Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1.

AN: Full chapter title: Clash At Last! Naruto vs. Gaara!

"At last!" Naruto at last caught a glimpse of Gaara and his smile widened.

He did not waste any more of his time with pursuit. He put on a burst of speed and at last overtook the fleeing Jinchuriki. His shield came to his arm and he made use of it to slam it into his fleeing foe, rip through his sudden barrier of sand with ease thanks to his formidable might.

The Genin was thrown off whatever path he traveled and slammed into a much larger tree, cracking the bark and making it groan as it nearly toppled.

Naruto landed directly across from his foe on a sturdy tree branch.

"We meet again Gaara of the Sand Waterfall." Naruto's smile promised nothing but pain, nothing but agony for the one he had named as his destined foe for this day. "Your excellence at such cowardly deception allowed you to escape the bite of my blade once but it shall not happen a second time."

Naruto lifted his arm into the air, allowed a red vortex of raw power to engulf him and spread further and further around the two that would soon do battle.

"You shall be forced to stand here and face me or you will die by a hundred blades!" Chakra erupted from Naruto's arm with his shout and the world, however briefly, turned to crimson red.

"HOO!"

A Century of Praetorians readied their blades and held their towering shields on strong arms. A wide circle was formed around the two as each shield was wrapped in a crimson glow, as each blade was suddenly alit with a crimson fire. A hundred red eyes looked upon Gaara and only disgust laid within them.

A coward who had run from Caesar would have the honor of dying at his blade, would have the honor of giving glory to Caesar and his Legion in death. They would insure the cretin didn't run from this battle like he had the last. He would taste their blades, suffer for attempting to run from such an honor as battling Caesar himself.

"My men will not involve themselves in this battle unless you run from me once again." Naruto grinned as his red eyes locked with Gaara's own. "Now let us clash! Show me all of your strength Gaara and I shall show you my own! Let us battle now and see which one of us shall prove victorious!"

Gaara only stared at the Uzumaki even as sand wrapped around him, as his gourd completely broke down at his back. Soon enough a twister wrapped around him, consumed him in a shredding vortex of his sand.

"Why?" He at last spoke as he moved, as he pushed himself away from the tree he had been sent against. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why?" Naruto chuckled at the question. "Why do we do anything Gaara? I fight for the glory of my Empire and of my Legion! I fight for the eternal satisfaction of victory! I fight simply because I wish to! I fight for the thrill of battle, for my Empire to prosper, and for the glory I have been denied on this day for far too long!"

"Such an empty life…to live like that." Gaara stared at Naruto as the sand around him began to coalesce, began to form into a familiar shape and form. "You live for others, live for this Empire you keep talking about. You don't know what it's like to have nothing." He took a stumbling step forward with his leg becoming further and further encased by black marked sand as he did so. "You don't know what my existence has been like."

"You wish to speak on your life?" Naruto paused as his hand settled at the blade at his side. "You wish for idle chatter instead of the glory of battle?" He could not help the low chuckle that escaped from him as he shook his head from side to side. "You are amusing if nothing else Gaara of the Sand so I shall give you such a thing."

"You'll die today regardless." Gaara's turned eyes devoid of drive, of desire, to Naruto as the sand that had gathered across his form began to fall to the ground, its markings gone just as swiftly as they had so suddenly arrived. "Your death will be the end. When I kill you I won't have to bother with it anymore. That thing's voice, the whispers filling my head, will be gone for good."

"Ah, you speak of the beast that lies within you." Naruto chuckled. He was mildly curious when his foe had turned to face him and now understood. The beast was what had fled from him. "You have not subjugated the creature, have you?"

In that moment something came to the dead eyes of Gaara.

"Subjugate?" The sand that had gathered around him fully broke away.

"Of course. A beast is a beast and it shall learn to fear the hand of his master." Naruto chuckled once more as crimson eyes stared into Gaara's own, as the power he had taken from the Kyubi no Kitsune so many feared was brought forth for a brief moment in a surge of wrath, in a show of the sheer power he held so easily in his hands. "I do not know of the others, of the rest of those who call themselves Jinchuriki, but I am no mere jailor of a Tailed Beast. I am a master over such a creature and of such power."

A hand rose and it was wreathed in crimson flames. A fist was all it took and it was dispersed into the wind. Such a feat drew the attention of Gaara in full.

"You have control…" Gaara stared at Naruto with a truly unmistakable awe in his eyes as he spoke. He seemed disbelieving that such a thing was possible in this world, that one could control such a monster sealed within his body. "How can you control such a monster…."

"I had no use for the beast itself but the power it held intrigued me. I faced the beast and I took what I desired from it." At the memory of his victory over the beast, the subjugation of it by his Legion, a true smile came to his face. "My Legion is without equal as always. The beast was no true challenge believe it or not. It was a creature of instinct, without true thought to any attack it unleashed beyond near mindless destruction. It succeeded for a moment of course, I perhaps even underestimated the power my Legion faced, but that was all."

His hand returned to his side and his smile became something cruel.

"Time was all it took in the end. Once my Centurions learned what the beast was capable of after the first battle it was simple enough. It took two of my Cohorts to subdue it, chain it, and leave its power mine to do with as I wished." Naruto lifted his hand from the hilt of his blade and crossed both over his armor.

"That isn't supposed to be possible. No one can control a Tailed Beast. No one can subjugate something so powerful." Gaara stared at Naruto like he was something he had never seen before, something that he had never thought to see in this world.

He was.

Naruto Uzumaki was not a Genin like so many others, he was not a Chunin like those that once taught him, he was not a simple Shinobi like those that battled across the village, and he was not something as simple as a Jinchuriki like eight others in the world could attest to.

He was much more than such simple titles. One could not describe who he was with something as simple as the name Uzumaki or the title of Jinchuriki or the rank of a Genin or Chunin. He was beyond such things and had been beyond such things since the day he had declared his might to the world.

He was Caesar of the Uzumaki Empire.

He was Caesar of the Orange Legion.

"All things a Caesar like I could desire lie within my reach Gaara of the Sand." Naruto let his hand fall to his blade once more. He did not draw it yet for he had no need to.

The Jinchuriki was different now.

The madness that had plagued his eyes, the bloodlust that had sang through the air from him, was gone.

'It seems I will not be fighting the same mad dog from before.' Naruto did not let irritation show as his red eyes quickly returned to blue once more. He had no use for the beast's power at the moment with his foe more interested in speaking to him than battling him like he had long desired. 'It seems the beast influenced him more than I once thought.'

"Caesar." Gaara spoke the title as if testing it. "You are a Caesar." His eyes searched his for something. "How does it change things? How does it make the two of us so different? How does that title give you control?"

"It gives me nothing!" Naruto threw his head back and truly laughed for the first time. It was no light chuckle, it was nothing born of brief humor. It was loud and it was booming. It was a sound that carried across the forest to all who inhabited it at the moment. He laughed for Gaara was simply able to humor him with such inane and misguided questions.

"I am a Caesar! All the world lies before me and I shall take it for my own to prove what a Caesar is to all who dare to doubt me!" Naruto threw his arms out at his side and took several steps forward with his grin growing wider and wider. "I shall prove to all what the title of Caesar means when I lay claim to all I see! I will show all what a Caesar truly is as I build my magnificent Uzumaki Empire until all look upon my banners and rejoice, as my glorious Orange Legion defeats all foes who think to stand against me and my right to rule!"

"Caesar…" Gaara spoke again but he was no longer testing the word to discover its meaning. He had it as he looked at Naruto once more.

A Caesar enjoyed what he saw. His opponent was at last ready it seemed. He grinned.

"I believe the time has come then!" Naruto's hand fell to his blade and now he stood mere feet from Gaara, the foe he had long awaited to do battle with. "The time for talk has past. It is time that we clash, that the world is at last given a glimpse of my power! It is time that we fight and see which of us shall emerge the victor, who shall be the one to find glory and who shall taste nothing but a bitter defeat!"

"There's no point to us speaking any further." Gaara's sand rose up behind him as geysers that formed into a growing pillar of sand. Clawed arms of sand ripped free and encircled Gaara a moment later but did not strike out at Naruto. Blades of sand erupted from the ground around him before receding, geysers of sand broke free of the ground and formed into large boulders that hung in the air awaiting his command. "My mind is clear for now."

"And it shall remain such." Naruto grinned at the new challenge. Gaara was not some mad dog, he was not driven solely by bloodlust anymore. "I see such potential in this battle now Gaara of the sand and I shall not let it be taken from me!"

He jumped back to create distance and at last he drew his blade free from his side, let it sing through the air as his shield came to his arm. His smile only widened when sand continued to erupt from around Gaara and take shape.

There would be no madness now.

He would have the battle he had been denied by the Ichibi and perhaps it would be greater with Gaara's mind clear of the whispers that had filled it, urged him to near insanity.

"This will be fun." Words would no longer be required.

Chakra ignited across his sword before Naruto slashed his now azure blade through the air.

A crescent of Chakra shot forward towards his foe and was consumed by a sudden wave of sand. It lowered and Gaara was moved back by a platform of sand at his feet just as Naruto's second airborne blade of Chakra would have cleaved through him.

He eagerly followed skyward after his foe with a mighty leap even as great stones of sand hurtled towards him.

The battle he had long awaited for had begun at last.

Lee exploded forward from where he stood just as Sasuke's transformed eyes widened at the sudden speed he had known of but never seen until now. He had perhaps a moment to prepare before a fist slammed into his armor, the unmistakable crack showing just how much damage Rock Lee had done in a single blow.

The Uchiha was thrown back from where he once stood and his back slammed into the tree behind him with enough force to send a crack up the trunk. His red eyes were open and in search of his foe only to find him out of sight until a kick from the side ripped him free of his resting place within the trunk.

Sasuke recovered before he could slam into another tree and turned in midair to land feet first instead as he finally caught sight of Lee.

He was already preparing himself for another attack and Sasuke took the moment to draw in a deep breath.

"Katon: Hosenka!" He spewed out six fireballs one after the other as he let himself fall from the tree and take off in a run even as he drew a number of shuriken to his hands, throwing them towards the sudden inferno that burst to life upon the impact of a few of the fireballs.

Lee had avoided the fireballs with ease and was likely rushing towards him again when he threw another set of shuriken, the wire strings on them drawing Lee's eye as they curved around him. They embedded themselves into a number of trees and formed a rough cage around the Uchiha, a circle that Lee didn't advance on just yet as he moved some distance away. He had seen the Uchiha's prowess with shuriken before and now merely waited to see what he had in mind with them this time.

He didn't have to wait long.

"Katon: Ryuka!" Sasuke drew the hand holding the wire strings up and unleashed an inferno that raced down each of them, that created an inferno around the two of them when they struck the trees.

Lee moved away from the sudden burst of heat in a burst of speed and closed the distance between him and the Uchiha in the blink of an eye. Sasuke's Sharingan actually tracked him this time and the Uchiha didn't waste time.

He breathed out a pair of small fireballs that swiftly made Lee prioritize dodging them than finishing his attack. He hit the ground and the moment he did he was gone from Sasuke's sight back the way he had approached for his attack.

The green clad Genin landed on a single knee on the ground outside of the burning cage around the Legate.

'I should have known he had a counter for my speed.' Lee marveled at the strategy he hadn't seen before his attack. 'He could not match my speed but he has given me only one way to attack. A single corridor in the flames will take me to him so he always knows where I am going to strike.' The fires that raced up the trees prevented him from approaching from above, the thick smoke already spewing forth limiting his visibility the higher he went and especially in the treetops. Flames still burned on the wire strings and formed an incomplete circle with only a single path through. His eyes glanced outside the cage. 'Perhaps it is best to run from this fight.'

Sasuke lifted his arm into the air and Lee's eyes immediately snapped to him.

"You think to run from this battle and on to Caesar's own no doubt." Sasuke had seen Lee's eyes glance to the side. The seal he bore on his arm burned red with Chakra for them both to see. "If you wish to face the blades of the Legionnaires of Caesar's magnificent Orange Legion, then run from me! I have no problem ordering their blades to cut you down for the audacity to interfere in Caesar's battle and to run from the one before you!"

"I must defeat you then." Lee's eyes zeroed in on Sasuke and the Legate found it in him to chuckle despite the pain caused by Lee's first blow.

"It is the only way to prevent such a thing Rock Lee." Sasuke lowered his arm and Lee darted forward once again.

The Uchiha was prepared for his blow this time and ducked under the kick he had seen coming before he threw the next set of shuriken in his hands forward. Lee had seen the glint of metal in his hand and was already moving away before they could leave the Uchiha's hands. They still soared into the smoke above their heads while the Uchiha was unable to avoid Lee's next blow and found himself thrown into a burning tree. The Genin was already moving to end the battle he had never wanted to take part in with a single blow to knock the Uchiha out cold.

Sasuke ducked to avoid the blow and threw himself into the Genin as he rose.

The two hit the ground.

Both had already separated by the time the dust had settled from their impact.

"You closed your eyes." Sasuke kept his eyes locked on Lee and Lee kept his eyes away from the Sharingan. "I should have expected as much from the student of Maito Gai. Making use of any Genjutsu is going to be more difficult than I imagined. Perhaps not even worth it against you."

"I urge you to stop this battle now Sasuke." Lee was taking the lull in their fight to once again try to bring this unnecessary battle to a halt. "We are comrades, Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf! We are not enemies!"

"You are my foe until you give up this idea of battling Caesar's foe." Sasuke didn't wait for Lee to begin the battle again, he capitalized on his hesitance to fight him.

He moved slowly, in comparison to Lee's own incredible speed, forward and Lee was already in the midst of dodging him as he closed the distance between the two. His Taijutsu was good, far better than most, but he was not on the level of one trained by a Taijutsu Master such as Maito Gai. He and Lee both knew his blows stood no chance of striking him but Lee still had to avoid them.

The Uchiha pressed the attack for this reason until Lee was forced to completely disengage from the clash lest he be forced into the flames that grew fiercer and fiercer around the two. He appeared outside the circle of flames.

Power washed over the two, power both had felt in the Chunin Exams earlier in the day. It could only mean that Naruto and Gaara had at last begun their battle.

And it meant that Lee had no choice.

'I cannot waste any more time with this battle.' Lee cursed what he had to do.

It had truly come to this it seemed.

"I will give you one last chance Sasuke!" Rock Lee called out to his fellow Shinobi for the last time, called to him to end this madness and allow him to pass onward to Gaara. "I do not wish to do this but you have left me no choice! Step aside before this goes on any further Sasuke!"

"What you ask of me is impossible. I am the Legate of Caesar's glorious Orange Legion. I do not retreat and I do not bow to others. If you wish to step past me, you will have to kill me." His Sharingan focused on the Shinobi in front of him even as he dropped into his own Taijutsu stance. "You should have gone back the way you came when I gave you the chance Rock Lee! I will have to carry you back to the village myself now."

"So be it." Rock Lee bowed his head.

'Forgive me for this Gai-sensei.' He sent one last silent apology to his mentor for what he would do. 'What I am to do now is against all you have taught me but I cannot let this stand! I cannot break my promise! I cannot cast aside my Nindo today or any day! I must battle my comrade today and I must use all my power! I must be the one to face Gaara! I must be the one to make him pay! I will accept any punishment you give me later but I cannot allow another to take this battle from me!'

Lee paid no mind to the single tear that leaked from his closed eyes. He knew what he had to do and would do it. He could not back down now, he could not turn and run now. He would see this through with all of his heart for anything else would violate his own personal creed.

He would not give up no matter what.

No matter what he had to do, he would be the one to battle Gaara.

He breathed in. He readied himself for what he had to do.

"First Gate, Gate of Opening…" It was foolhardy but he gave the Uchiha one last chance to stop this madness. He paused as he felt his strength swell, as he felt the gate ready to open. He knew already that the Uchiha would not take this last chance, that he would not allow him through while he still stood.

It was foolish to think so.

He truly had no choice.

"OPEN!"

AN: And this is it for what I have written at the moment. Any suggestions on how to wrap this up song and dance up?

Seriously. It would be appreciated. Like a lot.

Moving on, thanks as always for reading this story.

Peace.