It was midnight in Konohagakure's General Hospital, and our hero Naruto Uzumaki was currently wide awake doing crunches on his bed. After taking a nap, he found out that he could not return to sleep, so he did his best to tire out his body intentionally.

190... he mentally counted. Stupid bandages are restricting my movement, he internally grumbled before adding another rep to his set. His mind was anywhere else but his current workout, though, it was on the strange sense of foreboding he could feel in the air. Going up for another rep, he turned his gaze to the window. The moon was out tonight in its full glory, the light shining through the glass and casting a luminescent glow onto his figure, along with causing shadows on the wall to look more alive. If Naruto didn't know any better, he would think Shikamaru got into his room and began manipulating them.

The tree right outside of his room was swaying in the gentle breeze, causing the shadows to move about in a haphazard but controlled manner, as though it were a play and they were merely acting their roles in awkwardly rigid postures. Deciding to let his thoughts wander elsewhere, he remembered the conversation he had with the Kyuubi.

If he had expected the fox to be so forthcoming, he would have never anticipated this.

The fox had not made some sort of 'demonic offer', one where he was bound to a contract by the tips of his tail, no, he had merely given Naruto advice. And in exchange...

"You want me to deal with Madara Uchiha?" the boy asked incredulously. He was seated on the cold wet ground of his mindscape and leaned forward with a deadpanned look. The tale of Madara Uchiha spanned decades throughout shinobi history. One of the founding fathers of Konoha alongside the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and one of the most powerful men to ever exist. "Isn't he like, dead?" he drawled out to show his disbelief.

"Watch your tone boy, I know what I speak of," the fox replied haughtily. It seemed he did not like slights at his knowledge. "You live in a world where giant beings of catastrophic proportions can be sealed into human infants and you choose to deny whether or not a man with the caliber of..." he visibly recoiled as though attempting to swallow something distasteful, "Putting the strongest Tailed Beast under control can achieve a form of immortality?" he finished condescendingly. His eyelids drooped low as he narrowed his eyes at his container, awaiting a response to his rhetorical question. He gained a shrug.

"Question everything, assume nothing," was the curt reply. The Kyubi huffed, exhaling a hot breeze into Naruto's face that merely caused his hair to sway about wildly. Naruto then stood, "Well, you've laid the grounds at least. Even with a handicap I can manage," he stated with a foxy grin. The fox snorted back before Naruto posed a question. "So you said I'd have to best you in a battle before we do a tug-of-war between chakras?" he asked with genuine curiosity. A grunt was his reply. "But a tug-of-war indicates that we're fighting for each other's chakra. I'm not usually the brightest, but wouldn't it make more sense if we worked in tandem, rather than our chakras clashing against each other?" he peered towards his tenant, looking for anything that signified he was listening. When he found nothing but the fox's eyes closed in what he thought to be contemplation, he continued. "I thought about it, and I remembered when I used that Rasengan against that bastard Sasuke in our battle, and I was using your chakra." He began making hand gestures that showed him forming the Rasengan with one hand. "It was like when I used it with clones, I had something else helping me rotate my chakra while I stabilized and maintained it, and because of that, I was able to do it with one hand. I think..." he finished, scratching his head in embarrassment.

No response.

"Other than that, I noticed it was purple, which I'm pretty sure is 'cause blue and red make the color," he said, nodding in agreement with himself. This time he earned a chuckle.

"If those teachers of yours ever made an effort to actually teach, you'd be praised as someone not so mentally challenged," the fox stated with amusement laced in his voice.

Naruto frowned at this. "You calling me stupid, you stupid fox?! And Pervy Sage is a great sensei!" he declared with the utmost confidence as he mocked a glare at the beast. He completely ignored the fact that said 'sensei' threw him into a ravine deep enough to reach the pits of hell simply to force him into using the fox's chakra.

Details. Details.

The fox rolled his eyes before actually letting what Naruto said sink in. Never has anyone suggested working alongside a bijuu rather than simply taking ahold of their chakra as if it were their own. He believed this was an entirely different case, however, because one, this was Naruto, and two, the seal was meant to act as a filter for his chakra to enter Naruto's own coils, thus mixing the two and creating immense reserves at the cost of horrid control. He would not tell the boy, however, that such a thing was possible; to harmonize entirely with one's tenant, no, that would be earned.

"What you theorize may or may not be possible. None of my previous hosts suggested the idea so I have not been able to come up with my own hypothesis," he stated. He had now intentionally reeled Naruto's full attention once the boy had heard the words "previous" and "hosts". Now sitting at rapt attention, the boy leaned forward in anticipation and asked the question.

"Others?! Who were they?! Can you tell me?!" he asked in a pleading voice. The fox decided to humor him.

"Yes, there were other containers. In fact, the only containers possible of holding back my power are the Uzumaki, as well as being the ones who created this damnable seal in the first place," he growled out lowly.

Uzumaki? Clan? Naruto's mind was attempting to comprehend the information that he was given thus far. He had a clan? And they had to be pretty powerful to gain some form of praise from the strongest Tailed Beast, right? Could he have been directly related to the previous container? Is that why the Fourth was so easily and quickly able to choose him as a sacrifice? Naruto's mind was reeling with possibilities. It was the fox's voice that brought his musings to a halt before the boy hurt himself from thinking too much.

Somewhere, a teenager with short, spiky white hair sneezed, causing his lollipop to end up flying into his teammate's bright red hair.

"All I can tell you before you get an aneurysm from thinking too hard," he paused to snicker at the offended expression on the blonde's face, "is that the Uzumaki are a clan hailing from Uzushiogakure, the Village Hidden in the Whirling Tides. They had a close familial relation to the Senju, causing them to ally with Konoha, and had immensely powerful and dense chakra with various unknown properties. Along with this, they were known for their longevity and healing amazing healing factor. Aside from these mildly impressive abilities, their skill in the art of sealing was unmatched. So great, in fact, that it put other neighboring countries in a state of unease to the point they formed a temporary alliance and destroyed the entire island." The fox took in the sight of Naruto's downcast expression before continuing, "From what I am aware of, my first host, Mito Uzumaki, was married to the First Hokage, and contained me until old age. It was on her deathbed that she passed on the torch to a young girl from Uzushiogakure who had moved to Konoha as the next host, Kushina Uzumaki." Naruto absorbed everything the fox said and nearly ended up in a daze. After years of wondering why the spiral on the back of his clothing was a mark of his clan like the old man said, he finally knew. He had to wonder why they were never taught about the clan in the academy, but every other clan in the village had an entire lesson designated to them. Did they remove any trace of the clan's history out of spite that he was related? Other possibilities filled his head and made his eyebrows scrunch up in thought and frustration. However, he decided to put it to the side for now. When he was conscious he could do all the research he wanted.

"Thanks," Naruto said as his shoulders drooped. He felt a decade-long weight fall off of him and he felt lighter than he ever had. Whether or not they were alive, it was good to know he had a family, not just a no-named orphan that no one cared about. He didn't feel as though he was someone simply because of his clan, but he felt he had someone in spirit because of it. The fox gave no indication he heard the boy's thanks and the two fell into a comfortable silence. It was broken mere moments later.

"Ne, Kyubi, do you have a name? If I just call you "Nine-Tailed Fox", it gets redundant over time, ya know? So does Fox Bastard," he snickered.

The fox's eyes widened ever so slightly before the emotions of contempt and dissatisfaction flashed through his crimson orbs before being replaced by a thoughtful expression.

'Your power is too great. I cannot afford to let you run loose,' came the breathless and haggard voice of a man with straight, long brown hair that framed two thin bangs on either side of his face. His visage was scrunched into a fierce expression and his body looked battered and bloody, his one closed eye was a testament to such.

'When you exert your power, you draw hatred toward you.' A woman with an indigo diamond-shaped tattoo on her forehead and bright-red hair that was set into two buns stood in a relaxed position, her hands tucked into the red obi she wore as she focused her pupilless black orbs on the fox. "Please stay quiet inside of me," she said in a soothing yet sorrowful and pitying voice.

'This sucks for both of us,' began a woman with long bright-red not unlike the one before her, "You may be here to keep the world in check," he continued in an even, steady voice, "But I'm here to watch you," she finished with resolve in her voice.

He looked down at his container, who wore a comically exasperated expression and was yelling something along the lines of 'Stupid fox, are you gonna answer me?!' His brow furrowed and he narrowed his eyes. No matter what words they use, all you humans are the same, he thought grimly. What he did not expect, however, was for the said container to jump atop his snout, kicking up water in his wake and crouching in front of his face.

"Your eyes... they're just like that day..." Naruto thought. He suddenly remembered being pinned down, with a fist mere inches in front of his face, and a boy sitting atop him with dark coal eyes that peered past his soul and looked towards something farther. He saw so much hate in those eyes that day and hadn't known who they were directed towards until recently. Making his decision, he smirked, squatting on the orange fur of the fox's snout so that he was eye level with the fox, who glared at him dangerously, which he completely disregarded.

"I don't know why you hold so much hate, but, I'm gonna find out your name," he began in a low tone before it raised considerably and an honest grin he let very few see donned his expression, "and I'll come after that hate inside you too!" Naruto felt the ground beneath him shift as the fox's expression softened the slightest bit and his vicious eyes were replaced with a shocked expression.

No matter what you humans say, you all end up saying the same things... But you, however... Naruto squinted his eyes, still awaiting a response or to see anything else shift in the fox's expression, I guess I should have never lumped you with everyone, eh, Naruto? he thought with a smirk. Naruto felt the fur he was standing on raise upwards as the fox's expression changed and he grinned.

"Save your friend first before sticking your nose in my business, insolent brat! I've told you all that I wanted to, now leave me be!" the fox roared, forcibly ejecting Naruto from his mindscape. Naruto laughed even as he felt himself regain consciousness.

Kurama, the name rang in his mind. 200! he mentally chanted before smiling, although, soon after, he frowned when he felt the same unease he had before. In his career path, it was unwise to brush something off as merely a hunch, because those who underestimated others were killed, and those who ignored gut feelings suffered the same fate, but what he felt was not directed towards him, no. He felt it in the air as if a suffocating, humid summer atmosphere was slowly closing in on him, letting him know the seasons were shifting.

"I have a bad feeling," he whispered to himself as he rested his arms on his knees in an upright sitting position. It seemed he wouldn't be getting sleep anytime soon.

"What do you mean 'he's gone?'" came the tired and irritated voice of Tsunade Senju. She was standing up glaring daggers at the ANBU in front of her, who was standing upright in a rigid posture, showing too, displease toward the situation.

"Simply that, Lady Hokage. There is no trace, nor trail, hinting as to how he was able to leave. The only trace of foul play or malicious intent is the dead ANBU, ma'am. And I believe it nighs impossible for a genin to take out two in rapid succession," finished the masked guard. Tsunade bit her lip and crossed her arms under her ample bosom.

After having him brought back he still managed to slip out of our hands? Could this be Orochimaru's doing? Was it an inside job? Tsunade's mind raced through the countless variables before she barked an order at the ANBU.

"I want both bodies retrieved and sent to T&I, now! After a thorough examination of the fresh corpses' minds is done, I want them sent to the lower section of the hospital and have an autopsy performed on them. We will get to the bottom of this." With that order made, the ANBU disappeared without a trace to perform the task. Tsunade looked out the window towards the full moon and sighed. It seemed she'd be getting no sleep tonight.

Tsunade plopped down into the seat at her desk and began to think. She placed a hand onto her forehead to ease her thoughts as she wondered how such a fortified village could be infiltrated so easily. Something must have gone lax in between the time of the Kyubi attack up to her reign as Hokage for such an event to occur. If security was breached, the alarms would have sounded, but that had not happened. She used the back of her hand to wipe the tiredness out of her eyes and snarled. Snatching a large white bottle with a cork in it and nondescript kanji on it, she popped the cork out and pressed the bottle to her lips, gulping as much of the bitter yet soothing liquid as she could. She sighed. It was going to be a long night, that was for sure.

488... 489... 490... Naruto mentally chorused once again. His arms were folded behind his head as his spiky blonde hair fell straight down as he squatted upside down on the ceiling of the hospital. The bandages on his body felt sticky and uncomfortable as sweat was pouring off of his body but he did not care. He needed to shift his focus elsewhere before his mind wandered about, searching for reasons as to why he felt so uneasy. He was fully alert, but having his body do something was beneficial for him mentally and physically. He bent his knees once again as sweat trickled down his forehead in droplets on the cold floor. 500! He finished, allowing gravity to take over and landing into a crouch before standing straight up and stretching. He had no idea how long he had been up to this, but the sky was becoming lighter and tinged with a bit of pink, signifying it was almost morning.

He looked towards his clothes that were still neatly folded on a table by his bed and made for his t-shirt and sandals. Putting them on, he quickly opened the hospital window and allowing the brisk air of dawn to graze his body. He inhaled deeply before jumping out of the two-story window and enforcing his legs with chakra, softening his fall. He allowed himself to take in the sights of Konoha while it was still partially asleep and made his way through the market district with his hands in his pockets. he remembered his younger years when he would stroll through the village in the morning to avoid the looks and take in the sights. Everything seemed so small back then, now all he felt was an odd sense of familiarity and slight nostalgia. It felt refreshing.

The glow of the looming sunrise cascades throughout the village, a faint orange tinged with pink gazing over the horizon. Naruto almost forgot the unease he was feeling as the warmth enveloped his body. It was when he saw the lights in the Hokage's main office on from his position that he felt something off. Granny never works this early, and she's not in the office overnight unless she has a hangover, he thought mirthlessly. Deciding to check in on his mother figure, he made his way to the rooftops and dashed across them with practiced grace. He bounced off of poles, using chakra to increase his velocity when he pushed off of them and used clotheslines to swing him forward and increase his momentum. The wind passed him by and rushed through his ears, but he ignored it, making his final lunge towards the tower. Making a chakra-enforced leap, he reached the open window of Tsunade's office and grabbed the windowsill before hopping in.

"Granny, you oka-gah!" his voice was cut off by a soft yet firm hand wrapping around his throat in a vice grip. His eyes bet the tired auburn eyes of Tsunade and he noticed the bags underneath her eyes. They widened when she realized who she was strangling. He didn't even try to pry her hand off of him as she let him fall to the floor in a crouch. She murmured out an apology before applying a small amount of medical chakra to soothe the pain.

"What the hell are you doing out of the hospital?" she half-yelled half-whispered. He could tell by her raspy voice that she had been up all night and took no breaks due to whatever she was doing. Naruto scratched the back of his head in a familiar gesture.

"You know me, Granny, I heal fast! Plus, I got bored and rushed here when I saw the lights on. I felt something was wrong and made my way here." Even with the tired look Tsunade gave a soft smile at the boy's thoughtfulness and placed a hand on his head, ruffling his hair, much to his dismay. She sighed heavily, there was no way to avoid what was to come.

"Naruto, you have to promise me you won't freak out," she told him sternly. Normally, Naruto would exclaim that he wouldn't break a promise but he could tell he wasn't going to like what was coming. It was then that the strange feeling he had before reared its ugly head and came forth with a vengeance. He gave her a look.

"Baa-chan, if it'll make me freak out, I can't promise you anything," he replied tersely. She flinched and looked away for a split second before fixing her gaze on him again.

"Sasuke left the village... again."

What constitutes freaking out? Surely, expelling enough killer intent to turn the entire Hokage office upside down and alert all Chunin level ninja and higher to his location was not listed under the latter.

Naruto tiredly dragged a hand down his face, ignoring the faint traces of blood that had been caused by how tightly he squeezed his fists. It was all he could do to prevent himself from letting any of Kurama's chakra leak out, a task that proved taxing on his mental health.

That fucking bastard! he growled internally, Worst is, I can't even tell whether or not he did this on his own. So many things seem out of place. He exhaled deeply. I failed, Neji. I didn't save him from his darkness. All I can do is strive harder to succeed next time. Fists alone won't be the answer. Naruto began to formulate plans in his head, something very unbecoming of him and mulled over how he would handle the current situation.

Tsunade sighed at the exasperated expression Naruto bore on his face. He already went through a lot. His best friend turned traitor, causing him to fight tooth and nail to return him to the village, only to be reprimanded by one of the driving forces behind his ambition to save his teammate, and now all of it was for naught.

"Baa-chan," Naruto said, breaking the tired woman from her thoughts, "I'll tell the other genin. I think I must be the one who lets them know of my failure," he said with a look of self-loathing. She knew Naruto. He did not desire pity or empathy, he wanted someone to believe in him and instill confidence in him, overlapping the bravado he falsely reassured himself with. She wouldn't nor couldn't deny him this right. So all she had done was give a nod of affirmation, ushering him to leave, her ponytails swaying from the gust of wind he produced as he leaped out of the window and onto the rooftops. She noticed the sun was glaring at her from over the mountainside, signifying it was the start of the day.

"I need a drink," she grumbled, ignoring the disapproving look from her apprentice at the door.

Naruto stood in a cross-legged position on a wooden stump at Team 7's training grounds. His eyes scanned over the field, taking in the scent of the morning dew and the soft breeze that wafted past, carrying the melody of the dancing blades of grass in its wake. It was here that his first bonds of camaraderie had formed. Shaking himself from the spell of nostalgia, he sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot, lately.

The minimal amount of rest caused his injuries to heal ever so slightly, and he was able to fully abandoned the accursed bandages. He was in his signature orange jumpsuit, however, he allowed it to remain unzipped, revealing his bare chest and the first Hokage's crystal hanging around his neck, resting on his collarbone. He disregarded a shirt this morning, seeing as he wanted to feel free from those bandages, and the mesh shirt he had would cause discomfort. He also decided to wrap his headband around his neck, allowing his bangs to fall over his forehead and right over his ears. He looked up at the position of the sun. The other genin should arrive any minute now. He stressed that it was urgent.

He hopped down to the ground and decided to lean against the log to take a small nap. He cracked an eye open when he heard the sound of grass shifting underneath someone's feet. He was greeted with several presences that he was anticipating. He waved a greeting and stood up, sticking his hands in his pockets and straightening his posture.

Shikamaru was the first to greet the blonde with a lazy wave in return and a yawn. "It's troublesome, but we're all here. I hope you have a good reason to wake me up, Naruto, I was planning on sleeping in." Naruto felt a twinge of guilt upon seeing the bags underneath the Nara's eyes, which were more pronounced than usual. All 10 other children nodded their assent. He looked at each of them intently, noticing a tinge of pink on Hinata's cheeks as she saw his bare chest and Ino subtlety licking her lips. Sakura seemed to shift uncomfortably under his gaze as though she wanted to say something but relented. He sighed before speaking up.

"Let me finish before you ask any questions," he stated in a firm tone. A few were put off, but understood the gravity of the situation and complied. He took in a deep breath. "Sasuke is gone; he's left the village in one way or another, but it's presumed that it was either an inside job or that he was kidnapped. If I had to make any guess, I'd assume that Orochimaru has a hand in this, and if that's the case, I won't be getting Sasuke back easily." He expected a chorus of shouts, cries of indignation, something, but he did not expect...

Silence.

Naruto felt a bead of sweat trickle down his temple when the most reaction he got from his colleagues was an infuriatingly slow blink from Shikamaru and a yip from Akamaru.

"You finished?" Kiba asked curtly, Naruto just now noticing that he had his arm in a cast and was absentmindedly scratching the fur on Akamaru's bandaged torso. Naruto, shocked, slowly nodded. "Okay, then we can tell you with the utmost confidence that... there's no chance of us retrieving him." He saw Naruto wanted to protest but kept his mouth shut, assuming that there was more to the Inuzuka's statement. He raised his arm that was in a cast towards the blonde, "This," he began, "is proof that we're not ready to go out on another mission. You were the strongest out of all of us, other than Lee, and you barely returned with your life," His brows furrowed, "which leads me to question why you got not a scratch on you." Naruto bristled ever so slightly but Kiba either failed to notice or didn't comment. It was then, Rock Lee decided to pipe up.

"Yosh! Naruto, I believe we must take time to fan our flames of youth if we are to provide the light to illuminate the darkness of Sasuke's soul!" he exclaimed exuberantly. TenTen, unplugging her ears, acquiesced with her teammate.

"We know you're leaving soon," she began, causing Hinata to wriggle upon seeing Naruto's owlish blink in her direction, "and we thought it was unfair that while you're training your ass off, we sit here and do nothing. You shouldn't carry this burden alone, we want to help you, it's our duty as comrades and as Leaf ninja," she stated, gaining nods from all present. Naruto's mouth hung slightly open and he held a finger up as if to say something but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto-Kun," came the soft yet firm voice of Hinata. She looked directly into his eyes, lavender clashing against cerulean in an attempt to back each other down, neither faltering for a second, "we understand that Sasuke-Kun is your best friend, and we respect your wishes to be the one to rescue him from himself. We truly do believe and have come to the conclusion that you may be the only one who can do it, but just as Sasuke-Kun is consumed by the path of revenge and he wishes to walk it alone, brushing off any help, we don't wish for you to do the same. Accept our outstretched hands, as we wish to walk beside you, helping you reach him. Please," she pleaded, her eyes not wavering for an instant. Naruto felt it in her voice and could see it in the eyes of everyone else. They truly wanted to help him. Not because they were forced to by some blind oath, no, but because they were comrades; friends. He felt a warmth spread through him at the thought and he smiled, gently grasping Hinata's soft hand in his own.

"You're right," he said. He looked up to see everyone watching him intensely. "I didn't want it to seem like I was pushing you guys away, I just thought that it was my failure to make up for... and... I..." he trailed off. They allowed him to regain his composure. "Thanks, guys," he stated with a true smile on his face, an action reciprocated by his friends. "Let's get stronger; together!" he declared as the smile on his face grew into a wide grin and he let go of Hinata's hand, only to put it forward. The others, seeing what he was doing, piled their hands on top of his and raised them up simultaneously, cheering. Shikamaru, who had lazily put his hand in last was pushed backward and fell on his butt, causing them all to join in uproarious laughter at his expense. Soon, he was laughing too.

"Troublesome guys," he mumbled between chuckles. Soon, the field had cleared out, and everyone went on about their day, preparing for what lied ahead. Now, it was only Naruto and Sakura. Hinata looked on with a look of contempt that was veiled with worry before Naruto gave her a wink and she begrudgingly trudged off. She had to meet with the Hokage soon, anyway. She hoped that her crush's teammate wouldn't mar a hair on his head otherwise she would be getting a Gentle Fist strike to an unfavorable body part.

Naruto leaned against the wooden training post with his arms crossed in an aloof manner, repressing the urge to walk away. Whatever had to be said would be said now, otherwise, it would cause problems in the future. The pink-haired girl absently twirled a strand of hair in her fingers, attempting to look anywhere but his cold, hard eyes that were focused on her.

They stood in silence for a few minutes before Sakura spoke.

"Naruto, thank you," she began. She looked to see if she got any response and upon seeing none, she continued, clutching at her dress and avoiding his eyes before she snapped her face up to meet cerulean with emerald. "And I'm sorry, for everything! For how I treated you, as a teammate, as a comrade, even in the academy! I'm a horrible person and I never noticed how hard I made life for you, and I never paid you attention when you were the one who looked out for me the most, and... and...!" she stopped her rambling to take a breath and continued to meet Naruto's eyes. He hadn't made any motion to show he was listening or not, merely standing in the same position he had the whole time and blinked to show he wasn't in some sort of a vegetative state.

"You can stop apologizing, Sakura." She continued to stare into his eyes as if begging him to elaborate and he did so, "I've already forgiven you." Sakura felt her eyes glaze over and she wondered what she had done to deserve such kindness from someone she treated so hellishly. Truly she had been chasing after the wrong person and masked it behind the façade of saving the boy from his darkness; a feat she was entirely incapable of performing. But the boy in front of her could.

"But-" she began, bottom lip quivering as she bit it to regain composure, "everything I've done... it's despicable=I-" she attempted to finish but was cut off.

"I said I forgive you. But that doesn't mean I forget. Not only did you insult my ability to keep a promise, making a slight toward by nindo," he growled out, causing the girl to hang her head in shame, "but you struck me where you knew it would hurt the most. That isn't something a friend does," he said with a frown. Sakura did her best to look ashamed. "I..." he continued in a more hushed tone, rubbing his arm abashedly, "really don't know how I feel about you right now. I stopped having a crush on you a while ago, seeing that I'd never reach your heart in the way I thought I would―it belongs to Sasuke, that I'm sure of. But I thought we could be like family; that's what I saw Team 7 as. Seeing as I never had one, I thought you were what it was like to have an overbearing older sister, I saw and still see Sasuke as a brother, and Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto bit his lip, thinking, "I guess he's kind of like an older brother or an uncle of some kind," he said, rubbing his nose thoughtfully. Sakura absorbed every word and felt her heart fill with warmth, yet at the same time, a needle pierced right through it. This was how Naruto felt this whole time and she spat upon his image of their team―their family, because of her blind devotion towards her crush. She was going to say more before she saw Naruto had already begun walking away. He paused midstride, showing her his back and not turning in the slightest.

"There's no way for you to make it up to me, at least, I don't think... for now. I hope to find clarity while I'm away from everything and everyone so I can get my mindset right." He turned his head towards her ever so slightly and she saw a single tear roll down his cheek, soaking the grass beneath him. "How can I protect the village, when I couldn't keep my family together? And how can I call myself Hokage... when I couldn't even save one friend?"

Kakashi Hatake liked to pride himself on being a skilled ninja. Yes. A reliable comrade? Yes. A good sensei? No. And if his answer was no to the latter, then all the former had the same answer as well. Seeing his student, his sensei's son, unconscious form, wrapped in bandages from head to toe not only stung him due to the fact that it was another of his students, but because it was his poor skill as a teacher that led to this rift in the team. Had he not shown deliberate favoritism towards Sasuke and attempted to satiate his lust for power in hopes to steer him off the path of revenge, none of this would have happened. He watched Naruto's even and steady breathing heave his chest up and down in his deep slumber for another minute before vanishing in a poof of smoke.

After such a depressing wake-up call, most would drown their sorrows in alcohol and wallow in self-pity, but Kakashi was above such practices. It was because of this that he reached his bloody and bruised fingernails to the top of the cliff he was scaling, one hand tied behind his back, and launched himself atop the cliffside. He panted heavily, limbs aching and body drenched in sweat. This not only helped to clear his mind but allowed him to reassess where he stood. He was nowhere near in top form. Two and a half or so years ago, something like this wouldn't even cause him to blink, but now it caused him to feel so physically exerted to the point of exhaustion. He would use this time to think about where he went wrong and make good on his self-made promise to do better for his students, and for himself.

He forcibly ignored the voice in the back of his head that stated he was too late. No; it was always better late than never. And Kakashi, the most lethargic ninja knew this firsthand.

The sun was high in the sky as it neared late afternoon and Naruto had, with his sensei's help, a much lighter pack due to storage seals. He slung it over his shoulder as he ran down the path towards the gate. He was stopped by a hand that pulled him into an alley.

After the quick interruption, Naruto leisurely strolled towards his training companion with a goofy grin on his face. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow that insinuated he knew what was going on but didn't feel the need to ask, and Naruto visibly ignored him. He felt a sudden urge to turn around and the grin on face grew wider as he saw several silhouettes on the tops of buildings; 8 to be exact. Sakura was not seen, and Hinata was, well...

Naruto fervently waved to all his friends which were all returned with vigor. He swiftly turned on his heel and when he noticed a cloud of dust was in his face he sputtered, flailing his arms in front of his space to disperse the dirt.

He yelled at the top of his lungs. "Fuck! Pervy Sage!"

He had the same smile on his face all the while.

Aye bruh, I was trying not to rush the time skip but it's finally here. I got some big shit planned so even if it looks like the story will end up the same right now, I can assure you there will be big divergences.

Peace.✌