The nine-tailed fox charged at Shukaku.

" It can't be," Sasuke denied as Shukaku filled his belly with air, stabbed it, and shot an air blast at the fox, he dodged it, but the wind hit everything else.

" Ahh!" Sasuke groaned along with the others, Aceso felt herself starting to slip off the branch, when the wind stopped she was hanging off it, her arms holding her up.

" Boy, they're not messing around," Pakkun noted as they watched the Fox and Sand Spirit fight.

" This isn't going to work," Chief Toad's voice came out of the fox. " His power just keeps increasing."

" Come on," Naruto argued. " He just needs a good smack to the head." The Shukaku began marching through the forest, and Aceso's tree began to shake with each stomp.

" Tell me something I don't know," Chief Toad said as he used a tail to pick up a tree. " Here we go!" They bolted forward." They dodged each other.

" Now take this!" Shukaku shouted as the fox jumped in the air. Shooting air, the fix threw the tree, there was an explosion. The fox flew through, landed, and then bit the Shukaku.

" Okay, kid. You're on!" Chief Toad exclaimed as the Shukaku yelled out in pain.

" Let's do it!" Naruto agreed, and they transformed back into their selves, Cheif Toad held the Shukaku as Naruto flew up. He flew down to Gaara. " Rise and Shine!" He punched him right in the face. " How's that?"

" Good," Chief Toad said as Gaara groaned. " Not much time has passed since the medium went under. That one blow should have done the trick."

" Aw, that's just great!" Shukaku complained. " Give me a break! I just got here!"

" The jutsu's already faded," Pakkun noted as the eyes grew paler.

" We may have released the jutsu, but this guy's still got some fight left," Chief Toad as they were being pushed back. Gaara's eyes opened as Naruto slid down toward Chief Toad. He then got back and ran up toward Gaara. He then sunk into the sand.

" Sand Coffin!" Gaara shouted.

" Help him, pops," Gamakichi said as the sand came towards Naruto.

" I got him," Chief Toad said as he wrapped his tongue around Naruto as a barrier.

" The Chief's tongue is surrounding me," Naruto noted.

" You think I'm a fool?" Gaara raged.

" Damn," Chief Toad groaned as he took back his tongue. " How much strength does this guy have left? Naruto's legs were trapped but the sand. " This ain't good. Naruto and I have already used up all our chakra."

" I'll wipe you from the face of the Earth," Gaara said. " I will not cease to exist."

" Good thing my sister is a med-ninja," Naruto said as he took out a container. He opened it and put some on his stomach. He then put the container back in his pocket and looked back at Sakura. " Feeling stronger already."

" Believe me, I will kill you," Gaara said as Naruto looked back at him angrily. " I will not cease to exist." Naruto closed his eyes and put his fingers up to his mouth. He then started yelling and the orange chakra appeared. His headband flew off, his jacket ripped open and the sand left his legs. Aceso used the last of her strength, jumped up, and grabbed the headband. She landed on the branch and grabbed onto the tree to steady herself.

" Die!" Gaara shouted as Naruto shot up. The sand flew up and grabbed Naruto. Aceso took her hand off the tree, feeling a bit more steady.

" I..." Naruto began as he started to move forward. " I've had it with you!" He then slammed his forehead into Gaara's forehead. Blood dripped from both of their foreheads. The Shukaku dried up and began to crack. Sand poured out, from every crack. Then the whole thing collapsed, shaking the ground, Aceso fell over backward.

" A plain old headbutt, huh?" Chief Toad asked as his tongue as Aceso went through the branches before hitting the ground. " Well, he's not the most elegant fighter I've ever seen, but dread up the chakra he needed, worn out as he was, he might be the biggest knucklehead, I've ever come across. But I haven't seen a kid with this much promise in ages. Wish I could stick around to see how this ends. But I've reached my limit too. Gamakichi, it's time we went back."

" Okay, pops. Let's do it," Gamakichi agreed. They disappeared as Gaara and Naruto on the treetops. The two sat up panting each other, Aceso was on the ground, faced down pressed against it, her bandages had ripped open.

" That's it," Naruto panted. " I can't go any further. I've used up all my chakra. And from the look of you, so have you. You and I are a lot alike. More than you know. We shouldn't be doing this." The two stood up and launched at each other. Naruto punched him in the face before Gaara could attack.

Aceso heard two bodies hit the ground right by her, she looked up, and with her eye she glanced to see Naruto on his front and Gaara was on his back, she was in the middle but way off to the side. Gaara groaned as he looked over at Naruto.

Soon Naruto opened his eyes and looked at Gaara, he started to inch forward toward him.

" No, stay away!" Gaara cried out as Naruto got closer.

" It's almost unbearable, isn't it?" Naruto asked. " The feeling of being all alone." He looked up at Gaara, tears in his eyes. " I know that feeling. I've been there, in that dark and lonely place. But now there are others--Other people who mean a lot to me." He glanced to see Aceso, her eyes were nearly closed, then back at Gaara. " I care more about them than I do myself. And I won't let anyone hurt them. That's why I won't ever give up. I will stop you, even if I have to kill you."

" Why?" Gaara asked. " Why would you do this for anyone but yourself?"

" Because they saved me from myself," Naruto answered, he was almost at the halfway point. " They rescued me from my loneliness. They were the first to accept me for who I am. They are my friends, they are my family." Gaara then looked up at the sky. Aceso felt her body be picked up, the person then knelt beside Naruto.

" Naruto, that's enough," a voice said, they looked to see Sasuke. " Look, Sakura's going to be all right. The sand crumbled away. She's free. This guy's chakra is all used up."

" That's a relief," Naruto breathed as he put his head down.

" Sasuke, I have medicine in my bag," Aceso said. " I need to treat Naruto."

" You are in no condition," Sasuke denied as he took out the medicine. They heard people land, they looked to see Temari and Kankuro.

" That's enough," Gaara called them off. " It's over." Aceso put something in front of Naruto, he looked to see it was his headband.

" But Gaara," Kankuro began. " All right, Gaara." He went and picked up his brother. They turned and faced the others, Aceso glanced over at them as she held ointment on the tip of her finger, about to put some on Naruto's head. They then took off. They looked back at Naruto to see him smiling.

****
The next day came, it was a cloudy day, Aceso sat in her room, she was all patched up, she was in black clothing. Today, there was going to be a funeral for Lord Hokage and the fallen.

She got up and left her room when she reached the front of the hospital, she saw Gai-Sensei and Lee waiting for her. She didn't meet their eyes, but she walked over to them. Together, all three of them silently walked to the funeral, they gathered on top of the Hokage building, the whole village was three. They were also honoring the fallen shinobi that had fallen during the war. Aceso stood in the line behind Naruto. It soon started to rain, Aceso looked up to see the raindrops coming down gently.

" It's raining," Kurenai noted.

" Even the heavens weep," Asuma said.

" We are gathered here to remember the honor not only the Third Hokage but all those who sacrificed themselves in this battle so that our village would survive," Homura said. As people placed flowers down, Konohamru could be heard weeping. Iruka put his hand on his shoulder, to try to comfort him. He knelt down and pulled the boy into a hug. One by one all of them went up and placed a flower down in front of Lord Hokage's picture. Aceso could recall the day Lord Hokage was feeling a bit under the weather, and she was much younger. She was checking his temperature and he was smiling as the young girl was determined to make him feel better. After they put the flowers down, it stopped raining. Aceso looked up to see that the Lord Hokage wall statue had been cracked by the nose.

" Iruka sensei, why do they do it?" Naruto asked. " Why do people risk their lives for other people?"

" Well, when someone passes away, it's the end," Iruka explained. " His past and future, all the dreams he once had, they disappear along with him. This is true even if he died honorably in battle, as so many have, as Hayate did. All the ties that bind him to the living are severed--all but one, the most important of all, people. Parents, siblings, friends, lovers, the people who were important to him. And those people, the ones left behind, are joined together in a great circle by their shared memories of him--a circle of friendship, trust, and sacrifice that grows larger and stronger as time passes. It's hard to explain it. We remain in the circle together. We have no choice. It's important to us."

" Hm," Naruto breathed as he looked forward. " So we do it because we have to. I get it. Sort of. Still, I'm sad he's gone."

" Think how sad it would be if he'd died for nothing," Kakashi said, Aceso glanced to see that he was standing next to her. " But he left us something priceless. Don't worry. You'll understand one of these days."

" Hey, give me some credit," Naruto smiled a little. " That much I get."

" The rain," Aceso noticed. " It's stopped." They looked up to see the sun starting to break through as the clouds moved away. Soon the funeral was over and they were all leaving. She walked beside Naruto.

" Bye Iruka sensei," Naruto waved. " See you later."

" All right," Iruka smiled. The two went over to the rest of Team Seven. As they walked over, a leaf flew down in front of them and landed in a puddle, she then looked back at the carving of Lord Hokage's face, then looked back to see Naruto and the others waiting for her. She smiled lightly, she was sad that Lord Hokage was gone, but without him, she would have never met her brother or these new friends. She knew Lord Hokage would always be watching over this village.