Back from the Dead

A tense silence wafted through the air. Two shinobi glared at one another, one face laced with amusement, the other with disappointment. Their tattered clothes shook in the wind, the only sound being made.

The two shinobi were looking for any weakness that they could apply to the other, and neither were surprised to not find a single one. They both knew that the first bout was merely a feeling out process. They acknowledged each others strength and neither could land a significant hit on the other.

The old Hokage was having a harsh internal conflict. On one hand he didn't want to fight his student. Even while the man glared at him with an overconfident smirk, he could only see the eyes of his shy student. The boy was so sweet that he wouldn't hurt a fly, literally. He could remember the child scolding Jiraiya for squishing a beetle.

As he remembered this, he could also see when things went wrong. After the death of his parents he became less affectionate towards his team, and it only got worse as the years went on. Becoming an Anbu only crazed the boy even farther, making him more interested in learning more and more jutsu. After a while the interest turned into a dream, and the dream turned into an obsession.

He had so much faith in the boy! The talent he displayed was beyond anything he'd ever seen in his years. When it was time to elect a replacement Hokage, his first choice was the man. He believed Orochimaru was powerful enough to help to lead the village yet his motives weren't correct. He cringed at the thought of the hundreds of people his student killed and experimented on. If only he'd ended this sooner, many lives would have been saved!

"Stop looking at me like that Sarutobi Sensei," the pale nin said with a smirk. "If I were a betting man, I'd wager that you were reminiscing about something." He licked his lips as he continued. "But that's more of Tsunade's forte, hm? Fufufu."

The older shinobi frowned tightly. He knew that the snake was trying to get a rise out of him by bringing up the past, and he wouldn't allow it.

Orochimaru's smile broadened. He could see that slight shift in his former sensei's face and that was enough to interest him for now. His eyes sharpened. "Perhaps we should stop fooling around. This isn't an academy class."

The older man returned the smile. "You're right." He gripped his hat and tossed it into the wind along with his robe in one fluid motion. Below the robe he was garbed in a black jumpsuit with mesh portions on the wrists and below his knees. On his right arm was a gauntlet that was green. He wore an armored hood with a Konoha bandana on it.

Orochimaru grinned dangerously at the old man. "So, you were expecting your death."

The old Hokage chose to ignore the snake sennin as he lowered into a fighting stance. As much as his mind was protesting with him, his heart was set. He would maim his student, and if it was necessary then he'd kill him.

Orochimaru gripped his robe and tossed it, revealing his battle attire. The Third Hokage tensed, mentally preparing himself for the battle to come.

The two shinobi entered a fierce stare down. To anyone within range, they would be able to hear the chakra emanating from the two powerful being. A slight cracking could be heard from the tiles on the roof and it began to spread quickly as their chakra escalated. Under their feet resembled spider webs as the chakra was being exerted.

Orochimaru chuckled. He was beyond amused that the old man had this much fight in him. It didn't matter, though. He preferred playing with his food before eating it. "I'm not going easy on you just because you're old."

The other shinobi stared back, unflinching at the killing intent being directed at him. "I was not expecting a handicap. I may make you redo the academy based on your performance."

The snake continued to grin as pieces of tile continued to rise from the amazing display of power. "Do not disappoint me."

The old man only smiled in response.

The two continued to stare at each other while displaying confident smirks. Seconds went by that felt like centuries. Each second the chakra continued to grow, destroying more and more of the roof. At a silent signal, the two shinobi sprinted towards one another simultaneously.

Sarutobi threw a shuriken forward and the two began to go through seals. Hiruzen was the first to speak. "Shuriken! Kagebunshin no jutsu!" The single weapon quickly turned into three dozens and began to fly towards the pale shinobi.

Orochimaru clapped his hands together. "Kuchiyose! Edo Tensai!"

"That move is-!"

The God of Shinobi stammered, but instantly caught himself. He quickly became worried. He knew that jutsu. His eyes narrowed a margin. Hell, he was taught by the creator of it!

"First!" Hiruzen's eyes widened as a coffin rose out of the ground, catching the shuriken. "Second!" Another coffin rose, and the old Kage had a feeling he knew who were in them at that point.

'I have to stop the third one!' Hiruzen gathered chakra to counter the rising coffin.

"Thi-."

"Kame no ato! Fukakaina bekko!"

Both of the fighting shinobi looked up and were shocked at the sight of a large black form spiralling from the air. When it hit the barrier it burst into flames, yet never stopped spinning. Sparks flew off of the shield as the spinning object continued to dig into it, eventually creating a hole large enough to slide in. The two shinobi quickly jumped away as the object came crashing down, right on top of the trio of tombs.

Orochimaru's smirk grew when he saw a small distortion amongst the coffins.

Hiruzen stared at the object in silent thanks, yet didn't relax. This could be a new foe, so it wouldn't be wise to let his guard down. To he and Orochimaru's amazement a jet of water flew straight out of the object into the air and landed on the shell, instantly dousing the flames with a hiss. The boiling water caused a thick foggy steam to cover the roof

Upon closer inspection he could see that the object was a shell. It was jet black and had spikes on the corners. On the shell was the kanji for kame.

Suddenly, a banging could be heard on the object. "Lemme out! Lemme out!" a high pitched voice hollered.

In a large pop a figure flew out of the shell, hollering like he was about to die. The old Kage recognized the shrieking figure. A large huff could be heard from the object causing the immediate steam to disperse, giving a clear view of the object. Under the rock he could hear a deep hiss. His eyes narrowed as the flying object landed in a heap in front of him.

The old figure sat up, rubbing a knot that formed on his head. "Hey, how ya doin'?" he asked with a smile. "You know, it would've helped if you caught me!"

"Master Roshi," the Hokage said with a curt nod. "I must thank you for your assistance. Things were really getting ugly."

The older man laughed. "Oh, you know me! Always in time ta save the day haha!"

Hiruzen sighed. How could one of the most powerful men in the world be… this? It was really unfitting for a living legend. Of course he enjoyed his dirty literature and the occasional puff of his pipe, but at least it was in private. 'Speaking of which…' He reached into his pocket and casually grabbed the pipe, inching it towards his mouth with a chuckle. He inhaled the tobacco, igniting it with the snap of his fingers. He calmed a fraction when the fire entered his belly.

"Now, back to business." The old man stood up and wiped the dust from him. "Where's the snake guy?"

"I guessssss you aren't talking about me, are you?" Four legs came out of the shell as it rolled onto its stomach. Out of one side, the head of a horned tortoise popped, glancing lazily around. The head was a rough gray with three blunt horns, resembling a triceratops. It slowly bobbed it's head towards Hiruzen who returned the gesture.

From the other end a black snake head extended, glaring at the old hermit. The snake was extremely thin and jet black. A long green tongue slip beneath the lips of the creature.

"Of course not, Xuan. And thanks, Gui." The tortoise gave him a slow nod as it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The martial artist gave Hiruzen an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry for disrespecting the dead like that." He looked towards the splintered wood left from the large summon. "It's hard to aim when you're spinning that fast, ya know?"

"No need for apologies, Master Roshi." The Hokage released a sigh. "It's probably for the best. Those poor souls would have been fighting against their will."

The old hermit scratched his bald head in obvious confusion. "Wait… how can the dead fight? Is he some kinda puppeteer or somethin'?"

"No," Sarutobi said with a shake of his head. "It's a forbidden jutsu created by my old sensei, Tobiramu Senju."

"Ah, little Tobi! That was one fast kid, I tell you what!" His face then hardened. "What does it do?"

Hiruzen swallowed a lump in his throat. "It revives the dead, with a living host as sacrifice." He stared ahead into the smaky haze, trying to sense out his opponent as he spoke. "My sensei couldn't complete the technique. The reanimated shinobi would do what they pleased, usually attacking him."

Roshi nodded stiffly. "That explains why it's forbidden, add to that that you use a living person as a sacrifice." A large, nearly toothless grin spread across his face. "Guess my accident was a blessing in disguise, huh?"

A chuckling could be heard from the other side of the roof. The reverse summoning left the area smoky, obscuring the view from the two fighters.

"So, the rumors are true. I heard the Legendary Master Roshi was here but I didn't believe it. No matter, now I can really test my abilities!"

Roshi began to laugh. "Didn't I just sit on two of your summons?" His face scrunched in thought as he rubbed his chin. "Or was it three? I'm really getting old…" he grumbled. His features brightened once more. "Sorry about that!"

The pale faced ninja stepped from the smoke with a wide smirk. "No need to apologize. I should actually thank you."

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed dangerously. As much as he knew his student, he wasn't one to joke. "Thank him for what?"

Orochimaru laughed heartily with his hands on his hips. "With your dramatic entrance and comic relief you gave me ample time to summon another." He paused at the reaction the two shinobi made. Roshi's eyes narrowed while his old sensei's widened.

Orochimaru casually stepped to the side and there stood a coffin behind him. His smirk widened at the look of shock on the two men's faces.

"This body took me a while to complete. It was barely salgeable," he shrugged his shoulders, "but, when there's a will there's a way." The pale Sannin snickered at the comment.

The current Hokage glared intently at his student. He then began to speak calmly. "Orochimaru, who is in the casket?"

Orochimaru flicked his hair across his shoulder with a grin. "Don't worry, sensei, I assure you that it's not someone you would know. However," his grinning face turned towards the other fighter, "I cannot say the same to you."

Roshi swallowed at the comment. Who could the man be talking about? There were many enemies that he obtained throughout his life, and only one that he feared. His hands balled into fists as he glared towards the younger shinobi. He began to shake slightly. His voice wavered as he spoke. "Don't tell me… is it the Demon King?"

Orochimaru scoffed at the question. "If only. His cells were too hard to find unfortunately. But why ask," behind him the coffin creaked, widening a slight margin. "Your answer will arrive shortly."

Hiruzen quickly summoned his battle staff and lowered into a defensive stance. He didn't know who was in it, but if the turtle hermit knew him then he had to have some skill. He glanced back towards his ally and saw him lower into a stance.

"And now," The lid began to fall forward revealing the figure inside, "let the fun began!"

Before the lid could fall off it was hit with a small blast of light. The burst of splinters and smoke was suddenly divided as the figure burst through the center.

Master Roshi's eyes widened at the sight of the masked figure in front of him. He reached forward, wanting to touch the person to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

The figure landed a few meters ahead of them into a kneel, his face lowered. He slowly rose to both feet while lifting his gaze on to the opposition. On his face was a fox mask that showed no features, yet the hermit didn't need to see the face. The man slowly removed his mask. He glanced towards the two fighters and his small beady eyes trained on Roshi. A large smile stretched across his old face.

"Ah, hello Master!"

XxxoxxX

A black haired boy was running at a rapid pace through the forest. His normally cheerful face was serious, which was rare for the child.

Goku could smell blood and smoke in the air. The smell was sickening to his enhanced senses. Behind him he ignored the sounds of battle, he could clearly hear metal clashing and explosions. The most worrying sound was pained shrieks.

It was in his nature to help anyone in pain, no matter the danger. The only thing stopping him was Jiraiya's orders to follow the three people that ran off.

'Goku, sometimes people will get hurt. Although I'm sure that Pop's taught you to help them all, the only way to truly help them is to get to the root of the problem. The more people you stop to save, the more people that could potentially get hurt.'

The dense boy didn't understand what tree roots had to do with anything, but he could get the gist of what the old man was saying. If someone as powerful as he couldn't save everyone then he was unsure if he himself were capable of this feat.

Goku pestered his current sensei on a daily occasion to spar with him, to which the elder shinobi repeatedly declined. He always told Goku that he was tired or working on his book. It wasn't until last week that he finally relented to the request.

Goku told him to not hold back, more than sure that he could beat him. He started the fight, racing towards the elder with a fist cocked back. Jiraiya stood with his arms crossed, not even respecting the kid's quick attack.

With the tap on the forehead Goku was on the ground in pain.

Goku smiled at the thought. It only made him want to fight the man again!

It was strange, but Goku could tell that the people he were following held some importance. If not then he wouldn't have been tasked to follow them.

The boy jumped into a clearing and could instantly tell a battle had taken place. Some trees were knocked over and sand seemed to be spewed everywhere. He whooped as he saw that he was near an apple tree and jumped, grabbing two. When he landed he took a big bite, smiling at the sweet taste.

As he was investigating the area he heard a muffled cough. He quickly ran to the source of the sound and was shocked at the sight.

Laying in the remains of a destroyed oak was a girl. She was blonde and her hair was in four spiky pig tails. She was groaning in pain and a trail of blood was leaking from her mouth.

When the figure coughed again, Goku quickly knelt beside her. He gently lifted her head. "Are you ok?"

The girl coughed once more, blood spewing from her mouth. Goku ignored the few drops that hit his face, more concerned with the well being of the figure than his own appearance. She continued to hack and he held her tightly. After a few seconds the coughing stopped.

The girl opened her teal eyes and stared at the figure holding her. Her first instinct was fear, but she quickly calmed after noticing that he bore no head band.

"Feeling better?" Her heart jumped at the soft voice. She could hear real concern in it, and the smile he gave her made her warm inside. She felt her cheeks begin to redden.

"Get away from me you freak!" She weakly pulled away from him and began to fall back again, but he caught her with a giggle.

"Be careful!" he chastised her. "You aren't feeling too good."

Temari relented struggling and chose to glare at the boy. It irked her that even when she glared, he only continued to smile. 'What is with this guy?'

"My name's Goku! What's yours?"

Temari's glare softened slightly, but she continued to put on a brave front. "It doesn't matter."

Goku began to snicker once more. "Since you have that big fan, I'll call you Fanny!"

The girl's face brightened with both anger and embarrassment. She opened her mouth to speak and began to yell profusely. "Don't call me such a stupid name! My name is Te-"

Both figures tensed as they heard a blood curling scream. Temari's eyes widened; she recognized that voice! "Kankuro!" She quickly lifted up but was instantly hit with a monstrous headache.

"Calm down!" Goku gently laid her back on the ground and stood up. "I'll go find out what that scream was, ok?"

Temari looked into the child's eyes and saw determination. He barely knew her and yet was going in to fight for her protection! He turned to leave. "Goku, don't!" the boy halted and glanced back. She looked away from him, her eyes distant. "If you go… you'll be killed to."

Goku gave her another snicker as he scratched the back of his head. "Don't worry, I'm really strong!"

Although she didn't know the boy she felt a strange trust coming from him. She knew the strength her brother possessed but this stranger seemed so confident that she had no choice but to have faith in him.

She looked away from the kid as he began stretching. She could feel her body getting hot. Was this… a crush? She quickly shook the notion out of her head. She must have had a concussion from his sibling's attack.

"Don't worry, Fanny' I'll be back soon!" With a snicker and a peace sign, the boy was gone.

Temari forced herself to sit up, resting her back against the remains of the destroyed tree. She released a sigh of relief once he was out of her eyesight.

She secretly hoped that she would see the boy again. Not that she liked him, or anything. He was much to young for her taste, she told herself. She closed her eyes and for some reason could only see his wide smile. The toothy grin brought a small smile to her face.

"Hurry up, Teme! He's got to be up there!"

"Shut up! If you were smart you wouldn't waste your energy until the fight!"

Temari groaned. She recognized the annoying voice of the blonde, and could vaguely tell that the other belonged to the Uchiha. As the petty argument got closer, she only got more annoyed.

"Well maybe if you trained more, you could keep up!"

"Slow down, there's someone ahead."

In less than a second both figures entered the area. The Uzumaki looked at her inquisitively while the Uchiha eyed her carefully.

"It's the sand chick!" Naruto pointed out the obvious.

"Where's the other two?" the latter demanded. His eyes were trained on her in a threatening manner. Luckily for her they were still black.

Temari returned the glare. Regardless if she was weakened or not, she wasn't going to relent to any of his demands. "Why would I tell you?" she responded dryly. She smirked at the obvious frustration the answer caused.

Naruto stepped forward, a noticeable tick on his head. "I don't care about them, I just need to know where my friend is!"

"He's probably dead." Before Temari knew what happened, she was being lifted off of the ground by her shirt. She was released a pained squeal from the sudden movement and was secretly glad the tree was knocked down or she may have been slammed into it. She stared into the cerulean eyes of the boy and instantly wished she didn't. The bright blue orbs seemed to darken as a wave of killing intent blasted her stiff.

"Don't you DARE say that again, do you hear me? Nobody can beat Goku!"

"Goku?" Temari echoed quietly. Her thoughts quickly drifted to the smile of her most recent encounter. Naruto shook her again, getting angrier by the second.

"Hey, are you deaf or something? Where's Goku!?"

"Look out!"

Naruto was tackled quickly to the ground. He grunted in pain as he collided with the surface.

This was fortunate for him for a half of a second later a stream of fire flew over head. Naruto glanced down at his attacker and growled as he noticed the black tacky haircut.

"We're on the same team Teme!" He shoved the Uchiha.

"Yeah, and you wouldn't be any help if you just died, now would you? He scrambled to his feet and faced his attackers.

The two looked alike, the had to be twins. The only difference was one had a scar on his cheek. The other looked angrier, and was a good bit bigger than his partner. Both ninja wore Sand headbands.

"Hey Temari, are they bothering you?" the scarred one asked with a smirk.

Naruto turned toward the man and scowled. Who the hell did he think he was?

"Don't get in my way, Scar!"

The shinobi glared. He looked towards his bulky companion. The shinobi released a growl, one that sounded more animalistic than human.

Before anyone realized it, Naruto was fisted in his jaw. The young genin squealed in pain as he was punched and his body began to tumble through the forest. He crashed back-first into a large maple tree, groaning as he slid down.

Sasuke's eyes widened at the display. He barely saw the bulky twin move! The other shinobi quickly created a clone that scooped Temari up. "You, get her some help." A mere grunt was his response and he soon took off into the forest. The smaller shinobi glared back towards the two genin and smirked. "Garth, destroy them." He glanced towards Sasuke. "Start with Duck Butt there."

Sasuke activated his kekkai genkai in an instant. From the small display of power shown already he was more than sure that he would need them. He barely noticed as Naruto dragged himself back to his side. The blonde was rubbing his swelling cheek with a face mixed with pain and anger. He began to speak in a low growl.

"Teme… we have to work together. He's fast." The sole Uchiha nodded in irritation. He glanced towards his slim partner and noticed the sly smirk on his face.

In a burst of rising gravel the massive shinobi jetted towards the two once more. His target this time was Sasuke. He reached for the boys neck, but he saw it coming and gripped the offending limb. He smirked as he stared into the eyes of the fighter.

One thing that Kakashi taught him during training was the history of the sharingan. The man told him that his dojutsu had many perks. Each sharingan had its own ability that would manifest when it reached its prime. Some were blessed with teleportation and others could melt into a goo. There was even a rumor that one member could predict the future!

One thing that all of them possessed, however, was a strength for genjutsu. A trained sharingan could trap almost any shinobi with one look if they weren't properly trained to defend genjutsu.

He hoped this man wasn't trained.

Sasuke smirked as the man's eyes widened, sure that he was caught in the illusion. To his shock the shinobi reared back his other gargantuan fist and threw it at him.

"Crap!" Sasuke whispered. He released the arm of the mammoth and hand vaulted away as a crater was formed where he formally stood. He watched as Naruto rushed from the side and kicked. The blow created a resonating boom, but to both boys surprise the shinobi didn't flinch or even pay the blow any mind.

The large man turned towards Naruto and attempted to grab him with a roar. The genin screeched and jumped away, nearly stumbling on a loose root. He caught his bearings and leapt onto a tree, turning to face his adversary. He froze as he saw a fist impacting the tree. Instinct caused him to jump away from the crazed attacker.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

"Garth!"

Naruto jumped once more to avoid the aftermath of the flame jutsu. He landed in a bush that luckily wasn't set aflame. He glanced into the smoke as he pulled himself free. "About time you did something!"

Sasuke quickly was beside him. Naruto could see that his sharingan was still trained on the large area of smoke. "It's not over…" he drawled without glancing at his teammate.

Naruto looked between him and the smoke perplexed. "What? But you hit him head on!"

From the flames the man stepped out and both of the boys breath hitched. Parts of him were still flaming. His body seemed to be falling apart in clumps. Half of the face was sliding down and a low gurgle could be heard. He stepped forward and his leg dissolved into sand, causing him to stumble forward.

The man roared loudly with his disfigured face and both genin tensed. Both hands of the man rose and they were shocked as they shot out towards them. They both dived to avoid them with Sasuke recovering first and went through seals.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!" A number of flames flew towards the beast of a man. He raised a sandy recovered hand and blocked the ensuing flames with a grunt.

The other shinobi took this time to speak as he too went through seals. "Doton! Sandogōremu fukugen no jutsu!"

To the horror of the genin the sand began to rise and surround the man. The soil began to constrict him, and with a roar it shot out. Their mouths hung open in disbelief.

"He… he grew!" Naruto yelled. While the man was taller than them before, he now stood over eight feet, which was easy to see even though he was knelt on one knee. His limbs thickened and his skin turned a deep gray. Two small horns were protruding from his thick skull and his knuckles were replaced with four inch spikes.

Both pre teens began to shake slightly as the beast rose to his feet. His gaze went from each boy, and with each movement they could hear creaking, as if there were gears instead of bones. He cracked his neck to both sides while his beady eyes stayed on the two.

The other shinobi began to laugh. "Why so scared? You looked so confident when you burned him earlier." The larger man took a heavy step forward, and both boys stepped away reflexively, causing another laugh from the other.

"W…. What the heck is he?" Naruto asked with a scared look on his face. "This…. He can't be real!"

Sasuke silently agreed, but chose pointing out the obvious wouldn't help in the slightest. He instead tried to devise a plan. Unfortunately, the only way to make one is to fight that thing head on.

Hn. This was going to be one hell of a day.

"Hey, you." Naruto growled. Sasuke looked towards his partner. The boy was glaring past the giant and trained on his partner.

"Are you talking to me?"

"Is there anybody else who looked like they were slapped by a bear?"

The shinobi glared at the blonde, and the large creature growled that shook the surrounding trees. He grit his teeth, but quickly closed his eyes. A deep chuckle began to emanate from his throat. "You have quite the mouth, aye? Go on, speak." His grey eyes narrowed. "But choose your words wisely, boy, or you just might waste your last breath."

Sasuke looked towards Naruto, panicked. What was he thinking? Was he trying to get himself killed?

Naruto folded his arms across his chest confidently. "I'm guessing your big brother here is the only one that can fight. You just sit your lazy butt back there and watch."

Sasuke glanced towards the shinobi. His eyebrows rose as he noticed the glare being directed at his fellow leaf shinobi. Naruto was getting under his skin.

Perfect.

"You're nothing more than a coward. How the heck did you become a chunin?"

"I'm a Jonin, you bastard!"

Naruto barked with laughter. "Really? A jonin? Hahaha!" he gripped his gut while he laughed, ignoring the low growl coming from the enemies. He wiped a tear from his eyes. "Aww man, the sand must really suck!"

That did it. The shinobi stepped forward, beside his bulky companion. "Garth, I'm tagging in."

Both leaf shinobi shared a glance, and their excitement was evident in it. They prepared for battle as the man summoned a small katana from a scroll. Sasuke couldn't hide his smirk as he lowered into his interceptor stance.

"Garth," the man said calmly as he looked at Naruto, "Handle the Uchiha."

XxxoxxX

A/N: It's probably appropriate to apologize for taking so long, so I'm sorry. I'm still looking for a beta, so yeah… any takers? But yeah, hope you enjoyed. Working on the next chapter as I type this!