A.N.: Another chapter is here. More fighting here. Enjoy it while it lasts. You'll have to wait for your next dose, I'm updating Through the Eyes of Death next. There are also some actionless chapters ahead. And for those who didn't notice it yet, there's a doodle of Kyuubi on strike on my DA profile. (For those who don't know it, there's a link on my profile). That's all I wanted to say. And thanks to all my reviewers.

A.N.2: Now reposted with less grammar andspelling errors.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. There was a funny comment here, but the **(insert expletive of choice) deleted my changes and I'm in no mood do write it again.

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

The feeling of demonic chakra in the air made Tenzo stop in his tracks. It nearly got him killed. The Iwa jounin he was fighting tried to whack off his head. The Wood user blocked at the last moment and counterattacked. He tried to disengage, but his opponent didn't let him. He cursed. He had no time for this. He had to look for the source of the aura. He could tell it was neither Naruto nor Gaara. But who else? Somebody powerful, that was beyond doubt. His limited abilities wouldn't be enough to deal with it. That is if he lived long enough to use them. He sighed and concentrated on dodging and parrying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's mindscape~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Kyuubi was sitting in his cage. Even imprisoned, he could smell the youki in the air clearly. It wasn't only the weakling of a Tanuki, but the Four-tailed Ape as well. While both of them put together were no match for him under normal circumstances, his current predicament was far from favorable. He was stuck inside a puny little brat, his power bound with seals he couldn't break, at least for now, and the miserable little whelp refused to cooperate with him. Oh, why did his host have to be so difficult? If he just allowed a small part of his chakra through the seal, they could wipe the overgrown Satori from the face of the Earth. But no, the kid had to close off the flow altogether. 'Oh wait,' the demon realized, 'it was me who stopped it. Oh, why did the little annoyance have to call me bluff?'

The truth was that the Kitsune was scared. Every time since his sealing there was at least a small trickle of his power flowing through his vessel. It wasn't much, but he could manipulate things a bit, if they got out of hand. Sure, he couldn't do more than lend his chakra to the stupid hairless monkey and whisper his suggestions, but even that was better than nothing. He still hated his predicament and everybody who got him into it, but he could deal, though barely.

Now even that was taken from him, and due to a stupid game of chicken, of all things. "Damn it, I'm no chicken," he roared, but there was nobody who could hear him. Which was good, since they couldn't doubt his mental health this way. He refused to lose the game. The great and mighty Kyuubi lost to no one. Well, that wasn't entirely true, but he refused to let it get to him. It was only a temporary setback, he would get out of here in no time, or he told himself so.

He felt a stream of demonic-power enhanced lava flowing dangerously close to his prison. He had to grudgingly admit that the Yonbi was no pushover, even if he couldn't compare to him. He would have already supplied his power to the brat, if it didn't mean being called chicken. 'Aaargh, why do I even care about such childish games anyway?'

He could feel Naruto's resolve falter. What had brought it on? 'Ah, there, a teammate in danger.' The Kyuubi smiled. The boy was just too caring. He wouldn't be able to resist and would come to him, begging for his power, anytime now. He had to wait just a little longer, but drat it, every second felt like a century. And the Kitsune remembered some centuries that felt particularly long. It was grating on his nerves. What if they got hit head on before the idiot could make up his mind? It nearly sent him into a panicky fit. 'Just a moment, just a moment, patience, you can do it,…' He repeated an endless mantra in his head, but it did little to help, patience never being his strong suit. 'I have to wait just a moment longer,' he reminded himself.

Then suddenly waiting wasn't an option anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage's manor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara felt the youki in the air.

"Kill," Shukaku whispered in his mind. The redhead shot a glance over his shoulder. His sister was safely out of the room now. He had no more obligations here. He could do whatever he wanted. But what did he want?

"Kill them all." There was no doubt what the One-Tail wanted. It was nothing new for Gaara. But was it what he wanted to do? Not so long ago, he would have answered yes without thinking. Then he had met Naruto and lost their fight. He realized there was more to life then mindless slaughter. He hadn't killed anybody since. But now there was fighting going on everywhere. He knew they were the injured party here and that they had full right to kill the attackers. But what would that do to him? Would the bloodlust get to him? Would he reverse back to how he used to be? He didn't want it. Not now, when his life seemed to take a turn for the better. Sand swirled impatiently around his feet, eagerly waiting for his command. The demonic energy spiked higher.

"Kill them already! I want blood! I'm hungry!" Shukaku was getting louder and louder. His voice mingled with the screams of people. Gaara couldn't hold it back anymore.

"Yes," he whispered. Sand surged forward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~with Naruto~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto had never tried to access the Kyuubi's prison on purpose before, so he wasn't sure how to go about it. How does one enter his mindscape anyway? He supposed meditation was a way, but he didn't think he would have enough time to sit down and clear his mind. He barely had the time to get out of the path of another lava attack. Yep, meditation was definitely out.

What else was in? Try as he might, his mind came up with a blank. 'Not good. I wish I could just think about it and appear there, but it isn't that easy. Wait, how do I know it won't work? It's not like I have a better plan, do I? Let's give it a try.'

He started thinking about the cave, the huge metal bars and the beast contained behind them. He tried hard to visualize them, so hard that he forgot about the real word around him. The moment of inattention cost him dearly. There was a hot, searing pain in his body. It was so strong he wasn't able to tell where he was hit. The pain overwhelmed everything. The world went out of focus and dissolved into darkness. An all too familiar kind of darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's mindscape~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'I waited too long,' the Kyuubi realized. Now his host was severely wounded and if he withheld his power much longer, they would both die. His knowledge of the human anatomy was good enough to tell. He stood up to push his chakra through the bars. Then he paused. He had a visitor. Maybe he could wait before helping, though only for a couple of seconds. But it might be long enough to get something out of it. He settled down and pretended to be asleep.

The moment he appeared in the dark sewer Naruto began doubting the wisdom of his decision. Once he could see the red tint and feel the putrid taint of the Kyuubi's chakra, he was struck with fear. Did he really want to touch something so dangerous? There was that thing with being wounded, probably fatally, but he still wasn't convinced. Then the image of Hotaru lying helpless on the ground flashed to his mind. There was no way he would leave his teammate to her fate, not when he had the power to help her. He only had to ask for it. He strode forward in a determined gait.

The walk to the cage seemed endless to him, though he realized it was actually quite short. He paused when the gigantic bars came into view. The fox was there, curled onto himself, his snout covered by one of his tails, apparently sleeping. Once again, the boy was struck with doubt. Was it really right to give into the beast's demands? It was true that he sorely needed the power and that he needed it now, but wouldn't using it let the monster loose? Wouldn't it make the gigantic bars of the cage break? Or was he perhaps too pessimistic? He should have faith in the Yondaime's work. Yet it was so easy to imagine the metal poles snapping, the fox pouncing forward… He shook his head forcefully. He had no time for idle musings. Hotaru was in danger, he was gravely wounded, he had to act now.

"Hey, you!" he shouted. The kitsune gave no outward reaction, but somehow it seemed to be listening. Was it actually awake and playing difficult? He didn't know, but he wouldn't put it past the demon. "Wake up, Fuzzball! I'm talking to you." There was no way the Nine-tails could let the insult slide. And he didn't.

"Who are you calling Fuzzball, you miserable hairless monkey?" The Kyuubi roared springing to his feet. He presented a really magnificent sight, teeth barred, fur standing on its ends, tails swinging wildly. The only thing disrupting the effect was the cage. Naruto stood his ground.

"So you are awake," he gloated.

"So I am." The demon deflated a bit. "Did you come to accept my offer?"

Now, there was it. The point of decision. He could either accept or decline, but whatever he chose, there would be no coming back. He was reminded of the graveness of his situation. He felt intimidated. What should he do now? It seemed like the question had no correct answer.

He took a deep breath, trying to cam himself. He came here for a reason. He had already decided. Then why was he hesitating now? Maybe because dealing with the devil was so much harder when he could see him in all his might?

"So what is it?" the beast asked with a hint of irritation in his voice. Naruto didn't fail to notice it.

"Why so impatient?" he asked.

"I don't have all day for you."

"Really?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What is here to do besides sleeping?"

"None of your business."

Naruto went on guard. The Kyuubi was behaving strangely. But what could be the reason? He took a look around. The cave looked just like it always did, dark, huge and ominous. The corridors leading out were the same as always as well. So what could it be? And then he noticed it.

"Why is there so little water?" The surface was barely a half of its usual height.

"What does it matter?"

"I think it does matter." He was convinced he hit the nail on the head.

"I don't care what you think," his tenant growled irritated. "So do you accept or not?"

Naruto allowed himself a small smile. If he wasn't mistaken, the Kyuubi desperately wanted to help, but didn't want to admit defeat. Though, when he thought about the possible reason, his optimism disappeared. But he refused to let it show.

"So this is it," he laughed.

"What?"

"Our game of chicken," he explained. "This is where it ends. I'm mortally wounded, am I not? So do you want to die with me?"

"Watch it, you impudent whelp," the demon roared. "Do you want to let your teammate die?"

Oh. He had completely forgotten about that. Hotaru was in danger and the stupid fox was playing his stupid mind games. His anger rose.

"Now listen, you flea-infested scurvy pelt! You give me your power now or I take it!"

"Try it, you mortal scum," the greatest of Bijuu snarled.

"I will," Naruto promised. He strode towards the cage. The Kyuubi tensed. If the stupid child reached into his cage, he would have an once-in-a-lifetime chance to get out of here. He prepared to pounce.

Naruto reached the cage and touched one of the bars. It was cold. So cold he had to retract his hand immediately or risk frostbite. He didn't pause. He reached between the bars and grabbed a handful of the red substance flowing behind them. Kyuubi jumped. There was no way the kid could remove his hand from his cage in time.

He had no idea what happened next. It seemed like the bars themselves moved. All he knew for sure was that one of them struck his muzzle painfully. His teeth missed the human's wrist, only glancing his hand instead. Naruto jumped back, holding a portion of his chakra in his hand. He ignored the blood flowing from the shallow gash, mixing with the red cloud enveloping his fist, and held his arm out triumphantly.

"I've got it!" The demon roared in rage. The bit of chakra Naruto managed to snatch was connected to the rest with a thin thread. Naruto pulled on it, dragging more of his power to him. The Kyuubi pulled back, trying to prevent him. But then he noticed the water outside the cage being even lower than before. There was no more time.

"So have my power, whelp, but only for today!" The red youki flowed freely through the bars.

"Thanks," shouted Naruto before disappearing from the cave. Somehow the Kyuubi thought he might have heard him saying 'chicken,' but that might have been just his imagination. He settled down and brooded. His jailor might have won this battle, but he didn't win the war. Not by far.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The banquet battle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For a moment, Roushi had thought things were going well. Thanks to the powers the Yonbi no Satori granted him, he was able to tell that the Konoha jinchuuriki was trying to draw on his tenant's powers, but wasn't sure how to do it. So he was untrained. Perfect. It made him more confident about facing the vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He knew he would be toast if the child somehow managed to unleash the full power of his demon. He had to prevent it at any cost.

He could see that the blond genin was distracted. All the better for him. If he could hit him now, he could end the battle and the threat to Iwa in one swipe. It would require speed and precision. He formed a spear of lava. Only his demonic chakra prevented him from getting burned as he held it. He took aim and threw.

And for a moment it looked like he'd hit the bullseye, but then the projectile was deflected slightly. The target was still hit, but it wasn't instantly fatal anymore. 'What was that? Where did all the sand come from?' He had no time to ponder over it any longer. Youki spiked high in the room. The Kyuubi's power had been unleashed. It didn't take a genius to figure out that things weren't good anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~elsewhere in the ballroom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hana was torn. Somewhere in the room were her teammates, undoubtedly in danger. A part of her wanted to run to them, assist them in any way, but her body was still weak from the poison and two of her dogs were limping badly. She wouldn't be much of a help and she didn't want to be a hindrance.

On the other hand here was her baby brother. Kiba was shaking badly, clutching their mother's leg. He was still a child who had never been in a real fight. And now he found himself in the middle of this. Hana had been in battles before, but even she was scared by the sheer power and intensity of the killing intent permeating through the room. Even the Inuzuka clan head looked disturbed. Then the power in the air spiked even higher.

"We have to get out of here!" Tsume shouted.

"No kidding," Hana replied, "but how? Door's blocked." The crowd of the terrified dignitaries was still trying to push through.

"Then we make one!" The Inuzuka matriarch decided.

"How?"

"Come on, Kuromaru!" The dog barked in affirmation. It was a sign of his high distress. He generally preferred speaking. Tsume gently pried Kiba's arms from her. "Watch him!" She tossed the protesting child to Hana. The young kunoichi held him tight. Her little brother was shaking so hard she almost dropped him.

"Inuzuka style: Soutou Rou!" Chakra enveloped both Tsume and Kuromaru and when it dissipated, a giant two-headed wolf stood there. Even though Hana had seen Tsume's Soutou Rou before, she once again marveled at how big it was. She couldn't come close to performing the technique so well, but Tsume was the Clan Head for a reason. Kiba, who had never seen it before, was staring speechless. At least he stopped shaking.

"Garouga!" The double-headed wolf growled and sprung forward, spinning at blinding speed. Hana wondered how long she would have to train before attaining such mastery. Then the furry tornado slammed into the wall. The Kazekage's manor was build to withstand battles, but its architect counted on the attacks coming from the outside. Tsume's attack cut deep and cracked the wall, but it wasn't enough to break through. Tsume lay in the rubble, separated form Kuromaru. She slowly pushed herself up.

"Not enough?" She scowled. "Let's do it again."

"Allow me to help," a sweet female voice sounded close. The Inuzuka family turned around. There stood a woman in a geisha's ornate kimono, accompanied by three familiar genin. Hana immediately recognized them as one of the finalist teams. The geisha-look-alike moved her fingers and three puppets made in the shape of beautiful girls moved forward. "My Three Fair Maidens can clear the rubble fast." It was true. The puppets moved fast, guided by the strings of an expert puppeteer, their sharp fingers removing the pieces of concrete faster than the Inuzuka trio could have managed. "Here, all done now," Teono announced.

"Right," Tsume grinned. "Let's hit it again."

"Wait a minute," a new voice interrupted.

"Youkou," Teono greeted. "Fancy seeing you here." Tsume looked at the second Suna finalist team's sensei dubiously. It might have been due to his team, including the Kineko boy and his cat, limping behind him.

"You can't break through the outer wall," the tiger-like jounin warned. "There are seals against damage."

"They're against outside damage," the geisha corrected.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Youkou replied.

"Just let the dogs break their noses," Akira suggested. Tsume growled at him. The rivalry between their clans went far back, their families regularly accusing each other of stealing and copying their jutsu. Snapping at each other was a reflex.

"Is meowing all you can do, scaredy-cat?" The jab was supported by Kurotsume's pitiful whining. The panther was trying to hide behind his master's legs, obviously regretted who he had bitten.

"Cut it out," Mizue chided. "We're in trouble enough." She was right. A blast of lava landed dangerously close to them.

"Mizue's right," Toshiro added. "We have to concentrate on getting out of here." It was nearly a miracle that all the genin were still alive after being in the middle of such a battle, but they all had the common sense to run as soon as it broke out, lingering only to pick up their wounded teammates, and nobody actively pursued them. They were also lucky enough not to run into the path of a stray technique.

"So how do we do it?" Teono asked. Everybody was reluctant to try just how did the supposed seals on the outside wall work.

"I'll do another Garouga, if you are so scared," Tsume offered.

"Wait," Youkou halted her. "I'll blast it off with a Fire Dragon."

"In an enclosed space?" Teono's eyes widened. "Has your blazing spirit burned out your brain?" The other Suna jounin had the good grace to look sheepish.

"Come again, Kuromaru," Tsume commanded when nobody seemed about to do anything. "We're going to blast right through."

"I'm not sure it's a good idea," the dog grumbled but obeyed. Soon the Soutou Rou stood there again.

"Garouga!" The flurry tornado surged forward, aiming right at the damaged spot in the wall. She impacted at full speed. There was a loud crash and a flash of light. A section of the wall went down. Obviously the protection seals weren't as good as was rumored.

"Mom!" Hana yelled. Tsume lay in the rubble, Kuromaru beside her, both of them unmoving. Hana rushed forward, almost dropping Kiba in the process.

"She's alive," Teono said appearing beside the distraught young kunoichi, her three puppets already clearing the way. Hana was eternally grateful for it. "And now hurry," the Suna jounin continued, "we have to get out. The battle is picking up." She was right. The sheer amount of killing intent in the air intensified by the minute. Hana would be shaking in her shoes if she wasn't too distracted by her concern for her family.

"Yes," she nodded. She tried to pick her mother up, but found that she couldn't Kiba was still hanging on her for dear life. "Would someone help me?" She looked around the assembly. Her eyes landed on Team Youkou. All its members were walking on their own two feet and weren't carrying anybody.

"I'll help," Toshiro offered. With his figure he had no trouble gathering the grown woman in his arms.

Mizue started for Kuromaru, but he was too heavy for her. She shot a questioning glance towards her remaining teammate.

"Helping an Inuzuka dog?" Akira shook his head. "My parents would have kittens," he said but helped to move the giant canine anyway. Soon the whole group was safely out.

"Thanks," Hana said with a smile.

"You're welcome," cat-boy replied. "Just don't tell about it to anybody. I wouldn't survive the shame."

"I won't," she promised. She wouldn't survive the shame either.

"Cut it, lovebirds," Teono shouted. "We aren't in the clear yet."

"Lovebirds?!" Hana looked ready to tear the geisha-look-alike with her bare hands. But she had to admit the puppet mistress was right. They were still in danger. She shot a rueful glance to the manor. Her teammates were still inside. She could do nothing for them. She had to take care of her family first. She had to trust them to handle themselves. 'Please, let them be alright,' she prayed. Then she picked her fear-frozen brother and followed the Suna teams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kazekage's manor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto opened his eyes. He felt the intoxicating power flowing through his body again. Until now, he hadn't realized how much he had missed it. But now it was back and everything finally seemed alright. Even the hole in his torso didn't bother him anymore, the enhanced healing taking care of it almost as soon as he picked himself of the ground. Everything around him was clear and sharp. He felt stronger than ever before. The power was flowing through his body, filling his every cell, threatening to overflow. It wanted to be used and he wanted to use it.

He focused his sights on the person in front of him. Roushi was standing there, his body surrounded by the Yonbi's chakra, his fingers flying through handseals. Naruto had no intention to let him finish them. He sprang forward with speed far exceeding anything he had been capable of before. Roushi saw his charge and finished the last seal with utmost haste. A wall of lava rose from the ground in front of him. Naruto had to jump high to avoid colliding with it. It brought him right into the path of a large chakra hand. He roared in anger and swiped at it with his own chakra claws, but didn't inflict any damage. The giant monkey's fist slammed into him and sent him flying.

Roushi let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. That had been close. Only one tail of the Kyuubi's power was unleashed and he had so much trouble defending against it. He barely noticed the sand swirling around, trying to envelope him. The Yonbi's chakra protected him from the attack.

Naruto nimbly landed on his feet. How dare the stupid monkey punch him? Him? He snarled. He was going to show that fleabag once and for all. He jumped forward, intent on tearing the ape apart. Roushi didn't wait for him. He jumped out of his way and sent forward another splash of lava. Naruto had to try hard to evade it. 'I'm going to kill him for this,' he thought. 'I'm not going to manage if a go about it this way,' a more realistic part of his mind supplied. 'Crap,' he realized, 'I'm being influenced by Kyuubi. I have to calm down.'

That was easier said than done. The malevolent chakra coursing through him was threatening to drown him in the rage. He took a deep breath. 'I have to calm down.'

"Try it," the Kyuubi grinned darkly. Naruto cursed him silently. 'No,' he realized. 'I mustn't listen to him. I must concentrate, think.' The rage was still there, but it seemed to lose its edge. Instead of the blinding, unthinking fury, he was now filled with seething, cold hate. His mind started supplying him with creative ways of disposing of Roushi.

The ground under his feet melted into lava and he managed to jump away at the last moment. 'Think calmly,' he chastised himself. Reaching Roushi directly proved quite difficult. Maybe he should try a distance attack. He ran through the seals for a Fireball. Then he realized there were still civilians in the room.

"Don't care about them," the demon suggested, but even at the peak of his rage, Naruto couldn't. But it was now too late to abort the technique. He had to spit it out or burn himself.

He aimed high, hoping to avoid making unnecessary collateral damage. He grossly underestimated the sheer effectivity of Kyuubi-powered Katon technique. The flames spread along the ceiling, melting parts of it in the process. Naruto cut the jutsu as soon as he could.

"What's the matter?" the Kitsune taunted. "Are you afraid of some little fire?"

'Shut up,' he thought back. He didn't hear an answer, but he thought the beast grinned. He began regretting contacting it at all. But he needed its power to defend Hotaru. And speaking of which, where was she?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Elsewhere in the ballroom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yuugao pulled the kunai from her thigh. It hurt a lot, but the blade missed the vein and that was all that was important. She had survived worse. She pushed herself to her feet, suppressing a groan of pain. She limped to where her cousin was crawling away from the molten patch on the floor. She shot a glance over her shoulder. Behind her three jinchuuriki were battling each other, demonic power surging through the air. She knew she was no match for any of them and their best hope of survival was getting out of here as fast as they could. Fortunately nobody seemed interested in deterring them, everybody too intent on escaping what was slowly but surely turning into a disaster zone.

She reached her cousin's side. She helped her to her feet. They were both unsteady, but they could walk. Now if only they had somewhere to go. The crowds blocking the doors didn't seem to diminish at all.

Then there was an explosion and she noticed a part of the wall collapsing. There was their ticket out! They made their way there as fast as they could. It wouldn't do to have even this exit swarmed by panicking people before they could get there.

They got halfway there when the ceiling was lit by a super-heated Fire technique. It was far enough from them, but the heat was nearly unbearable anyway. They were brought to their knees. Droplets of molten glass rained down.

"Gotta get out fast," Hotaru rasped. Yuugao agreed wholeheartedly. They scrambled to their feet again. All around them people were screaming, some of them running around with their clothes on fire. Hotaru felt ready to throw up. Yuugao noticed her discomfort.

"Hold it, girl," she advised. "You can puke all you want once we're out." Hotaru nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak. Instead she looked at the hole in the wall. It seemed both so close and too far. She concentrated on getting there. They both did.

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

Kurotsuchi was on the verge of panic. Ever since she had run screaming from the thing that was pretending to be her brother, she felt lost. She fancied herself a tough kunoichi, but the things occurring in the hall by far exceeded everything she was prepared for. She needed someone to lean on, somebody to tell her what to do. Her first instinct was her grandfather, but she saw him fighting both the Hokage and Kazekage and several other probably high-ranked ninja and she realized she couldn't get to him alive. She noticed Kageromaru running around, but the Kamizuru was just as scared as she was. Then she heard an explosion loud enough to be noticed even in the racket. 'Takeshi-sensei!' She turned to see where did it come from. She found him easily, his reddish-blond ponytail shining like a beacon to her. He was fighting several Suna shinobi at once and was doing well in keeping them at safe distance. She headed over to him.

She had little trouble weaving through the rapidly thinning crowd. Nobody bothered to attack her. They probably didn't consider a mere genin dangerous enough. It occurred to her that she should be insulted, but she felt grateful instead. In her current situation, there was no room for pride.

She got close to the group fighting her sensei. She noticed one kunoichi trying to sneak upon him from behind. Her hands flashed through seals, casting a simple genjutsu on her enemy. Before the woman could break it, Kurotsuchi jumped at her back and sliced her throat with a kunai.

One Suna ninja noticed what happened and attacked her with his short sword. She barely blocked his blade with her kunai. Then there was another explosion and the Suna ninja fell on the ground in a shower of blood.

"Kurotsuchi!" Takeshi-sensei shouted. "What are you doing here? Where are the others?"

"Takeshi-sensei! Akatsuchi…" Her voice caught in her throat. She couldn't speak about what she had witnessed. Takeshi didn't pry. He saw her expression and came to his own conclusion about his student's fate.

"And Kageromaru?" He inquired throwing a ball of explosive clay on another opponent. The man managed to dodge, but the force of the explosion threw him off balance. Takeshi jumped in to finish him, but another Suna ninja intervened, forcing him to retreat.

"Somewhere around," Kurotsuchi answered throwing two shuriken at an approaching shinobi. Then she spotted her teammate. "Hey, Kageromaru, over here," she called. The boy started to make his way over to them. Kurotsuchi absent-mindedly blocked an attack. "What are we going to do?"

'What, indeed.' That was what Takeshi himself wanted to know. "Just stick close," he replied, "we'll get through this."

It was exactly what Kurotsuchi wanted to hear. Yet somehow it did little to ease her worries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the battle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara felt alive. He had thought he had gotten over his bloodlust, but apparently not. Now with the Shukaku's power flowing through his veins and a battle raging around, the thrill was slowly consuming him again. Mother was laughing in glee and sand was dancing wildly around his body. He had fed the first person to cross his path to her. He knew neither who that person was nor where was he from. He realized he didn't care. That was nothing new for him, but lately he was learning to live otherwise. Idly he wondered whether he was turning into what he used to be before. And what would Naruto think of him now.

His eyes strayed to where his friend was. The small blond was enveloped in red chakra, attacking the Iwa jinchuuriki furiously. Gaara remembered what he had told him about his demon. 'Wily and hard to control,' if he remembered it right. Naruto must consider this important to use it. And if it was important to his friend, it was important to him as well. He had to help.

He drew on a small portion of Shukaku's power and called forth more sand.

That's it for now.

Next time: The conclusion of the battle.