Konoha Crush

Within seconds, the entire arena was filled with Naruto clones. Gaara was on the edge now, completely blinded by Bloodlust as he began to attack. Waves of sand were sent flying everywhere.

The clones did good to avoid the attacks as they moved about the arena. The movement confused everyone that was watching what was unfolding, all but the caster Naruto.

Gaara suddenly shrieked as the sand converged in front of him and burst as smaller concentrated drops of sand made their way at Naruto and his clones. Naruto's eyes widened at the attack. This was not good.

White smoke gradually began to fill the arena as the clones were pelted by the attack. How he avoided the attack was still a mystery to him, but not for long as one landed a hit on his leg. He flinched and fell to his knees.

"Is that all?!" Gaara asked with a smug grin. "I expected more." This time his face became more cynical.

In the Stands

"What the hell is that blond doing?" Sasuke asked, apparently pissed.

"This is definitely not good for Naruto." Sakura had her hands held in front of her as if praying. "What's going to happen now?"

In the Arena

Naruto tried to make his way to his feet, but the pain would not let him.

"It's over!" Gaara said with a loud cry as the wave of sand made for Naruto. The blond tried to escape but it wrapped him up and began to twist his body.

Naruto's cries filled the air as gasps escaped everyone's mouth. Gaara was too filled with bloodlust and was all giddy from his current kill.

Somewhere in the shadows, a person was watching the fight.

"Orochimaru-sama. Your plans are just too diabolical." The figure's eyes narrowed as he was about to make a seal. "Guess it's time to take effect."

The arena was silent at Naruto's death. Team 7 was shocked. Gaara's sand fell to the ground but it only revealed white smoke. Now the entire arena was shocked, but before they could voice their thoughts, a loud cry filed the arena.

"Ya missed me!" all eyes turned to the roof to see Naruto descending, his hands formed a seal. "Kage bunshin no jutsu."

A single clone formed and Naruto used that clone as a launching platform to a corner of the arena and from there he summoned more clones. They all stood on the walls of the arena as if waiting for a signal.

Gaara's eyes locked with Naruto's as they stared at each other.

"How are you still alive?!" Gaara screamed.

In the Stands, a lot of people were wondering the same thing. How the hell was Naruto still alive? They were happy he was alive but…

"That is one lucky blond," Sasuke said as he huffed.

Hinata was feeling relieved. Naruto was alive and kicking.

The figure in the shadows retreated slightly. "It seems the time is not yet come. How do you plan on doing this, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto decided to break the stand off. He gave the signal and each clone made their way for Gaara, but they weren't attacking him. Gaara's sand would react only to have the clones jump away from him.

They were just fakes, to redirect everyone's attention from the real attack. From the corner of the arena they would jump, land on the floor of the arena and would take off again, coming in close to Gaara before shooting off and impacting the arena wall, repeating the process over and over again.

With one clone, this wasn't a problem. But in Naruto's case, you had hundreds of clones. They created a smokescreen effect that masked the original well.

"Fight me, damn it!" Gaara screamed as he began to lash out with his sand. The clones did their best to lengthen their distance from Gaara and at the same time avoid the long range sand and that was when Naruto made the move.

"Aargh," Gaara said as his sand shot off just to barely catch a shuriken that made for his face.

The arena was surprised to say the least. Gaara looked at Naruto who hadn't stopped his clones from moving.

"Kakashi-sensei what happened?"

The masked jōnin had used his sharingan to watch Naruto's movement and was able to see what the blond had done.

Using the clones as a smokescreen, Naruto had launched a lone shuriken that only he and his clones were aware of. His plan was to confuse Gaara and his sand.

Seeing how his plan was nearly a success, Naruto pressed on. No other clone stayed back with him as the shuriken were launched at the redhead, with the sand been barely able to keep up.

Naruto smirked as he held two shuriken and launched them. Mid-flight, one shuriken slammed into the other one and diverted its course as the shuriken evaded Gaara's sand and flicked his cheek, earning a slight graze.

"He cut him," Sakura yelled with a punching motion.

Naruto had just cut Gaara. His plan was a success. The arena began to rain shuriken and this time, Gaara was prompted to assist his sand in defending.

More shuriken continued to make their way towards Gaara only to be stopped by his Sand's defense. Naruto knew that if he continued this course then it may take time before he and Gaara would end their match.

He called back his clones and gave command as all of them surrounded Gaara on all sides. They launched their attack as they continue their rapid movements and this time more shuriken were launched. Gaara continued his defense but was able to make out Naruto preparing something.

The shuriken attacks became more ferocious and Gaara was forced to cover himself in a protective dome of sand. The sand was packed so that the shuriken bounced off of it.

"Perfect," Naruto said as he released all clones except one after they completed their shuriken launch.

Naruto was smiling as he held a lone shuriken in his hands. He launched it straight at Gaara's dome. His clone clasped both hands together. " Fuuton: Reppūsho (Wind Release: Gale Palm)".

Immediately the rush of wind from the clone, caused the shuriken's speed to increase drastically. The shuriken weaved through the air as it impacted the sand dome.

"It didn't do anything," Sakura said as she saw the shuriken stick itself into the sand dome.

"I don't think that was what Naruto was aiming for," Sasuke said as he eyed the blond, trying to think about what was going through his mind.

Everyone watched as Naruto recalled his clone. The boy was smirking. He made a seal with the index and middle fingers of both hands. "Explode."

The shuriken responded and did just that. An explosion, albeit a small one erupted from Gaara's sand dome as it blew up the sand dome and covered the area in smoke.

Naruto dove down from the arena wall and took out a kunai, ready just in case anything was to happen.

The smoke cleared to reveal Gaara with some burns on his body. The redhead was unmoving for a while.

Genma was about to call the match when Gaara screamed. "Yes! Yes! Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto was confused. Why was Gaara screaming his name?

"Truly your blood will be sweet. I must kill you and prove myself." Gaara's eyes became filled with Bloodlust as the sand from his gourd began to flow. "I will kill you."

Now Gaara seemed deranged and totally out of it.

In the shadows, the figure smiled. It was time to act.

Drowsiness became the order of the day as everyone in the arena stands began to feel sleepy.

"Genjutsu," were the words that escaped Kakashi's mouth as he dispelled the move.

An explosion rocked the arena and smoke began to fill the area beneath the stands secluding Naruto and Gaara from everyone's vision.

"Sasuke," Kakashi said as he called the teen. The young uchiha had his sharingan activated. He had seen through the genjutsu and had dispelled it. So had Sakura.

"Kakashi," the teen replied.

At that moment, Sound ninjas burst through the walls and made their way for the conscious shinobi. Konoha was under attack.

"Sasuke, head towards Naruto and back him up. I have a feeling something's about to happen."

Sasuke nodded. He too had been feeling the sinister chakra that had been emanating from the arena. Without a second glance, he dove down as Kakashi struck a ninja and sent him flying.

With Hiruzen

Just as Baki had gotten to the Hokage's box, the Kazekage made his move.

"Kazekage-sama," Baki called and then noticed something different from the way his leader carried himself.

"Hokage-sama, that is not the Kazekage."

Hiruzen was quiet as he took in the information. Obviously it wasn't all that strange for the Kazekage to attack him, but oddly he found it strange.

"Sarutobi-sensei," the voice said. "How can you forget your favourite student."

That was not a question but a statement and realization dawned on him. "Orochimaru."

"You bastard!" Baki shouted as he took out a kunai. "What have you done with the Kazekage?"

Without sparing him a glance, snakes burst from his sleeves and bit Baki, delivering a paralytic toxin into his system. The Suna-nin fell down immediately, barely able to move his eyelids.

"Sensei what say you we take this little reunion somewhere else?"

Without waiting for an answer, Orochimaru shunshined with Hiruzen, moving the both of them to the roof where they parted as they prepared to battle.

Hiruzen was feeling a rush of emotions. Sadness at seeing what his prized student had become. Regret at being unable to finish the job years back. Anger at himself for being unable to finish the job years back. Lastly, fear that he wouldn't be able to finish the job today.

He sucked up all of this emotions and took a deep breath. His mind was made up. He would have to kill Orochimaru today else the village will suffer.

In the Arena

Sasuke had joined Naruto in the arena, and truth be told, the boy was surprised at what he saw. Gaara was writhing in pains, but it was as though he was happy with it. Gaara looked like he was merging himself with his sand. Black marks formed around his body as his screams filled the air.

"What's going on Sasuke?"

"His chakra levels are rising." Sasuke was trying his best to be level in his voice, but the boy was scared. The chakra levels were insane.

All of a sudden, Gaara turned as he burst through the arena walls and ran.

Now this surprised Naruto and Sasuke.

"What should we do now?" Naruto asked the black-haired teen.

"We go after him obviously," Sasuke said and was about to give chase when he felt his chakra spike and the Cursed seal kicked in. He flinched and fell to his knees.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke took time to calm his nerves and gain control. He let the sharingan fade and soon the marks of the seal receded.

"I'm fine. Let's go."

The two Konoha genin gave chase after the redhead.

It goes without saying that they were actually confused as to why Gaara ran, they only knew that they had to stop him at all costs.

Kakashi watched as they took off. All thoughts in his head where on how they could minimalise the damage to the Leaf, especially now that some of the jōnin were away on missions.

His thoughts drifted to Sakura and the others. It was up to them now.

"Sakura pay close attention."

Giving Chase to Gaara

Naruto and Sasuke continued their pursuit of the redhead as they leapt through the forest canopy.

Naruto watched the sight before him. Damages had been done to the trees. Gaara was on a rampage and he needed to be stopped before he hurt himself and probably others too.

Sasuke turned to his back. Behind he and Naruto were Gaara's siblings.

"We've got company," he said to the blond by his side.

Naruto nodded as he made a seal. Multiple clones appeared and immediately tossed shuriken at the siblings.

Temari was having none of that. With the aid of her fan she blew away the shuriken.

"Watch it," Sasuke said to Naruto as he ducked under some of them.

"Leave Gaara alone." She whipped her fan and sent a huge gust of wind towards them, something that ended up disorienting them. Both teens felt their bodies impact a tree, but the siblings persevered and continued towards Gaara, apparently not interested in Naruto or Sasuke.

After picking himself up, Sasuke launched a kunai attached to a paper bomb at them. It exploded and covered the place with smoke, preventing Temari and Kankuro from continuing as their movement was brought to a halt.

When the smoke cleared, Naruto and Sasuke were in front of them.

"You're not getting past us." Sasuke's voice was firm. While they had to give chase to Gaara to try and stop him, they had to ensure that he didn't regroup with his siblings, even though he wasn't in the right state of mind to do so.

"You don't understand," Temari began. "Gaara is unstable. He may just go on a rampage and destroy the village."

"Wasn't that your plan all along?" Naruto asked.

"It wasn't!" Kankuro shouted.

"I find that hard to believe," Sasuke replied with a low tone, hand already clutching a kunai.

Before either side could make a move, two figures dropped in between them.

"Shino! Kiba!" Naruto's voice was loud as he acknowledged his fellow shinobi.

"Kakashi sent us," Kiba started. "Given the recent events, we are to protect the village."

"But why?"

"You see that is because with the way things are, our shinobi are under pressure. The genin had to be deployed."

Sasuke smirked at Shino's monotone. "You sure you guys can handle them."

"It will be a work in the park," Kiba said with Akamaru barking in support.

With a final glance, Naruto and Sasuke continued their chase.

"Now then, shall we begin."

Naruto and Sasuke had kept on with the chase until they found Gaara. The redhead was screaming at his head to ease the pain, but he seemed to be enjoying it.

Both boys took in his appearance. His entire right side had been covered with sand, with black markings all over. The right part of his face not being an exception as his pupils were a golden colour. He also had a tail made of sand.

A shuriken from Naruto alerted him of their presence. He grinned savagely.

"Uzumaki… Uchiha. I will enjoy satiating myself with your blood." Gaara had turned completely feral.

Naruto and Sasuke said nothing as they stared at the boy. He was a monster.

He laughed, something that made Naruto cringe a bit. He noticed.

"Are you scared, Uzumaki? Are you afraid of death?"

"Naruto," Sasuke said, but the blond regained his composure.

"Like hell I'm scared! I'm gonna mop the floor with you."

Gaara laughed again. His psychotic nature seemingly increasing. "I wonder… how it is that… your blood will taste?"

This was becoming way too creepy for Naruto's comfort. "Naruto," Sasuke began. "We move on my signal."

Naruto nodded. He was quite unsure how they would win and to be sincere, he had been calling the Kyūbi but no reply.

Sasuke unsealed the Kubōkiribōcho as he charged forward. Gaara responded by sending a wave of sand at the teen. Seeing the sand, Sasuke used the sword as a shield as he reduced the impact.

Naruto moved next, five clones forming out of thin air. Each clone held a kunai as they joined the original in the charge. Gaara responded with another wave of sand but Naruto had other plans. Using his clone as a platform, he and two other clones made it past the wave as they tried to stab Gaara.

Gaara defended with his right arm before swatting them away with his tail.

Naruto felt his back hit a tree. Sasuke soon appeared by his side. "Naruto I need cover."

"For what?" The blond asked as he pulled himself to his feet.

"Kakashi taught me a jutsu and I'd like to promptly use it."

"Why didn't you use it?"

"I can only use it twice a day, or else… let's just say it isn't pretty."

Naruto nodded as he made a seal. Ten clones appeared as they charged again, this time trying to disorient the redhead.

Gaara responded with a wave of sand that Naruto and his clones were able to reduce the power of as the original took the final wave. Gaara turned in time to see Sasuke drive an electrified hand into his right arm, ripping off the sand.

Sasuke smirked as he let the attack dissipate. His left arm was slightly scarred, but nothing serious.

"What was that?"

"The chidori."

"Chidori. You mean Kakashi-sensei's technique. Damn."

Sasuke smirked. His sharingan made his smirk all the more fulfilling. He reminisced what had happened the day he was to learn the technique.

Flashback Start:

Kakashi was doing his usual routine. Mountain climbing. Sounds simple but the thing was that as a shinobi, he was required to tackle without tools. Kakashi decided to crank it up a bit by having to use only one hand. Something that he had been doing since he was a child.

By the time Kakashi had reached the edge, he was met with Sasuke.

He flipped himself up as he stood at the top, finally standing at the top and meeting Sasuke's gaze.

"Sasuke. What a surprise? To what do I owe this meeting?"

"Kakashi I need you to teach me something."

"What?"

"Anything. I need an edge in a fight."

Kakashi seemed to be deep in thought. He was contemplating what to teach the young Uchiha before an idea flashed in his mind.

"Fine. I'll teach you a technique. Hope you are ready to train right now."

"More than anything. What sort of a technique is it."

"The chidori."

Sasuke was excited but he held it in. He definitely would love to learn the jutsu that the technician of the Leaf had created.

"When do we start?"

"Right now."

Flashback End

Sasuke smirked. The training had been brutal because he had to make sure that his hand was capable of bearing the brunt of the chidori.

The boy had spent a great deal assaulting the rocks atop the mountain and definitely the formulation of the lightning chakra around his hand was also hard.

He smiled. The difficult part was over and he had learnt a powerful technique.

Gaara was in pain. That was good. What wasn't good was that he was recovering from the injury as the sand wrapped his body even more and it even began to cover his left side.

Gaara's face had become unrecognisable. He gave a loud cry as he turned to face Naruto and Sasuke.

"Is that all! I want more! More!"

Sasuke cringed slightly as he felt the effect of chakra drainage on himself.

"Wait. Wait. I have a new jutsu too."

Sasuke was able to catch himself as he looked up with interest. He watched as Naruto bite his hand, drawing blood and making seals. The blond slammed his hand on the ground and smoke filled the area. When the smoke died down, a small toad was present.

"Is that…"

Naruto's face mirrored defeat. He had tried to summon a toad to help him, but had ended up summoning this abomination.

"I hate you," he told the toad who shrugged.

"Why did you summon me?"

Naruto grit his teeth in anger as Sasuke looked at him with a questioning look.

"It was supposed to be large, at least larger than… this."

The toad was offended. "I'll have you know that my father would be upset if he found out about this."

"We don't have time for this," Sasuke said as he watched Gaara ready an attack. He leapt back as Naruto caught the young toad and dove to one side as a huge gust of air passed where they once stood.

"Ugh," Naruto said as he made a clone. "Don't leave his side." He left the young toad with his clone as he joined Sasuke.

"What next?" he asked as they avoided another gust of sand. Before they could think of anything however, Gaara had launched himself into the air as he slammed Naruto into a nearby tree, the tree shaking from the impact.

Sasuke quickly tried to divert himself but Gaara caught him as he was driven to the ground.

The toad winced from his spot. "Brutal." Gaara took notice of this and launched an attack. Luckily, Naruto had recovered and made his way towards them, intercepting the attack with a clone he created.

Gaara was not done with his assault as he caught Naruto with his sand and launched the boy into the air.

"Sand shuriken."

From his sand, multiple shuriken formed and made their way towards the blond who was disoriented. He held himself tightly and braced for the impact. Before the sand could hit him, Naruto felt a force jerk him away from their path.

"Thanks Sasuke."

"Thank me after we beat that."

Gaara crouched down slightly. He was about to jump. Naruto turned to look at Sasuke before nodding. The young Uchiha mirrored his actions and soon multiple clones filled the clearing.

"Let's do this!" Naruto yelled and the clones made their move. They were jumping from tree to tree, moving in a matter similar to how they did during the exams. This time however, they would nick at Gaara with their kunai, irritating the redhead.

As the clones flew over Gaara, Sasuke descended once more. His arms coated with the lightning chakra from his chidori as he tore through Gaara's sand. Gaara poured more sand into his defense but was unable to match Sasuke's ruthless speed.

As the Uchiha passed Gaara, Naruto came down on him with a kick that launched the redhead, backwards and into a tree. Without wasting much time, they turned to face Gaara's beaten form. The redhead was stirring as he slowly but surely got to his feet.

He clutched his head as though he was in pain. Gaara's scream filled the forest as he was brought to his knees in pain.

Gaara made a seal this time as the sand seemed to swirl around him. Gaara disappeared amidst the sand and the sand… grew. Naruto quickly dispelled his clone and took a hold of the toad that he had unknowingly summoned, as he and Sasuke made way for higher ground.

The sand destroyed most of the nearby trees in the area, crushing them under its might as it easily towered over the tree tops. The trees destroyed, the sand converged as it began to take on shape. It grew legs and arms and the tail elongated further. Huge jaws were the trademark of what was in front of them as Naruto and Sasuke watched in horror. The figure had black markings over its body and at the top, specifically the forehead, was Gaara.

Naruto felt something tear away at his gut. Kyūbi was acting up a bit. Apparently that was not a good sign.

Sasuke's eyes widened in horror. Gaara or whatever that thing was. It was huge. How were they going to fight that. He was just about out of chakra. He had used the chidori twice already and his sharingan didn't help matters too.

Without wasting time, a large wave of sand spread forth in all directions towards them. Gaara wanted to bury them alive.

"This is not good," Sasuke said as Gaara's laugh echoed in his ears louder than it actually was. "What do we do?"

Naruto was silent. He was kicking himself. He only knew of one thing that could fight that and he couldn't summon it. Or maybe he could.

He drew blood from his body and made the seal again as he tried the summoning technique. Before his hands hit the ground he spoke to Sasuke. "Hold on tight." Sasuke nodded just as Naruto's hand touched the ground.

A large cloud of smoke filled the forest and as it cleared, it revealed a large toad.

"Boss!" Naruto yelled. He finally did it. He knew the Kyūbi must have finally heard him.

They toad's eyes moved to look at who stood atop his head. He recognized Naruto and another kid that he did not know.

"Boss I need your help. Please help me beat that." Naruto pointed at whatever the hell that was.

"No," came the toad's Curt reply.

"But why? You said you would accept me as an underling."

"We haven't shared saké yet so I am afraid I cannot do that."

All of a sudden the toad in Naruto's hand bounded forward. "Pops."

Now to this the large toad was surprised. "Gamakichi! What are you doing here?"

"Pops, I was playing with my friend and that guy tried to kill me."

"He did eh. Fine I'll take him down. He'll realize why they call me the Boss Gamabunta."

Without wasting time, Gamabunta unsheathed his sword and dashed at Gaara, nicking away one arm.

"The One-Tailed Tanuki," Naruto and Sasuke heard Gamabunta say.

"Tanuki?"

"A monstrosity of chakra just like the Kyūbi." Gamabunta watched as Gaara examined himself. "You see those rings on his eyes. It is a sign of been possessed by that Tanuki. He doesn't let his hosts sleep."

"Why?" Sasuke asked in confusion.

Gamabunta seemed to look at him for some time as he blinked slowly. "Because if they sleep, then he gains control of their body and eats away at their soul."

Sasuke cringed a bit, but he didn't let it show.

"We're in luck," Gamabunta started. "He's still awake, so it would be best to take him out now."

As he said this, Gaara made a seal. "Feigning sleep technique ( Tanuki Tenri no jutsu)."

"That's not good," Gamabunta muttered, but before Naruto or Sasuke could ask anything, Gaara slumped. His eyes clearly closed and the voice was replaced with a new one.

"Finally! I'm free. I can now do as I please. Oh the light is so bright. What should I do? What should I do?" His eyes noticed Gamabunta. His excited face soon hardened at the sight of the toad.

"Things are about to get rough."

The Tanuki eyed Gamabunta for a second before he slammed his hands on his belly and let loose a powerful gust of wind. Gamabunta had to jump high to avoid getting caught by the attack.

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw trees uprooted by the shear force of the attack.

As Gamabunta landed, he gave instructions. "Listen closely kids. I can't win against that now that he is fully awakened. I need you to wake Gaara up."

"Wake him up?"

"The technique he's using has given the Tanuki free reign. If he wakes up, then the technique will be cancelled."

"How are we going to do that?"

"I'll get you close to him so that you can make your move and…"

Gamabunta didn't get to complete the statement as another gust came at him. He leapt up only to find another one heading towards him. He made a seal as a surge of water escaped his mouth and met the gust.

Rain poured down hard on the area as Gamabunta landed. The One Tailed Tanuki slammed his tail as he unleashed a wave of sand once more.

Gamabunta focused as he unleashed a torrent of water to counter the wave of sand.

"Are you ready?" he said immediately to Naruto and Sasuke. Without bothering to wait for their response, he tossed them at the One Tailed Tanuki.

Their screams ripped through the air at the helplessness they found themselves in. Gamabunta launched two attacks to make sure that the Tanuki's attention was on him, and as soon as Naruto and Sasuke landed, he dashed forward.

Now the Tanuki was enraged. Gamabunta was charging at him as though he was unaware of the power he possessed. The One Tail gave a loud cry as an even more powerful gust tore through the forest towards Gamabunta.

Sasuke shook slightly as he and Naruto fought to hold their ground to avoid falling off of the Tanuki's body.

They were getting close to Gaara with some distance between them when the sand made its way around their legs and holding them in place.

"Damn," Sasuke muttered as a smaller wave made itself at him and Naruto. The Uchiha didn't waste time in releasing the Kubōkiribōcho from its confines. Sasuke felt lightning chakra run through the blade as he tore through the sand.

"Naruto!" he called and held out his hands to the blond before using the other to swipe at him with the blade, freeing him.

"Thanks," Naruto replied as he rumbled slightly. Gamabunta was still fighting this… monster. "What are we going to do about this sand?"

Sasuke was in thought as he thought of what to do. He took the blade and thrust into the sand that formed the Tanuki's body. "Go wake Gaara up."

Sasuke could feel the lightning chakra build up as he poured it through his sword. He wanted to try his best to tear through the sand as much as possible. It wasn't working.

His sharingan flared to life as he continued pouring chakra. Now that the Tanuki was focused on Gamabunta, he may just draw the attention of the sand from Naruto. He felt his cursed seal activate as it slowly began to take over every inch of his body. He hated this. That he didn't have enough power. He wouldn't be able to beat Itachi like this.

Naruto understood what was going through Sasuke's head. He wanted to draw the attention of the sand so that he could get to Gaara without intrusions and so far it was good. He had gotten to the redhead and now was the matter of waking him up.

He felt his fist hit Gaara's face, but there was no reaction. Again his left fist slammed into the boy's face and still no reaction. Naruto was beginning to wonder if actions did have reactions. He got his answer in the form of sand.

Yes sand. It snaked its way around Naruto, trapping him in place, and slowly began to inch its way up his body. He gasped. He couldn't die here. Kyūbi he called in his thoughts.

The Nine Tailed fox was smart. He knew how to play his cards well. He smirked slightly as his chakra seeped forth from his little prison in the blond's subconscious.

Naruto felt alive again as chakra surged through him. He let it flare as he destroyed the sand covering him, and the surrounding sand could do nothing to him as he suppressed it. His fist made its way for Gaara's face and made its mark there. Naruto felt the shockwave run through the boy's face and into the sand.

Gaara's eyes shut open at once. Now at this moment, the One Tailed Tanuki was giving a beating to Gamabunta, having trapped the toad under his body. Imagine Gamabunta's shock when the fist he was expecting did not come. It was as if the Tanuki was frozen.

Naruto looked at the just awakened Gaara. He had woken the boy up, enough to suppress the Tanuki but the boy was furious. Sand swirled as Gaara held Naruto by the arm tightly. Three more waves of sand swirled as they wrapped around the other joints, holding the blond in place. Kyūbi's chakra had subsided enough for the blond to submit to Gaara.

Gaara's hand was outstretched, but before he could do anything to Naruto, lightning filled his line of sight momentarily.

Sasuke's hand was coated with the lightning from chidori. The cursed seal had completely encased his body. He had passed out momentarily but was jerked to existence by the cursed seal. Quickly he made his way towards Naruto and was able to save him from potential death. However…

Sasuke felt his legs give way as he collapsed face first into the sand. Naruto's eyes were momentarily filled with rage and this time he drew on the Kyūbi's chakra as he tore through the sand construct.

He ran towards Gaara and was about to throw a punch, but sand held him back. Seeing as he couldn't pull further, he felt his head come forward as it collided with Gaara's.

At that moment, everything ceased. Time seemed to stop as the sand that constituted the One Tail's body began to crumble. Gamabunta felt relieved. He wasn't prepared for this and his time was almost up.

"Gamakichi… I think it's time to go."

The young toad nodded as he and his father disappeared in a puff of smoke, but not before shouting encouragements to Naruto.

The blond found himself free-falling towards Sasuke's body. He was able to catch the Uchiha before falling to the ground, trees breaking his fall.

His eyes snapped up to see Gaara not too far from him. He slowly began to move.

"Stop!" Gaara yelled. He was slightly terrified at the boy that beat him, but Naruto didn't stop, crawling with his head as he made his way towards Gaara.

"Why won't you stop?"

"Because you are alone."

Gaara stopped for a moment. He tried to use his sand but he was out of chakra at the moment and exhausted.

"Trust me I know the feeling… but." Naruto kept inching closer and closer. "Yours is different."

Gaara stared unmoving on the ground. What was this idiot saying.

"You isolate yourself from others… your sand, your past has been lonely and I know how it feels… I felt that way but thanks to Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke and Sakura, I've come to see the world in a new light… If something happens to any of them… I will stop whoever did it by any cost."

Gaara was still staring. Up until now, the only reason he had had to fight was for his sake and satisfaction and not to protect. He was confused at the words. Was that what gave them the strength to fight him despite what he possessed inside of him?

"Someone once told me that… true strength comes from the desire to protect." Now the boy was utterly exhausted and slowly drifted away. His eyes were droopy, but he could swear that he saw a hint of reminiscing in Gaara's eyes.

Gaara was quiet for some time until he felt a hand on his chest. He looked up and saw the face of his elder sister. He wanted to speak, but she stopped him.

Her eyes drifted to Naruto and Sasuke's fallen bodies on the ground. Somehow Naruto and Sasuke had managed to beat her brother in that his unstable state. She felt somehow grateful to them especially when Gaara apologised. She felt a tear escape her eyes.

A bark drew her attention as Kiba burst from the forest canopies. Apparently he had given chase. He hurriedly placed himself between Gaara and Naruto. He crouched low as if inspecting the boy.

His eyes drifted to Temari as another figure came out of the trees. It was a small dog. Kakashi's dog apparently.

He turned to look at Temari and nodded to her. She took it as a sign to leave and she carried her brother away. Baki had explained everything to them so the Sand's name had been cleared from the invasion.