The earth shuddered as Gamabunta lunged forward, his massive wakizashi cleaving through the air.
"Take this, you overgrown sandcastle!" Gamabunta bellowed, bringing the giant blade down in a devastating arc.
The Shukaku raised its thick, heavily compressed sand arm, blocking the sword strike. Sparks and grinding sand sprayed across the forest canopy as the two leviathans clashed. The sheer shockwave of their physical impact flattened the remaining trees within a hundred-yard radius.
"Doom! Flank right! Keep its tail busy!" I shouted, sprinting forward into the chaotic maelstrom of falling sand and debris.
Doom barked, a blur of black fur and hellfire, darting through the underbrush to snap at the massive, swinging tanuki tail.
I didn't plan on sitting back and watching the pets do all the work. It was time to show the Sand Village exactly why I was the boss.
"Wind Style: Infinite Sand Breakthrough!" The Shukaku inhaled deeply, its massive belly expanding, before exhaling a devastating hurricane of sharp, grinding sand aimed directly at the ground to sweep away me and Doom.
I didn't retreat.
[Skill: Armament Haki (Hardening) - Full Body]
My skin turned pitch-black. I dove headfirst into the sandstorm. The abrasive sand, moving fast enough to strip the flesh off a normal shinobi's bones, simply sparked and pinged harmlessly against my Haki-coated body.
I burst through the other side of the sandstorm, closing the distance to the beast's massive leg.
[Skill: Elastic Chakra (Bungee Gum)]
I aimed both hands upward and fired two thick cords of pink, rubbery chakra. They latched firmly onto the Shukaku's gargantuan collarbone.
"Heave!" I grunted, retracting the gum with explosive force.
I was launched into the air like a human cannonball, soaring dozens of feet straight up the side of the towering sand demon.
"A BUG!" The Shukaku roared, noticing me zipping up its chest. It raised a massive hand to swat me out of the air like a mosquito.
I didn't try to dodge. I braced myself, concentrating the Haki into my back and shoulders.
BAM!
The Shukaku's hand slammed into me with the force of a freight train.
But instead of crushing me, the impact worked entirely to my advantage. The kinetic energy collided with my Haki, and thanks to the properties of my Elastic Chakra, I used my own body as a rubber ball. I bounced violently off the Shukaku's palm, ricocheting even higher into the sky, soaring right over its massive head.
"Thanks for the lift!" I yelled, spinning mid-air.
As I crested the jump, I looked down.
There, protruding from the forehead of the giant sand demon, was the upper half of Gaara's actual body. He was asleep, his hands clasped together in a specific seal.
"Playing Possum Jutsu," I muttered. "He went to sleep so the demon could take the wheel."
Down below, Naruto was standing on Gamabunta's head, screaming. "Kenji! We have to wake him up! If we wake up Gaara, the jutsu breaks!"
"Way ahead of you, blondie!" I yelled back, gravity beginning to pull me down toward the beast's forehead.
The Shukaku realized what I was aiming for.
"I WON'T LET YOU!" The demon shrieked.
The sand on its forehead suddenly spiked upward, forming dozens of razor-sharp spears aimed directly at my falling body.
"Too slow."
I reached out, my left hand crackling with chakra.
[Skill: Steal (Targeted)]
Yoink.
I didn't steal clothes this time. I targeted the raw, condensed chakra holding the sand spears together. I ripped the structural integrity right out of the jutsu.
The terrifying spikes instantly dissolved into harmless, loose dirt right before I landed on them.
My boots hit the Shukaku's forehead with a heavy thud, sinking slightly into the sand. I stood directly in front of the sleeping, half-submerged Gaara.
"Wakey wakey, Panda-Eyes," I smirked.
I pulled my right arm back. I didn't hold back a single ounce of strength. I channeled all my Uzumaki-level density into my fist, coating it entirely in the darkest, most concentrated Armament Haki I could muster. It looked like my hand was encased in a block of black iron.
"This is for ruining the stadium," I whispered.
I drove my fist forward, punching the sleeping Jinchuriki squarely in the center of his face.
CRACK!
The sound of his nose breaking was incredibly satisfying.
The sheer concussive force of the Haki-infused punch didn't just rattle his skull; it sent a shockwave directly into his central nervous system, violently snapping him out of the deep, jutsu-induced trance.
Gaara's eyes flew open, blood spurting from his nose. He gasped, his pupils dilating in pure, sudden agony.
"Wha—!" Gaara choked out, completely disoriented.
"NOOOOOO!" The Shukaku's massive voice echoed in my head, full of fury and despair as its host regained consciousness.
The connection was severed.
Instantly, the massive, towering structure of the One-Tailed beast began to crumble. The chakra holding the millions of tons of sand together dissipated.
The ground rushed up to meet us as the giant sand demon collapsed into a massive, harmless dune.
I grabbed Gaara by the collar of his shirt as the sand fell away beneath us, leaping off the disintegrating forehead to avoid getting buried. I hit the ground rolling, tossing the battered, bleeding Sand Genin onto the dirt.
Gamabunta landed a few dozen yards away with a heavy thud, sheathing his giant sword. Doom trotted up beside me, the hellfire fading from his jaws, sitting obediently as he watched the fallen Jinchuriki.
Naruto slid down Gamabunta's snout and hit the ground, panting heavily, his red Kyuubi chakra fading away.
Gaara lay in the dirt, clutching his broken, bloody nose. The sand armor that usually protected him was completely gone. The terrifying, murderous monster had vanished, leaving behind a broken, confused kid whose worldview had just been shattered by a single, Haki-infused punch.
Before Gaara could even process what had happened, the tree line rustled violently.
Temari and Kankuro burst into the clearing. They were bruised, battered, and completely out of breath. Their eyes darted around the ruined landscape—the shattered trees, the massive craters, the lingering smell of hellfire—before landing on Gaara lying helpless at my feet.
"Gaara!" Temari cried out.
She dropped to her knees right in front of me, throwing her arms out to shield her younger brother. Kankuro stood behind her, his hands trembling as he hovered over his puppet scrolls, clearly terrified of the guy who had just casually dismantled a Tailed Beast.
Temari looked up at me, pure terror in her teal eyes. She remembered exactly how easily I had pinned her in the arena. She knew they were completely outmatched.
"Please... don't kill him!" Temari begged, her voice cracking. "We surrender! The invasion failed! Just let him live... I'll do anything!"
I paused, deactivating my Haki. The black sheen faded from my skin.
I looked down at the Sand Princess kneeling in the dirt, practically offering herself up. I tilted my head, a slow, incredibly wicked smirk spreading across my face.
"Oh?" I drawled, leaning forward slightly. "Anything?"
Author's Note:
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