Author Note: Whoot! New chapter! A big thanks goes to Basser, the new super duper beta. And thanks to anyone else who volunteered to be a beta! Anyways, things begin to progress starting now and the evilness shall enter the stage! Mu hu ha ha! Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review!

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Darkside

Going to the dark side

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Trees came in and out of sight. Everything was a blur now, yet he felt slow, losing his edge at the worst possible time. Branch after branch passed under his feet, never once breaking. The forest was incredibly wide spread, a large con to face against the pros of a very bad situation, if there were any pros at all.

Konoha wasn't far away now. He knew the others were capable of catching up soon, but it didn't matter. They had arrived too late in the end. Now, standing out in the dark vegetation, were a few tall buildings from Konohagakure.

His lungs choked, a burning sensation spreading like a wild fire through his chest. Jiraiya cursed himself (perhaps old age), but pressed forwards, the fate of Naruto in his possession. If only he could go faster!

"Hang on, kid."

The trees gave off to several expansive fields, making his speed drop a great amount. He was an open target, running through tall grass with an unconscious person slung over his back. But, Jiraiya held no worries, he had to do this.

Sharp, thick grass brushed over the Sanin's face as he lunged into the dense vegetation in front of him. His skin flared out in irritation that was hard to not notice, but Jiraiya remained focused.

In less than ten minutes, the frog summoner reached the borderline of trees. Quickly eying a clutter of thick forest, Jiraiya jumped forwards, landing on a sturdy branch and setting Naruto down carefully. He leaned heavily against the tree, inhaling and exhaling sharply.

Wind began to stir, billowing softly from all directions. Naruto looked as if he would be lifted off from his spot on the branch. Jiraiya watched him closely, making sure that he didn't convulse from the affects of the seals.

But the blond ninja was stronger than that. Unlike before, the spunky kid seemed to be more dangerous, filled with more anger and in a lot more pain. Even while cut off from the world around him, his face was a perfect picture of despair. His hair was messier than before and he wasn't even snoring.

A change in the wind allowed to faintly hear footsteps approaching from behind. Taking one of Naruto's kunai (the last of his collection), Jiraiya waited patiently. He raised the weapon out in front of him, flexing his sore muscles, and prepared to attack at any second.

Pieces of bark broke off and plummeted downwards as someone stepped onto a branch opposite of the one Jiraiya and Naruto were on. Before any further movement could take place, Jiraiya jumped off the branch and was standing before the person, pinning him against the tree.

"What do you want?" He grit out.

A bloody kunai almost grazed his face as the person attempted to break away. Jiraiya switched hands and dangerously pressed his borrowed weapon into the man's throat.

"I said what do you want?"

"I've got some unfinished business with that brat...I know you've got 'im hidden around here somewhere," he spat.

The man currently flirting with death flinched as his arm was overpowered by another fit of pain. A deep wound, one that Naruto had inflicted upon him, distinguished the man as the leader of the bandits.

Jiraiya, however, could have cared less who he was and quickly finished the wounded man off. Now with two kunai, the frog summoner returned to Naruto, who had yet to show any signs of awareness. He cleaned the blood off the sharp weapons and carefully put them in Naruto's kunai satchel.

With the wind resurrected, Jiraiya gathered Naruto in his arms (his back was aching terribly now) and continued to make his way back to Konohagakure.

He didn't know how much time Naruto had left now.

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Another uneventful meeting regarding the Chuunin exams had passed. Another boring day in the big city of Konohagakure. Another day of wandering around, at a loss of things to do. She began to wonder why she even came back.

The sun beat down on her, but she was very used to standing outside under the flaming ball in the sky back in her village. This village was quite different from her own, she had realized that a long time ago. But it was nice to get out and see different places, even if it wasn't for long.

The Chuunin exam plans were about to come alive so she had no reason to stay. Everyone she had met here two-and-a-half years ago were all on their own missions. She should have brought company along this time.

Temari had returned to Konohagakure shortly after her younger brother was brought back into the world of the living. She didn't necessarily want to leave her village or Gaara, but he was very capable of taking care of things on his own.

She sighed out of frustration. "There's nothing to do!"

Konohagakure was colorful, filled with a lot of people, and how it harbored nothing of interest to Temari. So, deciding that she might as well check the near by weapon shops for anything of interest, she set off.

Halfway there a group of people came running down the street, frantic about something by the looks of it. Not too long after, a white-haired man passed by with a very familiar ninja dangling limply in his arms.

"Naruto...?"

Two Chuunin ninja she remembered from her first visit to Konoha weren't far behind the others. She instinctively knew Naruto was in trouble and just by overlooking what had just transpired, it had to be a lot of trouble.

In a day she would leave. The committee would let her, hopefully. She needed to inform Gaara about this, especially when she got the feeling it had a lot to do with that demon sealed inside the blond.

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Tsunade almost choked on her sake as Shizune burst through the door with a worried expression painted on her face. Tsunade could feel the after effects of her favorite drink and the burning in her cheeks was growing stronger. She almost waved her friend off, but Shizune spoke up first.

"Naruto-kun has returned! He's in the Konoha Hospital, he just got there. His condition is very unstable and.."

"Naruto has been hospitalized...?"

"Y-y-yes!"

Tsunade, forgetting the sake she had hidden on her lap, jumped forwards, staining her pants and ruining several near by papers. Too upset to care, she ran out of the paper cluttered room with Shizune close behind her.

It took close to no time for them to reach the hospital. Tsunade pushed through the front doors and into a very busy main entrance, demanding to know where Naruto was being kept.

"H-H-Hokage-sama!" A very shaken up nurse stuttered. The hospital was extremely busy and she was breaking under the pressure of it all. "R-r-r-right this way!"

Tsunade and Shizune, who was apologizing for her friend's brashness, followed the nurse down winding and narrow hallways. They ended up on the second floor. Crowded with people and several stretchers, the hallway was hard to maneuver through. For Tsunade, that was not a problem.

"Everybody out of my way!"

Any chit-chat that had been taking place stopped immediately. People jumped out of the way as Tsunade barged towards the door the nurse had pointed out to her. Upon entering, she felt guilty beyond belief at the sight of Naruto.

Jiraiya sat at his bedside, looking glum. The blond, still unconscious, had his chest bandaged and each cut that had ripped flesh on his face were patched up. He lay there stiffly, his hair unnaturally formed perfectly.

Tsunade walked to his bed and placed a hand on his forehead, now stripped of the headband that he was so proud of. Shizune went and searched for medical reports, questioning every nurse that walked by and finding special curing medicines.

Jiraiya shifted in his chair. Tsunade glanced at him and he sighed heavily, resting his hands on his knees.

"Things aren't looking too good."

Continued in chapter nine!