Authors note.

Yes that's right, I'm going to keep you from the chapter for just a little bit longers, cause I'm a dick. No seriously I have a couple of things i need to address before you get to it.

Firstly to all those who messaged me and asked when, or what happened to the new chapter. thank you, that really gave me the kick up the ass I needed to get this done.

Next, pairings. this will be a harem fic, although don't expect much in lemons, never been good at them. the pairings are set so don't send any comments asking for them to be changed. also if you don't like who i have chosen to bad, cause I ain't changing it just because of some stupid reasons like it's overused or something. If I have hinata in the harem and you use that excuse I will tell you to stuff cause naruhina is not the most over used Naruto pairing out there. Now someone mentioned I should add Kushina into the harem, I have read a couple of incest stories with those two and I liked them, but it won't happen in this story, sorry to disappoint.

Now Kushina herself, this has come up in a few reviews, no Naruto will not instantly forgive her, not happening in this story ever! Also her continued living after having kyuubi extracted from her and also having three daughters will be explained in this chapter, so don't worry.

And finally, Naruto's power level. the most commented on thing in this story, many of you have said I made him to weak and one of you said that the power level was inconsitant. that's because it is nearly impossible to correctly transfer power level readings from DBZ into Naruto. I tried, Naruto's base form would be high gennin to low chunin, the same as lee, neji, gaara and sasuke. super saiyan would be high chunin to low jounin, like gates unlocked lee, shukaku gaara and curse seal sasuke and so on with legendary being able to kick kuruma's ass. But it turns out that wouldn't work, so you all just get a super naruto, or as close to one as I Can do. Enjoy.

()()()()

For a few seconds there was nothing, then slowly the roar of the crowd began to grow until everyone in the stadium was cheering for the amazing match they had just witnessed, even those who hated Naruto cheered, even if they didn't mean anything by it.

"Amazing, truly amazing" Asuma said awe-struck "If this is what both are capable of now, one can only wonder what they will be like in a few years"

Kurenai was silent, her mind working to understand both, what she had just seen and the meeting she had with the Hokage after the preliminaries.

(Flashback)

"Sir I don't see why I am even here!" Snapped the red-eyed beauty at the Hokage while he sat in silence "What happened today proves that the fox has taken control, it needs to be killed now before it is-" the Hokage interrupted her and asked "Who did you lose to the fox?"

Dumbfounded she asked "w-what?"

Sarutobi looked up over his folded hands and pinned Kurenai to the spot with his stare. "I asked who you lost when the fox attacked." When he got no answer he continued "Did you lose your friends, your son, daughter, brother, sister, parents, husband…wife?" The last one caused the Jounin to flinch since it was well known that the Hokage's wife died that night "From you're silence I will take that as no. So tell me, Jounin Yuhi, why do you, who has nothing to grieve for, hate an innocent child. One who lost more that night than anyone else in this village?"

"But sir, the council" Kurenai knew It was a weak argument but she had to try, what she got as a response didn't surprise her in the slightest.

"THE COUNCIL KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT SEALS!" Sarutobi exploded, furious at the idea that the civilians had once more poisoned the mind of one of his most promising shinobi. "They do not have the qualifications to pass judgement on Naruto and for you, a seasoned Jounin under my command to listen to the ravings of power hungry civilians is outrageous" Following his outburst, Sarutobi took several minutes to calm down and recompose himself. "Seeing as how two of your students have not advanced in the tournament and the one who has will be receiving training from his father, you're Jounin licence will be suspended for the next two months and you will pay for the injuries you're student received at the hands of Uzumaki Naruto"

"WHAT! Sir you cannot be seri-"

"BE SILENT! "The Sandaime hollered and Kurenai shuts up instantly "It is because of your foolish and misguided believes and words that the boy is in hospital to begin with, so you will take responsibility understood!"

Sighing she answered "Yes sir"

"Dismissed Jounin Yuhi" Sarutobi took a drag on his pipe and waved for her to leave.

(End flashback)

Kurenai looked down at her hands, numerous things running through her mind most prominent being guilt "I was wrong" she whispered to herself, Asuma heard her and smiled in understanding.

"YAY! Naruto won!" Having just watched an amazing fight, Sakura couldn't help but cheer for her team-mates success and she wasn't the only one. All around the arena the crowd cheered and clapped for the amazing show of skill that both Naruto and Lee demonstrated.

Genma watched as the medical team, as well as Gai, eased Lee unto a stretcher to be carried out of the arena. Once they were gone, he let out a sigh and called for the next contests. "And now the next match! Kankuro and Uzumaki Naruto! Come down!"

The sun baked ground cracked under the force of Naruto dropping down from the roof, but he paid it no mind as he turned his gaze to the contestants box and waited for the puppeteer's arrival. The black clad teen grimaced at the situation he found himself in "Shoot…this match doesn't even matter…" From his place in audience Baki watched nervously. "I'm more worried about revealing the Gimmick that was planted into karasu before the plan begins." Kankuro looked back at the bundle on his back "But after watching that, there is no way in hell I am going down there" A quick look to his sister and he made his choice ,announcing loudly."…I Forfeit!"

Genma was not impressed by this, but the enraged snarl that echoed from Naruto truly told the displeasure of puppet users' choice. "Fine, then Uzumaki Naruto you can return to the box and we will move on to our next match"

()()()()

When Naruto climbed the last step and strode into the contestants box there was a hushed silence that followed the blonde as he moved over to the railings. Kankuro, believing he was safe, released a sigh of relief which turned into an explosion of air from his lungs as his back slammed into the wall. Everyone accept for Gaara watched with shock as Naruto literally was crushing the older teen into the wall with a single finger. "You reek of cowardice" The words were spat out in disgust as the pressure on Kankuro's chest increased and the sound of bones cracking was heard, then suddenly it stopped and the pressure was released. Naruto let go and turned away "But there are others who hold my interest more then you, however we will have our fight, sooner than you think" Those words caused the same thought to flash through Temari and Kankuro's minds "He knows!"

Without warning, a whirlwind of leafs drew every ones attention to the centre of the fight area. Everyone was in shock, but slowly smiles and cheers built up from the crowd as the whirlwind died down to reveal the arrival of Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke.

Kakashi turned to Genma and, with a smile, said "Sorry we're late…" "Your name?" Genma addressed the younger shinobi with a smirk. "Uchiha..Sasuke..." His tone and look spoke only of his indifference about holding up the event.

"Sa..Sasuke-kun…" Sakura's face lit up with joy, her prince (only in her mind) had arrived. "Heh…After causing trouble for everyone…what an attitude" Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk at Sasuke and the way he acted. The Kazekage, his eyes nearly bulging out in joy, stared down to the arena, his wish granted.

Similar reactions spread through the crowd, accept for a certain few. Tail twitching in irritation, Chiyoko snorted out a laugh, which got her some very unfriendly looks from people around her. She paid them no mind, merely choosing to speak to herself "So this is the so called prodigy that everyone favours? Doesn't look so impressive, makes me wonder what all those girls see in him" Turning her sight away with disgust from the group of women, who were pretty much offering themselves as Sasuke's cum dumps, Chiyoko sent a silent prayer to the heavens in hopes that Naruto will hurt the little bastard.

Another person displeased with Sasuke's arrival was Gaara. Originally Sasuke was the only one who held Gaara attention, but following what happened in the second round and what happened today in the finals. Now though, Uchiha Sasuke was simply an obstacle and his road to a true opponent. "Let's get this over with"

Back in the arena floor, Kakashi gave his traditional eye smile and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Well… we showed up all flashy and the like, but…could Sasuke have been…disqualified?"

All Kakashi got was silence "See…you're late Sasuke" Genma sighed "Geez…your tardiness must be contagious…" Genma looked at the two stoically. "So…what is it?" Asked, a genuinely nervous Kakashi. "Don't worry…" The senbon chewing Jonin smiled "We pushed Sasuke's fight 'til the end…he hasn't been disqualified"

"Ahahahahahaha... that's good! Good!" Kakashi once more eye smiled. He quickly turned serious when he noticed Gaara glaring down at Sasuke.

()()()()

"KYAAA! SASUKE-KUUUNN!" Ino saw fit to deafen everyone around her, accept for her fellow fan girls they seemed to be immune. Choji, who was sitting right next to her, could only look on with disappointment "He's worked so hard but she's already moved on to Sasuke…poor Shikamaru"

"HEY! IS THAT THE UCHIHA PRODEGY!"Some people yelled "THE UCHIHA FIGHT IS GOING TO START!" how quickly the crowd forgot about the earlier matches when Sasuke showed up. Once more Chiyoko was disgusted by the behaviour of the leaf civilians and said to herself. "Come on Uchiha, lose already so I get to watch a real fight"

Back with Ino and Sakura. "Sakura! Your team is pretty amazing!" Ino commented getting a surprised look and a question "how so ?" smiling Ino answered "Because…who would of ever imagined how the match between Naruto and Lee could have gone like that and being so awesome "

()()()()

"Gaara, Get down here" Genma called. In any other reality Gaara would have been very excited about what was about to happen, but here he just looked bored and this really freaked out his brother and sister.

"W-what the hell…two months ago Gaara wouldn't stop talking about killing the Uchiha, what could have happened?" Temari asked herself and became extremely nervous and when she saw Kankuro move, her heart nearly stopped.

"H…Hey Gaara…about the plan, do you under-.." Temari quickly covered Kankuro's mouth with her hand while watching Gaara like he was a living bomb. Still keeping her eyes on her youngest brother, she spoke to the other one "Don't talk to Gaara right now"

Gaara said nothing; he just turned and walked down the steps towards the fight floor. Up in the stands two shinobi from Kusagakure got up from their seats and disappeared. A minute or two later Gaara stepped into the light and stood across from Sasuke. It would be a long time before anyone discovered what had happened between Gaara and the two kusa ninja. From his spot in the fighters' box, Naruto smirked. "Such violence Gaara, you will be the perfect opponent for my true strength" With his enhanced abilities, he could easily pick up the smell of blood and the sound of the screams.

(I'm gonna skip the whole Kakashi Sakura interactions and just get right to the fight)

Genma sliced his hand down through the air and shouted out for the whole arena to hear "BEGIN!"

Immediately sand poured out of the gourd on Gaara's back. Seeing this Sasuke put some distance between himself and Gaara thinking to himself. "So this is the sand Kakashi mentioned". Then, with no warning at all, Gaara grabbed his head in pain. This brought a pause to the sand.

"Don't…get so angry…" Gaara was pressing his hands so hard into his head, which caused his sand armour actually cracked. "…mother" "what is he talking about" "I fed you some nasty blood earlier…I'm sorry…but this time…it will be better" And as quickly as it came, the mysterious headache that afflicted Gaara ended.

Sasuke reached into his back pouch and pulled out some shurikan. "Here I come" he said throwing the ninja stars at full force, he hoped to make an opening, but they were completely stopped by the wall of sand that rose up in front of Gaara and it took his form. This time Sasuke decided a frontal assault would be best but the sand clones' chest burst outward to grab him. Seeing this, the Uchiha jumped skyward and threw more stars but they did little to the sand. Trying a more physical plan, Sasuke began to trade blows with the sand clone until he eventually destroyed its head.

With the clone down, Sasuke went straight for Gaara and the sand rose up once more to defend its master when, to the shock of everyone, Sasuke dodged and got a hit in at the red head from underneath. Several observers narrowed their eyes as they recognised that Sasuke had copied Lee's fighting style.

Several more times did Sasuke land a hit on Gaara and he taunted the boy every time. It came to an end when Gaara encased himself inside a sphere of sand. Sasuke rushed forward and tried to land a final hit on Gaara before the sand completely closed. His fist hit a solid mass and several sand spikes cut his cheek open. Hopping back a few steps, Sasuke paused to plan. "Using all the sand to protect himself…so it gets this hard when it's packed tight "he thought to himself and curling the fingers on his right hand into a claw, Sasuke smirked asking "An absolute defence?"

Movement on the sphere surface drew attention. An eye made of sand slowly formed and floated up over the sphere. In the fighters' box, Temari began to panic "There's no doubt about it, it's THAT jutsu…this is bad! Gaara's forgotten about the plan entirely…" the eye swivelled around and stared at Sasuke who grumpily thought "The third eye…it's definitely that jutsu…damn…Gaara"

Again Sasuke tried a physical assault but he couldn't even leave a scratch. "As I thought, no good…Hiding in there…I don't know what he's up to but…this is perfect, since mine also…" A dark look passed over Sasuke's face "Takes some time" as he thought the last part he jumped backwards and up the arena wall, his feet got stuck there with chakra and he ran through three hand symbols.

"Damn it, Gaara" Baki was furious with his student thinking "You won't be able to see the signal"

Temari and Kankuro were having their own discussion about it. "Damn…once he's like this there's nothing that can be done" Temari said and Kankuro responding "Does Gaara want to mess up the plan?" Standing not far from them, Shino went unnoticed and was able to listen in.

What sounded like the chirping of many birds filled the air and even more eyes narrowed as Sasuke's left hand was encased in crackling and chirping lightning. Rushing down the wall at incredible speed, the chidori tearing a trail through the ground behind it, Sasuke launched himself at the sand sphere. No-one could turn their eyes from what was about to happen, even the civilians who were beginning to get very sleepy for no reason. "CHIDORI!" Sasuke yelled and stabbed the lightning technique through the sand, shocking everyone especially Gaara.

The metal bar in his hands was crushed and a sadistic, blood thirsty smile practically cut Naruto's face in half as he whispered . "It's time!"

Gaara's voice could be heard from inside the sphere screaming "BLOOD! MY…MY BLOOD!"

Suddenly Sasuke felt a great pressure crush down on the arm still shoved inside the sand sphere and no matter how hard he pulled, the pressure would not stop. With no choice left, Sasuke poured more chakra into the Chidori causing a massive explosion of lightning. Temari looking on in horror and shock and said "no way…has Gaara taken a wound…" With one final tug, Sasuke's arm finally came free…but it was not alone. An arm, completely made of sand and absolutely inhuman held on tightly to Sasuke's arm, so tightly in fact that several of the claws on it had drawn blood.

The arm, covered in blue veins, released Sasuke's arm and slithered back through the hole it came from, but the sight of it caused Kankuro to panic and think. "It's HIS arm…" Up in the stands Kakashi and Gai were shocked. "What's that?" Gai asked, confused and shocked. "Did he transform into his complete form?" Kankuro asked his equally shocked sister which answered. "I don't know! It looks like he's been wounded, this has never…" Back with Sasuke, the avenger stared at the hole in the sphere with panic, and what he saw in those dark depths only caused more fear. "What's this…feeling…?" Genma, who had largely gone unnoticed since the fights beginning, asked himself just as the sand sphere cracked and feathers rained down on the stadium. Almost immediately every Konoha Shinobi who knew the Genjutsu displacement technique used it to break the effects over them, much to the amusement of Kabuto.

()()()()

Up in the Kage's booth the Hokage and the Kazekage turned their heads towards one another in a stand-off. Then the Kazekage's guards rushed to his aid, while the man himself activated a smoke bomb. Konoha Anbu hurried to their Kage, shinobi wore an expression of shock and one blonde Saiyan grinned with unholy delight as he blurred out of existence, reappearing with his fist coming out the back of an Oto Jounin who was about to strike down an unconscious civilian. "Now it is Time to put these weaklings in their place!" Naruto said as he laughed insanely throwing the dead ninja from his arm and launching himself at another group. In another part of the view area, Chiyoko was aiding some of the Genin kunoichi to deal with their opponents.

Outside the village walls a cloud of smoke rose that a single summoning covered in a vast area of the forest. When it cleared in its wake was a gigantic three headed snake, black tomoe markings covered its body and it had a red scarf tied to each head. The snake reared up and smashed through Konoha's outer wall like it was made of paper. With the wall breached, Suna and Oto forces had unrestricted access to Konoha's heart and they were taking full advantage of that.

Back in the Arena, A certain group of Suna-nin were having their own troubles. Kankuro, Temari, and Baki stood in front of the moaning Gaara, trying to figure out what the hell he was trying to pull by jumping the gun and trying to jumpstart his… transformation.

"Damn Gaara," growled Baki, as he stood between his student, and Genma and Sasuke. "Trying to transform before the signal…"

Even though she felt that her heart (and body) belonged to Naruto, Temari still felt the sisterly instinct to check on her little brother. "He's feeling the side-effects," she said, holding her shivering brother. "It's impossible for him to proceed now."

"So what the hell do we do now!" snapped Kankuro, watching the fighting rage around them.

"Abort," said Baki, his eyes on Genma's. "You two take Gaara and retreat. I join the battle. Now leave."

With that, Kankuro and Temari took off with Gaara in tow, leaving Baki to face off against Genma and Sasuke.

"So…?" said Genma, breaking the silence. "Is the leader of this party Orochimaru by any chance?"

"Hell if I know," said Baki, as he grinned and slowly shifted into a fighting stance. "But let's just join in on the fun… shall we?"

"Hey!" yelled Sasuke, annoyed at being ignored. "What's going on?"

"The Chuunin Exams have ended," said Genma, his eyes on Baki. "Go after Gaara and the other two." When Sasuke hesitated, Genma added. "You're pretty much a mid-to-high Chuunin. You're a Konoha-nin, so make yourself useful and follow them."

()()()()

Up in the stands, Kakashi mentally groaned at the sight of his headstrong subordinate. He heard Gai say, "Oto-nin and one traitor… and a barrier Ninjutsu at the roof of the central watchtower."

That caught Kakashi's attention, and when he looked up, he saw the last person he wanted to see. "Orochimaru!"

"Not again," moaned Sakura, as she and Ino stood back-to-back, with Chiyoko and Hinata doing the same. When two Oto-nin appeared out of nowhere, Sakura and Ino both whipped out kunai in defence, but found that they didn't have to when Kakashi stabbed the two Oto-nin in their heads with kunai.

"Just sit back and let us do all the work," said Kakashi rather cheekily with an eye-smile. Ignoring Sakura and Ino's shocked faces "Hey!" Kakashi found himself back-to-back with Gai. "I'm concerned about Hokage-sama," said Gai, as he clobbered an Oto-nin.

"Don't worry about him," said Kakashi optimistically. "Let the ANBU handle things up there. Besides, Hokage-sama can handle himself. He's not the Hokage for nothing." With the battle raging around him, he turned his attention to Sakura and Ino. "You two seem to have a knack for Genjutsu… come see me or Kurenai after this."

"What do you want us to do?" asked Hinata who joined up with Sakura and Ino. Chiyoko looked at Kakashi for a moment before saying "I may not be part of this village, but Naruto would be disappointed if I didn't try to help" Kakashi nodded in understanding.

"You can accompany Sakura and Ino on this mission I'm giving you… this A-Rank Mission" Kakashi explained.

"… What?" All four girls spoke in the same shocked tone all at once.

"Sasuke ran after Gaara and his teammates," said Kakashi, as an Oto-nin jumped at him and received a fatal slice across the chest and Kakashi continued . "I want the six of you to track down Sasuke. Ordinarily, I would have only sent you, Naruto, and Shikamaru, but since Hinata's awake, you will be able to cover more territory. But be warned… enemy shinobi have more than likely entered the village, so it'll be harder for the seven of you to stay hidden for a while."

"Wait," said Ino, out of confusion. "There are six of us… two three-man teams… who's the extra one?"

Kakashi's response was, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" He slammed his hand down on the back of an unconscious person, and a little pug wearing a cape and a Konoha hitai-ate appeared in a puff of smoke. "This is Pakkun," said Kakashi. "He'll help track Sasuke by scent."

Naruto, who had appeared while Kakashi was explaining, looked down at the dog for a second. "I won't need the aid of the summon, I can track Gaara alone. Finally someone worthy of my full power" Before anyone could ask what he meant or even stop him for that matter, Naruto took off, crashing through the stadium wall and flying off into the forest.

"Damn it Naruto!" With a sigh, Kakashi turned back to the other Genin and one Civilian to continue the mission briefing. "Ok then. I want you five to follow Pakkun and get Sasuke back" holding up a hand to prevent any questions "I know how that sounded, but I honestly believe Naruto can handle himself better then Sasuke can, so leave Naruto to do his thing. Now off with you" He waved them off and jumped back into the fray with Gai.

()()()()

Sarutobi removed his Hokage robes to reveal his battle suit. Orochimaru did the same, to reveal the same clothes he wore when he attacked Team 7. "So, you have your funeral shroud prepared," hissed Orochimaru.

Glancing at the kids in the corners, Sarutobi chuckled and said, "Looks like I can't get out of here that easy."

Facing each other, the former sensei and student prepared to face off. The two eventually rushed each other, performing seals. Sarutobi finished with the Tiger Seal and muttered, "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.", while Orochimaru clapped his hands together and said, "Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei!"

Immediately, a coffin rose up, bearing the kanji "Shodai", then another rose, bearing the kanji "Ni". Sarutobi knew what his former student was doing, and he clapped his hands together in a fist. 'I must stop the third one!'

He was able to stop it, and his shuriken slammed into the other two. 'The third one… it didn't work it seems,' he thought. 'Oh, well… that's fine. I was able to stop the third one… but things are gonna be tougher now. Of all the people he could summon, he had to summon those two…' Sarutobi thought to himself.

The coffin lids fell to the ground, to reveal… the hunched over decayed forms of the Shodai Hokage, Senju Hashirama and his brother, Senju Tobirama, the Nidaime Hokage. Hashirama had long black hair that cascaded down his back, and red samurai armour over a black bodysuit, and Tobirama was an albino with blue samurai armour and a white boa around his collar.

"It's been a long time, eh Saru?" said Tobirama, in a voice that hadn't spoken in decades.

"Oh, hello Sarutobi," said Hashirama, in the same tone of voice. "My god, you've gotten old…"

"Although it is a pleasure to see you two again," said Sarutobi, with a minor twitch. "I would have liked to do so under better circumstances. And without the quip on my age."

Ignoring Sarutobi's last remark, Tobirama looked to the side to see Orochimaru and said. "Edo Tensei, huh? And from one so young… he's quite something, summoning us with the forbidden arts."

Even when dead, Hashirama still smiled apologetically at Sarutobi. "I guess that means that we have to fight you then… Gomen, Sarutobi."

"How about you old farts leave off the chatter?" interrupted Orochimaru, as he held two kunai with Fuuda tied to them. "Get ready to fight."

"No matter what, there's always fighting in this world," muttered Hashirama, as Orochimaru stabbed him and his brother in the back of their heads with the kunai.

"You will regret that, Orochimaru," said Sarutobi, somehow knowing that he might not walk away from this fight. "Making the dead into your tools is ill business… no good can come from that…"

()()()()

Shikamaru who, reluctantly, had taken the position of team leader called the group to a halt when they came about a twenty foot crater in the forest. Pakkun stopped as well and sniffed around the area while Chiyoko stood back with a knowing smile on her face.

Sakura looked around at the unnatural site and asked "What could have done this?"

"I Don't know" Replied the dog summon "But that kid Naruto's scent is all over the place, along with several unknown ones"

"N-N-Naruto-kun's?" Hinata's eyes were willed with worry at the possible thought of something happening to the one she cared about. Sensing her worry, Chiyoko placed a hand on the younger girl's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile and said. "Don't worry about Naruto, he is stronger than anyone could imagine, chances are those unknowns got in his way and this" She sweeps her arm around the crater "Is the result. Now enough site seeing, we are falling behind"

The other's nod and quickly take back to the trees to continue their pursuit unaware that they themselves were being pursued. Following behind the group, just out of range of Hinata's Byakugan, Kushina moved through the trees with expert ease.

Ahead of the group the three sand siblings jumped through the trees, trying their hardest to get as far from Konoha as possible. Kankuro was carrying the injured Gaara while their older sister Temari ran slightly ahead of them. The fan wielding Kunoichi looked back over her shoulder to notice that her brother had stopped. "Kankuro what are you doing, we need to keep moving!" Kankuro didn't say anything, he simply jumped over to Temari and handed Gaara over to her. "Kankuro?" the puppeteer turned his back to his sister "Go Temari, take Gaara and get out of here. I'll hold them off as long as I can" "You can't be serious Kankuro, come on we can all make it if we just keep-" "I said GO!" Temari was shocked, never could she remember a time when her brother had yelled at her. "Hurry up Temari" Nodding her head, she repositioned Gaara onto her back "good luck Kankuro and don't die Otouto" with those parting words Temari continued the race to escape Konoha's boarders. Kankuro watched his sister for a moment before unsealing Karasu. "you can come on out now, I know your there!" Several tense seconds passed by before Shino stepped out from behind a tree. "So you sensed me, impressive, now let's see if your battle skills are as impressive as well" A thick cloud of insects swarmed out of the young Aburame's sleeves in preparation for battle.

()()()()

Temari wiped the tears from her eyes, knowing that crying over her brother's sacrifice won't do them any good, what she needed to do was honour it and get Gaara to safety. Too bad there was a problem with that plan, a problem named Uchiha Sasuke and he was standing directly in her path. The boy looked overly smug about getting to the pair before anyone else and he was going to take his time in finishing what he and Gaara started back in the arena. Speaking of Gaara. "Temari put me down…" The boy had awakened sometime after Sasuke has arrived. "Gaara you're awake?" Temari placed her brother down on the tree branch, where he grabbed his head in pain "Oh no, Shukaku is about to awaken!. This is bad" Gaara suddenly turned to glare at Temari, causing her to freeze up in panic. "Temari…scram!" "What!" without any warning Gaara struck his sister in the side and sent her flying into the tree across from them "Just get lost! Mind your own business!" Turning his glare to Sasuke, Gaara was once more overcome by a Shukaku induced headache.

"Although I don't know the motives of your village…I will stop you!" Sasuke jumped down to Gaara's level and activated his Sharingan. Temari, blood slowly leaking from the corners of her mouth, looked up with half laden eyes wondering what was going to happen. "Also" Sasuke continued from his earlier speech "I want to see your true face" Gaara, with his sand armour falling apart, stared at Sasuke, thinking back to their meeting during the training period came to realise something. "you, that is strong…you, that have companions…you, that has an ambition…you, that is like me…I thought the other one would prove me existence…but…once I kill you…I will be the one to have destroyed all of that…only then can I survive…only then can I feel ALIVE!" The pain finally became too much for Gaara and he collapsed to one knee. From there Sasuke and Temari could only watch as the sand shifted and changed. One entire side of Gaara's body changed to become that of Shukaku. The now demonized Gaara glared at Sasuke with a yellow, star shaped eye "Come! Let me feel it!"

Gaara launched himself at Sasuke, surprising the Uchiha with his speed. It was only thanks to his Sharingan and the speed training he did that Sasuke was able to avoid the collision that tore through a dozen trees, leaving devastation in its wake. "Is he…a monster?" Sasuke asked himself as he took cover behind a tree. "Are you afraid of me? Uchiha…Sasuke!" The deranged and demonized Gaara called out "Afraid of my existence…! Don't forget…you're my prey…" clenching his fists in anger, Sasuke prepared to step out and face Gaara.

()()()()

With a swing of his hand, Kankuro sent Karasu flying towards Shino, it's hidden blade slides out of the right arm, a strange liquid dripping from it. The puppet drives the blade into the three trunk where Shino was standing just seconds earlier. It's head turns up to look at the bug users, then the mouth opens and fires out two knives that bury into Shino's skull and chest. Only it's not Shino, but a Mushi Bunshin. Kankuro was taken so surprised that he narrowly avoided the punch to the head Shino levelled at him.

Quickly putting some much needed distance between himself and Shino, Kankuro felt safe enough to speak. "You use your insects to create a body clone, and then attack from behind…not bad!" "You use jutsu to fight from a distance…that's why I think you can't handle close combat…" replied Shino "Because you need to concentrate when you use your jutsu…It leaves you wide open…" "I see you understand the weakness of jutsu specialists! But…I'll show you…how jutsu is used in a real fight!" Karasu, which had been momentarily forgotten, opened up one of its left arms at the elbow "I'll show you…the terror of the Karasu technique!" A melon-sized ball shoot out of the puppet's arm towards Shino and unfortunately for the Insect users he waited too long to move. The ball exploded in a cloud of putrid purple smoke that engulfed Shino completely.

"You were a good opponent, but not good enough" Kankuro turns, ready to depart and meet up with his siblings "Really?" The voice froze him to the spot. Turning around with a look of horror on his face, Kankuro watched the smoke clear and, with is hand out stretched to block the poison bomb, Uzumaki Naruto was revealed "I told you Suna Shinobi, You and I still have a fight to complete" Before Kankuro could even mount a response Naruto vanished from his sight. Two things followed this. First Karasu, the ancient puppet built by Akasuna no Sasori, exploded into thousands of tiny piece and secondly, Naruto's left bicep appeared under Kankuro's chin and the Saiyan spoke a single word. "Lariat". Pain and blood exploded from Kankuro as his body flew through the air until finally crashing through several trees and sliding to a halt within a growing puddle of his own blood. Naruto returned to his spot next to Shino. "Are you alright Aburame-san?" "Yes *cough cough* thank you Uzumaki-san" "There is a group following not far behind me, they should be here soon enough to help you and…him *japs a thumb in Kankuro's direction*. So do not die just yet Aburame-san" With those words Naruto turns and takes off in the direction he can sense Gaara in.

()()()()

"AHaHAhAHahAHaHA!" crazed laughter echoed through the battle field. Gaara clutched his wounded demon arm and laughed "Hahaha…I see…! so that's what it was!" Temari, who was still watching on, was in complete shock. "Impossible! He countered the transformed Gaara!" "…The reason why I'm so excited…I just got the answer!" Gaara's ramblings only got him confused glances from Sasuke. "It's this pain…"He suddenly looked up and it was clear the influence of Shukaku was spreading. "Defeating a man strong enough to hurt me and utterly destroying him…that's what gives me an even greater sense of existence!" The sand arm began to split in half down the middle and the bottom of the gourd turning into a club like tail. Using the claws on the sand arm Gaara leaned back on the branch "Here I come!" and launched himself towards Sasuke at twice the speed of his earlier form.

Once more it was only his Sharingan that saved him from being crushed by the charging Jinchuuriki, however it didn't save Sasuke from being cut badly by the splinters of the branch that Gaara ripped through. Again, using the sand claws, Gaara was able to change direction in mid-air and launch himself once more at Sasuke. Thinking quickly the Uchiha ran through his most well-known hand signs, sucked in a deep breath and unleashed a Gokakyu no jutsu upon the approaching Gaara, but the attack was useless as the sand on Gaara's tail blocked the flames and he delivered a devastating punch to Sasuke.

"Is this all your existence means to you? Let me make it clear for you then…" the words that Gaara spoke drilled themselves into Sasuke's brain. "You are weak! You're too soft…because your hatred isn't strong enough. The power of hate is the power to kill…the power to kill, is the power of vengeance" In Sasuke's mind, Gaara had been replaced by his brother. "Your hatred is weaker than mine!" "Shut up…" "Do you understand what that means…?" Sharingan reawakened and Chidori screaming to the heavens, Sasuke rose to face Gaara again. "It means…you're weaker than me!" The two youths flew towards each other, arms drawn back poised for attack. Yet, when it seemed he had made his comeback, Sasuke's chakra failed him and the chidori died. They met in mid-air, a splash of blood and the two landed on the branches the other jumped from.

Gaara's sand arm collapsed and his true arm was revealed, bleeding heavily. Sasuke, a fresh Chidori blazing in his hand, stood with his curse seal covering half his body, just like when it first activated, his will had failed and he had drawn on its power. Gaara, incensed by this, gave his left arm over to the powers of Shukaku and once more attacked Sasuke without restraint. The Uchiha could do nothing to defend himself this time as using the curse seal had drained him of his last ounce of strength. All seemed lost for the young avenger, his final gambit had failed and he was going to die. Blood sailed into the air and a body collided with the ground. Two sets of eyes stared in disbelieve. Temari and Sasuke couldn't believe it; Gaara had been felled with a single kick…from Uzumaki Naruto. "Well now" His tail twitched in anticipation and his power flared. "It seems the party started without me"

()()()()

On the forest floor, Gaara extracted himself from the crater his body had created and glared up at the one who struck him "…Uzumaki…Naruto" leaping up into the trees, Gaara arrived on the same level as Naruto "…Have you come to prove my existence…or have you come to save your friend?" Naruto opened his mouth to respond when he was interrupted from behind. "What…are you…doing here dope. This is my fight…stay out of…" Sasuke was promptly silenced and knocked unconscious when Naruto's tail struck him across the face with the force of a sledgehammer. "Be Silent you inbred weakling, this no longer concerns you" Smirking, Naruto once more focused all attention on Gaara "does that answer your question; I care not for this weakling. All I call about is fighting a true challenge" the tree branch under his feet cratered under the force of Naruto's power "So come at me Gaara, show me your true power, show me the extent of your existence"

Temari had to use her chakra on the tree to hold on after the shockwave from Gaara and Naruto's collision. "How?" her eyes tried to keep up with the battle before her "How can he keep up with Gaara in his transformed state?" More trees were uprooted as the two battlers repelled one another "What is he?" What she didn't know was that Gaara's thoughts were all too similar to her own. "How is he so strong, how he is matching me blow for blow. WHY CAN'T I KILL YOU!" The last words rang out through the forest and it was answered by laughter "You can't kill me" Naruto landed another punch to Gaara's face "Because you are still not using your whole strength" Gaara's chakra increased once more and so did his transformation. Now his entire body, say for his legs, had become consumed by Shukaku. "Yes that's more like it" Another shockwave rocked the area. The two powerhouses were locked in combat, each trying to overpower the other.

()()()()

Unbeknownst to the teens, they were being watched by a very interested party. Kushina had caught up with Naruto just as he himself arrived on the scene. Now she was watching as the son she abandoned was fighting against his most powerful opponent to date. "Show me Naruto-kun. Show me your strength, show me your worth as a Saiyan" A Small part of her hated that she abandoned her son, but following her revival after the Kyuubi had been sealed away in Naruto, Kushina's mind had been predominantly controlled by her new Saiyan mind-set. The new Kushina viewed a child, who had lost his full power, as nothing worth caring for. So she left and sought out new strength, she trained her new body to be stronger then all others and found those who would give her more worthy children, like the Yondaime Raikage A. The triplets she bore from him were true Saiyan children. Kushina was pulled from her thoughts by a shrill roar, turning her head she was greeted by Shukaku in his full form, with Naruto wrapped in its claws, trapped.

Kushina turned from the fight with disgust, not caring that her son was about to be crushed by the demonised Gaara. During his fight with Rock Lee, she didn't use her scouter to learn his power level, in this fight she did and what she read disappointed her "I was wrong, you're not my son. Only a power of 150,000. The right of the Super Saiyan was wasted on you" Her eyes were closed so she didn't notice the scouter activating "My daughters could destroy that pathetic demon vessel without the need to transfor…m?" She was finally alerted to the rapidly climbing energy signature when the scouter began beeping in quick succession "250, 500, 1,000,000. Im-impossible, IMPOSSIBLE" The scouter exploded from the overload of power Naruto is generating

Kushina wasn't the only one shocked and surprised by the growing power. Gaara in his full Shukaku form was trying desperately to crush Naruto within his sand, but he couldn't. The sand wouldn't compress, like there was a bubble surrounding the person inside. "Why?" He whispered "die! Die! DIE! Why won't you die? WHY WON'T YOU DIE?" Gaara screamed at the last part

Tearing through the sand, shooting up into the sky and parting the clouds, a massive pillar of yellow-green chakra was the response that Gaara received which was accompanied by crazed laughter "HA HA HA HA HA, AHA HA HA HA HA Die?" silhouetted against his own energy, Naruto slowly began to immerge. The next thing that happened was Shukaku's left arm and the forest around it was vaporised in an inferno of energy "Why would I allow a weakling such as yourself to kill me" naruto taunting responded to Gaara.

Floating in the air, Super Saiyan Naruto threw his head back and laughed once more "up to this point I have held back against both you and Lee, but no more. I am going to end you're existence here and now" Naruto explained with a crazed grin.

"End…my…existence?" Gaara asked and then gripped his head in pain as Shukaku screamed at him to crush Naruto before he killed them both "I will not allow you to end my existence!" he yelled.

Drawing on more power, the deranged Sand Shinobi reformed his sand constructs left arm and raised it up into the air, ready to strike down the flying blonde "That's it cub! Destroy the monster. I don't care about his blood, just kill him kill him!" Shukaku whispered to Gaara "Yes mother, I will kill him" was Gaara's response.

Launching the sand appendage with surprising speed, Gaara fully intended to end everything in one shot.

In response Naruto powered up and flew directly at the incoming fist. "Bring it on weakling!" he taunted .What appears to be a green bubble surrounded Naruto just before impact. "Yes! Die!" Cackled Gaara in glee, thinking that he has won, but when the arm once more explodes in a shower of sand and a blonde missile flying straight for him laughing insanely, He feels fear grip his soul "m-mother! What do I do mother, he won't stop. Help me mother. MOTHER SAVE ME!" Gaara yelled to Shukaku. "No one is going to save you" Naruto said as he was closing in fast "When I break your body, I will tear you're mother from you!"

Something flashed in both Shukaku's and Gaara's eyes at those words, Sand shot up from the forest, blinding everyone in close proximity and hiding the demon, and a double voice rang out from the sand storm yelling "YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY MOTHER/SON FROM ME!" The next thing anyone saw was Naruto flying backwards, tearing up the forest as he collided with the trees, and a colossal sand golem in the shape of a woman standing were the Shukaku once was and said angry. "I will kill you for threatening my son!"

Temari, who had been watching the fight in secret, couldn't believe what she was seeing. Because the sand golem was none other than. "M-mom?" Her mother Karura. Completely made out of sand. "But…But father said mother hated Gaara, that she named him to be a curse upon the village. So then why? Why is she protecting him!" Karura flexed her new found arms. "I will protect my son, even after death" Swinging one of her giant arms, she sought to smash Naruto in one move, only for the boy to shatter the sand and fly straight towards her. A wall of sand rose up and knocked Naruto off his course, but he quickly recovered and enclosed himself within his energy sphere once more.

()()()()

Omake

hinata: naruto-kun why does the author still keeps us apart

naruto: because he's a soulless son of a bitc~~~~~~~~ *get's attacked by anti-ramen*

hinata: *jukens the antiramen *

sakura: what about me ?

hinata: i think ino would like a pet or narutokun

Author: hell no, sakura only get's accepted when she isn't a raging fan girl

naruto: hurray!

hinata: i think ino can break her naruto kun , author .san

ino: *in domina outfit * oh it would be my pleasure

naruto: aaaah hell yeah

sakura: eep!

Author: ...make it quick

ino: *drags sakura off * gonna make a tape narutosama

sakura : *tries to flee but ino collars her *

naruto: awesome we'll watch it later

hinata: *giggles *