Chapter Twenty Four: Know Your Fear

"The biju are nine beings of pure living chakra. Nobody knows their origins except the beasts themselves and sadly, they aren't sharing." Naruto began as Neji glared at him from his spot on the ground, still bleeding and unable to move. "Shortly after the villages were formed one of your founders, Uchiha Madara, fought against the other, your Shodai Hokage Senju Hashirama. Your own history lessons will tell you that Madara and Hashirama were equal in every way possible to the point that they were the biggest rivals history has ever known. History will also tell you that during the fight Madara summoned the Kyubi no Yoko somehow and used it against your Shodai." Naruto glanced around the stadium idly as he heard Kyubi growl in the back of his mind. Any mention of Madara pissed the great being off. "Now you tell me something; if Madara and Hashirama were equal in every way then how come Madara summoning a massive advantage in the Kyubi did not automatically give him the win? If they were equal then adding the Kyubi to Madara's side tips the scales heavily into his favor. You can't just say Hashirama overcame them both because that wouldn't make sense. One is equal to one but is still less than two. How exactly did Hashirama overcome his rival and the strongest of the biju?" The blond asked, the red chakra cloak still out as the tail whipped around lightly like a real appendage.

"I d-don't know." Neji growled out, not liking what Naruto was saying but not having anything to argue against yet as he was only stating historical fact currently. "But he d-did." The Hyuuga added, as that was what their history books told them. Naruto only tilted his head to the side.

"Yes he did, after he got help of his own." The blond shared. "I don't know if your history books tell you this, I myself only learned it after Kyubi shared it with me personally, but Hashirama was helped by his wife Uzumaki Mito. Together they subdued Kyubi before Mito used a very powerful fuinjutsu to seal the biju inside herself, becoming the first jinchuriki in the village era. After that, Hashirama and Madara finished out their battle much like history tells us, that your Shodai fought hard and in the end returned home badly injured but victorious with his rival dead at the valley the battle created. Yadda, yadda, yadda." Naruto stated dismissively as he waved his hand around and rolled his eyes. "Fast forward a couple decades or so. The Sandaime is now Hokage and Uzumaki Mito is going to die from old age soon. Now there's a problem; if Mito dies then the Kyubi goes free and Konoha doesn't know exactly what it will do but since it is a demon they assume it will destroy the place that kept it locked up. So they need someone new to contain the beast before Mito passes on. Enter Uzumaki Kushina, my mother."

Here a few in the crowd gasped as they could guess what Naruto was about to say. Those that knew Kushina never knew she had been the Kyubi jinchuriki as it had been kept a secret of the highest level to protect her. All they knew was that she had come to Konoha as a child for reasons unknown.

"Mom had a special chakra that had a suppression effect on the biju for some reason. Knowing this, Konoha decided she would be the next Kyubi jinchuriki since her chakra would allow her to control the beast and use its power for the village. So before Mito passed on, Kyubi was taken out of her and resealed into my mother when she was just a young girl, not even a kunoichi yet." Naruto explained with a frown as he then shook his head and shrugged. "Jumping ahead again, the Third Shinobi War had just ended. Konoha and its allies are victorious, the rest are trying to recover their power and peace has just been reestablished. My mother had in secret married Namikaze Minato as the two had been in love ever since he saved her from some Kumo ninja before the war. The marriage was kept a secret because both of them had multiple powerful enemies and they didn't want to have the other targeted out of hate. Then comes what's quite possibly the best and worst news they could get; my mother was pregnant." The young jinchuriki held up his hands and raised and lowered them back and forth as if they were scales as he explained. "On one hand; yay, they'll be parents and all that other stuff a parent feels. On the other hand though; pregnancy is the worst thing possible for a female jinchuriki. You see, during the pregnancy, all the chakra that would normally keep the biju locked up instead begins to divert to feeding the growing life within them. The birth itself weakens the seal to the point that the biju could practically just walk out on their own. To prevent this though, you just need to have a seal master on hand to keep the seal strong while the woman gives birth to the kid." Naruto dropped his hands here and jabbed a thumb at himself. "And now nine months later on October tenth comes me."

"So y-you're saying the K-Kyubi attack was y-your fault?" Neji growled as Naruto shook his head.

"Not entirely. Mom was pregnant with me and her seal was weakening but dad was known as one of the best seal masters around. How could the seal have broken with him there?" Naruto asked before shrugging. "I don't really feel like sharing that part but you know what happened next. I'm born and Kyubi breaks free from mom before running wild on the village that held it captive for nearly a hundred years. Dad beats the biju back out of the village and with mom's help manages to hold it down long enough for him to give his life to beat it. But here's where your history apparently lies to you. You said that dad killed the Kyubi. But that's impossible, the biju can't die. As living beings of chakra, killing them just allows them to reform elsewhere after a few years. Seeing as there haven't been any reports of the Kyubi running wild in the past thirteen years, it couldn't have died. So how did dad beat the biju? The same way Mito did with Hashirama, he sealed it into a human. However the jutsu he used to seal it was going to kill him so he couldn't seal it into himself because once he died it would've been free and the battle would've started all over again. He couldn't re-seal it into mom since between giving birth to me and then having Kyubi break out of her, she was going to die too. That left only one option; the newborn me. My father sealed the Kyubi into me in order to both protect Konoha but to also give me access to the biju's power for my own protection." The blond waved a hand at the stadium as he frowned. "This entire village was saved because my father made me a jinchuriki. He gave his life to do it and mom followed him into the void right after. After all of that, your Sandaime stepped out of retirement and took over the village again. And what was his first act? To exile the reason the village still stood!" The teen shouted angrily. "When people learned what had happened they didn't see the human baby that saved their lives just by being there, they saw the demon inside and wanted to kill it! Your Hokage had me sent out of the village to protect me and apparently then hid the truth from everyone since nobody here knew I existed or the truth about Kyubi! I should have been hailed as a hero for keeping the demon locked up and instead these people called for my death! Some great village Konoha is!"

The crowd was silent as they took in what he said and the ones that were old enough to live through the attack were remembering that there had been quite a commotion against a baby shortly after the attack. While the details slipped most of their minds, they did remember that the baby was connected to the demon and they hadn't wanted it near them because of it. Down on the arena floor, Neji grit his teeth and began to struggle, only managing to turn himself from on his back to his side, propping himself somewhat up via a badly cut arm.

"I d-don't believe you." He said, getting Naruto's attention and making him scowl. "S-some of what you said s-sounds right. B-but other parts d-don't make sense."

"That doesn't change the fact that it's the truth." The blond growled before motioning to himself. "See this chakra? You don't need fancy eyes to tell it isn't human. This is the chakra of the Kyubi sealed inside of me. A jinchuriki is capable of using the chakra of the beast they contain. Right now I'm only using one tails' worth of chakra but I can use up to all nine with the right training. The fact I have this is proof to my story. And if you still don't believe me, then ask the Sandaime!" The blond shouted as he jabbed a hand towards the Kage booth. "Ask that old man about how he exiled a baby instead of taking control of his fucking village like a real leader!" He screamed, getting some of the crowd to looked towards their leader for answers.

Inside the booth though, Sarutobi was silent with his head bowed to hide his expression. Exactly what he had feared most had happened in that the truth was shared. He had noticed that once Naruto had drawn on his tenant, all the calls of liar had stopped. Most of the people remembered the feel of that chakra from thirteen years ago and hearing him share the truth had only confirmed what they had begun to think. This boy really was the son of their Yondaime. They really had condemned a baby. And now that baby had grown up and come back with hatred for his birthplace.

The crowd waited but Sarutobi made no move to stand and admit the truth, however in the end that was more telling than admitting it for one reason. It was his shame. Everyone could guess that if Naruto's words were true then his shame at his actions were holding him back from answering. And as the older generation thought back to the night of the attack and remembered bits about Naruto's story they came to the realization that it had to be true. They had hated the son of their hero, the only reason they still lived. And now he had returned.

And he was not happy.

"Iwa picked me up after I was exiled and took me in. They raised me to be a shinobi for the village and promised me that I would be able to accomplish whatever I wanted with the strength I would gain." Naruto admitted, drawing attention back to him as the chakra cloak of the Kyubi finally dissipated. "And what do I want?" Naruto asked as he walked over to Neji and forcefully shoved him up to his knees before pacing around him. The entire stadium's attention was on him now as he did so, the match long since over and everyone knew it despite the proctor having never called it. "What do I want?" The blond repeated as he kept circling Neji, the act unsettling to the Hyuuga. "I suppose I only want a few things really. Just a few small things in the end. Nothing major." Naruto finished as he held out his right arm and pushed chakra to the gauntlet, releasing the blade within. Neji actually flinched at the sound of the steel, Naruto's predator-like circling and history lesson having destroyed what was left of his nerves. Up above, the crowd itself was listening with baited breath.

"The most basic thing would be to live with the girl I love. Simple enough." Naruto started, throwing a grin up towards the waiting area for the genin where Hikari was smiling back down. "The second thing I want is to kill your Sandaime for what he did to me. One decrepit old mans' life... In the grand scheme of the world that's not very big either but of course, that one won't be happening anytime soon." He admitted, knowing he wasn't going to get that chance as the Invasion was going to take it away from him. In the Kage Booth, Onoki smiled while Sarutobi only let out a regretful sigh. "The last thing I want, that's the tricky one. Doable, especially with my heritage and skills, but tricky." Finally Naruto came to a stop in front of Neji. "I want to become the strongest shinobi alive. Greater than everyone the world has ever seen or ever will."

"A m-monster like you? Never." Neji spat out, a last hint of defiance. Naruto only chuckled and shook his head.

"Well... it's a good thing you won't be around to see it happen then isn't it?" Before anyone could react he was behind Neji with his blade held before him in a crouch. Standing straight Naruto flicked the blood off the blade and retracted it into the gauntlet. "Good-bye prick. I hope hell is to your liking." He said, just as the blade vanished into it's place. Everyone was silent for a moment before the screams began as Neji fell forward.

And his head fell off.

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"Wow, so brutal Naru-kun." Hikari muttered with a smirk as the crowd went crazy with their screams at the act. On the other side of the room Tenten was shaking, horrified at how he had just killed her teammate and friend for seemingly no reason beyond that he could. Neji was not a threat anymore, he hadn't since Naruto started talking about his origins. So why? Why did he kill him?

"Geez, overkill much?" Kankuro commented with a grimace as Temari nodded and Gaara smiled. While the older two of the Suna trio were shocked and slightly scared of Naruto's revealed skill, Gaara only felt better and better as the match went on. Though he had decided not to kill the blonde, he still wanted to see how strong he was and Naruto had not disappointed. The excessive force of using the Kyubi and then even decapitating the Hyuuga after he was beaten only excited Gaara more. In the back of his mind he could hear his mother screaming for blood and the red head only shook silently as he was eager for the invasion to begin so that he too could begin killing.

"That bastard..." Sasuke growled. While he couldn't care less about Neji, Sasuke was getting pissed at how the blonde seemed so strong and vicious. He had believed Itachi was the worst around as he killed his entire family in one night but Naruto was quickly rising to be just as bad. Unlike his brother, Naruto freely showed the glee he felt in crushing and killing his opponents and that was far more cruel than Itachi's emotionless demeanor. If Naruto were to actually do something against him personally he may have had to replace Itachi as his goal in life. It didn't help that the Iwa teen was his age and yet seemed leagues above his own skill level. Learning the full truth behind his heritage and jinchuriki status made sense and explained some of his power but that still angered the Uchiha. He was raised to know his family was the best and yet there were others that still stood far above him. It was looking more and more like Orochimaru's offer of power was going to be the only way for him to catch up.

Up above in the stands the crowds were crying out in outrage or disgust, but none more so than Hyuuga clan itself. Though of the Branch Family, Neji was well known among the clan and his skill was respected by most of them, even silently by the Main Family. Having him killed was a major blow to them, and having it done in such a public and humiliating manner only worsened it. The fact that he was killed by the boy that should have been a Konoha ninja and fellow comrade but was instead a bitter enemy and ninja of the villages greatest foe? Preposterous. But that was the truth and they could all see that it wasn't just the boy's own hate towards the village that drove him to kill their prodigy, but Neji's own defiant and superior attitude as well.

Sitting with her clan, Hinata had a hand over her mouth as she stared down at her cousin's headless body horrified by his death. She knew he hated her because of the seal and her role in his father's death. Despite being a victim in the entire ordeal, Neji blamed her for it and she let him. She had hoped that by taking his hate, he would one day move on and they could be a family again like they first were as children before the seal. Neji had never changed though, despite her best wishes and hopes otherwise. Even to this day she had a small hope for him but now it could never happen. He was dead, killed by Naruto. Turning her attention to the blond revealed that he was staring back up at the crowd with a smile.

Happy? He was happy that he killed Neji?

'How could he? How... how could he?' The heiress thought as the boy mockingly waved up to those above before walking off towards the fighters waiting area, quietly chuckling to himself. 'How could he? How could... how dare he?!' The thought changed as Hinata stared at his head as he left. 'How dare he kill Neji! Neji-nii-san was supposed to... was going to...' Her thoughts faltered as she turned to what she had hoped for her older cousin. She had hoped he would get over his father's death so that they could work together to fix her clan. She had hoped he would get to see the one day united family she dreamed of.

All gone now.

'He... he'll... he'll pay... he'll pay for this!' Hinata thought as her disgust turned to rage, her face twisting darkly as Naruto vanished into the stairwell. It was the first time she had ever felt such a hatred as she was a peaceful and gentle girl. But for the blond from Iwa? The Hyuuga heiresses thoughts were now focused in only one direction.

Vengeance.

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Sarutobi was silent as he watched Naruto head back. Death was a natural part of the Exams and to be expected. Usually not in the Third Phase, but possible and accepted. He and every Kage had known this and expected the possibility as well as knowing that by the waivers signed before the Second Phase, no reparations or retaliations were allowed or possible. It was a natural outcome when two ninja faced off that one would likely die.

That match however, was the closest to a one-man massacre Sarutobi could think of.

Naruto had from the very beginning showed himself the more skilled warrior. He engaged a Hyuuga in their master art of taijutsu and not only held his own but crushed the Konoha genin with his own skill. Neji had only gotten one clean hit in and that was from using his clan's famed Hakkesho Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation) to shove back Naruto's charge. But then when he tried to use the Hyuuga's ultimate taijutsu skill, the blond had blocked it in its entirety and even used it as the perfect opening to continue attacking. Using the Kyubi's chakra was simply overkill at its worst. And then even though the teen was defeated, Naruto went on to both reveal his shameful decisions as a reinstated Kage to the world before killing the defenseless Hyuuga. It wasn't a fight but a slaughter.

However that was not why Sarutobi was silent. Nor was it because Konoha's shamed past had been brought to light. The Hokage knew there would be a major fallout from his decisions once the day was done. He could practically feel it in his bones. For such a kind and caring village, to do such a thing to their own hero would break their image of being the most noble of the great five. It would tell the rest of the world that they weren't better people like they portrayed, just better at hiding their flaws. That would drop their mission intake as some people wouldn't want to hire a village that would condemn children for things beyond their control. Then would come the issues with their Daimyo as the man would confront him over his poor handling of the situation all those years ago and possibly cut their funding as punishment, funding the village would need if the mission intake dropped like he expected. But his silence was not due to shame or disgust or thoughts on future issues at the moment. His silence was due to one thing.

Onoki's laughter.

Since the blond had begun pulling on Kyubi's chakra, the diminutive Kage had started laughing. He quieted down when Naruto shared his story, but when the genin cut off his opponents' head the man had begun again. Loud and obnoxious, clearly mocking Sarutobi for the past and for the present; it was insufferable. But the Hokage endured it in silence knowing there was nothing he could say to make the man stop. It had all come about exactly as Onoki had said.

"Just wait, Naruto has another match and if I know my genin, he'll make sure they learn of it by the time he finishes."

And learn it they had. He could already see the truth being accepted by the crowd, despite his best wishes or the horror and outrage felt at Naruto's actions against Neji. The world now knew that Namikaze Minato had a son. It knew that son was banished from his own home. And it knew that son hated the village he was born to.

"Tsuchikage-dono, would you mind please? I'm starting to develop a headache." The Kazekage asked as the oldest Kage there calmed himself down, much to Sarutobi's silent thanks.

"Apologies Kazekage-dono, I just couldn't help it. I knew Naruto would be flashy when he revealed everything and I was right. That boy may be unpredictable most of the time but there are instances where his plans are as plain as day." The man commented as his grin didn't let up. "And naming himself the Shinku Akuma (Crimson Devil)... Knowing the boy as I do I'll admit it fits him. Both for his personality and because of the Kyubi's chakra he pulled on. I like it. When he's inevitably put into the Bingo Books, I hope they'll call him that." Onoki said as he glanced at Sarutobi out of the corner of his eye.

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Naruto had a large grin on his face as he reentered the waiting area where he was instantly pulled into a kiss from Hikari. While the older of the Suna pair rolled their eyes at the display, Gaara watching the medics take away Neji's corpse, the Konoha ninja there had different responses. Sasuke only glared at the pair, growling under his breath while his hands were balled into fists, shaking at his sides. Tenten though was staring at Naruto in horror. He had just killed her teammate in such a brutal manner and now he was just kissing his girlfriend as if nothing was wrong? How screwed up was he? Breaking the kiss Naruto only raised a brow as Hikari giggled lightly. "That was so hot."

"You get turned on by the weirdest things." Naruto muttered as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder as the two walked over to the Suna trio. Down below Genma called for the last two competitors and Tenten practically ran out of the room, desperate to get away from Naruto while Sasuke sent one last glare at the blond before stomping off himself. The five waited a couple moments after he left to make sure they were alone before all five turned serious. "If I remember right, the Uchiha's match is the beginning right?" Naruto asked while both girls nodded. "What're you three doing in the plan?"

"We're guarding Gaara as he until he can unleash his full power and then just running support for the jonin above." Temari answered while gesturing to Kankuro. The Iwa pair nodded as Gaara only looked over to the arena walls, picturing the village just beyond them.

"I was given no orders beyond kill anyone from Konoha I wish and I intend to do just that." He stated so Naruto smirked.

"Same here. I'm just gonna go wild with Kyubi while Hikari-chan will rush up and stick close to sensei. They'll likely swing by the medic ward and stuff Kurai in a special holding scroll made for when he's too out of it to help before doing whatever sensei is supposed to do."

"You mean you can transform into your biju too?" Kankuro asked as he suppressed a shiver, the idea of seeing two of the giant chakra demons was not a pretty thought. Naruto and Hikari on the other hand found themselves shocked and clearly showing it as they stared at Gaara.

"You can do a full-transformation? Damn, I can barely handle over three tails right now!" The blond complained while Hikari was silently thankful she had been told to forfeit even more now as she could not face a biju on her own yet. In fact she was pretty sure none of her family could since their skills wouldn't work on the great demons. Hearing Naruto's admission had both Temari and Kankuro let out a sigh of relief while Gaara turned to the blond with the barest hint of a smirk.

"Then it seems I will be the superior fighter in the battle." He commented as Naruto growled.

"Fuck that! I'll kill 'em all before your giant ass can even find them." He taunted while Gaara frowned. The other three, even Hikari, all took a step back as Gaara and Naruto stepped up face to face with each other.

"You will not take my kills Namikaze."

"And I'm not about to let you take any of mine either." He replied as the two stared each other down. Kankuro and Temari were starting to get scared that the two would face off here instead of sticking to the plan while Hikari shook her head in annoyance.

"Look, why don't the two of you just stick to different halves of the village? That way you won't get in the others' way and piss each other off?" She suggested, hoping to break the tension and stop her boyfriend from ruining everything before it began. She knew how competitive he was and how much Konoha had pissed him off during his matches. His earlier reluctance that had sprouted after his talk with Jiraiya had vanished due to his anger, much to her silent relief since she did not want him to be in danger from not going all out when the time came. Both jinchuriki looked to her before Naruto relaxed and nodded.

"That'll work. I'll take the north half. That alright with you brother?" The Kyubi container asked as Gaara considered it before nodding his agreement. While he wanted all the kills for himself, he wasn't going to deprive his brother of his own entertainment so long as he kept out of his way. "Alright then. Now we just have to wait for the signal."

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Down on the arena floor both genin waited as Genma got ready to begin the next match. Tenten had done her best to focus on Sasuke so that she could fight but it was clear that Neji's death was still in her thoughts by how tense she looked. Sasuke on the other hand was scowling as he stared at the girl. He had nothing against her, but she was going to go down fast and hard. It was just her bad luck to be in the way of him fighting the Namikaze and winning the Exams. "Alright, are both of you ready?" Genma asked as the crowd finally started to quiet down from the fuss of Naruto's match. It was not forgotten, merely put aside to deal with after the tournament. Sasuke instantly nodded to answer the jonin while Tenten took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and focusing on the younger Uchiha and nodding herself. "Alright then. Last match of the semi-finals; Tenten vs Uchiha Sasuke, both of Konoha. Hajime!" He cried as both genin leapt back to put some distance between them.

Despite her reluctance due to Neji's murder, Tenten was the first to attack by reaching into her weapon pouch with both hands and pulling out a handful of shuriken. Moving a few to her other hand so that both held some, the bun haired girl instantly started throwing them at the Uchiha, alternating their angles and speed to keep him off balance. To his credit, Sasuke hadn't stood still. The second she had reached for the weapons he had pulled out a kunai and started running towards her at a slight angle. When the metal stars came flying he began using his kunai to deflect them, his activated Sharingan eyes allowing him to track and predict all of them with ease.

"Tch... damn eyes." The girl muttered as she noticed how his eyes had turned red instead of their normal black showing the usage of his bloodline. With them active he would be able to copy any jutsu she used as well as predict her moves through her movements and even cast high level genjutsu through simple eye-contact. Very overpowered in her opinion. Tenten pulled out a couple kunai of her own as he came near and rushed forward herself to face him head on. While ranged combat was her preference, she was still taught by the best taijutsu user in Konoha and knew how to handle herself up close when the situation called for it. Tenten jumped in with a slash from the right that Sasuke blocked with his kunai before flipping over the left she tried to cut him with from behind. As soon as he landed he spun into a low kick to her legs that the girl hopped up to dodge but the Uchiha wasn't done. He continued his spin into a high kick that Tenten crossed her arms to block. Getting tossed back a couple feet the boy ran through a small set of hand-signs he had memorized.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!" He called as he raised his fingers to his mouth and blew out a large red ball of flame at the girl. Tenten cursed as she leapt away but Sasuke merely held the jutsu and followed her, making the ball into a stream that chased her across the field. Growling to herself the girl reached into her pouch again and pulled out three black balls. With a quick toss the smoke bombs exploded between the two, cutting off Sasuke's view of her and allowing her to hide and make a plan.

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"Such a promising battle." The Kazekage mused as Sarutobi and Onoki both nodded. It wasn't as major as the previous fights but it showed promise for both of its competitors. Onoki happened to glance at the Kazekage for a moment and noticed him nod, making him grin. "Such a shame we won't see it completed."

Before Sarutobi could ask what he meant, Onoki snapped his fingers. Instantly Akatsuchi and Deidara pounced, attacking the jonin guarding the Hokage while the Kazekage's own shinobi attacked the other. Sarutobi himself dashed to his feet and attempted to get out of their viewing booth only to find a wall of stone rise up, blocking him. Stepping away from the dead Konoha ninja, the visiting jonin took their places in front of their respective leaders as Onoki hovered a couple feet off the ground while the Kazekage was pulling on his face. It was revealed why a moment later as the face was torn off, revealing pale white skin underneath and golden eyes. "Orochimaru!"

"Surprised sensei? But I thought you'd be happy? I went to all the trouble of setting up the perfect reunion. All for you." The snake sannin taunted with Onoki laughing. "I even invited a couple friends to the party."

"Oh Sarutobi... you have no idea how long Iwa has waited for this." The diminutive Kage said as Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, hoping to figure out a way to get help and survive.

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In the stands the crowd was mostly too busy to pay any attention to the Kage Booth so none noticed the wall that suddenly rose to block it off from the outside. However soon they all began to notice feathers falling from the ceiling. The more experienced ninja knew exactly what they meant and pulsed their chakra to avoid getting caught in the genjutsu while the rest fell asleep without warning. The jonin looked around in confusion before the visitors from Suna and a few others stood up and revealed they were shinobi from Oto as well. Without a word the foreign ninja attack, making the Konoha warriors fight to defend their people and themselves.

On the arena floor, Tenten and Sasuke froze when they began to hear the sounds of battle from above and were even more confused when Genma jumped between them. "What's going on?" Tenten asked, but before he could answer the three jumped away from a wind blast that struck right where the jonin had been. Landing down from the competitors waiting area, Naruto grinned and heard Gaara, Kankuro and Temari drop down behind him. Hikari had instead run up the wall to meet up with Kurotsuchi in the stands before joining the battle. "What are you doing?!" Tenten demanded as the blond simply waved his hands towards the arena walls and the crowds above them.

"What we came here to do! Destroy Konoha!" The blond declared with a laugh as Gaara made a hand-sign and was suddenly cocooned in his sand. Temari and Kankuro spread out to defend him until he would soon emerge in his full-transformation while Naruto decided he'd stay and help before rushing off to do his own damage. "So who's first?" The boy asked as his eyes turned red and both blades came out of his gauntlets, the blond shifting into his stance as Genma, Tenten and Sasuke got ready across from him.