Opening 10 - Revolution Dualism by Nana Mizuki and TM Revolution

X

In a dank, dark cave in the Land of Rain, only a few miles away from Ame itself, a massive statue was seated with eight closed eyes and one partially open. Perched atop four of its upturned fingers stood Obito, Kabuto, Mariko, and Orochimaru, all with their eyes trained on the entrance of the cave.

Thunder clapped outside, and an orange-haired man strode into the cave with an unconscious man slung over his shoulder. In his left eye, a Sharingan glowed softly red in place of the Rinnegan that had once been there. In his right, however, the purple light of the Rinnegan was as bright as ever, and the assymetry gave him an unsettling gaze in the darkness.

"Tobi, Kabuto, Orochimaru." Pain dropped the black-haired man at his feet once he reached the center of the cave. "Report. Where are the rest of your team?"

"Deidara, Sasori, Hidan, Kakuzu, and Kisame were killed," Obito answered. "In addition, Kushina, Tsurugi and Fugaku were sealed... however..." he produced a scroll from under his robe, and went on, "We were able to not only recover the Three-Tails, but also a considerable portion of spent chakra from the One-Tail, Seven-Tails, and Nine-Tails as well."

"I see." Pain glanced down at Utakata, who by now was beginning to stir, then back to the Gedo Statue. "Why haven't you sealed the Three-Tails yet?"

"We only just returned, actually," Kabuto answered. "We felt your chakra approaching, so we decided it would be better to wait for your arrival. We'll need all the help we can get to make this sealing easier, now that half of our organization is dead."

Utakata moved groggily on the floor, and Pain turned his lopsided gaze back on him. Although he could've simply kicked the Jinchuuriki's head into the floor to knock him unconscious again, he decided that such a course of action was ultimately beneath a god.

Pain lifted his hand and held it over Utakata's prone form, lifting him into the air with his Deva Path. Utakata groaned and tried to fight the invisible force, but Pain ignored his efforts and slammed him into the roof of the cave. Kabuto gave an exxagerated wince, but his grin remained in place even as Pain brought Utakata back to the floor just as forcefully.

"We'll seal the Three-Tails first, then the Six-Tails," Pain declared. "Then the chakra you salvaged from the other Tailed Beasts."

"Actually," Obito spoke up, "The scrolls containing that chakra won't be able to hold it for long, and since we can feed them directly to the statue in an instant, we'll deal with them first."

"Hn. I guess that means these two will have to wait as well..." All eyes turned to the entrance of the cave once more, where Madara could be seen dragging along a short man in a pink robe, and a very tall man in full scarlet armor, both unconscious and badly beaten.

X

An explosion of smoky, dark red chakra and killing intent filled a certain hospital room in Konoha. The Hokage felt it and immediately made his way toward the disturbance, but even with his Empty Wind he wasn't the first one to reach the room, because another Jinchuuriki was already almost there.

Fuu kicked in the door, rather than taking the time to reach for the knob. A moment later, a wave of red chakra blasted her back and slammed the door shut again, with a heavy current of chakra blowing through the crack between it and the floor.

"Dammit..." Fuu climbed to her feet quickly, and clapped her hands together in the Snake seal. "Earth Release: Earth Bullet!" she spat out a rough brown boulder that smashed the door to bits, allowing her to leap into the room.

Yagura was sitting up in his bed, with his eyes wide and glowing white. A misshapen Version Two cloak encased most of the rest of his body, although it had no tails as of yet. The demonic chakra pouring out of his body was slowly wearing away the walls and ceiling, and the windows had already been blown out.

"Yagura..."

Naruto appeared with an Empty Wind at the window. "What's happening to him!?"

"You know what's happening! He wants his friend back, dammit!" Fuu stepped forward once, but her feet slipped back over the floor as Yagura's chakra flared even higher. With tree-walking chakra control, she stuck the soles of her sandals to the floor and moved toward him again, with her wrist shielding her face from the unnatural gale.

Choumei, help me out here!

I'll do what I can, but ultimately I can't get through to him for you.

Her own demonic chakra blazed to life, and four of Choumei's wings grew out of her lower back. "Leave this to me, Naruto! If he keeps this up, this wing of the building might collapse, so get as many people out as you can!"

"I can do that," Naruto called back over the wind, "but how are you gonna stop him!?"

"I've got a plan; just go!"

Naruto still looked conflicted, but he vanished from the window and Fuu took another step. Yagura's eerie white gaze turned on her directly, and a few flickers of brilliant teal shone through the red chakra. Fuu nearly lost her footing again, but she channeled more chakra to her feet and kept her grip on the floor.

She glanced up when the ceiling above Yagura began sagging downward and cracking, and her eyes widened. Yagura seemed not to notice the danger above him, and he kept his eyes trained on Fuu completely.

"E-Earth Release," she called over the roar of the wind, and held up the Snake hand seal again. "Earth Wall!" Behind her, a rough slice of earth shot up from under the floor and held up the weakening ceiling. Another wall rose in front of her, near the middle of the room, and did the same for the weakest part of the ceiling.

Well done so far, Fuu, but what will you do once you reach him?

I've gotta try to snap him out of it. If I can't... I don't know.

"Yagura!" she called as loudly as she could, hoping to reach him over the sound of the artificial wind. "Stop it; you're gonna bring the whole hospital down!" He showed no signs of noticing her, and instead the majority of the whirling chakra in the room turned bright teal. His Version Two Cloak advanced to Version Three, and the Earth Wall in front of Fuu cracked twice.

"D-Dammit..." she swept her hand at the wall and dissolved it into dust, then pushed herself further forward. Choumei, can you give me one tail? She received no verbal response from the uncharacteristically solemn Bijuu, but a one-tailed Version One cloak bubbled up around her immediately. Thanks.

She strode forward more quickly now, and took hold of the end of the white blanket on his bed. Much of the blanket had been dissolved where it was covering his body, but the sides and ends of the blanket were still tucked in under the mattress. With tree-walking chakra control, she stepped onto the frame of the bed and stuck her foot to the smooth metal.

The blanket slipped down, and Fuu's heart skipped a beat before it came to a stop, still wrapped around the bed. She moved forward and took another fistful of the white cloth, then stepped onto the bed with her other foot. Still, Yagura made no move other than expelling chakra and staring at her. His expression was unreadable behind his mask of coral.

"Yagura!" She made one final push forward, and grabbed his left hand with her right. The blanket under her feet and left hand tore away from the bed, but she kept her grip on his hand and managed to plant her feet on the sheet that had been under the blanket. It, however, was also burned through by Yagura's chakra and wouldn't provide footing for long.

She jumped forward with as much force as her chakra cloak would allow, and released his hand to wrap both arms around him. As she kicked off of the sheet, it too was pulled free of the bed and thrown toward a crumbling wall. I'm going to use ninshuu, Choumei.

Ah! Brilliant!

The cloak around her withered away, and she melted her chakra together with Yagura's, baring her thoughts and feelings to him in their entirety. For a few moments, the blue-green chakra continued to tear through the room unhindered, but then it died down slowly.

"I... hate them, Fuu."

"I know," she murmured. "I can feel it; I can feel exactly what you're feeling. But..." her arms tightened around him slightly, and her struggle against the hurricane of chakra became a hug. "...Isobu is still out there. He's still alive, and he needs you to be strong so we can get him back."

Yagura's chakra cloak dissolved, and he wrapped his arms around her as well. Silently, he let his tears begin to fall.

X

Naruto glanced up from the Truth-Seeking Ball that was floating over his desk, spinning slowly. Yagura stepped into the Hokage's office, fully clad in his frayed shinobi gear but with his staff nowhere in sight. "Yagura," he greeted the former Jinchuuriki. "Are you feeling okay now?"

Yagura nodded slightly. "I'm sorry for the damage I caused. Was anyone injured?"

Naruto smiled faintly and shook his head. "Everyone's fine, you just freaked 'em out... What happened, anyway?"

"I just woke up, and Isobu didn't answer my voice. I looked for him in my inner world, and when he wasn't in there..." he closed his eyes and scowled downward. "My emotions don't excuse my actions. Please forgive me, Hokage-sama."

Naruto gave him a confused look, not expecting to hear a submissive honorific from his former fellow Kage. "...It's okay. Like I said, no one was hurt." The Truth-Seeking Ball shrank until it was no more, and the black and orange robe of chakra over Naruto's clothes dissolved into wisps of neon orange. He stood, and peered out the window behind his desk.

"I'm sorry about Isobu, Yagura. If I had been faster, maybe I could've stopped that bastard from taking him."

"You shouldn't be sorry. You managed to stop him from taking anyone else, including Fuu. If it wasn't for her, many people could've died today." The ex-Mizukage paused hesitantly. "She managed to talk some sense into me. I know Isobu is still alive, and I know we can get him back. For now, that's enough. I just need to stop thinking these negative thoughts; I need to clear my mind."

Naruto considered Yagura's declaration for a moment. "...We were planning to throw a party to welcome you guys to Konoha, at a really nice restaurant called the Riku Kesshou. But not only did Akatsuki manage to take Isobu, but the place was flattened by a fight involving the Third Raikage and most of Konoha's strongest ninja."

"As a former Kage, I feel that an event like that would raise the village's morale if it were on a large enough scale to accomodate everyone. That's crucial, since we know how close we are to war. At this point, it's inevitable." Yagura stepped forward and looked out the window alongside Naruto. "I strongly recommend that you do throw a party, or rather, a village-wide festival."

"I... I think you're right, ya know? A celebration to lighten the mood could really help us... but what do we have to celebrate?"

"The advent of world peace, perhaps. Celebrating our victory in this war before we actually win may guide the people into believing that we will win."

"We will," Naruto declared admamantly, and his Rinnegan activated itself. "There's too much at stake here. We can't lose, so we will not lose."

Yagura glanced at Naruto, and quickly noted that there was something off about the younger Kage's appearance. It took him a few moments to recognize the difference. "...What happened to your ears?"

X

"Sasuke."

The youngest Uchiha's eyes widened slightly, and he spun to face Itachi. His older brother was standing a few paces behind him in the street. "You returned to Konoha this morning, but I haven't seen you until now." Sasuke glanced up; the sky was taking on an orange hue as the sun began to set. "What's wrong?"

Sasuke glanced to Itachi's left, not recognizing the blonde Kumo kunoichi his brother was walking with. "...Did you come out here to look for me, or were you already walking with her?"

"I offered to help find you," the woman answered.

"Sasuke, I don't need to use my Sharingan to see that something's bothering you." Itachi frowned. "It's something you don't want to tell me about, so I won't make you... but you shouldn't be out here trying to avoid me."

"...It was tousan." Itachi's eyes widened slightly, and he cast a confused look at his little brother. "Akatsuki summoned an Uchiha as an Edo Tensei to use Sharingan genjutsu on Yagura and Fuu. It was tousan." Sasuke paused and ran his hands through his hair. "How the hell was I supposed to tell you that? I know I've said it wrong, and now there's nothing I can do about it."

"You talked to him, then." Sasuke nodded. "What did he say?"

"...He said he was proud of us, and he doesn't blame you for what happened. We didn't have much time before we had to seal him."

"I see..." Itachi stepped forward, and surprised Sasuke by pulling him into a hug. "It must have hurt, seeing him again after so long... but you don't seem focused on that; you don't seem to care that it was only for a moment. Isn't that right?"

"You weren't there; you didn't get to see him again... I thought you'd be upset."

Itachi shook his head, and Sasuke felt it on his shoulder. "I've already found closure."

"...Itachi... what do you hate? Who is your Curse of Hatred focused on?"

"My Curse of Hatred... was focused on itself." Without looking at Sasuke's expression, Itachi could tell that his brother was confused. "Despite everything I've experienced in my life, all of the triggers that could have set off my curse at an earlier point in time, my Curse of Hatred activated when I was ten, when Shisui and I managed to understand what it actually was."

"We visited that hidden shrine I told you about, and read as much as we could of that tablet with our complete Sharingan. After several days of thinking about that inscription and little else, I realized the implications of our doujutsu being strengthened by hatred, and our hatred in turn being strengthened by our eyes. I came to hate hatred itself. And then... even as I was explaining my discovery to Shisui, I decided to put an end to the curse. To destroy all hatred, including my own. We both made that resolution, and that was when the curse was broken for both of us, and through that we managed to conceive a way to end any Uchiha's Curse of Hatred."

"The curse is a conflict, and to end it one needs to find a resolution. I'd intended for you to resolve your own curse, our conflict, by killing me and avenging the Uchiha Clan."

"You really thought that was the only way?" the kunoichi asked hesitantly. "That must've been an incredibly hard decision to make..."

"At the time," Itachi replied as he released Sasuke, "I did think it was the only way, yes. Every record I found of an Uchiha falling under the Curse of Hatred claimed that that person killed whoever triggered their hate, or died trying. Shisui and I, however, came to hate a concept. We hated our own hatred, and we tried to reject that emotion because we hated it. It's a paradox I still don't fully understand; it shouldn't have worked. I don't think I'll ever understand it."

Eyeing the Kumo headband the woman was wearing, Sasuke spoke up. "I... don't think we've met," he admitted. "How do you know Itachi?"

"I met him the day your team returned to Konoha. I came here to talk with the Hyuuga Clan head that day... I'm Yugito Nii, keeper of the Two-Tails."

She extended her hand, and Sasuke shook it lightly. "Hn..." he flashed his Sharingan briefly, trying to read her body language. There's something I'm missing... as he released her hand and she did the same, his eyes widened slightly. She's standing close to him, leaning in his direction slightly. She's very comfortable sharing her personal space with him, and he feels the same way. "It's funny," he smirked slightly, "When I saw tousan, I told him you didn't have a girlfriend."

Rather than blushing, both Itachi and Yugito showed significantly more subdued reactions. In Itachi's case, his display of emotion was confined entirely to a slight widening of his eyes, whereas Yugito took a long look at Sasuke's Sharingan and realized that he had read her stance, which prompted her to shift very slightly away from both brothers.

"I should've known you'd see it quickly," Itachi answered in a low voice, smiling subtly.

"Hn. So are you two going to turn up at the festival this weekend, or are you trying to keep it hidden for some reason?"

"Festival?" Yugito asked, curious.

"I spoke with Hokage-sama this afternoon, and he mentioned a festival to brighten Konoha's mood before he leaves for the Kage Summit," the older Uchiha admitted. "Since the Riku Kesshou was destroyed, perhaps we could attend that festival instead."

"That could be really nice," she replied thoughtfully. "I should definitely be able to stick around until then, but I'll have to head back to Kumo soon. Raikage-sama wants Bee and I to both accompany him to the Summit."

"Hokage-sama hasn't yet decided on his own escort yet... it's possible I meet see you there." Yugito nodded, and Itachi turned back to Sasuke. "I've noticed that your sword's sheath is empty, Sasuke. You lost it in battle, didn't you?"

Sasuke nodded with a sheepish expression. "In my defense, Sakura and I won that fight."

"Foolish little brother... you were ready to outgrow it regardless." Itachi's Eternal Mangekyou activated, and he reached behind his back to produce something in a flash of scarlet light. Sasuke recognized it as the same hue taken by his Susanoo, but he was still confused when Itachi reached forward and handed him a small gourd fashioned into a bottle, with an elongated cap shaped much like the handle of a sword.

"What... is this?" Sasuke asked, even as he accepted the perplexing gift.

"I've been looking for an excuse to give you that... honestly, I was hoping you'd lose your sword at some point. That, Sasuke, is the Sword of Totsuka."

Sasuke's eyes went wide. "...H-How!? I thought this sword was a part of your Susanoo!"

"Technically that was true, but only because I found the blade and 'equipped' it to Susanoo. This weapon is considered legendary, Sasuke. Shinobi have been looking for it for centuries; it couldn't possibly have originated with me when I'm only twenty-one."

"T-Twenty-one!?" Yugito's eyes widened. "You're that young? I thought you were closer to my age; I'm twenty-nine..."

"Hn. I've been told that the lines under my eyes make me look older." Examining Yugito's face more closely, he mused, "Even with my Sharingan, you don't look any older than twenty-three."

Yugito blushed slightly, and Sasuke cracked a smirk again. "Hn. I'll see you back at home, niisan." Replacing the empty scabbard of his shashka with the sheathed Sword of Totsuka, he turned and left Itachi and Yugito to their own devices.

After walking for a short few minutes, Sasuke's curiosity got the better of him. He reached behind his right hip and grasped what seemed to be the hilt of the mythical sword, which looked to be no more than a seven-inch stick whittled into a smooth cylindrical shape, wedged into the mouth of the bottle. He pulled on it lightly, as if he was worried about spilling the liquid he could hear sloshing around inside the bottle.

To his surprise, that sound immediately grew louder as he pulled the handle of the weapon around to examine the alleged Sword of Totsuka. Kami... I really thought he was kidding, but... Affixed to the end of the hilt, there was a clear liquid flowing in a long, straight shape both toward and away from the hilt. Small bubbles floated through the liquid, occasionally reaching the surface and popping. The legendary sword was almost exactly the same length as his lost shashka, at thirty-eight inches long with thirty-one of those made up of the otherworldly liquid blade.

"Oh sweet Kami is that what I think it is!?"

Sasuke turned to face Konoha's esteemed inventress, who was hesitantly stepping forward with stars in her eyes. "...Tenten. I was looking for you, actually. You've heard about the festival Naruto's setting up, right?"

Numbly, Tenten nodded. "Is that... the..."

"Sword of Totsuka?" he stuffed the weapon back into its impossibly gourd-shaped sheath, and handed it to Tenten. "Niisan all but literally pulled it out of his ass a few minutes ago."

Tenten choked on her disbelief, and without thinking she reached out and took the legendary weapon Sasuke was handing her. "...You, lucky, bastard," she finally managed. "Do you even know what this is? This is the freakin' Sword of Totsuka, one of the most powerful weapons ever created! This thing is right up there with the Kusanagi and the Treasured Tools of the Sage of Six Paths! If anything, it's more powerful than those!"

"Really? What's it do, then?"

She faltered, openly shocked at his nonchalant tone, then enthusiastically started explaining. "...This thing can seal away whatever you stab with it into a 'world of drunken dreams,' an alternate dimension with no logic, no light, and no escape, ever. All you have to do is land a hit and pull them in, and boom. Deader than dead. Assuming they don't die from their wound in there, they lose their minds and then starve to death. Yeah, there's no doubt about it. This is the deadliest ninja tool in existence."

"Hn. That sounds useful." Sasuke smirked wickedly. "I can lend it to you so you can study it; and maybe you'll learn something useful about how it works. But... I'll need a favor in return."

"Fucking anything."

Sasuke blinked at that, then his smirk grew slightly. "Like I was saying, the festival. The dobe wants me to put on a show with my fire jutsu once things really get going, but I'm thinking you might have some fuinjutsu that could make it even better."

"So I get to mess around with the Sword of Totsuka, and in return you're asking me to blow stuff up?"

"Hn."

"Best, deal, EVER!"

X

"So, why are we up here again?"

Two unusually young Special Jounin lay atop a conveniently flat rooftop, gazing up at the slowly darkening sky. The boy had come prepared with a light blue pillow to rest his head on, although his spiky black ponytail made that a bit more difficult than it would've otherwise been. The blonde girl, on the other hand, was sitting up and occasionally casting annoyed looks at the boy.

"Wait for it. Trust me, something really great is gonna happen tonight."

"Yeah, I know." Temari pointed down toward the well-lit streets and huffed, "The festival. If we're gonna be sitting up here all night doing nothing, I'm at least gonna go get us some dango."

Shikamaru sighed softly. "...Alright. It's a bit of a drag, but at least we'll get back here in time for the main event."

"We?"

The lazy Jounin stood and picked up his pillow, sealing it away into a small scroll which he then rolled up and stuffed into his pouch. "If you're going, I am too. The only thing that sucks worse than missing out on some great cloudwatching... is cloudwatching alone. Way too much of a drag."

"Heh." Temari turned away and glanced down toward the street again. "Well maybe while we're down there, we could grab a pillow for me too. Some gentleman you are, hogging yours and not bringing me one."

Shikamaru grinned slyly, and produced a second scroll from his pouch. "All you had to do was ask."

"Shikamaru..." she shook her head and chuckled. "You're so troublesome." he rubbed the back of his head, but his grin remained in place. "Let's go."

The trip to the nearest dango stand wasn't a long one. "I guess I'll pay," Shikamaru decided after a moment. "What kind do you like best?"

"Hanami. The bright colors make 'em look even more appetizing," she explained. "What about you?"

"Goma, definitely. The sweet and salty flavors go together well. So... we'll have a dozen sticks of each of those, please," he addressed the young civilian woman working at the stall.

"A dozen? Jeez, you're hungry tonight, huh?"

"Hanging out with an Akimichi all the time will do that to you. Fortunately, it isn't really that troublesome. Anyway, if we don't finish 'em all we can take 'em home. And since I'm paying, it's not like you have anything to worry about, right?" he glanced in her direction, in time to see her take a single step toward another stall. "Temari?"

"That looks like fun, doesn't it?" She pointed to the stall, which was clearly a game based on shurikenjutsu, aimed at a demographic of more skilled ninja. The various round, small targets were being moved around and even turned away from the players by a machine, on looping paths that were complex and hard to predict.

"...Yeah, it does, actually. It's a test of your aim, but given enough time and careful thought, one could theoretically predict the movements of the targets and control the outcome of the game completely. Unfortunately..." he lazily pointed to the white-haired boy and scarlet-haired girl currently throwing shuriken at the targets together. "...Those two look like they're really into it. From what I can see, it looks like a certain number of misses ends the game, rather than a set time limit. They'll probably be at it for a while yet... what a drag..."

"We could come back later, right?"

"Sure." Shikamaru paid for and collected the dango in two brown bags. "Here's your snack..." he glanced up at the darkening sky again as he handed her a bag. "...We've got some time before the main event, so we could wander around and look for something else to do... but then we wouldn't get to watch clouds... either way, we miss out on a good time... troublesome..."

"Yeah, let's head back for now," Temari murmured. "I'm getting kinda hungry, and that pillow is calling my name. Since those two are probably gonna be hogging that game all night, I just wanna kick back and relax."

"...I think I love you."

X

Meanwhile, Karin and Kimimaro ruthlessly pelted their mechanical targets with shuriken. For all the good it would do, Karin's doujutsu was active and her scarlet eyes had a faint blue sheen over them. Her heart was pounding, her adrenaline was pumping, and she was grinning broadly. Hah! We're getting there now; pretty soon we'll get the high score and that awesome plushy thing over there!

She momentarily glanced in the direction of the stuffed animal, which stood nearly as tall as she was. The thing was covered in soft white fur with red streaks along its shoulders and back, and its tail was long and bushy. I don't even know what it's supposed to be, but damn it's adorable. Maybe a Kami of some kind, with fur like that...

Her next throw missed due to her distraction, and Kimimaro flicked a shuriken at hers. Come on...! His eyes widened and his face lit up when, against all odds, his shuriken soundly hit hers. Karin's throw was deflected into the target she'd meant to aim for, while his was miraculously bounced against a target that had already turned ninety degrees away from the two, where it just barely stuck. That target then slipped into the machine, taking the dangling shuriken with it out of sight.

"W-Whoa, nice save Kimimaro!" with her focus renewed, she aimed at several more targets and hit each one. "I didn't know you could do that!"

"I just got lucky," he admitted. "It takes a Sharingan to do that with any kind of reliability."

"Lucky, huh?" her grin broadened to bare her teeth, and threw one last bullseye. "Looks like you were lucky enough to win us the high score, believe it!"

"Nicely done, you two," as the target machine slowed and stopped, the Chuunin behind the counter flashed a thumbs-up. "With a score that high, you can take home any prize I have here... but I can guess which one you're gonna go for."

"Damn right!" Karin scooped up the massive, stuffed animal, which looked to be some kind of mythical canine creature, and slung it over her shoulders. "I'm gonna call him Geitou-kun, for that awesome stunt you pulled to win him for me."

"For you? What, you're not gonna share it?" Kimimaro teased her halfheartedly.

"Nope," she shook her head. "Geitou-kun is staying in my bedroom, right under the covers where he'll be cozy at all times. The only way you get to share him is if you crawl in with me..." she cast a sly look at him to match her suggestive tone.

Kimimaro blushed furiously and took a small step back. "K-Karin!"

"Come on, Kimimaro." She strode off, and as she did the stuffed toy's tail wagged where it was dangling over her right shoulder. "We've got a lot more fun stuff to do before we can call it a night, so try not to focus on that."

"I... never knew you were such a pervert."

"Right back atcha. I saw that nosebleed, ya know."

X

Elsewhere, a dense crowd had gathered around and completely obscured a commotion at one of the many attractions set up in the streets surrounding the Hokage monument.

"It's Naruto," Sasuke declared. "I'd bet anything it's Naruto."

"Yeah?" Sakura turned to him with an amused smirk. "What makes you sure?"

"Two things. First," he pointed to the crowd, "That's the Ichiraku Ramen stall. Second..." he activated his Sharingan and smirked, "I can see Naruto's chakra silhouette. No one else has enough chakra to glow that brightly."

Sakura blinked. "Wait. How do you know that's the Ichiraku Ramen stall?"

"I helped Naruto set up a few things for the festival, and I got to see the layout of the stalls and events. Which reminds me..." he brought up his hands up in the clone seal, "...Shadow Clone Jutsu."

"Hm?" she watched Sasuke form a clone and send it away through the streets, past Ichiraku Ramen and toward the Hokage monument. "What's going on?"

"It's a surprise," Sasuke answered, then turned his attention back to the crowd as they began cheering. "So we know it's Naruto in there, but what the hell is the dobe doing?"

"Let's go check it out," she headed toward the crowd, shortly followed by Sasuke. As they moved in, the crowd was already beginning to loosen up and disperse, allowing them to glimpse Naruto. The Hokage was slumped over a table with a green tint over his face, with a mountain of empty white bowls piled up in front of him. Across from him sat Hinata, in a similar state.

"...Hn," Sasuke smirked. "Was it worth it, dobe?"

"Well, I won this time but..." Naruto groaned loudly, clutching his stomach. "For the first time ever, I think I had too much ramen." he groaned again. "But you didn't hear me say that, ya know..."

"Ugh... Teuchi-jiji..." Hinata lifted her head wearily. "What was the score this time?"

"Naruto had sixty-five bowls this time to your sixty-four." Sasuke's eyes went wide. "It was close, but it looks like he won this round."

"Sixty-five," Sasuke repeated numbly. "What the hell are you two?"

"Addicted," Naruto replied.

"Out of our minds," Hinata answered at the same time.

"Hn. Didn't you think about what you'd be missing out on, putting yourselves in this state halfway through the festival?"

"H-Holy crap he's right!" Naruto jumped up, and the mountain of bowls clattered loudly as he did. "There's so much more to do, Hina-chan!"

"Hm?" she looked up and stretched, then stood as he had. "Yeah, you're right, Naruto-kun. We haven't even danced yet, so let's go!" They strolled away in the direction of the Hokage monument as if nothing had happened to them.

"What."

"Don't act so surprised, foolish little brother." Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, and he spun to face Itachi. "Surely you've seen stranger things happen." The older Uchiha's face was obscured by an ANBU-esque weasel mask, and next to him Yugito was wearing a more ornate carnival mask in the likeness of a blue cat. The two were holding hands.

Sasuke cracked a smirk. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Rock Lee comes to mind... actually, that reminds me. I haven't seen him this whole time I've been back in the village. Sakura, have you seen him around?"

"He's right behind you, actually."

"DYNAMIC..."

Sasuke turned, eyes wide and glowing red.

"...BAITANDSWITCH!"

Rock Lee, clad head to toe in green as usual, slammed into the other two members of Team Seven, pulling them in for a startlingly forceful hug. "Ha! Sasuke-san, Sakura-chan, at long last Team Seven is reunited! And fear not, I would never dream of striking you with a Dynamic Entry! Without the element of surprise, the move is useless in a spar, and it is extremely unyouthful to attack a friend without warning! Oh, I have missed you greatly, Sasuke-san, but now our team is complete again!"

"Hn, I missed you too, Lee," Sasuke hesitantly patted the green Jounin's bowl-cut, then added, "Maybe you should let us go now?"

"As much as it pains me to do so, I will!" Lee relinquished his grip on the young couple, and flashed a sparkling white grin and a thumbs-up. "But in spirit, I will never let go of either of you!"

Sasuke's still-active Sharingan suddenly aimed past Lee, and in slow motion he saw the approach of a large blue water balloon approaching the back of Lee's head. He drew and let fly a shuriken, causing the balloon to burst long before it reached Team Seven.

"Kiba," Sakura made a fist as she glared up at the grinning Inuzuka, who was currently perched atop a nearby rooftop with a water balloon in each hand. "Let me guess. You've been doing this all night?"

"Mostly to Genin, yeah. They tend to take a joke better than the older shinobi." Kiba spoke up on another rooftop behind Sakura and Sasuke, prompting both of them to spin and face him. Meanwhile, the first Kiba threw another water balloon only for Lee to catch it carefully.

"Your plan was not poorly executed, but choosing Team Seven as your target was an unwise and unyouthful decision, Kiba-san." Lee whipped the balloon back into Kiba's face with impressive force, and as it splashed apart and soaked him he exploded into smoke. When it cleared, Kiba had been replaced by Akamaru, who barked at Lee with the same canine grin he'd had while in disguise. The real Kiba laughed on his own perch, and Akamaru growled playfully.

"I've finally found you, Inuzuka brat..." All eyes turned to where a Special Jounin clad in black was stalking toward Kiba through the crowd, still wearing round black sunglasses despite the sun having almost fully set. "And now that I have," Ebisu growled furiously, "I WON'T STAND FOR ANY DISREPUTABLE BEHAVIOUR!"

Ebisu charged with a roar, but he didn't get far before he stopped so abruptly that his momentum threw him facefirst onto the ground. When he stood, he was wearing a smug grin that looked entirely wrong on his previously furious face. "Hah! Got him, Kiba!"

"Nice one, Ino!" Kiba beamed. "Akamaru, stay with the real Ino while we get to work ruining what's left of this guy's reputation. Come on, 'Ebisu.'"

"Nuh-uh," Ino shook Ebisu's head. "I'm going with you in my real body; it fits me better than this old closet pervert does. I'm gonna knock him out, and then we're gonna go douse Konohamaru's team if we can find 'em."

Kiba shrugged. "If you say so." Ebisu promptly slumped, unconcious, and Ino jumped across the street from another rooftop to join Kiba, shortly followed by Akamaru. The three leapt away into the deepening night, all grinning.

"That was different," Sasuke observed.

"Cha," Sakura nodded.

"Well, at least they are certainly enjoying the festival," Lee mused aloud.

X

Among a sizable crowd of couples dancing in the shadow of the Hokage monument, Gaara hid his nervousness as well as he could. Concerned, he watched Tenten glance skyward again, looking slightly irritated. "...Tenten, is something bothering you?"

"O-Oh, no, nothing's bothering me," Tenten replied with a smile and a faint blush. "I just know something's about to happen," Gaara's eyes widened, "and I'm really looking forward to it, that's all."

"I-I..." Gaara stammered, earning a raised eyebrow from Tenten. He fell silent, further confusing her.

"Yeah, nothing's bothering me; I'm having a great time," she moved closer to him as they circled each other slowly, "but you seem a little twitchy, Gaara. Since when do you blush and stutter?"

Gaara closed his eyes for a moment and sighed quietly. "...Tenten, could we go somewhere and talk for a moment?"

Tenten glanced upward again, then smiled and shook her head clear. "Yeah, no problem." hand in hand, they left the dance and slipped away through an alley. Just before they did, she spotted Yagura and Fuu dancing near the edge of the crowd. The soft, slow melody being played followed the two as they secluded themselves.

Gaara released Tenten's hand and turned to face her, smiling softly. "Tenten, I... I've been thinking about this constantly... ever since the day we met, three years ago, you've been there for me."

Tenten moved forward slightly as she came to entirely the wrong conclusion. "You're not dying, are you!? Tell me you don't have some terminal illness or something!"

"N-No, I'm fine," Gaara answered quickly, and Tenten smiled sheepishly. "I'm not dying. What I'm trying to say is... you've been by my side for so long, so consistently, that it took me this long to realize I... I don't think I can live without you anymore." Her eyes widened. "No, I definitely can't. I need you."

"G-Gaara..."

"It took me far too long to realize that, more than anything, I want to spend the rest of my life with you." gently, he took her right hand with his own, and knelt in front of her while reaching behind her back for a ring. With her free left hand, Tenten covered her gaping mouth in shock. "Tenten, will you marry me?"

Tenten heard a high-pitched whistling sound coming from far behind her, and her shocked look softened as the fireworks she had crafted began to soar into the night sky. Just as she smiled, the first of the missiles burst into brilliant orange light that filled the sky in the shape of Konoha's spiral leaf. Several Fire Dragon Bullets flew across the sky then, weaving gracefully between the next volley of fireworks.

"...I... Gaara..." her eyes itched slightly with unshed tears, and she beamed down at him, nodding slightly. High above them, a starburst of brilliant orange laser beams spun rapidly through the air, based on Soujihonou's design. "Yes!"

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