Naruto: Forgotten Prodigy

Chapter 49

Gaara widened his eyes and stuttered " Wh-what?"

"I said you are a human, not a monster. I know the difference between 'human' and demon' though" Naruto stated to make the 'message' spread out and know the humanity's 'deadly sin'.

"Silence. Silence. Twenty-two years ago, I stood where I stand now – and watched my loved ones die, betrayed by those I had called friends. Vengeance clouded my mind. It would have consumed me, were it not for the wisdom of a few strangers, who taught me to look past my instincts. They never preached answers, but guided me to learn from myself. We don't need anyone to tell us what to do; not kages, not the sages. We are free to follow our own path. There are those who will take that freedom from us, and too many of you gladly give it. But it is our ability to choose – whatever you think is true – that makes us human... There is no book or teacher to give you the answers, to show you the path. Choose your own way! Do not follow me, or anyone else" Naruto said and walked towards Gaara.

"Give up. I don't know what happened after you speared me, but I know that you're in no condition to continue fighting. Why don't we finish this battle some other time, when both of us are at our best." Naruto said in a softer tone, surprising Gaara as he stopped shaking, though there was still a slight shiver whenever Naruto shifted slightly.

"Y-You want to fight me again?" Gaara asked, his eyes wide with shock, not expecting the terrifying blonde from before to speak with such a kind and understanding tone.

"Yeah, I do. Next time though, let's not make it a death match." Naruto replied, letting go of Gaara's collar as the redhead lowered his head nodding softly.

"Proctor... I... I su-surrender." Gaara whispered just loud enough for Hayate to hear, making the sickly jōnin widen his eyes.

"A-Ah. Well then, the winner of the final match of the first round: Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze." Hayate said, snapping out of his stupor.

As he announced the winner of the match, the crowd remained stunned but very quickly applause exploded as the audience roared with cheer over the dramatic match. While the crowd cheered around them, Gaara took a step only to end up stumbling forward. But he never hit the ground as Naruto caught him, wrapping the younger boy's arm around his shoulder while Gaara looked with wide eyes. Not saying a word, they made their way to the infirmary.

(Scene Change - Examination Stadium: Stands)

Amongst the loud cheers of the crowd, light sobbing and laughing could be heard in some parts of the stands. With Zabuza and Haku, the pair were shedding tears seeing that the blonde they adored wasn't fatally wounded like they had imagined him to be.

"Haha! That idiot! I'm going to kill him when this is all over, making Haku worry like that!" Zabuza said, wiping away the stray tears in his eyes as he chuckled jovially.

"N-Naruto-kun, don't do that again!" Haku shouted, wiping their teary eyes on the sleeve of her kimono.

Though they were happy, they were going to give the blonde the biggest lecture, beating in Zabuza's case, of his life but for right now they were more focused on the fact that he was alive after being speared in the chest.

"You idiot! When this tournament is over I'm going to kill you!" Satsuki shouted, anger and relief evident in her voice as she tried futilely to hold back the tears that fell from her eyes.

Beside her, the rest of the Uchiha family just laughed at Satsuki's blatant show of affection towards the blonde. Though Itachi's brow was twitching as he heard his little sister show classic Uchiha affection towards a boy.

"W-Whoa, he beat him. That was pretty cool." Ino said with a light dusting of pink on her cheeks, stunned that the supposed dead last of their class had just beat and forced Gaara to forfeit.

"I know, t-that was pretty cool." Sakura admitted, a matching dust of pink on her cheeks as well, also stunned that Gaara lost after what he did to Lee.

"D-Damn..." Kiba said, shock evident in his voice, not believing that the dead last had just beat someone their senior couldn't and made him forfeit as well.

"W-Wow! Tou-sama, h-he won! Even after that wound, he won!" Hanabi cheered, her eyes wide with admiration as a blush colored her cheeks.

"Indeed he did, that was a very surprising turn of events." Hiashi said, chuckling lightly at his daughters praise for the blonde.

With the jōnin, they were stunned speechless; they didn't what they had just seen. The moment Gaara had speared Naruto in the chest they knew the match was over, but Naruto proved them wrong. Though, they were stunned that Naruto had managed to come back from death, it was the strange chakra that surrounded him that both intrigued and scared them.

It was came and vanished in the blink of an eye but they had never felt such bloodlust and killing intent in the entirety of their careers as ninja. The chakra of the Kyūbi didn't come close to what they felt when that chakra appeared, though it worried them they assumed that it was just a trick of the eyes, believing that it was just Naruto's killing intent as they have never actually seen the blonde angry.

"That kid... He's something else I tell you." Asuma said, a smile on his seeing that the blonde's comeback.

"I agree, he is definitely hiding his abilities, seeing as he came back from being speared in the chest." Kurenai agreed, though she was relieved that he was alright.

"He really is sensei's son." Kakashi said, his eye wide at the sudden display of skill, never before having seen the blonde actually perform in combat. Clenching his hand into a tight fist, he mentally berated himself for not treating the oldest of his honorary siblings the same as he did the others.

"Haha! Great job Naruto! Now go for the gold! I'll take care of your punishment after all this is over!" Anko shouted and cheered, all her fears replaced with pride and happiness, though there was still worry in her heart. She would visit her student in the infirmary once he gets there.

"Haha, well it appears that Lee will have a wonderful rival in the future." Gai said, a smile on his face seeing as he knew that Lee would welcome Naruto as a rival who could push him.

In the 'Kage's Box' Kushina and Minato were still standing though shock was evident on their faces. Naruto had just managed to come back from being fatally wounded and decimated Gaara. But what concerned them most was that flash of black and the strange chakra that he used. All they felt was bloodlust, anger, and the desire to kill from him when he used it, though it vanished as soon as it appeared.

Sharing a look between each other, they nodded as Minato made his way towards the front of the booth, gaining the attention of every person in the stadium as the cheers quieted down, the attention of the masses focused on him.

"With this, the last match of the first round is over. Seeing as it is becoming late, we will resume the tournament tomorrow. I know this is unexpected, but I believe that our finalists have earned a night of rest. I thank all of you for taking the time to attend, and I hope that I will see all of you tomorrow. Have a great evening." Minato announced, getting surprised reactions from the audience before they started cheering loudly.

With those words, the crowd began to part and leave the stands. Seeing that there were no objections to his decision, Minato smile before he and Kushina excused themselves from the 'Kage's Box', leaving the Kazekage alone.

"How marvelous! He truly does exceed my expectations! Though unexpected, this is a fortunate turn of events. With the tournament extended, celebration afterwards will provide a truly perfect opportunity." The Kazekage thought, a smirk hidden by the veil that covered his face, as he and his guards left the stadium.