Sasuke glanced behind himself and for some reason Gaara was still chasing him. "We should lead him farther away." Sakura said as she kept in step with the Uchiha.
"Kakashi Sensei seemed to know what this is, we don't." He grit his teeth. "Our best chance is to run him around in hopes of exhausting him. He's using so much chakra right now that he'll reach his limit soon." He peaked behind himself and saw Gaara extend his arm forward. "Get down!" Sasuke screamed as knives of hardened sand flew over their heads.
Sakura groaned and looked up to see Sasuke pulling one of the knives out of his arm. "Sasuke!" She shouted.
"Keep running!" Sasuke screamed as he turned on his heel grabbing the Pinkette and pulling her ahead.
"You can't outrun me!" Gaara screamed.
Sakura quivered at the sound of that scream. It wasn't just bloodthirsty, it was animalistic. Gaara didn't just want to kill them, he needed to kill them. "We have to do something." She shook her head.
"What can we do?" Sasuke asked as he ran faster and faster. He had to trust that Sakura was going to be able to keep up with him. "We don't even know what he is!"
"Keep him busy!" Sakura shouted as she darted away from Sasuke. They only had one or two chances at the most for this to work. She knew that Sasuke had a better chance of keeping that thing busy, but she could still help.
Gaara turned his head to where Sakura went. Sasuke turned his head to see the look. "Over here!" He screamed as he threw a kunai at the monster that blocked the blade with its tail.
"Kill!" Gaara screamed so loud Sasuke was sure that it hurt the Sand Ninja to do it.
Sasuke landed on a branch breathing heavily. He didn't want to risk leading Gaara to wherever Sakura went, so he'd have to hold him here. He felt his leg shake in fear for a moment, but grit his teeth in resolve. Gaara landed on a branch above Sasuke and smiled down at the Uchiha. "Given up!" Gaara asked as he dropped down to the earth with a loud thud.
"No." Sasuke said as his hands moved in a blur and lightning cracked to life in his hand. The area filled with the sound of birds, but there were no birds. The only thing causing a sound was the jutsu in Sasuke's hand. "Chidori!" He screamed as he threw his arm back and ran forward.
Gaara's eyes widened, Sasuke was faster than he was before, but he still wasn't fast enough. Gaara's tail moved on its own and sharpened to a point in front of him. The Uchiha was going to impale himself on the tail and Gaara would be able to kill the other one.
Sasuke threw his arm forward. He saw the pointed tail but he was already too close to do anything about it. Just before his torso was gored he felt an impact on the side of his face that hurled him in the other direction. "Mine!" Came a familiar shout.
"You!" Gaara screamed as he pointed at the newcomer. "Mother wants your blood, mother will have your blood!"
Sasuke pushed himself back to his feet and looked to where Gaara was. He was staring down Menma who looked at him with the same confidence he looked at Neji with. "What are you doing here?" Sasuke moaned as he rubbed his cheek.
"My job." Menma replied before he leapt forward. He came face to face with Gaara for a split second before he jumped to the side as a barrage of sand hit where he would've been standing. His fist flew out but was stopped by another wall of sand.
Sasuke watched with shock on his face as he saw Menma fight Gaara. It was almost hypnotizing because neither was able to strike the other. Even with his Sharingan Sasuke wasn't able to see through all of Gaara's attacks, but Menma was able to do it, and he was just some Genin from Rain.
Sasuke's fists balled up, he was Uchiha. No one should be able to humiliate him this way. "No one!" He screamed as the black markings spread over his body and his hands moved in a blur again. "Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" He screamed as numerous fireballs burst from his mouth and moved towards Gaara and Menma.
Gaara put up a wall of sand in front of him and his eyes widened as he heard the birds again. "Chidori!" Came the same shout from before. The Sand Ninja watched as the sand in front of him burst through and Sasuke's hand was enveloped in lightning chakra. "This is the end of you!" The Uchiha screamed as he threw his hand forward.
Another smaller wall of sand was created in front of Sasuke. He was still able to break through it, but he lost almost all of his momentum, by the time he put his hand on Gaara's shoulder all he was able to do was draw a small amount of blood.
Gaara's eyes widened as he turned his head and saw the blood dripping off his arm. "Blood?" He gazed quizzically at the red liquid dripping down his arm. Had Sasuke cut himself on the sand? He winced as he felt some sensation on his shoulder. "My blood!" He screamed.
Sasuke backed away from the raging monster in front of him. "Any other ideas?" Menma asked landing beside the Uchiha.
"Leave!" Sasuke glared at the Rain Ninja. "This isn't your fight!"
"Actually it is." Menma replied evenly. "He's the only reason I'm here." He pointed at the raging Gaara who glared at them. "I don't give a shit about these exams, and neither does my Leader. I'm just here for him, so if you want to stop me go ahead and try." He took a step forward as he readjusted his headband.
Sasuke said nothing as he turned to look at Gaara. He knew that glare was for him alone. If he had to guess Gaara had even gone so far as to forget about Menma altogether. Sasuke stepped forward and took out a set of kunai in his hands.
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Sasuke crouched behind a tree. He watched with bated breath. Itachi was standing in the middle of a clearing with his eyes closed. He started a breath and leapt into the air. He turned in the air and held a set of kunai in his hands. He threw them all one after another.
Sasuke gasped as he saw some of the kunai collide with the others. He thought that Itachi made a mistake and those kunai weren't going to strike the targets. His eyes widened in stunned shock as he heard each one perfectly impact their target. The shocking part, even the one hidden behind the big rock had a kunai perfectly sunken into it. "How did you do that!" The little boy jumped from behind his tree.
Itachi looked closely at Sasuke with narrowed eyes.
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Sasuke leapt into the air, the kunai held tightly in his hands. He knew exactly where his targets were. He had noticed them barely, but he was ready for this. One after another he threw the series of kunai. Each one hitting their target, and the final one heading in Gaara's direction.
The Sand Ninja grinned as the kunai landed harmlessly beside him. "You missed!" He screamed as he charged forward.
"I know." Sasuke grimaced.
Menma's eyes widened as he leapt into the air. He watched in shock as multiple tree logs flew through the air. Each suspended by a nearly invisible strand of ninja wire.
Gaara grimaced as he saw all of the logs heading in his direction, he leapt over the first one, only to have another right behind it. He felt the impact, but the sand protected it from hurting him. He ducked under another before a fourth descended onto him.
Sakura landed beside Sasuke, "There should've been five." Sakura pointed out.
Menma turned his head slightly and saw a kunai stuck in the tree and a strand of uncut rope beside it. He yanked the kunai free and cut the rope.
Gaara caught the log, his knees buckled from the weight. Even with his extra strength, it was heavy to hold. His eyes widened in shock as another log swung down towards him. He wasn't going to be fast enough to move with this heavy log, and if he dropped it to get out of the way, he'd still be too slow.
Sakura smiled as the fifth log hit Gaara perfectly, he flew back and dropped the fourth log on himself all at the same time. "We did it!" She shouted as Menma landed beside the members of Team Kakashi.
"Not yet." Menma said as he felt Gaara's chakra surging. Well calling it Gaara's chakra isn't entirely right either. "You two need to get out of here." He turned to look at them. "Things are about to get much worse."
The logs flew off of Gaara and revealed that the boy was almost completely covered in sand. Etched into the sand were purple lines of chakra that reminded Sasuke of the curse mark that was still extended over parts of his arm. "Kill, kill," Gaara whispered, "Kill!" The monster screeched before he charged forward. His arm fully extended and ending with a sharp claw.
"Now!" Menma screamed as he pushed both members of Team Kakashi to the side and leapt over the attacking Gaara.
"I can smell it on you!" Gaara screamed as he chased after Menma in the area. "Mother can smell it, she wants all of your blood!" It screeched as it swung its arm down towards Menma who grinned for a split second.
Sasuke and Sakura froze as they felt the waves of chakra escaping from Menma's body. "I can see it." Sasuke said in fear as he saw the red chakra seeping out of Menma's body.
Sakura looked in fear as she felt her stomach start to roll and her arms shook uncontrollably. "I'm going to enjoy this." Menma whispered as he held Gaara's arm. His black hair started to shift from the chakra.
He moved behind Gaara, at an animalistic pace. He slammed his fist into Gaara's back and heard the guttural scream escape the Sand Genin. "Sasuke!" Sakura screamed as she covered her head from the fear she felt in her chest.
Sasuke watched in shock, his Sharingan watched every movement Menma was making. His finger nails extended and dug into the sandy flesh that covered Gaara. Menma turned on his heel and hurled Gaara into a nearby tree.
The sand monster used his tail to break the fall. He looked up as Menma had already closed the distance between the two of them with his fist cocked back for a punch. "Die!" Gaara screamed as he threw his own fist forward.
Menma turned his body in midair and used Gaara's arm to vault over the attack and drive his foot into the Sand Ninja's face. Gaara was thrown back but he kept his feet planted onto the ground.
The instant Menma landed on the ground he was already charging forward. Sasuke couldn't believe how powerful Menma was. It felt like even Kakashi would have a hard time against him, maybe even… He pushed the thought out of his head as he watched a kid that was the same age as himself, go toe to toe with a monster.
He glanced over and saw Sakura cowering from the monster with her hands covering her head. Her eyes were shut tight as the chakra bathed the entire area in malice. He tried to walk over to his pink haired teammate, but his legs wouldn't move. He looked down to see if they were hurt and grimaced when he noticed they were perfectly fine. It was just like that night. He was too scared to move or do anything. If Menma wasn't there, he and Sakura would both be dead already. Even his new jutsu wasn't enough to do anything but cut Gaara. He banged his fist on the dirt in front of him.
He kept his eyes trained on Menma and Gaara though. The least he could do was learn from this fight. He couldn't match either of them in chakra, but he would still try.
Menma crossed his arms as Gaara punched and flung the Rain Ninja through a group of trees. The ninja pulled himself up from the splinters and looked through all of the wreckage at the grinning Sand Ninja.
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Kakashi was back to back with Gai. "We need to make sure the infirmary has been cleared!" Gai screamed over his shoulder.
"Lead the way." Kakashi said back as he blocked a thrown kunai with his own.
Gai moved quickly through the stadium with Kakashi directly behind him. They burst through the doors and saw Hiashi Hyuuga surrounded by a group of Sound Ninjas. Behind him was Neji who was struggling to sit up.
Before either of the Jonin could move to help Hiashi's hands already started to move. Each palm struck a vital chakra point and one by one they each fell to the ground. Gai ran past the disabled ninjas to help his student sit up. "He's…"
"Don't talk." Gai said to Neji who gripped Gai's jonin jacket with a death grip.
"He's using a henge." His hardened eyes looked at his sensei. "He's hiding…" His voice tapered off as he lost consciousness.
"I will take Neji somewhere safe." Hiashi said as he reached for the genin. Gai's hardened eyes dared the man to try and take him. "You two are needed elsewhere." Hiashi argued.
"Gai." Kakashi said with a stern voice. "We don't have time for this."
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Menma circled around Gaara and slammed his foot into the monster causing him to slide away again. "Enough!" Gaara screamed as the earth around him started to shake before sand hurled into the sky. Menma looked in awe at the now massive beast in front of him.
"Finally." He said as he leapt into the trees to look at the full form of the One Tailed monster in front of him.
Sasuke gasped in shock, the monster was just to the side, but looking closely he could see that Menma's eyes had turned bright red just like his own. "Is he?" He asked in shock. "Are you Uchiha?" He screamed at Menma who only grinned in response. He bent his knees and leapt into the air.
Menma quickly approached the sleeping Gaara that was protruding out of the monster's head. He came close to him with an arm pulled back but he felt a tremendous weight fall onto his body and force him back down to the ground.
He tried to lift his body but the sand continued to pour onto him. "Stupid little human!" A new voice bellowed from the monster in front of Sasuke. "Even with his help you can't beat me! How funny is that?" It screamed as it slammed another massive hand down where Menma was. His monstrous laugh was even heard in the village. Those that were able to see the monster shook in place as they remembered the beast that attacked twelve years ago. It felt so similar, and so different all at the same time.
Sasuke looked over and saw that tears were freely running down Sakura's face. And he'd be lying if he didn't feel petrified just like her. He moved towards her and started to pull her to safety. "Sasuke." She cried as she latched onto his arm and used him to pull herself to her feet. "I'm scared." She cried into his arm.
He wanted to confess that he felt the same way, but he couldn't will his mouth to move. The monster in front of him towered high over even the tallest trees and was probably at eye level with the Hokage monument. It let out a blood chilling roar that almost seemed like insane laughter. "Die, die, die!" It screamed as it continued to slam its fists down where Menma was laying.
"We have to do something." Sakura choked between tears. "He helped us, we can't just let him die like this."
"What can we do?" Sasuke looked up at the monster that didn't even acknowledge them.
"I don't know." Sakura confessed as she stood apart from Sasuke. Their silence was penetrated by the beast's hands slamming into the ground in rhythm. With each smash they would shake in place. Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up to the trees. "We're going to fight." She clenched her fists as the slams continued. "He's strong, we just need to give Menma a chance to get back up again."
"That's suicide." Sasuke said through clenched teeth.
"I'm doing it with or without you Sasuke." Sakura's bloodshot green eyes glared at him. He could still see the tear tracks running down her face and knew she was serious. Even if he did nothing, she would still try.
"Fine." Sasuke grit his teeth as the two of them jumped into the trees to try and get a bit higher. "When you see your chance, get Menma to safety." Sasuke said as he looked at the monster in front of him. "This is only going to work once."
Before Sakura could stop him, Sasuke was already running from branch to branch at a breakneck pace. He didn't look back, because right now if he did, he'd see another direction he could run, but then he'd be running away. And he wasn't going to do that, this time he would save someone.
He jumped off a tree and landed onto the monster's back. With his Sharingan he could already see tendrils of sand all converging onto him. If he did nothing they would kill him quickly. His hands moved at a blur and as he took his first step his hand was already covered in lightning chakra.
"What?" The monster looked over its shoulder at its back.
"Chidori!" Sasuke screamed as he ran upwards using his hand to slash away all of the sand in front of him until he felt it turn in place. "Now Sakura!" He screamed as he saw the massive hand coming towards himself. His legs moved faster than he ever had before. Even during his training with Kakashi he didn't push himself this hard. "Just a little more." He grit his teeth as the curse mark spread over his body. He felt the surge of power and leapt through the monster's fingers and landed on the other side and kept running towards the head.
He knew that a sleeping Gaara was protruding at the top. If he could deliver the killing blow, it would all be over. He screamed in pain as the curse mark started to bleed his own chakra. He jumped into the air and held his Chidori up. He locked his gaze onto Gaara and held his hand back to deliver the final blow.
"No!" Came a scream in front of him. He had just enough time to glance up and see someone in front of him. Menma was directly in front of him with his fist cocked back. He slammed it into Sasuke throwing him lower onto the Beast's back. And as the Rain Ninja landed he turned on his heel and sent a thundering punch into Gaara's sleeping head.
Gaara groaned in pain as he put his hand over his head and the sand all around them started to collapse. "No, I just got free!" The Sand Monster screamed as his sand body started to collapse back to the ground.
Sasuke felt himself start to fall to the ground when Menma caught him. The Uchiha glanced up, his Sharingan faded from lack of chakra, and he could've sworn that Menma's hair had changed color.
As the two landed on the ground Sasuke felt himself slipping out of consciousness.