Konoha.

While music continued to softly play from the speakers that were spaced evenly high up on the walls of the Reception Hall, Sasuke watched as Tsunade and Choji picked up Naruto and Ino respectively before making their way out the door to their right. The door led to a hallway, and then if someone turned left again, they would see an emergency exit. Sasuke was sure they had taken that exit.

Glancing down, he felt Sakura lay her head down against his chest, her arms were around him while his arm, his one arm was around her shoulder. He knew he didn't deserve her, not after everything he had done, but she accepted him back. Naruto accepted him back. Sasuke looked back up and gently lay his chin on top of Sakura's head as he stared at the genjutsu version of Naruto simply taking a drink as he sat alone at the table. At the same time, the orders that Tsunade relayed through Ino when the latter used her family's jutsu still rang in his head.

"Don't tell anyone that Naruto's injured… or rather unconscious, Sasuke-kun," Ino had said while Sasuke slow danced with Sakura. "Tsunade-sama wants you and the Hokage to remain calm, go about your reception party, and then when everyone has gone home, you, forehead, and Hokage-sama are needed at the hospital."

He stared at Ino, locked his eyes with hers, and subtly nodded his head.

And then the four of them were gone.

Sasuke looked back down at Sakura who looked back up at him. Onyx eyes met green orbs before he leaned forward, his bottom lip just above the edge of the blue coloured seal on her forehead, and gently kissed her forehead. His entire life after leaving the village was one of hurt – for himself and for the people he left behind in Konoha. Sasuke still remembered that fateful clash against Naruto two and a half years ago at the Valley of the End. The final attack that obliterated their arms connected them in a way that was ethereal. The two of them experienced each other's lives… saw each other's memories – it was then that Sasuke realized what Naruto had been through. It was then that Sasuke realized no matter what he did – no matter the threats he made against Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, or even Konoha – Konoha's number one hyperactive knucklehead shinobi never changed his views about Sasuke.

Not even once.

And now, something mysterious had happened to the one person who kept faith with him for all those years. Sasuke looked back up at the Naruto drinking on the chair, his hand on the table grabbing a glass, and then he then looked over at Tsunade, her face flat against the top of the table, 'another Genjutsu.'

He looked over at Kakashi, and Sasuke could see the tension around his body as he stood at the bar, looking away from his while holding a glass of wine in his hand. The Hokage just stood leaning against the bar, as if he was at ease with himself and enjoying the party atmosphere. Sasuke's eyes shifted towards Shizune who stopped next to him. Sasuke saw Kakashi nodding his head while placing a hand on Shizune's shoulder. Shizune nodded her head, and then reached for and grabbed his drink. The current Hokage turned around and for an instant, their eyes locked. And in that one instance, Kakashi made the seal for a Kage Bunshin before heading towards another door that led to a hallway in the rear. Beyond that door were the washrooms; 'he's going to send a Kage Bunshin to the hospital', Sasuke thought. He glanced at Kakashi going through the door and then closing it behind him, and a few seconds later, the Hokage strode back into the hall. Their eyes met once again, and Sasuke saw the discrete nodding of the head, 'and the Kage Bunshin has been sent.'

He saw Kakashi put away the glass onto the bar counter and then, while arm in arm with his date for the evening, Shizune, he stepped back onto the dance floor. Sasuke could see his old sensei giving a small smile underneath the mask to Shizune, but the smile never met his eyes.

'He's worried,' Sasuke thought. And so was he. From what he was told by Ino, Naruto simply fell unconscious. No rhyme or reason, 'maybe they'll find something at the hospital.' He then looked back at Kakashi who was looking at the stunning Shizune, but his eyes were staring past her in a far off place.

The both of them were helpless for now – the current circumstances adding to their powerlessness in helping the one common person between them; Naruto. Silently in agreement that Naruto's mysterious injury should be hidden away from the dignitaries, Sasuke was also was very aware that no matter what, Sakura would be hurt knowing that she was having the time of her life while the young man she had grown very close to was in the hospital.

On the other hand, Sakura would be hurt and furious if she was told after the reception. There was no good time to tell Sakura. And then there was the order given to him to ensure Sakura was enjoying her wedding reception.

'Naruto was there for me, even when I was blinded by vengeance and rage,' Sasuke thought as he took his hand off Sakura's shoulder and gently brushed away the pink hair that covered her neck and ears. To anyone watching, it would seem as if Sasuke was leaning down to kiss the Kunoichi on her neck, and then whisper sweet nothings into her year. It was what Shikamaru thought, it was what Kiba thought, what Lee and Tenten thought… but what was happening was something different.

But at the same time, it was also his responsibility to take up his brother's cause… to protect Konoha and prevent war from breaking out. He, more than anyone, realized how fragile the peace that they had. If anyone found out that something happened to Naruto… that he somehow mysteriously got injured, then the balance of power between villages could shift. And bringing with that shift a possibility for another conflict. That was the worst-case scenario, the best case was that everyone would be concerned for the blonde ninja. Sasuke wanted to whisper that Naruto was in the hospital into Sakura's ears, but decided against it at the last minute.

Instead, he whispered, "I love you." And Sakura sighed in contentment.

'Forgive me, Sakura,' Sasuke thought to himself as he danced with a heavy heart at the thought of his friend being in pain, and the thought of Sakura giving him a look of anger mixed with sorrow if anything happened to befall Naruto while all of them were enjoying themselves. 'But Tsunade is right, the fragile peace is in danger. We'll go directly to him after the reception… and I'll apologize the entire way if I have to. For now, we have to keep the peace.'

Konoha Hospital, a few minutes later.

"Tsunade-sama," Kakashi's shadow clone said appearing next to the former Hokage after a shunshin from the reception hall. He glanced over at Naruto, and then at Ino who was in Choji's arms – the young woman's eyes fixed on Naruto for a few moments before looking away, "What happened?"

"It'll be better if I tell you once we get Naruto into a room," Tsunade said as they leaped over one building to the next, "all I can tell you is that both Ino and I have been getting this creepy feeling…"

"Creepy?" Kakashi asked, eyes narrowed.

"I pushed some healing chakra into his body to search for any injuries or chakra blockages at the reception after he collapsed," Tsunade explained as they neared the hospital, "but I felt my chakra being siphoned away instead."

"How is that possible? Siphoned to where?"

"I don't know," Tsunade shook her head, "all I know is that it was being siphoned out through his neck and his chest… out through his heart in particular."

Kakashi stared at his former student and grew concerned. Even he could feel an uneasy feeling around him- he suspected it was the same feeling of 'creepiness' that Tsunade had been feeling as well. His eyes shifted back down to Naruto's unmoving body and then back up to Ino, "what happened to Ino?"

"I think she had some kind of a vision that really unsettled her," Tsunade said as the group landing outside the emergency entrance of the hospital, "she said she saw something that she needs to talk to us about."

It would be several minutes later that Naruto was placed into a private room with him being entered under a pseudonym, Yamada Arashi. In the meantime, Kakashi waited outside with the unconscious Naruto in his arms while Tsunade and Ino, who insisted on walking, went up to the room and opened a window. Once the window was open, a signal was given to Choji from Ino, and then Kakashi with Naruto and the Akimichi heir rushed up the side of the hospital and entered the room through the window.

Once Kakashi placed Naruto on the hospital bed, Choji closed the window and Tsunade activated the privacy seals. Once the seals were activated, Ino sat on the couch in the room and rubbed her temples while Choji was standing next to Naruto's bed. He was looking at the Jinchuriki in worry before turning his head towards Ino who was now leaning back against the couch.

"Ino, are you okay?" Choji asked.

"Yeah," she nodded her head, her eyes shifting towards Naruto, "it was strange though."

"Ino, can you tell me exactly what you saw and felt?" Kakashi leaning against the window sill asked while he was watching Tsunade open up the front of Naruto's shirt before grabbing some chakra tags – chakra sealed into tags that were used by medics on the field and doctors in the hospital – that she grabbed earlier. Tsunade placed the tags on Naruto's neck and chest while Ino was about to begin telling them what she felt, when suddenly the tags glowed before there were sparks that showered out from the tags. That led to Tsunade leaping backwards, as did Choji while a surprised Kakashi asked what just happened.

"The chakra in the tags are meant to slowly penetrate the patient's body," Tsunade said once the sparks died down and she rushed to Naruto's side before grabbing the blackened pieces of paper and pulling them off his chest. She stared at the tags in surprise before making a fist, crumbling the papers, "to keep patients alive while medics work on their injuries. It's a slow release tag and… and it's chakra was forcibly sucked out." Tsunade then stared at Kakashi, "and that is something that's impossible."

"Unless…" Choji asked, "there's some way that chakra's being sucked out of Naruto?"

"Ino," Kakashi frowned while his eyes were fixed on Naruto, his eyes making sure that the blonde young man was still breathing. He then turned his head towards the aforementioned platinum blonde female and asked, "what did you see?"

"I saw so much destruction," Ino whispered as she leaned forward and stared at Naruto while Tsunade started to hook the blonde Jinchuriki up to a monitor. Kakashi and Choji turned towards her while Tsunade glanced at the blonde mind-walker while hooking up metallic leads to Naruto's chest, and then to the both sides of his head. Once the leads were attached, the motor was then activated. And as the 'beep-beep' of Naruto's steady heartbeat permeated the room, Ino continued, "I didn't understand what I was seeing. It… it was like I was watching what was happening from someone else's eyes."

"Do you know whose?" Tsunade asked as she gently placed a hand on Naruto's forehead.

"No," Ino said, "I felt as if my hand was going through something… it was like a thick liquid… and then I found myself being held by the throat."

"You mean that based on the viewpoint of this person you were in?" Kakashi asked.

"Yea," Ino replied before giving the three of them the details of her experience. So say that they were confused was an understatement; especially since the scale of whatever war it was that Ino was talking about would have been documented. Ino didn't mention the body she was in crawling towards the young man who looked like a whisker less Naruto, nor did she mention the woman at the end of her vision who looked like Tsunade, 'it's already weird enough.'

"Demonic looking beings huh?" Kakashi whispered after Ino was done.

"That was a creepy vision," Choji said, his face paling as he thought about the destruction described by Ino.

Tsunade looked down at Naruto, and then back at Ino before saying, "Lilith huh?"

"That's what she… or it… called herself," Ino whispered looking up at Tsunade, "she looked like… well, she looked like a monster in armour with fangs.. sharp, sharp fangs. I could feel terror and… and it wasn't like how I felt during the war. I mean going up against white zetsu's, the Juubi, and the two Uchiha's was scary but… but what I felt…" Ino brought her arms around herself as goosebumps erupted on her arms, "what I felt was terror. Pure terror."

"Queen of darkness and damnation," Kakashi whispered before turning once again to look over at Naruto.

"And Ino was in the mind of a Commander?" Choji whispered.

"That's what Lilith said," Ino nodded her head before instinctively bringing her left hand up to the left side of her neck where blood in her vision was flowing out from, "whoever this person is… well… I think she died." Ino then sighed, "I know it sounds nuts but… but that's what happened."

"I'll have the research department look up on anything we have that is related to this Lilith," Kakashi said as he looked over at Ino, "is there anything else? Like a location, or…"

"I didn't see anything that was identifiable," Ino shook her head, "the only thing I saw was the ground littered with human and demonic bodies, and blood…. There was so much blood." Ino took a deep breath as she scoured her memories of what she had seen in her vision for any landmark in the surrounding area, but there was nothing.

Kakashi then sighed, "I'll head off to the Research Department and have them start off on discovering who or what this Lilith creature is. In the meantime, I'll suggest Choji head back to the reception and discretely talk to Neji about coming to the hospital to check on Naruto's chakra flow."

"Understood, Hokage-sama," Choji nodded her head.

"And in the meantime," Tsunade said nodding at the tired Ino, "I'll make sure Ino's alright."

Kakashi nodded his head before he opened the window, and then jumped away leaving Tsunade huffing as she strode to the open window, closed it, and then turned back towards Choji. "Choji, Ino's absence can easily explained, but Naruto's absence, now that I think about it, is going to be a little harder even with the excuse we have ready."

"So what do we do, Tsunade-sama?" Choji asked.

"When you get back to the reception, tell Neji to get here as soon as possible," Tsunade said, "and then go to Kakashi, tell him that I'd advise asking Konohamaru to transform into Naruto for the rest of the reception. Then remind Kakashi to dispel the genjutsu."

"Understood," Choji said nodding his head.

"Tell Kakashi to get here after the reception is over, I have a feeling that whatever Neji's going to tell us will be bad news," Tsunade continued.

"I will, Tsunade-sama," Choji said before he turned and rushed out of the room.

"Tsunade-sama," Ino said as she leaned back on the couch, "I'm feeling a bit better now. I think it was the shock of seeing…. Well, through the eyes of whoever this Reana person is supposed to be."

"I'll still want to check your vitals," Tsunade said walking toward her, "let's go into the adjacent room." She the looked over her shoulder at the body of Naruto and the machines that were hooked up to him before looking back at Ino, "if there's anything unusual that happens in the next ten minutes while I examine you, then I'll know." Tsunade then reached out and help Ino to her feet, "come on, lets go."

The two of them headed for the door which Tsunade slid open. Just before they two of them stepped out into the hallway, Ino looked over her shoulder at Naruto who looked as if he was at peace. But the Yamanaka heiress still couldn't help but shudder – she felt as if something was about to happen.

Something that they couldn't stop. Ino followed Tsunade as she turned her head back towards the front. Tsunade had just stepped out into the hallway and Ino had just stepped over the threshold between Nauto's room and the hallway – her body between the doorframe when she started to feel dizzy.

"Ino!" yelled Tsunade rushing towards her; all the blonde Yamanaka felt, before being overcome by darkness, was her body impacting the cold hospital floor. And then her eyes closed.

"NOOOO!" Ino snapped her eyes open as the yell from a male voice was suddenly cut off. She opened her eyes wide as she slowly got up on her feet after lying on a pathway covered in blood. She smelt the iron from the deep red blood all over her body, she felt the sickening slickness of the liquid on her arms and covering her purple top, her midriff, and her skirt. While the feeling of blood on her was sickening, what was even more sickening – or rather, more nightmarish was the sight on front of her. Konoha was burning – fires were everywhere as screams and shouts of "help!" were suddenly and quickly snuffed out. Ino turned her head around, she scanned the area in front of her before looking up at the red coloured sky. "Dear God," she whispered as she stared in horror at the tears in the sky, 'like the dream… no.. like that memory from earlier…' In disbelief about what was happening, many questions were running though Ino's mind as she looked away from the sky before turning her body around to take in the nightmare around her.

Gasping, Ino brought her hands to her mouth to stifle her sob as tears ran down her cheeks, the warm tears causing the still wet spatters of blood on her face to streak down her cheeks.

"Shika!" Ino yelled as she ran towards the bisected body of the shadow user lying on the blood covered ground, his eyes lifeless as they stared out into nowhere. "Shika!" she yelled out as she went down on her knees and, with trembling hands, reached out for her teammate.

"Ino!" she spun around, her hands out and ready for battle as she gritted her teeth on anger. However, the anger was abated when she saw who it was running towards her.

"Sakura!" she yelled. Ino got up to her feet and ran towards the pink haired woman. She could see Sakura limping towards her, a look of horror in her face as she waved at Ino.

"Move!" Sakura yelled as Ino suddenly felt a great fear permeate her body. She though she saw the shadows moving around her, especially around the fire and destruction that surrounded them among the bodies of other Konoha citizens. Ino didn't know what was going on, but the look on Sakura's face told her it was nothing good – the second strongest Kunoichi running away from something was never a good sign – and Ino felt the same fear she knew Sakura was feeling. She watched the shadows continue to move as she turned to run, Sakura close behind her.

"Ino move…. Argh!" Ino turned back, her eyes widened in terror as she stubbled back and landed on the bloody ground. She saw a figure slam into Sakura when she was about a meter away, the screams that escaped Sakura's lips were one of horror and pain as the figure roared out loud before ravaging her.

"SAKURA!" Ino yelled as the figure tore off the screaming Sakura's flesh; it was when her throat was ripped out that the pink haired woman stopped screaming. Ino was panting hard as several more shadows converged on the location of the figure that murdered Sakura… she could still hear the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart with occasional 'slurp' noises being made. Eventually, Ino was able to see the shadows under the flickering red and orange lights from the nearby fires.

Ino's eyes widened at the sight of the demons salivating at the sight of her. She continued to move back, struggling to et on her feet as hot tears fell down her face at the roars and grunts of the demons moving towards her.

"Help me!" Ino yelled out loud.

And suddenly, there was another roar from behind the demons. Ino was panting hard as she watched them stop moving before they parted. Her eyes then moved from the demons to the figured who had torn Sakura's arm off, bitten off a large piece of muscle on her forearm, before walking around the body.

At a grunt from the figure, Ino saw the demons rush towards what remained of Sakura. The blonde closed her eyes as they tore her apart, each demon vying for the best piece of the body. Her eyes shifted towards the figure who dropped the arm as he walked into the light, and Ino gasped.

She stifled her scream at the black eyes looking back at her, at the blood cover lips which grew into a grin where Ino could see the bloodstained teen. Ino shook her head, crying out in anguish at what happened to her village, to her friends, to what remained of her family, and to what happened to the figure in front of her.

"NO, NO, NO!" she yelled out before the figure in front of her roared out at her as what can be described only as long, fleshly, appendages shot out of the palms of the figure's hands. The appendages snaked through the air before rushing towards her chest.

And all Ino could do was scream the figure's name, hoping that she would get to the part of him that was human, "Naruto!

"Ino!"

Gasping as she snapped her eyes open. Ino found herself panting, her hands on her chest where the appendages, with literal mouths with razor sharp teeth at the end of the fleshy constructs, was targeting. Her eyes focused on a concerned Tsunade looking back down at her.

"Ino, what happened? You just fainted and then…"

"Tsunade-sama," Ino whispered, her mind still processing the sights, sounds, and the smells she encountered in that vision, 'or dream, or…. What the hell was that? I was nowhere near Naruto when I…' Ino shuddered at the thought of that demonic version of Naruto, 'whatever was pretending to be him.' Ino gulped as Tsunade helped her to a seated position, placing the younger blonde against the wall, "I… I don't know how or… or why but I had another vision."

"But you weren't near Naruto… I mean the last time it happened, you had your hand through that thick layer of air." Ino could see the perplexed look on Tsunade's face, and the truth was that even she was confused how she was able to have that vision without being in contact with the layer of air that Tsunade was talking about.

Ino nodded her head before saying, "it was…" Ino was still in disbelief, but the sight of the demonic Naruto, as well as the memory of the destruction and death all around her seemed too real… as if it was a vivid dream, 'no… it felt real. So very real as if it happened, or… or will happen.'

"Ino?"

"Tsunade-sama," Ino whispered looking at the former Hokage, "we… we need to talk to the Hokage. I think… I think I saw… well… I don't know how, and I may be wrong, but I think I somehow saw a vision of… well… Konoha destroyed… again.."

Somewhere else; another Konoha.

Naruto was staring down at the file laying on his table in front of him. He then looked up to see Shikamaru and Yamanaka Inouchi standing across from him – the two of them had impassive expressions on their faces.

"She did it again, Inoichi-san," Naruto said, his voice edged with anger as he looked right at the light blonde haired man, "this has gone too far. She attacked Hinata in broad daylight. And not only that, she attacked my children!"

"I… I don't know what to say, Hokage-sama," Inouchi said with sorrow in his eyes, "I have tried to… I have tried everything as a father to stop her from stalking you, Hinata-sama, and the children but…"

"She's your daughter, Inoichi-san, you know, as well as I do, that once Ino makes a decision… no matter how stupid… she'll go through with it," Shikamaru said as Naruto looked down at the file of one Yamanaka Ino. Her smiling picture, taken when she was a genin, looked back at him. Naruto remembered the woman on the front lines during the Fourth Great Shinobi War, and then things changed after that. Ino changed after Sakura married Sasuke. He had always thought that Ino was over Sasuke, and even Sakura thought so as well.

It was during Sakura's wedding that Ino drunkenly exclaimed that Naruto should have been hers since Sakura married Sasuke. She yelled out drunkenly that Naruto should have married her instead of Hinata before going on a drink fuelled rant. And ever since then, it had been one problem after another. She calmed down somewhat after Kakashi sent her on one long term mission after another, but she acted up after Naruto became Hokage. Then she calmed down once again for three years before acting up again only last night when she viciously attacked Hinata and their children; an attack that resulted in Hinata being admitted to the hospital with critical injuries and both Boruto and Himawari in the Intensive Care Unit. It had taken Naruto everything he had not to simply kill Ino.

Naruto stared at Inouchi and then back at Ino's file, his anger still boiling just under the surface. He kept telling himself that Inoichi had nothing to do with the attack, that it was all Ino.

"Any outside interference acting on her mind?" Naruto asked Inoichi.

"None," he replied shaking his head before he slumped his shoulders forward. And now, all Naruto saw was an upset father "all I know is that she's thinking about you, Hokage-sama. There's something akin to a shrine built for you in a hidden section of her closet."

"Me?" Naruto asked confused, "Why?"

"She's enamoured with you, Hokage-sama," Inoichi said before looking away from Naruto. He had been the one to restrain Ino after she was taken in, the girl nearly killed Sakura after being brought to the hospital yelling about how Naruto was with the wrong woman. That he was hers, that it wasn't fair. He also saw the injuries to Hinata and the children – Himawari was attacked particularly viciously.

Inoichi then turned to Shikamaru who sighed before whispering, "Ino's gone too far this time. All the other times, I was able to protect her somewhat. Even Naruto was able to protect her when he didn't have to when the council pushed for harsh punishment. But this…"

"I can't ignore this, Inoichi-san," Naruto said, his hands on the table, "the elders are already demanding a heavy punishment for her. She attacked the wife and children of a Kage, they're demanding the death penalty. And…"

'I'm thinking about it too,' Naruto thought as he stared at Inoichi.

"Hokage-sama," Inoichi said in a panic as he thought about his little girl dying, "I just ask for two days. I'm sure there is an underlying issue… a mental issue, if I can find it and…" Inoichi stared at Naruto, unable to even finish what he wanted to say. Naruto closed his eyes and leaned back on his chair while Shikamaru leaned back against the wall. Inoichi didn't want to see Ino dead, and he was sure that even Shikamaru didn't want to see her executed – but even he had to admit to himself that what happened last night was unforgivable.

"If this is some kind of outside interference… an attack on the Yamanaka through Ino," Shikamaru said as he rubbed his chin hair, "then whoever is responsible could be trying to discredit her… or the clan… or both."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"It's a hypothesis, Naruto," Shikamaru said shaking his head and rubbing his forehead, "why the hell did she attack Hinata and the kids last night."

"Inoichi-san," Naruto said, in the back of his mind he wondered if Shikamaru had something to his hypothesis. While they were particularly close, Naruto considered Ino a friend. And he also knew that Ino was one of the many who fought the hardest during the war, and so.. based on that… Naruto made a decision while staring at Inoichi, "a week, you have a week. That's about how long I can delay a decision."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Inoichi bowed while breathing out a sigh of relief.

When Inoichi stood back up, Naruto said, "to placate the elders… including Kakashi-sensei and baa-chan, I need you to put a level six seal on her. Lock her away from all her chakra until we get to the bottom of this. And remember, you have a week, Inoichi-san."

"Thank you," he replied before turning around and walking out of the Hokage office.

TBC.