His Sharingan quickly scanned his surroundings. Hell had already broken loose with Sound and Sand ninja seemingly appearing out of nowhere. The civilians were being moved out of the arena by most of the genins. The remaining ninjas were fighting off the intruders. He turned back to Gaara who was half transformed and a few metres away from him. He wasn't going to let him go this time. He had a bone to pick with the Ichibi host. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Sakura who was fighting off three ninjas at once. He guessed she had placed them under a genjutsu, judging by their momentarily frozen states. He turned to look at Naruto who was making his way towards him. Well then, things were starting to go according to plan. Gaara laughed maniacally as he stared at him with blood lust. "I have to give my mother blood as a present for protecting me all these years. And I would love to see your entire village bathed in blood," he sneered venomously. Without waiting for a reply, the genin turned away and jumped out of the arena. Taking it as a challenge to a battle, Sasuke followed after him.
Sakura turned just in time to see Sasuke follow Gaara out of the arena. 'What is he doing?!' she shouted inwardly, panic starting to rise. In as much as he was strong, he couldn't take on Gaara. He couldn't take on a jinchuriki. If Gaara was as powerful as Naruto in the Forest Of Death when Orochimaru had almost killed her then he had a snowball's chance in hell against him. It still shook her to the bone that Naruto had such strong power within him. It was so unearthly. She had read about jinchurikis when she was in the library. Could he be a jinchuriki? She would look into that later. She caught sight of Naruto who was headed in the same direction that Gaara and Sasuke had left. Perhaps he was following them... Quickly putting her kunai in her weapons pouch, she followed after him. If they were going to defeat Gaara then they were going to do it together. The trio had taken to travelling by the trees, away from the village. Just as she jumped into a tree branch, she saw three giant snakes bulldoze their way past the main gate. She wondered whether or not she should go back and help or follow her boys. After a brief debate of about a second, she decided to follow after her boys. The village would defend itself. They weren't one of the most feared villages for nothing.
With a grim determination, she jumped tree after tree, intent on finding the three boys before things spiralled out of control.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" A large fireball made its way towards Gaara at an alarming rate. Sasuke followed closely behind it, intent of giving the jinchuriki a beating of a lifetime. Sand tendrils shot out speedily and tried to stop the fireball but immediately melted upon contact. A sand shield formed in front of Gaara at the last minute and it was strong enough to stop the fire but he did not notice the time traveller who had moved well past his defenses and was behind him, aiming a well-deserved kick at him. It connected with the back of his head, sending him careening forward but before he had moved far, Sasuke had shunshined in front of him and punched him squarely on the face. He was sure he felt some bones crack.
The jinchuriki crashed into a few trees behind him, his impact great enough to leave a large crater as his back connected with the ground. But he was quick to get up with a hysterical smile on his cracked face. 'The transformation will be complete soon,' Sasuke thought grimly as he watched the redhead regain his bearings. "You think you can defeat me?! Well, think again because you'll never be able to defeat me!" Gaara shouted twistedly. "And why is that?" the Uchiha asked lamely. Where was the dobe when he needed him the most? He was almost impatient. He didn't want to chit chat with the Sand ninja. "It's because of bonds, that's why. I don't have pathetic bonds to help me grow stronger. I've been doing quite well on my own," he said with a smirk. "Well, think again because most of us have been doing quite well, even better than you because those bonds," he said with added sarcasm at the last part. Gaara snorted, which was quite funny coming from his half transformed form. The Uchiha held back a laugh.
'Dobe, where are you?' he thought as he felt for his chakra signature which was still far away. Guess he had stall the jinchuriki for a bit. "I think I should make some things straight," he said, quietly activating his Mangekyo Sharingan. "You're not given power for destruction but to protect those you hold close to your heart," he said. "Power is only for protecting yourself!" Gaara shouted. "Besides, it's not like I have anyone special. Everyone fears me because of the monster inside me. They fear me because I cause destruction. So if it's destruction they want, then it's destruction they'll get!" he roared and dived for Sasuke. The dark-haired ninja took out a few kunai and hauled them at him, using a cloning jutsu on them thus creating several copies of the kunais. Gaara lashed out his transformed arm, batting away the kunais like mere flies. Sand shot out towards him and hekl created a Chidori in process, cutting through the sand with it.
Meeting him head on, the two genins became involved in a taijutsu. Hands laden with chakra, Sasuke traded blow for blow with the jinchuriki. He jumped back and sent a fireball to Gaara, hoping to diverge his attention meanwhile looking for an opening to get closer to him. He needed a conversation with the Ichibi before Naruto came and used Talk No Reverse Jutsu on Gaara. The name of the Jutsu was ridiculous though, he thought with a chuckle. He hoped to reduce the influence of Shukaku on the boy and somehow help the two get along just like Killer Bee with the Gyuubi and Yugito with the Nibi. In his previous timeline, Naruto had just started to get along with the Kyuubi before he was thrown back into the past. As Gaara swatted away the fireball, he shunshined in front of him, Mangekyo Sharingan active and ready. Gaara froze for a moment as Sasuke entered his mind.
"Ichibi."
"Huh, what are you doing here you pathetic Uchiha brat?!" the tanuki roared. He was standing in water which reached his ankles. The Ichibi was behind bars and growling with fury with a half conscious Gaara floating in front of the cage. "What do you want? Hoping to control me with the Sharingan?!" Shukaku shouted as his claws scrapped against the metal bars. "I've come here to talk. It's about your host," Sasuke said calmly. "What about him?! I don't care if the vermin dies or not. I'll probably be regenerated after a few years or so!" the tanuki sneered. "I want you to get along with him just like the Gyuubi and the Nibi with their jinchuriki," he said plainly.
The Ichibi looked at him deliriously before it broke down into laughter. The entire room rumbled with the sound. "Last time I checked, you don't make the rules. I do," Shukaku said with a sneer. "I'm not here to make a compromise, I'm ordering you to go along with him," the Uchiha said with a glare. "And if I refuse?" the one-tailed beast said sarcastically. Looking him directly in the eye, he pulled the tanuki in a Tsukuyomi genjutsu. It had the exact same setting as Itachi's, since it was actually his jutsu. Every thing was black and white, with a red sky. The Ichibi was chained to the ground. "I can do whatever I want with you. I can force you to obey me with the Sharingan as I have the power and ability to do so but I'm sure you don't want to be controlled," he said. Forming a largeTailed Beast Bomb in his hand, he released them towards the beast.
In reality, he wasn't able to make a Tailed Beast Bomb but since it was a genjutsu, he had all the power here. He increased the pain the Ichibi was going to feel. The tanuki roared in pain as he created more and more of the bombs and cast them towards the Ichibi. He had added more five clones to the illusion. This went on for the next five minutes "I think I've made myself clear. Thirty minutes from now, you'll be under the influence of my genjutsu for the next 72 hours, reliving this moment, getting bombarded by the Tailed Beast Bombs and many other things you don't like, you'll just have to see for yourself. By then, you'll have made your decision," he said as he pulled the genjutsu away. The Ichibi stared at him furiously. "Why you maggot?! I kill-"
He blinked his Sharingan back to it's normal state. It had only been a few seconds in the outside while he had the conversation with the Ichibi. Using the Mangekyo Sharingan had his chakra being sucked out of him, leaving him almost dry and he didn't have time to dodge the huge sand fist which came towards him. It sent him flying backwards as he fought to be conscious. However, his back didn't connect to the ground or any tree. Instead, he felt as though he had crashed into someone. The two of them landed on tree branch. "Dobe," he greeted as he gave him a once-over. "Teme," the blonde greeted back. "Are you okay?" Naruto asked concern evident in his voice. He nodded. "You're eyes are bleeding," he pointed out. "I know," he said as he fought the burning sensation behind his eyes.
"We have to stop him before he causes any more damage to the village. He going to transform into the Ichibi soon," the Uchiha said as he stared hard at the barely recognizable genin. More than half of his body was now Shukaku and only a small part remained of his original body. "Okay, what's the plan?" the blonde asked. Sasuke smirked. "Beat the living daylights out of him," he said, with a hint of wickedness. Naruto smirked in return.
He had used Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu and many pairs of his clones had hauled themselves towards the almost transformed Gaara with a Rasengan. He looked back to Sasuke who was crouching on a tree branch, his hand at his neck, breathing deeply and face grimacing in pain. 'The Curse Mark,' he thought. Sakura had told him about it and how Kakashi-sensei had tried to seal it to no avail. Gritting his teeth in anger, he turned back to Gaara who was finished destroying all of his clones. He was going to have to summon one of the Toads if things went way out of his league. "C'mon you punk! Already giving up?!" he taunted the redhead. "Too weak for the next Hokage of the Konoha?!" he said. "Shut up! I'll destroy both you and your pathetic village!" Gaara roared as he lunged towards him. "Not on my watch! I'll protect my village and my precious people!" he exclaimed as he jumped away from the tree, the genin crashing where he had been standing. "You'll never be able to protect all of them! Bonds make you weak, those bonds you have with your friends!" he said with a mean smile.
"You're wrong, bonds make you stronger. The desire to protect them, it makes you train hard and more powerful in order to protect them," Naruto said with a frown. "Oh really? Let's see how strong your bonds are," Gaara said seriously. He lunged again towards the jinchuriki and Naruto met him head on. Forming a Rasengan, he drove the jutsu into his stomach. But he immediately turned into sand. 'A sand clone?' he thought alarmed as he turned towards Sasuke just in time to see Gaara dive towards the distracted genin. He was kneeling on the tree branch, hand clasped around his neck and eyes snapped shut, unaware of the jinchuriki rushing towards him with an outstretched sand claw. "Sasuke! Move!" the blonde shouted desperately, hoping that somehow the teme would use his speed to move out of the way but his voice went unheard.
A flash of pink and Sakura appeared in front of Sasuke, kunai ready and poised towards Gaara. Gaara smirked at the gesture. 'Pathetic girl,' he thought as his clawed hand wrapped around her fiercely and pinned her to the tree behind her. Suddenly, the girl in front of him disappeared and a foot crashed into the back of his head. It wasn't enough to injure him but it disoriented him. He growled in anger. Why that weakling...
She had thrown the kunai at the tree beside Sasuke, moments before Gaara had lunged towards him. She saw him discretely create a sand clone without Naruto noticing. 'He's gonna go for Sasuke!' she thought as she looked at her pained teammate. Throwing the marked kunai to the tree, she made a jump towards her raven-haired teammate with a kunai. She arrived just in time before Sasuke had been clawed by the jinchuriki. She saw him smirk at her and she steeled herself. That was going to hurt, she thought. The sand claw crashed into her and pinned her to a tree. It left her wheezing for breath, ribs bruised and lungs slightly punctured. She moved her hand a bit, discovering she still had the freedom of movement. Forming a one handed sign before Gaara squeezed the life out of her, she substituted with the kunai and welcomed the fresh air that entered her burning lungs. She created a clone which kicked the back of Gaara's head whilst she wrapped her arms around Sasuke and jumped away from the tree with chakra laden feet, creating as much distance as possible between her and the jinchuriki.
She landed on the ground beside Naruto who had moved closer to them during the period. "Naruto," she greeted. He replied with a nod. She turned to Sasuke whom she had laid on the forest floor, only to find out he was out cold. 'Dammit,' the duo thought simultaneously. "Naruto, we should-" A loud roar and rumble echoed in the forest. Killing intent radiated in large waves and a large chakra signature filled out the entire area. They shared a look before Sakura placed Sasuke on her back and the two moved towards the sound to find a fully transformed Shukaku roaring and laughing maniacally. "I'm free! At last!"
Hello guys! Long time, no update. I'm done with this chapter. Hope you'll enjoy it. Exams are so tiring but what can you do? You just have to write. With genin level chakra, Sasuke can't use his Mangekyo Sharingan for a long time plus he had been battling before and used the Mangekyo for a long time, conversing with the Ichibi so he had to pass out. Anyways, reviews are still much appreciated. Continue reading the fanfic and don't forget to leave a comment.
Tozoonana
AfricanFire
