The Strength of the Weak {A Naruto Fanfiction}

The Strength of the Weak - Chapter 33

"I have an idea. Right before you transform, I'll body flicker onto Shukaku's head and cast a genjutsu on him to keep him still while you catch him. Then, Naruto can wake Gaara up. The thing is... I won't be able to hold something of this size for long, and it will take a whole lot of chakra to keep the genjutsu under control for long enough, so you'll need to do this fast," I suggest.

With no other option, Naruto and Chief Toad agree to my plan, each of us preparing for our part. Placing my hands in a hand sign, I build up my chakra, getting ready to cast my best genjutsu.

This is gonna be really taxing on me... I already know it.

"Let's go!" Chief Toad says, dashing forward yet again. Naruto builds up his chakra, a fierce look in his eyes. He was not gonna fail.

"Now, Satomi-chan!"

I take a running start, jumping off the Chief's head and body flickering right on the edge of Shukaku's head, as I hear a poof behind me signaling that they had transformed.

"Shukaku!" I shout, gaining the beast's attention. We lock eyes, and that's all I need. I cast my genjutsu on him, trembling harder and harder with each second that passes. Shukaku was fighting to break my hold on him, but I wasn't budging.

The genjutsu may not be very advanced, but it was the only one that would be useful right now. It was easy, and that made it easier to master. I had this jutsu mastered to the farthest extent, so it wouldn't be easy to break out of this.

That is, of course, assuming you aren't a powerful Sand Spirit hell-bent on killing everyone in sight.

Sweat drips down my face as I groan, my strength fading fast. I can't hold on much longer, his spirit is too much for me to control right now!

Naruto and Chief Toad are able to latch on to Shukaku just in time, undoing their transformation right as my genjutsu releases. I gasp in exhaustion and fall to one knee, closing my eyes in pain. It was enough, though.

Naruto lands a punch right to Gaara's face, waking him up instantly from his jutsu. I body flicker behind Gaara before he sees me, just in case I need to come in again with the element of surprise.

"How dare you interrupt my jutsu! I'm going to kill you!" Gaara declares, wrapping his sand around Naruto. I whip out a kunai, a dark look in my usually kind eyes as I charge forward.

"Don't you lay a finger on him!" I screech, shoving my kunai into Gaara's old wound from when he was fighting Sasukeand breaking his concentration. He turns around and slugs me in the face, using his sand to whip me down past Naruto. 

"Get him, Naruto-kun!" I shout as I free fall, putting my hands into a hand sign and body flickering to the top of a nearby tree. Falling to one knee, I look up just as Naruto headbutts Gaara, causing his transformation into Shukaku to disperse into sand. 

Naruto and Gaara begin to fall through the air, each of them clearly at their limit. Chief Toad 's summoning runs up and he heads back to wherever he comes from, leaving me as the only one not completely drained.

Reaching out, I catch Naruto's hand and pull him into my tree before he could continue falling, with Gaara falling into the one opposite of us.

"You did it, Naruto-kun. You did it..." I say, tears brimming my eyes. It was finally over. We had won.

"T-Thanks for catching me, Satomi-chan... but Gaara... you and I are a lot alike, more than you know," Naruto says, catching Gaara's eyes from the other tree.

Gaara begins to fall to the ground, not being able to keep himself up any longer. I gasp and reach out, and as I do, Naruto begins to fall himself.

"Naruto-kun!" I shout, jumping to him and hugging him to myself, body flickering safely to the ground as soon as I had him in my arms.

As we hit the ground, I stumble and accidentally fall, although I'm able to keep Naruto from hitting the ground by taking the fall for him. 

"Let me down, Satomi-chan..."

I lay him on the forest floor, merely watching as he begins to crawl over to Gaara, who was watching with wide, terrified eyes.

"It's almost unbearable, isn't it? The pain of being alone... that's how I used to feel. But now I have friends that love and care for me. I love them more than I love myself, which is why I will not let you lay even a finger on any of them!" Naruto declares tiredly.

"N-No... stay away from me! How could you be so strong?!" Gaara says, struggling to move to get away from Naruto. In turn, Naruto merely smiles at him, unshed tears glistening in his eyes.

"I fight for my friends. My love for them is what makes me strong."

A figure jumps down from the trees behind Naruto and I, causing me to flick out a kunai in defense and turn around.

"Relax, Satomi, it's me," Sasuke says, walking up to the two of us. I sigh in relief, letting my kunai down as Naruto looks up at Sasuke from the ground.

"Sasuke, are you alright?" I ask softly, standing up and walking over to my brother worriedly. He nods his head, avoiding my eyes for some reason. Biting my lip, I realize that my mangekyo sharingan is still active, so I let my eyes return to normal and give him a small smile which he returns.

"Don't worry, Naruto, Sakura is safe. It's time to go back," Sasuke informs. Naruto sighs in relief, letting his eyes flutter closed.

"That's... good..."

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