A/N: Don't own it.

Chap. 36

Hinata could only look on, stunned. As skilled as Sakura is... she was taken down in just one hit. And all I saw him do was touch her! I can't- I'm not strong- we have to get out of here!

Those panicked thoughts rushed through the Hyuga's brain before their pink-haired bride had even hit the ground, and she began to move as well. "Run!" she screamed, one hand flying down to wrap around Sakura's shoulders, the other flung out to defend herself- though she knew she hadn't a chance if he was serious.

Beside her, though, Naruto was still roaring. In fact, he was getting louder.

Tenchi, Shino, and Kiba were all clutching their ears, the younger Aburame already on her knees, and Hinata could see a trickle of blood running out of one ear due to the sheer volume of the sound. The canine, Akamaru, looked completely unconscious already. The others, not as sensitive to sound, were still wincing, Many were covering their ears, but it didn't seem to do any good.

And then the sound stopped suddenly, and Hinata's eyes moved up at once to her blond husband's face. His pupils had changed shape to a horizontal slit with bulbs on either end, and the color was, instead of his normal sapphire blue, a dark golden color, several shades darker than his hair. His whiskers had all-but disappeared, and she could see him trembling slightly as he stared at the ground.

"Sorry," he said after inhaling just once, "had to draw the snake out. Hinata, Kiba, Shino, get them out of here. Hinata... I'm trusting you with Sakura. Kamisori, Tenchi- you take care of Inoko. He won't come after her until I'm dead, but keep her safe from any other threats."

There were collective nods, but Hinata protested weakly, "No, Naruto-kun, I can help-"

His eyes, when they turned to look at her, stopped her words in her throat. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. But Sakura needs to be taken to Tsunade-hime. Please."

Her hands trembling even as they supported their wife, Hinata nodded, her eyes threatening to fill with tears. She stood smoothly, bringing Sakura with her, then whispered, "Be safe, Naruto."

* * *

It didn't take the group long to clear the area, but the snake didn't surface to the mountaintop until they had almost reached the bottom, and truth be told, Naruto had already been in Sage mode longer than he'd ever done before. It was starting to wear on him.

But fortunately, he had a few tricks of his own- and Sasuke hadn't seen him fight at full strength in a long time. The snake's head- a gigantic, red one almost as large as Manda's had been, burst from the ground twenty yards ahead of him. Unlike Orochimaru's long-dead 'ally', this snake was unadorned with anything, and had only his large red scales to protect him from the meat cleaver- longer than Naruto was tall- that sliced across the hole just after it's head cleared it.

While the snake was much thicker than that, the blade, wielded by a yellow-skinned toad many times Naruto's size with protuberant eyes, was much too small to actually sever the creature's head, the blow had been mortal still- and it's rider knew it.

"Good job, Gamatatsu," the Toad Sage said softly, then spared a rapid glance to the other toads- more brothers of the one who'd hit the snake- and continued, "Don't head off yet. I'm going to need your help. Kichi, Tatsu, you guys stay on my flanks- watch each other's backs, okay? If you get injured, take off- but send your dad our way."

There was a mix of amphibian battle cries and agreements, and the two largest toads- the same yellow one and his red-skinned older brother, Gamakichi, landed to each side and back of Naruto, facing away from each other.
When the black-haired ninja finally landed from the leap he'd taken from the snake's head, he was standing just feet in front of the Konoha ninja, his long katana in his hand, and habitual smirk on his face. "You have the Toad's contract? What a waste- with your talent, you could have mastered any summoning jutsu, and you went with that pervert's? Psh."

None of the toads nearby rose to the bait, but Gamakichi snarled until Naruto's calm hand made a tiny gesture. He saw Sasuke's body tense, thinking he was preparing to attack, but the blond had only been warning his friend to remain silent for now. "You haven't got any idea how strong the Toads are, Sasuke. Besides- you aren't even carrying the Snake Contract, so you don't know what you're talking about, anyway."

The other ninja nodded once, "True. But I can get it at any time. Mitarashi Anko's not that strong, according to Orochimaru's memories."

It was Naruto's turn to agree, "I guess. But she doesn't carry the contract anymore, either. It's found a new bearer, and he shows more promise than she ever did."

Sasuke snorted, so Naruto continued, "You didn't know that she and Kakashi-sensei had a son, did you? He's one of my students."

The Uchiha's eyes widened the tiniest fraction, but he was too good a ninja to let his real surprise show more than that- but Naruto was good enough a ninja to see it. "Doesn't matter, dobe. He's still just a kid- and you know I won't have any problems getting it after I take you out."

Naruto shrugged, "Maybe. But Konoha's pretty strong, and we stick together- most of us, anyway. But what makes you think you can take me out?"

For the first time in recent memory, Uchiha Sasuke smiled, a real, genuine smile.

"Because you just aren't as strong as me. You are strong, strong enough to be Hokage, or I'd never have said you were the Sixth. But I'm beyond that, by a noticeable margin. Think... about the the difference during the final Chunin exam. Everyone- even I- was surprised at how strong you were, but I was most definitely stronger. Right?"

Now Naruto grinned as well, but his smile was more feral, "I guess. But you've always had one flaw, Sasuke, and that flaw's been getting bigger and bigger- you still underestimate everyone, and overestimate yourself."

"Show me."

And so he did. Without handsigns, without a word, and without Sasuke even noticing, five clones of Naruto appeared, and within moments, the six of them were holding fully-active Rasenshuriken. As the six orbs of wind and chakra flew toward him as one, Naruto could see his opponent's hands blur into nothing as they performed a jutsu that practically every ninja mastered in the Academy- but every one of them used often if they could.

What the six jutsu struck was nothing more than a stone summoned from the wreckage of the mountain below. But the Rasengan in it's base form would have punched clear through the granite, and six of them infused with Naruto's powerful wind chakra didn't just obliterate it- it disintegrated the stone in a mighty blast of air that threw the toads in the area back more than ten feet, though each had been ready for it.

When the dust cleared, Naruto was still standing there, unfazed, and looking at each of his clones as they vanished, one by one.

When Sasuke reappeared, Naruto simply said, "Found a weakness in your Taijutsu."

His enemy looked blankly at him for a moment, then asked calmly, "Excuse me?"

Naruto grinned, though not maliciously, "A weakness. In your stance, actually. Your whole fighting style... well, it's good, don't get me wrong, but in the last few years I've learned a style that trumps yours hands down."

"Hmh, right... sure you did, dobe. You were always plenty strong, but your Taijutsu is just brute strength, not skill and technique. Effective, but inferior compared to training." The Uchiha's voice was still calm, but the sage detected just the tiniest bit of worry.

Ever since he actually started acknowledging my strength, I've been getting stronger and stronger- and most of it, I've never even shown him. The last time I truly fought at full strength, yeah, he won- but that was only because I lost control of the Kyuubi. Not this time. "Fine, Sasuke. Since you don't believe me, let's just end it. No more words."

"Heh. And yet, last time we talked, you were the one who wouldn't shut up. Fine."

Then Sasuke's hands were blurring through hand signs at such a rapid pace, and in such an unusual order, that Naruto couldn't figure out what jutsu he was using until it was too late. At the same moment, fire erupted from the grass below his feet, from Sasuke's wide-open mouth, and lightning lanced down from the clear sky to strike him.

When the flames had cleared, Naruto was on his knees- but almost unscathed. Only his cloak, his father's cloak, showed the slightest singe. "Heh, didn't know dad's cloak was heat-resistant. Cool!"

Before the last sound of 'ool' had echoed to silence, he was gone, and Sasuke was flying backward. He struck a tree, shook his head, and growled, "Sneaky, Naruto. Didn't think you had it in you."

An onlooker wouldn't have seen much, if any, of the fight. The pair were simply moving too fast for normal eyes to track. But with Sasuke's powerful and fully-activated Sharingan competing against a Sage-active Naruto, it seemed the two were yet again evenly matched. While the dark-haired ninja could still predict his opponent's moves, he couldn't actually move fast enough to prevent most of them from landing. And while Naruto was exceptionally fast with his Sage mode active, his eternal rival's skill and speed were just too much for him to match most times. So, in effect, despite the dazzling level of speed and puissance both demonstrated, the fight was quickly turning into a battle of stamina- who could take more hits.

Unfortunately for Naruto, Sasuke had long since learned that he had near-unlimited stamina, something the Uchiha couldn't match. So the sharingan-user decided to try something a little desperate.

Without signs, in the heat of battle, Naruto had no way to predict the sudden unleashing of the Chidori from point-blank range, nor any way to prevent the bolt of electricity- laced with fire- from piercing his chest just below the ribs.

The toads began to clamor and yell, rushing to his aid, before he had hit the ground. Before they reached him, though, the Uchiha said, "Foolish, Naruto. Let your guard down... but I can't complain. Now I can go claim my daughter."

* * *

When Naruto opened his eyes, his enemy was gone, and only Gamatatsu and Gamakichi- capable of staying under their own power- had remained. "Boss, yer friend's headed off to get Inoko. You haven't been out long, but we healed you up as best we could. You gotta go after him!"

Naruto sprang upright, clutching the still-bleeding hole in his stomach, and looked down the cliff to the village. "Did you see where he went?"

The yellow-skinned toad was the one that replied, "He went to the food-place. That's where the lazy one is, he's telling everyone what to do."

"Stupid 'tatsu," his older brother said, "There's a million food places in Konoha! Naruto- Ichiraku's. That Shikamaru is there, and we think Hinata would have taken Sakura to Tsunade, so that's the best place to look."

The blond nodded thanks to his friends, and muttered, "You guys better get out of here. If you can, bring me your dad and Pa. Maybe Ma. Might need to do some more sage training after this- I'm about tapped out."

Then without another word, he flung himself off the cliff and hurtled downward.

* * *

Ino had never been more scared. She was the first shinobi the fleeing group had run into on the way down the mountain- having been sent to reinforce them- but after hearing that Inoko was being targeted by Sasuke, didn't hesitate to join them and stay by her daughter's side. "Inoko, if anything happens to me, you have to promise me you-"

"Nothing's going to happen, mom!" the girl yelled without glancing sideways at her mother, "I won't let anything happen to you! And I'm not going with him, either! I'd rather die!"

"Baby, don't say-"
Hinata interrupted the mother's words with her calm, reassuring voice, "Nothing is going to happen to either of you. Naruto will not lose- not this time. He will never give up until Inoko is safe."

The mother and daughter both looked ahead to where Hinata was running at the head of the group, despite carrying Sakura's form on her back. She hardly looked like it was affecting her at all. Hinata... she's strong.

"Hinata-sama!"

There was another voice Ino was thankful to hear.
"Neji-kun!"

The two cousins were now running side by side, the younger quickly briefing the older on the situation. When she'd finished, Neji fell back to Inoko's other side and gave them both a firm look, "I'll be your bodyguard for now, Inoko-san. Hinata-sama would not forgive me if something happened to you."

Just as the group turned the last corner and the over-crowded ramen stand came into sight, a voice from above them brought them to a jumbled, crashing halt.
"Two Byakugan users... might almost slow me down. But not enough!"

Burdened by Sakura's unconscious form, Hinata wasn't able to fully dodge the kick. It crashed into her temple, sending her flying to the far side of the street, where she and Sakura landed in a heap. In a flash, the young teen was pulled back by Shino and Kiba to the middle of the group, each of them standing protectively around her. Ino and Neji stood against him as soon as his presence was revealed.

"Sasuke!"

"Ah, Ino. So nice to see you after all these years. Thank you for raising my daughter so well, but that burden's being taken off your hands, now."

"... don't you ever think you're taking my girl from me!"

The tension in the street was palpable. Everyone present knew that even though Ino had grown orders of magnitude beyond her strength as a Genin, or even a Chunin, there was no way she could beat Sasuke. But she was far from alone, as well.

"Where is Naruto?"

It was Neji who spoke, and the concern in his normally-placid voice was what spurred the others to begin worrying.

"Oh, he'll live, I'm sure. The Kyuubi won't let him die from a bleeding hole in his stomach. I must say, one day I'm really going to have to get around to finishing that bastard off. I just have... more important things to do, at the moment."

Neji's stance didn't falter when the Uchiha began to move toward him, but he was too slow entering Kaiten. He had only made one full revolution, not nearly enough to build the necessary speed, before the Uchiha's sword slashed across both calves, severing the tendons in each leg. He fell to the ground without uttering a sound, but continued to glare upwards at Sasuke.

Ino stepped forward next, and Sasuke actually started to laugh at seeing her, until a much shorter girl pushed her way out of the crowd, and he saw his own eyes staring back at him.

"So... little one. You have already activated your eyes? And two tomoe each, hmm? Well, well. It seems Naruto's been training you already. Good- I can trust him not to screw you up too badly. Come, child, let's get out of here. I'd hate to have to kill anyone else just to retrieve you."

Her glare could have killed a lesser man, but Sasuke only smirked.
"Don't want too? How about I... kill your mother, then? Who else will you turn to?"

Once again, no one else could move fast enough to stop him- except his daughter. His Katana had been blocked by his own little girl's kunai, inches from her mother's throat. She was straining with all she had to hold him back, but that little defiance only made him laugh- and take another look. "You've... already become a killer, haven't you, child? Wonderful. A step in the right direction, at least. But don't you think it's a bit early for you to be challenging me?"

He raised a fist to strike her away and allow his sword to continue, but it hadn't yet started moving forward when a hand- larger than his own- wrapped around it.

"Don't hurt my students, Sasuke."

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed, the tomoe switching almost at once to the swirl of the Mangekyo Sharingan. "Quick recovery, Naruto. I'll aim a little higher, this time."

He reversed the direction of his blade's edge and spun backwards in a smooth motion, but Naruto had already leapt backward. Sasuke's blade continued it's sweep, but both Inoko and Ino had the speed- and strength- to stop the blade before it cut into the blond woman's neck.

Sasuke grinned malevolently, and said, "Good job, daughter," before throwing himself forward at Naruto.

He paused suddenly, four feet from his rival, and spent a few seconds looking at his stance. "I've never seen that before. You have been training! Tell me, Naruto- what does this stance do?"

Looks almost animalistic- like Kiba's, Ino thought, but for a totally different creature. Is it...?

She didn't have long to wonder, though, because Sasuke had charged forward again.

His Katana was already outstretched, and she could hear it humming with the electricity running up and down the blade, but it never connected.

Naruto's leg whipped upwards just as the point came close to his neck, and he dropped backwards, the balls of his feet catching the Uchiha's wrist and throwing it upwards, shattering bone.

The Kusanagi, no longer flowing with live current, stuck blade-first into the ground twenty meters away, drawing even more attention from the ninja surrounding Ichiraku's.

Sasuke, holding his arm close to his body, snarled at Naruto, and leapt in again, this time with a kunai in his other hand.

Again, one of Naruto's legs lashed out as soon as he was in range, this time his left, catching the elbow of the other man and snapping his arm in two. The momentum continued, and the blond ninja used it to back-flip onto his feet again, landing in the same hunched-over, wide-legged stance. Sasuke landed on his back on the curb, and through the sudden silence, everyone could hear a sickening crunch.
While the Uchiha continued to rant, he did not move.

After a little while, Naruto stood straight up again and walked over to his former teammate, calling for his youngest current teammate, "Inoko, come here. Neji, you too. I need you guys to verify that he's not using chakra for anything- no more getting away, this time."

Ino tried to hold her daughter back, unwilling to let the girl out of her arm's reach with an implacable foe- who wanted nothing more than to take that daughter away from her- so close, and getting closer. But the younger Yamanaka shrugged the hands off and pulled away, saying softly, "Sorry, mom. We have to do this."

The blond woman watched her daughter- barely more than a child, hardly a teenager, and yet a full-grown woman in her own right in many ways- walk almost-calmly toward her father and her enemy, to stand with her sensei and look down at him coldly.

"Damn you, Uzumaki! How dare you do this to me! End it now!"

Naruto simply watched for what seemed like hours, though Ino could tell only a few more words were said before her first love screamed out, in a piteous voice, "I hate you! Konoha will fall, and I'm doing it just to kill you!"

And that was enough. As Naruto's clenched right hand opened and he chambered it on his hip, the first stirrings of chakra could be seen. As his knees bent and he leaned forward, the hand sped downward, racing at a snail's pace to the paralyzed Uchiha's throat.

The kekkei genkai of the Hyuga and Uchiha clans both watched for any signs of chakra use, deception, or trickery from the half-way point of the movement on.

Naruto's knee struck the cobbled road at the same instant the leading edge of the Rasengan touched Uchiha Sasuke's throat.

Her sense of time now completely out of whack, Ino watched on in silence as the lines of blood spiraled out, forming a red galaxy-like shape on the pavement. It's beautiful!

After an eternity, Naruto stood up and looked to Neji first. The brown-haired Hyuga's head twitched from side to side, and the blues eyes found his teammate next.

"No, I didn't see him do anything," Inoko said, her voice sad but full of resolve, "He's really dead- and I'm sure it was him. His chakra network looked just like mine."

Again, Naruto looked over at Neji, who nodded, "It was him, not a clone and not a body double."

The sage nodded, finally allowing his chakra to return to normal. "Let's get Sakura and Hinata to Obaa-chan. That last thing he said worries me- he might have been behind Iwa's aggression."