Hey, guys, I'm back; I want to apologize for the months delay. My life has been not bad or hectic, but just busy; it happens when you're a college student. So, I'll try to do what I can from now on. But I wanted to tackle yet another review that kind of made me frown. This user isn't from Fanfic, because when you click on his name, it doesn't do anything. But I wanted to make a response to him.

grammer: This is soooo lame

If it's sooo lame, why are you reading my story and giving a review on it? You know what this reminds me of? Those people who hate Eng or Jap dubs of anime, and then proceed to find dub videos and then comment about how much they loathe them. If you hate or dislike them so much, why spend your time talking about them? I mean, grammer, it's not like I pointed a gun at your head and forced you to read it (no matter what anyone says . ), so by all means, if you don't want to read my story, there are several buttons you can click on, most of them being the back and X button on the top of your browser. Ladies and Gentleman, if you're going to give me a review, at least explain if you say my stories are bad, WHY they're bad, so I can take criticism and improve. So, grammer, next time, elaborate on why they're bad (of course, give logical and legitimate reasons why), or don't say anything at all.

But let's show some reviews that are good or helped me improve:

MBScavenger1498: Huh... well, this is altogether interesting. Most stories like this start at the beginning, so it's nice to see someone starting later, even if that'll make it harder to convincingly pull off the changes in peoples' personalities. You've got a few redundant sentences in here and your word choice could be a bit more varied, but altogether, your editing is solid. The only real problem is that you point out the divergence point. Honestly, it's pretty obvious anyway and having a line of bold text in the middle of the story just kills the immersion of the reader.

brunofanofk: Really liked it, your story started weak but grows and become heartbreaking. I almost cried when naruto confronted sakura.

Ascarde: This is new to me, and I have always wondered what could've happened. Now, I've seen dark Naruto fics before; y'know the drill. Naruto drops the dope mask, leaves, picking up a harem is optional, and either founds a new village or destroys Konoha, the end. But this... this hasn't been done before. Not only did you make Naruto NOT drop the mask, you made Sasuke stay pure, WITH his dream still intact. Congratulations, you have the distinct honor of having my full attention towards future updates.

Now, to some new chapter content! :D (thank you guys!)

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Naruto's whole being was stopped short and rattled. It couldn't be true. Sasuke couldn't have said that; it was just a trick his mind was playing tricks on him. There was no way that Sasuke...

"It's the truth, isn't it? Your real goal is to get me to admit that you are a worthy rival, right?" he heard.

No, it was true... this was happening, and this was real. Naruto blinked in pure shock as he looked up at the one person who stood in his way. Sasuke.

"Now, I'm not forgetting about your dream; you want to become Hokage and get people to respect you, treat you like a human being. I mean, you've howled and barked that so many times that it's been carved into my brain now, so I can't forget it," Sasuke explained, "But when I recall certain instances when you've asked about how strong you've gotten, I'm the one who impacts you the most, aren't I? If it's just a regular person from the village; heck, even if it's Sakura or Kakashi, you just shrug it off like it's nothing. But when it's me... it rattles you to your core. Any word I say, you act tough, but it grabs you and can change your mood instantly."

Naruto could feel all the lies and defenses he put up being torn to shreds. His teammate was peeling away everything right now, and he somehow felt too weak to stop him.

"That's why ever since I made the mistake of letting my rage take over and I called you... a monster...," Sasuke continued, slightly cringing at that part of that sentence, "you gave up. My words crushed you so hard, you decided that was the last straw, and ever since that fight, your dream no longer seemed acceptable enough due to blow I dealt to you, both physically and mentally."

Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration, moving his head away and closing his eyes.

"Why bother trying to prove to people you're strong and you should be respected as Hokage if the one person you're aiming to show that to the most thinks you're pathetic and a monster? So, you left, not because of the village's constant abuse to you from the past, but because I shattered you. I'll give you credit though, that using the Nine-tailed Fox and your past as an alibi was clever; but it doesn't make sense," Sasuke kept going, taking a few steps forward, "Why didn't you leave before? If the village really hated you, why didn't you try to escape as a kid? It's because you met people who found faith and believed in you, like Iruka, Konohamaru, Hinata, and the rest of us, and you began to show it through battles like with Kiba and Neji. But after what happened a few days ago... I tore that all down and destroyed it, didn't I?"

He slowly narrowed his eyes at his friend, and asked, "Naruto... do you really take what I say so seriously? Am I that special and valued in your eyes?"

He watched as Naruto slowly dropped his head down and began to chuckle. But it wasn't a maniacal chuckle; it was a tired, sighing one. At first, he was on guard, but he was surprised as the "raring to go and fight" face that was just there turned into a soft and gentle one when Naruto looked at him.

"...Sasuke... I knew that... when we were kids, you were lonely and sad," the Jinchuuriki said, slowly standing up straight, "I didn't know how and why you were like that, but... I felt like we were so similar. I was surprised... and happy too. I had finally found someone who I could relate to. From first glance, I wanted to get to know you right off the bat and become friends..."

Slowly, he looked up onto the sky and sighed, shaking his head, "But... things never go right as I planned, because I have the crappiest luck, and the most stupid personality."

Sasuke remained standing in amazement as he watched his friend look back at him. This was completely different from the usual smack-talk, loudmouth goofball he knew. Yet, he wanted to hear this; Naruto needed to let the truth out.

"Sasuke, you could do anything," he heard him say, "Absolutely anything the teachers threw at you back at the Academy, you aced it perfectly. And you were so popular, especially with the students... and Sakura. While me, the pathetic and rejected kid that everyone would just ignore, would spend hours to days on simple things like throwing shuriken and I couldn't even do that! Hell, I could've been a ninja years before you, but since I suck so much, I ended up failing three times. So, because of this, I saw your progress and I got incredibly frustrated about how you were so good. I then was ticked off and decided to declare you as my rival. You were my goal, to surpass and beat you to prove to others that I was an awesome ninja. But..."

Sasuke blinked as he watched Naruto close his eyes. But soon, he was taken off guard by the next sentence.

"In reality... Sasuke... you were my idol; I wanted to be just like you."

No way... After all this time of arguing, bickering, and taunting each other... this was his true feelings. The Uchiha could only stand there, feeling even more guilty of his past actions. How dare he call Naruto a monster...

"You... wanted to be like me?" he asked, causing Naruto to look away, a little sheepishly.

"Y-yeah... I mean, you were always so smart and clever; you know what to do in any situation during battles... and people always looked up to you," his friend said, "I envied that so much because to me, that was what a ninja was."

"But why didn't you tell me this from the beginning? Naruto, this could've solved so many problems and conflicts between us, especially this one right now," Sasuke pressed about it.

"My pride and stubbornness," Naruto said, closing his eyes, getting upset, "My damn pride is always the downfall of me, and you, along with everyone who knows me, can't argue the fact that when I do something great like beat an opponent or win something, I let it go to my head. And when I get into fights with people, I get so stubborn with them, I can't even say a simple apology to them without getting into another fight. I knew we were so similar yet so different, you and I, but... because of how I wanted to prove myself and how you sometimes would call me a loser and say I sucked, I would defend my pride and brag about myself against you. Even when we were put on a team with Sakura and Kakashi-sensei, I couldn't let the truth come out. It would just lead to another routine of 'blame Sasuke for everything', which would follow with you mocking me, Sakura pounding me with all she's got, and Kakashi-sensei looking at us like we're stupid idiots... … ...I was stubborn and prideful... I couldn't get myself to say this to you... but then, that point at the Chunin Exams, where you told me that you were interested in me..."

Sasuke suddenly remembered that sentence all too well. It was where he told Sakura that he would fight no matter what injury he had, and when Naruto confronted him to lighten up. He could even remember the exact words.

"Naruto. You're one of the ones I want to fight the most."

He watched in silence as his friend chuckled, to the point where suddenly, he could've sworn his voice began to give out a bit... as if he was crying.

"When... when you told me that, I could never have been happier," Naruto hid his face as well as he could with his right arm, but yet his gigantic grin and the tears running down his face was visible, "It was for the first time... I actually proved to be someone in your eyes and that you were proud enough to challenge me in a fight... that I was somebody... Yet... I didn't care about fighting you... what I really wanted was..."

Sasuke's heart sank deeper as he heard, "I just wanted you to be my friend..."

Suddenly, Naruto's happy demeanor and pleasant smile soon turned into an emotionless scowl as he slowly lowered his head and let go of his face, the shadows covering his eyes. The sudden change of attitude quickly put Sasuke on guard; he readied himself as his hand quickly positioned itself above his shuriken holster.

"But then... you... you proved to me that you were just like everyone else... you think that I'm a monster, because of things I had no choice or control over...!" Naruto's voice grew bold as he suddenly raised his head up and glared at him.

Sasuke flinched as he looked into that cold, hateful stare; the pure anger and rage he saw back on the rooftop. He waited though for any sign of an attack, despite his teammate's roaring to continue.

"I'm done, ya know!?" Naruto shouted, pointing at Sasuke, "I'm done with all the bullshit you and that lousy excuse for a 'warm family' of a village put me through! To work my body until it nearly broke into pieces for you to just shun me for what's inside me! You can lie all you want, Sasuke, but you showed me your true feelings towards me back on that rooftop, when I thought it was my chance to prove to you how much I've grown! You hate me... you're just like everyone else..."

Taking a break to take a huge breath and calm down, he lowered his arm, yet kept his gaze on him as he added, "This village is nothing but sheer pain and loneliness for me. And you're only making it worse. That's why I want to get away from you and all those freaking idiots; if that means that I have to go to the Akatsuki, then I will; and Sasuke, if you are gonna get it my way, I will destroy you... just like you have destroyed me."

It was all done. There was no more that needed to be said. With this, he...

"...This is all my fault."

Causing Naruto to perk up in confusion, Sasuke closed his eyes as he replied to his long explanation, "Naruto... I... I never knew you looked up to me that much. But, I can't allow you to just leave this village; it's too dangerous for you and the whole world to go wandering outside by yourself. I don't know what horrible plans the Akatsuki have for you, and I refuse to let you fall to whatever they are. All I know is that this whole incident... the reason you feel so much pain... it's all my fault. And as the person responsible, I will correct this mistake."

Quickly shoving his hand into his holster, and grabbing one of his last kunai, he boldly announced, "Naruto... I swear in the name of the Uchiha, I won't let you leave this village!"

It caused Naruto to suddenly wipe his eyes, causing pure hatred to show, as he rushed enraged at him, "Try and stop me! SASUKE!"

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How's that? I worked really hard to come up with a true reason Naruto left; I hope I did good! How's everyone's summer going!? ^^ Enjoy! :D