Yay! Another chapter done! Hopefully since things have calmed down over here and I am less busy, I will be able to work on this more often. I hope you like this chapter. Oh and I want to say thank you to everyone who has been reading this and thank you for the reviews. I really appreciate them!

Chapter 33

Joe headed over to an unconscious Naruto, observing her surroundings as she walked. If the two giant statues of Madara and Hashirama were anything to go by, it would seem that she and Alasia had ended up at the Valley of the End when they left the Road to Ninja universe. When they had arrived, the cloaked man had told them to talk to Sasuke before he left to Orochimaru and then use the 2nd scroll he had given them when he gave them the summoning scroll. After that, he left.

Alasia could see the dread on Joe's face when Sasuke was mentioned so she offered to take care of it while Joe went to check on Naruto. The girl was thankful for her friend. She just needed a little bit of time to clear her head. Seeing a younger version of the guy she fell for just after she left him for good just wasn't a good idea right now. Joe hated it when she got all depressed like this. It just wasn't like her.

I have to snap out of it and fast. She thought to herself.

Joe realized that she had reached Naruto while she was submersed in her thoughts. So she knelt down next to the blond and gently put his head on her lap. "This starts a whole new chapter for you. Good luck." She whispered. She knew all too well just how hard the future was going to be for him. She gave a small smile at her next thought.

Then again, I also know that he will take every challenge with stride. He's the son of the fourth Hokage, he can handle it.

"Joe!"

The Brunette looked up to see Kakashi running towards her, Paccun not far behind.

"What happened? Where's Sasuke? And where have you and Alasia been?" Frustration coated his questions as they spilled out.

"Sasuke and Naruto faught. Sasuke is probably on his way to Orochimaru. Sorry about our disappearance." Joe calmly answered every question with a monotone voice. Kakashi noticed how out of character it was.

Joe looked down at the blond in her arms and sighed. "Kakashi, take Naruto back to the village to get treated."

"What about you and Alasia? It sounds like you're not coming with us."

"We need to go away for a while and take care of some things." Alasia interjected as she walked up to the group. She looked down at her friend and gave her a confirming nod, answering the girl's unspoken question. Did she talk to him?

Kakashi could see the seriousness in their faces and hear it in their voices. Something important must be happening if these two jokesters were getting like this.

"Paccun, go ahead of me and tell Tsunade what has happened."

"Got it." The dog responded as Kakashi reached down to pick Naruto up and put him on his back.

"I don't know what it is you girls have to do, just make sure that you be careful." Joe and Alaisa gave him a smile and a nod. Kakashi patted them on the head then headed home.

Joe took a deep breath then stood up to face her best friend.

"Listen, I know things are going to be hard on you-"

Alasia stopped talking when she saw the smile on the girl's face. It was warm and reassuring.

"Don't worry. You know me, I bounce back quickly. It was nice while it lasted. Now it's time to move on. I will be okay." Joe finished by giving Alasia a thumbs up and a wink. She just couldn't let this get to her. Sure she still hurt like hell but she has friends who are depending on her. No wallowing in depression! Not for this girl. Ain't nobody got time for that.

Alasia let a sigh of relief escape her lips. Now that was the Joe she knew. She hated it when her loud and happy-go-lucky friend was depressed. It has only happened a few times and when it does, it seems like a dark cloud has consumed the poor girl. None of their friends back home liked seeing her in that state.

Alasia returned the smile. "Come on. Let's use the second scroll and see what happens." Alasia grabbed the scroll out of her bag and opened it up. They both looked inside and read what it said.

"So all we have to do is sit on either side of it and channel our charkra into the seal?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, Looks that way."

Doing what the scroll instructed, the girls again were engulfed in yet another bright light.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Where the heck are we?" Alasia asked.

"Don't look at me. I don't know." Joe replied.

All around them was white. They were in a void of nothing, just white all around them. It was like they were in some type of freaky dream. Both were wondering what the hell that hooded guy got them into.

"What the heck man! Where did he send us!?" Joe slowly became annoyed.

Alasia's patience was wearing thin. "When I get my hands on him I'll-"

"You'll what?"

With a speed rivaling Minato's, they spun toward the voice they knew oh so well.

Alasia crossed her arms and looked expectantly at the mystery man. "Mind telling us what is going on?" Joe's facial expression mimicked her friend's.

"I brought you here because it's time to tell you who I am and exactly what it is that I want you to do from now on."

All three stood there looking at one another. It wasn't until five minutes later that Joe started yelling things. Saying, "Well it's about dang time!" and "You could have told us from the start!" As she continued her rant, Alasia continued to look at the man before her. Joe had a point, why did he wait until now to tell them who he is? Why does his identity have to be a secret?

Alasia was deep in her thoughts. Finally she noticed that Joe had stopped yelling. She looked at her friend only to see the brunette frozen in place. Shock was written all over her face. Alasia fallowed the girl's line of sight to see that the man had taken his hood off. What she saw surprised the hell out of her.

The man looked like an older version of Naruto except his hair was a pale blond, almost white instead of bright blond and his eyes weren't blue. His eyes were purple with black rings surrounding his pupils. This man held the rinnengan.

Holy Mother of God! Don't tell me this is-

"I am known as the Sage of the Six Paths."

"I SHOULD HAVE FREEKIN KNOWN!" The Sage and Alasia turn toward Joe, both surprised by her outburst. Joe noticed the looks she was getting, so she decided to elaborate.

"I mean, who else could have some crazy power like his? Also, look at his staff! It has six rings on the top! Not only that but it's the same damn staff that the Sage had in the freekin manga! How the hell did I not notice!?"

Joe continued to pace as she ranted about not realizing/ figuring it out. Alasia sweat-dropped has she watched her friend. The Sage found Joe's reaction highly amusing and chuckled.

"Wait . . . how old are you?" Alasia asked. "And how are you still alive?"

The Sage of the Six Paths laughed. "I'm too old and . . . I have my ways." was his answer. The man then cleared his throat to get Joe's attention. Once he knew he had it, he continued on with his explanation.

"I needed someone or in this case, some people, to help make sure that Madara and Obito don't win. Also, I need someone to keep an eye on Orochimaru. That man is always up to no good." He paused, trying to gage the girls' reactions. So far, the both seem to be calm about the news.

"What is that man up to? I mean the last time we saw him, he was taking Sasuke to some people who know all the answers or something like that." Joe asked. She really hoped that the Sage would tell them.

"You'll see. Just expect the unexpected." He laughed when he saw the frustrated look on Joe's face.

"No spoilers, huh?" She asked.

"Nope." He replied with a teasing grin.

"Why us?" Alasia asked. She didn't understand why they were the ones who had to do it. Why couldn't somebody else do it? Did it have to be them?

The legendary man gave them a warm smile. "It is because you both have come to care for the people here even though you had believed that they were just characters in a book."

Both girls were confused. Well of course they cared about the characters. Who doesn't care about the characters in a story they like.

"That doesn't answer the question. A bunch of people care about them. All the fans do. So, again, why us?" Joe asked.

The Sage's smile grew. "It is because you cared for them, not as characters in a book like everyone else, but as actual people. That's how I knew I could entrust them to you."

Alasia and Joe were stunned by his answer. They never realized it until he had pointed it out to them. Joe looked over at her best friend. When they made eye contact, both burst into uncontrollable laughter. To say the Sage of the Six Path's was confused about their reaction would be an understatement.

"OMG! We are way more abscessed with the Naruto series than we thought!" Joe was barely able to say in between laughs. She was clutching her sides and bending over because she was laughing so hard.

Alasia started laughing even harder after hearing Joe. The reason they were here was because they, in a nut shell, were huge fangirls. It was such a funny thought to them.

"Okay you guys. It's time for me to go and send you off." The girls eventually calmed down and listened to the male. "I will be sending you about 3 and a half years after Naruto and Sasuke's fight."

So we are going to a part post the time skip. I wonder when. Joe thought.

Before they could say anything, he reached out and pushed them into a blinding white light. Boy was this getting old.

The next thing they knew, they were standing in some type of rock formation.

"If we have to go through that white light one more time" Alasia muttered.

"Dude . . . where the heck are we?" Joe asked. They looked at their surroundings, but couldn't for the life of them figure out where they were.

"I don't know but we can't be far from someone. The old man wouldn't send us to a random place." Alasia responded. Just then, they heard muffled voices. It sounded like they were coming from behind the rocks to their left.

Alasia looked over at Joe, silently telling her that they should go check it out. Joe nodded in agreement. They slowly made their way over to the see who the voices were coming from. They crept their way on to the top of the large rock to peer down at the group on the other side. The second they saw who it was, they knew where and when in the story they were. How could they not know?

"What is it with you, Naruto? Why do you care about me so much?"

"Because we are friends."

"DUDE! I JUST REALIZED THAT SASUKE TOTALLY GOT FRIEND-ZONED!"

"JOE! DO YOU EVER LEARN!?"

Let the fun begin! More teasing and mischief will be on the way! Please review! The more reviews the better! :D