As the chaos of the invasion exploded across Konoha, Kaito's voice cut through the noise, steady and commanding. "Naruto, go after Sasuke! He's going to need backup. Gaara's not himself."
Naruto nodded, his usual grin replaced by a look of determination. He sprinted off, weaving through the panic-stricken villagers as the sounds of battle filled the air. Explosions echoed around him, and the cries of kunai and jutsu clashing set his pulse racing. He shot a quick look over his shoulder, watching as Kaito turned and hurled himself into the fray, engaging an advancing squad of Sand and Sound ninja with fierce precision.
Kaito moved like a force of nature. His Sharingan flared, tracking every movement as he wove between his opponents, deflecting attacks and countering with deadly efficiency. A Sound shinobi launched a series of kunai at him, but Kaito dodged with ease, sending a flurry of shuriken back in retaliation. Two Sand ninja attempted to trap him from either side, but he read their movements, dodging to the left and landing a decisive kick on one while swiftly slashing at the other. He wasn't about to let these invaders overrun his home.
Meanwhile, Naruto followed the path of destruction that Gaara and Sasuke had left in their wake. Trees were split, branches snapped, and patches of earth had been torn apart by the force of Gaara's sand. Naruto pushed harder, his focus narrowing on his friends.
He finally caught up to them as they clashed in a clearing deep within the forest. Sasuke was breathing hard, his Sharingan active, but his movements were slower than usual. Gaara, transformed into a monstrous sand form, loomed over him, his eyes wild with bloodlust.
Naruto didn't waste a second. "Sasuke!" he yelled, catching his teammate's attention as he leaped between them, blocking a strike from Gaara's sand claw with a massive, summoned shield made of hardened cells, which he'd formed on the spot.
"You're late," Sasuke muttered, trying to hide his relief as he steadied himself.
"Had to pick up some reinforcements," Naruto replied with a grin. But his eyes narrowed as he focused on Gaara, feeling the bloodlust pouring from him.
Gaara growled, his monstrous form flexing as sand poured from his body like a living thing, swirling around him in a chaotic storm. "You…you're both in my way," he rasped, the voice of Shukaku echoing beneath his words. "I'll destroy you!"
"Not if we can help it!" Naruto shouted back, creating a handful of cell-based constructs—a mix of shields and weapons—around him and Sasuke.
The battle began in earnest, with Gaara hurling massive waves of sand at them, each attack more relentless than the last. Sasuke moved with quick, precise strikes, using his Sharingan to anticipate Gaara's movements, while Naruto countered with summoned cell weapons, creating shields, spears, and whips as fast as he could to keep the sand at bay.
When Gaara raised his arms to summon a colossal sand tidal wave, Naruto quickly made a dozen clones. They leapt at Gaara from all directions, distracting him as Naruto and Sasuke prepared to go on the offensive.
"Now!" Naruto yelled, sending his clones in with their own attacks, while he and Sasuke moved in close. Sasuke summoned his last bit of chakra, launching himself at Gaara with a powerful blow enhanced by his Sharingan's precision. Naruto followed suit, summoning a giant, spiked club from his Chimera-gan cells, swinging it with all his strength.
The blows landed, sending Gaara reeling back. His sand armor cracked, revealing his true face underneath, twisted in rage and pain. But Gaara's resolve only deepened, his monstrous form reshaping itself, readying for another strike.
Back in the village, Kaito continued to fight. He had joined a group of Leaf shinobi holding the line against the Sand and Sound forces. The invaders were numerous, but Kaito's Sharingan gave him an edge, allowing him to predict and counter their attacks with ruthless efficiency.
At one point, a powerful Sound jutsu user tried to overwhelm him with a barrage of sound-based attacks, each wave reverberating through the air like a physical force. But Kaito activated his Sharingan, reading the attacks and dodging just in time, before retaliating with a perfectly timed kunai throw that took down his attacker.
As he fought, his mind kept drifting to Naruto and Sasuke, hoping that Naruto's strength and resilience would be enough to bring Sasuke back in one piece.
Back in the forest, Naruto and Sasuke continued their struggle against Gaara, fighting with everything they had. Finally, as they prepared one last coordinated attack, Gaara faltered, his monstrous form crumbling as he staggered, drained from his own rage and exhaustion.
Naruto and Sasuke stood, both panting heavily, victorious but battered. They shared a look of relief and understanding before Naruto turned back to where the village loomed in the distance. The battle wasn't over yet, but for now, they had done their part.
As Gaara falls unconscious, Shukaku's aura surges, and the air trembles with its raw energy. In response, Naruto focuses his Chimera-gan, summoning a colossal beast towering in power and stature, merging the abilities he's acquired over time. The beast manifests with fierce, gleaming Sharingan eyes that capture every detail, while its Byakugan grants it nearly perfect awareness across the battlefield. Its sandy limbs ripple as it manipulates grains in perfect harmony, creating shields and whips to protect its summoners—Naruto and Sasuke—who stand atop it.
With a grin, Naruto channels his chakra into the creature, feeling it expand and shift beneath him. As Shukaku begins its ferocious attack, the colossal beast counters, summoning a legion of snake-like appendages to entangle Shukaku's limbs and hinder its movements. When Shukaku manages to break through, the beast's limbs dissolve into sand, only to reassemble and strike back with increased force. At a thought from Naruto, the beast's body splits into smaller, snake-like forms that twist and regenerate around Shukaku's massive attacks.
Sasuke's fire techniques scorch through, working in tandem with the sand manipulation to strike Shukaku from multiple angles. With every movement, the colossal creature adapts, shifting its form, blending attack and defense. The intense teamwork between Naruto and Sasuke, atop this living embodiment of Naruto's skill, forces Shukaku to reel back. Finally, Naruto directs the creature to summon a massive binding jutsu, its sand control mingling with summoning power to create a restraint around Shukaku, locking it in place.
Together, they make a formidable duo, pushing Shukaku back as the tides of battle shift in their favor.
Naruto and Sasuke, working in perfect sync, continue their relentless assault on Shukaku, with Naruto's colossal beast countering every move the One-Tail makes. They push Shukaku to the brink, Naruto's beast morphing its sand-like limbs into massive fists that strike with the power of tidal waves. Sasuke's precision attacks land on Shukaku's weak points, and slowly, the combined force of their efforts begins to wear the monstrous beast down.
With one final coordinated attack, Naruto directs the colossal beast to bind Shukaku in a web of sand and chakra-infused serpents, holding it in place long enough for Sasuke to unleash a devastating fireball jutsu at point-blank range. Shukaku roars in pain and frustration, its power waning as Naruto's beast exerts its binding jutsu with all its might.
Just as they reach the tipping point, Jiraiya appears on the scene, his presence radiating calm authority. He steps forward, hands moving into a series of complex seals. Drawing on his vast reserves of chakra, Jiraiya begins a sealing jutsu, focusing intently on Shukaku's writhing form. Blue light surrounds Gaara's body as the beast is forced back, its energy dissipating and compressing, as Jiraiya's powerful seal takes hold.
With a final flash of chakra, the seal sets deep within Gaara, calming the raging energy of Shukaku and returning Gaara to his human form. Exhausted but victorious, Naruto and Sasuke descend from the colossal beast, which dissolves back into chakra as Naruto releases the jutsu.
Jiraiya places a hand on Naruto's shoulder, giving him a proud nod. "Impressive work, kid," he says with a grin. Naruto grins back, exhilarated from the battle and relieved for his friend, Sasuke, standing beside him.
In the center of the village, the battle between Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, and Orochimaru raged atop the Hokage Monument. Kaito stood alongside Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, and Uyu, their eyes locked on the intense struggle above. Shadows of the past seemed to haunt the fight as Hiruzen faced his former student, each strike carrying the weight of old betrayals and lost bonds.
Hiruzen, breathing heavily but determined, wielded his staff, Enma, with practiced precision. Orochimaru, as snake-like as ever, taunted Hiruzen with a twisted smile, his movements fluid and menacing. He summoned dark, sinister jutsu, calling forth powers that seemed beyond human, forcing Hiruzen to push his skills to their utmost limit.
"This is... painful to watch," Asuma muttered, fists clenched as he observed his father struggle.
Kakashi, his Sharingan exposed, kept a steely focus. "We might have to intervene, but Hiruzen-sama wouldn't want that. He wants to stop Orochimaru with his own hands."
Kaito clenched his jaw, feeling a surge of frustration. He glanced at Uyu, who stood beside him, her gaze unflinching. They both knew the cost of this battle, the history between master and student—and the likelihood that it might end in tragedy.
As the fight progressed, Hiruzen began to show signs of exhaustion, but he refused to relent. Orochimaru laughed darkly, conjuring two coffins that rose ominously from the ground. It was the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation technique. The coffins creaked open, revealing the reanimated forms of the First and Second Hokage.
Everyone watching felt a chill at the sight of the legendary Hokage being brought back as Orochimaru's puppets. Kaito's fists clenched, his eyes flashing with anger. "He has no respect for the dead. Using the founders of the village against Hiruzen like this..."
Guy placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "This is the hardest part of being a shinobi. We have to trust Hiruzen-sama, no matter how dire it looks."
Hiruzen faced his fallen predecessors with a somber expression, torn between the pain of seeing them and the duty to protect the village from Orochimaru's madness. The First and Second Hokage moved toward him with mechanical precision, attacking with deadly strength and speed. Hiruzen barely managed to dodge and parry, calling upon every ounce of his training and experience.
Orochimaru smirked from a distance, savoring the sight. "Is this what you taught me, sensei? How to wield power over life and death?"
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed, and he called upon his chakra reserves for one final act. He began weaving the signs for the Reaper Death Seal, his hands steady despite the toll it would take.
The team below watched with a mix of awe and dread as Hiruzen summoned the Shinigami. The spectral form appeared behind him, ominous and deadly. With immense willpower, Hiruzen pushed forward, prepared to give his life to end Orochimaru's terror.
As the Shinigami's spectral hand reached through him toward Orochimaru, Kaito whispered, "Thank you, Hiruzen-sama." He gripped his weapon, silently vowing to carry forward the Third Hokage's legacy and protect the village he loved.
Naruto stood in the shadows, quietly observing as the Sound Four vanished into the trees. Though the battle had ended without capturing Orochimaru, Naruto knew he'd gained something valuable: the DNA of these formidable shinobi. His Chimera-gan allowed him to capture the essence of their unique skills, storing them for later study and potential use. He felt the weight of their strange power, sensing the twisted nature of their chakra. These weren't ordinary shinobi—they were enhanced, altered by Orochimaru's vile experiments.
Kaito turned to Naruto, who had appeared nearby with Sasuke and Jiraiya. His eyes met Naruto's, recognizing the look of concentration and intrigue. Naruto gave a small nod, acknowledging his new insights.
"Those four were something else," Naruto muttered, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. "Orochimaru definitely chose them for a reason."
Jiraiya placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, his expression a mix of pride and concern. "Good instincts, kid. But be careful with those techniques of yours—they're powerful, and not everything you take in will be easy to control."
Sasuke, still simmering with frustration from the encounter, clenched his fists. He'd felt Orochimaru's predatory gaze on him, the way the rogue ninja had marked him as a target. He glanced at Naruto, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. "We need to get stronger," he muttered. "That fight... it wasn't enough."
Kaito nodded, his gaze shifting between them. "Naruto, Sasuke, the Sound Four are dangerous, but this encounter proves you're more than capable of handling threats like them. And now... it's time to train even harder. Orochimaru isn't going to give up that easily."
Naruto grinned, determination blazing in his eyes. "Then let's make sure we're ready for him next time."