Author's Notes: I'm back! Oh god, it's been so looong. BUT... I have an action-packed chapter to make up for it! The past few months have been hectic and this story hasn't been updated in a while because of it. I've been on vacation the past month and I had to make due with a really crappy Internet connection. But I've been on a writing spree! Expect this story to be updated regularly.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"You see, there's the diffirance between us. I fight and live ONLY FOR MYSELF!"

And with that, Gaara lunged at Naruto, aiming for a swipe at the blond's head. Naruto gasped at the speed Gaara had when partially transformed before quickly ducking under the swipe, letting Gaara fly over him. He turned to look at the crazed genin with a stern look before charging at the One-Tailed Jinchuriki.

"YES! THAT'S IT! MAKE ME FEEL ALIVE!" Gaara screamed taking Naruto's blows head on without effort before swiping at him with his tail, throwing Naruto back.

Naruto turned in mid-air and landed on a tree branch, observing the field.

"Right now Gaara doesn't see me... I should just attack when his back is turned and I'll have the upper hand..."

FLASHBACK
"Never underestimate your opponent. Always study your surroundings, plan ahead. Use teamwork. If everything goes well you'll win no problem!" Older Naruto said as he threw a punch that Naruto blocked.

"But if the opponent's just alone or outmatched? Why use teamwork or plan ahead?" Naruto asked as he dodged the strikes headed his way.

Without answering, Older Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke before Naruto heard something behind him. He turned, ready to attack, when several shuriken were launched from the trees above him. He took out a pair of kunai, prepared to block the projectiles, but they weren't aimed at him...

He followed their trajectory to a... oh shit!

Under a tree behind him, a set of traps were activated when the shuriken cut the rope hidden under a pile of leaves and a huge, wooden log was aimed at him.

He masterfully created a one-handed Rasengan and thrust it right at the middle of the log and it shattered in two when it made contact. Naruto smirked. But it wasn't over...

Several Shadow Clones jumped from the trees and charged at Naruto as he stared in shock. They quickly pinned him to the ground and the real Older Naruto walked over to him and grinned.

"See?" he asked.

"See what? There are so many of you! And what's up with that trap!" Naruto shouted as the clones lifted him up and dispelled themselves.

"My point exactly. You were outnumbered and outsmarted. Despite your skills you lost. If you use these tactics on your enemies you'll win for sure."

END FLASHBACK

"No... I'll play it safe, use my surroundings..." Naruto decided as he looked around.

A tree behind Gaara was damaged from when he swiped at Naruto. It looked ready to collapse. And Naruto grinned.

He threw a pair of Flying Raijin Kunai right in front of Gaara, revealing his location to him. Gaara looked up and grinned.

"You missed..."

Naruto then teleported right in front of him and slammed a Rasengan in Gaara's gut. He was launched back and slammed into the tree behind him. It snapped in half and fell on his back pinning him down momentarily.

And then hundreds of clones jumped from the trees around them and piled on top of Gaara, the pile of clones getting bigger and bigger each second. But with a great, animalistic roar, Gaara pushed them all back at once and glared at Naruto with his golden eyes. He was now one step away from turning into the Shukaku.

Naruto quickly ran over to the kunai he had thrown previously and threw it at Gaara's head but the Shukaku Host flicked it away and grinned maliciously.

Naruto raised his hand over his head and gathered enough chakra for a Giant Rasengan when a terrible headache made him fall to the ground. Gaara saw the opening and charged for another slash.

XXXXXXXX

A little boy charged a tiny rotating sphere in it's hands, leveling his opponent with a hard glare. A tall, middle-aged man with short, spiky blond hair put his hand on the boy's back and gave him a warm smile. The boy nodded and turned back to it's opponent before lunging at the floating enemy. He threw his hand forward and nailed the tiny, blue sphere right in his opponent's gut. That attack at first seemed useless, but a moment later the enemy was pushed back as the tiny sphere expanded in size and power before exploding, resulting in a huge explosion of chakra. The young boy fell to the ground and the people behind him ran towards him and helped him up. The blond man from before patted the boy on the head and smiled brightly.

"I'm proud of you... Boruto..."

XXXXXXXX

"So that's... what it'll feel like..." Naruto muttered before teleporting away from Gaara's attack as he steadied himself.

"What the...?

Naruto dusted himself off and held back a huge smile.

"You're doing just fine eh... Boruto?"

Naruto looked up as he realized he saw his first vision in his timeline. He smiled wide and looked at Gaara.

"I'm feeling quite happy right now."

Gaara tilted his head in confusion. His enemy was 'happy'?

"Gaara...I'd like to... ask you something." Naruto said and Gaara didn't respond.

"The existance you seek must be so lonely and yet you go after it. What do you want?"

"What do you mean?" Gaara inquired.

"I mean... aren't you fed up with this life? Don't you wanna be happy?" Naruto asked.

Gaara stared at him for a moment before chuckling.

"You love your friends, don't you?"

Naruto remained unfazed.

"You find happiness and love in your 'precious people'. And I admit... you have a strength you claim to have obtained by protecting them. But that strength is false."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Your strength comes from bonds. Mine from loneliness. Let's see whose power is the greatest!"

With one final shout, Gaara's form grew in size and mass. A massive tail sprouted from his body and his hands grew in size as well as his face, now the face of a tanuki. On the tanuki's forehead, Gaara formed a seal and... fell asleep? Wait... NO!

The One-Tailed Tanuki, Shukaku had full control.

"HAHAHAHA! I'M FREE AT LAST!"

"Damn it, I hoped it woudn't come to this..." Naruto said, wiping some sweat off his brow.

Just then, a huge fireball was launched at the Tailed Beast from a tree behind Naruto. The giant tanuki merely flicked it away and Naruto turned to look at the source of the attack with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Sasuke?!"

Sasuke jumped down from his perch and landed beside Naruto.

"It's stronger than I thought... How are you holding up?" Sasuke asked.

"Why are you here?!" Naruto shouted. "You're in danger here!"

"And you're not?" Sasuke snapped back. Naruto flinched. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're stronger than me but that doesn't mean you can do everything alone."

Naruto growled lowly but nodded. He would accept Sasuke's help.

"He's right you know!" another voice called from behind them and Sasuke turned around.

"Sakura?!"

Sakura landed beside Sasuke and stared at the Shukaku.

"It's so big..."

Sasuke scowled and looked at Sakura. "You followed me?"

Sakura nodded. "Don't think you can just leave me behind Sasuke-kun, Naruto."

"Sakura... she wants to prove herself to us but..."

"She's right Sasuke. Just like you said, I can't do everything alone. And Team 7 is a team!" Naruto said with a grin.

Sasuke lowered his head to hide his smile.

"Naruto, Sakura... you idiots..." he chuckled and they both turned to look at him, grinning.

"Let's go Team 7!" Naruto shouted as he ran off towards the Shukaku, Sasuke and Sakura following close behind him.

Focusing chakra through his feet, Team 7 climbed up Shukaku's body, dodging Sand projectiles and obstacles on their way.

Naruto ran faster and jumped on Shukaku's right hand as the rest of Team 7 jumped on the left hand. Naruto created a dozen Shadow Clones that prepared their jutsu at the same time.

"Wind Style: Vaccum Blade!"

Six Vaccum Blades were launched at Shukaku's shoulder, cutting it clean off it's body. Before it had a chance to regrow it's missing limb, Sasuke launched another Fireball Jutsu at Shukaku's face, blinding it momentarily.

"GAH! YOU PESKY LITTLE BRATS!" Shukaku screamed in rage.

But before it could regain it's footing, Sasuke gave Sakura a boost and she launched herself towards Gaara's sleeping form.

"SHAAANAAROOO!"

With a booming shout, Sakura cocked her fist back and when she reached Gaara, she threw the mightiest punch she could muster without the use of chakra. She nailed Gaara and his eyes snapped open. Shukaku screamed.

"NO! I WILL NOT BE BESTED BY A BUNCH OF SNOT NOSED KIDS!"

And before it could collapse and dissappear, it swiped at the still airborne Sakura with it's claw. Sakura saw the swipe coming but she couldn't dodge or put up a proper defense mid-air. She was hit and sent flying towards the ground.

"SAKURA!" both male members of Team 7 shouted but Sasuke took action and sunshined to the ground, catching Sakura. Naruto landed beside them on his knees.

"She did it..." Naruto breathed out.

"But at what cost!?" Sasuke snapped.

The attack had mostly missed her but she had a deep gash in her stomach. Sakura groaned and raised her hand over the wound.

"Sakura..." Sasuke whispered as he saw a bright green glow eminating from Sakura's hand. He stared wide-eyed as the wound stopped bleeding and after a few moments, was completely gone.

"How did you..." Sasuke wondered but Sakura cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips comically.

"Shut up... you big scaredy cat..." she said chuckling and Naruto grinned but Sasuke blushed a faint red.

Sakura slowly stood up, Naruto and Sasuke supporting her. She winced and pressed her hand over her stomach.

"I guess I'm still a bit sore. Medical Ninjutsu scrolls can only get you so far..."

Naruto nodded and turned his head to look in front of him.

"Gaara..."

Gaara was laying on his back on the ground, staring at the sky with a blank expression on his face. "You guys, stay here." Naruto told Sakura and Sasuke. "I have something to say to Gaara."

Sakura seemed ready to protest but Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder and nodded.

"Okay but... be safe Naruto." Sakura told him with worry in her voice. Naruto grinned.

"Don't worry sis, Your little brother's pretty strong. I can handle myself." he answered with a huge grin.

Sakura's eyes widened but eventually she smiled.

"You're right. But I'll always worry okay?"

Naruto nodded and turned to look at Gaara with a serious expression as Sasuke and Sakura headed back to the village.

"I lost..." Gaara whispered and Naruto knelt beside him.

"You sure did..."

"I was outnumbered..."

"But fricking huge as fuck!"

"That power wasn't your own."

"Neither was yours!"

Gaara stared at Naruto for a moment before turning to look back at the sky with a small smile.

"You're right. But that doesn't change the fact that you had help..."

"My friends are always of help, even when they're not present. They give me a purpose to keep getting stronger..."

"What kind of purpose?" Gaara inquired.

"That's an easy one. I want to keep getting stronger to protect all of them."

Gaara didn't say anything but nodded.

"I... am not like you though..."

"What?" Naruto asked, confused.

"I fight and live for myself. I simply have no one I care enough to protect."

"Then you're not looking hard enough. Even if they don't show it, your brother and sister care for you and want to protect you... but you pushed them away."

Gaara didn't respond so Naruto continued.

"Even if things don't change right away, If you stay true to what you believe in and fight for it, it'll get better. A lot better."

"How are you so sure?" Gaara finally asked.

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I too was hated and feared. But I didn't let that change me. I pulled pranks to get some attention. Any kind of it was good enough for me. I failed the Academy two times. I still didn't give up. I didn't want to give up. Eventually I met people who acknowledged me for who I am. Not what was sealed inside of me. They cared for me and I for them. I want to protect them with everything I've got and that gives me my strength to keep pushing forward..."

Naruto waited for Gaara's response but he was silent. Just as Naruto was about to say something, Temari and Kankuro landed beside Gaara and stared wide-eyed at his injuries.

"How did you do this?" Kankuro asked lowly. Gaara turned to look at his brother. Temari, also, was shaking with rage.

"Perhaps...they do care..."

"Enough." Gaara spoke and they looked at him with disbelief. "It's over."

After a moment, Kankuro nodded and helped Temari pick Gaara up. The sand siblings gave Naruto one last look before jumping away. Naruto breathed out a sigh of relief.

"It's finally over..."

And with that, he headed back to Hidden Leaf. The Invasion wasn't over yet.

XXXXXXXX

A few miles away from the Hidden Leaf, the Sand Siblings were jumping from tree to tree, heading back to the Hidden Sand with a steady pace when Gaara spoke softly.

"Temari... Kankuro..."

They both looked at him with questioning eyes.

"I'm sorry..."

Kankuro and Temari's eyes widened but Kankuro responded.

"Don't worry about it... you're our brother. No matter what happens... we'll be there for you."

Gaara looked down, trying to hide his smile.

"Perhaps... I too have something to protect... Naruto Uzumaki."

I hope you liked the chapter :)

As always...

Let me know what your thoughts are...

Andrew... out!