Naruto:A New Path

Desert Showdown

Gaara kept his eyes narrowed as he focused on Red Death. Sparks of lighting were emitting from the blade of her scythe and it seemed as if she was waiting for something in order to attack. Kankuro stood on his side with his puppet in front of him with two blades on hand, well aware of the fact that puppets wouldn't beat Red Death but he had to do everything on his power to win.
Red Death watched the two with a smirk under the gas mask she wore. They seemed to be overanalyzing everything, if their look of concentration was any clue, but it was futile. A sudden rise of demonic chakra got her attention, she snapped her head to the side to see the hints of a battle going on in the distance. Her eyes narrowed, just what the hell was going on?
Sand suddenly shot at the Whirlpool ninja, picking up speed as it grew closer. More lighting gathered around Red Death's scythe before she swung it at the shot of sand, creating a few lightning bolts that shot out of the weapon. Her attack easily pierced through the sand before heading straight for Gaara. The jinchuuriki quickly jumped away before punching at Red Death. Much to her shock his arm extended and managed to strike her stomach before she was thrown away by the power behind it.
As soon as she fell on the sand a puppet blocked her field of vision. It raised its two blades and brought them down on her. 'Shit,' Mayu thought as she quickly slapped a hand to her shoulder and poured chakra into it.
Kankuro's eyes widened when his puppet's attack was abruptly stopped by a kind of barrier forming around Red Death. "What the hell it that?" he muttered to himself with a frown. The Whirlpool ninja quickly got to her feet and swung her scythe at the puppet, this time creating a raging fire around it. The attack tore through the puppet easily and left it in flames. Kankuro let go off the chakra strings and gritted his teeth, "Dammit."
Red Death turned to Kankuro with an annoyed look on her face. There was nothing special about this Sand ninja and he was beginning to annoy her with his presence. "I'll kill you first," she stated as her form suddenly faded from view before reappearing behind the puppet-user, "Die." Before he knew what happened the puppet-user felt a piercing pain shooting through his back, leaving an agonizing pain on his upper body.
Gaara watched with wide-eyes as blood splattered out of Kankuro's wound before lifelessly falling to the ground. "Kankuro…" he muttered in shock. The sand around the puppet-user was stained in a deep crimson, his eyes were closed shut and his breathing was weak.
The jinchuuriki didn't know what he was feeling, it was as if something had been ripped out of his chest. He didn't like the feeling and would slaughter the ninja that hurt his brother, one of his precious people. "I'll kill you," Gaara growled, demonic chakra leaking out of his body. Red Death narrowed her eyes, yet another source of demonic chakra though this one was a lot less malevolent than the first.
"A jinchuuriki…" she muttered with a frown underneath her mask. Jinchuurikis were one of the few things she respected. Those with a demon sealed inside of their bodies were all treated the same and knew pain similar to her own. But this time was different, a jinchuuriki was her foe and she wouldn't take it easy. She had seen what they were capable of and underestimating them would be stupid.
A violent wind gathered around Mayu's scythe, sharpening the blade and extending it. She watched sand cover half of Gaara's face, taking the shape of a demon. The jinchuuriki's eyes focused on the Whirlpool ninja as more wind sharpened the blade of her scythe. Round two was about to begin.
Naruto and Sasuke stared each other down, waiting for the other to make a move. The air was tense as they continued to glare at each other. The Uchiha's right hand suddenly twitched before performing a series of hand signs. The jinchuuriki gritted his teeth when he noticed that the hand signs were way too familiar.
"Wind Style: Devastation!" Sasuke screamed as a gust of wind shot out of his mouth.
Not wanting to be caught in the attack the Chunin suddenly fazed from the Uchiha's view. The attack wasn't as strong as his but it was still enough to leave a mark.
Sasuke's eyes widened, seeing an image of Naruto in front of him with his hand held back. The Uchiha quickly rolled to the side just as the blond appeared before him and threw a punch. Purple chakra flared around him as he kicked off the sand and delivered a hard elbow to the Chunin's left ribcage.
Naruto's eyes widened, pain shooting through his upper body before the distinct sound of cracking echoed through his ears. He suppressed a gasp as he was pushed away from the Uchiha before rolling with the blow and standing up. His hand gripped his side in pain, his ribs were probably broken.
Sasuke smirked, enjoying the way the powerful chakra enveloped him. The chakra had given him strength, the strength to kill his brother and surpass all shinobi that stood on his way. He watched as Naruto glared at him, by the looks of things he was still superior to the dead last.
"You're weak Naruto," Sasuke stated with a chuckle. Naruto's fists clenched in anger much to the amusement of the Uchiha, "It looks like you haven't gotten any stronger since the Chunin exams. You really are pathetic."
Naruto's fist clenched tighter as a smirk made its way to his face. "What's wrong Sasuke?" he began in a taunting voice. "Did Itachi kick your ass so bad last time that you're trying to look strong now?" Sasuke's eyes widened before they glared into the blond, a burning rage in his eyes. Blue and red chakra flared around the jinchuuriki as he leaned forward and ran through hand signs, extending both arms towards the Uchiha, "Well, I'm not going to feed your ego."
"You're a fool Naruto," Sasuke stated with his eyes closed and a smirk on his face, "I bet you won't even be able to lay a finger on m-"
"Wind Style: Gale Palm!" wind shot out of Naruto's palms, violently shooting through the sand before impacting against the Genin. Sasuke's eyes snapped open as the violent wind struck his stomach and pushed him back. The Uchiha tried to resist the current but was hurled through the air by the powerful wind.
"Dammit," Sasuke cursed as he sailed through the air. He twisted his body and managed to land on the sand without much trouble. As soon as his feet touched the ground he was forced to lean down, dodging a kick from the jinchuuriki. He took his chance and kicked off the sand with his elbow raised, aiming for his right ribcage.
Naruto lowered his right arm to meet Sasuke's elbow. The Uchiha's attack met the blond's arm with a loud crack, the jinchuuriki gritting his teeth in pain. Quickly spinning to the left, ignoring the pain shooting through his arm, the jinchuuriki took out a kunai before stabbing it into his opponent's right arm.
Sasuke cried in pain, clutching his arm as blood poured down the wound before being kicked away by a foot to his chest. The Genin fell on the sand with a thud, pain shooting through his arm.
"Fuck!" the Uchiha cried out, tearing the kunai off his arm before his eyes widened, the sharingan showing Naruto diving towards him. He quickly rolled away before standing up and finally jumping away from the area, watching as the blond landed on the sand with a loud thud.
Naruto frowned, it appeared that Sasuke wasn't finished fighting. He had hoped that wounding him would have ended the fight but it looked like he had to knock him out after all. It would go against what he believed but he couldn't afford to endanger the others just because the bastard wanted attention.
' Damn,' Sasuke panted, watching Naruto stand before him with a few wounds. His left fist clenched and his mouth turned into a snarl and his eyes glared into his teammate. 'When the hell did he get so strong? Why is he stronger than me?'
black markings spread through the Genin's face. Purple chakra swirled around him as his eyes narrowed on the Chunin, he wouldn't' let it end this way.
The Chunin watched Sasuke with a cold look on his face. He watched as the purple chakra enveloped the wound on his arm and seemed to close it. 'I can't drag this on,' he spared a glance towards the direction of Gaara and Kankuro. There was a sudden spike of demonic chakra and he knew that he was running out of time, he had to take Sasuke out as soon as possible, 'I can't play around anymore.'
Blue and red chakra swirled around the blond, enveloping him in a warm yet malevolent chakra, his wounds seemed to close under the warmth. "Shadow Clone Jutsu," he muttered, two clones appearing by his sides. The clones narrowed their eyes at Sasuke before turning back to the original Chunin, waiting for the command.
Wind gathered on the blond's palm, taking the shape of an orb. The wind compressed and seemed to shake on the Chunin's palm. Without time to spare the two clones ran through hand signs before putting a hand to their mouth, pointing at the Uchiha. They were ready.
Lighting gathered on Sasuke's right palm as he charged up his attack. His wound was a little bit better and he was sure that it could handle a Chidori. By the looks of things the blond was about to attack and he couldn't afford to waste time.
"Didn't you know…?" Naruto suddenly muttered. Sasuke furrowed his brows with a scowl on his face, not understanding what the blond was talking about, "…Wind beats lightening."
Sasuke growled before shooting off towards Naruto. He noticed the clones but he didn't care, he would make the blond shut his mouth. He was nothing but a loser and he couldn't compare to his power. The dead-last had even mocked him about his attempt to take Itachi's life. He would end the life of the blond if that's what it took to shut him up.
Naruto's eyes settled on the floor as a sad scowl spread through his face. The clones next to him released the powerful winds, before dispelling. Sasuke had no idea that clones could use jutsu and could do nothing as the powerful twin winds crashed against his body. He sailed through the air before his eyes widened, the Chunin appeared before him with an orb of compressed wind on his right palm.
"Wind Style: Spiraling Wind Ball!" Naruto cried as he brought down the attack on Sasuke's stomach. The Genin's eyes widened as blood splattered out of his mouth, before a wheezing breath escaped his throat. Sasuke was shot towards the sand before landing in a loud collision, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
Naruto landed on the sand with a frown on his face, he had never meant it to go so far. The sand began to clear, giving him a better view of the area. His fists clenched when Sasuke staggered out of the cloud of sand with a hardened glare on his face, three tomoes on his sharingan.
"This isn't over Naruto!" he cried as the markings on his face lit a bright red. Reaching into his kunai pouch he took out a single and glared at the Chunin, "I'm going to beat you."
Naruto closed his eyes and turned his back on the Uchiha. "I'm gonna go help Gaara and Kankuro," he announced with a loud sigh. Sasuke snarled, gritting his teeth in anger before breaking into a fit of coughs, "You're too weak to keep fighting. I'll make a clone to escort you back to the Sand village where we'll suppress your chakra and send you back to the Leaf. As your superior, I see you as a threat to this mission."
' I'm not inferior to you…' Sasuke glared at Naruto's retreating form, there had to be a way to beat him. He grit his teeth as he focused on the Cursed Seal, trying to draw power out, focusing on the chakra flow. A smirk graced his face when feeling the evil chakra inside of his body, there it was. The chakra that gave him strength, 'I'm stronger than you loser!'
The Chunin stopped dead on his tracks when he felt a sudden spike of evil chakra and heard the distinct sound of approaching steps. Almost instantly, as if by instinct, he took out Asuma's blade before turning around, swiping at whatever approached him. He felt the blade cut through flesh, blood spilling onto his hand, before he finally saw the blade cutting through Sasuke's right eye.
"Sasuke!" Naruto immediately pulled away from the Uchiha, sealing his blade in the process.
"AAGGGGHHHH!" Sasuke screamed in agony as he brought two hands to his eye, blood pouring down his face. "Dammit!" he flailed around in pain before feeling something slap against his chest. A wave of fatigue suddenly washed over him before falling to the sand, unconscious.
Naruto quickly created two clones, having them take hold of the Genin. "Take him to the Sand village immediately," he commanded with worry on his voice, "Find a medic and get him patched up."
"You got it boss!" the clones replied before jumping away with the unconscious shinobi.
"What an idiot?" Naruto sighed out. He couldn't believe how stupid Sasuke had been, endangering the mission and then charging at him like that. In the end the thing to put him down had been a reflex and an exhaustion tag, created by the toad sage himself.
He turned to the battle in the distance, a determined look on his face. He had people depending on him and he wouldn't let himself feel guilty until they were safe. Not waiting another second the Chunin sprinted down the desert, demonic chakra fading with each step, his eyes set on the path ahead, 'Hang on guys.'
The mercenary ran at the ninja with his sword on hand, his gaze set on the area around him, keen on not being caught off-guard by another of their attacks. He watched as the blonde ninja brought her fan back and instantly knew that she was preparing another wind attack. He stopped dead on his tracks, watching as the fan was swung forward and released a blast of wind. A smirk made its way to his face as he jumped back a couple of feet, the wind crashing against the spot where he had just been before charging at the ninja at full speed.
' Got you,' by the looks of things the blonde ninja could only attack with her fan. If he timed it right, like he just did, then he would be able to attack when she was the most vulnerable, right when she finished one of her powerful attacks.
Temari frowned when the man charged at her in an unbelievable speed. She knew that she wouldn't be able to use another wind jutsu since the man would strike before she did but she wasn't completely out of options.
Once close enough, the mercenary swung at the ninja in an attempt to finish her life once and for all. His eyes widened when the ninja set the metallic fan in front of her in a flash, blocking the attack with a loud 'clang.'
His eyes narrowed before he jumped over the fan, gripping his word tightly as he brought it down on the kunoichi.
'Finally,' he thought as his weapon cut through the ninja but, much to his surprise, the kunoichi suddenly fazed out of view. 'It was a clone!' he thought in alarm as he gripped his sword with both hands and settled for a defensive stance.
His eyes darted across the area. The dark-haired ninja stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed and a weary expression on his face. The mercenary knew that the dark-haired ninja wasn't done yet and wondered what he had planned but couldn't linger much on it. He needed to take care of the immediate threat that was the blonde ninja that had disappeared in the middle of their fight.
"Where the hell did she go?" he growled as the area around him disappeared into nothingness. The world around him was nothing but an endless abyss of darkness, with him being the only one in it. He took a step forward but crashed against an invisible force, his eyes widened as he raised a hand to touch the apparent wall in front of him.
"What the hell is this?" his hand touched the hard surface of a rather solid object. He quickly turned around, using his hands to touch the area around him but found that there were similar walls all around him. He was trapped within four invisible walls, "What the fuck is this?"
"Are you almost done Shikamaru?" Temari said through pants, her hands held in the tiger seal. Trickles of sweat ran down her face as she tried to keep the genjutsu in place. Though she knew how to use them, genjutsu was still difficult and took a great amount of chakra and concentration.
Shikamaru nodded with a smirk on his face. "I'm done," he stated with a tired look on his face. Using what remained of Naruto's improved explosive tags he had managed to come up with something to take care of the mercenary. Though it was a little tricky he was still glad with how it turned out, "When you get him out of the genjutsu I want you to raise a cloud of sand using your wind."
Temari nodded as she released the genjutsu. The mercenary instantly fell to his knees, panting heavily with his eyes wide. The Sand ninja took hold of her fan once more as she jumped in the air before swinging it towards the sand, creating a powerful gust of wind that impacted against it, kicking up a large cloud of sand that blocked everything from view.
The mercenary got back to his feet with a look of fury on his face. Those ninja had caught him in a genjutsu when he had least expected it. Being a mercenary meant that he didn't have much training when it came to chakra and because of this he was vulnerable to things like genjutsu.
The cloud of dust began to clear, the mercenary instantly prepared to charge at the two ninja but found that he couldn't move. "Shadow Possession success," Shikamaru muttered with a small smirk on his face. The mercenary's eyes widened as he struggled against the hold but to no avail, "Don't even try. As bothersome as it was I trained my hold on the jutsu, don't expect to break out anytime soon."
The shadow-user walked through the desert, the mercenary mimicking his moves. The Chunin stopped and set his hands into the ram seal, a scowl on his face. Temari stood next to him with a relieved look on her face, happy to know that the plan had worked.
"Wipe those looks off your faces," the mercenary smirked, "Don't think for a second that you've won."
"You're finished," Shikamaru deadpanned with a frown on his face, his eyes cold, "There's explosives all around you, which I'm about to detonate. I'm sure you know what that means."
The mercenary's eyes widened as his teeth grit in anger. "I will not be killed here!" he roared in rage, "I will kill you all! You haven't even seen an ounce of my power! I will not die here!"
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed on the man, his frown deepening. "You already did," he calmly retorted as he activated the explosive tags around the man.
Gaara glared at the opponent staring at him as if mocking him. Kankuro's fallen form lay on the crimson tainted sand. The jinchuuriki punched at Red Death, his arm extending as it launched at the Whirlpool ninja. The enemy ninja frowned underneath her mask as she raised her scythe to meet the blow, using the wind she had gathered to cut through the arm rather easily. The sand arm fell limply on the ground before gathering around the jinchuuriki once more.
"Don't disappoint me," Red Death stated with a grim look on her eyes, "I plan on using some of my strength so show me a good fight."
"I'll kill you," Gaara snarled as he charged at the ninja with a crazed look on his eyes. Red Death gathered chakra on her scythe, wind shaping up the blade as she waited for the jinchuuriki to get closer.
"By the looks of things you can't seem to think straight at the moment," the Whirlpool ninja stated. Gaara jumped in the air before throwing a punch at the enemy. "Pity, you seem to have strength but without control you're nothing," she raised the scythe to meet the blow. The sand arm dug into the blade before a slice of wind cut through it.
Gaara's eyes widened as the wind cut through his arm before quickly moving away from the attack. The sand gathered on his arm hardened before falling to the ground, exposing his now bloodied left arm. He looked at his arm in terror, never before had he been cut so easily, just how powerful was Red Death?
Sparks of electricity emitted from Red Death's scythe as her eyes glared at the Sand jinchuuriki. He had let emotions cloud his judgment and that had been his downfall. She no longer found herself caring about the abilities he displayed. His easily influenced mind had been a disappointment.
"Die," she muttered with a frown as she pointed the scythe at the jinchuuriki. A lighting bold shot out of the scythe, ripping through the air as it headed straight for Gaara.
The redhead's eyes widened as he tried to dodged the attack but found himself unable to move. It was probably the same jutsu Red Death had used on the others during their first fight, for some reason he couldn't move his body. His eyes settled on the fallen form of his brother, his breathing weak, "I'm sorry Kankuro."
A figure suddenly jumped in front of Gaara, violent blue chakra flaring around him. A blue orb of chakra gathered on his hand before he slammed it at the lighting bold.
"Rasengan!" Naruto cried. The two attacks pushed against one another before the lighting bolt gave out in a small explosion. Red Death watched the figure with a hint of disappointment on her eyes.
Naruto stood before Red Death with a frown on his face. His eyes held black slits as blue chakra with hints of red flared around him. "Are you alright Gaara?" he asked with his eyes set on Red Death.
"I am fine," Gaara stated as sand gathered around his left arm once again. He found that whatever had been holding him was now gone and quickly moved next to the blond with a tired look on his face, "We need to get Kankuro some help."
"Right," Naruto nodded. His chakra swirled around him as he glared at Red Death, "I'll keep her busy, you take Kankuro to a medic."
Gaara frowned. "I will get him help but I'm coming back as soon as possible," he walked towards Kankuro's fallen form, keeping an eye on Red Death in case she decided to attack.
"They made you a jinchuuriki," Red Death stated in a firm tone.
Naruto frowned. "I don't see how that's any of your business," he flared the chakra around him, ignoring the burning feeling on his skin, "But I'll take you down right now!"
Meanwhile Gaara took hold of Kankuro, throwing Naruto a glance before running away from the area. He had to get his brother help, he was losing a lot of blood and would die if left unattended.
"I don't get it…" Red Death muttered as she reached for her mask, taking it off her face. Mayu grit her teeth in anger, not understanding why Naruto fought for Konoha. "You're a jinchuuriki! All of them are treated the same way, as outcasts! They're alone from the minute they're born with everyone hating them. How can you just stand there protecting the Leaf. Protecting those who have hurt you!"
"I'm not protecting them ," Naruto's eyes hardened on the ninja, "I'm protecting the people who see me as their friend! You're right, I was hated in my village for a reason I didn't know and I hated them back." His eyes flashed red, malevolent chakra swirling around him, memories flashing before his eyes, "I wanted to rip them to shreds! Take everything away from them and kill them like they deserved!"
"Then why didn't you?" Mayu asked with a frown, "You could, no, you can do that if you join me. We'll destroy Konoha together."
Naruto's eyes lost their crimson color, returning to their usual blue. The malevolent chakra around him died down. "I will never do that," he answered with a glare, "Konoha is the home of the people who saw me for who I am. They saved me from myself. They saved me from a path of hatred and I will always be grateful to them. I couldn't care less about the villagers but when you threaten my friends, I'll kill you without a second thought!"
"Very well," Red Death said as she put her mask back on. A violent blue chakra swirled around her, kicking up sand that covered the area. Naruto shielded his eyes, gritting his teeth. The Whirlpool ninja activated a seal on her scythe, enveloping it in a bright light.
The Chunin watched as the light separated into two, red-bladed katanas with black handles. "If I can't convince you then you're my enemy," Red Death roared in rage as more blue chakra flared around her, "I'll kill you, Konoha shinobi!"
' I'm not gonna be able to beat her,'
Naruto concluded as he watched the chakra swirl around the Whirlpool ninja. All he could do at the moment was stall long enough until Gaara got back, 'I have to do this.'
' BOOOOOM'
An explosion suddenly roared in the distance, taking the blond by surprise. "Don't lose focus for a single second," a voice muttered on his ear. The Chunin quickly turned his head to see Red Death behind him with one of the katanas raised. He quickly summoned Asuma's blade and prepared to parry the attack but was taken back when she suddenly phased from view.
"What the-" Naruto was cut off by a knee clashing against his stomach. His eyes widened as he spat blood, all air leaving his body as a shaky scream of pain escaped his mouth. Red Death stood before him with a hardened glare before kicking at the blond, making contact with his left ribcage with a loud cracking noise.
Naruto let out a scream of pain as he sailed through the air. It seemed as his ribcage hadn't been as healed as he had thought. He raised his head to see Red Death already running after him with the two swords held back.
"Dammit…" Naruto muttered as he ran through hand signs before raising a hand. "Wind Style: Wind Wave!" a shot of wind shot out of the blond's hand. Red Death raised a katana, absorbing the chakra without much trouble, to the dismay of the blond. The Whirlpool ninja proceeded to jump in the air and point the other blade at the blond, shooting a yellow blast of chakra.
The blast of chakra made contacts with the blond's stomach, launching him towards the ground. The blond Chunin cried in pain as his body impacted against the sand, his whole body going numb from the impact.
"What a pity," Red Death stated with a hint of sadness, "It looks like I'll be helping the other villages in killing another Uzumaki."
Naruto could only watch as Red Death approached him. His body refused to move and his chakra was close to nothing at the moment, it seemed as if he only had one choice. He had to use the fox's chakra directly, something he hated doing. He had tamed a tiny fraction of the power but doing so had only introduced him to a whole new level of the fox's chakra.
"It looks like I have no choice…" he stated as Red Death grew closer. His eyes closed as he focused in the source of almost infinite power sealed within him. Easily finding the malevolent chakra, he began to draw from it. He didn't have enough chakra to level it like Jiraiya had told him but it was his only way. He would do anything to protect his friends.
Red chakra erupted from the almost broken body of Naruto, covering everything in a red glow. Red Death stopped dead on her tracks, watching the malevolent chakra fill the area. She watched as the chakra gathered around the blond, swallowing him whole.
Naruto opened his crimson eyes and set them on Red Death. His first instinct telling him to kill her in the cruelest way possible, he didn't find it to be a bad idea. The Chunin got on all fours as he growled at his opponent. No matter how strong she was he would make sure to kill her.
"Is this..?" Red Death muttered in disbelief as she watched the chakra take form around the blond. Two red chakra ears formed above his head, clawed paws formed over his feet and hands, and a single red chakra tail sprouted from his back, "The Kyuubi?"
Her response was a roar.