DISCAILMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO; but I own the OCs in this story, so don't go stealing!

MOON SAYS: Oh my gosh, I'm finally publishing this, aren't I? I've sat on this story for over a year now. I had wanted to complete it before uploading it, but it keeps giving me the evil eye, you know? So here it is, halfway done. There are 12 chapters total. With each release of a new chapter, that means I have written the next chapter in the second half. So, hoepfully, by chapter 7 I will have the story completed. Or sooner...depending on my other stories!

SUMMERY: The 4th Shinobi War was brutal and everyone changed. Yet Death isn't through with the survivors, the Kage's are thrown out of balance and they find themselves twelve years old again. Naruto and six other war survivors are caught in the middle of a war that doesn't have anything to do with them…or does it?

PAGES: 12

WORDS: 6, 013

POSTED: September 22, 2010

ENJOY!

~~Hunters~~

Chapter 1

The journey from Suna to Konoha was boring as it always was during the fall.

Gaara was traveling with his siblings: Temari and Kankuro. He also had following them from the shadows an ANBU squad. It was the curse of being Kazekage; always having someone following you.

His brother and sister were talking, and arguing as usual, and he didn't feel like getting in on that. Over the years his siblings had become more accepting and nice to him. It was all thanks to Naruto Uzumaki; his first friend and, now, fellow Kage.

He still remembered it like it was yesterday that Kage Meeting, the first and last one Danzo attended. During that meeting Sasuke Uchiha had killed the new Hokage. Seconds after Naruto rushed in and knocked the last Uchiha—known one—unconscious.

Since Danzo hadn't been Hokage for long, and hadn't been voted on either, he was not the true Rokudaime. But they were a Kage short. Gaara, with all his brilliantness, suggested Naruto; he had saved his village from Pein, the Leader of Akatsuki, just days before.

The other Kage's agreed to his suggestion. But they still had to do something about the idiotic Uchiha. Naruto, being the Kage of the Village that he ran from, had total say. Being the friend and good person that he was, he pardoned him by making up some shitty excuse that no one really brought about him being a spy among Orochimaru.

It soon proved to be a great action. Not long after Akatsuki struck with everything it had. Many were lost, many were saved. Uchiha was one of the main players against Akatsuki. Uchiha lived, so did Naruto and Gaara.

That pink haired girl on Naruto's team was one of the first to die. Not all, but some of the Konoha Twelve kicked the bucket as well. The two Hyuuga's still lived. The female was the Head Medic in Konoha, while the male went to the ANBU. He and Uchiha were in charge of the ANBU, with Uchiha in charge of the Hokage's safety.

The dog boy died by the Mist Ninja that looked like a fish, and so did his dog. The blonde girl was with him, but managed to kill off the enemy before she croaked herself.

The fat ninja was partnered with the bug user and they both died; but not before they took down an Akatsuki member that looked like a plant.

The brown headed girl who fought with Temari during the Chuunin Exams, and Rock Lee survived, but had to quit being Ninja's. They were far too injured to continue their Ninja life. Last time Gaara checked the two had married and was starting to open a Taijutsu Training Center and a Shinobi Weapon Shop.

The lazy genius had married Temari, but was fine with their long distanced marriage. He was also advisor and head strategist for the Hokage.

Five years had passed since the Akatsuki war. Naruto, lucky bastard that he always was, still had the Kyuubi inside of him. But half the time Kyuubi wasn't inside the seal. Sometimes the blonde Kage took pity on the Demon Fox and let it out. Even though Jiraiya, the perverted sage was dead, Konoha still heard screams from the bath house. Not as often, this was a Demon after all, and only got caught by ANBU females. Or Naruto, for that matter, but it was only when he passed by the bath houses himself.

"So, what are you going to get Naruto?" Temari asked, interrupting his musings over the past.

Gaara tilted his head to the left toward his sister. "What?"

Temari shook her head, with a little disappointed look on her face, but amusement soon took over. "Naruto's birthday was almost two weeks ago! How can you forget his birthday?"

"Yes, how can you when he sends you thousands of scrolls asking what you're getting him?" Kankuro asked as he laughed.

Gaara took in his siblings words. "You are right; I don't know why I forgot. Maybe, it's because I have a jealous secretary who thinks I am having an affair with him." The red head glared at his older brother who was trying to contain his laughter. "Why on earth did you appoint me a secretary who was in lust with me?"

Temari hit her puppet using brother on the back of the head. "Idiot! That bitch could be stealing important documents out of jealously!" she gave Gaara a sympathetic look. "Just fire her when you get home. If you don't want to," she said as she saw the look on his face. "I can do it for you."

Gaara nodded, but didn't say anything back. They were almost to the Village by now. Already they could see the wall that surrounded Konoha. It took three years to re-build Konoha, but Naruto did it.

It didn't take long once they passed the gate to get to the Kage Building. The building looked the same as it did when Gaara was here for his first Chuunin Exam, as a contestant. This time he was a judge.

~XX~

"So where is my present?" Naruto, the sixth Hokage, asked with his familiar grin covering his face as Gaara and his siblings walked into the Hokage's office.

Gaara chuckled as both his siblings snorted. "Is that the first thing you say to someone who hasn't seen you in half a year?"

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded his head. "Of course it is! Don't tell me you forgot. Gaara, come on, we have known each other for eight years! You know when my birthday is, just as I know yours." The sun kissed Hokage said. Then he muttered as an afterthought, "Of course it took months of spying and prying."

Gaara couldn't stop the chuckle from escaping, like many others in the room.

He took in his friend. Naruto's hair had grown longer; it was to his shoulders now. He had hair falling from his forehead to the bottom of his eyes, and almost all day he would brush them out of the way. But Naruto never minded or cared.

As always, Naruto was lean and fit, with some decent sized muscles. His upper arms were ripped, especially after he started hard core training before and after the Akatsuki War. Everyone was like that now, even Shikamaru had toned muscles. Though they never used their great strength, all the old Konoha Twelve—the ones that were left of course—could hit like Tsunade without the Charka help that Sakura had needed.

Gaara and everyone else—not to mention Konoha—were beyond glad that Naruto had dropped all of the bright orange. The blonde Shinobi had tight black pants and a black muscle shirt that clung and fitted him snugly. And in red, was the Leaf symbol on his chest.

He had boots with kunai's hidden in them; they went as high as the regular Shinobi scandals went. His Kage Coat was black with dark orange flames at the bottom. It also had his symbol, the Uzumaki Spiral, on the back. He had dark orange, almost red gloves on his hands. He didn't forsake the orange all the way, just changed the bright to dark.

Naruto's eyes had changed more than his clothes. They were dull compared to his laughing eyes that once connected with his wide smile. But now, after the war, and after losing almost everyone he cared for, there was no more shine to his eyes. They would spark when he was with those he trusted most, but not like they had once been.

But it wasn't just him war did that too, everyone felt it.

Gaara, like Naruto, wore tight black pants that clung to him like Raman and Naruto.

At least that hadn't changed about his old friend. The baka still ate too much Raman.

The red head had blood red gloves that could be seen coming out of his Kage Coat when he reached or extended his arm. His Kage Coat was black, but instead of flames it had sand trickling down in little groups, while on his back was his symbol: his gourd. But, his actual gourd was blocking the symbol from being seen.

Instead of the tight black muscle shirt Naruto had, Gaara had a blood red one, with a black Sand sign on it. Like Naruto, he had boots; his were red while Naruto's were black. They had spent two months designing them.

Now Gaara's hair had only changed a little, his bangs and hair had grown out. That was all. It was still spiky, but so was Naruto's.

Naruto sighed, more dramatic than anything. "Come on, Gaara, it's the twenty second. Twelve days past, do you or do you not, have a present for me?"

Gaara, having known his friend a long time, knew that he wasn't serious about presents. To Gaara, he knew he was the only person to fully understand Naruto, more so after the war. He knew that deep down Naruto didn't want anything; he really didn't want to be Hokage. This was just another façade he put up.

Instead of answering, Gaara distracted his friend. "How many advanced this time?"

It didn't take long for Naruto to switch gears."Not as many as with us." The Hokage stopped as he pondered something. "Only twelve teams passed the first exam, four teams passed the second and only four Ninja are in the finals. Three of those Ninja are from the same team."

Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "That's the lowest number of teams ever to pass. How many made it out of the Forest of Death alive?"

Naruto's eyes clouded over as they narrowed. "That's the thing. Out of the eight teams that failed, only two were found alive, four were and are still missing and two were found butchered."

Temari cut in then. "Have you done background checks on all the passing ones? Mainly the two who were missing? What about the ones who passed?"

Naruto shook his head. "All were clean. The thing was that out of twelve teams there were two Leaf, two Sand, and one Rock and Mist that had passed and moved onto the second exam. But there were two Villages I had never heard of: Vicis and Eruo. There were five Eruo Teams, and one Vicis that entered the Chuunin Exams, all made it to the Second Round."

"Which ones were alive, missing and dead?" Kankuro asked, he didn't bother to hide his curiosity.

"The two that were found alive, but knocked out, were the other Leaf and Sand Teams that didn't make it to the preliminaries." A deep voice from the shadows said. "The four that weren't found, but were missing, were the ones from the Eruo Village. The ones that were butchered were the two teams from Mist and Rock."

The shadow walked into the light and they saw it was Uchiha. He walked over to the wall that was to the left of the Hokage. The raven leaned up against the wall and with a quick glance to the right to look at how his Hokage was reacting.

Naruto's face looked grim.

Shikamaru walked in and told Naruto that his analysis just got finished.

"Tell them about the preliminaries and your analysis." Naruto ordered Shika. It was obvious that he was in, what many dubbed, Hokage mode.

"The ones that went on and did the preliminaries were one Team each from Sand and Leaf, one Eruo team, as well as one Vicis Team. The first match was between Sand and Leaf; it turned out to be a tie." Shika told them.

Gaara looked up at Naruto to see a small grin when their eyes connected.

"The ones that went on, it was our Teams were they not, Naruto?" Gaara asked.

Naruto's grin widened, but it wasn't like one of his old ones that reached his eyes. This one was the closest though. "Of course, I found it ironic that the first match was mine verses yours."

Gaara chuckled. "It seems they are a match, are they not?"

"Can I go on?" Shika rolled his eyes at the two Kage's antics. It happened every time they met, always comparing their students.

A few nods later he continued.

"The second was between Eruo and Sand, Eruo won. The Eruo Ninja was male, and used purely Taijutsu. It wasn't like any style I know. The end result was the Sand Ninja almost getting beaten to death. If it wasn't for the proctor, the Sand Ninja, Rathan, would have died." Shika eyes darkened at what he told them.

Kankuro's fist clenched. Rathan was his student. How dare someone almost kill him like that? But what got Kankuro the most was that Rathan was an expert against Taijutsu. The Gennin Ninja was powerful, passed Chuunin level, so how did he get beat?

The Sand Team was comprised of Temari, his and Gaara's students. The Leaf Team was made of Naruto, Sasuke and Neji's students. It was always a competition between them. It kept the last few years interesting, and didn't let them brood over things better left alone.

"It gets better. For the third match, it was Leaf against Vicis. This one was less brutal, but I am afraid it may leave more mental damage than not. The Vicis Ninja used Genjutsu against Kaykura. Kay, from what I know with the training I helped her do, is better than Kurenai. But what totally threw me off was the fight that while Kay was under the Genjutsu, she still fought as if she wasn't under one. Even I can't figure out what happened."

Neji—who entered the room when Shika started talking about his student—narrowed his eyes. "She can't either, she doesn't understand what happened. From what I gathered was that the Genjutsu messed with her mind, making her think that she was fighting the battle, but wasn't. What if the Genjutsu slowly weakened the opponent's mind, while the caster was busy weakening it physically? The mind is fighting a battle at the same time the body is, but on different levels."

Shika nodded. "That was what I was thinking, but it sounded weird even for me. After this, come with me and tell me what you think of my notes."

Neji nodded and crossed the room so that he was leaning up against on the wall opposite of Sasuke and on the other side of his Hokage.

"The fourth fight was between Eruo and Leaf. Theenala fought against a brutal Fire wielding Ninja from Eruo, and she lost because—this is going to sound impossible—he used Fire. But tell me how, how can she lose when Sasuke—the emo, who has a Fire Stick up his butt, trained her—even more so when she controls many Water Jutsu? Her affinity is Water, is it not? Fire's weakness is Water, so how did Fire win?" Shika asked as he looked thoughtful.

"She wouldn't really tell me about the fight. It was more as if she couldn't. It was as if the Fire did something to her. I can't figure it out, maybe there was some poison inside of the Fire?" Sasuke asked before he continued on. "I know enough Chemistry to know that if you mix something with something then that first something's weakness may not be that anymore." The raven saw the looks the others were giving him and sighed. "If you mixed Fire with some type of poison, the Fire's weakness may not be Water anymore, simply because the poison changed its composition."

Shika sighed and muttered his signature word and flinched a second later, thinking Temari was going to whack him. Unlike all the times before, she didn't. Instead she asked him something.

"What about the fifth fight, it was with my student wasn't it?" Temari asked her lazy husband.

Said lazy husband nodded. "Cinaka didn't stand a chance and she knew it. Her Wind Sword was not enough to beat the Vicis Nin. This one was too fast, so Cinaka didn't have a chance to use it. This Vicis Nin was faster than Lee was. I have never seen a Gennin that fast before, maybe a Jounin, but a Gennin?"

"Lee was really fast when he was a Gennin and he beat my sand." Gaara reminded him. "But of course, he was training with the crazy Gai," Gaara added with a roll of his eyes. His words brought a few smiles out. "So if this Vicis Ninja was faster than him, there was no chance Cinaka could have stood against him."

"What about the last one?" Kankuro asked. "It was Vicis against Eruo."

Shika's eyes darkened. "I have never seen anything more brutal in my life. Those two were trying to massacre the other. I always knew that some Gennin that went into the Chuunin Exams, were stronger then both those levels, but this? This was Special Jounin or beyond."

Gaara frowned. "From what you said before the Vicis Ninja won."

Shika snorted, "Please, that wasn't winning, that was torture. That Eruo ninja didn't stand a chance. The Vicis was playing with the Eruo."

Temari let out a gasp before she could stop it. Everyone turned to her. Shika's eyes widened at his wife, he knew that gasp...and it wasn't a 'give me more!' gasp, either. "What did you figure out?"

"You said all of Leaf and Sand failed, that meant that there were two Eruo and Vicis going on. That means that the first one was a tie, a double knock out. And that last Vicis annihilated the Eruo one. So that's five that goes on. Why did you say four before?" Temari asked calmly. Something she didn't feel right.

Shika didn't answer her, instead, Naruto did. "Yes, the whole Vicis Team goes on, but only two from the Eruo Team makes it to the final. We were informed today—a few hours before you came—that one of the Eruo Team is dead."

"Who told you?" Gaara asked his blonde friend.

Naruto's eyes took on a dark look. "It was the Vicis Ninja that brutally killed the Eruo Ninja in the prems."

"Did Vicis say anything else?" Gaara questioned.

Naruto hesitated a second. "I asked, and when I did the Vicis Ninja paused. I know that one of the Ninja's rules is secrecy but…I didn't get the answer I wanted, or one that I really understood."

Neji snorted. "It wasn't a real answer."

"It was real, but what I want to know is why would the Vicis Ninja try to protect you, Hokage-sama?" Shika inquired, forgetting that Naruto hated titles.

Gaara watched in amusement when Naruto stiffened at the title. The red head ex-Jinchūriki decided to humor his friend.

"What was said?"

"You'd be better off not knowing. The less you know, the safer you are." Naruto replied. "But what is that I need to know less of: The Eruo Ninja or the Vicis Ninja? Or something else entirely?" Naruto mused.

"I don't want to know," Shika responded. "If they are that strong, and they are fighting against something that they need to murder, brutally at that, then I don't want to get involved."

Silence ensued among the old friends.

Predictably, it was Naruto that broke it.

"Get some sleep guys; I will see you tomorrow at the finals." Naruto told them before he turned around to his bookshelf and start leafing through it to find a book that would help him think.

As Gaara closed the door he heard the last Uchiha yell.

"DOBE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU READING THAT SHITTY PORN BOOK FOR? I THINK I NEED TO GO KILL KAKASHI! AND BRING THAT PERVY SENSEI OF YOURS BACK FROM THE DEAD AND KILL HIM TOO! THEY ARE BAD INFLUENCES ON YOU!"

Gaara chuckled, something he could only do around Naruto and his friends. Before he was completely out of ear shock he heard skin smack against skin and two loud OI's! It probably was the Hyuuga getting them both into gear.

Of course, Gaara knew that Naruto would never tell his friends why he read those books. Reading the Icha Icha Paradise books helped calmed him down. It reminded him of his sensei and let him think clearer. It also helped Naruto think along the lines of what Jiraiya would.

But he would never tell his friends. Why? It was so much easier to keep stuff like that to yourself. That and it came with a ready excuse. He did have two teachers that were really involved with those books. One was an avid reader and the other the writer.

~XX~

The Chuunin Exam Stadium was packed like no other year before it.

Those that remembered the time Orochimaru invaded knew that this would be the perfect slaughter, but of course they knew that would never happen. They had two of the strongest Ninja that lived, were Kage's, and were in the Stadium. Who were they to fear when they had those protectors?

~XX~

Gaara and Naruto sat up in the Kage box. Kakashi may have been well into his thirties, but he was still strong and fit enough to be the proctor for the third exam. He was one of the lucky few Ninja that made it to that age, especially since he was as famous and strong as he was.

There were three Gennin Ninja standing next to him. One was missing; it made Naruto and Kakashi laugh after they shared a look.

"Remind you of any one during our Chuunin Exam, Sasuke?" Naruto asked softly to the ANBU with a raven mask behind him.

Neji, in his sparrow mask, remand silent as he stood guard next to Sasuke, both were behind Naruto's seat.

"You wouldn't mean me, would you dobe? You should have known that, or are you getting old in your old age? Is that paperwork making your eyesight diminish?" Sasuke teased.

"He doesn't go second does he?" Gaara asked before the two would start fighting. "Who is this one? Is it the one with Genjutsu, Taijutsu or the one who killed the Eruo brutally?"

Naruto looked down at the Vicis Ninja and was searching. "The Taijutsu and the Genjutsu are done there. The last one isn't here yet. From what I remember a month ago, that one goes last."

Gaara nodded in approval. "I want to see that fight."

Sasuke made a noise in his throat, a mix between a hum and an hm sound. "What did that one look like?"

Naruto smirked and he knew that Sasuke saw it. "Just wait and see."

~XX~

The first match begun shortly after that, Kakashi focused his one visible eye on the two Vicis Ninja that stayed behind. The Eruo one disappeared and reappeared on the balcony above.

"Lezara versus Peyowa, begin!" Kakashi called out as he jumped back a few feet.

No one really remembered who was who.

One had hair the color of blood that went down to the waist. Neither this one nor the other had a headband, a hitai-ate. But the symbol of their Village was on her right sleeve. The red head Ninja's sleeve went down to her elbow and then the rest to her gloves were mesh, both arms were like this. The gloves were the same color as her hair. Her shirt was half fish net half cloth. The upper half around her boobs were dark red, while below her chest was mesh that went down to her stomach.

She had a skirt that matched the color of the upper half of her shirt. Her legs were covered with bandages, while her feet were covered in something that was half boot half scandal.

Her eyes were what stood out the most. They were all natural in their blood red glory. While her eyes were bright red, her teammates were dark black. She was at least five foot seven, while her teammate was a few inches taller at five foot nine. She had ample curves in all the right places.

Ero-Sennin would have had a fit!

The other one was male and had the symbol of his Village on the left sleeve of his shirt. His sleeves did not go past halfway between his elbow and his shoulder. His arms were bare, except for tattoos with black ink. Black was the color of his clothing. He wore long, tight fitting, leather pants.

His shoes were the same as his teammate. Both wore a coat that stopped at their thighs, which they threw off as soon as Kakashi said begin.

"Are we going to play?" the red head woman asked in a light yet husky voice.

"I was not given any orders, so do what you want," The man with hair as black as night, shrugged at his teammate's question.

The woman sighed. "What I want to do, we can't do." She stopped as she thought of something. "What are we supposed to do here?"

Kakashi, thinking that the woman was asking him this, answered. "You two are supposed to fight each other."

The two blinked. "Were what?" they asked together.

Kakashi frowned as he watched their reactions. "You did not know this?"

They shook their heads as one.

"Were you listening when the third round was being explained?"

They shook their heads at the same time again.

Kakashi sighed and waved a hand at them. "It doesn't matter now. Just fight you two, until someone gives up or is dead."

The red head narrowed her eyes. "I will not take orders from someone who is not my Mistress. So watch your mouth you stupid, weak, motogo hum—" she was cut off by her teammate hand on her shoulder.

"Shut up!" he hissed at her. "Do not give us away," he whispered in her ear.

The woman nodded and closed her mouth. She would not be the one to betray her Mistress. Never. Her Mistress was too important, both to her and her teammate. Her life was worth more than theirs. Their love for her was that great.

~XX~

Kit, did that woman just say motogo?

Yeah she did. Why? Do you recognize the word?

The Kyuubi was silent for a moment.

That word is something I haven't heard since I was in the Demon Word.

Naruto stiffened in his seat. Everyone around him raised their guard. If the Jinchūriki sensed something, then something was wrong.

What does the word mean?

I cannot translate the word into your human language. But let's just say it is a huge insult, a curse so to speak. Demon's killed other Demons if they were called that. Think of it as someone telling you that you aren't worth shit and won't even kill you. You aren't worth anything. That you should just give up and die. But at the same time telling you to die, they think it is beneath them to touch you. Of course, it isn't exactly that, more dark so to speak.

How does she know this word? Is she a Demon?

Kyuubi didn't respond, and he wasn't going to. He recognized that symbol on the two's arms. If he said anymore he was going to betray someone. Someone he would whether destroy the world or die before he did. But the great Fox Demon couldn't help but feel curious at what was happening.

Something his host didn't like.

~XX~

"What are we going to do? Are we just going to stand here?" the Vicis Ninja asked his fellow Ninja.

The woman closed her eyes, knelt down, and touched one hand to the Earth and one to the sky. She channeled Charka through her body. It wasn't even five seconds before her eyes snapped open.

"I forfeit."

Before anyone had time to react she grabbed the man and jumped with him to the top of the arena wall. Three seconds later the arena was filled with dust because something crashed into it seconds before.

It didn't take it long to clear. When the dust and smoke cleared it revealed a woman with long blonde hair that kissed her ankles and framed her face parted to the left. Her blonde hair had black and red streaks running through it. Her purple eyes were what drew attention to her. Her clothing did as well, but more so with her hair and eyes.

Her boots went up to her knees, blacker then the man on the wall's hair. She dressed similarly to the Vicis Ninja. She had gloves on, black like the man's. But her arms were covered in mesh from the end of her gloves to about five inches from her shoulders. She sported a tank top that was blood red, but was cut off an inch below her breasts, showing the fish net covering her stomach.

Her skirt was black with red slashes on it. Those who were inexperienced with death thought it to be some new type of flame design, but those who knew death and courted it like a lover, knew it was supposed to be blood. The skirt went halfway down her thighs, but there were shorts—one couldn't see them well—under it.

The woman ignored everyone and everything, except what she was starting at. Her attention was on the thing that was inside of the carter made by her.

When it rose it looked like a bloody mess of the Eruo Ninja that was standing on the balcony. When Naruto, Gaara, and everyone else looked up there a poof cloud was seen.

~XX~

"Is that the third Vicis member?" Gaara asked unemotionally.

Naruto didn't respond, he just nodded his answer. How could he not tell that the Eruo ninja was a clone? And why was the Vicis Ninja trying to kill another Eruo Ninja?

~XX~

"You knew you couldn't run from me, so why did you try?" the woman with her tricolor hair spoke harshly, yet there were no emotions in her voice.

"I wasn't running from you," the Eruo Ninja on the ground spat at her. "Why would I run from you?"

That drew the last straw for the female Shinobi on the arena wall. There was only so much she could take and her Mistress knew that. Why did people have to keep insulting her Mistress? If they were there then that offense was punishable by death.

She was next to the blood stained thing that was still in the crater and kicked his head. He flew quickly into the arena wall in front of her. Sickening cracks were heard as he collided with the wall.

"Lezara," The woman next to her called her name softly.

Lezara knelt in front of her. "Yes, Mistress?"

"I need to get information from him. If I wanted him dead, he would be dead." Lezara's Mistress chided her, her voice gone gentle from the harsh tone she took with her enemy.

"Of course, Mistress, forgive me." Lezara said; her head bowed in respect.

Peyowa jumped off the wall and knelt down beside his teammate.

"Mistress, I beg your forgiveness for not watching her like I promised. Forgive me," Peyowa asked of his Mistress.

She waved her hand at them as she walked over to the Eruo Ninja embedded inside of the wall. When she reached it, she noticed by his Charka that he was almost unconscious. Now that would not do at all. She grabbed his hair, which went to his ears, and yanked back.

"Nothing like pain to bring you back to the world of the waking," the third member of the Vicis Gennin Team said philosophically.

"Tell me who you were sent for, if not me?" her tone was icy now.

The Eruo Shinobi in front of her refused to speak.

"Do not make me force you to tell me. I shall go easier on you if you confess."

He still wouldn't say anything.

The woman sighed. "I warned you."

She pulled him up by his white hair and watched as he struggled not to cry out in pain. She turned around, facing the two who call her Mistress, lifted him higher with her left hand while her right reached behind her back, grabbed something near her left shoulder blade and pulled upward. A sword suddenly appeared.

"I did warn you." She told him once again, before she rammed it into him.

His screams echoed throughout Konoha. She hadn't even started.

She twisted the blade, moved it up, down, and sideways. The white headed Eruo Ninja screams were getting louder as her body was getting bathed in his blood. After only five minutes she pulled it out and shoved it in his leg. After two minutes of sawing from the middle of the leg she cut it off. Then she went to the other one.

After she was done with both legs she dropped him.

"Are you ready to tell me?"

He nodded frantically.

"Good, now just think if you would have told me sooner."

He chose to ignore her words as he told her what she wanted to know.

"My partner and I were aiming for the two Kage's." The Eruo Ninja sobbed out as the pain was really getting to him. "Please, I told you, don't kill me like you promised!"

~XX~

Gaara, Naruto, and their friends had been listening and watching the fight carefully. They ignored the Shinobi of Konoha taking everyone in the seats of the arena to safety once she appeared. They had seen and heard everything that was said.

And they knew what was going to happen after he pleaded with her to keep his promise.

~XX~

The woman blinked as she heard his words. "When did I ever say I was going to let you live?" her eyes as well as her voice narrowed at her next words. "I never let my enemies live after they have broken the laws."

With that said she cut off his head.

"I just said I would go easier on you." She turned to her two companions and asked. "Did I say I was going to spare him?"

They laughed at her words, as if she was joking with them.

"Don't joke Mistress. You know we cannot leave them alive." The red head woman said with affection in her voice.

As Lezara spoke, her Mistress shook her sword of the blood a few times. It didn't get all of it off she held it out and Peyowa did a few fast hand signs and it was gone. She put it back where she got it: behind her left shoulder blade in a sheathe that had seals of invisibility on it.

The tricolor haired woman gave a small smirk as she walked toward them. "I knew that, he didn't. It just goes to prove that when someone is desperate, they will hear what they want to hear."

Peyowa chuckled, "I concede, you win Mistress."

When she reached Lezara and Peyowa Naruto and Gaara jumped down behind them with Sasuke, Neji, Shika, Temari and Kankuro behind them.

Flashing dull blue locked with vacant vibrant violet eyes. "Is this what you were talking about? You want to protect me from them?"

Those amethyst eyes blinked three times. "I didn't know they were after you until—"

She cut herself off with a curse as her eyes took on an animated form. With a brief horrified look consuming her face she rushed forward, her hands stretching out toward Gaara and Naruto. Wind pushed them off their feet; a huge Chakra attack knocked her on top of them. Those that were behind the two Kage's were off their feet as well.

"MISTRESS!"

A bright pink flash of light surrounded everyone as the attack engulfed all of them. It filled and seeped into their skin, their very being. It merged with their Chakra, and what seemed like their soul.

When the pink light went away, some of them noticed that they were still blinded by the light and were still seeing pink.

To be continued...

And that is that! Tell me what you think, good bad? Want more? Clink that Review button and tell me!