::36::

Suddenly, there was a battle cry from the crowd and someone rushed past Sakura. Neville Longbottom raised his wand, ready to fight Voldermort when Orochimaru gave a laugh and his tongue slid out to wrap itself around Neville's neck, lifting him from the ground.

There were gasps and screams from the crowd as Voldermort turned to Neville, smiling. "Thank you, Lord Orochimaru."

There was a bang and Voldermort caught Neville's wand and tossed it away.

"Who is this?" Voldermort hissed.

Bellatrix gave a delighted laugh. "It's Neville Longbottom, My Lord! Remember, the son of the Aurors?"

Voldermort smiled. "Ah yes, you may put him down now, my good friend."

Orochimaru flicked his tongue, dropping Neville to the ground. Voldermort stepped closer to him, tapping his wand in his hand.

"But you're a Pureblood aren't you, brave boy?" Voldermort asked.

Neville stayed on the ground, but he stared defiantly at Voldermort. "So what if I am?" He spat.

Voldermort smiled. "You would make an excellent choice for a Death Eater."

Orochimaru raised his eyebrows in interest. "You would choose this oaf?" Asked Orochimaru. "He must not have brains to charge so mindlessly into a crowd of his enemies." He continued, giving Neville a kick to the gut.

Neville fell over, holding his stomach.

"Were we all ninja, you'd be dead." Spat Orochimaru.

"Ah, my eager partner!" Said Voldermort. "Would it not be fun to break his will? Seeing the process of turning him into a Death Eater?"

"I'll join you when hell freezes over!" Shouted Neville from the ground.

There were shouts and cheers from the crowd.

"Very well." Said Voldermort rolling his eyes. "That can be on your head then."

Neville cowered as Voldermort waved his hand. With a crash, the Sorting Hat flew out of Dumbledore's office and into Voldermort's hands.

"There will be no more sortings at Hogwarts." Voldermort announced.

"Everyone shall be in the noble house of my ancestor, Salazar Slytherin. Won't that suffice, Longbottom?" Voldermort asked, shoving the hat on Neville's head.

Suddenly, Orochimaru's gaze snapped away from Neville in alarm as did all the other ninjas on the Death Eaters side. Sakura snapped her eyes up, after feeling a very powerful jolt. She looked directly at Naruto, who was still lying face down in the dirt, part ways through the Death Eater mob.

There was a faint reddish light that was leaking out of Naruto. Yet the feeling was tremendous. Sakura felt sick to her stomach just feeling the chakra.

Orochimaru grabbed Voldermort's arm, still looking at Naruto. Voldermort jolted, surprised by the unexpected contact and his wand lit the Sorting Hat on Neville's head on fire.

He let out a scream of pain.

Voldermort glared down at Orochimaru's arm but then his gaze shifted over to the presumably dead ninja. Voldermort may not have been a ninja, but now he could certainly feel the terrible feeling of Naruto's chakra. The wizards started to murmur among themselves, wondering what was causing this. They feared it was part of Voldermort's plot. Some started to yell and it mixed with Neville's screams.

"Aguamenti!" Shouted Ron, extinguishing the fire on Neville's head.

Kakashi broke free from Yamato and Shikamaru's support to hobble closer to the edge of the crowd.

"Shit." He said.

Sai remembered coming home from a mission once. He had a black eye and the bones in his right foot had been crushed so he found himself limping back to Ne instead of walking. His clothing was bloodied and soiled, but Sai didn't bother to change as he made his way to his brother's room. Despite his injuries, Sai thought that his paintings had significantly improved while he had been away and he was eager to show Shin.

Sai gave a half knock on the door before opening it and moving inside. Sunlight was pouring in through the open windows, but the room was otherwise silent. Sai found his brother in bed, still sleeping despite the late hour. Sai stood there, looking down at his brother's sleeping form before he finally gave him a nudge with his finger.

Shin didn't move. "Shin?" Sai finally asked.

His brother didn't respond. Sai waited for a few more seconds before finally feeling that something must be wrong. When he finally pulled the covers away from his brother and nudged him onto his back, Sai saw the faint trickle of blood leaking from Shin's mouth. Putting two fingers to his neck, Sai was almost perplexed when he didn't feel Shin's heartbeat leaping out at him.

Sai let that sink in for a minute. His brother was dead. He was not coming back.

Then he turned around and returned to his room. He pulled out his painting materials once more and began to paint. He never asked what had happened, or how his brother had died. Shin was dead; he was not coming back.

Naruto is dead. He is not coming back.

But the words that Sai told himself now did not help like they had back then. Something about this was different and Sai didn't know if it was because Naruto was different from Shin or if it was because there was something different about him. But pondering these things was not going to help the indescribable ache in his chest.

The fire was casting eerie, flickering shadows over the trees surrounding them. Sasuke's face was shrouded in darkness, his bangs hanging over his features like a curtain as he stood vigil over Naruto's body. He didn't move and there was a rigidness to his posture, but as Sai studied his form, there seemed to be something very sad about the way he was standing there.

Sasuke's head lifted at Sai's approach and his red eyes gleamed like freshly spilt blood in the firelight.

"What are you doing here?" He snapped.

Sudden anger filled Sai and Sai found himself surprised at the sudden emotion. It almost completely eclipsed the ache that filled his chest upon seeing Naruto. How dare Sasuke look at him in anger, as if he were the one that killed Naruto! How dare Sasuke feel anger or remorse for his own actions!

"Naruto was my friend." Said Sai.

"Tch." Said Sasuke, a snarl pulling at his lips. "What do you know of friendship?" He was gripping the hilt of his chokuto loosely in his hand and he flexed his arm so that the steel glinted in the glow of the fire.

Sai wasn't intimidated. He spun his kunai deftly over his fingers before gripping it tightly in his hand. "I know that you didn't deserve their friendship. You're a coward."

Sasuke's eyes sparked with anger and the blade of his chokuto began to crackle with electricity.

"You think bonds make you weak." Sai continued. "But you're wrong; they don't. You're stronger when you have something to fight for."

Sai struck first, throwing his kunai straight for Sasuke's eye. Sasuke parried the kunai away with a swipe of the chokuto and there was a clang as the kunai flew into the forest. Sai's brush was already in his hands and there was a scroll before him.

"Sumi Bunshin no Jutsu."

An ink clone of Sai leapt off the page as Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Everyone loves the dobe's jutsu now." He muttered.

Sai and his clone both charged Sasuke, moving rapidly into Taijutsu. Sasuke quickly blocked all of Sai's attacks before swinging his chokuto and cutting through Sai's sumi bunshin. The clone exploded into ink, momentarily distracting Sasuke. This gave time Sai time to summon a giant bird armed with explosive tags with a flick of his scroll and brush which he sent flying toward Sasuke.

Sasuke disappeared in a shunshin, reappearing behind Sai as he summoned a Fuuma shuriken and flung it toward Sai. Sai turned, backflipping over the Fuuma shuriken as the giant bird exploded into ink behind him. Sasuke flicked his wrist and suddenly, a kunai which had been hidden in the shadows underneath the much larger Fuuma shuriken dislodged and headed toward Sai's new location. Sai flung out his own kunai, parrying the kunai away before he flicked his scroll out again.

"Choju Giga."

Three huge beasts charged out of the scroll toward Sasuke, but Sasuke easily dispensed them. Sai charged up, appearing through the explosion of ink and grabbed Sasuke by the shoulders and pulling him forward before he fell to the ground and used the momentum to flip Sasuke over him. The beasts charged again as Sasuke landed, jumping around him before pouncing.

Electricity filled the air as the beasts exploded and Sasuke disappeared, reappearing on his feet a few feet away as he wiped the ink from his face.

"You are only part of Team 7 to fill a void."Sasuke snarled. "The only reason they like you is because they can pretend that you're me."

The barb of Sasuke's words stung Sai unexpectedly. "I could never be like you."

"Hn." Sasuke smirked before he disappeared. Sai turned just as Sasuke reappeared behind him, the electricity cackling around his chokuto as he thrust it out.

"Chidori Eiso."

Sai managed to pivot, but the lightning filled blade still managed to impale him, cutting through his body just below his rib cage. Sai let out a shout as the electricity charged through his body, setting his skin aflame before Sasuke shoved his foot in Sai's gut and kicked him to the ground as he withdrew his chokuto.

Sai fell to the ground, rolling in the dirt before he landed on his stomach. His arm trembled with effort to move as he tried to slide his hand underneath his body to press against the wound Sasuke inflicted on him. His limbs felt as if they were as heavy as lead.

Before him, Sasuke approached leisurely, his hand on his chokuto which sparked and cracked with energy. Sai had no doubt that Sasuke intended to drive that blade through his heart and not even bat an eyelid. He grunted, struggling to push himself to his feet, but his arm gave out from underneath him and he collapsed back into the dirt. The pain was too great to bear.

He was going to die here. He wasn't going to come back.

Sasuke touched the blade to Sai's face when there was an intense blast of energy that seemed to sear Sai's insides. The blast tossed Sasuke away, the chokuto flying from his grasp as Sai was flung away, only to land painfully on his back with the breath knocked out of him.

Chakra filled the air, the energy of it making the hairs on Sai's arms stand straight. Somehow, it felt both familiar and yet utterly sinister at the same time. The amount of chakra was staggering; there was no way chakra this intense could have been coming from Sasuke!

Sai grit his teeth and managed to lift his head. Sasuke was similarly recovering from where he had been thrown to the ground and Naruto's body…

No, it couldn't be.

Naruto was still lying face down on the ground, but a thick red film of chakra was beginning to bubble up around him while another layer of clear blue chakra coated over the red. There was golden light where the two chakras met. Slowly, the golden light began to expand like flames licking upward until it had consumed both the red and the blue chakra.

Naruto got to his feet slowly, the golden flames now completely engulfing his body as strange black markings began to spread down and over his limbs. It wasn't possible! How was Naruto alive? Sai had felt it when he entered the clearing – Naruto's chakra had been completely gone and his heart had been still! But somehow, Naruto was standing and if Sai strained his ears, he could hear Naruto's heart beating thunderously in his chest. It shouldn't have been possible.

Naruto lifted his head and opened his eyes, looking directly at Sai. They weren't Naruto eyes that were staring at him, but rather the slitted pupils of the Kyuubi.

Sai's head hit the ground and he entered the darkness.

naruto

"Fall back!" Yelled Kakashi. "Everyone get away from here!"

The chatter among the wizards started to grow as Kakashi tried warning them.

"Voldermort-sama, I think it's best for you to watch this one from a distance." Warned Orochimaru, an uncharacteristic urgency in his voice.

"What's going on?" Voldermort demanded.

The reddish light leaking from Naruto became more visible and it started to bubble around him. People started to scream and point. Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged Ginny closer to her.

"Sakura, what's going on?!" She cried.

"You guys need to get out of here!" Sakura yelled, getting to her feet.

But no one was paying attention to the ninja's orders anymore. Everyone was staring at Naruto.

"It can't be!" Ron. "He's alive!"

It was now that some tears started to glisten under Sakura's eyes. Naruto had pulled his arms to his side; his nails already long and claw like. His hair had become unruly under the film of chakra and Sakura saw his skin start to bubble. Naruto slowly lifted his head and Sakura was horrified by the sight.

She could see his teeth, sharp and glistening underneath the black line of his lips and his whisker marks were now more than just three skinny lines on his face. His eyes were half closed as he picked his head up and straightened out his body. But then, his eyes snapped open and they were no longer Naruto's eyes, but the Kyuubi's eyes.

"He's been turned into a monster!" One girl student screamed from the crowd.

Hermione shook Sakura. "What's going on? What's happening to Naruto?!"

"That's not Naruto…" Sakura whispered.

"What are you talking about?!" Cried Ginny, who looked just has frightened.

Naruto stood up, on all fours and stood in a crouched position. The red chakra had formed the Fox's Cloak and the first tail was already halfway formed.

Suddenly, Naruto let out a deep grumble that seemed to shake the ground. Stupidly, a Death Eater close to Naruto started to inch forward. Sakura wanted to scream out not to do it, but her mouth was paralyzed shut. Even Sasuke, who had his Sharingan activated, seemed too confused to reach out and pull the man back.

"Troyer." Warned Voldermort, although he seemed interested in seeing what would happen.

Troyer pulled his wand out as he reached Naruto and pointed it at him.

"Avada…"

Naruto's head slowly turned to face Troyer.

"Ked…"

Suddenly, the tail that had been forming lashed out and grabbed Troyer, knocking the wand out of his hand. He gave a startled cry as Naruto raised him off the ground and then threw him. Everyone watched in muted horror as Troyer's scream echoed through the night as he sailed into one of Hogwart's towers and decimated the whole roof with his impact. There was a deafening bang followed by a few yelps.

Then Naruto let out a real roar and the screaming started.

The wind started to whip furiously around as everyone started to scream and run off. Several wizards tried shooting spells at the Kyuubi induced Naruto, but the spells seemed to dissolve once they hit the Fox's Cloak. A third tail was quickly sprouting next to the others.

"We gotta get these people out of here!" Shouted Yamato. "You didn't see what happened last time this happened!" He yelled.

"What is happening to him?!" Shouted Professor McGonagall, running to stand by Yamato and Shikamaru. "Voldermort killed him!"

"Naruto is…special." Said Kakashi. "There's a demon sealed inside of him called the Nine Tailed Fox." He explained.

McGonagall gasped.

"You don't think…the spell killed Naruto, leaving only the Kyuubi inside his body…." Thought Yamato out loud.

"But the seal!" Shouted Shikamaru.

Kakashi shook his head. "The seal was weakening! Without Naruto taking control inside there, Kyuubi could break free."

"Just what is this fox capable of?" Shouted McGonagall.

Sakura held her arms up as she battled the winds being forced at her.

"Sakura!" Shouted Hermione, struggling to run up next to her. "What do we do to stop him?"

"We can't!" Cried Sakura.

Suddenly, Hagrid's cry rang out. "HARRY! WHERE'S HARRY?"

Hermione gasped. "What happened to him?"

Harry was wrapped in the Invisibility Cloak and was running to the forest. He had seen Naruto like this before. Two years ago, Naruto had the same red force around him, the same physical features.

But this time, it was worse….much worse.

Harry heard a thud on the ground and he turned to see Voldermort break away from Orochimaru. "I killed the boy! This is impossible!"

"That's not him!" Shouted Orochimaru. "This is the power we could have harnessed in time!" He shouted, pointing at Naruto. "But you killed him and unlocked the whole thing!"

"Well, now we fight." Sneered Voldermort.

"It's the Kyuubi!" Shouted the Oto ninjas who started to run.

There were people running everywhere but Sakura's eyes were still locked on Naruto. Suddenly, Sakura's ears rang with laughter and she looked up to see Sasuke standing there.

"I should have known that Naruto would have been the weaker one. He always relied on the Kyuubi too much. Now look at where it got him."

Sakura started to brim with rage as she looked at one of her best friends. Naruto's eyes slid to look at Sasuke.

Sakura opened her mouth to retort when Hermione yelled out. "Who do you think you are, you loud mouthed bastard?"

Hermione charged at Sasuke, her wand raised when he smirked. She froze mid step as he flashed his Sharingan at her. Then he quickly spun around of his hands and kicked Hermione; sending her flying. She landed with a thud in the ground and made a face as she rubbed her jaw.

"Don't you bloody touch her!" Roared Ron.

He charged at Sasuke and waved his wand. "Pefetricus Totalus!"

Sasuke backflipped to avoid the spell and then sent and arm out which turned into a snake. The snake wrapped around Ron's neck.

"Sasuke, Yamero!" Sakura screamed.

She ran forward and slashed her kunai through the snake, cutting it in half. Ron stumbled backwards and threw the snake half off of him. The snake turned back into his arm and he was about to charge forward when Naruto let out a roar. His tail whipped out, and hit Sasuke in the stomach. He flew backwards into a tree.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed.

Naruto slammed his fist down, creating a huge tremor. The ground started to shake and everyone fell over.

A huge cloud of dust filled the sky.

The red chakra started to bubble faster, as if one were boiling water. Naruto growled as the wind started to whip faster and Naruto crouched down. The ground started to vibrate and then a huge crater appeared under the ground where Naruto was standing. Another tail lashed out when at Death Eater sent another killing spell at Naruto.

Naruto turned instantly and opened his mouth. A blast of pure white chakra shot out and hit the Death Eater and he flew out a few feet, and landed creating a huge explosion. Then Naruto turned and sent out another blast, exploding and decimating another Hogwarts tower. Naruto let out another scream like sound as Sakura brushed the rock and rubble off of herself. Her eyes widened.

There was a fifth tail forming.

Jutsu:
Choju Giga – Super Beast Scroll
Chidori Eiso – One Thousand Birds Sharp Spear