It suddenly dawned on me that I'm reaching the end of this little saga, and frankly, that one little fact scares the crap out of me.

Kakashi: You still haven't finished the others you know.

Kyugan: Shut up! the mojo for this one flowed a lot easier alright?!

Kakashi: Forgive me! (covers face and balls, only to blink) huh? you're not gonna hurt me?

Kyugan: Naw...you're expecting it (turns away) It's no fun if you're expecting it.

Kakashi: Sadist.

Kyugan: Here, make yourself useful (Tosses Kakashi a book)

Kakashi: (lets book drop to the floor, when it doesn't explode, he sends a clone to pick it up) Wonder what this is?

The clone opens the book, reads a few lines, sole eye bulging in horror before poofing out of existence, Kakashi's eye bulging as the information was imprinted into his brain.

Kyugan: (Smirks as Kakashi falls to the ground, screaming and clawing at his eye,) Yami choco, boko no s-beep-al h-beep-ment edition. (Shudder) sometimes I even scare myself...

Return of the sand trio; the chase ends!

"So you're an ally huh?" Shikamaru noted, beckoning the blonde Suna kunoichi forwards "Then do me a favor and get her off me? I think my ass is falling asleep."

Temari flushed, hiding it with a growl as she grabbed the redhead and pulled her off the chunin easily, slinging her over her shoulder with a grunt "Well? Don't think you're getting a free lift too." She growled, tilting her head slightly "Get off your ass and follow me."

'Strong as a rhino,' Shikamaru muttered, eyeing her retreating back nervously 'And scarier than my mom…' he trailed off, pausing in his attempted to get to his feet as he got a good look up the girl's skirt as she turned her back to him, 'Then again…'

Temari noticed the Nara's trail of vision and flushed, fighting down the urge to bean him over the head with her fan or, as the case may be, her unconscious captive. For one thing he looked kind of cute with that doe eyed expression, and the other, well, it was her fault for not bringing a spare set of pants.

'He's pretty good with his hands, corporeal and otherwise.' She noted wryly, shooting him an evaluating look 'And he's not that bad looking…'

True, as the Kazekage's daughter, she'd had many potential suitors from several people, including, shudder, several people many years older than herself. And as the Kazekage's daughter, she had, of course, been allowed to skip out on those lessons at the academy involving the…kunoichi arts, something she didn't feel she needed anyway, she was a warrior, not a spy or a poisoner, she was quite content on the front lines, not dressed up like some geisha in a lords bedroom.

Though after seeing the Nara take down the obviously stronger Oto kunoichi with just a little foreplay, the Suna kunoichi had been hard pressed not to leap in and join the fun. 'Time and a place for all that.' She noted, smirking to herself as she readjusted her prize to a more comfortable position, 'who knows, maybe I'll take a vacation after we get back…a nice…LONG vacation.'

Shikamaru shivered as he caught the blonde looking at him and made a mental note to avoid women like the plague for a few days, quite forgetting he still lived with his parents.

--

"A puppet huh?" Ukon noted, glaring at Karasu as it retuned to its master, glaring at Kankurou loathingly over the sound of clattering joints.

"Hey," Kiba called out to the puppeteer, a curious frown on his face "Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't there three of you last time?"

"The others went on ahead," Kankurou shot back with a grunt "Taku…you brats need all the help you can get if weaklings like this pushed you around."

"Aho…" Kiba shot back with a grim smirk "Don't go underestimating them or you'll-!" he trailed off as he caught the smirk on Ukon's face "BEHIND YOU!"

Kankurou whirled round, cursing as he blocked the gauntleted arm of Sakon, as the demonic twin burst through the foliage in his level 2 state, clamping onto the teen's head. "Sakon!" the untransformed twin called out, waving at the allies with a smirk "I'm leaving them in your hands, finish it!"

"Watch out!" Kiba barked, recognizing the look in the twins' eyes and their intentions "He's gonna enter your body and fuse with it!"

"Too late!" Sakon cackled, fingers sliding into Kankurou's face, only to freeze as the teen smirked "Shit…this guy!" he snarled, even as the teen's arms held him in place, Ukon and Kiba gaping as 'Kankurou' dissolved into sand, revealing another puppet, even as the real puppeteer chuckled.

"Looks like your jutsu doesn't work too well on puppets." The middle sand sibling noted with a smirk "and just so you know…Sand Ninja aren't so easily brushed aside as Leaf ninja…and straying too close to Kuro-Ari…" he twitched his fingers, Sakon's blood and screams filling the air "Is suicide."

Sakon slumped to the ground, multiple lacerations lining his body, slowly shifting out of his cursed form even as Kankurou directed the puppet to attack Ukon. The remaining twin grit his teeth and dodged at the last second, shifting to level two as he absorbed his brother. "Damn…let my guard down…" Sakon stammered weakly "Lemme rest my body for a bit."

"You're so damn pathetic." Ukon growled, only to smirk at their opponents as he slowly shifted back to normal form. "Sure he caught you off guard…but to concede defeat to some damn puppet?!"

"What in the hell's up with these guys?" Kankurou asked, a little unnerved by what he'd seen, flinching at Kiba's words even as the horns seeped away, scowling as Ukon continued to insult his puppets.

'I'm running low on chakra.' The active twin noted, after patting his healed stomach wound 'Still plenty left to shred these two…' he grunted 'Not usually the one in control of the main body…crap, this is really hard to move.'

"Hey," Kankurou called out, smirking as everyone turned to regard him, secretly revelling in all the attention "you guys underestimating me?"

"You can't fight these guy's head-on!" Kiba warned the Suna teen, recognizing that look in his eyes "We should retreat for now and-!"

"Retreat?" Kankurou repeated, not quite spitting the word as he twitched his fingers "I'm really being underestimated here aren't I?"

Ukon grimaced as Karasu lunged towards him, rattling madly with its mouth open. He leapt back, only to curse as Kuro-Ari reared up behind him, the chest cavity opening wide to catch him, shutting tight with a snap.

"Kuro-Ari isn't an offensive puppet." Kankurou lectured his captive audience "It was designed to act in tandem with Karasu by retraining the opponents…" he nodded as Karasu's body separated, poisoned blades popping out at joints "That's when Karasu, the counterpart, is used to attack."

He smirked, spreading his arms wide, even as Ukon cursed at him from inside his puppet prison, unaware of the multiple blades aimed at him "Please enjoy my Kurasori Engeki!" he taunted, before crossing his arms, the threads taught "Kuro Higikiki: IPPATSU!"

Kiba could only wince as the poisoned blades jabbed into Kuro-Ari, eliciting screams from the occupants, which grew steadily weaker, before finally dying off, blood trailing from the cracks and slots like some gruesome iron maiden, even as Kankurou smirked.

"Finis."

--

Gaara and Lee stood facing their opponent, Lee moving into a ready stance, even as Gaara noted the wounds on the older teen's arm, which were still bleeding. "I'll handle this." The redhead noted, startling Lee, only for the recovering teen to frown.

"No," Lee insisted, stepping around the sand jinchuuriki determinedly "Please back me up instead." He trailed off as Gaara's san caught his foot, sending him face first into the grass "I said BACK me up, not TRIP me up!" he yelled; only to flinch as his wounds flared up.

"You're in no shape to fight." Gaara stated, stepping forwards even as his sand flowed back into the gourd "I'll handle this."

"Sabaku no Gaara." Kimimaro noted, eyeing the gourd on the youth's back with his impassive stare "As your moniker suggests, you use sand."

"He attacks with his bones!" Lee called out to his apparent ally "He can throw them like before or jut them out of his body, any way he pleases!"

'Not all that different from my sand.' Gaara noted with a frown, the sand whirling agitatedly out of his gourd as he eyed his opponent warily.

'That sand defends him like a reef…' Kimimaro noted, recalling the information he had on the boy and what he'd witnessed himself 'This boy…is no close range fighter.' He frowned, readying more finger bullets 'Approaching will prove a trial.'

He flinched, leaping out of the path of a wave of sand and hurling his finger bones at the redhead, only for a wall of sand to defend against it. Weaving under and around the animated sand he continued to test the boy's defenses, and found them as unfaltering as the boy's impassive stare 'Offense and defense in one package.' He noted 'However, that gourd no doubt signifies the amount of sand he keeps about his person.'

"Sabaku no Gaara…" he repeated, decidedly unimpressed "A stage name and nothing more…useless without your sand, and oh so easy to determine the amount."

"Suna Shigure." Gaara muttered flatly, sand he'd sent to the sky descending on his foe, even as he restrained the man's feet with another wave he'd hidden underground "Maybe so," he allotted, "But so long as I have sand, I can do anything." He frowned, gripping the man's legs so tight he could hear the creaking of his joints "Foolish am I?" he repeated "Creating additional sand from soil and earth is a small task for me."

He twitched his fingers, the sand enveloping Kimimaro utterly, eliciting a cry from Rock Lee as he celebrated his victory. "Not yet," the redhead countered, clenching his fist to compress the sand "SABAKU SOUSOU!"

--

A few squirts of blood erupted from the mound, earning a frown from the redhead, who was NOT used to his trademark technique failing in any form. He glared as a hand pushed through a bloody patch of sand, followed by the rest of Kimimaro, whose seal had spread to encompass his whole body, coupling with the missing patches of flesh and skin to make him resemble of 3D anatomical jigsaw model.

"More bones…" Gaara noted grimly, though his features didn't change an inch from their usual deadpan stare "A real monster this one."

"What…pressure…" Kimimaro applauded between gasps, his teeth and left jawbone visible through the gaping hole in his cheek "Had I not created this layer of bone beneath my skin I'd have been crushed." He eyed Gaara warily "I underestimated you…but your sand will never catch me again."

Gaara frowned, widening his stance even as he clapped his hands together, as if in prayer, Chakra and sand surging out from him as he glared at his opponent. "Ryusabakuryu!" the redhead growled out, face and gaze impassive, even as a veritable tidal wave of Sand towered over Kimimaro, who was hard pressed escaping the wave upon wave of clutching sand, which finally claimed him, and a large portion of the forest behind him, dragging him beneath the surface.

"You got him!" Lee exclaimed, only to blink as Gaara stepped forward, slapping both hands into the newly formed patch of desert.

"SABAKU TAISOU!"

A shockwave rushed through the sand, trees collapsing as their bases were crushed, the entire area pressurizing and contracting savagely. Lee gaped at the sight in amazement, before regarding his onetime opponent in awe. 'Incredible…' he muttered 'He's even more powerful…than the last time we fought…just like everyone else…'

"Doesn't this guy know when to give up?" Gaara muttered suddenly, causing the Gai-clone to blink, looking out to espy a shadowy figure rising from the sands, half hidden by a fallen tree. Summoning more sand, the redhead clenched his fists as tightly as possible "Sabaku Kyuu!"

The sand gathered around the form tightly, but before it could compress a dark skinned monstrosity burst from it, bone pikes growing from it's back, a tail jutting out from the base of it's spine as it dashed towards them like some prehistoric demon, only the hair revealing it's former identity.

'What happened to his body?!' Lee gaped, watching as Gaara raised a wall of sand between them and the transformed Kimimaro, only to gape as the transformed nin smashed through it with brute force alone, sending Gaara flying.

--

"Is this all there is to your vaunted 'absolute defense'?" Kimimaro asked, eyeing the form before him with his golden, demonic eyes "What a joke." He blinked, looking up as Gaara's face began to crack, pieces falling off like broken pottery to reveal his unmarred skin below. "I see…so you'd coated yourself with sand since the start."

"Forget something?!" Lee yelled out, swinging into action from behind the monster, aiming a kick at his head "He's not your only opponent!"

The kick collided with one of the spikes protruding from Kimimaro's shoulder, the Otonin swinging his tail to strike the teen, only for a cushion of sand to come between them, carrying Lee out of reach of the monster and depositing him on the ground.

"That sand of yours is beginning to grow irksome." Kimimaro growled, the first signs of irritation, or any emotion in general, since the start of the battle "It seems the first to die will be you…Gaara."

He reached to his back, the skin parting with a sickening 'shluck' as he gripped a bone from the base of his neck, pulling it out with a disgusting noise to reveal a sword composed from a spinal column. "Tessenka no mai!" he called out, lashing out at Gaara even as Lee gaped at his back in horror "Vine!"

Gaara erected a coccoon of sand around himself, only for the spine-weapon to curl around him like a whip, digging in deep and holding the redhead in place as Kimimaro raised his free hand. "Hana!" the Kaguya called out, massive bone spikes forming around his arm to form a drill-like structure "These are the thickest bones in my body…" he stated flatly "They will pierce your body, along with that pathetic shield of sand."

Even as he spoke the transformed Kaguya coughed, blood trailing from his lips as he glared at the redhead that was impeding his mission. 'It would seem my time's running short…' he muttered, breathing a little heavier than before, even as Gaara scowled, the sand surging around the whip as a large, tanuki-like figure in a priest's hat formed before him, arms outstretched.

"Saikou Zettai Bougyo: Shukaku no Tate!" Gaara called out, glaring at the monstrosity coldly "You may have the 'ultimate spear'…" he allotted, "But nothing can pierce my 'ultimate shield'."

--

"Kabuto…" Orochimaru called out calmly, eyeing his servant as he frittered about doing God only knew what "How much longer will Kimimaro last?"

"For the moment, he should be fine for a while yet." Kabuto replied, "I treated his body as best I could, but without his clan's medical history, there's little much I can do." He eyed his master "All I could dig up was the account of how he became the last of the Kaguya clan…how the whole lot challenged the combined military might of Kirigakure on their own."

"The Kaguya clan was a group of outdated warmongers who could only appreciate death and combat." Orochimaru replied mockingly "Only on the battlefield could they find any form of peace." He chuckled "But in these times of peace, such savagery was no longer in demand, and to challenge an organized military force with brute strength alone…like cattle to the slaughter."

"And yet…" Kabuto reminded his master, eyeing him from the edge of the light cast by the sole candle "you deemed it a waste to simply let him die off."

"Heh…who wouldn't have wanted that Kekkei Genkai?" the serpent snorted, gripping his chair limb "An impenetrable skeletal frame which can resist any physical attack…bones which could instantly be changed to the sharpest spear point…"

--

Lee sat, a silent witness of the battle between these two colossal shinobi titans, both of which he had fought, to no apparent avail. 'Gaara-kun's Suna no Tate is without a doubt an ultimate defense,' he noted grimly 'it takes only one fight for anyone to know that.' He eyed the newly formed statue of sand and clenched his fist. 'And while the shape is awkward, the density of the sand has most likely increased! There's no way that monster and reach him!'

Even as he spoke, Kimimaro lunged forward, driving the tip of his 'ultimate spear' into the belly of Gaara's 'ultimate shield', sand erupting from the structure as the transformed Kaguya pressed forwards, striving to pierce through and impale the troublesome jinchuuriki, eyes glaring at him from around the side of the structure.

An audible cracking noise started up, Kimimaro's scowl deepening as his 'flower' developed cracks, shattering under the pressure and revealing the bare bone and muscle of his arm, even as sand wrapped around him.

"I gathered the strongest minerals from the soil, used my chakra to pressurize them and kneaded them into my sand." Gaara explained, holding the annoyed monster's gaze impassively "That move of yours…a Kekkei Genkai?"

"Indeed," Kimimaro allotted, his face emotionless "The Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku…" he frowned "I alone possess this ability."

"So you're the last of your clan…" Gaara noted flatly, "Which means that the clan perishes today…along with those annoying bones of yours."

"That may be so…" Kimimaro agreed "My body is ravaged with illness…my days were numbered before this fight began…" he turned grim "And yet…I will not be extinguished, for I am not alone."

He looked into the redhead's eyes, absolute certainty in his gaze "While I am but an arm of Orochimaru-sama's, I performed my duties for his aspirations." He stood tall "As such, I will remain in Orochimaru-sama's heart forever."

Gaara was silent for a moment, processing what he had heard before sighing, as if disappointed with the man. "More of Orochimaru's brainwashing…" the redhead muttered, almost pityingly "How unfortunate...you have my condolences."

Kimimaro blinked at the teen's words, and would have replied were it not for the fact he was currently sinking into the writhing sands beneath him.

--

'I've used to many big moves,' Gaara noted, hands in the rat seal as he focused on sinking his opponent 'Chakra's running low, have to finish this NOW.'

Kimimaro struggled, only for his entire body to be pulled into the sands, glaring up at his foe impassively "Formidable indeed…" he muttered, even as he sank beneath the sands.

"I'll drag you down and bury you 200m below the surface." Gaara stated, as he match the monster glare for glare "With so much pressure from the sand on every inch of your body, you won't be able to move a finger."

Kimimaro's glare was cut off as he sank beneath the sands, which continued to writhe and swirl about as their master continued to press down on it, not letting up until he sensed no movement at all.

"You…you did it…" Lee exclaimed, eyeing the silent battlefield from where he crouched on the patch of sand Gaara had used to shield him "This time you really did it."

Gaara was silent, eyeing the patch of sand before him suspiciously, too used to being ambushed but confident in the fact that NOTHING could claw it's way out of THIS particular grave, not even one of Orochimaru's puppets.

"…Mai…" a voice echoed, the teens' eyes widening as they realized it was Kimimaro's, rising from the depths beneath them like some vengeful ghost "…Sawarabi no mai…"

The two allies could only gape in shock as numerous bone spikes burst from the ground, tearing up the grass and sand and stabbing towards the sky, their eyes widening as the projectiles made right for them.

--

"Shouldn't he be here by now?" Orochimaru demanded, eyeing the candle before him with a cold, serpentine air "I'm getting impatient."

"Now, now…" Kabuto offered placatingly, though making sure he was out of range of a retaliatory strike "you know what they say, a watched kettle never boils."

"Kabuto…" Orochimaru warned, eye glinting with malice as he glared at the silver-haired medic warningly "Do NOT patronize me."

"My apologies." The medic offered humbly "it's just…Orochimaru-sama…as your greatest servant, it doesn't matter who or what stands in his way, NOTHING could overcome Kimimaro."

Orochimaru was silent, eyeing the candle before him as if it were an hourglass, the flame flickering in an unseen breeze.

--

'Am I…dying?' Kimimaro wondered, eyes open but unable to see, ears hearing nothing but the sound of his own, echoing heartbeat and the rustling of the seal as it dimmed 'is this it…was I able to complete…my mission?'

An image of Sasuke dashing towards the woods entered his mind, the teen's laughter echoing in his thoughts.

'The vessel…survived the cursed seal.' He noted, a sense of relief filling his being as he felt his heart slow, only to frown as he recalled the blonde youth with the clones 'He was strong…and determined to bring the vessel back' he growled 'Damn the other four…how could they have failed in such a manner?'

"…tell me why the damn snake wants Sasuke so bad…" the blonde's voice echoed in his mind "last I checked he wasn't hurting for butt-monkeys."

'Disrespectful wretch…' the Kaguya growled, not registering the blonde's words, but the insult to Orochimaru 'how dare he speak so brazenly of Orochimaru-sama!'

"Do not worry!" Lee's voice added to the cacophony "I swear on the 'nice guy' pose that I shall defeat this foe and come assist you!"

'Not only him…that odd youth dared to consider me a stepping stone.' The Kaguya noted, ire rising 'I! Orochimaru-sama's most devoted follower!'

"More of Orochimaru's brainwashing…" Gaara's voice muttered, the redhead's voice sounding oddly pitying, which only rubbed salt in the man's wounds "How unfortunate...you have my condolences."

'How dare they…!' Kimimaro growled, eyes snapping open in a golden glow as the seal reasserted itself, the corrosive fire burning away as his body as he struggled against the bonds that held him 'How DARE they?!'

--

"You…saved me…" Lee gasped, crouching on a floating cloud of sand "I never imagined you could do something amazing like this."

"It's just the sand I always carry around with me." Gaara replied "Switching roles and letting It do the work is just a matter of imagination."

They looked down, eyeing the forest of bones that had sprung up beneath them with exhausted trepidation. "He was a formidable opponent," Gaara allotted, eyeing the faint traces of sand between the growths "but that's the last of him, there's no way in hell he can get out of that alive."

"It's not brainwashing…" a familiar voice growled out, the duo spinning round in disbelief to gape at the figure that had formed from one of the bones, a second 'flower' spear forming on his right arm "It's all my own reasoning!" He lunged forwards, eyes glowing demonically as he screamed at them, rage and hatred in his voice "WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW?!"

Gaara and Lee blocked with their arms, a feeble amount of sand rising halfway in an attempt to block for them whilst maintaining the clouds, only to blink, lowering their arms in confusion when the blow of rage failed to come. They looked up at the silent form before them, face frozen in his final scream as it hardened to become a piece of the bone he'd grown out of, red mercury falling from his lips to the floor below.

"He's dead." Gaara noted, eyeing the fallen Kaguya carefully, reaching out and attempting to close the man's eyes only to flinch, pulling back as if stung "Bone."

Lee flinched, nodding towards a patch on trees that had escaped the mass deforestation of Gaara's avalanche.

--

In the serpent's lair, the sole candle flame suddenly extinguished, eliciting a snort from Orochimaru as he looked into the darkness with his serpentine glare. "I couldn't give a shit what happens to Kimimaro anymore." He hissed, tossing all thoughts of the youth from his mind "He means nothing to me now…Sasuke-kun is the one I'm waiting for."

Orochimaru's gaze intensified, so much so the gold of his eyes glowed menacingly as Kabuto attempted to relight the candle "He will come to me…" the serpent stated, confidence in his tone "and I shall make every attempt to see that happens!"

--

Gaara and lee lay where they had fallen, their backs to the trees as they tried to catch their breath, completely spent after their battle with Orochimaru's most loyal, so easily forgotten, subordinate. Had they taken the time to notice, they might have seen the sole flower that grew at the base of the tusk he'd become a part of, bathed in the man's blood.

"He had us." Gaara panted, eyes shut as he gathered his wits about him "A second more and we'd have been the ones lying face up."

"That's not true…" Lee opined, looking at the redhead as he spoke "My sensei always tells me that a big part of a person's skill is luck."

"Sensei?" Gaara repeated, recalling the older version of the teen from the chunin exams with a blink and a frown "Oh…that meddlesome busybody."

"He wasn't meddling! And He isn't a busybody!" Lee countered, rising to his idol's defense "What happened was because he knew I wasn't strong enough! That's all! Don't talk about Gai-sensei like that!"

Gaara eyed the fuming teen carefully, before looking forward, deep in thought as he waited for him to simmer down. "It's the same for you…" he noted "When you feel the honor of the one you respect has been insulted you become enraged, as if it were you yourself that had been insulted."

He looked at the sky, before trailing his gaze towards the silent forest of bones, which once had seemed so lively and white, now stood dead and graying, the chakra that had made them deadly leaving them as nothing more than a silent testament to one man's drive to fulfill his master's bidding.

"The stronger your respect for your idol," the redhead noted calmly, Lee following his gaze to their opponent "…the more precious they are to you…" he closed his eyes, as if in prayer as re recalled Kimimaro's words "The harder you fight for them."

Gaara opened his eyes, regarding the silent form for a second before looking heavenward "He's just like him…" the redhead noted, Causing Lee to blink at him in confusion "he reminds me of Uzumaki Naruto too." He sighed "However…the person precious to you doesn't necessarily have to be good."

"I fail to see how anyone could think someone as evil and un-youthful as Orochimaru was precious to them!" Lee opined, looking deadly serious, until Gaara spoke again.

"I disagree." The redhead muttered, sweat trailing down the side of his face "Even if you know they're evil…you cannot overcome your own loneliness." He frowned "I know that all too well…"

Lee blinked, looking heavenward along with the redhead, before reaching out and patting him on the shoulder, earning a confused blink from Gaara. "When my wounds have all healed up…" the Taijutsu specialist stated "Do you want me to teach you how to fight up close?" he smirked "Just incase anyone gets past your sand…like before."

Gaara blinked, eyeing the first person to have EVER struck him, not to mention dealt the most damage without drawing blood. A small smile crossed his features as he did so "I'd like that." He admitted, earning a grin from Lee.

"YOSH!" Lee exclaimed, giving him a thumbs up as sunlight flashed across his million-dollar smile "When we get back, I'll ask Gai sensei to get you a youthful outfit just like mine!"

"What's so youthful about it?" Gaara asked, eyeing the green leotard in confusion, desensitized by it's oddity by the fact he'd once been clinically insane, even as Lee ranted on about the flames of youth and the greatness of his sensei.

--

Water crashed in a tumultuous current as it fell between the two massive stone figures. Like something out of a Tolkien novel they stood, eyeing each other with their impassive stares, hands held out in the standard half ram symbol, their other hands on their weapons.

If one looked close, they'd recognize one as Senju Hashirama, the Shodai Hokage and Tsunade's grandfather. The other was dressed in similar armor, but only one who knew of the battle that was fought here would recognize this man, who had opposed Hashirama as his fiercest rival, the only man to match him in skill in both Jutsu and tactics, Uchiha Madara.

Naruto stood atop Hashirama's head, eyeing the back of the youth he'd chased to the edge of Hi no Kuni, the youth he, at one point, had aspired to surpass, the one person he'd felt had understood the pain of loneliness. The person, he feared, had been corrupted by the clandestine whisperings of Orochimaru and his nest of vipers.

"Sasuke!" he called out, glaring at the Uchiha's back, eyes boring into the Uchiha crest emblazoned there "I know you can here me teme!"

Sasuke didn't reply at first, merely continuing to stand with his back to the teen, before turning to face the blonde, face neutral and eyes shut, a smirk forming as he opened his eyes, taking in Naruto's look of horror.

"Hey," the Uchiha greeted, one eye a golden orb floating in darkness as he stood with his hands in his pockets "Knew you'd catch up…Naruto."

--

That was deep...seriously deep...but after such a long wait, the final battle draws near.

Will Naruto bring Sasuke back?

Will Sasuke escape to Orochimaru?

Or will they kill each other first?

Next time...the final battle begins!

R&R or no chapter for you!