Naruto's Betrayal: "You Thought Sasuke Was Bad?"

Gaara P.O.V.

I could see Konohamaru out of the corner of my eye, but had the rest of my attention focused on my brother in front of me. His puppets were flanking him on both sides, and he was staring me down with palpable disdain. I crossed my arms, as sand began to swirl through the air around me.

"Kankurō, this foolish vendetta will only lead to pain. Whatever nonsense you believe about my becoming Kazekage..."

Before I could finish, Kankurō began to manipulate the chakra strings attached to his fingers and his puppets, commanding them to shoot a barrage of kunai and senbon at me. The sand from my gourd easily blocked the projectiles, which clearly frustrated him.

"Kankurō. I know Temari's passing has left you feeling alone, and I understand... But do you really think killing me will ease that pain? Do you really think killing your other sibling will end your loneliness?"

My brother's eyes flashed red, as he sent his puppets dashing toward me.

"SHUT UP GAARA! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW I FEEL!"

The puppets attempted to grab, strike, and slash me with all of the weapons in their arsenal, but weren't fast enough to get through my defenses. I stared down Kankurō as he continued his feeble attempts at offense, my eyes slowly closing into pinholes from the loss of blood caused by my previous wound. I continued to try to reason with my brother, not wanting to cause him any harm.

"As Kazekage the entire sand village became my family, and my responsibility to keep safe. I'm sorry if you felt like I abandoned you. That was never my..."

One of the puppets, without me noticing, was able to somehow get through my sand defenses, and pierced me in the side with a poison stake erupting from it's mouth. As I shuddered at the impact, another of his puppets quickly attacked from behind, slashing me with a knife that was stored in its wrist. The world around me began to spin, as I slowly collapsed onto one knee. I looked at my brother, who had momentarily stopped his assault. I was out of chakra, and the sand from my gourd quickly fell to the ground around me. Kankurō laughed an ear-shattering cackle, before beginning to speak.

"You don't think you had this coming, do you little brother? You think you DESERVE to be Kazekage? TEMARI DIED UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP.  IF RASA WAS STILL ALIVE, HE NEVER WOULD HAVE LET TEMARI BE KILLED. HE WOULD HAVE KEPT THOSE BANDITS OUT OF OUR VILLAGE! HE WOULD HAVE KEPT HER SAFE!"

Tears were streaming down Kankurōs cheeks as he spoke, his hands beginning to tremble as he stared daggers into me. I was losing all of my strength from the combination of poison and blood loss, but I managed a meager response.

"I... N-never meant to fail you... Kankurō... Not Temari either... I..."

Kankurō frantically shook his hand, before regaining control of himself and his puppets.

"SHUT UP AND DIE, AND LET A NEW KAZEKAGE USHER IN AN ERA OF SAFETY FOR THE HIDDEN SAND VILLAGE!"

This time, only one puppet was dashing toward me, brandishing a scythe from it's stomach as it got closer. I braced myself for the impact, closed my eyes, and heard the sound of the blade connecting with human flesh. Blood splattered on my face, but, as I opened my eyes, I realized that I felt no pain. I looked in front of me, and a rush of horror swept over me. The tip of the scythe was upside down in front of me, like a fisherman's hook... And what it caught, was Konohamaru.

"K-Konohamaru?"

I was barely able to speak his name. He was somehow still standing, his hands grasping the few inches of the blade that hadn't pierced his stomach. He glanced at me from the side, blood dripping out of his mouth as he showed me a small smile.

"P-promise me you'll save Naruto, okay?"

Kankurō slowly pulled his puppets back, and the blade being ripped from Konohamaru's stomach once again painted the forest floor red. He fell onto the ground next to me, his chest just slightly moving with his faint and labored breath. Out of nowhere, I heard a sharp shrieking noise, and a flash of light erupted from the trees behind Kankurō. In a moment, Kankurō gasped in pain, and Sasuke's hand appeared through the front of his chest. As Kankurō fell, I could hear Hinata's voice calling out to me.

"Gaara! Kono... KONOHAMARU!"

She ran toward us, kneeling down next to me and the boy, holding our hands in hers as she wept. She quickly looked to Neji and Sasuke, who both called to the Hokage over their communicators. I couldn't tell if Konohamaru was still breathing, but I knew I wouldn't be for much longer. Hinata begged and pleaded with the two of us to hold on while reinforcements came, but the world faded to
black before I ever saw them arrive.