Insert disclaimer here

Blah Blah Blah basic text (i.e. description, speech, etc)

Blah Blah Blah Thought or some transaction within someone's mind

Blah Blah Blah Kyuubi talking Jutsu will also be bold

BLAH BLAH BLAH yelling or emphasis of some sort

Naruto of the Nine Tails

Rated M for language, violence, adult content, and graphic imagery

Chp 22: Between a Rock and a Nutcase

Training Ground 44

'He is so dead,' Sakura thought, glaring daggers at Neji as one of the medics checked his heart.

"You're tell'n me, look at Sasuke!" Inner Sakura cried, hiding under a boulder that had materialized in Sakura's mindscape.

'Huh?' Sakura thought, glancing over at her teammate only to take a step back in fright, 'HOLY-! THAT SHIT IS FREAKY!' she thought, taking an involuntary step back as she caught sight of Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan Glare of Doom©. Sakura could honestly say that, at this moment, Sasuke was the most terrifying thing she had ever seen. Granted, Naruto in Berserk Biju mode was scary as hell but he still had the protective vibe going when he did that. Sasuke, on the other hand, the new Sharingan—what was that anyway?—combined with the ominous black/red aura and his murderous posture… no wonder the Uchiha had been so feared during the Clan Wars.

"Will the remaining competitors please come to the floor!"

Startled out of her thoughts, Sakura glanced down to the arena where Lee was facing off against the red haired ninja from Suna. By the time she looked back at Sasuke his eyes were closed and he was taking long steady breaths and the aura of violent intent had faded.

'What the hell was that?' Sakura wondered.

"It was hot, that's what it was…" Inner Sakura muttered.

'Says the alternate personality hiding under an imaginary rock,' Sakura thought sarcastically.

"Ok so it scared me shitless, but the boy just went Super Saiyan pissed! I have a right to be a little intimidated!" Inner Sakura defended.

'Right,' Sakura drawled, 'Cause you were so-wait did you just call Sasuke hot?'

"…Aren't you supposed to be like… smart, or something?"

'ANSWER THE QUESTION!'

"Sheesh, so violent," Inner Sakura muttered, retreating further under her rock.

'Don't make me come in there…' Sakura growled as a hurricane started forming over Inner Sakura's hiding spot.

And Sakura was just about to follow up on that threat when something happened to completely derail her inner… monologue?

BOOOOM!

"…Really Gai?" Kakashi deadpanned, staring at the small mushroom clouds that Lee's weights had created.

'What…' Sakura wondered.

"The…" Inner Sakura continued.

'Fuck!' they finished in chorus.

"Get'm Lee!" Gai crowed, his teeth shining brightly.

Not a second later, Lee vanished from the top of the statue, appearing in a blur of motion behind Gaara…

And put his fist right through Gaara's sand.

"What in all the hells?" Temari whispered, horrified at what she was seeing. The pure brute strength to do that—and those weights! 'What are these tree huggers teaching their kids!' she wondered, watching as the strange Leaf gennin continued to flit around faster than most could track until-

Wham!

Temari's eyes bulged, 'He hit Gaara!' This was absolutely ludicrous! A gennin had hit Gaara! Just what the FUCK was up with this village?

"Over here!" Lee cried, appearing right in front of Gaara and landing a devastating blow that sent the suna gennin flying across the arena.

"This is bad…" Kankuro muttered, as Gaara's sand armor cracked and showed him to be completely unharmed. This was very bad, and for more than one reason. First and foremost in Kankuro's mind, Gaara could lose control and start a veritable shit storm but, more importantly, Konoha had someone who could get through Gaara's shield. A gennin that could get through Gaara's shield and, if there was a student, there was a master, which meant that there was at least one ninja in this village that could neutralize Gaara. This was very, very, bad.

"Is that all?" Gaara asked, as his sand reinforced his armor.

Startled, Lee glanced up at his sensei, his eyes searching for guidance… and permission.

"Go for it," Gai whispered, giving his student the barest of nods.

Smiling broadly, Lee started unraveling the bandages around his wrists.

"Gai?" Kakashi asked, "Is he about to do what I think he's about to do?"

"Yes, yes he is," Gai replied smugly.

"Whoa boy," Kakashi groaned, palming his face. Leave it to Gai to teach a gennin a kinjutsu.

"Hurry up and come," Gaara demanded.

"You asked for it," Lee responded before suddenly vanishing.

"What!" Temari cried in surprise.

Suddenly, Lee was beneath Gaara, driving a foot into his chin and knocking him into the air.

'Please finish this quickly Lee,' Gai thought, closing his eyes for the barest of moments in prayer as his student drove his opponent further into the air. While the Omoto Renge was a devastating attack, it was dangerous to the user as well and Lee's body could only handle so much stress.

The resounding crash accompanied by a wave of debris made for quite the sight as Lee launched his opponent straight into the ground with enough force to shatter the arena floor like cheap plaster.

"Great going Lee!" Tenten crowed, punching her fist into the air.

"That was amazing!"

"Don't get too excited," Kakashi told them, still watching the arena very closely.

"Huh?"

"It's not over," Kakashi whispered just in time for Gaara's body to start crumbling, revealing itself to be nothing more than a shell of sand.

"What?" Gai cried in dismay, as the real Gaara rose up behind Lee like some monster out of a sandy pit. "When did he-"

"While you were praying," Kakashi explained, "Lee flinched for a split second."

"Damn," Gai sighed, only to smile sadly a moment later, "It won't matter though."

"Huh?" Sakura wondered, "Um, why wouldn't it matter?"

"The lotus of the Leaf blooms twice," Gai whispered.

"Twice?" Kakashi wondered before horrified realization entered his eyes, "Gai, please tell me you didn't…"

"I did indeed my dear rival," Gai responded rather gravely.

'What are they talking about?' Sakura wondered, staring over at the two jounin.

"I haven't the foggiest…What's up with Naruto?" Inner Sakura wondered.

'Naruto?' Sakura asked, glancing at her fox boy. He was just lying there, staring at the fight. 'Yeah, so?'

"Well, look at him. The boy is never this focused, ever!"

"Naruto? What are you…" Sakura wondered, tracing his gaze.

Meanwhile in Sasuke's apartment…

"He's a Pinball Wizard, there's gotta be a twist. The Pinball Wizard's got-"

"Where the hell is that coming from?" the house keeper wondered looking around the apartment.

"…Whoa," Sakura muttered, staring down at the arena.

Lee was literally glowing with power, surrounded by a violent carrona of energy as he stood in the middle of the arena.

"Three gates!" Kakashi cried, alarmed when it looked like Lee wasn't finished, "Gai! How many can he use?" he demanded.

"Five," Gai answered, never taking his eyes off his student.

"By the gods…" Kakashi whispered, "Why would you-"

"HA!" Lee cried, launching himself forward at such violent speeds that the shockwave he generated further destroyed the concrete arena and showering the spectators with dust and debris.

Boom!

Lee appeared beneath Gaara, launching him into the air.

"What!" Temari cried, "Where-"

"There!"

Lee was in front of Gaara.

Boom!

"He's knocking Gaara away from his sand," Baki, the suna team's sensei, realized.

Behind.

Boom!

Below.

Boom!

Left.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Faster and faster, Lee struck his helpless opponent, bouncing him around the air above the arena like a red headed beach ball caught in a hurricane as he continuously chipped away at Gaara's sand armor.

"This is the end," Lee said, appearing above Gaara and driving him back toward the ground, only for one of his bandages to catch Gaara around the middle.

'Oh no,' Gaara thought, horrified as Lee pulled him back in for another strike.

"URA RENGE!" Lee cried, driving his fist through the sand armor and into Gaara's stomach with such terrifying force that Gaara's impact against the arena floor sent up a massive cloud of dust not unlike the impact of a meteorite.

BOOOOM!

"My god…" Sakura whispered.

"Gah!" Lee cried, impacting awkwardly as he landed.

"Oh no," Hinata whispered, her exclamation drawing everyone's eyes to the middle of the arena where Gaara lay in a bed of sand, his hand outstretched and guiding his sand toward his injured opponent.

'He used his sand to break the impact!' Gai realize in despair as the sand closed around Lee's leg and arm.

But, even as Gaara closed his hand to crush Lee, a burst of chakra dispersed the attack, leaving Lee to fall to the ground, just barely conscious.

"Why?" Gaara whispered, unable to understand what he was seeing as he stared at the one who had stopped him.

But Naruto didn't answer him, not at first. Instead, the animalistic jinchuuriki simply stayed where he was, crouched protectively on all fours between Gaara and Lee, his tails swaying idly behind him.

"Why do you protect them?" Gaara demanded, the image of Naruto standing between Kankuro and the two Hyuuga girls flashing through his mind. This boy was like him but was at the same time completely different. How? Why? He had to know. He needed to know.

Naruto seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, searching for the words he needed. "They… are… my… pack," Naruto said, forcing each word as he spoke but with a cold conviction that left no doubt to his meaning.

Konoha is under my protection, face me if you dare…

And, though no one noticed and it may have simply been a trick of the light, his hair seemed to brighten ever so slightly for just a second before returning to a bloody red.

End Notes

So yeah, that's chp 22 and the last match of the prelims, hope you liked it. The matches for the finals are already decided. I know, shocking that I actually managed to update but not for lack of writing mind you. I have no idea how many ideas I've started at this point. I have literally started too many to count (read "I'm too lazy to count them all up")

Anyway, I had some feedback for previous chps that I haven't acted on yet. I WILL be getting around to that... eventually.

On another note, it may be a long wait for the next chp seeing as I'd like to make some kind of headway on my other projects. You have been warned.

Rant

Hello faithful minions-

Readers damnit! They are readers! Not my minions!

So? I want to call them minions!

Didn't I fire you?

I'm still on your profile as The Muse aren't I?

So?

I'm still the only one with the title. Ergo, I am the muse.

And I'm the writer, therefore, as far as my fics go. I. Am. GOD!

…You've been rereading the Naruto vs Pain arc again haven't you.

No I haven't, I've completely stopped paying attention to canon.

So you're just naturally this crazy?

Please tell me you aren't just now figuring out that I'm touched in the head.

Touched? More like someone smacked you with a tire iron.

…You do remember that I know where you sleep right?