Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Faith in Humanity ❯ Naruto Vs Gaara ( Chapter 18 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Title: Faith Arc - Faith in Humanity (PG-13)

Author: Karrafear

Summary: AU. What if Naruto survived a murder attempt on his life at the age of 6 and had to leave Konoha for his protection. Now 12, Naruto and Jiraiya returns to face the genin test.

Disclaimer: Naruto is an anime and manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. It does not belong to me; I'm simply using the characters and plot for my own creative devices.

"Demon's talk", /Thoughts/, "Speech", 'Speech emphasis', (FLASHBACK), Titles, (Author's interruptions)

Warning: Finally, the LONG AWAITED FIGHT between Gaara and our beloved Naruto. You'll also get to see a glimpse of what Kaga-san is capable of! Sorry for the long wait but here it is. So Enjoy! Another special note, this chapter is especially dedicated to Yume-chan, author of The Return of the Unforgettable, or Irreplaceable; I wish you the best, Yume-chan!

Pairings: eventually NarutoXHinata.

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Chapter 18 : Naruto Vs Gaara

The Lady Oracle sat firmly unmoving on her chair, undisturbed and not bothered by the chaos that reigned around her. She watched, impassively as Konoha Shinobis fought against Sound Shinobis in full out combat, trying desperately not to let any injuries come to the civilians as a result of their battles. Having already seen this battle multiple times in her visions, the Lady Oracle chose to stay in the sidelines, since she had already done what she came to do. However, there is one particular event that still stirs her temper.

Above her presence, on top of the very roof pf the VIP stand, she could feel the impacts of both the attacks used by the third Hokage and Orochimaru. Her grip on the armchair tightened slightly as she knew of what Orochimaru planned to do next, and it angered her.

Beside her, Kaga finally stirred into some semblance of action. “Lady, should I interfere?” He asked in a quiet voice.

Though still tense, the Lady Oracle finally nodded her head slightly in acceptance. Instantly, Kaga wrapped himself within a materialised shadow and disappeared from the scene, leaving only the Lady Oracle herself to sit tightly in her chair.

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Within the special barrier that has been created by the Sound Four specifically to trap the Hokage of Konoha, the third had just finished a quick set of hand seals. “Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shuriken Shadow Replication Technique)” Suddenly, hundreds of Shurikens took the place of the single Shuriken that had been thrown in the foray by the Hokage, all of which were aimed at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru, still calm and complacent, quickly performed his own set of complicated seals as fast as he could. “Kinjutsu: Kuchiyose no Jutsu - Edo Tensei (Forbidden Technique: Summoning Technique - Impure World Resurrection)!” Orochimaru yelled as he slapped his hands together and summoned forth the right amount of Chakra to perform this technique. Immediately, a human size coffin with the character of `one' across the front of it launched itself from the ground, for no apparent reason. As it came, Orochimaru called out almost cheerfully: “ONE!”

/SHIT!! Using Summoning as a shield against my shurikens!? But these corpses belong to... Oh NO!/ The third Hokage thought to himself as he quickly tried to rectify the situation by performing another set of complicated seals, desperately hoping that he won't have to fight the third corpse if Orochimaru ever summoned `him.'

“TWO!” Orochimaru called gleefully, as both coffins (the characters of `one' and `two' on each) now stood proudly in front of him, stopping the onslaught of shurikens. “And finally... THREE!” A third coffin (with the character `four' on it) suddenly appeared from a strange dimensional vortex at the roof surface and it slowly slit upwards.

/NO! AM I TOO LATE!?/ The Hokage questioned himself as he watched in fear as the third coffin slowly rose from the summoned dimension.

Suddenly, to both combatants' surprise, Kaga reappeared, morphing through his materialised shadow as he jumped down firmly onto the surface of the third coffin, instantly halting its rise from continuing.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!? SHADOW MASTER!” Orochimaru yelled, infuriated at having the Air Nin obstruct his plans, but at the same time, feeling slight fear wondering whether or not he would have to fight the Shadow Master.

“I refuse to let you dishonour the fourth Hokage of Konoha by summoning forth his corpse in such a manner. Though not official, he IS the husband of our Yuuki Hime and as such I will not let you disgrace our honoured princess and her mate. Not to mention... He is Naruto-sama's father, and as the sire to our Uzumaki heir... I would kill you in an instant if you dare touch his rested remains.” Kaga stated plainly, though his emerald eyes glared coldly at Orochimaru, as if daring him to refute.

Orochimaru shifted nervously even while he gave the Shadow Master a glare of his own, before finally deciding that it would be better if he simply gives in to the request, and so, he abandoned his last summoning.

The third coffin (with the character `four' on it) slowly slid back into the dimensional abyss it had been summoned from and soon disappeared from view. Kaga jumped off the vanishing coffin and landed lightly in front of Orochimaru. There he gave the snake another glare before turning around to look at the third Hokage, perhaps for the last time. “Goodbye, Sarutobi.” Kaga whispered to the old man as he gazed at him with a very sympathetic and respectful expression on his face. In response, the third Hokage returned with a determined nod of his own, knowing that this really was `goodbye' as Kaga have said. It was a show of gratitude to the Air Nin's involvement and at the same time a pledge to farewell each other.

Kage then redirected his gaze somewhere else and activated his shadow teleportation. The Kage Heki (Shadow Barrier) was summoned forth voicelessly as it wrapped around Kaga's body in the shape of rectangular prism, then, Kaga used the Kageho (Shadow Walk) (1) to teleport out of the secured barrier created by the Sound Four, and reappeared again behind his mistress. There, he sighed in slight despondent, looking at his mistress's tense posture, he once again wished that the rules of the Kuunoki (Air) could be defied so easily. However, he wasn't about to take the chance of challenging the ancient rules set up by the Council Seven or else he runs the risk of having his mistress locked up for life, like many of her predecessors before her. (2)

“Is that all you wish of me, my Lady?” Kaga asked formally, knowing that his mistress is already under a lot of stress and doesn't need to be provoked anytime soon.

She sighed with hidden exhaustion. Unlike Naruto, she doesn't have that great of a stamina and endurance; therefore, the last week of intensive training had worn her out more than she would like to admit. Not to mention, she had also been rather busy organising the sealing ritual that is to come after Naruto's confrontation with Shukaku, as well as preparing for the aftermath of this Sound Invasion. Sometimes, she wondered why she even cared, considering this isn't even her village, but then again, one look at her nephew would help her realise all her reasons. /My sister died protecting this village... I won't let it burn to the ground... not while I still have a single breath in me!/ Ruri closed her eyes and bid forth all her memories of her sister, the one person other than Kaga that truly understood her, that would support her without asking for anything in return. /Yuuki... If only you could see Naruto now... You'd be proud of him, I'm sure.../

After reminiscing about her lost sister, Ruri finally pulled herself together. She stood, tall, proud and undisturbed by the continuing chaos that surrounds her. “Come Kaga, we will return to the tower where the sealing awaits. We have much we still have to do before Naruto's return.” She ordered in a very calm and complacent tone of voice.

Kaga bowed low to his mistress. “As you wish, my Lady.” Once the formalities were over, he quickly summoned forth another Kage Heki (Shadow Barrier) to wrap around both his mistress and himself, before activating the Kageho (Shadow Walk) that took them away from the arena completely.

/Goodbye. Hokage-sama. Forgive me for not doing more to protect your village... Naruto... Come back to me.../ These were the last thoughts that Ruri held just before she vanished from the stadium arena completely.

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/WHY! OH WHY AM I ALWAYS FORCED INTO DOING TROUBLESOME THINGGGGGSSSSSSS!!!!/ Shikamaru frantically thought as he gripped onto Naruto's jacket with one arm and clutched tightly on to the long fur of Naruto's pet fox with his other. Eyes narrowed in irritation, Shikamaru asked himself once again why he even agreed to come along with Naruto. /It's not like I'm gonna be much help!? If I wasn't going be of much use to the others back at the arena, what the hell am I doing HERE of all places?!/ He mentally screamed at himself for ever letting the blonde boy drag him into the battle, it was just too much trouble. Suddenly, hearing Kibi's low growl of anger brought Shikamaru out of his mental berating.

“What's got into him?!” Shikamaru shouted with as much breath as he could take, considering they were flying at very fast speeds through the forest canopies, swerving this way and that to avoid the oncoming tree trunks, branches and leaves. If they had flew any higher, they probably wouldn't be able to track the Sand Trios and Sasuke's tracks, but this way, at least Kibi could smell what had happened to the lot of them.

“Kibi smell pursuers after us. About 8 of them... no!” Listening to more of Kibi's growls, Naruto rectified himself. “2 squadrons totalling 8 Shinobis and one more trailing behind them, Sound Shinobis by the looks of it!” Naruto shouted back without turning around to look at the black haired boy.

Eyes narrowing further with a calculative glint, Shikamaru grunted out in irritation. “How the hell are they following us?” He paused for a few seconds pondering his own question before shaking off the thought to ask another question. “And what should we do now?”

“You're the brains, think of something!” Naruto grunted back, completely focussed on hanging on for dear life as he silently urged Kirin to pick up some more speed, either to lose their pursuers or to catch up to Sasuke faster, Shikamaru wasn't sure.

Sighing in exasperation at Naruto's comment, Shikamaru shook his head in annoyance but soon focused on thinking over all their choices. /Ambush... no... These are subordinates of Orochimaru, a former Leaf Shinobi, which means that they've probably studied the Fire Countries geography and landscape. That only leaves... decoy... fun.../ Shikamaru finished up this thought process with a very sarcastic mental voice. /Damn... It's so troublesome.../

“Oi! Naruto! Slow down, drop me off somewhere!” Pulling Naruto's jacket to get his attention, Shikamaru called out to him.

Lifting an eyebrow in question, Naruto gazed at Shikamaru with a confused gaze even while he fully complied with Shikamaru's demands, slowing down Kirin's progress until they finally stopped, hovering over a close tree branch.

Shikamaru jumped off the large fox's back, landing neatly onto the thick branch, before turning to Naruto to explain his plan of action: “I'll stay back and ambush them. Don't worry about me, go after Sasuke!”

Blinking at the notion of an `ambush', Naruto quickly nodded in acceptance, not even taking the time to think over Shikamaru's actions before hurrying off after Sasuke again, leaving a swift burst of wind behind in his wake. Shikamaru sighed as he shook and patted all the fallen leaves off of his body, leaves of which had just been plucked off their branches by Naruto's sudden flash of force and power.

Shaking his head in irritation, Shikamaru wondered if he really had done the right thing, lying to Naruto like that. /Doesn't matter. What he doesn't know can't hurt him. He'll take care of Gaara and Sasuke, while I take care of the Sound ninjas. The only difference being that I'm acting as a decoy, not an ambusher./ His mind concluded and Shikamaru slowly started off to set his traps and fake tracks.

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Naruto blinked as his body suddenly flinched in sight pain. Usually, he wouldn't have paid any attention to these minor details of his body's reactions. However, ever since he started learning how to use the Yochigan (Prediction's Eye), his Aunt Ruri had told him that sometimes, the Yochigan is subconsciously activated, and when its predictions are relating information to your mind on a subconscious level, your body would automatically react to it in strange ways. Examples include a whole range of different reactions such as a slight shaking of the hands, a burning sensation in the heart, a small prick on your limbs or as this case indicates, or a sudden flinch of pain. All of which meant that something bad is about to happen or is already happening.

Narrowing his eyes in concentration, Naruto thought over everything he had done that day and wondered what could be going wrong. /Sasuke... but there's nothing I can do about that until I get there... Sakura and the others... no, Kakashi and the other Jounins are there already. I'm sure that the third Hokage would have warned them to prepare for a surprise attack. Aunt Ruri and Kaga-san can take care of themselves easily enough so WHO is it!/ Trying again, Naruto mentally listed out all the people that had come to mean something to him, and thought over what could be happening to them currently.

Instantly, his eyes widened in shock. /OF COURSE! Shikamaru! That bastard! He's not doing any ambush! He must have stayed behind as a decoy! I'm SUCH AN IDIOT!!!/ Naruto mentally berated himself.

Taking a few seconds to continue scolding himself, Naruto finally pushed aside his self-condemnation and concentrated on finding a solution. /I can't turn back! Sasuke needs me! So what should I do??/ Naruto slightly panicked over what course of action he should take. Suddenly, a low whimpering sound made it through his raging thoughts. He looked up to gaze directly into Kibi well meaning eyes, and all of a sudden, he had a solution.

“Kibi! Run back to Shikamaru and keep him safe. Once that battle is over, watch over him until you both return safely to Konoha. Do not come after me! I have Kirin to keep me company, okay?” He asked his pet fox gently, knowing that it was far more intelligent than anyone gives it credit for.

Nodding once in acknowledgement and acceptance, Kibi suddenly jumped off his companion's back and landed lightly onto a thick tree branch while Naruto and Kirin rushed pass him without another word back. Narrowing his eyes in concentration and growling low at his master's firm command, Kibi raced back to where they had dropped off Shikamaru. Through smell, Kibi could tell that the ninjas were already upon Shikamaru's location and that the boy was waiting for them.

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Watching from behind a tree, Shikamaru waited until all 8 of the Sound Shinobis stood close together to look over the strange footprints on the ground. After all, they had been chasing broken branches and a large amount of newly plucked leaves as tracks, not newly formed footprints. They were curious as to why the prey had suddenly stopped flying and land on the ground. Their short moment of curiosity is all it took for Shikamaru to capture all of them in his Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Copy Technique).

Shikamaru huffed slightly as he counted the number of Shinobis trapped within his Jutsu and ignored the enemy Ninja's rather blunt underestimation of his abilities. /8... there should be 9.../ Reaching into his pouch and producing sharp shurikens gripped by all his fingers, he aimed and then threw them directly at his trapped enemies.

Watching carefully as all of his shurikens were deflected by kunais and other flying weapons, Shikamaru noted that his final enemy was hidden up a near by tree and quickly threw several of his own kunais into said tree, forcing the hidden Shinobi to jump out of the way and reveal himself.

Knowing that his chances of wining in close hand combat is practically nil as Shikamaru would have easily caught him, the Sound Shinobi decided to assault Shikamaru with multiple kunais and shurikens, some of which were caught by Shikamaru to deflect all others. The fight quickly turned into a weapon's throwing match to see who had the most weapons and how accurate they could throw them. Soon, both opponents had run out of weapons.

Shikamaru, having to keep his Kagemane no Jutsu through out the entire throwing match, was quite battered and bruised with many cuts on his body, though none were too deep. He had kept most of the dangerous aims away. He took some time to calm his racing heart and gulped in some much needed air while still warily watching his opponent.

The Sound Nin, having lost his entire set of throwing weapons, finally realised that through out the match, he had not once performed any seals. Immediately, he launched himself into a set of seals, ready and waiting to kill Shikamaru at the shortest notice.

Shikamaru, noticing the seals, instantly started created his own and hoped that he had enough Chakra to keep on going. It's seems the set of Seals Shikamaru had performed were much shorted than the Sound Nins, and so he completed them before the Sound Nin's own.

/Kageho! (Shadow Walk)/ Shikamaru's body quickly sunk into his own shadow and disappeared in a blink of an eye, surprising all of his captive enemies, who have all been freed once Shikamaru released the Shadow Bind. Thinking that the kid had run away, the Sound Nins were brought back from their cheerful musings abruptly as one of their own comrades screamed in pain.

Turning quickly to see what's going on, the rest of the Sound Nin group only caught a glimpse of Shikamaru slipping back into his own shadow while one of their own was lying on the floor clutching on to his bleeding stomach with much pain written across his face. It was in that instant that another one of their group shouted in alarm, and once again, the rest turned just in time to see Shikamaru slipping back into another shadow while their compatriot simply fell onto the hard ground, unmoving, with a Kunai struck into his eyes.

It was at that moment that the Sound Nins realised what a dangerous situation they were in. If Shikamaru could seemingly travel between shadows, they were completely surrounded by shadows (under the forest canopy), then Shikamaru could theoretically easily kill them all, without even fully leaving the safety of his shadows.

What the Sound Nins didn't understand is that during the throwing match, Shikamaru had continuously thrown Kunai after Kunai, all with the special teleportation note attached to them. And so, surrounding this entire clearing are his special kunais, all of which gives him access to the shadow teleportation. However, there is a limit to his ability in attacking his enemy since they have to be physically close to one of his special kunais so that he could quickly come out, attack them, and then re-enter the shadow. Another disadvantage with using this technique now is that Shikamaru is running dangerously low on Chakra at the moment, and if he loses all his Chakra while still inside one of these shadow realms, he may well be trapped in there forever.

After a few minutes of playing cat and mouse, whereby Shikamaru hunts his prey from the shadows and the prey jumps around continuously, making it very difficult for Shikamaru to even react before they jump out of the way. Too soon it seems that Shikamaru had finally ran out of Chakra, making it dangerous for him to stay in the shadow and so, he finally revealed himself panting and shaking slightly on one of the nearby tree's branches. Shivering in exhaustion, Shikamaru could only watch with reluctance at the suddenly delighted expressions on the Sound Nin's faces as they launched themselves at him.

Sighing in resignation, Shikamaru closed his eyes and waited for what's to come. /Damn. I knew this was gonna be troublesome, why did I ever get involve in the first place. Man... And I was so looking forward to being just an okay Ninja, marry a regular girl, have two kids, a girl then a boy, perhaps retire young and spend the rest of my days playing go or shogi until I die... It was such a good dream... Heh... Too bad life's not that predictable.../ These were the last thoughts that Shikamaru had flashed through in his mind.

Suddenly, a huge gust of wind burst through the clearing, knocking all of the Sound Nins back, forcing them to land haphazardly across the ground or onto trees. Shikamaru used the rest of his strength to grip tightly onto the tree he was perched on. After the wind subsided, he looked down in slight surprise only to find Kibi growling angrily at the Sound Nins. /Well. Well. Well. Looks like Naruto left me a present./ He smiled to himself, releasing some of the tension on his shoulders as a sign of hope finally emerged to rescue him. /Well. Let's see if the fox listens to me too.../

“Kibi! Kazedan! (Wind Bullets)” Having remembered all the names of the moves Naruto during his Preliminary fight with Kiba, Shikamaru decided to see if he had any influence on the fox's action too.

After blinking in confusion at the black haired boy, it seems as if Kibi made a mental note to himself to obey the seemingly strange boy. After all, the boy was Kaga-san's new apprentice and seems to be responsible enough to command it, and so, Kibi followed in Shikamaru's order by performing several Kazedans aimed at the Sound Nins, whom quickly avoided the multiple blasts by jumping away.

Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Shikamaru smirked at the new found power Naruto had gifted him. /Well. I'm certainly not going to look a gift horse in the mouth./ “Kibi! HoShuiHo! (Water Cannon) Then follow up with a Da Rai! (Lightning Strike)” Shikamaru called out to Kibi.

The Sound Nins, still not completely believing that they were currently fighting a fox of all beings, were unprepared for the assault as Kibi launched its powerful water cannon attack at them. The force of the water current smashed many of the ninjas against tree stumps and hard rocks. Straight after the water came the lightning. The electrical currents followed the water's passage and electrocuted all of the Sound Shinobis easily.

Shikamaru whistled in appreciation. /Wow! No wonder Kiba was beaten to a pulp. This fox packs quite a punch!/

After the two assaults, all the Sound Nins were either rendered unconscious or dead, and so Shikamaru gave a short sigh of relief, as he no longer had to fight. Looking over at Kibi's still waiting form he lifted an eyebrow in curiosity. “Why are you still here? Aren't you supposed to go to Naruto?” Surprisingly, the fox shook its head as if indicating a `no'. Shikamaru tried again. “Are you waiting for me to come with you, so that both of us would catch up with Naruto?” Again, the response was the shaking of heads.

Frowning slightly, Shikamaru tried a third time. “Are you supposed to escort me back to the Hidden Leaf?” This time, the fox responded with a nod. Sighing in annoyance at having a `fox' of all creatures as one's bodyguard, Shikamaru slowly climbed down from his perch on the tree's branch and started slowly making his way back home, leaving the Sound Nins dead or alive where they lay. Following him almost demurely is Kibi fox, taking its body-guarding task very seriously. Shikamaru sighed again.

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Naruto gritted his teeth as he finally launched both Kirin and himself into the open battlefield that Sasuke and Gaara had so obviously fought in just moments before. He had made it just in time to see Gaara (in his half demon form) jump across to attack the fallen Sasuke, and from the looks of it, Sasuke was unable to move due to the activation of the curse seal that has been implanted into his body. Without even thinking about it, Naruto instantly rammed Kirin straight into Gaara, knocking the demon boy back to where he had originated, while Naruto smoothly jumped off Kirin's back to land next to Sasuke.

/Other than the seal activating and sucking all of Sasuke's Chakra, he doesn't seem to have any other major injury. However, I'm not that good with sealing jutsus either so there's practically nothing I could do to help! Damn it! I wish Aunt Ruri would have taught me some of the special Uzumaki seals!!/ Naruto through frantically as he checked over Sasuke's body with a critical eye.

Finally concluding that his teammate was okay for now, Naruto turned his attention to Gaara and for the first time, seriously looked over what had happened to the Sand Shinobi. Naruto shifted his gaze from the ears to the eyes to both the boy's appendages and finally to the tail. /So... This is the form of Shukaku, the Tanuki demon./ Naruto concluded with mental calmness, though a small spark of pain was emitted from his heart as he gazed into the eyes of the demon. Naruto didn't let himself dwell too much on the background of Gaara, for he knew that his enemy would not have any sympathy for him in return.

“Kirin! Take Sasuke out of here. Return him to Konoha.” His pet fox looked at him with a questioning gaze, only to be met back with a very determined expression. After a silent moment of contemplation, she agreed to her master's demand.

“Naruto... No... I can... I can still fight!” Sasuke tried to protest; saying that he was okay and able to help out, but he was met with an unmoved, almost angry look from Naruto. Both boys glared at each other for a long moment, both too stubborn to admit defeat, and too prideful to let the other win. “I can still fight! Naruto!” Sasuke growled, angry with himself for not being strong enough to even take on the Sand Nin.

“NO YOU CAN'T!!! Admit it! Sasuke! You're already at your limit's end! There's no way you can continue fighting. Just get out of here before you become a burden to ME!” Naruto yelled back, subconsciously knowing that he had taken a direct blow at Sasuke's pride but knowing the black haired boy, this was the only way for him to win the argument.

Narrowing his eyes in intense hate and self-loathing, Sasuke stopped arguing all together and glared at something else, ignoring Naruto's pointed look. /Damn HIM! How dare he treat me like this!? I'm not a child to be protected! I'm not some weakling that he has to be watched over! I'm not weak!!!! I can still fight!!!/ Sasuke mentally screamed at himself, but deep inside, he questioned himself. /Am I strong enough yet? Am I still so weak? Have I even improved???/

Taking the boy's silence as a sign of acceptance, Naruto heaved Sasuke's unmoving body onto Kirin's back and helped the boy get settled comfortably. Once everything was done and over with, Kirin quickly blasted off in the direction of the Leaf again, leaving behind her master to fight the Tanuki demon alone.

“It's just you and me now. Gaara. Or should I say... Shukaku.” Naruto stated calmly while Gaara flinched at the name.

“WHAT DO YOU KNOW!!!???” Gaara roared at Naruto, angry that he had taken his prey away from him, but deep inside, he was actually zealously happy that another prey had showed himself, one much stronger than the Uchiha.

“I know enough. Let's get this started then, shall we?” Naruto narrowed his eyes in concentration. Though reluctant, he knew that he had to make contact with Kyuubi once more, knowing that he would need the Fox Lord's help more than ever at this moment in time. /Only a demon can defeat a demon, huh... That was what Aunt Ruri told me. I don't have a choice.../

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Within the dark abyss of Naruto's mind, two voices rang out to each other.

“Kyuubi!!!”

“What do you want now, kit?”

“I'm going to fight Shukaku, and I'll be needing your help. If you're willing, please spare me some extra Chakra.”

A short pause followed Naruto's rare plead for help. Indeed, it wasn't everyday that Naruto asked the Kyuubi for assistance at all, let alone twice in one day, so the Kyuubi decided to be pliant. “Take as much as you need, Kit. But don't lose yourself to the power.”

“I know. I will.”

“Good luck then. Kick that Sand Bastard's ass for me.”

“Will do.”

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Eyes blazing with determination and resolve, Naruto quickly performed his favourite set of seals. “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” Immediately, hundred and hundreds of Naruto replications suddenly surrounded the entire forested area. It was an army of Naruto clones. Gaara gapped in shock at the skill level of Naruto as well as wondering about Naruto's seemingly huge Chakra stamina.

“All Right! Everybody! Let's GO!!!” yelled the original Naruto as the rest of the swarm jumped into action, all rushing towards Gaara like a mad hive of bees intent on their prey.

Gaara reacted in response; pulling both its demonic arms together and then flinging them outwards, releasing a huge barrage of sand missiles at the clones. “Suna Shuriken!! (Sand Shuriken)” Gaara yelled. Once he finished with one side of the swarm, he immediately set about doing the same to the other side, each time changing angels to direct his attack on a different group of Kage Bunshins. However, to his disappointment, it seems his attack was doing very little against the army of Naruto clones as they continued their pursuit.

Even though some of the Bunshins had disappeared due to the impact of the Shuriken, the rest just kept on their path towards Gaara without hesitation. Some of the Bunshins themselves started performing seals of their own and as a result, created even more Kage Bunshins then before. It was a never-ending cycle of infinite numbers of Naruto clones to deal with.

During Gaara's short duration of shocked underestimation, the horde of Naruto clones had already reached his location. “Naruto Ninpochou! Shihou Hapo Shuriken no Maki! (Naruto Technique Book! The No-Escape Shuriken Chapter) (3)” The swarm of Naruto clones yelled as all of them withdrew shurikens and threw them at Gaara.

Gaara managed to dodge some but was unable to avoid all of the hundreds of shurikens. And in his instance of covering himself with his sand made arms, he noticed too late as around four of the Naruto clones had managed to sneak into his personal space. “U... ZU... MA... KI!” Each of the four clones yelled as they followed the first stance of Konoha's famous Omote Renge (Initial Lotus), first performed by Lee then copied by Sasuke. Their four powerful kicks from below launched Gaara off his feet and into the air, even though he was incredibly heavy with all the sand covering his body to begin with.

“Uzumaki Naruto Nisen Rendan no Maki!! (Uzumaki Naruto Two Thousand Hit Combo Chapter) (4)” The assembly of Naruto clones shouted in a uniform manner. Unfortunately for Naruto, Gaara had gathered he's wits while still in the air to perform his own Jutsu against the incoming clones.

“Fuuton: Mugen Sajin Daitopa!! (Wind Element: Eternal Sandstorm Blast)” Gaara called as he took in a deep breath of air and then released it at the arriving Bunshins. Some of them were blasted away and disappeared into puffs of smoke, however, there were still many more which took the original's places. Soon after, Gaara was put under a barrage of punches; almost one thousand punches made it through his sand barrier and impacted on his body.

Two last punches later, Gaara was thrown onto the hard ground of the forest floor, crashing into the earth and creating dust clouds in his wake. He gazed back up at the still seemingly large number of Naruto clones still heading his way. His eyes narrowed in fury. /How dare he... How dare he HURT MEEEE!!!!!/

“I WON'T LOSE TO THE LIKES OF YOU!!!!” Gaara cried as he activated his transforming Jutsu, giving himself almost completely to Shukaku. Inside Gaara, the demon within was very tense, waiting almost in anticipation of fighting this interesting specimen of a human being that the blonde Shinobi made. Not many have been able to cause the Shukaku carrier such injury and warranted him to use this Jutsu. This fight would definitely turn interesting.

During the transformation stage, almost all of the clones were caught in the upsurge of Gaara's new form rising out of the trees and almost reaching the clouds, the sharp spikes of Shukaku's coat speared through many of the clones and rendered them dead while the real Naruto escaped without harm.

Naruto watched impassively as all his clones disappeared into smoke either by Gaara's act of retaliation or by his own will. He thought to himself. /So this is Shukaku's real form.../ Narrowing his eyes in anger, Naruto looked around at the surrounding forest that was to be their battleground. /Damn, if we fight here now, the entire landscape will be destroyed! But if we don't fight here... I can't let Shukaku get anywhere near Konoha!/

The skies above them suddenly turned into a greyish hue, darkening the entire area like an eclipse of the sun. Both Shukaku and Naruto looked up in surprise at what they saw. A flat, horizontal surface of what looked like a lightly shaded shadow form stretched out from directly above them to the outer reaches of entire forest. And then, it abruptly stopped expanding horizontally and started falling vertically downwards, reaching the ground in just a few seconds. Both opponents watched dazedly as the walls of the silhouetted prism darkened slightly, recolouring everything within its walls into black, white or grey tones. Naruto and Shukaku being the only exception.

/It's Kaga-san's Kage no Kekai! (Shadow Barrier) The third stage of the Kage Michi (Way of the Shadow)! (5) This is the first time I've ever seen it being used!/ Naruto took some time to gaze in wonder around him at the special Shadow technique while Shukaku frowned, not knowing what to expect. The Kage no Kekai (Shadow Prison) is a technique that locks the combatants into another virtual reality created by the user. Basically, any damage done by the combatants INSIDE the prison will not affect the outside, real world. /This way, no matter how fierce we fight, we won't damage any of the real environment. Perfect!/ Naruto grinned to himself.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!!!???” Shukaku demanded as he swung his tail around in agitation. Deciding action is better than words; Shukaku took an offensive stance instead of waiting for what's to happen. Lifting its giant hand and directing it at Naruto's direction, Shukaku Gaara summoned forth his attack. “Sabaku! Sou.. (Desert Coff...).”

Sand had instantly materialised surrounding Naruto's form when Shukaku Gaara had lifted its demonic arm, and as Gaara called forth the attack, the sand tightened painfully. However, Naruto was still able to move slightly within the tightened sand. And so, he quickly took advantage of his current freedom of movement, biting his thumb to draw blood and launching both his hands into a short set of hand seals. Just before Gaara was able to complete his technique on Naruto, Naruto called forth his own Jutsu. “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!! (Summoning Technique!!!)”

The sheer power of the summoning blasted away the sand imprisoning Naruto. That was because Naruto had summoned forth the most powerful of Toads, the boss toad himself, Gama Bunta. As the smoke clouds cleared, its massive form loomed over the horizon; just its size would be enough to strike fear in most enemies.

Gama Bunta lifted its age-old gaze to the figure on top of its head. “Oi! Naruto!!! What did you call me out here for!!! I'm a busy TOAD KING you know!” Gama Bunta complained as he glared slightly at the blonde boy. (6) Looking around at the strange greyish landscape, Gama Bunta grunted in surprise. “AND WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE LANDSCAPE?!” He called out in confusion.

“Gama Oyabin... (Old man Toad) I'll need your help to defeat Shukaku no Suna (Shukaku of the Desert). It seems Kaga-san has trapped us inside his Kage Akukan (Shadow Space) so that we won't be damaging any of the real world environment. So, what do say? Are you going to help me?” Naruto calmly requested, his gaze never leaving the impassive face of the sand demon.

Gama Bunta grumbled slightly under his breath as he looked on to his new enemy. /Suna no Shukaku... Not an easy enemy to fight off... Damn, I'm getting too old for this.../ “Oi, Naruto. What if I said no?” Gama Bunta taunted the boy on top of his head.

Naruto only smirked in response. “Then I guess I'll just have to invite one of your sons to do the battle for you.” Naruto taunted back confidently.

Gama Bunta's eyes narrowed in slight resentment at the response, but he knew that Naruto wasn't lying. Even with the boy's ability, Naruto would find it very hard pressed to even fight equally with a real demon without help. “Heh, guess I don't have much choice, do I?” Gama Bunta grumbled again as he slowly pulled out his short sword strapped to his sides.

Gripping the swords in such a way that the sword's edge glimmered directly across to Shukaku, Gama Bunta grunted a warning to Naruto to hold on tight as he launched himself at the demon in front of them, intending to slash Shukaku to pieces. The materialised forest directly underneath Gama Bunta's feet were instantly crushed under his heavy weight while many other smaller trees were pulled from their roots and tossed aside simply by the massive current of wind caused by Gama Bunta's movements.

“GAMA NO TSURUGI KAI!!! (TOAD BLADE SLASH)!” Gama Bunta shouted as he swung his blade in the direction of the Demon. He slammed his short sword into the shoulder of Shukaku, pressing forward with his entire weight, then twisted the blade and pulled with all his might. Getting angry, Shukaku pushed forward with his hardened sand made body, which forced Gama Bunta to jump out of the way, losing his favourite sword as a result. But the assault wasn't a total loss; the sharp edge of the sword had been able to slash off one arm of Shukaku, disintegrating it into sand particles once the appendage had left the original body and leaving Shukaku one arm short.

Even though the successful slash had warranted some good fortune, but Gama Bunta wasn't celebrating just yet, as he panted and looked at his shaking hands (still suffering from the strain of the force used to retaliate against Shukaku.

In front of Gama Bunta and Naruto however, Shukaku Gaara started shaking in suppressed mirth, until finally, the amusement of fighting Naruto got to him and he released a frightening and yet neurotic laugh that shook Naruto and Gama Bunta to their cores. “UZUMAKI NARUTO... IT HAS BEEN FUN FIGHTING YOU... BUT NOW... YOU DIE!!!” Shukaku gasped as his laughter died. Upon Shukaku's head, a strange and yet familiar form emerged from the hardened sand surface.

“Gaara...” Naruto mumbled as he gazed intently at the Sand medium, already guessing what is to come next. Gripping tighter to Gama Bunta's head in an effort not to slip off in the ensuing battle, Naruto warned the boss toad. “Better be careful from now on, Gama Oyabin. He's gonna set free the demon within!”

“Don't you think I know that!!?” Gama Bunta shouted back in annoyance while his body tensed at the anticipation of fighting the real spirit of the Sand demon.

Gaara placed his hands together in a seal and whispered to himself. “Tanuki Neri no Jutsu (Fake Sleep Technique).” Once Gaara was asleep, the real Shukaku awakened.

Suddenly, an inhuman scream rang through out the clearing, high pitched and loud. “YAHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” The Tanuki demon stretched its neck upwards, puffing its chest out to draw in a deep breath of fresh air. “I'M FINALLY ABLE TO COME OUT!!!!” Shukaku shifted its gaze towards the slightly stunned Naruto and Gama Bunta. Directing its finger at them, Shukaku called out. “SUDDENLY, I FIND A GUY I REALLY WANT TO KILL!!!! YOU HEAR THAT!!! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!!”

Naruto blinked in astonishment. “That's Shukaku?” He asked in a quiet voice.

“He's unexpectedly funky, isn't he?” Gama Bunta grumbled as he pulled out the pipe in his mouth. “We're going to jump.” He warned the boy.

“Got ya.” Naruto confirmed as he tightened his grip once more.

“FUUTON: RENKUDAN!! (Wind Element: Steroid Blanks)” Shukaku screamed as he collected a large amount of Chakra into the palm of his hand, slammed the palm into his stomach and blasted out a very powerful wind blast from his mouth, directly aiming at where Naruto and Gama Bunta is situated.

Gama Bunta jumped just in time to avoid the powerful blast that created a large impact crater at the place he had stood just moments before. While still in the air, he performed his own Jutsu to retaliate. “Suiton Teppo Dama!! (Water Cannonball)” Gama Bunta called out as he released one large water bomb at Shukaku.

Shukaku deflected the attack by destroying it with another one of his Renkudan's (Steroid Blanks). The resulting mix of water and wind created a typhoon like atmosphere where water and wind was sprayed everywhere, flooding the land and pulling trees off their roots. Luckily, they were fighting inside a shadow realm, or else the entire landscape really would have changed for the worst.

Shukaku launched several more Renkudans at Gama Bunta. On the other hand, Gama Bunta continued to retaliate with his own Teppo Dama while still jumping around to avoid the windblasts. Unfortunately for Gama Bunta though, one of the Renkudans was able to make it through his assaults and actually hit him right in the face, the following explosion literally covered the entire sky in smoke.

“YAHOOOOO! I DID IT!! I KILLED HIM!!! KILLED HIM!!!!” Shukaku cheered as he swung his single arm around like a victory dance, only to be stopped abruptly when Gama Bunta landed heavily onto the ground in front of him, slightly singed but not much worse for wear.

“DAMN IT!! THAT REALLY HURT!!!!!” Gama Bunta roared in fury. “YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!!!!”

Naruto coughed some of the smoke out of his system and looked up at the current situation they were in. /SHIT! There's no way Gama Bunta can take another of those blasts. And continuing on with this cat and mouse chase isn't gonna help us any either. We'll soon run out of precious Chakra instead!/ Naruto thought frantically to himself as Gama Bunta tried to grip tightly onto Shukaku to stop his movements but to no avail.

That was when Naruto got an idea. /What was it that Aunt Ruri said again? Only a demon can defeat another demon... So that's what she meant./ Yet again, Naruto took some long seconds to debate over the merits of his idea, reluctant once again to go ask the one being in which had caused his life a lot of pain and yet seemed to be the only salvation offered to him currently. /Damn it! This is the third time in one day!!/ Mentally scolding himself, Naruto promised that he would never ask Kyuubi for such consecutive help later in his life. /It's now or never... Damn. I hate owing the fox!/

“Oi! Gama Oyabin! I've got an idea I wanna try but you might not like it!” Naruto yelled at Gama Bunta trying to catch his attention.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT?! I'M KINDA BUSY HERE!!!” Gama Bunta exclaimed as he made a jump to avoid another one of Shukaku's Renkudans.

“Let's do a Konbi Henge no Jutsu (Combined Transformation Technique) so that we turn into a creature that has fangs and claws to catch the Shukaku!” Naruto suggested as he dodged flying debris, probably a part of a tree. He paused for a moment before launching into the difficult part about the plan. “I want you to allow the Kyuubi to have some control over our movements.”

“WHAT!!!!!!” Gama Bunta roared in shock at Naruto's suggested, almost having his head blown off again by an incoming wind blast but dodged just in time. “YOU want ME to let that GOD FORSAKEN FOX to take control of MY body!!!! HELL NOOOOOO!!!!”

“Just listen! The Kyuubi has abilities that none of us have. It will most definitely be able to hold Shukaku off while I try to wake Gaara. We have to do this, Gama Oyabin, we don't have a choice!” Naruto persuaded Gama Bunta as best he could, willing the old Toad to understand the seriousness of their situation. He shared the same inherent mistrust of the fox as Gama Bunta - though to a lesser degree of course, but still, the current situation demanded it. And so, Naruto was willing to push aside his pride and innate fear of the fox's power to allow for this one incident.

Gama Bunta knew this - he knew that the kid wouldn't have even come up with the idea if the situation didn't call for it, which is why he eventually agreed. “Keep the fox out of my mind, Naruto!” Gama Bunta grunted out threateningly.

Naruto smiled slightly at the small sign of acceptance, though a shiver of fear ran through his spine. This would be the first time he had ever willingly let the fox have control of anything concerning his body or actions since the incident with Elle. “I will, I promise.” He spoke, more confidently than he actually felt. After that, he closed his eyes again to concentrate on reaching the demon within himself.

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“Oi! Kyuubi! Mind if you give me more than just your Chakra?” Naruto's slightly timid voice rang through the darkness.

“YOU WANT ME TO HELP THAT PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A TOAD, THE SAME TOAD THAT HELPED IMPRISON ME HERE IN THIS CAGE!!!! ARE YOU INSANE!!!!!?????” A deep growl followed the screeching exclamation as Kyuubi screamed his dissatisfaction.

A soft gulp could be heard from Naruto's mental figure. “Well... yes... just consider it for a bit, Kyuubi. I'm letting you out for a short amount of time and even giving you a temporary body to do actual combat with Shukaku. All you really need to do is keep him busy while I try to knock some sense back into Gaara. Gama Bunta is already dangerously low on Chakra even though he won't admit it. This fight can't last any longer.” Naruto explained patiently.

Swallowing his pride, Naruto uttered. “PLEASE... pretty please... for me...” Naruto pleaded in his innocent child-like voice. He had found out during his time in the Hidden Air village that the Kyuubi seem to have somehow adopted him as one of its kits surprisingly, and as such, was rather protective of him and his welfare. However, the change in attitude the fox had towards Naruto did not change the fact that Naruto was still afraid of it.

Through the years after his Aunt Ruri had set up the new seal, Naruto had slowly grown accustomed to having the fox sometime invade his thoughts or feel the emotions of the fox shared through their connection. He had come to realise that there was a very small chance he would ever be rid of the creature sealed inside of him, and as such, was simply content to just communicate with it from time to time. It gave him a sense that he wasn't completely alone, that his troubles would at least be shared with some one else, some thing else. For that, he was grateful to the fox.

But that didn't mean his sense of peace had eradicated the intrinsic uneasiness that came with the idea of actually using its powers. Naruto knew he still suffered the psychological effects of his time with Elle and he hated that he would always carry such a weakness in him. Even though the Kyuubi had proven itself to be more than willing to give part of its Chakra up when needed, Naruto was still very careful when and where he ever asked for it. After all, what's the point of letting Chakra stay inside the cage, never to be used or see the light of day? It'd be such a waste.

After a lot of mumbling, grumbling, complaining and growling (as a last resort against Naruto), Kyuubi stayed silence, which in itself, is a sign of its acceptance, though only reluctantly. Naruto finally smirked. /Shukaku won't know what hit him./

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Opening his eyes again, Naruto quickly performed the seal, gathering his Chakra, the Kyuubi's Chakra, and what's left of Gama Bunta's Chakra to make a combination Jutsu. “Konbi Henge no Jutsu (Combined Transformation Technique)” Naruto yelled as a large cloud of smoke suddenly covered the clearing. An instance after the transformation, a new form launched itself out of the thick smoke.

At first, Shukaku was confused at what this new creature entailed, but once it could focus completely on the new form, it's eyes widened in slight fear, for in front of him was none other than the Lord of Hell itself, Kyuubi no Kitsune. Not believing that the creature in front of it could possibly be the great lord Kyuubi, Shukaku took this transformation as an insult to the Demon kind and immediately threw forth another Renkudan at the fake fox.

Kyuubi/Gama Bunta just smirked in response and stood still. “You think that would even leave a scratch on ME!!???” The red furred fox roared out that last word as he swung two of his massive tails in a wide arc and flipped forth a windblast of its own at Shukaku. To call it just a `wind blast' would be an offence to its raw power, it was more like a hurricane force of its own. The impact of the Renkudan on this fearsome force didn't even leave a dent, in fact the Tsunami like wind force ripped the entire clearing of all its objects; trees, dirt, animals, rocks, anything and everything was ripped from its roots and flung backwards. Even Shukaku itself found it difficult to grip the lose ground underneath its feet, and it was a `sand' demon too.

Forced to slide backwards several hundred metres, Shukaku finally came to a stop as the hurricane winds died down, only to open its eyes to find the Kyuubi look-alike gone from in front of it. A deep growl sounded out from beside Shukaku. “Looking for me?” Shukaku reacted instinctively, swerving around and pushing himself backwards to keep the fox away from its vulnerable back, while still swinging its sand tail at the impostor in an offensive move.

The fox caught Shukaku's tail easily with one of its paws, and then slammed the appendage hard onto the ground, stepping directly on top of it to keep it still. Kyuubi/Gama Bunta barred its teeth at the Tanuki demon. “Surprised? You should be... I'm not just a pretty face, you know...” The combination transformed creature growled loudly in a very threatening manner.

That was when Shukaku finally realised that its assumption was wrong. “Kyuubi?” The creature literally stuttered the name out of its slightly slack jawed mouth.

“Nice to know you're not as dumb as you look.” The fox growled again before ramming itself forward, slamming its body against the Tanuki's (making Shukaku wince at the pain) and then griped the Sand demon with both his fore front claws and teeth, even wrapping his tail around the Tanuki to keep it from moving a single inch. Once Shukaku has been securely imprisoned, the fox growled in command. “Naruto! Do it NOW!”

The single form of Naruto suddenly launched himself off of Kyuubi/Gama Bunta's head. However, since the medium performing the Jutsu is gone, so did the Jutsu itself. A loud explosion sounded out as the legendary Kyuubi returned itself back into its cage, leaving a disgruntled looking Gama Bunta behind to handle Shukaku and keep it still. Naruto fell with style, aiming directly at Gaara and finally, when he was close enough, he punched Gaara will all the raw strength of his fist, without any added influences form any of his techniques.

“NOOOO! I ONLY JUST GOT MY FREEDOM!!!! NOOOoooo” Howled Shukaku as his eyes slowly turned back to a glazed hazel brown from its furious golden hue just moments ago. It could do nothing more than withdraw reluctantly back into the abyss as its host slowly awakened from slumber.

Seeing that Gaara had finally awoken from his technique, Naruto ran forward at the red haired boy, intending to finish this off once and for all. Gaara glared at the Leaf Shinobi with all his worth, and tried to summon forth his sand to stop the boy. Unfortunately for Gaara, with just a wave of his arm and hand, Naruto was able to knock all the sand away using the Tenshi no Doki (Angel's Wraith) that he had just performed on himself after he punched Gaara. The Sand once again tried to trap Naruto's feet, but Naruto saw the action, enhanced his legs with the Tenshi no Doki and jumped himself off the sand surface, quickly reaching Gaara's location.

With the Tenshi no Doki still in hand, Naruto strengthened the power of his fist and slammed it at Gaara's face for the second time that day, a resounding crack of fist hitting flesh can easily be heard by Gama Bunta as he watched in avid shock at the way Naruto chose to end the fight. /Though powerful, the move was completely inelegant.../ Gama Bunta thought to himself as he released his grip on the Sand demon, since it had already started breaking apart and disintegrating into sand particles, falling to the ground like harmless dust.

Gama Bunta then grunted in slight fatigue as he watched Naruto fall too. Seeing that the boy was okay as he landed lightly on his feet onto the ground, while the Sand boy had landed with a hard thump, literally crashing onto the Earth's hard surface. Sighing, Gama Bunta released the rest of his body's tension and decided that now would be a good time to go on since the battle had already been won, which is exactly what he did. The resulting dust cloud created by Gama Bunta's disappearance (including his short sword) shook the ground slightly but didn't' really affect the two original combatants much.

As if awaiting the ending of this fight, the Kage no Kekai (Shadow Prison) slowly dissolved into nothingness. Naruto in silent awe as their wasteland of a battleground slowly disappeared, as the original green forest of the fire country took its place. There were still birds in the trees, a soft wind rustling the leaves and the fresh dirt underneath their feet. It was a surreal experience, fighting within the Shadow prison and then returning to reality, almost like a dream even.

Naruto blinked to clear away his nostalgic thoughts and looked directly at the fallen boy in front of him calmly. Taking one step forward followed by another, Naruto slowly walked towards Gaara's unmoving form. Seeing his enemy approach, Gaara panicked. “Don't come any closer! My existence will not disappear! I won't allow it! I won't die! I refuse to die!!” Gaara shouted with all the conviction he had left, but Naruto didn't heed his warning and continued to walk towards him until he was standing right in front of the red haired boy.

With a very sad expression on his face, Naruto knelt down next to the boy and for a long while, they both waited, until Naruto finally decided to start talking to him, gently, softly. “It's not easy, is it... To be a demon carrier... I know...” Gaara continued to glare at the boy but still held a hint of fear and panic evident in his slightly confused eyes. “I know what it's like... to be trapped in the hell that is known as loneliness... I know what it's like... to be hunted down by your own kinsmen...” At this, Gaara's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“I know exactly how you feel... because I hold the same destiny...” Naruto trailed off slightly as his eyes glazed in remembrance, soon after though, he shook his head to clear off all thoughts on the past, and continued his speech with more conviction. “But I have precious people that are close to my heart now, and I won't allow you or anyone else to hurt them.” Naruto glared at the Sand boy. “Even if I have to kill you, I won't let you hurt my friends and family, my home.”

“Why...” Gaara whispered in confusion, needing to know the truth. “Why would you go so far for others?”

“Emotions are not weaknesses, Gaara. The greatest of strength comes from those who wish to protect their family and home. My family, my friends... they pulled me out of the darkness of my own heart, my own dark soul. They gave me a reason to live, not just to exist. They acknowledged me for who I am... That is why... they are precious to me.” Naruto explained patiently as if he was talking to a child, and in a sense, Gaara still was a child.

Gaara remembered a long lost conversation he had had with his ex-guardian. /Love.../ He remembered the meaning behind that word and the power it can inflict. /That's why he's so strong./ However, Gaara was quickly pulled out of his musings when several shurikens were launched at Naruto, and two familiar voices rang out through the forest. “Get away from Gaara!”

Naruto was still too tired from his fight and wasn't able to fully dodge the incoming shurikens, but it turned out he didn't have to anyway. A Kage Heki (Shadow Barrier) suddenly erupted directly in front of Naruto, deflecting the shurikens away before dissolving once again, leaving Naruto to blink in confusion.

When Temari and Kankuro started rushing at Naruto, Gaara commanded them to stop. “That's enough!” Both siblings immediately froze at the order and gazed at their youngest sibling in surprise. “I quit.” Gaara stated calmly to both his sibling's shock. When Temari and Kankuro were just about to heave Gaara up and leave the vicinity, a new voice rang out from behind them, stilling their movement.

“Gaara of the Sand. I have a proposition for you.” Kaga stated impassively as his eyes roamed over the injuries of the Sand siblings and the Uzumaki heir.

To be continued.

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(1) I've renamed the technique that Shikamaru used against Temari to this new version - the Kageho or Shadow Walk. It's the first step of the Kage Michi, so I wasn't lying before, I just gave it a new name.

(2) Here's a hint as to why even the great Uzumaki clan bow down to the Council Seven. Each of the council seven have their own unique ability that even the Uzumaki prophet won't be able to go against. Within the hierarchy of the Hidden Air Village, the Council Seven shares the same status as a governing position as the Uzumaki Prophet. As such, the Council Seven have the authority to rule over the Uzumaki Prophet's decisions and engagements since they have more people (majority rules thing). Yes, most internal and external affairs are all governed by the Uzumaki Prophet house, but the inner workings of the Uzumaki family itself is governed by the Council Seven. Basically, it's you watch my back I watch yours... literally.

(3) & (4) Um... My anime episode (78) for this particular scene was subbed by `Bakasan', so these translations are from the site “Naruto Ex” and there might be some inconsistencies with other translations. So yeah, please don't mind the actual translation for these comments.

(5) Original Jutsu for Kaga-san!!! This is the third stage in the Kage Michi. If anyone knows of the anime series/manga `X' or has seen it, this jutsu is basically a copy of the Seven Seal's Technique - the Kekai.

(6) Gama Bunta doesn't treat Naruto as his subordinate but he doesn't treat him as his boss either. They have a seemingly mutual respect for one another, not to mention, they've known each other for such a long time (Naruto first summoned Gama Bunta at the age of 9, just before he met Elle). And if anyone's wondering, Naruto practiced summoning the toads during his one month training period so he knows exactly how much amount of Chakra is used to summon which toad.