DISCLAIMER and A/N: I don't own anything from the Naruto universe. I also plan to finally look at my reviews again today. Thank you so much for reading and leaving a note - and sorry for not getting back to y'all for so long.

Thinking (+ flashbacks, "Naruto speaking to Kurama in her mindscape," etc.)

Emphasis

Bijuu, etc. speaking

Bijuu, etc. thinking

"If you don't stop sucking up that Ningen's sludge-like chakra, I'm going to kill you."

Kurama stopped yelling and looked at his jinchuuriki in alarm. "Naruto?"

"Did you see what happened to Raiga?" Naruto asked, her brows furrowing as she stared at the floor she was sitting on cross-legged, her head in her hands. Kurama and his siblings looked at each other. "And I love Kakashi's chakra."

"We were lit up like a fucking festival with all that lightning, Naruto. You need help." He didn't appreciate that Naruto started chuckling. She sounded off.

"Your hair," she laughed, not sounding like herself at all.

Kurama's hair - oh, wow - Shukaku's hair was all up in the hair, having been fried by the lightning, too. "Sorry, sorry. – Not sorry," she said, shrugging.

"Mother," Shukaku said, sighing deeply. "You didn't use my chakra. Although it may have, on your first try, only turned to glass…"

"That's neat, I guess."

Kurama watched as his brat jinchuuriki began to scratch at her arms, digging her nails too deeply into her skin. She was doing it both in her mindscape and in reality, which meant that she was mentally messed up again after what she witnessed and took part in. His siblings didn't seem to notice.

Naruto wasn't built to kill, but what needed to be done, needed to be done, he believed. And fortunately, so did she. They couldn't allow the past to repeat itself.

"I remember the first time you made glass, Shukaku," Chomei said brightly. That had been many, MANY years ago, (hundreds of years ago:) back in their beginning, in fact. "Nice try with my chakra, Mother, by the way."

"You guys REALLY don't have to keep calling me that," Naruto said at the same time Kurama spoke. "She fell into her own genjutsu!"

He was appalled that she had done something so ridiculous.

"It was… beautiful." Yeah, that was the best way Naruto could describe it. She kind of wanted to blow it out again just so she could bask into Chomei's genjutsu again. It wasn't scary like Ero-sennin's, Teme's, or even Kakashi's supposedly was.

"Thank you, Naruto," Chomei said. "We do need to work on that if you're to use it again - and you SHOULD try."

Naruto nodded, wondering how she could train that. It would be ideal to be able to create an effective genjutsu, so she'd definitely take Chomei up on her offer. A problem, however, was that she'd have to explain how she'd created it. So far her teammates hadn't mentioned anything about her "different" genjutsu - or what it did.

"You could have gotten knocked up had it not been for all of that lightning coursing through you," Kurama said crossly. "I am not," Kurama began, but stopped and growled before spitting out what sounded like a scoff. "You do not want me to terminate a pregnancy! I know you want kits but it is NOT the time!"

Naruto's breath caught in her throat. She couldn't lie to Kurama; never could she do such a thing to him of all people - er, bijuu.

And he was being honest with her. Brutally honest.

She did want… kits, theoretically or maybe even kinda desperately: she'd ALWAYS wanted a big family to love, through two lives. That was but one of the many reasons she loved the Naras so much. Naru couldn't help but shudder at her new realization but knew that was because of fear, but he was absolutely right. The Akatsuki was out there and she had to be able to fight. "You're right. I'll be more careful, Kurama," she promised, swallowing hard.

IF she did, one day, have a… baby, (*gulp*) she wanted to make sure it was safe and could never be used against her. Or Kakashi.

"Why didn't you tell me that Eel was bothering you?" Kakashi asked in a low voice as he sat down beside her in the curry shop with a plate of rice in front of him.

He'd been up at the counter next to Sai. Naruto blinked several times as she came back to reality. "She wasn't."

"Don't lie to me," he quietly snapped back at her. Naruto rolled her eyes. "Were you jealous?"

Naruto looked up at him and wondered what he wanted her to say. "More angry than jealous," is pretty much all she could say. "Maybe; I don't know," her mouth went on to say. She dove into the black Curry of Life with gusto. Now that she had gotten past the smell of it, it tasted okay, and she'd been starving. Maybe? Or maybe she just wanted Kakashi to leave her alone.

What the hell's wrong with me?

"You need to eat more than rice," she said while avoiding eye contact.

Kakashi shrugged, slouching toward her as he placed his chin in the palm of his hand. At least he'd gotten her mind off whatever was bothering her. She'd finally stopped scratching and picked up a spoon. "The old woman's making me something less… foul," he explained. He caught that Naruto was hiding a smirk at that and wondered if she planned to prank him: he'd have to be very careful about that curry.

As he relaxed more, though, he could tell that something was really wrong with his mate. "I'm not kissing you with that crap in your mouth, just so you know," he whispered in a teasing voice. He leaned into her personal space, glad that no one was paying them any mind - or so he thought. "But I do like fucking you as hard and fast as you wanted me to go. That was fun."

"Lucky me," Naru (sort of) joked, still smirking before realizing it and throwing a phony smile at him with blackish teeth and gums. He recoiled and she pretended to laugh more. Finishing up her weird breakfast, she asked what had happened to "the hostage," Ranmaru, and Eel.

"Eel had to get back to the Leaf: something urgent. The hostage didn't make it," Kakashi concluded.

He hadn't imagined that would make Naruto cry.

Eel found Ranmaru, the supposed hostage who had admitted that he had been working with Raiga Kurosuki, tied up and behind chakra suppression seals exactly as she'd left him. Eel was an expert in genjutsu and knew that Lord Danzo would be pleased with another child to mould that had such exceptional abilities. Whether or not this Ranmaru creature's body had failed him, she knew that Lord Danzo had ways of fortifying him - or replacing damaged body parts.

It would be worthwhile because Eel had never encountered a dojutsu like his before. She was sure her leader would approve of her bringing the boy to him!

Eel dragged her unconscious prey, still inside the bag in which he'd been hiding while working with Kurosuki, into one of Orochimaru-sama's old bases. It had nearly been stripped in an earlier raid, but it wasn't like her master needed much, aside from a medical bay and seals.

Channeling chakra to her ears, Eel listened to the conversation her master was having with two of his most loyal subordinates. Eel would know their chakra anywhere.

Danzo was mid-sentence, she noticed.

"...that I simply want to speak with her. That I have urgent news regarding her father."

"What if she refuses to listen? The jinchuuriki is well-known to be impetuous."

"And that is why your jutsu is a backup. Do not fail me: bring her to me at once. Eel," Danzo called, speaking louder. "Come closer."

Fu and Torune left with an operative known as Mouse in a hurry.

Eel had been wrong regarding Danzo's gratitude and was punished for potentially screwing up his plans. Ranmaru, it turned out, was not a child: he only looked like one.

At least Danzo did find her reports of Ranmaru's dojutsu interesting and worth investigating.

Danzo quickly called for a bird to send to the men who had just left. Perhaps there was a way he could turn these events to his advantage.

Naruto hated herself for getting that poor kid killed. After realizing that she'd forgotten about the mission and kid - and wasn't that bad enough?! – When she got to the mines, she began hoping that after retrieving Ranmaru, perhaps Tsunade-baa-chan could've helped him.

Why she didn't think of that in her first life, she'd never forgive herself for, either. And it was too late now in this life. The kid could've had a much better outcome her first time around if she'd taken him to Tsunade, and now her negligence got him killed in the present. And probably those three miners who originally contacted Konoha for help, she knew. They were, most likely, long-buried and in that graveyard along with all the others. Naruto definitely had not seen the three men among the miners who were now celebrating.

She found it disgusting that she remembered the Kiba swords - which were now in one of Kakashi's seals - but not the specifics of the mission on which she'd first seen them. …Although I guess Shika and I may have talked about it once or twice.

The blonde twirled her communications earring as she watched Jiraiya and Kakashi glare at each other from the other side of the room. If she couldn't be alone, she just wanted to talk to Shikamaru. A bird with the tiniest bit of chakra grabbed her attention from just outside the open window.

If that was the bird Itachi forced her to gag down, she was going to wind jutsu a plate at it.

"I need to get some air," she called out to the worrywarts.

"Stay close," Jiraiya called back seriously before turning back to Kakashi. He watched as his granddaughter nodded and made a clone for some reason that sunshinned away. He heard the clone leave through a back window. Jiraiya sighed; he was going to keep an eye on her. She was up to something.

"I told you she wasn't suited for this," Kakashi hissed.

"What did I miss?" Jiraiya asked, glad that the original Naruto was staying within view of the window, although she looked sick and pale as she eventually walked toward the corner of the shop. "I know you supposedly saved her, but you should respect her more! She's a good kunoichi!"

"The guy was one of the Seven Swordsmen: he wasn't an ordinary opponent," Kakashi whispered only slightly louder. He didn't want anyone, including Jiraiya, to think that he didn't consider Naruto to be good at her job as a Chunin. She was! She was just too… sweet. And she was his, and he wasn't giving up or allowing anything else to happen to what was his.

Naturally, his little wife was - unbeknownst to him - about to cause a whole mess of trouble while they argued about her placement in ANBU.

"Are you guys seriously going to come out in the open this time?" Naru asked as she moved to sit on a log in front of the curry shop. She knew she could still be seen by her comrades, (or at least they could most likely see her hair,) although she figured the three shinobi she was speaking to would stay out of their sight.

"Naruto-hime, we have information regarding your father." Fu knew he definitely got her attention with that statement.

"Really?" Naruto asked, very curious but not believing him. "That's wonderful. What do you want?"

"For you to come with us and learn the truth."

Naruto got up and stretched, glad to have something to take her mind off Ranmaru and the miners. And the sight and smell of Raiga's burning body. And what happened to Deidara. And what she did to most of the Sound Four. And the Ame kunoichi.

God: I am a fucking monster.

But this is serious, she reminded herself - as if she had to. She forced a smile at the masked ROOT shinobi, not realizing that it made her look rather savage, especially with her stained black teeth. "That's not going to happen."

"Eel is not who she seems," Torune said as he came out of the shadows. He wondered why the jinchuuriki shivered once she saw him. She couldn't have known of his abilities. "She did something… troubling."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, she definitely felt his otherwise blanky chakra waver. He was telling the truth, she thought, as the two ROOT guys looked at each other, seeming to almost telepathically communicate to each other. She didn't know anything about the first guy, but the Aburame she remembered well. He had poisonous insects in his body. She - or maybe it was a clone: so many clones had made her memories of the Fourth Shinobi War a mess - had faced him with Shino after he was reanimated. He was Shino's cousin or clansmen, at least. And Shino was just inside the curry shop! "What did she do?"

"She took the boy from Raiga."

Naruto took a step toward them, careful to seem at ease in case someone inside the little restaurant was watching. She knew that the ROOT nins had positioned themselves out of the curry shop's windows' view. "He's - the hostage… Is he dead?" she asked in a hushed voice, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"No."

Naru's heart sped up: Ranmaru could still be saved! She reached out her senses, feeling her clone on the other side of the shop as well as each of her comrades doing his/her own thing inside. Her clone had most definitely been listening to everything as her chakra felt just as relieved and hopeful as she was. She hoped that her clone would take her place and/or track her after the insanity she was about to pull.

Maybe.

Was her clone also forced to listen to Kurama yelling at her to not be stupid? Oh well, he's always telling me I'm stupid, anyway, so…

"What have you done with him? The hostage?"

"Come with us, and you will see."

Naruto decided to threaten them first. Taking another step closer to them, careful of them and her surroundings, she almost wanted Kakashi to come outside… but she didn't always need him to save her! For fuck's sake! She had survived Raiga-bastard's brutal lightning attacks several times in her first life without him! She could've handled it.

And what the hell was wrong with her? — Acting like some kind of slut for him after that nightmare! "Where's the kid?" she asked them in a low growl, glancing up toward the ROOT nin that was still hiding. The Aburame actually took a step back. Behind him on the wall was an ugly doll with a… seal?

Her vision tilted. There was a dude here! In her mindscape, close to Kurama! She was not letting him get Kurama!

She had to think…

"You have fallen into my Mind Transfer Puppet Curse Jutsu," the redhead said. His hair was actually almost orange.

"Is that right?" Naruto wondered if this was a Yamanaka technique. The guy staring at her didn't look like a Yamanaka, though.

Whether he was or not, Naruto was pissed! She had enough people/things in her mind or seal for one lifetime (and not two,) thank you very much. At least she didn't have to swallow this guy, she supposed. "What's with that ugly doll? Is that what got you here? …Or is it a dojutsu? Who are you?" she asked, rapidly firing off questions.

Back in reality, she and Fu were being quickly carried away as her clone watched and snuck over to sit down and take her original's place. The clone made another clone to track her original, who was being an idiot. A brave idiot, though!

Fu looked at the woman who leaned against a wall with her arms crossed blankly. Normally people tried to attack him or were disoriented by his jutsu. His jutsu had affected the jinchuuriki differently than he had planned, but he still believed it was working. "The PUPPET allows me to enter your mind and control your body."

"Your puppet's ugly and stupid looking. …And good luck with controlling me, by the way," Naruto snarked, watching as the guy looked around at the water that was sloshing about their ankles. "My mind's a sewer," she explained before huffing. He stared at her for a while, making her uncomfortable with his weirdness. "And it's the seal, not the puppet that allows you access to someone's mind, isn't it?" Naruto didn't wait for the answer to his question: it was probably never coming. "So what's your deal? What do you want?"

"I want for nothing," he said, watching as the jinchuuriki's lip curled up in what could be disgust. "My master wishes to speak with you."

"So you needed to enter my head for that?" she asked crossly.

Fu said nothing but watched as her expression rapidly changed, the jinchuuriki's eyes finally widening a bit. She looked almost what one would call "gleeful."

"Are we going to see Danzo?!"

That would be awesome: she could finally kill him! A monster she may definitely be now, but that guy was worse. Thinking of what Danzo had done to Tenzo, and Sai and his brother, AND forced ITACHI to do, she steadied her breathing but couldn't seem to stop smiling so she finally gave up trying. "I had heard he fled the village or was dead."

Fu glared at her. "My master is a great shinobi. You shall refer to him as Danzo-SAMA. You would find him an impossible opponent."

"Your master sucks ass and can suck my big D. He's a piece of shit who brainwashed you and your comrades and would sacrifice you in a heartbeat for power."

She began walking away from him, further… infuriating him, if Fu was to choose a word. He steadied himself, finding the state of her mind to be strange. As they turned yet another corner, ahead of them were trees, which was equally odd. Everything aside from the leaky pipes lining the ceiling seemed to be slippery concrete.

"You will be unable to disengage my jutsu," he said blankly. This usually terrified his opponents, Uzumaki-Namikaze only said something that sounded like "Meh," as she continued walking away from him. Exposing her back to him!

"Who's the asshole?"

Fu's breath caught in his chest as the Kyuubi no Kitsune lazily moved toward him. His opponent turned around and smiled ferally as she leaned against a huge bamboo tree that had a small and very old, seemingly-weakened seal on it. She then grabbed him while he was so horribly distracted. She was also holding on to the tree, her long nails digging into the bamboo - and into his projection.

It hurt.

A memory he had long forgotten came to him, as clear as day. He was very young and with his clansmen - the man's hair: long and ash-blonde, styled in a ponytail, like the rest of his former clan. The Yamanaka elder was going over the many rules of using their jutsu.

"Avoid going into the mind of a sealed person, young ones. If you find a seal…"

"You're not going anywhere," the blonde jinchuuriki thundered with a sadistic grin. "My mindscape might be a mess, but It. Is. MINE."

Indeed, Fu found that he could not pull out of his jutsu.

"And so is he," Naruto snarled, throwing her head back toward her furry partner.

Torune felt his partner's breathing stop for a moment and halted to examine him. When he began breathing again, (faster,) he continued toward their new base, concerned because Fu's pulse had also begun to race.

He failed to notice that the unconscious jinchuuriki hanging over Mouse's shoulder was smiling.

After several minutes, Naruto's clone couldn't stand it anymore. She went inside the curry shop - it seemed that Jiraiya and Kakashi were just about to come out to get her, and waved at everyone. "YO!"

"Don't 'yo' me you brat!" Jiraiya said like he always did.

"I have an… an announcement, I guess? Don't stab me: you're gonna need me, okay?"

The lively atmosphere in the curry shop immediately quieted.

"Where's Naruto?" Kakashi asked threateningly. He REALLY wanted to stab the clone who began rubbing the back of her head while wincing.

"Heheh - she, uh… Allowed herself to be captured, I think," the clone admitted. "But I'm tracking her," she continued quickly, hoping that all of the Killing Intent that came crashing down on her from all sides wouldn't make her pop.

The clones didn't know at that point that a certain one-eyed shinobi had seen the blonde being carried through the fields in Grass Country and decided to investigate. And eventually intervene, of course.

Danzo had problems.

His forces had been cut to less than a quarter of what they once were, the Yondaime Hokage (trained in the way of those weak-willed Senjus; a weak-willed Senju himself!) was alive as was that damn Uchiha Shisui. The oldest of the three (or four, if that man is really Madara) living Uchihas had been tracking him like an enraged animal bent on sinking his teeth into him. Danzo believed that he had finally given Uchiha Shisui the slip after being kicked out of Ame, which was another problem.

If he didn't bring the Akatsuki a jinchuuriki, they would certainly kill him and every member of his forces.

He hoped that three of the jinchuurikis were on their way to him. The Akatsuki didn't need to know that he was keeping the Uzumaki for his own purposes.

Still a loyal Konoha shinobi - the MOST loyal Konoha shinobi, in his mind - he couldn't allow the village to be attacked as the Akatsuki vowed to.

That woman, he thought with a sneer as he ensured Eel was being properly disciplined and sealed. He'd had enough of her nonsense. After Eel was effectively disciplined, the empty, grieving Ranmaru shinobi was next, in his mind. That bluish-haired woman whose jutsu allowed her an odd mastery over paper - in an origami fashion, no less - had sworn vengeance on the Leaf village and person who had killed her Genin. She had also initially incapacitated him with her surprising jutsu.

"The Angel of Ame's" (and all of the competing) Genin had signed legal paperwork that neither Konoha nor any citizen or shinobi within it, could be held responsible for their injuries or deaths in the latter stages of the Chunin Exams.

"Konan-san" should move past it. Emotions and service to oneself only hindered a proper shinobi, he thought apathetically (and ironically.) Danzo included a need for vengeance in that philosophy.

Konan's partner was terrifying, however. He had the eyes of the Sage, and Danzo had actually trembled in his presence. It had been a long time since he felt that type of fear. Once away from it, he tried to remember it as refreshing.

It was surprising that Itachi-san hadn't tried to kill him that day. He supposed he could thank "Pein-sama" for that.

"Excellent," he whispered reflexively as the first jinchuuriki was delivered to him. Only one operative had returned from what he assumed must have been an impressive fight. He would've liked to have witnessed it. "The lava-wielding Roshi," Danzo said to himself regarding the redhead, bearded, unconscious (and oldest of the remaining) jinchuuriki in front of him before looking over his subordinate. He'd obviously been in a hellacious battle. "Are there any survivors?"

It had been incredibly stupid for Onoki to allow his jinchuurikis to roam free.

"No, Danzo-sama. The five-tail jinchuuriki came to the aid of the four-tail. The shinobi that is known as 'Han' escaped."

"There are no survivors from Team 4?" Team 4 had been sent out to collect the five-tailed jinchuuriki, Han. "Or your team?"

"No sir."

Over 60 shinobis, gone. Danzo narrowed his eyes, angry that he had lost that many (mostly) Jonin-level shinobi, but knew that he could, once again, rebuild from here. His operatives just needed to train harder. They needed to be better.

He channeled chakra into a ring that would allow him to communicate with the Akatsuki. Seeing a soft blue glow emitting from it, he used it for the first time. "It is done."

Pein-sama's face - an avatar, it seemed - appeared within the blue light. "We shall see. Wait where you are, Danzo. My men are nearby."

Danzo's most loyal subordinates, along with Mouse - a man who was little more than a puppet - brought in a second jinchuuriki: the LEAF'S jinchuuriki, and Danzo ordered them to hide her. He had anticipated her arrival to be later after more of a fight.

At the same time inside Naru's mindscape, Kurama was remarking that they'd finally stopped. Whatever the deal was with this orange-haired guy's jutsu, Naruto couldn't see what was happening in the physical world. Kurama could, though.

"I have one more question for you," Naruto said to her mindscape invader. "Are you part Uzumaki?"

"No," Fu exclaimed uncharacteristically. He still had what he believed was called pride in his Yamanaka heritage. Even Lord Danzo believed he was valuable because of it.

"You should've lied," the fox said, looking amused. And bloodthirsty.

Fu gasped as the jinchuuriki let go of the tree, jumping up to rip away the abused seal above her, crunching it angrily in her fist before bumping that fist with the Kyuubi's. His last vision - ever - was the Kyuubi's claws ripping through him as he was crushed.

Naruto felt Kurama's chakra surge through her as she was lifted up in his chakra and into the air and through a rocky ceiling (which she hoped didn't hurt him.) She let out a loud, long whoop; the power was amazing! "Howdy HO! Where are you Danz-OH?"

"What the actual fuck, Kakazu? She's inside the fucking fox!"

"Oh shit," Naruto said, quickly making clones. Her second plan had already gone astray, too! Weirdly enough, a guy had body-flickered in and cut off Danzo's head - then he ran off with it! She sent another clone to go chase him. Roshi was also there, unconscious and all beaten up. "This is an opportunity we can't let pass, Kurama." She reached out her senses and found Ranmaru, grabbing him herself when Kurama put her down to the ground before passing him off to another clone who took off running.

Thankfully, her first clones had already grabbed Roshi; they and the eye stealer sunshinned away because Danzo's body exploded! She, herself, barely got out of the line of fire, er- explosion.

"SHIKAMARU," she yelled, holding her earring. "I've got him! I'm on the border of Grass Country! Stand by!"

Minato felt his entire body tense up, forcing him to put down his paperwork.

"He knows," came a deep, aggrieved voice from within his mind. "Naruto has ripped off the seal."

"I thought that," Minato began to say. He thought that his daughter had already done away with the seal that separated her from her half of Kurama.

"You need to get to her now," Kurama snapped, interrupting him.

"I don't know where she is," Minato admitted, remembering that she'd been on a rescue mission to retrieve a Genin Team. The only intel he had after that was that they had met Yuhi Kurenai's team.

"I know exactly where she is. Stand up and concentrate, moron."

Minato did so, refusing when his guard first demanded to come with him. Shikaku's kid burst into the office, half-dressed, weapons in hand, and demanding he Hiraishin him to his sister, however. "Fine. There's no time for an explanation. You will hold on tight." He gave his guard the necessary coordinates.

It took THREE Rasenshurikens to finally put down Kakazu this time.

Why?!

Hidan was screaming out gibberish and going totally nuts but seemed to finally be on to her abilities. He had been using chakra to guide his scythe, and in Sage mode, Naruto could easily feel and anticipate where the thing was going. Now he was just flinging it everywhere without chakra, killing her clones left and right, over and over again. As much as she and her clones were used to switching out with each other, the fight was beginning to get tedious.

And there were still all these ROOT assholes to deal with!

What a bastard Hidan was! Fighting alongside her clones was as easy as, and even much like breathing to Naruto. But making more clones while balancing Sage mode and all of Kurama's newly-released massive chakra? It made her have to think! And she hated concentrating on other crap while she fought someone like this!

An enormous chakra surge came from behind her. Gasping, she turned and almost stumbled. That tiny TINY hesitation as she continued to run and throw jutsus meant the scythe hit her and she grimaced, snarling back at the asshat that had just sliced through the muscles behind her knee.

Is it really him?!

Why was her father here and alive?

He wasn't alone!

"Naruto," he cried, running up to her. In the back of her mind, Kurama was hissing and having a fit that had started when she ripped off that damn seal.

She freaked and tried to get away from the grabby and alive Yondaime, hopping backward while her blood continued spilling into her other sandal.

Hidan was already screaming again and in his damned circle. Naruto cried out as he stabbed himself in the gut. She fell to the ground.

"Yo, Micro-Penis! Jashin is a skanky little bitch," she heard Shikamaru shout.

As they'd long expected, Hidan completely lost it. He stabbed Naruto through himself again and took off after the shirtless heathen.

Oh, Gods. She was going to bleed out here, wasn't she?

"Kuchiyose no jutsu," she whimpered, using her other hand. She pointed toward where they ran. "Leave… Nara, comrades… alone," she ordered, spitting out blood and trying to breathe through the pain. "Get the crazy guy." She still had chakra, but she was losing a LOT of blood.

Everything was cold, until it wasn't.

And even though her vision faded, Naruto's father may have been the last person she saw, but her mind was only on Kurama, Kakashi, and Shikamaru. And briefly, Jiraiya.

They have to survive this time.