Tamako blinked, straining her ears as she gave Kaito a blank smile. "Sorry?"
The man shrugged hazardously, eyes looking into the fast distance, not even giving her eye contact as he spoke. "Yeah, I'm not able to make it to the Chunin Exams, could you cover me?"
Tamako facepalmed.
"Our Kazekage ordered us to carry out this invasion, you can't just say, I can't make it. " Was this guy serious?
Kaito narrowed his eyes, mouth strewn into an ugly frown. "Don't order me around, I'm your sensei." He sighed, shaking his head, "I've looked over your disrespect many times already. Just do me a favor, okay? I'll only be gone for the first 15 minutes." Without a moment's hesitation, he poofed away and left Tamako to deal with the mess herself.
No doubt with this guy's track record, he's probably meeting up with a fling. With a hint of anger, she stomped her feet like a child, her fingers gripping the air. She'd never like that guy.
Tamako flickered away from the roof at the hotel they were staying and appeared at the team's shared room. With a single kick that rattled the door loudly, she shouted, "Get up! Exam day!" With another kick to ensure the two were awake, she ninja jumped away to the stadium.
Today was the day. She blew hot air into her folded palms, heating them up. Clenching them, she crossed her arms and glared at the stadium.
It was time to Crush Konoha.
. . .
"Everyone, thank you very much for coming to Konohagakure's Chunin Exams. We will now begin the "Final round" matches for the ten who made it through the preliminaries." Hiruzen concentrated chakra to the throat for his voice to echo, allowing everyone to hear his voice.
The crowd thundered in excitement. Genma took his time to explain the rules, in which Tamako quickly skipped, favoring eyeing the competition and mentally jotting down their stats.
"So, the very first match is Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji. Just those two remain and the rest of you go to the waiting room."
The rest of the Genin were ushered towards the waiting room, separating Tamako with the rest of the Suna genin. With a quick nod she sent to Kankuro, she followed Sakura and Shikamaru to the opposite side of the arena.
She noted the blatant ANBU that filled the arena, not even concealing themselves as a show of power. Unfortunately, Kiba didn't share the same sentiment and immediately began to blab about the amount of ANBU patrolling the area.
Tamako took a seat at the bench, closing her eyes to meditate. Her chakra swirled around her belly, slowly spreading out throughout her system. In the corner, she felt a Chunin who kept watch on them. She memorized his signature, just in case.
With a sigh, she opened her eyes and watched the fight. It was a little hard to see since they were so far away but she got the gist of it. Neji's taijutsu was far superior than Naruto's, his understanding of Gentle First nearly genius, but he looked down on Naruto.
Tamako would too. The boy barely won by farting on Kiba.
She went back to meditation, but kept her ears wide open. Each shout, scream, and even the overindulgence of clan secrets was heard. In the end, Naruto won at the scrape of the barrel, holding his fist wide high with a massive grin on his face.
Haruno Vs. Aburame
Tamako didn't really have high expectations. Shino was an accomplished Shinobi. He was smart, and there weren't a lot of ways a civilian-born shinobi could counter his insects without having a large chakra-reserve to douse them.
The girl had a new outfit, much closer to the standard Jounin uniform with hints of her shades of red. No doubt Genma's work, if his smirk was any indication. The older man signaled start, and Sakura back-flipped a few distances back, pulling out two kunai for each hand in a reverse grip. With a single sign, she flickered behind Shino and maimed down.
Now, the Shunshin no Jutsu is officially a D-rank jutsu. Anyone could do it, but using it in practicality in battle was another story. The inertia of moving so fast caused many shinobi to lose balance and sight, and the combination of the two could kill you.
Shino wasn't expecting her to move so fast, but he was able to dodge just in time, sending a wave of insects towards her. They danced for a bit, with Sakura performing acrobatics to dodge, just barely dodging as she signed ram horse, then spewed out a high-viscosity chakra-infused water. Some insects dropped into the water, but most were able to swerve into the air to miss the brunt of it.
With the insects out of the way for the moment, she sent an array of senbon towards Shino, some trajectories off each other to aim at the Aburame at multiple angles. With no choice, Shino backflipped into the air where Sakura flickered to, both kunai's poised at the air.
With a kunai, Shino parried her stabs and kicked her away, landing on the ground softly. The girl maneuvered in midair, landing against the arena's wall with chakra coating her feet. While crouched horizontally against the wall, she signed a few times before patting her chest one single time. A sheen of water appeared around her body, coating the skin and her body.
Tamako whistled, now that was one way to buy time against Shino's chakra-eating beetles. With a quick glance at Genma, the older man was nearly grinning ear to ear, his senbon bobbing up and down from his teeth. No doubt his advice.
But even with these few jutsu's she's gotten patented down, how would she beat Shino? Her reserves are quite small and all she's done was buy some time, and she wasn't a fighter who could do long battles.
With a single nod, Sakura charged forward with senbon at her wake. Shino dodged and deflected a few, his hands waving to urge his insects to go. The game of cat and mouse began once again, with Sakura dodging just barely, and Shino reflecting each senbon. The fight was dragging on and Tamako was so confused on what the game plan was.
Sakura was smart, so surely she had some plan she cooked up with Genma.
Surely, right?
The battle continued, if you could call it that. It felt like two Academy students playing ninja, both were dodging as if one touch would end it all, and it might as well be true. With Shino's chakra-eating beetles, one touch would reduce Sakura's already small reserves to near exhaustion and Sakura's aim with senbon could render a limb useless.
With two more senbon, Shino launched into the air and beetles swarmed out of his jacket faster than before. Sakura threw herself onto the floor, just barely missing, fingers digging into the dirt as she uprooted herself with a stupid grin.
Just as Shino landed, he lifted a leg and froze. Mundane fights and repeated moves often let one forget their surroundings. Shino obviously didn't expect much from Sakura other than a chase, but he had forgotten about that suiton she had shot out earlier. It wasn't just some normal puddle that she disguised as an attack, but a high-viscosity, chakra rich puddle that nearly glued him to the ground.
With a quick flick, she sent out dozens of senbon that sunk into both knees, a few at the side of his thigh. Aburame didn't let her get the free shot so easily, taking out a kunai to deflect the ones aimed at his upper body.
With a final roar, she grabbed her kunai, both fisted in that reverse grip, and shot forward— and fell to the ground. Beetles crawled across the back of her jacket and she stabbed the ground to move forward.
It was hard to say who exactly won, with Shino's beetles gathering up her limbs, and Shino laying in the puddle after his legs gave out. The two were equally stuck. In real battle, Sakura would've been dead and Shino would be immobilized.
Genma obviously came to the same conclusion, the both had lost but one would live to tell the story.
"Match! Haruno Sakura is unable to continue! Aburame Shino wins!"
It wasn't a bad fight, no, not at all.
Her fingers automatically clenched her senbon as she thought, if Sakura was down for the count, who'll release the other genin from genjutsu to chase after Sasuke and the Sand Siblings?
Then she glanced at the arena, it was time for her and Kankuro to fight. If they fought, it would buy enough time for Sakura to regenerate some chakra back. Then she paused and smacked her forward, because Kankuro would give up anyways!
Just as she concluded, Kankuro shouted from his seat, "I give up!"
The crowd, hyped from the last battle let out a disappointed groan. Hopefully Sasuke's match would be long enough for the two to recuperate, and just in case, she opened her inventory. Scrolling past until she took out two water bottles and drugged them with a chakra tablet she dissolved. A single sip gave her a small status buff of increased CP regeneration for a few seconds.
[Item Created!]
[+2 Chakra-Rich Water]
Sakura was wheeled up and deposited next to her. With a heavy sigh, the pinkette flexed her fingers and nearly shouted when Ino grabbed her from behind, "What was that Forehead? You beat Shino!"
The girl sighed again, "He beat me, Ino-pig. I should apologize to Genma-sensei and the twins after this..." She groaned loudly, her hands covering her face.
Without a moment of hesitation, Tamako tapped the chilled drugged water bottle against Sakura's shoulder. The girl blinked, grabbing it with a pause. "For me?"
Tamako rolled her eyes, "No stupid, for your momma." She crossed her arms and sniffed, "It'll help you recover." Then she scanned the girl for any injuries, noting a bruise that wasn't quite healed. Well, she was alive, and that's a win. "Anyways, when's your good-looking teammate gonna arrive? Temari's pretty interested to see what he's got."
When she turned back towards the two girls, she was met with angry glare and puffed cheeks. "Sasuke-kun ours, got it? Not for Suna!" Ino declared, sticking her tongue out. "Just 'cuz you're a little pretty doesn't mean he'll stray away."
Tamako waved off the blonde, "Yeah yeah."
At that moment, Kakashi, and by extension Sasuke, appeared in a flashy shunshin, no doubt the Hatake used a little more chakra than usual to make the leaves fly crazily at their entrance. Gods, what losers.
Just barely did the boy arrive, even after his match was pushed back. Well, the Uchiha was getting special privilege because of how hyped it was. And Tamako could admit, she was interested too. Other than copying Lee's taijutsu and learning Kakashi's chidori, she was excited to see Gaara get thrown around like a misused doll.
How exciting!
With the two meeting at the center of the arena, Gaara began first, sand pouring out of his gourd as Sasuke observed calmly. Gaara's mental state has been decreasing since taking a pounding by Lee, and it reflected when the red-headed boy clutched his head, heaving as he whispered to himself.
Sakura's feet tapped against the ground, worriedly glancing back at Gaara and Sasuke before asking Tamako, "That guy, Gaara..." She trailed off.
"Yes?"
"Is he okay?"
Tamako glanced up, her eyebrows raised, "Does he look okay? Gaara is mentally deranged." She said flatly, watching as Ino's and Sakura's faces transform into pure horror.
"Then he shouldn't be allowed in the exams!"
Tamako shrugged, "I haven't met a sane killer in awhile. I think it's fine." She watched Gaara shudder, raising sand to deflect the shuriken before being sucker punched in the face by Sasuke. "Probably."
Sasuke has gotten faster than the last fight she saw him in, as fast as Lee if his stats indicated as such. Gaara was quickly sent tumbling away with a few kicks. Probably fed up at being treated like a doll, Gaara formed his ultimate defense, a complete and sealed sand shield around his body.
The only way to pierce that would be chidori, and Tamako knew exactly what would transpire right after chidori hits its mark. Silently, she stood up from her seat and slinked away, meeting up with Temari and Kankuro by the railings and gave them a short nod.
Temari quickly walked up to the younger girl, pointing at Gaara before whispering quietly, "How will he see our signal? That Uchiha drove him to—"
Tamako put a firm palm on her shoulder, "Calm down." She glanced at the battlefield, "He'll give us the signal." She tuned out both Kankuro's and Temari's argument and watched as Sasuke bent down, clutching his hand as the lightning chakra raced up his arm. With a final push against the wall, he quickly ran towards Gaara's defense and plunged his hand forward, dodging the sand spikes and landing its mark.
"My blood! No, my blood!" Gaara screamed, Ichibi's arm thrusted out of the ultimate defense and chased Sasuke back before slithering back. The sand defense crumbled away revealing Gaara clutching the under-side of his shoulder, bleeding.
"I knew it, he's wounded!" Temari clenched the railing.
And that was the signal.
Feather slowly drifted from the sky, and with her eyes feeling heavy, she formed a one-handed sign, "Kai." and the feeling quickly disappeared.
"Gaara!" Kankuro shouted, throwing himself past the railing alongside his sister.
"Stop it Gaara!" Temari pleaded, her hands rising up to hold him but freezing at his words.
"I'll kill you...!" He took a stepforward.
Kankuro quickly blocked his path, "There's no point fighting him any longer! Do not forget our mission!"
Gaara grabbed Kankuro's arm and threw it to the side, "Get out of the way!"
Sensing that the siblings weren't getting through Gaara's thick skull, Tamako jumped down and dove between the Siblings and Sasuke with both her arms out. She stared at Sasuke with a palm facing him. "Back off."
Sasuke grabbed his arm, his body moving into a defensive stanza, "What the hell is going on?
Before she could speak, Baki shunshin to Tamako, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Take Gaara. The plan is on and he is our trump card."
With a quick glance at Sasuke as well as Genma who also shunshin by Sasuke, she nodded, flickering next to the Siblings. "Kankuro, take Gaara. We move with Gaara in the center. Now!" At her command, they all retreated, jumping across the air and out of the Arena.
Each step against the large branches let out a pat sound, but that didn't distract Tamako a single bit. With an one-handed sign, she focused her chakra, feeling it net around and glide around equally and froze. "Sasuke is following us." She frowned, "No. Pursuers have increased, three or four."
Temari scoffed, "Kankuro, pick up the pace!"
"Yeah."
The silence was only filled with each step forward, and Sasuke was catching up. There was only so fast this group could go, with Gaara being completely motionless. She held out a fist to the side, stopping the group.
"Temari." She glanced at the girl, "Set up traps and stay behind."
Kankuro's head snaps towards Tamako, "Are you telling her to die!?"
"I won't die, Kankuro." Temari slams her fan down hard, shaking the tree. "I was thinking of the same thing. It won't be long until Uchiha catches up." She sinks her hand into her pouch, retrieving a spool of wire before stretching it out with her teeth. "I'll go say hello for a bit."
Tamako nods at the older girl before stepping towards Kankuro, "Let's go." Then to Temari, "Stay safe. Buy time."
Nodding, Temari gives one more glance to her brothers, and sets off. Immediately, both Kankuro and Tamako lunge forward, taking every bit of time Temari could get them. "We will see her again, Kankuro. Don't worry."
"You don't know that! For all we know, that Uchiha could be as bad as his godforsaken brother!"
With her fist clenched to her side she shouts back, "Don't say that!" Then she sighs, "Whatever happens, I take responsibility." Then glares, "Stupid Kaito hasn't been seen since this morning. Useless!" She shoots her fist forward, almost punching the air with anger she can't withhold. "Ugh! Temari will be fine, she's strong."
"Yeah I know."
The silence only lasted a few more seconds before massive explosions reverberated from behind them. Black smoke in the air, the trembling of the forest. "She'll be fine." She repeats, "She's not stupid enough to die." She says this to herself this time, she knows that canon Temari did the same thing. That canon Temari lives and-and—
A flash of metal and multiple red warning windows pop up,"I've finally caught up to you." Kunai sprang forward, and Tamako forced herself to stop in mid lunge, landing on the tree sideways before parrying the kunai with her own. "This is as far as you guys go."
That quick!?
She glances around for any sign of Temari.
That was too quick.
She slaps her hands to the ground, trying, feeling, for Temari. Alive, tired. Then she turns to Sasuke. He has sweat dripping down his chin. His hair is much longer, now that she's gotten a closer look at him. His outfit changed too, a black one with a standard kunai pouch. He heaves a little, "Don't run away like that."
Kankuro pants back, clearly tired from the fast-pace run with Gaara on his back. "Fine."
With the smallest bit of chakra, Tamako lunges forward right between the two. "Stop right there." With a skid, she pounces with a kunai in hand and is parried, sparks flying at contact. She narrows her eyes, her forehead almost touching his. "I've always wanted to test my skills against an Uchiha." Smirking, she pushes more strength that surprised Sasuke.
He's never seen her fight, only given brief explanations by Naruto and Sakura. With a hard look, he kicks her back, skidding into the branch as Tamako did the same. Crouched down, they look at each other for blind spots, equally glaring.
"Wait!"
Temari falls from the sky, landing crouched next to her brother. She's worn out, dirt covering her cheeks with blood dribbling down her mouth.
"Temari!? I thought you got creamed by him. So you're okay." Kankuro clutches his younger brother a tad tighter at the state of his older sister.
"Just about. Though, my distraction wasn't enough."
"No, we need every bit of time." Tamako responded, keeping an eye on the Uchiha. "Every single second is helpful for Gaara's recovery."
"Go, Kankuro, Tamako. I'll take him again."
Tamako scoffs, "At your state? You look like you're about to fall apart. Let me—"
Kankuro cuts her off by jumping forward, landing heavily on the same branch as her and takes out Karasuno. "You two go ahead with Gaara." He sends a final glare at the Uchiha. "I got him"
"What!?"
"You look like you're at your limit, and Tamako's the only one who can deal with him." He finally moves his attention to Sasuke whose hands were itching for a fight, "I don't need a hindrance. So, go!"
Temari eyes swish back and forth between each brother before resigning to Kankuro's words.
Wordlessly, Tamako picks up Gaara and shuffles him to her back. "Let's go."
And the two go, leaving Kankuro.
Tamako eyes Temari who is less than okay. Picking between brothers, starting a war with Konoha and even the silent treatment her father's been giving her the past month. Temari's never been one to like conflict, always wanting a stable family and watching her youngest brother go through more than she'd like to admit, makes her heart break. She's not soft though. "He'll be fine. His puppetry is only second to Chiyo-sama."
Temari's eyes harden, "I know." Then shell-shocked, "Someone is still following us!?"
Tamako forgot about Shino. He must be facing against Kankuro now. "Dammit, someone else is distracting Kankuro. Temari, pick up speed!" With a shout, Gaara stirs awake.
"Put me down, Tamako."
"Can you move?" Noticing the miniscule nod, Tamako sets the boy down carefully, watching him groan in pain, clutching his head. "Gaara, you need medical attention."
Temari quickly lowers herself, holding Gaara and taking out medicine. "Quickly, give it to him before he—"
"Temari..." Gaara rasps out, ".. go over there—" Faster than the two kunoichi could reach, he rails an arm into Temari, sending her flying across as if she were a sack of flour. With a flicker, Tamako catches the girl before she could hit the ground and puts her behind some leaves. The blonde's eyes flutter under her eyelids, her face scrunched in pain. Tamako doesn't know a lot of iryō ninjutsu, just enough to heal scrapes and cuts, so she settles Temari down in a way that doesn't hinder her chest.
Then, she turns to Gaara. He's panting, sweat dripping down her face.
"I don't know what you Suna bastards are scheming... but I'll stop you!" Sasuke's eyes glare down, "I'll ascertain your true identity!"
Immediately, the red-headed boy screams, clutching his head and falling to his knees. Cracks forming in his first layer of sand armor.
"Gaara!" Temari shouts, biting her lips at the shuffling of her ribs. "Stop, Gaara! Have you forgotten the mission!?" Temari shouted with pain in her voice.
"You who are strong...you who are called Uchiha... you who have friends...you who have a purpose... you who are like... me! By killing you, I will exist in this world as the one who destroyed all of that... I can truly experience life." Gaara rasped out before releasing a curling scream of pain.
Gaara's right arm started to bulge and rip his clothing, then completely change color, shape, and size.
"You're..!" Gaara wildly thrashes around in pain, his body contorting under the pressure of the Ichibi threatening to release, "..my prey!" He was half Ichibi, half human. His mind warped beyond control— this wasn't something Tamako was trained to do. She's twelve, what the hell is she supposed to do? Try sealing the Ichibi container?
Then blinked, right. That's my job description.
"Are you afraid, Uchiha Sasuke!?"
Tamako was afraid. No seriously, she's seen an out-of-control Gaara before. The buildings made of sand were knocked down that day. Her orphanage at the time barely made it out fully intact. And judging by Temari, she was going into a full-blown panic attack.
There was only one thing she could do.
With a flicker, she crouched parallel to Sasuke, holding a finger to her mouth. "Sh." She took a peek from cover, flinching when Gaara nearly saw her. "Sasuke, change of plans." She took out her last tanto from her inventory, brandishing it close to her body. "We must work together to take down Gaara. He is beyond control."
"Come out, Uchiha Sasuke!"
The boy tch-ed, "How can I trust you?" He whispered back, "You guys are attacking us!"
"He attacked Temari. He's no longer thinking. No longer a Suna shinobi. I must take him down."
His eyes narrowed, then closed as if accepting. These were drastic times, and needed drastic measures. Then, he jumped into the air, backflipping to land on the branch before plunging forward.
With a kawarimi, he dodged a hand piercing his stomach before throwing out kunai in each knuckle. Gaara smirked, holding out his Ichibi arm and letting them meet its mark.
Using the distraction, Tamako shot forward, dashing behind Gaara and summoning hundreds of senbon. With a push of chakra, her homing beacon of a weapon found its target, all embedding its mark but Gaara did not flinch. "Ooh, Tamako... you too? Ahahaha!"
The kunai and senbon in his arm slowly were absorbed by the Ichibi, but Tamako already planned for that. With a single rat symbol and a pulse of chakra, her senbon exploded within his arm, taking out a massive chunk.
Gaara screamed ear-piercingly loud, alerting anyone nearby if they haven't felt his volatile chakra. He fell to his knees, "Why..?" Then his eyes flashed, drool sliding down his chin, "I won't let you go!"
Tamako dropped down the branches, her hands clenching each branch on the way to break her fall and landed next to Sasuke. "Do you trust me now?" She clenched her fist, ignoring the splinters and wiping the blood away. "I'm on your side."
With his regenerated arm, in a single swipe he took down four Hashirama trees like nothing, forcing the two to scatter.
This is ridiculous. What strength... if he land's a hit, it's over!
She didn't have a killer technique that could take down Gaara in one hit, no. She was a shinobi trained for long flights and to come out on top. She'll need to create a distraction for the Uchiha. She signed quickly, her hands cupping her mouth as her cheeks puffed up, "Suiton: Water Bullet Jutsu!" She spat out several chunks of bullets in fast rotation before wiping her cheek. They hit Gaara, leaving lesions on his body and dousing him in water. "Now, Sasuke!"
Loud chirping, bright blue light and that enormous amount of chakra responded to her shout, the boy was quick as lightning and shot through Gaara's arm, slicing the bit in half and creating electric shots all around Gaara's body.
She checked his HP, narrowing when it was still in the couple thousands. Shit.
Sasuke panted, backing up into a tree as Gaara's transformation got worse. After regenerating his arm twice, he even grew the Ichibi's tail.
"Run, Sasuke!" Tamako shouted, dodging Gaara's tail who whiplashed at her voice. Not even a second past before Gaara shot himself forward towards the Uchiha, ripping apart the tree before springing back forward for another round.
"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Gaara was hit dead-center, but wrapping himself in sand tic-ed off 0HP.
Oh god, I'm gonna die.
She sprung forward, grabbing Sasuke by the waist and using Gaara's body as a kickboard, launching herself into the air where she quickly latched onto a branch. She threw the Uchiha her last water bottle. "Save your chakra! We need your chidori. Quickly, drink that, it'll restore your chakra!" Then she blocked Gaara's vision of Sasuke with her body.
"What's the matter? Does your existence amount to only this much?" Gaara laughed, "The two of you... prodigies and beloved by the village. I'll be blunt, you are weak!"
"That's not true!" Tamako shouted, clenching her tanto. "Gaara, you are the weak one! Devoured by the Ichibi who you let control your consciousness."
Sasuke threw the empty water bottle to the side, eyes glaring at the red-headed boy. "I'll finish this." His arm grew bright, and that familiar chirping resumed.
"Wait a moment! I'll buy you time, regeneration doesn't work that fast!" Tamako argued, there's no way he has enough chakra!
"Shut up." And he sprung forward, his curse mark spreading across his face and enhancing the chidori to even higher potency. Quicker than she could blink, Gaara's transformed arm was taken out and Sasuke collapsed from chakra exhaustion.
She facepalmed in disbelief. Why don't boys listen to her!?
Gaara pounced but Tamako was quicker, this time grabbing Sasuke's body onto her back and fled, dodging the carnage of broken trees and nearly tripping when a chunk hit her. With a backflip and a tuck, she landed upside down onto another branch. Gasping for breath. "Sasuke, you're strong, not stupid! Listen to me. Save your chakra." Her hands gripped him tighter for extra support and reassurance, "I'll wear him down and you'll finish him. This is the only way. I don't know when back-up will arrive—"
She dove to the side, dodging Gaara's Ichibi tail. "Stop running away!" With his arm, he reached out and Tamako knew she was fucked. She couldn't form signs with her grip on Sasuke and she couldn't move her chakra fast enough to make a platform mid-air to get away.
Just before she was about to get the worst pound of her life, an orange blur separated the two, landing a deadly hit on Gaara's head.
Oh thank god. Back up!
Naruto landed crouched low, panting hard. Sakura landed beside the periwinkle haired girl, hand's accessing Sasuke's injuries.
"Eyes up, pinkie!" Tamako shouted, relinquishing her hold on the Uchiha to his teammate. "We still have a wild Ichibi to worry about!"
Naruto pointed at Gaara, "Who the hell is this guy? What's an Ichibi!?"
"It's Gaara!" She shouted back, falling to her knees with exhaustion catching up. Sasuke wasn't doing any better, leaning against Sakura with the curse mark running rampant. "You need to get a hold of yourself! The curse mark feeds on negative emotion." Then she snapped towards Sakura, "Do you know any Iryō ninjutsu?" The girl shakes, hands gripping the boy harder.
Gaara, without warning, hurls his arm towards Sasuke before Naruto could catch him. It was either Tamako or Sakura to save him. Time seemed to slow down as she thought about her choices. Does she really want to save him? She has a save file from a few hours ago if things go south. Her HP was almost at max and her CP was decently low.
With almost a sigh, she sprung forward, slamming Sakura and Sasuke to the side, "Shouton: Crystal Shield!" At her command, the vibrant crystal formed at her beckoning, slamming against the arm and into herself, launching herself into the tree with a massive dent
[-800 HP!]
This was a sucky day for her. Blood spurt from her, feeling her chest close in on itself. Maybe her lung collapsed. That's not good.
Her crystal warped at Gaara's strength, crumbling away at the sheer power that he put into that grip. She has to get out of here, fast. Before she gets crushed for real this time.
Then, Gaara unattached his arm to his hand before regrowing another one, leaving her pinned to the tree. His body warped more and more into the Ichibi.
She slowly crept out of the hold, leaving behind a crystal clone that could moan and complain loud enough to ensure that no one would notice she left. Silently, she hid above the foliage and watched as Naruto summoned a barrage of kage bunshin, using each as a stepping pad before shoving a kunai into Gaara's ass.
She smacked her forehead.
This guy is ridiculous! I'm going home!
Then, an explosion rang out, covering her bird's eye view. It settled quickly, and Gaara's tail was completely destroyed. Dumb luck? Probably.
She formed hand-signs before diving down, arms tucked before landing brutally on Gaara's massive back. Slamming her hands down, "Shouton: Crystal Encasement!" She pumped more chakra than usual that spread like a virus, completely encasing the Ichibi in her crystal restrain. She laughed, backflipping away and grouping with Team 7.
Then it cracked and her eyes widened. No one has broken through that before. Slowly, her crystal cage dissolved into particles. Gaara had coated his body in that volatile chakra before the encasement was complete, rendering her trap useless. Shit, she'll have to increase the speed later.
"Naruto." He glanced up.
"Sasuke." A glare.
"Sakura." The girl blinked.
Tamako pounded her fist together, spitting blood to the side. "Let's do this!"
At her shout, Naruto released chakra that disrupted the air, her hair wildly blowing and she could only grin in response. Damn Uzumaki and their massive chakra reserves. She grinned at Sasuke, "Is your chakra regenerating back now?"
He nodded.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Hundreds of Naruto flooded the forest, "The spiraling series of Uzumaki Naruto's Shinobi Handbook starts now!"
The boy flooded to the sky, throwing thousands of shuriken, following with a combo that threw Gaara into the air before finishing up with hundreds of punches that tossed the red-headed boy into the ground, creating his own crater.
"This time, I'll use both my legs..!"
Gaara unleashed a puff of smoke, revealing the true Ichibi's form.
"Oh no."
Sand encased Naruto's true body but just as quickly Gaara revealed the Ichibi's form, Naruto summoned a massive toad.
Tamako grabbed both Sasuke and Sakura using both arms, using chakra coated legs to climb on top of the toad and regrouping with Naruto.
She set them down, ignoring their protest of being moved without consent, "Hold on tight. I think the toad is about to move—!"
Gamabunta jumped forward, taking out his daggerand plunged it into the Ichibi's arm, slicing it off. Just from that leap alone changed the environment. "Watch closely guys. This is a battle between a tailed beast and one of the strongest summons in the Elemental Nations." She grinned with a dangerous look, "Powerful enough to change the landscape permanently"
Gaara unleashed his jutsu that awakened Shukaku, effectively going to sleep and letting the real Ichibi wreck havoc.
At Gumabunta's discretion, he leapt into the air, "Suiton: Water Bullet Jutsu!" A massive bullet, far greater and larger than her own was unleashed with a single spit.
Shukaku cackled, "Fuuton: Air Bullet Jutsu!"
The two hit mid air, scattering the water into a storm, drenching the land below them. That, is why she wanted to be up here rather than down there. Nothing is worse than getting wet, and that's saying a lot as a suiton user.
Gamabunta shot two more water bullets before being blasted by Bijuu Bomb. The impact almost threw Sakura offboard but with the combined force of Tamako's quick grip and Sasuke's almost desperate squeeze, she managed to focus enough chakra to glue herself onto the toad.
"Gamabunta!" Tamako shouted, leaning forward to meet the eyes of the large toad, "Transform into something with a grip! Fangs and claws! Hold him down!"
Gamabunta grinned, "I like the way you think, girl! Naruto!" He shouted, "I'm not good at transform, so you will have to be my will!"
"Ehhh!?"
"Time for a combined transformation!"
"Transform!"
Sasuke clenched the fur with both hands, a little green with all the movement. "K-kitsune?"
Tamako grinned and cackled harder, enjoying the ride. "Kyuubi!" She stood up and relied on her chakra to keep her aboard and eagle spread her arms, "Forward!"
She felt almost insane, the wind rushing past her ears and biting her eyes. She felt free.
Gamabunta, now in the form of Kurama, lunged forward, biting into Shukaku with his claws in deep.
"Now!" Tamako screamed, dashing forward with Team 7 quick on her feet. "Wake the fuck up!" She slammed her fist into Gaara's face, enjoying the way his entire upper-body flung with the impact. Naruto followed up with a kick to the shin.
Gaara was awake. And mad.
"Sand Coffin!"
Tamako, Sakura and Sasuke jumped into the air, just narrowly avoiding the sand but Naruto wasn't so lucky, his feet seeping into Shukaku's body. With Gamabunta's tongue, Naruto was unscathed, but stuck.
All three were plunging down, and Tamako knew once they landed onto Shukaku's flesh, he'll use Sand Burial on them. Without hesitation, she flickered under Sasuke and grabbed his feet, throwing him higher into the air. "Sakura, now!" At Tamako's shout, Sakura grabbed Sasuke by the scuff, and threw him with all her might, making him a homing beacon with chidori.
Tamako quickly caught Sakura in the air and used the last of her chakra to create a platform that nearly broke at their combined weight.
With an open palm, Sasuke unleashed the brunt of chidori into Gaara's forehead, shocking the boy into darkness. Shukaku began to crack and was reduced to sand, and plunging the rest straight towards the forest.
With Sakura in bridal hold, she smirked at the girl, "Not bad. Throwing your Sasuke like that."
Sakura went red, replaying the events in her head and almost strangling Tamako in the process, breaking her concentration and plunging the two straight down as well.
The two screamed, with Tamako shouting a HHhhg when she made contact against some foliage that mostly broke her fall.
With a groan, she releases Sakura and rolls to her side, falling through the forest but catching herself at the last moment by grabbing the last branch. Cracking her neck, she dropped to the floor in a low crouch, slowly walking towards Gaara who was still awake, despite taking a chidori to the face.
Naruto was beside him, doing what Naruto did best with his Talk-no-Jutsu.
Before she took another step forward, she dropped to the ground, completely out of chakra.
Sasuke quietly landed next to Naruto with Sakura at his tail. "This guy's chakra must have been depleted too." Then he glanced at Tamako. "Her's as well."
"What? No, go team? We took down the Ichibi all things considered. You weren't so bad yourself, Uchiha." She smirked, coughing into her fist. She agitated her lungs too much. She'll need to take a recovery item soon.
Kankuro and Temari dropped to the forest ground, using their bodies to protectively shield Gaara from Team 7, and by association, Tamako.
"I've had enough... let's stop here." Gaara whispered.
Kankuro gasped, his head snapping to his younger brother. "Gaara..."
At Temari's nod, Kankuro gathered Gaara into his arms and Temari grabbed Tamako by the scruff, dragging her across the forest ground before fully picking the girl up once she realized Tamako really did have no chakra left.
Without a word, they left, leaving Team 7 behind.
"Temari.. Kankuro... Tamako..." Gaara whispered quietly, drawing their attention. "Sorry.."
Kankuro gave Temari a look before responding, "D-don't worry about it..."
. . .
Because Suna technically invaded Konoha and indirectly caused the Third Hokage's death, Tamako and her team plus the Sand Siblings were detained during the funeral. Thankfully, the separate mission report done by Team 7 mostly cleared Tamako's name. She really didn't fight anyone from Konoha, if you ignore the small little clash she and Sasuke had, and helped detain the Ichibi.
So, after getting a little brain-fucked by a Yamanaka, because she's technically a war prisoner right now, they let her go.
Gaara on the contrarily, had his seal looked at by the Toad Sage but was saved from Yamanaka brain fucking due to his Jinchūriki status. They didn't want to mess anything up, especially with Shukaku already angry enough.
As for Temari and Kankuro, they too got the Yamanaka brain-fuckery, but since they hold a bit of political clout as the former Kazekage's children, they mostly got away with no punishment.
By now, everyone knew that Orochimaru infiltrated Suna and disguised himself as the Kazekage, and with the help of Konoha trackers, Suna found his body by the sand dunes, decayed for over a month.
That alone let Sunagakure get off nicely, but not without a slap on the wrist. Both sides were allied since the Third Shinobi War, so there was some history. It was a shame that multiple sides faced heavy casualties, Suna more so than Konoha, but there was no denying that both villages were left without a kage due to Orochimaru's scheme.
In technicality, Konoha Crush was largely unsuccessful and Suna, and by association, Sound, were defeated, therefore Konoha got much better terms.
In order to foster better relationships between the villages, who were already very very mad at each other because everyone lost someone they'd loved, they decided to look at the future. The young shinobi.
With joint-missions between the two villages, with mostly favoring Konoha, Suna had to let Konoha handpick their desired Suna genin and chunin to use.
Unfortunately for Suna, they did not have anyone powerful enough to take on the role of Kazekage, so the council decided to joint rule until then. On another bad note, because they lost the war and a lot of chunin and jounin, Tamako, Temari, Kankuro and Gaara were promoted as chunin.
Being sent out like a dog on countless solo missions to raise the village budget was incredibly tiring. Doing the job of a three-man cell with just herself was a lot to ask, but she managed.
That is how she found herself almost dead asleep by a dango stall back in Suna with Temari.
Tamako let out a groan, each movement giving out a crackling sound.
"They've been sending you on countless missions too, huh."
"You too Tema? What about your brothers?" Tamako replied quietly, munching slowly on her dango.
"It's the same for them. Gaara's has it especially bad." Temari slowly bit into her dango, cringing when a cut on her cheek was stretched out by the motion.
"Ugh, that reminds me, I have a long-term mission today in Yugakure, something about a massacre a couple months back. They want someone to investigate it. And low-and-behold, Suna's rate are as low as ever!" Tamako was tired, done and needed a soak now. This trip to Yugakure was her only chance—
Yugakure... massacre. She slowly connected the dots. Village Hidden in Hot Water. A massacre.
She froze. Hidan.
"Eh? Something wrong?" Temari poked her, Tamako never drops food.
She snapped at her words, shrugging the blond off. "Yeah, I'm just wondering when Konoha will force us on one of those joint missions. Can't say I hope Gaara isn't the unlucky one. He's still... adjusting."
Temari nodded at her words, opening her mouth before Tamako quickly cut her off with a slam of bills onto the table.
"Well, I gotta head out, mission calls! I'll see you next month." With a quick wave, the girl flickered to the exit, equipping her handy cape and pulled the hood to block out the harsh Suna sun and trekked on.
. . .
It took six days to finally arrive at Yugakure, and the village was as beautiful as the rumors went by. Its large open torii style gate was massive and painted a nice shade of green. There was a lack of natural defenses or structures, which adds up to the village's recent transformation of a military force to a vacation hotspot. She dug right into work.
She talked to the man who was the... kage? The governor of the village. He was a short but stocky man with a peculiar mustache. Ever since the transformation, the village hasn't had skilled enough shinobi to research the tragedy, moreso, their shinobi became the local police.
"Ah, Suna kunoichi, you have arrived."
"Yes Tamura-sama, I am Suna no Tamako." She bowed. "My expertise lies within capture and detainment. You'll find nobody better."
Tamura nodded before handing her a few files by his desk. "He was a former Yugakure shinobi. He goes by Hidan. Our forces are not strong enough to hold him back if he chooses to return. We need information."
She grabbed the dossier and read it carefully.
Name: Hidan (No family name)
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Birthday: April 2, ####
Blood Type: B
Height: 177.1 cm (5'8)
Weight: 56.8 kg (125 lbs)
Classification: S-Rank, Missing-Nin
Affiliation: ex-Yugakure, Unknown
The mission didn't require her to capture the man, thank god she'll probably die, but rather on info-gathering. She could handle that. With a low bow, she left the building and henged into an older version of herself. Or, probably what she'll look like in the future. Adjusting her clothes, she quickly set off to a nearby village.
Insane murderers like Hidan always have a predictable pattern. After committing the deed, they'll always stick around to look at the scene. Relish at the news of them. So no doubt, the man would've stayed in a nearby village, far enough, but close enough to hear the news.
She brought out a map, circling a radius around Yugakure before clicking each possible village. A total of fourteen. Not too bad.
Then, she set off at chunin speed, pacing herself before entering the seediest bar she could find. She sat by the high stools, ordering a warm bottle of sake.
"You new around here? I know almost everyone who comes here." The bartender said, cleaning a shot glass.
"Yeah, I'm just traveling, stopping here, and thought I might have a little fun tonight." She took a sip of the warm sake before coating her stomach and liver with chakra to metabolize the drink faster. Getting drunk on the job might kill her, and she's starting to get the hand of medical ninjutsu in the more subtle ways.
"I'm looking for a someone..."
He laughed. "Is that so?"
With a high pitched giggle that almost made her roll her eyes, she responded with a light voice "I'm traveling because a friend of mine disappeared, so I'm trying to track him down. You might know him." She pulled the picture from her haori.
The bartender rubbed his chin, his eyes glazing over the white hair and the magenta eyes. "Ah yes. I know him. Few months ago he appeared. Loud, volatile even. Nasty mouth that one." He placed down his glass before taking another one, wiping it clean.
"So you last saw him a few years ago?"
"No, he comes by every week on a Friday. A regular if you ask me. You might catch him."
Her heart pounded. No way. What was her luck? She just wanted to write a report like, oh yeah, your guy stopped by here once last month, here's some more information, bye! But no.
Just no.
The door was slammed wide open with a bang, and came inside Hidan himself, but he at least had the decorum in not wearing his Akatsuki cloak. Or perhaps he wasn't recruited just yet.
"Speak of the devil and he shall arrive," Tamako muttered, now drowning herself with the sake. In another unfortunate circumstance, Hidan takes a seat beside the girl.
"I'll take an umeshu." Hidan spoke, eyeing Tamako. "Haven't fucking seen you in this dump before. You new?"
Internally, Tamako was asking the gods what exactly her luck is. Hidan may have been portrayed as the vulgar dumbass, but he's a shinobi is all his right. He's established that Tamako wasn't a regular, not something local to the area and a little bit suspicious. He's probing for information, asking for details with an underlying threat. Why were shinobi so particular with things like this?
She'll play dumb. With a stupid grin and an equally stupid giggle, Tamako hooded her eyes and responded with all the femme fatale she had. "Yeah, I'm new here. Just stopping by…" Tamako trailed off, making a show by eyeing him up and down.
And, all things considered. With immediate death hanging over her shoulders, she can appreciate pretty things.
Hidan is at least nice to look at, as long as you tune out his mouth.
Raising her eyes teasingly, Tamako pointed a pinkie at his girly drink, "Umeshu? You don't strike me as someone who enjoys sweet things."
"Don't fucking judge me, they're delicious." He took the glass and finished in one gulp.
With liquid courage running through her veins, she said fuck it. Let's fuck with him!
"I see something else delicious too," Tamako smirked, grabbing his hand, "Let's talk for a bit." The man followed her outside, no doubt thinking of something else.
They stopped at an alleyway, her hands intertwined with his. Tilting her head, she spoke, "What's a missing-nin doing around these parts?"
He tensed, "How the fuck do you know about me?"
"Dossier." Tamako responded, leaning against the alleyway walls. "Your work at Yugakure is impressive. So is your religion."
He pulled out a retractable spike, "You know the Way of Jashin or some shit? The fuck you want?"
"No, but I do admire your work at Yugakure. You sacrificed humans to your god, and in return, you get immortality. Orally intaking your victim's blood before drawing out the Jashin symbol on the ground, and whatever happens to you, reflects on the victim. Am I correct?" She drolled on, fingers going up at every point and step before her eyes snapped up to meet his with a soft smile, her own body language revolting against the pure face she put on.
Hidan scoffed, spitting to the side and met Tamako's. "Me n' Kakazu killed everyone who crossed out paths, how the fuck do you know all about me?"
"I have my ways, but I don't wanna fight. Let's make a deal, tell your Leader-sama that I want to make a deal. It's a good deal, I promise. You want the Jinchūriki? I'll happily provide information about them. In favor, you stay out of my business."
"The hell you asking? By looking at you, you're a Shinobi yourself. We already got an inside everywhere, don't underestimate us. The hell you can bring to the table?" Hidan stalked forward with his fingers itching for a weapon, magenta eyes gleaming in the dark alleyway.
Sighing, she tilted her head side to side, cracking it to relieve tension, "There's a lot I can provide. Things that you might find important after your numbers wither to a few. If you're interested, send Deidara no Iwa to Uzu no Kuni in seven months time. I'm on your side, your group's intentions greatly intrigued me."
This was... a back-up plan. Lately, Suna ANBU has been following her movements right after Konoha Crush. They usually appear a day after her initial contact with the mission, so this was the only time she'll have this rare opportunity. What began as a gamble is starting to amp up into an event that might change the following years. Good or bad, only time will tell.
She needs to establish connections, and illegal ones are the best.
Before Hidan could get another curse word out, her chakra signature dwindled to the size of a mere rate and she shunshin away, literally leaving the man in the dust. Quick consecutive flickers ensure she's lost him but she continuously suppresses her Chakra just in case Kakazu was around. Probably not though, the two hated each other.
After arriving at Yugakure, she landed at her hotel room, plopping down onto the pillow. Her anxiety has her body shaking, but [Gamer's Mind] finally calming her down after a few minutes of breathing exercises.
She's done it!
. . .
In the morning, she writes her report and submits it to her client. It was a quick ordeal, but she gave her a verbal report as well, since people also like that.
"Hidan is apart of a terrorist group called Akatsuki. Their goal is still unknown, but their numbers include only S-Rank missing-nin. His abilities reveal a strange immortality jutsu that is activated at all times. He is also able to reflect damage on his body to his enemies."
His eyes widen at the word immortality, because let's be real. Everyone wants to be immortal. And he was angry.
"Why haven't you captured Hidan?" He growls lowly.
"When you first filed the mission, the details were as simple as info-gathering. Otherwise, this mission would be S-Rank, and you'll have to pay extra for the mission to be reassigned." She clapped her hands, "Saate. Now that I have gathered adequate information, this mission is now completed. This information will be relayed to Sunagakure for our own records. Hidan is a missing-nin now."
She saluted at the man and flickered away, not bothering to see if he had anymore to say. She needed a soak now.
. . .
Her arrival back at Suna was met with an overexcited Kankuro. Of course he would be, everyone knows who Tsuande is.
"Tamako! Konoha got a new Hokage!"
"Kankuro, everyone knows already, you're just late to the information. Senju Tsunade is now Hokage. It's been a couple weeks since that."
"Oh" He paused. "Well still! That old bat has got Chiyo-sama frazzled! You should check it out! She's been holed up by the Poison Division for the past few days." Then he blinked, "Oh right. The council requested your presence. I think it's another mission."
Tamako punched the ground, "I just got back!"
Kankuro shrugged.
Fuckers, all of them.
She trekked to the Kazekage building, not even taking a break to reach her apartment and bowed lowly at the elders. She crouched, head facing the ground and eyes trained to the floor.
"Tamako, this is an important mission. Konoha finally chosen the first joint-mission with Suna. It's an important one with a high-detail client. You are to escort and protect Fujikaze Yuki to the Land of Snow and accompany Hatake Kakashi and his Genin squad. Don't mess up."
"Yes!"
So this is the first movie. This'll be interesting.
Character Status
Name: Tamako
Class: The Gamer
Age: 12 Years Old
Title: Momma's Little Gem
Status: Excited. Normal
Level: 118
HP: 5,005- HP Regen: 3 per 5 seconds
CP: 5,105- CP Regen: 3 per 5 seconds
Strength: 133
Vitality: 134
Wisdom: 131
Intelligence: 130
Dexterity: 138
Agility: 135
Luck: 119
Fame/Infamy: +400
Sunagakure no Sato acknowledges you
Konohagakure Genin acknowledges you
Money: 73,290 ryo (7,329 USD)
Unspent Points: 151