On a more personal note, thank you to everyone who reviewed. This is my longest running story yet, and it's nearly over. One more chapter to go.

Also, duly noted: Gaara is the Kazekage, as opposed to what I called him (Hokage) in the previous chapter. Gaara of the Desert is the leader of the Sand Village. Sorry about that. No disrespect to the red-haired demon.

Date: 06.13.06

In the Midst of Battle

Tsunade stood on top of the wall that surrounded Konoha and watched the approaching snake with disgust. She loved creatures of all shapes and sizes, but that snake was more demon than not, and Orochimaru had very little control over it. That monster loves bloodshed, the fifth hokage of the Leaf Village thought to herself. Both of them do, in their own crazy way.

She could see Orochimaru atop the snake, his golden eyes glittering in the deepest night. She remembered him a small child, back when the Third was still their teacher and their days were filled with kinder, gentler things. It seemed so long ago now, so far away, and yet so close. Where had their childhood gone?

Beside Tsunade stood Jiraiya, and he was thinking that no pretty girls were around. In his eyes, the hokage wasn't pretty so much as majestic. She looked like a leader and acted like one. She had the grace and determination to be standing up here, at the head of her own people. She was the one facing trouble from a dear friend and worst enemy.

"You seem prepared for the worst, Tsunade," said the Snake man when he approached. "And all for one little boy?"

She shook her head, sadness etched into her youngish features. "Konoha takes care of its own."

"Does it really?" Orochimaru said with venom dripping off every word.

The hokage smiled as she called on her strength and summoned the slug-like creature that was her companion in life. Tonton, the little pig that was Tsunade's friend and apparently pet dog settled on the sidelines to watch and help, should her friend need it. Jiraiya followed suit, and before long, just outside of the walls of the magnificent village stood three animals grown giant and the three most powerful ninja of their time.

"Shall we begin?" Orochimaru asked.

Jiraiya nodded and began creating hand seals rapidly.

Tsunade whispered as she joined into this intricate dance of power, "For our future..."


While this was happening, down below groups of ninja attacked the village from seemingly all directions. It reminded Naruto of the Chunin exams, with the exception that everyone was prepared this time. The evacuation had gone off as smoothly as ever, and the streets were empty save for the fighters.

"You know your task," Sakura said to Naruto.

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, I do. Be careful out there, okay?"

Sakura grinned. "I'm a medic, after all. It's my job."

She left in search of anyone who was hurt, leaving Naruto and Sasuke to fight the hoards of invaders by themselves. It was up to Naruto, of course, to keep Sasuke safe while they were at it. Thankfully for them both, Sasuke was feeling a great deal better and they weren't alone in their task.

"Look," Sasuke said, stopping in the middle of the fight.

It was raining people. Naruto barely dodged the sword of an enemy as he created clones of himself to help them fight. Still, he couldn't help but look up at the signs of humans falling from the sky. Whoever they were, they landed safely on roofs and streets and they wore enemy colors.

"Watch out!" Naruto yelled as Sasuke ducked under the sword of a particularly nasty enemy.

Kicking the man square in the chest, Sasuke grinned. In moments, they met up with the ninja from the sky and quickly learned a very painful lesson. As far as Naruto could tell, they were impossible to kill. Nothing seemed to hurt any of these guys, absolutely nothing. Fighting them was like fighting a brink wall!

Four rounds of knives later, Sasuke took a step back and tried to catch his breath. "Naruto!"

"Still alive," his friend yelled as he grabbed Sasuke's hand and pulled them both out of harm's way.

Both rolled underneath the oncoming needles. Rising, the two roof hopped a few times before find a relatively safe hiding place in between two houses. They looked at each other, red eyes to blue ones, and shook their heads.

"What are those monsters?" Naruto asked.

"Soldiers, enhanced by Kabuto. They are strong, but they only last a few days after the infusion. A bug in the design as he calls it."

"Shit!" Naruto whispered. "Any weaknesses?"

"Not really, no. Their skin is as tough as steel."

"Okay, plan two, can we maybe trap them somehow?" Naruto wondered.

Again needles flew their way and the two ran. Jumping a fence, they climbed up onto the top floor of the school and then headed towards the wall. Shikamaru caught up to them right about then and matched their rhythms.

"They can be killed. The backs of their necks are about the only spot that's vulnerable. Hinata saw it. Go for their necks, okay?"

"Are you guys all right?"

"Kiba's down for the moment, but we're still hanging in there. Sasuke, find Tsunade."

"What for?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "She and Jiraiya are fighting Orochimaru. That's all I know. Good luck you two. Don't die."

"Thanks!"

"How troublesome!"

He turned left and vanished into the scenery again, like other good ninja. The two boys looked at each other and knew that here their lives took different paths.

Naruto shrugged in his way and said, "See you in the morning!"

"See ya," Sasuke called as he headed for the Wall.

Naruto retaliated against the first of the enhanced monstrosities with all of his might, all of his anger. His chakra attack, called the Rasengan, sent the first enemy he met spinning into a pond. What Naruto learned well was how to control his own chakra, and he could, with the help of a clone, create a ball of pure energy that turned and twisted on the inside. Its own rotation usually hurt the enemy worse than the chakra itself.

Several more came at him. He and his clones disposed of them, as well. Once he knew how to kill the enemy, an angry Naruto was pretty much unstoppable. Worse, the demon fox stirred within, whispering good ideas for further killing. Someday, one really wondered what it all meant.

He met up with Neji before too long.

"Where's Sasuke?" Ten-Ten asked.

Naruto sighed. "Tsunade wanted him, apparently. They are over there, but with this many ninja, I can't even get close!"

"Want a little help?" Lee asked.

Neji seemed to think. "The three of us couldn't get you in there if we laid our lives down. However, we can create a distraction for a little while. The rest is your call, Naruto."

"Any help is still help."

Ten-Ten nodded. "All right. You'll know when we're ready."

Naruto watched as the three ninjas began their attack. Neji's eyes told him where the enemy was and he attacked mercilessly. Ten-Ten with her weapons skills pummeled anyone who get in her way with knifes and other strange weapons. Lee, being Lee, got up close and did as much damage as a small hurricane.

They moved as one, aware of each other and able to coordinate. Little, if anything, got past their wall. Changing course, the three ran South, with some of the enemy following behind. That gave Naruto an opening, and he took it. Stealthily he snuck deep into enemy ridden territory and up to the wall that had protected Konoha for so long.

Sneaking up onto the wall proved more difficult, but from there he was able to see the gruesome battle unfolding below, just on the other side. Gasping when he saw Kabuto with an unconscious Sasuke in his arms, Naruto was still awed by the sheer power of the three legendary ninja. The normally green, grassy field was littered with bodies from both sides of the battle.

The ninja had died trying to protect their leaders, and now it was too late to make amends. Here in the night, Naruto understood why a memorial stood for all those lost in battle. Otherwise, too many tombstones would litter the village, for death was a swift mistress.

Somewhere ahead, he heard Tsunade's voice, coming between gasps. "He's strong!"

"And full of himself," Jiraiya yelled back.

Naruto cheered for a moment before making his way slowly downwards onto the ground below. Avoiding the ANBU from both sides, who were too busy with each other anyway, he snuck up to Kabuto from behind. Knife in hand, he stabbed the man straight in the back while kicking at the backs of his knees.

The medic went down with a thud.

Carefully, Naruto pulled his friend a few feet away from the enraged silver-haired man with his unreadable glasses and then stood between Kabuto and the slowly awakening Sasuke.

"Guess it's you and me," Kabuto said quietly.

Naruto still remembered previous battles, and he knew that the medic would use his own body to his advantage. Deep inside, the fox stirred sleepily and opened an eye. Is it time to play? It asked. Naruto smiled and nodded. Almost time.

Kabuto lunged at him first, a knife in each hand. Naruto dodged the knives with side step and let his hands come down in the middle of the medic's back, right where he'd hit moment earlier. Kabuto retaliated and managed to stick two his kunai into Naruto before the boy could jump back, out of reach.

They circled each other, bleeding a little, until Naruto growled and attacked. The force in the impact upon collision sent them both rolling. Both stood up and jumped back, away from each other. Kabuto's hands began to glow as he darted past his opponent. Though he carried no knives, Naruto still felt like someone had just sliced through muscle.

"I paralyzed your friend, you know. Sasuke won't be coming to your rescue!"

"You bastard!" Naruto grew angry, and it spread.

Kabuto laughed. "You know, what your precious friend hasn't told you is that he was raped. Orochimaru couldn't wait to get his hands on your precious little Sasuke. And he liked it!"

"Monster!"

"It's true. Ask the brat over there! He moaned so loudly it woke half the prisoners."

Naruto blinked. "You are going to pay for saying that..."

Anger exploded like fireworks. The fox inside growled. My turn.

And then he was on all fours, covered in chakra the color of blood and oranges. Naruto lunged at Kabuto without a thought and clawed hands ripped through clothes, through skin. Kabuto pulled away, but the fox wouldn't let him go. It went after him with determination usually seen only in Naruto. It was just that good!

They fought in bursts, and Naruto left more and more marks on Kabuto's pale skin. The fox's chakra easily pushed Kabuto's attacks, and with two minds working as one, it was able to attack and defend almost at the same time. The three legendary ninja stopped to take a good look.

"Naruto's angry," Jiraiya commented.

"I think Kabuto just mentioned what I did to Sasuke while he was with me," Orochimaru guessed.

"Let me guess, you're a pervert, too?" Tsunade sighed. "How did I ever survive you two?"

"I don't know? How did you?" Orochimaru asked.

The Fifth hokage of the village of the leaves knocked Orochimaru over with a punch and then landed on top of him. "You dare ask that? Let me tell you something-" Punch "-you moron." Punch. "After you left-" Kick "-I was sad for weeks on end." Kick. "My life. You screwed up-" Kick "-my life, too!"

Orochimaru looked up at the irate woman and thought, How do some people fall in love? She's a vulture!

They resumed trying to obliterate each other. Meanwhile, the fox finally stopped now that Kabuto wasn't going anywhere. It looked at the fallen man and licked blood off his forehead. Then it looked at Sasuke and told Naruto, I like your choice. That one smells good.

Naruto replied softly, "At least we agree on something."

As the fox subsided and returned to sleeping peacefully within, Naruto felt suddenly very tired, almost as if he'd run a marathon for weeks on end. Sitting down on the dewy grass, he closed his and eyes and waited for the world to stop spinning. Kabuto groaned, but a peak at the wounds told Naruto that the medic wouldn't be getting up any time soon.

He turned and looked at his raven-haired friend, then crawled over to the boy. Around them, a war raged on between two villages. Screams echoed across the field and the sound of metal hitting metal. Naruto could barely hear any of that however. It didn't bother him that he was bleeding in too many places to count and that everything hurt. He lay down next to Sasuke, wrapped an arm around the boy, and closed his eyes.


"Where's that pet of yours, Sasuke?" Kabuto asked.

The raven blinked a few times, feeling the stresses of the night building up. He was tired, more so than he should've been, and he felt his knees starting to shake. Not even in fear so much as sheer exhaustion. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Kabuto and shook his head.

"Shut up," he said.

Kabuto, the medic from hell, laughed. "Let's play."

From atop her slug, Tsunade yelled. "Be careful, Sasuke. Remember, Naruto wants you alive."

The two of them fought. Sasuke had his Sharingan and with it, he could and did copy plenty of Kabuto's moves. Still, the medic was faster, and they were locked in a terrible and painful dance.

Sasuke dodged one of the oncoming kunai only to find another lodged deeply into his back. He yelped and twisted, feeling his body go numb. Slowly, he fell to the ground, suddenly understanding why his body felt like lead.

"Naruto?" His voice was soft a whisper.

Kabuto smiled. "So you leave Orochimaru and find another sex toy?"

"Kabuto, are you jealous?"

"No," the medic replied.

"It hurt," Sasuke said quietly. "And he didn't stop. Never."

Kabuto blinked. "It's what you wanted?"

"Tell me this then," Sasuke said, feeling his life begin to fade. "How does the desire to avenge my family translate into wanting rape from a madman?"

"Power tends to do that."

"Then take this as advice. Don't let it happen to you. It breaks you and it breaks people around you. Cold shell or not, you're still human, Kabuto. You still have a heart."

And with that, Sasuke's eyes closed. Kabuto, of course, made sure that Sasuke wasn't dead, but as he looked at the boy, he wondered what it all meant.

"Human? Am I still human, really?"


The victors still stood by the light of dawn. Tsunade was kneeling beside Sasuke and Naruto, making sure both were still breathing. Jiraiya was taking stock of the situation. So far, it looked like the majority of the leaf ninja were alive and doing pretty well. Not too many names to add to the memorial.

"We used to be friends," Jiraiya said softly.

"Used to be."


And that finishes the battle. Next chapter is the sappy not-quite-ending.