Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything associated with it.
I do own this particular fan fiction.
Well, here it is.
Your next installment of Leaf warriors.
Do read the Jutsu list at the end, especially the last Jutsu, because it explains a little bit about this story and the direction I am trying to go in.
Enjoy.
'Normal Thoughts'
'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'
'summons thoughts'
"KYUUBI SPEAKS"
"Normal People Speak"
"Summons Speak"
Fire
He could feel it, see it, and taste it. The fear of the people who would be no more when the day was over. It pleased him to see the village he had turned his back on suffering and cowering in the face of his power. From where he stood facing his teacher, Orochimaru could see the small isolated fires already springing up around Konoha.
Knowing his teacher wouldn't make any attacking moves immediately after he had summoned the Shodaime and Nidaime, Orochimaru had decided to take a look around.
'Impossible. Konoha shinobi are good, but they can't be good enough to have already neutralized an attack of this scale. The only possible explanation is that man. So he has definitely returned to Konoha. Tch, I will just have to kill him after I kill Sarutobi-sensei. I can't have him helping that Kyuubi brat grow any stronger.' Orochimaru thought with a sneer as he saw his summoned snakes disappear in the distance after being disemboweled by a larger toad.
Putting his hands into his robes, Orochimaru pulled out two kunai with special tags on them. "Enough chit-chat Sarutobi-sensei, I think it's about time you went and met the other Hokage's on the other side." Orochimaru said as he put the two kunai into the heads of the past Hokage's.
"Gomen Sarutobi-kun." Shodaime said as he started changing into an unscathed version of himself. The dirt and injuries that had formerly plagued him in his last battle while on earth started fading, and his face gained a more serious robotic quality "I wish there was some other way."
"Hai sensei. I wish so too." Sarutobi said while the Nidaime just nodded as he too lost his injuries. "But I will protect Konoha no matter what happens to me."
"Fitting last words sensei, because you will meet your end today." Orochimaru said with glee.
"I won't let you guys down."
"Naruto, watch out." Sakura shouted as Naruto turned back to face the onrushing Gaara.
Blurring through one handed seals on his left hand, Naruto opened his right palm to catch Gaara's punch.
"Fuuton: Migite no kami." Naruto said as Gaara was pushed back by the wind pressure.
Gaara flew backward from the sudden attack. Landing on a sturdy branch, Gaara looked crazily at Naruto and his teammates. "Mother shall enjoy feeding on your blood, especially you Uzumaki Naruto."
"I will not lose when there is so much on the line, but I am a bit curious. Sabaku no Gaara, why do you fight?" Naruto asked.
"Kukuku. I fight for myself, because I love only myself. That is the only way one can obtain true strength." Gaara said with a crazed smile. "I have obtained true strength, have I not Uzumaki Naruto?"
"No."
"……" Gaara's crazed smile fell momentarily at Naruto's bold answer.
"You may have power, but I can't lose to someone like you who doesn't really understand what it means to be truly strong." Naruto said with a frown on his face. His frown deepened when Gaara started laughing even harder than before. "It would seem that words will not get to you. I will make you understand the difference in our beliefs. Only one person will be left standing at the end of this fight Gaara-san."
"Kukuku, come Uzumaki Naruto. Mother is getting impatient and only the taste of your blood will satisfy her." Gaara said as he prepared himself to jump to the branch Naruto was standing on.
Sasuke who had his sharingan activated grabbed Sakura's arm and jumped away from the center of the fight. Naruto put his hand into his pouch and pulled out a kunai with several exploding tags attached to the end. Hurling the kunai at Gaara, Naruto saw Gaara's sand react to protect him. It formed a protective shield in front of Gaara but Naruto just smiled at the action.
Gaara was beginning to wonder if the explosions from the tags were ever going to go off. A thud on the tree behind brought his attention to the extra sizzling going on behind him. Turning around Gaara noticed the exploding tags and kunai lodged in the tree behind him.
Boom.
Gaara's body was thrown out of the smoke while Naruto jumped up unto a higher branch to avoid being hit. The explosions did not cause nearly as much damage as Naruto had been hoping for because an enraged Gaara changed directions instantaneously and was coming after him.
'Kuso, his speed just increased. It is definitely the effect of the youki in his system. The more he is exposed to, the stronger and faster he becomes. I need to end this quick.' Naruto thought as he crouched on the underside of the branch and slapped another exploding tag unto that branch before pushing himself to another branch.
Gaara smashed through the branch a few moments later and a huge explosion rocked the area he occupied. It was much larger than regular explosions because Naruto had upgraded it. Gaara's silhouette flew out of the explosion area again, with a minor sand cocoon covering him. His eye's showed anger and were solely concentrated on Naruto. Gaara's killing intent was flowing out in waves now, pushing Sakura to her knees.
Sasuke grunted in irritation as he picked Sakura up bridal style and jumped further away from the area the two jinchuuriki's were fighting. 'She would be of no use to us unconscious. Better move further away so she can continue healing me. The sooner I am able to fight again, the better off we will be.'
Naruto on the other hand was left to fend off the raging Gaara while trying to come up with an appropriate attack plan. That wouldn't have been so hard if Gaara didn't keep on increasing in size, strength, and speed. 'Kuso, if I don't end this soon, there is no telling how strong he will get' Naruto thought.
"Suna Shuriken" Came the bloodlust filled voice of Sabaku no Gaara. Naruto cursed as he tried to evade the sharpened sand. Such a move was annoying for Naruto, because he had believed that Gaara would be more or less the same as him in his kyuubified form. Naruto in his Kyuubified form could not use jutsu.
Snarling as three of the shuriken tore through his clothes, Naruto caught sight of Gaara leaping towards the branch he had just jumped to. Suspended in the air and having nowhere to go, Naruto performed a discrete handseal and concentrated by closing his eyes. When he opened them, his eyes had turned yellow and a single star remained in the center. 'Let's see how fast you are now.' Naruto thought as he and Gaara got closer to the branch. For a second, it looked like Gaara's huge fist was about to slam into the side of Naruto's face, but there was no impact and no sound of pain.
Gaara regained his balance by landing on the branch that Naruto had been on only a second prior. His demonically enhanced eyes had seen the seals on Naruto's bandages glow yellow before he mysteriously disappeared. Gaara frowned as he looked around. Uzumaki Naruto had to be somewhere around here. That was definitely a speed technique, and if it was still in use, he would definitely be able to sense it. Then quicker than his sand could react, Naruto started appearing and disappearing from within his guard, while delivering crushing blows and cuts that didn't bother Gaara very much. Gaara's sand continued to chase him around frantically, but failing to catch him every time. Had it been anyone else, the person would be nearing death from the inflicted blows, but Gaara's armor protected him.
Gaara raised his hands into the air, maniacal glee written all over his face as he looked towards the heavens "Is this your power, Uzumaki Naruto? Is this all you have got to show me?" Gaara shouted, and as soon as he finished speaking, Naruto stopped and landed several trees away.
The smile on Naruto's face was noticeable as his eyes returned to their normal color. The bandages on his two arms were unrolled, revealing his bleeding arms.
"You are definitely a special one Gaara, but you are too overconfident in your abilities." Naruto shouted, which got Gaara's attention but garnered confusion from all those present. "Allow me to explain. Over the past few months since I found out my heritage, I have been training in an art that not many people follow: Fuuinjutsu. Initially, it was difficult to add the knowledge I had gained from studying this subject to anything apart from the curse seal that Orochimaru-teme gives out so freely. That is until I met Jiraiya of the Sannin. He told me about some of the ideas the Yondaime Hokage had thought up when he was still alive, about combat Fuuinjutsu. Do you understand?"
Gaara looked at Naruto in confusion. Sasuke, Sakura and Temari also looked at Naruto in confusion from their hiding spots. Then Sasuke's eyes widened and he activated his sharingan to confirm his suspicion. A smirk covered his face at what he saw. "It's over." He said calmly towards Sakura who looked at him like he had grown a second head. Seeing Naruto about to continue his explanation, she merely ignored Sasuke.
"Ah, I guess there is no way for you to understand, except I give it to you straight. Fuuinjutsu is used to create things like exploding tags, flash tags, store items and all that. It usually requires some chemicals and other materials sealed into a certain object to create the desired effect. The human body naturally has most of the required components. What will happen when a seal is put on an opponent during a fight?" Naruto said as he smiled. "Pretty efficient and effective, right?"
Gaara didn't get the chance to reply as Naruto raised his hands into another seal. "Fuuin: Kai."
Explosions rocked the forest and people all around Konoha turned to watch the spectacle.
The fighting continued inside the erected barrier, but Orochimaru took a moment to look at the source of the last explosion. 'Just how stupid are my subordinates and these sand shinobi? There is no tactical advantage in setting off explosions in the forest. No, they wouldn't be so stupid as to incur my wrath like that.' Orochimaru thought. A flare of chakra and a rising body of sand then made itself known to all who could sense chakra and see above the trees. 'Ah, so the wildcard finally appears. He should be able to keep Jiraiya busy until the rest of the leaf village is burnt to the ground.'
Bringing his attention back to the fight at hand, Orochimaru smiled as Sarutobi was trapped in the forest that the re-incarnated Shodaime had just created. There was absolutely no way Konoha could survive now.
Shikamaru frowned as he and all the toads under his care turned towards the explosions that went off. The pleased look that most of the toads were sporting made Shikamaru believe that it was definitely one of Naruto's techniques.
'Not that I am very surprised. He was always one for big light shows anyway.' Shikamaru thought as he started turning away to continue their mission.
Protecting Konoha had never been simpler in his opinion. These toads listened to his every command and were extremely skilled team fighters. They were taking down groups of two or three chuunin easily enough and they never seemed to lose focus. 'Just like Naruto to get such willing allies.'
Shikamaru turned around and motioned for Ino and the toads to follow him. Midway through their first jump, the chakra came flooding through their senses. Ino dropped to her knees as soon as she landed and Shikamaru had to fight the urge not to throw up. It wasn't just chakra, but there was also a huge amount of killing intent mixed in with it. So much killing intent that Shikamaru was sure that everyone around Konoha felt it, non-shinobi included.
Willing his body to move, Shikamaru turned around and started to trudge back towards the area Naruto was fighting at. 'I am not sure what I will be able to do, but he is my cousin. My flesh and blood! I refuse to lose him.'
A webbed hand grabbed his shoulder and stopped his movements. Shikamaru looked back to see Gamakatsu with an apologetic face. "Gomen Shikamaru-san, but I will not let you go back there."
"….Why? He may be strong, but you can't be expecting him to take on whatever is releasing that chakra by himself."
"Trust in Naruto. He is more capable than you can imagine."
Shikamaru looked between the bigger toad and the other smaller ones. They all held a determination that he had never possessed. They were going to complete their missions and meet up with Naruto and the rest of the rookies later. Shikamaru smiled and went over to help the slowly recovering Ino off the ground.
"Shika, will Team 7 be alright?" Ino asked. Her voice betraying her fear and doubt she felt in Team 7's abilities and hers.
"Yes. I have complete faith in them. Let's keep going." Shikamaru said to Ino.
Ino could only look on in shock. She had never seen this side of Shikamaru before. She couldn't even remember a time when he hadn't used that negative word. She was just about to ask what brought on the sudden change and who possessed such a massive killing intent when he spoke.
"It's too troublesome to explain."
He hadn't changed a bit.
Neji had no problem disposing of the few enemy-nin who crossed his path. His eyes nullified all sneak attacks, and Tenten was supporting him and his new allies from a safe distance. Not many people would be able to survive such a combination. He found his mind wondering to the summons that had taken down so many shinobi. They were by his standards, the most coordinated group of summons he had ever seen. Their understanding of each other was on par to some of the better teamwork oriented chuunin teams that he had seen.
'If Naruto Uzumaki wasn't holding this much back during our fight, I wonder if I would be alive right now. For a gennin to be so strong, and carry a burden like I do…. It must mean there is a chance for me too. I will definitely have to apologize to Hinata-sama, once this is over.' Neji thought, before he was suddenly hit with the killing intent. Straining his eyes in that direction, Neji was able to make out a huge body of rapidly rising sand. "If we go there, we will be nothing but sitting ducks. We should keep going and pray for the best."
The toads all nodded their accent, while Tenten got closer to him. "What was that?"
"A giant tanuki made of sand is releasing killing intent. Someone must have pissed it off." Neji replied. "Let's keep moving, because the quicker we get this village secure, the better for all of us."
"Hai."
"Kuso!" Naruto said as he picked himself out of the rubble and tree remnants that had fallen with him after the explosion, and Gaara's subsequent growth. Growling as he picked himself up, Naruto surveyed the damage. He had a few bruises and cuts on his person, but the bandages wrapped around his body took most of the damage. The seals were probably ruined to an extent and his chakra and speed jutsu would be less effective now. Gaara had apparently grown a lot bigger, but not big enough to have reached the area where Sasuke and Sakura were hiding. He sighed in annoyance, almost missing the fact that Gaara's eyes had now focused solely on him.
Before he could even come up with a half decent plan to beat this new and improved Gaara, a wave of sand enveloped him and he heard Sakura's desperate screams and could almost see the pain in Sasuke's eyes as the sand crushed him slowly. 'So this is how it ends, huh? If only I could have been a little bit stronger and a little less careless with my chakra, then maybe I could have won.' Naruto thought. He tried to let out a chuckle, but that didn't help as he gurgled on his own blood.
"BRAT!"
Naruto almost stood at attention when he heard the anger in that voice. He settled down as he realized he was back in his own mindscape. "One month."
"WHAT?"
"You haven't shown your face in one month. Why now?"
"BECAUSE I REFUSE TO DIE TO AN EXISTENSE AS PATHETIC AS THE ICHIBI'S. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
"We will both die someday, get over it." Naruto turned as another presence landed on his shoulder.
"……"
"THIS IS UNLIKE YOU NARUTO. I KNOW YOU ARE OUT OF CHAKRA AND YOU ARE ANGRY AT KYUUBI FOR NOT GIVING YOU CHAKRA WHEN YOU NEEDED IT THIS PAST MONTH, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD GIVE UP ON LIVING." Keigan said. Naruto looked genuinely sorry. "WE STILL HAVE ONE LAST OPTION."
Naruto caught on fast and his shock was made known from the widening of his eyes. "I probably wouldn't survive after using the last well. Kyuubi's youki would be a better choice than that if it comes down to it."
Naruto barely noticed the chilling breeze that passed through his mindscape. Pushing it to the back of his mind, Naruto decided to focus on the task at hand.
"OH, SO YOU WOULD LIKE TO LIVE NOW? I HAD MY REASONS FOR NOT GIVING YOU YOUKI WHEN YOU NEEDED IT MOST. I WAS NOT MISTAKEN; YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN IF I HAD GIVEN IT TO YOU. YOU HAD BETTER DIG DEEP AND LISTEN TO THE BIRD, BECAUSE THIS IS YOUR ONLY OPTION NOW. KNOW THIS: SHOULD YOU FAIL, THE ICHIBI WILL NOT BE STOPPED. HE WILL KILL EVERY LAST PERSON YOU HOLD PRECIOUS. HE HAS ABSOLUTELY NO MERCY…."
Naruto's resolve strengthened after the last part of the Kyuubi's speech. He watched as the Kyuubi retreated to the back of his cage. "THAT WAS CERTAINLY INTERESTING. UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T HAVE ANYMORE TIME TO CHAT. AFTER YOU RELEASE THE LAST WELL, I ESTIMATE THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO DEFEAT HIM IN LESS THAN THIRTY MINUTES. ANY LONGER, AND THE KYUUBI WILL HAVE TO STEP IN."
"There will be no need for that. I will finish this without that teme's help." Keigan smiled as he took off into the sky. Naruto's body disintegrated into blue light particles.
Sakura was hugging her knees to her chest and Sasuke was looking at Gaara atop the head of the sand tanuki with nothing less than a murderous glare. It was only Sakura's hand in his that kept him from charging in and dealing some damage to the person who had killed his best friend.
"Kukuku, Uzumaki Naruto. You were not strong enough. If you had loved only yourself, then maybe you would have still been alive." The transformed Gaara said as he continued to compress the sand that contained Naruto. He frowned when he felt resistance once more. Anger filled his mind when he heard Naruto shout.
"Kuchiyose no jutsu: Gama Senshuken."
The sand that had wrapped around Naruto suddenly exploded and was replaced by a huge cloud of smoke appeared. Sasuke and Sakura watched the cloud closely as new hope filled their hearts. An orange webbed hand came out of the smoke holding a huge pipe. The hand was followed by the massive orange body of a toad. The toad wore a jacket with Senshuken written in kanji on the back. On the toads back was a bloody Naruto, his hands forming a basic chakra gathering seal and his eyes set into a glare directed straight towards Gaara.
"IS THIS THE RESON YOU SUMMONED ME GAKI?" the toad bellowed.
"Hai, Gamabunta." Naruto said in a voice barely audible to his teammates. They would surely recognize the name of the summon who helped to take down the Kyuubi. "This battle has escalated to a point where you were my last option."
"AH, I SEE." Gamabunta looked at Naruto's face and could sense the eagerness and desire to end the battle as quickly as possible. "THEN LET US RID THE WORLD OF THIS VERMIN SOON. I WILL GO AT FULL POWER FROM THE VERY BEGINNING BOY. YOU HAD BETTER MATCH THAT."
"Uzumaki Naruto, you are very interesting. Mother will truly enjoy your blood now." Gaara said, but was totally ignored.
"Hai Gamabunta, I would have it no other way." Naruto said as he braced himself for any sudden movement.
Gamabunta didn't disappointed as he moved forward with enough speed to uproot the trees around him, and unsheathed his blade in one fluid motion while delivering an upward cut to the arm of a stunned Gaara. The sand provided enough resistance to put Gamabunta and Naruto in mortal danger, because the other arm of the sand body was already in motion. Naruto jumped high, and Gamabunta ducked low to avoid the swipe that would have decapitated at least one of them.
"Fuuton: Migite no Kami." Naruto said as he aimed directly for Gaara whose body was still partially outside the sand body. Gamabunta merely gripped his blade tighter and pushed off his strong hind legs and into the sky, completely severing the aforementioned sand limb, and catching Naruto from a very long fall. They landed a few hundred feet away from the sand demon to observe their work. What they saw disturbed them.
Gaara was still in his former position relatively unharmed. His fingers were locked in a seal and he whispered something that Naruto and Gamabunta were unable to catch. A second later, he fell asleep and the eyes of the huge astral sand monster changed from gold to black with a gold star covering the center. The astral body gave a hearty demonic laugh before it focused it's sights on Naruto and Gamabunta.
"IT SEEMS HE DECIDED TO GET SERIOUS AS WELL. SHUKAKU IS FINALLY OUT AND HE WILL BE A LOT STRONGER THAN THE MEDIUM, GAARA. HE MUST HAVE USED SOME KIND OF SLEEP JUTSU ON HIMSELF. WE WILL HAVE TO WAKE HIM UP." Gamabunta said to Naruto. Naruto nodded in understanding.
'So this is Gaara's demon. Compared to mine, he doesn't exude nearly as much hatred or confidence.' Naruto thought. He was brought out of his musings as the Ichibi sucked in a huge amount of air. Rearing its single arm back, the Ichibi focused on Naruto and Gamabunta.
"Fūton: Renkūdan." Was all Naruto and Gamabunta heard before Gamabunta jumped into the air.
Gamabunta immediately regretted his decision as he saw several more coming towards their position, and they had no way to move. Gathering the necessary chakra as quickly as he could, Gamabunta spat out three huge balls of water at the incoming compacted air missiles.
"Suiton: Mizu Tama." Gamabunta shouted. Naruto calmly watched as the projectiles cancelled each other out, and he braced himself as he saw that Shukaku had sent a fourth projectile. Gamabunta saw it as well and put his blade in front of himself to provide a weak defense. It actually managed to cut the air missile in two, but Gamabunta was still hit and pushed back.
Once the duo landed again, they kicked up a lot of dust and wind. Naruto's voice overshadowed everything else though. "Do it now Bunta!"
A grunt of exertion was heard from Gamabunta and the smiling face of Shukaku prepared himself for the inevitable charge. Instead, all that came out was a stream of oil. Sasuke's eyes widened as he grabbed Sakura and took off in the other direction of the battle.
'With all that wind, and all that oil and all these trees, anyone could make a blazing inferno. But someone of Naruto's caliber will only bring utter destruction. What is he thinking?' Sasuke thought.
Shukaku was thinking along the same lines, because he started bringing sand from anywhere he could get it, and adding it to his armor. Naruto's voice cut it all short though.
"It's too late Shukaku. Katon: Gamayu Endan."
The amount of fire and the intensity of the heat produced were truly amazing. Sasuke was thankful that he knew what a devastating combination like that could bring forth. They would have had third degree burns if they had remained in their former positions. Sakura gave him a wordless thanks for dragging her along. Looking back, they saw Naruto and Gamabunta patiently waiting for Shukaku to show signs of life. Sending a quick water jutsu towards the rapidly growing fires, doused most of them and Naruto looked slightly relieved at that. It also showed a smaller Shukaku encase in glass with Gaara on top of his head. It seemed that Shukaku had gathered enough sand to protect the boy from the heat.
Gamabunta and Naruto were not going to allow that remain that way. They dashed forwards as sand started rising to intercept their path but they cut through it unperturbed. That last attack had taken a lot out of both of them and they would be hard pressed to continue fighting at the level they had been previously. It was definitely time to end this fight.
Sand sprung up and grabbed Gamabunta's leg but they were close enough to do mid range damage to Shukaku. With his forward momentum, Gamabunta hurtled his blade at Shukaku's torso hoping to break the surrounding glass and deal some minor damage to Shukaku. He also had another reason.
"GO GAKI. YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP THE MEDIUM OR WE WILL LOSE THIS FIGHT. A BLOW TO ANY PART OF HIS BODY WILL DO." Gamabunta said as he let himself get pulled by the sand below him.
Naruto then used his own forward momentum and jumped off Gamabunta's head, a few seconds behind the blade. He put his hands in a complex seal and closed his eyes. This was the last of his chakra. He had no more chakra wells remaining and his own normal reserves were exhausted. Everything depended on these last few moments. The lives of his friends, their families, his family, and the village he had sworn to protect. He wasn't sure what he was planning to do from this distance, but something just felt right about being so high off the ground. Almost like he was at home. The faces of his friends and the people he was protecting flashed through his mind, and he knew there was no way he could lose.
Unfortunately, his eyes were still closed, and he never saw the giant appendage coming towards him. All that was at stake, and he was going to get swatted away by a giant hand, made of sand. No one could say anything because they didn't want to believe that they had lost despite everything. Konoha would surely fall if the Ichibi had time to recover his strength and take on the rest of Konoha.
'Naruto, fly.' A voice said in Naruto's mind.
Everyone was surprised when the sand hand impacted nothing. Everyone's attention was drawn to the shattering of glass that indicated that the blade had finally broken through. That incident didn't hold everyone's attention for long though. Because in front of a gawking Gaara was Naruto. The blond boy had his fist buried in the red-heads stomach. No one breathed, no one moved, until Gaara was sent hurtling several meters away and all the sand around starting dropping to the forest floor.
"NOOOO, I WAS ONLY OUT FOR A LITTLE BIT. I WILL KILL YOU ALL WHEN I COME OUT TO PLAY AGAIN." Shukaku shouted as his body dissolved into a mound of sand.
Gamabunta looked at Naruto as he landed on the sand. The boy looked absolutely exhausted and Gamabunta could tell that he was straining to keep himself conscious. "YOU FOUGHT WELL GAKI. FEEL FREE TO CALL ON ME ANYTIME YOU NEED ME, BUT WE WILL HAVE TO MAKE IT OFFICIAL AS SOON AS YOU GET OLD ENOUGH TO DRINK SAKE. THAT TECHNIQUE THAT YOU USED, WHAT IS IT CALLED?" Gamabunta asked, but frowned when Naruto didn't reply and only continued looking the Gaara's direction. "BAKA! ANSWER MY QUESTION BEFORE I TURN YOU TO PASTE ON THE GROUND…."
Shock was written all over Gamabunta's face as Naruto turned partially to him. "Gomen Bunta, it seems I overdid it this time, and I am unable to see anything."
Streaks of blood rolled down Naruto's eyes and an exhausted look marred his usually cheerful face. His eyes closed, but he continued speaking. "I don't really think I can walk right now, and I don't have enough chakra to even be standing. I can tell that Gaara is still alive, although he maybe in a worse condition than I am. Could you please take me to him and give me some of your remaining chakra, so if the situation arises, I can finish what I started?"
'LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON. LEAVING NO STONE UNTURNED, LEAVING NO ENEMY UNHARMED. ARASHI, IF YOU HAD LIVED, HOW MUCH STRONGER WOULD THIS BOY HAVE BEEN?' were Gamabunta's thoughts as he picked Naruto up and gave him some chakra before setting him down in the clearing that Gaara had finally come to rest at. "I'LL SEE YOU LATER GAKI!"
Naruto nodded to Gamabunta and turned to face the direction that he could sense Gaara was in. Naruto could not see Gaara's face, but he knew Gaara was afraid. That last technique was something that would instill fear in people. It had instilled a fear in him as well, because he didn't know the technique previously. It was weird, but natural. It was almost like a force of nature. A force that should be feared.
Gaara only confirmed Naruto's assumptions.
"Stay away from me." Was Gaara's frantic shout from a few yards away. Naruto stopped as his ears reeled from the volume, but he let a small frown come across his formerly neutral face.
"Says the person who has killed numerous people, because he loves himself and no one else." Naruto replied. "Why do you deserve to live, when you showed no mercy to anyone else?
Naruto thought that the silence meant that Gaara was at least considering his words. The silence was broken with a small amount of killing intent. It seemed Gaara had gained some of his willpower back. "You do not know what it is to have lived like I have. It was either kill or be killed, and I chose my life over theirs. You don't know what it's like to have the only person who loved you, try to kill you because of the power you hold."
Naruto visibly saddened at hearing Gaara's words. "My life may have been nowhere near as harsh as yours, but I did have attempts on my life, and I did have people who posed as friends try to stab me in the back. When you carry around a rampaging demon, things tend to be that bad." Naruto said and he had Gaara's attention. Naruto paused to let the words sink in, but continued soon after. "But if you kill the people who torment you, then you are no better than the demons that they hate, and I refuse to be like the demon I hold prisoner."
"H-how?"
"How am I still sane? It's the same reason that I defeated you. It's the reason I stay in Konoha. It's the reason I will become Hokage. It's because of my precious people. The people who stand by my side through rain and shine, the good times and the bad times. They are the people who saved me from the darkness, and protecting them is the least I can do." Naruto said, as he sensed several approaching chakra signatures.
"Where do I find these precious people?" Gaara asked honestly. Naruto chuckled slightly at that, as four people landed in the clearing all battle ready. Kankuro and Temari in a guarded stance in front of Gaara, and Sasuke and Sakura in front of Naruto.
There was silence in the clearing for a few seconds as Naruto smiled and everyone else looked on confused.
"You two!" Naruto said pointing in the general direction of Gaara's siblings. Gaara looked slightly annoyed at not having his question answered "Why are you helping him. Should you ever say or do anything wrong, he could kill you. Why don't you just turn around and end his reign of terror now?" Naruto questioned.
Fear swept across Gaara's eyes. Of course he was stupid to think that Uzumaki Naruto would be willing to be his friend, just because they had been through similar hardship. Now he was going to be killed by the very people had denounced as family. Temari was already shaking in anticipation. Her kunai raised into the air to deliver the final blow. Gaara faced the truth. He would die, and the world would be free of his menacing presence. A menace yes, but Sabaku no Gaara was no coward. He would watch his own death as his sister cocked her hand back and threw the kunai.
At Uzumaki Naruto.
Sasuke easily intercepted the kunai and was about to charge before Naruto laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Teme, how can you say something like that? Gaara may have been mean to Kankuro and I sometimes, but we would never try to hurt him. To us, he is still our little brother." Temari shouted with tears in her eyes and so many pent up emotions filling her voice.
"I'm glad."
Everyone stopped at that comment. Even Sasuke and Sakura turned to Naruto who was smiling that Cheshire cat smile. The scene was ruined by the blood still flowing out of his closed eyelids.
"What?" Temari and Kankuro asked.
"I'm glad that Gaara does have precious people who would stand by him no matter what. You don't have to look to far to find your precious people Gaara. Sometimes, they are right in front of you." Naruto said.
Everyone sensed even more chakra signatures approaching. From the amount of people coming, most people thought it would be best to hide, but Naruto just smiled again. "It seems they completed their mission."
Everyone looked up to see several toads looking down at them with pride written all over their faces. Shikamaru, Ino, Neji and Tenten were also mixed in with the toads.
"Yare yare Naruto, you gave me quite the scare back there when we felt the massive killing intent coming from this direction. It's good to see you are still alive." Shikamaru said while taking in his cousin's appearance. "Your summons are amazing. We were able to clear out the cannon fodder shinobi, and gather all the fallen and injured. The injured have been given to medics, so we came here to help you out."
Everyone stared at Shikamaru like he had gone mad.
"I didn't know you could talk so much Shika. And you did it without mentioning how troublesome it was to explain that, even once." Ino said as she stared at her teammate in wonder.
"Naruto is troublesome and probably wouldn't stop asking until I explained everything to him." Shikamaru said in his defense. "Eh, Naruto?"
Everyone turned their attention back to Naruto to see him face-plant directly into the forest floor. Sakura immediately ran to him and started running a diagnostic check. Shikamaru landed next to Sasuke, and Neji, Tenten and Ino followed. The toads in the trees remained in their positions. All were ready to attack the suna shinobi as soon as they moved.
"Ano, let them leave. They are no threat to us anymore." Naruto said.
"Shut up and save your strength. You have no chakra in your body at all, and you have many torn muscles and ligaments." Sakura said harshly as she opened her pouch and put a blood replenishing pill in Naruto's mouth.
A few tense moments went by, before Sasuke visibly relaxed.
"Get out of here, before we change our minds."
Zabuza had cut down so many foes, that he believed that he wouldn't need to kill anybody for a long time after that. He had taken the time to watch most of the fights going on. Naruto's fight was simply amazing, and he was sure the boy would grow into something special. He had the potential to change the shinobi world after all.
Waiting patiently outside the walls of Konohagakure, Zabuza unsheathed his massive blade as two presences entered the clearing. He smiled as his two apprentices came over looking tired but fulfilled. He had heard of Tetsu's exploits because the boy had made himself famous in this war, cutting down all Oto and Suna shinobi in the area.
Haku on the other hand had gone around healing and dealing quick and painless death to anyone who came close to him. They had both done their jobs perfectly, and Konoha had come out a lot better because of them. One day, Konoha would have to return the favor. Zabuza had a plan as to how they would repay that debt.
"Did you deliver my message, Haku?" Zabuza asked as he turned and started walking away.
"Hai, I gave it to an injured jounin as instructed. I healed him and he was very grateful. He will definitely pass along the message to Kakashi-san."
"Then our plan starts today. Three years from now, we will retake Kiri, and it will be stronger than ever before. They had better be strong enough by then." Zabuza said with a faint smile as clouds started forming over them.
"We will be strong enough to match them as well Zabuza-sensei." Tetsu said as he fingered the blade at his side. "I will not stand aside and watch them."
"I wouldn't expect any less Tetsu."
In a gust of wind, they were gone.
The skies were crying, and mourning the loss of the brave shinobi that had all given their lives to protect their village. Immortalized with a simple gesture that spoke volumes of how great the village was and how much they cherished their shinobi. Their names were engraved into the memorial stone of the village they had died protecting.
The death count had been relatively lower than expected, but the loss was still significant and the damage to property was great. The greatest shinobi village had lost its most long-standing leader after all.
Every shinobi who had ever served under the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha was present and dressed in black to pay their last respects to the fallen leader and comrades. Most still wearing bandages from the injuries they had received during the war against the Sand and Sound.
The Sand and Sound had suffered their own devastating losses, but such was the price of war. The Kazekage had been betrayed before the invasion even occurred, and the Otokage had been mortally injured by the Sandaime.
Naruto cringed at the turn of events. This was definitely not what he was thinking about when he signed up for the chuunin exams. He continued looking in the direction of the voice that was telling the life story of the Sandaime.
'So he started out as the youngest, but became the longest serving Hokage ever?' Naruto questioned himself after the speaker said as much. 'He really was truly amazing.'
A few stray sobs caught his attention, and he turned to look at the person. Remembering his current predicament, Naruto gave an apologetic look in the direction that he knew the person was standing. More than anything, Konohamaru needed an older sibling to help him through these rough times. Even if the person was temporarily blind.
Konohamaru's sobs became muffled so Naruto believed that someone had actually taken care of the kid. He turned back to face the front where the Sandaime's picture was undoubtedly positioned.
"Sarutobi Sousuke was a visionary. He hoped for a better world but made sure his village was well cared for. His will of fire, will forever burn within each of us." The speaker concluded.
Listening intently, Naruto heard feet move forward one by one and pay their final respects. When someone's soft hands clasped his own, he started walking forward while making sure to keep in step with the person.
'Was it the Konoha's fate to lose such a great leader? Was there something I could have done to have helped him? Is Sakura crying?' Naruto questioned himself as he felt the silent heaving of Sakura's body next to his as she leaned forward to pay her final respects to the fallen Hokage. Naruto stood ramrod still, pondering the effects someone so great had on the people of Konoha.
As Naruto knelt down next to Sakura while placing the single lily next to all the other flowers, he uttered a few words that went unheard by those around him except Sakura. "It seems I have a lot to live up to. Watch me Sarutobi-sama. I will protect all you gave your life to protect with my two hands."
Naruto stood up and turned around, while waiting patiently for Sakura to lead him back to his spot. After a few moments, she clasped his hand in hers and they walked back to their positions.
That day, the rain poured and poured without relenting. It seemed even the heaven's were mourning the death of such a great man.
"Ano, where are we going?" Naruto asked in confusion as he followed his two teammates, no doubt irked by their silence. Sasuke shrugged in his non-caring manner and went back to his silent brooding. Sakura merely looked at him and glared for a little bit.
"It's a surprise for both you and Sasuke. Now if you just be quiet, we can continue this journey in peace." Sakura said. That was the problem though. Naruto didn't see anything peaceful about walking around with two of your closest friends and not talking. It was especially obvious with Sasuke's shrugs and refusal to make conversation with him.
Naruto had been friends with Sasuke a long time and he knew when something was wrong. It had all began a few days ago when Naruto had finally been able to remove the blindfold and expose his eyes to light again. The medics had told him to take it easy on them and not use whatever technique he had used again on such low chakra reserves. He had obliged them, and taken their advice.
He was just glad to have his eyesight back and was not ready to do anything to jeopardize that again except it was an emergency.
That had all gone to hell when he had gotten to team training though. Sasuke had asked…no demanded that Naruto show him the skill that he had performed. Naruto had politely scratched his head and declined citing medical reasons, and his own lack of knowledge on the technique he had nicknamed 'Furai'. When he understood how he did it, he would give it a proper jutsu name.
Sasuke had promptly gritted his teeth, turned around, and walked away saying that he was going to train by himself. Naruto and Sakura had worked on their teamwork together after that, and had tried to incorporate some of their newer techniques into their teams fighting style.
Since then, Sasuke had been tightlipped and distant towards the two. Sakura thought it was just Sasuke wanting some alone time for whatever reason, but Naruto knew differently. He had suspected it to be the curse seal invading Sasuke's mind slowly, but he knew Sasuke was strong enough to resist it. Or at least he believed. Sasuke was the first real shinobi he had regular contact with who possessed Orochimaru curse seal.
He didn't want to lose his best friends trust for whatever reason, so he had refrained from telling Sakura or Kakashi. Knowing Kakashi though, he had probably already realized, but didn't think it was any problem.
'If Kakashi-sensei doesn't have a problem, then I might be over thinking this. I wish Sarutobi-sama was still around. He was always the easiest person to talk to when you needed it.' Naruto thought as he quietly mused about the fact that he had been respectful to the old man ever since he had passed away. Some loud barks brought him out of his musings.
"Ah, that's Akamaru." Naruto said as he pointed towards the clearing where the barks had come from. "Are we having a get together?"
Sakura smiled brilliantly while Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow. "Hai Naruto. Ino and I have been planning it and all the jounin are out on missions today, so they gave us the day off."
"Tch, I don't have time for this." Sasuke said, and he turned around to start walking away.
"Aww c'mon Sasuke. You never know if one of the others guys are up for a sparring match or not. We could gain a lot from sparring with them." Naruto said as he watched Sasuke freeze.
Blood red sharingan with three tomoe in each eye turned to face Naruto. "I want to fight you, Naruto. I'll hold you to that." Sasuke said as he closed his eyes and walked into the clearing, hands buried in his pockets.
Naruto frowned as he watched Sasuke's back. Was Sasuke trying to intimidate him, or get him riled up? He wasn't sure which one, but he was resolving to see Kakashi about the matter more and more.
Sakura threw him an appreciative and apologetic gesture before she turned and strode after Sasuke. Naruto just shook his head with a smile and followed. Regardless of how many fights Naruto and Sasuke got into, they would still be friends.
Naruto walked into the clearing to see just what he was expecting to see. Shikamaru sprawled on his back and looking up at the sky with a shougi board placed right next to his head. Chouji sitting down next to him and watching as Akamaru chased a butterfly around the clearing. His ever present back of chips was missing, but that could be because of the food placed on a mat in front of him. Kiba was next, sitting surprisingly calmly next to Shino, watching his best friend run around the clearing with a grin. Shino was sitting down quietly and observing as usual. Next to him, Hinata was blushing and pushing her fingers together while looking at him.
She blushed more and averted her eyes immediately she made eye contact with Naruto.
Naruto was disappointed not to seem Team Gai there, but he believed that their injured teammate was the reason for their absence. After all, a depressed Lee was not exactly the nicest sight to see in such a cheerful setting.
"Ohayo Hinata-chan." Naruto said loudly as he approached. This got the attention of the rest of the rookies.
"Ohayo Nar…Naruto-kun." Hinata replied.
"Ah, so you all finally arrived. Thank goodness. I am starved." Chouji said as he rubbed his arms together and looked at the food. Everyone laughed heartily as Team Seven sat down and started talking to different people.
'After you had seen what war was capable of, you tend to cherish the things that you can lose so much more.' Naruto thought as he looked around at everybody, and then continued telling Hinata about his fight with Gaara.
"Did you find him?" a large man with a large katana strapped on his back asked. He was sitting atop a tree and looking as inconspicuous as a man with a shark head could look. A lone figure on the ground looked up at him slowly, and the large men felt a little smaller than he was when those eyes bore into his.
"Yes, but he was with my otouto, so I felt it better to postpone our meeting." The smaller man replied.
Had it been anybody else, the shark man known as Kisame would have labeled him a coward, but this was one person who he was sure could kill him without even blinking. "I didn't know you left anyone from your family alive, Itachi."
"My brother is weak and begged for his life even as he saw me kill everyone he held dear. It will make him stronger and then I will be able to test my capacity against him." Itachi said as he continued walking. "Come, I wish to gather some information while we are here."
With that, the two men with black coats embroidered with red clouds disappeared.
It had been a truly lovely day and the rookie teams were happy it had happened. Naruto had finally gotten to talk to Hinata and she was even starting to stutter less and less, but all good things had to come to an end sometime.
Sasuke had stood up and walked a distance away. Everyone had been surprised and most were wondering what he was going to do.
"Naruto. Fight me."
Everyone was so shocked about the proclamation that they didn't know what to do. Naruto's slow and deliberate movements soon caught their eyes. He was standing up.
"Hey, what's the deal here? You guys are teammates." Kiba shouted as he tried to understand the tension that was filling the air.
"It's just a spar Kiba. Relax." Naruto said as he got into position. They needed no marker to indicate they were ready before both boys rushed at each other. Punches and kicks were exchanged and both boys were a draw without their respective doujutsu.
"You are getting cocky if you believe you don't need your Keigan against me." Sasuke said as he landed at the opposite end of the clearing from Naruto.
"Simple spars do not need such things. Keigan is my trump card, and my last choice. I would not use it against a comrade, needless to say my best friend." Naruto said with a smile on his face. It turned into a frown when Sasuke's eyes turned into the three tomoe sharingan. 'Kuso.'
"I hold no such reservations." Sasuke said as he attacked with renewed vigor. Naruto was hard pressed to defend let alone attack. Sasuke didn't give him enough room to even find an opening. A well timed punch found its way into Naruto's guard and nailed him on his nose. Hearing his nose break, Naruto muffled his cry of pain and moved with the flow of the punch and sending a quick to Sasuke's head. Realizing his mistake as soon as his foot didn't make contact with Sasuke's head, Naruto tried to retract his outstretched leg. Again, Sasuke didn't give him the chance.
The air was driven out of Naruto's lungs as his back was smashed onto the ground behind him. He heard the gasps of the rookies and was almost sure that some of them wanted to step in. He wasn't going to let that happen though. He had to make Sasuke understand. He had to make Sasuke remember what their friendship was about. Opening his eyes, Naruto was surprised to see Sasuke pressing his advantage with a heel drop over Naruto's already bloodied face. Moving his face out of harm's way, Naruto put his fingers into his favorite seal. Immediately, a clone appeared behind Sasuke, mid-swing. It missed however as Sasuke ducked low and attempted to dispel it with an elbow to its midsection. Instead of dispelling though, it merely flew backwards and landed on the ground behind clutching its mid-section from the blow. Sasuke glanced back in confusion and the Naruto he had just hit grinned at him through the pain. Arms grabbed him from the ground and pulled him close.
"Wake up Sasuke! I am your friend, not an enemy you steal techniques from. I am a comrade, and someone who wants to help you achieve you goal. Friends, comrades….. They do not go berserk on each other. They do not explode on each other." Naruto said as he watched Sasuke's eyes go wide.
Poof.
The clone that had been holding Sasuke released itself. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't realized he had been holding. His anger and jealousy towards Naruto's amazing new jutsu were still there, but they had no more fuel to sustain them against his teammates and comrades.
'I was going to kill him. I wanted to kill him. Just because of a few techniques that I might not be able to copy. Is it worth losing someone who has helped me get this far in strength. My hatred should be channeled towards killing Itachi and with Naruto by my side, I cannot lose.' Sasuke concluded.
Sasuke turned around to look at Naruto on the ground and he looked like he had a shocked look on his face. He quickly schooled his features but Sasuke's sharingan didn't miss small details like that. Filing it away for further investigation, Sasuke chuckled in Naruto's direction. Naruto noticed it immediately and scratched his head while chuckling back. Soon their chuckling escalated into full blown laughter and mirth.
All the bystanders stood there shocked in silence as Naruto and Sasuke laughed after such a tension filled battle.
'I figure that they both understand themselves so well, that things like that should not be uncommon. They are the most troublesome people I have ever had the displeasure of knowing.' Shikamaru thought to himself.
Seeing both boys tense and launch kunai into the bushes on the far side of the clearing, all the other rookies stood up and started preparing themselves for a fight. The kunai never made contact with anything which meant the mystery person had most likely caught it.
"Show yourself." Sasuke said calmly while releasing a sizable amount of killing intent.
A large burly figure started making its way to the clearing with slow and precise steps. "Ah, I guess I was found out. Don't worry, I only came here to pass along some information to my student."
"Ah, what are you doing here Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked while dropping his guard.
"Better watch what you say gaki." Jiraiya said from behind Naruto and Sasuke. This prompted both boys to jump back and spin around, Naruto was grinning, and Sasuke weary of this man. "We have a mission that starts tomorrow. Meet me by the North gate by 10am. You have a few hours to say goodbye to your friends and pack for a three week trip.
"WHAT?? No, that can't be, I haven't even been back to the village two weeks yet." Naruto complained.
"Well, a future Hokage needs to keep his villages interest ahead of his own interests." Jiraiya said with a frown on his face. "Besides we are going to find my last teammate Tsunade, so she can heal some of the more severe injuries at the hospital like your friend Lee."
Naruto's eyes widened. A chance to get Lee some help. He sent an apologetic glance to his friends. They could see the determination in his eyes, and they knew there was no stopping him.
"Come back in one piece with the last member of the Sannin. When you get back, we will have a serious sparing match, as friends." Sasuke said as he started walking away, obviously going to train. Naruto nodded at him.
Suddenly feeling the weight of all those eyes on him, Naruto turned to the rest of his friends with a sheepish smile and his right hand scratching his head. "So I guess this is goodbye for now. I'm sorry I couldn't spend more time but I want to at least fill up on ramen before I leave the village. Anyone want to come?" Naruto asked. He knew they were all tired of ramen because they had been forced to eat it because it was Naruto's favorite food and he was blind for a while. Someone had to escort him there and keep him company while he ate. It was courtesy to get a bowl of your own most of the time.
Silence met his question and Naruto sweat dropped at the blatant refusal they all exhibited for ramen. All except one.
"A-ano, I wi-will come." Hinata's tiny voice cuts through the silence and slowly she walks forward to fall into step with Naruto. Dwindling her fingers and looking at the ground, she was surprised to feel Naruto's hand grab her two fingers a separate them. Looking up into his face Hinata blushed because of the charming genuine smile that was plastered on Naruto's face.
"Arigatou Hinata-chan." Naruto said as he started walking in the direction of the town already talking up a storm to the silent Hinata. He sent one last wave towards his friends who all smiled at the sight. Naruto was a strange person. No one noticed the old perverted man giggling like a little schoolgirl as he watched the couple disappear into the distance.
Once they were gone, his expression turned serious and he looked towards the Hokage Mountain. 'It seems they will not be quiet for much longer. On my honor Arashi, your son will definitely be ready for them. He is Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage after all.'
Jutsu List.
Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Gama Senshuken/ Summoning Jutsu: Toad Champion.
For people who have experience in summoning and know the amount of chakra required to summon the Champion of a certain species of summon. It is like an introduction for Gamabunta which is sure to put Naruto in his good books. For Jiraiya who has held the contract for a long time, it is not necessary any longer, but it's different for Naruto. A-rank jutsu (Leaf Warriors Original Jutsu name).
Suna Shuriken/ Sand Shuriken.
Gaara basically shoots out a set of shuriken made of sand. Very effective because of it's unpredictability.
Furai/ Fly.
Naruto's name for a jutsu that he cannot remember how to perform. The voice that spoke to him before the technique was neither Keigan's nor Kyuubi's. Keigan doesn't know what the technique was and Kyuubi is being tight lipped about it. Only known effects are an unnatural speed increase with a very small usage of chakra. Must be used in conjuction with Keigan or Sharingan, so as to slow down movements enough to see the objects around. Naruto poured so much chakra in his eyes at the end, to slow down the movement his surroundings enough to see Gaara. Thus, the reason why he was temporarily blind.
Well, that's it.
I am not out of school for another three weeks, but expect an update once I am out. It's gonna get really interesting now!
Ja ne,
the 6th fire shadow.