ultima-owner: Thank you
madmanmark666: Just look up the souls in Aria of Sorrow. Any non-chakra abilities will mostly be those.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 5: Chunin finals and Invasion
Chunin exam stage
It was finally time. The seats were full of people. The Hokage and Kazekage were at their own booth. And Naruto had just arrived. And his new appearance surprised everyone.
He was now a few inches taller than Neji. He was wearing black Anbu pants and a black shirt, along with a black version of Soma Cruz's trench coat.
When he arrived, the first thing he noticed was that Sasuke and Dosu hadn't arrived yet.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to Konoha's Chunin Exams today. We will now begin the main matches with those that have passed the preliminaries. Please, enjoy the matches." The Hokage announced, making the public cheer.
"There are some things that need to be clarified." Genma Shiranui, the new proctor, said. He pulled out a new tournament list.
Dosu was no longer on it, to Ino's surprise and relief. It meant that she would face the winner of Shikamaru and Temari's match
"Sasuke isn't here yet." Naruto commented.
"If he isn't here in time for his own match, he will be disqualified." Genma said as he pocketed the list. "Anyways, despite the different arena, it's just the same as in the preliminaries. The match ends if someone dies or gives up. But if I declare the match over, I will stop it. Now, the first match is Naruto Uzumaki vs Neji Hyuuga. The rest of you, head to the waiting room." All the participants, minus Naruto and Neji, left the arena.
In the seats
"Let's hope Naruto can kick Neji's ass after everything that bastard said to you." Kiba said to Hinata.
"Naruto-kun..." Hinata thought.
"Naruto has a bad opponent." Kotetsu said to his partner, Izumo, which Hinata and Kiba heard. "He can't beat someone from the Hyuuga clan."
"I thought I'd win against him, but he was in control of the entire fight." Kiba thought.
Back in the arena, Naruto and Neji took their positions.
Neji activated his Byakugan. "His eyes are disinterested... Does he think that I am not worth his time? That he is superior to me?" Naruto's eyes greatly insulted Neji.
"Hajime!" Genma announced.
"Watch closely, Hanabi." Hiashi Hyuuga, Hinata's father, said to Hinata's little sister, Hanabi. "The Hyuuga Kekkei Genkai is strong in Neji."
"Yes, father." A little girl of Konohamaru's age said.
Naruto unsheathed Muramasa as Neji slowly walked closer to him.
"You would fight me at close range?" Neji asked. "You cannot defeat a Hyuuga this way. You cannot defeat me, period. I am destined to win."
"What do you know about destiny?" Naruto asked. "All I see is a guy who thinks he can figure everyone out with a glance. Let's see if you can figure me out." He said as he charged.
Neji braced himself and dodged Naruto's stab. He then ducked a swipe, only to receive a surprisingly fast kick to the face, sending him backwards.
"Is he holding his speed back?" Neji wondered as he got back up.
"You didn't dodge that one? What's the point of having 'all-seeing eyes' if you can't keep up?" Naruto taunted.
"You merely took me by surprise." Neji said as he got back in his Taijutsu stance. "I won't be lenient anymore."
"'Lenient'? So you underestimated me, like Kiba did? You do know what happened in my fight against him, right? You better take me seriously, or the same thing will happen here."
Neji scoffed. "You may have dominated an Inuzuka in Taijutsu, but not even an Inuzuka would face a Hyuuga in Taijutsu."
"How about you back up that claim? Right now, I'm disappointed in your performance." Naruto said as he charged again.
Neji obliged by dodging swipe after swipe of Naruto's katana and tried to hit a Tenketsu on Naruto's shoulder, only for Naruto to dodge with a backdash.
"You cannot win against me." Neji said. "A person's talent is determined at birth. Everything is predetermined at birth."
Naruto scoffed. "If you truly believe such things, then you are a greater fool than I thought. You seem to fail to realize that people do whatever they desire, that people have free will. Every Kage became Kage through their hard work, not because they were destined to become one at birth. Life wouldn't be worth living if everything was already written."
"You are the fool if you truly believe hard work is the answer." Neji said.
"...You are pathetic." Naruto said. "I will show my hard work."
He then took off his trench coat and threw it on the ground. It made a louder thud than expected.
"A weighted coat?" Neji wondered before his eyes widened.
Naruto was behind him and had kicked him, sending him to the ground.
"Well? Where's your destined victory?" Naruto asked.
Neji got up and was immediately punched in the gut, making him caught blood. Naruto was then running circles around Neji as he attacked him with his sword, making many cuts on his opponent.
Neji then started spinning around. "Hakkesho Kaiten!" A spinning barrier of chakra appeared around him and hit Naruto, sending him backwards.
"What!? The knowledge of Kaiten isn't accessible to the Branch Family!" Hiashi thought. "Did he recreate the Jutsu by himself?"
"This is it." Neji said. "You are within the range of my divination!" Neji said as he got in a different stance. "Jukenko: Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!"
He charged and tried to strike twice at Naruto, who disappeared and reappeared a few steps away. "Nii Sho!" Then 4 more times, only for the same thing to happen. "Yon Sho!" Then attacked twice as much as the last time until... "Rokujuyon Sho!" He tried to palm Naruto right on the torso, only for the same dodge to happen.
"Despite missing, every movement was made with precision." Hiashi thought. "Hizashi, if only you had been the one born first."
"How did you keep dodging!?" Neji demanded.
"Now, now, Neji. A ninja doesn't reveal his secrets, even to an ally." Naruto said.
He then charged at Neji with even greater speed than before and gave him a nasty uppercut, sending him in the air. A Kage Bunshin appeared from the trees on the edge of the arena, jumped up to Neji and axe-kicked on the head, sending him back to the ground.
Neji tried to get up, but couldn't. Naruto's earlier assault had already beaten him up. Now, he couldn't keep up anymore.
"I wouldn't even be this fast if I hadn't seen the results of weight-training from Lee." Naruto admitted. "My hard work, and his own, took your 'destined victory' from you."
"I-Indeed." Neji couldn't deny it anymore. Destiny was changed. Or perhaps it never had a grip in the first place.
"Winner: Naruto Uzumaki." Genma announced.
"Interesting." Kabuto, disguised as a ANBU member, thought. "You surprise me, Naruto-kun."
"The Kyuubi brat's growth is frightening." Orochimaru, disguised as the Kazekage, thought. "But it will only make Sasuke-kun feel more insecure, bringing him closer to me."
The public applauded and cheered for Naruto, who had picked up his trench coat and was heading to the waiting room as the medics took Neji away.
Several minutes later, Sasuke was still nowhere to be found. The public was getting impatient.
"What's that guy doing?" Shikamaru wondered. "Is he not coming?"
"He wouldn't miss this opportunity." Naruto said. "I bet he went to Kakashi for training, which means they'll be here at the last possible second."
"I have no choice." Hiruzen sighed. "Sasuke Uchiha is disqualified."
"Disqualified?" The 'Kazekage' asked. "A lot of people came here to see this specific fight. Might I suggest delaying it until the other fights of the first round are over?"
"You bring a good point, Kazekage-dono." Hiruzen admitted before turning to his bodyguard, Raido Namiashi. "Tell the proctor."
"Hai." Raido said before using the Shunshin to reach Genma.
"I understand." Genma said. Raido left after giving the instructions. Genma turned to the public. "Ladies and gentlemen... We have a participant that hasn't arrived yet, so his match will be delayed until the end of the first round. Kankuro and Shino Aburame, step up."
"I can't show Karasu's hidden weapons just yet." Kankuro thought. "Proctor! I give up for my match!"
"There's something going on." Naruto thought as the crowd became upset. "Kankuro has known for a full month that Shino was his opponent, and gives up just before his match? Discretion is not his strong suit." Naruto looked at Shikamaru, Shino and Ino and whispered. "Save some of your chakra. There's something not right with his timing of giving up."
Shikamaru and Shino nodded. It was obvious to them too.
Ino wasn't completely sure of what Naruto meant, but headed his advice.
Temari pulled out her fan and used it to float down to the arena. "It should be my turn now, right?" She asked.
"Well, someone's enthusiastic." Genma commented. "Shikamaru Nara, step up."
"Troublesome." Shikamaru said. "Maybe I should..."
Ino pushed him down the railway. "You are not giving up, Shikamaru!"
Shikamaru crashed down on the ground. "Troublesome blonde. These people want Sasuke's fight, not mine. What's the point of fighting if no one expects anything from the fight?"
Temari had grown tired of Shikamaru lying on the ground and charged.
"Hey! I didn't say to start!" Genma called out, but he was ignored.
Temari jumped and smashed her folded fan right where Shikamaru was, making a big cloud of dust. When the dust was gone, Shikamaru wasn't on the targeted spot.
"I don't care if I don't become Chunin..." Shikamaru, who used two kunai to stand parallel to the wall, whispered to himself. "But, as a guy, I can't lose to a girl. I guess I have to fight."
Temari clearly heard him and scowled. She lifted her fan, completely unfolded it and swung it to attack Shikamaru with wind.
Shikamaru dodged, however, and landed on a tree. "Although a guy can't really hit a girl, I don't want to get hit either."
"This guy uses shadows as his weapon." Temari thought. "He's trying to lure me to the trees, where there are a lot of shadows... But that won't happen!"
"Why am I the only one who has to fight a girl?" Shikamaru lamented. "Not to mention that, if I win, I'm fighting Ino next. This entire thing is such a drag."
He then started watching the clouds, envying their freedom. If only the ninja life was as fun as he had first thought.
"Ninpo: Kamaitachi!" Temari called out as she swung her fan once more. The trees in front of her were damaged as another cloud of dust spread around the area.
A shadow crawled out of the cloud and went towards Temari, who started backing away. The shadow stopped a few inches in front of her. The moment the shadow retracted, Temari folded her fan and drew a line.
"I see." She said. "There's a limit to how far you can stretch, shrink and transform your shadow. No matter how much you can transform or stretch your shadow, you can only stretch it as much as it's surfaced area."
"Quite right." Shikamaru said.
"15 meters and 32 centimeters." Temari thought, looking at the distance between Shikamaru and the line she drew. She unfolded her fan and attacked Shikamaru once more.
Shikamaru hid behind a tree. How could he defeat her?
As he shifted his body, he almost tripped himself. He looked at his foot, he saw a hole big enough for a person to crawl into.
"What is that doing there?" He wondered to himself. He leaned his head to the tree's side to look at the trees behind Temari. "Naruto's Kage Bunshin was over there, so how-" He stopped his train of thought before leaning to the other side of the tree and looked up at Naruto, who was looking at him with a smirk. "You troublesome blond. You planned this? I can definitely see Shino's Kikaichu also using that tunnel."
Shikamaru pulled out a kunai and took off his jacket. He knew just how to bring Temari closer to the other hole.
When the winds stopped, she didn't know where the Nara was hiding.
"You can't hide forever!" She said as she swung her fan once.
In the midst of the cloud of smoke, a kunai was shot towards her, which she dodged. She then saw a shadow crawling towards her, but though it wouldn't reach her. She quickly realized her mistake and jumped away. The shadow went beyond the line, but didn't reach her.
Just as she thought she figured him out.
"Temari! Above you!" Kankuro called out.
Temari immediately looked up and saw a kunai using a jacket as a parachute. Her eyes widened as she looked back down. A shadow was forming. She quickly started backing away as Shikamaru's shadow started stretching further.
She eventually got far enough that the shadow stopped stretching and the parachute went down, making the shadow retract to the earlier limit.
Temari planted her fan in front of her and prepared herself. Just as she was about to create a clone for distraction, her body stopped by itself.
"Kagemane no Jutsu successful." Shikamaru said.
"H-How!? It couldn't reach me before!" Temari demanded.
Shikamaru smirked as he turned his head to the side, making Temari do the same."See for yourself." He said.
Temari looked behind herself and her eyes widened. The shadow stretched to trees behind her.
"There's a hole behind each of us." Shikamaru said. "When I found mine, I was confused, considering the only other fight that happened was Naruto and Neji's. That's when I realized that the Kage Bunshin made a tunnel." He smirked to himself. "This guy... I could also see Shino use the holes. Kankuro's chances of hiding in the trees is very high, because of his puppeteer mindset, and Shino's bugs would have caught him off-guard with the tunnel."
"What!? So one foresaw a fight and planned around it while the other took advantage of the plan? What are these guys?" Temari wondered.
Ino looked at Naruto in awe while Shino raised an eyebrow. Kankuro's hands were shaking against the railing. He realized that, if he had fought Shino, he would have lost.
Naruto chuckled. "At least one of you got to make use of it."
Shikamaru and, by shadow possession, Temari walked to the middle of the arena. Shikamaru then raised his right arm, making Temari do the same, and sighed. "I can't go on, I'm running out of chakra. I give up." He announced, making everyone stop to register what he just said. He immediately retracted the shadow to save as much chakra as possible for later. "I had thought of so many ways to fight you, too..."
"What a weird kid." Genma thought. "Winner: Temari."
"I'm tired." Shikamaru said.
"He definitely has the leadership quality of a Chunin." Izumo said.
"Indeed." Kotetsu agreed. "He understood that he had to protect himself and his future squad from danger. That's something the Hyuuga boy failed in."
"And Naruto?" Izumo asked.
"I was hesitant at first." Kotetsu admitted. "He dominated the whole fight, overwhelming Neji while avoiding every strike. From a certain perspective, it's like a hunter-nin killing his target by attacking when his guard is down. But you can't become Chunin by charging head-on. Of course, the way his tunnel helped Shikamaru, and would have helped Shino, shows that he can plan beyond a single fight. I say he has great chances."
Izumo agreed.
Outside of the arena, two Konoha-nin were guarding the entrance as they saw Lee and Guy approach.
"Welcome, you two." The first one said.
"Hurry to the stage." The second one said. "Unfortunately, most of the first round matches are over, with only the Uchiha's fight left.
Lee looked shocked. "What of the fight between Naruto and Neji?" He asked.
"It was rather impressive." The first one said. "Especially since Neji barely landed a scratch on Naruto."
That shocked both of them. But Lee was happy that Neji was finally shown that natural talent wasn't everything.
The public was finally pumped. It was Sasuke's fight now. No more delays.
At the last possible second, Kakashi and Sasuke appeared in the arena.
"What did I tell you?" Naruto smirked at Ino and Shikamaru. "The people's impatience was exactly what my teammates felt about Kakashi always being 3 hours late."
Shikamaru looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "Your teammates? Not you?" He asked.
"After the first time, I pretty much knew he'd be late again. I haven't been wrong yet." Naruto said as he looked at Sasuke's new look.
Instead of his usual navy-blue, short-sleeved shirt and white shorts, Sasuke now wore a black, one-pieced version of his previous outfit. He had his left arm wrapped in armbands and belts. His legs were also wrapped in bands. His frontal bangs also lengthened to his chin.
"Sorry we're late." Kakashi said.
"Name?" Genma asked, even though he knew.
Sasuke turned to Genma. "Sasuke Uchiha."
The crowd cheered loudly.
"You're just in time." Genma said. "Be glad the Hokage and Kazekage decided to put your match at the end of the first round, otherwise you'd be disqualified by now."
Kakashi thanked Genma and went up to the seats.
Naruto left the waiting room to join his sensei and female teammate.
"You're really pushing your luck, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said as he approached the group.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at Naruto's new look but eye-smiled. "Naruto, where were you this entire month?"
"Training." Naruto said.
"By yourself? I had asked Ebisu to train you for the month, but we never found you."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at his sensei. "Ebisu? Really?"
"You know him?"
"As the pathetic teacher who told the Sandaime's grandson that his teachings are the shortcuts to becoming Hokage." Naruto said.
"Ebisu has taught many Hokage candidates."
"And how many of them became Hokage?" Naruto asked, receiving no answer.
"Naruto-kun." He heard Lee call out to him.
"Hey Lee." Naruto greeted. "I really should thank you."
Lee, Guy and Kakashi blinked in confusion. "Thank me?" Lee asked.
Naruto nodded as he gestured to his clothes. "This trench coat has weights. I started doing this kind of training after seeing your fight against Gaara. My new speed really helped against Neji. My victory was not only thanks of my hard work, but also thanks to your own, Lee."
Lee started crying manly tears. "Naruto-kun..."
Guy started crying his own share of manly tears. "Oh! Youth is so magnificent!"
Naruto turned to Kakashi. "What's the reason for being late this time?" He asked.
"I just wanted to give Sasuke a little more time to train." Kakashi answered.
Naruto's eyebrow rose. "A legitimate answer from you... That's a first."
"Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura called out. "There was a bruise on Sasuke's neck..."
"Don't worry about that anymore." Kakashi eye-smiled.
That seemed to cheer her up.
The public then started cheering.
"It's about to start." Naruto said. "Let's see what kind of training my self-proclaimed rival went through."
"Do you not see Sasuke as your rival?" Kakashi asked.
"He sees me as one because I defeated an enemy that he couldn't." Naruto said.
Kakashi patted Naruto's shoulder. "I know it's hard to be reminded of your first kill." He said.
"I've managed after the beginning." Naruto said, inwardly smirking.
Sasuke and Gaara got into position.
"The rules are the same as in the preliminaries." Genma explained to Sasuke. "You should know what stops a match."
"I do." Sasuke said.
"Then you two are ready. Hajime!" Genma said as he jumped away.
Gaara's sand started pouring out of the gourd before he got a headache.
"Don't get so mad at me, mother..." Gaara muttered. "The blood of those earlier fools was foul. This time, the blood will be much better."
Sasuke jumped away and threw a couple of shuriken at Gaara, but the sand blocked the projectiles and created a Suna Bunshin. As Sasuke charged, Suna Gaara tried to shoot sand at him, making the Uchiha jump up in the air. Suna Gaara threw the earlier shuriken back to Sasuke, who threw more shuriken to deflect them. Sasuke then hit Suna Gaara a couple of times to destroy it before going for the real Gaara, whose sand rose to block a punch. Before the fist hit the sand, however, Sasuke disappeared through sheer speed, shocking everyone, before reappearing behind Gaara.
"He's fast!" Gaara thought as he remembered his fight with Lee. "Just like the other one."
Sasuke landed a punch straight to Gaara's face, sending Gaara backwards on the ground.
Sasuke then positioned himself in a slightly different Goken, the real difference was that his fingers were slightly curled.
"So, you taught Sasuke how to use the Goken style?" Naruto asked.
"He needed the speed to fight Gaara." Kakashi said.
Sasuke then charged and started dodging the sand before kicking Gaara on the torso, sending him to the ground.
When Gaara got up, Sasuke charged again and ran circles around Gaara before sliding underneath the skyward sand and kicked Gaara in the face. Sasuke then pulled on Gaara's leather band and scarf before kneeing him in the gut before jumping away.
"What kind of training did you make him go through to make him achieve this speed in a month?" Guy asked.
"It's just like Naruto said earlier: I had Sasuke picture Lee's movement to train in the Goken."
"Taijutsu alone won't be enough." Lee muttered. He knew that very well.
Gaara made a handsign and the sand turned into a sphere around him.
Sasuke charged to punch the sphere, but had to stop to prevent getting impaled by sand spikes. A drop of blood went down his face, showing he had barely dodged a spike. He jumped away, making the spikes retract. A Sand Eye then appeared to observe Sasuke. Sasuke charged, but quickly had to dodge spike after spike.
"You did teach him something other than Taijutsu, right?" Naruto asked.
"Of course." Kakashi eye-smiled.
Sasuke unbuckled the arm-belt and jumped backwards until he was standing high on the wall. He then started making handsigns. Lightning chakra gathered across his palm.
Guy's eyes widened. "You taught him..."
"That's right. That's the main reason I had Sasuke train in the Goken."
Sasuke started running down the wall and charged towards the sand sphere.
"It sounds like chirping birds." Naruto commented.
"That's where the Jutsu get its name from." Guy said. "It's Kakashi's original Jutsu: Chidori: The One Thousand Birds. It's an Assassination Jutsu."
Sasuke sidestepped the spikes and thrust the Chidori on the sphere, piercing it.
"You were reckless to teach him such a Jutsu." Guy told Kakashi.
"You're not the best person to tell me that." Kakashi said before looking at Lee. "Right, Lee?"
"Lee and Sasuke are different." Naruto said, catching the group's attention. "Sasuke's greatest desire is to kill his brother. You taught an Assassination Jutsu to a guy who seeks revenge. Reckless is a massive understatement."
Back in the arena, Gaara was confused at the feeling of something dripping down his skin. When he realized it, he started freaking out.
"IT'S BLOOD! MY BLOOD!" He said, screaming loudly.
Sasuke tried to pull out his arm, but it was stuck. He reactivated Chidori for a moment, wounding Gaara even further, before being able to pull his arm out. There was a monstrous arm trying to keep a grip on Sasuke's arm, but let go as Sasuke jumped away. The arm retracted into the sphere. The sphere then crumbled and fell, revealing a wounded and bleeding Gaara.
After that, feathers started falling on the stands. Everyone started falling asleep.
"Genjutsu..." Naruto thought, unfazed. He made a handsign and cancelled the illusion on himself.
There was then an explosion on the Kage block. Konaha's Anbu immediately rushed to their Hokage.
Temari and Kankuro jumped down to the arena to reach Gaara. They grabbed him and escaped while their sensei handled Genma. Sasuke, on Genma's order, chased the Sabaku Siblings.
"Sasuke..." Kakashi said.
"Shall I give chase, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.
"...Yes." Kakashi bit his finger to draw blood, made a few handsigns and slammed his hand on the floor. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
A small dog appeared. "Yo, Kakashi."
"Pakkun, I need you to lead Naruto and Sakura towards Sasuke." Kakashi said.
"Got it." Pakkun said.
"Naruto, Sakura, be careful. This is an A-rank mission." Kakashi said. "Catching up with Sasuke, who is chasing the trio of Suna."
"Yes sir!" Naruto said.
"Y-Yes!" Sakura said.
Suddenly, an Oto-nin tried to attack Naruto from behind, only for Guy to punch him through the wall.
"And there's our way out." Naruto said. "Thanks Guy-sensei."
Naruto, Sakura and Pakkun jumped through the hole and began chasing Sasuke through Pakkun's sense of smell.
After several minutes of looking for Sasuke, Pakkun picked up a different smell.
"Hey, you two." He called out. "Increase your speed. We're being followed by two squads of ninja. No wait, nine men total."
Naruto quickly made a Kage Bunshin. "I'll hold them off." The Bunshin said before stopping on the ground.
A few minutes later, Bunshin Naruto stood in the way of eight of the Oto-nin.
"Hi there." He said.
"You're the brat." The leader of the bunch said, revealing one of Kabuto's Ninja Info Card. "We already have the information on you."
"Is that a fact?" Naruto asked as he used Chakra Chains to restrain the eight nin. He then threw a kunai at one of them, only to be deflect by another kunai thrown by the hiding ninth one. But the Bunshin saw where the projectile came from and summoned more chains to restrain him, bringing him to the ground.
"Good, now I've got all of you." He said before pulling enough shuriken for all of his targets. "Sayonara."
Naruto received the memories of his Bunshin. He even got the enemies' souls and chakra because of the way Kage Bunshin work. "He got them all." He said.
"Yeah, their smells are no longer approaching." Pakkun said.
They then heard explosions.
"What was that?" Sakura asked.
"Traps for Sasuke, I would imagine." Pakkun said.
"Let's hurry then. He can't handle all three on his own." Naruto said as they sped up.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was having a very hard battle. Orochimaru, after discarding his Kazekage disguise, had used the Edo Tensei to bring the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, back from the dead. He also tried to summon the Yondaime, but Hiruzen managed to prevent that. After a short 2-on-1 battle with his predecessors, Hiruzen had to summon Enma, the Monkey King, to transform into the Adamantine Staff and aid him, only for Orochimaru to pull the Kusanagi, a sword that is said to cut anything. During the battle, Hiruzen managed to destroy parts of Hashirama and Tobirama's bodies, only for said body parts to regenerate. He now knew that there was only one Jutsu that could help him now.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Hiruzen said, creating two clones.
The real Hiruzen then made more handsigns and summoned Shinigami, in Shiki Fuin form.
"For me to be summoned again..." Shinigami thought as he saw his new targets. He frowned as he saw that 2 of them were Edo Tensei summons. "I will have to ask my lord to get the mask in the shrine, in case someone would try to free the souls."
"Orochimaru!" Sarutobi called out. "I will defeat with a Jutsu you do not even know! The same Jutsu the Yondaime used to seal the Kyuubi!"
Orochimaru's eyes widened.
Hiruzen's clones charged and grabbed his predecessors, holding them still. Shinigami's left hand pierced Hiruzen's soul, grabbing Hashirama's soul and Tobirama's soul through the Bunshin. He then began to pull the souls out the bodies.
"Sorry, Sarutobi." Hashirama said.
"We really made things hard for you, didn't we Saru?" Tobirama said. Saru...Monkey. A nickname both of his predecessors used on him quite often.
"Forgive me for doing this, Shodai-sama, Nidaime-sama." When the souls were pulled out and sealed, the bodies crumbled to Kin Tsuchi and Zaku Abumi...the sacrifices used to summon the Hokage.
"You sacrificed your own ninja's lives." Hiruzen said as his clones dispelled, giving him their memories and the souls of his predecessors. "I will seal your soul, monster!"
He then grabbed the Adamantine Staff and charged at Orochimaru. Both started clashing weapons until Hiruzen managed to disarm Orochimaru. Enma tried to grab Orochimaru, only to be restrained by snakes. That was enough time for Hiruzen to approach Orochimaru and grab him for Shinigami, who immediately reached out to grab Orochimaru's soul. Orochimaru then used his chakra to guide Kusanagi and stab Hiruzen in the back, although Enma did catch enough of Kusanagi that it wasn't a full stab.
"Why didn't you dodge?" Orochimaru asked.
"Shiki Fuin... For the Jutsu to be activated and for summoning the Shinigami, I must sacrifice my soul. I won't live beyond this battle, so why dodge?" Hiruzen explained.
"So that is the Shinigami." Orochimaru said as he looked at the deity with horror. Only the one who summoned the Shinigami and the one whose soul is being extracted can see the Shinigami.
More and more of Orochimaru's soul was being pulled out. In the meantime, Shinigami used his right hand to grab his blade and cut the two souls that were already sealed to eat them.
"You will not catch me like this, old geezer!" Orochimaru said as the Kusanagi tried to pierce deeper into Sarutobi. His body's pain weakened Shinigami's grip on Orochimaru's soul.
But Sarutobi wouldn't give up and pulled as much as he could.
"If I cannot pull your entire soul, then I will make sure you never achieve your goal!" With that, Shinigami's hand grabbed the arms of Orochimaru's soul and cut it off, sealing them inside Hiruzen.
Orochimaru's arms were turning to stone.
"You cannot use your hands anymore." Hiruzen said. "No more hands, no more handsigns."
"You old bastard!" Orochimaru cried out. "Give me back my arms!"
"That I cannot, my foolish student. I regret that I couldn't take you the Shinigami's stomach with me." Hiruzen Sarutobi said before passing away.
The four that created the barrier cancelled the barrier and escaped with Orochimaru.
Sasuke couldn't move. After a small fight with Temari, he had caught up to Kankuro and Gaara. Temari caught up and tried to hold him off once more, but Kankuro did so instead. If it hadn't been for Shino's arrival, Sasuke wouldn't have caught up to Temari and Gaara. But there was a problem. As soon as he caught up, half of Gaara's face and his right arm transformed into a monstrous sand creature. Gaara's sand arm pretty much destroyed any tree Sasuke tried to hide behind and anything that got in his way of finding Sasuke. When Sasuke tried the Chidori, he pierced right through Gaara's sand arm, but it only seemed to make him more bloodthirsty. After that, Gaara's sand made a large tail. When Gaara charged, Sasuke tried Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu, but it didn't seem to have any effect. He then tried another Chidori...with the Cursed Seal. He had wounded Gaara again, but the Seal was putting a strain on his body. He couldn't move.
Just as Gaara was about smash Sasuke, Naruto appeared and kicked Gaara on the untransformed half of his face, sending him flying.
Sakura and Pakkun landed next to Sasuke while Naruto stood between the group and Gaara.
Sakura was mortified that the marks were across Sasuke's skin.
"Naruto Uzumaki..." Gaara growled. "We finally get to fight!"
Gaara charged at Naruto, who jumped away to dodge. Gaara used that opportunity to attack Sasuke. He wouldn't let a single prey escape. But Sakura tried to protect Sasuke, only to be launched to a tree and restrained by sand.
Naruto grabbed Sasuke and jumped away from Gaara, but he had no idea how to free Sakura. Gaara could crush her the moment he tries anything. Pakkun had also jumped away. He was no combat ninken.
"Who are these two to you?" Gaara asked Naruto.
"Merely nuisances that I have to deal with." Naruto thought before saying. "They are my teammates and my friends."
"Friends?" Gaara growled. "Such things are worthless! The only one who should matter to you is yourself!"
"If this is what you believe, then let us fight to see whose belief is the strongest." Naruto said.
"Yes... There really is nothing more to our situation than a fight." Gaara laughed.
Then, the sand started covering the upper half of Gaara's body, giving a fully monstrous face.
"Suna Shuriken!" Gaara called out as he swung both arms, sending shuriken-shaped sand at Naruto, who jumped to dodge.
Naruto created Kage Bunshin all around Gaara and they each pulled out a kunai that had an explosive tag attached to it. Gaara's sand normally blocked and trapped whatever projectiles were thrown at him. He would take advantage of that. Every Naruto threw their kunai. Gaara merely ignored them and let his sand body block them. He never accounted for the explosive tags. Because they all exploded at the same time, he was left stunned and barely able to move, open for attacks.
Naruto and the clones all started beating on Gaara until they sent him down to the ground.
Gaara couldn't believe it, how could this guy have the advantage against him? He couldn't lose.
"I will not lose to you!" Gaara yelled as he transformed once more.
This time, he transformed into the enormous Ichibi no Tanuki, Shukaku.
He had immediately trapped Naruto in sand.
"He'll crush me if I don't act quickly." Naruto said before he activated Kyuubi's chakra and destroyed the sand.
"What? How have you broken out?" Gaara asked with a booming voice. "Doesn't matter, really. You're just full of surprises!"
Naruto didn't say anything. He simply used his chakra chains to pierce the Shukaku and find Gaara. When the chains went inside Shukaku's head, they held onto Gaara and retracted, dragging him along with them.
Naruto charged, his frontal march further pulling the chains and managed to punch Gaara in the face before the sand could do anything, sending him straight to a tree. Naruto didn't stop there, however, he punched Gaara in the gut, sending him right through the tree and to the ground. Gaara couldn't move anymore. The sand that made Shukaku crumbled and fell.
Gaara looked to the side and saw Naruto walking toward him. His eyes widened. "Stay away from me!" He cried out.
"You and I are both Bijuu vessels, therefore it makes sense that we would be exposed to the similar kinds of hatred." Naruto said, making Gaara's eyes widen. "I was ignored and glared at by the people of Konoha. But I never cared."
"W-What!?" Gaara asked.
"They thought I was the human form of a mountain-tall fox. Why should I listen to what they say? They don't know the real me. I became a ninja because I wanted to. If my actions make them see me differently, great. If not, whatever. I have the people who see me for who I am, and that's all that matters." He was Dracula, Lord of Darkness. The opinions of mere humans mattered little to him.
"Those that see you for who you are?" Gaara repeated to himself. "Those that care for who he is make him strong? Care... Love... There are people that love him..."
"Naruto." Sasuke called out as he landed next to Naruto. "The sand released Sakura, which means he's probably out of chakra by now."
Temari and Kankuro landed next to Gaara.
"Don't fight him." Gaara said, surprising his siblings. "You can't beat him. Let's leave."
"All right." Kankuro said as he picked Gaara up and the sand siblings left.
"Those that care for him, Naruto Uzumaki..." Gaara thought before looking at his siblings. "Temari, Kankuro... I'm sorry." He said.
Both siblings were shocked at his words.
"D-Don't worry about it." Kankuro said.
A few days later, a funeral for the Sandaime Hokage had taken place. Everyone gave their respect to the old leader.
A powerful fire had extinguished for the sake of protecting this village. Even Dracula respected such dedication.
And that's the Chunin Exams done. There are still several completed chapters to show while I'm working on completing the entire story. Hope you're all enjoying it so far!