He only saw darkness. He knew he was asleep, but he somehow felt awake. Whatever was in that pill was having some rather interesting side effects. While having some weird dreams, ranging from being surrounded by massive tomatoes to free falling in a sky of purple, Sasuke could feel nearly everything that was happening around him. He knew someone was fighting outside of the coffin he was in, he could practically hear it, but he couldn't make out who or what.

Then the darkness instantly changed to Sasuke's old childhood home in the Uchiha compound. It was nighttime, and there was blood everywhere.

'Again?' Sasuke thought, reliving the nightmare for what seemed like the millionth time in his life.

The young Uchiha knew exactly where to go. He ran towards his parents' room and saw the tragedy unfold again. Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha laid dead in a massive pool of their mixture of blood while their eldest son, Itachi Uchiha, stood over them. And the young Sasuke was hunched over on the ground, throwing up from the gruesome sight.

And there it was. In Itachi's eyes, just like his father told him, the Mangekyō Sharingan. The legendary advancement of the Sharingan. According to Fugaku, only a select few of the Uchiha clan had ever awakened such power throughout their long, storied history. And it only can be awakened under special circumstances.

"To test my ability."

Sasuke had dreamt about this night almost every night and replayed it in his mind just as much. But he never could understand that bullshit reason on why Itachi massacred the entire clan. That couldn't be it. There had to be more to it.

"I acted like your older brother to gauge your potential. You often found me annoying and you hated that Father always looked to me instead of you. You were jealous. You were trying to surpass me and become like me…that is why I let you live. You can awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan as I have. However, there is a condition that must be met. You must kill your closest friend."

There was the admission of guilt. Shisui, Itachi's closest friend, hadn't killed himself. Itachi murdered him to gain the fabled power of the Uchiha.

"Go to the Naka Temple Shrine. Underneath the seventh tatami on the far-right side is the clan's secret meeting place. There you will find the real secret of the Sharingan and its original purpose. The real secret is written on the stone slab. It can only be read by the Sharingan. And further deciphered with the advancement to the Mangekyō."

Naka Temple is where the Uchiha clan started long ago. It was integrated into Konoha during its construction because Madara Uchiha would not let it be forgotten or lost. Sasuke had been there before, as well as every Uchiha clan member, but was surprised to see that Itachi was not lying about the secret chamber or the stone slab. At the time, Sasuke couldn't read it. But he hasn't been back there since.

"My foolish little brother…it would be pointless to kill someone like you. If you want to kill me…you must harbor that hate towards me! Curse my very name! Run and hide! Grow stronger and try to survive like the pathetic weakling you are! And only come before me when you have the same 'eyes' as me!"

The vision ended. The darkness returned. Sasuke could still hear the fighting. The anger he has felt all his life returned in its entirety. He wanted blood. He wanted Itachi's blood.

"I can give you the power you desire, Sasuke. Konoha offers you nothing. They will only divert you from your goal. Your dream means nothing to them. My dear Sasuke, you are an avenger! Give yourself to me and you will see Itachi Uchiha dead at your feet!"

Sasuke roared from Orochimaru's voice. Exploding with rage.

-Somewhere within the Land of Fire-

A small platoon sized element of Kumo shinobi halted their movements at the order of their two captains. While they were in no immediate danger, they were in enemy territory and remained on high alert. The two men that stood at the front of the platoon were the obvious leaders.

The first man had short blonde hair, fairly light skin, and wore the standard outfit for a Kumogakure shinobi. He knelt next to his partner and held up a two fingered seal and began to concentrate with his closed. He remained silent for a few moments before he reopened his eyes and looked up at his partner.

"The Iwa shinobi are close. And there's not that many of them."

The second man was fairly tall, dark-skinned man with shaggy white hair that draped over his left eye and also wore the white flak jacket for Kumo. He had a kanji tattoo on both of his shoulders, one meaning 'water' and the other meaning 'lighting'. On his back, he carried cleaver-like sword. He held the same bored expression on his face as he looked down at his second in command. "How many of them can you sense?"

"Roughly a squads' worth of shinobi."

The taller man sighed. "That's boring. They're going to be sorry if we get into some trouble out here."

The first man stood back to his full height. "You thinking everything is boring, Darui. You need to start taking things more seriously."

Darui shrugged. "If I was as serious as you, Cee, then life would just be too dull for me. Sorry but everything doesn't cause me to get serious. I like things to be relaxed."

A few moments of silence passed before roughly ten shinobi dressed in Iwagakure gear landed in front of Darui and Cee. There was no need to be alarmed, they knew the shinobi were close. A kunoichi approached the two Kumo shinobi. She had short black hair and very distinct pink eyes.

"Which one of ya is Darui?"

The man in question lazily raised his hand. "That would be me. You must be Kurotsuchi then." Darui looked beyond the kunoichi and noticed the amount of shinobi there was. "Only ten? Not expecting much trouble, I see."

Kurotsuchi raised her eyebrow. "This is a recon mission, not a combat mission. There shouldn't be any fighting. But in any case, me and my men can beat anything thrown at us. I bet we could on your entire platoon!" She proudly proclaimed.

"Hey! We have a mission to complete!" Cee stated. "This is no time to be issuing challenges to one another. Besides, we're supposed to be allies now. We need to work together."

Darui nodded. "Cee's right. We can settle anything we need to after the completion of the mission."

Kurotsuchi sighed in slight disappointment. "You guys are no fun." Her attitude quickly changed to a serious one. "So, how far are we away from Konohagakure? What's the plan here?"

Cee reached into his pouch and pulled out a map. He unfolded it completely and laid it out on the ground. He pointed at their current position on the map. "We're here, on the border of the Land of Fire. It's roughly a half day's journey to Konohagakure. The mission is simple recon on Naruto Uzumaki. If the special conditions are met, then we can engage and try and eliminate him."

"What are the special conditions?" Kurotsuchi questioned.

"This kid is the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi, that alone demands respect. But he's got some merit to him." Cee informed. "His entry in the bingo book is listed for jōnin and above."

"Are you serious?!" Kurotsuchi was shocked. A kid listed for jōnin only?! "What can this kid do? How old is he? What is his rank?"

"Were you not briefed about this mission?" Darui questioned. "Or even read the updated bingo book?"

Kurotsuchi shook her head. "Not to the extent you were. Gramps…I mean, Lord Tsuchikage, briefed me quick. We had to move fast just to get here by the set time. And no, I haven't. I never read that thing. I know everything I need to know about the person I want to kill."

"Yeah? Who's that?" Darui was genuinely curious.

"He's defector from our village. He attacked our village with his clay bombs and fled to join some rogue organization. I'm not sure where he is now but I'm gonna find him one day and kill him for betraying Iwagakure!"

"We're getting off topic!" Cee raised his voice to get their attention about to the mission brief. "And to answer your questions. Naruto Uzumaki is thirteen years old and just recently made chūnin. And it's not entirely about what he can do but who is around him."

"What do you mean?" Kurotsuchi questioned.

"His jōnin sensei is Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan, the Copy-Cat Ninja. And he's been trained by Jiraiya the Toad Sage since he was born."

"Hatake…I've heard of that name. I think he was apart of the team that destroyed Kannabi Bridge during the Third Great War. And Jiraiya, isn't he one of Konoha's Three Legendary Sannin?"

Cee nodded. "That's correct. Two very formidable opponents if encountered. And it's stated that, at least, one of them is around or nearby him at all times. We have to proceed with cation when approaching Konoha. Their security has been heighted over the recent weeks to due a joint attack by Sunagakure and Otogakure."

"What the hell, man?!" Kurotsuchi yelled in frustration. "How have we not heard about any of this?! We're supposed to be going to war with this village and we know absolutely nothing!"

"That would be something you need to take up with your intelligence gathering unit." Darui stated in a matter of fact tone. "Our spies have been working around the clock for the last few years gathering as much information as they could, despite our low numbers."

"That being said, I think it's our best option to send the fewest amount of shinobi we can." Cee continued. "The more we send, the more likely chance of someone getting caught and blowing the whole mission."

"Hold on, if your spies have been gathering all this information all this time, why are we here now?" Kurotsuchi questioned.

Darui sighed. 'Man, why is she asking so many questions? This is getting really dull.' He rubbed the back of his neck as he answered. "Because we're gathering information on one specific target. Naruto Uzumaki may prove to be a great threat to us if he leave him unchecked. Besides, both of our Kages have personal ties in this boy."

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto Uzumaki is the son of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze…or better known as the Yellow Flash. I'm sure I don't have to explain anything further."

Kurotsuchi's pink eyes widened in shock. "The Yellow Flash?! Are you serious?!" Kurotsuchi quickly overcame her shock but still found it unbelievable. "That's insane. Everything makes more sense now."

"Exactly. So, let's not screw this up." Darui motioned for Cee to continue with his brief.

The blonde nodded. "We'll split up the team evenly between our ninja. Three of us and three of yours, and the two of us will lead said team to Konoha and gather information on Uzumaki. There's a valley roughly twenty-five clicks to our east on the borders of the Lands of Sound and Fire, that will be our rendezvous point. It's a bit closer to Konoha than our current position and, if things indeed go sideways, then we can regroup and retreat into the Land of Sound."

"Why the Sound?" Kurotsuchi questioned again.

"Since Otogakure had assaulted Konoha, it's my assumption that any Konoha shinobi won't cross into that land and risk starting another conflict with. We can regroup and go our separate ways back to our villages."

Kurotsuchi nodded and sifted through all that information in her head as best she could, it was a large amount in such a short time. There was a reason for everything and was thought out extensively. She had to admit that this plan was good. 'Maybe teaming up with them won't be all bad.'

"This sounds like a solid plan to me. I'll go brief my guys on everything and choose which ones I'll send with us. How many do you want?"

Cee thought about it for a moment. "Three should be fine. And since we're both leading the team, it'll be eight of us in total. Does that sound fair?" He reached into his back pouch and handed her a few sets of wireless radios. "Here, we'll use these to communicate. They're long range so we should be able to talk each other throughout the whole mission. Or alert each other of anything important."

Kurotsuchi nodded. "Works for me." She turned around and walked towards her fellow Iwa shinobi. "Alright, listen up!"

-Naruto vs. Kimimaro-

"I'm going to Orochimaru. Follow me and you will die."

The Uchiha prodigy turned away jumped into the trees, headed towards to the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound.

Naruto groaned even harder as he forced himself to his feet, trying to follow his friend. "Wait…Sasuke!" He crawled out of the small crater and saw Kimimaro was still alive and standing in his way. "Damn you…!"

"He's Lord Orochimaru's now. You can't stop him anymore."

Naruto growled like the beast sealed within him, he was struggling to keep his anger at bay. But that's when he noticed Kimimaro's torso. There were bones sticking out of his ribs and acted like a protective shell around his midsection and there were jagged lines spreading out from a seal directly in the middle of his chest. Naruto could see where his Rasengan impacted and how the bones withstood the jutsu.

"You used the bones to block my Rasengan?!"

"Unpredictable, isn't it? Normally, the human body has around two hundred bones inside of it. I can change that number on a whim." Kimimaro raised his arms up and pointed his fingertips at Naruto. "There are many things I can do that grant me advantages."

The tips of Kimimaro's skin around his fingers opened and small hardened bones shot out in volleys at high speeds. Naruto heard the high-pitched whistle as they traveled through the air. He executed a series of hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground. "Doton: Doryūkei!" (Earth Style: Mud Wall)

Even though he was quick to summon the wall for protection, some of the bone projectiles to hit Naruto. They were shot at such a high speed and spun at an even higher rotation that the projectiles drilled right through Naruto's skin and bones.

"Gah!" Naruto yelped in pain as the wall of earth emerged to protect him from the rest of the projectiles. He groaned through the pain and noticed that the bones drilled through the wall and fell to the ground. "He can shoot bones too?! What kind of unnatural can this guy do?!"

"I have many abilities that you may consider unnatural. Allow me to show you some."

Kimimaro practically appeared behind Naruto with a burst of speed. Naruto had little time to react but was able to throw a wild punch off of pure instinct. Kimimaro was ready and already had his counter in action.

"Behold! Dance of the Pines!"

Sharp bones burst through his skin of his upper body, including his arms and back, and caught Naruto's arm by stabbing through it completely. The bones enclosed around Naruto's arm and prevented him from pulling away. Naruto struggled to break free but the strength of the bones were too much for him to break.

"I will admit that you're strong, but this ends now." Kimimaro brought his hand up and moved it towards Naruto's head, a bone beginning to poke through his palm. "I may not have been Lord Orochimaru's vessel, but I was solely responsible for giving him new life before my own passes. I will die but I will live on in Lord Orochimaru's heart forever as he lives on in his new body."

Naruto's eyes went wide with rage as Kimimaro mentioned Sasuke being Orochimaru's new vessel. 'No!' Naruto willed himself to fight, willed himself to not let it end here. Using his free hand, Naruto grabbed hold of Kimimaro's bone sword and stopped it before it reached his skin.

"Such will in someone so young. It's a shame that it'll die here."

"I'm not dying here, ya asshole!"

Naruto's strength began to take over and the point of the blade was being pushed back from the bridge of his nose. The two struggled for dominance.

"It's pointless." Kimimaro said calmly. "I can create bones from any part of my body. Fighting me it pointless."

Naruto continued to push Kimimaro's hand back. "I will always fight back!" He finally pushed Kimimaro's hand far enough to reach his other trapped hand. He positioned his fingers together to make a cross. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Three clones burst into existence and immediately slammed their hands on the ground, causing three more solid walls of earth to erupt. The clones had encased Kimimaro and the real Naruto. Then one of the clones jumped in and forcefully pulled the real Naruto away from Kimimaro's grasp and jumped up to the top of the mud prison.

"I used this same technique on Orochimaru once. Let's see how you fair!"

"Katon: Karyūdan!"

"Fūton: Tatsumaki!" (Wind Style: Dashing Tornado Jutsu)

A furious tornado spun into life around Kimimaro and bullets of fire ignited the wind and the tornado began engulfed in flames. Everything inside the walls of mud were set aflame and burned to ash. The wind died down and revealed at burnt hole in the ground but no Kimimaro.

"He tunneled away?!"

Bursting through the ground on the opposite of the field was Kimimaro but he was nothing like before. His skin had turned dark grey and dark black curved like markings were now under his eyes. But the biggest difference was that there were six massive bone spines now protruding out of Kimimaro's back. And in place of Kimimaro's left arm was an equally massive spiraling bone.

Naruto looked on. "Curse Mark…"

"This is my level two, my kekkei genkai is stronger than anything you have." Blood trickled down the corners of Kimimaro's mouth. He wiped away the blood and instantly knew what was happening. "It's seems I won't be lasting much longer. The Kaguya clan will finally die out. But I will live on with Lord Orochimaru, he will always remember my sacrifice for his aspirations."

Naruto shook his head. "Orochimaru has you brainwashed. You are nothing to him. Just a soulless husk."

"It's not brainwashing…it's my own reasoning and beliefs. His life gives me purpose." Kimimaro glared at Naruto in rage and charged, rearing back his spiraling bone for the final blow. "What the hell would you know about it?!"

Naruto readied himself for the attack. He was about to create the Rasengan in his right hand but stopped when he noticed what was happening to his opponent. Kimimaro started with a great burst of speed but it disappeared just as quick and all his movements slowed considerably. Naruto briefly thought that it was because of the bodily change but then Kimimaro fell to the ground just before his stone walls. Blood was oozing out from Kimimaro's ears and eyes.

"I think he's dying…" One of the clones stated.

The real Naruto looked down on Kimimaro, his final words were resonating inside Naruto's mind. The clones disappeared in clouds of smoke as Naruto jumped down and stood over Kimimaro's body. He had already stopped breathing and the blood had stopped flowing out of his eyes and ears.

"Orochimaru was your precious person, wasn't he?" Naruto asked out loud. "Good or bad…we all have people we want to protect. You're just like Haku."

Naruto turned towards the direction that Sasuke went and followed him.

-QRF Team, Konoha-

Kakashi stood before his hastily put together team as they waited for their mission brief. He was able to find and recruit seven of his fellow ninja in the time he was allotted by the Hokage. The seven he was able to find were Might Gai, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yūhi, Genma Shiranui, Anko Mitarashi, Izumo Kamizuki, and Kotetsu Hagane.

"So, what's this all about, Kakashi?" Anko spoke up. "I don't it when my nightly dango run is interrupted."

"I'm sorry for the lateness but this a mission directly from Lady Tsunade. I was instructed to gather as many shinobi as I could." Kakashi responded.

Genma twirled the senbon in his mouth. "What kind of mission?"

"QRF. We're reinforcements for someone already in the field."

Asuma finished the drag on his cigarette and blow out the smoke into the air. "Who's needing QRF? And why are we sending out single manned missions?"

"It's Naruto." There was a sense of shock that fell upon the group of shinobi. "It was a short notice mission. He was the most readily available for it."

"What was the mission?" Kurenai questioned.

Kakashi seemed troubled by what he was about to say. "A little over two hours ago, just after my team finished up a meeting, Sasuke and Sakura were ambushed by, who we assumed to be, Orochimaru. Sasuke was kidnapped and Sakura was injured. Naruto brought Sakura to the hospital for treatment. Lady Tsunade gave Naruto the mission to go after Sasuke and then we are to be his backup, incase anything happens."

The group of shinobi were surprised at the story at first, but it quickly turned to confusion as it seemed they all came to the same conclusion, or question rather.

"The Hokage sent Naruto by himself?" Izumo questioned. Izumo had fought Naruto while he was being controlled during Orochimaru's assault. He saw, firsthand, how strong the newly promoted chūnin was but he was skeptical about sending him on a solo recovery mission. "Doesn't it seem a bit risky to be sending him out alone?"

Kakashi took the defensive for his student. "Look, I understand why you have your apprehensions about Naruto. You can think what you want about him. But we don't have time to discuss any of this right now. My students need our help. If helping Naruto is too much for you then please, by all means, leave now. I asked you all here because Naruto and Sasuke is our comrades…and only scum leave their comrades behind!"

This was such a rare moment for the jōnin. Kakashi never let his emotions get the better of him and lash out at his comrades. And it seemed they were just as surprised by the slight outburst. But it seemed to work as none of them were leaving or objecting to helping.

"My apologies. I shouldn't have snapped like that."

Gai came up and placed his hand on his rival's shoulder. "There is nothing to be sorry for, Kakashi. You care for your students. There is nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing would be able to stop me if my any one of my students were in trouble." He gave his classic thumbs-up and shiny smile. "Let's go get your students!"

Kakashi looked at the others and they nodded in agreement. They were all teachers at one point in their lives and understood why Kakashi felt so strongly. "Thanks, you guys. Now, lets get a move on!"

-The Final Valley-

Moon light glistened water rushed out of the lake and fell loudly to the river below that separated the Land of Fire from the Land of Sound. Two great statues withstood the test of time with legacies that stood just as strong. Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, the two men that created Konohagakure and forged this entire valley from their clashing powers and ideologies. Hashirama's construct stood in the Land of Fire while Madara's stood in the Land of Sound, representing the paths they chose that fateful day.

Sasuke stood on top of the head of the Madara Uchiha construct, slowly making his way towards Orochimaru. He wasn't exactly sure where he'd find the Snake Sannin, but he was positive it wouldn't take long for him to be found.

"SASUKE!"

The young Uchiha prodigy stopped his movements at the call of his name. He knew who exactly who it was, he's the only one who'd be here. But he didn't care. All that mattered was his agenda and his revenge. Sasuke continued to walk.

"Why are you running away?! What the hell's the matter with you?!"

Sasuke stopped movement again, but this time he turned to face his teammate. Naruto stood on the head of Hashirama and he was drenched in sweat. His arms were covered in dried blood, signs of his victory of Kimimaro. "Hey dobe."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was seeing. Black markings covered the left side of Sasuke's face. But that wasn't what was so disturbing. Sasuke's eye was gold and the whites of his eyes were solid black. "What the hell is going on?! Why are you going to Orochimaru?!"

Sasuke closed his eyes. "My time in the Leaf has come to an end. I have my own path to follow now. And it lies with Orochimaru. Go home, Naruto. This doesn't concern you."

Naruto's eyes itched with anger. "Doesn't concern me?! We're comrades! You're my friend, Sasuke! I won't let Orochimaru use you!"

Sasuke reopened his eyes. "That's not your decision to make. Like I said, I have my own path to follow. No one is going to pull me off it anymore, no matter what. I'm done play ninja in Konoha. Only Orochimaru can give me the power I need."

"Orochimaru is the one who killed the Third Hokage! He tried to destroy Konoha twice now! Do you really think he's just going to give you power for free?! He wants to take your body and use it! You'll never come back! You'll die if you go! I'm not going to let that happen!"

Sasuke was stoic and unmoved by Naruto's words. "I don't care. As long as I achieve my goal. I don't care what happens to me or who I have to go through. Even you, Naruto."

"What about Team Seven?!" The blonde snapped back. "What about Sakura?! Does none of that matter to you anymore?! Did it ever matter to you?!"

Sasuke finally showed some emotion. His face softened at the mention of their female teammate. His memory flashed of what happened. "…Is Sakura okay?"

Naruto physically growled. "I brought her to the hospital. Shizune was healing her when I left." He felt actual pain with his next words. "But why do you care about her well-being? You don't want to be apart of Konoha anymore!"

Sasuke returned emotionless. "It did matter to me. I wouldn't be where I am without being apart of Team Seven. You are my closest friend. I'm grateful for that time together. But it's coming to an end, Naruto."

"Why?! You said we would take down Itachi together!" Naruto's voice starting to hurt from all this yelling, but he was just too damn angry to care. "What changed?!"

The black markings began to fade away from Sasuke's face, receding back into the Curse Mark, and his eye returned to normal. But his Sharingan quickly manifested itself, showing the intent behind his words. "Because, at that time, that's what I thought my path led to. I thought we would kill my brother because we became so close of friends. Because I thought I couldn't do it without help because I was weal by myself. But my eyes had not been opened yet to what kind of power I could hold."

Naruto's fist tightened in anger. "Do you not consider me a friend anymore? Are you severing your bonds with everyone?"

"You're my only friend, Naruto. You are the only bond I must severe. And that's why you're worth killing today." Sasuke slowly went through the three hand seals for his jutsu. He held his left palm parallel to the ground and gripped his wrist tightly with his opposite hand. Lightning chirped like a thousand birds were flying overhead. "We were interrupted before! He's not around to stop us now!"

Naruto seemed to hesitate for a moment. He wasn't sure if he should do this. But he saw no other option. A single clone came into existence and helped create the counter. A blue orb of spiraling high density chakra manifested in the palm of Naruto's right hand. The clone disappeared. "I don't get why you're doing this, Sasuke! But I'll beat you back to your old self, you bastard!"

Like the start of a race, the two chūnin took off in a dead sprint. They jumped off their respective statues and ran across the water towards each other. They thrusted their jutsus at each other.

"Rasengan!"

"Chidori!"

The collision was filled with emotion and power. Neither jutsu yielded to each other as the water rippled and broke apart, creating a vortex underneath the clash. It proved to be a stalemate as the two jutsus were evenly matched, canceling each other out with an explosion.

Both parties were launched back with force. Naruto was thrown completely off the side of the waterfall and fell into the waters below, sinking down into its depths. Sasuke was slammed back against Madara's statue but could not stop himself from tumbling down the construct. He had the wherewithal to use a kunai and stab it into the stone, slowing his fall until he came to a stop near the belt line.

Sasuke had view of the entire valley from his position. He saw Naruto resurface and float on his back momentarily before moving to kneel on the surface. He took a moment to catch his breath.

'Damn you, Naruto…my full-powered Chidori only went so far against that jutsu. And he was holding back…I could tell that much.' He thought back to his training with Kakashi when he learned how to preform the jutsu. 'I can't waste another shot like that. My next Chidori needs to be the kill shot. Another stalemate will result in my defeat. I can't let that happen.'

The black markings returned and began to cover Sasuke's entire face and body, reaching down both his arms and legs. He started to feel the power of the Curse Mark flow through him. 'So, this is the power of the Curse Mark that Orochimaru was talking about. It's starting to synchronize with my body. If I had that much power back then, how will I fair now?' A confident smirk graced Sasuke's face.

Naruto wiped as much water off his face as he could. He looked across the valley and up at his teammate. 'He's serious about this…he wasn't holding back.' He saw the Curse Mark spreading across Sasuke's body. "You're not same anymore. That damned Curse Mark has been affecting your mind ever since that day in the forest."

"Orochimaru opened my eyes that day to what I needed to do. I just didn't realize it until now." Sasuke let go of his kunai and fell to the water below. "Do you remember what I told you, Naruto? Back on Lone Pine Hill? Well, let's see if you can read my mind again!" Sasuke charged at Naruto.

Naruto took a defensive stance, but his mind was distracted. And Sasuke could tell. Naruto would block or dodge one attack but be hit by the following one. Naruto was practically being tossed around, being a punching bag for Sasuke.

They were both abandoned. Left alone by ones they loved. Whether it was by choice or massacre, Naruto and Sasuke ended in the same situation. Alone and afraid. Naruto was happy that there was someone else who was alone, and he could tell Sasuke had a similar feeling. He thought they were the same. That they could become good friends.

But neither of them spoke to one another. Sasuke was loved by everyone and treated like royalty. Naruto was hated by everyone and treated like an outcast. They were both good at everything. But everyone only ever paid attention to Sasuke. If someone was to be jealous of the other, it would be Naruto. But he was never jealous. He just wanted acknowledgement. To be accepted by others.

And then they became Team Seven. And Naruto thought things might change. And for awhile they did. Naruto felt accepted for the first time in his life. He slowly let down his protective walls and let his two teammates into his life and trusted them. Sasuke was his rival from the start. But slowly became his best friend.

But their fists didn't have to meet for them to understand each other. There was already an understanding of what the other was going through. The time they spent together proved that.

But did it really? Did it really mean something? Or was it all just a waste of time?

They were best friends…or at least, that's what it felt like.

Once Naruto finally came out of his thoughts, Sasuke had him by the neck and suspended in the air with another Chidori already manifested. Primed to end this once and for all.

"I thought you'd put up more of a fight, Naruto. I'm disappointed. But it's too late!"

The Chidori was aimed for Naruto's heart. The kill shot.

There was a spike inside of Naruto. It instantly manifested into a burning, red chakra. His rage finally caught up to him. And it came out with beast that's sealed within him.

'Why is everything a waste of time?!'

A loud, sickening crack echoed throughout the valley. Blood splattered into the water as it freely flowed off of Naruto's right arm. Sasuke's left hand had completely penetrated Naruto's right shoulder and exited through his back. But Naruto's left hand was gripping Sasuke's wrist, the telltale sign that Naruto had redirected the strike at the last moment to save his life.

The black markings began to retreat again from Sasuke's face. "There's the Naruto I know. You redirected my Chidori at the last second and prevented me from hitting your heart. But it was pointless." Sasuke ripped his arm out of the hole. He held a tight grip on Naruto's jacket, keeping him upright. "I hit your lung and rendered your right arm useless. It's finished, Naruto. I told you if you followed me, you'd die." Sasuke fiercely gripped Naruto's neck and began to tighten his grip. "Goodbye, Naruto…"

There was another loud crack that traveled. Then there was a massive burst of chakra.

"Ah!" Sasuke yelped in pain.

Naruto furiously grabbed Sasuke's wrist, preventing Sasuke from snapping his neck. With very little effort, Naruto pushed Sasuke back. Then Sasuke saw Naruto's dead arm twitch, as if it was about to move. Steam rose from the wound as red chakra emitted around Naruto like a fire.

'This red chakra…! Could this be…?!' And that's when Sasuke saw it with his Sharingan eyes. A massive red fox like beast with nine tails stood behind Naruto. 'Is that the Kyūbi?!' Sasuke saw the gaping hole on Naruto's right shoulder close up and heal itself almost instantly. 'It healed so fast?! What is this power?!'

Naruto roared with Kyūbi's power, ready to strike. "It's not over, Sasuke! I'm bringing you home! Even if I have to break every bone in your body!"

Naruto's speed seemed instantaneous to Sasuke, appearing in front of him and coming down with a powerful strike. Sasuke couldn't believe Naruto's new speed and strength, he knew the Kyūbi was a powerful being but to boost someone to new heights like this seemed unthinkable.

With his back against the surface of the water, Sasuke gathered the necessary chakra in his mouth and fired his jutsu at the airborne Naruto. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)

A massive fireball flew out of Sasuke's mouth, ready to burn Naruto to a crisp. Taking the full force of the fire to his chest, Naruto screamed with a burst of chakra put out the ball of fire with ease. Sasuke didn't even have time to register what happened before Naruto hit him deep into the water.

'He's too fast!'

Strikes came in fast and hard, each hit bruising and cutting Sasuke. With one final attack, Naruto launched Sasuke out of the water and into the rocky cliffside that surrounded the valley. Sasuke repositioned his body and was able stay upright on the cliffside, using his chakra control to stand on cliff. By the time he came to a sliding halt, Naruto was already standing before him.

"Did that wake you up?" Naruto questioned in a growl.

"Hehehehehe…"

Naruto looked curiously, while still maintaining his angry scowl. "What's so funny?"

"Just shut the hell up, Naruto. You don't know what it's like." Sasuke looked up and glared at Naruto, a third tome beginning to manifest in Sasuke's Sharingan. "You think you know what it's like…to lose family…" Sasuke regained his strength and stood to his full height. "It's because of those bonds that I suffer! You've never had any of that! What the hell do you know about it?! Huh?!"

Sasuke noticed Naruto's change in demeanor, it seemed his words affected him greatly. "You're right, I don't understand what it's like to have a real family…or an older brother to look up to. My parents died when I was born, I never got a chance to meet them or really ever feel their love…if there was ever any at all…"

"…How'd your parents die?" This was new to the Uchiha boy. He didn't know anything about Naruto's parents, he was sure Naruto didn't either.

"I'm not really sure how my mom died…but my dad died cursing me with the Kyūbi…"

Sasuke almost instantly put the pieces together. It was an overwhelming revelation, to say the least. Something Sasuke was not expecting to hear. He was too shocked to comment on it further.

"But when I'm with Pervy Sage, I wonder if that's what it's like to have a father who cares for me. And when I'm with you, I wonder if that's what it's like to have a brother."

"But he abandoned you, lied to you. How can you think of someone like that?"

Naruto wasn't sure how to answer. So, he was honest. "I…don't know. That's just what he's always been to me. I've never thought of him as anything else. He's come back into my life and I'm not sure how to feel about it."

Sasuke shook his head. "And that's the difference, Naruto. Your 'family' came back. Mine is lost forever. We may share the same pain of being alone, but you'll never understand what it's like to lose everything for good. Until you lose everything, you'll never understand."

Naruto stood there silent. He knew deep down, as much as he didn't want to admit to it, Sasuke had valid points. Jiraiya may have left him before but Naruto knew that his caretaker wasn't going to leave or lie to him again.

"The time for talking is over, Naruto. It's time to fight."

The two friends stared at one another, waiting for the other to make the first move. It was a still silence, like a calm before a storm. The battle of friends was about to truly commence…

"I'm sorry to say but you won't be fighting each other…"

Standing at the base of the waterfall, between the two statues, was a platoon sized element of shinobi. Some were dressed in brown flak jackets and red clothes while the others were dressed in white flak jackets and black clothing. The man closest to the two chūnin was a tall, dark skinned man with shaggy white hair and a tattoo on each shoulder, in his hand was a cleaver-like sword.

"You'll be fighting us." Darui pressed the button on his wireless radio to talk. "Cee, come in. Meet up at the rendezvous point. We found the target. I repeat, we found Uzumaki."

-Somewhere in the Land of Fire-

"Cee, come in. Meet up at the rendezvous point. We found the target. I repeat, we found Uzumaki."

Both Cee and Kurotsuchi heard Darui's transmission but didn't feel the need to respond. They had their own problem to deal with. Their team had been intercepted, by pure coincidence it seemed, by a team of Konoha shinobi, all jōnin by Cee's deduction.

Kakashi glared at the blonde man, obvious hearing Darui's words.

"Where's Naruto?!"