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! Answer to the reviews are at the bottom.

Here it is, the last chapter about the Invasion. I warn you I got a little bit sentimental a times, but I hope it isn't too much. There should be plenty of ass kicking too.

I was desperately thinking of a title when I remembered this amazing song of Naruto OST, Those who inherit the Will of Fire, that plays in episode 79 when Konoha counterattacks. So I took inspiration from it, and got this Will of Fire-centric chapter. Again, I hope I didn't get to... sentimental. XD (By the way, writing with Naruto OST playing is awesome)

Ok, I am leaving you to the chapter, I hope you enjoy:

THOSE WHO FIGHT WITH THE WILL OF FIRE

The invasion draws to an end.

Jiraiya was going to find Orochimaru sooner or later, then he would proceed to slowly kick his ass before killing him. Maybe he would even enlist his apprentices help, once they were trained enough. They sure hated the snake as much as he did.

What was that bastard thinking, using Edo Tensei!? Jiraiya knew Orochimaru had lost track of good and evil a long time ago, only doing what was convenient for him and his idiotic quest for immortality. What good was being immortal if you lost your humanity in doing so? Ah, if only Minato were alive, they could... 'Well, I'll may do it with your son... and his little girlfriend, instead.'

"Jiraiya!" Sarutobi shouted. "Focus on the battle, damn it!"

The Sannin ducked to avoid being impaled by a pointy branch, courtesy of the Shodai, and scowled at being scolded like a newbie genin. But the Third was right.

"It's time to finish this battle, sensei!" he shouted. "I am gonna need a couple of seconds."

Sarutobi nodded. "ANBU! Formation 5" which roughly meant... 'buy us time'. He and Emna turned their attention on the First, who was definitely the most dangerous of the two Kage, while ANBU took on the Second again. Not that the Nidaime was weak, by any means, but at least he didn't have his formidable sword with him.

Jiraiya closed his eyes. When he had arrived on the roofs, several ANBU had been knocked out by the two revived Kage and the Commander had to call for backup. Now, Sarutobi-sensei was getting tired as well... and had that strange look on his face, like he was going to do something suicidal.

Jiraiya sighed. The Shodai e the Nidaime didn't want to stay down... very well, if they couldn't be killed, he would do the next best thing. "Kuchiyose no jutsu." he thundered, slamming his hand on the ground. He would detain them.

"Holy shit!" Naruto murmured again. 'Well, furball, it's time for you to open up the tap otherwise we are going to meet a very bad end. Hear me?' he thought, biting his thumb.

"YOU!" Shukaku chose that exact moment to spot him. Oh joy. "I AM GONNA KILL YOU."

"You are welcome to try, super-oversized racoon!" Naruto shouted back, with all the power of his loud mouth. He felt Kyūbi's roar in his stomach, in what may have been a small chuckle as well, and prepared himself. "Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram..."

Naruto ignored the sand swirling around him, despite feeling its inexorable grip restraining him, too focused in gathering chakra.

"SABAKU SŌSŌ [Sand Waterfall Funeral]" the Ichibi shouted, closing its colossal fist.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu." Naruto murmured, thinking of the most powerful toad he met. 'Let's just hope he is in a good mood...'

Naruto saw the sand dispersing under the explosion of matter than summoning created in that place, as a gigantic toad appeared. Red-skinned, his blue vest floating in the air, Gamabunta had his pipe drawn, obviously he had been smoking when Naruto "called" him. His other hand rested on the hilt of his huge tantō. His expression didn't look happy.

"What the hell!" he thundered, letting out some smoke. "Is it you, gaki? Why did you call me this time...?"

"Jump, Oyabun (chief)!" Naruto urged, seeing the Ichibi wasn't going to wait for him and the toad boss to chitchat before attacking. "JUMP!"

Gamabunta looked forward and saw the huge tailed beast in front of him open its mouth. He didn't like being ordered around, true, but knew how to recognise a smart suggestion. So he jumped.

"FŪTON: RENKŪDAN [Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet]" the Tanuki exclaimed with its disturbing shrill voice, pressing its paws over its stomach. A huge ball of compressed air shot out of it, pulverising a good section of the forest...

Naruto gulped, thanking the kami the toad had listening, while crouching down to have more stability on top of that moving head.

"Sabaku no Shukaku!" Gamabunta shouted. "What were you thinking summoning me here, gaki?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you already fought Kyūbi?" Naruto screamed back. "This will be a walk in the park for you, right?"

"You ruined by poker game with Gamaken, gaki!" Gamabunta thundered, jumping again to avoid being hit by the Tanuki's arm, which had lengthened to reach him

"The hell with your fucking game!" Naruto shouted. "Fight with me!"

"NO!" Gamabunta obstinately replied, ducking another taijutsu attack. "Why should I?"

"WHY?" Naruto was so enraged he kicked the toad's head, as his eyes became red. "Why? Because otherwise Konoha will be destroyed for example! You stupid, stubborn, giant toad! I should have never summoned you. Do me a favour and get the hell out of here, then. I am sure 'mi-chan will find a way for me to disown this blasted contract."

Gamabunta saw the Tanuki prepare for another wind bullet, so crossed his fingers as well. "Disown the contract? HOW DARE YOU?" he thundered. "SUITON: TEPPŌDAMA [Water Release: Gunshot]"

The toad spat out a oversized ball of water, that clashed against the wind's one of Shukaku, literally creating a storm in Konoha's forest, despite the shining sun up in the sky.

Naruto was seething. "Why would I want to summon you anymore? All that talk about toad and their code of honour is bullshit!"

"I'll show you!" Gamabunta thundered, leaping into the air again. "What honour means to me. You have balls, gaki, so let's forget about this. I become irritable when I don't drink my daily cup of sake."

"Never mind." Naruto calmed down as well. "We have more pressing things to worry about."

Gamabunta nodded, turning into the air. The giant Tanuki looked irritated its prey had evaded it for so long. The toad unsheathed his colossal tantō. "Hold on tight!" he warned, before jumping.

Shino sat with his legs crossed in a meditative stance, close enough to keep an eye on Kankurō while he tried to recuperate his strengths. Half of his insects were flying around him, ready to detect any approaching enemy, the rest were finishing getting the residual effects of poison out of his bloodstream. All considered, he might still be in time to reach and assist Naruto, if non other after his fight ended. He had no doubt the blonde would win: he was way too stubborn to lose.

Suddenly the relative peace his meditation had brought him was mercilessly shattered by a powerful, suffocating feeling. 'This killing intent...' Shino thought. 'I know what it is.' Surprisingly, the pressure wasn't more intense than when Naruto transformed... only bigger. Which was way, probably, he could feel it from such a distance. Shino sighed and clenched his fists. 'I can't hope to reach Naruto and carry Kankurō-san with me at the same time, yet. So I either leave him behind or wait.'

Shino strongly doubted he could actually do something against a fully released Tailed Beast, but he would be damned if he didn't try. He smirked. 'I actually need to thank Akimi for this new jacket. I should have known she wouldn't left me unprepared at the eventuality of us being divided during the invasion.' Shino had discovered a hidden pocket inside the garment, full of carefully stored scrolls.

And seals from Akimi were always very appreciated. She knew her stuff well.

Few days before, the girl had explained to him why the fact that her and Naruto had "a shared ink" had deeply amazed Kakashi and, when they learned it, two high-level ninja such as the Sandaime and Jiraiya of the Sannin. 'Making the ink with our bloods and chakra is the only a symbolic step. What matters is the true connection between it.' It was a testament of how deeply Naruto and Akimi cared for each other, basically. And since they were two young kids, it was quite surprising.

However, Akimi had said, there are other way to make a stronger connection to the ink used in drawing a seal. 'Chakra is empowered by emotions too. It becomes so clear in Fūinjutsu. Most think it's a rather impersonal art, but it does get very personal.' Then she gave Shino several bottle of ink and ordered him to infuse them with chakra, just like he would do with his Kikai, while thinking about the deep bond Team 7 shared.

So Shino smiled, placed a minor chakra absorption seal on Kankurō, activated it, then looked for a good spot to hide his captured prisoner efficiently. Shino saw he would need a little work to create a small alcove in the brushes on the grounds. His hands moved as fast as he could. He stopped to raise his head as felt rain on his face. 'The sun is still high on the sky. This is the result of ninjutsu.' Shino realised, his eyes widening behind his sighed in worry, then continued with his job and placed the genjutsu seal Akimi made for him over Kankurō. He was ready to activate it when...

Shino jumped into the shades, drawing a kunai, feeling four chakra signatures nearing. 'Another enemy squad? Or has the counter-attack began already and they are retreating?'

"Shino-kun, it's me!"

Shino sighed in relief, coming out from his hiding place. "Pakkun-sempai, it's always good to see you." he said, bowing. Then he curtly waved to team 10.

"Sempai?" Ino asked, raising an eyebrow. Why would someone as serious as Shino use such a respectful suffix with a small annoying dog?

"I've trained him in the art of tracking." Pakkun proudly stated. "What happened here, Shino-kun?"

"He poisoned me." the Aburame pointed his finger at the cocooned Kankurō. "I have just recovered. Sort of."

"Kami, what is that?" Ino shouted, noticing the grim-looking bundle of silk.

"Kankurō, the Sand genin." Shikamaru answered. "How did you do it?"

Shino shrugged. "Little cute butterflies."

Team 10 shared a small laugh – they were actually too tense to have a serious laugh together.

Shino didn't lose his composure and looked at the Akimichi. "You of all people you know not to underestimate butterflies, Chōji-san."

The boy nodded and smiled, as they all realised that any Aburame seldom joked, especially when battle and fighting was involved.

Pakkun put an end to the chitchat. "What were you planning to do?"

"Hiding him and then reaching Naruto as fast as possible."

"Of course." the dog nodded. "Maybe we can..." he stopped and turned towards Konoha, his nose sniffing the air. He looked very alert.

Shino frowned and tensed as well. Team 10 just looked puzzled.

"Someone is coming." the Aburame explained then. "We must prepare."

"Yes" Pakkun gravely nodded. "It's a very powerful chakra signature... of an elite jōnin."

"Hold on tight!"

Gamabunta rushed forward, gathering speed for a jump with even more kick. Naruto used more to chakra to stabilise himself, amazed by the sudden change in the toad's movements. 'He really was fooling around before' The summon also used the charge to empower his sword's movement, preparing for a deadly slash. The Tanuki seemed amused and waved it arms around without using ninjutsu. It shouldn't have.

"Gamadosuzan [Toad Sword Beheading]"

Gamabunta's strike was powerful and precise, executed as he was still in air, flying past Shukaku. However, the tailed beast's resilience was so great, that as he cut off its arm, he was forced to let his tantō go. The counterblow made the giant weapon take off, finally embedding itself on the ground several hundred meters away, creating a small earthquake in the process.

Gamabunta landed and caused another tremor in the forest, destroying numerous trees in the process.

"Oyabun, Konoha is in this direction. We need to draw him in the opposite direction."

"I know." Gamabunta replied, leaping again to avoid the retaliation of a now furious Ichibi. He turned midair, drawing air in. "TEPPŌDAMA!"

Shukaku had charged at the giant toad and, seeing he escape once again with his impressive agility, proceeded to hurl another sphere of compressed wind at him. "RENKŪDAN!"

The two massive elemental projectiles clashed once again, annulling each other in a tremendous storm. "Keep jumping, Oyabun. I'll cover you." Naruto shouted. "Trust me."

"FINE!" Gamabunta moved again, this time giving his back to the enraged Tailed Beast.

"YOU ARE NOT GETTING AWAY!" Shukaku shrieked. "RENKŪDAN"

Naruto went through handseals. 'Well, now I can explain where Gaara got some of his obsession from!' "Fūton: Namikadou! [Wind Release: Wave Vortex]"

The two wind techniques collided, this time creating an explosion. Naruto were successful in stopping it. Gamabunta used these few seconds to put a sufficient distance between that highly destructive fight and Konoha. 'His wind manipulation kept up with Shukaku's! He really is Minato's son.' "Now, gaki, careful. He has probably gotten angrier."

Shukaku howled, charging at them with this slightly terrifying expression on. Oh, all right, it was veery terrifying. The colossal racoon drew air in again.

"Here it comes, Oyabun." Naruto said, preparing his own jutsu. "I got one."

"We are jumping again." Gamabunta warned, before doing so. "TEPPŌDAMA" he shouted, shooting out two water bullets.

"RENKŪDAN!" Ichibi shouted, pressing his stomach. Three projectiles were fired.

Two, of course, clashed against the toad's water, but the third...

"I AM SORRY FOR YOU!" Shukaku shouted, delighted.

"Fūton: Namikadou!" Naruto said, unleashing his own tornado. "DON'T BE, STUPID SUPER-OVERSIZED RACOON!"

"Insulting him isn't the smartest idea." Gamabunta observed, while landing. "TEPPŌDAMA"

"RENKŪDAN"

"It's fun though." Naruto smirked. "Ohi, Oyabun. What about getting back your tantō? This ninjutsu exchange is getting kind of repetitive."

The toad looked pensive. "I thought it would be impossible while ducking his attacks... but if you cover me I may be able to."

"You bank on it." Naruto nodded. "And it's worth a try."

Gamabunta thought something was off with the kid. He sounded very excited so suddenly. "Brace yourself!"

Akimi had never run faster in her whole life. Actually she didn't even know she could run that fast. 'Is this what Sandaime-sama was talking about... the Will of Fire?' she wondered, pushing herself even harder.

The forest around her shook. "Damn it!" Akimi murmured. "Naruto-kun is going overboard again... I wonder who he summoned."

A strange, chakra filled rain was next. Gamabunta, then. It was the only one of the Great Three who knew Water Release. She hoped the toad was in a good mood.

Akimi knew she needed to move even more quickly, because two giant creatures could cover great distances in few seconds and Naruto would certain press to get as farther from Konoha as possible. 'But if I push myself too much, I'll get there without a drop of chakra.' she mentally cursed, then resolved to use her chakra storage seal. At least a little.

She formed the Ram seal without stopping running. "Open."During the month's break, with Jiraiya's help, Akimi had developed two ways to use her Storage Seal. One was to open it slightly, as to recharge her reserves slowly and almost painlessly. The other was to release it in one single go, like she did when she fought against Orochimaru, which of course had a devastating result on her body – she could resist it, yes, but she would use it only as a last resolve.

Empowered by the small but constant flow of chakra, Akimi smiled and upped her speed again. She was going so quickly she barely managed to avoid the trees, using only Kaera's position to orient her march forward. 'Just a little while more.'

Akimi barely felt the water from a couple of new clashes Ichibi and Gamabunta exchanged, then heard a explosions just as she arrived in front of...

"Damn it, wasn't it supposed to be a forest here?" she exclaimed, watching the desolating void in the mass of trees. The air was electrified by chakra and sign of burning and tearing were all around. It wasn't the most remarkable thing though.

Her eyes were drawn to the leaping gigantic toad and to the frightening monstrous racoon... and she froze for half a second. Kaera landed near her with a small meow, rubbing against her leg, and she regained focus.

'Should I just wait and see what happened or try to help him?' Akimi mused. She felt a little outclassed. However... it was Naruto-kun. They had promised each other to always be there for one another. And that meant fighting crazed Tailed Beasts too. Her eyes darted from one side to another of the battlefield, trying to come up with a solution to actually enter the battle.

Akimi covered her eyes when another small tempest was created by the collision of two huge balls of water against compressed wind projectiles, and found it. "Kaera-chan, get the hell out of here. Things are going to become even more explosive. Regroup with Shino and Pakkun-kun."

Then, she sent chakra on the Loyalty Seal on her shoulder to warn Naruto she was coming, before disappearing with a blur of movement, her new found speed still with her. As the Sandaime would have said, the Will of Fire burns brightly in the leaves of Konoha.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

Sarutobi heard Jiraiya shout the name of his favourite technique and frowned. 'He asked for time simply to call a Summon?' he wondered. 'Wait has he called...?'

Hiruzen looked with a strange expression as two tick and muscled tongues covered in blue spot shot out of nowhere and coiled themselves around the two revived Kage. The tongues tightened their grips around the two men, who struggled, but didn't manage to escape. Only their head was free of binding. Jiraiya was truly a powerhouse.

"You used Senjutsu chakra to reinforce this technique." Sarutobi said.

Jiraiya approached. "Hai." he confirmed. "I thought about calling the great sages, but in the end I chose to try this first."

"Always conceited are we, Jiraiya-kun?" Hiruzen smirked. "Afraid to show your toa..."

"Shut up, old man!" the Sannin closed his hand on the Hokage's mouth to stop him to refer to his ugly toad features while in Sage mode. "We have still them to worry about. That binding isn't going to last forever."

Sarutobi nodded. "Commander, sent out messengers. I want reports from each fighting area. Call medical back-up for the men that were hurt in this fight. We need to know how many unit we can call as reinforcement here and when."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Jiraiya was observing the two trapped Kage, who had stopped struggling, with crossed arms. "It shouldn't have been so easy."

"I think they are fighting the technique." Sarutobi replied. "Orochimaru did something to annul their personalities... they have been mere puppets ever since then, but still they aren't fighting to their true potential."

"The power of a ninja comes from motives, too. Orochimaru is too dumb to understand it..." The Sannin snorted. "But at the beginning they were themselves, you said?"

"Hai." Sarutobi sighed, his voice broken. "They recognised me and... apologized."

Jiraiya looked pensive. "How did Orochimaru control them?"

"He embedded two kunai in their head. I spotted sealing tags on them."

"I see." Jiraiya smirked. "That teme was never good with seals, though, and since he ran away the distance factor is also in question. His hold on these two is weakened."

"So what are we doing to definitely destroy it?" Hiruzen asked, easily catching up with his student.

"Oh, that is quite easy..." Jiraiya lifted his hands, igniting them with Katon fire. "... we destroy the sealing tags... the medium of that control." and under his sensei's shocked gaze he unceremoniously shoved his fingers right into the Shodai's and Nidaime's heads.

Gamabunta jumped over to his tantō, easily ducking a couple of Renkūdan from Shukaku, with Naruto parrying the blows he could not avoid. 'Damn it, how much chakra has that thing?' the toad thought, knowing he had fired way less Teppōdama and was already nearing his limit.

"Namikadou!" Naruto shouted again, stopping the compressed air bullet to reach them.

The blonde kid didn't joke either, he was a stamina freak. Gamabunta turned and grabbed his tantō with both ends, pulling get it out of the ground.

"RENKŪDAN!"

"GAKI!" Gamabunta shouted, knowing he couldn't possibly parry or avoid the blow himself.

"Don't worry about it, Oyabun."

"Katon: Karyū Endan[Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet]!" a third voice shouted, as a small figure appeared on top of the tantō itself.

The flame shaped dragon clashed right against the wind sphere, using its force to become even bigger and more deadly. The fire storm clashed against a quite peeved Shukaku. Of course it was not nearly enough to seriously hurt it, but it did annoy it even more.

"I AM GONNA KILL YOU!"

"What a nice fellow." Akimi exclaimed, jumping on Gamabunta's head just as the toad finally dragged out the tantō. "Pleasure to see you again, Gamabunta-sama."

"It's your girlfriend!" the toad chuckled. "Nice catch, by the way, gaki."

"Not the best time to chit chat!" Naruto exclaimed. "Watch out!"

Gamabunta used his newfound sword to block Shikaku's charge and the two gigantic beasts were struck into a deadlock.

"We need of think of something." Naruto murmured. "To turn the tides of battle."

Akimi shrugged. "We wake up the medium and it all blows over." she said, indicating the limp figure on top of the Shukaku... the red-haired Gaara.

Gamabunta roared and disengaged himself, jumping away. "If you distract it, I may be able to cut its other arm, then I can hold it down."

"Before we do that..." Akimi said, struggling to balance herself on that huge head. "... what about some oil? That is ought to weaken it."

Naruto jumped, exited. "And we can also use my Fūton to empower it even more."

"Nice." Gamabunta snorted. "You really want to destroy this forest, don't you, brats?"

"Well, a little more won't hurt at this point, just let's turn the direction of the attack away from Konoha." Naruto said.

"Then get ready!" Gamabunta thundered, drawing him a lot of air as his cheek became ridiculously puffed. He jumped and turned so his back was on the direction of the village, then shot out a massive amount of oil.

"Oh, this is going to be a great bang." Naruto said, pushing Fūton chakra into said oil.

"Goukakyuu [Great Fireball Jutsu]!" Akimi concluded the combo attack, keeping up a continuous flow of fire to ignite the oil.

Shukaku's eyes widened as the gigantic steam of flames moved at high speed towards it. 'To think that two kids and a toad forced me to use this technique.' it mused, opening its mouth. A huge, condensed ball of black and white chakra formed there just in time to stop the offensive. "BIJŪDAMA [Tailed Beast Ball]"

The collision between the two opposite forces was almost greater than all the previous clashes put together. The remaining forest was pulverized.

"Holy shit!" Naruto gaped.

'Let's hope nobody gets too angry for this...' Akimi thought, gulping. "What was the hell was that?"

"Tailed Beast Ball. Their most deadly attack. We have made Shukaku even more dangerous." Gamabunta said, charging forward. "This has to finish soon. GAMADOSUZAN!"

The slashing attack was as deadly as always and even though Shukaku tried to avoid it, it couldn't. The Tailed Beast was now armless – but still quite deadly.

"It's slower than before." Naruto noted. "The attack must have left it weakened."

"But for how long? He may just be gathering chakra for another of those Bijūdama." Akimi replied, observing with wide eyes the literal mountain of sand the destruction of the Ichibi's arm had caused. "Gamabunta-sama, now it's your cue in."

"I am getting to it!" Gamabunta shouted with his booming voice, jumping and turning midair to prepare his next charge. "Be ready!"

Naruto nodded. "You cover me, 'mi-chan."

"As always."

The toad leaped forward. "Teppōdama" he shot another water bullet to distract the Tanuki, then promptly grabbed it, keeping it in place. "NOW!"

Naruto crouched, preparing to jump, but was forced to stop as Gamabunta lost his hold and leaped away. Shukaku was furious.

"RENKŪDAN!"

"Karyū Endan!" Akimi answered back, without losing a second. "That was probably my last shot at a B-rank technique, 'to-kun."

"That's fine. We are finishing it now."

"I can't hold him for long. I don't have any claws or fangs." Gamabunta shouted.

"What about Henge?" asked Naruto.

The toad rumbled in rage. "I hate that technique. Can't do it, sorry."

"We use a combo then, Gamabunta-sama. I'll do it."

"Then let's go." the toad shouted, preparing another charge. "Remember, something with claws of fangs."

"I got it covered." Akimi replied, holding the ram seal.

Gamabunta flying forward, when they shouted together: "HENGE NO JUTSU."

And after thirteen years, the scary silhouette of the nine tailed fox appeared among the smoke, towering over Konoha's landscape.

As soon as the Sandaime was free of that annoying barrier's constraint, even though he still have two revived Kage to face, he thought of his village.

"Someone get to Shikaku!" he had ordered to his ANBU. "Orochimaru is gone. Commence the counter-attack already!"

"Hai, sir. Evacuation should be almost over in any case."

Sarutobi knew that, but he also assumed several Oto nin might have seen Orochimaru's flight and this be confused by the leader's behaviour. They had to use that opening.

Nara Shikaku, the jōnin commander, was of the same opinion and he gladly gave the order to the various jōnin squad and ANBU deployed to retaliation. Then he hurried to find his teammates and materially contribute to Konoha's defence.

As soon as it became clear a war was going to start, the Sandaime had been sad, as that heavy burden was on him and, especially, on his proud shinobi's shoulders once again. But then he had become resulted, knowing that the Will of Fire would allow every member of the village to fight with true strength... the strength to protect their precious people and home. Some might have thought that Hiruzen was being sentimental, that his ideals would lead the village to destruction, but ultimately he was right.

That was what the charging enemy ninja realized – at very high cost – as they were infiltrating the village. Perhaps they should have understood something was off, since all buildings were void. Konoha seemed like a phantasm town.

"You won't make another step forward." a masked kunoichi said, her long blue hair waving behind her. "I won't allow it."

The squad of Suna nins gulped: they had heard of the prowess of Konoha's ANBU. The rumours weren't exaggerate and, few minutes later, the masked squad had easily disposed of the enemy.

The blue haired kunoichi said, sheathing her now bloodied katana. "Let's move forward. There are more maggots to take care of."

Similar scenes were happening in the rest of the village, as the invaders came to deeply regret their actions. Be it two dozens of reckless Sand shinobi who attacked Hiashi Hyūga thinking it would be an easy feat... before being sent flying around by a powerful Kaiten [Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven].

Be it some Oto jōnin suddenly ambushed and strangled by the shadows of Konoha, or others being crushed by a giant Chōza Akimichi, or two Sand ninja forced to fight each other under the control of Inoichi Yamanaka powerful mind jutsu, as the original Ino-Shika-Cho trio reunited.

Be it some poor attacking shinobi attacked by huge ninja dogs and their mistresses, as the invaders made the acquaintance of the matriarch and heir of the Inuzuka clan. Be it the enemies still hidden in the forest surrounding Konoha, as clouds of black sucking insects ambushed them without leaving them a moment to react.

Yes, the shinobi of the village were willing to give their life to protect their homes. That made them stronger than the power-driven invaders. Some of the Oto nin had already fallen back when they saw Orochimaru ran away, but know every remaining one followed that example, and Suna was next.

Once again, Konoha was going to emerge victorious.

The nine orange tails of the colossal fox waved around, before the beast leaped forward. Akimi and Gamabunta formed a deadly team, because their movements were precise and powerful, a curious mixture between a toad and a tiger's fighting style.

Naruto gaped of a second, having in fact expected Akimi to chose the form of a tiger, not the bloody fox. He got a grip on himself just as the transformed fox grabbed Shikaku with long clawed paws, before biting into the Tanuki's shoulder.

"NOW!" Akimi and Gamabunta shouted together.

Naruto propelled himself forward with chakra, unsheathing his tantō: it was time to put an end to that blasted fight. "It's time to wake up, fucker!" he thundered, hitting the limp form of Gaara square in the face with the hilt of his sword.

"NOOOOOO!" Shukaku shouted. "I HAD JUST CAME OUT!"

"Your fun ends here, monster." Naruto replied, making a mid air flip and landing behind the red-haired kid. "Hello again, Sabaku no Gaara."

"Uzumaki Naruto." Gaara hissed. "I will kill you. You won't put an end to my existence!"

The blonde narrowed his eyes. "You are really getting boring, my friend."

"And you are over a giant sand head!" Gaara mockingly replied. "Sabaku Kyū [Sand Binding Coffin]!"

Naruto watched with wide eyes the sand gather around him, knowing he had no escape. Just then, a long pink tongue shot forward, forming a protective coil around him. Gamabunta had good reflexes, one had to admit that.

"Don't try to fool me!" Gaara shouted, as Naruto saw a powerful quicksand forming under his feet.

The toad retired his tongue and Naruto saw a flame tiger charging towards Gaara. Akimi had somehow found the strength to execute another B-ran, then. Naruto smiled... crazy protective girl.

Gaara had summon his sand to defend himself and, in his weakened state, it was more than enough for him to lose control and release Naruto.

"I am going to kill you too." the Sand Jinchūriki pointed his finger towards Akimi.

The blonde wasn't about to stand and let Gaara go ahead. 'Just a little bit more, furball.' he thought, closing his eyes in concentration. This time he actually felt the red chakra spread in his body from his belly outwards, as he was surrounded by a flaming aura. His eyes were still blue, but his gaze promised no mercy.

"I will protect everyone." Naruto shouted and his voice was so full of strength it was almost overwhelming. "And you won't touch her!"

Sandaime would have said it was the will of fire shining in him.

"Get ready, baka Tanuki!" the blonde continued, leaping with amazing speed.

Gaara sent sand forward to stop him, forming chains to block his arms and legs. Naruto roared in anger, summoning wind to cut those bindings. Then he unceremoniously punched the kid right in the stomach, two times, before using his head to his enemy's forehead. "You be damned!"

It was the last straw. There was a second of utter and defeating silence, then a loud cracking sound echoed around. The huge Tanuki crumbled under Gamabunta's and Akimi's shocked gazes, showering the place with tons of sand.

"I have reached my limit." Gamabunta said. "I am sorry I can't stay to see how it ends."

"It has already ended." Akimi replied, crouching to jump. "Thank you, Gamabunta-sama."

'The world was long waiting for someone like that brat... and this generation shows altogether great promise. I wish Minato-kun were here to see it.'

Akimi jumped just as the giant toad disappeared with a vast cloud of smoke. The girl managed to reach a quite dazzled Naruto and catch him. She landed on one of the few remaining trees – it was a miracle they hadn't been destroyed – watching Gaara fall on top of another in front of them.

The Suna genin was too tired to even think about moving and Akimi kept staring as he eventually dropped on the ground. Naruto was groaning in her arms, blood leaking from his forehead. Akimi caressed his head and sighed in relief. "It's over."

Kakashi saw most of the enemy ninja starting to flight and relaxed ever so slightly, knowing the battle had almost come to an end. He jumped and flipped over, landing on the arena, and felt Gai land back to back with him.

"How many, rival?" the green clad jōnin asked, displaying his creepy shiny smile.

Kakashi sighed and launched a kunai to his right, quickly using a weak Shuriken Kage Bunshin to multiply them. Two Oto nin crashed on the ground. "Now I would be at... thirty-four."

"AH!" Gai exulted. "I just hit my thirty-fifth. I win, rival."

"Congratulations." Kakashi dismissively said, his eyes focusing on Baki – the jōnin sensei of the Suna siblings – and a masked ANBU. The traitorous one. He was pretty sure he had also been the one to use that powerful genjutsu when everything started.

"You are so hip, Kakashi. But that is what makes you such a good rival." Gai seemed to notice what Kakashi what looking at, and his demeanour suddenly became serious.

"Your leader is gone." Kakashi said. "So... are you going to fight me again, Kabuto?"

The masked ANBU took off his mask. "And risk you copying even more of my techniques?" Kabuto smiled a slippery smile. "That would very unwise." he turned to Baki. "We need to retreat. The mission failed."

Baki nodded, his face set in a frowned and possibly angry expression. The two high-level shinobi jumped away, as the Sand jōnin wondered what the hell had happened to Gaara, who was supposed to be their triumph card.

"Should we go after them?" Gai asked.

"No. It's too risk. We need to secure the village first. We should divide and find out what is going on." Kakashi replied. All the ninja around seemly followed his suggestion. The masked nin turned to the roofs. "Shall we reach them and see what is happening there?"

Both he and Gai had sensed Jiraiya arrive with such hurry it must have been really something serious.

Gai nodded. "Aren't you worried for your students?"

"Nah." Kakashi shrugged. "They know how to fend for themselves... and back-up should be there already. After all, it is not only my team out there."

As Akimi landed softly to the ground, she spared a sideway glance to Gaara and, seeing he was definitely very out of it, she turned her complete attention on Naruto. The wound on his forehead was bleeding profusely, but it was typical of head injuries, and it looked superficial in any case.

Akimi helped him down, then unsealed her first aid supplies and started to tend to him. Naruto had closed his eyes, but was still awake. After a while, after she had finished treating him, he lifted his eyelids and smiled tiredly. "'mi-chan? Is..."

"Everything is fine." Akimi stopped him from talking and helped him down. The boy looked quite happy to be sitting, he never remembered be so tired. "I've been very worried about you."

"I had to..."

"Yes, I know that." Akimi smiled softly, kneeling down in front of him. "I am just so very glad you are all right, 'to-kun."

Naruto closed his eyes again. "Likewise." He was quite surprised when she felt her kiss him – they were still in the middle of a mission – but after everything that had happened that day he simply welcomed her warmth. He smiled against her mouth, drawing her close to him. Sadly, they had to depart eventually.

"Naruto-kun..." Akimi said, resting her head on his shoulder.

He was lazily playing with her hair. "Mmm... yeah...?"

"Next time something like this happens, please restrain yourself from insulting a Tailing Beast. It's stupid."

"It's fun." Naruto chuckled. "Shukaku is really crazy. Provoking it made it less smart."

"It also made it use more powerful jutsu."

"Says the one who had the brilliant idea to unleash a literal inferno on him."

"It worked though. That strange ball bought us enough time to stop it."

"You just enjoyed it, pyromaniac."

"If I am not mistaken, you unleashed several dozens of Namikadou on Gaara, so I am not the only one who likes flashy."

"He made me angry." Naruto hissed. "He was going to..."

"He won't." Akimi caressed his cheek. "You stopped him."

The blonde genin kissed her again, softly. He had never been more glad to have used the fox's chakra, given what might have happened if he hadn't.

"And you managed to get the Five Elements Seal right without almost having tried before." Akimi proudly said, beaming at him. "You truly are an Uzumaki."

Naruto looked pleased then pouted a little. "Since you seem to know everything about my fight, mind tell me what happened with Jiji?"

Akimi sighed. "Long story. That bastard snake summoned the First and Second Hokage."

"NANI?"

"Then I managed to get down the barrier, but it took me a while. Sarutobi-sama asked me to fetch Jiraiya-sensei for him and I sent Jinsoro-kun to do it, so I assume everything is under control now."

"I totally knew you could pull it off."

"Kaka-sensei sent Chōji-san and Ino-san as backup together with Pakkun. We reached Shikamaru just in time to dispose of the remaining nin that were supposed to stop you. He is fine. They headed to back Shino up while I came here." Akimi concluded. "Never ran so fast in my whole life."

"I am happy you did." Naruto sighed. "Always together..."

Akimi nodded, smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Why did you transform into the fox?" Naruto asked then. "I was expecting you to chose a tiger or something."

"That would have been way too predictable." Akimi joked, then got serious. "Many of the villagers still remember the Nine-tails as the monstrous force that almost destroyed their home. And because it is sealed into you, they stupidly think you are that evil force. Baka... all of them. They couldn't be more wrong. You are the very antithesis of Kyūbi."

Akimi stopped then continued. "Inside of you, the fox is harnessed as a force of good. I know you shall use it to protect the village and me and everyone else you care about. You already did that today. And when I transformed into Kyūbi I wanted to symbolise that: the fox fighting for Konoha, not against it."

Naruto's eyes where quite moist. "'mi-chan, I..."

"... yes, me too." she said, somehow understanding what he was feeling.

They smiled at each other, then kissed again, happily zoning everything else out... but were soon dragged back to a raspy voice.

"Why? My existence..."

Temari was leaping as fast as she could, away from that accursed battlefield. She was astonished. Uzumaki Naruto had actually beat Gaara to the point he was forced to release Shukaku. She didn't see how the blonde kid responded to that move, but hoped he would be able to entertain the tailed beast long enough for her to get the hell out of that forest.

"Going somewhere?"

The mocking voice made her stop in her tracks, as she saw a figure clad in dark green appear out of nowhere, right in front of her. The third member of the annoying Team 7, she thought.

"Actually, yes." Temari said, unfolding her fan. "And you are in my way."

"Now, I wouldn't do that if I were in your shoes." Shino said, yawning a little. "Why do ask? Because there is a much skilled Fūton manipulator behind you."

Temari turned on her heels, her fan falling down from the surprise. The tall smirking figure of a Konoha jōnin was towering over her. The older nin had a started cigarette in his mouth and his hands were over his hips.

Temari knew when to admit she was defeated. The mysterious Aburame might have defeated her even on his own, but together with a jōnin...

"May I assume you are going to come with us without giving us trouble?" Asuma Sarutobi quietly asked.

Temari gulped. "Where... why?"

"Kami, you don't get it either?" Shino said. "You are the late Kazekage's daughter. You are valuable leverage."

"Late?" Temari repeated. Sure, the Yondaime Kazekage was never an affectionate father and rarely showed he cared for his children but... he was still her father. "What?"

"Orochimaru probably killed him, since he was posing as him during the finals." Asuma explained. "Still, Shino is right. Which is also why your older brother is being carried to the village right now."

After the jōnin had reached his own Team, Pakkun and Shino – giving them quite the heart attack until the dog had recognised his signature – he had obviously took charge of the situation. He knew the counter attack had probably started by now and that the enemy would likely escape in the opposite direction, towards Suna. In any case, Pakkun was experienced enough to avoid any confrontations, so he sent him and his own genin back to Konoha, carrying Kankurō with them.

Asuma himself and Shino continued on their mission to find and support Naruto.

"Is Kankurō all right?" Temari asked, worriedly.

Asuma shrugged. "Ask him."

Shino fixed his sunglasses. "He will be." he curtly said.

Temari wasn't very reassured, but knew that was the best she could get. At least they weren't killing her or her brother. "We are going back to your village too?"

"No." Asuma crossed his arms. "We are going forward."

Temari gaped. "Are you crazy? Gaara is..." she stopped, placing her hand over her mouth. Suna might have been defeated, but that was still one of the secrets of her village.

"He has released Shukaku." Shino said. "We know."

In that moment they heard a loud explosion. It was far worse than any that already happened that days. A strong, warm wind made their hair float.

"Something tells me Akimi has reached them." Shino murmured.

Asuma swallowed hard. "Thank the kami they are so far out of the village."

"Wait, you know about...?" Temari said, still shocked. "How?"

"Of course we do." Shino shook his head. "Gaara told Naruto and Akimi. I don't think he ever cared for your oh so important mission, actually."

Temari was speechless and Shino almost felt sorry for her.

"Gaara..." she murmured.

"We should go." Asuma said. "Their clash is about to come to an end, I bet. Naruto and Akimi will need our help."

"Why...?"

Gaara had never been actually unconscious, only he was in so much pain and confusion he couldn't really pay attention about what happened out of him. Eventually he came to ear soft voices next to him, together with some laugher.

After a while, Gaara managed to turn on his side, seeing the annoying Naruto Uzumaki with his annoying girlfriend Katora Akimi, kissing. 'Why is he so strong? Why are they so strong?'

"My existence..." Gaara rasped. "... I won't let it disappear."

The two kids turned towards him, then Akimi raised and helped Naruto up. The blonde genin was still quite tired, so he heavily leaned on her... and she didn't seem to mind. 'Is this why...?' Gaara wondered.

"Do you think you are the only one to have suffered in such a way, Sabaku no Gaara?" Naruto asked then, dragging himself forward with Akimi's help.

"Don't get near me!" Gaara panicked.

"I know what you went through. I can still feel it ringing in my ears... that word."

Akimi clenched her fists and growled softly. Gaara realised she was angry because of how people had treated Naruto. 'Is this... love?'

"Bakemono. (Monster)" Naruto said with a familiar sadness in his voice.

Gaara opened his eyes, a look of realisation and understanding on his face.

"You know what I am talking about, don't you?" Naruto kept pressing. "We shared the same past and we chose two different ways to deal with it. It's true... I got lucky." he squeezed Akimi tight and she smiled, reciprocating. "You ask yourself why I fight for others, do you? Because they saved me from the hell I was living in, they acknowledged my existence and saved me. They are important to me... precious. That's why."

Gaara turned to lied on his back and looked at the sky.

"I understand your pain so deeply it actually hurts me, Sabaku no Gaara." Naruto continued. "But I have precious people now and I won't let you hurt them. If you try again, I will kill you."

"I understand." Gaara murmured. For the first time since they met him, he didn't sound crazy or disturbed or something. He just sounded sad. And lonely.

Naruto let Akimi go and approached the red-haired kid. "Then we can be friends, Sabaku no Gaara." he smiled.

Gaara frowned. "Friends?"

"Yes." Naruto gave his hand to him. "Let me help you up, Gaara."

The other genin was so confused it would have almost been funny, were it not for the drastic note of tragedy that pervaded the air. "Why...?"

"Because I know what hell you are in. Because you didn't choose to carry that burden. Because nobody deserves to be so lonely..."

And Gaara took the hand. He was amazed when the sand didn't react. "Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto."

"You learn quickly, Gaara-san." Akimi said, showing his open hand to him. "This may help you... we need to get back to Konoha now."

Gaara hesitantly took the pill... watched it for a second, then swallowed it. "Why should I come with you?"

"Because your village just tried to conquer ours and we defeated you." Akimi explained. "You will be leverage for peace talking."

Gaara didn't feel any warm feeling towards his village yet, so he shrugged. "What about Temari and Kankurō?"

"I pretty sure they will be treated in the same way if one of our comrades found them." Naruto said. "You are the Kazekage's children."

Gaara apathetically nodded. "It makes sense."

"Stop right there!" a thunderous voice shouted. The three turned to see a frowning Baki behind them. "You are not taking Gaara anywhere. He is coming back with me."

Akimi sighed. "I am so sick of fighting."

Naruto wasn't. "I can..." he started.

"Don't even think about it. You are exhausted" Akimi hissed, moving through handseals. "Just keep yourself and Gaara-san safe. Kaiin (Release)."

Naruto stepped back, recognising she was activating her chakra storage seal... in just one go. Two seconds later she was surrounded by a flaming blue aura. That, together with the red markings of the seal all over her face and neck made her look quite frightening.

Even Baki stepped back, his eyes widening. The jōnin soon regained his bearings. "Kaze no Yaiba! [Blade of Wind]" he shouted, waving his hand around.

Akimi simply tilted her head. "Hi no Tate! [Shield of Fire]" she shouted, creating a waste dome of fire around the Suna jōnin... if the man wanted to use only nature manipulation in that fight, he was in for a bad surprise.

Baki grimaced when he saw his powerful offense so easily swayed. 'Such skill with Katon as such a young age... and she also seems to have fought Gaara.' he thought, resolving to use taijutsu to best her... he would only need to outlast her in stamina. He disappeared just as the fire shield vanished, preparing for a surprise attack.

Akimi looked around for him and, unable to detect him, went through handseals. 'Taijutsu is definitely my weakest area. Best call for help.' she slammed her hand on the ground in response. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

A cloud of smoke covered her as Baki collided against a powerful, furred body.

"Uh, sorry about that, Sabura-san."

The red sabre-teeth tiger growled softly. "No matter, Akimi-dono." he turned to a flabbergasted jōnin. Sabura wasn't as big and scary as Gamabunta, but was deadly enough on a one on one fight like this one. "Should I kill this impudent man?"

"Just dispose of him for now." Akimi replied from above his head.

"It shall be done." Sabura leaped forward without forewarning and Baki was barely able to jump out of the way. He tried to use his wind blades once again.

"Ah, a wind user, eh?" the tiger shouted, roaring in rage. A cloud of fire appeared out of nowhere. "This may be as fun as sparring with that huge, ever hungry toad."

"Don't speak badly of Gamaze, Sabura!" Naruto shouted. "He is cool"

"I actually like him, Naruto-san. That is why I haven't kill him yet." Sabura said, while charging forward again and trying to slash at Baki with his massive claws.

"DAMN IT!" Baki shouted, Sunshining out of the way. He looked ready to use some kind of powerful technique... just to stop in his tracks. Asuma Sarutobi was standing behind him, his arm crossed and a smirk on his face.

"That would be your cue to run away." he said. "Unless you think you can best me and her at the same time."

Baki looked around. "So be it."

"A word of advice." Asuma said. "You are an important figure in your village. Suna shouldn't do anything stupid... look for your Kazekage before doing anything else."

"What do you mean...?"

"He is likely dead, sensei." Temari said.

Baki paled. "Kazekage-sama... dead."

"That is unless he allowed Orochimaru to take on his appearance. Which I doubt." Akimi replied. "I saw him with my own eyes."

Baki gulped. "You won't harm them." he said, looking at Temari with worry in his eyes.

"No." Asuma assured. "We will wait for your ambassadors. I am sure you know what to do."

The Sand jōnin gravely nodded and disappeared. Asuma turned back to the genin. "Pretty impressive." he observed, looking at the tiger.

"Thank you, Sarutobi-san." Akimi let herself fell on Sabura's soft fur. Once again, using the chakra storage seal hurt just as she had been run over by one of the Great Three. She assumed.

Naruto jumped near her, a worried look on her face. She smiled at him.

"Well then." Asuma said. "It's time to head back home."

Naruto and Akimi looked at each other: it sure sounded like a sweet prospective. Home sounded just great.

JUTSU NOTES:

NB: thanks to NATSUxERZA 123456 for giving me the idea of binding toad tongues =)

Fūton: Renkūdan [Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet]: B rank, offensive, all range. A elemental, weaker version of a Tailed Beast Ball, Shukaku draws air in with a deep breath, then pushes its stomach to apply even more pressure, shooting out a deadly sphere of compressed air that explodes when it reaches its target. Shukaku can fire as much balls as it wants in rapid succession.

Suiton: Teppōdama [Water Release: Gunshot]B rank, offensive, all range. A compressed sphere of water that is shot out from the user's mouth as to gain more speed and offensive power. Chakra can be imbued inside the sphere to gain even more power.

Gamadosuzan [Toad Sword Beheading]: A rank, offensive, all ranges (taijutsu/kenjutsu). A sword toad uses the push of their strong legs to charge towards the opponent with deadly accuracy. They then exploit the power of said charge to slash at the opponent in a often deadly attack.

Bijūdama [Tailed Beast Ball]: A/S rank, offensive, all ranges. A tailed beast or (sometimes) a Jinchūriki gather both positive black chakra and negative white chakra and shape a compressed sphere into their mouth. The ratio of energies needs to be balanced at 8:2 to avoid backfiring. The destruction that this techniques brings forward is one of the reason Bijū are feared all over the Elemental Nations.

Konbi Henge [Combination Transformation] B rank, supplementary. Two shinobi transform together to get a more stable and resistant transformation. Usually one of the user provides the chakra necessary to the technique, while the other controls it, executing the handseals and choosing the form to transform it.

Kaze no Yaiba! [Blade of Wind], A rank, offensive, short to mid range – This techniques creates a slashing strike of a invisible wind weapon that is nigh unstoppable. The effects of the technique are powerful enough to leave the target's body mutilated. More blade can be created and launched in rapid succession.

REVIEW ANSWERS:

Skeleus: thank you so much for reviewing! You are right about the forest... may it rest in peace. XD I am glad you enjoyed last chap's fight and I hope this one was up to par.

Unmei Ryu: thank you so much for your review. You are quite right, time really flies... too quickly actually. And Naruto vs. Gaara is just special, for the reasons you listed and because it has so much deep meaning. It teaches you something. I am glad you enjoyed the balance between fighting and emotion, I tried to do that without exaggerating like they do in the anime with episode-long flashbacks. Let me know what you thought about my covering of the Kage + Sannin battle. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

DarkNamikaze: thank you a lot for reviewing. Glad you liked last chapter and let me know about what you think of this one. Did you like the small Akimi/Naruto moment? I am always insecure about romantic (or sort of) scenes, so feedback and suggestions are always welcomed. And there is more of them coming up in next chapter. A lot more.

Iyuubi: thank you so much for you review. I am so glad you liked the chapter and appreciated the idea about the Seal. I try to involve Fūinjutsu as much as possible in the story. I actually try to come up with at least two possible strategies each time I write a battle and then choose the best one. Some fighting scenes are easier to write than others and I take great inspiration from canon episodes, although is difficult to write actions scenes in general. I appreciate a lot you noticed this. =) Thanks again and I hope you liked the chapter.

mg4of6: thank you a lot for reviewing. Logging in is totally overrated XD I always check the "stay logged" option for this reason. Yes, I am lazy. Was Shukaku scary as well in this chap? =)

pedobear412 thank you so much for your 3 reviews! =) I just hope re-reading the whole story wasn't too time-consuming. It's becoming quite long, after all. I am very glad you liked the butterflies... I think many thought it was a strange idea, but in the end it fits. Plus, it's incredibly funny. So, I hope I didn't disappoint with the Kage-sealing, but I can always change that scene if I come up with a better idea. I just wanted to get the Invasion over with. Sorry for the cliffy. But I looove them too much. And many thanks for giving me the Asuma idea! I used him in this chapter =) I wonder why I had forgot about him. =) I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Guest: thanks for reviewing. I am aware that looking stupid is a very likely option, but I decided to take the risk. I apologize if you speak Japanese (and I assume this is the case) and found those names ridiculous.

Anarchy in Dark Places: thank you so much for your review. I am happy you enjoyed the end of Shino's fight. I've come to love writing him so much, it always amazes me. =) He is a great character to use in the end. I hope you liked this chapter as well.

Molly Grace: thank you for reviewing. I hope you liked these last two chapters as well.

Strife666: thank you so much for your review. I am so glad you liked the fights (sometimes I need to reassure myself of this) and thanks for the congrats. I hope as well, but it will a LONG time before I arrive there, I am afraid. =)

NeitherSaneNorInsane: thank you so much for reviewing. It was chap 25 Sudden Surprises and it was in the subtitle. So I hope you liked this chapter and what happened with all the plots you mentioned... the Kage, Shino, and Ichibi.

I don't know when I will be able to start with Shippūden, because I am pretty sure it will completely go AU from there on. Actually, it's going pretty heavily AU from now on. Things won't be so much like canon now. So expect something different from Sasuke's retrieval arc. And the search of Tsunade... you'll see. I hope you liked the chapter.

ExecutionerKain: thanks a lot for your review. I am glad school is going well and I hope you liked this chapter as well.

CHAPTER NOTES

Wow, I can't believe I just finished the Invasion Arc. =) Next chapter or so will be transition before the search of Tsunade arc. So, this chapter is a bit sentimental, I think, but I couldn't help myself. I just love the Will of Fire so much. It's one of my favourites theme in the whole story. So I hope I didn't exaggerate talking about the Will of Fire, but just to be sure next chapter will be full of it as well. XD

Now, into more concrete stuff: what about Shukaku and Gamabunta (+ Naruto) fight? I did go overboard with their ninjutsu exchange, but it so fun. Actually, the most difficult thing was to decide whether I would make Akimi fight with them or not, but in the end the prospective of a huge combo technique between those three won me over. Let me know what you think about it.

One thing that always bothered me in canon was Gamabunta refusing to fight at first, so here I had Naruto give him a piece of his (my) mind.

I hope Akimi and Baki's clash at the end was believable. I know Baki is a jōnin, but he was possibly underestimating her, and the tiger Sabura has a lot of experience to back him off. And I know that Blade of Wind is a very high technique, but I am hardcore believer in the elemental scheme. So, with few exceptional exceptions, fire beats wind. That is it.

Lastly, I already thanked pedobear412 when I answered his review for remind me of Asuma. I was desperate on who to send as back up after the fights ended and it was the perfect solution. =)

Change of topic: in the end I decided to write a couple of glimpses of Jiraiya and Sarutobi's fight, although I didn't actually writing fighting scenes and it wasn't by all means epic. I renew me thanks to NATSUxERZA 123456 for giving me the idea of binding toad tongue. I hope it looked kind of believable... and let me know if you agree with the idea that, getting out the sealing tag, Orochimaru's controlling influence will disappear from the two Kage. It was the best I could come up with and honestly in this story the prowess of Edo Tensei is going to very much downplayed. No crazy snake man summoning hundreds of ninja here and there, no crazy summoning freeing themselves and becoming immortal with infinite chakra reserves and such... I just don't like it.

Third important thing, JAPANESE NAMES for my technique. First, I thank very much Undeen for suggesting a name for Shino's techniques that looks to me much better (I don't know Japanese remember). Second, if any of you knows the language and is willing to give me suggestions they would have my eternal gratitude. XD However, if this doesn't happen and the badly translated Japanese names bother you, let me know, and I will just leave them in English.

Lastly, the POLL about Akimi learning Rasengan or not is having quite the interesting results. I just wanted to remind you that I am ultimately basing my decision on the poll's result only, even though I will try to keep in my all the considerations and opinions you told me in your reviews. In any case if you have said yes or no in a review and haven't voted in the poll, please go to my profile and do so. The poll will be closed either when I publish next chapter or the one after that.

This should be all, thank you reading =) I hope you liked the chapter. Until next time.

Next time up: the aftermath, between touchy feelings, rebuilding and... politics