A/N: I don't own Naruto. Kishomoto-sensei does, okay? Sorry for being so late. here's an extra long chapter for the frustration. I was in USA for a while.
Naruto: The Greatest Hero
Chapter Twelve: Daylight
Uzumaki Naruto walked up to the genins with a neutral expression on his face, his backs turned to several of the Uchiha prodigy's fangirls in the crowd above. The girls were screaming several obscenities to him, but the blonde was not about to retort with a glare. He saw a look cast to him by his brother from the stands, and that look was one of pride. Beside Kakashi was Haku, who was cheering him on as well.
Then the blonde remembered that he still had his swamp to clean up, which he did, slamming his hands to the ground once more, the swamp disappeared and arena was ready for another battle between Chuunin hopefuls. He looked to the stands once more and walked back to the waiting room, slightly fatigued from his fight.
He was greeted by a powerful pat on the back by Rock Lee, who was in awe of Naruto's powerful moves, and his speed, that equalled his instructor Gai's.
'NARUTO-KUN, HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO GET THAT FAST IN JUST A MONTH? DID GAI-SENSEI TRAIN YOU SECRETLY SO THAT YOU WOULD BE A GOOD MATCH FOR ME?' Lee cried; Naruto winced before attempting to answer, to no avail, as Lee continued with his rant, 'BUT I ALSO HAVE TRAINED, EVEN WITH YOUR SPEED THAT MATCHES GAI-SENSEI, I WILL PREVAIL!'
Naruto literally had his ears fitted with his fingers to prevent himself from going deaf, as did every other Genin in the room. After Lee's shouting was over, the blonde turned to Gaara, a bead of sweat going down his face. Naruto did not hide the fact that he was slightly scared of the killing intent that hovered around the Genin. It was even more intense than the person that Naruto had fought on the bridge while he was on the mission to protect Tazuna, and that was saying a lot.
That person was basically an S-class nukenin in what was called the "bingo book", a manual on the nukenins of several countries, as Kakashi had explained to him before. Any nukenin that was B-class or above was listed in the "bingo book" and they were to be killed on sight if encountered. Naruto then remembered Zabuza and Haku.
The two people that were much like brothers in arms, more so than master and servant. It was lucky for them that the Mizukage had wiped their record clean after the bridge incident, presuming them dead. Naruto had been told this by Kakashi, who had told Tazuna, the man who was building the bridge, to be the "witness" their deaths.
Although Tazuna was slightly shocked of having to declare the deaths of two nukenins, who were actually still alive and healthy, to the puzzled hunter-nins of Kirigakure no Sato. Tazuna, on his part, had told the Hunter-nins about Zabuza, but by chance, since the Mizukage was there, he told him the truth and that allowed the Mizukage and the Hokage to discuss the citizenship of the two ninjas.
At the end of the agreement, the Sandaime Hokage was almost threatening to strangle Naruto because of the amount of paperwork involved in giving new profiles to Momochi Zabuza and Haku. The Sandaime did it anyway, and Momochi Zabuza and Momochi Haku were bunking in with Uzumaki Naruto in his apartment.
Back in the present, Naruto was surveying the enormous amount of killing intent that Gaara was projecting, and he felt as though that power that Gaara emanated was not his alone, as though there was another person in his body, radiating the urge to kill. Naruto felt that another Genin, Temari, knew something about Gaara.
And somehow, he felt that she was very fearful of what she knew.
'All right, we're on to the next match; Rock Lee versus Gaara!'
The crowd cheered and erupted in cheers as Lee once again gave his energetic act and leaped over the railing and onto the arena's ground, performing several fast kicks and punches into thin air to impress the audience. Gaara disappeared in a whirl of sand and appeared in the middle of the arena, his expression showing nothing.
Up in the stands, Neji, Kiba, Kurenai, Kakashi, Sakura and Ino were focused on watching the fight, sitting, as was an energetic Gai, hands crossed and his face showing the confidence and belief he had in Lee. But Kakashi was analysing the red-headed shinobi of Sunagakure, Gaara; there was something wrong with him.
Kurenai saw Kakashi's serious expression and frowned before noticing what his serious expression was directed at. He was looking at Gaara, the same ninja that had almost killed Akamaru and Kiba one month ago. Kiba gulped in slight fear.
'Kakashi, there's something very wrong with that boy.' Kurenai said.
'That killing intent that he's projecting is almost demonic.' Neji said.
'I'm worried for Gai's student. That boy has an incredible defence with his sand.'
Gai was seen on the steps shaking his fist with an aura of determination.
Kurenai narrowed her eyes, as she was one of the recipients of one of the green jumpsuit-wearing Jounin's rants on the "Flames of Youth". It made her almost slit his throat with a kunai if Asuma wasn't there to stop her from doing so.
'If he goes on ranting about the "Flames of Youth" again, I will-'
'LEE, SHOW YOUR OPPONENT WHAT YOU CAN DO; FOR YOU ARE A WIELDER OF THE FLAMES OF YOUTH!' Gai shouted at the top of his lungs.
'That's it; I'm going to kill him.' Kurenai stood up and drew a kunai.
Like a puppet on her string, Kurenai moved towards Gai with her small blade.
She was now directly in front of Gai, emanating an extremely powerful killing intent, not that the bowl-cut hairstyle Jounin noticed it, for he was oblivious to everything. Kurenai moved closer to him and Kakashi sighed in defeat.
Once Kurenai wanted to kill something; she would fulfil that need.
'Good Day, Kurenai-san, how are you, did you see Naruto-kun's match just now?'
'Prepare to die, Thick Brows.' Kurenai held up her kunai, as Gai started to back off.
'Uh, Kurenai-san, what's wrong with you?' Gai backed off a bit more.
Lee could hear the screams of his instructor from the stands; he shook his fist in determination as he heard them and looked to the stands; a tear in his left eye.
Gai-sensei, I can hear your shouts of encouragement and enthusiasm; the make the fire in my heart burn like the blaze of a volcano, I will win, Lee thought.
Lee got into his position before Gaara and beside Genma, who was several feet away from them, chewing on his toothpick rather lazily; again, showing indication that he was not the least bit interested with his job as the examiner of the Third Round of the Chuunin Exams. The red-headed Genin had his arms crossed and showed no emotion, while Lee was still emanating the aura of determination and fire of strength.
'Alright then, looks like we're good to go.' Genma said, looking from one ninja to the other; from deadpan to determined facial expressions, 'Second Match, Begin!'
Lee at once charged at Gaara, aiming a punch to the Sand ninja's head, but was block by a wall of sand, which came rushing in automatically. Lee's fist retreated and the Leaf ninja used the force to try and deliver a kick to Gaara's head; a second try, but again, was blocked by a wall of sand, as Gaara remained still, not moving an inch from his spot. Lee gritted his teeth and moved away from Gaara with several back flips. Lee was extremely conscious of the sand, having seen its effects before.
That sand has extremely fast reaction speed to my punches, just like it did with Kiba-kun until he raised his speed to a certain level; that means that if I get my speed either above the speed Kiba-kun utilised or even equal, I have a chance to win…
Lee looked from the stands back to his weights that were strapped to his legs.
I'm sorry, Gai-sensei, but I have to win this match, Lee thought.
The dark-haired Taijutsu Specialist unclasped his weights just as he did in his fight against Shino; Naruto raised an eyebrow at the action. Shikamaru was intently focused on Lee, who tossed the weights to one side, creating two large craters.
Gaara showed no signs of emotions on his face except for a twitch of his mouth.
From the stands, Gai was looking at his favourite student with more fire than before, but was kept from shouting on his favourite words in fear of being beaten up once more by Kurenai. The woman may not look much, but she packed a mean punch.
'So Lee-kun removed his weights once more, eh?' Kakashi said, watching the fight.
'Now let's see if he can get past that wall of sand.' Kiba said, smirking.
Back in the arena, Lee had got himself back into his Tekken-fu stance, his eyes focused intently on Gaara, who frowned, his arms still crossed above his chest.
'I saw your fight with Kiba-kun, and I must say that I was impressed.' Lee said, his lips turning into a grin, surprising the Genin that were in the Waiting Room, 'But your defence has one major flaw, Gaara-san;' Lee's lips now formed a smirk, 'That sand that protects you has a set speed, and if I can break that speed barrier…'
Lee vanished from sight, to the surprise of the majority of the spectators.
Gaara's eyes widened as he felt something moving at high speed all around him. Flashes of green and black were seen around Gaara as the sand made a desperate attempt to protect Gaara. Lee was moving at a speed marginally higher than the speed that Sasuke was moving, and it looked like the tide had turned in Lee's favour.
Suddenly, Gaara was knocked hard by a powerful kick, sending him several metres away and crashing right into the wall of the stadium. Kakashi was impressed, to say the least, as were Naruto and the Genins. Gai lifted his head in pride.
'Look at how I trained Lee, Kakashi; even though he already removed his weights, he still has not used his full power yet. Wait and see what Lee is really made of!'
Kakashi, needless to say, was not actually paying attention to the Jounin.
Gaara got up from his collapsed position and looked to Lee with angry eyes as the Leaf Genin got back into his Tekken-fu stance and continued smirking his lips.
'See? Just as I thought. If your sand can't keep up with me, there will be no way that it could be effective.' Lee thrust his left palm forward and slid his right leg back.
The dark-haired ninja disappeared from sight again as Gaara felt the wind blowing around him, gusts being created due to Lee's speed. Lee delivered more blows to Gaara, whose sand proved itself useless against the attacks of Lee.
In the stands, more than a few people were impressed by the display of skill that the Taijutsu Specialist had shown to them. Kakashi and Asuma among them.
Lee landed a kick to Gaara's jaw, sending the Genin flying and landing several metres away back on the ground, caught by the sand from his gourd. Gaara got up once more, his eyes now showing to Lee the power of a monster.
Naruto watched the fight and he was extremely impressed, but looking at Gaara, he knew that there was something terrifying within him, some kind of power that feasted on the fears of people. The blonde tensed in his place.
'I want your blood…' Gaara whispered, pure bloodlust in his eyes.
The look in Gaara's eyes could scare away almost any normal person. Not Lee.
'It's time to finish this battle; let's go!' Lee called out, getting back into his stance.
He was about to go on with his attacks against the Sand ninja, when the sound of an extremely large explosion was heard. Lee diverted his eyes to the source of the sound. In the stands, the spectators to the fight, excluding the Jounins, were suddenly put to sleep by a Genjutsu cast by someone in an Anbu mask and a black cloak.
In the room or box that held the Chuunin hopefuls, Temari had disappeared from where she was, and had reappeared next to Gaara, along with the puppet-user, Kankuro, and their Jounin Instructor. Naruto leapt down from the box, along with Shikamaru, Chouji and Hinata, slightly confused with the situation.
The blonde looked to the stands and heard the sound of distant rumbling from one direction and looked back to Gaara, who was shaking; not from fear, but from an urge. Naruto knew that the bloodlust in the boy had peaked, as did Shikamaru.
Shikamaru was surprised by the odd events that were going on, but did not let his guard down or even showed a sign of panic. He looked to his blonde friend.
'Naruto, what the hell is going on?' Shikamaru questioned, hearing more explosions from the direction of the Main Gate of Konoha; then he understood.
'An invasion.' Naruto stated, his eyes now focused intently on Gaara.
In the box that seated the Hokage and the Kazekage, Sarutobi shifted his gaze towards the trail of smoke that had started to build in the direction of the Main Gate.
'I never expected to see you in this kind of situation, Orochimaru.' he said.
The Kazekage began to snarl and began to laugh maniacally, throwing his head back as the accompanying guard of the Hokage took a step back and readied a kunai.
'I did not expect you to recognise me that easily, Sarutobi-sama…'
The Kazekage removed his white and blue robes and revealed himself as the evil side of Orochimaru, wearing the Sound ninjas war clothing. The Jounin that accompanied the Hokage narrowed his eyes and felt behind him, two Sound ninjas came, but with a quick flick of his wrist, the two ninjas were caught dead in the middle of the air with a kunai finding a place each on their heads.
The Hokage began to smirk; Orochimaru's evil side narrowed his eyes.
'To think that you could easily be fooled by my transformation.' the Hokage said.
The sound of a poof was heard and a puff of smoke appeared, revealing the real Orochimaru, clad in the white robes of the Hokage and a serious look on his face. The accompanying Jounin followed suit, revealing the real Sandaime Hokage, clad in his black battle armor. The evil side of Orochimaru frowned at the situation.
'I see that you both were expecting me. It does not matter at all.' he said.
'The crimes that you have done in my name shall be paid for today.'
'Oh, really? And just what can you do, Orochimaru? You can barely use any Jutsus with all the tenketsus in your body sealed within me, if you have forgotten.'
'Your match will not be with him.' the Sandaime said, stepping forward and looking into the malicious eyes of the evil man before him, 'It will be with me.'
'Sarutobi-sensei!' Orochimaru looked to his former teacher, slightly surprised.
'Don't you worry, Orochimaru, I do still have a lot in me despite my age.'
Sarutobi went forward another step and got into a Taijutsu stance. The evil side of Orochimaru curled his lips up to a devious and almost devil-like smile.
'Your power will not be enough to stop my ambitions, Sarutobi-sama.' he said, throwing his head back to laugh even more, 'Even if you were in your prime, that power that you hold with you as the Hokage or as a ninja, both of them will come as no use against me.' Orochmaru gritted his teeth in anger at this, 'I must thank your student for my release, by the way, Sarutobi-sama; dormancy for such a long time can be very taxing.' he took a step towards Orochimaru, 'Before I kill you all, let me tell you the name that I have fashioned for myself just so I would not be mistaken by the likes of you.' he bored into Orochimaru's eyes maliciously, 'Now, I am Akuma.'
Akuma, at least now I know what to call him, Sarutobi thought seriously.
Suddenly, Akuma disappeared from sight; Sarutobi felt the flow of chakra that Akuma emitted and its source, which led to the roof of the stadium. Sarutobi followed the trail of chakra that was left by Akuma and leapt onto the stadium roof, where the man that framed his student stood, his hands at his sides and smiling maliciously. Orochimaru would have followed the Hokage, but he knew that he would only be a hindrance to him, so he chose to remain behind. Two members of the Anbu appeared.
'Orochimaru-sama, we have to take you to a safe place, Hokage-sama's orders.'
Orochimaru cast his ead to the roof before nodding to the Anbu as they disappeared in a blur of movement. On the roof, Sarutobi was facing down Akuma.
'Today will be the day that you pay for all the deaths and misery you have caused.'
'Pay?' Akuma said, his mouth contorting into yet another malicious smile.
Four forms suddenly appeared in different corners of the stadium roof, each of them performing similar handseals and suddenly, a gigantic box surrounded the Hokage and Akuma, purple in colour, created by the four new arrivals. Outside the box, several members of the Anbu Squadron had arrived, but as soon as one of their own touched the wall of the box, they erupted in purple flames; it was useless to try.
'This place will be your burial ground, Sarutobi-sama!' Akuma called out.
Naruto looked to the four ninjas of the Sand that were in front of them and in the arena. Somehow, he had the feeling that they had something to do with the current chaos. Genma, the examiner, took a step towards the four ninjas, his hands still in his pockets, showing that he was relaxed but his gaze showed that he was serious.
The Sand Jounin amongst the four ninjas said something to the three Genins, or, just to Kankuro and Temari. At the last of his words, Kankuro and Temari hoisted Gaara upon their shoulders and left the arena and their Instructor with them.
Genma stole a gaze at Gaara and his look of pure bloodlust before looking back to the man before him, frowning as more explosions were heard all over Konoha.
The instructor to the Sand genins neared the bandana-wearing Jounin, his eyes showing that he was going to fight Genma. Naruto neared Genma to get more information on what was to happen next. Genma turned to Naruto.
'Naruto,' Naruto looked up to the examiner, 'Are you up for an unofficial A-ranked mission?' Naruto gave a nod to Genma as a response, 'I want you to take two other ninjas and take off after those three; somehow, Gaara must be central to this.'
'Alright, Genma-san; I'll take the assignment.' Naruto said as he turned to Lee and Shikamaru, gesturing them to come with him, 'Alright guys, let's go!'
Lee and Shikamaru looked to the blonde and nodded, running in the direction that Gaara, Temari and Kankuro did. They leapt through the hole in the arena created when Sasuke had activated the Chidori, leaving Baki and Genma behind.
'Do you really think that those three kids can stop Gaara?' Baki said.
'So my hunch was right; he is a central figure in this invasion.'
Genma took out his hands from his pockets and got into a loose Taijutsu stance, much like the Tekken-fu, but the stance that Genma took showed that his Taijutsu style was one that favoured counterattacking the opponent by using their own force against them, very much like the basic Taijutsu at the Academy.
'Let's fight this one fair and square, buck-o.' Genma charged at his opponent.
In the stands, Gai and Kakashi were back-to-back, fighting off several ninjas that were in combination of the Sound and the Sand. It looked like both of the villages had an attack plan on Konohagakure no Sato, but as Kakashi watched the Sound and Sand ninjas close in to attack him and Gai, the plan was far from perfect, if he just stuck to the basic procedure. His basic procedure was to just be a normal pawn in the game, kill when you can, and be killed when you cannot. Simple enough for a Special Jounin of Konoha. Evan Gai had the procedure drilled into his skull.
Kurenai had teamed up with Asuma and Haku and Zabuza in their fight against the Sand and the Sound ninjas, but their numbers seemed endless.
'So far, how many have you taken down, Kurenai-san?' Asuma said, joking.
'If you count the one that I caught in the nuts, that makes my total seven.'
'Wow, you're keeping up really good; I got seven myself.' Asuma said.
Two Sound ninjas came charging at Kurenai; she flipped herself before performing several handseals to activate a Genjutsu that made her invisible to the human eye.
Within a space of two seconds, both of the attacking ninjas had their throats slit by the kunai that Kurenai held in her left hand. Meanwhile, Asuma had just finished landing a kick to one of the ninjas before tossing him to one side.
Zabuza and Haku were doing well on their own, taking out almost twenty ninjas between them, not that the number of killed ninjas counted for the lot, as most likely there would be several more coming in their general direction.
'Oi, Kakashi; I think that I just saw Naruto and his friends go after that Gaara kid!'
'What!' Kakashi exclaimed, nearing Zabuza with worry etched all over his face.
'Naruto should be all right, considering the level of skill that he has with him.' Haku said, looking down the stairs where the impostor of an Anbu stood, 'We have our hands full dealing with the situation here anyway, Kakashi-san, Zabuza-niisan.'
'I still think that I should send someone after him just to make sure he's safe.'
Suddenly, Kakashi saw several Sound ninjas dropping from above and heading in their direction; five of them, to be exact. Three of them got hit by a barrage of kunais, thrown by a now-conscious Uchiha Sasuke. He looked quite grouchy to them.
'Ah, good to see that you've woken up Sasuke!' Kakashi said as he watched Haku throw two long senbon that instantly hit the two targets, piercing the metal that guarded their foreheads and killing them instantly, 'I have a little mission for you; and Kiba-kun here will accompany you.' Kakashi indicated the drooling brunette.
Kakashi immediately woke the boy up in the quickest way that he knew; by kicking him hard in the stomach. Kiba almost murdered Kakashi on the spot.
'WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, YOU BASTARD!' Kiba shouted loudly.
'I need you and Sasuke to do a very dangerous mission; unofficial of course, since we are in the middle of an invasion.' Kakashi said to Kiba; Akamaru began to rouse because of the rising noise level around them, 'This mission is A-ranked at the least.'
'What is it?' Kiba said, looking up to the silver-haired Jounin with a puzzled look.
'Assist Naruto.' Kakashi felt Sasuke frown at the mention of Naruto; Kakashi sighed inwardly, 'He's gone after Gaara with Lee-kun and Shikamaru-kun, and I think that he would really appreciate it if he got the both of you to help him.'
'Wait, how are we supposed to find Naruto in the middle of all this carnage?'
'You're a natural tracker, aren't you, Kiba-kun; use your dog to sniff him out. I think that it's most likely that you head in the direction of the forests outside Konoha if you want to find him; I have a feeling that Gaara is somehow central in this.'
'The mission is as good as done, Chief!' Kiba gave a mock salute to Kakashi.
'Let me come with you as well.' the familiar voice of Aburame Shino came.
He was standing coolly, clad in his normal clothing, hands in his pockets.
'Shino? Why aren't you asleep from the Genjutsu?' Kiba questioned.
'My bugs recalibrated the chakra flow to expel the controlled chakra.' he said.
'Alright then, do you three accept this mission?' Kakashi inquired seriously.
At the end of Kakashi's words, more Sound ninjas had arrived on the scene; at least fifteen of them. Zabuza smirked as he swung his blade forward and Haku took out more needles from his pockets, slightly frustrated at the numbers that Oto had sent.
'When will the people know that it's about quality not quantity?' Zabuza joked.
'Never, I guess.' Asuma said, flexing the muscles on his neck.
'Kiba-kun, take your team and go!' Kakashi ordered; Kiba responded with a nod.
'Alright guys, you heard Kakashi-san, let's get this show on the road!' Kiba said.
'Right; let's leave.' Sasuke said; Kiba and Shino already started their chase.
With the three Genins gone, Kakashi and his fellow Jounins and Haku were left with the task of eliminating the forces of the Sand and the Sound.
'Hey, Kakashi, how many have you taken down so far?' Gai asked.
'I'd have to say about ten.' Kakashi said lazily, drawing another kunai from his weapon's pouch, making a total of one kunai in each hand, 'What about you?'
'HAH! I have equalled you in score, my great rival, for I too have ten!'
'I got nine of them in my book.' Kurenai butted in, slightly smirking.
'Heh, I got eight of them, so you better watch out.' Asuma said.
'Looks like none of you have surpassed me yet; I have twelve.' Zabuza bragged.
'I have ten as well.' Haku said, readying himself for a battle of endurance.
'How about a little competition, boys?' Kurenai said, looking to all of them.
'The one with the least kills has to treat us all to some dinner?' Asuma suggested.
'No, the one that has the most kills gets to choose one of the losers and get them to do any single dare.' Haku butted into the competition; there were agreements.
'Alright, so let's start the challenge!' Zabuza charged at their foes.
Naruto, Shikamaru and Lee were already outside the walls of the village, and they had no closer come to catching up with Gaara and his two teammates. Naruto was slightly nervous, as for the past fifteen minutes, he had the feeling that they were being trailed.
Being trailed by more than a dozen people. The blonde definitely did not need this right now, as he was to face Gaara, along with Temari and Kankuro. Lee was ahead of him and Shikamaru was right behind him, jumping from treebranch to treebranch.
'Naruto-kun, are you sure that we are heading the right way here?' Lee asked.
'Yes, I'm sure.' Naruto said, facing Lee after catching up to him; then turning back to look at the dense trees behind him and said, 'Wait, Lee; Shikamaru.'
Lee and Shikamaru stopped at one wide treebranch that supported their weight.
Shikamaru looked to his Team Captain, and as though he read his thoughts, the brunette smirked. Lee was extremely clueless to the reason that they had stopped.
'Looks like there are a group of enemy ninjas heading this way.' Shikamaru said.
'Huh? Enemy ninjas?' Lee questioned, then the realization hit him, 'Then someone should stay and fight them while the other two of us go after Gaara.'
'Yeah, but fighting the ones that are approaching won't be an easy task.' Shikamaru said, looking to the thick leaves and branches, 'I think that they're at least Chuunin.'
'Oh-ho-ho! Then don't worry about it; I'll stay behind while you go after them!'
'No.' Shikamaru said, after thinking of Lee's eager words, 'Lee, no offense, but I have seen your Taijutsu moves, and I seriously think that while you can defeat one or two or even three enemies in simultaneous combat with ease, your Taijutsu does not suit you for combat against an entire squad of the masses.' he finished, before looking to Naruto, who had a serious look on his face, 'I think that Naruto should stay.'
'Just what I was about to say.' Naruto said, standing up and cracking his knuckles.
'Naruto-kun, are you sure about this?' Lee said; Naruto replied to them with a grin and a thumbs up, although they could not see the grin because of Naruto's facemask.
'Don't worry about it.' Naruto cast a look to the two Genins, 'Shikamaru; Lee. If you go against Gaara in combat, don't hesitate to kill him.' Shikamaru and Lee gave a knowing nod to the blonde, 'And if you get into a tight spot, run away. I don't know if you two feel it too, but I think that Gaara is somehow central to this invasion.'
Another nod from both Lee and Shikamaru were shown and they took off.
'All right, I think that it would just about time to do my job.' Naruto sighed.
He went in the opposite direction of the way that Shikamaru and Lee were heading, jumping from tree branch to tree branch and was greeted by the sight of several kunai raining down on him. The blonde dodged all of them by jumping down to the ground.
'Well, what do we have here? A little boy who thinks that he's a ninja.'
Naruto looked up and was greeted by the sight of several Sound ninjas standing on the large tree branches above him. Naruto frowned; it was going to ba a handful.
There are fourteen of them; guess I got my work cut out for me, Naruto thought.
Naruto drew a kunai and got himself into a fighting stance, using the kunai as a makeshift short sword. The ninjas responded by leaping down at him, drawing their own weapons to do battle with. At once, two Sound ninjas came at him, in their hands their weapons meant to kill him. Naruto bent downwards and kicked one of the ninjas off their feet before stabbing another one in the rear, causing him great pain.
'You brat!' one more ninja called, throwing a shuriken in his direction.
Naruto performed an extremely fast combination of handseals, throwing back his head as he finished dodging the thrown weapon. The Sound ninja's eyes widened.
'Doton: Doryuudan no Jutsu!' the head of a dragon came out of the earth and launched several projectiles at the ninjas, hitting three of the fourteen ninjas.
One ninja then came from behind Naruto with a kunai. Naruto formed his hands into the Shadow Seal and created two Kage Bunshins, the two of them catching the arm of the ninja and throwing him to another one. Naruto then looked upwards and threw another shuriken at the offending ninja above him, catching him directly in the chest.
As he flipped himself away from the spot where the attacking ninja had dropped, Naruto pulled down his facemask and began to perform several quick handseals to finish the fight off. As the ninjas charged at him, they did not realise the Jutsu that he was about to unleash upon them. Naruto drew his head back.
'Katon: Karyuu Endan!' Naruto breathed out a barrage of red hot flames.
The attack was not as effective as he hoped, though, as he had only incinerated six out of the remaining ninjas. But the extent of the damage Naruto had done to the forest was quite impressive itself, for a Chuunin candidate. The remaining ninjas took the moment to organize a strike against Naruto by forming a circle around him.
Naruto growled as he drew another kunai from the holster on his right thigh and yet another one from the holster on his left thigh, ready for another attack.
Within all the ninjas, there was fear of the young ninja before them that showed no signs that he was a weakling. Some of them even hesitated to make the next move, scared for their lives. Naruto felt his senses relax as he prepared himself for an assault against the Sound ninjas. He crossed his arms over each other, ready to fight.
'Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!' a familiar voice was heard, reaching Naruto's ears.
The man-sized fireball burned two of the remaining ninjas. Out from above the trees, appeared Uchiha Sasuke, the same deadpanned look on his face.
'Sasuke? What are you doing here?' Naruto raised an eyebrow at the brunette.
'That is none of your business.' Sasuke answered coldly as he turned to his remaining enemies, who instantly charged at him without taking notice.
'Tsuuga!' Two more ninjas were down for the count with Kiba making his appearance along with his dog, Akamaru, 'Hey, Naruto! Hope we weren't late.'
'Damn it, more of these brats are here!' one of the ninjas cursed.
Those were the last words that he uttered along with the other two remaining ninjas as they were killed with several kunais being thrown at them from behind, courtesy of Aburame Shino. He walked up to the group, giving a nod to Sasuke.
'We were sent by Kakashi-sensei to come after you and stop Gaara.' Sasuke explained with a hint of negative feeling in his voice, which Naruto noticed.
'Are you still angry that I kicked your butt during our fight, Sasuke?'
Sasuke sent a very powerful glare directly into Naruto's eyes. The blonde boy didn't waver from the sight, giving Sasuke a cheerful grin under his facemask. Behind his black glasses and high collar, Aburame Shino had an amused look on his face while Kiba was trying his hardest not to laugh or giggle at the words Naruto said.
'I don't think you would want to talk about that now, eh?'
Sasuke did not give his reply to Naruto, but stopped glaring at him.
'So what's the situation so far?' Sasuke went on, nearing Naruto.
'Shikamaru and Lee have gone on with the chase for Gaara and his teammates.'
'Alright, we should be able to catch up to them in a while.' Shino said.
'Lead the way then, Naruto.' Kiba said; Naruto gave the Inuzuka a nod.
They leapt to the trees above and through a course of more trees on their way to their objective. Naruto and Sasuke were side by side. Behind them were Kiba and Akamaru and behind Kiba was Shino. And through Naruto's mind were the hopes that they were not too late to assist the battle against the three Sand Genin.
Shikamaru; Lee, wait for me, just hold on for as long as you can, Naruto thought.
Several minutes passed, the group of young ninjas all thinking the consequences if they arrived too late to help Lee and Shikamaru. After a certain amount of time had passed, the Genins were greeted by the sight and the sound of an explosion.
Naruto looked to his right and then to his left, seeing that they were surrounded by a number of Sound ninjas and Sand ninjas. Naruto gripped his hands tightly, almost drawing blood if they dug any deeper. Sasuke just gave a smirk, as did Kiba.
'Naruto, why don't you go on ahead, we will take care of things here.' Sasuke said.
'Don't worry about us; we'll be fine.' Kiba said, cracking his knuckles.
Naruto was genuinely worried about the two choices he had to make, but with Shino, Kiba and Sasuke showing signs of confidence in achieving victory, he came to a decision. Giving his three fellow Leaf ninjas a nod, Naruto continued his chase.
'So these kids think that they can beat us; they're surrounded five to one!'
Kiba smirked even wider; Sasuke drew a kunai from his pouch and Shino summoned his bugs to assist him. Around the three Genins, murderous intent was seeping out. They were not only confident, but were sure of a victory.
Naruto leapt from treebranch to treebranch once more, and as the next few moments passed, thought of Gaara's power, hidden well within the depths of his soul.
Gaara; he's what I might have become if it weren't for Kakashi-niisan, he thought.
Naruto's mind drifted to back when he had gone into the woods, all alone and the thoughts of the villagers that hated him. He very nearly then and there would have turned himself away from civilisation, if that was how he would be treated like; a monster. He was only a four year-old boy, learning what the world was around him.
He remembered the mud around him, spawned from the earth and rain that had poured down on him. Naruto had tried to run away from the village as fast as he could and as long as his short legs could carry him. Needless to say, he did not get far.
He was stopped by Kakashi, who was in the way of Naruto's escape, clad in his Jounin uniform and his hair drenched. The eyes of the Hatake Kakashi that was known for his single Sharingan and his deadly skills were nothing like the Hatake Kakashi that was drenched from head to toe in front of Naruto.
His eyes were warm and sad at the same time, and his embrace was comforting. As Uzumaki Naruto remembered the moment, he remembered that he had family.
He had a brother in Hatake Kakashi, and that was enough of a reason to return.
He then remembered the cold eyes of Gaara, and although he was grudging to admit it, they were the same as his, except they had never felt the warmth of acceptance.
He's never had the chance to feel what I've felt before, Naruto thought.
Naruto proceeded to the next tree branch, when he heard the cry of pain.
The owner of the voice was someone that Naruto knew very well.
'SHIKAMARU!' Naruto called out, watching his friend get thrown into a tree.
The bark was literally smashed when Naruto saw his friend's condition, coughing out blood from his mouth. There was a cut over his forehead, and he was having trouble breathing; it looked like his body had taken a real beating. From what, Naruto had quite a good guess. Naruto shook his friend to get his attention, but Shikamaru had already passed out from exhaustion and the intensity of his injuries.
There was another cry of pain and Naruto saw Rock Lee being flung away into a tree, and getting back up and onto the tree branch, looking towards a higher set of branches. Naruto made sure that Shikamaru was alright and leapt up to join Lee.
Lee's condition was much worse than Shikamaru's. He had his left arm bent in an odd angle. His lip was cut and his dcalp was bleeding as was his right fist.
'Naruto-kun, glad to see that you've finally joined us.' Lee said.
'Lee, what happened to you and Shikamaru?' Naruto questioned, slightly worried.
Naruto followed Lee's eyes that landed on a creature in the branches. It was what looked like a rat or a rodent made of sand, larger than any man in size and a long tail to match. Naruto gazed upon what looked like a monster before him.
'Lee, what is that thing? What happened to Gaara and his teammates?'
'That thing is Gaara, Naruto.' Lee said; Naruto's eyes widened as Lee struggled to stay up, 'When we caught up with them, Temari-san and Kankuro-san engaged in a battle to hold us off; apparently, this is what they were waiting for.' Lee gestured to Gaara, 'But when me and Shikamaru were in a battle against those two, he transformed into this; I don't know how, but he just did. Temari-san and Kankuro were attacked by him first. I don't kow where they are now.'
'A demon is inside of him too; I can feel it.' Naruto muttered, so softly that only he himself knew what the words said, 'Lee; if you can still move, please take Shikamaru and meet up with Sasuke and the others. They'll help you guys get back.'
'Naruto-kun, are you planning on fighting him by yourself?' Lee questioned, facing the blonde; Naruto gave no answer, 'He's not normal; Genins such as ourselves don't stand a chance against him. It's best that we work together if we want to win!'
'With your injuries, Lee, you would only be a hindrance.' Naruto said seriously, taking a step forward as Lee looked up to Gaara once more, 'Out of the three of us present, only I am the one in condition to battle him. The ideal choice at this point is to run away, but that would only lead us to our deaths.' Naruto took off his gloves and pulled down his facemask, looking serious, 'He won't let us go that easily, so I'll try to hold him back for as long as I can. And I won't fail.'
'Naruto-kun…' Lee got up to Naruto's side; Naruto turned to face Lee and gave a smile of confidence, which Lee returned, 'Remember that you owe me a match!'
'I know, Lee. I know.' Naruto took a step forward, 'Take Shikamaru and go.'
'Naruto-kun,' Lee went on again, giving a light grin, 'don't lose, okay?'
'I won't.' Naruto said, leaping up to a branch that was level with Gaara's.
'Uzumaki Naruto…' Gaara's dark voice came out from the creature's mouth.
'So, my suspicions were right; you have a demon within you, don't you.'
'No.' Gaara said, his demonic mouth curling into a sickening smile, 'I am a monster myself. My only purpose is to kill. My only desire is to taste blood.'
'Then your tongue must have a very strange way of tasting things.' Naruto replied.
'DIE!' a shower of shurikens made of sand came at Naruto, who dodged them.
Damn it, he's gone berserk; he's let whatever monster within him take form, he thought whilst he dodged the projectiles and leapt upwards and stuck to a tree bark.
Naruto then took out a set of kunai and threw them at Gaara, who shielded himself from the attack with his sand-made tail. Naruto then took the opportunity to perform several handseals for a succession attack, which he hoped would work.
'Katon: Karyuu Endan!' Naruto breathed out a stream of flames.
'Mugen Saijin Daitoppa!' a gust of wind blew to throw the flames off course.
Naruto cursed as he leapt upwards to another tree branch, this time with Gaara following him, hot on his heels. Naruto formed a cross with his fingers from his two hands and created two clones of himself and dodged to a tree branch, his two clones going up above him to another set of tree branches apart from each other and began to perform several more handseals, each and every one of them identical to the other.
'Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!' they both breathed out fireballs of considerable size.
Once again, Gaara countered Naruto's attack by throwing a set of spheres made of sand, successfully cancelling them out. The clones then jumped towards another tree and performed another set of handseals, only to be cancelled out by more of Gaara's projectiles. The real Naruto below him had already finished with thinking.
I hope that this plan works, Naruto thught, drawing two kunais from his pouch.
Gaara saw Naruto at a branch lower than him and came down charging at him, oblivious to the plan that Naruto had up his sleeve. As Gaara smashed the spot where Naruto was, the blonde used his chakra to stick to another tree bark and drew out a wire from his weapon's pouch and started to tie it to the rim of the hole of both kunais. Gaara came at Naruto again with his sand-made shurikens, which he dodged.
'Take this!' Naruto threw both of his kunais to Gaara, who blocked it with his arm made of sand; Naruto grinned, expecting the move and felt the wires in his hand, he was about to use the same move that he did against Jiraiya, 'Raihebi!'
Two snakes made of lightning came at Gaara, moving with the wires and eventually causing an explosion which was heard throughout the forest. Naruto panted as he released his grip upon the wires in his hands and looked to the spot where Gaara was.
It was shrouded in smoke and dust and even some sand from Naruto's attack.
'Uzumaki Naruto…' was what Naruto heard, much to his horror.
Gaara was very much alive and was still in his state of bloodlust. The arm which Naruto had hit his two kunais with was destroyed, as was some part of his body and his tail was cut to three-quarters its true length from Naruto's attack.
'Man, what does it take to bring you down?' Naruto joked, a bead of sweat flowing down his face, grinning as he rested his back against a tree for support.
'I will never die…' Gaara began to speak as he looked up to Naruto, 'As long as feeling of hate and the intent to kill walks the land, I will live on.'
'Is that what you live with? Blood? Anger? Hate?' Naruto said, supporting himself once more with his legs, 'I don't know how you could feel all those, Gaara.'
Naruto's words caught Gaara's attention, and his intent to kill rose.
'Are you going to keep living knowing that your only purpose is to kill?'
'It is the purpose of my existence, it is what I walk the land for.' Gaara growled.
'I don't have a purpose to exist, not that I know of, but as far as I know, Gaara; it is this: I will defeat you to prevent you from hurting my friends.' Naruto said, putting his hands into the Ram Seal and looking ahead, 'I will not let their blood be spilt!'
An incredible amount of chakra, looking like blue flames, engulfed Naruto, emanating more power than Gaara had ever felt from anyone other than himself.
'I will protect them until the end!' Naruto called out, more chakra engulfing him.
Suddenly, a charge of lightning came from the direction of Naruto, as though he was a storm himself. Lightning was burning the leaves all around him. When Gaara saw his opponent, he saw that there was an incredible amount of light in the palm of Naruto's left hand, emanating an incredible amount of chakra, making him nervous.
'The Assassination Ninjutsu taught to me by my brother; Chidori.'
Naruto then used his speed and power in one shot, charging at Gaara, who had no chance to dodge the Jutsu. In an instant, Naruto's left hand was smacked into Gaara's right side of his chest, drawing out blood. The Jutsu had pierced his defence.
Gaara's screams of pain were heard throughout one sector of the forest before he knocked Naruto into a tree branch with his tail. Naruto winced in pain as he picked himself out of the tree, coughing out some blood as he did.
'Blood… my blood…' Gaara was clutching his chest; the pain was excruciating; he looked at Naruto with murderous eyes, the teeth he had gritting together.
Suddenly, Gaara let out a cry; from pain or from anguish Naruto did not know. Sand started to seep from Gaara's monstrous form and began to look as though it was spreading and engulfing him in some sort of cocoon and then spreading out and reaching for the sky, forming an extremely gigantic creature.
Naruto's eyes could not believe what he was seeing; it was what looked like a gigantic raccoon made of sand, radiating incredible monstrous chakra.
'This is…' Naruto was slightly frightened at what he saw, 'This is the monster…'
From a fair distance away from the fight, were Sasuke and his group of two injured Genins, two healthy and slightly bloody Genins and a puppy. Lee was carried by Kiba with his uninjured arm being slung over his shoulder. Shino was giving Shikamaru a piggy-back ride on his back, while Sasuke was leading them back to the village.
'What in the world is that?' Sasuke questioned with wide eyes, looking in the direction of where a gigantic monster made of sand was; Lee frowned.
'That is most probably Gaara, Sasuke-kun.' Lee said, looking to the large monster.
'What! Lee, you never said something like this!' Sasuke exclaimed.
'It seems that Gaara had another trick up his sleeve.' Lee said, his eyes narrowing.
'I'm going back to go and see if I can help him.' Sasuke said, turning away, 'Shino, lead them back to the village. Me and Naruto will catch up with you later.'
Before any one of them could have a say, they were left behind by Sasuke.
Naruto was staggering to get back on his feet, but there was no such luck.
The gigantic monster that was made of sand looked down at Naruto.
'I didn't think that I would have to show this form just to defeat you.' the voice of Gaara, although sounding like an echo, came, 'But it is time for you to die.'
Naruto then felt several tentacles made of sand surround his body and engulf him.
'Damn it; I'm too weak to move after using the Chidori…' Naruto whispered.
Then, Naruto remembered the trump card that he held in his hand.
It's the only choice that I have; if I don't do it good, I'll die, Naruto thought.
Naruto started to perform several handseals as he did before, ending with the Horse Seal and thrusting his hand into the air, calling out familiar words.
'Kuchiyose no Jutsu!' Naruto called out loudly, summoning a familiar creature.
A gigantic snake appeared before Gaara, firey orange in colour and measuring around six hundred feet in length. Naruto had called once more upon Mitojin.
Naruto's arms were crossed above his chest and he was surveying Gaara, as the wind blew around him, his long hair was swaying with him.
'Naruto, what is it that you require me for?' the snake said, his eyes looking upwards before facing forward to face the incarnation of sand, 'Is that Shukaku of the Sand? You've found yourself in a hell of a problem, kid.'
'Sorry to call you out like this, but I need your help to fight him.' Naruto said, his hands dropping back to his sides, observing the gigantic sand-made raccoon, until something hit him, 'Mitojin-san, do you remember the deal we made in front of Jiraiya? The one on combining two Summoning contracts?' Mitojin smirked.
'So you want to try that skill now eh, boy? Good idea, proceed.' he said.
Naruto then nodded in response and began to perform another set of handseals.
'Kuchiyose no Jutsu!' Naruto shouted once more, making a puff of smoke appear.
As the smoke cleared, a gigantic frog, orange in colour and wearing what looked like a navy blue robe around it with a sash holding onto a dagger.
'What? What am I doing here!' Gamabunta began to look around and saw Mitojin, 'Mitojin, what are you doing here!' then he saw the blonde boy on top of him, 'So you were the one that called me, brat! What is this all about? The Dual Contract is not a play-thing you know, you can't just summon two Lords for any trivial matter!'
'Look in front of you, Boss.' Naruto said simply, and Gamabunta did.
Gamabunta was shocked when he saw Gaara's gigantic form and narrowed his eyes.
'Shukaku of the Sand?' Gamabunta said seriously, puffing on his pipe.
'I need to beat him, if not, we'll have another slughter incident on our hands.'
Gamabunta and Mitojin looked to the blonde, with newfound respect for him.
'I like your guts kid.' Gamabunta said, drawing out the dagger from its sheath.
'A simultaneous attack should wear him down fast, Boss; Mitojin.'
'All right, let's go!' Gamabunta came charging at Shukaku with his drawn dagger.
At the same time, Mitojin had shown its long fangs and slithered its way to Shukaku at lighning-fast speeds; needless to say, Shukaku was hit by both attacks. The blade of Gambunta's dagger tore Shukaku's left arm away at the elbow, at the cost of the dagger flying out of Gambunta's grasp and landing onto the woods below while Mitojin's fangs ripped out a chunk of Shukaku's right shoulder.
At the end of the assault, there was a small earthquake caused, which was felt by an approaching Sasuke, who was absolutely clueless on what had just happened.
Back in the clash between the titans, Mitojin and Gamabunta were questioning why the raccoon monster had not fallen down yet; both had nervous thoughts.
Incredible, even after both of our blows he's still standing, Mitojin thought.
They saw the gigantic form of their opponent suddenly shivering and then turning to look at the two Lords with eyes full of malice and sickening glee. Naruto felt his breath catch in his throat as he watched the madness in the monster's eyes.
'How interesting, Uzumaki Naruto!' Gaara's voice boomed, to their surprise; the two Lords got into positions to dodge any incoming attacks when they suddenly saw, along with Naruto, something come out of the forehead of the monster. Naruto's eyes widened at what he saw seeping out; Gaara! 'I would never have thought you could come this far against me, but that only proves that your blood would be sweeter!'
Gaara put his two hands into the Ram Seal, raising Naruto's worry.
'Naruto, there is a reason that the vessel for Shukaku to drive into insanity.' Gamabunta began, trying to give Naruto, some background information on their foe, 'If the vessel falls asleep, Shukaku will take over the body of the vessel and slowly eat away the character of the vessel. But if the vessel stays awaked at all times, Naruto; you know as much as I do.' Naruto nodded, 'He will give in to insomnia and be on the brink of madness and bloodlust, in a way, its worse than being taken over.'
'Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu.' Gaara said in barely a whisper, falling asleep.
'He's done it!' Mitojin exclaimed, rearing himself to dodge any attack.
'Woo-hoo! I'm finally free; yee-hah!' he shouted to the world in joy.
'Is that really Shukaku of the Sand?' Naruto questioned nervously.
'He seems unexpectedly funky and idiotic, heh?' Mitojin said, eyeing Shukaku.
The eyes of the demon raccoon came to see the two Lords in front of him.
'Oh, looky here; two fun things to kill!' Shukaku exclaimed with glee.
'Hang on, Naruto.' Mitojin said seriously; Naruto gave a nod as a reply.
'Fuuton:Renkuudan!' a blast of chakra-compressed air came at Mitojin.
The King of Fire Snakes dodged the attack, leaving Gamabunta to strike at the opening created after the blast with his own unique Jutsu.
'Suiton: Teppou Dama!' a gigantic sphere of water came at Shukaku.
Shukaku was struck dead on by the force of the blow, but was barely effected.
'Hey, you gotta do better than that, froggy!' Shukaku exclaimed, 'Renkuudan!'
Gamabunta leapt out of the way. Mitojin was given the chance to strike.
A tail strike was delivered to Shukaku, but the attack would have succeeded if it had not been for the tail of Shukaku blocking the tail of Mitojin. He was pushed back and came up beside Gamabunta. They both surveyed the landscape that seemed to be shifting to a very unpleasant piece of land. Naruto could see that too.
'Mitojin; Boss, we have to end this fight soon!' Naruto said, gritting his teeth.
'Just what I was thinking, kid.' Gamabunta said, getting into position.
'Gamabunta, we will have to wake up the vessel of Shukaku if we want the stupid raccoon to stop it with the carnage.' Mitojin said, eyeing the red-headed boy.
'Good, a simple plan.' Gamabunta said, jumping up into the air, knowing what Mitojin was thinking in his wise and cunning mind, 'I'll leave it to you guys!'
'Naruto, me and Gamabunta will try our best to hold down Shukaku; you jump onto him and wake up that kid on his head. He's not been asleep for a long time, so one good hit to his face will wake him up.' Mitojin said.
'Okay, so let's finish this!' Naruto cracked his knuckles as he nodded.
The plan began. Gamabunta fired his bullets of water at Shukaku to distract him from the blonde and Mitojin, who was rushing his way towards him. Before Shukaku could realise it, he was caught in a bind by the body of Mitojin. Shukaku's remaining arm was left free and tried to slash itself at Mitojin, but Gamabunta held onto it.
'Naruto, now!' Gamabunta exclaimed; Naruto did not need telling twice.
He leapt at Gaara, but instantly, several tentacles of sand came at him.
'Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!' the sand instantly turned into glass.
Naruto's Katon Jutsu came at the cost of propelling him some distance backwards. He landed on the bridge of Shukaku's nose, when a small avalanche of sand came at him to prevent Naruto from getting to Gaara. Naruto gritted his teeth.
'Damn it!' Naruto performed several more handseals, seeping the majority of his remaining chakra to the palm of his hand and looking up to the wall of sand.
It was te moment of truth. The crackle of thunder and lightning was heard in the palm of his hand as Naruto used the speed that he had developed to pierce the miniature avalanche before him. The wall would not stand a chance.
'CHIDORI!' Naruto cried as he pierced the wall and straight at Gaara.
The sound of a punch could be heard as Naruto woke Sabaku no Gaara from his sleep. Shukaku's eyes widened as he was once again forced back into Gaara's mind.
'NO, I JUST GOT BACK OUT!' was the last cry of the demon raccoon.
Gaara immediately stirred from his chakra-induced sleep to the face of a panting Uzumaki Naruto, who was looking into Gaara's eyes, full of determination.
'You…' Gaara began, as tentacles of sand began to wrap around his wrists.
Naruto was brought back several metres away from Gaara, the tentacles of sand holding onto him tightly, not a chance was given to Naruto to perform any handseals.
'My existence shall not be erased, as long as there is hate, I will live on!'
Damn it, I can't mould chakra in this situation, I don't have enough stamina, Naruto thought, panting as he did, observing Gaara; No, I will win this fight!
Without his hands in the position of any seals, Naruto chakra, red and blue in colour, began to sepp out of Naruto, until he became engulfed in it.
'Impossible, even in his condition…' Gaara stared in disbelief at Naruto.
The chakra Naruto had collected burst itself and broke Naruto free from his bonds and he came charging at Gaara, landing an almighty blow to his stomach. The gigantic form of Shukaku came crumbling down as Gaara spat out blood and fell to the top of a giant tree along with Naruto, albeit on a different tree. Mitojin and Gamabunta felt that their job here was done, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Clutching his stomach and still panting, Gaara tried to get to his feet.
'You've lost.' Naruto was standing on another tree, his right fist; the fist that he had used to both pierce the avalanche of sand and Gaara's stomach, was bleeding.
Once more, Gaara felt his rage build up as he faced Naruto's calm expression and leapt up to punch Naruto with his fist; Naruto dodged it with ease before landing another blow to Gaara's stomach with his kneecap, sending him flying upwards and back down through the branches and onto the ground.
'How could I lose…?' Gaara questioned as he felt pain throughout his body.
Naruto leapt down and came up to Gaara, a stoic expression on his face.
'I think that we both know the answer to that question, Gaara.' Naruto said.
'What?' Gaara looked up to face Naruto's face.
'I said that I would protect the ones I cared about until the end.' Naruto went on, looking at Gaara's half-asleep expression, 'I won because I had a cause to fight for. I don't know how you feel, Gaara; I don't know what it's like to be alone because I've had my brother, my family, to be there for me all my life.'
'Family?' Gaara questioned, the word reminding himself of Temari and Kankuro.
'I vowed myself to protect them no matter what.' Naruto continued, smiling.
'Did Gaara just lose?' the voice of Temari came, slightly beaten up, but uninjured.
Kankuro was beside her, the wrapped puppet on his back was not there.
Suddenly, Sasuke arrived. And the moment he saw Temari and Kankuro, he was about to draw a weapon, until Naruto put his hand up to cease his actions.
'I hope that we meet again on better terms, Gaara.' Naruto said, walking away.
'Are we just going to leave them?' Sasuke questioned; Naruto slowly nodded.
'They won't be bothering us anymore.' Naruto said, sleep finally claiming him.
Naruto stared at the sky, tightening his fists as he looked upon the funeral ceremony of the Sandaime Hokage and the ninjas that had lost their lives on the day before. The old man had died at the hands of the being that was once part of Orochimaru, Akuma. He had decided to skip the ceremony, paying his tribute to the Sandaime in his own way, by pouring a bottle of sake over the stone face of the Sandaime on the Hokage's Monument. Naruto did not want to be present at the ceremony anyways.
'Hope that you'll do good in heaven, old man. We're going to miss you.'
Naruto remembered the many comical moments that he and Kakashi spent with the Sandaime at the Administration Building, with Naruto almost always following Kakashi to the Administration Building every time that he had to file in a report.
The old man became one of Naruto's role models in life, being the person behind the scenes that guided him throughout his life. He was like a grandfather to him.
In the Sandaime, Naruto had found another part to piece together a family; one that he had never had before. And now, the evil Akuma had robbed him of someone that he had cared for throughout his life, ripping apart what he had tried to put together.
'Looks like the sky is crying for you too, old man.' Naruto said to himself.
The rain came pouring down harder upon Naruto's black funeral clothes.
Naruto then felt a presence behind him and grinned slightly, knowing who it was.
'Good day, Kurenai-sensei.' Naruto greeted, forcing a smile upon his face.
As quickly as he turned to face her, Naruto turned away.
Kurenai took a seat beside her student and friend, trying to cheer him up.
'Kakashi said that you would be here.' Kurenai said, looking forward to the village.
Naruto did not say anything, but looked to the sky, where the rain came down from. It was a sad sight to the blonde, who had never lost anyone he cared about.
'Kurenai-sensei, why do people die?' Naruto questioned, still looking at the sky.
'Why do you ask me that question, Naruto?' Kurenai said.
'I don't know. Why do people just have to die? Why do people kill other people?'
Kurenai remained silent for a moment, observing the young boy next to her. She did not know what to do. Naruto was just like a soul that could not find heaven. It was not going to be an easy question to answer on her behalf, knowing Naruto.
'Naruto, Sandaime-sama died for the village to protect it from its enemies.'
'I know that, but why did he have to die? Why did he have to leave us?'
'Naruto…' Kurenai began, seeing Naruto grip his hands.
'Why did he have to be taken away from us? Old man Hokage was suppose to be there and watch me become Hokage in front of everyone, now…'
Naruto's tears flowed down his face as Kurenai felt her heart go out to him.
'I don't want to see anyone I care about die anymore…' Naruto finished, his tears still flowing freely down his face, burying it into his knees.
Kurenai was not sure about her next actions; she had never comforted anyone before when they were mourning like this. And she had to consider that Naruto, although also her friend, was her student. She did the only thing that she knew.
She put her arms around him and drew him in close, hugging him as the rain fell.
'Kurenai-san…'
'Naruto,' she began, smiling despite her sadness and sorrow, 'Sandaime Hokage sacrificed his life for all of us because he cared for us; that is all you need to know. We all loved him, Naruto; we still do. It was his duty as Hokage, and that meant caring for the welfare of everyone in the village.' Kurenai nuzzled into his sunlight-yellow hair as the crying boy snuggled himself into her chest.
The rain started to pour down harder, but both of them did not care.
'But Naruto, as long as you're here, I promise that I'll be with you, always.