Truth is mighty and will prevail. There is nothing wrong with this, except that it ain't so.
-Mark Twain

Chapter 42: It Ain't So

"It's okay, shortie. We're here to protect you, so you can stop crying. I'm sure your parents are just fine," Temari said as she awkwardly patted the bawling girl on the top of the head. The brunette couldn't have been older than seven or eight, and she was already experiencing her first civil war. Temari wasn't very good with children, but she did feel pretty bad for the young girl. No one deserved to be thrown into a situation like this, especially when they were so young. Temari glanced around the room at all of the other children whom she and her brother had herded to the back a few minutes ago.

She, Baki, and Kankuro had been assigned to help the ninja that were protecting the Academy and the Hokage office. The ninja squad that had been stationed outside the Academy told them to deal with the children. It was understandable. No foreign nation would be welcome to protect a room full of highly confidential documents, but Temari couldn't help but feel a little off put at the fact that they didn't think it was necessary to have more people protecting the Academy while there were still dozens of kids inside. Temari sighed. At least it meant that Konoha trusted Suna enough to let them protect the kids. If Suna wasn't trusted, then they would have been exiled to protect some dingy base in the middle of nowhere.

"Oi, Temari! Come on out of there! There are hostiles incoming!" Kankuro's voice called from outside. Temari swallowed and patted the young girl one more time on the head before standing up. She brushed her knees off and walked over to the doorway. She paused and rested her hand on the doorway. "I'll be back soon, okay, kiddo? Just sit tight."

Temari gave a soft smile before marching out the door. She slammed the door behind her, latching the lock into place. She exhaled sharply and smacked herself firmly on the cheeks. What was with her anyways? She couldn't be so weak and sentimental right now. If she was actually going to protect anyone, she had to kick into high gear! Temari took off into a run down the halls, her feet thundering against the ground. She glanced out the glass windows to her left, and her eyes narrowed. Kankuro and Baki already had company.

She ran up behind them and gripped the fan on her back tightly. "So, are they or are they not?" She whispered to Kankuro. Kankuro gave a noncommittal shrug and flexed his fingers, obviously eager for a fight. Temari's fingers tightened around her fan. It looked like they were going to be in for a storm.

"We have nothing against Sunagakure ninja. Just stand down, and let us be on our way," Asuma shouted as he held his empty hands in the air. His feet felt like lead, but he had gone too far to turn back now. He had to make Konoha a place where he could be proud to live instead of letting it deteriorate into the mess he knew it was destined to become at this rate. Asuma wished that Kurenai could have lived to see the Konoha he dreamed of, but he knew he would never whet the chance. But he couldn't stop now, even after she died. He couldn't disgrace her memory by wallowing in self-misery and losing his will. He would complete his mission, and he would do his best for the sake of Konoha.

"I'm afraid we can't do that, Sarutobi-san," Baki said, his lone eye piercing into Asuma's. "You may have nothing against us, but we cannot say the same for you. We have been ordered to stand guard, and we will not leave our position until we are otherwise ordered. Surrender now, and we will take you into custody until the war is over. You have one minute to decide."

Asuma clicked his tongue, his mind racing. "Things have changed, Baki-san. You know how wars are an evolving situation. We need you immediately at the arena. We've been sent to find reinforcements," Asuma said levelly, trying to sound as convincing as possible, but it was all for naught. Any hopes of convincing Baki went out the window when Sasuke gave a raucous laugh.

"That's such a pathetic lie! If you're going to lie, you might as well make it a good one, Sarutobi-san. You're just disgracing yourself by spitting out such weak words. Do you want to die knowing that your enemy heard those words? I wouldn't want to," Sasuke said with a smirk. He propped his head back against his hands and tapped his foot on the ground impatiently. He looked back over to the Suna nin and shouted, "Oi, you're with the old geezer Hokage, right?"

"Be quiet, Uchiha-san!" Asuma spat out. He tried to think of a way to salvage their position, but he knew their cover was blown. It would make it much harder to fetch the Forbidden Scroll now that they had to force their way inside, but they would just have to deal with it. Asuma took a step closer to Shino, almost protectively. The Aburame hadn't said a word since Kurenai died almost an hour ago. Asuma had tried to talk to him as they made their way to the Academy, but his words went unanswered. Asuma had no way to confirm Shino's mental state, so if it came to a fight, Asuma would have to keep an eye out for Shino. He refused to lose another comrade.

Asuma reached into his side pockets and flipped out his two chakra knives. Across from him, Baki lowered himself down into a taijutsu stance. "I will take care of Sarutobi-san. You two will deal with the genin. Go ahead with the plan, but if anything happens, I will try to assist you as soon as possible. Understood?"

"Yes, Baki-sensei!" Kankuro and Temari called out. Temari whipped her fan out from behind her back and opened it so that one purple circle appeared. "It looks like it's time to get this party started!" Temari yelled as she charged at the three ninja. She stopped ten feet away from the three ninja and sent a gust of wind spiraling towards them. Only Asuma had time to leap out of the way as the air crashed into them. Sasuke yelped as the current knocked him off his feet. Temari waved her fan again, knocking Sasuke with another blow which sent him tumbling to the left of the school courtyard. Without waiting another moment, Temari sent another gust towards Shino, forcing him in the opposite direction from Sasuke.

Shino landed on his feet and tried to rejoin Asuma, but Temari leaped in front of his way. "You're not going anywhere!" She yelled as she sent another current towards Shino. Her mind went over all of the countless pages of information that she had carefully memorized in preparation for this moment. In the month before the rebellion, Suna had been allowed to access files on certain high-risk ninja. All of the Aburame were on that list, so Temari knew that her fighting style was better suited to combating Shino than her brother. All of the data memorization was now going to come down to this. They had all chosen their opponents now, so it was time to fight.

"Uchiha-san, Aburame-san!" Asuma landed on the ground and moved to run after Shino, but Baki dived in his way, slashing at Asuma with a blade of invisible wind. The blade slammed into the ground, kicking up dust. Asuma stepped backwards and sent chakra down into his knives, extending out the edge with a glowing blue blade. "It looks like I'll have to deal with you first, won't I?" Asuma growled.

"Apparently so," Baki replied, slicing at Asuma with his blade of wind. Asuma gritted his teeth as the blade sliced into his cheek. He hurled one of his chakra knives at Baki, who dodged out of the way. Asuma twitched his fingers to the side, and the knife changed course and dove at Baki. Baki slammed the knife out of the air with a gust of wind and charged at Asuma.

Asuma shunshined backwards and put his hands together and called out, "Katon: Haisekishou!" Ash enveloped the center of the courtyard, and Baki held his hand over his mouth to stop himself from inhaling. He shot backwards from the black cloud, but ash already thickly coated his clothing.

His eyes travelled over to Asuma who was preparing to ignite the ash, and Baki's eyes narrowed. He quickly signed and called out, "Futon: Daitoppa!" The gust of wind blew the ash and sent it swirling towards Asuma just as it exploded into flames. Asuma yelled in surprise as the fire caught onto the edges of his clothing.

To the side, Temari slammed Shino with the butt of her fan, sending him flying through the air. She gave a burst of speed and aligned herself with Shino before opening her fan further. She yelled furiously before waving it Shino, blowing him towards the cloud of fire. Shino's eyes widened behind his glasses, and he whispered, "Kawarimi no Jutsu!" A cloud of kikaichu flew out of his collar and shoved him away from the firestorm as the block of wood that had replaced Shino went soaring into the fire. Shino rolled along the ground and hurried to his feet, but Temari was already in front of him. She twirled in a circle before kicking him in the chest, sending him back towards the flames.

Shino pulled his hands in front of his face as he felt himself tumble into the flames. He cried out as the fire scorched his skin. "Aburame-san!" Asuma braced himself and shunshined into the firestorm. He grabbed Shino under the arms before dashing out. He shot across the courtyard and laid Shino on the ground. Asuma yanked off Shino's overcoat and tossed it away, letting it slowly burn to ashes. "Aburame-san, are you all right?" Asuma demanded, shaking Shino's shoulder.

Shino pulled his hands away from his face and groaned as the raw skin on his hands stretched out. One of the lenses of his glasses was shattered against his face, and a small trail of blood trickled down his cheek. "I..." Shino stuttered as he tried to feel for his colony. He clamped his eyes shut and shook as he felt his kikaichu reporting into him. "I've lost almost my entire colony. I only have a few queens left, and not many warriors." His kikaichu all had short life cycles, but he felt it acutely when so many of them died at a single time. They were like his family, and they died to save him. He gritted his teeth as he wobbled up to his feet. "I need to repopulate," he said quietly.

Asuma took in a deep breath and nodded. "I can't afford you much time, so how much do you think you will need?"

Shino bit his lip before saying, "Ten minutes."

Asuma gave a hum of acknowledgement and pulled out one of his knives. "Ten minutes it is."

-TSUME-

Naruto took in a deep breath as he felt the Kyuubi's chakra circulate underneath his skin. His breath quickened as he felt his body temperature skyrocket. There was something about te Kyuubi's chakra that made his blood boil in his veins. He licked his lips and rubbed his fingers together as he lowered himself down into a taijutsu stance. Kurama's chakra felt weird, and Naruto wasn't sure if he liked it. His body seemed more sensitive than it did before. The explosions that echoed in the distance sounded louder than they used to, and he felt irritated that they were impudent enough to both him. He felt irritated by the fact that he was injured, irritated about Gaara and Hinata leaving, irritated about the man in front of him.

Naruto took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, but it didn't do much. His emotions were already beginning to bubble over. Be careful, brat. You aren't used to having this much of my chakra in your system. It'll make you stronger, but don't get cocky. Remember, it's my chakra and not yours. If I decide to stop my chakra's flow into your heart, you'll feel it in a few minutes as you get beat into a pulp. Got it? Naruto grumbled and nodded.

Hiashi's eyes widened as he watched Naruto's chakra system fluctuate. The boy's normally blue-colored chakra system slowly began to mix with red, and Hiashi knew what that meant. He shunshined towards Naruto and snapped his fingers out to close the tenketsu next to Naruto's heart. Naruto slid out of the way before swiping at Hiashi's legs. The older man jumped out of the way before running at Naruto again. Time was of the essence if he was going to prevent the Kyuubi from taking over. Even if it cost him his life, Hiashi would never let the Kyuubi rampage around Konoha ever again.

Naruto-brat, if you want to finish this quickly, then you should let me take control. I know that you intend to use my power, but how long do you want to take with this fight? If you fight on your own, then your... friends might come back before you are done. If they get caught in the cross-fire, what would you do? Naruto shut the thought out of his mind as he leapt out of Hiashi's way. He couldn't let the Kyuubi take control. He had to fight this fight on his own. At least, that was what he liked to think. He wasn't so sure if he could defeat Hiashi without the Kyuubi's help, but he was too afraid to give Kurama all the control he wanted.

It terrified him to think about Kurama being able to control his movements without him being able to prevent it. What if Kurama didn't relinquish control after Hiashi was defeated? What if Kurama went too far and did more than just defeat Hiashi? Would it still be Naruto's fault if the worst happened? Naruto gritted his teeth and parried Hiashi's blow clumsily before leaping away. Kurama growled from inside Naruto's mind as a dark cloud began to fill Naruto's mindspace, blocking him from talking to his container. Foolish brat... Curse this stupid seal! NARUTO!

"Stop running from me, demon-boy!" Hiashi yelled, charging at Naruto again. He shunshined up towards Naruto and said, "Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou!" The first two strikes hit Naruto in the chest, sending him stumbling back. Kurama cried out warnings in his head, but Naruto was already caught up in the dozens of strikes coming his way. "Sixty-four strikes!" Hiashi concluded as he sent a final strike to Naruto's chest, sending him flying back down one of the streets before crashing into a wooden fence. Naruto slumped down to the ground and heaved in air.

He clamped his eyes shut as he tried to force himself to stand, but his legs screamed back at him. "Shoot," Naruto spat out as he tried to get himself up, but each attempt only had him falling onto the ground again. He looked forward to see Hiashi moving towards him, and he searched his mind for the Kyuubi. He knew there was no other option now. He had to let the Kyuubi take over. He didn't want to, but he had to. Stupid, brat... Kurama's voice was strangely soft as he spoke, and Naruto's eyes widened slightly at the sound. You really are like a bumbling kit. Just sit down, and I'll take care of the rest. Naruto's body untensed as the Kyuubi took over, and Kurama rotated Naruto's shoulders back.

"Good grief. Naruto-brat really screwed himself up before he gave up..." Kurama mumbled quietly. He flexed out Naruto's right hand before looking back over to Hiashi who had paused a few feet away. Hiashi instinctively stepped back as a wave of killer intent filled the air. His throat felt dry as Naruto rose into the air, and his Byakugan registered an orange mass in the place where Naruto was supposed to be standing. There was too much chakra emanating from the boy for it to merely be coming from his chakra system. Hiashi deactivated his Byakugan to see a thick layer of orange chakra floating off of Naruto. The chakra bubbled and swirled as it emanated from Naruto, and Hiasho grimaced. The sheer amount of chakra that Naruto was giving off would have been enough to kill a normal ninja had they attempted the same feat.

Hiashi's eyes narrowed as he stared at Naruto and a single name came to his lips, "Kyuubi. My fears have been justified then. I did not know to what extent you have been communicating with the boy, but now I see it is worse than I feared. The only mercy that I find is that you are still constrained within the boy's flesh. I will see to it that it stays that way." Hiashi glowered at Kurama who was still stretching out Naruto's body.

"Really now? I'd like to see you try." Kurama's voice rumbled as he spoke. He shook out Naruto's shoulders one last time before taking off towards Hiashi. Hiashi barely moved out of the way as Naruto's fist hit the air where his face once was. Hiashi kicked out at Naruto, but Kurama swerved before grabbing onto Hiashi's leg and hurling fences cross the street and into a fence. The wood splintered as Hiashi made contact, and Hiashi winced at the smell of burning flesh coming from his leg. He glanced down to see black burns where Kurama had held onto his leg.

Hiashi clicked his tongue and shunshined out of the way as Kurama punched the shattered fence. Hiashi's mind whirled with thoughts as he tried to find a way to defeat Kurama. Obviously, he would get chakra burns if he came too near to Kurama. It was impossible to guess how long the Kyuubi would be able to continue giving off that much chakra, so Hiashi had to assume that the rest of the fight would be fight with the protective coating. If that was the case, there was only one thing for him to do.

Kurama roared as he dropped down from the sky, slamming his fist into the dust. The ground cracked and dust filled the air, creating a smokescreen between them. Hiashi immediately activated his Byakugan as he moved away from the cloud, searching for Kurama. Kurama smirked as he heard the sound of Hiashi's Byakugan. "How predictable... And how foolish," Kurama growled as he dashed towards Hiashi.

Hiashi lurched backwards as Kurama flared his chakra out. Hiashi yelled and covered his eyes as the chakra swarmed his vision with bright orange, blinding him. He stumbled backwards as his head pounded with pain. "Told you so." Kurama's voice whispered into his ear a second before Hiashi felt a fist slamming into his chest. Air rushed out of his chest as he felt himself flying through the air. Hiashi dropped to the ground and clung to his chest as he tried to breathe air back into his lungs.

"No... I won't give up." Hiashi grunted as he wobbled back onto his feet. Lights still danced across his vision from the chakra blast, but Hiashi refused to give in. He couldn't give in while he still had breath in his lungs. If the Kyuubi escaped to ravage Konoha, then Hiashi knew no one would be able to stop it. If Naruto hadn't let the Kyuubi take full control, then there was still a chance to stop it before it really got out of hand. If that was the case, then he absolutely couldn't give in.

Kurama stood in front of Hiashi with a skeptical look on his face. He looked at the palms of his hands before glancing back up to Hiashi who was standing up before him. A part of him almost admired the strong, stupid, old man who was battling to stand on his feet, but still refused to give in. Kurama gave a hum and shook his head. "Let's end this, old man."

"This is the end for one of us, but it won't be me," Hiashi breathed out shakily. A green blade of chakra appeared along his right arm, and he charged at Kurama, his arm raised above his head. Kurama shook his head sadly and dodged out of the way before swerving around and stabbing Hiashi through the chest. Hiashi gave out a gasping breath before falling limply down to the ground.

"Sorry, old man. But it's over." Kurama said over Hiashi's body. The orange vapor surrounding Naruto's body began to fade, and Kurama walked over to the side of the street before slumping down to the ground. He leaned back against the wall and whispered, "Well, brat. It's your turn now. Don't waste it."

Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the late update! I was originally planning on trying to update last week, but I found it just wasn't possible. I just finished my radiation treatment on March 1st, so I'm still wonked out. My doctors tell me that the fatigue I'm feeling right now is "minor" and that I should feel the real fatigue in two weeks. I'm feeling appropriately horrified right now. I'll try to keep on schedule for my updates, but what I'm really trying to say here is don't be surprised if it doesn't happen. I barely got this update out as it is, but I'm going to try my best to keep up the quality and the updates! ^^

As you probably noticed, Danzo vs Anko is on hold until next week. I wanted to continue writing this week, but after a talk with one of my reviewers, I realized a lot of things have happened since I last read Naruto. You see, I haven't read anything past Nagato's death at chapter 450. I'm taking the time to read through what I have missed, but there are a lot of things that I need to catch up on before I write the scene. On that note, I can promise that the scene will be included in next week's story. ^^