War

Gaara grunted as he slashed through the ground, his sand trying its best to force the ice out of the way. The Suna genin grunted, attempting to force the ice upwards so that way, just in case there was some sensing mechanism in the sand, the user wouldn't be able to quickly change how the ice was acting and crush them. Grunting, Gaara sent another chunk of ice into the air, sand flicking around his form.

Ibushi watched the Jinchuriki work with a pensive expression on his face, glancing back up at the fort in the distance. Genjutsu wouldn't be effective enough to hide them from the men in the fort, especially if his theory about a dojutsu user being in their was accurate. There was always the option of waiting for their elemental ninjutsu users to run out of chakra, but considering the massive chakra pool they would have to have access to in order to throw up jutsu of this scale, that might take a while. More so, if they had access to soldier pills it could be longer than he was willing to wait. More so, by the time they ran out of chakra it was entirely possible that the poison cutting off the Konoha forces retreat would have dissipated. Konoha had been blessed to consistently have the largest average chakra pool of any village. The fort was virtually unassailable. Gaara would take too long to make any significant progress as well, he could tell just by how slow the boy was moving.

There was no pushing through these weather conditions due to the fact that they were powered by chakra. If it was a natural storm then it would be possible, or it could even be waited out. This was not possible. Not without a vastly superior level of force, one that would destroy the fort.

Ibushi clenched his fists, thinking of the repercussions. The destruction of an integral fort, one which was a central staging ground for the war against Konoha, would be a heavy blow indeed. It would make the surrounding desert a war zone, the closest staging ground several miles out. The visible effects of the war would not be seen on the desert sands that swallowed all, but that would not mean that it did not happen. The Land of Fire, the more populated country, had more bodies to throw into the war effort that the Land of Wind did. If the fighting took place on their land it would be preferable, if only to be able to raze villages to the ground and strike at their population. A battle on Land of Wind territory, even as far as they were from the closest town, would be detrimental to the moral of the war effort.

But they could not just allow that Konoha forces to burrow into one of their forts and gain a staging ground either. If they were to lose ground, they should at least make sure that Konoha gained none in the process. Mutually assured destruction.

Ibushi grunted, glancing over the seals on his wrists. They would not help in this situation, his puppets no wear near the level to be able to withstand chakra-enhanced weather of this magnitude, but perhaps someone with a seal was exactly what they needed currently. It would not go over well with Soka, but Kazekage be damned. Glancing at Gaara Ibushi prepared to talk only for his eyes to widen as a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, Gaara's sand just barely reaching in time to stop it from hitting the artillery, the heat from the weapon instantly turning the sand to glass and the smell of ozone permeating the area.

"Damn it," Ibushi muttered, glaring at the fort in the distance. "If only genjutsu could work here."

"How are your chakra reserves doing Yakumo," Sasuke questioned, parroting the question from a not to far Ko. Yakumo merely frowned, shaking her head, causing Sasuke to parrot the action back at Ko. A frown graced the mans features before he started barking out orders towards Konoha shinobi, the forces beginning to mobilize. Sasuke could only stare, before turning his attention back to Yakumo. Of course her reserves were doing poorly. She couldn't do physical conditioning to increase her chakra pool size by expanding the physical aspect of chakra, so she could only rely on the spiritual side and the extremely limited exercises that could be done to increase chakra capacity spiritually, such as meditation. It was no wonder that even with her large chakra pool her jutsu would burn through her reserves quickly. And it wasn't like the girl could simply eat another soldier pill, for fear for her death. No, she was too important for that, and it would be a stupid decision regardless.

"How long do you think you can hold the jutsu?"

The duo turned, Ko standing behind the Genin.

"About two more minutes," Yakumo stated. "I've never done a jutsu on such a large scale before. It's burning through my reserves faster than anticipated."

"Understood," Ko stated, frowning. "Deactivate it then. We might need you for a surprise attack. It's better to let them think you're out of chakra. If a critical situation arises how lethal can you make your genjutsu?"

"I can make lava if given enough time. I can make it quickly but my genjutsu loses much of its power if created quickly."

"Understood. Alright, deactivate the jutsu. On my signal create as much lava as you can and send it at the Suna shinobi. This will likely be after they've already engaged, so try your best to avoid any Konohagakure shinobi." The man then turned to Sasuke. "You. Your job is to go to the front of the fort. Your eyes are better than mine at detecting genjutsu due to the difference in our dojutsu. Once Suna reaches us retreat to defend Yakumo, understood?"

Sasuke nodded, eyes firm. Ko nodded, Sasuke rushing off towards the front of the gate. Ko sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he stared at the slowly dissipating storm in front of him, Yakumo already working to cancel her jutsu.

"You owe me for this Hokage-sama," Ko muttered. "I don't get paid enough for this."

Hayama grunted as his blade clashed with Guren's creation of crystal once more, the duo disappearing in a burst of speed, appearing on the roof of the building across from them. Hayama swung towards her head, his wind howling as he no longer expended the chakra to keep the wind silent. It was wouldn't be effective at this stag, he needed every drop of extra chakra he could get. Guren dodged the blade easily however, leaning backwards while speeding through handseals. Before she could activate her jutsu however Hayama launched a kick forwards, forcing her to block. The woman narrowed her eyes, lashing out with the crystal lance on her forearms only for Hayama to deflect with his blade, parrying it upwards before launching a spinning kick that smashed into Guren's stomach, sending her stumbling backwards.

Guren grunted, lifting her head to glare at Hayama, only for her eyes to widen as he appeared in front of her, kunai in hand. With a grunt she raised her lance, managing to stop the lunge dead in its tracks, her own hand reaching out in a blazing punch that cratered into Hayama's sending him flying. The man grunted, flipping in the air to land on the side of one of the nearby barracks, the wall from underneath him completely destroyed by the invading shinobi. Guren, taking advantage of the fact that Hayama was too far away to stop her from using her jutsu, immediately began to weave through handseals.

Silently she finished her handseals, red crystals springing up from the ground to spear towards Hayama. The man grunted, leaping away as the spears shredded through the wall as though it were paper, only for his eyes to widen as more crystals sprouted from the existing one to chase after him. As it approached the man quickly spun, using his wind blade to carve through it, albeit with difficulty. Grunting the man then turned to Guren, her hands resting on a handseal.

Small crystals shards began to flake off of the woman's body, before spinning rapidly and shooting towards Hayama. The man's eyes widened, his eyes narrowing as he drew upon the necessary amount of chakra.

'One down,' he muttered as he waved his sword, a storm of wind unleashed towards the shards, causing them all to be reflected back at Guren. The woman easily avoided them beofre she launched herself towards Hayama, a grin on her face. Smirking Hayama drew an explosive kunai before launching himself right back at his assailant. The duo clashed in midair, Guren trying and failing to get past Hayama's wind blade while Hayama attempted in vain to pierce her with his kunai. The two landed on the ground, gritting their teeth, before Guren smirked.

"What is it? Realizing that you can't win," Hayama stated, trying to mask the feeling of dread in his system. It was obvious he was tired, and he was positive Guren could see that. The sudden attack while they weren't prepared had worn on him, and he had barely recovered from the last engagement. This was not a battle that was so easily won. Guren did not grace the man with a response, another lance of crystal forming on her other arm before she launched herself forwards. Hayama grit his teeth, launching himself towards her as well. The duo clashed in the middle of the air, Hayama's blade only managing to form slight chinks in her lances as she spun them forwards. In an expert display of kenjutsu Hayama managed to deflect both strikes wide, missing him entirely as he launched himself forwards, his knee colliding with Guren's chest. The woman heaved, giving Hayama enough time to stab the kunai into her shoulder, a grin on his face as he leapt away.

With a single handsign the tag exploded, the man waiting to see what had become of his opponent only for his eyes to widen as he saw crystal lying in a pool right where Guren was supposed to be. Spinning on a dime as he sensed the killing intent he turned, blocking one of the strikes Guren had launched.

He was not able to dodge the other.

Her crystal lance speared directly through his side, the man coughing up blood as it entered and exited his body. Dropping to a knee, Hayama's eyes widened, unable to move through the combination of exhaustion and blaring pain. Guren smirked, raising her other lance as Hayama's wind blade deactivated, the now-normal sword dropping to the ground.

"You lose," Guren stated, bringing the lance down. Hayama grit his teeth, a flash appearing before his eyes before a sudden explosion rocked the area, sending Guren and him flying in opposite directions from the force. The man grunted, landing roughly on the ground, the wound on his side only growing more aggravated by the action. However, before he could even worry about that he had to find out where that explosion had come from. The man turned, only to see Tenten next to him, Gaku's ninken beside her as she tried to lift him.

"Don't worry about me," Hayama stated, blood trailing from his mouth as he talked. "I won't survive this wound without an iryo-nin, and you're not that. Get Gaku, and get out while saving as many people as you can."

Tenten shook her head. "No, I won't lose someone else too. First my dad gets injured, then you, and all the samurai who have died. I'm not letting another person die here."

Hayama smiled, resting his hand on the girls, stopping her from attempting to lift him. That was better for them both. "You're a good shinobi Tenten, a good kunoichi. But people die on the battlefield, that's a part of life. You will have to get used to it, because you will see many others die. Now, I'll try and hold the rest of them off as long as I can," Hayama stated, slowly forcing himself up with his legs using the wall behind him as a stabilizer. He ignored the grimace on Tenten's face as she saw blood shoot out of his wound from his death-accelerating actions.

"Go girl. There is no time for questioning. We were destined to lose this battle the second the monster horde charged at us. It is alright. I'll handle the rest of these Oto scum," Hayama muttered.

Tenten tried to argue, however Gaku's ninken had already thrust her onto its back before she could say anything. The ninken barked, getting a nod in return from Hayama. With a blast of chakra the ninken disappeared, causing Hayama to smirk, looking as he saw the cluster of Otogakure shinobi approaching. The man picked up his sword, channeling wind chakra around it once more. In his condition he'd only have enough chakra for one more jutsu. He had better make it good.

Gaku grunted, another samurai saved by his action as the Oto shinobi fell to the ground, completely bisected. Gaku quickly helped the samurai up, attempting to force him towards the Southern border only for a kunai to spear through the air, splitting the samurai's jugular before Gaku could do anything about it. Whirling as the samurai fell to the ground Gaku howled at the Oto shinobi, his chakra rushing out to create literal blades of chakra that cut them all into ribbons. Gaku grunted, feeling his throat spasm.

Secret techniques should not be used so easily.

Turning Gaku prepared to deal with another group of Oto shinobi he could smell not far away, these ones coated in blood. With a grunt he dropped to all fours, chakra bursting from his finger tips before he flashed forwards in a burst of speed, appearing before the Oto shinobi who were standing above dead samurai, kunai in hand. They didn't even get the chance to turn before they were turned to paste.

Gaku snarled, looking at the samurai. Another dead body on his hands because he wasn't fast enough to save them. He couldn't allow any more to die, not when everyone was supposed to be retreating. However, before he could do anything else he heard a howl, Takamura's howl. With a burst of speed he raced towards the sound, just in time to see Oto shinobi converging on his ninken, Tenten on his back. Chakra began to form on his finger tips, forging claws before he roared, launching himself forwards into the Oto shinobi, carving them into pieces. Takamura barked, nodding to Gaku and pointing to the south. Gaku's eyes narrowed.

"So he's staying to keep us alive huh? Typical Hayama. Alright, Takamura let's get out of here."

"But what about the samurai," Tenten questioned. "My father?"

"The samurai are already dead," Gaku stated, a frown on his face. "I would know. I've been trying to save as many of them as I can and they all keep dying. There's no way for us to save any more of them. As for your father, don't worry, I'll go get him. Now move!"

Before Tenten could utter any complaints Takamura took off, disappearing in the distance as the ninken used its chakra to blur into a ball of fur and flesh. Gaku smirked. Takamura was not wasting any time. Good. He shouldn't either. With a burst of speed he shot towards the infirmary, his eyes narrowed. He honestly didn't know if he would be able to save Tenten's father and get out in time, but he would do his best.

The girl deserved that much after surviving two horrific fights. He would at least save her father. She deserved that much.

Ibushi frowned as he saw the weather conditions calming, noticing that in the distance the Konoha shinobi were moving like rats, likely trying to shore up their defenses since their elemental users had been exhausted.

"Careful, this could be a trap. March forwards! Two units approach from the eleven! Genjutsu users, activate the mirages, Futon users, duststorms! Puppeteers, swing right before approaching for a pincer attack!"

"Hai, commander!"

As the troops marched forwards Gaara glanced up at Ibushi. "What am I to do sir?"

"Make that tunnel again boy," Ibushi muttered. "You and I are going to shatter their defenses before the rest of the force strikes."

Sasuke grunted as he saw the Suna shinobi begin to march forwards, launching more ballistics with their artillery as some of the Suna shinobi briefly faded in and out of his vision. Pointing Sasuke directed his fellow Konoha shinobi.

"Three Suna nin approaching from one o'clock. Wrapped in genjutsu. The ones you see approaching from twelve are a diversion, the three seem to have large chakra supplies, likely for large-scale damage."

"There are two approaching from underground," Ko roared, getting the Konoha shinobi's attention. "It seems to be their Jinchuriki. Be careful when dealing with him!"

The Konoha shinobi roared their battle cries, immediately acting. The few wind users that there were focused on deflecting the ballistics, or with fire users trying to cause them to prematurely detonate. Meanwhile Ko frowned, the fringe units approaching from the left drawing his attention.

"Fire and Water style users, move to the left flank! Puppeteers! Doton users, turn the ground in front of us to mud, slow down the approach of the enemy!"

A cacophony of affirmations echoed in the air as the Konoha shinobi began to act his orders. Sasuke glanced upwards, narrowing his eyes as he saw a barrel fall towards him. With a grunt he let loose an explosive kunai, the detonation causing the barrel to prematurely detonate and let loose a ground shaking noise, the BOOM causing a slight pause on the battlefield.

"Sonic barrels," Ko stated, grunting as he rubbed his ears. "Lucky we didn't bring any Inuzuka's. They'd be out of commission with only one of those things," he muttered.

"Damn," Sasuke muttered. "They made those!"

"If there's one thing Suna does exceptionally well besides making Fuuton users and puppeteers, it's their artillery. Only Kumo can match their sheer destructive capacity."

"Stupid wind and lightning elemental users," Sasuke muttered, before his eyes widened. "More approaching from the one! Another squad, this one fifty men large, all average chakra pools!"

"They're carrying weapons and scrolls, likely fuinjutsu users, do not let them reach the walls!" Ko added on.

The Konoha shinobi roared as they moved to fulfill their directives. Within a few short minutes the ground in front of the fort had been converted into something similar to a swamp, with the water from the Suiton users making the terrain even more dysfunctional. Even the Suna shinobi's attempts to create desert storms were made sloppy due to the added elements, hindering the Suna shinobi as much as it helped them.

Bar the barrels.

Suna's artillery, due to the added windstorms, was able to move faster than most of the Konoha shinobi were able to stop, allowing several of them to smash into the fort, sonic booms and explosions of fire and wind unleashing swaths of destruction that killed many Konoha shinobi. Sasuke grunted, watching another incoming salvo, drawing his explosive kunai.

'Thank you Sharingan,' he muttered, launching his kunai towards the barrels. The kunai each hit their mark, the accelerated speed of them proving to not be a problem as the explosions detonated, the dangers of the barrels not coming close to any Konoha shinobi. A roar of applause erupted from the Konoha shinobi, causing Sasuke to smirk. However, his moment of celebration was quickly cut short as Ko roared horrifying words.

"Seven puppets and the Jinhcuriki approaching from below! All Fuuton and Katon users redirect attacks to the center of the fort, ignore the barrels! We need a conflagration the second they burst from the ground. Fifteen seconds! Raiton users and long-distance specialists not named take over the Fuuton users and Katon users responsibilities!"

The group tried to respond as best as they could, many calling upon their strongest jutsu. They were about to face down a Jinchuriki after all. Even Sasuke, for all the help he would be considering his level of strength, weaved through handseals, preparing to launch his most powerful Katon jutsu in order to create the conflagration. However, Ko reached out, grabbing his shoulder firmly.

"Go to Yakumo," Ko said. "This will only slow them down. The Suna Jinchuriki's defenses are immense. Tell Yakumo we need to turn the ground the Jinchuriki stands on into lava."

"That'll kill him," Sasuke muttered, a frown on his face. He didn't like Gaara, but Naruto did. He couldn't very well let the Jinchuriki die, even if he may still be a raging psychopath. Then again, after meeting Naruto that was unlikely.

"He's an enemy shinobi Uchiha," Ko stated harshly. "A Jinchuriki at that. Leave your personal attachments out of this, otherwise you'll be a liability. I assure you he won't hesitate to kill you. Now move!"

Sasuke grunted, the desire to argue still strong but Ko was right about one thing. The puppets Gaara was with and their controller, because Gaara did not know how to use puppets, would not hesitate to kill Konohagakure shinobi, and even Gaara might not. Konoha shinobi could die if Gaara was present, and he couldn't very well let that happen either. Without a second thought Sasuke disappeared in a burst of speed, just as the ground erupted in an explosion of sand as Gaara and Ibushi appeared in the center of the fort, with seven puppets surrounding them. Sasuke didn't need to look back to know that the Konoha shinobi had launched their attacks, the intense heat on his back being enough of a tell.

The Uchiha grunted, increasing his speed. That wouldn't kill them. Ko was right. Gaara was too strong for that.

Gaara grunted as he felt the sheer amount of heat the Konoha shinobi had unleashed on him and Ibushi as they appeared in the center of the fort. How had they figured out where they would appear from? No, that didn't matter. The most pressing issue was finding a way to fight off the sheer amount of heat pressing against his sand. It it kept up any longer all of the sand surrounding the duo would be turned to glass, easily breakable by any competent shinobi.

Gaara grunted, preparing to call upon more his sand to weather the storm before he saw the puppets form a strange formation around both him and Ibushi. Ibushi flicked his fingers several times, tubes appearing from the puppets mouths, needles at the very tip of the tubes. With another flick of his fingers the needles shot forwards, spearing through his sand and the glass into the conflagration before an explosion of poison and steam erupted upwards. Gaara frowned, his sand quickly becoming difficult to control as it was weighed down by the water. Still, the move was effective. The fire and wind was gone.

"Engage!"

Gaara frowned as he heard the call, kunai being launched towards him along with follow-up jutsu in an attempt to kill him. The Jinchuriki grunted, bringing his sand arm up, the appendage morphing into a sphere that stopped the attacks cold before it burst outwards, reforming into his arm before he swung it violently, the force sending the kunai back towards their senders. Ibushi wasted no time retaliating as well, his seven puppets leaping forwards.

One launched itself towards a horde of shinobi who were charging in, blades sticking out from the wrists of the puppet. The puppet shrunk underneath a thrust of the kunai, a strange clacking sound as though it was collapsing in on itself before it launched its blades forwards, the Konoha shinobi's eyes widening before two different pairs of kunai blocked the strikes. The initial Konoha shinobi immediately went for another thrust of the kunai, forcing the puppet backwards, before the two interfering ones launched their kunai, forcing the puppet to deflect. Before anyone could react the initial shinobi launched their kunai forwards with a chakra-enhanced toss that speared right through the reinforced wood and metal of the puppet.

Ibushi's eyes narrowed, his fingers twitching in response to the Konoha shinobi's attacks. Their teamwork was going to be a problem to get around with his attention split, but it would not be impossible. With a grunt he whistled, a chakra thread spearing from his mouth to wrap around one of the Konoha shinobi's wrists. That slight tug caused just enough of an opening for the puppet to shot a needle forwards, piercing a Konoha shinobi's neck as blood squirted outwards like a fountain. The puppet launched itself forwards as the defense collapsed, piercing the two remaining Konoha shinobi in the chest before letting the clear liquid on the blades do the rest.

Ibushi didn't even glance to his left as the incoming attack carved through the air, a wave of sand raising to deflect the blow before rushing towards Ko, forcing the Hyuga to leap away. Ko grunted, glancing at Gaara. Gaara merely stared the man down. With a grunt Ko launched more of the compressed air thrusts, only for Gaara's sand to deflect each of them, causing his eyes to narrow.

"Katon users, Suiton users, focus on the Jinchuriki! Slow down that sand!"

Ibushi's eyes narrowed, his seven puppets launching themselves into the fray as the ninjutsu specialists tried to target down Gaara, slowing them down. Ko grunted, launching himself towards Ibushi. Gaara was the shield and Ibushi was the spear, that much was obvious. But if Gaara was focused solely on defending himself and Ibushi had to focus on eliminating the threat to Gaara in order for him to spear through more enemies that left someone open.

Ibushi merely smirked, causing Ko's eyes to widen. Gaara's sand leaped up to devour him, only a quick explosive kunai managing to slow it down enough for him to leap out of the lethal attack. Ko's eyes narrowed. So the Jinchuriki could focus on multiple different avenues of attack and defend them all. That matched the information on him, but to see something in a battle you weren't participating in and then see it in a battle you were were two completely different things. Clearly this shield was far too powerful, too versatile. The spear couldn't be touched if the shield still stood, not without a surprise attack that they wouldn't see coming.

Ko frowned, he didn't like relying so heavily on Yakumo, but that was his best option. The only thing he could do was try and destroy the puppets themselves to weaken the puppeteer and try and save the rest of his forces. He could only hope that the shinobi still on the walls would not allow any more Suna shinobi through. These two were proving difficult enough to handle with their excellent strategy.

Gaku grunted as he burst through the doors of the infirmary, racing towards the corner of the room to throw up a latch, the trapdoor activated by it opening wide. Gaku glanced towards the door, frowning as he saw flames burst around the sides of it. There was no getting out of this situation he noticed as the fires began to spread to the walls. The man slid down the trapdoor, closing it down above him as he fell. The man landed on the bottom of the basement, glancing at Stijin's resting form. Grunting Gaku rushed over to him, noticing the lack of iryo-nin in the room. The man would survive without them in his condition due to their services, but clearly the iryo-nin had not been around when the invasion had begun.

Gaku glanced at the man's form, trying to think of a way to escape. He couldn't go through the trapdoor once more. Too many enemy shinobi were above, plus the blazing infirmary made it impossible to escape from without Stijin in his weak state dying of smoke inhalation. He couldn't very well make tunnels underneath the fort either. They would take too long and be far to loud, attracting the attention of the foreign shinobi. If they found this trapdoor there was no way he could hold them off, not without reinforcements that were not likely to arrive. It would be a death sentence for both Stijin and him. No, his best option was merely to wait, wait until reinforcements came. Konoha shinobi knew of the trapdoor and would check to see if there were any survivors.

Gaku sat down, frowning as he realized that this room had no rations. No food.

It would be a long wait. Hopefully not long enough that Stijin would be dead by the time their saviors arrived.

Hayama grunted as the Oto shinobi swarmed towards him, watching as the horde began chanting.

"Kill the Konoha scum!"

"Death to tree-huggers!"

"For Orochimaru-sama!"

"Burn the trees!"

Hayama snorted, the chants brushing off of him as though it were a gentle breeze. He had heard it all before in previous battles. The death chants were common insults that every enemy of Konoha stated. Generic insults, nothing worth even paying attention to. No, all that mattered was the fact that he had finished channeling his last bit of chakra. It was a good thing that the Oto shinobi viewed him as a negligible threat due to his injuries. Guren had done him one favor this day. She had allowed him to get one last parting shot at the invading forces.

He hoped they'd remember it for the remaining seconds of their lives.

Wind shrouded his blades, before exploding out around him, sharp winds cutting into the ground around him before he formed a handseal with his other hand, grunting as he tried to focus his chakra. This jutsu was difficult to pull off even when he had time to fully prepare the handsigns. With no time to do that, it was unlikely it would be as powerful as it typically was. Still, the sheer scale of the technique would make sure to kill at least a few dozen Oto shinobi.

"Fūton: Kazekiri no Jutsu (Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique)!"

With a roar Hayama let his chakra roar forwards, a howl being heard as his sword fell downwards, three giant blades of wind cutting across the ground towards the Oto shinobi. The enemy shinobi's eyes widened as they saw the trenches carved in the ground from the technique, but they were too slow to avoid the attack. The blades carved into them, blood and body parts being sent flying as the blades carved their way through the Oto shinobi lines until a wall of crystal rose up, saving the remaining shinobi from death as they stopped the attack cold.

Hayama frowned, recognizing the attack.

"Damn..." he muttered, blood sputtering from his mouth as he dropped his sword. "She stopped me again..." he whispered before falling to the ground, dead. Guren watched the man as he died, a small smile playing on his face.

"Fighting you at full strength would have been fun. Even in your weakened state you bought time for survivors to escape and almost critically wounded me." Guren glanced at the wound on her shoulder, the small smile on her face dying to just a smirk.

"A competent Konoha shinobi. Not close to the level of Hiashi Hyuga, but noteworthy. To kill even this many Oto shinobi in your dying attack. No wonder you were selected to defend the Daimyo," Guren muttered. The woman then turned to the rest of the Oto shinobi.

"The battle is won! Round up any survivors and bring them to me! Begin fortifying the defenses! The Konoha shinobi will not give up on this location so easily!"

"Yes Guren-sama!"

Sasuke grunted as he landed next to Yakumo, the young girl staring down at the battle taking place with no emotion reflected in her eyes.

"Ko needs lava," Sasuke stated, his Sharingan blazing. "Lava on the Suna Jinchuriki, Gaara. Can you do it?"

Yakumo nodded, grabbing some tapestry and her brush. Sasuke nodded, watching her begin to work before he stood at her side, watching for any movement in the fort. There wasn't much he could do. He couldn't exactly go in to fight against Gaara and Ibushi. He'd slow down the Konoha forces. He was a better solo fighter when not with his team, and while he could likely harm Gaara he wasn't sure he could defeat him. Not without a summoning, which he didn't have. Naruto really was the lucky one. He didn't know how, but the blonde's summoning creature was capable of standing at a level close enough to a Bijuu to allow the blonde to defeat the Suna Jinchuriki. Without one, there was no doubt in his mind Gaara was undefeatable except by the highest ranked shinobi.

Shinobi that were not here.

Sasuke frowned, glancing at the redhead who was fending off more Konoha shinobi's attacks, his only remaining arm not having moved a muscle since his appearance. He had to be defeated before he could call on Shukaku's power. If he did this battle was over. Sasuke tensed himself, preparing to leap into the fray to take out the Suna Jinchuriki only for his eyes to widen as he saw ink snakes slither over the sand, maneuvering themselves towards the enemy shinobi.

Someone else was taking care of it already.

Ibushi frowned as he saw the Hyuga attempt to destroy another one of his puppets, only a hasty deflection by a nearby one managing to stop the attack. Frowning his eyes narrowed, locking onto the Hyuga who was masterfully defending any nearby Konoha shinobi, forcing him to try harder as they pressed their advantage. That Hyuga was turning the tide of the battle, and with all the more focus he put into one area his puppets would eventually be overwhelmed if they were spread out.

With a flick of his fingers the seven puppets launched themselves at Ko and his entourage, the Hyuga's eyes widening in surprise.

"I'll handle the Hyuga, you handle the rest."

"Hai, Commander."

Two puppets launched themselves at Ko, their arms morphing into scythes as they swung towards the man, forcing him to leap away. Ibushi pressed the attack however, two more puppets flashing into the air above Ko, scythes erupting from their back like windmills. With a pulse of chakra along the threads that controlled them the scythes began to rotate, a heavy tornado of pure chakra being sent towards the Hyuga, only for it to be deflected by a hasty Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven). Ibushi grunted, the remainder of his puppets launching themselves from the desert sands where they hid as the two chakra blasts faded.

Ko didn't hesitate, his eyes seeing the puppets before they had even appeared, allowing him to deflect their strikes, none of the poison even touching his clothes. Ibushi grunted, the three puppets surrounding the Hyuga all opening up their chests to reveal small cannons in each of their chests. With a pulse of chakra Katon, Fuuton, and Doton blasts shot from their chest, only for Ko to leap away at the last second to avoid the blasts. Ibushi grunted.

"Those eyes of his make all of my traps useless. He sees them all. Truly a bad match up for a puppeteer."

Three of the puppets launched themselves forwards, their arms erupting into spinning buzz saws, forcing Ko's eyes to widen as he danced out of the way of the moves. Ibushi smirked. The Hyuga couldn't deflect what would cut on the slightest scratch. With another wave of his hands the four other puppets all circled around the combatants, only for their assault to be stopped by Konoha shinobi, forcing him to reconsider his plan for fear of losing his weapons.

With a grunt Ibushi managed to slice some of the Konoha shinobi, moving away as soon as he did, their bodies already beginning to seize as spittle came from their mouths. A combination of wolfbane, nightshade, and cactus eye would do that to a person. Fast acting concoction that no one other than Tsunade of the Sannin would be capable of stopping.

The wave of sand from Gaara forced the rest to retreat, allowing him to once more focus back in the Ko, only for his eyes to widen as the man slipped underneath one of his puppets thrusts, his hand reaching up and blasting its chest open, the destroyed puppet being sent flying into the wall in a pile of rubble. Growling Ibushi's remaining puppets regrouped, the six of them all with some weapon out.

With a grunt one of the puppets chests opened, a chain flying forwards like a whip, attempting to wrap around Ko's arms. The Hyuga grunted, slipping is hands away from the chains, before another puppet lashed out towards him, blitzing forwards with a blade spearing from its wrist. Ko grunted, slipping away from the white-cloaked puppet only for another puppet, this one garbed in a drab grey, to appear behind him, scythe in hand.

Ibushi frowned as Ko dodged the weapon as though it was no big deal, pushing the puppet away before lashing out with a palm thrust to the white-cloaked one from earlier, sending it flying but not destroying it. Ibushi cursed, watching his attempts to get behind the Hyuga fail time-and-time again. The Byakugan was too effective. He couldn't surprise him, not with the field of vision the eyes gave him. He could see all of the puppets weapons so he wouldn't be surprised by any, and he also couldn't be sneak-attacked with those eyes active. He had to find a way to take out his vision, even if only for a moment.

A smirk came over his face, a puppet coated in red and the one coated in white appearing at his side as he flexed his fingers. The remaining four puppets launched themselves at Ko, their scythes and blades forcing him to stay on the defensive long enough for Ibushi to prepare. The red puppet and white puppet before opened their mouths, needles appearing in the cannons in them, all with seals written on them.

Ibushi smirked before they fired, his other puppets falling away as they did so. The seals on the needles began to glow a bright red and white, before exploding in a burst of fire and wind chakra, a tornado of flying being launched in the direction of the Hyuga. Ko's eyes widened as he saw the attack approach, immediately dropping into a stance before spinning, chakra pulsing out of him almost erratically in his rush to complete the technique.

"Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven)!"

The tornado exploded against the swirling wall of chakra, a brilliant light erupting across the fort. The Konoha shinobi didn't pay the light any attention, launching themselves towards Ibushi, forcing his puppets to come to his defense, although the sheer number of shinobi and their teamwork made it a slow process to grind them all down. This was only made worse as his attention was split to see the light fade, Ko Hyuga standing there with not a hair out of place.

Ibushi's eyes widened before he grunted, his puppets revealing their cannons before releasing storms of kunai and shuriken from the weapons, slicing through the Konoha shinobi attacking him, causing at least a dozen or so to drop to the ground, dead or dying from the poison. The remaining assailants immediately paused, frowning and watching the Suna Jonin with more trepidation. Ibushi's eyes were not on them however, staring down Ko who stared at the Jonin with annoyance on his face.

"How? That isn't some attack that a mere jutsu can brush off."

"You clearly haven't fought that many Hyuga's. Nothing can get past our ultimate defense."

Ibushi's eyes narrowed, his puppets creaking as they rattled, components moving inside of their bodies. "Don't underestimate a puppeteer Hyuga."

With that the six puppets launched themselves towards Ko, Ibushi completely ignoring the Konoha shinobi at his back. He had reason to, because as soon as they launched their attacks a wall of sand rose to deflect them as Gaara got to work fending them off. Ko glared at the approaching puppets, watching as the inner workings shifted, the blades and scythes appearing from their wrists and forearms visible before they were out of their bodies.

"Puppeteers cannot defeat a Hyuga," he muttered, dropping to a stance, seeing the clear liquid dripping to the ground. "I shall prove that sentiment here." The Hyuga charged.

Neji grunted as the camp paused once more, this being the third pause since the march had begun for the day. It was only mid-day as well.

"You know I didn't realize that samurai moved so slowly," Ino muttered. "I know they don't have the stamina or strength of your average shinobi due to the fact that they can't really use chakra, but it's surprising. They should be at least better than your average civilian."

"They are better than your average civilian," Shino commented. "However we are just far above them in terms of physical ability. Why? Because we have been training since an extremely young age. Samurai only start training on their twelfth birthday. Konoha shinobi start training much younger, we should be expected to be better than them."

"They start training so late," Ino muttered, a frown on her face. "I thought they started so much earlier."

"This was covered in the basic classes of the Academy," Shino stated plainly. Ino's eye twitched, sending a glare towards the elusive boy. Shino payed her no mind, taking advantage of the break to eat food. It was best to be fueled. You never knew when an attack would come in a war.

"Their slow movement is stopping as from reaching the fort in ample time," Neji stated. "Tenten is there, and she could be in danger. If we don't get their early she might die."

"Of so you care if people die now," Kiba jabbed, not looking the Hyuga in the eye. Neji was quiet, but the glare from Ino was enough to stop Kiba from continuing his tirade before he said anything that would truly get to Neji.

"Anyways," Ino stated, trying to lighten the mood. "What do you guys think our sensei's are up to? It's been a while since we've seen them. I know Asuma-sensei was off training after the invasion on the Sandaime-sama's orders, but what about you guys?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea what Kurenai-sensei is doing. Why? Because she has been extremely busy since the invasion. A genjutsu expert is important in wars," Shino claimed.

Ino frowned, turning to Neji who was silent. Sighing the girl dropped her head.

This was going nowhere. Why did she have to get the group that was either anti-social or mad at each other!

Naruto grunted as another one his of punches was deflected with ease by the Sannin in front of him. Jiraiya smirked, deflecting the blondes follow-up punch only to slide to the side as a clone rushed in trying to tackle him. The Sannin ducked downwards, a kick from another clone slipping over his head before launching a palm strike upwards that smashed into the clones stomach, dispelling it.

The real Naruto launched himself in once more, forming two clones as he did so, one going high, one going low, and the other going towards Jiraiya's midsection. The Sannin snorted, using his longer reach to grab a the highest one before throwing him down into the lower ones, stopping the attack cold. The last remaining clone appeared behind Jiraiya, kunai in hand as he lashed out towards his neck, only for the Sannin to spin, grasping the wrist of the clone before launching a kick that shattered its ribcage, dispelling it.

The real Naruto winced at the memory. "What if that had been me?"

"You'd have a broken ribcage," Jiraiya muttered. "Don't worry we'd have Tsunade patch you up. Enemies won't give you that opportunity."

Naruto grunted, rising to his feet with a smirk on his face. "No I suppose not. But then again that would leave them more open."

Jiraiya's eyes widened as two rocks next to him disappeared in puffs of smoke to reveal two Naruto's, each with a kunai in their hand, lashing out towards his ankles. The rela Naruto dashed in, grinning as he launched shuriken forwards, forcing the Sannin to make a choice. Jiraiya didn't hesitate, dispelling the clones with easy kicks to the head before his hair flashed around his body, stopping the shuriken cold, as though it had struck iron. As Jiraiya's hair softened the shuriken fell into the Sannin's hand, causing Naruto's eyes to widen.

"I want that," Naruto whispered.

"And you might get it one day," Jiraiya stated. "Good trap brat, I wasn't expecting it. Clever of you to use the smoke created by destroyed clones to create more to hide. Useful trick that you should remember. Too many people use clones as mere substitutes or assistants in a battle. Using them intelligently is important. Which is why I want you to learn this jutsu."

Naruto frowned as Jiraiya tossed him a scroll, catching it out of the air with ease before opening it.

"Bunshin Daibakuha (Clone Great Explosion)," Naruto stated.

"It's like a Shadow Clone," Jiraiya stated. "Only you overload it with chakra. Shadow Clones aren't like regular clones that are useless with an overabundance of chakra. They become ticking time bombs. When the 'casing' of sorts is broken, or that timer ends..."

"Boom," Naruto finished, a grin forming on his face. "Sweet! This sounds awesome, and it's probably not that hard to use either!"

"It's not. It's quite literally how I described, just overload a clone with chakra. Someone with your chakra capacity should be capable of causing quite the large explosions."

Naruto grinned, already thinking of ways to use his newfound access to this destructive jutsu. Jiraiya trembled at the look on the blondes face. He had a feeling he had just unleashed a terror onto the world.

Gaara grunted as he stopped another wave of weaponry, a frown on his face as he sent another wave of sand after the Konoha shinobi, forcing them to retreat. They were annoying. They weren't strong to pierce his sand like a Jonin, and they weren't fast enough to slip by it like Naruto or Lee. They were completely incapable of harming him. Only the Katon jutsu users were much difficulty, the heat from the fires able to turn some of his sand to glass. But even still, it wasn't enough. Slowly he'd force them into a corner and kill them, even if he was focused heavily on defense and diverting attention from Ibushi.

Gaara's eyes widened as his senses exploded, looking downwards just as the two ink snakes near him tried to clamp down on his ankles. Sand whipped upwards, stopping the snakes bites before the sand exploded into spikes, causing the snakes to melt into ink. Gaara's eyes narrowed as he felt the sand send him the location, the feet that immediately disappeared from it as soon as the snakes had been destroyed was enough of a tell. He had ignored it before because he hadn't noticed the person doing anything, but if they were capable of slipping past his senses like this that was a problem.

Gaara glanced in the general direction, frowning as he saw a pale boy standing against a wall, scribbling something on a scroll. His eyes widened as he saw a bird made of ink appear from the scroll, carrying the boy into the open air as he look down on Gaara. Gaara frowned, his arm of sand reforming before he directed it towards the boy. He would be a problem. An enemy that he couldn't sense, with that much maneuverability was not something he could tolerate. However, just before he was about to launch his attack he was forced to raised a wall of sand to deflect a few Konoha shinobi that tried to take advantage of his lapse of focus. Gaara grunted, enveloping their wrists with his sand and flinging them into a nearby wall before he turned back to look up at the air.

The boy had disappeared.

Gaara's eyes widened as he turned just as he felt the feet touch the sand. He was lucky Shukaku was faster than him, the boys tanto being stopped just before it made contact with his body. It did not matter however, as two giant...were those bulls?

Gaara's sand immediately rose, stopping the monsters charge as they slammed their horns into the sand. With a grunt the sand beneath their feet rose up, crushing the bulls into an inky paste. Sai did not hesitate, leaping away as soon as the bulls were destroyed to land back on his bird.

"I see you're a bit more capable at defense than I expected. The reports were not wrong on you, Gaara of the Sand."

"So you've read about me," Gaara stated.

"Yes. A powerful Genin, Jinchuriki of Shukaku the Sand Spirit. A dangerous opponent for anyone. However, you were still defeated in the war effort by one Naruto Uzumaki. While I am no Jinchuriki, I can defeat you in single combat."

Gaara didn't bother responding, at least not to Sai.

'Shukaku...this enemy, I'll handle him. You handle the defense.'

"...Why should I listen to you, Gaara?"

'Because we're a team,' Gaara thought. 'We lost to a team, to Naruto and the Kyuubi. If we don't want to lose like that again we have to fight as a team. That's the deal, got it?'

"You overestimate both your importance and the role of that Konoha brat. Kurama was the reason we lost that battle, not the boy. You'd do well to remember that."

'Kurama?'

"Don't worry about it," Shukaku muttered. "Why do you get to have all the fun by killing that Konoha flying shit-stain."

'You get to kill the other Konoha shinobi. I don't see what the big deal here is.'

"...Well when you put it like that..."

The sand around Gaara exploded forwards, launching itself at the Konoha shinobi with the roar of a demon. Gaara however glared at Sai, his arm squirming as he pointed it in Sai's direction.

"Allow me to show you my strength."

Gaara's arm shot forwards, spearing through the air towards Sai, forcing the Genin to desperately direct his bird out of the way. Gaara was not done however, sand from the arm expanding to form another that launched itself towards Sai, the Genin dodging again. This chain continued for several minutes, with each progressive lunge by Gaara getting closer to landing. Eventually he did, the numerous arms of sand in the sky converging to trap Sai into a devastating shower of sand. Gaara frowned however as the blow landed.

"I missed."

Sai appeared behind Gaara, the slight shift in the location enough to tell Gaara what had happened. Substitution. The Jinchuriki immediately recalled his sand as Sai launched himself forwards. The Genin barely managed to cut Gaara's cheek before his sand appeared to his defense, reaching out to grab the Konoha shinobi's kunai. Sai didn't even hesitate in dropping the weapon, forming a handseal as the sand grasped it, the subsequent explosion sending sand flying in every direction. Sai launched himself forwards, slamming his fist into Gaara's stomach, causing the boy's eyes to widen in pain. Sai didn't hesitate, immediately drawing another kunai in preparation to slit Gaara's throat only for the sand armor that coated his body to react, grabbing Sai's wrist and breaking it with ease, causing the boy to cry out in pain before launching him towards a wall. Sai smacked against it, crumpling to the ground with a groan. Gaara's eyes narrowed his sand regrouping just enough to send a wave after the Konoha shinobi. A killing strike.

He paused only due to the explosion that echoed throughout the battlefield, an explosion that was so giant it might as well have been a natural disaster. As the smoke cleared a clear call rang throughout the fort as the battle intensified, Konoha shinobi fighting the invading Suna shinobi that had breached the wall.

"For the Kazekage!"

Gaara smirked, glancing at Sai who leaned against the wall, holding his wrist with a grim look on his face. Gaara flexed his hand, his sand launching itself towards Sai, only for his eyes to widen as the ground changed, lava rising from the ground to stop his sand cold. Gaara's eyes widened before he felt the world around him change, lava pouring from cracks in the fort towards him. The Suna Jinchuriki immediately leapt into the air. He knew better than to trust himself against the heat of lava. His sand couldn't withstand that, not without pouring an obscene amount of chakra into it. Shukaku could hold it, but he wasn't supposed to let Shukaku loose.

"That's a dumb rule."

Gaara payed the Bijuu no mind, watching as the lava continued to follow up, seemingly ignoring any other shinobi except those that got directly in its way. With a grunt Gaara landed on a nearby battlement, frowning as he saw the lava roar up to challenge him. With a clasp of his hands Gaara roared his challenge back at whoever was casting this jutsu. Typically he wouldn't be able to use this jutsu so soon, it required much more prep, but in this situation, where they were fighting in the desert. Well, he was fairly confident that if his battle with Naruto had taken place here he would have won.

"Ryūsa Bakuryū (Quicksand Waterfall Flow)!"

The sand behind the battlement churned, massive tendrils of sand rising into the air before colliding back onto the ground in a crushing roar. Gaara roared his challenge as the lava bore down him, the sand behind him roaring back as it rushed upwards to combat the element, sand and lava spilling onto the battlefield as the two titanic waves collided.

Sasuke frowned as he saw the two giant elemental attacks collide, dousing the entire battlefield in the two elements. There was no way of controlling either attack now, whoever got caught too close to the attack would die and that was that. The Uchiha glanced at Yakumo, the girl dropping to a knee as she breathed heavily. She was exhausted. That lava was meant to kill Gaara, and he had countered. The massive attack, combined with the lasting weather conditions, had likely drained her of her reserves. She would be dead weight for the remainder of the attack.

Sasuke glanced back over towards the battlements, the enemy shinobi engaging in a deadly melee. He really wished Yakumo was around right now. Any form of destructive jutsu, or at least some trick would be useful in turning the tide of this battle. But no, that was not possible. Unless Gaara or the puppeteer were defeated the Suna shinobi would not route unless a significant number of their forces were killed. That meant a large sacrifice of Konoha lives, lives Konoha could not afford to lose. Not this early on in the war.

Calling upon Kubikiribocho, Sasuke grabbed the blade, glaring into the battlefield. Where could he go to deal the most damage? The battlements would be practically useless. Just one added body wouldn't be enough to shift the tide of the battle there. He wasn't an S-class shinobi. He was also far to weak to deal with Ko's opponent, the duo still engaging in a deadly dance. The slightest misstep there would result in his death, and Ko clearly was entirely focused on that enemy. He couldn't afford to distract the Hyuga. Gaara was still an unknown, being directly underneath the avalanche of sand and lava. He could be dead, but he could also not be. He couldn't leap to fighting him without that knowledge, but staying with Yakumo was no an option. She was exhausted, and therefore not a threat. It would be a while before the enemy Suna shinobi noticed where she was. No they would be focused on the more direct threats. Then again, to abandon her would be a direct challenge to Ko's orders.

His dilemma was solved upon the action of two different things. First, Gaara emerged in a rising tornado of sand, the teen sweaty and seemingly exhausted but otherwise fine. He had likely spent quite a large amount of chakra fighting off the heat and lava. He would be tired, Jinchuriki or no. Second was Sai appeared next to him, the Genin still cradling his broken wrist.

"Go deal with the Jinchuriki," Sai muttered. "You have more experience with him than I do. You will be better suited to defeating him."

Sasuke glanced at Sai's broken wrist, a frown gracing his features. He wouldn't be useful in a direct fight, but then again hopefully he wouldn't have to. Not if he could defeat Gaara in time. Sasuke nodded, disappearing in a burst of speed, blade in hand. The Uchiha leapt into the air as Gaara scanned over the enemies, completely missing Sasuke's incoming attack. It was only due to Shukaku's natural defenses that the blade was stopped from beheading the Jinchuriki. Gaara's eyes snapped upwards, surprise gracing his face as he saw Sasuke.

"Uchiha."

"Gaara," Sasuke muttered, leaping away before the sand could grab him, landing across from the Jinchuriki. "Been a while since I last saw you. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that was right before Naruto kicked your ass after Lee finished punting you around like a ball."

Gaara's eyes twitched, the only inclination that he was annoyed, before sand rose around him. "Indeed. But you are no Rock Lee, and you are not your teammate. I was interested in you back in the Chunin Exams, but now I only wish to talk to Naruto. Do you know where he is?"

"Nope," Sasuke muttered. "Disappeared not long after the invasion. Haven't seen him since. Not really worried though, the blonde idiot seems to make it through everything life throws his way."

Gaara frowned. "I see. Still, I have no desire to fight you. To kill one of Naruto's bonds...to extinguish it...that is not what I desire."

Sasuke ignored the blatant assumption that Gaara could kill him. He didn't doubt the Jinchuriki. He probably could. He was not sure how a fight between the two of them would end up, even with his training from Kakashi. Sure he had a large repertoire of jutsu, but few were strong enough to puncture Gaara's sand, and he was not fast enough to merely blitz by it like Naruto could.

"So what do you propose? You don't want to fight me, but you have to be defeated if Suna is gonna stop attacking."

"I'm not allowed to use Shukaku," Gaara stated. "Under the Kazekage's orders I am not allowed to destroy this fort. If I do use Shukaku-"

"Out of the question. The damn Bijuu would sooner kill everyone here rather than force both of our sides away from each other."

"True," Gaara stated. "But if Konoha retreats at me pretending that I'm going to unleash Shukaku..."

"That's also not going to happen," Sasuke stated. "While I won't deny it would throw terror in our ranks, Konoha has seen you be defeated before. They won't believe that the feat is impossible, just extremely difficult. And with the two legendary eyes of Konoha here, they'll think we can pull off a defeat."

"Then what do you propose," Gaara questioned.

"I don't know I'm not the person trying to avoid a battle here, you are. Why do you even want to do that by the way? Back in Konoha you were practically blood-crazed."

"Naruto gave me...perspective. This concept of precious people, of friends is a new one to me. I do not quite know how to make them, but I do understand that other people's friends die in battle. That much is obvious. People fight for their friends, and die for their friends. Naruto was willing to die for his friends, but it pained him. He did not want to have to fight for his friends because he did not want them in danger in the first place. If this battle ends, the Suna and Konoha shinobi will not be in danger. Their friends will be happy."

Sasuke frowned, looking at the Jinchuriki curiously. That was a startling change in worldview. Considering everything he knew about the Jinchuriki he would have thought a war would be something he enjoyed the most. He had free rain to kill anyone he wanted after all, fulfill the blood lust he was always raving about in battle. To be honest the Uchiha didn't think such a rapid shift in ideals was possible, but Gaara had done his best to not kill anyone so far, and he easily had the power to. The Uchiha could understand the ideas he was stating as well. Seeing friends...family...die always left a mark. The Uchiha nodded, finally thinking of something that might work.

"A genjutsu," Sasuke stated. "It would take time to cast, but it would still be the best option. A genjutsu so powerful that both of our sides are enthralled by it."

"And what exactly would this genjutsu do?"

"Give the illusion of both sides giving the signal of retreat. Konoha and Suna forces would pull back, long enough for the two to have minimal losses."

"How do I know I can trust you? You're still a Konoha shinobi, and the main threat for genjutsu considering the Sharingan."

"Because I won't be the person casting the jutsu," Sasuke stated. "For the Sharingan to perform such a large-scale genjutsu would take time, time I don't have and honestly, technique I don't have yet either."

"You could still see through the illusion, take advantage of Suna shinobi's weakness and kill us. You and the Byakugan user."

"Trust me," Sasuke stated smirking. "That won't happen."

Gaara's eyes narrowed, causing Sasuke to sigh. "Look I can't reveal Konoha secrets to you Gaara, you'll just have to trust me."

Gaara frowned, staring at Sasuke with caution in his eyes. Sasuke stared back, purposely locking eyes with Gaara. He wouldn't lay a genjutsu on the Jinchuriki, a sign of trust. If he wanted to Gaara could be in a genjutsu right now and Sasuke could be on his way to kill him. But he wasn't.

Gaara nodded.

"Good. Of course you do know that I'm going to have to attack you in order to give us the appearance of fighting? Pretend like you sent me away so I can go start our plan."

Gaara nodded, causing Sasuke to frown. He had the Suna Jinchuriki's word, but could he trust it? He'd much rather not leave his life in the unstable Genin's hands, even if it was to stop a battle that would be extremely detrimental. But if he didn't let Gaara pretend to force him away the Suna Jinchuriki would lose all trust in him, and a full on fight against Gaara was not something he was eager to face. He wanted to get stronger to face Itachi true, but facing a psychotic Jinchuriki was not in his pay-grade yet.

But then again, if Naruto could do it...

Sasuke shook the poisonous thoughts from his head, preparing to charge Gaara. Naruto himself admitted that he was lucky to have won that fight, and would have died without the help from his own Bijuu. It was a rarity for a shinobi to be able to take on a Jinchuriki, or a fully-released Bijuu without being a Jinchuriki themselves. He should not be thinking he was on the caliber of the most elite of Kage.

Sasuke rushed forwards, his blade swinging forth, frowning as he saw a wave of sand from Gaara rise up and block the attack, idly noticing how Gaara didn't seem to command it to. An automatic defense, just like at the Chunin Exams. How he did it Sasuke didn't know. But it also didn't matter in this instance. Sasuke yanked his blade from the sand before it had submerged his sword, leaping away from the storm with a ferocity in his eyes before he dashed in again. This time the sand decided to attack instead of defend, launching two blasts of sand that he avoided, a log taking the blow for him as he appeared behind Gaara, blade swinging.

The sand instantly blocked the blade swipe, Sasuke grunting in frustration. Even if he wasn't actually meant to hit Gaara did the sand have to make him feel like he was going to fail either way? Maybe if he channeled lightning...

The Uchiha's thoughts were cut off when he realized Gaara was going to send him flying. The sand shot upwards, emerging from a crack beneath him to blast into his stomach, the force sending spittle from his mouth as he went sailing through the air, his grip barely strong enough to keep hold of his sword. Sasuke grunted, smashing against a far away wall, groaning as he realized he was close to Yakumo.

"Did he have to hit me so damn hard," Sasuke groaned, slowly getting out of the rubble before glancing around. Suna shinobi were still mainly concentrated on the walls, trying to penetrate the thick Konoha defenses. That was good. That meant he had time before the battle became too chaotic. Grunting the Uchiha sealed his blade back into the seal on his wrist before he leapt towards Yakumo.

He had to put a stop to this battle. A fort was a fort, and in the end once the war was over it likely wouldn't even be remembered.

Blood and friends could not be forgotten.

The Uchiha appeared next to the girl, a frown on his face as she saw her body. She was weak, that much was obvious. That attack with the lava must have taken more out of her than he had previously expected. She didn't look like she was in any condition to cast another one of her genjutsu's, especially one that would effect the battle the way he wanted it to.

Sasuke frowned, glancing at the storm of Suna shinobi, watching the walls with interest. The Konoha shinobi were holding for now, but he could see it. Even with their teamwork they were steadily being overrun by superior numbers. The Uchiha frowned. That was bad. That was very bad. Something had to route the Suna shinobi if Yakumo was too weak to cast another jutsu.

Sai turned to the Uchiha, watching him with interest.

"You didn't engage with the Jinchuriki much. Is he that much stronger than you?"

"Not the time," Sasuke muttered, thinking of how he could cause such a massive panic. The only option led back to his previous line of thinking. Gaara or the puppeteer engaging with Ko. He clearly was not at the level to fight with Ko against the puppeteer, and he couldn't very well attack Gaara again. That would break the Jinchuriki's trust, something that he already barely had.

The only other way was to kill a lot of Suna shinobi, which would likely attract Gaara's attention and break his trust anyway, if the lack of a genjutsu didn't do the same thing. Sai stared at the Uchiha for a moment, frowning.

"I don't know what you're planning Uchiha but there is a battle waging. If you will not participate I will."

Sasuke frowned, watching the Genin rush into the field, disappearing in the blur of bodies. Sasuke glanced at Yakumo, frowning. He couldn't exactly leave her here if he wanted to do something either. She would be killed. The Uchiha frowned, picking the girl up.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking you somewhere safe. I can't sit here unable to participate in the battle. We're going to need all the help that we can get against these Suna shinobi, especially when they have a Jinchuriki in their ranks. So I'm taking you to the barracks. If you have the chakra for another one of your genjutsu do something that causes everyone to route. It's the best option we have right now. To many will die in this battle."

"Many will likely die in the chaos of a route."

"It's still less than the two sides decimating one another."

"Still," Yakumo stated as Sasuke launched the duo through several pathways as fast as he could. He was clearly trying to get back to the action. "Why do you care? They're enemy shinobi."

"I don't know," Sasuke stated. "I don't have any reason to care about any of them. If anything I should want to kill one of them for attempting to kill one of the members of my squad. But I just can't. To see other people losing their family members like this is wrong. There is no reason for this war. Suna didn't need to attack Konoha, and Konoha didn't need to retaliate, and people are dying over it. I think I have a way to stop it, so I'm going to try my best to stop it."

"But you'll have to kill Suna shinobi to do so."

"If I have to I will I won't deny that," Sasuke stated. "But I can only try my best not to."

Before Yakumo had the chance to respond Sasuke landed in front of the barracks, opening the door and placing Yakumo on the ground in front of the door. "Stay in here, and remember what I said. Once the route happens I'll come back here for you. Just get some rest," The Uchiha stated before leaping into the fray.

Yakumo watched his retreating form.

Tenten grunted as she rested against a nearby tree, watching as the fort burned in the distance. Takamura sat next to the girl, the ninken whining as he saw the defeated forces, enemy Oto shinobi killing any samurai still unlucky enough to be close to the battlefield. Tenten sighed, reaching out to rub the ninken. Takamura had done well, getting them far from the fort. No Oto shinobi would venture out this far. No, she was safe, for now. There was no doubt that they would begin to march once more in a matter of a few days, or reinforcements would arrive. Tenten frowned.

Reinforcements. The Daimyo was coming soon with his own. Tenten groaned, shaking her head. Did that truly matter? Her father was likely dead, Hayama was dead, and Gaku was also probably dead considering he had not returned. What would reinforcements do to change that? Nothing. The dead were dead and there was nothing anyone could do to change that.

A bark drew the girls attention, her eyes widening as Takamura stared into her eyes furiously. The dog licked her face, forcing her to grimace. The dogs breath reeked of blood. Another bark drew her attention however as the ninken scratched the ground, drawing out an Oto musical note before crossing a line through it. Tenten's eyes widened before she nodded, an intense look on her face. She couldn't understand the ninken's barking like an Inuzuka Clan member, but she knew what it was trying to say.

Revenge.

Hate blazed across her eyes as she came to the realization. She couldn't agree more.

Ko grunted as he avoided another attack from the puppets, leaping away before the follow-up from behind could land. The Hyuga frowned, landing on a nearby wooden stump, launching a Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm) to stop the storm of poisoned metal that followed him. He couldn't launch any attack, not against this onslaught. Sure, Ibushi couldn't land a solid attack, due to the Byakugan, but the constant pressure didn't allow him to launch any follow-ups. He was constantly on the defense.

Ko grunted, leaping away as two puppets swung in from behind, their poisoned blades slicing through the air only. Ko grunted, preparing to lash out with two palm thrusts that would have destroyed an arm on each of the puppets only to instead be forced to kick off of their heads in order to avoid a storm of kunai from another puppet. Landing on the sand nearby Ko frowned, watching Ibushi send the remaining three puppets towards him, the cannons in their chest glowing once more before firing off blasts of chakra. Ko grunted, quickly dropping into a Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven), the attacks failing to pierce the Hyuga defense technique. Just as Ko stopped spinning he leapt into the air, barely avoiding the puppet that leapt from the ground, the scythes in its hands just barely cutting the shoes Ko wore, but nothing more.

Ko grunted, glaring at Ibushi. The man couldn't land any blow, but neither could he. But there had to be a way to defeat this opponent. If they were forced into a battle of attrition he would lose. Hyuga's had higher than average chakra pools, but puppeteers had to have high chakra capacity for their style of fighting. To stay in a prolonged battle against one was not only deadly due to the increased likelihood of being poisoned, but also due to being overwhelmed on a stamina basis.

Ko grunted, before his eyes widened. The threads. The way puppeteers controlled their puppets. They were made of chakra, thin enough that it was practically impossible for anyone other than a Hyuga or Uchiha to see the threads. They just weren't dense enough, and they were even harder to hit. But for a Hyuga or Uchiha who could see the threads they were easy to break. They were fragile, the consequence of being nigh-invisible. Ko smirked leaping forwards, ignoring the puppets that all pounced on the opportunity. He knew Ibushi would. He was wide open, and the puppets had him surrounded.

Just as the weapons got to close for comfort Ko began to spin, the half-formed Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven) deflecting the blades just enough that they briefly paused in the air, allowing Ko enough time to slip through one of the puppets guard, all the weapons missing him. Ko launched himself forwards, leaping through the air to swipe his hand down, smirking as he saw the success of his strategy. The puppet collapsed, its strings cut, causing Ibushi's eyes to widen. The man immediately tried to recall his remaining puppets, giving Ko enough time to launch a Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm) at the downed puppet. It disappeared in a burst of shrapnel.

Ibushi growled as he saw the destruction of another one of his puppets. This Hyuga was proving troublesome, too troublesome. He had already taken down two of his puppets, and even with the Suna shinobi finally engaging the Konoha shinobi it was not an ideal situation. Gaara had already been pressured multiple times, and now an Uchiha was facing him down although the duo had yet to attack one another beyond the opening salvo. Konoha shinobi were not to be underestimated either. Even with the numbers advantage Konoha shinobi thrived on teamwork, which was obvious considering he had not managed to decimate them as he had hoped. Even with the numbers advantage Konoha would be extremely difficult to defeat.

And that wasn't even taking into account the extremely high level ninjutsu experts that were present in the battle. He had no idea where the Hyoton, Yoton, or Suiton experts had disappeared to, but he wasn't banking on them being dead. Their presence alone was something that could not be tolerated. The Yoton user had already pushed Gaara to using one of his more tiring jutsu. Konoha was going to prove difficult to break. Ibushi grunted, his puppets flanking his position as he eyed the Hyuga that circled him warily, clearly trying to stop him from making any moves against any other Konoha shinobi. A smart decision, but a futile one. The Hyuga was his only focus. If he could defeat their leader then it was likely that they would be able to route the Konoha forces, otherwise the losses in this battle would be high.

Suna could not afford large casualties so early on.

Ibushi grunted, his puppets flying forwards as he tried a new strategy. His puppets flew, circling the Hyuga. He smirked, the mouths of his five remaining puppets opening, clear gas spilling from their mouths towards the Hyuga. Ko grunted, realizing that the gas was poison. Ibushi smirked as he saw Ko drop into a stance, the gas creeping towards him. A series of Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm) sent the gas flying away. Ibushi smirked. Ko frowned as he saw the clear gas flow over the puppets, glancing over the puppeteer standing before him.

Why was he smiling?

That was when he realized it. The poison was not meant for him. It was too easy to deflect. Ibushi had to know that Ko could easily deflect such an attack from their battle already. No, that gas was meant to be redirected. That much was obvious as he watched the poison float over to the walls, where most of the battle was taking place.

"You'd kill your own men to win this battle?"

"Kill? Oh I'm afraid that won't happen," Ibushi stated. "Suna shinobi are trained to have resistance to poison from a young age in the Academy. While this poison is advanced and altered, it will not kill the Suna shinobi. Put them through an intense amount of pain yes, but kill? No. The Konoha shinobi on the other hand..."

Ko's eyes widened before he charged forwards, trying to reach the other side of the noxious cloud only to be stopped by the puppets. The Hyuga grunted, crouching underneath the scythe that threatened to decapitate him, only to leap instantly as another appeared below in an attempt to remove his limbs. The Hyuga grunted, twisting in midair and launching his palms forwards only for the puppet to leap away before the attack struck. Ko grunted, landing on all fours only for his eyes to widen before he rolled to his left, just barely avoiding the two puppets who descended from the sky, their blades piercing the sand.

Ko didn't hesitate as the weapons of war landed, a chakra-enhanced kick sending one of the duo flying towards a wall. The Hyuga didn't have time to destroy the puppet however as the others leapt towards him. The first puppet burst from the sand, its segmented body extended slightly to reveal the spinning blades underneath. The Hyuga grunted, slipping away from the first punch and spinning behind it. However just before he could strike the puppet another appeared behind him, its buzzsaw swirling. Ko grunted, crouching underneath the attack before extending his hands outwards, retracting them just in time to avoid the storm of metal that threatened to remove the body part.

Ko frowned as the first puppet turned, its spinning weapons almost touching him. The Hyuga leaned backwards, wrapping his arms around the puppet behind him before he swung his legs out, cracking the first puppet in the legs, denting the wood and metal. The fallen puppet tried to keep moving, but it was too slow, giving Ko enough time to launch his legs upwards in a chakra-enhanced kick that shattered its skull. The Hyuga's eyes widened however as he saw the green gas fill the air. Instantly the Hyuga stopped breathing, only partially from his own control however as the puppet he was latched on to instantly grabbed him. The Hyuga's eyes filled with annoyance, chakra flooding his body as he twisted.

'Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven)!'

The puppet exploded in a storm of shrapnel, allowing the Hyuga to leap out of the cloud of poison. He barely had time to regain his breath however as suddenly the shrapnel from below launched itself towards him, kunai swirling around the storm. Ko's eyes widened, barely weaving his body through the storm only for another puppet to appear behind him, its blade spearing forwards. Ko turned, batting the weapon away, grunting as several kunai slashed into his arms.

That would have to get treated.

The Hyuga launched a kick, frowning as the puppet slid away, another appearing behind him, a buzzsaw in hand. The Hyuga slid backwards, recognizing the puppet as the one he kicked away earlier. Another swipe from the buzzsaw sent him stumbling away, his vision swimming. Ko grunted, launching his arms forwards. The scream of pain that left his mouth was music to Ibushi's ears.

Ko leapt away from the weapon, blood trailing from his arms as he vision continued to swim. Ko grit his teeth. His only consolation prize was that his swimming vision had to due with blood loss rather than poison now. The Hyuga looked at his mangled arms, grunting before he raised them. Usable, the buzzsaw did not cut deep enough to make them worthless.

"You're getting sloppy," Ibushi stated.

No he wasn't. Ko could tell. He wasn't getting sloppy. Tired? Yes. Was he using his chakra too much in this fight? Yes. But he was not getting sloppy. Ibushi was getting better. The more puppets Ko destroyed meant the more Ibushi could focus on his remaining ones. Their movements were more fluid, their actions more precise. He was already difficult to manage with seven puppets, but with every puppet he destroyed the remainder got increasingly more dangerous.

Ko would be worried about the remaining three if it weren't for the fact that the cloud of poison had reached the walls, undoubtedly beginning to spread to friend and foe alike. Ibushi smirked.

"Well I don't know about your claim about a puppeteer being unable to defeat a Hyuga, but I know for a fact that Suna has won this day."

Ko grunted, realizing his predicament. Ibushi was only going to grow more dangerous with every passing moment, while he was slowly on the decline. If Ibushi still had all seven of his puppets, and he wasn't injured then there may have been a chance to win the battle. But that wasn't the case. the Jinchuriki was still an active threat on the battlefield. Yakumo failed to kill him. He was defeated and Konoha forces were poisoned. The closest Konoha fort was at least a days travel at top speed, and many of them would die before they reached it. The remainder would likely die before medicine and the iryo-nin could save them. But he couldn't very well let the Konoha shinobi fight to the death. If he could save at least one person it would be worth it. His allies lives mattered more than the mission.

Drawing three explosive kunai Ko launched them into the sky, the explosion signaling retreat. The Konoha shinobi immediately began to retreat as the Suna shinobi cried out in victory. It was up to them now. They knew where to regroup. It was just a matter of getting there now. The Suna shinobi would capture and kill those that they could. Ko glared at Ibushi's smirking form.

"I will remember your name and face, Ibushi."

"I hope you do," Ibushi stated. "I want you to remember it when your comrades screams reach you late at night. When their dying words curse the commander that failed them."

Ko snarled, and for a brief moment he wondered if it would be worth it to throw himself at Ibushi. To try and kill the man in one last blaze of glory before the Suna shinobi killed him. The idea was appealing, that much was true. But he couldn't. To many depended on him. His soldiers, his friends, his family. He couldn't leave them. Ko grunted, leaping away, ignoring his falling blood. It did not matter if there was a trail. If he could distract as many Suna shinobi as he could to follow him then that would allow more Konoha shinobi to survive.

And if he couldn't well...Suna wouldn't dare attack the nearest fort.

Sasuke grunted as he blocked another kunai with his blade, leaping away as another Konoha shinobi launched themselves forwards, piercing the enemy in the neck. With a quick kick the Suna Chunin was launched away. Sasuke nodded to the Konoha shinobi, twirling his blade in hand before he dashed forwards, his blade spinning before he swung. The Suna shinobi in question barely had time to turn before the blade carved into them, a loud scream filling the battlefield.

Sasuke turned, preparing to finish the enemy only for his eyes to narrow as he was forced to deflect a punch with the flat of the Kubikiribocho. The Suna shinobi roared, drawing a kunai and attempting to stab it downwards only for Sasuke to grunt, the blade lighting with electricity. The sudden element briefly caused the enemy to seize, giving Sasuke enough time to stab them in the throat, the blood coating their hand dripping down his head. Sasuke frowned, watching them useless clutch at their throat as they tried to stem the bleeding.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke muttered. The Uchiha turned, glancing to his previously wounded Suna opponent, the shinobi finishing a handseal. Sasuke didn't bother seeing what type of jutsu it was, leaping into the sky. The blast of wind that shredded the ground where he stood gave him proof that was a good idea. Grunting Sasuke raised the Kubikiribocho, lightning swirling through it. The Uchiha grunted, the lightning singeing his hands due to the imperfect control before the slash of lightning shot downwards. The attack moved to quickly, the Suna shinobi splitting down the middle, the smell of fried body filling the air.

Sasuke landed back on the ground, looking at the gruesome corpse. Another family member that he killed. All because of a war that did not need to happen in the first place. Killing the bandits that attacked Wave was different, they deserved it. The Suna and Oto shinobi who attacked Konoha deserved it. They tried to kill innocents. This shinobi though, they were likely the same as him. Being forced to fight in a battle that there would be little use in. Taken from the world before their time.

Just like his clan.

Sasuke shook the memories from his eyes, focusing back on the battle. The slightest distraction could result in him dying in the chaos. He had to be focused on the battle at hand. A quick shout from a Konoha shinobi had him ducking, the blade that sliced into where his neck used to be missing. The Konoha shinobi was immediately there, kunai thrusting forwards. The Suna shinobi deflected, however Sasuke was suddenly at his side, blade swinging upwards. With a grunt the Suna shinobi leapt away, sacrificing his forearm for his life.

Sasuke glanced at his fellow Konoha shinobi, the man nodding at him. The two dashed forwards, the Suna shinobi glaring at both of them as they drew a kunai, wind spiraling around it. With a slash the Konoha shinobi in front of Sasuke lost his hand, the wind slicing clean through it, but the movement left Sasuke open. Trying to drown out the screams of pain from his ally Sasuke's blade sparked with lightning as he launched it forwards. The wind blade deflected the strike, causing Sasuke to grunt. Leaping away the Uchiha sealed his blade away once more, weaving through handseals.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!"

The ball of flame seared the air as it soared towards the Suna shinobi. Their eyes widened, leaping away from the giant ball of flame only for Sasuke's ally to appear before them, stabbing an explosive kunai in their chest before kicking them away, the explosion of blood and gore forever etched into Sasuke's memory thanks to his eyes. He wanted to throw up.

The Uchiha briefly took the time to gather himself, his ally dropping to mend their wound. Glancing around the Uchiha frowned as he saw a strange cloud approaching from the center of the fort. It was strange. Where did that come from? That wasn't dust. That had to be something, and in a battle not knowing what something was made it dangerous. Dangerous was something that the Konoha shinobi could not afford. That was a likely a Sunagakure technique, as no Konoha shinobi would launch such a large scale attack at their allies without the entire battalion knowing what it was. But how did he get rid of it? He couldn't just shoot fire at it, he didn't know what the reaction would be. Would it explode? Would that activate a portion of the technique? Would it negate it? He didn't know, and he couldn't just redirect it due to his lack of knowledge on Fuuton techniques. Gritting his teeth Sasuke glanced back at the battle. The Suna forces were winning. They were grinding down the Konoha forces with superior numbers. It was slow but it was working. They couldn't move forwards to avoid the cloud, but they couldn't move back either.

"But what if we go down," Sasuke muttered, his eyes widening. He needed to create a hole, or cause the wall to collapse. Sasuke grunted, weaving through handseals only for his eyes to widen as he leapt forwards, the Kubikiribocho whirling forwards as he rushed to defend his ally. A grunt of thanks was all he got from the nearly decapitated Konoha shinobi, the duo leaping away from a following two Suna shinobi that leapt to assist their fellow shinobi.

"Shit we can't beat all three of them at once. I'm injured and you're a fucking Genin!"

Sasuke landed, ignoring his allies words. He didn't need to hear them right now. His focus was on the Suna shinobi dashing towards them, kunai in hand. One launched the bladed weapon forwards, Sasuke immediately deflecting it with his blade before reaching into his kunai pouch. A quick snap of his wrist sent the storm of shuriken forwards, one of the prongs burying itself in the neck of a Suna shinobi before they had time to deflect it like the other two. The remaining two shinobi roared their challenge, launching themselves forwards only to be met with a storm of fire sent by Sasuke's ally. Sasuke frowned, glancing up at the man.

"One-handed hand seals are a must know," the man stated.

"What happened to we can't beat all three of them at once."

"You're more competent than I thought."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. No he wasn't. The Suna shinobi were just not of a high caliber. They were meat shields. But for what?

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"We have to go, now!"

The Konoha shinobi glanced at Sasuke, confusion on his face. "What do you mean?"

Panic filled Sasuke's face as he saw the rapidly approaching cloud. The Suna shinobi were just a distraction. Sure they would eventually overpower the Konoha forces on the wall, but with the loses required to do so it wouldn't be worth it. But not if the Konoha shinobi started dropping like flies.

"That," Sasuke whispered. "Retreat everyone! It's a trap! Avoid the cloud! It's poison!"

The Konoha shinobi to Sasuke's right glanced at the cloud, frowning. "That doesn't look like poison."

"We're dealing with Suna here, are you really going to question what looks like poison? You definitely fought in the last war."

The Konoha shinobi grunted, only for his eyes to widen as he saw the cloud reach part of the wall. The signs were immediate on the older shinobi. They immediately dropped, screams of pain erupting from their chests. The younger shinobi for the most part seemed more resistant to the poison, able to keep moving somewhat. Something about the age clearly payed a role behind how the poison worked.

"Looks like you were right kid."

At that time three explosive tags detonated in the air, the Konoha symbol for retreat. The man turned to Sasuke, a smirk on his face "You weren't the only one thinking it," he muttered before he leapt away. Sasuke snorted, glancing over to the barracks. He couldn't leave just yet. He had to get Yakumo. In a burst of speed he shot towards the barracks, arriving there shortly to see the girl sitting there, trying to regain her chakra.

"Sasuke-dono?"

"No time to talk," Sasuke stated, launching an explosive kunai towards the opposite end of the building. Quickly grabbing Yakumo as the wall exploded Sasuke shot out the back of the building, racing to escape as fast as possible.

"What's going on?"

Sasuke frowned, glancing back at the battlefield, the Konoha forces doing their best to get away from the onslaught.

"We lost."

Next chapter is a breather. It'll focus on the aftermath of the battles and Sakura and Tsunade, along with some Hinata visits, while getting a bit into what our Jonin sensei's are doing.

ALSO YALL I'M HAVING SUCH BAD LUCK. I HAD PRACTICALLY FINISHED THE CHAPTER AND THEN ALL OF A FUCKING SUDDEN I PRESSED SAVE AND THE ENTIRE CHAPTER WENT TO SOME RANDOM ASS TAB FOR SOME REASON! So the reason this took so long was because I had to practically rewrite the last three scenes. And when that error happens it really kills your motivation to write right afterwards. Well that and my college decided fuck you I know it's finals week in two weeks but here is a test in all of your classes plus a project and an essay in all of your classes. So the last bit is a little rushed, but I'll go back over it and edit it.