Chapter 48

Pain and darkness were all that Naruto knew. His body felt heavy, he couldn't move a muscle. Not that he would try considering how painful even thinking about moving felt. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a void of utter darkness.

'I guess I didn't make it to heaven then. Not very surprising seeing as how I just slaughtered so many ninja.' Naruto thought as he closed his eyes once again.

"You aren't dead. Not yet anyway."

Naruto looked up and was surprised and a bit fearful to see the great Kyuubi standing in front of him. There were no bars and no cage holding the fox back and Naruto was pretty sure that he was about to take his revenge.

"Relax kit. As I've said, you aren't dead yet. If I were to kill you now then I would still die with you." Kyuubi said as he used his tails to wrap up the broken ninja. Naruto was immensely grateful for the comfort and closed his eyes to rest. Everything hurt so bad that all he wanted to do was sleep.

"Wake up boy! Now isn't the time for sleep." Kyuubi roared to get Naruto's attention.

"Leave me alone Kyuubi. I'm so tired." Naruto mumbled out.

"If you sleep here then you will forever be lost in the plane between life and death. You've got a choice to make." Kyuubi said in a softer tone.

"A choice?" Naruto asked in confusion as he slowly fought off the much desired rest.

"Yes a choice. As of right now, your Hokage is trying to save your life. I cannot assist as my chakra was one of the problems. Your physical injuries are numerous but not likely to kill you by themselves. It is your chakra system that is in danger of collapsing. Overusing my chakra put such a strain on your coils that they are broken and cracked almost everywhere. By all rights you should be dead right now." Kyuubi explained.

"I didn't die in that explosion? How did I make it out?" Naruto asked in surprise. He was sure that he was finished.

"I don't know. I was busy contemplating what would happen to me when you died. I have lived for centuries boy. I have never had to face death before. I was a bit preoccupied with this new development when the next thing I know, you are lying on a table in front of your blonde haired leader. This however is irrelevant at the moment. You will still die if you don't make the choice to live." Kyuubi explained.

"The choice to live?" Naruto asked his mind to weary to put the pieces together.

"Yes. While I can't do anything to ensure our survival, you can. The will to live is one of the most powerful things there is. If you want to die, all you have to do is give up. However, if you want to live, then your Hokage's efforts will not be wasted. It's all up to you. She is keeping your chakra system working and is trying to repair it. Needless to say that this is an extremely lengthy and highly risky operation. There are so many things that could go wrong that most medics probably wouldn't even attempt it. Still, if your will to live is strong enough then you just might make it. The choice is yours." Kyuubi said as he lay down with the genin on top of his tails. He had done all he could. It was up to the boy to decide whether or not he wanted to survive.

"What do I have to live for? I failed to protect the one I love. I couldn't uphold my nindo. For all I know, all of my friends are dead right now." Naruto said in a broken tone.

"Suck it up brat! I'm tired of hearing this! If you failed to uphold your nindo then grow stronger so that you will never break it again! If some of your friends are dead then live and grow strong to avenge them! You lost your love, but do you think she would approve of what you plan to do? The main reason she even began to notice you during the academy was because of your will to never give up. Your desire to grow stronger and to never let anything beat you even impressed me! Only two other humans have ever had my respect as you earned boy." Kyuubi said, not liking the boy's moping.

"You're just afraid to die." Naruto said in a slightly accusing voice. The fox's argument was actually beginning to break his resolve to simply let go. It went against everything Naruto was and that fierce spirit was beginning to grow once again. Naruto wanted to want to give up, but he couldn't.

"Yes I am, however I will face that inevitable fate with my head held high. You forget that I was planning to have died in that compound. I was actually prepared to go and slightly resolved to the fate of death. You fought above and beyond what could have been expected of someone who had just gone through what you did. You fought back against the weariness of your body as well as the deep emotional wounds that were inflicted mere minutes before. To go through all of that and still find the will to push on is something I haven't seen in a long time kit. Let's not give that one eyed waste of meat and his accompli the satisfaction of having us die. Live on, not only to fully avenge your mate, but also to show them all your strength." The fox said.

Naruto opened his eyes and looked in two directions. To his left was a very weak glowing light. It was slowly being suffocated by the all encompassing darkness around them. He knew that that path lead to pain, anguish, and life. To his right was a blindingly bright light. This light was peaceful, warm and promised an end to everything. This light promised him peace in death.

Naruto sighed and turned to the left. It was going to be hard, but the measure of a man wasn't how many times he fell down, but how many times he was able to rise again and continue to fight for what he believed in. Naruto turned and looked at the bright light. He knew that in it he would find an end to pain, an end to suffering, and his love. However, he felt he would be betraying her if he were to give up on his dream.

'One day Hinata-chan. Wait for me.' He thought as he pushed his way to the slowly fading light. He ran at full speed towards it, attempting to grasp it before it was lost in the darkness forever. For a moment he thought he would fail. The light was all but gone and he was still far from it. He actually felt the darkness push him from the light. It was trying to win.

"Get out of my way! I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I won't fall here!" Naruto shouted as a bright green glow appeared under his shirt. He pulled out the necklace of the first Hokage. Suddenly Naruto felt the warmth of divine chakra erupt from his heart. He pulled his shirt off and saw the black dragon tattoo wrapped around his body and the head settled directly over his heart. The golden light of the divine chakra reacted with the strange green glow of the necklace and push against the darkness holding him. The darkness shattered and Naruto leapt to grab onto the light. However, for a heart stopping moment he saw the light beginning to go out and he was still too far away. Suddenly he felt something grab him and he saw that it was a red tail. Kyuubi had decided to help out. He grabbed Naruto and leapt to the dimming light. They both flew through and all Naruto felt before he passed out was intense pain in his body. However, it was the pain of someone who was fighting to regain his life.

(Konoha Hospital)

Tsunade worked furiously to save Naruto. She had been at it for hours already and showed no signs of stopping. Shizune had long since gone off the help save the other genin that had been retrieved. When Naruto had first appeared mysteriously on a hospital table, the doctors and nurses were frozen in shock for a moment at the strange appearance. However, they quickly snapped out of it and went to help him. However, they were about to give up before they began when they saw the mess that was Naruto's body. They couldn't tell where one wound began from where another ended. They attempted to heal him but weren't getting very far. Medic ninja saved their patients by injecting chakra into the patient's body to begin fixing the problem. However, Naruto's chakra system was deteriorating at a rapid rate and they first had to fix it. Tem medics began working on him when Tsunade broke through the door at full speed, utter terror visible in her eyes. She immediately went to work using all of her medical skill to save the life of one of her precious people.

'Hold on Naru-chan. Please hold on.' She thought as she continued to work. However it seemed that there was nothing she could do. The fox's chakra wasn't helping her, which was probably for the best. As fragile as Naruto's chakra coils were, she was sure that the fox's chakra would have only been detrimental to his improvement. Tsunade knew that Naruto's state was due to an overuse of the fox's power. She, as well as everyone else in Konoha, had felt the massive release of demonic chakra. Every veteran ninja who had ever felt that chakra would never forget it. She was instantly fearful for Naruto as she knew that he shouldn't be able to use so much of the fox's chakra at one time.

She was giving it her all to fix his chakra coils but it seemed impossible. It was like trying to piece together a large plane of shattered glass. She had to be careful not to use too much chakra or she would only overload the already taxed system and cause further damage. Added to this already huge problem was the amount of severe wounds on Naruto's body. She couldn't do much about those yet as she had to first fix his coils. She had the feeling that she was facing an insurmountable foe. She felt tears run down her face as Naruto began to fade more and more away.

"Stay with me! Don't you dare leave me too!" Tsunade shouted to the unconscious ninja. However, she had been a medic ninja for a long time and was considered to be the best in the world. She knew that a person's spirit and will to live were the most important things when recovery was concerned. She felt in her heart that Naruto had given up on life, and the reason was currently resting in another part of the hospital. Tsunade hadn't had an easy time accepting Hinata's death. She instantly knew that this was the reason that Naruto had gone berserk. She also knew that Naruto knew the extent he could safely use the fox's chakra. All of this combined to solidify in her mind that Naruto was attempting to kill himself. If this was the case then nothing she could do would help. She wasn't even sure if she should help at all. When she had lost the ones she loved above all others she too went on a journey of self destruction. Naruto had been the one to save her from the demons of the past, but was she cruel enough to bring him back into a world where his love was gone?

Just as Tsunade fell to her knees in sorrow and was about to concede defeat the cursed necklace of her grandfather began to glow a bright green. She was shocked when the green chakra began to combine with a golden white chakra. The two mixed together and began to spread over Naruto's body. A blinding flash of light appeared in the room. When Tsunade was able to see again she saw that the physical wounds that littered Naruto's body were closing up. She rushed and performed a diagnostic on his body. The combined chakras had healed him just enough where it no longer seemed hopeless. She also saw that his chakra system was slowly beginning to med itself back together. She put away all doubts and redoubled her efforts to fix the boy who had healed her broken heart and gave her a will to live for the future.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes to see Tsunade working diligently to bring him back from the jaws of death. He saw the determination in her gaze as well as the tears streaks across her face. She was always looking out for him. Healing him when he was hurt, talking to him when he was upset, she even went so far as to help him with his first date with Hinata. He gave a small smile and whispered a single phrase before he once again lost consciousness.

"Thank you Kaa-san."

Tsunade looked up when she heard Naruto's whispered statement and a tear of joy flowed down her face. She felt her heart fill with a warm feeling at the simple statement. She quickly shook her head and got back to work. While he was on the road to recovery, he was still a mess and she would have to work through the night to fix everything wrong with the blonde ninja who had grown to be like a son to her.

(Next morning)

Tsunade woke up to realize that she had fallen asleep in the chair beside Naruto. After assuring herself that he was out of danger, she had immediately collapsed in the chair and passed out from exhaustion. She walked over to the sleeping ninja and began to run a diagnostic on him once again. She found that his chakra coils were slowly mending themselves and weren't in danger of collapsing anymore. His body still supported a multitude of healing wounds that would leave him on bed rest for a few weeks at the least. The fox still couldn't risk sending its chakra to heal him without possibly damaging the fragile chakra coils. She also could only do so much before the body had to take care of itself. Still he was alive and that was all that mattered.

She sat back down and took his hand in hers. She began to think about what a troublesome day it had been. After her premonition the moment the boys left, she had immediately called together the senior members of the hospital staff and sent them after Naruto and his group. This proved to be a crucial decision for if she had instead waited even a few hours before making this decision, she would have probably lost most of the boys. Rock Lee, Neji, and Choji were in the worst shape.

Shikamaru had been able to deflect the kunai that stabbed him enough so that it missed his vital organs. The medic sent after him and healed him quickly and helped him and Temari regain their strength before bringing them back. Temari was with Shikamaru right now, forcing him to eat the horrible hospital food that they were given.

Shino was in bad shape but he was still not in any mortal danger. Haku had some medical experience as she worked at the hospital and was able to keep him stable until Shizune had found them. Shizune healed Shino enough so that he could be moved safely and Haku had taken it upon herself to become Shino's nurse. Shino's father was with him right now helping him integrate new insect colonies to replace the majority that was lost during his battle with Sakon and Ukon.

Kakashi was in the best shape out of everyone. He was currently resting from severe chakra depletion as well as the small remnants of poison from Kabuto's serpent that his impromptu self electrocution hadn't gotten rid of. Kurenai was with him and Tsunade knew that while he was alright, both he and Kurenai were using each other's presence to draw strength to deal with Hinata's death.

Tsunade sighed as she thought about how close the other three ninja had come to death. It was a miracle that Choji had lasted as long as he had. He had numerous ruptured organs, his entire chest was nearly caved in resulting in his ribs being broken in so many places that they resembled crushed glass, and to top it off he was suffering from the deadly affects of having used the dreaded special red Akamichi pill. It took Tsunade and three other doctors five hours to save his life. She focused on reversing the damage of the pill while the others focused on putting his body back together again. He was out of danger but wouldn't be one hundred percent for a long time. Ino refused to move an inch from his side. She was always a daddy's girl but she wouldn't even entertain her father's suggestion to rest for awhile. Only when Choji began to recover did she concede and head home to her distraught but thankful parents. However, she was back at the hospital the very next day.

Neji was in even worse shape than Choji. While a majority of Choji's wounds had been bad, it was more the quantity of the wounds than the quality of them that was the problem. Neji had only two major wounds but they were above and beyond more severe than Choji's. Neji was actually missing a huge chunk of his lung from taking the hit from Kidomaru's giant arrow. Also, the second arrow was still logged in his sternum when they brought him to the hospital. The medic that went to help him was forced to manually keep his heart beating while trying his best to stifle the flow of blood leaving his body. Shizune had taken over his healing and focused on closing the giant hole in his chest, while a team of five other doctors worked on removing the arrow still in him and fixing the damage as they went. They actually lost him once but were able to bring him back. He was currently in ICA and it didn't look like he would be awakening or a while. Tenten had a broken wrist which was easily fixed. She was there the whole time waiting and praying that he would make it. Her father had come and given his support and comfort for his distraught daughter.

There wasn't even a word for what happened to Rock Lee. The doctor that went to follow him was ready to declare him dead on the spot. However, Sakura refused to let it end so easily and demanded that the medic save him. The man shook his head and looked at Lee's ravaged body. He had no idea where to start. Whereas Choji's wounds were more quantity than quality and Neji's the very opposite, Lee had more wounds than both combined and most of these were quite severe. The worst was the large hole that went through his chest. Almost every internal organ was damaged in some way. Luckily, Lee was the closest to Konoha and the medic was able to get him back to the village quickly. He was actually declared dead for a full two minutes as they attempted to free him of his green spandex suit to begin to operate. It took most of the doctors in the hospital all working together to get him in a stable condition. Tsunade was working with Choji and Shizune with Neji by this point. He was finally declared stable after countless hours of work. He was wrapped in enough bandages to appear to be a mummy. Sakura was near hysterical the entire time. She kept babbling that it was her fault and that she was too weak. This was until Tsunade slapped some sense into her. The Hokage began to sternly tell her that she wasn't helping and that if she really wanted to help Lee then to pull herself together and be there for him when he awakened.

Tsunade was pulled out of her thought when she felt Naruto's hand twitch. She then felt it clutch hers and saw that he was beginning to wake up. She stood up and was about to go and retrieve both Anko and Iruka. When they had found out what had been going on, both wanted to be sent to help Naruto and his group. Tsunade had refused, stating that without a clear idea of who was responsible it would be reckless to send them as back up. She had told them to wait and to trust in their little brother. They weren't very happy when they heard the news about his condition. Iruka had to keep Anko from kicking Naruto's door down and clutching him with enough force to break his already weak bones.

"Hey Anko-nee-san, Iruka-nii-san." Naruto said softly.

"You really gave us a scare little brother." Anko said with a tear in her eye as she walked up and very gently hugged him.

"I'll say. Tsunade-sama has been operating on you for almost a day and a half straight." Iruka added with a relieved smile.

"Sorry about that." Naruto said weakly with a thin smile. Both of the elder shinobi could tell that it was forced. His eyes were those of someone who had accepted something so terrible that it was a challenge not to break down immediately.

"I think that's enough for right now you two. Give Naru-chan some rest." Tsunade said to Anko and Iruka. Both looked as if they wanted to protest. They had heard from Kakashi and Kurenai what had happened and wanted to be there for their brother. However, Tsunade's hard stare told them to leave it for now. They both hugged Naruto goodbye and left. Tsunade came up beside Naruto and immediately wrapped him in a hug that was just shy of being too tight.

"Do you have any idea how much you scared me Naru-chan?" Tsunade said in a low tone as she let the fear and terror of almost losing him drain out of her.

"I'm sorry Kaa-san." Naruto responded a bit hesitantly. He felt her tense up and was about to apologize when he felt her give him a small kiss on the forehead.

"Kaa-san. I'm sure that Kushina would have wanted me to raise you after her death. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you Naru-chan." Tsunade said with a heartfelt smile. She had never had children and thought that she never would. Hearing herself being called mother almost brought her to tears.

"I want to see her."

Tsunade was broken from her thoughts at this statement and looked at Naruto with wide eyes.

"I want….no I need to see her kaa-san." Naruto said softly as he visibly restrained himself from sobbing. Despite his attempts, tears were running down his face.

"You aren't in any shape to be moved Naru-chan." Tsunade said, hoping to delay the inevitable confrontation. She knew from experience that the mind could deny the death of a precious person, up until the body was actually seen. The same thing had happened to her when her brother had died. She refused to believe it and actually convinced herself that it wasn't true, until she saw his cloth covered body.

"Please kaa-san." Naruto said as tears continued to run down his cheeks. Tsunade could see it in his eyes. The truth had already been cruelly and ruthlessly branded into his heart. Being too chocked up to speak, she simply nodded and went over to begin unhooking him from the machines. Naruto still couldn't move a muscle and this wasn't going to change for a few weeks at the least. Tsunade gently took him in her arms and lifted him up. She slowly began to walk towards the back of the hospital.

Naruto was in great pain during the trek. His body was still far from healed and the numerous half healed wounds on his body were causing him intense pain. Tsunade noticed this and placed one of her hands on his head. She began to shush him like a young child and ease his pain. This comforted both. Naruto had never been held or spoken to in such a motherly tone and Tsunade had never had the opportunity to do such a thing to a child of her own. Soon they came to the operation room that housed Hinata. Tsunade looked at Naruto once more, silently asking him if he was sure. He took a deep breath and nodded. Tsunade opened the door and walked them in. There lying on the table was Hinata.

She appeared to be asleep. Her features were peaceful and she was in the exact position Naruto had left her in. her hands still clutched his sword tightly. The doctors were a bit surprised that it hadn't fallen during the trip back to konoha, but they had simply chalked it up to rigor mortis. No one was to touch her body by order of the Hokage. Tsunade gently laid Naruto on the table beside Hinata. She turned to leave, wanting to give Naruto a moment alone with his fallen love.

'Why do this to him? Why take the one person who loved him more than life itself?' Tsunade thought as she closed the door.

Naruto looked over at the beautiful face of Hinata. He slowly raised a trembling hand to gently touch her face. He could do nothing but cry. The pain was constant and he knew that he would never lose it. He thought back to all the times they had together and couldn't warp his mind around the future, not without her in it.

"Hello Naruto."

Naruto wasn't at all surprised to see the black cloaked figure appear, leaning against the wall beside the door.

"You saved me." Naruto said softly, never taking his eyes off of Hinata.

"Yes I did. What you did was quite foolish."

"It was foolish to avenge her?" Naruto said in a low tone. His tone may have been light but there was a palpable tension suddenly in the room.

"Not at all. It was foolish to attempt to kill yourself." The man responded.

"I had just lost the person I love above all others. Excuse my weakness." Naruto said with heavy sarcasm.

"Pain is a constant of life."

"Did you come for any particular reason? Unless you can tell me you or the dragons can revive her then I don't want to talk to you right now." Naruto said as he began to slowly stroke Hinata's cheek.

"I can't. Neither can Drac, Tatsuya or any other dragon. It's outside of our jurisdiction." He said softly. His disappointment could be felt.

"Please leave then." Naruto said as the last nail was driven into the coffin that held his hope.

"Naruto.."

"Leave." Naruto said softly once again.

The man turned but was stopped by Naruto's voice.

"Take it with you." Naruto said just as softly.

"What?"

"Take the sword with you. I don't deserve it." Naruto said simply.

"No, there is no one else more worthy than you to wield it." The man stated.

"Take it." Naruto said with a bit more bite in his tone.

"No."

Naruto snarled in anger and would have attempted something had he been able to move. As it was, it took all of his concentration to raise the hand he was using the cup Hinata's cheek. Even this slight amount of movement was causing extreme pain to run through his body. However, after what he had been through, he would take physical pain over a broken heart.

"Are you just going to give up?" The man asked curiously.

"No to do so would be to spit upon her memory. I'll continue to strive for my dream. However, I can't take the sword back. It was a representation of my nindo which I broke." Naruto said.

"You're wrong. I won't take it back just because you've lost confidence in yourself." The man said in a dismissive tone.

When the man said nothing else and made no move to take back the sword, Naruto grew angry. Who was he to tell Naruto anything? This man had never truly given him a straight answer and spoke in riddles. He had never even told Naruto why he was picked to wield the sword. Heck, Naruto had never even seen his face! Naruto was sick of being a pawn in a game he wasn't given sure that he was playing. With a grunt of anger, Naruto grabbed the handle with his hand and attempted to remove it from Hinata's. He planned on forcibly giving it back. However, the blade wouldn't budge. No matter how much Naruto pulled the sword refused to leave her grip.

"What's going on? You told me the dragons couldn't do anything for her. Why won't it budge?" Naruto asked accusingly to the man. Naruto was sure that he had something to do with this.

The man walked over to stand beside Naruto and looked at the blade. He tilted his head to the side as if in confusion.

"Well, that's certainly interesting." He said softly as if he was talking to himself.

"What is?" Naruto asked.

"I wouldn't have thought you would have gotten involved. You sure do know how to pick them, but is she ready? What are the odds of this?" The man said once again seeming to speck to himself.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Naruto shouted at the top of his voice.

The man gave no response. He stretched his arm out and gently gripped the blade. A bright flash of light encompassed the room and when Naruto's vision cleared the man was gone, as was his sword. Naruto let out a sigh as Tsunade burst into the room. She had seen the bright flash of light and heard Naruto's shout.

"What's wrong Naru-chan?" She asked with a bit of panic in her voice.

"Nothing, just saying goodbye to a friend." Naruto said simply. He believed that the man had finally given in and taken the blade back form wince it came or given it to someone who rightfully deserved it.

"Come on let's get you back to bed." Tsunade said softly as she reached to pick him up again.

"I'll see you one day Hinata-chan, please wait for me." Naruto said as he gave a small kiss to her lips.

Tsunade picked him up and proceeded to walk out of the room. Neither noticed color begin to creep back into Hinata's cheeks. Her hand gave a small twitch and her eyes slowly opened for only a moment.

'Naruto-kun.' Was her first and only thought before succumbing to the world of dreams.

Here's chapter 48. Merry Christmas to everyone. Till the new year, Kyuubi123 out!