Hey everyone, hope you're all enjoying your day. I don't know how many of you actually read this portion but I just want to say thank you for being part of this. I know I say it a lot but it means quite a lot to me that you're all part of this. I want to address one review from someone who commented that Naruto having his canon personality makes no sense, and maybe I didn't do a good job of translating this through my writing and for that I'm sorry, but there are moments where people realize that Naruto isn't genuine, and there are very few times he really, truly smiles. Again, maybe I didn't do a good job of writing that out, but that's it. That's the answer. Naruto is pretending to be a goofball because it's easier that way for him to 'fit in.' As usual the original story is still owned by Kishimoto-Sensei.

Previously in A Cruel Fate: Neji gave us a heart wrenching back story on why he is the way he is, saying that someone like Naruto could never understand. However, none of that mattered to our protagonist, as his issue with the Hyuga isn't his attitude, it's that he hurt Naruto's precious person Hinata. Now with Naruto having stood back up from an attack that he shouldn't have been able to, witnessing Hinata being carried away and being reminded why he wanted to tear Neji apart to begin with, Naruto channeled the chakra of the nine-tailed fox. That would be just fine, if Naruto also wasn't growling and resembling a wild animal about to rampage, something that Sakura alone seems to be worried about.

And now:

Chapter 16: I want to kill you last…

"Now then…let's see how you taste" Naruto's words left little to the imagination as those that were present for the preliminary fights knew exactly what Naruto was talking about. For those who didn't know though, they were confused as to what the blond meant, and were left to draw conclusions that the boy meant he was going to eat the Hyuga.

Neji readied himself against the beast before him, recalling exactly how Naruto acted in the forest of death. Reckless, uncoordinated, and easily dealt with. The problem wasn't that Naruto was now more powerful, it was that he no longer held any semblance to a human being. Neji readied himself for the coming onslaught, though how he would manage, he had no idea.

Naruto bared his teeth before charging forward, as he dashed, Neji prepared a rotation to intercept the attack. However, if he'd known what was charging towards him, he would have chosen to dodge instead, for the moment Naruto connected with the rotation, Neji went flying—rotation and all. Naruto chased after the fading dome of chakra and the moment it was down, he pinned the Hyuga to the wall by his throat. Neji wasn't about to go down without a fight though, as the moment Naruto's hand closed around his throat, he struck out with several chakra strikes to Naruto's arm. Something that didn't seem to faze his opponent in the slightest.

"That the best you got?" the blond wickedly smiled. "Show me the power of the Hyuga clan." Naruto tossed Neji aside. He flipped mid-air sliding to a stop, but by the time he regained his balance Naruto was attacking again; erratically, yet with dangerous precision. Every time Neji managed to block or dodge a hit, another strike would already be digging its way into his arm, his side, his leg. It was never the same spot, and didn't seem random at all. As more blood spattered across the ground, Neji was desperately trying to mount a counter attack, but each attack he threw that he managed to land was something Naruto would just power through. After a particularly wretch-inducing blow to the gut, Neji went tumbling back. He coughed and gagged as he pushed himself to stand. He turned to see Naruto walking slowly towards him, hands dripping with blood, face covered in dirt, and sweat. Yet, none of that changed that the look in his eyes resembled that of a lion stalking its prey.

"Stop the match!" someone in the crowd yelled, followed by those in agreement. Though they were screaming for the match to be ended already, none of them seemed to have the strength to move from their seats.

"T-that…can't be Naruto…" Ino, who was just as stunned as everyone around her, couldn't help but wonder just what kind of person they had sitting with them in those classes, and how they never noticed the type of power he held. "Sakura, that's not really Naruto, right?" she asked, hoping that maybe this was some kind of joke, but when her co-spectator remained silent and rooted in fear, Ino knew.

"Has Naruto always had this kind of power?" Kiba was watching in awe as Naruto stalked Neji. "Was he holding back against me, that jerk" he added, feeling the wound on his pride more than the fear that should be there.

"Your friend isn't in control of himself" Kiba looked up towards the man in the white mask who had healed Hinata.

"What do you mean? He sure looks like himself" Kiba replied, turning his attention to Hinata. The look of fear on her face made him rethink his perspective even before the man in the white mask spoke again.

"He's giving into his, uh, inner beast" the man in the white mask chuckled, yet didn't elaborate why he found that funny.

"It's the same as on the bridge" Hinata, who finally seemed to be herself again, watched with dreaded anticipation.

"The bridge? In the land of waves?" Kiba turned to face her but received no answer. "Hey, Hinata—" "No!" Hinata's plea cut off Kiba's questioning. Turning back to the match, he could see why.

Down in the arena, Neji struck Naruto with another chakra strike directly to the heart, which seemed to stop the blond in his tracks—if only for a moment.

"Your fate was determined when you tried to kill my Hinata. Now, live with those choices."

"Did he say my Hinata?" Kiba was sure that wasn't the first time Naruto had spoken those words, but he wasn't sure he heard it correctly.

"It seems your friend is quite fond of this one here" the man in the white mask nodded towards Hinata, who would normally blush something furious and vehemently deny the accusation. But all she could do at the moment was watch.

"Genma, stop the match" the third Hokage shouted, finally finding his voice.

"No, don't!" Neji protested, lashing out with another strike that connected. "I can still fight" after two more strikes he jumped away from Naruto to catch his breath. "I admit, you are someone I wasn't expecting to put up this much of a fight, but you can't beat me. No matter what you do, your destiny is to lose to me" Neji began spouting off to the hunched over Naruto.

"You're starting to bore me with all that destiny crap again" Naruto's voice sounded just as bored as he said he was, but there was something else in it. Anger? Hatred? Neji couldn't tell. "That's it, this fight's over" Naruto's red chakra began to dissipate, easing some of the spectators, save for one teammate and one Hyuga who were both still watching on baited breath. He charged at the Hyuga, lifting him from his feet before he could dodge or counter. Naruto slammed him into the ground and cocked back his clawed hands.

"Die" Naruto growled, as he went in for the kill.

"Naruto, you promised"

The blond stopped mid attack as those words ran through his mind. The Hokage's words stayed the Uzumaki's hand just above Neji's neck. The latter sat wide eyed as he stared up at the red eyes of his opponent, confliction in his eyes as he bared down on him. After stepping back, Naruto turned away from Neji, the red chakra now completely gone.

"They told me I was a weapon. That I would only ever be good at killing. I choose who I'm going to be" Naruto looked up towards the Hokage; his promise to the old man didn't seem as important to him as his promise to Hinata. He scanned the crowd for her and when he finally found her, even with the distance between them, he could see the fear in her eyes.

"Tell me something Neji Hyuga, if there was a way to escape your cage…what would it mean to you? What lengths would you go to just to fly freely? Would you discard who you were told you were supposed to be for the sake of who you want to be…or would you live your life being nothing more than that? I could have killed you any time I wanted, but no matter how much anger I hold in me for what you did to her, her words were swimming in the back of my mind this whole time" Naruto's words took Neji by surprise. He looked down to see that, while Naruto had been tearing into him with those claws of his, he avoided every major artery and organ. "I promised I wouldn't kill anymore, I promised I wouldn't kill you. I forgot who I wanted to be for a moment…but don't you ever forget who I am" Naruto looked back over his shoulder towards his opponent, Neji was sitting still, but they both knew the fight was over. Neji fell back, huffing and somewhat relieved.

"When I become Hokage, I'll rid the Hyuga of their curse…no one will ever be a prisoner once I'm in charge" Naruto called over his shoulder. "Till then, see ya." Naruto began to walk away from the arena, and as he did, there were some that cheered for him, others that booed him, and some who just didn't know what to make of what they witnessed.

"The winner of the first match is Naruto Uzumaki." Genma announced, though if he could put into words what he was thinking, it would be that Naruto Uzumaki was someone that would no doubt be a formidable ally, but an even more deadly enemy. He was a kid that saw too much, too soon, even Genma could tell, but the kid had the heart to never give up and it was something he held deep within himself. Even if he, himself would never realize it.

"Naruto Uzumaki…just what kind of life did you live to become who you are?" Neji's thoughts were all jumbled. Surprised that he lost, relieved that someone out their understood his pain, remorse for how he had behaved, and to his own shock, excited that he still had the room to grow stronger.

As he walked through the halls leading to the combatant's spectator box, Naruto could feel each step throb with a pain he hadn't felt since he was a child. The dark room never shied away from inflicting physical pain on him as a punishment. Whipping him on the bottom of his feet, cutting into him with a sadistic pleasure that he could hear in their breathing. So, even though he never seemed to scar from his punishments, he could swear each step was opening up wounds on the soles of his feet. That his back was freely bleeding, or that his sweat was actually blood running down his chest. No matter if he walked slow or with haste, his body begged for him to lie down. To just rest and not get back up for a while—if at all.

"I would say I'm surprised you won, but that'd be a lie. I'm more surprised Neji walked out alive" Shikamaru's lazy drawl reached Naruto's ears as soon as he turned the corner to the stairs.

"Waiting for me?" Naruto asked, though he wasn't particularly interested in the answer.

"I'm next. Sasuke's match got pushed back and that Kankuro guy forfeited his match against Shino. It's a drag, but I guess I was bound to fight eventually" the Nara explained. He yawned as he passed Naruto; "Truth be told, I was rooting for you" he clasped Naruto on the shoulder as he walked by.

"Hey, Shikamaru" the Nara slowed down, but he didn't stop. "Thanks. For a moment there I wasn't sure I would walk out of there either" the blond admitted. And though it was more of a confession to himself that he just barely managed to regain himself, he felt relieved to say it out loud. "Good luck out there" he added, turning to continue his own trek.

"I guess there really is more to you than meets the eye" Shikamaru waved a hand over his shoulder while digging the other one into his pocket.

"You're the one who's full of surprises, Shikamaru" Naruto always thought it was strange that the Nara always slept through class but always seemed to understand any and everything that was being taught or discussed. Maybe he wasn't the only one pretending to be something he wasn't. Maybe Shikamaru, too, was pretending this whole time.

As Naruto entered the spectator's box, the first thing he noticed was the blood lust. The unfiltered, undying desire for blood shed coming from Gaara, whom was standing next to the kid with make-up on his face who Naruto assumed must be the Kankuro guy Shikamaru mentioned. Naruto and Gaara sized one another up as the blond passed the red head, but neither spoke. Neither made an attempt to attack. Instead, Gaara seemed to be curious, if not desperate for answers. While Naruto, who was standing by pure muscle memory, wanted to just sit and watch the next match. Unfortunately, there was nowhere for him to plop down and instead he took to standing next to the silent Shino. The Aburame didn't say anything, nor did he object to Naruto standing next to him. Instead, he just continued to look down at the two combatants about to start their match.

The crowd still seemed to be in some type of shock that someone managed to beat a Hyuga, that Kankuro forfeited, that Sasuke still hadn't shown up, and that the current match seemed to be dragging as soon as it started. Naruto watched as Shikamaru, who was currently sitting in the singular tree on the battlefield, seemed to be coming up with some sort of plan.

"Hey Shino" Naruto looked towards the bespectacled ninja, who remained silent. "So, I was sort of wondering, I mean, I wanted to ask if you like Hinata?" the blond wasn't sure why he felt uncomfortable asking.

"Yes. Why? Because Hinata is a good friend and a good teammate" Shino's answer made Naruto let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Do you?" the question was unexpected and Naruto wasn't sure how to answer it.

"I said yes the last time someone asked me that and then they got mad when I asked what the difference was between liking someone as a friend and liking them as more than that. So, I don't know" Naruto replied, and though that wasn't entirely the truth, he didn't want Shino to get mad the way Sakura did.

"I'm sure that you will find an answer, though I'm not entirely sure when that would be" Shino commented, and though he didn't laugh or sound like it, Naruto got the distinct impression that he was making fun of him.

Naruto turned back to the match and wasn't all that surprised to see that Shikamaru was struggling to get the upper hand. Even though he suspected that Shikamaru was smarter than he let on, you couldn't fake laziness like that and it was showing now how much of a disadvantage it put him at.

"Man, this is taking forever" Naruto complained with a heavy sigh. He was about to sit down and lie back against the wall to rest his eyes, but when he turned around, he noticed Hinata standing in the doorway. She was gesturing for him to come over to her while simultaneously trying not to draw attention to herself.

"What is it?" he asked the moment she dragged him away from the rest of the participants. The fact that she literally pulled him by the sleeve didn't escape him, but Naruto wasn't able to comment on it since the moment Hinata pulled him far enough out of sight—she hugged him.

"I was really worried about you" she buried her face into his shoulder, muffling her voice. "I asked you not to hurt Neji and I thought you two would kill each other…I was so worried" she repeated, and all Naruto could remember was the look of fear in her eyes. So, when he pulled away from her, it felt alien to him to be without her touch.

"You're right, Hinata" he started, but couldn't find the words to continue on. He could hear the crowd cheering and being obnoxiously loud, but couldn't imagine Shikamaru and the blonde girl's fight being that exciting.

"R-right about what, N-Naruto-Kun?" Hinata's voice hit him softly, like she had whispered directly into his ear.

"I was going to kill Neji" he admitted. He couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes, but he heard the shift in her weight as she leaned away from him.

"Y-you d-don't mean t-that?" she said, though it didn't sound convincing.

"It's who I am, Hinata. It's why I keep people at a distance. If you knew the real me, you would run from me, you should run from me. That fight against Neji reminded me that no matter how many times I mess with the villagers, how many times I make Iruka-Sensei mad, no matter how many promises I make, I will always be capable of killing without hesitation" Naruto looked up to see Hinata's eyes glazed over. "Yup. This is it. she's going to run away from me now, and she'll never look at me the same" he thought. He was about to say more but Hinata started to stumble back and as he went to catch her; he too began to stumble.

"What…gives?"

Hinata fell backwards, her eyes already shut, but as she fell, Naruto caught her. As his eyes began to shut despite how hard he fought against it, he found himself falling asleep too—Hinata safely in his arms.

"This is now an official mission. You hear me? Find Naruto and go after Sasuke, bring him back. Remember to keep your wits about you Sakura, this is no time to freeze up. This is the real thing, got it?" Kakashi's authoritative voice made Sakura snap to attention. She managed to dispel whatever Genjutsu it was that was settling on the crowd before she ran into Kakashi already engaging with the enemy. She wanted to say that she already searched for Naruto and couldn't find him, but felt that she could just search for him again on the way out.

"Take Pakun with you, he can guide you to Sasuke." Kakashi added, nodding towards a dog he summoned. "He's a ninkin, a ninja dog, so trust him to do his part." Sakura nodded. As she turned to Pakun, he was already sniffing the air.

"I have his scent" he said, running up the stairs. "This way" Sakura followed after him. As she jumped over the wall, she caught a glimpse of blond hair, but her fear of those red eyes didn't let her stop. Instead, she pushed onward. Shame settling in that she would leave her teammate lying where he was.

"How did this happen?" Pakun asked, as the two of them raced out of the arena.

"Beats me. After Shikamaru's match, Sasuke finally showed up. His match against Gaara was going really well until Sasuke used Kakashi-Sensei's technique. I guess he got Gaara pretty good since Gaara started to go berserk, screaming about blood and wanting to kill" Sakura was trying her best not to mention the similarities between Gaara going berserk and her own teammate doing the same. Especially since both of them were spouting off about blood and death so casually, causing her to feel even smaller that she didn't stop to wake Naruto.

"After that, someone cast a Genjutsu over the stadium. I noticed it right away, and after I dispelled it, I ran into Kakashi-Sensei before he gave us his orders." she surmised.

"What about this Naruto? We didn't look for him" Pakun mentioned, making Sakura clench her teeth.

"I-I looked for him before I ran into Kakashi-Sensei, I didn't find him beforehand" she lied, and though it wasn't a complete lie, she wasn't about to admit that she saw him before they left.

"You smell of worry and fear. Is that sand brat really dangerous or something?" he questioned. Sakura was glad the ninkin wasn't pressing the Naruto issue, and while he was right on her being worried and terrified, she couldn't say that it was because she was afraid to face her own teammate, let alone that she was terrified that Sasuke would die before they found him.

"I'm fine" she reassured, quickening her pace as to avoid further questioning. "We have to catch up to Sasuke-Kun."

The two of them were moving at a pace that Sakura wasn't comfortable with, given that she never moved this quick before for any of their other missions. She couldn't shake the idea that they would be too late.

"Stop!" Pakun ordered, and the two of them came to a dead stop before a kunai went sailing passed them.

"Oh, that was really close. To think that you barely managed to avoid it."

"You? You're Kankuro…where's Sasuke-Kun?" Sakura demanded. Kankuro looked confused, before smirking.

"Don't know, maybe he's dead already" the boy laughed, though the way he tried to casually dismiss her worry led her to believe that maybe Kankuro didn't even know Sasuke was chasing them.

"Sakura leave this guy to me"

The three of them looked up to see Shino standing on a branch a little way away from them, looking down at Kankuro.

"Shino?" Sakura was surprised to see the boy of few words.

"Took you long enough to catch up" Pakun yelled, jumping passed the shaded boy. He called for Sakura to follow before Kankuro could react.

"Thank you, Shino" the pinkette said, and though she was more worried about not finding Sasuke, she couldn't help but worry for Shino as well.

Kankuro tried to intercept them, but the Aburame was quick enough to cut him off instead.

"Looks like we're getting to have that match after all" Kankuro all but whined. Though he hated the idea of having to fight this Shino kid, he felt confident he could win. The Aburame remained quiet, already thinking of ways to defeat his opponent.

"I hope he'll be okay" Sakura said, but she didn't slow her pace. She couldn't. If Kankuro didn't know that Sasuke was chasing them, then where was he? And more importantly where was Gaara if not with Kankuro?

"There's someone else up ahead" Pakun mentioned, and as they jumped to another branch.

"It's Sasuke-Kun!" Sakura exclaimed, but the two of them stopped in their tracks again as they watched Sasuke breathe a ball of fire towards the ground below him.

"Is that Gaara?" Sakura watched as the fireball engulfed the area, but wasn't paying enough attention to see who it was aimed at.

"Wind Scythe Jutsu" a female's voice rang out. The ball of fire was blown away as Sasuke jumped from his perch out of the way of the barrel of wind hurtling towards him.

"That's Temari, the other sand ninja" Sakura explained, as she watched Temari jumped after Sasuke. She was about to scream out in horror when she saw Temari nail Sasuke with two kunai to the chest, but she quickly noticed that Sasuke substituted out of the way. She let out a breath of relief as she watched Temari get blasted back from a paper bomb.

"That Sasuke kid is quite good" Pakun commented, watching as the Uchiha landed on a tree opposite them. He was looking down at the blonde girl, a look of contempt on his face. Before Sakura or Pakun could call out to him though, Sasuke jumped off into the trees, clearly continuing his pursuit of Gaara.

"Sasuke-Kun, wait!" Sakura called out, but too late. They had no choice but to go after him again.

"Kun…Na…to…Kun" Naruto groaned as he felt someone shaking him. "Naruto-Kun, wake up" the blond opened his eyes to see Hinata's face looking down at him. Her worried expression eased a little as he sat up.

"What's…going on?" he asked, looking around. There were bodies lying around, the sounds of fighting and yelling echoed around him. As the stench of blood reached his nostrils, he jumped to his feet. "Hinata, what's going on?" he repeated, his senses kicking into overdrive as the memory of blood and guts lying around him as a child kicked his ass into gear.

"I-I d-don't know" Hinata admitted. He didn't say anything else and instead motioned for her to follow behind him as he made his way through the hall. She was glad that he was awake, but she wasn't sure whether she was happy about his reaction or not. "Naruto-Kun really wasn't lying…his reaction now…he really isn't a stranger to these types of things" she hated herself for thinking it, but seeing him clearing corners as he gestured for her to follow, the way he would dispatch an enemy that she wasn't even aware was there, made her really wonder how much of the Naruto she knew was the real Naruto. "Was Naruto-Kun always capable of killing so easily?" she thought as the boy who held her attention for so long brought a mask wearing ninja to his knees before twisting his neck.

Hinata wanted to throw up watching Naruto kill another ninja, and then another, and another. And though she felt her heart racing in fear watching him fight and kill with ease, she couldn't pull her eyes away from him. There was no emotion on Naruto's face. No life behind those blue eyes that she loved. This was the Naruto she met when they were children. The Naruto that saved her in the woods that day. She clenched her eyes shut tightly as the sound of metal ripping through flesh violated her ears. "Naruto-Kun is…Naruto-Kun…" she wanted to beg him to come back, to be the boy that she grew to admire and cherish. She could see his smiling face and it felt like a stab in the heart to think that he was faking it. The sound of his laughter echoed in her memory and she wasn't sure if that was him being happy, or if he was simply faking it to make her happy.

"Hinata…" she hadn't opened her eyes yet, but she could tell that they were alone. The sounds of fighting still echoing in the distance. "Hinata, you should go. Find your teammates, or sensei…I'm sorry you had to see me this way" the confusion she felt in her heart was no match for the pain she felt when she heard the sorrow in his voice. She realized she was being an idiot. This was her Naruto. There was nothing different to her about him. Her eyes snapped open, she was going to hug him and tell him that she would always be there for him, no matter what. But the moment she took the first step, she realized she waited too long. Naruto was gone, and she was left feeling as if she would never get the chance now.

"You stupid, stupid idiot" Naruto berated himself. He was already outside in the arena. After clearing the path for Hinata, he couldn't help but hate himself. "Why'd you kill all of them stupid moron? And then you just leave her there. Oh, what's wrong with me?" he complained.

He wanted to keep yelling at himself but the sight of a purple barrier caught his attention. As much as he wanted to run back and grab Hinata, he felt that she probably didn't want to be near him at them moment. Instead, he jumped towards the purple barrier, and inside he could see the third Hokage and who looked like Orochimaru locked in a struggle. A sword through the old man's back.

"Old man!" Naruto shouted, but try as he might, he couldn't force his way through the barrier. "Hold on, old man, I'll undue this seal and get you out of there" he assured, but the Hokage yelled for his attention.

"Naruto, leave me and help the others" he ordered, Naruto protested.

"Hell no, I can break this barrier, just give me a sec."

"No!" Hiruzen screamed. "As your Hokage I am ordering you to help the others in need, do as you're told" he commanded. And though something in Naruto wanted to argue, the familiarity of that command made him bow his head.

"I live to serve" Naruto replied. The third, realizing what he just did, tried to tell Naruto that he hadn't meant it that way, but the boy was already walking towards the edge of the roof, ignoring the words of anyone around him.

"Such a shame, Lord third, the boy clearly holds you close to his heart" Orochimaru hissed, the snake seemed to know something about Naruto that the third didn't, and though he wanted to ask, he wouldn't give Orochimaru the satisfaction of holding it over his head.

"I'd hate to be the one to tell him of your death, kukukuku" the snake added, and though it was strained, he laughed. "Perhaps I shall burn your village to the ground and take the boy with me."

"Naruto Uzumaki is stronger than any boy his age. You can't break someone like that Orochimaru, not in a thousand years" The third retorted, and though he meant every word, he couldn't help but think that the boy was in a fragile state right now. He would need the support of his friends if he would be able to overcome the dark influence from inside.

Naruto surveyed the surrounding area, counting how many enemies he could see from his spot. Though he wanted to help the old man, he felt bitter that the old man would command him in such a way. So, with his back to the purple barrier, he raised his hands in front of him – "multi-Shadow clone Jutsu" – as his clones jumped around the arena grabbing injured allies and moving them out of the way, telling allies to clear the area, or to occupy the enemies, Naruto performed a series of hand seals and, with a glance over his shoulder to the old man, he silently said goodbye. Knowing full well what technique the third used, Naruto knew that he wouldn't get the chance to see him again.

He turned his attention back to the battlefield, and once he was sure that the ninjas of the leaf were safely out of the way, he watched as each of his hundred or so clones placed a tag on their opponents before being dispersed. Naruto jumped from the roof, finishing his series of hand seals before he extended his palms in front of him.

"Seal: Soul Detachment Technique" he called out. The moment the final word left his mouth, the bodies of those that were tagged with a seal slumped to the ground in a heap. There were still plenty of enemies, but as soon as Naruto landed in the arena, he could see the relief on some of the leaf Ninja's faces.

"Naruto, what did you do?" Kakashi, Gai, and a few other leaf ninjas stood around Naruto. Some looked a little worse for wear, but Kakashi and Gai looked unfazed by the onslaught.

"I took their souls" Naruto answered, he walked towards one of their enemies' bodies and kicked it. "See? They're all dead now. Soulless husks" Naruto explained, he walked over and grabbed a chunin by the wrist. "Don't touch that" he said, stopping the chunin from touching the sealing tag.

"Kakashi-Sensei, tell everyone that if they remove the tags, they will be haunted by the ghost of the person who's tag they removed" Naruto looked back at the chunin. "Don't worry, it won't last forever, but it's still not pleasant to deal with" he added. He let the chunin go, who remained looking at the body, almost curious to try it out for himself.

"Naruto…you didn't have to do that; we would have managed" Kakashi spoke softly to the boy. He pulled him aside from everyone else. "I know you promised not to take life anymore, why would you go to this extreme?" the Jonin asked. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, giving him a slight shake.

"I was commanded by Lord Hokage to help those who needed it. I was just doing what I was ordered to do" Naruto bitterly replied. The tone in his voice didn't escape the cyclops Jonin, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"I see. I'm sorry Naruto, the third didn't mean it that way, you know that, don't you?" Kakashi asked, and for a moment, it looked as if Naruto did in fact know, but just didn't want to admit it.

"I have to find Hinata…I need to make sure she got out okay" Naruto said, and though he was trying his best to not think about it, he was certain Hinata was probably long gone and glad to be rid of him.

"No, Naruto. I need you to go after Sakura and Sasuke. They're in pursuit of Gaara from the Sand, they were heading north. Actually, find Hinata and take her with you. She can help you track them" Kakashi explained. Naruto grit his teeth, here was another person ordering him around.

"Why should I?" he demanded, to which Kakashi sighed.

"They're going to need your help Naruto. And they're your teammates, and Hinata can help" Kakashi said, gesturing for the boy to go. "If you take Hinata with you, then you know she'll be okay" he added. After a short pause, Naruto nodded. He turned his back to the Jonin but hadn't moved yet.

"What is it Naruto?" Kakashi asked, the blond was looking towards the roof where the third Hokage was.

"It's…nothing" Naruto answered. The way he hung his head before running off made Kakashi look up towards the roof again. What had Naruto sensed that he didn't?

"Oh, Naruto, one more thing. Don't kill Gaara. Bring him back alive" Kakashi was worried that Naruto hadn't heard him, but the slight nod put him a bit more at ease.

After a little bit of searching a little bit of putting down an enemy or pointing someone in the safest direction, Naruto finally managed to track down Hinata. She was currently helping a couple of the villagers out of the stadium.

"Hinata" the moment Naruto approached the lot of them, he noticed the worried looks on the villagers faces.

"N-Naruto-Kun…w-what are y-you d-doing here?" she asked, relieved to see him, even if he looked as if he was struggling with something.

"We have orders from Kakashi-Sensei. We are to track down Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha" he explained. Hinata was taken aback to hear Naruto referring to his teammates so formally.

"W-what do y-you n-need me f-for?" she ushered the last of her group of villagers out the exit before turning her attention back to the blond.

"Kakashi-Sensei said you would be able to track them" Naruto replied, and though he knew Kakashi was right, he didn't understand why he would tell him to take Hinata and not someone like Kiba.

"I'll do my best" Hinata promised. Though she too was thinking that her teammates would be better at tracking someone, she wasn't about to miss this opportunity to show that nothing was going to change how she felt about the boy in front of her.

Before Naruto could even formulate a proper plan, he and Hinata were already jumping through the forest. He was used to tracking people through their smells, but in this vast open forest, he couldn't catch a whiff of anything familiar. All he could smell was the faint traces of some blood and maybe smoke, but with the wind blowing west, he wasn't sure if that was from who they were tracking, or from someone else.

"N-Naruto-Kun…I see p-people fighting over there" Hinata pointed to her right, before turning back to Naruto.

"Can you tell who it is?" he asked, but he didn't stop.

"I t-think it's Shino-Kun."

"If he's not dying or in danger, we can't afford to stop."

"I-I k-know" Hinata said, and it was hard for her to hide the fact that she was a little disappointed that Naruto so easily dismissed going to help her teammate.

"Shadow clone jutsu"

Hinata turned to see a clone of the blond jumping off into the direction she pointed. Naruto didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. Hinata smiled to herself. Despite everything he told her, and everything she saw, Naruto was still willing to help those he thought might need it.

"T-Thank you."

"I did it so you would focus on tracking. I'm sure Shino is fine" he replied, and even though it was the truth, Naruto wasn't about to admit he did it so that Hinata wouldn't worry.

"R-Right" she said, another smile on her face. After years of being around each other, she knew for a fact that this time Naruto wasn't being completely honest.

"Wait" Naruto stopped and had he not put his hand out to stop her, Hinata would have kept going or fallen forward due to his abrupt stop. "Do you smell that?" he inhaled deeply; "Smells like explosives, you smell it right?" Naruto turned to Hinata who's face was bright red. His hand still outstretched was directly over her chest and the moment he realized it, he jumped away from her.

"S-sorry…Hinata" he cleared his throat; "I hadn't r-realized where I was touching."

"I-I-It's o-o-o-okay N-N-Naruto-K-Kun" if Naruto was about to die of embarrassment, then Hinata was already a ghost.

"Right. I think a battle happened here" Naruto quickly changed the subject, hoping that doing so would ease the tension. Hinata quickly scanned the surrounding area and shook her head.

"T-there w-was a b-battle here, b-but no one's h-here" she confirmed before pointing ahead of them. "W-whoever w-was h-here, w-went t-that w-way" she concluded. Though they weren't going to bring it up again, she couldn't get over Naruto's warm hand on her, and she mentally had to kick herself to get over it.

Naruto wanted to say something else, but given that they were slowly moving passed it, he decided against saying something that could make it worse. So, he jumped on ahead, leaving Hinata to catch up. As they raced through the forest, Naruto became more aware of the disturbed surroundings. Broken branches, cut marks in tree trunks, even the dirt below looked as if it had been kicked around something fierce.

"There" Hinata called out from behind him. She pointed just a little to Naruto's left and the two of them shifted their path. "S-Sasuke l-looks like he's in t-trouble" she hurriedly said. Upon hearing that, Naruto jumped from his next branch with such force that it left his footprint embedded in it.

Naruto managed to intercept a hulking figure descending on Sakura and Sasuke. The latter was lying face down, struggling to move while the former was crouched over him in a protective manner.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted in shock as Naruto landed between the two of them and the hulking figure that he sent flying with a well-placed kicked. "H-Hinata?" the pinkette turned to see the Hyuga Heiress kneeling next to her and Sasuke now.

"Kakashi-Sensei sent us" Hinata said, though she sounded as if she was committed to seeing this through, her voice was soft and fragile. She was scared of whatever it was that they were facing.

"N-Naruto…R-run…f-from h-here. T-that G-Gaara…is o-out o-of y-your l-league" Sasuke struggled to say. Sakura and Hinata helped him sit up, Pakun was sitting next to Sakura but he himself had yet to say anything.

"If you want to run away Sasuke, go ahead. I won't stop you" Naruto said, he didn't even turn to look at them but Sakura could tell that this Naruto wasn't the one she wanted to argue with.

"You idiot…you have to…"

"Shut. Up!" Naruto barked, he was staring across the break in the trees towards Gaara, who was finally standing across from the blond. "I'm tired of people telling me what I have to do today. This is what I'm best at. If this Gaara guy wants blood and death so badly, then he shouldn't have wasted his time with you, not when he could have fought me" Naruto pulled a kunai from his pouch that had a seal that the other four had never seen before wrapped on the handle. Naruto looked over his shoulder at Hinata and her breath caught in her throat. It was the same look he had when he was protecting her earlier.

"Hinata…do you know why you're precious to me?" Naruto asked. The Hyuga's face burned bright red as she, and Sakura both sat stunned that Naruto would bring this up now. The Hyuga shook her head to which Naruto looked away. "Because you were my first real friend, and you always…make me feel weird."

"Is this really the time for this Naruto?" Sakura demanded. While she wanted to know what happened next between these two, she couldn't help but notice that Gaara was coming towards them again.

"Yes. This goes for all of you really…I'm sorry for what you will see." Hinata wanted to run to the blond and pull him close to her. The hurt and pain that was carried in those words made her heart ache. "Don't get in my way" Naruto warned, almost as if he could read her mind.

He tossed the kunai towards Gaara, who laughed. "You're all going to die here!" the redhead bellowed, but it didn't phase Naruto. As the knife soared through the air, Naruto flew through a set of hand seals.

"Sealing technique: exploding dragon strike—release" the singular kunai exploded into an array of hundreds of other weapons—all hurtling towards Gaara. Yet, Naruto didn't stop there. He went through another series of hand seals.

"Sealing technique: Shadow multiplication" suddenly, the hundreds of weapons flying through the air, turned into thousands.

"No way. He used the shadow multiplication to make it harder for Gaara to know which weapons are real and which ones aren't" Hinata, who had her Byakugan active, could tell which ones were real and which ones weren't, but she was still in awe that Naruto could use Fuinjutsu so easily.

"N-Naruto…" Sasuke watched in frustration as his teammate seamlessly stopped Gaara in his tracks. He wanted to stand up and fight too, but using the curse mark drained his body of any strength he had left. He would have no choice but to leave it to the blond.

"Is that the best you've got?" Gaara demanded, his sand was doing the absolute best at defending him from the onslaught of steel. "I want to kill you last so you can watch the other's die painfully" Gaara added, but Naruto raised his hand in front of him and smirked.

"Release"

The surrounding area was rocked by massive explosions that left nothing but a cloud of smoke in its wake. "Naruto!" Sakura called out but Hinata placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Naruto-Kun is fine. The…weapons all had paper bombs on them…" the Hyuga explained. She was mad at herself for being impressed by such a destructive display. Sakura too was impressed, though she was more concerned with why Naruto would have ever come up with such an attack.

"I know you're not dead" they could hear Naruto's voice through the smoke, and after a loud roar from below them, a huge gust of wind cleared the area of the plume. Gaara was staring up at Naruto, while Naruto was staring down at him.

"At least try to make this fun for me"

AN: Sorry for the late update. This took me a while to write out solely because I wasn't sure what I wanted to happen when Naruto threw that kunai. Did I want him to use the duo sealing techniques or use a different jutsu? I couldn't decide. And so, I kept procrastinating telling myself that I would come up with the answer tomorrow. I didn't come up with an answer and instead I flipped for it hehe…heh…sorry. We're getting closer to the last time skip I'll do. Because honestly, after the next time skip, I won't have a need for another. Almost there.

Until next time.