It was the start of the fourth match. Sakura, waiting for her opponent, stretched on the arena floor. Naruto was regaling Sasuke with details on how his match went with the retired and waiting contestants confirming everything he doubted. Tenten did the same with Lee, who felt proud of his academy acquaintance. Their sensei couldn't believe his ears, so he questioned his eternal rival on his training regiment.

"Before their first real mission, all three did nothing but refine their taijutsu. And they did the same through the entire time we were in Wave, which was about a month. They kept training even when they were home. Sakura had excellent chakra control, so I taught her genjutsu while the boys kept competing with each other. I'm not sure what Naruto did under Anko; it sounds like he picked up some ninjutsu."

Tenten almost pouted with jealousy. "The Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu."

"Gale Palm Jutsu too by the sound of it." Kakashi hummed. "I thought he lacked real experience from only fighting Sasuke, but I didn't realize he's become that good."

"Against an opponent with the Sharingan, you must either move too fast for them to respond or blindside them. Which of the two has the lead?" Guy asked.

"I...don't keep track. All I know is Sasuke wins more often than not, but it's game over if Naruto manages to get him into a hold. When Sasuke doesn't see it coming, it's an automatic loss."

Lee pumped his fist into the air. "Then Naruto is equal to, if not better than, Sasuke, even with his Sharingan!"

Kakashi shrugged. "It's been over a month since I've seen them spar, and I didn't see the fight. Sasuke, as he is now, could've ended it without getting hit too." He eye-smiled at Guy's doubtful face. "Sakura would've had some trouble though."

"She's improved that much since the preliminaries?" Tenten asked.

"Let's say we weren't late just because we needed a new change of clothes."

Dosu took his place opposite of Team 7's female member. He wasn't sure what to do: the rest of his team was missing, and he hadn't received any contact since the preliminaries. His kekkai genkai unique to the Land of Rice, the sound nature transformation formed by wind and lightning, gave him an edge few ninja would ever expect.

"You're from the Sound Village, right?" Sakura's eyes narrowed. "The one formed by Orochimaru?"

He waved one of his overly long sleeves. "That's just a foul rumor."

"Actually, it's true; you might want to just kill this one," Genma said.

"…Aren't you supposed to be an impartial referee?"

He shot him a look. "I hate snakes." Raising an arm, he stepped back. "Begin!"

Dosu tried to raise his drill arm but caught a fist right in his throat and a knee to his gut. When he lurched over, he got an elbow to his spine that pushed him to the ground. A kick to his stomach flipped him on to his back. He managed to move his drill arm but couldn't block the punches to his nose and chin. Inky black unconsciousness became his world not even a minute into the fight.

"Winner!" Genma lowered it in the girl's direction. "Sakura Haruno!"

She stood up to face the crowd and felt a growing nausea. About three seconds later, she puked over the fallen Sound ninja. It was from a strange sense of unbalance rather than personal disgust. Her cheeks grew a pink tint as she made her way to the balcony, regaining her steadiness with every step.

"I guess she has the jitters?" Tenten choked down her own urge to vomit.

Kakashi shrugged. "She was fine during the preliminaries, but there are well over a hundred people here."

"Brilliant, Sakura!" Lee clapped his good hand against his thigh. "Excellent performance!"

Anko, back with the rest of Team 8 and two of her old academy classmates, held on to her sides laughing while they stared at the fallen ninja. "Oh man! I don't know if she meant to do that, but that was hilarious! Just imagine the look on that stupid mummy's face when he wakes up! Holy shit!"

Kiba looked at a distant orange-blue figure enjoying the aftermath just as much as she was. "You really are like him." He flinched at Hinata's cold gaze and pet his shivering dog.

"I know you didn't mean to do that, but that was fucking hilarious!" Naruto leaned against the railing as Sakura wall-walked over it and landed between her teammates.

Sasuke, eyeing the medics rushing to the Sound ninja, put a hand on her shoulder. "Still adjusting?"

"I just felt really sick for a moment." She glanced at him. "Your match is coming up." From the corner of her eye, she noticed Shikamaru shiver by Shino.

Naruto leaned back on the railing to glare at a trembling Gaara. "Remember what I said to Bushy Brows: kill him the first chance you get."

"I appreciate the concern, but I want to see what he can really do," Sasuke said.

"Don't be stupid!" The nervous Nara peeked out from the Aburame. "He's n–"

"He knows." Naruto interjected.

Sasuke turned to his teammate, realizing what he meant. "When did he?"

"It's complicated."

"This conversation is confusing," Shino chimed in. "I would like to know what the big secret is."

"Eh, you're probably about to see it."

Temari felt a bead of sweat go down the side of her face. "Uh, we can hear you?"

"Does it seem like I give a shit?" Naruto's eyes remained fixed on her brother's.

"Sasuke can handle it," Sakura said with a smirk. "I'm more worried about fighting him next and fighting you for the champion position."

Shino cleared his throat. "You should worry about me."

"I'm going to blow you away, Bug Boy." Temari scoffed.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Are you sure you're not going to just blow him? If you somehow win, I'm only going to spank your ass again in front of an audience." He grinned. "And I will literally do that until you forfeit!"

"You per–" Sand coiling around her body silenced her.

Gaara growled. "Shut. Up." He willed it to drag her to Kankuro and it did. "I'm going to kill all of you starting with the Uchiha." His eyes remained fix on the other jinchuriki. "But I'm going to take my time with you."

"Don't flatter yourself, runt; this isn't the Forest of Death. Your kekkai genkai can't save you from me anymore."

Sasuke scoffed. "It's not going to save him from me."

"Shh." Naruto inclined his head. "I'm fucking with him," he whispered.

"I know," he deadpanned.

Sakura giggled, even as they felt the Sand ninja's murderous intent. "I missed this so much."

"Troublesome. We're all going to die," Shikamaru said with a shake of his head.

"I still don't know what the big secret is." Shino placed a hand on the young man hiding behind him. "Tell me." He gradually inched his face closer. "Now."

"Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara!" Genma called out from the arena floor.

Immediately, the stadium filled with cheers. It was the main event of the first round and was expected to be of the entire tournament, though some people thought Naruto going up against another clan progeny after schooling one might've been better. There were many bets in place too. Little did anyone know just how much was riding on the match going a certain way.

Orochimaru smiled beneath his mask with the stolen face of the Fourth Kazekage. "What all the lords and shinobi here have been waiting for: the last of the Uchiha and our Gaara."

Sarutobi nodded. "His sand may be less durable than your gold, but it's far more plentiful." His eyes narrowed. "I'm curious to see how Sasuke fairs against such a formidable defense."

"Oh shit, here we go." Shikamaru watched with the rest of them as Gaara flickered away with a swirl of sand down.

"Get down here, Uchiha!"

Naruto patted him on the shoulder. "Fuck him up!"

"Yeah!" Sakura did the same to his other, using her free hand to pump a fist.

"That was the plan." Sasuke leaned back and let himself fall over the edge. He caught himself after flipping by planting his chakra-infused feet into the wall. "I'm going to show you the results of my training." With a launching jump, he cleared the distance between himself and the ground, landing some ways from his opponent.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Troublesome. What is with everyone's crazy entrances?"

"Not our fault you lack swagger and style." Naruto smirked.

"I like my bones where they are."

Shino hummed. "I am unsure of how to make such an entrance with my physical conditioning as well." He glanced at the poster child for unnecessary flourishes of ability. "What would you recommend?"

"I guess you can go in with your bugs as a kind of cloud or cape."

He nodded. "I understand your meaning, and I will take your recommendation into consideration."

"Not you too." Shikamaru groaned.

"You don't have to be here, but your laziness confines you." He turned to Kankuro. "As for you, I find it hard to believe you care about your sister to the extent you would support her like this. The spectator seats are not that far away even if you were." His tone conveyed his meaning where everything else about him did not. "Why are you here?"

"Lay off, frea–" The Sand ninja paused as Naruto froze mid bounce-step punch.

Shikamaru, crouched with the rat sign, felt sweat run down his brow. "Just like old times."

Sakura patted her teammate on the shoulder. "Hey." Her voice was as gentle and warm as her touch.

"...Hey." He looked to his old detention buddy with calm eyes and walked back to his position after being released.

"Word of advice: stay away from certain F words." Shikamaru rose and shook his head. "They rub people the wrong way around here."

Shino hummed. "Thank you, Naruto."

"I didn't do that for you, but you're welcome." He blinked and glanced at Sasuke staring off a muttering Gaara with his sand going crazy. "Holy shit, did we miss the start of the match?!"

"My analysis drew everyone's attention for once, my apologies."

"Does your Tailed Beast speak to you or are you deranged on your own?" Sasuke tilted his head at the sand forming another Gaara. "If that can't use jutsu and is just as fragile as a normal solid clone, you just wasted your chakra." He walked forward at a casual pace. When the sand clone charged, he launched himself to the side, keeping one foot on the ground to steer himself to the real one's side. The impact between his fist and sand armor was all too satisfying.

It all happened in an instant.

Naruto laughed as their teammate didn't give his opponent time to react or move. "He's lucky he's fighting a dumbass who lets his jutsu do all the work for him!"

"Think you can keep up?" Sakura asked, smirking.

"All I need to do is adjust my timing. Good speed at the expense of mobility leaves you open to anyone who's not an idiot, even if you have good timing of your own." He grinned at the onslaught focused on the Sand ninja's head. "Look who's taking my advice!"

"Come on! You know he's following his own intuition!"

"I wouldn't put it behind him, but I thought of it first back in the preliminaries when Bushy Brows beat him around instead of making an opening."

Guy stared, wide-eyed, at the boy's movements. "Now what kind of training regiment did you have him do?!"

"He's moving just like Lee!" Tenten glanced at her shaky teammate.

"Practicing taijutsu in a mountainous area," Kakashi said. "He memorized your student's movements with his Sharingan, and I gave him a few pointers."

"So you had them train for a month wearing the weights of elevation and practicing footwork! Kakashi, you genius! I'm stealing that like your student stole mine's movements!"

"Well, it's not like I owned it; go ahead."

Tenten twitched at her bowl-cut teammates' enthusiastic cheers. "Is now really the time?"

"Yes!" They cried in unison.

Gaara growled in frustration as the sand armor on his face was beaten off almost entirely. While not as fast as Lee when he used his forbidden technique, the Uchiha's attacks were meticulous. His sand was moving to replace what was lost from the rest of his body, but that was just a sign the tactic was working. The clone he made was ignored completely and a waste of sand. It was too early yet he didn't have much of a choice if he wanted to win or even survive.

Sasuke's brow furrowed at his enemy making the tiger seal and encasing himself in a dome of sand. He could've rushed in, but there was a chance he would be crushed. Moving to the dome's flank, he jumped back to see no sign of the sand clone. Gaara was either preparing for something big or trying to use his aggressiveness against him. "Show me what you can do!" He back-flipped on to the arena wall and squatted. "Don't hold back!"

"Dammit! Not now!" Temari stared at the dome in horror alongside her brother, attracting looks from the other contestants.

"This must be how the runt transforms. Shukaku isn't like the rest of us: strongest in the desert where there's sand to fall back on, not like that was ever enough to beat me. Unless that Uchiha has a powerful new jutsu or interrupts it, he's going to die."

Naruto scoffed. "I guess that idiot really is pathetic enough to rely on that thing." He smirked at the Sand ninjas' surprised faces. "Talks to a voice that isn't there, everyone's scared of him, and has a strange power that acts on its own? Don't you think it's obvious?"

"Wait," Sakura said, "you hear a voice?"

"Oh fuck, you're one too?!" Kankuro swallowed and stepped back.

Temari joined him. "That's why he wants to kill you so much!"

"I would like very much to know what is going on," Shino said, turning to the rest of his comrades. "Please."

Shikamaru groaned as he stared at the dome of sand below. "You're about to find out, and I think the rest of today is going to be so fucking troublesome." He glanced at a bouncing delinquent. "Uh?"

"It's going to get loose! It's going to attack the spectators! Someone's going to have to drop in!" Naruto squealed in excitement. "I'm going to look so awesome! Old Man Hokage's going to be so proud! Everyone's going to be so fucking speechless!"

"I really don't know who you are anymore."

Sakura shot her present partner a look. "Now is not the time to be an attention whore, and Sasuke's still fighting."

"Doesn't matter! This match is going to spiral out of control!"

The Sand siblings would laugh at how little he knew that statement was true if it wouldn't give them away. When they saw the signal, they'd run out of that balcony as fast as possible. They came to the Chunin Exams expecting to stomp the competition but found out the hard way why the Leaf is still standing despite being between every Ninja Village. Chances were, even with the surprise attack, their plans would fail. If they did enough damage or hurt too many people and still lost, the Leaf would be inclined to burn their village to the ground in retaliation. Lucky there were other powers that would step in if they saw the Leaf weak.

It some time for the dome of sand to begin expanding. Strange feathers began to fall from the sky to accompany it. Black lines appeared along the growing sand formation. Few people understood exactly what was going on with the sand, but all shinobi and those aware of genjutsu knew what the feathers meant.

Naruto, Sakura, and Shino made the tiger seals to withstand the sleeping effect while Kankuro rode on Temari's fan with her away. Shikamaru seemingly fell unconscious on the floor of their balcony. It took them just two seconds to understand what was happening.

Kiba and Hinata, having a genjutsu specialist for a jonin, joined the chunin duo and Anko in dispelling the genjutsu. The chunin drew their weapons to force back springing assailants before Anko just threw her dango skewers through their throats.

The second the present jonin completed the seal, they began slaughtering the enemy ninja. Kurenai put them under genjutsu, and Asuma slashed through them with his chakra blades. Guy and Kakashi were the equivalent of two whirlwinds, one of thrashing limbs and the other of black metal, around the former's students. Hiashi Hyuga's distaste for violence and warfare was reserved for situations where his precious kin weren't threatened, so the Sand and Sound ninja that went anywhere close to him were gifted with chakra shooting through their hearts. Genma retreated from the arena floor to the nearest balcony, evading and returning shuriken. Raido, cut off from the Hokage by Sound ninja disguised as anbu, blew back charging foot soldiers and their ninja tools with a controlled ball of fire.

Sakura dropped to Shikamaru, made the release sign, blinked, and punched him in the gut. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" She grabbed his springing body by the shoulders and shook him. "We're being attacked and you pretend to sleep!? You asshole!" From the corner of her eye, she saw Naruto attach himself to the wall. "Wait!"

"Stay together! I'll back up Sasuke!"

"You!" She laughed at his earnest smile, giving in to his whims. "Come back with him!"

Nodding, he spared a glance at the growing sand creature in the arena before taking off to their isolated comrade. The Uchiha finished pummeling one foolish, barely-chunin-level ninja when he was flanked by another. He kicked them between the legs, jumped up to grab his taller opponent, slipped his arms underneath his, and held on to the back of his neck. "Behind you!"

Sasuke spun on his heel and crushed the defenseless man's throat in one fluid motion. "Thanks!" He looked down at the emerging Tailed Beast. "I actually don't know if I'm ready for that."

Naruto let go of his good-as-dead enemy and attached his feet against the wall before he could fall with him. "Just leave it to me!"

"Are you going to transform too?"

"Fuck no!" He laughed. "I'm going to become a candidate for Hokage."

"...What?"

A dangerous grin spread across Naruto's face. "Keep them off my back."

It was irresponsible to let the other jinchuriki complete his transformation, but he didn't care. There was something he wanted to do and prove, just like Sasuke. Only he had a jutsu and the reserves to pull it off. At the very least, it would be extremely demoralizing for the enemy if their secret weapon was demolished using somewhat regular ninja methods.

Danzo arrived late to the final stage of the Chunin Exams. He knew what was going to happen, and he was conflicted over being a part of it or not. There was much at risk. Risking his life meant nothing to him, but he was concerned what would happen to the village if he died. At the same time, it would be disastrous if his old rival died. It was a lose-lose scenario. Chances were he'd be facing down the same mob of rabble ninja crowding a hall in his way.

"You should be scared, old man," one of the Sound said.

"Feelings are the enemy of all shinobi." He drew a shuriken from his pocket. "And I have no need to be scared of carrion for the vultures." With a single blow of his lips, it was infused with chakra. A flick of his fingers turned it into a wind saw.

They threw shuriken and kunai at him, but the vacuum shuriken shifted to a diagonal in the air to block. Only a few had time to jump when it went horizontally into them. Those lucky few weren't so lucky as it went up after them, bisecting what was left.

When the wind chakra vanished, he drew the shuriken back into his hand through movements of his chakra-stringed fingers. "I always thought you'd be the first out of us to die." He walked through the bloodied hall with insides strewn about at a brisk pace, still wary of expending his energy. "Strange how circumstances throw our expectations back in our faces."

The Shinobi of Darkness faced battle once more. Decades without proper conflict passed for him, but it was negligible in face of an enemy that underestimated him due to appearance alone. He was once and still was the God of Shinobi's only rival. Everyone who got in his way would suffer for their ignorance.

While Kotetsu and Izumo protected the two genin and unintentionally created openings for Anko to skewer snipe, the former star student of Orochimaru felt her curse mark burn. They were informed ahead of time there was going to be some kind of attack. Whether it was Orochimaru wanting to see if he can destroy the village, trying to capture Naruto, trying to capture Sasuke, or all three they, except her, weren't sure of. It was him eating his cake and having it too. His first target would be the biggest obstacle in his way: the Hokage.

"Can you two dumbasses hold out on your own?!"

Kotetsu rolled out a scroll, summoning a mace formed of a massive shell. "Kids, can you fight?!"

"Yeah!" Kiba crouched as Akamaru scurried on to his back. With a hand seal, his pet dog turned into another him. "Let's do this!"

Hinata activated her Byakugan and dropped into a stance. "My wounds are still healing, but I will not be a burden!"

"Good!" Izumo's brow furrowed. "Do what we tell you, and we'll live through this." He blocked a thrown kunai, put his blade against one a Sand ninja tried to stab him with, deflecting the blow; and jabbed the tip through his throat before throwing his dying body to the side. "Anko?!"

She left the moment they received confirmation from their charges. Looking up to the top of the Kage balcony, she saw a barrier in place and knew it was happening. The man she hated the most and the man she loved the most were about to kill each other.

"Damn! We could've used some help." He glanced at the Hyuga. "Scout for routes to safer areas, hidden enemies, and other Leaf ninja!" He couldn't afford to look at Kiba as a Sound ninja took the place of the Sand. "Inuzuka! You scout for hidden enemies too but flank when we need it!"

The two members of Team 8 nodded, knowing better than to protest in their current situation.

Sakura, Shino, and Shikamaru were left alone in the contestant balcony. While the awakening Tailed Beast was a concern, that was far beyond their current level. Facing an invasion of foreign ninja was more fair. Both were still difficult and not ideal though.

"Where's Neji?"

Shino pointed at the hall leading deeper into the arena construct rather than out. "He is in no condition to fight, but it would be wrong to leave a comrade to die."

"Troublesome." Shikamaru flinched when the only female smacked him over the head. "Sorry, I just really wanted to sleep through this entire thing."

She started rushing down the hall, the boys following her. "They would've killed you!"

"No, I'm a Nara: they would've held me hostage or turned me into a breeding stud."

"Eww!"

"It's true. Those Cloud assholes tried to kidnap Hinata when she was a kid."

"But… Hinata's a girl."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "She's part of the main branch, so she doesn't have a seal that could kill her if need be. Her father only had girls. They kind of had no better options."

"You're telling me Neji and the rest of the branch family have a kill switch?" Sakura flinched at the two nodding. "That's really fucked up."

"Clan secrets and kekkai genkai are important, but I understand your disgust. To do such a thing to family, is...extreme," Shino said.

"Clan politics are so troublesome." Shikamaru sighed as they reached the medical room door. "Speaking of troublesome."

They opened it and found Neji surrounded by a dozen fallen Sand and Sound ninja.

He turned to face them and inclined his head. "We have been betrayed." Lacking control of his fingers, he pointed his arm at a conscious and terrified Dosu. "He insists he has nothing to do with this and wishes to defect."

"I have an uncommon kekkai genkai." The lost Sound ninja laughed. "But I guess that's not saying much in the face of three Leaf Village clan members."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "And why should we believe you?"

"I'd demonstrate, but I'm terrified and have no idea why I'm even here. If you're going to kill me, just make it fast."

Shino stepped forward. "I can drain him of chakra to incapacitate him, but he will slow us down."

"I say we just leave him," Shikamaru chimed in. "If he was going to try something, he would already: Neji is surrounded by what should be his comrades, but he hasn't made a move." He turned to the Hyuga. "Has he?"

"No."

Sakura nodded. "Then let's go." She turned and led them through the door. "We're not going to survive long on our own."

"I'll scout ahead." Neji activated his Byakugan and nearly tripped. "What the hell is that in the arena?!"

"A Tailed Beast." Shikamaru groaned.

"What?!"

Sakura frowned. "It's a long story."

And then they felt it.

"I'M FINALLY FREEEEEEEEE!"

"Ah fuck."

It was a sentiment shared by everyone else in the arena, even the Sand and Sound ninja. A Tailed Beast was a force of nature. Only the best of Kage could match, and theirs was, unknown to them, trapped. Even then, the sheer presence of the creature was enough to dissuade them. Proper guidance could let it destroy the Leaf Village.

Shukaku was a magnificent sight to those unfamiliar with the Tailed Beasts, which was almost everyone. The One-Tail was dwarfed by the rest, but that wasn't relevant to those witnessing it. Survivors of the Nine-Tails attack felt similar dread at the odd chakra. While not as strong, it was more than enough.

"Where is he?!" It looked into the balconies, paralyzing all ninja caught in its gaze. "That mangy fox's brat!"

Sasuke gaped at the One-Tail. "Is beating that even possible?" He turned to a shaking, grinning Naruto. "Be serious!"

"Dammit! Don't tell me he ran away! After all of that talk about being on my level!"

"Well, it seems like this might be it, Kakashi," Guy said. He extended his hand and a thumb. "Yo–"

His eternal rival grabbed it. "Not yet!" He glanced at the distant figure of his ecstatic punk student. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but Naruto might have a plan."

Tenten took advantage of their enemies' uneasiness and littered them with shuriken, albeit far more imprecisely than usual. "What could he possibly do against that?!"

"Come on, Nine-Tails! Show me how much better yours is!"

Anko looked from the Tailed Beast to the barrier around the Hokage. There was a much greater pain in her chest. She could only try and save one.

"Fine! I'll just blow it all away!" Shukaku opened his mouth and gathered chakra into a ball in it. "Pre–"

"One-Tailed Runt!"

The ball of chakra ceased as he began to turn "You!"

Naruto created a single clone and threw him over. "I'm going to show all of you!" He pointed his thumb at himself. "I'm the one!" He let his excitement growl in his voice. "With power!"

"Please, yo–"

The arena erupted in light.

When those watching opened their eyes, they saw more than half of the Tailed Beast's body missing.

"Holy shit!" Sasuke watched his comrade launch himself off the wall and did the same to avoid a retaliating blast of wind that broke chunks off the structure.

"He's got this," Anko whispered to herself, tears of pride in her eyes. She continued to the Kage balcony with no further doubts. "It's your turn, old man!"

Kakashi shared a look with his best friend. "I refuse to be outdone by a genin, much less my own student." He lifted his forehead protector.

"Let's do this, Kakashi!" Guy's face body turned red as he activated the Eight Inner Gates.

Izumo and Kotetsu blitzed the shocked enemy ninja, cutting them apart and smashing them. They were too slow to resist the Kibas launching combo. Even Hinata in her wounded state took down more than a few. It was impossible for them to hold back or resist. What they witnessed made them all feel inadequate, and they needed to prove that feeling wrong.

Naruto stared down what was left of the Tailed Beast, brought his fingers together to split what was left of his chakra into more explosive clones, and grinned during his descent. His body hit the arena floor hard enough to break more than a few of his bones, but it was that or die. "Are you watching, asshole?"

"I am." The Nine-Tails answered.

"And?" He watched what was left of Shukaku's upper body get blown away after his clones latched on to it, leaving only Gaara left to fall down and join him. "Come on, tell me."

"It's beautiful."

He laughed when the other jinchuriki smacked against the ground. "Damn right!" He groaned at his damaged insides and raised an eyebrow at the other's shaking form. "Still alive, huh?"

"Stay… Stay away."

"No more sand left… No more armor. It's scary, isn't it?"

Gaara's eyes widened. "What?"

"Getting hurt; getting close to people." Naruto's voice broke. "And when you do, they hurt you, right?" His vision blurred as tears fell from his eyes. "You try to be different, better, and they still look at you like there's something wrong with you. They hide behind expectations, but that's just their excuse for staying the same while you actually try." He laughed, bitter and weak. "Someone you loved really hurt you, didn't they? After everything, even when you forgive them, they still hurt you, so you started hurting them?"

"...He tried to kill me, so I killed him."

"I thought about doing that so many times, but I didn't think it'd change anything. Too many people care about me, and I don't want to disappoint them." He smiled. "It's pathetic: I don't want to be alone, even when most people make me feel alone." He looked up to the blue sky. "I want to be loved, but I don't even know what love is."

"I...understand." Gaara joined him.

While the battle for the Leaf Village raged on above and outside, two cursed children found peace, even if it was for a moment. It wouldn't last. That was the way of their world, but they'd enjoy it while it was there.

AN: Konoha Crush time! I congratulate those who saw the Explosive Shadow Clone Jutsu coming from a mile away. What happens next might surprise you or it won't. At the very least, you'll be entertained. This will put this fic at 100k+ words: the size of a novel. And it's this fic's monthly anniversary. Extremely auspicious timing.

The Sound Kekkai Genkai thing is just my fanon. Seems like the only thing that would result in sound, lightning being vibrations and wind carrying it and all. Sure I'm not the one that came up with it or maybe stole it from somewhere.

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the form of a review or PM.