"Naruto. Look at their legs."

The words were short. To the point. But they were enough to penetrate the whirlwind of thoughts that was Naruto's mind as he simultaneously tried to keep his own cool in the face of quite frankly ridiculous enemy he and Shikamaru now faced, and figure out exactly how he intended to save his comrades. In the shinobi world, words were cheap. Meaningless. Telling himself he wouldn't let his comrades die was a different matter to actually preventing it from happening. Not that he ever thought he couldn't of course, he would rather die than break the promise he had made, partially to himself, and partially to his current - and future - friends.

As it was, the words muttered under Shikamaru's breath were all that it took to focus Naruto's mind on the task ahead, and calm him down too. Trust the Nara to be ice cool under pressure.

He examined the legs of the stone statues closer. They were cracked, crumbling under the strain of having jumped. Apparently, whatever jutsu that had brought them to life was unable to bypass the irrefutable fact that these were in fact, made out of rigid and brittle stone. Sandstone to be exact, of a peculiar reddish hue, definitely different to the sandstone of the canyon walls, which Naruto hadn't noticed beforehand. Regardless, Shikamaru was right to draw attention to their legs. The were weakened by the stress of their jump, and appeared to weaken even further with every movement.

Filled with vigour at this development, even as the foremost of the statues took a step forward and raised it's weapon menacingly, Naruto grinned and step forward to meet it.

"Shikamaru, you run interference whilst I deal with the heavy hitting, until we win or you come up with a better plan, okay?"

The Nara grunted in approval, not taking his eyes off of the enemy. 'Interference' as Naruto had put it was definitely his speciality, and what he would have suggested had he been with Choji. He had been hesitant to nominate Naruto in that role knowing as little as he did about his actual techniques or abilities, as he was no where near naïve enough to believe that Naruto hadn't seriously improved since their days in the Academy. The way he spoke, and genuinely understood things he never would have before told Shikamaru all he needed to know.

If Naruto said he could play the role of 'heavy hitter' Shikamaru would take his word for it. Of course, the dozen or so Naruto's that had sprung into life around them did wonders for his confidence in the blonde.

Naruto himself was not quite as happy with his use of the Kage Bunshin as his comrade was. He had made a decision not to use them 'en masse'. It didn't fit in with his current philosophy on how they should be used. The situation however, necessitated differently, as Naruto needed to find a way to even up the playing fields. Although, as the first of the statues came within striking distance of him, he didn't feel that they were in anyway even, regardless of whether he's actually admit it or not.

"Well here goes nothing!" And with that the blonde leapt back, the stone behemoth striking the ground where he had just stood with it's weapon, and began racing through now-familiar hand-seals.

"Fuuton: Goukuuhou no Jutsu!" The blonde's words came in tandem with the closest two Bunshin, each firing a buzzing sphere of air towards the statue that had struck. Each made contact with the statues left leg, the one Naruto had judged to have been the most weakened of the two; the wind infused chakra spinning and grinding against the stone, boring into it and splintering it at the thigh, causing the statue to tumble onto it's left side.

Almost immediately, a separate pair of leapt above the fallen statue, struggling to stand without it's left leg, the animated rock apparently not having realised it's leg had been sheared at the thigh.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" This time Naruto would admit his technique wasn't perfect, it was the most recent one he had managed to learn, and by far the most difficult of the two Fuuton jutsu he knew. Regardless, the technique did it's job. The blonde had reduced the overall area of the wind infused chakra he expelled, but as a result had increased the density and ferocity of the attack; the two Bunshin's jutsu tearing into the statues torso, grinding it down, almost entirely into granules of sand.

Just as the two Bunshin landed, a pair of the stone statues upon them, bringing their fearsome swords to bear upon the copies of the blonde. One of the Bunshin didn't react as quickly as required and was destroyed by the solid stone sword aimed a it's skull. The second was more successful, bringing it's sansetsukon above his head, just barely having the strength to use a horizontal block to defend against the attack.

Several of Naruto's Bunshin dashed towards the fray, releasing a volley of 'Fuuton: Goukuuhou no Jutsu', pushing back the pair of statues with several crushing blows to the torso, knocking them back into the ground.

The feeling of accomplishment at having disabled the trio of statues, was however, short lived.

An alien, ghoulish green haze surrounded the area where the remains of the first statue lay; and Naruto couldn't help stare in wonder as at first, disintegrated sandstone moved towards a central point grain by grain. Within seconds, the movement of sand was so significant it was almost as if the ground itself was shifting and transforming, possessed by some maniacal demon of infinite power

Then, a peculiar symbol made itself clear on one of the larger pieces of rubble. A strange, blood red marking on the stone, glowing as though imbued with the chakra of the Kyuubi itself. And it was towards this piece of rubble that the sand gravitated, the stone growing and mutating, until the statue itself had been reborn anew, as if not a thing had happened. It stood, towering above the blonde, who had frozen stock still, flabbergasted at the turn of events; not even noticing that the same thing had happened to the two other statues he had 'destroyed'.

Transfixed and paralysed by the combination of horror and shock at what he had just seen, Naruto simply stood whilst the re-made statue once again raised it's sword preparing to strike the blonde down in a single clean blow, crushing him under stone.

Ducking and weaving through another series of attacks from the onslaught of Hitoshi, who's strikes and lunges never seemed to let up or give way, Kakashi grimaced as he saw the statues Naruto had just destroyed rebuilding themselves. Admittedly, it was a very impressive jutsu, and even though Kakashi had his sharingan eye active, he couldn't figure out how it worked, even though he suspected fuuinjutsu. What had made him grimace however, was the fact that it was essentially two totally green Genin facing the jutsu. Talented, they may be, but almost every shinobi with experience knew that it was the key to staying alive in a decidedly deadly profession.

Blocking a lunge at his throat from the kunai wielding missing nin with his own kunai, he levelled a kick at the man's ribcage, landing his blow with a sickening crunch, sending Hitoshi skidding away from him on his back. Using the leg still on the floor to leap, Kakashi jumped backwards, avoiding the slash of a kunai from the earth aimed at his legs. Not even a moment later, the protruding arm had been engulfed in flames from a Katon jutsu from the Sharingan wielding jutsu.

Shooting a glance at the recovering Hitoshi, Kakashi attempted to seize the initiative as the situation his Genin were in took a turn for worse, with Naruto directly in the firing line. Pumping chakra into his legs he made to sprint to the aid of the blonde.

"Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!"

The Jonin skidded to a halt, leaping back from the wall defensive wall that erupted in front, giving him time to use his kunai to help deflect and dodge the hail of stone bullets that had erupted from it.

"Now now Hatake."Eiji spoke, smirk evident on his face as he stepped out of the stone wall he had created. "I told you before. Your fight is with us"

Kakashi glared holes into the man, although it was painfully apparent to the Konaha shinobi that he was more frustrated with himself than anything else. He wasn't as fast as he used to be, his lax attitude to his own training had seen to that in the years since he had left ANBU. And now, his comrades, a trio of Genin no less, were in danger because he was struggling with a pair of opponents that, should his own bingo book entry be believed, should be causing him no where near as much trouble.

"Naruto, you need to move, now!"

It had taken Shikamaru's strained cries to shake Naruto from his stupor. It took him less than half a second after that for him to realise he had frozen. Just shut his eyes and accepted death. Gritting his teeth, he scrambled back as Shikamaru's Kagemane no jutsu failed, allowing the statue's sword to slam into the ground where the blonde had been standing.

"Thanks Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted out, even as a pair of statues set themselves upon him, forcing him to leap over a horizontal slash directly into the chest of the offending statue. Planting his feet against it's stone torso, he bent his knees and flipped backwards, allowing the sword of the second statue to crash directly into the first, cleaving it in two.

Had he not been quite so shaken up, he would have remarked on how bad ass that probably looked as he landed on the ground almost perfectly. In truth, the statues movements were slow, and cumbersome, allowing for Naruto to take advantage with the increased mobility Yuugao's and more recently, Jiraiya's taijutsu training had afforded him. Even as the statue that had just been destroyed pulled it's body back together, Naruto created a trio of Kage Bunshin to cover Shikamaru who himself was now fighting a pair of the statues, and another two to aid in a plan that had just wormed it's way into his head.

"Shikamaru, do you have an explosive tag?" Naruto cried out, as the two statues re-converged on him. Shikamaru replied with a grunt in the affirmative as he once again extended his Kagemane, preventing the destruction of a Kage Bunshin. "Leave those statues to the Bunshin and get a bit closer, I have a plan."

Deactivating his Kagemane as one of the Bunshin's Fuuton jutsu's slammed into the head of the statue, shattering the faceless appendage into thousands of pieces, he moved closer to Naruto, into a position from which he could support the blonde in whatever plan he had come up with. Suddenly, another half a dozen Kage Bunshin popped in place, as the rest of the stone statues began to move forward, attempting to surround the pair of Genin. Already, the Nara was beginning to think moving closer to the blonde had been a poor tactical decision.

"I think these are made with fuuinjutsu." Naruto sounded innately confident with his theory, even as yet more clones burst into life to counter the growing number of statues attempting to join the battle. The Nara was lost for words at the feat, that until now, had barely registered with him. He was well aware of the Kage Bunshin technique, and the fact that any more than one of the solid Bunshin would have put him down with chakra exhaustion. Naruto was throwing them out for fun. He wasn't even out of breath. Then there was the fact that only a month or so ago, the blonde wouldn't have been able to tell you what fuuinjutsu was, let alone be able to identify it's use in the middle of a fight.

"I'm gonna try to destroy one again. Break it up enough so we can see what I thought was a seal. Then, when I do, nail it with the tag, okay?"

"I haven't got any better ideas, Naruto! Are you sure you can pull that off more than once? You're chakra has to be running out by now, and I haven't got the muscle to even stand a chance against more than one or two of these things."

"I- I have more than enough, Shikamaru. Besides, they'd have to put me down for good before I'd let them get to you or Hana, whether or not I had enough chakra or not."

Naruto had hesitated, because that wasn't strictly true. In fact, he'd only really begun to feel any significant loss of chakra after the last bunch of Bunshin. He didn't particularly want Shikamaru however, to start getting too curious about exactly where he got his quite frankly massive reserves from. Whilst he knew the people his age would have to find out eventually, it could most definitely wait until he was ready to tell them on his own terms.

Noticing that the Nara had accepted his answer, and started to prepare his explosive tag, Naruto put his fledgling plan into motion. Two more Kage Bunshin appeared either side of him as the first of the Stone statues broke through the Bunshin he had created to help keep them at bay. They leapt forward, whips of lightning extending from each of their hands, crackling as they wrapped themselves around limbs of the statue. Yanking as hard as their straining limbs could manage, and increasing the amount of chakra they pumped into the jutsu, they tore the statues arms and legs away from it's torso, leaving the body of the statue momentarily suspended in the air.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

The Kage Bunshin joined the original Naruto in performing his newest technique, and in an unusual moment of clarity in the moments before the vicious, cutting gale caused by the trio of Naruto copies hit it's mark, the blonde noticed he had improved, if only a little, with the jutsu.

Naruto's accuracy with the jutsu was once again exemplary, the raging torrent of chakra infused air colliding with their target at breakneck speed, grinding at the statue's body, causing it to crumble it rubble, just as Naruto had managed the first time.

And, just as the first time, an eerie red glow in the centre of the pile signalled the start of the reconstruction process.

"Shikamaru, now!" Naruto shouted, leaping back from the area close to the temporarily defeated statue. The Nara hadn't needed to be told, and already having prepared the tag, was simply waiting for Naruto to get out of range of the explosion, before throwing the tag towards the source of the glow that was emanating from the pile of rubble, a light 'fizz' the only evidence that the tag he had wrapped around a kunai to provide the weight required for it to make the distance, was a live explosive.

If Naruto was being honest, the explosion was underwhelming. He had only ever really seen one when he had used his Bunshin to avoid one in the Genin test. He could have sworn it looked much bigger when it was meant to blow him to smithereens.

Disappointing as it may have been to the Genin who, whilst having matured, still liked a good explosion every now and again (who didn't, after all); the tag did it's job, launching the already loose rubble across the canyon in all directions, and illuminating the darkened area inside the canyon rather well.

Neither Naruto or Shikamaru could resist a grin of triumph when, as the smoke from the explosion cleared, and the red glow from the seal was not visible, and the remains of the statue were showing no signs of pulling back together. It was only to be a short lived triumph as Naruto felt the last of his Bunshin that had been fighting the remaining statues was destroyed by a punch to the chest from a one armed statue, and that statue turned to face the Genin.

"Right." Naruto started, his voice uncharacteristically serious. "We know their held together by some kind of seal. Now, from what I know, the seal will be where their chakra is orientating from, and is what makes them so hard to destroy. From what I know, for the seal to work, the seal itself needs to be continuous, like a circuit. So what we need to do to ruin them, is break the circuit."

"Except it's not as simple as that, is it? We can't see the seal, unless it's actually reconstructing them, and they won't have placed all the seals in the same place on each of them. Even you, Naruto, has to run out of chakra at some point, and I've only got another five tags. We can't carry on like we are." Shikamaru finished Naruto's train of thoughts on his behalf, the lazy drawl that usually graced his tone mysteriously absent.

"Well, we'll just have to think of another way to beat them then. I won't let them hurt my comrades." Naruto spoke as if it was the easiest thing in the world, any lack of confidence he may have had not given away by any of his movements. Even as he summoned yet more Kage Bunshin and moved to confront the approaching stone monstrosities once more, he didn't falter. Shikamaru sighed as he formed the hand seal for the one family jutsu he had actually learned.

Shikamaru however, knew it would make little difference. He was relying totally on Naruto. And he didn't like it. Lazy he may be, but Nara Shikamaru cared about his friends; and Naruto, even though they had rarely spoken in their days at the academy, and he had only just gotten to really know the blonde, was certainly his friend. The thought that his laziness would ever endanger any of them had never even crossed his mind. No, he didn't like this feeling of helplessness at all. He hated it.

Extending his shadow forward to the closest few statues that Naruto was fighting, he mused that it would be far too troublesome to allow any of his friends or comrades to die because he had been too weak to do anything about it.

Kakashi's teeth were firmly gritted underneath the mask that covered most of his face. He had realised earlier in the fight that he was not all that he once was in terms of ability, but he hadn't quite cottoned on to exactly how out of shape he was. The fight couldn't have been going on for too long despite how difficult it was to tell time in the heat of battle, and he could already feel fatigue setting in. He was using his sharingan for the first time in much too long, and his limbs burnt more and more with each dodge or attack he had made. He was already starting to slow, and the combined attacks of the pair before him were getting harder and harder to avoid.

Not that the pair before him were any better. They both looked exhausted, but Hitoshi was easily the worse off of the two. Their plan was a simple yet effective one. Hitoshi would take Kakashi in a frontal assault, keep him busy whilst Eiji attempted to strike him whilst he was distracted, and prevented him from retreating back to cover his Genin. However, as Hitoshi was locked almost constantly in battle with Kakashi, he was on his last legs, and covered in wounds, some superficial, others not quite so. Eiji was not that much better. He was nearing the end of his chakra from having maintained his unique technique for so long.

And no matter how tired he was, he was still Hatake Kakashi. He had gained his reputation for a reason and it was time for him to step up his game. Mainly because he wasn't sure how long the Genin under his command would be able to hold out. He had caught glimpses of their fight, and was definitely impressed by the supposedly 'green' Genin, but they would be tiring now, even Naruto, and Kakashi wasn't one to take liberties with the lives of those under his command. It was becoming dangerous for him to draw out this for any longer.

He began pulling on his chakra in preparation for a summoning jutsu that he would use to trap his opponents, when he felt it. That sickeningly vile feeling of tainted chakra that would be burned into his brain for as long as he lived. It was a minute amount of it, and wasn't increasing at the rate you would expect if the seal upon Naruto's chest had been broken, but something had caused the boy to pull on the Kyuubi's power, even unintentionally.

"His own son..." Eiji's mutter was not directed at anyone in particular, but Kakashi wouldn't have heeded it even if it had been.

"As fun as this has been, I'm going to have to cut our little game short. I have more... pressing matters to attend to." The sharingan wielding shinobi's words sounded as if they should have been in jest, but his steely expression and monotone voice suggested the opposite as the he flew threw hand seals.

He had to end this now and stop the seal from releasing any more of the Kyuubi's chakra, or they were all as good as dead.

Shikamaru, for the second time in only a few minutes, found himself cursing his own weakness as he ducked and weaved between the relentless, albeit slow and cumbersome strikes of the statues that he now faced, alone.

He had allowed himself to get separated from the blonde he was fighting alongside, pushed away and isolated. And all it took was a glancing hit from a thrust aimed at his heart to put his team-mate out of the game. He had partially dodged, and the stone weapon had jarred his shoulder rather than pierce his heart, but the blow had sent him tumbling to the ground, with what he was certain was a fracture on his left shoulder.

All Naruto had seen was the blow and the statue that had struck the Nara tower over him as he attempted to scramble to his feet. It was as though the rest of the battle had disappeared, and all Naruto could see was Shikamaru about to be crushed by the next blow. He dived out of the reach of the statue he had been fighting, and flew in Shikamaru's direction.

However, the blonde's inexperience shone through, and his tunnel vision was punished with extreme prejudice. One of the statues had landed fierce punch to the side of Naruto's chest as he ran, sending the Genin tumbling across the clearing, smashing him into the far wall of the canyon.

That had been a minute ago now at least, and a ragged Shikamaru couldn't help but fear the worst. Even above the din of battle he had heard the cry of the only medic nin of the team, and the few strangled sobs that had escaped her lips since. Shikamaru wasn't sure if a blow like that would be able to kill a person, but he was sure that it could cause damage that would, if left untreated. At any rate, he knew Hana would not have reacted in such a way if it were not serious.

It had been his fault. Naruto had been hurt because Shikamaru hadn't been willing o put in the work. And now, as he leapt back from another attack, clutching his shoulder as his left arm hung limply by his side, he realised that unless Kakashi could defeat his opponents in time to save him, he had little chance of living to regret his mistakes, let alone learn from them. He vowed secretly that if he did live, he would beg Asuma-sensei to train him and his team properly.

He ducked under a horizontal slash from the statue directly in front of him, and was forced to dive between it's legs as a thrust from another of the reanimated statues attacked from the left. He grimaced as the landing jarred his shoulder, and rolled instinctively to the right as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. It was a wise thing to do as yet another statue attempted to stamp on the Genin before he could get himself to his feet.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. He hadn't even seen the stone behemoth approach from the side he rolled towards, and was too slow reacting when it did. It slammed it's sandstone hand against his shin, trapping him in place, and breaking the bone cleanly. Shikamaru didn't think he had the air left in his lungs to scream, but a cry of agony forced it's way from his throat regardless.

Held in place on his back by the cold, lifeless hands of one statue, he gazed directly at the nightmarish head of another, searching desperately for a pair of eyes to look into, forgetting between the pain and fear that he would find none.

What he did see was the sword of the statue standing over him raise for the killing blow.

Pain.

Quite possible more pain then he'd ever felt.

His ribs. Arms. Back. Legs. They were on fire.

He tried to move, only his fingers at first. Even they sent shivers of pain through him, jarred him as he tried to form fists.

Arms next. Tried to push himself up, support himself.

He could only gasp in pain as they gave way underneath him. He hadn't realised just how out of breath he was. What had he been doing? Fighting? He had to have been. It was the only explanation his clouded mind could provide. Where was he then? He couldn't seem to find the answer.

A scream. One soaked in pain, rather than fear.

Deathly terror gripped him. His eyes forced themselves open, even as his head swam, and vision blurred. He tried to make sense of what he saw in front of him. It was blurred. He could only make out silhouettes, but he felt a furious, feral anger build. He recognised the scream, instinctively processed it's meaning before he could do it rationally.

Even as he began to take in the information, he felt a familiar sensation flow through him, nearly overwhelming him.

Heat. Power. Potent, familiar chakra. Rage.

He could feel sensations returning to his limbs, pain leave as warmth flowed through him, he began to form cognitive thoughts once more.

A mission. Near to Suna. The stone statues. Protecting his friends. Destroying his enemy. He was on his feet without even realising it; still trying to put the dizzied, blurred pieces together in his head.

A scream.

His eyes flew to where he had been looking before, seeing with clarity he could not remember seeing with before, and before he could process the information, he had set off with speed he could not remember possessing.

"Take it for now boy. Give them a glimpse of my power, remind them all why they fear me so."

Naruto had not heard the deep animalistic growl that originated from his within his own consciousness.

Even as Shikamaru watched the sword belonging to the stone statue that towered over him rise up, poised to strike, he desperately urged himself to move. Every one of his aching muscles strained to get loose from the vice like grip the other statue had on his leg, or even to simply avoid the coming attack. But he didn't have the strength left, and he knew it.

But then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of red. He barely had time to turn to see it before it was up close and personal, barrelling into the statue about to finish him of, splintering it's body into hundreds of pieces upon impact. It turned in mid-air, landing on the ground for the briefest of moments before turning it's attentions towards the statue that pinned Shikamaru's against the floor.

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"Get your hands off of my friend!" Naruto's voice came out closer to a guttural shout than his normal voice; and the blonde didn't give the statue an opportunity to comply with his demand, launching himself at the faceless monstrosity, right fist pounding straight through the statue's sandstone head, shattering it before withdrawing his sansetsukon, which was practically aglow with the strange red chakra Naruto appeared to be emitting.

Shikamaru couldn't help but stare at the strange energy that seemed to billow around the blonde, twisting around him, creating a maelstrom of what appeared to be vortexes of red chakra. He couldn't wrap his mind around it, nor the feeling that seemed to accompany it's presence. A terrifying feeling that seemed to penetrate to the Nara's core, one of unquenchable blood lust and hate; that was only amplified by the manner in which Naruto struck out at the beheaded statue's torso with a horizontal smash, cleaving the body of it in two.

The blonde turned to face him, eliciting a quiet gasp of shock. Whatever that chakra was, it had changed his appearance, with the whisker marks that Shikamaru had always assumed were whisker marks deepening and becoming thicker, and his canines had elongated slightly, making him resemble some kind of animal. The most shocking change was in his eyes. They had changed from their usual bright and energetic blue, to a shade of red not dissimilar to that of blood, and Shikamaru couldn't make out any emotion other than anger in them.

Naruto winced a little at Shikamaru's reaction to his gaze. He had meant to ask if Shikamaru was okay to move, but judging by the sharp intake of breath, the Kyuubi's chakra had altered his appearance, though by how much, Naruto couldn't tell.

Still, he had to admit, he felt as good as he'd ever felt with the demonic chakra in his system. He was faster, stronger, more alert than before, not to mention it felt like he hadn't used a single jutsu in a few days.

However, Naruto knew the strength was coming at a price.

He didn't feel like he was losing control as such, but he could hear whispers in the back of his mind. Whispers urging him to kill, wound and hurt. Spill the blood of everyone around him. Telling him to call on more and more of the foxes chakra, more and more power. They had started out quiet – barely audible as he moved to help Shikamaru. But only moments later they had increased in volume and number, penetrating his mind, influencing his thoughts. He wouldn't be able to maintain using this much of the Kyuubi's power for very long and still be able to maintain control of his own actions. And the blonde wasn't about to lose control again. He knew he didn't have a second chance where the Kyuubi was concerned.

He'd have to end it as quickly as he could, and with as little chakra as possible; a task made all the more complicated by the fact he could feel the Kyuubi's chakra increasing in his limbs whenever he moved, in order to facilitate his enhanced speed in strength. In other words, with every movement or slight exertion, he was pulling on more and more on the Kyuubi's power; the rate at which he did so increasing relative to how fast he was moving, or amount of strength he was using.

What's more, he could no longer feel his own, personal chakra. It was like it had been superseded by the Kyuubi's once he allowed himself to draw on the fox's chakra.

Fortunately, Naruto had a plan. He wasn't sure whether or not he would be able to get all of the statues, and it would draw upon more of the fox's chakra than he could handle. If he had of thought it through a bit more, he would realise it was reckless, and would need to come off almost perfectly to avoid causing himself some quite serious harm. But he would also realise it was all he had.

Silently, he created a pair of Kage Bunshin who headed over to Shikamaru, and lifted him, doing their best not to put any stress on his shoulder, and placed him with Hana, who had stopped working on Baki the moment Naruto had begun to use the fox's chakra. Realising she had been distracted by the events around her, a glaring mistake for a medic nin, who are expected to be able to work on patients in the heat of battle without being distracted by the events around them, she moved to check the Nara's shoulder and leg. They were both broken, although the shoulder was in far worse shape, with the collarbone shattered at the location of impact. Mentally, she decided the best course of action would be to administer a painkilling jutsu, and continue work on the Jonin, who had been nearly ready to move.

The Kage Bunshin had since returned to the side of their creator, who was preparing to make his move. Three more Kage Bunshin appeared alongside them, and immediately the group made to surround the statues, who had begin to move towards them.

"Fuuton: Fuuton: Goukuuhou no Jutsu!" Each of the Naruto's shouted simultaneously, several spheres of chakra infused wind that seemed to glow red, much larger and more intense than anything he had used before, erupted from each of them, tearing into the group of statues that they had seemingly rounded into a tight group. Naruto had aimed for the legs, where weak points still remained on most of the statues, and the result was devastating. Each sphere ripped through several sets of legs before dissipating, causing almost all of the statues to crumple in on themselves in a heap on the cold sandstone floor, leaving only a pair of the stone giants standing,but Naruto was not done.

His Kage Bunshin leapt into the air, using chakra to get the required height needed to get into an aerial vantage point from which they could all focus the jutsu they were each racing through the hand seals for. The original had stayed on the ground, forming his own set of seals, at a more reserved pace.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" The cry of Naruto's Kage Bunshin came the moment they reached the peak of their leap, each unleashing a veritable storm of raging winds, that tore viciously at the statues in the group, chakra enhanced blades of wind grinding and cutting the collapsed statues into piles of rubble before them.

The original only briefly had time to marvel at how potent the Kyuubi's chakra was compared to his own, before returning his focus on the jutsu he was about to perform. He thought he had moved Shikamaru far enough away to not be at risk, but he couldn't be sure, especially not whilst using the power of the Fox. He had only ever really used this jutsu properly a few times, and he had never been able to keep as much control over it as Jiraiya could.

Time was up, he noted, as a familiar red glow began in several places amongst the rubble of the statues, as they began to reform. He needed to do this before they had reformed enough to protect their seals from this attack. He wasn't confident that it would be able to destroy the stone in the same way his Fuuton techniques did. All his Kage Bunshin had dispelled besides one, who was preparing the final technique he needed to hopefully, end this battle. First though, he needed to perform his own. He only hoped he had kept the area of the jutsu down enough.

"Katon: Kasumi Endu no jutsu!"

The light misty gas erupted from his mouth billowing out into the clearing amongst the downed statues, spreading out, covering every single one of them, but not spreading out any further. He had pulled off it off perfectly, with just the right amount of chakra. His grin was as wide as i had ever been even as he jumped back, partly to get out of the way, but mostly, so that he's be able to see the fireworks. He glanced over to his Bunshin, who had just finished his own set of hand seals.

"Katon: Komakai Kaki." The results where as spectacular as any of the Sannin's demonstrations had been, searing flames erupting into a fierce inferno, the moment the small fireball had come into the vicinity of the mist, igniting it, turning the area into an all consuming dome of flames. Now that, was an explosion. Nothing like those boring explosive tags.

That's when the blonde finally felt it.

The effects of all his Kyuubi enhanced Bunshin, each performing those jutsu with chakra that wasn't their own, combined with all of his enhanced movements. The amount of the Kyuubi#s chakra pulsating through him had increased more than he ever thought it would have, white hot power flowing like rivers of lava through his chakra network, a bubbling pyroclastic flow of demonic chakra leaking from his tenketsu, covering him in a dense orange sheet of chakra.

The whispers had become screams in the foreground of his mind.

He needed more power, had to have it. More chakra, more power - power to kill, power to maim. He wanted nothing more.

But he couldn't. He wouldn't. Gathering every vestige of his willpower, he pushed back. Tried to suppress the urges, suppress the desire. Shout above the screams. He wouldn't lose to the fox again, not while he could still fight, not while there was breath left in his body. Even as his body had lowered onto all fours without him trying, even as his features grew yet more animalistic and feral.

He'd protect his friends, even if what he was protecting them from was himself.

He struggled for what was, in reality, seconds, but felt to him like hours, until he could no longer feel the levels of chakra in him increasing, but rather, gradually decreasing. He was beating it. Even as his body had dropped to it's knees, he felt the red haze lift away from his thoughts.

He was breathing heavily, and his vision swam as he fought the fox's will with his own. Even as he struggled, he saw that three of the statues had survived his attack. Apparently he hadn't been fast enough with his jutsu, or thorough enough with the first barrage. If he could, he would have cursed his luck. As it was, all he could do was grit his teeth, as he continued to force back the Kyuubi's power.

His muscles tensed as he felt a hand on his forehead. He hadn't sensed an approach. He hadn't even realised there was anybody else in the canyon. Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming peace wash over him. He couldn't even sense a trace of the Kyuubi. Not it's power. Nor it's blood lust, or it's hatred. Just peace, and calm. But, even as he fell forward into unconsciousness, a voice he recognised alleviated the his worries. He would sleep without concern for his friends, because he now knew the were safe.

"Rest, Uzumaki-san. You fought impressively. I will take care of the rest."

And Uzuki Yuugao, even with her ANBU mask on, was not one to lie to a comrade. She had watched Naruto's fight from the beginning, and was stunned at the blonde's progression, even though she had taught him. Almost everything he had worked had come on leaps and bounds, strategy, chakra control, taijutsu - it had all come together perfectly. It was difficult to remember that Naruto was a totally green Genin, with no experience in the field on the basis of how he had fought. A totally green Genin fighting against a jutsu that should have been far too much for him to deal with. Yet he and Shikamaru had, admirably. The way in which Naruto had spurned his comrade on, just by being himself, had also not gone unnoticed.

But there was no escaping the fact that this was an incredibly advanced technique, and Naruto and Shikamaru were just Genin. She knew she was going to have to intervene, especially since Kakashi was struggling with his own battle, it was just a matter of when. When the chakra cloak had begun to form around the blonde, was her signal to move. She had been briefed by Jiraiya before he had left about the basics of Jinchuuriki, and control, and new Naruto had taken on more of the Kyuubi's chakra than he could handle. Incredibly, as she placed the demonic chakra suppressant that Jiraiya had given her as a precaution on him, she noticed that he had fought back much of the demon's power himself.

However, now she had to deal with the rest of these statues, and go and aid Kakashi with his own battle. Wordlessly, she drew the first of her katana and turned her attention towards the towering figures that had given her student so much trouble.

Kakashi was just about as relieved as he had ever been in his whole life, even as he dodged a wild strike from Eiji. Yuugao's intervention had been timely to say the least, given the wildly fluctuating chakra levels Naruto had been expending as he had fought for control with his tenant, and the fact that Kakashi was really in no position to do anything about it himself. The Jonin had wildly underestimated the capabilities of the Kekkei Genkai that Eiji possessed, and now he had very little chakra with which to finish his own fight.

His plan had been pretty simple really, perhaps too simplistic, even though it is often the basic plans that tend to work the best. Lay down a cover with the smoke bombs, and use his Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu, a tracking jutsu where his nin dogs would locate and trap the enemy in the smoke, leaving them vulnerable for Kakashi to finish off with his Raikiri, a lightning technique designed to kill.

It had only half worked.

Eiji had been fast to realise the basics of Kakashi's plan, and even though two of the dogs had managed to grab hold of him, had disappeared underground too quickly for the others to get a proper hold on the ninja. Hitoshi however, had not been so lucky. Trapped under the weight of four if the dogs, including a particularly large brown specimen, with it's considerably powerful jaws clamped onto his shoulder. He was a sitting duck, and one that didn't stand much of a chance since Kakashi was already on the move towards him, Raikiri prepared. The Konoha shinobi aimed for the heart.

Hatake Kakashi rarely missed with any jutsu. It was even rarer that he missed with his own technique.

Now, for the first time since he had left ANBU, he felt the warm, crimson red liquid soak into his sleeve, as Hitoshi's punctured heart struggled to beat it's last. He looked into the eyes of his enemy, as the life drained out of them, his Sharingan burning the image into his brain to join the hundreds of others that already existed there.

"Hatake, you bastard!" Eiji's enraged cry was expected by Kakashi, who spun round to block the attack, leaving Hitoshi's body to unceremoniously crumple on the floor, still bleeding from the gaping wound carved into his chest by Kakashi's jutsu.

Now, Kakashi found himself beset by a furious assault from the remaining enemy shinobi, not unlike the ones Hitoshi himself had been using to allow Eiji the opportunities to strike. He used his Kekkei Genkai to coat his fists and legs in a layer of rock, adding mass to his strikes, forcing Kakashi to dodge, rather than block his relentless barrage of kicks and punches. Something that the Konoha ninja did infuriatingly well, given how tired he looked.

Gradually, Eiji opened himself up more and more, allowing Kakashi windows to counter. Eiji launched a wild punch, it's wide arc making it easy to predict and dodge - a careless error brought on by fatigue both mental and physical - and Kakashi capitalised. He caught the punch at Eiji's wrist, avoiding the danger of stone covered fists, and brutally drove his elbow into the Iwa shinobi's face. Staggering backwards, clutching a broken nose that was leaking crimson down his face, he as in no position to block a powerful kick aimed at his chest that sent him tumbling to the ground, momentum taking him a few feet away from where he had originally stood.

"What I still don't understand;" Kakashi began, walking slowly towards the downed Iwa shinobi, a kunai in hand, prepared to deliver the final blow. "Is how you managed it all. Taking Baki down, killing the rest of his squad, the fuuinjutsu on the statues and then fighting me is no small accomplishment for the pair of you. Who has been helping you? Where are they?"

The slight on their abilities Kakashi had slipped into his questioning did not stop Eiji from erupting into a harsh, weezy laugh, as he struggled to fight the pain from his wounds, and regain his breath after being winded from the kick to his chest.

"Telling you wouldn't make a damn bit of difference. You're a dead man whether you know who's after you or not. The people who helped us set this up, they're a class above – powerful beyond belief. Not even you have a hope. Although, strangely they didn't seem to be all that interested in you, Hatake. They seemed far more interested in that blonde piece of shit tagging along."

Kakashi stopped dead. Incredibly powerful shinobi out to get a Genin? Except he wasn't just any Genin, was he? He was the Yondaime's son, and the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. His mood darkened considerably as he recalled a conversation with Jiraiya, just a day before he had left for the mission with Naruto.

Akatsuki. A group of S-classed shinobi, who Jiraiya suspected, had an alarming interest in the Biju. Naruto could be in danger, and even the presence of Yuugao, an exceptional ninja in her own right, made little difference to their odds should they decide to attack.

"Who are they, Eiji. You will talk." Kakashi's voice had taken on a grim, steely quality, reflecting the importance of his question, threatening dark consequences should answered not be provided. Eiji simply laughed again, louder this time, his breathing a little easier.

"Didn't I already tell you Hatake? Knowing their names wouldn't save from them even if you had years to prepare. You know them well though, very well. Their power has grown since you last encountered them, too. They are called -"

Eiji stopped suddenly in mid-sentence as his body began to shake and judder uncontrollably, his limbs contorting in spasms of pain. Kakashi couldn't help but look on in morbid fascination as pitch black markings began to spread out from the Iwa shinobi's forehead, lines spiralling and weaving their way around him in strange, otherworldly patterns. Eiji's stomach muscles jerked and contracted viciously, pulling his body into the foetal position and, moments later, he began to gurgle deeply, as though he were drowning in some thick, stodgy liquid.

It took Kakashi a moment to realise Eiji had been gurgling on his own blood, his torso's torso sudden contraction an indicator of some kind of severe internal trauma to one of his major organs, most likely his lungs. He died by drowning – in the middle of the desert.

"A silencing seal." Yuugao had apparently finished with the statues, and after a cursory glance, Kakashi noticed that she had done so without so much as disturbing her hair. Of course, he already knew what had befallen Eiji, having seen more than his fair share of similar seals during his days in ANBU. In fact, he wore two himself as a result of events that happened on duty. The premise was simple – the seal is placed on someone, and from that point on until the person who placed it removes it, any attempt to speak of certain subjects, or reveal certain facts as specified by the creator of the seal, results in a swift and timely death.

Of course, whilst the idea was simple, the actual technique was incredibly complex and difficult. Out of all the Konoha shinobi, only the Sandaime and Jiraiya possessed the ability to place similar seals, which spoke volumes for the ones whose identity Eiji had attempted to reveal.

"Are you fit to move, Kakashi? We're going to need to get a move on. Baki is ready to be moved, and I can aid with the transportation of the Nara and Naruto, as long as you're ready. We need to get to Suna as quickly as we can. Here-" Yuugao paused to dig around in the pouch attached to her left thigh, and pulled out a small red pill, holding it out to Kakashi. "Take this. It will keep you going until we can make it to Suna."

Kakashi took the pill without hesitation. It was a 'soldier pill', a drug designed to stimulate the chakra regeneration process. It would give a shinobi a large, albeit temporary boost in chakra, either compensating for lost chakra, or boosting existing supplies. It was massively useful to Kakashi, who was closer than he'd like to passing out from the chakra exhaustion using his Sharingan for extended periods of time was prone to cause. He almost instantaneously felt the pill's effect, reinvigorating him with chakra and energy.

"Thank you, Yuugao." Kakashi said, noting that the woman had removed her ANBU mask, negating the need for secrecy. "And you're right, we had best get moving. How do you suggest we proceed? I doubt Baki or Shikamaru will be able to move all that well considering, and Naruto is still unconscious."

"I've used Kage Bunshin to help Baki and Shikamaru get moving, and three shouldn't affect my reserves too badly should we be attacked. I'll carry Naruto myself. That way we should be able to move fairly quickly, and hopefully make it to Suna without incident."

Kakashi glanced over at where the Genin had fought, and saw a pair of Bunshin helping Baki to his feet, and another lifting Shikamaru onto it's back. Hana was at work over Naruto, likely checking for any serious wounds that would impede moving him. The Jonin doubted any would be found. The Kyuubi's chakra possessed a strong healing quality, and when Naruto had been using it, it was likely it had sped up the healing of his wounds by an incredible amount.

"Well then, Yuugao, ready to get going when you are – although, I feel a little guilty at not helping you carry anyone..."

Naruto currently felt more at ease than he had ever done in his whole life. He felt like he was sleeping wrapped in fresh, pure white clouds, in the worlds comfiest bed. He tried moving a little, just an arm, to try and rub his eyes ready to start his day.

And that was when the pain hit him.

It started as a kind of dull ache, his muscles protesting as he tried to move, but as he tried to move a little further, ignoring their complaints, it erupted into a full blown throbbing pain, right through his entire body. He tried to focus on the bits that didn't feel like they had been clubbed into submission. Trying to opening his eyes, he was greeted with an sinister feeling of familiarity, a sickening kind of deja vu, and a brilliantly bleached white ceiling.

Fantastic. The hospital. His least favourite place in the entire world. But why was he in the hospital?

His pounding muscles returned to the forefront of his mind. It felt like he'd lost a fight with a wrecking ball. A fight. The mission. Of course! The mission, the stone statues...

"Shikamaru!" Naruto sat bolt upright, his muscles burning as he did so becoming irrelevant, as the memories invaded his mind, the most recent one being of Shikamaru about to be struck down by one of the stone army they had been facing.

"Is just fine." The words were strung out lazily, and were all Naruto needed to be reassured about the well being of his friend. "And, by some kind of miracle, you are too."

"What happened? I can't remember anything after you got pinned down by that statue."

"You happened Naruto." Shikamaru sighed heavily at Naruto's confused expression, and began to explain what had happened to Naruto, noting with some interest Naruto's discomfort when he mentioned the 'red chakra' the blonde had used during the fight. Both Kakashi and Yuugao had brushed him off when he had asked, which only served to pique the Nara's curiosity. It appeared that Naruto was a veritable web of mysteries and unanswered questions. As soon as you got the answer to one, there was another two waiting to ensnare you. "And once we made it to Suna, the three of us who fought and the Suna Jonin, Baki, were admitted to the hospital. You had chakra exhaustion, which is pretty serious business – you've been out for two days now; but they patched me and Baki up soon enough, broken bones are easy enough to fix after all, although I'll have to take it easy for a bit."

Naruto couldn't help but notice Shikamaru seemed absolutely delighted at the idea of 'taking it easy'.

"So, what do we do now? I mean, the mission is over right, 'cos the Suna Jonin is safe, so what's the plan?"

"Good question, Naruto!" This time it was Kakashi speaking, entering the room looking untouched, almost as though the events of a few days ago had never occurred, familiar orange book in hand. However, despite his distraction, he didn't miss Naruto shift uncomfortably in his bed when he spoke. As Kakashi had suspected, Naruto wouldn't be able to brush off what Eiji and Hitoshi had revealed as 'part of shinobi life' in the same way that Shikamaru and Hana had. He pocketed his book almost without realising he was doing it; this conversation wasn't particularly one he wanted to have, but Kakashi had a feeling it was coming whether he liked it or not.

"Shikamaru, you look hungry. There's a ramen stand in town, perhaps you should go get some food? Naruto might be well enough to join you in a bit." The smile hadn't left the Jonin's voice, but the serious nature of his voice gave away all it needed to the Nara. Shikamaru glanced between the Jonin and Naruto, and sighed heavily, almost dragging himself to his feet, and finally made for the door.

"You know what, you're right. I hadn't noticed it before, but I guess I am pretty hungry. Catch you later, Naruto." The Nara threw a cursory wave over his shoulder as he left the hospital room through it's only door, closing it behind him.

"Kakashi-sensei, I-..." The words died on Naruto's tongue as he racked his brain for the right way to approach the topic that was on his mind – the so-called 'Raiden-Massacre'. "I'm not totally stupid, and I'm not nearly as naïve as I used was when I graduated, I know ninja have to kill as part of their missions. But they said the number was 27, all of them Genin? Even during a war, I don't understand what kind of a mission-"

"It wasn't a mission Naruto." Kakashi sounded tired beyond his years, like the retired, grizzled old veterans that Naruto would occasionally see around the village. Scarred, wounded old men and women, each never having totally recovered from the damage countless battles and comrades lost causes to a human, both physical and mental. Each had their own tales, some of glorious victories, some of epic, monumental battles, even more of the many heroic figures Konoha has; but most of all, tales of tragedy and loss. A team-mate, friend or lover, gone before their time.

A shinobi from the age of 5, thrust at that age into the fires of war, Naruto briefly supposed that he was one of those grizzled own veterans.

"Then how did it happen? If you weren't on a mission, I mean?" Naruto found himself unsure about whether he really wanted to continue to press Kakashi on the matter, well aware that he was likely dredging up some of the man's most tortuous and painful personal demons. He knew Kakashi was not a 'bad' person, which was precisely why hearing that he had done such a thing had unsettled him so much. How on earth did someone like Kakashi end up doing something like that? Naruto couldn't fathom it.

"In order to understand why I did what I did, I'll have to tell you a little about myself and my team at the time." Kakashi sat down next to Naruto's bed, all the while considering exactly how much detail to go into about his past. "Early on in my shinobi career, I was obsessed with the shinobi code of conduct. I lived by them, followed them without exception. When one of my team-mates was captured by an enemy during the war, I was even willing to abandon her in order to complete the mission we had been assigned."

Naruto felt his fists clenching as Kakashi spoke. What he was talking about went against everything he stood for as a shinobi, every fibre of his being, and everything his father - Kakashi's own sensei - stood for. Yet; from what he knew about Kakashi, it went against his nature, too.

"However, my other team-mate, insisted that we save her before continuing with the mission. He changed my mind, helped me see that I was wrong to blindly follow the code, helped me to see that comrades - and friends, were more important than the 'rules'. And we made to save our comrade, and we did. But, in the battle he was killed, and his dying wish was that I protected the team-mate we had fought to save. It was only after his death, that I realised he was the closest thing to a friend I had ever had." Kakashi inhaled deeply, and exhaled in turn, trying to keep the emotions surfacing from talking for the first time about his old team-mates since the Yondaime had died, as 'in check' as he could.

"After that, the war dragged on and on, and eventually thanks your father, was drawing to a close. My remaining team-mate was on a routine patrol without me, and they were ambushed. She and the rest of the squad she was with, were killed. I had broken my promise to my best friend, and my only other friend had just been killed. A few hours after the news of her death had reached our front-line base, a reconnaissance team returned, having found a newly established Iwa base, not far from our own.

"In my head, I put two and two together, and got five. I was so angry, that I lost my cool, and made the assumption that those in the stronghold were responsible for her death. I went after them, alone, and attacked the base. I don't remember much of the initial attack, but after a while, it became clear that those inside were not responsible for the attack on my team-mates' squad. It was a detachment of newly-minted Genin, with a pair of Chunin commanders; put in place, essentially, as a decoy to distract our recon teams, and lead them away from the bases that contained their main forces.

"It was a tactic used by both sides, and an unspoken rule existed to capture, rather than kill such detachments, since most were fresh academy graduates in a time when average graduation age was eight years old. I didn't even realise what I had done until I had killed almost every one inside. In the end, it was the Fourth who stopped me, and took me away from the base and brought me back."

Kakashi stopped, suddenly unsure how he should continue. Naruto was dead silent, taking in what Kakashi had said, and the way he had said it. It was like he had just listened to a debriefing, rather than a retelling of a tragic moment in a man's life. Kakashi had intentionally tried to avoid delving too deeply into the way he felt about what had happened, and perhaps belatedly, Naruto realised that the man was still grieving deeply, both for his comrades, and his enemies; and felt a pang of guilt at having disturbed memories, that had likely been left untouched by anyone other than Kakashi for a long time.

However, Naruto found himself understanding Hatake Kakashi, more than he ever had done. What would he have done if he had lost two friends, two of his precious people?

He couldn't claim he would be any different. He wasn't sure he'd want to be. But that realisation raised uncomfortable questions about the world all shinobi lived in. Naruto had all his life strove to become a shinobi, not just to gain - but also to give. He wanted to help people, save them from evil. Some would call it noble, others childish, naïve. It didn't matter to him, he intended to stay true to those goals. But, in the end, would his life as a ninja cause more pain, more suffering, than it would relieve?

"Kakashi-sensei, why do shinobi exist? I mean, what is the point of being a ninja? Hokage-jiji once told me it was about protecting people, helping them and making the happy. It was part of the reason I wanted to be a ninja, and nothing has changed, I still want to protect people. But..." Naruto trailed off, trying to piece together what he wanted to say from the whirlwind of thoughts in his mind.

"But it seems like the entire shinobi world is trapped in some kind of cycle of revenge and hatred, right? We fight a war, and the time between that war and the next is filled with people taking revenge for their losses in the first. Killing the person that killed their loved ones, and the loved ones of the person taking revenge in return." Kakashi finished on behalf of the blonde, well aware that the issue was beyond the scope of what any young Genin should be considering. The blonde just nodded in agreement, still trying to process the leap their conversation had made, find some kind of solution in his head, so it would all make sense.

"I think it's something that every shinobi discovers, in their own time, and most simply accept it, carry on with their lives until either they succumb to it, or retire. Your father and Jiraiya, his sensei, both spent their lives trying to find an answer - trying to stop the cycle. Jiraiya, I believe, has been looking his entire life, and still is." To the Jonin's surprise, Naruto brightened as Kakashi spoke.

"I guess that settles it then. I'll find the answer." The finality of Naruto's words perplexed Kakashi, especially given that it had seemed he fully understood the gravity of such a task. The blonde however took the lack of a response to mean that Kakashi was doubting his ability to accomplish the task. "Before now, I had two goals as a ninja. To become Hokage so I can protect the village and my friends, and to make my Dad proud. I'll find the answer my Dad couldn't, and I'll make him proud doing it, and that is a promise. I know it's not going to be easy Kakashi-sensei, if it was, someone would have already found an answer. But I will do it. First, I'll become Hokage so I can protect the people I love, then, I'll find a way to use that to find a way to stop the cycle of hatred, and protect everyone else." Naruto's words had become fierce, his eyes providing a startling view into the determination he held. He meant every word he said.

And before Kakashi could stop himself, he found himself believing too.

"Thanks for talking to me about this Kakashi-sensei, you didn't have to." Kakashi simply smiled at the blonde through his mask, and dismissively shook his head at the thanks. "But don't think this lets you off! It was technically your fault we were attacked!" The Jonin nearly fell out of his chair at the practically bi-polar way in which the Naruto's tone had changed, genuine heartfelt gratitude to what seemed like an impersonation of one of his own Genin, Sakura, when loudly 'pointing out' that he had arrived to a team meeting late.

"I mean, I think I deserve some kind of compensation. Compensation, like, I dunno, a new jutsu or two at least..."

"Huh? What was that Naruto? Shouldn't you be meeting with Shikamaru by now? He's been waiting for quite a while now you know..."

Naruto hadn't seen Kakashi pull out the book he had his nose buried in, nor did he notice the Jonin form the single hand seal required for the Shunshin he used to escape the punch Naruto had aimed at his face, leaping from his hospital bed to reach his target.

As it was, all he made contact with was air. And the floor, with his face, when he unceremoniously landed in a crumpled heap close to where Kakashi had been.

"You owe me a jutsu Kakashi-sensei! I don't ever forget when it comes to Jutsu!" The blonde shouted, fist raised threateningly in the air to no one in particular. "Now then... time to find that Ramen stand!"