Disclaimer: Do I own Naruto? Ummm… No.

Replies:

Dark Drow: Ya, I love the cliffhangers meself. Anyway, thank ya fer tha review, though, I'm really not that good at writing

Ranko: Nihao! Thank you for the review, have fun at work!

Citan: I try. (I would put a smiley here, but for some reason, they are erased when I post the chapter. So, there's a smiley here, you just can't see it!)

Fabarati: Well, I'm not much for the whole time travel thing myself.

Sanzo Lover: (falls over anime-style.)

Chapter 7, Part 2,

Of Love and War

(The village hidden in the Leaf, Hokage's office.)

Tsunade sat on her desk, looking out the window towards the hidden Sound country. "Naruto, please be safe." She thought, a single, unnoticed tear rolling down her cheek.

(in the office or Orochimaru)

"It's good to see that your well, container of the Kyuubi." Uchiha Itachi said, his voice as flat and cold as it had ever been, his Sharingan trained on Naruto.

"A trap…" Kakashi growled, placing his hand on his hitai-ate, pulling it up to reveal his Sharingan eye. "We can't take them on alone, we've gotta get out of here and regroup." He said.

"I don't think so Kakashi of the Sharingan eye, I've still got to repay you for my arm un." Dedria said, stepping forward. "Besides, I don't think you'll be getting out of here anytime soon. un." He chuckled, pointing.

Kakashi dared to look back for the briefest of seconds to see the hole that they had just entered through surrounded by about twenty-five clay birds. "You remember my little exploding pieces of art, don't you? un?" Dedria asked, chuckling some more.

Naruto growled. "I don't plan on running away, I'm gonna kill them all." He said, beginning to make hand-seals.

"I don't think so, container." Itachi said, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, they were Mange Sharingan.

"Naruto, LOOK OUT!" Kakashi yelled, pushing naruto out of the way as his own Sharingan turned Mange, just as Itachi's attack struck. The world blurred, but Kakshi was able to remain on his feet, Itachi's attack deflected.

"You aquired the Mange Sharingan? How?" Itachi asked, surprised.

Kakashi grinned weakly. "There's more than one way to aquire it." He said weakly, falling over into Gai's arms.

"Damn, we're in trouble." Gai said, hoisting Kakashi up.

"Not yet we're not!" Naruto exclaimed, completing his jutsu. "BOSS FROG GAMA BUTA, I NEED YOU!" He bellowed, nicking his thumb on one of his teeth, and then placing his hand on the ground. In a huge billow of smoke, Orochimaru's tower was torn asunder as Gama Buta burst through it.

"What do you need, you little punk?" He asked, looking up at Naruto, who was perched on top of his head with Gai and an unconscious Kakashi.

"Well, we've gone to war with Orochimaru and the Sound, but he was prepared, he had backup from an organization called Akatsuki." Naruto replied as the other five extracted themselves from the rubble.

"So, he's summoned Gama Buta…" Orochimaru said, looking up at the titanic frog. "Well then, I'll just have to summon my own ally." He nicked his own finger and drug it across a tattoo on his arm. Placing his palm against the ground, he summoned the great king of snakes.

"You dare summon me? I shall kill you." The great snake Orochi said, eyeing Orochimaru hungrily.

"If you help me, I'll make it worth your while. I need you to help me get rid of some pests." Orochimaru said, motioning in the direction of Naruto, Gama Buta, and the others. "So, will you do it?" He asked.

The great snake glared at Gama Buta, flicking his tounge. "I will. The frog shall die." He said, venom dripping from his long fangs.

Itachi, Dedria, Kabuto, and Kisame appeared beside Orochimaru. "Don't forget, we need the container of the Kyuubi alive." Itachi said impassivly, staring across at Naruto.

"Don't worry, I remember our deal perfectly." Orochimaru said, glaring at Itachi. "I know he's gonna die when you pull the demon from him anyway, so in essence, I'll have had my revenge." He said.

As Itachi was about to reply, Gama Buta suddenly drew his sword and launched himself at them. The five shinobi atop The Orochi's head leapt off,jumping at Gama Buta's passengers as the great snake slithered out of the way of the downward slash aimed at him.

"Gai-sensei! Take Kakashi and run!" Naruto exclaimed, making four shadow clones.

"But-!" Gai started.

"Don't argue, just go!" Naruto said as he and the shadow clones leapt at Itachi and the others. "Bring it on, I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" Naruto screamed as the combatants met in mid-air.

It was a furious first clash as the shadow clone facing off against Kisame made another shadow clone behind the shark man, which immediately kicked him in the back of the head, knocking him towards the first shadow clone, which kneed him in the gut then knocked him into a building with a right hook. The Shadow clone facing Dedria kept making shadow clones to leap off of as he chased after the Akatsuki member, who was flying upon one of his large clay birds, occasionally releasing smaller exploding clay birds after his pursuer. Kabuto had landed atop another building and had just managed to take a soldier pill right as the shadow clone that was facing off against him landed and was just able to stave off the furious assault from the enraged blonde shinobi. Itachi, on the other hand, casually dusted off the ashes from the shadow clone that he had burned to a crisp using a giant fireball technique, and then he turned to observe the real Naruto, who was locked in an all-out battle with Orochimaru.

"Forget it boy, you'll never beat me." Orochimaru said with a grin, swinging his sword at Naruto in a horizontal slash meant to take the young shinobi's head off.

"Like hell you will!" Naruto replied, blocking the katana with a kunai, then swinging another kunai he had in his other hand at the legendary Sanin, only to have Orochimaru grab his wrist.

"We'll see about that!" Orochimaru exclaimed, lunging forward, his neck elongating, as he bit deeply into Naruto's shoulder. "Now you're poisoned, how long will you last?" He asked with a grin, removing his fangs from Naruto's shoulder.

Surprisingly, Naruto returned the grin. "Long enough to kill you." He said as one of the clones that had been fighting Kisame landed on Orochimaru's back, wrapping one arm around Orochimaru's sword arms and grabbing him by the throat with the other.

Orochimaru let out a surprised, strangled gasp as Naruto made two more doppelgangers, then grabbed onto Orochimrau's free wrist. One of the doppelgangers grabbed Orochimaru by the legs while the other helped Naruto make a Rensagen in his right hand. "You're dead now Orochimaru, you can't escape." Naruto said, his voice a deadly calm. He swung the Rensagen forward, aimed at Orochimaru's chest.

His swing was stopped short as a lithe hand clamped over his wrist. "I'm sorry, container, but I can't let you do that." Itachi said, jerking Naruto's hand to the side so that the Rensagen slammed instead into one of the shadow clones, destroying it and freeing Orochimaru enough so that he destroyed the other shadow clones.

"I've gotta say kid, you've gotten a lot better, but your still not good enough." Kisame said, walking up, wiping blood from his nose. He hefted his sword, the Samehada, above Naruto's outstretched arm. "Just to make things safe though, I'm gonna take your arm off at about ri-"

"LEAF SPINNING WIND!" A foot swung around, catching Kisame in the face, sending him flying through a wall. Gai dropped down and lashed out with a backhand at Itachi, who let go of Naruto and leapt back, out of the way. "That was pretty impressive Naruto." He said with a nice-guy smile.

Seeing his chance, Naruto swung a right hook at Orochimaru, who leapt away to avoid the blow. "What about Kakashi-sensei?" He asked, his back to Gai's.

"He's fine; I left him with the medic nins. I say that we've got a bit much on your plates right now to worry about him though." Gai replied as Itachi, Kisame, Kabuto, Dedria, and Orochimaru surrounded them.

(Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Sound village)

Gama Buta let out a heavy sigh as Orochi, the demon snake, disappeared in a cloud of smoke, near death. Suddenly, Gama Buta's body started glowing. "Sorry kid, but I can't help you anymore, I'm being called." He thought, disappearing.

(In the ruins of Orochimaru's building.)

Orochimaru and the others approached Naruto and Gai, tightening the circle around them. Hearing a faint rustle, Kisame looked up to see Kunai flying at them all. "Look out!" He cried out as they all jumped back, the Kunai landing were they had just been standing, exploding. "Who the hell!" Kisame growled, looking up at the spot where the Kunai had come from. There, on the roof of a nearby building were ten figures, silhouetted against the moonlight.

"Sorry, but we can't sit by and let you and Naruto have all the fun master Gai!" Rock Lee called out as he, Neji, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba and Akamaru, Shino, Kurenai and Ten-Ten jumped down.

"We should fall back. un." Dedria said, approaching Itachi. "They've got us out-numbered, and with the fox on their side, our chances for victory look very slim indeed. un." He said.

Itachi closed his eyes. "I agree. Fall back." He ordered.

With a nod, Dedria opened his palms, releasing quite a few clay birds, which flew at Naruto and the others, exploding in billowing clouds of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Itachi and the others were gone.

"Damn, they got away." Naruto said, his weariness finally getting to him as he went to a knee.

"In any case, the Sound Village is done for. We've gotta get out of here before those letter bombs go off." Gai said, helping Naruto to his feet. With a nod, they all took off, getting out of the village within just a few minutes, leaving with the rest of the Kohona ninjas. They all looked back briefly as the Sound Village exploded in a huge ball of fire.

On the other side of the village, a similar group watched the explosion. "My dreams… all ruined…" Orochimaru said, falling to his knees.

Itachi looked at the fallen man impassivly. "Do it." He ordered.

"Yes… sir." Kabuto said, walking over to Orochimaru, pulling out a Kunai. Orochimaru had just enough time to look up at Kabuto in surprise as Kabuto slit his throat.

"Come, we must go." Itachi said as they turned and walked off, leaving Orochimaru's still kneeling corpse.

(A few days later, approaching Kohona.)

Naruto smiled as they neared Kohona. "We're almost home!" He cheered.

Kiba halted them. "Something doesn't smell right… I smell smoke." He said.

"I'll look around for smoke!" Rock Lee said, jumping into a tree, climbing up until he reached the top. The sight that greeted him stopped him cold, cauing him to go white. "WE'VE GOTTA GO! KOHONA IS SMOKING!" He screamed down at them, taking off across the tops of the trees.

"WHAT! COME ON! LET'S GO!" Naruto yelled, taking off at full speed. "Please be ok, Tsunade." He thought, panicking, breaking the tree line, seeing the smoke rising from Kohona.

End Ch7, Pt2

Oh my, what's this? Kohona's on fire? What happened? Will Naruto and the others get there on time! Find out in Naruto, Finding Love after Pain chapter 8! Internal Strife!

(Whew, twice as long as any of the other chapters! Anyway, I hope ya all like it!)