Restoration of Faith
Karrafear
Summary: SEQUAL to Faith in Humanity; Naruto OOC; PG-13. After the Sandaime's death, Naruto made a promise to himself to defy his own destiny and pursue a future that will lead to freedom and happiness. Chapter 9: Pursuit VI and Finally Home.
xxx XXX xxx
"Demon's talk",/Thoughts/, "Speech", 'Speech emphasis', (FLASHBACK), Titles, (Author's interruptions)
"xxx XXX xxx" Change of Scene, time passed, change of point of view
Warning: PG-13. For those of you who still don't know, yes, this series WILL be NarutoXHinata; but all other pairings are debatable because I haven't decided yet. But I will say that it WON'T INVOLVE SasukeXSakura. I detest that pairing so it definitely will not happen in my own fic. Other than that, the pairings are literary free-for-all.
Finally! For those Ino fans out there, I hope you all don't mind me injuring her rather heavily, do you? Good. This chapter will mainly be about Gaara Vs Sasuke, and the aftermath of that battle. Hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 9
Ino continued to jump from tree branch to tree branch. Now that Shikamaru and Haku had joined up with Sakura and Kiba, Ino had felt slightly more relieved that her ex-best friend would have at least some support. But that still didn't help her feel any less guilty for abandoning them to face the two enemies while she escaped with the Uchiha heir. /STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT! Think about the mission! MUST COMPLETE THE MISSION!/ Ino ranted to herself mentally, doing her best to push aside her fear and guilt from the whole situation, though it was only natural for her to be worried.
However, her thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt when the barrel she was carrying suddenly jumped for no reason what so ever. The action was so sudden that it completely startled Ino and she almost slipped off her perch. Instead, she found some place large and stable enough to put down the barrel and decided to investigate what was wrong, not knowing why the "restrained" boy would suddenly fight back without saying anything.
Straight after the barrel's bottom touched the bottom of the large branch they were currently standing on, the black 'top' of the barrel started giving off smoke, as if it was burning itself out. /Sasuke-kun?/ Ino could only guess as to the causes of this sudden change of events, but with hope in her heart, Ino clasped her hands together in a praying motion, hoping that the last of the Uchiha clan would once again triumph over evil, save her and then return with her to save Sakura and the others, as was the norm for heroes. However, her expectations were short lived.
With a loud 'Popping' sound, the top of the barrel burst open, flinging Ino's body away due to the massive discharge of Chakra and smoke. Hitting a nearby tree and sliding down onto another branch, Ino scrambled back up to try and see if Sasuke was hurt or if he was even alive. What she saw emerge out of the barrel wasn't something she'd ever seen before, nor was it something she ever hoped to see again.
A 'creature' was wearing a black shirt bearing the Uchiha symbol on its back, but this creature had long, spiky white hair and dark brownish skin running down its arms finally ending in sharp claw-like appendages. But most frightening of all was its Chakra. Ino could literary feel the large fusion of unnatural Chakra thrumming out of that creature's very body. It wasn't human – Ino thought. It couldn't be human and it couldn't be her hero. Ino cautiously lowered herself, getting into the ready position.
Before her very eyes, this creature shrank in size. Its hair simply grew shorter and shorter as if a 'reverse' button had been pressed somewhere that made the being go back into the past. And not only that, the hair changed colour too, growing darker and darker until it finally stabilised at the tone of midnight black colour. Its skin tone too, lightened dramatically until it finally settled on a light human skin-tone colour.
By now, Ino's mouth was hanging wide open, her eyes wide with silent shock, and her heart raced with undisclosed fear, for what was once a 'creature' of monster's description had changed to her childhood crush – Uchiha Sasuke.
"Sa..." Ino gulped nervously. "Sasuke-kun?" She asked in a squeaky, whimpering voice. "Is that you?"
The figure turned left slightly, gazing back at her with cold, heartless eyes – eyes that were the colour of an unnatural yellow and the whiteness of a normal human eye had completely darkened into blackness. This wasn't a human eye she was looking at, Ino realised. Not only that, there were pulsing reddish patterns on Sasuke's face, on the skin right next to his left eye.
"Ino... huh?" A low growl hissed through Sasuke's lips. "Why are you here? Where is this place?" He demanded to know, his eyes never leaving the now frozen form of Ino, still staring at him with horror in her eyes. There was no way that could be her Sasuke, there was no way this was real.
"I... I'm here to rescue you... with the others... Um... Sakura, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, Tenten, Hakun-sempai, and Kiba. We... we came after you when we found out you... you were kidnapped by the sound. We... we defeated them... and are now bringing you back... back to Konoha... back home." Ino managed to stutter through an explanation, hoping that Sasuke would stop looking at her with such a deep sense of disdain and severe condescension, as if she was only an annoying fly not even worthy of being near his presence.
Sasuke's slightly insane eyes narrowed in anger at her answer. "YOU..." He growled as if accusing her of committing the worse sin in all of existence. "YOU... are bringing me back to Konoha?" He asked in morbid fascination, as if it was the funniest thing he had ever heard and was wondering whether he should laugh or be angry.
/This is... This is like before... during the Chuunin Exam... but much... much worse./ Ino could not find the courage to answer back so she only nodded slightly in reply, hopping that her Sasuke-kun would stop acting in such a strange fashion and return back to her beloved crush, back to that silent boy with an overpowering sense of confidence. However, her silent plea was not heard. In an instant, Ino felt an immense pain from the impact of something smashing into her right cheek, bashing her away towards the left direction of where she had originally stood. Flinging through the air in high speed, Ino abruptly smashed into the thick trunk of a nearby tree, face first and then followed by the rest of her body, before she was slowly pealed away from the smashed surface of the trunk and left to fall. Obviously delirious from pain due to the various impacts on her body and that she was still very dizzy and feeling completely uncoordinated with her body, Ino couldn't do a single thing as her body landed roughly onto a tree branch underneath her, halting her descend in a rather painful manner.
Bleeding from a split lip, her right eye was starting to swell due to the impact against the tree, her forehead was also bleeding due to having several pieces of sharp shrapnel stuck upon her foreskin; Ino also knew that both her cheeks were very bruised and probably turning black and blue. As for the rest of her body, she suspected that she had at least one or two cracked rib, and plenty of scratches, bruises and abrasions. /Shxt! What the FXXK happened!/ Ino thought to herself as her body slowly recovered from the shock of the impact and her mind started running properly again.
Once her blurry vision had cleared, she could clearly see that there was a pair of feet standing right in front of her face. She lifted her eyes upward, following the pair of feet to a person's leg, up their chest and landed on Sasuke's slightly amused face, his eyes having returned to normal and his face completely pale without any signs of having been possessed by strange markings. /Wha.../ Before Ino could even think up anything to say, the Uchiha boy had lifted his right leg backwards slightly, preparing for some kind of kicking action. Pushing Chakra into his right foot, Sasuke mercilessly smashed his feet into Ino's chest, flinging her away once again to rebound off another tree trunk before skidding to a final stop on a rather long and large branch.
Ino coughed out a deluge of blood from her mouth, sure that several of her ribs had been broken due to that one action alone, not only that, she started gasping for breath as well, suspected that one of her cracked ribs and somehow punctured a lung. The pain was literary overwhelming. /GOD! MAKE IT STOP!/ She mentally wailed as even breathing was becoming more and more difficult and laboured for her.
Sensing that her attacker had once again landed next to her prone form, Ino opened her eyes at her crush and have him a vicious glare, with hints of hurt, pain and betrayal visible in her eyes. "WHY!" She could only croak through her throat as she vomited blood again, trying desperately to clear the airways in order to bring in much needed air. /Why was he hurting her? Why was he doing this?/ Her mind began to give way to darkness. /Hadn't they saved him/
Sasuke tilted his eyes to the side slightly. After a few moments of calm, he finally decided to answer. "Because I can." The nonchalance of his words tore a hole into Ino's heart as her once adoration of the boy before her slowly shattered into a million pieces and she was only left feeling fear, incomprehension, pain, confusion and most of all, betrayal. /I can't stop him.../ She realised too late. /Sakura was able to call Sasuke-kun back from the darkness within him before... but I can't do that, I don't have that type of strength... I can't reach him./ A stray tear dripped down the side of her face from her eyes. /Sasuke-kun. Do you even know what you're doing? Are you even Sasuke-kun anymore? Will you recognise Sakura? Naruto? Your sensei? Are you... are you ever going to return to us? Why, Sasuke-kun? WHY!/ She mentally wailed.
Never in her life had she ever felt so helpless, and to a person she once idolised too. It hurt. It hurt her so much. This unimaginable pain that literary ate her heart bit by bit the longer the boy's indifferent gaze stayed on her prone form. She had never felt so used and abused before; she had never felt so cheated, deceived, so dirty and worthless in her entire life. Ino, who had always prided herself as being one of the strongest, smartest Konoichis in her year, had felt like the world had suddenly crumbled all around her leaving her with no control over anything. And she knew she was about to die, and by the hands of this traitor, by the hands that would launch a thousand pains.
/If I'm gonna die anyway, I won't give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream or seeing me cry./ This was Ino's only thought as she forced down the rest of the tears that wanted to fall from her eyes. This was the only way she could put up a last stance against this man who she had once practically worshipped but who had betrayed her heart, her dreams and (though indirectly and unintentionally) used her feelings against her. To Ino, Sasuke's betrayal of Konoha wasn't just about him betraying his village. His current actions (hurting Ino) had proved to the girl once and for all that he didn't' care about anyone or anything that has to do with Konoha at all. This includes all the people he had ever met, all the people who had ever been close to him, and, especially, all the people who cared about him.
She, and Sakura, had been two of a large majority of the villagers in Konoha who had all felt a need to look after the boy after the Uchiha Massacre. They had all done their best to cheer the boy up, to give him a home, to welcome him. They were all willing to give their all to him, but all their attempts were returned with silence and contempt. But that didn't stop them from trying.
Sasuke hadn't just betrayed them by leaving; he was also betraying their trust, their hopes, and all their wasted efforts, all that the people of Konoha had ever tried to do for the last Uchiha heir. It really hurt. Like an uncontrollable snake, who bites its master once it has found certain freedoms, forgetting how well its master had ever treated it or looked after it. Sasuke was a snake, in Ino's eyes, a devious, black hearted snake and one that could never be trusted again.
Not caring about the savage glare directed at him, Sasuke slowly and calmly bent down, closing his hand around Ino's delicate looking neck and pulling her up slowly. The girl struggled violently against his hold, kicking him, punching him, and scratching him with her sharp nails but Sasuke ignored all that, they were futile actions anyway. When Ino grew desperate and tried to reach her kunai pouch to retrieve a weapon, Sasuke quickly seized her wrist and twisted it to an unnatural angle, completely breaking her wrist bone in a way not dissimilar to how Itachi had once broken his wrist, tearing the muscles holding her hand to her arm. Not surprisingly, Ino screamed.
Hanging limply now from Sasuke's grip on her throat, Ino fought against the darkness that was about to consume her. Her right wrist was broken, her other was still thrumming from pain due to her previous injuries, her legs were tired and she could feel several of her thigh muscles had been pulled beforehand and was now throbbing. /I don't want to die... I don't want to die... I don't want to die.../ Ino reiterated in her mind, not able to completely squash the hope that still resides in her, unable to let go of the animal instinct of survival no matter what stands in her way. And luckily for her, it seems fate was on her side this time.
Just before Ino was rendered completely unconscious due to the lack of oxygen reaching her lung, she could feel something prickly climbing up her unmoving body, first her legs, then her chest and finally the arm that gripped her throat. With a mighty forced twist of Sasuke's hand, Ino was free of his once crushing grip and pulled along a floating mass of brown substance that felt surprisingly like sand. Blinking the bright spots away from her vision, Ino tilted her head slightly in order to look at the person who somehow rescued her, only to find none other than Gaara of the Desert standing calmly beside her.
The silence in the air was so thick, you could really feel the tension that just simply hung there without any help from the two glaring opponents at each other, while Ino continued to gasp for breath through her bruised and sore throat and her punctured lung.
xxx XXX xxx
"Gaara of the Desert... What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked threateningly, eyes never leaving the motionless boy in front of him.
"Shinobis of the Sand... are now allies of the Leaf. My mission is to bring you back to Konoha." Gaara answered calmly.
"Hehehe..." Sasuke chuckled and shook his head in slight surprise. "Who would of thought that the Sand was so weak, betraying their allies - the Sound - and then cowering to the Leaf." He taunted mockingly.
"It is Orochimaru who first betrayed the trust of the Sand, just as you are betraying the home of Konoha. Tell me, can you truly trust a snake with your future?" Gaara retorted back rhetorically in his normal monotone voice, not affected at all by Sasuke's new attitude.
"Orochimaru promised me power. That is all I need to know." Sasuke confirmed strongly, totally believe in the Snake Sannin's words. Sasuke didn't care how it happened but he needed power; he needed the strength to destroy his brother.
"Power comes with a price, Uchiha Sasuke." Gaara stated almost sadly as he mentally contemplated all his years spent in utter loneliness; all the sneering eyes filled with fear and hate belonging to the villagers of the Sand, all those nightmares that still plagued him sometimes over the large number of people he had killed during his lifetime. "Can you live with that price over your head?" He finally asked in a soft voice.
"As long as I have power, I can do anything." Sasuke was unmoving in his conviction.
"You're wrong. Great power comes with great responsibility. (1) If you do not earn or respect that power, it is worthless in your hands." Gaara concluded, never even blinking in surprise throughout the entire conversation. With that said and done, Gaara silently commanded his floating sand (which was still carrying Ino) to someplace safe and far away from here.
Ino found herself drifting farther and farther away from the two boys before finally, the floating mass of sand seemingly found a bunch of soft leaves to settle her down on, the leaves and branches belonged to a very old and very strong tree it seemed. From there, Ino found that she had to squint her eyes extremely hard to be able to see Gaara and Sasuke's form far in the distance, but at least, she was safe. /Sasuke... Gaara... Gomen, I'm sorry I was too weak to help you.../ Her mental contemplation complete, Ino drifted into unconsciousness, finally letting her body find the rest that it needed.
xxx XXX xxx
The battle started almost instantaneously.
Without a word, Gaara's sand automatically poured out of the gourd strapped to his back and readied itself into attack or defence mode, while Sasuke rushed towards Gaara at high speed - the same speed he used against Gaara during the Chuunin Exam finals. Not surprisingly, Sasuke's kicks and punches were all blocked by Gaara's Suna no Tate (Shield of Sand). Without any success, Sasuke then jumped away and somersaulted backwards to land on a nearby tree. Gaara's sand immediately followed Sasuke's movements.
Upon landing perpendicular to the tree trunk, Sasuke quickly performed a few hand seals and called forth his attack - the Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Powerful Fireball Technique). The fire that spurted out of his mouth burned continuously over the moving sand at such a high temperature, it froze the sand into glass-like sculptures. Gaara frowned at having his sand immobilised. Sasuke performed more hand seals and spurted out more flames, this time as smaller projectiles all heading towards Gaara's direction: "Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu (Fire Element: Mythical Fire Flower)".
Suddenly, large amounts of sand rushed up onto the location of their whereabouts (the tree branch they are currently standing on) from underneath the trees - called forth by Gaara all the way from the ground floor of the forest clearing that they are currently fighting on. The extra sand made it just in time to block the incoming flaming projectiles from hitting Gaara. Once the shurikens under the flames had been caught and the flames itself died, the sand shield moved away only to reveal that Sasuke was no longer where he had been standing beforehand.
Unexpectedly, the Uchiha heir suddenly reappeared behind Gaara, already preparing to strike forward, knowing that he was too fast for the Suna no Tate (Shield of sand) to catch up. His punch hit home and forced Gaara to be flung backwards slightly before his sand (the ones that were original burnt to glass that had somehow broken out of their prisons with a little added Chakra) caught him and gently placed him back onto the surface of the branch.
"Aren't you going to turn into your demon form?" Sasuke asked, curious about comparing his own strength to that of a demon.
Gaara shook his head in reply, but still stood calmly. The cracks on his face due to the black haired boy's punch having already healed since Sasuke hadn't actually hurt him due to the Suna no Yoroi (Armour of Sand) that covered every inch of Gaara's body.
"You should. Cause there's no way you can win against me without it." Sasuke mocked confidently, trying to taunt the red haired boy into using his demonic form. He wanted to face that demon, to kill him for humiliating him before, but mostly, Sasuke wanted to test his capacity.
Gaara shook his head again in answer. "I will never summon Shukaku to fight my battles for me ever again." A slight pause ensued as Gaara thought about his next response. "Will you summon the curse seals power to do your dirty work for you?(2)" He questioned back curiously, which only infuriated his opponent, to the point where Sasuke instantly activated his Sharingan eyes to glare back.
Sasuke prepared himself by pulling out a tight curl of wire and bitting one end of the wire to straighten it, ready for use; with his other hand, he reached into his weapon's pouch and procured all his necessary shurikens and kunais. Rushing forward towards Gaara again, Sasuke jumped upwards at the last second before he rammed into Gaara's Suna to Tate (Shield of Sand). Somersaulting delicately over the red haired boy, Sasuke rebounded off the giant tree trunk (that was behind Gaara) and flew forward high up into the air.
Once airborne, Sasuke let loose his collection of shurikens and kunais, all with metallic strings attacked to them. The projectiles all flew pass Gaara at first, confusing the boy as to their uses. They then returned in a cyclic fashion, surrounding the Sand boy, rewrapping around the tree trunk behind and finally returning towards Sasuke again. Grabbing on to them and with a pull on the various weapons and strings, Sasuke pulled hard and Gaara suddenly found himself entrapped by the wires and was pulled backwards to be encapsulated against the tree trunk behind him. Even his sand was unable to protect him from the wire net for it was unable to cut its way out of the metallic strings.
Landing delicately onto another tree branch a fair distance away, Sasuke slammed and organised all his weapons and strings in front of him, before he finally readying himself to perform one of his most powerful fire based jutsus. With his hand seals done and focused on the string still in his mouth, Sasuke called forth his technique: "Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu! (Fire Element: Dragon Fire Technique)" The massive amount of condensed flames rushed forth from Sasuke's mouth, following the string all the way to its target before it finally enflamed the red haired boy completely.
After a few moments of letting it burn, the flames slowly but sure died out, leaving behind the charred remains of burnt sand and glass everywhere on the tree. Sasuke frowned in frustration, knowing that Gaara had somehow escaped by using a Suna Bunshin (Sand Clone).
Hearing a suspicious sound to his right, Sasuke looked towards the direction of the sound only to find several Suna Shurikens (Sand Shurikens) heading his way. Jumping away from his location and dodging the various sand projectiles, Sasuke found himself landing on another branch not far away, only to have both his feet entrapped with sand clawing its way up his legs.
Unbeknownst to Sasuke, Gaara had already prepared himself by summoning forth a large amount of sand from the earth below, controlling them to just float in the air for the time being, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Finally, that moment arrived.
"Suna Shigure (Sand Shower) (3)" Gaara calmly called forth from above him. Sasuke looked up quickly to find a mass number of small sand particles all flying his way. Unable to move out of the way and unable to protect himself, Sasuke only had enough time to summon forth the power of the curse seal level 1, and pray that he was able to withstand whatever the sand technique was. In an instant, Sasuke found himself completely encased by Gaara's sand, which had slammed into him from all corners of the air.
Not wanting to really injure the black haired boy too much, Gaara had decided NOT to use Sabaku Kyuu or Sabaku Sousou on him since that would instantly kill the boy. However, to his surprise and annoyance, a sudden surge of unnatural Chakra from within his sand capsule – most probably the Uchiha using his new curse seal - was able to blast its way free of his sand's confinement. Sasuke - whose body is now completely covered by intricate black marks - stood proudly as if mocking Gaara's failed attempt at capturing the boy and keeping him as is.
"My orders were to capture you, Uchiha Sasuke, and bring you back to Konoha, no matter what it takes." Gaara explained. "I do not wish to hurt you during the process. However, if it comes down to it, I will use what ever method is available to me to complete my mission." He continued in his explanation firmly, sounding off a final warning to the Uchiha.
Sasuke only laughed at him in return, completely amused by Gaara's confidence. "Just because you tricked me once doesn't mean it'll happen again. I don't fall for the same thing twice, Gaara of the Desert." The black haired boy sneered back at his opponent hatefully. "It's about time I prove myself against you anyway. I've been meaning to fight against you and against Naruto for a long time coming now. It's time for me to grow up and defeat the two of you so that I can finally pursue my dream."
Gaara only shook his head in slight pity. "At your current level of development, you will never catch up to Uzumaki Naruto." He stated calmly and defiantly.
Sasuke growled back in anger. "AND WHY NOT? Huh? What does it he has that I don't! I have more potential than he ever will! I'm the last of the UCHIHA – an elite clan of Konoha, while HE... His name isn't even in their record books! I have more power, more hate, more pain and am far more special than he could ever be!" The Uchiha heir roared in self-righteous anger. He had witnessed the death of his parents before his very eyes. He had been the only survivor of the massacre of his clan. While Naruto... While Naruto had none of those; he had none of his pain!
"And that is why you will lose. It isn't about anger, hatred or power anymore, Uchiha. It's about your identity and how you define yourself." Gaara replied nonchalantly. "Do you truly believe that you are the only one who is 'special'?" Gaara taunted back.
"Heh. I know I am MORE special then he will ever be. That's why Orochimaru pursued ME, instead of him. You were the one who told me I was weak, that I was too soft, that I didn't have enough hate. It was you who told me: 'The power of hate is the power to kill... and the power to kill is the power of vengeance. If you don't have as much hate as me, then that means that you are weaker than me. (4)' Those were your exact words." Sasuke snarled back in anger. "Now that someone is finally recognising my potential, Konoha sends YOU to come after ME? Are you afraid of loosing to me, Sabaku no Gaara (Gaara of the Desert)? Are you taking back you own words?" He scorned.
"Yes. I am... I was wrong and I admit it." Gaara's calm declaration stunned Sasuke slightly. "Even then (during our last fight), I was unable to defeat Uzumaki Naruto. My hate, my pain... far surpasses your own and that which belongs to Uzumaki Naruto. However, there is a difference between the three of us that distinguishes our strength and weaknesses. At the time, I used hatred to guide my power. You were desperate and that emotion guided your actions. As for Uzumaki Naruto, he had faith... and hope. That is why I lost to him." Gaara explained.
"I am the youngest son of the previous Kazekage, and yet I am treated worse than trash in my home village. Uzumaki Naruto is the nephew and heir to the Lady Oracle, mistress of the Hidden Air village. And even HE wasn't treated with any more respect than common thugs while he lived in Konoha. We both have our own flaws and our own weaknesses; we both wish to be stronger. However, that does not mean we can simply abandon and betray all those who had ever cared for us. I admit, I use to be a heartless killer, but even then, I was never completely willing to hurt my closest confidants – my own sister and brother. What makes you so special, Uchiha? Don't talk about 'potential' when you have no idea what it actually is! Who gave you the right to be this arrogant and this selfish about you own 'potential'? How dare you presume yourself to be so important compared to those around you!" With each word that left Gaara's lips, his tone became more grave and more pronounced, practically accusing Sasuke at the end of his rant.
Having been left slightly unbalanced by Gaara's angry proclamation, the boy had never talked that much after all, Sasuke was a little bit confused about all the new information he had been given. /Naruto... is the heir to the ruling family of the Kuunoki (Air)! I... didn't know that... Why... Why didn't he tell me? And what the hell does that all mean, anyway! What does he mean treated like trash? What the hell does that have to do with ME!/ His internal anger and hatred pushed away all thoughts that bordered on his teammate, and moved all his focus upon himself once again. /This is all useless news to me. I'm not Naruto and I never will be. I have my own destiny to follow and that is to kill Itachi. That is my ambition, it is my dream, and it is what I live for. No matter what the cost – even if I have to sell my soul to the devil itself – I will gain the power to kill my brother. I don't care what I have to do, who I have to hurt... but I MUST BECOME STRONGER! STRONG ENOUGH TO KILL THAT MAN!/ Sasuke finally confirmed to himself.
Ignoring Gaara's jibe at his personal worth, Sasuke launched himself towards Gaara again. While running at high speed towards Gaara and avoiding the pursuit of the sand surrounding the boy, Sasuke quickly performed a few set of hand seals, readying himself for his next attack. "Raikan Mahi no Jutsu! (Lightning Shock Paralysis)" Sasuke called forth as he struck several of the sand entities chasing after him, discharging his own electrified Chakra into the mix and obstructing Gaara's own control over the sand particles.
With the sand barriers currently rendered useless, Sasuke charged towards Gaara. Sidestepping the destabilised sand, Sasuke struck Gaara with a series of punches and kicks that was of such speed that the red haired boy found no way to dodge or avoid. Barrage after barrage of hits, strikes, punches and knocks – all still currently enhanced by Sasuke's Raikan Mahi no Jutsu (Lightning Shock Paralysis) continued to slam against Gaara's sand armoured clad body.
Slowly but surely, Gaara knew he was loosing this fight. He could felt his body spasm slightly due to the electrical surge that had coursed through his veins almost constantly now – disabling his ability to control his sand. Whilst the sand on his skin did not conduct electricity, and had played a vital role at lessening the power of the attack, but still, some of the electrical currents managed to make it to his skin and from there, to the rest of his body.
After a few minutes of the same Taijutsu assaults from Sasuke, Gaara's Suna no Yoroi (Armour of Sand) seems to be cracking and breaking apart piece by piece. Sasuke silently crowed with victory as he gave Gaara a roundhouse kick in the face before flipping backwards several metres and preparing for his most powerful jutsu – the Chidori (Thousand Birds) - to try and finish Gaara off.
Within a few moments of preparation, the high-pitched ringing noise of the famous Chidori rung throughout the clearing of their battle ground. By that time, Gaara had recovered efficiently enough from his previous paralysis and was standing stock still, readying his own defences for what's to come. Without any warning or even a call to charge, Sasuke rushed forward with his Chakra infused hand at rapid speed.
Gaara lifted both his hands towards Sasuke's direction and snapped one shut into a tightly fist before releasing it and snapping the other into a fist. What this did was that the sand (that had already covered the entire tree branch they were fighting on) followed Gaara's tight control and tried to snap at the charging Sasuke, attempting to stop him in his tracks. (5) However, even when successful in blocking the angered Uchiha, all Sasuke had to do was raise his Chidori and the jutsu itself was able to smash a hole large enough for him to go through. Increasing his speed and agility, Sasuke suddenly disappeared from Gaara's sight, shocking the Red haired boy and rendering him slightly nervous. A millisecond later, Sasuke reappeared again, this time, right in front of Gaara's face.
Sasuke then continued by slamming his Chidori charged hand right into Gaara's sand covered chest. With much force and power, Sasuke sustained a constant push in his arm, shoving right through the red haired boy's chest, thrusting his way through to the other side. Seeing that he had finally come out the victor, Sasuke disengaged his charging Chidori but left his arm there, impaling the body of Gaara. However, his small sense of victory soon died out as the Gaara that was pinned by his arm slowly melted into a pile of sand, leaving Sasuke more frustrated than ever before having wasted a perfectly good Chidori on a Sand Clone (Suna Bunshin no Jutsu) dressed up to look like Gaara while the other boy escaped unscathed.
Suddenly, in his moment of distraction, a large mass of sand smashed into the Uchiha's side, flinging him sidewards and banging himself against a nearby tree. Leaving Sasuke with no time to react, Gaara continued to slam large amounts of compact sand onto Sasuke's being, ensnaring and entrapping him against the tree (6). Once the sand had a stabilised form, Gaara immediately tightened it more, giving Sasuke absolutely no chance of escaping. With the increase tightening of the sand particles, Sasuke felt as if his lungs were really being crushed to death, and he could do no more but gasp in breathlessness.
Opening his pain filled eyes, Sasuke glared at Sabaku no Gaara with all the hate, anger and frustration that welled within his single body. /I won't lose! I refuse to lose! I lost the last time we fought and needed bloody Naruto to rescue me! I won't make the same mistake again! I WON'T LOSE! I CAN'T LOSE! I'D RATHER DIE THAN LOSE AGAIN!Sasuke roared mentally in his mind, and as such, triggered the release of the curse seal level 2.
With the second level of the curse seal activated, Sasuke's entire body changed. The first thing to change was his hair, the once short ebony locks elongated into a coat of long, snow-white mane. The tresses framed his once pale and delicate face, spiked wildly upon the top of his head and continued down his back until the back of his shoulder blades. The next thing that changed was his skin tone. The black patterns that scattered across his body and face from the activation of the curse seal level 1 increased in numbers and slowly merged into one whole, blackish-brown skin tone which covered his entire body, leaving a strange black star-cross in between his eyes and nose. Sasuke's lips blacked to ebony jade, while his eyes too – the white area surrounding his red Sharingan eyes also darkened to black. His nails grew almost an inch in length, creating animalistic claw-like weapons on his body.
Thinking that the demonic metamorphoses had finally ended, Gaara decided it was time he stopped playing nice. He lifted his right hand in front of him (at the direction of the changed Sasuke) and slowly closed it to a fist. "Sabaku Kyuu. (Desert Coffin)" Gaara stated monotonously. The sand, as if in reply, compressed against Sasuke's demonic form, crushing the boy slowly and steadily.
However, Sasuke wasn't about to give up either. Gritting his teeth tightly in preparation of the ensuing pain, Sasuke shifted his shoulders slightly, and as if by command, two large, demonic wings suddenly burst out of his shoulder blades and spread out its complete wingspan of twice his original height. With the sudden emergence of his wings and an upsurge of Chakra, Sasuke was able to blast all the sand that encapsulated him away, leaving him free and able to move. Unlike Naruto with his Tenkun no buki (Weapons of Heavenly Warriors) – the Kakuhouou no hane (Black Phoenix Feather), Sasuke's wings had no feathers. It was scale-like and reptilian in shape and style – similar to that of medieval Dragon's wings. The wings had leather skin with bones sticking out of the membrane upon certain areas acting as bones to hold the entire assemble together. Overall, Sasuke really started to look like a demon himself.
Now in his curse seal lever 2 form, Sasuke flapped his mutated wings a few time and lifted himself off the branch he was standing on. Thrusting his wings hard, Sasuke found himself floating quiet a distance up above the ground, glaring at Gaara.
Gaara frowned in return, partly in irritation and partly in shock, as the battle scape changed once again, this time to the air. He used his Chakra to gather the sand particles underneath his feet and slowly rise off the ground underneath him as well. Steadily, Gaara, standing upon is mass of swirling sand, floated to the same height as Sasuke, ready and waiting for the next assault.
"Heh. You were special, I'll give you that, Sabaku no Gaara (Gaara of the Desert). However, it's time I prove that I'm more special than you, once and for all. " Sasuke released an animalistic growl in conjunction with his speech. Gaara didn't even reply to the comment, still standing comfortably on his floating mass of sand, emotionless and indifferent.
Concentrating and performing a set of three hand seals, Sasuke instantly summoned forth his specially enhanced Chidori. But, unlike his regular Chidori, this one was filled with dark, purplish Chakra, not to mention there was at least 10 times more Chakra in this one than the regulars. The 'chi chi chi' sound that usually emits from a regular Chidori is multiplied by a hundred fold, creating a chaotic symphony of charged, sparkly Chakra and high pitch noise. Sasuke flapped his wings once in order to propel himself forward, towards Gaara's position for the boy's eminent death by his hand.
Gaara, seeing that his captive had decided to gamble on this one final shot of freedom, decided that he should also pull out the big guns and end the fight once and for all. Firstly, he called back all his original sand (the one that he usually carries around inside the giant gourd) and surrounded himself, creating a giant sand sphere of highly compact sand, another layer to his absolute defence. Second, he created a third eye (made up of sand) and positioned it right outside his sand sphere, so that he could still see what's happening in the outside world why he prepares his final defence.
For his third and final move, Gaara used extra Chakra to call forth more sand from the earth – this time, he wanted specific minerals that had the maximum density quality, able to withstand high amounts of stress and strain. With this special sand mineral, Gaara forced his supreme absolute defence – The Saikou Zettai Bougyo Shukaku no tate! (Supreme Absolute Defence, Shield of Shukaku). Indeed, the strange looking panda-like or badger-like statue, completely made out of sand, looked rather strange and bulky. With its blackish tattoo on its chest and arms, as well as the round farmer's hat atop its head, the Shukaku no tate did not look that strong at all.
Mentally laughing at the odd looking floating sand statue, Sasuke thought to himself that he should just destroy it first before he charged at Gaara himself. "What the hell is that sand toy for, Gaara? You actually think something as ridiculous looking as that will be able to stop me, dream on? I was able to break through your sand sphere with my regular Chidori once, don't think I can't this time with an enhanced Chidori! This will be the end, Sabaku no Gaara!" Sasuke yelled as he continued to charge towards the weird sand sculpture, slamming his Chidori charged hand right into the centre of it, smashing his way through into the statue's core. And it is there, that Sasuke found out that he was facing a resistance much harder than he had ever anticipated.
Massive amounts of sand particles all spewed out due to the force of the impact caused by Sasuke's Chidori charged arm thrusting into the sand sculpture. The various sand particles swirled slightly in the air, floated for a few seconds before falling to the trees underneath once it had lost the Chakra that had once bound it to Gaara.
/Im... Impossible!/ Sasuke thought to himself as he continued to charge his Chidori (wasting a lot of Chakra at the same time) and forcing his arm through the high-density compact sand. /I feel as if my hand is the one being crushed here!/ Sasuke couldn't help but flinch slightly at the intense pain that was running up his arm, wondering how long it would last before his bone's finally broke. /I won't... I can't lose here! I can't!/ Trying desperately to convince himself that he still had a chance to win, Sasuke (neglecting his own common sense) summoned up more effort into trying to force his way through the sand barrier.
However, to Sasuke's utter shame and disappointed, he suddenly felt his entire body seizing in pain due to the Curse Seal Level 2 form. /Shxt! I forgot I'm not suppose to stay in this form too long because it corrupts and corrodes my body at an incredibly fast rate. At this rate, I'm gonna die of my own transformation before I can deal with Gaara. I can't... SHXT! I can't hold this form any longer, I'm still not use to it yet and I'm running dangerously low on Chakra!/ Sasuke mentally cursed as he knew he had reached his limit.
Slowly but sure, his skin returned to its normal hue as the black markings which once covered his entire body receded into its neutral form – the three dotted tattoo on the back of his neck. The leathery, scale-filled wings attached to the boy's shoulders quickly twisted in an unnatural fashion (as it was breaking its own bones) and plunged back into the boy's rugged back and shoulder blades, leaving no sign that they had once unfurled into such monstrous creations. While the markings were receding, so too was Sasuke's unnatural long, white, hair returning to its normal ebony colour and returning to its normal length. Sasuke's claws and fangs disappeared, as too did the strange black cross-scar between his eyes and nose. Soon enough, he had reversed back to the normal looking Uchiha Sasuke that everybody knew about.
In his weakened form and without the added bonus of Chakra from the curse seal, Sasuke was unable to contain the Chidori and so, it quickly died out as well, leaving the boy literary hanging in the air (without his wings to support him) with his arms stuck inside this giant floating statue of sand. Sasuke, unable to continue to focus anymore due to massive Chakra depletion, was soon lulled into unconsciousness, leaving him to the tender mercies of Gaara.
Gaara, upon seeing Sasuke's state from the third eye he had created earlier, released the sand sphere that had protected him just in case as well as the third eye technique, leaving him just standing on his own floating mass of sand and his outlandish statue. Slowly but surely, Gaara and his various sand creations brought the unconscious boy back down to earth. There, Gaara disbanded his Sukaku no tate (Shield of Shukaku) and returned the sand back deep within the earth's crust. Using his own sand, Gaara picked up the unconscious forms of Uchiha Sasuke and Yamanaka Ino before finally heading towards the direction of Konoha.
xxx XXX xxx
xxx XXX xxx
"Orochimaru-sama... It seems as if Sasuke-sama... is no longer coming." Kabuto sifted slightly in nervousness. "All four of the Sound Four guards are also missing. There were signs of battle everywhere along the way between the Sound border and the Fire country... but... there's no trace as to what happened to them afterwards. My suspicion is that whatever group the Leaf had sent after Sasuke-sama, seemed to be strong enough to not only defeat the Sound four, but was able to bring them back to Konoha for interrogation. May I suggest that we strike first before they are able to gather much information about our forces?" Kabuto wisely advised, thinking that this was their only option at this critical moment in time.
The white haired man had never felt so unprepared for anything before in his entire life (excluding his home village's massacre and his mother's execution). It was his decision to send the Sound Four after the Uchiha heir after all. And for the mission to turn out so bad... he was certainly feeling nervous about his master's punishment for such a massive failure.
"What has our spy in Konoha to say?" Orochimaru redirected the focus away from their imminent attack, as even he wasn't sure of their success rate if they start their attack at such a crucial time of unpredictability.
Kabuto paused for a moment before he answered the question. "Our spy, Mizuki, said that the Leaf only sent bunch of Genins and Chuunin-potentials after the Uchiha heir. In the end, it was the Sand Siblings who returned with all of them sometime yesterday afternoon. The Sand Siblings told the newly appointed Godaime Hokage – Tsunade-sama - that they were given the rescue mission under the orders of the Lady Oracle and the Shadow Master – Kaga. After their return, Sasuke-sama was immediately moved into the central building's confinement section where he is currently being 'interrogated'." He explained.
After a long period of silence, Orochimaru's curiosity finally overcame him. "Who were the ones sent after Sasuke?"
"Nara Shikamaru, Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji, Hyuuga Neji, Tenten, Inuzuka Kiba and the Medic Nin – Haku." Kabuto answered succinctly, though he knew that he would pay for his answers later on.
"You're telling that a bunch of genins, and ONE medic Nin, was able to thwart my entire plan of taking Sasuke-kun? Not only that, but ALL the genins were ROOKIE genins?" Orochimaru whispered in a threatening manner.
"Yes, sir." Kabuto could do nothing else but mumble the answer out.
"And now, we don't even know where Jiroubou, Kidoumaru, Tayuya, Sakon and Ukon are, let alone our failed attempt to take Sasuke?" Orochimaru continued to sneer the hateful questions out of his mouth, rage already boiling underneath the surface.
"Yes, sir." Kabuto answered, flinching slightly at the unabashed rage in his master's eyes.
Breathing in deeply and releasing his breath, Orochimaru forcefully calmed himself down in order to continue his questions. "Tell me, did our spy report seeing the Sound Four at all?"
Kabuto paused for a minute to remember what had actually been written on the message sent by their spy. "No, sir. In his message, he stated that none of the Sound Four had been part of the entourage that returned to the Leaf yesterday afternoon." He finally answered.
"If that's so, then how can you assume that the Sound four are in the hands of the Leaf interrogators?" Orochimaru asked rhetorically.
After a slight pause, Kabuto suggested: "Perhaps they were brought in by another group instead?"
"Don't assume things, Kabuto. Find out the facts!" Orochimaru ordered. "Do you really think that those Leaf Genins would have the capacity to actually capture any of the Sound Four? No. I'm telling you that the Leaf brats had nothing to do with the Sound Four's disappearance. The Sand siblings, maybe, but even they have no motive to do such troublesome things. No. All of this stinks of the Lady Oracle's involvement. After all, she was the one who sent the Sand in the first place." Orochimaru theorised, and Kabuto could only nod in agreement, having already angered his master, he was not going to do anymore to jeopardise his own safety.
Shaking his head to clear it, Orochimaru refocused his energy on another matter. "How are the preparations for the war going?"
"The alliance with the Hidden Rain have worked out quiet well, not only that, but they also have a trump card up their sleeve. Remember the special weapon that belonged to the Nidaime Hokage – the Raijin, which was somehow lost several years back? Well, it had somehow fallen into the hands of a Rain Nin by the name of Rokusho Aoi. And so, that will certainly prove useful; not to mention, the plan of the final attack are currently being drafted as well. As for the Nukenins (Missing Nins) from the Hidden Grass and the Hidden Stone village, they have already been assigned a Shinobi rank within our army and each group is ready to perform their own tasks as long as they get paid. The ex-Kuunoki Ninjas however, are the most interesting." Kabuto listed out the various updates on their plans.
"By your suggestion, they've treated Kimimaro-kun's mysterious illness to the best of their ability, and it has worked for a bit. It seems that Kimimaro-kun's special bloodline ability and body structure is being corroded by the Curse Seal Level 2 at too fast a pace and they have found some way to slow that process down. Not only that, they have somehow managed to regrow and replace a few of his organs and special glands that help his body function. This all means that Kimimaro-kun's life expectancy has increased dramatically from just a few weeks (as I have predicted) to several years at least. But eventually, his illness will catch up to him and then he will die. The ex-Kuunoki Shinobis haven't exactly been sharing any of their techniques with our soldiers but they have been doing extensive research in our labs on how to improve our weaponry technology, our Chakra capacity and control as well as our various human experimentations." Kabuto conluded all his findings while Orohcimaru remained silent, quietly contemplating everything that has been said so far.
After a moment of silence, Kabuto decided to quell his curiosity. "Are you going to be using Kimimaro-kun's body again, Orochimaru-sama? I mean, it would be best if you had the use of your hands to perform Jutsus during the war, and as such, if you took a new body now, it would be to our advantage." Kabuto asked.
"No." Orochimaru answered succinctly. "I want the Sharingan ability and the Uzumaki ability, but I am not patient enough to wait another 3 years so that they can become stronger and harder to capture just because I took another host body. No, I will wait for the opportune time to strike and nab both of them at the same time." Orochimaru gave a sadistic smirk and started chuckling.
"Having the Kuunoki scientists working for me is my ultimate asset. I will use it wisely. Order some of the scientist to research on this DAMNED death's seal on my arm and order the rest of them to mainly concentrate of our human clone hybrid project. I want them to help me create the perfect host, one with both the ability of the Uchiha and the Uzumaki. Then and only then, will I be satisfied." Orochimaru's chuckle quickly grew into a maniacal laugh that rung through the empty hallways.
xxx XXX xxx
xxx XXX xxx
Back in Konoha, the Sand Siblings were just preparing to leave and they had a small group of newly established friends seeing them off.
"Gaara-san. Thank you for saving my life." Ino blushed slightly at having to personally 'thank' the most powerful and arguably the scariest member of the Sand team. Though she was still 'recovering' from her injuries, most of her more severe wounds (broken bones, punctured lung) had already been dealt with the moment she returned to Konoha by the newly appointed Hokage. It was a surprise to all of them (except Sakura and Shikamaru) that they do have a new Hokage, and it just turned out to be the last of the Legendary Sannin – Tsunade. "If it hadn't been for your timely rescue, I might have died by that traitorous bastard's hand." Ino sneered the last three words out hatefully, and behind her Sakura winced at the obvious hate in her tone of voice.
"Yeah. Thank you very much, Temari-san. For defeating the Sound Nin, Tayuya, and helping to take me back to Konoha." Sakura gave the Sand Genin a formal bow to demonstrate her sincerity. Sakura had completely recovered from her injuries from her own fight against Tayuya. Unlike her friend, Ino, who had immediately started hating their once crush – Sasuke-kun; She, herself, had felt betrayed and disappointed when she had learnt that he willingly left Konoha. However, he was still her teammate, and even though her feelings for him had changed (she was sure), he was still important to her. You don't just spend months and months training and practically living with someone without learning to care for them. She may not love him anymore (she finally admitted to herself), but he was precious to her, almost like a brother, and she was infinitely glad that he's home and safe.
Gaara only nodded in silence while Temari gave the pink haired girl thumbs-up sign for good luck. She then turned her attention to Shikamaru, her personal rival. "Well, looks like this is it, then. Next time, don't rely on a girl to save your ass, cry baby." She taunted the black haired boy, referring to his crying in relief as he was told his best friend was okay and recovering well in the Hospital, all thanks to the Godaime Hokage.
Shikamaru winced slightly before returning to smile neutrally at the girl. "I'll try to keep that in mind, Temari-san." He answered firmly. After their return from their mission, Shikamaru had immediately set out towards the Hospital with the unconscious Sakura on his back. He needed to make sure that Chouji was back and safe. After a while, he had met up with Shizune, the new coordinator of Medic Nin Trainees to learn that both Chouji and Neji had arrived safely with Kaga-san's help, and both are recovering well from their injuries. However, it will still be a few more weeks before they are let out of the hospital.
It was then that Tenten stepped forward (towards Temari) and held out her right hand in the posture of shaking hands. "Truce?"
Temari smiled, grabbed Tenten's hand firmly and shook it. "Truce."
They let go and Tenten stepped back but without needed to have the final word against her self-declared rival. "The next time we meet, I WILL be stronger, so just you wait."
Temari gave a short chuckle in reply. "I'll be waiting for that."
After that, it was Kiba's turn to say his own goodbyes. "Oi! Make-up breath! The next time I see you, I'm gonna kick your ass for saying all that stuff about us Leaf nins being weak!" He taunted good-naturedly. Though he wasn't as badly hurt as Chouji (with his pills) and Neji (with the punctured wound), but Kiba had been released from the hospital on the condition that he DOES ABSOLUTELY NO TRAINING for a few weeks, so that his stomach muscles can heal without any stress or strain being put on them. Akamaru, on the other hand, didn't come off as Scot-free. The poor dog had suffered a direct stab wound into one of its eye, and though the wound had been stitched up, the dog may never really recover its vision in that particular eye, which caused much anguish in Kiba, but he pushed all those pain and doubts down deep into his heart as he continued to bid his new friends goodbye.
Kankuro snorted in reply. "It's the truth. You ARE weak!" The black clad Sand Genin smirked out superiorly.
"WHY YOU!" The dog boy tried to launch himself at the smirking Shinobi only to be pulled back by Haku.
The older boy smiled nicely to all three of the Sand Shinobis, ignoring the shouts and protests of the boy he was currently withholding. "See you guys and thank you all very much for helping us! Be careful going home, okay!" He bid cheerfully.
Last but not least, it was finally Naruto to say his own goodbyes. "Arigato, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro. For bringing my friends back in one piece. I could never thank you all enough." Naruto also gave them a short bow in gratitude.
But instead of waving it off with nonchalance, all three of the sand Sibling returned the gesture with a bow of their own. "You are welcomed, Uzumaki-san." They formally addressed him with special honorific.
"Please. Just 'Naruto' will do." Naruto shifted uncomfortably after being so formally addressed. "When you say 'Uzumaki-san', it feels as if you're referring to my Aunt instead of me."
"As you wish, Naruto-san." Temari gave him a quirky smile when Naruto grimaced at the 'san' part.
"It is the least we could do. After all, the Lady Oracle did help us a lot. Not only did she give Gaara that seal, which cut off all the influences that Shukaku once had over Gaara. But she also came back with us to the Sand Village, and helped us establish a new government system, with new members; creating a stable power structure and help our village get rid of its many spies and corrupted officers. It's amazing all the things that she had done for us. And when she asked a single favour from us, we gladly agreed, the favour being that she wanted us to help you guys capture and bring the Uchiha back to Konoha. So, that's what we did." Kankuro explained, obviously awed and feeling a great depth of gratitude towards the Lady Oracle.
Naruto could only shrug in response. After all, his Aunt was the type of person who saw a problem and couldn't help but try to fix it, even though it was none of her business. However, she was also a master manipulator and loved to make other people do all the dirty work for her, while in the end, everything turned out the way she wanted them to in the first place. "But still, I'm glad for all your help."
Unexpectedly, Gaara took a few steps forward towards Naruto and handed the blonde boy a small scroll. "The Lady Oracle told me to give you this the moment I am to leave Konoha. She said that inside is a new Jutsu she wants you to learn on your own." Gaara stated indifferently.
Naruto nodded in appreciated, taking hold of the scroll and putting it into one of his jacket's many pockets. "Thank you once again, Gaara."
Gaara shook his head in denial. "It is I that should thank you, Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto gave him a soft smile and patted Gaara on the shoulder in sign of welcome. "You and I... we share a similar destiny, a similar pain. Remember this, Gaara - you are never alone. Wherever you are, whatever you do, you have my support and my faith."
Gaara smiled back gently in reply. After a short moment of silence, all three Sand siblings turned their back towards their new allies and friends and then set off towards their own home, the Sand village.
(End)
(1) A lovely direct quote from our favourite wall-climbing hero – Spiderman.
(2) For those who are wondering how Gaara knew about Sasuke's curse seal, this is because 1) He was there during the failed takeover of Konoha when he fought Sasuke and Sasuke eventually lost due to the emergence of the curse seal, 2) He was told by the Lady oracle to expect it before she ordered him to rescue the boy.
(3) Translation taken from Aone version of the episode 126. Inane called it 'Desert Rain', but I didn't think that was exactly correct.
(4) When demonic Gaara fought against Sasuke during the Sound Invasion, just before Naruto came to the rescue. I didn't really write this part in my story so there isn't any flashback scene but you all know what I mean.
(5) I'm trying to describe the part during episode 126, where Gaara used both his hand to try and capture/block/stop Kimimaro (in his curse seal level 2 form) from charging towards him and Lee's location.
(6) Think of how Sakura was slammed and trapped against a tree by Gaara's sand in the Cannon series. Here, Gaara's doing the same thing only towards Sasuke this time.
I hope the ending wasn't too long and boring for you guys. I wanted somewhere where I can explain what happened to all the characters (Neji, Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru, etc.) without having to split the scenes up individually. And I also wanted to add anther bit in there about an upcoming conversation between Naruto and Sasuke, but it seems that I don't have any space left, so I'll leave that to the next chapter. By the way, I've started a new job this week so it might be a while before I have the time and inspiration to write up the next chapter. However, know that I never give up and I WILL EVENTUALLY finish this story. I hate it when great stories are left to hand and am determined to at least finish this one no matter how long it takes. Arigato for all your support.
That's all I really wanted to say, hope you all enjoy this chapter and please review. Tell me what you liked about it, what you don't like about it, any ideas that you think it could be improved upon, etc. etc.
On a final note, I'd just like to tell all of you (my fans, my readers) who are interested in the upcoming Chuunin Exam Original Characters, all their Character Biographies (including a Nin Information Card for each character) are up on my website. I have also finished my character biography page for the 10 Gate Guardians of the Air Village, which will be turning up very soon. Go to my profile's page to get the link.
