With sweat dripping down their foreheads and chills going up their spines, Oscar and Axel drop to their knees.
Axel was shaking, on the verge of a mental breakdown as he was stared down by Naruto with an unreadable expression on his face.
As Naruto is deciding, Rick makes his way back into the room and he gives Daryl and Naruto a nod (as to say he's taken care of Andrew).
Daryl and T-Dog had their weapons fixed on the two, Rick standing by the door, guarding it.
"Oscar and I had nothing to do with what just happened! I swear!" Axel cries out in a desperate plea.
Oscar just shakes his head and tells him to stop talking.
"We should just take them out now. Why bother with the trouble?" Daryl offers, not even sure why they haven't already killed the two inmates on the ground.
Naruto doesn't say anything, just looking at Axel's face on the verge of tears.
"No," says Naruto and Daryl looks up at him as he still waits for the go ahead from Rick, who oddly enough has yet to voice his opinion on the matter.
Naruto on the other hand takes a second to digest the opinions of the group, he could see that T-Dog was more optimistic about the inmates than Rick or Daryl.
"Sir, please, please listen to me! It was them that was bad! It wasn't us!" Axel pleads.
"There's no way they weren't involved, so what makes you say they didn't do anything?" Rick questions, turning his attention to Naruto.
Did he know something that they didn't?
This whole time they were clearing out walkers with the inmates, Naruto had a sense of preparedness that bordered on expectation, which did not go unnoticed by Rick.
Naruto looks over to Rick and responds.
"I knew Tomas and Andrew were planning on killing me. As soon as they had the chance they were going to try and overpower us. Though it was pretty dumb, given we outnumbered them; they still went through with it. Their 'friend' Tiny was the most opposed to the idea, but given his timid nature he did nothing to stop it. That got him betrayed in the end. These two on the other hand didn't voice an interest in their plan. Whether they didn't think it would work or didn't want any part of it is debatable".
Naruto kneels down so he's eye to eye with both Axel and he is stunned into silence but Oscar swallows hard before answering.
"Yeah, that's about it. Axel and I have never killed a man before. I'm in here for breaking and entering; Axel's here for drugs. Tiny was our friend, he helped us deal with the really bad dudes, the monsters, like Tomas. So that's how it was. Now I've never begged for my life, and I'm not going to start now, so if you're going to kill us, go ahead. Do what you need to" Oscar says.
Never breaking eye contact, Naruto stands back up slowly.
It's just for a moment, but everyone waits in anticipation for an answer.
A number of thoughts run through his head, but he makes up his mind.
"Okay" he says "Our deal stands". Rick, Daryl, T-Dog and Naruto then lead the prisoner's into a new cell block.
Rick and Daryl push Axel and Oscar in their new cell block.
There are bodies everywhere.
"For now, we'll let you live, but if you stay here, you keep your distance from the rest of the group. I'll be keeping an eye on you" states Naruto.
"So you're just gonna leave us in here? Man, this is sick!" replies Oscar.
"We're locking down the cell block. From now on, this part of the prison is yours. Take it or leave it, that was the deal. Consider yourselves the lucky ones" answers Rick.
"You think this is sick? You don't wanna know what's outside" adds Daryl.
"Word of advice: take those bodies outside and burn them" mentions T-Dog.
With the matter settled the group began to leave back to their cell block.
"Are you sure about this Naruto? We don't know much about them" ask Rick.
Naruto chuckles lightly to himself before answering, his serious demeanor vanishing instantly, "Don't worry about it Rick, I'll accept full responsibility for whatever happens. Everyone deserves a second chance and besides, I don't think either of those two have the courage to try anything".
For the time being Rick accepts that.
Naruto is shrouded in mystery, but even still, he's a straightforward person, that alone is the reason Rick feels nothing wrong with having his family close to him.
But the simple fact remains, Naruto can't go unchecked.
"That sounds like a good idea, it may make sense too. But we can't just let anyone in Naruto. You can't always tell what kind of people you're dealing with, and some will have the courage to try something stupid. If you're going to bring people here, there should be some kind of screening test" says Rick.
"What did you have in mind?" asks Naruto.
Rick thinks hard.
What kind of test should there be, and what kind of answers should be accepted?
It comes to him all too naturally.
"How many walkers have you killed? How many people have you killed and why?" he says.
Naruto takes those questions in.
Rick only gave it a minute though, but those two questions are very significant.
The most important of the three was 'why'.
It takes into account a person's ability to communicate.
How they explain their answer to the second question is just as important as the first two questions.
Naruto is impressed by the screening process put forth by Rick and has no trouble accepting them.
"Sounds good to me. I'm very impressed you came up with such a thing on the spot. I can see being a leader comes natural to you. Your people are lucky" Naruto tells Rick, earning a halfhearted laugh.
"Thanks, I've had some practice at this, for some time now. I could have done better for them though. So many things happened that I wish I could take back. But that's no way to think, that I know. As for our screening process, it should be something we implement as our group grows larger" Naruto nods his head in agreement.
The group arrives at their cell block Rick to find Hershel still sleeping.
Carl hugs Rick and tells him "Hershel stopped breathing, mom saved him".
Rick looks over to Lori and then back to Hershel, Maggie sitting next to him.
Everybody gathers around Hershel's cell and they wait in anticipation, not sure if he would turn into a walker.
Hershel opens his eyes.
The group is elated to see him alive.
Beth laughs, Lori, Rick and Maggie smile and Hershel grabs Rick's hand.
Beth and Maggie hug, and Maggie gives a nod to Naruto (appreciating what he did for her father).
Lori leaves the cell, followed by Rick, who puts Beth's hand in Hershel's.
Rick and Lori meet outside on a bridge and they discuss the frailties in their marriage.
Rick puts his hand on Lori's shoulder, keeping his distance.
"We're awfully grateful for what you did" he tells her as he goes back to the cell block, leaving her sad.
After a long night's rest the group wake up the next morning to move their cars into the prison and clear the bodies around the field.
Naruto comes over to discuss today's plan for securing the compromised southern side of the prison.
"Where's Glenn and Maggie? We could use some help" he asks.
"Up in the guard tower" answers Daryl.
They all looked up at the guard tower and laughed at the sight of Glenn in his underwear.
They immediately stop laughing at the sight of the two prisoners Axel and Oscar out of their cell block, walking towards them.
The group make their way towards them, seemingly agitated.
"That's close enough. We had an agreement" Rick tells the inmates.
"Please, mister. We know that, we made a deal. But you gotta understand! We can't live in that place another minute, you follow me? All the bodies, people we knew! Blood, brains everywhere! There's ghosts!" replies Axel.
Glenn and Maggie arrive.
The inmates explain to the group their difficulty moving bodies out of their cells due to the fence on the far side of the prison being down.
In the courtyard of the prison while the others are debating with the inmates; Beth, Carl, Carol, Lori and Sophia are helping Hershel to take a walk in the courtyard.
All the others see Hershel walking.
Maggie laughs, everybody's smiling, Rick and Lori even exchange a smile.
Suddenly, a herd of walkers appears behind Carl.
He hears them and turns around.
"Walkers! Look out!" he screams.
Rick and the others see the walkers and run toward the courtyard but are forced to go around the fences.
The group in the courtyard shoot at walkers, while Hershel tries to run away.
Glenn and Maggie move to close the fence before running to the courtyard.
Rick, T-Dog and Daryl are going as fast as they can with Naruto bursting past them.
Beth, Hershel, Carol and Sophia run from walkers, open a gate walking into a secure area.
Hershel has trouble walking up the stairs, when a walker arrives behind him.
Hershel pushes the walker with one of his crutches.
Glenn and Maggie are done closing up the fence and starts running as fast as he can towards the courtyard.
The entrance of the courtyard is locked and they have the key, Daryl, T-Dog and Rick are blocked.
However Naruto, much to their amazement, leaps over the fence.
"Jesus! Guess he really did jump the fence" exclaims Daryl.
"It's alright, I'll make sure Lori is safe" Naruto tells Rick.
He makes his way towards Lori and Carl, leading them inside the prison.
They are walking towards the cell block, when Naruto sees another herd of walkers coming out of there.
"This way!" Naruto says as he leads them away.
In the courtyard of the prison Rick, Daryl, Glenn, T-Dog and Maggie finally arrive at the courtyard.
They open the gate and kill some walkers.
Hershel, Beth, Carol and Sophia are behind another closed gate.
Rick immediately approaches them and asks where Lori and Carl are and Beth reveals that Naruto took them into the cell block.
Glenn and Maggie cut walker's down, while Daryl, T-Dog and Rick shot some.
They move towards the area where the walkers came from and Glenn notices that chains separating them from the walkers didn't break on their own.
"Someone took an ax or cutters to them" Daryl says as he looks at the cautiously approaching Axel and Oscar.
The two prisoners arrive at the gate.
Rick looks at them.
"You think they did it?" questions Glenn, "Who else?" answers Rick, fuming with anger.
Suddenly, the alarm of the prison goes off, attracting the walkers.
Lots of more walkers begin to approach the group. The group starts shooting at every speaker there is in the courtyard.
Rick makes his way toward the inmates pointing his gun at them and asks, "How the hell can this be happening?".
"Whoa, it has to be the backup generators!" answers Oscar with his hands up.
Oscar reveals that he can shut off the generators and Rick decides to take him, T-Dog and Daryl into the prison to shut them off, meanwhile the rest of the group clears the walkers outside.
In the corridors of the prison; Naruto, Carl and Lori are walking in the corridors, when Lori starts to feel pain.
She leans on the wall and grunts from the pain. Naruto goes to support her.
"Somethings not right. I think the baby's coming" says Lori.
She is in more and more pain, when a herd of walkers arrive on one side.
Carl is about to try to shoot them when Naruto stops him and picks him and Lori up, taking them away from the walkers at faster speeds.
Walkers cut them off and Naruto goes into a door. They go into the room, and close the door.
In the room Naruto puts them down and Lori leans on the wall, while Carl looks out for walkers.
Lori is in immense pain as Naruto and Carl look very worried.
Daryl, Rick, T-Dog and Oscar are running in the corridors, trying to find the generators, and escape the walkers.
They arrive at a door and enter the room, and close the door before the walkers can get in.
Rick and T-Dog observe the generators while Daryl and Oscar try to keep the door closed.
Suddenly, Andrew (the prisoner Rick thought had died) arrives behind T-Dog striking him with an ax.
Rick screams "No!" and he begins to fight for the ax against Andrew, until Rick tries to shoot him.
Hearing this Oscar runs over leaving Daryl at the door alone.
Rick's gun falls on the ground and at the door, Daryl is forced to let the door open, because the walkers are pushing it too hard, but he manages to kill two of them and close the door again.
Andrew tries to attack Rick again and they get up to see Oscar pointing the gun at Rick with Andrew getting up behind him.
Oscar shoots Andrew, and gives Rick the gun, earning his trust.
Rick rushes over to check on T-Dog and Oscar shuts the generators down, stopping the alarm.
Back with Naruto, Lori struggles to give birth to her baby.
Grabbing a hold of Naruto she tells him, "I'm not losing my baby. You've gotta cut me open".
They debate this back and forth and Naruto finally agrees to the procedure, pulling out his kunai.
Lori calls over Carl and calms him down, assuring him that she wanted this.
To Naruto this sounded like a mother saying her goodbyes and he was determined not to let Lori die in front of Carl.
"See my old C-section scar?" Lori tells Naruto and she turns Carl away.
"Yes," Naruto answers as he begins to cut along the scar.
As he does this he uses the Hashirama cells in his right hand to prevent Lori from losing too much blood.
Lori passes out and Naruto manages to deliver the baby from her.
Carl approaches, worried for his mother, but Naruto tells him she's just passed out as he hands the baby over to him.
"I need you to hold her. I have to cauterize the cut or she could die" he tells Carl.
Carl wraps the baby in his sweater and he is turned around by Naruto.
When Carl is turned away Naruto uses a small fire-style jootsoo on the tip of his fingers to close the cut in Lori's stomach.
Back with Rick, Daryl and Oscar they cover T-Dogs body and leave the generator room, they would come for his body later.
They make their way to the courtyard and are joined by Glenn, Maggie, Beth, Hershel, Carol, Sophia and Axel.
"You didn't find Lori" Rick asks Glenn.
"We checked the cell block and they weren't there so we figured they'd be here" Glenn answers.
"Wait, where's T-Dog?" asks Glenn.
"He didn't make it" answers Daryl.
The group stood there in silence for a minute not believing the loss of their friend.
"That doesn't mean the others didn't. We're going back! Daryl and Glenn, you come with me" Rick says before he is suddenly interrupted by a baby's cries.
Everyone turns only to find Carl holding a crying infant in his arms.
This sight makes Rick distraught, imagining the worst had happened to Lori he asks, "where is she, your mom" to Carl.
Before Carl can answer Naruto comes out the door and answers, "She's alright.
Just passed out for now.
I took her back to the cell blocks". The group let out a sigh of relief and Rick takes the baby from Carl.
"Let me see the baby" Hershel calls out.
Rick hands over the baby to Hershel and he examines her.
"The good news is she looks healthy. But she needs formula. And soon, or she won't survive" he says.
Naruto offers to go, but Daryl and Maggie go instead claiming he had done enough today.
As they leave Rick, Hershel, Glenn, Beth, Carol, Sophia and Carl take the baby and make their way inside the prison, to check up on Lori.
As Rick passes Naruto he puts his hand on his shoulder thanking him for what he did for Lori.
"And T-Dog?" asks Naruto.
Rick hesitates for a moment and then answers, "It was Andrew.
He set off the alarms and killed T-Dog". "I thought you killed him?" replied Naruto.
"I had hoped he'd die, but I messed up and it cost us T-Dog" says Rick.
Naruto gives it a thought and sympathizes with Rick, he wasn't so sure that he would've killed Andrew either.
Naruto consoles Rick and he makes his way to check on his wife.
The two remaining inmates (Axel and Oscar) approach Naruto and he tells them, "I heard what you did for Rick Oscar.
You two want to prove yourselves, well now's your chance.
Get over to the fence and take out the walkers on the other side.
If too many pile up, we're going to have a problem.
Also open the gate for Daryl and Maggie when they get back".
They listen to Naruto and set out to clear the fences.
While everyone is off doing their own things Naruto decides that he will clear the inside of the prison by himself once and for all.
Nightfalls and Daryl and Maggie return to the prison with the baby formula.
Oscar and Axel open the gate for them and they make their way towards the cell block.
"Guys, they're back" Beth calls out.
"How's she doing?" ask Daryl as Maggie immediately begins to prepare the baby formula.
After feeding the baby Carol and Beth are left in charge of her, putting her to sleep and changing her diaper.
Meanwhile Glenn, Maggie, Daryl and Sophia all head to sleep after a long and eventful day.
Rick and Carl are at Lori's bedside as they wait for her to wake.
Rick takes a look at Lori's C-section scar noticing it was cauterized.
"What did Naruto use to cauterize your mom?" Rick asks Carl.
"I don't know, I was distracted with the baby" answers Carl.
"Saved her life" interrupts Hershel.
Rick steps out of the cell, seeing Axel and Oscar he asks, "Where's Naruto?".
"Last I saw him he mentioned clearing out the rest of the prison" answers Oscar.
"Alone!?" Rick questions worriedly.
Suddenly the gate doors can be heard opening and in steps Naruto.
The group is stunned into silence for a moment, seeing Naruto covered in blood.
"How is she?" Naruto asked Rick.
"She's looking better, and you?" replies Rick.
"I'm fine, I managed to clear the catacombs, but that opening in the far side of the prison is going to keep letting them back in," Naruto mentions.
In the meantime Naruto takes Axel and Oscar back to the other cell block and gets rid of their former cell mates bodies.
He tells the group that he will be spending the night with them, just in case and they say their goodnights.
The next morning, Naruto along with Daryl takes Oscar and Axel to help him bury T-Dog and remove walker bodies from the field.
The group gather around for a memorial service for T-Dog and once it's done Glenn and Maggie make a run into town for more baby supplies.
While in town they search a pharmacy finding the supplies they need.
"We just hit the powdered formula jackpot" says Glenn.
As they are discussing their return to the prison a young woman with a katana (Michonne) is watching them, keeping herself hidden.
Suddenly Glenn and Maggie hear a man's voice approach them saying, "and where is it y'all good people are calling home!?".
They raise their guns in defense and Glenn couldn't believe who it was, "Merle?".