Disclaimers: Naruto isn't mine and it's bad enough that it will never be mine.
Author's notes: Thank you for your reviews, guys! I'm so happy! I'm in the total mood of updating now so here I am, in front of the computer typing the next chapter. I'm sorry for the late update. Anyway, here are some responses to some reviews.
Black: Arigato! Arigato! I love it when people correct me, but… I don't think I mentioned anything about Naru-chan's power enough to rival Sarutobi's. I only said that he will NEED TO kill Sarutobi, but that is when Naruto's power will reach to that extent. I know that I still have a lot to improve on and I am working on it. Anyhow, thank you. About the overpower Naruto… well… he is weaker than Kakashi for one. He may seem powerful than him, but he really is not. I'll prove it in the later chapters. He is only strong due to the Kyuubi.
chibified kitsunes: Thank you a lot for your compliment! It really meant a lot to me. I'm sorry if there's no real Sakura bashing on the past chapter, and I cannot promise a bashing at this chapter. Maybe I'll put some Sakura bashing on the next and a little on this one. Sorry.
Peter Kim: Nah… I can't kill Kakashi yet. He's needed in this story. He will be killed in later chapters. Maybe after the chuunin exams or so. He still needs to kill the Hokage and Iruka as well, remember? Oh… and Haku's teacher is Zabuza.
Well… I guess I'll put on the ages of what happened on Naru-chan's life so that you will not be that confused.
Eight (8) the people made an attempted murder on him.
Nine (9) Naru-chan, together with Itachi, meets Gaara. He now also knows that he have the Kyuubi inside him.
Ten (10) Naruto joins the Akatsuki and gets his first kill
Eleven (11) Nothing much happened in this year.
Twelve (12) Naruto goes back to Konoha for his very first solo mission
Warning: A WHOLE LOT OF OOC-NESS and A STRONG NARU-CHANAlright then! Anyway, I would change a few details about the Zabuza and Haku part. Okay then now for the next chapter!
Chapter 8:
Naruto tensed at the sudden question given to him. He cannot bear his real self be known to others or else it would make the mission fail. He cannot bear to loose Itachi and the Akatsuki's trust in him.
'I must find a way out of this. Alright… I must cool off.' Naruto thought before standing straight once again.
"What are you talking about, Kakashi-sensei? I am Uyoma Naiki – a wanderer from different shinobi villages. What's so weird about that?" He asked.
Kakashi's hand never left his shoulder. "Blond hair… blue eyes… red slitted eyes… I believe that those are not really mere coincidences. All those traits belong to a young boy that I care about who died years ago." He said.
"And that boy is Uzumaki Naruto, am I correct?"
Kakashi nodded. "Yes."
"So?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "You said it yourself. He died years ago. How could I be that Naruto that you are talking about? Is it my fault on why I look like him? Is it my fault we got the same traits?" He asked.
"Well…"
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Well what? Kakashi-sensei, if you actually have a problem with my traits, then blame it all to fate and destiny. Come on. We're wasting time. I hate it when people thinks I'm another person, especially if that person is already dead." He said as he crossed his arms.
"Sorry then. You do have a point, Naiki. Let's go." Kakashi then ushered Naruto to follow the others.
Naruto sighed inwardly in relief. He was almost found out. 'Gee… I need to be more careful with my acts. Well… I guess I shouldn't be using the Naibu no Taku for a while then.'
"Come on, Kakashi-sensei. Let's catch up with the others." He said. Kakashi nodded and went after him in silence. Just then, Naruto halted into a stop and smirked darkly. Kakashi's eyes narrowed.
"What is it?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto closed his eyes and placed his hood on that had fell due to the little commotion a while back. He turned around and started to walk back. Kakashi stared at him. "Oi. Naiki. Where are you going?" He asked.
"I'm just gonna check out on something for a while." A pause. "Oh. Be careful. There will be another small commotion that might happen, so I suggest that you better go on and get back to them. And before you say another word, I'll catch up." With that said, the hooded blonde disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
Kakashi sighed and crossed his arms in a lazy serious way. (a/n: That doesn't make any sense.) 'That boy is something. I can tell that he's far from genin level. And that chakra… it can't be… Naruto's dead. Naiki can't be him. Sigh… alright. I'll take Naiki's instinct seriously this time.' At that, he too disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Poof!
"Yo."
Sakura immediately glared at him. "Kakashi-sensei! Where were you?!" She demanded. Kakashi smiled innocently and scratched the back of his head.
"Well…" He started. "I was talking with Naiki a while back when a huge frog suddenly appeared and attacked us. It took us some effort but we defeated the frog and…" He, however was cut of once again by Sakura.
"Liar! If a frog did attack you and Naiki, then we would have felt the chakra of the two of you!"
"Well…"
"And don't you make any other excuses!"
Sasuke then took a step forward. "Speaking of Naiki, where is he anyway, Kakashi-sensei?" He asked. Kakashi's expression darkened as he thought of what Naiki had told him.
'Oh. Be careful. There will be another small commotion that might happen…'"Kakashi?"
Kakashi smiled once again as he placed one of his hands on top of Sasuke's head. "Maa… he'll come back later eventually. He said he was just going to check up on something." He said as he ushered the group along.
"How much farther, Tazuna-san?" He asked.
"We're near. Later on we would see a boat there that will take us to the other shore to wave country." He said.
The group nodded.
The Akatsuki blonde jumped from tree to tree, smirking darkly to himself. 'Hiding from me, are you? That won't work on me.' He thought as he continued to feel the unknown chakra. He stopped and smirked darkly.
"It's no use hiding from me. Show your face to me." He said.
Just then, a mist hunter-nin appeared from behind a tree. Naruto faced him and stared at him for a while, waiting for him to speak up first. The hunter-nin looked down. "You found me. That's quite unusual. You have good skills." He said.
Naruto shook that compliment off. "Try to save him before time runs out." He said plainly. The hunter-nin was shocked at what the blonde had just said. "You don't want our pursuer to be killed, do you?"
Currently, at Kakashi's place, the team was currently fighting Zabuza. Sasuke and Sakura were both protecting Tazuna while Kakashi was fighting Zabuza, who was starting to get beaten badly.
The hunter-nin was silent. Naruto sighed at this. "What's your name?"
"Haku."
"Well the Haku," Naruto said. "Don't let him die."
Haku then took off his mask wide wide-eyes. "How did you know?" He asked.
Naruto sighed. "It's pretty obvious actually. I felt two presences a while back. I allowed the first one to get pass by me so that I will be able to talk to the other one, which is you." He said as he crossed his arms.
"Why are you telling me this? We both know that we are enemies. Why do you do this?" Haku asked, looking down on his feet in both confusion and worry.
Naruto grinned at this. "Because I understand you too well. At the way you look whenever I mention the first pursuer, your face softens. You may not know this, but you have an almost unnoticeable smile tugging from your lips. The first pursuer is a very important person to you, right?"
Haku nodded. "Yes. But… how can you understand?"
"Simple. Because I also have a very precious person that I want to protect." Naruto's thoughts then drifted off to Itachi and Kisame. There was also one lady who was like a mother figure to him. She was also a member of the Akatsuki named Maya.
Flashback:
Eight year old Naruto was running towards Itachi who was currently setting up fire inside a cave. Naruto bounced up from behind and hugged his unofficial older brother from behind.
He had just finished climbing up a huge tree. He was exhausted and hungry, but that won't stop him from pouncing over his unofficial older brother.
"Itachi-niisan! I finished it! I climbed up the top of a tree!" He exclaimed happily.
Itachi gave Naruto one of his rare smiles. "Good."
"Ne, ne," The boy bounced off Itachi's back in pure excitement. "What will I learn next, niisan? What? What?"
Itachi placed a hand on his chin in thought. "All right. Since you now know chakra tree walking. I'll teach you about chakra water walking." He said. The small boy frowned at the thought. He obviously doesn't want another chakra control training.
"Ano sa, ano sa… not another chakra control training… I want to learn a ninjutsu or a genjutsu. Why can't you teach me that?" He asked with a pouting expression. Itachi sighed at him.
"Naruto, your chakra control is still weak. Ninjutsus and genjutsus need precise chakra amount and control to work. If you can't control your chakra well, you would not be able to perform the technique and you'll end up wasting unnecessary chakra. Understand? I won't teach you any jutsus unless you learn to control your chakra better."
Naruto sighed, knowing that he would not be able to defeat Itachi in a verbal pursue. The young blonde nodded. "Hai…"
"Now go and get some water from the stream."
Naruto nodded and took the flask from Itachi's hand. He grinned as a plan formed on his head. Instead of leaving the cave, he did his best in masking his chakra in order to pounce on Itachi once again that was currently facing away from him.
But before he could even jumped up on him, the Uchiha prodigy had already stopped him from doing so, disappearing from Naruto's view and reappearing from behind, poking the back of the young blonde's head with his two fingers.
"Niisan, how did you get behind me so fast?"
"You don't even know how to mask your chakra properly. I had known that you didn't even leave the cave." He said.
Naruto sighed again. "Fine, fine… you win, niisan." Naruto then walked away and passed by the Uchiha before turning back towards him and hugged him from behind. "But that doesn't stop me from hugging my older brother… my MOST precious person."
The eight year old blond took his arms off the waste of the older Uchiha before bouncing away outside of the cave, humming a cheery tune on the way out.
End Flashback…
Naruto smiled at the memory before nodding in encouragement. "Hurry up."
"Thank you. But before I leave, I would like to see your face as well. And know your name if possible." He said.
Naruto smiled at Haku's friendly tone of voice. He took off his hood and mask, showing his whole face to the older boy. "Uzumaki Naruto. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, but I am known as Uyoma Naiki. Please call me Naiki."
Haku nodded, and with that, disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Naruto alone by himself staring at the place in where Haku once stood.
::Kit, why did you allow him to get pass?:: Kyuubi asked.
Naruto smiled at this. /Kyuubi, you're such a worrier./ He teased.
Kyuubi 'hmphed' in response. ::Your mission was suppose to protect that old man, right? Then that means that the first pursuer should die now to prevent any other casualties.::
Naruto nodded. /That is true. But if I made Haku stay here more, there would be a possibility that Kakashi will kill the first one./
::Kit, I think that it would be better if Kakashi would be the one to kill the first one. The kid that you just spoke to seems to be stronger than the first pursuer.::
Naruto shook his head. /I know that. I just want it to be I who will kill them both. I haven't got enough blood these days./
Kyuubi sighed. ::Kit, it seems that we both have a twisted way of having our fun. You want to toy with other peoples emotions first before killing them.::
/No Kyuubi. It is true that I like toying with other people's emotions first before killing them, but I was not toying with Haku's. I understand him. We are both protecting a precious person. But that does not change the fact that I would kill him and the first pursuer sooner or later./ Naruto then jumped up on a tree.
Kyuubi sighed. ::Whatever you say, kit.::
The blond smirked as he jumped towards the nearest tree, making sure to fasten his pace going back to the team. He just won't let the opportunity in getting blood go away. His and Kyuubi's thirst for blood was unbearable. They both needed blood.
And he will get them soon.
At Kakashi and the other's place, they were having a VERY tough time in fighting Zabuza. Kakashi was panting heavily, but showed no signs of forfeit. Sasuke and Sakura were fighting a mizu bunshin that Zabuza has created and was losing badly. But despise all that, Zabuza was the one who was totally exhausted.
'Drats. If this keeps going on…' Zabuza then made a series of handseals. "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!"Suddenly, a huge tornado had appeared. Kakashi just threw a kunai at the Mizu bunshin that he didn't realize Zabuza creating the jutsu. Now that happened, Kakashi was not able to create a barrier for the group.
The harsh wind started to uproot trees. Kunais also flew towards them in circles. Sakura screamed out loud as Sasuke dashed towards Tazuna in attempt to protect him. However, even he was starting to get carried by the wind.
'Kuso… if this continues on…'"Kakashi-sensei! In here! Quick!" Naruto exclaimed as he reached the area. Kakashi stared at him quizzically. Naruto was annoyed. "Kuso! Kakashi-sensei no baka! IN HERE!" He exclaimed once again.
Kakashi nodded and went behind Naruto and protected Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna with his body and watched Naruto perform a series of handseals, slamming his hand on the ground. "Tsuchi no tate: Nobasu ! (Shield of Earth: Release!)"
With that, the soil suddenly rose up and surrounded the whole group from top to bottom, protecting the whole team from the harsh tornado. /Lend me your eyes once again, fox./
Naruto felt the kyuubi nod from inside him as his eyesight suddenly became see-through, allowing him to see what was going on outside the small land dome. His eyes widened in surprise at what he saw. The tornado had finally ended, but Haku was already there, trying to lift Zabuza's body up.
The blonde didn't waste any more time as he ended the jutsu and threw a kunai at Haku's shoulder, causing the feminine boy to scream in pain, automatically dropping Zabuza's body down.
The team was shocked at that. Zabuza opened his eyes and saw Haku holding his arm in pain. It was bleeding badly. "Zabuza-san, run." Haku murmured. His voice was almost unaudible, but Naruto, with his fox-like senses, heard him no problem.
"Hn. I won't let you leave, Haku-san." Naruto said, his eyes narrowing.
Zabuza looked at Haku. "How did this boy know your name?" He asked.
"I met him a while ago, Zabuza-san. He asked my name. I answered. I asked. He answered." Haku said, still clutching his shoulder.
"And what is his name?"
"Uzu…" But was cut of by Naruto's intense glare that says tell-him-my-real-name-or-I-will-kill-you-on-the-spot-without-hesitation. Haku gulped. 'This boy gives out a strong killer intent and a thirst for blood that it's actually scares me.' "Uyoma Naiki, Zabuza-san."
Zabuza stood up with the help of his huge sword. (a/n: Will anyone tell me what the sword's name is again?) He smirked at the boy. Naruto glared at him and turned around to see Kakashi struggling to stand up.
"Kakashi-sensei, let me handle these two while you rest for a while to recover some of your chakra. I'll buy them some time." Naruto murmured. Sasuke stood up.
"I'll join you."
"No."
Sasuke seemed to be angered at that answer. "And why not?"
Naruto sighed. "You will be the one to protect Tazuna-san while Sakura nurses Kakashi-sensei. We all cannot afford to leave Tazuna-san unguarded." Before Sasuke could say another word, Naruto cut him off once again. "… I trust you."
Now that seemed to shut Sasuke up. Sasuke nodded. "Ch. Fine."
Naruto turned around to face Zabuza and Haku as he made a handseal. "Kage bunshin no Jutsu!" Five clones then appeared behind him. "Minna, I want you all to attack Haku. I'll handle Zabuza."
"Hah. You will fight me alone? Stop kidding me." Zabuza said.
Naruto glared once again. "I'm not kidding. Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" He exclaimed as a huge dragon appeared and attacked Zabuza. Zabuza countered easily with his own Suiryuudan no Jutsu but was impressed that Naruto could do that technique.
"Kid, who taught you that technique?" Zabuza asked.
Naruto sped up towards him, delivering a quick kick on the waist as he answered in a whisper. "I suppose you know a shinobi named Hoshigaki Kisame."
"Nani?! Kisa…" Before he could even finish what he was talking about, Naruto held onto his wrist tightly and threw him towards a tree. It seems that Naruto was undeniably stronger than the missing-nin.
Naruto smirked at this. "Sayonara…" He said, pausing at every syllable to show how amused he was. But just as he was about to give the finishing strike, a hand suddenly held his wrist tight.
Naruto glared at the person who held his wrist, which was Kakashi. Kakashi is already using the sharingan in his left eye. "Naiki," He started. Naruto was getting angrier with Kakashi for stopping his assault. "Let me handle him."
Naruto glared at him. "And why?" He spat out.
"It's not yet time to show your full strength. Save it for the right time."
Upon hearing this, Naruto suddenly stopped as he clutched his head in pain. His right eye was closed in pain while his left eye was starting to get its reddish shade. Kakashi's eyes widened at this.
The blonde suddenly screamed out loud and fell on his knees, clutching his forehead tightly due to the immense pain. "Why…?" He managed to choke out.
::Kit! Are you alright?!:: Kyuubi called out. Naruto, however, doesn't seem to hear him… or maybe he just plainly ignored the fox.
"Why…?" He asked once again, this time, his voice a little raspy than before. "Why didn't you let me get my blood…? I want it… I crave it… Let me release my thirst…" Naruto's left eye was now like a fox's… and that fox… was the Kyuubi.
To Naruto, he seems that an old friend was rubbing off on him… Gaara.
Flashback…Nine Year old Naruto
"Ano sa, ano sa… Itachi-niisan, where are we now?" Naruto asked as he and Itachi walked on the harsh hot sand. "It's very hot in here! Where are we heading to anyway?" He whined.
Itachi sighed. "We're going to Sunagakure."
"Sunagakure?" Naruto asked. "That's the Hidden Village of Sand… ne?"
The sharingan wielder nodded. "Yes."
"When are we going to reach it?"
Itachi then stopped walking, causing the poor tired nine-year-old Naruto bump into his back. (ehemfacefirstehem) Naruto glared at him. "What now, Itachi-niisan?!"
"We're here."
"Ehh?" Naruto then took a glance in front of them. They were in front of the gate of Sunagakure. Then sand-guards then stood in front of them.
"Who are you and state your business he…re…" The sand-nin didn't manage to finish his line as both of them suddenly fell asleep. Naruto beamed at the technique that his unofficial older brother performed.
"Sugoi! Itachi-niisan, what was that? Ninjutsu or genjutsu?" He asked.
"Genjutsu." Itachi's face still didn't show any emotions. Naruto then started tugging Itachi's cloak. (a/n: It's just a normal cloak. They aren't Akatsuki members yet.)
"Teach me! Teach me! Please! I wanna learn it! I wanna learn it!" Naruto exclaimed. Itachi sighed and tried to ignore the whining blonde. The keyword there was 'tried'. The blonde kept whining and even came to the point of begging the Uchiha to teach him the technique.
Finally, Itachi gave one of his rare smiles to the boy, who in turn glanced at him hopefully. "No."
Naruto's face almost broke. "Why? Why? Why? Please! TEACH ME! TEEEEEEEEEACH MEEEEEE!!!!!!!"
Itachi then chuckled. "Alright. But on one condition."
"What?" Naruto was willing to do anything just to learn a new jutsu.
"No ramen for a week."
The boy almost fell down on his face. His face was so funny that even Itachi, who was cold and stoic, even chuckled silently to himself. He really knows the boy's weakness. "So… what do you say? Ramen, or jutsu?" He asked.
Naruto sighed. "Fine… fine… once again, for the gazillionth time, you won, niisan…"
Itachi chuckled. "Don't worry. I wasn't serious. I'll still teach you that jutsu. Now…" The sharingan successor suddenly stared above and lightly pushed the boy along. "Go. You still have time. Go on and explore the city. I'll look for an inn to spend the night."
Naruto beamed as he heard this. "Really?! You serious?!"
Itachi nodded at this. "Yes."
"Yoshi!" Naruto then started running around. He then turned around to look at Itachi and waved. "Arigato niisan!"
"Come back here within two hours."
"Hai!"
Naruto happily skilled around, ignoring the sand that stuck in his hair and dirtied his clothes even more. He was so happy to even think about that. It was very rare thing that Itachi would even allow the boy to play. All activities will involve training, training, and more training. The boy would definitely not waste this opportunity.
"Huh?" Naruto suddenly stopped, seeing a young boy about his age surrounded by sand. Well… who wouldn't be surrounded by sand in this place? However, Naruto was not stupid to not know that the sand surrounding his was unusual, much like his own 'unusual' chakra.
"You monster!"
"Get away from us!"
"Demon!"
Naruto's eyes suddenly softened at this. He was like him…
'He's like me… we are both given the same horrible treatment.'
"ARGH!!!"
Blood spilled all over the place, leaving the nine-year-old Naruto in utter shock. The other boy glanced at him. His eyes were like a void. There were no emotions on them. And when I mean 'none', I mean 'none'.
Naruto decided that it would be best to try to befriend him, taking the risk of the possibility of being killed on the spot. Well… nonetheless, the blonde still placed a huge grin on his face and skipped childishly towards him.
"Ano sa… ano sa…"
The boy was still looking at him. "What do you want?"
"Can we be friends?" The nine-year-old blonde asked, extending a hand towards the red head. The red head stared at the hand with an almost shocked face. Naruto tilted his head slightly in thought.
Maybe this boy has never experienced having a friend. Maybe he also doesn't know the feeling of being loved. No… wait. Scratch that. He never did experience any of the things.
Naruto decided to let his hand remain on that awkward position as he waited for an answer. After an eternity of silence, the blonde finally got his response.
"No."
"Why is that?"
"No one wants to befriend a demon. And besides, I don't need friends. You won't understand."
"Maa… that's where you're wrong." The blonde started with a grin, putting his hand down and placing both hands behind his head. "I understand you well. Actually… too well…"
The red head glared at him. "What do you even know about me? How will you understand?"
"I may know nothing, but I know a lot more about you than you can ever imagine. I understand the pain and the burden of having a demon inside you."
This time, the red head boy seemed to snap. The sand then started to advance towards him. Naruto went slightly wide-eyed, but decided to let this other boy see that he wasn't the only one that bears a burden.
Red chakra started to surround Naruto, protecting him by deflecting the sand, leaving the red head in utter shock. "Omae wa… (a/n: Gomen… I just LOVE that simple line from Gaara)"
Naruto nodded and patted his stomach, understanding the shock that the other boy has emitted. "Hai. I also have one inside of me." Naruto suddenly looked at the sky and gasped. "Oh my gosh! Itachi-niisan might be already waiting for me!"
The blonde turned around and skidded away but took a glance at the other boy and waved at him. "Itachi-niisan and I might stay here for a while! I'll be forward to meeting you again!" The blonde exclaimed before disappearing to the horizon.
End Flashback…
Naruto started to chuckle. Hah. How ironic. Finally when the red head finally agreed to become his friend… well… no… more like an acquaintance, Itachi then told him that they would be leaving.
"Naiki…"
Naruto then snapped back from his gaze and saw that he was in the middle of Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna. He sat up in a rather rough way and saw Kakashi fighting both Haku and Zabuza.
He gritted his teeth as he faced Sakura rather harshly. "What happened?" He demanded. Sakura almost cowered because of her blonde teammate's voice. Naruto's eyes softened as he decided to calm down. He doesn't want to scare his teammates even more. Now was not the time to show how harsh he really was. Kakashi was already having suspicions. What will happen if even his teammates got one?
Sasuke decided to answer for Sakura and sighed in annoyance. "After Kakashi-sensei managed to restrain you," Naruto sighed in relief, knowing that they haven't heard their small conversation. "… you suddenly fell unconscious. Kakashi-sensei said that it was because of your over use of chakra."
'Geez… I really gotta work on my over use of chakra.'
::Kit, you over used your chakra because you were unstable. Sigh… you didn't even listened to me.:: Kyuubi's voice broke his thoughts.
/Sorry, fox. I guess my thirst have been way uncontrolled for./
Kyuubi sighed once again. ::Just remember to be careful next time.::
Naruto smiled mentally. /I will./
Naruto nodded and suddenly grinned as Kakashi manage to hit Zabuza square on the chest, knocking the wind out of him. Haku noticed that the situation they were in was already out of their hand. The boy sped up, took Zabuza's body, and fled.
At that, Kakashi exhaled harshly as he fell down on the ground with a thud. Sasuke and Sakura went near him while Naruto decided to stay back and guard Tazuna.
"Don't worry about me… I just over used my chakra." Kakashi said.
"Kakashi-sensei, Naiki have already over used his chakra, now you over used yours. My gosh! Is the world coming to an end?!" Sakura whined.
Sasuke sighed. "Naiki could handle himself well." He said, taking a glance at the blonde who stared back at him. "Kakashi-sensei has over used his chakra more than Naiki did, so I suppose we would need to carry him."
Sakura nodded. "Yeah… but don't expect me to carry him."
Naruto sighed at them. "Sasuke and I will carry him. Sakura, you guard Tazuna-san. Tazuna-san, lead the way."
Tazuna nodded.
In no time, the group has reached the boat in where there was a man waiting for them. The group then went in. By that time, Kakashi was now unconscious. Sasuke noticed that this mission was already out of their league so they may need an explanation. Sasuke glanced at the group. Kakashi was unconscious; Sakura was nursing him, while Naiki was looking in front of them, dozed off in his thoughts.
Sasuke sighed and decided that he will be the one to do the talking.
"Tazuna-san," He started, catching Tazuna's expression. "You have a lot of things to explain here."
Author's notes: There! I finally finished this chapter! I'm so sorry for the long wait, people. Anyway, how's this? I'm sorry if I made a lot of them so OOC especially Gaara and Itachi. It seems that I also made Naru-chan a bit too strong in this chapter. But hey! He was using the nine-tail's chakra by that time! Anyway, what do you think? Not much Sakura bashing here I know. Just a LOT of flashbacks. Sorry for that. Anyway, reviews please!