location! Shit!' Kankuro realized as he cut the threads of his puppet, as the bugs were thrown off.
"He cut the threads himself!?" Shino realized as Kiba grunted, trying to get up.
"Shino…" Kiba said as he tried to move, but the poison was already through his entire body. The puppet's head was suddenly ejected as it flew off the main body. "Crap! He can still use that thing!?" Kiba shouted as Kankuro smirked.
'Did you think that just because I cut my threads the battle was over? Instantly reattaching threads is simple for a first-rate puppet user like me!' Kankuro smirked as Karasu's mouth opened and a long spike coated in poison rocketed towards them. 'There's enough poison on the tip to put you down once and for all! So long rookies!' Kankruo smirked as he commanded the head to Shino…
Only at the last minute, the head stopped just an inch or two from Shino's head.
"What!?" Kankuro shouted before noticing his Chakra was rapidly fading. "But how did-!" He noticed the small bugs on his hands as they spread all over his body.
"Did I forget to mention, back at the arena I managed to place one of my insects on you? It was how we were able to track you before. The benefit is that I knew where you were from the start, so my insects can devour your chakra…" Shino told him as Kankuro screamed with the bugs consuming him whole, losing his balance and falling off the tree.
"...D-Damn…the poison…c-can't…stay…awake…." Shino moaned as he collapsed next to the puppet. Kankuro himself was unable to move as all four of them were rendered incapable of continuing the fight.
'...I guess…the rest…is up to you…Naruto…' Shino thought as he passed out.
Meanwhile - Naruto and Gaara
Shukaku hollered with glee as he was finally free and in control of Gaara's body. "Hahahah! Finally! After so many years! I'm finally free! Yahoo!" Shukaku shouted as Naruto stared at the Tailed Beat.
"That's…the Shukaku?" Naruto asked as he was a little…surprised by its mannerism. "Not exactly what I expected?" he said as Gamabunta glared.
"Don't let this demeanour fool you, Shukaku is still a dangerous creature. The One-Tailed Beast is still powerful enough, we need to cancel the Jutsu and send his consciousness back into the seal!" Gamabunta said as Naruto nodded.
"Right!" he said as Shukaku turned his attention and grinned.
"Finally, after years of being sealed inside, I can finally do what I want! And the first thing I'm going to do is kill you!" Shukaku sucked in a huge amount of air as banged his stomach. "Wind Style: Air Bullet!" Shukakau fired a powerful blast of wind as Gamabunta had no choice but to jump out of its way.
"Damn, that was close!"
"Shit! Gamabunta look out!" Naruto shouted as Gamabunta's eyes widened as Shukaku sucked in another breath of air and fired another air bullet.
"Water Style: Watter Bullet!" Gamabunta counted as he fired a massive ball of water from his mouth it collided with the air bullet and caused the air to be drenched in rain. Temari, Neji, Sakura, Sasuke and Pakkun suddenly felt the effects as they got closer to the battle.
"What the hell!? Where did this storm come from!?" Sakura shouted as they took cover.
"This isn't a natural storm! This is from the Toad Boss and the Tailed Beast fighting!" Pakkun said as Sasuke looked up at the mini-storm.
"Naruto…what the hell kind of battle is this?" he asked as Temari looked up with shock.
"N-No way…this is impossible…how is he still alive!?" Temari asked as she watched the boy continue to fight. Gamabunta landed, then jumped again as Shukaku fired three air bullets, only to be countered by Gamabunta's two Water Bullets. However, the third one broke through and slammed into Gamabunta.
"Got ya, punk!" Shukaku shouted as Gamabunta crashed into the earth. However, he wasn't as hurt as Shukaku wanted. "Damn! I thought that would've been enough!"
"Gamabunta, are you okay!?" Naruto asked as the Toad Boss nodded.
"I'm fine…damn thing, it had a crazy amount of Chakra! I don't think I can take many of those!" Gamabunta said as Shukaku growled in annoyance.
"You handled that! Fine! Next time I'll use a Bijuu Bomb! See if you survive that!?" Shukaku shouted as Naruto raised a brow.
"What the heck's a Bijuu Bomb!?" Naruto shouted as Gamabunta cursed.
"Nothing good! It's an attack consisting of insane amounts of dense Chakra! Only Tailed Beasts can use them and one blast could level a mountain! We have to stop him before he uses one! Water Style: Water Bullet!" Gamabunta shouted as the water bullets collided with Shukaku and broke his concentration.
"Shit! You fuckers are going to pay for that!" Shukaku shouted as he fired several Air Bullets, as Gamabunta counted with his own Water Bullets.
"Then we got to wake Gaara up! Get me close!" Naruto shouted as Gamanunta dodged and fired another Water Bullet, who moved just out of the way. Only then did Gamabunta try to grab onto Shukaku, but due to the fact Toads didn't have claws or fangs, he couldn't get a grip.
"Damn! I can't get a grip on him! Brat, we have to use a combined Transformation Jutsu to transform into something with Claws or Fangs!" Gamabunta said as Naruto nodded.
"Sounds good!"
"However, I'm not particularly good with transformation, so I'll lend you my Chakra and you do the hand signs!" Gamabunta said as Naruto snapped to the toad.
"Huh!? Tell me at the last minute why don't ya!" Naruto shouted as Shukaku roared and began to channel chakra for a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Hurry up brat! We don't have a lot of time!" Gamabunta shouted as he charged at the Ichibi.
"O-Okay! Claws and fangs! Claws and fangs! Claws and fangs!" Naruto shouted as he tried to picture something with those features but he just kept coming up blank. However, at the last possible second, he remembered something as an image appeared in his mind.
The image of a Fox.
"Transformation Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as Gamabunta and Naruto were shrouded in smoke, just as Neji, Pakku and Sasuke arrived to see something insane. The image of the creature that had nearly destroyed Konoha thirteen years ago.
The Nine-Tailed Fox
"W-What the hell?" Temari shouted, as Sasuke, Sakura and Neji looked up just as stunned at the Nine-Tailed Fox, as Gamabunta lunged at the surprised Shukaku, who was momentarily stunned by the saw the image of his 'brother' lunging at him.
"K-Kurama!?" Shukakau yelled before Gamabunta grabbed hold of Shukaku and bit in with his new claws and fangs. "Fuck! You tricked me!" Shukaku yelled as Gamabunta dug in.
"Now brat!" Gamabunta yelled as the transformation was dispelled and Naruto lunged out from the smoke, his body soaring in the air as he raised back his fist, the Suppression Seal on his fist and shouted.
"Wake the hell up!" he screamed, as he slammed his fist into Gaara's face. The shock of the blow, and the Paper Suppression Seal now stuck to his face, was enough to awaken Gaara, as Shukaku cursed.
"No! No! Damn it! I was just out! This is fucking bullshit!" Shukaku screamed as he was pulled back into the seal. Gaara looked up with a glare at Naruto who skeeted back and looked back with a glare of his own.
'W-What is this!? I-I can't feel Shukaku's Chakra!?' He panicked as the Suppression Seal suppressed the One Tails Chakra. '`W-What is this seal?" he asked as he felt weaker. "...This guy…he interfered with my Jutsu!?" Gaara said as he was stunned by the mere act of someone stopping his Jutsu.
"Finally, he got the seal on. The Jutsu's been undone - hmm!" Gamabunta shouted as Gaara moved the sand body and pushed against Gamabunta. "Damn! Even with that seal, he's still fighting back!?" he shouted as Gaara glared at Naruto.
"Damn it! It wasn't enough! I got to take him down!" Naruto shouted as he rushed towards him. Only his foot was caught in the sand. "Shit!" Naruto said as the sand suddenly swarmed around him.
"Die! Uzumaki! Sand Coffin!" Gaara shouted as the sand rushed forward to crush him. Only to be blocked by Gamabunta's tongue that wrapped around Naruto.
"Phew, that was a close one!" Gamabunta said as he continued protecting Naruto and holding Gaara's sand construct back.
"Thanks, boss!" Naruto said before he noticed the sand crawling up his legs. "Shit! It's still coming! And I'm out of Chakra!" Naruto shouted as he struggled against the sand. Gamabunta was forced to retract his tongue, as Gaara pushed more with Shukaku's form.
"Uzumaki!" Gaara shouted as he glared down at Naruto. "I will kill you and prove my existence! I will never cease to exist! I will not die by the likes of you!" he shouted as Naruto glared and continued to fight against the sand.
"Crap! Crap! What do I do!? What do I-!" Naruto stopped struggling as he had an idea. "Really bad time to do this, but I have no choice!" Naruto said as he placed his hands together and closed his eyes.
'Hey! Nine Tails! Wake up! I need your chakra! Please! Just a little bit is all I need! Now!' Naruto shouted to the Fox inside as all was silent.
Until a small flicker of Red Chakra began to emerge within Naruto's core, and then quickly spread itself out before exploding off Naruto's body like an orange flame. Temari, Sasuke, and Neji looked up in awe as they saw red energy swirling at the top of Shukaku's head.
"W-What is that!?" Sakura asked as Neji's Byakugan eyes widened, as he saw the same red energy from Gaara was also resonating inside Naruto as it took on the form of a fox's head.
'T-This chakra! H-How long did he have that kind of power!' Neji watched, while Gaara's eyes widened as the Chakra seemed to swirl around him, like nine tails of energy. Sasuke glared as he wondered where Naruto got this kind of power.
'Naruto…how much stronger have you become?' he asked as he glared at his teammate.
"W-What the hell is he!?" Temari said as she watched the Red Chakra swirl around Naruto.
"W-What is this!?" Gaara asked bewildered as the Chakra was so intense, Naruto's headband was blown off and his hoodie was almost completely ripped open, save for the area held down by the Uzumaki Clan chest plate. Naruto looked up with a gare as the Nine-Tails Chakra flowed through and all around him, looking at his hand as he felt the power course through him.
'So this…is the Nine-Tails power?' he thought as he marvelled at the power he felt. "Okay, Gaara! Now we end this!" Naruto shouted as he suddenly leapt forward at insane speeds, breaking the sand bindings and appearing before Gaara and he reared back his fist.
"That's enough! You bastard!" Naruto shouted as Gaara had little time to stop him Naruto's fist, collided with his face, the force of the blow was enough to make him lose concentration, and the sand construct began to crumble apart.
"Heh, finally over…" Gamambunta smirked as the construct stopped moving, and the sand began to collapse. "I'm tired, I think I'll head back to Myoboku. The kid will be fine on his own…" he said before disappearing in an explosion of smoke.
"N-No way…he…he beat Gaara?" Temari said in disbelief as she watched her brother be defeated by Naruto.
"Neji, do you see Naruto?" Sakura asked as Neji nodded with his Byakugan.
"I see him…he's…he's falling!" He shouted as Naruto and Gaara came falling from the sky, as they were both practically nearly drained of their Chakra and down to their last bits of strength. They landed on the treetops, and Naruto knew he had little time left, as he glared at Gaara.
"Hey…" he said as he looked at Gaara from across the trees. "I'm pretty much out of chakra…and I get the feeling…so are you?" he said as Gaara panted heavily. "So let's end this…here and now…with one punch?" he asked as Gaara glared before nodding.
The giant sword of Gamabunta reflected their image as they saw themselves in each other. Two Jinchuriki, burdened with terrible power and monstrous creatures. Feared by everyone around them, and loathed for their very existence. But where one strived for himself, the other strived for others, as they saw their paths had diverged long ago…
And now it was time to see who was right
Gaara and Naruto leapt at each other as they reared back their fists, their eyes locked onto each other as they came sailing at each other, before they collided in a violent punch, as Naruto's arm struck Gaara square on the cheek, and sent them both falling to the ground. Both of them landed painfully on the ground, as they were down to their last breaths.
"Shit! They fell!" Neji yelled as Temari broke out of her stupor and dashed after her brother.
"No, quick we have to stop her!" Sakura said as Sasuke stared before nodding and following after her.
Gaara lay on the ground, his body aching and his Ckara was completely sealed, as the Suppression Seal on his face kept the One-Tails Chakra from leaking out. He had never experienced this before, this pain, this sense of defeat.
"H-How…How did I? How did I lose?" he asked as he looked up to the sky. "I…I fought for my existence…how…was it that I…lost?" he asked as he slowly looked over, expecting to see the boy just as tired and broken as him. But his eyes widened as Naruto slowly, and painfully, crawled his way towards Gaara. Despite the fall, the Chakra exhaustion and the hour of battle he had endured, he was still moving straight towards him.
And it terrified him.
"N-No…S-Stay back…get away from me!" Gaara shouted as Naruto continued to crawl forward with his chin. "Stay away from me! I don't want to die!" he shouted as Naruto only continued. His childhood flashed before his eyes, as he remembered the hate and disdain everyone had for him, and he imagined Gaara going through the same thing...
"...it hurts…doesn't it?" he asked as Gaara stared at him. "That pain…of being alone…it's unbearable, isn't it?" he said as Gaara looked into Naruto's eyes and saw not anger, but sadness and sympathy. "I know…what it's like…when everyone hates you for something you had no choice in…I'm like you and you're…like me…we both have monsters…sealed inside us…by our fathers…and if I'm honest…I completely understand…I hated them as well, for putting me through this life…of hatred and loneliness…" Naruto said as Gaara's eyes widened.
"However…there is a difference between us…your father, wanted a weapon…my father… believed in me to hold back a dangerous monster, because he loved me…and I've never even met him…and now I've met people…important people, and they mean everything to me now…and I will not let you hurt them! Even if I have to kill you myself!" he declared as Gaara just stared at him.
"...But why…why do you fight for others? Why don't you fight for yourself?" he asked as Naruto thought about the people close to him.
Iruka, the Third Hokage, the owners of Ichiraku Ramen, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, Pervy-Sage, Hinata and recently the love of his parents, who cheered him on as he smiled.
"It's because they saved me…from being alone…they accepted me, for who I was…not what others saw me as…and that's why…they are important to me…and why I will protect them…with my life!" he said as he glared at Gaara, with slit-like pupils, as small amounts of the Nine-Tails chakra leaked into him. Gaara stared at the boy before he looked up at the sky and recalled the words from his uncle.
"...Gaara...An Affectionate Heart, that gives all of itself for those they cherish and watches over them possess something amazing… that is…"
"...Love…" Gaara finished as he sighed. "...I see…so that's why, you're so strong?" Gaara said as Naruto stared at his fellow Jinchuriki.
"Naruto!" he suddenly heard as Sasuke, Sakura and Neji arrived. Temari arrived as well, and she stood in front of Gaara, to protect him. While Sakura ran over as she slid down to Naruto and looked over his injuries.
"Sakura-Chan, Sasuke, Neji? …what are you doing here?" Naruto asked as Sakura pulled out some medical tape from her pouch.
"Kakashi-Sensei sent us to help you, are you okay?" Sakura asked as Naruto nodded, albeit painfully as she wrapped up any areas that were bleeding.
"I'll tell you…when I see the X-Rays…" he joked as Sakura sighed.
"Naruto I swear, you may look different, but you are still as reckless as ever!" she said as Naruto grinned.
"Yeah…can't deny that…" he said as Saskue looked over and glared at Gaara and Temari, who unfurled her fan. "Sasuke…don't…" Naruto said as he looked back at him. "It's over…he's beaten…he won't cause any more trouble…" he said as Sasuke shook his head.
"Kakashi gave us orders, if you were beaten, we were ordered to get you away as fast as we can. But since you managed to beat Gaara, we have to capture him," Sasuke said as Neji stood beside him.
"He's right Naruto, he has to be taken in," Neji said before Kankuro landed beside Temari and got ready to attack them.
"You aren't going anywhere near him!" He said as he was ready to bring out Karasu, despite his injuries and low on Chakra.
"Damn, he must've gotten past Shino and Kiba!" Neji said as he slid back into a defensive stance while Saskue had his Sharingan activated, and ready to use the Chidori.
"...Kankuro…" Gaara said as Kankuro looked back at him. "It's over…there's no need…to fight…" he said as Temari and Kankuro stared in disbelief at their brother.
'What the heck, I've never seen Gaara like this before. What the heck happened here?' Kankuro asked himself as Temari stood between the leaf genin and her brothers.
"Look…it's clear Gaara can't fight anymore, nor does he want to…we failed…besides, in all our conditions, it would be useless to fight…" she said as Sasuke glared.
"But I can still fight…" Sasuke said as his Sharingan blazed.
"No…she's right…" Neji said as Sasuke looked back at him. "Even though you can fight, with Naruto's current condition, and Sakura's lack of combat experience, it would be unwise to fight them. And if I'm honest, I'm not back to full strength myself. It's best we just retreat and get Naruto somewhere safe…sometimes the best thing to know is when a fight is over…" Neji advised as Sasuke looked at the injured Naruto and the pleading look in Sakura's eyes as he relented.
"...Fine…" Sasuke said as his Sharingan deactivated. "Leave, but don't make us regret it…" he said as they nodded and Kankuro helped Gaara up, while Sakura and Neji did the same for Naruto.
"...Uzumaki…Naruto…" he said as Naruto looked at him. "...thank you…" he said as Naruto stared before grinning.
"Hey…no problem…" he said as Kankuro and Temari shared a confused glance before they jumped away. While they were jumping away, Gaara thought about the strange boy, as he thought about the possibility of being like him. To have those that love and cherish you. He didn't know if it was possible, but looking to his side, he knew where to start.
"...Kankuro…Temari…" he said as they looked at him. "I'm …sorry… for everything…" he said as they blinked in surprise.
"D-Don't worry about it!" Kankuro said, not sure how he felt. But he didn't hate it. Just caught off guard. Temari looked back as she seemed to almost smile.
'Thank you…Naruto Uzumaki…' she thought as they dashed away. The battle between the two Jinchuriki had come to an end, and with it brought light to one's darkness. Forming a bond of friendship that would last a lifetime. But the battle for Konoha was not over yet, and an old Monkey had a few tricks left up his sleeve.
And Scene. Well here is Chapter XIII of the Journal of Hope. This invasion Chapter was so long, I had to split it in two. The first half focuses on Naruto, Gaara, an alternate fight with Kankuro and Shino with Kiba. A different strategy with Shikamaru and Tenten, and some of the anime scenes that don't line up. Also, I know people will say 'Shukaku never said Kurama's name'. Well at the time, the author Masashi Kishimoto, hadn't thought of it yet. Shukaku wasn't even a tailed beast originally, just a demon. So I made changes to fit the canonical story. That is part of my plan to get Naruto and Kurama to be more buddies earlier on. There's still a lot of tension and hate between them so nothing so early on, but the start of respect.
Now, if I did this right, the next chapter will be posted….right now! So go off and enjoy the next exciting instalment in…
Chapter XIV: Invasion Part II