Now I must apologize for how freakishly long this chapter is!

LMAO

okay, I just want y'all to know that the way Naruto is using the Kyuubi chakra
is the way he will use the Kyuubi chakra throughout the story-ish

Basically, when Naruto goes into stage one Kyuubi mode, where he gets super fast and grows pretty strong
I've changed it to where every one of his senses gets increased, because let's be real; chakra of the GREATEST BIJUU
should do more than just make Naruto into a wild child. Let's be real, chakra of that magnitude
and sentience should do more than just create a pretty cloak and whatnot

I feel that using Kurama's chakra, he should get a boon to perception, see things before they happen, sharingan - without the sharingan - type of thing
Let's be real; whenever Naruto used the Kyuubi chakra in the original series, he always got his ass beat senselessly because he can't bloody think straight and always lost
(Yes I know, save for Haku and when she double shanked the snake in the nose in the Forest of Death)
(I understand that the chakra is malicious, yes, but Ahri has proven to not be the same as Kurama)

Either way...

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or League of Legends


Chapter 6: A Village in Flames

"Oh you've got to be kidding me." Shikamaru groaned into Naruto's shoulder. "GIVE ME A BREAK!"

A stampede of footsteps were heard rushing down the hall. Glinting hitai-ate could be seen revealing the symbols of Suna and Oto. Shikamaru fell to a knee with the rat hand seal already prepared. "Shika there's no time, come on!"

Without a moment to lose, he grabbed the lazy genius along. The two plowed through the clinic door, shattering the wood to splinters. Kunai and shuriken bounced off the walls and even embedded into the door frame, garnering a few not so well received remarks. Shouts and commands could be heard, echoing through the hall. Shikamaru and Naruto hobbled to their feet to find a barely conscious Neji with his uncle, the Hyuuga clan head, sitting by his side. The four of them looked at one another for a split second before the two battered shinobi went into action.

"Hiashi-sama?" Naruto asked as he barged across the clinic. "Where is Gaara?"

"Gaara?" The man asked.

"A sand shinobi was whisked away by medic ninja before my fight with Shikamaru…" Naruto explained with cold sweat. "Did you see him enter?"

"I have been with Neji since the end of his fight…" Hiashi gave Naruto a worried look. "No one else has been admitted into the clinic aside from Neji…why? What's wrong, Naruto-san?"

The Uzumaki clenched his teeth, feeling the beads of sweat finally trickle against his skin. "He is a Jinchuriki! If the Sand or Sound shinobi got their hands on him, who knows what'll happen!"

It was the Nara's turn to give worried looks. "You sealed his power though! I watched the seal glow in the gaping hole you left in his chest!"

"It was an imperfect seal!" Naruto sighed in exasperation, feeling his arm twitch again. "If they channel enough chakra through his body, or force it through with enough power, they could break the seal and the beast within him would return again! We can't do anything if we're still weak though, so Shika, please, hold the door for now and I need to look for soldier pills!"

Without another word, Shikamaru fell to a knee, using what little chakra he had left and created a small pocket of impassable shadow. Naruto though, scoured the medicine cabinets and cupboards. There were soldier pills somewhere. Having been in the hospital so many times in youth; all from different reason, he had come to know what almost every single hospital, clinic and ER had in their inventory. Pushing away needles and syringes and even pill bottles, he frowned in disbelief at the lack of soldier pills.

Those bloody things were like cheat codes on their own. They would have been the very thing that could save their sorry lives. Suddenly, during his irate search, he found a large pantry, locked behind a series of chains and great locks that look impossible to cut with kunai or even bolt cutters. For a moment he was about to scream in frustration until a thought came to mind. Ahri was too busy building chakra again to give him any form of help or advice, so he was on his own at the moment.

Channeling fire chakra to his palms, he wrapped the fingers around the cold steel and iron, forcing the heat into the metal. If what little of chemistry and science he knew, the heat would and should melt the chains and locks and give him access to the treasure that lied within. But he only had so much time to do so, already he could hear roars and shouts coming from the dark hallway. Swords clashed and kunai sung in the ambiance of battle.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru said with a wince in his voice. "How much longer are you going to take?"

"I'm almost done!" He called back, channeling what little chakra he had left into the chains.

Almost as if the gods were watching over him, the chains snapped free, melting to the floor below. He wrapped his fingers around the handle full intent of swinging the door open. But first pull, the door didn't budge. Second pull, the door was immovable. Third pull he'd run out of options. He bashed the door, shoving his elbow into the steel reinforced wooden doors. Then he rammed his fist into it, eliciting a few well-reasoned howls of pain. Before he could react once more, a powerful hand rested on his shoulder.

"Naruto-san, allow me." A gruff voice was heard.

Without another word spoke, the Uzumaki side-stepped allowing Hiashi Hyuuga to take a gentle-fist stance. Chakra roared off of his palm and before he knew it, the man shattered the door to splinters revealing crates and small tubs filled with soldier pills neatly sorted onto trays. Naruto quickly swiped a handful and downed at least two just to be safe. Hurtling through the clinic room, he shoved a pair down Shikamaru's gullet, much to his displeasure. At least the effects were worth the disgusting and uncomfortable taste.

Power and energy rushed through their stressed and aching bodies. Shikamaru's shadow darkened with color returning to his rather pale face. The sweat cascading from their pores came to a halt and left their faces dry. What little perspiration remained turned to steam as chakra sped through their coils. After giving a last command the Uzumaki charged, jumping through Shikamaru's shadow wall. "Head to the stands as soon as it's clear!"

Once he landed, he'd realized he was unarmed and without an idea of what he might face. Naruto was slightly apprehensive about taking on whatever lied beyond the shadows. Nevertheless, he knew it was his job to do so. His home was under attack and those explosions sounded nothing of the kind sort. Once the darkness disappeared, a trio of sound shinobi, given the snake like scarves around their necks, had appeared before him. They wore full face masks that covered their entire face save for their eyes. Where a hitai-ate would be, the metal plate bearing their village symbol remained. Power shook off of them in droves, reminding Naruto that he was just a mere genin. He assumed the three were nothing short of chunin to jōnin at most. The three of them looked menacing and already had kunai drawn.

"Hey there?" Naruto gave the three a nervous smile.

The sound ninja didn't respond, shooting off for Naruto's neck. Even with a pair of soldier pills ingested, he was still aching all over. His body moved on its own, dodging and weaving in the narrow space that the hall was. Naruto was finding it increasingly difficult to deal with their three-pronged assault. Despite how cramped it must have been for three large men to attack at once, they seemed to never run out of space. Every chance he thought he had to cast a technique, a kunai would come dangerously close to his hand seals or come at his unprotected sides. For a moment he felt envious of Haku and his ability to use ninjutsu with a single hand seal.

Channeling chakra to his limbs, he grabbed the first arm he could. The Sound ninja looked at Naruto with wide eyes, completely caught off guard by how quickly he'd been caught. Lost in the fight, Naruto quickly used the chunin as a springboard, launching himself to the ceiling of the hall. He flipped behind the first man, lodging his foot into his forehead, breaking his stance. As he spun mid-air, he landed perfectly on his feet. Barely a sound and barely a hair out of place. With chakra still burning in his legs, he sprang forward, lodging his knee into another chunin, sending the man flying into the concrete walls, turning a few tiles to powder. The final remaining shinobi rushed at Naruto with his kunai swinging about with dangerous precision. Naruto could feel the wind cutting and slicing as the blade lunged past his ears.

Each attack was close to marking his face eternally with a gaping scar. As the fight progressed, the shinobi underestimated Naruto's skills. The genin had a month's worth of kunai dodging experience that was rather fresh in his mind. While each attack was steady, strong and true to their targets, the man's attacks and strike pattern almost screamed textbook stance, something that should be only learned for reference and basics. The instant Naruto found the rhythm, he moved like a robot, dodging and weaving in between each lunge, strike and slash finding the fight become a serious bore. After all, he was trained by a Sanin, a former Ninja Guardian and a Gumiho, anything else is honestly a chore. Bringing his thoughts to the fight, all he needed was the perfect opening, the perfect flaw in the rather imperfect assault. The instant he found it, the Uzumaki grabbed the man's arm and wrenched him forward.

Without a fumble or twitch in his arm, the boy tore the kunai from his target's hand and shoved the knife between the shinobi's eyes.

Fuck!

Pain exploded throughout his arm as the shinobi's eyes rolled to the back of his head. He slumped into Naruto's body with arms hanging slack. Letting the kunai go, the man fell as nothing more than dead weight. He backed away stumbling over the fallen corpse, staring at his arm with fear and eyes as wide as plates. Hell, even Ahri was surprised by his sudden animosity. Before he even had a moment to truly capitalize on his actions and regain his bearings, one of the beaten shinobi rose to their feet, a pair of kunai grasped in his tight-fisted hands. Without much choice, Naruto bent down, tearing the bloodied kunai from the skull of his previous victim.

The chunin looked at his dead comrade and back to Naruto. Bringing a hand to his black mask, he tore it open revealing the rest of his face. He roared a powerful battle cry and charged at him, chakra in his arms and legs, creating the false image of a whirlwind. Naruto had to admit, the man was fast but not entirely skilled. For a chunin, the man relied too much on trying to be a buzz saw than being effective in his craft. Almost one out of every fifty full rotations, a kunai tip would come close enough to cut at Naruto's clothing. That was not a ratio destined for efficiency. Taking a chance after growing frustrated with the little dervish, he hurled the kunai forward, expecting the knife to be deflected. Instead, he was in for a nasty surprise.

When the dervish came to a slowing halt, the kunai was revealed to have embedded through the man's hitai-ate. His eyes had rolled to the back of his head as the kunai and his hands fell to his sides. The momentum kept the man spinning, showering small amounts of blood into the remaining dervish.

"You monster!" Ahri laughed uncomfortably. "You're a savage Naruto!"

The poor boy couldn't give her the time of day. His mind was reeling and his arm was beginning to shake even worse than any time before. Two men, higher in rank and age and experience…he killed them as if it were the easiest thing to do. He wrapped his fingers around his arm, struggling to keep the shaking under control. He looked at the men, eyes burning with fear and worry; these two men probably had families and friends…they weren't Jinchuriki. There was no way in any hell that these two would be getting up. His stomach churned as the breakfast he'd enjoyed was coming back for vengeance. He fell pressing his back against the wall. Within seconds he'd thrown up, spraying the concrete tiles.

But from the corner of his eye he watched the third and final shinobi struggle to his feet. Naruto eyed him up and down; he was the first victim of his assault. His breath grew heavy as his eyes examined the foot print on the man's hitai-ate metal plate.

"I'm going to kill you!" He roared, drawing out a kunai blade.

Similar to the kunai knives in design, save for the single edge and flat side, the difference was in the length, strength and cutting power. In all respects, the kunai blade should be called a kunai sword. Naruto's eyes widened at the glowing aura that surrounded the sword. The man imbued chakra into the weapon giving it a better cutting edge! He dodged the first swipe, watching the chakra rush forward and slice through the concrete as if it were butter. Evading and cartwheeling away, Naruto grabbed the two kunai from the ground and brought them up to his sides.

Thanks to his sealing skills and sleight of hand, he strapped an explosive tag to each kunai. Luckily, the tags were low powered. They did enough damage to dismember the man in front of him, but thankfully not enough to collapse an entire cavern on top of him. After all, Shikamaru and the two Hyuuga were still in the clinic as far as he knew. Hurling the two kunai towards the sword wielding shinobi, the two projectiles were blocked and sent astray. As the kunai tumbled and sang through the hallway, the two explosive tags began to glow. Much to Naruto's surprise, the shinobi didn't notice the explosive tags.

With a dark look and a glare marring his face, released a simple command. "Kai!"

The explosion was small and controlled. From the shockwave alone, his legs were blown out from under him, sending him flying towards the Uzumaki. Sidestepping the legless corpse and the trail of blood flowing in his wake, Naruto simply reached out, grabbing the kunai sword. Swinging it about, he relished in how smooth and clean it cut. Channeling his chakra into the weapon, he was amazed at how much power began to radiate off the sharpened edge. Turning his attention to the shinobi holding the lacerated stumps he now had for legs, he gave the man a simple glance.

"Kill me now!" He cried, embracing a baseless bravado. "Do it-ugh!"

Naruto dropped the kunai sword tip down into the man's chest. Within his mindscape Ahri gasped throwing her hands to her face with her blood-red eyes glowing with surprise. She growled the instant she realized what was happening. There was something definitely wrong with her container. He was siphoning her chakra without either of them noticing. She crossed her arms over her chest feeling Naruto's hurricane of emotions. He was angry then sad, then angry again only to fall on his base emotions of confusion and terror. Every time he went to kill something his arm would stop shaking, but the instant the rush was over, it would return full force. Ahri looked up, glaring at the great seal that held her.

Damn Minato for making such a complex seal. She began to pace as she finally felt her chakra begin to flow into his coils. It was understandable, the amount of chakra that the seal was siphoning away was so miniscule the woman didn't even realize it. As frustrating and simple it was, no matter what she did to rein her chakra in, the seal would bypass her control and continue to siphon away her power and influence into the blond. Naruto ripped the kunai sword from the shinobi corpse and wiped the blade on his orange pants. Looking back and forth, he knelt, running his hands across the three carcasses, robbing them of their kunai and shuriken supplies.

Having replenished his supplies, he sped off in a full sprint, the Uzumaki had full rein to escape. Upon hearing another flurry of footsteps coming from behind, he brought his hands together he formed his famous cross hand seal. As he closed the distance with the arena entrance, a plethora of shouts and orders given under the cloud of rage echoed from down the hall this time, there were definitely more than a simple trio of chunin.

An explosion of smoke covered his escape, leaving behind a great pack of pissed off shadow clones. Almost fifteen of the doppelgangers were left behind, each one preparing to defend and hold the clinic and hallway. It was imperative that the invading forces didn't enter the clinic. As the clones took position, Naruto burst into the arena field. Compared to the dark of the barely lit hallway, the brightness of the post-afternoon sun was akin to a searing flame against his irides. Giving himself a moment to adjust to the light, what he saw sent shivers down his spine. Directly in front of him, a wall had begun to collapse giving him full view of the damage of the village.

Smoke rose into the sky, coloring the great blue and white palette a slight black, throwing the competitive spirit out the proverbial window. Through the settling smoke and dust, giant snakes trampled the outer village and were slowly making their way towards the inner village. From what his eyes could decipher, small figures were seen dashing about, colliding and clashing mid-air. Sparks and light flashed in through the shade. Shinobi from all three villages rushed about, tearing the village landscape to dust. Ninjutsu went off obliterating many places the young genin had grown up venturing to and fro. He couldn't believe his eyes; everything, from the Yamanaka Flower Shop, the various shinobi stores, the clothing shops and even the numerous street vendors; all destroyed in the chaos. He couldn't begin to fathom the destruction before his eyes.

Anger boiled within his heart, channeling more of Ahri's chakra. He clenched his fists, drawing blood from his palm. He didn't feel it or he didn't care, either way, he was almost completely unfazed by the pressure. Two shinobi rushed at him from across the arena floor. Both were armed with simple kunai. Naruto smiled to himself, feeling the shaking and jittering arm come to a halt. The mere excitement of taking the lives of those who've brought harm to his home filled him with joy. He charged forward, fully intent on meeting them first. Using chakra to his legs, he ducked the first kunai slice and threw his kunai sword around with a great aura of chakra radiating off the blade.

The shinobi was bisected the instant the chakra-enhanced blade met his flesh. Blood didn't spray until after his torso hit the ground. Naruto turned to the second shinobi, eyes burning with rage. The look the chunin bore was akin to fear and cowardice. To think, shinobi with mindsets like that were throwing his village to chaos. It only served to anger him further. Speeding forward, he lodged his knee into the shinobi, sending the man back a few feet holding his chest. The man dropped his kunai in the confrontation making the young Uzumaki smile even more. Before the shinobi could retaliate or draw another kunai, Naruto's kunai sword dug into the man's face, spilling blood onto the grassy arena floor.

Kicking the man from his blade, the Uzumaki turned to face the great opening within the arena wall. From what he could tell, there were about five large snakes tearing through the buildings and streets, rampaging and killing countless civilians. He took off to get a closer look at the destruction, finding the snakes to bear heraldry of three magatama, similar to Sasuke's curse mark. Instead of black, the magatama were violet on a field of noir, bordered in yet more violet. The heraldry was worn almost similar to bibs that babies wore. Naruto narrowed his eyes; it was almost as if the snakes were prepared for a feast.

Before he could examine the chaos any further, his ears perked at the great noise coming from the stands behind him. A personal fear of his, civilians from not just his village, but foreign villages were caught in the mess with Sand shinobi and Leaf shinobi battling it out. What surprised him the most though; the ANBU were disabled and struggling to handle another team of ANBU. What little forces that were not occupied with fighting, struggled to get the civilians out of the arena. They trampled and screamed, trying to flee the hailstorm of shuriken and kunai flying about. A few were struck down the instant they left their seats. Others were purposely thrown into the crossfire by Oto and Suna shinobi, using civilians as human shields. Unable to handle the scene any further, he trailed his eyes over to the Kage box, a great purple field surrounded the entire structure.

He gritted his teeth glaring at the scene in front of him. A squad of ANBU rushed at the great purple monstrosity but were evaporated the instant they crashed into the barrier. Naruto spat in frustration feeling his clones dispel within the hall behind him. All around, the village began to fall apart; his village; his home. Clenching his fists and tightening his hold on the kunai sword, he sped across the arena floor knocking over the two corpses at his feet, towards the growing hostilities. More Konoha and Suna shinobi were meeting at the fallen wall section.

With speed he had during the first bout in the tournament, he closed the distance unbelievably fast. The first Oto shinobi that crossed his path could have been a jōnin at most. Like lightning though; rank and affiliations flew out the window as he shoved his newly acquired sword through the man's chest. Putting his weight into his new kill, Naruto could feel stability return to his arm. The Konoha chunin kunoichi he saved looked at him with both relief and surprise. Flipping over, he forced the kunai sword from the dead jōnin sending a shower of blood from his beautifully lacerated chest. Once he landed, he blocked and deflected a few kunai and shuriken praising and thanking the gods for the blessing that the wide flat-sided blade was.

Twirling the weapon around, chakra was absorbed into the weapon, generating a few great breaths sending wind and dust into the air. Bringing the raging winds to his blade, he flipped a kick. The blade followed suit before launching free towards his target. The winds were great and imposing but also unbelievably sharp. The chunin stood no chance. Turning his eyes to his comrades, he nodded and created almost twenty shadow clones, each armed with a kunai sword. When he took off towards the stands, he left his fellow Konoha shinobi in awe and fear.

After all, it wasn't every day that you look into a boy's eyes and see blood red irides and slit pupils of a demon.


In the stands, Shino had launched his insects in every direction, ensnaring and entrapping a handful of Suna and Oto shinobi. They screamed and struggled against the creepy-crawlies. It was no use and in the end, the beetles had absorbed a great deal of their chakra, leaving them lax and weak. Suddenly, a great burst of chakra was felt coming from within the arena floor. As all eyes turned to the railing, a boy with an obnoxiously bright and orange jumpsuit appeared, eyes burning red and a blade glowing with an ethereal blue aura. When he landed, he channeled chakra throughout his pores and tenketsu, disappearing within a blink of an eye.

When he appeared, his blade was shoved completely through an opponent and three bolts of flame shot from his body. The enemy unlucky to be near him was incinerated instantly. Within, Ahri was contemplating how she should react to such a show of skill. She had only spent a month training his sorry ass and he was already this adept with her ultimate and her Fox Fire techniques. While he was yet to reveal his Orb of Deception up close or use his Charm ability, he was showing skill unlike any before. So far, she had to at least commend him for his use of only shadow clones and now, his Spirit Rush. He was conserving chakra and that isn't even his intention.

He plowed through a pair of Oto shinobi, killing them all with his blade and new found rage. Sadly, Ahri still hadn't found a way to bypass the seal's rather intrusive algorithm. She was worried about his state of mind; he was channeling her chakra at a dangerous rate; any more and the boy would grow a chakra shroud and become toxic to the touch. Knowing how his friends and comrades were extremely touchy-feely, Ahri didn't need their hate and fear of her container. The poor blond would not respond well to such criticism again. He jumped, pushing his body off a wall to gain enough air to kick a shinobi in the cheek. The foot flew like lightning and hit like a ton of iron. The shinobi flew back, feeling his cheek steam slightly.

When Naruto landed, his eyes were glowing like LED lights at this point, signifying his rage. The whiskers on his face were more profound, almost looking like hairs spread and raised in defense. His hair had fallen wild, waving in the wind giving off a vibe of animalism. He was hunched as his nails increased length and energy built into his kunai sword. Disappearing with the Spirit Rush once again, he drew his sword around, beheading a pair of chunin, sending the heads flying. Once he landed in the stands, his vibrant crimson eyes burned with an intense fury, scaring the genin before him.

Sakura, Ino and Choji were terrified of the chaos happening around them. A pair of shinobi lay dead at their feet, stomachs torn open with blood rushing and pooling around their carcasses. Naruto walked forward, rage and anger quickly dissipating at the mere sight of their terror. The chakra receded and much to Ahri's relief, his features returned to normal. Ahri rushed within the mindscape to get a hold of her chakra before he loses his decides to lose his mind. Pain and heat returned to his arm as it began to twitch once again. Fortunately, his eyes were fixated on the men his fellow genin had dispatched of. Ino was nursing a large gash in her shoulder, Choji bore a large cut on his cheek that sliced through the spiral markings and Sakura's forehead was cut clean, marring the large billboard brow that Naruto had enjoyed for so long.

"Guys…" Naruto's voice was low. He reached down for the cowering shinobi and kunoichi, pulling them along. "W-What happened…?"

"We don't know!" Ino cried over the clashing blades and explosions within the village. "We reacted and next thing we know, these two guys are dead and we're covered in blood…"

"Naruto; get down!" A powerful and almost half-delirious roar was heard. "Chidori!"

The boy turned to his rear to find Sasuke blast through hand seals and finally give birth to his newest ninjutsu. With his hand outstretched, lightning akin to the sound of chirping birds came to life, screeching in a never ending song. His entire face was covered in the black tattoos and seals that spelled disaster. But to Naruto, the pent up rage and anger that he'd been so afraid of…was a necessity now. The power he held, the inhibitions he lacked, that was something that they needed right now. In the chaos, Naruto shot forward, pushing the three shell-shocked genin to the floor as Sasuke flashed forward with an arc of lightning in his wake, electrocuting and even plowing through the seats and stands.

The boy's first target was a Suna chunin that could barely register the Uchiha's inhuman speed. Within a blink of an eye, the chidori burst through the man's abdomen, ripping and shredding through his flesh. Speed unlike any other, Sasuke tore his arm through the man's side and disappeared once again. In a time span of only five seconds, the boy had dispatched enough chunin to rival Naruto's own ferocity. When he finished with his technique, the tattoos simply spread even more, almost as if it were feeding off of his success. Chakra exploded from his shoulder bearing a dark violet color. When Naruto saw the look in the Uchiha's eye he saw something he hadn't seen before.

Respect…for…me…


Through the streets, combat was even worse than the arena stands. Fires raged against the stores and businesses, sending those not witnessing the chunin exams to an impasse. Corpses of innocent men and women lay about, strewn against the alleys and walkways. Shinobi clashed on the rooftops leaving those defeated to fall from the sky as if it were raining corpses. In one of the most contested streets and crossroads, the main strip of Konoha, along the dark alleyways shrouded by the great overbearing rooftops, a man stood with his hands up. Behind him, his wife and infant child stood covered in dirt and flakes of blood.

He himself looked no better than they, but in his hand was a kunai he managed to snag from a dead shinobi. His breath was heavy, having fought with an exhausted Sound shinobi, judging by the headband the man wore. He was tired and sloppy giving the man the perfect opening to deal death. Now he could hear jutsu being called and great creatures bursting through the urban sprawl. He held his wife back, doing his best to time their escape correctly. From the sirens he heard blaring over the first bout of explosions, the evacuation to the Hokage Mountain bunker had begun. Unfortunately for his family, they were caught along the first wave of attacks.

The streets were closed off and blocked with debris and giant husks of what used to be buildings. For shinobi, traversing such simple things would be child's play but for the civilians, the people who funded, fed and supplied the shinobi force, such things could mean life or death. The invasion was swift and sudden and if he didn't know any better, he'd say the invasion started within the village. His eyes trailed over to the source of the greatest amount of chakra output. Despite never being a shinobi, there was so much chakra he could feel it permeate through the air, almost saturating it. It was then that he saw the great purple monstrosity that had formed around one of the arena stands.

He leaned against the wall behind him, hearing men and women scream and cry out, their lives having left their hearts. Some of the corpses tumbled over the rooftop shrouding them from sight and collapsed in front of them. He quickly shielded the eyes of his infant child, seeing the blood pool beneath the pile of corpses. Their faces mangled and a few looked like they've been thrown into a furnace. Other's though looked like they'd been thrown into a house of daggers, each cutting and slicing their faces, arms and torsos to shreds. As the combat came to a slowing halt, the man poked his head out from the cover of the alleyway, looking left and right.

To his left, following the main strip of Konoha, the Hokage tower stood looking akin to a great vermilion fortress. Great trails of fire and kunai shot down to the army of silhouettes trying to scale the walls. Turning his head to his right, there were small bases of operation judging by the sandbags, radios and shinobi standing in reserve. Thankfully for him, the base was close to the main gate of Konoha, leaving almost a mile of space between them and his family. Patrols had taken to the rooftops and winding streets along the way with skirmishes exploding down the road. Turning his vision to the alleyway in front of him, a map of Konoha was visualized within his mind's eye.

The alleyway in front of him swerved to the left, giving him a better path towards the Hokage Mountain bunkers. Turning his vision to the place in question, he could see large trials of silhouettes and colorful palette. He prepared his speeding run towards the alleyway after hearing the combat come to a sudden silence. Motioning for his wife, the woman rose to her feet, feeling hope burn in her chest. Even her child had fallen silent in preparation to move once again. The man gave one more look of the street and the battles still raging within the village.

Little did he know, a small genin squad from Suna was incoming.


Thirty minutes before…

"Let me go!" Gaara howled. "I need to prove myself! You bastard! UZUMAKI!"

The redhead fought back, feeling his flesh rush together, merge and form into skin once again. The medics were amazed and honestly unable to fathom the scene before them. Naruto stood within the arena with a blank expression on his face, but an arm drenched in the poor boy's blood. He couldn't stop fighting and from the face Temari bore, she couldn't stomach the pained sound her brother let out. She couldn't help herself; damn the plan, damn the invasion! Her baby brother is in trouble! Her eyes stung with tears welling.

Without thinking, her head whipped towards the Kage Box, finding the Hokage and her father talk between themselves. Her father didn't even get up, didn't even twitch at the sight of his son's possible demise, if anything, she could see from what little of his face the man revealed, he was practically relieved by what he saw. Temari gritted her teeth, still able to hear Gaara roar through the winds. She turned her head to the Nara that held her and her brother in a shadow possession.

"I won't take any chances." Shikamaru glared. "I've -"

"Alright…" Genma called. "With the defeat of Sabaku no Gaara, it is time to move up the fights to the semi-finals."

Shikamaru's shadow shot back to him immediately. Shino's insects soared back to him and hid within the sleeves of his overbearing coat. Temari's eyes were wide with rage and she was looking near to explode. If it weren't for Kankuro's hand resting on her shoulder, she would have exploded and started the invasion a little too soon and everything would fall to hell. She glared at herself and her brother, finding her hands reaching over to the fan on her back. Something wasn't right and there was an itching feeling in the back of her mind; she needed to get to Gaara and get the hell out of dodge. She was loyal to Sunagakure and nothing would change that, but her baby brother was more important than a few sand castles and walls.

She looked to Kankuro, almost asking for agreement. The war-painted genin nodded his head, black cat-suit hood waving in the growing winds. Bringing her hands forward, she drowned the two Konoha genin arguing with one another as she gripped the guard railing with all her might. With how much pressure she was pushing, she was surprised she hadn't dented or bent the bloody metal. Her hand was pale white as her palms began to pulsate with a radiating pain. Her brother's hand found her shoulder once again in a failed attempt to calm her down. But as her mental rage fest came to an end, a great shout was heard.

"Shika!" Naruto's voice reverberated with a playful anger. "Don't you dare surrender! I didn't fight to the semi-finals just to win because you gave up!"

His voice.

Temari's blood went cold at the mere sound of his voice, finding it terrifying beyond belief. It was the same boy that killed her brother. If it were not for the beastly creature residing within the redhead, the woman was convinced that not even the medics of both of their villages could save the genin. Sands blew in the wind that rushed into the arena floor, filling Temari with a cold weight in her stomach. Drowning out the Nara's overbearing and drawled sigh/groan that screamed frustration and laziness, Temari was doing everything she could to keep the image of Gaara's mangled flesh from her mind. She was struggling to remove the image of Naruto's bloodied palm blown through her little baby brother's chest.

Once the Nara was safely down in the arena, Temari released her vice-like grip of the railing and quickly fled towards the stairs. The creepy bug shinobi from Konoha gave her a look but quickly retracted his suspicions when he saw the rage and the tell-tale signs of tears in her teal eyes. With Kankuro tailing behind her, the woman descended the stairs with her glare only deepening. Her brother was defeated and somehow the Uzumaki sealed his chakra and abilities. At least she had one thing to be glad about; Naruto didn't seal the beast too much, or else the chakra wouldn't have been able to save Gaara in time. She came to a halt, resting her sweaty palm against the cold concrete and steel walls.

She whipped her head along the great hallway leading to the clinic, ignoring the roars from the crowd above. It seems Naruto and Shikamaru went off without speeches or explosions. Walking along the hall, she found that most of the lights had been shut off surprising her to no end. She progressed worriedly, hand on her battle fan. Behind her, Kankuro had taken sight of her sudden worry and immediately created chakra strings leading to the puppet wrapped in bandages. He followed after her with a glare on his face, fully prepared to strike out against whoever it was Temari caught sight of.

They two found light disappeared quickly within the great hallway, finding the only brightness came from the arena and the exit a ways away along the hallway. She clenched her teeth finding little to nothing in the hall, save for the light beaming from the clinic housing the Hyuuga that Naruto beat to a pulp. Once again, a shiver rose up the girl's spine; the Uzumaki showed no qualms about beating a comrade into the dirt. When the blond had finished his barrage of punches, his victim looked like a popped tomato, bleeding and bruised all over. He was almost unrecognizable. Steeling her resolve, she grabbed her brother and shot to the wall adjacent to her.

Bringing a finger against her lips she turned to her brother giving off an unintelligible 'Shh'. Kankuro nodded his head and fell to knee as Temari prepared to scout ahead. The Hyuuga patient was talking, surprising Temari, to someone else. An older man was speaking to Neji about some history of their clan and his father. None of it mattered to her as she took a quick moment to peer her head across the way to see if her brother was in the clinic or not. When she looked though, she was dismayed and almost stricken with disbelief. Her brother was not in the clinic and the nurses and medical shinobi weren't around either. No sign of Gaara or struggle was seen within the pristine white room.

Rolling along, the woman barrel-rolled along the concrete floor making as little noise as possible. Covering ground as swiftly as possible, she found the hall continued onward, thankfully, the entrance/exit wasn't too far from her and her brother. She narrowed her eyes at the sight in front of her, no Gaara and no Sand shinobi or medics. Given the fact the invasion was thrown a few thousand steps back, the young genin wondered who could have extracted her little brother without consulting her father first. Thinking back, her father was undisturbed within the Kage box the entire fight and even after. There was no way the shinobi of her land would act so impulsively.

Trailing against the wall she traversed into the dark, pressing her hands against the walls. Judging by the tirade the Hyuuga prodigy gave during the preliminaries, they would sense the slightest use of charka and before she knows it, Konoha shinobi would be asking questions. Dragging her feet along, she heard a great explosion rock the arena causing dust and powdered concrete to trickle from newly formed cracks within the ceiling. Temari suddenly kicked against a strange object within the dark, bringing a slight clank to echo through the concrete hall. Luckily, Naruto and Shikamaru's battle was explosive and the cries of the crowds were practically overbearing.

She fell to knee and ran her hands along the object, growling beneath her breath. "This is a stretcher…"

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Kankuro asked his sister.

Temari dropped the stretcher with fists clenched. "I don't know who escorted our brother away but I will find out."

The two burst forward, hiding and sneaking be damned. Once they burst through the entrance, the beautiful blaring sun beat upon their irides. Temari immediately shut her eyes and Kankuro brought a hand to shield his eyes. The village was still bustling despite the great gathering of civilians and shinobi alike within the arena. The blonde looked along the street finding children running and playing tag with their parents working their stores and stalls. She took a deep breath and led her brother along looking for any sign of their sibling. She narrowed her eyes feeling a strange sensation brush against her cheeks. Motioning for the puppet user behind her, the two took to the rooftops.

"You have a lead?" Kankuro asked.

A great roar echoed from the arena as men and women cried out the names of the two competitors. Temari frowned. "I swear I can feel sand brushing against my face…if we follow the general direction it's coming from, we could find him in time…"

"Temari." Kankuro gave her a worried look. "You still want to go through with the invasion? Father wasn't exactly in his right mind when he planned the damn thing and if you hadn't noticed, there are still thousands of Konoha shinobi patrolling the village or out on missions…I don't know…I have a bad feeling."

"I do too…" The blonde sighed. "But Suna, our home, our nation expects us to do this."

"But how do we know if these Sound shinobi are even reliable." Kankuro narrowed his eyes as they followed the trail of sand.

"What do you mean?"

Kankuro looked away. "What do we even know of this Otogakure? Last I checked I've never even heard of such a place until they came to Father asking for an alliance."

Temari looked down clenching her fists as they sped through the rooftops, moving as quickly as they could. Temari could feel the sand blowing from an angle and judging by the speed of the wind they were taking a detour towards the western gate; the gate that leads straight to Sunagakure. Temari glared, narrowing her eyes at the sudden pit in her stomach. She dashed forward, blasting past her brother. Leaving him in her dust, the amount of sand was beginning to grow in quantity. If that was true, Gaara's control over sand was beginning to return and he was trying to defend himself. She bit her lip; why would he try to defend himself?

"Sabaku no Temari." A gruff voice halted her mid-jump. "Head back to the arena. You are not permitted to venture through the village unattended."

Temari's skin went cold. Slowly, she turned to face the persecutor. She looked at the man finding him dressed in a long black shroud with an unmarked ANBU mask bearing the visage of a terrifying animal. It was unlike any other ANBU mask she'd seen. The mask looked like a bear but it had six eyes and a wide open maw bearing what looked like a cadre of sharpened teeth. He was average height but radiated a power she'd only felt from one person; Gaara. This man looked like business, like he was more than ready to kill her if she said anything wrong or did anything out of line.

"Who are you?" Temari asked warily. "You don't look like ANBU…"

"Who I am doesn't matter." He responded, a long blade sliding from his long sleeves. "I will only say this one more time; go back to the arena or I will be forced to strike you down."

Suddenly, great wooden arms snaked around the ANBU. Temari jumped back, flipping onto another rooftop not too far behind her. The ANBU was unfazed and even turned his head to look at the one who attacked him. Kankuro's puppet struggled to hold the man in place, it even extended the razor blades attached to each limb section. Temari couldn't see blood or a change of demeanor. This man sent shivers up and down her spine.

"So be it."

The ANBU disappeared in a pop of smoke. He reappeared, sword barred and ready to decapitate the blonde. Temari quickly backed away, ducking beneath his swipes. He was faster than she originally anticipated and had a reaction time unlike any other. Each draw and swing of her fan was met with a clash and shower of sparks. Eyeing the possibilities and vantage points, a small flash of metal caught her attention reminding her of her second best asset; her brother.

Suddenly, just before the flat-headed katana could meet her flesh, the thick torso of a puppet appeared taking the brunt of the attack. Sadly, it did little to nothing to deter the ANBU. The flat head of the sword pressed against the grounded puppet giving the flexible shinobi enough of a steady surface to flip with professional and smooth acrobatics. Pushing off of the puppet's body, he flipped mid-air hurling a flurry of shuriken and kunai. Each of which, the puppet took in earnest. Kankuro jumped, closing the distance between himself and his puppet. When he landed, he glared at the ANBU channeling more chakra into his strings.

"Temari, get to Gaara." Kankuro narrowed his eyes. "We only have so – ugh!"

Temari's eyes were wide.

"KANKURO!"

He flew back, dust waving off of his body; his puppet in splinters and chakra dispersing to the winds. In the wake of the destruction, the ANBU stood with a fist five times larger than before. She watched his forearm shrink to its normal size. He tilted his head at her, finding her fear almost amusing. Temari watched her brother smash into a concrete wall and tumble down to the dark and dank alleyway. She could hear his body crush against the stone bricks.

"Who are you?!" Temari drew her fan.

"Don't act like we don't know about your plan to destroy Konoha." The ANBU spoke once again. "We will do everything we can to keep our village safe…even let it burn to ash if we have to."

"W-What are you talking about?" Temari backed away, channeling chakra to her fan.

The ANBU walked towards her, fist growing in size once again. "I mean, Orochimaru and my master have made a pact; you and your siblings trying to escape throws our plans astray and out the window. Foolish brat…now die!"

He shot forward, the great fist bashed against the broadside of her fan. Barely able to hold her ground, she could feel the roof tiles split and lift beneath her feet. Jumping away, the kunoichi opened her fan, channeling wind chakra to her attack. The ANBU stayed on the rooftops, looking up at her with his six empty black eye sockets. The bear mask was disconcerting. She watched him as she stayed airborne, he had sheathed his flat-headed katana and drew out standard kunai. Remembering Naruto's fights, she could only hope that the ANBU didn't feel inspired by his performance. She began her descent and landed safe and sound.

Without another second to waste, the ANBU appeared before her, slashing and clashing his knife against her fan. She deflected his weight, leading him along to other directions but every attempt to really put him in his place was for naught. They'd finally arrived to a standstill, with him pressing against her with all of his weight. The kunai was drawing sparks with even the slightest movement worrying the Suna Kunoichi. She gritted her teeth trying to displace his weight, or even force him along, but nothing was working. The ANBU was too skilled and rightfully so. Lost to her thoughts, trying her best to come up with a new strategy, she didn't realize the pair of Konoha greens on their way.

"Halt!" One of them cried.

Judging by the light green flak jackets the pair wore, Temari deduced they were chunin. Both looked like every other chunin in Konoha. In their hands were swords, both were prepared to fight. The ANBU jumped back, adopting a defensive stance. He pointed accusingly at Temari and simply gave the command to attack. The chunin gave the Black Ops member a raised brow and even lowered their guard. Temari could feel beads of cold sweat trickle down her jaw and drip from her chin. The ANBU walked up to the two Konoha chunin with the knife still in his hands. No words were shared but the look the two chunin sported was nothing short of fear. No…it's fear, not respect. Temari backed away, holding her fan at the ready.

"If you won't strike down the enemies of Konoha…" the ANBU spoke with a deep growl. "Then you are in league with the enemy!"

Like lightning strikes, the ANBU slashed the pair of Konoha chunin without remorse. Their blood sprayed in wide arcs painting the tiled rooftop beneath them. Temari's eyes bugged from her head, practically shooting from their sockets. With a shaky hand she gripped her fan as tightly as she could. She backed away, fan spread and chakra building against it. The ANBU saws this and stared at her for a few moments, the black empty holes where eyes should be were all she could see. Such empty ravines, black as caverns, darker than a moonless night. Thankfully she'd placed a pair of buildings between her and the terrifying ANBU.

"This ends now!"

A pair of kunai rushed at her. Without thinking, she quickly swung her fan, bringing the great behemoth to swing to her right. With winds arched with the natural winds and changed the trajectory of the projectiles. As the kunai flew away, the explosive tags attached to the circles at their pommels unraveled. Temari's eyes widened once again feeling a deep and dark pit grow within her stomach. The kunai headed straight for the arena stands; the largest stand filled with the most civilians and foreign Daimyo. She turned to face the ANBU who ensnared her.

He closed the distance in her confusion; foot outstretched. If the impact were any stronger, she was certain it would have changed her life. It sent her flying towards a concrete wall, reminiscent to her brother's defeat. She crashed against the concrete, cracking and shattering it slightly. She groaned, fighting back against the blood forcing its way from her stomach. It wasn't long but she fell free from the wall, fan lost and pride broken. Using what little energy she had in her body, she flipped around making her back meet the ground for the first time.

She groaned, feeling the vertebrae pop and she was certain she felt her spine break in the impact. She at least had full view of the arena stands. There were five smaller stands with one sitting above the largest stand. The far left stand housed the competitor's box and had the best vantage point of the Kage box which sat atop the largest of the five lower stands. She shook her head, doing her best to drag herself to rest against a wall. Hell will be unleashed soon but a part of her really wanted the ANBU to go up to the wall and remove those kunai. The other part of her knew the truth; if that ANBU or whatever the hell he was, was willing to murder two of his comrades…who knows what kind of civilian death count he found alright.

She clenched her teeth, feeling rage, sadness and a complete mixture of varying emotions. It blended together into a dangerous concoction, scaring her but she couldn't feel anything else. Her baby brother was somewhere in the godforsaken village and her father had made a deal that is going to doom her people. She gritted her teeth, clenching her fists feeling tears well in her eyes. The ANBU destroyed one of her brother's puppets and the ANBU made her lose her fan. What else was in store for her today? She looked up to the stands once more; there were no silhouettes save for the two kunai still embedded within the wall.

Civilians were screaming and shouting already; they'd probably found the two Konoha shinobi, or worse, they found her brother. Pulling herself to lay against a wall, she watched in horror as the two kunai exploded. With a show of fire and smoke twice as large as the ones Naruto used, screams and howls echoed through the air. Debris and people fell to the ground below, crushing and smashing against the streets. Men and women ran, trampling over one another. But once the explosion had cleared, another shook the Kage box, followed by a great purple and menacing box. Temari bit her lip feeling her breath hitch at the sight.

A few shouts and roars were heard and before she knew it; a series of snakes burst through the great walls surrounding Konoha. The plan had changed thanks to that ANBU. Kabuto had spoken of disabling the populace and civilians within a genjutsu, but obviously, that is no longer the plan. She could hear the great summons slither and hiss before their great tails would tear through a few buildings, showering the village and the various alleyways with splinters and debris. Temari held her chest, struggling to catch her breath; the ANBU were the best for a reason after all and she was a mere genin.

Reaching over for a long plank, she pulled herself from the muck. Using the plank as a crutch, the kunoichi hobbled over to the main street, pressing her back against the wall. Slowly, she poked her head out to see the chaos. Shinobi of all three nations were in the heat of battle. A pair of Konoha jōnin were holding off a handful of Oto and Suna shinobi, but even with their skill, the end result would be the same. It wasn't long before the Sand and Sound shinobi cut the pair down. Taking her chance, Temari burst from the alleyway holding her chest.

"Temari-sama!" A Suna chunin called. "Are you alright? What are you doing here? Where is Gaara?"

"He was taken!" Temari roared. "Get me a replacement battle fan, find my brother Kankuro and form a small team so we can go off and find Gaara!"

"But what of the plan?" A jōnin asked with a glare.

Temari glared back. "What of the plan?! Please tell me why all of you are murdering civilians?! The plan was to subdue the civilian populace and defeat the Konoha military, not exterminate the village!"

"Plans change, towel-head." A gruff voice sounded. "Something happened that changed the plans before they could even begin."

An elder Suna jōnin walked up to her with his fists clenched. "We made a pact and pacts need to be respected or we're no better than Iwagakure. So make sure the monster is in position or else you father will learn of this! Platoon, let's move out!"

She watched a group of Suna jōnin take to the air, only for a handful to be picked out of the air by kunai and shuriken. Their assault was suddenly hidden by a powerful explosion of smoke and fire. When the remaining invasion forces wafted and waved the smoke away, they shared a look.

Temari clenched her fists. "And what of you Sound shinobi? Any clever remarks?"

"Our lord will be watching." A Sound jōnin narrowed his eyes. "Any step out of line from you towel-heads and there'll be trouble."

With that, the forces split, leaving a heavy pit in Temari's stomach. She bit her lip drawing blood. Grabbing a spare pair of small battle fans, she flashed a heated glare at the remaining Suna chunin. "Well? Get going!"


"Kankuro…" Temari's eyes were wide. "Gaara…what are those ANBU doing to him?!"

"I don't know but what can we do?!" He glared. "If you hadn't noticed, the village is falling apart around us; your battle fan has been lost and that bear faced ANBU destroyed my puppet!"

Temari's eyes welled with worried tears. "It doesn't matter…we need to save our baby brother!"

Against the gate, Gaara was stabbed repeatedly, cut and maimed but the demon within him was continuously healing the redhead. Temari couldn't fathom what they were trying to accomplish. It looked like he'd been shouting for ages. His mouth was wide open with blood coursing down his cheeks. She glared, looking back to the arena, cursing the blond Uzumaki. If Naruto hadn't done what he did, Gaara would have destroyed these ANBU and would have been able to continue with the plan. But the cries, the screams that she heard were resonating within her heart.

Without thinking, she burst forward, a pair of small battle fans in her hands. Rolling ahead, she sent a great gust of slicing wind, cutting up a Konoha chunin. She jumped ahead, kicking and slamming her elbow into a pair of Konoha shinobi. If only she could maintain her assault; she knew she could only hold on to the advantage for so long. They were surprised, but after her first flurry of attacks, they were no longer off guard and they were no longer unarmed. Within seconds, swords, knives and shuriken were drawn and armed. They stared at her with dark eyes and dark intentions burning in their visage.

This is it… Temari backed away. They're going to kill me…I have no chance against this many ANBU…

They cocked their arms back, prepared to strike her down.

She could see the glimmering metal flash towards her.

This is it…

They're going to kill me…

"Gaara!" She cried one last time. "I'm sorry!"

SPLASH!

I'm going to die…

She stood there, arms lax and weapons at her sides.

Why am I not on the ground yet?

Worried and half manic, she opened her eyes to a beautiful surprise.

"GAARA!" Temari's eyes bulged from her head.

Sand had shot out to protect her, absorbing the arsenal of projectiles. The four ANBU that surrounded the redhead were wrapped in sand, buried to their necks. The delirious look on his face was missing, replaced with a worried glare. Tears streamed down his face as the sands crushed the four men surrounding him. Blood and sand sprayed in every direction sending shivers throughout the Konoha ranks remaining. The winds shifted and before long, the sand shifted with it, wrapping around their feet and legs. The remaining Konoha shinobi took off, terrified of what was to come.

"T-Temari…" Gaara's voice was soft and cracked. "I-I…w-what happened?"

"We're getting the hell out of here…" She frowned. "C'mon, Kankuro is on his way."

Gaara shook his head, pressing his hands against her shoulders. "Our father…"

"Who cares about him?!" Temari hissed. "He's the one who put us in this-"

"The ANBU told me things…father is dead…the one who wears his skin is Orochimaru!" Gaara growled. "I…I can think straight now…I can move of my own accord…the beast within is no longer thrashing and I can barely hear him…"

"Gaara…" Temari shook her baby brother. "Snap out of it…"

Gaara's face fell to a more serious disposition. "Temari…I am not up to strength…but we need to move and get the word out or else unnecessary lives will be lost…I can see now…everything is clearer to me…"

"Why do you care about the village and the plan all of a sudden?" Temari's eyes were wide.

Gaara looked to his sister. "I don't care about the village…but you do…we were tricked into coming here…the ANBU stabbed me and beat me demanding that I confirm their suspicions…those ANBU they were different. I watched them cut down a pair of Konoha shinobi in an attempt to rile me."

"Why?!" Temari asked with a glare. "What do these ANBU gain from bringing the demon forth?!"

"I don't know…" Gaara gasped, feeling the wounds steam and burn shut. "But I have to thank the Uzumaki for doing this to me…"

Temari clenched his arm. "The Uzumaki almost killed you!"

"He silenced Shukaku…for good."

With that, he threw his arm over her shoulder as the two took to the air. Once they landed, they took in the sights. Men and women jumped about, blades clashing and spraying sparks down below. In the air, shinobi were shot down like flies; Konoha or Suna, the distinction made no difference. Temari glared at the Sound shinobi hopping about, looting the dead Suna shinobi or moving to steal glory. None of that mattered right now though; the invasion was doomed from the start. She took to the air, Gaara's sand had formed enough shroud to protect them as they escaped into the village proper.

Once they landed, a series of kunai and shuriken barraged them, clashing with her metal battle-fan frames or absorbed into Gaara's sand wall. Kankuro used his chakra strings to pull debris to him to form his own shielding but the amount was simply horrendous. Temari grew frustrated with the assault and channeled chakra to her fans. With a battle cry that resounded with the winds; she sent a power gust blowing the final barrage back towards the assailants. Little did the woman know, the kunai and shuriken were from the Sound shinobi. Rushing against the rooftop, sliding on a knee using Gaara's sand as a propellant, she landed against the guard-railing of the roof.

The kunai and shuriken struck targets; she just couldn't tell who or where they weapons flew or hit. Across the street a small platoon of Konoha and Suna shinobi clashed on the rooftop, swords, knives and ninjutsu rocked the air, exploding and sending corpses flying back until there were none of them remaining. Their bodies clashed with the edge of the rooftop before sliding free and piling into one area. Temari gritted her teeth at the Sound shinobi placements just adjacent to the four-way crossing. A team of Suna shinobi were struck down all of a sudden catching her attention.

She clenched her teeth, feeling anger grow in her chest. Sound shinobi lurked against the Suna battle lines, encroaching on their progress and in some areas that she could see along the main strip of Konoha, the Oto shinobi were outright betraying the ninja of Sand! Temari's eyes scanned the strip, eyeing the small platoon of Oto ninja awaiting in their pillbox. They had ninjutsu ready and an arsenal of kunai just waiting in reserve. She whipped her head back to call for her brothers only to find that they were already by her side. Their eyes scanned the street for any possible stragglers of the Suna invasion force that were wandering the main strip.

"You saw what I saw?" Temari asked rhetorically. "Sound shinobi…they're as treacherous as those ANBU assumed."

"I could care less about what they do…" Gaara took a deep breath. "But if it helps me continue with this peace of mind…I will help you two dispose of them."

He wrapped his arm over Temari's shoulders and threw his other over Kankuro's. The three nodded as the street fell to silence. All their eyes were planted on the Oto pillbox position. Any wrong move and the Oto shinobi would act on impulse. Given the many corpses of Sound, Sand and Leaf shinobi layering the many streets; these shinobi must be on edge; an edge that the three Sand Siblings were intending to take advantage of. Taking one more moment to examine the street before they made their move; Temari nodded to Kankuro hoping he'd give the okay on his end. The war-painted genin nodded his head as well, channeling chakra one more time for a quick sensory check.

A skirmish had exploded into a full brawl a few blocks away, causing a few of the Oto shinobi stationed in the pillbox to retreat to reinforce the fight. Temari assumed it was to backstab and take out the competition while they could. Grabbing her siblings, they took to the street.

But as they descended; a family burst from the alleyway.


Naruto's ears perked as he clashed his blade with an Oto shinobi's knife. He bent back, dodging a roundhouse kick and a few punches towards his center mass. The boy's eyes were burning red as Ahri's chakra continued to flow through his coils and veins. He'd created a small pocket of space. Naruto smirked beneath the façade of terror. Channeling chakra to his legs, he exploded forward in a blink of an eye. His knee rammed into the shinobi's chest; Naruto could feel the man's ribs and sternum shatter from the pressure. As the man flew back, Naruto drew his new favorite weapon and bashed a few kunai and shuriken out of the way.

Ahri… Naruto breathed heavily. Despite being a clone…I have to say, your chakra is really something else.

"What do you mean by that?" Ahri raised a brow.

My senses are increased; my sight, smell, hearing and perception has been amplified tenfold; I feel unbelievably strong… Naruto smiled. I feel like I can do so much more…

"I believe it's time to put that belief to practice…" Ahri narrowed her eyes. "The one tailed beast is just a few blocks away."

Gaara? Naruto gave the fox within him an estranged look. What is he doing that far from the arena?

"I'd say he never even made it to the clinic." She scowled. "It looks like he and his siblings are trying to escape and leave. I can sense their chakra heading towards one of the main gates."

What do I do? Naruto asked.

"I don't know." She responded honestly. "I still want that conversation with the beast…this could be our first step to apprehending that bastard Kurama."

Whatever you say… Naruto was about to take off again but froze in his steps. Have you figured out what's wrong with my arm? If you haven't that's fine…the chakra I'm using has made significant strides at calming the shaking. I don't know…it feels…different.

"Just side effects; now go!"

With that; the conversation was cut short, leaving Naruto to his own devices. Channeling chakra to his legs, he shot off into the air, landing on a rooftop. The clone stared at the destruction of the village feeling his heart wrench at the chaos. The snakes were in fact, not banded together, but were beginning to split off to cause more wreckage throughout the suburban and business districts of the village. Smoke and debris shot into the air as they slithered about. Fire techniques, lightning techniques, earth techniques and all the weapons they could throw; not a single thing worked. If anything, every time the shinobi of his beloved home tried to disable or kill one of the behemoths, it only aggravated the creatures even further causing more destruction.

He grunted, rising to his feet, sword in hand and chakra still burning his coils. He closed his eyes and found himself in his mindscape. The clone stared at Ahri blowing her nails and leaning against a wall with an aloof expression across her face. As the sounds of battle came to a shuddering halt and the fights slowed with time, the Uzumaki pressed his hand against the metal bars. His anger piqued and grew as the images of the invaders flashed through his mind. Suddenly, Ahri shot to the ground, blood-red-orange chakra launched from her body and flowed into his stomach. She roared out to him to stop, giving many reasons with each dripping with truth, but Naruto didn't listen and continued siphoning her power into his body.

Springing his eyes open, the powerful chakra his original had foregone and left behind, rushed through the clone's body. His once cerulean eyes now exploded with fire and a vibrant red. The round pupil had elongated into single vertical slits. His canine teeth elongated and his hair grew wild with the blowing winds. The blue chakra that radiated from his kunai sword darkened, bearing the same red-orange color as Ahri's beast chakra. Roof tiles cracked and snapped from their placements and began to float before disintegrating as it came into contact with the overflowing chakra.

He took a deep breath, taking in the rough scent of blood, fire and smoke. It tickled his lungs as the chakra tickled his muscles. He clenched his teeth, feeling his whisker marks burn in contact with the bubbling chakra. Slowly but surely, the power residing within Ahri had finally encased the shadow clone in a glowing chakra cloak. Taking heaving breaths, the boy relished as his bangs rose to create horns that in turn became the chakra cloak's fox ears. He hunched forward as a tail of chakra rose from the base of his spine. Time was still frozen for him, allowing him to visualize every possible point of attack. He shuddered as the radioactive chakra burned against his bare skin.

"Naruto!" Ahri shouted from within. "Stop taking the chakra! You don't know the repercussions of entering the Bijuu cloak this soon!"

The clone winced, feeling the power burn against his bones and muscles. "I don't know…but I need to do something…the Boss and Sasuke are too busy fighting in the stands trying to protect the civilians…"

"I get that, but you cannot use chakra like this!" Ahri pleaded. "Any more and you'll end up hurting your own people in the process! Just stay calm, you don't need this much chakra!"

The clone's eyes fell as the color red color slightly receded. "I need more power to win…the Boss is off still fighting…I am just a clone but I am still Naruto…I need to protect our home and I need all the power I can control to achieve that goal."

"Then listen to me." Ahri calmed. "This chakra is too strong for you, hell at times it's too strong for me and I've had it for more than eighty years…Naruto…just calm down. If you dispel, who is left to continue defending the streets while Naruto is off in the arena trying to direct civilians and fight the Suna/Sound invasion?"

The clone sighed softly, pressing his hands against his knees. But as the chakra cloak began to recede, all that remained were great whiskers and blood red eyes. From his chakra, he sensed a massive cast of men and women, shinobi or otherwise. They were running and fighting, each and every flame of chakra. No two flames were alike but among the great inferno he could sense, there was but one that had two flames burning within. One flame was great and blue, flickering and steadily gaining size, while the second was a dark and malicious fire, burning with a terrifying aura. Unlike the first though; while it felt more powerful, it looked and seemed so weak. Examining the flame further, he could see a tiny collection of characters glowing upon the body of the flame.

The clone's blood-red eyes widened at what he saw. "Wait…Gaara!"

He zipped forward, ending his conversation with Ahri. He dashed through Sound and Sand positions and even blasted through a large skirmish between the defenders and assailants. With the amount of Ahri's chakra evaporating off of his legs and arms, he appeared just above the Sand Siblings. Gaara was struggling to stand and was using his elder siblings as crutches. They were yelling and calling out to various men and women dressed in tan flak jackets. Before Naruto could call out to the wounded Jinchuriki, something great and powerful arrived. Something far more terrifying than the great malicious barrier that cut off the Kage and the rest of the village.

The Suna trio took off to the street, while Naruto struggled to come to terms. He looked to Ahri, wondering if it was her doing, but given her confused and rather worried look herself, didn't sit well with the shadow clone. He held his chest feeling the energy press against him like a pressure cooker. He fell to his knees, watching the flames disappear beneath the great fire that had turned into an inferno. It was purple, as opposed to the overwhelming blue. It was far more malicious than that of the tailed beast chakra he channeled and that the Ichibi. He finally steeled his resolve and took off ready to fight the being, whomever it was.

Just as he came to, the image before him send shivers up and down his spine.


Gaara, Temari and Kankuro jumped from the rooftop, prepared to assault the Sound emplacement from the cover of the street's debris. But before their feet in the ground, a family of three burst from the alleyway in front of them. The shinobi crashed into the civilians, breaking their momentum and plans. They rolled about screaming and shouting in pain. But the mother howled when Gaara was practically rammed into her side. Her child shot from her arms and into the air. The redhead looked over to his siblings, trying to regain their bearings and looked to see the father barely conscious. But when he looked to the mother, his heart nearly stopped.

She looked past him, almost completely unaware of his presence. With time slowing down, he had to make a choice. He whipped his head around, finding his thoughts with pure serenity and peace of mind. The baby wrapped in a shawl fell from the air at a dangerously quick pace and the rest of them were struggling to gather their wits. Across the street, the Sound shinobi had become aware of their presence thanks to their shouts and botched landings. Kunai were in their hands as their eyes planted with the civilians and his siblings. Chakra was barely under his control thanks to the seal Naruto had placed on him.

He could feel the chakra churning within him but he couldn't bring it forth. Teal eyes whipped back and forth. His sister was wiping dust and dirt from her shoulders, all the while trying to find the small battle fans. Kankuro was shaking his head after hitting the ground in an awkward angle after colliding with the civilian man. Turning his sight along, the baby was falling and was getting dangerously close to being turned into a puddle of mush. He made his choice but he just couldn't make it come to fruition. The redhead growled and channeled all the chakra he could, churning it within his stomach and prepared to force it through the seal. He needed to break it; he needed to!

But before the sands could merge and move in to catch the baby and create a wall to protect the group, Kankuro's chakra strings came to life, latching onto the falling infant. Temari burst forward, blasting through hand seals. The civilians were screaming, tears streamed down their faces as they backed away from the Sand Siblings. Kankuro pulled on the chakra strings, bringing the little baby to his arms. Channeling what little chakra he had left, strings had latched onto the mother and father's limbs. Controlling them, he brought them along to the adjacent alleyway, keeping them safe and protected from the chaos that was about to ensue.

"Go!" Gaara yelled, catching the civilian's attention.

They looked to Temari as she finished her seal pattern. Great gusts of wind shot from her mouth and smashed against the incoming projectiles, sending them back at the Sound shinobi. Gaara roared as a kunai managed to bypass Temari's retaliation. The blade stabbed into his shoulder, reminding him of the pain the ANBU had done to him not too long before.

"Look, I don't know where you two are trying to go in the middle of all of this, but get the hell out of here." Kankuro gave the two civilians a look. "It's too dangerous and stay to the alleyways!"

"I-I…" The man gave the cat-suit wearing shinobi a look. "Thank you, Suna-san."

"Thank you!" The woman shouted as they took off through the darkness of the alleyway.

The boy turned and burst into the street, chakra strings latching onto various pieces of debris, rocks, and concrete and even rebar. Flipping, with all his strength in his arms and chakra, he launched the new weapons into the Sound emplacement, collapsing the second floor into the first floor, killing and maiming the Oto shinobi that terrorized the strip. Temari gasped, trying to collect her breath. She turned to her siblings with a struggling smile but that smile dropped immediately.

"You three are just as confusing as the first day we met." Naruto glared. "First your people throw my village to the fires and then suddenly, you change your minds in the middle of the battle?! Who the fuck do any of you think you are?! Do you honestly think that saving civilian family rights the wrongs you Sand freaks had done?!"

Orange chakra exploded from his body, much like fire burning from his frame. "You…you…"

Gaara looked at Naruto with wide eyes and immediately looked to his brother and sister, clenching his fists. Sand began to wisp in the wind, gathering around his fists.

"No…" Naruto's eyes widened as well. The flaming chakra came to a halt and receded to his body, leaving blood-red eyes and greatly defined whiskers.

"Gaara-kun." A hiss-like voice echoed from behind Naruto. "And the Kyuubi-brat. Hello, Naruto~"

"Orochimaru."


Okay, to explain Gaara's change of demeanor
I wanted to let it build up to the point of explanation from Ahri or maybe even Jiraiya
but I know a lot of people won't be able to wait and some will probably insulte me with asinine assumptions

So if Mokuton is known for calming down demonic chakra, and the Adamantine Sealing Chains
are used to calm demonic chakra; I've come to the assumption that they have the same effects
both subdue darkness and hatred in the best way possible, they are unmatched in ninjutsu
So using that information; putting two and two together; Naruto's Seal cut off Shukaku from
messing with Gaara and even managed to calm Gaara's insomniac-traumatized mind

So YES; Naruto WILL be getting the Adamantine Sealing Chains, he WILL know fuinjutsu and Uzumaki stuff
I actually have a whole Uzumaki arc on the drawing board for future, future chapters
(If it wasn't obvious enough yet; what Ahri was talking about was the Adamantntine Sealing Chains that were used on her
difference between what she taught Naruto and what was used; Naruto's seal didn't have chains)

So Review!

Ja ne!

gottahavekyuubi