Sasuke is nervous. The boy in front of him is glaring, more so than usual. He doesn't move, even as Sasuke hides in the trees. Eyes twirl into red as his sharingan activates; the sand that surrounds the boy is not controlled with hand seals, but at least he will know if it is rushing to crush him.

Sand is tricky; it can grind jagged rocks smooth, slide through fingers, and take damage without breaking. Sasuke is forced out of his thoughts when a stream of sand tries to crush him.

He has a plan.

.

The attack is one that hinges on Gaara's lack of strategy and overuse of his power.

The way his eyes can make speed seem to slow down, the way that the sand looks sluggish, those do not lull him into a false sense of security; he knows that even if he sees it coming a blow is still a blow. But if he can manage to make the boy use up most of his sand, enough for the defensive wisps that circle around him to move away, then he may be able to get a good hit in. Considering the scrawny physique of Gaara, it does not necessarily have to be a devastating attack. If he can get the redhead to slip up just once, maybe he can force a snowball reaction; an angry opponent tends to be an unfocused one.

Sasuke rushes around, making sure that the trails of sand become longer as more is used to try and catch him. He has to weave around bludgeons and other weapons crafted from sand, but eventually it gets to the point where most of the sand is spread thin around the arena. For this to work, Sasuke has to hurry. If the opponent gets the chance to recall the sand, he is dead. Literally.

It is almost like running through a sandstorm, but Sasuke does not care about the grit that he can feel entering every pore in his body. He has to make it. His fist is cocked back, an obvious tell that does not matter at the speed he is going at, and he slams it into Gaara's face. The force makes all of the dust kick up even more. Sasuke smirks.

Until he sees the face crack, another layer of sand atop the real skin, and he is lifted up by the very pissed off redhead's sand.

"You will die. Mother wants your blood."

Gaara holds out his hand and squeezes, and everything is covered by the sand.

.

The audience is terrified. Naruto looks like he is about to jump in there himself, and the Jounin are making their way to the boys as soon as they can. But it is too late, as the sand squeezes tighter around the last of the Uchiha loyal to Konoha.

.

Sasuke does not hear the crunch of his own bones, nor the squishing of his internal organs being ruptured. Instead he hears a subtle shifting, like sandals creating traction against gravel, and a thousand birds.

"You foolish- You could have been killed!"

He looks up, just in time to see Sakura yell at him, worry distorting her features and making the lines under her eyes even more pronounced. There are tears pricking in both of their eyes, but he knows he will blame his on the sand. "Wha-?" He manages to ask this, before his voice devolves into ragged coughs. Sakura just hoists him onto her back, making sure that he is holding himself there so that she can use her hands.

Her voice is muffled by the cloth that she has against her mouth, but he can hear her mumbles clearly enough. "Crow substitution." If she is about to say any more, it is interrupted by what looks like a claw of tan with blue veins coming towards them. There is a hushed "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu", and thick, rough glass is all that thuds to the ground.

Sasuke knows that Sakura should not know this jutsu, especially if she is not part of the Uchiha clan, and the grip he has around her tightens.

Sasuke remembers a time, when he bragged to his older brother that he had finally learned to spit out a fireball, that he was finally an almost-adult of the Uchiha clan.

"Thank you…aniki."

.

Well. Kakashi is glad that his student is still in a human form, as opposed to a viscous puddle form. He is not glad that suddenly: crows and one-tailed jinchuuriki and wow isn't that genjutsu just splendid. And Sakura is using jutsu that she should have no experience with, and Sasuke is clinging onto her back for dear life. Looks like Naruto went after the redhead with no eyebrows and a fucking tattoo on his forehead. Here comes a certain sannin who is asking about Sakura, even though out of all of the Konoha 12 she is the most likely to be able to defend herself.

Kakashi needs a break. Preferably right now.

Instead he takes out a kunai and throws himself into the fray. Because he is a good sensei, goddamnit.

.

Sakura knows better than to interfere with the huge battle between Gaara and Naruto; one that will make a good man out of the crazed kid, if she guesses correctly. The taming of the beast correlated with the Chunin Exams in her last life, and it seems like one of those things that only Naruto can succeed in doing.

She will not interfere, but she will make sure that Naruto has enough time to get through to the boy. It pains her to see her village razed to the ground, especially as it is happening. The last time, she was only there to see the fallout.

("Ah, such a shame. It was at the height of its prosperity."

"You sound nostalgic for Your birth-village." She can almost feel the smirk on her friend's blue lips. The unspoken question is obvious, but she has a feeling that the man beside her will not care about her answer either way. Still, she errs on the side of caution.

"It was just a passing thought."

As long as Sasuke is alright, so is she.)

She looks for a place to put Sasuke down, one where he won't immediately get stabbed or maimed in some way. It is hard to do, and she can see the others of Gaara's team make their way to where the giant demon tanuki is headed. Shit.

Then, as if hearing her thoughts, Sasuke speaks to her. "If you're gonna help the dobe, you better bring me along too."