A/N: We've reached the second part of this epic tale about Naruto's power to shape the world. I present to you, readers, the first interlude. Consider it as an introduction to book two of Naruto's powerful story of hearts and fire. Thanks for reading this far, everyone! From here on in, there'll be more girls (you, the reviewers, have already mentioned many of their names already) and a lot more battles!

I dedicate the first interlude to my father.
May his soul rest in peace.
I'm happy to be luckier than Naruto- I got to know my dad.

Recognize My Existence, First Interlude
A Summary of Part One: 'Naruto Awakens'
Chapters: (1) One - (8) Eight

/-/-/-/ The New Konoha Hospital ER Ward Patient List /-/-/-/

Bed 1: Inuzuka, Kiba - Unconscious - Multiple Concussions, Bruises to Face and Chest, Rope Burns on Throat
Bed 2: Shikamaru, Nara - Unconscious - Chakra Burns to 70 of Body, Bruises to Face and Torso, Deep Abrasions All Over Body
Bed 3: Rock, Lee - Unconscious - Severe Mental Trauma, Second-Degree Burns All Over Legs, Damage to Chakra Circulation

()-()-()-() The 'I Love Naruto' Fan Club Online Message Boards ()-()-()-()

Post #1: "I've always loved Naruto and I'm glad he's come back to us! All that missing-nin stuff is a load of crap!" by: 'sHygirl22'
Post #2: "I just love the way he's grown up... he looks so much more mature now! I know we'd be perfect together!" by: 'jounin-gal'
Post #3: "OMG! I met him today (he's so CUTE) and he's promised to buy me dinner! WE'RE GOING OUT! YAY!11" by: '10-10'

Disclaimer: The author wishes to stress that any resemblance to 'The New Konoha Hospital ER Ward Patient List' and/or 'The 'I Love Naruto' Fan Club Online Message Boards' in real life was never intended and is purely coincidental.

Chapter Eight – First Interlude
(Hinata vs. Neji Theme by: Toshiro Masuda)

KABOOM!

The tall, elegant woman stood up from her desk to see where the noise had come from.

Her demeanor was shaky, but certain, knowing full well it was only going to be a matter of time until something else crazy would happen in her town.

"Shizune! Did you hear that?" The blonde woman asked.

An explosion powerful enough to level a city block had just been heard cascading down the forest, echoing against the cliffs that faced opposite to her office block.

The Fifth Hokage of Konoha, Godaime Tsunade, took off her spectacles to see the dark red plumes of smoke fire into the sky as chaos literally exploded somewhere in The Forest of Death. She frowned underneath her tough exterior.

"It's him, isn't it?" Shizune replied drearily.

Tsunade sighed and said, "Ever since he's arrived he's only caused trouble. He's already sent two of our boys to hospital. God only knows what else he's doing out there…"

"Why did he come back now out of all times?" The attendant groaned.

"Like I said: Uzumaki's return is either a very good sign or a disaster for us all. At the moment, he's really proving to be the latter," The Hokage replied.

"Why won't he just turn himself in to us and we could explain everything and…?"

"For the same reason the entire village hates him," Tsunade cut her off. "He's convinced by the same propaganda that the rest of the village has fallen for: he's a missing-nin."

"That fool! Doesn't he know that we've put him in that book to protect him and this entire village? And look at how he acts… he'll destroy us all!"

"Don't blame him, Shizune. I knew from the instant I announced he was a missing-nin how this entire town felt about him- how they despised him. Years ago, the monster that was foretold to destroy this village was sealed within him. Now, people think he's just come to finish the monster's mission. He's only defending himself, no matter how desperately he has to fight for his right to exist. I'm a big part of the pain he's feeling."

"So what can we do, Tsunade-sama? Sit here and wait until he's sent all of our Nin to New Konoha Hospital? We had no idea he'd become this powerful after so many years!"

The two became silent, trapped in their worlds of stress and misery, inside the dank office tower that overlooked all of Konoha.

"Jiraiya… that fool. Where are you?" Tsunade pondered, staring outside the window, watching the flames boil up into the evening clouds. 'Jiraiya, I'm sorry…'

"Ah yes, Jiraiya- there's another concern for us to deal with! Will he ever return?" Shizune whined again. Tsunade's cool, businesslike air was absolutely driving her insane.

"I don't know, but until Jiraiya has come back, Naruto will keep searching for answers. We can't tell the village the truth until Jiraiya returns… he's all the evidence we have left. If we explained to them now what really happened, the villagers will panic, or worse, revolt. Him and Naruto are all that…"

"…They're all that stands between this village and total destruction," Shizune finished. "You've said that line so many times it's beginning to lose meaning, mistress."

"I know, Shizune. But Jiraiya will return… I just know it. He's always seemed a bit uppity and immature, but he's not unreliable. He'll finish what he's sent himself out to do and come back to us. Otherwise…"

"Otherwise we'll have a total war on our hands," Shizune finished again, tasting the surrealism of their dilemma on the tip of her tongue.

"It's just a question of whether Jiraiya can beat Orochimaru back to Konoha," Tsunade whispered, all hope in her voice having been replaced by guilt and regrets.

"Hmm…" Shizune puzzled over her words.

"Until then, we're risking a civil war that might break out because of Naruto. And unless Jiraiya can return with good news, there's an international war on our doorstep too."

"Can't we do anything to make things better for them? Do we just sit here?" Shizune panicked again. In the past few weeks it had been her responsible for answering to the villager's worries. Countless times, the only thing she could say was, 'No Comment.'

She didn't hate her beloved mistress, but wished she would look more concerned.

"First, we'll deal with the battle inside our walls. Naruto must be captured and brought to us so that we can shelter him from the rest of the village. He'll try his best to evade us until Jiraiya comes back though, so double the ANBU already sent to take him in."

"Naruto has done well to evade ANBU for this long…" Shizune quipped in a whisper. "And what about the battle outside our walls, Tsunade-sama?"

"Well, Jiraiya is already way past the time he promised to return by. Our only hope is that my apprentice will be able to persuade Sand to join our fight against Orochimaru."

"If the worse should happen," Shizune added.

"If the worse should happen," The Godaime agreed.

At that moment, two of the most powerful people in Konoha stood alone and silent in that dark office, both wondering about the fresh horrors that would plague this town should Orochimaru push further inside Fire's borders. As if it were a bad omen, the dark clouds in the sky began to gather and almost instantly, fresh rain and thunder rolled across the hidden valley that was their home.

'Please, Naruto. Please be on our side if Orochimaru arrives before Jiraiya does…' Tsunade prayed to herself.

If it weren't for her chakra, the lines of age and a thousand years worth of stress and worry would already be apparent on her face. Her wrinkle-free, perfect complexion was stained now by nothing more than a slight frown, full of thought.

"Shizune," Tsunade spoke after a few seconds of silence, "Send out a team to see what happened out there at that forest."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Shizune bowed.

"And what's in it for us?" A female voice prodded dubiously.

Haruno Sakura, Ambassador of Konoha and Commander of The Konoha Nin, sat with a rigid, expressionless glare at her partners, similarly sitting on the other side of the low table. She played with the small teacup in front of her, admiring its simple design.

She had grown to her seventeenth year, and was, as always, as beautiful as the pink flower she been named after. Her gorgeous, pink hair had grown its way down to her knees and on negotiating occasions like these, she had tied the length into a long ponytail. Despite the hard training and missions she had conquered, her skin was still as tender and milky as ever, a delicious combination of soft and firm. The men of Konoha still wondered what perfume she wore to knock them out with one passing step.

The truth was: she didn't wear perfume. She was too good for that.

"If you don't help us for the coming war, it'll only be a matter of time until Orochimaru attacks Sand too. You remember last time he invaded, right? Your father betrayed us and actually sided with that demon, trusted him even. See what it brought you? It killed him."

"Silence! I won't have you talk about our father that way!" A male voice chided.

"But it's true, Kankuroo. You are his children, that don't mean you have to make the same mistakes. Learn from them. Join us. Help us defend our two countries by stopping his army before it pushes any further towards your own," Sakura pleaded.

Her three business partners, dealing in the particularly dangerous business of war and alliances, no doubt, were the fabled 'Three Children of The Sand'.

"Temari? You agree, don't you? The Sand is lucky we're offering an alliance like this, even after the stunt your father pulled on us years ago…"

Approaching her twenty-third birthday, Temari had quickly become an experienced and skillful Jounin in just the last five years. The beauty and grace with which she had carried herself both inside and outside the arena had only increased in all those years. She was a symbol as to what all kunoichi aspired to be: beautiful, charming and deadly.

The blonde-haired woman looked down, and remained silent. Then turned expectantly towards her two brothers and said:

"Kankuroo? Gaara?" Sakura challenged the two male leaders of the Sand.

The taller, darker-clothed brother, Kankuroo, frowned underneath his fierce face paint. He adjusted the body-shaped package behind him and took a sip from his cup. He had also aged and progressed throughout the years, perfecting his puppet-play techniques and jutsu to Jounin-level. At age twenty-two, he was still as fresh and youthful as ever.

"Well, Gaara, you're the Kazekage. It's your call."

The smaller, male figure in between the two older siblings had remained silent throughout most of the negotiations. He was clothed in the white robes of the Kage, his straw sakat drawn over his eyes so that it was difficult for anyone to gauge his moods, not that he ever showed any, from Sakura's experience in dealing with him five years ago.

He was the same age as Sakura, seventeen, and Jounin-class, like she was. Both of them shared a mutual respect through the mutual acquaintances they had shared years ago.

"Uchiha Sasuke? Which side of the battlefield will he be on?" Gaara asked unexpectedly, his deep voice rasping as if he were in some sort of eternal pain.

Sakura looked down, brought back by the mention of the name of her unrequited love. It was a pain she had shouldered ever since she was thirteen, and the very mention of the name, 'Sasuke', could still bring a tear to her eye and a knife to her heart.

What she said next would've brought her to her knees. Such was the pain of the awful truth she had forced herself to understand.

"Most probably with Orochimaru… he's fighting against us."

"I see," Gaara's dark voice hissed in reply. "Interesting."

The Kazekage of Sand leaned back on the floor, glaring underneath the brim of his cap at Sakura, so that they could see eye-to-eye.

"Then it's settled…" Gaara began.

Sakura was about to nod, before the raspy voice said something again.

"Except for one tiny thing. I'm only going to help Konoha on one condition."

"What's that?" Sakura snapped.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Will he be there too?" Gaara asked mysteriously.

"Most probably… yes, he'll be there too. But we don't know on which side."

Sakura choked again and felt something unfamiliar tinge her heart. Ever since Naruto had disappeared along with Sasuke, her mind and heart had been lost to wander through so many worlds of confusion, mystery and forbidden lust. Naruto, Naruto, Naruto…

She felt something stir within her. A feeling that pricked her womb and climbed up her spine and finally, choked her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Did Naruto actually mean something to her now? She wasn't sure and she scolded herself because this wasn't the place to be thinking about him again. As she did every night.

"Hmm, I will come on the condition that Naruto agrees to a one-on-one duel with myself. If you can assure me that he'll accept my challenge, Sand's ninja are yours to command. Would Naruto agree with this request, Haruno-san?"

Sakura paused, taken aback by Gaara's bizarre request.

"I- I'm sure he would, Kazekage," Sakura stuttered, bowing down so that the three on the other side would not see the blood rushing to her cheeks.

'Why would he want to fight Naruto? Does Naruto even stand a chance?' Sakura asked herself worriedly, trying to tell herself it was all just a sick joke.

"Then it's settled. The troops will begin preparations for the march to Konoha tonight," Gaara replied after hearing her promise.

"Will you be coming with us to your hometown?" Temari asked expectantly.

"No- but I will be sending Kakashi-sensei and a platoon of Jounin and Chuunin to escort you back to the village. I'll have to meet you there once I've finished business away," Sakura replied ruefully.

She pondered on whether Tsunade would be eager to have her return home. Sakura always felt that there was some tinge of guilt in her words when she had written Sakura with the news of Naruto's return. Was Tsunade really guilty because of her insistent refusal to take Naruto off the bingo book, despite Sakura's constant requests to release her old teammate from Konoha's wrath?

Sakura closed her eyes and searched her memories for an answer.

Half of her wanted to return back home and the other half wanted her to stay away. Her heart longed for one of two men, but even she wasn't sure which one: Sasuke or Naruto? Both were equally forbidden against every code, book and list of rules ever devised.

It was the last conversation they had had before Sakura had been sent to travel around the country, investigating the small, sporadic attacks the Otogakure had been wreaking on the outlying villages and towns of Fire. She had seen much destruction and death at the hands of Orochimaru's approaching army as they marched closer towards Konoha, but nothing had shaken her more than finding out the truth behind Naruto's and Jiraiya's absence.

Deep inside, she knew, Naruto would know the truth about everything, how he had been the most important piece and how he was still being played like a pawn…

He would know- even if she had to tell him herself.

'It's better this way, Sakura. If we take him off the list, then the people of Konoha will begin to assume things,' Tsunade had remarked.

'But I still don't understand why we have to make Naruto put up with all the ANBU and criticism we've sent after him. Naruto has done nothing wrong to deserve this treatment!'

'Just remember: it's all a charade, Sakura-chan. How do you think the people of Konoha would react if they found out that Orochimaru could invade our village before the month was up? If people think Naruto was a missing-nin all that time, then there wouldn't be a problem,' Tsunade had tried to assure the flustered young lady.

'Jiraiya only took Naruto away to protect him from you! To protect him from what YOU were about to do!' Sakura had screamed at her, tears rolling from out of the blue.

'Shut-up, Sakura! I wouldn't have traded Naruto! Jiraiya didn't have to KIDNAP HIM just to PROTECT him from me, for goodness sakes! I would never have sent him to that evil man…' Tsunade raised her voice unexpectedly, her temper flaring in defense.

'Do you even care about Uzumaki Naruto, Tsunade-sama?'

'Of course I do. Just as much as I care for this village.'

'Well you sure know how to show it…'

"What will you do now? Where will you go?" A solid, male voice interrupted her thoughts and she quickly snapped outside of her recollections to gaze at Gaara's brother.

"Hmm?" Sakura mused, confused.

"You said you were going somewhere else? Whereabouts?" Temari answered her.

"Yes, that's right. Other villages have fallen since Orochimaru penetrated our borders. I'm sending aid and collecting information from witnesses that have seen our enemy."

"Have you found anyone else to help you defend against Orochimaru?" Gaara asked.

"No one else is willing to interfere with someone as powerful as Orochimaru. The other countries have no answers to my requests. It's just Sand and Leaf, standing together against his onslaught," Haruno ended in a whisper, looking down, hopeless.

"I thought so," Kankuroo smirked pessimistically.

"Can we really win this war, Sakura?" Temari asked the teenager in front of her.

"We'll make our final stand at Konoha. Then we shall see if we stand a chance."

"Somehow, I feel…" Gaara began, as mystifying as ever with his words and tone, " That the fate of Konoha no longer lies with the missing, captured Sannin."

Sakura, Temari and Kankuroo gazed at what the wizened, fierce-hearted Kazekage had to say about the upcoming war- the war on which all their lives surely depended.

"Whether this war will be won, by the Desert Leaves or the Snakes, that decision lies squarely on the Red Fox. He alone can bless us with survival. Or condemn us all to die."

"Na-Naruto…?" Sakura gasped in shock.

"It's about time," Gaara called, the volume in his voice climbing higher, "That all of us recognized his existence. The importance and the power that lies dormant inside his young, fiery soul… I want to taste what he's become. I want him to reveal to me what he's hidden all these years. That which is sealed within me can only pale in comparison to that which is his. All I have asked in return for my troops' lives is one fight with Naruto, the champion of Konoha, he who would make an Uchiha quiver with jealousy."

"God protect us all," Kankuroo murmured.

"Indeed," Temari agreed heartily.

Oh, Naruto. I know it's too late but… would you still say 'yes' if I asked? And at that thought, a tear rolled down Haruno Sakura's perfect, pretty face.

Only Gaara noticed the teardrop fall. Only Gaara had some idea of Naruto's ability to touch people's beliefs and inspire them to dream of impossible ambitions. He looked down at the negotiatior without pity in his eyes, just a solemn understanding of Naruto's power on people's hearts and minds. He knew that it was a powerful ability totally unique to the blonde, blue-eyed orphan.

Sakura sobbed, the confusion wracking her body with a pain that had clung to her soul and mind like a disease every night as she lay in her bedchambers trying to fall asleep. It was the same question:

'Do I love you, Naruto?'