A/N: Shorter chapter because previous cliffhanger. I don't own Die Wellenlaufer/The Wave Walkers

(0_0)

Orochimaru returned after two weeks with grim news. Naruto was dead. He claimed that Naruto had refused to kill someone. For said discrepancy, Orochimaru put him in his hideout that he used to keep those who disobeyed him, thinking that Naruto would reconsider his options.

Naruto didn't spend much time thinking and instead attempted a break out, not realizing that the hideout was located in the middle of the sea, making it practically impossible for him to swim or run anywhere.

He might have even made it away if he hadn't run into a group of rebel missing nin from the Hidden Mist. Naruto hadn't stood a chance. Orochimaru wasn't even able to collect his headband as he didn't want to be discovered so close to Wave.

Orochimaru recounted this to both Sasuke and Sakura in the interrogation room which had, by now, become a lounging area. As he finished he glanced down at the floor momentarily, staring at a black mark Naruto had imprinted there the first time they had been there, then started laughing and leaned in to see it better.

Feeling quite confused, Sakura leaned in to look at the mark, Sasuke following her lead. In very small print on the ground looked like some seal. Her first instinct was to back away, knowing that Naruto liked leaving explosive seals everywhere but then remembered that Naruto couldn't activate it because he was- was- best not to think about it.

"A summoning seal," Orochimaru explained to the inquisitive Sasuke. "Or rather a reverse summoning. He wanted to summon himself here. Forgive me if my laughter seems insensitive. I had been wondering why I had felt Naruto's chakra flaring so brightly. It would appear he was trying to reach here. What an interesting child. Unfortunately is would seem he confused two letters, leaving the seal useless," he said, baring his teeth. "What a shame." Turning to Sasuke he dropped the smile. "I know you were close to your friend, so I will give you the rest of the week to mourn. Use this time to recover and when we start again, use his memory to make you stronger."

Sasuke grunted his understanding.

"I will also instruct Kabuto to leave you be for the rest of the week," he directed to Sakura. "If that is all I will be going now. I have things to arrange."

He left Sasuke and Sakura alone in the dark, the weight of his words crashing down on them like boulders. "Do you believe him?" Sakura whispered to Sasuke when she was sure Orochimaru was out of earshot.

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't know what to think. Why would he lie?"

Sakura grit her teeth together and swallowed. "Because he killed Naruto and he doesn't want to lose your loyalty."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Why would he even tell us that Naruto was dead then? He could have lied about that as well. Why didn't he just tell us that Naruto was doing fine? We wouldn't have known any better for at least a few months."

Sakura felt her eyes watering, she needed to blow her nose. "I don't want him to be dead."

Sasuke looked at her uncomfortably for a few moments then with a grunt he moved his chair to sit beside her and wrap his arm around her. "Neither do I," he muttered, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. "Neither do I."

(0_0)

Gaara had hated much throughout his life.

He had hated his father and his siblings, he had hated Naruto and the demon within him. He had never thought much about music though, not until meeting Killer B. Now he had come to one conclusion.

He hated rap.

"Your anger within is a sin, son," Killer B reproached him.

"I'll kill you," Gaara whispered, gripping the edge of the boat tight enough to crush the banister.

"I'd like to see you try. You couldn't even hit a fly," Killer B said, apparently having heard him.

Gaara had to remind himself that letting Shukaku take over wasn't a good idea anymore, even though going on a rampage felt like a really good idea at that point.

In truth he didn't know if going on rampage would do anything. Killer B was the only jinchuriki to have mastered his inner beast, going so far as to be friendly with the beast. If Gaara even still had the ability to allow Shukaku control he would probably still get beaten down easily by Killer B's superior might.

It was funny how these things worked. In the Hidden Sand he had been feared by all save for his own father, due to his impervious defense. Now, having left the village, he had encountered at least a dozen people that could have killed him easily. What did that say about the Hidden Sand? That they were weak? Or did it say something about the Hidden Leaf, that they were far ahead of the curve?

Glancing down at the sea speeding by underneath them he reminded himself that even with all of his strength there were places that even he was little more than useless.

A messenger eagle landed next to Gaara, startling him to the point that he almost impaled the bird. Only the fear of Killer B prevented him from doing so. Taking the piece of paper tied around the proffered leg, Gaara read the letter quickly and started feeling sick.

It appeared that Naruto had been reported dead. The news had reached him before, but this wasn't just the rumor, this was the official report coming from Leaf, confirmation from Tsunade herself. Even though the news was reaching him two weeks after the fact, he felt sick.

Killer B sidled up to Gaara's side to read the note over his shoulder. "He was a friend," Gaara explained.

"Friends for motivation causes transformation," Killer B said and for once Gaara couldn't help but agree. "Where are we going?" he asked finally.

Killer B had taken him on, not as a favor to Leaf, but more because he had felt like it. He had no obligation to help Leaf and wasn't acting because of his village. Gaara had to remember to tread carefully.

"You'll see when you see, it's the place that made me Killer B."

Gaara sighed. "Are you going to speak like that for the entirety of this trip?"

Killer B crossed his fingers in what looked like a jutsu that Gaara hadn't ever seen before. "Maybe it sounds strange to you, but to me you sound like a fool."

Gaara took that as an affirmative.

(0_0)

Shikamaru had wanted to use the summoning seal as soon as he'd heard the news. Logically he knew there was no point, if Naruto was truly dead then it wouldn't do anything and if he wasn't then it might ruin whatever he was trying to do, still he had wanted to.

Then when the confirmation came from Tsunade he had wanted to use the summoning seal again.

He hadn't been sure how to react to the news. On the one hand, he knew he didn't want to believe that Naruto was dead, that he had already lost a friend at such a young age. On the other hand he hadn't seen the body and he knew that he would never truly believe it until he saw it himself.

The only real thing holding him back from summoning Naruto right then and there to demand an explanation was the fact that the summoning seal was still in Leaf. Perhaps a good thing. He had responsibilities now, making the Hidden Sand run smoothly was easier said than done. They hadn't been working on their propaganda for the past few decades unlike Leaf. A person became a ninja in Sand because they didn't have any other talents, or because they wanted to kill. Very few children grew up wanting to be shinobi and it made sense. The desert made a person hardy. Few people were considered weak and fewer still that didn't mind feeling weak. Being a shinobi required that feeling however, it required a person to see themselves as weak and wanting to become stronger which went against their entire mentality. Made worse by the poor showing in the chunin exams, none of the genin were very motivated and there was even talk of desertion.

Shikamaru had considered tackling these issues, trying to find ways to motivate the older generations, but soon found that everyone was too stuck in their ways to change their way of thinking. Instead he chose to look at the new generation, those like him and younger that didn't know enough about the world to think they could make informed decisions.

At the Kazekage's behest he had visited all the orphanages in the village, trying to get a feel for the children and taking note of those that showed spirit. Having given those names to Temari to ruminate on he had proceeded to interview the instructors in the shinobi academy, watching their teaching methods and the like, while also interviewing their students.

After two days of doing this he had come to the conclusion that the Hidden Sand was doomed. After sharing this opinion with Temari he had been kicked out of her office with the orders to 'Do something about it'. Troublesome.

It was easy to distract himself from other affairs. His bodyguard duties basically required him to be a better ninja than anyone else in his village and once Temari started visiting other villages for whatever reason, he would need to be assured of victory against any of their shinobi. Needless to say, such things didn't come easy..

When he wasn't training and trying to fix the schooling system, he was trying to fix the trade problems of their village, arranging for export and import of goods, dealing with some traumatized merchants that claimed the civilian council was after their hides, and figuring out tax details.

Of course these weren't his official jobs. He was officially an adviser and this was his only role. But for the most part, Temari had about as much idea on how to run a village as him, the only difference being that Temari understood her village and Shikamaru was only scratching the surface.

He was busy, he wasn't getting much sleep, he missed, his team, his friends, and if what he heard was true, then one of his dear friends had died. Even with all this, there was a certain part of him that enjoyed it. It was like an elaborate game of shogi, but instead of just himself and a few others as pieces, he had an entire village and his opponents were all the other villages. Or perhaps his opponent was his own village. It was best not to think of the metaphor too literally.

Making his way to the Kazekage's office, he prepared to break the bad news to her. She didn't know Naruto very well, but she did express gratitude for his taking Gaara in. She would know that Gaara would be saddened by his passing.

Taking a breath he opened the door and stood to attention, just in case she had guests. Temari raised her head tiredly from her desk, beckoning him over. "Good news I hope?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Not this time," he said, showing her the letter.

She stared at the paper and scrunched up her eyebrows, crumpling the paper and throwing it in a nearby wastebasket. "A great shame," she said, glancing out the window. "I hope that Gaara is okay."

"I inquired as to his whereabouts but the response I received was vague. He might be away on a mission."

Temari shook her head. "It is of no concern. Uzumaki's passing is a tragedy, but also an opportunity."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"The letter said that he was killed by a group of missing nin from Hidden Mist. The only group of Hidden Mist shinobi that are also missing nin are most likely the revolutionaries."

Shikamaru looked skeptical. "I thought that was just a rumor."

"Every rumor has a grain of truth," Temari said. "I believe this may be more than just a rumor. According to the letter, the ninja that turned Naruto in was one of the lost bloodlines from the Mist purge. A ninja that hasn't been seen or heard from for a dozen years suddenly turns up now. It is no coincidence. They are reaching out and seeing if anyone bites."

Shikamaru shrugged. "I'll need to do a thorough investigation but I'll see what I can find. But how is this a good way to reveal themselves?"

Temari smiled grimly. "You appear to have forgotten that Naruto was a missing nin. Those ninja did Leaf a great favor, one that is uncommon from fellow missing nin. No they are reaching out."

"What do you want to do?" Shikamaru asked, conceding the point.

Temari shrugged. "Sand doesn't have a very good relationship with Mist, nor does Leaf. We might be able to support the revolutionaries under the table in return for alliance and trade benefits if they are victorious in their revolution."

Shikamaru committed the thought to memory, planning to write to Leaf about the new development. "How is the Lady Kazekage's training going?" he asked, changing topics.

Temari snorted. "You're unexpectedly formal today," she commented. "What do you want?"

"To confirm Naruto's death for myself."

Temari's form slumped somewhat and she leaned back in her seat. "What will that accomplish?"

"Closure. He was a friend."

"People die," Temari said. "You have to accept that. If he turns out to be alive then it will be a pleasant surprise. To answer you, no, I don't allow you to confirm Naruto's death."

Shikamaru gritted his teeth. "Why?"

Temari rubbed her hand down her face, suddenly looking very tired. "It's a lesson every shinobi has to learn, something that the Leaf doesn't teach. But when you're a ninja you grieve for your friends every day, because death is never very far off." She looked at his angry expression and sighed. "Look, if we pull off this revolution against Mist and I happen to visit to discuss things with their new Kage, I will allow you to accompany me and take some time off. Maybe that will motivate you to make it happen."

Shikamaru relaxed his jaw, clenching and unclenching his fists. "Understood," he said, bowing and leaving. It would appear that he had a revolution to support.

(0_0)

The boy was alone and crying when the girl with pink hair found him.

She shouldn't have been able to find him. After all, the island was surrounded by water and no one knew how to find it.

Yet somehow the girl with pink hair found it, found him.

"Why are you crying?" the girl asked the boy.

"I don't know," the boy said, meaning it. He knew that something bad had happened but he wasn't sure what. "I think my parents are dead. I think they were killed by a demon."

The girl looked at him worriedly and sat beside him. "I just lost my sensei. His name was Kakashi and he got poisoned by a giant snake," the pink haired girl said. "So I'm very sorry. My name's Sakura," she said, extending her hand.

The boy managed to stop crying for a moment to take her hand. "Naruto. My name that is. It's Naruto."

The girl giggled, then quickly turned serious. "Is the demon still here?" she asked.

Naruto shook his head. "He left after killing my parents," he said, still not quite believing his parents were gone.

Sakura stood up after Naruto managed to stem his tears. "There's no use sitting here and crying. We need to find some food."

Naruto shrugged. "There's not much and without a boat we'll starve." He thought about it for a little bit then brightened. "Hey, you have a boat, don't you?"

Sakura hesitated then shook her head. "I'm going to tell you a secret, but you can't tell anyone."

Naruto looked unimpressed. "Who am I going to tell?"

Sakura blushed. "Just don't okay?"

Naruto nodded.

"I'm a shinobog," she said, getting a startled stare from Naruto. "What's wrong?"

"You can walk on water?" he asked, ignoring her question. "That's how you got here without a boat."

Sakura nodded proudly. "I've been running on waves since I was six years old."

"That's so cool," Naruto said. "I'm also a shinobog but I can't walk on water, all I can do is create clones and they're not good for anything but farming."

Now it was Sakura's turn to gape. "You can use your clones to farm?"

Naruto nodded. "Well, not just farming. They can do whatever I tell them. But that's mainly farming."

"How many can you make?"

"Probably a few hundred. But I generally make less, otherwise I get a big headache."

"That's incredible," Sakura said. "I can't even make one."

Naruto looked away. "Yeah well, I can't walk on water."

Sakura smiled. "Nothing to be sad about. I'll teach you." With that she grabbed him by the hands and pulled him along to the beach where she took a small hop and landed gracefully on the water's surface. She managed to stay balanced there, even as the water moved to and fro, pushing her back and forth. "I've been walking on water for so long that I sometimes get sick on dry land," Sakura said jokingly. "Have a go."

Naruto approached the water gingerly, channeling his chakra to his feet he approached the water slowly and attempted to place a foot on the water. Immediately the water was pulled away, throwing his leg up and making him land on his backside, much to the delight of Sakura.

"Water's too wild to approach carefully. When it comes to water you just have to take a leap of faith," Sakura managed after recovering from her bout of laughter.

Leaping from a tower. Legs breaking. Pain.

Naruto pushed himself up, thinking about her words then took a small hop. He landed on the water's surface and felt the water gently push and pull him. It was much easier to stay standing now that he had both feet on the water's surface.

"Try taking a step," Sakura urged.

He did so, a small one, barely a step at all, but he managed, then another and another. "I can do this," he said to himself, urging his movements on. It was slow going, but soon his small steps turned into bigger steps then leaps, until he was running across the ocean surface like it was normal earth. He returned with Sakura to the island in good spirits, laughing and throwing water at each other.

His mood immediately dropped upon seeing the ruins of his house. "The demon," he started. "What did it want?"

Sakura looked at him strangely, her eyes becoming somewhat hollow. "Didn't you know?" she asked incredulously. "It wasn't here for your parents. It was here for you."

Dead toads started falling from the sky, missing them, but covering the ground around them.

Naruto blinked and everything was back to normal. "What did you say?" he asked, his voice shaking.

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know why it wanted your parents. But we should probably get out of here before it comes back. There's a port nearby we can get to and then we'll go to-,"

"Konoha," Naruto blurted out, not sure where the foreign word was coming from.

Sakura looked at him surprised. "Yeah. How did you know I was going to say that?"

Naruto shook his head. "Something just clicked," he said.

The next morning they took off, running on water as was their ability to do so. It was never exchanged between them as it seemed defeatist, but there was a kindred-ship between them, maybe because they had both experienced great loss but more because they were both the last two shinobogs in the world.

Running across the ocean isn't so easy however and although Sakura was able to handle the grueling run, Naruto was soft and inexperienced and with half the distance to the port he was ready to collapse. Ironically, he needed water.

Sakura was just about ready to give up hope when a vessel adorned with Sound flags appeared.

"Let's ask for help," Naruto panted, but Sakura shook her head, backing away.

"No. We need to run away now. I've heard of a ship that wears the Sound flag. It's Orochimaru of the Sannin. The soul collector."

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe he has water. What better option do we have?"

Sakura sighed. "Fine, but at the first sign of trouble we're running."

Naruto agreed, heading towards the ship and waving as he did so.

A head with a neck that was far too long protruded from the side of the ship, blinking in astonishment at the two teens walking on water. His head darted back and a moment later a rope ladder was let down to the two shinobogs. Naruto climbed eagerly, finding energy now that his goal was so close. At that moment he would sell his soul and more for just a drink. Sakura followed soon after, looking about the ship cautiously.

"Greetings," the man said bowing. "I am Orochimaru, trader of goods. What brings two shinobogs to my humble ship?"

"Water," Naruto breathed.

Orochimaru laughed silkily. "How rude of me. Let me get you something to drink and then we can talk business," he said, climbing down a level and returning shortly with a small barrel. "Drink to your heart's content. I have plenty."

Naruto took the barrel appreciatively and started drinking while Sakura examined Orochimaru.

"It's dangerous to be sailing in these parts," she started. "I'm surprised we could find anyone, what with the war brewing in Mist."

Orochimaru arced an eyebrow and broke into a grin. "You're correct. I wouldn't normally have made my way to these parts. However the great toad gave a prophecy that I thought I should follow through."

Sakura frowned. "What was this prophecy if you don't mind me asking?"

"The great toad said that I would venture south and find the two last shinobogs. He said that they are humanity's last hope against the great demon."

Naruto shivered, pausing in his drinking. "Did you say the great demon?" he asked, paling.

Orochimaru nodded.

"The demon killed my parents," Naruto said, battling to keep his face straight.

Orochimaru looked at him downcast. "I am sorry."

Naruto sighed and looked at Sakura. "We need to stop this demon. If we're the only people that can, then we must."

Sakura nodded her agreement.

Orochimaru looked between them then took the barrel back from Naruto, stoppering it before laying it down. "The prophecy states that the demon will appear in three weeks from now in Konoha. I can't offer much, but I am traveling to Konoha myself. If you will help with sailing then I will be happy to offer you passage," he said, noting Naruto's disheveled state.

"We'll take it," Naruto said, before Sakura could offer any resistance. Orochimaru smiled and Sakura scowled. Naruto didn't care, there was no way he would be able to make it to Konoha in three weeks on just his two feet, whatever Sakura thought.

Pleased at this development, Orochimaru showed them to where they would be staying, informing them that they would be stopping at a port the next day then after they were rested he would assign their chores.

As they woke the next day, they left their rooms to find Orochimaru haggling with another boy their age. He had a cold angry expression that Naruto was sure everyone thought was cool. Sakura gasped upon seeing the boy. "That's Sasuke," she said in awe.

"Who?" Naruto asked, frowning.

Sakura looked at him disbelievingly. "You haven't heard of Sasuke? Only the greatest ninja in the high seas."

Naruto shook his head. "Is he also the biggest jerk on the high seas?"

Sakura grit her teeth together. "I'll forgive you for insulting Sasuke this time because you don't know any better. But in the future watch your mouth," she said, then turned away, her pink hair whipping into his face as she left him.

Naruto watched her leave, feeling slightly confused.

Orochimaru shook Sasuke's hand then turned to face Naruto. "This is Sasuke, he's going to be joining us on the trip to Konoha. You two will share a room."

Naruto nodded. "Hi I'm Naruto," he said, sticking a hand out for Sasuke to shake.

Sasuke looked at his hand then allowed his eyes to drift to Naruto's own. "I don't care," he said, brushing past him and into the room that Naruto had just emerged from.

Apparently this Sasuke guy was in fact the biggest jerk on the high seas.

The next few weeks were tense. All three of the passengers were doing chores but there was a social disconnect between them that created problems. Sasuke was the best at any task given, true to his status as a shinobi, unlike Naruto who barely knew the rigging from the half-mast. Sakura was somewhere in the middle, knowing enough to follow orders, but lacking any experience. To make matters worse, Sasuke hated the two of them, Sakura worshiped Sasuke and Naruto was madly in love with Sakura while also hating Sasuke. In the background there was Orochimaru who had repeatedly attempted to offer Sasuke a permanent place on his ship. Sasuke continued to turn him down, claiming he had some greater goal.

As the weeks came to a near end they sat around a pot in the mess, all taking food as they needed. It was the only time they were somewhat amiable to each other. Naruto hated the silence, but it was still better than Sasuke's scathing remarks.

"I had a weird dream last night," Sakura started. "We were all in it. We were on a team," she said indicating Naruto and Sasuke. "We were friends, we went on missions together. Naruto was brash and loud, always getting in trouble because the villagers didn't like him, and Sasuke was cool like usual," she said, blushing slightly. "Orochimaru was there too, he was one of the most powerful ninja in the world and he was trying to steal Sasuke's body."

"That sounds idiotic," Sasuke said, clearly crushing Sakura's spirits.

"I thought it sounded nice," Naruto said, trying to repair the damage Sasuke had done. "But I can't see myself being a prankster. I don't have anyone that I want to prank." He thought about it for a moment and reconsidered, glaring at Sasuke. "Actually one name comes to mind."

Sakura sighed. "Don't worry about it," she said laying a hand on his shoulder. "Something about the dream just felt important."

Naruto smiled. "It was important to me."

Sakura ignored the comment, her eyes already straying back to Sasuke's face, making Naruto scowl into his bowl.

The next day they arrived in Konoha.

Orochimaru was sad to see Sasuke go, he seemed more or less indifferent about the rest of them. He did catch Naruto on his way out, however. "Remember my words. The demon will appear in three days. Do what you can to prepare."

Naruto thanked him and watched him go. Within a few minutes Orochimaru's ship had disappeared into a cloud of fog as if he'd never been there in the first place. Turning to follow Sasuke and Sakura, he was struck by how massive the walls surrounding Konoha were. Were they expecting an attack from something so great? Had the walls been built for the purpose of repelling the demon?

Sasuke led the way, nodding to the guards as he entered.

The followed Sasuke to a great tower in the center of the village, then inside where they were admitted to a main office. An old wizened man with a goatee watched them enter, sitting up in his chair upon seeing Sasuke.

"I bring news," Sasuke started, waiting for a nod to continue. "In addition to Sakura this is the only other shinobog in the world and they will both be essential in the defeat of the great demon which will be attacking this village in three days from now."

The old man looked skeptical. "How do you know he is a shinobog and where did you hear such a preposterous rumor from?"

"Sakura vouches for him," Sasuke said, making the girl blush. "I heard such a tale from your student Orochimaru. He insisted that he received it from the great toad in prophecy."

The old man thought about it for a moment. "I see. I suppose we'll have to double the guard and make sure we are combat ready by then. Until then we will begin evacuating the civilians."

Sasuke bowed. "Understood."

"You may leave. But I would like to speak with the two shinobogs," the old man said, waving Sasuke off. Another bow later and Sasuke was gone, leaving Naruto and Sakura alone with the old man. "You have sailed with Orochimaru then," he said. "It is important that you realize Orochimaru only acts for his own benefit."

Sakura and Naruto exchanged glances. "Then why did he bring us here?" Naruto asked.

"Why indeed," the old man said, stroking his goatee. He opened a drawer in his desk, bringing out a pipe which he quickly lit and started puffing on. "It would lead me to believe that there is more to this story than we know and if Orochimaru was telling the truth I would be more worried about what he isn't telling us."

"He did say it was a prophecy," Naruto pointed out. "Not much anyone can do about a prophecy."

The old man laughed, coughing on the smoke as he was exhaling. "Never have I met someone so resigned to their fate. Perhaps it is wisdom to accept our lot in life."

"There are some things we can't fight against," said Sakura.

"Maybe you just aren't fighting hard enough. But enough of your youthful cynicism for today, tell me Sakura, what has become of Kakashi and your team?"

Sakura's expression dropped. "They're dead. I-," she shook her head. "There was nothing I could do."

The old man's face turned serious. "What occurred?"

"There was a ship with Mist sails. We thought. . .we tried to capture it. Only once we took the ship we realized that those we were fighting weren't Mist shinobi at all."

"Go on," the old man said, gesturing with his pipe.

Sakura took a deep shuddering breath. "We had to take the ship because ours was too damaged in the fight. The ship was filled with captured Sand shinobi. After taking them below deck Captain Kakashi ordered the sails lowered and then-," she choked, covering her face. "Snakes. So many snakes. I tried to save them you have to believe me. It was-," she broke off. "I jumped overboard and ran as far and fast as I could until I passed out. I must have reached an island at some point which is where I met Naruto."

The old man took a long drag of his pipe. "Fate is a strange thing. To think that you would meet the one other shinobog in the world. How odd."

Sakura nodded, collecting herself. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful," she said, bowing respectfully.

The old man waved her off. "You did your best. I would have you promoted if only the current threat wasn't so great. But snakes you say?"

Sakura blinked, opening and closing her mouth a few times. "Yes. They were snakes. They were all white if that helps."

The old man hummed. "I wouldn't worry about it too much," he said. "If I may have a word or two with the new shinobog. We will be but a moment."

Sakura nodded, leaving the office to allow Naruto and the old man to speak.

"I believe that the one behind Sakura's crew dying was in fact Orochimaru," the old man said finally.

Naruto frowned. "Why didn't you tell her?" he asked, folding his arms.

The old man shook his head. "Sakura is a very clever girl, but very foolish at times. I have no doubt she would seize a boat immediately after hearing and would set out after him. It would be a pointless gesture unfortunately. Orochimaru is never found unless he wants to be found."

"What makes you think Orochimaru killed her crew?"

The old man looked grim. "The white snakes are his style and snakes in the numbers enough to kill a full team of shinobi is something that I believe would have been easy enough to procure for a man such as him."

Naruto raised his eyebrows. "So you think he tried to kill Sakura then offered her transport home a few days later because he had a change of heart?"

"I don't know what to think," the old man said sharply. "And that is what has me worried. Is there nothing of your interactions with Orochimaru that might perhaps lend a clue to his true intentions?"

Naruto shook his head. "He seemed pretty normal, besides for the prophecy."

The old man nodded. "I have much to think about. Please don't tell Sakura of my suspicions, if at least until I can confirm them."

Naruto shrugged. "I'll see what I can do."

"That is all I ask."

Backing out the door, Naruto almost bumped into Sakura who was unashamedly listening in. She sent a furious glare his way, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the door and out of the building. "Stupid old man," she muttered.

"He means well," Naruto supplied.

"How would you know?" she snapped, squeezing his arm hard enough to hurt.

Naruto winced. "I'm sorry," he managed, making Sakura stop and release his arm.

"Yeah. So am I," she said, hanging her head. "The old man's right. Let's find you somewhere to stay for the next few days," she finished, raising her head distractedly. "I don't suppose you have any money?" Naruto smiled awkwardly in response. "Fine. We'll set you up with work then. In the meantime you can stay in the shinobi barracks."

Sakura showed him to the bed he would be staying in, giving him directions to her apartment where he would be joining her for meals, then left him to get comfortable. Not twenty minutes later Sasuke showed up, clutching at his neck with a deeply pained expression. Noticing Naruto's interest, Sasuke scowled and moved to the bed across from his own, lying down and letting out a small sigh of relief.

Naruto watched Sasuke until he was sure he was asleep.. He supposed that some things just didn't change.

Naruto what did the demon look like?

. . . I don't remember.

Who actually killed your parents?

Naruto spent the next three days preparing himself for battle, or rather, realizing that he would be absolutely useless in any battle. He couldn't throw a kunai, couldn't take even the youngest shinobi in a hand to hand bout and any specialized weapons were a mystery to him. He was starting to doubt the truth of Orochimaru's prophecy, or perhaps he should have doubted it from the very beginning. He wasn't a fighter, he hadn't even been in a fight before. It had just been him and his parents on the island. They had wanted to avoid the terrible cruelties of the world and had instead managed to plunge him right into the thick of it.

He struggled for a moment to remember their faces. He couldn't do it. He wanted to be sick, he had already forgotten their faces. Did he really care so little that he could just forget so easily, or was there something else? Was he making himself forget?

The day was here at last, the day that Naruto and Sakura were destined to save Konoha. The last two shinobogs would stand and face the demon, defeating it against all odds. That was the plan at least.

The village had been fortified, guards set up on all the walls, all foot traffic discontinued for the day and the entrance sealed by two thick gates. If anything was going to attack, it would at least have a difficult time getting in.

The civilians had all been evacuated, leaving only the shinobi and the two last shinobogs, standing bravely at the gate and waiting since before dawn.

An hour passed, then two. Guards were changed, food was brought. Noon then after. By dusk, Naruto was seriously doubting Orochimaru's prophecy.

"It's not coming," Sakura said, gritting her teeth. "That snake lied to us."

"The day isn't over yet," Naruto pointed out.

Sakura shook her head. "Even if there was something coming we would have seen something, heard something. There are guards stationed in all directions at least a day's journey away and they haven't reported a thing. It's not coming."

Naruto sighed. "Lets just stick it out. It could come from underwater."

Sakura nodded. "Hey Sasuke," she called over his shoulder. "Are you feeling alright?"

Naruto turned to look at the shinobi who once again had his hand clasped to his neck, an expression of deep pain on his face. He looked like he was trying to say something but his breathing was too ragged to make out.

Sakura immediately ran to his side, catching him before he could fall, Naruto following soon after. Sasuke moaned in pain as Sakura tried to pry his hand from his neck and soon they were able to see why, although it didn't make so much sense. A black tattoo was growing on his neck, slowly getting bigger and covering more of his body.

"I made a mistake," Sasuke managed. "He said he would make me a shinobog."

"Who?" Sakura asked panickedly.

"Oro. . .chimaru," he spat, falling silent as the tattoo managed to cover his entire body, turning then from black to white and forming a new face, a familiar face.

Orochimaru stood, shaking off Naruto and Sakura's hands as he brushed some invisible dust off his shoulder and looked up at the now setting sun. "Ah, right on time," he said to himself.

"What did you do with Sasuke?" Sakura demanded. "Why did you lie to us about the demon?"

Orochimaru cocked his head to the side and smiled. "Sasuke and I are one now. He has served to make me a shinobog and in doing so has made me the most powerful man in existence. And about the demon, well, its already here." He darted forward, hand outstretched to Naruto's stomach, the tips of his fingers glowing.

Naruto's stomach erupted in a searing hot pain, like being run through by a sword. He could make out Orochimaru disappear into the shadows, red glowing eyes being the last things to go before he collapsed to the floor, retching.

"Run," he whispered. Then again this time shouting, "Run."

He didn't wait to see if they heeded his command, closing his eyes, he tried to ignore the pain. Memories swam into his head, an unhappy revelation.

The demon lived inside Naruto. It had used him to kill his parents. He had allowed it to kill his parents and now he was going to allow it to kill Konoha as well with his body.

His eyes flared open. There was still time. He pushed himself up, noting that the only one near enough to reach was Sakura, her cutlass drawn but held to her side. She didn't know what was going on, but it was fine, she wouldn't need to.

He stumbled towards her, hand outstretched in a pleading motion. The shinobi near her backed away but she stood her ground, facing him boldly. It made her look beautiful. He wrapped his arms around her, even as the pain continued to plague him, then behind her back made the sign to summon a clone.

Before Sakura could react, her sword hand was being pushed forward, hitting something soft and following through until it emerged from the other end.

Sakura let go of her cutlass, staring horrified at Naruto and his clone.

Soon the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke and Naruto fell to his knees. Nobody came to help him, he wasn't Sasuke, he didn't need help. One last time he smiled at Sakura. "I'm sorry," he said, blood filling his mouth and making him cough.

He felt his body go slack, the welcoming warmth of the earth hitting his face. The world turned gray, then black, then all was gone.

He waited, for what felt like hours, days, years. He couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't feel. He just wanted to do something, to say something, to be free of this endless existence. He wanted to open his eyes and-

He woke.

It was dark, he wasn't anywhere he recognized, but at the same time it felt familiar.

He was sitting in a shallow pool of water that was somehow not soaking into his clothes. Was it blood? Blood would make sense, he was dead after all.

Standing slowly, he tested his limbs, noting to his satisfaction that the were all still somewhat functional.

Now what?

He was dead, there probably wasn't much to do as a dead person. He could explore this dark and empty expanse he had found himself in, but he didn't know if there was any point. Bringing his hands together, he attempted to make a clone, noting happily that he was still able to use chakra as a clone appeared beside him. That would at least make infinity slightly more bearable.

He attempted to light a fire with Sasuke's old fireball jutsu, making barely a passing flame. That was something to work on at least. Trying again, he managed to create some semblance of light. It was in that moment that he realized he wasn't as alone as he had previously thought, nor were his surroundings as barren as originally assumed.

He approached what he looked like a gate. His fingers touched something cold, hard and pulsing with power. From his touch he felt a ripple, spreading to all corners and was able to see its progress as his surroundings were lit up to reveal a giant gate in front of him. No not a gate, a cage and its occupant staring down at him with angry orange eyes.

"So the brat finally awakes," said a familiar voice. More correctly the voice of a massive fox.

"Are you my jailer?" Naruto asked finally. "Is it just the two of us here?"

The fox growled. "You dare? You are my jailer and I would hope it is just the of us."

Naruto shook his head. "Since when am I your jailer? We've never met and I think I would remember meeting you. Is this where all dead people go? If so then where are they?"

The fox glared at him. "You're not dead. You almost got me killed, but I managed to save us in the last second. Now you owe me. So just let me out and we can forget this ever happened."

Naruto frowned. "I'm not dead."

"Are you dense brat? We're inside your head."

"Oh," Naruto said. "Then who are you?"

The fox's eyes narrowed to slits. "You don't know who I am?"

Naruto shook his head. "Again, I think I would remember meeting you. Maybe you have me mixed up with someone else."

The fox butted its head against the cage. "I am the Nine Tailed Fox, the most powerful of the tailed beasts."

Naruto's frown deepened then brightened. "Oh, hey. You're like Shukaku's brother or something."

The fox paused. "Where did you hear that name?"

"What, Shukaku? He told me."

"He. . .told. . .you?"

Naruto nodded. "It was pretty hard to miss it. What's your name?"

"You don't deserve to know my name."

Naruto clapped his hand over his mouth. "You're right. I'm sorry, that's so rude of me. Hi, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the last of the Uzumaki line and hoping to be a sealing master. What's your name?"

The fox stared at him, grunted and turned away. "If I tell you will you release me?"

Naruto's smile dropped. "If I release you will you kill someone?"

"Yes."

Naruto sighed. "Then no. I'm sorry. I do want to, but I can't."

The fox thrashed against the cage again. "When I get out of here I'll kill you, just like I killed your parents. Then I'll kill your friends and your loved ones if you don't let me out right now."

Naruto looked at the fox sadly. "I'm sorry that I make you feel that way. But I still can't do that." He turned his back on the cage, even as he heard the fox buck against the cage again, roaring all the while. Stepping away he wondered about this place he was in. His mind-scape. Anything he could want should be a reality, so if he just wanted to wake up then-

He felt his lungs fill with hair in spite of himself, his eyes opening to light and unfamiliarity. White, everything was white. The smell was familiar at least. It smelled like the hospital back home, or like Orochimaru's operating room. He hoped it was the prior and not the latter. His eyes itched, feeling like something had been shoved under his lids and he could feel that his face was covered in bandages. Why was he covered in bandages if he's suffered a sword wound. Which, after feeling around for a moment, he could tell hadn't even been bandaged and had instead left wide scar. He tried to push himself up, knocking something over in the process and drawing the attention of someone nearby.

"He's awake," a female voice called. A girl appeared by his side, looking at him worriedly. "Can you hear me?" she asked.

Naruto nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

The girl looked to the side and growled. "I need you to stay calm and whatever you do, don't tell anyone your name. We're going to try and get you out of here. Do you understand?"

Naruto frowned in confusion but nodded.

"Good," the girl sighed. "They should be here any minute now." As if prompted by her words, a loud commotion rose to Naruto's ears from outside his room. It sounded like. . .combat, outside his hospital room. What was going on? The girl seemed calm enough but that didn't mean anything.

"What-?" he tried to say, his voice coming out as a gurgle. The girl shook her head and put a finger to her lips.

Soon the sound of combat stopped and a familiar voice drifted into his room. "This hospital has been claimed by the Mist Shinobi Revolution Front and Mei Terumi, soon to be your new Mizukage. If you cooperate we will get along fine. If you don't, well I don't need to tell you what will happen do I?" the man finished, his voice annoying Naruto with its familiarity. Who did he know from Mist?

He received his answer quickly in the form of a tall man with his mouth covered came in through the door. "Good job Haku. We'll take it from here," said Zabuza Momochi to the girl beside Naruto's bed.

Everything was starting to fit together and happy as he was to see his old friends, Naruto wasn't sure he liked it.

Haku nodded and made her way to a window before exiting, leaving Naruto with Zabuza. "Welcome to the land of the living. It took you long enough to get here." Zabuza grabbed Naruto's bed and started wheeling him out. "Not a good place to talk. We held off on attacking this place until you woke up because we didn't want anyone prying too much. For now we need to get you out of here, explanations can come later."

The demon brothers took over from Zabuza near the entrance, each ignoring Naruto's form as they got him out onto the street. Then, after looking both ways, they put their arms under Naruto's own and lifted him off his bed, placing him on his feet.

They continued to hold him up even after he almost collapsed. He felt so weak. Why was he so tired? Zabuza mentioned that he had taken his time, so surely he must have been unconscious for almost a week before waking. Strange but not unexplainable. He was probably just tired from having recovered.

The demon brothers led him to a boat docked by the shore where they then waited for Zabuza and Haku to return before starting the engine. Naruto was escorted to the interior where Zabuza sat across from him, Haku joining them at his side a moment later. They were looking at each other, having some silent conversation that Naruto couldn't make out. Whatever it was, they didn't seem happy about it. Finally Zabuza sighed and faced Naruto.

"We should get some things out of the way first before we continue. Mei Terumi saved your life. What you do with that information is for you to decide. In hopes that you would join our revolution she arranged your records to be falsified. In other words, you're officially dead. If you don't owe Mei for your life then you definitely owe her for that. I would recommend that you join our revolution as thanks."

Naruto smiled, coughing slightly as he tried to speak. "It was very nice of her to do so, both for saving me and for faking my records, but I didn't need it. Nobody will think I'm dead because I heal really well. I would have probably survived the wound as well if she hadn't saved me," he said huskily.

Zabuza's eyes widened angrily. "You ungrateful little-,"

"He doesn't know," Haku said softly, making Zabuza pause and eventually calm. "You should tell him."

Zabuza's expression changed from angry to uncomfortable in an instant. "I'm not good at these things," he said.

Haku smiled, but the smile didn't touch her eyes. "Leave it to me then."

Zabuza nodded. "Teach this kid some respect," he said, before leaving a confused Naruto alone with Haku.

Naruto watched Zabuza leave, then turned back to Haku. "What is he talking about?"

Haku's eyes stayed focused on the door. "Zabuza's not actually that angry. He was really worried about you, even though he didn't show it."

Naruto smiled uncomfortably. "I'm sorry for worrying him I guess, but I am made of stronger stuff. I would have been fine." He attemtped to hold a fist to his chest as a sign of his strength but felt too weak to do so, instead letting it flap against his chest before falling into his lap.

Haku blinked, frowning slightly. "What's the last thing you remember? What was the date?"

Naruto thought about it, before rattling off the date and day of the week. "I had been running from Orochimaru's hideout in Wave before he caught me and ran me through on his sword. After that I fell into the water near the beach."

Haku paled visibly at the mention of Orochimaru, but didn't comment further, her lips tightened and she wouldn't say more.

Naruto could sense something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. Haku seemed to be thinking about what to say, but Naruto was bored with this conversation already. There was no way Orochimaru believed he was dead, not if he had been brought to a public hospital. His spies were everywhere. He needed to tell Sasuke and Sakura, then figure out their next move. "How did you find me?" he asked, just to keep the conversation flowing.

Haku shook her head. "Zabuza found you on the beach, clothes covered in blood, not a scratch on you. He thought you had drowned." She shook her head. "I'm doing this wrong. I can see why Zabuza found this difficult."

Naruto tapped his foot impatiently. "While I do love spending time with you Haku, could you just tell me whatever you want to tell me already so that I can get back to what I was doing before," he said, standing.

Haku grabbed his hand, pulling him down. Not so difficult when Naruto's legs still felt like jelly. "Nobody's waiting for you. Trust me on that."

Naruto felt a rare flare of anger. "Why would you say that? I have friends that depend on me. I'm sure they're worried about me right now. If you want me to join your revolution then that's fine, but I need to tell them that I'm okay," he said, trying to pull his hand away from Haku's. For such a small girl she had a grip like a vice though and Naruto couldn't move.

Haku shook her head, letting go of his hand. "Nobody's waiting for you because you've been in a coma for six months," she said finally, her face betraying nothing.

Naruto smiled automatically, sure that she was joking, then saw that her expression hadn't changed at all and looked down at his stomach, noticing, for the first time, the unhealthy press of his ribs against his skin. "Can I have a mirror?" he requested.

Haku cringed, but, helped him stand and walked him over to somewhere he could look at his reflection. "When we faked your death we had to disguise you. Zabuza wanted to dye your hair, but I thought that would be the first thing someone would look for. Instead we had to make you stick out like a sore thumb, but look like someone else entirely so that you would be ignored completely."

Naruto pulled off the bandages and stared at a gaunt face with hollow cheeks, his skin stained a darkish brown. His eyes were a different color, explaining the foreign feeling under his eyelids. His eyebrows were gone, as well as his hair, leaving him bald.

"So we took some drastic measures," Haku finished.

"I think I need to sleep," Naruto said to Haku.

Haku nodded her understanding. Naruto looked once more at the stranger that was his reflection, then let his eyes close and sleep consume him.

(0_0)

A/N: The dream sequence isn't necessarily relevant to the main story. More something I did for fun. Might do something like it later.