War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
-Bertrand Russell

Chapter 43: Who Is Left

"How dare you..." Sasuke seethed as he wiped the dirt away from his mouth. He spat onto the ground as he twirled a kunai out of his side pouch. You are Uchiha Sasuke. You are the last honorable Uchiha alive. Are you going to let some outsiders from Suna say that they bested Uchiha Sasuke? What a disgrace to your clan that would be. The voice was right. Sasuke gritted his teeth and yelled, "I suppose you think you're better than me, don't you? You'll regret thinking that when I'm done with you..."

Kankuro tilted his head to the side and arched his eyebrow. "Ha? What are you talking about? I haven't said anything!" Kankuro had to wonder if Sasuke had knocked a few screws loose. Kankuro flexed his fingers, preparing to react as soon as Sasuke launched the attack. Baki had always told him that it was better to let the opponent attack first. Patience was a virtue, and luckily, it didn't seem like a virtue Sasuke had been endowed with.

"I see it in your eyes. Just because that wench managed to hit me with a surprise attack, you think that I'll be that easy to take down? It's a foolish thought. I'm Uchiha Sasuke, last of the real Uchihas! No one can defeat me!" Sasuke shouted angrily. That's right, boy. You have power, and they're all secretly jealous of what only you have. You have the sharigan while they are blessed with what? Nothing. You are already powerful, but I can give you something more. I have the power to make you unstoppable if only you will give in and use me... Sasuke hissed for his inner self to shut up. He was strong enough on his own without having to rely on some weak voice in his head.

Across the field, Kankuro raised his eyebrow and gave a lackluster "huh." He blinked a few times before saying, "I'm not in the habit of underestimating people, Uchiha-san. I do have to wonder if it is fair for me to fight an insane person though. You seem to have lost a few circuits before coming to this battle. Did your brains get pounded out of you?"

"Insane is what people label outsiders that are not like themselves. You may call me insane, but I think the rest of the world is really insane." As Sasuke ended his speech he closed his eyes, and a smile grew across his face. Kankuro frowned and took a step back as Sasuke suddenly yanked his free arm towards him. Metal wires shot up from the ground, constricting around Kankuro. Kankuro cringed as the wires drew tighter around him, and Sasuke smirked. "You're all talk."

Kankuro gave a strained smile and said, "Not really." The genjutsu snapped, and the wooden puppet fell apart within the wires. As the wooden limbs detatched and droppe to the ground, Sasuke's smile vanished and his head whipped around, searching for the real Kankuro. "Where are you? Are you hiding like a coward? Be a man and come out and fight me!" Sasuke challenged, his eyes flicking from tree to tree around the courtyard.

Kankuro sniggered from inside the tree branches and twitched his right thumb. Crow reassembled behind Sasuke's back as he continued to look around for any sign of movement in the trees. He drifted Crow closer to Sasuke and pulled back Crow's head to reveal a long needle. "I would do that, but I'm a ninja. Stealth is a part of the job!" Sasuke whirled around as Kankuro's voice escaped Crow. Sasuke whipped his kunai in front of him and blocked the needle as it stabbed at him. Sasuke roared at Crow before giving it a sound kick in the chest.

He flipped backwards into the air and yelled, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" A giant fireball erupted from Sasuke's mouth, and Kankuro jerked his hand to move Crow out of the way.

"That idiot. Doesn't he know how long it takes to make a puppet?" Kankuro twitched the chakra string on his pointer finger and Crow's torso opened up. Dozens of senbon shot out of row's chest, and Sasuke flashed open his Sharigan. As he landed on the ground, he immediately sprinted into action. He danced in and out of the poisoned needles as he hawkishly watched Crow with one eye, waiting for an opening. He kept the other eye on the trees. Sasuke didn't know much about puppets, but he knew it was impossible have the puppet fight him unless Kankuro was able to see his movements clearly enough to respond.

A gleam of metal caught Sasuke's eye, and he trailed his fingers along the ground to grab the wire that he had discarded earlier. He yanked the wire from the ground and whipped it at the nearby shrubbery. The wire ripped through the bushes, and Sasuke clicked his tongue. Kankuro wasn't there. From his tree, Kankuro gulped. It wouldn't be good if Sasuke did that to his hiding spot. He needed to find another place to hide... An idea suddenly hit him, and Kankuro made Crow charge at Sasuke. If this was going to work, he needed a diversion.

Sasuke kicked Crow in the stomach, sending the puppet spiraling back into Kankuro's tree. Kankuro bit his lip as he used one of the blades inside Crow to sever the rags around the puppet, letting them fall to the ground. Part one was completed. Now, he just needed to distract Sasuke for a few minutes.

Kankuro rotated his hand in a circle, and two slots opened up on Crow's arms. A loud click was heard, and two round balls shot into the air before exploding. Smoke filled the small courtyard, and Sasuke hacked as the smoke entered his lungs. Kankuro forced Crow to dive at Sasuke as he hopped down from the tree and hid under the pile of rags that Crow used to wear. In retrospect, it was a pretty crappy plan. He was betting on the fact that the Sharingan only detected active techniques and movements. If he didn't move from under thr huge pile, then the Sharingan wouldn't be able to find him. It sounded way smarter two minutes ago than it did then.

From under the rags, Kankuro tapped his middle finger and his ring finger together. Two scythes ejected from Crow's chest just as he reached Sasuke. Sasuke whirled around and moved to block, but he wasn't fast enough. The blades caught Sasuke in the stomach, causing him to yell as he fell backwards to the ground.

Sasuke clutched at his stomach as the blood seeped into the ground. He got up onto his feet and glared at Crow. "You'll pay for that." Yes, they will. Now come, if we work together, no one will be able to stop us. You know you are strong enough for now, but you will tire unless you use my abilities. I amyou, and you are me. You rely on no one but youself if you accept my offer. So, do you agree? "Yes." Kankuro twitched from underneath the rags as he suddenly felt a pulse of killer intent pass over him. He peeked out from underneath the grey cloth and nearly jumped in surprise. Black flame-like marks covered Sasuke's pale skin, and Kankuro could have sworn that he could see them writhe on his flesh. The once insane look in Sasuke's eyes had faded away to be replaced by a look of pure malice, one that sent chills down Kankuro's back. He almost preferred the insane Sasuke.

Kankuro clicked his tongue and moved his fingers, sending Crow diving at Sasuke. Two knives snapped out of Crows wrists as he came near, and the puppet slashed at Sasuke. Sasuke stood still as the knives descended down until suddenly, he snapped out both of his arms. His hands snagged Crow's arms as they descended, and with a firm twist, Sasuke snapped them off of Crow. He tossed the bony arms to the ground and crackled his knuckles menacingly. "Two down, two to go."

Kankuro brought Crow up into the air so he floated above Sasuke. Sasuke didn't move from his spot, challenging the puppet to come at him. Kankuro waited a few moments to see if Sasuke would attack before sending Crow spiraling at the boy. Sasuke ducked out of the way as the first blow came, and he severed another arm from Crow's body. Kankuro grunted and ejected the scythes from Crow's stomach again, but Sasuke dodged and grabbed onto one of Crow's legs. He pulled Crow towards him and reached out a hand to grab the head when he felt a sharp pain in his back.

Sasuke reached back and yanked one of Crow's arms out from his back. His eyes flicked over to where he had discarded Crow's broken arms, and he realized that only one arm was lying on the ground. Sasuke grunted and stumbled backwards, a strange tingling sensation beginning to spread around his body. "What?"

Kankuro stood up from his hiding place and leaned back against the tree. He crossed his arms and watched as Sasuke tripped back onto the ground. "It's poison. No puppet master leaves home without it. You'll be fine when you wake up, probably." Sasuke groaned as he thumped his head back against the ground. His body felt like lead. He tried to lift up his hand, but he couldn't move.

"But it promised me that I would win..." Sasuke mumbled before falling unconscious. Kankuro snorted at that.

"No one can ever promise victory. There will always be one little thing that gets in the way." Kankuro walked up to Crow and peered down one of the empty arm sockets and sighed. "Jeez, this will take forever to repair."

-TSUME-

Gaara shivered as a sudden cloud of pressure swept over him. It felt as if something was constricting around him, making it hard for him to breathe. He had only left Naruto ten minutes, and he was already on his way back, but he knew something was wrong. Unfortunately, he couldn't shake the thought that he knew what had happened. Naruto had hinted towards it earlier, but Gaara just couldn't believe that he would. Naruto, of all people, wouldn't let the Kyuubi take over... would he? Gaara vividly remembered when he had last let Shukaku take over his body. Fifteen ditches were dug the next day. "I have to hurry," Gaara mumbled to himself. He couldn't let Naruto share the same fate, the same guilt, that he had felt. He sent a burst of chakra to his feet and shot ahead to where he felt the presence. Hinata called out for him as he left her behind with the Kusa team that they had picked up to be their reinforcements.

After a few minutes, Gaara felt the heavy presence release its hold on his chest. Did that mean? Gaara gritted his teeth. Naruto had better not have died while he and Hinata were away. Gaara's eyes searched the area around him, and he realized that he recognized some of this streets. Naruto had to be around here somewhere. His search grew increasingly panicked as he didn't feel any sign of the Kyuubi's chakra in the air. Good, maybe the stupid Kyuubi is finally dead. Gaara mentally shouted at Shukaku to shut up when suddenly, a flash of yellow caught his eye. Gaara shunshined down to the ground. When he looked over to where he saw the yellow, he froze. Naruto was slumped down against the wall, unmoving. The boy's head rested on his chest, and blood was splattered across the front of his clothes. Gaara rushed over to the other boy and knelt down on the ground beside him. He snatched Naruto's hand and felt for his pulse. A few moments passed before Gaara let out a sigh of relief. It was there.

"Sabaku-kun, where did you go?" Gaara glanced up when he heard Hinata's shout. He released Naruto's hand with a sigh and rose to his feet. Gaara stepped away from the wall and snapped his fingers. A cloud of sand shot into the air and moved back and forth, signaling his location. Gaara nodded, satisfied at his handiwork, before looking up and down the street. If Naruto was here, then Hiashi had to be... Gaara's eyes caught sight of a crumpled form on the ground a few meters away. The body was lying face-down on the ground, but it was unmistakably Hiashi. The long brown hair, the green kimono, the pale skin, there was no one else it could be.

Gaara turned to warn Hinata, but she was already running towards him. "You found, Naruto-san! I'm so glad! Is he all ri-" Hinata broke off as her eyes drifted past Gaara and towards to the form of her father. Hinata slowed to a stop as she stared blankly at the unmoving form. For a moment, time seemed to stand still as Hinata simply stared at Hiashi.

Gaara awkwardly shifted out of Hinata's way and said, "Uzumaki-san is fine. When I arrived, they were already like this." Hinata didn't respond, but continued to stare at the gaping hole in her father's back. Gaara vaguely heard the sound of the Kusa ninja landing in the street, and he turned to walk towards them. He knew that he should probably be comforting her right now, but he didn't know what to say. He wasn't good with other people, and he certainly wasn't good at comforting others. He cast a glance over his shoulder to see Hinata kneeling down on the ground and rolling Hiashi over onto his back. He wished that he could say something, but he couldn't find the words.

On the ground, Naruto moaned softly. His head rolled off his chest, and his eyes fluttered open. "What happened?" Naruto lifted a hand to the side of his pounding head before giving his head a good shake. Naruto forced himself up from the ground and leaned back against the wall. The world whirled around him as he tried to right himself, and it took him a few moments before he was stable on his feet. His blue eyes flicked around, first seeing Gaara and the Kusa ninja, and then seeing Hinata. He saw her hunched around her knees, seemingly staring at the ground. Naruto tilted his head to the side in confusion and walked over towards her.

That was when he saw the body. Naruto instinctively took a step back as the memories of before the fight flowed back into his mind. Kurama had killed Hiashi. Naruto looked down at his chest, and stood horrified at the bloodstains that covered his chest and his arm. He held his hand before his face, staring at the dried blood. Naruto clenched his fist tightly. He had accepted the fact that Hiashi would probably die if he let Kurama take over in the fight, but he it was different from actually having it turn out that way. It hadn't seemed real before, but it was real now. Hiashi was dead, and he wasn't coming back. He had hoped the best, but this wasn't some fairy tale where no one got hurt. This was war, and Hiashi was one of the casualties.

"Hinata-chan, are you all right?" Naruto asked tentatively. He didn't dare step closer to her, not when he was covered with Hiashi's blood.

"I'm all right, I guess," Hinata said, her voice just barely above a whisper. "I'm still alive. He's not."

Naruto flinched. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. I didn't want to, but I..." Hinata gave a soft sigh and turned around to look at Naruto.

"You don't have to apologize, Naruto-san. I know that you would have avoided it if you could have." Hinata clasped her hands behind her back and gave a weak smile. Naruto met her eyes and the two of them shared a long look before Hinata turned back to her father.

She was silent for a moment before she spoke. "You know, I've never liked him. I don't think I've ever had a pleasant memory with my father. I was never good enough, and I wasn't worthy of his attention, but... I don't think I ever wanted to see him like this. To me, my father was always invincible, and now... He's crumpled on the ground like a broken relic. I feel like I'm waiting for him to get back up and berate me on my response to his death, but I know that it won't happen." Hinata laughed weakly and shook her head. "It's silly isn't it?" Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion as Hinata continued.

"Hey... Is it wrong to not feel sad? I... I know I should feel sad about his death, but I don't. I mean, I do feel sad, but I think my sadness comes from the fact that I'm not sad about him dying." Hinata paused and bit her lip. "Naruto-san, do you remember all that time ago when Hatake-sensei told us that shinobi have to be used to pain? I passed all the exams, and I made it onto my genin team, but... I don't feel like a shinobi right now. I feel like a child that knows something is wrong, but doesn't know what to do to fix it. There's so much in this world that I can't control, and I hate it. I really, really hate it." Hinata clenched a fist by her side and trembled as she spoke.

"Naruto-san, how many of my family have to die before this bloody war ends? Neji-kun was the first to fall, and now it is my father's turn. More and more could be dead already, and I wouldn't know it. My sister, my cousins, my aunts, my uncles, they might all be dead already. Why do so many have to die before this war ends? There are too many..." Hinata's broke off suddenly as she gave a choking sob. She bowed her head close to her chest, and she let her hair fall in front of her eyes.

A tear dropped down onto the ground, and Naruto bit his lip tightly. He wanted to say something to comfort her, but he knew that there was nothing he could say that would make the hurt go away. He was the one that caused Neji to try and infiltrate the rebellion, an act which ended up killing him, and he was the one that allowed the Kyuubi to kill Hiashi. He had a hand in the deaths of those closest to Hinata. Nothing he could say would change that fact.

"Hinata-chan, if it makes any difference... I think you were very brave," Naruto said softly, reaching forward and patting the girl on the head. Hinated looked up and opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She just gave a sad smile and shook her head.

Hinata rubbed her eyes before clapping herself on the cheeks. "Thank you, Naruto-san. I appreciate it." Hinata looked down at Hiashi's limp form and took in a deep breath. "We should probably move his body to the side of the street. It would be too much to carry it around, and we'll probably be needed elsewhere." Hinata looked over to Naruto, and Naruto gave her a nod of approval. Hinata gave a hint of a smile before walking over to the Kusa ninja.

As she left, Naruto watched her back with empty eyes. "That girl has had her cousin and her father die in the course of a single month. If you think you have the right to be sadder than her about their deaths, then you had better have a good reason," Gaara said as he walked up to Naruto. "And if she is strong enough to keep on going, then you had better not give up now. It would be pathetic if you did."

Naruto blinked at Gaara quietly before chuckling. "Eh, if you put it like that, then I can't really disagree can I?"

Author's Note: I know I promised Danzo's battle in this chapter, and I'm really, really sorry it didn't happen. I figured that you would rather have a chapter without Danzo than no chapter at all, so I decided to post this. Thank you all so much for your support. I really appreciate it. I'll keep on trying my best!

Question for you all: Would you rather I post on time with a shorter chapter or a day late with a longer chapter? I have noticed that fewer people review when I miss an update, so I am trying to be on time. However, I figure that it would be better to ask the source, so what do you think? PM or review with your answer! Thanks!

(Note: I haven't been able to try write early enough to get these chapters betaed, so if you notice any mistakes, please let me know!)