Chapter 17: The End and the Beginning


July 25th, 64 AFL

Just a few moments before Rock Lee arrived on the scene and the Uzumakis could reach their friends, Ino and Sasuke were running across The Valley of the End, using their chakra to keep above the water's surface. Suddenly Sasuke stopped, right in front of the statue of Madara Uchiha, without looking at her he said,

"Ino, that freak, he… he wants to take over my body. That's what he really wants from me." Ino looked at Sasuke in shock that turned to anger, "So when we get there you're just going to give it to him. That doesn't sound like you Sasuke-kun," she replied knowing he had something in mind. Sasuke started his ascent up the statue with the blonde following close behind,

"You know me too well, the thing is that freak only has so much time before he's forced to take a new vessel," Sasuke explained. "So you want to stall for time by battling Naruto," she replied causing the sharingan user to simply nod and say, "As long as you think you can defeat Sakura that is." The pair reached the top of Madara's head, sat down and Ino said, "I can defeat forehead easily, especially with this much water around us but remember Sasuke-kun." Sasuke actually groaned,

"I know Ino, I would never willingly kill Naruto, why are you so concerned about that anyway." Ino punched his arm, "I just don't want you to do something you'll regret later Sasuke-kun," she replied sweetly and then closed her eyes in order to mentally prepare herself for the coming battle. Sasuke huffed but didn't argue and started to mediate himself and it wasn't a few minutes later when the pair heard two people they knew all too well scream, "Sasuke, Ino!"

Meanwhile Hinata and Lee were coming up with a strategy to defeat the leader of the now devastated Sound Four. "Lee can you keep him busy while I get my jutsu ready?" Hinata asked the bushy browed genin. Lee gave the Hyuga heiress a thumbs up, "Sure Hinata-san I'll take care of it," he replied. Lee went in with his taijutsu while Hinata used her clones to gather chakra attempting to perform the Fourth Hokage's legendary jutsu. Lee landed a punch on the sound nin's face knocking him back but it was clear it did little damage,

"Like I told your friend, my defense is impenetrable," Kimimaro said and without warning he charged Lee full force. The sound nin tried slicing off the boy's head in one go using his bone sword but Lee ducked underneath and landed several brutal blows to Kimimaro's solar plexus. The sound nin was unfazed however and went in for another slice but Lee was able to back away just in time. 'Damn my body still hasn't fully recovered and this is just as annoying as Garaa's sand shield,' the boy in green spandex thought. He dodged attack after attack and finally Lee saw an opening, quickly unwrapping the bandages around his hands and wrapping them around sound nin tightly, "Now you're mine!" Lee kicked Kimimaro in the air several times high into the sky while following close behind. Suddenly he appeared behind the nin while they were still in mid flight,

"Now Fifth Gate, Gate of Closing, open!" He shouted when he kicked Kimimaro in the back and sent him to the ground hard. The sound nin braced for impact, activating his curse mark and entering his first stage transformation but before he could recover or even hit the ground his eyes met Hinata's, "Rasengan!" Hinata shouted sending a perfect orb of blue condensed chakra right into the sound nin's face blasting him back several feet while still in mid air. Kimimaro landed on the ground while Lee regrouped with his teammate,

"Wow Hinata-san that's a powerful jutsu," he commented, impressed by her skill. Hinata was panting but she still managed to smile, "Thanks Lee, that was the first time I was able to do it without Naruto-kun or Sakura helping me," she replied proudly even though she was exhausted. Lee returned her smile but before they could congratulate each other further they felt an immense chakra coming from their opponent. Lee sighed and downed a bottle Hinata assumed to be his medicine while she scanned her opponent using her Byakugan,

'How did he manage to gather so much chakra so quickly, we had him beat," the Hyuga heiress thought. Before she could form a new strategy her teammate went into danger alone, "Lee what the hell do you think you're doing?!" "Don't worr…y Hina-san I wi...ll defeat him with my… my flames of youth," the bushy browed genin slurred. Hinata looked at him oddily before shouting, "Lee stop, you're drunk," she realized but Lee just continued charging onward. The Byakugan princess closed her eyes but then she heard, "Leaf Hurricane!" Lee shouted as he dodged Kimimaro with flexibility Hinata had not seen before, landing a hard kick to the sound nin's head. Hinata looked on confused as all hell,

'What is he? A master of Drunken Fist or something,' she thought as Lee landed another hard blow to Kimimaro's back but the sound nin struck with a blow of his own, slicing Lee and drawing blood by cutting his cheek and right arm. The wounds were merely of the flesh however and Hinata quickly joined her intoxicated teammate on the battlefield but instead of using the normal Hyuga taijutsu style she adapted to a much more flexible form, which she had been developing since the day she had passed the genin exam.

The combination of these flexible fighters had Kimimaro on the ropes but unfortunately for them Lee's medicine wore off and he collapsed to the ground in a state of deep slumber. Kimimaro went for the easy kill but even passed out Lee had the reflexes to dodge his attacks, 'Crap we're screwed,' Hinata thought but before Kimimaro could make any fatal blows, he was suddenly hit by a large blast of what appeared to be sand. Hinata backed away with the passed out Lee in her arms and looked toward the direction the attack had originated from and her jaw hit the ground,

"Ga… Gaara?" Hinata managed to say. The boy with no eyebrows looked at the Hyuga heiress and simply said, "I am here to repay my debt to Naruto Uzumaki as well as apologize to that fool." Gaara pointed to the sleeping Lee in Hinata's arms who by some miracle woke to the sound of the sand nin's voice. Lee got to his feet and chuckled, "Well now, apology accepted as long as you help us defeat that guy," he said as he pointed toward Kimimaro. The son of the former Kazekage nodded, "If you two can distract him for a bit I'll finish him in one attack," he replied simply.

Hinata and Lee nodded and started to engage the sound nin again, not bothering to attack and simply dodging to the best of their ability. At the same time Gaara gathered as much chakra as he possibly could and after a few minutes he actually shouted, "Now!" Hinata and Lee moved away at lightning speed and when Kimimaro looked to his last opponent he screeched, "I will not be defeated! I will protect and serve Lord Orochimaru!" Gaara didn't acknowledge the psychotic man's declaration and simply sent a vast amount of sand, that was created from the very earth itself and launched it full force toward the sound nin,

"And I am Gaara of the Sand!" Kimimaro took Gaara's attack head on and once the blow made impact he found himself on the ground with the jinchuuriki standing right in front of him, "Now, Sand Burial!" Without warning Kimimaro was sucked deep underground by the sand forcing him deeper and deeper into the ground. The sound nin tried to break free but the sand was too strong, too vast, and his injuries too brutal. Kimimaro lost his ability to breath and within the next few moments his life had been extinguished.

Hinata and Lee looked at the red haired sand shinobi in shock at his display of power, both injured and exhausted. With the last of her chakra Hinata used her kekkei genkai to make sure the enemy was beaten and with that task done the two leaf genin collapsed to the ground in a state of unconsciousness. Gaara quickly gathered the genin under a pile of sand, one for each of them and quickly headed back to the Leaf Village in order to get the pair some immediate medical attention.


A few moments before Gaara arrived on the battlefield the Uzumakis found themselves on the head of the statue of the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, "This is the Valley of the End Naruto-kun," Sakura said once she got her bearings. "Sakura-chan look, they're over there," Naruto said as he pointed toward the head of Madara Uchiha. "Sasuke, Ino!" The pair screamed across the valley toward their closest friends. Neither replied but Sasuke and Ino did open their eyes. They looked at each other before nodding and Ino slowly made her way downward, toward the vast amount of water at the bottom of the valley. Sakura looked on confused,

"Is she coming back?" she asked while looking toward her baka. Naruto gaze drifted to Ino who was now simply standing on the water with an unreadable look, slowly his eyes moved to Sasuke and saw him wearing the same face as the platinum blonde. He looked back to Sakura and simply shook his head, "They're not coming back unless we beat them to a pulp and drag them back ourselves, I can tell by their expressions Sakura-hime." Sakura looked back to the two Uchiha first in a state of sadness that quickly shifted to annoyance,

"Alright Naruto-kun, I'll take piggy while you handle Sasuke," she said while cracking her knuckles. Naruto smiled and pecked her forehead, "Just be careful my feisty cherry blossom," he said. She smiled, nodded, and quickly made her way down the statue landing on the water herself. Naruto looked on to Sasuke and the two simply scowled at each other, at any moment they knew their battle would begin.

Down on the water surface Sakura walked over to Ino, anger ever apparent on her face. Ino just scowled right back, "You and Naruto just have to but into everything we do, don't you forehead?" Ino said as Sakura stopped just a few feet in front of her, "What the hell do you think you're doing Ino, you know the only thing that freak wants from Sasuke is his body. Don't you understand, Sasuke will be dead and all that will be left is Orochimaru." Ino snickered a little which pissed Sakura off all the more,

"Don't worry forehead we figured all that out but you see the thing is we don't really have a choice," she replied and then suddenly shouted, "Water Style - Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Most of the valley was suddenly covered in a dense mist completely surrounding the two kunoichi and making it difficult for Sakura to even see her hands. "Damn it Ino, I thought you wanted to save him, to heal his pain but I guess that was just one big lie huh. Fine, Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Sakura shouted causing four clones to appear around her, "Do your best to find the pig,"

"Right," her clones replied and scattered themselves, Sakura pulled a kunai, did her best to relax, and listened for the slightest movement that wasn't caused by one of her clones. 'Damn I can't hear her anywhere that only leaves two options,' the pinkette thought. She quickly looked to the sky but all was clear at least as far as she could tell, "Not there then... below!" Sakura shouted as Ino popped out right below her while forming hand signs,

'Crap I know that jutsu,' "Water Style - Water Prison Jutsu!" Ino screeched but luckily for Sakura one of her clones managed to chuck her out of harms way, the clone getting trapped in Ino's jutsu instead, "Fuck you forehead, you have no idea what Sasuke-kuns really been through but how can I expect a clanless dog like you to understand how cruel and sick the shinobi world can truly be," Ino replied, releasing her prison and slicing Sakura's clone with a kunai. Sakura huffed,

"Maybe you're right but you know this isn't the answer, we're friends Ino, help us bring Sasuke home before it's too late." Ino sighed but regained her composure, "What would you do if it was Hinata? What do you think Naruto would do?" Sakura didn't have a reply, she knew exactly what Naruto and her would do, she hated to admit but she realized at once, how easily their roles could have been reversed. "Sakura," Ino said regaining her friend's attention,

"Lets see how you're Shadow Clones due against mine, Water Style - Water Clone Jutsu!" Ino manifested three clones from the water they were standing on and they engaged Sakura while the two originals charged in kunai at the ready. Their blades kept parrying the other neither kunoichi showing any sign of weakness as their clones took each other down. The first pair dispersed when their fist met the others face, mirroring the end of their battle during the chunin exams while the second and third pairs tag teamed the other.

The Sakura clone went for a kick but Ino's clone dodged and tried landing a fist but the remaining Sakura clone struck her with a kunai to the spine dispelling her, then Ino's second clone returned the favor stabbing that clone in the back. Ino's last clone went for Sakura's but the pinkette had recovered and as she stood up her kunai met Ino's last clone's heart but unfortunately for Sakura Ino's kunai had found her target as well, deeply lodged in her own aorta. The two clones managed to glare at the other before they dispelled and now only the originals remained on the battlefield.

"Ino come on let's stop this senseless fighting you're my best friend, I… I can't lose you again," Sakura said, shedding a tear but keeping her focus. Ino expression softened but she knew what she had to do, quickly backing away and forming several hand signs, "How many of Zabuza's jutsus did Sasuke teach you!" Sakura said in disbelief, Ino smirked,

"All of them! Water Style - Water Dragon Jutsu!" Suddenly Ino formed a dragon, again using the vast amounts of water underneath the two kunoichi. "Shit, Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Sakura shouted, creating four more clones and using them as a shield when Ino's dragon made contact. They dispelled one after another until finally the poor cherry blossom was hit by the dragon, however it's power had been weakened by her shield of clones. She got to her feet bruised and huffing while the platinum blonde was breathing heavily herself. Ino chuckled a little while panting,

"Not bad Sakura but can you handle a second dragon, I seriously doubt it." Ino started to gather her last bits of chakra unfortunately for her Sakura beat her to the punch on signs quickly forming two clones and putting their hands on top of the originals helping her gather chakra for a jutsu she had never successfully performed alone. Ino smirked,

"So you do have another jutsu, this should be good, Water Style - Water Dragon Jutsu!" Like before a dragon erupted out of the water below but this time Sakura was ready, her jutsu complete, "Rasengan!" The cherry blossom shouted sending the ball of blue spiral chakra directly at the dragon. The two jutsus made contact creating a loud explosion but unfortunately for Sakura her jutsu, even though it was rank higher than Ino's paled in comparison to the vast amount of water Ino had at her disposal, eventually overpowering the pinkette's Rasengan.

Ino covered her eyes, shielding her from the explosion caused by their powerful attacks. When she finally opened them again she scanned around the battlefield for a good few minutes before a chill ran down her spine. She quickly looked to the source of the malevolent chakra knowing it's wielder all too well. Her seal started glowing as she spotted her soulmate and she let out a deafening scream, "Sasuke, No!"


As Sakura and Ino's battle began Naruto and Sasuke stared the other down and then somewhere deep in the woods a leaf hit the ground, within seconds the boys were in the air, kunai in hand, and as they their blades clashed Sasuke's sharingan stared deeply into his opponents blue eyes. "Why are you doing this Sasuke? Why this way damn it?" Naruto asked in concern, trying to understand his best friends actions.

"You don't get it, I'm not like you and Sakura. I don't have any attachments to that weak ass village and I can't get any stronger if I stay there Naruto," Sasuke replied as the two seperated and landed on the water deep in Ino's mist. Naruto knew he was at a disadvantage and shouted, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" his two clones managed to throw him to the side of the cliff landing parallel to the wall just as Sasuke ran his kunai threw the two clones.

He looked up at Naruto and threw several shuriken toward the jinchuuriki but Naruto countered, "Wind Style - Air Bullet!" The bullet of wind hit one of the deadly weapons and the force caused the others to veer off course but when Naruto looked toward his opponent he was gone, 'Crap where is he?' the blonde thought. Naruto looked around frantically trying his best to locate the Uchiha. Unfortunately his attempt was in vain when suddenly Sasuke finally showed himself, directly above the blonde baka,

"Dodge this dobe, Fire Style - Fireball Jutsu!"He shouted sending his clans signature jutsu directly at his opponent, 'Crap, I have no choice, fine just one-tail,' the blonde thought as he gathered the fox's chakra but being able to stop the flow at just one tail and maintain complete control, "I'm not sure how much I like the fact that this is getting easier but that doesn't matter right now!" He thought out loud and using his new speed he sliced Sasuke's jutsu with his chakra tail splitting the fireball in two and dispersing the flames.

Naruto glared at Sasuke, "Now I'm angry, I hate using that things power teme!" Sasuke actually began laughing, "I wonder if you'll say the same thing after this," the Uchiha activated the power of his heaven curse mark and transformed into his stage one form, "Now Naruto lets try again!" Naruto and Sasuke engaged in close combat punches and kicks thrown with no sight in end. Every other blow the boys would dodge another would connect, Naruto landing a punch to the ribs and Sasuke landing a kick to the blonde's side.

'Damn that chief toad boss, if I could summon him this wouldn't be a problem but the prick suspended my contract for three months,' the blonde thought in annoyance, and then suddenly Sasuke backed away. Naruto shouted, "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" At least a thousand clones appeared and attacked the Uchiha full force, managing to send him high into the air above the valley itself and even the statues, "1000x Uzumaki Barrage!" But when Naruto himself went for the final blow he was grabbed by Sasuke who had recovered, his sharingan flarining. He threw Naruto to the woods just above the valley and tied him to the tree with shrunken and metal wires,

"Fire Style - Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Fire erupted from the raven haired boy's mouth and followed the wire down to the squirming Uzumaki-Namikaze heir. Finally the flames reached their target but when the boy burned up into nothing Sasuke realized Naruto remains were nothing but the ashes of a log, "Substitution, that's one of Sakura's specialties," the Uchiha said as he turned around to face his teammate who was now fuming with anger and confusion.

"Sasuke you realize that Orochimaru killed Oji-san right, you know the only fucking thing that snake freak wants from you is your body. Are you really willing to throw your life away? How do you think this will make Karin and Ino feel or are you just that determined to gather power until there's nothing left of you?" Naruto asked. Sasuke gaze never faltered, "Yes, I would be lying if I wasn't willing to sacrifice almost anything to kill Itachi and avenge my clan,"

Naruto's scowl intensified but Sasuke continued, "However once I became friends with you and Sakura I realized that there were things more important to me then that goal and I had an epiphany." "What teme?" Sasuke continued looking on emotionlessly as he replied,

"That I would have to sever those bonds in order to be as powerful as I need to be and I'll start by killing you and Sakura..." The Uchiha was sent flying at once, caused by a hard right from Naruto who had unconsciously gathered two-tails worth of demon chakra, summoned forth from the very anger that was coursing through him.

"NEVER, and I mean NEVER threaten Sakura! Kill me if you want too, I don't care but believe me Sasuke you may be like a brother to me but I swear I will kill you to protect my family!" Sasuke got to his feet and chuckled at the irony,

"Maybe I can show you just how I really feel by taking away your so called family, just like mine was!" "Fuck you Sasuke, my parents were killed too but unlike you I'm forced to live with their murder trapped inside of my own body!" Sasuke shook his head, "It's not the same, you can't possibly understand what it's like to lose what I lost when you never even had those bonds to begin with, now prepare yourself, Naruto Namikaze!"

Sasuke jumped over to the statue of Madara Uchiha, while pushing his curse mark to its second state, growing wings, and causing his body to darken considerably. Naruto jumped to the head of Hashirama Senju, created two clones and began gathering chakra while Sasuke prepared the jutsu he had learned from Kakashi. The two boys had their jutsus ready and then without a word they charged each other, "Chidori!""Rasengan!"

They screamed and their jutsus collided but when Naruto managed to get some leeway Sasuke screamed, "I will not lose to you Naruto! Just give up and die!" The Uchiha screamed, suddenly the son of the Fourth felt a cold, cruel, and malevolent chakra that he had only felt once before. Sasuke's chakra spiked to a level that would make most chunin scream in fright. Naruto's Rasengan was quickly overpowered and the blonde barely managed to dodge the lightning based attack but not without injury suffering a deep gash to his side.

Naruto coughed up some blood but managed to shout, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He created another thousand clones and backed away trying to draw upon more of Kurama's chakra but for some reason his connection to the fox was being blocked. "What the hell?" He examined his hands and noticed his seals were both glowing brightly, flashing colors at an intense rate, 'Are these seals blocking my connection to the nine-tails and that other thing inside me? Sasuke, do you have something inside of you two, just what… What the hell are we?'

Before Naruto could think on the matter further he saw Sasuke cut down his final clone and braced for what would probably be his final few moments of life. Meanwhile Sasuke's mind and soul had been completely consumed in darkness, only a small speck of the kind hearted boy remained behind the Uchiha's now dead and emotionless eyes, 'Don't kill him, only injure him!' Sasuke's soul pleaded but the personality in control had other ideas as he cut down the clones, keeping his Chidori at full power while he shouted and laughed sadistically,

"Die, Die, Die, Die!" Sasuke's body repeated over and over again. Suddenly he saw a light in the darkness, that was blue in color and reached out for it. Grabbing hold of the light he heard Ino's voice, "Sasuke, No!" 'Ino,' Sasuke replied as he felt his strength gathering, he pushed with all his will to overwhelm the darkness around him that had been manifested by the unknown presence, Orochimaru's curse mark, as well as his own misery and hatred but it just wasn't enough.

However Sasuke's distress had more of an effect than he realized, although his chakra and will weren't strong enough to directly influence his body, it did inadvertently affect his senses without the unknown presence noticing a thing. Sasuke's body finally reached the original Naruto and before the blonde could do a thing Sasuke spoke, "Now my so called brother, for my power, you will die," Sasuke said in a deep, gruff, unnatural voice.

He lifted his left hand into the air and his Chidori turned a pure black before he lunged straight into Naruto's heart. Sasuke's body laughed sadistically as he felt a transformation take place in his eyes but it wasn't the Mangekyou awakening. His normally red eyes and black tomoes inverted in color, his eyes mutating and evolving into a new form of sharingan from the various chakras coursing through the boy's body as well as his own pain and misery that would take the Uchiha years to truly understand.

Meanwhile the true Sasuke broke down in pain and misery, truly believing with all of his heart and mind that he had killed his closest friend. It wasn't too soon after this moment that the platinum blonde was behind Sasuke, wrapping her arms around him, "Sasuke-kun come back to me please!" She begged, whatever was consuming Sasuke's mind released its hold and the normal Sasuke returned in a state of tears,

"Ino… I… I didn't mean to actually…" "SHH! Look first dumb ass," Sasuke turned his head to the spot where he had killed his best friend but to his shock there was no body in sight. "How?" He asked her confused. Ino thought for a moment, "Sakura must have placed you under a genjutsu at the last second then saved and escaped with Naruto," she explained and then looked directly into Sasuke's eyes,

"Sasuke your… your eyes?" Ino said in shock but Sasuke covered her mouth and even looked around with his normal sharingan, "Not a word," he whispered into her ear. She nodded and he finally broke down in her arms, "Thank Kami, Thank Kami, I didn't kill him," Sasuke said. "It's ok Sasuke-kun but we need to figure out what's going on with you," Ino replied as she petted his raven haired locks. After a few minutes the Uchiha thanked her and got to his feet,

"Alright Ino, let's go," he said simply, Ino nodded and with that the two made their final approach to the Orochimaru's lair. Meanwhile Sakura was carrying an injured and unconscious Naruto in her arms as she walked through the forest on her way back to the Leaf. The poor pinkette was shedding tears at the loss of their friends but she finally came to a resolution as she looked at her baka's face,

"I promise you Naruto-kun, we'll train hard and we'll get our friends back one day, that's a promise." Sakura said, causing the blonde to open his eyes and look directly into Sakura's, "I promise to save them and bring them back, we'll do it together, with Hinata and all our friends helping us. It's a promise of a lifetime Sakura-hime, believe it," He replied softly and leaned up to kiss the cherry blossom. She smiled and bent her head to meet him but unfortunately exhaustion claimed them both, falling to the ground,

Sakura collapsed on top of the blonde in a state of slumber, Naruto following soon after. Fortunately for them Kakashi and Pakun arrived just a few minutes later and sighed realizing how terribly he had failed Team 7. He carried the Uzumakis home on his shoulders vowing to train and get stronger as well to be a better sensei. Meanwhile the Uchihas had finally made their way into the snake's lair,

"Sasuke-kun I see you've finally arrived and with Ino-chan as well," Orochimaru said with a sadistic smile. Sasuke actually snickered at the state of the sannin, "Seems I took a little too much time getting here, huh Orochimaru," the Uchiha replied. The snake and Kabuto scowled at the Uchiha before Ino butted in, "There another reason we're here, now where is Karin?" The snake scowl turned to her but he replied, "Her room is through that door at the end of the hall. As for you Sasuke-kun I expect you to honor our agreement in three years' time."

Sasuke didn't reply at first and walked over to the room the snake had pointed out, peeking inside to see if she was really there and then turning back to the sannin, "Our agreement stands as long as you train me to become strong enough to kill Itachi." He fully opened the door and motioned for Ino to walk inside first. She complied and Sasuke started to make his way in but turned around to address the snake one last time,

"You will train Karin and Ino without torturing them and if you dishonor our agreement or even think about giving them this fucking mark," Sasuke pointed to his neck and then is sharingan, "I'll gouge these eyes out, myself." He replied and then entered the room closing the door behind him. When Sasuke walked in he looked around the large room, it was lit poorly and the walls and floors were painted a dark red.

In the center of the room was a large bed and sleeping peacefully in center was the red haired girl Sasuke had only ever seen once before. He noticed Ino standing in the corner, she smiled at him before motioning him toward the sleeping girl. Sasuke nodded and walked over, sitting on the side of the bed he shook her shoulder, "Karin, Karin wake up," he said in a soft voice, that Ino had only ever heard him use with her. Karin eventually rolled over and punched her alarm clock for daring to interrupt her dream,

"Shut up, I'm sleeping, idiot." She said, causing Sasuke to actually laugh and Karin's eyes to shoot wide open. She blinked at the onyx eyes staring at her and she closed her jaw, opened it and closed it again before spitting out, "Sasuke-kun, you're… you're real, you actually came. I thought Orochimaru was just lying to me but it's really you isn't." She said in tears and then collapsed into the Uchiha's chest, "Shh, it's ok Karin, he'll never hurt you like that again. In fact no one will ever hurt or abuse you again, I promise,"

Sasuke said as he held her tightly and let the redhead sob into his chest. Ino looked at the pair fondly before walking up to the bed herself and sitting by the pair, "Hi Karin my name is Ino," she said in a normal tone. Karin looked at her and asked, "Who are you, I mean why are you here?" Ino smiled, "Well I came with Sasuke-kun to save you, we're a family after all and family sticks together," she said matter of factly. Karin turned to Sasuke as she said,

"Family?" Sasuke simply nodded and then Karin embraced the pair in another overbearing hug, crying her eyes out once again, "I finally have a real family again," she said. Ino and Sasuke actually shared a smile and then continued to comfort the poor redhead until she finally cried herself to sleep. At the exact same time, several miles away Kiba Inuzuka was exiting the IT building, on his way to the hospital to check on his comrade.

It was during this short walk that he ran into his teammate Shino Aburame and his soulmate Fu, "Hey what's up guys?" The Inuzuka asked, wearing a half hearted grin. Shino put his hand on his friend's shoulder and said simply, "Don't lose hope my friend, why? Because you're not the only whose partner was an enemy at one time," he said simply. Fu smiled herself and added, "Shino-kun is right you know, so just show her you care by visiting every once in a while." Kiba nodded and forced a small grin before leaving the Aburame pair behind, hoping against hope that they were right.

Meanwhile Shikamaru Nara was sitting with Temari of the Sand outside of the room where Choji was undergoing intense medical treatment, "Stop pouting and grow a spine." The sand kunoichi said, causing Shikamaru to scowl, "Don't give me that bullshit Temari, I'm already losing one teammate and I have no idea about the other one." Temari scowled right back, "We're ninja little boy, do you not understand that people can get seriously hurt or even die on missions." Shikamaru stood right in her face,

"I was his team leader, it was my job to make sure Choji came back safe and to retrieve Ino and Sasuke," he explained loudly. Temari looked deep into his eyes as she replied, "Then do better next time, prove that you earned that vest and you're worthy of becoming chunin and bring your friend back." The sand nin did something uncharacteristic for her and actually wrapped the boy in a hug but this short act of passion was quickly interrupted when two people entered the room.

A few minutes before Kakashi Hatake made his way into the hospital, Naruto and Sakura slung over both of his shoulders. "So they failed," Shizune said sadly causing the jonin to look at the raven haired woman with a frown, "It looks that way, Naruto and Sakura were defeated by Ino and Sasuke and they succeeded in escaping." Shizune sighed but walked over to the man and said simply,

"Look it's not your fault, I read Sasuke's file. He was pretty messed before you even became his sensei," Shizune replied, trying to comfort the man with over a thousand jutsu, "Now I'll take care of Sakura, hand her over." Kakashi complied and handed Sakura over to Shizune who headed toward the closest empty hospital room in order to treat the poor cherry blossoms injuries. Before she vanished from view she said,

"We'll talk latter alright, Kakashi-kun." The jonin actually wore the tiniest smile for a few moments before reverting to his previous emotional state. Kakashi walked down the hall and that's when he ran into two kids holding each other tightly causing them to separate and Shikamaru to suffer a punch to the head for embarrassing the feisty sand kunoichi. It was at this moment when Lady Tsunade finally exited Choji's room, she sighed before looking at the pair and then to Kakashi who was still carrying the blonde baka.

She saw him shake his head and she knew at once, "Shikamaru, Choji will be fine but it appears you and Naruto failed to complete your mission. Shikamaru sunk his head but the Fifth Hokage continued, "However everyone is alive and that's all that matters in the end. Make sure you train hard so your next assignment doesn't end the same way," she finished before taking Naruto out of Kakashi's arms and heading to an empty room. Kakashi left the pair alone again and Shikamaru actually teared up,

"I swear the next mission will go perfectly without failure." Temari was a little shocked by this declaration and the boy's emotional state but she did the only thing she could think of. She wrapped her arms around him again and let him cry into her chest, "It's ok Shika, It's ok," she repeated as the boy let himself go, displaying all of the thoughts and feelings that were running through his mind. Devastation at the defection of his comrade, disappointment and guilt from the state of his comrades, as well as relief that Choji at the very least, would live.


July 31st, 64 AFL

It was a few days after the battle that Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze finally awoke from his injuries. Before he could take in his surroundings he was greeted with overbearing hugs from Hinata and Sakura. He patted their heads and looked around the room noticing that his Ero-sensei as well the Hokage were sitting in watching the scene. The girls finally released their hold over the blonde and Naruto inquired, "Is everyone else ok?" He asked in concern for his comrades.

"Yeah, everyone made it back alive but there is something that you're all going to have to do now," The Toad Sage replied causing the trio to look at him curiously. Jiraiya sighed but elaborated, "You're all going to have to forget about Sasuke and Ino." This gained the reaction he expected from the two kunoichi, loudly voicing cries of protest but to his surprise the blonde was silent. Eventually Lady Tsunade had enough of the noise and echoed a loud,

"Silence!" This shut the two girls right up, she turned to Naruto but he voiced his opinions before she could inquire, "I can't give up on them… Sasuke and I…" He took a deep breath and then continued, "Sasuke and I have even more in common than I thought possible. Even though our personalities and beliefs differ, we both share the same pain. I could… I could see it in his eyes that deep down, he was trying to resist whatever this damn thing is inside of us, even when he was saying that he was going to kill Sakura and I, his heart truly wasn't in it."

Naruto looked at everyone in the room before announcing, "I let the teme get under my skin but I will never give up on him because deep down I know there's still light inside of him. I will save my brother! I will save Sasuke from his curse and his darkness, believe it!" He finished with determination, the elders in the room looked down in defeat for a few moments before lifting their gaze back up to the trio and met their looks of determination and resolve. Jiraiya actually chuckled,

"Well, how about the three of you come on a training trip with me. I already got permission from your parents and of course Tsunade-hime. In any case it will be three years before Orochimaru can take Sasuke's body and besides…" "Besides what Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked, causing the sanin to frown but he replied nonetheless, "You remember how Itachi was with another rogue shinobi and that they were wearing matching cloaks." Naruto nodded and the sage continued,

"Truth is their part of a group known as the Akatsuki and their after the fox but I'll explain more about them once you've fully recovered," he said and then got up to leave his apprentice's room. However a cherry blossom finally voiced her own thoughts, "Actually Jiraiya-sama I was hoping…" Sakura turned to Lady Tsunade, "That you would train me Lady Hokage. I've always been interested in treating injuries and healing wounds. I would be honored if you would accept as your apprentice," she finished hopeful Tsunade would keep her word.

The Fifth showed a rare smile and gave a simple reply, "Of course Sakura but my training regiment is far harsher than this lazy pervert," Tsunade teased causing the old man to huff and mumble something under his breath. Sakura gulped and nodded as the two sanin left the Uzumaki-Namikaze trio alone.

Around the same time Sasuke Uchiha was awaking from his own state of slumber. He got ready for his training with the snake but before he could leave the room he shared with Ino and Karin, he was suddenly pushed against the wall. He realized at once who this person was and returned her embrace, they smiled at each other in the darkness of the hideout before sharing a tender kiss. Sasuke then left the room but turned around and said,

"Seriously Ino, thank you for everything," were his last words to the platinum blonde. She returned to her previous task of examining the documents and jutsu formulas Orochimaru had stolen from the Leaf with a smile on her face but as she read all of the secrets that her birth village had hidden, one insane idea crossed her mind,

'I can't believe all the shady stuff the Leaf has done in the past. It makes me wonder damn it!' She let out a sigh before her train of thought continued, 'It's such an insane idea but I could tell… I could tell that Itachi loved Sasuke and for the most part was a good person but what if… what if… the village… No! No! No! That's completely insane and I refuse to believe it.

He murdered Sasuke's parents and the rest of the clan without mercy but why spare Sasuke? What purpose did it serve him leaving a threat like that if his goal was just power? Damn it, all of this crap is making my head hurt but I can't say anything to Sasuke-kun until I have more information on what really happened that night. I may not be as smart as forehead but I know when someone's trying to hide something,' was her resolve as she continued learning and studying the documents.

Meanwhile back in the Leaf poor Lee received a good bonk to the head for his stupidity and then a heart warming hug as the normally cool and collected Tenten sobbed into his chest while repeating, "Idiot, Damn stupid idiot." She said over and over again as the bushy browed genin returned her embrace while smiling at her affectionately.


August 7th, 64 AFL

Roughly a week after the son of the Fourth awoke from his wounds, he was standing with the old pervert he knew all too well as well as his sweet moonlight. Across from them were the Fifth Hokage and Sakura Haruno Uzumaki. The blonde and the pinkette stared at each other before Hinata forced a cough snapping them out of their state of delirium. At the same time Shikamaru Nara was saying his farewells to the sand siblings, no more than a few feet away from the Uzumaki-Namikaze trio,

"Goodbye and thank you again for your help," Shikamaru said. Gaara nodded while Kankuro smiled but Temari walked straight up to him and punched him playfully in the shoulder, "I'll miss you too little boy," she teased, causing Shikamaru to huff and look away. Temari actually giggled and pecked him on the cheek before jumping away quickly and heading home. She did look back once however and laughed at the bewilder state the Nara had on his face. Kankuro followed after his sister but Gaara remained to get a word in with the Uzumaki-Namikaze heir.

Meanwhile the two loyal members of the sannin stood at the gates as well, "I'm sorry hime but you know I can never be in the village for very long." Jiraiya explained but she waved him off, it was a gesture to cover up her feelings. He knew that but said nothing, "We wasted over twenty years already, what's three more," she said, sounding uncharacteristically weak. The Toad Sage frowned, walked over and wrapped his arms around her,

"I promise we'll be back hime, you know I've never broken my word, at the very least when it comes to you." Tsunade chuckled a bit half heartedly and punched him in the gut, "Idiot shut up already, I can't let the villagers see their Hokage breakdown like a schoolgirl," she replied. Eventually the two parted and turned their attention to their apprentices. Naruto and Sakura were finally snapped out of their funk by Hinata's cough and the youngest son of the Kazekage addressing him,

"Naruto Uzumaki, thank you for showing me there was more to life than just being a monster." Naruto looked over to the red haired boy and grinned, "No problem Gaara, just make sure you keep Shukaku in check and you'll be ok, believe it!" Gaara nodded and made his exit quickly so he could catch up with his brother and sister. Naruto's gaze drifted back to the cherry blossom standing there silently before she jumped him.

He managed to catch her before they came crashing to the ground, she looked up to him in tears but a determined look on her face, "Stay safe and come back to me you damn baka of mine. We made promises to each other after all and you never go back on your word right, Naruto-kun," Sakura said. Naruto smiled, "Of course my beautiful cherry blossom, I love you too much to stay away from you forever and we have two people we have to save, you know."

The blonde leaned in and the cherry blossom managed to find his lips, sharing a kiss full of more passion and love than they had ever felt for the other before. They parted and Sakura embraced her counterpart, "Watch out for him please Hinata and make sure you both come back to me stronger than ever." Hinata returned her embrace,

"Of course Sakura I love you two too much to let either of you down. I promise Sakura, I'll get stronger and I'll be right there with you when we bring Sasuke and Ino home," she replied. The pair smiled at each other and then heard the old pervert order, "Alright brats time to go." The trio shared another group embrace before separating, Naruto took Hinata's hand and the Namikazes shared a nod with Sakura before turning around and walking toward the sunset together, following Jiraiya close behind. One chapter of their lives had ended but another was about to begin.


AN: I honestly hoped you all enjoyed don't really have much else to say

Yeah I gave Sasuke a unique form of sharingan that only he will ever have unlock and yes he can shift between the regular form and this new one at will but it will be literal in story years before he figures out what the hell it does.

Sasuke was being an asshole because he knows Naruto will chase him down and he doesn't want to leave him with that burden and the only way to stop him is to threaten his family and basically say he hates him but he did start getting actually pissed eventually and all these confusing emotions allowed Sasuke's dominant personality to take the reigns fueled by all of the forign and malevolent chakra disrupting his body and mind.

Meanwhile Sakura and Hinata were close enough for their seals to activate and stopped all connection to the fox and that other presence so that Naruto would still remain in control although it screwed him over and I want everyone to remember Karin doesn't have her seal yet.

So yeah again I don't have very much to say, Sakura trains with Tsunade and Hinata goes with Naruto and Jiraiya little ironic that the Uchihas have finally reunited and now the Uzumaki-Namikazes are heading separate ways

I figure I will just upload every other Sunday at this point so as to keep somewhat of a normal schedule and the next chapter will be a small interlude in between the time skip and after that will be the beginning of part 2 really just because Hinata and Naruto deserve a little time to bond while Sakura's feelings just grow stronger and she gains a sense of longing and of course I will mention how the Uchiha trio have developed in one and half years time as well

Again Thank you all and hope you enjoyed.