Harsh pants filled the darkened room; a sword clanged to the ground as an elf fell to his hands and knees. Gedou watched silently, tail swishing lazily behind him. He approached the man slowly; his head jolted up, red eyes staring calmly into the dragon's orbs, long black hair disheveled from the fighting.

"Get up Itachi," He growled, exhaling; the hot air blew damp strands away from Itachi's face as he watched the dragon. "Lady Kaguya has been gracious enough to give you a chance to prove your worth to her."

Itachi nodded, grasping the hilt of his sword as he stood up shakily. "I apologize for inconveniencing you."

Gedou snorted, lips pulled back in a grin of sorts. "I've heard you were the best mannered elf out of that clan, and it seems those stories are true. However," His eyes narrowed, all signs of those moments of mirth gone. "You have been blessed by the Lady Kaguya and Lord Danzou to join our noble cause. And while manners work well in politics, they will not help you in the battlefield, especially if you are vulnerable like this."

"I understand."

Gedou nodded, turning to go back to his previous position. "Good. Now, let's try it again." He said, facing Itachi again. He nodded, kneeling down; he placed his hand onto the ground, red eyes staring directly into Gedou's. Slowly black patterns of his eyes swirled into a different pattern, resulting in Gedou's perception of the room bleeding into shades of red and black.

Itachi stood up, taking an offensive stance; Gedou roared, a blast of steam suddenly shooting from his mouth. Itachi suddenly disappeared before it hit, leaving nothing more than a molten puddle in his place. In the same second Itachi appeared at his left, prepared to stab him in the side. Gedou raised his tail, preparing to slam it down; Itachi raised his hand, concentrated on manipulating the world to his desires. Suddenly, the tail seemed to slow its descent; Gedou's eyes widened as Itachi smirked slightly, body moving quickly to strike. Gedou attempted to dodge the attack, but found that his body moved slower than it should; snarling, he gave a mighty roar, feeling Itachi's control on him break. He quickly turned his head to snap at the elf, causing Itachi to jump back to avoid being injured.

"Your control is weak," Gedou growled, "If your magic can be broken by a simple roar, you will never be able to convince them to come to Lady Kaguya's side."

Itachi nodded, prompting Gedou to continue. "However, the rate at which you are mastering the Tsukiyomi technique is above those of your other clansmen…With more practice, you could be ready to take down a dragon by yourself."

"Thank you," Itachi said, bowing to him. Gedou merely snorted, tail swishing behind him.

"Do not thank me yet. Now, let us do it again."

"I miss Ino," Naruto whined, slumping on his horse. It seemed the entire group sighed, as this hadn't been the first time that they had heard the words pass Naruto's mouth. It had only been a week since they last saw Ino and Sai, yet the terrain they traveled on seemed to drastically change. The temperature was slowly falling, the trees around them alight with brilliant hues of oranges and reds. Fallen leaves crunched beneath the horses' hooves, which usually resulted in them getting cleaned each time they stopped to make camp. Despite the beauty of it all, it wasn't nearly comfortable as having stayed with Ino, where a warm bed and hot food always awaited them.

"Isn't this around the time you should be pestering Kakashi with questions?" Sakura asked, hoping to change the topic. She fingered the ribbon still tied to her reins, having not worn it yet due to them never stopping in a town. Even though Ino and Sasuke had told her she should wear it, she wanted to wear it when she wasn't in battle; after all, her helmet kept her hair out of her eyes well enough.

Naruto blinked, looking back at Sakura, having so caught up in his misery that he seemingly hadn't registered her presence. "About what," He asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion. Sakura sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"Well, you heard a story about magic, didn't you? How about-"

"Oh yeah," Naruto interjected, suddenly remembering; he turned to Kakashi, ignoring Sakura's glare. "Hey Kakashi, I have a question!"

"You don't say…"

Naruto seemingly didn't notice or didn't care about Kakashi's remark. "I was wondering, since humans are able to use magic, does that mean I can use magic? Can you teach me?"

"It's not as easy as that," Kakashi replied, "For elves, since it is said that they have the power of the stars in their veins, all members of a clan are born with the innate ability to use magic. Humans however are not born able to wield magic, due to the power of the stars being mixed with the earth."

Naruto scratched his head, face scrunched up in confusion. "But…aren't you human?"

"I never said humans were unable to wield it," Kakashi stated, "I said that they were born without the ability to. There are cases, such as with myself, where a human develops an affinity to sense it; the air seems to shimmer, or people seemed bathed in a different color. These are signs that a human is at least able to see the types of magic, which is an important start to being able to use it."

"I've never done any of that…" Naruto mumbled, frowning slightly. He scratched his chin, looking up at Kakashi. "But earlier you said my parents were mages. Shouldn't I be able to use it as well?"

"You are making assumptions," Kakashi stated, "Never has it been said that a mage should guard a dragon."

"But that story…And, and Gaara!"

"In the beginning it was mages," Kakashi replied, "However, although we have longer lifespans, we do not live forever. Therefore, mages would die, and as I said before it isn't common for humans to develop magic. The only ones who have a long lifespan and are always born with the ability to use magic…"

"Are the elves," Sasuke finished, glaring slightly at Kakashi. "Do you not trust my race?"

"It was for the best," Kakashi said, lone eye staring at Sasuke. "After Madara-"

"A single person shouldn't decide the fate of a race." Sasuke spat, grip tightening on the reins. Before Kakashi could speak, Sasuke lightly jabbed his heels into the sides of his horse, spurring him ahead of the group; Kakashi sighed, rubbing his temples tiredly. Naruto looked between Sakura and Kakashi, completely lost at the direction the conversation had taken.

"Who's Madara," He asked, "Is he another guy we're going to have to battle before we get to Kaguya?"

"He would be, if he hadn't already been defeated." Kakashi said. "Madara was defeated by Hashirama Senju, a warrior whose wife was the guardian of Kurama at the time. During this time, the original mages were slowly dying out; Kurama's had already passed, leaving Hashirama's clan to defend him. The Senju were a strong clan, and his wife Mito was a powerful woman able to fight. However, the other dragons in need of guardians…tended to not be as lucky."

"What happened," Sakura asked, enraptured with the story; Naruto nodded vigorously, wishing to hear the rest as well.

"Well, humans were still seen a fledgling group," Kakashi continued, "While their numbers were growing, they weren't as strong or as established as the dwarves or the elves. Despite this, many of them were the ones chosen to be the guardians, as it was seen that there weren't enough dwarves or elves to accomplish the task."

"One day, a race that had never been encountered before came from the North. They were monstrous in size, towering over the tallest human at the time. They were built like the mountains, and their ferocity in battle was unheard of."

"Orcs," Sakura hissed, grip tightening on her reins; Kakashi nodded.

"No one is sure where they came from," He explained, "Some say they were humans that lived in the North that became perverted by the shadows; others say that Kaguya created them, having acquired the powers of Shinju. Either way, they came to the land with one thought in mind: to destroy and conquer. They headed towards the dragon named Gyuki, perhaps because they thought it was a safer path than fighting through Oonoki's clan. When the Uchiha clan heard of this, they sent a party of elves to defend him; in that party was Madara, and his brother Izuna."

"The fight was long and bloody; Gyuki lent his strength as much as he could, but having never fought this kind of enemy before, the elves were rapidly losing. Gyuki's protector had died that day, having been beheaded by the Orcs; while some elves despaired, Madara and Izuna merely fought harder. However, with their passionate fighting, they grew more careless…and while Madara's back was turned, an orc went to deal a deadly blow. It was only through Izuna's sacrifice that he was able to survive."

"You mean…he took the hit for him," Naruto asked, eyes wide; Kakashi nodded solemnly, continuing.

"At that moment, Madara felt an overwhelming urge to protect everyone. With that feeling, he awakened what many would call dark magic, though perhaps it is only dark due to the feelings needed to evoke it. With this new power, he was able to defeat the orcs singlehandedly, saving many of his clansmen from being slaughtered. But the death of Izuna was still festered in his mind…On that day, he stood before the men he saved, and commanded them to follow him to prevent anymore needless bloodshed."

"And they listened," Naruto asked, bewildered; Kakashi stared at him, eyebrow raised.

"But of course," He replied, "He saved their lives that day; to an elf, showing your gratitude is incredibly important."

"Could've fooled me," Sakura and Naruto muttered, both staring pointedly at Sasuke's back. Kakashi smiled at them, reaching out and ruffling their hair one at time; both pouted and shouted in protest at the action.

"Yes well, perhaps it's not wise to generalize your findings," Kakashi said before returning to his story. "Now, as for Madara…he was angered by how Shinju had allowed what he viewed to be such incompetent beings control the world. So he decided that they must be gotten rid of before they had the chance to spread across the land. To do this however, he realized that he would need the total cooperation of the other races, lest they try to stop him. From this revelation, he decided that he must gain control of Kurama."

"Why Kurama specifically," Naruto asked, "I mean, why not Gyuki? Wasn't he closer to him?"

Kakashi smiled. "While that would seem sensible, Gyuki had seen the darkness blossom in Madara's heart, and wanted nothing to do with him. As for why Kurama specifically…remember how I said that originally, the Nine were one dragon?" He asked; after a moment of thought, Naruto nodded his head. "Well, each of the Nine represent an aspect of magic," Kakashi explained.

"An aspect," Naruto asked, frowning, "What's that mean?"

"An aspect is basically a feature of magic," Kakashi explained, "For example, one feature of magic is that it is formed in different elements. The five main elements are water, fire, earth, air, and lightning; we've already met two who are the embodiment of water and air."

"Shukaku and Isobu!"

"Yes," Kakashi nodded at Naruto's statement, "They represent the magical elements are air and water. As for the remaining dragons, they represent the different types of spells that can be used: strength, speed, destructive, and illusions."

"No healing?"

Kakashi smiled at Sakura's question. "Ah, it is not that there isn't healing, but rather that healing is seen as a sub-type of strength due to how it accelerates the body's natural healing process. But, this is a discussion for another time; for now, we should focus back on the story."

"As I said, each of the Nine represents an aspect of magic. The one that Madara wished to use to gain control of the land was Kurama, the dragon of illusions. With Kurama, paired with his own power, he would have been able to cast an illusion across the land that would have everyone under his command. However, the Senju clan, arguably the strongest out of the humans, would not allow for this to happen. So, when Madara's forces arrived to conquer, Hashirama led his clan into battle while Mito used Kurama's power to protect her clan."

"The battle was long and arduous; they say that during those days, the rivers ran red with the blood of elves and humans. Madara and Hashirama fought continuously, each death of a clan member fueling them forward. Eventually, it reached the point where no one else could fight, too exhausted to move, yet Madara and Hashirama continued fighting. Eventually though, Hashirama was able to overpower Madara; as he prepared to deal the final blow however, a peculiar thing happened."

"What happened," Naruto asked, his body stretched over his horse's neck so far that it was a wonder how he hadn't toppled off yet. Sakura nodded vigorously, eager to hear the end of the story.

"It is said that before Hashirama delivered the final blow, Madara's body began to decompose before his very eyes. It is assumed that this occurred because Madara used too much power that wasn't his; others say that he cast a spell upon himself to kill himself, rather than face defeat at the hands of an enemy. Either way, his body began to turn to ash, or before he disappeared he left behind a single phrase: 'I may pass to the next world, but I shall never truly die.'"

"What the heck does that mean?" Naruto asked, scratching the top of his head. Kakashi shrugged, casting a glance towards Sasuke as he continued speaking.

"It's been interpreted to mean that his will shall continue in his clansmen," Kakashi offered, "However, the Uchiha clan was one of the clans who agreed that it didn't have to be a mage to guard the dragons; perhaps it was nothing more than a bluff."

"Yeah well, even if he's a bastard, Sasuke would never do that kind of stuff!" Naruto said confidently, "And if he even thinks about it, we'll knock some sense into him! Right Sakura?"

Sakura jumped slightly seemingly having been pulled from her thoughts. "O-Of course," She said, grinning. "His head will be as lumpy as a boulder by the time we're finished with him!"

Naruto laughed, followed by Sakura's smile growing a bit larger. Kakashi's smiled slightly, noticing that despite the merriment, Sakura's smile didn't seem to reach her eyes.

"I didn't mean to worry you," He thought as he glanced at Sasuke's back, a good bit of distance still between him and the group. "You just have a right to know."

Kaguya smiled as Gedou returned to her side, laying down at her feet tiredly. "How did his training go," She asked, leaning down to stroke his head. Gedou raised his head up to her hand, eyes closing sleepily.

"He is advancing quite nicely," He replied, "His prowess over the Tsukiyomi is almost on par with Madara's. He is skilled with a sword, and his fire spells are incredibly powerful."

"Do you think he will be able to capture Son Goku by himself soon," She asked; Gedou's eye cracked open slightly in surprise.

"Milady, fire magic doesn't have an advantage over Goku's earth magic," He replied, "He is strong, but I do not think he is strong enough to go against him alone."

"What if he was paired with the Snake King and Kisame," Kaguya asked, scratching beneath his chin. A deep rumbling began in his chest, eyes sliding closed in pleasure.

"You've spoken with Orochimaru?"

"More like he's spoken with me," Kaguya replied, "Apparently Danzou has escaped to his kingdom, seeking refuge after retreating from his city."

"Kakashi's band defeated him," Gedou asked in genuine surprise; from what they knew, Danzou should have easily overpowered the group. Kaguya nodded, fingers tracing an indistinguishable pattern over his scales.

"The Uchiha elf gave into the shadows," Kaguya stated, "Before Danzou could cast the Kotoamatsukami on him, Kakashi came and intervened. A shame, considering that he had given himself completely to the shadows; he would have been a strong ally."

Gedou nodded, his head laying back down onto his claws. "So you wish to send Itachi and Orochimaru in to capture Son Goku. What of Gyuki, Matatabi, and Kurama?"

"Kurama can wait until the end," Kaguya said, "Most likely there is an illusion guarding the temple, not to mention having to get past that woman's monstrous strength. As for Matatabi, she is guarded by the Hyuuga elves of the East."

"Meaning that we need to send another massive assault on the elves."

She nodded. "So for right now, we shall be focusing on Son Goku and Gyuki. When Itachi is ready, we shall send him and Kisame out to capture Son Goku, and send Deidara to capture Gyuki."

"You trust him to take on such an important task by himself?"

"It is not a matter of trust," She said, leaning back into her throne. "Rather, it is a matter of whether or not he is useful anymore. This shall prove his worth; if he fails, then we will get rid of a useless part."

"You are ruthless milady," Gedou said, "But, it is necessary for a true ruler to be ruthless at times. It is one of the many things I find endearing about you."

She smiled, kissing his snout gently. "You flatter me. Now, rest my beloved."

After a few more days of travel, the mountain range was slowly coming into view, the setting sun hiding behind the peaks. They were stopped in the middle of a clearing, a small fire providing warmth against the autumn chill. Sakura offered to take the first watch, feeling more at home now that they were closer to the mountains. Sasuke lay by the fire, eyes staring up at the vast number of stars. He could hear Kakashi lightly snoring from across the clearing, hat covering his face as he slept. As he stared at the sky, he felt like he could process all the events that had happened better than before. His stream of thoughts though were disturbed as he heard Naruto shift on his pack.

"Hey," Naruto whispered, rolling onto his side, "You awake?"

"Hn."

"I was thinking…"

Sasuke snorted. "What a surprise."

"Shut up you bastard," Naruto snapped, arms crossed over his chest. "I'm trying to be nice here. Now, as I was saying; I know you got really upset about that whole Madara thing a few days back- and don't tell me to shut it you bastard, let me finish- and I was thinking…you know, maybe his last words meant that he lives on in the magic. Maybe…maybe it's not just an emotional thing, maybe it's an actual, physical thing. And then I thought, 'does that mean Sasuke will turn out like him?'"

"Naruto-"

"What part of 'shut up' do you have trouble comprehending?" Naruto interrupted; he fell silent, allowing Naruto to continue. "Now, as I was saying…As soon as I had that thought, I understood why elves may not be trusted to handle the dragons. But I also began to berate myself, because there's no way that you would ever do that."

Sasuke frowned, thinking back to the incident in Danzou's castle. "What if I didn't? What if…I became Madara?"

"Well…I guess we'd have to bring you back to your senses." Naruto said, having thought for a moment. "Madara fell to that because he didn't have any comrades to snap him out of his grief. But you've got me, and Kakashi, and Sakura, so you don't have to worry at all! Because, at the end of the day…right now, we're as close to family as we'll have for a long time."

Sasuke nodded, closing his eyes in contentment. "Well, let's hope we never have to see if you actually can."

Naruto grinned, rolling onto his back. "Just know that we'll always be by your side, even when the journey is over!"

"Hn," He grunted, feeling himself drift off. For the first time in a while, he felt as if everything would be okay.

A/N: I'm…slightly okay with how this ended. I wanted to have Naruto be the one comforting Sasuke instead of Sakura, because I feel like I focused a lot on that in the last arc. But I felt I kinda put it in there awkwardly…ack.

Either way, time to play "make guesses about the story"! Everyone always has such creative ideas~