The darkness expanded into a circular room carved from rock. The only light came from an oil lamp hanging above a stone chair.

Naruto stumbled into the space, but he didn't fall. He took a split second to regain his bearings, then turned around to punch the masked man. To his surprise, the punch sailed through the man's head harmlessly.

"What—"

The masked man grabbed Naruto's arm and twisted it around his back. Naruto tried to wrench himself free, but in a matter of seconds his hands were tied together behind his back, and the man let him go. Naruto staggered from the sudden lack of resistance and walked sideways into the wall.

"Now you can't weave signs," The masked man said calmly.

"Bastard," Naruto snarled, and he lunged at the man. But once again, he went right through.

"Your struggling is pointless. I suggest you listen quietly, instead of getting overexcited and using up all the air too quickly. This is a sealed room, and while I can escape it easily, you cannot." The masked man walked across the room and sat in the chair casually.

"Who are you? Where is this?" Naruto demanded.

"This room is part of an old lair of Orochimaru's. We are working together… for now. As for who I am, it doesn't really matter. The Allied Shinobi Force knows me as Uchiha Madara, but since that name probably means nothing to you, you can call me Tobi."

"You're... Madara?"

"Oh? It seems you do know something, after all. Do not worry. I only brought you here to talk a little while. I will take you back after, if you still want to go back."

"Just want to talk? Yeah, right! You kidnapped me. I already know you're after the Kyuubi. You'll have to kill me before I let that happen."

"If I killed you, I wouldn't be able to get the Kyuubi." Tobi sighed. "Orochimaru tells me I can't extract the bijuu from you anyway, because he used a Zetsu clone as a base for constructing your body in this time. The cells will react if exposed to the immense yang energy of the Kyuubi, without it being guided by your will."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but if you really aren't after the Kyuubi, why would you bring me here?"

"I told you. I just want to talk. I have no reason to harm you, but I can help you. And I think if you knew the truth, you could help me, too."

The Great Toad Sage's words were still fresh in Naruto's mind. Suddenly, the old toad's powers didn't seem so improbable anymore. And if they were real, that meant that he was in mortal danger, whatever Tobi said. But he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

"You're out of your mind," Naruto scoffed, putting his back to the wall, as far from Tobi as he could get. "What the hell makes you think I would ever want to help you? You're trying to force the entire world into war!"

"You're in a position to understand me." Tobi tilted his head thoughtfully. "I tried negotiating with the Five Kage, but that failed. You're an outsider here. You're able to see the state of the world for what it is. I'd explain it to your older self as well, but they have him hidden away and do not plan to let him near the war."

"So you can't kidnap him too, obviously."

"Naturally. But they do not understand you at all, past or present. I doubt the older you knows anything about the war. If he did, he would have already tried to confront me himself."

"He wouldn't care what you have to say. I know I don't."

"Isn't that because everyone is needlessly throwing themselves into danger for your sake? You have such a strong desire to protect your friends it doesn't matter what I have to say. Yet I have no grudge against your friends or you. In fact, everyone will benefit from my plan. Do you see how much better it is, then, to talk in person like this without interference?"

Naruto shifted and wiggled his hands experimentally behind his back. "How about you untie my hands, and then I'll listen to what you have to say."

"No thanks," Tobi said breezily. "There's nothing you can do to hurt me, but I don't want you trying to smash your way out of this room."

Naruto looked all around. There were no obvious exits. The room was completely sealed, like Tobi said. Was there still a way to avoid what the Great Toad Sage had seen in his vision? No choice but to wait and find a way out.

"It doesn't sound like you're giving me a choice. But I agree it'll make things simpler. I'll listen." Naruto sat cross-legged on the ground. "But only listen. I think there's a hundred percent chance that you're full of crap though, so don't be too disappointed when I laugh in your face." He kept scanning the place with his eyes while speaking. He wasn't about to accept there was no way out.

Tobi snorted. "You're confident. I suppose you've heard a little about my plan already?"

"Yeah. They told me about your Tsuki no Me thing. Is that supposed to make sense? 'Cause making everyone live inside a genjutsu is just a lie. It's not a way to make things better. But I don't think you really care about that."

"You should understand. Or maybe not. You probably don't realize what the future holds for you, even though you're in it right now, because of how much information others are keeping from you."

Naruto frowned. "I know they've kept stuff from me, but they are just doing what they think is right. As much as it annoys me sometimes, they're just trying to keep me from getting hurt, I guess."

"Yet it's wrong for me to protect the world with a lie in the same way."

"That's different." Naruto scowled. "Sure, I don't like them doing that, but it's not the same as taking over the whole world."

"You know nothing. You haven't seen the suffering war causes. You have seen some of the suffering our so-called peace causes, though. And you will only see more of it in the years ahead of you. The peace of the Great Hidden Villages is often more destructive than their war. And Konoha is the worst of all of them in its sheer hypocrisy."

"Like what you want to do is better—"

"Take the jinchuuriki system, for example. You and the other jinchuuriki had your lives sacrificed for the sake of peace. Most were not asked if they wanted this honor. They should be held up as the saviors of their villages, both because they hold back the Tailed Beasts, and because they help maintain a political balance between lands that reduces war. And yet, they are almost universally despised and mistreated."

Naruto looked down at his lap, gritting his teeth. He'd thought the same thing plenty of times since finding out he was the container for the Kyuubi. But that didn't give the masked man the right to say it.

"You don't care about us. You're trying to kill us."

"Of course, they all call you a hero now," Tobi continued. "They've suddenly changed their minds. You got rid of Pein for them. You're the one who convinced him to betray me and bring all the villagers back to life. The truth is, though, you didn't entirely disagree with Pein's ideals. You must have identified with him on some level. That is the only way you could have made him turn his back on our plan. I knew him well enough to know that he truly desired peace. With both of you having suffered for the sake of it, the only thing surprising about your alliance is you made it to save Konoha."

"Lair," Naruto said quietly without raising his head.

"What?"

"I said you're a liar!" Naruto shouted. "You're just twisting stuff around. I beat Pein and he had no choice but to bring everyone back. I would never agree with someone like him! He destroyed the village! He… he killed Ero-sennin."

As soon as he said it, Naruto wished he hadn't. He'd managed to push that thought down somewhere deep where it had no chance of hurting him—tried to convince himself it was nothing but more motivation. But then he said it aloud. His throat worked and he squeezed his eyes shut against the prickles in his eyes.

"I'm surprised you know about that," Tobi said, unperturbed. "But it isn't nearly that simple. Nagato—known as Pein to most of the world—Jiraiya of the Sannin, and you were aligned in your thinking. Nagato was simply more of a realist. Nagato's family was killed by Konoha shinobi during the second Great Shinobi War, and participated in the Third soon after. Jiraiya could see the effects of the war and Konoha's participation in it. He took Nagato in just to ease his own feelings of guilt. He was like a second father to Nagato. So don't assume you know anything about what happened when Jiraiya died, or what took place when you met and spoke with Nagato."

Naruto drew up his knees and rested his forehead on them. "I don't understand any of this!"

"That's why I am trying to explain it to you. I want you to know the truth. If you don't like it, that is all the more reason you should agree to what I am doing."

"As if I can trust anything you say."

"Unlike others, I have no reason to lie to you."

Naruto looked up and narrowed his eyes at Tobi. "Yeah? If you really mean that, tell me how I can get back to my own time. You said you're working with Orochimaru. So that means he's really back?"

Tobi considered a moment. It was impossible to see his expression behind the mask, but he crossed his arms and stared at Naruto a while.

Naruto snorted. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Tobi chuckled.

"What're you laughing at?"

"Nothing. You remind me of someone who died a long time ago. Alright. It doesn't matter to me whether you go back or not. Your time and this one are on separate tracks now. Nothing you do there can affect what is happening here."

"Huh?"

Tobi made a grand gesture with his gloved hands. "You can go back and change anything you want, but it won't do anything except change the future of your own timeline. A world for me and a world for you. That sounds fair, doesn't it?"

Naruto wanted to make a snappy retort, but confusion won out. "You mean this isn't my future? Does that mean I can't really know what's going to happen?"

"This is the future you would have had," Tobi said. "The only change will be you. But you will find out how much difference that can make. After all, you're interested in knowing what will happen because you want to change it. And you can change whatever you want, for all I care. All that matters to me is the world that I am about to create here. The rest can go to hell."

"Then how do I get back?"

"You would have to undo the summoning jutsu keeping your life energy bound to that body. When that happens, you should return to your own body in your own time."

"What?" Naruto looked down at himself, startled. "You mean this isn't my body?"

"Moving bodies through space and time is on a completely different level," Tobi said dismissively. "I would explain it to you, but I doubt you could keep up. To put it very simply, Orochimaru used a technique similar to the Edo Tensei, except your soul and body are alive instead of dead. I doubt either is exactly normal, though. I am sure Orochimaru looks forward to examining the effects. I'm curious, too, how this bastardized jutsu of his differs from the Edo and Rinne Tensei."

Naruto shivered. "I thought Orochimaru was dead. Everybody's been saying Kabuto had to be the one behind it."

"Yes. He's turned out to be annoyingly resilient, hasn't he? It won't be long before everyone realizes. He's already started to move."

"So… that means I have to face Orochimaru in order to go back?" Naruto murmured.

"He orchestrated all this," Tobi said. "But no. Nagato is the one who summoned you."

"You mean Pein? You said that's him, right? I thought HE was dead too! Argh, I can't keep up with all this!" Naruto shook his head.

"He is dead. But he was brought back with the Edo Tensei and forced to summon you. He and Uchiha Itachi escaped control and are currently missing. Before you can even think about going back, you have to find them. Orochimaru can't send you back even if he wanted to. And I doubt he wants to."

"But why did he bring me here in the first place?"

"Who knows?" Tobi gave an unconcerned shrug. "I don't think he's motivated by concrete reasons. From what I've heard, he likes to do things just because no one else has. He likes to disrupt, to upend a path just to see what happens, whether the result is good or bad. If there is a goal beyond that, I've yet to discover it."

There was a long stretch of silence. Naruto did not want to believe anything Tobi said, but the masked man really seemed to think their timelines were separate. Maybe he didn't have a reason to lie.

But even if he was telling the truth, it didn't feel right. If Naruto found a way back home and never saw this version of his friends again, they would still exist, wouldn't they? It felt more complicated than just finding a way back home.

"Okay, so I have to find Pein—Nagato, whatever," Naruto said. "And get him to send me back. But first I am going to help everyone stop you. I'll have to deal with you in my own time if I go back anyway, so I might as well figure out how to do that first."

Tobi tilted his head curiously. "Didn't you understand what I said? This fight has nothing to do with you. Besides, this world is beyond help."

"Maybe it has nothing to do with me. I don't even know how to help. But I can't just accept what you're trying to do here, either. I can't ignore what's happening right in front of me."

"This is getting us nowhere," Tobi sighed.

Naruto made a face. "I don't understand what you want. Are you just trying to make me go home to annoy Orochimaru?"

Tobi stood from his chair and walked over. He sat on the floor in front of Naruto so their faces were level. Naruto's heart jumped when he saw the Sharingan burning through the hole in the mask. He'd momentarily forgotten this man was an Uchiha.

"To be perfectly honest, I'm tempted to break you open and see if the Kyuubi is really out of reach. Unless you can help me find your older self and the Eight-tails?"

The coldness in the man's voice cut like a knife.

"No?" Tobi responded to Naruto's silence. "I'm sure you could be useful for something. But even if you don't want to help me, I genuinely think you're better off forgetting about this war and the people in it. I want to use the bijuu, but they do too. You're so obedient, wanting to defend them even though they made you into a monster. You're like a poor stupid dog that licks the boot that kicks it."

"Bastard—!" Naruto yelled, and he tried to headbutt Tobi, but missed. Instead of letting himself be phased through, Tobi danced nimbly out of reach with a strange laugh.

Naruto got to his feet, red-faced with anger and embarrassment at being taunted.

"It's true, and you know it." Tobi became serious again so quickly it was unnerving. "They only treat you well now because you're important. That doesn't change the fact that they see you as nothing more than a beast."

"I'm sick of listening to you. Either let me go or fight."

"You're lucky the Godaime Hokage cares about you. That's more than could be said for the Yondaime, wouldn't you agree? He was coldhearted enough to seal the Kyuubi into a child."

Naruto knew he was being provoked, and he tried his best not to let it get to him. As much as he— sometimes, in the deepest and darkest part of his heart—hated what the Yondaime had done to him, he still acknowledged his greatness and strove to surpass him. Tobi was trying to twist all that around.

"He did what he had to do to protect the village," Naruto said in a low voice, trying to keep his temper level as much as possible. "He gave his life to keep the Kyuubi from killing anyone else."

"I'll let you in on a secret," Tobi said, putting one hand on his hip matter-of-factly. "There's plenty about what happened that day you know nothing about. It's just one of the many things that have been kept from you. I can tell you about it, if you like."

His words had a familiar ring to them. Naruto was suddenly reminded very powerfully of the time Mizuki told him about being the Kyuubi's container. Tobi had the same mocking, self-assured attitude. He wasn't bluffing. And the only reason Naruto hadn't realized it yet was that they were alone. Iruka wasn't there to try to stop the masked man from doing something that couldn't be undone. Just like then, Naruto had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him something terrible was about to happen.

"N-no." He grit his teeth and avoided looking at Tobi. He shifted on his feet, ready to run, even though there was nowhere to run to. "I do want to know, but—not—not from somebody like you. There had to be a reason why they didn't tell me about it."

"Yes. You are right about that." Tobi started pacing. "It isn't just you. A lot of people don't know. Those who do pretend they don't. They don't want to tarnish their beloved Yondaime's memory by acknowledging he made his own son a jinchuuriki."

Naruto felt winded. The room tilted for a second and he had to lean back against the wall to steady himself.

"What did you say?" he whispered.

Tobi made to put his hand on Naruto's shoulder but Naruto jerked back, shouting, "Get away from me!" and tried to roll away to the side. He bumped into the wall and stumbled.

"You're a liar," he mumbled. He looked around the room. Still no exit. "A liar… a liar…"

"You've gone back to that one, then?" Tobi snorted. "I guess that's to be expected. Sasuke was never as loyal as you, and even he had a hard time accepting the truth about them."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto said in a flat voice. It didn't even sound like a question.

"Jiraiya's death. The destruction of the village. The loss of your family and friends. And Sasuke, now an internationally wanted missing-nin who has vowed to kill everyone in Konoha, starting with you. All of this is reality. Here and now. And you say this is somehow better than what I want?"

All of the vague answers about Sasuke, all the hints, and all the anxious looks came flooding back to Naruto's memory. He didn't want to believe. He wanted to continue thinking there was nothing wrong, that he'd known if something was. He wanted to believe they wouldn't keep anything from him that really mattered. But no matter how much he wanted to believe, he couldn't.

"Even… if it's all true." He forced himself to turn and look at Tobi. "I can go back and keep it from happening. If it all went wrong, I can change it. I can make it right."

"In all seriousness, I wonder. Do you honestly think that's different from what I am trying to do?"

"You are a liar," Naruto said again.

Tobi sighed. "Fine, then. I have to prove what I'm saying is true. Though, I doubt he's much in the mood for visitors right now."

He took hold of Naruto's arm. Naruto tried to step out of reach, but his body was suddenly frozen, like when Tobi captured him earlier. He was pulled through the black vortex once more.

When they reappeared, they were in a dark stone cavern inadequately lit with the greenish glow of dozens of glass tanks set into the wall. After getting his bearings and looking around, Naruto felt a lurch of nausea as he realized that each of the small tanks contained a real, floating eyeball.

"What do you want?" a voice asked harshly.

He was sitting facing the tanks as if watching them, but the entire upper half of his face was covered with bandages, concealing his eyes.

"Sasuke?" Naruto said—or tried to say. His mouth formed the word, but very little sound came out.

"As you can tell, this is where he is staying these days," Tobi said. "You may hope he's being held against his will, but that just isn't the case. Right, Sasuke?"

"Who are you talking to?" Sasuke demanded. He stood, posture defensive.

"Just an old friend of yours, though he's a little lost for words right now. You see, Naruto, Sasuke decided to join up with Akatsuki for a little while to—"

"Naruto?" Sasuke gave a quick, unamused laugh. "Quit joking around. Are you trying to get on my nerves?"

Tobi ignored him. "Originally, he only decided to leave Konoha in order to chase after his brother. But that became full-blown hatred against the village after he learned they were the ones responsible for the Uchiha's demise."

"Whatever you're trying to do, you're really starting to piss me off," Sasuke growled. His right hand twitched, and a single strand of electricity wound its way up his arm and then over his chest before disappearing.

Naruto continued staring at Sasuke wide-eyed, his mind unable to comprehend or explain his presence. Accepting it and not accepting it seemed equally impossible.

Tobi stood behind Naruto and put both hands on his shoulders. "Sasuke promised to take revenge on Konoha, after finding out too late that Itachi was acting under orders from the Hokage. It's tragic, wouldn't you say? He killed his own brother over a misunderstanding."

"Shut up about Itachi," Sasuke hissed, walking forward, lightning elemental energy bursting from his hand and enveloping his arm. "Don't talk about him in front of me!"

"As you can see, he's still upset about it. He's quick to throw his anger around, even though he knows an attack like that can't harm me."

Sasuke lunged with his Chidori strike. Naruto couldn't really comprehend anything beyond the immediate. The deafening chirp of a thousand birds wiped out all other sounds, and his eyes tracked the speeding death rushing toward him. His instinct told him to shout out, but by the time the instruction went from thought to action, it was too late.

All he felt was a heavy, slightly painful feeling in his chest. Maybe it was the shock of the electricity, or the disbelief, but the pain felt very far away. Naruto looked down and saw his best friend's arm, the pale white wraps darkening rapidly with blood. There was so much of it. The bright blue light crackled, throwing the angles of Sasuke's face into sharp relief at intervals, the corners of his lips turned down in confusion.

"Sasu…" Naruto began, but the blood rose in his throat and he choked on it. Flecks of blood landed on Sasuke's face and he started as if he had been struck. Tears stung Naruto's eyes. Blood was running out between his lips and he couldn't get them to form any words.

Sasuke stepped back, removing his arm with a quick motion that made Naruto give a strangled cry. He sank to his knees and then painfully onto his side, sputtering and curling around the gaping wound in his chest as he struggled to draw breath. Light blue electricity crackled around his body in spasms.

"What is this?" Sasuke demanded from somewhere far above him. "What is going on?"

"That is your best friend's blood on your hands, I believe." Tobi re-materialized where he had disappeared before. "Getting started on your promise already?"

Naruto was choking and stuttering out indistinct sounds. He was trying to call out a warning, or maybe just willing Sasuke to understand. Tobi was a liar.

"I don't understand. How is he here?" Sasuke knelt down and reached out with trembling hands. His face twisting with confusion and shock, he felt Naruto's shoulder, his chest, and the wound pouring his lifeblood all over the floor. "No—it's a trick. It's impossible."

"What's the matter? I thought this was what you wanted."

Sasuke stood and walked backward until he reached the tanks, bracing himself against them like he was off balance, leaving bloody handprints on the glass. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. It—this doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make any sense. You're trying to play games with me, aren't you? I'll kill you!"

Naruto wrenched his eyes open. He saw Sasuke through a vague mist, shouting at Tobi. He tried to move his arms, but they were still tied behind his back. Sounds came to him in heavy, rolling bursts that made no sense.

Sasuke…

Strength was draining from him at an alarming rate. He tried to keep his eyes open, but they refused to cooperate. He fell asleep to the sound of his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.

Naruto's senses came back to him slowly, one at a time. He opened his eyes in a careless, sleepy kind of way. He felt very comfortable.

Unfortunately, that lasted only for the second it took for him to remember everything that happened.

The memories hit like a freight train. Naruto's eyes widened and he sat up sharply, looking down and patting his chest. He noticed for the first time that he was wearing hospital clothes. That wasn't terribly surprising. What was surprising was what he discovered from the cursory inspection of his body, which was… nothing. No gaping hole. No blood. Everything looked and felt completely normal.

Had it all been a dream? It felt far too real to be a dream.

"Naruto?" someone said gently.

He turned his head to the side and saw Sakura sitting by his bed, wearing a small, tentative smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"How are you feeling?" she asked in the same gentle tone, like someone talking to a frightened animal.

The way she was acting was freaking him out. If it was meant to be reassuring, it was doing the exact opposite.

"Sakura-chan? What happened to me?" he asked confusedly. "I thought I…" He put his hands up to his chest again. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Only a couple of hours," Sakura said. Her eyes lingered on him strangely, like she was scrutinizing him. "Fukasaku-sama came back to us shortly after you were sent home. He realized you were in danger right away. But you were already gone."

"So, that was… real?" Naruto curled his fist into the fabric of the hospital shirt.

Sakura nodded. "Before we could do anything, you just reappeared in one of the workshops downstairs. You were hurt pretty badly. We thought you were going to die. I couldn't—get the bleeding to stop." Her voice become constricted. She closed her eyes.

Naruto let his hands fall to his sides on the bed. "But—but I feel just fine!"

"I know." Sakura looked down at her hands clenched in her lap. "One moment you were dying, then suddenly your body started regenerating… healing itself. You were able to regrow entire organs in minutes. Naruto, even for you, it wasn't normal."

Naruto felt sick and afraid. Sakura looked back up at him again. Their eyes met and the air between them hung heavy as a funeral, but far more delicate. Naruto's mouth felt very dry, and he swallowed.

"Sakura-chan, my… my memory might be really messed up or something, but for some reason I remember it was Sasuke."

He had hoped beyond hope she would react with surprise. Confusion. Even derision. But no. All he saw was grief.

"Yes. Chidori. I thought that's what it looked like."