This world has, simply said, seen better days. He could remember how the skies used to always be like, with so many clouds floating againest the blue, clear skies, sun shining simply through the leaves of trees, making natural patchwork patterns on the ground below. How just walking outside and taking a deep breath leaved you feeling refreshed, anew - letting you know that you could relax and let the days roll on calmly, smoothly. Those lazy, scorching hot days in the summer, when you had to take off some article of clothing just to help cool down.. those autumn days, whenever you could hear the crunch of newly fallen leaves underneath your feet and watch as the trees changed from that once lush green to vivid yellows and reds, the air crisp with the foretelling of winter on it's way. But things weren't like that now - those days were, in Naruto Uzumaki's eyes, long gone... but still retrieveable in the future, nevertheless - despite his usually optimistic attitude towards things, he had to admit that this was all a bit more than just unnerving, even for himself - But in a way, it was hard to decifer, let alone recall, any of those memories now. The skies weren't blue any longer, and the air wasn't as fresh as it once was. Everytime you took in a breath, the blood and death in the wind so heavy you could feel it coat onto your tounge. The sky above was painted with an assortment of gray's and blacks, thunder rolling far away - Naruto couldn't quite tell if it was thunder, or screaming, that he heard in the distance. He couldn't help but to let his mind wander off to the times when things were simple, and easy-going. He used to be able to wake up at night, knowing he would see his sensei and his friends in the morning, and think to himself calmly, 'Things couldn't be any better now,' and drift off to sleep without a worry in the world. Now, all he could say to himself when he tried to sleep, was 'Can things get any worse?'

Now, here he was, finding himself wistfully hoping that things would turn out like he planned, the odds in his favor. Through all of this, though, he didn't NOT learn anything. All that mattered was that he came to learn and accept that things weren't going to be the same ever again. His life wasn't going to be like it used to be, when he could have fights and cussing matches with his rival, and attempt to try his luck at getting his crush to go eat with him somewhere in the village, and yell at his sensei for being late again for a group meeting. A group meeting of Team 7. Naruto allowed the smallest quirk of a smile to form onto his dry lips at the knew that things weren't ever going to be like that again, especially not whenever a member of the team was missing... if missing was the correct word, that is. But now wasn't the time to sulk. Not anymore. Now, he had the knowledge that provided him with the information that Sasuke Uchiha wasn't coming back to Team 7, wasn't coming back to the Hidden Leaf Village. He himself wasn't going to be able to 'bring him back to the Hidden Leaf', Nothing was going to be okay, nothing was going to be normal again. Not after all of this shit that he has endured to get this far in his life. Naruto believed that - no, knew that - once he met with Sasuke Uchiha, they would fight. That was a no-brainer. They always fought, anyway... yelling at each other was their way of talking. But this fight wasn't like this - it was serious, because he knew that this was literally the fight to the death. He was ready, though, prepared, and oddly.. serene with the fact of knowing that he was going to succumb to death sooner or later. Not in a couple years, no - soon.

It wasn't something he was going to try to avoid. It was a worthy fact knowing that he got this far, and that was good enough for him. Now, he was heading into the Fourth Ninja War. Many, he knew already, were dead. And, heart-wrenching enough as it was, he knew that some were people he cared for. People he knew. His movement slowed, catching the attention of Killer Bee beside him, who turned his head to the side to give him a calculating, yet puzzled stare. "Yo' alright over there, fox-boy?" It caught Naruto's attention that, suprisingly, Bee didn't rhyme or rap his sentence. Flashing a somewhat wary smile at first, he turns his oceanic gaze ahead of them, eyes surveying the area ahead, the smile widening at the corners reassuringly. "Yep, I'm pretty damn good, Bee. Itching to kick some major ass." Despite his choice of wording, his tone held a sullen, calm edge to it, an 'I'm-absolutely-downright-sure' attitude. He did want to kick some major ass and help end this war before it spread and got worse. It reminded him of a disease, like cancer - if you leave it alone, it'll just spread throughout your body like fire, and eventually, you'll burn into nothing but ashes. Naruto didn't plan to let that happen. Not to anyone, not to himself, not to Bee. Not to anyone in Konohagakure. Madara Uchiha wanted him and Bee; they were, of course, the last remaining jinchuuriki that he needed to get. The smile upon Naruto's face faded off eventually, replaced with a scowl of frustration, his brow furrowing slowly as he thought silently, his hand curling into a fist at his side. Madara Uchiha is the one that started this whole thing, this whole war. Naruto couldn't help but feel that dull, aching throb in his chest; a pang of guilt, in knowing all these people were getting injured just to protect him and Bee. The word, the name Madara, left a sour taste in his mouth. It made him want to spit it out. All these people, all his friends, were getting injured and fighting a war to protect the last two remaining jinchuuriki hosts. They would end this, him and Bee. No matter what. If a war is what Madara wanted, then...

This, he solemnly swore to himself, is war.