Naruto, Shikamaru, Ino, Shino, Neji, Sasuke, Gaara, and Temari all stood in the center of the arena, with the grandstands above roaring in applause. Genma Shiranui was the proctor for the final round, however the only leaf ninja competing with the knowledge as to why was Naruto, being the only one with access to ANBU level intelligence. He swore to stop Orochimaru's plan. But he knew that was easier said than done. Genma dismissed everyone but Naruto and Neji. Both got into position.
"Round 1 will be Naruto Uzumaki vs Neji Hyuga. Let the fight begin!" Genma stated. He gave the signal and backed away, knowing all too well not to be near Naruto for this fight.
"Neji…It's time I show you what happens when you piss me off!" Naruto yelled as he vanished, reappearing behind Neji and slamming him before he had a chance to activate his Byakugan. However, it was far from enough to defeat Neji. Naruto was holding back, choosing to toy with Neji.
"Is that all you have? You may be fast but your strength is absolutely worthless." Neji stated. Naruto smirked. Up in the grandstands, Team cobra was assembled together, watching the fight, even though they knew what the outcome would be when suddenly Hinata showed a look of worry. 'Please don't go overboard…' Hinata pleaded in her mind. Shikamaru smiled.
"Neji has no chance. For Naruto of all people, someone who has a strength I have yet to see matched in battle by anyone—except for Orochimaru—to toy with Neji…he doesn't stand a chance against Naruto." Shikamaru commented with a smile. Sasuke was watching the fight from the other side of the arena, he had his fist firmly planted in a wall. He could see what Naruto was doing as well. And it pissed him off.
"So Neji…should I finish this now? Or continue luring you into a false sense of security? I'll let you choose." Naruto said with a smirk. Neji was pissed. He ran at Naruto but right before he reached Naruto, Naruto performed rotation, knocking Neji back. Naruto launched from the rotation straight into an 8 trigrams 64 palms attack. Neji collapsed to the ground unable to move. Genma smirked, expecting nothing less, although wishing he could have watched more.
"Naruto Uzumaki i…" Most of the crowd was booing, Cobra watching and not in very good moods over it. Naruto teleported to his comrades for the next match.
"Shino…you remember the plan right?" Naruto asked. Shino nodded and descended to the hall. He stepped out and faced the Uchiha. Sasuke had a murderous look in his eyes.
"Round 2! Shino Aburame vs Sasuke Uchiha! Begin!" Sasuke launched forward at high speed and slammed Shino, sending him flying into a wall, unconscious.
"Sasuke Uchiha wins." Genma said with disappointment. Naruto instantly appeared beside Shino and took him back up into the stands. Suddenly Shino turned into a pile of insects as the real Shino came up the stairs and called them back.
"Sorry to have you do that Shino but it was necessary. Sasuke would never have accepted a forfeit." Naruto explained. Shino nodded in agreement. Genma called for Ino and Gaara to come down.
"Ino…go ahead." Naruto encouraged. Ino stood.
"I forfeit!" she yelled, knowing Naruto had her do this for her own safety. Gena looked displeased, as did Gaara, but he called the final set of competitors down. Shikamaru and Temari appeared in the center field.
"Sorry that my brother couldn't make it here to be your first opponent. But he just simply had business to take care of." Temari explained.
"Round 4! Shikamaru Nara vs Temari of the Sand! Begin!" Genma yelled. Shikamaru smiled.
"Sorry. I don't have time to play. See me and my cobra teammates have business as well. Soo…" Shikamaru threw a flash bomb down after he finished speaking. After the light died down, Temari was recovering when Shikamaru surprised everyone but Naruto.
"Shadow Possession Jutsu: Success" He stated. He then pulled a kunai and held it to his throat, Temari mirroring his action perfectly.
"Surrender or else." Shikamaru smirked. Temari sighed, not in the mood to deal with everything.
"Proctor I forfeit." She stated. Shikamaru released her and she left.
"The Winner is Shikamaru Naara!" Genma stated in shock. "The Semi-Final matchups shall be…Round 1: Naruto Uzumaki vs Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke had a smirk on his face whereas Naruto couldn't care less. "Round 2: Shika-" Genma was cut short.
"I forfeit the match." Shikamaru stated, already going over this scenario with Naruto beforehand. Genma coughed to clear his throat.
"Very well. Gaara will have a Bi in the Semi-Finals. The winner of Semi-Finals Round 1 will face Gaara in the Finals." The crowd cheered as Naruto ad Sasuke quickly appeared in the center field. Everyone was booing Naruto and cheering for Sasuke to destroy him. Genma sighed.
"Let the Semi-Final Round between Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha begin!" Genma announced. No sooner than Genma backed away, Sasuke was sent flying backwards. He did a back flip and landed on his feet in a crouching position. Naruto, while wanting to smirk due to enjoying the thrashing he wanted to give Sasuke, kept his face emotionless as Sasuke grimaced.
'It hurt but I figured he had more than that. Guess I was wrong.' Sasuke thought, analyzing the punch. Naruto stood there, looking at Sasuke with an emotionless facial expression. Sasuke's face took on an expression of lividness as he ran towards Naruto. While running, Sasuke quickly ran through a few hand seals, activating a chidori, blue lightning whipping around his body as he inched closer to the blonde. Haku was watching the battle unfold, having arrived just before the first punch was thrown. He was sitting with Cobra, a worried expression plastered on his face…
In Naruto's Mindscape…
"Kurama…I'll grant you permission to heal me for what you know I'm about to do. Just don't hate me." Naruto stated to the large fox.
"I just wish I knew why you do the things you do." Kurama sighed as Naruto left his mindscape…
Back In The Fight…
Naruto made no attempt to block the oncoming attack. Sasuke shoved his hand through the right side of Naruto's chest. The entire crowd, minus cobra, was cheering. Naruto just stood there, looking right at the Uchiha. The blue lightning faded from his hand as he pulled it out of the large hole that he put in Naruto's chest. Suddenly the hole began sealing up, smoke rising from the front and back sides. Sasuke looked on in disgust…
With Cobra…
Hinata had tears in her eyes as she looked on in horror, Haku had singlehandedly dropped the temperature in the area by about 20 degrees, Choji couldn't eat, Ino was just speechless, Shino's bugs were going berserk, and Shikamaru smiled.
"So that's his plan, huh? Crafty Bastard." Shikamaru stated. The others looked over at him, waiting for an explanation. "Just watch and listen." Shikamaru replied, eager to watch Naruto's plan unfold.
The Battle…
"What in the hell are you!?" Sasuke exclaimed in horror. Naruto still had an emotionless expression on his face.
"You mean no one's ever told you!? I'm a monster! I'm not a human! I'm what you would call a demon, boy! Fear me!" Naruto yelled in a voice so loud the entire stadium could hear. "I'm the monster that lurks under your bed, waiting to kill you! Ask any villager and they'll tell you! It isn't exactly a secret!" He continued. Sasuke ran towards him, pissed off, hate plastered all over his face. Naruto pulled a small round ball from his pouch and ran at Sasuke, ramming the pill down his throat. Sasuke's vision began to blur until everything went black and he collapsed on the ground.
"Naruto Uzumaki is the winner!" Genma announced as the stadium erupted into hateful booing and protesting. Naruto appeared up by cobra, being welcomed by a hard slap across the face.
"Naruto Uzumaki what in the hell is wrong with you!?" the culprit yelled out. It was Hinata, a pissed yet worried look on her face. He sighed.
"Sorry…I didn't mean to worry you…" He replied solemnly. Hinata hugged him.
"Don't be so reckless against Gaara. You know how brutal he is…" She warned. Naruto nodded his head.
"I wo-" Suddenly he fell to the ground, clutching his stomach. His whole body started glowing purple. After about ten seconds it ended, and he slowly stood.
"What was that?" he asked, not knowing exactly what had happened. He didn't have time however as he sprinted down to Genma's location, staring Gaara straight in the eyes. Genma smirked, not doubting Naruto could win at all.
"Let the final match between Naruto Uzumaki and Gaara of the Sand commence!" Genma leapt backwards after announcing.
'Kurama..can you analyze what happened?' Naruto thought, as he slowly moved into the Shadow Clone Jutsu Hand Sign. He didn't get a response.
'Kurama?' He tried communicating but failed again. He reluctantly focused on the battle.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He yelled. But to his surprise, absolutely nothing happened. Now he was worried. He focused on the first two gates, trying to open them, knowing he would need the speed since he didn't have access to his other plans. However, he couldn't open them.
'Shit! What's going on! Is this because of what happened? Was that a side-effect of the seal decomposition?' he asked, sweat forming on his face. Up in the stands with Cobra, Shikamaru was extremely worried, as were the others.
"This is bad! If he can't use any of his techniques, Gaara will annihilate him!" Shikamaru yelled, much to the dismay of the rest of Cobra and Haku. Hinata had tears in her eyes, knowing that he wasn't planning this. She could tell from his stance that he was pretty shaken.
"Mother wants your blood! I will kill you!" Gaara yelled as he sent his sand flying at Naruto. It hit him full force as it caught him off guard. He managed to recover. He ran full speed at Gaara but couldn't get his fist to make it past the sand. Gaara sent Naruto flying again. Normally Naruto would forfeit, but he was under orders to not surrender, as if he did, Orochimaru would destroy the village. Naruto needed to stall. He felt a little chakra become available to him, but not enough for anything major. He quickly used the jutsu that lowered his weights. He dropped the weight all the way down to zero. Sarutobi was watching in worry.
"If he has to resort to this…This is not good." He stated. The Kazekage, whom sat right beside Sarutobi smiled.
"Die!" Gaara sent all of his sand flying at Naruto. Right before it hit, Naruto vanished. Suddenly Gaara went flying, slamming into a wall. Gaara laughed. He sent his sand flying again, forcing Naruto back onto the defensive. Naruto was evading just fine until his body began to glow purple and a spike penetrated his right shoulder. Naruto was in extreme pain. The purple Aura subsided as another spike penetrated Naruto's left leg. Gaara recalled his sand as Naruto fell to his knees. Up in the stands, Cobra was in disbelief. Hinata had tears running down her face as she watched her boyfriend being slowly murdered. She felt her heart ripping in half.
"NARUTO!" She yelled in despair and Anguish. Naruto heard her cry and realized how pained she was. Naruto gritted his teeth. As he clenched his fists, suddenly the small pebbles near him began vibrating as red chakra began whipping around his body, creating an enormously forceful wind, with strength in resemblance of a tornado. Suddenly the chakra retracted to Naruto, engulfing him. His body had taken on the facial resemblance of a fox, his eyes red with slit pupils, staring into Gaara's eyes. Gaara looked slightly fearful for the first time in forever, seeing how scared Shukaku was. Naruto was suddenly behind him, holding him in an arm lock.
"You've made one crucial mistake Gaara…one that could prove to be fatal. You made Hinata cry. Now you WILL EXPERIENCE MY WRATH!" Naruto yelled as he threw Gaara high into the air. He then appeared above Gaara and slammed him towards the ground with both fists combined. Right before Gaara slammed the ground, Naruto suddenly appeared underneath him and kicked him high into the sky. Naruto started launching Gaara around like a ping pong ball, each blow breaking the sound barrier, making a very audible boom. Naruto finally slammed Gaara straight to the ground, the impact causing the entire stadium to shake with quite a bit of force. The battlefield was completely cloaked in a dust cloud so dense that nobody could tell what was happening. Not a sound arose from the stadium, everyone watching in tense silence. Hinata had a very mixed look on her face. She didn't know exactly what was happening with Naruto but she didn't like it at all. The dust cloud cleared slowly, revealing Gaara, contained in a large sand ball and Naruto standing in a pose shakily. Suddenly Naruto coughed as a lot of blood spewed from his mouth and he clenched his gut. Hinata looked on mortified at the puddle of blood on the ground. Naruto wiped the blood from his mouth and stared directly at Gaara. He then glanced up at Sarutobi, who gave him a hand signal that meant everything was ready for the counterstrike. Naruto sighed and raised his hand shakily.
"P…Proctor…d-due to my condition caused by events from something completely unrelated to the chunin exams, i…I for-" before Naruto could finish he coughed up more blood and fell to the ground unconscious. Genma looked really concerned, knowing there was no way Naruto took that much damage during the fight.
"MOTHER WANTS YOUR BLOOD! I NEED TO PROVE MY EXISTENCE!" Gaara yelled as he made a gesture and his sand went flying towards Naruto's unconscious body. The crowd was cheering until suddenly the sand was dispersed and Gaara couldn't move. Standing where the sand was dispersed was Choji, who had activated his Partial-Expansion Jutsu on his right arm and slammed the sand away. Shikamaru had quickly used the shadows of the dispersed sand grains to weave his shadow straight at Gaara, trapping him in the infamous Shadow Possession Jutsu. Ino was in position to use her Mind Transfer Jutsu if Gaara tried anything funny. Shino had his bugs surrounding Gaara, ready to drain his Chakra dry if need be. Lastly, Hinata was putting Naruto on her back, ready to escort him to a hospital. Shikamaru gave Gaara a murderous look.
"Your kind disgusts me! Naruto has clearly forfeited and you attempted to kill him! Had we not intervened to save our friend, he would have died! I would pick your next move wisely because we won't hesitate to kill you if that's what it takes to protect our team's leader! Any further attack shall be seen as an act of war and shall be treated as such under international law!" Shikamaru said, his fists clenched so tight that a bit of blood dripped from them. Everyone that wasn't a trained ninja in the stands was booing at the display, despising the intervention. Hinata clenched her teeth when suddenly she felt Naruto's pulse stop completely. She immediately laid him on the ground and ripped his clothing off of his torso. Haku knew he was going to be needed and appeared down by Hinata's side. Hinata's hands were glowing green and she was clearly trying to restart Naruto's circulation. Haku reached into his pouch and pulled out senbon.
"May I be of assistance, Hinata?" Haku asked the clearly frantic and stressed yet determined girl. Hinata had sweat on her face but she looked up at Haku. Just as she did, though, she felt a very faint pulse. With every beat, the pulse became stronger. After about a minute, Naruto started to open his eyes. Hinata hugged him tightly. Naruto's vision slowly gained focus. He saw his clearly distressed girlfriend and hugged her, rubbing her back gently.
"Relax Hinata. Kurama wasn't going to let me go that easily and you know it." He said reassuringly. Then his tone became darker. "This is part of the seal's decomposition and the side effects are only going to get worse." He stated.
"Promise me you'll stop it…" Hinata said through teary eyes. Naruto ruffled her hair.
"I promise you. I won't leave without a fight." He reassured her. She got off of him and looked him in the eyes, a very faint smile. Naruto then looked at Gaara, a look of determination on his face. He shakily stood, his leg injury easily felt now that the adrenaline was out of his system. He limped over to Gaara. He stopped when he was face to face with the boy.
"Gaara…will you allow me to speak?" Naruto requested of the red head. Gaara gritted his teeth but sighed, seeing as he was in no position to argue. He nodded affirmatively. Naruto smiled.
"Good, but let's speak in my world." Naruto turned around and looked at his Cobra friends. "Don't judge him for trying to kill me. It wasn't his choice. I'll make everything clear later." Naruto elaborated. He looked back at Gaara. "Look into my eyes." Naruto stated. Gaara looked into Naruto's eyes right as he activated his Genjutsu. They appeared in a somewhat nice looking world. Naruto was sitting so Gaara sat, knowing far too well that he wouldn't be able to touch Naruto in this world.
"Okay. So you saw how my friends came to my rescue right?" Naruto asked, already knowing the answer. Gaara nodded and Naruto started to continue.
"I know what you are. My special friend told me that you are the Jinchuriki, or carrier, for the One-Tailed Tanuki, also known as Shukaku. You lived your life feared, hated, and alone. You lived with a loneliness that bore a hole into the darkest depths of your heart. But it's not too late for you to turn around and take a different path-" Naruto was explaining as Gaara interrupted.
"And how can I believe what you say? How would you know what it's like to live like me?" Gaara asked. He was upset at Naruto's attitude, although he refused to show it. Naruto kept a smile on his face.
"Gaara…I'm just like you. Just like you, I am a Jinchuriki. Except I hold the most feared of the 9 Tailed Beasts. I hold the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kurama. Kurama is the 'special friend' I mentioned earlier. I also grew up hated, feared, and alone. Both my parents died on the day of my birth. The only difference between you and me is that I found a girl that loved me for me, instead of fearing me for what I contained. And I love her just as much. And you've seen some of the other friends I made. After all, they did stop you from murdering me. So what do you say Gaara…will you leave The Hidden Sand behind and come here to The Hidden Leaf and be my friend?" Naruto finished, holding out his hand. Gaara couldn't understand what was happening right before his eyes. He had tears in his eyes for the first time in years.
"Hey, I can even repair your seal." Naruto offered. Gaara smiled and held his hand out, grasping Naruto's hand. The Genjutsu faded, the real world appearing before their eyes. The sand surrounding Gaara began to crumble. Gaara fell to the ground exhausted. Naruto could sense the anger radiating from the Kazekage. Naruto limped and jumped up to the Kage box. He then punched the Kazekage square in the face.
"Show me your real face you snake Bastard! You won't get me with a lame cheap shot this time!" Naruto was in a highly advanced Taijutsu pose. His leg was smoking, a clear sign Kurama was healing Naruto for the battle. Naruto made a motion to his friends and they knew what was about to happen. They abandoned the battle field, Gaara included. Naruto did a round house kick, hitting the Kazekage directly in the side of the face. The Kazekage was sent flying, leaving a crater in the middle of the battlefield. Naruto made a quick motion to the Jōnin hidden around the stadium and they gave the order to the genin to evacuate the stadium. The jōnin then began engaging the hidden sound and sand ninja littered throughout the stadium. Naruto flashed in front of Kabuto, dropping him in an advanced Genjutsu before the Kazekage. Suddenly a loud boom was heard and smoke billowed from the south wall of the village. The Kazekage slowly stood to his feet, taking his hat off and tossing it.
"Don't you know that it's rude to duel without showing your face?" Naruto scoffed, irritated that Orochimaru had the audacity to keep his disguise on. Orochimaru smirked.
"Oh do pardon me, where are my manners." Orochimaru stated as he ripped off the disguise, exposing his true identity. "Is this what you wanted?" He asked, hoping he could have some fun with the boy. But first he slammed his hands on the ground, summoning the first and second Hokage. Suddenly The Sound Four created an impenetrable barrier, trapping Sarutobi and the two ex-Hokage. Orochimaru laughed sadistically.
"The old man is as good as dead!" Naruto clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. The stadium began shaking with the sheer force of the red chakra erupting from Naruto's body. Gaara was still in the stadium, watching in awe as Naruto challenged one of the most feared men alive. Naruto was sprouting three tails. He had the appearance of a fox as well, the features more defined than ever. Naruto then did the unexpected. He activated the fifth gate while in his chakra cloak. There was nothing holding him back. He disappeared and reappeared immediately as he kicked Orochimaru into the air. He began playing ping pong with Orochimaru's body in midair until he got bored and slammed Orochimaru's body to the ground. Naruto used his Byakuringan to scan inside the barrier. He knew it was over because he could see the Shinigami, clearly summoned by Sarutobi. This infuriated him even more, causing him to sprout 2 more tails. Naruto's skin peeled away from his body. Naruto then slammed Orochimaru as hard as he could into the air, then immediately made a tailed beast bomb and launched it vertically, straight at Orochimaru. Orochimaru appeared on the ground, a chunk missing out of his leg, causing him to crouch. Naruto sprinted forward, ready to end this. Orochimaru knew this would be more troublesome than he had originally calculated. He gave the order to all troops to retreat. He was then carried away by the sound four, who had dropped the barrier. Naruto immediately returned to normal and appeared with Lord Third. Sarutobi had just finished sealing away the first and second Hokage.
"Naruto…you did your village proud…thank you for allowing an old man like me to die a happy death. Goodbye…" Hiruzen stated as the life left his eyes, forever. Naruto closed the old man's eyes and laid him down. Justas he did, an ANBU squad appeared.
"Naruto Sir! We are here to follow your orders, as you are the only one that has any knowledge on what just happened. Naruto stood solemnly.
"Hawk, go fetch Konohamaru. Bear, you go fetch Jiraiya. Tiger, you get Asuma. Crane, I want you to deliver the news to the front lines that the invasion is in fact over." Naruto ordered, trying his best to keep his calm.
"Sir!" The four took off in separate directions, each burdened with a different task. Another Squad appeared.
"Sir, you have been declared acting ANBU commander for now. What are your orders?" Naruto sighed internally. It seemed like things couldn't get much worse.
"I want everyone minus Bear, hawk, Tiger, and Crane, whom have already been given specific orders, to fan out and assess the total damage to the village. Mole, relay my orders to the rest of Black Ops." Naruto ordered, temporarily putting himself into his ANBU Captain mindset.
"Sir!" they took off and performed what they had been commanded. Gaara had still been watching, not able to believe what he was seeing. He was even more interested in the blonde than before…
A/N: Before anyone questions me about it, Kankuro dropped out during the discussion at the preliminaries, after everyone knew their opponents. Dosu and Hayate died the same way they did in canon. I worked hard to try to make this chapter the way I felt it should be, and I hope you all enjoy.