Author: Karrafear

Summary: AU. What if Naruto survived a murder attempt on his life at the age of 6 and had to leave Konoha for his protection. Now 12, Naruto and Jiraiya returns to face the Genin test. Chapter Seventeen: Chuunin Exam Pt3

Warning: Naruto OOC. PG-13. Sasuke Vs Gaara! Sound Invasion!!! Enjoy!

""  "" means “thoughts”

xxxxxxxxxxxx means “time passed” or “different place” or “different point of view”

((...)) Author’s interruption

[…] Flashback scenes

Chapter 17

((Previously on the last chapter.))

“Your name?” Genma asked with suppressed cheeriness.

“Uchiha Sasuke.” Sasuke affirmed.

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((ALL NEW!))

“See... He came...” Gaara stated nonchalantly, while behind him, both Temari and Kankuro tensed in anticipation.

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“Well, we showed up all flashy and the like... but uh... could we have been... disqualified?” Kakashi asked sheepishly, rubbing a hand behind his head as he sweat dropped concurrently.

Genma lifted an eyebrow in amusement. “Jeeze... your tardiness must be contagious.” Shaking his head and giving off a heavy sigh, Genma returned his gaze back on Sasuke. “You’re lucky kid. We pushed your match until the end of all the other fights, so you’re not disqualified.”

“That’s good to hear!” Kakashi laughed, feeling much relief that he hadn’t inadvertently taken away his student’s chance at taking part in the Chuunin Selection Exam.

However, while Kakashi flaunt with relief, Sasuke spent his time glaring at his opponent, Gaara, who seems to be doing the exact same thing back at him. After a few minutes of building tension and silence, Genma interrupted their staring contest by calling out: “Gaara of the Sand, come on down.”

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By the time Gaara had reached the stairs, Shikamaru had already dragged his lazy bum all the way up to the participant’s waiting area and was currently lounging around, knowing that he no longer had any matches after this. He did, however, meet the two Grass Nins who seemed to be waiting for Gaara within the corridor halls. ""Idiots. Do they really think Gaara would be the type to lose on purpose..."" He concluded as he kept one eye open and one eye closed, pretending to be not interested in Sasuke’s upcoming match while simultaneously trying to ignore Sakura’s enthusiastic shouts. Sakura, on the other hand, was completely focussed on cheering at the top of her voice for Sasuke to notice Shikamaru’s discomfort.

All the while, Naruto had stood stiffly watching the progression of the match with a seemingly calm façade, but inside, he was in turmoil over himself. ""Can I truly just sit back and watch? Can I stand it once more if my friends were hurt right in front of me and I can’t do anything to help? Can I be that heartless?"" A tiny voice within his heart called out to him with a simple answer: ‘No, I can’t...’

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“Alright. Uchiha Sasuke Versus Gaara! Match Begin!” Genma announced loudly at the start of the match, and without delay both combatants moved into their appropriate stances – Gaara had released his sand from the huge gourd strapped onto his back while Sasuke had quickly retreated back to a safer distance.

Before the match could continue however, Gaara seemed to have developed an intense headache as he clutch at his forehead in pain. He murmured to himself: “Don’t get so angry, mother... The blood I fed you before was bad... but don’t worry... this time, it’ll be delicious... I promise.” He flinched in pain again and abruptly returned to his seemingly cold façade of before, as if he held two different personalities within him. Looking at Sasuke with ice-cold eyes, Gaara all but grunted: “come.”

Sasuke instantly threw three normal shurikens at Gaara, which was automatically stopped by Gaara’s Suna no Tate (Shield of Sand). Unexpectedly, the sand that had grabbed onto all three shurikens hardened and shaped itself to form a Suna Bunshin (Sand Clone) of Gaara himself. Watching impassively as Sasuke started running towards him, Gaara simply closed his eyes and mentally ordered his clone to attack. The clone lifted its chest and from it released a huge barrage of sand, heading straight towards Sasuke. Sasuke jumped upwards to dodge the attack as the sand crushed the area in which he had occupied only milliseconds before hand.

Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke threw another Kunai at the Suna Bunshin (Sand Clone) while still up in the air. Unlike the previous shurikens however, this was a power-enhanced kunai using Sasuke’s own Chakra. Sasuke secretly smirked as he watched Gaara ignore the threat of his weapon.

The Suna Bunshin (Sand Clone) tried to deflect the kunai with the three shurikens still held within its hand, to no avail. Other than that, it simply stood guard over Gaara and remained where it was, thinking that it could withstand the Kunai’s attack. However, when the power-enhanced kunai finally made impact with the compacted sand itself, the Suna Bunshin suddenly exploded into mass sand particles, and the kunai was free to continue its course towards Gaara.

Shocked at the apparent power of the kunai, Gaara shifted to his right quickly, just enough to avoid the Kunai’s direct path of destruction but not fast enough to avoid all damage. Gaara flinched slightly as the kunai managed to scrape across his cheek, leaving quite a large size gash on his left cheek, though still protected by his hidden armour of sand. The kunai, having missed its original target, landed somewhere behind Gaara with a small explosion, leaving a one-metre crater behind, demonstrating the apparent power behind it.

Narrowing his eyes in anger at having been slightly hurt, Gaara gave a vicious, insane grin at Sasuke. Sasuke on the other hand, landed lightly onto his feet, still with a smirk on his face, before he rushed towards Gaara at full speed again.

Even though the Sand Bunshin had dissipated into sand particles, the sand particles itself, still performed the automatic function of trying to protect Gaara no matter what the situation, and so they immediately formed a wall of sand between Sasuke and Gaara. Sasuke’s smirk widened as he quickly paused before his punch touches the sand wall. In a blink of an eye, Sasuke had twisted his ankle in one move and slid himself behind Gaara in one smooth, seemingly effortless motion.

Gaara’s eyes widened slightly at the implied speed of Sasuke’s movement. ""Fast! It’s just like him!"" His thoughts on the comparison between Sasuke and Lee’s moves were interrupted when Sasuke’s punch finally made contact with Gaara’s sand covered face. Even though the dense sand upon Gaara’s skin took the blunt of the force from Sasuke’s punch, but Gaara himself, was still flung sideways several metres before he finally fell onto his shield of sand that had surrounded him, protecting him from hitting the hard ground.

Standing up roughly, Gaara’s cold eyes glared at Sasuke with no hint of compassion or mercy, his face visibly showing some cracks from the punch as well as the previous slash across the left cheek from the kunai earlier. A firm smirk continued to stay on Sasuke’s own face. “So... That’s the famous Suna no Yoroi (armour of sand), eh?” He asked casually, as if the implication meant little to him. “I’ll tear that armour apart!” He promised himself.

Running at speeds equal to Lee’s, Sasuke dodged and avoided Gaara’s Suna to Tate (shield of sand) easily as he made his way through the floating sand particles before twisting in front of Gaara’s real body and punching him once again. This time, however, the punch was executed with the combined effects of the Raikan Mahi no Jutsu (Lightning shock paralysis) as he had performed the seals while he was still running.

Even though Gaara’s shield of sand had caught Gaara from hitting the ground once again, but Gaara himself had already suffered the effects of the electrocution from the special jutsu. Gaara felt his body spasm slightly due to the electrical surge that had coursed through his veins. Whilst the sand on his skin did not conduct electricity, and had played a vital role at lessening the power of the attack, but still, some of the electrical currents managed to make it to his skin and from there, to the rest of his body. 

""Damn. My body won’t respond."" Gaara thought to himself calmly as his body continued to shake off the effects of the technique. Although physically hurt, Gaara nonetheless had enough control over himself to suppress the roaring call for blood and death from consuming him, a call originating from the demon within, Shukaku. All the same, the action was getting harder and harder for him to manage, as the more he suffers from Sasuke’s assaults, the less he restrain the demon’s desire.

Knowing Gaara was currently paralysed and unable to move, Sasuke pressed forward with his advantage. Dodging Gaara’s Suna no Tate again and again, Sasuke continued to strike at Gaara’s body with his fists and kicks, managing to convert several blows with his hands to implement a few more lightning shocks with his Raikan Mahi no Jutsu (Lightning Shock Paralysis).

After a few minutes of the same Taijutsu assaults from Sasuke, Gaara’s Suna no Yoroi (Armour of Sand) seems to be cracking and breaking apart piece by piece. Sasuke silently crowed with victory as he gave Gaara a round house kick in the face before flipping backwards several metres and performing the Gokakyuu no Jutsu (Powerful Fireball Technique) to try and finish Gaara off. Unfortunately for him, Gaara’s Suna no Tate (Shield of Sand) not only saved him from hitting the ground, it also kept Gaara safe by blocking Sasuke’s fire attack.

Releasing a deep breath, Gaara gathered his hands together to make an actual seal. He had, long ago, given in to the demon’s bloodlust and wants nothing more than to tear Sasuke apart, bit-by-bit, and then let the boy rot in the heat until the birds decided to feed on his carcass to ensure his complete death. Releasing a large amount of Chakra, Gaara re-healed his armour of sand as well as called upon all of his remaining sand particles to surround him, condensing itself to form a special, protective Sand Sphere in which he may stay safe inside to perform one of his ultimate jutsus.

Sasuke rushed towards Gaara and crushed his Chakra-enhanced fish onto the Sand Sphere’s surface, only to find that his fist didn’t even make a dent in the sphere. Not only that, Sasuke realised that the sand particles used to create this Sand Sphere followed an automatic command to attack anything that comes near it. It had formed spikes on its own, directed at Sasuke when he approached and had, in some cases, pierced Sasuke’s own skin on his arms and face.

Jumping back, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and tried to see what Gaara’s up to. ""He’s using all that sand to protect himself now? What is he doing, shielding himself like that?"" He wondered as even his eyes couldn’t tell him what Gaara was planning to do inside of his protective Sand Sphere. “Absolute defence, huh?” Sasuke murmured to himself, narrowing his eyes in concentration.

While Gaara slowly reiterated a long list of seals as he performed them one by one, all within the confines of his absolute defence, a special third eye (made out of sand) was formed outside of his sphere, just to keep an eye on those around him.

Sasuke experimented by using a few techniques on the Sand Sphere, testing out whether it could be penetrated, all to no avail. Both the Raikan Mahi no Jutsu (Lightning Shock Paralysis) and the Gokakyuu no Jutsu (Powerful Fireball Technique) had no effect on the Sphere. Even the Chakra-enhanced kunais (power wise) didn’t leave a single dent in Gaara’s absolute defence. Trying to get close via his speed and Taijutsu moves only led Sasuke to dodge all the defensive spikes that forms whenever he gets close to the ball of sand. Overall, he had not been very successful in his endeavour, but then again, Sasuke hadn’t expected that he would get through a defence like that so easily. “I guess this is the perfect time to use it.” Sasuke muttered to himself in a low voice, a smirk slowly but surely formed on his face.

Performing several large back flips, Sasuke eventually attached himself half way up the stadium’s wall opposite Gaara’s Sand Sphere. There he squatted and readied himself for his most powerful attack yet. Completing a few seals, Sasuke held his right hand outstretched in front of him and waiting to execute the move by summoning up enough Chakra to keep the technique alive.

Soon, a small ‘chi chi chi’ sound started being emitted, accompanying the built up of Chakra being released by Sasuke onto his right hand. A few more moments later and Sasuke had a sparkling, sizzling, electrifying hand and arm, all charged with the physical form of Chakra in itself. The ‘chi chi chi’ sounds had also continually become louder with time accompanying the jutsu’s development, until finally, the entire stadium rang with the same resonance, as if a thousands birds are present at the exact place at the exact time.

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""CHIDORI!!!!"" This thought raced through both Sakura and Naruto’s mind as they watched Sasuke perform the same jutsu that they had only seen once in their entire lives, created by none other than the copy-ninja Kakashi - his first and only original jutsu.

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Once the Chidori was completely formed and stable, Sasuke charged down the stadium wall like a bullet. As he raced down, he created a long ditch on the wall caused by the electrifying power of the Chidori, stretching all the way from where he had once positioned himself down to the very end of the wall, reaching the ground. Sasuke jumped off the wall, slamming on the rough grass but kept on running none stop, racing towards where Gaara was situated. All the while, the chirping sounds of a thousand birds followed in Sasuke’s wake.

With his speed, it wasn’t long before Sasuke finally reached Gaara’s whereabouts. He dodged the spikes easily while getting closer and closer to his target. Finally, Sasuke smashed his Chidori charged right hand straight at Gaara’s protective Sand Sphere, piercing right through the defence and directly injuring Gaara, all done within an instance of time.

Feeling the flesh of Gaara’s muscle as well as the dribbling of wet blood, Sasuke smirked. He was sure he had at least done some real damage to Gaara. Now, all he had to do was to break the Sand barrier, continue to attack Gaara with Taijutsu and then somehow knock him out. However, Sasuke’s plan was never fully implemented, since that was the exact moment that Gaara chose to start screaming about blood, as if this was the first time he had seen his own blood.

Slightly shocked at Gaara’s unstable state, Sasuke was pulled out of his musings when he felt his right arm being crushed by a giant weight within the Sand Sphere. Gritting his teeth in pain, Sasuke decided to retreat and see with his Sharingan what the hell was going on inside the Sphere. Easier said than done. He pulled and pulled but whatever was inside the Sphere refused to release his arm, and now, his arm felt like it was being ripped apart by the brutal and vicious grip. Charging up his trapped arm with another burst of Chakra for an unformed Chidori, the ‘thing’ inside Gaara’s Sand Sphere finally let up and Sasuke was able to pull his right arm out of the sphere.

When he finally opened his eyes to see what he had pulled out of the sphere along with his arm, Sasuke wasn’t sure what the hell he was seeing. Gripping his injured right arm firmly, Sasuke watched in slight horror and awe at the ‘thing’ that moved so effortlessly like a swirling octopus leg, flipping through the air, landing on the ground with a hard thud and finally sliding all the way back through the little hole in the Sand Sphere (which Sasuke had created using his Chidori) like a snake.

The ‘thing’ was brown in colour, had strange black lines that crisscrossed itself, and had its ends highlighted in a darker shade than the rest. It seemed to be made up of sand but it had a gracefulness that belied its living consciousness, as if it was an animal formed out of sand or sand that had a living spirit within.

After the thing slithered back into the confines of the sphere, Sasuke’s Sharingan enhanced eyes never left the hole upon the Sand Sphere’s surface. His body didn’t move an inch even while sweat ran down his brow; he was completely stunned by what he was seeing inside. There was a waving and swirling entity inside Gaara’s Sand Sphere - that was the only way for him to describe it. What ever it was, it churned around and around in impatience, until finally, its ‘eye’ could be seen. Its eye – a large brown iris with a strange cross-shaped pupil, surrounding by black, stared back at Sasuke in curiosity. A loud, screaming, inhuman sound reverberates through out the stadium, silencing all other noise. No matter what it was, it most definitely wasn’t human.

Suddenly, the sphere cracks. And then, more cracks appeared on the sand’s surface, until finally, the entire sand sphere structure itself dissipates into sand particles. The sand rained down onto the ground, revealing behind it a slightly shaking and heaving Gaara, who was currently clutching his bleeding left shoulder in pain.

""It’s different... That wasn’t the ‘eye’ I saw... What the hell did I just see?! The ‘thing’ that was looking at me before! What the hell was it?!"" Sasuke frantically thought to himself as he studied Gaara’s gasping form in slight fear.

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Unbeknownst to Sasuke, who was currently too preoccupied with figuring what he had just seen inside Gaara’s sphere, Kabuto, now hidden behind his Anbu disguise started giving the signal to the rest of hidden Sound and Sand Shinobis on their side to act out the plan.

Placing his hand in a familiar seal, Kabuto concentrated on evoking the Genjutsu known as Nemurihane (Feathery Sleep). Once the seal was completed, thousands upon thousands of fluffy white feathers seem to appear suddenly out of no where, floating effortlessly through the air, making many people within the audience to fall asleep.

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Noticing the majority of people suddenly falling asleep in the crowd stand surrounding them, Kakashi and Gai quickly performed a ‘Genjutsu Deflection’ to keep themselves from falling into the same Genjutsu trap. There were also a surprisingly large number of visible Konoha Shinobi (those wearing uniform) as well as undercover Konoha Shinobi hiding within the crowd that deflected the Genjutsu.

The warning that had been given to the Hokage almost four weeks ago had been heeded with careful preparation. The third Hokage, though old, was still very wily. He had deciphered from the Lady Oracle’s speech pattern that the invasion would probably happen during the Chuunin Exam itself (1). And so he had requested that a large number of high ranked Chuunins or Jounins to hide themselves among the crowd within the stadium as well as studiously increasing the number of people guarding the Konoha protective walls and gates. At the same time when the signal of the invasion start, there will also be someone outside the gates to give a signal to all other Leaf Shinobis in the area to evacuate the civilians into safe havens. For example, Iruka had already started herding the children away from school and into the hidden bunkers within the four crafted Hokage head mountains.

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Up in the crowd stands, many of the other Genin rookies had already fallen for the Genjutsu trap – Ino, Choji, Lee, Hinata (2), and Kiba lay haphazardly where they sat or fell when the incident occurred.

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All of the current participants of the Chuunin Exam itself - Naruto, Sakura, Shino, Temari, Kankuro and even Shikamaru - had also deflected the Genjutsu heading their way. While Shikamaru pretended to fall asleep due to the Genjutsu, Sakura and Shino looked around in slight confusion as to what was going on and Naruto narrowed his eyes and tried for firm his conviction not to get involved.

Temari, Kankuro and their sensei, Baki, who was sitting with the crowd all tensed, knowing what was to come next.

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Up in the VIP area, Kazekage gazed at the third Hokage with wide, pleased eyes and a nasty expression hidden under his cloak, while the Hokage gazed back with a stern, almost accusing look on his face. Both seem to have forgotten about the Lady Oracle siting on the far left side of the group. After all, it is a well known fact that Hidden Air Nins refuse to participate in any outside conflicts unless it directly involves them. “It has begun...” The Kazekage murmured. Narrowing his eyes in anticipation, he asked the Hokage: “Shall we?”

Instantly, the two guards behind the Kazekage jumped into action, throwing a smoke bomb to obscure the Leaf Nin’s visibility as to what was happening as well as giving a loud explosion, signalling to all their surrounding forces that the Invasion had finally begun.

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All the Konoha Shinobis looked on at the VIP area in shock as the explosion from the smoke bomb reverberated around the now mostly sleeping crowd within the stadium.

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Outside the gates of Konoha, large numbers of Sound Nins leaped into action, rushing towards the wall, all preparing to attack the supposedly unsuspecting Leaf Nins. Behind them, the accompanying Sand Nins have just begun summoning their giant three-headed rattlesnake.

Once the snakes were summoned, they would be the first line of offence, smashing their way through the fragile walls erected around Konoha. Once through, then the time of fun would begin. Both the Sand and the Sound Shinobis have been orders to slaughter every single man, woman and child that they see, burn all the houses and do as much damage as they possibly can to Konoha. To the Sound, it would be a sign of their victory and power. For the Sand, it would be an act of revenge upon Konoha, who had made them suffer for so long with its prosperous ways.

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Within the stadium, all the Anbu personnel (within a close proximity) immediately rushed towards the area of the VIP stand. Their first priority would be to ensure the Hokage’s safety before all else.

Kakashi and Gai had also started heading towards the Hokage’s location but were told by the Anbu that they would handle it, and so, both Kakashi and Gai decided to stay behind to watch over their students as well as the other civilians.

Finally reaching the rooftops of the Stadium’s main building, the leader of the Anbu squad (wearing white as opposed to the others all wearing black) started ordering his squadron into their appropriate actions. “Li team above! Ro team below! Protect the Daimyos, other ministers and important businessman.” The Anbu quickly complied.

Looking back at the VIP platform, the Anbu Squad leader was slightly surprised that Kazekage’s two guards had jumped straight out, heading towards the Anbu guards to fight. Infuriated at the Sand Nin’s betrayal, the Anbu leader quickly disposed of the traitors by slicing them apart into neat a sets of four, cutting each person in half. “GET OUT OF MY WAY!” He yelled, frustrated that he had been delayed by these ninjas in performing his duty of protecting the Hokage.

The other Anbu Shinobis also launched themselves straight towards the VIP stand itself, hoping that they weren’t too late in saving the Hokage. However, a sudden sound of someone screaming in pain brought themselves to a halt just before they reach inside.

Inside the VIP platform, concealed by smoke, three kunais flung towards a Leaf Nin pierced deeply into his chest as he screamed out in pain. The third Hokage looked out at the poor man with sympathy in his eyes. “Hokage-sama... please... escape...” was all the man could gurgle out before he collapsed in death. However, before the Hokage even move, the Kazekage had already appeared behind him and held a kunai to his neck.

Jumping through the cloud of smoke (created by the previous smoke bomb), the Kazekage (with the Hokage as his hostage) landed on top of the highest rooftop of the Stadium’s main building. Moreover, before the confused Anbu could distinguish what was going on, the four pieces of supposedly dead body parts belonging to the two Sand protectors of Kazekage himself, undid the Henge no jutsu (transformation) they had been using and flew into action. Landing on the four corners of the giant rooftop, the Sound Four of the Hidden Sound Village, special guards to Orochimaru himself, revealed themselves to the world.

“Finally, it’s my turn to play.” The dark skinned Sound Shinobi with six arms stated cheerfully in a languid pose.

“That was boring... doing Henge for such a long time.” Muttered another Shinobi with two heads.

“You guys stink like sweat.” Scolded the only female of the group, one with red hair.

“Stop it. You guys are teammates right?” The last one of the Sound Four, a bulky man with a strange hair cut interrupted the other’s complaints.

Smoke finally clearing; the Anbu could clearly see what had been done to their comrade (Raido) who was given the task of protecting the Hokage. Enraged at having one of their own killed, the Anbu started heading towards the Kazekage and the Hokage, only to be stopped by the four Sound Shinobis as they prepared their ultimate barrier jutsu: “Ninpou: Shishi Enjin! (Ninjutsu: Four Point Purple Fire Shield!)” Instantly, the four Sound Nins erected a large rectangular barrier with its walls all becoming a dark purple shade, infused with abnormal flames.

One of the Anbu who tried to force his way through the barrier found his body suddenly burnt by unnatural flames, quickly killing him in the process. The other Anbu’s hesitated in following the first’s example and had no other choice but to stand outside the barrier and wait for it to dissipate.

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There were nine traitors, Kabuto included, that had sided with the Sound and Sand’s invasion of Leaf. All of whom stood proudly, undisguised, in front of Kakashi, Gai and several other Konoha Shinobis, creating a battle arena of their own within the crowd stands where the majority of people are still under Kabuto’s spell.

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Inside the Stadium’s official battle arena, Sasuke was beyond just confused as to what was happening. First, his battle with Gaara had been interrupted with that strange Genjutsu that coated almost the entire stadium. Then Temari, Kankuro and their Sensei had jumped in, seemingly standing guard over Gaara. And only an instant later, he found himself being safeguarded by none other than the examiner, Genma. ""What the hell is going on?!"" The confused boy thought to himself.

“So... it seems the Sand has betrayed us as well. I would have never thought you’d stoop so low as to help that snake invade your allies.” Genma murmured deeply, in a low tone of voice, deceptively suppressing his anger at the situation at hand.

“Heh... The Sand are Proud Shinobis, we refuse to be subjected to a slow death by Konoha. Victory will be ours and then, we will prove to the world which village is truly more powerful.” Baki sneered back, his anger not as greatly disguised as Genma’s, but his tone of voice did infer a slight tension, and his eyes kept roaming back to the redheaded Shinobi under his command.

Gaara was groaning and grunting in pain as he clutched at his forehead tightly, flinching away from any attempt at contact by his siblings. Blood veins were visibly throbbing on his temple, seemingly giving him a headache worth more pain than any other could have imagined. Both Kankuro and Temari just stood beside him, unable and too scared to help him in any way.

“He’s experiencing the side effects already! It’s impossible to proceed now!!” Temari called out as she tried her best to calm her younger brother, and yet knowing that if Gaara even ‘looked’ at her wrongly, she was prepared to escape with her life intact at any cost.

“What are we suppose to do now?! Are we going to proceed with the plan without Gaara?!” A panicked Kankuro asked Baki with an undertone of desperation. The entire plan (for them at least) had been shot to hell, and personally, he would have preferred to just leave with their lives instead of risking it here and now. 

Watching the shaking form of his most formidable student kneeling on the ground like a lost child in pain, Baki gritted his teeth tightly and made his decision as to the future of this fight. ""Damn it! Gaara! You forgot the plan completely!! You selfish idiot!"" Sweating slightly at the implications of his decision, Baki mentally nodded to himself that he would take full responsibility once he returns to the Sand... If he returns to the Sand... Whether they succeed in their invasion or not, he refuse to back down. “Temari! Kankuro! Abort the mission, take Gaara and run!” His voice was calm but his heart was all but racing.

“WHAT?” A shocked Temari could not stop but call out.

“What about you?” Kankuro, also surprised beyond belief, looked at his Sensei for guidance. It was difficult for them to reconcile the image of their always mission-oriented Sensei with this man who had just ordered them to abandon their mission. They have both been taught from an early age that the Sand Shinobis are proud Shinobis, ‘we can die... but we cannot fail’ (3). That was the motto of the Sand. To purposely desert their mission and retreat was the coward’s way out, and will lead to a fate worse than death, especially in the eyes of the Sand.

“I’ll be joining the battle. Go!” Baki ordered with a slight undertone of regret in his voice, as if resigning himself to the fate of his decision.

Kankuro and Temari looked at one another for a second before nodding to themselves, grabbing firmly onto Gaara and leaving the stadium as fast as their ninja skills could take them. They never looked back at their sensei, nor did they give any words of encouragement. This was the way of the Sand Shinobi.

Watching the three Sand Genins disappear over the wall of the stadium, Sasuke looked at Genma’s back in slight frustration. “HEY!” he called. “What the hell is going on here?!” Sasuke demanded to know, with a tinge of desperate understanding in his voice.

“Sorry... But the Chuunin Selection Exam is over. You should go pursue the enemy, set off after Gaara and the rest of his team.” Genma noted in an authoritative tone of voice. Noticing that Sasuke still hadn’t left yet after his order, Genma mentally sighed to himself. “If you’re a leaf Shinobi then make yourself useful! You’re village is currently under attack! What are you waiting for?! An invitation?!” He snapped, irritated that the boy hadn’t done as he was told to the first time he spoke.

Still not understanding exactly what was happening, but Sasuke now knew what he must do. Nodding to himself in determination, Sasuke immediately ran after the Sand siblings, jumping over the stadium with ease and hoping he could finally finish his interrupted fight with Gaara.

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Watching Sasuke run after Gaara and the other Sand Genin, Naruto felt his heart lurch out of his rib cage. ""NO! Sasuke! Get back here! There’s no way for you to win against Shukaku! Don’t go after him! SASUKE!!!"" Naruto dented the steel bars underneath his hands as he took his frustrations out on the inanimate object.

Next to him, Sakura was almost reaching panic mode. “Naruto! Where is Sasuke going!? What the hell is going on?! Who are those Shinobis!? NARUTO! Answer me, damn it!” Sakura yelled at him, a strong hint of desperation and confusion in her voice.

Shutting his eyes tightly in shame, Naruto quickly explained the situation. “It’s Orochimaru. He and the Sand are invading the Leaf. Sasuke is going after Gaara...” His voice drifted into silence, unable to finish his sentence by saying that Sasuke would probably die if he faced the awakened Shukaku by himself. Sakura’s eyes were wide with shock, looking at Naruto as if he had suddenly grown two extra heads.

Mentally shifting due to the intent gaze of his teammate, Naruto decided to motivate her into helping with the fights, since he himself, could not involve himself. “Sakura. Ino, Choji, Hinata, Kiba and many civilians are up in the audience stands. They’re all probably asleep due to the Genjutsu technique Feathery Sleep, and are helpless in defending themselves currently. Please go save them...”

Sakura blinked out of her stupor and immediately ran towards the stairs to get to her best friend (even if they have become rivals). ""Now’s my chance to prove myself. I can’t fail in saving my friends. I just can’t!"" Suddenly realising that Naruto wasn’t following her, she turned back and looked at Naruto accusingly. “Aren’t you coming, Naruto? Or are you going to go after Sasuke?” Sakura retorted, impatient to leave and help.

Naruto looked away from his friend’s direct gaze, tilting his head downward in shame and self-misery. “I can’t.” He whispered, almost too softly that Sakura couldn’t hear, but she did catch the words. “I’m representing the Air now, I can’t involve myself... Gomen ne, Sakura... I just can’t...” Lowering his head even more, Naruto’s hair covered his eyes and almost half of his face, trying to hide himself from the cruel world.

Sakura’s shocked expression slowly turned to anger and rage. She gritted her teeth and glared at Naruto, the expression on her face filled with hurt, betrayal and anger. “Fine. I’ll save them myself!” She screamed at him and ran up the stairs again, without a backward glance at her ex-teammate. While running, Sakura didn’t notice that a few drops of tears had drifted from her eyes. ""Why? Naruto? Why?"" She quickly pushed her emotions aside and decided to take them out on the enemy Shinobis instead.

Back in the participant’s seating area, Naruto gave a heavy sigh, before turning around and looking at the figure of a collapsed boy on the ground. “Aren’t you going after Sakura to help Ino and Choji, Shikamaru? You’re not fooling anyone by pretending to sleep. Even Sakura and Shino had noticed, which was why they left you alone.” Naruto inquired, in a tired and depressed voice.

Shikamaru answered by snapping his eyes wide opened and slowly pulled himself to his feet. Finally on his feet but still in a lazy posture, he looked at Naruto with a penetrating expression. “I was just waiting to see what you would do, Naruto. And frankly, you disappoint me.”

Naruto flinched at the comment, knowing that he deserved every bit of insult from the normally laid back boy.

Shifting his gaze up to the audience’s platform, Shikamaru asked in a drawling tone of voice: “You sure she’s gonna be okay up there by herself? Shino’s already gone after Sasuke once he saw him leap out of the stadium, and me, I’m just here because I know I’d be more of a hindrance than of any real help if I go up there. I don’t have enough Chakra and my techniques are mostly defensive...” He trailed off as he looked back at Naruto.

Naruto gave him a very determined look. “Sakura is stronger than anybody gives her credit for. In fact, she is already up to Chuunin level but because she has never really been tested against someone, she doesn’t realise how much she has grown in the past months. To tell you the truth, Shikamaru, she could probably give you a run for your money. Sakura can take care of herself, more so than any other Leaf Genin I know of.” Naruto concluded in a very firm and confident voice.

“But can she kill?” Shikamaru retorted suddenly, with a very focussed and serious look in his eyes, directly challenging Naruto.

Naruto looked straight back without flinching. “If she has to, she will. I believe in her.” Naruto confirmed. Shrugging his shoulders slightly in retreat, however, he followed up with another statement. “And anyway, she has the Kyosei Suimin no Jutsu (Forced Sleep Technique) which no one can counter, so she doesn’t have to kill them, just a light tap on the shoulder and a quick slice of the kunai will be all she needs.”

Sighing in irritation, Shikamaru tried another approach. “Can you really sit back and watch as your friends fight to the death? Are they even your ‘friends’ any more?” He asked forcefully, trying to make Naruto realise what a big mistake he was making by standing out of the battle. By his calculations, Shikamaru understood that even if he joined the fights, there would be little difference to the outcome anyway. However, if ‘Naruto’ joined the fight on Konoha’s side, then there’s a big chance that the Leaf will overcome the Sound and the Sand. So, instead of jumping into combat half cocked like most other Shinobis in his position, Shikamaru chose the more effective way of winning by manipulating someone more powerful than him to fight in his place. After all, Naruto was a great asset that should not be locked away.

Naruto frowned in concentration. He knew exactly what Shikamaru was trying to do but inside his heart, he couldn’t help but agree with Shikamaru. After all, from what he had seen, Shikamaru was a certified genius and would know of the best solutions to every occasion. But still, if he did involve himself in the upcoming battles, then he would be directly going against his Aunt’s wishes and who knew what she would pull out of her sleeve to punish him for this act. It wasn’t the future punishments that really worried Naruto; it was just that... he’s terrified of seeing his Aunt’s disappointed face. He doesn’t want to be abandoned again, and this time, by his only family member. Just like the time spent in the Hidden Air village, Naruto was willing to do anything to make his aunt proud of him, even if it meant sacrificing himself and his needs. ""However, is her acceptance worth my friend’s lives?"" He thought to himself in dismay.

Beside the blonde boy, Shikamaru stood patiently, waiting for Naruto to come to his own conclusions. 

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Within the audience viewing platforms, Gai and Kakashi were very busy dispatching Sound Shinobi after Sound Shinobi, but they were both surprised when Sakura suddenly joined their group by quickly rendering a few of the Sound Ninjas into deep slumbers before they could hurt any of the sleeping civilians.

“Where’s Naruto?” Kakashi asked as he thrust his kunai deeply into the chest of another Sound Ninja.

“That bastard isn’t even fighting! He gave off some crap about being an Air Nin and can’t involve himself! That COWARD!” Sakura yelled at the top of her voice, completely disregarding the fact that she had literary released the dreaded ‘Inner Sakura’ out of her body, joining the two completely different minds into one focused purpose of protecting their friends and hurting the enemy. Kakashi sweat dropped as he watched his student punch the lights out of another Sound Shinobi, almost feeling sorry for the Sound Nin. ""Damn! But when Sakura gets angry... She becomes scary!"" He thought to himself.

Blinking out of his daze, Kakashi re-focused on killing as many Sound Nins as he can. But while he continued to fight, his mind wandered over Sakura’s earlier statements. ""Sasuke’s gone after Gaara. After seeing that strange sand thing, I’m beginning to get worried about him. And Naruto just happened to pick TODAY as the day he represents the Air. Damn the Air and their unbending rules about ‘inherent neutrality!’ Naruto is a Leaf Shinobi! He has a responsibility to fight for the leaf just as he has a responsibility as an Air Nin!"" Kakashi mentally debated with himself but never slowed in his movements. ""Maybe I should end this fight quickly and go after Sasuke myself..."" Looking over at Sakura again, he was very surprised at how versatile Sakura had become. ""She’s really grown... Looks like she really is prepared to become a Chuunin... However, strength wise, she is still nowhere near Sasuke’s capacity and definitely won’t be of much help if I sent her after him and Gaara. Damn! I really need Naruto for this mission!"" 

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While Kakashi continued to ponder and fight at the same time, Naruto was finally coming to a conclusion of his own. ""I can’t... I don’t want to spend the rest of my life regretting my actions, like what happened with Ellie... I won’t be able to live with myself."" Naruto concluded mentally. ""I need to live my life according to my own emotions and decision... That... should be my new Nindo (way of the Ninja)! I should not take back my words and I should never bow down to other’s demands!""

With a heavy sigh, a short nod to Shikamaru, Naruto performed a set of seals, which he hardly ever used - the teleportation jutsu. It wasn’t exactly a difficult jutsu to perform; it’s just that it is very difficult for the user to pinpoint exactly ‘where’ they want to end up. Shikamaru has the same problem with the Kage Michi (Way of the Shadows). It’s easy to perform the seal itself as long as you have an affiliation with shadow manipulation, however, to know exactly ‘where’ you’re going to end up, that’s a whole different ball game. Naruto can only teleport himself to a certain area when he knows exactly ‘who’ he wants to teleport towards and ‘where’ that certain someone is. Shikamaru doesn’t need that knowledge for he has found a little short cut – using his kunais and special notes to let him control exactly where he end up and he can use the same kunai in any offensive move he pleases.

After completing the seal, Naruto blinked out of existence and reappeared in front of his aunt and Kaga-san without any problems. Gulping under the intense scrutiny of his Aunt and her raised eyebrow as if asking ‘what are you doing here?’, Naruto licked his lips in preparation for defying his Aunt’s orders.

Kneeling down on one of his knees, Naruto lowered his head in both respect and as a sign of pleading. “Forgive me, Lady Oracle, for I am unable to abide by the ancient rule of ‘inherent neutrality’ that is followed by all Air Nins. I may be an Uzumaki, but I am also the son of the Fourth Hokage of Konoha and as such, I have a duty to fulfil here. I must protect this village, the same that my father died to safe guard. I will accept any punishment for my disobedience of the ancient rules later, just please... I beg of you... Let me fight!” Naruto stood stiffly, awaiting his Aunt’s answer while shifting slightly in nervousness.

Finally, after a long drawn out silence between the three figures, Ruri closed here eyes and sighed in resignation. However, when she finally opened her eyes again, she looked on at Naruto was a very gentle smile and soft expression on her face. Naruto slowly lifted his head to gaze back at his Aunt uncertainly, but seeing the smile and the openly tender face, he relaxed his tense shoulders knowing that she would at least give in to his demands.

“Is this your final decision, Naruto?” The Lady Oracle asked in a gentle but firm voice.

Naruto only nodded back in answer.

Releasing another soft sigh, Ruri turned her attentions to Kaga, who was standing patiently behind her. Also giving him a short nod, Kaga immediately started performing three short seals in response. Naruto looked on in confusion as to what Kaga was doing. There really wasn’t much that they could give him to help him in his fight against Gaara... Unless of course, it was a Tenkun no Buki, but then again, his Aunt Ruri was the only that can release the seal on his hand, not Kaga. So, in the end, Naruto just sat silently, waiting to see what Kaga was going to do.

Upon finishing the seals, dark shadows started appearing directly on the ground (in front of Naruto) without any need of a solid object to create it. The Shadow morphed itself into a flat square before starting to climb vertically up, stopping mid way up into the air; it once again flattened out sealing itself forming a black box. For a few more seconds, the shadow box darkened in colour until you couldn’t see through it at all, before finally receding, fading into nothingness and revealing from within itself, were Naruto’s two pet foxes – Kibi and Kirin, both yelping happily at being re-united with their master.

“Kibi and Kirin will help you on your quest. Now go. And remember to rely on a demon to defeat a demon, Naruto. You do not need to worry about things here.” Ruri commanded in a firm voice and she watched calmly as Naruto quickly unsealed both Kibi and Kirin into their battle forms before jumping on top of Kirin’s massive back and riding her off, literary flying after Sasuke. Just before leaving the immediate vicinity however, Naruto turned back to give his Aunt one final farewell look of gratitude and he whispered the word into the air (though Ruri and Kaga still heard it none the less): “Arigato, Aunt Ruri. Kaga-san.”

Ruri stayed in her seat while Kaga stood silently behind her. Both watched Naruto manoeuvre Kirin until they were landing near Shikamaru once again. Both continued to gaze amusedly at how Naruto literary had to drag the lazy Shikamaru onto Kirin’s back, the dark haired boy complaining all along the way. A final stop near Kakashi and Sakura to tell them that they were heading after Sasuke, Naruto and Shikamaru finally raced off on their journey.

Once the two boys and two foxes were out of sight, Ruri gave out another sigh of relief. “It’s about time.”

Kaga nodded. “You were betting on him to defy your orders, weren’t you, Ruri?” He asked.

“Of course. I knew that he would finally grow a backbone for himself and eventually go against my orders. It’s good for him. He needs to grow up too, and not to always rely on my judgement. I’m glad that he has finally come out of his shell since leaving the Air. Don’t you?” Ruri retorted nonchalantly, stretching her muscles in slight annoyance.

Kaga gave a short chuckle. “However, I do not think that he will ever get over his fear of you. It doesn’t matter how much he grows, you know very well that there is a solid mountain right in the middle of his heart that he dedicates to you every day of his existence. I have never known of anyone who is so grateful for someone else. He’s terrified of disappointing you. He always will be.”

“Yeah.” Ruri sighed in exasperation. “Sometimes, I wish Yuuki was still here. At least then, Naruto won’t idolise me so much and be able to actually see me as a real person, not just a God-like figure to look up to and obey. He would have been happy at least...” Her voice drifted off as she remembered the past.

“No matter what the future holds in store for all of us, we must make our own decisions then and there and have faith in ourselves that we won’t regret our actions. That is all we can ever do, even for you, Lady Oracle.” Kaga philosophised in a lecturers’ voice.

“Faith...” Ruri murmured after him, worried eyes roaming the blue horizon, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of her errant nephew and his foxes. 

[End.]

(1) “I’m simply here to watch the show... and to warn you about your upcoming problems concerning Orochimaru… so I suggest that you start summoning all your Shinobis for an inter-room assembly to discuss the problem at hand.” – Basically, the hidden meaning of this statement is that there will be a ‘show’ to watch, so Orochimaru will not attack BEFORE the Chuunin Selection Exam, which means that he will probably attack either during or after the exam itself. But she also hinted that the third Hokage should ‘start summoning all his Shinobis’, which means that when the invasion comes, it will be in large numbers.

(2) For those of you who are wondering: Kabuto did NOT go anywhere near Hinata, and she did NOT suffer any pain while she watched Naruto fight Neji - Haku had already warned her about her body and had given her some herbs to keep her body from reacting to stress. And YES, she did fall into the same Genjutsu trap as the others because 1) Her Byakugan wasn’t used and 2) she was still too weak and with limited Chakra to activate it.

(3) There is no such motto. I just made it up. Sounds cool though, huh? Anyway, this little snippet was inspired by the Cantonese movie – Bodyguard from Beijing. It was almost a direct translation of the line – “We can die, but we cannot fail!”

For those of you who still think Sakura isn’t up to par with a Chuunin, well, let’s just say she’s around Iruka’s and Mizuki’s level... So she IS Chuunin material. She has the mental capability to analyse as Chuunin’s do, and she can memories everything the first time she sees it (sort of a photographic memory so to say), so her only down point would still be her physical ability. Talented in Genjutsu, quite high in Taijutsu (due to Lee’s harsh training) but still minimal at Ninjutsu, I think my Sakura can kick the original Sakura’s ass at least three times over! What do you think?! XD

Just in case anybody asks, Kibi is also standing on top of Kirin’s massive head (since he’s much smaller). Kibi is also taking over the role of Pakkun in the manga and anime, because it’s sense of smell is also incredibly strong.

Anyway, hope you guys liked this chapter as well. Since I’ve made the quickest three chapter consecutive updates in my ENTIRE LIFE! I think I need to get a small break to work on my other fic, so don’t be surprised if I don’t update in a while. Well, anyway, please read and review! I love reviews!