Hey guys! Sorry for the delay. I've been dealing with school work, projects, assignments and people shit. I was very stress for the past 3 weeks. But I got through it and finished what I was supposed to be doing. I watched new Naruto Shippuden episodes and read the Naruto Gaiden chapters every Thursday, which is something I mostly enjoy in my free time. I heard about Sarada being Karin's daughter, not Sakura's and it shocked and confused me at the same time. I couldn't help but laugh hysterically because Kishimoto, sometimes, trolls us. I know it's not cool. But everything will be fine.

Anyway, enjoy this chapter. Though, it may not be the best one. Read & Review!

CHAPTER 21: EVIL STRIKES AT HAND

15 days later, Sakura visits the hospital to see Sasuke for the second time. Naruto tries to master the jutsu but wasn't able to do it quickly. From that day forth inside the Haruno's house was Sakura huddling herself together with an anxious look on her face in deep thought of Sasuke being bitten by Orochimaru at that time during the 2nd exam. It was the most intense feeling she'd ever felt when she had seen the power overwhelming him in a dark aura surrounding the area contagiously. After that happened, she was pondering whether she should tell anyone about the curse mark or not. She knew that Sasyke forbid her not to, otherwise, he wouldn't be in the exams. For now, she reminded herself not to bring up the situation to her friends, including Kakashi and the 3rd Hokage.

With a frown slightly on her face, she left the house as she continued to pass by the Yamanaka shop. An idea struck on her mind suddenly to remember to bring flowers. She stepped inside and walk to look around. "Let's see now..." She was finding a few, fresh, beautiful ones to give him as a present. She felt a presence near her none other than Ino, of course.

"Oh, Sakura. You poor thing. It's sad when a girl has to buy flowers for herself," she remarked in a teasing tone of her voice.

"I'm not," Sakura denied assuringly and continued. "Not that it's any of your business. I didn't expect you to find me minding the shop." She turned around to examine the different ones adoringly. Ino approached behind her side with a smirk on her face knowingly of her.

"Taking a plant to the hospital and saying you expect the person to be there forever. Some cut flowers might be a better idea," she suggested tauntingly when she leaned a little closer to Sakura's pink-tinge on her cheeks.

"Um... hospital? What do you mean?" She asked cluelessly.

"Don't play dumb with me. You're there to visit Sasuke, aren't you?" Ino questioned as Sakura gasped in surprise when she told her mom that she will be visiting him as well.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Sakura protested.

"Get real. If you think I'm going to let you be the first one to see Sasuke. You. Are. Wrong," Ino remarked arrogantly, much to Sakura's annoyance.

"Miss Ino pig. Always butting in," she thought.

Ino picked up a rose out of the displays and said happily. "I think I'll give him this. It's the flower of love."

"Hah. How lame can you get?" Sakura commented in a shrug and also picked out a delicate flower that is just about right. "Me... I'm going to give him a single daffodil. A noble flower that bravely endures the long months of winter then blossoms forth as a sign of spring. "Just like you will soon blossom again, Sasuke," she gracefully holds it dreamily.

"What are you a buttness all of a sudden?!" Ino said with her teeth clenched and eyes piercing through Sakura's head.

"I warned you. I will not lose to you," she stated sharply.

"Whatever. So are you going to pay for that daffodil?" Ino asked nicely.

Sakura's reaction changed and remembered something that crossed her mind. "Oh. That's right. I should get two." She picked up another one, which made Ino question her.

"Huh? Two? Why? Trying to impress him?" She sneered.

"One for him. Another for Lee," Sakura said softly, much to Ino's sadness after what happened to him.

Few minutes later, the two began to walk their to the hospital until they heard Choji's voice inside the barbecue place.

"Waiter, more! Get all of the short-ribs!" He exclaimed and eagerly munched every single one of them to his hunger while Shikamaru and Asuma were sitting in front of him blankly in a stare.

"Man, you can put me off of food for good. Just watching him makes me sick," he said calmly in disgust. The moment when the waiter came with a tray full of ribs, Choji hastily put them in the grill.

"This is all mine, Shikamaru. Don't try to steal any!" He said in enthusiasm.

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning on it," he said, raising his eyebrows.

"What the heck are you guys doing?" Ino's voice of curiosity made their heads turned to look who spoke to them.

"Huh? Ino. Sakura," Shikamaru exclaimed.

"Shouldn't you be training for the final exam instead of sitting around, pigging out?" Ino suggested.

"I have been training. Everyday all day. Asuma has got me working like a dog," Shikamaru said dully, which made his sensei laughed.

"It's not only Shikamaru. Choji has joined in his training as well," Asuma pointed out, smirking with a cigarette near the corners of his mouth.

"What? So you're going for it afterall, huh?" Ino glanced at Choji in surprise as he nodded his head in reply.

"Yeah, and in return, I get all the BBQ I can eat," he said happily with his mouth full.

Ino tried not to look disgusted at that. She tries not to insult his eating manners. "Well, that would explain it."

"Oh man. I wish I'd never signed up for this stupid final exam" Shikamaru complained lazily as he put his hands behind his head.

"I don't want to hear it. There are plenty of people who would give their right arm to be a part of it," Asuma stated clearly as a matter of fact.

"Yeah. Your sensei's right," Sakura agreed.

Asuma continued on. "Besides, from everything I've heard, Guy and Kurenai's teams are training their butts off."

"Yeah? Well, what about it?" Shikamaru questioned indifferently.

"After coming this far, you don't want them to make me look bad, do you?" Asuma asked smirking.

Shikamaru looked at him for a moment and sighed. He had no other options to quit, so he decided to give in. "Man. This is such a drag."

Elsewhere in the training grounds shows Tenten sparring off with Neji using her kunais and shurikens that abruptly hit onto the tree branches and the ground. She was panting breathlessly and said tiredly. "I can't keep this up. No human being could."

On the other hand, Neji was also in a state of exhaustion, and yet, he seems to be quite steady on his feet. "I think I used up too much of my chakra." Then, he suddenly fell forward and fainted, which made her exclaimed in shock.

"Neji! Are you alright?" Tenten asked in concern.

Thus, the birds began chirping around the trees and near the area is where Kiba, Shino and Kurenai were battling against each other while Hinata was watching them sadly. From that day on inside the hotel, the Sand Siblings were gathered in a room silently listening to what Temari was discussing the plan to Baki, currently beginning to instruct to how the plan must go.

Later in the afternoon, Sakura and Ino followed closely behind the nurse informing them that Sasuke is still very weak and needs more rest.

"You'll have to keep your visit short. Five minutes, that's all I can give you," she said as she led them to where his room is being held. She knocks the door and asked in a polite manner when she slid it opened. "Sasuke? May I come in? You have a couple of pretty visitors." Just when she stepped inside, her smile faltered and found out he disappeared in his bed in absence, much to the girl's dismay.

The nurse quickly opened the closet, noting that his clothes were gone. "This is terrific! He's in no condition to be walking around on his own!" She said in panic. "Doctor! Doctor!" She jogged out of the room, leaving them in a worry.

"Oh, Sasuke... Did he?" She thought in mind about what Orochimaru had said. "At some point, he will come to me in search of power." Startled in the eye, she lowered her head down anxiously. "Oh, Sasuke... where have you gone?"

An hour later, Sakura and Ino were waiting outside in the hallway, sitting in the nearby bench, feeling gloomy as they stared emotionlessly at the flowers they were still holding. They both sighed in unison when the nurse approached them in response.

"Well, we'll keep on searching for him here at the hospital. But in the meantime, if you see him, please contact us immediately. Will you?"

"Yes, of course," they nodded together.

"Now, you wanted to see Rock Lee as well, right?"

"Yeah."

The nurse checked her boardlist and said. "He's in no better condition than Sasuke, so don't expect to have a very long visit."

As they headed their way towards another room, the same thing happens again. However this time, Sakura caught a sight of Lee doing push-ups outside the building. They soon walked up around him as the nurse ordered him to get some rest. Though, he wouldn't dared to listen.

"Please! I've got to finish my training," he panted heavily and put all the strength he could muster, saddening Sakura and Ino to the scene they were watching before them and started having a small flashback of him.

FLASHBACK:

"Speaking of Lee, you heard the news about him," Ino said quietly.

"Huh? What news is that?" Sakura asked in a blank expression.

Ino thought of it and said. "His injuries were bad. Really bad. It means that he'll never... well, his days as a ninja are over."

END OF FLASHBACK

Right now, those words she told her that were echoing through her head made her feel pity on him.

"One ninety-five..." Lee pushed his body up, groaning distressingly at the thoughts of Neji, Sasuke, Gaara and Naruto. The fact that they had improved a lot more was striving him forward to achieve his own goal. "Do not count me out. I'm not through yet." He began to collapse slowly in exhaustion. The nurse hurried inside the hospital to get some water while the two leaned down on his side in sympathy.

Sakura asked a question wistfully with her voice breaking. "Why, Ino? What is it that makes boys be like that? They're always pushing things too far..."

Ino paused for a moment and replied in a mutter. "Why asked me? I'm not a boy."

Sakura apologized. "Right... sorry."

Just before the sunset had arrived, Naruto's training was still managing to work out perfectly till he got into a silly argument of summoning a tadpole.

"Hopeless! Why did I waste my time with you!" Jiraiya cried out in annoyance.

"What are you blind?!" Naruto pointed down to him clearly to see. "This one's got legs."

"Great! Just give it two arms and a brain, so maybe I could train it!" Jiraiya said in frustration.

"Why do you have to be so negative? You got to admit. At least, I'm making a progress," Naruto stated firmly, which made him realize that it will take another while to master the jutsu.

3 days have passed, he still couldn't manage to improve it in out of his frustration as he began to complain to him not paying attention to what he was doing. Suddenly collapsing in exhaustion, Jiraiya walked towards his body, thinking that the power of the nine-tails kept in check to normally make sure that Naruto's body will learn how to use the key to releasing the nine-tails chakra itself. Meanwhile in the top of the Hokage's tower building, Iruka was teaching the kids to learn the different carved stoned Hokage faces while Konohamaru was silently remembering the memory of his grandfather, the 3rd's hair back then, much to his humour.

"Sensei. Who's the fifth?" The girl asked.

"Hmm. It hasn't been decided yet but... It may be your sensei! Haha," Iruka said brightly.

"Yes, yes. A joke from time to time is good. Looks like a nice class, Iruka," a voice behind him said chuckling.

"Hokage!"

"Oh! It's the 3rd!" One of the kids exclaimed in surprise.

"Ah! What are you doing here, old man?!" Konohamaru asked vehemently.

The 3rd Hokage smiled with his smoking pipe being held by his hand out. "I just wanted to look at the faces too."

"Perfect timing. Could you come over here, please?" Iruka gestured him.

"Sure."

"This is the owner of this third face on the mountain, obviously. The third was said to be the strongest of all. Such a genius that he was often called the 'professor,'" he stated.

"Hey, Iruka! Don't use past tense!" The Hokage narrowed his eyes.

"Ahaha. Sorry," he apologized as he rubbed his neck nervously.

"What! This old man is really that strong?!" The boy said smirking in doubt.

"He doesn't look like one!" The other one said laughing silently.

"Hey! To be given the Hokage title means you're the strongest in the village!" Iruka pointed out boldly.

"Alright! Then I'll become the fifth hokage because I'd be strong and cool, right?" One of the kids jumped up enthusiastically.

"Haha. With your current grades, there's no way," his friend said clearly.

The 3rd Hokage laughed out loud and said. "I'll be counting on you guys! Unlike me, you kids are all really young. The person to receive the hokage title may come from this group. You only get one life there's no need to choose an impossible path. It's fine to live as you like and die as you like, however... protecting a precious person, you must not forget this no matter what path you choose," the 3rd Hokage explained wisely.

"A precious person?" The boy said repeatedly.

"It is someone that you acknowledge with your heart, you trust and love. Do you have people like that?" He smiled kindly to him.

The boy's cheeks turned into a light pink and replied. "Y-yeah... My dad, my mom and my brother. Though, I don't like him sometimes. Also, my dog Gonta."

The kid grinned and said. "For me, it's my friends."

"Hehe. Me too," the other one nodded in agreement gleefully, which made the 3rd hokage smiled happily even more at their responses.

The girl asked out loud clearly. "Then, hokage, do you have people like that as well?"

"Yes, of course."

"Wow! Who?! Who?!"

"My grandson, Konohamaru, over there and everyone in this village!" He said, much to their surprise, including Iruka's pleasant reaction.

During the afternoon, Jiraiya was fed up with Naruto's longest training, so he decided to put in in drastic measures. Leading him to where it should end, he throws him down with a quick flick movement of his finger towards the deepest pit, much to his panic. As Naruto falls down endlessly, Jiraiya pondered for a moment if his strength has been given to him as a blessing or not. More likely a curse.

"Ahh! If I don't grab into something, I'll die!" Naruto reminded himself, releasing all the chakra in his hands and feet to get a hold. Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to do it, noting that the rocks are too slippery and falling at that speed with the limit control of chakra he possess. The only way he can depend on is the Nine-tails chakra to be able for him to summon. "If I go on like this, I really am going to die." The word "die" echoed through his mind a few times with his eyes flickering rapidly in fear while his heart was pounding heavily and slowly at the sight of darkness in front of him.

The next thing he saw now was were he subconsciously entered inside a black room and heard a vicious growl coming from the end of the corner. He made his way there to follow the noise and the very intense feeling. Standing in front of the enormous cage that was sealed, Naruto was shocked to see the red-eyes of the Nine-tails.

"Come closer, little boy," the beast said.

Naruto did as what he was told but suddenly yelp at the huge claws trying to get him. "Ahh!"

"How about for me to kill and eat you? But this gate, of course, confines me. It's that infuriating sealing spell," the beast growled.

Naruto looked back over his shoulder and said. "You're the-the Nine-tailed fox." When he mentioned its name, it gave a malicious, wide grin across its features. "The red chakra is this guy's chakra."

"Why are you here, foolish boy? What do you want? Are you seeking comfort to me, so I might feast upon you?" The fox asked in a low growl of its voice.

"Alright, look, you stupid fox! You're in my body and you owe me rent. So in payment, I'll take your chakra, you got that?!" Naruto narrowed his eyes in demand, which made the beast chuckled at that half-heartedly.

"Well, I supposed I can't kill you. Can I? After all, you die. I die. Your courage has impressed me, little boy," the fox agreed in terms and managed to envelope the red chakra around his body. "No, as a reward, for making it this far. I will owe you my chakra."

All of a sudden, he returns back with mere luck into reality and finally has the chance to master the Summoning technique, appearing to be a giant toad that prevented him from falling. With that success, Naruto was proud of the progress he made, while on the other hand, Gamabunta was angry that he has been summoned. Therefore, he tries to get him off of his head when the sunset came. Thus, Naruto quickly faints out happily, reminding him that he receives his respect for him.

Back in the village, Team Asuma went to go eat at the BBQ place, almost everyday to satisfy Choji's hunger. While Kankuro was watching over them, he leaned himself against the deck railing of the hotel building from a distance.

"Huh. Those guys are eating barbecue again. Giving themselves a reward for training so hard. I guess," he said smirking.

"Hey. I thought you were told not to let Gaara out of your sight, Kankuro," Temari said sternly, crossing her arms anxiously.

"Ah... don't worry. Even someone like him wouldn't dare to do anything in a broad daylight. How about you? That guy Shikamaru or whatever his name is, he's the first guy you're fighting, right? Shouldn't you be formulating a battle plan?" He remarked in question.

"Eh. There's no way that I would lose to a guy who is at that level. No way," she stated simply.

"You blew it, didn't you?"

"What?" She glanced at him in puzzlement.

"If you have taken the exam one year earlier then you would've made chunin easily. Right, Temari?" Kankuro pointed out.

"Don't say that..." She closed her eyes, knowing that she regretted the mistake she made.

FLASHBACK:

In the hidden sand village, the Sand Siblings were gathered in the room with their sensei Baki informing them to participate the upcoming Chunin exams for a reason to destroy their ally, the hidden leaf village.

"Why? Why are we turning on them? Didn't we sign an alliance?" Temari protested.

"Yes, we did, and that treaty is the whole problem," Baki said.

"I don't get it. What do you mean?" Kankuro asked.

"You, genin aren't all aware of the details of this. When the treaty alliance was signed, that idiot feudal lord, who rules us, used it as an opportunity to force military cutbacks on our village. He also delegated to the hidden leaf village matters that should've been handled by us and even worse, he significantly cut our village's budgets and slashed the number of shinobi. When the head of our country is weak, we, the country's arms and legs suffer. So we took the only choice left to us. Improve the quality of every shinobi to maintain our military strength. That's why," Baki glanced over at the red head, narrowing his eyes coldly. "-shinobi like you were created... Gaara... The Land of Wind's very existence is in danger. More danger than it's ever been before... But still, that idiot feudal lord and all of his competent advisors are too BLIND to see it!" He angrily banged his fist behind the wall, titling the picture frame above him. "So the Kazekage who detected this weakening the might of the sand village has joined the hands with the sound village to show our feudal lord's stupidity. By crushing the hidden leaf and restoring our own, this needs to be done to make that idiot aware of the importance of preparing for our crisis." He banged his fist again that made the picture frame fall descent on the floor. "If anymore time passes, our sand village would be completely drained of its ability to fight against the leaf village. This is our only chance. Now, Gaara... this mission depends entirely upon your skills."

Kankuro and Temari looked at their younger brother with a blank expression, hoping that he would approved.

"Yes," Gaara replied in agreement in a guttural tone of his voice.

"This path will certainly lead to war with the leaf village," Baki declared, much to the two's upset reactions.

"We'll be going to war again? We've spent so much time and sacrificed so much to achieve this alliance," Temari said disappointedly and continued. "Now, we're breaking it, so many will die."

"But Temari..." Kankuro was about to say something until Baki spoke out.

"Harden your heart. This is the will of the Lord Kazekage," he advised her.

"Lord Kazekage?" She questioned quietly.

"All shinobi are simply tools for fighting. Accept that fact and you will see that all the treaty alliance does nothing more than jeopardizing our very existence," he explained truthfully. "This is an A-rank mission. Make sure you succeed."

"Okay..." Kankuro said.

"Yes..." Temari agreed sadly at the thought of it, which will turn out to be a chaos between the villages. The Sand Siblings had no other options but to follow the orders. It was upon their fate's decision.

END OF FLASHBACK

Back at the present time...

Kankuro yawned tiredly and said. "I'm bored and today sure goes by slowly when you're not doing much anything."

"I guess..." Temari said as they both looked up the blue sky with clouds drifting away and thought to themselves whether if they will lose hope or not on anything that is expected to happen.

At the hidden sand village, Baki told the Kazekage about the work he has done in the process and placed the scroll down on the wooden floor, representing the details of the sound village's plan.

"Is there something else?" The 4th asked.

"Well, I was wondering if you could position the soldiers near the border under the pretext of a tactical exercise with just the four of us," Baki suggested.

"The hidden leaf village isn't full of dimwits and the ANBU Black Ops are active in that area," one of the 4th's assistant pointed out.

"If we do what you asked, they'll see right through what we're planning. Everything we worked for will be ruined," the other one said.

"But with only our current capability-" Baki didn't get to finish his protest.

"That's why I have sent Gaara and the others. The restoration for the sand village's glory is in your hands. Now... go," the 4th commanded in a matter-of-fact.

"Yes, sir!" Baki quickly disappeared in a loud puff of smoke, leaving the sand village as quietly as possible.

The next day, up at the hotel building, a loud banging in the door and a voice demanding it to open was none other than Baki.

"Huh?" Temari blinked at him in puzzlement.

"So what's up?" Kankuro asked blankly. "What's all the ruckus?"

"You idiots! Didn't I tell you not to let him out of your sight for a second?!" He said boldly with a growl in his voice.

"Huh?!" They both exclaimed in unison as they looked at each other sharply, almost in panic. They made their way towards the hallway and checked their younger brother's room, sliding it open hastily to find out that he left without giving them any notice.

"Oh no! Gaara's gone!" Temari said very dreadfully nervous.

"Yeah... Aware!" Kankuro clenched his jaw tightly in annoyance.

Baki walked in front of the window, thinking out quietly in a serious way. "This is bad. Very bad." He narrowed his eyes worriedly, wondering where the redhead could have gone.

Inside the hospital, Shikamaru was silently playing Shogi all by himself while he was companying Naruto, sleeping in the bed and asked when he will ever wake up. He sighed dully as the time passes a bit slowly. Somewhere in the village near the Yamanaka shop, Sakura delicately picked up the daffodil with a sad look on her face seemingly after her visit the other day.

"You're wasting your time if those are for Sasuke," a voice said from a distance in a teasing manner, which caused her to startled and blushed.

"Ino..." Sakura muttered.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk," she waved her finger towards her and said. "So you haven't heard of the news that he still hasn't come back yet? You're a little behind the curve, aren't you, billboard brow?" She smirked at her expression.

"As a matter of fact. I was getting it for Lee," Sakura said and continued. "The last one must be wilting by now."

Ino thought of this and agreed. "Yeah, you're right."

FLASHBACK:

"Lee! You shouldn't be out of bed!" The nurse said worriedly. "Stop it!" She tapped him on the shoulder to halt his push-ups, however, he wouldn't budge.

"Keep away from me! Do not count me out! I'm not through yet," Lee said panting breathlessly.

END OF FLASHBACK

Ino gave Sakura the daffodil with a hopeful smile. "Here you go."

"Thank you," she said.

"Tell him I said 'hi.' I hope he's feeling better."

Sakura nodded in approval of that and began to walk out of the shop to the hospital. During the past hour, a heavy footsteps was being heard in the main lobby of a shadowy figure, groaning in a dead tone. The unexpected of an unknown misfortune is about to happen.

Shikamaru blinked at the hourglass oddly and thought. "Huh?! The sand stopped... What's up with that? Did it forget to wind or something? *sigh* What a drag."

Naruto groaned weakly and fluttered his blurry eyes to clear his vision. Then, he looked where Shikamaru was sitting and smirking.

"So you decided to wake up, huh?"

"Where am I? What is this?" He rotated his head around the room.

"The hospital," Shikamaru answered. "They said you've been out cold for like 3 days straight."

"3 days?" Naruto repeated softly until he burst out loud, which he bolted up in a hurry. "3 DAYS STRAIGHT!?"

"Um, yeah. More or less?" Shikamaru raised his eyebrows at his sudden action.

"When will the final competition begin?!" He asked quickly.

"Uh... Tomorrow," he replied.

"WHAAT?!" Naruto grabbed the front of his shirt and asked in bewilderment. "Are you crazy? Why didn't you wake me up sooner?! I can't be lying around here at a time like this! Guess I ought to be getting ready! And Pervy Sage! Where's Pervy Sage?! That old coot is supposed to be supervising my training!"

"Hey! Calm down, kid. Get a grip! I don't know what you're talking about!" Shikamaru said and exclaimed when Naruto sprinted around to look for his clothes, much to his annoyance. "Man, this kid gives me such a headache. I'd liked him a lot better when he's in coma... Would you knock it off?!" He yelled at him to stop his ruckus and ranting. "Now, listen. You don't want to be freaking out the day before the big competition. Resting can be the best thing..." he trailed off of his words when he noticed Naruto's still movement. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah... I'm really starving," he hold his stomach to prevent from growling.

"Is that all? Man, quit scaring me like that. Oh, look at this," Shikamaru placed a fruit basket on the bed and continued. "I went all the trouble of getting the stuff for Choji and then the doctors told me that he couldn't have it. Such a drag, but at least, we can eat it."

"Choji?" Naruto startled in question. "You mean he's here in the hospital too?"

"Nothing to worry about. All he's got is a bad case of indigestion. He ate one short-ribbed too many," Shikamaru smirked as Naruto laughed at that statement.

"I should've figured that's like him."

"Yeah. Well, you two are lucky since I'm around or you wouldn't have any visitors. Here," Shikamaru tossed the apple to Naruto, who caught it with a reflex.

"Oh, wow. This looks delicious," he gently rubbed the crunchy apple against his own shirt and began to bite on it till he got an idea struck into his mind.

"What? What is it now?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow in peculiar at Naruto's chuckle and smug on his face.

"Let's eat in front of Choji. It'll drive him crazy."

"Man, that's mean... I like it," Shikamaru agreed.

Meanwhile, Sakura stepped into the main lobby and saw that everything was empty.

"Where is everybody?" She asked quietly and made her way towards the counter desk, writing her name on the board list, so they'll know that she came here to pay a visit. From that moment on, she didn't felt someone's presence behind with a distinct footsteps. "Oh, well..." She stood up straight and turned around if anyone was there, but none did. Thinking to herself that it was only her imagination, she took the flower and continued to walk down the hallway until the shadowy figure appeared closely. On the way there inside Lee's room, Sakura placed down the fresh daffodil on his nearby bed on top of the nightstand. With a sad smile on her face, she hoped for him to get better soon and started to have thoughts about him achieving his goals. So much that he wanted to prove himself as a worthy, splendid ninja. Though, things fall apart shortly and wondered if he would be able to recover back.

Elsewhere, Choji whined helplessly in his bed for food due to his hunger. As the door slide open, a fruit basket was shown to him, much to his discomfort.

Outside of Lee's room, Sakura slid the door closed behind her and walked away, still not noticing the presence of a certain someone. While she was walking on the other hallway, she realized that she had forgotten to visit her friend.

When Gaara barged into Lee's room, he stood in his bedside, staring at him with the eyes of a cold stone. All of a sudden, he started to get a terrible headache, causing him to remember his memory of Guy saving his student from his destructive sand attack. Guy's words of protecting his precious one to him affects Gaara's mental state as he also remembers his past childhood and the death of his uncle Yashamaru. This made him go completely out of control of his sand covering up Lee's body around, unable to stop the resentment towards him. But just in time, he was terminated by his movement.

"Can't move... my body..."

"Ahh!" Naruto cried out to punch him in the face, also resulted to do the same for Shikamaru.

"Hey, man. Go easy. I'm using my Shadow Possession jutsu, so when you're bashing him. You're bashing me too," he stated in a clear sense.

"Oh, sorry," Naruto said apologetically and began to question the redhead for some answers ahead. "Out with it. What are you trying to pull?" Both of them waited for his response and he asked impatiently again. "Well? Are you going to tell us what you're going to do?!"

Gaara's look was very impassive and said. "I was going to kill him."

"What?" Naruto said in mind, shockingly.

"This guy's one cool customer. Look at him. He's not even fazed by my Shadow Possession jutsu," Shikamaru thought reasonably and replied. "You already beat him once in the competition. What's your problem? Wasn't that enough for you? Do you have some personal grudge against him or something?"

"I have nothing against him. It's nothing complicated. I simply want to kill him, that's all," Gaara said gutturally.

"You know what, you're sick in the head! You're crazy!" Naruto pointed a finger at him accusingly.

"Yeah. You think we're just going to standby and let you do whatever the hell you want? You sick, selfish psycho," Shikamaru said and thought nervously. "This guy gives me the creeps. There's always something weird about him... Scary. If he decides to make a move, I'm not sure we'll be able to stop him."

"If you don't stay out of my way, I'll have to kill you too as well," Gaara calmly threatened them.

"Oh, really?! Well, let's just see you try!" Naruto dared him as he held out his tight fist.

"Hey, woah, kid! Take it easy!" Shikamaru said orotundity. "Best thing to do is try and bluff our way out of this." He thought in mind and continued. "Yeah, yeah. We watched your last match against Lee. We know you're tough but you know, Naruto and I have a few little tricks up on our sleeves as well. We were holding back during the competition. There are things you haven't seen yet. On top of that, hey, it's two against one. So don't be a fool, okay? Just take my advice and go quietly."

Unfortunately, Gaara refused to listened to him and spoke out in a threatening manner, calmly. "I'll say it once more... If you get in my way... I'll KILL YOU."

"Okay. Plan B..." Shikamaru said in mind fidgetingly.

"And I'll say it again! Let's see you try it!" Naruto said out loud.

"Back off, will you?! We don't want to go there!" Shikamaru gestured him not to.

"This guy fights like he's mad like he's a demon or something," he stated, much to Naruto's likeness and interest.

"He can act like a demon if he wants to. But you know what, I got the real thing inside of me," he stated truthfully.

On the other hand, Sakura came up to check up on Naruto just when she walked inside and saw the mess he made on his bed.

"Well. I guess that means he's alright," she said until she looked at the green hourglass moving slowly beside her, still figuring out if it was a good or bad sign. Either way, she can tell by gazing at it.

"That's strange... Something doesn't feel right here... *sigh* I guess I'd better go now," she said to herself and left without realizing anything that is happening.

Back inside Lee's room...

Shikamaru nudged Naruto on the arm to prevent him from provoking the redhead. "Idiot. Leave this to me. What's the point of getting mad?"

While the blonde was exchanging looks, Gaara spoke ominously.

"A demon, huh? My demon is as real as yours is. From my birth, my upbringing was not what most people would consider a happy one. To ensure that I became the strongest of shinobi, my father had cast his ninjutsu on me. Infusing my unborn self with the sand spirit, I destroyed the life of a woman who gave birth to me... I was born a monster." With that said, it horrified Naruto and Shikamaru of it.

"Huh?! A Sand spirit?!"

"Its named is Shukaku and it's the living incarnation of an old monk of the sand village who'd been sealed up in a jar of tea," he explained the fact.

Shikamaru pretended to be not convinced and said carelessly. "Yeah. Some kind of demonic jutsu but use it on a baby before it's even born. Man, that's creepy."

Naruto stared at Gaara and pondered if what he's saying is true. "He's got one inside of him too?"

"Gee, what a swell guy your dad must have been. He really must've loved you a lot," Shikamaru remarked funnily.

"You speak of love? Don't measure me by your standards... Love... Family... The only emotional ties I have to my family are the ones I like to wrap around their necks. They're the only ties of hate. Given life by the death of my mother, I was brought out into being nurtured as the salvation of the village. I was the Kazekage child. My father taught me the innermost secrets of the shinobi. He pampered and protected me then left me to myself. For a time, I thought that was love... and that was when everything started."

"When what started?" Shikamaru asked.

"What was it? Are you going to tell us or not? So go on, what started? What was it?" Naruto asked him further on until he saw the malicious smile ran across Gaara's pale features.

His eyes sparked up in insanity. "In six years since I became six years old, my father tried to destroy me more times that I can count!"

"Hmm! You just finished saying how your father pampered and protected you. So which is it?"

They stayed in silence until Gaara replied.

"Those who get to be too strong are ought to be feared. The jutsu that gave me birth unbalanced something in my mind, even the fools in my village finally realized that ahead. Emotional problems. My father, the Kazekage, had created me as his ultimate weapon but I eventually became a threat to the village. I was meant to save. By the time I was six, I became a figure of terror to the villagers. To them, I was a relic of the past that they wished would disappear. So you see how you'd failed at the one purpose for which I was given life. What then was left for me in this very existence? Why go on living? For a long time, I couldn't find an answer to that. But in order to live, you need a purpose... To exist for no reason is the same as being dead," Gaara narrowed his eyes coldly and emotionlessly at the memories he thought he would be happy for. Seemingly, it wasn't.

"What is this guy talking about?" Shikamaru asked in puzzlement.

Naruto, on the other hand, couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I know just what he means... Exactly... He's-he's the same as me!"

Gaara continued on. "Then, in time, the answer came to me... To put it simply, my reason for living is in the killing of others. For years, I lived in fear of those who were sent to murder me but now I'm at peace. I killed many assassins and it was while I was doing it, the truth was made clear to me. I live solely for myself. I love only myself. As it was the death of my mother, that first gave me life, now it is the death of others that sustains me that makes me almost happy to be alive. And there's no end to it. As long as there is still people to kill in this grain, wide-crowded world, I would never disappear."

"Gah?! This freak! He's out of his mind!" Shikamaru thought frightenedly as his eyes widened in shocked.

"I was alone too. I didn't know what I was here for, why I was alive. Until Iruka-sensei came along, he saw what was in me. He gave me a purpose... a reason for living. But this guy had no one. He had to find an answer on his own and this is what he came up with. To kill in order to live... Could I have ended up like that if," Naruto thought curiously and knew that by looking straight into the dark and lonely eyes. They were so different yet so close to being the same people. "No... *nervous* I don't think I can beat this guy!" He stepped back in hesitation with a slight of doubtfulness.

"Hey! Where are you going?! What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked until the sound of the sand move around Gaara, stimulating and ready to attack them with force. "Naruto! Hey, wake up! Oh, man! What a drag! Naruto!" No matter how much he yelled at him out of his trance, Naruto wouldn't even tried to budge or make a single movement as he is still frozen into the spot.

"NOW... LET ME FEEL ALIVE!" Gaara's eyes were pure demonic, including the tone of his vice. In all honesty, he wasn't able to stop what he was about to do when the sand rapidly moved towards them.

"Alright. That's enough," a voice called out behind, which was none other than Guy with a commanding look on his face. "Save it until tomorrow. That's where the final competition begins. You're just wasting it today. Is that what you want?"

Out of spite, Gaara came up with a terrible headache, causing himself to remember his memories of his beloved ones and the painful moment where he was emotionally deeply wounded by their betrayal for him. The sand slowly begin to divulge away from Lee's body, returning back to its gourd. At a second, Gaara slowly marched to the door, stopping and stated seriously. "All the same, I will kill you. Just you wait. I'll kill you all."

With that said, he left them with their thoughts, much to their awareness of him. For some reason, they hoped he wouldn't have an attempt to murder them ruthlessly. Naruto reminded himself to inform Sakura of this. But what could possibly be worse when she found out? What is she going to do about it? He was certain that his friend will do something right.

NEXT CHAPTER: THE FINAL EXAM BEGINS: A HEATED-BATTLE ARENA!