Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author Note: Sorry for the wait! School has started and I can't find time to write between all those schoolwork and activities! T_T

"Hey, how old are you now, Naruto? You looked old enough to be our friend" Asked Kushina curiously when she found out that the ninja is already slightly taller than her.

"Going to be Twenty-one! What about you?"

"Twenty-seven!" the kunoichi replied with a huge grin.

Minato was going to speak when Kushina interrupted, "You won't need to tell him about you, he'd read all about you in his history lesson,"

"That's true, but I never paid attention,"

Both the mother and the son's laughter echoed throughout the space, leaving Minato looking defeated.

Back at the Kazekage room, the meeting hit a dead end. No one wants to risk their life for the Jinchuriki although he had saved Gaara from the same evil clutches.

Suddenly, a ninja piped up, "Why isn't Naoko here? She'll be lots of help."

An idea struck the Kazekage's mind, "Naoko was abducted along with Naruto when she tried to protect him. But-"

"What?"

Gaara didn't need to put on a show anymore. The phrase was enough.

"Why would anyone abduct her?"

"We'll bring her back, Kazekage, tell us the plan!"

"Yeah! Tell us the plan!"

"She's more worth saving than that jinchuriki anyway."

Nearly all ninjas looked eager to help.

Kakashi sighed. Looks like Naoko was too attractive for her own good.

Sasuke looked at his former teammates reproachfully, "Hey, Valentine's over, we need to get going!"

Naruto let go of the hug embarrassedly and peered back into the chamber. Sakura was trying to control her sobs without any success.

"Erm, look, I got two clones disguised as rocks between the hand and the statue, so they're right behind Madara." He motioned to the source of the trouble. "What do you say, should we take him down?"

"I don't know about that," The trio was absorbed in their own thoughts, trying to think of a plan.

Sakura looked at the statue, and suddenly came up with an idea, "I'd say it's better to smash the hand first, cause we don't know what will happen if the statue's damaged; the tailed beasts might be released."

"You'll do it then," Sasuke replied. "You got the strength."

"Big problem, how can you get there without him noticing?" the blonde pointed out.

"I remember that Kakashi saying that you can do a Time/Space no Jutsu. Why can't you take me there?" The kunoichi questioned her teammate

Naruto looked uneasy, "Too risky, I never brought another person with me, and I can't guarantee that we'll end up at the right place and time,"

"Just go on, I'll take the risk,"

"Fine then," he returned from the gaze, and turned to Sasuke, "Erm, in case something go wrong one of my clones will tell you," He motioned at the rocks.

"Hey, wait a minute, how will they know if something was wrong?"

"My clones link with each other," Sakura looked perplexed, "Well, at least mine does. The one acting as a decoy was meeting my parents now," he grinned.

Suddenly the grin disappeared. Naruto stared blankly into the distance, something was not right, "What's wrong? Tell us," nudged Sakura angrily.

A family of three was walking towards the faint light, gossiping happily like a couple of old friends who had lost contact for years.

"Tell me about yourself, mum."

Both his teammates watched anxiously as Naruto furrowed his brows in concentration as if reading something invisible. Hey, you idiot, don't follow them! I don't want a part of my mind to be stucked in the afterlife!

But he kept on walking.

Crap, the sealing must have cut off our communication!

"Time's running out, we've got to stop the sealing, quick!" he didn't realize that he had spoke just in time as the impatient kunoichi was going to land a punch on his head. Sakura stopped in her tracks when he offered his arm to her, "Hold on to me," Sakura held to his arm (rather hesitantly as Sasuke was looking), a few hand seals were performed and with a jolt, they were gone.

Sasuke observed the surroundings and decided to place a seal around it.

He will be my trapped rat… He grinned at the thought

The moment the jutsu was finished, the scene in front of her changed suddenly from a narrow passage to the space between the statue and the hand. She met Naruto's urgent stare and immediately focused every fibre in her body for the act.

Not a second too soon.

Madara had just noticed some sort of movement behind him when he suddenly found himself in the mid-air. He watched in horror as what he was standing on crumbled before him. The chakra won't be suspending him for long, and when the connection broke, he'll have to start all over again. Someone managed to pass my barrier, but who?

He turned around sharply to find his gaze meeting Sakura's, and shuddered to see the fire behind her attractive emerald eyes. Impossible, he longed to yell out in disbelief, however he pushed that urge away, no time for tantrums, escaping is the important matter here

If he edged his head a bit more, his eye would widen with shock, not because of the eerie aura surrounding a figure who was sighing with relief, but by his mere presence.

Pity I have to abort now, when I'm so near to completion, thought Madara as he leaped out of harm's way again and again, thus severing the bond with the Demonic Statue. But I can't risk getting caught. They can't do anything about the tailed beast anyway. He reached for what he thought as the last of the jinchuriki. Only the descants of Sage of the Six Paths can…

Something flashed.

His outstretched hand detached from his arm with tremendous pain he had not felt for decades. Only then he realized that the drastically increased humidity have nothing to do with the weather.

"What the-" His words were cut short in his attempt to avoid a rasengan with surprising diameter forming out of nowhere. He would have been cut into half if it wasn't for the tricks he still have up his sleeves.

The girl masked her chakra with water and spread it into the atmosphere! Forming rasengan out of them was certainly unexpected! Looks like he have been underestimating his opponents.

But wait, she'll need concentration and time, and rasengan isn't her sort of move. That leaves…

The space recently occupied by the battered ninja was empty.

Damn it! I'll have to teleport right away! "Looks like our game ends here." Although the circumstances would not tolerate another delay, Madara couldn't help bidding farewell. He focused, ignoring the kunoichi's vain attempt to secure him and Naruto's insulting yells.

Nothing happened.

"Looks like our game had just started," a cold mocking voice echoed around the vastness of the cave.

Not another trouble to be added to my endless list. He groaned.

Thanks for the encouragement! The story couldn't go on without yours! :)