Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Leaf in the Desert ❯ Chapter 24

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 24
 
Kohaku observed his father warily, looking for any sign that the Hokage had been successful in his inner confrontation with the Kyuubi. For a long, tense moment he stared, sweat beginning to bead on his brow.
 
The slight breeze that had been dancing around them suddenly ceased. Kohaku tensed…
 
And was pushed back by an incredible blast of wind and orange chakra resonating from Naruto's body. He held up his arms to block the onslaught, continuing to watch his father intently.
 
Naruto's eyes snapped open and he let out a sound that was part scream, part howl. The noise was so horrendous that a few of Kanaye's shinobi began to look nervous. Naruto's eyes were now burning red and his teeth had become fangs- the Kyuubi's chakra was being released.
 
Kohaku watched as one… two… three tails emerged, created from the orange chakra bubbling from Naruto's body. Slowly the fourth stirred forth, and Naruto's appearance changed once again. His skin peeled away to reveal black, churning flesh beneath. His entire being shifted to look like a mini-Kyuubi.
 
But the chakra wasn't done. The Naruto-fox screamed again as the Kyuubi's chakra tried to form a fifth tail- but it was evident that something was preventing that from occurring.
 
Kohaku performed his grandfather's flash steps and was in front of his father's twisted form in less than an eyeblink. The Naruto-fox screamed again and reared to its hind legs, intent on blasting the orange-haired youth into oblivion.
 
Kyuubi- Fuuja Houin Kaiin!”
 
Kohaku gritted his teeth as he placed the palm of his hand on his father's stomach- right where the black seal was emblazoned. The black, burning flesh scalded his hand, yet still he held it firm, focusing his own chakra to release the seal on his father.
 
The creature shrieked as Kohaku's chakra removed the last remnants of the seal on its body. A huge pulse of power radiated out from the writhing form- and blasted Kohaku off his feet and through a couple tree branches before he slammed against a thick trunk and slid to the ground in a heap.
 
Dazed and now sporting several bruises and a few lacerations that trickled blood, Kohaku sat up and stared in awe as his father's form changed once again- growing, pulsing, shuddering.
 
Kanaye stood, scowling, as Naruto's body grew and expanded, sprouting tails as it did so. Iwa shinobi turned and fled before the fearsome sight of the released Bijuu, but the Tsuchikage remained firm.
 
The ground shook. Trees fell, groaning and cracking. Chakra- immense, powerful, and nearly smothering in its intensity- swirled around the area, blasting into those Iwa shinobi that remained and flinging them away as if they were mere gnats.
 
“You cannot fool me, Hokage!” Kanaye yelled, bracing himself against the onslaught of chakra. “This is just another of your little tricks! There is no way the seal of a Jinchuuriki can be released except by the one who created it!”
 
“Kanaye, you stupid bastard!” Kohaku hollered back. “That's because the seal is made with the blood of the jutsu user!” He held up his burnt hand, showing the slash across his palm that had been cauterized due to the burning contact with his father's flesh. “I am the grandson of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze! His blood flows through my body- and because of that, I am able to release the Kyuubi's seal on my father!”
 
“That's impossible,” Kanaye whispered, his face showing true fear for the first time as Naruto- no, Kyuubi- raised its head and let out a blood-curdling howl, all nine of its tails thrashing in the air. The fearsome creature towered high above the treetops, growling as it glared at the Tsuchikage and the remaining shinobi from his army.
 
Being face-to-face with a creature so feared that its name could not be uttered without people cringing, Kanaye's expression lost all composure and his mind went completely blank. He had never imagined that the Hokage would sacrifice himself like this, just to protect his country.
 
Doton: Resshin!”
 
Immediately the ground began to shake, cracking open into huge crevasses underneath the huge kitsune's paws. More trees collapsed as the ground supporting them crumbled and shifted.
 
He looked up and saw Kyuubi high in the air, almost as if it were floating. The creature opened its huge jaws and fired a condensed chakra flare at the Tsuchikage.
 
The blast hit him head on, incinerating foliage and stray Iwa shinobi that hadn't had the common sense to run away long before now.
 
When the smoke and debris cleared, a small stone “tent” could be seen in the center of the rubble. The Kyuubi landed with a bone-jarring thud and snorted at the rocky creation.
 
Kanaye emerged from the structure with a flourish, bruised and battered but still alive. He formed a hand seal and several stone pillars shot up from the ground, aiming for the tender underbelly of the beast.
 
The Fox jumped again and landed on the other side of Kanaye- and into the majority of the Iwa army, now intent on fleeing for their lives. It ignored the pitiful humans it crushed beneath its paws and opened its mouth toward Kanaye again- releasing a torrent of fire this time.
 
The Tsuchikage dodged quickly, but not fast enough. The attack caught his right arm and part of his shoulder- and burned it right off. He screamed in pain, falling to the ground as he clutched the charred flesh of his body. He squinted as he looked around him, taking in the hundreds of piles of ash that had once been Iwa shinobi.
 
Flee… Kanaye put his remaining hand on the ground and used another stone pillar to ride as fast as he could away from the deadly Bijuu.
 
-------------------------
 
Kohaku stood up shakily, watching as the Kyuubi annihilated the Iwa forces- and Kanaye made his getaway. “Tch…”
 
“Uzumaki?”
 
He turned to see a pair of familiar eyes staring at him intently. He took an involuntary step backwards. “Y-Y-Yuushuu?”
 
The Uchiha kunoichi came to his side and looked out at the huge Fox wreaking havoc. “Uncle Sasuke… is not able to come,” she murmured.
 
“I wouldn't think so- he was nearly killed trying to go after Kanaye with Kiba and… Tenten.”
 
“I am here in his place.”
 
Kohaku raised an eyebrow at the dark and beautiful woman. “You… are going to help us?”
 
She turned and met his gaze- and he saw that the coldness, the hardness that had been there over a year ago when they had first met in Iwa was no longer evident. “I owe Uncle Sasuke- and Konoha- a lot. As well as you, Uzumaki.”
 
“Me?”
 
She blushed slightly and turned back to the carnage. “You brought me back to my family,” she explained. “If I had stayed with Kanaye, I would have become a cold, merciless killer… and probably would be a pile of ash like those poor fools out there right now.”
 
Kohaku snorted softly. “I would never have thought that living with old man Sasuke would have had this effect on you, Taichou.”
 
“It was mostly Cousin Shourai's doing, but yes. I have never been shown such… affection before.” She looked pensive. “When Aunt Sasame died from that fever, Shourai said that my uncle nearly went into a rage.” She turned to him. “That was why he volunteered for the assassination mission.”
 
“I wondered about that.”
 
A crash caught their attention and they turned to see the Kyuubi racing off to the west after Kanaye- and toward Suna. “We should hurry,” Yuushuu urged.
 
Kohaku bit his thumb and made a few seals. “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!
 
BOOOOM! A huge cloud exploded and within the dispersing mist sat a large frog. “Yo, Kohaku!” Gamakichi called, lifting his front leg in a wave of greeting. “Been a long time!”
 
“I think you've gotten even bigger, `Kichi,” Kohaku replied. “But this is no time for pleasantries. We have to get to Suna and fast.”
 
Gamakichi blinked his large froggy eyes. “Suna? Whut'n'a'hell for?”
 
Yuushuu pointed at the destruction and bodies left behind. “Kyuubi.”
 
The frog went into panic mode. “K-K-Kyuubi?!”
 
“Stop with the hysterics, bug-breath,” Kohaku grunted as he got on Gamakichi's back, leaning over to offer his hand to Yuushuu to help her aboard. “There are lives at stake.”
 
“There always are, dammit,” muttered Gamakichi.
 
---------------
 
Kanaye fought for breath. The Kyuubi was right on his tail, as it were, and he was pushing the last of his chakra to get to his base in Suna, where his reinforcements were in the process of infiltrating the village.
 
The scouts watching the desert saw the huge cloud of sand stirred up by their Tsuchikage's stony ride and immediately went on the alert. Orders were shouted, weapons were readied, and those sent into the village proper were called back to help attack the huge Bijuu chasing their leader.
 
A scream rent the air and those still in the village froze and looked up to see a huge white dog with five tails snarling and growling down at them. Three times taller than the Kazekage's building, Gobi carefully stood straddling the structures while glaring at the Iwa shinobi trespassing in her home.
 
A handful of Iwa ninjas didn't move fast enough for the huge dog and were soon snapped up by immense jaws. Blood rained down on those fleeing for their lives.
 
Gobi spat out the remains onto the streets below, not having the stomach for eating humans when she, herself, was residing inside a human's body. A tiny figure leapt up the buildings with ease before landing on her muzzle.
 
“Greetings, Mother,” Haru said with a small smile.
 
“Baka,” Gobi told him. “Get off of me so I can go help Kyuubi destroy the Iwa army.”
 
Haru shook his head. “I am not going to let my mother face the Fox on her own. Even if she is currently a huge white canine.”
 
Gobi snarled. “You cannot. What about my grandpup? You must live and bring her here for your father and me to see. I will not allow you to risk your life in this final battle!”
 
Haru patted her between her large gold eyes. “I am not going, Mother.” He pulled out a small, red raccoon. “Father insisted he join you.”
 
The raccoon poofed and returned to Gaara's more familiar appearance. “Thank you, son,” he told Haru with a fatherly hug. “That was rather humiliating, but I cannot jump like I used to.”
 
“Gaara,” Gobi whined, putting her long ears back slightly. “No. You cannot. Your sand…”
 
Gaara stared into the gold eyes of the Dog as Haru jumped back down to solid ground. “I am the former Kazekage of Suna,” he reminded her. “Even if I cannot utilize my sand as I once did, I am still a shinobi and a Kage. I have other tricks up my sleeve, as it were.”
 
Down on the bloody street, Haru gently patted her furry leg. “I will take care of the village, Mother,” he called up to her. “Do not worry!”
 
“A fine son you are,” Gobi growled. “Sending your parents off to their deaths.”
 
“Quiet, love,” Gaara admonished as he settled himself to sit between her ears. “I do not intend to die here.” He scratched her fur lovingly. “After all, we have a new daughter and granddaughter to meet, right?”
 
Gobi bounded away and out of the village, being careful not to step on any of the buildings as she did so. “You are right, my mate. We will not perish this day.”
 
-------------------
 
Gamakichi stopped and panted for breath as Kohaku and Yuushuu quickly dismounted. “You two are crazy, ya know that?”
 
“Yeah, yeah,” Kohaku muttered. “You're just a scaredy frog, so get gone already, will you?”
 
“Don't have to tell me twice,” the frog grunted as he poofed away.
 
Yuushuu stared at the scene of carnage in front of her. “Your father… is really wreaking some havoc on them.”
 
“He's… he's not really my father anymore,” Kohaku said quietly. “When he released the seal… when we released the seal… the Fox took over his body and mind. My dad… is gone.”
 
She blinked in shock. “The Hokage… is dead?”
 
“In a manner of speaking.”
 
Yuushuu turned back to the battle. “And… Kyuubi?”
 
He shrugged. “We kill it, if we can.”
 
“And if we can't?”
 
He didn't answer. Instead, he tightened his forehead protector. “You ready?”
 
She nodded and her eyes shifted to red. “Let's go.”
 
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
 
Kyuubi- Fuuja Houin Kaiin: “Nine-Tailed Fox- Evil Seal Release”
 
Doton: Resshin: “Earth-type: Earthquake” (not terribly original, I know, but in Pokémon it's “super effective” against fire-types XD)