Naruto Makaze: Birth of a Legend

Exams and Invasion Arc

Chapter 11: Ambush! The Invasion Begins!

The two Sound shinobi stood frozen for a second before Naruto crouched.

"Swift Release: Swift Beheading!" Naruto called.

Sakura watched as no one moved. She waited and waited for Naruto to launch some sort of attack, but he did not move. Then his body simply vanished and was behind the two men, their bodies frozen.

"N-Naruto?" Sakura said before the two men fell to the ground, their heads toppling off.

"Where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"He went after Gaara." Sakura said.

"Naruto," Kakashi said before tossing a Sound shinobi towards Guy, who landed a bone shattering spinning kick on the man. "I can summon Pakkun to get a scent on Sasuke. You-"

"Orochimaru." Naruto said, his eyes locked on the barrier that the Hokage and the Snake Sannin were in. "I'm going to save the old man."

"You have to stop Gaara from destroying the village." Kakashi said. "Take Sakura."

"Fine." Naruto said before dispelling his sword. He turned around and punched a Sand jonin with amazing strength that crated the wall behind them. "Sakura, let's go."

"H-hai." Sakura said as she stood up.

Naruto gave her a smile. "I will make sure that you are alright. Believe it."

"Right." Sakura said as she left with Naruto.

"Do you think we can trust him?" Guy asked Kakashi.

Kakashi revealed his Sharingan. "There's not an ounce of doubt in my body."

XXX

Naruto stood outside of the arena with Sakura looking around.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"What's the situation?" Naruto said to seemingly no one.

Neji, Tenten, Shino, and Shikamaru landed in front of them.

"Sasuke has gone that way." Shino said pointing.

"Hiashi-sama ran after Hinata-sama and her kidnappers." Neji said. "So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going after Sasuke and Gaara." Naruto said. "Neji, you and Ten-chan can go after Hinata. I know you want to redeem yourself to her." Neji gave a nod. "Sakura, Shino, Shikamaru, you're with me."

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru said.

"Let's go." Naruto said before the two teams split up.

"Hey, how do you know Tenten?" Sakura asked Naruto as she attempted to keep up with him as best as she could.

"She was in my academy class when I was living here. She was my only friend." Naruto replied. "Now, stay close. I can sense Gaara ahead."

"Great." Shikamaru said lifelessly.

XXX

Tayuya grunted. 'Damn, Shithead actually betrayed us.'

Within the seal, Hiruzen chuckled.

"Well, well Orochimaru. It looks like your scheme isn't going exactly like you thought it would." the Sandaime Hokage said. "The Will of Fire is still his philosophy after all."

Orochimaru snickered. "You think that I need his help to defeat you, Old Man? No. I just would love to see your face when he stuck the killing blow in you. No matter. I have other ways to kill you."

XXX

Naruto paused on a tree branch.

"What is it?" Sakura asked stopping on a branch above him.

"We have people following us." Naruto said. "You three go ahead. I'll catch up later."

"But you said that you had to limit the use of your Swift Release in order to fight Gaara." Sakura said.

Naruto smiled. "You of all people should know that the greatest ninja tool is his or her mind." Sakura blushed slightly at the comment. "Now go. I'll catch up later. And if you meet up with Sasuke and Gaara, get Sasuke and get out of there."

"Right." Shino said. "Let's go."

Naruto watched the other three genin leave before hopping onto the ground.

"One… Two… Four… Seven… Eight…" Naruto paused. "Nine. Nine of them in all." Naruto smirked. "Well then, let's go."

Eight Sound shinobi landed in front of Naruto.

"We have been ordered to take you out." the leader of the group said. "You are no longer an ally to Lord Orochimaru."

"I think I know that." Naruto said as he held a hand sign, a thick fog beginning to cover the area. "Too bad for you guys."

The leader stood his ground as his vision began clouded with the thick fog. He heard a scream from his left, then his right. A curse from behind him caused him to turn around to see nothing but the large white cloud he was trapped in. A grunt came from directly beside him. The Sound jonin turned his head to see a man drop onto the ground. He knelt to survey the kill.

'He's using that sword.' the jonin thought as he eyed the large puncture wound in the dead man's back. Standing up, the Sound jonin grimaced. 'He's been studying the fighting skills of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist. This fog is to compensate for the Hidden Mist technique as his sword mimics Samehada. Seems as if this brat was stronger than Lord Orochimaru thought.'

An eerie sound ran through the area. It was the sound that made any sane Suna and Oto Nin shiver. The sound of moving sand. The kind of moving sand that was only controlled by Gaara. However, Gaara was nowhere around. This was the Iron Sand.

"Sir! Get out of the-ugh!"

"Sand Coffin!"

Blood splashed on the face of the Sound jonin. He counted off in his head. Including himself, there were four left, two standing on the ground and one hidden in the trees. In other words, there were only three more victims Naruto had before he moved to the jonin.

"Wind Shredder Jutsu!"

Two left.

"Aah!"

One left.

The jonin blinked as the fog began to clear up. When it did, Naruto stood a few paces away from the Oto jonin, a bloodied Samekatta in his right hand tightly. The jonin felt his heart pace quicken as the blond's cold blue eyes turned to him.

This was no Kyubi no Kitsune. This was all Naruto. This was the child of the devil storm; Makaze no Naruto.

"Before you go," Naruto said as he turned towards the trees. His cheeks puffed before his enlarged tongue shot out.

"Shit!" was heard from the trees before Naruto smirked.

Naruto jerked his head backwards, reeling in the hidden man like a fish. Naruto's tongue released the man and retracted to the boy. The two Sound shinobi stared as Naruto's eyes became those of the fox with a sinister glow.

"Wh-why can't I move?" the jonin asked as Naruto neared them.

"You're paralyzed. As long as you don't take your eyes off of me." Naruto said raising Samekatta. "You can thank Orochimaru for that technique… When you see him in hell that is."

XXX

Shino, Shikamaru, and Sakura continued towards Sasuke's position. Shino glanced over at Sakura.

"You shouldn't worry about him." Shino said, catching the pinkette's attention. "Naruto is strong enough to handle multiple of opponents at one time."

"It's not that. It's Sasuke." Sakura said.

"Sasuke going after Gaara was a dumb idea." Shikamaru stated. "And we chasing after him, is dumber than that."

"Why is that?" Sakura asked.

"Let's face it. You're a kunoichi with no particular skill." Sakura glowered at that. Shikamaru glanced at Shino. "Your only weapon can be killed by spray." Shino only gave Shikamaru his normal casual glance, but he was secretly sulking as well. "And I'm a slacker who would rather one away rather than fight. And here we are going after some weirdo that can control sand."

"Way to be positive." Sakura muttered.

'I have skills… Somewhere…' Inner Sakura moped.

"The only person that can do something is back there." Shikamaru said. "If we're not careful, we will die on this mission."

Both Shino and Sakura nodded and looked forward. Shikamaru was right about one thing. Naruto was the only one strong and crazy enough to go against Gaara. And because her two male counterparts were covered inside of Naruto's Iron Dome at the time, Sakura was the only one that saw whatever it is Gaara had become. That arm looked… She shivered. He was unhuman.

XXX

Naruto flipped over another Sand chunin before driving Samekatta deep into another's chest. A Sound chunin inhaled before exhaling a fireball. Naruto held his blade in front of him.

"Fire Sealing Blade." Naruto muttered. The kanji symbol for 'Fire' began to glow on the broad side of the blade as it began to absorb the flame technique. The enemy ninja stared in disbelief. "Fire Sealing Method: Searing Wave!"

Naruto waved his blade in front of him, causing a strong heatwave to shoot ahead. Two of the five enemies were unable to dodge it in time and was set ablaze. Naruto caught someone coming up behind him and was able to block the katana with his blade. Naruto was able to push the man away from him and eyed the three men that were around him. Clutching his blade, Naruto began to spin, similar to Neji's Heavenly Spin.

"Swift Rotation!" Naruto called before spinning at greater speeds. Naruto then slowed to a stop and watched the men's bodies fall to the ground disassembled. "Where are they coming from?"

"Well, well," Naruto paused and turned to see Dosu. "It looks like instead of Sasuke, I have the pleasure of wiping you out."

Naruto smirked. "You and what army?"

"Let me answer that," Naruto's smirk dropped as he saw a group of at least thirty men behind Dosu. "This army."

Naruto closed his eyes. 'No use in trying…'

A surge of chakra caused Dosu to grunt as he saw the red chakra around Naruto. Naruto opened his now demonic eyes, his whiskers more define. With his senses heightened, Naruto could spot Asuma and Kurenai, though from their chakra signals, he could tell that they were waiting on his next move.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted.

In a puff of smoke, there were now hundreds of the blond behind him, though only one carried Samekatta. Dosu took a subconscious step backwards. Each clone began to give off an electric charge around their right hand.

"Lightning Sealing Release: Multiple Lightning Needle!" Naruto said as he pointed Samekatta forward. The clones thrust their hands forward, shooting needles made of pure white lightning towards Dosu and the others. Dosu, as well as several others, dodged the attack, only for the real Naruto to move. "Swift Release: Thousand Fist Mirage!"

In an instant, the clones vanished causing Dosu's visible eye to widen. He stared at Naruto only for several of fists to materialize in front of him and punch him backwards. Dosu slid on his feet before he sensed someone behind him. He attempted to maneuver his body to dodge the attacker, but was kicked in the face, sending him flying into the air.

Naruto appeared in front of Dosu. The two only stared at one another, Dosu's widened eye to Naruto's cold ones. Dosu felt his body be wrapped by some sort of paper. He attempted to struggle before Naruto flipped him upside down.

"Gravity Seal Bomb!" Naruto shouted.

Seals appeared on the paper around Dosu, increasing his weight tenfold and causing the drop to be ten-times as fast as it should have been. A large cloud of dust erupted where the two crashed. The Sound and Sand shinobi that were with Dosu and able to stand waited for a moment before they saw Naruto standing, his coat flapping a bit in the wind.

"Who's next?" Naruto asked baring his teeth.

XXX

Sasuke continued after Gaara, his eyes locked on his target and his target's two siblings. How Temari and Kankuro caught up to Gaara before he did, Sasuke would never know, but he did not care. He was going to defeat Gaara one way or another. He put a hand on his seal. Today, he would control it like he had been doing for the past month.

XXX

Flashback

Training within the Uchiha Compound at night, Sasuke grunted in pain as he fell onto his knees, a hand on the burning seal.

'No! You damn seal! Stop!' Sasuke thought as he put all his will and power into restraining the seal.

After a few moments, the burning ceased and Sasuke was able to pull himself up to his feet. Sasuke panted in exhaustion, training with Kakashi and then extra training would do that to any shinobi. His eyes felt like they would soon drop out of his eyes from the training with his Sharingan that Kakashi had given him and his left arm was still tingling from the effects of just one Chidori.

However, Sasuke was doing a different training tonight.

"Alright," Sasuke said to himself. "Kakashi says that the Evil Sealing Method puts this thing to my mercy. It's my will that allows this stupid thing to grow." Sasuke closed his eyes and clenched his fist. "And I have to muster enough hate like Itachi said… Enough anger to get this thing to work properly." The marks of the Heaven's Curse Mark began to take over Sasuke's face. "My hatred powers this thing… My will puts me in control…" Sasuke did a few hand seals. Soon he had a fully powered Chidori. "And my destiny gives me new life…"

End Flashback

XXX

Sasuke removed his hand from the seal and smirk.

"Alright. Let's do this." Sasuke said as he pushed forward.

XXX

Within the arena, Guy and Kakashi now stood back-to-back.

"Your student has yet to return with Naruto." Guy said. "Tell me Kakashi, doesn't that worry you?"

"Not at all." Kakashi said, his Sharingan glaring at the enemy a few yards in front of him. "You must remember that while Naruto may house a sincere and deep despise for the majority of people in Konoha, there are some he is willing to protect. You should know. You were there when he saved one."

"His teammate, Hinata. I see…" Guy said. "He would've made a fine rival for Lee!"

Kakashi sighed. "Now's really not the time Guy…"

"Yosh! Here we go! Let's see you keep up Kakashi!" Guy said before leaping off into action again.

'How the hell do I end up with Guy while Asuma gets Kurenai?' Kakashi thought before going back into action as well. 'Lucky bastard…'

XXX

Naruto ducked under a blow before Asuma slashed the attacking shinobi with his trench knives. Kurenai, Naruto, and Asuma regrouped.

"Just twenty left." Naruto said a bit winded.

"You say that like that's an easy number." Kurenai replied.

"Naruto," Asuma said. "Prepare that Fire Release of yours." Naruto nodded as Asuma did a few hand seals. "Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"

Naruto watched the ash fire from Asuma's mouth. He held Samekatta in the air, the Fire symbol seen on the blade.

"Fire Sealing Method: Searing Wave!" Naruto called as he waved his blade in front of him.

The large cloud of ash burst into flames, destroying the enemies that were caught in it. The flame soon died and Asuma and Naruto stared at their handiwork.

"Well, I must say, you make one helluva fighter Naruto." Asuma said.

"Thanks." Naruto said before his eyes snapped to his left. "Gaara…"

"What are you going to do?" Kurenai asked her former replacement student.

"I'm going to defeat him." Naruto said. "Don't worry Kurenai-sensei, I'll do my best not to either overdo it or hurt someone in the crossfire." Kurenai smiled lightly. "Hey Asuma." Asuma now looked at Naruto. "Tell the old man, he owes me a bowl of ramen for this."

Asuma chuckled. "Will do Naruto."

With that, Naruto ran off towards the direction he could sense Shukaku.

"I wonder what the village would be like if he actually lived here." Asuma said rubbing his beard in a thoughtful manner.

Kurenai smiled. "Despite his cold nature on the battlefield, he's just a hyper, knuckle-headed boy who has a unique ability of changing one's view."

"You've really grown attached to him, haven't you?" Asuma asked.

"What can I say? He's made Hiashi open his eyes, he's gotten Shino to talk more, he's helped with HInata's training, and he even gave Yakumo a pep talk. The kid is truly a hero." Kurenai said. "I just wish he wasn't a pervert."

XXX

"We're closing in on them." Shino said. "Sasuke and Gaara are ahead, as well as Temari and Kankuro."

"Great. That troublesome woman again." Shikamaru said. "And here I've wasted a chuck of my chakra during the match. This is such a drag."

"What do we do?" Sakura asked.

"Shino and I will take on Kankuro and Temari." Shikamaru responded. "You make sure that your teammate gets out of there alive."

"What about you two?" Sakura questioned.

"We'll be fine." Shino answered. "Just stick to the plan. I have a feeling that Naruto is nearing us."

Sakura gave a nod. 'That's a relief.'

'Cha! Naruto-kun to the rescue!'Inner Sakura called as she punched the air in front of her.

XXX

"Stop." Gaara ordered. He has fought off the Shukaku's hold momentarily and had reverted back to himself. "We're not going to outrun them."

"Them?" Temari asked.

"Yes." Gaara said before Sasuke landed on a tree branch. "…Uchiha…"

"You two go ahead. I can handle him." Kankuro said.

"Are you sure?" Temari asked.

Kankuro smirked. "I didn't have a match earlier, remember? I'm at a hundred percent."

"And what? You think I'm not?" Sasuke asked. "Get out of my way. I only want to fight whatever the hell he is."

"That's my brother you bastard!" Temari called as she opened her fan.

"Temari." Gaara said, stopping her. "Let's go. Kankuro can handle the Uchiha. And if he doesn't…" Gaara glared at Kankuro. "I'll kill them both."

"Sasuke-kun!"

The group looked to see Shino, Shikamaru and Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun, thank Kami you're alright." Sakura said. "We have to get back to the stadium. Kakashi-sensei said-"

"I'm not going anywhere." Sasuke said. "Not until I defeat him once and for all."

"Of all the times to have that stupid pride, now's not the time." Shikamaru said. "Get your ass over here and let's go while we still can."

"Talking isn't getting us anywhere." Shino said. "He's going to fight Gaara."

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru responded. "And here I thought that after the exam, I could go into the fields and stare at the clouds… Oh well, I guess it can't be help then." Shikamaru looked at Temari. "Hey, Temari, are you ready for your rematch?"

"Damn right slacker. And this time, I'm going to blow that stupid grin off of your face!" Temari said.

Gaara took that moment to hop away. Sasuke went to pursue him until Kankuro's puppet, Karasu, appeared in front of him, causing Sasuke to change directions and pause in his advance.

"Hey, your opponent is me." Shino said to Kankuro. "We didn't really get to have our match at the exams and I really wanted to see how you'd fair against me."

"I'll be with you in just a second." Kankuro said before turning to Sasuke. "Now, let's take care of the Uchiha. Get him Ka…"

Shikamaru sighed. "As pointless as it is, Shadow Possession complete." Shikamaru then looked at Sasuke. "If you're going to go after Gaara, now's your chance."

"What? What are you doing?" Sakura shouted at Shikamaru.

"Someone's got to stop that guy from destroying the village. While I doubt Sasuke could do it, he surely could delay Gaara's advance. Hopefully that will build up enough time for Naruto to get here." Shikamaru said.

Sasuke really did not like the fact that Shikamaru had basically called him second-best to Naruto, but left anyway. As soon as Sasuke was at a safe distance, Shikamaru released his hold on Kankuro.

"Three on two. We have the advantage here." Shino said.

"Are you blind? There're three of us as well." Kankuro said. "Now let's show you what the Hidden Sand is made of!"

XXX

Tayuya watched the match between the Hiruzen and the Senju Brothers. Thankfully, Kin's failure in the Chunin Exams had caused her to take Tayuya's place in the resurrection of the Nidaime Hokage. After his arms were injured, Zaku's fate had already been sealed.

Tayuya could see the old Sandaime Hokage getting beaten by the two previous Hokages and winced slightly. This man was once a man that Naruto considered a grandfather and while she could kill anyone without as much as batting an eye, she knew that the death of the Hokage would do nothing less than cause Naruto extra grief.

'What the hell am I thinking? I'm a fucking shinobi. We kill for a living and my mission is to keep this up until the old bastard dies, whether Shithead likes it or not!' Tayuya thought before thinking about what Naruto told her and Sakon.

XXX

Flashback

Naruto, Sakon, and Tayuya sat around a small fire as the blond ate a bowl of ramen.

"So, why do you even care for that village?" Sakon asked. "From what you've told us, they all hate you."

Naruto glanced at Sakon. "The Hokage."

Now Tayuya questioned. "What does the old bastard have to do with this?"

A flare of chakra told Tayuya to shush, and despite herself, she did.

"The old man is probably one of the reasons I care to save the people I do. He taught me a lot about the Will of Fire when I was younger." Naruto said. "Hell, without him, I'd probably be dead now and you guys would be worrying about a rampaging nine-tailed fox."

"Well, too bad that we have to destroy the village." Sakon said. Naruto did not reply, causing Tayuya and Sakon to shift uneasily. "You do remember your part, right?"

"Fight Gaara. I remember." Naruto said before rising. "You know, Hiru-jii told me that when the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew. In other words, destroying a few buildings and killing a number of people will never destroy Konohagakure no Sato. Not as long the Will still burns in just one soul…" Naruto paused. "To destroy the village, you'd have to kill at least four of the strongest shinobi alive. Hiru-jii, Ero-sennin, Kakashi, and me."

Sakon and Tayuya both tensed at this. They had expected Naruto to attempt to attack whoever Orochimaru sent with him and this would be the ideal moment. However, the blond just smiled.

"But, I know that killing all four of us at once, if one of us at all, is near impossible to do. Even for a man like Orochimaru." Naruto said.

"What the hell are you talking about Shithead? Orochimaru could kill you and ass fuck your corpse for the rest of eternity." Tayuya said.

"I'm not stupid enough to fight Orochimaru head on. I'd simply just use the Swift Release to get away. By the time he catches up to me, I'd be strong enough to finish him." Naruto said.

"Hypothetically speaking," Sakon stated. "If Orochimaru-sama were to kill any of the other three that you named, what would you do?"

"Hmm… That's a good question." Naruto said. "Seeing as Jiraiya and Hiru-jii are the closest thing I've had to a father, I guess I'd go on a berserk rage until I killed him and all four of you since none of you told me the plan in the first place."

"Just wondering." Sakon replied before Naruto walked off.

"We're fucked." Tayuya muttered.

End Flashback

XXX

'We're so fucked.' Tayuya thought.

XXX

"Get him!" Kankuro said a bit maniacally as Karuso came for Shino. The puppet slashed through the boy, only for Shino's body to deteriorate into a swarm of bugs. "Shit! More bugs!"

"Heads up!" Temari called as she waved her large fan in front of her.

Sakura's body was blown against a tree before it poofed into a log.

"Replacement, eh? They're going to keep popping in and out like that slacker did to me during our match." Temari said. "Well, too bad it's not going to work."

Sakura panted quietly. "How are we going to get pass them?"

"We're not. Not all of us at least." Shikamaru said. "We're going to have to make a diversion so that one of us can go off to Sasuke."

"Agreed." Shino said. "Sakura, Shikamaru and I will divert them for only a few minutes. You will go and help Sasuke."

Sakura froze in her response.

"Now is really not the time for you to put anything between you and your undeniable loyalty to Sasuke." Shikamaru said. "Go out there and help anyway you can. We can take on these two."

"Hai." Sakura said.

"Alright, here we go." Shikamaru said doing hand seals. "Clone Jutsu."

Temari and Kankuro waited patiently before they saw three bodies spreading apart.

"They're running huh? This just got more amusing." Kankuro said sending Karuso after what he thought was Sakura.

"Take this slacker!" Temari shouted as she swung her fan towards Shino and Shikamaru. Temari smirked when she saw Shikamaru and Shino collide into a tree. "Got them."

"Me too." Kankuro said before Karuso's attack went directly through Sakura. "What? A clone?"

XXX

Sakura was now hopping between trees.

'Take care guys.' Sakura thought. 'Sasuke-kun, hold on. I'm coming.'

XXX

Sasuke was able to stop Gaara by landing in front of him.

"Stop running. You'll only delay the inevitable." Sasuke said. "So, are you ready to finish this?"

"You're starting to annoy me." Gaara said as his right eye changed to that of Shukaku's. "But… If you're in such a haste to die…"

Sasuke watched in slight horror as the gourd on Gaara's back shattered and the sand began to cover Gaara's body. The right half of Gaara's face and right arm became that of a tanuki while a tail grew as well.

'This guy, he's just like Naruto.' Sasuke thought as he envisioned Naruto's Beast Mimicry Trasnformation. 'Yeah, it's just the same. I'd better see what he can do before I run in there.'

Gaara watched Sasuke swallow a pill. Soon, Sasuke's demeanor changed to that of a more confident one.

"I'll have to thank Kiba for that one." Sasuke said his Sharingan glaring at Gaara. "Now, let's finish this!"

Gaara fired his right arm towards Sasuke, the limb extending to extraordinary lengths. Sasuke dodged the attack and tossed a handful of kunai at the jinchuriki. Gaara was able tot swat the weapons away with a flick of his tail.

"Damn that stupid thing." Sasuke said as he did hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke exhaled the large fireball towards Gaara, who only shielded himself with his right arm. With a wave of his arm, Gaara dispelled the fireball, causing Sasuke to glare.

"So a little burn isn't going to work." Sasuke said. "No matter. I'll just have to work harder!"

Gaara saw as Sasuke vanished with a burst of speed. Sasuke came from Gaara's left with a sharp kick that snapped Gaara's head to the side, but Gaara counted with a slap of his tail. Sasuke regained his balance and tossed two kunai at Gaara. Again, Gaara raised his right arm to capture the weapons.

'Got him.' Sasuke thought while doing hand seals.

Gaara's eyes caught the sunlight reflecting off of something. He then realized what it was. Wires.

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

Sasuke's flame raced down the wires towards Gaara, engulfing his opponent like he had done to Orochimaru. Sasuke kept the attack up for as long as he could without too much chakrak stress and then waited. A demonic hand shot from the cloud of smoke and dust towards Sasuke. Sasuke was able to dodge the clawed hand and moved to a safe distance. When the smoke cleared, Gaara's upper body resembled the biju that he carried, only his lower body being normal.

"This isn't good." Sasuke said as Gaara inhaled deeply before exhaling a large sandstorm towards Sasuke.

Sasuke covered himself as he was blown backwards. Sasuke rolled on the ground for a few feet before he was able to come to a stop. His Sharingan picked up on Gaara firing shuriken made from sand towards his direction. Sasuke was able to move out of the way of the attack.

"You think you're the only one with power?" Sasuke asked the large demon. "I have news for you. You're not!"

'Alright seal… Give me more power!' Sasuke thought as he put his chakra into the Heaven's Curse Mark.

Gaara's eyes were focused on the symbols that began to take up Sasuke's face. The dark chakra that surrounded the Uchiha made Gaara think that Sasuke could be something akin to a jinchuriki. And that only fueled his rage further.

"Now," Sasuke said. "Let's end this thing!"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called coming towards the area. Sakura paused when she saw Sasuke's form. "S-S-Sasuke…"

"Get out of here Sakura. This doesn't concern you." Sasuke said, his eyes still focused on Gaara.

"You're using it again." Sakura said as she moved towards Sasuke. "Sasuke, you have to stop before that thing ruins your mind! It'll make you just like Orochimaru!"

"Stay back Sakura. I won't warn you again." Sasuke said.

Sakura paused before coming closer. She remembered that her hug seemed to snap Sasuke out of the rage the first time. It might do it again.

"Sasuke-kun, please," Sakura was seconds from embracing him before Sasuke's hand rose to strike her. Sakura froze before something stopped Sasuke.

"You reek of foul chakra, teme." Naruto said before tossing Sasuke away from Sakura. Sasuke slid on his feet and glared at the blond. "Sakura-chan, Sasuke is right. You have to go." Naruto turned his gaze from Sasuke to Gaara. "What's about to happen here is something I don't want you to be apart of. You've done your job."

"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything!" Sakura nearly cried.

Naruto smiled. "You're wrong. You've helped Shikamaru and Shino out in their battle as well as found Sasuke. You did more than what you were asked to do." While Naruto clearly found the area due to the presence of Shukaku, he still wanted Sakura to feel better about herself. "Go. I'll handle it from here."

"Hai." Sakura said. "Please, be careful, Sasuke-kun."

Naruto waited for Sakura to leave before he glanced at Sasuke and Gaara.

"So how about you say we get rid of the Uchiha and finish what we started in Suna?" Naruto asked Gaara.

Gaara inhaled deeply before using the Inifinte Sand Cloud Great Breakthrough again, this time aimed for Naruto. Naruto was prepared to counter this until he saw Sasuke's fireball ignite the wind-sand attack.

'Glass.' Naruto thought as the Iron Sand formed a protective dome around Naruto.

Sasuke saw Naruto on the defensive and moved towards Gaara.

'His legs.' Sasuke thought.

Gaara saw Sasuke's intentions and swung an arm for the Uchiha. Dodging the attack, Sasuke did a few hand seals before exhaling small fireballs at Gaara. The fireballs slowly extinguish to reveal the shuriken that were concealed within them. The shuriken embedded themselves into Gaara's body. Gaara inhaled before giving a fierce roar, firing the shuriken back towards Sasuke. Thankfully, the combination of the Heaven's Curse Mark and his Sharingan were able to give Sasuke the reflexes and speed to dodge the weapons. However, the powerful elbow from Naruto to his gut he did not see coming. Sasuke toppled on the ground as Naruto turned towards Gaara.

"Alright. Let's finish this thing." Naruto growled pointing Samekatta towards Gaara.

Sasuke was able to stand in time to see Naruto and Gaara running towards each other. With one quick slice, Naruto cut straight through Gaara's arm and landed on a branch in a tree. Sasuke was seconds away from admitting how pathetic Gaara was for not seeing the obvious swing until the detached arm shot for Naruto.

Naruto turned just in time to see the arm grab him and slam him against a tree trunk.

'Man… This thing is tighter than before.' Naruto thought. 'But I'm stronger too!'

Sasuke was currently dodging Gaara's Sand Shuriken before he and Gaara sensed Naruto's rise in chakra.

"Byakurai!" Naruto shouted as the lightning shattered his restraints. Naruto raised Samekatta. "Fire Sealing Method: Searing Wave!"

Gaara spat out a flood of sand from his mouth creating a giant sand wall in front of him. While Gaara was shielded from the attack, the area around Gaara was not. Sasuke, who dodged the attack, watched as several of trees lit into flames.

Gaara inhaled some of the sand in front of him before exhaling a powerful ball of sand towards Naruto. Naruto was able to dodge the attack.

Sasuke stood amazed as a row of trees were flattened by the attack.

'That… Thing… It's so strong…' Sasuke thought. 'But my reason to live…' Electricity began forming around Sasuke's arm. 'My vengeance…' Sasuke glared at Gaara. 'It's stronger!'

Naruto spotted Sasuke coming for Gaara.

"Idiot!" Naruto hissed as he moved to stop Sasuke.

"Eat this!" Sasuke shouted. "Chidor!"

Gaara's eyes caught on Sasuke's attack. Sasuke was in striking range until a powerful fist caused his entire body to abruptly jerk to the left, the Chidori barely touching Gaara. The sand the Gaara meant to capture Sasuke in instead captured Naruto as Sasuke's body rolled on the ground.

'Without Swift Release, I wasn't fast enough to dodge that.' Naruto thought. 'Great… And here I thought my standard speed was rising.'

'Now is not the time to talk about your incompetence. Break free from this or we will both be mocked for eternity.' the fox informed Naruto.

Naruto rolled his eyes. 'For once, it would be good if you actually cared about my actual well-being and not your stupid pride at being beaten by the one-tailed demon.' Naruto sighed. 'You're really no help at all Kyu-jii.'

Sasuke stood up, managing to keep the Chidori still alive and blazing. He was beginning to feel the side affects of pushing out overexerting himself, but he had to defeat Gaara and Naruto and this was the only time that both enemies were at one place at one time.

Sasuke took a running start at his target. Sakura, who was watching this gasped.

"Sasuke, no!"

"Chidori!"

XXX