Chapter 41

"Gotta say, hands down the most satisfying karma I've ever seen." Kankuro clapped with the crowd, his eyes glued to the charred Iwa Genin currently being looked over by medical personnel. "Y'think he's dead?"

"Probably not. Our idiot genius is a big softie under that poker face." Tenten responded to the Suna-nin's query.

"If he's not dead, he'll wish he was after this exam." Neji piped in, his Dojutsu active as he observed the Iwa-nin's chakra system. "His chakra pathways are unresponsive. That can be for a multitude of reasons, but it's more likely that they were overstimulated, leading some to burst. Nevermind the excruciating pain he'll no doubt be in when he wakes up, he'll likely never be able to mold chakra ever again."

The words hung over the remaining Genin, and despite it, none showed a hint of pity. Kankuro even whistled as he elbowed Tenten. "Always the quiet ones, am I right?"

Tenten could only snort at the comment as she watched her teammate opt to take the long way back to the competitors booth.

"The next match will be Hyuga Neji versus Kankuro of Sunagakure. Will both contestants please make their way to the arena!"

"Whelp, that's our cue, Hyuga." Kankuro smirked at his opposition. "Don't think our fight will be as satisfying as the last, but I'm willing to try if you are." Neji's response was to hop down into the arena, leaving Kankuro to shake his head in amusement. "Always the quiet ones."

The two were soon in the arena below, leaving Tenten alone with her soon to be opponent. Glancing his way, she was relieved to find that he wasn't looking at her.

What was not so relieving, and even downright unnerving, was the normally placid features having been replaced with a wide, malicious smile that wouldn't look off place on a deranged scientist.

She suddenly felt unsafe here.

...Well, she already had before, but more so now.

Relief came in the form of the door behind them opening. Expecting to see Naruto, they both turned, one trying to rid the air of tension while the other with motives unknown.

Who greeted them instead was a Suna Jonin, followed closely behind by a woman Tenten wasn't expecting to see until after the exams. Her eyes landed on her immediately, the woman's expression serious—more than normal, at least.

"Higurashi, we must speak."

...

Gaara watched Uzumaki Naruto hop back into the competitor's booth, the mad glint in his eye never leaving the blonde even when their eyes met.

Those eyes, ones that lacked empathy or mercy. One that spoke of someone who understood what it was like to kill.

Mother wasn't wrong about this one.

This kid, this Uzumaki Naruto, was the one!

He was the one who would finally prove his existence!

His smile grew wider.

Soon.

Soon, he would kill him.

Mother would have his blood.

Meanwhile, Naruto tilted his head at the boy, none the wiser to the thoughts rumbling in the madlad's head.

The door slamming open was the only thing to break his gaze from the redhead. Tenten walked in, her face stoic and her demeanor calm, which was a sign of something being wrong considering her usual cheery demeanor.

"Something happened?" He asked upon her joining them on the railing.

"Nothing." Was her curt response, which Naruto wisely did not push.

"Winner: Hyuga Neji!" Ryu's declaration had him looking back in surprise.

The match was over far quicker than any could have predicted. Neji looked confused while Kankuro looked pleased as he pushed himself up from his position on the ground.

It would seem the puppeteer surrendered. Within seconds, no less. Naruto didn't know if that would negatively impact the Kage's decision to make him Chunin, but he supposed that wasn't any of his business.

Before either competitor could exit the arena, Gaara reappeared in the arena in a swirl of leaves while Tenten leaped from the booth once again to land gracefully on her toes below. The crowd immediately erupted in cheer at their favorite entering, the roar being enough to shake the stadium walls.

Neji returned to the competitor's booth alone, glancing over the railing alongside his fellow team member.

Neither showed it, but both were worried for their third member. She had trained for this moment, both of them willing to admit even harder than themselves. However, that did not take away the fact that she was going up against arguably the most dangerous Genin in the entire Exam.

"Next match, Gaara of Sunagakure versus Higurashi Tenten!"

With one last glance their way, Tenten was able to put off their worries to rest. Her face was calm and collected, her posture relaxed, and her body was loose.

She was ready.

"Don't you dare die." Naruto whispered, the words being the closest thing he could think of to say in the situation.

"Let the final match of round 2: BEGIN!"

...

The moment the proctor's hand came down, Sand and Genin moved. Tenten's hand shot to her pouch, pulling out three round objects before throwing them to the ground. Smoke enveloped the arena, concealing her from view but doing nothing to stop the sand shooting into the smoke. When it cleared, the girl was nowhere to be seen.

Despite no longer being able to see his opponent, Gaara remained nailed to his position. There were many places to hide due to the spikes, but nowhere for her to run. Once she attacked, he would answer accordingly, and she would die all the same.

But she didn't.

There was no attack, nor did he see her again after the smoke bomb. Nearly 5 minutes have passed since, and still nothing.

Gaara was patient, but he wasn't that patient.

With a twitch of his fingers, his sand shot outward, the granules crashing against every iron spike in the arena.

It proved fruitful in weeding her out.

A blur from a pillar to his left had his sand shooting after it, while at the same time, his automatic defense shot up to defend him against the thrown kunai aimed for his head. Another smoke bomb went off where his sand pursued, and Gaara waited for it to clear once more.

Yet again, he had lost his opponent.

"...Annoying." Gaara murmured to himself at the obvious tactic while his sand searched once again for the coward.

"I take it you were unsuccessful in your endeavors." Kakashi asked the approaching Jonin, her stoic countenance marginally different from the one she left with. The way she ignored him completely and turned to view the match told him all he needed to know. "She's doing well, so far." He decided to turn to a different avenue.

"...She will lose," was Kagero's quiet retort.

"Ma, no faith in our cute Genin?" He sang, yet she did not fall for his obvious attempt at riling her up.

"Higurashi is skilled. I've trained her myself. But she is no match for Suna's Jinchuuriki. None of her tricks will work. I know it."

"Hmmmm, yet you trained her for this moment nonetheless." Once again, Kagero remained silent at his comment, prompting Kakashi to return his attention back to the arena.

So far, things haven't ended disastrously. Tenten was doing well at evasion and concealing her presence, a skill no doubt inherited from the Shimura Jonin. She was burning time on the clock, which was likely her plan for this fight. If she couldn't win, then at the very least she could make sure neither of them made it to the finals while also keeping her life.

However, her opponent no doubt had already figured out her plan, evident by how aggressive his attack had escalated. Tenten did her best at not getting caught by the sand, but it was evident that she was tiring.

"Y'know, if I were in her shoes, I'd be pretty upset too."

Kagero turned her gaze to the Copy-nin, his comment gaining both her curiosity and annoyance.

"I was not wrong," she defended.

"Perhaps not, but life is all about perspective. She trained for this moment. Regardless of if she could win or not, as her sensei, you made her believe she could. If I worked tirelessly with my team for a mission, only for my ANBU Captain to pull me last minute, I'd be pretty upset too. Any human would, honestly." Kakashi didn't have to look to see the glare being sent his way.

"She should follow orders."

"And if every Shinobi followed by that example, the world would be a lot worse than it already is."

"What do you want from me, Hatake?" Kagero finally snarled out, getting Kakashi's eye to meet hers as she poured every bit of hatred she could muster into her glare.

"Just want you to be human for once in your life and think about how your words could have lasting effects on your bonds."

"She is my-"

"Your Genin, yes," he cut her off, a bit of authority seeping into his tone as he continued. "Even if they do not respect you, as their sensei, they still expect a degree of faith from the one tasked with their guidance and safety. You, however, just told her she is going to die. , whether they meant for it or not. That she had basically wasted the last month. I'm sure you didn't phrase it as such, but that's what your words said. Anyone in her place would want to prove you wrong."

Kagero but her lip, for once, having no retort to the man's logic. Challenging him in a matter concerning right and wrong was not a battle she could win. It was a foreign subject to her as much as it was trying to understand why only she saw the logic in her actions.

"I...was not wrong," she weakly defended regardless, the statement lacking her former conviction.

Instead of deeming her with a response, Kakashi turned back to the fight, allowing the woman to simmer in her own thoughts.

"Give up."

Tenten stood stock still as the words reverberated through her head. They were the only words that had been spoken, and there was virtually no sound in the hall, so there was no way she could have possibly misinterpreted it.

Looking into the eyes of her sensei, the one she had been training with for the last 6 months and the one who had always taught her to think underneath the underneath, she found that the woman was serious. There was not a trace of a lie or trickery, nor was there a shred of deception.

This was no joke.

"W-why?" She couldn't stop the stutter in her voice, yet she couldn't find it in herself to kick herself.

"I did not think it needed explaining." Kagero answered, her aloof retort only coming off as condescending.

"But why?" Tenten asked again, her tone more firm and heated. "I knew I was outclassed, you knew I was outclassed. But we trained for this! You told me I had a chance if I simply followed your plan!"

"Things have changed, Higurashi. I was a fool then. I should have told you to forfeit at the beginning, not encourage you to run to your death."

"But I'm not! This plan could work!" Tenten reiterate, sounding desperate. "I know what I need to do. I've gone over it a hundred times in my head by now. If I stick to the plan, I'm sure I can win."

"That is not-"

"No! You can't do this! Not now! I don't care what changed! I'll adapt! I'll win! I know I can-"

"You will not!" The sharp tone Kagero spoke in forced Tenten into silence, the look on her face leaving the younger girl frozen. "I understand that you have something to prove. But the fact of the matter is," Kagero paused momentarily, her expression shifting into something unreadable before it turned to something firmer and far less empathetic. "You are weak, Higurashi."

The words were like a punch to Tenten's kidney.

"You are above your peers—that, no one can ever deny. Unfortunately, there is, and will forever be, a gap you simply can never overcome. This is one of those gaps."

Tenten suddenly felt sick at hearing the words. It felt like betrayal, the likes of which she never saw coming.

"Our plan has a chance. A small, minute chance, but it's still a chance nonetheless. If you go through with it, there's a good chance you will be able to beat your opponent. That chance is less than 2%. They are not odds I am willing to risk your life over when there is so much more you can still do for Konoha."

Just like that, in almost an instant, the sickness suddenly vanished. Her eyes were now wide as a realization hit her, one that she should have known all along.

"Worry not. Surrendering here will not ruin your chances at becoming Chunin, nor will it tarnish your honor. You have displayed more than enough skill for the Hokage to-"

"Screw you."

The words caught her teacher off guard.

"Higurashi-"

"Screw you, you lying, poor excuse of a sensei!" The Genin erupted. Hatred filled her veins, her eyes boring into her former sensei's as frustration she didn't know she was keeping inside all spilled out. "Do this for the village. Do that for the village. My only worth is that I'm useful. I should never question, just obey? Screw that, and screw you!"

"Higurashi, listen to-"

"No, YOU listen!" Tenten interrupted again. "For the last six months, I've listened to you. I've done everything you've told me. I've sacrificed my time, my blood, and my tears training under you. Even if you were a bitch, even if you really didn't care, at the very least I respected the fact that you made me strong—that in some sick, twisted way, you believed in me."

Tenten's fist tightened to the point her knuckles turned white as her gaze met the floor—missing the conflicted expression that crossed her sensei's face.

"...You really are the worst. If you knew I couldn't win, then you should have just told me. At least then, I wouldn't feel like I'd wasted my time on someone who I thought at the very least respected my worth as a Kunoichi. My worth to the team." The anger within the girl slowly seeped away, leaving behind a heavy sadness that seemed to weigh on her shoulders.

"This...isn't about the team. It's about your life." Kagero argued, even she realizing how weak it was.

"That's at least one thing I can agree with you on." The Genin said, raising her head to meet her sensei's eyes with a determined glint. "Which is why I'm going to go out there and prove you wrong."

The momentary shock that crossed Kagero's features at the statement quickly morphed into frustration as she lost her usual composure to shout, "Don't be a fool! There is a big difference between being confident and being unreasonable! I am trying to keep you alive!"

"No, you are only worried about keeping to your own image of what a Shinobi should be." The Genin shot back, her words forcing a stunned look on the Jonin's face that actually made her huff in amusement. "Be honest with me, sensei. This isn't about whether or not I can win, is it? It's something more. Something I guess you're not going to tell me."

"...This is about me saving your life. Nothing more." She heard the woman lie through her teeth, yet was not at all surprised by it.

"Then I guess we have nothing else to talk about." Saying that, she turned on her heel, walking about to the competitor's booth entrance.

"Don't do this, Higurashi." The Jonin's words made her stop, and if Tenten didn't know any better, she could have sworn there was a hint of concern in the woman's voice.

"If you really believe that I stand no chance, that I should give up...that I am weak, then so be it. But I'm still going out there, and I'll still fight. Even if I lose, even if I die, I'm going to prove you wrong."

"...You will die." Kagero reiterated, but it did nothing to stoke the flame building in Tenten's soul.

"Maybe I will, but if I do, then at least I can show the world that an orphan, one with no clan or title, held her ground and never gave up." She turned, this time catching the look in her sensei's eyes that she missed early. "That, is my nindo."

A sigh left Tenten as she looked to the sky, the memory doing well to fuel her resolve.

By now, 20 minutes had passed, which meant it was time to move on to the next part of the plan. A plan that she knew would work without a shadow of a doubt.

With a flick of her wrist, two scrolls shot from her hands to each side of her, unfurled to reveal multiple weapons that appeared before shooting forward at her opponent. She didn't see the weapons get blocked by the sand, but she knew they had been from how she was forced to immediately abandon her position to avoid a wave of the granules.

Now on the move once more, she rolled midair to avoid the next wave, her arm going for her pouch while her mind counted down.

The first smoke bomb went off in the direction she dodged, with another two following right after to throw off her opponent and hide her presence. Next, she pulled two more scrolls from her pouch and quickly unfurled them, releasing their contents at the Jinchuuriki once more.

The kunai and shuriken were blocked once again, the weapons integrating into the sand before dropping harmlessly to her opponent's feet. Tenten did not stay long enough to confirm the action. She had already landed on the ground and was moving again, pulling three more scrolls as she did so.

Before she could unfurl them, however, something grabbed onto her left arm and leg. A snap echoed through the arena, followed shortly by a gasp from the crowd.

A second later, a puff of smoke enveloped her, and in her place was a log.

Gaara finally looked around for his opponent, his patience with the cat and mouse game growing thin. From his gourd, more sand flowed, coating the arena floor and rising high above the iron pillars.

It was time to end this.

Utilizing his sand, he lifted himself from the ground entirely, the sand acting as a floating platform of sorts to raise him to the sky. His eyes scanned the battlefield below him, his senses extended to search for the girl's chakra.

It didn't take long to find it.

A wave of sand was sent her way, but she was able to avoid the attack with her speed.

However, grabbing her wasn't his goal.

He watched her run long enough for his sand to encompass the ground entirely. Eventually, there was nothing for her to hop on but the walls, which she was far too late to realize.

The moment her foot touched the sand, a makeshift tendril shot out and grabbed her foot. Then, another grabbed her arm, her waist, and finally her neck before pulling her down into the Earth until she was submerged completely. Lowering himself back down to the coated arena, he placed a hand on the sand.

"Sand Coffin," the sand beneath him began to compress, tightening its grip on anything unfortunate enough to be beneath it. "Prison Sand Burial!" The compression grew tenfold, crushing any and everything beneath it.

The murmurs from the crowd had all but ceased. Everyone looked on in astonished shock at the conclusion of the bout, most unable or refusing to believe the outcome.

In the area, sand began to shift. From the surface, remains of the iron spikes along with kunai and various other ninja equipment was pushed to the surface.

And yet, curiously, there was no mangled corpse to be found. Searching further, Gaara found that there wasn't even the familiar color of blood in his grains, which could only mean, as impossible as it sounded, his opponent had escaped. Which meant she was-

The sudden shifting of his sand was the only warning he got. Not a moment later, the rushing of water met his ear and forced him to look up.

What greeted him was the sight of a waterfall, the torrential force of the water falling directly towards him.

He had a split second to react, and he did so by raising his hand, making sure to put more chakra into his sand to block its natural weekness.

Only, nothing happened.

To the Suna Genin, it was as if, for the first time, his sand wasn't fast enough to stop the incoming attack. In reality, the sand hadn't moved at all.

What did move was the waterfall that crashed into him with devastating force, sweeping him away with the current.

Gaara had never felt such a force before. As a matter of fact, he was certain he had never been hurt by anything in his 12 years of living. And yet, as he was forced into the wall, the pain that erupted through his body was undeniable.

He gasped, his lungs aching and begging for oxygen while his eyes searched his surroundings for the water user.

He couldn't find her, but Tenten could see him.

Tenten watched the whirlpool she had created using the sealed water from Taki itself to do all the work from her vantage point on the arena wall. Allowing her camouflage Jutsu to fade, she gripped the carefully modified kunai in her hand before taking aim at the pool of water.

With pinpoint accuracy, she threw it, watching almost in slow motion as it made its way to the center of the whirlpool.

As soon as the kunai pierced the surface of the water, Tenten held her hand up in a sign. The smell of ozone filled the air not a second later as electricity surged from the kunai and through the whirlpool. Bubbles began to rise as the electrical current cooked the water and everything in it. In the center, she could see the Sand Genin writhing in pain from the current, his body stiffening as he now tries to fight against both the current and the electricity coursing through his veins.

He failed.

Before he could escape, his body had subcomm to the pain and lack of oxygen, darkening his vision and making him go limp. The gourd brought his body to the surface like a bubble float, keeping it above water but not the Genin himself.

Not wanting to make the mistake of celebrating too early, she waited a full minute to make sure her opponent was actually unconscious. Only after confirming this did she drop from the wall to land on the water below.

It worked!

It actually worked!

All the planning they had done was not for nothing!

But boy, did she cut it short. If she had not used the kawarimi before she could fully be pulled to the center of the earth, she would have surely died.

Thank Kami for quick thinking and planning ahead, right?

She hadn't planned on the guy drowning, but who was she to look a gift horse in the mouth? And to think there was only 30 seconds left. As far as plans went, this was an absolute success!

From the left, the proctor landed as well.

She had done it.

She had actually defeated Gaara.

Observing the floating redhead from afar, he did not think it necessary to get any closer. If he was dead, then all the better. But if he wasn't, he wanted to be nowhere in the redhead's peripheral.

Nevertheless, there was a clear winner here, and he raised his hand to announce such.

"The Winner is-"

He froze on the spot as a terrifyingly familiar chakra appeared from the redhead.

The sound of something bursting out of the water had the proctor jumping back to put distance between himself and the water.

Tenten wasn't so lucky.

Though she was able to leap clear of the water, she was left airborne and vulnerable.

A fact she only realized when the insanely condensed sand pillar crashed into her, not stopping until her body crashed against the wall. Breath left her lungs from the impact, none able to re-enter due to the sand currently pinning her against the wall.

From the water below, Gaara pushed himself up from the water, the pool itself seemingly being absorbed into the ground until the arena was dry completely.

Her eyes went wide at what now stood in the arena. Gone was half of the boy's body entirely, and in his place was something far more terrifying.

Sand with strange blue linings covered the right side of his body, a tail protruding from his back while a grotesque abomination with spikes grew from his left arm.

Said arm that was currently extended and pinning her to the wall.

His eyes, a light brown with star-shaped pupils, locked on to her, the madness in his irises prevalent event in the stands. Laughter soon followed, a laugh filled with madness that had Tenten shivering in her confinement.

"Pain." Despite being far, the voice reached her ear. "This...pain."

His inhuman face suddenly turned to her, filling her with dread.

"You did this."

Without warning or much movement from his part, the makeshift tail shot out, the tip of it piercing through the sand arm and into Tenten's abdomen.

Blood erupted from her mouth before she could even scream.

"I'll kill you."

His words were shortly followed by the sand arm tightening. Bones began to strain, the pressure far too much for her teenage body.

"I'll kill you!"

A scream of agony finally left her throat as the pressure grew exponentially. Bones shattered, and the air she had been so desperately holding onto left as her chattered ribcage pierced her organs.

"I'll kill you I'll kill you I'll kill you I'llkillyouI'llkillyouI'llkillyou!"

The screams of the crowd and the cries of her teammates fell on deaf ears. White hot agony filled every part of her, clouding her mind and thoughts.

"I'LL KILL-"

It was when her vision began to blur and her body grew cold that the pain finally lessened.

From her peripheral, a figure shot forward, blade shrouded in wind as it cut through the tail and sand at blinding speeds. The arm exploded into grains and she was suddenly free, the weightlessness of her body forcing her to plummet the admittedly large distance to the ground. Instead of the rough impact of the ground, however, she landed on something soft, the sudden change in momentum combined with the lack of support for her head causing her to lose consciousness.

Gaara looked momentarily flabbergasted by the interruption before it hardened into a glare. That glare shifted to glee when two more forms landed in front of the girl's savior.

...

"Uzumaki!"

Naruto gave no outer reaction from hearing his name. However, the hand gripping the handle of his blade tightened, the bones of the former deity only proving to damage his own hand.

His gaze flickered over his shoulder, catching sight of his teammate currently unconscious in the arms of their sensei. With a thought, a previous version of himself shimmered into existence next to them, his hands already going to work on Tenten's life threatening injuries.

At the same time, two Suna Jonin appeared behind them. Both took hold of Kagero's arms, their eyes understanding despite their firm expression.

"Jonin of the Leaf, you are in clear violation of code 5 of the Mutual Combat Treaty. As per the code, Higurashi hereby forfeits." One said, getting no reaction from the Jonin.

"You are to come with us immediately. Please do not make this difficult." Said the other.

"...I won't." Was her curt response, already aware of the consequences both now and later. Thankfully, they were given enough time for the Naruto clone to use his strange abilities to get Higurashi back under stable condition—a skill she could only guess came from the other world.

"Hyuga, Uzumaki," neither of her students took their eyes off their opponent, a fact she would admit made a feeling of pride rise within, even if she would never admit it. "End this."

A nod was all she received before she and the Suna Jonin disappeared from the arena in a swirl of sand.

In the arena, the previous Uzumaki vanished while Neji and Naruto continued to watch the crazed redhead across from them.

The sand had now encompassed everything other than his legs, creating a creature not dissimilar to a tanuki. With the added armor, his bulk outgrew both of the Konoha Genin combined. His height, once short and slim, had grown as well, now standing a good 2 heads taller than them. If there were any doubts before that he was a Jinchuuriki, there were none now.

However, Jinchuuriki or not, he had made the mistake of hurting their teammate. Their comrade. Their friend. Despite even Naruto's patience, that was not so forgiveable.

On the wall, Ryu looked from the Jinchuuriki to the Konoha Genin, his heart in his ass as no doubt every other Suna citizen likely was. Already, many civilians had vacated the arena, likely wanting no part in watching the outcome when their lives were potentially at risk with the demon already half way out. Seeing as the Kazekage hadn't yet interfered even with the Konoha Jonin's removal, Ryu could only conclude that he was expected to continue the proceedings.

And so, he did—however reluctant.

"W-winner by disqualification: Gaara of Sunagakure. We will immediately move to the final match for the evening."

As he talked, Ryu could feel chakra in the arena already spreading despite neither of the Genin moving. It surrounded them all, encompassing the ground entirely with the subtleness only a skilled sensor like himself would be able to identify. "Since the competitors are all set, let the final round of Chunin Exams-"

Ryu leaped away from the wall before he could finish, feeling the chakra reach him and not daring to find out what it was.

A few things followed upon his departure.

From each edge of the arena, a blonde appeared from the dirt, their hands clapped together in sync with their creator. From the ground, lines of white spread throughout the arena, their paths connecting to each blonde before shooting to the air.

In the middle of this, Gaara shot forward, either ignoring the display or not caring of its significance as he shot a clawed hand towards the Konoha Genin.

In the air, the lines connected and immediately ignited a purple barrier that engulfed the entirety of the arena, leaving all those outside the arena walls limited to watching what unfolded next, including the Kages whose eyes all widened upon recognizing the S-Rank Jutsu.

As for the Konoha Genin, they both remained relatively unfazed by the technique as the clawed arm grew closer and closer.

Then, seemingly through forces unknown, the claw came undone right before reaching them, falling to the ground in a lump of sand. At the same time, the sand armor that had encompassed Gaara had also fallen, the sand now coating the bottom of his feet and ankles as the redhead looked on in momentary stupefaction.

"W-what?" Gaara looked down at his hands, seeing the grains fall from his body to the ground. Upon further examination, he found his gourd also falling apart, the grains joining the sand piling up at his feet. "What's happening? What's going on?!" Seeing no answer to his query, he looked up to the likely culprit.

Only to be met with a fist that knocked him off his feet and sent him flying.

His back impacted the ground a few feet away, his spine aching from the degree left behind by the iron pillars he had crumbled earlier. Still frazzled, he didn't see the leg that lifted him off the ground until it buried itself into his gut. Air left his lungs, followed shortly by more pain as another fist crashed into his face.

A strike to the back of his knee had him kneeling, but an uppercut brought him back to his feet. A palm strike to his chest removed what little air he had, while a kick to his lower back straightened him once more. A roundhouse kick to his face had him spinning one way while a hook sent him the other.

The world spun, and he felt nauseous as he fell to his knees, yet the blows didn't stop. Through the coordinated attack, all he could see was a blur of brown and blonde, two blurs that slammed into his body and forced it in all directions while delivering pain the likes he had never felt before.

He wanted to fight back, he truly did, but his sand had not even attempted to defend him from the attacks. When he tried manually, there was no response from his Jutsu, and the deeper he dug, the more blows that got through and the more panicked he became.

In the stands, the crowd watched in silence as the two Konoha boys displayed a level of synchronization normally performed by Jonin. Each blow delivered was followed up by the other, keeping the redhead on his feet while delivering one of the worst beatdowns any of them had ever witnessed.

At the beginning, they were scared. Anyone who has spent even a week in Sunagakure would know the fear Gaara commanded with every new body he stacked on his mountain of corpses.

But now?

Now, the fear was gone.

And as the time went on, as the Konoha Genin continued their assault on the boy who had terrorized them for years, the dread began to shift.

One began to cheer.

Then two.

Then five.

And soon, the entire stadium roared to life as they cheered the Konoha Genin on with each blow.

The last punch landed squarely on Gaara's jaw, leaving his body limp on the ground and unable to do much else than gasp for air. The pain he was in was beyond any description he could think of. It was beyond anything he had ever felt before. It hurt, and he wanted it to stop.

Yet there was no relief. Even as he lay broken on the ground, the jeers of the crowd reached his ear, adding insult to injury and making his fist tighten in rage. Mother was raging in his head, and for once, he shared her rage.

Again, he commanded his chakra, seeping it into the Earth and demanding it answer his call. The grains of sand shimmered, as if wanting to answer his call, but ultimately remaining in the ground and fueling his rage.

Why! Why wasn't his sand obeying him?! It was HIS sand! MOTHERS sand! How?! HOW?!

"You still haven't figured it out, huh?"

That voice.

The voice of someone he had swore to kill and feed his blood to his mother now stood over him. Gaara glared at him from his position, wanting nothing more than to tear the boy limb from limb.

"The thing is, it's not your sand that's the problem." The blonde informed before pointing up. "This isn't any ordinary barrier we are in. This barrier, though common in the Fuuinjutsu arts, has been slightly modified. You see, I have a friend who is just like you." He pointed between Gaara eyes, causing both of them a momentary pause. "...Well, not as crazy, but that's not the point here. The point is, both of you have unique chakra, and a stupid amount of it. I learned that trying to fight her in a battle of attrition is suicide, so I thought to myself 'how can I make this easy without wasting my own chakra'? This," he gestured wide to their surroundings. "Is my answer."

"You're not seriously going to explain it, are you?" The Hyuga asked from Gaara's peripheral, the redhead only glancing his way momentarily before catching the blonde's shrug.

"Wasn't going to, but don't see the harm since he's gonna die anyway."

The words made Gaara still.

Die?

Him?

Due?

No...

No no no...

He couldn't die.

He would not die.

Mother wouldn't allow it.

No!

He wouldn't die!

No one was allowed to erase his existence!'

Once again, he commanded his sand, but this time, he reached deeper. Digging into Mother's chakra, he willed it as if it were his own, pushing it into the ground and demanding the sand to obey. The sand between them rose up shakily into a spike, the thin piece alone taking nearly everything out of him to form as he held a hand out to the blonde.

The Konoha Genin seemed unfazed, their gazes not even shifting to the spike as it slowly approached the blonde's abdomen.

'Just a little more!' Gaara intoned, holding his breath to push everything into his concentration as he now fought against his own body. 'A little more, a little more, a little more! I'm so close to-'

A choked gasp left him, breaking his concentration and immediately dropping the sand back to the ground. Coughing violently, he did his best to get his breath under control, hearing his heart thunder in his ears as he stored at the sand he failed to control in an uncomprehensible daze.

"It's useless to use chakra in this barrier." He heard his prey speak once more. "See, this is no normal barrier. It's infused with a spell called silencing by the clones currently keeping it active...which I'm pretty sure means absolutely nothing to you."

A sigh of frustration left the blonde's lips as he tried to explain it in terms the redhead would understand.

"Think of it as one big sealing tag; only it has an area affect. While we are in here, no one can mold chakra, myself included. My sister couldn't do it, nor could the old man. Not even Fū could do it, and she has seven times the amount of chakra you do. Do you know what that means?"

Suddenly, Gaara found himself hoisted up into a full-nelson courtesy of the Hyuga. In front of him, Uzumaki turned his back to walk away, stopping before something he had dismissed somewhere between the first strike to his face.

Every ounce of confidence, every ounce of arrogance, every ounce of hatred left the moment Uzumaki pulled the sword from the dirt. Seafoam eyes turned to meet his own, and in that moment, Gaara knew fear.

"Unless I die, no one is coming to save you."

Uzumaki took a step towards him, and Gaara was somehow now frighteningly aware of his own mortality.

"S-s-st-stop!" Gaara gasped out, the grip the Hyuga had on him forcing the air out of his lungs and making his plea sound pitiful. "Pl-please!"

His plea went on deaf ears as Naruto drew closer.

"I-I surrender! I give up! St-stop!"

Uzumaki didn't stop in his stride.

"No-no-n-n-no-NO!" Seeing that his pleas were going unheard, he turned to the crowd and shouted, "He-help! Help me! Someone pl-please!"

He struggled harder, but the Hyuga's grip was firm. The closer Uzumaki got, the more Gaara pushed, seeking to get as far away from the blonde as possible.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry for what I've done! Please, don't kill me! Don't erase me!" His plea only served to make his captor hold him more firmly, erasing any hope of fleeing as the blonde finally returned to his previous position.

Looking up at the blonde was like looking at the shinigami himself. There was no mercy in his eyes, no sign of compassion or forgiveness.

Gaara could not remember when he last felt tears in his eyes, nor could he remember the last time he cried.

If he could see through his fearful haze, he would have been able to see the gold dust crashing into the barrier along with puppets and several other Jutsu, shaking it but doing nothing to its integrity.

If he could hear anything other than his own heart beating, he'd be able to hear the crowd as they jeered and begged for his death.

All he saw was Uzumaki Naruto, and the blade in his hand.

"No."

He whimpered.

"No."

He cried.

"Don't!"

The blade raised, and he saw his life flash before his eyes.

"Please!"

Hands tightened, muscles prepared to swing.

"DON'T ERASE ME!"

Blade descended, and the world stood still.

It was quiet.

The chanting had stopped, the Jutsu's had ceased, and even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

There was only silence.

It was a strange thing, silence.

In some instances, it could mean peace.

Peace and safety.

However, silence could also be dangerous.

Dangerous and terrifying.

For a Shinobi, silence could mean the difference between life and death.

Today, at this moment, death was not it's source.

Naruto stared into the frozen terror on Gaara's face with cold indifference. Short gasps escaped the boy's lips every other second, the only sign that he was still conscious. Blood trickled down his forcehead to his chin, the droplets probably loud enough to be heard in the suffocating silence. On his forehead was the blonde's sword, its edge cutting into the boy's flesh but not his skull.

Saying nothing, he removed the blade away from the Jinchuuriki, his eyes never leaving the boy he could have easily cut in two.

"...The only reason you are not dead, is because I understand you," Naruto stated, his tone cold, but oddly understanding. "You and I, we've been through the same thing. The loneliness, the hatred—we've both experienced it. The only difference between the two of us is that I had people who cared for and loved me, while you had no one. You've been alone, and it's made you into the person that you are now."

The thought of Tenten appeared in his mind for a brief moment. His fist gripped, and against his own inner thoughts, he stayed his blade.

"I was going to kill you. I really was...but-" he turned to his right, spotting a puppeteer. A bit further down, he spotted another man amongst many other Suna Shinobi. Then, he looked to the crowd, the people now all eerily silent. "You're a monster. No one here can deny that...but..."

He turned back to Gaara, once again locking their gazes.

'No monster begs for their life, nor do they feel genuine remorse for their actions,' was the thought going through Naruto's head.

"I will not kill you, Gaara." His statement shocked both the redhead and Hyuga, both giving the blonde their own look of surprise at his words. "However," he did not allow them to dwell on it long as he grabbed a fist full of the redhead's bodysuit and brought their faces close. "I will never forget what you did this day. I am giving you only one chance to change. Should our paths ever cross again, if you have not changed for the better, I will not hesitate." His grip tightened as his face grew firmer, making sure to get the message across even without words. "I will finish what I started, and make sure you are nothing more than a memory."

Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving the Suna Genin and Hyuga to follow his back as he left. Around them, the barrier shattered into a thousand pieces, yet the only one who moved was the blonde currently heading out of the arena.

On his path, he passed Rasa, the Kazekage's eyes following his form but doing nothing to stop him from leaving through the gate to the competitor's booth. Halfway through the hall, he stopped. The lull in the arena had ended, the noise returning full swing as the crowd cheered a victor.

And yet, Naruto remained still, his eyes glued to the ground, and his thoughts momentarily halted.

"...How long were you planning on telling me you were back?" He spoke seemingly to no one.

He was not immediately given a response, but he did feel the ethereal presence appear directly behind him before he felt arms wrap around his neck—the same arms he had felt stop him from killing Gaara.

"I wanted to surprise you," he heard the voice respond with a pout.

Naruto sighed, his hands rising to grip her wrists.

"You did." He could feel her smile, and soon a forehead rested against the back of his head. Much like her, his lips slowly split into a smile, warmth filling every part of his being for the first time in nearly two months. "I missed you."

"As did I, Child. As did I."

A/N: So, this took longer than expected to come out. Trust me, I can explain, but I'll get to that later.A lot happened in this chapter, but which I thought came out as a bit rushed, but am honestly satisfied. The Chunin Exams has ended, and I can finally get to the aftermath before the time skip to canon 300k words later :P

First off, I want to thank everyone for following this story. We are officially 20 chapters until finish, and I appreciate every single one of you who gave this story a chance as well as left a review. It has fueled me to get this far and will continue to fuel me till the end.

Saying that, tyrell2000, marcerriveros238, and JongFreeces, I want to personally thank you guys for your reviews. Gave me a boost of confidence for this story and made me want to write even more. I appreciate every review I get, and will continue to this till the end of you guys and everyone else following.

One last remark before I end things, I have some shameless promoting to do!

I've officially posted a new story called 'It's Hard Being Elden Lord in a World of Gods and Dragons'. It is a Elden Ring/Highschool DXD fic with a Konosuba style comedy/crack that I plan to have fun with on the side, so I would every much appreciate it if you guys give it a read if you can. No pressure. Have 5 chapters up and plan to have the next sometime next week. Hope you all enjoy that story as much as you do this one!

As always, thank you all for the favs, follows, reviews, and have a DAMN good day!