The last thing he could remember was the cool breeze he felt on his face as he lays on Kakashi's back. In silence student and teacher moved through the forest, heading back to the village of Konoha. Naruto still fast asleep, his body battered from his battle with Sasuke. He woke up momentarily when he was being placed on to a medical bead, but he quickly went back to sleep. Then suddenly pain, pain like nothing he had ever felt, far greater than what he had ever received from the villagers. No this was something of pure hate that boiled the very blood in his vain. Shooting his eye open the last thing he was before everything fell back in to darkness was a blinding white light. Once again, he could fell the cool breeze hitting his face as he moved through the air. Only this time there was no forest, no Kakashi, no light. He was falling, falling deeper and deeper in to darkness, travelling towards some unseen place. How long had he been in this place, just then he started to slow down in his decent till he finally came to a complete stop. There was still nothing around him, but he had landed on something solid he could feel it under his feet. He looks around and takes a step forward. There is a flash of blinding light as a large flock of birds rise from the platform, flying in all directions and scattering feathers everywhere. Naruto shields his eyes as the wind whips at him. He watches them leave while the last feathers fall. The platform now depicts a girl dressed in red her face hidden in shadow. Naruto turns around seeing no one, yet hearing a voice.

"So much to do, so little time... Take your time. Don't be afraid. Power sleeps within you... If you give it form... It will give you strength. The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes. don't be afraid. And don't forget... You hold the mightiest weapon of all." Said the voice as aa dark void appears under Naruto, sucking him in.

"Hey! what is this." Naruto shouted out in panic as the darkness engulfs his legs. Thinking quickly, he pulls out a kunai from his leg holster and starts to slash away as the darkness clenches onto him. His slashing hand is lost to the black abyss. Naruto can't fight it off any longer as he lies on his back as the darkness wraps its last threads around his frightened eyes.

The sun is shining bright as a soft breeze moves through the pine tree forest, above the trees in the sky birds move around from tree to tree. On the forest floor a sleeping Naruto slowly starts to open his sleepy eyes and sits up. He yawns, starting to lay back down again, when suddenly he shoots back up on his feet. He looks around searching for the darkness that had only a second ago had completely engulfed him. Seeing that there was nothing around him anymore Naruto started to look around at his surroundings trying to work out just what happened to him, and what was that strange dark place.

"Hello! hey hello!" Called out Naruto as he started to move through the silent forest. Looking up to the sky he saw that it wasn't even past noon yet and quickly changing course he started to head in the general direction of east, hoping to find his way back to the village. Pumping chakra to his legs Naruto hopped to the closes low branch and started to move thought the trees at top speed. Well at least that what he had hoped would happen however instead he flew about ten feet in air before coming crashing back to the ground.

"Ouch." Said Naruto as he picked himself off the ground and rubbing his aching nose as he spat out her dirt that had gotten in his mouth. He quickly dusted himself back off and pumped chakra to his legs and leaped in to the air. This time he was able to get about twelve feet in the air this time before he went crashing down to the ground again. He gave it two more tries before he gave up and tried to make a shadow clone, and it was when nothing happened that Naruto realized something was wrong.

"Shadow-clone justu… Shadow-clone justu… SHADOW-CLONE JUSTUESHADOWCLONEJUSTUESHADOWCLONEJUSTUESHADOWCLONEJUSTU!" Naruto shouted out in anger and frustration had he fell on one knee, beads of sweat running down his face. After few minutes he picked himself up hand started to make his way east.

"Dame it, why can't I use my chakra?" thought Naruto as he moved through the woods. It was passed as Naruto moved in silence he had plenty of time to self-reflect, which boiled down to him thinking about what kind of ramen and how many bowls he was going to eat once he got back to the village. For what seemed like the hundredth time Naruto's stomach let out a lough rumble of hunger, luckily for him he started to hear rushing water not too far off.

"Yes." Said Naruto excitedly as he moved faster towards sours of the sound his mouth starting to water, because Naruto know where there's a river theirs fish in that river. Braking out of the tree line Naruto raced down to the bank of the small river and dunked his whole head in it's refreshing cool waters taking large gulps of water as he did. Taking his head out of the river he fell back and laid down on the river bank, catching he breather as he did. As he lay there starting to think about the fish he was about to catch his heart skipped a beat as the tremendous roar sounded off to his right. Slowly turning his head to the right, Naruto saw that in his rush to get a drink of water he had failed to notice the massive black bear just a few yards from him. The bear let out another massive roar as it began to stomp its front paws on the ground and move towards him.

"Easy their big guy, easy now." Said Naruto as he slowly got up and started to get up, reaching a hand in to the equipment pouch, while moving his other to his kunai holster. Before he had time to finish however the bear rushed forward ready to attack. Turing tail Naruto started to run as fast as he could as he grabbed a paper bomb and attached it to a kunai. Taking a sharp right Naruto jumped in to the river, twisting his body mid-air and sticking the kunai in to the ground in front of the bear. The force of the blast pushed Naruto farther in to the river, as the bear fell to the ground lifeless. Once in the river Naruto was faced with a new problem, the strong current was beginning to take him downstream very quickly. Before Naruto know it, he could no longer see the spot where the dead bear was, but instead was struggling to stay above the water as he was pulled in to white water rapids. he kicked his legs has hard as he could, but the strength of the current was proving to be a challenge.

"I could really use some help fox." Called out Naruto as he noticed the speed of the river increase as he moved closer and closer to a waterfall. Pulled over its edge Naruto started to fall with the rest of the river and as the rushing air passed him he suddenly remembered.

"Summoning justu." Called out Naruto as he bit his thumb, drawing some blood and going through the necessary hand signs. Just like his shadow-clone justu nothing happened as he continued to fall.

"DAME IT!" shouted Naruto as he put his arms up to his face and braced for the impact to come.