A/N: The Sasuke rescue mission (up to Chap 218) and beyond. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Naruto = not mine
Chapter 3
The still air complemented the silence filling the tense atmosphere within the room. A clock hung on the wall, ticking down the long seconds, each one reverberating in the ears of the two jounin in anxious wait. One of the jounin, palms folded in front of his face, looking at nothing in particular with a vacant stare. The other leaned back on a couch, arms crossed over his chest, casting an immense glare toward the ground. Both tried to appear as calm as possible, but to no avail.
Damn... this atmosphere is too heavy. I need to calm down. Reaching into his vest, he produced a pack of cigarettes. Tapping the bottom, he found a lucky last cigarette hiding within the box. Lighting it up, he took a long drag and puffed high toward the ceiling.
"Hey, Asuma, do you think they're going to be alright?"
Taking another drag, Asuma replied, "I really can't tell. You looked at the shape they were in when we last saw them."
Gai looked down toward the floor of the waiting room. When the medic-nin rushed the two genin into intensive care, he saw but a glimpse of what they were subjected to. That glimpse wasn't something entirely new, but it was horrible nonetheless.
"I want them to pull through as much as you do, believe me. But, really, to revive them in the state they're in... would be nothing short of a miracle."
As much as Gai would hate to admit it, Asuma was right. Any chance of reviving those two would be nothing more than wishful thinking at this point. First the Third Hokage, now this? Gai knew as well as any shinobi that death was something that will inevitably happen, but the empty void that remains after the loss of any comrade is something that no one could ever get accustomed to, especially in the case of a student.
Asuma snuffed out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray. "Damn politics," Asuma said in a gruff tone. "Sending out genin to fight Orochimaru's right hand men. As good as those genin are, they're still too green. There's too much promise that could be lost."
Placing his feet on the nearby table and crossing them together, Asuma looked up at the ceiling once again and continued, "I have to hand it to them though. Orochimaru's right hand men were pretty damn strong, strong enough to beat two jounin. In the end, they did what any good shinobi would do. I'm not happy that things had to turn out this way, but I'm proud that they did what they could. Couldn't ask for anything more, really."
"Yea, they're good students. No, they're good shinobi of the Leaf, and any village with half that sort of dedication would be proud." Gai looked up at the wall clock. The clock ticked at an excruciating pace now. The ticks deepened into a low thud, delaying those inevitable, painful words.
Neji...you have to pull through. There's still so much to do. You have to survive!
The door to the waiting room suddenly creaked open. Tsunade stepped in and looked at the two jounin square in the eyes. Asuma and Gai slowly arose from their seats.
"Asuma, Gai. You might want to sit down for this one..."
Lee raced through the tree limbs, accompanied by a most unlikely ally. He was yet again racing against time to get to Naruto and help out however he could. With Gaara close behind, taking Sasuke back to Konoha was well assured. If they could make it to Naruto on time, that is.
"Gaara, Naruto should be close ahead. Hurry!"
Gaara followed close in tow, slowly realizing a certain familiarity with the surroundings. It was a particular, odd familiarity. It had nothing to do with the scenery either. Gaara didn't recognize the place; the location was fairly new to him. Gaara sensed something different, something amiss. An uneasy power, a chakra that was just as unsettling as the Shukaku that resided within his own body. As they pressed forth, the chakra began to grow steadily.
"They're close. We better get prepared for anything, maybe something even worse than Kimimaro."
Lee glanced over to Gaara from the corner of his eye. Kimimaro was the one strong enough to break through Gaara's Desert Requiem jutsu, the jutsu that flattened a clearing of forest in a blanket of sand. He couldn't imagine what could come next at that point. To think of something worse than that was a bit unsettling...
No, I haven't gotten this far thinking like that. All I can do now is to run as fast as my legs can take me, to help out as much as I can. He would do the same, I know it. I...
Suddenly Lee found himself sprawled on the ground below. "Unghh... maybe that sake affected me more than I realized."
"No, its not that." Gaara pulled himself up from a makeshift shield of sand that cushioned his own fall from the trees. "Look ahead on that ridge there."
Lee heard the faint chirping of birds in the distance. As he turned around to look, he focused in on a ball of dazzling light. "I've seen that before."
"So have I. We have to hurry." Gaara helped Lee off the ground and two made their way to the ridge with incredible haste.
A grim figure approached closer, with Chidori chirping in his right hand. "Dobe, do you think you can stop my ambition with that little thing? No matter what you do, I have these two eyes. I can see everything that you do."
Naruto, staggering up from the ground, looked up at Sasuke. He countered the Rasengan that easily? I trained so hard for it... it was one of Yondaime's most powerful jutsus. And it gets brushed away like that?
As Sasuke walked forth, the cursed seal on his neck began to spread like wild fire, making his hair stand on end, altering his shape into a beast- like form. His left arm tensed and strained under the pull of immense chakra. The chirping began to multiply.
"Do you know how long I waited for this power, this power surging through me right now? Do you know how long I've waited for this moment, the feeling that I can finally avenge my clan? You cannot possibly understand that feeling. No one, not you, not any one of the Leafs, can take this away from me. You hear me?! NARUTO!!!"
Sasuke charged forth, awakened and at demonic speed, ripping the earth in two deep grooves as he dragged his hands toward Naruto. Naruto in turn jumped up and did a quick bunshin no jutsu. He felt the chakra swirling around in his palm, countered by that of his bunshin.
He's coming, coming closer. Sasuke came ever so close, so close that Naruto could feel the chirping of birds tingle the small of his back. The Rasengan meshed in between the two hands swirled with greater ferocity. He countered this once before... Naruto looked into the Sharingan doublet, widening with each step and piercing into his eyes. I already tried this before, and it didn't do anything.
...But, you looked down on the Leafs so easily. Your friends, your teachers, your rivals. The ones who love you, who care for you, who would give their life for you. Looking down on that... now that's unforgivable. If this is all I have, then so be it. I'll bring him back with this!
The two Narutos charged forward as well, Rasengan whirling between them. "SASUKE!!!"
Booming echoes erupted from the sheer brute force of the two colliding jutsus, infused with chakra beyond the scope of any ordinary man. Lee and Gaara reeled back a bit from the force of impact. We have to help him out, Sasuke is too strong to be handled by one guy alone, thought Lee as he started to jump onto the ridge of battle.
"Don't come any closer!"
As the dust settled, Lee and Gaara witnessed a heated deadlock between the Chidori and Rasengan. Sasuke's double Chidori threw off his reaction time for a fraction of a second, merely stopping the Rasengan from coming within deadly range inside his chest. Naruto struggles to maintain the incredible whiling force of his jutsu, but held fast to repel Sasuke's attack.
"Don't come any closer. You guys helped me get those other pesky Orochimaru lovers out of the way already. Now, this is my fight. A strong man always keeps his promises, no matter what."
Gaara began to jump onto the ridge, but Lee cast an arm aside. "Lee, he's not going to be able to do it on his own. Look for yourself."
Lee saw the tension marked on the grimace on Naruto's face, the muscles shaking under the extreme flow of chakra. A small part of him wanted to help. But, those words, those familiar words, stopped him from going any further.
"No, he can do this. Let him fight his own fight, and keep his promise. He will win, and bring Sasuke back."
Gaara reluctantly took a step back. All Lee and Gaara could do now was wait and see the events unfold, to see a strong man and his will to keep a promise.
"You're pitiful, still holding onto such sentimental notions. It doesn't matter either way. One at a time, or all at once, no one will stop my ambition."
"Sasuke, you never really understood anything about true strength, haven't you?"
Sasuke infused a sudden surge of chakra in his arms to push the Rasengan back. Naruto was thrown backward, rolling on the ground and crashing into the rock wall several feet behind him. Sasuke yet again approached Naruto in a nonchalant saunter.
"That's true strength right there, Naruto. That strength can't be found in friends, family, ideals, or any of those empty things. This is true strength, right here, flowing in my body, the power that Orochimaru gave me." Sasuke once again activated his Chidori.
Naruto gave a small smirk. "You don't understand at all, Sasuke."
Sasuke could hear a faint whirling sound from behind him. "That can't possibly be!" The Naruto in front of him vanished in smoke. Sasuke took a sharp turn around to the dashing Narutos behind him. The surprised look on his face gave way to a deep scowl.
A third Naruto came from the right, leaping into the air. "Kage Bunshin no Justu!" Countless amounts of Narutos began converging on Sasuke at once.
"Come, all of you! I'll burn down every single one of you till I rip the real one to shreds!" Sasuke dispelled his Chidori and performed a few seals, then took a deep breath.
"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" Blazing fireballs were spat in all directions in rapid succession. Naruto knew he'd seen this technique before, but not at this rate of speed. Nor did he expect this many to be coming all at once. Bunshins were immolated in flames from all directions around the real Naruto. Normally this would put him in a dire situation, just like the fight with Kimimaro.
But, Naruto knew better than that. All he needed were a good few to escape the volley of flames, and this could all be over even before Sasuke could activate Chidori again. The multiple Naruto bunshin remaining out of the hundreds held back waves of the incendiary jutsu back with newly formed Rasengan.
If I can hold back his fire jutsu back a little more, he won't be able to use his Chidori for awhile. Right when the volley stops is when he's most vulnerable. I must hold on.
The flames still licked all around Naruto, brushing ever so close against him. Maintaining the Rasengan took an increasing toll on his body, which was magnified by the several bunshin trying to maintain it as well. The pain didn't matter at this point though. This was his last shot, the only thing he could do at this point.
Just a little closer.
The flames began to subside, and through the smoke Naruto saw an opening into Sasuke's chest.
Not yet, I have to get closer.
Ever so close, Naruto caught a glimmer of blue light, which turned into two. His opportunity was now.
Sasuke thrust out his arms to the left and right of him, catching a pair of flanking balls of whirling chakra. Again, the Chidori and Rasengan clashed in a violent deadlock.
Naruto flinched slightly at the impact of the two jutsu. Fixing an intense stare into Sasuke's eyes, Naruto yelled out the final command.
"Do it, now!"
Paired bunshin in front and behind Sasuke charged full speed, Rasengan swirling with unparalleled force. A bunshin in both pairs vanish in a cloud of smoke, leaving two Naruto bunshin charging in at opposite directions. Lunging forward, the two Narutos thrust with full force at both of Sasuke's arms.
Sasuke lets out a cry of intense pain. The muscles in both of his arms felt as if they were being pried clean off the bone. "Not done yet!" Naruto yelled as another bunshin suddenly appeared and landed a clean blow to his face, propelling his body straight up.
"RA!-SEN!-GAN!"
Naruto bunshin, each with Rasengan in hand, struck Sasuke's body from all directions, encasing Sasuke in a cage of swirling chakra while his body moved and twisted in odd directions, far beyond his control. The real Naruto leaps up from ground and knocks Sasuke out of the Rasengan cage.
Sasuke's body twisted yet higher into the sky, and Naruto followed. Naruto activated his final Rasengan, pulling forth all the chakra that he could muster, swelling it to the size of a basketball, which then took on a brilliant orange tint. "This is the last one!"
"NARUTO NO RENDAN!"
Naruto swung his arm in a wide arc above his head, pummeling the basketball-sized Rasengan into Sasuke's torso. Spinning like a top, Sasuke plummeted toward the ground.
The ground thundered under the incredible force, tearing apart the earth in large chunks that sprayed into all directions. Naruto collapsed into a heap close by, wincing at the jolt from his own fall. He braced himself on his left arm, and looked ahead of him. Indeed, a deep crater formed just several feet in front of him. He peered into the crater with glazed eyes, witnessing the extent of damage that he incurred. Sasuke lay sprawled at the bottom, the cursed seal that covered his body now receding. He wasn't moving.
Oh no... did I go too far? He stumbled into the crater, rolling along the sides until he came to rest at the bottom. He checked for any signs of life, leaning his head closer. To his relief, he heard some breath coming in raspy gasps. He also noticed something else that was peculiar. Little clumps of sand were retreating from Sasuke's body.
I lost myself for awhile back there. If you hadn't come in... I don't know what would have happened. You're the last person I expect to do this sort of thing. But, I'll still have to thank you later for that.
The gourd on Gaara's back retrieved the last of the sand, and was capped. "Why did you shield his fall?" Lee asked.
"Don't get me wrong. I still think he's dangerous, and it would have been better if I didn't."
"Then why?"
"If I didn't shield him, he couldn't fulfill that promise he was talking about, right?"
"But, you don't have any idea what his promise is, do you?"
"I don't. Call it intuition. I assumed as such since that's the kind of person he is, after all. This might be the true strength he possesses." Gaara rubbed the 'Love' symbol on his forehead.
Lee softened his gaze on Gaara. Naruto, you really do have an magical effect on people, don't you?
"Gaara, lets go down to Naruto." Gaara acknowledged with a nod.
As the two approached the crater, Naruto was dragging Sasuke to the top with his left arm. His right arm was all but useless at the moment, shaking in tremors under the stress of the intense chakra. Naruto's breathing was heavy and labored, but he seemed to be relatively fine. He laid Sasuke down nearby and sat down with a thud. Naruto exhaled high toward the sky, shutting his eyes and relaxing his muscles as best he could.
"Ku ku ku... do you think you won or something? Its not over."
Naruto swung his gaze squarely on the figure lying beside him.
"This doesn't change anything, dobe. Once I go back to the village, all I have to do is get patched up. Then, when everything dies down for awhile, I'll head off to Orochimaru again. You merely extended the inevitable."
This set off something within Naruto's mind. He lunged for Sasuke's throat, grabbing his collar with his good left hand.
"Don't give me that crap Sasuke! You're not going to subject the village to this again! Haven't you realized yet the sacrifice your comrades made already for your selfish quest of power? Haven't you realized that you're merely a tool to be discarded after Orochimaru takes over your body? What the hell is wrong with you!?"
"Friends? Comrades? Loved ones? All empty words which are supposed to shield the weak from their pitiful lot in life. What I want is strength, the strength to kill my brother and avenge my clan. That is all there is, and I haven't found it with you Leafs."
"You think your clan wants you to become what you are now? You think that's strength you're talking about? That's not strength. Strength is..."
"Don't start! You, of all people, should know better. Strength to protect those you love. All weak notions... all of them! You're a hypocrite, one of the worst ones. How can you say such things when all your power is derived from that demon inside you, the Kyubi?"
Naruto's rage erupted. "You want to know the true nature of the Kyubi, the one that detests me and wants to engulf me with each passing moment? Can you really understand the extent of that? Very well, I'll show you!"
Naruto thrust his head into Sasuke's, forcing him to look into his eyes.
Hey, you dumb fox! I need you to do something. Show my stupid friend how ugly and full of hate you are. Show him everything. Show him what you want to do with me the moment you get the chance to. Don't make me say it twice.
"Don't look away, no matter what you do! Look with wide open eyes, and tell me what you see! Is that really true strength? Is that what you want? Answer me!"
Sasuke beheld something that was beyond all his fears, striking him to the core of his being. The sight in front of his eyes reminded him of his encounter with Itachi, reliving the pain of the slaughter of his clan. No, in some ways, it was actually worse. Sasuke couldn't describe it, but the fear that pricked the back of his neck was different than what he felt when Itachi left him alive, different than when he 'died' during the application of the second level cursed seal. So, this is the Kyubi? This was the thing inside Naruto?
Sasuke looked dumbfounded at Naruto, at a loss for words. "I can't understand the pain of losing everyone that you held dear. I didn't have anyone to lose. You know how painful it was to be alone, to be alone with that horrible fox? I can't let my guard down for a moment. He would infiltrate my dreams, invade my thoughts. I had to live for most of my life listening only to him during the long sleepless nights."
Naruto loosened up the tenseness coursing through his body, looking at Sasuke with a melancholy gaze. "Worse than that, there was no one there who cared for me, to take that loneliness away. It's a hell that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. No one deserves that kind of pain. I thought I would eventually lose the battle raging deep inside me, at which he would engulf me and I would cease to exist. I would be gone forever, and no one would know the difference."
"Then, I was saved. People acknowledged me for who I was, not for the Kyubi inside of me. I wasn't merely the vessel of a dreaded demon anymore; I was Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konoha. And that's where I found true strength."
Hate me, detest me. Sasuke's mind was cloudy with rage. Not this again.
"Sasuke, you're weak."
Hate me, detest me.
"It's not because you lack the sheer amount of jutsu, or the limitless amount of chakra to mold. That's not strength."
Hate me, detest me.
"You're weak because you can't let anyone help you, or admit that you have weakness. You're weak... because you can't let yourself love and be loved. It's solely this reason why I'm still talking to you here, and the Kyubi raging inside me is kept at bay. It gives me courage, the strength and resolve to protect those that do love me. It gives me reason to do foolish and silly things, as long as I can help those that I care for."
Hate me, detest me.
"So, stop being so weak, and come back to the Leafs. I guarantee you'll find the answer you've been searching for with us, your comrades, those who care and protect you, and those that you protect in turn."
Hate me, detest me.
"After all, you're trying to beat your brother down now, right? You can't listen to what he says forever..."
Sasuke looked up to Naruto with a sudden start.
"And... if you make Sakura cry like that again, I won't forgive you so easily." Sasuke, with what appeared to be a minute smile forming at the corners of his lips, collapsed back to the ground.
"Hey, you guys, come here quick," Naruto said to Lee and Gaara. He started to collapse forward, at which Lee caught him, halfway down toward the ground.
"Thanks fuzzy brows. Think this is what I get for trying to look and talk all cool like, ehh? Hey, you guys don't mind dragging us back to Konoha, right?" Naruto said with a tired grin on his face.
Gaara made his way toward Sasuke lying on the ground. "Thanks," uttered Naruto as Gaara passed him by. With that, Naruto collapsed in Lee's grasp.
Gaara braced Sasuke over his shoulder. Lee looked over to him. "So, shall we make our way?"
Gaara nodded, and the two headed off toward Konoha. Lee, happy as he was with the whole outcome of the mission, didn't feel quite at ease. Something tugged at him, a certain sort of regret, a regret he couldn't really pinpoint. Well, that had to wait until they got to Konoha. After all, he had the "future" Hokage snug over his shoulder.
To be continued.
Disclaimer: Naruto = not mine
Chapter 3
The still air complemented the silence filling the tense atmosphere within the room. A clock hung on the wall, ticking down the long seconds, each one reverberating in the ears of the two jounin in anxious wait. One of the jounin, palms folded in front of his face, looking at nothing in particular with a vacant stare. The other leaned back on a couch, arms crossed over his chest, casting an immense glare toward the ground. Both tried to appear as calm as possible, but to no avail.
Damn... this atmosphere is too heavy. I need to calm down. Reaching into his vest, he produced a pack of cigarettes. Tapping the bottom, he found a lucky last cigarette hiding within the box. Lighting it up, he took a long drag and puffed high toward the ceiling.
"Hey, Asuma, do you think they're going to be alright?"
Taking another drag, Asuma replied, "I really can't tell. You looked at the shape they were in when we last saw them."
Gai looked down toward the floor of the waiting room. When the medic-nin rushed the two genin into intensive care, he saw but a glimpse of what they were subjected to. That glimpse wasn't something entirely new, but it was horrible nonetheless.
"I want them to pull through as much as you do, believe me. But, really, to revive them in the state they're in... would be nothing short of a miracle."
As much as Gai would hate to admit it, Asuma was right. Any chance of reviving those two would be nothing more than wishful thinking at this point. First the Third Hokage, now this? Gai knew as well as any shinobi that death was something that will inevitably happen, but the empty void that remains after the loss of any comrade is something that no one could ever get accustomed to, especially in the case of a student.
Asuma snuffed out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray. "Damn politics," Asuma said in a gruff tone. "Sending out genin to fight Orochimaru's right hand men. As good as those genin are, they're still too green. There's too much promise that could be lost."
Placing his feet on the nearby table and crossing them together, Asuma looked up at the ceiling once again and continued, "I have to hand it to them though. Orochimaru's right hand men were pretty damn strong, strong enough to beat two jounin. In the end, they did what any good shinobi would do. I'm not happy that things had to turn out this way, but I'm proud that they did what they could. Couldn't ask for anything more, really."
"Yea, they're good students. No, they're good shinobi of the Leaf, and any village with half that sort of dedication would be proud." Gai looked up at the wall clock. The clock ticked at an excruciating pace now. The ticks deepened into a low thud, delaying those inevitable, painful words.
Neji...you have to pull through. There's still so much to do. You have to survive!
The door to the waiting room suddenly creaked open. Tsunade stepped in and looked at the two jounin square in the eyes. Asuma and Gai slowly arose from their seats.
"Asuma, Gai. You might want to sit down for this one..."
Lee raced through the tree limbs, accompanied by a most unlikely ally. He was yet again racing against time to get to Naruto and help out however he could. With Gaara close behind, taking Sasuke back to Konoha was well assured. If they could make it to Naruto on time, that is.
"Gaara, Naruto should be close ahead. Hurry!"
Gaara followed close in tow, slowly realizing a certain familiarity with the surroundings. It was a particular, odd familiarity. It had nothing to do with the scenery either. Gaara didn't recognize the place; the location was fairly new to him. Gaara sensed something different, something amiss. An uneasy power, a chakra that was just as unsettling as the Shukaku that resided within his own body. As they pressed forth, the chakra began to grow steadily.
"They're close. We better get prepared for anything, maybe something even worse than Kimimaro."
Lee glanced over to Gaara from the corner of his eye. Kimimaro was the one strong enough to break through Gaara's Desert Requiem jutsu, the jutsu that flattened a clearing of forest in a blanket of sand. He couldn't imagine what could come next at that point. To think of something worse than that was a bit unsettling...
No, I haven't gotten this far thinking like that. All I can do now is to run as fast as my legs can take me, to help out as much as I can. He would do the same, I know it. I...
Suddenly Lee found himself sprawled on the ground below. "Unghh... maybe that sake affected me more than I realized."
"No, its not that." Gaara pulled himself up from a makeshift shield of sand that cushioned his own fall from the trees. "Look ahead on that ridge there."
Lee heard the faint chirping of birds in the distance. As he turned around to look, he focused in on a ball of dazzling light. "I've seen that before."
"So have I. We have to hurry." Gaara helped Lee off the ground and two made their way to the ridge with incredible haste.
A grim figure approached closer, with Chidori chirping in his right hand. "Dobe, do you think you can stop my ambition with that little thing? No matter what you do, I have these two eyes. I can see everything that you do."
Naruto, staggering up from the ground, looked up at Sasuke. He countered the Rasengan that easily? I trained so hard for it... it was one of Yondaime's most powerful jutsus. And it gets brushed away like that?
As Sasuke walked forth, the cursed seal on his neck began to spread like wild fire, making his hair stand on end, altering his shape into a beast- like form. His left arm tensed and strained under the pull of immense chakra. The chirping began to multiply.
"Do you know how long I waited for this power, this power surging through me right now? Do you know how long I've waited for this moment, the feeling that I can finally avenge my clan? You cannot possibly understand that feeling. No one, not you, not any one of the Leafs, can take this away from me. You hear me?! NARUTO!!!"
Sasuke charged forth, awakened and at demonic speed, ripping the earth in two deep grooves as he dragged his hands toward Naruto. Naruto in turn jumped up and did a quick bunshin no jutsu. He felt the chakra swirling around in his palm, countered by that of his bunshin.
He's coming, coming closer. Sasuke came ever so close, so close that Naruto could feel the chirping of birds tingle the small of his back. The Rasengan meshed in between the two hands swirled with greater ferocity. He countered this once before... Naruto looked into the Sharingan doublet, widening with each step and piercing into his eyes. I already tried this before, and it didn't do anything.
...But, you looked down on the Leafs so easily. Your friends, your teachers, your rivals. The ones who love you, who care for you, who would give their life for you. Looking down on that... now that's unforgivable. If this is all I have, then so be it. I'll bring him back with this!
The two Narutos charged forward as well, Rasengan whirling between them. "SASUKE!!!"
Booming echoes erupted from the sheer brute force of the two colliding jutsus, infused with chakra beyond the scope of any ordinary man. Lee and Gaara reeled back a bit from the force of impact. We have to help him out, Sasuke is too strong to be handled by one guy alone, thought Lee as he started to jump onto the ridge of battle.
"Don't come any closer!"
As the dust settled, Lee and Gaara witnessed a heated deadlock between the Chidori and Rasengan. Sasuke's double Chidori threw off his reaction time for a fraction of a second, merely stopping the Rasengan from coming within deadly range inside his chest. Naruto struggles to maintain the incredible whiling force of his jutsu, but held fast to repel Sasuke's attack.
"Don't come any closer. You guys helped me get those other pesky Orochimaru lovers out of the way already. Now, this is my fight. A strong man always keeps his promises, no matter what."
Gaara began to jump onto the ridge, but Lee cast an arm aside. "Lee, he's not going to be able to do it on his own. Look for yourself."
Lee saw the tension marked on the grimace on Naruto's face, the muscles shaking under the extreme flow of chakra. A small part of him wanted to help. But, those words, those familiar words, stopped him from going any further.
"No, he can do this. Let him fight his own fight, and keep his promise. He will win, and bring Sasuke back."
Gaara reluctantly took a step back. All Lee and Gaara could do now was wait and see the events unfold, to see a strong man and his will to keep a promise.
"You're pitiful, still holding onto such sentimental notions. It doesn't matter either way. One at a time, or all at once, no one will stop my ambition."
"Sasuke, you never really understood anything about true strength, haven't you?"
Sasuke infused a sudden surge of chakra in his arms to push the Rasengan back. Naruto was thrown backward, rolling on the ground and crashing into the rock wall several feet behind him. Sasuke yet again approached Naruto in a nonchalant saunter.
"That's true strength right there, Naruto. That strength can't be found in friends, family, ideals, or any of those empty things. This is true strength, right here, flowing in my body, the power that Orochimaru gave me." Sasuke once again activated his Chidori.
Naruto gave a small smirk. "You don't understand at all, Sasuke."
Sasuke could hear a faint whirling sound from behind him. "That can't possibly be!" The Naruto in front of him vanished in smoke. Sasuke took a sharp turn around to the dashing Narutos behind him. The surprised look on his face gave way to a deep scowl.
A third Naruto came from the right, leaping into the air. "Kage Bunshin no Justu!" Countless amounts of Narutos began converging on Sasuke at once.
"Come, all of you! I'll burn down every single one of you till I rip the real one to shreds!" Sasuke dispelled his Chidori and performed a few seals, then took a deep breath.
"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" Blazing fireballs were spat in all directions in rapid succession. Naruto knew he'd seen this technique before, but not at this rate of speed. Nor did he expect this many to be coming all at once. Bunshins were immolated in flames from all directions around the real Naruto. Normally this would put him in a dire situation, just like the fight with Kimimaro.
But, Naruto knew better than that. All he needed were a good few to escape the volley of flames, and this could all be over even before Sasuke could activate Chidori again. The multiple Naruto bunshin remaining out of the hundreds held back waves of the incendiary jutsu back with newly formed Rasengan.
If I can hold back his fire jutsu back a little more, he won't be able to use his Chidori for awhile. Right when the volley stops is when he's most vulnerable. I must hold on.
The flames still licked all around Naruto, brushing ever so close against him. Maintaining the Rasengan took an increasing toll on his body, which was magnified by the several bunshin trying to maintain it as well. The pain didn't matter at this point though. This was his last shot, the only thing he could do at this point.
Just a little closer.
The flames began to subside, and through the smoke Naruto saw an opening into Sasuke's chest.
Not yet, I have to get closer.
Ever so close, Naruto caught a glimmer of blue light, which turned into two. His opportunity was now.
Sasuke thrust out his arms to the left and right of him, catching a pair of flanking balls of whirling chakra. Again, the Chidori and Rasengan clashed in a violent deadlock.
Naruto flinched slightly at the impact of the two jutsu. Fixing an intense stare into Sasuke's eyes, Naruto yelled out the final command.
"Do it, now!"
Paired bunshin in front and behind Sasuke charged full speed, Rasengan swirling with unparalleled force. A bunshin in both pairs vanish in a cloud of smoke, leaving two Naruto bunshin charging in at opposite directions. Lunging forward, the two Narutos thrust with full force at both of Sasuke's arms.
Sasuke lets out a cry of intense pain. The muscles in both of his arms felt as if they were being pried clean off the bone. "Not done yet!" Naruto yelled as another bunshin suddenly appeared and landed a clean blow to his face, propelling his body straight up.
"RA!-SEN!-GAN!"
Naruto bunshin, each with Rasengan in hand, struck Sasuke's body from all directions, encasing Sasuke in a cage of swirling chakra while his body moved and twisted in odd directions, far beyond his control. The real Naruto leaps up from ground and knocks Sasuke out of the Rasengan cage.
Sasuke's body twisted yet higher into the sky, and Naruto followed. Naruto activated his final Rasengan, pulling forth all the chakra that he could muster, swelling it to the size of a basketball, which then took on a brilliant orange tint. "This is the last one!"
"NARUTO NO RENDAN!"
Naruto swung his arm in a wide arc above his head, pummeling the basketball-sized Rasengan into Sasuke's torso. Spinning like a top, Sasuke plummeted toward the ground.
The ground thundered under the incredible force, tearing apart the earth in large chunks that sprayed into all directions. Naruto collapsed into a heap close by, wincing at the jolt from his own fall. He braced himself on his left arm, and looked ahead of him. Indeed, a deep crater formed just several feet in front of him. He peered into the crater with glazed eyes, witnessing the extent of damage that he incurred. Sasuke lay sprawled at the bottom, the cursed seal that covered his body now receding. He wasn't moving.
Oh no... did I go too far? He stumbled into the crater, rolling along the sides until he came to rest at the bottom. He checked for any signs of life, leaning his head closer. To his relief, he heard some breath coming in raspy gasps. He also noticed something else that was peculiar. Little clumps of sand were retreating from Sasuke's body.
I lost myself for awhile back there. If you hadn't come in... I don't know what would have happened. You're the last person I expect to do this sort of thing. But, I'll still have to thank you later for that.
The gourd on Gaara's back retrieved the last of the sand, and was capped. "Why did you shield his fall?" Lee asked.
"Don't get me wrong. I still think he's dangerous, and it would have been better if I didn't."
"Then why?"
"If I didn't shield him, he couldn't fulfill that promise he was talking about, right?"
"But, you don't have any idea what his promise is, do you?"
"I don't. Call it intuition. I assumed as such since that's the kind of person he is, after all. This might be the true strength he possesses." Gaara rubbed the 'Love' symbol on his forehead.
Lee softened his gaze on Gaara. Naruto, you really do have an magical effect on people, don't you?
"Gaara, lets go down to Naruto." Gaara acknowledged with a nod.
As the two approached the crater, Naruto was dragging Sasuke to the top with his left arm. His right arm was all but useless at the moment, shaking in tremors under the stress of the intense chakra. Naruto's breathing was heavy and labored, but he seemed to be relatively fine. He laid Sasuke down nearby and sat down with a thud. Naruto exhaled high toward the sky, shutting his eyes and relaxing his muscles as best he could.
"Ku ku ku... do you think you won or something? Its not over."
Naruto swung his gaze squarely on the figure lying beside him.
"This doesn't change anything, dobe. Once I go back to the village, all I have to do is get patched up. Then, when everything dies down for awhile, I'll head off to Orochimaru again. You merely extended the inevitable."
This set off something within Naruto's mind. He lunged for Sasuke's throat, grabbing his collar with his good left hand.
"Don't give me that crap Sasuke! You're not going to subject the village to this again! Haven't you realized yet the sacrifice your comrades made already for your selfish quest of power? Haven't you realized that you're merely a tool to be discarded after Orochimaru takes over your body? What the hell is wrong with you!?"
"Friends? Comrades? Loved ones? All empty words which are supposed to shield the weak from their pitiful lot in life. What I want is strength, the strength to kill my brother and avenge my clan. That is all there is, and I haven't found it with you Leafs."
"You think your clan wants you to become what you are now? You think that's strength you're talking about? That's not strength. Strength is..."
"Don't start! You, of all people, should know better. Strength to protect those you love. All weak notions... all of them! You're a hypocrite, one of the worst ones. How can you say such things when all your power is derived from that demon inside you, the Kyubi?"
Naruto's rage erupted. "You want to know the true nature of the Kyubi, the one that detests me and wants to engulf me with each passing moment? Can you really understand the extent of that? Very well, I'll show you!"
Naruto thrust his head into Sasuke's, forcing him to look into his eyes.
Hey, you dumb fox! I need you to do something. Show my stupid friend how ugly and full of hate you are. Show him everything. Show him what you want to do with me the moment you get the chance to. Don't make me say it twice.
"Don't look away, no matter what you do! Look with wide open eyes, and tell me what you see! Is that really true strength? Is that what you want? Answer me!"
Sasuke beheld something that was beyond all his fears, striking him to the core of his being. The sight in front of his eyes reminded him of his encounter with Itachi, reliving the pain of the slaughter of his clan. No, in some ways, it was actually worse. Sasuke couldn't describe it, but the fear that pricked the back of his neck was different than what he felt when Itachi left him alive, different than when he 'died' during the application of the second level cursed seal. So, this is the Kyubi? This was the thing inside Naruto?
Sasuke looked dumbfounded at Naruto, at a loss for words. "I can't understand the pain of losing everyone that you held dear. I didn't have anyone to lose. You know how painful it was to be alone, to be alone with that horrible fox? I can't let my guard down for a moment. He would infiltrate my dreams, invade my thoughts. I had to live for most of my life listening only to him during the long sleepless nights."
Naruto loosened up the tenseness coursing through his body, looking at Sasuke with a melancholy gaze. "Worse than that, there was no one there who cared for me, to take that loneliness away. It's a hell that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. No one deserves that kind of pain. I thought I would eventually lose the battle raging deep inside me, at which he would engulf me and I would cease to exist. I would be gone forever, and no one would know the difference."
"Then, I was saved. People acknowledged me for who I was, not for the Kyubi inside of me. I wasn't merely the vessel of a dreaded demon anymore; I was Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konoha. And that's where I found true strength."
Hate me, detest me. Sasuke's mind was cloudy with rage. Not this again.
"Sasuke, you're weak."
Hate me, detest me.
"It's not because you lack the sheer amount of jutsu, or the limitless amount of chakra to mold. That's not strength."
Hate me, detest me.
"You're weak because you can't let anyone help you, or admit that you have weakness. You're weak... because you can't let yourself love and be loved. It's solely this reason why I'm still talking to you here, and the Kyubi raging inside me is kept at bay. It gives me courage, the strength and resolve to protect those that do love me. It gives me reason to do foolish and silly things, as long as I can help those that I care for."
Hate me, detest me.
"So, stop being so weak, and come back to the Leafs. I guarantee you'll find the answer you've been searching for with us, your comrades, those who care and protect you, and those that you protect in turn."
Hate me, detest me.
"After all, you're trying to beat your brother down now, right? You can't listen to what he says forever..."
Sasuke looked up to Naruto with a sudden start.
"And... if you make Sakura cry like that again, I won't forgive you so easily." Sasuke, with what appeared to be a minute smile forming at the corners of his lips, collapsed back to the ground.
"Hey, you guys, come here quick," Naruto said to Lee and Gaara. He started to collapse forward, at which Lee caught him, halfway down toward the ground.
"Thanks fuzzy brows. Think this is what I get for trying to look and talk all cool like, ehh? Hey, you guys don't mind dragging us back to Konoha, right?" Naruto said with a tired grin on his face.
Gaara made his way toward Sasuke lying on the ground. "Thanks," uttered Naruto as Gaara passed him by. With that, Naruto collapsed in Lee's grasp.
Gaara braced Sasuke over his shoulder. Lee looked over to him. "So, shall we make our way?"
Gaara nodded, and the two headed off toward Konoha. Lee, happy as he was with the whole outcome of the mission, didn't feel quite at ease. Something tugged at him, a certain sort of regret, a regret he couldn't really pinpoint. Well, that had to wait until they got to Konoha. After all, he had the "future" Hokage snug over his shoulder.
To be continued.