27

So a few people were a little dissatisfied that Sarutobi still sacrificed himself to defeat Orochimaru even though he had help. While I understand why everyone feels that he should have survived I feel the need to put something into perspective. If you looked up my description for the Eido Tensei you would have seen that there are only three ways to defeat the jutsu:

1) The person who cast the jutsu must end it. This was not ever going to happen, no way would Orochimaru end the technique until Sarutobi was dead and Konoha burnt to the ground.

2) The ressurected soul feels gains some kind of closure and is able to pass on. Orochimaru turned them into mindless puppets so this was impossible.

3) Someone seals the souls that were ressurected. This was the only way for Sarutobi to beat the technique, and the only technique he knew for taking souls and sealing them was the Shikki Fuiin. Thus he would have had to sacrifice himself in order to win no matter what.

Anyways I hope that gives you all some understanding of why I did not change the canon.

I would like to thank everyone for reading my story and reviewing, as reviews are the lifeblood of a fanfic author it is a privilege to receive them.

Another thanks is for Senjuto for helping me Beta.

Disclaimer: I've always been told that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. However, I have no desire to that. Instead I think I'm gonna throw all the lemons life's given me at Kishimoto, because that ass hole owns Naruto and I don't.

Naruto: Shifts in Life

Chapter 27: One Bad Mother

Naruto continued running down the streets of Konoha, keeping out of sight for the most part. The only time he ever revealed himself were when he had to either save one of the villagers, whom his clones and the other genin had not found, or kill an enemy shinobi. Quite often those two came hand in hand.

He continued to use the back alleys and side streets to get to the spot where some of his clones had started dispelling. As he turned a corner he heard a voice cry out, "Tsubaki No Mai (Dance of The Camelia)!"

Naruto swore as he was forced to dodge what looked very similar to a spinal cord. The odd looking weapon continued striking at the blond as he continued to weave through the attacks. He winced a bit as one of the strikes managed to graze his shoulder, however Kyuubi and his own healing factor took care of the wound in a matter of seconds. Thankfully he managed to jump back after the man stopped his attacks.

"Your ability to dodge my attacks is most impressive. I can see now why Orochimaru-sama wishes to have you."

Naruto blinked at the teenager who looked a few years older than him. He was pale white with white hair, and two red dots on his forehead. He was wearing a white kimono with an open chest and a purple rope tying it together.

"Yeah well you can tell Orochimaru that he's not my type," The blond responded as glibly as possible, not liking how wrong the pale teen's words sounded. "Personally I have no desire to get fucked in the rectal by some pedophiliac snake, or anyone else really."

Kimimaro seemed to ignore the crass comment as he prepared another assault, "I will be dragging you back with me to Orochimaru-sama, whether you wish it or not."

"It seems we're at a crossroads then, because there is no way in all nine levels of hell that I'm getting dragged to that sick fuck," Naruto shot back.

Damn! Naruto thought as he unsealed a Katana. Judging from the way this guy holds that…blade, he is definitely talented with it, maybe even a master swordsman. I doubt I could even beat Tenten right now with how tired I am, and I doubt Tenten could beat him.

He could use his staff of course. However he also knew that using his staff would not work as well against this one. The key to successfully using the bo staff while in single combat, was in the ability to keep an opponent out of range while you bombarded them with fast yet fluid attacks.

Despite having been caught off guard Naruto had seen the way the bone sword had dislocated themselves and given the white haired teen a longer reach. Meaning keeping his distance would with this guy would not matter as his sword could just extend to attack him

"You know it's normally tradition for two warriors to give their names before their epic clash," Naruto slid into a batoujutsu stance. "The name's Uzumaki Naruto, I suggest you remember it since I'm the one who's gonna kick your ass."

Kimimaro took up his own stance as he looked at the blond, "My name is Kaguya Kimimaro." With that he attacked.

Naruto cursed as Kimimaro appeared right next to him and sent several powerful swings and jabs at him. Thankfully while the teen was fast, Naruto was nearly just as fast and had lightning fast reflexes that allowed him to keep up. As Kimimaro came in with a slash, the blond shinobi drew his blade from its sheath faster than the eye could blink.

Naruto locked his blade with Kimimaro's and twisted it so that both blades were on the ground. Using the two grounded swords as leverage, Naruto snapped a kick at Kimimaro that smashed into the white haired teen's head.

Kimimaro stumbled back a bit, but not by much and regained his balance in time to dodge several thrusts and slashes from Naruto. It became very obvious that Kimimaro was faster, his attacks were more precise, while Naruto's style was more fluid, moving in from attack to block to parry, every move was designed to set the blond up for another, flowing much like water.

Kimimaro came in with several powerful and precise thrusts, but Naruto backpedaled and used his blade to divert the attacks from himself. When the man had finished his attacks, Naruto launched his own. He came in with a right diagonal swing, one which Kimimaro managed to block. However, Naruto pushed off against Kimimaro's blade and used the force of the swing to spin around in another slashing attack. When that was also blocked the blond pushed Kimimaro back, while the blond decided to disengage and jumped back.

Not wanting to let up with his assault just yet, Naruto charged forward, sliding under an incoming swing from Kimimaro's bone sword. At the same time he slashed at the white haired teen's legs, hoping to take them out. But it was not to be, as Kimimaro jumped over his attack and came down with a powerful blow. Naruto was able to roll out of the way and push himself up just in time to block the next sword stroke that came his way.

Jumping back to gain a bit of space, the blond shinobi began to channel wind chakra into his blade. He rushed back in and made a thrust, hoping to impale Kimimaro in the chest. However, those hopes were dashed when his opponent used his own blade to knock the thrust off course, sidestepping at the same time, before spinning around in and spinning his bone sword in a swing that would likely take his head off. Naruto only just managed to duck under the swing, grimacing when he felt some of his hair get cut off to let him know just how close he had come to losing his head.

He came back up and with an upward swing, one that Kimimaro dodged by jumping back. Naruto followed however, staying on the white haired teen's tail as he continued making several slashes and jabs at Kimimaro. In response Kimimaro slid into a stance and began to dance around the blade, letting his own sword take the brunt of the damage.

Seeing that he was going nowhere Naruto jumped back and frowned. He looked at the bone blade, then at his glowing green sword in consternation. He had been channeling his wind chakra through his blade, so that should have been able to shear through that bone sword like it was paper. He knew he had to find whatever the reason was for his wind chakra not affecting that sword like it should, otherwise he would be at a serious disadvantage. With that mindset, Naruto began attacking again.

The two continued their battle, yet neither was able to land a hit on the other. Whenever Naruto got the upper hand, Kimimaro would slip away before coming back in to attack. When Kimimaro seemed to have the advantage Naruto would pull some trick out of his ass and force the bone user back.

Finally Naruto saw a small opening and parried the next attack before lashing out with a kick. It was only instincts that saved Naruto, making him stop as Kimimaro tried to grab onto his leg. It was then that Naruto saw the bony points sticking out of his hands, and his knees, elbows and shoulders.

"What the fuck is that? Are those bones?"

"This is my bloodline." Kimimaro said as he studied his bony protrusions. "It's called Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse) and it allows me to use my bones as weapons and change their density."

So that's how his bones were able to withstand my wind chakra, Naruto narrowed his eyes. He was able to change the density so much that it was simply too hard for even wind to cut through.

"I have to admit that is one freaky ass bloodline, and considering I know this dude with red eyes, another one who uses bugs, and another kid who has white eyes, that's saying something." Naruto grinned cheekily as he got back into his stance, "Well come on albino boy, show me what you've got!"

"Very well," Kimimaro moved forward, intent on defeating this boy so that he could become Orochimaru's newest tool.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" Several dozen clones popped into existence and charged the Kaguya. Normally Naruto would never resort to spamming clones and just sending them in, he much preferred to throw himself into the midst of battle and fight in one on one combat. However like when he had fought Neji, Naruto knew he needed to know more about this enemies fighting ability before he could come up with a solid plan.

In hindsight it was an excellent idea, since the moment Naruto's clones reach Kimimaro they were dispelled. With the new bones that Kimimaro had sticking out of his body, it was like sending his clones into a wood cutter factory, the Kaguya managed to cut and hack into the clones like a buzz saw, seemingly walking straight through them without any noticeable effort.

Naruto frowned and was just about to attack again, when a yellow, black and purple blur shot out of one of the streets and smashed into Kimimaro. The Kaguya was launched away and crashed into a building several feet away. That was when the blur stopped and Naruto saw who it was.

"Yugi-chan!" A large smile broke out across Naruto's face. "I thought you would have still been back at the stadium."

Yugito looked at the spiky haired blond and gave him a grin, "I figured Hatake-san and the other Jonin could handle the ninja there. I decided to see where I could help the most."

She put her hands on her hips and gave Naruto a small pout, "You know it was pretty damn difficult to find you. I got out of the stadium looking for you and Lo and Behold what do I find, but nearly three hundred Naruto's running amok. And then I find the real you, only to see you've gotten yourself in a fight with someone else."

The blond woman gave a small shake of her head and a dramatic sigh, "Really, what am I going to do with you?"

Naruto gave his fellow blond a deadpan look, "You can't blame this on me. Murphy's Law simply loves me like this. Besides we are at war, I don't think I would be doing my job if I wasn't knee deep in this kind of shit."

"Well when you put it that way-" Yugito was cut off when she was forced to dodge several odd looking projectiles. Jumping away she landed next to Naruto. Deciding that there little verbal sparring could wait she looked at the blond male she had taken a liking to, "Why don't you head out, it looks like you have a previous engagement."

Naruto grimaced, "So you heard the screaming too eh?" He jumped onto one of the roofs and took off, "I'll find some way to thank you afterwards!"

"Oh I could think of plenty of ways for you to thank me Naruto-kun…" Yugito muttered as she watched the albino step out of the wall.

"Do not think you will stop me from Orochimaru-sama's wish," Kimimaro whipped his sward arm around a few times. "I will take that boy to Orochimaru-sama."

Yugito smirked, "I'm sorry, but I've taken something of a shine to him, so neither you, nor your snake of a master will be laying a hand on him."

"Then I will have to kill you before I capture him," Kimimaro charged at Yugito, who merely widened the smirk that was gracing her features. As soon as the albino launched his attack Yugito used her agility to dodge every single strike he sent, before lashing out with a kick that sent him flying.

"I'm sorry but there is no way you're gonna be killing me," Yugito said as she slid into a combat stance. "But I do so enjoy a good battle, so at least try not to die too quickly."

Gaara snarled as he crushed another one of those infernal blonds only for it to go up in smoke. "UZUMAKI! WHERE ARE YOU! COME OUT AND FIGHT ME!"

Gaara jumped onto the roof and attempted to search for the blond boy. He didn't get the chance, the moment he had landed; a foot met his face hard enough to send him flying off the roof and onto the ground. He stood up from the small crater that his body created and looked up. When he saw who it was an insane grin came to his face, "Ah! I'm so glad to see you here Uzumaki! Now it's time I can prove my existence! I will kill you and prove my existence!"

Naruto would have made a comment, but Gaara had already shot off the ground and was coming at him with that powerful looking sand claw. Naruto waited until Gaara attacked, and was not disappointed when the unstable Jinchuuriki launched his clawed hand at him. However, Naruto neatly ducked under the attack, shooting forward as he began a set of hand seals. Once he reached the boy's torso he made a slashing motion with his hand.

"Fuuton: Kaze No Yaiba!" A blade of wind hit Gaara point blank; however Naruto was surprised to see it did not penetrate the sand.

"What the fuck!"

That should have sliced straight through him! Naruto had made the discovery that his wind attacks were nearly twice as powerful when he used hand seals. He believed it had something to do with the hand seals automatically molding his attack, rather than him having to mold the attack with his own control when he was doing his free style wind jutsu.

Whatever the case was that attack should have sheered through Gaara, and since it did not it meant that the sand he was wearing was infused with his tenant's youki.

Not a very pleasant thought for the blond.

He was forced to use a Kawarimi in order to escape the claw that came back towards him. He looked over at Gaara who had not seem to notice where he was yet, and tried to think of some way to defeat him. Sighing he went through several more hand seals before sucking in a deep breath.

"Katon: Goukakyuu No Jutsu!" the giant fireball slammed into Gaara, making the redhead scream in pain.

Naruto was left panting as he finished his jutsu, he realized that he would not be able to use many more with amount of youki he had been pumping out today, even he had his limits.

He was knocked out of his thoughts when he heard laughing. Looking over to where the smoke from his fireball was starting to dissipate he saw Gaara, laughing maniacally as more sand began to cover his body, forming another clawed hand on his right and covering the rest of him. Naruto held in a curse as he saw that Gaara now looked like a miniature tanuki with only his legs not being uncovered.

"Yes! This feeling! This pain!" Gaara shouted as he turned towards Naruto. "This is what I've been waiting for! The chance to kill an opponent that can bring me such pain! This battle will be the one to truly prove my existence!"

"I'm glad I can make you feel so special," Naruto replied in a voice that was laden in sarcasm. "However you won't be killing me anytime soon. But tell you what; I'll make this ass kicking I give you extra special so that you'll feel more alive."

"HAHAHAHA! You truly are an amusing one Uzumaki!" Gaara howled in laughter, "I'm sure your death will truly make me feel alive!"

Gaara jumped at Naruto faster than the blond thought possible, given the fact that the redhead was covered in sand. Thankfully it still wasn't fast enough to warrant any serious concern and Naruto was able to dodge the redhead. Unfortunately Naruto had missed the small flash of a tail, and he was unable to dodge that as it smacked him in the side.

Naruto was sent flying away from Gaara and crashed into one of the many stores that lined the street of this sector. Groaning he sat up and pulled off the fabric that was on his head. He brought it to his dazed eyes and blinked as he saw that he was holding a black lacy bra.

"Great, of all the stores I crash into, it just happens to be a women's apparel store. Something tells me karma is trying to play a joke," He threw the bras away and stood up, shaking the debris off before making his way outside.

He jumped back up on one of the roofs and found Gaara coming at him, still laughing like a maniac. Looking around he realized that he was at a disadvantage in such an urban area; he needed a place where he could set loads of traps since he was unable to really use any jutsu. Decision made he took off towards one of the many parks in Konoha.

Kimimaro grunted as he was kicked away from the blond woman again. He was quickly becoming frustrated with her; nothing he did seem to be capable of defeating her. So far he had tried everything he could to get in close and eliminate the blond Kumo kunoichi. Yet she seemed to be far faster and better then he was, since none of his attacks thus far had worked, and he had only received more damage for his troubles.

The narrowing of his eyes being the only sign of his frustration, he attacked again. However like the last dozen times he had attacked, nothing he did seemed to do anything. Yugito weaved in between the attacks, using her great flexibility to dodge at seemingly impossible angles. As the attacks increased in intensity, Yugito waited for the openings that always appeared when people got frustrated. She finally found one and weaved herself under a powerful sword swing, right before she lashed out with a kick to Kimimaro's chest.

However she became surprised when a ribcage jutted out of his chest and caught her foot. Kimimaro spun around, taking Yugito with him as the woman tried to get out of his grasp. She did, and was sent flying towards a building for her troubles. Luckily for her, it seemed that having a cat demon sealed inside of her gave her the ability to always land on her feet. She channeled some chakra into the souls of her feet and clung to the wall, looking over at Kimimaro.

"Karamatsu No Mai (Dance of the Larch)," Kimimaro exclaimed as he ran towards the blond. Yugito jumped off the building and landed a few feet away from the albino. Seconds later the pair clashed and Yugito narrowed her eyes as she found it much harder to get an attack in with the new bone protrusions jutting out. She was forced to dodge the attacks and jump away to gain some distance.

She went through a few hand seals as Kimimaro came back at her. "Raiton: Raikyuu (Lightning Release: Lightning Ball)!"

A cannon-sized ball made of lightning appeared in front of Yugito, who launched it at the Kaguya. Kimimaro was forced to roll to the left in order to dodge the attack, letting it sail on to hit a store and explode in a shower of sparks.

He got back onto his feet and surged forward. When he reached Yugito he began to spin, lashing out with not just his feet and fists, but also using the protrusions on his body to attack. Yugito had to backpedal since nearly every part of the Kaguya was now a weapon. She was forced to continue moving until she saw a small opening.

Yugito timed her attack to Kimimaro's, dodging his first attack before smashing her fist into his face. As the Kaguya stumbled back, Yugito gave him a kick to the ribs, before spinning and launching a snap kick to his shoulder.

As Kimimaro tumbled back, Yugito came in with another kick, this one to the head. Kimimaro's head snapped up, looking almost like he had broken it as his body jerked the opposite way. He landed in a heap a little ways away, only to get back up a moment later.

Yugito charged in again, her attacks increasing in power, speed and viciousness as she attempted to do some kind of damage. Kimimaro became hard pressed to avoid her attacks; the intensity of her assault was actually making him stagger back. He tried to attack several times, however Yugito was always able to dodge the attack and launched one of her own.

He received a snap kick the face that sent him stumbling back, allowing Yugito room to perform several hand seals.

"Katon: Hauringu Neko (Howling Cats)!" Yugito slammed her hands on the ground; causing fire to burst up and take the shape of several tiger-sized fire cats with two tails. They hissed as they launched themselves at Kimimaro, who did his best to dodge.

However they seemed to have an intelligence of their own, since they would follow him wherever he went. It only got worse when Yugito came into the picture, as the cats seemed to utilize teamwork with her. Several times Kimimaro would either get burned, or get a fist or foot to the face for his troubles.

Trying to gain some distance, Kimimaro jumped onto the building. Thankfully two of the cats hit the building, causing them to explode. However the others managed to leap up and follow him, forcing him to jump around the village roof tops so as to keep his distance. He was very lucky when he managed to lead the other four fire cats to their demise, using the villages building against them.

However before he had time to breathe a sigh of relief, Yugito came at him again. Kimimaro was forced to dodge Yugito's next barrage of attacks. Weaving between strikes as he tried to get a strike in edgewise, only to fail as Yugito's strikes came in fast and hard.

Kimimaro blocked the kick sent his way with the bony outcroppings on his elbow; however Yugito pushed herself off of Kimimaro's elbow. Spinning around she slammed her foot into the albino's face, knocking Kimimaro back.

Yugito used the new space to begin going through several hand seals. "Katon: Haineko (Fire Release: Ash Cat)!"

A large cloud of ash blew out of Yugito's mouth, taking the shape of a two tailed cat. It charged towards Kimimaro who only had time to look up as the ash flew towards him; it began to cut into his skin before settling down. However that was not the end of it and soon Kimimaro began to feel the ash burning his body, his skin began to burn off, making the Kaguya hard pressed not to scream in pain.

Yugito paused in her attack to see if she had killed the Kaguya clan member. Only to be shocked when she saw Kimimaro was still alive, albeit a lot of his skin was melted off and burnt, showing the bones of his ribcage, his jaw, and his the bones of his arms and legs.

"That was a most intense attack," Kimimaro commented. "Had I been anyone else, I am sure that would have killed me."

"This time, I'll make sure my next attack does kill you!" Yugito ground out, getting annoyed at the amount of punishment this guy was taking.

She rushed towards him, launching strike after strike on Kimimaro's body. She noticed that despite the amount of hits she rained down on him, the boy's body did not seem to be getting any damage real damage.

Yugito launched a snap kick to Kimimaro's head, before twisting around and jumping in midair as she smashed one foot into his chest and the other ground against his pelvis.

Kimimaro tried to come in with several spinning and jabbing maneuvers, but like always, Yugito weaved through the attacks with cat-like grace. As she danced around the slashes and jabs, Yugito got in close and landed several powerful blows along Kimimaro's torso, sending the white haired team stumbling back.

He continued to get pushed back, taking hits everywhere on his body. He did his best to dodge the blond woman, hoping he could attack her when she left an opening. It came when Yugito attempted to get in close, and land a heel kick on him. He spun around; hoping one of his bony outcroppings would catch her unawares. Unfortunately for him, Yugito, even though she was caught slightly by surprise was more than capable to dodging his attack.

Taking a chance Yugito came forward again and rolled under a leg, before twisting herself into a spin and doing to the splits. Yugito's feet smashed into Kimimaro's face, knocking him off balance and sending him stumbling back.

Yugito used the opportunity and jumped back up, pulling out a kunai as she began to assault the Kaguya. Kimimaro soon found himself unable to do nothing more than dodge as Yugito viciously slashed into him, making several cuts on the albino when he was not fast enough to dodge. Kimimaro was very thankful for his bloodline, knowing that many of these cuts would have killed others.

Yugito saw that her cuts did not seem to be doing much of anything, and began to channel lightning chakra through her kunai. The next time she made a gash on Kimimaro's form, the albino was shocked to see it actually leave markings on one of his ribs. He was forced to jump back as he received several more cuts along his body.

Unfortunately for him, Yugito had moved faster than he had been able to follow, dropping on the ground and landing a vicious double stomp kick to him. The young Kaguya was sent flying backwards, crashing through the door to a building several feet away.

Kimimaro stood back up and looked out of the building to see Yugito still standing there. He walked out and looked at her with a blank expression, "You are strong." The black marks of his cursed seal began to spread along his body, "To cut my bones even a little bit, had you been fighting anyone else I believe you would have won."

"However do not think that just because you have been able to keep me from killing you so far, means you can defeat me. I have not even begun to get started. It's time I revealed my true power."

"Great." Yugito groaned, "I should have realized you would be some kind of freak since you work for Orochimaru. However I hope you don't believe that whatever you are doing will allow you to beat me. I'm not considered the second strongest ninja in Kumo for nothing!"

"Come back here Uzumaki! Come back and face me!" Gaara yelled as he chased Naruto into one of the many parks that were in Konoha.

It had been hard to get here. Naruto had been forced to constantly dodge Gaara's attacks, while at the same time making sure he had stayed in sight of the crazed redhead. It was because of this he had not been able to get over to the parks unscathed. His body was littered with numerous cuts and bruises from when Gaara had managed to smash his claws into him. Thankfully they were being healed by Kyuubi and his own impressive regeneration and would not leave any permanent markings.

"Oh shut the fuck up!" Naruto shouted back as he dodged another sand claw, "Who the hell said I was running you little bitch! I just felt like a fucking change in venue. With all the goddamn property damage you seem to cause in a battle I didn't want to deal with the shit it would raise after I kick your ass!"

Gaara laughed as he landed a few feet away from Naruto, "You are quite entertaining Uzumaki! Do you actually think you can win! I've seen the way you fight! You fight for others rather than yourself! That makes you weak! Unlike you I fight only for myself, I love only myself and I live for only myself! It's because of this that I am strong! You cannot defeat me!"

"You know, with the way you keep running those fucking lips of yours, you're beginning to remind me of Neji. Only rather than being some fate driven bastard, you're just one insane motherfucker." Naruto frowned, "And fighting for others is not a weakness. If you're too stupid to know what true strength is, then I guess I'll have to show you by kicking your ass Uzumaki style."

"Bring it Uzumaki! Show me this strength of yours! Show me so that when I crush you, I will prove myself to the world!" Gaara jumped at Naruto, lashing out with a claw. Naruto jumped out of the way, letting the tree branch he was on take the damage as he landed on a tree several feet away.

He looked up to see Gaara had grabbed onto a branch with one of his clawed hands and was using it to swing himself around. Naruto waited until the last moment to slide under another one of Gaara's sand claws, placing multiple explosive notes along his arm. Flipping over Gaara, Naruto smashed his feet into the back of the other Genin's head, making the redhead stumble forward. He placed his hand in a hand seal and smirked, "Boom!"

Gaara let out a roar of pain and frustration as his left arm exploded, shooting sand everywhere. However the sand quickly reformed and the redheaded, unstable Jinchuuriki turned his attention back on the blond; launching himself at Naruto with even more fervor.

Snarling Gaara raised one of his clawed hands, sand beginning to form sharp and pointy shapes along his arm, "Suna Shuriken (Sand Shuriken)!"

The Genin-turned-monster announced as he tossed several dozen sand projectiles at Naruto. The blonde's eyes widened ever so slightly before he regained control and began to weave through the hailstorm. While he was not as agile as say, Yugito, he was still able to dodge the projectiles.

However as soon as he had finished dodging, Gaara had just finished his preparation to attack. Using his clawed arms to grab onto a pair of tree's he was standing between, leaning back before using the leverage to shoot off like a rocket. Naruto could only look up in shock as Gaara came towards him at speeds something so large and unwieldy should not be capable of making. Naruto had no time to react as Gaara launched one of his clawed hands at the blonde's chest and swatted him away. Naruto bit down a yelp that threatened to escape him as he was sent rocketing away, smashing through a tree before hitting another one hard enough to leave an indent.

Naruto groaned as he fell to the branch below him, spitting out some of the blood that had congealed in his mouth when he bit his cheek. He stood up and hissed a bit as he felt his ribs mending themselves back together. When it was finished he looked around and blinked when he did not see Gaara anywhere.

However he instantly realized that anytime Gaara disappeared it was probably not a good thing. He jumped off the tree branch he had been on, and just in time too. For as soon as he did Gaara dropped down right on top of the spot Naruto had been standing on, shattering the branch like it was made of clay and sending a shower of bark everywhere.

Gaara landed on the ground and looked for Naruto, snarling when he could not find the blond, "Where are you Uzumaki! Are you afraid of me?" He chuckled maniacally as a smile came to his face, "That's it isn't it! You fear me! Because unlike you, I fight only for myself! While you fight for others and it makes you weak!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Are we going over this again? Don't be stupid Gaara, I don't fear you." Gaara looked around as the voice seemed to echo everywhere, "However, I'm also not stupid enough to fight someone like you head on. The basic shinobi rule has always been for ninja to fight from the shadows, a lesson that seems to have been forgotten long ago when flashy jutsu came into the picture. That's why I've decided to kick it up old school to kick your tanuki ass."

Naruto came up from the ground behind Gaara and slapped an exploding tag on his back, "Sayonara bitch."

Naruto leapt away as Gaara swung an arm to smack him, but the blond merely ducked under it and placed another exploding tag on him.

Growling Gaara tried again, spinning around and hoping to catch the blond off guard, but Naruto had predicted this and placed his hand on the other arm as he jumped over, leaving another exploding note on the redhead. Naruto closed the distance and put an explosive note on Gaara's chest, before leaping over him when the sand covered Genin attempted to swipe at him. As a last act, Naruto slapped an explosive note on the back of his head before jumping away and forming a hand sign. "Katsu!"

BOOM!

A large explosion consumed Gaara's form and the sound blocked out the red head's cry of pain; an entire twenty foot radius around the redhead also disappeared, taking many of the trees with it and creating a shockwave that knocked down many more.

Naruto landed several dozen feet away from the explosion and smirked as he took in the power of his customized explosive notes had, "Now that's what I'm talking about."

The blond crouched down on a branch and tried to look into the dust his explosion had kicked up, Did I get him?

'No,' Kyuubi piped up for the first time since the battle began. 'I can still feel that Tanuki's youki swirling and gathering around the red head. You've definitely injured him but he's still alive.'

Damn! Naruto sighed as the explosion cleared to reveal Gaara. The red headed Jinchuuriki was definitely injured, the sand that had surrounded him was falling off in globs, making it look like melting skin. He was breathing fairly heavily and was hunched over.

"Uzumaki! UZUMAKI!" Gaara shouted as he turned towards the blond Genin, "I will kill you! I will! You will die by my hand and prove my existence!"

"You've been saying that for the past several hours, yet you have yet to actually come through on that threat," Naruto shot back. "Face it, all the power in the world means nothing without finesse! Which you, my tanuki friend, lack."

'This coming from the one who just blew up half a park,' Kyuubi piped up.

'Don't get snippy with me miss destroys-entire-mountains-with-a-single-swipe-of-her-tails. The amount of mass destruction I caused was completely unintended and I only used those explosive notes because I can't use jutsu. Unlike you, who simply prefers to destroy everything she sets her sights on when she transforms into a giant nine tailed fuzzy.'

'Oooh big words coming from such a small kid; perhaps you should come inside the seal and we can settle this little account now, and I can beat your ass in my human form just to show you how powerless you are in front of me.'

'As tempting as it is to get smacked around by such a beautiful woman, we're going to need to hold off on that. It looks like our little tanuki is getting ready to attack again.'

Naruto was right as Gaara was now barreling towards him, using his arms to launch himself further across the ground. Naruto jumped deeper into the forest where he decided to continue playing his game of cat and mouse, though with how the battle had progressed, it was hard to tell who was the cat and who was the mouse.

As Naruto continued to jump he set an explosive note on one of the branches, and the moment Gaara leapt onto that branch ignited it, letting Gaara be caught up in another, albeit smaller explosion. However Gaara merely barreled through it, using his arms as protection from the explosion.

'Kyuu-chan, how's my youki?'the blond asked as he dodged a claw swipe from Gaara.

'Well, I've been pumping your reserves with my own so I would say around fifty percent again. You know, you're very lucky you're a hanyou, otherwise I would not be able to do this and you would be dead from overexposure to my youki.'

In the month long training period Naruto had for the most part, come to terms with the fact that he was no longer human. While it still bothered him that he would outlive all of his friends and loved ones, and he doubted he would tell anyone of his status, he could at the very least recognize the benefits being a half demon had. So instead of getting upset at the reminder of his status, Naruto merely grinned, 'Then I guess I have to thank you for giving me such an amazing ability Kyuu-chan.'

'Well when you're done with the tanuki you can come in here and thank me properly, Naruto-kun.'

Despite the situation Naruto blushed a bit at Kyuubi's seductive tone. Somehow the blond should have known the vixen would continue teasing him even if they were in a life and death situation. Shikamaru was right, woman are troublesome. He shook his head to get his mind out of the gutter that her words invoked thanks to all of the sexual situations he had been in, in the past few hours. Instead he turned his attention back towards the mentally unstable Gaara.

Gaara leapt towards Naruto, launching a claw at the blond, who merely jumped over it and began to run across the arm. However the redhead wasn't about to let Naruto do that, and sent out his other arm in the hopes of impaling his enemy. It wasn't to be as Naruto used the tree climbing ability to stick under the redhead's arm and continued running towards him. The blond began doing several hand seals and as soon as he was right in Gaara's face, he thrust his linked fists towards the redhead.

"Fuuton: Kamikaze Seiken!" two wind shaped fists pounded into Gaara's form, sending several gouts of sand flying off as two fist shaped indents formed on his chest. However other than make the redhead stumble back, nothing else seemed to happen. Not that; that would deter Naruto who had already begun another set of hand seals.

"Fuuton: Suuin Kamikaze No Tatsumaki (Wind Release: Double Tornadoes of the Divine Wind)!"

Naruto thrust out his fists as he jumped away from Gaara, and two fist sized tornadoes shot towards the red head. Gaara brought his claws in front of his face in order to protect him. The tornadoes hit, smashing into Gaara's arms and this time the jutsu ended up tearing them apart, the sheer force of the jutsu sent Gaara sailing backwards to smash into several trees, shattering them and sending him flying before he hit the ground below.

Naruto panted a bit as he let the jutsu go. He looked over where Gaara was lying down, looking for all the world like a puddle of sand, "Ha! I think I got him pretty good with that last attack. Stupid fucking sandbag. Maybe now I can get some sleep…"

"This guy…" Gaara muttered as he struggled to get off the ground. He looked over at Naruto, who was too busy cheering about how he would finally get some sleep to pay attention to the unstable Jinchuuriki, "There's no way I'll lose to a guy like that!"

Naruto who had been hoping to get some kind of break, felt his eyes widen as a huge spike in both chakra and youki came over him, originating from Gaara, "Oh shit! Don't tell me he can transform again!"

Naruto was forced to jump back as Gaara became completely immersed in sand, swelling until he reached the sky. The blond couldn't keep the whistle from escaping him as he stared at the now gigantic tanuki, his eyes could just barely make out Gaara on top of him. For a long moment all fighting within the village ceased as they caught sight of the large one tailed demon, the mere sight caused fear amongst a lot of the Konoha shinobi who remembered the battle against the Kyuubi.

Yugito smashed her fist against Kimimaro's face, sending him rocketing back and into another building. She smirked as she felt the power of Nibi flowing through her. This battle had turned out to be a little more than she had expected once the pale kid had let loose with his cursed seal, though once she had released her Bijuu's power the cursed seal seemed to pale in comparison.

The purple energy of Nibi had entirely encased the blonde's form, taking the shape of a cat with two swishing tales behind her. Thanks to her intense training from an early age, Yugito was able to use Nibi's powers to its full potential without giving into the bloodlust that was inherent with the use of youki.

Almost as soon as Kimimaro stood back up, Yugito was on him, swiping at him with her now youki covered hands. The attack tore away chunks of Kimimaro's flesh, and sent the albino spinning away.

Kimimaro landed on the ground with a thud. He looked up and was forced to roll out of the way as Yugito came crashing down, smashing a foot into the spot he had just previously been and leaving a small crater when she hit.

Almost as soon as Kimimaro stood back up, Yugito was upon him. Her speed was nearly triple what it had been before, and Kimimaro, despite his cursed seal was completely unable to keep up. He tried his best, lashing out when the rare occasion presented itself. However Yugito was able to either block, or dodge the attack entirely, right before she would lash out with an attack of her own. Her fighting style, despite being nearly thirty times more vicious, was just as fluid as it had been from the start.

Yugito snap kicked Kimimaro in the face, once again sending the boy rocketing back. As soon as he got up he tried to use his spine sword to lash out against Yugito. However the blond merely weaved underneath the attack, before her hand grabbed onto it and pulled him towards her. Yugito smashed her fist into Kimimaro's chest, letting go of the bone blade as the white haired teen was sent back again.

Kimimaro resisted a groan as he stood back up. This girl was a major problem. Their battle had been going on for the better part of three hours now and he had yet to do anything more than scratch her. Even with the power of his cursed seal, he had been unable to do anything, since the moment he laid that one scratch on her; she had activated her Jinchuuriki cloak, which acted a shield against most blunt damage.

Not that he had been able to hit her again anyways, since her speed, strength and reflexes had tripled. Even though she could not use any jutsu without fear of overloading them, she was still kicking his ass.

He thought about using his second stage cursed seal, but it was easy to realize that he would still be unlikely to kill Yugito. Especially given that she had the entire village with which she could hide in. on top of that he had his illness to worry about, the more he used his cursed seal the worse it got. He could not afford to let himself die here when Orochimaru may still need him.

All thoughts from the two of them were cut off by the appearance of Shukaku in one of Konoha's parks.

It was then that Kabuto appeared next to Kimimaro, "Orochimaru-sama has ordered your withdrawal, Kimimaro-san."

"What?" asked Kimimaro in shock, "But I can still fight! I can still help *Cough* *Cough*" Kimimaro dropped to a knee as he began coughing up blood, "No, not again." Why is it acting up now?

Kabuto shook his head, "You used the cursed seals power too much, and on top of that, you are fighting the Jinchuuriki for the Nibi. In any case the battle is, for the most part, over. We need to get you medical attention."

"I…I understand," Kimimaro stood up, only to cough up more blood.

Kabuto placed a hand on Kimimaro's shoulder and the two sank into the ground.

Yugito frowned as the pair disappeared. Sighing she let her Jinchuuriki cloak fall. Looking around Yugito looked over towards Shukaku.

'Should we deal with that problem kitten?'

'No, if we were to battle Shukaku it was cause tremendous collateral damage,' Yugito smiled as she saw a large puff of smoke. 'Besides I have a feeling Naruto-kun has it well in hand.'

Oh, this is so not good,Naruto thought to himself as he looked over at Gaara. He looked at himself to see that he was covered nearly head to toe in sand. This totally sucks, how am I gonna get out of this? How the hell am I even supposed to fight something that big? I would need a-He stopped and blinked as an idea to beat Gaara came to him.

'Hey Kyu, can you give me a bit of youki?'

Within the seal Kyuubi blinked in confusion, 'I don't see how my youki can- oh!' She said paused as she realized what he wanted to do, 'Yeah I can, here you go.'

'Thanks.'

As Naruto felt a small surge of Kyuubi's youki he brought his thumb to his mouth and swiped at some of the blood that had gotten there from when he was last thrown, and began to make a few hand signs.

Gaara held out his right hand. "Sabaku so-"

"Kuchiyose No Jutsu!"

There was a massive burst of smoke and Naruto found himself standing atop of Gamabunta. Jumping down on his nose Naruto turned to the massive summon, "Hey there Bunta! You want help me out with big bad over there?" Naruto jerked a thumb towards Gaara. "I'd take him out myself, but he seems to have grown too big for me."

"The Ichibi No Shukaku huh…"Gamabunta blew out a large ring of smoke as he looked the giant sand tanuki, "No can do kid. Why would I want to go out of my way to fight a guy like that?"

"Because if you don't, I'm gonna end up as nothing more than a bloody smear on the bottom of his foot," Naruto dead panned, "Besides aren't summons supposed to help their summoner?"

"Well that's tough kid. But I never accepted you as my summoner. We haven't even had a drink yet,"Gamabunta heaved a massive shrug. "Until we share a drink together I can't accept you as my summoner."

"You expect me to buy you sake? With amount of income I make?" asked Naruto. "Are you forgetting that I'm nothing more than a Genin? There is no way my sorry ass would be able to buy enough liquor to get you even slightly buzzed. I doubt I even make enough to get myself buzzed!"

"As I said, tough,"Gamabunta said in an uncaring manner.

"Fine…I really didn't want to do this but you leave me no choice," Naruto sighed before turning to Gaara and raising his hands to his mouth like a microphone. "Hey Gaara! Gamabunta hear says he can kick your motherfucking Tanuki ass back to the time of the Rikudou Sannin!"

"YOU DARE MOCK ME! I'LL KILL YOU!" Gaara screamed as he went through several hand seals, "Tanuki Neiri No Jutsu (Feigning Sleep Jutsu)!"

The star-shaped pupils began to spin wildly on Shukaku as the Tanuki shouted, "I'm free! Hell yeah! It's time to party!" It looked over at Gamabunta, "And look! There's something to kill! Fuuton: Renkuudan!" A giant bullet of air towards the giant toad summon.

"You know, I think I'm starting to hate you gaki," Gamabunta grunted as he jumped away from the bullet.

"Hey, if you had just listened to me and helped, I wouldn't have had to do that." Naruto looked at Gaara and rubbed his chin in thought, "Though, I'm not exactly sure how to beat an out of control Bijuu…any ideas Boss Toad?"

Shukaku inhaled a deep breath, "Fuuton: Renkuudan!" He launched another massive ball of air at Gamabunta, who decided to counter with his own attack.

"Suiton: Teppoudama!"

"Hah! Why don't I give you a hand with that Bunta!" Naruto flew through his own hand seals, "Fuuton:Renkuudan!"

He sucked in a breath before hitting his stomach, releasing a powerful cannonball of wind. Said ball hit the water bullet, increasing its speed and power nearly threefold as it smashed into the wind bullet sent by Shikaku. The wind bullet was destroyed and the water bullet continued on and collided with Shukaku himself, knocking the giant demon back and sending it crashing to the ground.

A little ways away both Kankurou and Temari watched the fight in shock. When they had seen a fully transformed Shukaku appearing in the middle of one of Konoha's parks, they had assumed that it was going to start going on a rampage. However they had been surprised when not only did Gaara not start smashing through objects, but that a giant toad would appear as well, and was now fighting off Shukaku. More surprising still was that they had spotted the familiar form of the blond who had beaten Gaara in the first place on top of the Giant Toad summon.

"Who the hell is this kid?" asked Kankurou, "I always thought his first battle was more luck than actually being able to beat Gaara. But now he's going head to head with him again and winning!"

"Hey that wasn't too bad gaki," Gamabunta complimented as he watched the great demon fall back.

"Of course it wasn't. It was awesome!" Naruto grinned as he watched the giant sand demon try to get back up, "So how do we do this?"

"We need to wake up the host. The boy on his head is acting as a medium for the Shukaku. A good smack should do it."

"I could pepper him with one of my attacks." Naruto offered, "Though that would most likely kill him."

"Then it's a no go. Killing the medium during a full-possession may very well release the demon. Since it already has a form it wouldn't need the boy."

"So we need to get in close then." Naruto said, "Alright! Get me near that son of a bitch, and I'll wake his ass up!"

"These hands aren't very good at grabbing things gaki," Gamabunto held up his webbed hands. "How would you suggest I get a hold of him?"

Naruto scoffed, "I don't need you to grab onto him, just get me close, I'll take care of the rest."

'Hey Kyuu-chan, think you can give me some juice?'

'Of course Naruto-kun, just be careful, you've already used a tail once today and this will leave you drained, so no more strenuous activity after this.'

'Got'cha! Light me!'

Naruto felt Kyuubi's youki running through him again, and prepared himself for what was either going to be the most awesome thing he had ever done, or get his sorry ass killed.

Orochimaru grit his teeth as he looked at Sarutobi, who was currently holding onto his shoulders and had his sword pierced into the old man's chest. Behind the old Hokage was Enma, who was on the ground with snakes entangling his form, he was holding onto the sword to keep it from going any further into Sarutobi's back. It was at this time that the Snake Sannin was regretting his decision to let his old sensei use the jutsu he had told Orochimaru about, letting his curiosity for powerful jutsu override his common sense. It had only been after Sarutobi had gotten a hold of him that he realized just what the old man had done.

Their battle had been intense, and they had clashed across their little arena for several hours, launching jutsu, battling with staff and sword. Neither had really been able to get the better of the other. Sarutobi was old; his age had made him far weaker than what he had been. Had this battle happened several years ago the aging Hokage would have no doubt won this battle, but his age had made him unable to keep up with his former student physically. However the old man was also cunning and had used his experience and crafty mind to make up for this weakness, thus making Orochimaru unable to really kill him.

Perhaps had the two resurrected Hokages been able to battle Sarutobi the fight would have been different.

As it was now Orochimaru had only gotten a lucky shot when Sarutobi had decided to put an end to the battles that had been going on. The old man had known it would come down to this; the Edo Tensei was a jutsu that only had a few counters that worked. And the only strategy he could use was to seal the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage's using the Shikki Fuujin, the same jutsu that had been used to help seal the Kyuubi inside of Naruto.

The Snake Sannin looked up to see the robed and purple skinned Shinigami floating behind Sarutobi, it's hand plunged deep into the old Hokage's back, going through the man like a specter and into Orochimaru himself. Orochimaru could feel his soul leaving him as the seconds ticked by; it was the singular most painful thing he had ever felt, like his very being was getting burned by fires that were even hotter than the black flames of Amaterasu. He looked back towards his old mentor and mentally cursed the man out with every word he knew.

"I will not let your ambitions ruin this village anymore Orochimaru!" Sarutobi panted out as blood began to dribble down his mouth, "Both of us will now be going into the belly of the Shinigami, where we will face each other in eternal combat as our souls are consumed!"

"Curse you old man! I will not be dying here!" Orochimaru twitched his fingers, trying to make the sword in Orochimaru's back dig itself in deeper. It did not budge much but he saw Sarutobi wince. He looked back down at the arm plunged into his chest, and saw that his soul had moved back in a little bit. However, much to his displeasure, it was pulled back out again.

"My ambition will not die here you old coot! This will accomplish nothing! I will still watch this village burn to the ground! Everything will be consumed and I will not be satisfied until I have destroyed everything you have ever held dear! This village will crumble before the days end!"

The elderly Hokage stared at his student for several long seconds, before he smirked, "You should know better than to underestimate the shinobi of this village Orochimaru. Each one of them is fighting to protect their home! Giving their all and letting the Will of Fire burn within them! They will not be defeated so easily! Even should I die, so long as there are still Konoha shinobi left to fight, you will not win!"

Within one of the market districts in Konoha, dozens of Oto ninja ran through the now nearly deserted streets. The place had become eerily quiet, however all that was about to change.

Several hundred shuriken suddenly poured at them from above, killing many Oto ninja with strikes in the head and injuring many more. Those who had survived looked up to see a female ANBU kunoichi with purple hair and a cat mask, along with a dozen other ANBU ninja. The one in the cat mask raised her sword, "This is for Hayate-kun!"

Several dozen Suna and Oto shinobi were surrounding a man with long white robes and white eyes with veins popping out of them. He watched calmly while his enemies moved around him, not bothering to look behind since his eyes already knew they were there.

"Come on! It's just one man!" An Oto ninja yelled out.

This had the effect of all the ninja charging at him. However, in that single second the man began to spin as chakra poured out of all of his tenketsu points.

"Hakkeshou: Kaiten!" a large blue dome of chakra appeared around him, blasting the Oto and Suna ninja away with enough force that when the ninja smashed into rocks and trees, they ended up going right through them. When the attack ended, the only sign it had happened was the round trench that surrounded the man.

Hiashi looked to see all of the enemy ninja were dead and allowed a small, almost unnoticeable smirk to grace his features, "The Hyuuga are the strongest clan in Konoha, remember that."

"Baika No Jutsu!"

The loud voice sounded out as Akimichi Chouza, the father of Chouji, grew several times larger than the buildings he was walking amongst. He held onto his halberd in one hand and made a swipe at his feet, almost similar to someone sweeping the dirt away with a broom. And like when that dirt was swept away, so to were the many Suna and Oto ninja who were in the way.

On a building just a few meters away, Nara Shikaku, Shikamaru's father was facing off against several enemy shinobi, "Man this is so troublesome; know that this is the end for all of you. Kage Kubi Shibari No Jutsu (Shadow Neck Binding jutsu)!"

The four ninja who had been captured by the man's previous jutsu, were now subject to getting their own necks snapped by their very own shadows.

"Shinranshin No Jutsu (Mind Derangement Jutsu)!" came the shout of Ino's father, Yamanaka Inoichi. As soon as the name of the technique was called, one of the Suna shinobi he had been battling began to attack his comrades, lunging at them with a kunai.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Screamed one of them as the kunai was plunged into his stomach.

"I-I don't know! I can't control my body!"

Soon the sounds of screams were all that was heard as the Suna ninja killed his own teammates, before he himself was killed by Inoichi.

With the attack finished, Shikaku appeared next to his long time teammate, while Chouza stomped over to them, still standing several dozen feet above his comrades.

"It's just like old times isn't it!" Chouza guffawed with a booming laugh.

Shikaku smirked, "You said it, nothing like the reunion of the old Ino-Shika-Cho trio."

Within one of the forests owned by the Aburame clan, Shibi and his son Shino watched impassively as their Kikkai bugs swarmed over the Chunin who had tried to attack Konoha, only to retreat when Konoha began fighting back. They did not let the screams of their enemies bothered them, whilst their bugs sucked the enemy ninja dry of chakra.

When all of the ninja were dead, Shibi turned to his son, "You have done well son."

"Thank you father," Shino said, his tone impassive, much like his dads.

"Gatsuuga!" The cry came from above, and the three Oto ninja only had time to look up before a spinning drill slammed into each of them. The ninja cried in pain as they were ripped into small chunks of flesh. The spinning drills soon revealed themselves to be three dogs, which quickly jumped onto the roofs and joined two female kunoichi and a much larger and older canine.

"That was a nice attack Hana," Inuzuka Tsume complimented her daughter, before turning her attention to her companion. "Are you ready Kuromaru!"

"Of course Tsume-sama!" The aging dog with the eye patch barked.

Ibiki looked at the giant snakes in consternation, not at all happy with their inability to take them out. Right now many of the ninja with him were trying to stall the giant triple-headed snake, launching jutsu after jutsu at them. But this did not seem to have any visible effect on it, other than to make it mad and lash out against the Jonin attacking it. The snake was slowly but steadily making its way into the village, and with that giant Tanuki already here, he did not want another large creature to get in and wreak havoc.

To make matters worse, there were more Suna and Oto ninja pouring in through the gap that the three headed snake was making. And with his ninja starting to fatigue it would make them easy pickings for them when they caught them, "Damn it! We're not equipped to handle this!"

However, just when all hope seemed lost, two things happened to lift moral. The first was the shocking appearance of Gamabunta over near the giant form of Shukaku. This had many people rallying at seeing the giant Toad once again facing down a demon, much like it had when Minato Namikaze had summoned it during his battle with the Kyuubi.

The second was the loud shout of, "Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi No Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu: Food Cart Destroyer)!" after the shouted jutsu a large toad with two swords strapped to its back descended on top of the three headed snake, smashing the thing flat and sending it back to the summoning realm.

"It's been a long time hasn't it Ibiki!" A voice came from atop the toad, "My, what have they been feeding you! You've gotten so big, compared to the little shrimp you used to be!"

"J-Jiraiya-sama!" Ibiki shouted in shock. If Jiraiya was here, then who had summoned Gamabunta?

"That's right little Chikadees! Open those small beady eyes and stand in awe!" Jiraiya shouted as he began hopping left to right on one of his feet, "The master at dealing with the most freaky and unusual things! It's the one, the only, Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku! The great, the gallant Jiraiya-sama!"

Had the sight of the large toad and the appearance of a man who was famed as being one of the most powerful ninja in Konoha not brought fear upon the Suna and Oto ninja present, they would have all face-faulted at the utterly ridiculous entrance. Not that it stopped several of the Konoha ninja from doing so.

However, those who already knew of the man's general… eccentricity were not bothered by this and were greatly relieved, albeit also confused to see the Gama Sennin. One of those people were Ibiki himself, who Shunshin'ed onto the toad, bowing his head to the white haired man.

"Where's Sarutobi-sensei?" asked the white haired man as he turned to Ibiki.

"At the stadium Jiraiya-sama," Ibiki stood back up. "If I may ask, since you are here, who is the one who summoned Gamabunta-sama?"

Jiraiya looked at Ibiki and smirked, "Why the newest summoner of the Toad contract of course! A gaki, whom I hear has gotten rather famous for his many pranks in the village, and someone who's Will of Fire burns brightest."

"You are a fool Orochimaru! A monster in human flesh! You hunger for jutsu, but in your quest for power and jutsu you have forgotten where true strength comes from!" Sarutobi grinned as Orochimaru grit his teeth in both anger and a small amount of fear, "It is only when a shinobi protects the things and people most precious to them that they find true strength!"

As Gamabunta closed the distance between them and Shukaku, the two giant creatures began firing off their respective jutsu.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he watched the overgrown tanuki get closer. Fifty, forty, thirty feet. That should do it,Naruto waited until the next attack created a nice distraction for him, and then he jumped up and over the explosion, using the added boost from Kyuubi's chakra to give him that extra reach. Naruto descended on Gaara face first, using his wind chakra to add speed to his descent before flipping around.

"True strength comes from protecting something precious to you!" Orochimaru asked with a sneer. "You've gone senile in your old age Sarutobi-sensei! It's no wonder this village is burning as we speak!"

Sarutobi, despite the pain he was in, and the blood pouring out of his mouth, smirked, "I think this is enough. We both know that I do not have the power to suck your entire soul out. However do not think I will be just letting you walk away. For you, a man who is obsessed with learning all of the jutsu in the world, I feel this will be a most fitting punishment. I will strip you of your ability to use jutsu!"

Orochimaru's eyes widened as he stared in shock and fear as he watched the Shinigami pull his soul taut, stretching his soul out and pulling out both of his arms until they were visible; then the spectral god took his knife and raised it above his head, a final crescendo to Orochimaru's punishment, right before he brought the knife down.

"No! Stop this!" Orochimaru's shout went unanswered and he watched in horror, and then pain, as his ghostly arms were cut off and consumed by the Shinigami.

"Fuuin (Seal)!" Sarutobi shouted as he made a hand seal. A flash of brilliant white light shot from Sarutobi's chest as the Shinigami's hand retracted, taking the old Hokage's soul with it. When the light disappeared, Sarutobi was panting heavily as a seal similar to the one on Naruto's stomach appeared. Meanwhile Orochimaru was forced to watch in horror as his arms went from their pale white to black, and a burning indescribable pain came over them.

"There…it is done…" Sarutobi panted, "Both of your arms have been sealed inside of me and your jutsu are now inaccessible to you. No longer will your hunger for jutsu be quenched."

"You damned old fool!" Orochimaru cursed; all sense of composure and sanity lost in his world of anger and pain, "Give me back my arms!"

"You are pathetic, Orochimaru. Your arms are gone, forever in the grasp of the Shinigami," Sarutobi started to sway as he felt his life force leaving him. "Farewell my sad former student. It is unfortunate that we will not meet in the next life."

"Damn you old man!" Orochimaru cursed and swore, using every vulgarity he could think of. However, Sarutobi could no longer hear any of it. He looked at his former student with a content smile, closing his eyes before life left him.

"Rise and shine you son of a bitch!" Naruto smashed right into Gaara's shoulders. The force of the blow sent them both straight through Shukaku's body, forcing it to collapse on itself since it no longer had a medium to hold it. The pair crashed straight into the ground as sand fell down all around them.

"Holy shit…"Gamabunta mumbled, almost fropping his pipe as he watched the obviously insane blond stomp a mud whole straight through Shukaku. "Jiraiya's definitely picked an interesting one this time. I'm actually pretty interested to see how this will end. Unfortunately I'm nearly out of chakra, but I look forward to seeing more of what this Uzumaki kid can do." With that the giant toad disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto grunted as he dragged himself and Gaara out of the now giant sand pit, spitting up the sand that had managed to get in his mouth. "Kami, I'm beginning to fucking hate sand!" Naruto spit up more sand as he dropped Gaara and watched the other genin back away.

"No! Stay away! You will not end my existence!" Gaara shouted as he tried his best to back away from the blond Genin.

"Oh shut the fuck up you damn pussy," Naruto shouted in annoyance. "You're a shinobi aren't you? You deal with death every fucking day! You son, you need to grow a pair if you're afraid of a little thing like death." Naruto began rolling his shoulders, listening to them crack, "Kami, I'm so fucking tired. If I don't make Chunin from this I'm just gonna say screw it. I need a vacation…"

Gaara looked at the blond who had basically just trounced him, and was now acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, "How? How are you so strong? I always fight only for myself, yet you beat me. What makes you so strong?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "That's easy. I'm strong because I don't fight for myself. I only fight to protect my precious people, my friends and those I've begun to consider family."

Gaara looked confused, "But I…don't understand. Why would you fight for anyone other than yourself?"

Naruto sighed, "Because they saved me from myself. You and I are a lot alike, you know that? Hated for something we had no control over, for something that was done to us by others. I remember the glares, the hatred, and the isolation I suffered because of my burden. However unlike you, I worked hard and eventually gained friends, people who accepted me, who saved me." Naruto glared at Gaara, "And if you ever try to hurt my precious people or my village again, not even Kami will protect you from my wrath."

Naruto shifted his attention when Gaara's two siblings jumped down from the clearing and got into fighting stances. The blond just shook his head, "You really don't want to be doing that. I'm tired, I'm pissed, I've got sand in places I really don't want to think about and I just beat the piss out of the guy who scares the piss out of you two. Mess with me, and I'll give both of you a beating that your ancestors will feel."

The two Suna siblings glared at the blond who had dismissed them so easily.

However, the blond noticed this and merely gave the two a grin, "Now then, we're all going to go back to Konoha proper, and I'm gonna take you two into custody. And by me, I mean we, and by we, I actually mean her."

Naruto pointed behind the pair, who could do nothing as they felt the butt end of a kunai hit the back of their necks, knocking them unconscious.

"Yo Yugi-chan!" Naruto grinned as he made three Kage Bunshins to carry the sand siblings, "Come to congratulate me on my awesome fight?"

Yugito shook her head and smiled, "That had to be the craziest and most reckless attack I have ever seen in my life."

"At least it will give your grandkids something to talk about for years to come. I have a feeling this battle is gonna be something they put down in the history books." The blond Konoha ninja tried to move only to fall flat on his face, "What the hell!"

'Looks like those three Kage Bunshin you made used up nearly all of your youki,' Kyuubi informed him, 'you've only got enough to keep you conscious.'

'Goddamn it that sucks!' Naruto complained, 'I just got finished kicking ass and this totally killed my awesome factor!'

'Perhaps you should learn to converse your youki more,' Kyuubi suggested as she snickered at her container's plight. Sometimes it was the little things that could make her smile.

'Shut up…' Naruto grumbled before he felt himself being lifted off the ground. Looking to his left he saw Yugito with his arm over her shoulder, and her arm wrapped around his waist. He gave his fellow Jinchuuriki a smile, "Thanks Yugi-chan."

Yugito looked at Naruto and smiled back, "You're welcome," she paused before giving him a grin, "though I hope you don't expect me to carry you around after every battle you have."

Naruto smirked, "Are you saying you don't like being this close to me Yugi-chan? You seemed to be pretty content feeling me up the last time we were doing this," When he saw her blush Naruto added a point for himself. Deciding to take it a step further he added, "Not to mention you pinched my ass, I still have to get you back for that you know."

Having gotten herself under control Yugito looked at him with a smirk of her own, "Oh well then be my guest."

She bumped her hip into his, "It's right here waiting for you after all." She gave him a grin, "Of course since you can't move that's kind of a moot point isn't it?"

Naruto gave her a mock glare, "Once I recover I'm seriously going to make you regret making fun of me Yugi-chan."

"Aww, don't be like that Naruto-kun," the blond woman purred, "You know I love you."

"You sure don't act like it with how mean you're being," Naruto sniffed, "Meanie."

The two continued their game of words as Yugito led/carried Naruto back into Konoha.

Little did the blond shinobi know that tragedy was waiting for him after the battle.

(Several Days later…)

Two figures stood atop a small hill overlooking Konoha, both of them were wearing black cloaks with red clouds and straw hats on their heads.

"You know, for having come out of a war, they seem to be doing pretty good." The much taller figure said, "Are you feeling nostalgic being back in your home village?"

The shorter figure looked up, revealing a pair of red eyes with three tomoe in each, "No."

Service