A.N.: So here comes another chapter. I never realized how hard was it to write a melee scene until I tried. Also I had trouble to come up with propper scene breaks for this. And I send virtual cookie to everybody who sends a review.

A.N.2: Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Does anybody still think otherwise?

Naruto's eyes widened when he realized what was going to happen. At first he had been relieved to see the big Iwa genin up and about, it meant the Tsuchikage wouldn't be so mad at him. But then Akatsuchi turned to him and he saw his eyes. His breath caught in his throat. They were strange, almost glassy. He was prepared for rage or hatred, but not this emptiness. Then the redhead struck.

Naruto had just enough warning to avoid his fist. He hissed in pain. His wounds hadn't fully healed yet. He mentally cursed the Kyuubi for being so difficult. The fox really couldn't pick a worse time for giving him an ultimatum. But then again, it probably was a good time as far as the kitsune was concerned.

The Iwa genin pressed his attack and this time Naruto couldn't avoid it. He managed to block, but his arm nearly broke from the force of the impact. 'Was he that strong before?' Hana attacked Akatsuchi, but she was still weak from her injuries and he didn't even twitch. Then Kurotsuchi joined the fight and forced her to back off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The dais~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryoutenbin no Oonoki couldn't believe what he was seeing. His grandson was well again? How did it happen? The medics had agreed that his recovery was an extremely unlikely occurrence. And by the way, why wasn't he informed before?

Then he noticed the strange gait in Akatsuchi's step. Was it due to his wounds or was this somebody only pretending to be Akatsuchi? If so, it was an extremely tasteless joke and he was going to explain to that person why he shouldn't have done it in great detail. He quickly checked for Henge or genjutsu. Nothing. Was it really his grandson miraculously healed or was the person simply that good?

Than Akatsuchi (or whoever it was wearing his face) turned towards the blond Konoha brat and he knew things were about to get ugly. In that one moment, he knew what Akatsuchi was going to do. Unfortunately for the midget man, something kept him rooted in place. He opened his mouth to shout an order, but before the first syllable could leave his lips, Akatsuchi acted. He could only watch with dread as a fight broke between the genin.

"Order!" called the Kazekage. Some of the genin looked like they wanted to obey, but Akatsuchi was relentless in his attack. The blond jinchuuriki was sent flying right into the group of Suna genin, hitting the Kineko boy, sending him sprawling on the ground. Akira whined in pain as Naruto hit his wounded ribcage. Kurotsume took the assault on his master personally and bit the blond boy in the leg before he could get up. Naruto used his free leg to kick the panther in the neck. It refused to let go.

Akatsuchi clasped his hands in a seal, with speed greatly exceeding anything he had showed during the Exams. Naruto knew it was time to dodge, but he couldn't. Kurotsume held him tight. A spike rose from the ground, racing towards him. The only thing he could do was brace himself for the impact. It never came.

Tenzo had tackled Akatsuchi, making him release the jutsu. The big Iwa genin tried to punch him, but the former ANBU was faster. He evaded the fist and drew his sword. That was when the Tsuchikage entered the fray, sending Tenzo crashing into a wall which was quite far away. Akatsuchi used the brief reprieve to launch himself at Naruto, who was still struggling to get away from Kurotsume.

Naruto reacted purely on instinct. He drew a deep breath and Screamed. The stream of chakra-sharpened air hit the advancing genin head-on, cutting deep into his skin. It wasn't enough to stop his progress. He slammed into Naruto at full speed. The Konoha jinchuuriki was knocked into the ground painfully. He struggled to regain his breath, but the giant body lying on him was slowly suffocating him. The only positive he could find about this situation was that Kurotsume finally let go.

Then the weight was suddenly gone and he recognized one of the Hokage's ANBU standing above him. He could see the bleeding form of Akatsuchi getting up, readying for another attack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The ballroom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarutobi couldn't believe what was happening. One moment they were peacefully celebrating the end of the Chuunin Exams, the next pandemonium erupted. And the worst thing about it was that nobody seemed to know what exactly was going on. How did Tsuchikage's supposedly comatose grandson suddenly appear? If he wasn't mistaken, even the Tsuchikage himself looked startled by it. And why had he attacked Naruto? But soon it didn't matter anymore. More and more people were joining the fray and in no time members of every village present were involved. The civilians were screaming and trying to run, effectively jamming the door. Nobody knew what was going on, but the Sandaime Hokage knew one thing. His dream of peace just went out of the window.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back of the room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Temari was scared, though she would smash her giant fan on the head of anybody who would suggest such a thing. Despite being a ninja, she had never been in a real fight. She had done one C-rank mission, but that had been guarding a caravan nobody had bothered to attack. Now she found herself in the middle of an all-out battle between shinobi much more experienced then her, including three of the five Kage and two jinchuuriki. Despite her pride in her abilities, she knew she was hopelessly outclassed here.

And to make matters worse, the daughter of their Daimyo was hanging on her arm, blabbering frantically about being terrified and being too young to die and so on. Temari wanted to smack her on the head, but couldn't. She was a shinobi of Suna and it was her duty to protect their Daimyo's family, no matter how much she hated them. She cursed the fact that as the Kazekage's daughter she was obliged to entertain the Daimyo's daughter, because the girl was insufferable in the best of circumstances, always prattling something about the latest court scandals and fashions, things Temari had no knowledge about, and expecting her to comment about it properly. A small part of her was almost glad when the fighting broke out. The bigger one reminded her that she didn't take her war fan to the banquet.

"Calm down," she said. She didn't know whether she was addressing the princess or herself. They both needed to calm down.

The young noblewoman barely reacted. If anything, she clutched Temari's arm tighter.

"Calm down," the young kunoichi repeated in a more forceful tone, accenting it by shaking the terrified girl's shoulder. It seemed to get through. The Daimyo's daughter stopped blabbering and instead stared at Temari with impossibly wide eyes.

"We need to get out of here," she commanded. The princess nodded.

Temari surveyed the room. The center stage was where the heaviest fight was taking place. The two doorways were hopelessly jammed by panicking crowds trying to get out. Making a hole in the wall was outside her ability. The only option left was trying to squeeze through one of the windows. They were small, but so were the girls. She started dragging the Wind princess towards the nearest one. The girl followed her unquestioningly.

They made it halfway there when someone started shooting jutsu. Temari swore. The first Lightning Blast (or whatever it was) headed the opposite direction, but soon somebody returned the fire. Temari could only watch hopelessly as a fireball headed straight for them. Her instincts kicked in and she tried to jump out of the way, but the panicking young noblewoman hanging on her arm prevented her form getting anywhere. And she didn't know any technique that would save her from a Fire attack. She closed her eyes and waited for the heat to envelope her. It didn't happen.

She experimentally opened one eye. What she saw made her pause. There was a wall of sand protecting her from the flames.

"Gaara," she whispered disbelievingly. Sure enough, there was her youngest brother standing with an arm outstretched, commanding the sand to their protection.

"You should leave," he stated. She nodded. That was one thing they agreed on.

"Come," she commanded the princess. The girl didn't respond. She only stared blankly ahead. Shell-shock, Temari deduced from her limited medical knowledge. She sighed. Dragging around a deadweight was the last thing she needed, but it wasn't like she had a choice. Even in her state the young noblewoman held on her tightly. Temari slapped her. It had no effect on the princess, but it made her feel better. She hauled her unresponsive charge to the window. Getting her through would be a pain, but it would be an excellent opportunity to ruffle the snotty princess's exterior a bit without getting reprimanded for it. The noblewoman totally deserved it for the conversation Temari had to endure. Now she only had to make it before Gaara decided to stop protecting her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ near the dais~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oonoki had been at first confused, but that didn't last long. One couldn't lead a Shinobi village through several wars without being able to adapt to any situation quickly. So he quickly abandoned wondering whether the bleeding form on the ground was really his grandson or not. The melee fight that broke around was an excellent opportunity. He could end the threat to Iwa and his family here and now. He sneaked between his guards, his hands already forming seals.

The blond brat was just getting up, but his leg was bleeding badly. Good. He wouldn't be able to dodge, if a genin dodging an attack from a Kage wasn't a ridiculous idea to begin with. 'Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu.' A small cube formed in his mouth, quickly getting bigger and heavier. He watched the brat's eyes widen in fear as he tried to get out of the way. There was no way he could make it.

Then instincts finely honed from decades on various battlefields warned him and he jumped aside, narrowly avoiding an arm crackling with lightning. A millisecond later and it would have pierced his lungs. He tried to hit the attacker with the half-formed dust cube, but he moved out of range too fast. His attack crushed into the ground harmlessly. He cursed. The blond menace used the time to get lost in the crowd. He couldn't see him anywhere. It was times like these he hated his small stature.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the ballroom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was breathing heavily. The Tsuchikage himself had just tried to kill him. If it wasn't for one of the Hokage's ANBU's quick action, he would have been a smear on the floor. It was up time to get out of here. But he couldn't go until he knew his teammates were safe. He could se Hana still fighting off Kurotsuchi. Tsume had come to her assistance and together they forced the Iwa kunoichi to retreat. Kiba was standing beside them, trying to look less scared than he felt. The Inuzuka trio was making their way out.

But where was Hotaru? He couldn't see her anywhere. He carefully made his way to where he saw her last. And sure there she was, lying on the ground, trying to crawl away. Blood was seeping through her bandages. The wounds from her fight with Kurotsuchi must have reopened.

"Hotaru," he called her. She turned her head to him.

"Naruto," she whispered. He quickly ran to her.

"I'll get you out," he promised, trying to lift her. It wasn't easy, the girl was much bigger than him. But he managed to get her on his shoulders, even though her feet dragged on the floor. "Let's go," he said, trying to get them out of the mess.

"Look out!" Hotaru shouted. Naruto dropped down just in time for the kunai to narrowly miss them. They rolled on the floor, quickly untangling themselves.

"Here he is!" Kurotsuchi shouted descending upon them. Naruto reached for his ninjato and only when his fingers grabbed thin air he realized he didn't take it to the celebration. Crap, that wasn't good. But he still wasn't defenseless. He reached into his pockets and withdrew two kunai. He wasted no time charging them with Wind chakra. He stood on guard, ignoring the pain in his wounded leg, waiting for the Iwa kunoichi to attack.

"Kageromaru! Come here! I found him!" The Iwa genin was trying to sneak away before things got even messier, but his teammate's shout stopped him. He cursed inwardly. He wasn't interested in the petty vendetta of the Tsuchikage's family and wanted nothing to do with it. But on the other hand, if he killed the Konoha child, it might bring prestige back to his clan and prestige was something the Kamizuru sorely needed. He released his hive and made his way over to his teammate.

Naruto stiffened when he heard the sound of approaching bees. He had seen enough during the Finals to know what the danger was. He couldn't afford to pull any punches here. He jumped towards Kurotsuchi, Wind blades extending from his kunai. She recognized the danger and jumped back.

The bees sounded closer, too close for his comfort. They were coming from somewhere on his right. He turned that way and saw the black dots nearing them rapidly. He dropped his kunai and ran his hands through the seals for 'Fuuton: Breakthrough.' The insects were blown away. He had no time to celebrate. Kurotsuchi had jumped at him, kunai ready to strike. He tried to evade, but a sharp pain ran through his injured calf. He stumbled. He barely had time to raise his arms to block the attack before the furious girl slammed into him.

They both fell to the ground. Kurotsuchi tried to stab him again, but he managed to block her. He channeled Wind chakra to his hands. He tried to form blades, but he found it too difficult to concentrate and couldn't make them long. He hit the girl, but couldn't inflict anything worse than skin-deep wounds. 'I really have to come up with something better,' he decided. 'But I have to get out of this alive first.'

Before he could do anything, there was a flash of lightning and Kurotsuchi screamed and fell off him. He turned his head to see what happened. Hotaru was sitting there, her arms still outstretched after releasing the technique.

"Thanks," he called to her. There wasn't time for anything else. Kageromaru and his bees were approaching.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~near the dais~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kakashi was cursing himself. Whatever had possessed him to attack the Tsuchikage? The silver-haired man knew he was good, and it meant something even if he said so himself, but he still couldn't quite measure up to a Kage. Not by a long shot. And Ryoutenbin no Oonoki was somebody even his sensei had respect for, despite never meeting him in battle. So here he was now, his Sharingan eye uncovered and spinning, frantically trying to avoid the attack from the midget man.

Oonoki himself was furious. He had recognized the masked Konoha ANBU by his signature technique. He knew he was facing Hatake Kakashi, last surviving student of the thrice-accursed Yellow Flash. And if he couldn't get the little yellow brat today, the silver-haired jounin would serve as a good replacement. The young prodigy might be good, but he was still no match for him. He could already see how the man's dodges were becoming more and more last moment. It wouldn't take long and one of his attacks would hit him.

A hint of hot air on his back was the only warning he had before a Fire Dragon slammed into the ground where he was standing just a millisecond before. He turned to find his new attacker in the crowd. It looked like old Sarutobi finally decided to join the fun. This wasn't good. But they still had an ace in the hole.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Banquet battle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Kazekage felt like tearing his hair out. He had suspected that the dream-come-true the Chuunin Exams in Suna were could turn into a nightmare, but even in his wildest dreams he wouldn't have imagined it would be this bad. He had no idea how the comatose Iwa genin had miraculously healed or what possessed him to attack the damned Konoha jinchuuriki in public, but he had no doubts about the repercussions of such action. There was only one possibility: war.

Even now there was fighting everywhere, the ninja hauling kunai and jutsu at each other, the civilians screaming and trying to run from the room, the floor littered with bodies of people hit with stray techniques. Judging by their ornate garments, there were quite a few noblemen among the casualties. Their families and friends would demand vengeance and some of them would have quite interesting ideas about who was responsible for the massacre occurring. There was nothing that could be done about it now. And with Suna in the state it currently was thanks to their fool of a Daimyo, their chances weren't good.

Speaking of their ruler, the fat man was currently being carried to the door by two of his guards, the men struggling under their violently shaking burden. The other bodyguards were standing around, prepared to block anything that would head their way.

There was a slight distortion in the air. The Kazekage recognized it as a Wind jutsu, though he wasn't able to tell which. The Daimyo's guards weren't that good. One of them shouted a warning when the attack was almost upon him and tried to put up some shield, but he was too slow. The blades of the technique cut him in half. The jutsu continued in its path and hit one of the men carrying the Daimyo. The guard cried in pain and dropped his charge. The fat nobleman fell on the ground and started rolling away from his entourage. Some of his bodyguards were so focused on outside threats that it took them a couple of second before they noticed it. By that time the rotund man had rolled a good distance away.

There was another almost imperceptible wave in the air, for those well-versed in ninja arts identifiable as a Wind blade. It was heading straight for the downed Daimyo. The guards running for him would be too slow to save him.

The Kazekage stood in perfect position to stop it, but he was a Suna ninja and Suna ninja work only for those who pay them. The Daimyo wasn't paying them, his budget cuts nearly ruining the Hidden Sand Village. He watched motionlessly as the blade cut into the nobleman's fat chest. It went deep. Wind blades always did.

The guards finally reached their master and noticed his injury. One of them cried in alarm, another frantically tried to stop the bleeding. They wouldn't make it; the Kazekage could tell from his vast experience that the wound was fatal. 'That's what you get for budget cuts,' he thought darkly. Maybe something good would come out of this debacle after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~elsewhere in the room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yuugao knew she was supposed to protect the Hokage, but the Third looked like he had no trouble watching his own back. Her cousin was a different matter. Hotaru was sitting on the ground, blood slowly forming a puddle around her, shoulders sagging with exhaustion and the Iwa genin approaching her with malignant intent. Making a decision took her only a moment. She left her leader it the care of his other guards and rushed to assist Hotaru. She knew she would probably get into trouble for it later, but she didn't care.

It took her less than a second to cross the distance between them. Her hands flew through a series of seals while she was running. She breathed a small fireball and the insects were incinerated. Hotaru looked up in surprise. Yuugao smiled encouragingly, but it was lost behind her mask.

"Come, I'll get you out," she shouted.

"What about Naruto?" Hotaru pointed towards her teammate. Naruto had finally gotten to his feet, but so did Kurotsuchi. And what was worse, her brother now stood beside her.

Akatsuchi was badly cut and dripping blood, but he didn't seem bothered by it a bit. His gray eyes were set on his target. Naruto gulped worriedly under their gaze.

"Brother," Kurotsuchi exclaimed. She couldn't tell herself whether she felt more relieved or worried. Her brother was back on his feet, but there was something distinctively wrong with him. She just couldn't name it. She didn't have time to ponder about it. Akatsuchi sprang to action and so did she.

Naruto saw both the Rock siblings performing handseals. He couldn't detect any effect, but his instincts made him jump from his spot anyway. Still nothing seemed to happen (well, not counting the fighting going on around). 'Did their technique fail or am I trapped in a genjutsu?'

"Kai," he said bringing his hands together. Sure enough, a fissure appeared in the floor exactly where he had been standing a moment before. And Akatsuchi wasn't where he used to be as well. Naruto barely avoided his earth-shattering punch. He jumped right into the path of Kurotsuchi's kick. He was flung backwards.

An ANBU with long purple hair reminiscent of Hotaru appeared and buried her ninjato in Akatsuchi. The Iwa genin barely grunted and tried to shatter her skull. The ANBU woman jumped back at the last possible moment, saving her neck but losing her sword. It was official now. There was something seriously wrong with Akatsuchi.

He wasn't the only one who noticed it. Kurotsuchi saw it as well and gaped at her brother (or whatever it was) openmouthed. The moment of hesitation almost cost her dearly. Naruto shook off the shock first and leapt at her with a kunai, but she noticed him in time to escape with only a scratch. Then Akatsuchi attacked him again. Naruto wasn't able to fully avoid it, but he managed to latch himself on the big genin's arm. He kicked the big boy in the thigh. Akatsuchi didn't even grunt, which was strange, because he had channeled Wind chakra to his toes. Naruto didn't think about it and grabbed the handle of Yuugao's katana. Akatsuchi punched him, but Naruto didn't let go. He flew back, but he now had a sword.

Yuugao saw that the Iwa ninja had now his flank open. She used the opportunity to send a small, but hot fireball at him. She hit him point blank. Akatsuchi's clothes and hair caught on fire, but that was about it.

"Akatsuchi!" Kurotsuchi shouted in alarm. She had no idea what was going on here, but she was liking it less and less.

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the burning genin approaching him. But he didn't back off. He was finally armed and he felt confident. It was almost instinct to charge the blade with Wind chakra now. He waited for the right moment and sprang forth. He slid under Akatsuchi's fist and struck at his chest. The legs continued to run ahead, but the torso fell off. The arms were still trying to grab at Naruto.

Kurotsuchi screamed. The thing on the ground was split in half, yet both parts were still moving, relentlessly trying to attack the target, despite one of them being still on fire. She was certain now. Whatever it was, it wasn't her brother. She turned on her heels and ran.

Yuugao had encountered loads of strange things during her ANBU carrier, but nothing compared to this. A mortally wounded body was moving like it didn't even feel its injuries. It scared her. And what was worse, she didn't even have her sword and she felt naked and vulnerable without it.

"What's that?" The whispered question turned her attention to the ground. Her cousin was sitting there, wounds still bleeding freely.

"I don't know, but let's not stay around to find out," she decided. Hotaru nodded. Yuugao picked her up and headed for the exit. Naruto ran after them. They made barely five steps before the air was filled with sinister oppressive chakra.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the banquet~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roushi had been watching the battle with mild interest. As a shinobi of Iwa, he was supposed to protect the Tsuchikage, but he didn't feel like it. Oonoki was fully capable of defending himself and if he wasn't, well, he never liked the old bugger anyway. If something happened to the esteemed midget, he could claim that he had orders to do nothing until his Kage expressly told him otherwise. And it didn't occur yet. So he stood in the background, occasionally dodging a stray projectile and waited for something to happen. He got his hopes up when the Hokage joined the fray, but old Oonoki dodged. No luck there.

And then the Tsuchikage gave him that signal. Not just any signal, but That one. Roushi cursed inwardly. Why did it have to be now? He had hoped he wouldn't have to do this ever again. Old Oonoki knew how much he hated it and yet he forced him into it again and again, thankfully not so often after the war had ended. But considering the mess going on around, things were likely to change soon. He swore again. He had already fought one war for Iwa and he didn't want to get caught in another, but there was nothing he could do about it. The thought of running had crossed his mind more than once, but he always discarded it. Life in Iwa wasn't that bad in peacetime and he felt he was too old for the life on the run. But now things were about to change. Shouldn't he reconsider? Maybe, but he should do it once he had the time to think it over carefully. This wasn't a good time to go nukenin. He was still a shinobi of Iwa and he had an order to follow.

With practiced ease, he entered his mindscape and reached where the Yonbi dwelt. The giant ape sat in the middle of a humongous cavern, chained to a massive ring in the floor by a long chain.

"So you come again, human," it drawled. "What do you want now? And why do I even ask? It's not like I couldn't tell even if I didn't know what you were thinking. It's always the same all the time."

"Since you know what I came here for, would you grant my request?" Roushi went straight to the point.

"And why should I?" The giant Satori shrugged. "And don't tell me because the Tsuchikage of yours told you so. That's not a reason enough for me."

"Then what about…" the old man began.

"Measuring my strength against others?" The demon finished for him. "Not good enough. In case you missed it, which I know you didn't, it's the Kyuubi no Kitsune out there."

"So would you help or not?" Roushi was struggling to keep his voice calm. He did it despite knowing it didn't matter when dealing with the Yonbi.

"And why should I?" The giant ape shrugged. "You don't want to do it anyway."

Roushi sighed. It was just too hard to keep even his thoughts in check.

"It's hard to keep your thoughts in check, isn't it?" Roushi would swear the Yonbi was doing it purposefully to piss him off. "Do you have any idea what bother is listening to them?"

The old Iwa nin forcibly calmed his mind. He could once do it in the blink of an eye, but lately he got out of practice. Fortunately he could still do it.

"No need to get so nasty," the monster monkey growled. He couldn't stand when the cavern around him got quiet. It could nearly drive him insane if it went on for too long. "I'll help you, but be quick about it."

"Thank you." Roushi smiled. He opened his eyes. He was back in the main hall of the Kazekage manor. Less than a second had passed there. It was good he could come to an understanding with his tenant so quickly. In the end, it was only a matter of knowing what the demon hated the most.

But now came the hard part. With the Satori's power flowing through his veins, he was assaulted by the thoughts of the people around him. He was nearly overwhelmed with the sense of panic and bloodlust coming from civilians and ninja respectively. He pushed it to the back of his mind. He concentrated on his mission: eliminating the target.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~with Naruto's group~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto paused in his tracks. Another demon here? He knew the feeling didn't come from Gaara. But who? He didn't have to search for long. He spotted a tall man with a red ponytail, strange face plate and Iwa hitai-ate beelining for him. Sinister reddish chakra was outlining his silhouette. 'Of all the times for the Kyuubi to go on strike…'

Before he could finish the thought, he felt heat seeping from underneath. He jumped sideways before the ground under his feet could completely melt into lava. He barely landed when the Iwa jinchuuriki spat a stream of the super-heated earth from his mouth. He managed to dodge it by a hair's breadth. The injured leg was acting up again. He wasn't used to being wounded. He was missing Kyuubi's healing sorely.

He considered giving in into the Kitsune's demands. But was it wise? Everything inside him was crying against pleading to the demon for anything so soon after challenging him to the game of chicken. If only Tenzo was there, but he couldn't see the jounin anywhere. He wished he had talked with his guardian about the Fox. Why was he even so bothered about the presence of the ANBU anyway? If he just had some advice about dealing with the Nine-tails…

Another blast of lava cut his musings short. Once again he barely managed to evade. He tried to counterattack with a Slicing Scream, but it didn't cut through the protective cloak of demonic chakra. And the red-haired ninja attacked again, melting the ground under his feet. This time his soles were signed before he got away.

He heard a scream behind him. He shot a glance over his shoulder. The ANBU woman carrying Hotaru stumbled. He didn't see what had hit her, but it sent her to her knees gasping in pain. Hotaru rolled out of her arms, ending dangerously close to the molten ground. Naruto couldn't wait any longer. His teammate was in peril. He had to save her no matter what.

A.N.: So that's it for today.

I took some liberty while describing the Yonbi. I based him on the Japanese mythological creature Satori, which looks like an ape or monkey, lives in mountains and bothers travellers by coming up to them, reading their thoughts and saying them aloud. The best way to get rid of a Satori is to clear your mind. It would either get bored and leave, start howling in pain or even die. (at least that's what I found on the net.)

Next time: Some more fighting. And a long overdue talk with the Kyuubi.