A/N: Yo! Apologies again for lack of updating, but a hell of a lot has happened. I've fully moved out of home, I've got a girlfriend, I've been hit by a car, and loads more. Anyway, I want everyone who reads my fics to read the note below. It's actually important for once. Shock horror….

UBER NOTICE:

I have had an overwhelming number of requests to do an epilogue/sequel to Living Behind a Mask, and so I will. The majority of them have asked for a time skip on the order of at least one year, so I'm going to give you several options as to how long it will be. However, I'm not going to post them here. In a vain attempt to get people to visit my topic on the Narutofan Forums, please check my profile for the link to the topic where I will post the options available. I'll even make it easier and post the poll again in my very first post so you don't have to click on the counter for page 10…

Just some basic changes to the Chuunin exam finals from canon that need to be covered: Suna is not part of the invasion because Oto now have Gaara, and therefore the Kankuro/Shino fight will take place during the exams, meaning Kankuro will not forfeit. Apart from that, it's all good. I'm not really going to concentrate on the Sarutobi/Orochimaru fight, because that's going to happen exactly as it did in canon bar the obvious revelations of Naruto's 'fate'.

As per normal, thanks to Kyuubi no Yoko 9 for beta-ing.

Legend:

'...Human or Lesser Summon Thinking/Small A/N...'

'...Demon or Summon Boss Thinking...'

"...Human or Lesser Summon Talking..."

"...Demon or Summon Boss Talking..."

"...SHOUTING/TWO OR MORE PEOPLE SAYING THE SAME THING/CASTING THE SAME JUTSU..."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&...Scene Change...&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Chances Missed:

Chapter Five:

Commence Mission:

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Up on the Balcony:

Naruto sighed, looking at his subordinate/friend and nodded.

"Let's get out of here."

Gaara nodded and both of them started walking towards the entrance. Both of them had important missions to either begin or prepare for. They walked out the door and smiled, disappearing in a burst of speed into the forest.

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Not Long After:

Naruto and Gaara were continuing to jump through the trees with practiced ease when both of them detected others and came to a stop. The others did not show themselves, so Naruto called out to them.

"You know, just because we're still kids doesn't mean we're naïve. Why don't you stop shadowing us and come out?"

From behind them, four ANBU members of Konoha came out and nodded at them.

"We had no intention of following you. We're being assigned to clean up the mess from the second exams. However, we did not expect the preliminaries to take so long."

Both boys caught onto what the ANBU were implying. Gaara shook his head.

"Some Genin in the matches pulled out some very… Interesting moves that practically destroyed the floor. That delayed things for quite some time."

The ANBU nodded. Lee's chakra spike from opening the gates was practically impossible to miss even out here.

"I see, Sorry to disturb you."

Naruto waved it off and the ANBU continued onwards with whatever task they had been assigned. Naruto and Gaara continued back towards the nearby gates that surrounded the forest. Once they reached them, they saw Kabuto waiting for them nearby. He smiled at them and raised a hand in greeting.

"Good to see you two. Gaara-Kun, you mission will begin tomorrow morning. Naruto-Kun, I have been asked to bring you with me."

Naruto nodded and they followed their elder companion at a distance so as not to appear too suspicious once they reached the edges of Konoha. Once they had arrived at the place Kabuto led them to, they saw the other members of the Sound Seven as well as Orochimaru there. Orochimaru smiled, chuckling to himself. No doubt he'd just found some sacrifices if the look on his face said anything. Orochimaru looked at Gaara.

"Gaara-Kun, tomorrow morning, we will be leaving to assassinate the Kazekage. Kimimaro will be coming, but only as backup. This is part of your revenge I promised you, and I will keep that promise."

Gaara bowed to Orochimaru.

"Arigato, Orochimaru-Sama."

Gaara rose again as Orochimaru turned to Naruto.

"Naruto-Kun, I have something special planned for you this next month. Not surprisingly considering your past, your understanding of human psychology is very accurate. I want to put a show on for Konoha that they will never forget, with you as the main star of the play. It will be well worth the effort, I can assure you."

Naruto smiled widely and bowed as well.

"Arigato, Orochimaru-Sama."

Orochimaru turned to the other four and let a slight smirk touch his pale lips.

"Jiroubou-Kun, Kidoumaru-Kun, Sakon-Kun and Tayuya-Chan. You will be flanking me as the Kazekage's guards. Once the invasion commences, you will use the new jutsu I have taught you to keep the regular Nins out of the way. Kimimaro-Kun, you will be with me, assisting me in taking out the Sandaime. Don't worry, Naruto-Kun, both you and Gaara will be leading the two branches of our forces yourselves once you have finished toying with the old man's mind. That is all."

They nodded and disappeared to their assigned tasks. However, both Naruto and Tayuya stayed behind. Tayuya stared at Naruto, trying to keep the concern from her face.

"Fox boy, if you die here, I'm going to drag you back from hell and make sure I kill you myself, got it?"

Naruto smiled and leant up against a tree.

"Don't worry about me, Tayuya-Chan. I'll be fine."

Tayuya snorted and started walking past Naruto to where her team mates were waiting. However, she was too busy worrying about her blond friend than the ground in front of her, so she did not see the raised tree root that she stubbed with her toe, pitching forward and straight into Naruto who was leaning against the tree. He instinctively brought his hands up to grab her and make sure she didn't hurt herself, however, one hand landed on her side while the other landed somewhere he'd rather it didn't. Once Tayuya recovered enough to realise her situation, both her and Naruto blushed bright red. He took his hands back quickly and looked down at the ground, mumbling an apology while Tayuya readied her flute to give him a massive strike to the head when Sakon appeared in the clearing.

"Tayuya, we have work to do, what's-"

Sakon took stock of the scene and his face morphed into a grin and chuckled.

"So, the cat's out of the bag. You two really are more than good friends. Oi, Ukon, looks like we won."

Ukon looked up from his position on the back of Sakon's neck, smiling.

"Yeah. We can use the money right about now as well."

Both Naruto and Tayuya glared at Sakon.

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"

Sakon laughed, looking back at them with literal dollar signs in his eyes.

"Sure, sure. Well, I'll see you back there after you two have finished making out. Don't take too long."

Sakon disappeared, laughing all the way to the bank so to speak before Tayuya or Naruto could do anything. Tayuya was visibly fuming, but managed to catch Naruto as he tried to slip away.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Naruto looked around for some method of escape but froze when he felt Tayuya staring at him, mere inches from his face.

"If you ever do that again, I'll castrate you, got it?"

Naruto nodded quickly, making Tayuya smile.

"Good. Now I have to teach those other freaks a lesson."

Tayuya disappeared, leaving a very emotionally confused Naruto behind. Naruto thought over what had just happened.

"Wow… She should really stop wearing such modest clothing…"

Naruto had to practically slap himself before he was able to think clearly. With that, he proceeded from their meeting point several kilometres outside Konoha back to their hotel room. Or, at least he would have if he didn't decide to look over Konoha from atop the Hokage Monument. He jumped up the cliff face before coming to rest on the Yondaime's head, looking out over the village. Despite the fact he detested this village with all his heart, he still had to admit it was quite a sight from here. He only noticed the presence of someone behind him when a twig broke and mentally cursed himself for zoning out in the middle of enemy territory. The person came up behind him, stopping several meters behind him.

"Mind if I join you?"

Naruto shrugged.

"This isn't exactly my village, so far be it for me to tell you where you can and can't sit."

Naruto decided that a small information session gathering session could be very beneficial if he played his hand correctly. The man walked up slowly and sat down next to Naruto. Naruto noticed then that it was Hatake Kakashi.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?"

Naruto nodded slightly in agreement.

"It is. Do you visit this place often?"

Kakashi continued looking out over the village as he answered.

"From time to time."

Naruto decided to take the plunge and start gently probing for information by reverse psychology.

"Konoha seems nothing like Oto…"

Kakashi turned his one eye on Naruto questioningly.

"How so?"

"Konoha just seems so peaceful and relaxed. Oto is still going through its teething stages, so it's hectic."

Kakashi nodded. It was well known that when some of the newer villages were setting up that things were very busy, people were tired and tempers flared. Oto was apparently experiencing that right now.

"Our Shodaime and Nidaime managed to work in tandem to sort most of those problems out. It's amazing that only 13 years ago most of this village was in flames…"

The Kyuubi incident… It was highly unlikely that anyone had not heard of that incident, or at least the modified version of it.

"Kyuubi, right?"

Kakashi nodded sadly. It seemed to be a sore point with him, so Naruto would have to tread delicately.

"From what I heard, many died trying to kill it, including the Yondaime…"

Naruto did not miss the microscopic wince that Kakashi failed to hold in.

"Yes… We lost many strong shinobi to that monster…"

Naruto sighed and looked down at the head of the Yondaime below him.

"From what I've heard, Yondaime managed to kill it, but died at the same time… No matter where I read up on it though, the word Shinjutsu was never used…"

Kakashi winced quite visibly. Naruto had to stop here, or else risk ruining everything Oto was working towards.

"I'm sorry… I didn't realise it was such a delicate subject with you…"

Kakashi shook his head and stood slowly.

"It's alright… It's just the Yondaime was my Jounin Sensei, so I don't like reliving that day…"

Naruto had not been expecting that. Not only was Kakashi the Yondaime's student, but he had given that information freely… It may be that the face mask Naruto was using was close enough to the original Naruto that Kakashi was put off and surrendered more information voluntarily than Naruto would have otherwise gotten. Naruto shook his head as he stood.

"I should have been more sensitive about this subject… If you'll excuse me, I've got to check up on my students."

Kakashi nodded and watched Naruto hop down the monument and off towards the hospital.

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Two Weeks Later, Between Suna & Konoha:

The Kazekage stared in horror as Gaara released his full stage one form and engulfed him with his burning, poisonous sands and lifted him off the ground.

"You never were one to learn from your mistakes. Now, I'm going enjoy taking you life from you, inch by inch, just as you did to me. Let's start with the fingers."

Gaara brought one of his fingers into his palm, crushing two of the outer most parts of the black sand coffin, making the Kazekage scream in pain. Gaara laughed maniacally as he thought of what to do next.

"And now, the feet and toes."

Gaara brought another finger in, making the Kazekage cry out again. Gaara then released the Kazekage, who fell unceremoniously to the ground, breaking several more bones. Gaara smiled and walked up to the now incapacitated Kazekage in his half demon form.

"I would enjoy completely breaking you, but apparently, I have to preserve your body to a degree that it's salvageable. So, how about I just char and poison your insides, as well as suffocate you?"

A muffled scream could be heard from the little trench they were in as Gaara finally ended his father's life and smiled at the now well and truly dead form of his 'father'. Orochimaru smiled and bent down to inspect it.

"Well done, Gaara-Kun. This is perfect."

At that point, they were aware of Kimimaro coughing several times and then falling to the ground. Kabuto ran over and checked on their fallen comrade.

"Kimimaro-Kun, are you alright?"

Orochimaru looked at Kimimaro in regret.

"So, this is your limit, Kimimaro-Kun…"

"I'm sorry, Orochimaru-Sama…"

With that, Kimimaro passed out. Not long after, Sakon, Kidoumaru, Tayuya and Jiroubou arrived and saw Kimimaro on the ground. They got a very deep sense of satisfaction that the 'invincible' Kimimaro was not so invincible after all. Orochimaru copied the face of the Kazekage and then took a pre made Kazekage robe from Kabuto. Once the four newest arrivals had taken their disguises, Kabuto was left to take Kimimaro back to Oto while Orochimaru and his 'two' guards returned to the Suna caravan; Gaara used his trademark Suna Shushin no Jutsu to get out of sight and head back to Konoha once he had resealed his cursed seal.

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Two Weeks Later, Konoha Stadium:

Everyone had turned out who was given leave from Konoha so they could see the last Uchiha fight. Many important people from other villages were also present, chatting excitedly about one contestant or another, placing wagers on who would win. However, more than one person noticed that the Uchiha was not present among the contestants present in the stadium. The Hokage looked up as he felt another presence join him in the Kage Box.

"Oh, look who we have here; Kazekage-Dono. Please, take a seat."

The Kazekage nodded in thanks and took the seat beside the Hokage that was offered to him. The Hokage smiled warmly at his Suna counterpart.

"It's a long trip from Sunagakure to here, you must be tired."

The Kazekage gave a slight shake of his head.

"It was a refreshing change from the paperwork. However, I'm glad the Chuunin Exams are here in Konoha. It would be a bit tough on someone of your age to travel to Suna, Hokage-Dono. Perhaps you should choose a Godaime soon?"

The Hokage rolled his eyes at the mention of the bane of all Kages and leaders in general, the dreaded paperwork and chuckled at the jab at his age.

"Don't start treating me like an old man now, Kazekage-Dono. I'm still considering doing this job for another five or so year before choosing a replacement."

The Hokage stood up and walked to the railing in front of them, looking back at the Kazekage.

"Shall we begin the matches?"

The Kazekage made no indication he was going to stop the Hokage, so Sarutobi turned and faced the crowd, taking in a deep breath and projecting his voice.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the annual Chuunin Selection Exams. We will now begin the main matches with the 12 Genins who have progressed from the preliminaries. Please sit back and enjoy this fine display of young talent."

There was clapping and cheering from the crowd as the Hokage took his seat, the Kazekage looked over at the Hokage, one eyebrow slightly raised.

"If there are twelve participants, it seems one is missing…"

The Hokage nodded slowly while the first two participants were told to face off and the rest to take the contestants box. Misato smirked at her opponent.

"I've been looking for a rematch to our last spar, Aamaa."

Aamaa smirked at Misato.

"I would very much like that. I would like to see how far you have progressed."

Misato smirked back and got into a defensive stance, as did Aamaa. Genma readjusted the Senbon needle in his mouth and looked at both of them.

"The first match between Aamaa and Misato of Oto, begin!"

The crowd erupted into a chorus of cheers as both Genin readjusted their footing. The cheers quickly died down, leaving the two standing, seeing who would break first. It seems Misato was the first to break, flicking open her shuriken holster and hurling a trio of shuriken at Aamaa who pulled out a single kunai and blocked them. However, Misato used this time to flicker behind him and reach a hand to his neck. However, she stopped when she saw Aamaa make a slight flick of his left wrist, throwing a hidden kunai backwards at Misato's stomach, forcing her to dodge. She landed several meters away and smirked.

"You've gotten better."

Aamaa nodded.

"As have you, Misato. Shall we start getting serious?"

Aamaa took the fact that Misato flickered forward, trying to get a hand on his body to enable her sound assassination jutsu as a yes, however, she was shocked when Aamaa closed his eyes and started humming.

'He knows I move far too fast for him to hit me with that…What is he thinking?'

Misato found out when she flickered several more times, and reached forward to place a hand on Aamaa's neck. She was shocked that in a one meter radius around him, he was projecting and compressing his sound into a meter wide barrier around him, preventing any and all physical attacks from touching him. Misato cried out as he hand was ripped into by the powerful sound waves and jerked back, her hand and forearm steaming. Misato glared at Aamaa who had stopped his humming and had turned to face her, a slight smile on his lips.

"I have not spent this last month idling. This is one of the few new jutsu I have created. It is perfect against all forms of Taijutsu, including yours. There may or may not be a weakness in it, but I have yet to find it. I know you are also capable off using Ninjutsu, however, with your right hand in its current condition, forming hand seals would be difficult, if not impossible. Do you wish to continue, or do you wish to forfeit?"

Misato sighed and straightened.

"I'm impulsive, but I know when a match is over. Examiner, I'm forfeiting."

The examiner nodded and pointed towards Aamaa.

"Misato has forfeited, making Aamaa the winner of the first match."

There were cheers and clapping as the medics came on to check Misato's hand. They applied a quick healing jutsu to it and led her to the infirmary. Aamaa walked back up to the contestant box, where the other Oto Nins congratulated him, while the other nation's Genin were wary of him. Despite the fact that they were just Genins, they were told not to hurt each other when they fought too badly so as to be able to help with the invasion. Genma looked up to the contestant box, still chewing his Senbon.

"Second match contestants, Kankuro and Shino, you're up."

Both boys looked at each other and walked down into the stadium together, not saying a word to each other. Finally, they entered the arena and stood facing each other. Genma looked at both of them and nodded.

"Second match between Kankuro of Suna and Aburame Shino of Konoha, begin."

Kankuro snapped his fingers up into a position like he was holding a large object in his palm and attached his chakra strings from that hand to Karasu and then attached his second hand's strings to it, spinning it from its white bandage casing on his back so it was draped over him. Shino spread his outstretched arms in front of him, releasing his bugs. Kankuro brought his right hand slowly forward and then threw Karasu at Shino arms flailing with a clicking, rattling noise. Shino took out two kunai and struck the puppet in the chest and forehead, but Kankuro used a quick Kawarimi to replace it with a log. Shino was not at that point expecting the puppet to appear to his direct left, and was in no state to dodge the duo of hidden knives Karasu launched from its mouth, which struck him square in the heart and forehead. Kankuro smirked and reigned in his puppet.

"Gotcha…"

However, what he was not expecting was for Shino to burst into bugs, which scurried away, into the ground and in any hiding place they could find. Kankuro's eyes narrowed as he scanned the area. It was then he felt the air being rapidly displaced too his right, indicating something large was coming at him fast, so he dodged seeing Shino missing a straight jab with his right fist at his own head. Kankuro smirked and jumped into the trees off to the side.

"So, you figured out a puppeteer's weak point! You're not bad!"

Shino jumped up into one of the nearby trees, dodging Karasu. However, what shocked him was that the puppet's forearm opened to reveal a heavily poisoned blade that struck the trunk, leaking poison into it and staining the area around the impact mark purple. Shino backed up against the trunk of another tree as Karasu spun his other arm forward and released another blade from it's forearm at Shino's head, who dodged it by several centimetres before jumping up over the branch and down into the foliage. Kankuro sent his puppet after him and smirked when Shino tried to dodge to the left, stopping Karasu in its tracks and pointed one off its arms at Shino who took a more defensive stance as the elbow join unhinged and a blast of gunpowder was emitted, from which a trail of rancid purple smoke emitted. Shino sent his bugs forward to intercept the projectile, watching as both his bugs and the projectile exploded in a cloud of purple smoke. Shino took a small breath of the gas in before he was able to jump up and out of the cloud, only to find the puppet zeroing in on him. Kankuro smirked at his assured victory and impaled Shino with both forearm blades only to see the Aburame once again burst into bugs. Scowling, Kankuro began looking around for any sign of the bug symbiont from his hiding place. He pulled his chakra strings to move Karasu off in another direction, but his puppet refused to respond. It was then that Kankuro noticed the swarm of bugs making their way down the chakra strings that were attached to his fingers. Smirking, he detached the chakra strings, sending the bugs flying as they chopped wildly through the air like whips and reattached them once the bugs were off. The Aburame was hanging upside down from the thick tree branch with the aid of his bugs. Kankuro called out to his opponent.

"If you think you can win by blocking the joints, think again."

Karasu's head detached and flew around behind the branch, opening its mouth to reveal a spike laced with poison to the point it was flying off the spike in waves as it homed in on Shino's head. The crowd held their breath as it homed in on Shino, may looking away, not wanting to see the ailed boy being killed so brutally. However, just as the spike got within 30 centimetres of his face, the head came to a sudden stop, showering Shino's face with poison before dropping lifelessly to the ground. Kankuro's eyes widened in surprise and confusion.

"What? What's going on?"

It was then that Kankuro felt a massive drop in his chakra levels and a mass of things crawling over his legs. He looked down to see an army of Shino's bugs swarming to him and starting to cover him. He tried to brush them off, but only succeeded in spreading them further. He looked up as he heard the Aburame hop from his hiding place onto the branch, sweating and panting heavily and glared at him in shock.

"When… How did you…"

Shino pointed weakly at Kankuro's forehead.

"When I attempted to engage in Taijutsu with you, I had no intention of doing so. I planted a female Kikai bug on your hitai-ate, allowing my bugs to track your position."

Kankuro looked up and did indeed notice a bug he had not seen before. It was placed so that it wouldn't be seen by him unless he was consciously searching for it and knew what to look for. He felt his chakra levels drop dangerously low and collapsed to his knees as his energy just vanished.

"How… From just this one…"

Shino was still panting as he answered.

"The one on your forehead is a female Kikai bug. The female emits a very faint smell that only the males of the same species are able to detect... Using that, I directed my bugs to swarm you. You cannot continue this fight."

True to Shino's word, Kankuro dropped off the branch screaming all the way to the ground where he hit with a loud thump. The bugs left a still slightly twitching Kankuro on the ground and returned to Shino, who also collapsed to his knees panting. Genma looked at both of them and then pointed to Shino.

"Kankuro is unable to continue. Winner, Shino."

The crowd burst into applause as Shino collapsed from the effects of the poison. Two pairs of medics rushed onto the field to check on both combatants. Both of them were quickly carted off the field and Genma looked up at the contestant box.

"Third match contestants, come down."

Both Bekkou and Neji walked down to the arena, standing facing each other. Neji smirked and activated his clan Doujutsu.

"Although you may have won against Hinata-Sama, your fate was sealed when I became your opponent."

Bekkou tilted his head to one side, looking at Neji quizzically.

"How so, if I may inquire?"

Neji smirked and got into his trademark Jyuken stance.

"Fate has decided that you will lose to me. Give up."

Bekkou said nothing, only bringing his head back up to a level position. Genma looked at both of them and nodded.

"Third match between Hyuuga Neji and Oto no Bekkou, begin."

Neji did not intend to give Bekkou the chance of getting into his defensive shell, so charged forward with blinding speed, aiming for Bekkou's heart. What Neji didn't expect however, was that Bekkou spun 180 degrees with blinding speed and pumped out his sound jets, knocking Neji off balance, giving him enough time to draw his arms, legs and head in and flip so that this time he landed on his back. Neji was dumbfounded that he would roll 'belly up' until he saw why. Several curved serrated blades ripped out of his clothing around his middle and he started firing only one side of his 'air jets', turning him into a spinning object of death. He was cutting the air fast enough for a whine to be heard, and that was when Bekkou shot forward along the ground, firing the jets that were closest to the opposite direction he was intending to travel with an amazing amount of precision, ripping the ground up as Neji just managed to dodge the spinning shield. Neji's face was a mask of pure concentration and astonishment.

'What a guy… To be able to fire his air jets with such precision…If I even take a glancing blow from that, it's the end...'

Even without the blades, a hit would be extremely damaging, if not fatal. The blades just ensured it was the later. However, Neji was not called the Tensai of the Hyuuga clan for nothing. He still had a few tricks up his sleave. All he needed was to stop the movement and rotation. He waited for Bekkou to take another pass and then started his own technique. Many Hyuuga in the crowd's eyes widened as they saw Neji begin to perform the Hyuuga main house's secret technique, spinning like a top as he released chakra from all of his Tenketsu. It was then that the two barriers collided, emitting a massive explosion, sending chunks of rock and dust everywhere, making many of the audience gasp and pull back in their seats as the stadium shook under the impact. Finally, the dust began to settle and they saw both Neji and Bekkou lying on the ground in a large crater, both heavily damaged. Neji was the first to get up, shaking and started wobbling towards Bekkou, who lay on his stomach, all of his appendages no longer drawn inside the protective shell. Neji stood just behind Bekkou, panting as he decided to rub his victory in.

"This is what happens when you try to defy fate. A shield is not meant to be used as a weapon, but as a defence. You were destined to-"

At that point, Neji heard a whistling sound coming from Bekkou as he was blasted with a large amount of chakra laced air, throwing him off his feet and tumbling backwards, landing on his back, shuddering in pain. Bekkou slowly stood up, panting as he turned around, walking slowly over to Neji, and staying a safe distance away from him.

"It is true that a shield is primarily used for defence, however, even a shield in the direst of circumstances can also be used as a weapon. Many objects can be used for purposes other than their intended reason for creation. That is what has become apparent in this match."

Genma smirked and pointed to Bekkou.

"Shousha; Bekkou."

Despite the fact that one of Konoha's biggest hopes had been defeated, even the Konoha people had to admit that the Oto Genin had used his head, and very well at that. It seems that he had all the qualities of a Chuunin. Not just power, but intelligent decision making skills as well. The Kazekage turned to the Hokage while the crowd was applauding.

"Oto seems to have many promising Genin…"

The Hokage nodded in agreement. Oto did indeed seem to have many promising up and coming Ninja, if the preliminary matches and these first few finals matches were anything to judge by. As the cheering died down, Genma looked up at the contestant box.

"Fourth match fighters come down."

Both Temari and Udo came down, facing off. Both of them had calculative looks on their faces. Genma looked at both of them and nodded slightly.

"Fourth match between Temari and Udo; Hajime."

Temari unstrapped her fan and snapped it open in one quick seamless motion as she released a large gust of air at Udo. The air blasted the stadium wall behind him, covering a fair portion of the arena in a cloud of dust. She whipped around when she felt him behind her and released another gust. She knew if she gave him time to get close and speak, it was over. What she didn't expect was that the wind blast went right through Udo making him fade out of existence.

"Bunshin! When did he-"

"Get time to make a Bunshin? Think about it."

Temari froze as she felt a kunai pressed to her neck and tried to figure out why his voice wasn't affecting her.

"Why isn't your voice…"

Udo smirked.

"In the prelims, I was unable to talk due to my inability to control my power. Now that I have it under full control, I can apply it as I see fit. Like this."

Temari froze as her ears rang with the last sentence Udo spoke and fell to the ground, holding her head from the worst case of vertigo she ever had.

"As for the Bunshin, with you blasting wind around, focusing more on stopping me from getting close based on what you saw in the prelims instead of thinking straight, that you didn't notice me creating the Bunshin and sending it to do my work for me. That was your downfall."

Genma nodded and pointed to Udo.

"Shousha; Udo."

The crowd cheered for the victor again, despite the fact that the battle was short. Temari was helped off the field by a pair of medics while Udo went straight back up to the contestant box. Just as Genma looked up to ask the next contestants to come down, the wind picked up, scattering leaves everywhere, which then condensed into a swirl in the middle of the field, dying down to reveal Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi back to back. Genma looked at Kakashi reproachfully.

"Mind getting off the field? Sasuke's match hasn't started yet."

Kakashi laughed nervously before nodding.

"Sure thing."

Kakashi nodded to Sasuke before flickering back up to the crowd while Sasuke walked up to the contestant box. Genma was about to ask the next contestants to come down when he sensed a rather large area Genjutsu in the crowd. Most others had stopped as well. His head snapped up to the Kage Box where a smoke grenade was let off which seemed to be a signal of some kind, as straight after that, all hell broke lose. Konoha was now at war.

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With Naruto and Gaara:

Naruto had long ago placed several Kage Bunshins around Konoha for his part of the plan, and all of them saw the signal, grinning widely as they began their parts. The real Naruto who was next to Gaara smiled. It seems all of the Oto Nins had also noticed it. Naruto looked over his shoulder.

"That's the signal! Let's move!"

All the Ninjas set out in formation, led by Naruto and Gaara as they charged into Konoha. Just off to their left, the snake summoning ritual had been completed, sending three massive snakes towards Konoha. The two forces and three snakes rushed headlong into Konoha, jumping over the walls, or in the case of the snakes, barrelling straight through them. They instantly met with defenders, who were dispatched with little trouble. Naruto started giving out orders.

"First through 5th Squads! Take care of the eastern industrial sector of Konoha! 6th through 8th, take the inner east commercial sector while Squads 9 and 10 are with me! I want no survivors! Go!"

All 100 Shinobi responded to their orders, splitting up to their assigned areas. Gaara started handing out his orders.

"11th to 15th, take the outer West residential sector! 16th through 18th, take the inner western administration sector! 19th and 20th are with me! Give them no quarter! Go!"

The other hundred Sound Ninja responded to their orders, leaving only 40 to go with Naruto and Gaara. Both boys led the charge into Konoha, killing anyone, no matter their age or gender. Many people Naruto recognised as those who had tormented him, and took particular relish in torturing them slightly before having to move on. What really worried both Naruto and Gaara was that they hadn't encountered a single ninja since they had entered Konoha. Their concerns were alleviated when three squads of ANBU and 5 Jounins spotted them and moved to intercept. The Oto Nin came to a stop and prepared to fight, however, the Konoha Nin burst into laughter, pointing at Naruto and Gaara. One Jounin pointed at both kids and fell to his knees, howling with laughter.

"I don't believe this! We got so worked up over a couple of kids? HAHAHAHAHA!"

The Jounin and ANBU slowly stopped laughing as they heard the Oto Nin chuckling in the 'We know something you don't' way. One of the Oto Nin stepped forward, whose clothes signified he was a senior Jounin.

"Use your heads. If these 'kids' as you call them are leading an army of this size, doesn't that tell you something?"

Naruto smiled as did Gaara.

"Dealing with 12 ANBU and Five Jounin is going to take too long and waste far too many lives that can be used for other things. All Oto Ninja step back. We'll show these Konoha punks what these kids can really do."

The Oto Nins nodded and stepped back as both Naruto and Gaara started releasing their cursed seals, making the Jounin and ANBU tense.

"These… These are the brats who invaded Konoha and kidnapped the Akimitchi! And that's the Kyuubi brat!"

Naruto laughed joyously as the ANBU unsheathed their katana while the Jounin prepared their weapons of choice. The Oto Nin watched in fascination while all of Konoha paused in horror as they felt the Kyuubi's corrupting chakra wash over them. Naruto smiled ferally at Gaara.

"Let's just go straight to second stage. This isn't going to be fun."

Gaara nodded, grinning as they engaged their second staged Cursed Seals. The ANBU and Jounin stepped back as both of them underwent their transformations, both growing exponentially in size. Naruto looked down at the relatively tiny ninjas before him.

"As you can see, the Akimitchi was put to good use. The Akimitchi clan jutsus were useful, especially their size increasing jutsu. Now, how about I let you enjoy the second coming of Kyuubi? And this time, you don't have that so-called Yondaime Hokage to save you!"

Naruto slashed a hand through the buildings, trying to take out the Konoha Ninja as well. It seemed that all but one of the Jounin escaped unharmed. The last was not so lucky, being hit by a flying piece of roof that killed him on impact. Naruto and Gaara proceeded to reck havoc upon their section of Konoha, loving every second of it.

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Back at the Stadium:

The remaining members of the Sound Six had just put up the Four Man Purple Flame Array, sealing Orochimaru and the Hokage inside. However, there was another person inside, one of Naruto's Kage Bunshins. Currently, it was disguised as Kimimaro. Orochimaru now stood facing the Hokage with Naruto at his side. Orochimaru smirked, making the Hokage's eyes narrow.

"What's so funny, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru chuckled as he revealed what he found so amusing.

"It seems that not even you could uphold Yondaime's wish, despite your position as the oh-so great Sandaime Hokage…"

That remark hit Sarutobi worse than any physical wound, making him look down at the ground in shame. However, Orochimaru wasn't quite finished yet.

"Although you failed him, it seems that a most unlikely person has not…"

Sarutobi's head shot up at this to see Orochimaru look at Kimimaro out of the corner of his eye.

"I think we should show everyone who you really are…"

Kimimaro nodded and dispelled the Henge to reveal one of Naruto's clones. Naruto smirked at Sarutobi.

"Been a while hasn't it, old timer?"

All Konoha people nearby stopped for a second and tried to figure it out when Sarutobi did it for them.

"Naruto? Is it really you?"

Naruto snorted with a bored look on his face.

"Believe it, it's me. God, this place is even more of a dump than when I left it… Seriously, how the hell do you raise Shinobi here?"

The Sandaime fell to his knees and put a hand to his eyes to wipe away the tears.

"Why, Naruto? Why did you leave?"

Naruto chuckled before answering.

"Because this shit hole never saw what I could become. I could have surpassed anyone and everyone. But you threw that chance away. Unlike some senile old fools, Orochimaru-Sama saw what I could become with a few choice words and steering in the right direction. Hell, if I stayed her, I would have probably turned into an idiot. By leaving, I met new people, made new friends, and saved other Jinchuriki from our torment. Seriously, considering we're the saviours of all living things on this planet, couldn't you at least have the decency to tolerate us? Then again, I suppose that's far too much to ask of most humans…"

Jiroubou looked at Naruto reproachfully.

"Naruto, you're starting to pick up Tayuya's swearing…."

Naruto snorted.

"Not surprising really."

Tayuya snorted at Naruto and continued maintaining the barrier. Naruto turned back to the Hokage and smiled.

"I would hang around longer, but I've got stuff to do, namely, torment some uptight Uchihas and finish off the job Kyuubi started. Later old man."

The clone dispelled itself, leaving a laughing Orochimaru and a chuckling group of Sound Elites as well as a completely distraught Hokage. Down in the arena, a second clone made itself known, looking straight at the Oto Genin who were thoroughly enjoying ripping the arena up and gave a complimentary whistle.

"Geez, I wouldn't be surprised if you became Chuunin. Good work. Try and make it back alive, ok?"

The ones who had a spare moment nodded and went back to engaging the Konoha Ninja. Naruto smirked and dispelled himself, before a third one made itself present, but this one was also using a Henge. During this carnage, Sasuke seemed somewhat hesitant as to what to do, concentrating on protecting only himself. Naruto took this chance and appeared before him, making Sasuke freeze as well as just about everyone around him.

"Hisashiburi dana, Otouto."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he recognised exactly who was standing in front of him.

"Uchiha Itachi… I'm going to kill you!"

Sasuke began charging a Chidori as the Naruto clone looked on impassively. One of the other Konoha Chuunin in the crowd took his chance and took a lunge at Itachi from behind, kunai held to stab him in the back of the neck. Naruto's clone didn't even pay him any attention as he used a fair amount of the chakra he had to blow the Chuunin away, straight into the railing where his back bent over it at an impossible angle, as a sickening snap was heard, the Chuunin falling to the ground where his neck broke, ending his life. Sasuke took this chance, thinking Itachi would still be occupied with the other attacker and charged at him, letting forth a deafening battle cry that was augmented by the Chidori's distinctive chirping. Naruto looked at him impassively and waited till the last moment to grab Sasuke's hand and deflect the Chidori into a concrete column to his right. Sasuke glared at the Naruto clone snapped his wrist, leaving Sasuke on the ground, screaming in pain. Naruto stood over him and recited a carefully prepared speech.

"Ichizoku... Ichizoku...

Souiu antara onore no "utsuwa" no ookisa wo hakari chigae

ore no "utsuwa" no fukasa wo shiranu kara ima soko ni haitsukubatteru.

Soshiki ni shuuchakushi ichizoku ni shuuchakushi na ni shuuchaku suru...

Sore wa onore wo seiyakushi onore no "utsuwa" wo kimetsukeru imubekikoto

soshite madaminu... Shiranu mono wo osorenikushimu

orokashikikoto!!"

Naruto leant down and ripped the Uchiha clan emblem off Sasuke's back, taking a kunai and pinning both to the wall.

"Ore no tsuwa wa kono kudaranu ichizoku ni zetubou shiteiru

Ichizoku nado to... chippoke na mono ni shuuchaku surukara

hontou ni taisetsu na mono wo miushinau...

hontou no henka to wa kisei ya seiyaku...

yokan ya souzou no waku ni osamarikitteite wa dekinai."

The Naruto clone turned around, completely disregarding how Sasuke was recovering for another go.

"I'm not interested in you, Sasuke. You're still weak. You're not even worth the time, foolish little brother. If you want to beat me, hate me, detest me and live in an unsightly way."

With that, the clone used up the last of it's chakra to body flicker away and dispel itself. It was then that everyone felt the real Naruto and Gaara's demonic chakra flare and turned towards the source to see the incarnation of Kyuubi and Shukaku that promptly began ripping up Konoha, laughing all the way.

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Almost 30 Minutes Later:

Naruto and Gaara had decimated a good portion of Konoha, and were now surrounded by the ANBU. Even with their size and power increases, they were no match for this many of them. Naruto then shivered violently as he felt a familiar yet foreign presence at the stadium. Naruto looked over there and saw what he feared most.

"Shinigami… That old geezer is using Shikifuujin on Orochimaru-Sama!"

Gaara looked over to see what Naruto was talking about and growled as he felt the sealing process complete and both Orochimaru's and the Hokage's faint chakra signatures vanish. Not 10 seconds later, the barrier dispelled. Naruto snarled and called out to all of the Oto Nins in Konoha.

"First objective complete! Retreat!"

Naruto and Gaara took one last swipe at the ANBU and Jounin, clearing at least 5 of them out before making their own retreat. The damage done to Konoha was extensive, to say the least. They could no longer claim to be one of the top five villages, if the piles of bodies and numerous burning buildings were anything to go by. Both Naruto and Gaara leapt over the walls and deactivated their cursed seals, unable to keep them going any longer. They were immediately surrounded by Oto Nins who took them while leaving several to hold off the pursuing Konoha Ninja until they were a safe distance away.

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2 Days Later, Otogakure no Sato:

Upon arrival at the hidden village, Jiroubou, Kidoumaru, Sakon and Tayuya handed Orochimaru to Kabuto for medical treatment. Not long after, Naruto, Gaara and the mostly intact Oto army arrived. Seeing that Kabuto was busy trying to desperately help Orochimaru with his arms, Naruto was unofficially made temporary leader of Oto as the next highest in command. Naruto was flooded with requests for anything and everything, such as what sections of the army should be deployed where, who should scout, who received priority medical treatment and many others. With the help of his 5 closest friends, he managed to begin sorting out the after war problems when he was summoned along with the other members of the Sound Six to Orochimaru's throne room. He looked somewhat more composed than he had when they last saw him, but they could tell the mask he was using to hide the pain was wearing thin, and one wrong word would most likely mean their deaths.

"I want the six of you to go back to Konoha and retrieve Sasuke. Do not fail me."

They nodded and left immediately, racing back towards Konoha like their lives depended on it. Knowing Orochimaru, their lives probably did depend on the outcome of this mission.

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A/N: Oh man, FINALLY! Sorry about taking so long, but apart from the reasons at the start of this chapter, I realised that my first draft of this chapter had a massive plot hole in it. One that meant if I didn't fix it, the story would end here, no ending, no warning, just end. So I had to rewrite a large part of it. And before any of you ask me 'what was that speech? I don't speak Japanese!' Think about who Naruto was disguised as and what he did with the Uchiha Clan emblem from Sasuke's shirt, and take a stab in the dark. I'll give you a hint. It has to do with Sasuke's past. Well, I hope you guys enjoy.

Ja na,

Specula.