Sakura Makes Her Move! Team Seven Reunited

This is bad, thought Ino to herself as she watched Chouji carefully lay out a false paw-print trail beside their own tracks. We are trying to bring down two platoons of chuunin by ourselves, and maybe drag Shikamaru into all of this. If we get out of this, I'm going to skin Sakura alive. She fidgeted and checked once more through her 'borrowed' holster, making sure she had memorised the difference between it and her usual set up. May well be a big 'if'. Nothing here is standard.

Chouji straightened up and dusted off his hands. "All done, Ino. We should get moving again."

Ino nodded, leaping back up into the canopy and starting to run in the direction Pakkun had indicated Shikamaru was. "Why did Shikamaru have to go grow a spine, now of all times?"

"He's not as bad as you think he is," replied Chouji, following dutifully behind her. "Back in the academy, Naruto was the only person who could really get him excited about something. He's probably the one who convinced Shikamaru to do this."

"So it's all Naruto's fault?" asked Ino, shaking her head. "That makes me feel so much better. The class dunce is leading him into trouble. I just hope Sasuke-kun can get them out of it." Out of the corner of her eye she saw something that stood out from the usual background colour of the forest. "Wait a minute, Chouji." She stuck her arm out, using her momentum to swing around the tree trunk and land on a nearby branch. She crouched down, squinting through the undergrowth for what had caught her eye. It was a flash of light, I'm sure of it.

Chouji landed heavily besides her. "What is it, Ino? Have you found Shikamaru?"

Ino grinned as she spotted a pale hand sticking out from underneath a bush. "I think so. Come on." She leapt down to the ground and walked over, senses alert in case of a trap. She found the cause of the light soon enough. It had been a random reflection from Shikamaru's forehead protector. Thankfully it was still attached to the genin in question, who was snoring slightly while sprawled out amongst the bushes, a nasty-looking bruise starting to form across one side of his face.

Ino started to growl. "Sleeping again?" She brought her foot back, ignoring Chouji's protests from behind her, and swung it to connect solidly with Shikamaru's middle. "Get up!" She was rewarded with a moan and Shikamaru curling over to protect his now hurting side.

"That wasn't very nice, Ino," said Chouji, bending down to help his friend up. "Are you alright, Shikamaru? What happened?"

Shikamaru sat up, rubbing the back of his head and wincing. "What happened is that Ino is the second woman to hit me today. I was stalling the Sand kunoichi using my kagemane, while Sasuke and Naruto went after the other two, but I ran out of chakra so she got loose and knocked me unconscious before leaving, I guess." He stretched, then looked at Ino. "So what are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be back at the arena?"

Ino folded her arms. "We were sent by Sakura's idiot of a sensei to come and stop you from catching up with Gaara, that's what."

"Well, mission complete," said Shikamaru. "Well done." He leaned back and started to watch the clouds through the breaks in the leafy canopy above.

"Oh no, we're not done yet." Ino looked around cautiously. "We had a load of enemy ninjas tracking us from Konoha. We split with Sakura to try to lead them away from her, but that leaves us in some trouble,"

Chouji looked worried. "They're probably after us, thinking Sakura is still with us. That dog said that they were probably chuunins, and that they were supposed to stop us interfering with Gaara."

Shikamaru looked at him, realising that Chouji was never the most assertive of the team. "Don't worry, Chouji. We'll think of something." And it had better be good. Being knocked out has let me regain some chakra, but it's still not enough to hold them for more than a few minutes. "So what's the situation?"

Ino tugged him to his feet. "Come on. We should talk while we move." She leapt up into the trees and started running. "Since Sakura took Pa-whatever, we don't know how close these guys are getting." She turned back to check that her two team-mates were following, before returning her attention to the path in front. "From what we know, we've got between nine and none chuunins on our tails, depending on how many we managed to shake from Sakura. Chouji's been faking that the dog is still with us with those fake paw prints, but we don't know how effective they've been."

"And you can't know until the chuunins catch up with you," replied Shikamaru, nodding slightly. "I guess that they're in two squads, with someone following to stop any ambushes. We need to take them all out, at once, or else be prepared for whatever the extra might do."

Ino nodded. "I think the only way I see it working is if you use your shadow technique while Chouji and I watch your back." While we might stop one or two of the chuunins, you're the only one who can stop that many at once.

Shikamaru grunted. "I can't stop them for long, Ino. That many people, it would be a minute, two at best." He looked over at Chouji. "We could try to knock them out but I can't release them in sequence, so Chouji could take out maybe half of them." He sighed. And there would still be the one following at a distance. Ino's Shintenshin no jutsu(1) might hit them but, with the error involved in calculating a hidden ninja's position, she could send her mind shooting off into the ether. Then we'd have to guard her body and have one less person around to do it. "Okay, the plan is this. I'll stall them while you two hide nearby. Once I have them, I'll attack them to force the other to act to save them. From there you, Ino, try to take him out or stall him while Chouji helps me deal with the main force. We'll then back you up."

"Great plan, Shikamaru. May I add, let's not get killed." Ino shook her head. It's a shame that this is the best plan we've got. It would probably have worked in the exam, but here, against real chuunins? She followed Shikamaru down to ground level, and stopped. "Here's where you want to make the stand?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Plenty of strong sunlight, so plenty of shadows." I'm going to need all the help I can get. "Chouji, you hide over there. That should give you a good chance of remaining undiscovered." Shikamaru pointed to a large collection of bushes, knowing that Chouji would need to be at ground level to use his Nikudan Sensha(2) effectively.

Chouji nodded, looking worried for his friend. "Okay, Shikamaru. You be careful."

Shikamaru clapped his hand on Chouji's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll get through this fine. Now you'd better hide." He watched Chouji disappear into the undergrowth, then ducked behind a tree. All I need is a brief element of surprise, and this hiding spot will give it to me. He sighed and looked up at the clouds through the branches of the trees. This mission is proving to be more and more troublesome. I swear this is the last time I'm following Naruto anywhere. He stretched slowly, waiting. We'll have one shot, and I'll have to stall them until they all reveal themselves. A faint rustle of leaves was all the warning Shikamaru got before the enemy ninjas descended on the clearing.

"Look at these footprints," said a voice unknown to Shikamaru. "They're all trailing over one another in this small area. Obviously they held some sort of discussion here."

That must be their leader, their best tracker. Shikamaru moved his hands swiftly and silently through the hand-seals, and his shadow warped to his will. It bent around the tree, searching out other shadows to connect to. That's it! I've got them. These few moments I can buy need to be enough. Shikamaru stepped around the tree and met the gaze of the leader of the Sound ninjas calmly. "Sorry. I may be tired, but that's more than enough to stop you here a while." The Sound ninjas, uniformly dressed in masks covering the lower half of their faces, glared at him.

Their leader snorted. "He's still only a kid. He must be trying to hold us here to let his friends escape. How pitiful. Is this Konoha's Kageshibari no jutsu(3) I've heard so much about?"

Shikamaru laughed. "That's an old way of saying that. Times have passed, old man. They call it Kagemane now." He resisted the urge to rub his sore head and considered. I have too little chakra to hold them for very long. I need to find out where their extra follower is hiding. He started to count the Sound ninjas in front of him who were held fast by his technique. Eight ninjas. So Ino and Chouji managed to draw them all. That makes Sakura's job much easier, even though it makes ours harder. He reached into his weapon pouches and withdrew shuriken in his right hand, kunai in his left. Now I just need to find where their accomplice is hiding so Ino can try to take care of him. He drew his hands up, preparing to throw his weapons, one for each of the Sound ninjas stood around. He'll have to act to save his comrades. He threw, and watched as each of the weapons was knocked from the air by further ones originating from somewhere to his left. He's there!

A faint rustle of leaves told Shikamaru that Ino was on the move, trying to intercept the other ninja, but Shikamaru feared it would be too late. He could already feel his technique weakening, to the point where he knew he had seconds at best. Damn it. Hurry,Ino. I can't tell Chouji to attack until I know we're clear.

The Sound ninja laughed. "Looks like you're at your limit. This Kagemane thing will go away soon." He frowned, and Shikamaru thought he might have looked more threatening without the mask obscuring his features. "You'd better be prepared for what's coming!"

Shikamaru shook his head. "As you said, I'm at my limit. But you're mistaken in thinking this is my only defence." Sorry, Ino. Finished or not, we have to take out what we can now before they escape my technique and kill us all. "Chouji! Now!"

Shikamaru smiled a little at the look of shock on the Sound ninjas' faces as Chouji came rolling out of the nearby bushes, his body transformed into a giant rolling sphere. Now to watch and release them at the last possible minute before Chouji's strike. Being used to Chouji's attack, Shikamaru left it to the last second before releasing the enemy ninjas, fighting the urge to drop to his knees and pant. Chouji took out the centre five, including their leader, but the group had been too widely dispersed and three of them escaped without injury. Shikamaru reached into his holster and drew a kunai as Chouji came around for another pass. Looks like we'll be trying to take the last three down hand to hand. "Ino! Get down here and help us out!"

One of the remaining conscious Sound ninjas laughed. "If she's the one you sent after our help, you're going to be disappointed. It would take more than a girl to stop him." He looked up to where the intercepting kunai had come from. "If you're finished with the girl, come down here and help us out. You can start by taking this guy's head off, then we'll get the fat bastard that's rolling around."

Shikamaru tensed himself, ignoring Chouji's shriek of 'FAT!' and waited for the strike he'd have to dodge. He sensed someone drop behind him but there was no intent to strike, despite the shadow of the ninja being large enough to overshadow Shikamaru. He looked up and was rewarded with a puff of cigarette smoke to his eyes. "Asuma?"

The jounin sensei of TeamTen smiled, then threw the Sound ninja that was unconscious under his arm into one of the other three Sound ninjas. Shikamaru then watched as Asuma took out the remaining Sound ninjas with the brutal efficiency he was used to seeing from his instructor. That was lucky. I didn't think we could take the rest out by ourselves. As soon as the threats had been neutralised, Shikamaru was only slightly surprised to see Ino helping a dizzy-looking Chouji into the clearing. Shikamaru sighed and then let his legs give out from underneath him, flopping to sit on the ground.

Asuma smiled thinly around at them as Ino and Chouji moved to join Shikamaru. "Good job, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji."

Shikamaru groaned. "Why did I sign up for all this?"

Ino flopped beside him with a tired grin. "Oh come on. You're loving every moment of this."

"Only the ones where I'm not fighting for my life against impossible odds." He looked at Asuma. "You're not about to tell us to go back the others up, are you?"

Asuma snorted. "Me and Kakashi are going to have a long talk about the suitability of missions where he decides to involve my students."

Naruto bounded from tree branch to tree branch, trying not to pant too hard. At this rate, I'll never catch them. Really wish I was as fast as Sasuke. He shook his head slightly and tried to focus on the fight coming. There's just me left, now. That'll be fine if Gaara's still hurt, but if he's okay then I'll be stuck in the same position Sasuke was back in the arena. Trying to fight a crazy demon-guy. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he saw two figures sat on a branch ahead. As he watched, he saw Gaara knock Temari flying before turning back towards him.

Naruto landed on the next branch, using chakra to stick his feet to the branch and stop his momentum. Shit. He's awake. He watched carefully, taking in the fact that Gaara was panting almost as much as he himself was. Awake, but not totally recovered, or totally sane. You better get here soon, Sasuke. I'm going to need back up after all. As he watched, Gaara took a final deep breath then stilled to look up at him. Naruto felt a wave of killing intent flick briefly through the area, before Gaara started to speak.

"You, who tried to stop me in the hospital."

Naruto nodded, deciding to try to stall as long as he could for help to arrive. And the best way for me to do that is to be annoying and make him argue with me. "That's me. I don't know what you Sand ninjas are planning, and frankly I don't care. But you don't try this kind of stuff when I'm trying to pass an exam! How will I get to be Hokage if you stop everyone seeing how great I am?" He grinned, trying to bolster his own confidence. "Demon, or killer, or just plain whacko, your little plan stops here."

Gaara glared up at him then moaned and clutched at his head, as if it pained him. Naruto saw things peel away from Gaara's face and fall to dust. His sand armour must be cracking. That can't be a good sign. As he watched, Gaara seemed to calm a little, although he kept a trembling hand still to his head.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Who has friends, who has goals, but claims to be the same as me. Where is the Uchiha?" Naruto flinched as another wave of killing intent spread out. "I must kill him, because I can only exist in this world by killing those who are strong. Killing you would have no meaning, and it would not confirm my existence, even though it would bring me pleasure. Where is the Uchiha!" demanded Gaara, almost screaming.

Naruto flinched, then yelled back at Gaara. "You want Sasuke, you're going to have to deal with me first!"

Naruto thought he saw Gaara sneer, even at their great distance. "You're so keen to have your existence wiped out?" He laughed a little. "Very well. You and the Uchiha both will be…" Gaara flinched and clutched at his head again, moaning and falling to his knees.

As Naruto watched, the sand covering Gaara's face like a second skin began to crack and warp as he screamed. What… What's going on? Gaara curled protectively around himself, covering his face from view as the gourd on his back began to shift, its surface running and melding to Gaara's right arm. Naruto drew a kunai, uncertain as to what was going on, and watched carefully as Gaara continued to writhe in pain while muttering.

"You both will be… my prey!" Naruto shuddered at the renewed wave of intent to kill, then watched aghast as Gaara straightened. The Sand ninja's face was hideously deformed on the right, with a large yellow eye set in black sclera gazing back at him from under a hairline that now included a pointed animal ear. His lips were pulled back in a snarl that revealed teeth too large to fit a human mouth, and caused a line of saliva to constantly flow from Gaara's mouth. "Now, let me feel." Gaara flexed his right arm, transformed by the sand into an appendage longer than Gaara's actual body, with an inhuman grasping claw at the end.

That must be it. The demon inside him trying to get out. Naruto stayed on guard, kunai held between his body and Gaara, even as his free hand moved to pull at his clothes over his stomach. Would something like this ever happen to me if I let the monster inside me take control? He started slightly as he sensed Sasuke's chakra a moment before his team-mate landed on the branch beside him. "Sasuke! You made it after all!"

Sasuke nodded, tense. "I'm here, Naruto. Now what the hell is going on?" And this, this intent, that eye… That's what I saw back in the arena within Gaara's shell of sand. He saw the thing Gaara had become tense, then launch itself at where Sasuke and Naruto were standing. "Naruto! Move!" Sasuke leapt up and back, out of the range of Gaara's grasping hand which smashed the branch the two of them had been standing on moments before, filling the air with shards of wood. Sasuke moved his arms up to protect his face, casting a glance over to check that Naruto was okay before focusing his attention back on Gaara.

"I will kill you!" screamed Gaara, swinging his arm around and destroying anything in its path as the sand caused the arm to extend. Soon the forest was full of dust, raining debris and several destroyed trees.

Sasuke fled, trying to put distance between himself and Gaara before flattening himself against a tree trunk, panting and wiping the dirt from his face and eyes whilst trying not to panic. How can we stop someone so strong and destructive? He shivered at the killing intent in the air. I feel like I should just step out and get it over with. He shook himself firmly. No. This isn't like that time. I still have some control here, and I have an ally in this fight. With how long it'll take, it seems I'll have to take back my boast to Shino, but right now we could do with the help. He heard the whistle of air as Gaara's arm swung round and leapt away from the tree trunk moments before it shattered. What is he? Is he a monster? His mind flashed back to the ominous warning Naruto had given him the day before the preliminary. 'The no-eyebrows freak said that he had been created as his village's weapon. That he'd been bonded with a demon and created as a monster.' That's what Naruto said when he told me to run if I was Gaara's prey. Sasuke moved from tree to tree, trying to keep his movements undetectable in the chaos. And I almost laughed at him for suggesting something so foolish. Maybe I should've listened more.

"Are you scared of me?" called out Gaara into the clearing. "Are you scared of my existence? Come out, Uchiha Sasuke! You are my prey!"

"Damn it," swore Sasuke softly to himself, hiding behind another tree. He looked around carefully, trying to spot where Naruto had gone and listen for the feel of his chakra. Gaara's sense is drowning out everything. I don't even know if the Sand kunoichi is still here or not. He suppressed a shiver. How can I have anything in common with this… creature? He said my eyes showed the pain of loneliness. 'Eyes that seek power, and are filled with hate and murderous intent.' Is that what makes him attack me and not Naruto? That he sees me as a pale reflection of himself? That he wants to test who's hatred is greater? Is this the path I'm heading down, the path Itachi laid out for me back then? Does he want me to turn into a creature such as this? A creature so unhinged it's ruled only by hatred of others? An explosion shook him from his thoughts and he felt someone take his arm and pull him away through the fresh cloud of debris.

Naruto glared. "This isn't the time to go spacing out, Sasuke." He released Sasuke's arm and hid with him in a tree located behind Gaara. "Whatever freaky things he's saying, ignore it. And if it's bringing up painful associations, you better damn well put them on hold until we're sure you'll have time to deal."

"Naruto…" Sasuke paused, then shook himself. He's right. We've got a mission to deal with. Anything else can wait. Especially my stupid fears on what I might have in common with a monster.

Naruto grinned as Sasuke seemed to focus again. "Now that's more like it." He was relieved to see Sasuke smirk back. And that's more like you. You can't afford to get distracted now. I need the 'Ass-kicking-Sasuke' not the 'Emotionally-messed-up-Sasuke' here right now. "So. Let's figure out how to stop this guy once and for all. Up for a game of 'Dodge the Projectiles'?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at comparing battle to such a childish game, but nodded. "There has to be a break in his armour." He gave Naruto a confident smirk, drawing three kunai from his back-pouch. "Let's find it." He waited for Naruto to nod then sprang into action, bouncing from tree trunk to tree trunk before throwing his kunai, aiming squarely at Gaara's head. Gaara moved his sand-coated arm to block the kunai which struck, before starting to sink into the limb.

"Here, I'll return these to you."

Shit, thought Sasuke. He's going to pull the same trick as the one in the arena! He quickly changed his momentum, preparing to dodge and bound from place to place. As he expected, his kunai were thrown out of the sand at high velocity, their path splintering wood as he dodged trying to keep out of the way.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Eight Narutos came flying out of the surrounding trees, trying their own volley of weapons in an attempt to see if there was a relative weakness anywhere in Gaara's defence. Gaara's arm swung, destroying more trees and knocking both the weapons and the Narutos from the air. Sasuke saw seven of them disappear in a cloud of smoke, and the last remaining one crack his head painfully against a tree trunk before getting up and moving out the way again.

Gaara ignored Naruto, instead looking around. "Uchiha Sasuke! Why will you not attack me head on?" He winced in pain, pressing his still-human hand to his head, before swinging the huge sand limb around to destroy more trees. As Sasuke watched, the demonic limb pushed against the branch Gaara was sat on, propelling his body into the air and through the trees, leaving destruction in his wake. Any trees in Gaara's path were felled rather than avoided, filling the air with dust, wood and leaves again.

Sasuke covered his face and tried to stop the dust entering his eyes, leaning against and sliding down the tree trunk to sit on a branch. What the hell? What's with this monstrous strength? How can we ever hope to get around it?

"Are you scared?" taunted Gaara, resting on another tree branch and looking around. "Are you afraid of my existence? Did your hatred and murderous intent cower because of fear? Is your existence that weak? Fight me and confirm it! Your value and existence!"

"Shut up!"

Sasuke looked up at the two voices yelling in his defence in time to see a wave of projectile weapons thrown from two separate locations. That was Sakura's voice that yelled with Naruto! Sasuke rose quickly to his feet. "Sakura! Get back! It's too dangerous out here." He was rewarded with a thunderous-looking Sakura landing on the same branch he was standing on, holding a small dog. Wait, that was a projectile attack. If he blocked it, that means… "Get down!" Sasuke grabbed Sakura in his arms, pulling her away as the trunk they were hiding behind was shredded by the return of their weapons. Sasuke held her close, trusting her not to struggle, as he got them to a new hiding place.

Only once Sakura was sure they had stopped again did she shove at Sasuke. "What was with that rescue attempt, Sasuke-kun? Don't think I can dodge for myself?" She pulled away from him and set Pakkun down before facing him. "What was that?"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto landed next to them, only to be hit by Sakura.

"Idiot! You'll give away our position." She looked at them. "I don't know what's been going on, but that monster seems fixated on you, Sasuke-kun." She looked at Naruto, who was fidgeting uncomfortably. "We need a plan and we need it fast. What was that attack he used just now, Naruto?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Figures Naruto wouldn't know. "That arm of his blocks our throws, then absorbs and spits whatever it was back out, much stronger than we could ever throw them. We can't attack at range, and we can't attack up close."

"Because that arm stops you, right?" asked Sakura, frowning. "So we need to get rid of it. When we can't get close to him, and even if we could, our weapons wouldn't cut it." She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the taunts to Sasuke that Gaara was still calling. "We need something tricky." She started to review traps and strategies from the academy, discarding them when they seemed to all have flaws. There must be something we can use against him, but what?

Naruto fidgeted. "Hey, Sakura-chan? What about the fact that he does absorb something? When he throws our stuff back at us, he has to take them into his arm to turn them around."

Both Sakura and Sasuke blinked at this insight a few times before Sakura grinned. "You know what, Naruto, you're right."

Sasuke nodded. "There's the break in his defence." He started searching for something with his hand in his back-pouch. "Have you got what you need, you two?"

Naruto nodded, eagerly producing an exploding tag from his own pouch and starting to wind it around the hilt of a kunai. "Sure. This will be so satisfying. I can give you covering fire for all this too."

Sakura frowned. "Have you any spare? This isn't my holster, just one I… borrowed." She flushed brightly as she knew that, if it wasn't for the wartime conditions, what Ino had done would count as stealing.

Sasuke quickly pressed an exploding tag into her hand then leapt away, trying to distract Gaara while dodging the strikes of that monstrous limb. "Seems your intent isn't any good either, Gaara of the Desert."

Naruto shook his head. "Goading him again. I think Sasuke hit his head in all the training." He grinned at Sakura, trying to help her confidence. "Got an idea on where to aim for, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura nodded. "Try to put that one on his shoulder. That should be where it's at a weak point because of the need to bend." She smiled back. "Good plan, Naruto. If it works, I owe you a batch of my mother's onigiri, okay?"

Naruto made a face. "Onigiri is good, but ramen would be better." He grinned, then sprang away from her in the opposite direction to where Sasuke had led the fight with Gaara.

Sakura took the last kunai from her holster and started to wrap the tag around the hilt. This idea will work, I'm sure of it. It was Sasuke-kun's observation and Naruto's common sense that gave us this opening. She looked back up. And what's more, we can't afford to fail. She started forwards, moving to her position, looking for the perfect moment to strike with her throw. She didn't have to wait long.

A fresh swarm of Narutos appeared out of the trees, all yelling and throwing an assortment of kunai and shuriken. In the chaos, Sakura threw her kunai and watched as the weapon was absorbed, counting down in her head the time until the fuse ran down. Three… Two…

Naruto landed in front of Gaara and grinned. "Bet you can't hit me." He held out a hand and pointed at Gaara. "Boom!"

Three explosions, placed around Gaara's shoulder, blew in perfect unison. The force of them propelled Gaara's body in one direction and the sand arm in another. All three of the team hung back to let the dust settle around Gaara, to see the damage they had done. Eventually the screams from Gaara died down, changing into laughter.

"I see. I see now." Gaara staggered to his feet, the surface of the gourd on his back undulating again. "Why is this so exciting? I finally understand. By defeating someone who can hurt me and taking away everything he possesses, it will give me a stronger sensation of life!" The sand started to flow, creating a new demon limb, this time covering Gaara's left arm. "More! More!" The sand flexed and extended, creating a tail that lashed in fury behind him.

Sasuke heard Naruto swear faintly and felt like echoing him. Who is this 'Gaara'? What is he? He keeps doing something new. As he watched, Gaara flexed his arm and tail together, flinging himself at Naruto at high speed. He's faster now. Sasuke sent a surge of chakra up to his eyes, letting the world be bathed in the strange tint that the sharingan gave. "Naruto! Sakura! Stay back! He's too fast for you now!" And that means it's up to me with my eyes to protect them both. Sasuke leapt clear of Sakura, knowing that his yell would have attracted Gaara's attention, and rested on a tree branch.

Gaara cackled in glee and launched himself back at Sasuke, whose hands were flicking through hand-seals. "Katon – Goukakyuu no jutsu!"

The fire did little to disturb Gaara, who merely curled his demon arm and tail around himself as an impenetrable fire-shield. "Die!"

Sasuke cursed, realising that a collision was unavoidable. And fire can't stop sand. He brought his arms up to protect himself and then he was flying through the air, propelled by what felt like a hundred times the force of Lee's kick. He felt branches collide and snap as his back came into contact with them, then a sharp impact and buckling as he hit a solid trunk and slid down it to rest on a branch.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked up, his vision swimming, to see Naruto and Sakura watching. Idiots. They should know better than to break cover to check if I'm okay.

Gaara turned, his attention caught by Naruto's yell. "Uzumaki Naruto." Sasuke thought he saw Gaara grin, but he could not be sure between the deformed features and his still-blurry vision. "Uchiha Sasuke. Let me have the honour of taking away those people you care about." Still grinning, Gaara lunged forwards again, aiming straight at Naruto.

Naruto was frozen in fear. He's so fast. So strong. There's nothing we can do. We take away his limb, he grows two new ones!

"Naruto!" Sakura realised too late that Naruto was unable to move. We need us all to get out of this alive. She paused in her thinking, then started to run towards Naruto. We need Naruto and Sasuke. They're strong. Maybe strong enough to stop this monster. All I can do is cheer them on and help them when I can. We need Naruto. She stretched out her arms and pushed, shoving Naruto down and out of the way. I did it. Then there was pain as something impacted on her side, sending her flying. All she felt was a brief sensation of weightlessness then something impacted on her back, knocking her breathless before her head collided with the same object. Naruto…

Then everything went dark.

(1)Shintenshin no jutsu - Mind Body Switch technique

(2) Nikudan Sensha - Meat Tank

(3) Kageshibari – Shadow Freeze technique