As Tobi (A.k.a. Uchiha Madara) led his army of the zombie-like ninjas to battle, along with the white zetsu, and the combined Ninja alliance fought to keep them at bay, a meeting occured between the two greatest strength's on either side of the war. Naruto Uzumaki, driven by his determination to prove his worth, and to put a stop to all evil forces. And Sasuke Uchiha, driven by the need for revenge against both Tobi himself, for misleading him and tricking him into murdering his illness-laden brother, Uchiha Itachi, and Konoha, for ordering his brother to destroy the Uchiha clan.

Despite the Kage's worries, Naruto went alone. Bee was left to assist, as were Sakura, Sai, Kakashi, and the remainder of Konoha's strongest ninja. Lesser warriors fought alongside them, proving their strength and determination to protect their village, family and friends. Sasuke went alone, simply because he'd been split from his comrades.

The meeting point was where Naruto and Sasuke had first fought, the Valley of the End. Naruto smiled when he reached the place. Behind the waterfall, there was a spherical chunk of the cliff missing. Rasengan and Chidori, while in Kyuubi and Cursed seal forms, had caused that when they'd collided. He jumped through the falling waters and sat, crosslegged, on one side, waiting.

Sasuke ran down the waterfall a few minutes later and stopped just outside the entrance to that cleft in the rock. "Naruto?". "Yes, Sasuke.". Sure it truly was Naruto, and not a trap, Sasuke crashed through the waters and stood across from Naruto. His eyes were jet black, no sign of his sharingan, - which meant he wasn't wary of being attacked, he still trusted Naruto.

Naruto foolishly trusted Sasuke too, despite his many attempts to murder him, and his countless cases of heartless, merciless murder. Though that's not true. Neither ninja had ever truly killed anyone, only defeated their enemies. Naruto started the, 'meeting' off. "What will it take to stop you, Sasuke-kun?". "Konoha's destruction.", he replied, no hint of a joke in his tone. Naruto scowled, but to Sasuke's suprise, no hint of the Kyuubi shined through his anger. "What happened?". "I tamed it, Sasuke. Re-sealed it, and now I can use its full power.". That shut Sasuke up. He stared at Naruto, then shook his head and chuckled. "You've become a lot stronger. But I can already tell you can't harm me. Your resolve isn't strong enough.". CRUNCH. Sasuke was slammed up against the opposite wall, one of the Kyuubi's paws flattening his body to its surface. He struggled somewhat, then activated his sharingan, ready to pull Naruto into his genjutsu. But then he looked at him, and saw the orange flames flickering on every inch of his body, the different patterns and symbols adorning those seemingly solid flames. He mostly noticed Naruto's eyes. He wasn't angry, tears were streaming from them, running down his cheeks.

"Why did you have to do all this? We could have been happy.. Me, you and Sakura, always a team..", Naruto spluttered, gazing up at Sasuke. Jet black eyes again, wavering. "Hey Naruto, can I tell you something?", he said, immobile, not even trying to escape. Naruto tilted his head up fully, staring into Sasuke's red hues. "What?". "The reason I didn't kill you..".

Naruto was suddenly sucked into his genjutsu, but he felt no pain or fear. What he felt was sadness, and a horrendous amount of something he couldn't understand. Sasuke forced him to remember something he'd been unconcious for, when he'd fought him in this very location and been defeated. He wasn't boasting, or showing off. The image Naruto saw was himself lying on the floor, unconcious, with Sasuke crouching behind his head, bent over, - Kissing him. Not on the forehead, or on the cheek, but softly, on his lips, tears running down his cheeks, obsidian locks cascading down Naruto's cheeks, almost obscuring his sight. "I'm sorry Naruto, I'm so sorry.. I need to kill him, he ruined my life..", the younger Sasuke sobbed, before wiping his eyes and placing a Konoha headband on the floor. He stood, wiped his eyes and seemed to steel his resolve. "Even if you can't hear me, even though you'll probably die here... I love you Naruto.. but we were born to be enemies.".

Naruto collapsed to the floor, sweating, panting. His hold on Sasuke wavered and disappeared, and Sasuke took a few steps toward his blond-haired victim. A hand held Naruto's chin and tilted his head upward, to face Sasuke. "It's not a lie, or a trick Naruto. What you saw is true.. You had to know, before you died.", he explained, then pulled his fist back. Orange flames exploded into life and Naruto bursted forward, knocking the wind out of Sasuke as he slammed him to the ground, lips pulled back over sharp, razor-like teeth.

Naruto's expression suddenly softened, and a smile graced his lips. "I love you too Sasuke, but I can't die. I need to save everyone, - Including you.". With that, he closed his eyes and leaned down, soft lips pressing to Sasuke's. No reaction for a second, but soon the black-haired teen responded, no longer struggling to free himself but kissing back, running his tongue in slow circles around Naruto's, panting and breathing hotly whenever they seperated, even if only for a moment. Naruto's grip on Sasuke slacked, the future Hokage kneeling over Sasuke's form, toying with his collar, pushing each side over his chest and stomach, stripping him. Sasuke's arms wrapped around Naruto's neck, hands loosely laying against his shoulderblades...