AN: (Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you enjoy!)

I'll be back with another one real soon! :)

Chapter 15 Wisdom, Strength, and Family?

The Master Suite was unnervingly quiet after the group arrived back from Club Gonza. No one could speak after having seen what had been left in the former office of the mysterious Lingerer. Everyone kind of just shuffled in and started doing mindless tasks, such as eating or cleaning tools. Each of them knew they had so many questions, they didn't know where to begin…

Sakura silently peeled an apple in the kitchen while running through her own thoughts. Hinata stood nearby with a calm demeanor, not wanting to show the fear she had welled up inside for the blond man she cared for. Shikamaru leaned against the living room wall, near the large couch in the middle of the room. He had his head down, his eyes closed. Ino was sitting down on the large sofa, playing with her hands. She had almost completely forgotten about the dried blood that coated her dainty figure almost head to toe from just holding Naruto upright.

Naruto… Naruto was sitting beside Ino, slowly and calculatingly rewrapping his right arm. The blood that had engulfed him earlier was dried and needed to be washed away. The look on his face was partially unreadable at a glance, but with enough attention… one could see the sorrowful confusion that he held in his eyes. He was just waiting for someone to speak, because he had no words to say.

"You guys okay?" Shikamaru asked in a low, almost whispered voice.

Ino and Naruto both looked up slightly to see the man leaning against the wall before them. He had been eyeing them for the past couple minutes.

"Yeah…" Ino replied softly, letting a small smile grace her face to show she was alright.

Naruto, on the other hand, did not respond, and instead just looked back down to his arm. He finished his wrapping with a slight tug, eyes concealed by shadow.

"You ready to talk?" Shikamaru asked again in the same low tone as before, looking over the man before him.

"What do you want to know?" Naruto responded in a graveled tone, finally looking up at his friend with a calm, yet tense face.

"Well… for starters… how you knew where to go to find the Lingerer," Shikamaru voiced with a raised brow, as Hinata and Sakura walked into the room to join in on the discussion. "More importantly… you want to tell us why, when we found you and Ino on the top floor, there were more bodies than we could count?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes in thought.

"I was left a letter by one of the Lingerer's runners. I wasn't able to tell who it was before, but now I do remember she was the same runner that had met with me and Ero-Sennin years ago. Now, as to what happened after that…" He growled in frustration at his own hazy memories. "If I told you I had no memory what's so ever of what happened up until about a couple minutes into entering club Gonza… would that make it easier on you… or scarier?"

"I think you know the answer to that," Shikamaru replied dryly, letting a frown cross his features. "But if that's how it is… tell us what you do remember."

Naruto leaned back to look up at the ceiling above.

"Ino-Chan and I were in an elevator… the doors opened… and blank." Naruto said in a shallow tone. "I honestly can't remember a damn thing after that… I couldn't tell you what happened or even what the lingerer even said…"

Shikamaru only sighed, having already assumed he would receive an answer such as that.

"Retrograde amnesia. Well then, Ino… do you have any information that can help us out here?"

Ino looked up from her lap, mouth agape as she looked from Shika to Naruto and back. She wasn't ready to discuss what she had seen; she knew it would only raise more concerns.

'Should I tell them... or would it only cause more problems for Naruto-Kun?'

After a brief moment of silence, Ino exhaled roughly and decided that no matter the effect… they, and especially he, needed to know.

"Naruto... when I got to you…" She paused, thinking of how to word the terror she had felt when she looked into his eyes.

Naruto looked at her with a small grin, showing it was okay for her to go on.

"When I got to you… you weren't… you."

"What do you mean, Ino-Chan? Was I in my fox form before I mastered the chakra cloak? If so, I really need to have a chat with Kuruma about th-'

"No, no, no…" Ino interrupted with a shake of her head. "It was nothing like that… It was more… more…"

Naruto and the others crowded around her with interest. The way Ino held herself as she spoke of what happened a mere couple hours ago made the room feel heavy; this was no slight concern.

"It felt so evil…" she finally choked out after a moment of inner turmoil. "Your demeanor… and your eyes… your eyes were so... so dark, and malicious."

Naruto listened with a heavy heart, his eyes drooping as she spoke.

"They were black… Pitch black, with red irises. They were so unlike your normal bright blues…"

Naruto perked up at hearing the description of the eyes… He felt that he himself had seen similar eyes himself some time ago.

'But where?' he asked himself as the room grew quiet, Ino struggling to word her next thought.

"And one last thing," Ino whispered, biting her lip slightly. "I didn't get a real good look at it, honestly… It was already beginning to recede as I found Naruto-kun, but… there was a black, smokey chakra coming out of your right arm."

Naruto closed his eyes at hearing this and let his head hang low. Out of everyone in the room, he himself was not just scared… he was terrified.

'What's happening to me?'

"Well… anything you can add to that, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked with concern in his eyes, watching the obviously distraught man.

There was a moment where all Naruto did was keep his eyes closed, appearing to be in thought; finally, he reopened his eyes.

"Alright, I just spoke with Kurama. We both have decided on what we know and what we can tell you all at this point in time." Naruto spoke calmly, yet firmly; he was clearly taking this very seriously.

"First off… we might have the slightest idea of what's going on, so let me just explain as best as I can…" Naruto scrunched his face in frustration and annoyance for a second, responding to the graveling voice in his head. "Well… actually, Kurama wants to speak, since he's afraid I won't understand what im talking about… bastard."

He received a few sweat drops and nods from the group.

Naruto took a small gasp of breath before his eyes changed into their well-known red slit form.

"I don't think you guys know, but after the mission to the sword builder's home… Naruto and I lost the ability to use my fox cloak," Kurama spoke, to the shock of the group.

"What? Why?" Sakura asked with a furrowed brow, voicing the question of their friends. Kurama focused his penetrating glare on her, making her squirm just a slight bit.

"My chakra cloak is a blending of my own chakra and Naruto's chakra harmoniously. We are only able to do this because the boy was able to accept my darker chakra into his own light chakra."

Hinata narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"What do you mean, 'light chakra?'"

"About a year ago, Naruto had to confront the darker half of his own chakra. He had to accept this part of himself, or else he would be unable to use my cloak… with the risk that my dark chakra would swallow his deeper, more tainted feeling and emotions, plunging him into blackness… and changing him forever."

The group just looked on in awe.

"Truthfully, I wanted that to happen back then… It would have given me more leeway over the boy's body, hehee… but that time has passed."

The group sweat-dropped once again, Ino giving an awkward cough.

"He was able to accept this, however, and was able to blend his chakra with my own without the risk of his darker being grabbing hold and corrupting the bond. The Sun Mark gifted to him has a similar property about it. It channels the bond of his chakra and my own and amplifies it greatly, increasing the power I and he would get from my cloak normally." He paused, then took a breath. "Although, it does the same no matter what chakra it is given… whether its Naruto's normal chakra… or a darker one."

The group nodded in understanding so far.

"Recently, we have both found ourselves thinking darker things, and holding ourselves with a new edge. This is all because the dark chakra that Naruto was once able to accept and suppress has begun to grow once more. Since we are now connected through both seal and chakra, whatever he feels as a cause of this happens to myself... and to the other demons, as well."

Naruto/Kurama closed his eyes with a frown.

"However, it gets worse… Over the past year, the inner anger and regret allowing this darker part of Naruto to grow and fester… has become overwhelming. My chakra latches onto Naruto's emotions, and this is how his and my chakra cling together, activating the cloak. However with this new darker chakra… it is now latching onto it…and not his normal. Because the mark amplifies my chakra, it also amplifies the dark chakra greatly… tainting my own chakra and bringing the dark being Naruto was able to suppress to the surface once more. This may be what Ino had seen when she saw black chakra on his right arm… It was my fox cloak… only blending not with his normal chakra… but with his darker."

Kurama paused after his long explanation. The dark red, catlike eyes slowly molded back into Naruto's soft, sad blues.

"Just as my mark can amplify my light chakra and bring out the power within our cloak… it can do the same for anger and regret... and yes, can even appear evil." Naruto huffed in frustration.

The room was quiet after that. No one knew what to say once again. It felt like a bomb had just been dropped on them, and they were trying to sort out the damage.

"Can't you just get rid of it, the way you did before?" Sakura spoke up, trying to find a solution. "Kurama said you were able to get rid of it, or accept it before… Can't you do that again?!"

"It's not that simple…" Shikamaru chimed in.

"Well, why not!?" Ino almost hollered, feeling terrified for her blond hot head.

"Because my anger and sadness can't just be swept away… it's basic human emotion," Naruto answered with a saddened huff. "No… the only way to gain control over my cloak and even self-being once again would to be to stop the dark chakra from being amplified… I would need to remove this mark, or at least fix it so it will only use my normal chakra… Which would mean finding the Sage of Six Paths once again."

The group all sighed at this, physically deflating.

"So, what are you going to do?" Ino asked placing a hand upon his shoulder.

"Well... I'm guessing sealing the mark would only break or not work all together… so all I can do is not use it at all and put an end to me using the cloak for the time being. Kurama agrees." Naruto sighed. "Managing my emotions while using my chakra is now my main focus when in battle. It seems normally, I can act however I want… but when using chakra, I can't allow for my emotions to turn south… or I'll risk my demonic side grabbing hold, thanks to this damned mark."

Shikamaru sighed while rubbing his temples.

"Well, for now, that will have to work…" Skikamaru said with a sigh. "But we will try and think of something else in time. Really wish we knew a way of getting in touch with that Sage."

'You have no idea, Shika…' Naruto thought, putting on a forced smile for the sake of his friends.

"Well, we did accomplish the assassination… so thus far, the mission is a success," Sakura said happily, trying to lift everyone's spirits.

However, after a moment of silence Naruto's eyes shot open in horror as he grasped the side of his head with both hands.

"AHHH! I can't remember what the Lingerer said about Molly!" Naruto screamed as he mentally beat himself up. "How does crap like this always happen to me?!"

Sakura sighed with a smile, watching the man before her claw at his scalp before reaching into her bag and pulling out a small grey box with some cut cords sticking out the sides.

"You act like I haven't been on your team for 7 years…" she said with a playful jab at her friend. "We already got everything we need!"

Naruto looked at the box in her hand with a raised brow as he leaned in with a raised lower lip.

"What's tha-… Hey! What the hell is that supposed to mean!?"

-XXXX-

West Point - 1 Day Later – Late Afternoon.

A small fishing village, located just a few miles outside of the Land of Rivers, was bustling with fisherman and workers. The town only managed about a thousand people, and remained quiet for the most part unless there was a large fleet ship docked and unloading its haul from the sea... which was exactly what was happening at the moment. Men and woman alike bustled through the busy pier, trying to make their way through the winding pathways, where stands full of fresh and exotic fish were being bartered and sold. The soft smell of salt lingered in the air.

"Rumi!" A young, slender looking woman yelled out as she pushed her way through the crowd. "Rumi! Where are you?"

She looked to be about 20, with short, blonde hair and black, pupil-less eyes. She was small, probably no more than five feet tall. The overalls she wore were blue; they and the tattered and torn white shirt underneath showing the grime of her labor. The brown boots she wore looked worn and abused. The smell of fish lingered slightly about her person.

Her left arm was covered by a long, black, sleeved glove, oddly standing out from the rest of her outfit.

"You're so loud, Tarah," a huskier voice called back to her from behind, catching her interest.

Twirling with a wide smile, she caught sight of the man she was looking for.

The man seemed about the same age as she did, his light brown hair swept back behind his ears. He sported narrow eyes and a tall posture. Standing at an average 5'8", he was slender and nerdy looking. He was casually dressed, with a white button up tucked into his black slacks. He wore a nice watch and a slick pair of loafers.

Tarah ran forward and embraced the much taller man with glee, not noticing the creak of bones as she did so.

"Rumi! I missed you so much!" Tarah yelled out obnoxiously, drawing the eye of strangers who stood by as she held the man easily in the air. "You won't believe how many fish we caught this time! We must have gotten at least thirty barrels' full!"

The man in her arms squirmed and groaned as his face turned blue, pushing and pulling as hard as he could to get himself free of the death grip embracing him.

"T-Tarah! ...I can't… breathe!" He choked out before the now-embarrassed woman finally let go.

Rumi coughed as he patted his chest with a balled fist. Tarah watched with sorry eyes, having forgotten once again to hold back her strength.

"S…sorry, Neesan! I just got excited, and…" Tarah trailed off with a whisper and pout.

Rumi gathered himself and straightened up from his kneeled-over position. A smile plastered over his face, now back to its normal black color.

"It quite alright, Tarah. I know you didn't mean it," Rumi replied with a soft smile, only making her frown further.

The loss of conversation was picked up again quickly by Rumi, not wanting his sister to dwell in trivial matters.

"Why don't we head into town, Tarah? You can tell me all about your trip?" Rumi suggested as he motioned for them to begin walking away from the peer.

With a wide childlike grin, Tara sprinted off ahead of him with her arms outstretched like a plane as she ran. Her brother followed close behind… not minding at all that his sister was enjoying herself in the warm summer's day. He laughed as he walked a few yards behind her.

With a short step, Rumi stopped and looked over his shoulder, hair standing on the back of his neck. He felt eyes on him, giving him the chills. He scanned the crowd, but found nothing out of place, making him shrug and continue into town.

A short, red-haired man smirked disturbingly, briefly standing out before he stepped back and disappeared into the bustling market crowd. He needed to inform his companions.

-x-

"Hurry, Hurry! Dinner will get cold if you walk that slowly!" Tara yelled as she skipped home from the convenience store where they had decided to grab dinner before heading home for a movie. Her plastic bag filled with bentos and goodies swung loosely in her hand.

Sprinting up the steps to their small apartment, Tara burst rough the door, with Rumi following shorty behind, as usual.

"Hey, take of your boots! They're covered in mud!" Rumi yelled from the doorway as Tara sprinted away, paying him no mind as she rounded the corner into the dining room.

Rolling his eyes playfully, Rumi sat down to begin taking off his own shoes before a short gasp from down the hall caught his attention.

He looked back over his shoulder to where his sister had just run to.

"Hey..." he called out, but received no response. "Tara... you okay? You didn't fall again, did you...?"

The apartment was quiet.

He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he realized the all of the lights in the small home were turned off… he had left them on before he left.

He shot to his feet and began to make his way down the hall. He turned into the living room, where he found Tara standing like a stone, staring off into a corner of the dark apartment. Her eyes were wide with fear, a bead of sweat runing down her dark face.

Rumi followed her gaze, but was only able to see the darkness the descending sun set their apartment into. He was about to turn his gaze back towards his sister before a figure began to emerge from the darkness.

His breath caught in his throat. He noted the ninja attire as his eyes jittered with hesitation. The message that wafted towards them almost brought the horrified Tara to tears.

"Hello, Tara Akiri…Rumi Akiri… I and my friends have been sent to fetch you.

Rumi gulped a dry breath as he realized that the man before them was not alone. Two more were settled off to either side of them, also being slightly masked by the lack of light.

Rumi narrowed his eyes, realizing the desperate situation he now found himself in… he knew something like this would happen eventually. After all, the abilities his sister and himself carried could be very valuable in the hands of another.

He calmed himself, a slight glow beginning to emerge from his left palm. Veins began to pop up on his forehead.

"I know why you are here… I knew someone would come sooner or later… All I want to know is... who are you?" Rumi asked with a low growl.

The man before him smiled.

"Miru Hito of Wisdom… living up to your name," he stated with a genuine smile. "I… I am Mikio U-... and these are my brothers."

Rumi almost blacked out at hearing the name… he had heard that family name before… everyone had.

"U….Uz-"

-XXXX-

The cooling breeze that lofted through the suite bedroom window moved the prickles of Naruto's hair ever so slightly. With his hands behind his head and eyes shut, he lay on the bed, lost in his own thoughts for the day. It had been slow and quiet since they sent off the hard drive to be inspected and cracked back at the village. Now, it was just a waiting game for the information they needed to be sent to them.

Naruto rolled to his side so the breeze could hit his face better.

He had been pretty quiet since the discussion the other night. He still couldn't remember much of what happened, a lot of it being a blur. Just the fact that he was angry… over what? He probably would never remember. The amount of blood that he had washed off his body as he bathed last night had given him a good indication that whatever it was… it made him rain hell upon the Lingerer and his goons. He sighed.

Everyone else had pretty much stayed to themselves for the last two days... or at least, that's what he thought; he hadn't left his room in about 20 hours, so he wasn't too sure. No one had come to check on him; wanting to give him his space, he guessed.

'Are they afraid of me now?' Naruto thought briefly before shaking his head, scolding himself for thinking something so childish.

'Still, though… I'm even a little afraid of myself…' Naruto huffed as he lifted his palm in front of his face, half-hidden in his pillow. He twiddled his fingers as he stared blankly at the bandaged hand.

"What would you do, Sasu-"

*Knock Knock*

Naruto heard his door creek open slightly behind him. He might have looked like he was sleeping, the way he lay back to the door. He was in casual clothes after all, adding to the image.

Whoever it was decided to step into the room and shut the door behind them with a soft click.

"Naruto… are you awake?" a softer voice called out to him; he knew it very well.

"I'm awake, Sakura-chan…" Naruto said in a mumble.

Sakura walked over and sat at the side of his bed. Still looking at his back, she frowned.

"No Neechan today?" she asked half-jokingly.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and wiggled his head deeper into his pillow.

"I don't have to say it all the time… it's like a special thing, you know… say it too much, and it loses its oomph," he said blandly, getting a smile from Sakura, agreeing with him.

She scooted a little bit closer onto the bed and lay down next to him on her back, looking up at the ceiling. Naruto was actually a little surprised, but didn't show it.

The silence in the room was weird. He didn't know if she had decide to take a nap next to him or something, but luckily she spoke up once again before he had to roll over and check.

"You wanna talk?" she said off-handedly, making Naruto turn his head slightly to look over his shoulder.

"What?"

"I was just wondering if you needed someone to talk to…" she said calmly. "You've been cooped up in here all this time… I was worried about you. We all are."

Naruto rolled his head back towards the window, but this time with a slight smile upon his face. He had honestly expected Ino or maybe Hinata to be the ones to come and check on him first, but then again, Sakura was his best friend… they had done everything together… Sure, he could vent to Ino, but there were always things he could talk to Sakura about that he could never hope to with Ino.

"Did Ino or Hinata send you?" Naruto asked with a huff.

"No… but I did ask if Ino if she wanted to come check on you instead of me… She said it would be best if I went." Sakura looked out the corner of her eye at Naruto's back.

There was a moment of silence after that as she waited for him to respond.

"She's scared of me…" Naruto replied, emotionless.

Sakura threw an elbow into his back, just hard enough to get her point across, but not enough to hurt him.

"Shes not scared of you, Naruto," Sakura responded in a sweet tone. "She just wants to give you space… I think that's why she wanted me to come speak to you."

Naruto was silent for a moment.

"I don't know why she would feel that way," he finally said with a hurt tone.

Sakura frowned, watching the man beside her sigh deeply.

"Naruto… she's trying to process what she saw. I remember when I first saw you in the Four Tails cloak… I had no idea what to do. It took me a while to understand, and even longer for me to be able to talk to you about it. I think Ino is doing the same. She isn't scared of you… I think its more of a deep concern," she said softly. "She just wants you to be okay."

Naruto lay still for a while, before finally deciding to roll over to his other side and face Sakura. He found out by doing so that they were actually quite close to each other.

"Are you afraid of me, Sakura-Chan?" he asked, blue eyes wavering.

Sakura frowned and mimicked Naruto, rolling to her side and facing him with her arm tucked under her head for support.

"Scared 'for' you? Yes… of course I am, but scared 'of' you… never," she finished with a smile.

Naruto cast his eyes downward before pulling them shut.

"How can you say that…? I don't even know what I'm capable of anymore! And Kurama says I have to be emotionless in battle… or run the risk of becoming whatever it was that Ino saw."

Sakura stared at his continuously contorting face.

"What if it's not a bunch of goons next time, Sakura-Chan? What if it's you… or Ino… o-or-"

Naruto was taken off guard as Sakura pulled him into a hug her face burying into his chest.

"Then we will be there to stop you…" Sakura said, her voice slightly muffled. "I have no intentions of dying yet, and definitely not by you or… whatever is inside of you right now. I'll stop you, and help you Naruto… I've lost so much over the years… I'm not gonna lose you, too… not again."

Naruto looked down at her with wide eyes before returning the hug.

"Thank you, Sakura-Neechan…" Naruto mumbled, resting his chin on the top of her head.

-X-

They must have stayed that way for a while, because when Naruto reopened his eyes and scanned the room, the afternoon sun was peering through his window. Sakura was gone.

'I fell asleep…that's embarrassing'

He groaned as he sat up and lifted himself off of the bed, stretching his arms over his head with a couple of pops and creeks.

Opening the door to his bedroom, he noted the wafting aroma of freshly cooked food. Someone must have be cooking dinner for the team.

He made his way down the hall and into the living room. He found Ino and Hinata working away in the kitchen, a nearby radio filling the room with music. Shikamaru was on the couch, watching some shogii tournament on the large TV. Naruto didn't even know they put boring stuff like that on TV.

Sakura was out on the porch, reading some book she must have picked up from a store in town.

After looking over the room grudgingly, he wandered forward into the kitchen and sat down at the table with a slump. The smell of whatever they were cooking was intoxicating, piquing his hunger. He noted how no one had noticed him yet, at least, to his knowledge, as the girls cooked with their back to him. If they had, they certainly didn't greet him in any way.

He noticed a small bowl of fruit on the table that the resort staff must put out for the high end guests. He looked over the fruit, not paying much mind to his surroundings.

He picked up an orange and rolled it in his hands, inspecting it for blemishes or imperfections. He was just about to begin peeling it when suddenly, a hand smaller and definitely softer than his own grabbed the orange from his grasp. He flinched reflexively and reeled his head back to look up at the figure now looming over him.

His bright blues met hers, and for a brief moment, there were no words spoken.

"You're going to spoil the dinner Hinata and I slaved over if you eat this, idiot," Ino said with a glare as she looked at the dumbfounded man. She smirked.

"Would you wipe that frown off your face, already? It's gonna bring down everyone's mood," she said with a smile, poking him in the cheek playfully. "Sakura told me what you said…"

Naruto perked up slightly.

"I think what she told you matches my feelings as well perfectly, okay? So don't feel so down all the time!" She said cheerfully with a wink. "We'll figure this out!"

Putting the orange back in the bowl, she turned on her heel and strolled back towards the kitchen, whistling as loudly as she could.

"Dinner's about to be served!" she yelled happily.

Naruto looked at her dainty figure stroll away as a warm red blush and grin spread over his features…

'Ino-Chan….'

The rest of the evening was spent quietly, everyone eating and continuing to rummage around the suite, trying to find things to occupy the mind. Naruto waited patiently. He knew his team wasn't speaking to him not as a means to send a message or make him feel bad, yet… the lack of attention he was getting from his friends… wasn't helping in the slightest.

He cleaned the kitchen alone after the meal and then watched as his team settled down to watch a movie in the den. No one seemed to pay any mind to what had happened just a day prior, and despite what Sakura had told him… he still felt uneasy.

'Humph…' Naruto grumbled to himself in boredom as he walked out the kitchen, not really in the mood to sit still and watch a sappy love story. He rolled his eyes and made his way down the hall.

He found himself in his room once more… alone with his thoughts, and his head hanging lower than it had in a while. He just stood there in the doorway of his guest room, staring blankly ahead towards the now dark window across from him. He loathed his reflection off of the dark slick glass.

He had nothing to say to himself or anything to grumble about in anger or disdain. Nothing to ask and no one who could give him an answer or advice. He felt lost in his own body, without an answer to a single question he had for himself.

Yet… he held some confidence in his eyes. He heard soft giggles from the girls down the hall, reacting to something that must have happened in the movie. Naruto smiled.

"I wont let anything happen to them…" he mumbled as he looked back to the window and his dark shadowed reflection. He scowled. "Not even from you…"

*Click click* *Click click*

Naruto was taken off guard as his window was tapped at by something he couldn't see through the darkened glass. With a new curiosity and raised brow, he walked over to the glass and peered through with squinting, childlike eyes.

He was about to brush it off as the wind or a tree, when out of nowhere, a large bird smashed against the glass on the opposite side with a heavy thud, forcing the window open violently.

"Gwahhh!" Naruto hollered with shock as he fell to the floor in a heap, as the bird soared inside and landed smoothly atop his night stand with a flutter.

Naruto mumbled curses under his breath as he looked up from the floor to see what had entered his room like a bat out of hell. His eyes widened as his gaze met the black glossy eyes of a carrier pigeon.

"Are you-!?" Naruto began to ask before he noticed the Konoha Leaf messenger bag the bird had strapped to its leg.

Naruto jumped to his feet, unbuckling the strap and letting the small, pencil thin scroll fall into his hand. As soon as the pigeon had seen the scroll in Naruto's possession, it took off like a rocket once again out the window and into the night sky.

'Dumb bird!' Naruto grumbled to himself with narrow eyes, not wanting to admit that it had startled him once again.

Sighing, he unfolded the scroll with a ruffle as he glanced over the information. He huffed and rerolled the tiny piece of paperwork back up. He quickly did a turn on his heel and made his way out the room and down the hall, back towards his comrades.

He walked in and casually tossed the parchment over to Shikamaru, who caught it easily, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Pass that letter around and be ready to gear up by 6 sharp tomorrow morning… We're headed to West Point."

-X-

The whistle of the morning air through the leaves was calming to the nerves as the team moved swiftly. West Point wasn't that far from Liquor; it was also located in the Land of Rivers, just south and located right next to the ocean.

This was normally a two hour journey for a ninja, but only an hour's journey for an antsy Naruto and company, who held an air of urgency about them. The scroll Naruto had read to them last night made it clear that they had little to no time to waste.

Team Uzumaki,

We were able to crack the hard drive that you sent to us easily, but the information located was cryptic, to say the least. Despite this, we were able to decipher the location of Molly Mitsuni's last know location, according to the Lingerer's trackers. She was last seen at West Point fishing village, located southwest of your current location. Although this is great news to help you pick up your trail, we also must inform you of what has recently happened in West Point. A little over a day ago, the village was attacked by an unknown entity, leaving a large section of the small town in disrepair. As reported to us, a young woman in her twenties was kidnapped, and another member of her family is in critical condition. We have been given permission to meet with this family member at the town's local inn, where they have been taking care of him. Please have your medical personnel help with this member's recovery and see what he knows. Your mission and this attack may be intertwined.

Good luck. –

Mission #223429835

The report wasn't wrong; upon arriving at the small town , they could see there wasn't a whole lot left. Maybe a few shops and markets, but most of the housing and business had been swept clean. Piles of rubble and wood stood in their place. Villagers were still cleaning up with wheelbarrows and whatever they could find to carry rubble away, clearing the streets of the battle that must have taken place.

Naruto strolled through the streets with a similar feeling to what he had when arriving to Old Man Hiro's place. He hadn't been able to meet the man at the village inn yet, but Naruto already knew before even a word had been spoken…. this had been caused by the same group that took Molly.

A lump of anger walloped in Naruto throat as he scanned the area, occasionally glancing at his friends faces and seeing similar looks upon their own.

'Two times….' Naruto thought bitterly with a balled fist at his side. 'Two times, these people have left nothing but death and destruction in their wake…'

The feeling was mutual among the group.

At last, they reached their destination. A small house-sized inn stood out from among the wreckage, somehow having been overlooked by the destruction all around. It was old and weather-beaten, but it held strong, with a sign hanging off the side, reading, "Hendricks Family Inn."

Naruto let his shoulders soften and his brow relax as he made his way inside.

Looking around, they could see that the inn had been made into a small medical care bunker, with maybe twenty people inside; people leaned up against doors and were even sprawled out on the floor. Moans of pain rang throughout the room. A small group of nurses from nearby towns were doing their best to keep everyone stable with what little they had to work with. They moved around, helpless and frantic, from person to person.

"Sakura, Ino, Hinata… see what you guys can do," Naruto mumbled out over his shoulder, earning a nod from the trio.

Naruto stood with Shikamaru near the door as they watched the young and elderly alike being tended to by his team. The soft hiss of chakra sealing wounds tickled the air, slowly replacing the sound of the moans of pain. Naruto smiled slightly as he leaned against the door frame, seeing the pain being eased.

"You must be Uzumaki-San?" an older woman said as she carefully wound her way around the injured men and woman who lined the floor, being sure not to step on a hand or foot by accident.

"Yes… We were sent by Konoha to help with the injured," Naruto said, knowing his words were only half true. He took in the short older woman before him.

"Well… we definetely appreciate that!" she said with a sad smile. "But I'm sure you also want to speak to Rumi-San… correct? I've dealt with the Konoha military before, so I know questioning is always to come…"

Naruto raised his brow, but with a narrowed eye.

"Was he the one who was attacked by the assailants?" he asked with a stern tone, earning a nod from the older woman and a pitying look.

"He and his sister, yes... but he wasn't in very good shape to give up information to us before… Hopefully, you will be more successful…" she said with a mumble as she turned away, motioning for them to follow her through the home. They made sure to carefully weave their way through the injured.

The group made their way up the old stairs and into the rooming part of the house. They saw more injured and needy located in the rooms. Ino worked away on a man's arm that appeared to have been crushed under some rubble as they passed a room to continue down the hallway.

Upon reaching a room that was noticeably devoid of the moans and groans of pain that previous ones held, the elderly woman stopped and ushered Shikamaru and Naruto in.

There was a single bed and a night stand beside it at the far back end of the room. A few jury-rigged IVs and water bags were sitting next to the bed, held up by lamps and coat hangers. The soft trickle of the water droplets could be heard. A young man lay in the bed with his eyes closed, his forehead and body covered in bandages. The soft smell of dried blood still hung in the air from the partially healed wounds.

The older woman bowed slightly and left the men to speak.

Naruto walked over to the side of the bed, taking in the man's features, or at least as much as he could see from the overlapping bandages. A soft snore could be heard as the man's chest raised and fell easily, making it hard for Naruto to want to wake up this poor, injured civilian.

'I'm so tired of seeing people like this…' Naruto grumbled to himself.

Naruto pulled out a chair that was tucked near the side of the room to the edge of the bed with a skittish creek.

Naruto sat quietly, just watching over him, not looking or making a move to stop his slumber. Shikamaru stood nearby, casually looking out the window on the opposite side of the room.

"Mr. Rumi…" Naruto asked sternly, leaning forward to give a slight shake of the man's shoulder.

A soft groan escaped Rumi's lips as his eyes fluttered open ever so slightly, taking in the afternoon light. He remained still, his bruised and beaten face towards the ceiling.

" … can you hear me?" Naruto questioned softly, not wanting to startle the man.

"I… can hear you..." Rumi mumbled out, licking his lips.

Naruto leaned a glass of water in Rumi's direction for him to lean forward and take a sip, which he took gratefully, before placing the glass back onto the table.

"Mr. Rumi, my friend and I are from Konoha…" Naruto said softly, with his elbows on his knees. "We've come to help."

Rumi turned his head away from the ceiling and looked politely at Naruto, a soft wince of pain flashing across his face as he did so.

"Good evening… Uzumaki Naruto-San…" Rumi mumbled with a small smile.

Naruto and Shikamaru reeled back with wide eyes, sharing a glance with each other.

"You… you know me?" Naruto said with a look of shock as he ponted at himself with a thumb.

Rumi smiled even deeper, having known it would confuse him.

"Of course… I asked for you personally when the town sent in the distress message," Rumi said, turning to looking deeper into Naruto's features with a slow, prying gaze.

Naruto looked down with a furrowed brow with a thumb on his chin.

'Never heard anything about that...' he and Shikamaru thought in tandem.

"Why would you request me personally, ?" Naruto asked with a raised brow and crossed arms.

"Everyone knows about you because of the war… and I've seen the posters and fliers with your face. I had hoped… that if I could get the Blazing Angel of Konoha's help… we could make it."

Naruto smiled with a tinge of pride tugging at his heart.

"But… that is only partially why I needed to speak to you…." Rumi mumbled.

Naruto noticed how his eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched with a click.

"I asked you to come… Because of your family… Naruto-San…"

Rumi's eyes narrowed, while Naruto's and Shikamaru's widened with those words.

A bone chilling curl of dread washed over Naruto as he listened. The questions he had to find answers for just wouldn't stop growing…

"Those people that attacked us…. They referred to themselves as… Uzumakis, Naruto-San"