Naruto and Hinata dashed forward, directly at Gaara, who ran straight at them as well. When they were about three feet from him, Gaara thrust his sand arm forward, making it elongate and become larger in order to either slam into or grab his opponents. Naruto and Hinata were having none of that, and quickly used their thrusters to sidestep the sand arm. Naruto landed right on the arm and ran at a quick speed towards the insane jinchūriki, getting close enough to land a powerful roundhouse kick on Gaara's face, which was made all the more painful by the metal pieces around Naruto's boot. Gaara was subsequently sent flying into a tree, although it didn't break. It did break, however, when Hinata appeared in front of the insane jinchūriki and shot a compressed force blast into his chest, sending the redhead through that tree and two more behind it.

Naruto landed right next to her and said, "This feels a lot easier than it should be."

As if to answer him, a medium-sized sand fist shot forward and hit him on the stomach, making him double over with a gasp. Hinata shook her head and said, "You just had to say that, didn't you, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto chuckled and stood back up. "Well, you know me, Hinata-chan. Life just loves to fuck with me."

Both ninja jumped apart as several lances of sand shot toward them, followed by Gaara, who was yelling incoherently.

"Hinata, let's draw him into the clearing over there!" Naruto yelled out, waving to a clearing a few feet away. Hinata nodded and shot a force blast right at Gaara's feet, making dust fly all around. She jumped away a moment before she was skewered by a sand spear, landing directly in the middle of the clearing Naruto had signaled to. The whisker-faced blonde took to opportunity to take out his third weapon: the Pulse Rifle sealed onto a part of his left leg. With a puff of smoke, the blue, triple-barreled weapon was in his hands, and without preamble, he aimed it at Gaara and let loose a hail of bullets that Gaara couldn't dodge in time. The redhead screamed, half in frustration and half in pain, as several bolts of both metal and chakra landed on his skin and sand, the small metal bolts digging deep inside his body. Naruto cut the hail of bullets before he hurt Gaara severely, allowing him to gather his strength before the redhead jumped at them again. He jumped into the clearing Hinata was in, waiting for the inevitable response.

Gaara predictably jumped directly at them, at which point Naruto yelled, "Sasuke, smoke bombs, now!" just as he and Hinata jumped to either side of the clearing. Sasuke threw the smoke bombs down from the tree he was hiding in, his Sharingan allowing him to have prefect accuracy. The bombs detonated as soon as Gaara's feet touched the ground, filling the air with black smoke that was impossible to see through unless you had a doujutsu.

Naruto opened a RIGlink channel with Hinata's suit and said, "Hinata, I'm going to hit him with Stasis. Activate your Byakugan, and if I miss or he dodges, you hit him with it."

"Copy that, Naruto-kun," Hinata responded, doing the necessary signs to activate her doujutsu.

As Gaara turned in confusion and anger inside the smoke cloud, looking for his unwilling victims, he sensed something flying at him from his left. He quickly jumped, dodging the blue bolt of energy that flew underneath, but was unprepared when another energy bolt flew in from his right with pinpoint accuracy and hit his uncovered side. He was even more perplexed when he felt as if he had been dunked in a pool of ice cold water, and his movements were substantially slowed.

"Choji, now! Slam him down!" Naruto yelled.

"Bubun Baika no Jutsu!" Choji called out, having jumped from a nearby tree to end up directly above the slowed down form of Gaara. The chubby boy released the hand seal and punched down toward the redhead, his entire arm increasing in size exponentially. Gaara was certainly surprised when he was suddenly slammed face-first into the ground by a fist twice his size, and his slowed down yell of pain showed it.

"Alright, Sasuke, finish it! One Chidori to the left part of his sternum should do it!" Naruto yelled at his teammate.

"Right," Sasuke called out to him, doing the necessary hand seals. His hand was quickly encased by lightning, and he jumped down immediately toward the face-down Gaara, carefully but also powerfully slamming his Chidori onto the less sand-covered part of Gaara's sternum. Gaara gave a loud cry of pain before going limp and remaining still, his sand slowly falling from his body.

Naruto walked up to his teammate as the Uchiha took his hand out of Gaara's stomach and flicked it, sending some blood flying. Hinata and Choji quickly joined them.

"Alright, Hinata, patch up the hole and let's bring him back to Konoha. I think we really need to talk to the old man about this one," Naruto said.

"Why not just kill him?" Sasuke asked bluntly.

"Because the battle is over, Sasuke," Naruto said in a hard tone. "There's no need to kill him."

"You say that as if you could!"

The four Konoha Genin jumped back in reflex as Gaara yelled out and was surrounded by increasingly large piles of sand. Only Hinata and Sasuke noticed that Gaara's eyes weren't his usual teal color but had become black and yellow, with a four-pointed star in the middle.

A small sandstorm started up, making everyone cover their eyes. The sand kicked up when something large slammed onto the ground, and when the Genin uncovered their eyes, they were massively startled at the sight of the giant tanuki that was now taking up the clearing they had been standing in and most of the trees around it.

"Oh…" Hinata and Choji began.

"… Shit…" Naruto and Sasuke finished.


0o0o0o0o0o0 Meanwhile, with Kiba and Shino 0o0o0o0o0o0

"Gatsūga!"

Two twin tornadoes of fangs and claws flew toward Kankuro, who deftly used one of his puppets' blades to deflect them. As much as they tried, the two Inuzuka just couldn't hit the puppet user, as he kept deflecting their attacks with his puppets. Shino was having a similarly bad time, as one of Kankuro's puppets had a flamethrower and would incinerate any bugs that the makeup-wearing boy saw.

"HA! Just give up, will you? You can't beat me!" Kankuro crowed.

Both tornadoes turned back and stopped spinning, revealing two Kibas. They landed on either side of Shino, who casually adjusted his glasses.

"Damn, how the hell do we get past this guy's defence? I don't know where he got those blades, but they can resist my Gatsūga like it's nothing!" the Kiba to his left spoke.

"What we need to do is find a way to attach my kikaichū to him. Why? Without chakra, he cannot attach chakra strings to his puppets, therefore rendering him more vulnerable."

Kiba nodded, looking at the puppet user, who was also studying them.

"I have an idea. Your bugs don't drain people's chakra unless you tell them to, right?" Kiba asked.

"Correct," Shino responded.

"Then here's what we'll do," Kiba said, whispering into Shino's ear. Shino had to admit, it was a sound plan.

"Let us do it," Shino said, stealthily releasing a number of kikaichū.

"So you're coming at me again?" Kankuro sneered, moving his puppet back in front of him. "Let's see you try!"

The two Kibas wasted no time. They dashed forward and jumped, twisting into tornadoes with a cry of, "Gatsūga!"

The first volley was deflected, as expected, and Kankuro was about to yell out a condescending remark when he became aware that the two tornadoes weren't attempting to hit him. Instead, the tornadoes were at each other's tail, chasing themselves in a circular pattern around him.

"Whatever you're trying to do, it won't work!" Kankuro yelled, thrusting Crow to one part of the spinning circle, intending to break through it. To his shock, the puppet was thrown back as soon as he touched one of the spinning tornadoes, nearly clipping Kankuro's side as it flew back.

"What the hell is going on?" Kankuro muttered. He was suddenly aware that the circle the tornadoes were making was becoming shorter and shorter until it appeared to be one single spinning circle.

"Now, Shino!"

At the sound of Kiba's voice, a large wave of kikaichū flew out of the circle of fangs and claws, twisting in sync with the two Kibas and creating a cyclone of kikaichū. Kankuro was unable to escape the large amount and soon found himself unable to hold on to the puppets through his chakra strings. The hooded Sunagakure ninja fell to his knees as the cyclone dispersed to reveal Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru standing side to side a few feet from him. Without preamble, Shino walked forward and hit Kankuro on his temple with the blunt side of his kunai, rendering him unconscious.

"Let's go see how the others are doing, ne?" Kiba asked, with Akamaru barking happily in response. Just as the two ninja had finished tying up Kankuro, however, a massive sandstorm kicked up and rendered them slightly blind for a short time. Along with it came the feel of a large chakra quantity, one that felt... strange, insane even.

"Shit, what's happening over there?" Kiba asked, momentarily forgetting Kankuro.

Shino said nothing, but he was equally worried. With a mutual nod and a bark, the two Genin and one ninken jumped into the trees toward their friends, with Kankuro hanging over Kiba's left shoulder.


0o0o0o0o0o0 with Shikamaru and Hanabi 0o0o0o0o0o0

Several blades of wind flew toward the Konoha duo, who jumped away just in time. They continued jumping as Temari shot several more in their direction.

"Damnit! Any ideas, Shikamaru?!" Hanabi yelled, firing several plasma shots at Temari, who barely dodged them by emulating their strategy and simply jumping away.

"Before I tell you, mind telling me what your Pulse Rifle and Seeker Rifle do?" Shikamaru asked, putting his mental calculations on pause.

"The Pulse Rifle is a weapon that fires compressed pieces of metal at a fast speed, allowing it to punch through skin and muscle without problems. However, the bolts it fires are small, so it wouldn't do too much damage. It also has a secondary firing mode that can shoot an explosive. The Seeker is practically the polar opposite. The ammunition for it is much stronger than the Pulse Rifle's, but it has a slow firing speed, since it's meant to take out enemies from afar with the zooming scope and hopefully without them knowing."

Shikamaru frowned in thought as he and Hanabi jumped away from another volley of wind blasts. Finally, he said, "I got it! Come here."

After the plan was explained, Hanabi nodded and jumped away, leaving Shikamaru to jump forward and land a few feet away from Temari.

"This is such a drag..." Shikamaru moaned, keeping up his standard act.

"So, you've given up, shadow boy?" Temari asked in a condescending tone. "Figures. Hell, even that little girl that was with you left you to my mercy."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Shikamaru yawned, "Can you just give up now? I don't want to have to fight the same troublesome girl twice."

A tick mark appeared on Temari's temple at Shikamaru's words. "You better stop underestimating me, asshole!"

Shikamaru shrugged and, in one smooth motion, got down on one knee and put his hands into the rat seal, saying, "Kagemane no Jutsu."

Temari, knowing about the jutsu, jumped back in order to get out of its range, but as soon as she stepped back a few steps, she found herself unable to move.

"The hell?!" Temari exclaimed, struggling to get free.

"Kagemane no Jutsu, success," a voice sounded from behind her as the Shikamaru in front of her faded away into nothingness. "You fell right for my trap."

Having caught the Suna wind user, Shikamaru made a signal with his right hand that Temari replicated.

Almost immediately, Temari felt a searing pain in her left leg as something pierced through her thigh with incredible speed. Her scream of pain only doubled when the same thing happened to her right leg as well. Without her legs having strength to support her, Temari fell to the ground as Shikamaru dropped the Kagemane.

As Temari laid on the ground, whimpering and gritting her teeth in pain, Hanabi soared and landed next to her as Shikamaru walked up to the two girls.

"That was a little brutal," Shikamaru commented, to which Hanabi shrugged.

Temari could only look up in slight fear, not knowing what the two ninja had in store for her. That fear increased exponentially when a massive sandstorm kicked up around them, along with a heavy and malevolent chakra.

"Oh no..." Temari could only say.

"What? What is it?" Shikamaru asked with eyes narrowed.

"Your village is done for... and so are we. Gaara released it..."

"It? What the hell is 'it'?" Hanabi asked, pulling the girl up by her shirt. "What's been released?!"

"It's..."


"The Ichibi..." Naruto unknowingly finished, looking up at the sand construct.

"The Ichibi? The hell is that?" Sasuke asked from his side.

"It's just like the Kyuubi that attacked our village years ago... one of the bijū. They're masses of chakra with a clear consciousness. And this one is Suna's bijū."

"Oh... crap..." Sasuke whispered.

A sound came from Naruto's RIG as a video communication channel was opened, activating a holographic video that showed both Hinata and Choji standing side to side. While Hinata's expression wasn't discernible, Choji's was, showing that the boy was scared beyond belief.

"How do we deal with this one, Naruto-kun?!" Hinata exclaimed into the video.

As Sasuke stood next to Naruto so he could see the video better, Naruto said, "I... don't know. I've never dealt with this! I only know how to work on spaceships, not giant tanuki!"

The sand construct suddenly thrashed, sending several waves of sand that made the kids have to jump to a new location. Mid-jump, Naruto channelled some chakra to his eyes in order to study the construct better, and noticed something that gave him pause.

"Hey, check it out," Naruto called out to Sasuke, who came closer. On the same floating screen that had displayed the video of Hinata earlier was a picture of the sand tanuki that Naruto had quickly taken mid-flight. The picture zoomed in exponentially, showing that on the construct's head was Gaara, sticking out of it like a zit. As Naruto sent the picture to Hinata, Sasuke used his Sharingan to study the construct and noticed that Gaara never really moved from there. He was literally up to the waist in sand, and was directing it to attack the nearby woods.

"You noticed it too, didn't you?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded. "He seems to be controlling the sand still, which means..."

"That's not really the Ichibi. It's just a manifestation of it, made by Gaara's sand."

"So, to wrest control from him..."

"We need to take him out of that sand construct," both boys finished.

Naruto relayed the idea to Hinata and Choji, who nodded resolutely. However, before they could decide fully on a plan of action, Gaara suddenly yelled, "If you will not come out, then fine! I shall let mother find you! And she will kill you!" With that declaration, Gaara held his hands in one seal and muttered, "Feigned Sleep Jutsu..." before falling asleep.

Almost immediately, the tanuki's eyes gained the shape of a four-pointed star and the construct became more defined. With a gleeful laugh and a cry of, "I'M FREE!" the Ichibi began sending several waves of sand in all directions, levelling many of the trees around and making the kids have to jump away once again, with Naruto using his thrusters to fly himself and Sasuke out of danger.

"Okay..." Naruto muttered, "That is the Ichibi."

"Yo, you guys need help?!"

Naruto turned himself and Sasuke around in mid-air to see none other than the four other members of their party appear from the trees. With the exception of Kiba, whose jacket was cut here and there, the four ninja were in tip-top shape. Behind the group, tied up to a tree, were Kankuro and Temari, the former being completely unconscious and the latter looking up at the sand construct in fear while temporarily ignoring the bleeding holes in her thighs.

"Glad you guys could make it," Naruto called out. At that time, Hinata and Choji appeared from the right and landed next to the four, bringing their group to completion (with the exception of Sakura and Ino, who were merely hanging back and staring at the bijū).

"Anyone have any injuries?" Several shakes of heads was his answer. "Good. That means we can get going. Now, our main objective is to take out that big sand construct that you see in front of you. However, not by destroying it. Instead, we need to reach the tanuki's forehead, where," here he showed them the zoomed in picture of where Gaara was situated, "this guy is sleeping like a damn lazy bastard we all know and love." A few chuckles went around as Shikamaru muttered his trademark one-worded response to everything. "Anyways, in that sense, at least one of us has to get in close to wake Gaara up, as the guy is a jinchūriki, otherwise known as a demon container. I think that as long as he's asleep, the Ichibi will continue to have control."

"And how exactly do you propose we do that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, I was actually going to ask you," Naruto said sheepishly.

"Mendosuke..." Shikamaru muttered. "Alright, here's what we'll do."

As soon as the plan was quickly explained, the group split, with Hanabi going deeper into the woods; Naruto flying high into the air; Sasuke, Kiba, and Choji moving to surround the Ichibi in a triangular formation; and Hinata moving behind the sand construct and readying her Javelin Gun.

"Whatever you kiddies plan to do, it won't work! I'm going to kill you all! Then I'm going to kill the redhead brat I'm sealed in, and I'm going to raze your pathetic village to the ground!" The Ichibi cried out gleefully.

Almost everyone stopped as they heard the Ichibi speak. Sasuke was the first to recover and was about to respond when a tightly compacted ball of chakra flew in at incredible speed and slammed into the Ichibi's nose, exploding with such force that its entire face was blown off. Naruto's voice followed it, saying, "Don't you ever try to threaten my home! I'll destroy anyone to protect it, even a mass of chakra, because that's my ninja way!"

Naruto's declaration bolstered the spirits of his friends, who all became more determined to protect the great tree that was Konoha. With renewed vigour, Shikamaru called out, "Kagemane no Jutsu!" using the shadows of the trees around him to bolster the power of the jutsu. His shadow flew forward and latched onto the shadow of the giant tanuki, nearly making Shikamaru release the jutsu in shock at the amount of effort it took to hold it back.

"Guys, now!"

"Gatsūga!"

"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!"

"Bubun Baika no Jutsu!"

As Kiba and Akamaru became twin tornadoes and aimed for the Ichibi's frontal legs, Sasuke threw a chakra-enhanced kunai at the middle of the back legs of the tanuki, one that had both an explosive tag and a long wire attached to it. When he activated his jutsu, a long and powerful line of flame flew from his mouth, down the wire, and to the explosive tag, which exploded quite powerfully.

The result was that both the front and back legs of the tanuki were blown off, leaving it suspended in mid-air for a brief moment. It was at that moment that Choji appeared above the tanuki with a giant first and slammed it to the ground, causing it to scream out, more in frustration than pain.

"Hinata!"

"Got it!"

At this point, Hinata activated her thrusters and flew quickly around the tanuki, shooting several javelins into its sandy body. With Hinata's skill and doujutsu, the javelins landed in several key spots. Landing at exactly the same place she had been before the fly-around, she pushed the button that activated the secondary function of the Javelin Gun.

This time, the Ichibi cried out in actual pain as each of the javelins were electrified, sending a shitload of volts through its body. The electrocution lasted several seconds, and when each javelin was done with its payload, it exploded, further eroding the body of the tanuki.

"Naruto, you're up!"

"Hai!"

"I... won't let you... SEAL ME AWAY AGAIN!"

Naruto flew down from the sky like an avenging angel at the same time the Ichibi shot out several waves of sand, all aimed towards the blonde. Thanks to his reflexes, suit, and thrusters, Naruto was able to skilfully fly around the waves and get close enough to Gaara to fly right next to him, punching him hard enough that he popped out of the sand construct with an almost comical 'pop'. The punch had nearly dislocated the redhead's jaw due to the speed and power behind it, and the pain and shock were enough to jolt the redhead back into consciousness, thus sending the unwilling tanuki back into its seal.

"No! NO! I WAS SO CLOSE! SO... close...!"

"Hanabi, disable him!"

Before Gaara could fully regain his senses, he cried out in pain as something pierced through his left thigh, followed by his right one, then his left and right arms. The shots had pierced the muscle near the nerve of each limb, close enough to disable them but not to damage the nerve too badly.

Unable to move, Gaara was about to slam headfirst into the ground, but was caught mid-flight by Naruto, who grabbed him by his white sash and set him down gently with his back to a tree. With the situation being contained, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji relaxed and sat down leaning against nearby trees, each of them tired from using their clan jutsu so often and with so much effort. Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and let out a sigh while Naruto and Hinata retracted their helmets. Hanabi had gone to get the other two prisoners and had put them on either side of Gaara before retracting her helmet as well and smoothing out her hair. Sakura and Ino had come out of the woods but a moment later, immediately fussing over the fighters.

"How...?" Gaara rasped out, looking at the still standing shinobi with confusion. "How... could you defeat me...? My hatred was strong... I lived for no one but myself... so... How...?"

Naruto was the one who answered. "Because we worked together. Because we had a large goal in mind. And because... we were protecting that which was precious to us. Not just our friends, but our family and village as well. That is why I fight. That's why we fight. To protect our loved ones." Sasuke looked away at this, gritting his teeth at the reminder of what he lost.

"For your loved ones...?" Gaara questioned, mostly to himself.

"You want to know something, Gaara?" Naruto asked suddenly, deciding to go ahead with his idea. At Gaara's nod, he continued. "I... I'm just like you, in a sense."

This startled everyone in the clearing, especially the Konoha shinobi.

"What... are you talking about?" Gaara was the one who asked the question everyone had in their minds.

"I'm also a jinchūriki," Naruto said, shocking everyone in the clearing. "As I'm sure you know, Gaara, bijū can't be killed. So the Yondaime Hokage never actually killed the Kyūbi that attacked Konoha thirteen years ago. Instead, he sealed it into a recently born baby... me." To prove his point, Naruto focused his chakra into the seal on his stomach and pulled some bijū chakra from it, enough to change his facial structure. His whisker marks became larger and darker, his eyes became red with a slit for a pupil, and a small amount of red chakra floated out of his body, startling the other people in the clearing.

"Heh..." Shikamaru chuckled, drawing their attention to him. "You just cleared up one of the biggest puzzles I've had, Naruto. I've seen the villagers' attitudes toward you, and I've heard them call you a demon once in a while, and when I found out your birthday was on October tenth, I figured it had to do with the Kyūbi attack. I just couldn't figure out how. It was a puzzle that irked me to no end."

Naruto laughed out loud at Shikamaru's explanation, his voice sounding deeper and rougher than it normally did. When the laughter stopped, he said, "That is the absolutely best reaction I've had at telling someone about my burden! Then again, I haven't told anyone in the first place..."

"Then..." Gaara began, now completely confused. "How are you so... carefree... and... strong...? You must have had a similar life to mine, where people only saw us as either weapons or... demons..."

Naruto released the demonic chakra and knelt in front of Gaara, looking at him with sympathy before answering. "Yes, I definitely had a rough life. I was chased out of stores, overpriced for even expired items, shunned, ignored, and at times even beaten by large mobs. It... wasn't pleasant."

The Konoha shinobi around him looked at him with a large amount of shock and even some scepticism, although the latter went away when his pose and eyes told that he was telling the truth, possibly even a sugar-coated version of the truth. The next feeling they collectively had was disgust for the adults of the village, especially their parents as they could each distinctly remember at least one time where they could have helped Naruto but instead did nothing. Sakura had an especially hard time, as she knew that her mother was especially hateful of Naruto, while her father was more neutral about him, but she could never figure out why.

They were all brought back by Naruto continuing. "But you know, despite the fact that I had no parents to know and love, and no other close family, I still managed to find loved ones. I may have been alone from the beginning, but that didn't stop me. I realize after some time that crying wasn't going to solve anything, so I simply plastered a smile on my face and looked to the future, hoping that the next day would be better than before. Thus, my ninja way was born. I never gave up on my dreams and hopes, knowing that one day I'd achieve them. And as time passed, I found more and more people that saw me for who I was, not what I carried. At first it was just the Hokage and two nice restaurant owners. Then it was Iruka-sensei, who saw me as a good student and a little brother of sorts. Then I got some friends at the Academy, and finally my teammates and sensei of Squad 7, along with the other squads, all of whom I've come to care for deeply. And it's for that reason that I'm so strong. Because I've realised that this world of ours is a rough one, and I have a feeling it will get even worse before it gets better. For that reason, I train. I try to become the strongest I can be in order to protect that which I love. That is why I want to become Hokage. At first I wanted to become the leader of the village for recognition, but then I realised that, like the Yondaime, recognition simply didn't come from being the strongest. No, what I wanted to truly do was protect everyone until my dying breath, just like him. And so I took that to heart, doing the best I could with the tools I was given. And that's why I'm so strong. Because I have to be in order to be in order to protect everything that I know and love from those that, like the Ichibi, only want to destroy them."

Silence reigned as everyone processed the information Naruto had relayed. It was broken moments later by Gaara releasing a low, raspy sigh, one that spoke of sadness but also of wistful thoughts.

"I wish... I could be like that..." Gaara whispered in an almost inaudible tone.

"Who says you can't?" Naruto asked, making Gaara snap his head up in surprise. "You don't need to be a newly born kid to have a second chance. Instead, you should see your life up to now as the trials that you need to move on in life, quite possibly forging a new path for yourself. And you won't have to be alone. If no one else, you'll always have me, Gaara." Gaara's eyes widened almost comically at this. "We jinchūriki need to stick together, and I'll be damned if one of the few people that can relate to what I've been through will be alone. Not on my watch."

Gaara remained silent, looking down to the ground. The silence was then broken by Temari, who looked at Gaara with teary eyes (a by-product of Naruto's story and declaration) and said, "You'll also have us as well, Gaara. I know we haven't had much sibling bonding time, but we're still family and we always will be. Kankuro and I will always be beside you."

Gaara remained looking down to the floor for a few more seconds before finally looking up, a wan smile on his face that was reciprocated by Naruto and Temari. "Thank you, Naruto Uzumaki. Thank you for your friendship. I promise, I will do my best to change. I now have... hope, a word that was so foreign to me." He turned his head slightly to lock eyes with his sister. "And thank you as well, Temari, for being there for me, even when I pushed you away. You truly are a great person."

Both blondes nodded happily at the boy, and Naruto knelt down to untie him while asking over his shoulder, "Hey, Hinata-chan, could you patch up Temari for me?"

Hinata smiled and nodded, walking up to the blonde girl while digging out a medium med pack and kneeling in front of Temari in order to close the still bleeding holes in her legs.

As soon as both ninja were untied as well as up and about, the rest of the Konoha ninja tensed, and rightly so considering what came out of Gaara minutes earlier. Gaara gave them all a once over before bowing his head and saying, "I apologize for any inconvenience I have caused you."

The Konoha ninja were silent for some time before Shikamaru chuckled and said, "You're forgiven by me. It would be too troublesome to hold a grudge against a jinchūriki."

That broke the ice and allowed the two groups (minus the still unconscious Kankuro) to mingle for a short while before an ANBU operative appeared from the trees around them, landing in front of them.

"Naruto Uzumaki and Gaara Sabaku, I have been told to fetch you," the ANBU said in an oddly nondescript voice.

Naruto looked at the operative sideways and immediately noticed something odd about the man.

"Who's asking for us?" Naruto asked.

"The Hokage."

"Liar," Naruto said coldly, making the fake ANBU operative stiffen. "You see, I have barged into Hokage-jiji's office often enough times to know just what the ANBU look like, especially his personal guard. None of the men and women I've seen coming through jiji's office have ever worn plain masks with the word Ne on top. Conclusively, you're a fake."

This made every other ninja in the clearing tense, preparing for a fight. The masked man remained still for some time before pulling out the tanto strapped to his back and getting into a stance while saying, "It seems you shall not cooperate."

"You're damn right we won't cooperate," Naruto responded, taking out his Plasma Cutter and pointing it at the man as his helmet reassembled around his head. Hanabi and Hinata followed suit, lifting their own guns. Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba, who had each taken one soldier pill from Hinata, stood up and prepared to fight, as did Sasuke. Gaara uncrossed his arms, while Temari took out her fan and opened it to the first moon.

"You're at a severe disadvantage here," Naruto commented, still pointing his Plasma Cutter. The man didn't respond. Instead, his muscles tensed a bit more before he suddenly disappeared from the Genin's view. Naruto had hardly blinked once in surprise before a foot slammed into his chest, making him cough in surprise and be sent flying back into a tree.

Kiba, ever the rash one, ran forward with Akamaru in tow, intending to pay the bastard back. However, he was unable to land any blows on the man as he had disappeared from his sight and, the next moment, the Inuzuka screamed in pain as his calf muscles were cut by the man's tanto, making him fall to the floor in a heap and watch helplessly as Akamaru tried to bite the man but was sent flying into the trees by a rough punch.

"That speed is incredible..." Sasuke commented lowly, watching the fight with his Sharingan. He could hardly track the man. When he had first attacked Naruto, all Sasuke had seen was a blur headed towards the armoured blonde. The same thing happened when he had attacked Kiba and Akamaru. It was only when Choji tried to attack the masked man, and was knocked out with a hit from the hilt of the tanto for his troubles; followed by Shikamaru, who attempted to capture him with his Kagemane but was unable to dodge the two kunai the man had thrown before dodging the shadow, which pierced his shoulders, rendering his arms useless; that Sasuke gathered his courage and chakra and jumped towards the man, drawing two kunai on the way. The masked man and the Uchiha started trading blows, Sasuke just barely keeping up with the man's sword strikes thanks to his bloodline. However, the constant use of chakra to his extremities to keep up with him soon got to Sasuke, making him more sluggish. A few strikes later, they had reached an impasse, Sasuke crossing his kunai in an X formation to hold back the man's tanto.

"Sasuke Uchiha, desist in your attempts. I have been told not to harm you, as that would be detrimental to Konoha. My targets are the two jinchūriki," the man said.

Sasuke growled at the man, not intending to give way in the slightest. He pumped his muscles and pushed the man back as hard as he could, breaking their contract point, before throwing the two kunai in the air and going through hand seals before shouting out, "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

A medium-sized fireball flew from Sasuke's mouth and towards the stranger, who didn't move. The fireball exploded as it consumed the man's form, throwing debris here and there. Sasuke caught the two kunai as they fell and got back into his fighting stance, knowing that the fireball hadn't been enough to kill the man. However, he was not expecting the man to appear behind him and slap a sealing tag on his neck. Sasuke's energy immediately left his body, making him stumble forward before falling face-first into the ground, completely unconscious.

A few feet away, Naruto had just gotten up from where he had fallen and was shaking his head to clear it. He looked up in order to figure out what had happened, and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the unconscious forms of Akamaru, Sasuke, and Choji, along with the kneeling forms of Shikamaru, who had two kunai embedded into his shoulders, and Kiba, whose legs were bleeding profusely as he tried to drag himself over to Akamaru.

"Sasuke... Kiba... Akamaru... Choji... Shikamaru..."

Hinata was currently attempting to shoot the man with her Plasma Cutter, but he kept dodging her attacks. After several shots, the man disappeared and reappeared behind Hinata, grabbing her and holding her in a choke hold until she was unconscious. Her health bar had dropped to yellow and was bordering on red.

"Hinata-chan!"

Sakura and Ino attempted to jump away in order to head to the village and warn somebody, as they knew they were no good in this fight. It was for naught, as the man dashed in front of them and sent them both flying back into the clearing with two powerful punches, knocking them out almost instantly. Sakura hit a tree and fell face-first onto the ground while Ino skidded several feet before coming to rest directly at Naruto's feet.

"Sakura-chan! Ino-chan!"

The masked man began to walk up to Naruto, but was suddenly replaced with a log that had been punched through by a seeker shell. Hanabi, being several trees away, cursed and reloaded while using her Byakugan to look for the man, but was too slow to dodge the kick that he threw from behind her, which sent her on a collision course toward Naruto, who easily caught her.

"Hanabi-chan..."

"Damn... That guy hits hard..." the younger Hyūga said, coughing a bit.

"Hanabi-chan, heal yourself up. I need you to get everyone back in good condition. Understand?"

Hanabi nodded and pulled out a small health pack. Naruto looked back at Gaara and asked, "Would you like to help me with this one?"

Gaara nodded and flexed his hands, sending streams of sand towards the man, who dodged them easily. The redhead frowned and used more chakra, making the sand faster. However, it still couldn't grab hold of the masked man, making Gaara growl in frustration.

Naruto gathered his chakra and made a cross hand seal, calling out, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" In a large explosion of smoke, several copies of Naruto were now standing around him. They yelled as they ran towards the man, pulling out Plasma Cutters and kunai. The man was unfazed and simply ran towards them, going directly into their ranks. Several clones were dispatched almost immediately, while others held up against him for some time before also being killed. The clones with Plasma Cutters attempted to fire at the man from several directions, but he simply used a Kawarimi to escape and kept on killing the clones.

"Damnit..." Naruto said, gritting his teeth.

Temari ran forward and shot a large wave of wind towards the man, catching him and two clones off guard and sending them deeper into the woods. He reappeared a moment later, his armour slightly scratched but otherwise unharmed. The Suna kunoichi sent several more waves of cutting air at the man, but he dodged nimbly and appeared inside her guard, kicking her fan away before giving her an uppercut that sent her flying back into a nearby tree, knocking her out.

"Temari!" both Naruto and Gaara cried out.

Naruto growled, looking back at the man with unbridled anger. He reached inside himself for a way to beat the man, and soon came in contact with the Hakke no Fūin Shiki. With a simple command, he thrust himself into his seal, intending to talk to the Kyūbi.


0o0o0o0o0o0 Inside Naruto's mindscape 0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto soon reappeared inside his mind, reaching the place where the Kyūbi resided. He was startled when he landed on a rocky, circular platform, at the end of which was a large cage. He turned around in order to study it more and froze in shock at the sight of the large Marker that was directly opposite to the cage, floating and twisting some ways away from the platform he was standing on.

"No way..." the blonde muttered. He shook himself after a few moments and turned back to the Kyūbi's cage, where a lone, red eye was now looking at him.

"Kyūbi."

"What do you want, boy?"

Naruto walked forward and stopped mere feet from the cage, retracting his helmet so that the chakra entity would see him better.

"I'm in need of your help, Kyūbi," Naruto said, slightly surprising the kitsune at his almost reverent tone. "I'm sure you know about the masked man that's attacking my friends and I. I can't allow him to hurt them any longer, but I know I don't have the strength to take him on alone, which I'm sure is exactly why he was sent after me and Gaara. This is why I'm here. I want to ask for a bit of your chakra, just enough so I can keep up with him, even for a short time."

The Kyūbi looked back at Naruto, his visible eye unreadable. Finally, he said, "And what makes you think I'll just give it to you?"

"Nothing, really," Naruto admitted. "I just wanted to ask. I know that we're in a symbiotic relationship, and I'd rather it not be tainted any more than it already is by just forcing you to give it to me. But think about this: the masked man was ordered to get me and Gaara, so it's safe to assume that he wants you and the Ichibi. I can't allow that, as it would spell problems for Konoha and the world in general. In turn, who knows what they're planning to use you for? Please, Kyūbi."

The blonde ninja and orange chakra kitsune looked at each other for some time, neither willing to give way. Finally, Naruto closed his eyes and sighed, turning around and saying, "So be it."

He was about to exit his mindscape when he sensed a large amount of chakra approach him carefully and surround him, compacting around his body and giving him a red chakra cloak with two large ears and a lone, swinging tail behind him. He turned back to the cage in wonder only to see the Kyūbi with his back to him, his tails lying around him.

"Kyūbi... thank you," Naruto said with a nod. Without another word, the boy closed his eyes and dissipated from the mindscape, leaving the Kyūbi alone once more.


0o0o0o0o0o0 In the outside world 0o0o0o0o0o0

The masked man began advancing carefully toward the two jinchūriki, ignoring Hanabi, who was currently patching up Kiba. Naruto was simply standing there with his head down, while Gaara was standing next to the blonde, panting slightly due to chakra exhaustion. The masked man held his tanto up and thrust it down at Naruto's head hilt-first, intending to knock the boy out.

To his surprise, Naruto's left arm shot up at blinding speed and grabbed the man's wrist, stopping his strike dead in its tracks. Steam was rising from the boy's body, and a second later, a red chakra cloak appeared around him, covering him completely. It began to burn the man's arm, so he wisely retracted it with a forceful jerk. Or, more appropriately, tried to, but was unsuccessful, as Naruto's grip was like steel.

With an animalistic roar, Naruto drew his right fist back and thrust it at the man's stomach. The man dodged by throwing his torso to the right (Naruto's left), dodging the strike. He did not expect Naruto to begin spinning to his left, using his grip on the man's wrist and the dodge manoeuvre to easily jerk him off his feet and spin him counter-clockwise at a dizzying speed before releasing his wrist and sending him flying into several trees. The man got up almost immediately, having used chakra to soften his crash, but had to immediately dodge the claw swipe Naruto thrust at him, which bisected the tree behind him and a two more behind that one. The man jumped back into the clearing, Naruto following him and landing in a feral stance a few feet away, his chakra tail swinging idly.

"Naruto Uzumaki, stand down. I have orders to bring you and the Ichibi jinchūriki to my master for the good of Konoha," the man stated.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he said, "If you survive, tell your master that kidnapping jinchūriki is not how you protect a village."

Without further ado, Naruto thrust his chakra tail into the ground, making the man jump as it blasted up from the ground on a collision course for his chest. The blonde jumped at the airborne man, swinging a clawed hand in an upward swing. The man moved his torso back, dodging the attack, but was not prepared for the red chakra shaped like a claw that followed about a second behind. The man thrust his hands out and shot as much chakra as was necessary to push himself away from the chakra claw, which was quite a bit for anyone not a jinchūriki. Noticing the manoeuvre, Naruto growled and roared in his direction, sending a blast of displaced air that the man was unable to dodge after having thrust his chakra out so roughly. It hit him directly on the stomach, sending him flying even higher, until the man was past the treetops and was soaring high above the forest. Naruto landed on a nearby tree and shot upwards in the man's direction, the tree branch he was standing on shattering into splinters.

As soon as he was close enough, Naruto sliced the air in the direction of the man's head, which the man blocked with his tanto. Naruto tried to attack him with his left hand, but it met the same result against a kunai the man had produced. He attempted a knee to the man's gut, but was foiled by the man's right knee. His left knee met the same resistance.

They traded blows similarly for a short while before finally passing through the treetops as they fell back to the ground. Naruto chose that moment to push away from the man forcefully, making the masked ninja lose his airborne balance momentarily. That was enough for Naruto to land against a tree and immediately shoot off again, using chakra to push himself toward the man hard enough to tackle him to the ground like a meteor.

Meanwhile, Naruto's friends, now patched up and revived by Hanabi and Hinata, were watching the battle with wide eyes.

"Amazing, is it not?"

All eyes went to Gaara, who was watching the battle without issue, having gotten used to ninja jumping all over the place in order to attack him. A moment later, he continued. "By my reckoning, Naruto is using much more bijū chakra than I was when I released the Ichibi, but not quite enough to fully match the tanuki."

"He has that much power sealed inside him?!" Choji asked.

"Much more, actually. Remember, the bijū he contains has eight more tails than mine," Gaara pointed out.

Everyone suddenly felt rather small in front of Naruto as the information sunk in their minds.

Back with the battle, Naruto and the masked ninja had been battling back and forth, tearing up the landscape quite a bit, until finally clashing a moment earlier and remaining in a deadlock, with Naruto using his claws to hold back the man's tanto. Unfortunately, that was the very same time that the chakra the Kyūbi had allocated for Naruto ran dry, making the cloak dissipate and subsequently making Naruto's strength wane, although not enough to be pushed back fully.

"No… No! No! Not now!" Naruto cried out, feeling the chakra cloak leaving him.

"It seems your power has waned," the man commented, cocking his head to the side slightly, "You now see that it is hopeless."

Naruto began bending backwards as the man put more force into his sword, the blade cutting into Naruto's palms as he tried to hold it back. Naruto was currently going through several plans, but none were processed completely.

'What do I do?! What do I do?!' This was Naruto's repeated thought as he tried to find a way out of this. However, it just wasn't coming to him.

Just then, however, a voice Naruto barely recognised spoke in Naruto's mind, saying, 'Come on, kid, don't give up. Don't you remember the suit you're wearing?'

Naruto's head snapped up, his eyes clearing. If ideas could manifest, a light bulb the size of the Hokage Tower would be hanging above his head.

In one smooth movement, Naruto pulled back his right hand from the blade and fished out a kunai from a storage seal on one of the armour pieces covering his ribs. He used it to hold back the man's tanto with better efficiency while moving his left hand directly in front of the man's stomach, palm out and fingers open wide. The masked ninja noticed and attempted to jump away, but was not expecting the blue bolt of energy that materialised on Naruto's palm and hit him on the stomach with a blue flash of light. Almost immediately, the man felt as if his body had been dunked in cold water, almost freezing his body's movements. Every movement seemed like it needed much more than the necessary amount of energy it should need.

"What… did… you… do… to… me…?" The man asked, his voice slowed substantially.

Naruto relaxed and stood over the man, saying, "It's called Stasis. Now, hold still." Naruto dashed quickly behind the man and sliced both of the man's calves, almost completely separating his feet from the rest of his body. The man only gave a loud, pained grunt before the blonde jammed the kunai into the man's hand and into the ground, pinning him to the floor.

"It's over…"

Naruto's friends approached quickly, surrounding him and the man in a large circle. Naruto nodded to each of them before kneeling in front of the man and waiting for the stasis to dissipate before saying, "Now, you're going to tell us just who the hell you are and who sent you."

The man did not move.

"Hey," Naruto said, slapping the man's head. Instead of a jerk, as he had expected, the head merely bobbed up and down for a moment before lolling uselessly. Frowning, Naruto grabbed the man's shoulder, pulled out the kunai embedded in the man's hand, and turned the body, taking the mask off.

The group was greeted by the sight of one of the most generic faces ever. Plain, short, brown hair, vacant dark eyes, a rough chin with some stubble growing, and a mouth with nearly perfect teeth.

Key word, nearly.

There was an indentation where the last upper molar to the left would normally be. Frowning, Naruto looked into the mouth of the man and was surprised and annoyed to find small pieces of what looked like red and black plastic scattered around it, already dissolving with the residual saliva in the mouth of the man.

"Son of a bitch!" Naruto yelled out, tossing the man's head to the side and standing suddenly while startling the Genin around him. "He took a fucking suicide pill!"

More curses followed Naruto's declaration. The blonde, in a fit of anger, kicked the body as hard as he could into a tree. This turned out to be a good thing, for as soon as the body impacted against the tree a few yards away, it suddenly exploded forcefully, sending Ino, Sakura, Choji, and Kiba down onto their butts from the shock while they all looked on with flabbergasted expressions.

"Good kick, Naruto," Hanabi said.

Naruto simply nodded in response.

"Naruto! Sakura! Sasuke!"

"Hey, that's Kakashi-sensei," Sakura noted.

"Oh, good," Naruto muttered sarcastically.

Lo and behold, Kakashi Hatake suddenly flew out of the bushes and landed square in front of them, a kunai drawn as his eyes focused on the two awake Suna ninja.

"What's happening here?" he asked authoritatively.

"Kakashi-sensei, calm your tits," Naruto said offhandedly, making the man face-plant. "Nothing's happened. We fought these two, then the Ichibi, then some strong ass ninja, then you came here."

"You guys fought a bijū?!" the silver-haired man asked in shock.

"Yeah, we did, as a team," Naruto said, throwing his hands out to point out the rest of the Rookie 9. "It was tough, but he wasn't at full power since some of his chakra was still inside Gaara's seal."

Kakashi's stance relaxed as he said, "Whew… well, that's good. Any injuries?"

"All taken care of," Hinata said, with Shikamaru, Kiba, and Sasuke nodding in affirmation.

"Good to know…" Kakashi trailed off, now noticing the armour that both Hinata and a younger Hyūga girl that looked like her were wearing.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto said, drawing the Jōnin's attention. "Just after we had finished fighting back Gaara and the Ichibi, we got attacked by a masked ninja." This brought the man's full attention to the blonde. "He was wearing clothes and armour similar to that of the ANBU… but his mask was not from there. He also said that he had been given orders by his 'master' to take me and Gaara to him, for what I don't know."

"What did the mask look like, Naruto?" Kakashi asked seriously, his mind already reaching a bad conclusion. In response, Naruto pressed a button on his wrist that brought up a holographic image in mid-air. It showed the masked man in his Kenjutsu stance. "I figured as much…"

"Do you know who he was? He committed suicide through a pill just after I'd managed to stop him with Kyūbi's chakra, and his body was rigged with explosives that destroyed it completely," Naruto asked and explained.

"You took down an ANBU-level shinobi?" Kakashi asked in wonder.

"Well, yeah, with some help from the Kyūbi, like I said," Naruto reiterated.

Kakashi was now suddenly aware that Naruto had mentioned the kitsune twice and none of his classmates or the foreign Genin had batted an eyelid. "I told them about him after the battle with the Ichibi," Naruto said aloud, almost as if he had read his mind.

"And… how did they react?" Kakashi asked with some trepidation.

"Well, Shikamaru was quite accepting, saying that I had just cleared up a large puzzle in his mind. The others…" Here, Naruto stopped and turned to the Rookies, saying, "You know, I never did get our reactions about my tenant."

"I don't care," Hinata was the first to break the silence. "You're still the same Naruto-kun I know, and if the Kyūbi was fine with you taking some chakra in order to beat the man that wanted to take you away, then he's fine with me, the attack on the village notwithstanding."

"I'm with Onee-chan on that one," Hanabi piped up. "You're not a demon in any sense of the word, Naruto-kun. You were simply dealt a bad card in the game of life, but you've survived and you've become a great and strong guy, so you're fine with me."

"You already know my input," Shikamaru drawled.

"I'm with Shikamaru on this one," Choji said seriously. "You're still my ramen-eating buddy, jinchūriki or not. Besides, the fact that you haven't destroyed the village in this entire time proves that the Yondaime's seal is still working fine."

"Despite the fact that you and I didn't talk much during the Academy and even less during our time as Genin, something I'd like to change, you're still the lovable knucklehead of Konoha, Naruto, and that isn't gonna change at all anytime soon," Ino said with a smile.

"Like Ino said, you're still a complete knucklehead, Naruto, my man," Kiba said with a smirk, "You just also have a really strong chakra battery in your body, which kinda explains how you kept getting up during our match in the Prelims."

Akamaru backed Kiba up with a happy bark.

"To possibly feel animosity toward you because of an entity residing inside your body, one which you did not choose to bear, would be both hypocritical and illogical," Shino said, in his ever-stoic tone. "You are a worthy comrade, Naruto, and the Kyūbi will not taint my view of you."

"I have to admit," Sasuke began, "I was a little surprised to know about it. But despite that, you're still Naruto and still a dobe. So you're alright by me."

The only one left was Sakura, who was looking down at the ground with a look of both thoughtfulness and shame.

"Well, Forehead?" Ino asked.

"I…" Sakura sighed. "I don't hate you or resent you, Naruto. I just need to come to grips with the information. My parents were never supporters of you. Hell, my mom openly hated you, something I'm ashamed to say I got from her during my time in the Academy. But as we went on missions and trained together, I came to realize that you were just a sweet and lonely boy looking for someone to recognise you for you, and not the burden you carry. Despite the fact that I hurt you so much during the Academy and as Genin, I came to realise that you're one of the things I mostly looked forward to in the mornings. And for that… I want to say I'm sorry, Naruto. I'm so sorry for treating you so badly in the Academy."

Naruto smiled and walked up to her, putting a hand on her chin and lifting her head up so they could lock eyes. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around her in a soft hug, one which she happily reciprocated. With a tentative voice, she asked, "You… you're not mad at me?"

"Not at all," Naruto laughed, pulling back and looking her in the eyes. "We're all naïve when young, and you're no exception. But what we can do now is just move forward, not dwelling in the past but working for a better future."

Sakura smiled a watery smile and nodded vigorously. Naruto smiled in return and looked at Kakashi, who was wearing a smile large enough to be seen through his mask.

"Is that good enough for you, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi nodded vigorously.

"Now that I remember," Naruto suddenly piped up, snapping his fingers. "I need to see jiji, pronto. I have to show him something Hinata-chan, Hanabi-chan, and I found during our training trip, plus I also need to talk to him about the masked Ne ninja."

Kakashi winced as two things were brought to the forefront of his mind. Naruto immediately caught it and asked, "What's wrong?"

Kakashi was slightly torn, but finally sighed and said, "Two things. First: I wanted to apologise for just throwing you to the wind for the month of the exams. I talked with Hokage-sama about it and he gave me quite a stern lecture. It was then that I realised that I've been a terrible teacher not just to you, but to Sakura as well."

"It's fine on my end, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto responded. "I thought about it as well and I came to realise that Gaara was definitely a worse opponent than Neji. Sharingan or no, Sasuke was going to need help. I also came to realise that I was just being a brat when I flipped out like that."

"I forgive you too, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said. "I just want for you to help us train better, and more as a team as well. This fight with Gaara and the Ichibi proves that I'm just not strong enough to keep up with Naruto and Sasuke anymore. In fact, I can hardly keep up with any of the other Rookies. Just help me train better, will you?"

Kakashi nodded solemnly, then remembered the second point in his mind and looked down slightly. "My second point is… much worse."

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"When the invasion started, Hokage-sama was forced to fight Orochimaru, who had orchestrated the whole thing and had killed the Fourth Kazekage," Temari and Gaara stiffened, "and used his face as a disguise to sneak into Konoha unnoticed."

"Where are you going with this?" Naruto asked, a cold pit forming at the bottom of his stomach.

"Hokage-sama… fell in battle against Orochimaru."

Silence permeated the air.

"Heh... Yo-you're joking, right?" Naruto chuckled dryly, his mind immediately trying to push away the information it was given.

"No, Naruto... I'm not. Sandaime Hokage-sama is dead," Kakashi said, his head hung. "I'm sorry, Naruto."

The reactions around the clearing were mostly similar. The rookies, having known the elderly man well, were all shocked and sad. They knew the man to be an incredibly nice person, one who gladly put everyone in the village before himself. However, they also knew that only one person knew him better than most, and that was Naruto himself.

Naruto was not dealing with this well, that much was visible immediately. His eyes were grey and almost lifeless, despite the fact that he was shaking his head rather actively. He was sweating slightly, and his mouth was open and moving, yet no sound was coming out, as if he were trying to say something.

Naruto's world was crashing around him. He just couldn't accept it. The third Hokage, the grandfatherly man who gave him an apartment after he was kicked out of the orphanage; who gave him an allowance so he wouldn't starve and would have what he needed; who would periodically check on him to make sure he would be alright; who would always be available when he wanted to talk... one of his only friends...

Gone?

"No..." Naruto finally found his voice. "No, no... No, no, no, no... No, that can't be true... he can't be dead... he's such a strong man, he can't just have... died..."

As he spoke, he had been backing up slowly, cutting a path through the Genin behind him who turned to regard him with sympathetic eyes. Soon, his back hit a tree, making him stop in his tracks. But he kept backing up regardless, pushing himself up against the tree while he continued to mutter denials. Finally, he couldn't stay up, as his legs had lost all energy. He slid down the tree, his butt soon hitting the roots, where he sat and put his head in his hands, shaking it and continuing his mutterings.

"Naruto-kun...?" Hinata asked sadly, tears falling down her face at not just the news of the Hokage's death but at the breakdown her love interest was going through. She approached him slowly and knelt in front of him, putting her hand on his shoulder, making his head snap up abruptly, his eyes wild and searching.

"Hinata-chan, please, tell me it isn't true. I won't be mad, I promise. It's a joke, right? I mean, you have the Byakugan, you can look for him, right?!" Naruto asked desperately.

Hinata didn't answer, choosing to simply lock eyes with the boy. Naruto couldn't hold the stare, couldn't bear the truth in those sympathetic white eyes.

"Oh, Naruto-kun," Hinata moaned in a low voice, wrapping her arms around his neck and allowing him to cry against her. Naruto took the offer gladly, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face on her chest while at the same time letting loose the floodgates of his eyes, releasing all of the pent up sadness inside him. His wounded cries startled his comrades, who could only look on in shock at the breakdown the happiest of their ranks was going through. Hanabi, Sakura, and Ino began to cry again at the sight, while the guys looked either down or away, not wanting to bear the sight but unable to drown out the sorrowful cries of the blonde jinchūriki. Kakashi also turned away, not being able to bear the sight of a crying and heartbroken boy who looked so much like his sensei. Gaara and Temari only looked at Naruto with sympathetic looks, knowing now just how big a part the Sandaime Hokage played in Naruto's life. The news of their father's death hadn't been a big shocker, as they both hated the man for what he had done to Gaara and their mother Karura.

Sometime later, Naruto stopped crying but didn't release Hinata, afraid that if he did, she would disappear as well. Hinata gladly kept him in her embrace, wanting to give him all the comfort he could take. It wasn't until Naruto spoke up that she realized that he had pulled her onto his lap by tightening his grip on her waist.

"How… did he die?" Naruto asked in a hollow voice, looking up at his Jōnin-sensei.

"Naruto, I don't think that would be good fo-," Kakashi started, only to be interrupted by Naruto.

"How did he die?!" the blonde asked, a bit more forcefully this time.

The silver-haired Jōnin realised that Naruto wouldn't take anything but the truth, so he hung his head and explained in a detached voice, "By the report, Hokage-sama used the Shiki Fūjin, the same seal your f- the Yondaime Hokage used to seal the Kyūbi inside you, to try and seal away Orochimaru's soul in the Shinigami's stomach, along with the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages, who Orochimaru reincarnated with a kinjutsu. But he was not strong enough to seal them all, so he was only able to take away the souls of Orochimaru's arms, rendering him incapable of using any jutsu."

"Where's Orochimaru?" Naruto asked.

"I'm afraid to say he escaped with the help of four of his subordinates."

Naruto growled in anger and took his right hand off of Hinata's waist in order to punch the tree behind him in frustration.

"Damn you, Orochimaru… I will make you pay for doing this. I won't let jiji's sacrifice go to waste!"

Naruto stood up, bringing Hinata up with him. Everyone watched as his helmet reassembled around his head and he asked, "Kakashi-sensei, what happened to my Kage Bunshin?"

"They were still helping out around the village, last I knew," Kakashi explained. "What with their armour and weapons, they were really nigh indestructible. I think by now they'd be done rounding up the rest of the invaders."

Kakashi was right, for at that moment, Naruto received the mental feedback of fifty reinforced Kage Bunshin dispelling all at once, making all of their memories up to that point be shoved into Naruto's head. The blonde yelled out at the sudden pain in his head before he passed out and flopped face-first to the floor, unable to remain awake due to the mental fatigue.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata and Hanabi cried, immediately running to him. The others were a split-second slower, but eventually they all crowded around the unconscious blonde.

"What in the world happened to him?" Kiba asked.

"I thought this would happen," Kakashi sighed. "You see, a little-known fact about the Kage Bunshin is that whatever the Bunshin learns will be transferred to the original once the Bunshin disperses. With fifty clones working at once for so long, plus the amount of fatigue Naruto accumulated through the battles today, the mental knockback would undoubtedly put a lot of strain on his mind."

"Will he be okay?" Sakura asked fretfully.

"He'll be fine," Kakashi assured her. "He just needs a good night of sleep, so how about we head back to the village?"

When everyone agree, Kakashi picked up Naruto in a fireman's carry and began to walk back to the village, not wanting Naruto to be tossed around by tree jumping. The Genin all followed, Gaara taking the time to pick up Kankuro with his sand. Hinata and Hanabi stayed close to Kakashi the entire time, watching as Naruto's health bar fluctuated between light blue and pure green.


0o0o0o0o0o0 Inside Naruto's Mindscape 0o0o0o0o0o0

"Oh, kami, what happened?" were the first words out of Naruto's mind as he once again woke up in his mindscape. He rubbed his uncovered face and was about to force himself up when a gloved hand entered his vision. Surprised, he took it and allowed the person to pull him to his feet, whereupon he was dealt a surprise.

In front of him was a man, somewhat taller than he was. The man was wearing a RIG suit similar to the one he had on, an Advanced Suit, although his was coloured blue with orange sections.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked guardedly, wondering how this man got into his mindscape.

"Ah, yeah, I guess introductions are in order," the man said in a familiar voice. As the man pressed a button on his left wrist and his helmet began retracting, Naruto suddenly realised that the voice was the same that reminded him about his suit's capabilities while he was fighting the masked Ne man.

The helmet finally finished retracting and was stored in the suit, giving Naruto a full view of a bearded face, green-blue eyes, and slightly greying black hair.

"Isaac?!"