A/N: Whoo it has been such a long time, hasn't it? Sorry sorry life bothered me. But I'm here now coz of a reviewer and a new understanding on this fic. That there is a plot in here if I just tried to tilt my head to the left and squint my eyes. This would have come later but I realized this chapter was close to rotting in my files haha. Thank my past self for readying.

Also, by the way, I have plans of editing this fic before continuing the next chapter and juggling it with Clandestine. You could visit that one too while you're at it but yeah, update could hopefully come as early as a month or hopefully earlier.

Warning: OrangeStar still sucks at action scenes and mentioning that it is raining.

The results weren't completely unexpected. He had been injured more than he could have planned and frankly, he really was being pummeled by Sasuke. But of course, despite the decisive battle, the sannin accepted death and defeat like the Kyuubi brat accepted having his decisions dissuaded. If anything, he must be much more obstinate than that boy. Orochimaru simply continued to dodge the never-ending jutsus being sent at him while he fought to stay standing. It frustrated him that all he could do was jump back while his own attacks were being swiftly seen and annihilated by the Mangkeyou Sharingans.

Damn Uchihas.

And yet, the snake sannin couldn't help but smile at his former apprentice. After all, it was he who brought him here in the first place. He shouldn't -even for a minute second- be surprised by this strength sent at him. What he found amusing though were the raw emotions splayed all over the ruby eyes, the mindless fury wrapping around his entire being.

Orochimaru laughed as he dodged a fireball. "Sasuke-kun, how come you never told me?"

The raven didn't reveal anything on his face as he swung his sword at him. "What the hell are you talking about, snake?"

Suddenly, sharp purple nails were at the Uchiha's face, snake-like eyes directly above surprised Mangekyous. "This. All this love for that Kyuubi brat. And I thought he was just a hopeless–"

"Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu!"

Orochimaru, who was mid-air above him, leapt and landed behind Sasuke, his smile growing. "Well, I also thought he had the worst control of his emotions. You two are surprisingly so much alike in more ways than one."

And then Sasuke was behind the sage, his katana wrapped around his throat. "Just shut up while I kill you."

Orochimaru's eyes widened as he felt the blade slide against his skin. Before it could completely slash his neck, a log was at his place. He reappeared behind a tree, his hand clutching his throat. To think… to think that that brat had almost–

"Hiding, Orochimaru? You really are nothing but a coward, aren't you? Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Chidorigatana!"

Something sparked hotly between Orochimaru's shoulder blades. He quickly jumped and shunshined far away from the raven, placing as much distance as he can between them. Dammit all. His eyes traveled in search for a certain blonde. When he noticed that he was still bleeding profusely, panting heavily, and looking so weak and vulnerable… Orochimaru knew that now was his chance. A mischievous smile was on his face before he vanished.

Naruto hissed in pain as Kyuubi's chakra coated his system. The furry guy, though a big help and someone he was on good terms with, had a chakra that was simply too fierce and malevolent no matter how much he had changed. The healing may be a good thing but it stung like a bitch! The issue of fixing the way it burned would be something he had to keep in mind once all this was over.

His narrowed eyes returned once more to where his train of thoughts led him. Sasuke looked to be enjoying the little "battle" he was having against Orochimaru. Naruto was so close to doing the sannin in before Sasuke came along though and he was mighty fine proud of what he had done. The injuries looked gruesome but Sasuke didn't really seem to give a flying fuck.

The Uchiha was hacking away at the guy like there was no tomorrow and all the snake-bastard could do was dodge and keep away from Sasuke's Kusanagi, his dreadful blows and powerful jutsus. Everything he was doing looked so effortless. Hah. Naruto could even see the guy was smirking.

Suddenly, Naruto felt Kyuubi's chakra focus too much one spot causing him to gasp. The damn thing burned like hell. 'What the fuck, Kurama?' he screamed in his mind.

"Stop smiling like an idiot. You already are one, you know."

"Hn. Shut up…" The blonde couldn't help it, really. Something warm fluttered at his insides at seeing Sasuke so bloodthirsty for Orochimaru. Didn't make sense but whatever.

And yet… he knew Kyuubi meant to have a deeper meaning than what he had said. Although Sasuke was obviously in the upper hand before the fight even started, that didn't mean that something could eventually go wrong. This was shinobi life he was talking about. What's more was that the other shinobi party was Orochimaru, a guy who, by no means, is your average shinobi. Behind everything about him was always something no one would ever expect. Even he hadn't anticipated that substitute genjutsu of his. He could have anything plotted under his sleeve. For all anyone knew, the injured self of his was a façade itself. Call it paranoia but sometimes cuts and bruises, blood stains and heavy breathing can say nothing about someone's inner state of well-being.

If that was the case, Naruto had every right to worry. It was he who brought Sasuke into this mess. If anything were to happen to him, he would be held liable for his life. And that wasn't something the blonde was ready to face. The thing was that, as much as he wanted to interfere and fight Orochimaru himself, he was truly incapable of doing so at the moment.

Sasuke was trying his best to quickly finish the sannin but, for some reason, Naruto could see that the raven was relishing the idea of injuring Orochimaru so much. If anything, he was torturing him to death actually. Naruto wasn't sure but it probably had something to do with what Sasuke said when he stood before the sage while activating his sharingans. Something about a mistake Orochimaru had apparently done. He wondered what that was…

"Kit, below you!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he felt the chakra beneath the ground. With a grunt, he pushed himself off, just in time before Orochimaru's fist could have sent an uppercut in the place he had previously been in. Immediately, Naruto's head swam as his stiff, aching body was overcome with pain. He stumbled and fell on his feet with a wince. "Dammit!" he muttered angrily.

Naruto's eyes roamed the area in search of Sasuke, confused as to why the sannin was after him. His chest tightened when he couldn't find Sasuke immediately, his thoughts deducing that maybe… no. Naruto finally caught on to an earth dome in the middle of the clearing and Orochimaru –most probably a clone– placing his hands on it. If he wasn't mistaken, he had just used the Doton Kekkai: Dorō Dōmu, like the one Jirobo had used back in the old days. When Orochimaru had learned that technique, he didn't care. But by the way the clone looked -sweating and panting heavily- it was taking a toll on him. If Orochimaru was ready to waste so much chakra on that, it was possible that he had already concocted a plan which he seemed so certain wouldn't fail.

And that just made Naruto worry.

Well, not really. Not much maybe.

The dome had its flaws -even if Orochimaru could've found the one they saw when they were 12- and judging by Sasuke's skills, he'd have eventually found out a solution by now. But Orochimaru would know that as well. Meaning, he was counting on the time Sasuke would be unavailable to strike the blonde down. Orochimaru seemed confident about that.

But then another thing the sannin forgot to take note off: his talent for ruining the greatest of plans. Uzumaki Naruto doesn't back down from a challenge. Besides, Sasuke being trapped had just raised his chances of safety. Now, the blonde only needed to keep him that way even after he escapes. He had to execute Orochimaru himself before the raven could come out.

A challenge, indeed.

With a grimace of pain, Naruto materialized to a tree behind him just as Orochimaru sent a large gust of wind. "Kyuu, I need you to work faster on me, whatever the cause. I'm going to need all the help I can get."

"Yeah sure. But this might hurt, kit. Remember, keep control."

Naruto was unable to reply as fiery hot flames immediately engulfed him. His hand reached for the side of the tree as he doubled over, feeling his nails sharpen as they scratched the bark. He felt his canines grow until they reached his lips and chakra materializing around him. He was seeing red. Control, Naruto, control.

Fighting away the nausea, the blonde managed to stand up properly. His fox-like eyes landed upon the earth dome, allowing him to see Sasuke's chakra spiking well enough. The Uchiha would be fine. He was going to get out of there in no time at all. Then he turned to the Orochimaru who seemed paralyzed by his sudden transformation. Naruto smiled.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A clone materialized beside him. With a single plan in both their minds, it vanished. The original Naruto jumped down in front of Orochimaru just as his clone reappeared behind the sannin.

"What's this? Just one clone? Confident with a plan to take me down so that your precious Sasuke-kun would be safer?" When Naruto stiffened, he laughed. "You're too easy to read, Naru-kun."

The blonde growled. "I said stop calling me that! And besides, you're the one coming after me, bastard. I don't even understand why you're dead set on killing me! But that doesn't mean" –his eyes narrowed– "I'm going down without a fight!"

Naruto then threw three kunais at Orochimaru which he easily dodged by ducking. Upon turning his head, the sannin saw the regular kunais poof! and they turned into Hirashin kunais in the hands of the clone. Shit!

Just as the thought came, the blonde appeared behind him. "Futon: Daitoppa!" The attack came too quickly and Orochimaru was unable to dodge the onslaught of wind. He roughly tumbled back, gaining scrapes on his exposed skin. That was when he realized that the jutsu was stronger above normal, even for Naruto. When he looked up, he saw a reddish orange pigment in the blonde's eyelids and the way energy gathered around him.

Sennin mode.

What only struck him as odd were the eyes which wasn't a usual yellow and the pupils being more than just a bar; it was a fiery red enclosing a cross. The damn Kyuubi was appearing. He couldn't be defeated this quickly. His eyes glanced at the earth dome. No, he had to keep this battle going longer. Orochimaru got up, wiping blood from his mouth.

"Hmph. Your sage mode is useless, boy! Let's see what you've got against a sannin." With that, he struck.

Naruto jumped out of the way as soon as Orochimaru charged. He landed upon a tree branch where he summoned a clone in order to retain his sage mode. Out of nowhere, Orochimaru appeared behind him and Naruto could only block as an uppercut was sent his way. The blonde tumbled down the tree.

"Doton: Doryuso!"

Suddenly, the muddied earth started shaping themselves and, in an instant, spear-like stones protruded from the ground. Immediately, Naruto channeled enough chakra to his feet in order to maintain his grip on the slick tree.

"Futon: Daitoppa!"

Shit! Naruto dug his hand into his holster and brought out a Hirashin kunai which he quickly threw across the clearing, then vanished just in time as the weapon reappeared beyond the jagged ground.

"Doton: Doryuha!"

And then, something like a wave sprouted from the earth. Orochimaru quickly jumped on it and, suddenly, was already at Naruto's location.

Shit, he's literally sending jutsus one after the other. I can't even come up with an attack. All I've been doing is dodging and deflecting. But that means that the snake bastard doesn't really plan to die. Hmm… Kyuubi help me out here. I'm pretty sure we've already got this jutsu down.

"Go for it, kit."

Here goes nothing. Naruto started gathering chakra in his hand as he felt Kyuubi's own infusing itself as well. "Juha Sho!" As the name states, a large red blade of wind pulsed out of Naruto's hand and, as if in the speed of light, launched itself at Orochimaru. The jutsu had been wide enough that even as the sannin jumped out of the way, he couldn't escape the scathing heat radiating from the attack as well as a slice on his ankle. Damn rain wasn't even helping.

He glared at the ANBU Captain. "New technique, I see. And it seems to work well with your beast. But that measly thing won't stand a chance against me!"

Naruto could only smile. "Are you sure?"

At that, the blonde shunshined elsewhere, watching as Orochimaru fell to his knees with a pained gasp. The cut on his ankle, despite its size, made any ninja feel as if it had suddenly been pulled wide open while acid doused the bare thing. It was an attack meant to worsen with a little extra help from a beast.

Naruto couldn't help but smirk a little as he continued to watch Orochimaru, his head frantically twisting around in order to detect him. Hah. The blonde already learned few years back that his chakra would prove difficult to hide and thus made it a point to perfectly learn the technique. It was a strained effort, seeing as he may as well be containing the largest chakra powerhouse in the world, but it wasn't something a bit of hard-headedness couldn't solve. Naruto soon decided to execute his final move.

He bit down onto his thumb and brought the bleeding appendage to the ground with two certain frogs in minds. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

He saw the sannin finally turn in his direction, which left him little time to talk to Gamatatsu and Gamakichi. After finally convincing the two to aid him, he hopped on Gamatatsu's back. Both frogs leapt in front of Orochimaru as Naruto started gathering wind chakra. "Now, 'tatsu, 'kichi! Let's finish this bastard off! Futon: Gamayu Endan!"

Gamatatsu's chest swelled and then a large burst of oil came from its mouth, enhanced by Naruto's wind chakra. Not missing a beat, Gamakichi released his own fire bullet. The attack came too quick, and Naruto clearly saw that the sannin took the full brunt of the attack and was left no time to run. He was engulfed in flames.

"Thanks 'tatsu. 'kichi! Go ahead now. I promise I'll visit soon." The two frogs poofed after giving him a salute.

Naruto turned around, a smirk daunting his lips. It was pretty much a miracle that despite the rain, the Gamayu Endan had worked. Then again, you could never underestimate Myoboku oil. But still he wasn't sure if the effect of such a large attack would've fully worked. The rain was still a factor, after all. As the said droplets of water caused the smoke around Orochimaru to reveal himself, Naruto finally decided it was time to reveal his last move. Dispelling the sennin mode, he began forming seals and immediately, a dozen clones encircled him. All, including the original, turned haughty eyes at the sannin who was fully revealed now, burnt and down on one knee.

"You look pathetic, you know that?" Naruto purred. "But I'm not satisfied just yet." His clones left his side and went around Orochimaru. "Now!"

At once, half of the clones jumped into the air. "Kaze no Yaiba!"

The ones left on the ground suddenly had the rain's water surrounding each of them. "Sensatsu Suisho!"

Needles of both water and wind affinity sped at Orochimaru. All the clones dispersed at once, their clouds of smoke obstructing Naruto's view of what the sannin would obviously look. Just as he had thought of it, the smoke vanished and he was met by a bloody Orochimaru, clothes torn and skin pierced.

"Liked it, snake bastard? Surprise surprise, my second affinity's water, after all. I even took the liberty of learning Haku's jutsu first and foremost."

The sage coughed out blood. "Well, yes, indeed I am surprised," came his raspy, uncaring tone, "but I'm even more surprised at your stupidity." When Naruto didn't reply, he smiled. "Here you are, learning about something Haku had done. Don't you remember what he said? That–"

Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously. "When a person has something important they want to protect, that's when they can become truly strong. I know that, snake. The question is, why do you?"

"Ah, probably something Sasuke-kun has mentioned. But that's besides the point, isn't it? What I'm trying to say here is… doesn't that tell you enough, Naru-kun?" The blonde's eyes widened a bit when Orochimaru had the nerve to start coming closer at him. "You're right in saying I'm the one coming after you. But…"

And, suddenly, that was when everything fell into place. A ringing silence was all he heard as he gathered everything that was about to happen, his world completely crashing down on him. Naruto's eyes widened in horror as he felt Sasuke's chakra somewhere beneath him. Orochimaru was coming forward and something in him was building up too. He had anticipated this. Both he and Sasuke were falling for his trap.

And then the horrible silence ended, followed by Sasuke's appearance from the earth and Orochimaru's amused tone.

"…that doesn't mean I'm dead set on killing you, Naru-kun. Mandara no Jin!"

In one rapid movement, Orochimaru's mouth opened wide and true to its name, ten thousand snakes slithered away, sharp, gleaming swords in each their mouths. They fled in a flash, appearing all around Sasuke, entangling and slicing, biting and piercing.

"Sasuke!" Naruto screamed. His chest tightened as he saw the raven trying to get the reptiles away. At first, it had seemed as if he was fighting them off successfully, but soon enough, it was obvious that they were too much. Three snakes had managed to sink its venomous teeth successfully into pale flesh while five pierced with their swords. Only seeing Sasuke's back, Naruto was simply left to see the way he tensed in pain and heard the gasp which escaped his mouth.

Naruto's chakra flared. Fuck control. He was going to give those snakes a taste of what he was experiencing internally. Just as he straightened up, Sasuke's head tilted to face him. The blonde was suddenly overcome with a feeling of weakness. "Oh God…" he muttered, his face paling.

The Uchiha was by no means in a good condition. Naruto had always been used to his abnormally large amount of chakra. That was why he wasn't used to the fact that some people exhaust their own chakra. Sasuke was one of those people. If both of them had been in that dome together, it would be obvious that the chakra absorption wouldn't have much of an effect on him as it would with Sasuke. And if they had been together, at least it was his chakra that would be focused on first, leaving the Uchiha's own chakra only slightly damaged. But the thing was, they weren't. It was Sasuke who had been there alone. He would have been exhausted enough on using his Sharingans, but having it absorbed too?

It all made sense to the blonde now that it was Sasuke Orochimaru was targeting. The clone he had sent had really made an effort in taking Sasuke's chakra as much as it can, in order for him to be weakened enough by the time he came dashing in to the blonde's rescue. And now…

Sasuke's face was completely devoid of strength. Blood dripped from both sides his mouth and he looked close to fainting. The snakes had probably taken a lot of toll on him. Naruto's claws dug into his palms, his teeth into his lips. Blood seeped out heavily but he didn't care. No way… in no way was Orochimaru going to–

"Naruto. Don't. Please… don't."

His eyes flew to Sasuke's battered form. "Sasuke…?" Just then, a snake pierced at his arm and the raven fell on one knee, breathing heavily. "Sasuke!"

As he made a move towards him, Sasuke eyed him sternly. "I said don't! It's me… he wants. Run away while… ngh… you still can. I–"

Around ten snakes managed to bite him and the blonde couldn't help the tears that formed in his eyes. "Sasuke!"

"I… I have a plan, okay? I'll be fine. You're still… hurt. He won't attack Konoha if… if I'm here. Just go!"

Naruto's jaws clenched. "You have no right to boss me around, Sasuke Uchiha! I am perfectly fine and more capable than you to–"

"You're a love-fooled idiot, you know that?" came Sasuke's weak voice before he was buried into a pile of snakes.

The blonde suddenly felt paralyzed into his spot. That was it. This was no genjutsu and the Sasuke in front of him had been the real deal. He had finally been told that he was a fool for loving him. The feelings he had admitted were nothing but a joke to Sasuke. There wasn't an ounce of emotion in his words. He didn't even know if it was better to have heard him sound so amused. He hated this. He hated this so much but…

Naruto smiled painfully. "I already know that, Sasuke…" With Kyuubi's chakra flowing all over him, five tails appearing behind the cloaked form, the blonde charged. "Rasengan!" The large blue orb was sent at the snakes, causing them to flee or some to die near Sasuke's unconscious body. With a dull look in his eyes, Naruto walked into the path of where he obliterated the snakes and picked Sasuke up. He felt the fangs and swords but didn't even as much as a flinch. The only thing he defended was Sasuke's body. Naruto then created a bunch of clones, similarly emotionless as him. "Just surround me," he commanded, "don't get any of them near Sasuke." With a nod, they did as told, constructing a barrier with their bodies. Naruto went to work, remembering all he can from Sakura's medic skills. As he tried to get the poison out and heal Sasuke at the same time, then and again, a clone would disperse and send memories of the attacks which it did nothing against. Another tail appeared as to continue to suck poison out and heal wounds.

"Kit, what the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Healing Sasuke… It's my fault he's like this… I couldn't even… Ah!" Suddenly, there were tears mingling with the rain that fell on Sasuke's bloody clothes.

"Dammit, Naruto! I'm not talking about that! Stop abusing yourself already! While you're sulking and killing yourself off, that snake-bastard is replenishing his health! He's going to–"

"It's fine. As long as Sasuke would have a chance to live. See? His heart rate's getting better and–"

"Futon: Daitoppa!"

Suddenly, a bunch of memories swept into Naruto's head, causing him to growl due to the pain that went along with it. He twisted his body around, coming face to face with Orochimaru. His stance was immediately that to protect Sasuke.

"Fufufufu… You really are an interesting one, Naru-kun. Still placing your precious one's health before you, I see. You know… Sasuke-kun had been… my precious apprentice too." His smile turned into an ugly scowl. "And imagine my surprise when he defects because of an idiot beast like you. That's when I realized Naru-kun… if I can't have him, no one can. I will kill him in front of your very eyes!"

Seven tails formed behind Naruto as his fox-like appearance became more pronounced. "Try it, you bastard! I'll protect him with my own life!"

"Hmm… I see… Then I believe…" He threw a kunai which Naruto only caught by letting it pierce his arm. "This would be very easy."

Kurama growled from within his cage as he watched his precious host receive Orochimaru's blows without even so much as defending himself against it. The little damn brat. He was too confident in the fact that he was supplying him enough chakra to burn off tools and skin and for wounds to close themselves up. The boy needed to take this seriously, dammit. Then again, maybe he would if ever Kyuubi started taking his chakra cloak away. As tempting as the idea was, the demon knew he couldn't take the sudden risk. Naruto didn't care what happened to him. With or without his healing powers, he would still fight with simply his body as a defense. And that kid knew how to stand in the way of attacks too much.

The blonde was broken, that much was obvious. All his life, Kyuubi had watched him grow strong in so many aspects. His kit never backed down from a fight, never ceased to get up no matter how low his odds were against his opponent, no matter how scathe, burnt or bleeding he already was. Naruto always… always stood up from no matter what. It always took the boy a hell lot of effort to bring down. Throw whatever jutsu you can at him and it would never suffice in destroying the blonde ball of energy. His determination to keep on going was probably the greatest weapon he always had with him in whatever battles he had to face in his life, the most terrifying one of all, maybe. Nothing… just nothing stood too long in his path.

That was… until a certain genius invaded his life though.

No matter how long Kyuubi have watched humans interact, he never really understood how the strongest people usually become instantly weak just because of something their hearts did to them. They loved. He'd seen it happen a million times. How humans loose every sense of logic they had, how foolish they can suddenly become in the name of love, because in the end, it was always the same ending, over and over again: they get hurt. Always. Shouldn't that lesson be something parents passed on to their children? Love gets nobody nowhere.

And yet… even just a bit, Kurama was staring to understand these humans. Through Naruto's eyes he had realized that love made one weaker, yes, but abnormally stronger, that much was true too. The simple words or actions shared between two people who loved each other seemed to always cause a million more times amplification than the interaction itself. Love was just love, he guessed. As confusing as it was, sometimes it was also the only thing that made sense in the world.

But his kit… his kit's situation was different. Never had the demon witness something as extraordinary as the raw emotions his host felt for a single human who was like anyone else. No, scratch that. Uchiha Sasuke was by no means normal even in the blonde's abnormal standards of life. Out of everyone else in the whole world, he just had to choose a homicidal teenage boy who had once been his best friend, then a rival, and, let's not forget, a guy who ran a chidori through his chest. Out of everyone else in the world, he just had to choose the most complicated person to fall in love with.

From the very start, Kyuubi had actually expected this kind of thing between the two boys. Ever since his host had laid his eyes on the raven with so much hate in their childhood days, deep down, the demon knew that there had been a flurry of excitement in the child's chest. The simple connection they had made already seemed to spell out for Kurama that in a few years' time, something was bound to bloom in there.

So maybe it had been inevitable or maybe it hadn't but he actually saw why Naruto's heart seemed to long for the Uchiha. If one would look closely, their pasts pretty much had it in for them. They may have had different ways of having been alone for most of their lives, but the fact remained that they were alone. There was solace in the idea that in their childhood, they found a way to look past this through someone else, by having a new deep connection with another after long years of isolation. Because down there in their hearts, they knew that the person in front of them was someone who understood them the most.

Down there in their hearts, they have always been waiting for that kind of person and keep them to themselves.

As Kyuubi's mind wandered, all of a sudden, he felt an influx of chakra. But it wasn't Naruto's. He shut his eyes and concentrated his chakra to dominate a certain portion of the blonde's mind. It was something he and kit had worked out years back so that he could feel what he felt, see what he saw and so on, without completely controlling his host. It was like a mini-freedom for him. Immediately, the numerous inflicted injuries on his person registered in the demon's mind, causing him to snarl. Already, he felt only the sheer will of Naruto to protect Sasuke cause him to still be able to stand and defend. If not, he would probably be passed out by now.

"For the love of– Kit, would you fucking snap out of it! If you beat the damn snake bastard, there'll be no threat on the Uchiha's life, you idiot!"

When his host did not reveal any sort of reaction, Kyuubi cursed under his breath. This was seriously, extremely, by far, the most outrageous, stupidest–

"Gomen… Kurama…"

And then Naruto was deflecting a kunai with his own kunai. Not his body. A damn weapon he finally had the mind to reveal. Kyuubi just wanted to cry tears of joy, though seeing as he was, after all, the infamous Kyuubi no Yoko, he settled with just snarling with excitement. "Kit, stop fucking up okay?" the demon commanded as he opened his eyes.

He heard the smile in the boy's voice. "No promises."

"No promises, my ass. Just get to work!"

"Yeah."

And just like that, it was as if the world had finally righted itself once again. Despite his injuries, Naruto managed to emulate the breeze. He shunshined far too quick for Orochimaru to catch on, causing a flurry of weapons, jutsu after jutsu unable to be blocked by the sannin. Even from within his vessel, Kyuubi could see how weak the bastard already was. There have been far too numerous injuries inflicted on his person and, like the blonde a while ago, he was mostly powering himself out of sheer will. That alone unnerved the demon. If Orochimaru was so determined to remain standing, what exactly did he have in mind? What was he trying to achieve out of this hopeless battle of his?

Orochimaru had mentioned that his main goal had been to eliminate Sasuke, hadn't he? If so, obviously enough, his obstacle could be nobody else but his stubborn host. So why… why was there such glint in the sannin's eye that promised confidence in victory? If there was something Kyuubi learned amongst all the battles of humans, it was that things never stopped at Plan A.

That each new plan was more deadly than the one that came before it.

The question was: what was it?

Orochimaru was smiling, not bothering to absorb the pain of Naruto's attacks. He simply let them be, dodging if he could, shrugging if he can't. The Kyuubi brat was pathetic. His actions were too much infused by anger and it seemed to appease the demon. From the corner of his eye, the sannin could see the tails from behind gradually bubbling and growing.

Perfect.

"C'mon, Naruto-kun, that's too weak now. I could still easily slip... here!"

The blonde's eyes widened as he felt the sannin's chakra bolt behind him. Already, a clone conjured in that direction and Naruto made an immediate kawarimi with it to land a rough blow at Orochimaru. He looked behind him to see that Sasuke was still safe. That was the only thing which kept him going.

His gaze returned once more to the man covered in burns. The rain had finally slowed to a drizzle and he took satisfaction in the absence of Orochimaru's only possible relief. He just hoped that the dark skies would promise no more. Naruto returned once more to his fight with the sannin, dispelling clone after clone, throwing jutsus and punches, making sure Orochimaru was grazed with Kyuubi's chakra.

What Naruto didn't fail to notice, however, was the smile which never left the sage's face. It infuriated him so much that he released a viscous growl. Who the fuck did he think he is, smiling when it was obvious he was losing! Sasuke could never be in his hands now because he was protecting him, dammit! Why was the smile so triumphant and confident!

Naruto's canines sunk into his lips, releasing blood. No, he would never hand Sasuke over. The blonde made sure that he followed Orochimaru's every move so that he had no opening to get to Sasuke. They swerved left and right, deflecting kunais and paper bombs here and there and just no way was it possible he had a plan hidden there. Naruto was going to protect Sasuke even it causes him his life.

Even if... he didn't matter to the Uchiha at all.

The blonde's slight falter did not go unnoticed by Orochimaru. "You know you want to stop this, Naruto-kun. What exactly is the use of protecting someone who doesn't even love you?"

Naruto growled and sped towards Orochimaru. He sent a viscous uppercut at the man and, without missing a beat, elbowed his chest while grazing his face. The sannin fell to the ground on one knee but Naruto wasn't done. He swung a fist towards his face but Orochimaru ducked and jumped back to avoid it.

Orochimaru breathed heavily as he swiped a hand at his bleeding face. "I'd say that was a love tap, don't you think? I'm disappointed this is the best defense Sasuke-kun could have. You're weak, Naru-kun!"

The blonde was suddenly behind him. He swung his leg and Orochimaru found himself in mid-air. "I" -an uppercut to his jaw- "am not" -a heel down his throat - "weak!" and it ended with a knuckle down his head which sent the sannin to the ground with a crater around him. Naruto's whole red being shook. "I'm gonna fucking keep Sasuke away from you and I don't care what I'll lose!" He stepped on the sannin's back and tugged at his hair. Kneeling down, Naruto spat at his face, "You hear me? I will protect him even if it's the last thing I do!"

Orochimaru's smile widened. Truth be told, the demon's chakra was killing him. It burned with so much force that the sannin praised himself for still being conscious. But... it was all worth it at the sight of skin peeling away from the blonde and the half a tail left to complete the transformation. Naruto didn't even seem to realize what was happening to him. Fufufu... "Isn't that sweet? However... I think you didn't hear me at all. It's not..." Orochimaru spat blood, "...enough."

And then he was gone.

Reappearing by Sasuke's side.

"No!"

"Fuck!" Kyuubi growled from within his cage. He knew it. He just fucking knew it! The whole time his host had been fighting the sannin, the fox didn't fail to notice how much chakra the blonde was sucking from him. Kurama tried and tried to call out to Naruto but it had been too late. Orochimaru was trying to get a rise out of him and it worked. Kyuubi was simply left to watch as Naruto's tails grew to eight and a half.

And then that's when it happened.

As much as the fox tried to stop it, his chakra was just taken in one fell swoop. The kit may have had the ability for control but he wasn't that experienced and his control was too unsteady. What frightened the beast more, however, was how the power accumulated at a rapid pace. It would be too much for his host to handle. If there was a reason he didn't take pride in his vile nature, it was that it affected the blonde if he needed power.

Kyuubi growled fiercely. It was that damn Orochimaru. He had successfully triggered Naruto's greatest fear: being unable to protect his precious people... being unable to protect Sasuke. It was rather praise-worthy how quick the sannin had deduced and presented the idea but all the Kyuubi wanted to do was wrangle the bloody pale neck himself.

He wished he hadn't thought of that though.

Just as he was trying to figure out where all this was still going, he watched from Naruto's eyes the sannin appearing by the Uchiha's side. Already, before it even happened, Kurama already knew the blonde's plan of action. His host replaced Sasuke's body and at that moment, Orochimaru connected his hand with the blonde's, preforming a single hand sign.

"Sōjasōsai no Jutsu!"

Kyuubi's eyes widened. The jutsu quickly took its effect as green started coating the walls of the sewers. But that wasn't what the fox feared at all. No, it was far worse. The mindscape started shaking as the ceiling started forming cracks and crumbles of earth started falling. The jutsu Orochimaru had just used, the Twin Snakes Mutual Death Technique, was a forbidden murder-suicide attack. It was supposed to kill both target and user from their wrists but...

...Orochimaru wasn't gasping like his host and worst...

...the snake had slid downwards as fast as lightning and bit at the femoral vein.

With that, the fox couldn't hold back anymore. Before Naruto could even drop to the ground, he immediately took over the body. The kit was in critical danger and that meant he, too, was in danger. But for once, his own welfare was the least of his worries. If he didn't kill Orochimaru here and now, the blonde wouldn't have long to recover.

"Ah finally... the Kyuubi no Youko comes out..."

Kyuubi eyed the man with blatant distaste. He didn't even try to hide the venom lacing his tongue. "What the fuck are you playing at, snake!"

Orochimaru simply took out a vial from his sleeves and drank it before returning his attention to him. "Lighten up, beast. Don't you realize this freedom of yours? You should be thanking me you know."

But the fox had his attention set on something else. "What did you drink? Was that the fucking antidote?!"

The sannin smiled. "The only one left, yes."

And just like that, he finally lost control of his emotions. Rage built in his insides as well as just enough chakra which would still leave some to heal his host. Without too much thinking and trusting the concern he felt for his kit, positive black and negative white chakra formed at his mouth.

Orochimaru paled with his eyes wide. It looked as if he didn't even expect anything to have turned out in this manner. There was no readiness, only fear. Everyone knew what a Bijūdama was capable of and it was impossible to evade. Death stood in front of the sannin now. Desperation, however, tainted his eyes as well as his voice. "W-Wait! What do you think you're doing! Y-You don't even know-"

"But I do, you snake... I have a good idea what your plans could have been." With a last glance at the petrified sannin, Kyuubi hurled the sphere at him.

Everything else faded into a painful oblivion as rain once more started to pour heavily.

A/N: Well well? How did it go? Orochimaru's so hard to kill, huh? Kyuubi did the job though wee! If there are some jutsus which you do not understand, I suggest going to Narutopedia or just read from context, yeah? As for Sasuke remaining unconscious, at least he had been useful right? And what the fuck is up with you if you actually still manage to be conscious after being injected with venom and so much swords at least ten thousand times! Sasuke doesn't have a beast in him thank you very much.

So there you go! A cliffhanger for the next month or so! Haha am I mean? I'll really do my best though! I'm sure everyone wants to know what happens now with the poison and why Orochimaru wasn't affected so easily or what exactly had been Orochimaru's plan the entire time. Only Kyuu and I know, unfortunately. Mwahahahaha!

See you in a month or something!