Lee and Gaara stood across from each other. Lee looked as determined as ever and Gaara was just leaking killer intent.
In the infirmary, Neji sat on the examining table. He was medically cleared, just exhausted. Many things plagued his mind but that was momentarily stopped when there was a knock at the door. The next moment Hiashi entered. He frowned at the sight of the man. "How may I help you Hiashi-Sama?" he asked.
The man walked up to the teen and took a seat next to him. "I would like to congratulate you on your victory against the Uchiha" he said. Neji nodded in thanks but didn't verbally respond. There was a moment of silence before he responded. "Neji, what is your opinion of me?" he asked. Neji was taken aback by the question. "You are my clan head. My opinion of you matters none" he replied. Hiashi shook his head. "And as your clan head, I want you to answer my question" he said.
Neji paused at that but chose to take the risk. "I think you are a terrible clan head and a coward" he said honestly. Hiashi closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "And what makes you think that?" he asked. The teen snapped his head towards the older man. "What makes me think that?" he repeated. "You sent my father to his death for an act you committed!" he snarled.
"You don't know the truth boy" Hiashi said. Neji's eyes narrowed in anger. "The truth? The truth is that you hated him! I watched you torture him with that damned seal. I watched you order him around like he was a slave. I remember the night he told me that he had to leave for Kumo. Normally, I wouldn't think much of it but he said goodbye. He wouldn't say such a thing if he knew that he would return.
And then the following morning the elders told me what happened. Your daughter was too weak to defend herself and in turn you killed the kidnapper out of blind rage. And when Kumo called for your head, you sent my father instead. So yes, I consider you a coward" he spat.
Hiashi looked at the boy but said nothing. He saw his deceased brother in Neji and it pained him. "That's not the truth" he said. "What do you mean, it's not the truth?" Neji replied.
"The night I killed the kidnapper, the Raikage was in the village and I was ready to face the consequences. But your father came to talk to me. For the longest time, I would put the blame on him. I'd leave him to deal with the madness alone. But that night I didn't want to. I was tired of everything. Filled with guilt of the dirt I've done and the harm I caused.
But before I could tell him that I was prepared to face the Raikage, he knocked me out and when I woke up, he was gone" the man said softly. Neji's eyes widened at that. "He did what?"
"Neji, which elder informed you of the events?" he asked. "Your father did" he replied. Hiashi frowned and clenched his fists. "Well that was not the truth. I made a mistake in not saving my sibling before and I didn't want to do it again" he said truthfully.
Neji looked at him in confusion. "You had another sibling?" he asked. Hiashi nodded slowly and sighed. "Have you ever wondered why Naruto was never considered apart of the clan?" Neji nodded hesitantly but chose to remain silent and listen. "During the Third Great Shinobi War, Sakumo Hatake was gravely injured and my sister Mikasa was tasked to heal him. Somehow they got close during the war and overtime began to develop feelings for each other.
One thing led to another and she ended up pregnant. Sakumo went missing and was found dead shortly after. Nobody truly knows what happened but it was believed that he committed suicide but that wasn't the case" he said. Neji sat silent intent on listening. "Mikasa revealed her pregnancy to us months after she found out but somehow, Kumo was able to find out as well.
He noticed Neji's finger twitch slightly. Me and a group of about 5 other jounin Hyuuga went to search for Sakumo away from the village and we found him, well his body to be exact. He fought valiantly but he wasn't the same man as he once was in his prime. I scanned his body to find any form of life but found out that his entire chakra network was entirely fried. Only a large scale lightning jutsu could do that much damage.
After Mikasa and Kakashi found out about it, they were devastated. And after she revealed the news that she was pregnant to the elders and I, we decided that Naruto would be branded with the caged bird seal for his own and the clans protection. It was common knowledge that he was the son of The White Fang and the brother of the Copy Ninja, and with a lineage of such magnitude, it was inevitable that someone wouldn't want him to succeed."
He saw Neji's fists tighten at the mention of the seal. "But she wouldn't allow that. She was always one to go against the laws of the clan no matter the circumstances" he said with a sad smile. "And what happened to her and Naruto after that?" Neji asked.
"Well we came to an agreement. If Naruto was to be freed of the caged bird seal, then he was to be banished from the clan and she had to die" he said regretfully. Neji froze. His brain put the pieces together instantly and he shot Hiashi a murderous glare. Seeing the boys reaction, Hiashi nodded.
"How could you do such a thing?" Neji whispered. "It's simple, she let the power get to her head and made a big mistake. That's why I allowed you to interact with Naruto. He shouldn't be punished for the actions of his mother but the law is the law.
Neji narrowed his eyes at the man. "But even after all of the stuff happened to him, he still rose through the shinobi ranks and became one of the finest and strongest ninja in our village today" he said.
"Why are you telling me this?" Neji asked quietly. Hiashi sighed. "It's because you wanted answers. Maybe I have reached the point of no return and I just needed someone to talk to. I'm not going to beg you for forgiveness, I am not worthy of such but I do ask you to let go of your ideals. That seal does not determine how you live your life. My siblings lived their lives to the fullest and ended it on their terms. You have the power to do the same" he said as he stood up and made his way to the door.
He opened the door and turned around one more. "I'm sorry Neji" he said as he left. Neji sat there speechless. Once he left the room, his once frowning face morphed into a sickening smirk.
Back in the area, Lee had already dropped his weights and was going toe to toe with Gaara. In the stands, Tenten was cheering Lee on along with Sakura and Ino. Temari and Kankuro sat nervously because Gaara was slowly losing control.
"Lee!" Gai called out. "Release your flames of youth!" he said. In the arena, Naruto saw Lee cross his arms in an x motion. His eyes widened when he felt the build up of energy. "No way" he muttered.
"4th Gate of Pain Open!" An unbridled amount of energy was released off of the green jumpsuit wearing boy. The ground exploded and Naruto had to dodge some debris. Gaara was smiling in anticipation. "That's it, make me feel alive!" he screamed. Lee vanished from sight and appeared in front of Gaara in an instant. Gaara's sand was too slow to react and he was sent crashing into the wall courtesy of a kick from Lee.
"I can't believe you taught him the gates" Kakashi said in shock. Gai beamed in pride. "He is my prized pupil. Of all my students, he is the most advanced in the technique" he said. Kurenai, who was next to her fellow jounin sensei's spoke. "So you mean to tell me Tenten and Neji can also use that?" she asked in shock.
Gai nodded and she turned to Tenten who blushed in embarrassment. Temari sat in shock. No one ever was able to do so much damage to Gaara. She turned to her brother who was sweating. She then looked at Naruto who watched the boys with interest. 'Was he not scared?' she thought frantically.
In the kage booth, Hiruzen was surprised at the display of power. 'I should've known Gai would teach the boy that jutsu" he thought with a chuckle. He turned to the man next to him who's chakra began to fluctuate.
Gaara felt a liquid running down his face. He wiped his hand across it and his eyes widened. "My blood!" he screamed. Sand exploded from his gourd and feathers began to fall. Explosions rang throughout the village and the kage booth was covered in smoke.
A purple barrier was formed seconds later. The leaf instantly went on the defensive and slashed through the enemy. Lee and Gaara were still fighting until Temari blew a violent gust of wind in Lee's direction. She and Kankuro took the transforming Gaara out of the stadium.
Naruto was still standing in the arena when Jiraiya jumped down from the roof and Kakashi and Gai appeared. "Sensei is trapped in the barrier with Orochimaru but he has Yugao and Itachi with him" Jiraiya said. Naruto nodded. "Summon your toads and take out the snakes at the village entrance" he said. Jiraiya poofed away. Naruto dodged a sword strike from a sound ninja and grabbed the blade.
He yanked the blade out of the guys hand and in one quick motion, removed his head. He then turned back to the other 2 jounin. "Kill any and every Sound ninja" he said. "I suspect the Sand has nothing to do with this" Kakashi said dodging a fist. Naruto nodded and he and Gai started to smash through the Sound nin.
He went up to the stands and saw the genin in a panic. They saw him and ran up to him. "Anbu-San, what are your orders?" Tenten asked. "All of you gather the civilians and the academy students and lead them to safety" he said. They nodded and he was about to flash away but he seen someone on the ground and he sweat dropped. He walked up to the sleeping form of Shikamaru and kicked him in the side.
"Damnit what was that for?" he asked annoyed. "You do know that the village is under attack right?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru shrugged and tried to lay back down but Naruto picked him up by the collar and threw him into the arena.
"Lazy bastard" he muttered. He then used his byakugan to find the sand trio. He saw the massive fluctuation of chakra being released and he vanished.
"Orochimaru you have fallen and reached the point of no return" Hiruzen said. Orochimaru ripped off the Kazekage robes and chucked madly. "Ah so you knew the entire time and you did nothing. As cowardly as ever sensei" he said. Yugao stepped in front of Hiruzen and drew her sword. "You will not speak of Hokage-Sama in that manner" she said. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow at the anbu. He then noticed the other one and he snarled. "Itachi Uchiha" he spat.
Itachi stepped in front of Hiruzen as well and activated his sharingan. Orochimaru went through hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground. "Edo Tensei" he yelled. 2 coffins rose up and Orochimaru began to laugh. "You fools will not survive this and sensei your precious village will be destroyed" he said.
The coffins opened and the three shinobi gasped. Out walked 2 men. One with long black hair and red shinobi armor. The other had spiky white hair and blue armor. Hiruzen ripped off his Hokage robes in rage. "You defiled the graves of the First and Second Hokage!" he said.
Orochimaru shrugged. "Saru, is that you?" Tobirama said. Hiruzen nodded sadly. "You've gotten old" Hashirama said. "It seems we have been brought back to the land of the living. Who is the caster of the Edo tensei?" Tobirama asked. "That would be me" said the voice of Orochimaru.
"See I told you that jutsu was too dangerous to be left unattended" said Hashirama. "Shut up!" his brother replied. Hashirama then gained a rain cloud over his head and began muttering. Orochimaru took the chance to slip two sealing tags into the men and they took a battle stance. "We are not in control of our bodies" Tobirama said.
"Prepare to defend yourselves young leaflings" said Hashirama. The duo dashed after the 2 anbu. Orochimaru and Hiruzen clashed as well.
In the forest, the sand trio were making their way through the forest. Gaara was quickly losing control over his biju and Temari and Kankuro began to worry. "Temari let's let Gaara release the biju now. We are far enough from Konoha" he said. She looked at him like he was crazy. "If we let that thing out, who's going to stop him?" she asked.
"The Kazekage will" Kankuro said through gritted teeth. "The Kazekage is dead Kankuro" she said. His eyes widened at that but he was blasted away with sand. Temari looked at her brother and she felt fear wash over her entire body. He was partially transformed and he looked like a true monster. Sand quickly wrapped around her body and began to squeeze her. She couldn't move! She screamed out Gaara's name but to no avail.
Kankuro was knocked out and she just closed her eyes awaiting her eventual demise. But that's when she heard a cackling sound and in one swift strike, the sand dropped off of her body. She opened her eyes and saw the familiar lettered mask and white eyes. "Naruto" she said in surprise and relief. His gaze softened at the sight of her in this state. "I told you to leave as soon as the invasion began" he said.
"We tried but the shukaku-" she was cut off by Naruto placing a finger over her mouth. "I got it" he said. "Are you insane? You can't fight Gaara and the Shukaku on your own!" she said. He just chuckled. "I think it's time I showed you why I held back on you" he said.
He removed his mask and tossed it to her. He then turned around to face the jinchuriki. He coated his sword in white chakra and started walking to Gaara. He then began to pick up the pace and started jogging and then a run and in mere seconds, he appeared in front of Gaara.
He slashed the wall of sand that Gaara had put up and kicked him in the face. Gaara was sent sailing into a tree and crashed through it. He quickly got up and growled. He sent another wave of sand at Naruto and Naruto went through hand signs. "Water Style Water Bullet" he said.
Massive balls of water shot their way towards Gaara's sand and destroyed it. Gaara quickly found his sand to be harder to control. He started to release more demonic chakra and started to go mad.
"You! Mother says you are like me! You have power! I will prove my existence by spilling your blood!" he said.
Temari who was watching thought about what her brother said. "Just like him?" she whispered confused. Naruto then shot towards the boy again with the intent of closing his chakra pathways. He reached the boy and struck a point and it closed but then to his surprise it opened once again and he was sent sailing as a fist made of sand hit him.
He flipped and landed on his feet gracefully with a frown. 'I have to get him to bring the beast out' he thought. He coated his sword in lighting and picked up a handful of kunai. He threw the kunai all at once in the boys direction. Gaara quickly made a wall of sand but that was a mistake because Naruto substituted with a kunai and stabbed him through the shoulder.
Gaara screamed in agony. A giant amount of sand started to be released and Naruto jumped back and bit his thumb.
Temari who was still watching started to panic. He was releasing the beast! What the hell did Naruto have planned to beat that? That was when she saw a large poof and what she saw next made her heart drop.
Out of the smoke came a giant white man sized eagle. Easily twice the size of Naruto. It had red pants, and a black and red kimono that had ancient Japanese writing on it. It had 2 black horns protruding from its head, with a sharp red beak and piercing yellow eyes. It had a gold beaded necklace around its neck and a long black umbrella in its hand.
"Tengu, I have a worthy opponent for you" Naruto said. The animal now known as Tengu looked down at his summoner and then up at the giant Tanuki. His beak curved into a smile as he gripped his umbrella and began to fly.
After hearing the animals name, Temari started to tremble in fear. 'Tengu? Where the hell did he find that thing at?' she asked mentally. She knew exactly what that was and the history behind the animal, well demon to be specific. Though she thought they were a myth. Tengu's were said to be ancient supernatural beings with unrivaled power. They were said to curse anyone who dared to summon them, which begs the question. Just what in then hell did Naruto do to get it?
She watched the bird rocket straight towards the Tanuki and was shocked when it cut a giant hole through the beast. Naruto then cut the beats arm off with a swipe of hood lighting covered sword. Shukaku howled in pain and the duo dismantled him.
It wasn't long before Naruto and Tengu decided to end it. He hopped on the birds back and flew up to the Tanuki's head, dodging swarms of sand in the process. He saw Gaara motionless at the top of the beasts head and reared back his fist and punched him in the jaw. Gaara snapped his eyes open as Shukaku began to scream and shrink. The giant bird then disappeared.
Temari was left speechless. He beat Gaara and rather easily too. And the bird? Just so who the hell was Naruto Hatake?
She was about to call his name but wood vines protruded out of the ground and wrapped around Gaara. "What the hell!?" she yelled. "Tenzo what are you doing?!" Naruto said angrily. Tenzo appeared right after that going through hand seals. "I'm defending the village! We can take the jinchuriki into custody."
"He's already beaten. Release him from your wood jutsu" Naruto demanded. Tenzo narrowed his eyes behind the mask. "He is the enemy and I am your captain, you will follow my orders. Am I clear?" he said.
Naruto coated his sword in lightning once again and in one swift motion, slashed through the wood binds. "Ghost you are abandoning protocol!" Tenzo yelled angrily. Naruto looked at the man with absolute rage but said nothing as he picked the barely conscious teen up and started to walk back to Temari and Kankuro.
Gaara was confused. He remembered fighting the man and then letting Shukaku take over, and now he's back again. How did he lose? "How are you so strong?" he muttered but Naruto heard him. He looked down at the teen and spoke. "As you said, we are alike. But I'm not going to lie and say that I did this because of that.
I made a promise to your sister that I would make sure that you'd be alright. I guess you can say that this was a favor for a good friend. I can't really tell you how I became strong because it's a lot more complicated than you think."
Gaara merely nodded as they reached his siblings. Kankuro redied himself to fight and Naruto gave him an incredulous look. "You just seen what I did to your brother and you still want to fight?" Kankuro growled but Temari stepped in front of him. "Kankuro relax, he's not the enemy."
Tenzo who was listening not too far away was fuming. Was Naruto in the works with Suna?
"Sis, what do you mean he's not the enemy? He just beat the crap out of Gaara!" Kankuro said. "I asked him to defeat him but make sure he was safe" she said. Kankuro didn't reply but he was still on edge. Naruto then handed the redhead to Kankuro as he turned to leave.
"Wait!" Temari called out. Naruto turned around as Kankuro looked on in suspicion. "Go ahead, I'll catch up" she said to her brother. He was about to dismiss the order but one look from her made him rethink that decision. He nodded begrudgingly and took off with the barely conscious Gaara.
She slowly walked up to the silver haired teen with a little bit of hesitation. "I- I just want to thank you for saving Gaara" she said. Naruto looked at her with a frown, which confused her. "You saw what I was actually capable of and now you fear me" he said. "No, I don't fear you. You've just done things that I've never thought I'd see in my life. You kept your promise to me and I'll forever be in your debt" she said.
He was still unsure. He saw her chakra fluttering when he was in battle but chose not to speak on it. "It's nothing. You and your siblings did nothing wrong. You followed orders given to you by your village. Even if they were being manipulated by the snake" he said.
"I was going to ask you about that. How do you know that the Kazekage is dead?" she asked. "I found his body" he replied. Her eyes widened and for the briefest of seconds, and she felt bad for the man she once called father. "Does this mean that we won't see each other again?" she asked quietly. Naruto chuckled a bit as he grabbed a hold of her hand and she blushed at the unfamiliar contact.
"Getting fond of me already huh? Don't worry, once Konoha finds out that the Sand is innocent, I'm quite sure that we'll see each other again" he said as he grabbed his mask that she was holding tightly to her chest. He put it back on and looked at her. "Desert lilies?" he questioned and she blushed in embarrassment.
He chuckled softly as he let her go. He then turned away from her. "You're welcome Temari Sabakuno" he said. He then flashed away along with the other anbu as she stood there for a moment replaying what just happened. She smiled softly at the idea of seeing him again. She turned around and went to catch up with her siblings.
Naruto was making his way back to the village as Tenzo was not too far behind. His thoughts drifted back to the blonde and her siblings. They were essentially being used by their village. Especially Gaara. But they had to obey orders even if it meant betraying an ally in the process. "Fickle, fickle, fickle" he muttered. That's when Tenzo stopped in front of him and even with the mask covering his face, Naruto could still see the rage displayed.
"What the hell was that back there?" he asked. Naruto looked at him with indifference. "They were innocent" he said. "We could've captured the jinchuriki and used him as a weapon" Tenzo said. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man. He struck a nerve, a lot of them to be exact. "You of all people should know what it's like to be used as a weapon and how cruel it is" he replied.
"Such is the life of a shinobi" the man replied. Naruto said nothing as they reached the gate. They made their way through the village noting that there was not much destruction or death. They made it back to the area where they saw a large group of people gathered. They made their way through the crowd and they both gasped.
"Lord Third"
Days later, rain could be seen pouring. The funeral for the Third Hokage just ended and the village was in a somber mood. The invasion was a failure and casualties were kept to a minimum but at the cost of Hiruzen's life. Naruto could be seen in his casual clothes. He was off duty today as was the rest of his squad and shinobi alike.
He was walking aimlessly through the village until he came up to the dango stand. The same place he was over a week ago. He ordered a plate of dango and ate silently. Even after the invasion, there was still plenty of things that needed to be done. They needed a new Hokage. He doubted Jiraiya would take the position.
There was no way in hell that the pervert would take that hat. Kakashi was in the same boat. He had little to no ambition. Danzo was definitely out of the question. Which only meant that either they would go find Tsunade or Shikaku would take the hat.
"You know, for someone who damn near single handedly prevented an invasion, you don't seem too happy" a voice said. Naruto didn't even look up at the man. "The only time you look remotely happy is when you have that book in your hands" he replied. The one eyed man shrugged and took a seat next to his brother.
"I hear you got into it with Tenzo" he said. "Yeah I did. He pissed me off and put his nose into business where it doesn't belong" he said. Kakashi chuckled. "When will you two get along?"
"The day I die or the day I become a captain" he said. The older man just shook his head. He took a stick of dango off of the plate and began to eat. That's when another Anbu appeared. "Naruto Hatake, you have been summoned by the council" she said.
He sighed. He bid his brother farewell and flashed away. Kakashi who was still eating dango frowned. "That bastard left me the bill!" he said.
Naruto made his way to the council chambers. He expected to be credited with the prevention of the invasion. But judging by how everyone was looking at him, he doubted that would come to fruition.