Hello FanFiction! This is pain17ification continuing "Kouma Shōkan".

Please note: pain17ification doesn't own anything except for the story idea

Just a reminder: Jutsu are in Japanese while Spells are in Latin. The jutsu will be translated immediately after they are typed out while spells will be translated at the bottom.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

[Mental Speech]

"Bijuu/Techniques"

'Higher Being Thoughts'

(Translations and Notes)

[Scene Shift]

Chapter 6: To Prove Oneself

The roar of the crowd…

The gleam in the eyes of betting officials…

The pride in the eyes of the many teachers and mentors…

These were just a few things that the remaining Genin saw as they stepped into the arena floor for the final part of their exams. Although, two Genin were missing and it was immediately noticed by the Konoha Genin. After all, the missing Genin were Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.

Hiruzen noticed this as well, but he wasn't as worried since their matches were the third and fifth ones. They had time to arrive and participate in their matches. For now, he was seated in the Kage Booth with the Kazekage. Both Kage had two guards and it went unnoticed that the Kazekage's eyes narrowed when they passed over Jiraiya of the Sannin seated on one of the awnings over the spectator seats.

He elder Kage stood up and addressed the people, "Welcome to the Finals of the Chunin Selection Exams!" A roar of the crowd interrupted him before he continued, "We hope that the matches peak your interests and that the visiting officials and tourists see just what these young Genin are capable of."

He sat back down as the proctor, a man named Shiranui Genma, started the first match between Aburame Shino and Abumi Zaku.

[Random Rooftop of Konoha]

Seated on the roof's edge and observing the match between the Genin of Konoha and Oto were Hatake Kakashi and his student Sasuke. The Uchiha had overcome a wardrobe change during the month which consisted of an all black outfit with arm belts all over his left arm. His sandals changed to black as well while his hair was grown out slightly.

"Pay attention, Sasuke," Kakashi advised while he kept his gaze on his orange book. "It's always best to keep an eye on your potential competition."

Sasuke merely grunted in response before a thought came to mind. "Any sign of the dobe?"

This earned the Uchiha a sigh from the Jonin. "Sasuke, you should really be more appreciative of your teammates and not berate them. After all, Naruto has done quite a lot for you and Sakura, yet you both just belittle him and bring him down," admonished the man. 'Of course, you two also left him for dead in the forest and never bothered to ask if he was alright.'

The Uchiha didn't respond and just turned his gaze towards the match just in time to see Shino's bugs plugging Zaku's airwave holes. The Oto Genin was foolish enough to fire them while plugged and suffered for it by having his arms blown off from the elbows down. "Pathetic," murmured the Genin as the medic took away the severely crippled Oto-Nin.

[Stands of the Stadium]

In the top row of the stands sat six women who were unique in their own way. The first had slightly pale blue skin and rainbow colored hair that draped over her left shoulder and frizzed at the ends. She was dressed in a black shirt that had a cloud shooting a rainbow colored lightning bolt portrayed on the front, dark blue cargo pants, and black kunoichi sandals. Around her neck was a pendant of a bright blue pegasus and her right middle finger had a ring with the Uzu Swirl on it.

The second had tanned skin and had her long blonde hair tied in a low ponytail while a western hat, with three apples styled on it, rested atop her head. She was dressed in a red and white plaid shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, a pair of dark blue jeans, and some brown boots. Around her neck was a necklace with an orange horse on it and she also sported an Uzu Swirl ring.

The third had slightly pale skin and blue eyeliner on her face. Her purple and blue her was styled beautifully straight with curled ends and framed her face magnificently. She was dressed in a white dress what reached her knees and sandals that matched the blue streaks in her hair. Over the heart of the dress were three crystal-like markings while a white unicorn pendant hung around her neck. Her Uzu ring was the only thing that stood out from the color scheme, but she didn't seem to care at all.

The fourth woman had a slight purple tint to her skin that made people who noticed her think she was from an exotic country. Her dark blue hair flowed straight down her back while the purple and red streaks added to her charm. She was dressed in a dark purple shirt and black cargo pants while she wore dark blue sandals on her feet. A purple unicorn pendant hung around her neck while her fingers sported two rings; one being the Uzu Swirl and the other in the design of a bursting red sparkle.

The fifth had a light yellow tint to her skin while her pink hair flowed down to her mid back and curved out at the ends. She wore a green shirt with a design of three blue butterflies with pink wings on the front just under her yellow pegasus pendant. She wore a light yellow skirt that fell past her knees and green sandals while her Uzu ring was hidden underneath her demurely clasped hands. She had this incredibly shy aura to her that many passerby spectators saw as adorable.

The last one had skin with the faintest undertone of pink that many people failed to see. Her dark pink seemed to poof out all the way down to her lower back. She wore a pink shirt with the sleeves and collar lined in black that had three balloons styled over her heart. Her shorts gray and stopped right at her knees while her feet were covered in black sandals. Her attire was finished by her pink horse pendant and Uzu ring.

"Think he'll choose to make a grand entrance?" asked the one in the white sundress.

The one with rainbow hair smirked. "Nah, he won't do that. He wants people to see him as respectable since he wants to bring back the Uzumaki name."

The shy one gave a small smile at her friend's words. "He's come so far from when we first met him, hasn't he?"

"That he has," the one in the western hat agreed. "To think that he's gained so much experience and prowess is nothing short of impressive."

"Not to mention his studies with mana. He's learning at an extensive rate that I wouldn't be surprised if he caught up with me in about a year," added the one with the sparkle ring.

The last one just smiled and kept quiet, surprising her friends since she was the more excitable of them. Her blue eyes looked down to the arena and mentally wished that the other matches would hurry so that they could watch the Uzumaki perform.

The match between Yamanaka Ino and Sabaku no Kankuro had just ended in favor of the Suna Genin. Ino, while having trained much more intensely than she had ever done before, was just unable to tell the difference between the puppet and the main body. It turns out that Kankuro had pulled the trick he used against Misumi once again and she was unprepared for the poison that had been injected into her via senbon. While she was decent with poison, it was only with Konoha's poison and not Suna's.

"Now then, the third match will be between Uchiha Sasuke and Nara Shikamaru!" called out Genma and many of the Konoha civilians cheered for Sasuke.

Shika merely sighed and was just about to forfeit before his gaze locked with his mother's in the stands. She was smiling at him, but he and his father knew that the smile she gave was anything but sweet. It was one of those smiles that screamed, "Do it or face my anger!"

"Troublesome…" he muttered before he made his way down just in time to see his opponent appear in an overly dramatic swirl of leaves and wind. "Tch… Show off…"

Sasuke gave Shika a once over before he scoffed and stood with his arms crossed. "I forgot that you were my opponent. I can't believe I trained so much just to have a lazy idiot as my first opponent."

Shika just yawned off the insult since he had truthfully been called worse. Besides, he didn't give a damn about Sasuke's opinions of him. Opinions meant nothing in the long run; only actions and outcomes. Of course, this route meant that he'd have to actually put some effort and he sighed in annoyance at that.

"Alright then," Genma stated before he brought his raised arm down. "Begin!"

Once he jumped away from the Genin, Sasuke took the initiative and launched a volley of shuriken at the lazy genius. Shika's normally bored eyes lit up in analytic observation and he skillfully jumped back while blocking all of the shuriken with thrown kunai.

As soon as he landed, he placed his hands in a modified rat seal and used his Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Possession). His shadow warped before it stretched out across the ground in hopes of catching the Uchiha's.

Sasuke scoffed in annoyance before he jumped high into the air and launched his Housenka no Jutsu (Phoenix Sage Fire), making the Nara cancel his jutsu in favor of avoiding the many fireballs. He secretly pulled out a couple of smoke bombs and set them off just as the fireballs landed, making the affected area get consumed in a black haze.

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes at the smoke cloud while taking random glances at the ground in case the Nara tried anything with his shadow. The smoke slowly cleared and Shika was nowhere to be seen. Sasuke scowled in confusion before he instinctively activated his Sharingan to search for his opponent's chakra signature.

His red eyes turned to one of the few trees in the arena and he flew through handseals before he launched a Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fireball) into its branches. Shika was quick to jump out of the way just as the branches were set aflame and he launched a lone kunai at the Uchiha. Sasuke was easily able to dodge thanks to his dojutsu, but a gleam caught his eyes; one that came from ninja wire!

'Shit!' he mentally cursed and made to jump away before he felt his body freeze. Shika landed and the spectators saw his shadow moving as if it were that of a flame towards the Uchiha.

"Kagemane successful," he stated with a smirk. "I didn't think that the same trick I used in the Preliminaries would work. I guess you aren't as tough as you think, Sasuke."

The Uchiha glared hatefully at the Nara while his Curse Mark pulsed in response to his anger. The pulse made Shika's shadow fluctuate slightly, and his eyes narrowed as the Curse Mark pulsed again, only much more forcefully. The result was Shika losing control of Sasuke's shadow and the Uchiha using his newfound speed that he gained during the month to blur in front of the shadow user and launch him back with a rough kick to the stomach.

The Nara was sent tumbling back into one of the other trees gasping for air and Genma halted Sasuke before he could cause anymore harm. "That's enough. Your opponent is done for. The winner is Uchiha Sasuke!"

The crowd roared in approval and some medics took away the lazy genius while Sasuke strutted off with an air of superiority.

Dash scowled at the Uchiha as he walked off. "That guy needs a beat down and a good one at that."

"Calm down," Rarity advised. "We need to stay calm and show our support for Naruto-kun."

"She's right, Dash," A.J. agreed. "No sense in getting all fussed up over some no good fool anyway."

Dash crossed her arms in her seat with an annoyed huff and reluctantly calmed herself. It wouldn't do well to fly off the handle, but remembering what the Uchiha did to Naruto made it very difficult not to do so.

"The fourth match will be between Hyuuga Hinata and Kinuta Dosu!" Genma declared while the Hyuuga perked up to watch their heiress.

Unknown to most of the spectators, a hooded figure was on the tiled rooftop just behind the Kage Booth. They wore a full body coat that was predominately black in color but had intricate reddish-orange design. On the middle of their back was a large Uzumaki Swirl with the kanji for "Harmony" beneath it. Piercing blue eyes could be seen as the figure sat and observed the matches with their left leg dangling off the rooftop while their right arm rested on their raised right knee. (1)

"The matches are going as expected," they murmured in the tone of a young male. "Unfortunately for Hinata, this match goes to Dosu. The Hyuuga work up close and that leaves her extremely vulnerable to his sound based attacks."

As predicted, the match went on with Hinata trying to get in close and strike Dosu's tenketsu, but his melody arm's disorientation ability hindered her at every turn. She steadily began losing balance and rhythm with each sound wave that entered her ear canals.

After the fifth swing, she finally fell to her knees and released her stomach's contents on the ground in front of her before Genma called the match in favor of Dosu. The medics were quick to take Hinata away while the Hyuuga looked incredibly displeased with her performance. However, Hiashi – the Head of the clan – knew that his daughter had tried her best. It would seem that the traditional Hyuuga style would need some revising and some additions.

"Alright, the final match of the first rounds will be between Sabaku no Gaara and Uzumaki Naruto!"

The crowd was quick to boo the "demon spawn" while the transformed mares cheered for Naruto along with a few people here and there. Out of nowhere, Pinkie had pulled out a party popper and used it. However, instead of small streamers from the finger-sized party favor, a firework shot out and exploded, showing Naruto's name in the sparkles.

The other mares chuckled at her antics while others were both awed and confused at how the small party popper had that inside of it.

Gaara appeared in the center of the arena in a swirl of sand while the cloaked figure from before appeared in a swirl of water. Hiruzen and Jiraiya took note of this and deduced that the teen had a water affinity.

The figure lowered their hood, showing Naruto's face to the crowd, his eyes brimming with determination and strength. Gaara smirked at that and the Bijuu within him called out for the Uzumaki's blood.

"Let the fifth match begin!" Genma called before he jumped away, leaving the two Jinchuriki to stare one another down. Kakashi looked on in earnest, eager to see what his student would bring to the match. Sasuke, who sat next to him, also looked on eagerly. However, he had his Sharingan activated in hopes of learning some new techniques for later.

Gaara's slightly crazed eyes stared into Naruto's determined ones before he chuckled. "Yes, those are the ones; the eyes of the people who help me prove my existence the best. You will be most helpful in that aspect, Uzumaki." Naruto stood their silently with his arms lowered to his sides, seemingly open to any kind of attack. Gaara's smirk grew as he queried, "What's wrong Uzumaki? Are you so overcome by fear that you've become as silent as the grave you will soon fill?"

"Just shut up and fight, Gaara," replied the Uzumaki in an even tone, surprising many of the spectators. "I didn't come here to talk; I came here to prove that I have what it takes. I came here to bring my people back into the light after being lost to the whispers of the dark for so long." Slowly raising his right arm, he flexed his fingers in a "come hither" gesture, which made the Suna Genin's eyes narrow in anger.

"Very well then…Uzumaki!" he roared as the sand erupted from his gourd and rocketed toward the blonde.

Many of the Konoha citizens watched in shock as the blonde just stood there while the sand got closer and closer. Kakashi and Hiruzen were close to shouting at him to move while Jiraiya had his eyes narrowed in confusion. 'Damn it, kid; why won't you move?!'

Only the transformed mares looked on with no signs of fear or panic. Instead, they all had determined smirks on their faces; especially Twilight.

Once the sand reached over half of the distance, the crowd heard Naruto speak. "Custos nobilis, dona mihi animam et corpus tuum praesidium!"

To the shock of nearly everyone in the stands, the sand that was so close to reaching the blonde suddenly stopped as if it met resistance and spread out in midair as if it were covering a wall. The Konoha Genin were the most surprised since they had no idea that the "deadlast" could pull off something like that.

"W-What just happened?!" Kankuro asked in extreme shock as he sat next to Temari and Baki.

"G-Gaara's sand was…stopped?!" Baki gasped out. Temari just looked down to her fellow blonde in pure surprise while he stood there with his right arm outstretched and his left lowered. Her eyes squinted to see more clearly as his right hand slowly closed into a fist. However, the fist never closed fully and suddenly opened wide with his fingers outstretched, resulting in the sand being pushed back towards Gaara at the same speed it was launched at Naruto.

Gaara's eyes widened slightly at the sudden reversal of his sand and disappeared in a sand swirl, avoiding the devouring wave of grained rock and mineral. He reappeared in one of the trees and willed his sand back into his control before he jumped down.

Naruto reached into his cloak and pulled out a kunai and a seal tag, making some of the spectators narrow their eyes. "We've only just begun, Gaara," he stated as he wrapped the tag around his kunai, which then lit up a dull blue and extended to the length of a short sword. "This is the Chakra Ken Fuiin (Chakra Blade Seal). It is much more difficult to guard against than a regular sword."

To the amazement of the crowd, the blonde vanished and Gaara's sand suddenly rose up in a defensive motion before it fell to the ground lifelessly. The Uzumaki was seen standing behind the redhead with his sword arm outstretched as if he had finished swinging. Without warning, he suddenly spun in place and delivered a backhand slash at Gaara who jumped back slightly to avoid. However, the tip of the chakra blade cut into him making him hold where it hit. However, he felt no blood or any kind of wound, but he still felt slight pain.

"Have you noticed it now, Gaara?" asked the blonde as he took two steps back. "Have you realized why it is called the Chakra Ken Fuiin?" His answer was a glare and dangerously swirling sand. "Let me enlighten you then. This sword is much harder to guard against because of one simple reason; this isn't a regular sword. It's titled what it is because it targets, not the body or the flesh, but the energy and the core. In other words: this sword directly cuts away chakra, proven by when it cut off the chakra flowing through your sand earlier and made it fall harmlessly."

Many of the older shinobi were amazed at the seal and its incredible usefulness. Hiruzen and Jiraiya were most surprised since they had never heard of such a seal. The Kazekage, who was in actuality Orochimaru in disguise, licked his lips hungrily at the seal. 'I knew leaving you alive would be most intriguing. To think that you could come up with such an invaluable seal is nothing short of incredible. I must find a way to sway you to my cause for I'm sure that the seals you've made now will pale to what you come up with in the near or far future.'

The Mane Six all smiled down at the blonde and knew that this was just a few of the things he was capable of. "C'mon Blondie, you can do it!" Dash cried out with a grin, making the others smirk at her.

Naruto gave a small smile at her cheer before he deactivated the seal on his kunai and pulled out a different one. Gaara, having grown suspicious of what the seals could be capable of, had his sand rage towards the Uzumaki. Naruto however disappeared in a blur of speed and reappeared on the other side of the arena before he placed the seal on the ground. "Teppōmizu Fuiin (Flash Flood Seal)!"

Water gushed out of the seal and slowly the arena began to have a rising water level. Gaara was quick to recall his sand to the air surrounding him while Naruto stood on top of the water with the water walking exercise. Gaara was quick to mimic him while the water stopped flowing at a two foot level.

"Get ready," called out Naruto, bringing everyone's attention to him, "because this is where the hits come harder! Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon)!"

A serpentine dragon made of swirling water surged out of the water and coiled protectively around the blonde before, with a furious roar, it dove towards the redhead. Gaara instinctively called forth as much sand as he could to weaken the blow, but he was still pushed back against the wall.

"We're not done yet! Suiton: Teppōdama no Jutsu (Water Bullets)!" cried the Uzumaki as he prepared fire large, high-speed shots of water at his opponent.

However, a shriek of rage followed by a crushing level of killing intent stopped him in his tracks and the redhead stepped out from the wall. His right arm, along with the right side of his face, was covered in sand that was riddled with blue markings. The right side of his face looked disfigured from the sand while his right eye changed from green to amber with a black diamond shaped pupil.

"You're right Uzumaki; we are not done yet!" roared Gaara.

Naruto glared at Gaara and was about to strike before his senses went crazy and he felt an incredible amount of darkness coming from the Kage Booth. He gave a sidelong glance to it and sensed that the source was coming from the Kazekage. But the feeling... It felt familiar; hauntingly so. He quickly remembered who had a similar aura and turned to face the Hokage. "Old man, run!" he called out before the Kage Booth erupted in a small explosion followed by many others in the city.

In the stands, many of the spectators succumbed to a sudden feeling of sleepiness, but those who were aware released the revealed genjutsu. This included all of the Jonin, some Chunin, Sakura, Sasuke, Shika, Shino, Hinata, and the Mane Six. Hinata also woke up the members of Team Gai while Shino and Shika woke up the other sleeping Genin of the Rookie 12.

As soon as they canceled the technique, all hell broke loose and Konoha was suddenly locked in battle on a dual front of Suna and Oto. Kakashi quickly made his way over to the still awake Genin and ordered, "I want you all to assist in evacuating the citizens! Get them out of harm's way and to the bunkers, now!"

"But what about Naruto?" asked Shika as he pointed down to the arena floor where Naruto was seen talking to six girls; one of which Kakashi and Sasuke had met before.

"I'll give him his orders; now go!" ordered the Jonin and the Genin quickly complied with his order.

Meanwhile with Naruto, he was issuing out orders of his own. "Twilight; you and Fluttershy assist in getting everyone to safety. Your magic and her speed will help out the most with that." They nodded and left before he turned to the other four stated, "Rarity and Pinkie; you two help defend the hospital and Academy. They'll be prime targets to cripple the village." They left as well, leaving Dash and A.J. with him. "You two will help me go after Gaara. He's unstable and we need to calm down his Bijuu before it completely takes over."

They nodded before the three of them raced off towards the direction the Suna Siblings headed off to. Kakashi heard everything that his student had said and summoned a ninja hound named Pakkun to follow the blonde.

[With Twilight and Fluttershy]

"Keep moving, people! Get the children and yourselves to safety as fast as possible!" called out Twilight as she used her mana to create a barrier around the evacuating civilians.

Fluttershy was a literal blur of speed as she grabbed any stragglers and placed them inside the barrier. Her speed was augmented with her Jinton (Swift Release) which allowed her to move faster than the naked eye, and even some dojutsu, could see.

This was proven by Sasuke being unable to see her move with his Sharingan as he helped his fellow Genin defend the civilians. He scowled at his inability to see her, but a familiar chakra signature caught his eyes. He turned and saw Naruto's signature heading off toward the outer forests of the village.

Eyes narrowing in anger at the blonde getting out of menial tasks, he left in a blur of speed and hurried after him.

[With Rarity and Pinkie]

"Don't let them get through!" yelled a random Chunin as he held off an Oto-Nin that tried to get to the hospital. He struggled against the enemy for a second before a sudden cannonball hit them and shot them into a random building. He turned and saw a pinkette girl behind a cannon with a pleased smile on her face.

"Oh yea; my Party Cannon is as awesome as ever!" she exclaimed, seemingly unaware of an enemy sneaking up on her.

"Look out!" called the Chunin and the girl seemed to smirk and held up a half ram seal.

"Yumeton: Fūsen Hajikeru (Dream Release: Balloon Burst)!" she exclaimed just as she was stabbed from behind. Her form turned fully pink and deformed into a spherical shape before it exploded in a burst of wind and sound.

The explosion shot the Suna-Nin back into one of their fellow shinobi while Pinkie appeared next to Rarity in a burst of confetti.

"That was fun!" she giddily stated, making her friend roll her eyes with a smile and form handseals of her own.

"Well, let's see how they stand up to my beautiful creations. Shoton: Arashi no Kongō (Crystal Release: Diamond Storm)!" exclaimed the transformed unicorn as bright purple crystals formed in front of her before they broke apart into senbon shaped shards and flew at her targets.

As they hit their marks, Pinkie looked on with starry eyes. "Wow! It's as pretty as ever!"

"Naturally," stated Rarity as she flicked her hair behind her with a pleased smile.

[With Naruto]

Currently, the blonde Genin was crouched on the back of Dash, who had transformed back into a pony with A.J., as she flew above the tree lines after the Suna Siblings while A.J. easily kept up on the ground below. His blue eyes scanned below in search of any sign of Gaara or his siblings. He caught a flicker of black and brown and pointed to where he saw it. "There, that's where they are!"

Dash nodded and dive bombed at them, making Gaara stop and snarl. Temari and Kankuro stopped as well and the kunoichi was quick to pull out her fan and swing it with a cry of, "Kamaitachi (Sickle Weasel)!" The wind picked up from the fan and shot at the diving pegasus with razor sharp blades.

Naruto scowled at that and flew through handseals before he called out, "Fuuton: Renkūdan (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet)!" The blast of air clashed with the sickle-like blades in a burst of wind that Dash easily flew past. Once close enough, Naruto kicked off of her back and rammed into Gaara while the pegasus struck Temari with a dive bombing head butt.

Kankuro scowled and pulled out his wrapped puppet before he was suddenly rammed into by A.J. who had caught up. "Not this time, partner!" she exclaimed before her form became surrounded in a slightly green shroud of chakra and she slammed her hooves on the ground. "Mokuton: Shichūrō no Jutsu (Wood Release: Four-Pillar Prison)!"

From the earth below the puppet user, four pillars of wood shot up and they were quick to grow "bars" to interlock them and make "walls" and a "ceiling". Kankuro was left speechless at the jutsu while the orange mare smirked.

"Stay put for a little while," she stated before she left to help out her fellow pony.

With Dash, she was swerving around in the air to avoid the rapid fire blasts of wind that Temari kept launching at her. "Hold still, you damn horse!" raged the blonde.

"What are you, blind?! I'm a pegasus; not a horse!" yelled the pony.

"Like I give a damn!" yelled back Temari. "Just hold still so I could blast you into next week!"

"How about a kick into next week instead?" asked A.J. as she had snuck up behind the fan user and mule-kicked her in her rear while Dash's form glowed a stormy gray.

"Ranton: Taifū no Jutsu (Storm Release: Typhoon)!" exclaimed the rainbow haired mare as she released a funnel of swirling light that slammed into Temari and blasted her into a tree's trunk, effectively knocking her out.

"Nice one, Dash," complimented the earth pony.

"Thanks. We should hurry up and help Naruto-kun."

The orange mare nodded and they both hurried after their summoner, unaware that a certain avenger saw their whole scuffle with narrowed red eyes.

[Naruto vs. Gaara]

"Hold still and die, Uzumaki!" roared a deformed Gaara as he swung his sand claw at the blonde. Said blonde leaned back and avoided the strike while lashing out with a kick at the Jinchuriki.

The redhead jumped back from the kick while swinging his arm and releasing a volley of sand shuriken. Naruto was quick to duck under them before he raised an arm to Gaara and unleashed his chakra chains at him. They wrapped around the Ichibi Jinchuriki's transformed arm and the Kyuubi Jinchuriki grabbed the chain with both hands before he pulled as hard as he could. Gaara was unprepared for this and Naruto was able to lift him over his head and slam him down on the ground behind him.

Unfortunately, the Suna Genin was able to cushion his impact with his sand before it exploded outward. Naruto lost focus on his chains and jumped away as Gaara's entire upper torso was covered in sand, making him look like a mini Bijuu complete with a single tail.

"Great… Now what?" mumbled Naruto before he heard the sound of many birds chirping. He turned and saw Sasuke leap over his head and thrust a lightning incased hand at Gaara.

"Chidori (One Thousand Birds)!" cried out the Uchiha as he sliced right through Gaara's left arm and made it fall into lifeless sand. He landed behind the redhead and smirked only to have it change to a look of shock as the arm reformed back completely.

"Not god enough, Uchiha," Gaara stated as he used his tail to smack the avenger aside and into a tree. "Now stay out of this fight! Uzumaki will help prove my existence here and now!"

"Ranton: Reizā Sākasu (Laser Circus)!" cried out Dash as she flew in front of Naruto and released a beam that split into five and struck Gaara's arms, legs, and chest. The resulting strike pushed him back into the woods while a recovered Sasuke called on his Curse Mark and leapt after him.

"You alright, Naruto?" asked A.J. as she landed beside him and took a quick look over.

"Yea, I'm fine. Listen, I want you girls to keep Sasuke out of the way. I may not like him, but he's still a member of the Leaf."

Dash narrowed her eyes. "You plan on fighting Gaara alone, don't you?"

"That was my intention," confessed the blonde before he was pinned to the tree by the pegasus as she transformed into her human form.

"Like hell you are!" she yelled at him, making his eyes widen. "I'm not gonna stand by and watch you fight when I know I could help you! You don't have to fight alone, Naruto!" Her angered eyes softened as her tone turned whispery. "You're not alone…"

Naruto looked to her with guilt at her words. "Dash, I-"

That was as far as he got before she leaned in and kissed him fully on the lips, making his and A.J.'s eyes widen in shock. Dash kept pouring all her emotions into the lip lock and slowly Naruto reciprocated the action. Her hands moved to his whiskered cheeks and caressed them while she moved back from the kiss.

With a caring smile she stated, "You're not in this alone, Naruto-kun. Let us fight with you."

His blue eyes turned to A.J. and the mare nodded with determination burning in her eyes. With a sigh, he smiled and replied, "Alright, we'll do this together. Now let's hurry up and keep Sasuke from getting himself killed."

They nodded and, after Dash changed back, the trio rushed through the treetops before they reached the scene of Sasuke being backhanded by Gaara's sand arm and smacking into another tree. Gaara's eyes turned to them and a blood crazed grin etched across his face. "Finally decided to stop hiding, Uzumaki?"

The blonde didn't answer him and instead went through some very complex handseals. "Dash, A.J., get ready," he warned them, making them nod. "Pay attention Gaara. This is a technique used by the woman who taught me true strength. This…is her legacy! Hyōton: Makyō Hyōshō (Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals)!"

From nothing but the unseen water in the air, twenty-one mirrors made entirely of ice were formed around Gaara; twelve being ground level, eight a level above them and angled toward the ground, and the last acting as the ceiling of the dome.

Naruto and the mares stepped up to a mirror and, to the eyes of Gaara and the barely conscious Sasuke, they sunk into the mirror. In the others, their reflections were seen; the three of them taking seven mirrors each. "It's over, Gaara," echoed Naruto's voice as his reflections took out a kunai that had a seal tag on it. "Give up while you still have a chance." Gaara snarled at the blonde, giving him his response. Regret was seen in the Uzumaki's eyes as he muttered, "So be it…"

The next thing the redhead felt was pain. Blows struck him from every direction coupled with slashes that left no cuts, but made his sand fall off. The blows hit hard and some had left seeds planted into the sand before it fell to the ground. Other blows left shocks into his system, making it difficult to move.

After what felt like hours, but was actually around three minutes, the blows stopped and the mirrors were filled once again. "Had enough?" asked Dash with narrowed eyes.

Gaara gave the mirrors a murderous glare as the sand attempted to return to its host. "S-Shut up!" he raged. "This strength… That power… Where do you get it from?! How are you stronger than me when I have nothing holding me back?!"

A.J. shook her head sadly. "That there's the problem," she started. "You don't have anyone to help you; to rely on. You can't do everything alone."

"You see," Naruto continued, "it's the bonds and love we have between us and the ones we hold dear that fuel us; that drive us to push past our limits. We beat you because of this bond while you severed all of them."

"You haven't won yet!" countered Gaara as his pupils slowly began to leave his eyes.

The trio saw this, and A.J. replied, "Yes we have. Mokuton: Saku Ringo-en (Blooming Apple Orchard)!"

From the seeds, trees began to erupt and wrap around Gaara in a subjugating way. The branches wrapped around his arms while the trunk engulfed his legs and torso. The redhead felt his chakra get siphoned out of him while the trees began to produce yellow apples with blue leaves. Once big enough, the apples fell and instantly rotted upon touching the forest floor.

When Gaara was left with the bare minimum amount of chakra, the tree sank back into the ground while the ice mirrors shattered and revealed the trio standing next to one another. Naruto gazed at the weakened Jinchuriki sadly as he began to walk toward him.

Gaara noticed this and fear entered his eyes. "Stay back! I won't let you erase my existence!"

"The loneliness… It's unbearable, isn't it?" asked the blonde, getting everyone's attention. "I've known this loneliness for most of my life. Family and friends were nothing more than dreams to me. My parents are dead and I was hated for the burden you and I share." Tears threatened to spill from the corners of his eyes as he continued, "I found out that I could've had a family; a whole clan that could've raised me. But I was unlucky enough to be born alone. At least you have people who still love you and care for you from the very beginning. I only just started having a 'family' about two months ago…"

Gaara looked into the eyes of his fellow Jinchuriki and saw despair, pain, and pure loneliness in the blue orbs. But, beneath all that was a glimmer of hope and faith.

"Be thankful for what you have, Gaara… Family will never betray you so long as you don't betray them. Because in the end, they will be all you have left," finished the Uzumaki as Temari and Kankuro landed next to Gaara with their weapons drawn.

"No…" whispered Gaara, making them turn to him. "No more fighting… I just want to go home."

The older two Suna Siblings looked to one another before they gave soft gazes to their youngest brother. "Sure thing, Gaara," Kankuro said before he hefted Gaara onto his back. With one final look towards Naruto, he left toward Suna.

Temari kept her gaze on her fellow blonde with confusion written all over her eyes. Naruto stared her down before she gave a small smirk and nodded. "Don't slack off, Whiskers. I plan to have a rematch someday." Her smirk then turned into a smile of gratitude and she finished, "And thank you… I never thought I'd ever get my baby brother back."

She then left the area as well while Naruto smiled and whispered to no one, "You're welcome…"

[Konoha (Two Days Later)]

Naruto gazed on with a torn expression as the funeral for the Sandaime went on. On one hand, he was crushed that the Old Man had died and was enraged that Orochimaru took him down. On the other hand, he was angry with Hiruzen for lying to him for so long. So, he shed no tears for the man and chose to simply remember him as the revered village leader. The man he once called Jiji died long before the Sandaime did.

And with the death of the Sandaime came another step towards the thought of leaving Konoha for good.

(End)

1~ Think of Naruto wearing Xemnas' outfit in the final fight (only different colors and with my additions)

Spell Translation:
Custos nobilis, dona mihi animam et corpus tuum praesidium – Noble Guardian, grant my body and soul your protection

And that was chapter six! I hope that you all are enjoying it so far! Please be sure to read, review, and ask any questions! I'll be sure to answer all that I can! ^_^

Next Time: Naruto reunites with his Godfather! How will he take this after living a life of loneliness?! Stay Tuned!

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