A/N: I honestly love how many of you hate Gaara in this fic. wThat means he's serving his purpose. He isn't supposed to be likeable lmao
Chunin Exams, Invasion, Part 1
Enjoy!
Hiruzen heaved a deep breath as he evaded a blast of fire approaching from his right. For the past fifteen minutes, the Hokage had been battling against an all-too-familiar foe. One that he himself had cultivated and given the tools to thrive. The old man turned to face his momentarily stationary enemy and scowled.
"Was all of this really necessary, Orochimaru? Potentially sparking a world war for nothing more than a grudge? You're smarter than that" he asked while shielding his face from the billowing smoke that his former pupil's flaming jutsu had produced. The Snake Sanin chuckled to himself and shook his head.
"Who said this was about you exclusively? My situation with you is certainly part of why I'm here, but there's more to it than that" he corrected. Hiruzen scowled and motioned for the pale man to elaborate.
"What else piqued your interest? You wouldn't be here if something hadn't caught your eye" he asked skeptically. Orochimaru gestured back towards the distant stadium, where the panicked screams of Konoha villagers could be heard.
"Two things, actually. That young Jinchuuriki you've been trying and failing to nurture, Naruto, was it? He caught my eye in the forest. That boy is capable of using both the Rasengan and the Shadow Clone jutsu. Unheard of feats for a genin. On top of that, he's holding his own with Gaara of the Desert as we speak, a boy who was, and still is, well on his way to becoming the next Kazekage. Naruto possesses a great degree of natural power, even ignoring the fox" he explained as he charged forward to attack the elderly Kage.
Hiruzen growled and lept forward to meet his former pupil, seizing him by his wrists and flinging him onto another rooftop.
"You said there were two things that sparked your interest. What was the second?" he questioned as he weaved hand seals at blinding speed. Moments later, the Hokage unleashed a blast of pressurized air from his mouth the launched Orochimaru up into the air. The Snake Sanin grinned and flipped himself back over mid-air, managing to land in front of Hiruzen.
"At heart, I'm a scientist. I enjoy taking things apart and observing how they function. But, in recent years, I've developed a second love. Psychology" he began as he dusted himself off and drew a kunai. He then blitzed forward and clashed against Hiruzen, who had also drawn a kunai. As sparks flew, Orochimaru continued his explanation.
"Most young ninja, namely teenagers, are a garbled mess of hormonal emotion and bad opinionation. You would know, sensei. You taught them for a living. Your current crop of genin has a variety of fascinating case studies in mental illness, but one in particular stands out above the rest" he said vaguely, allowing Hiruzen to decipher the individual's identity.
"Hinata Hyuga. The girl you marked" the Hokage growled as he kicked the Snake Sanin in the chest and launched him back. Orochimaru nodded in confirmation.
"Such a fascinating mental makeup that girl has. Elitist, yet completely lacking in legitimate self-confidence. Hard as steel, but situationally bendable. Talented and intelligent, but outclassed by the true freaks of this world. I decided to amplify those flaws to better understand them, which is why I marked her. As a bonus of sorts, she was Naruto's teammate, which meant that her artificially magnified negative traits would inevitably clash with his own" he said. The Hokage clenched his jaw.
"Do you have any idea how much pain you caused the two of them? You nearly destroyed the closest thing to a legitimate friendship either one of them have ever had" he hissed. Orochimaru laughed out loud.
"I didn't destroy a thing. I simply gave the girl the tools to burn it all to the ground, and she did. It was quite fascinating to watch. They even seemed to rebuild their tattered relationship after the fact, but it seems that the boy from Suna put a swift and brutal end to that" he said coldly. Hiruzen then vanished from sight, reappearing a moment later with his fist buried in Orochimaru's gut.
"Human beings are not pawns to be smashed against one another. Taking pleasure in the potential destruction of their happiness is low, even for you" he growled as he twisted his fist into the Sanin's stomach, eliciting a groan of pain from his former pupil.
"That's where you and I differ, sensei. Some people are born to be the entertainment of the powerful. Not all men are created equal. Even the Kazekage fell into the category of whipping boy. He was overwhelmed immediately. But you, Hiruzen, you're like me. Which is why I still respect you to some extent" Orochimaru said through a painful cough. The Hokage tossed the pale man backwards and assumed a taijutsu stance.
"You're wrong, Orochimaru. No one man is superior by default, and you have absolutely no right to interfere with the lives of others" he said as he prepared to engage once more. The Snake Sanin grinned.
"Whether or not I have the right is irrelevant. There isn't a shinobi in this village that can stop me. You included"
Shikamaru spat blood out of his mouth as he struggled to catch his breath. He was leaned against the concrete wall of the stadium hallway, and had been for roughly thirty seconds. Despite it having lasted less than a minute by this point, the momentary break was the longest he had experienced in the previous twenty minutes
'She's smart. There's no sunlight in here, and the electricity went out about ten minutes ago. There are no shadows. I can't trap her unless I can force her out into the entrance again. Unfortunately, trying will get me cut in half. Just my luck that her jutsu can't cut concrete' the shadow user thought to himself as he listened closely for Temari's footsteps. After nearly a minute, her voice cut through the deafening silence.
"This game of cat and mouse is getting old, Shikamaru. Just come out. It would make things much easier for both of us if you do" she called from an indecipherable location in the surprisingly complex hallway system. Shikamaru scowled as he did his best to quiet his breathing.
'You've been spouting crap like that this whole time. Why? You're smart enough to know that it won't draw me out' he wondered to himself. Just as the thought had finished forming, he was tapped on the shoulder. The lazy genin reflexively whirled around, only to be met with a pair of cold green eyes hovering three inches from his own.
"You really are tired. I figured you'd be tougher to corner" the sand kunoichi said, her breath hot on his face. Shikamaru instinctively stumbled back, his legs threatening to give out due to a mix of fear and exhaustion. Temari calmly stalked him backwards, maintaining the same uncomfortably close distance the entire time. After ten shaky steps back, the young Nara's back hit the opposite wall.
"How'd you find me? It's been dim in here since the electricity went out, and I kept my mouth shut" Shikamaru demanded raggedly. Temari responded by lightly grazing the bottom of his chin, bloodying her index finger in the process.
"I could hear the blood dripping from your nose and mouth. I could smell it too. Where I come from, everything smells like sand and sounds like an irritating breeze. Any variation means a storm is coming. My senses are sharper than yours. You were never going to evade me for long" she said. The shadow user flattened himself against the wall to create another two inches of space between himself and his foe.
"You could at least respect my personal space while you kill me" he complained irritatedly. Temari shook her head and produced a sheathed kunai. She then pinned one of his arms to the wall and used her teeth to unsheath the kunai.
"What the hell are you-" Shikamaru began, clamming up when he saw that the blade in Temari's free hand was dripping with a clear liquid. The fan wielder then pressed the knife to his neck and pulled gently, splitting his skin and allowing the substance to seep into the non-fatal wound. She then leaned into his ear.
"I'm doing you a favor. Now shut up and go to sleep" she whispered as Shikamaru went limp. Temari caught his unconscious body just before it could hit the cold, hard floor. She then slung him over her shoulder and began to walk back towards the exit.
'I don't like this anymore than you do, but at least this way, you'll survive the invasion'
Naruto roared defiantly as he leapt over a wave of sand and crashed down towards the earth. Before he could hit the ground, the blonde broke his fall by slamming his fist onto the top of Gaara's head, cracking the ground beneath his feet and forcing him to take a knee. Naruto then yanked the redhead to his feet and cracked him with two punches, sending him stumbling back a few steps. Gaara then regained his footing and charged forward uncharacteristically. Despite the oddity of the action, Naruto did the same and met his foe halfway.
The boys threw simultaneous, right-handed punches, each of them missing by inches. They then loaded their momentum into hooking left hands from the opposite side. They both connected flush to the right side of one another's jaws, buckling their knees and forcing a momentary retreat from both jinchuuriki. Gaara then let out a low chuckle, which soon evolved into a maddened cackle. Within moments, he was laughing with verulient insanity.
"Oh, dear Lord above, you have no idea how long I've waited to taste my own blood! Life is such a bore when you have no threatening contenders! Keep coming, Naruto!" he yelled, sadistic anticipation dripping from his mad voice. Naruto felt a bead of nervous sweat trickle down his crimson-masked face, but opted to oblige the redhead and attack him once more. He blitzed forward and lowered his levels to strike his foe in the stomach, drawing Gaara's defenses downward to defend his midsection.
Naruto pulled out of his strike halfway, grinning as Gaara exposed his head further to block strike that hadn't even been thrown. He then ripped an uppercut under the sand shinobi's chin, snapping his head straight up and backing him up a step. Naruto then sprang forward and clobbered him on the temple with a wide, left-handed punch that staggered him further.
'Let's finish this right here and now' the Konoha genin thought firmly as he charged to thrust a clawed hand straight into Gaara's chest. Before he could connect with the potentially fatal strike, Gaara planted his feet and seized his wrist. He then yanked him into an upright stance. Before the blonde could react a searing pain erupted in his chest.
"You leave the most glaring openings" Gaara laughed as Naruto struggled to breath. He had been impaled through the right side of his chest with a sand spike. Instead of panicking, the blonde siphoned chakra into his left hand and impaled Gaara through the right side of his chest as well.
"So do you" he retorted as blood spilled from both of their mouths. Gaara gazed at his own shaking limbs and grinned.
"You have me shaking, Naruto. Then again, that's to be expected. I'm a quivering virgin of this kind of combat. To hear my heart in my ears, to taste iron, to have aching bruises...it's all new to me. The best part? These impalements won't stop us" he said before kicking Naruto off the sandy spike, removing the blonde's hand from his chest by extension. After regaining his footing, Naruto winced as his wound healed itself.
"You're insane" he accused through ragged breaths. Gaara smirked and licked the blood from his wrist.
"Tell me something I don't know"
Hinata released the breath she had been holding as Naruto and Gaara circled one another slowly. The heiress had been forced to fight the urge to cry out in horror when her beloved teammate had been impaled by the redhead, and the relief she now felt watching him move comfortably was almost palpable. She then returned her attention to the arena seating, which was littered with dead and unconscious bodies. Roughly ninety percent of the innocents inhabiting the stands had been evacuated, with the other ten percent having been injured or dying in the skirmish with the sand ninja.
Word had come in several minutes previously that the Anbu Black Ops were currently holding off two separate attempts to invade the village from the north and south respectively. From the tone of voice the messenger had been speaking in, the battles were going quite well from the perspective of Konoha, which was an excellent sign. As of now, both Hinata and Neji were tending to the injured villagers who remained in the stands.
'I could have sworn that I heard a commotion in the lower hallway system several minutes ago. Likely just a scuffle amongst the escapees, but even so…' the heiress thought to herself as she glanced back at the stairway. She then made her way to Neji, who was forcing a dislocated joint back into place on an elderly man.
"I'm going to go check something. I'll be back momentarily" she said. The Hyuga boy nodded and continued to tend to his patient. Hinata then briskly walked to the stairs and leapt down the flight to save time. When she reached the bottom level, which lead to the ground-level exit, she activated her byakugan and began to search the halls. For five silent minutes, the Hyuga girl wandered the intricate system of hallways, spotting nothing of interest. Once she reached a certain sector of halls, however, she began to notice small scrape marks on the floor, ceiling, and walls.
"What on earth?" Hinata muttered to herself as she felt the markings on the wall, which were carved surprisingly deep. She then rounded a corner and caught sight of something that ran her blood cold. A small trail of blood leading to a specific spot on the opposite wall, which was also stained with blood.
"What happened here?" Hinata wondered aloud in a shaky whisper. She then recalled the skirmish she had heard come from the bottom level of the stadium.
"Hanabi…" she said, suddenly realizing what may have happened. She then turned around and made a beeline for the exit. Once she reached it and made her way outside, she began to sprint towards the Hyuga Estate. After roughly two minutes of running, she crashed through the gates and tore through the front yard towards the leftmost house. Once inside, she scrambled down the steps that led to the basement.
"Hanabi?" she called as she touched down on the lowest floor. To her complete and total relief, the young Hyuga came bounding out of a corner.
"Ne-san!" she cried, throwing herself into her sister's arms. Hinata hugged her tightly for a moment before prying her off gently.
"Tell me what happened in the stadium" she urged softly. Hanabi sniffled a bit and nodded, taking a moment to recall the events.
"Nara-san and I were one our way out of the hallway, and we were intercepted by the girl that he had faced in his match. She claimed she was under orders to guard the exit no matter what. Nara-san was able to bargain and convince her to let me go on the condition that he stay behind and fight…" she said, breaking down a bit at the end of her account. Hinata's eyes widened for a moment before she regained her composure and sighed.
'So it was your blood, Nara-san. You have my everlasting gratitude. It is a bit odd to me that there wasn't a body, though. You were completely spent by the end of your match, and you weren't much better off when you took Hanabi to leave, so I doubt you could have won another fight with Temari' she thought to herself. She then put a hand on her sister's shoulder and pointed to a stack of blankets on the wall.
"Tuck yourself in and go to sleep. This nightmare will be over when you wake up. This house will be heavily guarded, so you'll be completely safe. I have to go now, so you'll have to make due on your own" she said gently. Hanabi nodded and made her way to the blankets. Hinata then began to ascend the stairs to return to the stadium. Before she could leave the basement completely, Hanabi called out to her.
"Be safe, Hinata" she said. The heiress looked back at her now, blanket covered sister and nodded.
"I'll do what I can"
A/N: So yeah, Gaara IS completely nuts in this fic people. He just hides it better than canon Gaara did. Hope you all enjoyed! Tell me what you thought in a review!
See you next chapter! Read and Review!
