"Discord," Naruto whispered out of the corner of his mouth with determination in his eyes, "do you think you can distract him for a few seconds? I have a plan, but I need to get close for it to work."
"Mm?" the Chaos Lord hummed as he eyed Fishcake taking out a piece of paper and wrapping it around the handle of one of those funny little knives the people of this world like throwing around. A smirk broke out on Discord's horse like face as he took to the air. "Well, I have been told I can be quite distracting when the mood hits me."
Naruto gave the Draconequus a flat look. "Gee, I can't imagine why," he stated sarcastically.
"Pay attention least you'll die!" Gaara roared as he approached the two, claws made of sand bared.
Discord gave the charging boy an almost bored look. "How rude to interrupt other people's conversations. I think someone needs a time out!" With that, he snapped his paw and the possessed Sand ninja was trapped in...a giant plastic bucket?
Without further ado, Discord poofed over the bucket, wearing an outfit reminiscent of a Renaissance artist. "Behold!" he cackled as he lifted the bucket, showing that Gaara's sand body was shaped like a sand castle, his head poking out of the top glaring murderously at Discord. "I think I'll call it: Castle Crazy Raccoon!" the Lord of Chaos declared while sending a smug grin to the trapped Jinchuuriki. "It has a certain…je ne sais quoi, don't you think?"
"I will murder you!" Gaara seethed as multiple claws of sand blasted out of the 'castle', returning the boy to his monstrous form and swiped at Discord.
The Disharmonious One used his lithe body to his advantage as he ducked and weaved through the claw strikes. That was when things got...interesting. Instead of simply dodging, Discord started using a multitude of odd gimmicks to get out of range of the increasingly infuriated Jinchuuriki's attacks. He went from using a red cape and bull-fighter outfit to pirouetting out of range in a ballerina's tutu and finally using an outfit and dance style similar to Michael Jackson to Moonwalk away from a particularly vicious slash, another Discord dressed as an umpire counting the number of strikes as it went on. It then seemed Discord got sloppy, as while he stopped to pose in a pop and lock position, Gaara finally managed to grip Discord's serpentine body with two enlarged claws. "DIE!" Gaara bellowed as he pulled on the Draconequus, intending to snap him like a twig.
And snapping in two was what Discord did...a piñata shaped like him, that is. The mix-matched creature had taken a 'leaf' (HA!) out of the ninja playbook and had substituted himself with an exact duplicate the moment he was grabbed. "Careful now," Discord said mischievously. "You might wind up with gum in your hair!"
And indeed, the piñata in his hands rained down gum on Gaara. The moment the sticky candies landed on his misshapen body, the chewing gum burst like inflated bubbles, covering Gaara in the substance.
If looks could kill, Discord would have been cremated on the spot from the glare Gaara was giving him. "You think this will hold me for long?!" Gaara grit out as he tried to unstick himself from his current predicament.
"Mm, probably not. Though is should distract you enough for Fishcake to do whatever it is he's planning on behind you," Discord mused.
Gaara's eyes widened at that and began to turn around before hearing a familiar voice call out behind him, "Eat this! Hidden Leaf Forbidden Technique: 1000 Years of Death!"
What happened next had Discord's eyes widen to beach ball sizes before he doubled over with laughter, clutching his gut as he floated in midair. "HAHAHAHOOHOOHEEHEE~! I-I misjudged you, F-Fishcake! That was g-golden! Bwahaha!"
Why was the Disharmonious One nearly dying of laughter, you may ask? Well, Naruto had taken the kunai knife he had earlier...and shoved it where the sun doesn't shine on Gaara. Naturally, the possessed redhead took offense to that and, yanking an arm free of the gum, swatted Naruto away like he was a particularly annoying fly. However, Gaara failed to notice that the knife still stuck in his posterior was beginning to smoke, or how Naruto grinned around his split lips as he flew through the air.
"...Boom!" he whispered.
And that is exactly what the Exploding Tag did a second later, blasting apart and covering Gaara's form in a cloud of smoke. Naruto continued his flight till he neared on of the trees, where Sasuke jumped to intercept him and prevent his teammate from breaking his back. The moment before the two boys impacted against the tree, however, they found themselves landing on an extremely large and plush toy pony. The source of this strange occurrence was made clear soon after, as Discord floated over to the Uchiha and Uzumaki.
Meanwhile, Pakkun the ninja pug, Gamakichi the Toad Summon (who had hopped off of Naruto's head at the start of the clash), and Temari the Sand kunoichi, stared at the fight in shock. Pakkun was impressed by the display of techniques and teamwork the Leaf ninja (plus one Draconequus) were showing, Temari was staring in both fear and worry for her youngest sibling, and Gamakichi was cowering while wondering if it was over yet. The smoke started to clear, showing that Gaara was looking worse for wear. His monstrous raccoon form had suffered severe damage from the explosion due to the point of impact being his least protected spot at the base of his tail. While his main body was saved from any injury, the sand that had protected him was falling off his body and leaving him vulnerable. Naruto and Sasuke, meanwhile were pulling themselves out of their unconventional airbag.
Before either boy could say a word, they heard the sound of clapping. Looking up, they saw Discord floating above them with a highly bemused look on his equine face. "That was a marvelous show, Fishcake! You really gave Raccoon Eyes over there something to remember you by! And as for you Emo Boy, that was some quick thinking on your part! While I was ready to catch him, you were able to slow Fishcake down enough so I had time to prepare my little pony there," he finished while pointing to the overstuffed plush. Meanwhile, in the world of Equestria, all the citizens sneezed.
"'Emo Boy?'" Sasuke muttered, one of his eyes slightly twitching.
"Thanks Discord...Sasuke," Naruto said while wiping some of the blood from his mouth.
"Don't get cocky just because you landed one blow," Sasuke warned, deciding to put the strange creature and his annoying nicknames on the back burner for now. "I can't save you this time like I did in Wave, you dunce."
Naruto scowled (though it looked more like a pout) and snapped, "Shaddap, will you!"
"Boys, boys!" Discord chided before grinning his signature grin, "Do I have to put you both in time out?" At this, he had to dodge two shuriken thrown at both Genin who had tic-marks on their heads. "Yeesh, take a joke will you?" Discord grumbled.
Sasuke's face went back to serious as he attempted to catch his breath, the earlier fights and the Curse Mark burning his shoulder taking their toll on him. "Hey, Naruto...Sakura, you have to save her, no matter what!" he stated, much to the blonde's surprise. "I know you can save her...I'll be able to hold him off for a while, you take Sakura and get as far away from here as you can. I've already lost everything once before...I don't ever want to watch those dear to me die before my eyes again!"
Naruto looked at his teammate in shock before a strange noise gained their attention. Discord was holding a tissue to his eyes while sobbing, though instead of tears, bubbles were coming from his eyes. "Oh, the drama! The compassion! It brings a tear to my eye!" the Draconequus blubbered before blowing his nose on the tissue, causing it to burst into a flock of doves.
The two boys could only sweatdrop at the display. "...You attract the weirdest people, dobe," Sauske stated in a deadpan.
Naruto looked ready to argue the point before slumping over slightly. "...Yeah, I guess I do," he sighed lamely before snapping up a glare at the overly dramatic Discord. "THE **** IS YOUR PROBLEM, DISCORD?! CAN'T YOU READ THE ******* MOOD?! WE WERE HAVING A MOMENT HERE, YOU ******* ***** ** * ****!"
Discord dug a claw in his ear, showing only mild discomfort at the tirade yelled up at him. "You done?" he asked casually.
Naruto glared for a moment before sighing again. "Yeah, I'm done. Now if you'll please excuse me, I gotta go prevent my one teammate from getting themselves killed while at the same time trying to prevent my OTHER teammate from being crushed with sand, all while trying to defeat Gaara. You wanna help, or just float around and continue being a distraction?"
Discord chuckled at that and chided, "Well if that's the way you want to go about it, should I just go ahead and put this back?"
With that, Discord whipped out a top hat and, suddenly dressed up as a stage magician, reached in with his eagle claw to pull out...Sakura?!
"Wha...bu...eh...HOW?!" Naruto sputtered as he looked from the now absent tree (with a pile of sand surrounding it) to the out cold but largely unhurt pinkette. Naruto shook his head, deciding not to question Discord's abilities; just when he thought he was getting used to them, Discord pulled a trick that made him rethink what he thought he knew. He was just relieved that Sakura was no longer in any danger. Sasuke had a much more subdued reaction, but his eyes still widened exponentially at the seemingly effortless rescue.
"Thank you! Thank you! I'll be here all week!" Discord bowed before taking out the unconscious kunoichi and floated her over to Sasuke, who getting the memo gently grabbed her bridal style. "So Emo Boy, can you take Miss Forehead" (he ignored how the girl violently twitched at that) "and get her the hay out of here before Raccoon Eyes recovers and decides to turn this forest into a desert. Fishcake and I will handle this."
Sasuke looked ready to argue but then thought on it. He was fairly spent chakra wise and extra power the Curse Mark granted him was waning, turning into pain. If he attempted to fight against Gaara in this condition, even with the redhead weakened, he would most likely just be a liability. As much as it galled him to admit, both Naruto and his odd...companion...were both relatively fresh and if that little display earlier was any indicator, had a better chance of defeating the psychotic Sand ninja. So, with a nod of consent, the Uchiha turned and prepared to leave the clearing with his unconscious teammate in tow.
"YOU THINK I'LL LET YOU ESCAPE?!" Gaara roared as he prepared to pursue, enraged that the girl had been released by that aggravating creature.
Before he could leap off his current branch and chase the two Leaf ninja, Naruto got in between the two, a look of determination on his face. Remembering the words Haku imparted on him, Naruto began gathering his chakra. The energy began to pick up until it was visibly whirling around him like a maelstrom (ignoring how Discord had donned a pair of 3-D glasses and was 'ooh!'-ing at the display). "I WILL PROTECT THEM NO MATTER WHAT!" the blonde declared before unleashing his jutsu. "MULTI SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"
With that shout, the clearing was literally filled with smoke. When the smoke cleared, all those present could only stare in awe as hundreds, if not thousands, of Naruto clones filled the area. The original Naruto smirked as he pointed at Gaara and stated, "Sorry to keep you waiting! It's time for me to start the 'Naruto Ninja Handbook'!"
Sasuke could only stare in amazement at the feat his formerly deadlast teammate pulled off before one of the clones gave him a gesture to get a move on, which he acknowledged with his mind a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. The clones then charged at a still recovering Gaara, who could only block with his sand coated body out of commission. The sea of blondes started things off with a wave of shuriken, but this was only a distraction as several clones got under Gaara's guard and kicked him up in the air, using the move Naruto created during the preliminaries the 'Naruto Barrage', though it was on a much larger scale as hundreds of attacks landed on the sand user. As Gaara's battered form fell to the ground, a pink cannon of all things poofed beneath him, causing his body to be lodged in the barrel.
Discord appeared next to the now loaded cannon and, with a mischievous smile, pulled the firing rope. The cannon let out a loud 'BOOM!' as Gaara was shot into the air with a spray of sand and confetti. He rose into the sky, only to be met with another barrage of fists from Naruto.
The raccoon like boy fell painfully onto a large tree branch, stunned but very much alive. Discord, meanwhile, chuckled before blowing the residual smoke off the mouth of the canon.
"It's a good thing I can still teleport objects across dimensions," he mused, "And if I ever see her again, I must thank Pinkie Pie for giving me such a wonderful idea as a Party CannonTM!"
Meanwhile in Equestria…
A pink Earth Pony with a wild mane sneezed, producing a cloud of flour to go up in a large puff and coating the entire room in white.
"Careful Pinkie!" Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the owners of Sugar-cube Corner called over to their hired hoof.
"My Pinkie Sense is telling me that somepony is copying me!" Pinkie mused aloud with a rare frown on her muzzle. She then gave her signature smile as she said, "Well, as long as they're using it for throwing parties, then we're all good! Here's hoping this will be brought up again in later chapters!"
The Cakes could only look at each other and shake their heads at the party pony's antics before the Mrs. went to get a broom for the flour.
...Back to the Main Plot
As Naruto and his clones descended on the downed Jinchuuriki, Discord called out in a loud voice, "FINISH HIM!" while driving rock music played from somewhere.
Gaara looked up at the incoming horde of blondes, he grit his fang-like teeth and bellowed out, "THERE IS NO WAY I CAN LOSE TO THE LIKES OF YOU!"
With that declaration, Gaara let lose a primal roar and the area literally exploded in a surge of chakra! The Shadow Clones were simultaneously dispersed and Naruto was sent tumbling through the air, though Discord was able to catch the flailing boy in an oversized baseball glove. When the dust settled from the explosion, both ninja and Chaos Spirit could only stare with gob smacked expressions at the monster the former preteen had become. Standing on the wreckage of an acre of trees was a titanic raccoon! The creature easily towered over the largest building in the Hidden Leaf, and Discord couldn't help but think the tanuki could be even larger than Canterlot Castle. The Tailed Beast's hide was sand colored but had blue markings covering nearly every square inch of its body. The monstrous titan had the same yellow and black eyes that his host had moments before, and both his jaws and claws looked capable of tearing through stone and steel alike. Meanwhile, it's large and bushy tail swayed menacingly behind it.
Naruto could only stare with shock and fear at the monster his fellow container had become, whereas Discord popped his eyes out of his head, wiped them on a hankie, and then put them back into his skull before confirming what he was seeing. The others in the area; Pakkun, Gamakichi, and Temari, also were staring up at the beast with no small amount of fear. Even Sasuke, who was carrying the still out cold Sakura with him, paused in his run to gape at the colossus that was visible even from where he was.
Discord, naturally, was the first to find his voice as he said in a rather squeaky tone, "Well...horseapples."
The fully possessed Gaara raised a large clawed hand and pointed it at the blonde and his Summon, sand suddenly swarming them with all the intensity of a sandstorm. Naruto, who had used up a majority of his chakra on the Clones earlier, couldn't even move and Discord tried using his Chaos Magic to either disperse the sand, to teleport them out of the sand, something! But to his horror, discovered his magic wasn't working.
'Oh hay, that oversized coonskin hat is sending out so much chaotic energy that it's interfering with my own Chaos Magic!' he realized as the two of them were cocooned in the sand.
Before they were completely engulfed in the sand, however, Naruto gained a look of determination as he wiped some blood from his lip and began running through a familiar series of hand seals. 'I will protect them all!' he thought as he realized that if he didn't fight back, not only would Discord and he bite the big one, but his entire village would be in danger once the demon possessed boy turned his blood lust in the village's direction.
Just as the towering Gaara shouted out, "Sand Burial!" Naruto also shouted out, "Summoning Jutsu!"
Just like that, the sand holding the duo burst apart like a balloon and the two found themselves on the giant head of Gamabunta, the Boss Toad. Naruto was standing confidently as he resolved to protect all who were precious to him. Discord was...much less dignified as he was pouring sand out of his ears and nose that formed sand castles when it hit the ground.
"Yeesh, and I thought getting sand in your swimsuit was uncomfortable!" he then turned to Naruto and gave him a claws up with a genuine smile on his equine face as he said, "That was great timing, Fishcake! Not only did you leave the audience in the right amount of suspense till the last moment, but you also prevented us from becoming extra chunky apple cider!"
Naruto smiled back to the Draconequus, but before he could respond Gamabunta's eyes rolled up to see who was standing on his head and grunted out, "You again?! What do you want this time, brat?!" He then turned his gaze forward and narrowed his eyes as he recognized his fellow giant. 'That's...Shukaku of the Sands if I remember right.'
Naruto stepped up on the toad's head and stated confidently, "Gamabunta, fight with me would yah! I'm counting on you, Boss!"
The toad rolled his pipe in his mouth before simply saying, "Nope."
Cue Naruto stumbling out of his dramatic pose and Discord laughing at his expense. "B-b-but why?! Last time you said you'd make me your underling! Doesn't that mean you're supposed to help me when I'm in trouble?!" Naruto practically shrieked in exasperation.
Gamabunta huffed and explained, "While that is the way this normally works, and I do want you as my underling, we haven't exchanged drinks yet."
"But I'm not even 20 yet! I can't drink!" Naruto screamed in frustration.
"I'm afraid I have to agree with my client, your honor," Discord said as he poofed in front of Gamabunta's face wearing a sharp blue suit and red tie with his mismatched horns pulled back. Discord pulled out a briefcase from...somewhere, and opened it up, pulling out a piece of paper. "According to this contract here, which is a written statement of everything said when you and my client last met, it never stated that the need to exchange drinks was necessary for the next time he called upon you for aid," he continued while unfolding the paper, showing that it was actually as long as Gamabunta was tall. "Furthermore, as my client has previously stated, he is not of a legal age to drink and, seeing as he met each of your requirements you agreed upon when you set up said contract, if you refuse to help you will have to meet my client in court with a jury of your peers."
"...What?" Gamabunta stated blankly.
"In other words," Discord declared as he rolled the paper up like a window blind and poofed the paper away. He then pulled out a megaphone and shouted out, "WE NEED YOUR HEEEEEELP!"
Fortunately for both the Draconequus and ninja, they were saved the trouble of escalating things with the toad the size of a building by the timely arrival of Gamakichi, who just happened to be one of Gamabunta's sons. The much smaller toad spoke up for the odd couple, saying that they helped him out when Shukaku started bullying him. Gamabunta, in response, acknowledged Naruto as his underling as he pulled out a blade the size of a small skyscraper.
"Oho, this is going to be epic!" Discord cackled as he floated beside his host with an oversized foam finger on his paw and a shirt that said 'Go Boss Toad!' To top off the gaudy ensemble, he wore a fan's cap but instead of cans of soda or beer, Discord had two glasses of chocolate milkshakes that his straws led to.
Turning to the accidental summon, Naruto asked him, "Say Discord, can't you use your powers to...I don't know, shrink him to the size of a puppy or get rid of the sand all together or something?"
Discord paused momentarily before sighing and poofing himself back to normal. "Would that I could, Fishcake. While I might like chaos as much as the next Draconequus, there is a limit on how much chaos we can take. The amount of damage Raccoon Eyes over there would go way pass that limit. That being said, that energy that is surrounding him, chakra I believe it was called, is quite chaotic itself. It's basically pushing my magic away from him. Think of how two magnets of the same charge come close together and end up repelling each other. The same principle applies here. While I could use my magic to alter the landscape around us, I honestly don't think it'd do much to stop him."
Naruto frowned while conceding the point. While he might not have understood everything the Chaos Lord said, he got the general idea of it. Looks like this fight was going to have to go down the old fashioned way; with guts, strength, and a whole lot of Jutsu!
Before anything else could be said, Gamabunta leaped forward, his blade swinging in a graceful arc! Naruto and Gamakichi were just barely able to hold on, while Discord flew after them and somehow kept up with ease despite his two tiny mismatched wings. Toad met tanuki as the two giants clashed, the end result was Shukaku's left arm being cleaved off and Gamabunta lost his blade thanks to the toughness of his opponent's hide. Said blade landed point first in the ground and released a shockwave that nearly blew the handful of spectators away.
Suddenly, Gaara's voice rang out from Shukaku's body, "Very interesting! You're quite entertaining, Naruto Uzumaki!"
The sand on Shukaku's forehead shifted and Gaara rose out like a zombie, half of his body still in the sand. Raising his hands into a seal, Gaara sneered as he said, "Thank you for keeping me entertained so far...Now witness the true power of the Sand Demon!"
"That boy shows signs of being Shukaku's host. The rings around his eyes are proof enough of his insomnia," Gamabunta mused.
"Huh. And here I thought they were a fashion statement," Discord mused as he tossed a Vogue magazine behind him.
Ignoring the master of disharmony, the Toad Boss continued, "Those possessed by Shukaku become such that they can't even have a single night because of sleep. I understand it's because of the terror! If they sleep, their personality is eaten away by Shukaku bit by bit until they disappear! Because the medium suffers from a lack of sleep, their personality tends to be unstable."
Both ninja and Equestria native shuddered at that, thinking back on Gaara's bloodthirsty behavior. 'I never thought I'd say this, but that boy needs Luna to pay him a visit!' Discord mentally vowed as he couldn't help but feel a stab of pity for the redhead, homicidal tendencies aside.
Gamabunta added, "While the medium's awake, Shukaku's powers are suppressed, but if that medium were to fall asleep on his own then..."
"Playing Possum Jutsu!" Gaara called out before slumping forward, clearly asleep.
"You just had to say that, didn't you?" muttered Discord.
The light in Shukaku's eyes seemed to brighten at that moment and the Sand Demon roared out in a voice that made Discord seem sane, "WAHAHA! I'M FINALLY OUT! OOH, AND HERE'S SOMEONE I WANNA KILL RIGHT OFF!" With that, he reared back his head and took in a lungful of air before slapping his large stomach with a cry of, "WIND STYLE: AIR BULLET!"
"Hang on!" Gamabunta warned before jumping up in the air, taking his three passengers along for the ride as they avoided the blast of pressurized air. The landscape beneath them was ripped to shreds, making the trio riding on top of Gamabunta not try to imagine being hit by one of those attacks.
The Toad shot out bullets of water from his mouth while in the air which the raccoon met with more air bullets of the same size. However, there was one more bullet of air than there was of water, and despite Naruto's warning the amphibian was unable to dodge. Fortunately, he didn't have to. The second before the attack made contact, an electric fan the same size as the two titans appeared and blew the attack apart with hurricane force winds.
"Oh dear, did I break wind?" Discord chuckled as he sat on top of the fan looking quite smug.
"You..." Shukaku growled darkly, "I don't sense any chakra from you, but you've got the taint of my ***hole brother's chakra about you, same as that blond brat! I've always hated that arrogant Fox, and your attitude is a lot like his," he then grinned darkly, "I know! I'll kill you both slow and painful, your screams should be cathartic!"
Discord kept up his cocky look while inside he was sweating at the amount of killing intent directed his way. "Yeah, how about...no," he drawled as he snapped his paw. Just like that, a large number of black and thorny vines rose from the forest and started to snare the demon's limbs. He struggled, but more vines kept coming. "Thank chaos I planted those Plunderseeds earlier this week," Discord congratulated himself. Granted, he had planted those seeds to mess with Fishcake and the village later on, but desperate times and all that.
Discord poofed over to where the whiskered preteen was and said in a forced calm voice, "Those vines won't last for long. Not only did they sprout prematurely, but I can also feel Mr. Crazy 'Coon's chakra is eating away at their magic. This is a little out of character for me, but I'm open for suggestions!"
Gamabunta grunted as he watched the vines start to whither on Shukaku's body. "I won't be able to take more than a couple hits from attacks like the one he used earlier. The quickest way to beat him would be to wake up the medium, forcing that overgrown rat back into his seal."
"How do we do that?" Naruto asked.
"Perhaps this might work?" Discord supplied helpfully as he summoned an entire marching band's worth of instruments next to the sleeping Gaara and they began playing by themselves full blast.
Nothing happened, however, and Shukaku gloated, "HA! You idiots think you're the first ones to try waking up my host by making a racket? Nice try, but those sand earplugs I put in him mean he won't be hearing anything for a good long while! And the second I'm done dealing with these overgrown weeds, I'm going to deal with that overgrown worm personally!"
"He's right," Gamabunta frowned, "While it was a good idea, a more surefire way to wake him up is to rough the kid up a bit. In order to do that, however, you need to get in close after his guard is down."
"Well, I can help with the first part. Do you think you can handle the 'guard lowering' portion?" Discord asked.
Gamabunta grinned as he cracked his knuckles, "Heh, most definitely. How's about we show these youngsters how to get down and dirty?"
"You read my mind, my amphibious friend!" Discord laughed as he pulled out a pouch with more seeds in them. "First, more seeds to give a decent distraction," he explained as more vines suddenly sprung up and joined in the efforts of restraining the Tailed Beast, "and that is your cue!" he finished while pointing a talon to Bunta.
The Toad's cheeks swelled before he spit out a torrent of oil that soaked Shukaku from head to foot. As the raccoon shrieked in rage, the lack of traction from the oil along with the lack of balance caused by the vines resulted in the sandy titan tripping and falling flat on his face! As Shukaku slowly got up muttering censored curses, Discord teleported both himself and Naruto onto the Tailed Beat's head a short distance from Gaara's prone form.
"Discord, throw me!" Naruto shouted, and Discord complied by creating a giant slingshot. He teleported Naruto into the sling and used his magic to pull it back as far as it would go before releasing. Naruto wasted no time in his charge at Gaara with a drawn back fist. "WAKE UP, JERK!" he shouted out as he slugged the out cold boy in the face.
Naruto's punch was hard enough that Gaara was actually partially forced out of the sand keeping him in place. The blond had broken a few bones in his hand, but through his adrenaline rush he hadn't even noticed. Plus, it helped that the Kyuubi was healing him already.
"WHAT?! NO! COME ON, I JUST GOT OUT!" Shukaku cried in dismay before his consciousness was drawn back into the seal as Gaara woke up.
"Arrivederci!" Discord called out mockingly as he waved goodbye to Shukaku's face.
The sand titan began to disintegrate, causing those who had been standing on top of him to stumble. A partially dazed Gaara had to quickly reorient himself as the sand around him crumbled. While the biggest threat had been removed, this didn't mean that the battle was over, however. An awoken and royally ticked Gaara glared at Naruto from where he skidded after and being forced to awaken. He began manipulating the sand that was left of the giant raccoon avatar they were both on, determined to crush one very annoying blond. Discord interfered once again as he floated over and pulled his summoner out with the tip of his tail.
"I've had enough of you!" Gaara hissed as the sand shifted underneath them before shooting at them in the shape of deadly spears.
Thinking fast, Discord threw Naruto off to the side as the spears converged on him. "DISCORD!" Naruto called out in worry as the Draconequus he had come to know was seemingly turned into a pin cushion.
"Yes, Fishcake?" said Draconequus asked as he appeared right behind Naruto, causing him to leap up with an unmanly scream.
"You're okay," Naruto breathed a sigh of relief seeing the Chaos Spirit largely unharmed.
"He missed me by a mile," Discord assured the boy before taking out a glass of water and drinking the contents, causing the liquid to spray out of dozens of previously unseen holes. Looking down at the holes and at Fishcake's gob smacked expression, the trickster shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Maybe that was an exaggeration."
"No, really?" Naruto deadpanned before noticing the sand was coming for him again. He was saved by the unexpected shielding of Gamabunta's long tongue, though it didn't stop the sand from seeping up from the ground and grabbing his legs.
"You will be killed by me, my existence will not disappear!" Gaara declared coldly.
Discord went to help yet again, but he was then forced to take evasive maneuvers as the sand started firing at him like bullets. Seeing that no one was going to be able to help him this time, Naruto focused his energy and began drawing on his secondary chakra source. While the Kyuubi wasn't one for free handouts, he'd rather eat his own tails then let his container lose to his weakest sibling's host. Soon, a familiar reddish orange chakra enveloped the blonde and blew the sand away. Ready for the final clash, Naruto charged at Gaara one more time with his now-healed fist drawn back. Gaara kept sending more and more sand to slow his fellow container down, but just as it looked like he was able to stop the Leaf ninja, Naruto reared back his head and delivered a skull rattling headbutt.
The force of the blow caused Gaara to lose control of the sand, making the large avatar crumble to dust. Seeing that the battle was nearly over, both Toads decided to head home in a plume of smoke. As both Naruto and Gaara fell, they both landed on opposite sides of Gamabunta's oversized sword, which was still stuck firmly in the ground. Discord, meanwhile, was floating in the air a distance away in a recliner, a bag of popcorn in his paw while his talons gripped a can of soda as he eagerly awaited the fights finale. Both boys were nearing their limit as they stared at each other panting in exhaustion. Naruto and Gaara were in a regular Mexican standoff, the next blow would most likely decide the outcome.
The second Gamabunta's blade disappeared in a puff of smoke, following its owner home, the boys with similar burdens leaped from their respective branches, fists drawn back. At that moment, in that one instant...Naruto was faster. His punch cleared any guard Gaara had up, slugging him right in the face full force. Once again, both boys fell to the ground though this time there didn't seem to be anything to slow their fall. This wasn't the case, however, as a large mattress covered in plush pillows suddenly sprang into existence below them. The two ninjas landed gently, but soon met the ground as the mattress disappeared as suddenly as they appeared, causing them both to kiss dirt.
"Discord…!" Naruto grumbled, both thanking the crazy summon for stopping them both from having a painful landing, yet cursing him as the Chaos Lord decided to have that last laugh on the two combatants.
Gaara lay in a pathetic heap a few yards away from the blond, looking as though he couldn't move so much as a finger. He didn't even have the strength to glare up at the flashing 'K.O.' sign hovering over him. Naruto looked like he fared little better, but thanks to the assistance of both Discord and the Toads, the damage was not as severe as it could have been. With a great amount of effort, Naruto was able to pull himself onto his feet and started to limp over to where Gaara lay. Seeing this, the boy looked at the approaching Leaf ninja in a mixture of anger and fear.
"My existence will not end here! I refuse to let that happen! I REFUSE TO DISAPPEAR!" the sand user shouted out defiantly. Still, Naruto staggered forward, inch by inch, spurned by memories he had of his earlier meetings with Gaara and a certain boy he might have once called friend. Seeing the whiskered boy continue his approach, Gaara's eyes widened further, his defiance replaced by even more fear. "D-don't come any closer!" he cried out.
Naruto, whose face had previously been shadowed by his hair, looked up. Despite being covered in dirt and blood, the look of sympathy and sadness was unmistakable. "The pain of being alone...is not an easy one to bear. Your feelings...why is it...that I can understand your pain?"
Gaara looked at the boy in surprise while Discord, who had flown down to ground level to see what Fishcake would do, was hanging onto every one of his words. An uncharacteristically contemplative look was on the Draconequus' long face, and his mismatched eyes almost seemed...sad?
Naruto continued, "But...I already have many people who are important to me now. I won't let you hurt them!" as he said this, his normally round pupils became slits though the color remained blue, showing he was still the one in control. "Even if you try to kill them...I WILL stop you!"
Gaara stared at his fellow Jinchuuriki in what could only be described as wide eyed awe. "Why...Why do you go so far for other peoples' sake?"
Naruto was quiet for a moment before answering, "They saved me from the nightmare of being alone. They acknowledged my existence...that is why they're all important to me."
Gaara gained a softer look in his eyes as he muttered, "...Love."
Naruto was about to take another step forward when he began to stumble. Fortunately, someone was there to catch him. "That's enough, Naruto," Sasuke said as he moved the blond to the shoulder opposite his Curse Mark. "Sakura is safe for now, I left her with that Dog while I came to get you."
Naruto grinned at that as he relaxed. "I see..."
At that moment, Discord appeared in a puff of smoke next to the teammates. "Oh, bravo Fishcake, bravo! I haven't had that much excitement in nearly a millennia! I give you ten out of ten stars!" At that, ten stars suddenly popped out of thin air. Discord looked at them before taking one and biting it in half before placing the remains back with the other stars. "Okay, 9.5 out of ten. It was a bit touch and go there for a bit, and there were some bits mushier than tapioca pudding, but all in all you did a great job."
Naruto rolled his eyes at Discord's antics, but he had a genuine smile on his face having won perhaps one of the most difficult fights he's ever been in. Suddenly, the other two members of the Sand Siblings appeared next to Gaara, shocked at the amount of damage their seemingly invincible younger brother had sustained.
Said sibling said where he lay, "That's enough...it's over."
And indeed it was. For at that point in time, the invasion of the Hidden Leaf had been successfully repelled. However, it was a bittersweet victory, as the scars from this battle were sure to effect the lives of both shinobi and Draconequus for weeks, if not years, to come!