Chapter 3: Reflection and Revitalization

Naruto and Sasuke were both lying on the grass, reflecting on their recent victory against Kimimaro. Hands down, Kimimaro was the most difficult opponent both genin has faced in their lives, considering the fact that they met many ninja in the past 6 months that desperately tried to kill them. Upon reflection, they've both came across their fair share of mistakes, and they both mentally evaluated the mistakes and their actions in the battle. Naruto realized that he was too over-reliant on his Kage Bunshin. He simply kept using clone after clone in failed attempts to even scratch his opponent. With this realization, he came to the conclusion that he needs to increase the repertoire of offensive jutsu in his arsenal. He only knew Rasengan, Kage Bunshin, and Kuchiyose no Jutsu, the last of which would have been completely ineffective, based on Kimimaro's prowess in taijutsu and his "ultimate defense."

Not only does he need to increase his number of jutsu, but he also has to include long-range ninjutsu as well. When Kimimaro switched weapons from his bone sword to his whip, Naruto was utterly helpless to defend against the increased range. His clones could do nothing but get slaughtered at the snap of the whip. They could not simply rely on shuriken and kunai to deliver the range that, say, Goukakyuu no Jutsu could deliver.

What's worse was that he took far too long to create a Rasengan. He was almost killed by Kimimaro until Lee interfered. Naruto realized the flaw of using a clone to help build the Rasengan. It took time to form the hand seal for Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, time for the clone to appear, and time for the clone to do the proper rotations for the Rasengan. It was time that could have been cut if he had true mastery of the Rasengan. In the field of battle, time was a luxury that could not be handed down at any given moment. As Naruto learned firsthand, if you do things too slow in the middle of a battle, you will die.

While Naruto lamented on his lack of jutsu and inefficiency in producing Rasengan, Sasuke was reflecting on how he failed to end the battle from the start. Sasuke quickly recognized that he should have had his Sharingan active in the very beginning of the battle. Sure, testing his opponent's limits is important in determining their capabilities in battle, but in a life-and-death struggle if you cannot finish the enemy quickly, they can (and most likely will) turn the tide to their favor. Itachi would not allow a moment of respite for Sasuke during their final confrontation. Sasuke needed to fight at his full strength from the beginning of the bout, and eliminate the possibility of enemy retaliation.

With that said, Sasuke must increase his chakra reserves beyond its current limits. However, using too much chakra will leave him vulnerable against the whispers of the Curse Seal. If he wants to reject the influence of the Curse Seal, he must have enough chakra to battle for extended periods of time. It's already a limit that he could only use Chidori twice a day. If he has larger reserves, than he can go all out from the start without fear of being tempted by the Curse Seal.

This goal is going to be difficult to accomplish. The Seal drains chakra during battle, reducing one's chakra reserve even before commencing the battle. If one hopes to avoid the influence of the Seal, one must be willing to fight battles with a handicap, as the Seal always steals your chakra. When you have low chakra, the Seal takes over automatically, granting one with immense power in exchange for one's stamina and mental state of mind. Sasuke tried to use three Chidori against Gaara during their battle, but the Seal took over, restricting his movements. The Seal is an unfortunate liability that Sasuke must work around, since he desires to grow stronger.

For now, Naruto and Sasuke were both gazing at the drifting clouds, grateful to have survived the battle. Lee was still unconscious, but he was moved closer to the two genin. Kimimaro's corpse was still lying on the battlefield, awaiting the final decision of Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke voiced his opinions against the burial of their enemy, stating that they could make a profit off of his kekkei genkai. Naruto, however, argued that neither of them was in any condition to carry the bulky man, who was still in his second Cursed State.

"Hey, blockhead…" Sasuke suddenly said with his gaze firm at the clouds.

"What's up, asshole?" Naruto responded. He too was staring at the majesty of the sea of clouds.

"Those things you said about being my best friend…" Sasuke trailed off. He knew what he was about to say was uncharacteristic of him. He was an avenger! He was supposed to have no time to appreciate the subtle gifts of camaraderie. But Naruto's words truly moved him, to the point that he actually shed tears. "…was that true?"

"Yeah." Naruto said with no hesitancy in his voice. He did not falter when he announced his true thoughts of Sasuke. Sure, he was a little afraid of what Sasuke felt about him, but he knew that what he said was true. As he stared at the clouds drifting by nonchalantly, he knew that he holds no regrets for what he just said.

"Thanks…" Sasuke said. "You know, after all the things we've been through, I…er…kinda sorta…maybe think of you as…uh…a best friend…a little…er…" But Naruto flipped before he could finish his statement.

"WHAT DO YA MEAN 'KINDA SORTA'?" Naruto angrily shouted. "IT'S 'I'M YOUR BEST FRIEND' OR 'I'M NOT'!"

"Fine loser," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes at Naruto's outburst. "You are my best friend." There was reluctance in his voice, but Naruto already knew he was somber. Sasuke did have a pride to protect, if anything was going to remain a legacy of the once great Uchiha clan. "Jeez, I'm best friends with a degenerate failure of a loser. I don't think I'll ever be able to kill Itachi."

Sasuke's last comment was sarcastic, but it got Naruto thinking. Thinking about the events that occurred before Sasuke woke up from his coma. He was now arguing with himself about revealing the events, or staying silent. Kakashi had told Naruto not to let Sasuke know that Itachi attacked him. He was worried that if Sasuke knew, he would be lured to seeking Orochimaru for more power. Yet, this was Sasuke's brother. He had to know the truth that Itachi was alive and starting to make his move.

"Sasuke, there's something I gotta tell ya." Naruto said in a solemn voice. "It's really important."

Sasuke was immediately taken aback. Naruto sounded very serious. Could this be…?

"Hey stupid, I already said we were best friends. Don't tell me you're in love with me now. Don't push your luck."

"I would never love you for all the ramen in the world, asshole!" Naruto indignantly shouted back. "Thinking these things? No wonder you don't have any friends."

"Look who's talking."

"Ugh," Naruto face palmed. "That's not even close to what I wanted to say."

Sasuke was confused. He was relieved that Naruto did not love him; he would have killed him on the spot, no regrets whatsoever. But Naruto still sounded serious. He was never this serious at any given moment in time. What could be important enough to warrant this sudden change in character?

"I met Uchiha Itachi." Was all that Naruto said.

Sasuke's eyes were open wide in shock. Why? Why would his brother Itachi show up in front of the dead last? Why is he starting to make his move now, of all times? His thoughts were overwhelmed with a shroud of intense hatred and scorn. The mere mention of Itachi would infuriate Sasuke in an instant.

"He was after me. He trapped me in this strange genjutsu for three straight days." Naruto started shuddering. He watched his friends and loved ones get brutally murdered over and over again while he could do nothing. Forced to undergo 72 hours straight of psychological torture. He was fortunate that Jiraiya arrived just in time to prevent his kidnapping. Just thinking about the incident brought tears to Naruto's eyes. It was unbearable beyond human comprehension.

"Naruto?" Sasuke called out his name, but there was no response. "Naruto!" He could not believe Itachi trapped him in Tsukuyomi. Sasuke knew full and well the repercussions of such a powerful genjutsu. Itachi used it on him as a child, and left him scarred for life. He still gets nightmares from the horrific torture inflicted on him during that moment. But Naruto underwent it for 72 hours? Sasuke only went through 12 hours of torture…did Itachi become stronger?

He placed his hands on Naruto's shoulders, trying to comfort him. "Naruto, it's okay. He's not here." Naruto snapped back into reality. He realized that he was crying. Tsukuyomi really did affect him greater than he anticipated.

"Thanks, Sasuke." Naruto said, wiping tears from his eyes. He could not believe that he cried right in front of Sasuke, the bastard. Sasuke will never let him live it down.

"Why was Itachi after you?" Sasuke asked in confusion.

"I…I…" Naruto did not want to answer the question. Sasuke was his best friend, but he didn't know what Sasuke would think of him if he told him that he was the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. People in Konoha glared daggers at him while he walked down the streets, just because he was a prison that housed the most powerful demon in recent history. What if Sasuke was like everyone else? What if this whole "best friend" business was just some fiasco? "…I can't tell you the reason why…not yet anyways."

Sasuke wanted to press forward, but he held his tongue. Naruto has a right to his privacy, even if it dealt with Itachi. He trusted Naruto with everything he had, so if Naruto felt like telling him at a later time, he would not pressure him at the moment.

"I was told that Itachi attacked Kakashi as well." Naruto continued, surprising Sasuke. "Seems like he was sent to the hospital. Attacked with the same genjutsu as me, ya know."

Kakashi could not even stand against Itachi? His clenched fists were trembling now. How strong was Itachi right now? How far behind was Sasuke when compared to his older brother? How much power must he obtain before he can successful fight on equal terms against Itachi? Would going to Orochimaru really have helped him gain power?

No. Orochimaru would never allow him to gain power merely for charity. If Orochimaru wanted Sasuke to come to him, there must have been an ulterior motive. What Orochimaru wanted more than Sasuke to fulfill his goals was for Sasuke to become his next vessel. He wanted the Sharingan.

"He was with someone," Naruto continued. "Some fish face with a large ass sword."

So Itachi was not alone. He was with another person, presumably of equal strength. Sasuke may have to fight this enemy when he confronts Itachi. Either he will have to fight Itachi and the fish face alone, or he fights them with a partner. He immediately thought of Naruto. His progress has been staggering. Apparently, when he was knocked into a coma, Naruto managed to subdue Gaara all on his own. Not only that, he learned a new jutsu that rivaled the power of his Chidori. There was no doubt in Sasuke's mind that Naruto was growing stronger.

You must kill your closest friend.

Sasuke suddenly thought about the night of the Uchiha clan massacre. He remembered all the bodies thrown about and all the blood that littered the area. He thought about the scene he witnessed when he arrived home; his mother and father's corpses piled on top of each other, and his brother, soaked in the blood of his parents, standing right over them. His Sharingan looked…different somehow. "You too, can awaken the same Mangekyou Sharingan as me." He said to Sasuke as he tried in a futile attempt to crawl away from his mad brother. "But there is a requirement."

You must kill your closest friend.

He thought about Naruto again. Would he be willing to kill him to gain power? Maybe the Mangekyou Sharingan will provide him with the power that was needed to kill Itachi. No. That was not the right way to think. He could gain the power needed by himself, without having to rely on anyone as a crutch.

"Hey, dobe." Sasuke called out to Naruto, who stopped looking at the clouds to turn to him.

"What is it this time, prick?"

"I want to fight you someday."

Naruto thought about the Chuunin exam. Sasuke said the exact same thing to him that time. Although they were never able to fight it out, due to the invasion of the Sound and Sand, they still held their sentiments in high regard. They both had an intense desire to fight each other, to prove their worth and strength to the other.

"We need to get stronger, Naruto." Sasuke said, holding his fist out in front of him as if trying to grab the sky. "We need to be strong enough to accomplish our goals, and the only way to gain that power is by testing each other's strengths."

Naruto nodded in agreement. Originally Naruto grew stronger because he sincerely wanted to become Hokage. But by narrowing his goal to immediate ones, like fighting Sasuke and Neji, he was able to progress at a much faster pace.

"You may be my best friend, but you're also my greatest rival. I won't ever hold back when we fight, got it?" Sasuke said thinking about their inevitable clash.

"Just so you know, I won't lose, bastard." Naruto replied with a grin.

"No, you're still gonna lose. Just don't make it easier for me to kick your ass." Sasuke said, closing his eyes. He won't kill Naruto. He won't go to Orochimaru. Sasuke's life was his own to live, and he will never rely on anyone for the power he seeks. He is his own person, and no one will ever take that away from him. That was his Nindo.

A boy with a large gourd on his back was leaping across the tree branches in a blinding speed. He needed to hurry; Sasuke may have already fallen into Orochimaru's grasp. Ever since he found new meaning in what it means to protect, he vowed to live his life for the wellbeing of others. When he heard that Uchiha Sasuke was kidnapped by a group under the employ of the man that killed the Sandaime Hokage, he knew he needed to act in haste. Without permission from their jounin sensei, Baki, the Sunagakure siblings rushed to the border of the Land of Fire and Sound.

Immediately after arriving at the Northern forests of the Land of Fire, they came across an unconscious Konoha genin. Fortunately the genin was by a tree that held directions to where they needed to go, so one of the siblings, Kankuro, offered to return him to Konohagakure for recovery. As they continued their travels, they found yet another Konoha genin, this one with a severe penetration wound on his left shoulder that to pierce his lung. He was in critical condition, and if no one got him back to Konoha he would die from blood loss. So Temari of the Suna siblings offered to take him back to Konoha. Now, Sabaku no Gaara was the only one of the siblings left to go after Sasuke.

Gaara felt that he and Naruto were the only people that could save Sasuke from the darkness within his heart. He knew that Sasuke had that darkness; he could see it in his eyes. They say that if you and your opponent were first class shinobi, you could read each other's hearts using your fists. Gaara knew exactly what Sasuke was feeling when he fought him. It was crying out with ever punch Sasuke launched against Gaara's defense: Vengeance.

Naruto saved Gaara from the darkness he was getting himself into. It was only natural to repay his debt by saving a friend falling deep into the cesspool of despair. Gaara will save Sasuke, he just had to. That was his way of redemption.

Gaara was finally reaching the exit of the forest. He entered a clearing, a small plain in the center of the forest, devoid of any trees. But what he saw surprised him to a small smile. Two Konoha genin were working together to bury the remains of what appeared to be an Oto shinobi. Another genin was knocked out enjoying his nap with the calm breeze and gentle sunlight illuminating his face. He could recognize the faces of all the genin. After all, he fought all of them in the Chuunin Exams; Rock Lee, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto. All these genin were the only enemies he has ever fought that managed to break through his absolute defense and actually damage him. All of these opponents helped him find the light at the end of the path. All of these adversaries he owed a debt of gratitude.

He walked towards Naruto and Sasuke, noticing the limp arm that Sasuke was shaking about. They really were struggling to bury the Oto shinobi, since Naruto was going through Chakra exhaustion and Sasuke had a severe injury.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Gaara called out to the orange-cladded genin. Naruto turned around to meet the voice. He had the largest grin in his mouth as he saw the figure of Gaara, one of the people he fought during the Chuunin exams.

"GAARA!" Naruto shouted and ran up to him, excited to meet Gaara after several months. Sasuke, on the other hand, was antsy about meeting Gaara again. He was responsible for putting him in a coma.

"It's been too long, Uzumaki Naruto." Gaara said, with the same stone cold gaze. But he had a smile on his face as well. He, too, was very excited about meeting the man who saved him. "Your village requested the aid of Suna in the retrieval of Uchiha Sasuke, but it seems that it was not necessary."

"Hehe!" Naruto said, rubbing his nose from the compliment. "What else can ya expect? If you have Naruto in a mission, it's no doubt gonna be accomplished!" He could not contain his positive emotions. He managed to rescue Sasuke from Orochimaru's clutches, saw that Rock Lee recovered successfully and was in good condition after his bout against Gaara, got Sasuke to recognize his friendship with him, and met Gaara again after a long time. Today was going amazingly for him.

Gaara turned to look at Sasuke, but Sasuke looked away. Gaara could understand Sasuke's pain though. He placed Sasuke in a coma, denying him the opportunity to live his life for several months. He needed to rectify his mistake.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Gaara said in his usual monotone voice. Sasuke did not react to his name being called, merely looking at the ground below him and holding his limp arm. "I understand your feelings. I understand if you resent me for what I did. Yet, despite all that, I wanted to apologize."

Sasuke looked up. Gaara wanted to apologize? The Gaara he fought was a bloodthirsty maniac who wanted to feed the blood of his victims to his sand, which he referred to as "Mother." Yet, here he was, apologizing for actions that he was once ecstatic about. Naruto also seemed to be excited to see Gaara again. What exactly has he missed during his time in the bed?

"What's the catch?" Sasuke asked, wanting clarification about Gaara's change in character.

"I merely felt that I had a debt to repay. A debt to Uzumaki Naruto." He turned to face Naruto, who was very confused about Gaara's words. "Uzumaki Naruto, thank you very much for saving me from myself. During our battle, your conviction and resolve reached me. Your desire to protect your friends, and your desire to save the village that so hated you truly touched me. It made me realize that I, too, had some worth with my village. It allowed me to open up to the people who hated me, and try to accept them in a loving fashion instead of a bloodthirsty fool."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "It was nothing, ya know. We're alike in so many ways. I didn't want to just let face this all alone. Every time I think about what you were, I couldn't help but think about what I coulda become, ya know what I mean?"

Gaara nodded his head. As a jinchuuriki himself, Naruto was the only person that could have set Gaara on the right path. Naruto knew the pain that Gaara was going through, knew the isolation he was dealing with, and understood him, despite his murderous cravings.

"Uzumaki Naruto changed me, Uchiha Sasuke." Gaara said in a grateful tone. "So I thought that I should help him save you. We are alike too. I could see it in your eyes, as I know you saw it in mine."

'It's true,' Sasuke thought. He was so blinded by his pursuit of power that he was willing to turn his back on everything he loved just to find ample strength. He knew exactly what Gaara was talking about.

"Gaara…" Sasuke said, hesitant in tone. "Look me in the eyes again. Do I still have the darkness dwelling inside?"

Gaara complied with Sasuke's wishes. He looked directly at Sasuke's eyes, but what he found utterly surprised him. Sasuke's eyes were…serene. As if he found his purpose. As if he did not have a problem in the world. Sasuke's eyes all but dispelled the hate from his stare. There were still subtle hints of a burning hatred, but that was overwritten by a look of calm and resolution.

"No…" Gaara confirmed with certainty. There was little hate in Sasuke's gaze. "Your eyes have a tranquil look in them…what happened after all this time, Uchiha Sasuke? What changed you?"

"I still have my pride, so I won't tell you," Sasuke said, smiling. "However, you could talk a wild guess as to how it occurred. I'm sure you'll get it first try."

Gaara smiled. Naruto was confused. He was never able to properly analyze situations and dialogue, and could not comprehend what Sasuke and Gaara was talking about. Gaara's face suddenly became solemn.

"Enough of the pleasantries. I do still have work to finish, and that is to ensure your safe return to your village. Give me a status report."

Sasuke's face got serious too. The pain in his left arm was all but gone, hurting very little and no longer interfering with his thought process. "Genin Uzumaki Naruto engaged the Oto shinobi in an attempt to rescue me, Genin Uchiha Sasuke, from captivity." Sasuke was like a completely different person. He sounded…like a true ninja. "Shortly afterwards, I was released from the casket I was held in and joined Naruto in the battle. At first, we held the upper hand, but the enemy disabled my left arm, and proceeded to overwhelm us through skillful use of taijutsu. As he was about to deliver the final blow to Naruto, Genin Rock Lee arrived and attacked the aggressor. Through our collaborative effort, I was able to deal the fatal blow, ending the battle in victory."

"Speaking of which," Naruto said crossing his arms and squinting his eyes. "How did you kill bone dude?"

"I knew that, even with my Chidori-enhanced kunai, it would be useless to hit the freak on the ground, where he's mobile, despite his size. So I had to directly engage him, in order to get him to make eye contact with me." Sasuke explained as simply as possible.

"Uh huh…" Naruto said in confusion.

"You don't get it do you, stupid?" Sasuke asked with a sigh.

"No clue." Naruto said with a strangely enthusiastic nod.

"Well, let me spell it out for you so your pea brain doesn't fry." Sasuke said with another sigh. "With the Sharingan, I can hypnotically suggest actions to the unknowing party."

"So ya can suggest they commit suicide?" Naruto asked with a shiver. He definitely does not want to look at Sasuke's Sharingan now.

"…Yeah I can. But I need to make eye contact with them for longer than 30 seconds. The less subtle the action I suggest, the more effective my Sharingan is. Suicide is not subtle, so it takes more time with eye contact to occur. Besides, no enemy with a brain would want to stare into my eyes for longer than 30 seconds unless…" Sasuke began to chuckle at his own joke, which annoyed Naruto. "…they were suicidal."

"Not funny, jackass." Naruto said with a humorless face.

Sasuke sighed. Even a serious person like himself has to make jokes on occasion. Cut him some slack. "Anyways, I suggested that he jump backwards, and that he jumped high, in order to dodge your incoming jutsu."

"What?!" Naruto shouted. "You never meant for me to hit?!"

"First move is always a feint, idiot." Sasuke said while he palmed his face. "The purpose is that, while he was in the air, he could not maneuver as well as he could in the ground, making him an easier target. I also had him jump in a direction that allowed the trajectory of my kunai to pierce his heart."

"You could do that in less than a second of eye contact?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yeah, dobe." Sasuke said. "From there, everything fell into place."

"Right…" Gaara said, returning the subject back to the debriefing. "Let's continue. Explain the reason why you were currently burying the enemy."

"At our conditions, it's unfeasible to transport the corpse of the enemy to our village. In order to prevent potential misuse of our enemy's kekkei genkai, we decided to bury him deep and remove all evidence of a battle from the location." Sasuke replied.

"Why not simply burn the corpse?" Gaara asked, intrigued.

"Naruto insisted on burying the corpse." Sasuke said with a sigh, the first emotion he has shown in this impromptu mission debriefing. Sasuke placed his forefinger and thumb on his brow, expressing his frustrations at Naruto's method. "I told you we should have done something to the corpse, fool!"

"Well, how was I supposed to think that far ahead?!" Naruto shouted. In all honesty, he really wanted to bury Kimimaro. His opponent was a valiant fighter, if misguided by his corrupt ideals. He only deserved a burial after their exhausting battle. Naruto thought that was the right thing to do.

"…I think I will assist you in the burial," Gaara said, surprising both Naruto and Sasuke. "My abilities with the sand will come in handy when it comes to this endeavor. After all, both of you are worn and incapable of doing much physical labor."

"Thanks for the help, Gaara." Naruto said with a smile. Sasuke just shook his head away. He was still too prideful to accept help from anyone, unless it was the direst of situations. He was grateful for Lee's intervention, but he did not really need the help of Gaara, even with his destroyed left arm.

"Alright." Gaara said returning to his strict persona. "Report any casualties that resulted from this battle."

"Both Lee and Naruto are suffering from Chakra exhaustion." Sasuke said. "Lee is suffering from minor muscle tears as a result of opening the First of the Celestial Gates, but other than that, with some rest, he should be back in peak physical condition. I have a fractured my left radius and ulna. I won't be moving this arm for a while." Sasuke lamented the fact that there was no first aid kit anywhere in sight. He probably would have made a makeshift caste until he can receive medical attention, but he does not have the materials for it.

"I see." Gaara said, with his hand under his chin in contemplation. "Is there anything else to be reported?"

"No. This is everything that occurred in the plains during our battle. I will have a more detailed report for Hokage-sama when we return to Konoha." Sasuke said.

"There is no need for that," Gaara said, stretching his arm in front of Sasuke. "I will do the mission debriefing in your stead. The information you have provided for me will be more than adequate enough to grant an accurate statement of the events of this plain."

"Gaara, what about my teammates?" Naruto asked with a worried expression. "Did you meet up with any of them when you came here?"

"Yes Naruto." Gaara said with a calming tone, reassuring Naruto that his friends were okay for the moment. "We first met up with a man with swirl markings on his cheek. He was lying unconscious on a tree with an arrow that pointed to the direction you guys were heading."

"Chouji!" Naruto shouted. "Is he okay? He's not gonna die, is he?"

"Your friend Chouji was in an apparently stable condition. He seemed to have suffered from Chakra exhaustion, so I had Kankuro take him back to the village."

Naruto was relieved. He was happy that Chouji was going to be okay. He was worried about leaving Chouji alone to fight one of the Sound Four, but it seems that his worry was off base.

"You're not alone?" Sasuke asked.

"I came with my siblings. You met them in the Chuunin exams. I've grown rather fond of them." Gaara smiled, thinking about the siblings who, despite their fear of Gaara and the Ichibi no Tanuki, never left his side. Their fears were overridden by their desire to protect their little brother, no matter what the cost was.

"As we continued to travel your way, we met another one of your comrades. A boy with a manji symbol on his forehead." Gaara continued.

"Neji!" Naruto shouted. Neji was injured? It seemed that the man with six arms was going to be a difficult opponent, but Naruto could not fathom Neji having a hard time.

"Your friend Neji was in a worse condition than your friend Chouji." Gaara explained. "He had a deep wound on his left shoulder, and was suffering from chakra exhaustion. He needed urgent medical attention immediately, so I had Temari take him back to Konoha as well.

"Did you come across Shikamaru and Kiba along the way?" Naruto asked.

"No. I came here as fast as I could to provide any assistance that was necessary. However, that was not the case. You and Uchiha Sasuke have performed your duties exceedingly well. I am certain that, when my siblings deposit your friends at Konoha, they will return to retrieve the others as well." Gaara said with certainty. He trusted his siblings to know exactly what to do, given the amount of casualties that occurred during their search for Sasuke.

Naruto was relived. Everything was going splendidly. Hopefully, Shikamaru and Kiba did not die. If they did not, this mission would have been deemed a rousing success.

"We should get moving." Gaara said. "Uchiha Sasuke has an injured arm, and he needs the medical attention. Can any of you carry Rock Lee?"

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other. Neither of them was in the proper condition to carry Lee, even if Naruto was not as badly damaged as Sasuke.

"I presume not." Gaara inferred. "Well then." With a motion of his hand, sand deposits from the ground began to rapidly gather under the unconscious body of Lee. Lee was lifted into the air in what seemed to be a cloud of sand.

"I will carry Rock Lee back to Konoha using this method." Gaara reassured the two genin. "We must finish the burial of your adversary before we take off."

Gaara used his sand to force apart the ground for a burial site. It was a smooth job, digging a grave with just sand, and it saved the two genin a massive amount of time and labor. Gaara used his sand to carry the deceased Kimimaro into the grave, and filled it with the earth he allocated to a different location. Naruto and Sasuke watched in awe as Gaara effortlessly completed the job in several minutes.

As soon as Gaara was done, he turned to look at Naruto and Sasuke. Both of them nodded with approval, ready to make the trek back to Konohagakure. Lifting Lee into the air using his chakra, Gaara, Naruto, and Sasuke concentrated whatever chakra was left into their feet and dashed off to the south.

Hey Y'all!

Thank you very much for reading my chapter. This chapter is a lot shorter than the other two, and has little action in it. However, it does contain some much needed reflection from the main protagonists. They need to understand what they did wrong in the battle in order to improve their skills. One does not become strong by simply defeating stronger opponents. One gains strength from insight and reflection. After all, a smart person makes mistakes, but a wise one learns from them.

The meat of the story will pick up next chapter. Hint: It's the hospital scene. What exactly is going to happen next chapter? What's going to change with Sasuke actually returning to Konoha? Stay tune to find out.

I am really ecstatic about the stats I am receiving from this story. It gives me great pleasure to write this story and equally great pleasure for you guys to read it. Here are my week 2 stats: 17 Followers, 11 Favorites, 7 Reviews, 1 Community, and 362 views! I doubled the amount of views I got from the first chapter, which gives me great pride! Thank you very much for taking your time to read my fanfiction.

Like before, the option to edit my works is still available. Please PM me if you have interest in influencing the flow of my work. My writing will also improve dramatically as a result, and I can deliver to you better and better quality writing. That's ultimately my goal as a writer of fanfiction, so I look forward to working with a potential new editor.

Keep checking updates for my other fanfiction, Finding Conviction, which updates every Wednesday. Some of you may wonder what happened to Conflicting Resolves. Well, I don't have a great desire to work on that while working on other fanfictions, so It's on hiatus until further notice. However, in the place of Conflicting Resolves, a new fanfiction will be worked on. It will be biweekly, released on the 1st and 15th of every month, and it will be 10000+ word chapters. Look forward to the first chapter, being released on May 1st, 2013!

Also, remember to check out the 'Sasuke is a good guy' community my story is in. Some of the works may intrigue you after all. ( community/Sasuke-is-a-good-guy-Fics/107124/)

Now for questions.

Q: I have a question. Is Sasuke is still going to learn what he did in canon? If so who is going to teach him kenjutsu..?

A: I've been heavily debating that in my mind. I love kenjutsu, its an amazing technique and I think all practitioners of the art are badasses. However, I want my Sasuke to be distinct from canon. So I have a weapon discipline in mind for him. What is it you may ask? It's kinda generic for a fanfiction, but it fits nonetheless, and it will also help Sasuke expand his elemental knowledge base. That's the only hint I will give you, but make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the revelation.

Once again, thank you all so much for reading my fanfiction, and I will see you all next Monday.

-Blackrazgriz 4/29/2013 11:03AM EST