Chapter Twenty-Three: "Cornered Beast"

(Late That Afternoon At The Hokage Tower)

Naruto was sitting at the desk in the Hokage study office with the forbidden scroll opened in front of him that Sandaime gave to him. While analyzing the Shiki Fūjin, the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style and the Four Symbols Seal written in the scroll, Naruto recalled the conversation he had with Sandaime about Gaara's demeanor…

(Flashback: An Hour Ago)

Sandaime was making his way to Naruto who was waiting for him in the study office. In his hand was the forbidden scroll that had the seals that Naruto sought to study and analyze. While making his way to the office, there were a couple of factors that bothered the Sandaime about Gaara that Naruto didn't seem to explain to him and Tsunade earlier. The aged Hokage decided to ask Naruto about it after he meets up with him. Arriving at the office, Sandaime entered the room to find Naruto sitting at the desk awaiting his arrival.

"Ojiisan," Naruto greeted. Sandaime sighed again, figuring that Naruto will never stop calling him that. A small grin appeared on the blonde's face after seeing the elderly Hokage's facial expression.

"Greetings to you too Naruto," Sandaime said as he entered the office and closed the door behind him. The older man went over to the desk and handed Naruto the scroll.

"The forbidden scroll as promised," Sarutobi said as Naruto took the scroll from him. The blond Sannin-level Elite Genin unsealed the scroll and opened it before resting it down on the desk. He rolled the scroll opened until he got to where he wanted.

"Perfect," Naruto said as he seal the three seals he wanted to study and analyze before developing the method needed to fix Gaara's seal. While he was doing this, Sandaime decided to voice his thought, "Naruto, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Based on what you told me about Gaara," Sandaime started, "I would like to know why didn't he come right out and attack you where you stood. Since you informed your mother and I that his bijuu is unstable, it stands clear to me that he had every opportunity to attack you yet he didn't. He remained completely calm from what you said."

"Gaara appeared calm," Naruto said, "But I saw in his eyes that he was actually struggling hard to keep Shukaku at bay as that bijuu looked for every opportunity to seduce Gaara into attacking me. I had to present myself to the farthest extent possible to Gaara that I in no way posed as a threat to him. When I saw that I couldn't exactly gain his trust that readily I gave him my trust by showing him my seal that contained Kyuubi."

Sandaime made clear, "That in itself could have invoked Shukaku's influence all the more. What you took was a very risky gamble Naruto."

"I guess kaa-chan's bad gambling habit rubbed off on me in more ways than one, eh jiisan," Naruto remarked, "Except I didn't get her bad luck streak."

"Be that as it may," Sandaime retorted, "But luck won't help out in this case; a miracle is what you'll need to pull this off. You do realize that this is an S-rank mission you took on unknowingly, yes?"

Naruto was quiet when he heard that statement. The blonde then replied, "Up until now, I honestly never realized that what I was doing was in fact an S-rank mission. I figured that I was helping someone who was in need of my help."

"Thinking of the needs of others ahead of your own interests," Sandaime smiled, "Take my word for it that I would have never entrusted to you that forbidden scroll if I didn't have strong confidence in you. Believe me Naruto, I have complete trust and faith in your abilities."

(End Flashback; Present Time)

Naruto looked back at the scroll again as he resumed studying the ancient kinjutsu ougi, while listening to Yondaime give his inputs about the seals.

(Several Hours Later That Evening)

It was nighttime and many were either sleeping patrolling or enjoying the night out in town somewhere. Gaara, however, was in an isolated area in the forest by himself. He wanted to be away from everyone right now. Being an insomniac, he was deprived off all sorts of sleep. While sitting on top of a large boulder, he gazed at the full moon shining in all its glory.

During the time he was sitting on the large rock, he wondered if accepting Naruto's offer was a good idea. Clearly Naruto in no way posed a threat to him and like him, he's a Jinchuuriki. The differences between them were that Naruto housed an even stronger bijuu than his, Kyuubi No Kitsune; and yet he didn't look like he was suffering from madness.

He's strong, Gaara thought, This Naruto clearly-

"I wanted that Jinchuuriki's blood," a maniacal demonic voice spoke, "Why didn't you give me his blood when I was demanding for it?"

Gaara shook his head, trying to get Shukaku's voice out of his mind.

"Naruto is toying with you," Shukaku said, "He's only posing to want to help you so he can double-cross and kill you when you least expect it. You're nothing to him or anyone else! That's why you must prove your existence to him by killing him and taking his blood!"

The red-haired Suna shinobi struggled against the voice.

No Shukaku, Gaara tried to resist, Naruto is like me! He's the only one who can understand my pain! He-

"I WANT HIS BLOOD!," Shukaku yelled with an insane demeanor, "Naruto have blood tainted with Kyuubi's chakra! Don't trust that ninja! He'll betray you like all the others in your life! You can trust and love no one but yourself! KILL HIM BEFORE HE KILLS YOU GAARA! YOU MUST! SO WE CAN HAVE HIS BLOOD!"

Gaara held his head while trying to get Shukaku's torments out of his mind. Eventually the voice stopped leaving Gaara to pant heavily while he held his head.

(All The While)

Temari and Kankaro were walking around in search of Gaara. They sought to talk him out of what he had in mind in doing tomorrow afternoon.

"Are you sure this is a good idea," Temari asked her younger brother.

"We can't take the risk with this Konoha nin Temari," Kankuro replied, "We don't know much about Naruto besides the little facts he gave us. And since when did Gaara start trusting total strangers?"

"Look I'm as skeptic about this whole thing as you are," Temari retorted, "But Gaara seemed to have found some kind of connection with Naruto that neither of us have with him and he's our youngest brother. They're both Jinchuurikis after all."

"Listen," Kankuro replied, "Every person Gaara ever trusted turned on him and tried to kill him. What makes you think Naruto won't do the same?"

"Oddly enough Gaara doesn't seem to think so," Temari said, "Plus Gaara told us that he doesn't want us to participate in the invasion of Konoha should Naruto hold true to his promise."

"Gaara is being blinded by false hope and promises from a Genin who isn't even an experienced seal master," Kankuro countered, "And like you said earlier, Naruto could be setting up a trap for us. And the fact that he's in more control of his bijuu which is none other than Kyuubi makes him a dangerous threat."

"…We're being paranoid," Temari sighed, "…And it's so unlike us."

"Look the sooner we find Gaara," Kankuro said, "The sooner we can convince him to change his mind about this whole thing. I'd hate for him to be seen as something far worst than he already is by our own people. We both know that everyone in Sunagakure look down at Gaara, and practically everyone fear and hate Gaara. These are factors that Naruto can not possibly understand, even if he is a Jinchuuriki like Gaara."

Temari didn't want to believe everything her younger brother was saying but she knew he was telling the truth. In truth, parts of her wanted to believe that Naruto could live up to his promise in fixing the seal on Gaara, especially since Naruto was the first person in a long time who actually sought to help Gaara without bothering to know about his past.

(Meanwhile Back At the Hokage Tower)

Naruto was sitting at the desk with a bunch of written and crossed out notes. For several hours Naruto, with Yondaime's assistance, worked round the clock studying the seals needed for Gaara's seal repairs.

"This is so frustrating," Naruto vented as he slammed his fist down on the desk, "I never expected that this ancient kinjustu ougi would have been this complicated."

'Welcome to the wonderful world of sealing,' Yondaime joked.

That wasn't very funny, Naruto remarked with frustration.

'Just trying to lighten the mood,' Yondaime replied, 'Remember you put yourself up to this. Think of it as part of your training to surpass me.'

You still haven't taught me the Hiraishin, Naruto shot back.

'That's because I don't see you ready to learn that jutsu yet.'

So as a substitute, Naruto argued, I had to learn to use and incorporate Shunshin into my style of fighting with ero-jisan's guidance and training. As you saw for yourself, it was no easy task.

'But you did it. Even without the Hiraishin you proved to be a capable ninja by developing your own style of combat. Life is about change Naruto; sometimes you can't rely on the old ways to fix new problems. That's way revisions of the old ways are often made to fit the needs of new generations.'

"That's it!," Naruto shouted as he shot up from his seat after receiving an epiphany.

'Huh?'

Revising the old ways, Naruto replied, That's the key! Dad you're a genius!

Sitting back at the desk, Naruto looked through the forbidden scroll again to analyze the ancient Shiki Fūjin.

I think I can pull this off, Naruto thought with a new vigor of determination coursing through him.

'Did I miss something,' Yondaime asked.

(Elsewhere In The Hokage Tower)

Tsunade had just return to her office from her meeting with the council. The topic that was up for discussion was Haku's entry into Konoha as a new citizen. Tsunade explained in detail everything Naruto, Kakashi and Team 7 told her about their mission and Haku. Needless to say, the council was most thrilled about Haku being accepted as a new member Konoha, especially with her bloodline limit. Tsunade saw how the council and elders were most pleased with how Naruto handled the situation with Haku and how he negotiated and offered her the chance to join Konoha and put her ninja and medic skills into good use as a Konoha nin.

The council saw this as a golden chance to create a whole new clan through Haku with her bloodline limit to strengthen Konohagakure all together. Tsunade however explained that Haku won't have to worry about that until she's old enough to marry. The Godaime also added that she gave Haku a place of her own and assigned her as Shizune's assistant.

The blond female Hokage sighed while sitting at her office desk before reviewing the documents for the Chuunin exams. She saw on her desk Anko's form stating her nomination of Naruto for the exam. The blonde Hokage sighed again to herself. She knew without a doubt that her son was more than qualified to be Chuunin. Hell, he was practically qualified to become Hokage she figured. But she knew her old sensei wouldn't approve of her just handing over the position of Hokage to Naruto in spite of the fact that Sandaime himself considers Naruto a "born Hokage." Jiraiya himself looks at Naruto as the new Yondaime Hokage.

The blond Hokage then thought about what her son was planning on doing in regards to Gaara's seal. If anything, she knew that Naruto was taking a very dangerous risk but it was a risk he consciously took, though he wasn't aware at first that the task he took on for himself was in fact an S-rank mission. It amazed her that the Sandaime believed in Naruto's capabilities enough to be willing to allow him to even read and use the forbidden scroll; a privilege that even the ANBU Black Opts were never granted. What was written in that scroll were very powerful, dangerous, and deadly seals, jutsus and kinjutsu from Jounin to Kage level of various ranks. All five Hokages have written kinjutsus and kinjutsu ougis in that scroll, however Yondaime never wrote how to create and perform the Rasengan or the Hiraishin No Jutsu in that scroll.

(Later That Evening; Back In The Study Office)

Concept prototype seals were in front of Naruto on the desk. Littered on the floor around his seat were crumbled pieces of paper that had previous concept seals and hand seals he tried to devise. After much effort though, progress started being made. It was after several more attempts in creating concept seals did Naruto finally thought up a way to incorporate the revised seal designs from the Shiki Fūjin, the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style and the Four Symbols Seal into Gaara's seal. The revised seal Naruto created was a new fūin kinjutsu ougi.

After putting down on a separate scroll the incorporated modified seals he thought up for the repairs, he rolled and closed the forbidden scroll. He then rolled up and closed the other scroll he wrote in. He got up from his seat and went over to the cabinet to place both scrolls in it. Locking the cabinet securely after placing the scrolls in it, Naruto, after placing a seal marker in the room, stepped out of the study room and locked the door. He decided to take a walk to clear his mind and take a break. When he saw that no one was in sight, bit his thumb and performed some hand seals.

"Kuchiyose No Jutsu," Naruto said as he slammed his right hand to the ground result in a puff of smoke to momentarily appear. After the smoke cleared, standing before Naruto was a small orange and white two-tailed fox with blue eyes, white gloves, and red and white sneakers. (A/N: Yes it's who you think it is; this is a borrow character from Sonic The Hedgehog)

"Naruto-sama," said the small fox in a happy childish voice.

"Tails," Naruto greeted, "I have a job for you."

Tails started propelling his two tails helicopter style until he was now airborne and looking at Naruto face to face. The flying two-tailed fox asked, "Really, what it is?"

Naruto took out his seal marked kunai and handed it to the flying fox.

"Find Gaara," Naruto said, "Place this kunai in an area close to the vicinity Gaara is at but don't make any form of contact with him. Report back to me immediately after the job is done. If you do the job right, I'll reward you with the highest quality youkan with gold leaves from Amaguiriya." (A/N: a youkan is a tasty chocolate treat; watch episode 178 and you'll see what I mean)

"You got it," Tails said excitedly as he held the kunai and speedily flew off away from Naruto to the skies until he was no longer in sight.

Kyuubi-teme could learn a lot from that playful little fox, Naruto thought.

"Don't disgust me kit," Kyuubi retorted sourly, "I never actually took a liking to that little two-tailed twerp anyway. Though Tails is a very smart and gifted kit however his childish demeanor sickens me."

Which makes me fond of him all the more, Naruto shot back before Kyuubi snarled beastly in response. Saying nothing else, Naruto turned his attention to his earlier thoughts about the seals he was studying back at the Hokage study office.

…Studying, revising and making seals of that magnitude was a headache, Naruto sighed as he made his way out of the Hokage tower and into the opening.

'Yet discovering, making, studying and mastering seals were among the things us Namikazes were good for my son,' Yondaime spoke, 'I'm amazed that you managed to come up with a way to completely modify the ancient Shiki Fūjin and integrate it with the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style and the Four Symbols Seal, ultimately creating a whole new fūin kinjutsu ougi.'

It was your idea, Naruto retorted, Revising the old ways to fit the needs of new generations. I modified that ancient seal and create a whole new modernized seal. If all goes well, it should work as effectively as if the original, if not better.

'You're making me proud seeing you live up to our legacy.'

Naruto tried to fight back a blush that crept up on his face.

"Uuugghh," Kyuubi bellowed in disgust, "Such tender moments between you two makes me nauseous. You damn humans…"

Shut up Kyuubi, Naruto retorted in annoyance as he started walking from the Hokage Tower.

"I can't believe you seek to help that waste of a human life," Kyuubi said, "He's a lost cause kit. If I know Shukaku, he made that boy's life a true hell thanks to whomever made that defected seal on that boy. I'm sure that's complemented with how the people from Sunagakure might have treated the boy."

What do you mean, Naruto inquired.

"What I mean kit is that Jinchuurikis like yourself and Gaara aren't always treated like humans," Kyuubi shot back, "They're often feared, hated and treated as though they're the bijuus themselves. You've been spared Gaara's fate for the simple fact that Yondaime used a different sealing jutsu through dumb luck and sealed himself into you along with me…"

Naruto stopped walking as Kyuubi continued…

"If the situation was different and Yondaime wasn't sealed into you, his foolish ideals of you being seen as the hero who saved Konoha from me would not have been honored by the villagers or the council as his dying wish. You'd have been treated as a plague and received indescribable accounts of abuse, neglect, scorn and inhuman mistreatment from your so-called precious people. Sandaime may have tried to intervene in your behalf, but I doubt that even he would have been able to change the way the villagers would have viewed you as. They would have never seen you for what your father wanted you to be seen as by the people.

"Take my word for it kit; humans are good for betraying their own faster than other creature on this planet. Your 'precious people' would have forced you to atone for crimes and atrocities that I've committed and use you as a human scapegoat to vent their blinded anger on, as if you were responsible for all the misery that befell them when you had nothing to do with it.

"Parents would never think of adopting you; in fact they would see to it that their children never came near you and inculcate their hatred of you into them. Shopkeepers would have run you out of their stores. You would have had to salvage through trashcans for food and clothing as a homeless. Your teachers at the academy would have made your life difficult and see to it that you never became a ninja. They probably would have even tried to kill you in fact, or trick you into performing crimes for them so that way when you were caught, it'd be easy to pin the blame on you.

"If anything, you might have resorted to pulling stupid pranks on the villagers just so you can get their attention, not caring if you were being yelled at or scolded just so long as they acknowledged your existence. You would have been beaten up, teased, ridiculed and scorned by peers of your old age group on a daily basis. You'd have suffered and lived a most lonely, bitter and pitiful life with no family or friends. You'd have been seen by everyone in all of Konoha as the human incarnation of me, not as Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto contemplated on what Kyuubi was telling him. The blonde started wondering what life for him would have been like had Yondaime not been sealed away inside him. Naruto's head lowered, shooting his gaze down to his feet as he visualized life in the manner Kyuubi described it to him. He couldn't help but see truths in what the great fox was telling him. Yondaime himself remained silent as he too knew that Kyuubi was telling the truth as much as he hated to admit it. It felt like an eternity as Naruto stood fixated where he was silently. A cool breeze blew passed him, causing his white, red flame-designed vest and hair to flow with the wind. After a long moment of silence, Naruto mentally retorted…

You're right Kyuubi. My father's dying wish would not have been honored. It would have been quite the opposite really. All that you said would have indeed happened to me without question that much is true.

Yondaime lowered his head in dejection on hearing those words.

However, Naruto continued, You're wrong about a number of things Kyuubi!

Yondaime's head shot on hearing those words…

Not all humans are treacherous! I'm more than certain that there would have been those who would have seen passed the ridiculous notion of me being you incarnate! Though I would have been treated like garbage by the villagers however, I would NOT stoop to their level or retaliate in some vicious manner to prove their points! NO! I would have done everything in my power and work hard to prove to everyone that I wasn't you and that I'm my own person!

True such a feat would have been looked at as impossible, still, if even a few looked at me as a human being and not as you or another Jinchuuriki, that would have been more than enough to show that I had a chance to prove to everyone that they were wrong about me and how they treated me. In time, I would have made some real friends and earn the respect and recognition I felt I deserved from everyone. I would prove to all of Konoha that I wasn't or will ever be you, but the hero my father wanted me to be and seen as! And even then, I would have strived to become Hokage to prove that to everyone!

Kyuubi snarled at Naruto before retreating back into the darkness of his cage. Naruto for his part continued his walk through the village, while Yondaime looked on at Naruto with more respect and admiration than before. He couldn't feel more proud of his son.

(Some Time Later; Back At Forest)

Kankuro and Temari found Gaara standing on top of the large boulder in front of them. What the two Suna siblings saw was an area that was once a forest turned into a desert. From the look of things, it's clear that Gaara was going through one of his episodes with Shukaku. Realizing this, the Suna nins approached him cautiously.

"Hey Gaara," Kankuro greeted, "We've been searching for you for a while now. Is everything OK?"

The red-haired nin didn't give a reply.

"Gaara," Temari stated, "Kankuro and I came here to…talk to you."

The youngest Suna nin turned to look at the two older nins square in the face.

"About what," Gaara asked dryly. Nervously, Temari replied, "Your decision to see Naruto tomorrow."

The older Suna nins now felt strong bloodlust generating from their youngest brother much to their fright.

"You dare question me again about this," Gaara spoke with a dark tone. Temari cowered from him while Kankuro reasoned, "Listen, you're setting your hopes too high on someone we don't even know. Just because he's a Jinchuuriki like you doesn't mean we should automatically trust him."

"Yet Naruto trusted us first," Temari mumbled in an undertone which was heard by Kankuro.

"Temari," Kankuro started.

"Think about it," Temari said, "No one in Konoha but the Hokages and the Konoha council knows about Naruto's dark secret yet Naruto willingly chose to share this with us even though we're total strangers and foreigners. Doesn't that at least tell us something about him?"

Kankuro remarked, "That he's-"

"That I'm what," asked the voice belonging to the person entering the scene. The three siblings turned to see Naruto making his way towards them.

"Untrustworthy because I'm a total stranger who's a Jinchuurki helping a total stranger who so happens to be a Jinchuuriki like myself," Naruto remarked, "Before you go judging me why don't you research the facts first."

"What are you doing out here," Kankuro interrogated.

"I live in this village therefore I'm free to walk where I like," Naruto countered, "What are you two doing out here?"

"Us two," Temari asked with a confused expression, "What about Gaara?"

"I can understand his reasons for being here," Naruto replied, "Plus he's the person I came here to find."

Naruto turned his gaze from Temari and Kankuro to Gaara. The two Jinchuurikis looked at each other without saying a word in exchange. Naruto was aware of the situation after seeing what became of the near surrounding forest which was reduced to a desert wasteland.

"I'm happy to have found you out here Gaara," Naruto said while maintaining an alert demeanor, "It makes it easier for me to do what I came here for."

"KILL!," shouted a maniacal demonic voice in Gaara's mind, "KILL HIM AND GIVE ME HIS BLOOD!"

Gaara held his head, trying to get rid of the voice as he felt Shukaku's influence. The raccoon dog (tanuki) demon always did this; he altered his adrenaline and made him enjoy the thrill of killing. However Gaara did not delude himself, he liked killing all of the people. It's what they all deserved in his opinion for doing to him what they did.

'Love thy self and only thy self,' that was his motto.

"GIVE ME BLOOD! GIVE ME THE BLOOD OF THAT JINCHUURIKI!," shouted out Shukaku's voice in his mind, "GIVE IT TO ME NOW!"

Naruto saw the insane look in Gaara's eyes. The red-haired nin was ready to kill. Naruto slowly walked over to Gaara cautiously when he and the other Suna siblings felt a massive amount of bloodlust directed entirely at Naruto. The cork from Gaara's gourd popped off and out came the sand as it wrapped around Gaara. What Naruto was now looking at was a heavily disfigured Gaara standing before him with one large claw-like arm, preparing to strike.

"Your blood has been asked for Naruto!," Gaara said in a maniacal before he thrust his clawed arm at the blonde. Naruto wasted no time and ran to the side before the attack hit. The force of the attack sent him flying off his feet and down to the ground momentarily. Temari and Kankuro ran out of the way as the two Jinchuurikis prepared to fight.

"Shukaku wishes to fight huh," Kyuubi said, "Fine! I've been meaning bust that weakling's ass for some time now!

You're willing to help, Naruto asked in a mock tone shocked voice.

"Well somebody has to put that bijuu in its place," Kyuubi retorted, "And I don't want to give the impression that my container is weak."

Naruto got up and turned his gaze back to the demonically deformed looking Gaara who was drooling rather nastily. Gaara gave Naruto a maniacal smile and his geared his monstrous sand-made claw towards him.

This guy is out of control and a real threat to both himself and everyone, Naruto thought, I better end this possible death match now and fast before it attracts unwanted attention from the village.

"Tajuu Kage Bushin No Jutsu," Naruto called out as a massive army of solid clones came to life and surrounded Gaara.

"Stop him by whatever means possible," Naruto ordered before the clones charged at Gaara.

"NARUTO!," Gaara scream crazily with drool spilling out of his mouth as he charged at the clones, "GIVE ME YOUR BLOOD!"

The clones went to work in fighting with Gaara. Meanwhile, the real Naruto went to work to create the special written seal Jiraiya created and taught to him some time ago. After hurriedly preparing the seal, Naruto looked to see the clones doing everything in their power to restrain the possessed Gaara who was fighting with them fiercely with all out intent to kill and destroy everything and everyone in sight. From where Naruto was seeing it, there was no possible way to hold Gaara down long enough in order to place the written seal on him. He had to come up with another approach to this fast; time was running out.

Meanwhile, the clones were battling it out with Gaara who was putting up quite a resistance against them. Many of the clones were already smashed, crushed, pulverized or beaten out of existence by the deranged Gaara. Temari and Kankaro watched from a distance as Naruto and Gaara fought it out against each other in a savage death fight. For their own safety they decided to remain neutral as the two Jinchuurikis settled their issues or at least until one of them was left standing, alive that is.

A while later, all of the clones seem to have been puffed out of existence leaving the three Suna siblings remaining in the opening.

"NARUTO!!," Gaara yelled out maniacally with Shukaku's voice mixed in, "WHERE ARE YOU? I WANT THAT BLOOD OF YOURS!"

Naruto came speedily from the trees and body-crashed into Gaara while he dug through his kunai pockets. Gaara used his giant sand hand to dig into the ground to stop his backward momentum. Naruto took out a kunai with an exploding tag on it and threw at Gaara's feet. The possessed nin brought his large arm up to protect himself from the explosion. It blasted Gaara back a couple of more feet.

"Why are you attacking me," asked Naruto, "I'm trying to help you!"

"Kill…Your blood. I must have it! I must satisfy him!," shouted out Gaara, "Yet you're strong…how?…Why are you strong…why can't I kill you yet?"

"I don't wish to fight you," stated Naruto, "I only want to he-"

"I have to kill you….kill you…I must…to prove my existence," said Gaara as he clutched his head.

"To prove your existence," asked Naruto as he watched Gaara's predicament before Kyuubi's words from earlier came back to him. The blonde saw where Gaara was coming from after hearing those words. Shukaku was presently filling Gaara's mind with painful memories of his childhood against his will.

"GAARA!" shouted out Shukaku, "Give me more control! WE will kill him and take his blood! GIVE ME CONTROL SO I CAN HAVE HIS BLOOD!"

More of the sand encased around Gaara and now his whole body resembled that of a raccoon. Sand spikes burst from his body all aimed at Naruto. The blonde shinobi pulled out his kunai and began slashing with speed and grace destroying all of the deadly sand spikes.

Gaara's chest enlarged before he blew out a breath of chakra-filled air at Naruto. Naruto evaded to the side but was partially hit in his left arm. His arm was partly skinned and blood leaked from injury made by the attack. Naruto grabbed his wounded and bleeding arm. Taking advantage of the momentary cease fire, the possessed Gaara charged at Naruto and grabbed him by the throat before he could do anything. Sand started wrapping around Naruto from off Gaara until Naruto was completely encased with sand. The sand-covered Naruto was levitated to the air a couple of distance away from Gaara.

"He's done for," Temari said was she knew what was coming next.

"Sabaku Sōsō (Desert Funeral)," Gaara said he clenched his fist, causing the sand to implode and crush Naruto from within. But instead of seeing a sizable fountain of blood produced from the attack, smoke came from out of it.

"WHAT?," the possessed Gaara yelled in surprised.

"Kawarimi," Kankuro figured, "But when did he-"

"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique)," A hand suddenly burst from out of the ground and grabbed Gaara by the leg before pulling him down into the ground. A little more than 2/3s of Gaara's body was pulled in saved for his right claw arm. The Naruto clones that hid in the shadows waiting for an opening burst forth and tackled the claw arm and held onto Gaara's head.

"Ō Fūin (Subdue Seal)," the real Naruto said as he applied the seal paper onto Gaara's forehead. The special written seal immediately went into effect as it began to suppress the effects of the demon raccoon's chakra and personality changes. Gaara's screamed with his voice mixed with Shukaku's until the monster raccoon's influence was fully suppressed, returning Gaara back to normal as the sand was forced back into the gourd with the cork popping back over the mouth of the gourd. Temari and Kankuro stepped back out into the opening as they watched Naruto pull Gaara up from out of the ground and hold him up in front of him. The older Suna nins walked to the younger boys when they noticed something was wrong…

"Why are they staring at each other like that," Temari wondered out loud.

"It looks like they're in some kind of trance," Kankuro realized. In deed the two Jinchuurikis were. Both Naruto and Gaara were locked in gaze with each face to face. The two boys remained motionless in the fixed positions they were in.

Gaara found himself in empty opening surrounded by mist. The mist cleared to reveal a massive cage that looked to be heavily damaged and broken in a couple of places. Parts of the bars of the cage doors look like they were slashed and chewed on. On the cage was a ragged piece of paper that had the kanji for the word "seal" on it. Just then a maniacal roar came from with the damaged cage. Gaara's head shot up as he looked upon the massive light brown raccoon dog figure making its way to the cage.

"GAARA!" roared the bijuu standing in front of the cage before it lashed his claw out at him through the broken cage. The claw just barely reached Gaara's face, being mere millimeters away.

"Shukaku," Gaara answered.

"Indeed it is," replied another voice from behind Gaara.

Gaara turned to see Naruto standing some distance behind him with shallow water at his feet with the cage Kyuubi was sealed in behind the blonde. (A/N: it's the same as in the anime)

"Where are we," Gaara inquired.

"In the mindscape realm of our subconscious minds," Naruto answered, "Somehow our subconscious minds linked through some form of telepathic link. Ultimately, this is an entirely different universe being created within our minds."

Gaara looked at the cage behind Naruto before the nine-tailed bijuu appeared from behind the cage.

"So that's the great Kyuubi No Kitsune," Gaara replied calmly. Kyuubi looked at Shukaku with a mocking grin.

"Shukaku-kun," Kyuubi mocked, "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

Kyuubi started pouring out his blood red chakra through the cage and into the water, forming a water and bubble version of himself from the upper waist up, forming his head and forepaws. Kyuubi then send his representation over to Shukaku's damage cage.

"The sight of you just comes to show just how pathetic you were and have always been," Kyuubi-figure taunted, "It's no secret that you were always the stupidest and weakest of us bijuus."

Shukaku lashed out at him trying to claw the representation through the cage, but the representation didn't budge at all since Shukaku's claws were a mere few centimeters away from reaching.

"SHUT UP!," Shukaku roared, "I'LL HAVE THE BLOOD OF YOUR JINCHUURIKI YET!"

"You're too weak to even hope to accomplish that," Kyuubi-figure taunted, "Just as weak as the person who sealed you in that decrepit cage of yours. Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!"

"Stop it Kyuubi," Naruto ordered.

"You were sealed by a weakling who was nothing more than a false seal master," Kyuubi-figure continued, "Whereas I was sealed by a true and strong seal master. In spite of your lack of intelligence, I think you can see a repeating pattern."

Gaara watched as the two bijuus quarreled with each other.

"You were poorly sealed into a weakling Genin ninja," Kyuubi-figure mocked, "I was excellently sealed into a mighty Genin ninja. Don't you see the cycle? Your Jinchuuriki is a reflection and embodiment of your weak and sad existence. My Jinchuuriki reflects my might and fearsome existence. That's just the way it is."

The Kyuubi-figure exploded and splashed all over Shukaku, enraging the bijuu.

"KYUUBI!," Shukaku roared menacingly as it thrashed against the cage fiercely trying to break free.

Kyuubi laughed darkly while watching Shukaku's berserk state.

"Damn you Kyuubi," Naruto yelled before turning his attention to Gaara, who was standing were he was while looking at Shukaku.

"Gaara listen to me," Naruto said, "Pay no attention to Kyuubi-teme."

"Your bijuu raises some points that I found agreeable," Gaara spoke with a deadpan tone, "Which is why I always had to prove my existence to the world."

"And what does that entail," Naruto inquired. Gaara didn't answer was the sands on the ground cleared away from Naruto's feet. Looking down into the ground, Naruto saw what looked like a window of some sort. Taking a closer look, Naruto realized that he was looking into Gaara's life as a child and what Naruto was looking at wasn't something he was thrilled about.

Naruto saw how Gaara was trained by his father, Yondaime Kazekage, but raised mainly by his uncle, Yashamaru. Because of the power of Shukaku, the villagers of Sunagakure hated and feared Gaara, seeing him only for the monster sealed within him. For a time, Naruto saw, Yashamaru seemed to be the only person who cared about Gaara. When Gaara would mistakenly harm others due to the subconscious abilities granted to him by Shukaku, Yashamaru would be the only one who understood that Gaara hadn't intended to harm anyone. Gaara's father, however, didn't see Gaara in the same light, and viewed Gaara's repeated attacks upon villagers as a result of a failed experiment that was a threat to the village.

Because of the danger Gaara imposed, his father began sending assassins to kill him, though when all attempts met with failure, the Kazekage asked Yashamaru to kill Gaara. As a result, Yashamaru tried to assassinate Gaara, though Gaara's abilities beaten Yashamaru with no difficulty, saddening Gaara. Although Gaara tried to discharge Yashamaru's attack as an order of the Kazekage, Yashamaru corrected him by saying that he had freely accepted the mission. Having never truly loved Gaara, Yashamaru hoped that killing Gaara would avenge the death of his sister, Gaara's mother, who had named Gaara after the phrase "a self-loving carnage," a symbol of her hate for Gaara. In a last ditch effort to kill Gaara, Naruto saw through the memory window, Yashamaru detonated a number of explosive tags covering his body, asking Gaara to, "Please die." Gaara survived the blast and lost the only person he thought had cared for him.

While Gaara had initially tried to be friendly towards others despite their fear of him, Yashamaru's actions and words changed Gaara. Realizing that nobody loved him, Gaara used his sand to create the kanji for "Love" on his forehead as a symbol of a "demon loving only himself." Naruto saw how Gaara became emotionally withdrawn, all but silent, and consumed with a bitter loathing for everyone but himself. The blonde saw how Gaara learned to find pleasure and eventually a reason to live in annihilating the numerous assassins sent to kill him – and by extension, anyone who threatened his existence.

Gaara's insomnia, forced upon him by the fear that the raccoon demon inside him would eat away at his personality if he were to fall asleep, only furthered his instability and desire to kill. Naruto then saw how Gaara's father came to appreciate Gaara and the uses he could serve before canceling all assassination orders in the hopes that Gaara would become an effective tool.

Looking into the memory window, Naruto watched Gaara's childhood and saw how unfortunate the red haired boy was due to his lack of anyone to call a friend. Gaara was lonely and desired to be liked, loved, and acknowledged as an individual, free of others' prejudices. They, Naruto and Gaara are themselves, not the bijuus they were forced to "contain" — and both were driven into a desperate state. While Naruto consequently use the conception of pranks, mischief and laughter to as a defense against the madness that threatened his well being, Gaara came to the conclusion that he could preserve and confirm his own existence by killing any and all who challenged it, securing an extreme form of existentialism as his key personality trait.

In the absence of others' acknowledgment, Naruto acknowledged, Gaara could compensate by valuing only himself to the exclusion of everyone else. While Naruto had family and friends to acknowledge him, Gaara never had anyone to bond with and didn't understand the concept of fighting for anything other than himself.

The memory mirror vanished from Naruto sight, leaving him alone with Gaara and the two bijuus. What he saw gave him a new understanding of life as a Jinchuuriki faced with inhumane hatred and fear by those who were supposed to be your family, friends and people. It broke Naruto's heart to no end that Gaara, a fellow Jinchuuriki forced to carry the burden of being a container without his consent, was made to suffered everything Kyuubi told him would have happened to him had Yondaime Hokage not been sealed away alongside him.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said lowly as a few tears fall from his eyes, "I'm so sorry."

Gaara looked at Naruto quietly.

"I know I can never truly understand what growing up had to be like for you Gaara," Naruto spoke, "But do understand that I understand the burden of being a container. Like you, I became one without my consent and I didn't learn about this until I was eight years old. Though you and I lived completely different lives however, I want to offer you something that no has ever given you: my friendship."

The Suna nin looked at Naruto skeptically and asked, "You seek friendship with me because of sentimentality?"

"I seek friendship with you because no one ever gave you a true reason live and exist. Believe me Gaara, I know and met someone who experienced a similar case. Like you, she was hated and feared by her family because of a feared bloodline limit she carries and her own father tried to kill her before he died. She became homeless and no one in her village wanted anything to do with her. She was later taken in by a shinobi swordsman who only used her as a weapon and instrument. She consciously knew this but she dismissed it because he was the only person who took her in, sheltered and trained her.

"After her defeat to me, she begged me to end her life, believing that she no longer could prove her purpose to exist. After much effort I managed to convince her not to end her life and to start her life anew here in Konoha where she could make new friends and family and find a new and better purpose to live, not as somebody's weapon or tool but as someone who could put her skills into great use in helping others. I offered her my friendship and trust and a better way to prove her existence to everyone.

"You can do likewise if you'd let me help you Gaara. Please, let me be your friend. You don't have to carry this burden alone. The pain can be coped with easier if you'd let me carry it with you not as a fellow Jinchuuriki, but as a real friend."

Those were words Gaara never heard in all his life. No one has ever offered him friendship, even when he begged and cried to it. Now here it was that a total stronger and foreigner was offering him something he had so longed for all his life, but was always denied it.

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!," Shukaku roared, "HE'LL TURN ON YOU LIKE ALL THE OTHERS! DON'T LET HIM HAVE HIS WAY! KILL HIM AND GAVE ME HIS BLOOD!"

"Shukaku, Shut Up!," Gaara retorted as he faced the bijuu, "You've been a thorn at my side long enough!"

Gaara turned and faced Naruto, and saw the sincerity in his eyes as the blonde extended his right hand to him. Slowly, Gaara walked over to him and reached out for his hand before he embraced it.

"I accept," Gaara said before everything went white…

(Back In The Real World)

Gaara and Naruto woke out of their trance. The red-haired Jinchuuriki found himself being held by the blonde Jinchuuriki. There was a moment of silence between the two bijuu containers as Temari and Kankuro quietly looked on wondering what was going to happen next.

"Gaara," Naruto said as he looked at the boy. Gaara looked back at Naruto calmed before he nodded. Believing things to be in the clear, Naruto was about to turn and face the older ninjas when Gaara reached out and grabbed Naruto left arm. The blonde Leaf nin turned to see the look in on Gaara's face. What Naruto was looking at wasn't Gaara's previous facial expression. That expression was replaced with maniacal one that strongly desired the death of many and mindless chaos as sand from Gaara's gourd started pouring out and covering over Gaara's form.

"This isn't over yet Kyuubi," Gaara said with Shukaku's maniacal voice, "I'll show you who's truly weak after I'm drunk with the blood of your Jinchuuriki."

"Shit!," Naruto cursed after realizing the situation as Gaara's deformed sand-covered arm grabbed and held Naruto as he thrust him into the air before slamming him down to the ground.

"…The…Ō Fūin," Naruto said between his coughs, "…I placed it on Gaara's head…I don't understand what went wro-"

Naruto's train of thoughts was derailed when the Shukaku-possessed Gaara, with his now enlarged arm, punched him harder into the ground, forming a crater into the ground with Naruto's body.

"Gaara," Temari yelled in hopes that Gaara's mind would hear her voice. But as both siblings saw that wasn't going to happen since Shukaku took control of his container.

"SHUT UP BITCH!," Shukaku roared through Gaara's mouth, "WAIT YOUR FUCKING TURN! I'LL KILL YOU IN A MIN-"

The possessed Suna nin wasn't allowed to finish when Naruto burst from out of the ground and delivered a solid right hook to Gaara's jaw, sending him flying from off the ground thus sending him airborne. While airborne, Gaara caught himself before thrusting his sand-covered arm out at Naruto, speedily catching the blonde by his leg. With much force, he pulled Naruto into the air over him before he flung him down hard into the ground. After the impact, Naruto turned to see Gaara's massive claws plummeting down at jet speed toward him. The blonde rolled away at the last second before the enlarged razor-sharp claws plunged into him and deep into the ground.

Temari and Kankuro knew there was nothing they could do to stop this fierce and deadly fight that sparked for reason unknown. They knew that getting between the two Jinchuurikis during their fight would have promised certain death. All they could do was watch 'safely' from the side. While on his back, Naruto kicked into the air and landed back on his feet before charging at Gaara directly. Tackling and grabbing him firmly, Naruto performed a seal, causing both himself and Gaara to teleport away from the scene, thus leaving both Kankuro and Temari alone in the demolished forest.

"What the…?," Kankuro yelled, "Where did they go?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Temari replied, having no idea where the two Jinchuurikis went…

Just when things seemed to be going swell after the mindscape chat, Shukaku pulled off a last ditch attempt to kill Naruto. Seeing the danger, Naruto teleported both himself and Gaara to an unknown location. Where did Naruto teleport both himself and Gaara to and what will be the outcome of this deadly ordeal? Find out next time.