DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO (IT COSTS LIKE WHAT? $10.3 BILLION ACCORDING TO GOOGLE, HAHA I WISH I HAD THAT KIND OF MONEY TO OWN THIS IP)

Kyuubi Awakened

- Earlier With Naruto, Ino, and Shino -

(Continuation of their battle)

Kimimaro was able to dispel most of Naruto's clones by simply evading their attacks, a clone then threw shurikens at him. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)". A couple of measly shurikens turned into fifty, Kimimaro dodged and deflected each one but as he was doing so, he noticed something coming his way.

Behind him was Ino who launched a fireball at him, "Katon: Hinotama no Jutsu (Fire Release: Fireball Technique)" Ino said. Kimimaro performed a kawarimi (body replacement) to avoid the fireball but he noticed that the platinum blonde was missing. His body was then frozen in place, Kimimaro was surprised by this. He then saw Ino in a completely different location, Kimimaro wondered how that happened.

Ino performed the two jutsus that Asuma taught her in quick succession, she launched a projectile made of fire that emitted large enough flames where she could hide in it using the Katon: Hi no Naka ni Kakureru no Jutsu (Fire Release: Hiding in Fire Technique). She then used the Kanashibari no Jutsu (Temporary Paralysis Technique) to hold him in place. Kimimaro was about to break free from Ino's hold since the jutsu wasn't strong enough to bound him not until he looked up. There he saw Naruto coming at him from above with a kunai in one hand and a scroll in the other.

Kimimaro broke free from Ino's jutsu and quickly sprouted a bone from his palm, Naruto landed on Kimimaro's bone and impaled himself on it but this confused Kimimaro. Why weren't his teammates worried about him, he then saw Naruto smirk as he unsealed the contents of the scroll.

"Kaifu no Jutsu! (Unsealing Technique)" Naruto yelled as all the explosive tags got released from the seal. Kimimaro then saw that the Naruto he impaled was merely a clone as it puffed into smoke, "But how?!..." Kimimaro asked because he was certain that a clone would instantly dispel after being hit.

What he didn't know was that Naruto intentionally made that clone more durable than the others, the first set of clones' sole purpose was to throw him off.

Kimimaro saw thirty-six explosive tags altogether, he turned around to see the original activate all of them at once. His eyes widened as he saw the tags emit a bright light, a large explosion was caused because of it. Their surroundings shook due to the shockwaves it released, debris was sent flying everywhere, a massive crater was formed and black fumes covered a massive area.

Naruto, Shino, and Ino braced themselves during the explosion, they even have to apply some chakra on their feet to stick to the ground. Once the dust and smoke have settled down, three of them coughed due to the amount of it in their surroundings. They were covered with dirt, soot, and grime because of the explosion. Naruto then approached his teammates thinking that they were finally done but Kimimaro suddenly appeared in front of Shino, Kimimaro was about to slash him with his bone, but Shino was fast enough to grab a kunai from his pouch to block it. This made Shino's arm feel numb due to the weight of Kimimaro's strike for it was heavier than he anticipated. Both of them were pushing against one another but Kimimaro was able to overwhelm him, he then punched Shino in the face which made him flinch. He sprouted out a bone from his palm and landed a palm strike on Shino's abdomen which caused him to fall down into a slump.

Naruto was shocked, it all happened too fast. "How the hell is he still alive?" Naruto thought to himself. Kimimaro vanished once more, both Naruto and Ino wanted to check if Shino was still alive but that was too risky for them since they don't know where Kimimaro was.

Naruto and Ino watched each other's back as they tried their best to determine where Kimimaro was hiding, Naruto suddenly felt a chakra signature behind him. He quickly rushed towards it in an attempt to strike Kimimaro first, but Ino noticed something was off and it was only then she realized that there was an incoming projectile behind Naruto.

"NARUTO! LOOK OUT!" she yelled as she was impaled by a sharp bone from behind. She ran in front of the bone javelin that Kimimaro threw, he was initially aiming for Naruto but Ino took the blow instead. She fell forward but Naruto was able to catch her, Ino's purple clothes were beginning to turn red due to blood pouring out of her body. Ino winced in pain, she didn't know why she didn't hesitate to take the hit but she didn't regret it as well.

"NO! NO! NO!" Naruto said as he tried to stop Ino's bleeding, he laid her on her side on the ground to treat her. Naruto frantically applied pressure around the area of her wound to stop her from bleeding out, Ino then touched Naruto's face to catch his attention.

"It's okay Naruto… Save yourself" Ino said softly

"No, it's not okay! I can't leave you and Shino behind, I have to" he replied

Ino shook her head and told Naruto that he had to leave, a tear escaped from her eye before they closed. He then held her body for a little while longer.

"You three almost got me there, if I didn't cast a protective jutsu as well as grow a membrane of bone under my skin. Those explosive tags would've killed me for sure, I suppose I underestimated all of you earlier. Though I commend the three of you for trying your best though sometimes your best might not be enough, this is the way of the shi-" Kimimaro was cut off by Naruto.

"Shut up…" Naruto muttered, Kimimaro stared at Naruto who was away from him as he was cradling Ino's body. Kimimaro did not respond but he stood there and observed the blonde ninja.

"I won't forgive you…" Naruto muttered

- (Naruto OST: Need To Be Strong) -

A red aura then began to come out of Naruto, it swirled around him menacingly and Kimimaro hasn't seen anything like this before. The chakra was potent and extremely concentrated, Kimimaro could sense immense power coming from Naruto. He also felt the instant change in the atmosphere around them as if a weight was suddenly placed on him. He could feel the immense chakra oozing out of Naruto and the chakra felt foul and impure, there was evil and malice in it as well. In addition, Kimimaro could sense Naruto's hatred and killing intent.

"What is this chakra?..." Kimimaro asked, he then saw Naruto's nails become sharper, his hair become wilder. Naruto looked back at Kimimaro with rage in his eyes, Kimimaro noticed that Naruto no longer had blue eyes. Instead, his eyes were crimson red with a black vertical slit for pupils. The whiskers on his face were more pronounced than they were before, Naruto snarled at Kimimaro and bared his sharp fangs at him.

Kimimaro was shocked due to Naruto's change in appearance, "There's murder in his eyes…" he said to himself. "What sort of power is this?..." Naruto then roared at him which caused high-speed winds to blow at him. Kimimaro braced himself to prevent him from being blown away. Naruto then went down on all fours and quickly made his way to Kimimaro, he was faster that's for sure.

"He's coming" he thought to himself as he performed a long-range jutsu, "Teshi Sendan Danmaku (Ten-Finger Drilling Bullet Barrage)" he said as he released a ton of projectiles at Naruto. But this did not stop Naruto, he easily dodged all of the projectiles with ease and continued to run at him.

Naruto quickly closed the distance between him and Kimimaro as he was only mere inches away from Kimimaro, he cocked his fist to punch Kimimaro but he wasn't going to let that happen. "Yanagi no Mai (Dance of the Willow)" Kimimaro then sprouted out a bone out of his palm to catch Naruto's fist, Naruto's fist connected with Kimimaro's palm, and the bone penetrated through his fist yet Naruto did not feel pain. Naruto continued to attack Kimimaro by using his other fist, Kimimaro did the same thing and his other fist got pierced as well.

Naruto and Kimimaro were now connected to one another, Kimimaro could feel the heat radiating from Naruto. His chakra stung his skin due to their close proximity, Kimimaro was shocked to see that Naruto did not wince in pain at all. Naruto then headbutted Kimimaro's head with great force. His headbutt was so strong that it separated the both of them, Kimimaro stumbled across the ground but he was able to recover from it. He watched Naruto from afar and saw steam emanating from his hands, Kimimaro saw that his wounds were quickly healing.

Naruto was driven by rage and the desire to get revenge on Kimimaro, he ran at him once more to pummel him to the ground and beat him to a pulp. Kimimaro prepared himself by entering a fighting stance, "Inago no Mai (Dance of the Locust)" and bones began to protrude out of his body. Naruto ran at him so fast that he quickly appeared in front of him, he was about to punch his face but he was able to divert his fist away. Kimimaro countered by landing a punch of his own to Naruto's chest and followed it with a quick bone palm strike. The bone pierced through his body, Nsenpuu

Naruto looked at the bone and snapped it in two by crushing it using one hand, Kimimaro then heard something from below. The ground underneath Kimimaro cracked to reveal another enraged Naruto, the clone landed an uppercut on him which launched him into the air. Naruto pulled the bone out of his body and threw it at Kimimaro, the wound began to heal quickly as a result. Kimimaro saw the incoming bone, "Tsubaki no Mai (Dance of the Camellia)" Kimimaro used a bone to deflect the incoming projectile.

Kimimaro decided to retaliate with another long-range jutsu, "Teshi Sendan Danmaku (Ten-Finger Drilling Bullet Barrage)" he pointed all his fingers at Naruto and sprayed him with multiple bone projectiles. Naruto didn't bother to get out of the way as he soaked up all the bone projectiles, he then roared which caused all the bullets to fly in all directions. Some were coming back at Kimimaro so he used ninjutsu to block it, "Katon: Gouka Senpuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Hellfire Whirlwind Technique)" a whirlwind of fire formed around him and blocked all the bullets. He was shocked to see Naruto emerge out of the flames, he then performed a series of punches which continued to elevate Kimimaro higher and higher, yet Naruto didn't care if his fists were being cut and injured by Kimimaro's bones. Kimimaro gasped for air as a result, he then sensed a presence above him and there he saw one more clone up above.

The clone performed the Bunshin Kaiten Kakato Otoshi! (Clone Spinning Heel Drop), the clone spun around and landed a heel drop kick to his head. The kick sent him flying back to the ground and made him stumble across the ground, "Tsubaki no Mai (Dance of the Camellia)" Kimimaro then plunged his bone sword into the ground to stop him from stumbling. The sword dragged through the ground and he eventually recovered from it and stood back up, Kimimaro was then covered in dirt and grime.

Kimimaro knew to himself that he needed a stronger jutsu to deal with Naruto but he was hesitant about using it. He still had one jutsu left but it came with serious drawbacks, he would have to sacrifice speed and mobility in exchange for raw power. Another cost was that it would consume most of his chakra which runs the risk of severe chakra exhaustion, he decided to use it anyway since he was left with no choice. But first, he needed to amass chakra that the jutsu required, he could easily do that but he also needed to keep Naruto at bay. He sprouted out multiple bones to throw as javelins at Naruto, Kimimaro threw them at Naruto with all his might.

Naruto saw the incoming javelins and dodged accordingly, he easily did so since he was running on all fours. A javelin was coming at Naruto at high speeds, he was able to dodge it with ease. The javelin impacted the ground which lifted up dust, Naruto then emerged from the cloud of dust with fury in his eyes. Kimimaro threw another one but Naruto easily jumped over it, he kept throwing javelins at Naruto but none of them hit. His javelins were scattered around the area, some were lodged in the ground, others penetrated through boulders, and one embedded itself in a tree.

But despite missing, Kimimaro was able to amass the chakra he needed. He began pumping all of the chakra into his left arm to begin the process.

"Tessenka no Mai: Hana (Dance of the Clematis: Flower)" he said as his left arm was encased in a bone, Kimimaro formed one massive bone weapon. Its hardness and sharpness were pushed to their limits unlike the regular bones he used earlier, Kimimaro panted after completing it since the formation process was extremely taxing for him. His arm looked like a drill and its purpose was a mix between a battering ram and a spear, Naruto was coming in fast and he had to perfectly time it because of how slow his attack was. Kimimaro stood his ground and waited for Naruto to come closer for he only had one shot essentially.

Naruto pounced at him as he was about to attack Kimimaro with his sharp claws, Naruto was only inches away but Kimimaro was able to land a clean hit on him. His large bone weapon hit Naruto but he was surprised to see it puff into smoke, Kimimaro then realized it was a clone.

"CRAP!" Kimimaro's eyes widened as he felt a presence from behind, he turned around to see Naruto running at him quickly. Kimimaro used his large bone weapon as a makeshift shield to brace for impact, he also applied chakra to his feet to stick to the ground. He would have opted to dodge it but there wasn't enough time to do so, Kimimaro stood firmly and waited for the impact.

Naruto then leaped and cocked his fist as he concentrated a large amount of chakra into his fist to deliver a powerful blow to Kimimaro. His fist landed on Kimimaro's bone weapon which caused it to shatter into many pieces, Naruto's fist continued to hit Kimimaro's abdomen. The force was able to break his ribs, he coughed out blood as he was sent flying through the air. Kimimaro sailed through the air for a while and was then impaled by one of the javelins he threw which got stuck in a tree. The javelin pierced through his back and hit a vital point, his stomach. Blood gushed out of his wound, he couldn't move any longer since he was pretty much out chakra at this point. He expended all of it to perform the Tessenka no Mai: Hana (Dance of the Clematis: Flower), Kimimaro winced in pain and he knew that he was done for.

"Kushimaru-sama…" he muttered and after which he lost consciousness due to shock, Naruto landed back to the ground safely. He was panting really hard as he tried to catch his breath, the foul chakra receded back into his body once more. After which, Naruto's features reverted back to normal. His eyes returned to being blue, his whiskers became less pronounced, his hair became tamer, he no longer had fangs, and his nails weren't sharp anymore. He immediately thought of his teammates and planned on bringing them back to the inn for Kunio to treat them, but he wasn't able when suddenly everything went black.

- Earlier With Asuma –

Asuma finally escaped from Kushimaru's trap, he sealed both his body and blade inside a scroll and quickly made his way to where he left his students. It didn't take him too long to get there since it wasn't that far, and then he felt an immense chakra from a distance. At first, he thought it was Kimimaro's chakra signature but Asuma recognized it. A memory from the past popped into his mind, a memory of a certain night twelve years ago. He then got rid of those thoughts as he picked up the pace to get there quicker, as he was getting closer he could feel strong winds blowing.

The area was decimated, and it was more damaged compared to the area he was just in a while ago. He then saw Naruto standing alone, Asuma saw how exhausted he was and suddenly Naruto fell to his knees. He quickly rushed to catch his student and he was able to, he caught Naruto's unconscious body. Asuma then laid his body down on the ground to check if he was severely wounded, and to his surprise, he wasn't. He didn't have a single wound/injury on his body, Asuma was glad but what about his other students?

He turned around to see where Ino and Shino were, there he saw both of them on the ground. They weren't moving, this worried Asuma as he tried to check both of them for a heartbeat. Luckily, he felt one but their hearts were beating irregularly. They were also losing a lot of blood quickly, Asuma quickly created two more clones to pick up his students and quickly rushed them back to the inn.

- At The Inn –

Asuma was pacing back and forth as if he was in an actual hospital, he was waiting for Kunio and his granddaughter to come out of the room where they were treating all three of his students.

The door then opened to reveal Kunio, his clothes were stained, and he was sweating profusely as well. He approached Asuma to tell him the news, "Are they alright?" Asuma asked worriedly.

Kunio sighed and told him the news, "They'll be fine but they got hurt real bad, they were lucky that Kimimaro didn't injure any vital organs" Kunio explained.

Asuma sighed in relief as he sat down on a nearby chair, "I can't thank you enough Kunio-san, how can I repay you?" Asuma asked but Kunio refused and told him that dealing with Gato was enough, and getting rid of him was going to be easy with Kushimaru and Kimimaro out of the way.

Asuma nodded in return and asked if he could check on his students, he told him that he could but they won't be awake anytime soon. Asuma said it was alright and he just wanted to make sure that they were alright, he opened the door to their room and saw all three of them laying on their beds.

They have really grown on him in such a short amount of time, he rarely felt worried at all since he's used to working alone. The last time he worked with a group was when he was a part of the Shugonin Junishi (Twelve Guardian Ninja), but that was a different case since he knew that his colleague was more than capable of taking care of themselves. With the three of them, it was different. Every time conflict arises, he couldn't help but think of all the possibilities that could happen. One of those possibilities is the event when one, two, or even all of them dies. He was certain that would be on his conscience as their sensei, add to the fact that he had to inform their parents as well.

He quickly discarded those thoughts since their team still needed to deal with Gato, he told Kunio about this but Kunio insisted to treat his wounds before he left. Asuma wasn't worried at all since he was confident that he could do this by himself most of Gato's men were simply thugs and goons.

- In Gato's Office –

Gato was sitting behind his desk while drinking alcohol, he waited for Kushimaru and Kimimaro to return and tell him the good news. The door opened to reveal one of his underlings.

"G-Gato-sama…" the man said

"Speak" Gato replied as he took a drink from his glass that was filled with rum this time

"Our group has found Kimimaro's corpse but we couldn't find Kushimaru's. His sword was also missing, I'm afraid that they have been dealt with by the Konoha shinobi"

This wasn't what he wanted to hear and it infuriated him, he threw the glass at the wall which caused it to shatter and the rum to stain the wall. This startled the man as a result, "What are we going to do, do we defend the operation?" the man asked

Hearing this made Gato laugh, "Defend? Do you hear yourself talking?! Defend the operation you say? If those meddling Konoha shinobi can take care of Kushimaru and Kimimaro then you're out of your damn mind to think that we can defend our whole operation, NO! WE'RE LEAVING! Tell everyone that we're packing everything up cause we're ditching this place" he ordered the man and he quickly bowed down to do as he was told.

- Later That Evening –

Asuma arrived near Gato's fort only to see that it was deserted, not a guard could be seen anywhere. He tried to feel any chakra signatures but he felt none, Asuma decided to check even further and enter the building cautiously. He wondered where Gato was, he then made his way to the very top where his office was and saw that it was empty as well.

Finding nothing, Asuma also decided to check the docks to see if Gato was there only to be greeted by the same result. Gato was nowhere to be found, this made Asuma realize that Gato immediately skipped town now that his strongest fighters were dead. Asuma was disappointed that Gato got away but their mission was to get rid of him which could also be understood as kicking him out of Mori no Kuni, Team 10 was still able to accomplish their mission either way. All that was left for them was to go home back to Konoha, at least that was something he looked forward to.

(A/N: Alrighty then haha, I won't be using any talk no jutsu this time XD (not shitting on Kishimoto alright? It's just a joke and I'm pretty sure y'all know about it too haha). The first time the Kyuubi made his presence felt in this fic (other than healing Naruto back at the ranch but that's just a subtle hint at it). I hope y'all enjoyed this fic and I'll be replying to the private messages now haha, sorry for not replying ASAP because I was so caught up with this chapter. I might also take a short break since my eyes are killing me, I think about to awaken my Sharingan (jk it's probably eye strain). Also, I added an OST song for the fight scene, perhaps you'd like to listen to it and imagine the scene with that music playing. It was the OST during Naruto and Haku's battle (Kyuubi Influenced Naruto 1st Appearance). But I digress, thanks for the continued support, show me some love and RnR. That's all cheers! ^^)