Crimson and Golden Leaves

by Paridise

Years of suffering has led a young blond down the path of pain. Uzumaki Naruto, a citizen of Konoha, sadness and hate follows his every footstep. This changes however. A lost family member, Uzumaki Kotaro, cousin to Naruto comes and unites with him. Becoming brothers and enduring each other's hardships together, they will furfill their destinies and become Legends. AU/CD Story.

22. Chapter 22 - Ring of Fire

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto the anime or manga. This story is based off the world of Naruto. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 22 – Ring of Fire

Konoha Arena, Kage Balcony Roof

"Just tell me why?" the voice of Hiruzen asked, looking down at his former student Orochimaru. "Why did you do all those terrible crimes? Why did you attack Konoha and try to kill me? I treated you, Tsunade and Jiraiya like my own children, like my very own blood."

Orochimaru who was on the ground struggling to move, struggling to even speak as the end of the Hokage's special Bō staff was at his throat.

Making a last ditch effort, Orochimaru flicked his fingers towards him, making the sword of Kusanagi fly towards him and Hiruzen.

Seeing this Hiruzen somersaulted backwards to avoid the flying sword. After landing, he saw that he created a good amount of distance between him and Orochimaru.

"Sarutobi-sensei," Orochimaru said with a raspy voice. "I just wish to watch the windmill move with the wind. When it's still, I find life around me boring and pointless."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes onto Orochimaru. "Pitiful, I did not raise my student to be like this. That's your reason? Boredom…" he said as he watched Orochimaru's glare intensify on him.

Ideas and memories flowed through the mind of Hiruzen. Some of Orochimaru's actions of late now made sense when correlating them with Jiraiya's reports.

"So, you say you're bored? Or is that you want someone to notice your actions," Hiruzen said. "Your appearance in the Forest of Death and giving that mark to Uchiha Sasuke, there is one who would take a special interest in that."

Orochimaru kept his glare and his mouth shut.

"Also going after the Uzumaki boys. How ambitious are you? But let me tell you something straight Orochimaru, those two elder brothers have long surpassed you. And now because of that, you're going after an old man. How depressing," Hiruzen said with some steel in his voice. His words truly hurt Orochimaru. "It is not your place to fight them. Their time will come when history will repeat itself, where their ancient blood will fight each other once more. Where the fire will meet the storm head on. Orochimaru, it is not your place to interfere. It is their fate, not yours," Hiruzen continued.

Orochimaru gnashed his teeth, his fangs were showing. He was angry, no he was infuriated to his very core. His slit eyes were showing all his fury.

Then the sound of wind gathering together came. Orochimaru looked to his left and right, he watched as the dust swirled into the air, more and more of it came and fused together above the cracked terracotta roof tiles.

It didn't take long for the two swirls to form into the shapes of men. Both tall and strong, the colour returned to their faces and armour. Hiruzen growled once he saw the figures once again. Orochimaru's actions were acts of complete disrespect to the dead.

"Seems like my dear Hokage have returned. Senju Hashirama and Tobirama, they will help me kill you, Sensei," Orochimaru said with newfound confidence. "Your special supressing seal tags seemed to have worn off."

Hiruzen spun around his Bō staff and then slammed one end into the roof tiles. It caused the whole building to shake. His power was fierce. Hiruzen knew it was do or die at that moment, all he had to do was have faith in all those who he loved in the village.

Having that faith made his will strong, strong enough to go ahead in this fight with the one objective without worrying about anything else.

To kill his student, the one that he loved with all his heart.

"Orochimaru… let us begin round two. Having to get help to kill me, an old man! It seems like you need training boy!" Hiruzen spat out before raising his staff. "Enma, lend me your power! The time to repent for my sins has come."

---

Outside of the Konoha Hospital

The end was closing in. The sirens boomed out that all evacuees have been safely put into the Konoha bunkers, one of the safest places in the hidden village. The hospital has calmed down greatly.

It seemed the tide of the battle has been turning towards Konoha's favour, this however did not come without a cost. The whole village has been bruised heavily from the onslaught. Many have anger and sadness to expel but it was nor the time or place. It had to wait until the village was safe.

"You better make sure to stay alive, Yoshino will kill me if she finds out that you got yourself killed," the voice of Shikaku said.

Kotaro smiled as he heard the words. "That woman, you got to love her. I'm going to go and find Naruto and Shikamaru. The hospital has cleared up enough, so I can go back to the fight. I'm worried about those two," he said with concern. "That Gaara kid is a serious threat."

Shikaku nodded with his lips pursed. "You're right in that. The Ichibi is not something to ignore. Although weaker than the Kyūbi, it is stronger than some of the other bijū, such as the Sanbi," he pointed out. "We would need a couple of squads to restrain it."

Kotaro agreed with a light grunt. Shikaku the genius already knew about the threat of the bijū. He knew it ever since Gaara's name was enlisted into the Chūnin exam roster.

In the myths and legends told by the various people of the world, it has been set in stone of the nine great bijū that roamed and overlooked the lands before they were sealed into humans for other purposes, that not all of them shared equal power.

The fierce Kyūbi was known to be the strongest followed by the Hachibi while the Rokubi was the weakest. The Rokubi was native to the Land of Water, despite it being the weakest of the nine, it was still powerful in its own right.

"We will need everything we have to stop it if it emerges, which I have no doubt that it will. I can restrain it back, but I think this time I'll need support to stop any collateral damage," Kotaro said.

Shikaku nodded. "Yes, those chains of yours are really something else. Though, there is no guarantee that we will be able to stop it," he said. "Would you be willing to sacrifice your life to save the village?" he asked after.

Kotaro sighed deeply. It was quite the heavy question. "My dream is to see Naruto become the Hokage. If I can't live to see it, I want to make damn sure I did everything in my power to make sure his head gets that hat. So yes, I'm prepared to die for this," he said without hesistation.

Kotaro saw the closed eyes of Shikaku, the man was thinking. Moving his head beyond Shikaku, Kotaro saw Inoichi and Chōza waiting for their Nara counterpart. The ultimate team were about to get back together.

Kotaro rubbed his face with his hands and then ran his fingers through his crimson hair. His heart felt so heavy, as if it was being pulled down to the very centre of the world.

"This is my fault… If I didn't fight Kitsuchi and his Iwa squad all those years ago, all this destruction and death wouldn't have happened," he said with a struggle. "How could my actions bring so much chaos? Maybe it would've been better if I ran away or if I…"

Shikaku kept his eyes closed but he released a hard and loud grunt. Kotaro turned his head and focused on he man in front of him. His arms were crossed, and he could see that the man was getting annoyed.

"Talking like that, it makes me angry," Shikaku said, surprising Kotaro since the man was always cool-headed.

"If you ran away, you and your squad would have perished. If you let them kill you, you would have been pathetic in my eyes. My respect for you would have vanished if I learnt you did that. Harsh? I would agree, but dying that young is not the right ending for you Kotaro. What you will do is face the consequences of your actions of the past. Prepare yourself for an onslaught after all this, but don't worry, I will stand beside you," he continued.

The air chilled and silence had taken over. Kotaro was reeling through his memories, good and bad, dangerous and peaceful.

I love you.

Kotaro flinched as he heard those words once again. A wonderful memory. The words were so soft, so warm, full of truth. He wished he could hear them once again, but he never will from that particular person. That's all it was, a memory. How glum.

"You're right. And it's still too early, I need to live until I see Naruto become Hokage. I need to live so I can have a family, my own family," Kotaro said with new-found and growing confidence. "I'm going to fly."

"Are you going to go to the boys now?" Shikaku asked as he opened his eyes, they showed great worry.

Kotaro nodded slowly with a smile on his face, not one of happiness but one to comfort the man in front of him.

"Of course, I need to make sure the two are safe. Don't worry, I will always have their backs," Kotaro said with no deception in his voice.

Shikaku wryly smiled himself after he heard the words. "I know. And I know I said this before, but don't die out there. If any of you three died, Yoshino will cry and mourn for you for days. She loves you all dearly," he said.

"What if you died?" Kotaro asked. He never imagined the outcome, but his curiosity got the better of him at that moment.

Shikaku groaned. "She'll probably celebrate at my funeral. I'm going now. I don't want you to die either," he said.

Shikaku turned around and joined up with Chōza and Inoichi, the three proceeded to jump away to deal with the remaining threats.

"Yeah… you too Shikaku, don't you dare die," Kotaro murmured to himself.

The wind blew slowly through the hospital yard. It made Konoha seem calm, which was the complete opposite of what was actually happening.

"I know this is a huge shame for you, but a girl knows when she has to call it quits. I'm going to go back home now."

Kotaro turned around to the familiar voice. "You decide to go now. Jeez, I will never understand women. Niko… be safe out there. Any ninja who sees you might try to kill you," he warned.

Niko crossed her arms under her chest and grinned at him. "And what will happen? They'll die before they even knew what happened. It might have been smart to bring Yuuto or Toroi, but they just make things difficult," she said with a huff.

Kotaro walked away from her, walking backwards. "It was nice seeing you. Though, hopefully next time we talk, the situation isn't so dire," he said.

Niko nodded at him. "I hope so too. Though, keep your wits about you. I might be calling sooner than you think. You are important for one of my plans. I need someone that I can trust," she said.

'Trust? Me? Ha, she's such a strange woman,' Kotaro thought. "Alright, you know where to find me then," he said afterwards.

"Don't worry, it won't be for a while. The 'Parade of the Snowflakes' is not around the corner just yet," Niko said, she swayed her hair back as she wrapped herself in a moss green cloak. Refocusing her eyes on Kotaro, she smiled. "It'll determine the future in some shape or form."

Kotaro narrowed his eyes. The Parade of Snowflakes was a special parade held every year in the Land of Frost, a rich but closed off nation northeast of the Land of Fire and south of the Land of Lightning.

It was a unique location where the Capital of the Land of Frost also held the stronghold for the ninja of that country.

Shimogakure was a hidden ninja village that was built inside the large city, carved into the large mountains that oversee the city below them. It was a fortress that nobody dared to enter

'She must be planning something big,' Kotaro thought. 'And I'm a part of it. I know it's going to be a load of sh-'

"I can't wait for it," Kotaro said with sarcasm. "The Nadeshiko village really made a mistake in letting you run away like that. You're one of the most powerful kunoichi I know. It's scary to think about," he said.

Niko furrowed her eyebrows; her expression showed her annoyance. She turned around and walked towards the perimeter of Konoha. It was her time to leave this hellhole.

"You promised never to say that name. I really do tell you too much. That village… they have their priorities out of order. After all, they ignored me and my dear Kaa-san, even after all that she went through just to get us into that village," she said in a hiss.

She breathed slowly while turning her head, her calm blue eyes refocused on Kotaro. "Kotaro, I will see you again," Niko said with a wink, before disappearing from Kotaro's eyes.

Her presence was gone, it completely vanished. Kotaro cracked his knuckles and grinned. "Time to pay back these bastards, Naruto wait for me."

---

Eastern Forest

With his hands in the Ram hand seal position, Naruto waited for the perfect time to start. Looking between Shikamaru and Pakkun, he smiled at them. "Let's get the show on the road, shall we?" he said.

Naruto moulded his chakra and remotely activated the explosive tags that surrounded the Oto tracking squad.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Small explosions occurred all around the Oto ninja. The eight man squad looked in all different directions.

"Who set off the trap!?" the leader shouted out to his squad. His voice carried deep anger with every word he spoke.

Naruto, Shikamaru and Pakkun stayed still, all their hard work would go to waste if they got caught at that moment. Each pair of eyes were watching the eight men and women scamper around in sheer confusion.

It didn't take long until new visitors arrived.

"Oto? I thought they would have all been killed off now. Maybe Konoha are actually as weak as I thought," the voice of a teenage girl said.

The Oto tracking squad and Naruto's makeshift team looked to the source of the voice. Naruto scanned for details.

Naruto saw that the teenage girl was wearing a standard Jōnin Iwa shinobi outfit. She wasn't tall, only just a head taller than Naruto.

What truly caught his eyes were the kunoichi's strange but pretty pink eyes. They were so strange, so unique. Her short black hair moved with the breeze, the sleeves of her outfit moved with it as well.

She was alone, Naruto was wondering where the other three members were at. He knew never to doubt the nose of one of Kakashi's dog summons. They had to be hiding, there was no other option.

"Maybe we ought to teach you a lesson, girl. Come on men, let's not pull any punches," the Oto ninja squad leader said.

The girl with the pink eyes smiled devilishly. "You guys just made a big mistake. Never underestimate me, the granddaughter of the Sandaime Tsuchikage," she said as she weaved through hand seals, starting with Tiger and finishing on Rat.

The teenage girl spewed out a black thick substance which wrapped around all eight of her targets, disabling their movements.

By focusing on her chakra after the technique was casted, she manipulated the black substance, so it thickened and became hard. The black substance looked and acted like cement, it covered every Oto ninja from neck to toe.

"What is this?" a trapped Oto ninja shouted out.

The girl smirked. "Experience my bloodline limit, famous from Iwagakure, the Lave Release. Too bad I have to end this now," she said as she focused more of her chakra.

The black cement moved and covered the faces of all eight of the Oto ninja. Naruto shivered once he heard the suffocating screams.

The girl was ruthless to the core. He had to commend her however, she took out eight ninja in one move all by herself. She was strong, just like another girl with a bloodline limit that he knows of.

Three other Iwa ninja jumped to her side, all male. Naruto could already tell that she was the leader of the small squad, he would assume that they were the clean-up squad. A squad to take out any strays or ninja that ran away.

"Nice one Kurotsuchi, as expected from our leader," one of the Iwa ninja said.

Naruto saw that he appeared older than the girl Kurotsuchi, as well as the other two. She must be very powerful if she had this much respect from her squad.

'Or maybe it's just because she's the granddaughter of the Sandaime Tsuchikage,' Naruto thought.

Shikamaru and Pakkun looked between Naruto and the Iwa squad, hounding for some type of direction.

"Naruto, what should we do?" Shikamaru whispered close to Naruto's ear.

Naruto moved his head to a better position. The branches in the crown of the tree made it hard to communicate.

"She's a VIP target. We cannot kill her, we can use her against Iwa if we do this right. Pakkun, you stay still. Shikamaru… get all four of them with your shadow possession jutsu, we only have one shot, but if we do this right we can take them out easily," Naruto ordered.

Shikamaru nodded and formed the Rat hand seal, his shadow grew with the tree's and it stretched slowly to the four shadows created by Kurotsuchi's squad. Shikamaru focused and split his shadow into four parts, making them attach themselves to the ends of the Iwa squad's shadows.

Naruto jumped down and took out a kunai out of his leg holster.

"What the hell? I can't move a muscle!" Kurotsuchi said with anger and confusion. She heard something right behind her, yet she couldn't even turn around to see what it was.

Naruto gripped his kunai, so the ring was at the end of his hand. He didn't waste time, striking the side of each of the male Iwa ninja's heads at the temple area of their skulls.

Shikamaru controlled his shadows with each strike so their bodies fell with each knockout. It was a bit of a struggle for the short ninja, the Iwa ninja were all fully grown men, Naruto had to hop up to actually hit them.

The last one was Kurotsuchi, who was gritting her teeth. "You will pay for this," she hissed. "Iwa ninja will show the world that they're the strongest. Stronger than Kumogakure, stronger than Konoha."

Naruto gripped his kunai harder. His eyes glared at the back of her head. "I don't care. All there is to this is that Iwa made a big mistake. You and your village will regret this… and for a very long time," he said. His words carried themselves with a serious tone. Naruto was mad.

Kurotsuchi smirked, despite her terrible situation. "Iwa never forgets. First the Yondaime Hokage, then that Crimson scum. Killing our ninja, our pride. We will have our day, Iwa will have her glory," she said with total confidence and pride.

Naruto grunted. "Your words… 'Crimson scum'. I don't know how to feel about that," he said. "I don't like it when people bad mouth my Nii-chan."

Kurotsuchi's eyes widened. "Nii-chan!?"

Next thing Kurotsuchi saw was a black abyss and she was pulled hard down into it. Her body became numb and she lost all control of her limbs and senses. Nothing was perceived, nothing was seen.

Naruto placed his kunai back into his holster and took out his thick coil of ninja wire. He watched as Shikamaru's shadow jutsu disengaged out of Kurotsuchi's shadow and her body fall over to its side lifelessly.

Naruto made sure not to hit any of the four too hard. A serious concussion could lead to memory loss or even damage to the brain. He knew these four ninja, Kurotsuchi in particular will become great bargaining chips in the aftermath discussions with Iwagakure. They needed some leverage over that village and Naruto's actions were the answer to them.

Shikamaru and Pakkun jumped down to join Naruto. "Nice work Naruto. I don't think I have any energy left to use my shadow possession jutsu anymore. Those four were really pushing me to my limits, she was really strong," he pointed out. "She was harder to keep still than the other three combined!"

"She is the granddaughter of the current Tsuchikage. She would need to be strong," Pakkun said. "You two made great combination moves to capture this team."

Naruto nodded his head. "If we didn't do the first trap, this would have been impossible. Shikamaru's shadow jutsu are really handy for these types of situations ya know. If I didn't have him here, I might have died already," he admitted.

Shikamaru grew a small smile. "Naruto, I'm only one half. I do the setting up and you're the finisher," he said.

The leaves ruffled, the three turned around and an Oto ninja came out with a tantō ready to strike at Shikamaru. All three had completely forgotten about the ninth Oto tracker, letting their success over the trap and the capture of Kurotsuchi fog up their senses.

Naruto unsheathed Silver from its sheath and hunched forward, he was prepared for the strong attack that was about to come Shikamaru's way. He would protect Shikamaru with his life.

CRASH!

A man in a dark Konoha flak jacket came out of thin air and smashed a trench knife on the Oto ninja's spine, the knife embedded itself in the middle of the Oto ninja's cervical region.

The Oto ninja stood no chance and died on the spot. The Konoha ninja pulled out his trench knife and looked Naruto and Shikamaru with a wry smile, his cigarette hanging loosely from his lips.

"It's good to see you two safe. I was worried," Asuma said as puts away his trench knives. Spitting out his used cigarette, he grounded it with his foot and replaced it with a fresh cigarette. "You dropped the ball there, big time."

Asuma blew smoke into Shikamaru's face after he lit his cigarette. Shikamaru waved the smoke out of his face and had a scowl on his face.

"Naruto would have taken care of it," Shikamaru said frowning.

Asuma laughed. "This is no laughing matter Shikamaru. You could have gotten killed. Though, it was always my role to save you, you are my student after all. Good work on those Iwa ninja there. We can get an ANBU squad to pick them up and place them in confinement," he said, his hand moved to one of his many pouches on his rear.

Naruto scratched his cheek after wiping the sweat from his face. 'Says it's no laughing matter, but then laughs himself. Some people!' he thought with a sigh.

Naruto then focused his eyes onto Asuma. "How are you going to do that?" he asked.

Asuma took out a cylindrical red object and aimed it to the sky. He pulled on the end and a large bang occurred.

Green mist fumed out of the top and a bright light launched itself into the air. It then cracked and popped into a larger light once it reached a certain height.

"A flare?" Naruto said. "Aren't you afraid that the enemies will know where we are then?" he asked after.

Asuma shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. The enemy forces were mainly just Oto ninja. We got reports that only a small army of three hundred Iwa ninja came in without alerting any of the security systems. Suna brought along much more, but they stayed behind most of the Oto ninja. ANBU are going around Konoha, cleaning up and killing off the enemies. They will see this and collect the work you did," he said. "Don't worry, you two did really good here."

"Only three hundred Iwa ninja?" Shikamaru said. "That's such a low number to have to invade Konoha. They would need a lot more to actually take over Konoha."

"But that's not their objective Shikamaru," the voice of Kotaro said, coming to the scene after jumping from the trees. "All they wanted was to inflict as much damage as possible and to kill me. Nothing more than that. If you haven't noticed already, most of their attacks have been focusing on the buildings and services in Konoha, as well as the perimeter walls. Their mission objective of eliminating the academy students failed, so now they're mainly avoiding any conflict with other ninja."

"What does that mean then for us?" Naruto asked.

Asuma looked down to Naruto to answer. "It means that we have to repair everything and it's going to cost a lot of money. And I mean a lot! If they killed Kotaro here, then we would have lost a great force in our military power as well," he said.

"Asuma, you're making me blush," Kotaro said.

"But he is right. The damage Konoha just received is devasting. It might be better to demolish and reconstruct rather than repair at this point. So many Earth ninjutsu moves have been used that some houses and buildings have already fallen to the ground," he continued while having a look at the sleeping Iwa ninja by his feet.

Kotaro then looked back up to the group. "Iwa were smart, they used Orochimaru and his Suna allies to hide behind while they did their own job to destroy Konoha. If they did this on any other day, they would have all gotten themselves killed. Massacred even. But now, they had the advantage and completely took everyone by surprise," he continued. "Fuck…"

Kotaro looked around and saw Sasuke wasn't with Naruto, Shikamaru and Pakkun. "Kakashi must have sent you Pakkun, have you picked up Sasuke's scent yet?" he asked.

Pakkun shook his head. "No. Sasuke has a similar smell to cats yet I can't sniff anything like that here," he said.

Kotaro nodded. "That isn't good. Genma ordered Sasuke to go after Gaara and the Suna siblings. Maybe try to sniff out normal or contaminated sand nearby," he said.

Pakkun sighed. "I'll try, but I don't have much experience with sand. Wait… What's that?" the dog said.

"Is it Sasuke?" Naruto asked quickly.

Pakkun moved his nose close to the ground, he began to sniff more and more. "It could be. This smell is familiar. It could be him, it's worth a shot to look into it."

"Come on then!" Naruto said walking in Pakkun's direction. "The longer we wait, the more likely Sasuke will get killed!"

In that second Pakkun lead the pack, Naruto was already hot on his tail.

Shikamaru groaned. "Jeez, he's become so much more troublesome since these exams have come," he complained. "Acting like he's the boss."

Kotaro laughed and walked over to Shikamaru's side. "He's right though, Naruto is showing off his leadership right now Shikamaru. Maybe you should take a page out of his book."

"Shut up Aniki," Shikamaru grumbled with the cross of his arms.

Asuma jumped onto the tall, green tree in front of them and then blew out smoke. "They're getting well ahead of us now," he said. "Let's go."

Asuma, Kotaro and Shikamaru jumped up to the trees and leapt from branch to branch, following the tracks and path of Naruto. It didn't take them long to catch up to the energetic blond. Naruto was purposely going slow, so they could catch up. He had some common sense in his head despite being very impatient.

"Pakkun, keep on point. I'm right behind you. Shikamaru, go on my rear. Nii-chan, Asuma, go on either side," Naruto called out.

The others were surprised by the calls but nonetheless complied. Kotaro grinned once he got onto Naruto's left side.

'How absurd? Giving out orders as a Genin to two Jōnin. Oh Naruto, I don't think I can love you anymore!' he thought.

The group jumped from tree to tree, closing towards the central area of the vast and dense Eastern Forest. It didn't take long for the team to hear the cackle of fierce lightning in the air.

"There's Sasuke! What the hell is that thing!?" Naruto yelled out, seeing Sasuke covered in his own blood, on his knees panting hard.

All five pairs of eyes looked at Sasuke's enemy. It was an abomination, a creature covered in sand with blue markings, and a red mark with the kanji of 'love' marked on the left side of its forehead.

"That must be Gaara. He's partially transformed, be careful guys," Kotaro warned, already having experience with Yagura's version two of the bijū transformations, this was no joke.

"Naruto, Shikamaru, grab Sasuke and pull out. We'll handle this," Asuma ordered, his words were serious.

"Pakkun! Get yourself the hell outta here right now!" Kotaro said loudly as he prepared himself for his future onslaught.

"You don't need to tell me twice!" Pakkun roared at them before puffing away and leaving a cloud of smoke.

The two Genin nodded jumped quickly across the branches, getting closer to Sasuke. Asuma and Kotaro jumped in a different direction but were still close. The situation was turning to their favour.

"THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE TAKING MY PREY AWAY FROM ME!" the partially transformed Gaara shouted in rage.

Sand erupted from the ground and from Gaara's own body. Reaching towards the sky, reaching tower heights. Smoke came out of the smoke and blue lines formed, they were growing all around the new body.

Asuma, Kotaro, Naruto and Shikamaru had to jump away from the force of the transformation. Gaara's transformation as destroying trees and everything else that was around him.

Kotaro stared at the bijū with awe. "They really can be the ultimate weapons of mass destruction. Fuck me!" he cursed out.

Kotaro looked around him and saw Naruto rubbing the back of his head, he was pushed away from the force and his body smashed into the trunk of the tree.

"Naruto! Get up and look for Sasuke, he must have gotten blown away from the force. We'll hold him back, just find him!" Kotaro shouted.

Naruto could see the worry in his eyes, this has gone from bad to worse.

The smoke was clearing, and the titanic footsteps of the Ichibi were heard. A colossus of sand came out and was showing its mighty glare.

"Oh shit! It's already here," Kotaro said.

"What the hell is that thing!?" Naruto yelled.

Kotaro jumped to Naruto's branch. "That is the Ichibi. The bijū sealed in Gaara. That is a creature that is somehow related to your Kyūbi and the other bijū. Now is not the time to gawk at it, we need to stop it," he said before jumping to the other trees to get a better angle.

An idea flashed through Naruto's mind. It was time to showcase a jutsu that he learnt from Jiraiya, a signature move found in any of the members in the Legendary Sannin's library.

Naruto put his thumb to his mouth and bit into it hard, blood flowed from the cut and covered the thumb skin. As Naruto spreads the blood across his palm, he focused and moulded as much chakra as he could, he needed assistance and this assistance didn't come without a price.

SHAKE!

Naruto lost his balance slightly on his branch and looked around. The whole ground shook violently. Almost exactly like an earthquake. Naruto looked up to the Ichibi, Shukaku, and saw it was also looking around.

"I'm finally out! I have so many things I want to kill!" Shukaku shouted. Naruto noticed the key difference in the voices, not only just by the sounds. This voice belonged to someone who found the joy in killing and destruction for the fun of it.

"Oyabun, I'm going to need your help," Naruto said. "Just wait till I get you here to fight."

CRACK!

The earth ripped open in half, a colossal split was made in the forest. One arm reached and grabbed the earth, another came out soon after.

Naruto and the others watched with wide eyes. 'What the hell is going on now!?' was the thought that was running through all their minds.

The body that owned those humongous arms pulled itself out. It was a creature of the same size, but instead of a tanuki, it was a large ape with massive horns and blunt fangs.

A red furred and green-skinned ape had appeared, and its eyes were focusing on Shukaku. Its four tails waved around in the air.

The Yonbi has emerged from the depths of the earth. These are a strange set of events.

"Shukaku. What the!? Why are you here!?," the Yonbi said. The expression its face suggested that it was truly surprised to see Shukaku out in the wild.

Shukaku narrowed his eyes and pointed its right claw at the Yonbi. "The second I get out, I have to deal with an ape like you. Son Gokū, why the hell are you here!?" Shukaku shouted. The ground shook from the tanuki's violent voice.

The Yonbi jumped back and raised his fists. "Look, I don't want to fight you. Myself and my Jinchūriki were sent here on a mission," Son Gokū said. "We can do our own business without getting in each other's way."

Shukaku laughed loudly, the menacing laugh was heard all over Konoha. "I don't give two shits about what you want. I'm doing what I want to do and that's final. And I want to kill! You're included," Shukaku shouted.

Shukaku turned around back to the direction where Asuma, Kotaro, Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru all should be located. Shukaku sucked in a massive amount of air and its belly expanded, just like a balloon.

Naruto, who was on a branch, had no idea what to do. Two of the nine bijū were in Konoha, both here to wreak havoc. Two of some of the most powerful entities could easily turn Konoha into a pile of ash. All he wanted to do was run away.

Naruto felt his collar being gripped and being pulled away from a strong force. He was taken off his feet and wrapped up in strong arms. His body then felt an incredible increase in movement speed. He and whoever was carrying him were sprinting away from the two titans of destruction.

Naruto smelled the familiar scent of his home. He looked up and saw the serious face of Kotaro, his eyes were screaming of worry. The two were going through the forest at unimaginable speeds.

"Nii-chan! What about the others?" Naruto asked in a shout.

Kotaro didn't answer straight away as he jumped to new branches. Once he landed, he started to talk. "Asuma and Shikamaru are right behind us. I can sense them," Kotaro jumped again and started to run in straighter paths, "Right now, they're following in our slipstream. Don't talk, let me focus on us getting out of here!" he said.

Naruto closed his mouth, he didn't need to add on any trouble to his or Kotaro's worries.

The sound of fierce winds came and blew through the trees, uprooting them out of the ground. Kotaro lost his balance and was pushed by the amazing sheer force generated by the wind created by Shukaku. The tanuki really wanted them dead it seemed.

Kotaro saw that he and Naruto were flying towards the trunk of a tree. He knew it was a lost cause, but he positioned himself the best he could, so he would take the brunt of the force.

CRASH!

Kotaro and Naruto smacked into the trunk of an old tree. There was a large crack made in the elder plant. Kotaro dropped Naruto and hissed in pain.

"Fuck! My shoulder! Fuck me that hurts," Kotaro said through gritted teeth. Adrenaline flowed through his veins, it was the only thing stopping him from swearing to the ends of hell. He knew what happened to his shoulder, there was a nasty dislocation.

'Bless our Uzumaki genes. We got strong bodies for strong blows,' Kotaro thought in slight agony.

Grabbing his right wrist with his left hand, he rolled his shoulder and connected it back together haphazardly. He quickly flowed medical chakra to his shoulder, focusing around the joint.

Kotaro quickly stood up and shook his arm around, Naruto was watching with worried eyes. "It'll do for now," Kotaro said. "We need to get out of here or else we'll be killed."

"What are you talking about!?" Naruto yelled at him. "We have to stop them before they destroy Konoha."

Kotaro rubbed his face and his eyes focused on Naruto. "Do you not understand that those two are insanely powerful!?" he shouted.

"You stopped the Sanbi when you were gone, can't you at least try Nii-chan!?" Naruto yelled out.

Kotaro grabbed Naruto's collar and ran towards the town centre of Konoha once again. "The Sanbi is an entirely different case. The Yondaime Mizukage was under a genjutsu according to Mei. I don't know if she has all her facts straight, but Yagura wasn't acting human at all. The Sanbi wasn't at its full potential. The Ichibi and Yonbi are stronger, and they're together at the same place. I can't stop them, the only one I can think of that can would be Senju Hashirama," he said as he ran through the trees, holding onto Naruto as tight as he could.

The dose of reality shocked Naruto, he wasn't thinking straight, and he let his feelings get the better of him.

Naruto grunted in annoyance, not directed at Kotaro, but at himself, the whole day has gone to shit since the attack has started.

Everything that Konoha was, everything that it stood for was being buried into the ashes. There was one gleam of hope, they can rebuild from this, make it better than ever before. All they had to do now was survive and push out the threats.

Kotaro eventually dropped Naruto from his grips and both brothers ran towards the centre of Konoha. The epic battle between two bijū was happening right behind their backs at that moment. Tremors were felt every few seconds from the two mighty pairs of feet of the bijū moving about the Eastern Forest.

"There's Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted as he blitzed his way to his friend, who was hissing in pain.

Kotaro and Naruto landed beside Asuma and Shikamaru. Asuma was holding up Shikamaru's left ankle, it was clearly twisted. It wouldn't surprise anyone if Shikamaru's ankle was actually fractured.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth. "Damn! It really hurts," he groaned in agony.

"Is there anything we can do here?" Asuma asked Kotaro.

Kotaro shook his head. "Yes, but we risk of getting caught up in those huge attacks. It'll be better if we move to the hospital and put him in their care. Asuma, give Shikamaru a piggy-back ride," he said.

Asuma picked up Shikamaru carefully and rested the boy on his back, holding onto his legs with a firm grip. He certainly didn't want his student to fall off as they travelled.

Naruto saw that Kotaro lead the pack and he himself was at the rear. It was so natural, the positioning made sense as well. Asuma and Shikamaru were now incapacitated with Shikamaru's ankle injury.

With Kotaro in the front and Naruto at the back, it gave the group the maximum amount of safety they could create.

They exited through the forest, the town of Konoha were in their sights. The pack were close to the Konoha hospital, running as fast as they could.

Kotaro turned his head back to see if the two bijū were still brawling. It was no surprise that they were, with the Yonbi jumping around the Ichibi, the sand tanuki was growing more infuriated by the second.

Kotaro and Naruto ran onto the streets with Asuma and Shikamaru between them.

"We'll split off once we reach the hospital. You two can go to the Hokage tower and wait until one of them have gone down to their knees," Asuma ordered. "Going against both will be suicide."

Kotaro nodded. "Good plan," he said. "It's not much… What the fu-"

BANG!

Kotaro was smacked hard on his right cheekbone by a sparkling fist. He was blown off his feet from the blunt force and flew into the building beside him, making the walls collapse on top of his body. The house that was barely standing was now a heaping pile of rubble.

"Nii-chan!" Naruto yelled in worry. His eyes looked up to see a man in Iwa ninja clothing. It was a man of average height, he had toned muscles.

Naruto saw that his left arm was covered by some transparent material. The shaggy brown hair with the shaved sides made him look menacing. Naruto was wondering who the hell this guy was.

The man looked at his left hand, which was covered by the now blood-stained transparent material. It was blood belonging to Kotaro. He then clenched his fist and grunted. "He's not dead yet," he said, "Uzumaki Kotaro, come out now so I can kill you already."

"Kotaro! Get your ass out of there and beat this guy. I'm taking Shikamaru to the hospital," Asuma said as he ran around and away from the new fight by jumping onto the rooftops of the surrounding buildings.

Naruto looked closely at the man's arm. He has never seen anything like it before. The material looked extremely hard, like a diamond.

There was one thing that Naruto noticed, the man didn't even register him as a danger. The man's eyes haven't acknowledged him at all.

Naruto gasped, and a memory passed through his mind.

I heard something like that he is a foreign ninja that can make diamonds from his chakra. Pretty neat right?

'That man in the Ramen bar in the capital said something about this guy. So, he's the man that can make diamonds from his chakra. This is some bloodline limit bullshit,' Naruto thought.

Kotaro came out of a pile of rubble, his clothes from head to toe word torn up. Blood was leaking from all over him. Small and shallow cuts covered his skin. He wasn't far off the image of a demon. The ruined outfit would need to go to the bin, but first he had to deal with this strong Iwa ninja.

Kotaro saw his blood on the man's arm, over the diamond gauntlet. He took out a kunai that he saved from when he was at the academy earlier on. Looking between them, they were made from the same type of material.

"You must be this Crua guy that I've heard so many good things about," Kotaro said after putting away the diamond kunai. "So, you've awakened your abilities, huh?"

The man smiled. "Yup, that's me. It seemed that my subordinates talked a bit too much about me but yes, I have awakened my powers," Crua said. "With this power as well, I will kill you."

'Awakened his powers? What does that mean?' Naruto thought as he looked between the two men, staring daggers at each other.

Kotaro rubbed his right cheekbone, it was in a lot of pain. He hissed at the sensitivity when he lightly poked it. He was sure there was going to be a lovely shiner appearing soon. He'll need to apply medical chakra to it to make sure the swelling goes down quickly.

Refocusing on Crua, he knew he had to kill this man. He has brought so much destruction and terror to Konoha. To Kotaro, that was simply unforgiveable. It was destroying his and his little brother's dream.

Kotaro cracked his knuckles. "You're not the one who's going to kill me. I'm the one going to kill you," he said. His hands were already weaving through hand seals for a heavy duty jutsu. His hands ended on the had seal of Bird and Kotaro leaned back whilst moulding his chakra.

'Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!' Kotaro thought as water shot out of his mouth at a rapid pace and transformed into the head of a water dragon. Its glowing yellow eyes hunted down Crua.

Crua formed the Ram and then Snake hand seal before quickly slamming his open palms to the ground. Diamond rose out of the ground and shaped itself around him in a dome.

The water dragon came and slammed into the dome, however it was completely dissipated, Kotaro switched hand seals and formed the tiger hand seal to focus the water into a water jet. He hunched forward and pulled back his left arm, making the water travel faster and hit harder. Yet it changed nothing, the diamond dome nullified Kotaro's attack entirely.

Naruto watched as the dome stayed intact and no damage was done to it. He saw that Kotaro released his jutsu and breathed in some fresh air.

Naruto couldn't let himself lose control and rush in. If Kotaro was struggling with this man, there was no hope in hell he was going to stand a chance.

Naruto grew annoyed from his lack of strength. He grew so much stronger since leaving after the preliminaries, yet he was not strong enough to stop the destruction of Konoha or help his brother.

The dome shattered into microscopic pieces and then Crua stood up from his crouching. Neither man were winded nor tired from their respective jutsu. However, Kotaro looked worse for wear, the damage from Shukaku's wind attack and Crua's introductory punch didn't help at all for this fight.

Taking the initiative, Kotaro rushed into Crua's personal space with his fists ready. It didn't take him long to start an array of jabs and swings. Crua dodged and deflected them. Kotaro started to mix things up as he started to use his legs for kicks.

Crua was enjoying the fight, the man in front of him was strong, and he was only going to get stronger. It has been so long for the Iwa Jōnin to feel the heavy pumping of his heart, it was the thrill he has been waiting for.

All of sudden, the back of Kotaro's left heel was coming towards the left side of his face with incredible speed. Crua noticed the astronomical change in pace of the fight.

They were on equal speeds at one moment, but Kotaro has completely flashed through his guard and has a well-earned kick aimed to his face. He was wondering the hell happened! He needed to act fast or he might not have a head anymore.

CRACK!

Kotaro's left heel hit something, and something extremely hard. He retracted his foot and somersaulted backwards to make some distance between the him and Crua.

Observing closely, he saw diamond formed around Crua's left shoulder and the left side of his face. Kotaro shook his left foot to ease the pain. Even though there were cracks in the diamond, the chakra diamonds were still very hard and held up from the damage.

Crua smirked while dusting off his shoulder. "Ouch," he said sarcastically. "That was sore."

Kotaro gnashed his teeth. This guy in front of him was something else. Being a quick thinker, a plan slipped into his mind and he gave no second thoughts for it, he was already in action.

His hands were already in motion weaving through the hand seals. Starting with Ram and ending it with Bird, Kotaro smacked his palms to the ground.

Crua saw that Kotaro was moulding chakra for a large jutsu once again, he repeated his actions from before and recreated his diamond dome for his protection.

Kotaro pumped his water chakra into the crowd and imagined a point to focus on within the diamond dome.

'Uzumaki Hidden-jutsu, Water release: Violent whirlpool,' he thought with a wild grin on his face. His blood was pumping hard, despite the horror picture show happening all around him, the battle he was fighting was one he was loving.

"Naruto!" Kotaro called out. "This is going to get messy. Go to the Hokage Tower and I'll meet you there!"

Naruto nodded with a grin. "Alright! You better get back there safe Nii-chan!" he said before flying off towards the centre of Konoha once again.

Crua kept his hands to the ground and waited patiently for Kotaro's jutsu. By the sound of it, it sounded destructive.

"Show me your power that scares our grumpy old man Uzumaki Kotaro. I want to know what keeps him up at night," he said with his own smile.

'There's just about enough water to trap and kill him,' Kotaro thought with a growing grin. Crua trapped himself with that dome of his. It will be the end of him.

Crua looked down to the ground and saw it darkening and spinning in a circle. It became darker and darker, it spun faster and faster. He then saw water burst out of the ground that he was on. Crua looked ahead through his diamond dome and saw Kotaro grinning at him.

The fusion of the dirt and water made a whirlpool, and Crua was getting sucked in. Kotaro expected Crua to freak out, but yet the man was as calm as ever.

"You couldn't have expected that only doing this would have killed me?" Crua asked as he flowed through hand seals ending with Boar. He placed his hands on the ground once again and a diamond column rose out of the ground after his diamond dome shattered into pieces. "As long as there is carbon somewhere around me, I will have the ultimate defence!"

Kotaro cursed himself, he thought he had Crua trapped and close to Death's door. However, the Iwa bastard was too smart and resourceful to die so soon.

Kotaro stood up and dusted his hands. The fight had taken a strange turn. The reason was because both men sensed a team nearby. Neither could tell at that moment if it was Iwa or Konoha support.

"It seems the next few moments will decide our fate. It might be best not to hold anything back from you," Kotaro said.

Crua nodded. "Ignore them, they're not part of our fight. Reo told me about your power. Those chains. Come on and use them against me, it is disrespectful if you don't use your blood's power against me while I use mine against you," he said.

Kotaro grunted. Four chains grew out of his back and stayed close to him. The golden aura radiated power and control.

Crua grinned from the sight of the mythical chains. The image of a demon came into his sight. With his high excitement, Crua covered his body in diamond armour. His arms covered themselves with diamond gauntlets. There were spikes at the end to inflict devasting damage to any foe he strikes.

In the eyes of one, he was justice and the other was destruction. It was the same in the eyes of the second. The only way to decide who was right or wrong was through a battle to the death. As it always has been in the tainted world they lived in.

Kotaro watched the man in front of him with careful eyes. He had no information about him bar Crua having the bloodline limit of the Diamond Release and that he's a powerful shinobi for Iwagakure.

To him, this man was an Elite Jōnin. Kotaro slightly flinched when he saw Crua turning his body to the right and then him form a circular disc from the palm of his left hand.

CLING! CLING! CLING! CLING!

Multiple kunai were thrown at Crua and his disc protected him from the projectile attacks. The sharpened tips of the kunai broke off as the diamond was harder than steel. Crua shattered his diamond disc and looked back to Kotaro.

Kotaro saw four members of ANBU appear around him, he was confused on why. They should be finding another ninja to fight, not supporting him.

There was only one chakra signature that he was familiar with. He looked to the ANBU member in front of him and saw long purple hair.

'Yūgao… I never expected to see her here… This is bad,' Kotaro thought while shaking his head. He was annoyed.

The challenge of facing Crua was making his Uzumaki blood excited. Now, it was ruined by Yūgao's ANBU squad. It was selfish of him to want to fight alone, but he had to remember that there was an invasion going on.

Crua was annoyed as well, however he made it known. "What the fuck is this? Five on one! I didn't sign up for this," he said. "I'm getting the fuck out of here. Mark my words Uzumaki Kotaro, Iwa will have your blood."

Crua's jumped off his diamond column and started to make his way back to his comrades.

An ANBU soldier wearing the mask of the Toad took out his tantō and ran his way to Crua. "No, we will have your blood!"

Kotaro focused on the scene. "Gama! Get the hell out of here! He's way too much for you! Yūgao, get him back here!" he yelled at her.

Yūgao who was wearing a mask of the cat stood up and took out her katana blade. "We won't let anyone who threatens Konoha escape freely. That is one of our codes," she said in a monotone voice.

'Yūgao is not thinking straight. She's still grieving. God damnit!' Kotaro thought as he made his way to try and stop the frog masked ANBU from going to his doom.

Crua narrowed his eyes on the ANBU coming his way. "Jeez, I never get the break I want," he said. He pulled back his arms after he made the Snake hand seal. Diamond morphed itself rapidly around his left and right arms.

Kotaro skidded to a stop once he saw the grin on Crua's face. It was too late. The ANBU was already gone from this world.

A large lance pierced through the gut of the ANBU soldier. All of his internal organs were decimated by the long and large weapon. His blood and organs were churned out by the single pierce of the diamond lance.

"Diamond Release: Weapons Creation," Crua said with a dark grin and eyes.

Kotaro scanned the body of the now dead ANBU and Crua. After Crua pulled out his diamond lance and released it from his arm, he revealed a diamond shield that wrapped itself around his right forearm. Crua ripped it off his arm and threw it to the feet of the remaining ANBU and Kotaro.

"A souvenir for you," Crua said before forming the Snake hand seal once again and slamming his foot to the ground, making an earth wall rise up.

Kotaro jumped from his spot to land to the top of the wall. He looked down and saw that Crua has completely vanished. He couldn't tell if Crua used an earth ninjutsu or just ran to escape. However, the bastard had escaped their grips after killing one of their own.

Kotaro looked at the ANBU squad looking at Frog, the frog mask wearing ANBU.

'Shit. Fucking shit!' Kotaro thought with anger.

Yūgao and her two alive ANBU comrades hid the body of the Toad ANBU and then jumped onto the rooftops, running to the next encounter. Their mission hadn't ended.

Kotaro shook his head and looked to the far distance. Where the Hokage tower should be was a large and thick smoke cloud. "Naruto is waiting for me. Better not keep him annoyed, now should I?"

---

~ Naruto's Seal ~

"They're destroying everything," Naruto said as he watched the two bijū fight from a far distance.

"Ha. Are you depressed? Angry? Infuriated? Why not let me lend you some of my power, huh? Like last time in your training when you summoned that fat ugly toad," the voice of the Kyūbi said.

Naruto turned his head to look around him. The voice came out of nowhere. "Kyūbi?"

"Idiot. I'm inside you. I'm talking to you from behind the gate," the Kyūbi said again.

Before he even realised it, Naruto was pulled down into his seal. A mental link was created between the consciousnesses of Naruto and the Kyūbi.

"Oh? Why didn't you ever talk to me before?" Naruto asked.

"Because I didn't want to. However, I can always see the good and the bad in these situations. Those two are weaker than me. I can give you my power to help you. You're desperate, you need it," the Kyūbi said.

Naruto shook his head. "Fat chance. Kyūbi, you're smart. But I'm even smarter. I know you want to break out of my seal, and you lending me your power like that isn't going to help. Don't call Gamabunta an fat ugly toad. Oyabun is awesome. And no, I don't need your power."

"You don't need my power you say. But you needed it for that child you fought earlier today. Are you saying he is stronger than the bijū?" the Kyūbi asked.

Naruto stayed quiet. He didn't reply at all.

"I thought as much. Fine, you won't use my power, but you will in the future. I can't wait for the day when you grovel on your knees once again, like you did during your training with that toad man," the Kyūbi said with a horrifying laugh.

~ o0o ~

---

Hokage Tower

The connection between Naruto and the Kyūbi closed. All his attention now was focused on the fight between the two bijū.

From his eyes, it looked like the Yonbi was dominating the fight. The ape kept jumping around the forest, spewing out lava and heavy punches onto the Ichibi.

Shukaku was a strong tanuki with a lot up its sleeve, however it was simply too slow to keep up with Son Gokū.

However, the Ichibi had a devious mind. Using his slow movement, he tricked the Yonbi into moving to his openside. Yet, this was what Shukaku wanted.

With the swing of his only but mighty thick tail, Shukaku smacked the Yonbi straight into the chest, causing the Yonbi to skid back in pain.

SHAKE!

The actions of the large beings were creating pseudo earthquakes that were destroying the village.

Naruto looked away from the fight and around the streets of Konoha. Through the destruction and rubble, he was searching for any sign of Kotaro. Every minute that passed, Naruto's worry grew. He knew he should have faith in his older brother's strength and skill.

Usually he would have total confidence in them and not worry about Kotaro's safety one bit. However, the Iwa Jōnin with his diamond powers was no ordinary ninja. He was stronger than most enemies, most people in fact.

"Naruto. Get down here."

Naruto looked down to the streets and saw the torn and bloody body of Kotaro looking straight up to him. Kotaro's hand was healing the spot where he was punched hard.

Naruto jumped down and landed in front of Kotaro, his eyes carried great worry with them.

"Nii-chan, you look awful," Naruto said. "Did you kill the man with the diamonds?" he asked after.

Kotaro huffed and shook his head. He had a grim look on his face. "No. He's too strong to be killed so quickly. Instead, he killed one of our ANBU and ran away to the rest of his army. Crua… he's going to be a problem for us in the future," Kotaro said.

"Oh," Naruto said. This was not the result he was expecting at all. "You can get him next time!" he encouraged.

"How pathetic," a new voice said.

Both Kotaro and Naruto turned towards the base of the Hokage tower, in their sights was an elderly man with bandages covering his face. Naruto has never seen this man before in his life, yet his body told him to stay away from the man.

"Danzō!?" Kotaro said with surprise. "Why are you on the battlefield?"

Kotaro looked behind Danzō after he spoke his words. There were three men in white and black cloaks, all wearing porcelain masks. The three men were ROOT ANBU, the soldiers that followed Danzō's orders without question, without hesistation. They were shinobi with no emotions.

"Hiruzen always had so much faith in you. And yet you can't even kill an enemy of Konoha," Danzō said. "You're just like him, too soft."

Both Kotaro and Naruto narrowed their eyes onto Danzō. Not only did he insult Kotaro, but also their grandfather figure. They bit back their tongues from saying anything crude or rude. They had to since it was on the tip of their tongues.

Even Naruto could tell that this man would take no nonsense from anyone and he must be high on the ladder if he refers the Hokage by his first name.

Kotaro sighed. "Crua is an enemy you should never underestimate. He has a bloodline limit, the Diamond Release," he said. "And he's very good with it."

Danzō hummed. "Your words are meaningless. Maybe it was too much of me to expect you to kill him," he said without any positive emotion.

'Maybe if I got the chance I could have. Crua seemed like the guy who only likes to fight one on one,' Kotaro thought.

Kotaro ran his fingers through his blood-stained hair and growled. He stopped as he needed to say a few more words.

"Danzō, I didn't see any of your trained lackies going around Konoha. Just the true ANBU. What do you have to say about that?" he asked.

Danzō's left eye narrowed onto Kotaro. "I don't see you as an important part of Konoha. You've only been here for nearly three years. A mercenary with an honorary badge at best. It is wise to be reminded of that," he said.

Kotaro gritted his teeth. "Ah, I know, and I've noticed it believe me. It doesn't stop me from putting my life on the line, protecting this village's safety and future, for the ones I love. I didn't see you save anyone… Danzō-sama," he said with his anger leaking out.

"The roots of the Great Tree always feel the disturbances where the leaves lay. I'm not needed for what you insinuated. Regardless, Uzumaki Kotaro, I would suggest using the power you were blessed with and stop the bijū," Danzō suggested.

Naruto clenched his fist. This man in front of him was pissing him off to his absolute limits. Naruto was wondering how he could say such hurtful things to someone who nearly killed himself to save the village. Then he remembered what this village could dish out at a moment's notice, how horrible the other side of the coin could be. Naruto knew he would have to change that.

Kotaro rubbed his face in exasperation. "How can you even suggest that? There's two of them. That's a suicide mission," he said.

"One of them is close to their knees. The Ichibi I believe. Once you arrive there, you could take the other one out. It would do good for your name for what is to come after all this," Danzō said.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, the first words he said in a while. "What is going to happen to Nii-chan?"

Danzō exhaled through his nose and pursed his lips. "No one truly knows. The future is uncertain, however after today, a new era will begin for Konoha," he said.

'New era?' Naruto thought with uncertainty.

"What do you mean by new era?" Kotaro asked.

Danzō shook his head and placed put his hands on his cane in front of him. He was shielding himself from their questions. Closing himself off Kotaro and Naruto.

"You will find out soon enough. You better not disappoint Konoha," Danzō said. "It would be a great shame for you and your clan's name."

Danzō then vanished from Kotaro and Naruto's sight. His ANBU followers vanished away as well, obviously trying to get back to their master.

"I don't like that guy," Naruto said. "He's a bad egg."

Kotaro nodded in agreement. "I know. Only met him twice before today. He's creepy and dark. I don't like him either, but Jiji made me be respectful to him. I'll have to have a word with Jiji after all this is done with, he's going to get an earful," he said. "Danzō shouldn't be in power anymore, that senile man is going to fuck everything up."

"Do you think he's telling the truth, with the other bijū?" Naruto asked. "If it is, we can save Konoha!"

Kotaro bit his lower lip. "We could. But how does he know that? And that 'era' talk is making me worried. Naruto, do you think we can do this?" he asked.

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, when we work together, anything is possible!" he said in a reassuring tone.

Kotaro felt a surge of confidence flow through his veins. Naruto was right, if they work together, anything was possible.

"Alright, we better go back to the Eastern Forest and stop the rampaging bijū." Kotaro clapped his hands and started moving towards the east. "Let's go Naruto," he said.

Naruto nodded and ran after his brother. The two made their ways to the rooftops and ran fast towards the Eastern Forest. Jumping from building to building, they were just about to enter the forest until someone new arrived.

A man with brown hair and the mask of the Tiger appeared by via body-flicker and stopped the Uzumaki brothers.

Kotaro stopped his tracks and looked at the ANBU soldier. "Tora-san. You have to get out of our way," Kotaro said. "Naruto and I are going to stop the bijū."

Tora flinched when he heard this. "You can't. Those two monstrosities have completely wrecked the forest. My squad and others are doing our best to restrain them, yet we have had no luck," he said.

Kotaro grinned. "Oh? Well, it seems that Naruto and I have to show you that we can do this. Isn't that right Naruto?"

Naruto nodded with his own grin. "Of course. We can do this. We're ready to save Konoha," he said.

"You two are insane. Kotaro-san, I couldn't even hold them back with my special abilities," Tora said.

'Special abilities?' Naruto thought. 'What special abilities could he have that can stop the bijū?'

Kotaro sighed as he rested his hands on his hips. "No surprise. Don't take this the wrong way, but you're not the real deal Tora, you're not him. Tora, what about the Mizukage and her ninja?" he asked.

"They're all fine. Mizukage-sama and her subordinates actually fought alongside us for a while before going to the bunkers for safety. The swordsman and the female Chūnin were big helpers before they retired. On another note, Oto and Suna forces are being pushed back and most have of the Oto forces have been slain," Tora said.

Kotaro sighed a breath of mighty relief. "Thank Goodness. Now, get out of the way, we're going to fly," he said before running past Tora.

Naruto looked between his brother and the Tora with uncertainty. He then exhaled heavily and ran past Tora himself, and then caught up to Kotaro.

"Nii-chan, what ability does he have?" Naruto asked.

"It's not important right now. It's a secret. I only found out by accident," Kotaro said. "Now, shut up and let's get this job done."

"Alright!" Naruto cheered out.

BOOM!

A massive explosion occurred far ahead where Kotaro and Naruto were. They landed on their next branch and huddled themselves close to the tree trunks. The shockwave came and go, pushing and pulling the elder trees around. Kotaro and Naruto had to hold on tight as the force was something not to ignore.

The shockwave forced the air to be pushed back hard as well, it was like being stuck in a middle of a hurricane.

"What was that?" Naruto asked.

Both brothers looked towards where the two bijū should be standing, there was a large white mushroom smoke cloud rising.

Naruto took a look at damage it caused. He had to fall to his knees on the tick branch. The forest was destroyed, so many trees were uprooted and pushed back away. So much destruction happened in only a mere few seconds.

His visibility was hampered by the growing dust clouds, he couldn't see the two large figures anymore. Were they still there?

"How can we stop that?" Naruto asked, his voice was laced with fear.

Kotaro shivered, memories of his past battle with Yagura brought up scary memories. "I'm almost certain that it was a Bijūdama. If that attack hit one of them, then it would have put them down for the count," he said.

"It's that powerful!?" Naruto said in shock. "And I'll be able to do that if I can control my one."

Kotaro smacked the back of Naruto's head lightly and ran ahead. "Don't think like that. Let's move," he said loudly.

As the two ran towards the scene of destruction, Kotaro focused his chakra and tried to sense out the chakra signatures he felt when he was there before he ran away.

It was weird, there was only one large signal close by, but it was not the same, only similar to the Yonbi's. The other signal was much farther away, struggling to stay conscious. Kotaro deduced that it was the Yonbi's Jinchūriki.

"Shit, it's moving away from us. Did it sense us? Naruto! We have to increase our speed!" Kotaro shouted.

"Yes!" Naruto shouted back as he sprinted as fast as he could, following into his brother's slipstream. They ran and ran more towards to the east, Naruto noticed something tall in the distance. "Those are the perimeter walls!?" he shouted.

"I know! Let's hurry up then!" Kotaro shouted back.

The two brothers ran hard and fast, trying to catch up to the Jinchūriki of the Yonbi. The Jinchūriki was no slouch though as he didn't let them catch up to him too quickly.

As they ran through the forest, the smell of burnt wood took over the air. The ground was cleared with a large crater, filled with fresh ashes and glass fragments. The Bijūdama was possibly the most destructive attack in the world.

"Move out people. Mission is accomplished. Rōshi come on! Crua is already moving out with the second division and with the hostage," the voice of Kitsuchi shouted out. "Operation Earthquake is complete."

"Kitsuchi you bastard! Who have you kidnapped!?" Kotaro shouted out to him once he and Naruto got close enough.

Kitsuchi turned his head and saw the man who gave him his horrid nightmares two years ago. Having conquered those nightmares, he grew a wry smile.

"Uzumaki Kotaro. Seeing your angry eyes makes this operation success all the sweeter. Don't worry about what we did, we won't do much harm to them," he said. "Expect a message soon if you want them back. And better make it quick if you want them in a full piece."

Kotaro cracked his knuckles. "How about we kill ya and take them back huh?" Kotaro said, elbowing the side of Naruto to make him ready.

Kitsuchi sighed. "No," he said. Over a hundred Iwa shinobi appeared and surrounded him. All of them were torn up and weakened, but they were still ready to fight. It was visible in their eyes.

"Don't push it young man. We can stay and fight some more if you slow us down," the man with the red beard, Rōshi said.

Kotaro rolled his eyes over to Rōshi, focusing hard on the man to absorb all the details. This man was the Yonbi Jinchūriki. He could sense it; the chakras were all too similar.

Kotaro saw that he was an older man. Kotaro then scanned the other ninja, they all looked strong, all above the minimal level of Chūnin in his eyes.

"Is this your new squad Kitsuchi?" Kotaro asked.

"Yes, and I made sure to make them as strong as possible before coming here. In case we had to fight you or one of your comrades. I also have grown stronger from our last bout, you won't break my nose again," Kitsuchi said. "Men move out."

The Iwa ninja started to run towards the newly created hole in the Konoha perimeter wall. The last image the Uzumaki brothers were the smug faces of Kitsuchi and Rōshi.

"Nii-chan, we have to stop them!" Naruto said as he hunched forward, preparing to launch himself into the future battle.

Naruto felt a strong grip on his left shoulder, he turned his head back to see the face of a defeated Kotaro.

"Naruto… please don't. We would die if we went up against them. We're not strong enough," Kotaro said with a struggle.

"Nii-chan…"

Kotaro sighed depressingly but there was deep anger in his aura. "I know, it's hard. But they're already on the move… we lost today," he said. "We lost big time."

Naruto slumped. This feeling of disappointment was something he has never experienced before. He felt his chest was gravitating towards the ground. It was so heavy, so dense.

"What do we do now?" Naruto asked.

Kotaro exhaled heavily. "I'm going back to the hospital; do you want to come with me and help your big brother?" he asked. "ANBU and the others should be taking care of the rest of this attack."

Naruto nodded sluggishly. He looked towards Konoha, but something caught his eye. A large pile of broken boulders with sand all around. A foot wearing a black sandal hanging loosely.

"Nii-chan… I think that's Gaara," Naruto said. "There by those big rocks."

Kotaro looked far into the distance to where Naruto was pointing. He was right, there was definitely a person by those rocks and that person was leaking sand. "Oh? I think it would be good of us then to see if he's alive then."

Keeping their wits about them, Naruto and Kotaro went over to where the leaking body was. They were using all their senses just to make sure they wouldn't get ambushed from a straggling Iwa or Suna squad.

It didn't take them long to find the cracked and bloodied face of Gaara. His body was lying on the burning dirt ground in a strange position. Son Gokū really did a number on him and Shukaku.

Kotaro looked around them and saw the total destruction of the wonderful place that was the Eastern Forest of Konoha. The two bijū's fights brought total destruction to this peaceful habitat. Their Bijūdama explosion just about destroyed nearly everything.

Growling under his breath, Kotaro wanted nothing more to bring the same type of destruction to those villages, Oto included.

He quickly shook his head to rid the thoughts of revenge. Revenge was something that would only ruin both his and Naruto's life. He had to think of making Konoha better in the future, not destroy the other villages.

Shifting his eyes towards Naruto, he could see his little brother stare down at Gaara with saddened eyes. His whole demeanour became depressed. It was heart wrenching to see.

"Get away from me!" Gaara said loudly. He was scared, he has never been in such a weak state.

Naruto tilted his head, his eyes were nearly full of misery, but they had a caring glint to them. "Calm down. That hell… That loneliness, you don't have to suffer it anymore," he said.

"Are you going to kill me? To end this suffering?" Gaara asked.

Naruto's eyes didn't change. "No," he said. "But if you try to destroy my friends and village again, I'll make you suffer more than you could ever imagine," he threatened.

"Why?" Gaara asked further.

Naruto looked at him and clenched his fists. This situation was one of the hardest things he had to go through. All the bad memories, all that horrible nostalgia, it was coming back in a flood.

"I see myself in you. I could have become a monster. But I was saved, and you need to live as Gaara, not as the Ichibi's Jinchūriki," Naruto told him. "You deserve the chance to live your life your way."

"But you're the same as me," Gaara said. "You hold a demon inside you. I saw it with my own eyes. How can you help out those strangers? They tried to kill us."

"Not all of them," Naruto said with a shout. "Yeah, some of them still resent me. And they resent the ones who love me, but I don't care about that. I only care for the ones who do love me and are willing to change. This village is my village. It won't change unless I change as well."

Gaara's eyes widened and his lip trembled. His core beliefs that he kept so close to his heart were shattering at a rapid pace.

Gaara turned his eyes to the man with red hair who was keeping his distance between the two. He could see that he was covered in his and other's blood from head to toe. However, he knew who he was and what he was capable of.

"You. Crimson Leaf, what are your feelings for this village and Uzumaki Naruto?" he asked.

Kotaro focused on Gaara and came closer with his hands deep in his pockets.

"Naruto… is the sole reason I stay here and fight. I love my little brother with all my heart. This village is a part of Naruto's dream, so I'll protect it, the villagers and my friends with everything I got. I don't care about the village itself really," he said truthfully. "Despite the hate we receive, I'll do anything to keep Naruto's dream safe."

Naruto had to stop himself from frowning and getting sad by the words. He hated when Kotaro said things such as that. He couldn't understand why he didn't love the village. He just knew he was the only one to convince him, it was their home after all.

Gaara turned his head and then looked across the burning group bushes and saw the limp body of his older sister Temari. She was out of it, completely unconscious.

"Friends… love… what does it mean?" he asked.

Naruto crouched and leaned in close to Gaara's face, they're noses were nearly touching.

"Me and you. We're near enough the same. If you want to know what love feels like, make up with your brother and sister. And I'll be your friend," he said. "Once you feel that feeling, that feeling of love. You'll do anything to keep it close to your heart."

"You… my friend?"

Naruto grew a small smile and nodded. "Yeah, we're now friends. And as your friend, I'm going to put you to sleep," he said as he smacked the end of his blade, Silver, onto Gaara's temple.

As soon as it hit, Gaara fell unconscious, his whole body went limp. He was so drained of chakra and stamina, that his ultimate sand defence wasn't reacting quickly enough.

Kotaro moved past Naruto and picked the boy up, placing him on his left shoulder. He then went over to Temari, walking on the ground of fresh ashes to pick her up. After he placed her on his right shoulder, he looked at Naruto with miserable eyes.

"Come on… Let's put these two away," he said with a monotonic voice.

Naruto pulled his stare away from his blood-soaked hands and stood up. Nodding, he followed his brother with a slow pace. Their bodies were completely wrecked. They needed to recover, but first they had to help the other victims, they needed help, and lots of it.

His problems can wait.

---

Three Hours Later

Konoha Hospital, Uzumaki Office

"So, you brought him to custody," Shikamaru said.

Kotaro, Shikamaru and Naruto were in the Uzumaki office at the Konoha hospital. Kotaro was fixing Shikamaru's confirmed broken ankle, he started after he washed himself and got into a fresh set of clothes. Shikamaru made himself comfortable on the couch, leaning back as Kotaro worked.

At that moment of time, he was wrapping it tightly, so in the future it would heal better at home. It has been some time since the escape of Kitsuchi and the Iwa forces. The battle in Konoha has ended.

Naruto nodded to the words. "Gaara is now completely out of it. He's sleeping like a baby now," he said. "It must be the first sleep he's gotten in a long time."

"Why do you say that?" Shikamaru asked.

Kotaro lightly laughed. "Gaara has insomnia. That is one reason on his strange behaviour. Temari, his older sister and the kunoichi you fought was also close by. She was unconscious. There was an older brother, but he's not with us. Damn, we only got two out of three for the set," he said.

Shikamaru nodded with the answer. "What's going to happen to them? Are we going to…"

Kotaro shook his head. "We are not killing them," he said bluntly. "They would be put to much better use alive rather than dead. We will fuck Suna over with a deal that they can't refuse. Gaara is too precious for them and Temari is already a strong kunoichi. She destroyed Tenten in the preliminaries and technically did beat you," he said. "But we'll have wait until everything calms down with Suna. That might take a while."

Naruto sighed. "It's only fair. They did attack us when we had an alliance and what was it you said? They broke a trade agreement between the nations."

Kotaro smiled at Naruto. "You remembered, good. Yeah, the Land of Fire traded crops for certain metals and rock salt. They screwed themselves over with that," he said.

"They wanted to take over Konoha, so they can take over the Land of Fire's territory," Shikamaru said. "They wanted to grow their own food and not trade metals to get it."

"That makes sense," Naruto said. "But it's still mean of them. The Land of Wind is a huge country, why do they need more land?"

"Because it has a lot of desert and dryland. That's not good for growing crops," Shikamaru pointed out. "And what did you mean by saying Gaara is too precious?" he asked.

Kotaro sighed. "Can I tell you at a better time?" he asked. "The looks in your eyes tell me that you know something, but it'll have to wait."

Shikamaru grunted. "I do. I will find out about it," he said. "And Naruto, you still have to tell me about your special power that you used against to beat up Lee and then win."

Naruto nodded. "Sure… Whatever you want," he said with the shrug of his shoulders.

Kotaro's eyes turned sad when he saw Naruto slump and rest on the side of his desk. His burden was really getting to him. 'Naruto thinking like that… I wonder if it was because of Gaara or Rōshi?' he thought.

A loud shout was heard down the hallways. A woman's shout at that. In her voice, one could hear desperation, worry and fear.

"Where are they!?" the woman shouted out. She was outside the corridors, the steps becoming louder and louder. More erratic. "Tell me where the hell they are! Gah! You're all stupid people!"

"That voice," Shikamaru said. "It can't be."

The door slammed open. A woman came in, huffing and puffing. There was a bit of sweat dripping from her forehead. The image was a strange one, but the woman did look pretty in her new and fancy beige dress.

"Kaa-san!" Shikamaru said in surprise.

Yoshino turned her head to see Shikamaru on the couch, she didn't even waste a second and ran over to him. Shikamaru knew it from the moment she laid eyes on him, there was no possible escape.

"Thank goodness you're safe Shikamaru, I was so worried about you!" Yoshino said in tears, embracing Shikamaru in a tight hug.

Kotaro stepped back. He wanted to give the mother and son space. 'Kaa-chan… I wish we could see each other like this once more…'

Shikamaru deflated and sighed. "I'm sorry for breaking my ankle Kaa-san," he said.

Yoshino moved and kissed the top of Shikamaru's head. "What are you saying? You helped defend Konoha. I couldn't be any prouder," she said.

Yoshino got off her feet after letting go of Shikamaru and went over to Naruto. "Naruto! I'm so glad you're safe. Come here," she said as she hugged Naruto just as tightly.

Naruto yelped from the surprise. However, he quickly recovered and hugged Yoshino back. Naruto wouldn't be surprised if one day he dies from one of her tight hugs.

"Are you ok Yoshino-kaasan?" he asked her. Naruto was worried about her and Shikaku, two people he considered his family.

Yoshino repeated her actions and kissed the top of Naruto's head. "Of course, I'm fine. My boys are safe and sound. Naruto, I was amazed by your performances in the Chūnin exams. Shikaku and I are so proud of you," she said lovingly. "Our little ball of sunshine shined so brightly today."

"Thanks! I always try to do my best," Naruto said with glee.

Yoshino pulled out of the hug and turned to Kotaro who was standing close to the wall. She opened her arms wide and walked over to him. "Come on. Don't you ever think I would forget about you Kotaro," she said.

Kotaro gave her a defeated smile and opened his arms wide. It only took a second before he was crushed by an almighty hug from Yoshino. The woman may be a retired kunoichi, but she was still a Jōnin and she certainly still had the strength of one. Kotaro wrapped his arms around the woman and sighed happily.

"Are you proud of me?" Kotaro asked in a sweet voice.

Yoshino pulled out the hug. "Not one bit," she said with disgust.

The two boys laughed as Kotaro's expression dropped to the floor. "Why? You're proud of Naruto and Shikamaru?" he said in a cry.

Yoshino laughed and pulled down Kotaro's head, so she could kiss on it. He was simply too tall for her otherwise. "I am always proud of you. All three of you are my boys, how can I not be proud? I do have a little problem with you though, Uzumaki Kotaro," she said with stern eyes.

"What is it?" Kotaro asked. "I didn't do anything!" he said.

Yoshino nodded with her arms crossed. "That's the point. You were sitting and talking with a beautiful kunoichi and you didn't even introduce her to me," she said. "I thought you were better than that."

Naruto could see Kotaro getting flustered. He decided to help out, it was the least he could do in his mind. "Yoshino-kaasan, Niko-neechan isn't a kunoichi of the village. She's from the capital," Naruto informed her.

"The Capital… Oh," Yoshino said.

"Something wrong with the Capital Kaa-san?" Shikamaru asked.

Yoshino shook her head. "Nothing at all. Just means I won't be able to nose my way around and find out more about her. Strange though, she carried herself like a kunoichi, a strong at that," she said.

Shikamaru focused his eyes on his mother. "You can tell from just observing her?" he asked.

Yoshino nodded. "Of course. Those sort of things never leave you. And she seemed strong. Does she not like you or something? Your cheeks are a bit red Kotaro. Nearly as red as your wonderful hair," she asked.

Kotaro grunted and waved his arms in a fluster. "It's not that. First Jiraiya asking, then Asuma and now you. It was bad enough with them, but I don't want you talking about it," he said.

Yoshino laughed. "This is the pleasure of having boys. You get to make fun of them when they're after girls. Shika, Naruto when you two chase the ones you have feelings for. Mark my words, I will embarrass you in front of them with everything I got," she said with a smile.

All she received was groans from the two boys.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Kotaro turned his head and saw Asuma walk into the room. His body was heavy, his eyes were dull. His aura was non-existent.

"Woah, Asuma. Everything alright?" Kotaro asked with worry. His best friend looked like he just got all the life sucked out of him.

Shikamaru, Naruto and Yoshino turned their heads to Asuma. He was resting his back on the wall and scrunched his packet of cigarettes in his right hand. The box was now ruined, just like his day.

"No… Tou-san is dead."

---

~ 0 ~