Naruto:A New Path

Gaara's True Power

"Dammit," Tayuya cursed with a snarl. The one-eyed jonin would be a strong foe. He was Kakashi, a man who was said to have copied over a thousand jutsu. Fighting someone like him would be suicide even if all of the Sound Four fought together.
"We have no choice but to escape," Sakon whispered to his two teammates, "Jirobo, you will carry Kidomaru while I buy us some time."
The big sound ninja nodded in understanding while Sakon got into a fighting stance. If he could get his brother inside of Kakashi then their escape would be successful. He would need a distraction to get close, the jonin wouldn't mind him being close since he doubted that Kakashi knew about his bloodline. Tayuya would be useful in distracting the jonin with her genjutsu but Kakashi's sharingan would see through it. Going into the curse seal level two was out of the question since Orochimaru had forbidden them from using it during the invasion.
"Nice to see that you're communicating with your team," Kakashi said with an eye-smile, "Why don't you stay on the village so you can teach my team a thing or two about teamwork?"
' Damn! He's just messing with us,' Sakon thought with a frown. He glanced at his teammates and saw that Jirobo was getting ready to sprint to Kidomaru's fallen form while Tayuya stood near him,
'At least those two are in position.'
With a nod to his teammates, Sakon charged at Kakashi. The sound ninja tried to punch Kakashi but the jonin dimply leaned to the right. He tried a kick but Kakashi jumped over his leg before delivering a kick of his own. Sakon sailed through the air but managed to regain his balance and landed on the ground safely.
Jirobo slung Kidomaru's unconscious body over his shoulder and gave a firm nod to Tayuya. The kunoichi smirked, they were ready.
Sakon charged at Kakashi once more. The jonin inwardly sighed; the sound ninja didn't know how to control their emotions. They were skilled but letting emotions control their actions was a big disadvantage
The sound shinobi threw a punch that Kakashi caught easily. Sakon smirked before received a backhand to the face. He felt some teeth leave his mouth as he was knocked back by the strong strike. He was finally knocked against the ground but managed to smirk.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed when he saw Sakon smirk. Something was off but the jonin didn't know what. He felt his hand twitch involuntarily before it reached into his kunai holster. The hand pulled out a kunai and put it to his neck.
Sakon chuckled. "I got you," he said with an evil smirk, "My brother and I have a bloodline that lets us go inside other people's bodies and control them."
"Your brother?" Kakashi asked in confusion.
A head came out of Kakashi's shoulder and grinned. "Yes, a brother," Ukon said before running the kunai through Kakashi's neck.
Gaara's sand shot at Sasuke from all directions. Sasuke used his enhanced speed to dodge the sand. Gaara glared as the sand continued chasing after the Uchiha. His mother would get the blood she wanted. Sasuke could run all he wanted but his mother would quench her thirst in the end.
Sasuke gritted his teeth as he rolled on the ground in order to avoid another shot of sand. Gaara was attacking from all directions and not giving him time to counter. If he wanted to hurt the sand ninja then he had to drop his enhanced speed. Doing this would leave him vulnerable to attacks but it would give him the power he needed to bring Gaara down.
The Uchiha jumped up a tree before coming to a rest on a branch. He ran through hand signs and put a hand on his mouth. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A large ball of flame shot out of Sasuke's mouth. The fireball flew towards Gaara but before the attack could hurt the redhead, a large wall created of sand appeared before him. The fireball clashed against the wall of sand before bursting and creating a large explosion.
Sasuke shielded his eyes from the explosion. He didn't noticed the stream of sand making its way towards him before it was too late. The sand gripped his foot and flung him towards a tree. Sasuke sailed through the air but regained his balance and used his feet to bounce off the tree. Gaara's eyes widened when he saw Sasuke flying towards him. Sasuke raised his fist and punched Gaara on the jaw. Gaara's skin cracked and he crashed against a tree.
Sasuke panted from where he stood. There was no way that Gaara would be getting up after that. He allowed a small smirk to escape his face. He had been able to defeat Gaara, this proved that he was strong. Not strong enough to beat Itachi but he was getting there.
The Uchiha gasped when sand shot out of where Gaara had been. Gaara walked towards him but his appearance had changed. His right arm was now covered in sand as was half of his face. He had a crazy look on his eye and Sasuke couldn't help but shiver. Gaara was leaking out a killing intent even greater than Zabuza's.
"You're dead Uchiha!" Gaara yelled in anger.
"Are we almost there?" Sakura asked in slight panic.
"They stopped running," Pakkun explained, "The two have probably begun to fight. We will reach them in a few minutes."
Sakura, Shikamaru and Shino had been following Pakkun for what appeared to be a long time. The three genin couldn't believe what was happening on the village. On their way out they had seen a giant three-headed snake attacking the village. There were fights between ninja almost everywhere on the village. Some corpses were seen around the village and many wounded ninja dragged themselves around the village. The three genin had been rendered speechless at what they witnessed. This was their first war and they had never imagined the things that they saw.
"We have to think of a plan," Shikamaru informed his two comrades, "Gaara is no pushover, we can't engage him without a well thought out strategy."
"What do you suggest?" Shino asked, "We don't have a lot to work with. We're only three ninja with very different abilities."
Shikamaru frowned. Everything Shino had said was true. His own jutsu were very limited while Shino's bugs were no match for Gaara. Sakura had no apparent skill and would only get on the way so she was discarded from the battle.
"Don't worry," Pakkun said, "I smell one of the other summon hounds coming this way. I assume that Kakashi sent another team to join with us."
Shikamaru smirked, he knew exactly who was coming. "Our chances just went up," he said, "All we have to do is stall Gaara until Naruto arrives."
"How do you know Naruto is coming?" Shino asked.
"I know Naruto well," Shikamaru said with a small smirk, "He wouldn't let us fight Gaara alone. Even if he isn't strong enough to defeat him or even if he's scared. He won't let us fight him alone, that's just the type of person he is."
"How will Naruto help?" Sakura deadpanned, "He's not as strong as Sasuke."
"Then you're in for a surprise when he gets here," Shikamaru said in an amused tone, leaving a very confused Sakura.
Naruto gritted his teeth as he leapt from tree to tree, following the summon dog. The dog had informed them that Sasuke was fighting at the moment which meant that he had less time than he originally thought. Even though he admitted that Sasuke was strong, Gaara was on an entirely different level. If Gaara had a demon inside of him too, then that meant that he could use its power. If Gaara's demon was anything like his own then Sasuke would be in trouble.
Ino gave a glance at Naruto and frowned. He had been looking worried ever since they left the village. He had paid no attention to the battles going around the village since he appeared to be deep in thought. She didn't know what was going on in his head but she knew that he was troubled by it. If Sasuke was fighting Gaara with Shikamaru and Shino only a few minutes away, why was he getting so worked up? There was no way Gaara could defeat the three of them. Naruto was hiding something and she would find out what it was.
Sasuke panted as he sat against a tree. Ever since Gaara transformed into a kind of half-demon, his skills and sand control had gone through the roof. Sasuke had been forced to retreat and had been running away from Gaara while thinking of what to do. Fire jutsu would only be a waste of chakra since Gaara's sand would only block them. That only left the Chidori but he would need time to charge it up.
Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw grains of sand on the corner of the tree. He quickly jumped away and watched as the tree was engulfed with sand. Gaara stood where the tree had been and gave an evil smirk. The Uchiha threw a couple of kunai but Gaara simply raised his sand-covered arm to block them.
"Damn," Sasuke muttered as he leapt away from Gaara. The sand ninja's sand was getting on his nerves but he couldn't do anything about it.
"Stop running and let me kill you!" Gaara yelled with rage. The jinchuuriki shot a wave of sand at Sasuke's retreating figure and smirked when he saw it hit its mark.
Sasuke crashed into the ground and gasped in pain. He tried to stand but found it useless when he felt sand surround his whole body. His eyes widened, he had seen what the sand did to its victims. The Uchiha screamed as he tried to get away from the sand that would crush him to death. The sand started to tighten around his body and the sound of breaking bones was heard throughout the woods.
Gaara licked his lips when he saw Sasuke squirm under his sand. Soon the Uchiha's blood would quench his mother's thirst, and his existence would be proven. He added pressure to the sand and smirked when he heard Sasuke scream in pain. Gaara felt so alive when he heard people scream in pain, it meant that they knew that he existed. He would soon ease his pain.
Kakashi's lifeless body fell on the floor. Sakon smirked at his handiwork but the smirk disappeared when 'Kakashi' bursted in a cloud of smoke.
"W-what!" Sakon screamed in denial, "Who was I fighting?"
"A shadow clone," a voice said behind him before he lost consciousness.
Ukon watched his brother fall unconscious and charged at Kakashi. The jonin dimply used his superior speed to go behind Ukon before knocking him unconscious. Their knowledge about the Sound village would be useful to the Leaf. The two remaining members of the Sound Four used the moment to flee the scene.
"I guess they got away," Kakashi sighed as he watched Tayuya and Jirobo, with an unconscious Kidomaru on his shoulder, leaving the arena. Kakashi picked up the two unconscious ninja and prepared to leave, "I'll take these two to Ibiki. He'll be able to get the information we need."
Sasuke screamed in agony. His body was being completely crushed and he could do nothing about it. He already found it difficult to breath and his movement had been completely restrained. Itachi had never seemed so far away. If he couldn't beat Gaara then how would he be able to kill his brother and avenge his clan?
"Sasuke!" Sakura's scream was heard.
Gaara turned his gaze to the newcomers. Three more ninja had arrived which meant that he would get to kill more people. His mother would be quite content with him. He growled when he saw a swarm of bugs come at him. Forced to release Sasuke from his hold, Gaara raised his sand-covered arm to avoid being hurt by the bugs.
Sakura immediately ran to Sasuke and began to cry. "Sasuke! Please be alright!" she cried out as she held his body close.
Shikamaru frowned. Like he guessed, Sakura proved to be useless against Gaara. Emotions would only get people hurt on battle. That only left Shino and himself to stall Gaara long enough to have Naruto arrive and help put Gaara down.
"I will kill you all!" Gaara yelled as he shot a wave of sand at them.
Shino instantly put up a protective wall of bugs. The sand and bugs clashed and Shino saw a large number of his bugs dying. Fighting with his bugs wouldn't be an option against Gaara. They had to be able to outsmart him, good thing that Shikamaru was with him.
"Shino," Shikamaru said with his gaze to Gaara, "I want you to keep Gaara busy. I'll try to trap him with my Shadow Possession jutsu. I'll hold him as long as I can."
"Very well," Shino said with a nod, "I'll try my best to distract him."
"Sakura!" Shikamaru yelled, "I want you to take Sasuke out of here. He's in no condition to fight!"
"R-right," Sakura said shakily. She steadied Sasuke with her shoulder and leapt away from the three genin.
"He won't be going anywhere!" Gaara yelled. The sand jinchuuriki shot a wave of sand at Sakura's retreating figure but found it was a bug clone, "Where are you Sasuke?"
"You'll be fighting me," Shino said emotionlessly.
The bug user shot his bugs at Gaara who used his sand for cover. The bugs avoided the sand and latched into Gaara's body. Gaara flailed his body until the bugs were pushed away. He charged at Shino and punched him on the chest but his body turned into a pile of bugs. Gaara grunted in pain when several kunai struck his back.
"I will kill you!" Gaara's scream echoed through the woods as sand began to cover more of his body. His back became covered by sand and a large tail made of sand was formed.
Gaara tried to charge at Shino but found himself unable to move. "Shadow Possession success," Shikamaru said with a smirk.
"Damn you!" Gaara screamed as he tried to move. Shikamaru gritted his teeth as he tried to keep hold of the sand ninja. He was already low on chakra from his fight with Temari, holding Gaara for more than a few minutes would be impossible.
' Hurry up Naruto,' Shikamaru thought as he struggled to keep Gaara in place.
"Let me go!" Gaara screamed as his body started to counter the effects of the shadow possession.
"Dammit!" Shikamaru cursed as Gaara begin to overpower him, "Shino! Keep him still with your bugs!"
"Right," Shino said as his bugs covered Gaara's body. Gaara's sand enveloped the bugs before crushing them, "It's useless. You're on your own."
"I'll prove my existence!" Gaara yelled as he finally broke away from Shikamaru's hold. The sand ninja instantly charged at the lazy genius and struck him on the chest. Shino was about to aid Shikamaru but was struck by Gaara's sand. The two leaf shinobi fell on the ground while panting in exhaustion, "I'll kill you both before going after the Uchiha."
Shikamaru and Shino could do nothing but stay where they were. Their bodies gave up on them and they ached all over. Gaara's strength was monstrous compared to theirs. Shikamaru cursed his luck, all he ever wanted was to have a peaceful life with a family but all that was over now. He gazed at the clouds and smiled, he would miss watching them.
Gaara took his time in making his way over to the two fallen shinobi. He savored each second of their suffering. They knew that they were going to die and they would scream in fear. That was what Gaara lived for, killing to prove he still lived.
"Wind Style: Devastation!" A powerful gust of wind knocked Gaara away from the fallen genin.
Shikamaru turned his gaze to see Naruto and Ino running over to them. Ino kneeled next to the two in order to check for wounds. Naruto stood next to them in his taijutsu stance, Shikamaru turned to the blond and his eyes widened when he saw something he never thought he would see in Naruto's eyes, fury.
"You came to die too?" Gaara asked with a crazed look on his face, "Very well, I'll kill you too!"
"If you ever come near any of my friends again," Naruto started with his hands and mouth twitching from pure fury, "I'll kill you!"
Naruto opened his right palm to reveal a seal on the glove he wore. The seal shone and one of Asuma's blades appeared on his hand. The blond ran at Gaara at full speed. The sand ninja shot a stream of sand but Naruto easily jumped over it. He proceeded to create a clone that flung him towards Gaara. Before the sand Jinchuuriki knew what happened, his sand arm had been cut off by Naruto's blade.
"Wind Style: Air Bullets!" Naruto shot out several balls of wind that hit Gaara all over his body. The attack ended with Naruto putting his hand on Gaara's stomach, "Wind Style: Spiraling Wind Ball!" The attack's force knocked Gaara away from the blond jinchuuriki. The redhead crashed against a tree and struggled to get up.
"N-Naruto?" Shino asked himself in disbelief. He had never expected Naruto to do what he and Shikamaru couldn't by himself. What Shikamaru had said was true, Naruto's power would surprise them all.
"Ino," Naruto said in a serious voice, "I want you to take Shikamaru and Shino out of here."
"Not this again!" Ino snapped, "I'll help you. You don't have to do this alone!"
"Fine," Naruto answered, "But when it gets too dangerous, I want you three away from here."
Ino couldn't answer as a wave of sand shot off towards Naruto. The blond rolled to the right and his eyes widened when he saw the sand rip a tree from its roots. Gaara was now almost completely covered in sand with his right arm restored. Gaara charged at Naruto with a scream, the blond tried to jump away but was struck by a wave of sand. The blond sailed through the air before spinning and landing on the ground with a light thud.
"Water Style: Liquid Bullets!" Ino yelled as she put a hand on her mouth and shot out several water balls.
The water balls struck Gaara, making him wince slightly. Gaara turned to Ino but as soon as he did, he received a large wound on his back, courtesy of Naruto's blade. Gaara growled before shooting sand at the annoying blonds. Naruto rolled away from the attack while creating a shadow clone. Ino wasn't fast enough to dodge but the Naruto clone used a substitution jutsu on her, making it take the hit and dispel afterwards.
Naruto gazed at Ino and gave her a firm nod. Ino responded with a confident grin and a nod of her own, showing she understood. Since they trained together with Asuma, they had learned a few combination attacks. It turned out that the two could cover each other's weaknesses pretty well.
"Water/Wind Style: Bullet Barrage!" The two yelled as they ran through hand signs and put a hand to their mouths.
The two blonds shot out several air and water balls at Gaara. The sand jinchuuriki used sand to cover the attack but the water from Ino's liquid bullets brought his defenses down. The air and liquid bullets broke through the sand barrier and struck Gaara all throughout his body. The attack ended with two strong air and liquid bullets hitting the redhead and knocking him back several feet.
Naruto panted as he watched Gaara fall on the ground. "How are you on chakra Ino?" he asked, "I have used about half of my reserves."
"I think I have enough chakra for one more attack," Ino admitted while panting heavily, "Why don't I go inside of his mind and control him, while you deliver the final blow?"
"No!" Naruto yelled, almost immediately, "Don't even think of doing that."
"Why not?" Ino asked in confusion.
"Because he has a demon inside of him," Shikamaru said while sitting against a tree, "Isn't that right, Naruto?"
"What are you talking about? That's impossible," Ino said with a shocked expression.
"I didn't remember until now," Shikamaru began, "But many of the tailed demons would be sealed within humans on times of war. This was to gain an upper hand when it came to power."
"Y-you're serious?" Ino asked in disbelief.
Shikamaru nodded. "It's true," he turned to Naruto, "You knew he wasn't lying when he admitted that he had a demon within him because you've heard of this subject before, right?"
Naruto stood quietly before turning to Shikamaru with a smile. "Right," he said, "I think that it was one of those classes where I actually paid attention."
"Is Gaara defeated?" Shino asked after a moment of silence.
"No," Naruto said with a frown, "It was way too easy. I know that he'll get up soon."
"What should we do?" Shino asked with slight alarm heard on his voice.
"All of you have to leave," Naruto said in a serious tone.
"I'm not leaving Naruto!" Ino exclaimed with a frown.
"You're almost out of chakra Ino," Naruto said with a sad look, "Please leave, I couldn't live with myself if I knew I got you hurt."
Ino was about to protest but saw the look on Naruto's eyes. It was a look of desperation mixed with nothing but concern, all directed to her. She couldn't help but blush slightly knowing that Naruto really cared for her. "Fine," she said with a sad smile, "I'll leave with these two. But please, I want you to come back to the village safely and if you don't then you'll have to make it up to me."
"Fine," Naruto said with a small smile, "I promise I'll kick this guy's ass."
Ino couldn't help but laugh slightly before helping Shikamaru and Shino up. The thee began to leave the scene with Ino throwing a last glance at Naruto. 'I know you'll beat him,' she thought with a smile, 'You're the future Hokage after all.'
Naruto watched his friends leave with a grin before turning to where Gaara had been thrown. Soon enough, the sand ninja stood back up with a look of anger on his face. Naruto slipped into his taijutsu stance and infused chakra onto his blade.
The blond ran at Gaara, who used his sand to attack him. Not having a lot of energy left, Naruto was hit and thrown back. Using the ground as a spring, Naruto leapt at Gaara. The sand ninja used his sand arm to cover the attack. The blond punched the arm before using his blade to cut through it. As soon as the arm fell on the ground, another one began to reform. Before it formed completely, Naruto kicked Gaara on the face.
The redhead flinched and felt a fist connect with his stomach. Gaara raised his fist to attack but Naruto hopped to the right and delivered a kick to his stomach. Naruto followed with an elbow to Gaara's chest and a kick to the face. Gaara recovered from the kick and punched Naruto away with his newly formed right arm.
The blond landed on the ground with a hard thud but stood up immediately. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he yelled as three clones appeared beside him. The three charged at Gaara and began to attack.
Gaara wasn't able to strike back since they wouldn't stop their attacks. One of the clones' stance fell and Gaara took the opportunity. He punched the first clone, while blocking a kick with his sand arm. He shot a stream of sand at the last two clones and looked for the original. He hissed when he felt something dig into his tail. He turned around to see Naruto trying to jump away but before he could get away, Gaara managed to punch him with his sand arm.
Naruto sailed through the air and smirked. "Got you," he said as he crashed to the ground.
Gaara heard the sound of something burning before the kunai that had been stabbed into his tail exploded. The redhead screamed in pain, since the tail was the only vulnerable place on his body. He was blown away before crashing against a tree, headfirst. Gaara was instantly knocked unconscious.
Naruto stood up shakily and glanced at Gaara's unconscious form. He smirked, he might be bleeding all over the place, have broken bones, internal bleeding but at least he managed to win. Sand shot out of Gaara's body and began to cover him. Naruto gasped when he felt demonic chakra around the area. Gaara's demon was taking over.
The sand formed a giant raccoon made of sand with a single tail. " I'm finally out!" Shukaku cheered, "No more stupid kid holding me back!"
"Damn," Naruto said with a weary look on his face.
"I only have to take care of one thing first," the one-tailed demon turned towards Naruto and gave an evil smirk,
"I'll kill you to quench my thirst!"
"What the hell do I do?" Naruto asked himself through gritted teeth.