Hard to believe just how far this story has come!

It seems just yesterday I posted this story and now today marks the near half-way point of the Pre-Timeskip! Maybe I can get started on the events of Shippuden before the end of the year! ^_^

Oh well let the chapter begin already! ^_^

P.S: SO SORRY again for the mistake I made with last chapter! XP


"What the hell was that!?" Boruto was taken aback by the sounds of explosions rocking around the village. First, Gaara was losing what little sanity he may have had and now this?

"It looks like an invasion is starting…" Mitsuki's eyes narrowed.

"Invasion?" Sarada could hardly believe all that was happening back to back.

"That Orochimaru bastard…." Boruto clenched his fist as Sarada turned to her teammate in surprise at the mention of the rogue ninja.

"He's really behind this?" Sarada asked with Boruto grunting in confrontation.

"Yeah….dad told me he was behind this when I went back into time…." Boruto confirmed as Mitsuki was silent.

As this went on, Team Konohamaru noticed Sasuke talk to Genma who dashed away alongside the Sunagakure siblings.

"Hey! Where the hell are they going!?" Boruto glared at their backsides.

"It seems they were in cahoots with the Sound Village…" Mitsuki surmised as Sarada scoffed.

"Figures. As if things couldn't even worse, they have an unstable Gaara in their palms…" Sarada gulped as Boruto noticed something in a tower nearby.

"Hey look at that!" Boruto pointed to a huge barrier covering the tower where the Kages once were.

"Oh great! It looks like no one can really get in." Sarada clicked her jaw as she noticed how none of the ninja nearby made any sort of attempt to try to get in.

"Just great…." Boruto grunted as he noticed four figures seemingly holding the barrier in place.

"Hey! Who are those guys?" Sarada asked, also noticing the four mysterious ninja.

"Dad's henchmen no doubt." Mitsuki correctly surmised before noticing two Sound Ninja attempting to attack Sakura from up above.

"Mom! Watch out!" Sarada yelled as Sakura braced herself from the upcoming attack before Kakashi sent the two ninjas flying away with slash marks adorning his chest as he looked down on his protégé with a smile.

"Sakura, just stay down there while I trim the numbers down a little." Kakashi reassured his favorite pink haired student.

"Sounds like the perfect deal to me." Mitsuki mused as Kakashi and Guy genuinely kept to their word in trimming down the enemy ninja.

"Whoa! Look at them go!" Boruto marveled at the power of Kakashi and Guy.

"They really are like our dads of the past!" Sarada was just as impressed as Guy and Kakashi stood back to back with each other.

"I'm worried about Lord Hokage." Guy admitted to Kakashi as it sunk in for Team Konohamaru that this was one of the few times that Guy wasn't jovial and eccentric.

"Just leave that to the Anbu. After all, remember Guy, he is the Hokage." Kakashi reminded Guy with a sharp look as Guy was actually humbled.

"Wait….if by the time you went in the past Lord Hiruzen was replaced by Lady Tsunade and it took place after this…." Sarada trailed off as Boruto nodded, immediately knowing what Sarada was getting at.

"Yeah….that bastard kills the old man…" Boruto clenched his fist in rage as Mitsuki was silent, choosing to look at the barrier as Kakashi and Guy continued fending off the enemy Sound Ninja.

"Sakura, it was worth teaching you Genjutsu during Survival Training for the Genin Exam. You truly do have a talent for it so go ahead and release Naruto and Shikamaru from the Genjutsu." Kakashi nodded to a slumbering Naruto and Shikamaru as Sakura turned to her sensei in question.

"Naruto will be delighted he'll be getting a mission after such a long time." Kakashi said to Sakura while not even looking at her.

"What kind of mission?" Sakura asked in curiosity as Kakashi kept his eyes on the action.

"You'll have to be careful on this one. It's your first A-Rank assignment since the Land of the Waves." Kakashi explained much to Sakura's surprise.

"Wow! He'll definitely like that!" Boruto nodded, just imagining how ecstatic Naruto would be.

"No kidding. But what about him? Is he gonna tag along too?" Sarada asked with Sakura having the same question in mind.

"But sensei, what about you? Why send us on a mission?" Sakura asked her sensei.

"Sasuke's chasing Gaara and the other Sand Ninja. Sakura, release the jutsu and wake up Naruto and Shikamaru." Kakashi said to Sakura.

"He's really gonna chase after them? Is he strong enough?" Sarada asked in concern.

"He should be enough for Temari and Kankuro." Mitsuki assumed.

"But that Shukaku might be too much for him!" Boruto gulped.

"Then they better hurry!" Sarada agreed her teammate,

"But shouldn't we also wake Ino and Choji and then go in a group?" Sakura asked.

"That would be strategically more wise. They would have more of a numbers advantage." Mitsuki nodded.

"Yeah it'd go more in their favor." Boruto agreed as Kakashi shook his head.

"No time. I suspect that many Sound and Sand Shinobi may have already infiltrated the village. Besides, if you have more than the four ninja traditional to a squad, it takes longer to get anything done and becomes harder to act stealthy. You did learn that in Academy Patrol Training, didn't you?" Kakashi turned down Sakura's suggestion.

"Well….he does have a point…" Sarada sighed in admittance.

"Still kinda sucks though." Boruto shook his head as Sakura looked a little disheartened by that.

"Oh…well are you coming with us?" Sakura asked.

"No, I must not leave here." Kakashi said as he drew blood from his thumb, "SUMMONING JUTSU!" Kakashi yelled before slamming his fist down as a group of Ninja Hounds appeared from the smoke.

"Whoa! They look so cool!" Boruto marveled with sparkles in his eyes.

"Wait, I remember hearing about Ninja Hounds before! They track their target by their smells." Sarada noted in remembrance.

"That's mighty convenient with how far Master Sasuke has gone by this point." Mitsuki smiled with Kakashi confirming Sarada's statement.

"Pakkun here will track Sasuke down by scent." Kakashi said as Sakura was clearly unconvinced at how valuable Pakkun could be, no doubt offending him with how fast he jumped to where she was sitting.

"Alright listen, little girl. Don't you dare go around saying how I'm just some cute puppy, got it?" Pakkun threatened Sakura as she blinked in confusion at Pakkun's apparent animosity for her while Team Konohamaru tried, and some failed, to hide their laughter.

"Careful, you'll end up with droppings on your head if you piss off dogs!" Boruto snickered.

"Boruto that is-"Sarada tried scolding Boruto but failed as the image of Sakura with droppings on her head was just way too funny.

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience." Mitsuki laughed as Boruto suddenly went silent.

"Okay, enough talking. Release the Jutsu." Kakashi instructed to Sakura who nodded as she crawled away trying to avoid enemy fire as she crawled to where Naruto was as she made a hand-sign before tapping Naruto's face, releasing Naruto as he was stirred awake.

"Glad to see him up." Boruto pumped his fist with Sarada and Mitsuki smiling in agreement.

"Ugh….what's going on Sakura….?" Naruto mumbled as she shoved him down.

"Just stay down." Sakura said to Naruto as he was still regaining his surroundings as she crawled over to Shikamaru as she tried to wake up Shikamaru before stopping, noticing something "off" for a lack of better words as Pakkun bite Shikamaru's ankle as he tried shaking off Pakkun to no avail.

"You were really just sleeping you faker!" Sakura pointed an accusing finger at Shikamaru.

"Why am I not surprised?" Sarada face-palmed.

"He is truly Shikadai's father." Mitsuki laughed.

"Give me a break, I didn't want to be involved. I couldn't care less about Sasuke." Shikamaru grunted before Pakkun bit his hand instead.

"Get him Pakkun!" Sarada cheered as it was then that Naruto fully woke up, finally noticing the war taking place in the Leaf Village.

"Whoa…what is this?" Naruto looked from left to right.

"Behind you!" Sakura yelled as a Sound Ninja loomed over him with a Kunai near his head but before his attack could connect, Guy immediately backhanded the ninja dead in the chest behind the wall behind everyone.

"Whoa!" Boruto and Sarada were nothing short of impressed with Guy's power.

"So…fast…." The Ninja had all the air knocked from his chest.

"Not just fast but powerful too!" Guy smirked before the ninja was sent flying out of the hall, creating a huge hole in the wall behind them.

"Now I'll explain the mission. As soon as I do, go through that hole through the wall. First, track down Sasuke and stop him. Then find a safe location and await further orders." Kakashi instructed everyone.

"Sounds simple enough." Mitsuki said.

"Though you know it's not gonna end up going anywhere near that simple." Boruto snorted as Naruto's head darted at the mention of his friend.

"Wait, did something happen to Sasuke?" Naruto asked as Sakura turned to Naruto.

"I'll explain everything on the way so let's go!" Sakura said as she grabbed Naruto and they left the stadium and village in secrecy as Shikamaru caught up behind soon after with Pakkun at the front, trying to smell where Sasuke's location was.

It was a lot for Naruto to take in as Sakura explained everything to him.

"Oh! So that's what happened! I guess Sasuke got all impatient." Naruto agreed as he was excited at the prospect of showing off the fruits of his training with Jiraiya but he was a little annoyed also. So much for just having a fun tournament but that creepy Orochimaru had to make his ugly face known?

"Ugh, what a drag! Why did I have to get dragged into all this mess anyways?" Shikamaru groaned.

"It couldn't be helped, it's Kakashi-Sensei's orders!" Sakura said as Pakkun seemed to finally get a whiff of something.

"This way!" Pakkun said as the three jumped to another direction in the forest.

"How much longer?" Naruto impatiently asked, ready to get close to Sasuke.

"I don't know, a long time at the rate of how fast they're going." Pakkun said as the group continued jumping from tree to tree.

"C'mon you guys! Hurry it up!" Pakkun smelled the area around him.

"What's up?" Sakura asked.

"Is it Sasuke?" Naruto was curious.

"No…it's enemy ninja…eight, no wait, nine." Pakkun explained much to the surprise of the kids behind him.

"What? Already?" Shikamaru ground out in frustration and surprise.

"Geez, shit's already hitting the fan?" Boruto's eyes widened in surprise as Pakkun suddenly stopped as they touched down on the forest floor.

"Wait what're they doing?" Sarada asked with Naruto wondering the same although not as chill.

"Why are we stopping!?" Naruto asked in his usual impatient tone.

"Just hush up and follow me." Pakkun wasn't fazed as he was suddenly…going backwards?

"Wait, what're you doing?" Naruto asked.

"We're going over our tracks that way we can throw off our pursuers." Pakkun explained.

"Oh…that's smart!" Boruto snapped a finger with a smile.

"But will they have enough time?" Sarada asked as Naruto seemed just as skeptical.

"Just what's the point of all this?" Naruto wondered not having much faith in this plan.

"It'll help buy us time." Pakkun explained as every did so as the three reluctantly did this.

Soon they were jumping through trees again before Pakkun noticed something amiss.

"This isn't good, be prepared for an ambush." Pakkun grunted as the three Genin's eyes all widened in dread.

"Already!? You gotta be kidding!" Boruto slapped his forehead in disbelief.

"Time really isn't on their side!" Sarada glanced to the back of the group in panic.

"Great, they're all probably Chunin Level or higher. We'll all be wiped out if they catch us…" Shikamaru ground out as Sakura's eyes widened at Shikamaru's words.

"Way to be positive." Sarada glared at Shikamaru.

"He does have a point. They're not at the level yet." Mitsuki pointed.

"But still, that doesn't help them!" Sarada said s Naruto grit his teeth before shaking his head.

"C'mon guys, we don't have much choice. We're gonna have to ambush them." Naruto said, not willing to die without a good fight.

"An ambush? Actually….that could work…it would give us an advantage. Even if there are twice as many of them as there are of us, we could catch them off guard." Sakura tried outweighing the negatives with the potential positives.

"No, it's no good. I'm assuming those ninja chasing us are Orochimaru's henchmen. My guess is that they're all Jonin-Level." Pakkun shut down Sakura's idea.

"Jonin Level!? Oh c'mon now!" Boruto growled in frustration.

"It is dad's ninja….so logically he would have several contingency plans in notion." Mitsuki surmised as Boruto's feelings of frustrations was shared between Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru equally.

"Tch, I really thought that would work. But I guess it won't." Shikamaru shook his head as Naruto and Sakura gave the Nara questionable looks.

"Wait, why not? The level of an opponent doesn't have much to do with an ambush, doesn't it?" Sakura questioned with Naruto looking just as confused as Shikamaru turned to the two.

"You guys just don't get it. Lemme explain, yes an ambush is a key battle tactic and can be very beneficial. But for it to work, you have to meet two conditions." Shikamaru started his explanation.

"Well what are they? We can meet them." Naruto gave Shikamaru a challenging expression.

"Number one; the ninja on the run must be completely quiet and must find the enemy first. Number two; they have to be able to catch the pursuers off guard at a location where they can do a lot of damage quickly and then conceal themselves again just as quickly. And it's only under these two conditions that an ambush can be truly be effective. Now, the first condition won't be too hard since the ninja hound's nose can find our enemy and the second option seems to be in our favor since we know the geography of our village like we know the back of our hands. However, Orochimaru is a former Leaf Ninja so on the second condition, we're out of luck." Shikamaru explained as Naruto and Sakura looked a still a bit confused.

"Wait, why are we out of luck?" Naruto questioned.

"Our pursuers have studied the layout of this village and I have to assume they've been put through various simulated practices for this mission. And on top of that, they're probably masters of the Pursue Jutsu." Shikamaru added as an addendum to his previous explanation.

"So they know all the cards we're holding." Sakura smirked.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure so I suppose that an ambush could give us an advantage but so many things are uncertain. Besides our enemy is a former unit that was specifically put together just for this operation. And what are we four? A fool, a Kunoichi with no particular talent, a mutt and a shirker who doesn't even wanna be here." Shikamaru trailed on with the other three sending him dirty looks.

"Well he ain't wrong." Boruto snickered alongside Mitsuki.

"He's as blunt as Inojin." Sarada sighed.

"But with all that being said, tactics are about clearly grasping a tough situation and formulating the best plan and right now, only one plan makes sense. Just one…" Shikamaru said much to the curiosity of the others.

"What's that?" Sakura asked.

"A diversion that only looks like it's an ambush so one of us is gonna stay behind and distract them." Shikamaru said as Naruto and Sakura finally seemed to understand what Shikamaru was getting at.

"Oh, so one of us will be a decoy." Sakura said in clarity.

"That's right…..if one of us can delay them, they shouldn't be able to find us and we'll be able to escape…" Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he followed with a morbid reminder, "One of us who's left as the decoy will probably die…" Shikamaru ominously warned as that was enough to make everyone stop in their tracks and actually stop jumping.

"How can he say that!? Don't count yourselves out!" Boruto barked at Shikamaru.

"Well…at least we know all three of them survive since we and our classmates are here and wouldn't be here if any of them kicked the bucket…" Sarada reminded her friend though even that wasn't enough to quell her worry.

"We need the dog to find Sasuke so that means…" Shikamaru began as everyone looked uncertain as to who should be the decoy.

"Okay then…I'll-"Naruto was about to offer as Shikamaru cut him off.

"I'm the only one who can do it." Shikamaru gave a small smile much to everyone's surprise.

"Huh!?" Sakura's eyes widened in sadness and surprise.

"Why does it have to be you!?" Naruto couldn't believe his ears as Shikamaru seemed gung-ho in his decision.

"It's better than all of us being wiped out, right? Besides, I'm the only one of us who's capable of pulling this decoy act and of surviving this." Shikamaru said before leaping over to the opposing branch of Naruto and Sakura.

"But can he really do it? I mean I know he survives…" Boruto was a bit skeptical.

"Yeah…not to mention the Shadow Possession Jutsu is extremely taxing on your stamina." Mitsuki added as Naruto and Sakura were nothing short of unconvinced.

"I mean after all, Shadow Possession Jutsu was invented as a decoy tactic. Anyway, I'll catch up with you later so go on, already. Get outta here." Shikamaru reassured the two with a smile before giving them a one armed wave.

While Sakura was still a bit skeptical, Naruto's eyes softened as the memory flashed to all the times Naruto and Shikamaru gave Iruka hell in the Academy before the memory returned to the present.

"Shikamaru! We're counting on you!" Naruto shouted before he and Sakura reluctantly left the lazy Nara behind.

"That guy….he's really something…" Sarada smiled as she noticed the look Sakura gave Shikamaru upon leaving. She was no doubt seeing Shikamaru from a lazy classmate to a dedicated leader.

The group then continued their trek through the trees as Pakkun noticed something.

"I sense that Sasuke has stopped moving." Pakkun informed everyone.

"So that means he's already caught up with them?" Sarada asked.

"That means the action's starting." Mitsuki nodded as Pakkun's nose suddenly picked up on something.

"Did I just smell what I think I smelled?" Pakkun asked before stopping getting the attention of Naruto and Sakura as they stopped jumping before touching down next to the puppy.

"What's wrong?" Naruto turned to Pakkun.

"You smell some kind of trouble?" Sakura's eyes narrowed.

"Oh no! Is it more enemy ninja?" Boruto grimaced as Pakkun's eyes narrowed.

"Strange…I never noticed it before…" Pakkun pondered in thought before turning to Sakura.

"Sakura, did you use the same shampoo I do? Back Minty Rainforest Mist, right?" Pakkun asked as the color left Sakura's face.

"Wait, what does that have to do with anything!?" Naruto reacted in annoyance as Boruto and Mitsuki fought off to hide their snickers.

"I do wonder why my coat is thicker than yours…" Pakkun put his paw to his chin in thought.

"Knock it off, would you!? This is no time to be talking about hair products!" Naruto yelled as Sakura managed to speak for the first time.

"I smell like a dog…" Was all Sakura said before she jumped backwards, seemingly jumping from tree branch to tree branch back to the Leaf Village seemingly.

"I guess she does have a furry aroma." Mitsuki chuckled as Sarada grunted at Mitsuki although even she found humor in Pakkun's words.

"Hey Sarada, how does Auntie Sakura smell?" Boruto teased Sarada who had enough.

"SHE DOESN'T SMELL LIKE A DOG!" Sarada yelled as this only served to make both boys laugh harder.

Eventually Naruto caught up with Pakkun and regained her spirits as the three continued their trek.

"There it is!" Pakkun's nose eventually caught wind of something new.

"What is it? Someone's shampoo?" Naruto asked as Sakura grimaced as Boruto and Mitsuki fought back their snickers.

"No, I smell Sasuke although he's not alone. I sense others with him, he's caught up with them!" Pakkun informed the team.

"Alright he's there!" Boruto pumped his fist.

"Finally! Hopefully things haven't gotten too hairy!"Sarada gulped.

"Okay then let's hurry! Full speed ahead!" Naruto said as everyone jumped from tree to tree as they came across three familiar figures.

One was Temari looking worse for wear.

Another was Gaara whose body was fifteen percent Shukaku.

"Is that Master Gaara?" Sarada was taken aback literally as he literally looked nightmarish and out for blood.

"Yeah….that's the Shukaku…" Boruto gulped before a loud gasp from Sarada got his attention.

"Dad!" Sarada pointed as Boruto and Mitsuki finally noticed Sasuke injured on a tree branch as Gaara lunged at Sasuke who was no longer in any shape to fight.

"Someone stop him!" Sarada yelled as thankfully Naruto was able to do just that, kicking him right in the face sending him to the opposing tree branch that Naruto touched down on.

"Thank god…" Sarada breathed happily as Gaara bared his teeth at Naruto for daring to stop him from getting his kill.

"Hey….Master Kankuro isn't here." Mitsuki noticed their three man cell was one member short.

"Who cares about that? Dad's hurt!" Sarada pointed at Sasuke as she and the others kneeled to his height as they noticed blood trailing from his mouth as half his body was covered in curse markings.

"Oh no…it's that curse mark again…." Sarada put her hand to her mouth.

"It has side effects…coupled with the Chidori…" Mitsuki noted.

"Right…you would know…" Boruto somberly commented.

"Sasuke…" Sakura looked no less than concerned over Sasuke's condition.

"W-what are you doing here?" Sasuke muttered as he weakly looked at the pinkette.

"Sakura…." Naruto tried asking Sakura a question but she was too busy looking over Sasuke's condition to pay Naruto any mind right now.

"Uh, Sakura…? Earth to Sakura!" Naruto got louder as that was enough to get Sakura's attention. Annoyingly, though.

"What do you want!?" Sakura snapped.

"This guy….who the hell is he?" Naruto pointed at the transformed Gaara as she scowled at Naruto as Boruto and Sarada face-palmed.

"You mean the red hair, black eyeliner and creepy eyes aren't a dead giveaway?" Boruto deadpanned.

"Although his appearance has greatly changed, he's still the one you know as Gaara." Pakkun informed as Naruto tensed as an image of Gaara passed through his mind.

"I guess now should be the perfect time to tell you I'm not the fighting type." Pakkun droned as Sarada rolled her eyes.

"I wonder what gave that away?" Sarada scoffed as Sakura wasn't as chill as her mother.

"I can tell that by looking at you!" Sakura snapped before racking her mind trying to wonder what the best way to escape was.

"What do you want?" Gaara snarled at Naruto who tensed at the look in his eyes.

It was then that Naruto noticed the traveling look in Gaara's eyes.

"Oh no! He's heading for Uncle Sasuke!" Boruto looked to Sasuke in panic.

"Guys! We have to escape!" Naruto yelled in horror as Gaara lunged at Sasuke's fallen form as Naruto realized he couldn't act fast enough this time.

"Dad! Someone stop him!" Sarada yelled before noticing Sakura jump in front of Sasuke in a blur with a kunai in hand.

"Mom!? What the hell is she doing!?" Sarada was about to pull her hair out in horror before Sakura was suddenly pinned to the tree behind her with Gaara's sandy claw as Naruto took that time to pull Sasuke to safety.

"Oh no, Sakura!" Naruto yelled in horror.

"What was she thinking!?" Sarada couldn't believe how reckless her mother was being.

"With how hard his sand could be, she could be slowly getting crushed to death…" Mitsuki observed in concern.

"Not helping!" Sarada snapped at Sarada.

"That girl must be out of her mind facing Gaara…" Temari muttered.

"Oh no….What now?" Boruto asked in panic wondering how Naruto could get out of this sticky situation as Gaara held his head as if he was having a migraine before glaring his eyes back at Naruto.

"Well….aren't you gonna stop me? These two…what are they to you?" Gaara demanded more than asked as Naruto seemed to regain some of his previous fire in his eyes.

"….Who are they to me? They're my friends is who they are! You lay one more finger on them and I will pulverize you!" Naruto declared as Gaara huffed.

"Friend? Well what do you think of this!?" Gaara smirked as he applied more pressure on Sakura's hold, making her scream in pain.

"Mom!" Sarada yelled as Naruto glared at Gaara.

"Well? What's wrong? Show me that strength like when you crushed Hyuga!" Gaara grinned as Naruto growled, realizing it was all on him to save his friends.

"Damn it!" Naruto yelled as he launched himself at Gaara before he was pushed away with Gaara's sandy claw.

"This guy…" Naruto muttered, picking himself up before Gaara surprisingly started laughing. Soon it evolved into downright psychotic laughter.

"….If he didn't lose it before…" Sarada began.

"He's definitely lost it now." Boruto finished with a nod as Gaara snarled at Naruto.

"And that's exactly why you can't win. As long as you fight for the sake of others, you'll never advance beyond this level. Only one can remain undefeated and only he will know what it means to truly exist. Forget your friends and fight for yourself!" Gaara looked down on Naruto.

"What the hell is he talking about!? True strength comes when you don't forsake your friends!" Boruto snapped as Naruto glared at Gaara.

"You're insane! Forget my friends?" Naruto challenged Gaara's assertion who remained unmoved with his declaration.

"The trivial feelings like friendship and loyalty will cloud your focus." Gaara spat as Naruto clicked his jaw.

"Yeah, yeah, keep talking cause I'm gonna shut you up once for all." Naruto got a kunai as Gaara chuckled at Naruto's confidence.

"You don't know what true strength is…." Gaara spat at Naruto's bravado as he lunged at him in the air.

"I'm taking you down!" Naruto yelled intent on gouging out Gaara's eyes before he suddenly missed as Gaara held his head in pain again.

"It's that same gesture…what's the deal?" Sarada asked.

"I dunno but how is dad gonna beat him?" Boruto asked as Naruto was lost in how he could get the leg up on Gaara before a lightbulb rose over his forehead.

"That's it!" Naruto bit his finger before making a familiar series of hand-signs.

"Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto said as he slammed his hand down. However instead of a giant 20 foot frog, out came…..a very tiny frog.

"….Huh?" Boruto and Sarada dually deadpanned as sweat dripped down their heads.

"Well? What is it kid? You better have brought snacks because if you think I'm doing anything for free, you're crazy." The tiny frog glared in annoyance at Naruto who was more than happy to return the annoyance.

"Oh give me a break! I'm really starting to hate you stinking frogs!" Naruto spat as that was enough to make them enemies….or frenemies?

"Ohoho? Anti-Amphibian? Well take this you big bigot?" The frog spat a raspberry at Naruto.

"I highly doubt anything he said could be considered prejudiced against frogs." Sarada blinked as Naruto shook his head.

"I don't have time to play games, you slimy little squirt." Naruto grunted as he looked at the downed forms of Sasuke and Sakura.

"I can't believe after all that training this is the best I can do…..I'm the only one who can save them…." Naruto gulped as he couldn't believe this was all he could summon.

"Worried about the others? That's your weakness….When I fight, I fight for me and me alone…." Gaara growled as the sand started to surround him before he resembled a miniature raccoon as the sandy claw released its hold on Sakura before she was held in tact with sand, resembling someone stuck like a spider web.

"He's transformed again…." Boruto's eyes widened at the new state of Naruto's opponent.

"He really looks like a sandy raccoon…" Sarada gulped nervously.

"Only by defeating me will you free her. And you better hurry since the sand will harden with each passing second…until it finally crushes her completely and it kills her…." Gaara smirked.

"Oh great….now a time limit on top of all the pressure…." Sarada bit her fingernail in nervousness.

"If that tiny guy is all he can summon, how can he defeat him?" Boruto pondered.

"Maybe summon the Nine Tails' chakra like he did against Master Neji?" Mitsuki offered as a suggestion before Gaara drew his arms back.

"Sand Shuriken!" Gaara sent Naruto back with powerful gusts of sand.

Naruto was able to pull the tiny frog to safety in the nick of time.

"Wow…boy are you pathetic." The frog took a gab at Naruto who glared at him.

"Ugh, shut up." Naruto growled.

"So…who the heck is that guy anyways?" The frog asked Naruto who was shaken as he managed to push himself to his feet. Looking in his eyes was enough to make Naruto scared shitless.

"Those eyes…eyes full of loneliness….I've seen them before…..in…myself…." Naruto's eyes donned a reflective look as the memory flashed to a young Naruto ostracized and secluded from all the villagers.

"I remember how I hated them…because they hated me….and I didn't understand why…." Naruto's voice echoed through the memory.

"The fox spirit that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village has taken over your body! You ARE the Nine Tailed Fox!" Mizuki's image rang through the memory before the memory showed flashes of the villagers' cold eyes.

"That's when I found out I had this demon inside of me. It wasn't my fault but everyone acted like it was. It was so hard….until…." Naruto's voice flashed before the memory flashed to the night of the Mizuki incident.

Naruto's one of a kind, works hard and puts his whole heart into it! Sure he messes up sometimes and everyone jumps on him but his suffering only makes him stronger. That's what separates him from being a beast. So you're wrong, he's nothing like the Nine Tailed Fox, he's Naruto Uzumaki of the Village Hidden in the Leaves!" Iruka pronounced as Naruto was openly crying at Iruka's words. Although these were not tears of sadness but tears of happiness as he had finally found someone who had acknowledged him.

The memory then flashed to Sasuke and Naruto during the Preliminaries of the Chunin Exams.

"Naruto….."You're one of the ones I want to fight the most." Sasuke proclaimed with the utmost certainty in his voice as this wasn't one of his arrogant smirks but a serene smile as this was the moment that Naruto was finally considered as a major stepping stone for Sasuke.

The memory then flashed to the day of Naruto's first day at the Ninja Academy.

"Here's your Ninja Academy information that you dropped outside." Sakura gave Naruto a small smile.

The memory then flashed to Tazuna and Team Seven's first encounter with Zabuza.

I'll protect you with my life. All of you. I will not allow my comrades to die. Trust me." Kakashi turned to his team with a smile that let them know that Kakashi was willing to do anything, even die for their sake.

The memory then showed an image of Naruto running to the afore-mentioned people.

"A few people came along who paid attention to me. That made it better. It was all right….that even if I had this monster fox inside of me and everyone else treated me like I didn't exist, because I found people who accept me. For the first time I was happy….really, really happy!"

Boruto and Sarada found themselves teary-eyed at Naruto's visions of pain and eventual happiness.

"That's….heavy…he came from nothing…." Boruto smiled.

"And got everything…" Sarada took her glasses off and wiped her eyes.

"But when I think back to how I was before I met them, it's scary….nothing but darkness and pain….what I'd be like if I stayed there….that's how I can understand him…" Naruto thought as an image of him and Gaara separated by a mirror appeared before breaking it, the blood bringing the memory back to present time.

"I don't know how it happened but this guy's been there all alone in that same pit of loneliness and pain….no…he's still there….and has no one….that's why he fights for himself….is it a weakness? To have friends you care about and want to protect?" Naruto found himself wondering.

"Shit no!" Boruto exploded.

"He's right! Remember what Haku said?" Sarada wished she could be there to shake some sense into Naruto.

"Can…I really win against a guy like this?" Naruto asked as sweat rolled down his face. Blood spat from Sakura's mouth as that brought Naruto's mind back to the present.

"Oh damn! How much longer does she have?" Boruto asked to no one in particular.

"Less than an hour…" Mitsuki confirmed much to his teammate's chagrin.

"Oh great!" Sarada growled. Without Gamabunta, how could Naruto win?

"What's wrong? Are you afraid of me? Or are you still thinking of the best way to save your friends? Fool! Love only yourself! Where's that spark before? Show me your strength so I can grind it into dust, you coward! Attack me or I'll kill the girl right now!" Gaara demanded as Naruto clenched his fist.

"Okay, you asked for it!" Naruto yelled as he made a hand-sign.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as a hoard of Shadow Clones appeared over Gaara before they were blown back with ease.

However….Team Konohamaru noticed something in Naruto's eyes as he slowly pushed himself back up.

Not fear….but….determination?

This look didn't waver even after Naruto got knocked down by another flurry of Sand Shuriken.

"W-what's this power? It feels overflowing…like I'm on fire! For some reason…" Naruto pushed himself up, "I don't wanna lose to this guy!" Naruto declared with the fire in his eyes getting only stronger.

"Wait, what's he planning?" Sarada asked, noticing how Naruto was wrapping a Kunai in a bomb tag.

Naruto then summoned four Shadow Clones by his side.

"Here goes! Get ready for the ultimate secret Taijutsu! Naruto Uzumaki Clone Body Slam!" Naruto and his Clones yelled as they tried a frontal assault on Gaara who caught three of Naruto's Shadow Clones in his palm.

"Okay let's do it!" One of Naruto's Shadow Clones yelled as they lunged Naruto at the possessed Gaara.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto summoned a Shadow Clone that saved him in the nick of time.

"And another Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto jumped off a third Shadow Clone as he lunged for Gaara with his Kunai in hand.

"Here goes; Leaf Village Secret Taijutsu! Straight from the teachings of Kakashi-Sensei! A Thousand Years of Death!" Naruto shoved his Kunai right into Gaara's backside.

The tiny frog was speechless while Temari blushed in irritancy as Pakkun deadpanned.

"….Is…he…serious?" Sarada couldn't believe her eyes as Boruto nearly doubled over from laughing alongside Mitsuki.

"No way that's what he had planned!" Boruto snickered while wiping an eye.

Thinking of this as nothing, Gaara backsmacked Naruto clear across the forest while not noticing the starting paper bomb.

"Boom…." Naruto muttered before the bomb exploded, deadass in Gaara, literally.

"Oh so that's what he had planned!" Boruto slammed his fist in his palm.

"Makes sense he'd cover it up with something dumb." Mitsuki chuckled as Sarada blushed while Naruto was sent careening into where Sasuke was.

"All of that…and you only scored one blow?" Sasuke slightly teased Naruto who scowled at him.

"Shut up!" Naruto turned his head away with Sasuke noticing the decreasing state of Sakura.

"Naruto, listen to me….you have to save Sakura if it's the last thing you do…." Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Darn right he does!" Sarada nodded with fervor.

"But that look in his eye….what is he….planning?" Boruto pondered.

"Once you've gotten here, I want you to take her and flee….It's all up to you." Sasuke said to Naruto as the image of the memory flashed to Sasuke protecting Naruto from Haku.

"Sasuke…you?" Naruto blinked in surprise as the memory returned to the present.

"I can hold him here….a little longer…." Sasuke grunted as he tried pushing himself to his feet.

"No he can't!" Sarada looked at her dad as if he were insane.

"Yeah! What can he do it that state?" Boruto looked at his precious sensei in worry.

"If it ends here then that just means it was as far as I was meant to go….I lost everything once….I don't ever want to go through that again…My trusted comrades falling in front of me." Sasuke finished.

"Dad…..you will all get out of here…." Sarada smiled in respect and love of father through her tears as Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke's words seemed to trigger something in Naruto.

"T-that's right!" Naruto stood himself up with a renewed vigor in his eyes, "He's no different than me. Going through life with the exact same sadness and loneliness….he fought for himself, never having anyone. And I thought because of that he had strength but I shoulda known better! If you only fight for yourself, you won't be strong no matter what…" Naruto's eyes donned a reflective look as the memory flashed back to the morning where Naruto first met Haku.

"When a person has something precious that they want to protect, they become genuinely strong." Haku's voice rang as Team Konohamaru saw flashes of Naruto summoning Shadow Clones in an attempt to save Iruka from Mizuki, Kakashi protecting Team Seven from Zabuza and Sasuke awakening his Sharingan protecting Naruto from Haku.

"You will get strong….very strong. Haku assured Naruto as Naruto practically brought the memory back to the present as Naruto summoned a huge flurry of Chakra.

"And Haku sure was right…." Mitsuki looked in awe.

"Where did all this come from!?" Sarada was amazed.

"I guess he found his second wind!" Boruto was impressed before over a thousand clones were summoned.

"Whoa! He really did find his second wind!" Sarada smiled in amazement as the spectators in the memory were lost for words.

"What the? How did he summon so many clones?" Temari gasped out.

"I can't believe my eyes…" Pakkun looked around with the frog smiling.

"Way to go there blondie! You're showing an awful lot of promise!" The frog grinned.

"Naruto…how did you?" Sasuke couldn't believe this was the same class clown now fighting on par with someone even the Rookie of the Year struggled with?

"Sasuke, just take a step back and leave everything to Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto smiled as all Clones and Naruto lunged at Gaara.

"Direct from Naruto's Ninja Handbook! Clone Body Slam!" Naruto yelled as all his clones threw handfuls of Shuriken and Kunai at the sand user before they all gave Gaara a 2K versionof the Naruto Uzumaki Barrage.

"Look at him go! He's gonna win!" Sarada cheered.

"Go dad!" Boruto grinned as this was enough for Gaara who fell to the ground hard.

"I….will not…I WILL NOT LOSE TO SOMEONE LIKE HIM!" Gaara yelled as a huge dome of sand knocked Naruto away and smacked all his clones to oblivion.

"He's….snapped…." Boruto gulped as a huge cloud of smoke appeared.

"WHAT IS THAT!?" Sarada took a step back as she was no doubt intimidated at the sight of the One Tailed Beast, Shukaku.

"….That's….Shukaku…." Boruto gulped.

"He's bigger than the one you found in that gourd, right?" Mitsuki tried joking though no one laughed as they were no doubt intimidated by the size of the beast.

"He looks….blood thirsty…." Sarada had sweat dripping down head.

"That look in his eye….it scares me…." Boruto's heart raced at how blood thirsty Shukaku looked.

"What is that?" Sasuke was taken aback at how the tide of battle had changed.

"That's it…the monster inside of him?" Naruto blinked in curiosity.

"Well…what do you know? I never thought you'd bring this out of me!" Gaara yelled. To say Temari was spooked at the sight of Shukaku was an understatement.

"Wait where is Gaara?" Boruto asked, looking around and seeing no sight of Gaara.

"Who cares!? Lord Seventh's in trouble!" Sarada pointed sand slowly encased itself around Naruto.

"Naruto!" Sasuke tried running to Naruto's aid before his knees buckled downwards as a result of his exhaustion.

"Oh hell! What is he gonna do!?" Boruto darted his head from left to right trying to find out a way out for Naruto.

"Sand Bur-"Gaara was about to crush Naruto like he did Lee before….

"SUMMONING JUTSU!" Naruto yelled as none other than Gamabunta appeared from the sand encasing Naruto.

"He did it!" Boruto jumped up and down.

"About time!" Sarada pumped her fist.

"Although will it be enough for Shukaku? This is a Tailed Beast after all." Mitsuki wondered as the voice of Gaara chuckled through Shukaku.

"Naruto Uzumaki….you never cease to entertain me…." Gaara's voice chuckled while Naruto smirked proudly as he had not only gotten over his fear of Gaara but was now turning the tide of battle in his favor.

"What the? You again? What is this?" Gamabunta looked up at Naruto showing that he was less than pleased to be summoned before noticing the Sand Demon in front of him, "Well would you look at that? Shukaku the Sand Spirit…."

"Whaddaya say, Chief Toad? Will ya fight alongside me?" Naruto expectantly looked at Gamabunta who was silent as he blew a puff of smoke.

"Take a hike." Gamabunta irritatingly said much to Naruto's dismay.

"Well he sure is friendly." Sarada sweat-dropped.

"Wait why's he being such a hard ass? I thought dad earned his respect after staying on his back the whole day!" Boruto looked lost.

"Why go out of my way to mess with a guy like him? What am I, an idiot?" Gamabunta huffed.

"Well he's not exactly wrong." Mitsuki chuckled while Naruto couldn't believe his ears.

"Are you kidding me!? You already said you'd make me your henchman didn't you!? It's only natural a boss would help his henchman, isn't it!? What about your sense of duty!?" Naruto was practically clapping Gamabunta's head though the frog didn't seem too bothered by that.

"Sure I may have agreed to make you my henchman but we haven't even sealed the deal over a cup of Sake yet." Gamabunta scoffed as Naruto was ready to rip his hair out.

"Gimme a freaking break! I'm not even twenty one years old so I can't have alcohol!" Naruto spazzed out before the tiny frog from earlier plopped down on Naruto's head, unintentionally calming him down.

"Oh don't be like that pops. Why don't you just hear the kid out?" The frog offered.

"Wait, pops?" Naruto was lost.

"It would make sense why he'd come in his place." Boruto said.

"Yeah not to mention they look alike." Sarada agreed as she was glad this frog was talking some sense into his dad.

"And just what do you think you're doing here Gamakichi?" Gamabunta asked his son.

"Oh I had nothing better to do so I was just hanging out. By the way, that big ugly mug was picking on me." Gamakichi pointed at Shukaku as Gamabunta's eyes narrowed as he seemed to show another emotion other than annoyance.

"….Come again?" Gamabunta demanded more than asked.

"Oh yeah and when he did, my friend here came to my rescue and went head to toe with that monster over there. I'm telling ya pops, there's more to this kid than meets the eye!" Gamakichi vouched on Naruto's honor as that seemed to be enough for Gamabunta.

"Damn right! Now it looks like he's activated!" Boruto grinned.

"Yeah parents come in clutch for their children." Sarada laughed remembering how vicious Sakura was to the Shins.

"Okay kid, I've decided to make you officially my henchman…" Gamabunta pulled his sword from his holder, "Sit tight. I'll show you what duty is all about!" Gamabunta lunged at Shukaku with his sword drawn as he jammed his gigantic sword in Shukaku's shoulder before chopping it off like a piece of meat as the flung off arm and sword caused large land shakes upon impact as Naruto and Team Konohamaru looked in awe at the battle between essentially monsters.

"Whoa! This is really heating up!" Boruto smiled with stars in his eyes.

"But if they don't end this fast they'll end up crushing everyone and everything around them…" Sarada looked around in concern as Naruto noticed something.

"Hey chief! Try not to go over there!" Naruto pointed in the direction where his friends were at, "Try and lure him over there, okay?" Naruto then pointed in the opposite direction.

"Sakura?" Gamabunta was just lost as Gamakichi grinned.

"It's his girlfriend, pops. Right, kid?" Gamakichi asked with Sarada rolled her eyes.

"Yeah look how that turned out." Sarada scoffed.

"We gotta hurry up or Sakura's as good as dead." Naruto deliberately didn't address Gamakichi as Gamabunta chuckled.

"Interesting….Interesting…NOT BAD NARUTO UZUMAKI!" Gaara's voice radiated through the mouth of Shukaku before his real body appeared literally on top of the head of Shukaku.

"What the hell?" Boruto asked as Naruto had similar sentiments.

"What the-what the heck is that?" Naruto's eyes widened in alarm with Gamabunta's eyes narrowing.

"A spiritualist medium…." Gamabunta explained.

"A what?" Sarada was lost.

"Basically the Shukaku in side of Gaara is beginning to awaken…." Mitsuki began as Sarada and Boruto began to catch on.

"And he's like a vase about to break…" Sarada gulped.

"To thank you for entertaining me today, I will now show you the true power of the manifestation of the sand!" Gaara slowly raised his eyes as his eyes were wide and blank as he smiled, looking like a true mad man.

"And I thought he was creepier in those earlier memories…" Sarada was literally taken aback.

"Why does he look like that?" Boruto was just as creeped out.

"The circles under his eyes, they're signs of insomnia…evidence that the medium has been possessed by Shukaku…." Gamabunta began his explanation.

"Oh…those are eye bags?" Boruto asked.

"Yeah, I thought that was eye-liner." Mitsuki noted, seemingly just as disappointed.

"That's what you two took away from this!" Sarada snapped at the two.

"Insomnia?" Naruto was confused.

"Those possessed by Shukaku the Sand Spirit are no longer able to sleep soundly through the night. The terror is too great and if one does sleep, the Shukaku will slowly eat away at your psyche until the person you once was ceases to exist. Since he normally gets no sleep, the medium's personality tends to become quite unstable." Gamabunta added to his explanation.

"Geez….and I thought dad's Nine Tails was a pain…." Boruto gulped nervously.

"Yeah, at least Lord Seventh can at least sleep!" Sarada couldn't understand how one could go practically years without sleeping….she couldn't function after a couple of hours….

"But as long as the medium is awake, the Shukaku's true power is kept in check. The only danger is if the medium is asleep…the Playing Possum Jutsu…" Gamabunta concluded as Gaara's body went limp.

"He's done it…" Gamabunta solemnly noted.

"I don't like this at all Chief Toad…" Naruto blinked.

"Me neither." Sarada agreed with Boruto nodding in agreement.

"If he's set the Play Possum Jutsu, the Shukaku will finally be released!" Gamabunta tensed as the golden eyes on Shukaku finally clicked on and came to life like a light on an activated television.

Shukaku grinned as he let out a huge laugh to the sky, "I'M FINALLY FREE! HERE I COME BABY!"

"He's uh….activated…." Sarada sweated in a combination of amazement and disbelief. He seemed more….goofy than terrorizing.

"Was he always so…eccentric?" Mitsuki turned to Boruto who chuckled.

"Yeah, no thanks from Himawari." Boruto laughed as Naruto couldn't believe this was the one tails….

"Whoa…so that's him?" Naruto gulped.

"Man that is one funky demon." Gamakichi's face wrinkled.

"Why even go there?" Sarada deadpanned believing there was more important matters.

"Here we go! Let's do this!" Shukaku pointed a finger at Gamabunta who glared at him.

"I'm gonna jump." Gamabunta warned Naruto who nearly spazzed.

"Wind Style-Air Bullet!" Shukaku sucked his stomach in before blowing a huge dome of air at Gamabunta who jumped to the sky.

"Whoa! He's fast!" Sarada had never seen a Tailed Beast in action.

"Liquid Bullet!" Gamabunta spat at Shukaku's attack, cancelling it out making it appear like rain for those in the lower area.

"Who would've predicted rain?" Mitsuki chuckled.

"But it's spit." Sarada grimaced.

"Remember Chief, not in that direction!" Naruto pointed at his friends in worry, hoping they were okay.

"Would you shut up!? I know already!" Gamabunta yelled before having to cancel out Shukaku's air with water again while actually taking some damage this time.

"That actually hurt me. That was a lot of chakra you blasted me with. If I get hit with any more of those, I won't last much longer…." Gamabunta growled at Shukaku who bared his fangs at the ginormous frog.

"Well, what can we do chief?" Naruto asked, wondering what can be done against the ferocious sand demon.

"Well for starters, you could wake up the spiritualist medium to undo the jutsu." Gamabunta said to Naruto.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Naruto was lost.

"Just fire off a few rounds at him!" Gamabunta yelled as he tried getting a good grip on Shukaku.

"Now's your chance!" Gamabunta instructed Naruto before realizing his grip was too loose on the sand demon.

"Wait what happened?" Boruto asked, noticing Gamabunta jump back.

"His paws aren't tight enough to keep a good hold on him." Mitsuki explained much to the dismay of his teammates.

"Then what can they do?" Sarada asked with Naruto just as much in dismay.

"Hey Chief, you're gonna have to keep a good grip on him so I can get a hit in!" Naruto reminded Gamabunta who cursed himself or rather his body's physiology.

"My body doesn't have any claws or horns to dig into the enemy!" Gamabunta growled in frustration much to Naruto's disbelief.

"Then what can we do!?" Naruto yelped, hoping this battle wasn't lost.

"Use the transformation jutsu to transform me into what we need!" Gamabunta said as they landed, "Then again I'm not particularly good at transformations. But don't worry about it, you will act upon my will and make a hand sign." Gamabunta said to Naruto who looked baffled upon his request.

"Uh…okay!" Naruto blinked in surprise as he made a hand-sign.

"Conjure up something with fangs and claws! Here we go!" Gamabunta said as he jumped at Shukaku as Naruto racked his brain for the perfect combination for something with fangs and claws before it hit him.

"Transformation Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as he transformed Gamabunta into none other than the Nine Tailed Fox.

"Whoa! Of all the things to conjure….." Boruto blinked not expecting the Nine Tails after how spooky he was not that many memories ago.

"He does have the requirements of fangs and claws." Mitsuki reminded his friend.

"Yeah but still…" Sarada muttered as that wasn't what she expected. She thought Naruto would just make Gamabunta have fangs and claws with a simple transformation jutsu.

Gamabunta in his Nine Tails transformation dashed to Shukaku who fired an air bullet at the summoning as he managed to dodge with even more ease than before as it seemed this transformation had elevated his speed before more bullets at the gigantic demon.

"Ugh, his power just keeps on increasing." Gamabunta grunted as Naruto shook his head.

"All he needs is a good smack to the head." Naruto scoffed with Gamabunta giving a slight chuckle.

"Tell me something I don't know!" Gamabunta scowled before using one of his new Nine Tails to lift and carry a tree.

"Here we go!" Gamabunta grunted.

"Take this!" Shukaku spat a huge bullet of air at Gamabunta who dodged before using the tree as a distraction before finally managing to subdue Shukaku.

"Okay kid, you're on!" Gamabunta's eye flew to Naruto who knew it was now or ever as he jumped right at Gaara with his hand drawn.

"RISE AND SHINE!" Naruto yelled, clocking Gaara dead in the face.

"I've heard of a rude awakening before but damn!" Sarada giggled.

"At least it woke him up." Boruto chuckled as the first thing Gaara saw was Naruto's scowl.

"How's that?" Naruto glared at the red head, utterly sick and done with him.

"Good. Not much time has passed since the medium has went under so that one blow should have done the trick." Gamabunta praised Naruto as Shukaku was nowhere as enthusiastic.

"Aww, c'mon! I just got here!" Shukaku yelled in anger before the light in his eyes faded akin to a phone losing the last percentage of its charge.

"Alright! He did it!" Boruto pumped his arm back with a grin.

"I think it's too early to celebrate. There's still Master Gaara to contend to." Mitsuki reminded his friend as Gamabunta had similar thoughts.

"Ugh, it seems he's still got some fight left!" Gamabunta managed to get some field as he pushed the huge demon back.

Naruto took the initiative to try to charge Gaara who growled at him, his teeth gnawed back making him look very ferocious and bloodthirsty like an out of control hound.

"Sand Coffin!" Gaara yelled as sand started to cover under the feet of Naruto.

"Oh no!" Sarada yelled in alarm before Gamabunta thought quick before using his tongue to cover and envelop Naruto which seemed to stop the sand at least for a small time.

Naruto looked a bit delirious as he seemed to stumble for a bit before looking behind him to his friends or rather Sakura as her time was only slowly running out.

Naruto gave Gaara a look of utter determination as he looked ready to kill this psycho for Sakura.

"Believe me, I will kill you. I will not cease to exist." Gaara growled as Naruto shook his head in frustration realizing that if he didn't stop this psychopath soon, everyone he loved would be dead and lost.

"I'm running out of time….I have to stop this monster before it's too late!" Naruto said more to himself than anyone before closing his eyes.

"C'mon….please….just…." Naruto said as the memories filled with memories of Hiruzen, Iruka, Teuchi, Ayame, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and Konohamaru.

"Give me enough power to save them….." Naruto practically begged the Nine Tails as much to Team Konohamaru's surprise, the images just didn't stop with the aforementioned people but it extended to Teams 8, 10, Guy, Inari, Tazuna, Tsunami, Moegi, Udon, Jiraiya and Kabuto.

"Wow…that's…." Boruto felt himself get teary-eyed at all these people as it was these people who fueled Naruto to continue to push forward who he would die for at a drop of a hat to protect from this monster.

"PLEASE! GIVE ME SOME CHAKRA!" Naruto yelled before a huge surge of red chakra emanated and surrounded Naruto that exuded so much power that it forced open Naruto's jacket and blew off Naruto's headband.

"Whoa! He looks so cool!" Boruto marveled.

"I Know! He looks like a superhero." Sarada was in awe as this should be more than enough power to defeat Gaara as even Mitsuki was impressed as this power resembled his Sage Mode.

Although the display wasn't nearly as malicious….

"Get ready you crazy monster!" Naruto yelled.

"Now's your chance, go get him!" Boruto chanted as Gaara seemed to lose what was left of his sanity.

"DIE!" Gaara yelled as Naruto charged him before getting stopped by his sand as he was directly over Gaara.

"I…I've had it with you!" Naruto yelled before slamming his forehead against Gaara's. With so much force it was enough to split open their flash as blood dripped down both of their foreheads as Shukaku started to slowly split apart and crack like a broken egg as Naruto and Gaara slowly fell from the sky.

"D-did he do it?" Boruto asked with a hopeful smile.

"They're falling!" Sarada pointed in alarm as Mitsuki raised an eyebrow at the look in Gamabunta's eyes. They were akin to one hundred percent respect. If there was any doubt left of Naruto being a complete knucklehead, it was definitely squashed over the course of this war.

With Gamabunta and Gamakichi's time in this world finally up, the summoned back smoke flew both boys to opposing trees as they panted heavily with the exhaustion from their whole battle was definitely starting to take its toll on them as blood trailed down their foreheads.

"I'm…nearly out of chakra…and it's the same for you, isn't it? We shouldn't do this….We're both alike….you and I…." Naruto huffed as Gaara growled ready for one final attack which Naruto sensed as both boys jumped at each other with their fists drew back as Gaara was about to punch Naruto which he dodged before clocking Gaara in his cheek bone as both boys fell to the bottom of the forest, both nearly out of chakra.

"H…he did it! Yes! He won! He did something not even Uncle Sasuke did and beat Gaara!" Boruto jumped up and down like a cheerleader.

"Yeah…." Sarada's eye-twitched at that before smiling, "And he took on a Tailed Beast and won! Now it's all over!" Sarada grinned before Mitsuki's eyebrow raised.

"No….Not yet…" Mitsuki pointed as Boruto and Sarada turned to Naruto who was slowly crawling to Gaara, despite the fatigue his body was in.

"What is he doing!?" Sarada asked as Naruto looked deep into Gaara's eyes as the memory flashed to all the times Naruto was rejected and shunned by the villagers alongside him being made fun of by his peers and pushed out of shops flashed through the memory.

"N-no! Stay away!" Gaara yelled as it seemed a look akin to fear as it seemed like this was the moment where Gaara realized Naruto was stronger than him.

"I-it's…almost unbearable…isn't it? The feeling of being alone….I know it….I've been there in that place….all dark and alone….but now there are those precious to me…." Naruto's eyes welled with tears as some even fell as Gaara's eyes widened.

"I care more about them than I do myself. And I won't let anybody hurt them….That's why I will stop you…Even if I have to kill you!" Naruto vowed through his tears as Gaara was lost for words.

"But why? Why would you do this for someone other than yourself?" Gaara gasped out as Naruto continued crawling to the Sand Shinobi.

"Because they saved me from myself….They rescued me from myself and accepted me for who I am. They're all my friends!" Naruto finished as images of the people from earlier appeared as Gaara's eyes softened before looking to the sun above.

It was unclear of what the look of his eyes were as Sasuke touched down.

"Hey, it's dad!" Sarada noted.

"Where's Auntie Sakura?" Boruto asked as Naruto met Sasuke's eyes.

"Naruto, enough. Sakura's going to be alright. The sand crumbled away…." Sasuke informed everyone much to their relief.

"Thank goodness." Mitsuki smiled with Boruto and Sarada exhaling in disbelief.

However, it was then that Temari and Kankuro touched down.

"Oh no. Don't tell me they're raring to go…" Boruto growled as Kankuro and Temari took one look at Gaara and then to Sasuke who was still standing. The looks on their faces showed they were anything but happy at the final results of the battle.

"Temari…Kankuro…it's over…" Gaara said, much to the surprise of the siblings as this was the first time during these memories that he referred to them by name.

Kankuro was about to argue before noticing how…numb Gaara was.

Getting over their shock, they gingerly picked up Gaara before leaving.

"Sakura's okay…that's nice….." Naruto chuckled before finally giving into his fatigue as the memory itself started to get bright as if the scene was illuminated by sunlight.


However as the bluish-purplish misty fog started to envelop the memory, the tiny version of the Nine Tailed Fox gave a small chuckle watching the faces of the new generation of Genin.

"Those squirts seem to be enjoying the ride….Although they're in quite the shock over what's to come…." Kurama chuckled as he wondered about his host….


The Chunin Exams Arc is FINALLY DONE!

I have LOVED writing this arc BUT I hope I gave this arc the justice it deserved and I can say I kicked ass all I want BUT YOU ALL are the judges of that!

Next arc is a particular fave of mine and I'm surprised at the hate I see it sometimes get.

That's right, next arc is the Start of the Search for Tsunade Arc! ^_^

Coming June 30th!

P.S: With today honoring fallen soldiers, a moment of silence for all the fallen Naruto characters….Jiraiya….Neji….Minato…Kushina…Konan T_T

Okay, imma stop before I get too emotional!