AN: you guys have been great with the reviews. Thanks a lot. I appreciate it!

On a side note. Does anyone else really wish for some more Outlaw Star? I mean its got a great caste, really cool fighting. A well developed plot, and a universe that was actually thought through before the story went print. 26 episodes is not enough! (im watching it for the second time. First time was in english on cartoon network. Only saw bits and pieces then.) Anyone else agree with me or have any thoughts on that matter?

Otherwise lets get on with the chapter. enjoy!

"Hokage-sama! We can't let this injustice go unpunished!" A crinkly old man supported by a staff stood in front of the Hokage with a disapproving look. Though their ages may be similar, Tsunade's looks often made elder council members feel as if they could talk down to one so much younger than them. Yet every time they did so, it became a mistake.

"Your right, this faulty intelligence truly is a crime. You should leave that kind of work to the ninjas." The ANBU had given her a far more accurate report of the little incident that happened in town. Naturally the council had a rather twisted account of the events.

"Hokage-sama! That boy is a menace to our town! He attacked and crippled a defenseless man on the street! He must be punished! He can't be allowed to roam the streets like this…he!" sometimes blithering idiots such as this one just need to be interrupted and shut-up.

"He is completely innocent of the event. And the one who is guilty won't be facing any charges based on the reports I've read. I suggest you stop-" But sometimes people felt a need to stand up to those in authority. It's a feeling most boys have had at some point in their life. However this person never apparently grew out of it. How someone like him was elected to any position of power was just proof of the inherent flaw in democracies. Even idiots get a vote.

"How dare you speak to a council member this way! Remember your place Tsunade!" Oh that's right. Someone decided to speak in a familiar and rude way to the most powerful ninja in Konoha. Now if we know anything about Tsunade and her favored method to resolving problems…someone is going to get hurt, very soon.

She stood up with her face looking down as strands of yellow hair covered the sadistic look that was forming in her eyes. She casually with one finger tossed her desk aside and forced it to slam and crumble against the wall leaving the elderly man deathly afraid for his life. He had heard many of his peers had opted not to run for council member again after having met with the hokage. He now had a feeling of why they would make such politically suicidal moves.

The man slowly trembled backwards with his arms up in a defensive manner in order to protect himself from the hurt that looked like would swiftly come upon him. She wouldn't hit a kindly old man who wore glasses me remind you of YOUR place. All matters relating to ninjas, directly or not, are under the direct unquestionable authority of the Hokage. Anything else relating to the town falls under your jurisdiction." It was crucial to sound somewhat sane at this part of the speech. That made it all the more bone chilling when she revealed what she was really feeling at this moment.

Frankly Tsunade had enough of people treating the boy she treated like a grandchild in such a hideous manner. Often she found herself wishing to herself that all the rumors about the boy's treatment in the past must have been a gross exaggeration by ninjas who couldn't keep their emotions in check, but the boy's brief return to Konoha was proof that if anything, the reports were watered down.

And now this sniveling little man who had never seen a battlefield nor understood any aspect about the life a ninja led had barged into her room to make unreasonable demands of his superior while referring to her without her title!?

Someone's gonna get a hurt…real bad. But I wont tell you who. We got to leave a little hope for this half-scared old man. Its moments like this that diapers for seniors are made.

Well that's how it should have gone, but ninjas know they must expect the unexpected. However the news that burst through the doors was something even Tsunade hadn't thought she would here, not today.

Shizune wasn't even fazed by the threatening display the hokage was putting forth against the councilman. In truth it was almost becoming a monthly routine of hers to scare one of the members shitless. That aside, she had far more important news to report! "Tsunade-sama! It's Naruto! He's run from the village!"

"WHAT!?" Things weren't looking good for the old man. The hokage was now angrier than ever.

In a far meeker voice, Shizune completed her report. Things…things wouldn't look good for Naruto. He didn't have a chance. Not in this fight. Not against this opponent. Not yet. It just wasn't for him to defeat that man. "He….He traced Sasuke's location."

A quick succession of knocks on Kakashi's door stirred him from the pleasant sleep he was enjoying while he lay on Rin's lap. She was quite pleased to be sitting and reading a book while the one she had adored since childhood took rest upon her to clear his mind.

His aura…his aura wasn't tainted anymore. It didn't smell of the guilt he had burdened with himself for so long. All that he needed to make things right in his life once again, was the same thing Naruto needed to make all the pain go away. The right woman.

It wasn't because Kakashi couldn't relate to Naruto that he focused more on Sasuke while team 7 was still united. It was because Naruto was the most like him. Not in personality…but in tragedy. He knew that he could not be the one to show him the way out. Some things just required a woman's touch.

Disturbed from his welcome slumber, Kakashi rolled himself off of Rin's lap and made way for the door, while Rin continued reading her book, already having an idea of who was there. A woman's intuition could be the most dangerous tool a ninja had.

Kakashi however was no fool either. He had been expecting this encounter for quite some time now. The second he opened the door, his face was met with a tight slap across the side of his face, though the usual power that the attacker had was held back in this moment. Sakura didn't want to hurt her sensei. Just teach him a lesson.

"How…how could you never have done a thing!? How…you….you never hated him but…you never helped either!" The rumors had been going around that someone had been tracking down some of the ninja's whom knew of Naruto and his childhood. The damage left behind clearly identified the assailant.

And yet all the while, all Rin did in retaliation was flip a page of the book she was reading. This was a conversation that didn't involve her. Not right now at least.

Sakura stood by the door with no tears in her eyes as most would suspect. Instead there was a look of hurt residing within. She had made her piece with her hand in creating the unstable life Naruto was forced to grow up with. While the blond boy certainly could have sought the answer to these questions on his own, he for some reason decided to let the past be the past. Sakura wasn't nearly as forgiving.

"Sakura-chan…I…I am sorry." Yes Kakashi was quite familiar with how poorly Naruto was treated in the town, despite what little time he spent in the village of Konoha. It was a time in Kakashi's life he wasn't proud of. Not because of his inability to help Naruto when the boy needed someone in his life, but because of another dark secret he held.

His former pupil certainly didn't need to know about his near suicidal tendencies at the time. She didn't need to know the lack of zest he had for life and how his desire to live had been quickly dwindling the longer his fake eye remained imprisoned with him. Someone had to take the ridiculous amount of suicide class missions that were piling up in Konoha. It only made sense for the one most determined to die to take them.

Few would ever know about how Kakashi truly met the young blond boy who was so badly treated as he grew. The story of how a boy, despite being beaten, still managed to brighten Kakashi's day even slightly would remain a mystery to be told another day.

Because Sakura also didn't need to know about the one who gave Naruto just enough warning to escape from a mob set out to kill him. The boy was alone and Kakashi was often gone. He wasn't family that would always be there to help the hurt go away. Naruto needed to learn how to take care of himself much sooner than one would ask of a child. Kakashi wouldn't be able to protect him all the time making it to dangerous for the boy to rely on him. But that hardly meant Kakashi wasn't allowed to at least give him a little benefit every now and again.

It was never anything really spectacular. Every once in a while Naruto would find his fridge had food he didn't remember buying. Or on occasion he would find himself a new set of clothing to replace one the villagers had torn up one day. Sadly only once had Kakashi been able to restore Naruto's apartment to normal after some rogue villagers had torn it up.

Maybe the most memorable thing Kakashi had ever done for Naruto…was give him his first and only birthday present so many years ago. It was obvious who the boy reminded him of. From his fierce loyalty and dedication to his quirky nature, Naruto bared an uncanny resemblance in personality to Obito. That was why on the year before Naruto entered the academy, he was surprised to find a pair of goggles on his door, wrapped like a birthday present.

Some things Sakura didn't need to know right now. Why you may ask? Because in the end it wouldn't have made either of them feel any better, nor would it have changed anything about Naruto's past. All the pink kunoichi needed to do was let out some steam.

With slight tears forming at the edges of her emerald green eyes, Sakura wanted to be mad at her former sensei, but she just couldn't. He was the one who always assured her that in the end things will be alright. He was the one who prevented her from crying and made sure she was safe while she was training. "Sensei…I….I…I'll forgive you but…"

Suddenly Rin shot up from her seat and dropped the book she was formerly so engrossed in. The window was pulled open as a bird flew in and landed on Rin's shoulder while relating a message. The news was almost certainly bad as her knees gave out and her body sunk to the floor with the news.

Kakashi's only visible eye was shocked upon decoding the message. His sharingan eye was revealed the moment the window open and thus allowed him to also decode the message relayed by the hokage.

"Sakura-chan. Its Naruto…he…he's found Sasuke. The two are fighting an-" Sakura's presence was gone though.

There was only one place in the world where the two would conclude their battle. It was the only location where their story could come full circle as the past meets the present in a twisted sense of irony. It was time to go back to where this whole mess started.

The smell of the land hadn't changed. Nothing had been touched from this near taboo area from the last time two souls had fought here. It was in this valley that Naruto had for the first time willingly lost to his opponent. It was where friendships were shattered and promises would be broken. It was here that his life was saved thanks to the speed of a silver-haired ninja who held a familiar presence with Naruto throughout his life. But today…in the here and now…there was no one to save him.

His opponent stood at the top of the cliff looking down with a smirk, in almost the exact same way they had met 7 years ago. "So you picked up my chakra signal. Not as useless as you always were…dead last." It was brief yet powerful. For one moment Sasuke had released the cap on his chakra signature and revealed his location, but only long enough for someone looking for it to notice. Sasuke knew that there was only one person who never stopped looking for his chakra signature. Something to do about promises and friendship and a bunch of other bull that used to hold him back. Not anymore, Sasuke was a weakling no longer.

"Bastard….." There wouldn't be much time for talk in this fight. Naruto's chakra was already being released to his maximum amount as his hands went into a flurry of signals for a technique he had been saving for Sasuke alone. He most of all would appreciate the irony it held.

Throughout the area clones of Naruto started to appear in giant puffs of smoke as each one looked at each other in agreement. They had practiced for just such an occasion.

A few had implemented their variation on the fourth's technique and pulled themselves to Sasuke's location to lunge in for an opening attack. Sasuke smirked as he quickly countered the terrible excuse for an assault and quickly shot out his elbows to make contact with the clones…only to find out nothing happened as a result. In fact his arms went right through as if they were just…..just simple clones.

"I see someone got better at the basics. Too bad you won't have a chance to use them." With speed that nearly mimicked Naruto's Sasuke lunged himself towards Naruto not even bothering to dodge the various clones that blocked the way. He would show no fear.

That is until Sasuke's head banged against one of the clones which was very much tangible. If it was a shadow clone it should have dispersed by now. It almost felt like it was made of….of wood. Confused by this action Sasuke revealed his sharingan eyes and scanned the battlefield only to be baffled by what he beheld.

Clones….all of them…all of them different. Some were simple clones, others shadow clones, still yet some were made of wood while others were composed of water or mud. He had never seen so many clones created through a single move. It damn near broke the chakra laws he had learned so many years ago. It shouldn't be possible!

Worse yet…it ached his sharingan at having to decode hundreds upon hundreds of Naruto's, all of which were composed differently from the one next to it. It was an effective tactic against someone with his eyes. Effective…but in the end utterly pointless.

Through a series of quick hand movements, Sasuke ended by slamming his hands into the ground, resulting in….nothing.

The earth didn't shatter and no explosions occurred. In fact it looked like the technique had been botched in the making. However the real Naruto knew better. It was an attack he used the last time they fought right outside Konoha which led to his return home.

Suddenly his clones were being defeated left and right as armies of snakes jutted up from the ground and bit away at the surplus of Naruto's that hung about.

It was a feeble attempt at distracting the Uchiha long enough, but Naruto knew in his heart that it wouldn't work in the end.

There was no need to continue about a pointless fight. Technique for technique they could continue countering each other's attacks until either died of exhaustion. No for them all that was needed would be one final attack with every ounce of their power locked into it.

That fact flew between the two as they once again made eye contact. It was an unspoken understanding of battle. Sasuke's red eyes challenged the feral looking ones of Naruto as four tails now wrapped around his body. Sasuke however…couldn't change. Not if he didn't want to loose control of himself. He couldn't risk it, not until he was assured he could complete his mission. His other form had proven demented and totally evil. With his current mind, it was incapable of carrying out coherent tasks, which is what the moment called for. But he would never be able to do that until he killed the one who came closest to being his best friend.

But he would supply Naruto with that cocky smirk and continue to berate him with his banter. "You already know how this fight will end….don't you?"

For a moment Naruto's eyes closes as he accepted what was to be. Sasuke was out to kill him now. There would be no running from him. There would be no quiet life with Sakura. There would be no children. There would never be a real chance to come home again.

"Yes." Naruto was clearly outmatched in their previous battle. It took all Jiraiya had to fight off the combined powers of Orochimaru and Sasuke long enough to escape so he could get the boy some immediate medical attention.

"I'll grant you one last request." Maybe it was a bit of the old Sasuke that was there showing him one last moment of kindness. Perhaps it was a deformed version of the Uchiha pride showing through. Then again maybe it was a ruse altogether.

"You know what it is I want." A massive ball of chakra was forming in Naruto's hand as it began to increase in speed and intensity with every passing moment. His eyes darted up to meet with Sasuke's.

The chidori had already formed in his hand and was howling for blood as it sensed a victim nearby. It was not an attack that liked to be denied its pleasure for very long.

"Then lets end this!"

The two leapt towards each other with all the power that coursed through their veins in an effort to end their rivalry…once and for all.

"Tsunade-sama! Let me go! You can't make me stay here like this!" Sakura fought hard against her sensei and spared no effort to break free of the hold as the Hokage refused to let Sakura out of the village. "If Sasuke is in the area, Orochimaru will not be too far behind. If he's this close to Konoha, he has to be planning something. We can't let our ninjas go out into a trap. I've sent out the ANBU." They were the only ones who could hide well enough from Orochimaru's spies to get the information on the area. Unfortunately Sakura wasn't as capable as them in those techniques which meant she got left behind…again.

"I told him! I told him to forget the promise! Why…why did he run off like that!?" She broke down sobbing in the motherly hold her sensei had upon her. Naruto had left while she was 'visiting' certain ninja around the village for the idleness. He had left the village without telling a soul, leaving only a few ninjas to feel him slip by the gates.

"Because Naruto never breaks a promise. Not to you or anyone else. Now pull yourself together…we have to prepare for the worst." There was as time to be concerned for her pupil, but for now she needed to prepare for an attack that may or may not come.

'Kakashi will be able to find him. If anyone could…it would be him.' In fact Kakashi had left the village as soon as he heard the news. The silver-haired ninja didn't know how long Naruto had been gone or how long the fight would last, but he had to try. He wouldn't forgive himself for standing by once again.

"He'll…he'll be alright. Don't worry. It's Naruto. He's the number one ninja at surprising people. He'll.." But this time the hokage was interrupted by the village alarm as it rang. There was an intruder spotted nearby.

It was only then that his signature registered across the mind of both teacher and student. They looked at each other with a knowing glance and together left for the gates to meet the one who had made their way back to Konoha.

Upon arrival they found a scene they had not expected. Two figures stood in the center of a ring of onlookers who instead of hiding, wanted to see what all the commotion was about.

Immediately Sakura felt her body froze. She didn't feel the chakra signature of the second person there…at all. It meant.

"Sasuke!" He was back. To maintain a promise made seven years ago, Sasuke had returned to the Hidden Village of Konoha.

Sakura's emerald green eyes kept darting to the unwavering form that was slumped over his shoulder and refused to move. Any moment…any moment a finger would start stirring, or he'd make some idiotic comment about ramen. Please…please let even just a hint of his chakra still burn within his body.

"I've kept the idiots promise." He dropped the body over his shoulders and revealed just how bad the damage had been. Most were disgusted at having to see parts of the anatomy that deserved to be covered by skin. There was a reason organs typically never saw sunlight. Naruto's face was slashed up and his hair almost completely burned off. It was a disgusting sight, even for someone of Tsunade's experience. "I came back to the village. But I didn't say how long I would stay."

With a smirk Sasuke was gone. It was a technique Sakura had only recently seen herself. Sasuke…he…he stole it from Naruto!

Not having the power to hold back anymore nor caring about the words Sasuke had spouted before he left, she ran over to Naruto and cradled his head within her arms, holding him tightly to her.

'Please…Naruto…..for me….wake up…'

But his body was lifeless and none of his chakra was there. Her body tried to force that soothing green life-force of hers into him, but his body wasn't accepting it.

This wasn't how he surprised people.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

It wasn't supposed to end like this.

It looked like his promise of a lifetime…cost him just that.

Um...don't kill me please? All i will say about this is that im not done yet. There will be one more chapter definitly, and one other chapter maybe. Reason being is i want to start a different Naruto story pretty soon and i dont want multiple stories for teh same series to be out. Life just gets confusing that way.

Anyways, this is where you put in your two cents and let me know what you think. Review with your comments, questions, and general reviews! Until the next chapter, take care:-)

Please...please...dont hate me.