Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

I had a very hectic week (and a very depressing one) but I still managed to write this new chapter for you. Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 11

Darkness

"What are you doing here boy?" The chuunin guarding the archives asked. He smiled at Reiji because he knew that Reiji was the Rokudaime's only son. "You're father has already left the administrative building." He added. "He's not here."

"I know…" Reiji said.

"Then why are you here, Reiji-san?" The chuunin knew the name of the Rokudaime's son.

Reiji took out a neatly folded paper from his pocket and he gave it to the chuunin. The chuunin took it and read it carefully. After reading it, he performed a couple of seals while he was facing Reiji with his back. There was a sudden 'click' sound.

"You may go in now, Reiji-san…" The man smiled when he turned around.

"What was that?" Reiji asked the man.

"It's a door-lock technique that your father made. Every week, guards of the archives change as well as the sequence of the seals and the seal itself. Your father, Hokage-sama, wants to protect this room very much." The man explained.

"Oh…" Reiji grinned at the man. "What if the guard gives the password to the enemy?" Reiji asked.

"The guards of the archives are proven to be very loyal ones…we went through lots of trials and hardships. We went through it without our knowledge. So you can consider it as a test." The man answered.

"Oh, thanks for answering me…" He bowed down. "Keep up the good work, mister!" Reiji went inside.

-

It was indeed a big room. There were tall shelves, rows, and columns of it. All of the shelves housed the files; it contained the information of the shinobis, citizens, missing-nins, and other things about the village.

There was another clicking sound.

Reiji turned the doorknob. He could not open the door. He was puzzled; was he trapped?

"Anou, Reiji-san, don't panic. That happens naturally. Just tell me know if you are already going out. Don't worry; I won't leave until you get out." The kind chuunin said at the other side of the door.

"Oh…is that so…" Reiji murmured. "All right mister!" He replied.

He started to search the archives.

-

"Reports say that the Sound has been acting strange lately." Lee said.

"…And a village in the fire was attacked by masked-nins who didn't show their forehead protectors." Shikamaru added. "Where those shinobis came from hasn't been confirmed yet." He added.

"How cowardly…attacking a small non-ninja village…" Tsunade pitied the ridiculous and cowardly act of those shinobi who were responsible of the attack. "What is the village's condition?" Tsunade asked.

"The attack's damages were only dealt to their farms. But if you look at it, the damage is great since hectares of land that the village has are farms." Ino said.

"And that village sells most of their crops to Konoha so we can consider our food supply to be lowered." Kiba added.

"That would be a big problem!" Chouji exclaimed. He brought out a big pack of chips, opened it and started eating it while the meeting was in progress.

"What are your orders, Tsunade-sama?" Shikamaru asked.

"Increase alert stage. Send shinobis to help that village. Continue monitoring the Sound. Investigate and find out who attacked that village!" Tsunade said with a firm voice. "The meeting is over; you may continue your duties now." She dismissed the ninjas. Uchiha Sasuke remained.

After they all left, Tsunade asked, "Why are you still here?" She asked.

"There is something else that happened. Am I right, Tsunade-sama?" Sasuke asked.

Tsunade sighed.

"That idiot-Hokage did something again, didn't he?" He asked.

Tsunade stayed silent.

"That idiot-Hokage did something recklessly again, didn't he?" Sasuke continued to bombard her with questions. It seems that he won't stop until Tsunade answered him.

Tsunade merely nodded at the Rokudaime's closest friend.

Sasuke smiled.

"Stop smiling, Uchiha Sasuke; this is not a time to smile…really…" Tsunade said.

Sasuke turned very serious. "What happened to Naruto?" He asked.

"He has a seal carved in him." Tsunade said.

"What seal?" Sasuke asked.

"It's the seven-day seal."

"I never heard of it before." Sasuke said.

"Of course, it was much forbidden." Tsunade said.

"What could I do to help?" Sasuke asked.

"Do you have a collection of books, Sasuke?" Tsunade asked.

"The Uchiha mansion has a small library as well as a small archive which contains information about past attacks, occasions and any kind of events in Konoha." Sasuke answered.

"Would you kindly search for something about that seal and the Takamura clan?" Sasuke nodded. "We don't have much time…" She added.

"I will do my best, Tsunade-sama…" He left the conference room.

-

Sakura pulled her husband in deep concern; she knew there was something wrong.

"So, what did she tell you?" She asked.

"Naruto is in trouble…again…" Sasuke said.

"And…?" Sakura urged her husband to continue.

"She said that we could help by finding out information about the 'seven-day seal' which has been carved on Naruto." said Sasuke.

"Do you know where Naruto is?" Sakura asked. She wanted to see Naruto's condition so she could help in her own way.

"I bet he's at his house."

"You search for the information you need to find and I will go see Naruto." Sakura said. And they parted from one another.

-

"You'd be trapped here inside your mind if you won't be saved until the time for you to go comes." Naruto clenched his fists upon hearing Kyuubi's words.

He wasn't angry at Kyuubi.

He was angry at himself because he cannot do anything.

He cursed; he was very angry. He punched the ground; he expected to feel pain but he felt nothing.

"Why-Why can't I feel anything?" He asked.

"You're numb all over your body. For your information, much time has passed by since you passed out. It's already night.

"Wha-What? How did that happen?" The Sixth asked.

"You can't sense the passing of time, I guess…"

"Wait…I've been squeezing out all of the knowledge I've known just to find out what is happening to me and you're somewhere out there, just staring at me silently!" Naruto said; he was obviously pissed. "Could you just tell me what is happening to me?" He requested with anger in his voice.

"Fine…but I don't have much information regarding the seal…" There was a pause. "You're dying…"

"SHIT! I ALREADY KNOW THAT!" Naruto exclaimed and pulled his hair. He gritted his teeth. "DAMN IT!" He added.

"I told you I don't have much to tell you…"

"Then why did you come here?" Naruto asked fuming in anger.

"I came here so you can, at least, see some light." Kyuubi explained.

"But I need more information!" Naruto said.

"If you had that information, tell me what you'd do with it?" Kyuubi asked.

Naruto grunted. He knew that even if he found out how the seal could be broken, he couldn't do anything.

-

Mayu watched as her parents moved back and forth at their manor's small library.

"Um…" She whispered.

"We can't talk now, Mayu." Her father said.

"We're busy." Her mother added.

Mayu sighed. She just wanted to know why her parents were so busy and restless.

"Can I at least help? She asked.

Her father tore his eyes away from a book. He sighed. "It's late; you should go to sleep." He said while looking at her daughter.

"But…but…" She whispered.

"Obey you're father, Mayu…" Sakura who was scanning the file cabinet said.

Once Mayu left Sakura asked, "Have you found anything useful?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Not yet but I expect to see some soon…" Sasuke paused. "You haven't told me yet anything about his condition." He added.

Sakura was scanning a book. "He looks very sick…" Her voice trailed off.

"And…?"

"Hinata told me that he…" Her hands trembled. She set the book down on the table, massaged her neck and took a deep breath. "She said that he could die…"

Sasuke looked at her. "Is it that worse?" He asked.

Sakura nodded.

"Then I guess we should work harder so…we can't afford to lose him…again…"

Sakura nodded and set her attention at the book at once.

-

The guy guarding the archives looked at his watch again. It was late and Reiji hasn't called yet. He decided to take a look. He performed the jutsu and opened the door to the archives.

He raised an eyebrow when he saw how messed up the archives was.

"Reiji-san…?" He called out.

He heard a book being closed and a young blonde appeared.

"Oh, it's you…" Reiji said.

"Ugh…it's late, Reiji-san. Shouldn't you be home?" The guard asked.

Reiji turned serious. "I can't go home. I must find out where father's books are." He said.

"But…"

"Don't worry about me." He grinned.

"Demo…Reiji-san…" The Chuunin sighed. The Rokudaime's son was like him.

Reiji continued to grin at the chuunin. "You should be the one that goes home."

"I can't leave you here. If you're father finds out…"

"What I am is for Otousan!" Reiji cut the chuunin off.

After seeing the serious and determined look on the young son of the Rokudaime, the Chuunin sighed.

"Ok, I give up…" The Chuunin said.

Reiji smiled at him.

"I'll let you stay here…I won't leave until you leave." The Chuunin stated. "I'll check you again when morning comes…"

Reiji smiled. "Thanks…"

-

Naruto stared absentmindedly at the cracked ceilings of the place where he was lying around. The ground was now dry and the darkness grew as Naruto felt more drowsy.

"Hey, Naruto…" Kyuubi called out to him. He didn't reply. Only Kyuubi's ghostly breaths were heard. "Naruto…." Kyuubi repeated.

Naruto blinked a few times.

"What's wrong?" Kyuubi asked.

Naruto still did not reply. He lied down on the ground and took heavy breaths in.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Kyuubi sounded fiercer when he repeated the question.

"I…" Naruto whispered and closed his eyes.

-

After he closed his eyes, it seemed that he was transported to another place. He looked around and saw his precious people gathered in his room. He was in the bed and he looked very pale and weak.

"Where am I?" He asked himself. He saw tears running down Hinata's face.

He rushed to her side and attempted to wipe away her tears but…

…his hands passed her like the wind.

"What the…?" He asked. He pulled away his hands.

"It's the seventh day…" Tsunade said with a very sad voice.

Naruto's eyes widened. He looked at Hinata who was now crying more. Reiji moved closer to his mother and embraced her.

"No….this isn't real…" He said with trembling voice.

"We can't do anything…we weren't able to do anything…to save him… " Hinata said.

"No…no…Hinata-chan…I…I'm still alive! You'll be able to save me!"

"It…It's too late now…" Reiji whispered after releasing his mother in an embrace. "We….we did everything we could do to save Otousan…but…but…it didn't have any effect…" Tears started to fall from Reiji's cerulean eyes.

"Goodbye…Otousan…" Reiji added.

"No! This can't be! This…" Naruto stepped back. "This cannot happen…This won't…I don't want this to happen…!" He got closer to the wall but when he thought he hit it, he just passed and he was now in another place. After recovering his balance, he again looked around.

He was up in the Hokage tower. There were a lot of shinobi standing in columns and rows.

"Uzumaki Naruto…is a dedicated Hokage. He is a man with a golden heart and love for the Leaf. I proudly state, that he is the one who has inherited Konoha's fire strongly. Since he was a baby, he has already served Konoha; he was the one that was chosen as the vessel for Kyuubi." Tsunade paused to see if there was any violent reactions. There wasn't any. All the shinobis were standing proudly like they had very much respect for the dead man in the coffin.

Naruto stood there dumbfounded; he didn't know what the hell was happening.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "Naruto was a very great man…and a very great shinobi as well. He might not be a genius but through hard work and perseverance…he was able to achieve his goal and that is, to be Hokage. All I can think of is, if he would be speaking in front of us now, he'd be saying a very loud 'thank you' to all of his friends and those who have supported him. Lastly, I would like to say again that he was a very great man. He really deserved the title of Hokage." Tsunade left the stage and Hinata followed.

She took a deep breath. Naruto knew that look; she was holding back tears. "When I was a child, a looked up at him. He was like the sun to me and a hand that leads me. Even though he was a failure, he was a proud one." Naruto wanted to hug Hinata. "I…I loved him for who he was. When…when he told me about the Kyuubi, I never left him because I understood all the pain he went through. What amazed me though is, he continued to protect Konoha even if he was the object of their hatred. And I knew why. The reason is, he always wanted to protect those who were precious to him and Konoha was very precious to him. That reason also made him strong. He told me once that 'A shinboi's true strength manifests when he protects those who are precious to him.' So, he is a man that possesses what few have managed to achieve…and that is, true strength…" Tears fell from Hinata's eyes. Reiji approached her and led her out of the spotlight.

Reiji cleared his throat. "My father…I…I never knew him much…" His face darkened. "But…after finding out all he has done for the village and for this people, I…I felt like I have found out what he is also." His face lit up. He wiped away his tears. "…And I am sure that he wouldn't want us to be crying. I don't know what to say…but…" He pointed at the coffin. "I am proud to say that that man lying there at the coffin is my father, Uzumaki Naruto." He bowed down.

Naruto felt his knees weaken. A crease formed in his forehead. He wasn't dead yet! He…he was still alive; that was what he knew. He slowly sat at the ground and the scenery changed again. What Naruto saw shocked him.

Before him was a destroyed Konoha. The atmosphere was gloomy; the trees were dead; the ground was dry; the houses and buildings were wrecked; the streets were filled with corpses.

He stood up after recovering from his shaken state. He slowly walked around the destroyed Konoha. One by one, he saw the bodies of his friends. His heart quickened when he hadn't found Reiji and Hinata yet. He started to walk. In every step, his pace quickened. He was now running towards their home. He stopped before his home. As he panted, he observed his house. The door was destroyed by what seemed like an explosion. Some walls were missing as well as the roof. When he caught his breath, he heard clashing of metals. The sound was coming from their backyard. He ran to it and saw a slightly older Reiji and his wife lying on the ground. Reiji was fighting a shinobi of the sound; the shinobi was jounin. Hinata was…dead.

He rushed by Hinata's side but he again couldn't hold her. When he turned his eyes towards his son, Reiji has already defeated the enemy. Reiji then fell on his knees and only at that time did Naruto notice Reiji's wound. Soon Reiji fell in the ground, a hooded man appeared.

Reiji looked up. "I-It's you…" Reiji weakly said.

"Why? Weren't you expected me?" The man asked as he approached Naruto's son.

"Of course I was but…" Reiji tried to get up but only fell back on the ground. "Damn…" He cursed. "I can't fight anymore..." He closed his eyes. "G-gomen Otousan…I couldn't protect everyone…"

The mysterious man laughed evilly. "The kunai of the sound shinobi you fought was poisoned. You should have known…" The man said. "…being the son of the late sixth Hokage." He chuckled. "And they told me you were clever!" he said sarcastically.

Reiji gritted his teeth. After a few seconds, he coughed out blood.

The man pulled out the katana from the sheath he was carrying. Reiji looked at it and closed his eyes. The look on Reiji's face said that he had already given up.

"R-Reiji! Don't give up! I thought…I thought you were like me! If you want to live up to my name….then…" He stood up. "…then GET UP AND FIGHT!" Naruto shouted.

The man approached Reiji and raised his katana. Naruto jumped in front of Reiji…

Swoosh!

Darkness…

You are probably confused by now because you might not understand what is happening but all I can say is "Just wait for the next chapter"

Also, I would like to announce that this very long epic is near its end...although in the end, someting might push me to write a part 4.