32. Anko and Orochimaru

Since his battle with Temari, Shikamaru started to walk towards the battlefield with Shukaku. His body was still weak and he was moving at a very slow rate. Still, he was starting to get back of his strength and with each passing second, he began to move a little faster.

'Hopefully at this rate, I'll have enough strength to fight a bit. Or at the very least, I'll be able to give input and strategies to help take down the bijū and not get in the way.' Shikamaru thought to himself.

"Shikamaru-kun!"

The Nara's thoughts and plans were interrupted by the voice of his teammate, Hinata. The Hyūga heiress arrived on the ground of the forest, standing directly in front of him. She then rushed over to his side to check his wounds.

"Hinata, what are you doing here? Where's Naruto and Han?" Shikamaru asked her.

"There with Shukaku, I'd assume." Hinata answered with a frown on her face, her eyes moving towards the tanuki in the distance. It was hard to tell from their position, but it appeared as if the bijū was losing his balance and seemed like he would fall to the ground. After looking at the bijū for a moment, she turned her attention back to her teammate. "I followed your example and fought one of the Suna shinobi so they could continue to chase Gaara. I was on my way to the battlefield to try and help them, but I saw you in the corner of my vision and I wanted to see how you were doing after your fight."

'Corner of her vision? How far does your Byakugan's vision go again, Hinata?' Shikamaru wondered, impressed by his friend's eyes. The thought passed, however, and he returned to the subject at hand. "I'm fine. I'm sore and can't move as fast I'd like, but I'm fine."

"Fine isn't the word I'd use for you. You look really exhausted and weak, Shikamaru-kun." Hinata commented with a frown.

"Yeah, but not exhausted enough that I can't contribute and help Naruto out." The Nara pointed out to her. "Come on, we need to get over there."

"… You're right. Naruto-kun and Han-san need our help." Hinata nodded in agreement.

The Hyūga heiress proceeded to pick up Shikamaru's body and put him on her back. His eyes widened.

"Hinata, what are you-"

"This'll be faster. I can move faster than you can right now!" She told him.

Shikamaru opened his mouth to protest, but the words died on his tongue as they heard a loud noise. They turned their attention and noticed that Shukaku had, indeed, fallen on the battlefield. They also started to notice that the bijū's body was starting to fall apart.

The two were uncertain what was happening over there, but they knew they needed to see what was going on and if Naruto and Han needed help. With that thought, they wordlessly began to head in the direction of the battlefield, with Hinata carrying Shikamaru on her back.

"Spider Web Unrolling!"

Hiruzen, who had been in pursuit of Orochimaru, was forced to stop his chase and jump out of the way of an approaching, large spider web. After avoiding the spider web, he landed on the ground. Another smaller web was sent flying towards him. He quickly used his staff to cut through the web. He then looked forward with narrowed eyes.

"You can come out. I know you were waiting for me." Hiruzen shouted.

Almost immediately, the four members of the Sound Four jumped out of hiding. They all surrounded the Sandaime Hokage and were prepared to engage him.

"Orochimaru isn't with you? Do you all think you can take me on?" Hiruzen questioned angrily. "His arrogance seems to have been inherited by those who follow him. I'll say this once: get out of my way or I will kill all of you."

"We're not being an arrogant." Sakon spoke up with determination in his eyes. "This is an order from Orochimaru-sama, and we will follow his word to the death."

"There isn't a damn thing you can tell us that'll change our minds!" Tayuya hissed at the Hokage. "Don't even bother intimidating us!"

Hiruzen, for the first time since he saw them, truly studied the individual members of the Sound Four. He looked at them, judging how much of a threat they'd be to him. His eyes, however, stopped at the sight of Tayuya. They widened exponentially as they focused on her face and hair.

'Is that… Is she…'

"Everybody, we're engaging the Hokage. Don't hold back for a second. Hurry to the second stage!" Sakon shouted.

The other three members of the Sound Four nodded at his request. Shortly, their bodies were covered by black markings from their curse marks. Soon, their entire bodies began to change shape. Their skin tone changed and they each grew demonic-looking features.

Hiruzen quickly focused back on the situation at-hand. He looked around at the members of the Sound Four in disgust. "… So, this is another example of Orochimaru's research. How revolting. I truly did a disservice to the world by letting him live…"

The Sandaime Hokage shook his head, pushing those thoughts out of his head. He looked forward at the shinobi around him with focus in his eyes. "I'll repeat myself one more time: get out of my way, or I will kill you all. I don't have time to waste here!"

The response of the Sound Four was to charge Hiruzen together. He sighed in frustration as he gripped his staff tightly. "If that's your choice, then fine. I'll make this quick."

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Appearing atop the Hokage Balcony, directly in front of Manda, was a large, dusty-red toad with a scar over its left eye. The toad was wearing a blue vest, had a blade attacked to its hip, and had a pipe in its mouth. Jiraiya and Ōnoki were standing directly on top of the toad's head.

"Gamabunta, it's been awhile since I summoned you. Normally I'd offer some sake as sacrifice, but right now isn't the time. We have an issue." Jiraiya informed the toad, directing his attention towards the giant snake in front of them.

"… The first battle you summon me for in years is against Manda. You sure know how to pick your fights, Jiraiya." The toad, Gamabunta, commented with a chuckle. "I'm fine with doing a fight without a drink. You can pay me back later if you wish. For now, I'd like to take advantage of a fight with this damn snake!"

"You really think you can take me, toad." Manda hissed at the sight of Gamabunta. "You're a fool, and it's time you die today. You, your summoner, and the people of this village will perish! I'll make sure to relish the taste as I eat everything here!"

"It is you who is going to perish, snake. I needed a new wallet, and I suppose your skin will do fine for that role!" Gamabunta taunted.

Manda was the first to make a move. The large, purple snake quickly charged the toad in an attempt to bite it. The toad grabbed onto the snake's mouth before he could bite down, stopping his attack. The two struggled against each other, trying to overpower the over with their brute strength, before they both fell off the balcony. Jiraiya and Ōnoki jumped off Gamabunta's head just in time to watch the two boss-summons fall into the central battle within the Chūnin Exams stadium. Both Jiraiya and Ōnoki jumped down as well, prepared to assist the toad in his fight against Manda.

'… Wait, this is a perfect opportunity!' An idea entered Jiraiya's head. He then quickly turned his attention towards Ōnoki. "That dust release of yours can create a three-dimensional world that can only be destroyed by your command, right? Trap us all inside the center of the arena. That way, Manda can't escape and we can prevent as little damage to the village as possible."

Ōnoki nodded at Jiraiya's suggestion. He then proceeded to run through hand signs. "Dust Style: Atomic Dismantling: Pillar!"

A large three-dimensional pillar surrounded the battlefield within the Chūnin Exams. The two men, along with Gamabunta and Manda, were now trapped inside until Ōnoki released the jutsu.

"Perfect. Now we can focus solely on destroying this snake." Jiraiya smirked as he jumped back to the top of Gamabunta's head. "Ōnoki, you do whatever you can by yourself. I'm going to do some work with Gamabunta here."

"Try whatever you wish. You'll all die just the same!" Manda continued to hiss.

"You're the one going to die." Gamabunta replied confidently. "Jiraiya, let's do this!"

"If you're busy, I'll make this as quick as I can." Anko hissed. "Orochimaru, today is the day you die!"

"Hmm? Is that a new jutsu, Anko-chan?" Orochimaru questioned, giving his former student a curious look.

Despite the mocking tone of his voice, the Sannin was admittedly curious about Anko and her technique. Flames were surrounding her body, but she didn't appear to be burned at all. He couldn't necessarily tell the purpose for them, either. They were formed entirely from her chakra and, therefore, appeared differently than any flames he had seen before.

'Is the fire supposed to be armor? Is it something to strengthen her taijutsu or her fire-style jutsus? Or perhaps it is a mixture of all of that?' Orochimaru wondered as a grin developed on his face. 'Whatever the case, you have my attention, Anko-chan. I'm curious about the nature of this jutsu of yours.'

Anko gave him no verbal reply to his question. Instead, her eyes narrowed on him as she made a series of hand signs.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

She breathed out a massive amount of fire from her mouth towards her former sensei. Orochimaru quickly jumped out of the way and landed directly behind her. He then attempted to deliver a punch to her face, but Anko turned around in time and caught his fist. She then maintained her grip, preventing him from getting away. The flames that were surrounding her body starting to slowly burn Orochimaru's skin. Anko delivered a punch to Orochimaru's face, only for him to melt into a pile of mud.

'A clone, huh?' Anko cursed.

She turned her head around just in time to see Orochimaru deliver a kick to her stomach. The tokubetsu jōnin was sent backwards and hit the ground hard. The Sannin's eyes, instead of focusing on his opponent, turned to his foot. He noticed a slight burning sensation from where he kicked her.

"So, it's not necessarily armor since you took the full force of my attack, but it still protects you by burning your assailant. I assume it makes fighting you with taijutsu rather annoying for your opponent. Very interesting." Orochimaru commented aloud as he looked towards his student. "As your former teacher, I must say, you have impressed me with this jutsu!"

"You lost the right to call yourself 'teacher'." Anko hissed. She pulled herself up and glared at the man in front of her. "You turned your back on me and this village. You killed my teammates: your other students!"

"Oh, don't bring them up Anko-chan. You know I didn't kill them… intentionally." Orochimaru grinned manically in response to her accusations. "But accidents happen when doing research. You should be familiar with that, no? I know that you helped with at least a few of my studies before I left this village."

'… Don't listen to him or anything he says Anko. He's trying to anger you. He's trying to rile you up so you make a mistake. He's toying with you!' Anko told herself in her head. She took a deep breath before she raised her hand towards him. "Burning Shadow Snake Hands!"

Two snakes charged forward from underneath the sleeve of Anko's coat. As they flew towards Orochimaru, they spat out fireballs towards him. The Sannin jumped away from the fireballs and then dodged the approaching snakes. He then jumped into the air and raised his own hand towards Anko.

"Multiple Striking Shadow Snakes!"

Ten, larger snakes shot forward from underneath Orochimaru's sleeves and flew at the tokubetsu jōnin. Anko jumped away from the initial snakes, but the last two snakes released by Orochimaru grabbed on to her body. She winced in pain as they bit down into her. The remaining snakes then struck Anko, who was unable to avoid them. The woman started to scream in pain before her body fell apart, leaving nothing but fire her place.

'Hmm... So that was a fire-elemental clone.' Orochimaru realized.

The Sannin began to look around the area, looking for his former student. He finally spotted her in the air directly above him. Her hands were covered entirely in the flare aura that seemed to surround her.

"Fire Style: Hellfire Rain!"

The fire in her hands concentrated into fireballs. Anko proceeded to toss these fireballs rapidly at her former sensei. Orochimaru quickly started running, avoiding each of the fireballs, causing each of them to light the battlefield on fire. Realizing that her attack wasn't working, Anko clapped her hands together, causing the flames around her hands to focus around her mouth. She then breathed out a fast-moving blast of fire at her former sensei. Orochimaru prepared to move away from the attack, but the fire managed to hit his right shoulder. The Sannin winced in pain from the burn, but still managed to look over to his student in amusement.

"You managed to hit me. To be honest, I'm impressed. I wasn't expecting you to land a single intentional attack on me." Orochimaru commented in mock-praise. "Well done, Anko-chan."

"Stop calling me that!" Anko hissed in response.

"I knew you hated me, but I really wasn't expecting this much fury. Have I done something to make you mad recently?" Orochimaru questioned, tilting his head in thought.

"You invaded my village, you attempted to endanger the lives of my friends… and you also personally tried to hurt my students in the Forest of Death." Anko informed him sharply. Her eyes narrowed even further at the man in front of her. "Unlike you, I give a damn about my students. They mean the world to me. Not a single soul will harm them under my watch – especially you!"

"Do your students really mean that much to you? I'm honestly happy to see that, Anko-chan." Orochimaru noted with a malicious grin on his face. "Hopefully they managed to survive this invasion. Let's hope that a Suna or Oto shinobi didn't reach them and do something to them!"

"AH!" Anko growled in response. She looked as if she was about to charge him again, but her body froze. The curse mark on her neck started to radiate, causing her hands to go over to her neck. "Ugh…"

'Yes. Embrace your anger and hatred, Anko. The more you hate me, the more your curse mark will react… and the faster it'll take me to kill you!' The Sannin smirked, realizing his plan was working.

Orochimaru took this moment to raise his hand towards his former student. Snakes, once again, rushed forward from underneath his sleeves and charged the woman. They managed to reach her while her body was still frozen. The snakes circled around her neck, arms, and legs holding her further in place and preventing her from making hand signs.

"Well, I have to say, this was fun. But once again, I am busy. Sadly, this has to end now." Orochimaru taunted as he slowly walked forward to Anko's body grinning.

Anko attempted to give a verbal reply, but the snakes around her neck prevented her from talking back to him. She then proceeded to look over towards the fire around the battlefield: the fire created from her previous jutsus.

'Please work… Fire Style: Widespread Ruin!'

The fire scattered across the battlefield moved forward on Anko's will. The flames rushed at Orochimaru, taking him by surprise. The Sannin was forced to focus on jumping away. In the process, he broke his connection to his snakes. This gave Anko the opportunity to break free from their grip. Freeing herself, she made a singular, causing the flames to move towards Orochimaru at a faster rate.

"So, you can even use your elemental ninjutsu without hand signs? How impressive! You really have gotten stronger." Orochimaru commented in praise of his former student. Despite his tone-of-voice and the grin on his face, the man was internally fuming at the situation 'She shouldn't be giving this much of a fight! Sure she has gotten stronger, but not enough to be a threat to me. Summoning those Edo Tenseis and Manda, along with my fight with Sarutobi-sensei, must have worn me out more than I had assumed. I can't afford to waste too much time. I have to kill her now!'

Manda and Gamabunta continued to struggle against each other in the arena of the Chūnin Exams, trying to overpower the other. In an attempt to gain the advantage, the Boss Snake proceeded to move its body and surround Gamabunta's body. Just as the snake was about to start strangling the toad, Jiraiya reacted and made a series of hand signs.

"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"

Jiraiya breathed out a large bullet of fire directly at Manda's head. The snake moved its head and body to avoid the attack, loosening his grip on Gamabunta's body. The toad took advantage of this and forced the snake off of him. He then pulled out the blade on his hip and lunged directly for the snake. Manda quickly moved aside again and dodged the strike. Jiraiya then proceeded to breathe out another flare bullet directly towards Manda. The snake then opened his mouth in response.

"Water Style: Gunshot!"

A large bullet of water was shot forward from Manda's mouth: much larger than Jiraiya's flare bullet. The water collided with the flame, extinguishing it. The water then moved forward, towards Gamabunta and Jiraiya. The Toad Boss, in response, jumped in the air to avoid the attack. Gamabunta gripped his blade tightly as he descended towards the giant snake. Manda, to avoid the attack, proceeded to dig under the ground. He descended into a hole just as Gamabunta attempted to cut into him.

"He's underground, huh?" Ōnoki noted with a smirk. The Sandaime Tsuchikage, who had been floating in the air and observing the fight so far, proceeded to go down to the ground. He made seven hand signs before slamming both his open palms on the ground. "Earth Style: Fissure!"

The ground within the stadium began to tear itself apart as a fissure formed. The resulting fissure forced Manda to spring forth from underground to avoid damage. The snake glared angrily at the Tsuchikage.

"I was wanting to fight Gamabunta and his human follower. I don't need a small, old human helping them." Manda hissed as he charged forward towards Ōnoki.

"… I'd be careful what you say, snake." Ōnoki spoke quietly.

Manda ignored the words of the Tsuchikage and continued to charge him. Just as the snake was about to reach him, the Tsuchikage's fist became covered in solid earth. He then punched Manda directly in the face before the snake could attack him. The resulting punch knocked the snake backwards. Manda hissed in pain and proceeded to glare further at Ōnoki.

"… After all, this 'small', 'old' man could be the one who kills you instead of Jiraiya or Gamabunta!" Ōnoki growled.

'… Yeesh. I don't want Ōnoki to ever hear any of things I've called him before.' Jiraiya took a deep gulp.

Without another word, Manda charged forward once again. Ōnoki, along with Jiraiya and Gamabunta, moved forward as well to engage him.

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"

After channeling her chakra and the fire surrounding her body around her mouth, Anko breathed out a singular, massive fireball towards Orochimaru. The Sannin jumped away just in time, causing the fireball to make contact with the ground. It created a massive crater and set the entire area on fire. Orochimaru studied the battlefield while he floated in the air above Anko.

'From what I last saw, Anko-chan can now manipulate the fire around her as well. It would be to my disadvantage to fight her with all that fire. Then again…' A smirk developed on Orochimaru's lips as an idea entered his head. 'Why just extinguish that when I can just put out every fire Anko could possibly ever use?'

"Water Style: Rampaging Water!"

The Sannin opened his mouth and released multiple streams of water from his mouth. The water collided with the flames on the battlefield, putting them out almost instantaneously. Anko attempted to dodge every stream of water, but one blast managed to hit her hard, knocking her back towards a nearby tree. After she was hit with one, Orochimaru unleashed another barrage of water blasts towards the tokubetsu jōnin. Anko was hit by each one, causing a lot of damage to her. After receiving a fourth hit, the resulting force ended up destroying the tree Anko had hit, causing her to get sent flying backwards. She hit the ground hard.

As the tokubetsu jōnin struggled to stand up, the fire surrounding her body started to disappear. By the time she was standing all of the way up, the 'flare aura' was completely extinguished.

Orochimaru's smirk turned into a malicious grin as he rushed forward towards the woman. He grabbed her by the throat and held her up in the air. Anko struggled to breathe as she tried to resist him.

"As fancy as that technique of yours was, it's just fire. And like any fire, it can be extinguished with enough water." He commented, tightening his grip on her throat. "Still, that was an impressive jutsu and I'm curious just how much it augmented your fire-style jutsus. I'll have to figure how you designed it when I have some time to myself."

'You're never going to have the time…' Anko mentally replied as she grabbed the arm Orochimaru was using to strangle her with her right hand. 'Hidden Snake Poison!'

A singular snake moved from underneath Anko's coat sleeve quickly and bit down on Orochimaru's arm. The Sannin's eyes widened and he winced in pain, loosening his grip on Anko's neck. The tokubetsu jōnin took the opportunity to free herself. She then jumped backwards, placing more distance between her and Orochimaru.

"… So you've also trained in your snake-related jutsu as well. I know you didn't know how to conjure a snake with that much poison beforehand." Orochimaru noted. Unlike before, he was not attempting to hide his displeasure at her new abilities. He was gritting his teeth in anger. "If I wasn't a snake user myself, with a body used to those poisons, that probably could have killed me."

"That's… the… point…" Anko replied between breaths.

"… Hmm." The Sannin stopped gritting his teeth and seemed to become excited again as he studied his former student. "But still, after everything you've done so far in the battle Anko, you look exhausted. Surely you aren't tired already? You're going to need more strength than that!"

On cue, Anko's curse mark started to activate again. Her eyes closed in pain as she felt the curse mark slowly glow on her neck. A few markings began to develop on her body, but they almost immediately started to recede. Another second passed before her curse mark stopped glowing and she opened her eyes in relief.

"… You know you need more power to survive this fight with me, Anko-chan. Your subconscious wants to use the power I gave you years ago to fight me. Why aren't you using it? Don't you want to kill me? To get revenge for my attack on your students?" Orochimaru questioned her tauntingly.

"That's… not any power I'll use. Ever. You'll die whether or not I use it." She replied. The woman seemed to be making a more concentrated effort to control her breathing and calm herself down. She got into a stance to continue fighting.

"If you insist." Orochimaru chuckled. "Whether you used it or not, the result will be the same. It's about time we finished this up, Anko-chan!"

'… Even though I had already used some of my energy in my fight with Orochimaru, I can't believe I spent so much time on these shinobi.' Hiruzen sighed in frustration. 'I have become weaker in my old age. If this whole day has shown me anything, it's that I need to strengthen my body once more!'

Lying on the ground around him were the Sound Four members. All four of them were lying in pools of blood with their curse marks completely receded. Three of the members, Jirōbo, Kidōmaru, and Sakon, were dead.

For a moment, Hiruzen focused on the fourth member of the ground: Tayuya. Unlike the other members of the Sound Four, the Sandaime Hokage had avoided attacking any of her organs. He simply knocked her unconscious. She would be in no condition to fight anytime soon, however, but she would live if she received proper medical treatment within the next twelve hours.

The Hokage still wasn't quite certain why he had spared her life. She was a member of Orochimaru's elite soldiers in Otogakure. Amongst a list of all the shinobi under Orochimaru's command, she was high on the priority list to terminate. And yet, Hiruzen had unconsciously avoided killing her.

'… It must be because of her hair. This is stupid of me, but I'm so curious if she really is one of them. If she is… then I suppose I could let her live a very controlled life. That family has already lost enough lives as it is. I wouldn't want to let another one pass away, especially if their is any possibility her loyalties to Orochimaru are based on circumstance.' Hiruzen rationalized his thoughts.

With his realization, the Hokage made a series of hand signs. He bit his thumb before slamming it on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"

Appearing in a poof of smoke was a monkey that stood as tall as Hiruzen with brown, spiky hair. The monkey was wearing armor plates on his arms and legs that were colored red, gold, and silver. The monkey was also holding on to a brown staff that was almost as tall as his body.

"Wukong, bring this girl here to Konoha and find somebody to give her medical attention. Once she is treated, take her weapons, bind her, and force her into prison. If she wakes up before her treatment, you have permission to knock her unconscious. Just prevent her from doing any damage to Konoha." Hiruzen ordered his summon.

"I will do what I can." The monkey, Wukong, bowed in response before he picked up Tayuya's body and rushed away towards Konoha.

After giving that order, Hiruzen continued forward on his pursuit towards Orochimaru.

"I hope you didn't waste too much fighting those four and summoning Wukong, Sarutobi. If Orochimaru got away…" Enma's voice trailed off.

"I can still sense Orochimaru's presence close by. He's not out of the village yet, and he won't get out of here at all. I'll make sure he is dead by our hands." The Sandaime Hokage promised.

'Orochimaru… What were you thinking when you summoned me?' Manda questioned internally.

The Snake Boss was breathing heavily as he continued to avoid attack after attack from Gamabunta, Jiraiya, and Ōnoki. Manda was a strong fighter and could usually keep up with Gamabunta and Jiraiya, but the presence of Ōnoki made it difficult to fight the way he normally would have. He could not burrow underground without the risk of an earth-style jutsu tearing him up from underneath. Furthermore, as a kage, Ōnoki was able to keep up with him at a level that only a boss summon like Gamabunta could hope for.

Jiraiya's presence was also not helping the snake. Him being here made the Toad Boss a much more dangerous opponent and gave them the opportunity to utilize collaboration techniques that would normally be unavailable to Gamabunta.

Even with the presence of Ōnoki and Jiraiya, this would not normally be an issue. Orochimaru would usually fight by his side and provide him with support and collaboration techniques as well. However, after summoning him, Orochimaru simply fled the area.

Once the fight began and Manda realized how restricted his fighting space was and how difficult his opponents were, the Snake Boss came to the conclusion about the real reason he was summoned: to be a distraction.

'That coward! How dare he use me in such a manner!'Manda nearly growled at the thought. 'He had no intention of offering this village as a sacrifice. He simply wanted something to cover his own ass!'

With that thought dominating his mind, Manda moved to the edge of the battlefield and closed his eyes as he spoke aloud in anger. "I refuse to be part of a retreat plan for you, Orochimaru. I won't fight under these conditions. I'm retreating… And you better damn well not summon me again. You will pay for summoning like this, and you'll be lucky if you don't from your punishment!"

After making his declaration, Manda disappeared in a giant poof of smoke, returning to where he had been summoned from. Jiraiya, Gamabunta, and Ōnoki were now left alone. Their battle was over.

Deep within the outer layers of the forest, where the jinchūriki fought against Shukaku, Gaara stood in the center of a pool of sand: sand that used to be the physical body of the Ichibi. Standing across from him were Naruto, Han, and Rōshi. All three of them were still wearing their chakra clouds and were prepared to continue fighting if they needed to. The three jinchūriki took a step closer to Gaara, causing the boy's eyes to widen in fear.

"Stay back!" He shouted at them. He made a hand gesture, causing the sand around him to rocket forward towards them.

Naruto was the first to react. The blonde made a singular hand sign before blowing a gust of wind from his mouth towards the sand. The wind collided with the sand and caused it to fall apart. With the sand no longer approaching him, Naruto continued to walk forward towards Gaara.

"I s-said stay back!" Gaara shouted once again. "I won't let you destroy my existence!"

"Gaara…" Naruto frowned in response to Gaara's words. "I'm not going to kill you."

"YOU LIE!" The red-head screamed. He stepped backwards, trying to keep his distance from the approaching Uzumaki. "It's… It is how life works. You're not the first person to try and fight with me. Each one of them have tried to kill me and I, in return, killed them when I proved myself stronger. They were my proof of existence. You… You defeated me." Gaara's voice was now starting to become more frantic. "You've stolen my proof of existence. I… I have no purpose. But even still, I won't let you kill me. I WON'T!"

'… He's even worse off than I was.' Han realized, recalling his own personal feelings of self-worth at being a jinchūriki. 'Suna… What did you put this boy through?'

"Gaara, I'll repeat myself: I'm not going to kill you." Naruto stated again. The boy stopped walking to Gaara, causing Gaara to stop moving backwards. "I… I don't think I could ever kill you, no matter what you have done. And I know Han-nii and the old man here could not do the same. Because we are just like you."

"We're all jinchūriki. We all grew up the same way." Han started to speak quietly as he recalled his own past. "Unloved. Hated by many in our villages and feared by others. I, like you, have also had a few assassination attempts on me. There have been a few people in my village who wanted to end my existence… all because of the bijū inside of me."

"As have I. But I can honestly tell you, from my own experience, it gets better. It really does." Rōshi started to speak, letting a smile develop on his face as he studied his fellow red-head.

"How can you say such things?" Gaara questioned, his mind racing with many questions as he tried to comprehend the words of the other jinchūriki and their reasons for not killing him. Nothing made sense to the boy.

"Things got better for me when I met the current Tsuchikage… my best friend." Rōshi admitted with a smile.

"… The situation got better for me when I realized my students cared for me." Han noted, thinking back of his own team.

"And it got better when I met Shikamaru and Hinata." Naruto continued, smiling as he thought of his two teammates. "What makes things better and what makes us strong is that we have people we want to protect. We have friends that give us strength and can help us when we are weak. We have somebody to rely on. They give us our reason to exist." The Uzumaki then took another step forward towards Gaara. To his surprise, Gaara didn't take a step back, which prompted Naruto to continue walking towards him. "Gaara, it's not too late for you. You can find those precious people in your life. There are people out there for you to care about and to care about you. You're not Shukaku and you're not a demon: you're Gaara. And I know you can show everybody that!"

"I…" Gaara's eyes widened at Naruto's speech. He had never considered himself anything other than a demon.

"And if you think you don't have anybody close to you, then search for them. I know you can find them… But I know that, at the very least, you can count on me to be somebody you can rely on if you need somebody."

"Same for us." Rōshi spoke up, pointing to himself and Han.

"And I also think you can rely on those two Suna ninja who escorted you out here. They seemed very willing to sacrifice themselves for you and buy you time… And not just in the manner that somebody is willing to complete a mission." Han offered his own thoughts.

'Temari… Kankurō…' Gaara repeated the names of his siblings in his head.

"Naruto!"

"Naruto-kun!"

The four jinchūriki turned their heads toward the approaching voices. Hinata along with Shikamaru, who was still on her back, rushed forward towards the group. Once they arrived at the battlefield, Hinata let Shikamaru get off her back. She then ran to Naruto and embraced him in a tight hug.

"You're okay. Thank goodness!" She exclaimed, tightening her hug.

"Hinata…" Naruto smiled, returning her hug. "I'm so glad you're alright as well!" He then turned his attention towards Shikamaru. "You too Shikamaru! Give it over here!"

The Nara smirked as he walked over and entered the hug. The three jinchūriki watched the members of Team Three with differing reactions. Han and Rōshi seemed amused and happy at the relationship between the three Konoha genin. Gaara, on the other hand, looked at them as if he was piecing together information in his head.

'This relationship… This is what they were talking about.' He realized. '… This is what makes them strong. This is what gives them reason to live. And they think I can obtain such a bond with others?'

"… You two. You fought my siblings. Are they alive?" Gaara asked quietly.

Team Three broke their hug and turned to face Gaara. Hinata and Shikamaru looked surprised at Gaara. They seemed almost prepared to attack him if he tried to do anything, but Naruto gave them a look, telling them through nonverbal communication that everything was fine. Realizing that Gaara was no potential danger to Naruto, the two members spoke up.

"Your sister is alive. She's unconscious, but she'll be alright." Shikamaru answered.

"As is your brother. He won't be able to move his body for another few hours, but he's conscious and alive." Hinata spoke after the Nara.

"… I see. Thank you." Gaara spoke to the two Konoha genin. "… I am going to try and find my siblings. Once I find them, I'll make sure to leave towards the village and surrender. We won't fight."

With those words, Gaara started to walk off in the direction Hinata and Shikamaru came from. Naruto, along with Han and Rōshi, smiled as they watched the Ichibi jinchūriki leave.

'It's a start… that Naruto kid sure has a way with words. That boy may end up getting saved.' Rōshi realized.

"Kankurō."

The Suna puppeteer, who been lying down on the ground in defeat and unable to move his body, turned his head and saw Gaara approaching him. He looked at his younger brother in surprise.

"G-Gaara!" He gasped. "What's going on? Did the fighting already stop? Is the war over?"

"I… don't know about the war. But they defeated me." Gaara answered quietly. "The battle is over for me. I don't want to fight any longer."

Kankurō looked on in complete shock. For as long as he could remember, his brother had been completely driven by his own personal bloodlust and rage. He always wanted to fight. Kankurō was stunned to hear such words come from Gaara's mouth.

Despite his own shock, he couldn't help but be focused on one concern: the fact that his brother was defeated. "Are you okay? Did they do any damage to you?"

"… I'll be fine." Gaara answered with a sigh. "For now, though, we should focus on you and Temari. Let's go get her."

The Ichibi jinchūriki reached Kankurō's body and, without waiting for a response, picked him up. He then started to walk in the direction towards Temari's body, carrying Kankurō.

"… I'm glad that you are okay, Kankurō." Gaara spoke to his brother while they started to look for their sister.

Kankurō's eyes widened at the declaration. It took a few minutes before he was able to respond with sincere joy in his words. "I'm… glad you are okay too Gaara."

In response, Gaara did something he had not done in years; he let a smile develop on his face. 'Uzumaki Naruto… Han… Rōshi… I will try and follow your example. I'll create my own bonds and find my own purpose for existence.'

"Multiple Striking Shadow Snakes!"

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

Orochimaru unleashed another barrage of ten snakes directly towards Anko. Just as the snakes reached her and were about to bite into her skin, the tokubetsu jōnin breathed out a large burst of fire from her mouth. The flame hit the snakes head-on, lighting them on fire and causing them to turn to ash. The fire moved down the bodies of the snakes as it burned them as the flames headed towards Orochimaru.

In response, the Sannin ended his jutsu and cut the snakes off, freeing his body from them and preventing the fire from reaching him. Once he was free, he jumped over to Anko and tossed a singular shuriken.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The shuriken multiplied, creating a hundred shuriken that flew towards his former student. Anko proceeded to jump up, avoiding most of the shuriken. A few, however, struck her and dug deep into her legs. She winced in pain before pulling them out.

Seeing that she was weakened, Orochimaru rushed forward towards his student and delivered a punch to her face. Anko was knocked backwards slightly. Her former teacher moved forward to try and deliver another punch, but Anko was able to recover from his last and attack and defend herself. She blocked with her left harm and retaliated with a punch from her right hand. Orochimaru managed to catch it with his free hand.

"You taijutsu isn't nearly as intimidating without that flare aura, you know?" He taunted her.

"Maybe… But…" Anko moved her left hand and grabbed onto the hand Orochimaru was using to hold on to her. She then used gathered as much strength as she could to lift him up slightly. The eyes of the Sannin widened exponentially. "I'm still tough enough without it!"

She quickly tossed Orochimaru off from her towards a nearby tree. Orochimaru's back hit the tree hard. He groaned in pain. Anko then raised her hands and pointed them at him .

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Two snakes rushed from underneath the sleeves of Anko's coat towards Orochimaru's body. The Snake Sannin, however, managed to recover from Anko's last attack fast enough to avoid the snakes. He side-stepped, avoiding their strike. He then grabbed onto their necks and pulled with enough force that Anko was sent flying towards him. She raised her hands in an attempt to block whatever his neck attack was going to be. Orochimaru, however, bypassed her guard and delivered a punch directly to her face. Anko was sent flying backwards in the original direction she was at. She rolled on the ground for a while before she finally stopped. Her nose was bleeding heavily after the punch.

Anko attempted to stand up, but Orochimaru moved too fast and reached her before she could. He stomped on her back, causing the woman to cough up blood: blood that stained the ground under her head. Orochimaru then dug his foot deeper into her back, causing her to writhe underneath his foot in pain.

"It's been fun, Anko-chan, but I must say this is the end of our fight." Orochimaru commented. He pointed his left hand towards her body and a snake slowly started to appear from his sleeve. "You've gotten better, yes, but did you honestly think you were going to kill me?"

"Earth Style: Ground Imprisonment!"

Before Anko could respond to his question, the ground around the two shinobi started to rise. It quickly collided against Orochimaru's body, knocking him off his former student and freeing her. The ground then formed a circular binding around his entire body, preventing him from using any of his jutsu or from trying to escape. The only part of his body that was visible was his head.

"Wh-What the hell is this?" Orochimaru hissed as he struggled to break the ground.

Now that she was free, Anko stood up slowly. She waited a moment to recover properly before she spoke to her former teacher, a smug grin on her face: "No, I didn't think I could kill you. I know I couldn't. But that didn't mean I couldn't distract you for long enough, right Hokage-sama?"

"… Right."

Hiruzen jumped to the battlefield directly between Anko and the entrapped body of his former student. He gripped his staff tightly with his right hand. The left hand was lifted and seemed to completely encased in earth. It was this hand that had created Orochimaru's imprisonment.

"Sarutobi-sensei! You…" Orochimaru hissed at the sight of the man.

"I had only followed you because I saw that it would be five against one odds for Hokage-sama. When I saw him stop moving to fight the other four, I knew you'd get away. So instead of fighting alongside Hokage-sama, I thought I could catch up to you and stall you long enough. I thought he'd be able to defeat your subordinates and catch up before you could kill me and get out of the village… And I was right." Anko explained.

"You…" Orochimaru growled in response. He continued to struggle against the earth, but nothing was happening. His imprisonment was too strong and his body was too weak.

"You're spent, Orochimaru. You've used so much chakra today and your fight with both me and Anko-san have worn you out. You don't even have enough chakra to escape that technique." Hiruzen informed his student sharply. "… The Orochimaru I knew, the one I trained, would have never made such ridiculous and risky plans just to settle a grudge with his former village. But then again, the Orochimaru I taught would never have turned his back against Konoha the way you did!"

Hiruzen stopped talking for a moment as he turned his head towards Anko. "I have one question for you, Anko-san: do you wish to kill him? Or do you care if I do it?"

"… My only goal was to make sure Orochimaru died. I don't care how it happened… That's all I want. You have just as much of a history with him as I do. Hokage-sama, you go ahead." Anko told the Sandaime Hokage.

Hiruzen nodded in understanding as he took a step forward. Orochimaru's eyes widened as realization slowly developed in his head.

He had made too many miscalculations. He tried to have too much fun in his goal and it backfired. The man had completed his jutsu to obtain immortality by moving his soul from one body to another. Ever since then, Orochimaru had grown confident that there was not a single thing that could kill him. Yet, here he was: trapped by a jutsu of his former teacher, because he had used too much of his strength and chakra in his previous fights to break free from it.

Orochimaru had told himself he was immortal, but here he was: staring death directly in the eyes.

'This… Can't be happening. It can't!' He mentally screamed, still processing what was happening. 'I… I can't die. I can't die like my mother and father! There's so much research that needs to be done! So many jutsus to discover…'

"… This is something that has been long overdue. This action years ago could have saved many lives and prevented this whole invasion. But now, I am going to fix my mistakes. For all those you have killed… And for the man you used to be… Farewell, Orochimaru." Hiruzen commented as he raised his staff.

The Sandaime Hokage struck his former student in the neck with his staff. He hit the man with enough force that his head snapped off his body, killing him instantly. Orochimaru's head hit the ground. Hiruzen proceeded to release his jutsu, causing the rest of Orochimaru's body to fall to the ground next to it.

With the instigator of the attack dead, the invasion was now officially over. Konoha had survived.