Chapter 40

AN: Hello, readers! Chapter forty here, and wow! Over one thousand reviews, and less than two hundred followers to go to FOUR THOUSAND! Wow. Just wow. Thanks everyone, let's hope it doesn't take as long for chapter forty one to be released. No promises, but I do try….

Anyways, onto the story.

Last time, on ATA…

Naruto used dozens of shunshins to escape the bones and had chains going wild with tails, but he still got torn to ribbons. Eventually the torrent stopped, and Naruto was so adrenaline high he didn't feel any pain. His Kyubi chakra pulsed before receding, his max long spent.

"Naruto" Kurama said. Naruto could barely hear him. Instead he focused on the collapsed form of Kimimaro Kaguya. Grey eyes met red ones and the two opponents knew the end had passed.

"I-I will not." Kimimaro tried. Blood poured from multiple places, both from himself and Naruto's chains throughout the fight. With a final shaky breath Kimimaro died.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief and collapsed on his bottom, intent on getting up to help Tsunade or the other fights.

But he couldn't move. And he couldn't breathe, every intake feeling blood filling his lungs. His now cloudy eyes drifted down to his lungs, where right below his heart a thin spinal column went through to the other side. It missed his heart, the only reason he was still living, but when Naruto tried to raise his arm to grab it he couldn't.

It was like all his strength was sapped out, and his life was fading.

"K-Kurama" he choked.

"Naruto! Naruto, hold on! You have to pull it out- now! Naruto! Don't you DARE pass out! Naruto!"

But Naruto was already falling to the side. His last conscious thought was that Dragon-sama would kill him for dying.

"NARUTO" he heard. But he had no clue what that word meant.

With Tsunade…

When Tsunade reached the boy, who reminded her of Nawaki, she felt her insides turning to slush. All she wanted to do was throw up and forget about the growing puddle of blood and bone protruding out of his lung. Naruto had been impaled. If he was anyone else, she would be staring at a corpse. If he was anyone else, Tsunade would feel justified in running off to save Shizune.

But Naruto was not anyone else; he was a Jinchuuriki. Already she could see the Kyubi chakra attempting to close the hole and corrode the Kaguya's kekkei genkai away, though it was futile.

"Blood. Just like Nawaki. Just like Dan, like the war, the hospital. Blood, blood, blood! Oh God, all this blood. Can't do it. Blood. Blood. Bloodbloodblood"-

"Okay, Tsunade, you can do this," She muttered, like a mantra. Steadying her hands, she gripped the bone and pulled, slowly. Normally it would take forever, requiring her to saw the impaling object down and take out as another medic (Shizune) healed the damage left behind. However, she didn't have that kind of time and Shizune was who knows where. Thus, Tsunade yanked it out with little regard for protocol. Considering her patient did not flatline she took it as a minor victory.

"Argg" Naruto moaned, still unconscious. Tsunade instantly had both hands on his chest, using chakra to simultaneously siphon the blood out and mend the hole. She pointedly refused to dwell on the fact she was kneeling in blood, breathing in blood, covered in blood.

"Blood. Blood. Blood everywhere. Oh God, what was she thinking? She can't do this! Blood. Blood."

"SHUT UP!" If anyone heard Tsunade scream at her own subconscious she would kill them later. For now, screaming calmed her down and allowed her to continue her work. Minutes felt like hours. She connected blood vessels and inflated a lung trying to collapse. Tendons that were shredded in the chest got reattached.

Suddenly there was Kyubi chakra erupting from the wound once more, closing it up faster than should be humanly possible. Not even Kushina had healed this quickly, and her healing factor had been studied extensively. Tsunade mused it had to be from how well Naruto wielded the beast and moved onto other injuries. She would let the demon finish up the lung.

Broken bones. A concussion. A torn ACL and the muscles surrounding his stomach shredded. Another bone shard narrowly missed the spine and had to be brought out. Tsunade healed them all to acceptable levels, praying he survived the shock and blood loss. She had force fed him three blood replenishing pills, but Jinchuurikis could be tricky in what their bodies accepted as blood.

Finally feeling satisfied when Naruto looked like he would be healed within a couple of days, she stopped the chakra flow. Any more forced healing could be counterproductive in the long run, the body not understanding that it was already healed and didn't need to do anything.

Tsunade took a deep breath, refusing to let the sticky blood covering her lead to a break down. Shizune still needed her, and Orochimaru was gone (at least she hoped so), so Naruto could lay here without being attacked.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune's voice rang out across the clearing, and never had a voice sounded so much like heaven. Tsunade whipped her head around, eyes already assessing her apprentice. The girl Tsunade raised was covered in grime and blood, carrying Naruto's useless cat, but she was alive. There did not appear to be any lasting damage.

"Shi- Shizune" Tsunade choked out. Her tears began flowing as her apprentice reached her and dropped down in a crouch as the cat curled up with Naruto. Already Shizune's hands were glowing green, analyzing her for injuries. "Where? What happened to Orochimaru's lackeys?"

That was the big question, one that would decide if they could go back to town or if Tsunade carried Naruto as they ran to the village; who knew if Orochimaru had more people waiting for the others to return and report?

"We killed them- well, all but Tayuya." Shizune said. Tsunade's brow furrowed.

"Tayuya?" Tsunade was bad at names, but it sounded like the female Oto nin.

"Er, sorry Tsunade-sama, I meant the female. Angel-chan here tore into her however, and I don't believe she will last long. She's probably already dead. The others… well those summons are fierce!"

Tsunade sighed in relief. "Good. Just to be sure we'll leave for Konoha as soon as the brat wakes up."

"You? The village?" Shizune looked so confused. Tsunade smiled and scoffed.

"Of course, we have to go back to the village- they can't even survive a pesky invasion without me! Why, back when I was a genin, invasions happened monthly."

Perhaps things would be okay.

"Hey!" Angel yowled suddenly, as if realizing something. "Naruto isn't a brat- he's the only reason you won, I bet." Her smug look when Tsunade didn't outright deny it only added fuel to the fire.

Perhaps they wouldn't be until Tsunade 'accidentally' made the feline mute. Naruto wouldn't even have to know, right?

In Konoha, with Dragon/ Shisui…

Shisui overlooked the various progress reports that were pooling into his office hourly. Honestly, if he wasn't already on the path to blindness (thank you, Mangekyo Sharingan), the Hokage position would make him need reading glasses within the year. Why couldn't his shinobi learn to write legibly? His ANBU could, though Shisui supposed it was due to the handwriting practice he enforced on all recruits- having sloppy looking penmanship was such a chunin thing to do.

So far, the village was faring well, all things considered. The academy was being used as a station for the students and injured genin to get assignments that assisted in rebuilding the village. Yakumo Kurama was set to undergo the unsealing within a month, allowing them to train another genjutsu specialist (something they desperately needed). His shinobi were taking double or triple missions, one right after the other, and even the genin were pulling their weight with extra D and C ranked missions in addition to reconstruction projects. By the end of the week they could hold their village wide memorial, letting everyone move on with their grief.

If only Mouse would return with Tsunade, they could get everyone (including the Third) back to fighting condition; only then could Shisui feel slightly relaxed. Konoha was headed to war, and they needed every able body they could spare.

"Dragon-sama" the head ANBU medic, Deer, said as he dropped down in a crouch. Shisui nodded for the man to speak, knowing he was coming from their guest.

"What is it."

"Dragon-sama, the Suna Jinchuuriki had to be suppressed by Tiger again. The strain the Five Point Seal put on the already faulty containment seal is tearing away at the Jinchuuriki's mind." Deer said in a monotone voice, though Shisui could hear the concern; Jiraiya was out for another week at least, and even Naruto was unavailable due to his mission. If the seal holding back Shukaku collapsed before they returned and could either put a better seal on for Gaara or extracted the demon to go into a Konoha shinobi, they would be in trouble.

Shisui could stop a rampaging demon, but he honestly didn't want to. Killing such a pitiful prisoner as Gaara, one that had the potential to be a much needed ally, also didn't sit well with him. If only they could get Gaara to do his damn job and suppress the tailed beast within. While a seal is necessary to contain the beast completely, Gaara actively wishing for the seal to break and kill himself was not helping matters. This childish behavior had gone on long enough, and Tenzo could not keep doing this.

"I will handle this." Shisui stated, standing up. Before his ANBU guards could follow he did a series of shunshins until he was outside the secure building that held Gaara. It had been around since Mito Uzumaki and was built by her specifically to hold Jinchuuriki in the case of them losing control or needing to reseal their demons. Walking down the hallways that oozed suppression seals, Shisui stopped outside the door that housed what could either be a magnificent ally or temporary vessel until they transferred the demon.

"Dragon-sama" the three ANBU guards saluted. "Captain Tiger is with the Jinchuuriki now, sir."

Shisui suppressed a smirk at his ANBU, wishing he had the time and energy to mess with them. However, he was on a schedule and the Elder meeting in an hour was not one he could miss.

"Stand down." He ordered. Without another word, Shisui slipped into the dark room. Tenzo didn't need him to speak, leaving with a nod of his head. If only all his shinobi could read his mind like that.

In the middle of the room- cell, really- sat Gaara, encased in wooden cuffs. Sand was in heaps around him, and his dark eye bags were somehow even worse. A foul stench hung in the air, mixed with hints of chakra.

In other words, Gaara looked like death.

"You are causing problems for my ANBU." There, blunt and to the point. Shisui preferred to settle this matter quickly.

"That is their problem" Gaara replied, monotone. "They should let me die I am worthless." Well, damn. Shisui had not been expecting such honesty.

"If you behave, we can remove the Five Elements Seal, and begin negotiating." Shisui acts as if Gaara's admittance of suicidal thoughts did not happen. "However, that cannot happen if you have no will to live."

"I do not." Gaara looked content to die, but Shisui really didn't want to have to create another Jinchuuriki for his village, to have to wait for a child to grow up and master the demon. It would be much easier if the boy would work for Konoha. Sure, Shisui was planning on resealing the beast that died with Han when it resurfaced, but the task of protecting a child Jinchuuriki was massive. Konoha simply did not have the manpower to spare for such an endeavor, not when war was on the horizon.

"Konoha is better than Suna, you know this. We have no doubt fed you better, no one has hurt you beyond necessary, and my ANBU have not scorned you for what is inside. You would be allowed a shower if you agreed to our terms." Shisui tried again. Bringing in Ibiki would have defeated the purpose of recruiting Gaara, so they had hoped this isolation would have worked; it didn't.

Holding in a sigh, Shisui prepared to leave after giving one last warning about trying to let Shukaku free. Already he was thinking of using the Sharingan on the boy to keep him docile, though it would require him being there to monitor. Changing his thoughts with Kotoamatsukami could work, but Shukaku could just mess it up by speaking to Gaara inside his mind again.

"Why did Naruto Uzumaki defeat me." It was a question said as a statement, and it stopped Shisui in his departure.

"Because he had people to fight for," Shisui finally said, choosing his words carefully. This could be a turning point for Gaara.

"… people to fight for?" Gaara asked. The concept seemed foreign.

"His village, comrades, and friends."

"I can only fight for myself, there is no one else to fight for."

"Well then, perhaps it is time you changed that," Shisui remarked, leaving with a smirk. Perhaps the boy wasn't a helpless case after all.

Gaara sat in his cell, unmoving, for hours, ignoring the ANBU guards that spoke to him and not caring for the food.

Naruto had his people, where were Gaara's?

With Naruto…

Waking up was not was Naruto thought would happen when he passed out. Nor did he think he would wake up in a comfy bed, the hotel walls staring back at him. He tried to be alert, to assess the situation in case he was somehow captured, but that took too much effort.

"Urrgh" he groaned in an unintelligible garble. Gasps from what he assumed was across the room made him turn his neck. He winced even as his eyes took in the blurry form of Tsunade and Shizune, with that pig and Angel riding on her shoulders.

"Brat." Tsunade said, even as her hands turned green. Naruto shivered as the medical chakra flowed over him. "You almost died- still might, if you didn't have me and that furball in your gut."

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said. She sounded exasperated but fond. Naruto processed that they must have all survived, they were in their hotel room, he knew Kimimaro was dead, and Orochimaru was also dead… wait.

"Oro…maru. Dea'?" He asked, his dry throat making talking more difficult than ANBU trivia night.

Tsunade huffed a laugh. "Yeah, he's dead. Uzumakis, of course your first thought is about that psycho…"

"Goo'" Naruto muttered. He decided to try and sit up. The pain shooting up through his lungs and stomach almost made him give up. Almost. He wasn't an ANBU agent for nothing.

The bone. God, that phantom pain made him shudder, and the complete fight came rushing back with the viciousness of an avalanche. He really was lucky for Kurama. Speaking of which.

"Kurama! You there?" Naruto thought loudly, hoping his partner was awake.

"Barely, you flea bitten meat bag!" Kurama snapped. Oh boy, he was mad, Naruto realized.

"E-eh. It's… not my fault? And thank you!"

"Hmph. You're lucky I, Kurama the Great did not wish to have to reform, or else I would have let you die. Honestly, death by impalement? How insignificant!"

Naruto smiled at his friend's way of showing his worry. It was a close call, one Naruto hoped he never had to go through again but was not foolish enough to bet on. He was a shinobi, and almost dying was part of their career.

"Brat… BRAT!" Tsunade's holler and smack on the back of his head that sent stars to his vision got Naruto's attention.

"YEWOUCH! What was that for?! I swear, Tsunade-sama, you're like an old hag sometimes!"

Silence rang in the hotel room, save for Angel's snickering. He could faintly hear Kurama pray for a peaceful death. Tsunade's eye twitched, and her first came dangerously close to his head.

"If we didn't have to get back to the village, I swear…" She muttered. "Old hag my ass, brat. Sleep, we leave at first light." She turned, leaving with a frazzled Shizune. Angel and the pig jumped onto the bed, both amused at the scene.

Despite Tsunade's orders, Naruto was not ready to sleep. He was used to healing while travelling back, and he wanted to run to Konoha and Hokage-sama. If they pushed, they could be back within a couple of days.

However, they clearly weren't heading back until dawn, so Naruto grinned down at his furry feline partner and the pig.

"So… who wants to tell me what happened on the other side of the battlefield?"

Angel's eyes lit up. "I kicked human butt as always, Naruto. That sound lady didn't stand a chance! And Habiki ripped the arms off that spider guy. Akira then tried to set them on fire and wave them around like sticks."

On and on Angel continued her report, and Naruto allowed himself to laugh a few times at the descriptions of death. Who knew Shizune was vindictive enough to beat someone to death with a tree branch?

Meanwhile, in the forest…

Tayuya crawled, her back in shreds. God she just wanted to curl up and die. It would be so easy; she could just close her eyes-

No. She couldn't do that, not when Orochimaru-sama needed her. She could feel his presence nearby. Her curse seal pulsed, guiding her to her master. Tayuya could do this, she could carry him away to safety, maybe use his arm tattoos to summon a snake.

She would be rewarded, surely. After all, Tayuya was the last of the Sound Five, the remains of all but Kimimaro (who was literally on death's door before this mission) were scattered throughout the forest.

Sakon and Ukon, bodies torn apart, Sakon beaten to death by that bitch Shizune.

Kidomaru, ripped limb from limb.

Fat Ass… well, she never liked him anyway, so him dying before the battle even started just made her smile.

"Hisssss. Tayuyaaaaa…" There! Orochimaru's voice! It was smaller, and her stomach flipped in dread. Something told her to turn back, to not pull herself any closer to where his body must be. But she couldn't stop, her loyalty making her continue toward a bush.

"O-Orochimaru-sama" Tayuya said. A figure rose from the bushes, and her heart stopped. This wasn't Orochimaru, this was-

"Ah, Tayuya, hisssss. Well done, hiss." A snake with Orochimaru's face rose up, grinning as much as a snake could.

"Fuck. Fuck no." Her dirty mouth had been born from a life of poverty, and it showed up more when she felt threatened. Now more than ever, Tayuya was scared. Scared shitless, if she said so herself.

"Yesss. You will do." The snake suddenly lunged, mouth unhinging. Tayuya's screams were the last ones she heard before everything went dark, forever.

At least she could brag she was the last to die when she saw her team in the afterlife, right?

Finally, with Hikaru…

They had arrived at the last base they could find, quickly cleaning out the stragglers. Hikaru interrogated the Oto nin with a viciousness not many were aware he possessed.

His team was exhausted, having barely escaped the Daimyo's palace alive, and the country was on a manhunt for their hides. Hikaru had already sent word to Dragon-sama that the real daimyo could be moved back, if another Konoha force took out the last of the coup holding up in the palace. God, Hikaru hoped his squad wouldn't be the ones on that mission.

Besides, if the screaming scientist below him was telling the truth, they had bigger issues to deal with.

The Uchiha traitor and Kisame Hoshigaki were spotted thirty miles north, headed towards the Konoha border.

"Move out" He ordered, Hana slicing the scientist's throat. She snarled.

"We won't make it before the bastard does, Captain." Hana said, and sniffed the air.

"… I know." His temporary team was silent, waiting for their order. While all of them knew what had to be done, none of them wanted to do it.

"Captain?" Their resident Aburame had a scout bug on his finger. "The Uchiha is due to cross the border in three hours; if we wish to intersect them…"

Hikaru sighed, and prayed he would get out of there alive. He hadn't annoyed Deidara enough, and Naruto wasn't fully convinced Hikaru was awesome. But, duty calls.

"Okay! Time to go kick some Uchiha ass!" He said with false cheer. "I haven't proven that a Hyuga was better than a competent Uchiha since I was in the academy." Activating his Byakugan, Hikaru led his team to their hardest battle yet.

End… Well, Omake time!

Konoha, Ichiraku Ramen Stand, night…

Teuchi grinned at daughter, his mind going to all the money they were pulling in. With all the younger shinobi staying out late to help with the reconstruction and thus not wanting to cook, Ichiraku Ramen was making a gigantic profit. At this rate he could expand by next year!

"Another order!"

"Five bowls, old man!"

"Hey, Teuchi! Gimme more soup!"

On and on he filled their orders, Ayame helping. If only Naruto was here in the village. Then, Teuchi would be a millionaire with how much that boy ate!

Hours pass, and the shop emptied. Teuchi stretched as they closed up, thankful for another successful day. Ayame had left an hour ago, him not wanting her up this late. Now time for Teuchi's favorite part of the evening: watching stars as he walked, thinking about the money he raked in and the stupidity of his customers.

Just as he was pulling his cover down with a wincing pain in his shoulder, an ominous feeling jolted down his spine.

"Oh, bother" he said, whipping out his apron to slap away intruders. If this was another prank by Konohamaru, Teuchi was going to show the brat why his name meant "killing one with bare hands" as well as "making noodles with bare hands".

Screams echoed down the quiet street, and fog filled the air. If not for the fact Teuchi had lived through wars, he would have ran for cover.

"Another invasion? Why, was one this month not good enough? Are they wanting to go back to the days of "an invasion a day keeps the boredom away"? Honestly! I just wanted to stargaze on my way to Ayame!"

Teuchi started walking home, figuring he would get home before whatever was attacking got done with the useless chunin guards.

That is, until three of said chunin guards dropped in a heap at his feet. A low chuckle echoed from everywhere. The chunin started crying, and when they saw him cowered at his feet.

"Save us!"

"We don't want to die!"

"The demon's out to get us!"

Teuchi facepalmed and understood instantly what was happening. No, not an invasion (at least those led to more customers), but rather a very bored ANBU commander. Hiruzen had warned Teuchi about him.

"Oh, for Ramen's sake!" He bellowed at the cowards. "Dragon, leave these morons alone and let up on the fog or I swear I will tell Hiruzen about this when he visits next!"

That seemed to jolt the youngster out of his evil chuckling. The fog let up slightly, and a dark figure flickered into existence behind the three chunin. The figure- clearly the commander- picked the trio up by their jackets and vanished once more, leaving Teuchi to go stargazing on his way home.

Honestly. Youngsters these days, not appreciating the beauty of nature enough, always wanting to play God with fog and wind.

Good thing Teuchi was smart enough to become a ramen chef. You don't see ramen chefs playing dress up and ruining a great stargazing night. With that, Teuchi ambled home, content with his life.

End! A nice sized chapter, one that doesn't have fighting! Meaning… I enjoyed writing it more, haha. Fight scenes are so difficult, I swear. Anyways…

We're getting heated again, with Itachi showing up and Orochimaru alive! (Did you honestly think he would go down quite yet? Soon, my readers, soon).

In the Omake, with the comment about Teuchi's name, well it comes from the wiki. Apparently, his name can mean both "make noodles with bare hands" and "kill with bare hands" or something. No wonder the videos of him opening the eight gates on Youtube seem to fit!

Yes, we have Gaara back in session! I love his character, so it was great letting him begin to come back into the story!

I wrote a one shot (my first), called "Kunoichi Troubles!" If you like female Naruto basically being a master manipulator, check it out.

Have a fantastic week,

Riku.

(ps. Join our discord . Shout out to Dragon my beta- may you survive this semester!)

discord .gg / K5C8SYh