Ok so here's my new chapter. I thank those of you who chose to review my work and I invite anyone with reviews or thoughts to share. I know I placed this under the "Adventure/Romance" category yet there has been little action. Well hope this works for you. I decided to have this forward to thank all reviewers and to answer any questions you may pose. But first the legal stuff:

I do not own Naruto. (Wish I did though)

Thanks to all the following reviewers:

ThisGuy222

GravenImage

Kudo-shinichi90

Samberlina

Zarcade

Dracopoet

Maxslayer10

DeathMVP

Asian princess-529

Wind797

Mira94

Responces:

GravenImage: I think the showdown between Naruto and Danzo will be one of the most epic in the manga from an emotional standpoint.

Maxslayer10: In regards to the Sakura and her willingness to cook and draw Naruto's bath. I thought it would be interesting to show Sakura, a normally independent woman, doing something like this. We'll see if Naruto mentions it.

Now on to the story!

Naruto: Chronicles of the Seventh

Book I: Dissension

Chapter VI: Dancing Chakra under the Moonlit Sky

He's been running for hours. He's exhausted, his chakra is dangerously low and he hasn't eaten or drank it God knows how long. He knows that his strength is giving out. His legs feel like dead weights and every time he lifts them seem like a minor miracle. His vision his blurry and several times he has felt at the edge of losing consciousness.

Suddenly, tripping on a loose branch, he falls, landing hard. His lungs are on fire and his arms heavy. Slowly he sits up to nurse his now sprained ankle. Even now, he can feel it swelling. It doesn't matter to him though. This is just another pain to add to the dozens of others that he feels right now.

Sitting in the cool grass in this dark forest, he fights the overwhelming urge to rest. All he wants to do is lay there and sleep. But he can't, because he knows that his pursuers aren't that far behind. If he closes his eyes now he may never open them again. And he can't die here. Too many are counting on him. It is for them that he continues on. Slowly, painfully he forces his aching body to rise.

What was that, he thinks, hearing a noise in the bushes behind him. He turns quickly, kunai at the ready, just as he was taught. From the bushes, he sees a rabbit appear. He feels his stomach growl. But he has to push the thought of hunger away from his mind. Right now he has to move. He turns southwest and begins to run, hopefully to his salvation.

And somewhere, not but a few miles behind him, several shadowy figures can be seen following stealthily in the inky night.

******Elsewhere – Same night******

No! No! Naurto! Sakura woke up in a sweat soaked panic. Looking around she realizes she having the same nightmare. Since Naruto had returned, every night it was the same. For some reason she knew something bad was going to happen and it terrified her.

Looking around the temporary campsite she saw Sai on the other side of the campfire sleeping in his sleeping bag. The fire itself had dwindled down to nearly nothing and Sakura could feel the chill of the breeze creeping in. Looking up she saw from the position of the moon that it was around midnight and realized she was late her turn at watch.

It was then she realized Naruto was no where to be found. "Naruto," she whispered as she rose from her bed. She did not get a response. "Naruto," she called again. Nothing. Perhaps, it was her dream or the knowledge of how dangerous their mission was, but Sakura felt a knot forming in her stomach. She tried not to panic. He probably wandered off to use the bathroom, she thought.

Leaping high into the sky, Sakura landed on a nearby tree branch. Using the high vantage point, Sakura began to scan the surrounding area looking for Naruto. In the distance she saw a small clearing in the forest and some boulders. Atop the boulders she saw what looked to be a person sitting.

There he is, she thought, but what's he doing there? Wait a minute. Naruto, did you sneak away so you could catch some sleep? How irresponsible! You're supposed to be our leader on this mission! Sakura leapt down from the tree and ran over to the clearing. Reaching the boulders Sakura could see Naruto sitting with his legs crossed and his eyes closed.

Now angry, Sakura walked over to Naruto preparing to strike him hard. "What exactly are you planning to hit me for now Sakura-chan," Naruto asked while not even opening his eyes.

"Naruto," she said, "I thought you were asleep."

"Asleep," he said, "Nah. I'm just concentrating. In Sage mode I can sense chakra from any direction for up to five miles. I just need to concentrate. It's the best way to keep watch."

Opening his eyes, Sakura could see that they were in fact frog-like.

"Oh," she said, "I'm so sorry I doubted you Naruto. But why did you come out here to do it?"

Naruto shrugged, "I guess it's just more peaceful out here."

Sakura climbed up on the large boulder Naruto was seated on and sat next to him. "How come you didn't wake me for my shift," she asked.

Smiling at Sakura, Naruto responded, "I guess I'm not that tired."

Sakura turned and looked out into the night. Your not fooling me Naruto, you've been pushing yourself harder than any of us all day. Kyuubi or no Kyuubi, I know you're tired. Something else is bothering you.

"Naruto," she said to him smiling, "don't worry about Konohamaru and the others. It's like you said, their strong."

Naruto looked at Sakura gravely, "Yeah, I know. I know. It's not that, it's…." Naruto stared out into the night, searching the stars for the words. "Sakura-chan, have you ever considered quitting as a ninja?"

Sakura turned in shock unable to believe what she had heard. "Naruto," she said.

"Don't get me wrong Sakura-chan," he said, "I'm not talking about me. It's just...While I was away I got too see much of this world. I've learned many things. I have a bad feeling about what's coming for Konoha. Despite everything I've done I haven't been able to end this cycle of hate. War is coming. And many lives may be lost."

It was then Sakura came to understand what was really bothering him. "Naruto," she said, "Like you, I've grown strong in the last few years. Like you, I am an apprentice of a legendary Sannin. And like you, I have something to fight for. I'll be fine Naruto, especially with you here. Whatever happens we'll face it together."

Naruto listened to her words and smiled. "Yeah," he said, "you're right. We'll defeat Akatsuki and bring Sasuke home together."

Naruto looked at Sakura, as if considering something. "Sakura," he said reaching for her, "give me your hands."

"Wha! No way, you pervert," she said pulling back slightly.

Annoyed Naruto yelled back, "I'm NOT being perverted! Just let me see your hands."

Sakura thought about it and reached out to Naruto who took her hands, gently into his. Sakura, at that moment, couldn't help but notice how soft and warm his hands felt. Despite all the hard work and training Naruto had endured over the years his hands were not hard at all.

"Sakura," he said, "I'm going to do something for you. But I need you to concentrate and do exactly as I say." Sakura nodded, curious to see what Naruto was up to. "Please close your eyes," he said, "and try to concentrate on your chakra. Try to pull out every bit of it and allow it to flow to every part of your body evenly."

Being an apprentice of Tsunade, Sakura knew what he asked her to do required precise chakra control. Only a few ninja could release chakra evenly throughout their body evenly. But for her, this was simple.

Her eyes closed, Sakura released all of chakra and waited to see what Naruto was up to. After a few moments she started to become impatient. I knew it, she thought, that pervert is probably trying something weird.

At that moment, Sakura noticed a warm feeling surrounding her that only increased in intensity. Slowly she felt as if her entire body were being enveloped in a warm blanket. Unable to stand not seeing what was happening any longer Sakura opened her eyes. What she saw left her astonished.

Directly across from her sat Naruto, his eyes closed and a tranquil look plastered on his face. But that wasn't what amazed her. Naruto was glowing. All around him she could see a blue aura, like fire, flickering around him. It's his chakra, she thought as she sat in utter amazement.

It was then she noticed something else. She could see her chakra as well! Whatever Naruto was doing, he had forced her full chakra to the surface and it could now be visible. All around her body, pink colored energy emanated from her.

Looking up Sakura saw her chakra and Naruto's rising high into the sky. Together, neither chakra seemed to try and over power the other. Instead they rose in harmony, as if dancing together to a seductive rhythm only they could hear, separating only to meet with each other again in a splash of purple. The sight of this, witnessing the harmonious interplay between these two powers, nearly brought her to tears.

Sakura then felt stronger, like she could take on the world. Before this her legs ached from running non-stop for hours. Right now she felt refreshed and rejuvenated.

Suddenly she could see both her and Naruto's chakra receding back to each other. Slowly both their chakra reduced in size and before long, disappeared altogether. Sakura looked at Naruto as he slowly opened his eyes. She noticed how tired he looked suddenly. Whatever he had done had seemed to drain him completely.

"What was that," she asked, "It was beautiful."

Naruto smiled weakly, "It's a Jutsu I created a while back. I call it Chakra marking. I can only do it in Sage mode and only with someone with precise Chakra control. Basically it allows me to "mark" a person's chakra signature permanently. This way I'll always know their chakra levels. So if your chakra level ever drops, I'll know you're in trouble and I'll find you."

Fighting back tears, Sakura looked into Naruto's tired eyes. It was obvious to her that this technique takes a lot out of him. Naruto, she thought, no matter what you've always been there for me. You've always tried to protect me. Even now, when the world is on your shoulders you'd sacrifice for me.

"Naruto," she asked, "does that work both ways. I mean, you said that now, no matter where I am, you can tell if I'm in trouble. Can I now do the same thing?"

Naruto thought about this for awhile. "You know," he said smiling, "I never thought about that before. I guess so."

"Good," she said smiling, "So that means if you're ever in trouble. I'll find you."

For a moment they said nothing to each other, they just smiled. It was then that they both realized that they were still holding each others hands. Blushing, they both slowly let go off each other. "Sorry about that," Naruto said.

"It's ok," Sakura responded.

Looking at Sakura, seeing the moonlight shining over her face Naruto knew he shouldn't push this any further. He knew Sakura's heart belonged to another. But he couldn't help but ask, "Sakura," he asked, "about Sasuke. Do you still…"

Before Naruto could finish his question they Sai dropped down between them. "What's going on," he said.

"Aahh!" Naruto screamed as he leapt to his feet. "Damn it Sai, haven't you learned about reading atmosphere yet!"

Sai looked confused and looked at Naruto smiling, "I'm sorry Naruto-kun. I woke up and both of you were gone. I saw you over here and thought you were having some sort of meeting regarding the mission. Was I wrong?"

"Dude," Naruto yelled, "Are you blind! We weren't talking about the mission! What's wrong with y…"

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed as Sai caught Naruto's unconscious body. Laying him gently on the floor, Sakura checked his vital signs. He's asleep. Using that technique really did drain him. Taking a deep breath Sakura looked up at Sai. "He's fine," she said, "He's just exhausted. Sai, help me take him back to the site so he can rest."

Back at the camp site Sakura sat staring at the now dead fire. Sai had returned to sleep and Naruto had been placed in his bed. Now, alone with her thoughts, Sakura remembered that question Naruto had tried to ask. Though he was unable to finish it, she knew what he was going to ask. The thought of him asking her that question scared her, but not as much as the answer.

End of Chapter VI

Next Time: Last Stand