Naruto: Journey Of The Sixth Hokage

The End Of One Path, Start Of Another

Naruto was currently going the long way around the clearing, closing the distance between him and Sakura. He heard a girlish scream, causing him to falter as he awkwardly ran towards the source of the cry. Just as he stumbled upon Sakura, she sat up.

"Where am I? SASUKE-KUN!" Naruto quickly worked backwards and came up with a couple of conclusions as to why she was scared for the Uchiha and how she ended up where she was.

'Okay…Off the top of my head I can see three options…One: the Uchiha and her were working together when they were attacked by Kakashi…Hell no, Sasuke would never accept help from Sakura-Chan. Two: having seen Kakashi attack Sasuke, she rushed in to help, before getting caught in the crossfire…Nah, she has too much faith in the Uchiha to ever think he'd need her help. Three: she got caught in a Genjutsu…He is a Jounin, so he probably knows quite a few that Sakura-Chan would fall for.'

"Sakura-Chan, I think you were in a Genjutsu…I'm pretty sure Sasuke-Teme is fine…" She gave him an indignant and disbelieving look. "Okay, we can both search for him, and then maybe we can all work together to get those bells…" But by the look on her face, Sakura clearly didn't trust him.

"When we get them, maybe you should give me the bells Naruto-Kun. Kakashi might try to reclaim them, and he would never think to check me. In the end, we can all share the bells to graduate." Sakura gave him her best award winning smile. And if it wasn't for the fact that his bloodline was still active and what he had heard yesterday, he would have easily believed her.

Naruto grimaced, surprised by how fast she had taken advantage of his loudly proclaimed love for her before stabbing him in the back… 'If it makes her happy,' he sighed. 'I've tried so hard, and I've gotten farther than ever…Another year with Iruka-Sensei wouldn't be so bad…'

"I promise you, Sakura-Chan; I'll give you the bells."

They both worked their way to the clearing, hiding on its edge. They watched Sasuke launch a giant fireball. When the flames died down, Sasuke could be seen buried up to the neck in the ground. Kakashi turned northward before rushing off in that direction. Hurrying into the clearing, Naruto created a few clones to start digging the black haired boy out.

"Sasuke-Teme, all of us have faced him alone and failed. If we all use our own strengths to attack him together, maybe we could get the bells." He suddenly felt much slower and his leg flared up in pain. He must have stayed still too long and his bloodline was gone. "Sakura-Chan, Iruka-Sensei said you had the best written scores…Maybe you should make the tactical plan."

"We only have ten minutes. LET'S DO THIS!" Naruto charged toward Kakashi's last known location with the other two following him. He didn't have to look for too long as a kunai barreled out of the trees hitting his non-injured leg. He dived forward as the two behind him jumped, disappearing into the forestry. He made it behind a tree as he heard a thudding sound and fell the tree shake. His mind immediately jumped forward, going straight into equations as he figured out Kakashi's general location. Taking a deep breath, he made a few hand signs and suddenly he was somewhere else.

Ignoring the pain in his legs, he darted toward Kakashi, determined to succeed no matter what. He dived under a kunai, rolling into a running start before throwing his own kunai and jumping towards a nearby tree. Kicking off its trunk, he managed to find cover and advance closer to Kakashi. Creating two more shadow clones, he used them to throw him onto a higher tree branch. All three rushed forward, the clones on the ground lasted a few seconds more before one was hit with a kunai and the other with a punch to the face.

Naruto dropped from the trees, he didn't notice the kunai in time to avoid it and fell onto the weapon; he felt himself almost black out. Holding himself together, he grabbed Kakashi's arm, as the other two finally showed up grabbing his legs. Kakashi's eyes opened in horror as he focused on where his kunai had plunged into the blonde's chest.

Naruto grinned weakly before Sakura and Sasuke dispelled their Jutsus, showing themselves to be clones. The real Sasuke rushed out from behind some trees and went for the bells as the real Sakura did the same. Kakashi didn't even notice, still focused on what he had just done. Naruto spasmed, grinning one last time when he noticed that they had gotten the bells. He let the dark take him as he let out his final breath.

LB!

Naruto awoke a little while later still leaning against the tree, his head throbbing as the memories returned in a rush. That was honestly the first time he had ever felt himself die, instead of simply just disappear after a solid hit. It was disturbing, even if his goals had been accomplished. Apparently, his bloodline allowed clones to hold themselves together for a little longer if they so wished. He had accomplished what he could; there was no more time for him to see if he could steal a bell from one of the other Genin, even if he had wanted to. He simply let his eyes close as the exhaustion took him.