Hey all, I thank you for the reviews, now though this chapter will be a filler, in that it will only set things up for the next chapter, but don't worry, it wont be Naruto anime filler bad………...nothing is really, but still. For future reference I want these things understoood. All of Akatsuki is dead, the new 'bad ass enemy' at the end will not be madara or pein, I leave that to kishimoto. This will be somewhat like a love triangle for naruto, hinata, and sakura, even though I cant compare to sadamoto yoshiyuki creator of evangelion, which you should read, in terms of complicated love triangles, which he did beautifully with rei, shinji, and asuka, this will be a love triangle based on regret, guilt, and hope, so it will develop over the coming chapters, but for now just read and enjoy.

Don't own naruto, got a problem? no? too bad, you just made my list right next to the guy who stole my idea for pudding

___________________________________________________

'thought'

"Speech"

Kyuubi talk

In naruto's mind

Naruto began walking down the familiar hallway leading to the cage of the kyuubi, when he reached the coridor however, he found the cage empty, no sign of the kyuubi at all, no breathing, no eyes, and no feeling of pure malice. Instead when he went closer he saw two bodies, standing right at the gate, backs facing it. They were sasuke and sakura, each with their eyes closed.

"Go ahead, choke them boy, indulge in your fantasy, I don't mind one bit, human blood has always been my favorite sight."

Even though he wanted too, soooo badly, he needed to control himself, if he gave in to what the kyuubi wanted, it wouldn't be good for his existence.

"What, you forgive them then? I thought youre hatred ran deeper then youre once unbeatable ambition to be hokage, has your reuniting brought back your pathetic other self?"

Naruto, giving in to his prideful hatred, immediately ran to the motionless bodies of his former friends, each gaining his hand around their throat.

"WHAT FORGIVENESS, I STILL HATE THEM, AND ILL SHOW YOU JUST HOM MUCH I HATE THEM!"

Naruto's hands each clenched deeply into sasuke and sakura's throats, visibly making them suffer, but they only responded by struggling as one would do in a bad dream.

"I HATE YOU BOTH SO MUCH, ILL KILL YOU BOTH YOU GUTLESS BASTARDS, ILL GIVE YOU THREE, NO A HUNDRED TIMES MORE PAIN THEN YOU EVER GAVE ME!"

Naruto soon began to transform, his eyes becoming red, his canines and fingernails growing, his veins shown all around him, and his hair becoming spiky and long. But soon, he began to transform even more. His pores started sprouting orange fur, his fingernails began to blacken, and soon even tails began sprouting, real ones. He soon rorared a monstrous roar and with one hand sweep, destroyed sasuke and sakura and began to eat the bits of flesh still there.

"heheheheheheh,HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH, GO ON BOY EAT, LET YOUR HATRED FESTER AND GROW, TILL IT CONSUMES YOUR VERY BEING, DON'T BE SHY, EMBRACE YOUR RAGE, ACCEPT IT AS A MOTHER WOULD ACCEPT HER CHILD, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Naruto immediately woke up to naota nudging him.

"Hey baka-sennin, you shouldn't sleep so late don't you have that bowing to attend in like an hour?"

Naruto immediately looked around at his surroundings, the cage, the bodies, and his new self, just a dream.

"Naota, was I convulsing or anything?"

"No, you just slept, but it looked like you enjoyed the dream at least, why you asking?"

'Enjoyed it? Dammit, I gave in to that bastard, I gotta control my anger around the kid, I cant let him be sucked into my hatred, Id rather die then do that to him.'

Naruto quickly composing himseld asked. "Hey naota, you hungry, ill make you some shrimp ramen, I remember you said that was your favorite right?"

Naota visibly became overjoyed. "I guess you can't be that much of a baka if you remembered that."

"Hey, ever hear of "Don't bite the hand that feeds ya?" "You keep insulting me, I might just make you eat fruits or something."

"Eww, those things always taste bad, fine, naruto can you please feed me with delicious ramen?"

"Thats better naota, though naruto-sama sounds better."

Naota immediately became ticked off.

"LIKE ID EVER CALL A BAKA LIKE YOU MASTER, YOUD HAVE TO TORTURE ME FOR DECADES BEFORE THOSE WORDS LEFT MY MOUTH!"

"Alright jeez I get it, alright because im so humble, naruto will suffice."

"Damn right it will." Naota grumbled.

After eating their ramen, naruto and naota enjoyed some television, but soon heard a knock.

'That chakra, jeez shes annoying, cant she leave me alone?'

"Naota, stay here and watch the tv, I saw this episode before its hilarious, so keep paying attention, the whole thing is simply hysterical." He hoped naota would believe his lie. He hated sakura, but he didn't want naota to see his hatred, it was an ugly thing no child should see.

"Sakura, what do you want, im busy so leave or tell me sasuke will never be a ninja."

"Wha…….. how could you say something so cruel about sasuke-kun,we were barely able to stabilize him, hell be hospitalized for weeks and you want him to suffer even more?"

"Pretty much yeah, so you've told me his condition, now get out, youre presence is making me ill."

She slapped him across the face.

"Listen here naruto, if you wish to insult me, fine, if you wish to degrade me and make me feel low, fine, sasuke-kun did that enough back then to make me used to it, but I cannnot leave until naota is with me, I cannot or will not allow you to have a child to take care of."

Immediately sakura's throat was held by naruto's hand, and lifted her off the ground.

"Since when do you tell me what to do, huh, if I wanted I could have you killed, its not like there aren't other competent med-nin, what makes you so special that you think I wont kill you?"

Sakura of course could barely breathe let alone answer, but naruto was asking this more for himself, she was a self-centered and selfish person, why was she honestly caring for someone other then herself or sasuke. He let her go when he felt her pulse slow.

"Hah hah hah hah, I don't care if you want to kill me, but please, just give back naota, I cant let you take care of him, his life would be in danger, the village would target him if he was seen with you, and you don't know how to raise a child."

"Too bad, this kid is my responsibility because his job when he grows up………..………….will be to take over my place as a sennin, so I need to train him immediately. He stays with me, if you have a problem, why not ask sasuke to do it."

Sakura couldn't help but feel worthless, naruto truly would kill her, as sasuke would have back when he defected.

'Why, why, why, why cant I be good enough?'

"Get out, I need to prepare for the village to kiss my ass, gonna polish it till they can see their lips, hahahaahahahahahahaha."

In the Hospital

Sasuke was sleeping, completely bandaged up, with no visible part of his body shown, the only I.D being his chart with his name.

The brain monitor set up to see if sasuke's medula was functioning, was showing signs that he was dreaming.

In sasuke's dreamworld

'Where am I, whats this staircase?'

In front of sasuke stood a spiral staircase, seemingly never ending. He continued to follow its spiral all the way to the top, and soon found naruto standing at the top, in full sage mode.

"DOBE!"

Sasuke immediately tried to climb the staircase, but found his body wouldn't move.

"Come on body move, I have to be higher up then the dobe is, I cant be weaker, I cant, MOVE!"

'Why, why cant I move, im better then he is, I always was and am.'

"Do you want some help sasuke-kun, I can help you reach a place far higher then naruto-kun could ever reach?"

"Whos there answer, how can you make me stronger?"

"Simple sasuke-kun, simply give into the rage youre feeling right now, and ill do the rest, believe me, when you give into that pure rage of yours, youre possibilities will never end."

"Fine, if letting my anger is what will make me stronger, then ill do it."

"Good boy, now then sasuke-kun, stand still, while I give you power."

Immediately a white ghost-like face appeared in front of sasuke, and bit him on the neck, seemingly feeding him chakra into his own body.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Sasuke fell to the floor, gasping for every breath of air he could find, if he tried to stop even once, he felt like his body would die from suffocation.

"Ku kukukukukukuku, now then sasuke-kun, your path to true strength begins."

'And my path to freedom begins as well.'

In Sasuke's bedroom

As sasuke was sleeping, though he showed no visible signs of pain, unlike his dream self, three tomoes briefly flashed and burned through the bandages, leaving a gaping circle around his neck.

A nurse soon walked in moments after the seal dissapeared. "Hey, that's odd, hey choko-san, did you open a hole in the bandages for a blood sample or something?"

"No, why?" "Cuz, theres a large hole in sasuke-san's neck and I was wondering if you made it."

"No, check the records, maybe tsunade-sama had something special ordered, and besides, we have to go to that stupid bowing thing for that creepy sage guy, so lets check when we get back."

"Hmm, so strange, oh well, it can wait."

Konoha central plaza (place in front of hokage tower)

"As promised, all citizens of konoha older then 18 are here, when you're ready they will bow, but tomorrow starts your campaigns in the war effort, starting with Suna, got it?" Homura stated

"Yeah yeah, but if I see one guy not doing it, I don't know, my homesickness might come back."

'Little brat, playing us like a cat whos cornered his food, and simply wants to play with it.'

"ALRIGHT THEN DUMBASSES, GET ON YOUR HANDS AND KNEES, BOW, AND YOU WILL BE SAVED FROM THE ASS-KICKING IWA WOULD HAVE GIVEN YOU IF NOT FOR ME, AND IF YOU WISH TO PERSONALLY KISS MY ASS, I'VE POLISHED IT, SO DON'T BE SHY!"

Hesitantly, but with certainty, every villager, and ninja began to bow, and finally shouted.

"PLEASE HELP US NARUTO-SAMA!"

Naruto however had begun cleaning his ears out.

"Oh sorry, wasn't paying attention, gotta do it again."

A villager got up and shouted. "NO, IT WAS BAD ENOUGH DOING IT ONCE TO THE LIKES OF YOU, BUT WE WILL NOT DO IT AGAIN!"

Naruto's face hadn't changed, he had simply gotten up and said. "Fine, don't want to bow, you don't have to."

Immediately he appeared in front of the villager, and gut busted him to the floor.

"Ill make you bow though, got it, smartass?"

Everyone around him, visibly cringed at naruto's sheer cruelty, and immediately got on all fours and shouted.

"PLEASE NARUTO-SAMA HELP US!"

"…………..Good, now then, this village will live."

"Now, I must go, my friend is in the hospital, and I need to rub it in his face if hes conscious, seeya dumbasses."

In the hospital

"Sasuke, oh sasuke, where are you, its your friend, mister ' I beat the uchiha' uzumaki."

"Ah, there you are, my old, beaten, half-dead friend, hows life, painful."

"Please leave him alone, hes not consciouss." Sakura said

"But, subconsciouslly he can hear me right?"

'Wait, why is there a hole in the neck area, its right where the……………dammit.'

"Sakura, leave before I kick your ass out of here, I need to check something."

"No, I wont just let you be alone with sasuke, who knows what you'd do to him."

"Better him then you, right, lets remember, hes on morphine, youre brain can still fully understand pain."

"Uhh…..fine, but please, don't hurt him, please don't make it any worse."

"For once, I promise I wont hurt him."

'If my thoughts are correct, he'll do that to himself.'

As sakura began to leave the room, naruto began to whisper into sasuke's ear.

"Now who's the dobe, cant even beat the dead last, can you now, what even sakura could have done better."

As naruto continued on his verbal rampage, the monitor showing sasuke's brainwaves began to pick up. Soon, three tomoes flashed on again before dissapearing and all monitors began to stabilize.

"Shit, so, that freakin curse seal isn't fully gone, and here I thought I could have an enjoyable day, now I gotta visit that place, oh well, I guess I can find out how those oto guys got to myobokuzan anyway, it's been scratching at the back of my head for a long time."

As naruto began to leave, sakura asked.

"I could hear you said you were going somewhere, where?"

"None of your concern, go home, this isn't something you can help me with, it doesn't require a decoy in case im outnumbered."

"Just tell me, maybe I can help you, im not that same 12 year old girl, I grew up, I relaized my mistakes, and I want to atone for them."

"If you weren't that 12 year old girl, why did your 16 year old self act the same then?"

Sakura was left without a counter argument, so she just shut up.

"If there was anything I could do to get your forgiveness, I'd do it without a second thought, please naruto, don't burn this bridge."

"You burned it, not me, when you decided I wasn't good enough for even your friendship."

"I know what I did was wrong, but………..uhhhhh!"

His hand clenched her throat as he snarled, but left it so that she could respond.

"If you knew what you did was wrong, then why the hell did you do it then, stupid?"

She tried her best to think of something, anything that would make him listen to her. Obviously, his feelings for her died, and it seems that what little bit of friendship he felt her for festered to hatred.

"I…I…..I don't know why, I just know that I regret it every day, knowing that I, more then anyone else, was the reason you left, if I could, I'd make my younger self love you, even if it meant by force, but I can't, I can only atone in the now, so please anything, anything at all, ill do it if you forgive me."

"You want my forgiveness, then fine, I will forgive you, if you never bother me again about naota, and let me legally be his father, so no one else can bother me, if you do this, my forgiveness is yours."

Sakura was speechless, on the one hand, the guilt that had plagues her for years would go away, but on the other hand, she would be risking a child's life by putting him in someone whos sense of a human's limits is too high. Would it be worth it?

"……………No, im sorry, anything else, but not that, I cant endanger a child's life for my own sake, please there has to be anything else that you need from me."

Naruto was astonished, she actually selflessly put another's need above her own, for once, sakura learned to care about someone else.

"…………………………….I forgive you."

"WHAT, REALLY, WHY!"

"Well, why did I hate you in the first place?"

"Because I ousted you like everyone else."

"Yeah, but you also were a selfish, cruel, bitchy, poor excuse for a human. Back then you were as about as valuable as a rusty kunai. In all essence, had you died, no significant change would have occurred to anyone."

While this revelation about how naruto viewed her hurt her to the core, the next thing though, brought her back.

"But right now, you were gonna let yourself suffer even more for naota's safety, you made a selfless sacrifice, although youre far from my friendship, your neutral to me now, so be happy about it."

"Thank you naruto, I promise, ill make sure you think of me as a friend, but please, tell me what you need to do, I know I can help."

"Jeez, alright, for the rest of the night, I'll be gone, take care of naota, do that, and you will have helped me greatly."

"Alright, ill take care of him the rest of the night, I guess you can't tell me where you're going?"

"No, but, when sasuke gets out, watch his anger outbursts, and tell me how he reacts."

"Alright, but why, he hasn't really had an outburst in years."

"He will, trust me."

As naruto walked away, he knew that tonight he'd be getting home late.

'CCCCCRRRRAAAAAAPPPPPPPP, why me.'

Rice country

Naruto had been around the forest area, hoping to see a guard or something, and soon found one in a bar, when he gave up.

'Luck seems to smile on me, only when I could give a crap.'

As he and the guard were walking back to the base, he wondered if HE was behind this. As soon as he reached a man sized hole, the mans shadow sprouted naruto.

"This the place?"

"Yes, please don't kill me, I was just conscripted to be a guard for the area."

"Don't worry, I wont kill you, youre too valuable right now, just don't squeal and you'll be alright. Got it?"

As the man agreed, naruto went back into the man's shadow and went into the hole. The area was almost pitch black, but small torches helped to guide the way. The man led the way, to where he remembered the personal chambers of the current leader of otogakure was. Soon, they were at the door where the guards stood in attention.

"I have a recon report for our glorious leader. Please let me pass to him."

Both guards moved away and opened the door, leading into the chambers. As the man walked to the dimly lit rooms center, the chilling presence of a man could be sensed on a chair, half of his face concealed by darkness, the other half not fully visible.

"My my naruto-kun, did you really think this would work, trying a technique my old comrade used quite frequently?"

"Never, meant to, only meant to fool those dumbasses outside, pretty lousy guards even for your taste."

"Hmm, quite, so is this one meant to die, or will you try to help him escape with you?"

"Never mind, he may leave, guard, leave and never return, youre useless now, never speak of this to anyone, or ill find you and kll you."

"AHHH!"

The man ran out, and the guards came in, only to be murdered by naruto.

"Anyone who wished to protect you, on the other hand, I can't forgive."

Both stared at each other, or at least the mystery man was, naruto couldn't quite see the man.

"So who now leads otogakure, huh?"

"Really naruto-kun, im sad you forgot, here maybe this will help."

He put the candle closer to his face showing Kabuto, with black rings around his eyes, and yellow eyes, with a black iris.

"Kabuto, jeez, a long way from subordinate, didn't know you'd be leader."

"Then again, youre not really in control are you?"

Kabuto simply put his hand on the candle and the room went dark. After a second, he put his hand away to reveal Orochimaru.

"Hello, naruto-kun, so nice to see you, the last time I saw you, the kyuubi had quite a lot of control over you."

"Yeah, I fixed that now, but since we've reunited, lets catch up, shall we?"

____________________________________________________

Im sorry this one is half the length of last chapter, but I hope it was good enough that it will make up for it. The technique that naruto used to infiltrate the base was Toad Silhouette, used by jaraiya when he was in amagakure, it was a good arc, though it sucked when jaraiya-sama died. R.I.P JARAIYA-SAMA, he kicked ass, no one else could amount to him. Anyway, the next ch will deal with naruto and orochimaru's negotiation, naota's thoughts to sakura about naruto, and sasuke's recovery and delving further into his anger. So review………………………………………………………please, ill be your friend