Naruto: Nakama

Alright, my first ever 'fic! ….Well, first ever published one, anyway. I need some ratings, please! Be as honest as you like, except if you're gonna flame. No need for that; if you don't like it, you don't like it. =P

Anyway, enjoy!

Mandatory copyright note: I don't own Naruto or any canon characters. There will be OC's, which I DO own.

Please excuse the formatting if it looks "off". If anyone can tell me how to format things properly on here, I'd be grateful.

(A/N)= Author's Note. I'll try to use these sparingly.


Chapter 1- At War's End!

BOOOOM!

Yet another explosion rocked the chamber where Uzumaki Naruto was training with his latest mentor, Killer Bee.

"Dangit," exclaimed the young shinobi, "Almost had it that time!"

'Bee nodded. "All's ya gotta do/Is pull on through/Your Tailed Beast Ball/ Will make 'em fools take the fall!...Yeah." (A/N: I can't rap. =P Sorry if I offended anyone.)

Naruto flinched. "Huh. What's with all these weird vibes I keep getting….? Is there something up?"

"What 'vibes'? Ain't felt nothin' odd." Killer Bee lied to his new student.

"Hmm…..Alright then," Naruto mused, moving as if he was going to continue training.

Killer Bee relaxed slightly. "Heh, looks like he really ain't so bright after all," he thought to himself.

"….Then you won't mind if I take a quick look!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, zooming out of the cave.

"….Or maybe I gotta pay more attention," Killer Bee thought.

Running out of the cave, Naruto was able to see a commotion in the distance. Nearby, he could see a few other ninja, but they looked injured. He noticed that their uniforms were all different- one from Suna, one from Konoha, and one from Iwa- but their headbands were all the same. They all had the kanji for "Shinobi" on them. Approaching them, Naruto hailed them as he dodged Killer Bee's attempt to grab him. "Hey," said Naruto. "What the heck happened? And what's with the headbands?"

Without thinking, the Konoha shinobi spilled the one truth everyone was trying to hide from the fox-boy. "It's this damn war," he complained. "I mean, where have you been that you don't know…." He trailed off as he realized who he was talking to.

"A war? What the hell? And you didn't tell me?" screamed Naruto. "Is everyone out there right now? My friends? Answer me!"

The older shinobi looked lost, and a little scared.

Killer Bee sighed."Ya may as well tell 'im. He won't stop askin' until then, you know that."

The Konoha shinobi looked a little nervous, partly because of the glares of his comrades, and partly because an angry jinchuriki was standing uncomfortably close to him. "Yes," he finally admitted.

"Alright then! Time to go jump in!" shouted Naruto. Then, all of a sudden, "Naruto" burst into a cloud of smoke.

"Heh, Kage Bunshin. Good thing I had my own!" said 'Bee. "Y'all rest up now, ya hear?" he said as his own clone dissipated.

Meanwhile, the real Naruto and Killer Bee were racing toward the battlefield. Naruto was astounded to see hordes of Zetsus running amok. The troops seemed to be handling themselves, but Naruto and Killer Bee took the time to ensure they took down as many enemies as they could while running through the battlefield.

The younger jinchuriki turned to his new sensei. "I gotta go look for my friends!" he said. "Can you handle things here?"

"Guess I'mma have to," the Eight-Tails jinchuriki replied. "Don't do anything stupid, a'ight?"

"Heheh, I can't make any promises!" yelled Naruto as he ran off.

As Naruto ran, he managed to see some of his friends. Shikamaru's group had just finished a hard fight with what appeared to be Asuma-sensei. Hinata and Neji were holding their own against a troop of Zetsus, taking turns attacking the cloned army, each while the other rested. Sakura was healing the wounded, while Kakashi battled what appeared to be Kiri ninja wielding odd blades. However, they were much too far away for him to help. He hoped they could get through alright. Shino and Kiba had also teamed up to take out Zetsu clones, each in his own style. He even caught the odd glimpse of Tenten or Lee, the former when she sniped oncoming enemies, and the latter as he zipped around the battlefield, mowing down what enemies were foolish enough to get in his way. This gave Naruto an idea. He ignited his Biju cloak, both to draw the enemies to him and give his friends a bit of a breather, and to attain enough speed to get around more efficiently, for he knew that, for the enemy to truly be vanquished, he must locate and take out a certain individual.

The Nine-Tails jinchuriki, chakra blazing, mowed down all enemies in his path. He was unstoppable, though he looked like he was searching more than fighting. More than once, his allies, including those that knew him best, were left wondering exactly what he was looking for. He never found it, however.

It found him.

Chains, all forged from the same material, wrapped around his wrists and ankles, lifting him into the air. They felt strangely familiar, and it was then that Naruto realized that these chains were a lot like the ones his mother had used to bind the Kyubi the other day, and since he wasn't generating them, they had to be the same ones she described in her recounting of Tobi's attack. No sooner had Naruto finished this thought process that the man himself stepped out of the shadows.

"I have you now, Nine-Tails," he said, self-assuredly. "The last time I held a jinchuriki in this position, I extracted the beast from her. Oh, right, that was you mother, wasn't it? Like mother, like son, I suppose."

Zetsu's true White Half stepped out of the darkness, his single eye glowing. "He wants to come out," he informed Tobi.

"I don't just want to come out," corrected a familiar voice. "I want to join in this," Sasuke said as he, too, came out of the shadows. "This...'extraction' thing. I want to be a part of it."

"S-Sasuke..." Naruto said, almost pleadingly. "'Why?'"

"I have my own reasons," said the young Uchiha. "Reasons which aren't any of your damn business."

"Alright then," responded Tobi. "If you want to be a part of it, be a part of it. Extract the beast. Now. You know the jutsu."

As he spoke, he lowered Naruto to just above the ground, so that while the young jinchuriki could not get any traction, Sasuke would have a clear shot at the stomach, where the Fox was sealed. Sasuke made a set of handsigns, and Naruto closed his eyes. However, the strangest thing happened. Instead of the light, otherworldly sensation that Gaara had once described, Naruto felt heavy. In fact, he felt like he landed right on the ground where he belonged. When he opened his eyes, he was astounded to find the chains shattered and evaporating, and his old friend standing with his back to him, protecting him.

"Sasuke...?" Naruto asked, warily.

"It's about time you got up, loser," said the raven-haired youth.

"Hm...Sasuke, I had thought you said that you wanted to be a part of the extraction?' asked Tobi.

"Yeah, but I never said which part, old man. What you never realized was, the part I'm playing is...the part that opposes you."

At this, Tobi simply stood silent, but Naruto could clearly sense murderous intent seeping out of him.

"Why are you helping me?" asked Naruto.

"How the hell should I know? My body...just moved. On its own. Call it a whim. And besides, the old bastard wants to destroy Konoha in revenge...I'm not someone who'll just stand by while another gets to do what I wanted to do!" he shouted, activating his Sharingan.

"Heh...So, what...We're taking him down together?"

"That was kind of the plan, idiot. If he's going to be stopped, now's the time," quipped Sasuke.

"I'm glad you two could get reacquainted," said Tobi, now sporting an aura of danger and malice. "But the only ones who will be stopped here today are you, fools! Zetsu!"

Zetsu formed a string of handsigns, and at the last, a barrier sprang up around the area where the two friends faced the remaining Akatsuki. Several ninja attempted to breach the barrier to help, only to be sent reeling. Even Hinata and Neji had their Gentle Fist attacks on the shield bounce right off, including an Air Palm Wall which rebounded and struck them, knocking them back.

Naruto turned to observe what was going on. His friends kept getting knocked back, but they kept getting back up, trying to help him. Turning back to Sasuke, Naruto put a hand on his shoulder. "Ok. I'll work with you. But stick around afterward; because we still need to have our fight."

"Yeah, whatever, loser. Look!"

Naruto looked back at Tobi, only to see that he no longer had to merely sense the latter's aura- he had manifested it.

"You'll have plenty of time to talk, young ones...Once you're n the next world!" With that, the enigmatic ninja charged.

The rest of the battle passed in a blur of action, reaction, and the odd bit of tag-teaming. Naruto had largely no idea what he was doing, just doing what felt right in thsituation, inserting the old "Kage Bunshin Decoy" where and when he could, even transforming a few into Sasuke.

When the dust cleared, Tobi was holding one arm. "Rrhg," he growled. "Zetsu! We're leaving!"

"Get back here!" Sasuke bellowed as he chased Tobi with a Chidori armed.

However, it was too late. Tobi and Zetsu had vanished without trace.

"Darn it," spat Naruto.

"Grr," growled Sasuke. "He must have used some space-time ninjutsu to escape."

"Space-time ninjutsu?" Naruto asked. "What's that?"

"Hmph. Nothing that someone like you needs to know about," replied the crimson-eyed shinobi, leveling his sword at his former comrade.

"S-Sasuke?" Naruto said, clearly shocked at the development.

"What? Don't tell me you've forgotten? We're supposed to fight, remember?" retorted Sasuke. He had already put his sword away, opting for a Chidori instead. "Let's settle this!"

"Alright then…..Here goes!" Naruto responded, powering up a Biju Rasengan. He couldn't rightly tell by sight alone, but it seemed that Sasuke's Chidori had changed as well- possibly enhanced by his Mangekyo Sharingan. Naruto didn't have much more time to ponder on what this could mean, however, because right at that minute, his friend charged.

"NARUTOOOO!"

Of course, our hero responded in kind: "SASUKEEEE!"

When they clashed, there was an explosion of light and sound, but for some reason, everything after that was vague, as if he was a third party, watching his own battle. Not only that, someone was calling his name.

"Naruto! Naruto! Wake up, Naruto!...Please…..Just wake up…."

Everything in Naruto's field of vision turned black. All of a sudden, he felt himself lying in a warm bed, feeling very stiff. Opening his eyes, he was both surprised and yet not surprised to find Sakura sobbing next to his bed, as Kakashi and Shikamaru looked on. Kakashi put a hand on Sakura's shoulder to alert her to Naruto's awakening, as Shikamaru merely smiled.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Y-Yeah," Naruto said shakily.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," quipped Shikamaru.

"Wait, what?" yelled Naruto.

"You were out for nearly four months, Naruto." responded Kakashi sensei."We all feared the worst."

Slowly, Naruto sat up.

"F-Four months…?" he repeated, slowly. "So….That means I failed. Again. Failed to stop Sasuke….And even failed to stop that Tobi, too," he said, dejectedly.

"Hey, at least you actually managed to touch the guy," said Shikamaru. "None of us could manage that. And about Sasuke, I wouldn't worry. He saved you, you know."

Naruto stared at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"No, really," Shikamaru said, "Turns out Tobi or whatever his name is managed to poison you during the fight. You managed to hold on for a bit while fighting Sasuke, but the poison nearly took hold. He somehow had the antidote, and he saved you. He said something about not wanting to kill someone who wasn't able to defend himself or something. Said it was no good."

Hearing this, Naruto gained a small smile. "So there IS something there, after all," he said, relieved. "Wait, where's everyone else? Choji? Ino? Hinata's team and Bushy-Brow's team?"

"They're all fine," responded Kakashi. "Team 10 and Team Gai are helping with the final repairs around the village. As for Team 8, they're out on a mission. It's nothing they can't handle themselves."

"That's good," Naruto said, lying back down. "I guess I can rest at ease now."

Sakura took that opportunity to rap him on the head with her knuckles lightly, though apparently still hard enough to prompt a mildly aggravated "Yeowch!" from her charge. "Oh no you don't. Now that you're awake, we need to start you on physical therapy right away!"

"Agh, fiiiine," he whined. "But can I at least have some ramen first?"

"Heh, good ol' Naruto," thought Shikamaru. "You never change."


So how was it? =) Rate! XD