CHAPTER 7 ~~ This Is Me Finding You
Unknown-nin345: I'm back! I'm back! And with a brand new chapter for you all with the anticipated Gaara vs. Naruto fight in the Forest of Death. I apologize for taking so long with getting this put out but I had a very, very important matter to see to and I wasn't allowed any distractions.
So here you go, faithful readers. I hope this chapter is to your liking.
Let's get started with the Chunin Exams!
The sun had barely risen over the horizon when the members of Team 8 decided to meet up to do a weapon check before they headed off to take the Chunin Exams by storm. Naruto and Hinata arrived together at the team's training ground first followed shortly by Shino. Once gathered the three began laying out all of their weapons and gear in front of them before moving over to one of their teammate's piles and looking it over, repeating it one more time just to be certain.
When they finished, the three genin put their gear back on and stood in silence as they looked each other over.
Naruto looked more like he was heading off to a large battlefield instead of going to take an Exam, of course given the nature of said exam his appearance probably wouldn't be far off the mark. On his feet were steel-toed black combat boots that had a combat knife resting in a spring-action holster at the toes. Tucked into the boots were the legs of his black, slightly loose pants that had half-a-dozen kunai in strap-holsters on the side of his thighs while leading up to his waist where he had five pouches: two specifically for kunai, two for shuriken, and one filled with explosive notes of various sizes. Covering his torso was a long-sleeve black shirt that had a special mesh-weave underneath a rust-orange vest along with two bandoliers loaded with kunai slung over his shoulders in an 'x' pattern. Finally, to top it all off, Naruto was wearing his red jacket with black flames while his twin kodachi rested on his back and his hitai-ate proudly gleamed on his forehead.
If anyone had taken a glance at Shino, they never would have guessed the arsenal the bug-user currently had on underneath his large coat. In his pants, Shino had sown in hidden pouches filled with shuriken while he had four pouches filled with a mixture of variously sized kunai. Hidden in his right sleeve was his trump card, a specialized kusari-gama that (with the help of a little fuuinjutsu) looked only like a small scythe stuck on a metal ball. However, when Shino would charge his chakra to it, the chain connecting the scythe to the ball would extend or retract based on how much chakra he put into it. A new addition to his attire though was the small bag situated in the middle of his back that contained a second hive of Kikaichū that was still being integrated to his body.
Meanwhile, any man (except for Sasuke) and quite possibly a couple women who looked in Hinata's direction would most likely faint with a very large nosebleed staining their clothes. She was wearing a tank/crop-top that was made up of a thick mesh right down to the general area of her nipples before turning to a dark lavender cloth that was pulled tight against the kunoichi's c-cup breasts. The lavender-eyed girl was also wearing some low-riding pants that had a half-oval cut down to the middle of her thighs on the outer-sides of her legs and was held up by a thick belt that carried two packs containing kunai/shuriken along with a pouch filled with basic medical supplies. To finish off her appearance, Hinata had on mesh gloves that came up to her biceps with light metal plates covering her forearms and the backs of her hands with matching plates on her shins.
All in all, Team Mirage was more than ready for battle.
After their moment of shared silence the three chunin-hopefuls made their way to the academy, the sight of the first part of the Chunin Exams. They silently entered the building, pausing on the second floor at the sight of so many genin, before moving on up to the third floor where the first exam would be held. The three quietly entered the room, which was about halfway filled with genin that were mostly from other hidden villages, and sat down at one of the desks while quietly talking amongst themselves.
About five minutes later, the doors opened as a large group of Konoha genin entered the room. As the group filed in, the genin who had already seen through the illusion and ignored it could hear the whispers coming from many of them that 'Uchiha-sama' had revealed the truth about the genjutsu on the second floor. Many of the smart genin in the room shook their heads both at the Uchiha's actions and the fact that these fools seemed to think they were ready even though they didn't realize they had been stopped by an illusion on the SECOND floor.
When Team 7 finally entered the room, Naruto had to hold in his mocking laughter at the sight of walking bruise known as Uchiha Sasuke. The three members of Team 8 just watched in silence as Team 10 joined Team 7 and proceeded to make a scene that only grew worse when a gray-haired genin walked up to the two rookie teams. The gray-haired genin, who introduced himself as Yakushi Kabuto, showed off some cards to the two rookie teams and said something that angered the Oto-nins sitting a couple seats away from Team 8.
When the three genin from Otogakure moved, Team 8 was only half a second behind them.
The rookies, plus Kabuto, were surprised when the three Oto-nins appeared out of nowhere aiming straight for Kabuto but were even more shocked that the members of Team Mirage halted the Oto-nins in their tracks in a somewhat extreme fashion.
Naruto took care of the one who looked somewhat like a mummy by stabbing a kodachi into each of the mummy's hands, pinning them to the floor. Hinata took the kunoichi of the team down by placing a sebon needle in spots that would lock up the sound kunoichi's limbs and pinned her to the ground with a foot planted in the small of the Oto-girl's back. Meanwhile, Shino had whipped out his kusari-gama and stabbed the blade straight through the spiky-haired oto-nin's arm before proceeding to twist the arm into a very unnatural angle.
To say that the other two rookie teams were stunned would be an understatement.
"Are you unharmed Yakushi-san?" the bug-wielding member of Team Mirage questioned.
Kabuto nodded as he answered, "I am. My thanks for the speedy intervention."
Suddenly, a large cloud of smoke appeared at the front of the room accompanied a shout of, "You in the back! Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Everyone turned their attention to the front of the room and saw a gathering of chunin there along with one who was garbed in clothing associated with a shinobi of Jounin rank standing at the front.
Shino decided to be the voice of Team 8 as he answered, "These three shinobi from Otogakure attempted to assault Konoha Shinobi, Yakushi Kabuto. Since me and my teammates were under the impression the Exams had yet to commence, we decided to neutralize the threat to Yakushi-san. If you wish we shall turn over custody of these three to you Jounin-san."
The bandana-wearing jounin stayed silent for a full minute before he nodded and gestured at some of the chunin standing behind him, "Take those three to the Anbu holding cells. I'll be sure to pay them a visit once the first exam is over." Three of the chunin nodded and shushin-ed over to where Team 8 still was standing guard and collected the three Oto-shinobi before leaving in another shushin.
"Right then, everyone listen up! If there is anymore fighting not sanctioned by a proctor, know that you and your team will be immediately failed," the jounin shouted out to the crowd of chunin-hopefuls. Seeing the methods acknowledgement, the jounin nodded, "Good. Now, I am Morino Ibiki and I shall be the head proctor for the first part of the Chunin Exams. The first thing I want you all to do is find a seat but you cannot be in the same row or column as either of your teammates."
Once all the genin in the room had been seated, with the chunin taking up seats along the walls on either side of where the genin were sitting, Ibiki began to lay out the instructions to the first exam. They had forty-five minutes to answer ten questions with each team able to earn a maximum of ten points but every time they were caught cheating the team would lose two points; get caught five times and your entire team failed. Of course this brought about a round of protests from the genin, only to be silenced by Ibiki's killer intent.
After bringing the genin back under control, Ibiki began the exam and for forty-five minutes the room was filled with the sound of scratching pencils along with muttered curses. As time went on, some of the genin began to figure out that as long as they didn't get caught too many times they could still cheat. Thusly those who could began to utilize the skills they possessed to gain the answers to the exam, sadly not everyone was able to keep out of notice of the chunin and some teams were quickly kicked out. Once the forty-five minutes were up, Ibiki called for the genin to drop their pencils.
"And now, the rules for the tenth question: the rules of desperation," Ibiki ominously stated, made all the more intimidating by his appearance. Seeing that he had the genins' total attention the tokubetsu jounin continued speaking, "First: If you choose not to take the tenth question then your points will be reduced to zero, so you and your team will fail!" Clamoring began to rise up from the genin, only to be silenced by Ibiki's booming shout, "However! If you choose to take it and answer incorrectly, not only will you fail but that person will be barred from all future chunin exams!"
"That's bull!" shouted a certain Inuzuka. "There are teams here who've taken the exams before now!" Ibiki's dark chuckle, which somehow managed to carry throughout the entire room, silenced him.
"You guys are just unlucky 'cause this year I'm in charge and its MY RULES we're playing by," Ibiki said while putting out a brief flash of killer intent. Suddenly the killer intent vanished and Ibiki gave off a small smile that seemed out of place on him, "But I'm feeling nice so I'm giving those of you not confident enough a way out. If you decide to not take the tenth question you'll be free to go and you can try again next year."
The tokubetsu jounin turned around to give them a minute to stew in their thoughts before he turned back and said, "Alright then, let's begin the tenth question. Those who don't wish to take the question will raise their hands and their numbers will be confirmed. You will then exit the testing room. Choose."
The tension that filled the silence that followed could have been cut with a knife as the chunin-hopefuls dwelled on the decision laid before them. Slowly various genin began to raise their hands to quit the exam, the tension rising with each team that left. Suddenly, to the immense surprise of every Konoha-nin gathered, Naruto raised his hand. However Ibiki noticed something about the blonde-haired teen's posture and shook his head imperceptibly at the chunin watchers, interested in what the blonde was going to do.
Without warning, Naruto closed his hand before standing up and slamming it straight through the desk he was sitting at as he began shouting, "If you think I'm that much of a coward then you've got another thing coming asshole! I will take your stupid question and I will answer correctly 'cause there's nothing that will stop me from reaching the title of Hokage! Even if I'm forced to stay a genin forever then I'll just have to be the only genin ever to be promoted straight to Hokage!"
Ibiki stared at him for a moment, his impassive mask not showing that he was mildly impressed by Naruto's declaration. "I'll ask you again. After all your life could be riding on your decision."
Naruto drew one of his kodachi and pointed it at Ibiki, the space between the blades becoming filled with a fierce golden flame, as he said, "That's just the way I like it. I will always follow my unbending words: I never back down, never quit, and never surrender! That is my nindo, my way of being the best damn ninja I can possibly be."
Ibiki suddenly burst out laughing, startling most of the genin gathered, "I like you kid, you've got some serious spunk." The tokubetsu jounin then took a moment to survey all the chunin hopefuls, noting that none of them seemed to be even thinking about leaving after the blonde's brief outburst. "Well then, seeing as none of you look like you're going to leave there's only one thing left for me to say. You all pass."
The genin all went totally silent and still, except for Naruto who nodded while sheathing his kodachi as he sat back down in his seat. Ibiki stood silent as he waited for the eventual eruption he knew would be coming from one of the genin. Any second now.
"Wait, I don't get it," spoke up a certain pink-haired kunoichi, "what about the tenth question?"
"That was the tenth question," Ibiki explained amicably, "The choice to accept the mission and the risks that come with it or to deny the mission because you don't want to face the dangers. As a chunin you will be expected to go on missions that WILL test you and will throw danger at you every step of the way. As you saw, the genin who chose not to take the question automatically failed the exam regardless of whether or not they answered the other questions."
"So if everything was riding on whether or not we 'took' the tenth question, what was the purpose of the first nine?" asked a pig-tailed blonde kunoichi from Sunagakure.
"Simple: they were to test your skills at information gathering," the bandana-wearing jounin stated. "If you reach the rank of Chunin, you will sometimes be called upon to collect information that could make or break your village. However, if you skill in that area is pathetic then your whole team could suffer as you saw just now."
Ibiki looked around the room at all of the genin, trying to impart upon them the seriousness of what he had just said, "This concludes the first portion of the Chunin exams; I wish all of you the best of luck for the next part."
Immediately after he had finished speaking, a black cloth ball shot through the window and unfurled directly in front of Ibiki. On the cloth was written: 'Sexy Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko'.
"Alright you knuckleheads this is no time to be celebrating, the second exam starts now!" shouted the woman who had arrived in the cloth ball. Silence permeated the room, the genin being too stunned by the woman's abrupt arrival to even try to formulate a response.
Ibiki stepped out from behind the banner and muttered, "You're early Anko. Grasp the atmosphere."
The purple-haired woman blinked in a small amount of confusion before she counted up the number of genin sitting before her. Once she had finished she turned to her fellow jounin with a disappointed frown gracing her lips as she said, "You let this many teams pass Scarface? Just how soft are you getting?"
Ibiki just crossed his arms across his broad chest, "Humph, this just means that the brats are stronger-willed than usual. Provided they get some inspiration." He glanced pointedly at a smirking Naruto.
Anko saw just who the scarred jounin was looking at and scoffed disdainfully, "Their willpower won't be worth shit for what I plan to put them through. I can guarantee the numbers will be cut at least in half. Now you maggots follow me, the sexy Mitarashi Anko, to Training Ground 44!"
xxxxxxxxxxx
A short while the genin who had passed the first stage of the Chunin Exams stood assembled outside a fenced-in gigantic forest with every nook and cranny steeped in shadows. Even the utterly dense genin amongst those gathered (coughSakuracough) couldn't help but feel anxious about what lay in that forest.
"Welcome maggots to Training Ground 44 or, as some of us jounin affectionately call it, the Forest of Death," Anko stated with a sadistic smirk lighting up her face, making a vast majority of the genin gulp nervously. "It is in here that the second portion of the Chunin Exams shall take place. What you're going to be doing is very simple: you will be engaged in an all-out scroll battle." Here she pulled out two scrolls; one that read 'Heaven' with the other reading 'Earth'. "To complete this portion of the exam you must have both a Heaven and Earth scroll but you are not allowed to open either scroll before you reach the tower."
"And that's not all," Anko continued as she looked around at the genin gathered, "You will also have to survive against the horrors that lurk in the Forest. Make no mistake; there is a very good reason why this location is called the Forest of DEATH. However, I will warn you now that there is a time limit. If you don't reach the tower in the center of the Forest within five days then you will be failed. Another warning; if you are missing a single teammate you will be failed. Now there's just one thing left to do." She turned her head to the tent set up next to the fence and whistled.
A chunin exited the tent, bearing a stack of papers which he then handed to Anko. Grinning cheerfully Anko exclaimed, "You just have to sign this paper which will release Konoha of all liability should you end up dying! No pressure though!" The cheerful manner in which she delivered this news made many of the genin develop a large sweatdrop on the backs of their heads.
Team by team, the genin turned in their liability waivers and picked up their scroll from tent before heading to their designated gates. As they impatiently waited for the call to begin to come, many of the genin were making plans to get through this forest as fast as possible whilst other had more…sinister plans concocted. After what seemed like forever, a horn sounded and the gates of the forest opened.
The second portion of the Chunin Exams had begun.
xxxxxxxxx With Team 8 xxxxxxxxxx
The three members of Team 8 silently made their way through the gigantic trees of the forest, periodically pausing to allow Hinata and Shino to scan the immediate area in an attempt to locate any other teams. Minutes trickled by onto hours before they finally came upon another team. The three members of Team 8 looked down at the three genin below them, hidden by one of Hinata's genjutsu that made it so they looked and smelled like the trees around them.
After spending a couple minutes watching the opposing team set up their camp to prepare for the night, the members of Team 8 had to shake their heads at the ineptitude shown by the genin below them. No traps had been set, their fire was producing too much smoke, and they hadn't even picked someone to stand watch. Thus, after a whispered discussion, it was decided that Shino would send in his bugs to drain their chakra before Hinata and Naruto would drop down to 'acquire' their scroll.
Team 8 waited a little while longer before implementing their plan. With barely a rustle, Shino's kikaichū descended down in a decidedly ominous (and just plain creepy) fashion. They watched in astonishment as the genin didn't even seem to notice the bugs approaching them until it was too late. Before the genin team could even respond to the kikaichū that had drained their chakra, Naruto and Hinata dropped down to quietly knock out the genin team.
They shifted through the unconscious team's gear before finding an earth scroll, the scroll that Team 8 needed to move on to the third portion of the exams. Without so much as a backwards glance, the members of Team 8 leapt back up into the trees and began making their way towards the tower. When they came upon a large clearing though, Naruto called them to a halt.
After standing in silence for a minute Naruto called out, "I know you're here. Why don't you show yourself?" Hinata and Shino shifted their stances so that they could easily reach their weapons since they weren't sure just who Naruto was calling out.
Their answer came when Sabaku no Gaara strode out of the tree line on the other side of the clearing. The red-haired suna-nin came to a stop a couple feet, his teal eyes not moving as they stared into Naruto's sapphire eyes. A tense silence filled up the clearing as power began to radiate off of the two jinchuuriki.
"Shino, Hinata," Naruto suddenly spoke up. The two other members of Team 8 turned their gaze to Naruto and were surprised at the serious expression adorning the normally easy-going jinchuuriki. "I want you both to make your way to the tower, I'll meet you there."
"You mean to fight him alone." Shino stated after a brief moment of silence with a nod from Naruto being his answer. The stoic Aburame took one last glance at Gaara before he backed away to the tree line and waited for Hinata.
Naruto turned his gaze to the concerned face of his girlfriend and smiled at her, "I'll be okay Hinata-chan. Remember: I will always come back to you." He placed a gentle kiss onto her lips and pulled back slowly, staring into her lavender eyes. Hinata reached up with one of her hands and gently rubbed Naruto's whiskered cheek before moved back to stand by Shino. Together the two members of Team 8 took off into the forest.
After staring into the trees for a moment, Naruto turned to his eyes back to Gaara and grinned ferally at the redhead, "Well…shall we begin?"
With no more distractions the two jinchuuriki squared off against each other, chakra and killing intent filling up the space between them so much that anyone watching would swear there were currents of energy weaving paths through the air. The pressure grew to such intensity that Temari and Konkurou, standing quite some distance away after following their little brother here, were pushed down to their knees and began sweating profusely.
Gaara could stand the waiting no longer and let his entire gourd dissolve into sand, forming a giant wave behind him, as he cried, "Come Uzumaki Naruto! MAKE ME FEEL ALIVE!" The redhead launched a tendril of sand at the blonde shinobi of Konoha, intent on stealing the red liquid of life from him.
Naruto dodged out of the way of the tendrils, his i-pod falling out of his pocket as he did so. It hit the ground with a dull thud and somehow the 'play' button was hit, causing a song to start playing. After a brief drum introduction, a guitar came blazing forth.
Ah ah ah ah ah aooo
Come inside and be afraid
Of this impressive mess I've made
If you take a look now you will find
Naruto went flying through handseals as he moved before he spat out a couple speeding balls of condensed wind. These were unfortunately stopped by a wall of sand that erected itself near-instantaneously. This wall then sped towards Naruto at a speed that would have caught the blonde jinchuuriki had he not kawimari-ed with a convenient log that was splintered by the redhead's sand.
I have thrown away my vice
Done away with paradise
See what's going on inside my mind
Please let me out
Please let me out
Please let me
More balls of condensed wind flew out from the trees, harmlessly impacting on Gaara's shield of sand. Suddenly a wall of wind came shooting at Gaara and again the sand rose to the defense. The sand was dispersed by the wind but managed to absorb enough of the impact that Gaara only felt a gentle breeze hit him.
Branded like an animal
I can still feel them burning my mind
I do believe that you made your message clear
I think I am losing my mind
I think I am losing my mind
Snarling, Gaara started looking all around to locate his prey before a sudden 'swish' brought his attention to the sight of his sand apparently blocking an attack from nothing. Another 'swish' drew his eyes to witness his sand once again rising up to block nothing. This continued on for another minute before Naruto reappeared, both of his kodachis drawn and held in a reverse grip.
"That sand of yours is very impressive Gaara," Naruto commented. "And it seems that it can react faster than you can. I wonder though, just how fast can it go?" With that Naruto brought his hands together and formed the handseal to his favorite jutsu, summoning forth four shadow clones that all mirrored the original's posture. When the last clone had appeared, the original Naruto spoke, "Be honored Gaara, for you are about to be the first victim of my own personal kenjutsu attack."
Deprivating, isolating all that I feel
Leaving me with images I know are not real
Are those words of condemnation that I hear
I think I am losing my mind
I think I am losing my
At some unheard signal the five Narutos took off at a speed that Gaara quickly discovered he couldn't keep up with. Then the attacks started coming even faster than before with the redhead jinchuuriki finding himself being spun in a circle as he tried to keep up with the attacks, even as he noticed the sand was having increasing difficulty in blocking the attacks.
Come inside now I implore
Do you think you can restore
The crucial pieces missing from my brain
What seems to be the matter dear
Why do you cry and shake with fear
I've only had the best dub me insane
Suddenly the five Narutos reappeared in crouched positions facing away from Gaara. Silence overtook the clearing before both sand and blood erupted from Gaara's body, sending the red-haired Suna-nin into a brief state of shock. The four clones dispersed, leaving behind only little white clouds.
As he stood back up and faced his fellow jinchuuriki, Naruto only muttered one sentence, "Kenjutsu: Uzumaki no Mai." The blonde-haired jinchuuriki watched Gaara fall to the ground before he turned and began to walk away.
Please let me out
Please let me out
Please let me
Before he could go far though, Naruto felt a great pressure suddenly wrap around his midsection as he was picked up. Naruto turned his head around and saw a transformed Gaara standing up from where the blonde had left him with a large tendril of sand extending from the sand claw that was his left arm. Naruto didn't even get a chance to gasp in surprise before the sand holding him slammed him through a couple trees followed by pummeling him into the ground, drawing out a pained yell from the blonde teen.
Branded like an animal
I can still feel them burning my mind
I do believe that you made your message clear
I think I am losing my mind
I think I am losing my mind
The sand retracted from his body even as dozens of shurikens made of sand flew at high speeds towards the downed blonde. With an angry snarl, Naruto pushed himself off the ground into a twisting jump that launched him over the sand shurikens. As soon as his feet touched the ground Naruto sped towards the red-haired jinchuuriki flying through handseals as he went. Upon completion of the seals Naruto launched forth a couple bullets of air, forcing Gaara pull up a wall of sand to block the attack.
Deprivating, isolating all that I feel
Leaving me with images I know are not real
Are those words of condemnation that I hear
I think I am losing my mind
I think I am losing my
I don't know how much I can take
The secret thoughts inside me wake
I've lost what was within me
Oh sweet insanity
When he lowered the construct, the half-transformed jinchuuriki found that his prey had vanished. Suddenly three separate walls of sand shot up to block an incoming salvo of kunai knives. The beginnings of a smirk died when a hissing sound came from the walls of sand before they spontaneously combusted in a deafening explosion. When the smoke died down a slightly singed sphere of sand could be seen occupying the space where Gaara stood.
Now I try again to find
The thing that was my mind
Behold the undersigned
Who said I've lost my mind
Try again to find
The thing that was my mind
Behold the undersigned
Who said I've lost my mind
Slowly the sand fell back down to the ground to reveal a very aggravated, yet excited, Sabaku no Gaara. Once the ringing in his ears had died down the red-haired Suna-nin became aware of the sound of rushing wind. Looking towards where he could best discern was the central point of the sound, he was met with the sight of two Narutos rushing at him. Each Naruto held within one of bright blue sphere of swirling chakra.
I've lost my mind
I've lost my mind
I've lost my mind
I've lost my mind
I've lost my mind
I've lost
MIND
Gaara sent forth a thick tendril of sand, intent on stopping the two blondes in their tracks. One of the Narutos pulled ahead, sphere of chakra firmly leading the way, and drove straight through the sand. Gaara felt a very real burst of fear at the sight of sand getting so easily torn apart and commanded his sand to form into perhaps the thickest wall he had ever made to protect him.
I've lost my mind
I've lost my mind
I've lost my mind
I've lost my mind
I've lost my mind
Before he could sigh in relief though, a hole appeared in his wall accompanied by a popping sound and a small cloud of smoke. Through the smoke, with the sphere chakra held out in front of him and a determined fire burning in his eyes, rushed Uzumaki Naruto screaming to the heavens the name of the ninjutsu that his father had left behind for him.
"RASENGAN!"
The sphere of chakra slammed into Gaara, grinding through the armor of sand that Gaara always had clinging to his body at all times. The only reason Gaara didn't scream out in complete agony was because all the air had vacated his lungs. After a couple seconds of the grinding, the red-haired Suna-nin was launched backwards at high velocity through nearly a dozen trees.
Naruto took a minute to catch his breath and spit out a small glob of blood before he began to follow the trail of destruction left behind by the Suna-nin. After climbing and/or hopping through the debris Naruto came upon the sight of an extremely bloody Sabaku no Gaara half-buried at the end of a shallow trench that had been made by the Suna-nin's landing.
Gaara lifted his teal eyes to stare fearfully at his fellow jinchuuriki. He futilely tried to bury himself deeper into the ground, screaming, "No! Stay away! I will not lose my existence!"
Naruto came to a stop several feet away from Gaara and stared down at the crazed jinchuuriki. The blonde-haired teen looked down at his hands, hands that were stained with the blood of the victim before him.
When Naruto brought his eyes back to Gaara's own, the red-haired suna-nin froze when he saw eyes that were so similar to his own. Eyes that were filled such profound loneliness, agonizing pain, colossal fear, and instinctive anger.
In a low voice Naruto began to speak, "When I was younger I would wonder why everybody seemed to hate me, despise me, wish me dead, and all matter of things. I hated them, hated those looks they would give and sometimes I would wish I could make the looks disappear…in any way possible. Had I continued along that path I would probably have turned out the same as you. Living for myself, not caring about anyone but me, killing everyone who wronged me in some fashion and…knowing that scares me."
Suddenly Naruto's eyes changed, now they emitted hope and strength, "Then I met a few people who didn't hate me, didn't despise me. They gave me a something had never had before; someone who cared about me, would get worried when I got hurt, would be proud of me for the accomplishments I made. They gave me hope that perhaps not everyone in this world wished to see me dead."
Now Naruto's eyes shone with happiness as he continued, "As I grew older a man who once hated me, thought of me as nothing more than the cause of his parents death began to see me as I was. He changed and became like a brother to me; teaching me, helping me, and giving me even more hope. However, despite all they'd done I still felt alone at times…until she entered my life."
Naruto's eyes now lit up, both figuratively and literally, as he spoke, "She came and gave me something greater than anything else in this world. More powerful than any jutsu, stronger than any blade, and more sustaining than any type of sustenance. She gave me love. Love, Gaara. She showed me that even someone like me, like us, can be given the gift of love."
"So now I fight to protect her, them, and everyone else I consider to be a precious person. They give me strength to fight on past the point of exhaustion. To hold on to something that is worth saving in this world. And I will give everything to ensure that they stay safe, and if that means I will have to kill… then kill I shall. But I will know in my heart of hearts that what I do…I do to keep safe everyone and everything I hold dear. And neither Heaven nor Hell; Kami nor Shinigami, will stop me from moving the world to make sure that I keep my word." By now, Naruto's eyes were shining as brightly as one of the nights many stars.
"Know this Sabaku no Gaara: true strength comes from the desire to protect all that you hold dear to your heart. For your heart is your God, and there is nothing that can stop you when you follow your heart." With that, the light in Naruto's eyes died down and the blonde began to walk away from Gaara.
Before he was out of earshot, a small whisper from the red head brought a smile to the whiskered blonde's lips.
"Thank you…brother."
Once Naruto had left the area, Temari and Konkurou descended down from the trees and began to pull their youngest brother out of the earth gently. Once he was free they hoisted his still bleeding body and began to slowly trek through the trees to the tower in the center of the massive forest.
Suddenly, Gaara tiredly whispered, "Temari…Konkurou, I'm so very sorry." The two older siblings exchanged surprised glances before smiling at each other.
"It's okay Gaara," Temari whispered back to her younger brother, Konkurou nodding in agreement.
-{CHAPTER END}-
Unknown-nin345: Well how do you like that folks? I hope my Naruto vs. Gaara battle was to your liking. Also, what did you think about Naruto's little speech? Sorry about not including Gaara's giant tanuki form, but I think that would have been a little too much and this Naruto really didn't have much that would let him fight the Tanuki.
And before you get on my case about the Rasengan being used so soon; in canon Naruto was able to use it with the help of a clone after a little over a month had passed and that was with a teacher who was only there a quarter of the time, him being on the road traveling, and with barely average chakra control.
Now factor in this: he has a sensei who excels in chakra control considering she's a master of genjutsu, he's not on the road so he can focus more on his training, and finally his teacher pays more than an hours' worth of attention.
No offense to Jiraiya, the pervy sage was probably Naruto's best teacher, but he couldn't be there all the time to teach our hero. If he had been able to focus more on Naruto, then Naruto probably could have been able to use the Rasengan one-handed before the time-skip (and I'm not counting the time he did it in his two-tailed state during the Naruto-Sasuke battle in the Retrieval Arc).
Well anyways, next time is the preliminaries of the Chunin Exams and I can't wait!
'TILL NEXT TIME!
Song of the chapter:
Perfect Insanity by Disturbed.
