Disclaimer(3): Don't own Naruto, blah blah blah. Hentai 500 is officially cancelled/postponed. Just go read Village Of Hentai

"Uuugghh...where..."

He awoke to a dark musky room, with a damp smell of blood and rot. He had been unconscious for...God knows how long. The last few memories he could recall, was being knocked out, then waking up inside the belly of a beast, then passing out again. His gear was stripped from him; he barely stood chained to a wall. His chest exposed to the cold damp air, as if they were going to cut his belly open. He quickly tried to get a sense of where he was, but everything was still foggy. Whether it was day or night, he didn't know; whether he was still alive or in hell, he didn't know. All he knew was that he had to get out, and get out fast. His eyes focusing slightly, his vision returning to him, he could make out the room he was in...

He saw a small table that had his vest on it, which also held most of his concealed gear. Somehow he had to reach his vest. Suddenly to his horror, he saw tables with ropes attached to them, chairs with spikes on them, and something that looked like a showerhead... Just then, he saw the bodies of a few dead ninja, all rotted away, and decomposing. It was torture chamber; after all he was a captured ninja. At his horror he began to panic at first, and tried to break the chains. Just then a voice came from across the darkness.

"You're awake. Good!"

A man stepped out from the shadows, and stepped into a torch lit area. He was fairly tall, he looked as if he was a nobleman, but something was very alluring about him. As if he had some kind of dark secret hidden behind his pretty boy face. From the looks of him, he was a foreigner, although he spoke almost without an accent.

"My name is Marquis DeSade. And I will be your host."

"Where you are? Doesn't matter. You belong to us now. Our organization has been trying to capture you for a very long time, say? 9? or is it 10 years now? You've grown to be such a very refined young demon, yes you have!" As he said this, Marquis moved closer to his captive, suddenly the captive tried to lunge at him! Marquis simply waved a finger at him. "That's a bad boy now. You're going to pay for that."

Marquis began to move towards his captive's gear, and pulled out a bundle of papers. This seemed to grasp his prisoner's attention.

"Shall I burn these for you? You won't be needing them anytime soon. At least not down here. Hahahahaa!!!" He began to move towards the torch to burn the papers.

"Wait! Leave those papers to me, and I will behave. Burn them, and I will bite my tongue off. I know why you want me. It's always the same reason."

"So what? You won't do it."

"Oh yeah? If I die, the demon dies with me. Bet you didn't know that."

"...fine. Keep your stupid papers. I'll grant you this one wish, but you're still going to be punished." Marquis motioned to his jailers, and they took the prisoner over to the showerhead. Then they began to create jutsus with their hands, and suddenly there were little sparks coming from their hands. Then was the prisoner was hanging under the showerhead, water came down, and they shocked him.

BZZZZZZZTTTTT

"AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!"

BZZZZZZZZZTTTTT

"Welcome to your new home, demon spawn. This is only the beginning where we will break you. HAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!"

BZZZZZZZZTTTTTT

"AAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!"

To the Ends Of the Earth: Naruto & Sakura

Chapter 3: Momento

"AARRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHH-"

"-Ahhh!"

Suddenly Sakura immediately woke up from that torturing scene. Quickly gasping for air, as she could feel each and every shock treatment that Naruto had just endured. Shiro came to her side, and whined a little, sensing her pain. She was in pure horror of what she had seen, the site of such a sick and twisted place that Naruto was trapped in. She couldn't make out just where he was, but perhaps it might give clue. As she wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, she saw Shiro by her side.

"I'm sorry, Shiro. It was so terrifying, such pain. But I'm okay now."

She told her wolf companion, stroke his head softly, and scratched behind his ear. The white wolf woofed once, and muzzled her face. Finding his master calm and regaining her composure, the wolf walked out of the cave and into the snowy field.

It had been a good five days since she had left Konoha. It was still winter, and the snow kept falling, so she made camp in a near by cave, out on the borders of the Grasslands. On the next morning, she would reach enemy territory.

"So quiet. This snow, so pure, yet, underneath it all there is so much bloodshed. Hold on, Naruto, I'm coming."

And she took her first steps out into the Tundra (Frozen Grasslands).

According to the maps that Shikamaru had given to her, she had just pasted the 51st line. The field she was now standing on was set with left over explosives under the ground (mines). If she followed the mine placement on the map, then she would pass through without setting anything off. She looked at the map, and saw line she was to follow, it was very detailed, and there was one quick easy route. Now all she had to look for was the starting point, which was a willow tree with long vines.

"Well that's not so..." She then realized what she was looking for in her current situation. "...hard."

The entire valley was frozen over, all the trees were frozen solid, and the ground was completely covered in snow.

"You got to be shitting me..."

She couldn't believer her luck. All of the trees looked the same, and the valley was like a blank sheet of paper. This was her first obstacle, getting past this hidden mind field, that's been frozen over, and the pinpoint that you need looks all the same.

"Think, Sakura, think."

Woof!

Just then Shiro moved over to her side, and woofed to get her attention. She looked down and looked at her companion's eyes. She didn't understand what the wolf wanted, and continued to think of a way to get across safely. Shiro seeing that his master didn't know what he was trying to say, then just ran out into the field. Sakura saw him run out, and chased after him.

"Shiro! Wait! It's too dangerous!"

Without a moments thought, she immediately chased after him! Shiro ran in a zigzag, and weaving path, as Sakura was following him exactly. She chased after him for a good five minutes when the wolf finally stopped and sat down. Sakura knelt over and couldn't understand what had come over the wolf.

"You silly wolf. You could've gotten us killed out there. I mean did you even-"

Suddenly it just hit her, she turned around and looked at where she was. She was on the other side of the field from where she started.

"You... Hah. I'm sorry, you're a good boy."

She chuckled, and realized that Shiro had just taken her across the minefield safely. Of course! This was the wolf's home before Kiba had brought him to Konoha. She patted the wolf, who was now smiling, and licked her face.

Awwwooooo!!!

She made it all the way to the 57st line, and that was the last point on the map that Shikamaru had given her. Now she was on her own. She decided to make camp for the night, and found a small trench where the soldiers' used to camp. She made fire, and sat near the fire, with Shiro by her side. As the sunset into the frozen horizon, she pulled out a small notebook, filled with papers. But they weren't just papers, they were all of the letters that she and Naruto had been writing to each other. She smiled lightly, closed her eyes, and remembered that day when he had to leave Konoha for war.

3 Years ago...

Both of them had just turned 18, and Naruto was being drafted for war.

"But why!?"

"Because, we are at war, and Konoha calls for us."

"I don't care, you could get hurt, or even worse...you could-you could-"

Naruto took hold of Sakura, who was crying into his shoulder.

"I know, I know. But now I get to protect my country, my people, and most of all I get to fight for you."

Sakura looked away, but was still tearing from her eyes.

"Come on, please don't cry. You know I hate seeing you like this. And just think, when I come back I'll be a hero! Maybe they'll even promote me to Hokage that instant!"

Naruto saw that at his last remark, she giggled slightly, and began to smile. He turned her head gently with his hand, and looked into her green eyes. Her eyes were still glossy, but she tried to smile for him.

"I don't want you to leave me."

"I won't. This'll all be over just like that last war when we were kids, and things will be back to normal again. And we'll go back to doing missions with Kakashi-sensei again. Okay? So don't cry."

"Do you promise you'll be back?"

"Of course. You have my word."

"I want you to write to me!"

"What???"

"Let's write to each other, that way we'll know what goes on between us always. So we will always be with each other."

Naruto chuckled slightly and smiled. Then he held her close and she held him tightly. "Okay."
That was the last time she had ever saw him. Little did they know that the war would drag out for 2 and half long years, and end with him not coming home. But he was still out there, if he was lost, or still fighting somewhere, or even captured, she knew he was still alive. And she fell asleep in the trench for that night.
rattle rattle - rattle rattle

There were two voices speaking. All he could see in the darkness as he was being dragged were two men, one short and one tall. They were Marquis' torturers; for god knows how long, he had been submitted to shock treatment, hot pokers, needlepoints, and even plain beatings.

"We'll let him rest for today."

"Stubborn, this one is. We're running out of tricks to use."

"Perhaps it's time to let him sleep with the snakes and scorpions, eh?"

"Ooh! I do love it when you say that!"

Both of the men gave maniacal laughs as they threw their prisoner in the dark and cold cell. Naruto laid there, his body trembling from whatever horror they had succumbed him to. He didn't know what day it was, or where he was, all he knew was that he had to survive. He slowly crawled over to where they had thrown his vest with his letters where. His hand was shaking violently, as he tried to calm his senses, and bring his frame of mind back to reality. He took out the first letter, and moved towards where there was a small patch of light, whether it was moonlight, sunlight, or torchlight, it didn't matter. His hand now slowly stopped shaking, and he held the letter with two hands, trying to read it.

Dear Naruto,

It's been a whole year since you left. What's it like over there in the Grasslands? Is it true that it's a savage land out there? And the villages are just primal? The sun has never shined so bright in Konoha today. It was the festival of Spring, even in times of war, we have our celebrations. I hope you got the mochi I sent, that's if the messenger didn't eat them already-
"Hah." Naruto chuckled, as his nerves slowly calmed down. Just then there was a sharp pain in his right arm, and he grasped it hard with his left hand. It felt as if his muscles were torn, or stretched beyond capacity. Then he covered his mouth, as he suddenly started to cough violently. He tried to calm himself again, and controlled his breathing. He continued to read.
-on the way. I made them myself; I made them for you and Kakashi-sensei. It was funny though; he took me to the festival that day too. You know that Kakashi, strange and perverted. I wish you were here to see all of the beautiful decorations. There were flowers everywhere, of course, my shop and Ino's did them, although mine were the best! Hehe. Well, I hope my mochi reached you, and that you're enjoying them. I miss you, so very much.

Love,
Sakura
"Sigh..." Naruto gave this sigh of relief and felt as if he were already back home. And for another day has past by of being in this hellish prison. He closed his eyes, and tried to conserve his chakra, still thinking of his escape plan. But also, awaiting whatever horrors the Marquis would bring to him in the next.
Sakura awoke the next morning to the light snow that had covered her overnight. Shiro had also woken up, and shook off the soft snow that covered his fur. Sakura's nose felt frozen, and she sneezed into the frozen air. Now was the tricky part of her quest; she had to make her way to the 101st line, when she was on the 51st line. Shikamaru's map had stopped on the 51st, and no further, not that it would help anyway, not with all the landmarks frozen over. So she decided to travel in one direction until she reached a town or any signs of a village.

For a good two days, she traveled in what she thought was west. It was all frozen tundra, nothing, but the snow covered grass, and battlefield that lay in front of her. On the third day, she saw something in the distance; a small village. But what really caught her attention was that; somehow, this village seemed familiar. Almost as if she had seen it before, the description of the houses, and more specifically the statue that stood high in the center of the village. Then she had grasped it, where she had seen that image before! It was in Naruto's letters to her! Suddenly with new found hope, and as if she had just found her trail, she found a frozen tree with a slash across the bark. She sat down, looked through her book of letters from Naruto, scrambling to find the one that described something like a great statue. Finally she had found it, it was dated Fifth Month of the First Year of the War. She quickly began to read.
Dear Sakura,

We've managed to reach Kaiyaro Town. I wish you could see just how beautiful the Grasslands really are this time of year. It's strange though, I'm sure we've both said it a thousand times, but after actually seeing more of this land... Why would such a peaceful, and beautiful country want to invade Konoha? This village is so small, but everyone is very kind. We marched into their village, and they simply welcomed us in without any resistance. It was eerie, but we kept our guards up. I wish you could see this village, their housing looks like grass huts from the distance, but when up closer you see just how intricate and well made their homes are...
"Kaiyaro Village." Sakura took note.
...In the center of their village they have this grand monument! It tells of a past when they were being invaded by the Earth Country, and a great Hero, oh you're gonna love this, whose name was "Naruka" or "Sakuto". Pretty funky huh? It's like our names were combined badly, or something. They said that this hero came during a great time of depression, and liberated the land from the Earth Country's oppression. You'll never guess who this guy looked like, almost like...I want to say me, but without the whiskers. Pretty freaky huh? Anywho, of course they took one look at me, and were like "Oh my God! Naruka! He's returned!" I soooo wanted to play along, but of course, Kiba smacked me upside the head, and I imagined your angry voice as my conscience. It's a beautiful village, with wonderful children. They all reminded me of when we were that young.

Love,
Naruka...I mean Naruto. hehe
Sakura giggled as finished reading the letter. She was overjoyed now that she had found a more or less friendly village, but even more proud of herself for figuring out a way to track Naruto; his letters. She'll use his letters as a guide to make her way to the 101st line. All of his letters describe everything he's seen, and every detail, and reading his letters semi-boosted her morale. Now she had a guide, although pretty unorthodox one, but nonetheless a guide. She went into the town, and it was exactly as Naruto had explained in his letter. She gathered supplies, and gathered any information that could help her. After resting from traveling in the tundra, it was time to move onto the next town, Kayara Village.

First Day of Summer of the 1st Year of War
Dear Naruto,

It seems like the days are getting harsher over there. Do try to be careful, I don't know what I would do if you were ever hurt. Summer has come, and it grows warm here in Konoha...

"...warm." He spoke quietly in the dark cell. He tried to remember the feeling of warmth, tried to picture himself and Sakura bathing in the sun.
...and I wonder, if it is hot there too. Tomorrow I'm enrolled into Medical School! They've been sending many injured and wounded back home. The hospitals have been filling up rapidly. Just seeing the victims makes me worried that you might end up like them. It's so sad, not many of them live through the night. What horrors they must have faced, what pain they must've endured. I check the lists everyday praying that you aren't on that list. Many dead, mass injured, some...missing. I grow sad, not seeing you. But enough of that. What is it like being on the front line? I've asked some of the soldiers about you, and they've all told me about how you've pulled many injured out of harms way. I think there's some kind of medal for that when you come home. Hehe, I hope to see that day and attend the ceremony with you...

"Heh... I save ten men, nearly lose my leg for Kiba, much less my life, and all they're going to give me is a stupid medal..." Naruto grinned. Just then he heard footsteps coming for him again, and the cell door opened.

"Hello boy!" Said the short jailer. "You're in for much pain today! But today, you've got a special guest! Come on then! You know the drill."

The two jailers dragged Naruto up before he could finish his letter. Somehow Naruto found some kind of strength to fight back, and caught them off guard! He knocked both of them out, scrambled his vest quickly, and began to try and escape! He followed the torch lit path, and ran as fast as he could, the cold dark hall leading in all sorts of directions, it was like a maze, but there was a definite path. He kept on running in all directions just following the torch lit path, and found stairs that led up! Checking behind him if anyone had sounded an alarm or gave warning of his first escape attempt, but there was nothing, just complete silence. It was eerie, almost like they let him go on his own. Just as he made his way up, and what seemed like the exit of the dungeon, he busted open a door! And finally he had reached topside! The warm beaming sunlight shined down onto his pale face, as he opened his eyes and tried to focus his sight, he heard something like thunder, clashing.

"A storm?" Suddenly, his eyes began to focus, and he realized just where he was, and what was making that thunder-like sound. "Aww shit..."

He was standing nearly on the edge of a cliff hundreds of feet above water; he was on a freaking island. The waves clashing against the surf, creating a "thunder" like effect. Suddenly there were two men standing behind him, one he couldn't see because of the sun's glare, but the other was the Marquis.

"Hahaha! A valiant first attempt! But you see, my precious little demon... No one escapes The Chateau! MUAHAHAHAHAA!!!" The sadist spoke, and gave this laugh of pure evil.

"Grrr..." Just then Naruto tried to Bum Rush his captor, but was then immediately knocked out before he could even reach him. "Urgh!" As he looked at whom it was that had struck him, his eyes opened with disbelief. "You...traitor...ugh..."

Red eyes were now upon the fallen Naruto. Those same red eyes that ran away from Konoha all those years ago. It was him, his eternal rival, and his...lost brother. "It's been a while, hasn't it, brother."

And Naruto passed out...
Dear Sakura,

The battles grow fiercer and much harsher, as we push the Grass Landers further back into their own country. We've made it to this warrior village, Kayara. The land here is even more beautiful than the last. We've pushed them further west into their own country. But as we push them back, the conditions get worse and worse. Since we are fighting on their own land, they have a much better terrain, and have laid out many traps for us. Lucky for my squad that Kiba and Akamaru are with us. Their hyper senses have detected many traps before they could be activated. But some men were lost, and some had gotten injured, it's harsh, and dangerous. There's no mercy out here, not the least bit. This village, Kayara, they are very proud people, and have a unique culture to them. They raise their young to become strong and skilled warriors at birth. I wonder, what it would have been like if I was born in that village. If I could be like that, trained from birth, but also surrounded by a caring family. Anyway, so I've heard that you've just graduated from medical school...

Sakura stopped reading from there, she had reached the 87th line. She was getting closer to ground zero of the final battlefield. She began to think about this letter and tried to imagine what it must have been like during active battle. The screaming and shouting of battle cries, the hundreds of men charging out into open combat, the explosion of charka-bombs, and explosion tag traps going off. The ground shaking with each explosion, dirt and blood flying everywhere; chaos, pure chaos, and mindless bloodshed. And she could see him, Naruto at the front line, fighting along side with Kiba and Akamaru.

She opened her eyes, and surveyed the frozen battle site; broken camps, snow filled ditches, and like every site she had been to, frozen trenches. But this time, it looked as if someone had been trying to refill the trenches to even out the earth. Possibly the village, as they were attempting to terra-form the earth, trying to fix the battle worn ground, and help Mother Nature.

She gave a sigh of exhaustion, and she could see her breath from the cold. She went into town and re-supplied, but this time the village was not as friendly as the one before. She had the feeling that they did not want any visitors, and wanted her to leave quickly. This time, Sakura was not welcomed to any inn or tavern, instead she simply got the supplies she needed and continued on. To her, it seemed that this village did not want war on their part of the land, but it could not have been helped, and their land was razed. She understood their pain, and made no fuss about it.

Dear Sakura,

We head push further northwest, almost near the center of the country. The end draws closer, I can almost feel it, and then I will return home to you. This last village, we've reached, Tokoki Village, is by far the most peaceful one. The feeling here is so warm, and happy. The village here has never seen war, for they are fairly isolated from outside of the country. The land is so beautiful, and the people are so kind. It makes me wonder how can such a people be at war with us...

She had been traveling for five days straight, since Kayara village. The winter was almost over, and it stopped snowing as fiercely as before. It was only cold now. She had stopped at those words, as she came upon the land that was supposed to be Tokoki. But all she had seen was a massive graveyard, many graves dug and frozen over. There was no village anymore, only open land and graves. She suddenly felt sad, but confused at the same time. What had happened? She then continued to read Naruto's letter about the village.
... But, it is sad that now war is upon them. It was terrible Sakura, we were welcomed into their village to rest and re-supply, but on that night, the Grass made a raid on our encampment! We were caught off guard, somehow, and many people died. They slaughtered anything that moved...even their own countrymen, women, and children. We fought them off, through the night, and they retreated once again. When morning had come, the damage had been done. Half the village was razed to the ground, many were wounded and slain in the raid. I couldn't believe such cruelty, such bearish acts, to kill your own people in a raid. I had gotten to know many of the villagers and children that morning, now all dead. We buried all of them, and prayed for their souls, that they do not bare hate for those that had slain them. This MUST come to an end, Sakura. This mindless war, and needless bloodshed has to end. Somehow... I wish I could do something, but I'm only one man. Madness. It's madness out here; I just want to go home.

Love,
Naruto

Another peaceful village completely wiped out. In this letter, Sakura could feel just how emotional Naruto must have felt as he was there. When he first arrived, she could see the children flocking around him in his battle gear, just curious see him. She could imagine him playing with them and taking a few minutes to rest. The village was nearly burned to the ground, only a few walls, and piles of frozen ash lay around. She envisioned the night raid, women and children screaming, the horrified screams of slaughter. It must've been terrifying for the children. She could see Naruto and the Konoha soldiers trying to save the villagers, but it must have been a surprise attack. How cruel, to slaughter their own women and children. She must have pictured how Naruto must have felt, just playing with these very children, and now he was to bury them. The image was...too painful. As she walked through the village, she came upon a noticeable grave, it had a wooden cross upon it, but sitting next to it was a small frozen teddy bear. Her tears froze, as they fell down her face. She had to move on, she was nearing the 101st line. Soon she would reach ground zero, and the true hunt would begin.
There was a distinct pain in his abdomen area as he regained consciousness.

"Ugh... What?"

"Ahh! So our guest is awake once again, I see!" Marquis spoke gleefully. "Excellent, excellent."

"Raagh!" Naruto tried to move, but soon realized that he was chained up once again, this time sitting in a chair. He was chained down to a chair. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Ooh! I love it when my victims speak nasty! It was a very valiant attempt to escape, my dear, dear fox, but not good enough. Now I'm going to have to use harsher ways of breaking you. I see you've learned how to suppress the physical stress and pain."

"Fallen silent again have we? Let me guess just who trained you... I'd say he'd still have scars across his face, burnt flesh, and holes in his head, right?" The sadist spoke sickly, enjoying himself.

"Oh yes, I know my own work. And how is he? Morino Ibiki?"

"Very well. There is someone here to see you though. Perhaps I'll leave you two alone for a bit."

And the sadist left the room, and a new figure walked in. Only, it wasn't a new figure, it was HIM. Naruto gritted his teeth, and had sharp eyes on the new target. The man had long dark blue hair, and he wore a black cape around his body, keeping it hidden from him. He remembered the eyes, the fully mastered Sharingan, that fateful day when they were only 12 years old. "You..."

"So how've you been, Naruto?"

"Sasuke..."

The Sharingan heir bowed his head and gave a sinister smirk. He spoke in his usual cocky tone, like he was superior to Naruto. "I'm honored that you still remember, but you were always one step lower than me."

"Why are you here!?"

"Just checking up on my organization's assets."

"Organization?"

Sasuke simply showed Naruto his right hand, which had a ring, a ring that only one organization used to be recognized as.

"You... Akatsuki... Tch." Naruto scoffed, and began to laugh.

"What's so funny, moron?"

"First you sell your soul to Orochimaru, and now you work for the same group that your brother works for. Tell me, did you kill him, or join him? Or perhaps they brainwashed you too?" Now Naruto had a grin on his face, as he was mocking the traitor.

Sasuke simply punched Naruto in the face, to wipe the grin off, but Naruto laughed even harder. "Shut up. If you must know, I killed him all right. Him AND Orochimaru. The snake wanted to use my body, but I didn't let him. So I tricked him into becoming vulnerable, and killed him before the procedure could be completed. Now I work for whoever can give me more power. I still have this cursed seal, but since Orochimaru doesn't control me anymore, I can use it freely without harm to my body!"

Naruto simply shook his head. "Still a slave to your own body. Always looking for a quick power boost, never fully training what you always had. Which is why I let you go that time. I wanted you to learn for yourself, I thought that if you found inner your own inner peace you would come back to us. But now, all I see is power hungry dog-"

"Shut up moron!" And Sasuke hit him once more, only to have Naruto laugh again. "I'm tired of your damn Inner Peace shit. You thought we were equal back then, now YOU ARE the dog! I've ascended to a higher level of power!"

"That's all it is with you, power!"

Sasuke stopped, as Naruto would only keep giving the same speech over again. But now the tides would turn as Sasuke had an evil grin on his face. "So tell me. How is Sakura?"

Naruto suddenly stopped talking, and saw Sasuke's expression. "She's fine."

"Oh really?" Suddenly Sasuke had something in his hands; it was the bundle of letters from Sakura from Naruto's vest.

Naruto finally realized where Sasuke was getting at. "You bastard."

Sasuke let out an evil laugh. "fufufufufufufufufu! So I see you two are doing just fine! Perhaps it's time I brought myself back from the dead, eh? See how she will react!"

Naruto then began to struggle. "You leave her out of this! This is between you and me! If you so much as touch her-"

"No, my dear brother. Now, I'm going to take that which is most dear to you. Perhaps we have found your weakness after all! FUFUFUFUFUFUFUFUFUFU!!!" And as Sasuke put the letters back into Naruto's vest, he left the room, his evil laugh felling the entire castle.

"No... Sakura..."

---

How long had it been since she left Konoha? She had been traveling alone, only a white wolf by her side. Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, when finally the snow began to melt slowly. The cruel winter was finally coming to an end, and she would reach, the 101st line.

"Three months, since the snow first fell. And we finally made it to ground zero."

The frozen tundra below her had melted away slowly for the past few days, since the sun had begun to shine upon the Grassland. As the snow melted away, it revealed the earth below; the empty trenches, the left over ditches from explosions, the few left over spots where hundreds died. This was where she had lost him.
Dear Sakura,

We've finally reached the center of the Grass Country. Here will be decided who will win this bloody war. Much has been lost, and many victims died to this meaningless war. I write to you know even in midst of battle. It's like they are throwing everything they have at us, and more. But something doesn't feel right, it felt almost too easy to drive them back into their own land, and now we are in the center of it. Almost like a trap, or some kind of plan to thin out our forces. But of course, Konoha never gives up, and our will to fight is strong, we will not give in to such tactics, but always come out on top. The end draws near; I can almost feel it. I hope I may return home soon, home to see your face once again. I hope you still recognize this war torn dog, and maybe I can share my stories with you. I have to go now; I'm being called to the front line urgently. I'll write to you soon.

Love,
Naruto

She found many trench encampments and small bases that had been set up, but it looked as if they were all about to fall apart, or collapse upon each other. She walked carefully and began the search. She made her way to what looked like the main Konoha outpost, but it had been horribly weathered down. She could only imagine what horrors Naruto must have faced in those last hours. She then remembered one of the letters describing an attack, and quickly scrambled to look for it. It was one of the last ones, she remembered.
Dear Sakura,

Forgive me for not replying sooner, but in the last month, the Grass Ninja attacked my outpost viciously. They have some kind of new weapon, it was like it shot Lightning and tore up the Earth around the area. And then there were these horse riders, terrifying they were, Kiba nearly got speared in half if I hadn't saved him. Although I got a deep wound on my side, lucky for me, we've got the best Medics out here. Something is wrong out here, something is stirring amiss. I don't know what it is, but I'm going to find out...
"A new weapon? That shoots lightning ... And these horse riders ... hmm."

She analyzed what she could, and she tried to recall what Kiba had explained to her.

(It was like a IT was enormous, the size of a house, made of metal, its form took that of an enraged dragon, it moved on it's own, and slaughtered many ninja.)

"Some kind of metal beast? But Kiba said that someone was riding it, almost controlling it."

She wandered around the battlefield, and looked for the battle site where Naruto had "disappeared". She made her way past many explosion ditches, left over rusted kunai, and even some spots where some bones laid around. After a good search around the entire field, she sat down on a big upturned rock, and sighed heavily. The sun was still high in the sky, but it was late afternoon.

"Where is it ... I pray that the winter hasn't robbed me of my only trace to find him."

She got up again, when suddenly she stepped on a stone, and lost balance. Almost immediately she put her hand onto the large rock she was sitting on to catch herself. But as she caught herself, she paused instantly. She had found it, the final area.

"Whoa..."

It looked as if the ground was completely laid to waste. There were long tread marks that looked as if "something" had clawed into the ground, and tore up the earth below. There were noticeable spots where people must have been caught under the claws, and shredded to pieces. This "thing" was huge and it did a pretty nasty job. She then began to look for signs of where Naruto must have went in to fight the metal beast. The path was very nasty, and the ground was tore up so bad, that nearly fell into one of the clawed ditches. But then everything began to smooth out, it seemed like she found the general area where Naruto must have unleashed his chakra, and let it seep out of him. Thus the ground in that area was smoothed out, but you could see distinct lines that just left a mark, as if it were tails that burned into the ground. The lines all moved rapidly around, when suddenly they moved into a straight charge.

"He must have powered up, and tried to intimidate the weapon, then charged in, like he usually does. He probably used Rasengan, but something was wrong, something happened."

She quickly moved over the tracks and the straight charge led to a dead stop, where the both sides of the earth met. One side torn up in chaos, while the other was still clean and only burned marks were left. The clash must have been titanic; a huge explosion just like Kiba had spoken.

(...that was all I could remember. After that flash, it was all over. The machine was gone, and the Grass were retreating. I was knocked out unconscious about 20 feet from where he was. It was some kind of explosion.)

"So the smoke dissipates, but the machine and Naruto were no where to be found. This all doesn't make any sense, the Grass were at an advantage, and with the new weapon they should have won, but instead retreat, and end the war? Think Sakura, think..."

She continued to look for clues. The final spot where the two had met was clean, almost TOO clean. There should have been some kind of raging battle, some kind of mark left by those two. If it was all in vain then what was the point of this entire war, just a waste?

"This all doesn't make any damn sense! I mean the only real casualty is-"

Then it had just dawned upon her. But the pure thought of what had crossed her mind was mad.

"...Naruto. This war was just to capture Naruto? No, that can't be right. I mean, thousands of people died. Why would they go through such lengths just to get him? I mean start an entire war, between two countries, just for one man? It doesn't make any sense-"

"It doesn't have to, he is a walking demon after all." Spoke a voice, which Sakura hasn't heard for a long, long time.

Shiro was giving off a low growl, as she turned around to see who had snuck up on her so quietly and skillfully without her noticing it. Her eyes opened wide, and she was completely speechless to see who was standing before her. Someone she had not seen for years, that same boy she used to have a major crush on when she was young, the same boy who left Konoha all those years ago.

"Sa … Sasuke!?"

To Be Continued...

A/N: YAY! Finally Chapter 3 is finished after a full month of being ill with the Lazy Virus. Yall know what I'm talking about. This chapter, I wanted to do a more contrast from both perspectives, and somehow give insight on NaruSaku's past, like how both of them sort of "mature", or grow onto each other, through these hard times. The concept I originally wanted to use, was like that movie "Momento" with Guy Pierce, where he has no short term memory, and he uses polaroid pictures of places and things, with little notes on the picture to help him remember. Somehow I wanted to incorporate that into the letter system. Iunno if it worked, or if it seemed kinda similar, but anywho, Sakura's on the right path. Well friends, I have good news, and bad news. Bad news is, knowing me Chapter 4 is probably going to be another while ... hopefully not another month of procrastination. But the Good News is, I might end up going back to Lemon Fics, and finish my "original" narusaku fic, that started it all.