"I don''t expect you to do aplete one-eighty and change the way you think just because you lost once," Naruto tells Sasuke. "But you better start getting it through your thick skull you aren''t the only one suffering."


    Naruto lets a heaving and bleeding Sasuke go and the raven-haired avenger drops to a knee so near to passing out if not for his sheer will to refuse to. Instead, he vaguely hears Kiba gasp, "I don''t believe it," before the proctor calls,


    "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."


    NARUTO


    As attendants begin rushing to clean the war-ravaged stage of blood and debris, Naruto hops and sticks to the railing in front of a provoked Gaara, eying him sternly as he expresses, "I''m being serious about bing friends, you know," as his red chakra-tails ebb and flow hypnotically.


    Gaara''s icy blue eyeseyes of death and hatred that long for absolute strengthre at thetest and clearest threat to his very existence. If his father ever hired this blond boy to try and kill him, Gaara hates to admit he may seed and it only makes the redhead want to kill Naruto more.


    "I still am," Naruto adds. Looking at the tattoo of love on his forehead, Naruto can''t help but exin, "I think we have a lot inmon, like, I''m sure we''ve both had a tough life, but, I know we can get along if we give it a try."


    Relishing in the thought of destroying yet another one of life''s ns to end his life, Gaara heartlessly shares, "loneliness is the onlypanionship that exists, so I have no need of yours."


    "Are you a fortune-teller," Naruto asks with a smirk. "Can you see the future? If not, I can''t imagine how you would know if you don''t need a friend."


    Like his ultimate defense, Gaara''s cold face is impassive as he reveals, "I fight only for my sake and I live to love no one but myself. A soul needs a purpose to live and I''vee to learn my purpose is to kill everyone besides myself. It''s how I feel alive."


    "Well, I don''t believe that, like, at all," Naruto emphasizes, a little surprised by the redhead''s bitter enmity.


    From Naru-nii''s stories, Naruto knows they''ve gone through the same challenges in life, and while one-by-one, Naruto gained Teuchi-jiji, Ayame-neechan, Iruka-sensei, and Ji-chan, followed by Nai-chan, Haku, Ino-chan, Hinata-chan, and his teammates, Gaara only met betrayal after betrayal from his vige and even his family.


    It took no effort at all for Naruto to imagine thatrge, dark, chasm of loathing hatred if he didn''t have his loved ones.


    So with a great longing to help the murderous boy in front of him, Naruto deres, "friends and family are what help you feel alive. You probably just need the right friend and I''m going to show you exactly that."


    Assuming his intentions to be threatening, Gaara leans forward, primed to attack as he coldly avows, "I will not cease to exist. Your bitter corpse''s crimson tears will flow and mingle with the endless sand, feeding the chaos within me, making me stronger.


    Your bloody death, will make me stronger." The cork from the gourd wiggles free, prompting Temari and Kankur to take several steps back from their young brother as they look to Baki.


    Overflowing with Kurama''s chakra, Naruto isn''t worried. What''s important to him is that he doesn''t blink. He stares down Gaara''s icy blue eyes, determined to show his fellow Jinchriki that no matter how much he fights or doubts, someone will stand by his side.


    If there''s anyone in this world who can understand him, it''s Naruto, and just like Haku, he won''t give up on the potential for another great friend. So, with two chakra tails whipping behind him, Naruto''s intense slitted red eyes confidently assert his defiance in the face of Gaara''s hatred.


    "Naruto-kun," he hears Kakashi call from the wrecked stage below. Immediately the tenseness in the air dissipates as he momentarily nces to his sensei below.


    Returning his attention to the triplet of sand-nin he''s hoping to one day be close with, Naruto sends Kankur a snide, "hmph," Gaara onest hopeful look, and Temari a smile before hopping down to the damaged first floor to meet his serene sensei.


    Due to Kakashi''s curious eye, Naruto realizes his red chakra cloak is still active and calmly allows Kurama''s chakra to return to its owner.


    "That was unexpected," Kakashi casuallyments, and a less feral Naruto can sense the underlying question regarding Kurama''s chakra.


    However, since his amped body is still feeling hot contention from his ridiculous and unexpected fight with Sasuke, with squinted eyes, Naruto scratches his head as he asks, "oh, you mean when Sasuke used a technique you taught him to skewer me through the chest? Yeah, who could''ve seen thating?"


    As the attendants behind them rush to reset the stage for the next fight, Kakashi momentarily eyes the Iry-ninfollowed by a team of Anburushing an unconscious Sasuke away before he asserts, "I''ll be speaking with Sasuke-kun as soon as he''s able. Your control over the red chakra has gotten better.


    Care to exin how that happened?"


    "It happened the same way everything else I can do has," Naruto states, thinking of Naru-nii. Though the agitated side of himself wanted to answer, ''without you,'' hemely concludes, "with training."


    With a single nod, Kakashi states, "so long as you''re in control," and Naruto watches his jnin-sensei shunshin to Ji-chan''s side to whisper the information, then shunshin away; likely to check on Sasuke''s condition.


    Without Kakashi blocking his view, Naruto finally notices the observation deck above full of his shocked peers all staring down at him. Looking around the room, Naruto is rmed when he realizes all of the genin and Jnin are highly observant of him.


    Turning to the sound ninja who Naruto guesses is Orochimaru in disguise, he, yet again, wants nothing more than to take care of him here and now, however, he''s been told that would be a tall order.


    Naru-nii had exined how Orochimaru fought and killed Ji-chan, fought Tsunade-baachan without working arms and survived, fought a four-tails cloaked Naru-nii without properly working arms and survived, and even came back from the dead.


    Naru-nii suggested they wait and set the ultimate prank, and after hearing all of that, Naruto wholeheartedly agrees. So he quickly returns his attention to his ponderousrades.


    Except for Sakura and Kakashi, none of them have ever seen him fight to such lengths before. He''s trained under Kurenai-chan, fought Tenten-chan, sparred with Hinata-chan, spoken about his training with Ino-chan, but they''ve never seen him battle with his life on the line.


    The others either only remember him from how he was in the Academy or have never heard of him. Sakura is the only one who''s even seen him fight with a tail and now that they''ve all seen him beat Sasuke with two, Naruto is at a loss as to how he should react.


    The first thing the blond shinobi wonders is, ''have they guessed my secret?''


    His whole body was covered in red chakra, and he had two tails and long ears made out of Kurama''s chakra. The fact that he''s a Jinchriki wouldn''t be a hard leap to make, especially for someone with deductive reasoning like Shikamaru. ''Would they hate me now? Like all the vigers?''


    Judging by their re, the two from Kabuto''s team seem to. Looking at the circumspect faces of Shikamaru, Chji, Kiba, Lee, and Tenten, Naruto can''t imagine they''d ever want to hang out now.


    However, looking at Sakura, Hinata, Ino, and Kurenai''s mournful, agitated rm, he soon realizes there''s something more important to worry about.


    His rtionship with Kurenai has taught him how others might feel if he died or was seriously injured. That night with her made a deep impression on him that cannot be removed, and due to that reflection, he knows Hinata-chan and Kurenai-chan will have been worried about him; possibly even Ino-chan.


    Kurenai has grown to be just as irreceable as Iruka-sensei, Ji-chan, Naru-nii, and because of the raven-haired jnin, Naruto can imagine they might feel the same about him.


    ''Another reason to help Gaara,'' Naruto thinks as he walks the length of the stage toward the stairs. ''So he can feel that love as well.''


    Thinking along those lines, he can''t imagine Kurenai, Ino, Hinata, and possibly Sakura felt good about witnessing him be impaled. Walking up the stairs, he wonders if they might''ve felt like the time when he was helpless to watch Iruka-sensei protect him by taking a Fuma Shuriken to the spine.


    Being forced to watch someone he cares about be grievously injured was devastated for Naruto, and even if Kurenai, Ino, and Hinata don''t care about him to the same degree, he doesn''t want them to worry about him any more than they need to.


    Traversing the final step to the walkway, Naruto takes his blood-smeared jacket off and wraps it around his waist knotting it by the sleeves. There''s still a reddish hole in the wire-mesh armored shirt but his tan skin is clear and without a mark.


    The thoughtful blond reasons, ''if they see I''m not hurt,then that''d obviously make them feel better.''


    Nearly to the stunned group, the electric board begins bleeping as it runs through random names, and a widely smiling Naruto calls out to his fellow Konoha ninja, "yo!"


    His face was cheerful, his posture was upbeat, and his hand waved to them, but he doesn''t receive quite the reception he was hoping for. Shikamaru, Chji, Kiba, Tenten, and Lee were staring at him in disbelief, lost for words. Neji''s sharp eyes are practically ring at him.


    Kurenai and the jnin were unreadable, Ino-chan and Sakura were a mix of relief and doubt, and Hinata was blushing, reserved, and eerily still.


    Fortunately, the electronic board chooses another pair of names to duel. Kiba and another Konoha shinobi named Yoroi begin their walk to the newly swept stage below. Upon passing the Inuzuka, Naruto notices Kiba''s small pupils, made worse by widened eyes, parted mouth, and drawn brows at him.


    Rather than force himself within their circle, Naruto simply leans on the railing several paces away as Kiba and Yoroi take their ce, however, he''s surprised when Ino-chan leans against the railing beside him.


    She''s so close to him, her shoulder touches his, and while her focus remains on the match below, he notices the red hue on her cheeks as she tells him, "you scared me."


    He marvels by her warmth and willingness to be beside him and absentmindedly answers, "I''m sorry."


    Giving his shoulder an affectionate shove as her pupil-less blue eyes remain on the stage as she tells him, "don''t think you''re getting out of making this up to me."