Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Genin ❯ Chapter 8: Marathon ( Chapter 8 )

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. Nor do Sakura, Sasuke, or any of the other characters mentioned or described herein. I haven't even bothered to get permission from their great and august creator. Feel free to sue me if you wish, but you won't get anywhere. Not only do I have no money, but as a college student, I have LESS than no money. That's right. A negative net worth. Have fun, Mr(s). Lawyer! Also, I will be using adult language in this fic. If you're not supposed to read such language, GO BACK TO SCHOOL!

Genin

By: Flashfyre5

Chapter Eight: Marathon

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Naruto asked in a hurried whisper, his hand resting lightly on her bent back. He could feel her whole body shiver with pain.

"I… don't… know…" Sakura replied, doing her best to keep her voice in a whisper. Then the pain intensified, and she arched her back. Sakura's mouth opened, and out of it issued an ear-wrenching scream of pain. As her head snapped back, Naruto could see her green irises filling slowly with red, the bloodlike tide advancing in towards her pupil.

"There you are," a voice intruded upon the two. Naruto, acting on reflex, planted his hands on the ground and shoved himself upwards, sending his feet into the air. His right foot caught Taka's chin in a glancing blow, and the surprised jounin fell back a step. Naruto twisted in the air and landed lightly on his feet. Taka circled slowly to the left, and Naruto mimicked him. Behind them, Sakura's wails of pain burst again and again upon the two.

"Your friend there's hurting pretty bad," Taka commented, sparing a glance toward the bush that Sakura was still hiding behind.

"And the sooner I beat you, the sooner I can get her to Tsunade," Naruto returned seriously. Taka looked back at Naruto, only to find that his opponent's eyes had become blood red and slitted. "Sorry, buddy, but I gotta end this fast," Naruto growled, his voice having dropped an octave from Kyuubi's chakra. He charged, his feet tearing up little clumps of earth as he ran.

"Shit," Taka cursed, then leapt into the air. He flipped over as he jumped, gathered his legs underneath him as he found an overhanging tree branch, then sprung back down, his left arm extended. Naruto barely had time for his eyes to widen before Taka's armored gauntlet slammed into his chest. He was knocked to the ground hard, and Naruto could hear little cracking noises as his ribs shuddered under the incredible amount of force that Taka had hit him with.

/It's like getting hit by Tsunade,/ Naruto thought as Taka touched down and leapt back into the air. /He's using his speed and the weight of those gauntlets to give him more hitting strength than he would ever have on his own!/ Naruto rolled and pushed himself to his feet. His chest burned as Kyuubi's chakra snapped his bones back into place and healed them. Hearing the flexing of wood behind him, Naruto dove to his left, and barely managed to avoid getting hit again by Taka's gauntlets.

"Nice, kiddo!" Taka crowed as he leapt upwards again. "Wish I was back in the canyons of the Wind country. Hell of a lot quieter there!"

"But you're here!" Naruto returned, leaping up after him. Taka landed on a branch again, but leapt upwards again, instead of back at Naruto. The blond-haired boy slashed with his claw like hands, but only managed to shear off the tree branch that Taka had used. Naruto landed with his feet on the tree and ran straight up it, pulling a pair of kunai from his pouch. Behind him, bark crumbled off of the tree at his passing, but Naruto was running too quickly for it to stop him. When Taka touched down above him, Naruto slung a kunai at the red-haired man as hard as he could. The kunai flew true, and slashed through Taka's right bicep, then embedded itself in the tree trunk. Taka just grinned and leapt down towards Naruto.

"Game over, kiddo. Uchi-kudaku Ude Toppu," he grinned, catching Naruto full in the chest with his gauntlet. Naruto, instead of squirming away, reached out and clutched Taka to himself. "What?" Taka exclaimed, then the two of them slammed into the ground. Dust shot into the air, and chunks of earth were sent flying from the point of impact. As it cleared, Taka forced himself to his feet and stumbled away.

"Damn fool brat," he muttered as he rested against a tree. "If he woulda at least tried to get away, that wouldn't have killed him." Taka noticed that the pink-haired girl's screams had been reduced to pained moans.

"Who says that I'm dead?" Naruto's Kyuubi-altered voice growled. Taka turned in surprise to see Naruto standing, hunched over, glaring at him. With an audible snap, his obviously broken left arm straightened, and Naruto flexed it. This process continued with the other major bones in Naruto's body that had been broken in the impact. "They don't call me the number one toughest ninja in Konoha for nothing," the blond-haired boy grinned, standing up straight.

"Damn, kid. You're something else," Taka marveled, shaking his head. Wearily, he pushed away from the tree and fell into a fighting stance, surrendering the offensive to Naruto.

"You are too, old man," Naruto returned with a grin. "I wish that we could fight for longer, but Sakura needs help." /That and the fact that I've wasted way too much chakra healing myself from his attacks. I've gotta end this fight now,/ Naruto thought grimly, glaring at the man. /The Hisan na Saigo Ha'll do it,/ he decided, his jaw set. Taka took note of his words and leapt away from the blond-haired boy.

* * * * * *

Sakura sat up slowly, clutching her head. The world seemed to spin around her, but it settled down quickly enough. Her hand, as it held the front of her head, seemed to glow with a soft blue light, which hovered over and moved with her hand.

"What happened to me?" she wondered aloud, then moaned loudly as a wave of nauseous pain washed over her. Dust seemed to swirl around her for a minute, and Sakura remembered that she had heard a great crash just a few moments ago. She forced away her nausea and turned to look in the direction of the noise.

She saw Taka, leaning on a tree and panting heavily. He was surrounded by a soft blue glow, but it was more intense than the glow in her own hands by far. Then she saw Naruto, and had to double-check that he wasn't engulfed in some kind of wildfire. Washing out from his body in waves was an incredible glow; it fully engulfed his half of the clearing. In the middle of it, Naruto was slowly standing up straight, accompanied by several loud cracking and popping noises. Sakura winced with each, barely able to contain her horror.

"Damn, kid. You're something else," the red-haired man marveled from his position across the clearing. He pushed himself away from his tree, and the blue glow around him flared, then concentrated around his arms and legs.

"You are too, old man," Naruto returned as the incredible red radiance around him died down somewhat. "I wish that we could fight for longer, but Sakura needs help," he finished, and Sakura could just imagine the grin that was on his face. She tried to call out to Naruto, but a wave of pain engulfed her as she was about to speak, and Sakura could only clutch her head and moan. When she looked up again, Taka had leapt away, and Naruto was following him on the ground.

"This is it, kiddo. I haven't had to use this move in a long time," Taka grinned from his position on top of one of the trees. Naruto, now quite some distance away from Sakura, stopped and stared up at Taka, standing at the ready. Taka made several hand seals quickly, but he was too far away from Sakura for her to see anything more distinct than moving hands.

"Bring me down, and take the next step towards becoming a jounin!" Taka grinned, his goatee pulled as his face produced a devilish grin. "Hayasa no Oto no Jutsu!" he declared, and Sakura saw a little pocket of blue glow leap away from his body. It formed into a needle-like shape around Taka, then the man leapt off of the branch and down towards Naruto. He was moving incredibly fast, and Sakura could barely keep up with his movement. Only because of the blue pocket around him could Sakura keep track of Taka's movements. He landed and hit Naruto hard, leapt to a nearby tree, and hit him again before Naruto could react.

Suddenly, Sakura realized that Naruto had been tricked; he was standing in between three trees, which formed a triangle around him. /Taka can hit him, rebound off of one of the nearby trees, and strike again before Naruto can even react!/ Sakura thought with widening eyes. /I've gotta help him!/ Quickly, she formed a few hand seals of her own, while concentrating on Taka.

"Chui na Me no Jutsu," she said, hoping that it would be enough to allow Naruto to make his move.

* * * * * *

Taka grinned as he rebounded off of the first tree in the little triangle that he'd found. He believed that anyone who wanted to be a Jounin had to earn it, and he wasn't about to pull any punches, considering who this kid was.

/Gaara's equal, the infamous nine-tails-fox kid,/ he grinned to himself as he slammed his gauntlet into Naruto's back. /He's something else./ When he didn't hear the sounds of snapping bone, Taka winced. /The Hayasa no Oto lets me move more quickly, but I just don't have as much acceleration room here,/ he thought grimly as he rebounded again, this time streaking towards Naruto's side. His lungs were burning, but he didn't dare release the breath that he held. /That's the strength and weakness of this skill,/ he thought, his arm slamming into Naruto's kidney. /It removes the air from around my body, so I've got no wind resistance whatsoever. On the other hand, I can't breathe, so I've gotta finish this quickly./

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Taka saw the pink-haired girl diving towards him, a kunai in hand. Her eyes were wild, intent on injuring him. The red-haired man twisted in midair, avoiding her knife but missing his own strike. Then he saw another pink-haired girl flying at him, kunai raised for an overhand blow. Taka's lungs were burning now; he had no choice but to release his jutsu. He gulped in air, and dodged her strike, leaping up into the trees again.

"Kage Bunshin?" he wondered aloud as he dodged another strike from another girl, which seemed to come out of nowhere. She was so fast too, almost as fast as he was. /Wait a minute,/ he wondered, glancing down at Naruto. The boy had recovered, and was performing hand steals at an alarming rate. Again, out of the corner of his eye, Taka saw another pink-haired girl diving towards him, her kunai ready to disembowel him. Instead of dodging this time, however, Taka interposed his gauntlet between them, to block. The girl passed right through his gauntlet, and right through his body as well.

"Damn! Genjutsu!" he cursed, catching a tree branch and rebounding back towards Naruto. He saw several more of the pink-haired girls flying towards him from his perceived weak points, but he was focused on Naruto now. The boy had been performing far too many hand seals; if he wasn't stopped soon…

"Game over, old man," Naruto grinned up at Taka, his eyes flashing. For a moment, Taka thought he could see an intense red aura of chakra surrounding the kid, but then Naruto hunched down. "Katon: Hisan na Saigo Ha no Jutsu!" he shouted, and a little bubble of red chakra surrounded his body. It swelled slowly for a second, then exploded away from his body. In the instant before it reached him, Taka could see that the wave was being pushed away from Naruto by an intense flow of red chakra, greater than anything that he'd ever seen before. Then the wave hit him, and his entire world was pain. He felt like he was burning all over, and being crushed from every direction. Around him, trees were blasted from roots that had held them in place for a hundred years, flung away as if they were no more than matchsticks. Leaves were torn from those that would not move, and incinerated around them, ignited by the sheer heat of the technique.

Then it was over, and Taka was tumbling, end over end in the air. He was dazed, and couldn't even remember which way was up. Beneath him, the clearing had been widened to a remarkable degree. Trees were downed everywhere, singe marks covering their boles. Finally, as he tumbled downwards like a rag doll, Taka realized that there was nothing left for him to catch, or even jump off of. He was plummeting towards the ground at a lethal rate. /Damn,/ he cursed inwardly, pulling his hands in to form seals. /Gotta use Hiko no Jutsu./ Just before he struck the ground, he managed to finish the last seal and pull up barely enough chakra to make the extremely difficult jutsu work.

"Hiko no Jutsu!" he announced, and wind buffeted him from underneath. It slowed his fall, and stopped him mere inches above the ground. There, he hovered unsteadily for a moment. Then something jumped on his back, and there was a kunai at his throat.

"I win," Naruto announced as his weight pushed them both to the ground. The blond-haired boy was breathing hard, as was his opponent.

"Fine, fine. Just get the hell off of me!" Taka squirmed underneath the boy's weight. Naruto complied, and the elder man stood, brushing himself off. "That was amazing," Taka wondered aloud as he looked around the now-enlarged clearing. Naruto merely nodded, still trying to catch his own breath. "How'd you know I wasn't gonna die from the fall?" Taka asked, casting a raised eyebrow at Naruto. The boy's eyes were blue now, and his fingernails were no longer claws.

"Your bio said that you had a technique called Hiko no Jutsu," Naruto explained, standing up straight and putting his kunai away. "Plus, you're a jounin. People like that don't die so easily." Taka chucked at the boy; unlike Gaara, this boy was happy and cheerful. The difference between the two was remarkable, really.

"You compared me to Gaara earlier," Naruto said suddenly, looking towards the old man. "Why? Nobody's done that in years." Taka ruffled his own hair a bit, before replying with a half-grin.

"You two are the same. At least, that's what most people say," Taka finally said, walking slowly towards the pink-haired girl's position. Now that he knew that she had been performing genjutsu, he was fairly certain that she'd stayed where she had been earlier. Naruto looked down at the ground, a sad expression on his face. "It's not true, though," Taka continued, weaving his fingers together behind his head. "I mean, sure, in that way, but you're different in every other way. You live you life, kid. Gaara mourns his. You might as well be night and day." Naruto looked up in surprise and stared at the red-haired jounin for a moment.

"Thanks," Naruto said quietly, blushing just a bit.

"Don't worry about it," Taka replied, looking over at Naruto. He placed a gauntleted hand on Naruto's shoulder and stopped, turning Naruto to face him. "When this is all over, do me a favor, okay?"

"Sure," Naruto nodded, surprised. "What is it?" he asked.

"Go teach my nephew how to live. You're the only one that ever reached him through that sand," Taka said solemnly, his face for once looking every one of his sixty plus years. "He thinks that he's lost everything, and even his brother and sister can't get through to him anymore."

"You're Gaara's…" Naruto trailed off, surprised.

"His mother's brother," Taka said, a wan smile on his face. "His father wouldn't let me see him when he was young. Nowadays…" Taka shook his head. "He barely knows me, and wouldn't listen if I tried to talk to him."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, his voice quiet. He could feel the older man's sadness. "Right! I'll do it!" he grinned, putting a thumbs-up between them. /Shoulda guessed from the hair,/ Naruto thought to himself sheepishly, as he lowered his thumb and scratched the back of his head.

* * * * * *

Sasuke glanced around warily as he settled into position, crouching into the crook of a tree branch. Naruto was fighting some red-haired man surrounded by a good amount of blue chakra. /Actually,/ Sasuke thought with a grin, /the red-haired guy's beating the crap out of him. If I get lucky, someone else will kill him before he even gets a chance to try for my life./ Then, Sasuke's face darkened. /But then the red-haired man would come after me. I'll have to kill them both./ Sasuke marveled for a minute at the fact that, though the fourth pupil of his Shijuukaigan Sharingan had faded away, his normal Sharingan was still active. Actually, he'd found that he couldn't turn it off anymore. /Not that that's a problem,/ he thought with a grin.

Then, his attention was recaptured by the fighting duo. Apparently, Naruto had managed to escape the red-haired man's attacks for a moment. Then, Sasuke's eyes widened as a wave of annihilation burst away from Naruto. He watched in awe as trees were ripped from their roots, and the earth was scoured to its' base. Then it was over, and he found himself hiding in a tree without leaves. He moved a few more trees away from the new clearing to give himself more cover.'

A flash of pink caught his eye, and Sasuke turned to look more closely. There was Sakura, kneeling behind a tree as Naruto finished off his opponent. /She's the only one I can trust,/ he thought for a moment, but then she stood up and moved to join Naruto in the clearing.

"I knew it," Sasuke growled, his eyes narrowing. /He's made her his bitch,/ he thought angrily, his ire rising. /Always taking away what's mine. I'll kill him in front of her eyes, then I'll kill her for betraying me!/ he decided, then leapt down to the ground. Sakura heard him, but he was too fast for her. Sasuke grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into the clearing, then thrust her to the ground. She screamed, tumbling once, then catching her feet underneath her. Her eyes were Sharingan red, and the lone orbiting pupil around them whirled rapidly, a sign of her fear.

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" she asked as she rose, her voice betraying her fear. "What's happened to you?" she asked, stepping backwards slowly. Sasuke suddenly remembered that he was still covered in Kakashi's blood, and brought his blood covered right arm up slowly.

"Kakashi tried to kill me," he grinned, his smile a death's head grin. "So I killed him first." Sakura fell backwards with a horrified expression on her face. Her jaw shook, and her eyes were wide.

"You fucking bastard!" Naruto shouted, running towards Sasuke. "How could you?" he demanded, stopping a few feet away from the raven-haired boy.

"He tried to kill me," Sasuke repeated, focusing on Naruto. The red-haired man was still alive, but was staying back. From his chakra, Sasuke could tell that he was exhausted, and presented no real danger. /For now,/ Sasuke thought. /I'll still have to kill him, or he'll get better and come after me./ Suddenly, Sasuke rushed forward, his grin twisting into a look of horrid determination.

"And so are you!" he shouted, slamming his fist into Naruto's face. Naruto flew back, rolled once, and pushed himself to his feet. Sasuke had already drawn a kunai, and was charging towards the defenseless boy. Viciously, Sasuke slashed Naruto's gut, aiming to disembowel the boy. There was an explosion of ninja smoke, and Sasuke found his kunai embedded in a log. He abandoned it, drawing another, and spun around just in time to get punched in the gut by Naruto. Sasuke kept his footing, despite Naruto's strength, and jumped away from the fist. He circled wide around Naruto, using his newfound speed to his advantage.

/He's so much faster than he was,/ Naruto thought to himself, barely able to keep his eyes on the incredibly fast boy. Suddenly, Sasuke charged in, and Naruto leapt upwards. He barely cleared Sasuke's head, and the raven-haired boy circled around and dashed in again. After he landed, Naruto frantically dove left, barely avoiding a slash that would have sliced his throat open. /There's no way I can keep up with him alone. Even with Kyuubi's help, he'd be faster,/ Naruto thought as he dodged another running slash. /He's almost as fast as Taka!/

Again, Sasuke charged, but this time he threw shuriken as he advanced, trying to keep Naruto within the path of his kunai. Naruto had no choice but to ready himself for Sasuke's inevitable charge. Trusting his nerves, he suddenly performed a vicious chin kick. Sasuke was caught by it, and he flew up and away from Naruto for a moment, his momentum reversed by the force of Naruto's kick. Then, Naruto felt pressure on his foot. Sasuke had planted his feet on Naruto's, and used it as a springboard to regain control of his flight. He flipped backwards and flung a kunai through Naruto's right hand. Naruto cried out as he stood, then shook his hand hard. The kunai spun out of his wound, and the two boys faced each other warily once again.

/I can't use the Hisan na Saigo Ha,/ Naruto thought with a glance to Sakura and Taka. /They'll get caught up in it too./

/He's stuck,/ Sasuke thought with a grin. /He can't use his blasting technique because he's afraid of killing those two rats./ Then his eyes widened as Naruto's hands came up to perform a jutsu. His chakra flared, and the red of Kyuubi's chakra poured out of the boy. Sasuke found himself a split second too late to copy Naruto's jutsu as he was performing it, but his Sharingan eyes caught Naruto's hand seals.

"Honshitsu Bunshin!" Naruto shouted, and was surrounded by a great explosion of ninja smoke. Slowly, the wind blew it away to reveal five clones, standing in a pentagon around Naruo's fallen form.

/He must've passed out from the jutsu,/ Sasuke thought; his eyes could barely see any chakra around Naruto's body. Then the clones charged, and Sasuke fell back, defending himself. When he had seen Naruto's Honshitsu Bunshin the first time, Naruto had toyed with him. Now, the clones were fighting at full strength, and an obvious determination to save their creator.

The first clone dove at Sasuke, and the raven-haired boy vaulted over it, planting his hands on its back and kicking his legs out to either side. He managed to clip a clone with his left leg, but the one charging in on him from his right managed to duck its shoulder a bit. Then, using the spinning momentum that it had gained, it smashed its left fist into Sasuke's face. The raven-haired boy fell backwards onto the back of the very clone that he had vaulted. He rolled, coming forward and grabbed the clone by the lapels on its jacket. Sasuke continued his forward momentum and rolled onto the ground. He then planted a foot in the clone's stomach and kicked hard, even as he pulled the clone in his roll. The clone was sent flying, and Sasuke rolled to his feet, just in time to get kicked in the stomach by a fourth clone. Sasuke staggered back, having lost his breath.

A fifth clone charged at him from behind and smashed him hard in the back of the head, shouting, "U!" Another found his right side, and slammed its fist into Sasuke's neck, missing his cheek by inches. The impact was accompanied by a cry of, "Zu!" Then Sasuke's momentum was reversed by the third clone, which hit his face squarely, shouting, "Ma!" Then, as Sasuke knew was coming by this point, a fourth clone kicked him hard, in the underside of the chin. His cry of, "Ki!" rang clearly through the clearing.

Sasuke was floating for a moment in the air, but his face hurt all over, and badly. /They're stronger than they were before,/ Sasuke thought frantically. /He must really be trying to kill me now!/ Then, the clone that he had thrown earlier was behind him, and kicked Sasuke hard, sending him downwards.

"Naruto Rendan!" the clone shouted, following its kick with a vicious punch. Sasuke fell to the ground hard, crashing in the midst of the clones. They did not attack as he slowly stood. Blood streamed from a cut in Sasuke's brow, and he was bruised all over. The clones surrounded him and just stared at him, seeming to taunt Sasuke with their superior numbers.

"Why'd ya do it?" one of them asked, and Sasuke realized that it was actually crying. "You meant everything to Kakashi-sensei."

"Yeah," another agreed, stepping forward. This one too, was beginning to tear up, but it wiped its arm across its face. "Just… Just… How could you?" it demanded, then punched Sasuke hard. The raven-haired boy tumbled backwards and rolled a couple of times before he stopped. The clones did not pursue him. The four of them just stood there, staring at him in grieving judgment. The fifth, removed from the group by virtue of his airborne role in the combo, made no move to join his comrades or advance on Sasuke.

Slowly, Sasuke pushed himself to his feet, using only his left hand. /They'll kill me if they attack again,/ Sasuke worried, looking at the group, icy fear flowing through his veins. /There's only one way. Enlightenment./ Slowly, he pulled the small, cream-colored scroll from his jacket. Bits of blood were now spattered on its outside, and his blood-soaked right hand coated one side of the scroll with red blood. Summoning his remaining strength, Sasuke tossed it upwards and began to perform hand seals.

"Shit!" one of the clones cried, bursting forward into a run. "Get him!" it shouted, and the others broke into a charge as well. Their advance only steeled Sasuke's nerves, and his eyes narrowed.

"I'll kill you!" Sasuke shouted, his eyes wild. He caught the scroll easily, and his hands flew flawlessly and quickly together to form the hand seals required for his jutsu. The clones hadn't even covered half of the distance between them when he finished.

"Shijuukaigan Sharingan!" Sasuke shouted, and again the physical world faded from view. There was again only chakra before his eyes, and power flowed through Sasuke's veins like fire. His arms and legs firmed up for the second time that day as the Shijuukaigan Sharingan pushed him closer to his true potential. Most of all, however, his brain seemed to burn, as old memories were purged and new thoughts were forced in. Sasuke barely noticed; he had nothing that he cared to hold on to.

/Victims,/ he grinned viciously, eyeing the five approaching clones. /Killing them won't be as satisfying as the real thing, but there's three prizes at the end,/ Sasuke decided, marking Sakura, Naruto, and Taka. /Damn,/ he remembered. /Only two. The bitch has to live, for now./ The pink-haired girl herself was on the ground, clutching her head as she rolled around in agony.

Sasuke blurred into motion, easily dodging the first clone's attack. Almost dismissively, the raven-haired boy plucked a kunai from the clone's holster, then thrust the sharp dagger through the base of its neck from behind, severing the spinal cord. It hung in the air for a moment, a comically surprised look on its face, then exploded into a puff of smoke, the kunai taken with it. The other clones slowed to a stop and spread out warily. Sasuke could just imagine what they were thinking, and he grinned viciously.

"You were so confident before," Sasuke taunted them, his eyes wide open and wild. "Where'd it all go? Is the little clone squad rethinking its plan?" The clones didn't respond, other than to arm themselves. Sasuke grinned mockingly at them, allowing the clones their preparations. /It's all so clear now,/ he thought as he eyed the four combatants. /I'm no avenger. I'm a purger. I exist in this world to bring it to an end. What a glorious destiny./ One of the clones snapped a branch on a fallen tree, and the action brought Sasuke back to the present.

"Mmmmmm," he sighed happily, eyeing his targets. "Time for the killing to start." He held out his arms, and they crackled with his new chakra. Soon, the chakra coalesced into a Chidori, the unique chittering sound shattering the false peacefulness that had fallen on the clearing. Then, a second Chidori formed in his other palm, and one of the clones cursed.

"Shit," it muttered, eyeing Sasuke nervously.

"I didn't know that he had that much chakra," another agreed, drawing a second kunai. Sasuke grinned wildly for a moment, then charged forward at a blinding speed.

Behind him, a clone shouted, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," but Sasuke paid it no mind. Armed with his newfound speed, the first clone that he targeted didn't even have a chance to dodge. It was pierced through the middle of the chest by Sasuke's right arm. A look of pained failure crossed its face before it exploded into nothingness. Sasuke charged out of the smoke of its demise towards a second clone, which had the misfortune of standing next to its comrade. This one managed to dodge left, then right as Sasuke tried to stab it with his remaining Chidori. A fallen tree behind it, however, did the clone in when it tripped. Sasuke rammed his arm through the clone's head and into the tree that it had fallen on. He stood up slowly, grinning to himself in satisfaction.

Suddenly, a hail of shuriken filled the air, and Sasuke found himself on the defensive. The first Honshitsu Bunshin clone had divided itself into a host of Kage Bunshin clones, and the dozens of copies were filling the air around Sasuke with shuriken so thickly that, despite his incredible speed, Sasuke found himself being struck several times by the sharpened metal stars. Eventually, the hail slowed enough for Sasuke to escape. His Sharingan eyes searched the crowd and located the one Honshitsu Bunshin clone among the horde. With a grin of bloodthirstiness, Sasuke charged into the shocked crowd and disemboweled the Honshitsu Bunshin clone. The area all around him exploded in a great shroud of ninja smoke as the Kage Bunshin were dispelled by the Honshitsu Bunshin's passing. The shuriken that had embedded themselves into Sasuke vanished as well, and Sasuke winced anew in pain.

/Damn it,/ he thought, his jaw clenched at the sheer number of wounds that now dotted his body. /I'll bleed out if I don't do something quickly./ About fifty feet away from him, the last Honshitsu Bunshin clone stood nervously. It clutched a kunai in each hand and watched Sasuke nervously as the smoke cleared around him.

"Looks like it's time for you to die, fox-boy," Sasuke grinned, rubbing the fingers of his right hand together. Kakashi's blood was still wet, and he enjoyed the texture of it on his hands.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" the clone asked, its voice betraying its surprise and fear. /Yes,/ Sasuke smiled as he thought. /It's fear. Naruto fears me; finally, things have come full circle./

"Nothing is wrong," Sasuke said, stepping forward. "For the first time in my life, everything is right, Naruto. Everything." Another step forward. Another. Another.

"You used to be a good person," Naruto accused, his eyes narrowing. Sasuke felt a moment of regret as Naruto's fear vanished into determination. "Now look at you. You're just like your brother."

"I'm nothing like him!" Sasuke roared, drawing a kunai. "Nothing at all. I'll prove it when he gets here!"

"What?" Naruto wondered aloud, his eyebrows scrunching together in confusion.

"Itachi is coming back," Sasuke grinned, his anger vanished like a springtime shower. "And he's coming for me this time. Not you, me. And I'll kill him this time." Sasuke noticed out of the corner of his eye that Sakura was climbing to her feet, albeit woozily. Her eyes glowed oddly to Sasuke, but then he remembered why they would glow.

"And Sakura will be mine afterwards," Sasuke declared, readying himself to charge forward. He heard Sakura gasp in surprise, and Naruto's eyes narrowed in anger. "I'll raze this town to the ground, and I'll paint the ashes with the blood of its former inhabitants. Then I'll take the bitch," he said coldly, motioning to Sakura, "and I'll keep killing and killing until there are only the two of us left."

"You're right," Naruto's clone growled after a minute, its shock abating quickly. "You're nothing like your brother. You make him look like a fucking saint."

"Shut up!" Sasuke roared, dashing forward. The clone tried to dodge, but Sasuke's rage-enhanced speed proved to be too much for it. Sasuke buried his kunai into the clone's stomach, and grinned savagely as its body squirmed, trying to maintain cohesion.

"I'll leave the real you alive until the very end," Sasuke decided, breathing heavily into the clone's face. "You love this village so much; I can't imagine a sweeter torture than to force you watch as I kill every single person that lives in it."

"I'll kill you… you bastard," the clone managed, gasping in pain. Sasuke broke out in laughter and twisted his kunai viciously. The clone exploded into ninja smoke, its chakra spent.

"Keep dreaming," Sasuke addressed the smoke even as he moved out of it. He saw Sakura cowering next to Naruto's body at his presence. He blew her a mocking kiss, then moved determinedly towards the red-haired man. /Che,/ he thought disappointedly. /Only one prize here, I suppose./

"What are you?" the old man asked, sliding into a fighting stance.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he replied smoothly, lazily spinning the kunai that he had used to dispatch Naruto's last clone.

"You're a monster," the man accused, then charged at Sasuke. He tried to clothesline the younger ninja with his massive right gauntlet, but Sasuke ducked easily. As the red-haired man passed, Sasuke could hear his heavy breathing. /He's tired. This won't even be fun,/ Sasuke thought, his manic grin turning into a scowl. /If he can't fight, it's not worth drawing it out,/ he decided after a moment's consideration. When the old man charged forward again, Sasuke allowed himself to be clipped by the gauntlet. He used the proximity that this allowed him to bury his kunai in the man's throat. He stumbled forward a few paces, clutching at the dagger buried inside of him. He fell to his knees, then onto his face. Blood the color of his hair poured out of his throat.

"Che. That wasn't even fun," Sasuke snorted, walking over to the still-warm corpse. As he was about to leave, he looked again at the heavy gauntlets on the red-haired man's arms. Bending over, he tugged one off and slid it onto his own arm.

"Perfect fit," he grinned, and reached down to retrieve the other. Evidently, Sakura had found her voice behind him.

"God, Sasuke," she cried, her usually clear voice ruined by sobbing. "Why? You didn't need to. We would have taken you back!" Sasuke turned, still pulling the second gauntlet on, and looked at her. "Even after you killed Kakashi-sensei. All you had to do was ask!"

"Haven't you learned by now?" Sasuke asked, grinning. He walked over to her slowly, and Sakura's sobbing turned into terror at the sight of the advancing blood-covered avatar of death before her. He bent over her, and the fetid smell of drying blood and Sasuke's breath washed over Sakura. Somehow, she couldn't pull together the force of will to draw a kunai and attack the raven-haired boy.

"I don't need anyone," Sasuke declared quietly, grabbing her chin. He pulled her in forcefully and kissed her hard. Sakura squirmed and tried to pull away, but his grip was iron. Then, Sasuke released her and ran into the forest, laughing like a maniac.

"I'll see you later, Sakura-chan," Sasuke's voice echoed back at her, his tone a twisted mockery of the cheerful childhood nickname that Naruto had bestowed upon her. Sakura collapsed over Naruto's unconscious body and tried her best to forget the horrible memory of Sasuke's kiss. Underneath her eyelids, her Sharingan eyes whirled slowly, in silent mockery of her foolishness.

*** Author's Notes ***

Another chapter down, another dead at the hands of the newest member of the Homicidal Maniacs club. I hope you guys liked this chapter- if there's too much fighting in it, I'm sorry. On the other hand, I'd have to ask… why are you reading Naruto, then? Hrmmm… what else? Oh, yeah! Thanks, everyone, for your reviews. If you want, I could hold a Kakashi fanboy and fangirl séance for all of you who wrote to me in tears at the tragic demise of everybody's favorite gray-haired jounin. At least he's got a traveling companion on the road to heaven now…

As some of you have guessed, Taka is, to a great extent, an author self-insert. But now he's dead. So there. No over-powered "I win cuz I'm the author's pet character" characters for me. Realistically, I needed for Sasuke to get those gauntlets, so I just decided to have some fun with the character that evolved around the damn things. Some people have commented that this fic is getting dark. I'd have to respond by saying… yeah. That's what happens when one of the main characters decides to embark on a killing spree. Creates great tension, though.

Once again, I'd like to thank everyone out there who's been playing prereader for me. The group seems to rotate randomly, so I'm not gonna name any names here anymore. Also, I was wondering if anyone actually cares about the "Number One Song on Naruto's Playlist" section and the "Character Themes" section. If you do, write in to me, but otherwise, I'm thinking about just dropping them. If there's any interest at all out there, the music will continue to flow!

And, finally, now THREE chapters after I issued the challenge, STILL nobody has figured out the whole setup behind Masako's name. Thus, I will repeat all of the clues about her that I have scattered around the fic. Let's see if anyone can figure things out now…

Clue 1.) Masako's full name is Toru Masako.

Clue 2.) Masako's REAL name is Toru Michino (and yes, this IS the improper word order in Japanese if you manage to translate both parts of her name)

Clue 3.) Masako claims to be Itachi's partner.

Clue 4.) Masako was present, though not an active participant in the Uchiha clan massacre.

Clue 5.) Masako apparently had, or has, a relationship with Itachi.

Let's see if I can't get a winner when I lay things out for you like that. And now, I'm gonna add a prize in! If someone manages to get the correct answer before I reveal it, I will make YOU a Konoha Jounin in THIS fanfic. You will get to help design your own original moves, and I'll let you fight against the Naruto character of YOUR CHOICE (So long as you choose Naruto, Sakura, Lee, Sasuke, Neji, or Iruka). ONLY the first person who writes in to me will win this award, so get cracking!

Have fun!

~Flash (Flashfyre5@msn.com)

The Number One Song on Naruto's Playlist:

"Distortions from Dark Matter," by Jonathon Striker. This is a GREAT remix of Magus's theme from Chrono Trigger. It is an ABSOLUTE MUST-PLAY while reading any of the more intense fight scenes in this fic (Read: This Whole Chapter). Find it at (vgmix.com).

Character Themes:

Sorano Taka: "Dr. Stuard," by Jeff n Toad Air Team Challengers. This is a very high-quality remix of a F-Zero GX song. I enjoyed it greatly, and it's got the speedy feeling that Taka would appreciate. I've just noticed that I've gone two chapters in a row with giving character themes for characters after they die. Pity. Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend picking this gem up at (vgmix.com).

New Moves:

Katon: Hisan na Saigo Ha no Jutsu- Fire Element: Catastrophic Ruin Wave Skill. This technique releases chakra from all over the body, and channels it in the form of a shockwave. The effective range of this technique is great- a sphere of approximately 300 square yards, making it functionally inescapable. Damage depends on the relative closeness to the user. At a range of 150 yards or more, a person would be knocked off their feet. At up to 50 yards, the target is hit with enough force to send them flying hard enough to break bones, if they land poorly. At up to 25 yards, internal damage can occur in addition to this. Any closer, and internal damage is nearly guaranteed. At that range, there's a good chance of death for the untrained. This technique can be used to blast away ranged weapons, and even ranged jutsus. It is optimally used as a counter-attack skill.

Uchi-kudaku Ude Toppu- Shattering Arm Blast. This technique is a high-powered taijutsu technique. The user gains a great deal of height, then rebounds to slam into his target with a great deal of force. Taka is able to enhance the potency of this maneuver with his gauntlets, which add both weight and impact strength to the maneuver. In terms of single-hit impact power, it is comparable to the Secondary Lotus, but is much easier to dodge. The Lotus, on the other hand, is almost unstoppable. A simple Kawarimi can often upset the success of this maneuver.

Hayasa no Oto no Jutsu- Speed of Sound Skill. This technique uses a great deal of chakra to actively push all air molecules away from the user of the technique. This allows a speed specialist to gain even more speed, due to lack of air resistance. It is, by necessity, a time-limited skill, due both to the user's chakra reserves and his need to breathe. It can, however, be the difference between winning and losing a speed-dependant battle.

Hiko no Jutsu- Flight Skill. This is ninjutsu of the highest order. It buffets the user from underneath with enough wind to cause him or her to float. The chakra drain from its' use, however, is breathtaking. As such, it is most often used as an emergency escape skill, or to save one's hide from a very, very high fall.

Chui Na Me no Jutsu- Mind's Eye Skill. This mid-level genjutsu feeds upon it's target's perceived weaknesses. Once cast, when it's target perceives that he or she is leaving an opening for an attack, they will see and hear the caster making an attack on them in that method. This often creates the illusion of several copies of the caster, in addition to the real user. The objective of this skill is to create an opening that the caster actually can take advantage of. This technique, however, does burn through chakra fairly quickly, so maintaining it for any real length of time is impractical and unwise.