Takeshi skidded away, destroying a group of trees in his wake and not even noticing. His eyes narrowed as he clutched his blade tightly. "His body is denser than I had thought. I nearly lost the grip of my blade," he said as he put the katana back in its sheath. "We'll have to be more careful now. This should be provocation enough for him to let Shukaku out. Get ready, Naruto!"
"Yeah!" Naruto nodded and braced himself. He carefully watched Gaara as he slowly reattached his arm. Once he had done so, he turned his head towards them.
"Interesting," he rumbled, causing both Takeshi and Naruto to tense, "HOW INTERESTING, UZUMAKI NARUTO!"
They watched as Gaara came out of the giant tanuki's head in a ripple, his eyes completely white. Naruto supposed that was because his sight was in the tanuki's eyes. He was slumped, but slowly straightened up. Naruto was further on guard when he saw Gaara smiling a little. He knew what came next, but no matter how many times he saw Gaara smile, it was always unnerving.
"You are strong, Uzumaki," Gaara said, and Naruto could hear anticipation in his voice. "You have matched my every attack with yours, and were able to overpower me, if only for a little while. I HAVEN'T HAD THIS MUCH FUN IN ALL MY LIFE!"
The last shout caused Naruto to feel a bit sad inside. He couldn't help but reflect, that this was how he could have ended up. Gaara had been alienated most of his life. He could see that only Temari had attempted to make Gaara feel as close to family as possible, but he had ruthlessly pushed her away. They say that you can learn a lot about a person from fighting them, and it was true. Naruto had seen how Gaara fought; Gaara only fought for himself. He thought that he had no precious people of his own.
Well, Naruto was about to give him a smackdown for free, in addition to a reality check.
Gaara formed the ram seal. "As my gratitude towards you for keeping me entertained, I'll let you see the full power of the sand incarnation."
"Feigning sleep jutsu!"
For a moment, Gaara remained frozen in that pose, mad eyes glaring into Naruto's prepared ones. And then….he sagged, arms hanging limply as his head fell forward.
"Here we go, Takeshi-san," Naruto whispered to the fox, who hummed low in agreement.
XXXXXXX
Sasuke shivered with a little fear. This wasn't the first time he had watched his teammate take on a stronger opponent than any of them, while he just cowered in the background. Looking up at Gaara's form, he took back his words. Gaara had a lot more chakra than what he estimated. To have enough chakra to form a construct like that….he doubted even Naruto had that much chakra.
Temari watched fearfully as Naruto tackled Gaara at his strongest. As confident as Naruto seemed, she doubted he could scrape victory when Gaara let Shukaku out to fight. But Naruto looked so sure of his victory, like he knew exactly what to do, that Temari simply had to trust he knew what he was doing. She couldn't bear to loose both Naruto and Gaara in the same day.
XXXXXXX
"YAHOO! FINALLY, I AM OUT AND FREE!" The one-tailed monster opened its enormous jaw, and the high, crazy voice surprised Naruto a bit. He had been imagining a voice similar to Kurama's.
Shukaku looked in front of him and cheered, coiling in preparation for an attack, "Oh! A guy for me to kill already! And it looks like you're related to that asshole kyuubi! I'll make mincemeat out of you!"
Naruto winced as Kurama roared in rage inside him. He really couldn't be sure if Shukaku was referring to him or Takeshi.
Probably Takeshi. You know, because of his tails.
Takeshi gave a challenging grin full of teeth. "Why don't you put those words to test! Let's see how far you can get!"
Shukaku slapped his large, bloated stomach. "FUUTON: RENKUDAN!"
A bullet of air so compressed and pressurized came shooting towards Takeshi, who surprised both Naruto and Shukaku when he deftly used one of his tails to smack away the air bullet at just the right angle. He just shifted its direction a bit, so instead of damaging the landscape, it went flying into the sky behind him.
"My turn," Takeshi grinned before performing three hand seals, ending on tiger. He took a deep breath, "Katon: Goen no jutsu!" (Fire style: Great Flame technique)
An enormous vortex of rapidly expanding flames expelled from his mouth and rushed towards Shukaku. The heat from the flames was so hot that even Naruto, who was standing behind the wall of fire felt it. The entire land of forest beneath the majestic flame was scorched to ashes. Naruto was willing to bet that the fire was hot enough to turn Shukaku's sand to glass.
Shukaku, as soon as he saw the herculean fire heading towards him, erected a huge wall of sand with his hand. He would have dodged it normally, but because of his huge bulk, he was slow to put himself to motion. It was better to have a hand turned to glass rather than any other part of his body.
The flames hit the wall of sand, and for a full five seconds, Takeshi kept pumping chakra into his fire, making it hotter in each second. When he finally released the jutsu, both Naruto and Takeshi grinned at the results.
XXXXXXX
Temari gaped in speechlessness as the wall that Shukaku had erected with his hand had completely melted into hot, molten liquid. The amount of firepower that summon seemed to have was completely absurd and ridiculous.
Sasuke was also dumbstruck at the new development. The heat from the summon's fire had been hot enough to be felt way over where they were standing. He had seen what had happened to the forest beneath it, and he almost felt bad for anything standing in front of it.
XXXXXXX
Shukaku winced as he saw his entire hand was now molten sand, which was slowly melting from the solid shape that he had formed it into. However, before he could do anything about it, he heard another shout.
"FUUTON: KAMIKAZE!" (Wind style: Divine Wind)
A huge amount of wind was expelled from Takeshi's mouth. It had no shape, it simply was wind blowing at great speeds. Since the sand construct was still melting, Shukaku didn't have enough time to detach himself from it. Takeshi took full advantage of it and chose to cool down the molten sand, transforming it into glass. Shukaku looked at his hand in disbelief. His whole right arm, that was still attached to his body, had become solid glass. It was rather surreal to see.
Takeshi laughed, "Make mincemeat out of me?! Take a look at yourself first!"
And with speed that even Naruto did not expect from him, he shot forward in three quick strides. Naruto was stunned just how quickly Takeshi was able move. However, his next choice of attack almost had Naruto jumping in joy.
Takeshi had reared back his fist and punched right at the strange-shaped, wall of glass. Shukaku had no choice but to block the punch with his now, wall of glass, formerly wall of sand. If he could get rid of the glass, he could form a new hand then. Then, he would kill this blasted fox.
The glass shattered like, well, glass. It shattered into pieces; the part of the arm that had become glass was almost up to his shoulder. So almost the entire arm shattered under the tremendous force of Takeshi's punch.
Shukaku was now visibly panicking. He swung his good left arm, claws outstretched to swipe Takeshi's head off, but Takeshi was quick to counter. Takeshi grabbed the left arm with his right, followed by grabbing the swinging tail that came from Shukaku's right. Takeshi held them in a strong grip, not allowing Shukaku any chance to attack.
Well, if you don't count the regenerating arm and the purple ball of no doubt, highly destructive chakra that was forming in front of Shukaku's mouth, aimed right onto Takeshi's alarmed face.
"DO IT NOW, NARUTO! YOU REALLY DON'T WANT TO BE AT THE OTHER END OF THAT THING!"
Takeshi's warning had a high amount of urgency in it, and Naruto did not want to find out what that ball of chakra did, so he didn't hesitate to act. He directed his chakra into his legs and jumped high. With a grunt, he threw the kunai downwards, aiming it so it lodged right in front of an asleep Gaara.
As expected, Gaara's sand came up to catch the kunai, but it was of no consequence. Naruto flashed right in front of Gaara, already in motion of an attack. He caught Gaara's jaw in an earth shattering right hook, which had so much force behind it that it not only sent Gaara leaning towards his own right, but also knocked a tooth out of his mouth.
"WAKE THE FUCK UP!"
The punch sent waves of pain to Gaara's brain, forcing him to wake up. His eyes flew open in agony, just as Naruto sensed the big ball of chakra harmlessly dispelling behind him. Shukaku's yell soon followed, "NO! I JUST CAME OUT!"
Gaara was now wide awake, but Naruto gave him no chance to attack him with his sand. He used his left and to roughly grab Gaara by his throat, bringing his face level to his. His fingertips of the right hand lit up in the Gogyo Fuin (Five Elements seal) for the third time in the day. He slapped them right onto Gaara's exposed stomach, the usage of chakra making his seal visible.
Gaara gasped as all the breath left him, and he momentarily became unconscious. Naruto had successfully managed to cut Shukaku off from Gaara's conscious. The sand form beneath them began to crumble, and just in seconds, the entire body of sand collapsed, making them plummet to earth.
Naruto and Gaara would have hit the ground with bone-breaking force, if Naruto hadn't managed to grab Gaara mid-air and flash to a kunai on the ground. He carefully set Gaara against a tree, and was slightly taken aback when Gaara started to stir.
He himself had needed a day to wake up when Orochimaru had slapped him with the same seal. Perhaps it was that due to Gaara's stronger connection to Shukaku, he already had large amounts of bijuu chakra in his system which helped him wake?
Naruto stood over Gaara as the redhead fully opened his eyes. Looking disoriented for a second, his eyes widened as he saw Naruto standing over him with an expressionless look on his face.
He tried to shift further into the tree. "No, stay away from me!" he cried weakly, far too weak to try and move his body. He watched with pure fear as Naruto knelt down.
Naruto softened the look on his face. "That pain…..of being alone, of your life not meaning anything to anyone…..I know that pain all too well, Gaara."
Gaara whispered in confusion, "H-How?"
Naruto's lips twisted into a sad smile, "Because we are alike. I also house a beast like yours."
Gaara's confused expression twisted into one of shock. "Then, for all those people, why….?"
Naruto put a hand on Gaara's tuft of hair, "Because I found people to care for, to protect…..who loved me and acknowledged my existence. Those people told me as many times I needed to hear….that they loved me. They told me that my purpose in this world was to protect. True power doesn't come from fighting for yourself. It comes when you have someone of your own to protect. Gaara," he ruffled the red hair, "You have people like that too. If you'd just give them a chance, they would accept you. If you want, I'll be your first friend!"
Gaara was unable to answer, just staring at Naruto with wide eyes. Naruto chuckled and removed his hand, standing up. They were here anyways.
Temari and Kankuro appeared just beside Gaara. The difference was that Kankuro was injured, and still on guard when standing in front of Naruto. He looked at Naruto with a wary expression, knowing that he stood no chance against a guy who still didn't look that exhausted after outright crushing Gaara.
Temari on the other hand, just stared at Naruto with wide eyes. He had delivered on his promise. He had stopped Gaara without killing him. And she was grateful to him for that. Naruto looked at her and winked.
"I promised you, didn't I?"
Temari smiled softly and nodded. She was grateful that Gaara hadn't been killed, along with the fact that Gaara hadn't managed to kill Naruto. She didn't know if she could ever repay Naruto for what he had done for her. A hand brushed against her leg, causing her to look down.
"Temari, Kankuro. That's enough, let's go home," Gaara ordered weakly. Kankuro gave a confused look to Temari, who just nodded to comply with the request. He picked Gaara up, supporting him with one hand around his waist and the other holding Gaara's over his shoulder.
"Kankuro," Temari said, causing the puppeteer to look at her, "Take Gaara and move. I'll catch up." She did not once break eye contact with Naruto.
Kankuro gave her a confused look, "But Temari-"
"Go, I said!"
Kankuro looked reluctant to leave her behind, but obeyed her nonetheless. He took to the trees and in a few moments, they were just a dot in the distance. No doubt, Kankuro would wait ahead for her to catch up, but he knew when Temari wanted him to be out of sight, and he wasn't stupid enough to disobey her.
Naruto just kept his hands in his pockets as Temari stepped closer. Somehow, he wasn't surprised at at all when Temari suddenly grabbed him in a tight hug, her hands going around his waist and her head buried in his chest.
"Thank you, thank you," she was sobbing in his chest. Naruto slowly wrapped his own arms around her shoulders. He kissed her head softly, stroking her hair.
"It's okay," he whispered. He really didn't know what else he could do.
Temari tightened her hold on him, "Why would you go so far for him?!"
Naruto breathed deeply, trying to decide what to say. "He and I….we're not much different. We both share a burden, and we both have been alone in our lives. Me not as much as him. I just couldn't bear to look at him like he was. He is what I would have been if I had no people of my own."
"He has people of his own! He has me and Kankuro!"
Naruto nodded sadly, "But he chose to push you away, while I accepted the few people I had in my life. It's still not too late, Temari. Just keep showing him what love truly means, and he will come to you. Give him another chance to accept."
Temari slowly looked up to him with tears glistening in her eyes. Naruto slowly removed his arms from her, stepping back. "You should go now. Konoha shinobi might be here any moment."
Temari pursed her lips, but nodded. She turned away, about to jump to the trees, but she hesitated.
Naruto waited for Temari to jump away, but she looked hesitating. "Temari-"
He never finished his sentence, for a pair of lips came to softly rest on his own. Naruto looked shocked only for a moment, but before he could wrap his arms around her, Temari separated and turned away, taking to the trees.
Naruto's hand came to rub on his lips, feeling the taste of her own. He smiled; there was something else in that kiss. Something that promised a better future.
Still smiling, he turned around, only to freeze on spotting Sasuke, who was carrying Sakura in a piggyback. Sasuke was looking extremely shocked and confused. He did not know what or how to make sense out of this. "What the hell was that?!"
Naruto panicked for a second, but then got a grip and replied, "A kiss, what else could it be?"
He turned around to go and gather his kunai, but Sasuke stopped him again. "No! I-I mean, why did she kiss you?!"
Naruto turned around with a frown, "I don't know what goes on in her head. But what the hell are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to take Sakura and head back to safety?"
This time, Sasuke surprised Naruto by looking abashed of all things. He muttered something unintelligible, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow. "Sorry, couldn't hear you. Come again?"
"I said I couldn't leave you behind, okay?" Sasuke snapped, a hint of red on his cheeks.
Naruto snorted and walked past the boy, "It's rare to see you worry about someone else. But don't worry about me. As long as you have that kunai with you, I can flash to you anytime."
Naruto suspected Sasuke had taken the kunai not so Naruto could flash to him, but to decipher the secret behind it. Sasuke wasn't an idiot; he obviously had noticed it in his fight with Gaara what he used the kunai for, and he wanted the jutsu for himself.
Too bad for him.
In his notes, Minato had written down that he had taken the jutsu to levels that were seemingly impossible. He had developed it so far that in fact, it almost became a sort of an artificial bloodline. A jutsu that could only be used by someone of his blood, that too counting in all the fuinjutsu processes that involved locking your chakra at each step.
Sasuke mentally flinched at that. He forgot to take into account that Naruto could sense all of his kunai. He had to divert the topic fast before Naruto asks him to give it back.
"Why did you let them go?"
That question caught Naruto's attention as he picked the last of the Hiraishin kunai scattered on the ground. He slowly turned to face Sasuke. He opened his mouth to explain why, but stopped at the sudden rush of chakra in his system, as well as memories. What the hell…..?
Sasuke watched curiously as Naruto's head snapped towards the direction of the stadium, a classic expression of "What the fuck" on his face. "What is it?"
Naruto turned to face Sasuke, a sense of urgency on his face that wasn't there before. "You need to get back to Kakashi, right now." He stepped forward, a hand outstretched, probably to send him to Kakashi.
Sasuke stepped back, "Whoa! You are not sending me back like that! Not until you tell me why!"
Naruto grit his teeth as more memories flowed into his mind. He did not have time for this! "I can't tell you right now because someone close to me is in danger. How about this…..I'll tell you once the invasion is over and you promise me, right now, that you won't tell a soul about this until I tell you so. Deal?"
Sasuke thought over it a bit and said, "Alright, but you better tel-"
He wasn't allowed to finish as Naruto put a hand on his forehead and forcefully sent him back to where Kakashi was. He might have finished the enemies in the stadium by now.
He flashed, and within ten seconds, he had gathered every kunai that had been scattered in the area. After inspecting the clearing for one last time, he flashed again.
Hold on jiji. I'm coming.