(A few moments earlier)

A pair of cerulean eyes watched attentively from the background of the fight, its owner surveying the surroundings as the head shadow clone exchanged words with Sasuke.

It was a little strange if asked how these matters of head clone were decided in the absence of the original Naruto, but there seemed to always be a designated shadow clone that would lead the others. Consequently they would also protect him as if he was the original. Subtle movement at the corner of his eye drew his attention away from the confrontation in front of him and he tilted his head slightly in the direction of the interference.

Just because there were other clones also being watchful didn't mean he was going to take his attention away from the head clone entirely.

It was the red haired girl that hadn't attacked the head clone earlier, choosing instead to surrender calmly. She was gesturing discreetly towards him. He automatically raised a hand into the ram seal to dispel any illusion she might place him under when he paused mid way at the look on her face. She had frozen. Her eyes widened in fear and were pleading with him, for what he wasn't sure. But as the clone assessed the situation further he discovered that she was being extra careful to stay out of the line of sight of her team. His initial wariness at being placed under an illusion further subsided when she repeated the gesture earlier. It was slower, but this time it was a clear signal beckoning him to follow her.

He wasn't sure why he felt obligated to do as she wanted instead of calling her out on her actions, since chances were high that she was an enemy. She was working with Sasuke after all. That painted pretty much anyone in a bad light even if it was by mere association. She was however putting an effort into being subtle and though Naruto was sure he could crash her plans by calling attention to her, he hesitated.

She looked vaguely familiar to him, and he had a gut feeling that she somehow recognized him as well. Her earlier reaction to the head clone, when she had surrendered without a fight, was a fact that worked for her favour in the end, well, alongside his curiosity. He would give her a chance, he decided. Naruto glanced towards the head clone for an opinion as he also seemed to have noticed what was happening, but the boss gave no discernible reaction.

That was probably permission of sorts for whatever was going on.

Naruto sighed and decided to just play along. In the end he was a shadow clone anyways and nothing that she could do to him would affect the original in anyway. Well, physically. Even if she did take him out, there were still quite a few more hidden shadow clones in the area that were there to ensure the original's agenda wouldn't be affected.

He glanced around him for a moment, making sure that everyone's attention was elsewhere before he used what little cover was left among the battlefield to sneak away and follow her, allowing the red haired girl to lure him far away from the battleground. The only ones who noticed their departure were the other clones, and they obviously held their silence.

When they were a considerable distance away and out of earshot, the red haired girl turned to face him with an apprehensive look on her face. Naruto glanced around once again to take note of their surroundings. With a careful eye he noted that they were also hidden by sight from the others as the ground they stood on was at a lower elevation. Satisfied that they had the privacy that this girl craved he relaxed his stance and crossed his arms. He raised an eyebrow as he faced her, mindful to keep the rest of his features carefully neutral. It was a seemingly aloof stance, but ninja had blinding reflexes and the false calm fooled neither of them.

"What do you want? Aren't you supposed to be threatening, well, those guys?" Naruto asked as he made a slight gesture with his chin in the direction of Shikamaru's group.

"Are you the original?" She asked, "Is it really you?"

"The original body? Why would you think that?" The clone asked in genuine curiousity. Most others would assume that the head clone that was facing off with Sasuke was the original body since he was the one doing the talking. It was a suspicious thing and she didn't have to answer, but it never hurt to ask.

"I'm… a sensor. I sense chakra, and you have the most chakra out of all the… copies." The girl admitted, as if struggling to phrase her sentences as she spoke slowly. It was hard to tell whether she was putting careful thought into every word she said or if she just spoke that way.

Well, either way that fact was unsettling. This girl could sense chakra? And what was her range? Could she sense the original as he ran back to the Underworld? No, she thought it was him. Either she couldn't sense that far or this battle was muddling her sensory capabilities. Where could they even hide, besides the Underworld sanctuary anyways? He banished those immediate concerns to the back of his mind as he glared at the girl. They were far enough from the group that he could raise his chakra levels without fear of the others noticing anything amiss as he threatened her.

What did she even want?

Her eyes widened and she immediately bowed her head as she dropped to her knees in response.

"Please… Baku-sama. I humbly request mercy," the girl pleaded as she choked back a sob. "I did not know they were with you I swear!"

When she raised her head to look up at him once again and her eyes locked with his, Naruto was shocked to see tears.

Call him a sucker for a crying girl, but despite the situation his anger left him just as abruptly as it arrived. He could never remain angry once the other party pleaded for mercy and hadn't wronged him in some way that he couldn't forgive. Anger at people trying to kill you was easy, not so easy against a person begging for mercy. In fact he felt like he wanted to comfort her. With his anger gone, his aura dissipated as well. Here he went again, Armin was so going to kill him. He almost smiled at the déjà vu this scene brought around, having been put in a similar position many times. Practically all of the people involved in those scenes currently resided in the sanctuary.

For another moment he suspected an illusion on her part to calm him down, but a brief flare of his own chakra showed he wasn't under anyone's thrall.

Only then did it hit him, the way she had referred to him. She had called him Baku-sama.

Only people in the Underworld knew that name, and only people in the Sanctuary had ever even seen his face. Right now, he was knee deep in titan territory and he was not even in his disguise. So how had she figured out it was him? Oh, sensor. It probably had something to do with that then, but that would mean they had met before. It would explain why he felt like he should know her however, even if her identity still evaded his grasp.

"How do you know me?" He asked venomously, as he narrowed his eyes. Placid or not if she knew about the sanctuary and turned out to be a loose end, he would get rid of her. No one was going to blackmail him. "Who are you?"

The girl hesitated for a moment then slowly reached up to remove the weird head covering she had been wearing, showing off her bright red hair in its entirety. She then pulled behind her at the hair that hung around her like a curtain and tucked it into the back of her shirt, giving her a boyish look. Then, despite the tears still in her eyes from his intimidation earlier she grinned at him.

The feeling like he should know the girl grew rapidly. In fact, if he pictured her hair shorter, in a tomboyish cut, with younger and less feminine features…

"Tayuya?" He breathed out in shock at the mischievous glint of the spitfire before him. "You've grown! You even actually look like a woman! And you don't even swear anymore!"

So that was why she looked so familiar. He still remembered encountering Tayuya while he had been scavenging for supplies in a destroyed sector where two rival gangs had wiped each other out. The only reason he hadn't killed her had been because she had been willing to stay and fight him so that her sister could get away. In his books anyone willing to lay down their life for another deserved respect. He still wasn't sure why Tayuya had rejected his offer for asylum to the sanctuary, but back then he had trusted she could take care of herself.

"You fucking asshole," Tayuya sighed out heavily in relief as she threw her head cover at him. "Do you have any fucking idea how fucking reassuring and how fucking scary you were just now!?"

"Well you're looks changed but your potty mouth hasn't," Naruto said in faux disappointment and shook his head. "I knew it was too good to be true."

"You fucking bet it hasn't!" Tayuya grinned smugly as she wiped her eyes roughly.

"So, sensor? When did that happen?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow, still grinning at her and much more at ease now that he fully remembered the little rascal. Who, now that he thought about it, wasn't really quite so little anymore. He was pretty sure however she did not have these powers back then. Or she might have hidden them, which was actually rather smart. He was actually slightly relieved he hadn't fought her back then. If she had already been capable of her genjutsu on a scale enough to wipe an entire district's memories, summon titans and what not then he wasn't sure he could have dealt with her.

"Yeah, and it's so fucking cool!" Tayuys gushed for a moment before she scowled at him again. "It's also why you fucking scared me to fucking death you fucking shithead, do have any fucking idea what your chakra is like when it's agitated and fucking directed at me?" She snapped.

"Um, I can guess?" Naruto replied, recalling the recent events in Trost. The Kyubi's poisonous chakra was probably what his own would feel like if he ever gave in to rage. "So what's it like when I'm not threatening you?"

"It's…" Tayuya started before she paused and burned a bright red, almost the same shade as her hair. She threw her head in the opposite direction as she looked away.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and grinned, "Someone seems to like the feeling."

"Oh shut the fuck up. It's just so big and overpowering and… warm and…" Tayuya gushed for a moment as if she momentarily forgot where she was as she lost herself in the feeling.

"Are we still talking about my chakra here?"

Tayuya snapped out of her bliss immediately and burned red again. "Yes! We're talking about your fucking chakra signature dickface!"

"I liked it better when you called me Baku-sama," Naruto lamented.

Tayuya threw her hands to her mouth almost immediately at the reminder of just who she was talking to.

Naruto just laughed for a little. Even if she had seemingly grown older she was still incredibly wild. "Yeah don't change Tayuya. Now where's that tiny thing that followed you around? Has she grown up too?"

"Ah fuck, yeah about that…" Tayuya began as her face sobered up.

Naruto had a bad feeling about it but he he listened carefully as she began to explain to him just how she had ended up where she was. If he could help her, he would.

(Tsukiyomi)

Sasuke looked around him, slightly puzzled at what he was seeing.

This was his Tsukiyomi. He may not have practiced it all that much, but as far as he was aware he had cast is successfully. His target had been the Naruto in front of him, and he didn't care if it was the original or not. What Sasuke wanted at the moment was any possible information Naruto could have before he disposed this particular threat. If this shadow clone was connected to the original then there was a strong possibility that when the Tsukiyomi ended then the original would suffer tremendous mental backlash whether he was close by or not.

Perhaps the mental backlash would even kill him.

Sasuke had never heard of anyone who had ever managed to encounter a Tsukiyomi and emerge unscathed. It was a Mangekyou ability that if mastered was almost impossible to defend against and near instantly fatal. Itachi's prowess in the technique had allowed him to alter time, squashing in three straight days of physical and emotional torture in the span of a single second. Once the victim was released, the mental strain was all suddenly realized in the space of one second. They would be lucky to only be rendered into a coma for an indefinite time, though when on a battlefield that usually meant you were as good as dead.

Theoretically you could even kill a victim with Tsukiyomi in the space of that second. If compressing three days worth of torture was enough to comatose someone, what about a year or more? It would take a shitload of chakra and skill true, but to look someone in the eye just once and then have them drop down dead was ridiculously convenient. Your friends and allies couldn't even save you, because to release someone from a genjutsu you had to notice they were under one. By the time anyone realized it, their companion was either dead or immobilized.

It wasn't even like the other genjutsu in the first place, which worked by subverting a living thing's chakra to make them sense things that were not there. Nor was it simply an attack on the mind. Sasuke was unaware of the intimate details, but he knew that he drew the victim's sense of self into a space he wholly controlled. Sasuke had even heard rumours that his great grand uncle Madara had managed to briefly ensnare the kyubi itself for a little while. Although Madara had been the one who suffered the mental backlash in the end. One did not simply engage beings of that caliber.

He may not be at their level yet, being able to warp time perception to that extent, but Sasuke was certain he was at the very least strong enough bring about suffering.

Although that led to his current predicament.

He couldn't control what was going on. He was sure he was in the right place, the barren red wasteland of the Tsukiyomi, but he couldn't control what was going on. Much more importantly, where was his victim? He was sure he had made eye contact. Heck he had even enjoyed the shocked realization on Naruto's face an instant he caught him.

And yet the disgusting parody of Menma that was supposed to be greyscaled and crucified at the centre of the illusion was distinctly missing.

Sasuke found himself more than a little confused and disappointed. He had been excited to draw out all of the horrid memories Naruto had stored up, then force him to relive those moments helplessly. Or he could just stab him with swords the whole while.

Or both.

"What is this supposed to be?" A deep voice asked.

Sasuke whirled around in surprise, startled by the sudden noise.

"Who's there?" He demanded as his eyes carefully roved over the wasteland. His head swept sideways back and forth urgently, taking in all of the details of the world around him.

"You were the one who did this, if anything I'm the one supposed to be asking the questions." The voice responded sarcastically with a very familiar tinge of annoyance. Even if it was deeper than he was used to.

"Uzumaki?" Sasuke asked with a bated breath, trying to ignore the chill running up his spine.

"Unless you directed your tsuki-something at someone else then yes I believe it is me you duck haired imbecile. So I ask again, was this meant to happen?" The disembodied voice snorted.

Sasuke tried not to think about it, yet unbidden all his knowledge of what Tsukiyomi was meant to be drifted to the forefront of his mind. It was really hard to clear your mind, much less when you had something to hide.

"So this is supposed to be some kind of ultimate illusion then? Hmm, interesting." Naruto's disembodied voice mused.

"How are you controlling this!?" Sasuke yelled out in an effort to disguise his fear. This should be impossible. He was the one supposed to be in a position of power!

Naruto laughed and a moment later Sasuke found himself restrained against a cross, similar to what he had imagined pinning Naruto to. He resisted, but struggle as he might physically, or even as he tried in vain to reassert his will over the technique, the restraints on the cross held firm. They also really hurt. Sasuke couldn't even begin to reassure himself that this was all in his head, because nobody had ever walked away from a Tsukiyomi unscathed. How could he have even foreseen this happening? An ultimate technique of the mangekyou had just been bypassed, even fully reversed.

But that thought fled his mind as a more immediate concern wormed its way into his head. How was he supposed to kill Itachi now?

"I do not think you understand this… ability of your eyes very well," Naruto said.

Sasuke kept what little dignity he had left and kept his mouth shut. Naruto could pull this information from his mind anyways, but he wasn't going to admit it. The question was burning on his tongue however, what was going on and why would Naruto of all people know more about it than an Uchiha? Oh, shit. Yeah, Mikasa was one too. Sasuke bit his tongue to stop from cursing at the oversight.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you Uchiha think that this encounter takes place in the mind…" Naruto started as his form materialized in front of Sasuke. He didn't wait for an answer from the bound boy since they were both aware he was right. "But that couldn't be more off. Haven't you ever wondered, why despite its advantages the chakra drain of this technique is simply ridiculous? You're a chakra monster in your own right and even you are wary of using it once. If it was really as simple as drawing someone in your head why would it take that much chakra? What would separate Tsukiyomi from a deliberate mind destruction technique from Armin?"

Sasuke pondered on that for a moment. Naruto did have a point there. Some of the more powerful Yamanaka could produce similar results granted if they could hit their target, and they didn't even have the mangekyou. So what made Tsukiyomi so special and draining? Sure it needed eye contact and it was instantaneous, but Yamanaka didn't exhaust themselves after one cast.

When he conceded the point in his head Naruto continued.

"It's because this technique of yours, it is not really an illusion. Did you know that you are actually tearing open a rift between dimensions?"

Sasuke blinked incredulously. What was this idiot talking about?

"I heard that. Considering you are the one chained what does that make you if I'm the idiot?" Naruto said with a scowl. The golden haired boy blinked once before he began to smile. "But I'll continue telling you anyway, just so you are aware of how much you really screwed up. This rift thing? You don't crossover fully. It's like a partial rift and creates a space in between. Almost there, but not really there. Am I making sense? It's like you made a tunnel to bring us to Gehenna, but stopped somewhere in the middle before we plummeted into the other place."

So the Tsukiyomi made a tunnel connecting two worlds. What did that have to do with how the tables were turned? Having another world alone was confusing enough, but travelling through them? And Gehenna? Why did Naruto even know about it?

Naruto laughed at his question. "You see, time runs differently in that place. It passes ridiculously slowly. The closer to Gehenna you stop, the slower time passes. Why? I have no idea, but it is a world of monsters, beasts, and demons. Everything you consider inhuman or even things from nightmares, they are all there. Maybe time passes differently to accommodate the existence of these things?"

Sasuke had no way of telling if what Naruto was saying was true, nor did he fully understand this dimensional bullshit he was spouting. He got the gist of it, and it partially explained the time perception and chakra cost, but what did it all have to do with the rest of the technique? If anything it sounded pretty much like an Underworld of sorts, or an afterlife for the damned.

"I'm not really sure if it is an afterlife," Naruto paused as a thoughtful look crossed his face. "But what I do know is mere mortals do not belong in Gehenna. Whatever poor soul ends up there is tortured by the denizens of Gehenna, demons if you will. There is no death there. If you die you spend an eternity in pain as you reform. Humans are no match for anything that exists there, all shapes and sizes. Some are simply rabid beasts, others possess while some are able to warp reality enough to torture mortals any way they wish. Eventually mortals lose who they are."

"How do you know about it then?" Sasuke asked, unable to keep his silence. Having your mind read got uncomfortable very fast. But if mortals didn't belong in this Gehenna place, then why was Naruto talking as if he had lived there?

"I'm surprised you don't know anything really," Naruto replied with narrowed eyes. "After all, the reason you can create these rifts is because your clan are descended from demons. All of you ninja clans have demon blood in you. It's what separates you ninja from the common civilians. These bloodlines you have, this ability to wield chakra did not originate in this world. Humans did not have to ability to control the energies in them or around them."

"Hn. Spare me the history lesson. If I am part demon then why am I the one under your control?" Sasuke snapped. He was aware of the Uchiha's long history that could be traced back to the Sage of Six Paths and his crazy mother the Rabbit Goddess. If they got their powers from demons or were demons themselves it did not matter, he had more pressing concerns.

"Because, there is a hierarchy of sorts," Naruto continued to explain calmly. "Lesser beings cannot and will not be able to do anything to a higher ranking demon. It is all about authority. I will not get into details, but you Uchiha have a rather large amount of demon ancestry within yourselves. It is probably why the more you embrace your negative emotions and desires, the more powerful you Uchiha become."

"Hn. Then why does it seem like you outrank me?" Sasuke asked perceptively as he connected the dots.

He regretted it a moment later when Naruto's features grew animalistic and his literally shone cerulean blue.

Naruto's malicious grin filled with sharp teeth in response to his chilled Sasuke to the bone.

"Because in Gehenna, I can count on one hand those who outrank me."

Sasuke did not need further explanation to know what that meant for him. Whether it was a lie or not did not matter as Naruto had full control over the situation. He had so many questions. How had Naruto come here then? Was he even human? What had he gotten himself into? Sasuke's suspicions that Naruto would finish the tunnel and just toss him into Gehenna were for naught when the barren red wasteland around them began to shift and blur into completely new scenery and Naruto disappeared from view once again.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke demanded, still restrained to the cross. His eyes widened first in recognition at the scene around him, then he blanched in horror.

"Can you play with me today big brother?" A very young Sasuke Uchiha asked excitedly as he launched himself at a similarly young Itachi excitedly in their family home. This was in his house, in Konoha, before the massacre.

"Forgive me Sasuke. Maybe next time," Itachi said as he poked his brother on the forehead with two fingers in a familiar gesture.

"Now let us see what makes you tick you duck haired bastard," Naruto's voice rang out.

Sasuke could only watch helplessly as his memories began flash in front of him. In essence he was reliving his life.

Tayuya

"You're sure of her symptoms?" Naruto asked thoughtfully as Tayuya nodded earnestly.

"Yeah I'm sure as fuck. Hello, I fucking took care of her in the early and middle stages of that fucking sickness remember?" Tayuya snapped.

Naruto ignored the red haired girl that was losing her temper in front of him as he reviewed his memories. This situation tickled him for some reason. He was no medic, but he did recall a similar outbreak at the sanctuary with similar symptoms to what Kin was displaying. Luckily Armin had been advanced enough in his medical studies by then and not only had he identified the sickness, but he had also developed a concoction that would treat the symptoms until the body gained an immunity to the disease. It was deadly if left untreated of course, but it wasn't very difficult to counter if a gifted teenager like Armin managed to deal with it.

This was why the entire story left a bad taste in Naruto's mouth. From what he had from the kyubi's memories, Orochimaru was a genius. Why would someone like Orochimaru struggle to cure something so trivial? Then again Orochimaru was also a manipulative snake. Naruto scowled as the pieces fell into place. The snake needed Tayuya for some reason or other and he had targeted her weakness, effectively binding Tayuya to his service over the love for her sibling.

He was going to have to do something about that.

"By the way are those two pathetic fuckers over there with you?" Tayuya interrupted his thoughts as she pointed behind two logs. "Cuz I thought they were just fucking civilians or some other crappy idiots to follow us this far, but now I'm not so sure. Balls of fucking steel on those two I'll give 'em that."

Naruto couldn't really sense anyone, which was unsettling, but he trusted Tayuya when it came to this particular area. She had tracked down Sasuke from who knew where after all.

"Yeah, alright! You two get out of there! If you aren't with Sasuke there's no reason for us to fight. If you are well, I'm going to tell you now you might just want to walk away."

His first reaction at the mop of red hair that emerged a few moments later was a frustrated sigh.

"Jean really? I thought we had a plan to stick to?" Naruto asked exasperatedly at the sheepish look Jean shot him. "What part of that plan included you leaving the walls and coming here? The only reason you aren't dead is because she found you amusing!" He continued as he pointed at Tayuya.

Resistance to mind control aside, Jean was still very much a fragile human. If he had been unlucky enough to get hit by a stray jutsu from the earlier battle he would not be getting up again. Heck he was incredibly fortunate he hadn't been hit by a tree when Temari had practically uprooted the forest.

"I know I know but wait, it wasn't entirely my fault!" Jean protested quickly. At Naruto's sarcastic look he chuckled. "Okay, well maybe it is a bit. But I came out here at his urging and because they looked suspicious! How was I to know they could do… all that."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at Jean's description of the ninjutsu battle that had taken place behind him. One didn't have to be nearby to behold the spectacle. Naruto just brushed it aside as Jean being Jean and turned to look for Jean's partner.

"Where's your friend?" Naruto asked as he searched. Tayuya had told him there were two and so far he could only see Jean.

"Oi, do you really want to piss him off now?" Jean said with a frown at the spot next to him.

Naruto heard a sigh before another ghost from his past rose up to greet him. Almost immediately his eyes hardened and his jaw clenched.

"Long time no see Levi," Naruto barely managed to greet civilly as his anger at the man surged forth. "I see you finally decided to show your face again."

Jean and Tayuya shared a look as they noticed the sudden change in atmosphere and both quietly stepped away from Levi. Neither of them were eager to be in his position at the moment.

"Yeah, it has been a while hasn't it Uzumaki?" Levi sighed tiredly as he looked down, unable to face Naruto's eyes. He let his hands hang limply down his side and was sure not to make any sudden moves lest Naruto attack him.

"Why are you even out here?" Naruto demanded with a clenched fist. "You're a little far from your new friends."

"Trost happened. The commander sent me out to-"

"Ah yes. The commander, someone you now serve like a good dog. It really makes one wonder why someone like you would be so willing to bow to someone else." Naruto bit out through clenched teeth.

He had spent so much time searching for this man, and had been disappointed at what he had found. If Levi did not want to return Naruto would not force him. It wasn't his job to fix a broken man, he should be able to take care of himself. As far as he was concerned, Levi had abandoned all of his responsibilities in the Underworld to serve under a new master and spend his days slaying titans. He had looked up to the man, who as far as Naruto knew was human. For someone without chakra to scare Naruto was something only Levi Ackerman could claim. But any respect he had held for the man had already diminished.

The others waited with bated breath for Levi to respond, and yet he remained silent with his eyes firmly downward.

"And I take it if you hadn't followed Tayuya and found me here, you and I wouldn't have met for who knows how long, now would we?" Naruto asked acidly. "If we even ever met again."

This time Levi looked up defiantly, even if his eyes still looked tired.

"No. I was going to find you anyways! You can ask your lackey over there, that was my plan!" Levi countered as he pointed at Jean.

Naruto ignored Jean's affronted look at being called a lackey but when Naruto glanced towards him for affirmation Jean shrugged and nodded.

Naruto turned back to Levi with a sneer. "Yeah, find me probably under the orders of your beloved commander." Naruto stretched out the word with such venom that Levi flinched. "We were brothers in arms Levi! We fought together for years! Blood, sweat, tears, then out of nowhere you decide to disappear without a warning and serve under the scouts!? If that wasn't enough you even took Farlan and Isabel with you! Did I really mean that little to you?"

Naruto was at war with himself. He had already spoken with Farlan and Isabel about why they had gone above ground and Naruto had trusted them regarding Levi. But when the man failed to return year after year, Naruto began to believe that maybe there had been another reason for his abandonment. Levi was still the sole person in Naruto's lifetime that he had cared for, then had been abandoned by.

"Why else would I look for you then?" Levi snarled back. Naruto paused at the vehemence in his tone but stared back just as intently as he let the other man talk.

"What the fuck do you want me to say huh? Tell me Uzumaki! Do you want to rub it in my face that I couldn't protect them? Do you just want to stand there and berate me for my failing? I know I got them killed! I live with that fucking fact every fucking moment! You think I just suddenly decided I didn't care about them anymore, that I was tired of the life we lived and decided to fuck off to the surface world? That Erwin was a ticket to a life above ground? Well fuck you!" Levi swore as he gestured wildly with his arms.

Naruto absorbed the information quietly as Levi calmed down slightly and caught his breath as it was clear he wasn't quite finished venting. Naruto had thought some of those things at first while searching for him, but he already knew it wasn't true since Farlan and Isabel had explained it to him. What he didn't know was why Levi hadn't returned. And who the heck had died?

"Erwin captured us on a mission to assassinate him," Levi continued, "And the only way out of that mess we had was to join his forces for missions or get executed. So we joined him. And I left them to fucking finish the job and kill Erwin. That's when those fucking titans got to them! Okay!? I wasn't there to protect them and I know that! But don't you dare think I meant to leave all of you! Erwin gave me a chance to kill as many of those ugly fuckers as I can so I'm doing it. I'll take down as many as I can until I die!"

"And you avoided me because?" Naruto asked for clarification, finally having an inkling to Levi's problem.

"How the hell was I supposed to look you in the eye and say I got my brother and sister in all but blood killed!?" Levi spat. "You would never leave your family alone while in titan territory. I knew you would never want to see my face again. I failed them. My biggest responsibility, and I failed at it. I didn't even get to retrieve their bodies." Levi trailed off, all the anger at himself dissipating as he let out a tired sigh.

Naruto let out a breath as well, finally understanding what had kept Levi away. But he was also aware that there was no real reason for it. Farlan and Isabel had sent him off to Trost that very same morning after all.

"Dammit Levi. If you had come to find me sooner you wouldn't have spent so much time beating yourself up over this." Naruto said.

Levi snorted. "Yeah, because you're suddenly a registered therapist."

"No. Because then maybe you would have found out far sooner that your siblings are still alive and whole," Naruto snapped back in the same sarcastic tone before the thought of Farlan's missing limbs hit him. "Well, mostly whole."

Naruto almost stabbed Levi on reflex when the man blurred in front of him and grabbed his shirt to glare at his eyes and Naruto was reminded suddenly of a very angry Mikasa. Though if it was Mikasa he would have felt far more threatened. Levi was short. Especially now, since Naruto had freshly finished his teenage growth spurt.

"Will you calm down?" Naruto asked in a low voice as he slowly grabbed Levi's wrist and began to crush it. "They are alive. I tracked the scouts on that expedition you mentioned because I was looking for you guys. I arrived just in time to save them. I simply meant if you had come seen me sooner you could have greeted them yourself. Are we clear?"

Deep cerulean blue eyes gazed into pitch black eyes unflinchingly as Levi searched Naruto's face for any hint of deception. Naruto simply met his gaze with equal force, knowing that Levi needed this. When the shorter man did not find what he was looking for he finally released Naruto's shirt and took a step back as he gazed up at the sky.

"Well… fuck me."

"Nope, I'll pass." Naruto chuckled, bringing a ghost of a smile back on Levi's face as well.

"Can I see them?" Levi asked, meeting Naruto's eyes again. Naruto couldn't help but notice they looked far less haunted than before.

"Yeah, sure. They probably want to see you again. Isabel's going to be pissed though." Naruto chuckled at Levi's wince.

"Which brings me back to another thing," Naruto said as he turned to Tayuya.

"I want to you to bring Kin to the Sanctuary. You don't know where it is and have no way of finding it, so I'd prefer if you brought these three to the place you last saw me. I will be expecting you three there. Tayuya, if you think Levi and Jean can aid you in extraction then by all means take them with you, though I am unsure how much help Jean will actually be."

"Oi," Jean interrupted reflexively before he blushed lightly in embarrassment when all three of them stared at him blankly. "Don't mind me."

"But I do recommend you head there. It is somewhere to run and hide for a while should you ever need it, but I will be waiting for you there anyways." Naruto said as he turned back to Tayuya.

"Burke's Hovel?" Tayuya asked for clarification. "A little fucking far from Nedlay district, but it should work."

"Isn't that place stupidly crowded? People will notice us, and we might lead them to the sanctuary?" Levi opposed thoughtfully.

"Nah. Ever since the Borgins and Burkes practically wiped each other out that place has become no man's land." Naruto said with a shrug.

"Then I see no problem. If we set out now and Tayuya retrieves this Kin with no obstacles, we should be there tomorrow afternoon at the latest." Levi summarized.

"Woah what? Do you guys have any idea how far it is to Nedlay from here?" Jean protested amidst three amused looks. "That's at the other end of human territory from here! Like, northernmost?"

Naruto stifled a laugh as he recalled that Tayuya was the gatekeeper of the northern gates.

"You know what Horseface? You just fucking ride to Chlorba. Shorty and I will get my sister then link up with your pathetic ass before we head underground? Happy?"

"What's with the mouth?" Jean frowned.

"What's with the fucking face? Someone decide you were a fucking decent toilet when you were a toddler?" Tayuya retorted with crossed arms.

Naruto rolled his eyes at their interaction. He really hoped the pair wouldn't find themselves in a room with Eren and Kurotsuchi. That racket was something he would rather miss.

"Do I have to babysit these two?" Levi grumbled and pointed at the pair while he cast an irritated glance in Naruto's direction. He was beyond thankful to Naruto, but he was also still aware that Naruto's anger didn't burn out easily so he wouldn't push it. But if he had to work with these two bickering the whole way he couldn't guarantee anyone's safety. At least when Jean had been on his own he had been relatively silent.

Naruto just shrugged at him. "I think it's in the red hair honestly."

He stiffened suddenly however as memories from one of the other clones hit him. Tayuya seemed to have sensed something amiss as well because she too stared at him wide eyed.

"What did I say?" Jean asked confused at Tayuya's sudden shocked silence. "Was calling you an overgrown pimple too much?"

"Get out of here!" Naruto hissed as he sent them running. Whatever Sasuke had done his chakra was soaring, but it wasn't the only one. The head clone's chakra was beginning to blanket the surrounding area with its density.

"See you tomorrow shithead!" Tayuya nodded then turned tail and began to sprint off into the distance.

"Jean. Ride to Chlorba now and bunker down near the broomshop. It's close to the the outer gate, we will see you there." Levi ordered as he let out a sharp whistle for their horses.

Jean gave a stiff nod as they mounted the horses that arrived not even a moment later, clearly spooked but still completely faithful to their riders. "And you?"

"I'm going to catch up with that crazy bitch and help her." Levi replied. Naruto suspected that Levi was merely happy the pair was separated for now.

With another slight nod at each other and one last glance at Naruto, the two rode off in separate directions.

The clone watched them go for a bit before he readied himself mentally for a fight. He was still the shadow clone with the most chakra after all.

A/N: Heya folks, sorry for the lateness. This semester has really been strange. The next chapter will follow within the next week, just gotta edit it a little. Don't worry much, next chapter is the last before we return to Eren and the others.

Review folks, if I get a few I might consider bunkering down and finishing the next chapter sooner!