The Cycle of Pain

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

AN: See ya'll at the bottom.


Naruto's heart was pounding. No scratch that, his heart was hammering away at his rib cage. He had faith in himself but this was on a grander scale. Like nothing he had ever experienced in his life time. As he looked over the crowd he felt his pulse quicken.

Watching him fight were the very same people that had neglected him all his life. The same people that had been nothing but rude and nasty to him. All he ever did was mind his own business and do his job. Nothing more and nothing less.

Yet somehow he felt the desire to protect them. He felt an inkling to make sure that they were protected from all kinds of harm. What sparked this desire? The one and only Mitarashi Anko. She only had turned most of Naruto's hate in to a weapon for the defense of the village, rather than a weapon to destroy.

What was even more surprising is that Naruto enjoyed it. He liked not having to feel hate in his body. It was such a vile thing after all. And while he had forgiven Anko and Kurenai he will never forget what they kept from him. That was just something he couldn't let go.

In a way he kind of felt like his Father. Orochimaru was a very hateful person for reasons he couldn't figure out. Naruto felt a pang of sadness in his heart for his anger driven Father. The poor sod was ruled by his baser emotions.

That brought up another topic in his head. He would never get the chance to learn about his Father. The chances of Orochimaru sitting down and actually being a father were slim to none. The realization of this fact cut Naruto deeply to his heart.

"Hello Naruto." A soft voice from behind him called out. Naruto turned around only to smile at the sight. Haku had come to visit him before due to enter the fight.

"Hey Haku. How are you?" The girl smiled at him.

"I've been doing good. The Yondaime made me a Chunin and had me running missions for the past month. I had enough saved up to buy a home for myself." Naruto smiled at her.

"Good job. I'm glad to see you are getting along in Konoha without me." The ice user frowned at Naruto. The boy wondered what he said that made her upset.

"That's actually what I came to talk with you about." Naruto raised a brow. He had a pretty good idea of what she wanted to ask him.

"Yes?" He inquired. The girl sucked in a breath before letting it out slowly.

"I want you to come live with me." Naruto sighed. He knew that was what she was going to ask him. It made sense right? Why else would she bring up her home with him?

"Haku, you know I can't do that." The girl looked so distraught and crestfallen that Naruto thought about accepting her offer simply because of that. But luckily the boy stood his ground.

"Please Master Naruto. Being without you is slowly becoming unbearable for me." Haku's voice sounded destroyed. Naruto felt horrible about the situation. He had saved Haku from one master only to be tricked in to becoming her new master. He didn't like the role but she did need him. Without him she would slowly lose faith in life again.

"Fine." He finally grumbled out. The girl lit up like her whole world just became brighter. She bowed many times. Naruto quickly looked around to make sure no one saw anything.

"Oh thank you!" She sped over and wrapped him in a hug. Naruto squirmed slightly in the odd embrace but relented when he realized Haku wasn't letting him go quite yet. Suddenly he felt a very unwanted presence in the room with them.

"Why Naruto, why didn't you tell me you were a master?" A smirking Anko emerged from the shadows. Haku quickly put Naruto down and fought down a blush of embarrassment. Naruto folded his arms over his chest and frowned.

"Tell again, why are you spying on me?"

"I came to wish you luck of course!" Naruto raised a brow at that.

"How much do you have riding on me?" Anko's smirk grew twice its size.

"Enough to make me a very happy lady. So do your Sensei a favor and win." She smiled before puffing away in smoke. Naruto grumbled about crazy teachers before he realized who was still in the room.

"Who was that?" Naruto sighed. This was going to be rough.

"That was my Sensei for the past month. Mitarashi Anko." Haku tilted her head sideways.

"Do you want me to kill her?" She asked calmly but Naruto could feel the ice in her words when she spoke. He held up a hand and shook his head.

"No, I actually like her as my Sensei." Haku nodded. Naruto was actually relieved after that. He was afraid Haku might kill her simply because she thought that Anko made him angry. Still it would be and interesting fight to see once Haku got a bit stronger.

"We had better get going. No telling who is waiting for us." Naruto turned away from the window he was staring out of and left the room, Haku close behind him. The two walked up a flight of stairs to get to the stand where all the others were.

"Hello Naruto, I thought you might not show up." Shino commented. Naruto smirked, glad that his teammate could ease a slight bit of his tension.

"Not in your lifetime." Shino adjusted his glassed and shrugged.

"I plan on living for a substantial amount of time." Naruto chuckled.

"The Shinobi world is a funny place." He took this time to look around. Sasuke was there in a new outfit. Hinata was next to Sasuke and watching over the arena. Neji was glaring at Naruto through the corner of his eyes. Mino was laughing at a joke that Shikamaru made about the situation. The Suna siblings were all in their own little corner. Everyone was here and ready.

"Hey, you nervous?" Mino snuck up on Naruto and asked him. The pale shinobi moved his silted eyes to meet the boy's piercing blue ones. They simply stared at each other for a little bit before Naruto decided there was no need to be mean to him for asking a simple question.

"Maybe. There is a lot of people here after all." Mino smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Aren't you worried about fighting?" Naruto smirked.

"Nope, because I have an ace in my sleeve." Mino stopped smiling and studied Naruto for a moment. The red haired boy thought of many different things that Naruto could be talking about. But only one this really popped in to his head. It was outrageous but it was a possibility.

Mino leaned in and whispered to Naruto. "You can summon things can't you?" Naruto nearly fell out of the of stands and on to the Arena floor. How this boy could be so stupid and yet perceive so much sometimes was scary.

"How did you know?" Naruto questioned quietly. Mino smiled and stuck up a thumb.

"Because I can too!" The boy declared proudly. Luckily for them the rest of the people were too busy to even notice his declaration. Naruto raised a brow, may as well find out as much as he could about a potential enemy.

"Which ones?" He asked.

"Toads, you?"

"Snakes." His eyes widened.

"Wait you mean like that Oro guy?" Mino asked while scratching head. Considering there were only three people that could summon snakes including him there was only one person he could be talking about.

"Yup." Naruto let a small smile grace his lips as Naruto paled slightly.

"Snakes are scary." Naruto really couldn't disagree. Snakes were some of the scariest things he had ever had the displeasure of fighting.

"I know." Naruto was actually kind of worried. Toad summons were nothing to mess around with. They were the personal summons of Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, and the Yondaime Hokage. They were awesome fighters and wonderful defenders. Something the Snakes weren't.

Although Snakes were just as feared as Toads. They could blend in to most surroundings without detection. They could swallow most other summons if given the time. Plus they were fierce fighters in their own rights. Not to mention their speed and grace.

"Would Hyuuga Neji and Naruto please come to the Arena floor." Shiranui Genma spoke. The senbon chewing Jonin had just arrived seemingly out of no where. Everyone in the fighters stand looked to both Naruto and Neji expectantly.

Neji sent one more glare towards Naruto before hopping down to the ground. Naruto walked over to the rail and looked over. The same innate fear crept in to his heart again. He felt his palms begin to heat up and begin sweating.

"Naruto." Hinata called out quietly. Naruto slowly turned his head towards her. "Please don't hurt him too badly." Naruto's jaw dropped. She wanted him to hold back?

"I can't promise anything." and with that he dropped down to the ground with a thud. He walked towards the center, locking eyes with his opponent. Neji never moved from his spot nor showed a single ounce of fear.

"Alright you two, rules are simply. Everything in permitted but I reserve the right to step in and stop the fight if it gets out of hand. Killing is allowed but try not to let it get that far." He nodded once to see if they understood. Naruto and Neji nodded in unison.

"Alright then." The two Genin separated from each other in a flash. "Begin!" the civilians in the stands exploded with entertainment. They had found this fight to be something that could be a great opener. Neji, the genius from two years ago and Hyuuga prodigy, and Naruto, son of one of the greatest Ninja to ever live and stronger than the current Genin of the year.

Neji dashed forward, intent on ending the fight quickly. He launched a flurry of attacks at Naruto's chest. His fingers glided through the air at him. Sadly for him, air was all that his fingers managed to hit. Naruto had dashed back at the last second.

"You're a lot faster than I thought you would be." Naruto said, slowly rolling his shoulders. The Hyuuga sneered that Naruto was taking this so lightly.

"You should simply give up now. You are destined to lose this fight." Neji said with an untold amount of certainty in his voice.

"I'm destined to lose?" the Hyuuga genius nodded. "We shall see about then then won't we?" Naruto dashed forward and unleashed his own flurry of attacks at him. Neji knew that going toe to toe with a Hyuuga in Taijutsu was suicide.

But the speed at which Naruto was attacking made it hard for Neji to counter. Every time Neji would see an opening another attack would come from seemingly no where. What's more is that style Naruto was using capitalize on flexibility and precision.

Naruto eventually landed a flush kick to Neji's stomach that sent him tumbling backwards. Neji rose and dusted himself off.

"I do not know why you insist on fighting Fate." Naruto frowned.

"What is it with you and this fate thing huh? Why would you even train to better yourself if you were destined to beat me already? Why would anyone fight for anything if they couldn't win or change something? Your vision is flawed Hyuuga." Neji's Byakugan activated as he ran to Naruto.

Naruto acted quickly, running through a few hand seals he slammed his hands on the ground. "Doton: Doryuheki!" Instantly two walls appeared out of the ground. One in front of Neji and one directly behind him. Neji skidded to a stop right in front of the wall.

Naruto ran forward and up the wall. Once he got to the top he jump high in to the air, running through more hand seals. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" He expelled the large balls of fire from his mouth and directly at Neji. The Hyuuga dashed to the side to dodge the ball.

Neji felt pretty smug that he had been able to move out of the fireball. What he didn't account for was the ball landing perfectly in between the two rock walls. The ball exploded and fire shot sideways out on both sides.

Neji jumped back quicker after he got a slight burn on the side of his body. He patted his arm as the bandages caught aflame. Naruto smirked as he landed on top one of his walls while the other one crumbled.

"Some Genius you are. Couldn't even think that far ahead." Neji's eyes practically began to blaze with rage at this point. With speed Naruto didn't know he had, Neji dashed up the wall and hit both of Naruto's shoulders with two simultaneous palm strikes.

Naruto flew off his rock wall, which fell apart after he was hit, and landed harshly on the ground. Anko wasn't kidding when she those strikes hurt. Naruto could barely feel the area where the strikes had landed. Not only that but those two last jutsu had slowed him down slightly.

Taijutsu was now out of the question. Naruto hopped to his feet and performed a jutsu. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" He called out again. Neji suddenly stopped running and stared at the ball of flame.

He begun spinning when he called out "Kaiten!" a blue ball exploded from his skin and surrounded him. The ball clashed with the sphere of chakra. Smoke exploded from the two jutsu and when the smoke cleared, Neji was left smirking.


"The hell was that!" Mino cried out. Shikamaru groaned behind him and rubbed his neck.

"It was obviously a protection Jutsu." Sasuke focused on the two. He felt confident in his abilities but both of those Genin down there could break him down if they got the chance. And now, he could return the favor.

"I have faith in Naruto's ability to win." Shino commented quietly. Hinata nodded softly.

"As do I." Mino rested his arms on his head with a confused look on his face.

"I don't really see it. That Hyuuga can shut down chakra flow right? If Naruto gets hit too much he will lose the ability to fight." Off in a dark corner the Suna siblings were listening in with a frown.

"These kids really believe in their perfect little room eh?" The taller male Kankuro asked the group. The girl Temari snorted.

"Konoha is confusing to me. Believing they can defeat obviously stronger people." Gaara had walked forward away from the group. He walked over to the rail with a small frown.

"Naruto will win." Both Temari and Kankuro looked at him like he had grown three new heads. Gaara never had faith in anyone. Hell, he even looked like he actually believed in Naruto from their points of view.

"Gaara do you actually believe in Naruto?" Temari asked. The Ichibi container turned around and looked his sister in the eye.

"Yes. Mother believes in him. He has a touch of destiny on him, Mother has told me so." Temari and Kankuro were floored. Shukaku actually believed in someone and convinced Gaara to believe in it as well? Something was up with the Shukaku Container.


Up in the stands Hiashi looked down at the battle with a blank face. He had to remain calm since the elders of the family were here. But internally he was stunned. Neji had managed to learn a move reserved for the main house only.

Something about that was odd enough. Hiashi couldn't remember training the boy since he had his hands full with Hinata. He knew no one else in the main house held any love for Neji. The boy did hate them after all.

But here he was using a move far beyond his own age. Truly the boy was a genius.


Up in the stand the Yondaime, Sandaime, and Kazekage watched the fight with interest. Especially after Neji pulled that move.

"Truly Konoha has some wonderful Ninja at such a young age." The Kazekage droned out. His voice never betrayed his true emotions on the matter. The Sandaime nodded softly.

"Neji is quite the prodigy. Still I never expected him to use such a move at such a young age." The Yondaime nodded his agreement.

"Very true but if he hadn't he would be a smoldering crisp right now."

"Certainly a very interesting way to start these fights, wouldn't you agree?" The Kazekage spoke, a rare amount of entertainment in his voice.

"Yes it is. Still I wonder how your son will do in his bout against the Uchiha. I heard Kakashi trained him in to the ground." Minato spoke with a smile on his face. The Kazakage's eyes narrowed harshly to the battlefield.

"We shall see. There is a reason Gaara has never been injured in his life." Minato wondered why someone would speak so harshly about their own son. He was about to speak when Hiruzen cut him off.

"Look, the fight is about to pick up again."


"Can you understand now? It is pointless to keep fighting." Naruto huffed and stood to his full height.

"I'm already tired of you and this is the first time we have ever even met." Naruto couldn't explain it but something about Neji rubbed him the wrong way.

"Wrong, I have known about you for a while now. Who wouldn't know about the hated Naruto? Son of one of the most vile Shinobi to ever live. Your very appearance makes the rest of us cringe at the memory you bring." Neji finished with a hateful sneer.

Naruto felt it again. He didn't want to and he hated the feeling that boiling up inside him but he couldn't help it. His father and his history were a very sensitive subject for him. He knew he should reveal too much of his abilities but his mind wasn't thinking clearly at this point.

"Prepare to know fear." Naruto felt his anger boil up. He was seeing red at this point and the only thing he could focus on was Neji at the moment. He felt his legs move of their own accord and take off towards Neji with renewed vigor.

Neji blinked and easily side stepped a right cross to his face. He was forced to duck under a high kick aimed for his neck. Naruto placed one hand on the ground to rotate himself in to a spin, bringing his legs down and at his mid section.

Neji was sent skidding back, clutching his stomach. Naruto stood up quickly and pointed his right arm towards Neji with a sinister grin on his face. "Sen'eijashu!" he called out with a snarl. A moment later five long green snakes launched out of his sleeve and drove towards Neji with haste.

The Hyuuga watched with a mild case of awe and shock. Sure he heard of the Snakes being summons to Orochimaru and Anko but he had never seen them used in this manner. But if Naruto could use them like this then couldn't also summon them to do battle?

Neji was so distracted he also got bit by a snake that came too close to his face. The Hyuuga Genius bobbed and weaved of the way of the snakes. Soon he was nearing the tree line of the Arena. He decided that they would have a harder time trying to get him in there so he went in.

The snakes wrapped themselves around the trunk of a tree tightly. Naruto smirked as the snakes pulled him towards the tree like a sort of grappling hook. When he landed he sucked in a deep breath. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" He launched the jutsu in to the forest where the Hyuuga hide.

Neji was forced to leave his tree and the miniature forest he was in. Naruto smirked when he saw Neji land. He only had one shot at this and if it didn't work then he would be almost out of chakra for the next few hours or so. "Doton: Doryudan!"

When Neji landed he was forced to roll again as a flaming tree came down and nearly crushed him. When he looked his eyes widened to their maximum. Coming straight at him was a dragon made of hardening of mud. The dragons head alone was big enough to crush him. Not to mention the body.

Neji would have acted quickly. He would have begun spinning to activate the Kaiten to defend himself but something stopped him. As the dragon of the mud roared to life he spotted something just past the dragon. He spotted Naruto.

Naruto was staring directly at Neji. His green silted eyes were blazing with a hateful fury. He could feel the glare of Naruto pierce in to his very soul. He could have sworn at that moment that he saw Orochimaru staring right at him. Truly something miraculous to witness.

A moment later the dragon smashed directly in to Neji. The mud shaped beast took him from his rooted position in the ground and carried him straight in to the wall. The beast drove hard against the wall before Naruto allowed the jutsu to stop.

The entire Arena was dead silent. Each of them had felt the killing wave of intent that Naruto released. It wasn't until Genma stepped forward and declared Naruto the winner that the crowd went wild. It felt kind of good to be praised for once. It was certainly something that Naruto could get used to.

When he returned to the stands he received a round of applause from his teammates. A smirk from Sasuke, a groan from Shikamaru and even a clap from Gaara. "That was...fun."

Naruto looked to Gaara with a sideways glance. Did he just say that watching him fight was fun? Talk about creepy. "Uhh thanks?" the Suna boy nodded his head in regards to the pale child. His celebration was cut short when Genma spoke up.

"Namikaze Mino and Hyuuga Hinata to the Arena please." Hinata turned completely white at this. All the attention in the room turning to her. Not to mention all the pressure was on her and Mino. The surprising thing was that Mino was no where to be found.

"Don't worry Hinata. I am sure you are ready to take him down a peg." Naruto gave her a smile. Behind him he could her Sasuke scoff.

"That Hyuuga could never beat the Yondaime's son." Naruto's face dropped in to one of anger. He lifted up his sleeve and...

"Snakes!" he heard Haku scream from behind him. The summoned snakes snapped and hissed at Sasuke, causing all attention to be turned to him.

"Watch yourself Uchiha. You may have a chip on your shoulder being trained by Kakashi and all. But never forget that you are weaker than me. You will always be weaker than me." Sasuke growled and cocked his arm back and poised it to strike Naruto in the face.

Much to everyone's surprise Naruto did not budge or attempt to move out of the way. A sudden blur of black and blue moved in front of Naruto and grabbed Sasuke's hand. Haku's face was one of pure determination. "Do not harm Naruto." Her voice was as icy as her bloodline.

Sasuke was stunned. More so because he hadn't even seen her move and her grip was intense. What had Naruto done to inspire such loyalty from the once hostile Haku. It was interesting to more than just the Uchiha.

Gaara had watched the scene with mild interest. Haku had defended Naruto like his sand protected him from danger. It was novel sensation that Gaara felt in his stomach. He felt a pang of jealousy that Naruto could inspire another to take damage in his place.

Was this what Shukaku was referring to? Was this the true path to power that Naruto could take them to? The boy was certainly strong enough to, considering the display of skill and power he had used on the Hyuuga. Maybe the pale Shinobi wasn't that bad.

"Waiting on Namikaze Mino." Genma called out again drawing everyone's attention. Hinata had already moved down to the Arena floor so it was a bit shocking that Mino wasn't down there. Naruto looked around but could see no sign of the red haired boy anywhere.


Minato was in a panic. He was dashing around the Exam Arena with a feverish haste. His son was missing and couldn't be found anywhere. He would have had the Anbu go looking for him but they were spread thin with the defense of the village.

Plus he was the fastest Shinobi in the village regardless. He didn't want to use his signature jutsu to find Mino because he didn't want to cause mass panic in the stands. But things were getting tense and time was running out.

He had no choice. He concentrated his chakra and flashed to Genma. He whispered something in his ear before flashing away. He flashed through a few places in the Arena before he found his son, laying in the hallway.

He instantly picked his son up and the two of them went to go and get him healed up.


"Due to circumstances the Namikaze and Hyuuga fight will be postponed till the end of the first round." Genma then turned toward Hinata with a small, apathetic smile.

"Sorry about that. You'll have to return to the stands." Hinata blushed and nodded. The situation was embarrassing as it was and now this? Plus what could have happened to Mino that they had to delay their fight.

Not that she wasn't grateful. The longer the wait the better she felt about fighting her one time crush. She turned on a heel and walked back in to the stairwell. She walked up the steeps timidly and kept her head down the whole time.

Maybe he didn't think she was enough of a challenge to be fought. Maybe he hadn't even trained to fight her because she wasn't that strong. It was all rather deflating to her ego that she had worked so hard to build up.


"Next Fight then, Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku Gaara to the Arena please."

The Kazekage of Suna straightened his back at the mention of Gaara and the Uchiha. In truth the Kazekage had died on the way here. This current Kazekage was actually Orochimaru in disguise. He was merely playing the role for the moment.

Hence why he actually showed any kind of interest in Gaara when the name came up. In truth he only cared about when Naruto or Sasuke had been mentioned. Obvious reasons aside, he merely wanted to see a good fight while he could.

And he was actually surprised by his son. He hadn't expected Anko to take him on and give him the contract. Anko really hadn't seemed like the type to take on apprentices. Unless she was forced in to the matter.

Which would make sense. Chances are that the village was rattled by the anger the seal had brought out in Naruto. They would most likely try to keep the seal's influence from spreading and try to give him something to satisfy him. Most likely to keep him in the village longer.

Hence how Anko got roped in to training him. And judging by how well he fought the boy had a true talent for the style. Of course he had expected that of his son. No child of his was going to be any thing less than a genius.

Though he was certain one thing was lacking. And that was to summon the boss Manda and receive his mark of power. Manda would bestow this mark to those that gave him the proper sacrifice of thirteen souls of some worth. Only then could he summon the other large snakes that legends were based off of.

"Ah a much waited for fight." The Sandaime spoke up. Orochimaru turned to him with an impassive look. His former Sensei must be losing his edge in his older age. Not that Orochimaru was a slouch in stealth but to not notice anything odd was new.

He had to reign in his emotions of anger towards him. It would do no good for Orochimaru to lose control now. He would his revenge soon enough and how glorious it would be. To see the look on Sensei's face when he was betrayed and killed at last.

"I suppose so. I have no doubt your Uchiha is good but my son has never been hurt and I doubt he will be hurt now." Hiruzen watched as the Kazekage's eyes lit up at the mention of Sasuke. Truly the man was mystery but even for him this was scary.

"He was trained by Kakashi, Minato's former Pupil. Surely he must have a trick up his sleeve to win this bout." Orochimaru's eyes narrowed harshly at the Arena. Kakashi was no push over now and may even be able to put up a fight against him.

Sadly he highly doubted that fact. Even if Sasuke was able to advance quickly there is no way that he would have grown strong enough to win. He might land a few blows here and there but victory? That was far out of his reach at the moment. Even if he used the curse seal.

That sand was just too much of a defense to get through. It rose whenever it was needed and didn't leave until Gaara was safe from harm. Plus it could be turned in to a weapon for offensive destruction in the next moment. A truly deadly mix to be sure.

"I have no doubt."

"Begin!"


Sasuke charged forward with a cool focus to his movements. He moved with a valiant speed that some took many years to obtain. He sped along and moved directly at the Ichibi container. Gaara made no effort to move in the slightest.

Why would he need to? He had never been harmed before so he greatly doubted that some Uchiha could do such a thing now. Of course he recognized that the lad was fast and could maneuver quickly but that was a simple thing.

What he hadn't been expecting is for the Uchiha to suddenly vanish and reappear to his side, delivering a harsh right cross to his face. Gaara was sent sailing and landed rather softly on his sand. As he stood up a small chunk of his face fell off.

Sasuke was mildly surprised. He hadn't expected a type of Sand Armor to be above his skin. But to be fair it was an ingenious invention and use of the sand. This allowed Gaara to counter any moved without lifting a finger. A well suited back up.

"You are interesting Uchiha but you are not the one I am interested in." Gaara said without emotion to his voice. Sasuke frowned deeply and growled lowly. He had landed a hit on the invulnerable Gaara and yet the kid didn't even see him as a threat.

"Then who are you after?" Sasuke asked curiously. If he was going to be over looked then he wanted to know who was holding Gaara's attention so well. The Suna child uncrossed his arms and pointed up towards the stands.

"Naruto. Now begone." He said as he swiped his hand sideways at the Uchiha. A blast of sand came rushing out and towards Sasuke. The boy, in rage of being looked over for Naruto once more, had activated his Sharingan. He hopped back in defense.

"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" He jumped in the air and fired down several smaller balls of fire at Gaara stationary form. The sand rose up from the ground to defend its master. Much to Sasuke's ire all his balls were blocked with no effort from Gaara.

"This tirade is pointless Uchiha. You are not entertaining in the least and are beginning to wear on my nerves." Sasuke knew now that Ninjutsu was out of the question unless he was going to use that jutsu. But he needed to wear him down more first.

Sasuke vanished in a blur of speed again and battered Gaara with a few punches before a roundhouse kick sent the Suna Shinobi spiraling through the air again. He landed with a sick thud even though he was on the sand.

Gaara was lifted to his feet again. This time a sneer had settled on to his face. The Uchiha was slowly becoming a rather large pain in his ass. One that didn't need to be there at all. It was time to end the fight before it got any more out of hand.

Gaara lifted both hands as a torrent of sand exploded from the ground. The two tendrils flew towards Sasuke with unbridled speed. It was everything Sasuke could do to dodge the two sand missiles. He had to use his intense speed to merely dodge the sand.

Regardless Gaara kept the attack up and the sand rushing. One hand controlled one Sand tendril while the other controlled the other. He had to admit that the Uchiha was good and able to keep up to a degree. Eventually the one of the missiles had hit the Uchiha flush.

Sasuke rolled backwards and up the wall of the Arena. He couldn't rest for even a moment with the damn sand chasing him. That and he certainly wasn't going to let that sand wrap him up. And by the look on Gaara's face he that too.

Not that Sasuke could see that face anymore. Gaara had wrapped himself up in a large dome of sand. He noticed there was a small eye floating above the dome. He figured that Gaara was planning something big in that dome and he had to stop him.

There was only one thing he had in his stack of jutsu to use to break that dome. And he needed a great deal of speed to use it. Sadly, it was his only option at this point in time. He breathed slowly and relaxed his body. He performed a few hand seals and began building up chakra.

Gaara watched the Uchiha from inside of his shell. He watched carefully as the Uchiha dashed down the wall with his hand dragging lightning. Gaara guessed that the hand of lightning was meant for him. He needed time to call on Mother. The Uchiha would pay for his ignorance.

As Sasuke drew near Gaara activated his sphere's defense. Multiple spikes rose from the surface and launched Sasuke. The Uchiha bobbed and weaved out of the way thanks to his eyes. With one final push he shoved his hand in to the dome of sand.

A second later Sasuke felt something warm move on to his hand. He attempted to pull his arm out when something monstrously strong held it in. He was forced to use the Chidori lightning to pull his own hand out.

When he did however he saw something that shook his soul. When he pulled out his arm he noticed a dastardly yellow eye pierce his very soul. The eye seemed to radiate a power in which Sasuke would never be able to understand or attain.

The next moment a thunderous roar was heard all throughout the audience. Which by this time was actually asleep at the moment. A genjutsu had been cast on the entire Arena and only the rare amount of Shinobi had actually broken it.

Sand and Sound Shinobi flooded the stands in the next second.


"Orochimaru. It figures you would try something like this." The Yondaime spat with an angry growl. The man in front of him had caused him a terrible suffering and he was going to make the man pay.

"Now now Minato. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I only had a small hand in this. The late Kazekage had a much bigger hand in this then I." Orochimaru snickered at his Sensei's distraught face.

"So, he's dead then?" Sarutobi's voice of betrayal was reward enough for the twisted Shinobi. A twisted grin spread across his face.

"He did meet with quite the accident before arriving." Minato snarled at the Snake Sannin but even he had to be careful around him. Orochimaru was the kind of person who would destroy someone if they made a mistake fighting him. Especially if the person was Kage level.

"You truly are a monster aren't you?" Minato growled out. Orochimaru chuckled softly.

"Kukuku, no my dear Minato. That would be your son I believe. Being the precious Kyuubi container and all." That did it for him. Minato charged a Rasengan and attempted to plant it in Orochimaru's stomach. The slippery Sannin dashed backwards at the last moment.

"Temper temper Minato." Orochimaru couldn't help it. Minato was just far too much fun to toy with.

"Cut it out Orochimaru. We both know that its me you want to fight. Leave Minato out of this." The pale man frowned.

"No. He and I have a grudge to settle. And no one leaves unless I say so." Sarutobi frowned but he knew it was true. The purple walls around him were proof of that very fact. Plus he knew that Minato had his own score to settle.

"Orochimaru, surely you can't be foolish enough to believe that you can take on two Kage level Shinobi by yourself?" the Sandaime attempted to reason his pupil out of this horrid plan. Sadly, Orochimaru seemed to be pleased to hear this.

"I very well could and you know that but a good Shinobi covers every angle before a fight." He ran through a few hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground.

A moment later a single coffin rose out of the ground. It was rather simple in its design. It held no unique symbols other than a single number on the front. The number one was slapped on the front of the coffin.

The next second another coffin burst through the ground. This one was exactly the same in its size and its shape. The only difference here was the fact that it held the number two instead of a number one. Hiruzen knew what this was, having seen it once before.

"Orochimaru those can't be..."

"Oh but Sensei. They can!" He chuckled as the two boxes had their lids fall off. A person was in each of them. Both Minato and Sarutobi knew exactly who they were and who they were dealing with. Truly strong Shinobi.

The Shodai and Nidaime Hokage's were back.

Orochimaru had implanted the kunai with the seals before the match begun to render them speechless and ready to fight. "What's the matter? Too weak to fight your own battles?" Minato taunted. Orochimaru turned to him with a perverse grin.

"I have something special for you." His hands formed the ram seal. A moment later another coffin came rising up. This one was slapped with the number four written on it. When the lid fell, Minato dropped to his knees.

"No..." Orochimaru devilishly smiled.

"Oh yes. I had to use that mask of the Uzumaki's to free the soul but it was worth it." Minato felt like crying. His heart pounded away in his chest when the person inside the coffin opened their eyes.

"Minato? Is that you?" Minato did end up crying.

Minato and Kushina were brought face to face once more.


AN: I'm sorry. I really didn't want to end the chapter here but I realized it was getting a pinch too long. I had no choice in the matter. But hey, builds interest for next chapter right? I'm sorry for those that wanted to see Hinata vs Mino. There were steps that needed to be taken. But don't worry. You'll see just how much the two have grown during the invasion.

Thank you for reading, please let me know what you thought, and I will see you all next chapter!