-Few weeks after the Valley of Ends incident-

"Sakura, you're going to make it just hold on damn it, hold on!"

Naruto was racing through the forest next to Ino and Shikamaru, helping Ino hold Sakura up. Chouji was behind them, covering their rear from advancing enemies.

Sakura suddenly coughed a spurt of blood, and Ino started panicking again, while Naruto was about to do the same.

"Naruto, go behind with Chouji and help him. Ino, shape up and watch out for Sakura," Shikamaru barked out.

Naruto, nearly going blind with rage, only managed a nod before jumping next to Chouji, who had stopped running to face the inevitable tide of foes approaching them.

"Baika no Jutsu!" Chouji screamed as he swelled into a giant ball. He then followed up with his clan's trademark move, Meat Tank.

One of the hostiles, a male shinobi with spiky, long green hair, grinned as the oncoming mass of flesh was directed towards him. As Chouji drew about a yard towards the man, he quickly performed a flurry of hand seals before going on to throwing out his hands in front of him, as if he were going to stop Chouji just like that. Naruto grinned while rushing forward behind Chouji, knowing that that would be stupid.

But surprisingly it did; Chouji suddenly stopped spinning. Not only that, he had returned to normal size, and was clutching at his throat for some reason. Naruto looked at him, and at the green haired shinobi, and suddenly realized who this guy was.

"You fatass, don't you remember what I did to that pink-haired whore of yours? I can control air with my jutsus, so not only can I blast air out, I can suck it in. Right now, your breathing a virtual vacuum, and I could just keep doing this until you suffocate to death. But I'm not, instead I'm going to give you a taste of what your precious comrade felt, and kill you with that. Take care of that blond one," the ninja said, the last statement directed toward his comrades.

Naruto was suddenly surrounded by four other shinobi, each one performing different hand seals. But Naruto's attention wasn't focused on that; it was drawn towards the deathly screams coming from Chouji, and the cruel laughter of that green haired bastard.

First, I let him take Sakura and damn near kill her, and now, I'm letting him kill Chouji…Damn it, I can't let this happen, I can't, I can't, I CAN'T!!!!

With that thought, Naruto's sight was suddenly washed over with red, and he could feel the familiar power of the Kyuubi fill him.

It's about time kid…

The next few minutes for Naruto were nothing more that a haze of blood, body parts, and screams.

He awoke sometime later, but kept his eyes closed. Everything seemed to be so comfortable. His teammates must've taken him back to his apartment after the mission, but then, he could be wrong. He thought about it, as he still had his eyes closed. A warm, soft bed, check. Smell of must and dirt, check. Taste of morning breath, check. Constant beeping of medical equipment, check.

Yea, that's the norm…wait a second…constant beeping of medical equipment?

Naruto's eyes flew open as he quickly assessed his surroundings.

"Oh, you've got to me joking me…" Naruto muttered.

Sure enough, he was in a hospital. And not just any hospital, but the ever-so-familiar Konoha hospital.

"KUSO!!!!!!" Naruto screamed, "Why am I always finding myself here?!?!?!! And why does the bed always smell so funny!"

A familiar face than came popping from the doorway, looking worried.

"Naruto-kun, are you alright?"

"Hinata!" Naruto lit up at the sight of his friend.

"H…Hello…" she muttered in response, all the while, a blush forming around her cheeks.

What do I say now? Naruto thought dumbly as he kept his trademark grin on his face.

There was nothing but silence between the two.