Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor any of the characters, beside the main OC. All credit for creating this amazing series goes to Mr. Kishimoto

Author's note: Thanks to everyone for reading! Answers to the reviews are at the bottom.

I am really sorry for this enormous, huge delay in updating, but I hit this MAJOR writing block and I have been quite busy with university. I want to thank you all for supporting me with your reviews and by favouring or following this story.

Here is this long overdue chapter. I didn't go over it, so I apologise for any mistake. I will edit tomorrow (hopefully). Hope you like it.

HOW MUCH CAN SOME LOWLY GENIN DO?

Temari was very worried. She had never seen Gaara in such a state before. It wasn't just the fact that he was hurt, mind you, but it was something far deeper. Gaara feared the blonde kid, which was as strange as it was worrisome. She wondered whether this invasion was worth it. Would Suna be able to conquer Konoha without exploiting Gaara's power?

"How is he?" she asked, as they leaped from tree to tree as fast as they could.

Kankurō, who was also carrying Gaara, frowned in worry. "Not well. He isn't used to be hurt."

Temari nodded. Gaara had never, never been wounded before. It must have been shocking for him, to feel the pain and his own blood running. And she knew very well that it was best not to upset Gaara. She shuddered in fear.

"I think they are getting closer." Temari suddenly said, a heavy feeling of impending doom on her guts. "Can we move faster?"

"Are you sure?" Kankurō asked. "I thought they would have send someone to stop them."

"They must have." Temari wasn't reassured. "But it doesn't necessarily mean they have been stopped."

Kankurō was behind her, going slower because Gaara was still out of it and couldn't move on his own. The red haired kid was lost in a world of his own, only muttering time to time about his mother and blood. "Check if it's true. I'll keep going."

"All right, brother. I know what to do in any case... and if it doesn't stop them at least it will delay them."

Akimi was standing in front of the barrier, her arms crossed, her head tilted. She was staring intently at it, a focused expression on her face. "This barrier looks very strong. There are four people maintaining it and four is the number of stability. The first thing we need to understand, is how it reacts to external attempts of intrusion." she eventually murmured, crouching down to get one of the tiles. "To solid ones..."

She threw it towards the purple field barrier. Like the ANBU, the small object ignited, disappearing into dust in few seconds.

"... and to jutsu." Akimi held the tiger seal. "Housenka no jutsu [Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique]!" Two small fireballs clashed against the barrier, but were stopped before entering, once again engulfed by the bigger flames created by the field.

One of the Oto nin, a large guy with short orange hair, noticed her. "What the fuck are you doing, bitch?"

She ignored him, sending smoke towards the barrier next. It entered. "Mmm" she said. "I wonder if it would be enough to suffocate one of them. It's worth a try."

"Smoke manipulation, eh?" the Commander asked. "That's interesting, genin."

"Why, thank you." the girl smiled and slowly walked towards the nin who insulted her before, who was the closest. She noticed that Orochimaru had exited from the ground, in which he had hid to escape Sarutobi combo attack. Once arrived, she took a deep breath and released a steady cloud of smoke towards the corner.

"This isn't going to w... cough, cough!" the Oto nin shouted, starting to getting suffocated by the dark, thick smoke who entered the barrier. The purple field trembled, then started to fade starting from that side.

"Jirōbō!" shouted the only girl in the foursome. "What the hell!"

The other tree nin reacted immediately, reinforcing the barrier, just as the inside shield who protected Jirōbō collapsed. That had the side-effect of releasing the smoke, of course. The fat guy coughed, then regained his bearings and reformed the internal protection.

Orochimaru and Hiruzen noticed the display. The Snake Sannin leered at her, mentally cursing. Sarutobi looked worried. As Akimi meet her leader's eyes, she was reminded of the conversation she had with him the previous day.

"Well, Akimi, I must say your visit is quite unexpected." Hiruzen smiled softly, puffing out a small cloud of smoke. "I thought you would be relaxing before your matches tomorrow."

"Yes, that's what Jiraiya-sensei suggested as well." the girl replied. "However, something came up. I believe you should be informed."

The old leader raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"We went to the hospital to visit Chōji-san... he got an indigestion." she started, making the old leader chuckle and murmur: 'Akimichi...' while shaking his head."While we were there, we felt a terrible killing intent. It was on par with Orochimaru's or..." she stopped, looking around. "... Nami."

Sarutobi frowned. "In the hospital?"

"Gaara-san tried to finish what he started in the preliminaries. We found him in Rock Lee-san's room."

"This is worrisome, Akimi." the Hokage said. "But as he stopped, or so I assume, I cannot do anything about it and..."

"I know. That's not the reason I am here." Akimi sat down. "Gaara spoke to us. Shikamaru-san was with us too. He is deeply disturbed, sir."

"I noticed it during the preliminary matches. Once again, there is nothing I can do about it. Especially considering he is the Kazekage's son."

"He mentioned something you should know, Hokage-sama." Akimi said then. "He said he had a demon inside him."

Hiruzen gaped. "Nani?" he exclaimed, losing his cool.

"Shikamaru-san brushed it off as insanity, I think. But Naruto-kun and I... knew better. He also mentioned a name."

Sarutobi crossed his hands in front of his chin. "Shukaku?"

The girl nodded.

"I should have guessed..." the old leader said. "He uses sand after all."

"Hokage-sama, does this mean that Suna..."

"Likely... yes." the old leader smiled, tiredly. "Worry not, Akimi-chan."

"What will you do, Hokage-sama?"

"I'll take care of things." he replied. "And I shall protect this village, as I've always done."

'You are ready to die for Konoha, are you not, Sarutobi-sama?' Akimi thought. 'Not if I can help it. It doesn't matter if I am only a lowly genin!'

"You are attempt was impressive, but failed." the ANBU commander said. "Genin Katora, you should lea..."

The girl growled. "I don't think so. I haven't tried my best yet." she turned and smirked at the ANBU. "I've got a couple of aces in my sleeves, commander-sama. I just need a little time to get them ready."

The six ANBU watched as she sat down and produced a big scroll, before starting to brush furiously seal after seal.

"Fūinjutsu, eh?" the commander said. "Now this I really want to see."

The Oto nin captain stopped, crouching on the ground. They were on the road that cut through the woods, in the outskirts of Konoha. He had noticed something different.

"Their footprints are getting irregular." he said, measuring the space between them with his hand. He smirked. "They must be impatient to ditch us."

He slowly raised, but his eyes widened in shock as he found he could not move. Neither could his men. "What?"

"Well, I thought about running away..." a bored voice said. "... but I know the guys you are pursuing would have my back no matter what. So I stayed."

The captain watched the boy in front of him with a raised eyebrow. "You are only a kid!"

Shikamaru smirked. "You were wrong about those footprints." he showed he was holding five branches in his hand, one a lot bigger than the other. "This is how I made those pawmarks."

"To think we fell for such a simple trick." the captain shook his head.

Shikamaru tried to restrain a pant. 'Damn, the match wore me out... and even if Akimi's pills has replenished my reserves a lot, holding eleven guys down is tough! I won't last much longer!' he thought, with mild concern. 'And there is still the twelfth one to worry about. He must be keeping distance from them, so to help them in case of an ambush...'

He extracted a dozen kunai and launched them towards the entrapped Oto shinobi. 'This will show his position... and one of Naruto clones will take care of him!'

In fact, the projectiles were promptly stopped by another barrage of weapons, that came from an high tree on his right. Shikamaru attempted to send his shadow in that direction, but purposely had it retreat after a few seconds, without even reaching the tree.

"Looks like you are tired, kid." the enemy captain said. "We know how your technique works... this will end soon."

Shikamaru sighed. 'Perhaps' He saw one of the clones give him a thump up from behind the Sound ninja. 'One down, eleven to go.'

"You have said it." Shikamaru sighed. "I've reached my limit."

And his shadow slowly retired.

"Ahaha." the Oto captain chuckled, talking to his man hidden in the trees. "Why don't you come out and chop off his...?" he suddenly drop on his knees, hearing an hissing sound coming his way.

He was surprised to see at least a third of his men fell, kunai embedded in their bodies. "There are others of them!" he shouted. "Quickly find them!"

Shikamaru was about to react, but a clone signalled him to wait.

"Fūton: Daitoppa [Wind Release: Great breakthrough]!" two voices screamed from each side of the road.

As the remaining Oto nins jumped in the air, a third Naruto appear on the road, throwing a dozen of Shurikens towards them. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" he exclaimed, making the projectiles into at least an hundred.

"Damn brat!" the Oto captain exclaimed. Two seconds later he cut down the clone – probably using Kawarimi to escape. Other two popping sounds came from the sides of the road, as other two enemies reappeared from the shadows.

"And now it's your turn!" the captain pointed a Shikamaru and rushed forward with his remaining men.

Shikamaru simply smirked. "Kagemane no jutsu [Shadow Imitation Technique]"he said, holding the rat sign. "Success again."

"What?"

"Oh, well... I wasn't really that tired." The Nara smirked at the remaining six ninja. "To quote one of my friends: deception is a shinobi greatest weapon."

"What are you doing here, Akimi...?" the old man muttered, before turning his attention to Orochimaru once again.

The Sannin sneered. "You resolve to have a genin around to help you, Hokage-sama?" he mocked. "How the mighty have fallen!"

"Shut up, you bloody fool!" Sarutobi shouted. "I am the Sandaime Hokage! The will of the Shodai and of the Nidaime lives in me and shall be passed down to my successor. You will never be able to destroy Konoha! Today, I will stop you."

"You are truly a fool, if you think you'll get me with petty techniques and even pettier words." Orochimaru spat. "Maybe we should stop fooling around! This isn't an Academy Class."

"Yes." Sarutobi closed his eyes, putting an hand on his hat. Then, with a single fluid move he threw it and his robe away. "As you wish."

"So you were expecting your death." Orochimaru exclaimed, delighted. "Good."

Sarutobi was clad in his old battle armour. It was a black leather jumpsuit with mesh segments in the lower parts of his arms and legs. On his head, he had a metal helmet covered with a black bandana like Konoha Hitai-ate. On his back, over a grey piece of fabric, he carried the kanji for 'fire' and two weapons holsters. His left arm was bended over his right shoulder, both of his hands closed in the half ram seal.

Orochimaru chuckled again, getting read of his own 'borrowed' robes. Under it he wore his usual tan tunic and purple belt.

The two powerful shinobi looked/glared at each other and they chakra flared out so powerfully it started to crack the surviving tiles on the roof. The ANBU were watching in amazement at the sheer display of strength – and also at the unbothered girl busy drawing seals nearby.

Then, without any forewarning, the two foes rushed at each other. Sarutobi drew a single shuriken from his holster launching it at Orochimaru. His hands flashed through handseals. 'Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!' he thought.

Orochimaru stopped his charge, not even faltering at the hundreds of solid projectiles coming his way. He smirked and clapped his hands together. "Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei! [Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation]"

Sarutobi paled. 'He is using that technique! He called the summons as shields...' he watched as two wooden coffin slowly raised from the ground.

"First!" Orochimaru shouted. "Second!"

Hiruzen was starting to sweat. "I must stop the third!" and he flashed through handseals as the last coffin slowly surfaced in front of the first two. Thankfully, he was successful.

The ANBU kept watching, in fearful anticipation, as the two remaining coffins opened slowly, with a creepy cracking sound.

"Are those really...?" exhaled the commander in disbelief. "Could it be...?"

"Who are they?" asked one of his men.

Orochimaru smirked. "What will you do now, Sandaime Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi closed his eyes as if he were in pain, watching the two dead looking figures while they slowly exited their coffin. He had hoped to see them again, in the afterlife, but never, never like this.

"Saru?" asked the first one.

"Is that you, Sarutobi?" the second one said instead. "You have aged."

"To see you like this..." Hiruzen sighed in sorrow. "I'm so mortified. Please, prepare yourself... Shodai-sama, Nidaime-sama."

After regretfully leaving Shikamaru behind, Shino and Naruto started to run much faster.

Naruto was very worried about his lazy genius friend. He had gotten the feedback from his clone and although the battle had begun in Shikamaru's favour, he had learn to expect the unexpected. Nothing was certain.

'But Shika is far stronger than anyone knows. In fact, more than he himself knows to be.' Naruto thought. 'I must trust in him. He will be fine.'

"You need to focus." Shino said. "There is a tough fight ahead. Risking to die because you are too worried won't help those you worry about."

Naruto nodded. It wasn't that Shino didn't care, but the Aburame was very good at controlling his emotion. "We should be catching up with them soon."

"Hai." Kaera said. "They are going slower than us now."

Naruto let himself smile a little. "Good, that means we can..." he stopped suddenly, cursing.

Shino frowned besides him, the two genin disappeared with a swift Sunshine just as a hot blazed inferno was released in the forest. Several trees were blown up all over the area, by a series of well placed explosive notes and metallic wire that acted like a trigger.

"Nicely done." Naruto exclaimed. "Who do you think did it?"

"The girl." Shino replied. "Kankurō-san is more subtle."

"I would be a little afraid if I weren't used to Akimi-chan pyromaniac tendencies." Naruto observed, ruffling his hair. "Shall we go on."

"If they tried to ambush us, it means they are getting restless." Shino curtly said. "We should up our speed."

"And put an end to this ridiculous game of chasing." Naruto placed his hands on his hips. Then smirked. "Let's catch them."

"Are those really...?" asked one of the ANBU, in shocked awe.

The commander nodded with a sigh. "Yes, the one with black hair is the Shodai. The other is the Nidaime. Both were praised as two of the best ninja of their times... and are the two Hokage that built Konoha as we now know it."

"What?" Akimi raised her head. "The first and second Hokage? How is this possible?"

"It's Edo Tensei, a forbidden technique that revives the dead." explained the white clad ANBU. "As you sure know, a summoning technique usually requires a blood sacrifice." They all nodded. "Well, this jutsu requires a living sacrifice to tie one's soul to this plan. The ones who are called back from the dead returns in their prime, using the strength of the sacrifice to regenerate."

"That's hideous!" Akimi exclaimed, horrified.

The commander nodded again. "Hokage-sama is now facing not one, but three powerful enemies. You really think you can get that barrier down, genin?"

"Let's see." she replied, going through a series of handseals and touching the corner of the paper she had been drawing on. Then, she leaped and carefully approached the barrier, before throwing the scroll against it. "Activate!"

To the ANBU utter amazement, while upper part of the scroll was engulfed by fire, the lower one glowed with golden light. As a strange whooshing sound echoed around a hole appeared in the purple barrier, getting larger and larger... before the whole seal burned to ash.

"So close!" Akimi shouted in frustration. She turned at the ANBU commander. "We need to attack the barrier with multiple seals. I think the four corners are the more vulnerable points in the barrier. Can you help me with it?"

"Hai!" the Commander said. "How long will it take to create the seals?"

"Now that I know what to do just a few minutes."

"Good. Two of you, go get other two squads. We'll need reinforcement to deal with those summons." he ordered to his men then turned back to the girl, who was once again drawing seals, this time at least three times quicker. 'That's an impressive speed.' He secretly smiled. "So, can you tell me how you did it?"

"Oh, that's quite easy." Akimi replied. "The thing with smoke was only a half hearted attempt, you know, because it would have been much more easy and costless. So, as I said the barrier is held up by the four guys... therefore it depends from their chakra. They empower the field to destroy anything that tries to pass through, both ways. But nobody has infinite chakra."

"So to get it down it would be enough to fire jutsu at the barrier until it crashes?"

"Yes." Akimi smirked, finishing the first seal. She got another scroll out. "But that would be a total waste of energy. You probably would need dozens of shinobi exhausting themselves to do it. No, what I am doing is using that very destructive energy against the barrier itself. This arrays is made up by four seals. First, there are two fireproof seals, that ensure the scroll endures as much as possible. However, the barrier attempts anyway to burn the foreign object. And here comes in the energy conversion seal in the centre of the scroll. It converts the energy to charge a chakra absorption seal I've put on the bottom."

"So the seal basically sucks energy away from the barrier, creating an hole in it."

"Hai. Sir, if you stay behind this fat guy, who is already weakened, and manage to hit him as soon as we start to break down the barrier... then the whole thing will crash down." Akimi replied, finishing the second scroll.

"You are quick, genin." the commander praised. "You may even finish before my men are back."

"Good." Akimi smirked. "Then I'll prepare a couple of other interesting seal you could use against the revived Kage. I'll make them with neutral ink so you can use them."

The commander nodded. "And Hokage-sama can deal with Orochimaru."

"True enough, but he is a snake." Akimi said with contempt. "I think he will escape as soon as he realises his trap has failed."

"You are right, genin Katora." was the somehow amused answer. "I want you to leave as soon as the barrier is down."

"Of course I will. I'm not so foolish as to stay around for such an high levelled battle." Akimi closed her eyes for a second. "Besides, I have somewhere else I need to be."

Temari reached her brothers with a long leap, her breath even.

"Done?" Kankurō asks

"Done." she confirms. "It will be enough to delay them."

"Let's hope so. Gaara isn't getting any better."

The trio kept jumping from tree to tree, eager and hopeful to lose their pursuers. In truth, it was to no avail. They had barely been running for ten minutes or so, when the kunai almost hit Kankurō square in the shoulder. The boy was luckily able to duck and the knife impaled itself into a tree trunk.

"So, I have finally caught up with you." Naruto cheerfully said, jumping in front of them. "I never did took you from cowards. You have no balls to match your cocky behaviour, uh?"

"How dare you!" Kankurō shouts. "I'll show you what I..."

"Kankurō, calm down." warned Temari, looking worried. "He is trying to destabilise you."

"He also seems to be successful." Naruto smirked.

"You seem to have lost some friends, uh?" Temari said. "I hope nothing has happened to them."

Naruto frowned, then shrugged. "Oh, I am pretty sure they are fine. The same may not hold true for you, I am afraid."

"You think you can keep up with the tree of us?" Kankurō breathed. "You arrogant brat."

Naruto tilted his head. "Why not? We should definitely try."

"This is getting ridiculous." Temari exclaimed. "Kankurō, go ahead. I will fight him."

"Temari, are you sure?" Kankurō whispered. "He is actually very dangerous and..."

"This mission is very important for Suna. We need to prioritize Gaara's condition. I am willing to do my part. You must do yours."

"Very well." Kankurō looked sad for a moment, then smiled. "Good luck, sister."

Naruto crossed his arms. "So it's you and me, then?" he smiled. "I am actually looking forward to fight another wind-user."

Temari smirked. "You won't be thinking that when I'm done with you."

"I am extremely sorry, but the only kunoichi I am afraid of is Akimi-chan when she is angry. You look like a kitten next to her." Naruto watched as Temari became enraged just as he had planned. 'Mah, this Suna nins are really predictable.'

"Edo Tensei, eh?" the Nidaime asked. "I should have never created this accursed technique."

"You were always a little arrogant, brother." the Shodai scolded evenly. "Sarutobi, I am sorry but we must fight you."

"Enough chitchat, old men!" Orochimaru said, moving forward. "Let's get started, shall we?"

"It looks like there is always war, is it?" the Shodai observed, bitterly.

"But you do like war, don't you?" the Sannin mocked, holding out two kunai with red sealing tags attached on the holding rings.

Sarutobi growled in anger. "Damn it, Orochimaru!" he shouted. "Nothing good comes when you trifle with time..." and as to confirm his words, with a strange sucking sound, part of the barrier faltered – creating a huge hole – before everything settled back to normal.

Orochimaru glanced for a second towards the ANBU and a now frustrated genin. "We need to get those two up to par, first thing off!" he chuckled, slightly amused by the brat's attempts to destroy the barrier. The barrier wasn't going to fail, unless he gave the order. That much was certain. "Watch, sensei..." and he inserted the kunai into the revived Hokage's heads with a forceful stab. "Watch and suffer."

With a swishing sound, white smoke started to raise from the Shodai and Nidaime, as their ill-looking bodies started to gain more substance and colour.

"Done!" Orochimaru exulted, opening his arms.

Sarutobi felt his eyes water. "You two look so much like you used to..." he murmured, hiding his face into his hand for a second.

"I'm so happy to see you so much in pain, sensei." the Sannin snarled, forming the tiger seal. "Please enjoy yourself!"

The Shodai and Nidaime slowly stumbled forward, with tentative steps – as if they had to get using to walk once again – but soon their hesitance disappeared. Sarutobi could only watch in frozen horror as his two former sensei rushed at him. Tobirama jumped on the roof's highest spot, to get him from above, while Hashirama went for a direct approach.

Hiruzen regained his bearings just in time to dodge a kunai thrown by the First, before stepping back to avoid several hits from him. He was then forced to cross his arms to block a kick aimed to his face. 'You are as strong as I remember... Hashirama-sama.' the Third thought, ducking down with incredible agility to perform a sweeping kick... that was easily avoided, as the Shodai quickly distanced him with a series of acrobatic flips.

But Hiruzen had no time to rest, because the Nidaime attacked him from behind, after an impressive jump. Tobirama did not found the old Kage unprepared and his next couple of attacks were promptly parried or dodged. Eventually, Sarutobi managed to grab his foe's leg and using it as leverage, he swept the Second away.

'I need to attack, before they overwhelm me!' Hiruzen thought, flashing handseals. "Katon: Karyū Endan [Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet]!"The fire storm he called forward was at least two times bigger the one Akimi could perform and engulfed the two revived Kage in a blazing hot inferno.

It was not enough though: Tobirama only needed a mere hand seal – he cupped his right hand with his left, leaving his thumbs up – to deflect the devastating attack of the Sandaime.

"Suiton: Suijinheki! [Water Release: Water Encampment Wall]" the Nidaime called out. A high wave raised from nothingness, surrounding him and his brother, and the two techniques easily cancelled one other.

Sarutobi cursed.

Then Tobirama, with an impassable hard expression, simply clapped his hands together, inhaling deeply. "Suiton: Suishōha! [Water Release: Water Colliding Wave]" he said. This time, a colossal column of water arose around him, before clashing down towards Sarutobi in a spiralling maelstrom of death.

Hiruzen didn't falter for one second. "Doton: Doryūheki [Erath Release. Earth Style Wall]!" he shouted, before spitting out a trail of mud. In a split second, a massive wall of earth appeared in front of him. It was at least four metres tall. He climbed on top and down again with a dozen of jumps.

Hashirama was rushing at him again. With a tired sigh, Hiruzen tried to stop him with few small fireballs, but the First simply waved them off with one hand, continuing his charge. The Third had barely the time to raise his arms to guard his face. But then, Hashirama unleashed a barrage of blows at Sarutobi, hitting him with several mighty punches and kicks, eventually throwing him away.

The Sandaime roughly landed on the water. He was panting tiredly. 'I can't keep up with the two of them for long!' he thought, just as he felt a great force dragging him down, underwater.

It was Tobirama of course. The second Hokage was, probably, the greater Suiton master to ever live. He was able to create water out of thin air and to breath for extensive periods underwater.

'This is getting really difficult!' Sarutobi struggled against the iron grip of the Nidaime, before finally shrugging him off. He immediately used chakra to propel himself upwards, shooting out of the water with a massive jump. He landed on the top of his earth wall, in a crouched position, still panting. 'I'm really getting too old for this.'

Hiruzen didn't have to time to rest, though, because two hurled shuriken engulfed in blue chakra hit the wall on his ides, making it crumble. The old man had barely the time to jump down and arrived back on the roof, utterly exhausted. He was breathing heavily.

And then he heard the crack, together with the realise of one of the most intense chakra he ever felt. Sarutobi knew what that meant. 'I am overwhelmed. I need to up my game or this is going to end entirely too soon.' The roof started to break as several small buds appeared out of nothingness.

It was the demonstration of the Shodai's devastating power: the pinnacle of his secret techniques, Wood Release. The First Hokage closed his hands in the snake seal, chakra oozing out of him with such intensity to make his hair float. "Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kōtan: [Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees]" he shouted.

Sarutobi had just the time to curse and barely managed to bite his thumb, then a massive forest grew from those small buds, covering the whole roof. The Third Hokage was engulfed by the trees, ensnared by the iron of grip of several tick braches, one of which was almost suffocating him. He groaned in pain.

"So you have finally been caught..." Orochimaru approached the scene, smirking. He stopped once he arrived besides the two revived Kage. "... sensei."

"Don't you dare underestimate me, blondie!" Temari bellowed, unfolding her fan. "Ninpo Kamaitachi [Sickle Weasel Technique]"

Naruto smirk disappeared as a small tornado was unleashed towards him. "I am not. And I bet you'll give me an hell of a fight, Temari-chan!" he shouted, jumping in the air and avoiding to be blown away with a couple of skilful pirouettes. "My turn now. Fūton: Daitoppa. [Wind Release: Great Breakthrough]"

Temari was quite confused by his behaviour, as Naruto's own fearsome blast of wind charged at her. She followed his example and jumped away, hiding behind a tree. 'I expected him to try and save chakra. Although he does have a freakish stamina. I need to make him use techniques even more.'

"Your move, Temari." Naruto screamed.

His voice was coming from too far, as if he was moving. Temari quickly came out from behind the trunk to see Naruto was indeed escaping. 'What the hell, does he think I am going to let him go just like that?' She moved her fan, ready to overpower her technique. "Ninpo Kamaitachi"

She smirked as Naruto cursed and was forced to hide behind a tree just like her. "You are not going anywhere."

"All right, can't blame a guy from trying, though." Naruto cheerfully replied, appearing in a blur of movement on a branch below her. "It seems like I have to fight you."

Temari dodged a dozen of shuriken he threw her way and unleashed a new tornado on him. 'I don't think I can get him with this, but maybe I can get him to waste chakra on defence.' "Ninpo Kamaitachi"

And on the defensive Naruto went. He stood there watching the wing coming at him, then smiled and moved his hands. "Fūton: Kaze no Tate. [Wind Release: Shield of Wind] he shouted, summoning wind gusts to protect himself.

The two techniques clashed with a howling sound and an explosion, almost deafening Temari, who didn't expect an attack so soon. But to her surprise, Naruto had jumped towards her way before the explosion had waned off.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!"

Temari looked at the fireball coming her way with wide eyes. "Damn it, I forgot he could use Katon!" She took a deep breath, knowing that a fire technique by someone with a wind affinity couldn't be so powerful. She could deflect it.

"Fūsajin no Jutsu [Dust Wind Technique]" Temari shouted, with a powerful cleave of her fan. Her wind seemed strong enough to disperse Naruto's flames. Luckily.

Naruto immediacy jumped away to avoid being hit by the attack, falling right into a smirking Temari's trap. The branches were covered by sand from her previous techniques and Naruto promptly loose his footing as he landed on a nearby branch.

Temari didn't waste the opening and jumped to reach him as he was falling. When they reached each other, the girl disposed of her foe with some well placed kunai and shuriken. She landed on the ground with a laboured breath and moved closer to Naruto's unmoving body.

'The kid was really powerful. Luckily his matches must have wore him down or I..." Naruto opened his eyes and smiled at Temari, showing her a lit explosive note.

As Temari was showed away from the explosion, she also heard the distinctive pop of Kage Bunshin. How didn't she realise it sooner? She had been fighting a clone all this time. The damn kid was really smart.

"I must... protect... Gaara." she rasped, hoping Kankurō would be able to do it on her stead. It would have been a while before she would regain enough strength to move. "Gaara..."

Akimi was sweating profusely. The last time she remembered being so anxious was when she was escaping to Konoha, a scared ten years old girl whose grandfather had just died in front of her eyes and who was hunted by several ruthless thugs.

The young genin closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to control the small shaking in her hands as she went over her seals once again. One tiny imperfections in the signs or their order and everything could go to waste. And it was too big an opportunity to waste.

Her focus was once again broken as a terrible source of chakra made the hair behind her neck stand up. Akimi raised her gaze to see trees come to life in front of her. 'So it is true. Shodai-sama could use wood techniques. Fascinating.'

"Are you done, genin Katora?" the ANBU Commander asked with a certain urgency in his voice.

The two support squads had arrived few minutes before and he was eager to start an offensive. Watching the battle unfold – and Sarutobi-sama so proved – without being able to intervene was pure torture.

"I am just checking things over." the girl replied, subdued. "Give me few more moments."

"Be as swift as you can."

Akimi lowered her eyes again to her seals, even though she was constantly tempted to take a peek at the epic Hokage level battle that was going on. Finally she took another breath and nodded.

"It is done."

"Excellent." the Commander said, looking visibly relieved. "Hokage-sama has summoned the Monkey King, Emna, so he has an edge finally. We have time to set things up."

Akimi glanced for few seconds inside the barrier, where a tall and slender monkey in full ninja gear had made his appearance, called forth by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

'Impressive. That Emna has the same chakra pool of Gamabunta! Sarutobi-sama has really levelled the field.' she thought. "We should place a seal on each corner of the battle, more or less where the four Oto nin are. This way your man can try to hit them through the opening the seal will provide."

The Commander nodded again, stiffly. "One squad on each angle, I am taking the fat weakened guy." he said. "Take also some of the support seal genin Katora has made. Second and Third squad you'll take Nidaime-sama, eighth and ninth squad you take Shodai-sama. Hokage-sama will deal with Orochimaru, then we shall follow his orders."

"Hai." the twelve men disappeared with a small puff of smoke.

"At my signal activate the seals." the Commander turned to Akimi next. "Then get the hell out of here."

"We already established that." Akimi nodded, starting to collect her chakra. "We should wait for the opportune moment."

The seasoned ANBU and rookie genin watched as Emna skilfully engaged in battle with the two revived Kage, tossing them away with a couple of well placed kicks and punches.. Then the monkey jumped on a broken tree trunk and opened his arms wide. "Henge!" he shouted, becoming a huge, sturdy black staff.

In that form, the old money easily broke the braches keeping Sarutobi prisoner and the Sandaime jumped down in a fighting stance, holding the powerful staff with one hand. The turn of events seemed to worry ever so slightly Orochimaru – for one second.

"Things are finally getting interesting." the snake Sannin said, smirking. He pushed against is stomach with his hands, making a snake come out from his mouth.

'Disgusting.' thought Akimi, watching as the reptile spat out a long, slender sword, which Orochimaru grabbed with a fluid move.

"The Sword of Kusanagi." the Commander said, cursing. "We must act soon."

"They are going to fight right now. Orochimaru will be busy." Akimi observed. "An opening is ought to appear."

'Damn it, she is already ANBU material. I wonder about her two teammates... Kakashi has outdone himself!" the man thought, smirking under his mask."Be prepared. It will happen soon."

In that precise instant, Sarutobi grabbed Enma with both hands and charged forward. He jumped and attacked Orochimaru, as the staff lengthened to hit their target more easily. Of course, Orochimaru didn't stand still and moved out of the way.

The two S-rank ninja engaged in a furious taijutsu battle, Sarutobi attacking with his staff and Orochimaru parrying with his sword or dodging. After few moments, they came to a standstill, Orochimaru holding Kusanagi with both hands as Hiruzen pushed with the point of Emna in his staff form.

Sarutobi started to sweat, but was determined not to let go. He was forced to, however, when he saw the Shodai and the Nidaime approach him with the corner of his eyes. Even with Emna help, it was difficult to keep up with three foes. He managed to slip an explosive note on each of the former Kage, but in doing so he had to let Emna go.

Tobirama used the moment to kick him, sending him crashing against the roof tiles. Orochimaru didn't waste the opening, rushing forward at high speed an punching Sarutobi just as he was trying to get up. A punch and a kick later the old man was forced down, exhausted.

"I am so disappointed." Orochimaru derisively said. "You didn't even use Kage Bunshin while charging me."

Sarutobi sighed. He couldn't afford to waste chakra like that, not at this age. He watched as his formed student approached, his smirk wider and wider. The snake Sannin grabbed him from his vest and shook him up. "And to think that you were called the Professor because you mastered every technique in Konoha, don't let me down."

The old man looked up, sadly. What had gone so wrong? When did the sweet boy he remembered go? 'Why, Orochimaru?' he thought.

"What's wrong, Sarutobi?" Emna shouted. "You are not acting like yourself, your performance is pathetic!"

Hiruzen clenched his fists, looking for the strength to keep fighting. He saw the purple ceiling of the barrier fade... and was he dreaming?

"It's too late now, sensei. I win." Orochimaru whispered, leaning closer to him. "Konoha will perish."

"You are fool. Konoha is my home!" Sarutobi bellowed, moving with a sudden and quick movement and freeing himself from his former student's grip. "As the Hokage I am the protector of this home and I shall protect it. I am also the inheritor of Konoha's will and I shall pass down to next generations. I am not letting you win so easily, Orochimaru!"

"What a joke." Orochimaru laughed, resuming his taijutsu battle with the old man. Together with the two revived Kage, he easily controlled the fight. He clearly was playing with Sarutobi.

"You are merely the head of a temporary organisation called Konoha." the snake Sannin spat, sending the Sandaime crashing on the ground once again.

"Konoha is so much more than a village to me and to my shinobi. We grow, live, fight and die to protect this village! Even if the people of this village are not blood related, they are all an... an important family!" Hiruzen shouted, raising and forming the ram seal. The two explosive notes he had placed on Hashirama and Tobirama detonated, creating an opening for him to hit Orochimaru square in the chest. The Sandaime smiled, knowing what was about to happen. "And this is why you are going to be defeated, you fool! Because we help each other and even the Kage may be saved by a simple genin. The will of fire burns brightly in the leaves of Konoha."

And so it happened: a deafening, whooshing sound echoed in the whole barrier field, followed by four cry of pain. Then, a blinding purple and golden light engulfed Orochimaru and the three Kage.

Akimi had done it, Sarutobi thought, and with an impeccable timing. The barrier was down.

JUTSU NOTES:

Suiton: Suijinheki! [Water Release: Water Encampment Wall] B rank, defensive, short medium range. This techniques creates a wall of water, blown out in a circle around the user, leaving no openings. A skilled Suiton user can control the amount of water and the duration at will.

Suiton: Suishōha! [Water Release: Water Colliding Wave] B rank, offensive. This technique allows makes a spiralling vortex of water that explodes from the top in the form of a wave. The user may control the direction of the wave with hand movements.

Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kōtan: [Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees] A/S rank, attacking/defensive. The user creates trees on any surface, easily making them grow in a forest. Furthermore, the user can manipulate the braches as they see fit, for attack and defence and even to capture their enemies. The trees possess a intense life force, thus being able to pierce even through earthen walls.

Fūsajin no Jutsu [Dust Wind Technique], C rank, offensive/ medium-long range. The user generates a gust of wind that carries layers of sand on the surrounding area. This can be used either to blind opponents or to make them lose their footing.

REVIEW ANSWERS

NeitherSaneNorInsane: so, first thing off, thanks a lot for reviewing. I am very sorry for being so late in updating, but here I am and I suppose it's better late than never. I hope you weren't disappointed from the chapter and Akimi dealing with the barrier. I am pretty sure you can figure out what is going to happen to Hiruzen. About the Rasengan and Akimi you are very right, although I will follow the results of my poll. In any case, she will just learn to perform the technique, she probably won't be using it at all. At least, this is my idea.

Guest: thank you a lot for reviewing. I am so glad you found my story believable. I am sorry for the delay, but this is the way I am, sometimes I can write four or five chapters in few days, sometimes I don't write a sentence for months. I hope you liked the chapter.

xXMasqueradeOfVendettaXx: thank you so much for your review. I am sorry about the huge delay, but at least here I am now. I hope you liked the chapter. Oh, and I am probably leaving the snakes to Jiraiya, besides Akimi is dealing with the Snake Sannin himself. However I may integrate a fight between her and snake summons later on in the story. It is a good idea =)

MyLiloITAChIassasin: thank you for reviewing. I hope you still find this interesting. =)

Strife666: thank you for your review. I am incredibly sorry for the delay. I hope you liked the chapter.

Heftig Einzelganger: thank you for your review. I hope you liked the rest of the story and this chapter as well. Let me know.

gendrogen: many thanks for your review. I am very happy you like my writing style, it's always good to hear it. I apologize for the incredible delay and I hope you found the chapter up to par with the rest of the story.

Legend0fLink: thank you for your review. I am extremely glad you like Akimi and the story, it makes me smile. Sorry for my late updating and I hope you liked the chapter.

Guest: thank you for reviewing. I am very glad you liked the story and especially Akimi's integration. It's what I was aiming for with this story. I hope you liked this chapter.

Red-Hot Habanero: I was aware of this, but I don't really see where do you want to go with this observation. Thank you for reviewing anyway.

isa. .m: thanks for reviewing. I am sorry for my very late updating, but at least here I am. I hope you liked the chapter.

nick: thanks for reviewing. I am sorry, but I was hit by a major writing block and couldn't write a page for the love of kami. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Ethyrin Kairos: thank you very much for reviewing. I am honestly flattered by your words and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Thank you again.

Guest: you guessed correctly and I corrected it. Thank you for pointing it out. =)

animelover56348: thank you a lot for your review. I am extremely glad you like my Shino, I've become quite fond of him myself. I do think it will be a while before Shippuden, because I would like to see how the manga finishes, but in any case I will probably go completely AU because I don't like the story anymore. I hope you liked this chapter.

DeliciousCarrot: thank you a lot for your review. I really appreciate your compliment and I assure you I am Italian, although I am very very obsessed with English, which I adore. I am glad you like Akimi. The butterfly summoning is still work in progress and I hope to make it work well. They will use sneaky techniques mostly, poison maybe that sort of thing. Shinobi will be very wary of giant butterflies after meeting Shino. XD It should be employed in the next few chapters. I hope you are not to disappointed with my extremely slow update speed. I hope you liked the chapter.

LadyMorph18: thank you for reviewing. I hope you liked the chapter. =)

Emo steve: thank you for reviewing. I am hoping you liked this chapter as well. From the poll, Akimi will definitely learn Rasengan and probably with Naruto – vote there too if you haven't.

Unmei Ryu: thank you for your lovely review, as usual. I am glad you noticed Akimi's uncertainty and Naruto teasing Shika is one of my favourite parts as well.

In this story he is much more open than in canon, because he is slowly becoming less fearful of what people will think of him once they know the truth. Telling Shika is an important step of this process.

GiveMe20Dollars: thank you for reviewing. I hope you enjoyed Shika's fight – he is one of my favourite characters so he is going to be in the stories more often than others (like Kiba, Chōji etc ). Let me know what you think about the barrier, I am very anxious to see if I have disappointed or not. I am also glad you think last chapter had creativity. And sorry for having updated so late. I'll try to do better for next chapter. I hope you liked the chapter and thank you again for the Patty-senpai. =) =)

Skeleus: thank you a lot for reviewing. I hope you liked this chapter as well.

mg4of6: thank you a lot for reviewing. Please, don't say anything about my update speed ever again because it clearly brings bad luck. I am sorry for the huge delay. I hope you liked the chapter.

pedobear: thank you a lot for reviewing. Yes, you are right. Akimi can pinpoint Kaera's general location and vice versa, this is she sent the cat with Naruto. I like a lot your point of view on the Rasegan issue, it very logical and you got the psychology of the characters so well, but I am going to follow the poll results. However I may still integrate this idea in the story.

OnePieceFAN2012: thank you a lot for your review. I am so glad for Kakashi being believable. I hope you liked the chapter. (and sorry for my huge delay)

and-then-they-died: thank you for your review. I am glad you enjoyed last chapter and I hope this one didn't disappoint. Shino's summons are coming. I am pretty sure they will arrive next chapter or the one after that. And Kankurō is going to become afraid of butterflies =) xd

NATSUxERZA 123456: thank you a lot for reviewing. I agree that Rasegan isn't really Akimi's style so if she learns the technique, she won't be using it a lot in any case. Are you referring to the Flying Thunder God Technique or Wind Rasegan?

azfaerydust: thank you a lot for reviewing. I hope you liked the chapter – and you should figure out what will happen to Hiruzen. I am happy Kakashi was believable. =) I hope you liked this chapter as well.

CHAPTER NOTES

First thing off, I apologise again for the huge delay in updating. I want to assure you all that while I may neglect this story for months, I won't abandon it. I just have issues with writer blocks and such. Sometime I simply can't write. And if I do, then I really write badly. So I prefer to wait and try to give you a good chapter. Although I am not really happy with this chapter.

Now, about the barrier. I hope I didn't disappoint. Many of you were eager to see how Akimi dealt with it. I would like to know if you thought it was believable and if you understood the explanation of how her new seal works.

About Hiruzen, yes he is one of my favourite characters so I don't have the hearth to kill him... yet. That was probably pretty clear. However things are still due to change in Konoha...

About the Rasegan and Akimi, your votes are pretty much saying you want her to learn it. Whether it is along with Naruto or afterward is still uncertain, but the poll is going to be still open for a while. I just want to say again, like I've done in the answers to the reviews, that even if she does learn it, she won't be using it massively. (Or maybe she won't use it at all, or adapt it to her style, or who knows, right?)

Ok, this should be all. Sorry again for being so late in updating and thanks everyone for reading. Until next time.

Next time up: May the best ambusher win!