Chapter Eight

"What do you mean, they've been defeated?!" Tsunade roars, her powerful fists striking her desk with all the force of wrecking ball. The polished wood splinters, spraying chunks into the air.

Shizune flinches away. "I recieved a message from one of them. It seems they've located Naruto's position but were beaten as soon as Madara figured out they were there..."

"And Naruto? Is he still...?"

Shizune shakes her head. "I'm sorry, they didn't specify."

The Hokage swears under her breath. "What is their location?"

"Here." Shizune hands Tsunade the message, detailing Naruto's position.

The older woman lets out a heavy, drawn out sigh. "Shizune," She begins.

"Yes, My Lady?"

"Bring me all the members of Team 7."

"All of them, My Lady?"

"They'll need as much help as they can get..."

-xXx-

"Do you all understand your mission?" Tsunade asks.

Kakashi, Yamato, Sai and Sakura nod. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Then go. And be careful."

Without another moment's hesitation, the team is out the door and sprinting for the village gates. For once, Sakura is the one in lead. Naruto... She takes a breath to steady her nerves. We're coming. Just hang on...whatever you do...DON'T GIVE UP!

-xXx-

Naruto sighs in relief, smiling a little now that the pain is finally gone. Out of simple curiosity, he searches through his mind, trying to find the kyuubi. He laughs out of pure joy. He's gone...the kyuubi is gone! I'm free! Naruto's laughs trail off and leaves him grinning ear to ear. All the while, his eyes remain closed. After a few moments of silence, he decides to open them. He really had no clue what he was going to see. Not that he cared. He was dead, after all.

His crystalline blue eyes flicker open and he sits up, gazing around. "Huh..." He turns a full circle, inspecting his surroundings. "There's nothing here." He says to himself. "I'm the only one..." And it was true. The only thing to be seen for as far as the eye could go...was nothing. Just simply, a white blank. How boring...He thinks.

But he couldn't be too unhappy about it. That wretched pain was G-O-N-E, GONE! The blonde finds himself giggling, happily. He sighs and lays back on...nothing. Folding his arms behind his head, he closes his eyes again. Of course...there are some things I'll miss...When a certain 'thing' enters his mind, he frowns. Sakura...oh man. She'll be pretty upset, I think. Uh oh...what if she cries? I hate it when she cries...Naruto's eyes open again and he sits up, suddenly feeling restless. I hope someone tells her it's okay. I don't want her to be sad! Hmm...I think Kakashi-Sensei would. But...Sai would probably just end up making her feel worse. Grr...I swear to God, if he tries to hug her, I'll-

"Naruto...?"

"Huh?"

Now there's one thing he didn't think he'd see here...

-xXx-

"AGHHHHHHHHHH...AHHH...AGHHHH...URGGG...HHHH!"

Naruto's cries of pain drift down the dark, empty passage ways throughout the Akatsuki's lair. They echo off walls and seem to come from every direction. In short, the longer it took them to reach Naruto, the more stressful it became for the members of Team 7. Even Sai felt oddly tense at hearing his new teammate's agonized wails.

"They're here!" Yamato announces. The four of them bolt around the corner, staring in horror at the terrible scene playing out before their eyes.

-xXx-

The moment of blissful quiet Naruto had granted Madara was short-lived. Soon, his screams returned, just as loud and pained as before. His body jerked, more sharply than before and, for the first time, Madara almost worried that the straps holding the soon-to-be-ex-Jinchuuriki down, would break. It was around that time that he heard footsteps coming closer and closer to them.

Hmm, Naruto's not quite ready for visitors yet. He decides. "Zetsu."

At the sound of his name being called, the freakish plant-like man appears through the ground. His body still half melded with the floor. "Yes, Lord Madara?"

"We have some unwanted guests...distract them for a while."

It was at that moment that Team 7 rounded the corner. Zetsu was directly in front of them, prepared to duplicate and fight them all...but their eyes weren't on him. No. All eight horrified eyes were locked on their dying friend, still strapped, screaming and thrashing about on the table. With Madara Uchiha standing over him.