Hinata landed near Sasuke, a few feet to his left, just a second after Naruto and Shikamaru. All Suna nin were guarding Gaara, their Jonin sensei glaring harshly at them.
"Hinata, did you get to the Hokage?" Naruto asked, his eyes never leaving the enemy; something Minato and Kushina quite literally beat into them. She nodded. "Then Grandpa Third'll be fine."
"Kakashi-sensei and a few other Jonin are protecting the spectators. They were all caught in a genjutsu," she explained.
"The people are fine, too, then. And the Uchiha Police Force is on it as well, which means we just have to focus on bringing these guys down. Especially Gaara since he's clearly not completely human and somehow important to whatever they've got planned," Sasuke added.
"About that," Naruto sighed. "He's…like me, in a way."
Hinata and Sasuke gave him a nod, understanding quickly what he meant. Until now, they never thought a person, let alone an entire village, would manipulate a jinchuuriki—a child —into being their weapon. It disgusted them. Seeing Gaara so unstable before their eyes solidified their suspicions that he was, in fact, manipulated. However, when doing something for a shinobi village, ninjas could never turn down or even question their orders.
Just then, they all felt a menacing aura wash throughout the arena and Hinata watched with her doujutsu as four Oto shinobi created a powerful barrier, enclosing the Third Hokage and the Kazekage inside. When she got a closer look at the four nin, she instantly recognized the belts they were wearing.
"Orochimaru," she all but spat. Directing her attention back to her enemies, her gaze stayed hardened. "You're working with him?"
"That dude molested me with his tongue and sucked on Sasuke's neck!" Naruto exclaimed in distaste.
Sasuke grimaced. "Don't put it like that, you idiot! He didn't suck on my neck!"
"We have more pressing matters at the moment. Like figuring out what they're gaining by working with the likes of that snake," Hinata said curtly. When it came to the Sannin who marked one of her best friends, she was all business and didn't have time for anything else.
"We're not working with him. These orders come directly from our Kazekage!" The Jonin argued.
Sasuke scoffed. "The reason didn't matter as soon as they attacked a village they had a long-standing peace treaty with."
Before anyone could comment, Gaara took a step forward. "I need to kill him," he grunted. Temari attempted to calm him, reminding him of the mission but it was clear the boy was too far gone.
"You can't forget the mission!" Temari pleaded. Gaara then clutched his head as though something was trying to break loose.
Their sensei made a move to fight by pulling out a kunai and that is when Genma got in front of Sasuke, Suddenly Gaara dropped to his knees, groaning in pain.
"You idiot!" The Suna Jonin scolded. "You were supposed to wait for the damn signal before transforming." He thought for a moment. "Get him out of here. He's going to play his part no matter what. Heal what you can and bring him back here once he's got enough chakra!"
They lifted up the redhead. "What about you?"
"I'll deal with these guys," he replied.
"You certainly don't look stupid," Genma said, shifting the toothpick in his mouth. "You're outnumbered here, and there's no way your brats are gonna just leave like that."
The Suna genin team quickly made their way over to the high arena walls with Kankuro supporting all of Gaara's weight.
"Get moving!" Genma commanded them. Team 7 and Shikamaru didn't need to be told twice and were zooming after their enemies, paying no mind to the Suna Jonin who attempted to stop them. They trusted Genma.
As they flew over the wall and out of sight, Genma spit out his toothpick. "You all have achieved Chuunin level, whether you get the official title or not. Protect the village…with your lives."
From a distance, Neji and Shino stood side-by-side.
"We're not completely healed, but we should be able to lend a hand," Shino said.
"Right. I cannot let Hinata-sama go into danger alone," Neji responded. "Let's go!" And they were moving.
Kakashi caught a final glimpse of his team as they went over the wall. "All things considered, I bet they're excited."
Guy, after taking down another enemy, raised a brow at his eternal rival. "Your team? Why?"
"Not only is it their first mission in a while, but it's also A-ranked. I'm sure they're delighted to fight real opponents again," he explained. Though the last time they faced real opponents, Hinata almost died. But he was positive he didn't have to worry after watching her latest match against the Aburame.
He then turned to the only genin in the stands who could withstand genjutsu. "Sakura! Wake Ino and Choji and then fight! Watch each other's backs."
"Y-Yes!" Though flustered and just a bit afraid of hearing this was classified as an A-rank, she needed to do her duty as a shinobi of Konoha.
Team 7 and Shikamaru were trailing just behind the Suna team.
"This guy is their trump card so we shouldn't be surprised if they send more enemies to keep us off their trail," Sasuke said. "We need a plan."
"We have a group of eight Oto nin tacking us," Hinata suddenly announced. "Orochimaru uses no one but the best and gullible, so I have no doubt they're all around Jonin level."
"Eight? That'll take too long," Naruto pointed out. "Maybe having Hinata's byakugan can help us reverse roles. We could ambush them ."
"That would also be time-consuming," Sasuke replied. "The only way is for one of us to stay behind and hold them off."
It was silent before Shikamaru sighed. "You clearly mean me."
"No. We can discuss this," Hinata said, not willing to throw her close friend possibly to his death.
Shikamaru stopped and they all followed suit. "There's no time to come up with some miracle plan, Hinata. You three are somehow imperative to this mission. You have experience and there's nothing my Shadow Possession Jutsu can do for that kind of battle. But stalling enemies? It's perfect," he explained. "You three go ahead."
Sasuke and Naruto nodded solemnly, though Hinata looked as though she wanted to argue more. However, she knew she needed to push her emotions down because Shikamaru was right.
"Don't die," was all she could say. Then Team 7 was flickering away.
Shikamaru watched her go briefly with an easygoing smile before reaching up, untying the handkerchief from his arm, and tucking it away in his pocket for safekeeping…until his match was over.
Now, all he could do was wait, but he didn't have to do that for long.
"He'll be fine," Sasuke reassured Hinata as they flew through the trees.
"He stayed behind as bait to hold off eight high-level shinobi. We all know what that means," she said, her voice so quiet that it was barely audible.
"Then, no matter what happens, let's make it not be in vain!" Naruto added. "Let's go." They all charged chakra to their feet and sped forward. After a moment of silence, he spoke again. "I never knew Shikamaru was so brave."
Hinata smiled to herself. "That's the way he prefers it. Though, I'm positive he'll end up playing a very important role within the village that isn't only limited to being a Clan Head."
Sasuke raised a brow. "You have a lot of trust in him," he stated.
"Yes." Her voice was unwavering. "We're all part of the Rookie Nine." The label of the three passing genin teams from the academy often made her face hot when she heard it, but now she only felt proud.
She focused her byakugan up ahead. "They know we're close; they're setting traps. However, it's only the wind user."
"Can we go around them?" Naruto asked.
"A large area has been covered with explosive tags and wire," she explained as she looked about the area. "But they went wide and not tall."
"We can go over then," Sasuke smirked. "Let's go!" All three bent their knees upon landing on a branch and shot higher up into the trees. "Naruto, once Hinata confirms that we're close, send a few clones up ahead to trigger those traps."
"Got it."
"How is everyone's chakra?" Hinata asked. Her fight with Shino had only taken place a little over an hour ago and it had nearly drained all of her reserves. Even now, she was hardly halfway recovered.
"I've had plenty of time to rest since going again Neji. I'm more concerned about you. It's not like you have a tailed beast to help you recover," Naruto replied.
"I'm also concerned. I have plenty since my match had barely started, but you need to be careful."
She nodded. " I'll be okay. We're closing in on the area now."
Naruto summoned a few clones—two of them disguised as Sasuke and Hinata—and sent them below to activate the traps. A little ways behind them, the traps went off.
"It seems her chakra might have been too low. One of my clones managed to get close enough and knock her down before disappearing," Naruto explained once the memories came back.
"She doesn't seem to be very concerned about catching up to us, though. She looks terrified," Hinata added.
"Good. Let's keep going."
"Nevermind. She's heading our way now. She's frightened of Gaara, but…"
"She still cares about him," Sasuke finished. "They're siblings. It's not all the surprising."
They didn't speak anymore, their thoughts briefly turning to the elder Uchiha. It wasn't long before they were shaking them away and focusing on their current mission.
"We're getting closer now," Hinata informed. "If we pick up the pace now, we'll be able to cut them off before Temari catches up to us." Unfortunately, she was beginning to feel out of breath, but she knew she had to push through. She dug into her weapons pouch and grabbed a food pill before popping it into her mouth.
Sasuke caught sight of it in his peripheral. "Can you keep going?" He asked.
"I'll be okay. If anything, I can at least hold Temari back."
Naruto disagreed. "You're strong, but she's a long-range fighter. You'd only be wasting even more chakra," he admitted hesitantly, hoping not to offend her.
"Yes, I know. My plan would be to only hold her back long enough," she explained truthfully.
"We're not using you as bait," Sasuke all but snapped. Naruto said nothing as he knew it was a personal thing between his friends.
"We're shinobi," Hinata replied. "The village and our missions always come before our feelings."
He knew she was right and didn't argue, though he still didn't like the idea of leaving her behind. Hypothetical or not. They had been quiet the rest of the way until they caught up with Kankuro carrying a chakra-exhausted Gaara. They heard as he cursed.
"Me and him have a fight to finish," Sasuke said, pointing at the redhead. "So quit running like cowards!" Kankuro gritted his teeth, and all of Team 7 could see him trying to work out a plan in his head.
Hinata kept her eyes on the enemy but spoke to her teammates. "Temari will be here shortly," she said. Then she tilted her head as she expanded her vision. "But," she held back a smirk, "we have our own backup coming."
"Someone strong enough?" Sasuke asked.
"Without a doubt, even if he did lose in the first match," she replied. Naruto huffed out a laugh.
Sure enough, Temari landed on the tree next to her brothers in a defensive position. "You couldn't even actually fight me yourselves?! You had to send those stupid clones?!" She yelled angrily.
"Well, those stupid clones managed to keep you down, didn't they?" Naruto quipped. "Besides, you weren't important enough. We just needed to get past you." Temari glared harshly at the blonde but said nothing more as she turned to Kankuro.
"Get a move on. I have them here. Just get Gaara somewhere safe," she said.
He shook his head and passed the jinchuuriki to her. "You go on. You're in no shape to battle. I'll handle this. I've got plenty of chakra, after all," he vocalized, urging her to move forward.
"Until our backup gets here, we've got to hold him off," Sasuke declared. "Naruto, you have more chakra between you and Hinata right now. You stay back and catch up to us later."
"Got it," he replied. "But don't you have too much fun without me!"
"Good luck," Hinata told him. "But Neji will be here soon." She and Sasuke took off after Temari and Gaara as soon as she set off.
Just barely in front of them, Temari was panting and drenched in sweat as she struggled to keep moving forward and stay a step ahead of Team 7 while dragging Gaara's weight.
"Temari," Gaara grunted. "Stop."
She shook her head as she kept moving. "We need to get you someplace safe. This mission depends on you, Gaara," she pleaded. She was terrified of what he could do to her, but her top priority was getting him to safety.
Gaara pulled himself away from her. "I said stop !" He yelled as he clutched his head and smacked her away, causing her to fly into the truck of the tree they were on. Temari grunted and fell, panting harshly and staring terrified at her brother who was losing control of himself and transforming into a demon.
Hinata and Sasuke came to a stop a few trees away, freezing at the transformation the Suna nin was currently undergoing.
"I saw this during our battle. That arm, it's what came out of that sandball and attacked me. That was part of his demon?"
"It looks…painful," Hinata observed, wincing at the sounds of agony coming from Gaara. "Was it like that in the Land of Waves?" She worried that this could happen to Naruto and how painful it would be.
Sasuke shook his head. "Not from what I saw," he assured her. Just then, Naruto landed on the other side of Sasuke. "What happened to that Kankuro guy?"
"Neji showed up and took over. He's handling him. What's going on here?"
"He seems to be transforming," Hinata replied. From the corner of her eye, she saw Temari flee after getting a brief look at the terror in her eyes, all due to her own brother. She couldn't help but note how sad it was that they lived in fear of their own sibling and that Gaara didn't seem to have any true connections. She immediately shook those thoughts away and focused on the upcoming battle.
With Sasuke in the middle, Naruto and Hinata stood beside him as they got ready to face Gaara when the jinchuuriki began to speak.
"We're the same, Sasuke Uchiha," Gaara panted. "Our eyes… they're the same. You're also willing to do heinous things to gain power."
Hinata wanted to flinch but refrained from doing so. Gaara's words felt like an omen, and it frightened her because she wanted to believe that there was no truth behind them. She wanted to keep her unwavering faith in her best friend, but a small part of her held doubts. Ever since Itachi left—and even before then, frankly—Sasuke carried so much anger inside, and it only got worse when the elder Uchiha betrayed him. She didn't want to believe that her best friend, her fiancé, would do anything terrible for power, but as she glanced at the mark on his neck… she couldn't be sure, as much as that pained her to admit.
"Even the one standing beside you. Naruto. He's like me as well. Or rather, he could've just as easily turned into me. But he knows nothing of suffering. Not as you and I do, Sasuke Uchiha!" Gaara continued. Suddenly, the redhead dropped to his knee and clutched his head as he yelled out. The complete right side of his body seemed to be warping into a kind of monster.
Team 7 braced themselves, though it was clear to all of them that Sasuke was his target.
"Let me feel your blood gushing onto my hand!" Gaara roared as he went for the Uchiha.
Sasuke recognized his transformed eye and remembered when Naruto's eyes would go red due to the tailed beast inside of him. Though, he noted, Naruto had never gone through such a huge physical transformation. He felt frozen with fear but his body thankfully responded on its own and he dodged the incoming attack. On each of his sides, he saw his teammates scatter to avoid the debris of the now shattered trees.
As Team 7 hid and thought of their next move, Sasuke clutched his shoulder, shocked that he had even been hit. Before he could properly formulate a plan, his teammates were by his side; Naruto guarding them while Hinata healed his shoulder.
He tried pushing her away. "Don't. You need to save your chakra. He's going to target you both eventually," he protested.
Hinata continued healing him. "Eventually, but we're fine right now. You have to fight him with everything."
"Are you hiding, Sasuke Uchiha?! Are you that afraid?!" Gaara taunted. "Does my true form shock you? Does Naruto Uzumaki know that you would be terrified of him, too?!"
Naruto's shoulders tensed slightly, though Sasuke immediately noticed. "Don't listen to him, Naruto. You've never scared me," he assured him, grunting softly as he got to his feet. "I'm not afraid of him either."
"Come out, Sasuke Uchiha! You're my prey! I must kill you!"
Naruto made a face. "What's this dude's problem?"
"No time to worry about that now," Sasuke replied. "He's moving in. Scatter!" At his command, Naruto and Hinata jumped back from the upcoming blow and flicked around to flank him. From behind, Sasuke pulled out a few kunai and threw them at Gaara. When they were easily blocked and absorbed into the sand arm, Naruto gave him a flat look.
"Did you seriously think that was gonna work on the dude made of sand ?" He asked incredulously.
"Well, I don't see you coming up with anything, loser!" Sasuke snapped.
"You could've at least put some explosive tags on them or something!"
"Incoming!" Hinata warned, interrupting them. They scattered once again but paused as the attack ceased and Gaara yelled out in pain. The next words out of the jinchuuriki's mouth caused them to look at one another from around the battlefield.
"Why do you all run away from me?!" He sounded angry, but there was also sorrow in his voice that none of them could ignore. This boy, the same age as them, was treated like a monster, even by his own family. Sasuke and Hinata knew nothing of Gaara's past, but Naruto couldn't help but picture a small redheaded child standing all alone and crying. He shut his eyes tightly to block it out, to block out the mental image of himself in the same position.
"Not this time! I'm not letting you escape this time!" Gaara eventually continued. He raised his sand arm and began swiping at all the trees in front of him, causing Team 7 to lay low until they could come up with a plan.
They were able to regroup a few branches down and off to the side, ignoring Gaara's maniacal laughter.
"Does anyone have even a hint of a plan?" Naruto asked.
"The only thing that will work against sand is water and lightning," Hinata stated. "I haven't perfected any water-based jutsu yet, but I do have one that could possibly work. However, it's close-range."
"You're not getting anywhere near that guy. None of us are. Right now, he has the advantage with that arm of his and the strength he possesses. We need to stay far and set up traps along the way. He'll trigger them when he comes after us," Sasuke explained as he looked around at the damage the Suna nin had done.
"He's completely losing it. He's started drooling," Naruto pointed out.
Disregarding his statement, Sasuke adjusted his headband, tightening it so it wouldn't fall off. "He's after me. I'll lead him away and you two set up traps before I bring him back around. Besides, I have the perfect lighting technique."
Though they didn't like the idea, both nodded and pulled out scrolls from their packs. Sasuke jumped up to a different tree that had been destroyed and formulated hand seals. Three chidori was his limit, and he was about to use a second one as a diversion.
He thought about the words Gaara had spoken to him, about how they were in the same before his mind turned to his older brother. His traitor brother. He needed to get past this battle and fight his true opponent, even if it meant going against his own plan. He activated his doujutsu.
Sasuke pushed his chakra down into his hand until he was physically holding it. He walked out from behind the trunk, making eye contact with Gaara as they stared one another down.
"There you are, Sasuke Uchiha! Ready to have some fun now?!" Looking more at his face, Sasuke could see that more of Gaara was transforming. His face was slowly becoming wider and all of his teeth were starting to sharpen.
The Uchiha focused chakra into his feet and pushed himself through the air toward Gaara with the chidori aimed right for him. Gaara mimicked his movements, his sand arm held out to catch the ball of lightning. His teammates and Temari watched with worry and awe as the chidori made contact with the sand and blasted right through it, causing Gaara to scream out in agony.
"I've…never seen him do that technique before," Hinata whispered. "It's amazing."
"It is, but he's supposed to be leading him away. Not trying to take him down!" Naruto replied.
Gaara landed on his back while Sasuke stood across from him on a different tree with a slight smirk on his face. "Was that it?" He asked. He froze as Gaara's body began to shake with insane laughter that echoed all around them.
"You're going to be lots of fun, Sasuke Uchiha! So much fun! To destroy an opponent who can cause me pain? Now, that's something that can make me truly fill alive, don't you think?!"
Sasuke began to feel the second chidori on his chakra reserves and had to shut off his sharingan to conserve his energy. He was beginning to feel tired and that wasn't good. He could do nothing but watch as Gaara transformed even further and sprouted a sand tail.
"At this rate, he's going to go through a complete transformation!" Hinata said as she looked over at Naruto with worry. "Sasuke's strong, but he can't fight him on his own."
As they were beginning to move in, they froze at how much faster Gaara was now that he had a tail. He was using his tail and arm to slingshot himself at Sasuke at high speeds, and it caused Hinata to hesitate. They were all faster now, but Gaara's was on another level altogether and her instincts kept telling her to run . The jinchuuriki's bloodlust was so palpable that she could taste it on her tongue.
They watched as Sasuke got another chidori ready, gearing up to meet Gaara head-on. When Hinata looked into his eyes and at his body language, and could immediately see something was wrong.
"He's angry," she pointed out. She looked down at the ball of lightning in his hand and watched it grow bigger when the Uchiha yelled out. "He's burning through his chakra because of it!"
Naruto looked closer at their friend and his eyes widened when Sasuke hit Gaara in the shoulder, causing his sand arm to disintegrate. "He got him!"
Hinata felt a shiver go up her spine and her fears were confirmed when half of Sasuke's body was covered in the curse mark, but her heart jumped when Sasuke fell onto the branch shaking from exhaustion and pain. "Sasuke!" She called out when Gaara sprinted toward him.
"Get him. I got Gaara!" Naruto called out as he body flickered away. Hinata jumped the few tree branches up and kept her mind focused on trying to heal Sasuke when she got to him. She trusted Naruto enough to keep her back turned on the enemy without any worries.
As she checked on the mark and applied healing hands to it, she heard Gaara fly back with a pained grunt after Naruto delivered a powerful kick to his face. Despite trying to ease the pain, she could see it was doing nothing when Sasuke continued crying out in pain and shaking. She knew immediately that they needed to get him to safety, but would Gaara really let that happen?
She put her arm around Sasuke's shoulder and pulled him close to her front. "Fight it, Sasuke," she whispered after lowering her head to hers. "You have to fight it!" Sasuke could barely focus on anything but the pain but tried to find solace in her faith in him. The pain was paralyzing and he was drifting in and out of consciousness.
"I'm not finished with him yet. Wait your turn," Gaara threatened as he looked at Naruto. "After Sasuke Uchiha, I will finish you as I'd planned to that day before we were interrupted!"
Naruto could feel the bloodlust chilling him. He turned around to warn Hinata to get Sasuke and get away when Gaara flew right past him. " Hinata !" He called out.
Hinata looked over her shoulder in a panic as Gaara came closer, a hand held out to attack Sasuke and anyone who got in the way. Instantly, she was guarding Sasuke with her family's Gentle Fist, and her byakugan activated. The way Gaara's eyes widened briefly before turning into a glare confused her.
The jinchuuriki, in anger, lashed out and hit her with his sand arm. "Get away!"
Hinata grunted in pain but managed to release chakra from all points in her body just as her back made contact with a tree, preventing her from being completely pinned. She was able to shimmy her body enough so that her chest and stomach were cleared from his hold.
She looked over at Naruto as she continued releasing her limited chakra from her body. "Naruto, take Sasuke and go!" She panted.
Naruto grabbed Sasuke's body while Gaara was once again distracted from the pain in his head and took him to a slightly safer distance. "I'm not leaving you!" He argued.
Gaara glared at the blonde. "Why..? Why aren't you running away? Just who are they to you?!" He yelled. Hinata continued trying to get out of the sand arm's grip, but she was running low on her chakra, and bursting it from her body constantly was making it deplete even quicker. At this rate, she wasn't going to be able to keep up and her legs were at risk of getting crushed. If she could get at least one leg out, she had a better chance of moving on just one leg to help get Sasuke away from the battle. But her body was barely getting out an inch at a time.
Naruto seemed caught off by the question. "They're my friends! My family! So don't think you can lay another hand on them without getting your ass kicked!"
Gaara glared but let out a smirk as he applied pressure on Hinata, causing her to let out a scream of pain, her legs now securely pinned against the tree. She had no more chakra to spend unless she wanted to risk death by chakra exhaustion. She was stuck.
"What was that about kicking my ass?" Gaara taunted. "Next, I'll make sure to crush her legs completely!"
Having no other choice, Naruto tightened his forehead protector before lunging toward Gaara. Almost instantly, he was knocked back next to Sasuke by the tail and the Uchiha was finally able to open his eyes, and see what was going on through slightly blurred vision.
"I don't care if I'm outmatched! To protect them, I'll never stop fighting," Naruto panted as he got to his feet.
Gaara laughed. "And that's exactly why you'll lose. Fighting for the sake of others, you'll never advance to a higher level! Forget them, Naruto Uzumaki, and fight for yourself."
"I'd never abandon them," he maintained.
"Things like friendship and loyalty will only hold you back."
Naruto clenched his fists and took a deep breath. "I'm sick of listening to your twisted ideals!" He pulled a kunai out from his pouch and went for Gaara again.
Just as the redhead was about to smack him away again, the image of Hinata defending Sasuke as well as Guy defending Lee kept coming to his head and hurting him. The look of defiance in her eyes despite knowing the difference in their strength haunted him. She was willing to face off against a monster to protect Sasuke Uchiha. It reminded him of someone from his past, from when he was a child. Someone he killed himself when that trusted person tried to ultimately kill him. He grunted in pain as he clutched his head again, feeling the anger it gave him.
He used his tail to whip Naruto down and tried to shake himself out of everything he was remembering. He tried to fight against it but the memories kept coming to him, causing him to relive everything he had pushed deep, deep down to avoid.
"I thought you were going to protect your friend! Don't you care about what happens to them?!" Gaara applied more pressure to Hinata's legs and Naruto could only stand helplessly as she shook with pain, trying and failing to pull herself out of his grip.
Sasuke looked up at Naruto and noticed that he was shaking, something he didn't do very often, and he knew something was wrong. He desperately tried to get himself up to continue fighting but his body was listening to him and he could only watch.
Suddenly, an idea popped into Naruto's head. He needed to summon Gamabunta, but the last time he did that, he needed to use the fox's chakra and he couldn't do that until his reserves were completely exhausted. He knew what he had to do. He held up his signature sign.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Hundreds of Naruto's surrounded them in the trees and on the ground. They gave Gaara no time to adjust before pouncing on him. In the background, the real Naruto stood back to collect his thoughts on his opponent. He felt he understood him in a way. Had he not had his parents or his friends, he would've ended up just like him; fighting only for himself and completely all alone. He held respect for the other jinchuuriki for continuing to fight despite everyone, even his own father, trying to kill him.
He watched as Gaara tossed off his shadow clones and smacked them into trees, branches, and even the ground way below them before the popped. When he could clearly see the Suna nin again, he was shocked to see all his body aside from his shins down transformed into the sand monster, and he no longer actively held Hinata against the tree but she was still stuck and trying to escape it.
"It's no use! You have to think only of yourself, and love only yourself!" Gaara continued. The sand monster gestured to Hinata still struggling to get her legs out. "Aren't you going to fight me? I'll crush her legs beyond repair unless you stop me!"
The sand around her hardened and she winced, sucking in air through her teeth before exhaling slowly to breathe through the pain. She looked up at Naruto with a hard look in her eyes. She didn't want him to kill himself trying to rescue her, she just wanted him to get Sasuke away and she would take her time trying to chip away at this sand. Suddenly, a thought came to her mind, and measured what was left of her chakra reserves. She needed to replenish any chakra she could. She straightened up and closed her eyes, focusing on meditation despite the growing pressure against her legs.
Naruto caught on to what she was trying to do and figured he needed to buy her some time while she meditated. He looked down at Sasuke and noticed that he was awake once again.
"Pull yourself together," Naruto panted, but there was a smirk on his face. Sasuke opened his mouth to try and talk but nothing but pained grunts came out. It was up to him to protect his friends. When he looked back over at Gaara, the jinchuuriki was now on the offensive.
"Sand shuriken!" He growled, and Naruto couldn't dodge in time before they slammed into him and caused him to fly back into the trees, his back taking considerable damage. Slowly, he climbed back onto his feet, grunting with pain with each movement, and wiped the blood that was coming from his mouth due to internal damage. With Gaara putting constant pressure on Hinata's legs, he needed to do something fast.
However, he wasn't sure just how much he could take. He wasn't even sure he was a proper match for Gaara, but he had to do whatever he could. In order to protect his comrades.
He pulled out a special kunai, one he shared with Sasuke and Hinata, that held an explosive fuinjutsu seal on it and prepared himself. Gaging his chakra, he knew he still had plenty before he could even hope to summon Gamabunta.
"No better way to waste it than with shadow clones," he muttered to himself. "All right, Gaara! You're about to see a special move from something I call Naruto's Ninja Handbook!" Using a multitude of shadow clones summoned at certain times and angles, he was able to land the kunai directly at the base of the san monster's tail before being slapped away harshly by it. Naruto couldn't help but smirk when he activated the seal, causing a huge explosion.
Before he could be slammed into the tree again, Sasuke broke his fall by taking the hit. "Thanks," Naruto said.
"I would've expected you to get in more than one hit," Sasuke grunted.
"Oh, shut up," replied the Uzumaki.
When the smoke cleared, the sand was falling off of Gaara and the tree that he was standing on had been blown off, yet the jinchuuriki was still standing. Normally, that would've been large enough to kill a small group of shinobi, but they weren't dealing with a regular person.
Thinking that he might've underestimated the Uzumaki, Gaara applied more pressure to Hinata's legs, causing her to let out a loud grunt of pain and her nails to claw at the slowly hardening sand.
Hearing her cry out, Naruto and Sasuke both looked in her direction. Sasuke put a hand on Naruto's arm to get his attention. "Listen, Naruto. You need to save Hinata, that'll be your priority. Once you get her free, take her far away from here," he explained.
"But…" Naruto began.
Ignoring him, Sasuke continued on as he struggled to his feet. "I'm still capable of holding him back. And if I die here, that just means that this was as far as I was meant to go. I've lost Shisui and Itachi, but I refuse to lose you and Hinata."
Thinking about those words, Naruto began to chuckle. "I see. And that's why Gaara is going to lose here," he said.
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked.
Naruto got up on his feet. "All his life, Gaara has had no one to fight for, and for a moment I thought he was right about that being true strength, but I should've known better. The reason we can even get stronger is because we have those worth fighting for, those that we want to protect with all our might. That's what true strength is," he explained.
The Uchiha stared at him, shocked that he had even considered what Gaara had been spouting about earlier to be anywhere near the truth.
"Time to use this all up!" Naruto shouted and he summoned all of his chakra forward, causing it to become visible. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
All around them, a couple thousand shadow clones surrounded Gaara, shocking everyone watching the battle going on. But none more than Sasuke, who had no idea Naruto had gotten so strong. He was torn between being proud of his teammate and envious that he had made such progress after only a single month. He started to feel left behind like he was no closer to bringing Itachi back home than before. He needed to be the strongest, even if he enjoyed being equal with his teammates.
"Sasuke, you rest up. Leave it all to me," Naruto said, smiling back at him. Sasuke couldn't find any words to say as the shadow clones pulled out shuriken and sent them flying toward the sand jinchuuriki. It was clear that Gaara was panicking, unsure of what to do next to protect himself but he managed to get an arm up in time to block them.
"Don't look so smug now!" Naruto called out. All of his shadow clones pounced and punches and kicks rained down on the Suna nin until a majority of his sand was beginning to fall off. Naruto's move had weakened him considerably, but his move wasn't over yet. Two shadow clones each delivered a punch and sent Gaara flying down into the ground, the slam of his body kicking up a large cloud of dirt. When the dust cleared, Gaara had gone into the ground and wondered just who the hell Naruto Uzumaki was, and how he had such strength when he fought for the sake of others.
"Ready? It's time for the finale!" The thousands of clones were shot down, ready to deliver kicks.
Angered by the rise in the Uzumaki's strength, Gaara refused to back down. "There's no way I'm losing to someone like him!" He all but screamed. Suddenly, an enormous sand hand shot out and destroyed every single shadow clone, even sending the real Naruto flying back down onto a tree.
Temari, shaken up by the full transformation, moved further away but still stayed close enough to watch over the battle and to ensure that Gaara remained safe. Despite the large cloud of dust, Naruto and Sasuke could see the sheer size of the Suna nin now, Naruto even likened it to the size of Gamabunta. He wondered if the fox he housed was just as large.
At one instance, Naruto was being restrained by sand, unable to breathe and Sasuke tried to reach him.
" Naruto !" He shouted, but his body was too weak and he fell forward onto his hands and knees. "Damn it," he panted.
Hinata, still only a witness, tried to pull her leg out from under the sand until she felt like it was going to dislocate. "Naruto!" She called out, struggling.
The voices of his best friends calling out to him reminded Naruto of who he was fighting for just as the sand began closing over his entire body. Using all of his might, he wiped some of his blood off his chin and knew he could summon Gamabunta now with his drained chakra.
" Naruto !" Hinata yelled when his body was fully encased in the sand. Sasuke could only watch on in pain as his body wouldn't move.
Just as they heard Gaara about to finish the move and crush Naruto, the inside of the sand coffin exploded open to reveal a very large toad, nearly if not already the same size as the San creature. "I promise I will protect my comrades!" Naruto yelled from the top of the summon's head.
Hinata and Sasuke looked on in awe, unaware that Naruto had even signed a summoning contract with any creature. Even more so that he could summon something so huge in his current state. Naruto was strong, they knew, but they couldn't believe he didn't have help from his own tailed beast.
Gamabunta, annoyed at being summoned by Naruto, looked across from him. "Shukaku, the Sand Spirit, huh?" He said.
"Yeah. I need your help fighting him, Chief. Will you lend a hand?" Naruto asked.
"Why the hell would I fight someone like him? No way in hell."
Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you serious?! Chief Toad, c'mon! Where's your sense of duty to your henchman?!"
"We haven't even shared a cup of sake, you know, so I'm afraid I have no duty toward you, kid."
"I'm not old enough to drink, damn it!"
"Then I can't help you, squirt," Chief Toad said with a shrug.
With a sigh, Naruto ran a hand over his face. "Look, Chief. I have family that I need to protect from this guy. They're both injured and if anything happens to me or I can't beat him, they're in trouble. Don't you have a family you'd do anything to protect?"
The large toad was silent for a moment before shifting on his feet. "So you summoned me to help protect your family, then?"
"That's right."
Gamabunta reached behind him and pulled out his tanto sword before branding it at Shukaku. "Forget the sake. I accept you as my henchmen! Let's fight." Naruto wasn't even given time to center himself on Gamabunta's head before the toad was charging at Shukaku with his blade.
The Sand demon stretched his arm out to grab at them but Gamabunta weaved to the side and shoved his sword into its arm before slicing it off and shoving it down to the ground. The enormous arm fell to the ground, causing the area to shake. It caused Sasuke to stumble more as he tried to make his way to Hinata, falling down onto the branch and clutching his neck where the pain radiated.
"Sasuke," Hinata panted. "It's okay, just stay there!" The pleading in her voice made Sasuke's heart squeeze. The sand was continuously hardening and, soon, her legs would be crushed. He couldn't just lay around and hope they succeeded with the odds so stacked against them. He desperately wished to be stronger, but all he was capable of doing was writhing in pain as he watched Naruto fight and Hinata struggle to get out.
Naruto crawled forward on Gamabunta's head. "Hey, Chief, do you think you can lure him this way? Sasuke and Hinata are that way and I don't want them to get caught in this when they can't fight right now," he explained.
"That's your family?" The toad asked.
"Yeah. If anything ever happened to them, something I could've prevented, I just don't think I'd be able to live with myself after that, y'know."
Gamabunta smiled to himself before his and Naruto's attention was called to Shukaku. Atop the demon's head, there was a disturbance they were too far away to clearly make out. It wasn't until red started rising out of it that Naruto realized that it was Gaara
"Because you've been so much fun, Naruto Uzumaki," Gaara began. Naruto squinted and leaned forward to get a better look.
"What the—where are his pupils?" Naruto asked.
"Those circles around his eyes… this kid clearly has insomnia," he replied. "Which means he has to stay awake in order to keep the sand demon at bay, lest his own personality gets overshadowed by the Sand Demon. It is an unfortunate thing for Shukaku's jinchuuriki."
"So he's basically possessed now?" Naruto questioned. "Great."
They watched as Gaara eventually let himself fall asleep with a jutsu he called the Playing Possum Jutsu.
"I feel like we should've tried to stop him from doing that," the Uzumaki said. "What happens now that he's asleep?"
Chief Toad sighed. "Shukaku will take over. So now the plan is—"
"We've gotta wake him up," Naruto finished with a smirk on his face.
It took a few moments before Shukaku came out and Naruto could immediately tell that if this demon wasn't trying to actively kill him, he'd be a complete goofball. However, with him gloating about how fun it was going to be to kill him, Naruto didn't think about that for too long.
"Hang on, kid. I'm gonna jump," Chief warned. Naruto got down and braced himself.
Shukaku sucked in a large breath. "Wind Style: Air Bullets!" He smacked a hand down on his stomach to release his jutsu.
Chief Toad jumped and dodged the attack before using his own counter. "Water Style: Water Bullets!" He bellowed. Shukaku stopped the attack by blowing out his own wind bullet and causing a wave of water to rain down in the forest around them, even hitting both Hinata and Sasuke.
Hinata took out a kunai and used the water to help her easily stab through the sand that was holding her there. Thankfully, piece by piece, it was coming off. She just hoped she could chip it off before it was too late and she lost her legs. She thought about Lee and how badly his arm and leg had been crushed by this exact sand…sand that smelled of copper. She couldn't let it get to that point, or she wouldn't be able to do anything for his teammates or Itachi.
Sasuke was dumbstruck by the battle going on before them. Naruto, on his summon, and Gaara with a demon inside of him that he let run loose. He felt small in comparison as there was nothing he could contribute to this battle, even if he hadn't been infected with the mark.
On the toad's head, Naruto huffed. "Hey, don't forget that my team's that way, Chief!"
"I know, I know!" Chief Toad hopped into the air again just as Shukaku turned to him and let out another round of air bullets. Chief turned and managed to counter them with water bullets but unfortunately was hit directly with a hidden third bullet, causing him to fly back.
"Oh, I killed him! He's dead! I killed him!" Shukaku gleefully exclaimed. Gamabunta, however, shot right back up as he hit the ground.
"You're using quite a bit of chakra in those attacks, aren't you?" Chief hummed. "It actually kinda hurt. If I get hit with a few more of those, I can't deny that I will probably stay down."
"Damn it. We gotta wake Gaara up! Is there any way you can get me close to him?"
Chief Toad and Shukaku shot a few more bullets at each other before the toad was able to get close, clutching onto the Sand Demon's shoulders and getting Naruto right in front of Gaara.
"Go for it, kid!" Gamabunta said. Naruto, having already seen where his opening was going to be, took off running but Shukaku slipped out of Chief's grip before he could make it across, causing both of them to stumble. Chief jumped back to gather some distance.
"He was able to just shake you off like it was nothing!" Naruto growled.
"I don't have anything to grip him with, kid. You're going to have to use a transformation jutsu on me to give me something that will be able to dig into him. Something with fangs and claws, otherwise this is as far as we go," he explained. "Ready? Let's go!"
Naruto panicked for a moment as he didn't know what animal to transform Chief into, but then mentally smacked himself. He knew the perfect beast. "Transformation jutsu!" A large cloud of smoke appeared around them before a large fox, akin to the tailed beast inside of Naruto, was breaking through the dust and lunging for Shukaku.
Down below, Hinata and Sasuke stared at it in awe. "That's the tailed beast!" Sasuke observed. "The one inside of Naruto!"
Hinata's gaze went from awe to shock and concern. She had never seen Naruto show any attributes of the Fox Demon, but seeing it in person made her terrified for her friend. She didn't want this to cause any long-term effects on him, physically or psychologically. She didn't want Naruto to get hurt. Hinata took a deep breath before stabbing at the sand faster and harder.
At the sight of the Fox, Shukaku stood there frozen as Naruto and Chief charged for him at high speed. The only thing the Sand Demon could do was shoot air bullets, which they promptly dodged. Sasuke and Hinata took the brunt of the force from that bullet, causing sticks, twigs, and leaves to smack against their exposed skin and leave welts and slight cuts in their wake.
The Fox jumped over and lunged at Shukaku from the other side, quickly jumping up to dodge another air bullet. However, the air bullets were continuing to get stronger and stronger.
"We're running out of time, kid! He's only getting stronger," Gamabunta said.
"It's gonna be satisfying to punch that guy in the head," Naruto said. "Let's get going, Chief! It's now or never."
After dodging more air bullets and kicking up dirt to distract Shukaku, Gamabunta got a tight hold on him. "Now!"
Naruto jumped off of Chief's head and lunged for Gaara. "Wake the hell up!" Naruto snarled as he punched Gaara in the face as hard as he could, causing the redhead to whip to the side.
"That should've done it since it hasn't been long since he fell asleep," Gamabunta said when he was back in his original form.
"No! No! I'd finally come out!" Shukaku cried out. The spark that the demon held in its eyes faded and they knew that the jutsu had been undone. Just then, Gaara's eyes snapped open and he looked down at Naruto with wrath.
"How dare you!" Gaara shouted. He raised a hand and Naruto's feet were trapped in the sand. "Sand coffin!" Naruto's eyes widened as the sand around him came for him, but was relieved when he became wrapped in Chief Toad's tongue. "That's not going to work!" The sand underneath him began climbing higher up his legs.
"This guy still has a lot of fight left in him! We've used up all of our chakra," Chief said. "Kid, if you got a plan, now would be the time to put it into play." He was struggling with holding the Sand beast back, causing him to slide further and further back.
Gaara stared down at Naruto. "You're not going to win here. I refuse to lose! I will not be wiped from existence!"
Hinata and Sasuke watched as the large toad was being pushed closer and closer. Sasuke tried to make a run for Hinata. " Hinata !" But he was still too weak and got up just to fall again in pain. Hinata stabbed harder and faster, grimacing as the sand was applying more pressure. At this rate, they were going to get run over by the summon.
Naruto turned and looked at his teammates briefly before turning back to Gaara. "I vowed to protect them, and I never go back on my word!" Naruto concentrated on his chakra reserves. "I will not let you hurt anyone again !"
Suddenly, a burst of orange chakra surrounded his body, blasting away the sand that was slowly consuming him and sending his forehead protector flying off from the force. The Fox was lending him a hand again, and he wasn't going to waste it. Just as he shot toward Gaara to hit him again, he was stopped by the sand holding his fist back and wrapping around his middle.
"Damn it," Naruto grunted. "That's… enough !" He went with the only move he had left and pushed his head forward, clashing it against Gaara's. It didn't take long for their heads to start rapidly bleeding at the contact point as the entire Sand beast began to crack and fall into a pile of loose sand.
The sand holding Hinata also fell and she dropped down onto the branch with a thud and grunt, barely catching herself on shaky legs and sore arms. She dropped to her hands and knees, panting heavily.
"Hinata!" Sasuke called out, relieved. She turned to him slightly with a smile, assuring him even further. The Uchiha looked back up at where Gaara and Naruto were falling out of the sky and couldn't believe that Naruto himself had stopped such a monster.
Gaara was finished.
Gamabunta smiled to himself at the last effort move by his henchmen. He knew Naruto was quite the knucklehead, but also couldn't deny that he was the most promising person he'd seen in a while. Unfortunately, the toad was at his limit, and needed to go back home to recover. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke that sent Gaara and Naruto flying back onto trees.
They both sat up, panting harshly as they glared at one another.
"Looks like we're both out of chakra, huh?" Naruto panted. After a beat of silence, he spoke again. "The similarities between us… I can see them. We shouldn't be fighting like this, so let's make it the last time." They slowly got to their feet atop their respective trees and geared themselves up.
At the chirping of a bird in the distance, they flew toward each other with their fists drawn, but Naruto made contact first, clocking the redhead in the face with the rest of the strength left in his body. They both fell to the ground, landing near each other. Slowly, and shakily, they continued glaring at each other.
Hinata gathered up the strength to make her way to Sasuke and look over his wounds. He pushed her hands away.
"Don't waste anything on me. What about your legs?" He asked.
"They're fine," she said. "Come on, we need to get to Naruto." She put his arm around her shoulders and helped him stand.
"Did you know?" Sasuke eventually asked when they made it to the ground.
"...No," she responded. She hadn't been at all aware of how much stronger their best friend had gotten. She knew, without a doubt, that she would've lost to Naruto had she needed to fight him. However as she looked over into Sasuke's eyes, she knew that it was bothering him more than he was showing. She saw the thirst for power in those eyes and it scared her. Soon, she wasn't sure they'd be able to do anything to keep that insecurity and anger of his at bay. She feared they would lose him.
They walked as fast as they could in the direction Gaara and Naruto had fallen, but it was still a slow pace.
Deeper in the forest, seeing the inner turmoil and stubbornness inside of Gaara, Naruto used his chin to crawl closer as he had no more strength left in his body. As he got closer, he could see himself in his enemy's shoes. He could see himself alone with everyone's backs turned to him like he didn't mean a single thing.
Without his parents and his friends, he knew he very well could have been in Gaara's shoes. Such a thought terrified him. The loneliness, the isolation, the hurtful words, and all. It was almost as if he could feel that pain and anger radiating off of Gaara's body. Naruto knew he was lucky, especially to have friends who accepted him as a junchuuriki without being scared of him the same way Temari and Kankuro were of the boy before him.
Naruto couldn't stop the tears from escaping his eyes and running down his cheeks, leaving a trail in the dirt as he continued crawling.
Realizing that he was only getting closer, Gaara's eyes widened. "Stay away from me!"
The Uzumaki laid his head down and rested it for a few seconds before looking at his enemy. "You were all alone, Gaara, I know. But…you don't have to be anymore," he said softly. "That feeling of loneliness doesn't have to continue. You are necessary in this world, and not as some killing machine but as Gaara. As you ."
Gaara could only look on in shock at Naruto's words and especially the tears he was shedding for him. For someone like him.
"I know how easy it is to get long in that dark space. But there are people who care about you. Your brother and sister. Despite being scared, your sister stuck close by and wanted to get you to safety. They both fought battles in order to keep you safe. They risked their lives. You're not alone Gaara. You don't have to be, not anymore."
"And if I don't stop here?" Gaara questioned, though there seemed to be no malice in his words.
Naruto's eyes went serious. "Then I'll do whatever it takes to stop you. I have people to protect, and I will not let you hurt them, even if that means I have to kill you." Just then, Sasuke and Hinata emerged from the trees, battered and beaten. They stood in front of Naruto protectively, shocking Gaara.
"But how? How could you trust and protect him knowing the monster he holds inside of him? Aren't you…afraid?" Gaara asked.
"We're not afraid," they answered in unison.
"Naruto is our best friend and we will protect him as he protected us," Hinata declared.
"That's right," Sasuke said. "It never occurred to us to be afraid or to not trust him when we learned of the tailed beast. He is Naruto. That's what matters."
Naruto looked up at them with tired but happy eyes. "You're both safe," he said.
Hinata got on her knee before him and put a gentle hand on his back. "You did it, Naruto. Don't worry. The fight is over," she assured him. Naruto opened his mouth to say more but could only pass out from exhaustion.
Gaara looked at the scene before him before turning to look into the sky. "I wonder if such love is what made him stronger…" He spoke aloud, thinking about a man he once lovingly called his uncle.
"Fighting for others is what gives us our strength," Sasuke replied. "Fighting for only you is what leads to a shaky resolve."
Hinata slowly made her way to Gaara, pulling a small jar out of her pouch. "Gaara-san, the pain you carry can disappear if you let it go. I will not go so far as to say that I understand your situation, but I can see that you are a good person. You're just trying to understand the world and yourself." She got to her knees right next to him and unscrewed the top of the jar. "I believe, if you give your people a chance, they will see you for who you are." She applied her salve to the wound on Gaara's forehead gently, despite how tense the boy became at her touch.
"Who am I?" He quietly asked.
Temari and Kankuro landed on the other side of him. "You're our brother. Gaara of Sunagakure," Kankuro said.
"What are you putting on him?" Temari snapped at Hinata, leaning down to grab her wrist in a tight hold, causing Gaara to look at his older sister with astonishment.
Hinata smiled up at Temari before looking back to Gaara. "See? They care about you very much, Gaara-san," she said. The Sand kunoichi let Hinata's hand slip out of her grip and watched as Hinata then put a band-aid on her brother's wound.
"But why help him?" She asked.
"You are not bad people."
After a brief moment, Gaara closed his eyes. "That's enough," he said to his siblings. "I don't…want to fight anymore."
Though the Suna nin were shocked, they accepted their brother's words. Kankuro picked him up and helped him stand. "Okay, Gaara." They faced the three Konoha shinobi in front of them.
"Team 7, right?" He asked. Hinata nodded, getting to her feet as well. "I see. Maybe one day I can…find something similar."
At this, she couldn't help but smile. "I believe that day is sooner than you think," she said, glancing at his siblings.
Gaara caught on and lowered his head further. "Temari…Kankuro…" He said, causing them to look at him. "I'm sorry."
They shared a look, Temari turning to hide her small smile. "Don't worry about it," Kankuro said though he was still baffled by his behavior.
"Thank you, for tending to one of his wounds," Temari said to Hinata.
"I wish I could do more, but I'm afraid I don't have enough chakra left," she explained. "He's going to be okay though, so long as you two are there to help." She turned to Kankuro. "And my brother? Neji?" He asked.
"When we were on our way here, he was getting help from the bug user. I poisoned him, but he should be fine. Um, sorry," he said awkwardly at the end.
"Thank you for letting me know."
With only a nod, the three siblings took off into the trees and she turned back to Naruto and Sasuke.
"What was that?" Sasuke asked.
"It felt like the right thing to do," she said as she made her way back. "Let's head back to the village."
Sasuke reached over and put his hand on hers firmly. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you," he admitted. "But I promise to get stronger."
Hinata held his hand firmly. "Me, too. Let's do our best then." Sasuke smiled at her and nodded before they picked Naruto up and slowly began returning to Konoha, at ease knowing that Shukaku wasn't going to destroy the village anymore.
We hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Taking an extra week off was amazing. I ended up completely finishing the search for tsunade arc and starting the final arc of this story! We're working very hard to make the story interesting and heartfelt at the same time, so we hope it comes across the way we want it to :))
Thank you to everyone who followed, left reviews, bookmarked, etc! It means the world to us. Please comment and let us know what you thought of this chapter. Also, just a reminder, we will be posting another poll on our tumblr and ffnet profile soon to see what pairing we should work on next (which will be publish as I'm working on part two of this story). It should be up by the time we release this update!
-hina
NEXT UPDATE: 02/03/24