A/N - I know, you probably wanted me to update something else, but I really wanted to update this one again. Sooo...there ya go.

Anyways, this chapter mainly focuses on everyone's feelings in regards to one another.

Also...there IS a lime in this chapter, so hopefully you enjoy that.

Anywho, not sure what else to say. Hopefully you enjoy the chapter!

WARNING! There is a lime in this chapter! Don't like it, don't read.

Chapter 10 - Love

Ibiki couldn't help but sigh and palm his face as he listened to this whiny pink-haired fangirl ramble on and on about her precious 'Sasuke-kun'. Eventually tiring of it, he slapped her hard with the back of his hand, effectively shutting her up and causing her to cry out in pain. "Kami above! Do you ever shut up?!" he exclaimed, clearly frustrated. "Why Hokage-sama sent me a fangirl to break, I'll never understand. But, apparently she wants to try and understand what makes you think the way you do. So, here we are. I don't want to deal with you, but it's my job to make you crack. And you don't want to be here any longer than you have to be, correct?" Seeing her nod, Ibiki smiled sadistically. "Then you'd best answer my questions and answer them honestly, or else we're going to have some fun. Understand me Fangirl?"

When Sakura nodded again, Ibiki decided to get on with the questioning. "First question will be an easy one. What's your name?"

Sakura, still frightened of Ibiki, squeaked out, "S-Sakura Haruno."

"Good. Good." Ibiki said as he paced around the room, keeping his eyes on her the entire time. "Second question: are you a kunoichi of Konohagakure?"

The pinkette wasn't sure how to answer this one. So, a little unsurely, she answered, "Yes?"

Ibiki quirked his brow slightly before nodding his head in acceptance of her answer. "You might not be one for much longer, depending on my findings here." he replied. "Third question: was Sasuke a traitor to the village of Konohagakure?"

Sakura scowled at this and thrashed around in her bindings. "Never! Sasuke would never have…augh!" she screamed, being backhanded once again.

"The correct answer is: "Yes Ibiki-sama, Sasuke was a rotten traitor." or something else along those lines." he said, scowling down at the young woman. "Fourth question: what makes you think you were in love with Sasuke?"

Blinking in confusion at this sudden question, Sakura had to take a moment to think over her answer before she responded. "Sasuke was so kind to me. He was a wonderful person that always thought of me first and cherished every precious moment he had with me. The only problem was that stupid Naruto-baka kept getting in the way all the time." she grumbled out. "But Sasuke didn't mind. So long as we were together, he was happy."

Ibiki blinked a couple of times before looking down at her in utter confusion. "What kind of fucked up world do you live in Haruno? Sasuke was none of those things. He was rotten to the core and deserved what he got."

"That's not true! Sasuke loved me! We were going to marry each other and restore the Uchiha clan, just like he wanted! I would have been his loving wife, doting on him and our children every day like any good housewife should. I…"

Before Sakura could say anything more, Ibiki took a screwdriver from his pile of tools and rammed it straight into her knee. When she began to scream in pain, Ibiki slapped his hand over her mouth and commanded in his gruff voice, "Shut. Up. Keep talking and I'll gouge out an eye next."

Seeing Sakura nod, Ibiki began to look her over with a curious gaze. There's no way anyone could be this delusional. Something else is at play here and I'm going to find out what. The T&I interrogator thought to himself as he snapped his fingers. When someone entered the room and bowed to him, Ibiki looked at the newcomer with a frown. "Go and retrieve Jiraiya-sama for me. He should be either at the hospital visiting Naruto, or at the hot springs peeping on the women bathing. If you can't find him, check with Tsunade. But I want him found and brought back here. If he asks why, tell him that I have need of his sealing knowledge." he commanded.

After his colleague left the room, Ibiki began to pace again, eyeing Sakura carefully. If I'm right and she has a seal on her, then that leaves the question of who's to blame? I may have to call in Inoichi to do a mind walk in search of those memories.

When Jiraiya arrived about ten minutes later, Ibiki breathed a sigh of relief. "Jiraiya-sama, I'm glad you could make it. I believe this girl to have a seal on her somewhere, tainting her mind and distorting her views on reality. Everything she knows and loves revolves around the Uchiha brat. With him dead, her condition is only getting worse. Can you help me?"

The white-haired Sannin frowned as he looked the pink-haired girl over carefully. "I'll do it, but you owe me one Ibiki." he said. Walking to the table in the room, he pulled out his sealing kit and got to work creating a seal. Once it was finished, he slapped the seal on Sakura's forehead before pulsing his chakra, activating it.

When Sakura's body began to glow a sickly greenish color, Jiraiya walked around behind her and frowned as he found what he was looking for. There, in the center of her back where she could never reach it or do anything about it, was a yellowish-orange glow mixed in with all the green. "Bingo."

Removing the seal he had slapped on her, Jiraiya tore off her top and began to examine the seal that was on the teenage girl. "Hmm...whoever designed this has at least some skill in the art of fuinjutsu. However, it's nothing I can't handle. What bothers me is the fact that the power of this seal is skewed. Whereas normally a seal like this would simply nudge the bearer to pursue a certain goal, in this case getting in the Uchiha runt's pants, this seal has an incorrect kanji right here." Jiraiya pointed out to Ibiki as the interrogator came around to take a look. "This is what's been causing her excessive fangirlish behavior. But there's another function to the seal as well: she's basically been programmed to hate and harm Naruto at every opportunity in any way she can."

Ibiki frowned at this information. "I'll have to relay this information to Hokage-sama as soon as we're done here." he said. "Can you remove the seal Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya chuckled and nodded his head before he pounded himself on the chest in pride. "Can I remove the seal? Who do you think you're talking to here Ibiki? Of course I can! Just watch."

A short time later, Jiraiya had finished drawing a number of markings along Sakura's back, around the rotten seal. Once he was finished, Jiraiya exclaimed, "Curse Seal Removal: Release!" Together, both he and Ibiki watched as his seal worked its magic by slowly purging the seal from Sakura's back. Once it was completely gone, Jiraiya smirked at Ibiki and nodded his head towards the girl. "Well then, my job here is done. Good luck getting anymore information out of her."

Ibiki sighed as he watched Jiraiya leave the interrogation room. Looking back at Sakura, he frowned and waited for her to regain consciousness. She had passed out during the unsealing and likely wouldn't regain consciousness for a few more minutes. So, looking towards the two way mirror, he ordered, "Fetch Inoichi for me. I might need him soon."

When Sakura began to awaken, Ibiki turned to her and waited for the young woman to open her eyes. As soon as she did, she looked up at Ibiki in bewilderment, completely unsure of how she got there or what was going on. "W-what's going on? Where...where am I? What happened to me?" Looking down at her knee when she felt a sudden pang of pain shoot through her, Sakura's eyes widened in horror. "Why is there a screwdriver in my knee?! Please, take it out!"

Sighing once again, the interrogator walked over and gently removed the screwdriver from Sakura's knee. "There." he said calmly before stepping away. "To answer your questions in order: you are being interrogated because of your insane fascination with Sasuke Uchiha. You are currently in T&I in one of our interrogation rooms. Finally, it would seem that someone placed a rather nasty seal on you to prevented you from thinking for yourself. It's been removed now, but I'm not sure what the repercussions will be for removing a seal that's likely been on you for many years now."

Nodding slowly as she processed all the information, Sakura soon laid her head down upon the table and groaned. "I...remember bits and pieces of what went on while that seal was on me, but I'm not getting the whole picture. I remember Sasuke and how he was always such a jerk to me and Naruto. I...remember how kind Naruto's been to me. I remember the taste of food I ate while I wasn't myself. I remember small things. But...I can't remember much else."

Ibiki frowned, not liking what he was hearing. "So you can't remember your missions or even graduating from the academy? You are a kunoichi of Konohagakure now Sakura. If…" he sighed and shook his head. "Did you even want to become a kunoichi before this seal was placed on you?"

Sakura looked up at Ibiki and nodded slowly. "Of course I did! I promised myself I would take my career seriously and work as hard as possible to become the strongest and best kunoichi I could be! But...let me guess...when the seal was on, I wasn't aspiring to that goal, was I?" she asked, feeling more and more depressed as she forced herself to ask the question.

Ibiki shook his head in the negative. "No Sakura. You were behaving like a fangirl, thinking your Prince Charming would rescue you should you ever get into a sticky situation. You spent more time thinking about how to get into your crush's pants than training to become a respectable kunoichi. It was sickening."

The young woman could feel tears welling up in her eyes. "Can I repair my reputation somehow and become the kunoichi I always hoped to be?" she questioned hopefully.

Sighing, the head interrogator of the T&I walked over to the girl and patted her on the head uncertainly. "Yes. Of course you can. But it will take time. You have to be willing to push through the negative opinions people have of you and train hard to become the kind of kunoichi you dreamed of being. It won't be easy, as you're going to need to train harder than ever if you want to catch up to your fellow graduates. But...I think one of the first things you need to do is apologize to Naruto Uzumaki. He's a good kid and I think he'll be willing to forgive you if you only talk to him."

Nodding as she reached up to wipe away her tears, Sakura offered Ibiki a smile. "Thank you. Umm...I never got your name. You already know who I am, but who are you?"

Ibiki chuckled. "I'm Ibiki Morino. It's nice to officially make your acquaintance Sakura." he said.

They would have conversed more, but the door opened and Inoichi walked in. Turning to look at him, the head interrogator smiled and said, "Ah, Inoichi. Glad you could make it. Think you could perform a mind walk on Sakura here and find out who placed the seal on her?" Before Inoichi could reply, Ibiki walked up to him and whispered in his ear, "And...her memories after the seal was placed are a shattered mess. So be careful in there, alright? If you were able, I'd ask you to repair those memories, but…"

The head of the Yamanaka clan shook his head and frowned. "I'm afraid repairing memories that are broken simply isn't possible, even for me. I'll see what it's like in there and let you know what I find out once I'm done." he said before stepping in front of Sakura. Looking her in the eyes, he sighed and performed the required hand seal for his clan's signature technique. "Mind Body Switch Technique."

Sakura's Mindscape

As Inoichi appeared in Sakura's mindscape, he couldn't help but frown. He was standing in a large glass dome, and outside of the dome it was storming terribly with a heavy downpour and lightning shooting through the sky above. As he looked around, he could see large brown and white doors lining the walls of the dome. There were dozens of them, but some of them appeared to be badly damaged. Figuring that those denoted her broken memories, he instead walked up to one of the doors and looked it over carefully.

Next to the door, he could see a plaque denoting that this door housed memories of her family. Deciding that this would be a good place to start his search, Inoichi opened the door and stepped through, emerging into a bright room filled with the sounds of people talking.

Looking around, he could see that he was within a house. Following the sounds of the voices, he soon emerged in a room with Sakura's family: Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno. From the point of view he was seeing this from, he could tell that Sakura was hiding from her parents, obviously eavesdropping on them for some reason. As he pondered why this was, he heard Kizashi start speaking, drawing his attention back to them.

"I caught her Mebuki. She was playing with that blasted demon child today! We have to do something before he corrupts our daughter." Kizashi said, obviously angry about this particular subject.

Mebuki's eyes widened fractionally before she clenched her fists at her side. "I was hoping to protect her from that boy. Anyone that associates with him is bound to get bullied by the masses. We have to do something to protect our daughter Kizashi."

Kizashi folded his arms over his chest and began to tap his foot, clearly irritated. "She'd be more than bullied. She'd be attacked by the fools that want to keep that demon isolated. Anytime that child tries to make a friend, it always ends badly for the person involved. I'm amazed those Ichiraku's haven't been run out of business by now with how often the demon eats there."

Mebuki sighed and shook her head. "I know that. But what can we do Kizashi? Surely you have some kind of idea honey?"

Tapping his foot faster than before, Kizashi hummed in thought. After a while, it looked as if a light bulb had gone off in his head as he opened his eyes wide and looked at his wife. "Honey! You're good with seals, right?"

Mebuki frowned at this, not quite sure where he was going with this topic. "Well, I'm nowhere near Jiraiya-sama's level, but I'm decent. Why?"

Kizashi looked at his wife like she was an idiot. "You can design a seal that would solve this issue, couldn't you? You could program her to hate the demon!"

Eyes widening in realization, Mebuki looked positively giddy. "Even better than that! I can use the seal to make her go after that Uchiha boy. If she can bag him, we'd have access to his family's fortune! It would be a win-win!"

"Oooh, I like that! Do it! I hate that spoiled little shit, but if we had access to his fortune…" Kizashi said, sounding positively giddy.

Nodding in agreement, Mebuki said, "I'll get to work on the seal right away. In the meantime, do your best to keep our daughter away from that demon child. We can't have him corrupting her any further."

Inoichi had heard enough. It was obvious to him now what had happened without having to see it, but he wanted to see the event of the sealing for himself. So, advancing to the next memory, he sighed as he could feel Sakura's fear quite easily. She was obviously tied down, as she was thrashing violently about in an attempt to free herself.

"Relax sweetie. Mommy will make this as quick as possible. I promise." Mebuki's voice could be heard saying. If Sakura wasn't face down, Inoichi would have been able to see exactly what was going on. "Kizashi, hold her down. I can't draw the seal if she keeps thrashing about like this."

"Of course sweetheart." Kizashi could be heard saying. When Sakura stopped thrashing about, Inoichi figured that her father had pinned her down. As Sakura's vision became blurred, Inoichi could easily tell she was crying now.

"Why? Why are you doing this?! Mommy… Daddy… " Sakura questioned, unable to grasp why the heck her own parents were doing such a thing to her.

"We're sorry sweetie, but this is for your own good." Mebuki said. Inoichi was certain she was drawing the seal now. Not long afterwards, Mebuki said, "There. It's all done. Keep holding her Kizashi while I activate it."

Kizashi said, "Of course. Just make it quick. She's really trying hard to fight me off."

"Of course dear. Forced Love Seal: Release!" she exclaimed. The next thing Inoichi heard was Sakura's scream before he was ejected from the memory and back out into the large glass dome.

Bringing a hand up to his head to stem off a headache, Inoichi decided that he had enough information to bring to Ibiki and the Hokage now. So, cancelling his technique, he returned to his own body.

Interrogation Room

As Inoichi regained his senses, he looked straight at Sakura with a pitying look. Releasing a sigh, he turned to Ibiki and began his report. "I found out who's responsible for placing that seal on Sakura. It's...not good. Both of her parents are responsible. They came up with the idea together and they worked together to place the seal on her. I would recommend letting Hokage-sama know ASAP so those two can be taken into custody and charged for their crime. Kami…" Inoichi sighed again and looked down. "How could her own parents do this to her? Parents are supposed to protect their children and support them. Not...not this."

Ibiki frowned and shook his head. "Inoichi, one thing I've learned in this job is that people are sick, twisted creatures. They'll do anything and everything to further their own goals in life, even sacrificing their own children. It's despicable, but it's just how things are."

"I know. It just doesn't sit right with me. Sakura and my little girl are friends...the mere fact that this could happen to someone that's so dear to my Ino-chan is just…" Inoichi shook his head. "It hits close to home."

"I understand Inoichi." Ibiki said. "Can you take Sakura to the hospital to get her knee looked at? I need to go deliver the report to Hokage-sama."

Inoichi nodded and walked over to Sakura, releasing her from her bindings. Lifting her into his arms, he nodded at Ibiki before leaving the room.

As soon as he was gone, Ibiki brought a hand to his face and sighed before shaking his head in disbelief. "Her own parents. I almost can't believe it." he said before he, too, left the room.

Tsunade's Office

Tsunade was glaring at the two Genin standing before her. These two had abandoned their mission strictly because they didn't like the way Naruto did things and she wasn't going to tolerate it. Glancing down at the files in front of her, she flipped through them, reading the information within them as she went. When she finally closed the files, she released a sigh and looked back at the two Genin standing there.

"Kiba Inuzuka. Rock Lee. The two of you abandoned your mission. Kiba, you abandoned it because you didn't like one of the members that I specifically chose for the mission. Lee, you abandoned it because you didn't like the orders I had given said Genin. What do you two have to say for yourselves?" she asked.

Kiba snarled and pointed at her. "Why the fuck did you send that worthless asshole to help us?! We could have handled it on our own without that sack of shit getting in the way!"

Lee frowned at Kiba, but decided to ignore it. Instead, he turned to Tsunade and tried to explain his reasoning behind abandoning the mission. "Hokage-sama, I am deeply sorry. However, killing a comrade...a friend...it just wasn't right! Our mission was to bring him back. He was taken by Orochimaru's men against his will, wasn't he?! Why should he be killed for that?! It just felt so...so unyouthful!"

Tsunade slammed her fist onto her desk and glared hard at the two of them, slamming them with her Killing Intent. "How dare you talk that way to me you little mutt?! And you Lee, I am disappointed in you. Guy speaks so highly of you, but you abandoned your mission because you clearly didn't like the orders given by me. Sasuke left of his own accord, he was not kidnapped. He was no friend to any of you! If you think he was, then you're delusional."

Lee looked as if he had been struck physically, his eyes widening in horror. Kiba, on the other hand, didn't take being called a mutt well and clenched his fists tight as he started taking steps closer to Tsunade's desk. "Take that back! I'm not a damn mutt!"

The Godaime quirked a brow challengingly at Kiba and smirked at him. "ANBU! Take the mutt and throw him behind bars. I'll deal with him later. As for you Lee…" Tsunade looked at him and held out her hand. "You're suspended for an indefinite period of time until you can learn to follow the orders given to you. You're off of Team Guy from this point forward. I'll consider allowing Guy to continue training you, but until I say otherwise, you are not a ninja of Konohagakure. Give me your headband. Now!"

As the ANBU appeared and grabbed Kiba, he thrashed against them and started shouting curses at the Hokage. "I'll kill you for this you stupid bitch! We'd be better off with a man leading us! You're weak! You're pathetic! You don't deserve to be-" The ANBU, tiring of his tirade, knocked Kiba out before vanishing with him.

Lee, meanwhile, looked mortified as he untied his headband and placed it in Tsunade's outstretched hand. "Will...will that be all, Hokage-sama?" he asked dejectedly.

"You're dismissed. Get out of my office Lee." the Godaime commanded. As she watched him leave, she couldn't help but shake her head in disappointment. Such a promising young Genin. If only he hadn't done this, he'd make a great shinobi someday.

As she went to return to working on her paperwork, she heard a knock on her door. Releasing a sigh, she said, "Come in." When Ibiki entered the room, she looked at him curiously. "I wasn't expecting you so soon. What did you find out? Or is she really just a delusional fangirl?"

Ibiki sighed and placed a folder down on her desk. As she read through it, Ibiki spoke. "I had to call in Jiraiya-sama and Inoichi to help me in the interrogation. Jiraiya-sama found a seal in the center of her back. After removing it, I found out that her memories since having the seal placed on her have been fractured. She barely remembers anything since her days in the academy and after becoming a kunoichi. I had Inoichi perform a mind dive to try and find out who placed such a seal on her…"

When she got to that part of the report, Tsunade's eyes narrowed and she looked up at Ibiki. "Her own parents did this to her?! That's just sick!" she exclaimed angrily. "ANBU! Find the Harunos and take them into custody! Now!"

Ibiki watched as the ANBU appeared, bowed to the Hokage, and then vanished. After a moment, he looked at her and asked, "Hokage-sama, do you want me to see what information I can force out of the two of them? What if they've done more that we don't know about yet?"

Thinking on it, the Hokage nodded in assent. "Do it. You can begin interrogating them as soon as you're ready." she said. "Just make sure you make them cough up everything. Don't stop until you've extracted every last bit of information you can from them. I want to know every backroom deal they've ever been a part of. I want to know what other crimes they've committed. I want it all. Understand me Ibiki?"

Nodding in the affirmative, Ibiki bowed to the Hokage. "It will be done Hokage-sama. Do take care of yourself." he said before leaving the office.

Now that she was alone, Tsunade let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. "Makes me wonder if there's a seal on Ino too or if she's just naturally a delusional fangirl." she muttered to herself before returning to her paperwork.

Shana

Shana clenched her fists tightly, still pissed off at Dart for bothering her earlier in the day. As she walked along the streets of Konoha-Lohan, she grumbled incoherently to herself, obviously still upset not just about Dart, but also about the fact that Rose and Hinata were both so pissed off at her simply because she liked Naruto too.

Eventually, she stopped walking and released a heavy sigh. "They're right. If I can't fully devote myself to Naruto...then I'll just end up hurting him." she said to herself.

"How do you know Naruto-kun?" a voice asked her from nearby. Looking in the direction that the voice came from, Shana found that she was standing in front of a small food stand. Looking at the name, she saw that this place was called Ramen Ichiraku. Shrugging her shoulders, she stepped inside and saw a beautiful young woman standing behind the counter, just smiling kindly at her. "Sorry for disturbing you when you were so deep in thought, but I heard you say Naruto and couldn't help myself."

Shana sighed and shook her head as she took a seat on one of the stools. "Naruto's a dear friend of mine. He helped save my life and he's just been so kind to me. The problem is...I'm in love with Dart, but he only sees me as a sister. On top of this, Naruto's admitted he's in love with me...and I've developed some powerful feelings for him as well. I...genuinely love him too. But…"

The brunette waitress nodded in understanding. "Let me guess. Naruto's in a relationship already and his girlfriend isn't happy with you. Right?"

The beautiful archer sighed and nodded her head slowly. "You're right. He's in a relationship with Rose...but Hinata and Hikari are in love with him too. Hinata and Rose both slapped me today… I...I kissed Naruto in the hospital. He's unconscious and won't wake up for a while, but...I couldn't help myself. But they caught me and became really, really angry with me. I just...I don't know what to do."

Nodding in understanding again, Ayame smiled at the girl and asked, "What's your name? I'm Ayame Ichiraku."

Realizing she had yet to give her name, Shana smiled kindly at Ayame and said, "My name is Shana. And…"

Ayame reached across the counter and patted Shana's hand. "I understand. You want some advice." she said. "If you ask me, it sounds like your feelings for this Dart person and your desire to be with Dart are hurting you deeply inside. Your feelings for Naruto-kun are genuine and real, and he's found this way to worm himself deep into your heart. Hasn't he?" Seeing Shana nod with a small smile forming on her face, Ayame nodded again. "From what I gathered, you really care for Dart as well, but the more time passes without him acknowledging your feelings for him...the more angry you become with him. If this keeps up, you may end up exploding on him sooner rather than later. You might even end up growing to hate being near him."

Shana sighed and looked down at her hands, which were neatly folded together on the counter. "I don't want that. I've known Dart since childhood. I developed such strong feelings for him and I only wanted...want him to return my feelings." she said, quickly correcting herself when she said 'wanted'.

Ayame caught this little slip-up though and smirked at her. "I heard that. You said 'wanted'. It sounds to me like you've made your choice and realize what you want. However, your mind and heart are in conflict with each other and it's causing you nothing but confusion. If you ask me, you should seriously consider giving Naruto-kun a shot. But if you choose to do so...you need to work to prove to him and his girlfriends that you really mean it and that you genuinely want to be with him. Naruto-kun wouldn't want to be your backup boyfriend just because things didn't work out with Dart. It's obvious to me that you're in love with him, and you do genuinely want to give a relationship with him a shot, but proving that to them is going to be hard."

The brunette archer sighed and nodded her head as she began to fiddle with her fingers. "How do I do that though? I just...I just want to make Naruto happy. I want to be happy with him. I...I don't know what to do." she admitted as tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"Hold on a moment. Dad!" hearing her father making noise in the back, Ayame shouted back to him again, "Can you make your special of the day? We've got a guest here that needs some cheering up and I think your ramen is just the thing she needs."

Teuchi said, "Coming right up! Just give me a moment."

Ayame smiled and gave Shana's hand a squeeze. "Just be there for him. Show him that you care and that you're getting over Dart. Tell Naruto that you love him. Just...be honest. Honesty is the best policy after all." she recommended.

Smiling at her new friend, Shana reached up with her free hand to wipe away her tears. "Thank you Ayame. You're very sweet."

"No problem Shana-chan. Just promise me that you won't hurt my little brother and we'll be good." Ayame said, being quite serious.

Shana blinked and asked, "Little brother? I thought Naruto didn't have any family in Konoha-Lohan besides his godparents?"

Giggling to herself, Ayame shook her head. "We're not related, but we're close enough that we consider each ourselves to be siblings anyways. So, promise?"

The brunette Dragoon nodded slowly and smiled at Ayame. "I promise. If...if Naruto accepts me, then I'll do my best to make him happy. And...I want to be happy with him."

The ramen waitress smiled softly at the woman before her and nodded slowly. "Good. I'm glad to hear it. Now…" taking the bowl of ramen her father had prepared, she placed it before Shana. "This bowl's on the house. Eat up and enjoy. I'm sure you'll love it."

Dart

The Fire Dragoon sat outside in the garden of the hospital, just trying to relax after Shana blew up at him earlier. Seriously, what the hell did I do to piss her off like that? He wondered silently.

After a few, short minutes, somebody sat down beside Dart and patted him on the shoulder. "So, how'd things go with Shana?"

Glancing to his side, Dart saw Albert sitting there with a kind smile on his face. "She's pissed at me and I don't understand why. I just wanted to make sure she was alright and then she blew up at me."

Nodding his head in understanding, the King of Basil said, "Let me guess. You said she's like a sister to you, didn't you?"

Dart nodded slowly, his face twisting into a confused scowl. "I did. It's true. Why do you ask?"

The blonde king sighed and shook his head exasperatedly. "Dart, Shana is in love with you. She doesn't view you as a brother, she doesn't love you like a brother, she genuinely loves you and wants to be in a romantic relationship with you. Everyone can see it. And it's obvious that you care more for her than you think. All you're doing is pushing her away...and into another man's arms."

Frowning at this, the brunette asked, "Are you sure? And...what do you mean I'm pushing her into the arms of another man?"

Albert sighed again. "You haven't noticed how close she's been getting to Naruto? If you don't snatch her up soon, she'll end up in a relationship with him. And then...you might never have your chance to be with her."

Dart looked at Albert in shock, his eyes wide. "I...didn't think they had grown so close. But…"

"I swear if you say 'she's like a sister to me' I'll hit you." Albert threatened. "You need to take a long look at yourself Dart and figure out your feelings. And if I were you, I'd do it sooner rather than later, before you really do lose her."

As Albert got up and walked away, Dart watched him go. After a short while, he looked down at his hands and sighed heavily. "How I feel? But...I don't know the answer to that."

Two Days Later

Hikari was seated by Naruto's hospital bed, simply holding his hand and wishing he would wake up soon. She missed him dearly and just wanted to see his smile again. Gently rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand, she blinked when she felt him squeeze her hand gently. Looking at Naruto's face, she saw his eyes open and a smile form on his face.

Eyes widening, she quickly wrapped her arms around him in a hug, being careful not to hurt him. "Oh Naruto! You're finally awake! When...when Dart brought you back...I feared the worst. But...but…" tears began to cascade down her cheeks as she clung to him. "You're okay now. Right?"

Naruto went to speak, only to realize that his throat was parched. "W...water. Please…" he gasped out.

Hikari nodded and quickly went to get him a cup of water. When she returned, she helped Naruto sit up before helping him drink the water. "There we go. Are you okay now?"

The blonde ninja nodded and released a sigh. "H-how bad was I? When Dart brought me in?"

"We thought you were going to die...we were so scared for you. Naruto...please...don't ever scare me like that again. I love you...I don't want to end up losing you." Hikari said as tears welled up in her eyes.

Naruto looked into the red-haired ninja's eyes and smiled at her as he reached up to wipe away her tears. "Hikari-chan...while I can't say I love you back just yet...I do have feelings for you too. If Rose accepts you into my life, I'd be happy to be with you Hikari-chan."

The red-eyed ninja smiled happily and leaned in close, placing her lips upon his. When he began to kiss her back, Hikari felt like she was soaring high in the sky she was so happy! When they finally parted, she had a pretty red hue on her face. "That felt amazing Naruto. I hope to experience many more like it." she said with a wink.

Chuckling, Naruto gave her hand a squeeze and nodded. "Same here Hikari-chan."

"Were you going to ask me if I was alright with such a thing?" Rose piped in, tapping her foot and staring at the two of them with a scowl on her face. "I saw that kiss you just shared."

Naruto blushed, but he didn't look away. Instead he reached out for Rose with his free hand, waiting for her to come closer. With a sigh, Rose walked closer and blushed when her boyfriend wrapped his arm around her, pulling her onto the bed with him.

Snuggling against him, Rose closed her eyes and let a small smile adorn her face. "I love you Naruto. Please...don't ever scare me like that again. I never want to lose you." she said.

"I love you too Rose-chan. I promise you that I'm not leaving you. I want to have a big family with you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life." he admitted. "And...I know you may not like it, but I want to share in this happiness with Hikari-chan and Hinata-chan as well. I have feelings for both of them, but I didn't know how to tell you or them."

Rose released a heavy sigh, but before she could say anything, she heard a gasp from behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she could see Hinata staring at Naruto with wide, hopeful eyes. "D-do you mean it Naruto-kun?" she questioned.

Naruto nodded slowly in the affirmative. "Yes Hinata-chan. I do." he said. "But...Rose has to be okay with it first. I'm not doing anything if she isn't comfortable with it."

The Dark Dragoon sighed again and clung to her boyfriend. "I know you're in the CRA now Naruto...it's just hard for me to accept it. But...I trust these two. They're good people and they genuinely care for you. They both love you as much as I do. I know that they'd never hurt you. And...I trust them not to try and hog your time. So...so…" releasing another deep sigh, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his in a chaste kiss. "If you really want to be with them too...I can accept them into our lives. Who knows? It might be nice having some sisters to spend time with." she said with a beautiful smile on her face.

Hinata and Hikari both cheered before they clung to Naruto from his other side. Laughing for a bit, Naruto hugged all of them close before he noticed the door opening. Looking to see who it was, he was a little surprised to see Shizune walking in. "Hi Shizune!" he exclaimed.

Shizune went wide-eyed when she saw Naruto awake. Rushing over to his bedside, she said, "Girls, please step back. I need to perform a scan to see how he's doing." Looking into Naruto's eyes, she offered him a small smile. "I'm so glad you're awake Naruto-kun. Tsunade-sama and I have been worried sick about you."

When the girls stepped back away from the bed, Rose included, much to the Darkness Dragoon's frustration, Shizune stepped forward and began performing a medical scan to see how he was doing. When she was finished, she looked into Naruto's eyes and smiled sweetly at him. "You're back to 100% Naruto-kun. I'm glad to say you're fully healed and ready to go. I'll go get Tsunade-sama. You just stay right here."

The group watched as Shizune left the room. They could hear her telling someone outside that he was awake and could have visitors now. When the door opened a moment later, Naruto couldn't help but smile as he saw Dart, Haschel, and Albert walk in. As soon as they saw him, the three of them smiled at him. "How are you feeling Naruto?" Albert asked.

"I'm feeling good." Naruto said. "Though I have a question: what happened with Sasuke and Kakashi?"

Dart decided to be the one to respond. "Rose and I killed Kakashi while you finished off Sasuke after he…" he couldn't finish saying it. "Anyways, their Sharingan eyes were removed. Sasuke's were given to...well...you Naruto. Kakashi's Sharingan is in storage for now."

Naruto's eyes went wide at hearing that Sasuke's Sharingan were implanted into him. "I...have the Sharingan?"

Albert nodded. "Indeed you do. Why don't you try and activate them? See how it feels." he suggested.

Nodding slowly, Naruto was about to attempt it when Tsunade and Shizune walked into the room. When he looked at his godmother, he saw her eyes start tearing up when she saw him. When she rushed over and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, Naruto chuckled and hugged her back. "I'm happy to see you too Tsunade."

Pulling back from the hug, the Godaime Hokage began to perform a medical scan on him, just to double check Shizune's findings. When she saw that he was back to normal, she breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you're better Naruto-kun. You had me really scared." she admitted before leaning in and placing a kiss atop his forehead. "You really need to be more careful Naruto-kun."

Naruto sighed and nodded his head. "I didn't expect Kakashi to show up and attack me like that. I had Sasuke down...I was going to drag his ass back to Konoha-Lohan and then...that happened. I was caught off guard. There's no excuse."

Tsunade sighed as she ran her fingers through his hair. "It's not your fault Naruto-kun. Nobody could have known Kakashi would do that. I'm just glad you're alright now. Do you think you can get up and move around? Or do you need to rest some more?"

The whiskered teenager sighed and slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed. Slowly, he began to stand up on his own power. At first he wobbled a bit, but he chuckled. "Legs are numb." he admitted. "I'm fine though. Think I could get some clothes so I can get changed out of this hospital garb?" he questioned.

Tsunade giggled a bit before nodding. "Of course Naruto-kun. Shizune, go get the clothes we picked out for him." she commanded.

Shizune walked over to a cabinet door and opened it before pulling out some folded up clothes. Walking over to Naruto, she handed him the clothes with a smile. "I hope you like them Naruto-kun. We tried to pick out something you'd look good in." she said.

Naruto smiled at her. "Thanks Shizune." Looking around at everyone, Naruto blushed a bit as he asked, "Can I please get some privacy so I can get changed?"

Dart and the others all nodded before leaving the room. However, before Rose left, she walked over to her darling and kissed him passionately, taking his breath away. Without a word, she turned around and sauntered away, a nice sway to her hips that drew his eyes to her butt. I swear she's trying to get a rise out of me. Naruto thought to himself with a chuckle.

Once everyone had vacated the room, Naruto started getting changed. While he was getting dressed he could hear a small commotion out in the hallway. Deciding to ignore it for now, he finished dressing and went to look himself over in the mirror.

Naruto was dressed in a red t-shirt with the signature spiral of the Uzumaki clan printed in neon orange on the front in the center of his chest. Over that he wore an unzipped black jacket with yellow stripes going down the sleeves. For pants he wore burnt orange track pants. Finally, on his feet he wore a brand new pair of ninja sandals that felt better than his old ones did.

After admiring how he looked for a moment, he found his Armet helmet and his Iron Kneepiece equipment. Strapping on the Iron Kneepiece, one each on both of his legs, Naruto then took a look at the helmet and decided to seal it away in a storage scroll for now until it was time to leave the village. There was no sense in wearing it within the village after all.

Looking around, he wondered where the rest of his equipment was. Huh. Does one of them have my Twister Glaive? And what about my kunai and shuriken?

With a shrug, he turned to the door and called out, "Okay, I'm decent! You can come in now!"

When the door opened, he was surprised to see Sakura enter the room by herself. Frowning at her, he asked, "Is there something you needed from me Sakura? If you're just here to yell at me for killing Sasuke, I'm not going to apologize for that."

The pinkette quickly shook her head in the negative before she got down on the floor and prostrated herself before him. "Naruto...I am so, so sorry for how I treated you before! Jiraiya-sama found a seal on me and removed it, and I don't remember much of anything about my interactions with you or our missions together or any of it, but I've been told I was horribly cruel to you. I don't know if you can ever forgive me, but...I hope to one day earn your forgiveness."

Blinking in shock at this, Naruto walked over and lifted Sakura to her feet. "A seal? Who would put a seal on you without your knowledge?"

Sakura flinched at this question and looked away from him. "I remember that part quite clearly. My own parents put the seal on me. They didn't like me trying to be your friend, so they used a seal to make me hate you and love Sasuke. I remember them saying that much before the seal was placed on me. Personally, I don't care that you killed Sasuke. From what little I can remember of my time in the academy and on Team 7 with you...he wasn't a very nice person. He was a complete jackass even!" she explained.

Naruto frowned and gave Sakura a hug. Blushing a bit, she returned it and sighed. "It's...no excuse for how I treated you. I know. But...I promise you that I'm being 100% honest with you right now Naruto."

Releasing her, Naruto poked her forehead before offering her a smile. "I believe you. Just promise me you won't ever treat me like that again...that you won't hit me ever again, and we'll be good."

Nodding eagerly, Sakura held out her hand to shake. "Deal! I promise I won't ever hurt you again Naruto. I want to be friends with you again, just like we used to be when we were children."

Shaking her hand, Naruto smiled at her. "I'm glad to hear that. However, we'll have to put a hold on the whole renewing our friendship thing. I'm afraid that I'll be leaving the village for a long time to help my friends put a stop to a man named Lloyd. Our journey is taking us to Mizu no Kuni and a land called Tiberoa. So I won't be seeing you for a long time. I'm sorry Sakura."

Frowning at this, Sakura gave him another hug and rested her head on his chest. "Just...be careful Naruto-kun. I don't want my friend to die out there."

Naruto hugged her back and gently ran his fingers through her pink hair. "I promise I'll be just fine. I'll come back to the village stronger than ever by the time our journey is done. I guarantee it."

Smiling happily at this, Sakura stepped back and poked him in the chest. "You'd better keep that promise mister. I'm going to ask Hokage-sama to train me while you're away. I want to become a friend and team member you can really count on."

"Want me to put in a good word for you with her? Or do you think you can handle it?" Naruto questioned curiously.

Sakura shook her head and smiled at him for the offer. "No Naruto-kun. I need to convince her to take me on as an apprentice on my own. If I can't do that, then it just wouldn't feel right."

"I think you're doing a fine job of it already." they heard. Turning to the door, they saw Tsunade and the others standing there watching them with matching smirks on their faces, though Rose, Hikari, and Hinata were scowling at how close the two of them seemed to be. "If you want to be my apprentice, I want you to keep up that attitude Sakura. I won't accept a weak-willed girl as my protege."

Sakura blushed a bit at all the stares sent her way before she looked to Tsunade. "I promise you that I'll be the best apprentice you've ever had Hokage-sama! I won't let you down if you accept me! I want to get stronger. I want to be able to support Naruto-kun when he returns."

Nodding her head in understanding, Tsunade folded her arms under her bust and smirked at the young woman. "I'll be expecting you at my office bright and early tomorrow morning then. We'll begin your training bright and early. I'm counting on you to hold true to your words."

The pinkette nodded excitedly before turning to Naruto and hugging him again. "Please take care Naruto-kun. I'll see you when you return. I'm looking forward to seeing how much stronger you will have become." she said before she hurried out of the room.

Tsunade smirked at Naruto. "Do you two have something going on I should know about Naruto-kun?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head in exasperation. "No Tsunade. She's just happy to have her friend back. And I'm happy to see that she's returned to normal as well. I've missed my friend." he said sincerely. "Now, how do I look?" he asked, spinning around slowly so they could examine him fully.

Dart smirked at him. "You're looking good Naruto. Are you sure you're ready to go though?"

Frowning, Naruto shook his head in the negative. "Not yet. I need my lance and some kunai and shuriken sets. So where are my weapons, hm?"

Albert smirked and walked over before taking one of the lances off his back. Handing it over to Naruto, he chuckled a bit. "I've been holding onto it for you. As for kunai and shuriken sets…"

When Albert looked her way, Hikari stepped forward and presented a few brand new sets to her beloved. "Here you go Naruto. We made sure to get you the best we could. I hope they're to your liking."

Taking them from her, Naruto strapped them to their usual places before looking himself over again. "I feel complete now. I'm ready to go whenever you guys are." he said.

Tsunade frowned and looked down at her godson. "Not so fast Naruto-kun. We have something to discuss first."

"Oh? What's up Tsunade?" he questioned curiously.

"Not here. I want you to come meet me in my office. We'll talk there. In private." she said sternly, looking at the others in the room as if daring them to argue with her.

Nodding in understanding, Naruto offered her a small smile. "I'll be there soon. Just wait for me." he said.

Nodding once, Tsunade left the room with Shizune following after her. Once they were gone, Naruto breathed out a sigh. "We're going to be gone for a long time...aren't we guys?"

Rose nodded slowly. "We are. This journey won't be an easy one, but we have to put a stop to Lloyd and put things right. Whatever he's after, it's not good." she said seriously. "You're going to miss this place, aren't you sweetheart?"

Naruto sighed and nodded his head in the affirmative. "I will. But I'm a Dragoon now and my place is with you guys. I just hope that we don't end up embroiled in the civil war that's going on in Mizu no Kuni right now. Then again, knowing my luck, that's exactly what's going to happen to us. Not like we don't already have enough on our plates with Lloyd out there doing who knows what?"

Dart frowned at this news and shook his head. "We can't worry about that now. If we end up fighting in the war, then it was meant to happen. For now, let's just focus on our quest. Okay Naruto?"

Nodding once, Naruto smiled at his friends before he walked to the window. "Well, I'll see you guys soon. I need to go see Tsunade." And with that, Naruto leapt out the window and started making his way to the Hokage Tower.

Hokage's Office

Upon arriving in the Hokage's Office, Naruto watched as Tsunade activated the silencing seals and ordered her ANBU to leave the room. Taking a seat in one of the chairs across from her at her desk, Naruto waited to hear what she had to say.

"Alright Naruto, I know you want to get straight to the point, so here it is. Jiraiya wants to keep you out of the village for three years for a 'training trip'. He'll be waiting for you at the east gate." she explained.

"Alright, that sounds good to me. I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can from him during our journey together." he said. "So what else is on your mind?"

"Do you remember that girl your team captured during your last mission? Well, her name is Tayuya Uzumaki. When we told her about you being the last Uzumaki clan member, now clan head, in Konoha-Lohan, she was eager to meet you face to face. We've also managed to convince her to go along with you on your journey and help you find some of Orochimaru's hideouts wherever you end up going. Which brings me to my next point: I'm giving you a long-term mission."

Curious about this, Naruto quirked a brow and waited for her to explain. "When you find Orochimaru's bases, collect any and all information you can and send it via messenger toad back to me. Afterwards, destroy his bases. Should you find any prisoners that seem redeemable, you have my permission to free them. If you deem them too dangerous to be let free, then leave them and make sure they fall with the hideout. Do you understand your mission?"

Nodding his head in the affirmative, Naruto punched his fist into his other hand and grinned. "Anything to hurt that snake bastard sounds good to me. I'm looking forward to this." he said.

Chuckling a bit, Tsunade nodded her head and handed him a small box filled with storage scrolls. "Take these and use them to store the information you find in his hideouts." After a moment, Tsunade's eyes went wide and she facepalmed herself. "I almost forgot! Tayuya informed us that there's another Uzumaki in the service of Orochimaru, a girl named Karin. Should you find her, try and convince her to change her allegiance from Orochimaru to you and Konoha. I don't want an Uzumaki to be kept in his clutches any longer than necessary."

Nodding his head in understanding, Naruto bowed to the Hokage before offering her a grin. "I'm going to miss you Tsunade. I'll try to keep in touch, but who knows how often I'll get the chance to write to you. We're going to be busy these next three years. I'm sure of it."

Tsunade walked around her desk and pulled her godson into a warm embrace. "I'll miss you too Naruto-kun. I love you so much. Please...please be careful."

When Naruto went to reply, he became stunned when he felt Tsunade's lips on his. Blushing badly, he wasn't sure what to do. However, after a few, brief moments, he began to return her kiss, the two of them losing themselves to the passion. As she melded herself against him, her sizeable breasts pressing against his chest, she moaned into the kiss.

Blushing deeper, Naruto found his hands moving down until he was cupping her ass. When she began blushing as a result of this, he pulled back slowly and smirked at her. "You're...you're sexy. I couldn't resist." he said with a wink. "Tsunade-chan...how long have you felt this way about me?"

"For a while now Naruto-kun. I only realized it recently, after I saw you nearly die. I couldn't deny my feelings any longer. I want you sweetheart. I want to be with you so bad." she admitted, her blush deepening.

Giving her butt a little squeeze, Naruto soon reached up with one of his hands and began to stroke her hair gently. Leaning back in again, he kissed her passionately before he guided her back until she was against her desk. Sitting down upon it, she returned his kiss just as passionately. When they pulled back, both were breathing heavily. "I love you Naruto-kun. I...I want to start a family with you someday. But…"

Lime Begins (Skip if you don't want to read it)

Shaking his head, Naruto kissed her again before looking her in the eyes. "I promise I'll find some way to give you what you want honey. Right now though...I really have to go. But...I...to hell with it." he said before he slid his fingers into her panties and began to rub her pussy with two of his fingers.

As she began to moan, she wriggled against his fingers. "N-Naruto-kun...we don't have time for this. You...oh Kami that feels good! Oh...you...you need to get going. What about L-Lloyd?" she questioned, stopping to pant and moan every now and then.

Naruto smirked and began to nibble on her neck, placing soft kisses every now and again as he began moving downwards towards her covered breasts. "I just want to make sure you don't forget me while I'm gone Tsunade-chan. So relax and let me make you feel good." he whispered to her before he helped her out of her clothes.

Once she was naked atop her desk, Naruto gently began to fondle her breasts, licking and sucking on the nipples every now and again. After a moment, however, he began moving downwards. Prying her legs open, he got a good look at her honey pot. Slowly inserting a couple of fingers into her dripping pussy, he moved them around inside of her, just to drive her nuts.

As Naruto began thrusting his fingers in and out of her vagina, Tsunade threw back her head and moaned loudly. She was glad that she had put up the silencing seals before speaking with Naruto or she was sure someone would walk in on the two of them in this compromising position.

After a moment, Naruto removed his fingers, much to his new girlfriend's disappointment. Instead of taunting her, he moved his face to her honey pot and began to lick her folds before he inserted his tongue inside of her. When she moaned again, he couldn't help but smirk mentally. I'm glad she's enjoying this. He thought silently.

When she finally came, he lapped up her juices before standing up and smirking at her. "Mmm. Tasty." he teased.

Before he could say anything more, Tsunade reached out and cupped his crotch over his pants. "My turn to make you feel good sweetheart." she said as she removed his pants and knelt down before him. Gently grabbing his dick, she began to pump it slowly before she gave the head of it a lick. After a few moments, she took his cock into her mouth and began to bob her head back and forth on it. When he felt her tongue caressing his cock, Naruto moaned and began to gently run his fingers through her hair. "Nnn, Tsunade-chan. That feels so good."

Reaching up, she began to fondle his balls as she continued to suck his cock. When he moaned louder and said he was about to cum, she grinned and moved her head back to the tip. Reaching up her hand, she began to pump his dick again until he exploded in her mouth.

Swallowing every last drop, she stood up and smirked at him. "I want to make love...but you really do have to go, don't you sweetheart?" she asked sadly.

Lime Ends (Safe to read again)

Naruto sighed before he leaned in to kiss her sweetly on the lips. "I do sweetheart. I'll miss you. Love you…" he said, holding her close. "Good luck with Sakura." he said with a grin. "She's gonna be a handful, I'm sure."

Tsunade giggled as she gave him another kiss. "Please be safe Naruto-kun. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you too." she admitted.

"I promise I'll be just fine Tsunade-chan. You be safe as well. I'm looking forward to seeing you again when I return." he said before the two of them began getting dressed again.

Once she was dressed again, Tsunade giggled. "I...I love you so much. When you get back, I expect you to give me the time of my life. Got it Naruto-kun?"

Nodding slowly, Naruto hugged her close and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you in three years sweetheart. Don't go forgetting about me now." he said with a wink before he turned and walked to the door.

"I could never forget you. I'll wait for you as long as it takes." she said. When he smiled at her, she could feel her heart beating faster. "Goodbye my love."

And with that being said, Naruto left the office and proceeded to make his way first to a bathroom to wash his face before he made his way out of the tower. It's time. He thought silently to himself as he began making his way to the east gate of Konoha-Lohan.

As he walked along, he passed by the merchant that had given them the bottle to hold the purified water. When he glanced that way, he couldn't help but notice something shining. Walking over to the merchant, he looked at the object and his eyes widened. Is that…? He wondered before taking out his Dragoon Spirit.

When both spheres began to shine, Naruto smirked and picked it up. "Hey, how much for this?" he asked.

The merchant looked at Naruto and then at the object he picked up. Frowning, he shrugged his shoulders. "I've been trying to sell that thing forever. No damn luck so far. If you want it, it's yours for a reasonable price. 100 Gold. I'd charge more for it, but like I said, the damn thing just wouldn't sell. So, interested?"

Nodding his head in agreement, Naruto withdrew the coins from his pouch and handed them over. "Here you go. Thanks for this." he said before waving goodbye and heading for the east gate again.

Once he arrived, he saw Tayuya standing there with a grin on her face. "It's about time you got here. I've been waiting forever." she said.

Rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, he offered her an awkward smile. "Sorry about that Tayuya-chan. How are you feeling?"

Tayuya blinked at the affectionate suffix, but she didn't complain. Instead, she walked up and began to inspect her fellow clan member from head to toe. "You don't look half bad in that. Anyways, I assume you've been informed already that we're clanmates?"

Naruto nodded and wrapped Tayuya in a hug, causing her to blush. Shoving him off of her, she glared at him half-heartedly before sighing and looking away. "Don't go hugging me out of the blue like that shithead. But...it did feel nice…" she said quietly. "Anyways, I'm coming with you. We're going to find Orochimaru's hideouts and do what needs to be done. I just...wish I could get this curse mark off." she said, rubbing at the curse mark on her neck.

"I promise I'll find a way to remove it Tayuya-chan. Just...give me some time." he requested. Seeing her nod, the two of them were about to continue their conversation, but the others soon began to appear, walking up to them with smiles on their faces.

When Naruto saw Hinata, he asked, "Hinata-chan? You're coming along?"

Nodding her head, Hinata offered him a warm smile. "Of course. I've already gotten permission from Hokage-sama. You're stuck with me now Naruto-kun." she said.

Smiling at this, Naruto walked up and hugged her. "I'm glad you're coming. I'd miss you if you stayed behind." he said sincerely. "Anyways...are we all ready to go?" he asked curiously.

Dart looked around at everyone to double check if they had everything. When he was certain they were prepared, he looked back to Naruto and nodded in confirmation. "We're ready. Let's get going. Lloyd's already got enough of a head start on us. We can't allow him to escape us."

Everyone nodded in agreement before they headed out of the village. We're coming for you Lloyd. You're not going to get away from us again. Naruto thought with a scowl on his face.

A/N - And that's the chapter! Hopefully you enjoyed it! As you no doubt read, the lime took place between Tsunade and Naruto. Some of you may not like that, but...meh. *shrugs* I wanted their goodbye to each other to be special, and that kinda happened. They lost themselves to the passion of the moment and did, well...THAT. lol

Anyways, as you can see, Shana apparently has come to a decision regarding her feelings, while Dart is beginning to question how he feels for Shana. Also, Naruto's awake and Tayuya is going with them on their journey.

The next chapter will be their journey to Tiberoa & Mizu no Kuni. They're going to become involved in the civil war there, naturally, and of course they're going to deal with a lot of other stuff as well. So look forward to that!

I can't think of anything else to say, so...yeah. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!