Orochimaru stood on the roof of the balcony he sat beside his old teacher on. He partially resurrected and thralled the first and second Hokage. Had the Fourth not used the Reaper Death Seal, he could've had him join the battle against the Third. All of his attention was focused on the spectacle that occurred in the arena beneath them.

"I keep trying to write him off as a vessel, but Minato and Kushina's little boy truly is something else!"

Sarutobi, clad in his old war gear, stared down his old mentors and student. "Naruto has suffered enough! He has prevailed through every obstacle, including his own failure!" His gaze steeled. "I will not let you fulfill your twisted fantasies with him! Even if we were all to fail, he would stop you himself!"

"I remember when you had the same faith in me." Orochimaru smiled at the pained look of realization on the old man's face. "He despises this village. Deep down, he resents you!" Tilting his head, he giggled. "He asked you about his father and mother, didn't he? Do you expect him to ever forgive you for hiding it?"

"...No, I do not expect him to ever forgive me, but I know he will understand one day."

"What do you think will happen when he discovers the truth?" He giggled again when his old mentor winced. "He'll become me either way. All the lies and shunning will carry him down a familiar road."

The staff in the Hokage's hand, the transformed Monkey King Enma, glared at his old friend. "Enough talk; do what must be done."

"I understand." He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed. Opening them, he felt his heart ache at the sight of the familiar faces before him. They would show him no mercy, so he would show them none.

Of the countless regrets in his life, Sarutobi was certain his lies and inability to bond with the child were his biggest. He loved him, but he could not make him understand that he did. There was no one truly there in his life. It was meant to protect him. Ironic the harm it really did.

Jinchuriki were a complicated strategic resource for a village. They weren't liked, they were necessary, but they were extremely dangerous. Few ever formed a functional relationship with their Tailed Beasts. Those that could were some of the most powerful shinobi to ever live. Even when the relationship was dysfunctional, they were still more powerful than an average shinobi. A full manifestation of a Tailed Beast's form was either a sign they were breaking out or worked out some kind of deal with their jinchuriki. It was supposed to be unstoppable, but all ninja present witnessed the impossible: a genin defeated a fully formed Tailed Beast.

Temari and Kankuro, having regrouped with their sensei on a balcony after the genjutsu went into effect, stared at the sight of their brother, beaten and spent, next to his opponent. "Gaara!"

Baki clapped his hands together, forming a gust to blow back shuriken and kunai thrown by Leaf shinobi. "Retrieve him and retreat!" His eye narrowed. "I'll deal with them."

The Sand siblings nodded and immediately stepped over the railing on to the arena wall. A Leaf ninja blew a fireball at them, but it was blown away by a Gale Palm courtesy of their sensei. They darted down towards the last of their trio.

"You're good," Genma said, walking towards him and gesturing for everyone to get back.

"And wh–" He side-stepped from a kunai thrown from behind. Spinning on his heel, he turned to face both sides and saw Raido with his hand extended. The two joined their hands to make signs, so he wisely jumped over the edge and attached himself to the wall, avoiding the wind-enhanced blast of an even bigger fireball. He clapped his hands to Gale Palm away supporting shuriken and kunai from the lesser ninja. "This will be troublesome."

While Baki held off two of the Leaf's best and a half dozen supporting ninja, Temari and Kankuro rushed through the arena floor with no issue. All the fighting was isolated to the balconies once Shukaku fully manifested. Getting out would be hard with how bad the attack was going on their side of the end. The rest of the village was likely fairing worse with their most experienced ninja preoccupied in the stadium. They'd be home free if they got over the wall.

Sasuke flickered to his fallen comrades side when they reached theirs. "Not a chance!" He brought his hands together to form seals as the two drew their weapon.

Naruto lifted his upper body, to great discomfort, and grabbed his wrist. "It's okay." He looked to the paused Sand ninja. "They just want to protect him too."

"What?" Gaara whispered, glancing at the worried faces of his siblings. He flinched when his brother picked him up.

"It's alright. We'll patch you up as soon as we get out of here."

"I… I don't understand."

Temari looked down at him. "You're hurt really bad." She looked to the opening in the arena wall created by his Tailed Beast's wind blast. "We'll go out through there."

"Should we really just let them go?" Sasuke asked, glancing from his comrade to his supposed enemies running up the wall.

Naruto groaned. "I just beat a fucking Tailed Beast, that guy is out of it, and I don't have the chakra to do that again if it somehow bursts free one more time."

"Well." He looked to the combat-heavy balconies. "We do have other problems: the rest of the village is likely under attack too."

"I can still fight, I think." Naruto stood up, took a step forward, and stumbled into Sasuke's warm shoulder.

He started walking him towards the contestant balcony. "Take it easy. We'll regroup with the others; they're probably trying to join with the jonin. Once this place is secured, we'll be sent out to drive back the invaders. You've done your part already."

"It was awesome, right?!"

"That was insane!" Sasuke laughed.

Gaara, limp in his brother's oddly warm arms, groaned as they darted through the foliage surrounding the Leaf Village. "Temari… Kankuro." For the first time in a long time, tears emerged from his eyes. "I'm sorry."

Kankuro shared a look with his sister and focused on the greenery ahead. "Don't worry about it." He smirked at the relief in his chest. "You're our little brother."

"Forgiving each other is what siblings do." Temari nodded, holding back tears.

They kept going together as a family united. While they hoped Baki would escape, they left him in accordance with his orders before he was surrounded. It was unlikely, but he was the best the Sand had to offer other than Gaara. At least they had each other.

Outside of the Four Flames Formation barrier jutsu isolating Orochimaru and Sarutobi from the rest of the world, two men stood guard. The four ninja maintaining it were powerful, but they were by no means the best. One of the two was probably one of the most dangerous ninja in his entire generation while the other had abilities few could counter or conceive of. Any ninja that managed to break through the barriers protecting the four would have to deal with them.

Anko walked on to the balcony roof from one of the supporting pillars. "Old Ma–" She froze at the sight of two grown test subjects.

"It's her!" The orange-haired teenager in plain clothes stepped back, trembling.

"Everything is okay, Jugo." His silver-haired friend put a soothing hand on his shoulder. "I won't let her hurt you."

"Of course he'd bring you two along." She let the black flame marks spread over her body.

"For someone who forsook Lord Orochimaru, you are quick to use his gifts." Odd maze-like lines grew over his.

Anko laughed. "Kimimaro, you delusional brat!" She drew some shuriken from the pockets hidden in her coat. "This is just as much mine."

He glanced at his shaking friend. "Stay back."

"No!" He stomped forward, the side of his body taking on a stony appearance. "I won't let you face this bitch alone!"

"Bitch?! Oh, Little Lab Rat Jugo thinks he can talk down to his betters! Looks like he wants to help me freshen up on my anatomy!" She blew wind chakra over her shuriken, threw one horizontally to make them jump towards her thanks to the little space they had, and threw another after.

They hardened their limbs, one with protruding bone and the other through altering his flesh, to block the cutting wind. It halted them long enough for their enemy to create a shadow clone. While they could withstand slices, they weren't of the right durability to stop a curse mark amplified thrusting Gale Palm from blowing them back.

Anko laughed. "Did you forget who I am!?" She and her clone went through different hand signs. A great fireball blew from her lips and a gust of wind from her clone's elevated it to the point someone would mistake it for a dragon breathing fire. Cruel delight filled her mind when she saw the two jump off the roof, half-burnt, to avoid being fully scorched by the blast.

Kimimaro propped Jugo up with his shoulder, keeping him from falling. The lines on his body grew in number. "We can't hold back. Lord Orochimaru is counting on us." He turned his head to see an old man walking away from the mutilated remains of Sand and Sound ninja, a single shuriken in his unconcealed hand.

"Orochimaru, you say?" Danzo blew on his shuriken, flicked it, and murmured when they deflected it. "Troublesome." His robe parted as he took out his burn-scarred arm. With a single hand sign, he blew them back and into a far away wall with the Great Breakthrough jutsu before they could spring on him. He continued on his way to save his old friend, armed with the knowledge he was on the roof, by walking up the support pillars.

Anko turned and nearly threw a shuriken at the old man when his sandals clacked against the tile. "What the fuck are you doing here?!"

"Saving Hiruzen from himself, Mitarashi." His visible eye narrowed at the barrier. "Judging from the four wretches still breathing, I assume they are also protected?"

"One of them should've been scorched by my combination jutsu so yeah."

He glanced at the odd markings on her face before focusing on one of the barrier casters. "Then both of us must attack. I will use the Vacuum Blast Barr–"

"You bitch!" Jugo yelled. A strange collection of molded tubes firing chakra from his back launched him into the air. The entirety of his body was altered, making him look like a demon rather than a young man. He carried a dark-skinned, bony-tailed Kimimaro, bones jutting from his back, in his sturdy arms.

Anko let her curse mark progress into its second stage to match. "That uppity lab rat is mine! Bones can fire them and manipulate them outside his body, so keep your distance and watch out!"

"That won't be necessary." Danzo drew a kunai, coated it with his breath, and held the scimitar-like wind chakra blade out with finesse. When Jugo threw Kimimaro over, he jumped over a formation of bone twisted into a drill around the boy's arm. He slashed into his neck the second he landed on the bone but the vacuum blade only went half an inch in thanks to well-timed bone protrusion. "Too shallow." He threw the blade at Jugo before he could launch himself at his unlikely ally, jumped, formed the tiger seal, and blew Kimimaro into the barrier, igniting him in purple fire.

Anko saw Jugo distracted with anger and concern, so she went through six hand seals in a second to blast him with a concentrated lightning bolt, aiming to throw off his increased physical abilities through damaging his nervous system. Grinning at a cry of anguish, she undid the band in her hair before diving after the descending boy. "My least favorite brat!" She kicked her legs into his unsteady form, slamming him into the ground and forming a crater on the balcony steps.

He raised a shaky, bulky hand to protect himself. Unfortunately he was too unsteady to move it in the way of her unnaturally powerful palm aimed at his face. "I h-hate you!" His eyes widened as her golden-skinned fingers reached for one. "Please don't!"

"Aww, I'll make it quick!" She rammed her digits into his socket and tore out its blackened gold contents. "Sample 18!" Laughing at his screams, she crushed the eye. "Just grow another!" She crossed her pointer and ring fingers to create a shadow clone. "We had some good times, but I have a cuter, grateful boy to play with now." They went through different hand seals together. "Bye bye!" She breathed her point-blank fireball first before her clone boosted it with the lesser Breakthrough Jutsu. The blood-curdling screams he made reminded her of many pleasant, albeit shameful, memories. When she stopped, she shook her head at the toasted body leftover as her clone poofed out of existence. "Should've stayed in the fucking cage."

"I'm sorry," he choked out. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please...stop."

Anko's golden eyes widened before her features returned to normal. "No... I'm sorry, Jugo." She looked away from her handiwork. "I should've protected you, nurtured you, and taken you with me, but I didn't do any of that. You'll be alright." She stepped on to the nearest supporting pillar. "Neither me nor Orochimaru will ever hurt you again."

All the other conflicts in the stadium thankfully concealed her transformation and horrible actions. It didn't make her feel better about herself. The combination jutsu was meant to kill him, not incapacitate. His particular kekkai genkai made death by unnatural means extremely difficult and enhanced his natural abilities to assist in protecting him. They modeled the Cursed Seal of Heaven after it, but its benefits were limited compared to the real thing.

The final Leaf contestants were looking at one of their own. Not long ago, they all felt the presence and heard the voice of a Tailed Beast. Only one of them got the opportunity to see it for real. He was also the only one who got to see how it was dealt with. They were as confused as he was taken back.

"What the hell happened?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow at the Hyuga's gaping mouth.

Shino hummed. "It must have been dealt with in a spectacular, swift manner."

"Yes." Neji blinked. "Naruto… threw an exploding clone at it and then made more clones to destroy what was left."

"Now you are making a poor attempt at a disarming joke."

"Does he seem like the type to joke?" Shikamaru said, shaking his head. "He was so excited because he was sure he had something that could take it." He groaned. "Now Ino's going to want to train even harder; so troublesome."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You're telling me Naruto took down a Tailed Beast?"

"That is what happened," Neji said as he stared out into nothing.

"Naruto...did something only Kage are known to be capable of?"

"Yes."

"I feel extremely inadequate." Shino looked down the hall. "Does anyone wish to join me in taking their feelings out on the enemy?"

All but Shikamaru made affirmative noises. Each knew Naruto as the dead last. He was supposed to have flunked out or given up ages ago. Now, he was beyond any of them in terms of feats. It was likely he'd be made jonin after a stunt like that, never mind their desperate scrambling to be made chunin.

Sakura balled her hands into fists. "Let's fuck them up!"

They charged forward as one of them lagged behind, shaking his head and muttering 'troublesome' under his breath all the while. Sakura and Neji were the rampaging vanguard while Shino added in shuriken or dropped in to cover their missteps. Shikamaru kicked a few that were down to make sure they weren't pretending and to finish them off. The balcony next to theirs was sparse in terms of enemies, but they still made quite a racket engaging them.

"Alright!" Ino rose from her seat, having spent the entire time playing sleeping civilian, and threw a kunai into one of the Sand ninja's back when they went for her comrades. "Let's go Choji!" She glanced at the pudgy boy, blinked, and punched him. "Oh come on!"

He shot up. "What's the big i–" He blinked at his surroundings.

"We're under attack!" Neji sprung over the sleeping crowd and face-palmed a Sound ninja's head into a nearby seat before he could attack the Akimichi.

Sakura weaved out the way of a kunai, launched herself over to its thrower, gut-checked him, followed with an upper cut, and dropped to avoid a flurry of shuriken from another enemy ninja. "If there are this many here, how many are outside?!"

"Depends on the enemy's goals!" Shino picked up a kunai and threw it into her assailant's throat.

Ino threw a shuriken into one trying to sneak up on Neji. "Obviously they're trying to hurt us!"

"But who and why?!" Choji expanded his arm, grabbed a Sand ninja, and chucked him over the railing.

A long-haired man in a loose robe and brown haori holding a girl resembling him in his arms landed on the balcony railing. "That's a good question."

"Lord Hiashi!" Neji spun on his heel and elbowed a Sound ninja in the gut before following up with a knee to his chin. "Lady Hanabi!"

He stepped off the railing on to the balcony proper and let go of his daughter. "Still haven't recovered from your match with Naruto Uzumaki, I see." He sprung toward one assailant, finger-jabbed his heart, launched himself to the next to do the same, and repeated the process, clearing out half of the balcony by himself.

Hanabi's face, despite remaining stoic, beamed. "He blew up the mean tanuki!"

"Who did what now?" Choji asked, crushing a grown man's bones with his giant hand.

"Naruto beat a Tailed Beast all on his own!" Sakura kicked a Sand ninja in the crotch and put them in a head lock when they lurched over. "That crazy, hyperactive punk!"

He dropped to the ground to avoid shuriken. "...What?"

Hiashi sprung to and took out the man pressuring the boy. "Young man, you may have just slept through one of the biggest moments in your lifetime." He saw one draw a kunai at the sight of his unprotected daughter only to get taken down by his nephew. "There is no need for you to protect the main branch; Hanabi would've dodged that."

"I'm protecting my family," Neji said, smiling as his other cousin gazed at the fallen man in disappointment.

They took down the last of the enemy ninja in the area and were joined by Shikamaru by the railing.

"Of the eight balconies, three are clear: the one you came from, where we are now, and where the nobles and government officials were." The Hyuga pointed to the leftmost one to them, where Raido and Genma were fighting Baki. "There." He drifted right to the one with Kakashi and Guy visibly murdering every enemy ninja within their senses. "Well, we don't need to worry about that one." He turned to the unclear one they were bordering. "I may have left Kurenai and Asuma to fend for themselves."

Shikamaru scoffed. "They're probably grateful for the alone time."

"What?" Sakura shot him a look.

"I have confidence in their abilities, but it will be more expedient if we assist." Hiashi looked to the Nara. "If you wish not to see combat, you must watch Hanabi."

He gave the stoically peace-signing girl a glance. "I'm good."

"Ina-Shika-Cho, here we go!" Ino jumped and pumped her fist into the air.

Sakura spotted her comrades on the arena floor from the corner of her eye and leaned over the railing. "There's Naruto and Sasuke!" She looked back at the clan head. "We can't just leave them."

Hiashi nodded. "Go and lead them here. You and the Uchiha combined would be a match for most jonin. Take Hanabi with you in case we advance quickly: her Byakugan will be of help."

"I'll go with you." The Aburame stepped on to the railing, attaching himself to it with chakra. "It'll do you no good to be ambushed on the way."

"Thank you, Shino." Sakura squatted down to carry the girl on her back and keep her hands free. She stuck her own feet to the railing.

Together, they began sprinting down the arena wall.

The edges of Hanabi's lips inched upward. "Vomit girl!"

"I really hope that doesn't become a thing." Sakura's face grew pink in embarrassment.

The main object in the way of a Leaf victory, the One-Tail, was out of the way. Still, there was much work to be done. No doubt the village itself was under attack. They could only hope their comrades would hold out until they secured the arena and mustered their forces for a counterattack.

Danzo faced many opponents throughout his long life. He'd seen all manner of kekkai genkai and obscure jutsu. From insane tactics to sound ones, he witnessed most of them. What stood before him, burning purple yet completely unfazed, was something he never imagined ever seeing once in his long life.

"Ah, I understand what you are now." His eye narrowed. "That zealous conviction. Another lost child given purpose, just like Mitarashi."

"She is discarded trash." Kimimaro flicked his wrist, shooting ten finger bones into the old man, and darted forward to skewer him with his drill only to strike air.

He raised his burned hand to loosen the wraps off his other eye, revealing a fully matured Sharingan. "You are on the level of a Kage." Crossing both pointer and ring fingers, he created a shadow clone. "It won't save you."

Kimimaro turned and saw them go through hand signs. He shot his finger bones at them, but they turned mid-air to avoid them all too perfectly. A beam of water spat from one's mouth to barely dig into his side. His eyes widened when the other pointed his finger in the direction of the Water Cutter Jutsu, amplifying the cutting portion of its name with the Wind Blade Jutsu. Dropping to avoid a complete bisection, he shot as many finger bones as he could, managing to pop the water beam spewing clone and saving himself.

Danzo landed and avoided an onslaught of finger bones with unnatural grace. "What a troublesome ability; save an old man some trouble and just die already." He went through several hand signs and took a deep breath.

Knowing something big was coming, Kimimaro stood himself up by springing his ribs forward against the ground. He bent his knees to jump away when the screams of his best friend stopped him. "Jugo." Then he felt multiple slashing forces rip through his torso.

"Feelings are the enemy of all shinobi, boy. You could've been something magnificent if you weren't a slave to them." He brought his hands together to form more seals.

He rolled over and sprang the bones in his back to help launch himself over the edge of the roof. His eyes met Anko's as he fell while she rose. Hers were uncharacteristically sad while his were hateful. The irony that he was fine with her tormenting Jugo when Orochimaru approved was lost on him but not her.

She stepped back on to the roof and walked to Danzo's side. "If those two weren't so busy worrying about each other, that could've gone a different way. Still not enough to kill them." Her eyes flicked over the bones embedded in him as well as his Sharingan. "What the fuck?"

"Not now, Mitarashi; I could say the same of that curse seal on your neck. We need to save…" Danzo drifted off as the barrier released, letting them see inside clearly for the first time.

"Unlike you t–" Anko froze at what was a complete impossibility. "...No."

The four conjurers of the barrier swept in to secure a shaking Orochimaru. A barrage of vacuum shuriken followed them courtesy of Danzo, but they lacked the chakra strings that let him counter any attempts to evade. Some anbu that were waiting for the barrier to drop pursued and got caught in a web for their trouble. Both used too much chakra to pursue.

Anko was too stunned to do anything but stumble forward. "No, no, no, no, no." She collapsed. Tears welling up in her eyes and flowing down her cheeks, she pushed herself on her knees. "Old man?" Her voice choked as she cradled the still body of Sarutobi, a seal burned into his stomach.

"We were too late." Danzo walked over and redid the bandages around his Sharingan.

Orochimaru fulfilled one of his greatest dreams that day at a cost too great for him to accept.

Naruto and Sasuke felt an awkward blend of relief and disappointment at the lack of enemies in their way. One of them was high off his victory against what should've been an impossible opponent. The other had a fancy new jutsu he trained with for half a month he didn't get the chance to use. Many normal, sane people would just be fine getting to live with all the chaos going on. They were by most people's criteria crazy for what they were willing to endure, do, and work for. When they saw Sakura running towards them with Shino and a strange girl on her back, they felt even more relieved disappointment.

"Oh, hey Sakura," they said in unison.

She ground to a halt and blinked. "...You two are bummed out no one tried to attack, aren't you?"

"I beat a fucking Tailed Beast! I should be the number one priority right now!"

Sasuke groaned. "I wanted to use my Chidori against Gaara, but I underestimated just how much he could draw from that thing."

"There's just no helping you!" Sakura threw up her arms. "And I made a big deal about coming down here to lead you to safety! Shino came along and Hiashi gave us his daughter to act as a scout!" Hanabi waved to punctuate her last statement.

"I'm frustrated by your casual attitude about confronting and defeating a Tailed Beast, but we have greater concerns at the moment," Shino chimed in.

"The village is under attack," Naruto said. "Kind of obvious."

"And our most powerful ninja are preoccupied here. Hiashi Hyuga is leading our old classmates and Neji into battle to secure the arena."

Sakura nodded. "Kakashi-sensei and Guy are drawing the most attention and killing pretty much everyone. He's aiming to help Kurenai and Asuma with their part of things."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Naruto looked at them all as they gave him looks. "I've fought in worse conditions."

"You blew up the mean tanuki," Hanabi said, eyes sparkling in admiration.

Shino murmured. "Surely, you're chakra exhausted at this point."

"Hey, if he can take it." He pointed his thumb at his support.

"Naruto." Sasuke furrowed his brow. "We're in an extended combat scenario. The preliminaries were just one on one matches which started with us facing our enemies: this isn't anything like that, and you would be a burden as you are now."

"Oh come on! I beat a Tailed Beast! Can you imagine the look on Old Man Hokage's face is going to be when I tell him I kept fighting even after all that?" He laughed, to the pain of his insides. "Nothing's going to be the same after this! He's gonna have to put me first from now on! It'll be for the good of the village!" He laughed and suffered harder.

"What are you talking about? What was that about becoming a candidate for Hokage?"

"He would be after accomplishing what he's done," Shino said.

Naruto grinned. "I'm getting everything I ever wanted, and the only thing keeping me so still is my broken bones."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "That's why you can't fight, dumbass." She turned and started walking to the arena wall. "Come on."

"I'm sure the Hokage's going to be proud of you," Sasuke said, following her lead.

"Old man better be! I'm barely thirteen and I took down a Tailed Beast! Who else in the entire world can say that?!"

"We're never going to hear the end of this, are we?"

He laughed. "Everyone's going to regret looking down on me, going to have to appreciate me, and going to have to acknowledge me!"

"You're like a spoiled kid." Sakura groaned. "You have to stay alive long enough to get all of that anyway."

"Fine, I'll stay close to you guys and rest or whatever. Guess I am pretty tired after today: been going through way too much lately."

Sasuke smiled. "It'd be good to know just what kind of training you did under that proctor. That jutsu of yours seems like it'd be pretty useful."

"You better have just been training with her instead of under her." Sakura squinted at him.

"There are children present," Shino said, reminding them of the girl silently enjoying their banter.

It was an innocent exchange between comrades. They laughed, felt annoyed, and jabbed at each other. While the battle kept raging around them, they felt safe since they were together again. One wondered if that feeling was what it was like to have a family. The other never thought they'd feel anything quite like it ever again. The last was an only child with doting parents that couldn't let them go. Those thoughts and feelings would linger as warmth and ache in their hearts.

AN: I don't have much to say. Next chapter is likely already perfectly in your heads. Thank you for staying with me long enough to get to this point. I can't believe it's already at hand.

I hope you enjoyed the fights. Those are fun for me to write. Danzo lacks a certain broken feature he had in canon because Izanagi is a poorly thought plot device that creates more holes than it plugs. We're now over 200 follows. You have no idea how happy that makes me feel to know interest is only growing as this goes along.

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