Chapter 41: Invasion Part 2 1/2

*Rusty hinges creak as a door is slowly pushed open and a cloaked figure slowly enters a dark room, shining a light against a wall in search of a switch. Finding one they flip it and cause lights to slowly illuminate a large, dusty, room with furniture and a computer. The figure is revealed to be wearing a dull forest green cloak and cloth mask over their lower face, as they slowly wipe dust off a plaque, revealing the words 'Ranger Lair' on it*

Leaf Ranger: Wow…it's been some time since I've been here. *Chuckles as I look around* Oohhh, the times I had here, the shenanigans. All that crazy joy and excitement, the frustration and annoyance, just trying to make announcements and introduce a new chapter. *sighs* It's a shame I let this place go. *Fondly places a hand on the back of the 'writing chair', before shaking head* Guess I should get on with it?

*Pulls out a couple of notes* So before the chapter begins, a few announcements. TheWateringWizard has a NarutoxProtoype crossover fanfic idea, if anyone is interested, so please contact them about it. To anonymous 'Guest' reviewer, thank you for the info on the hidden blade. And to anonymous reviewer 'O', I'll consider your suggestion, though no guarantees. We'll see. And…well that's it. *sets aside the note while looking around the Lair* I wonder whatever happened to all my personalities I let loose in here?

*An arrow suddenly impacts the wall next to my head, forcing me to leap over the chair and hide behind it*

Diehard NaruHina Leaf Ranger: THERE IS HE! THERE'S THE B ASTARD WHO ABANDONED US!

Elroth: KILL HIM!

Leaf Ranger: *Peeks out and sees the personalities and OC's I left behind when I closed the Ranger Lair* Oh come on guys, isn't this a little extreme?!

Diehard HarryGinny Leaf Ranger: NO! YOU ABANDONED US! AND YOUR HARRY POTTER FANFICS!

Leaf Ranger: That's just temporary! I hope…

Arashen: WE'VE WAITED TOO LONG FOR THIS! GET HIM! *launches several fire jutsu at me*

Leaf Ranger: Well this is not the homecoming I was expecting. *Grabs a nearby crossbow and starts shooting back* Here's my next Shinobi's Creed chapter! Hope you enjoy it!

Diehard LeafTayuya Leaf Ranger: DIE FOR ONLY PAIRING TAYUYA UP ONCE WITH ONE OF YOUR OCS!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Assassin's Creed, or The Hero. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto, Ubisoft, and Jam Project respectively. This is a nonprofit fan made work of fiction. Please support the official releases.

Chapter 41

Invasion

Part 2

Hinata slowly scanned the area, her Byakugan active as she made sure there were no enemy shinobi present, before slowly heading to the Assassin warehouse with her mother and sister following behind her. The fighting had been intense in the clan district, where enemy infiltrators had obviously been intent on damaging Konoha's clans and bloodlines. So instead of taking Hitomi and Hanabi back to the Hyuuga clan, Hinata took them to the next safest place she could think of.

Hitomi, who had also been using her Byakugan, blinked in surprised as they neared the warehouse. "I-I can't see inside," she said to Hinata, who nodded at her statement.

"I'll explain inside," Hinata said, biting her thumb and placing that hand next to the main door while channeling chakra. A seal appeared briefly, glowing before disappearing while the door opened partially. Hinata quickly pulled it open and ushered them inside before she entered and closed the door. It locked behind her as she turned to Hitomi and Hanabi, both of whom were looking around in some awe and trepidation.

"W-What is this place?" Hanabi asked quietly, looking towards Hinata who was moving to the nearby armory. Hinata had lowered her hood at this point, showing her hair was now down to her shoulders or it would be if she didn't have it in a braid to keep it out of the way under her hood. Hinata was grabbing a few arrows from a bin, sealing them into her bow. When she heard Hanabi's question, Hinata looked back at them.

"It's sort of a secret clubhouse," Hinata said, sealing the arrows into her bow. "I have some friends who helped train me, helped me to grow stronger. But you can't tell anyone about this place, okay imouto?" She asked, using simpler terms for her younger sister, not wanting to overwhelm her at this point. She glanced at her mother, who gave a small nod of understanding. Hinata moved over to them, crouching in front of Hanabi. "You will be safe here though. The man who owns this place made sure of that."

Indeed, Raphael had gone to great lengths in the years since setting up the Sanctuary to try to keep it protected. Officially, the warehouse was labeled as property of a merchant, with Sarutobi making sure any documentation on both the warehouse and the 'merchant' who owned it were legitimate. Raphael had then gone and enlisted the aid of a black-market fuinjutsu expert to make the warehouse secure. Besides the exterior locking seals on each entrance that could only be activated by someone whose chakra and blood had been entered into the seal, there also was chakra masking seals to prevent chakra sensors or bloodlines like the Byakugan from seeing inside the warehouse. The walls were given reinforcement seals to protect the structure from damage, and there was also a self destruct seal should the Sanctuary be compromised.

All of this would of course look suspicious to any fuinjutsu expert hired to create the seals, which was why Raphael had chosen carefully. He had posed as a black market merchant utilizing an 'honest' business as a front for his illegal activities, and selected a rather skilled seal expert who was known not only for the skill of his work, but also for his rumored, though not proven, double dealings. He would set up the seals as requested, and then sell information about the security layout of whatever buildings he utilized his seals on to bandits and thieves. The gossip in the criminal underworld was that this particular black market sealer had been indirectly responsible for the deaths of at least eight of his customers, two of which had been legitimate innocent clients simply interested in security for them and their families, who had died as well.

The fuinjutsu expert had done the job and been paid for it, but then not even five miles outside of Konoha he was intercepted by Kiseki, who assassinated him for her own assessment to become a full Assassin, to prevent him from ever selling anyone else out again.

Hanabi seemed somewhat relieved at that, settling against Hitomi as Hinata stood up. "Like I said, you'll be safe here. But I need to get back out there," she said, only for Hanabi to quickly grab onto her arm.

"N-No, you can't go! Nee-chan, you can't go!" She said, looking very frightened. "You need to stay here! Please!"

Hinata gently placed a hand on Hanabi's head, making her look up at her. Hinata gently rubbed her head, to try and calm her down. "Hanabi…I need to go," she said quietly. "I'm a kunoichi of Konoha, and I need to help defend the village."

"B-But …I-I need you," Hanabi whimpered, tears starting to form in her eyes. She looked up though as Hitomi gently placed her hands on Hanabi's shoulders.

"Hanabi, she's right," Hitomi said quietly. "Hinata needs to go out there, to help drive the enemy away. She needs to help others like she helped us. That's what being a kunoichi is about."

Hanabi trembled and hugged Hinata tightly. "Y-you need to come back nee-chan! You come back!" She sobbed out.

Hinata, feeling both sadness but also joy, hugged Hanabi back. "I will imouto. I'll come back, and then we can talk. I want to hear all about what I've missed," she said quietly, crouching down and kissing the top of her sister's head.

The young Hyuuga girl nodded and reluctantly let go of her. Hinata looked up to Hitomi before nodding to the back of the warehouse. "If anyone starts attacking this place, there's a ladder leading up to the roof, but there's also a secret escape tunnel. The entrance is in the meeting hall in the back, behind the dais and brazier. Turn the right torch sconce to the left to open the door. It'll take you to one of the training grounds near the edge of the village," she said quietly.

Hitomi nodded, gently touching her banished daughter on the shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered. "And good luck."

Hinata nodded, turning as she raised her hood up, quickly opening the door to the warehouse and exiting, making sure it locked behind her. Taking a deep breath she turned back to the village, her eyes hardening slightly as she drew her bow and headed to the nearest sounds of fighting, praying that the rest of her friends and teammates were alright.

At the arena, Raphael was finding himself hard-pressed against his masked opponent. The man was wearing the cloak and mask of an ANBU, and was wielding a pair of curved knives. Raphael, due to the confined nature of the area and the other combatants, was forced to wield his dagger and hidden blades. He was skilled with these weapons, having continually trained with them, but he was still training to match the speed and reaction of shinobi in this world. He was at least high chuunin to low jounin in these fields but his opponent was faster, and it was only Raphael's skill with his weapons that was matching his opponent's speed.

He blocked a slash with his dagger in a reverse grip, using it to force the curved kunai down as he stabbed at the man's face with his right hidden blade. The masked man brought his left kunai up to try and slash Raphael's arm, causing Raphael to quickly jump back, quickly grabbing a pair of throwing knives with his right hand and throwing them at him. The masked figure easily blocked one of them while dodging the other, missing that it buried in the back of a Suna shinobi's neck.

Raphael quickly reached down, fiddling with his right bracer as the figure charged at him, before quickly moving to block a quick slash from the unknown shinobi, quickly grabbing his opponent's arm when he tried to slash him with the other blade and trying to drag him into a knee to the midsection. The masked figure reacted quickly, blocking with his own leg before kicking Raphael in the chest, sending the assassin stumbling back. He followed with a quick slash that scored a scratch along the leather armor over the assassin's chest. Raphael quickly raised his bracer, firing a poison dart at his opponent, who was forced to dodge it only to not be able to dodge the follow up kick from Raphael that slammed into the side of his head, sending the ANBU mask flying. The figure turned, revealing the bespectacled face of Kabuto.

Raphael narrowed his eyes as he saw his opponent's appearence. "You….I recognize you. I've seen you around the hospital a few times," he said, having seen that face before, though never interacting with him. "You're a Konoha shinobi."

Kabuto merely smirked, pushing his glasses back up on the bridge of his nose. "Not exactly. That's just my day job," he said, as indeed, he was wearing a forehead protector with the emblem of Oto on it instead of a Konoha one. "It's a shame you uncovered my identity. Now I will definitely need to kill you, to try and keep my cover."

"I'm not that easy to kill," Raphael said, seeing that they had some more space as the fighting around them had lessened. He switched hands with his dagger, drawing his sword now with his left hand.

Kabuto merely settled into a combat stance, both his blades in a reverse grip. Their curved design made them more effective this way, as he rushed forward to slash low at Raphael. Raphael easily parried the kunai with his sword, spinning around to try and drive his dagger into Kabuto's back, but the traitor spun away as well, leaving them facing each other again. The two re-engaged in a flurry of slashes and sparks. Raphael wasn't any faster with a sword and in fact the length did make his attacks slightly slower. The difference was that the length also kept Kabuto at a greater distance, making it harder for him, even with his greater speed, to go on the attack. And the few times Kabuto managed to get past the sword, Raphael was able to parry with the dagger, using it in a defensive manner while his sword was his primary offensive weapon.

Kabuto mentally grimaced as he tried to get past that sword. As a spy for Orochimaru he had posed as a genin, but his overall level was closer to that of a mid level jounin. He'd dare say he could possibly even match Kakashi Hatake himself, at least in his own mind. But the truth was, he did not have a lot of standard or traditional offensive capabilities. He was highly skilled with his kunai and with several medical jutsu, some of which he had repurposed to utilize for offensive purposes, but he was lacking in most other fields. His specialties lay in medicine, healing, deception, espionage, and experimentation. He certainly was a strong fighter, but when he found someone who could equal him in combat in his own fields, he found himself struggling to beat them since he couldn't utilize other methods to disrupt or attack them.

That did not mean the battle was lost, or at a stalemate. It just meant he had to utilize whatever advantages he could. And one thing he did know, thanks to the rumor mill around Konoha, was the soft spot this strange fighter had for his master's failure of a student. He had heard the people talk about seeing Anko in the company of this man, both as a shinobi and in more intimate settings. So he knew obviously that Anko was a weak point for him.

He quickly parried a thrust from Raphael, trying to get in close to attack while the assassin was off balance, but Raphael's constant training came into play, as he used the failed thrust from his sword to launch a surprise jab with the dagger, tearing a bit into the cloak Kabuto wore as the traitor barely dodged the short blade. Kabuto quickly used that moment to find Anko, smirking as her back was to him while she slit the throat of an Oto nin with her ulaks. He quickly rushed past Raphael, again targeting the kunoichi. Raphael's eyes widened in surprise and fear as he quickly rushed after Kabuto to stop him. He saw Kabuto rear back with one of his kunai, preparing to throw it, causing Raphael to yell out to Anko.

The jounin sensei of Team Eight turned in time to see the blade catch sunlight as Kabuto hurled it, the curved blade wickedly spinning through the air towards her. Before she could react she found herself suddenly disoriented, as her view had quickly changed. Rapidly looking around, she found herself several feet behind the cloaked and robed assailant, but what was beyond him made her eyes widen in horror.

Raphael was grimacing, down on one knee where she had been, the curved blade buried in his right shoulder, having hit the weak point in the armor where his right pauldron and chestplate met. The armor was thin there, as it was two separate armor pieces meeting together rather than overlapping or being one solid piece, and being made of leather it had not been able to fully withstand the force behind the throw.

Kabuto smirked, his plan having worked. Raphael had used a substitution with Anko to protect her, and took the blow for her instead. Now he was severely weakened, ripe for the kill. Kabuto raised his right hand, now empty of weapon, before it glowed with green chakra, the Chakura no Mesu (Chakra Scalpel) technique. Utilized by medical ninja to make incisions inside a person's body without creating an open wound that could become infected, it was a technique that required intense chakra control and focus. Very few of those shinobi who knew it could ever utilize it as a weapon in battle, as it would be near impossible to maintain focus. Kabuto was one of those shinobi.

Raphael quickly raised his sword to defend himself with his left hand, but Kabuto swung around him, striking at Raphael's left and causing him to yell in pain as he felt his left arm drop limp, the muscles damaged by the blow and not responding. Kabuto smirked as he prepared to strike at Raphael's neck, only to be forced back as several snakes shot straight at his face, emerging from around Anko's arm. The purple haired kunoichi, her face a mask of fury, quickly was between Kabuto and Raphael, eyes filled with hate and the promise of pain. Kabuto just grimaced slightly, but readied himself for battle.

Elsewhere in the arena, Kiseki yanked one of her blades out of the body of the Oto shinobi she had been fighting, watching the man drop to the ground, bleeding out. She turned, her eyes blazing with the Sharingan, her other hand flicking a trio of shuriken towards an Oto kunoichi who was moving to strike Mikoto in the back, even as the Uchiha Matriarch finished snapping the neck of a Suna shinobi. Around them the other combat capable Uchiha had formed a ring around the non combatants of their clan who were present for the Finals, protecting them. The clan section of the arena had been targeted by a large number of the infiltrators, who believed the clans were the biggest asset of Konoha's might and wanted to destroy that asset. Only to find themselves met with fierce resistance as the clans showed not only their strength, but the strength of the bonds that Konoha shinobi gained through teamwork and trust.

Kiseki turned now away from her sixth kill so far, eyes narrowing as she saw the genin of Naruto and Hinata's year group fighting their way over to join them. Seeing a couple of Suna shinobi moving in on them, she tapped another Uchiha shinobi, letting him know she was moving off. The Uchiha took up the slack as she rushed forward, moving with the speed and grace of a well trained jounin, eyes taking in everything as she moved so she wouldn't be blindsided.

Tenten grimaced as she finished stripping weapons off a dead Konoha shinobi. "The one time I'm not armed," she muttered, closing the eyes of the shinobi as the others kept close to her. They had managed to dispel the genjutsu that had been cast over the arena, and had started fighting their way towards where the clans were. They had shortly been joined by Shikamaru and Ino, while Lee was working with his sensei to demolish any shinobi they came across, the two green clad shinobi using their superior speed and taijutsu training to defeat multiple shinobi before they even knew what was going on.

Ino spun, the ball end of her kusarigama striking an enemy shinobi across the face and knocking them back right into a strong right from Chouji that knocked them down into the floor. She turned, blocking a kunai with the blade of her weapon, swinging the chain around her opponent's legs and yanked the kunoichi onto the ground, where Kiba slammed into her with his Tsūga (Passing Fang), drilling her into the ground. Shikamaru meanwhile was working with Shino to watch their blind spots and take out any extra shinobi who snuck up on them.

"We need to keep moving," the lazy Nara said, frowning as he kept trying to get them to the clan members, trying to find the safest route. The problem was the fight across the arena continually shifted, as combatants moved to find new opponents as they finished off their current ones. More and more it was Konoha shinobi doing that, as they continued to grind down the number of Oto and Suna shinobi attackers. The enemy had received few reinforcements from other infiltrators throughout the village, but it seemed obvious that the wall defenders had prevented any outside enemies from getting in to reinforce their allies. So that was a blessing for them.

He was about to direct them when he felt a presence behind him. He turned to see a Suna shinobi about to stab him with a kunai, only for a blue blur to smash into the shinobi, driving a blade through their chest so hard and fast it poked out their back. The figure, a hooded Kiseki, drew her blade back out of the Suna shinobi, whirling to cut the second one near them with her second blade, slicing their throat. Seeing the immediate threat dispatched, she turned to the genin. "You need to hurry and get to the clan members," she ordered.

Shikamaru nodded, pointing to the others. "You heard her!" He said, his lazy attitude gone at the moment. The battle and near death experience had made this all the more real to him.

Kiseki watched them run before turning back to the battle, moving out to find her next target.

Elsewhere, A frowned as he and his shinobi were at the rendezvous point, awaiting the arrival of the team he had dispatched to secure Hanabi Hyuuga, the target of Operation Blind Eye. At the moment though, there was no sign of them.

Kirabi was shifting uncomfortably. "We should get going bro. The others are being way too slow."

A just growled, glaring at the hachibi jinchuuriki. "Enough with the rapping!" He snapped.

"He is not wrong though, A-sama," Mabui stated quietly. "We should leave as soon as possible, before Konoha shinobi find us out."

"We give them five more minutes and then-," A started to say, only for three masked figures to appear, carrying the lifeless body of a fourth one with them. One of them quickly bowed his head.

"Raikage-sama, I'm sorry to report our mission was a failure," he said quietly. "The target's guards killed one of our number, and when we retreated to meet the two who were supposed to retrieve the target, they failed to show up at the rendezvous point. We have seen no sign of them or the target."

A growled angrily at that. "How? How could they have possibly failed?! It was a little girl and her untrained mother!" He snapped angrily, turning and slamming a fist into a tree, causing it to splinter and fall. Again snarling, he began to pace.

If the shinobi had failed to appear, then they most likely had been intercepted and defeated. Meaning they could be in the custody of Konoha shinobi at the moment. He was able to avoid serious repercussions with the chuunin he had sent in as genin, as anything they did technically fell under the rules of the Exams. But this time there would be no way to avoid a reprisal from Konoha if they knew his men were the ones in their custody. He needed some way to hedge his bets, to ensure that Konoha didn't demand justice if they had captured his men.

Looking back towards the arena, and the towering purple energy barrier, he made a choice. "Mabui, you're in charge here. Keep everyone safe. Darui, Kirabi, you're with me. We have a job to do," he said grudgingly, rolling his shoulders. Darui just let out a sigh as he followed, leaving the remaining Kumo shinobi behind.

At the wall, Jiraiya watched as the Suna and Oto shinobi, unable to get through the inferno he and Gamabunta had created, attempted yet another futile assault up the wall, only to be thrown back by the defenders. The wall was holding, and the defenders could keep the enemy at bay. Turning and frowning as he took in the barrier surrounding where his sensei had been, he made a decision. Turning to the nearest jounin, he rapped out an order. "Keep holding this position. The fire should burn for a while, but if it starts to falter, regroup to hold the breach. And send for reinforcements," he said before leaping away, heading towards the arena.

On the rooftop, Sarutobi spun Enma in staff form around his head, launching a strike at Hashirama, who dodged out of the way. He quickly dodged as Tobirama tried to strike at him from behind, using Enma as a pole to vault himself into the air, launching several shuriken down at the former Konoha leaders. Both easily dodged, only to find themselves being struck by a powerful mud slide spewed from the mouth of a earthen dragon. Sarutobi followed up with a powerful gout of flame from his mouth, hardening the mud that had trapped the two kage, in an attempt to keep them still. Sarutobi turned just in time to dodge a slash from Orochimaru, wielding a straight bladed sword emerging from a snake headed hilt. Orochimaru stabbed at him, Sarutobi parrying the attack with his staff. He jumped back as Enma winced.

"I can't take too many hits from that blade, Hiruzen. Even my adamantine form can't stand up to the Kusanagi," he said. Sarutobi just nodded, readying to fight his former student. Orochimaru launched a flurry of slashes and thrusts, showing he had a fair amount of skill with his blade. Sarutobi easily dodged and parried each blow, doing his best to minimize the contact between his summon and the blade.

Unfortunately his improvised prison did not hold the two former kage long, as suddenly powerful branches broke through the mud, freeing Hashirama and Tobirama. Outside the barrier, one of the ANBU let out an awed gasp. "The Mokuton of the Senju clan. I did not think to see it outside of Tenzo," he whispered.

"Do not be so in awe of an ability turned against our leader," the captain snapped, causing the ANBU who had spoken to bow his head slightly, as the captain focused on the fight within the barrier. Their attention was pulled away by the arrival of Jiraiya, whose eyes quickly took in the situation, and a grimace appeared on his face.

"How long have they been fighting?" Jiraiya asked, studying the barrier intently.

"About twenty minutes now. Orochimaru summoned the fallen Hokage only a few minutes ago, but Hokage-sama has been hard pressed since then to hold them back," the ANBU captain reported.

Jiraiya gave a curt nod, moving to the barrier. "Anything you can tell me about this barrier?" He asked.

One of the Oto shinobi holding the barrier up, a gray haired man with what looked suspiciously like lipstick on his lips and a second head growing out of his back, mocking taunted Jiraiya. "Why don't you touch it and find out," he said.

Jiraiya ignored him for the most part, beyond one comment. "Big talk from someone cowering behind a barrier. Say that to my face where I can hit you," he said, while pulling out a scroll. He had to hurry and try to figure out a way around the barrier. He winced, seeing his sensei being sent reeling from a kick from Orochimaru, straight towards a vicious haymaker from Hashirama.

Sarutobi barely managed to block it with one arm, his eyes widening as he saw Tobirama finishing the hand signs for a jutsu. Sarutobi quickly cast his own jutsu, creating a massive earth wall even as Tobirama launched a massive cascade of water, enough to flood a small village, directly at him. Thankfully, the earth wall protected him from the flood of water, only for more massive branches to erupt through it, causing it to start to crumble as the rooftop started to resemble a small forest.

Sarutobi landed on one branch, panting as he tried to catch his breath. He knew old age had been catching up with him, but this fight was making it all the more obvious to him now. He was running out of options and tricks to try and defeat Orochimaru and his revived sensei, and if this lasted much longer, he'd certainly be defeated. And these opponents would be unleashed upon Konoha. He couldn't let that happen, no matter what. His eyes widened as he sensed the next attack coming, and barely managed to leap back as the blade of Orochimaru's sword extended a fair distance, nearly piercing through his body. The blade retracted back to the snake sannin, who smirked at him as the aged Hokage gripped his staff, praying that the rest of the village was safe.

Forest Outskirts

Naruto grimaced as he ducked behind a tree, feeling senbon riddle his cover. His opponent's puppet was loaded with weapons, ranging from blades, senbon, and smoke bombs. More than likely they were all laced with poison as well to make them more effective and deadly, which was why he was taking no chances, avoiding taking any hits. He had an advanced healing factor thanks to Kyuubi, but he still didn't want to risk it on the off chance that one of the poisons was too fast acting for even the Kyuubi to purge from his body in time.

Feeling the impacts of senbon cease against his tree, he quickly made a shadow clone who darted out into the open, drawing his opponent's aim. He moved stealthily around the other side as his clone distracted his opponent, giving Naruto the time he needed to find Kankuro, who had hidden shortly after the battle began.

Naruto knew little about the puppet users of Suna, shinobi who specialized in utilizing chakra threads to control puppets in combat against their opponents, rather than utilize more mainstream combat techniques. A puppet user would often hide themselves away, leaving their opponent to face against the puppet rather than being able to strike down the puppeteer. And they often utilized poison and deception to defeat their opponents.

This was an unfortunate setback for Naruto and his melee approach to combat, but it also gave him an advantage as well. He had a general idea of how his opponent would think, utilizing deception and stealth against him. Things that Naruto himself had been practicing for years now as an Assassin. He had trained alongside Anko, Yugito, Kiseki, and Raphael to ferret out people in hiding, while never giving away his own position. Now he put those lessons to use, moving quietly through the bushes as his clone did its best not to be defeated.

Kankuro, from his own hiding position, merely smirked. He had guessed that given the boy's previous fights and weaponry that he was a close range specialist and he now was using it against him, constantly striking from range with his puppet, keeping him from getting to close. All while never revealing himself, as he knew he'd be a goner if the brat got too close. He had barely any skill in taijutsu and would be easily overwhelmed.

His smirk turned into a grin of triumphant as his puppet managed to hit the blonde with several senbon, only for the grin to vanish as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, revealing it was a shadow clone. At the same time he felt a presence behind him, causing him throw himself out of the bush he had been hiding in as a blade sliced through the air cutting off the cat ears of his hood. He turned, struggling to bring his puppet to him quickly, only to find the blonde was already on him, swinging his sword down. With no alternative he substituted himself with his puppet, leaving it to be cut in half from top to bottom. Kankuro frantically tried to reconnect with the limbs at least, to remove them and use the blades inside, but Naruto didn't give him a chance, leaping at him and driving a foot into the puppet user's chest and sending him crashing into a tree.

Temari, in her own fight with Sasuke, turned as she heard her brother's cry of pain. "Kankuro!" She attempted to launch a blast of wind at Naruto with her fan, to throw him back, but found herself instead forced to block a strike from Sasuke which sent her reeling. Sasuke grinned as he used his speed to get in fast and kick her fan out of her hands while she was off balance, using the momentum of the kick to spin and deliver a second one to her chest, knocking her over to her downed brother.

Naruto quickly used two clones to secure them, keeping both pinned as he panted lightly, turning to Sasuke. "Well that's done with," he said.

Sasuke nodded, watching the two clones move to tie up Temari and Kankuro. "Yeah. Now we just need to take care of Gaara," he said, turning back to where they had seen the red haired jinchuuriki laid out, only for his Sharingan eyes to widen in surprise and horror. "LOOK OUT!" He shouted, tackling Naruto as a blast of sand shot through where they had both stood, slamming into the clones and their prisoners. The clones were dispersed while the siblings were sent rolling along the ground, crying out in pain.

The two Konoha genin quickly looked up, eyes wide as they took in a madly grinning Gaara. The red head had a look of bloodthirsty, sadistic glee on his face, except that the right side of his head and his right arm were covered in sand, creating a grotesque growth. The aqua colored eye was replaced by a black and gold one, with fangs now filling the right side of his mouth. His arm was a massive, muscular construct with claws at the end, and dark blue tattoo designs all along where he had been transformed.

"Yes…YES…..YES! You're both strong, so very strong! I can sense it! Mother wants your blood! She'll have your blood!" He shouted as his arm shot towards them, sand extending its reach. The two genin leapt away, watching the arm impact where they had been a few seconds earlier. The arm quickly retracted as Gaara grinned, preparing to launch himself at them again.

Sasuke quickly finished several hand signs, launching a powerful stream of flames from his mouth straight at Gaara. The jinchuuriki didn't even bother to dodge, instead merely raising his sand arm up in front of him as the flames engulfed him. Sasuke held the jutsu for several seconds, before finally releasing it.

When the flames disappeared, they revealed a pillar of malformed glass, which suddenly broke as Gaara yanked his arm free, revealing the sand was gone and his skin was burnt. He howled in agony, even as his gourd now completely dispersed into sand, rushing over his form and covering his arms, head, and upper torso. His face now had a snout like a rodent, with pointed ears, while his torso was covered in a bulky shell of sand.

"Great, you just pissed him off!" Naruto shouted, readying his sword, as Gaara let out a roar and charged them both with his arms spread out. The two barely dodged out of the way, keeping themselves from being tackled or yanked into a bear hug of death, while Gaara merely crashed into some trees, his mass and momentum causing the trunks to break like kindling.

Sasuke, sticking to a tree trunk with chakra, winced as he saw that. "What the hell are we dealing with?" He asked Naruto.

Naruto watched Gaara with growing fear, as he was starting to see exactly what Gaara was capable of. "Do you know what a jinchuuriki is?" He asked Sasuke. When he saw the Uchiha shake his head, he looked back at Gaara. "He has a biju sealed inside of him. The ichibi, to be precise. And now it's coming out," he said.

Sasuke gaped at him. "He has a biju in him? How the hell is that possible?!"

"That's not really something to focus on at the moment. We need to beat him before he lets too much of its power out and he becomes next to unstoppable," Naruto stated, as he saw Gaara emerging from the fallen trees.

"And how the hell do we do that?! He's shrugging off everything we throw at him," Sasuke demanded.

Naruto took a deep breath, gripping his ninjato. "Then we need to hit him harder," he said, wind chakra forming around the blade, before launching himself at Gaara.

Arena

Kakashi grunted as he snapped the neck of his opponent, watching them drop lifelessly to the ground, while he prepared to find his next opponent. He side stepped as a body flew past him, driven into the wall by the power of one of Gai's kicks, while the green clad jounin landed next to Kakashi.

"Hah! I'm up to twenty-three now, my youthful rival!" Gai shouted with a grin, already searching for a new opponent, while Kakashi did the same.

"Really? You're getting slower Gai. I'm up to twenty-five," Kakashi said, his Sharingan exposed as he prepared to engage a nearby Oto kunoichi.

Gai's smile faltered for a second, and then returned in full force. "Then I shall simply have to turn it up a notch, won't I? Time to show our enemies their mistake in attacking our village," he said, grinning as he shot towards a Suna shinobi who wouldn't even know what hit him.

Kakashi just shook his head, engaging his opponent with a kunai. The battle was over quickly, as his opponent was probably little higher than a chuunin in rank, and had proven to be no challenge. As he watched her slide to the floor, blood seeping from the fatal chest wound, he turned to find another opponent, only to frown as he noticed several bodies nearby. Each was a Suna or Oto shinobi, with at least three of them dead from arrows sticking out of their chests, necks, or heads. But another two definitely had suffered from sword wounds. Kakashi only knew of one shinobi thus far in Konoha who used both a bow and sword, but Hinata was nowhere to be seen. He pushed it out of his mind as he moved on to engage another invader, deciding to investigate later if need be.

Meanwhile, Anko gritted her teeth as she barely managed to dodge another slash from her opponent's chakra encased hand. Kabuto was using a kunai in his left hand still, while his right was utilizing the Chakra no Mesu, allowing him to block her attacks with her ulaks with the kunai while attacking with his right hand. It was all the more dangerous for Anko since the design of her blades meant she had to get exceptionally close to slash and strike, making it easier for him to attack her with his chakra scalpel.

She spun around one of his strikes, attempting to use the spin to kick him, but he leaned back to dodge it. She barely managed to pull her leg back from his hand, preventing him from disabling the limb, though he had missed by mere centimeters. She quickly hopped back, making sure though to keep herself between Kabuto and Raphael, knowing her opponent would try to use him against her.

Kabuto merely smirked as he resumed his stance watching her. "You surprise me Anko-san. I would have thought you'd never let anyone matter to you again after Orochimaru-sama 'betrayed' you," he said. "Then again, perhaps you recognize that he simply was abandoning a weak piece of trash who served no more purpose to him."

Anko merely gripped her ulaks, watching him. "If that's your best taunt, then I almost want to pity that snake bastard, having to surround himself with witless morons like yourself."

"My dear, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into," Kabuto said, rushing to engage her again. He struck fast with his kunai, causing her to block it, only to surprise her as he dropped it from his left hand, releasing the chakra in his right hand as he grabbed the blade and slashed suddenly with his right hand. She barely managed to pull back enough that the blade merely slashed her outfit instead, leaving a small cut in the fabric. Kabuto smirked, only for his eyes to widen as her foot quickly lashed out, striking him square in the face and sending him flying. Anko could only grin as she saw him smash into a wall, only for him to disappear, replaced by a log.

"Anko, behind you!" Raphael shouted, as Anko barely reacted in time, avoiding what would have been a lethal blow. She still was injured though, the kunai managing to cut into her left shoulder, making him cry out in pain as she whirled, finding Kabuto standing there with a smirk.

"You do not think it would be that easy, do you?"He asked her. She grimaced, feeling the pain in her left arm as she moved into a defensive stance. Kabuto just moved in, quickly attacking her again, his Chakra no Mesu active again, as he began attacking her ferociously.

Raphael grimaced, watching Anko being steadily pushed back, nearly overwhelmed. The injury to her left shoulder was slowing her a bit, and Kabuto still seemed as fresh as when he and Raphael had fought. He knew he had to try and help her, but with his right arm weakened and his left disabled, he would be no good in a straight up fight. A desperate plan began to form, as he did his best to move his right hand towards his left, to try and form a hand sign.