Windows of the Soul Chapter 10: Path to Power: Power of the Chosen, a naruto fanfic

Huzzah! Thanks to you for all your wonderful reviews. I see that you have your own thoughts on what Naruto did to Neji. Don't worry it will be revealed this chapter.

Another note; some of you say that Sasuke has gotten enough bashing, and I need to make him a good guy who'll stay in Konoha. My response is that I'm trying to stay as close as Canon as possible to make things believable, yet divert away from it to make my own believable fic. To that end, Sasuke will leave Konoha, but I'll change what happens. And it will be definite that Sasuke will end up with Karin, though at a later date.

Also, I'll reveal my thoughts on the monster in Cloverfield. I'll do this at the end of the chapter, though. I'll also reveal my thoughts on Sasuke as well, and my reasons for saying what I said. For now, enjoy.

Same disclaimer as always.

Blah Human dialogue

Blah Summon/Demon dialogue

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Chapter 10: Path to Power – Power of the Chosen

"Protect the Daimyou's!!" went the cry, as the ANBU leapt into action. They went into battle against the Oto-nin and Suna-nin which seemed to come out of nowhere.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

With that, Sasuke leapt over the wall and away from the fighting, to follow the new mission he had been given.

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

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

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

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

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

"What do you want us to do?" asked Hinata and Kin, who joined up with Sakura and Ino.

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

"… What?"

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

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

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

"You mean to tell us that the last person is a dog?" went Kin.

To everyone but Kakashi's surprise Pakkun had something to say about that… literally. "Hey little missy!" he said, looking up at Kin. "Don't call me a cute little doggy!"

"Kin-chan didn't say that," whispered Sakura to Ino, who nodded. ""Let's wake up Naruto-kun and Shikamaru," added Ino. The two crept over, where Sakura nullified the Genjutsu and woke up Naruto first.

Naruto shot up, blinked wearily, and said, "I really need to pay attention to Iruka-sensei more…" On that note, he kicked Shikamaru, who yelped and sat up, massaging his ribs.

"What was that for!?" snapped Shikamaru.

"For pretending to nap to avoid fighting," said Naruto. Hearing the clash around him, he felt the presence of an enemy behind him, and did a backwards somersault, catching the Oto-nin in the chin, and leaving him for Gai to plow through a wall. "Fast," gasped the Oto-nin as he fell.

"Alright," said Kakashi. "For Naruto and Shikamaru, here's the mission specs: Go through that hole, track Sasuke down, join up with him, stop him from doing something stupid, and take him to a safe location."

"Let me guess," said Naruto, crouching. "Sasuke-teme ran off to chase after Gaara and his teammates."

"Less talk, more track!" said Sakura, and she jumped out the hole, taking Naruto and Ino with her, with Pakkun in front. Shikamaru groaned and followed them, followed by Hinata and Kin.

"Will they be okay?" asked Gai.

"Sure," said Kakashi. "Just as long as they don't get in too deep…"

Unknown to either of them, one Aburame Shino had heard everything, and quietly flickered away via Shunshin no Jutsu.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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"Damn Sasuke," said Naruto as he and the other five shot through the trees, with Pakkun in the lead. "Making us chase him down like this…"

"For once, I agree with you," said Shikamaru. "Not only is this a sitting chore, he's gonna get us and himself killed."

"It can't be helped," said Sakura. "It's Kakashi-sensei's orders!"

"Besides," added Ino, trying to lighten the situation, "Imagine the pay we'll get for a successful A-Rank Mission."

While this went on, no less than ten Oto-nin surveyed the Genin with cold eyes, then shot off after them undetected. Or so they thought.

Pakkun caught their scent, and yelled out, "You guys might want to pick up the pace… we're being followed!"

"Friendly?"

"No. There's eight… no, nine… one more… ten enemy shinobi tailing us!" said Pakkun. "They're coming from behind and closing fast."

"What, already!?" went Shikamaru.

"They haven't got a lock on us yet, but they're closing in fast, and on the lookout for any surprise attacks."

"I see them," said Hinata, her Byakugan activated. "They're all maybe mid-to-high Chuunin."

"Shit," cursed Shikamaru. "If they catch up with us, we'll be annihilated."

"We'll ambush them, then!" said Naruto, going to his defensive state.

"It won't work," said Kin. "Orochimaru taught us all Konoha-nin ambush tactics. I know what they know, and vice-versa. They'll smell a trap and be on us in moments."

Shikamaru cursed again. "And here I thought we might have been able to pull it off, but we can just forget it." At their confused looks, he sighed. "Okay, here goes: There have to be two conditions that have to be met to make an ambush effective. First, those fleeing have to do so quietly, and discover the enemy first. Thanks to Pakkun, we've fulfilled that condition."

"The second condition is locate a place to hide and wait to ambush them, ensuring protection for the ambushers and the promise of maximum damage for the enemy. Only when those two conditions are met will the ambush work. But we can't do it since the commander of these shinobi was originally from Konoha, and knows every one of our tricks."

"We've got an unknown factor though," said Naruto. "Me!"

"Yeah, but they've got a team probably trained for search and destroy missions, on our geography," responded Shikamaru. "To that end, the ambush might work for us, but there are still too many unknown variables. They've got a group who's probably mastered the art of hunting, and what do we have? A fighting smartass, a defected Oto-nin, a female Hyuuga, a kunoichi with no real abilities, a kunoichi suited for intel-gathering, a talking dog, and a guy who excels at running; me!"

"Even though those weren't needed," said Kin, narrowing her eyes. "He's right. It's all battle tactics, and the only thing we can do at this point is stall."

"She's right," said Sakura. "One of us has to remain behind to fake an ambush."

"Of course, the one who does will probably kick the bucket," said Shikamaru. "You guys need the dog to track Sasuke, so I guess… the decoy is gonna have to be me."

"What!?" went Naruto and Ino. "Why you?!"

Shikamaru grabbed a branch that went by and swung upwards to crouch on it. "I'm the only here that can do it. Kage Mane no Jutsu was originally a delaying tactic."

"I'm staying, too," said Ino, grabbing the same branch. When Naruto and Sakura were about to protest, Ino said. "I need to help my teammate. If Chouji were here, he would have done the same."

After a moment, Naruto nodded hesitantly and turned to catch up. "If she's hurt, I'll hold you responsible," he growled to Shikamaru, and shot off, following Sakura and Pakkun, with Hinata and Kin close behind.

"What did he mean by that?" Shikamaru asked a reddening Ino. Ino cleared her throat and said, "Here they come."

"They" were the ten Oto-nin hunting them down. "Amateurs," commented their leader, seeing the broken twigs and footprints in the tree limbs.

Meanwhile, Pakkun commented on how the Oto-nin were closing in. "They couldn't have run away for real… could they?" asked Sakura.

"Not Ino-chan," said Naruto. "More than likely, Shikamaru used that brain of his to plan a good diversion… he'd better not get Ino-chan hurt, though…"

Back in that part of the woods, Shikamaru sneezed as he trapped the Oto-nin with his Kage Mane. "Someone's talking about me," he commented.

"Would you look at that," said the lead Oto-nin. "It's just a kid."

"To think that high-class shinobi like us were caught by someone like him," said another. "I guess that this is the legendary Kage Shibari no Jutsu (Shadow Binding Technique), eh?"

"It's called Kage Mane no Jutsu, now," said Shikamaru. 'Damn,' he thought to himself. 'I used up too much chakra in that last match. This was a mistake, I won't last long at all… where are you, Ino?'

"Bet you feel tired," mocked the lead Oto-nin. He moved a little, against Shikamaru's will. "You're showing it. When that so-called Kage Mane ends, so will your life."

Shikamaru said not a word, but threw kunai and shuriken at the Oto-nin, only to have them be deflected by another set. "Resistance is futile," said the Oto-nin, as the one in the trees jumped down, wielding a kunai.

'Aw, crap,' thought Shikamaru bitterly. 'Here, I wanted to be an average shinobi with an average salary… marrying an average girl and having a girl, then a boy. Then I'd retire when my oldest girl got married and my son became independent, and then play Shogi under the cloudy sky. Finally, I'd keel over of old age before my wife… yeah, that's what I wanted…' Shikamaru grinned as he felt his shadow waver. 'Then I did a troublesome thing like this… Mendokuse…'

When his shadow retreated, the Oto-nin leader said to the Oto-nin behind Shikamaru, "Lop off his head for us, then we can continue."

The Oto-nin wavered, then leapt at the Oto-nin who talked, stabbed him in the throat with the kunai. As the Oto-nin clutched his throat, gasping out blood, the rogue Oto-nin stabbed two more in the chest, then fell as he was overtaken, but not without having done the Kai Seal.

"I'll take it from here," said Sarutobi Asuma, as he appeared behind Shikamaru with a dazed Ino on his shoulder. Setting down Ino, he whipped out his trench knives and sliced through the remaining seven Oto-nin with relative ease. Shikamaru fell back, landing in a sitting position. 'Rest, Shikamaru,' said Asuma silently. 'You've earned it. Both you and Ino.'

Farther ahead, Pakkun yelled out, "The enemy stopped moving!"

"Then Shikamaru was successful!" responded Hinata.

"Alright!" went Naruto. "You're a life-saver, Shikamaru!"

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The ANBU outside the barrier watched as the first two Hokages seemed to grow more and more… life-filled, for lack of a better term. "What is that jutsu?" asked the ANBU with the black patch on his mask.

"Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei," answered the cat-masked ANBU. "It's a Kinjutsu that allows the dead to return to this world. Normally, any summoning jutsu would require the user to offer their blood as compensation. But this jutsu summons and holds a dead soul to this plain of existence… I've heard that in order to do that, you need to sacrifice a living person to be the vessel for the targeted soul."

"So that means that those bodies…?"

"… are just collections of dust and ash around the sacrifices that take the form of the summoned soul, or souls as the case may be. They act the same as they did in life, until those Fuuda are inserted. Then they become mindless puppets of the controller."

Throughout this dialogue, Orochimaru was chuckling at the grimace on Sarutobi's face. "It's the simple things in life you enjoy… like the joy and accomplishment you feel, when you wound the one you once called 'Sensei'. I thought that I would arrange it for you ahead of time."

"…"

"Please," said Orochimaru, clapping his hands together. "Enjoy."

In a flurry of motion, Sarutobi had complete an indeterminable amount of seals in a matter of second, then inhaled, and exhaled a gigantic blast of fire. "Katon: Karyuu Endan (Fire Element: Fire Dragon Missile)!!"

In response, a wall of water appeared out of nowhere around the three enemy shinobi. Sarutobi knew what it was, and so did the ANBU. "Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Element: Water Barrier)…" thought the ANBU in awe, then gaped when a water dragon appeared out of nowhere. "Such high level Suiton Jutsu without any water nearby…"

Sarutobi countered by spitting a bunch of mud. "Doton: Doryuuheki (Earth Element: Earth Barrier)!!" The blasts of mud and water collided, then settled on the rooftop. Sarutobi cursed when he saw Shodai making hand motions. "This won't be fun…" he muttered, biting his thumb. "Mokuton is something only Shodai can do…"

"Mokuton: Jukai Kotan (Wood Element: Birth of Dense Woodland)!!"

On that cry, Sarutobi leapt into the air as tree branches appeared out of the tiles of the roof. Within a short amount of time, a small forest had grown within the purple barrier. One of the branches had wrapped around Sarutobi, but not before he had completed the technique he did.

In a puff of smoke, a man-sized monkey with shinobi garb, a tiger-skin overcoat, a Konoha hitai-ate, and white fur had appeared. This was the Monkey King, King Enma.

Enma caught sight of the leering Orochimaru, and snorted. "Orochimaru… so it's come down to this." He turned to Sarutobi and shook his head. "See? This wouldn't be happening if you had killed him while you had the chance."

"That's what this is about."

"A bit late for that, isn't it?" mocked Enma, freeing Sarutobi. The Hokage only looked at the Monkey King, and he immediately understood. "Okay, here comes the Kongou-Nyoi!" Enma spun, and transformed into a black staff that was larger than Sarutobi himself.

Orochimaru chuckled as Sarutobi brandished the staff. 'Now things are interesting,' he thought, as he opened his mouth. A snake came out of his mouth, and then the snake opened its own mouth. This time, a katana came out. But this was no ordinary katana.

"Kusanagi no Tsurugi, eh?" muttered Sarutobi, as Orochimaru brandished his own weapon. "Here we go, Enma!" he roared, leaping into action. He swiped at the first two Hokages, and they ducked in response. This left Orochimaru open, but he blocked the end of the staff coming for him with the side of Kusanagi. He was surprised when Enma's head popped out of the staff with bared fangs, ready to bite his head off.

It was Enma and Sarutobi's turn to look surprised when they were cast backwards by thw two Hokages. "That was rather poor, Sarutobi-sensei," said Orochimaru, licking the blade of his sword. "I mean, a headlong charge and no Kage Bunshin? Really…" The Hebi-Sennin trailed off when an explosion engulfed Shodai and Nidaime. When the smoke cleared, Shodai and Nidaime were missing the lower halves of their respective left and right sides. 'I see,' thought Orochimaru, thoroughly amused. 'He must've done that when he charged.'

'My, the Kongou-Nyoi is a bit heavy,' thought Sarutobi, as he saw the blown off parts of the first two Hokages regenerate. 'So… the Edo Tensei will not disperse if I kill Orochimaru. Looks like I'll have to take care of those tortured souls first. In that case… forgive me, Shodai-sensei… Nidaime-sensei…'

Orochimaru laughed as he watched his former teacher clap his hands together. "My, you've gotten old… I've never seen you strain this much." Reaching for the side of his face, he added, "It's rather pathetic… you, who so many claim as the god of shinobi, defeat by your old age."

With that, he tore off his face, revealing that of a beautiful young woman, complete with womanly voice.

"What the hell is going on?!" asked the patch-wearing ANBU.

"Who is that woman!?" added the cat-masked ANBU.

"Who the hell are you?!" barked Sarutobi.

"Kukuku… Is it so much a shock that you can't figure it out?" At Sarutobi's blank look, she smiled and said, "It is I… Orochimaru."

An audible gasp came Sarutobi and the two ANBU. "My god…" gasped Sarutobi. "What the hell did you do, turn yourself into a woman? From the way it looks, you don't even have the womanly curves…"

"Those books you read have rotted your brain, Sarutobi-sensei," said the still-grinning Orochimaru-woman, with a slight twitch.

"He… she… it is right, Sarutobi," added the talking staff that was Enma. "It's finally done it, though…"

Sarutobi, catching on, said in shock, "You can't have already completed that Kinjutsu…?"

The Orochimaru-woman laughed and said, "It's been a little over a decade since I left Konoha… I suffered quite a bit, too…"

"You terrifying, inhuman, gender-changing …"

"Get on with it."

"That was partially the reason why I picked Minato to be the Yondaime, and not you. That, and your twisted ideology." Sarutobi remembered that day too well. Orochimaru had gone all twitchy when Sarutobi had made Namikaze Minato Yondaime instead of him. Sarutobi thought that he had shrugged it off, but then came the irrefutable evidence that Orochimaru had been responsible for the disappearances of several shinobi. Holding out on the fact that Orochimaru was loyal, he soon had these hopes dashed when he and the two ANBU with him discovered Orochimaru in a room underground working on a body, with bodies all around him.

Orochimaru had relayed to him that he wanted to understand everything in the world, like who made the first jutsu and the like. However, Orochimaru knew that something like that would require the proverbial eternity, so he had an idea: An Immortality Jutsu.

Sarutobi faded into the present, where he heard the Orochimaru-woman say, "My jutsu is a sort of Reincarnation Jutsu… Basically, you find a new body, anchor your soul to it, and possess it. The reason I maintained my old façade was because I wanted you to reminisce about the past. How you'll be forever old, and I'll be forever young…"

Sarutobi frowned. "It's Uchiha Sasuke you're after then, isn't it?"

"Correct."

"Well, this would explain a lot," said Sarutobi. "I always thought you were playing for the other team, but I never knew that you were leaning for the little guys… I mean, if it weren't for that girl among the four keeping us here, I'd have thought that you were only attract…"

"Enough!" barked the Orochimaru-woman. "I'm sick and tired of you and that worthless Jiraiya insinuating that I like the little boys!"

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Elsewhere, a certain bone-user sneezed. At the same time, a certain ANBU-impersonator did as well.

(A/N: This is something which has plagued my mind… What the hell did Orochimaru do to Kabuto and Kimimaro to make them so devoted to him? shudders)

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"Which face is that poor woman?" asked Sarutobi, feeling completely sorry for the woman who's body Orochimaru stole.

"Number two. I intend to possess Sasuke-kun after he's grown a bit more to my tastes…"

"I feel sorry for that Sasuke kid," piped Enma.

"Kukuku… but to have you die, cursing your fate with regret…" The Orochimaru-woman drew… her hand to… her face and covered it, before drawing it down to reveal Orochimaru's real face, complete with his silky male voice. "… I think that this is the better face, hm?"

"Yes," said Sarutobi. "I was started to get creeped out by that feminine look you had…"

Orochimaru did not say a word, but Shodai clapped his hands together. The branches moved around to spear Sarutobi, but he was protected by Enma, who multiplied the Kongou-Nyoi and formed a cage. "What's the matter with you?" asked Enma, an eye on Sarutobi. "This ain't like you…"

"Sorry," said Sarutobi, fading between the past and the present. 'Malice and ambition were always in his eyes. I've always been aware that he had these qualities, but I pretended like I couldn't see it. He was special… a genius bursting with talent, in a time of chaos and disorder… a genius that came once every few decades. I really wanted him to be Yondaime, to carry on the Will of Fire. Sadly, it was this weakness of mine which led to that event long ago, and this situation here…'

"Orochimaru!" yelled Sarutobi, thoroughly determined. "I'll rectify my past mistake and kill you now!"

"It's too late for that, sensei!!" Orochimaru yelled back, as Sarutobi performed Kage Bunshin. "Damn, you've gone old and senile. Shortening your lifespan out of impatience…"

"Sarutobi, no!" said Enma, predicting that his friend was going to do something to get himself killed.

Sarutobi went into an order of seals: Snake… Boar… Ram… Hare… Dog… Rat… Bird… Horse… Snake… then Sarutobi clapped his hands together.

"He's using that Jutsu…" muttered Enma.

Behind Sarutobi, an imposing being flickered into existence. It had purple skin, a pure white kimono, a knife in its fanged mouth, prayer beads in its left hand, and a thick mane of white spiky hair that covered its head, with two curved horns poking out. Tied to the front was what looked like the faded shape of a man.

'That must be the Shinigami,' thought Sarutobi, without any fear. 'Only those who form a contract with this jutsu can see him…'

"No matter what jutsu you do, it is already too late," said Orochimaru confidently. "I've won. Konoha will be destroyed today." At his words, Shodai formed the Tiger Seal. 'Kokuangyo no Jutsu (Bringer of Darkness Technique) !!'

The area around Sarutobi grew dark, and he felt a blow from nowhere, and heard Orochimaru's taunting voice.

"How absurd. You're just one of many leaders that the organization called Konoha has… as time passes, those images in the rocks will crumble, and the organization that is Konoha will forget you."

"Konoha isn't an organization…" said Sarutobi, as images flashed through his head. Shodai… Nidaime… his teammates, Koharu and Homura… his Genin team; made up of Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, Shodai's granddaughter… himself as Hokage… Jiraiya's Genin team… Orochimaru and his apprentice, Anko… Minato and his team; stone-faced Kakashi, mischievous Uchiha Obito, and little Rin…

"Every year, there are shinobi born and raised in Konoha… they live and fight to protect the village, to protect what's most precious to them. They'll go to their deaths to protect their precious…"

New images; a young Iruka… a newborn Naruto… an older Iruka, sans his hitai-ate and Naruto with Iruka's hitai-ate… an older, laid-back Kakashi with his Genin team; Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke… Konohamaru… the rest of the Rookie Nine… Team Gai…

"To me… my most precious… Even if we aren't blood related… they are still my family…"

Orochimaru's voice laughed. "So then, Konoha is a house. Then I'll break you in half, and without the Support Beam, the house will crumble."

Sarutobi laughed. "Even if you kill me, the house won't crumble! I am the one who inherited the Will of Fire from Shodai-sama and Nidaime-sama! I am Sandaime Hokage!! No matter who targets Konoha, there will always be one to rise up with my Will, and protect the house that is Konoha!"

As an image of a bored-looking Minato flickered into his head, Sarutobi clapped his hands together in the Tiger Seal. "Orochimaru!!" he roared. "Feel the full force of this jutsu… a jutsu that not even you have seen! Fuuin Jutsu: Shiki Fuujin (Sealing Technique: Dead Demon Sealing) !!"

As soon as he said that, the Shinigami glanced to his right, and raised his left arm. It became covered in marks as the ancient death god spoke in a guttural language, and as Sarutobi took blow upon blow from the Hokages in the darkness. When the Shinigami thrust it through the shadow of the man tied in front of him, Sarutobi felt a cold shiver run through him. 'Looks like I made it in time,' he thought as he took another blow.

His clones, through their senses, caught the two Hokages in a death grip. As the darkness cleared, Sarutobi watched as the arm of the Shinigami came out of his stomach and separated through his clones, latching into the bodies of the first two Hokages. As the arms withdrew, they drug out blue man-shaped forms.

"Gomen, Sarutobi," said Shodai, as his body began to fall apart.

"We've caused you a lot of trouble," added a smiling Nidaime, as the same happened to him.

"Forgive me, Shodai-sama, Nidaime-sama," said Sarutobi, before he roared, "FUUIN!!"

The arms completely withdrew, sealing the souls of the first two Hokages within the Bunshins. The bodies of the two Hokages fell apart, revealing the dead forms of Zaku and an unknown Oto-nin amidst the ash and dirt.

"You even treat your subordinates lightly," he growled, as his Bunshins disappeared and sent everything to him. As Orochimaru laughed, Sarutobi leapt at his former apprentice, and tried to catch him with Enma's extended arm. Orochimaru countered by sending a flurry of snakes from his arms. "Se'neijashu!!"

He failed to realize that that was a distraction until Sarutobi latched onto him. "Goodbye, Orochimaru!" he growled.

Orochimaru suddenly felt cold, like something had encased his heart in ice. Quickly thinking, he called Kusanagi to him, which pierced through Sarutobi, despite Enma's efforts to stop it. This confused Orochimaru. "Why didn't you try to avoid it?"

"Orochimaru, you fool," said Sarutobi, smiling as blood seeped out of his mouth. "I'm already dead. In order for this jutsu to work, I have to offer myself to Death… This is a Fuuin Jutsu in which the user pays the highest price for its use… Once the ritual is completed, both you and I will be consumed by Death… for this is was the very Jutsu that claimed the Kyuubi!"

For one of the few times in his life, Orochimaru felt true fear. He had heard rumors of this jutsu. Shiki Fuujin… the ultimate in sealing and double K.O. techniques. The target and the user would both be devoured by the Shinigami, where they would forever battle within the Shinigami's stomach. He watched as the Shinigami shifted into his view, then looked in fear as the Shinigami took the knife from his black-fanged maw, cut into the now-apparent soul tied in front of him, and devoured it, licking his chops as if he had eaten a delicious meal. The Shinigami leered at Orochimaru through yellow-irised eyes and let drool dribble down his chin.

"You bastard!!" Orochimaru yelled, desperate to get away. "You old bastard, I'm not going down without a fight!" At this point, Orochimaru could only move a finger, which he did to get Kusanagi to shove itself deeper into Sarutobi.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The Kyodaija were charging through Konoha, wrecking buildings while Konoha shinobi were eager to get out of their way, only to meet in battle with Oto-nin and Suna-nin. Suddenly…

"Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu (Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique)!!" came a voice, and a giant toad with two hilt-less katana's on its back slammed down on the one of the Kyodaija, causing the snake to shriek and disappear in a cloud of smoke. "Behold, ladies and foes beware, it is I, the Gama-Sennin of Mt. Myouboku, the one and only, Jiraiya, Lover of Women!!"

Said Sannin appeared on the head of the toad, with Ibiki, his Chuunin companion, and the two remaining Kyodaija gazing at him with awe… actually, more like they were gazing at him with stunned shock.

'Orochimaru,' thought Jiraiya, glancing at the violet prison at the arena, where he knew his sensei and former teammate to be in. 'What the hell are you doing?'

"Jiraiya-sama," said Ibiki as he approached. "Orochimaru's at the stadium with Sandaime."

"I see," said Jiraiya. "Don't go dying on us, sensei," he muttered to himself.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Kankurou winced as Sasuke landed in front of him. "You're not going anywhere," said the smirking Sasuke.

Kankurou took off his bandaged package and stood in front of his older sister and younger brother. "Temari," he said, his eyes locked on Sasuke's. "Take Gaara and go. I'll buy you two some time." As Temari took off with Gaara in tow, Kankurou sighed. "I guess there's no helping it… I'll be your opponent."

"No…" came a voice, startling both Sasuke and Kankurou. "I'll be your opponent…"

Appearing on a branch, Shino stood with his hands in his jacket pockets.

"You…"

"Why are you here, Shino?"

Two of Shino's Kikaichu crawled up his face as he said, "The bugs told me where you were. Uchiha Sasuke… as of yet, your match with Gaara was cut off. Chase after him, and let me fight this one… I was supposed to fight him anyway…"

"Are you sure?" asked Sasuke. "You think you can handle him?"

"I'll keep him off you for ten minutes…"

Sasuke smirked. "In ten minutes time, I'll be going back to Konoha." With that, he started off again.

Kankurou chuckled. "I don't think I've put fear in you yet. When I'm done with you, you'll experience true terror!"

Shino slightly raised his arms. "And you want me to experience that terror, do you?"

"No," said Kankurou, raising his arms as well. "If you defeat me and catch up to Gaara, you'll experience it then. Until then, you'll have to defeat me! Kugutsu no Jutsu!!" He punctuated that last part by clapping his hands together. The packages bandages flew apart, revealing his four-armed puppet Karasu, which draped itself over Kankurou protectively.

Shino, in response, let his insects emerge from his jacket and surround his arms. The two opponents glared at each other, eager for the other to make a move. "I am a Chuunin of Konohagakure…" said Shino. "I do not underestimate my opponents, and I am relentless in battle."

"Heh, bring it on, Buggy the Mime…"

(A/N: Same fight as in Canon)

Hinata gasped. "Naruto-kun, Shino-kun's in the forest… and he's in trouble."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, and began to slow down. "I like Shino. I'm gonna go help him."

Hinata shook her head and grabbed a passing branch, pulling off the same maneuver as Shikamaru. "I'm his teammate, I'll go."

"But…"

Hinata sent him a look that left no room for argument. True, she had gotten a lot bolder since their union, but really…

Naruto growled, knowing the danger that an injured Shino and still-a-Genin Hinata would be in. "Fine," he said, resigning that she was going. "I'd feel a lot better if Kin went with you, though."

"Hai," said Kin, and she stood next to Hinata. "We catch up as soon as Shino-san's secured."

Naruto nodded his assent. When Hinata and Kin took off, Sakura turned to him and said, "Well, this is a fancy mess we're in now. We're down to two Genin and a dog, with four teammates spread out behind us."

Naruto said nothing, but motioned that Sakura and Pakkun go on. "I'll catch up in a few," he said, turning around and going into his defensive state. "I can feel company coming…"

Sakura, feeling the incoming chakra of the enemy, nodded, and she and Pakkun were off, chasing down the reckless Sasuke.

Naruto glared at the two Oto-nin who arrived. "What's this?" said the one on the right, mockingly. "A little Konoha-nin lost in the woods?"

"The woods are a dangerous place for a little boy," added his partner.

"You're the ones in danger," said Naruto, putting his hands in the cross-seal. Two Naruto's flickered into existence, and the three leapt at the Oto-nin.

The Oto-nin drew katana which they used to slash at the incoming three. To their amazement, all three burst into smoke. They were about to spread out to search for him, when Naruto dropped out of the treetops before them, his eyes a shimmering blue with four black triangles. "Inpakuto!" he snapped, and the two Oto-nin felt something slam into them, knocking them backwards. Struggling to their feet, they watched in amazement as Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, then they felt a crushing pressure around their bodies.

Looking behind them, they saw that they were in the clutches of a large Dragonfly. This was no Dragonfly nymph… this was an adult Dragonfly, with a set of mandibles on the side of its head, and it grinned (something that should be impossible for an insect), revealing a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Its neck extended from the thorax for a foot-and-a-half, and its thorax had the standard six legs of an insect on the side, near the bottom.

The first pair of legs, however, seemed less like legs and more like arms. Like Chi, they had bulky forearms with three blade-like spikes on the outside, and what was supposed to be a combination hand and claw (well, a massive claw, then) jutting out from the end of the forearms; except that these were more like crab pincers instead of claws.

On its back were four large leathery-tipped wings (yet translucent as Dragonfly wings are), and its abdomen was thin and the same size (length-wise) as the head and abdomen combined. It had a blade-spike on every abdomen segment, and the end of the abdomen had two curved spikes; which could be addressed as stingers.

The insect's head had a spiked crest going from the top to the back, and it had large reflective ash-green eyes with diamond-shaped pupils. In between the eyes were two small twitching antennae, and around the top of the eyes were six triangular plates; in addition, the Dragonfly had a red bandana around its neck, which bore the kanji "Juu-Go".

"Reinogan no Tomoe: Shougeki," said Naruto from his vantage spot on the Dragonfly's neck, his eyes still activated. "You've been the newest targets of Shougeki… basically I sent a burst of chakra from my eyes that hit you with the force of a half-ton boulder… which is why my clan members nicknamed it Impact Vision."

The two Oto-nin knew that he wouldn't be telling them this unless he knew that they wouldn't be able to tell anyone else. They paled as they felt the pincers tighten around them, and grew frantic in their attempts to stay alive. "Wait, kid…"

"You should have stayed away," said Naruto. "Too bad… I'm adverse to killing someone defenseless… but you two were going to kill me and my mates. Farewell."

With that, the Dragonfly opened its jaws and bit down on the screaming Oto-nin, silencing their cries with the crunching of bone and the severing of flesh. When Juu-Go (the Dragonfly's name/designation) finished his meal, he looked back at Naruto. "What do you want me to do now, Naruto-sama?" he asked, with a deep male voice.

"Go back and find Hinata-chan and Kin-chan. They're helping a fellow Konoha-nin. Take them and him to the village, but don't kill or maim any shinobi with the Leaf on their foreheads. Anyone else is fair game."

Juu-Go let Naruto slip down, and bowed his head. When he raised his wings, Naruto quickly added, "And if you need to mention me, refer to me as 'Tenmuujin'. And tell them that I'm fighting Shukaku-Gaara."

"Hai, Naruto-sama," rumbled Juu-Go, and he took off through the forest. Naruto immediately took off in the opposite direction, using chakra to fuel his run.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Gaara's eyes snapped open. "Temari, put me down," he groaned.

Startled, Temari stopped on a tree branch and lowered him to his knees. She winced as Gaara clutched his head in pain. 'Damn, this is bad,' she thought, looking around. 'Shukaku's about to come out at any moment, and I'm all alone out here…'

"Temari, leave…"

Temari was about to ask "Why?", but Gaara smacked her away from him and glared at their new arrival.

Sasuke landed in front of Gaara, who clutched his head again. "I don't know what your village's game is, but I'm here to stop you. Also, I wanted to fight the real you."

"Moron," said Temari, sitting up and wiping blood from the corners of her mouth. "That's the last thing that you want."

Gaara face began to crack, and his right side splintered as if something beneath his skin was growing. "You, one who is strong… You, one who has companions… You, one who has ambition… You, one who is like me…"

The cracks on Gaara's right side grew more pronounced, and he covered his left eye. "Once I kill you… I'll have destroyed all that… Only then, will I survive… Only then, will I feel… ALIVE!!" Gaara fell to his knees, retching and writhing. Before Temari and Sasuke's eyes, his right arm malformed and grew larger, becoming the arm that grabbed Sasuke earlier. And Gaara's face… his face twisted and extended, to become that of a raccoon's. Sasuke shivered as that same golden eye appeared. "Come!!" he howled. "Help me feel it! Help me feel alive!!"

"Kuso!" cursed Temari, as she shivered. "It's starting!"

Sasuke flinched at the golden eye that gazed at him balefully. "It's that eye from before," he muttered, then gaped as the monster-Gaara appeared in front of him out of nowhere.

Temari saw the grove of trees that Sasuke was in get pulverized, and then she caught sight of him hiding behind another tree. Temari shivered in fear as the monster-Gaara roared, "Are you afraid of me, Uchiha Sasuke!? Are you afraid of my existence!?"

Sasuke remembered when he met Gaara over the month of training. Gaara had relayed some crap to him about the meaning of existence. That didn't matter at this point; what mattered was whether or not he'd get out of this mess. Performing the seals for Chidori, he held his electrified hand as he pictured his brother's face in place of Gaara's. "Itachi…" he muttered. "You left me alive so that you wouldn't feel guilty about killing the entire clan. You chose me to be an Avenger… so I would hunt you down, and kill you!"

Before Temari's startled eyes, Sasuke leapt out from his hiding place at the monster-Gaara, and tore through the malformed sand arm. The monster-Gaara roared in pain, then began to laugh maniacally.

"Oh no," Temari moaned out. "He tried to counter Gaara… now we're all dead…"

Shukaku-Gaara clutched his bisected sand arm with his human one as he cackled out, "This is why I'm so excited… I just got the answer!" Gazing madly at nothing, he laughed out, "This pain… Defeating a man strong enough to hurt me… utterly destroying him… That gives me an even greater sense of existence!!"

Sasuke grinned wryly, now recalculating his odds of winning in his head.

Temari, on the other hand, was terrified beyond belief. 'Not once, but twice has Uchiha Sasuke managed to hurt Gaara… He's a monster…' Temari shook her head, ridding herself of that thought. 'No… the real monster lies within poor Gaara… and it's starting to come out, with the right arm and face as evidence…'

"More!!" roared Gaara, as his sand arm reconnected, and a tail of sand appeared from the base of his gourd. "More! I want MORE!!"

"What the hell is going on?" asked Sasuke frantically, Sharingan activated. "He keeps changing…" Sasuke cursed as Gaara flew at him. Leaping up, he was barely missed by the mad projectile that was Shukaku-Gaara. Standing upside down, Sasuke watched as Gaara grabbed multiple tree limbs with five extending sand fingers.

"Dodging his attacks would have been impossible if I wasn't reading his movements," he muttered. "I would have been long gone without these eyes." Performing seals, he inhaled, then shot out a massive ball of fire.

"Shi ne!!"

"Okay, so fire won't work," said Sasuke, crossing his arms as Shukaku-Gaara plowed into him, knocking him backwards. He landed in a tree, with Shukaku-Gaara howling and taunting him. 'That was my second Chidori earlier,' he thought, grimacing in pain. 'Kakashi said that using a third one was a death wish… but I'm out of options!'

"You're too soft!" howled Gaara. "You lack hatred! The power of hatred is the power to kill… the power to kill is the power of vengeance… and your hatred is weaker than mine!!"

"Shut… up…" growled Sasuke, as he raised an electrified arm. He made that choice as soon as Gaara started talking, and pictured Itachi in Gaara's place. He and Gaara leapt at each other, Lightening versus Sand. When they landed on opposite ends, all was silent, except for the wind.

Gaara's sand arm dropped to the tree limb he was on, still hanging on from tendrils. Sasuke crouched, the marks of the Juuin Fuuin spread on the left side of his face. Gaara growled in pain, and Sasuke dropped to the surface of the tree. "Damned Juuin," he groaned. He watched as Gaara leapt at him, and cursed himself for his idiocy.

Gaara was ready to obliterate Sasuke, when a blurred figure appeared out of nowhere and delivered a solid aerial Roundhouse kick to Gaara's face, yelling, "Kee-yah, bitch!!"

Sasuke suddenly found Sakura by his side, and Pakkun as well. "You two…" he gasped out, coughing up blood due to the Juuin Fuuin.

"N-not again," moaned Sakura, eyeing the flame-like marks of the Juuin. "Kakashi-sensei said that the mark was taken care of!"

Naruto glared at Gaara with his first Tomoe activated. "Sakura-chan…" he said. "Get Sasuke and Temari-chan out of here, and join up with Hinata-chan and Kin-chan. Get Sasuke to Kakashi-sensei."

"He's right," said Pakkun. "We're clearly outmatched, and I'm not a fighting-type."

"Uzumaki!!" howled Shukaku-Gaara, crouching on the branch across from Naruto. "I failed to kill you last time, but I shall not fail this time!!"

"Get out of here!!" yelled Naruto, half-facing Sakura, Sasuke, and Pakkun. That was a mistake, as Shukaku-Gaara swatted him aside and leapt at the other three.

"Die, Uchiha Sasuke!!" he roared, then blinked in confusion as three Sakura's stood in front of Sasuke, each wielding a kunai. Gaara felt a memory hit him… Sakura looked exactly like his uncle, Yashamaru. On that note, he slammed his sand tail into the three Sakura's, revealing the left one to be the real one. He then slammed his sand arm into Sakura, pinning her to the tree behind her and knocking her unconscious.

Temari was by Naruto's side in an instant, and helped him to his feet. "Naruto-kun, all is lost! Poor Gaara is channeling Shukaku now… get Sakura-chan and the others away! Nothing short of a miracle can save Konoha, now!"

Naruto spat out some blood, and said, "So little faith, Temari-chan? I'm going to stop Gaara, because I'm going to be Hokage! And a Hokage wouldn't let his village down!"

Meanwhile, Gaara grabbed his pain-filled head with his human arm. "Why?" he asked, both to the unconscious Sakura and himself, remembering a time long ago…

Flashback…

A six-year-old Gaara watched from a swing as four older boys played a game of football (read: Soccer). He clutched at his teddy in sadness; he wanted to play, but everyone was much too afraid of him…

He watched as one of the boys kicked the ball up, and it landed in a wall. While they moaned about not having learned any useful jutsu, Gaara figured that he could do a good deed by using his sand to get the ball.

The boys watched in amazement as their ball floated down, but stiffened as they saw who caught the ball. "S-Sabaku no Gaara…" one of them stuttered.

On one accord, the four turned around screaming, "Run away, run away! Run away!!"

"Wait!" said Gaara, reaching for them. The sand leapt from around him and caught three of the boys. "Don't leave me alone…" he whispered. "I don't want to be alone anymore."

As the sand arced toward the fourth boy, a blond blue-eyed figure leapt into its way. It was revealed to be Yashamaru, who called out, "Gaara-sama, please calm yourself down!"

Later found Gaara gazing at a picture of a woman who looked like Yashamaru. That woman was his mother, and he gazed at her picture for only a moment before raising the knife in his hand to his wrist. He was tired of being alone, he wanted to be loved. Most of all, he wanted his mother.

"It's no use," he said sadly, as the sand prevented the knife from penetrating his skin. Clearly, Shukaku wanted to stay alive as long as possible, despite the misery he caused his host.

"Gaara-sama, as a member of your Medical Team (at Kazekage-sama's command), my duty is to protect you from harm. Although the sand will protect you, I must ask you not to do that again."

Gaara gazed at his uncle sadly, then asked, "Yashamaru… do injuries hurt?"

Unconsciously rubbing his bandaged head, Yashamaru chuckled and said, "Yes… but only a little, it's nothing serious."

"What… is pain?" asked Gaara sincerely. "I've never gotten injured, so I don't know what it's like."

Yashamaru rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then said, "Afflictive or dreadful… like you've been beaten or cut. You feel like you're in a position where you'll never stay like your original self. I can't explain it very well, but I can say that it is unpleasant…"

Gaara gazed at Yashamaru sadly, then asked, "Do… do you hate me?"

As an image of his smiling sister flickered into his head, Yashamaru was silent for a moment. Then he grinned and said, "People always get hurt… either by themselves or by others. But it's really not that easy to hate someone from an experience like that."

Gaara smiled a little and said, "I think I understand now… I think that means that I'm hurt, like everyone else…"

That caught Yashamaru by surprise. "…"

"Although it's not bleeding," said Gaara, clutching his heart, "the pain in here never goes away."

As his smiling sister reappeared his head, Yashamaru took the blade from Gaara and cut his own finger. "Bodies bleed from physical injuries," he said to the wide-eyed Gaara. "But eventually, the pain goes away with time, as well and medic supplies." Holding his own heart, he added, "But emotional injuries… they're much worse. They're harder to heal, and sometimes, the pain never goes away… What you feel, Gaara-sama, is heartache."

Gaara's sad eyes fell to the floor. Now he knew why he always felt as he did…

"But there is one way to be rid of heartache," said Yashamaru. At Gaara's ready look, he said "As inconvenient as it may seem, it can only be given to you willingly, and by someone else… That cure is love."

"Love?"

"Hai."

"Where can I get some?"

Yashamaru chuckled at Gaara's naïveté. "You're already getting some." Looking at the picture of his sister, he added, "Love is the care and devotion you feel for those most precious to you. I believe that my dear sister loved you very much before her death. Suna no Shukaku is an entity of offense… its absolute defense is a proof of maternal affection. Your mother's will remains in the sand around you to protect you."

Gaara hugged his uncle, feeling a bit happier. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Yashamaru."

Yashamaru hugged him back, and sucked on his cut finger. "You're most very welcome, Gaara-sama."

After Gaara left carrying a bowl of ointments, Yashamaru slowly began to bandage his finger. As his sister's smiling face appeared in his head, he almost regretted what he was going to do that night.

Almost.

xxxxxxxxxxx

It was nighttime, and the full moon periodically peeked out from behind darkened clouds. Gaara knocked on the door of one of the boys' house. The blonde opened his door a cracked, and jumped a little. Gaara held forth the jar. "Here," he said sincerely. "I'm sorry about earlier. It looks like it hurts a lot, so I brought you some ointment…"

The boy narrowed his eyes. Even though it appeared that Gaara was trying to make up for what happened earlier, it still didn't take the pain away. So he settled for a "Go the hell away," and shut the door in Gaara's shocked face. Idly, as he sat with his back to the door, he slowly registered that he might regret saying that later.

Gaara, on the other hand, sat on a ledge at the Kazekage tower. After he had been brutally spurned by the boy, he had accidentally killed a villager that gave him those eyes he hated. His village hated him, his brother and sister were never around, and his father hated him with a vengeance. He curled in a ball, moaning, "Yashamaru…"

His sand reacted, shielding his from thrown kunai. He spun around to see a masked Jounin, who threw more kunai at him. Gaara, in his pain of heartache, sent a blast of sand at his assailant. The assailant dropped to the ground, bleeding heavily, as Gaara took away the mask with trembling hands.

It was Yashamaru. "Well done… Gaara-sama…" he gasped out. And all Gaara could do was cry.

"Why?" he cried. "Why you? You were always there for me…" He started crying even harder. "You were my only pre…"

"It was an order," said Yashamaru, not wanting to hear that word from Gaara. "I was ordered to assassinate you… by Kazekage-sama… your father…"

That made Gaara sick, and he proved it by losing his lunch next to his dying uncle, who gazed with some measure of regret.

"Why?" moaned Gaara, sobbing. "Why?"

"You were born for the sole purpose of being Shukaku's Jinchuuriki… Until today, you were watched as an experimental subject," said Yashamaru. "When it became evident that you are not able to control the powers of the Sand as of yet, it became clear that you would be a danger to Sunagakure itself…"

Gaara, clinging to hope, asked, "S-So you were into this… it's all father's fault…" That hope was dashed by Yashamaru's declaration that he could have chosen to ignore the order, but he didn't because…

"… I've always resented you, for stealing the life of my beloved sister in exchange for your life. I've tried to look at you as her hope and joy… but the truth is that she was forced to birth you, and she died cursing this village. That is my heartache…"

"She named you Gaara, the demon who loves itself… fight for yourself, and love yourself was what she said. She wanted you as her weapon, her sword of vengeance to be feared in this world. That is the sad truth… you were never loved!" With that, he opened his vest, to reveal numerous Exploding Tags. "And now, Gaara-sama… please die."

The last thing Yashamaru saw before he was consumed by the massive explosion was his sister's face… only, she wasn't smiling. Rather, it appeared that she was angry. 'Sister?' he thought. 'Did you really love him? You do not smile for me now… so does that mean… that I was wrong?'

Yashamaru would find his answer in the afterlife. At present, there was nothing left of him but smears of blood in a crater. Gaara was safe from harm, protected by the sand. However, he was broken. His mind was shattered; he had never been loved, no one loved him, no one cared about him… no one but the Sand.

At that moment, throughout the village reverberated a loud cry of pain and agony, and soul-wrenching heartache. Many recognized the voice, and hid themselves in an attempt to block out the noise, to avoid the horrible truth.

Gaara stood to his feet, his eyes cold and filled with hate. Upon his forehead stood the newly carved kanji "Ai". He would never cry again. He would never forgive… he would never forget. "I understand now," he whispered. "I am Gaara… I'm all alone. I won't trust anyone, I won't love anyone, I'm all on my own…"

That was the death of the old Gaara and the birth of the new Gaara. Ironically, for years afterward, all of Suna would comment that they missed the old Gaara, who just wanted to be loved.

End Flashback…

Temari remembered that day, too. She had always loved her little brother, but her father had never let her or Kankurou near him. She wanted her little brother, but those days were gone… and she knew that she had some part in it, by not doing anything.

The present Gaara held Sakura in place. "What's the matter?" he roared to Naruto. "Weren't you going to run away?"

Sakura moaned out Naruto and Sasuke's names, and Gaara added, "What are they to you?"

"Sasuke's my rival and teammate!" yelled Naruto. "Sakura-chan's one of my mates! Now let her go, and take me instead!"

"How about… no," snarled Gaara, as he tightening his hold on Sakura.

"Let her go, now!!" roared Naruto, his bleeding red and his fingernails lengthening. He jumped at Gaara, who swatted him to the side. Naruto cursed, and performed the seals for Summoning. 'Ain't no way in hell I'm bringing out Dragonfly's while Sasuke's awake,' he thought. 'I'll try for Gamaken.' "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

In a puff of smoke, he got a toad… just not the one he wanted or expected.

"Hey, Naruto-nii-chan!" said Gamakichi, putting his hands in a peace sign. "What's up? Do you wanna play again?"

"Gamakichi, this is really a bad time," said Naruto. He winced as Gaara let even more sand cover him; now his upper body was covered in sand and like even more beast-like, with tattoo his only sign. "Scratch that," he said. "Things just got worse."

"Comrades?" laughed Gaara, still holding Sakura to the tree. "I fight for myself!" He detached his hand holding Sakura, and it kept her pinned there as he grew a new one. "She won't be released from my sand until you beat me," he growled. "On top of that, the sand will get tighter, and eventually it will kill her…"

Temari watched as Shukaku-Gaara launched Suna Shuriken from his arms, driving them into Naruto. 'I want to do something,' she thought, 'but Gaara will kill me, sibling or not. Plus… he's still transforming.'

Gamakichi nudged Naruto to get up. Naruto got to his knees, and spat out blood. "Nii-chan," said Gamakichi, pointing at Gaara, "What is he?"

"He's a Jinchuuriki, like I was," said Naruto, noting that he was exactly like Gaara when he was young. But then, he found his precious ones, and he didn't care what the villagers thought. "At least I know what could have happened," he muttered. "I could have ended up like him…"

As Sakura let out another cry of pain, Gaara taunted Naruto. "What's the matter? Are you afraid… do you fear my existence? Fighting for yourself, or fighting for others… what do you choose? The answer is to fight for yourself! That is what it means to be the strongest!!"

Gaara clenched a beastly sand hand and said, "Fight me! Fight me with your power, and I'll crush those powers! If you don't fight me… the pink-haired girl will die!!"

That spurned Naruto into action, and he leapt at Gaara, performing Kage Bunshin. Gaara merely inhaled, then exhaled a blast of sand and wind. "Fuuton: Sajin Mugen Daitoppa (Wind Element: Great Infinite Sand Breakthrough)!!" The blast slammed into the Naruto's and sent them backwards, destroying all but the original and slamming him into a tree.

"I won't kill you for now," smirked Gaara. "I'll just play with you… try to figure when you'll try to save your own ass… not that I'll let you leave this place…"

"You're underestimating me," smirked Naruto, standing up shakily. "Bad move."

Gaara laughed and slammed an arm into Naruto. "This is only the beginning!!" he howled, as he pummeled Naruto relentlessly.

As he hit the side of a tree, Naruto spat out another gout of blood. 'What's going on?' he thought. 'Why am I letting him beat me around?' Standing shakily to his feet, he activated his eyes, then felt them widen. 'So that's it then…'

Gaara glared at him. "His eyes have changed…" he muttered. Crouching, he grinned. "No matter… I'll still break him in two!" He launched himself at Naruto, then halted as someone stood before him.

Naruto blinked blearily. "T-Temari-chan?"

Temari stood in front of Gaara, arms outstretched. "Gaara, I can't let you kill him."

"Get out of my way, Temari," growled Gaara, baring his fangs and claws. "I won't hesitate to kill you."

"And you have all rights to," she said, scared out of her mind, but determined not to let her Naruto-kun die. "I was wrong not to be there for you when no one else would. Yes, it was father's fault, but it was mine as well for doing nothing."

"Bah," snarled Gaara, rearing back an arm. "Petty sentiments are useless on the battlefield… I fight for myself. That is what I am… Gaara! The Demon who fights for Himself!!"

He thrust forward, but was thrown backwards by Naruto's cry of "Inpakuto!!"

Temari look behind to see Naruto's shimmering pupil-less blue eyes [with four small black triangles return to their normal ocean blue. "What did you do?"

"I hit him with Shougeki," said Naruto, as he motioned her aside. "But now… I'll take him on without using the Reinogan."

"He'll kill you!"

"This has to be done, Temari-chan," said Naruto, glaring at the rising Gaara. "I was getting knocked around before because I was relying on my eyes. My eyes may be powerful, but they're a bad point if I'm in a long drawn-out fight. So I've decided to take him on as is, and prove that I can be strong without my eyes."

With that, he left Temari on the branch and leapt into the air, performing his signature technique. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!"

As five Naruto's came at him, Gaara grinned and lashed out with an arm. He caught three of them, then watched as the fourth Naruto launched the fifth one at him. Snarling, he used his other arm to catch the airborne Naruto, but this one used Kage Bunshin to replace himself with another Bunshin. Gaara was surprised by this, and caught unawares as the sixth Naruto multiplied via Kage Bunshin, and a seventh Naruto leapt off the sixth one's back and up towards Shukaku-Gaara.

"Kurae!" yelled Naruto, as he thrust forward with a kunai. "Sennen Goroshi!!"

Gaara blinked as a kunai was shoved right were his crack was supposed to be. After a moment of silence, he glanced back at the squinty-eyed Naruto and slammed his tail into him. And then he heard the hissing…

Right as Gaara heard the hissing, the falling Naruto smiled and said, "Katsu."

The exploding tag went off, engulfing Shukaku-Gaara in flames and smoke.

Sasuke came out of nowhere and blocked Naruto's fall with his body, and the two fell against a nearby tree. Slanting his eyes, Pakkun commented, "That was some damn good techniques."

As the smoke began to clear, Temari gazed transfixed at the spot where her brother was, and Gamakichi asked, "Is he dead?" When the smoke completely cleared, they saw that Gaara was not dead. But he was pretty messed up.

His right side was bleeding sand and nearly destroyed. Supporting himself in the newly-formed crater of the tree, he chuckled to himself. 'I didn't expect him to target the base of my tail…' he thought. 'I wasn't injured, but look what he did to my body… Seems I underestimated him like he said… oh well, guess I'll have to end it here…'

Sasuke, the left side of his body still covered with the marks of the Curse, laughed tiredly. "Back to your old self, are you? And after all that… and you still managed to hit him only once?"

"Bite me."

"Naruto," said Sasuke, unsteadily getting to his feet. "You have to save Sakura. Once you've got her… run as far as you can get. I'll stall him as long as I can… even if it's only for a while…"

"Sasuke…"

"If I die, then that means that I reached my limits… but never again, will I stand by and let my comrades die… I've already lost everything before, and I won't let those dear to me die before my eyes again."

'Those dear…' thought Naruto, reevaluating Sasuke in his head. 'So he's not a cold-hearted self-absorbed bastard like I thought…' "That's right…" he said out loud, catching Sasuke's attention. "Me and him are the same… we grew up in the same hell of sadness and loneliness… at first, I thought he was strong because he was fighting for himself. I was wrong… his strength isn't real… real strength comes from one's willingness to die for those precious to them!"

Naruto clapped his hands together and felt the surge of energy that came with unlocking his red chakra. But this time, it felt different… it felt like something in his head stretched and snapped, and he felt limber and nimble. Putting it aside, he roared, "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!"

Everybody was surprised to see the amount of Kage Bunshin in the area. "Bunshin," whispered Temari. "Lots of them…"

"Sorry to have kept you waiting!" yelled Naruto, pointing at Shukaku-Gaara. "The Uzumaki Naruto Chronicles start right, right now!!"

With a loud cry, all of the Naruto's in the area converged on Gaara. Gaara tried to block with his sand, but Naruto countered but having some Bunshin kick him in the air, while the others rained blow upon blow on Gaara's sandy body. Two Bunshin delivered right crosses to the battered, swaying form of Shukaku-Gaara.

The force of the blows forced Gaara to the ground, and he lay in a crater that formed on impact. "What… is he?" he muttered. Seeing the Naruto Bunshins coming at him, he muttered. "All of a sudden… this power… how…" Feeling his rage boil up within him, he roared, "How can I lose to a guy like this?!?"

At this point, the final lines had been breached. A wave of sand and chakra blasted through the area, destroying Bunshin and knocking debris everywhere. Sasuke, awestruck by his teammate's performance, had a tree limb slam into him and was knocked unconscious.

Temari, who had avoided any real damage, gazed up in fear at the behemoth who appeared before them. "It's… it's finally out," she gasped in fear.

A gigantic Tanuki with a scale-covered tail and blue designs all over it loomed above the trees. It raised it's massive arm, and appeared to reach out for something.

That something was Naruto, as he watched sand swirl around him. Knowing what was coming if he didn't hurry, he registered that he had a lot of chakra left. Wiping blood from his mouth on the sand around him, he performed the seals for Kuchiyose.

Temari cursed as she tried to move, but was unable to. "My body…"

"To think that I was forced to use this form," reverberated Gaara's voice from the Tanuki. "This is the end for you… Sabaku Sou…"

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!" yelled Naruto, as the cocoon of sand exploded. A giant cloud of smoke emerged from it as well, and as it cleared…

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Tee-hee, evil cliffie! Yes, I realize how messed-up that it, but I want to know what you think Naruto should have summoned: Toad Boss, or Dragonfly Boss?

In regards to Sasuke, I really think that he's a prick. A redeemable prick, but a prick nonetheless. I honestly think that he treats those who can make him stronger like gum: Chews them up while their good, then spit them out once the taste is gone. And he's also got that bad tendency to dislike those who get stronger than him, like Naruto. In Canon, he's being portrayed as someone who wants to get his priority thing done, then deal with the mess he left behind later. Personally, I can really see him ending up with either Sakura or Karin (in Canon), but he's still unlikable, even at fifteen.

In regards to Cloverfield, let's look at the details:

The monster is reptilian.

The monster uses it's arms to walk.

The monster has jaws that opens four ways.

The monster has no visible legs, but it has stumps that look like tentacles where the legs should be.

Based off these characteristics, I think that the monster was… Cretaceous Rex from the series Godzilla the Series, made after the unsuccessful 1998 Godzilla. At least, that was my thoughts before I saw the mini-monsters. But since Cretaceous Rex was a mutated bacteria, I can see those things as mini-bacteria-monsters that spawn off of him. I think that that was a brief nod-off to the series, which incidentally did much better than the movie itself.

Those are my thoughts on both those subjects, and to make up for the cliffhanger… OMAKE TIME!!

Omake #1:

With that, he tore off his face, revealing that of a beautiful young woman, complete with womanly voice.

"What the hell is going on?!" asked the patch-wearing ANBU.

"Who is that woman!?" added the cat-masked ANBU.

"Who the hell are you?!" barked Sarutobi.

"Kukuku… Is it so much a shock that you can't figure it out?" At Sarutobi's blank look, she smiled and said, "It is I… Orochimaru."

While Sarutobi stood speechless, Orochimaru continued. "The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but a learner. Now I am the master."

"Only a master of evil and gender-changing, Orochimaru."

"What's with the Star Wars quotes?" asked the patch-masked ANBU to his partner.

"What's Star Wars?"

Omake #2:

Kankurou winced as Sasuke landed in front of him. "You're not going anywhere," said the smirking Sasuke.

"No…" came a voice, startling both Sasuke and Kankurou. "I'll be your opponent…"

Appearing on a branch, Shino stood with his hands in his jacket pockets.

"You…"

"Why are you here, Shino?"

Two of Shino's Kikaichu crawled up his face as he said, "The bugs told me where you were. The bugs tell me everything… they even told me that you're wearing your brother's lucky boxers… the black ones with the ash-gray weasels and the red hearts on it."

Sasuke felt his cheeks grow hot as he yelled, "If they work for Itachi, then they work for me!"

Shino turned to the laughing Kankurou and said, "The bugs also tell me that you're wearing your sister's red lace G-String lingerie… her favorite ones, if I'm wrong; and that she's going to hurt you for stealing her favorite pair."

Kankurou reddened as Sasuke started laughing at him. "They're soft and silky," he yelled. "They make me feel like I can do anything, and like I'm wearing nothing at all!"

Shino raised an eyebrow. "The bugs also say that in an undetermined amount of time, you will partake in a bizarre mission that will have you in a bizarre fight of knights [with green stones versus shinobi. And you will have the same outfit as you do now."

"Well, now I know you're full of crap."

"And Sasuke will be molested by a redhead around age fifteen… or at least it's implied," added Shino.

"I think you should stop talking to the bugs, Shino."

Omake #3:

Gaara was ready to obliterate Sasuke, when a blurred figure appeared out of nowhere and delivered a solid aerial Roundhouse kick to Gaara's face, yelling, "Kee-yah, bitch!!"

Sasuke suddenly found Sakura by his side, and Pakkun as well. "You two…" he gasped out, coughing up blood due to the Juuin Fuuin.

"N-not again," moaned Sakura, eyeing the flame-like marks of the Juuin. "Kakashi-sensei said that the mark was taken care of!"

Naruto glared at Gaara with his first Tomoe activated. "Sakura-chan…" he said, with a magically-appearing green-colored scouter over his left eye. "What does the scouter say about his power level?"

Sakura gazed through her own pink-colored scouter at Shukaku-Gaara as the numbers reached four digits and kept going. "It's over nine thousand!!" she yelled.

"What, nine thousand!?" yelled Naruto in shock and anger.

Omake #4:

In a puff of smoke, he got a toad… just kidding, he really got...

"Battletoads!?" said Gaara in surprise, as three muscular toads appeared in front of him.