Naru smiled at her small army of clones as they cheered and set themselves into a battle position. Naru looked to Anko, and frowned as she looked over her sensei, she seemed to be shaking, and Naru could figure the source was one of the two men before her. But how could they be so fearsome? No, it didn't matter. As three of the clones charged each of the men, she slipped in front of Anko and smirked back at her sensei, her eyes a shining in the sun "I don't know what's happening sensei, but I will protect you." However, moments after she said that she received the pain of her clones all dispersing at once and was brought to her knees instantly. Her body shaking, each clone had given her the same memory. Having their lives devoured and sucked away.

"S-Sensei…these two…there's something." She coughed a bit, and looked back to her enemies only a moment before the gray man would have struck her down, his hand a maw of sharp teeth.

"I guess it's a two-for-one deal!" he shouted and slammed his arm down, his face sprayed with blood as he looked up to Anko and snarled "Ah, little Anko-chan…tell me…do you remember me?" his smile seemed to widen as he tasted the delicious flavor of the girl's blood. Anko's eyes were locked on his, and she shivered for a moment longer before smirking a bit. "What are you-"

"Rasengan!" The Devourer looked down a moment before being slammed in the face by the sphere of pure chakra obliterating his head. Kimimaro looked over calmly, somehow the girl had shifted at the last second, the wound only in her leg instead of her heart. He was impressed, The Devourer was one of the most annoying types of ally. Not especially good at anything but using his bloodline, but Kimimaro was similar enough to not hold it against the man. Not that it mattered now. "Yeah! We did it Anko-sensei!"

"Oh~ Don't be polite on my account~" a playful voice said as the pair of Konoha ninja looked over to the headless body that was slowly standing. Kimimaro was even shocked as he looked on. What kind of monster was this man, whom his lord had worked with so long ago? Slowly one of the mouths shifted up and with it a new head seemed to grow, and he smiled but the skin looked fresh and alive. "I suppose…I can do this the right way…I owe it to the little Gaki-chan." Anko blinked as she looked over the healthy face, no longer deformed by the large mouth, or dead looking skin. Even his voice seemed younger and more playful. Her head began to burn.

'Gaki-chan…why does it sound…' she wondered as she placed a hand on the side of her head. Then instead of the freakish dead man, a young man stood before them. He looked more like an Uchiha now, rather than whatever he was. "Tch, starting to remember me?" he sounded almost annoyed as he cracked his neck and made a single hand sign with his right hand, closing his eyes, as a torrent of chakra seemed to swirl around him.

"H-How did you do that!" Naru demanded as she prepared to use one of her newer jutsu that she had wanted to keep secret a bit longer.

"The Soul Consumption bloodline." Anko stated, as she looked to the man, whose eyes suddenly opened looking at her with a look of pleasure.

"Kimimaro…please don't let them bother me while I gather my chakra into my body." Kimimaro merely nodded, and sprung forward. Naru's body barely had time to stand, and react as she brought a hand to block his punch. Instead a white blade slammed into her hand, and a moment later, he spun around and delivered a kick into her stomach that also drew blood upon another white blade that almost clattered to the ground, but was caught by the spinning shinobi, who deftly brought them up to parry Anko's return attack.

Naru on the other hand, was gasping on the ground. Tears slowly leaking from her eyes as she tried to force her usual healing, but without the presence of the fox, her healing was slower. While still superior to a normal person's by far, larger wounds took much longer. 'I-I could die from this…!' she panicked as she attempted to move back from the battle before her. Anko was being handled like a school girl by the masterful enemy. Was this the true power of Orochimaru's soldiers?

"Well, then…I suppose compared to a kage…a special jonin shouldn't be too much trouble…" Kimimaro stated calmly, before he seemed to speed up further, his arms becoming blurs of motion, slicing and stabbing much faster than before. Anko's eyes widened as she was hard pressed to keep pace with the deadly attacks. Slowly cuts began to appear all over her coat, as the white haired ninja suddenly feinted, and brought his strike around for a fatal blow.

"This I cannot allow!" as a sandaled foot slammed into Kimimaro knocking him back, as a green clad young man stood before him, in an obviously offensive taijutsu stance. Something about him obviously bothered Kimimaro.

"What are you?" he asked annoyed as he looked almost disgusted at the young shinobi, but quickly became passive again.

"I am the Handsome Devil of the Hidden Leaf Village! My name is Rock Lee!" Rock Lee smiled, and turned to Anko. "I have come to help!" as he gave her his good guy pose, Kimimaro took the distraction as a que to strike, however was surprised when he struck the ground instead. Rock Lee, had moved next to Anko, and she was even impressed a bit with his speed.

"I see you did not come alone as well…you can come out." Kimimaro stated as he looked into the bushes just behind Naru, who had pushed herself against a nearby tree. A blur suddenly moved towards Kimimaro who leapt back warily, and watched as the white haired man landed on one leg, arms spread wide and an almost goofy smile on his face.

"ah! You know not who you have challenged! I am the most skilled and handsome of akk ninja! Capable of bringing woman to their knees in worship! Known throughout the world as the Great Sage… Jiraiya!" he shouted happy to have finally gotten off his pose and looked to Rock Lee and gave him a quick thumbs up before looking back to his foes. Even Rock Lee, seemed a bit put off.

"Hmm. Lord Orochimaru mentioned you. A sannin, or not. Your presence makes no difference." Kimimaro said confidently

"Oh? And why do you think that?" as he prepared to show the young shinobi why he was so respected.

"Because…the time limit is up." A dark voice said from behind Kimimaro, and Jiraiya gasped, as he saw the man walking towards them. "Now…I will devour your very minds, your spirits, and everything you've ever known and loved."

"I never thought I'd see you walking again. Togashi of the eternal hunger." Jiraiya said darkly as he looked over the pale skined shinobi now dressed identically to Kimimaro.

"Well, things change. Now, shall we dance?" Kimimaro and Togashi each shifted into the same stance, and Jiraiya looked to Rock Lee and Anko.

"Be careful, Togashi was known by another name once as well, Togashi of the Thousand Forms-" before he could continue, they were forced to move.

Naru looked on, cursing herself for being so weak. She'd never known she relied so heavily on the fox before. "I-I need to help them…" as she slowly rose to her feet, Jiraiya seemed to notice her for the first time, and quickly broke off.

"Naru! Go on! Complete the mission…we'll handle this!"

"Think you can handle me? Thousand Spears of Light!" Togashi called as lightning began to crash down in almost random areas, burning the fields as he smiled watching his foes dodge the lightning, Kimimaro quickly moved to Togashi's side, face impassive.

Naru however was barely standing, how could she...no it didn't matter. She had to push on! So she slowly brought her hands together and gathered as much chakra as she could around her wound. 'Heal! Heal! Heal!' she screamed in her mind, as the slow burning feeling of her chakra sealing the wound slowly filled her belly and she smiled. Quickly tossing off her ruined black armored coat and revealing an orange vest as she slipped past to continue the chase.

"Think you escaped because we didn't let you? How foolish." Kimimaro muttered as the pair of ninja before him continued to fight together at a pace he was only barely able to match, without having to actually try.

Togashi however was less than pleased. He'd been left the strongest of the bunch to handle alone. Normally he'd enjoy it, but this was also the man that was able to cripple him before, leaving him a cripple for almost a decade. 'However,' he reasoned, 'that was long ago.' So, of course now things were different. "So Jiraiya…how is Tsu-chan?" with that Jiraiya growled and charged forward and Togashi smiled. "Perfect."

Shadow of Intent

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Arc One Finale: Part Two

Naru stopped as she reached deep into the last bits of forest. Her body was aching as she placed a hand over her stomach, where the seal was etched in her flesh, and let out a slow breath. "Sasuke-kun…" she muttered before leaping out, landing on the head of the First Hokage's massive statue. She looked across to see Sasuke, standing with his arms crossed as a slim smirk marked his face. The girl that had carried him here was standing further behind her, and looked a bit worried, almost cowering. Sasuke however stepped forward "So, this is where we stand. Naru-baka."

"Sasuke-kun, why are you doing all of this?"

Sasuke however looked away a bit, his dark eyes looking down into the sea "I've seen…what you will do, and the only way to save us is to kill you. Gain the ultimate eye. I would say I am sorry. But I am not." He stated calmly, as he returned to his neutral position.

Naru's eyes widened "W-What? What do you mean?" she shouted clutching at the fabric of her top over her heart. It didn't make any sense!

"No more talking." Then he made a few quick signs and a fire ball as large as the statue's head shot towards Naru. In a blur Naru leapt down towards the water. However a blur of blue struck into her, driving a knee into her freshly healed stomach. Blood flew from her lips as she was ground into the wall, Sasuke blinked a bit and pressed his hand into her neck and laughed, as he brought his hand down. Again, and again, and again.

"Shadow…clone!" Sasuke's eyes widened as a pair of clones threw him off of the original, whose face was contorted with bruising and covered in blood, tears falling from her eyes. How had Sasuke moved so far forward? Then he was on her again. The clones lasted only moments as she tried to leap away but instead collapsed her ribs and body burning in agony. "N-No…please Sasu-" however her voice broke as his foot slammed into her throat. His dark eyes scanned her face, and then he blinked the red of his sharingan burning into her eyes.

"Just die, you useless waste of flesh." And in an instant he moved his foot before he brought a kunai down into her chest, blood splattering both of their faces as he looked up into her face. Her breathing was weak, and frantic as she tried to recover, he brought it down again, and a third time to be sure. "Please…just die…save the world with your blood…"

"S-Sa-Sasuke…" he voice was like a wisp on the wind, as she shivered slowly "I-I have…I…always-" however her words were cut off by painful coughs. Her hand brushed his cheek and he leapt away, eyes wide. He could only watch as her life ebbed away.

[(((Mindscape)))]

Naru's eyes weakly opened, as her breathing was still harsh and slow. She was dying, slowly. Blood filling her lungs, as she noticed a pair of weak, tired eyes looking down at her. "F-Fox?" she murmured as the fox nodded but it seemed weakened and slowly laid down to rest.

"You…must…live…so I can kill you…" the exhausted voice grumbled, but none of its chakra flowed out. Instead the massive fox seemed to disappear from its cage.

"You want to live?" suddenly Naru's pain was gone, and she was kneeling before another place. A doorway, not marked in anyway except for a single letter.

'N'

"Y-Yes!" she gasped as she closed her eyes, something was wrong. Her head was burning, like the worst migraine ever, mixed with a stabbing feeling, along with her swimming vision.

"I can give you the power to live. I can save you." The voice continued

"H-How?"

"Open the door."

Naru's face contorted in suspicion until she threw up blood, her mind seemed to be blurring away as she looked up at the door. "C-Can…you save me?"

"Yes. I will save you. I…free if you open the door…able to help you." her hearing was slowly dissolving, as her body weakened further.

"W-Who are you?" the voice chuckled and then she felt her resolve harden, with all of her strength she yelled "Tell me!" she hacked covering her mouth.

"Your lost brother." Naru's eyes widened as she tried to remember a brother, but the pain was rising again. In a fit of desperation she flung the door open, it was the only way.

A grim chuckle flowed from the doorway as a bright light filled her mindscape, and she screamed as a flood of red chakra consumed her.

[(((Valley of the End)))]

Sasuke blinked as he rubbed his head. Something told him, that he had been too slow. That he had failed. He spun to look at Naru and gasped as she was consumed by red chakra. She seemed to float, before she slammed onto all fours, and a pair of red tails swished dangerous behind her. "Sasuke-sama! Run!" Tayuya shouted from her perch, shaking in fear, holding her head in pain. She too was experiencing the migraines.

Sasuke however only smirked as he recomposed himself and looked over at Naru, before he blurred forward, like a bolt of black and blue. He spun around and delivered a powerful kick to her side, and smirked, as she went flying. However, the chakra that cloaked her seemed to stick to his ankle before literally slamming him into the wall, one, two, three times; using him like a brake to slow down, landing on the wall like it was the floor. "Sasuke! I will destroy you! You traitor!" Naru roared running along the wall, like an animal, her rage wouldn't be sated, she needed to get back at him.

The moment passed as he leapt from the hole and evaded Naru with the obvious grace of a warrior using the power of a doujutsu. He calmly moved, only dodging with the most necessary of motions, ducking under even the strikes from her chakra, seemed to be nothing more than pillars for him to dance around. Then he stopped and brought a knee up, disorienting the raging blonde for a moment. Then she was caught in a roar of fire that was strong enough to throw Sasuke into the wall on the opposite side of the valley.

"You traitorous bastard! I'll kill you!"

Sasuke however burst out of the wall, a dangerous look on his face. "You don't know the meaning of the word! Naru!" as she leapt up towards Sasuke, he flashed through the hand seals and smirked, as lighting burst through the air.

"Chidori!" and the water was splashed with red, as the scream of a thousand birds ripped the silence away, and slammed through Naru's chakra cloak, as he screams echoed even louder than those of the woman before him.

[(((Nearby Clearing)))]

Anko, and Rock Lee were back to back as they awaited the next appearance of their opponent who had taken to burrowing under the ground, popping up to attack, and then disappearing again with blinding speed. Rock Lee, was exhausted. Anko growled angrily as Kimimaro stood before them, the cursed active to the first level, and shaking his head a bit "If you beg. I might let you run." He stated simply. However, his confidence melted away a moment later, as he looked behind himself, eyes wide in terror.

All of the combatants had stopped to stare at the spire of red that had bled into the sky, and the wash of power rolled over them. Jiraiya and Togashi looked to one another before, they continued, having experienced something similar in their long lives, but even they couldn't ignore the force of that killing intent entirely. However Rock Lee, Anko, and even Kimimaro were floored as they struggled against the force.

"What is this?" Kimimaro growled, and Rock Lee looked to the worried face of Anko, and instantly knew one thing. Their companion was over there, as they slowly regained themselves, Rock Lee prayed for her safety, before they continued to fight the deadly Kimimaro.

However all around them, the animals fled away from the pillar of red, all knowing what it meant by nature alone.

Somewhere nearby a village madman began raving, and shouting.

And all over the world those eight other forces took notice, no matter how subconsciously, something had changed.

[(((Valley of the End)))]

Sasuke smiled as he washed his hand in the water, not wanting her blood on him. However, the pillar of red was troubling him. She had been struck in the chest. An instant kill. So it couldn't be that, so what was it? Sasuke feared he didn't want to know the answer as he watched Naru's chest slowly closing and he gasped. "No! You don't!" his body moved like a blur and slammed onto her, choking the weak breath from her body. His hands shaking, eyes burning into her dead stare.

Sasuke growled as he could feel his skin burning under the assault of the red chakra on his arms, but he didn't stop. "Die…Die…Die!" as he brought his hand up and prepared to run another chidori through her, however, instead he gripped his head in pain and screamed as something seemed to stab into his mind. "Ar…ah!" he shouted as he threw himself from the near dead girl. His eyes black and shaking from side to side in fear.

"Idiot~ you should have ran Sasuke-chan. However, I am a good sport. I'll let you run now," a dark, but playful voice growled as Sasuke stood, and frowned. His body was in agony already, burns and cuts. Bones had probably been broken as well. "Unless the…ku ku ku…mighty Uchiha wishes to face…an opponent…as strong as his brother…" Sasuke's eyes widened and then he smiled viciously. This specter had said the wrong words to him.

"Show yourself! I am not afraid of you!"

"Oh? You shouldn't lie Sasuke-chan…you see…no one isn't afraid of me." Sasuke snarled, about to respond as he noticed something floating in the chakra flowing into the sky. Expecting an attack he bounced back and looked at it. Instead, he saw a skeleton floating above Naru's body arms spread wide. Slowly the skeleton began to grow flesh, slowly at first, but it quickly began to speed up. Sasuke blinked and growled louder before firing off another powerful katon jutsu.

"Fireball? Really now? How childish. If you want to see fire…" Sasuke's eyes widened as his jutsu suddenly disappeared and then skeleton moved through a jutsu, its head and hands still skinless. Then with a roar a massive spout of fire spilled out from the being. Sasuke quickly dived into the water and swam to the other side of the river from the…the thing.

Once he was on land he looked over to see the end result of the red chakra dieing out. A single cord of red was all that connected Naru to this man. He looked so much like her, that Sasuke would have to say he was like a male version of Naru. However, when his gaze moved to Sasuke, the young genius knew he had to run. He had to escape, as he fled up the wall towards the head of Madara he stopped, eyes wide as he noticed the blond man walking towards him calmly. "Sorry, your chance was up when you attacked me." He was obviously using the same power Naru had as well.

"Don't worry. I'll make your death fast. Traitor-kun." Then he held his hands out in front of himself palms facing Sasuke, as a massive amount of chakra was gathered there. "I call this one…Red Lightning…I hope you can survive this, to see more of my power, Traitor-kun~." And Sasuke closed his eyes by reaction alone as the flare blazed towards him, if this kind of power was what his brother had…he never had a chance. However, Sasuke heard the explosion and felt the ground shake but it seemed so far away, as his face was sprinkled with water.

"Sasuke-kun…wake up," Naru's weak voice called, and he slowly opened his eyes to see the again blue eyes of his ex-teammate looking down at him. He was on the top of the valley walls on the other side from Konoha. He was alive because of her.

"Run…Sasuke-kun…you can't…die…I need…to save you." Then she collapsed into unconsciousness, and Sasuke was at a loss. He'd never expected her to save him like that. Soon the red haired sound kunoichi was pulling him along, and together they fled for sound.

"Stupid child…mmm…well I suppose I can entertain myself with the others." The man calmly touched Naru, her wounds seemed to knit together faster with his contact. His eyes softened as he did and slowly he smiled "We can't afford to be so foolish…Naru. We can't let him live." Then they were gone in a flash of red light.

[(((Forest Clearing)))]

It was like the sky had suddenly burst into fire, a sky of burning red. The Konoha shinobi had regrouped as the sound did the same. A girl fell in front of them first, obviously injured as the rift in the sky seemed to grow for a moment before bursting in a shockwave of energy. A blond haired boy landed in front of the group with a lazy smile, his features sharp, an aura of red surrounding him. Anko and Rock Lee noticed the Konoha headband immediately, but it was Jiriaya who recognized the ninja first, tears of joy and surprise lighting up his face for a moment before he wiped them away.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya shouted and moved to stand with the young blond

"Stay back. Ero-sennin. I will take care of them." Naruto's eyes were locked on Togashi. He didn't remember a man like him. Jiraiya however seemed shocked by Naruto's confidence, and was prepared to tell him he was out classed. Until he felt the power of his chakra as it flowed out. A roar filled the air as his chakra seemed to burn the grass at his feet. Togashi however, smiled widely before shaking his head.

"Kimimaro-kun, it is time to retreat. They have reinforcements now." As Kimimaro noted the rest of the recovery squad arriving, and Togashi nodded. Kimimaro spun and ran as Togashi opened his palms, and quickly a mouth appeared on each palm. "Twin Soul Summoning." Then the mouth spit up blood, making a pair of summoning circles. In a massive puff of smoke, that once cleared a pair of people wearing masks, had appeared. Togashi on the other hand had disappeared.

"Boring. He's a soul eater eh? Oh well. I can handle this." Then he growled as a quartet of tails appeared around himself concentrating around his hands, as chakra began to gather there. "Red Lightning." Then a flash of light like a miniature sun was lit from his hands, and when the light died away, there forest in front of them was wasteland and nothing seemed to be left of the pair, and slowly the glow died away.

"Good to see you, Ero-Sennin." However, the toad sage was frowning as he walked towards his returned student, he still noted. Naru was still here. Something was wrong. He would find out what.

[(((One Week Later- Konoha Anbu Cells)))]

The Hokage of Konoha walked down to the holding cells with the pair of people that the Hokage trusted most. The most easily recognized was the burly shape of Jiraiya, as they looked through the glass of the cell to see the calm visage of Naruto Uzumaki, meditating on the floor of his cell. On the bed next to him was the silent, resting form of Naru Uzumaki.

"I know it sounds impossible but I clearly remember training that boy…and the girl as well. I think the Time/Space disruption theory…"

"It would make sense. I am not doubting this. However, his power and intentions are unknown to us."

"Hokage-sama, with all due respect…you just returned from a battlefield. I think you should settle down and try to take measure of these events."

"I know enough. That boy is related to the problem. I want to know how."

The trio looked back to the room, and were all shocked to see the room missing one occupant, and turned as a voice coughed. "Ah, Hokage-sama. It is a pleasure to meet you face to face. I am Naruto Uzumaki."

The Hokage frowned as the trio looked over the boy, and Jiraiya was the first to speak. "Are you the same Naruto I trained?"

"Yes…" Jiraiya smiled brightly before he was cut short but the boy "…and no. you see that is the residual effect of the jutsu that brought me here. Time Dilation, my memories, my will imposed itself on the world to give me a place here. Unluckily most of the effects will wear off and I will be a man with no history here, it's the cost of fleeing a dying world."

The pair of advisors nodded and the Hokage spoke calmly "Obviously then you're using a powerful kinjutsu. One that allowed you to exist. I don't exactly understand how it works, and doubt I want to. However, if you swear fealty to me, and promise to help us as well. Some things can be overlooked."

Naruto smiled a bright and friendly smile that made the trio a bit worried, his expressions seemed…off. "Don't worry, I am like Naru's brother. I won't let anything bad happen." He smirked a bit more before saying "So, Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama, and temporary Hokage Tsunade-sama…what do you say. Can I be a Konoha ninja?"

The Hokage looked the boy over and frowned deeply before he removed his hat and smiled, "Yes, we will do some tests later but…for now…welcome home. Naruto-san."

"Thank you. Yondaime-sama."

[End of part one]

[Static]

[Static]

[Static]

[Signal Found: Rain Village to Sound Village]

"Orochimaru-sama."

"Kabuto. How is the operation proceeding?"

"Excellent lordship, it will be ready in three years as you expected, and the Akatsuki are none the wiser."

"Ku Ku Ku…perfect."