Hey. I'm feeling a little bit better about school, and I'm just trying to get things together again. My dog is now a dad too. I saw the pictures of his son (yeah, the mom only had one), and of course he's pretty cute, but both of his parents weren't even ten pounds. I can't even imagine how tiny he must be in person! Been also playing some Dead or Alive 4. Fun game, though I must say…Kasumi's, Lei Fang's and Hitomi's endings were a bit…odd (sure, Christie's by far was the most sultry, but it suits her character). Elliot's ending was by far the best.

Anyway, here's my latest chapter! Please review, even if you've got something bad to say about my story!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto…I don't need Kishimoto in ninja attire standing on the rooftop across my bedroom window to make that point.

Naruto and Kenji broke off from their fall and landed parallel to one another. Naruto began a summoning jutsu, and Kenji did the same.

"No more testing the waters!" Naruto yelled. "I'm going to give you my strongest summon!"

"So shall I!" Kenji cried.

Both of them placed their hands on the ground and two large animals stood in their place. Naruto was on top of Gamabunta, who hadn't changed over the years. Kenji's summon was horrendous: it was a brownish-gold crocodile, covered in steel armor. Its left arm ended in a stump, and where a hand should've been was instead a mace and chain. It had scars across its face as well.

Gamabunta grumbled "It's bad enough you summoned me to fight THAT thing…but Houkou…"

"You let me worry about Houkou, chief. I just need you to take care of that thing in front of us!"

The crocodile stared at its master. "Is he my opponent, master?"

"Yes. Try to take both of them out, but focus on the toad."

Gamabunta leapt into the air and drew his sword. Ryo-sui swung his mace, and the two weapons collided. Due to the mace having more mass, Gamabunta was forced to let go of his sword. He touched down and yelled "Mizu Renkuudan!"

The water hit the croc dead on, but did not fully damage him due to his armor. "That stung a bit. Try this! Houka Rekuudan!"

The croc shot a fireball that was much faster than the ones Sasuke used to shoot. Gamabunta tried to get another renkuudan ready, but couldn't shoot in time, and was hit dead on. Naruto held on for dear life as Gamabunta struggled to keep his balance.

"Chief! Are you alright?" Naruto yelled.

Gamabunta collapsed on all fours. "I've been better, kid. I suggest we start fighting fire with fire!"

Naruto nodded. Though it wasn't his affinity, Naruto knew a few fire techniques. Gamabunta sprayed some oil towards Ryo-sui, and Naruto breathed fire onto the stream. The oil ignited, and burned the croc.

"Damn you!" it shouted. It turned around and swung its massive tail at Gamabunta, sending the toad flying. Naruto had to jump onto the beach below to save himself from being crushed, and braced himself for the shockwave. Gamabunta landed with one of the biggest crashes Naruto had ever felt. He rushed to rejoin his summon, but a chakra hand blocked him.

"It's your fault you couldn't protect your own summon! I'll just have you watch it die!" Kenji screamed.

Ryo-sui then proceeded to beat Gamabunta to death with his mace. The toad cried in pain, and there was no end in sight as the croc continued beating its downed opponent. Naruto made his bushins in an attempt to go and aid his summon, but Kenji beat all of them away.

The three genins did not have an opportunity to watch the summons battle; their main priority was to stay alive fighting the creature that was once a kage. Iori carried both Shiguri who simply needed a helping hand, and Yuji who was unconscious altogether. This unfortunately slowed her down considerably. The creature continued to swing its tail, forming huge craters in the ground.

Iori then looked at Shiguri. "Hey, you're good with doton jutsus, right? The rock Naruto-sensei hurt that thing with is located underground. We need you to…"

Shiguri nodded his head no. "You heard that guy. It's too hard to summon something that deep in the earth. Never mind the fact that we're on top of a cliff, making it even harder."

Iori was about to scream at him, when Yuji came to. "You've got to try." He said. "Sensei says the most important thing is to never give up, no matter what the odds. Don't ask me how, but I know every word he said was the truth." Yuji adjusted his cracked glasses.

Ioir flipped over the creature just as it was about to catch them. Though she successfully evaded it, her landing due to her extra weight was botched. But at least they were a few more meters away. Shiguri turned to Yuji and asked "Yuji, are you really ok? That thing knocked you with its tail pretty good."

Yuji replied "I'm not ok, but it's better than being dead. We need to do this all together." He turned to Iori. "Will you help us?" Iori nodded yes. "Okay. Shiguri, you get to work on getting that Devil Stone onto the surface. Iori and I will keep it busy."

The two charged towards their adversary while Shiguri made the necessary hand signs.

Kakashi held his bloodied arm. He and Sasuke fought with their two most famous techniques…and Kakashi appeared to be the victor. His arm was hurt, and though his Raikiri did not pierce Sasuke, it was enough to push him back at several hundred meters per second. "That should knock Sasuke out. I better get him before he regains consciousness. I bet Naruto will be upset with the fact that it was I, and not him, who brings him back."

When the smoke cleared, Kakashi stopped in his tracks.

"I guess in my natural state, I'm STILL not good enough to beat you. Oh well…there's this." Sasuke emerged in his Curse Mark 2 form.

Kakashi threw shuriken, aiming to paralyze, but Sasuke's wings blocked them all. Kakashi jumped forward and landed behind his former pupil. He got him in a sleeper hold, but Sasuke wasn't the least bit worried.

"Chidori Nasagi!"

Electricity surrounded Sasuke's body, causing Kakashi to fall back. Before Kakashi could react in time, Sasuke picked him up and flew to the air. Kakashi kicked the best he could, but Sasuke did not waver. Sasuke finally stopped and threw his former teacher to the ground. Kakashi managed to grab hold of a vine before hitting the ground below, but it put great strain on his arm. Sasuke dived down and finished the job by cutting the vines with his sword. Kakashi continued his descent, and landed hard. Kakashi tried to get up, but his leg sent an incredible pain through his body.

"It must be broken!" he grunted.

Sasuke touched down. "You nearly took my dream away from me, just because you couldn't beat Itachi yourself. You weren't willing to do what it takes. But I'm different. I seek power through anyone and any means. I will do whatever it takes to kill Itachi. No one shall stand in my way." Two snakes emerged from Sasuke's back and bit Kakashi on the shoulders. Kakashi yelped in pain, and tried to stand once more, but his body started to go numb. "If you do not get help within thirty minutes, you will die. Even if you're cured, you will be in no shape to pursue me. Which outcome occurs does not matter to me." With that, Sasuke changed back and left. Kakashi's vision was starting to get blurry.

"Well, at least the pain stopped." His sharingan then shed a tear. "Sasuke…"

Sakura dodged Kabuto's Chakra Scalpel, and back flipped for dear life. Before Kabuto could reach her, she punched the ground, causing huge pieces of rock to fly in the air. Kabuto maintained his balance on one of them, and Sakura jumped behind another rock. She reached for shuriken and threw them at the silver-haired medic, but Kabuto parried them all with his kunai. Sakura leapt from every piece of earth suspended in the air before they crashed, and tried to kick Kabuto, but he saw it coming and dodged. Just when Sakura landed, Kabuto managed to make contact with his scalpel and got Sakura on the left shoulder. Sakura retreated as she winced in pain. She couldn't move her arm.

"This is bad…" she thought.

Kabuto said "Well, you have Tsunade's strength, I'll give you that much. But when it comes to combat, that's all you have. Tsunade had much more innovative ways of using medical ninjutsu. Despite what I've heard about your intelligence…you obviously don't have the creativity!"

Kabuto charged again. Sakura then used her good arm to reach into her pocket. She took out a capsule and threw it at Kabuto.

Kabuto, unfortunately, reacted in time. He caught the capsule! "I told you that you don't have her imagination!"

Sakura then smirked. "I beg to differ." She used her mobile hand and made a single hand sign. Suddenly, the capsule Kabuto held exploded. Kabuto coughed…then laughed. He held his stomach and was having trouble standing still.

" W-HAHAHA-What HA is HAHA in this HAAA…"

Sakura got up and said "Nitrous Oxide. Every good medi-nin must use their free time to experiment with all sorts of chemicals. I'm embarrassed to say this, but I found out the hard way that inhalation causes one to laugh uncontrollably." Sakura then used a healing jutsu to heal her arm. "Don't worry. You won't die like that." She pulled out a kunai. "But it will make it easier for me to kill you!"

Sakura charged. Kabuto was still on guard though, and managed to dodge Sakura's strikes. She had to keep in mind that his laughing was due to the gas, not her inability. Finally, she managed to sweep her leg underneath Kabuto's, and before he could fall, picked him up and threw him the opposite direction. The silver-haired man shattered a log on impact, but despite that, got up. Sakura noticed the gas must have worn off as well, as this time he was able to keep a straight face.

"I collected my chakra on the point of impact to heal any damage I took immediately. The only thing that managed to cause damage beyond that was Naruto's rasengan. Also, I'm an expert at using my chakra to cleanse my body from any poison within my body. Next time, you should aim to kill."

Kabuto leapt towards the pink-haired medi-nin and brought a kunai down. Sakura countered, and the exchange continued. Sakura threw a kick, which Kabuto dodged, but it still managed to badly cut his skin. Sakura was about to land a right hook, but Kabuto ducked and placed both of his hands on her stomach. Sakura felt a jolt, and flew back. The young woman tried to get back up, but her body would not move the way she wanted. Different limbs would move when she commanded otherwise!

Kabuto walked over and adjusted his glasses."Tsunade used the same jutsu on me. After that ordeal, I practiced and learned how to use my chakra to damage my opponent's nervous system. My version lasts longer than Tsunade's did. If I leave you alone, you won't recover for a day at least."

Sakura kept trying to get up, but just like before, the wrong limbs kept moving. Finally, Kabuto grabbed her by the collar and slammed her into a tree.

"Back when I first met you at the chunin exam, I never believed that you would amount to much." Kabuto commented with a smirk. "You cared more about being Sasuke-kun's bride than you did becoming a kunoichi. But now, I can tell that his departure had a positive affect on you. So why do you persist in bringing him back?"

Sakura, to her surprise, could still move her facial muscles just fine. And to Kabuto, her answer took a lot less coaxing than expected. "Back then, when Naruto and I reunited, we agreed to get Sasuke back because he was OUR comrade. But slowly, whatever reason I had to bring Sasuke-kun back became more for Naruto's sake. Sasuke-kun was like a brother to Naruto, and he was closer to Sasuke than I was. I wanted to help him get HIS brother back. I've accepted the fact now that Sasuke is long gone, but Naruto won't stop. If he keeps going after him, even if I tell him not to, I will help him."

Kabuto smirked. "That's good, that's good. I must say, though you still need work, you're becoming quite a kunoichi."

Sakura just looked at him. "What is he saying?" she thought nervously.

Then Kabuto brought his face in close, to the point where there noses almost touched. "You've also become quite beautiful. Why not come with us? In sound, you can become a better, smarter medi-nin. Think of the things you could create. The sicknesses you could cause. And think of the type of clan we could start together."

NOW Sakura was freaked, even though she didn't show it. Suddenly, something came behind Kabuto, and pulled him off Sakura. When Kabuto turned around, he saw that "thing" was a slug. The mollusk proceeded to throw its master's assailant away. It was only human sized, but Kabuto knew it could contain deadly poison. Then, he noticed Sakura WALKED to it.

"I countered your technique almost immediately." she explained "I just wanted to see if you had any info you were willing to share with me. You didn't…." Sakura then shouted "AND I REGRET I TOOK THE CHANCE, YOU SICKO! As for the slug, I summoned it almost immediately after I threw all that debris in the air."

The slug fired acid at Kabuto, who dodged and threw shuriken at Sakura. Sakura blocked with her kunai, and engaged Kabuto once again. Kabuto activated his chakra scalpel, but instead of attacking with that immediately, he sweep kicked Sakura and knocked her down. He aimed for her heart, but the slug blocked him from landing the final blow on its mistress. The slug convulsed for a few seconds before dying. The surprise allowed Sakura to retreat and go in for another attack.

"This is for my slug!" Sakura aimed another right hook. Kabuto smirked and prepared a counter. He dodged the punch, and this time struck for sure on Sakura's heart. The kunoichi's eyes widened, blood poured from her mouth, and she fell dead on the ground. Or so Kabuto thought, as it was revealed to be nothing more than a log. Before he could even panic, Sakura emerged from the ground behind him and tapped him on the back.

"I know how to use a chakra scalpel as well, you know." She said fiercely. Suddenly, Kabuto's legs gave way, and he lost all feeling in them.

"What…"

Sakura wiped some sweat from her forehead and answered "I severed your spine. You still maintain all of your upper body functions. But you will spend the rest of your life in a wheel chair. You're of no more use to Orochimaru anymore."

Kabuto just stuttered "N-no…"

"One more thing." Sakura said emotionlessly. She picked the helpless man up by the hair, and flicked him on the nose. Of course, this broke it. Sakura dropped him and said "I hate killing. My first kill makes me sick to my stomach to this day. If there was some other way to spare you, I would. But if I left you in perfect condition, you would simply persist as a threat. So I chose this. May someone show you kindness, Kabuto." Sakura put her mask back on, and added in a cold tone "Because next time, I won't." Sakura then ran off. She did not realize that a pair of yellow eyes atop the trees was watching….

The kage monster charged, swinging its claws at Yuji, who dodged them with ease, despite his injuries. Iori made a low kick behind the shins, but was driven away by the club tail. Shiguri, meanwhile, finished his jutsu and pressed his palms on the ground. He could feel the material they needed come up, but it was so slow. It was taking its toll on him too; his chakra was being depleted fast. "Come on!" He shouted.

Yuji climbed up the monster's back and stabbed it in the back of the neck like Naruto did earlier. And just like before, the monster turned its head and sprayed its poison. However, it didn't work; Yuji's glasses protected his eyes. He then tossed one of his smoke bombs into the creature's mouth, and jumped off, leaving the creature to hack uncontrollably. Iori ran up and delivered a double kick to its head, knocking it to the ground.

"Shiguri!" Iori shouted. "Did you get it yet?"

Shiguri winced "I almost…Got it!" Shiguri collapsed onto his side. Bits of white stone were on the ground next to him.

"This is it?" Iori screamed in disbelief.

"It's all I could get." Shiguri rasped. "That guy wasn't lying when he said Doton users had trouble with this." Shiguri clutched his chest and struggled back up.

Iori and Yuji just looked at one another. Yuji then picked up a couple of the stones. "We'll just have to make do with what we got."

Iori nodded, and gathered some for herself.

"Shiguri, can you still fight?" Yuji asked.

Shiguri answered "I'm out of chakra. But my shurikenjutsu should be as good as ever."

Just then the monster roared, practically jumping back to its feet.

"I've got an idea." Yuji said, keeping his eye on the beast. "Iori, you're with me. Shiguri, when I give the signal, throw the shuriken!" Shiguri nodded, and the other two genins charged.

Sakura ran through the forest, hoping to catch up to the kids. Then, something jumped in front of her. "Pakkun?" Pakkun was huge now! She could ride on his back if she wanted to.

"Sakura." Pakkun said in a much deeper voice than she remembered. "Kakashi's dying. He used most of his remaining chakra to summon me."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Poison, I think. His leg is broken as well."

Sakura followed the dog through the jungle, and she came across Kakashi. The part of his skin that she could see was incredibly pale, and when she put her bare hand on his forehead, he was burning up. The fact that his immune system was working at the same time to heal his leg also added to the problems. She felt his body twitch as well. She cut open her sensei's chest, and proceeded to a nearby stream. Though it wasn't as sanitary as protocol demanded, Sakura used her chakra to form a bubble and pull most of the poison out. She sniffed some of it and whispered "Neurotoxin.". Right now, she had no way of identifying it. She reached into her pouch and took out an antivenin that, while it would not work as a true antidote, it would help keep him alive. She pulled down Kakashi's mask, and ignored his appearance due to the dire situation. "Kakashi-sensei, drink this." Kakashi coughed after ingesting the last of it. Sakura pulled his mask back up, and pulled her own to the side. "Sensei, who did this to you?"

Kakashi whispered "Sasuke. I tried to stop him, but he was just too much for me. Orochimaru and the Raikage-"

"I already know about that." She then went to his leg, and then set the bone straight. Kakashi was already pretty groggy, so he didn't cry out in pain like most patients. She began to heal the bone, but after a minute stopped. There were others who could be injured, and she needed to save as much chakra as possible. She picked him up and placed him on Pakkun's back. "Pakkun, I need you to carry Kakashi and follow me. There are other people who may need my help, but I simply cannot leave him behind."

Pakkun said "Understood." The medic and the dog ran straight through the jungle, hoping to find anyone else who may need their help in time.

Naruto narrowly avoided Kenji's attacks. He couldn't do taijutsu type counters when his opponent's body crackled with electricity; shuriken did nothing.

"Transform! You can't hope to save anyone the way you are now!" Kenji growled

Naruto back flipped and formed his Futon Rasengan. Kenji formed his demonically-enhanced Suiton Rasenzan and threw it at Naruto. Naruto ran forward with his technique and blocked Kenji's with the Fuuton Rasengan. For a while, there was a stale mate, until Naruto was thrown clear into the opposite direction.

"You're helpless against me unless you use your true power!" Kenji yelled as he ran towards Naruto.

However, he was so caught up in the battle that he didn't realize where Naruto was thrown: towards Gamabunta's sword. " He engaged with me hoping I would throw him towards it! Doesn't matter! It's too big for him to-"

Just then, Naruto performed the Taiju Kage no Bushin. The thousands of bushins picked the blade up, and ran towards the giant toad that looked like he would black out at any minute. Kenji pursued him, but more clones were created to distract him. It wouldn't last though…

"Chief! Catch!" The bushins threw the sword the best they could, but even a thousand Narutos were no Tsunade. The sword landed some meters off the mark. Naruto pulled out a scroll and summoned a giant shuriken. He threw it at Ryo-sui, and managed to stab the croc in the eye.

"AAARGGHHH! Insignificant dog!" Ryo-sui swung his tail at Naruto and sent him flying. The croc turned his attention to Gamabunta. "How cute; a master trying to save his summon! Or perhaps you're his master?"

Gamabunta smirked. "I have to admit, when he was younger I didn't like him much. I even forced him to agree that he was MY henchman. But things changed over the years."

"Oh?" The croc asked.

"I have never seen someone with as much potential as him. I'd rather much be equals…"

"Too bad you're about to die before you get a chance!" Ryo-sui yelled as he brought his mace down.

Suddenly, Gamabunta struck his tongue out and grabbed his sword with it. He blocked the mace with his hand, and stabbed his sword through Ryo-sui's armor.

Kenji halted, in disbelief of what just happened. "That bastard!"

"But there is no greater honor than serving him as MY master!" Gamabunta hissed, driving his sword in even deeper. Ryo-sui bled, and then collapsed.

"Chief!" Naruto cried. "Are you alright?"

Gamabunta wheezed "I'll live, kiddo. I'm just getting too old for this."

Naruto sighed with relief and dispelled the jutsu, causing the toad to vanish in a puff of smoke. Naruto knew he was done, and unlike the crocodile, did not want to see him killed…then, he felt incredible pain as Kenji grabbed him from behind.

"NEVER let your guard down!" Kenji yelled. "I admit, I had trouble with that too, but surely you've overcame that bad habit." The green jinchuriki smiled as he placed another hand over Naruto's throat.

Naruto winced "As a matter of fact…I have."

Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke. "A bushin!" Kenji yelled.

Kenji turned around to see THREE Narutos coming straight at him, with a huge Fuuton Rasengan.

"Here's a move I've been working on! Fuuton Oodama Rasengan!"

Naruto hit his foe dead on. Kenji screamed in pain, and was sent spinning like a dreidel towards the ocean. The bushins dissipated, and Naruto relaxed.

"You see? The only strength I need is my own." Naruto held his arm and panted. Though that technique was not as harmful to the user as his Rasenshuriken, it still made his arm go numb.

"I see!" Kenji yelled, emerging from the shoreline with his torso bare, and his cape in rags. His front side had a deep spiral pattern on it due to Naruto's technique, but it was healing.

Naruto could only stare at him in horror. That last move cost him almost all of his chakra! There was also the Kyuubi's, but…

"You're much stronger than I gave you credit for!" Kenji cackled. Even more green chakra began to surround him. "Allow me to apologize…" Suddenly, Kenji's shape changed drastically. "…by showing you my true form!"

Some cloud nin looked at the battle from the bushes. "Should we-?" Another one put a hand over his comrade's mouth. "No. He's about to transform. At this point, he no longer has any need of us. Even so, he specifically ordered us not to interfere. So, we technically aren't betraying him." The head of the squad added "Besides, slim as it may be at this point, I hope he will meet his end here…"

Iori tried to pound the monster to the ground, but the best she managed to do was to stun it a couple of times. Suddenly, the monster tried to strike Iori with its clawed hand. Iori dodged it. But the next attack she did not see coming: The eye in its palm shot a laser! The red beam shot a hole through Iori's leg, causing her to scream in pain and fall down. The monster charged, but suddenly grabbed its neck. Yuji had snagged a wire around its neck, and pulled to guide him to the edge of the cliff.

"Shiguri, hit it now!" he yelled.

Shiguri threw all the shuriken he had at the monsters' organs. The acid poured out, melting Yuji's wires. However, it also ate away at the ground below the monster. The ground gave way, and the former Raikage fell. Before it got too far, Yuji ran to the edge and threw what little devil stone they had into the beast's mouth. The creature screamed, and fell far below. Yuji then ran up to Iori.

"Are you okay?" he yelled.

Iori smiled in a sarcastic manner. "Well, I've got a hole in my leg, why don't you do the math!"

Yuji picked her up and said "Sorry for not attacking it sooner." He looked at Shiguri. "What about you?" Yuji asked.

Shiguri said "I'm okay. Just tired."

Yuji smiled and nodded. Then, he got something in the reflection of his glasses. The kage monster climbed back up, and it was livid! Its lower jaw was gone, and roared incessantly. It ran towards the genins, and Yuji threw Iori out of the way before it cut them both down with its claws…

Naruto looked in horror at what he was facing: Houkou, the five-tailed dog itself! It was as enormous as Shukaku, but much more intimidating. Its fur was gold, and tufts of hair protruded from it's limbs. Unlike most dogs, its claws were clearly seen and razor sharp. Its ears looked floppy, but they stood upright. The eyes were red, and it gave the jinchuriki an evil smile. The fangs on the thing were monstrous! And when coupled with the fact that it looked emaciated, that wasn't a good sign.

"It has been a long time, Kyuubi." The beast spoke. "How I've dreamed of getting even with you all these years."

Naruto backed up. What could he do to fight this creature? He already used up his best summon…even if he could call Gamabunta again, he wasn't sure if the two of them together could take this thing like they did Shukaku. He used up a good deal of chakra from his last attack as well. The only thing he could think of was using the Kyuubi's chakra. But that was not an option. It would take much more than the amount he got fighting Haku to bring this monster down. His four-tailed form might be able to stand up to it, but without Yamato nearby, there would be no way for him to return to normal once the job was done. He might even wind up killing his team!

"Well, it doesn't look like you'll be acting up any time soon…so, I think I will just get this started!" The dog yelled. It brought it's paw down, and Naruto dove for safety. Naruto unleashed all of his remaining shuriken, but the demon's fur simply caught it.

"I normally don't waste moves like these on mice like you, but it's been so long since I was free, I think I will make an exception!" The shuriken crackled with electricity, and fired straight at Naruto! He dodged as much as he could, but a few got him in the legs, stunning him.

"HAHAHA! How do you like that? I must say Kyuubi, how you have fallen!"

Naruto managed to stop shaking and pull the shurikens out. "Damn!" Naruto formed more bushins, and attacked the Houkou. The demon unfortunately swiped them all away with his tails. The real Naruto was trying his best to form a rasengan, but unfortunately, it was failing.

"Come on, COME ON!" he yelled.

Just when he thought it was formed, it dissipated. Naruto did not have time to react when the dog kicked him with his paw, and slammed Naruto against a rock. The ninja landed wrong, and broke his arm. The biju then, by it's terms, lightly stomped on the jinchuriki. Which was still the worst pain imaginable for him.

"Hmph. I thought just seeing you like this would be fun for me, but I'm already bored. I demand satisfaction!" The beast continued to stomp on Naruto, who could only scream in pain. "Reveal yourself and FIGHT ME!"

The next thing he knew, Naruto found himself in a sewer. "On no." He knew what this meant: Kyuubi.

"Fallen, HAVE I? I'll remind him of his place!"

Naruto got up and faced the cage that held the Kyuubi on the other side. "You stay out of this!" Naruto screamed.

Kyuubi smirked "And what? I suppose watching you die will give me shivers of pleasure…oh wait. If you die so do I, so that's not an option!"

Kyuubi's red chakra surrounded Naruto. "Stop it! Stop!" he cried.

"Embrace my power!"

Houku yelled "You've had your chance! One who refuses to acknowledge his power is the same as one who is weak! It's time I sent you straight to hell!" Houku brought his paw down in what was supposed to be the final strike. But it stopped a meter or two above the ground. "What the?"

Naruto held the paw up, his body resonating with red chakra. His features became more demonic, and he pushed hard. The giant toppled over. Naruto got down on all fours and grew chakra tails, until four grew and he became a mini fox.

Houkou grinned. "Well, it seems you've finally shown at least a piece of yourself. I'm going to enjoy this!" The demon got up and the two roared at each other.

Sakura heard the noises, and ran faster. Pakkun kept her in his sights, but he was too big to efficiently weave through all of the vines to keep up. Just when Sakura was about to reach the source, she stopped and looked to her side. It was Neji! He was twitching uncontrollably and blood was coming from his mouth.

"Neji!" She ran to his side and examined him. He bit his tongue, but not all the way through. She opened his jaw so no further damage would be done. She then placed her hand inside his mouth and sewed his tongue up. After that, she placed her hand on his back, and sent a jolt of electricity to his body. He stopped twitching. Sakura wasn't relieved though. Though he would not die, the twitching she observed was characteristic of someone who was struck by lightning…a very rare occurance, but she saw it happen once before. It was not a sight she wanted to see again. And if his condition was caused by electricity, judging from how bad his condition was, he might never fight again….Suddenly, more noises came from the beach. She laid Neji down and stood up.

"I'm so sorry Neji…but Naruto might be in trouble!" She ordered Pakkun to guard her fallen comrades and took off.

As Pakkun guarded the two, he heard a noise behind the bushes. He turned around and growled, ready to attack whatever would harm his comrades. However, he relaxed when he found it was just a brown haired woman. Her hair was unusually spiky, like she had been in contact with a power cord.

The woman looked around frantically. "Where's Kenji?"

Pakkun just replied "Sorry, but I'm not familiar with this area or its people! And just what are you doing here?" The dog bared his teeth, ready for anything

The woman ignored his comment, and then blurted out "Naruto! What about him? If I don't help, he'll be killed!"

Now this got Pakkun's attention. The woman was clearly not a threat. He sniffed the air, and said "I'm detecting his scent near the beach. A friend of his just went that way. I'd go with you, but I'm occupied at the moment."

Mana simply nodded and headed in the same direction as Sakura.

Iori stirred and lifted herself off the ground. "Wh-What happened?" The last thing she remembered was Yuji shoving her aside. He did it a little bit too hard, and she didn't exactly make pleasant contact with the earth….

"THAT DUMBASS! WHEN I-"

She stopped when she looked over the horizon. She couldn't believe what she was seeing: A monster, unlike anything her father told her in stories! "What is that thing?" Then she heard Shiguri scream. She turned around and saw Shiguri using every trick he could think of to hold the Kage beast at bay. Those tricks were very limited considering he was out of chakra

"That's right! That thing came back up and…" She remembered when she turned around to see the Kage monster about to take a swipe at her. Yuji pushed her out of the way…

"Yuji! Yuji!" She screamed. She looked, and finally found him. He was unconscious again, lying face first in a pool of his own blood. She ran towards him, and flipped him over. His chest had huge gashes in the form of claw marks.

"That wound…that wound was meant for me!" Iori thought. Yuji coughed up some blood, and opened his eyes, which were glazed over. Iori didn't know why…but suddenly she felt tears come down her cheeks.

"Yuji…"

"Iori?" Yuji asked in a hoarse whisper. "Is that you? Are you alright?"

Iori started hiccupping "You…you idiot! Why'd you do that?"

Yuji coughed some more, and said "Cause you're my friend. What other reason do I need?" He managed to crack a faint smile…

Iori didn't respond at first. Then she said "But-but I've been so mean to you…how could you possibly consider me your friend?"

Yuji just continued to smile. "Doesn't matter…I've always been told I pick the oddest friends." Soon, Yuji simply passed out. Iori's eyes widened, and she shook him violently.

"Yuji! Wake up!" By now Iori was crying hysterically. "YUJI!!"

Iori suddenly remembered to a certain day when she was five. The local ninja academy had just finished teaching for the day, and all of the kids scrambled to the playground while they waited for their parents. Iori ran up to some kids to play with them…only to have their backs turned on her. The same process repeated with each new group she came into contact with. Eventually, she would just sit under a tree and hug her knees. Why did they hate her? She wasn't the only one who seemed to have been given a cold shoulder…she was reminded of that fact when her father came to pick her up. "Again, huh?" he gave with his sad smile.

"Daddy?" Iori asked.

"Yes, dear?"

"Why does everyone ignore us?"

Her father looked the other way, his face plastered with a melancholy look. "I honestly don't know. They've done the same to me when I was younger. And I'm sorry they do it to you too."

"Even mommy?"

Her father smiled, but it was a sad one. "Your mother…she was a different story. At first, she did. But somewhere along the way, I guess I became her samurai in shining armor. She's been there for me ever since…before she died of illness." That was far from the truth though: She was murdered by the villagers. However, the Head Jonin couldn't do anything about it. There were no witnesses, and the council would do everything they could to throw the case out. As much as he wanted to burn the village down, he remembered his wife's dying words:

"Please forgive them, and raise Iori to be the kind person you showed me you were."

"Iori." He said. "I know how painful loneliness is. But I'll always be here for you. If something happens to me…well, I know the Gods will give you a special friend who would make sure you would never be lonely again."

Iori just looked at her dad quizzically.

"Come on." He said. "Let's work more on your taijutsu."

Iori's POV

After he was killed, the villagers tried to burn my house down with me in it. I escaped, and jumped on the first boat as a stowaway that I could. I hated everyone. Not just what they did to me, but because of what they did to my dad too. He was so kind, he always helped out whenever he could…and he was not repaid for his kindness once. I didn't want to make the same mistake he did. If the world would treat me like dirt, I'd do the same to it. Eventually, starved and near death, I found the famous Konohagakure. They put me in the orphanage, and that's when I signed up for the ninja academy. I don't know why; I guess I just wanted the power to physically lash out on somebody. Maybe I wanted to at least reach some part of my dad. But the loneliness got to me. The only things that kept me going was the memory of my dad, and some boy I developed a crush on. I know it was a silly dream to hope for a family so soon…but in the end that's what I really wanted: A family. I didn't want to be alone, and I was tired of being angry. But the further away that dream became, the angrier I became…

"…I wasn't angry at you…I'm not sure just what I was angry about, now that I think about it…but I didn't deserve to be saved! Not after the way I treated you!" Iori cried out.

She wasn't sure if Yuji wasn't even listening anymore. She used to think of him as annoying, and to her was the definition of everything she did not want be: clumsy, cowardly, weak…But he was always nice to her, and always tried to help her. And in these past few days, his strategies had been brilliant, something she hoped to aspire to.

"My dad showed so much kindness to the world and was shunned instead…I turn my back on the entire world….and you showed me the same kindness daddy showed." Iori hugged Yuji and cried on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Meanwhile, Shiguri dodged every strike the monster could throw at him…but Shiguri couldn't hope to hurt it. All he could do was survive. The chances of that plummeted when the monster fired it's laser at him and nailed him in the shoulder. Shiguri cried in pain as he clutched it.

Iori suddenly shot her head up at the beast, different from before. Physically. Her eyes turned a cobalt color, and fangs protruded from her mouth.

"I'll make you pay!" She screamed as silver chakra surrounded her, and she became more beast-like in appearance.

The Kage monster stopped its assault on Shiguri to look at her. If she was in her natural state, she would have seen the monster gave her a look that was akin to fear…and she charged.

Well, another chapter done! More action next time!...And you will get a little bit of NaruSaku interaction too. Just so people will stop begging me for it.