I own nothing from Naruto

Hey. Here we are, 30 minutes left of Sunday but it's up. Sorry for late update but I will try to change that. Next update will be Wednesday and after that Saturday. Any reviews would nice and any constructive criticism will also be welcomed. Now enjoy.

Genres: Adventure, Mystery, Horror, Romance

To my friend, who never gave up on me finding a plot.

"...to!"

"Nar...!"

"NARUTO!"

The voices from what sounded like distant raindrops somehow made the blonde emerge from his painful slumber. His vision was starting to become clear, well as clear as he could see with what could be described as never-ending darkness. It really didn't help that the group had decided to set up camp near black trees and that the sky was covered most of the time.

"...who said that?" Was the first sentence to escape his mouth as he could not sense anyone near him. In fact, it looked like the group wasn't even here at all since all traces of their existence seemed to vanish. Naruto noticed this when he did not feel the cloth he was wrapped in from yesterday's injuries. Upon further studying, he found that all he had on was his ninja pants which were torn to hell and about 27% of his mesh armor. He had cuts and stab wounds in places he knew for a fact that he didn't get attacked in any of the areas.

"..." The ninja was too frightened to speak as he did not remember anything past or after falling unconscious. "I know that I didn't get injured in my legs...or my chest either. What the hell is going on?" Most people would have not noticed what would sound like a feather dropping in these dense forest. But having enhanced senses, Naruto whipped his head to the left and got onto his feet. It was this that made him realize something else.

He could stand.

"This doesn't make any sense...I..I feel no pain, how?" The only thing Naruto felt was sleepiness but he disregarded that as the medical side effects of whatever Shizune had used on him. He nodded to himself and rushed in the direction of the mysterious sound. As he got closer, it seemed to have gotten quieter. Not only the noise, everything. His footsteps continued to get quieter and quieter that eventually he could no longer hear his movements. His breathing was deathly silent. He could not even hear himself think anymore.

Faster and faster he ran. The fear of being utterly alone gave him the push to try and get to the noise as fast as he possibly could. He even thought that he could maybe outrun the silence. As he continued to run, the blackened trees merged into one dark and cold blackness. The freezing temperature made his body ache and shiver from the eternal freezing. The longer he ran, the more he wondered, "Is this death?"

He ran for what could be considered days, not once getting closer to the noise. Naruto was starting to grow afraid and confused, breathing as if he was compacted in a tight space, and sweating profusely. It seemed like something else was inside the void with Naruto, Madness. The one thing that everyone, no, every creature tried to avoid like death. But, not everyone could escape its grasp. Naruto thought he would succumb to be another victim of the disease when he saw hope.

Dim and small, a light beamed over the horizon and somehow emitted the feeling of faith being given to the ninja. Even though his body wanted to stop and die, he pushed on with sounds of agony. The gashes, the stab wounds, the bruises, everything was starting come back to bite him in the ass a thousand fold. Yet, a peculiar thing happened, he didn't stop.

Something doesn't make sense.

And Naruto knew this but did not question it. Why should one wonder if it's aiding you? One should not question and go along with whatever is happening, Ninja Rule number one.

Number two, if in danger, get the hell out of there. Now Naruto wasn't in danger per say, but he felt as if he was. It wasn't long till he had reached the light that was actually a hole in some sort of wall. Naruto carefully touched around the hole and it was an actual hole in a wall. What the wall was, was unknown and not important to the young ninja as he was pulling himself through it without a second of hesitation. Naruto thought it would be a simple entrance, an easy way out.

He should really stop expecting these sort of fantasies.

The hole was not a mere hole after all but a tunnel. To Naruto, it was just a longer obstacle to overcome. He dragged his way across the odd feeling tunnel and felt as though he was getting somewhere. He could see the light grow brighter with every inch and in no time at all, he was out and able to see.

The one thing he did not expect to see was one of his worse nightmares come true.

His friends were dead...all except Hinata who was barely breathing somehow with a sword running through her lung. Anko's head had most of its flesh missing with her body nowhere in sight. Shizune was sliced in half down the middle with both sides falling apart. All of the faces the girls had was like they suffered a dreadful reality. The quiet breaths of Hinata stopped and the corpse slowly slid off the blade which was the cause of her death. "Been waiting for you...Naruto."

"No...why...?" The blonde fell down to his knees when he heard the voice. The one voice he did not want to hear. The one voice that gave him nightmares. The one voice which made his life hell. The one voice of Sasuke Uchiha.

"I got bored while waiting." The teen before him smirked and slowly began to waltz on over to the downed teen. "If only you could have shown up earlier." He sighed and shook his head. "Nah, what am I talking about? You were always late to everything Dead-last."

"W...why are you here?" A choked sob finally was able to come out of his mouth. "How can you...?"

"To obtain the Mangekyō." His answer made Naruto gasp and looked up to see the tip of the blade coming down on him. "See you later Dead-last."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Holy shit! That scared the fuck out of me!" A startled female's voice rang out to Naruto's ears.

"Anko?" Naruto asked carefully as this could be some illusion. Or what was worse, being stuck in the world of the dead.

"Yeah? What do you want?" She asked as she got up from her log seat and leaned down to check on him. "You've been out for a day...those thorns in your leg causes pretty messed up dreams. So asking if you slept well would be in poor taste so instead how about some meat?"

"Meat..." Naruto said dreamily as a new noise spoke with him, the rumble of his stomach.

"You got two options, mantis or monkey."

"...Is it that same monkey that attacked us yesterday?"

"The very same. Hinata told us where to find it after your encounter yesterday."

The blonde squinted his eyes. Normally he'd prefer ramen but he knew damn well there's not a single ramen stand in this goddamn forest. He might as well enjoy what it had to offer. "Monkey. I want to taste the victory over that bastard."

"Excellent choice. Revenge served cold it is."

"I don't want it..."

"Yeah I know just messing with ya Foxy." She gave him a wink and a serpent-like smirk.

"Foxy?" Naruto asked as he slowly pulled his was up into the sitting position. There was the pain he had not been missing as noted by his grunts.

"Don't like the nickname? Well...too bad I like and I'm keeping as your name." She continued to hold the grin all the way up to serving him monkey on a skewer. "Now enjoy some of Anko's Forest-made Monkey!"

"Thanks for the food." He said softly and started to tear into the meat.

"We should be thanking you since you killed the thing. Like, have you seen what you got me?" The question was off enough to pull the blonde away from the tough meat to look up at her. Gone was her regular trench coat and there was a coat entirely made out of fur, monkey fur. And in traditional Anko fashion, she let the coat open and wide. "You like it?"

"Not bad..." Was his fake reply as his real reply would have downgraded his character. Ever since the age of twelve, Naruto thought that Anko was a crazy snake lady and now at sixteen, he thought she was a hot crazy snake lady. Sadly, contrary to popular belief, Naruto was an actual pervert like his sensei but he was at least able to hide it.

"That's it?" Anko pouted cutely at him. "No sexy? No hot? No drop-dead gorgeous?"

"...maybe that last one." He smirked as he thought she could not hear his answer under his breath.

"I heard that Foxy!" His eyes widen as she laughed. "You don't look bad yourself with your top gone!" True to her words, Naruto found himself shirtless with a few cuts and bruises. "How did you get that scar on your chest anyway?" She asked and would later regret.

Blonde locks covered his eyes as it was a touchy subject matter. "When I went after Sasuke...Chidori, right in the chest."

"Oh..." The woman looked down in shame. "Sorry to bring that up." She apologized to him.

"Don't worry about it...it stopped hurting after a month."

"It's alright...I know what it's like to be have scars." Her hand moved her coat a bit down to show the ninja her curse mark. "I hate this fucking thing." She said with venom as she looked directly at it.

"You have a curse mark too?" To Naruto this was a first but not really a shock to Anko. They only met once or twice so far.

"Yeah...apprentice to that bastard. I didn't know he was a traitor back then." The woman leaned forward to have her arms support her on her legs. "He said it was a training trip, nothing more than that. Five months later I was back in the Leaf and hated. Worse of all, no amount of scrubbing can get rid of this eyesore." She lazily eyed her seal.

"That's messed up. I'm sorry to hear that..." Naruto consoled her or at least tried to console her.

"Thanks Foxy, that really means a lot." The snake woman smiled across from him who gave her a smile of his own. "Truth be told, I think it's crap how those villagers treat ya."

"Thanks...I needed that." He sighed and took another bite off the meat.

"If it makes you feel any better, I can take out a few or scar them for life when we get back." Anko told him in a child-like demeanor.

"Uh...why?"

"We outcasts got to stick together right?"

"...Yeah you're right." Naruto replied and blinked when he saw her fist in front of him, staying still. He flashed his foxy grin and bumped her fist with his. A friendship was born. How long will it survive? Who knows. But there was one thing Naruto did want to know. "What did you do with the head?"

A finger pointing south showed that its head was impaled on a spike and made Naruto looked at her as if he was trapped by a psycho. "What? It keeps predators away and looks badass!"

XxX

"This sucks..."

"Suck it up." The giant fox told him as he was annoyed with his whining.

"Fine...what are we looking for again?"

"That woman said look for a clearing next to a river. Use some of your Shadow Doppelgängers do scout and rest." It suggested.

"Yeah." The teen crossed his fingers and created about ten clones surrounding him. "Alright I want you guys to scout the area and poof out when you find something interesting." The main ordered and sat down when the group of blondes left. "Now that we're alone...can you tell me about the chains?"

"Oh yeah...that. Sure why not?" The Kyūbi shrugged its fur-covered shoulders. "Believe it not, you're one of the few people in your clan to do it."

"It's...a clan technique?"

"Yeah. Only one I know to do it was your mother, my previous jailer."

"You were in my mom?!" Naruto asked out in both horror and loudness.

"Rephrase that next time."

"...I wanna punch you in the face."

"I know. But yes your mom was a jinchūriki before you. Runs in the family I guess." The fox cackled to itself with a wide smirk.

Naruto was left stunned after hearing he had a clan and that he was special like his mother. "...What was she like?" He finally asked the beast within him.

"She had a temper...and was strong. She could beat the Fourth easily."

"You're kidding..."

"I saw it happen with my own eyes. It was terrifying everytime." Naruto could hear some shaking within his mind. "But...she was one of the nicest people I ever knew and I've been around for a long time."

"Thanks for telling me this but...why are you nicer all of a sudden?" The teen had noted that he and the fox weren't fighting as they normally would.

"I dunno...maybe you're not pissing me off is one?"

"...That makes sense."

"Your damn right it does. Now let's forget about the past and focus on finding that clearing."

"I've been doing that but they keep poofing out of existence either by animal or by fa...wait a sec I got something." The nin stood up with a smile. "There's a metal shack somewhere!"

"A metal shack?" The beast asked. "A metal shack?"

"Rule one, just go with it." Naruto reminded and jumped off to the branches for faster travel.

"Your human laws are confusing as hell..."

"But they work. Point for...OW SON OF A BITCH!"

"Point deduction. Should have watched that tree and by the way, we're here."

"Huh? Oh sweet." Naruto got over his pain fast and looked ahead. The shack was exactly as he remembered. It was falling apart and rusting over but that did not matter. He needed to check it for supplies. Another good thing about this situation was that door was broken off and allowed easy access. Once in he was sadden to see that the shack was even smaller than his apartment. "Damn...thought there'd be more." He cursed aloud as all he could find was broken furniture.

"Look underneath everything. Could be more that you're not seeing."

The blonde nodded and began to look once more and used his hands to clean the mess. He cautiously made sure not to get any splinters that could get him infected and end him just like that. Yeah wood was a very powerful and dangerous element. "Wait...I found a bag sweet!" Naruto laughed cheekily and unzipped it and was met with the disappointment of the bag being a clothes back. "Clothes? Seriously..."

"He you found something useful. The ladies are going to need some new clothes since the stuff you went through yesterday may be a common activity nowadays." The fox explained with some amazement in finding the bag.

"I guess but I was hoping for something like a weapon." Naruto admitted sadly.

"A weapon? Why the sudden interest?" It asked the container with a curious look and a raised brow.

"After nearly getting killed by a monkey, it made me realize something." Naruto said in a tone that reminded the fox of sadness with some anger and seriousness. "I need something to protect myself, protect the others. We ninja attack from the shadows and I don't think kunai will really work on those animals. Plus, we're going to need to hunt for food and I'm going need something to kill."

"Damn kid. I never thought I would hear you sound smart for once."

"Screw you."

"Can't take a joke? Sigh...oh well. I don't think there's anything else here so let's head back."

"Yeah you're right. The last guy just expelled its self."

"Found anything?"

"He heard water."

"Close enough."

XxX

"Nice job Foxy!"

"Yeah thanks." Naruto replied with an exhale as they finally found the cause of the sound. Indeed it was a river and clearing rolled into one safe zone. The river ran along the side of the clearing with trees covering the farthest side of the water and covered about one third of the clearing. The other 67% was an empty grassy land which covered quite a bit of area. "Not a bad place..."

"Seems, calm. I say we make this a permanent place for the rest of the mission."

"I second that." Naruto agreed.

"Very well, as of this moment forward, this shall be our camp. Welcome to your temporary home!" Anko shouted in triumph and turned to the boy. "I need you to send a clone out to find Shizune and Hinata and bring them back. They should be around the old camping area."

"Got it." Naruto looked eyes with one of his Doppelgängers who groaned and walked off muttering several swear words. He had summoned a few when he met back up with Anko to help carry the supplies. "Why are we keeping the monkey's head?"

"Intimidation kid, intimidation." She replied with a grin as she remembered doing this plenty of times as a kid.

"I hate that monkey."

"You killed it and ate it, what else could you possibly want?" Anko asked him while turning towards him.

"I want to use it to kill for me...wait that's it!" Naruto smiled and went towards the Naruto which was carrying the head.

"Wait a minute. Let me get this straight. You fought a giant monkey, killed it and ate it, and now you want to use it for yourself to fight other monkeys?"

"Yeah." He called out as he reached into the mouth to remove the fangs.

"I'm so proud of you." Anko choked out with fake sobs and rubbing her hands across her eyes. "What are you gonna make anyways?"

"Spear."

"Oh! I have a few ideas!" The woman said with a squeal and ran off to help him with a devious blueprint in her head.

XxX

"This is bad. I knew we would get lost and that means we would have someone sent out to look for us, like what we're trying to do. But then they'd get lost until all of Cloud is gone..."

"Omoi! Stop thinking and pay attention!" A very loud voice caused the teen to get out of his thoughts.

"Karui...you're being too loud. You could attract animals and they could eat us." He told the angry redhead, making her even angrier.

"Cool it you two." The blonde woman before them sighed. "It'll be alright. All we need to do is find the missing team and get out."

"But Samui...they've been missing for three days and we've been here two days. We should have found them by now if you think about it." Omoi said as he was getting a lollipop from his pouch. "I hope we find them soon...I'm running low..."

"That may be true but we also got word that other villages sent their own troops in here. The Raikage said to find and get any and all information from them." She said and pushed forward. "Now let's continue the operation you two."

Omoi sighed and walked beside Karui. "Is it just me or have we already been here?"

"Hell if I know! This place all looks the same to me!" The girl replied and cursed for the umpteenth time as she tripped on another set of large roots. "Ow!"

"Shush!" Samui suddenly shushed them as she felt a sudden presence in their area. The other two had pulled out their blades and readied to attack whatever it was.

"..." Samui had also drew out her blade and held it in a diagonal manner to cover herself from an attack, just in case.

Yellow. An odd color to see inside of a dark and gloom forest. It moved slightly showing a single azure blue eye. "Oh shi..."

The being didn't have enough time to speak as it was instantly turned to smoke from a kunai.

"A Doppelgänger?!" Karui asked in shock.

"It appears we're not alone..." Samui said in a whisper.

XxX

"That's not good..." Naruto sighed as he recalled the memory of seeing a group of ninja in the forest who had instantly attack his clone.

"Something wrong?" Anko had risen her head up from their work.

"I'll tell you about it later. Is it done?"

"Just a knot and...done!"

"What's done?" The outcasts looked backwards to see Shizune and Hinata with looks of interest.

"This!" Naruto grabbed hold of their project and held it in the air. It was a spear with a unique design. The body was like any normal spear made out of wood but it was the blade that stood out. On the tip a jagged blade stood out with other blades made of teeth facing the four directions. Thankfully Anko had rope with her or none of the blades would have held their place.

"A spear?" Shizune asked with a tilting head.

"Gotta hunt right?" Naruto countered her question with his.

"I guess..." The raven-haired woman sighed in defeat. "Anyways...we found something interesting." She quickly remembered and pulled out something from her kimono. A piece of paper.

"Paper?" Both of them asked together.

"I...It's a diary entry. We found it near the camp." Hinata further told them as they all looked onto the paper.

June 3,

We've have been stuck in this forest for two days and I'm close to going crazy! Suigetsu will not shut up and I feel like we're walking around in circles. But oh well, as long as I have him, it's worth it. This is going to be short since we're leaving in a minute. I hope we get out soon...

"That's a day ago. I wonder if they're alive." Anko mused over with the group.

"One of my Doppelgängerssaw a group of people before one of them threw a kunai." Naruto stated.

"Oh no...other villages sent their shinobi to investigate." Shizune grew pale at the thought.

"So we aren't alone eh? Things may have started to get exciting." Anko smirked and gazed out into the forest.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"What...the fuck...was that?" Naruto asked with his eyes out and nearly popping out of his head.

"That...I do not know." Shizune answered with her eyes almost like his.

"That's a human. What made it scream...I do not know." Anko answered coldly. "All I know is that we need to get the hell out of here."

To be continued...