Disclaimer: As I have stated countless times before…I obviously don't own the Naruto characters OR the Sonic characters. Any questions? I hope not.

Time for another update! Sry if it seems a bit slow with the updating but I'm trying to update another story as well. Not to mention a few others things I'm writing. So yeah…just bear with me! Of course send in reviews and such:) I'm almost done with my other Sonic fanfiction so i can update this one more often until i start another one. I usually only do one at a time.

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One of the dogs which Kakashi summoned sniffed the ground, following a trail it had recently found. "hmmm…" it thought as its nose led him to a new part of the village. As he continued to follow, he ignored the stares the people gave him. Even though he wasn't looking, he could feel the hostility emanating from them.

As he reached a huge pile of rubble scattered and piled densely in between two buildings, dust shot up his nose. He snorted a few times in annoyance, his sense of smell greatly reduced as he coughed and sputtered, his leaf-forehead protector slipping over his eyes. Staggering around a few minutes, the dog ran straight into a pile of rocks. Underneath the musty odor, he could clearly smell Naruto.

He wobbled his head, shaking the headband so that it hung loosely around his neck and sprinted back to Kakashi, delivering his message with authority.

Kakashi nodded and turned to the remainder of Team Seven. "Alright, it seems like we know where Naruto is, but according to the dog he may be in trouble."

Sasuke smirked, "What did I tell you? He's always getting himself into trouble. He's too immature to survive more than one day alone." He and Sakura trailed behind Kakashi, the dog leading. Upon arrival, the canine vanished, having finished his mission.

"Start digging, gang." Kakashi ordered, shoving aside a few large boulders, his chakra greatly aiding him.

Sakura groaned and answered, "Yes, Kakashi-sensei." But her inner-self was screaming, "WHY THE HECK DOES HE GET INTO THESE THINGS!"

Sasuke began shifting rubble as well, his finely toned muscles easily moving the weight. A slight moaning emitted from the pile and the three ninjas dug faster, dust and rocks scrambling downwards.

Sakura shrieked as she saw a bloody hand twitching under a pile of rubble. "Guys! I think it's Naruto and he's hurt!" She pointed and Kakashi and Sasuke joined her, forcing the rocks into a downhill slide. Naruto lay bleeding in a dozen places with a trail of blood coursing down his face from a wound in his head. His eyes fluttered open and he saw the blurry shapes of Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi hovering over him. "Kakashi-sensei…" he moaned, head lulling slightly as his sight focused. A tremor of pain raced up his skull and he winced. "i…it…"

Kakashi put his finger to his own lips and shushed him gently, lifting him and leaping down to the ground. "Naruto, don't strain yourself. You can tell us this later."

Naruto croaked, "b…but…i…it's important…" He began coughing up blood, the red liquid spraying onto the ground and on Kakashi's arm.

"ew…" Sakura groaned, dodging some of the blood. Kakashi glanced at Sasuke staring into space and ordered, "Sasuke, I'm taking him to the hospital, you and Sakura follow behind."

They nodded and teleported after Kakashi vanished. When they arrived, he was already speaking to a worker at the hospital. The women took Naruto away on a stretcher, turning right and entering a room. She and a few of her assistants lifted him onto a bed, covering him with a blanket as they searched for bandages and the like. Naruto's blood quickly soaked into the pure white linens.

Kakashi and the remainder of team seven sat outside the door on wooden benches which ran along the perimeter of the room. Sasuke sat in the corner with his arms crossed, clearly bored. Sakura sat nearby, wringing her hand in nervous agitation. Kakashi watched the pair with slight amusement.

The nurse stepped outside, gently closing the door behind her. "He's bandaged up and not fatally injured although he took a few blows to the head which look pretty serious. And he keeps muttering something about being Hokage in his sleep…I have a reason to question his sanity."

Kakashi chuckled and stood up, "No, he's always saying something about that…so he's been insane for a while then."

Sakura leapt up, "So we can visit him?"

The nurse shook her head, "I'd prefer it if you'd wait until tomorrow. Give him time to start feeling better."

Kakashi nodded, "Okay, gang, tomorrow it is…"

Sasuke stood up, keeping his arms crossed as he mumbled, "sure…"

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Sorat called Shadow to him and they discussed a few things. "Tell me about that kid you beat up?" he ordered.

Shadow shrugged and began to relate the fight in his soft, dangerous tone. As he did so, he couldn't stop staring at his red chaos emerald as it cast a lambent glow across his cold features.

Sorat thought upon this information, "You say he became many…and they all were solid?"

Shadow nodded, hardly looking up.

"The Shadow Clone technique…" he murmured. "Did this kid have yellow hair by any chance?"

Shadow nodded again.

"The nine tailed demon fox…" Sorat whispered to himself. He grinned to himself before explaining his newest plot to Shadow, "We'll find him and kidnap him…and perhaps use him against his friends…and those strange emeralds you are so obsessed with…all seven of them should have the power to release the demon inside of the boy…" He couldn't help but smirk as the brilliantidea hatched in his brain. "It's a perfect plan…"

Shadow shrugged.

"Shadow," Sorat ordered, "Find the boy, look in the alley and the hospitals, and bring him to me. Our plan shall begin…"

Shadow nodded and reminded him, "You must keep your side of the promise. I help you and you help me get the emeralds so I can return home."

Sorat nodded, eyes hiding his amusement, "But of course, Shadow, I wouldn't dream of tricking you."

Without another word, Shadow dashed down into the village, running too fast to be detected.

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Okay, that's the third chapter. I just finished outlining all the chapters out and I'm guessing there will be around 13 chapters or so. Don't forget to send in a review and stuff. I've decided to continue it for the time being…and I'm trying to see which of my fanfictions get the most reviews…so far the Sonic fanfiction "Cursed Friendship" is winning with a total of 48 reviews…oh well  I know this is shorter than the last chapter…but I didn't want to ramble on more than I already did. Lolz…