The detour around the Shino and Kankuro fight took us some time. We circled about a kilometer and a half to the right. The forest was denser there, with better chances of passing unnoticed. We also had to slow down a lot for stealth. I think this is a record for tree-jumping. Even in the second exam stage, we mostly stuck to paths or skirted trees, avoiding dense patches. Lucky there's no rain today. After rain, those wet branches slip, and the risk of slipping on a pull or landing on a thin branch skyrockets.
Even with ninja training, you'd probably group and land fine if you slipped or fell, but it's no fun.
Finally, Pakkun let us speed up, and we returned to our previous pace.
"Attention! Sasuke's stopped—looks like a fight's going on there. I smell two scents near him: a girl and..."
"Huh? Why'd you go quiet?" I asked.
"It's... I... I'm not sure..." Pakkun said, eyes wide—if that's even possible for a pug. "The second scent near Sasuke is definitely inhuman. I've never smelled anything like it..."
"Tch... Got it," I replied.
"Huh? Inhuman? What does that mean? It should be Gaara—or did he summon something?" Sakura asked, puzzled.
"That's the thing..." the pug replied. "No new scents appeared, and there are still two near Sasuke. One of the scents changed..."
"I don't get it..."
"Who cares!" I cut Sakura off. "Focus on the mission Kakashi-sensei gave us. Our job is to get Sasuke out of there. Leave everything else to me. I'll handle the enemy; you get Sasuke out."
"You say it like pulling Sasuke from the fight will be easy, especially if the opponent's strong," Sakura replied.
"I'm not sure, but Sasuke seems in trouble. I smell a strong whiff of his blood," the pug said.
"Damn... How far to him?!" I asked.
"Close now, about a kilometer—less. Hey, Naruto!" Pakkun barked as I suddenly accelerated as fast as I could. Time to end this bullshit... Not because I suddenly wanted to save Sasuke from more beatings—no way. I was just sick of someone constantly causing me problems out of nowhere. Sasuke attracts assholes like a magnet.
Orochimaru wasn't enough... Now this freak with the inadequate tailed beast inside. No idea why, but my clone had decided not to hold back on Gaara. No Naruto therapy! This psycho had taken dozens of innocent lives, and even if most blame lay with his dumbass father, that didn't mean I had to fight for his soul too. If I kill her brother, things with Temari are toast—whatever, if not her, then someone else...
Looks like I see those two already.
Yeah, as usual, at the last second...
Using the Body Flicker Technique, I pushed off a tree with all my strength, flying about 50 meters before my body's normal weight returned. The speed made the air feel like a real obstacle, but it didn't stop me from slamming my right foot into the still-human side of his face full force. Couldn't call THAT a face.
The strike landed really well—he was flying at me too, ready to finish Sasuke. Not sure if Sasuke could've dodged that. Gaara flew back, and his bulk even snapped the thick branch he'd been on, sending him further down to crash on the ground from fifteen meters, by my rough estimate.
Quickly checking Sasuke, I was genuinely shocked. One question: How was he still conscious? He'd been brutally beaten. Looked like a pack of wild beasts had mauled him. A clump of black hair was torn out, skin scraped to the skull near his forehead from a blow. Almost his whole face was bloodied. Blood was everywhere... Worse than in the Land of Waves when Haku gave him that bloodletting. His field pants were shredded, body covered in several deep, still-bleeding gashes and smaller cuts. One wound looked like from a chisel... Fingers burned, knuckles on the other hand scraped to meat. Judging by how he clutched his torso, ribs too. Nose broken—no X-ray needed—and looks like Sasuke left his last baby teeth in this fight.
"N-Naruto..." he rasped. I wasn't planning to answer, and Gaara wasn't planning to lie there either. He came to in seconds and leaped up to a thick branch on the next tree. Slinging Sasuke's arm over my shoulder, I lifted his battered, bloody body and decided to move up a level and back a bit.
Gaara wasn't giving me the chance and caught me mid-air, thrusting his left mutated paw forward...
"Sand Shuriken!" Pieces of sharpened sand fired from his paw like bullets. Good thing one hand was free. Normally, I couldn't draw shuriken mid-flight, but I had partial Body Flicker. Despite his projectiles flying faster than normal shuriken, mine knocked them down.
Lucky...
I couldn't take penetrating hits now or I'd lose focus and dispel. Full-on fighting as a shadow clone is tricky...
I retreated to another branch back, while Gaara leaped over two to the one I'd just left and tried to sting me with his tail tip like a scorpion, going down on all fours. But either I'd rattled his head hard or he had another migraine burst—he missed badly, hitting the thick trunk of the neighboring tree.
"AAAA!!!" he screamed in pain, clutching his head with his still-human hand.
I seized the moment, bit my finger, formed seals, and slammed my palm down.
"Summoning Technique!" A third of the clone's chakra vanished instantly—I thought I'd dispel. With all the running, less than half remained. But now I could hold out guaranteed for a while, maybe even push him to Shukaku's final stage.
Two familiar toads appeared before me; their weight would've snapped branches, so they took positions on tree trunks.
Agni dangled slightly with his left paw grabbing a higher branch—his size let him reach. He held the halberd horizontal, right foot on the trunk, left lightly touching my branch, bending it a bit.
"Hm?" Agni grunted, spotting the transformed Gaara fifteen meters ahead.
"Tch..." blue Rudra clicked his tongue; in samurai armor, he clung sideways to the trunk like a normal toad, right above Sasuke.
"Circus casual day, Naruto? What's with your mo..." Agni started, eyeing Gaara.
"No time for jokes!" I snapped. "That guy's our enemy!"
"Fuck me, seriously?!" Agni turned to me. "I thought it was an owl!" he mocked. "Looks like holiday's come to our street too—no holding ba..."
"Idiot!" Rudra barked.
"Sand Shuriken!" Gaara apparently didn't like our chat and cut it short. But Agni was either faking nonchalance or could afford it. He spun his five-meter halberd furiously with one paw! The fan deflected all his shuriken.
"And you're not very polite, huh?!" Agni addressed Gaara, who shielded his paw from the halberd's wind.
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, landing between me and Sasuke. The pug landed on a small branch left. "Why'd you charge ahead like that and..." Then she saw transformed Gaara. "What is th..."
"Looks like my worst fears were confirmed..." the pug said. "That's Gaara." Sakura freaked, chilled to the bone. "Or rather, what he's become."
"Judging by the chakra, I'm not sure Naruto's summons can take this guy down, let alone Naruto himself..." Pakkun thought. "We need to distract him, grab wounded Sasuke, and get out!"
"Rudra, take Sasuke, Sakura, and Pakkun and fall back far. Cover them if needed?" The blue toad glanced and nodded.
"Farther back? Naruto, I can help and..." Sakura started, but I cut her off.
"You'll help a ton by doing what I say. Look... Sasuke's hurt—help him." She looked at Sasuke, shuddered again, then back at me.
"Remember I offered a toad ride?" I grinned. "Hope you won't refuse now?! Rudra!" I called again, eyes on Gaara, who was twitching badly—giving us prep time.
"Sorry, but could you pack up faster?!" Agni urged our retreat. "I'm about to turn this into fucking hell!" he yelled, positioning higher over us and spitting oil on his halberd shaft.
Damn... Looks like he's going all out.
Pakkun perched on Rudra's head, gripping with chakra in his paws too. Sakura grabbed Sasuke, who first tried protesting, but honestly, I ignored him. Problem magnet could fuck off.
"You! Why?!" Gaara wailed as Rudra scooped Sakura and Sasuke and leaped back sharply. "Why protect that trash?! You're strong—you should get they make you weak! Fight me one-on-one and we'll see who's worthy to live!"
"Tch..." Agni clicked. Gaara's speech clearly pissed him off.
"Agni, distract him with something big your style; I'll line up a weak-spot hit," I said, ignoring the asshole.
"That so?! Then show me your full damn power!" Gaara screamed, second arm transforming. "Prove you deserve to live!"
"Kendo Technique: Toad Fire Whirl!" Agni yelled, igniting his blade with a fiery spit and spinning furiously toward Gaara. Clashing thick branches, the shaft sheared them off—including Gaara's. Trying to grab something mid-air, he realized the whole patch was cleared, some branches burning. The slashing shaft grazed him, first lopping stone claws, then slashing both sand paws as he shielded his unchanged body. Gaara crashed down again, buried under severed wood and branches. I turned into one such stump, wrapping two explosive seals around a kunai hilt.
As the fire whirl ended, Gaara blasted the wood over him to splinters and, extending his paw with a yell, knocked the halberd from the toad's hands—then scorpion-stung Agni's chest with his tail, sending the five-meter toad flying ten meters back. Even after trying to deflect.
My chance.
Behind him, I released the transformation and jammed the kunai where his ass should be. Right under the tail.
"Hidden Leaf Village Secret Technique: Thousand Years of Pain!" He swung his tail to smash me, but remembering I was still a clone, I Body Flickered away.
"Boom!" I said, fingers in blade sign on the nearest stump.
However it sounds... His ass exploded.
Think I'm starting to get Deidara's art obsession...
***
"Damn Naruto! Krh..." Sasuke rasped, interrupting Sakura's wound treatment attempts and trying to stand. "I can still fight! Let go!" He yanked his arm from her grip. "His opponent's a damn monster! Alone, he can't..." The blue toad blocked his path with his five-meter body.
"Sorry, but I can't let you go die a dog's death, no matter how much you want," the toad said.
"Outta my way!" Sasuke hissed, wincing from rib pain.
"In that state, you can't budge me—so shut up and sit," Rudra said sternly, turning his face to Sasuke. "Boss ordered me to cover you, and I will, even if you're against it."
"Sasuke, we should listen to the toad. We should trust Naruto. How many times has he proven he can do more than we thought? Please, stop charging in and let me treat your wounds." Then, fifty meters ahead, the fire whirl started, felling trees.
"Agni's going full throttle right away... Hm..." the toad noted.
"Yeah, fuck you all! You don't get it!" Sasuke yelled, ignoring pain. "That guy's a freak! You haven't fought him—you don't know! Naruto'll lose alone."
"Alone?" the toad questioned. "You forget... Naruto's not alone. He's fighting as heir to the world's greatest shinobi and Mt. Myoboku's boss! All our power's with him! Think we'd side with a weakling?! Becoming boss on our mountain and inheriting the scroll is the greatest honor, falling to the strongest shinobi once a generation."
"Don't know any shinobi summoning toads..." Sasuke frowned.
"Heh... Need an example? Previous was the Fourth Hokage." At Rudra's words, Sakura and Sasuke's eyes widened.
"Why?! Why him of all people to help?! Damn!" Temari thought. When Gaara wound up mid-air to finish Sasuke, she squeezed her eyes shut and turned away—only hearing an atypical hit and fall did she look back and see Naruto blocking the attack.
He'd summoned those two toads she'd seen too. And he looked serious. "Does he think he can beat Gaara? Especially like this?! Naruto, run!" She leaped up to a vantage on a distant tree.
"Gods, I've never asked anything of you!" Temari screamed in her head, eyes shut, hands in prayer. "But if my wish means anything in this world, please... Naruto... Just distract him with the toads' attack, grab the Uchiha, and run far as you can! You have no idea what you're facing! I don't want to see one of you die! Naruto... Please!"
Defying her prayers, Naruto stayed, while the blue toad took his teammates back to relative safety.
"Damn... That toad's gearing up?!" From Agni's moves, Temari realized his plan and retreated. Timely—the fire whirl spared nothing, including her former tree. Flying burning branch bits weren't weather pleasantries.
"That attack's huge-scale, but won't stop Gaara." As if reading her, Gaara blasted his "funeral" wood to splinters and hit the toad full force. His body kept changing, terrifying Temari more.
"Hidden Leaf Village Secret Technique: Thousand Years of Pain!" Naruto's voice rang—he mockingly jammed a kunai into Gaara's tail base, dropping camouflage. Tail swing missed, but Temari didn't get the attack's point.
"Asshole's mocking?! That cocky?" The explosion answered.
***
Right after the blast, I leaped to Agni sprawled on logs and ground. His halberd was gone, and he clutched his wounded chest.
"Agni, alive?!"
"Kinda... Damn! Kh-kh..." He coughed blood. "Hit me hard." We eyed Gaara kneeling on log debris, sand shedding; some singed branches smoked behind. "You get him?"
"Yeah, but not enough! Rasengan time. Thanks, Agni—head back to the mountain. Don't want you dying here."
"Don't underestimate Mt. Myoboku guardians, kid!" He rose to haunches somehow, watching Gaara regenerate into Shukaku's mini form second stage. "Listen..." as I pulled the summon scroll from my pouch. "When I hit him, I felt his chakra clear—something's off! Like human mixed with something ancient and very strong!"
"He's One-Tail's vessel!" I said.
"What?!"
"Shukaku inside protects him and fights us, partially breaking out."
"Fuck, you at least... If you know, you get we're fucked?! Me, Rudra, even together—we can't match that beast if it breaks free! Tailed demons are earth's greatest power!"
"That's why I'm telling you to bail!" I yelled, forming seals and slamming the scroll. "Summoning Technique!" I summoned myself via human path scroll. "Tag out," my clone said as I appeared on a log near transforming Gaara, wounded Agni beside. Clone dispersed, dumping memories—sharp migraine dropped me to one knee.
"What happened?" Agni asked worriedly.
"Fine." I took deep breaths, stood on shaky legs, wiping nose blood. Head was a mess, but I got what happened while away.
"Boss, your chakra... That was a clone?"
"Yeah... Noticed?" I said, feeling my chakra denser, stronger—even without mixing Kurama's. Looks like killing folks hit my psyche hard. Clone's plan in my head was solid: Distract with clones—thirty-forty maybe—and window for Rasengan. If lucky, hit Gaara proper, not just disperse "cloak," knock him out, skip third stage and full Shukaku.
"Boss..." Agni raised a fist. "Feel it now—you can." Understanding toad chakra exchange, I bumped his paw.
"That's..." I marveled at the info. "That power... But enough chakra?!"
Agni shared how to summon Gamabunta from the mountain.
"If anyone's matching a Tailed Beast, it's our mountain's strongest toad! If shit hits, summon him—even if it costs your chakra remnants—and convince him... He won't be thrilled or obey... Stronger than you, maybe Pervy Sage too."
"Thanks, Agni... Go back." I grinned; toad poofed.
By then, Gaara nearly regenerated.
"Squirm all you want..." in fully inhuman voice, lifting head to show sand tanuki face. "I'll prove I'm strongest! Only I'll keep existing! Uzumaki Naruto!" He slashed his paw, extending hugely at me. Grabbing my sword, a million-ryo idea hit. If chakra cuts body mass on jump/pull for a sec, maybe reverse. Won't be instant teleport slick first try, but...
As his paw struck, I whipped sword from back sheath fast as possible, blocking with gathered chakra—counter to Body Flicker. Lucked out.
Log cracked on block; I hit ground, but massive paw shifted me just centimeters—focus worked. Sword slash before full crush, chakra along blade—I lopped sand claws, batting paw aside. I reeled from force—bones, joints won't thank me. Something crunched shouldn't even in adult, dull pain echoing skeleton-wide.
No time dawdle—I crossed fingers.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!" Second paw attack—clones shielded, stabbing sand paw with swords, chakra in legs. Goal: Slow max, but underestimated his strength.
Broad, circular swings—serious hits, dispelling clones handfuls easy. Top attack failed too—sand shuriken barrage.
Clones made clones; spam hitting. Despite dodges... His bulk grew huge. Gaara two meters plus now, shoulders wider than any strongman from my world.
Ramped numbers, but started wearing him. Massive paws gashed, slashed from swords; swings blocked by clones. On a branch watching down, perfect opening—clones kicked his body up meters; I dove, finishing chakra sphere in hand.
"Prove you're stronger than this, asshole!" I yelled, drilling Rasengan center-chest. Rubber sand like tough second skin—"drilling" hard, so sensing final stage, thrust down, boot to face accel. Sphere burst solid—Kurama-version weaker, but close. Gaara cratered two meters deep; smoky vortex in chest center. Recoil lofted me; backflip to small branch landing. Legs buckled—I squatted to catch breath...
Victory?
Then Gaara's eyes opened; he stirred.
Nope...
About third-plus chakra left. Chills hit; Kurama extra would hurt more. Breathing hurt. Muscles, bones screamed; nose bled again.
"U...zu...ma..." Gaara groaned rising. Sand shed, body cracked. "KI... NARUTO! I CAN'T LOSE TO HIIIIM!" He rose; at his call, from feet and ruptured back gourd—massive sand erupted, shaping rubbery hide on way.
First secs: Sand mountain. Next: Fleshy mountain. Then limbs, face; secs later details formed—it opened eyes glowing like fog lights through dust cloud from emergence.
***
Panting hard, Temari stopped—third stage "sand spirit" release complete.
"God! He appeared! Nothing beats him now—needs Kage-level squad leader! Naruto pushed him THIS far! Stronger than I thought, but now he can only flee with his red chakra. Hope he does; I'll keep retreating. Soon no safe spots in ten-km radius!" Temari thought, fleeing on.
"Lord have mercy!" Sakura exclaimed.
Rudra shielded them and Sasuke from the sharp gust of wind and the logs, debris, and dust flying at them, but even his massive bulk was starting to get blown away. The ground began acting strangely on its own, turning into particles of sand and lifting into the air as if gravity had been canceled. He noticed how the trees ahead were already being enveloped in sand, but he could sense that Naruto was still alive, even though there should have been far more sand where he was by now.
"Retreat! It's not safe here anymore!" the toad exclaimed.
"This thing is Gaara?!" flashed through Sasuke's mind, and he caught himself trembling, unable to move from the sensation of his unbelievable chakra. Just like with Orochimaru back then, only now this feeling was even stronger, even compared to the focused Kyuubi directed at him. "What the hell is this monster?! This power is unimaginable!"
"Damn weakling!" the toad shouted, scooping up the frozen Uchiha in her arms and hurrying away with several long leaps.
"So this is the power of a Tailed Beast?!" Pakkun thought, covering his head with his paws. "Even Kakashi couldn't stand against him right now! The Fourth Hokage... I think no one but him could... Naruto! If there's any sense left in your head, catch up to us and retreat! This is a whole different level!"
The creature that had appeared let out a strange sound from afar, and steam poured from its opened maw. The dust cloud began to settle when suddenly...
Space next to it seemed to tear open, tossing thirty-meter trees upward and raising another dust cloud with a terrifying roar as an equally gigantic being appeared. Its shadow, combined with the sand creature's, nearly blotted out the sky entirely. The vibrations spreading through the ground felt like an earthquake had begun. The second creature was, without a doubt, a toad of gigantic proportions. No less than a hundred meters tall and mocking all common sense, the toad was smoking a long pipe, exhaling smoke. It was dressed in a dark blue kimono with a white collar, girded with some cloth resembling bandages, and had a short sword—a tanto—at its belt. However, its size was proportional to the toad's own. The rusty skin was adorned with red patterns, and the gaze directed at the sand monster boded nothing good.
"A toad?!" Sakura said. "How is that possible?! Do toads really grow to SUCH sizes?!" she asked when Rudra landed and turned to look at Gamabunta's arrival.
"Bunta-sama!" Rudra whispered. "This is the strongest toad of our mountain, and there's no doubt who summoned him into the light of day!"
"Naruto..." the shocked Sakura whispered to herself. "How strong have you become?"
Sasuke, meanwhile, had simply lost the power of speech and could only stand on his feet, clutching his bandaged torso and staring unblinkingly at the two giants preparing for battle.
"I have to go there!" Rudra exclaimed. "If Bunta-sama gets angry, there'll be trouble... I'll try to convince him to help Naruto." The blue toad said quickly and leaped sharply upward despite the weight of his armor.
The moment I saw eyes opening in the dust cloud of the nearly fully formed Shukaku, I realized my legs were already gripped by fairly dense sand. The sand rose from the ground, freezing in the air and enveloping my body like countless snakes. At this rate, I had ten seconds to live, maybe less.
There was nothing to be done; with effort, I could still move my arms. Wiping some blood from under my nose, I began forming seals and dove into my subconscious into Kurama's room.
"Hey, Kurama... Mind giving me a hand?"
"Hah... Looks like you stepped barefoot into some serious shit. Even I didn't expect Shukaku to show up here! He's not at full strength yet, but... What are you planning? All the chakra I can give you through this tiny gap in the seal won't be enough... And you don't have any techniques capable of dealing him significant damage. If you could free me, even at half strength I'd quickly calm that raccoon down, but..."
"There are a few options... We can't fight a full-powered Shukaku, so we just need to shove him back into Gaara. I need your power right now—restore my chakra, and I can summon your old acquaintance..."
"You've intrigued me, Wanderer... Alright, let's see it. Show me what else you're capable of."
"Summoning Technique!" I shouted, applying exactly the amount of chakra needed based on the summoning info Agni had implanted in me along with part of his own chakra. Suddenly, I found myself astride something enormous. Perched on its head, I was like on top of a mountain. The sand, of course, was blown to hell. The roar was terrifying, but by now it was quite familiar. After all those explosions and such, I no longer flinched at it. Securing myself on Gamabunta's head with the remnants of my chakra, I saw his eyes open, and he exhaled smoke.
"Mmm?" came from him. "What the—?! This is..." The toad took another puff. "Well, I'll be damned... As if Minato didn't croak... Another Tailed Beast?! Who dared summon me here?! Speak up! Jiraiya?! Nah, this definitely ain't his chakra! Who?!"
"It was me!" I replied. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I signed the contract and, just like the Fourth, I'm a full-fledged owner of the toad scroll. I need help right now," I said.
Meanwhile, the sand monster was slightly stunned by Gamabunta's appearance before it and began drooling from its huge maw, slamming its gigantic tail into the ground.
"Owner of the scroll?! Mwahaha-hahaha-ha-ha!" Gamabunta roared with laughter. "Puny little shit! Who the hell are you to summon a whole me here and ask me to fight these monsters alongside you?! You weren't even my drinking buddy! I'm not risking my hide for you!"
So what now? These stubborn toads!
"Bunta-sama!" Rudra leaped onto his head. "You don't know everything... Jiraiya himself chose this boy, and he even beat me and Agni single-handedly. He's no weakling and worthy to be the scroll's heir."
"Rudra?! Go fuck yourself, Rudra! I don't give a damn what he's worthy of! Tell that pervert that if he wants me helping someone, he can ask personally! I'm outta here, and I suggest you do the same! We're facing damn Shukaku! The One-Tail demon! That thing's way stronger than me, who knows how much! Fight it for him?! For someone who can't even drink with me after if we survive?!"
"Please, Bunta-sama... This battle is crucial—with Konoha at our backs. Remember Minato-kun and look at this kid again... Get it?" Rudra pleaded.
"Mmm?" Gamabunta's eyes shifted; I don't know if he could look at his own forehead. Apparently he could. "So that's how it is... Jiraiya picked him for that?!"
"Yes, but not only... Our power is needed here now, Bunta-sama!" I decided to shut up. Better not make it worse...
"Hey, kid, what'd you say your name was?" Bunta asked.
"Huh? Uzumaki Naruto..."
"Uzumaki, huh... Tch..." With that, he drew his tanto and prepared for battle, stowing his pipe at his belt. "I'll help you for Minato's memory, but if you summon me into hell without permission again!"
"Got it..."
"Rudra, get the fuck outta here—you'll just get underfoot!"
"Right!" He said and vanished.
"I'm curious myself if I can take down even the weakest of these monsters! Kid! Hold on tight..." At that, Shukaku began inhaling air and, slapping its left paw on its belly, fired an air projectile. Bunta timely leaped sky-high, forcing the sand one to crane its head up, and in landing used kendo, accelerating sharply in the fall. From the spins at those speeds, I had to concentrate scraps of chakra in my legs and arms to stay on his head. His tanto plunged into the sand arm like real flesh, but despite all the force in the fall, he couldn't sever it and had to pour in extra chakra, rearing up on his hind legs.
"IIIYAAA!" Bunta cried out from the strain and finally severed the limb at the cost of losing his sword, which flew from his grasp. After that, he barely dodged Shukaku's second paw, which felled several trees in one swipe, leaving a deep gouge in the ground.
"Hey, be more careful, please!"
"What?!" Bunta replied.
"My comrades are somewhere over there." I pointed where he'd leaped. "You might hit them accidentally with those jumps!"
"Don't piss yourself! I sense other chakra sources, and they're actually a bit farther, but I get you... Losing the sword is real bad, though. His body's tougher than I thought! And he's deceptively slow. His strikes are insanely strong and fast—even one paw hit could rip off a limb!"
"Shit..." I replied. "What're you gonna do?"
"Watch..."
Looks like my summon impressed Gaara too, and he decided to show himself, emerging waist-up on Shukaku's head.
"Just as I thought," Bunta said. "That's his medium. That's why Shukaku's so slow and weak. The kid's holding him back. We're seeing no more than a third of the real Tailed Beast's power!"
"A third?! Holy shit! How strong will he get if..."
"And we're fucked... Looks like he..."
"You left me no choice—I'll show you a real monster..." Gaara said, forming a seal. "Forced Sleep Technique!"
"Fucking bastard! He fell asleep! Get ready! This'll unleash Shukaku's power!" Bunta yelled.
"YEEHAWWW!!!" the real Shukaku exclaimed. "I'M FREEE!!! INCREDIBLE!!! I CAN BREATHE AGAIN! I SEE! I HEAR!!! YEEHAWWW!!!"
"Yeah..." I said. "This ain't good for us. Gotta wake Gaara quick. Can you get me to his head? He's super vulnerable now!"
"I'll try!" Bunta replied. "You're a smart kid, like Minato. Just don't kill him! Otherwise Shukaku might break free! The medium's the only thing holding him! Just smack him good to wake him. Then the seal'll drain all his chakra, and he won't sustain this form!"
"COOOOL! I SEE RIGHT AWAY WHO I'M GONNA KILL!!!" the mad raccoon screamed. "COME ON! I'LL FINISH YOU QUICK SINCE YOU SHOWED UP FIRST!"
"Get ready—he's attacking!"
"WON'T TAKE MY MERCY?! THEN I'LL KILL YOU ANYWAY!" He inhaled air into his mouth and, slapping his belly, launched another air projectile at us.
"Water: Water Projectile!" Bunta used ninjutsu and countered his shot.
"WHAT?!" At that moment, Bunta leaped high again, like before. "TAKE THIS!!! Wind: Multiple Projectiles!" He fired two projectiles, and Bunta countered with a water attack, knocking his shots midair, but suddenly a third projectile blasted through the water wall.
"What?!" Bunta said, covering his face with his paws and taking the hit, flying dozens of meters sideways. He somersaulted but couldn't regroup, crashing on his ass and plowing another ten meters sideways, demolishing forest with his bulk. Good thing he didn't fly toward Sasuke and Sakura. "That hurt, you fucker!" Bunta recovered quickly enough. Thanks to his block, I was barely touched—just ears ringing, barely hearing him now. "He packed a ton of chakra into that orb. Could use extra limbs! Hold on, kid!" He flanked, firing a water projectile forward, then leaped sharply and came from the side where the arm was severed. Shukaku reacted, spinning its bulk and attacking with a stretchy rubber paw, forcing Bunta to leap up and forward. Bunta's water projectile was naturally stopped by a wind one, but his air supply seemed spent. So he went for the paw.
Bunta timed the leap perfectly and, landing point-blank, clamped down hard on the long paw.
"Go, kid!" I leaped forward, using a couple clones to push off in midair for Instant Transmission and cover those meters to Gaara's body.
"Squad, rise!" I shouted in Russian, punching his quite human face with all my might. His eyes snapped open instantly, and he woke.
"NOOO! NOT YET! I JUST GOOOOT OOOUUUT!" The last word garbled like a broken record player, and Shukaku left us, though his body didn't dissipate.
"You! How dare you... Why aren't you dead yet?! Uzumaki Naruto!" Gaara screamed, and despite Bunta's efforts to block him, he could shift the giant toad with one hand. Gaara was heaving hard. I'd just broken his nose, his cheek was swelling, but I had bigger problems. The part of the face I stood on began sucking me in fast, pressure on my feet growing.
"Shit..." I exclaimed, losing balance.
"Die! Die! Die!" Gaara screamed. "Let me feel alive!" In response, I concentrated chakra, gathered some, and decided on a weaker Rasengan under my feet. It worked—his nose cracked in half. Gaara's body staggered.
Got it—his chakra's gone too. If I yank him out now, this whole colossus dies without fuel and collapses. I leaped again, freeing my legs from burial, and flew at Gaara. My arms, ready for a couple strikes, were caught in dense sand prominences, and I used the leap's momentum to kick him square in the face with both feet, sending Gaara flying out of the face and slamming into the sand body's forehead.
The sand monster immediately cracked and crumbled, and Gaara and I landed side by side in total paralysis, without a drop of chakra left. Though I could still move and strained with all my might to lift my wooden body.
Good thing we landed on a sand pile—soft—instead of from a hundred meters onto ground. He barely turned his head to me and whispered...
"Why you... Where'd you get such power?" I tried to stand on one knee, while he could only clench his fists in helpless rage. His face was smashed, blood flowing from the nose my feet broke. Losing balance, I fell again, but face-down.
"Heh..." I heard Gamabunta's summon dispel behind me and saw in my mind how he smiled one last time. "I couldn't have won without help... Shikamaru... Agni and Rudra, Bunta... Remember, no matter how strong you are... Numbers beat quality, and you can't beat all of us alone."
"I see..." He turned away.
Suddenly Sasuke and Sakura landed before me, Kankuro and Temari before him. The four were ready to fight, though they looked like hell...
"Enough..." I said. "The Sand invasion ends here." Sakura and Sasuke turned to me.
"I have to hold them or kill them!" Sasuke shouted.
"No! Kakashi's order! We pull you out and join the evacuation squad!" I replied. He looked at Sakura, and she nodded. "They lost their ace. Invasion failed—Leaf's victory is a matter of time," I said. "That's it..." I met Temari's eyes. She flinched and lowered her kunai.
"I agree. Kankuro, lower your weapons—we're leaving! Get Gaara!"
"Got it!" He started lifting him, Sakura lifting me.
"So we just let enemies go, Naruto?!" Sasuke couldn't calm down.
"Sasuke... Please..." I said, wincing from pain all over. Chakra pathways burned like fire; I won't even mention the rest. "Enough already..." Temari glanced at me again and nodded slightly. I nodded back, and they left.
"Kankuro... Temari..." Gaara whispered minutes after they took him from the battlefield.
"Yeah?" Kankuro said.
"Forgive me..." They heard and exchanged surprised looks.
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: patreon.com/Granulan