If Hinata hadn't been the victim of it, she would never of believed that some one could throw a kunai as fast as she was seeing. Tenten's accuracy was top notch and deadly. She hadn't been hit yet, but knew if her concentration faltered for even a moment she would get seriously hurt. She had barely been able to dodge an attack aimed for her stomach. Hinata knew she couldn't just keep dodging the way she was, sooner or later she'd either get fatigued or make a mistake.

Dodging another barrage of shuriken, one of which grazed her arm, she wanted to scream in frustration. The only way I'm going to be able to get in close is if I can charge her. But, the way she throws her weapons forms an almost perfect defense. I'll have to step it up or I'll lose! Pulling out a kunai of her own, she now added deflection to her defense.

Tenten cursed as she noticed Hinata gaining more ground thanks to the added defense. Her arms started to burn, as she threw faster, losing some accuracy but needed to keep the other kunoichi away. It was frustrating, not being able to hit her. Sure, she saw a few red cuts on her forearms, but that wouldn't stop Hinata. From what she could tell, she would run out of projectiles before the other girl would get fatigued. It didn't help any that her arms were starting to burn from exertion, either.

Hinata started advancing rapidly through the deadly web of kunai and shuriken, getting more nicks and cuts from the attacks. Thanks to her now active byakugan, she could see the trajectory of all the weapons however she was turned. From the catwalks, Naruto kept up a concentrated face, but inside felt nervous as he saw his only teammate flirting with death.

Rolling, twisting, blocking and parrying Hinata smiled as she saw the frequency of the projectiles dropping. She must be getting close to empty, I can win this I know it! Seeing she was only mere steps away from the older girl, Hinata threw her kunai straight at Tenten, watched her dodge it, then charged forward and unleashed a jyuuken strike into her stomach. To her dismay however, Tenten exploded into smoke and a kunai fell from her place.

Seeing the girl behind her, Hinata quickly ducked and rolled barely avoiding the razor sharp Chinese broadsword that swung over her in an arc. The princess was surprised at how quick the lithe kunoichi could swing such a large sword, having little time to consider a counter attack.

Tenten cursed as she missed on her tenth swing and was glad she had been training as hard as she had been, otherwise she'd be fatigued by now. The one thing most weapon users have problems with are moving targets. Throwing kunai at trees and slashing at prone logs was one thing, but having a live opponent who could predict and avoid your careful strikes was another. She was thankful for the Akamichi strength pill she had taken before the fight. Non-addictive and gave the user a small strength boost for an hour by allowing increased production of adrenaline to the system.

Hinata soon realized that her opponent was trying to back her into the area where her shuriken and kunai had fallen. It would become even more difficult to dodge when she would have to also watch her footwork on lest she step on the sharpened steel. Shifting her body right to dodge a vertical slash, she gasped as Tenten stopped her attack mid-slice and turned the sword in her grip at inhuman speed and turned it into a horizontal attack. Leaning back, almost parallel to the ground, an idea quickly formed in her head and she thrusted her chakra infused palm forward and struck the weapons expert in her wrist, closing off two tenketsu points. The shock of the blow was enough to loosen the grip Tenten had on her sword, and Hinata followed up just as quick with a punch to the flat blade and disarmed the other kunoichi.

Tenten yelled out in frustration as she lashed out with her left leg and kicked the heiress in the back of her head, knocking her off her feet and caused her to land on her face a foot away.

Hinata hissed from the pain in her head, but thanks to the adrenaline coursing through her veins, barely registered it. Quickly pushing herself off the ground, she avoided a kunai that had been aimed at her back. Seeing the other girl trying to reach for her weapon, Hinata jumped forward with a palm strike that Tenten had to hop back to avoid, unless she wanted to take a jyuuken strike in her head.

Now it was Tenten on the defensive, dodging the strikes that were almost as fast as Neji's. She was glad now to of been on the same team as a Hyuuga, for the gentle fist style was just as dangerous with indirect hits or attacks that barely missed. She knew she had to move in wide arcs, to try and entirely avoid the pulsing chakra that the heiress emitted from her palms.

Sidestepping a palm thrust, Tenten quickly thrust out with a kunai she held in a reverse grip and stabbed the other girl in the shoulder. Pushing the dagger into the hilt, she twisted it and heard Hinata scream out in agony. Snapping her leg out, she kicked the princess hard in the ribs and sent her rolling away.

Hinata was already in a world of pain as her arm felt like it was being torn apart from the inside. After getting a harsh kick that felt like it cracked a rib, she cried out every time the kunai hit the ground and moved in her, tearing more flesh and muscle. Getting up as fast as she could, trying to evict the pain from her mind she grasped the kunai with a shaky breath. With a pain and rage filled scream that echoed in the arena, she slowly wrenched and tugged at the kunai that her body didn't want to let out. Warm blood spilled from the wound and coated her hand and jacket. Tears streaming down her eyes, she finally pulled one final time and removed the foreign object from her. The relief she felt from finally getting it out momentarily overpowered the wracking pain that had overtaken her body.

Naruto was gripping the railing so hard his right arm had managed to bend and crimp the steel. His teeth were threating to break and shatter under the weight of his own rage from how hard he had his jaw clenched. Ever fiber of his being screamed protect Hinata! But he knew it was a test and couldn't do anything but continue to cheer her on and fruitlessly attempt to stem the tides of anger that slammed against his conscious like a tsunami. Every cry and drop of blood from the girl caused the his self-control to weaken and wane. The pain filled scream that filled the arena echoed through his mind and promised to imprint itself into his memory. He knew he had to get a reign on his anger or he could loose his control. The only thing he could do was to repeat to himself again and again that she would be okay and that this was just an exam.

Tenten, who had been calmly standing by, summoned a large spiked club and waited patiently for the other kunoichi to prepare herself. "You can surrender and save yourself a lot of pain." Tenten suggested, seeing the look on her opponents face after pulling the kunai out.

"Never!" Hinata replied with a agonized yell. Something was budding inside her, something dark and foreign that she rarely felt. Anger. Anger and burning desire to completely pound her opponent into the ground. Taking a look at the bloody kunai she held, she realized it was her first serious wound she'd received that drew blood. Compared to the feeling of getting her organs slammed with chakra, this was different. The sight of her own blood drew a macabre interest from the girl, knowing it was hers. Excitement and battle rage started to finally root itself in the girl's mind as she felt the reserved and quiet Hinata shuffle to the back of her mind. Letting an enraged battle cry loose from her throat, she flung the bloody dagger with all her might and charged after it, ready for round two.

All around the arena, Konoha genin and jonin alike couldn't believe what they were seeing. Anyone who had even been in a room with the Hyuuga heiress for a minute knew that she was an extreme introvert, quiet and reserved to the point where she rarely spoke to others first. Now, she stood in front of everyone like a flower in full bloom.

The kunoichi in the room were happy to see such determination and strength from one of their own. While kunoichi were respected and considered of equal worth publicly, they weren't always accepted among their male counterparts. So, seeing such an awesome display of courage and sheer guts was a good indicator of the future to them.

Sarutobi smiled, seeing the determination on Hinata's face despite her wound. It seemed to spur her on if nothing else. He was happy to see such development and prowess from the girl as the file he had on her said her biggest weakness was lack of any confidence in herself or her abilities. Clearly, that is not the case here. I wonder how much Naruto has to do with that?

Looking over at the child he could easily consider a grandson, he saw a mixture of pride and barely contained rage on his face as he destroyed the railing he was holding onto like a lifeline. It was a look he knew well, after all his long years of life he had seen many things. It was a look of concern that went beyond that of a teammate or ally. I wonder if God will allow me to remain on earth long enough to see what those two will do with their lives? I hope so. Chuckling, he felt the weight of a certain orange book in his robe and remembered a certain couple in one volume that reminded him of the two. He would have to read that one later.

Tenten couldn't believe the change in the Hyuuga princess' attitude. While she had been determined and ready before, now she was dead set. Her strikes no longer were unsure or aiming for non-vital areas, just a moment ago she barely dodged a jyuuken strike to her heart. She barely had time to counter with her weapon, only able to use it to block. She saw that the lavender girl had numerous red bleeding marks on her palms from where she had struck a spike on the mace. It didn't slow her down in the least.

Hinata screamed as she unleashed a flurry of jabs aimed around the gigantic mace Tenten had to use for defense, three of her attacks getting past and striking tenketsu around the other girl's left lung. Her arms stung and bled fresh from getting gouges along her forearms where she grazed the sharp spikes. It didn't matter, she was going to win and make Naruto proud of her!

Tenten cursed as she felt her breath constrict and knew the other girl was getting an upper hand. Allowing another strike to hit her gut she stomped down on Hinata's knee and caused the girl to falter long enough to swing her mace as hard as she could against Hinata's already injured right arm. Somehow, the girl kept her ground.

Hinata screamed out as pain exploded in both her arm and mind as she felt her right arm and shoulder shatter from the weight and force of the blow. Blood exploded from the wound and spill on the floor and her opponent. In a moment of clarity she completely shrugged off the pain and thrust her left arm forward, shooting a gigantic wave of chakra through Tenten's midsection. The weapon's expert was pushed back, ripping the spikes from Hinata's arm causing another wave of blinding pain. Seeing her opponent still standing, Hinata charged forward knowing she had to strike again or lose.

The strike Tenten received was unlike anything she had ever felt. Her heart almost stopped and it felt like her insides had been ripped apart and put back in. In that moment of excruciating pain, she honestly respected the other kunoichi. Tenten hated weakness of any kind, and Hinata proved she was far from the wallflower Neji had said she was. Seeing the girl charge again, she raised her mace again, feeling her body protest and scream to stop.

Hinata was upon her in less that three steps, seeing the other girl raise her mace, Hinata thrust her good arm forward and surged as much chakra as her arm would allow through. Aiming for her lower gut, Hinata mark found it's mark just as Tenten's mace once again slammed on her right shoulder, further deforming it, making Hinata buckle under it's weight as she fell to her knees.

Tenten coughed and blood flew from her mouth as she felt something rupture in her. Dropping the mace, she started feel light headed as she fell backwards. She didn't even register the pain of hitting the ground.

Hinata breathed hard and watched her opponent closely. Blood was flowing freely down her chest and back as her right arm hung limply and useless from her fractured shoulder. Adrenaline and rage still fueled her as she forced herself to stand again. She felt light-headed and dizzy, knowing she had lost a lot of blood.

No sooner than she had started to rise, Hayate was at their sides, kneeling at Tenten's side checking her pulse. Hinata realized that, in her battle rage, could of killed the other kunoichi. It was feeling that dumped ice water on her brain and brought her to that realization.

After a moment, Hayate nodded with a relieved sigh. "She's just unconscious." Standing back up, he raised his right arm. "Winner: Hinata Hyuuga!" Hinata let out a shaky breath.

Naruto had been on the verge of madness seeing the bloody and mangled limb that had been Hinata's right arm. But, even still, he was awestruck at the grit Hinata showed taking every hit from the more experienced kunoichi and even pulled out ahead and won. Using a chakra enhanced leap, Naruto cleared the ground between them quickly and landed at Hinata's side, cringing seeing the damage close up. "Hinata-chan! Are you okay?"

Hinata smiled weakly hearing his concern and glad to see he came to check on her. "N-Nothing I can't handle, t-thank you Naruto-kun." She replied, her words faltering from the pain that now was seeming to triple as every second ticked by. Then, she felt something akin to a switch flick in her head as she lost all semblance of balance and started to fall. Before she got anywhere close to the ground however, Naruto caught her. Naruto kneeled, and rested Hinata against his legs – being mindful of her arm, as he supported her head in his arms. She felt so light and fragile in his arms, he had to wonder how she was such a tough fighter.

"Heh, you're awesome, you know that Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, feeling his worry start to fade as he saw medics dressed in white suits running up to the fighters with stretchers.

Hinata smiled, causing Naruto to blush for a reason he couldn't comprehend. Her hair was matted with sweat and blood and clung to her face. Her smile was tired and weary and her eyes conveyed much the same. But, pride in herself shone through as she accomplished what she set out to do. A small blush started to form on her porcelain skin, causing him to wonder what she was thinking.

Raising her left arm up, she gently touched the blonde's face feeling the warmth from his red cheek. The battle seemed to work much like alcohol for the girl as she felt an unusual amount of courage. She gently stroked his cheek and smiled at the way his blush seemed to deepen. He looked like he was going to stutter something out, but she interrupted him. "Naruto-kun, did you know your eyes look like the sky? They're really. . .beautiful."

The boy swore he felt himself almost about to pass out as all his blood must of rushed to his face. Nobody had ever said something like that to him. "I-I uh. . ."

Hinata could hear a small voice in the back of her mind screaming at her for what she just said, but she couldn't care less as she started to feel like she was falling asleep. The last thing she remembered seeing was the medics towering over Naruto and catching his attention.

After the medics had taken Hinata and Tenten, Naruto watched the retreating figure with mixed feelings coursing in him. He touched the cheek she had touched, and saw smeared blood on his finger. Smiling, he rubbed his finger on his cheek again, keeping the mark on him. Jumping back to the catwalks, he couldn't help but wish he could go with her, but he would only be in the way. Not to mention his match.

Before the next match could be announced however, there was the issue of clearing the field of weapons. As that was being done by proctors, the teams were chatting amongst themselves with the topic of the most exciting battle of the exam so far. No one could believe that meek Hinata showed the bloody determination to beat her opponent. Naruto couldn't exactly hear it, but saw Kiba across the way blushing and it looked like he was saying words like 'hot' and 'sexy' to Sasuke who had a smirk on his face as he nodded. Judging by the pissed off look Sakura had, he might be right. Naruto felt a strange emotion, he didn't know what to call it, but all he knew was that he wanted to rip off the Inazuka's face off and piss on it.

His wish however, would be granted by Rock Lee, as it was him against Kiba. The fight, if you could call it that, was short and completely one-sided as Lee executed a flawless victory over the other boy. Naruto cheered on the taijutsu specialist as he relished in every punch and kick.

The next match was Neji Hyuuga vs Zaku Abumi, the last member of the sound team. The match up was much like Hinata's fight, with the exception that Zaku;s sound technique wasn't nearly as effective a defense as Tenten's barrage of steel was. Neji was clearly the stronger shinobi and after a few minutes of evading, got in close and quickly ended the fight.

All that was left was Naruto and the team from Suna. Naruto bit his cheek as he noticed the red headed boy looking directly at him. His face was emotionless, betrayed only by his eyes that kept Naruto morbidly captivated. If the blonde didn't know any better, he was pining to fight him.

"Next match: Temari versus Kankuro!"

Then, Naruto watched as the emotionless mask completely slipped and a mad, wicked smile spread across Naruto's opponents face. It soon disappeared back into the mask, but his eyes still shone with murderous glee. Shit, Naruto thought with a feeling akin to fear creeping up his spine. This guy really wants to fight me, maybe kill. What the hell is his problem?

As soon as he had thought it, memories flashed before him. Of a day he kept buried under staying busy with training and his life. They wouldn't be ignored this time. He lost all notice of the world around him, of the two sand shinobi fighting, of his teammate and sensei. The lights overhead seemed to dim to nothing and all sound muted. He closed his eyes against his will and felt himself being tugged deep into his own mind.

When he opened them again, he was in darkness. The sound of deep, feral growling echoed through his mind as he started to feel slow moving, filthy water run over his feet and seep into his sandals. The air was thick with a miasma of hatred and unbridled rage. Ahead of him, his vision adjusted to the darkness and saw far ahead a glowing red dot. He knew where he was and knew he'd been summoned. Taking a step forward, Naruto grimaced at the slimy feeling of the sewer water that seeped between his toes and over his feet. His own breathing and heartbeat echoed in the stone hallway as he walked towards the red glow.

Then, a deep violent voice rung through the sewer so loudly he swore it would rupture his eardrums. "Bastard child. I would speak with you. Make haste and come to me."

Naruto had known he'd been summoned to the Kyuubi's 'cage' and felt uneasy at the fact it could do that. Not taking any extra hurry, he walked towards the red glow with even steps, quelling the fear of the beast that was creeping into his resolve. He had no reason to fear the beast. He was it's jailer, not the other way around. As he neared, the breathing became louder and more aggravated. The red glow separated into two smaller ones that resembled eyes. Naruto finally reached the large area before the cage and heard an angry sigh.

"About time. I wouldn't normally waste my breath on an insignificant human like you, but I feel it necessary to inform you of your opponents true nature."

"True nature?" Naruto replied, wondering what the fox was getting at.

"That boy is not normal. He is a jinchuuriki."

Naruto gasped hearing this, "Y-you mean there's someone else like me?"

The Kyuubi sighed, as it seemed to grow increasingly frustrated with it's host. "Of course you fool. You just happen to be the lucky one and have the greatest of the tailed beasts residing within you."

Lucky he says. . . Naruto grumbled in his mind. Then again, it did save his life.

"There are nine tailed beasts and countless lesser demons. While the lesser demons can be slain or exorcised we tailed beasts are of a higher echelon of the demon world. Our chakra is the true soul of our being and because there is no way to destroy chakra you cannot destroy us, only seal. So it has been that you humans seal us away into yourselves. It is rather irritating."

Naruto listened intently, digesting the information.

"I have digressed however, that boy is the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi, the one tailed raccoon. I don't know this for a fact, but judging by the markings around his eyes and attitude he certainly bears a resemblance to the hosts I've seen in the past."

So I was right, there was something off about him. Naruto thought solemnly, now regarding his fight in a new light. It brought a myriad of questions to mind, would his opponent use his demonic powers? If so, Naruto would have to respond in kind and he doubted he could pass it off as a secret bloodline he'd kept hidden. Demonic chakra was so evil you could almost taste it's foulness.

"The one-tailed raccoon is a deviant even among we demons. He is unstable at best and completely mad at his worst. He kills and destroys without impunity. I at least only kill if I am not made the proper offering."

"Oh yeah?" Naruto scoffed, "and what's that, all the virgins?"

"Only the most beautiful one." The Kyuubi howled out, laughing.

"Sorry I asked. . ." Naruto responded, disgusted at the idea.

"Call upon my power boy. Otherwise I will step in." The Kyuubi spoke, any joviality gone from his voice. "You cannot defeat the Ichibi alone."

Naruto felt himself jarred back to reality with the final statement. He was in a small panic at first, feeling like he'd just woken after being put under from an anesthetic. After calming himself for a moment, he heard his temporary sensei speak. "Naruto? Are you okay? You had your eyes closed and it sounded like you had a waking nightmare or something." Kurenai asked, her voice heavy with worry.

Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head. "I, uh. . . I was just remembering this dream I had last night about Ichiraku going out of business! It was terrible!" he responded, waving his arms about.

Kurenai sighed with a laugh and shook her head, turning back to the battle.

Naruto sighed and started to turn back himself, but caught Shino's eyes as he turned. The other boy hadn't bought it for a second. Naruto gulped and mouthed, 'I'll explain later.'

Shino nodded and gave him a look that promised the Aburame would keep him to that.

Kankuro and Temari continued their heated battle for a long time. Being teammates, they knew each other's strength and weaknesses. It was rather interesting to most the Konoha genin who were present, having not seen a puppet master in action before.

It was obvious that Kankuro was at a disadvantage because his primary strategy focused on using his puppet to keep his opponent busy and keep himself protected. Then, he would attack with poison gas and poisoned needles. If those didn't work, the puppet also had numerous hand-to-hand weapons built in.

Unfortunately, Temari could attack them both with her wind attacks and keep the poisoned needles and gas far from her. It became rather dangerous as the deadly gas was wafting towards the catwalks. But, thanks to a quick wind ninjutsu from the Hokage, it was easily dismissed.

After a tense twenty minutes of fighting, Temari unleashed her Wind Scythe Jutsu and cut the puppet to pieces and gave the puppeteer a deep gash in his side. While it wasn't crippling, the puppet user surrendered.

Naruto could feel every second tick by after the end of the fight as he knew it could go very badly for him. He was kicking himself, remembering his promise to never run from another battle or to fear an opponent. But, he felt in this case, the fear may be deserved. Naruto knew the Kyuubi was right about the unstable part as he watched the red head's frown twitch at times into a cruel smile. Naruto let out a deep breath, and started stretching.

"Nervous?" Kurenai asked, not blaming him if he was. The sand kid gave her the creeps from the way he was looking at Naruto.

"Who me?" Naruto laughed as he finished working his arms and started to stretch his legs. "Never."

"Next match: Gaara of the Sand versus Naruto!"

So, his name is Gaara. Naruto thought to himself, the name of his opponent revealed. Gaara wasted no time as he jumped down into the ring and looked up at Naruto as if to say 'get the hell down here'.

Naruto jumped down to the field and walked to where he stood across the other jinchuuriki. Then, in a voice that Naruto felt belonged in a horror movie his opponent spoke in a dry voice.

"So, you are the host of the Kyuubi. The Ichibi has told me much about him. I look forward to killing you."

"Freaking psycho." Naruto muttered, as his fear was confirmed. This boy was out for his blood. But, now that he knew that, "If it's blood you want. Blood you'll get." Naruto drew his greatsword and slung it over his shoulder.

Gaara grinned as Naruto swore he saw sand start to swirl around the boy. "Good! We are monsters and we should act like it! Let's see who's existence will be confirmed today!"

Hayate, who had been quietly standing by, rose his hand. "Fight!"

"Make me feel alive!" Gaara shouted, waisting no time in sending a small barrage of shurikens made from sand at Naruto.

Naruto easily dodged the assault and charged forward looking to end this match as quick as possible. Moving faster than the other boy had clearly expected, Naruto's sword sped through the air like lightning and was aimed for the Ichibi container's head. Before it met it's mark however, it was stopped by a patch of sand that had materialized to block it. Geez, it felt like hitting a rock wall, what did he do to make that thing? I didn't see any seals!

"Mother will never let me get hurt." Was all Gaara spoke before a spike of sand erupted from the floor and sought to impale the blonde. Naruto moved faster though, and jumped backwards, only to meet more spikes that charged his way. With four quick slashes though, the broke off and fell to piles on the floor.

"Good. I was hoping you wouldn't be another worthless opponent. I've had so many pathetic ninja die by my hands I was getting bored. I can only truly prove my existence by slaughtering the strongest!"

"Dammit! Do you ever shut up!" Naruto yelled as he dodged another onslaught of sand shurikens. Dammit, he can attack me no matter where I am. Somehow he's controlling sand seemingly at will and with no hand seals.

For the next minute, Naruto avoided and destroyed more sand spikes and shurikens before letting out a yell. "Kage bunshin no Jutsu!" Three more Naruto's appeared and charged Gaara.

Winding through spikes, the four Naruto's attacked at different spots at Gaara's body, only to all be stopped by a shield of sand that formed an egg shaped dome around his body.

"What the –?" Naruto was able to utter out before four smaller spikes the size of small steel pipes shot out from the dome and killed the three clones. Naruto let out a yell as he felt the sharp sand pierce his gut and propel him backwards as the spike lengthened. Still impaled on it, Naruto could barely utter a word before he watched five shurikens emerge from the dome and fly towards him. He barely had time to raise his sword to block one that was aimed for his heart.

He watched, as one of the shurikens grew larger and completely encompassed his right eye's sight. With a piercing scream that echoed in the room, Naruto's head shot back then dropped and quickly as the sand weapon pierced his right eye. He barely registered the other three embedded themselves in his arms and shoulder.

The crowd that knew Naruto yelled out, in fear that the boy had been killed. Sarutobi watched with a grim face as he watched blood pour from the pierced eye and splashed over his eye and drip down his chin. He felt sick, seeing another one person close to him be injured so.

Then, slowly a deep evil laughter emerged from the dome as part of it broke away to reveal Gaara's face. "Is that all Naruto Uzumaki? Is that all the fun you'll give me! I know you're not fighting at your full power! Unleash the dreaded Kyuubi so that I can feel alive!" he screamed, mad laughter mixing in.

A slow feral growl escaped Naruto's throat and he slowly raised his head. Glaring at the other boy with his only good eye, he felt bubbling red anger fill his veins and chakra pathways. "Shut your goddamn mouth you freak! I'll kill you!" Bringing his sword up, he slammed it down on the sand spike. It broke it in half and the sand fell away including the bit that was still attached to him. The shurikens he had embedded in him also broke apart. Bleeding profusely, Naruto growled again as he hunched over and could already feel the Kyuubi's chakra, unfiltered by the tampered seal, flood his wounds and start to seal them. He didn't know what it would do to his right eye, but could careless.

"Sand Coffin!" Gaara shouted out, as the sand from the spike shot around Naruto's feet. It was soon joined by more from his dome and covered the boy's body, the only visible part of him being the right arm that clenched his sword tightly. Slowly, the boy was raised into the air by the other jinchuuriki that was watching with mad glee at the incoming blood bath.

The other shinobi could only watch in horror, as Gaara turned his hand and clenched it.

"Sand burial!"

Whee, that was fun! I'd had this combination packed away in my mind for sometime and I don't think I've ever seen anyone attempt a Naruto vs Gaara in the preliminaries. Blood will be spilled unto the sand before this fight is over, but whose?

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I'll be hard at work on the next. Thank you again to all my reviewers!