(Book the Third) Crimson Hatred in the Uchiha

The Will of Fire

Ergh... Sorry if the fight scenes are badly written... Enjoy!

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Naruto stared. What the... What the heck was that thing? They had just arrived in the nick of time to save Sasuke. Sakura was behind with him and Naruto... Naruto was staring at some sort of deformed beast.

"Sa-Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted, "Sakura-chan!"

"WHAT IS IT?"

Naruto pointed, "What is that?!"

Sakura gave a sharp gasp, answering Naruto's question. No, she didn't know either.

"It may not look like it," Pakkun, one of Kakashi's ninken, spoke up, "but that thing over there is the Gaara kid."

"He...." Sakura said faintly as if she could not believe it, "he injured Sasuke-kun..."

Naruto stared at Gaara's deformed state. Gaara had called himself a monster...was this what he meant?

Gaara glared with a green eye and a fearsome yellow eye, "You...you're the one I failed to kill..."

Gaara had said he lived to kill.

He was going to kill Naruto.

"Guys!" Naruto yelled, "Get away!"

"DIE!" Gaara leapt foreword, dragging a deformed arm, "UCHIHA SASUKE!"

Naruto realized too late as Gaara bounded past him, "Oh no-"

Sakura stood in front of Sasuke, kunai in hand.

Her eyes met with Gaara's monstrous face, then his eyes. Sakura gripped her kunai harder. You will not hurt Sasuke. I will protect Sasuke-kun.

Gaara suddenly winced. Her eyes... Gai's eyes... Uncle Yashamaru...

"GYAAAAH! NOOO!" Gaara screamed and slammed his giant deformed hand into Sakura, pinning her against a tree. She was knocked out in less than a second.

Naruto took this chance to rescue Sasuke.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto yelled, but his team mate did not reply.

Gaara held his head, "Ugh....why...?" Why did he always have to see those eyes? It hurt... It hurt so much... Uncle Yashamaru...

Meanwhile, Temari stood far away, eyes wide. For that girl to hold her ground against Gaara in his current state...

Naruto looked at Gaara and felt another jolt run through him. Gaara's eyes... No, it wasn't because they were frightening. They were so... Painfully familiar. Naruto's eyes. They had the same eyes. And now that Naruto realized that they were so similar, he found it hard to fight Gaara.

"Come on," Gaara sneered, "Where are you drifting off to? Are you forgetting our situation? Besides... What are those two, to you?"

Naruto looked at Sasjke and Sakjra, "Th-They're my friends! Leave them alone or else! I'll kick your ass!"

Sakura suddenly screamed in pain. Naruto winced.

"Well?" Gaara said emotionlessly, "your 'friend' is in pain here. Weren't you going to kick my ass?"

"Guh..." Naruto growled, "Bring it on, you bastard!" He ran foreword, but was instantly hit back. He landed on a branch painfully. What was wrong with him? He usually didn't fight like this... Like a retard. Naruto had no choice. Even if it would drain his chakra, Naruto would summon the boss frog! "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

There was a puff of smoke, then-

"WHAT THE?! IT'S ONLY A RUNT FROG!"

"Gimme snacks if you want a favor," the tiny frog sniffed, "Or else I won't play with you!"