"Damn it! This is troublesome. I never thought things could get this complicated."
They had been pursuing the Sabaku siblings without much issue until Pakkun, with his keen sense of smell, was able to track chakra and warned them that a group of shinobi was tailing them closely. Despite the evasive maneuvers the little pug advised, they weren't so lucky in shaking off the enemy.
Shikamaru ended up being the one to stay behind. While leaping from branch to branch, he analyzed every possible option. Even though he was probably the weakest of the group in terms of physical ability, he concluded that his clan's jutsu was the most suitable for delaying the enemy, given its nature as a stalling technique. The problem was, he knew full well that on his own, he couldn't defeat them—at best, he could only hold them back. His abilities, like Ino's, were designed for teamwork. Realistically, Chōji was far better suited for one-on-one combat than either of them.
"And to think Trunks is part of my team. How ironic. I thought being with him meant I wouldn't have to deal with a situation this troublesome anytime soon." He let out a heavy sigh, staring up at the peaceful clouds floating across the sky. It was hard to believe that on such a beautiful day, these events were unfolding in Konoha.
"All I ever wanted was to be a normal shinobi with a normal life… marry a normal girl—neither a prodigy nor a disaster—and have two kids: a daughter and a son. I'd retire from being a ninja once my daughter got married and my son became a successful shinobi. Then I could spend the rest of my days playing Shōgi and Go, free of worldly troubles… and I'd die of old age before my wife. Yeah, that's the life I wanted." He glanced sideways at the furious shinobi locked in place by his shadow, struggling to break free, like rabid dogs snarling at a cat trapped in a cage.
"But here I am, pushing myself too hard—something I never do. I just wanted to die a normal death. Looks like I've gotten myself into something seriously troublesome."
His eyes filled with helplessness as he realized the shadow binding the eight Sound shinobi was slowly retreating toward him. He no longer had enough chakra to even maintain the jutsu.
It was over.
"Perfect. Looks like you've reached your limit." By some cruel twist of fate, the enemy leader's voice sounded exactly like Goku's, only with a darker, sinister tone that clashed with the cheerful innocence of the Saiyan. Had Goten or Trunks been there, they would've been just as startled as when they first heard Ibiki's voice. "This is it, kid. Your end has come. Go on, cut this little brat's head off!"
PAAAAM!
Shikamaru's blood froze. Someone landed heavily right behind him—a Sound shinobi, no doubt, who had been hiding, waiting for his chakra to run out before delivering the final blow. They were about to slice his neck open.
His eyes widened, his pupils shrank, and he swallowed hard. Every second dragged like an eternity, yet the attack never came. Overcome with fear, he forced himself to turn around. What he saw left him stunned. He never imagined his despair could flip so suddenly into relief.
"Asuma-sensei! H-how are you—?"
The jounin had the unconscious Sound ninja slung over his shoulder. Exhaling a thick cloud of toxic smoke, he tossed the man aside with the ease of throwing away a trash bag.
"Well done, Shikamaru." He gripped his trench knives tightly, thick veins bulging across the backs of his large hands. "From here on, leave it to me. This won't take long…"
Somewhere Else—
"Just like old times, huh, Chōza?" Inoichi shouted from a rooftop, using his Mind Destruction Jutsu (Shinranshin no Jutsu) to force a Sand shinobi to murder his own comrade against his will.
"The original Ino–Shika–Chō trio is back." At least five Suna ninjas collapsed lifeless to the ground, victims of Shikaku Nara's Shadow Strangle Jutsu (Kage-Kubishibari no Jutsu), suffocated to death.
Together, the three of them were reclaiming huge portions of ground. It was no exaggeration to say they might be the strongest jounin unit in all of Konoha when it came to teamwork.
No one could stop them. It didn't matter how many Sand or Sound shinobi stood in their path; that day, the Ino–Shika–Chō formation was in perfect sync, like a clock ticking with flawless precision.
Thanks to his immense size, it was Chōza who took down the most enemies with his Super Multi-Size Jutsu (Chō Baika no Jutsu), either by stomping them flat or swinging his massive staff with devastating force.
The problem was—someone didn't see it that way.
To Trunks, it wasn't an Akimichi fighting with all his might to defend his village. What he saw instead was a towering, fifteen-meter monster mercilessly attacking any shinobi in its path. That was the scene his reckless imagination painted as he launched himself forward, fist first, straight into the face of poor Chōji's father.
BAAAAMMM!
The impact was deafening, nearly enough to burst eardrums, as shockwaves splintered the wooden floors of nearby houses. It wasn't just Trunks' punch, which shattered Chōza's nose—it was the giant man himself crashing backward into the helpless shops and homes unlucky enough to be in his fall's path.
"Ha! Hope you've learned your lesson, you big lump of lard!" The Saiyan hovered above with his golden aura blazing, pointing mockingly at the massive man writhing in pain on the ground. "That'll teach you not to abuse your size and pick on the innocent! I suggest you crawl back to wherever you came from before you regret it!"
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Trunks?!" a voice shouted from a nearby rooftop. A black-haired man with his hair tied low, so much like Shikamaru that Trunks instantly realized this had to be his father.
The boy puffed up with pride, thinking that even without introductions, this man already knew who he was. By now, plenty in Konoha had heard of the two Saiyans—if not seen them—since their power was impossible to ignore.
"I'm helping, sir!" he called down from the air, pointing to himself with his thumb and winking at Shikaku. "I'm Shikamaru's teammate, so don't worry, I've got this covere—"
BOOOM!
Chōza, mad with pain, staggered to his feet and swiped furiously at Trunks, smacking him out of the sky like a fly and sending him crashing into the ground. His sword went flying, clattering into the dirt, leaving the earth cracked like glass under its weight.
Not finished, Chōza stomped down with a quake-inducing force, shaking the area as if in an earthquake.
It wasn't really his fault—his vision was blurred with tears, his head swimming from the agony of his shattered nose. The Akimichi was lashing out purely on reflex.
Inoichi and Shikaku exchanged nervous glances that turned to shock and disbelief as they watched Trunks—tiny compared to his attacker—lift Chōza's massive foot off himself with ridiculous ease. The sight was eerily similar to when Goku had once lifted the giant Piccolo, crushing him during the Martial Arts Tournament.
BAAAAAMMM!
Once again, Trunks threw the giant backward, this time hurling him through sheer brute strength instead of a punch to the face. And once again, more buildings were flattened beneath the Akimichi's massive body.
Jiraiya, arriving atop Gamahiro, could only confirm once more the terrifying physical strength of the boy.
There was no time to intervene. Before anyone could stop him, Trunks shot skyward in a burst of golden light, vanishing in an instant and leaving everyone wondering what insane move he'd attempt next.
"This is bad!" The Sannin was the first to realize it.
KABOOOOM!
It was like an explosion. Reaching cloud level, Trunks dove straight down, feet first, and crashed onto Chōza's stomach with monstrous force. The kanji for "food" engraved on the giant's armor shattered to pieces on impact. It was a fall of thousands of meters.
The result: an enormous column of dust and debris erupted skyward, visible from every corner of the village. A colossal crater formed, so wide and deep that the fifteen-meter-tall Chōza fit neatly inside—twice over, in fact. The giant Akimichi could've fit three times into that abyss.
He lay unconscious, limbs sprawled, eyes rolled white, raccoon-like bruises swelling beneath them from his broken nose. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. And standing triumphantly atop his chest, Trunks smiled and flashed the peace sign to the stunned shinobi—a sight as absurd as it was disastrous.
The shockwaves had been so violent that the nearest buildings collapsed like houses of cards. For the Saiyan, leveling a village was no more difficult than knocking over a baby's toy blocks.
The only reason the tragedy wasn't even worse was thanks to Jiraiya. Gamahiro's tongue had wrapped around Shikaku and Inoichi, pulling them safely inside his mouth before the collapse could crush them. Even so, the giant toad took damage—chunks of debris weighing tons slammed into him like projectiles, shattering on impact.
"I know, I know! You must be so grateful! But don't mention it—I did it with all my heart!" Trunks yelled from the depths of the crater, as if he'd just performed a heroic deed.
He was smug about his "good deed," right up until the ground beneath him began to tremble. At first, he assumed Chōza was trying to get back up for another round. If only it had been that. Instead, to his shock, the giant slowly began shrinking beneath him. Curious, Trunks stayed right where he was, riding it out, until Chōza shrank back to normal size—still tall and overweight, but very much human.
"Huh. So he wasn't a summoning like those snakes after all. Looks like it's some kind of jutsu that lets him grow bigger."
"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE, YOU DAMN BRAT?!" Jiraiya roared, leaping from Gamahiro's head to the edge of the crater in an instant. "That man's on our side!" Though a pang of guilt stabbed through him; given the scale of that attack, he wasn't sure if "is" was the right word anymore.
Trunks had forgotten he was still wearing his weighted training clothes—the same ones that felt as light as feathers to him. So when he landed, the force he unleashed was far greater than he'd intended, devastating both Chōza and the surroundings. Just like when he'd nearly killed himself facing Gaara with that reckless Primary Lotus.
"Y-you're saying this man… is on our side?"
"Of course he is, you idiot!" Inoichi bellowed, shaking frog slime off his clothes alongside Shikaku. "That man is—"
"DAAAAAD!!!"
Trunks froze. His face went pale, his heart lurched violently in his chest, and a nervous tic twitched under his left eyelid as he watched in horror. Chōji stood at the crater's edge, crying as he scrambled down the steep slope, racing to his unconscious father's side and sobbing over him.
What had he done? He'd screwed up—badly. He was mortified.
It hadn't just been Chōza's terrifying appearance in his giant form that convinced him the man was an enemy. He also hadn't noticed the ninja forehead protector with Konoha's leaf insignia.
"Chō-Chōji, I—"
"Why did you do it?" Every word came out muffled, buried in the boy's sobs against Chōza's chest. "Why did you attack my dad!?"
"I-I didn't know… I thought he was an enemy. He wasn't wearing a Konoha headband. I…"
"I knew it was a mistake having him with us. He's a danger!"
"Dad, it wasn't intentional. It must've been a misunderstanding."
"D-dad?" His skin prickled instantly when he realized that the fierce blond glaring at him was Ino's father. "Oh, crap. What have I done?"
"Lord Hokage will hear of this. I'll demand an audience. I refuse to let that little monster stay anywhere near you, near our children…"
The tension eased a little when Jiraiya dropped into the crater and managed to bring Chōza back to consciousness. Chōji immediately burst into tears of joy, clinging to his father in a desperate hug, unwilling to let go. You couldn't blame him—he had thought things were far worse.
"Wh-what happened to me?" Between the chubby boy and the Sannin, they helped him stand. As he did, shards of his shattered armor slid from his body and clattered onto the ground with a metallic ring. "Why does it feel like one of your toads crushed me, Lord Jiraiya?"
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. It was all just a misunderstanding. Let's get you to the hospital."
The invasion was nearly over, almost under control, which explained the relative calm among the Leaf shinobi as they moved out.
"Let me guess: Trunks was involved." That all-too-familiar voice of Kakashi made Trunks' stomach sink. How long were he and Goten going to keep screwing up? "What matters is getting him to the hospital now. The way's clear—I just came from neutralizing that sector with Tsume and Hana."
Beside him stood Kiba's mother, with her usual demon-like glare and her ever-faithful Kuromaru. A sharp contrast to Hana, who, while serious, radiated a calm and serenity her mother lacked.
"Just as I thought! This kid is definitely a problem! Keep this up, and he'll wipe us out along with the enemy instead of helping!"
"Grrr woof woof… (not now, Kiba)."
"I don't know what that little furball told you, but I'd bet anything he's got more brains in his head than you do."
Ino knew about the Saiyan's blunder, but she also knew it had been a mistake. She had been inside Trunks' mind—she knew perfectly well he would never intentionally hurt others. He'd fought for Earth and his loved ones since he was just a boy. Blaming him now wouldn't help anyone; there'd be time later to scold him properly.
"Ino, when we get home, we'll have a talk about this." She shrugged helplessly. Yes, she knew Trunks, but she knew her father even better. He wasn't happy at all, no matter how calm he acted.
Kakashi and Jiraiya helped Chōza out of the massive crater, the big man doing his best to reassure his panicked son, who was more shaken than he was despite not being the one hurt.
Alone at the bottom, Trunks stayed silent, fists trembling, unable to even lift his head.
Ino was about to climb down to him, to comfort him somehow, when her father's hand clamped around her wrist. His expression was stern and unyielding, and he shook his head. He pulled her away against her will.
"You know something, Inoichi?" The ever-generous Chōza surprised them with a smile, just as Shikaku stepped in to help him walk. "I think times have changed. Admit it—we're getting old. A few years ago, this wouldn't have happened."
The blond only returned the smile and let go of Ino's wrist, signaling Kakashi with a nod to take over from there.
The kunoichi stayed behind, watching her father and friends being escorted toward the hospital. She took a step to follow, but her legs trembled. Her body resisted; she wanted to turn back and console Trunks. Maybe a hug and a few words would be enough. She flinched when a hand rested on her shoulder.
"Leave him to me. This isn't the right moment. He needs his mind focused on something else. He'll have time to think about what he did later."
"O-okay, Kakashi-sensei." She gave him a small nod and hurried to catch up with the group.
Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets, sighed, and headed to the edge of the crater to peer down at the still-brooding boy. Now they'd have to figure out how to fill such a massive hole. Maybe they could use the rubble of the broken Hokage heads.
"You planning to stay down there all day?" No answer. "You'll have all the time in the world to brood later. Right now, I need you to track Gai's chakra and guide me to him. It'll be faster that way. He might need a hand."
Trunks finally lifted his head. Only Kakashi stood there. The jōnin's face didn't soften, his hard expression didn't shift into a smile, not even close. But still—somehow, Trunks felt the gratitude in his eyes.
"All right."
In Hospital—
Once she had her well-deserved cup of tea in hand, Kurenai didn't budge from her post inside Goten's room. The boy now had only one job: rest. And rest he did.
She couldn't help but chuckle at the way he slept. He moved so much that the sheets had slid onto the floor, while he lay sprawled out, arms and legs open wide, upside down with his head hanging off the bed—like a little kid. She figured it was the sheer exhaustion. At least he wasn't snoring.
"Trunks… the fusion… we have to do the fusion…"
Her smile grew when she realized he was talking in his sleep. She wondered what kind of dream he was having—maybe some adventure with his best friend. But the thought quickly faded when his face twisted into grimaces, a clear sign that the dream had turned into a nightmare.
"Trunks… I can't… do the fusion…"
"Goten, wake up." Kurenai shook him gently by the shoulders when he began to thrash more violently. "It's just a nightmare. Come on, wake up."
"AHH! Wh-what happened?!"
"Just a bad dream, nothing more." Guiding him carefully, the jōnin helped him sit up.
He rubbed his eyes, yawned loudly, then stretched out his arms—until…
"Ouch!"
"What is it?"
"N-no, it's nothing! Really!"
Kurenai arched an eyebrow, suspicion in her gaze. She sat back in the wooden chair next to his bed, a fresh one to replace the one the Saiyan had thrown out the window.
"You don't need to get nervous, I'm not here to scold you. Just tell me—does it hurt?"
For some reason, that worried Goten. He hesitated, but after her insistence, he finally confessed.
"It's just… if I stretch my right arm all the way, it hurts a lot. I can't keep it straight, I have to pull it back…"
"That's it?" She let out a small laugh. The boy was really worried over nothing. "That's minor. With how strong you are, I've no doubt you'll recover fully. You just need patience. Then you can go back to training. That's what you're worried about, isn't it?"
"Not really." His eyes dropped to his fists, clenching tightly over the sheets. "It's just… if I can't stretch my arm, then I can't do the fusion." The instant the word left his lips, he slapped his hands over his mouth, terrified.
"Ah, so you can't do the fusion?" Kurenai still thought of it as some little game between Saiyans. "And I take it Trunks told you not to talk about it. Don't worry, I promise I won't tell him. This stays between you and me. Deal?"
"Okay." He sighed, then finally met her eyes. But the seriousness in his face caught her off guard. "The fusion is a technique my father taught Trunks and me when we were kids. He was dead at the time, so he couldn't fight Majin Boo, but he used his single day on Earth to teach us and leave humanity's fate—maybe the universe's—up to us. With it, two people merge into a single warrior, nearly invincible, far stronger than Trunks and me separately, even stronger than the two of us fighting together. Do you remember that red-haired girl who said someone named Cooler was coming?"
If she could've, Kurenai's jaw would've hit the floor. Sharp as ever, she pieced things together fast, realizing this conversation could only end in dread. Her unease grew, though she stayed silent, nodding so he'd go on.
"It might sound silly, but the steps for the fusion have to be exact. One tiny mistake—a finger out of place, a single degree off—and it fails completely. With my arm like this, there are several moves I just can't get right."
When did Goten get so sharp in his explanations? He might be a simple, impressionable kid, but when it came to fighting, he wasn't naïve at all—he was smart. Just like Goku.
The part about his father being dead and spending a single day on Earth made no sense to her, pure madness. But she let it go—it didn't matter right now. The fusion itself sounded absurd, too, yet strangely believable. If someone like Ginyu could swap bodies, why not this?
"And you really think you'll need it?" Her playful tone had long faded. Her red eyes locked on him with a weight that could shake anyone. "You two are so strong. I think… I think you could handle anything together."
"I don't know. When Trunks told me to raise my ki, I pushed it almost to the max. We can always keep growing stronger, but… we don't have much time." His gaze sharpened, fierce and piercing, reminding her oddly of Sasuke's. "They measured my power with a device, and still said Cooler was far stronger. Maybe they're lying, but…"
"But maybe not…"
She shot to her feet so suddenly the chair nearly toppled. The invasion no longer mattered—most of it was under control anyway. The real threat was this.
She paced the room like a caged tiger, hand pressed against her chin in frantic thought, gnawing at her thumbnail to keep herself steady.
Minutes slipped by. She barely noticed. In her mind, she was already in a meeting with Asuma, Kakashi, and the Hokage. Only when she broke from her spiraling thoughts did she see Goten again—still on the bed, nodding sleepily, about to drift off.
She sighed and went to him.
"Goten, you should rest. Sleep. Recovery is all that matters now."
He didn't respond. The medicine had left him drowsy, too heavy-eyed to fight it.
So she sat again, gently guiding him back down, her hand resting on his small yet defined back. She felt the tension in each muscle—unreal for a twelve-year-old. Life had forced him into this shape.
"That's it. Rest. Don't worry about anything else." Her words were soft, though she doubted he even heard them. He was already gone. "Tomorrow I'll ask Trunks to visit. Maybe that'll cheer you up."
She brushed a hand over his head, stroking a few strands of his dark hair between her fingers before standing. But then his voice, faint and dream-slurred, stopped her in her tracks.
"Thanks… mom…"
Her eyes widened. Goosebumps prickled across her skin. A wave of helpless sorrow flooded her chest. Her fists clenched tight, trembling with rage, but more with a crushing sense of impotence. She felt miserable. Pathetic.
Kurenai wasn't a mother, but for a fleeting instant, she understood what Goten and Trunks' mothers must have felt during the Majin Boo crisis: the weight of knowing the world rested on the shoulders of children.
"Goten… if I could, I'd fight in your place. But I can't. I'm too weak…"
...
"KYA! TATATATATATA!" Gai and Lee shouted in perfect unison, just like Bruce Lee, as they struck down every enemy ninja that crossed their path.
They had already taken out so many that by the time Trunks arrived with Kakashi, neither of them needed to lift a finger. They simply stood as spectators on the rooftop of a small two-story building, watching the wild display unfold.
"Do they really have to yell like that?" Trunks muttered. As a martial artist himself, he was used to shouting during strikes, but not like that. It reminded him of Kenshiro, the main character from the famous anime Fist of the North Star—a show he and Goten never missed when they were kids.
"Yes, Gai's always been like that," Kakashi replied. "Though he's toned it down a little over the years…"
Their attention snapped away when a loud blast—like a smoke bomb going off—detonated nearby. Trunks' eyes widened.
"Twin Rising Dragons! (Sōshōryū!)"
It was Tenten, leaping about five meters high amidst twin columns of dragon-shaped smoke spiraling upward. The dragons quickly dispersed, revealing two massive scrolls. From them, Tenten summoned weapons at breakneck speed, hurling them down at her enemies with breathtaking precision.
The three Sound ninja below scrambled desperately, dodging most of the barrage… but there were just too many. Kunai, shuriken, scythes, fuma shuriken, senbon needles, small daggers—Trunks swore he even saw a full katana in the mix!
She landed a few hits here and there, embedding shuriken and senbon into arms and legs, but nothing fatal… yet.
"Is that all you've got, little girl?" one of the Sound shinobi sneered. Even with his face mostly hidden under bandages, the smug grin was obvious as he yanked a kunai out of his thigh.
"That's when things get interesting," Kakashi murmured.
Defying gravity itself, Tenten hung in the air, arms spread wide. With a sharp pull of her arms, every weapon scattered across the battlefield rose as if by magic—yanked upward as though drawn by invisible threads.
That's when Trunks remembered. Back during the chunin exams, Rock Lee had explained the trick: if Tenten's first wave of projectiles didn't finish the job, she used near-invisible wires to reel all the weapons back and launch them again, this time in one massive synchronized strike.
"ARRRRGGGHHH!"
The three Sound shinobi screamed in unison. Caught off guard, they had no time to dodge. Their only reflex was to cross their arms in a pitiful attempt to shield themselves.
The next moment, they lay sprawled across the ground, riddled with weapons of every shape and size. Their bodies looked like human pincushions. Some still breathed—barely. One, however, might not survive; a katana had pierced him just below the sternum.
"In… incredible…" Trunks stammered. He felt the same awe Goten had when he saw Asuma and Kurenai fight the Sand shinobi. This Tenten girl was not to be underestimated.
"HA! HA! KYAAA!"
This time, it was Hinata who caught his attention.
So focused had Trunks been on Tenten's display that he nearly missed Hinata's battle just meters away.
Two Sand shinobi lunged at her with kunai drawn, but Hinata moved with graceful precision, dodging each strike at the very last moment. Her movements were so fluid and elegant it almost looked like a dance, though no less deadly.
"Quit moving, you little brat!" snarled one of them, spitting foam as his rage boiled over. With a scar splitting across his right eye, he lunged with a predictable thrust at her stomach.
Hinata calmly redirected his wrist outward with one hand, then struck sharply just above his elbow with the fingers of her other hand.
Clang!
The kunai dropped. His arm went limp. He was finished.
Thap! Thap! Thap!
Three rapid strikes from Hinata's Gentle Fist hammered into his torso. The shinobi doubled over, vomiting blood before collapsing face-first into the dirt. His ragged breaths kicked up small clouds of dust.
The last attacker froze. Hinata in front of him, Gai, Lee, and Tenten behind him. He was trapped.
"Surrender," Lee demanded, brows furrowed, stance firm, one hand raised in guard. "The Springtime of Youth has triumphed. You have no chance."
"Let him go!" Trunks shouted, leaping down from the rooftop with Kakashi close behind. "It's pointless. He's already lost. The invasion's under control—I'm sure there are barely any enemies left fighting."
Kakashi nodded at Gai, who stepped aside, letting the terrified boy escape. He was barely older than Trunks or Lee, hardly more than a genin. His fear made sense.
"It seems the rumors about Suna's weakened military were true," Gai said. "They've sent children to invade."
"Looks that way," Kakashi agreed. "My team wrapped up our sector, so we came to help here. Though from the looks of it, they were the ones who needed reinforcements." He glanced at the unconscious and broken bodies strewn across the battlefield. "Especially with Orochimaru pulling the strings. He lured them into this, even though they weren't ready."
"You went a little overboard with the weapons," Trunks remarked.
The two jounin turned back to see the kids already chatting casually, as though nothing had happened.
"I had to," Tenten snapped, arms crossed, eyes flashing. The sharpness in her voice made Trunks' skin prickle. "This is war, not a game. Our lives are on the line too. Besides, you killed that alien yourself."
"If I hadn't, things could've gotten worse. Look at what happened to Goten…" His voice cracked on the name. "I thought he was dead."
Tenten opened her mouth to retort, but no words came out. She regretted what she'd said. Of course, Trunks couldn't be happy with Goten's condition. Trying to lighten the mood, she quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway, for someone so strong, you sure get impressed easily. Don't think I didn't see your face during my jutsu—you were scared!"
It worked. Trunks crossed his arms, his expression taking on that familiar Vegeta-like scowl.
"Tsk. It wasn't that impressive. You throw too slowly. Not enough power."
"What did you say?" Tenten's voice trembled with forced composure, but the tiny pulsing vein on her forehead betrayed her anger. "You may be strong, but I bet you don't even know how to hold a kunai, let alone throw a shuriken!"
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Once this is over, I'll prove I can beat you at it. I'll grab one of those… ninja stars, or whatever they're called, and show you my aim." Trunks' dismissive tone was peak Vegeta, brushing off her skill as though it didn't matter.
"That's enough, my friends!" Lee cut in with a thumbs-up, his blinding grin sparkling. "The important thing is that we're all safe, and the Springtime of Youth marches on!"
"B-but at what cost?" Hinata's small, trembling voice carried weight. "S-so many have died… or are h-hurt…"
She was right. The loss of life was staggering—Sand, Sound, and Leaf shinobi alike—all sacrificed in a meaningless war conjured by Orochimaru, that treacherous demon of a Sannin.
"What do we do now, Gai-sensei?" Lee asked.
"A good question, my dear Lee. At this point, the most prudent thing is—"
BOOOOOOOM!
A monstrous roar shook the village itself. The ground trembled, leaving everyone stunned. Their jaws dropped when they saw the source.
"W-what the hell is that?" Tenten stammered, pale and wide-eyed. And who could blame her? The towering red toad facing off against a colossal sand raccoon was a sight to behold.
"That looks like Gamabunta," Kakashi said with unnerving calm. Deep down, however, he was unsettled. At over 100 meters tall, Gamabunta usually loomed—but even from here, he looked small. The battle was far away, but the scale was terrifying. "As for the other… I have no idea."
"But who summoned Gamabunta?"
"No clue, Gai. Lord Jiraiya should still be in the hospital. He couldn't have returned this fast, unless…"
"The only presences I sense there are Sasuke, Naruto… and that crazy redhead from Suna."
Gaara's chakra was immense, monstrous even—but it paled against the demonic, otherworldly aura of the Shukaku.
"Then Naruto must have summoned Gamabunta," Kakashi concluded.
"N-Naruto?!" Gai sputtered, staring at him in disbelief, sweat pouring down his face. "But he's just a kid!"
"It's the only explanation," Kakashi's voice turned grim. "Remember, he trained with Lord Jiraiya for two weeks. Not much time—but in that same span, Sasuke learned the Chidori."
"There's no comparison! How could he learn to summon Gamabunta so quickly?"
"Seems Naruto's far more talented than we imagined."
Tenten and Lee were speechless. That loud, clumsy boy… did this? Lee admired Naruto, but this was beyond anything he'd imagined. It made him feel small. Weak.
Hinata, meanwhile, flushed scarlet. Her heart pounded so hard she thought it might burst from her throat. Of course, it was Naruto. She had always believed in him, always known how extraordinary he truly was—his unbreakable will, his refusal to ever stay down no matter how many times life struck him.
"I'll go. I can handle it."
Before Kakashi could object, Trunks added, "Yeah, yeah, I know. The toad's the good guy, the sand raccoon's the bad one."
ZAAAAASSS!
He blasted off in a streak of golden light, careful not to send the others flying from the shockwave. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the distance, leaving only a faint golden glimmer.
"Should we follow him, Kakashi?"
Kakashi's lone eye narrowed, his expression unreadable. But his words were heavy.
"…This reminds me of the Nine-Tails' attack."
Minutes earlier…
"After all that effort, was an explosion really the best you could manage?" Even exhausted and battered, Sasuke couldn't help but criticize Naruto's tactic. The boy was a perfectionist to the core.
"Bah! What did you expect me to do? He shielded himself at the last second!"
The outlook was grim. Uchiha couldn't keep going—he had used the last of his energy to leap and intercept Naruto mid-air after the blonde was swatted aside by that monster.
Yes, monster. Whatever they were fighting, it was no longer Gaara. With every passing minute, the redhead lost more of himself, becoming unstable. Sand crept over his body, sculpting itself into a more defined form, complete with grotesque arms sprouting from his sides.
Naruto was in better shape, so he relied on a handful of clones to create a distraction and managed to drive a kunai with an explosive tag straight into the sandy backside of little Shukaku. Aside from the pain it caused, the results were discouraging—the bastard was slowly regenerating.
"If this keeps up, we're going to die." Sasuke struggled to stand, clutching his injured shoulder, glaring helplessly at the opponent in the distance. "I'm out of chakra. That last Chidori drained nearly everything, and I was using the Sharingan the entire fight on top of it."
"Then why don't you just try the technique again?"
"I already did, didn't you see?" Naruto's face froze in shock. Their chances were slipping away by the second. "That last Chidori didn't vanish because Gaara hit me—it vanished because I couldn't maintain it." He shot Uzumaki a sharp look, his eyes now back to black. The Sharingan was gone. "It's useless to try again. Kakashi-sensei said if I use up the last drop of chakra, I'll die…"
"B-but we have to do something…" Naruto couldn't wrap his head around the state his friend was in. Even with Orochimaru's cursed mark crawling across his pale skin, Sasuke didn't have enough energy. Not even that power was enough. The fight had become a one-man battle.
"Naruto, run…" The blonde's eyes widened in shock. "I can keep him busy long enough. Go get help. Something must have happened to Shino, he's taking too long with Kankuro, so don't waste time looking for him. Have Pakkun guide you to Kakashi-sensei…"
"LIKE HELL I WILL! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" That was the last straw. Stubborn as ever, Naruto couldn't accept Sasuke giving up, even if the Uchiha's logic was sound. "I'LL NEVER LEAVE YOU BEHIND, YOU IDIOT! IF YOU'RE GOING TO THROW YOUR LIFE AWAY, I'M DOING IT WITH YOU!"
"That's not what this is about, fool! Think—this is our only option!" Despite their rivalry and clashes, deep down they were close friends. Sasuke couldn't let the blonde throw himself away for nothing. This was his burden to carry. "Staying here accomplishes nothing. But if you leave, you can come back with the help we need to kill this lunatic." He paused, fists clenching, eyes lowering. It wasn't easy to accept dying like this—he still had a debt to settle with Itachi. "If I die now, it just means this is as far as I could go… that I wasn't strong enough. I wouldn't have stood a chance against him anyway…"
Gaara's laughter grew more deranged, his threats echoing like a lunatic's chorus, but Sasuke ignored it, fixing his gaze squarely on Naruto. "I already lost everything once. I won't live through that again. I can't watch my comrades fall right in front of me… I've had enough of that."
"S-Sasuke…" Naruto could hardly believe what he was hearing. He'd never seen this side of his friend—or maybe he just never thought Sasuke would reveal it. For once, he wasn't being selfish.
And Naruto was starting to see things differently, too. After the battle between Goten and Trunks, Kakashi had decided his students deserved to know the truth, so he revealed the real origins of the Saiyans while they recovered in the hospital. Sasuke hadn't been able to sleep for days after hearing it. Eventually, he realized obsessing over surpassing them would only destroy him. The chunin exams were just around the corner.
There would be time to focus on surpassing the Saiyans—if that was even possible. But more and more, doubt gnawed at him. And for someone as prideful as an Uchiha, that said a lot.