The younger Naruto slumped in his chair, arms crossed. His deep scowl seemed to have no effect whatsoever on Shizune, who continued giving bright reassurances to her patient. Naruto's eyes tracked the man as he thanked Shizune and left, hopping slightly with a damaged foot. Shizune hummed as she started organizing medical supplies on a tray.
"When is someone going to come tell us what's going on out there?" he blurted, unable to contain himself any longer.
"You just have to be patient, Naruto-kun!" Shizune said, wagging a finger at him. "We'll get a message as soon as Headquarters hears anything."
Naruto huffed in frustration. How had things ended up like this? Everything had been going so well.
True, Itachi and Nagato had wanted to avoid the battle, but at least he still would have been out there. Now their group was split up, and he was under the watch of the Allied Shinobi Force again. And that meant staying in the medical camp until some vague, indefinite moment when they figured out what to do with him.
Naruto felt slightly betrayed by his older self, even though the elder had just been following Itachi's directions. Once he left the younger there under Shizune and Sakura's watch, he'd rushed off to go meet the Eight-Tail's jinchuuriki. No doubt they'd see all kinds of action, while the younger was left sitting in a chair under the supervision of some medic-nin.
"Shizune-neechan, why can't I fight?" Naruto grumbled, knowing it was useless. "I already proved I could do it. I can take on those white things, no problem!"
"Yes, well, it was a good thing you didn't get captured." Shizune put her hands on her hips. "I don't know what the older you was thinking, letting you go anywhere near the battlefield. Then again, he isn't much better…" Muttering darkly, Shizune continued organizing with a bit more force than before.
"Aww, c'mon! You're only saying that because Itachi and Nagato were the ones looking after me. Kakashi-sensei told me some people were upset about that." Naruto propped his feet up on a short stool and leaned back in the chair, balancing it on two legs.
Shizune slammed an instrument down onto the metal try with a loud clatter that nearly made Naruto lose his balance. He waved his arms around frantically for a second, teetering, before landing the chair back on four legs again.
"You don't know anything about the terror and suffering our village went through because of them!" Shizune said. Her face was turning red, but she remained standing where she was. She gripped the edges of the metal tray. Naruto noticed her arms shaking.
He stood up out of the chair, taken aback. "S-Shizune-neechan…"
She stared down at the tray for a few seconds, then turned away to walk out of the tent's flap.
"Excuse me."
Sakura came into the tent, walking around Shizune and watching the other kunoichi walk away.
She put down a box of bandage rolls and turned back to Naruto, confused.
"What was that about?"
"I don't know." Naruto flopped back into the chair. He felt a little guilty, but he wasn't sure why. "She didn't like me talking about Itachi and Nagato, I guess. Was she really that worried about me?"
Sakura's eyes darkened. She turned to unpack the box. "Probably. We all were. First Orochimaru comes after you in Suna, then you disappear into Amegakure where no one can contact you? All we had was Sai's scroll, and that only goes one way."
"I guess… I didn't really think of it like that," Naruto admitted. He felt deflated. It seemed his older self was the only one from this time who knew those guys weren't actually bad.
"Shizune had it pretty rough during the attack," Sakura added softly. "I mean, a lot of people did. Nagato's Paths tore through the village, trying to get anyone to tell him where you were. He eventually discovered you weren't in the village, so he destroyed it. But Shizune was the one he found that out from. She still thinks it could have gone differently. But we all know it wasn't her fault. She was killed and brought back like all the others."
Sakura looked over at Naruto, slightly pitying. He'd finally stopped fidgeting. Now he was sitting with shoulders slumped and eyes downcast, no longer in the mood to complain.
It wasn't like he'd forgotten about the village's destruction, or who had done it, but there was such a gap between what he felt and what he knew. There was still something missing, something he didn't understand. And he was running out of time to figure it out. How much longer could he stay here, after all? If he didn't figure it out soon, how was he supposed to help everyone back in his own time?
Sakura sighed. "Naruto, I'm sorry, but—"
Naruto laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back. "Nah, why would you be sorry? You guys had to protect everyone while the older me was gone. But I won't let it happen again! I'll find a way to stop Akatsuki before any of that happens, and save them, too."
Sakura shook her head with an exasperated smile. "You probably don't want to stay here in the medic camp, do you? I heard you got to fight a little against the Zetsu."
"You can say that again." But Sakura's words reminded him of something. Naruto put his arms down and looked at his hands. "It was kind of weird. I've known for a while now this isn't my real body, but it was always easy to forget. Now, when I think about it... I haven't eaten anything since the day you guys left for war. And since I left Ame, I haven't even felt hungry or thirsty or had to use the toilet at all. And when I was fighting and got cut by a sword, I didn't bleed, either."
Sakura sat down on a stool in front of him. "I've done autopsies on those things. While they're good at imitating people, on the inside they have nothing that can be considered human. I know that wasn't the case for you. But since your body is based off them, it must have the ability to change as well. Maybe, when you believed you were in your real body, it transformed to match what you thought. Or maybe it just can't keep up a total imitation forever."
"I guess that makes sense," Naruto said reluctantly. He vaguely remembered that Orochimaru—when he was disguised as the Wind Daimyo—had seemed surprised and curious when he said he was hungry.
"There you are 'ttebayo!"
Naruto looked up to see his older self grinning at him from the tent door. He wasn't in the Kyuubi Chakra Mode.
"Aniki!" he hopped out of the chair. "What are you doing here? Weren't you s'posed to go meet up with the Eight-Tails' jinchuuriki? Kira—um, Ki…"
"Killer Bee." His older self nodded. "I did, but I sent a clone back here to stay with you. I know it sucks to have to stay in one place. Plus, if anything happens, Boss'll know about it right away. Hey—Sakura-chan, where are you going?"
"I am getting out of here while I still can," she said, looking back after pushing open the tent door. "Have fun, but try not to explode anything."
"Suit yourself." The bunshin plopped down on the stool she left.
"Have you heard anything about what happened to Itachi and Nagato?" the younger asked immediately.
"They must have made it in time to stop Kabuto from doing anything, so they're probably on their way back here. Do you know what you're gonna do?"
"No," the younger admitted. "I don't want to leave while everything's still going on here… but…"
"I heard what you guys were talking about before I came in." The bunshin crossed his arms. "How is the Kyuubi doing?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, that body you're in is supposed to keep it locked up extra-tight, right? Have you seen if it's still doing okay in there?"
"I—no." It wasn't like he made it a habit to talk to the Kyuubi anyway, but it did seem like he hadn't heard from it in a while. Especially since they had been talking on a semi-regular basis by the end of his time in Suna.
"You think I should check? Is that what you're saying?"
His older self nodded.
"O-Okay…"
Naruto had only done this a few times already, but he was willing to gave it a try. He sat back in the chair and closed his eyes, trying to focus within. He subconsciously went through the same process as when he tried meditating for Sage Mode.
He sat very still, relaxing and trying to create a mental image of what he wanted to do. He could faintly feel the presence of Natural Energy hovering around him like it always did… but he didn't try to reach out to it right now. Instead, he tried to reach inward, within this strange body.
It was more difficult than he expected. For a moment, Naruto felt like he was swimming in a dark void. He realized with sudden, stark clarity that he was no longer sitting, but standing in ankle-deep water.
Naruto opened his eyes, and it was a little lighter—but not by much. The thin lights that lined the walls were still visible, but their light had dimmed considerably since the last time he was here. He looked up at the massive barred door in front of him, its height lost in the darkness.
"Kyuubi?" Naruto said, walking up to the bars and looking in. "Hey—Kyuubi! Are you taking a nap or something?"
He stared hard into the darkness inside the cage, trying to see an eye, a silhouette—anything. Once he listened, he thought he could hear something very large breathing. Did the Kyuubi even have to breathe? Regardless, he took it as a relatively good sign. Naruto looked down at the water, then slowly and cautiously sidled through the bars.
Hoping the Kyuubi wouldn't be in a head-ripping mood if he woke him up, Naruto walked carefully toward the breathing. A great dark outline soon loomed in front of him, and when he reached out his hands, he could feel warm fur.
"H-Hey!" he called, trying to shake the hopelessly small patch of fur he could reach. Naruto's eyes were starting to adjust to the gloom, and he was fairly certain he was standing beside one of the Kyuubi's gigantic paws. He saw the outline of a sharp claw, and backed up several paces.
"H-Hey, wake up!" Naruto cupped his hands over his mouth as he walked backward toward the bars, just in case. "You big, stinky, ugly old fox! Heyyyyyyyyy! I bet you can't get me! Nyeeeehhhh!"
Nothing changed. There wasn't so much as a growl or a twitch of an ear. Naruto's back hit the bars and he turned to walk through them. He stood on the other side and stared into the cage for a few minutes longer, hoping something would happen.
But nothing did. The fox was unconscious, and didn't seem to be waking up anytime soon.
Was it because of the plant body? Was it slowly suffocating him, as the Kyuubi himself had said? How long had it been like this? Naruto clenched his hands around the bars to stop them from shaking. He didn't like the fox, but… it was something that had always been there. And he didn't know what would happen if it disappeared.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I should have listened to you sooner. I promise we'll go home soon."
Naruto opened his eyes and saw the bunshin of his older self watching him intently.
"Well?"
"It's not good. The Kyuubi is still there, but it won't wake up no matter how much I shout. I think the plant body is taking all its energy, or something like that."
The bunshin crossed his arms and tilted his head in a thinking pose. "That doesn't sound good. Hmmm… ah!" he hit a fist in his palm. "Itachi and Nagato should be on the way back by now, right?"
"You think so?" The younger perked up, sensing an adventure.
"Probably?" The bunshin scratched the back of his head. "Only if Itachi made it to Kabuto in time. But I should be able to sense where they are and if they're under control. If you want to get back as soon as possible, I can take you to them."
"I..." Being presented with a decision so immediately made him freeze up. But then he thought of the Kyuubi, and nodded. "You're right. I don't want to leave, but the Kyuubi needs help more, and going back is probably the only way. I know you guys will be alright."
The bunshin stood. "Okay. Ready to sneak out from under the ASF's nose?"
The younger Naruto grinned in response.
Kisame looked up as a large black crow flapped down from the sky, cawing loudly.
He held out his arm and let the bird land on it. He picked the very small scroll out of its beak and unrolled it.
"Something must have happened," Kisame murmured. "After all the work I put in, too. You're merciless, Itachi-san."
Kisame reached inside his coat, but suddenly he looked up, sensing something. His mouth grew into a sharp-toothed grin. If he hadn't lost Samehada, he might have noticed it before now.
"Pretty sneaky to use that crow to find me, ne," he said, turning as Tobi materialized behind him.
"So you were alive, after all," Tobi said, stalking toward him and stopping just out of reach. "I'll be taking that now." He held out a hand toward Kisame.
But Kisame just kept grinning.
Tobi's eyes narrowed underneath the mask as a globe of water suddenly erupted around Kisame.
Now Tobi understood. In his former life, Kisame had been tasked with protecting important information no matter what the cost. He acted unhesitatingly, and never once failed to rob the enemy of whatever they were trying to get. However…
Tobi's Sharingan tracked Kisame's movement inside the bubble, spotting the sealing scroll in his hand. He rushed toward it, but it was too late. Several small sharks appeared and destroyed everything within. The water became dark and stained with blood.
…And then it was clear again. Kisame was whole again, he was about to summon the sharks—but Tobi kept moving and phased his hand through the place he knew the sealing scroll to be. He came through the other side just before the ancient creatures started roiling around hungrily in the water.
Tobi straightened from his stance and took off the mask. The one hidden eye faded into a blank, dead white. He looked at the scroll. It was wet with water, but otherwise unscathed.
Finally.
Sacrificing one eye for two was not a bad trade at all.
At the Allied Shinobi Force Headquarters, powerful sensor-types from every country in the Alliance monitored the status of the war.
At the command desk was Ay, the Raikage; Tsunade, the Hokage; Nara Shikaku, lead strategist; and Mabui, personal assistant to the Raikage.
"The battle is turning on all fronts," Shikaku said, looking down at the map that they had spread on the table. "Naruto has been a big help, flushing out the imposters among our ranks. We can finally move again. Everyone has prioritized protecting his bunshin so the Uchiha can't dispel them before he's had a chance, and it's working."
"And the Uchiha situation near the sea front? When can we send help there?" Ay said, tapping a finger on the table.
They'd learned that Orochimaru had split his Edo-Uchiha army into several parts. Most were providing support at the major battlefields, working together very effectively to interfere with their attempts to flush out the Zetsu clones. Their fame in the arena of war throughout history was apparently well justified.
The only thing that worked so far to counter them was to focus on defense, keeping Naruto's bunshin around long enough to find the imposters. Fortunately, they were finally gaining some ground with their efforts.
But there was another group—the largest Edo Tensei-only unit on the field so far. It was composed of around twenty Uchiha, including the last Clan Head and his wife, and many well-known warriors from previous eras. They were clearly a very dangerous force, but they had yet to join any of the battles. Their destination was unknown, but one of the ASF's units had caught them near the sea front, trying to stall them until backup could arrive.
"The ones facing the Uchiha-only unit are those from Kakashi's group, along with a few others," Shikaku said. "It's a small group cobbled together from a few different units. It's unlikely they will be able to hold out for an extended battle."
"What about Naruto? Has he managed to send any help to them?" Tsunade asked.
"At the last report, no. The moment his bunshin showed up, the Uchiha all went after it—and there weren't enough of our own people there to defend it. The Uchiha are able to attack very quickly, leaving little room for a counterattack."
"So? What do we do, then? We can't let them get wherever they're trying to go," Ay growled. He looked across at Tsunade. "If Konoha's clans weren't so lax about protecting the remains of their best warriors, we wouldn't be in this mess."
Tsunade gave an angry 'tsk' and looked away, toward the large globe of water in the center of the room. "As if the village ever had a say in what the Uchiha chose to do. The bigger concern is that Orochimaru managed to collect so many of them. Despite what you think, it couldn't have been easy."
"This isn't the time to be talking about whose fault it is," Shikaku said impatiently. "We could let them go for the time being—that is an option. Or we could move some troops there, which could make progress at the other battlefields even slower. However, they are fairly close to the sea front battle. If our people can hold on long enough for things there to be decided, backup can come to them quickly from that area."
Ay gave a dubious hum. Tsunade crossed her arms, not convinced.
"It depends on how much longer that takes," she said. "If the sea front battle isn't going to be won very soon, we should stop fighting the Uchiha and follow them instead. If everyone gets killed, the Uchiha will escape anyway."
"That could be just as risky as letting them go outright, Tsunade-sama. We don't know what their objective is," Shikaku said. "Still… every other option risks losing the ones fighting now. We'll ask them how much longer they think they can hold on, then decide from there which course of action to take."
"They won't keep up much longer without help. That's for sure," Ay said. "But with all our forces tied up in other battles, who else can give it to them?"
Sasuke made his way toward the location Itachi had told him about, jumping forcefully from tree branch to tree branch. He had too many things to think about, and none of them he actually wanted to.
One of those things was what he was doing at this very moment. He had to trust that Itachi would keep his word and meet him at the specified place.
That was the problem. He should never have let Itachi out of his sight after finally finding him.
Sasuke told himself that following Itachi to the ASF would be more trouble than it was worth, and he would simply chase him again if he failed to show up.
But the truth was comprised of two mildly disturbing things—he did trust Itachi, and he did not want to see the supposed 'younger Naruto'.
But if it did happen to be true, then… what? What did it matter?
It didn't. The younger Naruto had nothing to do with him. It would just be too much of a hassle to get close to the Allied Shinobi Force right now. He still had his other goals, and they were far from the battlefield. As soon as Itachi told him everything there was to know, he would be making his way toward Konoha. Seeing the Uchiha used as puppets again would strengthen his resolve all the more.
At least, that was what Sasuke kept telling himself. He wanted to believe Itachi's attitude toward the clan and village had no effect on his own opinions. But looking up to and idolizing someone was a tough habit to break.
He was getting close now to the place Itachi had told him about. This was where, as of several hours ago at least, a large group of Edo Tensei Uchiha had been spotted.
Sasuke jumped down from the trees and walked at a slower pace, keeping all his senses alert. He couldn't hear anything going on in this immediate area. Was this the right place? Sasuke narrowed his eyes and kept walking toward a break in the trees.
There was a sizable field here, a mix of rocky ground and grass. Sasuke bent down to pull out a kunai that was wedged deep in the soil. There were several of them lined up right here, and when he looked up, he saw more scattered throughout the field. So the Edo-Uchiha had been here… and it looked like they had a run-in with the Allied Shinobi Force. But then what?
Sasuke didn't want to wander too far from the place where he was supposed to meet Itachi, but he decided to keep going a little longer. If they were close, there might still be time to catch up.
He went as quickly as possible, keeping an eye out for any traps or people. As he went along, the signs of fighting got more intense, and he even found a couple of dead shinobi along the way.
And then he heard the clash of weapons and people calling instructions to one another up ahead. Sasuke kept himself hidden and looked out of the trees.
The Edo-Uchiha were there, and some living shinobi were fighting against them. There were a couple of Iwa-nin trying to block their way with tall walls of earth. He saw one with a radio, and three nearby working together to try to separate and seal some of the Uchiha.
He remembered seeing the pale one before. That was the one who had been with Naruto and Sakura when they came to find him. The one with the ink creatures.
The other was slightly more familiar, a Suna shinobi they had taken the Exams with. The last, he did not know, but he was swordsman wearing a Kumo uniform. Even though Sasuke didn't know him, there was a good chance the Kumo-nin already considered him a mortal enemy, given the Raikage's feelings about him.
From a glance, it was easy to see the Alliance's troops were outnumbered.
Unlucky for them. It would be a tough battle even if they had equal numbers. The way things were now, they were likely to get slaughtered.
Sasuke stepped out into the open. It didn't take long before the three near him took notice.
"Sasuke!" the pale one said—Sai, that was what they had called him. The other two whirled around, on guard immediately.
"What are you doing here?" the Kumo-nin asked, putting a hand to his sword and narrowing his eyes.
All these other people could get annoying really quickly. But until Itachi finally arrived, the extra fighting power would probably be necessary.
"I want to help," Sasuke said. "You're working on sealing them, right?"
They looked at him like he had grown a second head. Sasuke felt his impatience growing—there was no time for this. Couldn't they understand that he hated seeing his clansmen being used this way?
Sasuke looked over and noticed the shinobi with the radio, a Konoha-nin he didn't recognize, was staring at him. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before everyone noticed him, and wasted their time gawking instead of fighting. The Konoha-nin fumbled for a moment with the receiver in his hands, then started frantically speaking into it.
"HQ, do you copy? Yes, I know. No, it isn't that, it's Uchiha—"
The radio and battery pack strapped to the man's back was suddenly crushed, stabbed through with the sharp, skeletal fingertips of Sasuke's Susano'o. The Konoha-nin dropped the pack and put some distance between himself and the outreaching arm very quickly.
"I don't need them interfering with what I'm doing. I'm not here to fight against the Allied Shinobi Force." Not yet, anyway. He couldn't quite take on the Five Great Shinobi Nations just yet, especially not alone. For now, Konoha was all he was after.
"Yeah, they're your clan, so that makes sense and all," the Suna puppet master said—Kankuro. The Kazekage's brother. He'd been at the Five Kage summit. "But do you really think you can show up here and join up with us because it suits your needs at the time? And what are we supposed to do now that you've destroyed our radio? If the fight moves again, we won't be able to tell HQ."
Sasuke ignored Kankuro and continued looking around the battlefield, examining the situation. Why did it have to be this particular group of people? They all had a reason to dislike him.
Finally he answered Kankuro. "From where I'm standing, it doesn't look like you're in a position to refuse. Those walls won't slow them down for long. And while we're over here talking, your allies over there are even more outnumbered than they were before. Do you have any sealers?"
"I'm the only sealer here," Sai said. He was propping up a very large scroll. "We haven't managed to restrain any of them long enough for me to seal them. It takes a little bit of time."
"Fine. We'll have to make do with that until my brother gets here. You other two, concentrate on protecting him. I will take your places in the fight."
The swordsman from Kumo gave him a hard glare, clenching his teeth around the small lollipop in his mouth. Kankuro looked even more irritated that Sasuke was trying to take command.
But Sasuke didn't wait for them to make up their minds. He jumped into battle, keeping his Susano'o up as a shield. Sai put his scroll down on the ground and rolled it out, prepared to start sealing whenever possible.
"That arrogant bastard," Kankuro growled. "If there is anyone who can restrain our targets, it's me. Omoi, can you stay here and protect Sai?"
Omoi looked down at Sai, and then back at Kankuro, and sighed. "I'll do my best. But what did he mean by, 'until his brother gets here'?"
"Saaakura-chaaan!"
Sakura looked up to see the older Naruto's Kage Bunshin waving at her cheerily. He was walking through the camp toward the row of open-air sinks, where she was. Sakura turned on a faucet with the side of her hand, and put her soapy hands under the flow.
"Hey, Naruto. What's up? I thought you would still be with the little you right now."
"Eh? Well, I had to leave to go meet up with Bee-occhan, remember?" the bunshin scratched its head, looking perplexed. "But I decided to send a bunshin back here to spend some time with the younger me, since I don't know how long it'll be before he has to go home. D'you know where he is?"
Sakura stared at the bunshin, letting the faucet water continue to run. Her eyes slowly widened as the seconds ticked by.
"Sakura… chan? What's wrong?"
"You mean, you didn't send a bunshin here earlier today?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Sakura didn't take the time to give him an answer. She forcefully turned off the spigots and started running toward the row of tents, heart pounding. No, not again. Naruto had scanned this place just a few hours ago. It couldn't be!
"Hey—hey!" Confused, the bunshin started running after her.
Sakura dashed all the way to the examining room where she had left the younger Naruto alone, prepared to knock some heads the second she went in. The canvas door flew open, flapping loudly and pulling against the tent's metal frame, causing the whole structure to sway.
It was empty. They were already gone.