DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY ASSOCIATED CHARACTERS

Hello all. I believe that this story is coming together very nicely. I'd also like to give everyone that has followed, favorited, and reviewed a huge shoutout. With the next update, we will cross the 100k word mark. Thanks to everyone who's stuck around since the beginning. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyt his update, so drop a review if you did!

Chapter 21 - The Monster Within

"Begin!"

Shikamaru immediately tossed two paper bombs directly towards Gaara. The sand rose to catch them, absorbing the explosions. But it also obscured the Suna shinobi's vision, which Shikamaru attempted to capitalize on. He dropped down into his shadow possession stance, extending his shadow towards Gaara as the sand began to clear.

Apparently, Gaara saw it coming, as the sand formed a protective dome around him, though he gave no facial expression. Shikamaru internally cursed. As he watched, some of the sand began to condense itself into a small sphere, which then turned into what looked to be a floating eyeball.

Confused by that, Shikamaru almost didn't dodge the sand tendrils that had extended towards him. He quickly dove out of the way, tossing more paper bombs at the dome of sand, but he barely dented it. He did a somersault backwards, temporarily out of the reach of the sand, and raised his hand quickly.

"I forfeit!"

"Shikamaru has forfeited, Gaara wins!"

Rin let out a tense breath that she didn't know she'd been holding, thankful that her student had escaped unscathed. Truth be told, every sensei was wary of their students fighting Gaara, after what had happened to Sakura.

Obito and Naruto both watched with a glare as Gaara passed through his tunnel. "I'm gonna kick that guy's ass," Naruto growled. "He needs to pay for what he did to you, Sakura."

"You shouldn't worry about me, Naruto," Sakura said dismissively. "You should be thinking of strategies for your match with him. Don't get distracted."

Naruto crossed his arms and scowled, which prompted Obito to thump him on top of the head.

"OW! What was that for, Big Bro Obito?!"

"Stop pouting like a child and stay focused," the Uchiha said with a sigh. "You probably haven't even pieced together what the last match will be like."

"Of course I have!" Naruto protested. "It'll be me against Sasuke! I'm gonna face Gaara, and after he beats that Kumo guy, he's gonna face….Hey, wait a minute!"

"There would only be three people left after this match, sensei?" Sakura asked, turning in her seat to face Obito.

He nodded. "Yes."

"How the hell is that supposed to work?!" Naruto exclaimed.

Obito's head dropped out of sheer annoyance. He hadn't been around his students and their questions for this long since their trip to the Land of Waves. "It's a three way free for all, you moron."

"So I have to fight Gaara and Sasuke at the same time?" Naruto asked, wide-eyed. "Awesome."

Obito stood to his feet. He needed a break. As he began to ascend the stairs, Rin called out to him. "You're not gonna stay for Sasuke's match?"

Obito's shrugged with one shoulder. "He'll win anyways," he said, finally leaving.

Anko, next to Rin, watched him leave. She'd always wanted a glimpse into the mind of Obito, it's what she found attractive about him in the first place. He was always the silent, brooding type, you never knew what he was thinking, and Anko loved that. When she declared she'd break him out of his shell that day, when she was eighteen, everyone assumed it was because she had such a bubbly personality, wanting to make everyone laugh. But in actuality, it was because she found him irresistible.

Of course, she'd never admitted that to anyone, much less Obito. As far as everyone was concerned, her teasing was just to try and make him laugh. But now that he'd actually acquired a Genin team, she was starting to understand a little bit about him, and that only emboldened her.

He definitely cared about his comrades, that much was certain, but he never seemed to relish the company of others, as if they all annoyed him. Anko's thoughts were put on hold as the next two competitors walked into the arena.

"The last match of the second round will be between Sasuke Uchiha of Konoha, and Omoi of Kumo," Genma announced.

Sasuke flexed his hands as he approached Omoi. The Kumo boy was lazily working on the sucker in his mouth, but he abandoned it, tossing it to the side before the match started.

"I hope you don't take it personally," he said, dropping into his stance. "But the Raikage scares me much more than you do, so I'll be winning this match."

Sasuke smirked. "Just go ahead and try."

Genma's hand fell. "Begin!"

Minato watched Rasa's face as Gaara left the arena for the second time. It was impassive as always, giving nothing away. It was very evident that whatever kind of relationship that Gaara and his father had, it was not a healthy one.

But as the two new competitors walked out, Minato heard a grunt of recognition from the Raikage to his left. Omoi, the sole Kumo Genin in the competition, was set to face Sasuke Uchiha in the last match of the second round.

"Hokage," A began with his usual gruff tone. "What do you think of Sasuke Uchiha. He is the clan's heir, is he not?"

"He is," Minato answered, wondering where this conversation was going. "His older brother Itachi leads the clan currently. Sasuke is a fine Genin, on the same team as my son."

A grunted again, something of a usual response for him. "Their clan was almost destroyed, or so the rumors say."

Minato gave no response, focusing instead on the bracket in front of him. He'd been keeping up with it as it went along. He wanted something to frame in case Naruto managed to win the tournament.

"Don't think I haven't noticed what's happening, Minato," Rasa said in a monotone voice. "You mean to even the playing field."

"What do you mean?" Minato asked with a raised eyebrow.

The Kazekage snorted in disbelief. "It will come down to three. Clearly, this is intended as a free-for-all match, three ways. But were Sasuke Uchiha to defeat that Kumo Genin, then your son and his teammate would team up to defeat Gaara, then settle it amongst themselves."

"It's a viable strategy in battle," Minato defended. "If you eliminate the greatest threat first, victory becomes more of a possibility for you."

"Hmph," Rasa scoffed. "Such simple-minded tactics. No matter. Gaara shall defeat them both at once. A fitting finale for this tournament, wouldn't you agree?"

Neither of the other two Kage said a word in response. Much like the scenario Rasa had alluded to, Minato found himself in a silent alliance with A against Rasa. The irony was humorous.

Sasuke's sharingan flared to life as he jammed his hands into his tool pouch. Beginning to backpedal, he produced shuriken as Omoi drew his sword off of his back. Sasuke tossed shuriken after shuriken at the swordsman, but Omoi deflected each one in quick succession, the clang of metal reverberating around them.

Omoi charged his blade with lightning chakra as he followed Sasuke, but the Uchiha's sharingan allowed him to deftly avoid the slashes aimed his way. The latest, a horizontal slash, Sasuke ducked under and pivoted, placing him behind Omoi. He flew through the hand signs and blasted Omoi with a fireball to the back, incinerating his clothing and causing burns on the skin of his bare back.

Omoi clenched up with pain, but Sasuke wasn't finished. He grabbed Omoi's arm and flipped him onto his face in the dirt, where Sasuke planted a knee in his back and placed a kunai to his throat.

"Sasuke Uchiha wins!"

Sasuke put his kunai away before helping the Kumo Genin to his feet. "Sorry about the burns. The medical corps should fix you up," he said, but Omoi either hadn't heard, or he wasn't listening.

"Oh no, what will happen to me now? Will I wash out, never become a Chunin? Will I be a Genin for life? Or will I retire at a young age, forced to work in a rice paddy for the rest of my days until I'm a decrepit old man who can't walk?!" he wailed.

Sasuke stared at him, absolutely dumbfounded. Where was the boy who'd been confident about his victory not three minutes earlier? Fortunately, Sasuke didn't have to hear any more of Omoi's ranting, as Karui, Z, and their sensei, the buff man with the seven swords, jumped down to escort him away.

"Don't worry about him," Z grinned. "He overthinks things."

"Clearly," Sasuke commented dryly.

"Yo, Omoi, you did your best, now let me handle the rest. When you're motivated to train, then you'll really be able to bring the pain. Yeayuh!" their sensei rhymed, giving a fist bump to Omoi.

Sasuke simply shook his head at their strange dynamic before turning on his heel and exiting the arena. Behind him, he heard Genma's announcement.

"We will take another brief intermission before the final match, a three way free-for-all match."

Sasuke made his way up into the stands, quickly finding their spot and seating himself. Itachi gave him a soft nod. "Good job again, Sasuke. You managed to defeat him without a severe hit to your chakra pool."

Sasuke nodded his thanks, then put his head on a swivel, clearly looking for someone. "Where's Obito?"

"He needed a break, but I'm sure he'll be back before the final match," Itachi reassured.

Naruto crossed his arms in anger at that. "That jerk. He should be here so we could talk strategy with him. Who knows more about fighting strong people than him?"

"Your dad," Sasuke pointed out.

Naruto waved his hand dismissively. "If I ask him, then I wouldn't have done it all on my own. Besides, he's up with the other Kage, it's not like I could ask him if I wanted to."

Sakura looked between her two teammates. "You guys are gonna team up to fight Gaara, right?"

Naruto grinned. "Of course we are. That sand will be no match for the two of us combined!" he exclaimed, holding out a fist for Sasuke to bump, which he did with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah."

Itachi looked down at his little brother. "Try not to get too overconfident. You've seen how much of a challenge this opponent is. Don't underestimate him."

Sasuke didn't respond, instead rising to his feet. "We should probably get going, Naruto."

"Yeah,: the blonde replied, joining his friend. WHen the pair reached the top of the stairs, they found Obito blocking their path.

His sharingan regarded them emotionlessly, simply looking them over. "Don't fuck up."

"What the hell kind of advice is that?!" Naruto exclaimed.

Obito's eyes betrayed a flash of amusement before it disappeared. The Uchiha raised a fist, holding it out to Naruto, who did a double take before pressing his own to it. Obito repeated the action with Sasuke, who was likewise dumbstruck.

Then, Obito slipped past them, leaving them to their own thoughts.

"It seems that your prediction was correct, Kazekage," A grumbled. He was disappointed that Omoi had lost his match, but he conceded that the Uchiha boy was better in the end. At least privately. He would never admit that to the others, for fear of his reputation taking a hit.

"Now, watch as Gaara's Ultimate Defense wins him this tournament," Rasa sneered.

Minato glanced sideways at the Kazekage. "I wouldn't be so sure of victory. Naruto and Sasuke may surprise you. They've certainly surprised me."

Rasa rolled his eyes, completely dismissing Minato's warning. "They may have had some semblance of skill in their wins, but their luck runs out here. Gaara will demolish them both."

Now it was Minato's turn to roll his eyes.

Naruto and Sasuke emerged front he same tunnel, the sunlight beating down on the arena giving them an instant temperature change. Naruto smiled and waved at the crowd, something of a routine at this point. Sasuke ignored them, the brooding Uchiha in him coming to the forefront.

Gaara, their opponent, already stood in the center of the arena, his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Naruto with utter hatred in his eyes. Sasuke was almost offended that he didn't garner the same attention from the Suna shinobi, but then again, Naruto had broken down Gaara's wall fo sand. With that in mind, Sasuke could see why Gaara would hate the blonde more.

"This final match int he tournament will be a three-way free-for-all match! The winner of this match will be declared the champion!" Genma announced as Naruto and Sasuke separated, forming a triangle with Gaara.

Naruto looked between the other two with a playful grin on his face. "Hope you guys don't hold grudges," he teased, eyes resting on Gaara, whose eyes had never left Naruto. "Looks like that just leaves you, Sasuke."

The Uchiha said nothing. It was long past the time for jokes, but Naruto never seemed to know that. Genma scanned the three Genin, judging them all to be ready, Naruto and Sasuke having dropped into their stances.

"Begin!"

Naruto exchanged a quick glance with Sasuke, the pair silently communicating as they rushed towards Gaara. But unlike the Suna Genin's previous matches, he attacked immediately. Two tendrils of sand show out from the gourd on his back, rushing straight towards Naruto, who had to contort his body to avoid them.

Sasuke countered by tossing a smoke bomb to obscure Gaara's vision. The attack on Naruto halted because of the smoke, allowing the pair to circle around behind Gaara, where Naruto made two shadow clones. The four of them rushed the Suna shinobi, hoping to catch him off guard, but a single swipe of sand dispelled both clones and threw Naruto and Sasuke backwards.

Sasuke dug his heels into the ground and slid backwards, carving ruts into the soil while Naruto crashed onto his rear, tumbling backwards across the ground. As the son of the Hokage tried to clamber to his feet, a large swathe of sand washed over him, coating him from his feet to his shoulders and lifting him up into the air.

Sasuke watched in fear as Gaara's hand extended, and he clenched his hand into a fist, causing the sand to crush Naruto. But before Sasuke could cry out in worry for his friend, he disappeared, a smoke cloud in his face.

Sasuke let his shoulders sag briefly, relief washing over him as he realized it was only a shadow clone. But he didn't have time to celebrate, as Gaara turned his attention towards him. With Naruto nowhere to be seen, Sasuke was the sole target.

The Uchiha's sharingan read the sand coming towards him, so he was able to accurately predict its movements, but that didn't make it any less daunting. As he watched, the sand tendrils slowly disappeared, condensing into a large hand of pure sand that began to give chase to Sasuke instead.

As the Uchiha sprinted around the arena, avoiding the floating appendage that was chasing him, he began to wonder where Naruto had gotten off to. His questions were answered when the blonde suddenly exploded out of the ground beneath Gaara, delivering an uppercut to the redhead's chin and sending him flying.

Gaara landed in a heap several yards away, the hand of sand collapsing in front of Sasuke. Naruto fell back to stand next to Sasuke as their opponent clambered to his feet. Gaara's eyes burned with hatred, and his face looked like it was cracked. Fissures flowed outwards from the fist-shaped crater under his jaw. Upon closer inspection, they realized that Gaara had been wearing sand like armor this entire time.

"The two of you think you're so strong," Gaara growled, taking on a demonic tone. He dropped to one knee and began to writhe around, as if in immense pain. "You think your friends are what makes you that way. I don't have friends like you. I fight for myself. Only by destroying everyone in my way can I obtain true knowledge of life."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance as an inhuman wail filled the arena.

Minato was on the edge of his seat. Naruto had caught Gaara completely by surprise by hiding underground, bypassing his sand defenses, only to discover that he had another layer of sand defense coating his body. Truth be told, it was genius for him to cover himself in a sand armor, but now was not the time to be congratulatory.

Next to him, A was attempting to seem disinterested, but he was doing a poor job of it. Anyone would find this match appealing, considering that the three Genin involved were already stronger than many Chunin.

Rasa appeared as impassive as ever despite the blow landed upon his son. Either he didn't care for the boy, or he knew something that they didn't. Minato was beginning to suspect it was the latter.

He turned out to be right when Gaara transformed into a monster.

Naruto and Sasuke stared in shock at Gaara's new appearance. Half of his body had transformed, as if it had been possessed by a monster. Only his right foot was left unchanged, the sandal peeking out from underneath what looked to be an entire coating of sand. Only this time, it was different.

It was no longer armor, but it looked as if it were the beast's actual body. Gaara himself had also undergone a transformation, as evidenced by the sadistic grin that covered his face.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, not daring to look at his friend.

"We need to put him down permanently this time," Sasuke said. "That's the only way we'll get out of here without being hurt ourselves."

"So win or be seriously injured, possibly killed? Seems simple enough," Naruto joked dryly, his voice missing much of the humor that had characterized him up to this point. He quickly crossed his fingers and made ten perfect clones of himself, sending them towards Gaara as a probe of his defenses.

They were all eliminated in the span of two seconds by a swipe from Gaara's tail. Naruto turned to Sasuke, uncertainty stuck in his eyes. "What the hell are we supposed to do against that? What kind of jutsu is that, anyways?"

Sasuke's eyes flickered over to Gaara, watching as the tail swiped back and forth behind him. His right arm had been covered with what looked to be a claw of pure sand. "We need to figure out the extent of his defenses, then we can form a plan."

Naruto nodded. "Got it. Plan A?"

"That's all you had to say," Sasuke smirked as Naruto made three clones. Sasuke instantly attached three paper bombs to one's back, out of sight of Gaara, who was studying them with a venomous look on his face. Once they were attached, Naruto and his other two clones grabbed hold of the rigged clone and heaved him towards their enemy.

The clone flew like a rock out of a slingshot, straight as an arrow. Gaara reached out with his right arm, the claw extending itself, but right before he was able to grasp the clone, Sasuke detonated it.

Gaara's claw was reduced to sand particles as Naruto and Sasuke drew their kunai and advanced. It was times like these where the Uchiha marveled at Naruto's immense chakra reserves. He was beginning to run low, especially considering how long he'd been using the sharingan today.

Gaara roared a challenge, laughing maniacally as the two Genin advanced on him. "Weaklings like you can't hope to defeat me! I'll destroy both of you!"

The redhead's body began to change again. The left side of him changed completely to look like the right side, so now only his sandals gave the indication that there was once a human being under there.

Sasuke's eyes widened in panic, feeling the power surge. Clenching his jaw, he discarded his kunai and gripped his left arm as they ran. It began to crackle with blue electricity until the scream of a thousand birds filled the air. The jutsu increased Sasuke's speed to the point where he completely outran Naruto. He knew that this would use up most of the chakra he had left, but he could feel the need to defeat this opponent.

In the stands, Obito narrowed his eyes at the use of the jutsu, noticing that Rin also flinched. He would have to see how Sasuke would use this jutsu. That would determine how the conversation afterwards would go.

"Isn't that…?" Guy began gingerly.

"Yeah," Obito grunted. "Little idiot managed to figure it out on his own."

In the arena, Sasuke leapt skyward and brought his arm downwards, ready to punch through Gaara's defenses and end it, but the left claw of the monster extended to catch him in a vice-like grip before he could even bring the Chidori down on it. Sasuke gasped as the jutsu fizzled out, feeling as if all of the air was being driven from his lungs. The pressure was immense, and he felt his ribs threatening to break beneath the weight.

"Sasuke!" Sakura gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

Obito nearly broke his hand with the intensity that he was gripping the armrests. Itachi was going through similar turmoil, though he knew that it was all in his mind. The Clan Head was much better at hiding things, anyways.

Rin's eyes flickered between the pair of them. Over the years, she'd grown quite observant in her experience in the medical field, so she knew when something was bothering someone. Right now, Obito was wracked with worry for his student's safety, though he might not admit it if asked about it.

Little things like that were how Rin knew that Obito cared about his students. It wasn't just them, either. The way he put up with Guy, joking back and forth, even if he never smiled or laughed, meant that he cared about him. And how he still spoke with such reverence about Minato, even though he was more than likely to be angry at him in person. Rin was beginning to understand that Obito did in fact display emotion, just in the subtlest and most unorthodox of ways.

It was certainly a powerful realization after over a decade of the entire village thinking he was a cold-hearted, emotionless killer. But Rin was wrenched out of her thoughts by a cry of pain from Sasuke, which caused Naruto to look upwards in alarm.

Quickly abandoning all semblance of a plan, Naruto created an army that numbered two thousand strong, then focused his attention on the palm of his right hand. Chakra began to swirl in his palm, growing larger and taking a spherical shape as his clones began their assault.

Gaara swept his tail back and forth, as well as his other claw, but the numbers were too many, and he was overwhelmed. He was sent skyward by half of Naruto's clones, the other half leaping up to meet him.

"Na-"

"-ru-"

"-to…"

"2K…"

Four waves of kicks sent Gaara even further into the air, to the point where he was even with the Kage's observation deck.

"Uzumaki Barrage!"

Naruto's clones finished the move off by pummeling Gaara all at once, sending him like a rocket back down towards the ground. Sasuke was still in the grasp of his right claw, but not for long. As Gaara plummeted back to the surface, Naruto leapt straight upwards, shoving his palm into the sand claw.

"Rasengan!"

The sand exploded, separating Sasuke from the rest of the arm. Naruto caught his teammate and landed lightly back on the ground as Gaara fell with a sickening thud that put a sizeable rut in the ground.

Naruto set the wheezing Sasuke down on his feet, letting him lean on him for support as he caught his breath. They turned their attention to Gaara, who, after all that, was still moving.

The monster began to sat up, the sand covering him looking as though it had melted in the sun. "I will not lose. Not to the likes of you!"

Gaara screamed once again, but this time, Naruto found himself staring at the largest object he'd ever seen. It made the stadium look like a playpen for a toddler. It was the same visage that they'd seen before, only this was apparently its true form.

It peered down at them, exuding such killer intent that the two friends suddenly thought that Obito was their opponent. They couldn't even help the involuntary gulp of fear that passed through their throats.

On the creature's forehead, a circle of sand began to flow, as if something were emerging from it. It was the upper half of Gaara's real body, though his lower body was still suspended in the sand that made up the monster's body.

The redhead cackled down at Naruto and Sasuke. "I'll show the both of you what real power is! Witness the true manifestation of the sand!"

Gaara placed his hands together in a sign, closing his eyes.

"Sleeping Possum Jutsu!"

Kakashi's sharingan lit up with recognition as he saw the head of Shukaku the Sand Spirit appear above the stadium walls. He gave a genuine smile of anticipation from beneath his mask. "It's time."

"Dear Kakashi and I have some business of our own to deal with, so we're leaving the Akatsuki's mission to you, Kabuto," Orochimaru said with his usual creepy smile. "Dear Kakashi, what of our esteemed ally?"

Kakashi tilted his head, as if wondering who Orochimaru was referring to, before he nodded with recognition. "Zabuza."

"What?" the swordsman growled from his seated position underneath one of the trees.

"You'll be participating in this attack as well," Kakashi stated.

Zabuza raised an eyebrow. "Your boss said I was to wait until I made my alliance with you known."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "He also placed you under my supervision, which means I'm the one giving you orders. Or need I remind you what will happen if you disobey?"

The Demon of the Mist stood to his feet and grasped the hilt of the Executioner's Blade that rested beside him. He stepped forward to face Kakashi, and the assembled army behind them began to wonder if Zabuza would attack Kakashi. But the sword was secured on Zabuza's back, a glare passing between the pair.

"Fine. But I ain't helping with your personal vendettas. I'll help out the small fry," Zabuza growled, jerking his thumb towards Kabuto.

Orochimaru smiled again, an unsettling thing for most. "I think we can agree to that, right, Kakashi?"

"Fine."

Orochimaru clapped his hands together. "Wonderful! Now, we can begin!"

All at once, the unified army of Suna and Oto sprung from the trees and streamed into the village. The Destruction of Konoha had begun.

Cliffhangers are glorious. I hope the chapter didn't feel too short. Sometimes, I wondered if the fight between Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara felt rushed. I know I jumped around a lot, but I needed to set the scene for the utter chaos that's about to go down. Also, apologies if this chapter felt short, but I was forced to end it there, or risk making an obscenely long chapter. Anyways, I hope all of you enjoyed, and stay tuned to see the next update!