They still stood at the bottom of the arena, as everyone cheered for Sasuke.

" All right, Gaara, come down here," Genma ordered. 

" Come on, Naruto and Aceso," Shikamaru said as he began to walk to the door. " They don't need us here."

" Oh, uh," Naruto breathed as Aceso followed him.

" Let's go," Aceso called for him.

" And I'm gonna take the stairs this time, if you don't mind," Shikamaru added.

" Come on, are you still upset that I gave you a little push!" Naruto exclaimed. " You oughta be grateful." As he finally started to follow.

" It was more than a little push," Aceso disagreed.

" There is no way I will allow you two in stairs alone," Naruto added. " Not going to let this lazy guy try to make a move."

" What a drag," Shikamaru groaned.

" It was an accident," Aceso pointed out. Soon Naruto was going up the stairs faster than the other two.

" Sorry about falling on you," Shikamaru apologized.

" I'm sorry for flipping you like that," Aceso apologized.

" If you didn't your brother would have squashed us both," Shikamaru pointed out. " What a drag." Aceso smiled a little. " Have your eyes always glowed green like that?"

" No," Aceso answered softly as her smile dropped. " I'm not sure why they did that."

" Oh man, a new mysterious ability," Shikamaru said. " Something to play around with."

" I don't have time for that," Aceso shook her head. " The patients." There was a moment of silence.

" At least my first kiss was by a pretty doctor," Shikamaru blurted out. 

" That was your first kiss too?" Aceso asked as she looked at him. 

" Not quite how I imagined it," Shikamaru said as he looked at her. 

" Nor I," Aceso nodded.

" Will you two hurry up?" Naruto demanded. " Come on!" They both looked forward.

" Relax, Naruto," Shikamaru groaned.

" You're gonna give yourself an ulcer," Aceso added.

" Huh?" Naruto asked as he stopped and looked at the ramp going to the waiting area.

" What is it?" Shikamaru asked as the other two join him on the same step and looked. They saw Gaara walking down the ramp with his eyes closed.

" You puny kids think this tournament is about you, but it's really about the people who bet on you, or against you in your case," the grass ninja said. " You see, our master's got a lot of money on the other guy to win."

" Got it?" the other guy asked. " That means you gotta lose." The cork on his gourd squeaked.

" Well, so what's it going to be kid?" the first guy asked.

" Maybe he's too scared to talk," the second guy said. He looked up and opened his eyes, with the same crazy death look in his eyes. One of the guys reached into his coat and pulled out a kunai knife. The cork popped off and sand flowed everywhere.

" Huh?" both of them gasped. The light bulbs above them all broke as Gaara breathed heavily. They watched the sand sweep all around the hall, he grabbed one of the guys and suffocated him, he stopped screaming. The sand buried him into nothing. The other guy ran as the sand bolted towards him. The guy made it out of the tunnel, but the sand grabbed him and sucked him back in. Once the guy stopped struggling the sand pulled him back faster.

" Please no! No!" the thug cried out. He then let out a loud horrifying scream, then it became completely silent. And only sounds of footsteps came towards them. Soon Gaara stepped out of the hallway, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Acseo all looked stared forward, not daring to make a move or sound. It soon became clear that Gaara stood at the top of the stairs behind them. Gaara then proceeded his way down the stairs, he walked around Aceso and then went down the middle of Shikamaru and Naruto. Once he was out of sight, all three of them sighed and sat down on the steps.

" If we'd have come up the stairs even a second earlier, that could've been us just now," Shikamaru said.

" I have never in my life seen anyone kill like that, without batting an eye," Aceso said.

" Things don't look so good so your friend at all," Shikamaru admitted.

" Hey," Shikamaru said after a moment of silence. " Naruto and Aceso, do you remember yesterday?"

" What about yesterday?" Aceso asked.

" What Gaara said?" Shikamaru reminded them. Aceso's eyes went wide as Naruto gasped. " I do, for sure," Aceso recalled Gaara walking out of Lee's room, saying he will kill all of them. " That's what he said, but he didn't do it. It was the perfect opportunity, buddy. I don't know. It was like he didn't even see us or something."

" We're not good enough," Naruto grunted as he grabbed his fist. " Not for that guy."

" Right now, the only person that can make him feel anything--" Shikamaru began.

" The only one is Sasuke," Naruto finished. He began to shake. Moments later Naruto stood up, they looked up at him. " Shikamaru, Aceso, we have to go talk to Kakashi Sensei right now."

" What are you planning to do?" Aceso asked. Naruto then turned and began running.

" Hey, wait!" Shikamaru yelled as the other two stood up.

" I've got to stop him, " Naruto declared as he ran down the hall. " I've gotta stop the match." The other two then ran, staying right behind Naruto. They soon reached the specific stands. " Kakashi Sensei!"

" Huh?" Kakashi asked as he looked back as did the others.

" Naruto!" Lee smiled. " Aceso!" They stopped running and were panting.

" What...what is it, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

" Sensei, please!" Naruto insisted. " You just have to stop this match, right away."

" What?" Kakashi asked.

" The guy Sasuke is fighting is completely different than the rest of us," Naruto explained. " He's about as far from normal as you can get."

" Naruto, slow down," Ino scolded. " What are you trying to say?"

" He thinks his point in life is to kill people," Naruto explained. " Don't you see? If this continues, Sasuke will die. You've gotta believe me." Kakashi then looked down at the battle, Aceso glanced down to see a giant sand sphere and Sasuke, he was already bleeding.

" Where is Gaara?" Aceso asked as she looked harder to see an eyeball above the sphere, with sand spinning around it.

" In the sand sphere," Lee answered. " It's another shield."

" Relax," Kakashi advised. " No need to panic."

" Huh?" Naruto asked. Everyone looked at Kakashi.

" You know, Sasuke and I weren't just goofing around," Kakashi said. " There's a reason we were so late getting here." Sasuke wiped the blood off his face, got in a stance, and bolted toward Gaara. He threw kunai knives, the sand deflected them. He then appeared behind it and ran towards it. Sand points shout out as Sasuke got real close to it. He then ran around, dodging the point sand spikes. He jumped up, flipped, and landed on top before bouncing off. Spikes popped out there as well. Aceso glanced down at Lee's hand and blood was seeping through the bandages.

" Your bleeding," Aceso breathed as walked over and knelt beside him. " Hold him up Gai-Sensei." He grabbed him and Aceso held the crutch steady as she replaced his bandages.

" Sensei?" Sakura asked.

" Hm?" Kakashi asked looking at her.

" You said there was a good reason you were late," Sakura brought up. " What were you doing?"

" Well, it's kind of a long story," Kakashi answered.

" Oh, come on!" Naruto exploded. " Will you please do something? This is no time for talking!"

" You're right," Kakashi agreed. " So shut up and watch."

" Huh?" everyone asked.

" Keep your eye on Sasuke," Kakashi advised. " He's about to surprise you." They watched Sasuke flip back and go up the wall. He slid almost to the top, staring down at Gaara. He did a couple of hand signs and put his hand on the wall. His hand started to spark up like when Kakashi's hand did during the fight with Zabuza.

" But it can't be," Guy said with disbelief.

" Yes, you wondered why I always insisted on Sasuke myself," Kakashi said as Guy looked at him. " Now you know. It's because he's like me. They watched Sasuke drag his arm back tearing up the wall before shooting down.

" A physical activation," Gai noted. "I see. That's what you were doing all this time. You were building his speed up to the level required.

" Exactly," Kakashi smiled.

" It's amazing," Sakura breathed.

" His chakra is actually physical," Aceso added. " How is that even possible?" Sasuke hit the ground, dust rose up and he ran right through it.

" Whoa, I've never seen him do that before," Naruto said.

" That bizarre noise--What sort of technique is it?" Sakura asked.

" It's a jab," Gai answered.

" A what?" Ino asked. 

Gai started to explain. " But this jab is a jab like no other. It's the only weapon in Kakashi's arsenal he didn't copy from someone else." Aceso paused at what she was doing and looked up at Kakashi. " It's the weapon of choice for assassinations. The secret of the jab is in the speed with which it is delivered and the ninja's ability to focus his chakra at the point of impact. Once these two elements, speed, and focus, have attained a certain level, the chakra actually becomes visible and gives off the distinctive sound that you hear--Like birds chirping." The spikes popped out of the sand as Sasuke got closer. " It is this sound that gives the technique its name--" He slammed his hand through the sand shield. " Chidori. 1,000 birds." Everyone gasped at the sight. " Also known as Lightning Blade."

" Why's that?" Sakura asked.

" It got that name because Kakashi once used it to cut a bolt of lightning in half before it could touch the ground," Gai explained. " But whether called Thousand Birds or Lighting Blade, it's technique of unimaginable power, requiring almost inhuman levels of speed and chakra. But once perfected, it transforms a ninja's arm into an indestructible and invincible sword. A dangerous technique, not to be taught lightly."

" Yeah, you're one to talk," Kakashi reminded him. " Right, Lee?" Lee looked, Kakashi looked at Lee, and then at Aceso who still crouched down. Her eyes studied him. He then held up two fingers and Aceso shot out of the stands and down to the combatant exit doorway onto the arena as fast as she could.

" Where is she going?" Naruto asked as he looked in the direction she ran.

" Technically she's not supposed to be up here," Shikamaru reminded him. " She's supposed to be at the bottom ready to address treatment as soon as the battle is over."Aceso made it to the bottom just as a horrible scream came from Gaara's sand defenses.

" Blood!" Gaara screamed out in horror. " It's my blood!" Sasuke then tried to pull out his arm, he was having great difficulty. Sasuke then screamed out, using the Chidori once more. Once Sasuke got his arm free, a giant sand arm-looking thing came out as well.

" What the?" Aceso gasped. The arm slammed out and retreated back into the hole. A growl filled the intense silence in the arena. Then a loud inhuman roar erupted from the sand, and Aceso covered her ears. Genma glanced over at Aceso, her eyes met his eyes, with only his eyes he instructed her to be on her toes, and she nodded. Then the sand sphere began to crack. The sand broke down, revealing Gaara standing in the middle of it. He was breathing heavily from his shoulder and panting. Gaara looked up, he had the same crazy look in his eyes, Aceso began to feel very uneasy about what could happen next. As everyone intensely watched, feathers began to fall all around them, Aceso could see people starting to fall over into a deep sleep.

' A Genjutsu,' Aceso thought to herself, she put her hands in a sign. "Release!" The feathers went away from her, things were about to get real messy.

Suddenly there was an explosion up where Lord Hokage was sitting, Aceso slipped a knife out onto her hand.