Minato is vigilant.

But he masks it with the skill of a kage. The safety of Konoha hinges on him being able to keep the village's high alert status hidden.

With Shikaku's help, he has placed twice the usual number of shinobi on guard at the stadium, and all others are stationed throughout the village. No one has off today.

As he takes his seat beside Rasa and Shibuki, his mind flies through the possibilities. He feels rather confident that the leaders won't be able to harm any of his ninja or the village if they indeed attack. He worked hard to develop a non-detectable barrier that was activated as soon as all of the leaders were inside.

No one will be able to enter or leave unless he lets them.

Each leader gave him a feeling of unease for a different reason. Meeting Rasa had filled him with a sense of familiarity that he shouldn't have after only seeing the man a few times over the years. Shibuki had been trying but failing to hide a smug smile. Otogakure's leader, still shrouded in secrecy, had declined to join them today.

And if that isn't suspicious, Minato doesn't know what is.

Naruto is nervous

He whooped that Konoha nin's butt, and in the second round, he's slated to fight Gaarawho nearly killed his first opponent.

But that's not why Naruto's nervous. That ninja that Gaara fought wasn't very good, and Naruto's sure Gaara wouldn't hurt a potential friend.

He's nervous because this is his last chance. Everyone's gonna go home after today, so Naruto needs to get his point across. He needs to push through Gaara's thick skull that Naruto and Fuu really do want to be his friends. That they're the same and they need to stick together because of it.

And he needs to prove to everyone that he's an excellent ninja while doing it!

He glances to the box where the kage sit. Gaara's dad is motionless with a scowl on his face as he watches his daughter fight some Konoha nin. No wonder Gaara is so weird. His dad is such a grump!

Naruto's eyes flick to the man beside the Kazekage.

As different from the Kazekage as Fuu is to Gaara, the Hokage watches the match with a mild smile on his face. But somehow, his eyes are filled with intense pride at the same time.

Naruto feels all warm as he remembers glancing up at the Hokage just before his fight against Sai. The Hokage was looking at him with that mild smile, but his eyes had been soft and warm like they'd been when Naruto had removed Sasuke's seal.

He crushed Sai, and he'd glanced back up at the Hokage as soon as he had won. Their eyes had met, and the Hokage gave him an encouraging nod and a wink.

Naruto's stomach had flopped. Not in fear but in that same feeling from the other day.

Since his conversation with Fuu, he's been thinking a lot about what his parents might've been like, and he regrets that he didn't care enough to ask Baa-chan when she'd been alive. He definitely wouldn't want a dad like Jiriaya. Gross! Kegon-sensei would be an okay dad, but even though he's nice and all, he's way too serious. But the Hokage would actually be a pretty cool dad. He's super powerful, super smart, and super nice.

Naruto wouldn't want the Hokage himself as his dad, definitely not! Just a dad who's like him.

The first indications of a fight echo through the stadium before Naruto gets to fight Gaara. He is pacing in front of Fuu—who is leaning against the wall and has yet to fight in her first match—in the waiting area, and he is practically vibrating with energy. He's never been this nervous before. What does he even do about that emotion!

Then there's shouting and the sounds of a piece of the stadium crumbling above, and Fuu bursts off of the wall to join him as they both look up.

"What do you think is happening?"

It might be a fight, but what Naruto feels is relief. Finally, he doesn't have to be nervous anymore!

"I guess there's something going on."

He looks over at the Kage section to see that Gaara's dad has disappeared, and the Hokage is fighting some lady. Shibuki is obviously trying to get as far away as possible from them while all the other Taki nin guard him, but he looks like he's stuck on some invisible wall.

"Fuu! We gotta go help project Shibuki! I think he's in danger!"

Fuu follows his gaze, and when she sees Shibuki, fear flits across her face. It's quickly replaced with determination, though. She nods. "Let's go."

But as they leap off to help Shibuki, they pass Gaara who, looking up toward the fighting himself, starts to agitate his sand. It slinks out of the gourd on his back and swirls around him with anticipation.

"Uh, actually Fuu, I think we've got our own problem."

The barrier is holding, strong, but standing before Minato is one of the few people who could break through it. Or modify it. Or turn it against him.

He really needs to stop thinking about the worst possibilities.

Orochimaru's tongue hangs lazily from his grinning mouth. There is a gleam in his eye like he can't wait for what he has in store today. A look like that on a man like Orochimaru's face is a dangerous thing.

"It's so very good to see you again, Minato-chan."

Minato glares at his opponent and says nothing. He knows how much Orochimaru enjoys chatting during fights, and he's not willing to give the man that satisfaction.

Orochimaru seems to read Minato's mind because he grins even wider. "We'll see what you have to say once I've destroyed this village you and my silly mentor love so much."

"I will die before I let you destroy Konoha," Minato says, anger surging through him and loosening his tongue. His eyes flash like the blade of his kunai that he sends flying towards his opponent.

"Then today you die."

The kunai sails past Orochimaru's head.

Before Orochimaru can move, Minato disappears, then reappears just behind him and slits his throat. Orochimaru raises a hand and curiously fingers the blood gushing from wound before his body crumples to the ground.

"Genma."

"Yes, hokage."

"Please inform the Sandaime of his student's betrayal. He should be here when we dispose of the body."

Despite the precautions, Minato is not stupid enough to assume that Orochimaru has died that easily. He warily watches the body, only taking his eyes off for a few seconds to make sure that Genma is able to pass through the barrier when he allows it.

He takes the moment to glance around the tight space inside the barrier as well. Shibuki and his nin watch Orochimaru's body warily. The Suna nin of Orochimaru's entourage are also gauging the situation, clearly unsure what to do. It seems to suggest that they are as shocked as he is that Rasa is an imposter.

"Kukuku, Minato-chan, so eager to be rid of me?" It has been mere seconds since Genma left. Yet, a new head sprouts from Orochimaru's neck. A mouth with thin lips that are spread into a sly grin smiles up at him. It is soon joined by laughing eyes. They dance as they watch for Minato's reaction. "It won't be that easy."

Minato himself keeps his features carefully neutral. "I assume the Kazekage did not just hand his hat over to you."

"Smart as ever," Orochimaru says, like a teacher praising his student. "No, I unfortunately had to use force."

"Does the rest of Suna know?"

"They have been blindly following their Kage, kukuku. Seems I've reached my old desire same as you."

Orochimaru's body has reformed. Less than a minute. Minato has less than a minute to contain a "dead" body before Orochimaru is mobile again.

The snake lifts his arms and launches a torrent of snakes at Minato who flashes to the side and slices their bodies cleanly down the middle.

"So impatient. Are you not having fun, Minato-chan? Perhaps I need to show you my new trick. "

Orochimaru opens his mouth, and a rush of snakes emerges, launching themselves at Minato who effortlessly jumps out of the way again. Orochimaru is toying with him.

Beside him Shibuki leans against the barrier to avoid the snakes. He appears calculating as if he is trying to determine if he should take a side in this fight. His ninja flank him defensively and watch with horrified eyes.

If Orochimaru decides to get serious, they are all fodder.

Minato doesn't want to risk letting them out, but he can't let them get killed either.

He needs to get Orochimaru away.

Outside of the barrier Oto and Suna nin engage Konoha nin in battle. Minato trusts his fighters to do what's necessary: protect the civilians and minimize the damage to the village. This is why all of his ninja are on duty today. He can only afford to pay attention to Orochimaru. The snake is one of the only ninja in the world who could rival Minato in power, and here in Konoha where Orochimaru could easily destroy all that Minato loves, he must be extra careful.

But if he can take away that threat…

When Orochimaru sends another barrage of snakes at him, Minato simply steps aside and reaches a hand out to touch them.

They disappear.

"I think Gaara might actually hurt someone!"

Fuu might be right. The sand around Gaara is swirling faster, even though his body doesn't move. His eyes are still fixed above where the Kages sit. Naruto follows his gaze to see that Shibuki is still in a defensive stance, ready to defend against an attack.

But the Hokage and the creepy lady are gone.

"We need to stop him!" Fuu shouts, placing a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

At least Shibuki is pretty safe now, so Naruto feels comfortable enough to trust Shibuki and his guards to protect themselves. "Let's do it!"

They launch forward and jump in front of Gaara's line of sight. "Gaara!" Fuu shouts, "Please don't attack anyone. There's lots of innocent people here!"

"Yeah, Gaara," Naruto says. "I'm sure your dad's all right. He'll be back soon, ttebayo!"

"I hate my father," Gaara says. And Naruto gets it. He'd hate his dad too if he had a dad that treated him like the Kazekage treats his kids. But Gaara's voice is so flat, it really doesn't sound like he actually hates anyone. "But I am his weapon."

"No!" Naruto and Fuu shout at the same time.

"We're not weapons!"

"Yeah! Remember? We need to use our monsters to protect people, not hurt them!"

Tendrils of Gaara's sand float out towards the stands where Konoha nin fight Suna and Oto nin. The younger nin are trying to get the civilians out of the stands. Naruto saw how easily Gaara totally crushed his first opponent with that sand, so he doesn't even want to imagine what would happen to civilians if Gaara manages to attack.

"I don't think he's gonna talk to us," Naruto says. "He seems pretty set on hurting people."

"We're gonna have to fight then." Fuu clearly doesn't like the idea, but Naruto knows she'll do whatever it takes to protect people.

Naruto leaps right in front of Gaara so that they're only like two feet apart. The sand swirling around him could kill him in an instant, but protecting the civilians is more important.

"You know what? If you're gonna attack innocent people, you gotta go through me, ttebayo! Our fight starts now!"

Gaara doesn't even look at Naruto. Sand snakes around Naruto's legs, lifts him into the air, and tosses him across the stadium. He kicks to right himself in midair so that he doesn't land headfirst, but he still crashes into the ground with rattling force.

It takes a moment for Naruto to regain his bearings. He groans as he stands up and takes in the arena. Fuu was flung in the opposite direction, and Gaara stands between them with his sand swirling in agitation. He keeps looking from Naruto to Fuu to the stands where his dad no longer sits.

Gaara launches another rope of sand, but this time Naruto manages to leap away to join Fuu on the other side of the stadium.

"His sand is too strong. How to we hit him?" he asks.

"Maybe we don't have to hit him. Maybe we just have to keep him distracted so he doesn't hurt anyone."

As if to show that he is very not distracted, the swirling sand around Gaara expands as he starts walking towards the stands.

"That's a good enough idea for me! Let's go!"

They have spent months working as a team. They intimately know each other's moves and attacks. And even though Kegon-sensei never let them see combat together, they know exactly how to support the other.

As they leap towards Gaara, Naruto makes a few dozen shadow clones that fan out to surround Gaara. Each clone pulls out a kunai, and they barrel at Gaara. Fuu, meanwhile, launches a flurry of wind release techniques, blowing Gaara's defensive sand away in hopes of giving Naruto an opening. Naruto tries to take them, but somehow, last minute, there's always a sheet of sand blocking his attacks.

A blast of sand whips out, taking out all of the remaining shadow clones and sending Naruto flying across the arena once again.

He's up in an instant, flanked by a bunch more shadow clones, when he looks across the arena to see Fuu desperately avoiding Gaara's tendrils of sand. They leap back into the fight when Fuu releases a burst of dust that blinds Gaara. In the brief moment when he is distracted, she launches two kunai towards him. Naruto's clones join the attack and throw a flurry of attacks of their own.

But even with Gaara blinded sand leaps up and blocks every attack his clones throw.

"Again, Fuu!"

Fuu sends out another burst of her blinding dust. Gaara is ready this time, and closes his eyes, but what he doesn't expect is the Wind Release: Gale Palm that they both send out at angles that send the dust flying in a whirlwind around Gaara. He squeezes his eyes tight and waits and waits for the wind to die down, and when it doesn't, he brings up a barrier of sand around him to block out the attack.

Naruto and Fuu ease up on the wind, and in that moment in which the technique is dying down, the shadow clones launch at Gaara, kunais in their hands. Naruto himself holds back.

Most of his clones have no effect on the sand barrier, but while they attack it from all angles again and again and again, Naruto watches for an opening.

There it is! One of the clones cracks the barrier. This is his chance.

Kunai in hand, he leaps forward and punches the crack. His hand bursts through, and he feels his kunai come into contact with something on the inside.

For a terrifying moment, the barrier begins to reform around his hand, and Naruto fears that his hand will be stuck inside with Gaara.

But then the barrier explodes!

Naruto and Fuu leap out of the way. And when the sand clears, they see Gaara squatting in the middle of the chaos with cracks running across his forehead, and a bleeding cut right over the weird tattoo that says "Love."

There is silence as Naruto and Fuu watch and wait to see what Gaara does. Suddenly, it seems like Gaara isn't really there anymore. Like obviously his body his still there, but his mind seems like it's somewhere else. They can hear him breathing heavily, and his eyes seem unfocused.

In that instant, Temuri and Kankuro land on either side of Gaara. Temuri glances over at Kankuro. "We have to get him out of here!" Kankuro nods at his sister, serious for the first time Naruto has ever seen him.

They hook Gaara's arms around each of their necks. As they stand, Gaara's head lolls, but his face seems to show an internal battle. Flickers of emotion—odd on Gaara's face—pass over his features. A pulse of malicious chakra washes over Naruto as the siblings leap out of the stadium.

Naruto and Fuu glance at each other.

Clearly they both felt it. Fuu's hand is on her stomach just like Naruto's is on his own. Fuu's brows scrunch together in worry, mirroring what Naruto feels.

It's the bijuu.

Naruto can't let his out no matter what.

And they need to make sure Gaara doesn't let his escape either.

They jump off after the siblings, hoping that the monster doesn't escape while they're still in Konoha.

The village wall is in sight when Gaara starts to thrash in his siblings' arms. Temuri and Kankuro pick up their pace, and Naruto and Fuu breath a sigh of relief that the Sand siblings seem just as concerned about the village's well-being as Naruto and Fuu are.

They just pass the wall of the village when another pulse of malicious chakra spreads out, and a roar makes the leaves on the trees tremble. Even though it comes from Gaara, it doesn't sound like him.

"How dare you!" And the voice isn't entirely Gaara's either. It's wild and gleeful. "How dare you attack me."

Sand whips out, throwing Temuri and Kankuro off into the forest.

At the voice, the bijuu in Naruto's gut stirs even more intensely, and he knows Fuu feels it too. Gaara's sharp gaze lands on them, and for the first time, they are full of emotion.

Anger.

And his eyes are no longer seafoam green. Instead, the scelera are black, and his irises have turned gold.

"Well look who it is," Gaara says in that voice that isn't his, and a wicked smile stretches across his face as he turns to face them. His eyes flicker from Naruto to Fuu, a look of hunger in them. It seems like Gaara's sand is becoming his skin as it creeps outward from his eyes.

They need a new plan of attack, but Gaara doesn't give them time. While his body hardly moves, the transformed part of him flies. Naruto and Fuu leap out of the way of his arm just in time, avoiding the tendrils of sand that race after them.

Fuu launches towards the epicenter of the monster where Gaara's real body is. She releases another Wind Release: Gale Palm. It rushes towards Gaara but only manages to stir the sand around him.

Naruto leaps in, armed with an exploding tag. Maybe he can blow up the weird monster half of Gaara! The monster lashes out. Naruto sees it coming for him, but he can't leap away fast enough. It catches him in midair and smashes him to the ground.

Fuu lands beside him. "He's super strong," she says. "You okay?"

"Yep!" Naruto jumps to his feet before he's ready, and the blood rushes from his head, but he can't give into dizziness. They're fighting a bijuu!

He creates at least a fifty shadow clones, each holding their own exploding tags. Before they can put the tags on the sand monster, the bijuu's arm takes out like half of them. The ones that do make it past the attack, stick the exploding tags to the bijuu's arm.

The clones leap out of the way as the tags blow up, but the explosion catches a few of them.

The sudden loss of so many clones rattles Naruto, but he still keeps his balance, watching to see what happened to Gaara.

Nothing.

Nothing happened to Gaara. Like Gaara's sand, the bijuu just reforms in the places where an exploding tag went off. And the side of Gaara that is still his original body is perfectly in tact, but cracks run along his exposed skin.

Part of Naruto is glad. He didn't want to seriously hurt Gaara, but he can't let that monster run free either.

If he could just get an exploding tag past the bijuu's arm and Gaara's sand and stick it to Gaara's skin. With the weird film of protective sand covering Gaara like armor, an exploding tag might do just the right amount of damage to knock some sense into him.

He summons a few dozen more clones, and Fuu knows what to do. Once again, she surrounds Gaara with blinding dust. Naruto waits until the opening and then his clones launch forward.

In the monster's disorientation, Naruto manages to lay one exploding tag on Gaara's arm. It goes off, and Gaara cries out in pain.

Part of Gaara's sleeve has been blown away, and there are chips in the sand armor, but clearly Gaara's real skin is still fine underneath.

Fuu then launches in with a flurry of taijutsu, but Naruto can see that she's flagging. She's used so many high-level, chakra-eating techniques. Even he is feeling tired, and he has way more chakra than she does.

Still, he summons another host of clones that distract the monster half of Gaara while Fuu fights the human half.

Fuu lands a kick across Gaara's face and swipes a kunai along his cracked and flaking arm. Blood pools and then drips to the ground. She leaps away to catch her breath as Gaara's transformed eyes follow the drops of blood before a shudder rocks his body and he roars.

Naruto and Fuu stand at a distance at a loss for what to do next. They've tried their most powerful techniques, and they only made Gaara stronger! Plus, they're both gasping for breath at this point. Naruto can feel that his chakra is dangerously low.

It's so low that he can't escape the torrent of sand that comes flying at him and then engulfs him. He hears a screech from Fuu, which means Gaara probably got her too.

Naruto knows this technique. He saw Gaara use it during his first match of the final exams, and it killed his opponent.

Sand Binding Coffin.

Minato and Orochimaru reappear miles away from Konoha in an open field in the middle of the forest.

Both take a moment to gauge their bearings. Minato is relieved that the area is devoid of any people. The meadow is one along his route from Konoha to the capital. He chose it because there are no towns nearby and it is close enough to Konoha that teleporting to it doesn't use an excess of chakra. But his relief wanes when Orochimaru smiles connivingly.

"Very clever, Minato-chan. Unfortunately, I have not yet developed a teleportation jutsu that can take me back to Konoha quicker than you'll be able to catch me. However, I did anticipate that you might be interested in making this a one-on-one."

Minato doesn't allow Orochimaru to demonstrate what he had planned. He retaliates to the biting words by throwing his three-pronged kunai. In the same moment, Orochimaru launches a scroll into the air. Minato reappears behind Orochimaru, a Rasengan is in his hand, and he smacks it into Orochimaru's back.

There is no satisfaction watching Orochimaru's body fall this time. His muscles hum with tension, as it crumples to the ground. He knows that it will quickly reanimate, but he takes the reprieve to observe once again. Why can't Orochimaru die?

He has stabbed him in the back and slit his throat. Each injury takes its effect, but it's like Orochimaru's body is simply a snakeskin that can be easily shed. Maybe he needs to destroy the internal organs?

Or simply seal him.

He is about to strike with a kunai to test his first theory when the scroll hits the ground and unravels to deposit an Oto nin unceremoniously on his behind.

Storing people in scrolls? Minato isn't aware of that as a possibility. Still, if anyone would have developed a method, it would be Orochimaru.

The Sound ninja is dazed. He looks around the clearing, trying to get his bearings. When his eyes land on Minato, they widen in fear. He scrambles to his feet and runs.

Minato isn't interested in taking out ninja who appear to be completely harmless. It feels like an abuse of his power, so he lets the Oto nin run and returns his attention to Orochimaru, who's body has already nearly completely reformed. One hand is flat on the ground as if Orochimaru is about to summon Manda. The other clutches a kunai. His eyes are on his subordinate with an unnerving gleam, and even in his incomplete state, he flicks the kunai towards the shinobi.

Minato glances back at the retreating shinobi just in time to see a kunai embed itself in the ninja's back, into the spinal cord just below the nape of the neck. The shinobi falls to the ground with a muffled thump.

"Edo tensei no jutsu."

Minato knows that jutsu. "Not the Nidaime's—" he mutters, but his voice trails off when a coffin emerges from the ground.

"Yes, it is the Nidaime's. But my time with the Akatsuki allowed me to make some very necessary improvements."

The lid of the coffin bursts off of its hinges as whoever is inside kicks through it.

A whirlwind comes flying out. Fists clenched. Eyes blazing. Hair tangled. "Who the hell did this to me!"

No.

"Kushina," Minato chokes.