Blood. Blood was everywhere. The coppery stench threatened to consume him. Embrace him. Destroy him. So much damned blood. I will serve. Bodies piled around him. Death followed him. I will kill. Thoughts were useless. Dodge. Only action. Twist. And survival. Stab. Blood. It was his bane. It was his curse. It was all he knew. Whispers. Broken promises. I will die. For Konoha

"Welcome one and all to the Konoha Chuunin Exams!"

The stadium shook with excitement as the crowd roared in approval. People of all ages and occupations occupied the massive stadium; vendors loudly sold their wares, while the ninja on duty struggled to keep the masses under control.

"This event brought together the best genin from across the elemental nations. With each and every one of them vying for the coveted rank of Chuunin!"

"One hundred and eight candidates entered the exams… Now only eight remain!"

The roars of the screaming crowd exploded throughout the arena.

"Let the exams begin!"

Naruto grinned in excitement as he bounced in place, his entire being unable to contain his anticipation. He was up first. This was the moment he was waiting for. To prove to the world the dead last of Konoha was no more. Zaraki had acknowledged him. Jiraiya had acknowledged him. It was time the world did the same.

"All the way from the desolate deserts of the east, our first contestant! Welcome Gaara of the desert!"

Naruto could hear the cries of excitement from deep within the stadiums tunnels. He was ready.

"And now, Konoha's resident prankster and rookie challenger… I present to you… Uzumaki Naruto!"

The Uzumaki couldn't help but let loose a feral grin. Showtime.

His fingers flashed through his new favorite jutsu, disappearing in a flurry of leaves.

Reappearing in the middle of the stadium, the blond basked in the resounding cheers of the crowd.

Those who knew the loudmouth shinobi were surprised at the Uzumaki's slight wardrobe change. Where he once wore his beloved orange jacket, the blond had replaced it temporarily with a simple sleeveless black hoodie.

Grinning from his hidden vantage point, Jiraiya cackled with glee that his plan to destroy all of his student's horrendous choice in outer-wear had succeeded.

Naruto lazily spun a pair of kunai in front of him as he gazed across at his redheaded opponent.

"You ready to dance Tanuki?" asked the Uzumaki, his voice somehow emanating from the speakers around the stadium.

The redhead focused his attention on the blond, a maniacal glint in his soulless eyes.

"Mother will have your blood."

"Sabaku no Gaara vs. Uzumaki Naruto! Fight!"

Naruto burst into motion, spawning clones on his left and right, his hands already flinging a pair of kunai in front of him.

A flash of hand seals, "Kunai kage bunshin no jutsu!"

A steel wall of death exploded into existence, crashing into the sand wall that separated the two genin.

The blond dashed forward leaping on the ready back of his clone and somersaulted over his sand opponent, throwing even more kunai at the head of his opponent.

The resounding clash of hardened sand striking steel, alerted him to his failed attack. Rolling out of reach of the sand shinobi, the blond paused a fraction of a second and initiated part two of his plan. "Boom."

The resounding explosion that occurred caused the entire arena to shake violently, the pressure wave sending the cheering crowd forcibly into their seats.

Despite popular belief, Uzumaki Naruto could learn from his mistakes, and instead of watching the aftermath of his attack, he created another group of clones to surround the smoking crater in which he quickly hid himself among.

"Ha… Ha! Ha! HA! HAHAHAHAHA!" came the maniacal laughter from within clearing smoke, "Your blood will please mother!"

"Oh shi-"

Sand burst from the ash cloud, its deadly tendrils striking in all directions at once. The sand pinned Naruto's rapidly destroyed clones into the stadiums wall, the force of the impacts creating massive craters in the process.

"Let us dance indeed Uzumaki Naruto!" laughed Gaara, both his arms outstretched towards the blond, in a sick facsimile of a child asking for a hug.

"Not good!" exclaimed Naruto as he twisted beneath a tendril of sand it looked like he was going to have to bring out the big guns, "Shit!'

The blond leapt into the sky, his fingers blurring with the speed of his hand seals, "Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

A gust of wind crashed into the sand wielding ninja, the force of the attack scattering sand across the arena. Without missing a beat, the blond continued, "Fuuinjutsu: Kai!"

All across the stadium walls, seals flashed with power, as the blond activated their effects.

Gallons of water gushed from the multitude of seals placed strategically around the stadium, its contents quickly covering the entire arena with a deep layer of water.

Naruto beamed with glee at the successful execution of his plan. The clones he summoned to surround the sand genin were able to successfully place the transfer seals around the stadium walls. A burst of chakra, and the pre-made storage seals brought the contents of a nearby lake into the battle.

The sand was already starting to move sluggishly as it whipped unsuccessfully at his head. The blond shinobi grinned as he pulled a scroll from his equipment pouch, "Let's try this baby on for size!"

Channeling chakra into the summoning scroll, an explosion of smoke covered the young genin from sight.

A pair of gloves covered in intricate black symbols appeared on the blond's outstretched palms.

The crowd chattered softly, confused at the seemingly useless summoning.

Naruto grinned wildly; as he gazed at his opponent across the water, struggle to regain control of his sand.

"Fuuinjutsu: Kai!"

Fire flashed into existence, the ethereal burning flames engulfing the blond's arms.

"Catch."

"What the hell…" exclaimed Sarutobi Asuma in shock, his cigarette falling forgotten from his open mouth.

"What have you been training that kid Kakashi?" asked Kurenai equally flabbergasted, the level of skill the blond shinobi was exhibiting, far surpassed any members of her genin team.

Kakashi stood silently, as he gazed at his most surprising student. Lifting his headband from his sharingan eye, the Jounin knew that arriving on time for once was worth witnessing his sensei's son blow his comrades preconceptions of him out of the water.

"I'm not his only teacher," said the copy-nin lazily, "Zaraki-san and Jiraiya-sama were vital towards changing his mindset and skills respectfully. Truth be told, I haven't seen my student since he was released from the hospital last month."

"Yosh! Jiraiya-sama has been training him? His flames of youth must burn bright indeed!" exclaimed Gai exuberantly.

"Ne… It seems Jiraiya-sama might have chosen himself a new apprentice…" said Kakashi nonchalantly.

"You always were a sharp one Kashi-kun," came the booming voice of the Toad sannin himself, "The brat may be a loudmouthed idiot outside of a fight…"

The sannin trailed off, gesturing towards the carnage below, "But well, the results speak for themselves."

Down below, flashes of light and the sounds of battle crashed within the steam-covered arena. The young Uzumaki, ingeniously recreated Kirigakure no Sato's famous mist jutsu, with the simple use of copius amounts of fire.

An unseen chain of explosions rattled the stadium yet again.

"However…" Jiraiya continued, "His opponent is no genin either."

Naruto coughed up blood as he barely dodged yet another deadly sand bullet. It didn't seem to matter what he hit this guy with, nothing seemed to scratch his defenses. Hell, the guy was only getting stronger the longer the fight dragged along! And now… The sand genin had summoned up some sort of sand dome, seemingly impenetrable.

Long-range techniques were useless and if he used any more explosives, he risked bringing down the entire stadium. As if mocking him, his fire summoning gloves disintegrated, the chakra he previously stored in it running dry.

Close combat it is.

The semblance of a plan began to form as he summoned yet another set of clones to his side.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

Before his clones could finish their jutsu, Naruto was already charging forward. The blast of wind from behind cleared the steam from the arena, and he quickly honed in on his target.

Throwing a pair of explosive wrapped kunai into the sand dome before him, Naruto flashed through the hand seals of the only jutsu Zaraki taught him.

Sand exploded in front of him, "Kaze no Yaiba!"

A blade of wind materialized across his fingertips, the cutting power of the wind technique slicing through the weakened shell of the sand dome.

Blood splashed across the blonds face.

Feathers fell from the sky

The invasion had begun.

"Just fucking die already!" growled Zaraki as he kicked yet another mangled body off of his sword. It was getting ridiculous how many of Orochimaru's failed experiments came charging at the anbu squad, following them relentlessly across the countryside.

Three weeks the injured group made their way to Konoha. A journey that normally took a week's journey had crawled into a bloody three-week conflict.

"How far out are we?" came the tired question from Raido, his hand covering his bloody torso, a makeshift bandage the only barrier between life and death.

Izumo grunted softly as he repositioned the comatose body of Yuugao on his back, "Half a day's journey by my reckoning. We should be able to see the village walls soon."

"Thank Kami," complained Kotetsu, as he continued to watch the perimeter, "This mission's been a cluster fuck. Genma's MIA, Hayate bought the farm, the Captains all levels of fucked up… Hell, we fucking had to leave the Commander behind!"

Zaraki flinched.

"Lock it up Kotetsu," barked Raido weakly, "We still have a mission to complete…"

Zaraki nodded his head in agreement, his massive blade held out at the ready. They had no idea if Konoha had been attacked yet. War was literally on the horizon.

"We should probably get a move on," said Zaraki, his eyes scanning the shadows the early morning sun cast upon them, "The faster we get to Konoha, the quicker we can rally the defense."

"I don't know where Konoha found your punk ass Zaraki, but I'm glad we did," came the tired response from Kotetsu as he moved to assist Raido, "Remind me to buy you a drink when this is all over."

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Zaraki dryly as the squad set off again towards Konoha.

Leaping through the dense canopy that Fire country was known for; the Namikaze couldn't help but reflect on the battered three-pronged kunai that sat heavy in his depleted weapons pouch.

It was a memento of two dead men now.

"The old man went out with a bang gaki, literally," came the caustic reply of his sword/sensei, "It's what any good shinobi wants…"

"Or being eaten alive… It seems like every one of you pesky ninja enjoy leaping headlong into my stomach."

Naruto shook his head; his two mental companions were being useless as ever, and-

The Namikaze froze.

"What's wrong Zaraki?" hissed Raido, glancing around the surrounding area.

"You smell that?" responded Zaraki as memories came flashing unbidden through his skull, "Something's burning…"

The former missing-nin didn't wait for a reply, dashing in front of his comrades; the time traveler sped desperately to the top of a closest hill.

In the distance Konoha burned.

"We were too late," whispered Naruto softly.

"Ohh shit…" spat out Izumo, as he and the survivors of Sigma squad landed behind the Namikaze.

Massive snake summons were crashing through the village walls, while an enormous raccoon demon waged battle against unseen opponents on the outskirts of Konoha.

"We need to get there right fucking now!" growled Raido, as he glared at the forces that dared attack his village, "If only Genma and Iwashi were here, we'd be able to use the Yondaime's technique!"

'Kyuubi.'

"Hmmph… Very well."

Malevolent chakra exploded around the former Hunter-nin, a crimson shroud of energy encasing him. Killing intent leaked violently out of the blond's form, the pressure of which could already be felt.

"What the hell-"

"Namikaze Minato wasn't the only one able to break through time and space."

The Namikaze turned his gaze back to the burning village, "Let's go…"

And with a Crimson Flash they were gone.

"They've broken through the walls!"

"Medic! I need a medic! God damn it she's dying!"

"We need to move! Get those damn civilians to cover!"

"Die leaf scum!"

"Where the fuck's our support?"

"They got Saotome! Kill the bastards!"

Debris crashed around her body as Anko slid another blade into the stomach of an invading sand-nin. Wrenching the knife to the side, the kunoichi kicked the mortally wound shinobi to the side, his entrails falling out of his body.

"Sen'eijashu!"

Snakes flew from her wrists, taking down a particularly burly shinobi that was attacking a group of genin. The tokubetsu jounin twisted under a wayward wind blade as she joined Ibiki Morino's side.

"Where the fuck is he?" snarled the female ninja, as she locked blades with a Sound ninja.

"Now is not the time Anko," rumbled the Head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation unit, as he crushed the skull of an unlucky shinobi with his boot.

"What the hell are you talking about Ibiki?" yelled Anko over the deafening sounds of battle, "Orochimaru's behind all of this!"

"We have higher priorities Anko, the Hokage is engaging the traitor as we speak," explained Ibiki, "We need to stop Orochimaru's summons before they bring down the village."

"Kami damn it!"

A trio of Konoha soldiers went flying past the duo, their crushed bodies the result of a failed attack on the summoned creatures.

"We need to-"

A flash of crimson cut off his next words. The battered and bloody forms of the Anbu squad Sigma and Konoha's newest recruit appeared before them.

"About time you joined the goddamned party ehh 'raki-kun?" quipped Anko at the sight of the unexpected reinforcements.

"Where's-" started Zaraki, before diving to the side, avoiding a strike from on of the colossal snakes.

The demonic swordsman growled as he turned to face his newest opponent.

"You're no Manda," snarled Zaraki as he glared at the massive snake. The former missing-nin stepped forward and disappeared in a crimson flash, reappearing at the base of the snake's neck, his blade already in motion.

Nearby shinobi stared in awe as the Namikaze decapitated the monstrous creature with a single strike.

The satisfying crash that signaled the creature's death echoed throughout the village.

A series of red flashes in the sky above Konoha bore witness to the deaths of the two remaining snake summons.

"For Konoha!" came the renewed battle cry of the Leaf ninja's forces, as the most immediate threat had been taken down.

A burst of chakra later, and the blood drenched shinobi reappeared in front of the head of Konoha's T&I department.

"Where's that fucking snake?" sneered the Namikaze, his violet eyes flashing between red and blue.

Ibiki looked upon the bloody soldier with understanding. It seems like the identity of the young Namikaze's wrath was the traitor Orochimaru.

"The Sandaime is confronting the traitor now Namikaze. However, there is a barrier between the two. We were unable to bring it down."

Zaraki's eyes flashed crimson.

A massive purple barrier temporarily revealed itself in the middle of the village, before the dark plumes of black smoke obscured it again.

Namikaze Zaraki stood motionless in the middle of the street, his gaze never leaving the menacing barrier.

"It's time to finish this."

Sarutobi Hiruzen cast off his ceremonial Hokage robes, revealing his armored form, as he glared at his wayward student.

"Orochimaru…"

"Kukuku… Haven't you missed me sensei?" laughed the snake sannin, as he too discarded his disguise as the Kazekage, "After all… I orchestrated all of this just to see you again sensei!"

The Third Hokage's eyes narrowed in anger, "I should have killed you all those years ago Orochimaru…"

The snake sannin laughed again.

"You have no idea how difficult it was to set this all up sensei!" cackled Orochimaru, "Why, I thought the secrecy was all for naught when I was forced to order the destruction of your outpost near Rice! You can't understand how upset I was to hear there were survivors."

The two shinobi, former student and teacher, warily circled each other.

"Imagine my surprise to find out Konoha had no idea of what was coming!"

"Why? Why now?! Why would you try to destroy Konoha?" asked the Sandaime.

The Snake Summoner smiled sadistically, "Haven't you realized sensei? This is a celebration! After all…"

"How often does one achieve immortality?"

"No… You couldn't have…" whispered the old Hokage.

"Indeed my dearest sensei," mocked Orochimaru, "But enough talk… It's time for you to meet the Shiniga-"

The Sandaime's eyes widened in shock as a sudden crimson flash appeared before his eyes. A blood-covered shinobi stood kneeling in front of the old Hokage, the scent of copper and death permeating his senses, while dark malevolent chakra burned before him. Killing intent emanated in waves off the figure, it's intensity felt by the considerable pressure that constricted his chest.

"Orochimaru…" growled the figure malevolently, as it lifted a massive sword from its back, its surface already covered in gore.

"Kukukuku… What it this? It seems you've acquired some dangerous toys sensei!" spat out the snake-sannin gleefully, "However, I've brought gifts of my own!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt his heart stop momentarily at the contents in front of his wayward student. Distracted by the newcomer to their fight, the old Hokage failed to notice the activation of the forbidden jutsu in front of him.

Edo Tensai.

A single word escaped his lips, "Impossible…"

"What the hell is he doing old man?" said the ragged figure in front of him menacingly. The shinobi turned his head slightly to the side, exposing the tattered black bandages that used to cover his face. Three distinct marks lined the shinobi's cheeks. Namikaze Zaraki.

"Stop that technique Zar-" shouted the old Hokage hoarsely, his eyes widened in desperation.

"Too late Sarutobi-sensei!" laughed Orochimaru joyfully, his arms spread out in jubilation, "I believe a reunion is in order is it not?"

The three wooden coffins before the Konoha ninja burst open, with three ashen figures appearing from their midst.

Stumbling from their coffins three distinct figures stepped forth from the grave.

The Shodai Hokage.

The Nidaime Hokage.

The Yondaime Hokage.

"Welcome back…" grinned the snake summoner gleefully, "Hokages of Konoha."

AN: Up next... Shit goes down. You want more? Let me know... -Private Jenkins-

PS: Should I add Zabuza to the character list? Tell me what you think...

Update: Wait! How can the Fourth be summoned? He's in the Shinigami's stomach! To be explained! Next time...

Update2: As of 13Jan2014 my computer has been fixed, next chapter to follow soon. All files were saved. Thank fucking god. Next chapter is halfway done, working on it now.