Chapter 6: A Cascade of Tears

Yang rushed out from her house, furious. That seemed to be her default today. She'd thought that having Ruby talk to her father would be better than telling Ruby herself that she was being barred from Beacon. The only problem is that Ruby ran into the woods! She'd… messed up. It wasn't hard to admit, she thought as she ran between the trees, pursuing the trail of rose petals.

'If I'd just talked to her myself, instead of trying to get Dad in trouble, none of this would've happened!' her eyes flash red, and her hair glows a bright yellow. She flies through the trees, leaping over some, smashing through others. She scowls as she sees the petals take a sharp turn.

'That leads deep into the Grimm infested woods!' she thinks, trying to speed up. 'Hold on Rubes, I'm coming!'

No matter how hard she runs, she just can't speed up. However, after a few minutes of running, she finally reaches a small clearing. Sitting in the middle is a small figure, in a dirty red cloak.

"R-Ruby?" Yang says hesitantly. Ruby turns, tears pouring down her face.

"Y-Yang?" she sniffles, reaching a fist to her face and rubbing her eyes. "D-do you think…" she breaks off, crying. Yang rushes over, and engulfs her in her arms.

"It's OK, Ruby. I'm here." Ruby grabs onto Yang, sobbing.

"I, I just thought I'd finally made it, you know? I thought I was-" she pauses to sniffle, "I thought I was going to Beacon!" she cries, hugging herself into Yang.

"Shhh, It's OK Ruby… everything's gonna be alright." Yang soothes, stroking Ruby's hair, which had always calmed her down as a child. This time however, Ruby isn't calmed.

"No it isn't! If Dad won't let me go to Beacon now, what's going to make him let me go later?!" she moans, defeated.

Yang ponders. On one hand, she can tell Ruby the plan and cheer her up (hopefully), but on the other hand, Ruby needs to put on a convincing appearance to Taiyang.

'Ah, screw it. The bastard can't stop her from going, not if Uncle Qrow signed the forms.'

Yang tips Ruby's head up, looking into her eyes. "Ruby, after our father said you couldn't go, I had an idea."

Ruby looks into Yang's lap dejectedly. "What is it? How I can maybe go next year?" she responds bitterly. Yang shakes her head, her long hair swaying back and forth.

"No. I sent Naruto to find Uncle Qrow. He's gonna sign your forms to get you into Beacon." Yang explains, rubbing Ruby's back slowly. Ruby looks into Yang's face in stupefaction.

"Y-you mean… Uncle Qrow's going to let me go?" she asks hopefully. Yang nods. Ruby screams in delight, and wraps around Yang in an extremely tight hug.

"Ohhhh, thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU!" she squeals as Yang smiles proudly, before explaining further.

"Naruto's gonna meet us with the forms at the pier where we'll then catch a ferry to Vale. There we'll catch a Bullhead, and head to Beacon. You are going to pretend to be seeing me off, and I'll be angry at Dad, so he won't come. Of course, he'll call us when you don't come home. Hopefully Uncle Qrow fields that…" she trails off, slightly worried. Ruby doesn't notice, too busy hugging Yang, who pushes her away, gazing at her seriously.

"Ruby, you shouldn't let Dad know about this. If he found out, he wouldn't let you go with us to 'see us off'. He'd try to keep you at home." she says gravely. Ruby nods vigorously.

"I understand, Yang!" she says, "Ummm…"

"What is it?"

Ruby crosses her arms. "Did… you tell Naruto about how Uncle Qrow… kinda misbehaves?" Yang shrugs.

"Pffff, nah, it won't be a problem. Uncle Qrow's cool, and so's Naruto. Can't be that bad. Trust me, it won't be a problem."

Ruby nods, still unconvinced. "OK, Yang. If you say so." She kicks her feet bashfully, before looking up at Yang. "Thank you for helping me Yang."

Yang pats her head. "Anytime, little sis."

They sit together, hugging each other for what seems like an eternity. However, all good things must come to an end. With a sigh, Yang rises to her feet, dragging Ruby with her.

"Come on. With all the negativity you were radiating, there's probably Grimm swarming towards us. Did you bring Crescent Rose?" Ruby shakes her head.

Yang ponders quickly. "Alright, then we'll just need to make a run for it. Hopefully, the Grimm haven't already surrounded us." Ruby nods, before reaching into one of her pouches, taking out a kunai. While it wasn't particularly effective in her untrained hands, her swift speed would allow her to use it wisely. With that, they both climb up the trees and begin heading back home, with Ruby staying close to Yang for support.


In the Kamui Dimension…

"Obito?" Naruto repeated, stunned. "Is… is it really you?" he asks, tentatively reaching out his hand as though Obito would disappear. However, instead of responding, the crimson seal on Obito's chest flares, causing him to scream hoarsely, and smoke begins to curl up from his shaking shoulders. Naruto reacts swiftly, running through some quick handseals.

"Sealing Arts: Unseal!" he cries, slamming his palm onto Obito's chest. However, this technique has no effect. With a sigh, Naruto flexes his hand a few times, before muttering out his next jutsu as his hands blurred through handseals.

"Vapour Style: Wisdom Wolf Decay." As a haze of pink gas surges from his mouth, Obito's chest begins to disintegrate. As he screams himself hoarse, his throat sounding as though he's ripping it to shreds, Naruto struggles to help him.

"Don't worry Obito! It's almost done!" he cries, watching the seal being destroyed. Once it's entirely destroyed, he opens his mouth wide, releasing another jutsu.

'Tailed Beast Shockwave!' he mentally proclaims, watching the acid get dispersed away into the barrier. With a flash, he places his palm on Obito's chest, before a pulse emerges from his Sun Mark. Removing his palm, he sees a small white orb resting in Obito's ravaged chest, keeping him alive but not healing him. He sighs.

'Do any of you have any healing techniques?' he mentally asks.

"While I don't have any healing techniques per se, you could share yours and mine Chakras with him, like what you did to the Shinobi Forces during the war. It should heal him quickly enough." Kurama says.

Naruto nods, and with a small tap on Obito's head, enshrouds him in raging Red Chakra. In a matter of minutes, Obito had regrown all of his melted organs, and his chest. As Naruto watched him carefully, he thought about the seal he'd seen.

'That seal… it was the same one they put on me in Hozuki Castle. The one that burned you alive if you used your Chakra, or left the island. Even I couldn't use my Chakra outside of Sage Mode, how did Obito manage to use the Kamui?'

"We'll ask him when he awakens. For now, we need to know what's happening in our home world. If Obito could make it here, then we might be able to get home." Gyuki suggests, almost giddy at the thought of seeing Bee again.

'Yeah! We could!' Naruto exclaims, turning bright upon realizing this. Looking at Obito, he realizes that he doesn't look the same as when they last spoke. While last time Obito had been a mere shell of himself from during the war (physically, not mentally) now he appeared as a cracked shell. His White Zetsu arm had been torn off, his face was showing signs of torture, and he had numerous scars, which shouldn't have been possible while he still had Hashirama's cells; the regenerative properties would have healed him. That could only mean they'd either allowed Orochimaru at him… or they'd had Tsunade remove all traces of Hashirama's cells from him. Either way, even his face was more mangled than before. Whereas he'd previously looked like half his face had been melted, now he appeared as though he'd been flayed, repeatedly. Naruto could just make out some of his jawbone pushing out of a tear in his face, which looked infected and was making him a bit nauseous. A mighty rage filled Naruto's heart.

'After all he did to help, even going so far as to use the Art of Rinne Rebirth… they still bound him, tortured him, and destroyed him. Do I really want… to go back?' he thought, looking down at the remains of a once proud Shinobi. Even when acting as Madara, Obito had still remained proud. He bore his head high; now it looked as though his soul had been crushed.

After nearly an hour of thinking, Naruto notices Obito was beginning to move. Leaping to his feet, Naruto moves over to his side.

"Are you alright Obito?" he asks, concerned. Obito blinks blearily, gazing about with rheumy eyes. His gaze landed on Naruto, before widening imperceptibly.

"N-Naruto? Is… that you?" he whispers, his hand hovering up from the ground, reaching towards Naruto. "Have you… returned?" he asks, his voice filled with hope.

Naruto nods, and rests his hand on Obito's shoulder. "Yes, Obito. It's me, I'm alive." he soothed, nearly crushed at how hopeful Obito sounded.

"Then… where… were you?" Obito demands, confused. "Why didn't… you come back?"

"I fell out of structured Space-Time." Naruto responds, "I only recently made it out. Why, how long has passed in our Time-Space?" Obito frowns.

"I… don't know. When we returned we... managed to release the Infinite Tsukuyomi. I'd also managed to use the Art of Rinne Rebirth to bring everyone back before our battle with Kaguya… along with Madara, to my eternal shame. So-" he starts coughing, and Naruto quickly uses a small water jutsu to create some water for him to drink. Once he's drunk the water, he continues.

"The only casualty in the war… was you, and anyone who died from the Ten Tails' attacks that it sent across the continent."

Naruto smiles. "Well, that's OK Obito! You saved as many as you could." Obito sags.

"No Naruto, you're wrong. I was a monster, and asked the Kage to sentence me to life in prison in penance. They sent me to Hozuki Castle, where I was bound and sealed away. I also asked for weekly torture sessions from people who's families didn't get revived by the Rinne Tensei, in the hope that it would help them get over their loss, and as a punishment for myself. I… lost track of time in there. It feels like I was there forever. I had a prisoner number, you know." he chatters, nearly crazed. "They called me Prisoner 48655. Forty Eight Thousand Six Hundred and Fifty Five."

Naruo's confused. "But they have nowhere near that many prisoners!" he cries out, shocked. "When I was there they called me Prisoner 893! I was the Eight Hundred and Ninety Third person to be imprisoned there! Why did you get that number Obito? What signifigance does it have?! Were there more prisoners after the war?"

Obito shakes his head. "No, I chose designation myself. Naruto, that was how many people died during the war. More than half of the Shinobi from the Five Great Nations' United Forces died because of me. I chose that number so that I would never forgot how many people died because of my bad choices." Naruto was confused again.

"But you said you brought everyone you could back with the Rinne Rebirth! Weren't the casualties lower then?"

"Yes. But it doesn't change that I killed all those people. See, they even branded me with it." he turns, showing his back which has the number 48655 burned into his back, the skin cracked and torn, but not infected like the rest of his wounds. Likely the Shinobi Forces had a medic ensure that the number remained recognizable, Naruto concluded angrily.

"Obito, you may have hurt all those people, but in the end you saved the Shinobi World. You helped release the Infinite Tsukuyomi, you brought thousands back from the dead, and it was your Jutsu which defeated Kaguya. You even gave up your most prized possession, your eyes, for the sake of saving everyone." Obito gave a short laugh at this, prompting Naruto to glare at him.

"Hey! I was serious Obito! Don't make me beat you up again to drive it into your skull!"

Obito calms down, before looking at Naruto warmly. "Naruto, these eyes are not my most prized possession, nor were they ever. You and Kakashi both helped me see that you two, along with Rin, are the most precious things I could ever ask for." Naruto looks at Obito, stunned into silence.

"And, even if it kills me, I will bring you back to the Shinobi World." he declares, struggling to his feet. Standing tall, he smiles proudly. "I was nothing, no, worse than nothing, but you saved me. The least I can do is help save the world… one last time."

As he finishes, his eyes swirl into his Mangekyou Sharingan as his Kamui begins to tear apart Space-Time, before he collapses once more. Naruto's quick to catch him, lowering him to the ground. With a series of painful sounding coughs, Obito speaks again.

"I'm too low on Chakra to keep my Sharingan active…" he growls, slamming his fist into the floor. "Damn it, we're gonna need to wait for a bit, Naruto." Naruto nods, then smiles.

"Could you tell me what happened after I… died?" Obito grimaces, leaning back.

"Well, Kakashi became the Hokage, and-" Naruto interrupts.

"Kakashi-Sensei! Why the hell isn't Sasuke in charge?!" he yells, outraged. Obito yells back at him.

"Let me tell the story, Naruto!" he roars, "When I'm done, you can ask any questions."

He collects himself, before resuming. "But, you have a point. I better start this from the beginning, not just relay the… nicer facts. Well, I guess I'll start from after I presume Kaguya died."


In the Forests on Patch…

Ruby and Yang were starting to get worried. At first it hadn't been too bad, they'd fought a couple dozen Beowolves and one or two Ursa, but then the shit really hit the fan. They'd run into a Sphinx, which they didn't even know lived on Patch!

It had burst out of a particularly dense part of the forest, and with a growl, had fired a ball of fire at them! Ruby had managed to dodge it, but Yang took the brunt of the fire, knocking her Aura down into the red.

"Yang!" Ruby calls out, seeing her sister engulfed in orange flames. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she saw Yang fly backwards into a tree, the snapping sound echoing throughout the forest as she fell limp to the forest floor. "I got you!" she hollers, flashing over to Yang and picking her up. However, as she turns to make a run for it, she feels a clamping sensation on her leg. Looking down she sees a snow white head with glowing red eyes latched onto her leg. Fortunately, her Aura was protecting her.

"Ah! Get away you stupid Grimm!" she yells, swinging down with her kunai. Unfortunately, the kunai just bounces off of it's head, which starts dragging her towards the Sphinx, it's mouth gaping wide with crimson lights glowing within it's waiting maw. Looking at it, Ruby realizes that this new Grimm is just the Sphinx's tail! She frowns.

'If I drop Yang, this Grimm won't be able to get her. But then if I die, it'll get her no problem.' she strives to think of an answer, when her eyes widen.

'Grimm sense negativity, and can see. But if they couldn't see, and I wasn't afraid, they'd not be able to track me!' with that thought in mind, she drops Yang, wincing as she sees her sister land on the ground with a heavy thud. Turning back to the Sphinx, she takes a few deep breaths before dropping her smoke bomb. With a burst, a dark gray cloud bursts into being. Breathing steadily, she tries to calm down.

'Come on Ruby, just think of home, of Dad, of Yang!' she tells herself. However, all she can feel when thinking of her father is anger about how he was trying to stop her from going to Beacon. Shaking her head, she tries to think about Yang, but is soon overcome with worry about how she was unconscious on the forest floor.

"Damn it!" she cries out, tears welling in her eyes. 'It's not fair! Maybe Dad was right, maybe I can't be a Huntress…'

Suddenly, a memory pops in her head.

'I sent Naruto to find Uncle Qrow. He's gonna sign your forms to get you into Beacon!' she remembers Yang saying. Her eyes widen.

'That's right, Naruto believes in me. He's gone looking for Uncle Qrow, who also believes in me! I'm going to Beacon, they say I can, and they know more than anyone else I know!' her faces draws itself tight in determination, and she's filled with joy that everyone believes in her. 'Yang told Naruto about Uncle Qrow! I can't let her, or them, down!'

Her eyes fill with silver light, which flare out from her like twin breaking waves, flaring brighter than the moonlit sky. With an unearthly cry everything washes away, and the silver is replaced with darkness as Ruby falls to the ground.


With a groan, Yang cracked her eyelids open, glancing about the darkened clearing. Stretching her arms above her head, she pulls herself up, feeling her back creak and crack. Scratching her chin, she takes a look around.

"OK, why the hell am I sleeping out in the woods?" she muses, glancing behind her. "No Grimm, huh. Probably cause I was asleep. But… oh Gods my head!" she doubles over, vomiting on the ground.

After a series of dry hacking coughs, she leans back against a tree. "Ohh, now I remember! I was bringing Ruby back to the house!" she freezes. 'Where's Ruby?!'

With that thought in mind, she surges to her feet and begins the hunt for her sister, and after a few minutes of searching through the underbrush she finds Ruby lying beneath an odd gray rock which seems to look like a pillar, sticking out from the bushes before crossing over Ruby into some other bushes. Shrugging, she strains to lift the rock. Oddly, the rock appears too heavy for her to move!

"What the hell? This rock-" she strains, before giving up again, "is WAY too heavy! What's it made of? Maybe it's just attached to something else…" with that in mind, she plunges into one of the bushes, which immediately causes her to leave.

"No! Not getting twigs and leaves in my hair! Nuh uh! I'll just…" with that, her Semblance flares into existence, and she punches down on the strange rock, before it shatters into dust.

'Huh. That was easy.' she mentally exclaims, punching the rock on the other side of Ruby, before easily moving the piece lying on her. Looking down on her fallen sister, Yang's overcome with worry, and starts checking for vital signs.

'Come on Rubes!' she thinks frantically, checking her pulse on her small wrist. Not finding one, she takes Ruby's kunai, and puts the flat of the blade before her mouth. She sighs in relief when she sees condensation build on the blade.

'Probably just couldn't feel it, but Ruby's breathing. Need to go, now!' Yang slings Ruby over her shoulder, before running out into the woods, the unseeing eyes of the Sphinx lurking in the darkness, out of sight.


Back at the House...

Taiyang is fraught with worry. It'd been over four hours since Ruby had left the house, and Yang still hadn't come back, or used her scroll to call him. Steeling himself, he decides it's time to call for help. Fishing out his scroll from his vest pocket, he goes to his address book. Tapping on the picture of a boy in a skirt, he waits. After thirty strenuous seconds of waiting, his call is answered.

"Whaddya want, Tai?" he hears a voice slur through the scroll, with some incoherent babble behind the voice. Frowning, he responds.

"Qrow, this is an emergency! Ruby and Yang went out to the forest hours ago! Neither of them have called me, and it's dark! Could you hurry over here and help me look for them?"

"Tai, I'm busy busting my butt on top secret missions, missions that are more important than your 'girl troubles'! What makes you think I'd be able to help?!"

Taiyang remains unmoved. "I saw your messages to Yang. You're in Vale right now, get over here!" he yells, furious at Qrow's lack of action.

"Have you considered that there might be a reason they're out in the woods, and not calling you?" Qrow hints, a tinge of anger in his voice.

"No idea." Taiyang lies, not wanting to get into an argument with Qrow. "But either way, get over here. And you better not try telling Yang about where Raven is either! I was gonna stop her from going but she…" he pauses, "she didn't go on her own."

Qrow is silently furious, but holds his tongue. "Fine. I'll search the Grimm infested woods, you check the Marginally Less Infested Woods. OK?"

Taiyang is relieved. "Great. Meet at my house in… two hours. If we haven't found them, we'll contact the Patch Police Force." He can hear Qrow mulling over on the other line, before responding.

"Want me to ask Ozzie for help?"

"No!" Taiyang quickly rebuffs, "No, he's probably too busy for this."

"Alright, be there in a flask."

"Don't you mean a flash?"

"That's what I said." Qrow abruptly hangs up, leaving Taiyang alone. He rushes into the front hall, throwing on his boots.

"No time to waste, gotta go!" he rushes out the door. The house rests in silence for a brief few minutes, with nothing making noise other than the crickets, before his scroll on the table begins to vibrate, shaking with almost palpable anxiety.


In the Kamui Dimension…

"So, after I… died, Sasuke tried to kill the Five Kage?" Naruto asks, dejectedly. Obito nods, his face sagging in sadness.

"Yes, and Sakura tried to stop him. Of course, she fell instantly to his Genjutsu. Kakashi implored to the Sage, who had summoned us back, to stop Sasuke. He, however, was not inclined to defeat what he called his son. You probably know more than I about that."

Naruto nods. "Sasuke and I were the reincarnations of Indra and Asura respectively. Indra was the older brother, who excelled and sought power." Obito makes a gagging face, remembering his youth, and how he was quite the dunce when it came to Ninjutsu.

"And Asura was the younger, who didn't really care about power, or achieving it. All he wanted was to help people. Anyways, long story short Old Man Six Paths left Ninshu in the hands of Asura, which pissed off Indra who started the Curse of Hatred over it." Obito nods, glad at the information, before continuing his story.

"Yeah, when the Sage said he wouldn't stop… Indra, Kakashi asked the revived Kage for aid. Unfortunately, the Sage dismissed them before they could help. Then, Kakashi went to fight Sasuke. Honestly, Sasuke just played with him. After nearly ten minutes of Sasuke just yanking Kakashi around, I'd recovered enough Chakra. I blasted him with the Kamui, sending him here." Naruto tenses, looking about warily.

"You mean… Sasuke's in here? With us?"

Obito shook his head. "No. Since Kaguya destroyed all the pieces of this Time-Space, he would have fallen down below. Into Liquid Space." Naruto quirks an eyebrow.

"Liquid Space?" he asks, grinning. Obito waves him off, embarrassed.

"Hey, that's just I called it when I first got here. Honestly, I tested it by sending a Shadow Clone down. It's memories never came back, so either the memories can't transfer between Realities, or my clone's still alive." he stops to ponder for a moment, before shaking the memories of that time off.

"So, that was that. Sasuke was banished away, Kakashi was nearly dead, and Sakura was unconscious. I was the only person even remotely close to being able to do something about the Infinite Tsukuyomi." Naruto leans forward, enraptured.

"But how did you release it? Kurama said that you'd need Sasuke!" he inquires curiously. Obito nods solemnly.

"Yes. We would have. So we did the only thing we could: I used the Reanimation Jutsu." he says, grinning slightly. Naruto however, was aghast.

"You what?!" he yells, "Who'd you bring back?! And who was sacrificed for this Jutsu?!" he demands.

Obito flinches, looking down. "It was the only way to break the illusion. I brought back someone… who did not entirely wish to be revived."

Naruto growls. "Who did you bring back, Obito? And who was sacrificed for them?!"

Obito looks up, pain covering his face. "I sacrificed Sakura." before Naruto can yell, Obito continues. "But she volunteered. Kakashi was going to, but… I couldn't kill my only remaining friend. And Sakura volunteered in his stead. She died a herioc Shinobi." he looks down at the ground, suffering evident in his posture.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. But we brought back someone who could help, and they did. Sakura was willing to make that sacrifice for the world. It would disrespect her sacrifice to demean it's significance. Honour her, mourn her, but don't scorn her."

Naruto rises, and turns away from Obito. "Did she… know she would die?" he asks, his voice wracked with pain.

"Yes. She knew. But at this time, she thought both you and Sasuke were dead; she said she had nothing left to live for." Obito says, keeping quiet about the fact that Sakura had only mentioned Sasuke being dead.

'Maybe she knew Naruto was still alive…' he thinks, hopeful.

"Well? Who did you bring back?" Naruto asks, his voice dead and cold as stone.

"We brought back Itachi Uchiha." Obito says, his voice curiously happy. "He then released Nagato from his seal, who had enough of the Sage's remaining Yin Chakra to end the Infinite Tsukuyomi." Naruto bowed his head, honouring the two Shinobi who saved the world even after their deaths.

"They… were great Shinobi." Naruto says, turning around. "And so was Sakura. So were you, and so was Kakashi-Sensei. And Sasuke…" he pauses, searching for the words before continuing, "Sasuke may have been a good person, once. He may have been a good brother. But in the end, he was a bad Shinobi, and a bad friend." his eyes tear up, and he falls to his knees, crying softly.

In an immense force of willpower, Obito lurches to his feet, and stumbles over to Naruto, giving him a hug, and whispering into his ear.

"Naruto, you might not know this, but you redeemed the teachings of the Sage. During the war you shared your Chakra with everyone. That was what the Sage intended. You recreated Ninshu, and now the whole world practices it in commemoration of you."

Naruto was stunned, and his back rigid as the full weight of what Obito said fell onto him. "You mean... I did it? I brought peace?" Obito flinches slightly, swaying like leaves in the wind as he falls backwards, sitting with his legs crossed.

"Well, you mostly did. There's still remnants of the old Shinobi system, but now the Villages work together on most missions. In fact, there's talk of abandoning the Feudal Lords, since they're no longer needed to keep the Villages afloat." Naruto nods, unsure about how the political games of the villages will work.

"Well, that seems alright..." he grunts, deciding that if Obito thought it was a good idea, it was probably OK. Obito agrees, and explains further.

"If the Villages become independent, they'll no longer be usable as a military by the Feudal Lords in their petty squabbles, like the Second Great Ninja War." he declares proudly, before leaning back lazily. "So, where did you end up?"

Naruto smiles, and with a deep breath, recounts his experiences after he left the Void.


Obito whistles as Naruto finishes, an bemused expression on his face.

"So, you've been tutoring this Ruby for the past week, huh?" he itones, impressed. Naruto bobs his head up and down furiously.

'Yeah! And she's picking up some stuff quickly! The only problem is that since she doesn't have the same energy we have, she'll never be able to perform Shinobi techniques like we do." Obito was perplexed.

"But I thought you said you could teach her things, and tought her the Rasengan?"

"Well, I thought that at first, but after some more thinking, I realized that with only half of your Chakra you'd never be able to do Shinobi Techniques. I could give her Chakra I think, but I'm gonna avoid doing that for now. Maybe in a decade!" he jokes, smiling. Obito however, frowns.

"But you said that the... weird black creatures, as you said, were composed of Yang Chakra. What if they learn Sealing Arts? Those don't require any Chakra, only activation energy. They could then seal the black things in themselves, and gain our powers." Naruto waves him off dismissively.

"Pffffff, please! Their whole society revolves around fighting these things, and they already know that they're composed of negative energy! Who in their right mind would combine themselves with these things?" Obito stares at him dully.

"Orochimaru." Naruto flinches.

"Aside from him. He's a creep." Obito laughs at Naruto's face, which has taken on a dinstinctly green tinge after thinking about Orochimaru.

"Fine, fine! For now, you can assume no one's sealing the creatures in themselves. Anyways, it doesn't matter. You'll be coming home soon."

Naruto ponders, his face scrunched in thought. Obito leans back, shocked. "You... don't mean to stay, do you?" Naruto sighs, hanging his head.

"Well, if what you said is true the Shinobi World is at peace. This one isn't, and people die by the thousands every day from what I've learned. They need me."

Obito shakes his head quickly, "Naruto, it's not your world! We need you! Your people need their hero back!"

Naruto blushes, scratching his cheek awkardly. "You mean that?"

"Yes! Naruto, we need to go back! Look, I think I've built up enough Chakra, lets try sending you home." Obito rises, pulling Naruto to his feet. With a flare of Chakra, he activates his spinning Mangekyou Sharingan. Naruto sighs, a tear sliding down his face as the Kamui begins to suck him in.

'Sorry, Ruby, Yang. I hope you can forgive me someday.'

Suddenly, a horrible pain blooms in his body. He grunts, trying to ignore it, but soon it becomes too much to bear. He feels his skin peeling back, a fire igniting beneath his flesh, and his bones feel like they're snapping into sawdust as his hair is ripped form his scalp, tearing flesh along with it. With a scream, he collapses to the ground, all the injuries non existent.

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" he howls, blood pooling from his mouth onto the cold gray floor. Obito halts his Kamui, and his eyes swirl back into the base Sharingan.

"Naruto! What's wrong?!" he yells, looking at Naruto's hunched form, his spine arching forwards. Naruto arcs backwards, his face twisted in an expression of pure agony.

"Oh Sage… Obito… never do that again…" he moans, his teeth feeling like they've been shot full of lightning as he slumps forward onto his hands and knees. Obito frowns.

"What went wrong… is it because we both have the Kamui? No, otherwise Kakashi wouldn't have been able to get out… damn it, what's going on?!"

"Naruto, it's because we don't exist in his reality. In this Dimension we're fine, but Remnant exists on another plane of existence! Your body is literally trying to change its existence to return to the Shinobi World. It's not possible, so it's destroying itself." Kurama calmly states.

"Oh… I see." Naruto groans, his face scrunching up in pain. 'Ohhhhh, this hurts.'

"What do you see?! What happened?" Obito demands, his hands twitching towards Naruto as he struggles not to reach out and touch him, in fear of hurting him more.

"Kurama said I don't exist in the Shinobi World, and that we can't pull me in with the Kamui." Naruto explains, clenching his teeth as agony shudders through him.

Obito curses, slamming his hand into the ground. "Damn!" he walks about, thinking. "OK, here's what we'll do. I'll go explain the situation to the Kage, and then we can all think of a way to get you home. For now, go into the new world you found, and meet here... every forty eight hours." he decides, and Naruto frowns.

"Shouldn't I stay here? That way we can meet up whenever you have a idea."

"No. Naruto, you just went through the Fourth Great Ninja War, and now no one is chasing you to kill you. You know what you need to do?"

Naruto blinks slowly. "What?"

Obito grins, slapping him on the back. "You need to take a vacation! You have no Sasuke to rescue, no Akatsuki after you- nice cloak by the way, very stylish -and you basically got the Hokage hat! You have nothing you need to do, other than get back home!" Naruto nods slowly, ill at ease.

"So... you think I shouldn't do anything?" he asks, his expression conveying his distaste for the inaction. Obito however nods brightly.

"Yes. If you really need to do things, then you can see if this new dimension has anything on Space-Time Jutsu. I doubt it, but you never know." he relents, sighing quietly.

Naruto nods happily. "Great! I'll be back before you know it!"

Obito smiles hugely, and activates his Mangekyou. "Well, time to pay Kakashi a visit and hope he doesn't skewer me for leaving the Blood Prison!" and with that, he twists out of existence.

Naruto shakes himself like a wet cat. "Well, time to head back." and with that, he follows Obito's example, and vanishes into thin air.

Author's Note:

Well, I agreed with a lot of the reviews for the original chapter, so here's the revamped version! This one's going slower, and I'm trying to avoid the main plot line until I feel like it. Also, finished first term! Exams are done now, which gives me more time to write (although I'll be on a three week hiatus to finish applying for college).

Also, I feel the need the address the comments about Naruto's speed. I said that he moved that fast in his fastest mode, Sage of SIx Paths Kurama Chakra Mode, and that he was slower in his Kurama Chakra Mode (obviously). I agree, if he ran into something in his fastest mode the results would be apocalyptic. However, he only was moving in his Kurama Mode, which I decided landed him just North of Vale, in the mountain containing a Wyvern. His speed made a small crater, but it didn't come close to shattering the mountain. (lol, imagine if the wyvern had been freed from that! If anyone wants to write an Omake where that happened, be my guest and I'll post it if you want me to! Full credit to you.)

Lastly, my sincerest thanks to Wind Dragon Master! Your comments are thoughtful, and I appreciate that you are willing to educate my poor brain. I've never done this before, and would like to thank you sincerely for the help.

...

Anyways, poll is closed, Ruby is the girl for now! I'll see how it goes.

Thought Bubble: If anyone wants to write a Obito centric story about what he does in the Shinobi World after this chapter, be my guest! Same goes for Sasuke in his random dimension, incidentally! Just PM me a link to it, I would love to read it!

Sincerely and (now with some) Remorse,

Pad