- - - - - - - -
The Meson Collider was the most recent upgrade to the proton packs that Sakura and Naruto had managed to get functioning again, perfect for penetrating through solid matter. It had been devised in order to combat zombies and other non-ghost creatures.
Right now though... All it seemed to be doing to Shukaku was making him angry.
"GYYYAAARRGGGHHHH! YOU! YOUUU! STINGING BEE! I WANT TO KILL THE BEE! KILL HIMMMM!" The giant demon brought a massive claw down upon a rooftop, Naruto barely managing to leap out of the way. Slimer yelped and clung to the back of Naruto's proton pack, whimpering and trying to hide behind his friend.
"GYAH!" Naruto landed in a roll, snapping back up to his feet and forming a handseal. Slimer whimpered, and popped back into shape.
"TAJU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"
A massive cloud of smoke followed the large number of poofs, and the surrounding rooftops were covered in blondes.
"GET THE CIVILIANS OUT OF HERE!" The real Naruto bellowed, firing repeatedly at Shukkaku's nose. The tanuki howled in pain, before slashing at Naruto again.
"WATCH OUT!"
BOOM... The building beneath Naruto collapsed into debris. Dozens of confused and fightened people appeared in place of several Naruto clones. Other clones picked them up and ran for it, the rest of the massive crowd leaping around and trying to attract Shukaku's attention.
Naturally, it was the real Naruto that earned his exclusive focus. He took a deep breath, and Naruto gulped.
"Uh oh... This doesn't look good..."
"Waaahhh! Waaahhh!" Slimer cried.
"BOOOF!" Shukaku bellowed, blasting another building to rubble. More clones sacrificed themselves to replace civilians.
"I was right," Naruto muttered. He held up the thrower and fired another blast of projectiles into Shukkaku's face, and leaped to another firing point as he bellowed in rage.
He saw Temari nearby and shouted at her. "TEMARI! HEY! ANY SUGGESTIONS?!"
She ducked behind a wall as Shukkaku roared again. Naruto sighed and sent another volley of Meson blasts at the monster's eyes, before running over and ducking behind the same cover.
"Hey! Suggestions please? How do you calm him down usually?"
"You don't understand! That's not Gaara right now, that's Shukkaku! The demon himself! He can't be reasoned with, he can't be bargained with, he's an insane monster out for blood and death and destruction!" Temari screeched.
"... Oh," Naruto said. "Well, that makes things a little more difficult." He set the Meson Collider to full power and jumped back up to his feet. "So, what kind of restaurant would you like to go to?"
"Wh-What?!" Temari stared in total and complete disbelief at the blonde Ghostbuster. Naruto grinned back.
"Well, I've gotta know what you like... Suna cuisine, maybe Nami? I'm partial to Tsuchi cooking myself..."
"You... You are totally insane!" Temari shouted. Naruto looked back at Shukaku, grinned, and looked at Temari with a wink.
"Nah, I just like to know my date's tastes beforehand. It's only polite. So, what'll it be?"
As Shukkaku loomed, Temari just shook her head and slapped a palm to her face in exasperation and disbelief.
"If we manage to survive, I don't care what we eat! There, happy?!"
"Very. If you'll excuse me!" He leaped back into battle, attacking Shukkaku with renewed enthusiasm. Temari looked up, somehow expecting Kakashi to be standing there. He merely shrugged.
"The rest of our team is on the way. It'll be the safest place to be... Comparitively speaking."
Temari managed a nod, and followed the Jounin as he leaped off the roof edge. She looked over her shoulder, eyes firmly on the crazy genin, combatting the massive form of the sand demon with a broad grin.
It figures only an insane man would show that much interest in me, she thought ruefully.
- - - - - - - -
Kankuro had definitely been looking forward to seeing the "Ecto-1" in action. A horseless carriage that, to his chakra senses, apparently had an enormous amount of sealwork and energy running through it? Ninjutsu combined with technology was the center of ninja puppetry. Learning how it worked would be a joy, especially given it's lovely engineer.
However... Actually riding with Sakura as she drove the "car" was definitely not what he anticipated.
"GYYYAAAAHHHH!!!"
UWEAAH! UWEAAH! UWEAAH! The siren of the Ecto-1 wailed as the car barreled through the streets of Sunagakure towards the growing form of Shukaku. Civilians and ninjas alike were barely able to get out of the way of the vehicle, even with the warning the sirens gave them.
"C-Can we slow down a little?!" He managed, tightly gripping the dashboard in front of him. His eyes widened as they smashed through a fruit cart. "GAH!"
"No time! We need to find Naruto, fast, before he screws up anymore than he already has!" Sakura called back, throwing the vehicle into a zig-zag to shake off the fruit and employing the wipers to clear the windshield.
Sasuke sat in the back of the car, seatbelt securely fastened and a slight smirk on his face. How interesting that this irritating ninja's suffering made the ride far more tolerable.
"I thought you were eager to see what this thing could do?" The last Uchiha asked mockingly. Kankuro managed to throw a glare back at Sasuke, which lost most of it's effect when he yelped at a sharp turn.
"Oh, this is bad," Sakura muttered, pulling her ecto-goggles down over her eyes and looking down at her PKE meter. "Very bad..."
"I could've told you that! H-hey, watch where you're going!" Kankuro shouted.
"How bad?" Sasuke asked, now having to work at staying calm. Just enjoy that little weasel's suffering, just enjoy it...
"Remember how I said that a Bijuu runs the range from a Class VIII to a Class IX?" Sakura asked, narrowly avoiding running through a building.
"Yes?" Sasuke managed.
"Well, this is far too strong for what the One Tail should be," Sakura explained. "A low Class VIII is what it should be, but it's pushing into the upper ranges of it's class, maybe all the way up to Class IX."
Sasuke blinked. He'd been trying to understand the mechanics of Ghostbusting (given it seemed likely Team 7 was going to get a lot of missions like that), but much of what Sakura and even Naruto said escaped him. Everything Slimer said escaped him, of course, but for different reasons.
"Uh... Why?"
"Don't know," Sakura said. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough-"
"LOOK OUT!" Kankuro screamed. Sakura turned the wheel to the left, barely evading a water fountain.
"It'll probably take everything we've got, and then some," she idly commented. She squeezed between two carts, Ecto-1 powering through. "Fortunately... I have a plan."
Sasuke sighed. This won't end well...
It was at this moment Kakashi and Temari landed in the road ahead, and Kankuro grabbed Sakura's shoulder in response.
"Stop! STOP!"
Sakura slammed on the brakes, and Ecto-1 came to a screeching halt. Shakily, Kankuro let go of Sakura and gripped the dashboard, as though unsure if they had actually come to a halt.
"Naruto's fighting Shukkaku," Kakashi said as Sakura rolled down the window.
"I figured," Sakura sighed. "Okay, hop in and gear up. We're going to get in close, and hit Shakkaku as close as we dare."
"And then?" Kakashi asked, slipping into the expansive back seat of the car with Temari. Sakura shrugged.
"I'm still working on it..."
"Ah, good! Everything is as it should be," Kakashi said cheerfully, leading Kankuro and Temari to stare at him. Sasuke shook his head.
"Drive," he said, and Sakura set off once more towards the growing form of Shukkaku.
- - - - - - - - - -
Uweah... UWEAAHH... UWEAAAHH...
Naruto turned and grinned at that familiar sound. He fired another volley of Meson blasts at Shukaku's eyes, making the demon howl in rage, before he leaped down to land on the hood of Ecto-1, which had just pulled up behind the building he was currently fighting from.
"Hey Sakura! Sasuke! Temari! Kakashi! ... Whoever you are!" Naruto greeted them cheerfully. "How's it going?"
Sakura got out of the car and immediately whacked her partner over the head. "IDIOT! What the hell did you do?!"
"Um, you know that ring you made to put people to sleep? Apparently it's not good to put it on the heads of Shukaku containers..."
"Don't you listen to anything I say?!" Sakura screeched.
"Ahem," Sasuke said. He pointed up at Shukaku, who was bearing down on them. Sakura coughed.
"Oh yes... Quickly! Boson Darts, target it's head!"
"Boson Darts?" Kakashi asked, as he and Sasuke got out with their proton packs on. Temari and Kankuro shakily got out, looking... Well, very much like anyone who drove with Sakura looked like afterwards.
"The red button next to your trigger! Press it when the stream is engaged!" Sakura commanded. Naruto switched over to the standard particle stream, and stood in a line with the rest of Team 7. Sakura charged up her own proton pack with it's powerful, reassuring ring, and took aim.
"Ready, aim, FIRE!"
Four particle beams lashed out, whipping wildly in the air until they impacted the head of the sand construct. Then, four large orbs of energy travelled up the beams, like eggs travelling the length of a snake. They impacted Shukaku's head as one, blasting the sand tanuki's face apart, exposing a solid-looking black orb. Sakura held up her PKE meter, scanning it.
"Yep... He's in there all right," Sakura said. "The demon formed a shell out of flocculated ectoplasm. It's lifeforce is still bound to Gaara-If he dies, it dies."
Shukaku's great bulk stumbled, but the sand began to reform.
"So, what do we do?" Kakashi asked. Sakura frowned, and rummaged through her pockets. She produced a small scroll, which she unsealed with a drop of her blood. A strange device the size of a dinner plate with complex seals all over it emerged.
"This is an anti-bijuu sealing mechanism I've been working on," Sakura explained. "It can disrupt the connection between a jinchurikki and the biju that resides within him or her, sealing the demon deeper and suppressing it further than the seal already does."
"So, we just slap that thing on Gaara, save the day and Temari and I can go on our date," Naruto enthused. "I love it, let's do it!"
"Ah, a few slight details," Sakura said dryly. "The sleeping band has to be off Gaara for the sealing mechanism to work. And the mechanism has to be on Gaara himself in order for it to work. Someone has to get close enough to do both these things."
All eyes turned to Naruto. The blonde stared back.
"Hey, wait a minute... I didn't know it was going to do that!"
"Nevertheless, you did bring about the current situation, Naruto," Kakashi reminded him.
"Yeah, but still... It's Sakura's plan," Naruto said.
"Well, if you think you can't do it," Sasuke said. Naruto scowled at him.
"Oh, you just had to say it! Don't think I can't figure it out, I'm a psychologist after all! You're going to wound my pride in order to motivate me into doing it! Well..." He crossed his arms.
"I was going to do it anyway! I was just acting hesitant to downplay my own obvious heroism! So ha! I saw through your little ploy!" He grabbed the sealing mechanism and turned to face Shukaku. Sasuke shook his head.
"Clearly, you are too smart for my manipulations," the last Uchiha said dryly. Naruto looked back at Slimer, still huddled against his proton pack and whimpering, and then back at Sasuke.
"Why Sasuke! What is that in your boot? Why, if I didn't know any better, I would swear it was a candy-"
"Withdrawn, withdrawn," Sasuke said quickly, as Slimer perked up. Naruto grinned and looked at Temari.
"Five minutes, tops."
"But how will you get up to Gaara?" Kankuro asked with a scoff. A loud POOF and cloud of smoke filled the street, and when it cleared, Sakura was standing over a perculiar contraption. It had two seats, three wheels, and a steering mechanism, which suggested it was a vehicle, but the only means of propulsion Kankuro could see was on top of it-Two wide blades attached to a rotator assembly, and two wings on either side of it below the seats..
He looked at Sakura, eyes widening.
"You... It... It can't be..." He gaped. "A-A flying machine?!"
Sakura blushed, and smiled as she rubbed the back of her head.
"Ah, um, yes..."
"Awesome! Our first test flight, and I get to fly it!" Naruto grinned, hopping into the pilot's seat and pulling on a helmet.
"First test flight?" Temari asked.
"They don't even know if it will work," Sasuke said dryly. Sakura shot an indignant look at Sasuke.
"Of course it will work! I've done all the calculations myself!"
"But it's never actually flown before, has it?" Sasuke pressed.
"That's the best part, Sasuke!" Naruto said with a thumbs up.
"So what do we do while you two go off in your flying machine?" Kakashi asked.
There was silence for a few moments, before Sakura cleared her throat and stepped away from Ecto-2.
"Sasuke, please go with Naruto."
"What?!" Sasuke demanded.
"Somebody's going to have to keep flying her when I jump off," Naruto said.
"Jump off?!" Sasuke asked, voice strangled by disbelief and anger. Kakashi merely smiled.
"I would be happy to accompany you, Naruto. I can scan your movements with the Sharingan, and take over once you jump."
"All right, sounds good, let's move! Shukkaku's nearly fully reformed!" Sakura pointed out. "Sasuke, get up top! Temari, Kankuro, in the car!"
"What are we doing?" Sasuke asked as he nevertheless complied. Naruto started up Ecto-2, the little helicopter's engine sounding loud in the confined street. Sakura started up Ecto-1, and ran the siren at full volume.
"Acting as the distraction! NOW FIRE!" Sakura shouted, as she hit the accelerator and Ecto-1 took off.
UWEAAHHH! UWEAAHHH! UWEAAHHH!
Strange, I'm somewhat calm in the face of all this, Sasuke mused as he stuck himself to the roof of the car, and pointed his neutrona wand up at Shukkaku. Maybe he was finally connecting with his teammates, feeling trust in them.
"Oh! And if you feel like screaming in fear, Sasuke-kun, it's all right-It'll attract more attention!" Sakura shouted up to him over the siren, rushing wind and roar of the reformed sand tanuki. Sasuke stared up at Shukkaku, and shuddered.
Or I'm just becoming as insane as they are, he thought as he fired his proton gun right at Shukkaku's face.
- - - - - - - -
The Kazekage watched the battle from atop his tower, arms crossed over his chest. He scowled out over the village as Shukkaku bellowed and caused wanton destruction.
Granted, the demon had not destroyed anything important, and he supposed sacrifices had to be made, but Konoha was going to owe him big for this.
All the same, the power demonstrated by the Ghostbusters so far was impressive. None of his jutsus could even hope to scratch the fully awakened Shukkaku, and these Ghostbusters' weapons were causing great destruction on the demon. More than that, they were keeping it occupied, meaning he would not have to waste any of his own ninja to engage the demon.
"Kazekage-sama, the ANBU units are scrambling to evacuate the battle area. What are your orders?" Scorpion asked. The Kazekage turned and smirked.
"To watch the show, of course," he said with a dry chuckle. "I believe our demon problems will be over soon... Oh, and see the civilian construction board. I believe the clearance afforded by Shukkaku should be put to better use in the future."
He turned and resumed watching, a smirk on his face.
"One other thing... The Priests of the Shukkaku Shrine insist on being allowed to observe the battle."
The Kazekage's smirk grew. Despite the destruction, this day was just getting better and better.
"If they wish to throw their lives away, by all means... Don't stop them."