Naruto Uzumaki ran across the treetops, searching for signs of the battle. He has to be here somewhere… I have to find him. I promised Sakura. He jumped down to the ground and began his tracking there. After walking briefly, he discovered scorch marks in the ground and blood on the trees. Sprinting now, he kept looking for signs of Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto noticed that the trees ahead had been broken and burned. He moved towards that direction and saw a pale body strewn on the ground, bleeding profusely.

"Sasuke," he yelled running over to him. Sasuke lay on the ground unconscious and a small puddle of blood formed an outline of his body. Naruto acted quickly, pulling out disinfectant and applying it to his body. Then he took bandages and covered his arms, chest, and legs with them.

"Sasuke, wake up," he gently chided. The only response he received was a groan and slight movement.

Naruto sighed in frustration and looked around. There was no sign of Orochimaru, but Naruto had no doubt Sasuke had eradicated him for good. He picked Sasuke up and carried him to a nearby cave. We can take shelter here till he's able to move again. He's going to be pissed that I found him, but… I wasn't about to leave him for dead.

He laid Sasuke down on a sleeping bag and began building a fire. Sasuke stirred and Naruto snapped his head in his direction, but Sasuke failed to awaken. Well, we're going to be here for a while, so I guess I'd better get some food. I just don't want to get back and see him missing again…. Oh, well. I'll deal with it later. He glanced back at Sasuke and ran out of the cave to hunt for dinner.

A few hours later, Naruto returned with a deer and some fish. Good, he's still out. Well, not good, but at least he didn't run away. He sat in front of the fire and began scaling the fish to cook them. He became so concentrated on completing this task that he didn't notice the pale teenager struggling to sit up and look around.

"Naruto," he whispered hoarsely.

Naruto jolted and dropped the half-scaled fish into the fire. It made a disgusting popping sound as it shriveled under the heat. The cave began to smell burnt, but they ignored it.

"Sasuke, good, you're awake. I was getting wor—"

"Why? Who told you to come get me? I didn't need any help from you," he stated angrily.

Naruto smiled briefly. "I came to get you because Sakura and I knew you were in trouble and she was not able to leave her medical ninjutsu training. Besides, you may not agree, but you looked like you needed help."

Sasuke looked away and scowled. "You're wrong. I don't need help. I can take care of myself."

Naruto chuckled softly. "Yeah, that's you, Sasuke. Stubborn as always. Can't you just be grateful that I came to save you? Have some rice. The fish… well, it's not quite ready. It will be soon though. Same with that deer. I figured we could stay here till you got better so I got food."

Sasuke stood up, his whole body shaking and groaning in protest. "I'm not hungry. Thanks, but I'm leaving now." He attempted to walk away, but his body refused and he slumped down on the ground.

Naruto, despite himself, laughed. 'I don't think you'll be going anywhere tonight."

Sasuke glared at him. "Shut up, dobe! I know what I'm doing!" He attempted to stand up again but failed to support himself for more than three seconds.

Naruto shook his head. "I don't see why you have to be so stubborn about this. Why can't you just accept your limitations?" He stood to pull Sasuke back into the sleeping bag. Just then, a thunderstorm began, sending pellets of rain shooting to the ground and making the cave light up with the thunder and lightning. Naruto glanced at the rain and back at Sasuke. "Look, yet another reason why you can't leave."

Sasuke glowered and pushed Naruto away. "I've been through worse. Leave me alone." His legs strengthened slightly, he began to walk with more determination towards the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, a flash of lightning blinded them and thunder struck the ground right in front of the cave. Rocks and boulders crashed down and covered the entrance of the cave, trapping Naruto and Sasuke. The fire blew out, and they were left in complete darkness.