Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Naruto Dragon Champion ❯ The Will of Fire Part 2 ( Chapter 16 )

Naruto - The Twin Swords

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to it's creator and not me…but anything not related to Naruto in this story DOES belong to me….so let's leave it at that.

Chapter 15

The will of Fire

Part 2

( ): Thoughts

(“ ”): Holy Talon's voice

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Back in the Forest…

Naruto looked on as his enhanced eye-sight allowed him to spot Gaara who was on the head of the massive demon raccoon that he rightly guessed to be the form of Gaara's inner demon, known as the Shukaku…he had to admit that the sight of the massive creature was certainly a cause for concern for him…to think that the Village of the Hidden Sand had been able to seal that creature in Gaara as a child was a very horrifying thought at how much had been lost for Gaara.

He had no doubts that the procedure must have been truly painful for Gaara's mother and what Gaara had to deal with growing up…but as much as he felt Gaara's pain as it mirrored his own, he knew that unless he defeated…or if it really came to that…killed Gaara, then his friends would pay the ultimate price for his hesitation.

“Let's do this Boss Toad!”

“Aye…now let me show you how a warrior fights to defend those who are his family!”

Gamabunta took out his massive short sword and quickly charged right at the demon sand raccoon and after avoiding an incoming bullet of condensed air, the giant toad summon was able to slice off one of the arms. The sand demon raccoon roared and turned at the giant toad and that was the sign that things were going to get nasty.

And sure enough, the massive sand raccoon unleash a barrage of diamond hard spikes of sand at both Naruto and Gamabunta…and both of them managed to get away as the spikes slammed hard on the ground…ripping apart large tracks of forests as the Lord of the Toad Summons moved away and readied his sword once more…

“Fighting Shukaku of all things will not be easy…however, we should be grateful that the medium of Shukaku has not fallen asleep yet or forced himself to sleep.”

Naruto was confused and wondered for a second what it meant for Gamabunta to say those things…until he put two and two together and realized just what it meant…though why he mentioned that was unknown.

“What do you mean by that Boss Toad…Gaara's bound to sleep once in a while doesn't he?”

“Not if he wants to keep Shukaku from eating his soul he doesn't.”

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The battle of the village of Konoha was now on the side of the people of Konoha as their still remaining allies got back on the act and the ninja and the Dagern soldiers began their counter strike as with the defeat of the snake summon they now were able to fight back…it didn't take long for some of the returning Konoha ninja to arrive on the scene and reinforce their comrades. That was the turning point of the battle as the Sound and Sand ninja were being pushed back with high losses on their sides while the Konoha forces were mounting their attack…the older ninja revealed their own jutsus and the results were explosive.

Chouza…Chouji's father unleashed his far more refined Baika No Jutsu and used his massive staff to smash aside several bands of Sound and Sand ninja, Ino's father Inochi used his own Body Possession Jutsu to turn several Sand ninja against each other, while Shikamaru's father Shikaku came on the battle and used the Nara Clan's Shadow Possession Jutsu to take out several more of the Sand Ninja and Sound…the ANBU arrived in full force with Uzuki in the lead and soon the newly arriving reinforcements began to even up the odds.

Sarutobi grinned as Orochimaru's once smug expression faded into worry as he could sense the turning of the tide of his invasion plans…however, he knew that despite the growing momentum of the battle the attacks of the snake summon had weakened the village considerably and the battle had grown as more fires spread and buildings were torn asunder, he knew that now was the time…his death was growing near…and his death was making him lose his chance to fully extract the soul of Orochimaru….but now he decided that if he couldn't take Orochimaru with him…then he could try the next best thing…a fitting punishment for one obsessed with jutsus.

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“What do you mean Gaara can't ever sleep?”

“What I mean is that with the Shukaku inside of him, Gaara cannot sleep at all due to the fact that if he does…then Shukaku would invade his mind and soul and eat away at his personality, and every time Gaara lowers his guard for even an hour of sleep, then the Shukaku would eat away at him until nothing remains of himself.”

Naruto was horrified by the thought as he saw Gaara and saw the full result of what the process had done to him…the lack of sleep in fear of being consumed in his own sleep by Shukaku, the pain of being rejected and reviled by his own people, even his family, the attacks on his very life, the pain of being betrayed and hated by those who were close to him, and the lonely life he had afterwards all made sense to Naruto why his foe was like this.

“But why doesn't he have any way to contain that demon?”

“From what I understand, the seal techniques used by the Village of the Hidden Sand is not totally perfect and many previous ninja of the Sand Village that contained Shukaku had the same problems…and since this has continued for a very long time until this kid, so that would mean they have known about it but did nothing.”

Naruto looked on as Gaara then made several hand seals and then he noted that Gaara suddenly seemed to become limp…as if he was asleep.

Gamabunta saw the very same thing and gave a sigh of discontent.

“He's done it…he's used a jutsu to force himself to lower his mental shields…the Shukaku is now free…we're going to have a heck of a fight on our hands now!”

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And sure enough, Gaara fell asleep and Temari moved away as she saw the eyes change on the face of the massive sand demon raccoon, and sure enough, as the others watched…including Sasuke, Pakkun, and Sakura, the sand demon came alive as it roared and shouted in a boisterous and blood thirsty voice…

“I AM FREE!!! FINALLY I GET TO BE ABLE TO KILL AND SLAUGHTER ALL I WANT!!!”

Shukaku then directed his attention to Gamabunta and roared.

“AND THE FIRST I WILL KILL IS YOU!!!!!”

The sand raccoon then summoned a massive amount of chakra and fired out a massive blast of air right at Gamabunta, and Naruto quickly responded and summoned yet another defensive spell.

“DRAGON SKIN SPHERE!!!!”

The spell was a far more potent version of the basic Dragon Scale Defense spell and was used to defend much larger areas and was very strong as it blocked the Sand Demon's bullet of chakra enhanced air and the shield withstood and redirected the blast and sent it around itself as the forests around the outside of the sphere were destroyed while the forest inside the sphere was safe and unharmed. Gamabunta was impressed by the display of power and spoke to Naruto.

“Nicely done Naruto Uzumaki…that was quick thinking…now let's see if we can't even the odds!”

“You got it Boss Toad!!”

“I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU DID THAT….BUT YOU'RE STILL GOING TO DIE!!!!”

The sand Racoon then fired out several more spikes and then another on e the chakra enhanced air bullets, Gamabunta counters with his own chakra enhanced water bullet jutsu that blocked the attack as he leaped aside. Naruto then fired his own blasts as he moved his sword in slashing motions as it glowed with power.

“DRAGON CLAW BARRAGE!!!!”

The crescent blasts of pure energy slammed into the sand raccoon but they were only able to cause superficial damage on Shukaku as the sand raccoon was massive, unlike Gaara who despite turning into the sand demon was still relatively human sized and was an even target for his attacks. The two fought as best they could…but Shukaku was growing ever stronger and they had to do something fast in order to stop the sand demon from moving towards Konoha….

Gamabunta leaped back as he held his sword while Naruto held Holy Talon in a two handed grip as he studied the situation, Holy Talon and the essences of his fellow Dragon Champions taught him that the best way to defeat a strong foe is to determine just where their key weak points were and then figure out a way to exploit and neutralize the said weakness to defeat them, he then realized something…

(If Gaara has to sleep to allow Shukaku to be able to fight at full power…then would waking him up allow him to control it…or at least stop it?)

((“That could work Master Naruto…normally in battle…in order to defeat a Golem, you have to take out the heart or the controller…If Gaara is somehow awakened…then this demon Shukaku will have to be forced back or unable to fight.”))

(Right…)

“Boss Toad…if we were to somehow awaken Gaara…could it seal that demon away?”

Gamabunta nodded.

“That's correct kid…if the medium's concentration is broken then the demon will have no way to remain in the living world…one good blow to waken up0 that Gaara kid is all we need!”

“Then let's go give him one good smack in the head to wake him up!”

The two moved aside as yet another air bullet was fired right at the pair as Gamakichi held on to Naruto's shoulder and the young toad spoke.

“Easier said than done…sorry pops…but there's no way you can hold onto him long enough to let Naruto get a good clean hit…we have to either restrain that thing or grow claws.”

“My son is right kid, my hands are not exactly useful for grabbing things and holding on for long… with that, I can't restrain that demon long enough for you give that kid a single blow.”

Naruto groaned…but then had an idea…this was a good a time as any to try summoning some more allies…but this time it was not going to be a band of soldiers…but something more suited for taking on a massive foe this size. He then spoke to Holy Talon as he needed the Holy Dragon Sword's aid for this battle.

(Holy Talon…can we summon Dragons to help us?)

((“Yes…how many do you need?”))

(Just enough to restrain the sand demon and get close enough to Gaara and wake him up!)

((“Understood…let's do the ritual…try not to be distracted when you do this!”))

“Boss Toad…I'm going to use a few tricks to help us…keep on evading as best you can!”

“I hope what you have in mind works kid…because this is not going to be easy!!!”

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Sasuke, Sakura, Pakkun, and Temari looked on as they managed to remain in viewing range of the entire battle…however, Temari had been knocked a fair distance away from the battle as she looked on. The two Leaf Genin wondered just how will this battle turn out…Sasuke was still aching over wasting so much chakra while Naruto had more than enough to be a serious threat to Gaara and it made him wonder just how strong Naruto had become.

(Naruto-kun…be all right…)

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Gamabunta moved as best he could from the attacks of Shukaku as the sand raccoon was closing in and causing all sorts of havoc all over the forest. The chief of all the toad summons wondered just what sort of trick was Naruto coming up with as the blonde was speaking in a totally foreign tongue and seemed to be focusing on something else entirely.

Naruto repeated the last of the summoning spell and opened his eyes quickly as he summoned the allies he had requested.

“DRAGONS OF THE HOLY FLIGHT!!! COME TO MY AID!!!”

In a moment…Holy Talon glowed deep blue and silver…and as the sword unleashed a flash of light…a pair of giant spheres of light appeared and then began to move and take shape…almost as if they were alive…not mere orbs of light and energy…but living and breathing beings.

The orbs took reptile like forms and from their backs appeared to be massive wings…the orbs solidified the reptilian shape and then the lights cracked away as if like a casing and two massive roars were heard…as Naruto's summoned Dragons were ready to fight.

The dragons were different from one another as one had the color of deep red in his scales and had golden horns that curved backwards on it's head, the scales also had silver lining around the edges of them as the dragon also had several golden ridges near the eyes and the tail had a bone like prong in the shape of a three bladed spear…the creature had four legs and was armed with golden claws as well…it's eyes were deep white…like snow as it roared at Shukaku.

The second dragon was in the color of deep brown…almost like wood or bark…but in the design of scales…there were large areas near the joints and the head that had fur like hair that was in the color of deep green leaves. The creature had only one horn in the top of it's head while there were golden scales on the sides of it's head that were shaped like waves over one another. There on it's tail was a row of the same scales, from tip of the tail to the back of the neck.

Both Dragons roared and flew right at Shukaku…forcing the sand demon to halt it's attacks for a second to deal with the dragons that were summoned by Naruto…Gamabunta was surprised…but placed the feelings aside as he leaped in and waited for the right moment and used his chakra to fire several more of his own chakra bullets to further imbalance the Shukaku.

The red Dragon unleashed a powerful series of fireballs that slammed into the body of the Shukaku, while the brown Dragon released massive blasts of green flame that worked both like fire and air…furthering the imbalance of the Shukaku, the attacks made Shukaku more wary as it's attention reverted from Gamabunta and Naruto to the two Dragons. The Dragons however avoided attacking where Gaara was located as they were mentally commanded by Naruto not to harm the Sand Sibling.

“DAMN YOU!!! I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU TWO CAME FROM…BUT I'M GOING TO RIP YOU BOTH TO BLOODY SHREDS!!!!”

Shukaku screamed as he fired several more spikes right at the Dragons…who at times were hit and knocked back…but their hardened scales and strong endurance gave them the ability to withstand those blows and keep on attacking as Naruto decided to chance it as now was a better time than any to finally strike at Gaara himself who was still there on the head of Shukaku all asleep.

“Time to take the fight to him Boss Toad!!!”

“Good…let's hope that those allies you summoned were enough…but I still need to grip him properly…and my hands are not going to work here…we'll need to combine and use Henge…but I'm not good enough to do that…you need to be the medium and I'll lend you the chakra and you do the Henge…remember…I need a form with claws and teeth!”

Naruto grinned and replied as he made the hand signs…

“I know just the form to use!”

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The others watched as the Toad charged and was suddenly engulfed in a massive cloud that resembled the technique of Henge and out from the cloud came a clawed arm that had golden red fur and from the cloud came a massive nine tailed fox!

“What is that?!”

Sakura looked on in utter surprise as she saw the form while Sasuke was still speechless and so was Pakkun, though only after a moment as he spoke.

“That form…this is going to be interesting.”

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“I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT FORM YOU USE!!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!”

The transformed Boss Toad wasted no time and used the tails to rip several trees and use them to block the incoming shots of air from the sand raccoon who was forced to stop the attacks as the two Dragons attacked with both breath attacks, tail and claw swipes and sure enough…the Dragons were able to distract the sand raccoon long enough for Gamabunta in the Kyuubi Henge to reach and grab onto the demon…the Dragons helped as well as they swooped in and latched on hard with their teeth and claws to further restrain Shukaku.

“GO KID!!! GIVE THAT GAARA GOOD SMACK!!!”

Naruto appeared as the Henge wore off and leaped right at Gaara while Holy Talon was strapped to his back in it's sheath and he was moving in with a powerful blow at the ready and sure enough…he smashed his gauntlet covered fist right into Gaara's face.

“HEY YOU!!! WAKE ALREADY!!!!”

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The blow was more than enough as Shukaku reared it's ugly head and roared out in frustration and rage.

“DAMN YOU!!!!! I JUST CAME OUT AFTER SIX LONG YEARS!!!!”

The eyes of the sand demon raccoon seemed to fade in intensity and sure enough as Naruto managed to remain on the snout of the sand demon. Gaara shook himself awake..his jutsu broken… and his rage began to build once more as he glared at Naruto who glared right back at him defiantly as he took out Holy Talon and held it in a one handed grip.

“You….broke the jutsu…”

“That's right! And now…I'm going to stop you from completing this blasted rampage of yours!”

Gaara roared as he attacked with several sand spikes…which Naruto managed to block and cut down with his sword. As soon as he cut down the last spike, Naruto attacked Gaara…

“DRAGON BREATH!!!”

The column of high intensity fire came straight at Gaara, and he responded in kind with a sand shield and as soon as he dropped the shield, he spotted Naruto coming right at him with an attack with Holy Talon, Gaara growled and quickly used a hand sign and from the body of the Sand Raccoon came tendrils that restrained Naruto.

The blonde ninja and Dragon Champion was gritting his teeth as the sand held him fast and he couldn't move as Gaara readied a powerful sand tendril that took the shape and edge of a sword, no doubt intending to cut Naruto into ribbons…the weapon came down as Gaara shouted.

“NOW YOU DIE!!!!”

The weapon however…despite being hardened by Gaara into a diamond like edge only sent out sparks when he tried to cut Naruto as the Orchaelium made plate armor and chainmail held the blow and withstood it…showing the metal's near mythical resilience to damage and Gaara roared in anger and decided to take Naruto's head clean off. The sand sword came towards his neck when Gamabunta unleashed his tongue…the appendage belonging to the boss toad sliced through the sand that held Naruto and protected him by wrapping around the ninja…Gaara roared and shouted out his rage.

“YOU CAN'T STOP ME!!!!”

The sand began to cover Naruto from the inside and Naruto focused his powers once more and in a moment, he sent a mental message to Gamabunta. The boss toad was surprised for a moment at the message but agreed and released his tongue and backed away. And as soon as he did so…a powerful blast of light appeared and Gaara was blinded for a moment as Naruto appeared….free of the sand and glaring as he was surrounded by a glowing white membrane like aura of energy. The energy didn't last long as Naruto was suffering from his previous wounds and injuries, Gaara roared out and summoned even more sand swords and lashed out at Naruto…Naruto managed to cut down many of the sand blades that came at him, and as soon as that was done, he decided to summon the chakra of the Kyuubi to get that one final blow to stop Gaara cold. The blonde ninja was then surrounded by the red-gold chakra of the Kyuubi, Naruto then moved aside as spikes came at him along with sword tendrils, he cut them all down as he rushed towards Gaara who then summoned his own sand weapon….a sand sword and blocked the descending slash…the sand weapon lasted only a moment before Holy Talon cut through it and Naruto landed a powerful uppercut with his free hand on Gaara's chin and then followed up with a powerful reverse spinning heel kick that struck Gaara hard….

The result was complete as the sand raccoon began to break down and in moments…the sand demon's form returned to being normal sand as both Naruto and Gaara fell to the ground below…

Gamabunta looked on with satisfaction.

(Naruto has improved well…he still has much to master as he is still a Genin, but with the aid of that power he wields and his unique abilities…he can achieve his dreams no matter the odds…it was a worthy battle to witness and while I wish I was able to see this fight to the conclusion…my chakra is already low and I cannot remain here indefinitely.)

“Gamakichi…time to leave.”

“Sure thing pops…”

The two vanished and as they did so, Sasuke and Sakura, along with Pakkun made their way to where Naruto and Gaara were. High on the tree tops…both Gaara and Naruto looked at one another…Gaara's mouth gripping blood and his face cut by the claw gauntlets before…Naruto had wounds and bleeding in different parts of his body and his face was bloody too…the two ignored the wounds and faced each other as Naruto re-sheathed Holy Talon and spoke.

“Let's end this!”

Naruto and Gaara leaped at one another and it was there that Naruto saw Gaara's weakness…due to having relied on the sand manipulation he was given by the Shukaku…Gaara's skills in Taijutsu were limited and that was shown as he was able to block Gaara's fist with a quick block and parry maneuver and he landed a powerful punch at Gaara, but Gaara was not giving up as he launched another punch that hit Naruto was well.

Both ninja fell through the trees and the battle went still as the Dragons gave a final roar and turned back into their orb forms and disappeared into Holy Talon as they shrunk in size as they flew back to the sword.

That was when Sasuke and Sakura made their way to help Naruto…while Shino in his section of the forest, found his father near him and the Destruction bugs from his father removing the poison, along the way back to reach Gaara, Temari turned and saw Kankurou and stopped to help her brother. As soon as Kankurou was feeling better, the two of them made their way to the site where their brother and Naruto had fallen.

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Orochimaru looked at the Hokage…his former teacher in anger and rage as he saw that his forces were now in utter retreat as they had suffered heavy casualties and were now on the run…he vowed to avenge his loss and punish the cowards who didn't stand and fight once he got back to his own village. However, he was not going to go alone as he continued to force the blade of the Kusanagi even deeper into Sarutobi.

The old man groaned in pain but looked on with an utterly confident smile.

“You may kill me here Orochimaru…but your plans to destroy Konoha…have failed utterly.”

“Foolish old man! Once I kill you I will personally destroy this village and lay it into ruin! Not even you can stop that!”

“You're foolish….I know that I can't remove your soul completely…you're too stubborn…so I have a much more effective solution to this mess…something that suits the levels of your obsession with jutsus.”

“What are you rambling about now you senile old fool?!”

“This…a fitting punishment for your obsession!!!!”

In a moment Orochimaru saw to his horror his soul's arms and he quickly recognized what was happening…but before he could do anything, the Death God brought down his knife and sliced off the arms of his soul and the pain erupted instantly as he screamed.

“NO!!!!!”

The arm of the Death God retreated as the seal appeared on the body of the original Fourth Hokage and that meant that Sarutobi was going to die from using the jutsu. However the old man merely smiled as he looked at Orochimaru as blood flowed from his mouth. Orochimaru roared as he felt a massive burning sensation and saw that his armed were dying right before his eyes…a pain filled his body as the rot continued to spread…he saw his arms go limp as if dead….

“My arms…my arms….what…MY ARMS!!!!!”

Orochimaru looked at Sarutobi and roared.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY ARMS?!?!”

“A very fitting punishment, you are no longer able to use your arms…both in making hand seals and other high level jutsu…a fitting blow to one such as you!!!!”

“YOU OLD MAN…GIVE ME BACK MY ARMS!!!!!”

“Never…you will never succeed now…as the arms you covet are now in the stomach of the Death God.”

The pain flooded Orochimaru and was intense…so much like the time his arm had been consumed by Holy Talon's flames and it galled him even more as the truth of his pain flooded his mind.

“You are so foolish Orochimaru…you failed to understand the power of the shinobi…that if you had something and someone to live and fight for…then the power of being a ninja would be yours….that was the most important lesson I ever taught…and you failed to listen…”

Sarutobi felt his heart began to slowly stop beating as his life began to fade…

“I regret not being able to finish you…myself…but I know…you WILL meet your end…my foolish student…”

As Sarutobi fell, he saw Orochimaru swearing and calling to him in anger…but he died with a smile…as he saw Orochimaru when he was far younger and not evil…that was one face of Orochimaru that he didn't mind seeing…he then saw Naruto and smiled even more.

(I leave things in your hands Naruto…be a great man someday…)

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Orochimaru felt the pain grow in greater intensity as he looked at his dead sensei…his anger and rage was growing, but he knew that he could do nothing but leave…Enma removed the sword from Sarutobi's back and the Monkey King faded away. The pain in his body grew and he knew that he had utterly failed and being the ninja he was…he felt utterly bitter…he had killed his sensei…but he sacrificed all his jutsu…Konoha was in ruins and many were killed…but his forces suffered double the losses.

“OROCHIMARU-SENSEI!!!!”

The Sound Five Elite were utterly worried for their master and Orochimaru knew that he had to swallow an even more bitter pill…the the taste of defeat.

“Deactivate the barrier…the mission has failed…we must leave now!”

“UNDERSTOOD!”

The four elite ninja who served Orochimaru made the hand sign and shouted release to remove the barrier…in a heartbeat, the shield faded from them and the area and they quickly recovered Orochimaru…the ANBU tried to pursue them…but they were stopped when on of the Sound Five…a male with four more arms fired a web from his mouth that restrained the ANUB.

Kakashi, Genma, and Gai looked on and were surprised that the barrier had gone down. However, they had no choice at the moment as Baki and Kabuto were in the area. Kabuto however told them to wait and see how things would play out and the two left the scene and it didn't take long for all Sound and sand ninja to leave the area…as soon as things seemed better, the three were joined by Kurenai, and Anko, along with several Chuunin, including Ginji Haruno, Chouza, Shikaku, Inochi, Hiashi, and Tsume…the group went into find the Hokage…

And it was Kakashi who saw the one sight he hoped never to see…

The Hokage dead…

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On the ground…

Naruto groaned as he managed to get to his feet and take Holy Talon in hand…but collapsed and fell to his knees…but he bit back the pain and kept on moving…despite the fact that while his Orchaelium forged armor was intact and undamaged…he was coughing out some blood from his internal wounds and his forehead had a still bleeding cut as well…that sent blood in his eyes…he wiped them away…staining his armor…but he was not giving up yet…

With Holy Talon in hand…he moved himself on his hands and knees towards Gaara…still intent on finishing the Sand Sibling…however, it was not without regret as he recalled the times of his childhood in Konoha…long before he was able to learn the truth of why he was treated that way…and when he met Iruka.

He heard the painful words over and over again…and recalled how many times he shed tears at such treatment for no reason that he knew of. The words hurt more than anything he ever knew in his life and to know that Gaara suffered the same way he did…making them…quite literally siblings as they carried the same burden as being called monsters.

Gaara felt intense fear at this as he saw Naruto coming ever closer to him with Holy Talon in hand…he realized that just maybe his greatest fear was about to come true…that his existence was about to be erased.

Despite feeling so much pain and exhaustion…the sand ninja gathered the strength to shout out a desperate warning.

“NO!!! STAY AWAY FROM ME!!! I WILL NOT LET YOU COME ANY CLOSER!!!”

“It hurts…doesn't it?”

Gaara stopped his attempt and wondered what was going on as Naruto looked at him with a sad understanding look in his eye.

“I know how you feel you know…being alone, cold…in the blackness…and why…because you and I are no different Gaara.”

“What are you talking about?! You're nothing like me…”

“You're wrong…I never lied about me having a demon being inside me you know…you saw it's chakra in the arena ring…remember?”

Gaara recalled seeing the blood red chakra that appeared from out of nowhere from Naruto and how utterly different it was to normal chakra. The Sand Sibling then looked to see Naruto removing…quite painfully his armor…starting with the shoulder armor and then the latches to the plate that protected his torso…as soon as that was off…Naruto then removed the chain-mail underneath and threw aside his armor and then he spoke.

“Do you know…of the Kyuubi?”

“The Kyuubi that attacked Konoha years ago? Yes I do…”

Naruto then pulled up his shirt and revealed the seal on his stomach…much to Gaara's utter shock as despite the seal not resembling anything he knew…he could feel power coming from it. Naruto then spoke.

“The Kyuubi was sealed away…in a baby that day…that baby was me…that is why you and I are the same Gaara…like you…I was treated like a monster…freak…and worse. Just like you were…those were the same words I said to Neji in the ring. I grew up being treated as a monster…And I could have been the same as you.”

“But there are people precious to me in my village…those people were the ones who saved me from the darkness and my personal hell…they showed me how life is worth living and how to truly care for others. And for that reason… I care for them more than my own life…”

Naruto recalled the faces of everyone he cared for with his heart…his crush Sakura, his father figure Iruka, his other father figure the Hokage, his rival Sasuke, his sensei Kakashi, and those who he trusted and cared for in Konoha. He saw them all…and the thought of his failing to shield them from death gnawed at him like a chain…but he put that aside and managed to rise to his feet, only to fail and land on his face…but he was not giving up as he still held Holy Talon in his hands and crawled towards Gaara…

“And that is why…no matter what happens to me…I don't care…as long as I won't let ANYONE hurt them! Even if I understand you're pain and suffering Gaara…I will stand and stop you from ever hurting or killing them…even if that means that I have to kill you!!!”

Gaara was stunned as he saw that Naruto meant every word of it and his eyes told him of his intent…even if he was also at his own limits. He marveled at how strong Naruto was…there was such strength coming from him that it made him look more powerful than even him in his Shukaku form. But he was not getting that strength from killing others…he was not fighting for himself…but for others…he thought for a long time that it was a weakness to fight for others…but Naruto was proving him wrong…yet why?

“Why? Why do you fight so hard for others and not yourself?”

“Because they saved me…they were the very first to care for me for who I am…they are my friends, my family…that is why I fight for them…even if it leads me to death!!!”

Gaara looked at Naruto as Naruto forced himself to move on…despite the blood and injuries on him and then thought back on what he learned from his uncle so long ago.

(Love…is love for others the reason why he is so strong? Does he have that much power because of his love for others?)

He saw his uncle and heard his words about love.

“Love? Well…love is the heart's ability to care for others regardless of how things turn out and how things end. Love is a free emotion that lives in all hearts Gaara.”

(Is the love for others that he has so strong that it can make him able to defeat anything and anyone?)

Naruto tried once more to get to his feet to finish through…but that was when he sensed the presence of yet another person…only in this case, it was not an enemy.

“Naruto…that's enough…”

Naruto turned to see none other than Sasuke who was still covered by the Cursed Seal…but otherwise alive and safe…and seemingly in control of himself and not under the seal's influence. And that was a good thing to his mind…Sasuke was fighting the control of the seal all the way to the end. Sakura was there as well….relief all over her face as she looked at him…making him smile.

“The battle's over…and Gaara's already out of chakra so there's no need for you to fight him anymore…he can't defend himself.”

“Yeah…you did it Naruto-kun.”

“Thank Kami….I don't think I can go another…round…”

Naruto fell unconscious at that and it was also at that very same moment that Kankurou and Temari appeared alongside their brother. Sasuke looked at them and while he himself was low on chakra, he was not going to let down his guard when it concerned Gaara's elder siblings, Sakura also reached for a kunai as well…ready to defend her team-mates…especially Sasuke and Naruto…as she knew both of them were exhausted. Temari and Kankurou were ready to strike as well…but that was not going to happen.

“That's enough…it's over…there's nothing left to fight for here.”

The two siblings turned to see their little brother utterly exhausted…and in a state that neither of them have ever seen him in before.

(Gaara…)

(He's out of it…I've never seen him like this before…everything in him is used up.)

“All right…”

Kankurou reached out helped his brother to his feet along with Temari. As soon as they had their brother in their hands, they quickly vacated the premises…leaving Sasuke to wait as Naruto slept…he then grabbed Naruto's hand and placed it on Holy Talon…and when he did…a flicker of the healing silver-green flame appeared once more and surrounded Naruto, allowing Naruto to come to his senses and have enough strength to sheath Holy Talon, and fall back to sleep.

Kin and Shikamaru arrived as well…Sasuke then helped Naruto to his feet and helped his team-mate move back to Konoha…while Kin and Shikamaru gathered Naruto's armor…or rather Kin gathered the light as cloth metal plate mail and chain mail pieces and they all left with Shikamaru to meet up with the others.

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As soon as the Sand and Sound ninja forces were in retreat and the Snake Summon slain…the Konoha ninja who were still alive cheered their victory at beating back the invading forces of Sound and Sand. The warriors summoned by Holy Talon under Naruto's command also cheered and in a flash of light, they all faded back into their original forms and vanished…just as they came…even those among them who were `slain' by the Sound and Sand ninja returned to their orb-like forms and vanished like that…and it was proven true as Naruto and the rest of the pursuit team returned…

It was then that the dire news came to rest of the people of Konoha…

The news about Sarutobi's death and sacrifice…

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Back with the fleeing Sand Siblings…

Gaara thought about everything and recalled all that he had learned from Naruto…and wondered if he could be as strong as Naruto…if he gained that much strength by fighting for others…then would it work for him as well.

(Could I be as strong as him by caring for others?)

He looked at Kankurou and Temari and thought back on all the times he had acted like a monster before them, and part of him asked himself why they would still try to fight for him and realized that despite everything…despite his actions towards Temari or Kankurou…and what he said and done…they were his family, they had every right to just leave him and let him fall…but they came for him…and he thought about how he treated them all those years…

(Maybe…the only way I can truly know…is to start somewhere.)

“Temari…Kankurou…”

The two looked at their brother in surprise…there was something utterly different in their youngest brother's voice…no blood lust….anger or the emotions they normally heard…but something else entirely…it was like…remorse.

“What is it Gaara?”

Temari asked as Gaara replied.

“I'm so sorry…for all that I've done to you both…”

Temari and Kankurou looked at one another and sensed that Gaara meant it…

“It's all right Gaara…let's go home.”

Kankurou replied for himself and his sister as they all moved on back to their home village.

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Days later…

The whole village was in mourning at least a day later, they had ignored the rebuilding of Konoha for the moment as the Genin, Chuunin, and Jonin who had managed to survive the battle were now dressed in black for the funeral of the Third Hokage…Naruto was the only one who was carrying a weapon with his funeral clothes…namely Holy Talon. The sword was a part of him and no one…not even Kakashi forbade Naruto to carry the Holy Dragon Sword…after all…the sword contained the power that had helped save Konoha…and since Naruto was it's only master, there was nothing anyone can say at the moment.

As they arrived…Naruto grabbed a white flower and was there along with the others as they all were before the area where the tombstone was located.

Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes as he looked at the grave of the Third Hokage…along with the others…but he kept calm as Holy Talon spoke to him.

((“Master Naruto…he died protecting this village…it's people…he died a warrior's death…a hero's death.”))

(It still hurts Holy Talon…he was like a real grandfather to me…and that bastard Orochimaru took him from me!!!)

(I know…I know how it feels…)

Naruto was in grief and anger at failing to protect the man who was like a grandfather to him…and naturally with grief comes some anger…and he directed it at his companion.

(How can you know how it feels to lose someone?! You're a sword you know!! You're not even alive! I…)

Naruto realized what he was saying to Holy Talon and recalled the times the sword had been an advisor, a friend and his ally in battle…and here he was…insulting the being that had helped him survive that day on Wave Country…

(I…I'm sorry…I just…)

((“I know Master Naruto…but you must understand why I said I know you're grief. There were times I was in battle with my former Masters…and many of them faced great dangers…and some of those Masters of mine died…in their deaths I was connected to them…when I took a part of their essences…not just to help their spirits and more to live on to teach others…but save a part of them as well. For I grieved deeply for their deaths…all of them…For every Master I lost…I felt sadness…but I knew that they were true heroes and the best way to remember heroes is to honor their lives…achievements, and sacrifices. The Hokage will live on…as long as there are those who remember him and his legacy. That is true immortality Master Naruto…to live in the hearts and minds of those who remember you for all that you've done…and how you live your life.”))

(I'll never forget the old man.)

((“And through that Master Naruto…he will truly never die.”))

(Thank you…)

((“You're welcome…”))

Naruto turned to see Konohamaru being consoled by Iruka…and he then asked his father figure a very important question.

“Iruka-sensei?”

“Yes Naruto?”

“Why do people sacrifice so much just for others?”

Iruka closed his eyes as he knew that Naruto cared a good deal for the Hokage…more than even he let on. And he could understand Naruto's question…Kakashi who was nearby said nothing at first…but planned to speak to Naruto as well.

“Naruto…those people who die…whether they are young or old…have goals and reams…but most of all…they had bonds with others close to them. And the Hokage did what he knew was right…to protect those close and important to you…no matter the cost…and his sacrifice was not in vain.”

“I know…”

“He left something for everyone…”

As the funeral went underway…the mourners placed flowers on the grave of the Hokage and each recalled their own experiences with the wise, old, and yet courageous man who led their village after the death of the Fourth. Kakashi himself visited the monument to see his old comrade Uzuki giving flowers to the monument for her loved one Hayate. As the villagers went on to have the vigil and the nightly commemoration meal for the Hokage, Naruto turned and left the others…he managed to climb to the Hokage Tower…away from prying eyes…and stood before the Hokage monument…he looked at each face and took out Holy Talon and kneeled down.

“I swear…on my life…I will defend the village as both ninja, and Dragon Champion, and I will be Hokage and I will never let any harm come to this village as long as I draw breath!”

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The next day…

Two hooded and cloaked figures looked on at the mountains…a good distance from Konoha itself and it seemed that they were having a discussion. The figures wore black cloaks of some sort that had crimson clouds and a crimson sun on them. And what appeared to straw hats with flaps in white cloth strips as well.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes…we may have to wait for a bit…something is in the air and I don't like it.”

“I see….well, if that's your decision, I'm all right by it…by the way…do you think Konoha's already destroyed?”

“No…it is not destroyed…ruined and falling from it's previous glory, yes…but not destroyed. The people there are too defiant and stubborn…and hard to understand at times.”

“That's an odd tone…you still care for it?”

“No…I don't have feelings for it…”

“That's good…from what I've heard…this one we're supposed to find has grown considerably…it's going to be a good test to bring this one in.”

“We shall see.”

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To be continued…

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Author's notes:

This ends this chapter…rather short but that is to be expected since there's not much to do for this chapter section. The battle is a bit different from before so I can add some changes to the canon scenes.

On the next chapter, it will be a quick filler/chapter as Naruto gets ready to find a certain blonde Kunoichi who used to work with both Jiraiya and Orochimaru years before after dealing with a few matters. And along the way…we get to see Naruto learn a certain technique…however…with Holy Talon's powers, there might be a couple of new abilities Naruto can combine with that particular jutsu. But I plan to have quite some extra changes to this…one of them is the fact that Naruto is not the same as before…expect the usual fight and another more interesting surprise later…here's a sample.

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Trailer:

Tsunade was shocked in every sense of the word as she, Shizune, and Jiraiya looked at Naruto as the blonde ninja scratched his head in utter embarrassment…what he had just told them can't be true…can it? They felt fine after the battle and were all right when they looked in the mirror, though there seemed to be a sense of pure physical and mental relaxation that neither of them had felt before, they passed it off as normal recovery from battle exhaustion…but when Naruto told them that he had made a mistake in the rejuvenation spell he had used to heal the two of them, they thought the worst…but what he told them was…

Jiraiya looked at Naruto with silence for a minute and he then spoke.

“Naruto…this had better not be a joke!”

“I'm serious here!!!!”

“But such a technique and the results….that's impossible! Even Tsunade-sama's ultimate jutsu can't do that!”

Shizune replied as she looked at the blonde Kunoichi and new Hokage of Konoha…who was looking at herself and to Naruto.

“That spell I used did…and that was unexpected…but I think it will work for the best.”

Tsunade looked at Naruto and calmly asked the blonde.

“So this spell you made a mistake with…actually… did that to me and Jiraiya?”

“Yes.”

Jiraiya saw that there was no lie in Naruto's words or face and he was grinning from ear to ear and perverted thoughts galore filled his brain. Tsunade however did something utterly unexpected of her to Naruto…she reached out to the blonde…grabbed him by the neck…pulled him to her…

And kissed him torridly!!!!!

“TSUNADE-SAMA!!!!”

Shizune was stunned to silence while Jiraiya was laughing his ass off at the sight…planning to have some really good material to work on his latest novel, Naruto on the other hand blushed bright red and would have passed out from the nose bleed at the kiss the well formed and ample busted blonde was giving him!!!

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I hope that got your attention readers!!!

See you on the next chapter!!!