Disclaimer: Kishimoto Masashi owns Naruto, and it is thanks to his brilliant mind that all of us fanfiction writers have a medium to vent our frustration and anger… I mean, a method to channel our creativity and ingenuity.

Pre-fic Completion A/N: This story is roughly based before chapter 343 of the manga. I've been toying with this plot in my head for a while now, but I never really had time (or the motivation) to put it on paper… or my hard drive.

Oh, italics are used for both emphasis and flashback, I do the same thing every story, so don't act surprised! It's really not that hard to tell the difference.

And now that that's out of the way, enjoy.

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His Greatest Weakness

templar132

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Naruto was running as fast as he could.

This was his one chance.

His only chance.

He had to succeed here, or Konoha would forever remain threatened, and he would lose his last chance to fulfill his long overdue promise.

The ANBU had gathered intelligence that Orochimaru himself had appeared within the borders of Fire Country. Being the audacious traitor he was, he'd practically broadcasted his presence to Konoha.

Fueled by the need to find the last Sannin and his former best friend, Naruto had moved out with a squad of Konoha's best ninjas to take him down even against the council of his advisors, his friends, and his top tactician, Shikamaru.

They'd claimed that it was all a trap to lure the newly instated Rokudaime of Konoha.

But Naruto didn't listen to them. He needed to do this, even though he knew he was being selfish. A Hokage had to put the village first. No personal issues could get in his way. But nevertheless, he couldn't help it.

He had to find Sasuke.

The last time he'd heard of his estranged teammate was when he appeared for a short time at the borders of Wave Country. He had been seen with Orochimaru, heading for the Hidden Village of the Mist. But soon after, he'd completely disappeared off the map for over a year.

Naruto had feared that the body transfer might have taken place, ever since they'd interrupted it once over three years ago. Orochimaru obviously wasn't taking chances this time, and planned on performing it in an isolated region which Konoha wasn't capable of penetrating without openly declaring war.

Now, the two of them had popped up again, and Naruto wasn't going to miss this chance to finally find closure and put his demons to rest. Though in his case, there was one demon that would never shut up…

He shook his head, attempting to clear his mind. This was no time to get distracted.

He and his team had picked up on Orochimaru's trail, and were in close pursuit. However, about three kilometers back, the scent had split up into four directions. The members of the Sannin's entourage had obviously split up. Whether it was to separate them or not, Naruto had decided that pursuing each one separately would allow their quarry to get away too easily.

At the moment, all he could hear was silence.

That was the first telltale sign that something was wrong. No bird songs, no distinct sounds of small mammals scurrying in the grass, and the absence of insects sent alarm bells ringing in his head.

He ducked, dodging a barrage of shurikens.

Naruto stepped into a defensive stance, ready to deflect anything that came his way.

A figure stepped out of the forest in front of him, shrouded in darkness. But Naruto could easily tell who it was by his silhouette.

The man he'd spent years chasing. Uchiha Sasuke.

Even with his goal right in front of him, Naruto remained on the alert, trying to sense the snake's chakra in the vicinity. He could tell that Orochimaru was somewhere close, but for some reason, he couldn't' pinpoint exactly where.

In front of him, the Uchiha suddenly started chuckling.

Distracted, the blond looked at his former friend, only to be frozen by what he saw.

Sasuke was licking his lips… with a tongue long enough to reach his chin.

"You shouldn't be looking for me, Naruto-kun. Oh, wait, or should I say, you shouldn't be looking for Orochimaru? It gets so very complicated when you're using someone else's body, doesn't it?"

Naruto couldn't move. His eyes were wide and his hands were trembling. Not from fear or uncertainty, but more so because his failure had just hit him like a slap on his face.

He couldn't believe it.

He couldn't believe that the person in front of him was no longer Sasuke.

His teammate, his friend, his rival, his brother.

"Naruto, please bring Sasuke-kun back!"

He'd promised that he'd bring him back no matter what. He'd made the promise of a lifetime.

But he'd failed already. The person standing in front of him was no longer the Sasuke he knew, but an imposter.

There had always been a possibility that something like this could've happened, but Naruto had retained hope that Sasuke would rather go to hell than become Orochimaru's new container. Now his hope had been obliterated in an instant.

Naruto had been too distracted in his despair that he never saw the fist flying at his face.

He skidded across the ground, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

As he slowly ground to a halt, he tried to regain his bearings and stood up, only to be struck down again by Sasuke's relentless blows.

The blond shinobi continued taking punishment, after all, he'd failed, hasn't he? What was the point in fighting anymore? Sasuke was gone, and with that, his promise of a lifetime had become nothing.

Orochimaru's cold voice rang out. "Is this all you've got, Naruto-kun? Shame, I'd actually hoped you would've put up a better fight than this. Looks like Konoha's ninjas really are lacking in quality."

Not getting a response, he continued, "After I kill you today, I think I'll pay a visit to my old friends. How are Tsunade and Jiraiya these days? Old and weak? Oh well, their time has come… my only regret, Naruto-kun, is that you won't be there to witness the destruction of your beloved village."

Blue eyes snapped up.

What was he doing? Was he really that weak? Was he going to sit there and just watch Sasuke kill him just because he'd been too late? If he didn't get up and fight now, all of Konoha would be in danger. All his friends, all his precious people…

'No, I can't let that happen,' he thought. 'I'm the Rokudaime Hokage of Konoha, and it's my sworn duty to protect everyone! I swore an oath the day I became Hokage, and I never take back my words!'

And though he may have broken a promise, he wasn't going to give up. There had to be some traces of Sasuke left within his mind, and even if he had to beat his body senseless, he'd get rid of Orochimaru and get his best friend back. It didn't matter how he did it, but he'd find a way, no matter what! And even if that didn't work, he'd never let Sasuke be used by someone as evil as Orochimaru!

And with those words, a fire was rekindled, growing stronger and stronger until it became a blaze of determination in his cerulean eyes.

Orochimaru's fist swung at him again, only to be grabbed by Naruto. The Sannin's surprised expression was quickly hidden by a swift punch in the face.

As the possessed Uchiha's body flew back, Naruto wiped off the blood that he'd coughed up during his beating and quickly made shadow clones and lunged in to attack.

The two of them met in a deadly dance, eerily similar to the one that had taken place eight years ago at the Valley of the End.

Naruto threw a brace of kunai with explosive tags attached to it. Orochimaru was forced to dodge left, and three shadow clones converged on him.

Poof! Orochimaru's hands burst into snakes, which destroyed the shadow clones and gave the Sannin enough time to dodge the real Naruto's Rasengan from above.

'Damn it!' Naruto thought as he stepped out of the crater. Orochimaru was too fast, and they were getting nowhere. Even after all his training, he still wasn't able to get him, and it didn't help that the bastard had gotten a younger body to inhabit.

The two of them faced each other again, neither willing to attack first. An oppressive pressure of chakra settled around the area, and killer intent emanated from both duelists. Naruto could feel Kyuubi's chakra attempt to surge into his system, but he beat it down. He needed to keep his head clear during the fight, and couldn't afford to lose his concentration.

Then, Orochimaru chuckled, sounding remarkably like Sasuke as he did so.

"Thank you Naruto-kun, for finally showing me the jutsu I've wanted to learn for years."

Naruto remained confused by that statement until he saw Sharingan gleam back at him.

He'd completely forgotten about the Sharingan, and Naruto was feeling particularly stupid at that point… did that mean…?

The dark-haired man sped towards him faster than he'd expected, and Naruto was forced into a defensive stance, only to have his eyes widen as Orochimaru rammed a fully fledged Rasengan into his gut.

Naruto expected a wrenching pain to hit his stomach, but didn't feel anything. The Rasengan simply dissipated upon nearing its target.

He looked up to see Orochimaru's enraged yet puzzled face and grinned. "You can't just copy the Rasengan, it takes years of practice!" And with that, he Hokage slammed his own swirling ball of chakra into his adversary.

Taking advantage of his opponent's temporary weakness, Naruto rained in blow after blow, and finished his attack up with a Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu.

To his dismay, Orochimaru managed to dodge the last jutsu he'd cast, and came back at him in full force.

"Fūton: Daitoppa!" Naruto shouted as he sent a flurry of destruction towards the tree the snake user had retreated to, forcing Orochimaru to jump off and send chidori needles in his direction.

Converging on each other again, Naruto aimed a kick at the Sannin's head, only to have him block and attempt to thrust a palm into his chest. The blond quickly pulled back by thrusting his palms in Orochimaru's direction and releasing wind chakra. Then he went in for another punch, only to be hit by two snakes that shot out of his opponent's sleeve. Poof! The kage bunshin disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and Orochimaru was flung against a tree after the real Naruto slammed his fist against his head.

They continued fighting, trying to overpower the other. One was driven by determination and love, while the other was fighting for the destruction of Konoha and additional power and jutsu.

Naruto noticed that Orochimaru's fighting style kept sporadically changing from a katana-based style mixed with lightning jutsu, to one that relied on snake summoning jutsu. Evidentially a side effect from taking over someone else's body… it gave Naruto enough openings to pummel the Sannin, but they'd been forced into a form of stalemate.

After taking the brunt of a particularly nasty chidori nagashi, Naruto was forced to stop and take a breather. He was slowly, but surely getting exhausted, and from watching Orochimaru become steadily slower, he knew that they were both approaching their limits. Taking an inventory of his injuries, he noted that he was covered in cuts and bruises, his gut still hurt where he'd been slashed viciously by what used to be Sasuke's katana, and he was pretty sure his internal organs had been damaged in some way. At this rate, the best result he could hope for would be a draw, for they were evenly matched. Naruto grimaced. Failure was not an option here. He absolutely had to succeed.

Naruto knew he had one more option… but Tsunade had said never to use that jutsu again…that he'd be risking not only his future career as a ninja, but his own life as well.

But one memory forced aside all his hesitation.

"Naruto… this will be the only favor I ask of you…"

"It's the promise of a lifetime!"

Panting heavily, he made four shadow clones and prepared to create his ultimate jutsu.

Orochimaru laughed, "Really Naruto-kun, is the kage bunshin the only jutsu that you know? Because it's getting pitifully old now." Red eyes with swirling tomoe seemed to mock Naruto, but he concentrated on forming his wind based technique.

Naruto allowed himself a grim smile as he saw the Sannin's surprised expression. Chakra was gathering in his hands in enormous amounts, and slowly, the dim outline of a shuriken began to form.

The rest of his clones darted in to attack, and once his Rasengan had fully coalesced, he too ran faster than he'd ever run before. Two clones circled behind Orochimaru and lunged forward, forcing Orochimaru to dodge and dispatch them. One clone simply threw himself at the Oto-nin and was stabbed by the Kusanagi's blade, allowing the last remaining kage bunshin to grab Orochimaru into a submissive hold, allowing just enough time for the swirling mass of destructive wind chakra to connect.

"Fūton: Rasenshuriken!"

A white light enveloped the entire forest, and the very air itself was sucked into the newly created vortex, destroying everything in the vicinity of the initial blast.

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When Naruto regained consciousness, his was immediately overwhelmed by the excruciating pain that he felt emanating from his right arm. After trying to fight off the pain, which he could just barely do, he saw that his arm had been brutally torn up until his shoulder. The entire arm was practically leaking blood, but he could feel the Kyuubi begin what reparations it could. Though even the fox wouldn't be able to fully heal his arm, its chakra would be enough to keep him from dying.

So he wasn't mortally wounded, but he wasn't strong enough to pick up what remained of the last Uchiha. He couldn't even muster the strength to stand up. He would have to wait until reinforcements came. Every ninja within a 50 kilometer radius had to have felt the immense chakra buildup and subsequent explosion he had made, so they'd be making their way over to his location.

An enormous grin made its way onto his face. He'd finished Orochimaru off, and hopefully, he'd given Sasuke peace.

The grin slipped off when a figure rose out of the crater he'd made.

'Impossible!'

But out of the ashes walked out Sasuke's body, still possessed by Orochimaru, who was almost as beaten up as he was, but still had full functioning use of his limbs. But…. There was no way he could still be alive, let alone stand, after what he'd done…

Red eyes gleamed at him again, mocking him once more.

'Damn it, he must've used the Sharingan to see through my attack, letting him escape most of the damage…' but even with his reasoning, he still couldn't believe it.

His bloodied face twisted into a grimace, Orochimaru said, "Looks like you're more of a challenge than I'd expected, Naruto-kun… to think, that you'd force me to use my trump card that I was saving for Tsunade… I would've loved to see her face after seeing her long dead apprentice again…"

Orochimaru kept talking, but Naruto didn't even bother listening to the rest. Those few words replayed in his head over and over again.

"I would've loved to see her face after seeing her long dead apprentice again…"

But last time he'd checked, Shizune was still head medic of Konoha hospital so… did it mean that she was alive? The one person he'd hoped to see even more than Sasuke, the person he'd dreamed about, fantasized about, and longed to see for five long, painful years…

He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't even see Orochimaru fly through seals and say, "Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei"

A vortex opened on what remained of the forest floor, and a single coffin with the kanji "桜" imprinted across the front slowly rose.

Time slowed as the cover fell off, and Naruto could only watch in horror (or was it some sick kind of joy?) as light pink tresses, a red shirt, a white skirt, and black shinguards were revealed. She looked exactly like he'd remembered her, except for the dust and decay that marred her delicate features.

Her eyes shot open, unfocused and glazed over from years of neglect. But then they dilated and focused, her emerald eyes became clearer and clearer as they slowly brought back her sight. Her jade eyes, which he had gone without seeing for so long, focused on him, and her expression changed into one of shock, then confusion.

"Naruto?"

Naruto's voice failed him and all he could utter was a faint whisper, "…Sa-…Sakura-chan…."

Their eyes connected, the world around them melted away

"Sakura-chan! Behind you!" and before he could do a thing, a sickening squelch was heard as the knife-like vine stabbed through. Green eyes glazed over, a mouth hung open, and a thin red trail made its way down pale skin. The body slumped over, life seeping out of it just as the figure behind also breathed their last breath. The botanical monster known as clad in Akatsuki robes had been defeated, but at a price much higher than Naruto was willing to pay.

Their expressions mirrored the others. They wore perfect faces of shock, disbelief, and in Naruto's case, immense sorrow and grief.

He slowly traced the name on the sleek stone, his fingers reluctant to leave the surface, almost as if removing his touch would be the same as letting her memory go. "I brought you something…" He waited wistfully hoping that he could've received a response. Getting none, he proceeded. "I remember how you used to love reading these books… you said that they were like a break from reading all those medical tomes and manuals. But I never really understood why you liked these cheesy romance stories, did I? I figured that there was no use wishing for something since you could spend your time working to get it instead… but I think I know how you felt... This one is pretty good, it's about this guy who falls in love with a girl, and… oops, yeah, I know I shouldn't be giving out spoilers, sorry." With a sheepish yet sad smile, he set the novel down on the ground. "I'll be back later to pick it up when you're done."

Silence was all he got as a response.

As he made his way out of the graveyard, he whispered, "Happy Birthday, Sakura-chan."

Was this a dream come true? Or his greatest nightmare?

He couldn't move, breathe, or even blink. All he could do was stare at her… this couldn't be real. She couldn't be here right now. He'd watched as she died, he'd gone to her funeral, he'd visited her grave… Was this real? He clasped his hands together, ignoring the mind-numbing pain that shot up his arm.

"Kai! Kai! KAI!!!"

He looked up again, and she was still there, uncertainty and confusion all too evident in her eyes.

All he could do was apologize.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

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She was even more confused now? Why did Naruto act like he was trying to shake off a genjutsu? And why was he hurt so badly? The last time she saw him, he'd been fine. Granted, he'd been beaten up to some extent, but that had to be expected when fighting Akatsuki. And why did Naruto suddenly have a black trench coat in place of his orange jacket? And why did he say he was sorry?

"Naruto, wha-…what…" Her voice trailed off, unspoken questions on the tip of her tongue. Where are we? What happened to you? What's going on? Why are your clothes different?

The last thing she remembered was fighting that plant-like freak of nature… then she heard Naruto yell something… then her memory suddenly blanked until the point she opened her eyes a couple seconds ago, to see Naruto in a completely different outfit and his arm hanging limply by his side…

A cold, inhuman laugh broke the silence, and Sakura whirled around to be shocked into silence once more.

There standing barely a meter from her, was Sasuke, but there was one glaring difference between him and the Sasuke she'd fallen in love with.

His eyes were yellow with black slits… and a tongue longer than any she'd ever seen was flitting around his face. She'd only seen a tongue that long on one person.

And right next to her was a large coffin that seemed to have simply spouted out of the ground.

Then everything clicked, and a cold, gut-wrenching feeling crawled up her spine. She'd been through the archives in the Hokage tower while studying under Tsunade… and she'd stumbled upon an S-class secret document that briefly mentioned a jutsu that could revive the dead, but she'd assumed it meant some sort of medical or puppet jutsu that simply controlled bodies. But the puzzle pieces fell into place. A Naruto that seemed much taller, older, and stronger. Orochimaru. And the coffin.

Did that mean… she had died?

No, that wasn't possible. She could remember being perfectly fine after having pounded Zetsu's face/pod into the ground after using a well placed genjutsu… she'd won…

But as much as she tried to deny it, her mind sent her a clear message. She. Was. Dead.

Her mind had accepted it, but her heart wouldn't, and tears started to gather in the corners of her eyes.

Sasuke (or was it Orochimaru?), upon seeing this, smiled, and Sakura felt the overwhelming urge to kill him. But just as she was about to act on her impulses, he spoke. "You should see yourself, Naruto-kun. I thought you would be happy to see your old teammate again."

Again, something compelled her to turn around, and what she saw shook her to the core.

Naruto was looking at her, with tears streaming down his face, and his lips keeping any sobs from escaping. But what she saw in his eyes scared her the most. Instead of those clear blue eyes that had sparkled with enthusiasm and mischievousness, they bore something she hadn't noticed before. Despair and guilt. Realizing that she was looking at him, he turned his head away, almost as if he thought himself unworthy to look at her.

When it came to her blond teammate, no one knew him as well as she did, and though that may have changed now, she still knew that he would hold himself personally responsible for her death, and her eyes started prickling again at the thought of him having tortured himself for an indeterminate amount of time about something that had been entirely out of his control. Once again, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing. As she felt liquid trail down her cheeks she knew what she had to say.

"Naruto… I'm sorry… and I forgive you."

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Naruto couldn't' believe what he was hearing. Was she… dare he say it… forgiving him? After he failed to do the one thing she'd asked of him, and even after he failed to keep her safe?

He slowly, hesitatingly raised his head, and even though his vision was clouded by his tears, he could still see her give him a smile. Not one of her happy, warm smiles she used to give him when they were together, but a sad one that spoke volumes about how she felt.

But their moment of peace was broken by that sick twisted laugh that he'd grown to hate even more than he had before.

Orochimaru had snuck up behind Sakura and without warning, placed a kunai with a seal into her head.

They had both been lost in their own world that they'd completely forgotten about the situation they were in.

Naruto tried to move. He had to go help Sakura, but his body wasn't cooperating. Not only was his right arm completely useless, but his legs weren't strong enough to support his weight, let alone run.

He could only watch as Sakura seemed to regenerate, her skin no longer the pale grey, and her lips slowly returning to the pale pink similar to her hair.

But her facial expressions suddenly became neutral, as if her emotions had been stripped from her.

"You should consider yourself lucky Naruto-kun." Orochimaru drawled, letting a sadistic smirk cross his face. Naruto could only glare back, but his mind was once again preoccupied. What was happening to his Sakura-chan?

Not receiving an answer or a scathing comment, Orochimaru continued his explanation with an air of triumph, "This seal used to eliminate the resurrected body's memories and emotions, removing their ability of free thought. That gives me complete control of their bodies and minds. But for this little girl here, who obviously had close ties with you and Tsunade, I decided to develop a new seal. You will be the first to see that this seal allows the host to see exactly what she is doing with no power to stop it."

Green eyes widened in horror as Sakura heard what was being said.

Naruto still didn't have enough chakra to do anything. Even the fox, who seemed to be aware of the dire situation at hand, was pumping as much chakra as possible into Naruto's system, but having already built up a substantial amount just to keep his arm from bleeding, his body couldn't handle anymore demonic chakra without overloading himself.

Once again, a feeling of desperation and helplessness consumed him. It was just like the day when he'd lost Sakura, he was vulnerable and weak once more.

"Naruto, run! Get away from here!"

Naruto gave her one last grin. "Sakura-chan, you know that's not my style."

Orochimaru began to laugh manically, which both of them ignored. Then, Sakura began running at him, fist lined up to smash him into the hard, unforgiving earth. Only this time, it wouldn't be like the times when she'd punched him for doing something particularly stupid…

Her eyes were shedding tears again, and she was desperately pleading with him, to move, to dodge, to block, to do anything to stop her.

As she got closer, and as her shouts of "Don't just sit there!" and "Naruto!" became more desperate, he gave her a smile, similar to the one she'd given him earlier.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. I forgive you."

And Uzumaki Naruto knew no more.

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The Sandaime Hokage once said, "A shinobi attains their true strength, when they're protecting those that are precious to them."

And Uzumaki Naruto unconsciously kept those words close to heart, giving them an even greater importance over his nindo that he would never take back his words.

It became his greatest strength, and with it, he attained the acclaimed title of Hokage, fulfilling his life's dream.

But little did he know that such a strength could be turned against him, making his love for the people he cherished… His Greatest Weakness.

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"Love is giving someone the ability to destroy you, but trusting them enough not to."

Quoted from a good friend.

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Post-fic Completion A/N: I am eternally grateful to my wonderful beta and supporter, ValkyrieWarrior (though using her penname is really awkward) without whose support and feedback, I never would've gotten the courage to write this.

Did I promise some of you that this fic would be done by last week? As in August 910th? Eh.. sorry, it's just that this fic took way longer than I'd planned it to be, because new ideas kept cropping up, and I'd recently finished Ceras Gala's Between the Lines, which was the highlight of this month for me. So, I've been expanding and adding my finishing touches, and I sincerely hope you will like this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I realize it's not perfect, that Japanese words, canon jutsu, and characterization may seem strange to many of you, but I did the best I could using my thoughts and interpretations of Naruto (and my own plot of course). Plus, this is the first fight scene I've done, so excuse me if it doesn't meet expectations.

With that being said, I'd like to thank everyone who read this for… well… reading His Greatest Weakness, and I hope you'll leave any thoughts and comments (though it's not mandatory or anything… heh…)