Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (either manga or anime!); the wonderful Masashi Kishimoto-sensei owns all rights. However, the plot and Namiko Uzumaki are mine!

Chapter 15: Light and Dark

"Sasuke-kun!" cried Sakura as she and Pakkun landed next to him. She knelt next to his side and laid her hand on his back gently and he groaned at her touch.

Namiko landed next to Sasuke on the branch behind her brother. She knelt by Sasuke's head, focusing intensely on his chakra. His chakra was almost to zero and the curse mark was causing chaos on his chakra as a whole. "Sasuke…it's okay, we're here now."

Sasuke groaned again, trying to move his head to look at Namiko. "Wh—what are you doing here?" his voice cracked several times as pain wracked through his body.

"To help you, you idiot," snapped Namiko to Sasuke, then her eyes softened and her tone softened as well, "before you did something stupid, but apparently we were too slow."

"Not all of us can keep up with you, imouto, but…quick question for you guys: who the hell is that?" said Naruto as he pointed at Gaara.

Pakkun was the one to answer, "Make no mistake, while the outside has changed, the one in front of us is Gaara."

Naruto's shock was written all over his face and Gaara growled out, "What do you want? Oh…you're the one I didn't kill that day…"

Namiko's head whipped around to stare at Gaara and Naruto. 'Was this the spirit he was talking about yesterday? His bloodlust is even worse than that day in the Forest of Death.' She felt panic and bile rise in her throat, but she forcibly shoved it down. 'No, that doesn't matter. What matters is getting everyone out of here safely and back to Konoha.'

Naruto's panicked voice cut off her train of thought, "Guys, we need to leave, NOW!"

No sooner did Naruto finish his sentence that Gaara launched past him headed straight for the others. Sakura turned around at Naruto's voice to face Gaara and pulled out a kunai to defend. Namiko linked her arms under Sasuke's and quickly used teleportation jutsu to get him out of the way and onto another branch, but when she turned to go back for Sakura, she couldn't activate the jutsu quick enough.

Gaara seemed to hesitate for a split second before using his deformed left arm to pin Sakura to a tree. Namiko froze as she watched the scene, eyes wide, as panic and guilt came crashing down. 'I should've grabbed them both! And now Sakura is hurt and at the mercy of Gaara!' Tears pricked her eyes, tears of anger at herself for not being good enough.

Naruto jumped on the branch beside her and Sasuke. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! You should be worried about Sakura!" Namiko snapped as she stood next to Sasuke, who was lying at her feet. Naruto stood defensively in front of her and Sasuke, shielding them with his body.

"What's the matter? I thought you were going to run away?" taunted Gaara as he glanced between the Konoha shinobi. He looked back at Naruto, narrowing his eyes. "Who are they to you?"

"They're my friends…my family! If you try to hurt them again, I'll slaughter you!" Naruto yelled, pointing a finger at Gaara threateningly.

Gaara's arm pressed Sakura against the tree roughly and she screamed in pain. When Naruto hesitated in moving to stop him, Gaara mocked him, "What was that? I thought you were going to slaughter me?"

"Damn…" Naruto growled out before launching toward Gaara. Gaara swiped at Naruto with the thick sand-tail, knocking Naruto back at Namiko's feet.

"Naruto!" she cried out as she knelt down between the two boys, reaching out to her brother. "Are you okay?"

Naruto got back on his feet quickly. "It's not even a scratch." He hesitated as he stared down Gaara. 'I've got to do something to save everyone! That's it…even though it'll use up a lot of chakra, I need to try.' Naruto bit his thumb before slamming his hand on the branch he was standing on.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

A puff of smoke floated up and as it cleared it revealed a small red toad with black stripes wearing a tiny vest. "Well, what d'ya want, kid? You better have some treats if you want me to do anything because I don't work for free!"

Naruto yelled in its face, "Give me a break! I'm really starting to hate you frogs! Who are you anyways?"

"So, you hate amphibians, huh? I'm Gamakichi, by the way," The toad said as it stuck its tongue out at Naruto.

"Listen," explained Naruto, "I don't have time to play games, you slimy little squirt." He sighed in frustration. 'Why did I fail now? What was all that training for that Ero-sennin put me through? I'm the only one who can save them all.'

Gaara's raspy voice cut through. "Worried about the others? That's your big mistake. When I fight, I fight for me alone." The sand continued to spread over Gaara's body until only his legs remained free of the material.

His left arm separated, leaving part of the original claw holding Sakura in place against the tree. "Unless you destroy me, the sand won't dissolve around that girl, and I suggest you hurry. With each passing second, the sand hardens until it will crush her to death!"

Namiko leaned toward her brother, speaking to his ears only, "You take down Gaara, and I'll protect Sasuke and try to free Sakura. We can do this, nii-chan."

"No!" he hissed back to her quietly, "you need to take Sasuke and Pakkun, and get out of here. I'm not having you get hurt too."

She shook her head. "Not happening. I'm not the strongest, but I have tricks up my sleeve too."

Gaara let out a growl, crossing his arms before releasing an attack aimed right at Naruto. "Sand Shuriken!"

Naruto grabbed the small toad and jumped up high and back to avoid the sand projectiles. He miscalculated and slammed against a tree, tumbling down a couple branches and landing on a branch above Namiko and Sasuke.

"Boy are you pathetic," the toad quipped. "So, who is the freak?"

"Shut up," snapped Naruto. He studied Gaara's facial expression for a moment. 'Eyes of loneliness, just like mine. Even though we both have siblings, there's still that underlying loneliness. He has a monster inside him, just like Namiko and I do.

'We were constantly ignored, avoided, or ridiculed by everyone in Konoha. They hated us, and we never understood why. Ever since we found out we had the kyuubi inside us, I think we noticed their hate even more. It wasn't our fault, but everyone treated us like it was.

'But then we found people who care about us. Iruka-sensei, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Hinata, Kiba, and Kurenai-sensei; they have changed everything. We finally felt like we belonged somewhere. Like we had a family beyond just the two of us. Having the others in my life makes me so happy. Namiko has been happier too since she's been part of Team 8.

'Before, it was just us. All we've ever had from day one has been each other. While we were never alone because we were together, we were so secluded from the world, we might as well have been.'

Namiko eyed Gaara warily, lost in thought. 'He's a monster like Naruto and me. He may have siblings but he's still alone. Still rejected by those around him. I remember that fear and anger…I still have it inside of me. It hurts to know we'll never be normal. We'll always have this…this demon inside us.

'I want to be normal. I want to be accepted by everyone, but I can't until this monster is gone. Naruto handles the kyuubi so much better than I do. Naruto isn't afraid at all; he's able to tap into its power without worrying about losing himself. All it does is terrify me; I don't want it to consume me. The power I felt that day when we were with Jiraiya-sama was overwhelming.'

Naruto heard Sakura groan as the sand hardened around her. 'This isn't just going to go away. I know he's been alone, abandoned even by his own family; if Namiko abandoned me, I can imagine I would be lost in darkness too. In his eyes, someone like me who has family and friends who care must seem like I live totally carefree.'

Gaara growled out, "What's the matter? Still afraid to attack me? Or are you still trying to figure out a way to rescue your friends?" Gaara gave a small laugh. "Fool. Think only of yourself. Love only yourself. That's what it means to be the strongest. You were so bold and cocky before…show me your strength! Let me grind it to dust before your eyes! Attack me, you coward, or I'll kill the girl right now!"

Naruto made a frustrated grunt as he leapt off the branch. "You asked for it. Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Just as Naruto's clones appeared, Gaara was quick to hit back. "Wind Style: Sand Storm Devastation!" The sand quickly eliminated all of Naruto's clones and shoved him back into another tree. A malicious grin spread across Gaara's distorted face. "I think I'll toy with you for a while. I'll watch you abandon your friends and beg for mercy before you die. Again!"

A spray of sand shuriken directed at Naruto again, slamming him back against the tree just after he'd got to his feet again. Gaara continued to assault him with wave after wave of sand shuriken. Naruto was knocked flat on his back, and for a moment he laid there going over what to do when he heard Gaara's voice snap.

"What do you think you're doing? I already said that sand won't release until I'm defeated!"

Naruto sat up quickly to see what Gaara was yelling about, when he saw his sister attempting to wedge her sword into the sand surrounding Sakura. Namiko responded, but didn't even glance the Suna shinobi's way, "What does it look like I'm doing? Where there's a will, there's a way. I refuse to give up just because you think people are meaningless!"

However, because Namiko wasn't looking at Gaara, she didn't see his arm stretch out with incredible speed. She felt his chakra close in and turned her head just before his arm made contact with her, slapping her away from Sakura. Namiko flew through the air, but before Naruto could even stand, Sasuke caught Namiko and lowered her back to the branch he was leaning against.

Naruto rushed over to Sasuke and Namiko, panic filled his voice, "Is she okay?!"

Gamakichi hopped over from his hiding place. "She'll be fine, just unconscious. She'd have been worse off if he hadn't caught her. Slick moves, kid," he said, complimenting the Uchiha.

Naruto knelt down next to the two of them, lowering his voice for only Sasuke to hear, "Thanks, Sasuke, for watching out for my sister."

"Naruto, listen to me," began Sasuke with a serious look in his eyes, "You have to save Sakura if it's the last thing you do. Once you've got her, I want you to take her and Namiko and get out of here as fast as you can."

"Sasuke, you—"

Sasuke cut off Naruto, "I can hold him back a little longer. If it ends here, it just means this was as far as I was meant to go." He briefly glanced down at the redhead in his arms as he leaned against the trunk of the tree. "I lost everything once. I don't ever want to have to see that again. My trusted comrades falling right in front of me."

Naruto looked at him with a sense of wonder. "Your comrades? Sasuke…" His eyes scanned his sister's face before standing to face Gaara. "I get it. He fought only for himself, never relying on anyone. Because of that, I thought he carried strength because he never relied on anyone else."

Sasuke looked up at the blond. "Naruto…"

"I guess I should've known better. That's not what real strength is. If you never fight for anyone but yourself, you'll never be strong, no matter what you do. Kakashi-sensei and Haku were right; fighting for your friends makes all the difference." Naruto smirked as he stood and made the hand sign for his Shadow Clones. He let out a yell and chakra started rolling off him in waves.

Sasuke was taken aback and pulled Namiko away so they wouldn't get caught in middle. '…what a massive amount of chakra. How is he doing it?' He felt Namiko start to stir in his arms and he helped her sit up. "Easy. You got hit pretty hard."

"Mm, I know," she made a noise in agreement as she looked toward her brother but spoke to Sasuke. "but I felt Naruto's chakra and it kind of forced me to wake up. What on earth did I miss?"

"Don't worry about it. Let's just stay out of his way." He gently tugged her arm, pulling her to her feet and they leapt to the next branch in the trees. Namiko sat down at the base of the branch, leaning against the trunk, and Sasuke knelt down in front of her to shield her.

"Don't worry, I'll protect all of you!" shouted Naruto as he saw them move out of the corner of his eye. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Both Namiko and Sasuke stared in absolute amazement. Clones of Naruto were everywhere, far too many to count. Sasuke couldn't believe his eyes. 'When did he get so strong? How on earth did he do this?' When he saw the shocked look on Namiko's face as well, he could assume it was something she had no idea Naruto could do.

Gamakichi hopped next to Namiko and called out to Naruto, "Nice one, kid. Not too shabby! You're showing a lot of promise!"

Pakkun joined them on the other side of the branch. "This is amazing. Absolutely incredible."

"Gee, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you waiting so long. So, get ready for an original jutsu straight from my ninja handbook!" said Naruto in a cocky tone, addressing Gaara.

"Naruto," said Sasuke, still trying to get over his shock, "how can you do this?"

"Just take it easy for a while and watch over my sister. Okay, Sasuke? You deserve it. Just leave the rest to Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto raised a fist high in the air. "Alright everybody, here I go! Let's do this!"

All the clones chimed in, "Direct from Naruto's handbook: Everywhere Shuriken!" They all launched shuriken at Gaara.

Gaara was as close to panic as he could get. 'There's no way to dodge this. I just have to use the sand to defend.' He did his best to shield his face with the sand armor.

Then all the clones decided to attack together and they lunged towards Gaara. "Uzumaki Two-Thousand Blows Barrage!" they said in unison as they simultaneously punched Gaara from every possible angle.

The sand armor started to fail and Gaara plummeted to the ground with the last punch. Naruto's clones followed where Gaara landed, saying in unison, "This time we'll use both legs for Four-Thousand Blows!"

The sand armor started to reform around Gaara as he lay in the crater that his landing made. He started to stand up. "I can't…I won't…There's absolutely no way I'm going to lose to a guy like him!" Sand sprayed up in the air, eliminating Naruto's clones with ease.

Naruto was blown back into a tree several meters from Namiko and Sasuke by the force of the sand. Smoke filled the air and forest around them, but the outline of a large, dark figure could barely be made out.

Namiko was overwhelmed by the gargantuan, malicious chakra that filled her whole body and she shook all over in fear. She was in too much panic to shut off her chakra sensing, and just stared into the smoke in horror. Sasuke felt her shaking and turned back to look at her, noticing the terror written all over her face.

He laid a gentle hand on her arm to get her to look up at him. He leaned forward to speak softly, "Namiko, it's okay, I'm here with you. I'll protect you with my life."

She finally met his eyes, fear still flooding her own. "This is really bad, Sasuke. The only time I've ever felt chakra anything remotely like this was when—" She quickly closed her mouth and finished what she was saying in her thoughts, '…was when Naruto and I faced the kyuubi inside our minds.'

"Was when what?" Sasuke asked, but before he had a chance to hear her answer, the smoke cleared. Before them stood a massive version of the transformation that had taken over Gaara. It looked like a giant tanuki, standing far above the tallest trees and was dozens of meters wide.

The monstrous creature spoke, "Well, I never thought you would bring this out of me!" It raised a massive, clawed hand in Naruto's direction.

Sand started swirling around Naruto. 'Oh great, I used up all my chakra on those clones.'

Namiko noticed the sand accumulating around Naruto and her mind flashed back to the Ame shinobi in the Forest of Death. "Naruto!" she screamed, trying to stand up and crumpling back down to the branch. "You need to get out of there!"

She tried to stand again, but this time Sasuke grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards him. He firmly gripped both her shoulders. "You're staying right here with me. Naruto trusted me to protect you, and that's what I'm going to do."

Tears filled her eyes but didn't spill over. "Who is going to protect him? He's my brother!" she cried out.

"Trust him," Sasuke said calmly, "he's more resourceful than you think."

A lone tear fell down her cheek as she spoke barely above a whisper, "…but he's my brother…"

Sasuke's chest grew tight as he thought of his own brother. The one who he followed when he was a kid and idolized…the one whom now he planned to kill in revenge for the death of his clan. He reached his hand up to brush the tear from her face before quickly redirecting his hand back to her shoulder. "Trust Naruto…trust me…"

She wiped away the tear that reached her chin and nodded. "I do trust you." She turned away from Sasuke to gaze where her brother was now totally encased in sand. Fear still flooded her body, but she was going to choose to trust both boys.

"This is the end for you," came the gravelly voice of Gaara. "Sand Coff—"

Namiko's eyes suddenly burned, and it took her a moment to realize it wasn't due to her tears. She heard Naruto's voice bellow out, "Summoning Jutsu!" A rush of wind made her and Sasuke both turn away and when they looked back, there stood a massive toad that was even bigger than Gaara's monster.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Gaara chuckled menacingly, "you really are good at amusing me."

Sasuke stared in shock. 'When I said he was more resourceful, this wasn't what I had in mind. How can he do that?' He turned to look at Namiko to see she didn't look nearly as shocked as he felt. "Did you know he could do that?"

Namiko smiled at him before turning to watch Naruto. "I did, but he's only done it once before. That's what Jiraiya-sama had Naruto working on the month before finals. That's Gamabunta…he's interesting…"

"What the—? Not you again!" bellowed Gamabunta at Naruto before taking in the beast before him. "Well, would you look at that…it's Shukaku the Sand Spirit…"

"What'dya say? Would you fight alongside me today, Toad Boss?" asked Naruto enthusiastically.

Gamabunta blew smoke from his pipe. "Take a hike."

Naruto yelled in shock, "WHAT?!"

Namiko face palmed before looking over at Sasuke. "See what I mean?"

Gamabunta continued on, "Why go out of my way to mess with a guy like him? What am I? An idiot?"

"Why?!" cried Naruto. "Are you kidding me?! You already told me you'd make me your henchman, didn't you? It's only natural a boss would want to help out his henchman, isn't it? Don't you have any sense of duty?"

"Yeah sure," said Gamabunta, closing his eyes, "I told you I'd make you my henchman, but we haven't sealed the deal over a cup of sake yet."

"Come on! I'm not even old enough to drink yet! I can't have alcohol!" Naruto said as he tugged on his blond hair in frustration.

Gamakichi hopped on top of Naruto's head. "Come on, pops, don't be like that. Why don't you just settle down and hear the kid out?"

Naruto looked up toward the toad on his head. "Pops?"

Gamabunta's voice bellowed out again, "Just what do you think you're doing here, Gamakichi?"

The small toad shrugged. "I had nothing better to do. I just came to hang out." He pointed a foot at Gaara. "By the way, pops, that big ugly lug over there was picking on me before."

Gamabunta narrowed his eyes at the beast in front of him. "Come again?"

Gamakichi smirked. "Oh yeah, and when he did, my friend here came to my rescue. He went head to head and toe to toe with that monster. I'm telling you, pops, there's a heckuva lot more to this kid than meets the eye."

"Is that right?" asked Gamabunta as he reached for his katana. "Okay, kid, you're hereby accepted as my henchman. Sit tight. I'll show you what duty is all about." He pulled the glistening sword from its sheath. "I'll take him down, but not before he's paid for what he's done."

Gamabunta leapt forward, sending Naruto grappling for a hold on the massive toad's head. The toad stabbed the sword into Gaara's Shukaku arm, slicing it off cleanly. The arm fell to the ground as did Gamabunta's sword, causing a gale-like wind.

Naruto popped over the top of Gamabunta's head, pointing near where Gaara currently was. "Hey, don't go over that way, Sakura, Sasuke, and Namiko are over there. Try to lure him this way."

"Who are they?" grumbled Gamabunta.

Gamakichi answered, "They're his friends, pop. They helped too, well, they tried."

"Interesting…" growled out Gaara. "Not bad, Uzumaki Naruto!" The sand on Shukaku's head started to move and Gaara appeared, slumped over, seemingly deep in thought.

Namiko felt a shift in the chakra and grabbed the edge of Sasuke's sleeve. "Something is going on. His chakra is becoming even darker and more sinister…I didn't even think that was possible!"

"I just saw that Suna kunoichi grab her brother and flee." Concern came over his face as he turned to her. "I have a feeling you're right, but our goal is still the same: stay safe and remove Sakura to safety whenever we can." Namiko nodded but didn't let go of his sleeve.

Naruto had noticed the strange appearance of Gaara as well. "What the heck is that?"

"A spiritualist medium," answered Gamabunta solemnly. "The circles around his eyes are signs of insomnia. Evidence that he's been possessed by the Shukaku. Those possessed by Shukaku the Sand Spirit are no longer able to sleep soundly through the night. The terror is too great. If one does sleep, Shukaku will eat away at their psyche, until the person that you once were ceases to exist.

"Since he doesn't sleep, the personality of the host becomes quite unstable. As long as the host is still awake, Shukaku's true power is held in check. The only danger is if the host falls asleep."

Gaara stood on Shukaku's head, pressed his hands together, and said, "Play Possum Jutsu…" His head slowly bent down as his eyes closed, until he slumped over fully unconscious.

"I don't like this at all, Toad Boss. What's going to happen?" asked Naruto hesitantly.

"If he's really just set the jutsu in motion, then the Shukaku will be unleashed!" Gamabunta's voice carried a hint of worry.

A new voice sounded from beast, one that was most certainly not Gaara, "Yes! I'm finally free! Here I come, baby!"

Naruto was confused. Shukaku didn't sound that intimidating. "Is that really the Sand Spirit?"

"Man, that is one funky demon," quipped Gamakichi.

Shukaku taunted them, "Here I come! I hope you're ready to die. Let's do this!" He took a breath in and the sand near his stomach shifted. "Wind Style: Air Bullet!" Out shot a large burst of air, headed straight for Gamabunta.

Gamabunta leapt high in the air before aiming back. "Water Style: Liquid Bullet!"

The attacks collided in the air, drenching everyone below. Sasuke looked up in wonder at the battle going on between the two massive creatures. "What kind of battle is this turning into?"

"Air Bullets!" "Liquid Bullets!" The attacks collided in midair again, but one of Shukaku's Air Bullets burst through the Liquid Bullets and hit Gamabunta.

"Woo-hoo! I got 'em! I killed 'em!" cheered Shukaku as he watched the brown smoke cloud fill the air where Gamabunta had been.

Gamabunta leapt out of the smoke. "That was an awful lot of chakra you just hit me with. I've got to admit, hit me with a couple more of those and even I won't last much longer."

"Toad Boss, what do we do?" asked Naruto.

"For starters," began Gamabunta, "you could wake up the host and then the jutsu will come undone!"

"How am I supposed to do that?" yelled Naruto.

"Just fire off a few rounds at him!" order Gamabunta as he and Shukaku traded attacks again. Gamabunta grabbed Shukaku by the shoulders to hold him still. "Now here's your chance!"

However, Gamabunta couldn't hold onto him and Naruto turned in agitation, "You gotta hold him still if you need me to wake Gaara!"

"I don't have any claws to hold him. I need to use a transformation jutsu, but I'm not good at them, so you'll have to be my hands and do it for me," suggested Gamabunta. "A combined transformation jutsu. Just think of something with claws and fangs!"

Naruto put his hands together as he stood atop Gamabunta's head. "Hey, hey, hey! Wait a second! Fangs and claws, fangs and claws…Transformation Jutsu!"

Smoke blocked their view, but once the smoke cleared, what Namiko saw nearly stopped her heart. 'The Kyuubi?! What the hell is going on?' Panic filled her once again and she looked toward Sasuke.

Sasuke was staring up at the creature in disbelief. "It can't be…the Kyuubi?"

Namiko froze. 'Naruto, you idiot! You summoned the— wait, there are no chakra changes, so it's not the kyuubi, just an illusion.' Namiko let out a sigh of relief. "It's just a transformation jutsu."

Sasuke was intrigued. 'When did he become so good at transformations? I know he's always goofed off with that Sexy Jutsu thing, but this is actually…impressive.'

The transformed duo grasped Shukaku by the arms and held on tightly. Naruto leapt from Gamabunta's head, breaking the transformation, as he landed a punch straight to Gaara's jaw. "Time to rise and shine! How's that?" Naruto said with a cocky grin.

"Good, not much time has passed since the host went under. That one blow should do the trick," explained Gamabunta.

"Aw! That's just great!" wailed the sand demon. "Give me a break, I just got here!"

He still pushed against Gamabunta." The jutsu may be broken, but this guy still has some fight left in him," said the toad.

Gaara's eyes flew open. "You disrupted my jutsu! Sand Coffin!" Sand started to come at Naruto from all sides, but Gamabunta quickly wrapped him with his tongue, preventing Gaara's sand from making contact. Gaara growled out in frustration, commanding the sand to slip under the toad's tongue and wrap around Naruto's legs.

Gamabunta groaned. "This isn't good. This guy is still going and Naruto and I have used up all our chakra…"

"I'll wipe you from the face of the earth. I will not cease to exist!" yelled Gaara.

Naruto scanned the forest below him. He saw Sakura, still pinned firmly to the tree, with Namiko and Sasuke sitting in a tree, watching his battle. All three looked worse for wear, and he knew if he didn't do something soon, they'd all be dead at the hands of Gaara. 'Okay, kyuubi, loan me some of your chakra. Just enough so I can protect everyone!' The seal on his stomach appeared as the kyuubi's chakra began to flow through him, a visible orange glow surrounding him.

Namiko rubbed her eyes again as they burned. 'This has to be because we both carry half of the kyuubi. Every time Naruto taps into the kyuubi's chakra when I'm near him, it affects me too. I don't want its help though!'

"I will protect everyone!" shouted Naruto. "Get ready, you crazy monster!" Naruto jumped to punch Gaara a second time, but his sand wrapped around the blond, keeping his hands and body still.

"I've had enough of you!" With that, Naruto head butted Gaara with all his might. Blood streamed down both their faces and Gaara's sand Shukaku crumbled around them, sending both boys hurtling to the ground.

Gamabunta had reached his limit and signaled to Gamakichi that they needed to leave. As the two disappeared, the force of the wind blew Gaara and Naruto into nearby trees. They sat up, blood still over their foreheads and trickling down their noses and cheeks, staring at each other from opposite sides of Gamabunta's sword that had been left behind.

"That's it, I've used up all my chakra," said Naruto, gasping for breath. "From the looks of it, so have you. You and I are a lot alike. More than you know. We shouldn't be doing this."

Gamabunta's sword disappeared in another puff of smoke, and Gaara and Naruto both leapt towards each other again, arms raised to punch. However, Naruto's brute strength won over, punching the Suna shinobi squarely on the jaw. They both tumbled to the ground, unable to move.

When Shukaku had started to crumble, Namiko looked over at Sakura, noticing the sand around her had started to loosen as well. She glanced at Sasuke. "Are you okay to move? Your chakra is so low."

He shrugged off her comment. "I'm fine. I'll grab Sakura, you grab your sword." After Namiko sheathed her sword, she helped Sasuke set Sakura gently on the ground as Pakkun leapt down to check on them.

Namiko stood back up, glancing at them with a smile. "I'm going to go look for my brother," she said as she took off without another word.

"Namiko! Wait, I'll come with—" Sasuke called out, but she had used teleportation jutsu and was long out of hearing range. He turned to Pakkun. "Stay here with Sakura," he told the dog and off he went in search of Naruto and Namiko.

"Damn brats, they never wait for two freaking seconds," sighed Pakkun as he sat next to Sakura.

Gaara panicked as he saw Naruto crawling on his belly toward him. "No! Stay away!"

"It's almost unbearable, isn't it? The feeling of being all alone. I know that feeling, I've been there…it's a dark and lonely place. But now, there are others, people who mean a lot to me. I care about them more than I do myself, and I won't let anyone hurt them." Naruto crept forward, centimeter by centimeter, pupils turning to slits in his blue eyes. "That's why I will stop you, even if I do have to kill you."

"Why would you do this for anyone but yourself?" asked Gaara, eyes wide in curiosity.

"Because they saved me from myself," answered Naruto. "They rescued me from my loneliness. They were the first to accept me for who I am. They're my friends…my family. I love them…"

A memory flashed back into Gaara's mind. 'Love? Is that the thing that makes him so strong?'

Namiko came to a sudden stop on the edge of the clearing before walking slowly up and kneeling next to her brother. "And we'll always be there for you and love you, nii-chan." She turned her gaze over to Gaara. "Gaara-san, you could have others to lean on too, if only you would open your heart and let them in. Love is the most powerful emotion we have. It can break us when we are rejected by those we love, but also when you push through and trust others through the hurt, you often find the people who love you more than you could ever imagine."

"She's right," agreed Sasuke as he knelt on the other side of Naruto. "Naruto, Sakura is safe now so you can relax. Everyone is safe thanks to you. You did it." A small smile ghosted across his face as he helped Naruto turn over onto his back. He nodded at Namiko to help him get Naruto in a sitting position.

Temari and Kankuro jumped down in a defensive position in between Gaara and the Konoha shinobi. Gaara's voice cut through the silence, "Don't. It's over…I surrender." Kankuro's and Temari's faces held a look between sympathy and shock; they'd never seen Gaara like this before, so calm and rational. Kankuro bent over and pulled Gaara's arm over his shoulders as he helped him to his feet. The Suna shinobi quickly left the trio behind.

A few moments later, Gaara spoke up, "Temari…Kankuro…I'm so sorry…"

Kankuro glanced at his brother as they leapt through the trees. "Don't mention it, Gaara. You're our brother…and…we love you…"

A soft smile graced Gaara's face as he finally drifted into unconsciousness. Maybe love really was what made people stronger…

Namiko suddenly felt her brother slump against her, smile on his face, and she glanced up at Sasuke. "He did good, didn't he?"

"He really did," said Sasuke as he pulled Naruto to his feet, arm draped over his shoulder.

"Where's Sakura?" Namiko asked, raising one dark eyebrow questioningly.

"Back with Pakkun." He said nonchalantly as he started to walk back to them.

Namiko went to the other side of Naruto, pulling his other arm over her shoulder to help bear the blond's weight. She gave a sigh. "Let's go get Sakura and go back home."

When they arrived back in Konoha, they were shocked at the scene in front of them. Part of the wall surrounding the village had been destroyed and worse…

Sandaime Hokage was dead.

A/N: I was actually able to post, though it was probably because of being sick all week, so I had plenty of time to write. I hope you enjoyed this twist on Naruto's Talk-No-Jutsu against Gaara. ;) See you next week as we finally see Itachi!

-Eriisu