YO, whats up...

Sorry, I have no time to talk...

Too tired...

Hope you enjoy and I promise to go over this soon...

Chapter 35: Hear Me Now...

I don't own Naruto...

Naruto slashed down at Sasuke in a swift motion. Sasuke blocked it with his kunai and grabbed his right arm with his free hand. Reacting immediately, Naruto drive his right foot into Sasuke's stomach and when Sasuke doubled over, Naruto brought his left foot over Sasuke's head and slammed it down on his head.

Sasuke flew down into the water below them, causing water to spring up. Naruto used Sasuke's head as leverage to jump back into the First Hokage's head. He stared down at Sasuke who surfaced the water and stood, staring up at Naruto. He narrowed his eyes when he saw Naruto jump into the air and head straight for him. He prepared himself as Naruto positioned his sword over his head and brought it down when he was only five feet away from Sasuke.

Sasuke side stepped him and kicked him in the face. Naruto spun to his left and fell into the water. Sasuke fell into his battle stance as Naruto emerged and stood on top of the water. Naruto shook his head to remove the excess water in his head and then glared at Sasuke.

They stared at each other in mutual silence, not even the birds flying over them made a sound; nothing but the sound of the waterfall was heard. The quiet of the overhead birds, and of the place, was eerie and disturbed Naruto; not because he believed that he had become deaf or anything but because this sounded too much like the brief but deep stillness that often settles upon the natural world in the wake of sudden violence. When a coyote catches a rabbit and snaps its neck or when a fox bites into a mouse and shakes it to death. The dying of the prey, even if nearly inaudible, brings a hush into the immediate area.

Right now, Naruto knew Sasuke would be the rabbit and he would be the coyote; the mouse to his fox.

"Mother Nature is beautiful and generous." Naruto finally stated, throwing off Sasuke. "However, she is also bloodthirsty." He continued.

"The never-ending killing in which she presides over is never seen in pictures or calendars. It's not the quality well liked by children and people." Naruto mused. "Have you noticed whenever she gets in this mood, everything becomes quiet and eerie? Even the animals don't make a sound."

"What are you blabbering on about, dobe?" Sasuke asked and Naruto smirked as his stance relaxed and he looked up at the sky where dark, ominous clouds started to gather.

"I used to think it was some sort of instinct they had that told them to be quiet and witness Mother Nature's murderous personality in silence." Naruto told him as he spread his arms out. "I know better now, though. They remain silent not because of instinct but because they hope to avoid becoming the next object of her attention."

"Where are you going with this dobe?" Sasuke asked again and Naruto smirked as he took out his second sword from its sheath.

"Can't you tell? Can't you hear it?" Naruto asked and Sasuke looked around. Noticing that the birds refused to let a sound escape their beaks as some landed on nearby trees or disappeared over them. "The silence, the absolute silence that comes before the kill; this is what I'm talking about. Mother Nature's children are here to witness her at her cruelest. They're here to see me end the life of a treacherous Uchiha." Naruto said with a dead serious tone as he fell back into his fighting stance.

"That's not going to happen." Sasuke said with a smirk. "You're the one that's going to fall here."

"I have too much at stake to die now; I don't think so." Naruto retorted.

"Tch, we'll see dobe. Now let's stop talking and start fighting." Sasuke charged and Naruto waited for him to get in his range. Naruto bent backwards as Sasuke swung his kunai in a horizontal swipe. He back flipped away from Sasuke but stopped short when Sasuke threw his kunai and it pierced his heart. Naruto fell and before the water could swallow him, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sasuke blinked as three geysers of water burst into the sky and three Narutos appeared from the water.

Surrounding the Uchiha, two Narutos charged at him with their swords in each hand. Sasuke blinked once more as he activated his Sharingan eyes. He saw one Naruto thrust his sword forward, another attempt to slash Sasuke's head off and the last was standing back to watch the outcome while his swords remained in their sheath.

Sasuke jumped over the Naruto who was about to slash his head off and sent his right knee crashing into its skull and dispelled it. The second Naruto thrust his swords forward and Sasuke maneuvered around them to jumped up and drop kick Naruto in the face, causing it to disappear in a puff of smoke.

The Naruto in the back nodded his head as all the information from his clones came back to him. He saw Sasuke run towards him and he prepared himself as he smirked.

Before Sasuke saw him smile however, a fourth Naruto appeared from the water below Sasuke and landed an uppercut squarely in his chin. He flew into the air and the Naruto standing back ran up to the clone and placed a foot on his left shoulder. He pushed himself off his clone and headed for Sasuke who was disoriented from the hit.

He grabbed Sasuke's midsection while upside down, latching onto his back with his head on the left side of Sasuke's hip and his legs wrapped around Sasuke's head. Naruto then flips them over twice before finally driving Sasuke's head into the water while in the seated position.

"Naruto Uzumaki Devastation!" Naruto shouted as jumped up and remained above the water while he waited for Sasuke to recover. He dispersed as the original carefully watched the spot Sasuke was sent through.

He saw a red light and air bubbles appear under him and his eyes widened when a giant fireball engulfed him.

Sasuke climbed out of the water as he watched his fire started to die down a little. He had a smirk of victory as he saw the fire get small but it was wiped off when a large amount of chakra was concentrated in the middle of his flames. It imploded and spread outward, throwing Sasuke off balance from the sudden shockwave. A bright light appeared and temporarily blinded Sasuke and when he regained his sight, he was shocked by what he saw.

Naruto appeared without a burn mark or anything. His mask was burned to a crisp and he could clearly see his face, whiskers and all. His black sleeveless muscle shirt remained intact and he was wearing black shorts.

"I highly doubt a dobe like you could afford those fancy clothes I saw you in earlier." Sasuke taunted with a smirk. "So whose was it?" He asked and Naruto glared at him, refusing to answer. Without a word, Naruto ran at Sasuke and threw a straight forward punch to Sasuke's face.

Sasuke ducked and sent his own punch to Naruto's head. Naruto caught it with his left hand and jumped back while making a ram sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Three more Narutos appeared and stood beside the original. Without a spoken command, a clone ran straight for Sasuke. With his Sharingan still active, Sasuke saw Naruto spin on his heels and have his back turn to him and then doing a back flip. Sasuke jumped back just before the clone kicked Sasuke behind his head. With him still recovering from his attack, the clone was defenseless when Sasuke drove his foot into the back of the clone's head.

He was sent forward and stopped in front of the other Narutos before disappearing.

Looking at his clones, Naruto nodded his head and the three ran towards Sasuke. Sasuke charged as well and tried to swipe one Naruto with a kunai he took out from his pouch. The Naruto side stepped the swipe and kicked Sasuke in his stomach. Sasuke, his momentum keeping him going, ran up to a second Naruto and before he could react, the Naruto in front of him brought his right elbow down on Sasuke's head.

Sasuke's face hit the water under him but before he could sink, a third Naruto slid toward him and kicked Sasuke in his solar plex and making him glided over the water about two meters away from the Narutos.

When Sasuke recovered, he sprinted to the middle of the three Narutos and elbowed the middle in the face. He reeled his left leg back before jumping and quickly disposing of the Naruto on the right with a swift and hard kick to his neck. It disappeared in a puff and Sasuke landed on his feet. The last Naruto ran at him and threw a punch at his face. Sasuke parried it off with his left arm and then grabbed it and threw the clone to the other Naruto.

When they hit each other, they both disappeared, confusing Sasuke for a moment before realizing that he was fighting Naruto's clones.

More Naruto burst out of the water and Sasuke growled.

"Coward! Sending your clones to do your dirty work." Sasuke stated as he dodged, blocked or parried the clones' advances. He backhanded a clone with a twist of his body before grabbing onto the shoulder of another clone to shoot himself into the sky, over the many clones. With a quick progression of hand signs, Sasuke placed his hand over his mouth and sucked in a deep breath.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He summoned a giant ball of fire from his mouth and sent it to the Narutos under him. Many covered his faces and head with their arms but it proved futile when the extra heat from the fireball caused them all to explode. Only one Naruto remained standing, unmarked and smirking.

Sasuke was once again surprised by this but his surprise didn't last as long as the first one. This was enough time for Naruto as he jumped up to meet Sasuke in the sky and smash his face in with a devastating foot to the face.

Sasuke flew down but righted himself in time to land on his feet. He grabbed his face in pain before looking up nad moving back just as Naruto tried to ax kick him from above. When he landed, Naruto and Sasuke began trading punches and kicks once again.

Naruto saw that Sasuke was beginning to tire with every breath he took. Sweat travelled down his brow and his red eyes were starting to fade a little.

Naruto was distracted by this, long enough so Sasuke was able to land a punch on Naruto's face. Naruto retaliated quickly as he punched Sasuke back. Sasuke grabbed the back of Naruto's head and forced it down while simultaneously raising his knee, making it smash against Naruto's nose. Naruto reeled his head back before grabbing Sasuke by the back of his head with both hands and moving it forward while Naruto brought his head back up and headbutted Sasuke directly in his forehead.

Sasuke couldn't recover too quickly from this hit as he took steps back, away from Naruto. He felt his blood travel down his brow and his cheeks and this angered him.

Naruto also noticed that he busted his forehead open but it quickly healed thanks to the Kyūbi's influence over him. He looked back up and saw Sasuke start to shiver with anger. He narrowed his eyes when he saw black fire-like tattoos start to cover his entire body. Naruto blinked and now Sasuke was nowhere in sight. Before he could survey his surroundings, Sasuke appeared behind him and kicked Naruto behind his left leg. Naruto fell to his left knee and hissed in pain.

He wasn't done as Sasuke punched Naruto behind his head, forcing him to his hands and knees. Sasuke jumped and now over Naruto's head, came down and shoved the soles of his shoes to the back of Naruto's head, forcing him into the water.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke as he slowly sunk deeper into the water.

'So you wanna make this more difficult for me Sasuke? Fine…'

*.*.*.*

In the middle of the forest, away from the dangers of the fights, the Scroll of Sealing rested safely under the protection of a tall tree. Under the tree's shadow, the scroll was not under the moon's luminescent silver light, making it hard to see.

Slowly approaching the scroll, a sleek silhouette crouched in front of the scroll. It had the form of a young woman, around the age of thirteen. She smiled as she picked up the scroll and looked up at the moon.

The young woman's amber eyes shined from the light coming off of the moon and her sharp fangs showed as she smiled wider. She brushed her blazing red hair out of her face and looked at the scroll. With a sway of her hands, the scroll disappeared. Walking in a random direction, the girl followed her instincts to guide her to her master and lady. Hopefully, with the Scroll of Sealing, she will make her master happy and put at least a part of his worries at ease.

*.*

On her way to her master, the redheaded woman paused to blink at the unconscious form of a young man. He had an athletic body with brown, spiky hair. He had gauze wrapped around his arms and a green jacket around his torso. He had other articles of clothing but the paleness of his face and his shallow breathing worried the young woman. She walked up to the sleeping teen and bent down in front of him.

She smiled as she placed a gentle hand over the teen's heart and it started to glow a light pinkish color as it was surrounded by pink fire. The fire transferred from her hand to the teen's chest and disappeared. His shallow breathing became deeper and the young woman smiled happily at seeing the color in his face slowly return.

She stood up again and walked deeper into the forest, hoping to run into her master and friend.

Choji slowly opened his eyes as his consciousness started to return to him. He looked around and saw no one in sight. He was alone and still breathing.

He was still too tired to move his arms or legs but he had a feeling he wasn't in mortal danger. He wondered why as he remembered eating the red Chili Pill, knowing the after-effects it has. Now, he saw that his body was only exhausted from his fight and he just wanted to rest. He found that once again, consciousness was slipping through his grasp and he just wanted to sleep.

Deciding to think about this miracle later, Choji fell asleep under the moon's vigilant light.

*.*.*.*

Neji back flipped away from a shower of Kidomaru's kunai that almost ended his life as Hinata also dodged his kunai.

Surrounded by swirls of black lines on his skin, Kidomaru watched his prey dodge his advances with slight ease. He grunted as he used his two upper arms to make hand signs while his lower arms made a web so he could then slam his right palm on top of it and complete the summoning.

A giant spider, easily bigger than any man ever born into the world, appeared from a puff of smoke and Kidomaru appeared over it with a victorious smirk. From out its rear, the giant spider spat out a giant web that, when ripped open, summoned many of the giant spider's followers. They fell from their place high above the two Hyūga and headed straight for them.

"Stand back Hinata-sama, I'll handle this." Hinata was about to argue when Neji pushed her back and started to rotate quickly. "Rotation!" The spiders collided against Neji's chakra barrier but did not pass it, bouncing off it. The web however, stayed on it and started to slow its rotation.

'Damn, I'm slowing down. This is not good.' Neji thought as he came to a stop. Kidomaru snapped his eyes open as he threw another kunai at Neji's blind spot. Neji saw it as he continued to spin from his technique's momentum and saw it heading for him. Summoning his chakra to his cheek, he was able to prevent it from entering his skull. It bounced off and stuck into the ground near Hinata. She gasped as he watched more spiders appear from their mother's cocoon.

They rained over Neji as he fell into the Gentle Fist and closed his eyes. He opened them just as the spiders were about to attack him and everything turned black and white for him with the exception of the green field of divination under Neji.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" Neji's speed increased as he started to swat away the spiders with his technique. Hinata watched in awe as she saw her cousin force back many of the spiders falling on him however, she knew it wouldn't last and eventually, the technique would end.

Neji panted as his technique ended but the spiders continued to fall. Taking in a breath, he returned to his Gentle Fist stance before changing it. Hinata gasped at realizing what he was doing while Kidomaru wondered why his stance shifted.

"Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!" Hinata could not believe that her cousin was able to do such a technique. Still, she saw that even with this technique, he wouldn't be able to finish off all the spiders… at least, not alone.

Neji kicked away another spider as he ducked and blasted another with his chakra covered fingertips. His technique soon ended once more and he growled as he tried the Rotation technique but failed when he saw the amount of spider webs surrounding him. He ducked as three kunai tried to pierce him but one left a cut on the side of his right arm. Kidomaru smirked as he finally found Neji's blind spot.

Mire spiders fell and he glowered at them.

"Move nii-san!" Hinata said as she appeared behind him and stopped another of Kidomaru's handmade kunai from hitting her cousin. She fell into her family's fighting stance and Neji matched her movements.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" They both shouted as they moved as one, defeating many of the spiders surrounding them. Kidomaru scowled at this as he plucked a spider web attached to his right index finger. His summoned registered the command and released its hold on its web and started to head for Hinata and Neji. They both looked up at the end of their technique and Hianta smiled.

This time, she pushed Neji out of the way and closed her eyes.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji shouted in panic but Hinata ignored him.

'It's still not complete but it'll have to do.' Hinata thought as she started to move her hands around her while sending out a small beam of chakra from the center of her palms. Her movements became faster as more of her chakra was being pumped out. A giant, net-like barrier of chakra surrounded Hinata and when the summoning touched it, it started to struggle with the barrier before it was blasted off it. Seeing an opportunity present itself to her, Hinata jumped up to the summoning.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" She hit the summoning in its underbelly and soon enough, the spider exploded, leaving behind its remaining spider web.

Neji was shocked to see his cousin use a technique never before seen or performed by any Hyūga.

'Has Hinata-sama created a new technique?' He mused to himself as Hinata landed gracefully on the ground. She looked up at Neji, panting and smiling. After recovering from his shock, Neji smiled as well.

"Player one: game over." In a flash, several kunai headed straight for Hinata. Both Hyūgas' eyes widened as each kunai thrown at Hinata hit their mark. Hinata's eyes became glassy as the pain she felt enveloped her to the point that she lost consciousness.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji ran over to her but stopped when a kunai appeared from nowhere and hit his leg. He tripped and fell to his knees just a meter away from Hinata.

Kidomaur smirked as his black lined tattoos started to shift and change him into his second cursed mark form. He spat out a giant bow and arrow and prepped himself to end this so called 'game'.

"Spider War Bow: Terrible Split. Ninja Arrow at 100%." He said to himself as he aimed his arrow at his prey. "Damage… at maximum." He shot the arrow and it headed straight for Hinata. Neji looked up and saw it coming and at the last second, he picked Hinata up and moved her out of harm's way.

However, he did not see a kunai fly through the air and pierce his back. He grunted as he dropped Hinata on the ground and he fell to his knees.

"Damn." Neji cursed as he struggled to stand.

"Need some help?" Neji was surprised to see a young girl in front of him without him noticing her. Her amber eyes shined with happiness as her long red hair framed her face. Her creamy skin glowed from the moon's light and her red kimono hugged her curvy body. Neji couldn't help but blush as her deep amber eyes stared into his. He shook off his shock. He really had no choice but to trust this girl with his cousin; at least she wouldn't be in Kidomaru's line of attacks.

"Take her away from here." Neji said and she nodded before picking up Hinata and disappearing into the woods. "Good… now she's safe."

"But you're not." A giant arrow passed by Neji's face, scratching the side of his head and removing his forehead protector. It flew across the forest and landed a few feet away. Neji fell on his face as he cursed his lack of awareness to his surroundings. Suddenly, he realized something. He glowered as he slowly stood and struggled to remain standing.

From fifty meters away, Kidomaru prepared another arrow and aimed it at the still Neji. He let the arrow go and smirked when his arrow caused dust to rise from the ground, thinking he had hit Neji. It was removed from his lips however when Neji was still standing, having moved slightly to the right.

"Just as I thought…" He panted. "He knows about the Hyūga's blindspot." Neji mused in anger. He coughed up blood because of the wound he gained from the arrow passing through his left shoulder. He cursed again as he started to walk forward. He soon began to sprint away from Kidomaru.

"Player two: game over. No matter where you go, my arrow will still find its mark." Kidomaru said with a smirk as he spit out another arrow, this time with a long string of a spider's web attached to it. He aimed it to the spot under Neji's first vertebrae, the Hyūga's blindspot. He shot it and Neji, with his chakra surrounding him, was able to sense the disruption in the chakra around him and was able to jujmped behind a tree before the arrow could kill him.

'That was too close.' Neji thought as he fell to his hands and knees. Kidomaru only chuckled.

"It's useless to resist. It'll all be over soon." Kidomaru's voice echoed through the entire forest and Neji clenched his fist.

'Strong… He's far stronger than me... I'm almost out of chakra…' Neji panted as his vision began to blur. 'I doubt that I'll be able to avoid the next attack.' Neji stared at his forehead protector just a few feet away form him. His blood covered a portion of it while the symbol of his village shined bright from the moon's light.

'Is this it?'

Kidomaru once again spat out another arrow, this time, the tip had a swirl to it so it would increase the arrow's velocity.

'No! I refuse to give up. Naruto's counting on me and I won't let him down. Not him, not Hinata-sama, not the Hyūga clan, not Konoha, not anyone!' Neji smiled as his back was turned to Kidomaru and he remained perfectly still.

"Is he giving up?" Kidomaru asked himself. "I can't take my chances." He continued as he shot the arrow. It kicked up dust as it raced past many trees. Neji turned at the last second and instead of the arrow hitting his heart, it hit the lower right side of his torso. The momentum of the arrow caused him to fly backwards until his back hit a tree. Because there was a spider web attached to the butt of the arrow, Neji was attached to the tree.

His head was bowed forward and pumped some chakra into his right hand as it rose and held the spider web attached to the arrow.

'This is my chance.' He thought as his chakra quickly travelled up the web and into Kidomaru's mouth.

Kidomaru was shocked at this as his body suddenly felt pain.

"What?" Many of his internal organs now damaged, Kidomaru fell off his branch and headed for the unforgiving Earth. He cut off the string attached to his mouth and realized he could still move his body even with the damage done.

Neji searched deep inside for the energy he need as he cut the string attached to his lower abdomen and activated his Byakugan. Without falling, Neji ran after Kidomaru who was still falling and recovering.

'I won't give up!' Neji declared. 'Even if you are stronger than me! Even if my body refuses to move!' Neji saw his target recover and slowly right himself with his webs, swing around many branches. 'I will not lose!'

'I made a mistake.' Kidomaru thought to himself, oblivious to the Hyūga running towards him. 'I won't make the same mistake again.'

His eyes widened when Neji appeared in front of him.

"This is it!" Neji hit Kidomaru in the face multiple times with his left and right index and middle finger. Kidomaru grunted with each hit. With a final spin, Neji pumped the last of his chakra to his left hand and struck Kidomaru in his left temple.

Kidomaru was sent spinning until he lost his momentum and came to a halt on his back. Neji spun next to him but he was able to stay on his feet long enough to stop in front of Kidomaru before falling to his left knee. Kidomaru returned to his normal form as he stared at Neji in awe.

"H-How?" H asked and Neji turned to look at him.

"I knew that you'd aim at my blindspot since you knew where it was. So It wasn't hard to release my chakra into that are only. At the last second, I was able avoid a fatal hit." Kidomaru chuckled mirthlessly.

"So you took the hit on purpose, even though it wa a risky move." He stared into Neji's cold, tired silver eyes. "Why would you go to such lengths?"

"You have been one of the strongest opponents I've faced in a long time." Neji started to say. "However, there is one person who's still the strongest I've ever faced. What he told me was this… 'Unlike me, you're not pathetic'." Kidomaru was barely able to sit up and smirk at Neji.

"It doesn't matter now though, you're going to die with me." Neji was able to reciprocate his smirk as he took out his forehead protector out of his pocket.

"I'm not dying that easily." Neji told him and Kidomaru's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell on his back. Neji fell to his knees before falling on his face.

"My part has been completed… It's up to you guys now…"

Minutes after Neji lost consciousness, the red haired teen returned with Hinata on her shoulder.

"Master was right… you have changed." The teen said as she crouched in front of Neji and placed a hand covered in pink fire on his chest and wounds.

"This won't completely heal you but at least it's better than your current condition." After she finished, she looked at Kidomaru and smirked. "Fool…"

She turned her eyes to Hinata and smiled.

"At least you're alright now, milady." The teen said as she walked past Neji and Kidomaru, continuing forward to find her Master.

*.*.*.*

Naruto punched Sasuke with both his fist while Sasuke had his arms up, using his forearms to protect his face. Naruto sent a right, left, right and another left hook before he raised his knee and drove it into Sasuke's midsection, driving the oxygen away from his lungs. Naruto jumped up and clasped both hands together over his head before bringing it down on Sasuke's back. Sasuke fell to his knees but didn't sink into the water.

Naruto jumped back, away from Sasuke as a dark, purple aura appeared around him.

"How the mighty have fallen." Naruto commented sarcastically as he watched Sasuke slowly stand with his body completely engulfed with black, flame-like tattoos and the dark aura glued to his skin.

"You know nothing about me!" Sasuke roared as he ran towards Naruto with a crazed glint in his eyes and new found speed. Caught off guard by the sudden quickness in Sasuke's step, Naruto left his body unprotected as Sasuke closed in and let out a quick sequence of jabs. The air in Naruto's lungs was forced out as each punch Sasuke threw at him was stronger and faster than before.

A sadistic grin appeared on Sasuke's lips when he saw pain and surprise shroud Naruto's face. Finishing up his combination of jabs, Sasuke spun and delivered a roundhouse kick to Naruto's chin.

The momentum given to him by Sasuke's foot sent Naruto spiraling back through the air with his back hitting the bordering rocks. He looked up after recovering from the hit and saw Sasuke heading for him again. He pushed himself off the rock behind him and appeared before Sasuke.

They met in a series of punches, kicks, blocks and dodges until Naruto gained the advantage with a nicely timed knee to Sasuke's chin.

Ssasuke flew back but caught himself before his back hit the rocks. Naruto jumped high into the sky with a back flip and landed a considerable distance away from Sasuke.

Frustrated that he still doesn't have the upper hand on a low class shinobi like Naruto, Sasuke climbed up the bordering rocks and at the peak of his climb, he stopped and fastened his feet to the rocks with his chakra. He made some hand signs before grabbing his left wrist with his right hand and gathering up his chakra to surround his left hand with chakra powered electricity.

Naruto shook his head in disappointment while he summoned his chakra to his right hand, spinning it in random directions and summoning the Resengan.

Satisfied with his Chidori, Sasuke sped down the flanking rocks and then towards Naruto.

Not one to be outdone, Naruto charged towards Sasuke and just feet away from each other, they both threw their attacks forward and they collided. The Rasengan and Chidori struggled to dominate each other as Naruto and Sasuke glared and grunted in effort to win.

A set of blue eyes, fueled by the Will of Fire, his righteousness passed down from his father and his stubbornness given to him by his mother, locked on to onyx eyes, powered by anguish of losing his family, the hatred influenced by his homicidal bother, and insanity provided by Orochimaru's curse mark.

"I won't lose to you!" Naruto shouted as his right hand grasped Sasuke's left. Ignoring the lightning surrounding Sasuke's hand, Naruto cocked his left fist back and released it, punching Sasuke's face. He staggered back and held his face.

"Tch, dobe." Naruto smirked at him as he exercised his right hand. "You know this is just getting started." Sasuke said and Naruto nodded his head.

"Want to call a timeout?" Naruto asked and Sasuke growled angrily. "Not for me, I'm fine; you, however, look winded." Naruto mocked. Sasuke reached into his pockets and released a quantity of kunai and shuriken.

"Don't make me laugh, dobe!" Naruto dodged all the kunai and shuriken but his eyes widened when he noticed each shuriken and kunai was attached to ninja wire. Sasuke smirked as he pulled back the shuriken and kunai and they spun around Naruto until they tied him up. Some buried themselves into his skin and Naruto clenched his teeth.

With his hands and mouth holding the ninja wire, Sasuke was still able to make hand signs and blow out a powerful breath of fire. Using the ninja wire as a medium, the fire traveled towards Naruto and engulfed him. Not contempt with his current attack and wanting to make sure he trapped Naruto, Sasuke applied his lightning affinity to the ninja wire and sent it traveling down it.

Within the flames, Naruto shouted out in pain as the lightning started to fry his nervous system. To Sasuke, this was music to his ears and something he was going to continue hearing if he had something to say about it. He applied more chakra into the lightning and Naruto felt like he was going to explode.

Naruto grunted as he struggled to quiet down his cries. He tried to think of a way to get himself out of Sasuke's grip but nothing came to mind.

'You can't do this alone.' Hearing the voice of his mentor, Naruto receded to his mindscape and stared up at his tenant.

"If I rely on you and your power too much, then I'll never get stronger by myself." Naruto told him and the Kyūbi raised his head in a sense of curiosity.

"So you rather die here?" The Kyūbi asked and Naruto opened his mouth to retort but none came to mind. "Stupid kit."

"So what? I come running to you whenever I can't handle something?" Naruto asked. The Kyūbi shifted in his place as he let out a tired grunt, as if he had performed a difficult and strenuous task.

"You're so reckless and impatient. The Uchiha brat will eventually shutdown your nervous system. Be grateful I'm dealing with it as we speak."

"Answer my question." Naruto said seriously.

"You're still a kit, brat. As you grow older, you'll be able to handle more situations without my help." The Kyūbi started. "For now, alone, you're at your strongest without actually pushing your body's natural limitations. With my help, you'll be able to do far more than what you can normally do." Naruto considered this and looked away.

"Feels like you're doing most of the work." Naruto stated.

"Just think of it as me setting a higher standard of limitations that your body can momentarily meet." Naruto raised an eyebrow while staring at the Kyūbi. "You'll still do all the hard work."

"Whatever." The Kyūbi's smile spread throughout his lips and his red chakra surrounded Naruto.

"just remember, don't get lost in the bloodlust." Naruto nodded his head and disappeared with the Kyūbi's chakra.

Outside his mindscape, Sasuke was just about ready to end the fight when the wires loosened and fell to the ground. He strained his still underdeveloped Sharingan eyes to see into the flames and what he saw surprised him. Surrounded by red chakra, Naruto was huddled with his arms crossed over his head and his body shaking.

The level at which he was summoning his chakra scared Sasuke but before he could try anything, Naruto jumped up and stared down at Sasuke at his place in his sky.

Sasuke caught every detail of the airborne Naruto, including the longer nails, thicker whiskers marks, wilder hair and cold, deadly crimson eyes that were so deep that he felt like Narutoi's eyes were penetrating his soul. This Naruto was not the one he had been fighting for the last hour or so, this Naruto was much more hardcore, animalistic… almost demonic.

Naruto landed closer to Sasuke and the red chakra that once surrounded him disappeared like a drop of water over a flame. They stared at each other, neither blinking nor looking away.

"Y-You're a… a m-monster." Sasuke stuttered out and Naruto couldn't help but smirk.

"Something much more."

*.*.*.*

"Milady, wake up." Hinata clenched her eyes tightly before opening them slowly, seeing a red blur in front of her. When her vision cleared, she stared into the amber eyes of a girl around her age. She blinked at the closeness of the girl and blushed.

"A-Ano… you're a-a little too c-close." She stuttered out and the girl smiled.

"Milady, you're awake!" The girl cheered and Hinata raised an eyebrow.

"…uhm…" Hinata looked up and saw Shikamaru, Lee and Kiba looking at her. Neji and Choji lay unconscious near them with a few scratches on them but nothing too life threatening.

"So you're up, huh?" Kiba joked with a tired smile. Hinata sat up and looked around. It was still night and they were all sitting under the shade of a tree.

"What's going on?" Hinata asked and Shikamaru stared at the unknown teen.

"We're not completely sure. Lee, Kiba and I were saved by this girl just before we were about to be killed. I'm not sure about Neji or Choji since they've been unconscious since we got here." Shikamaru explained before his stare hardened. "So now the question is, who are you?" He asked and the teen giggled.

"No on special, just a friend." She said happily before she got a bit serious. "And as a friend, I'd advise you six to return to Konoha." The four conscious teens looked at the girl oddly.

"What you six have just experienced is only the beginning. As we speak, there are enemies coming here to, so to speak, 'put out the Will of Fire'." She told them in a tone that left no room for disbelief. After getting over his shock, Shikamaru spoke.

"So you want us to retreat? What about Naruto and Sasuke?" He asked and the girl shook her head.

"It's too late for the spoiled brat but rest assure, 'Naruto' will not be left to fend for himself. As for you six, I want you to return to Konoha and inform you Hokage of what I've just told you and request for back up. About four or five of your top shinobi would do." She said and Hinata staredat her incredulously.

"Why should we trust you?" Kiba asked and the girl looked at him.

"I… I'm not sure what I can say that'll convince you all. If you refuse to take my advice, 'Naruto' will die." Everyone was taken aback by this. The mysterious girl stood and walked away.

"Wait!" But before the girl could disappear in the sea of trees, she was stopped by Hinata. She sturned and faced Hinata. "I'm not leaving without Naruto." She said with determination and conviction. The girl's stare hardened.

"Milady, you said that as if you are serious." She said and Hinata nodded.

"I am." She retorted and the girl eased her stare and smiled.

"Fair enough." Hinata stood and stood beside the girl.

"Hinata… be careful out there." She heard Kiba say and without turning, she nodded before disappearing with the mysterious girl. After a few minutes of silence, the sound of Shikamaru grunting was heard as he stood.

"Come on, we still need to get Choji and Neji to the hospital and tell Lady Tsunade the troublesome news." Lee and Kiba nodded as they stood and each grabbed their comrade. "I'll cover you guys." Lee and Kiba nodded again as they set out to Konoha.

*.*.*.*

Sasuke panted as he kneeled in front of Naruto. In his feral form, Naruto was obviously the superior in this fight. However, Sasuke had an ace for such a circumstance.

He stood and staggered away from Naruto.

"Running away?" Naruto asked, making Sasuke stop and turn with a wicked smile on his face. He slowly raised his right hand and lifted his middle finger. Naruto growled and ran towards him a speed that Sasuke's Sharingan eye couldn't follow. Before he could move out of the way, Naruto drove his right fist into Sasuke's stomach and dragging him through the water and crashing into the bordering rocks. Debris and dust was sent into the air and shrouded Sasuke.

Naruto was kicked off by Sasuke and landed on all fours. He shook his head from the blow and looked up only to be shocked.

Sasuke walked out of the cloud of dust with a new look. His hair was darker and longer, his skin in a shade of dark grey and a black star on his nose. Naruto also noticed that his sclera changed from white to black and his Sharingan had all three tomoe.

"Come Naruto, your death awaits." Sasuke said with newfound energy. Naruto growled as he felt his anger rise.

"So eager to finish the fight, huh Sasuke?" Naruto's eyes widened when he heard the familiar yet unwelcoming voice. Orochimaru and Kabuto fell beside Sasuke and smirked at Naruto.

"Orochimaru." Naruto growled. As much as he hated Orochimaru, he also secretly feared the rogue sannin. With these three, Naruto knew he had no chance to survive.

Hope ya liked it...

I'm soooooooooooo tired...

Comment later...

Night...

Next Chapter: Fox Pack...

Good luck with whatever and if you got a problem with me or one of my stories, please feel free to: Deal with it, Get over it or Choke on it...