At first, he thought it was the early morning fog that crawled through the brushes and trees. Though, he was quick to fix that thought once he breathed it in. The tinges of smoke were poison to his lungs. He covered his mouth with a cloth and pressed on.

It was no wonder why the air had strange odor.

The further he walked through the littered path, the darker the smoke grew. A foul smell hit him, and he crinkled his nose. The harsh smoke began to water his eyes, but he didn't want to turn away.

Other than the smoke that flowed around his movements, it kept a ghastly pace, unbroken and undirected by wind. It began to thicken, and he was forced to blow it away with a gust of wind when he could no longer stand it.

He looked behind him, but he saw no trace of the wolf. It had disappeared last night after a couple more treats. Beggar, he thought.

The foliage dispersed that turned into a wide valley. Grey clouds hung in the sky, the wind was free, casting wild twirls of smoke. In the valley below, he saw the remnants of a village. There was a small castle in sight, and others smaller wooden buildings. Many were torn down in heaps and cloaked in smoke. Not a soul in sight.

He climbed down a winding worn path. Ash bellowed, sticking to grass and his own clothing. He reached the bottom and moved close. There was an entrance with a broken gate; splintered and littered with arrows.

On the other side of the gate, bodies littered the ground covered in mud and blood. A crow eyed him, fluttering its wings in nervousness.

He wandered through the remnants of the village. There were no fires, only burnt foundations and glowing embers.

The simple paths led him toward the small castle, a moat built around it with its castle bridge raised.

"Wanderer!" someone called from the castle. They weren't visible until they peered between two columns. Others appeared along the wall, weapons at the ready. "What brings a stranger to a raided village?"

He was armored in similar fashion to the first two Hokage, or the samurai in the Land of Iron. "A hunter by the sea helped me, and pointed me here,"

"One of the hunters? Tell me, what was his name?"

He frowned. He didn't have that information, "We didn't share our names,"

"Convenient," someone above shouted.

"Nonetheless," the leader said. "You didn't steal from the dead, nor the houses. I will be inclined to believe you. If you're lying, then I'll hunt you down myself."

"uhm, sure."

"Still, I must ask you to leave. We're in no position to accept anyone," He felt disheartened, but nodded all the same. "watch for the roads, it is not safe for travel in these times."

Yet he was being turned away. It was an easy way to find his way out, and he didn't bother to look back. He stood outside the gate for a while.

He didn't have much supplies, as he intended to refill here. Now he would have to wait until the next town, but he didn't know where or when that would be. So, he did what he could only do, walk the only worn road.

The only time he stopped was when he saw the stranger on the road. At first, he thought they carried a staff, but the blade at the end put that thought to an end.

When he got closer, he realized it was a woman. She was dressed in light leather armor. She looked at him with suspicion.

"So, what's a lone stranger walking unarmed in a time like this?"

"Why is an armed one standing in my way?" he asked.

"It's my walking stick," she replied. "I can hit people with it too, I guess."

Her hair was white, but short, it did not go past her shoulders. Her eyes were blue, prominent with her pale features.

"I suppose it doesn't matter, you don't have them" she continued. "and I'm not alone,"

There was something behind him, and when he looked he found that it was the wolf from last night. It paid little attention to him other than passing by to sit behind the woman.

"Not of their scent," it said. "like stupid friendly meat bag, but stranger,"

He blinked, "I didn't know you could talk,"

"He likes you," the woman said.

"It insulted me,"

"He didn't eat you, didn't he?" she retorted, "That means something."

"Yeah, it means I'm not dead."

He heard the light patter of rain. He looked above, seeing the droplets falling from the dark clouds. It was a light rain, but it might get harsher.

"I have a camp nearby, come or don't, " she turned away and got off the road.

"Just like that? You were kinda not so friendly just earlier,"

"I trust Oogran's word enough," A sideways glance before she continued into the bushes. Oogran, the wolf followed closely behind without sparing another glance. It was an invitation. It wasn't exactly one he could deny.

So, he followed them. It was a short, but crowded walk through the bushes. There didn't seem any clear trail other than what they left behind. The smell of cooking food was a pleasant change from smoke.

They arrived in a particularly flat area, covered by the rain above, a cooking pot hung over a warm fire, in the corner was a cloth draped over a makeshift cover made from branches.

The woman placed her weapon by a bag, "my name is Altisi. Yeah, yeah, foreign name, get over it."

"Naruto," he replied.

"Warm and dry, useful." The wolf interrupted. It laid down on a bed of pine before closing its eyes.

The woman was seated on a large rock, stirring the pot with a spoon. "You do know that you're following in the footsteps of an army?"

"I kind of guessed that from the road,"

"So why? It's not really safe," Altisi said. She seemed satisfied with her food and brought out a bowl.

"I'm very lost," he replied. "I don't even know where I am, or even what this country is named."

"People don't show up outta nowhere," she replied. He was handed the bowl and spoon.

he thanked her, and took a bite from the soup. It was a little too salty, but it was hot food. Then he explained on how he got to be here.

"Huh," she said. "That'll do it."

Naruto recalled there was no other road but the one he walked. "You said that 'I didn't have them' what did that mean?"

She was silent for a while, staring at falling drips from a nearby branch. She had finished her food and began to take off her leather armor. "These dark blades, Obsidian Order, they're the ones who attacked that village the other day,"

"Oh, why?"

She snorted, "War, obviously. You really don't know this place, do you?" he shook his head, "It's all the same thing really, this one hates that one, this one wants this thing, this one been slighted, so they fight."

"Oh," he replied. She seemed awfully vague.

"look, I barely know this place better than you do. You think I'm gonna remember all these places names?"

"Right, but you seem to know this Order though,"

Altisi shrugged, "They took something from me, I want it back. Now clean that bowl, would you?"

He did as she asked and returned it. She got under her little shelter and leaned against the large grey wolf. "Why did you help me?"

"Everyone here hates outsiders, I haven't had a talk with anyone in ages," she patted the wolf like a lap dog. "Just because he can talk doesn't mean he wants too. You couldn't have been too bad if he hadn't ripped you apart,"

He frowned, "I feel so relieved,"

She chuckled, "You didn't seem so worried when we met on the road, what can you do?"

"I'm a ninja," he replied. "I can do a lot of things without a weapon, in fact I mostly prefer it."

She hummed. "A ninja huh? I heard about them, there isn't a whole lot left around these parts."

"Is that right?" Naruto said. He looked out into the bushes, the sky seemed to grow darker by the minute.

Altisi yawned, and wrapped her cloak around her, "The nearest town is a couple days away on this road, so we'll be going the same way if the order goes there. Might as well I'd say,"

He got the meaning well enough, "Might as well,"

They were locked in eternity. Blades and beasts sheathed in blood. Howls and wails echoing in the hills. The land was painted dark blood, and coated with bodies.

There was no town in sight, given, as it was supposed to be a whole other day until they reached it. Altisi peered intensely at the battleground, while Oogran sniffed the air.

"No use, I can't make out anything, how about you? See any of those blades I mentioned?" Altisi said. Naruto looked at her, and she shrugged. "I was just wondering, maybe you had good sight being a ninja and all,"

Down below was a mess, he couldn't see their blades much less their faces. No banners belonged to them either, only belonging to one army or another.

"We should get a closer look, find them."

"Down there?" he asked incredulously.

"It's not like we're gonna join," she replied. He couldn't protest because she already went off.

Oogran growled, but he wasn't sure why. "A good smell, there will be no hunger tonight."

Now he knew, "That's fucked up," The wolf paid no attention and bounded after the woman.

He sighed. There would no doubt be a lot of stragglers breaking off from the main army. It would be safer if they were together.

Yet, when he took a step, he felt it. This illusion broke.

Everything turned backward. Fallen men returned to their feet with their wounds healed, the fires died, and the battlefield left like it was untouched. Until it was two armies facing each other down on a large field.

Then they charged at one another once again.

Maybe he could use some work with this, but he didn't exactly have anyone to see if it was good enough. His late mentor was a writer, he could have been a lot of help. What he could do was wait for her.

"Do you thirst for things such as this?"

A shiver. He crossed his arms and looked below. "No,"

"Then why?" she asked inquisitively.

He stayed silent, but she was still there. The armies clashed once more.

"I've had a lot of time to think," he said. "This happens, and even if I ever get the chance to stop the fighting, it might happen again."

Kaguya hummed, "This was endless when I first arrived. It was a bother, so I put an end to it."

He knew the story, she ate a fruit of the God Tree, then all the fighting stopped. The Rabbit Goddess, they all called her.

He felt air blow out from his nose, amused. "You make it sound easy,"

Naruto didn't mean to spare a glance. Even as she stood there, she felt otherworldly, and that didn't seem so far-fetched.

"It was," Kaguya replied. "None of you had power as you did now. They resisted, of course, but not quite like you,"

"I would hope so," He forced himself to turn away.

"You can will anything to be true, yet you choose this?"

Naruto looked to Kaguya, her eyes narrowed at the destruction below.

Lose or lose. It would end one way or another. Lose a little less perhaps. Dust or death. They could not seal Kaguya should he fall. Though, perhaps…

"How is it for you? Do you watch my every moment? Does time pass the same as mine, every minute a minute or does it feel faster for you?"

"Answer," she said.

The warriors below were slow, like through water. The blood spurted through the air, almost freezing in place.

"This happens, it's true to us," he replied. "Maybe it's just a part of us, I dunno, but there's still good despite it all. Love I mean –I guess,"

He stole a glance, but she remained unchanging. Her expressions always remained the same. He wondered if she was always like that. Yet, he reflected on his time here and he didn't feel quite as whole.

"How strange," she answered. Then she left.

What made her like that?