Nel here, hope you all enjoyed the last chapter! I know it was bit of an emotional rollercoaster and cliffhanger. I hope you were as captivated reading it as I was writing it. Here is the next portion! =]

xxx

Suigetsu looked at the two men lying in front of him. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself. You would never guess by looking at them that they were two of the most powerful shinobi alive. There was not a doubt in his mind that these two were going to change the world. They were bonded together, destined to do life together. Suigetsu made a promise to himself as he watched over the two lovers. He would protect them with his life. He believed in the world only they could create. He sighed and tried to get comfortable in the wooden chair. He glanced over at the cloak containing the head of their enemy. He smirked. The man had never stood a chance. Not against a lover's rage. Sasuke's desire to protect Naruto had awakened his power, his absolute despair at seeing his lover's lifeless body had brought his power to a whole new level. It made him reach to a depth he didn't know he could and pull power from it. It had been incredible. Suigetsu got goosebumps at the memory. He had stayed clear of Sasuke's path. Danzo had sealed his fate the moment he made Naruto his enemy.

It was late morning when Sasuke finally woke up; everything that had happened came flooding back to him. He gently caressed Naruto's cheek.

"Nothing much has changed. He is breathing a bit easier now than before though." Sasuke didn't respond, he was just glad Naruto hadn't slipped away from him during the night. A bit of color had returned to his cheeks, which was a good sign. Sasuke had a lingering ominous feeling deep in his chest. Something wasn't right, because of the nine tails Naruto carried within him he healed extremely fast. By now all of his wounds would be healed, there was something else going on. Naruto was fighting another battle within himself, that was what was keeping him in this comatose state.

"Suigetsu."

"Hm." It was strange for him to see such a gentle side of Sasuke, but it suited him.

"We have to get him back to the Leaf village, he needs help. He can't stay like this."

"I agree, but it's not like you can just walk into the village."

"But you can." Sasuke sat up in the bed. He stretched his aching muscles.

"Well, I guess, but…" Sasuke interrupted him.

"It's the only choice we have. We need to get moving." Sasuke pulled his shoes on and grabbed a snack from Naruto's pack. "Help me get him on my back."

Normally Suigetsu would complain and argue about things but he knew this was not the time. Unless he wanted to end up like Danzo, he wasn't going to cross Sasuke in matters pertaining to Naruto. Within a few minutes they were on their way to the village.

xxx

The Anbu headquarters was in an uproar. The instant Danzo had died the tattoos every member had taken that prevented them from talking about him had disappeared. For now, it was being kept from the general public, but the leadership was distraught over the matter.

"Where is Naruto?!" Tsunade punched her desk. "We need all hands-on deck to investigate the disappearance and death of Danzo!" Not that she cared, in fact she was glad the bastard was dead, but as Hokage it was her job to investigate. Team seven was one of the teams that would be searching for Danzo's body. Naruto's ability to use sage mode would be invaluable, except no one could find him! "Kakashi, Sakura, Sai, find Naruto and report back to me immediately for your mission."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade." The three replied in unison.

xxx

Traveling with Naruto on his back slowed Sasuke down but they were still making good time. If they kept on through the night, they could make it too the village by late morning of the next day. Sasuke didn't dare take extra time to get Naruto back to the village. They ate on the move and only stopped when completely necessary. There had been no change in Naruto's condition.

xxx

"Any luck?" Kakashi asked. Both Sai and Sakura shook their heads no. "We've checked the entire village, where could he have gone? I've got a bad feeling about this."

"I'm worried. What if somethings happened to him?" Sakura chimed in.

"There's nothing we can do about it right now. We have other priorities. We will just have to hope he is okay and set our minds to the task before us." Kakashi sighed. "I don't like it any more than you do." They headed back to Tsunade to get their mission.

"Anything?" Tsunade asked as soon as the team entered.

"Nothing my lady." Sakura replied. Tsunade sighed.

"Very well." She was about to give them their mission when an Anbu appeared.

"My lady, I have a report on Naruto."

"Tell me!" Tsunade had forgotten that Danzo had been having Naruto tailed, now they would finally know where he was.

"I followed him out of the village almost two days ago now. Or at least that's what I thought, but I had been tricked. Late afternoon yesterday the shadow clone that I thought was Naruto puffed away. I have no idea of his actual whereabouts. I'm sorry my lady. I returned as quickly as I could. I picked up the pace even more when my tattoo disappeared." He paused for a moment. "Is Danzo really dead?"

"We are still confirming." Tsunade was disappointed. She was hoping for a good report. "Report back to headquarters right away." The Anbu gave a slight bow and vanished. So, Naruto had figured out about the Anbu following him, he had become quite the skilled ninja indeed. The concerning part was that he had taken the time to ditch him before he took off. This was not looking good.

"We can't spend any more time worrying about Naruto; he will show up sooner or later." The members of team seven nodded. "Your mission is to search a hundred-mile radius in the direction of your last mission. Your team was the last to be in that area. You should be looking for any sign of where Danzo might have been heading or what he may have been doing. Of course, you should be keeping an eye out for any sign of his body as well. Report back immediately if you find anything. Dismissed."

Team seven didn't waste any time, they had already lost a few hours searching the village for Naruto. They spread out to cover more ground. As much as they didn't want to, they put Naruto to the back of their minds and turned their attention to the mission.

xxx

Darkness had fallen a few hours ago but Sasuke and Suigetsu pressed on. Sasuke's muscles ached from the hard travel and the extra weight of Naruto on his back. As much as he wanted to rest, he was more worried about Naruto than his own discomfort. Naruto's limp form only served to drive him forward. He was not about to lose Naruto because he needed to rest. Something caught Sasuke's attention in the sky.

"Suigetsu." They both stopped moving and tucked in close to the trees using them for cover.

"What is it?"

"Something in the sky."

"Did you consider that maybe it's a bird?" Sasuke shot him a glare even though he knew he couldn't see it. After a few moments of waiting it passed by again, this time with the help of his Sharingan, Sasuke was able to identify it clearly. It was a bird, but not a normal bird. It was some kind of jutsu that had created it.

"We need to be careful, there are ninja ahead." Suigetsu nodded.

"I'll go scout it out." Sasuke took the opportunity to rest. He gently eased Naruto down onto the ground; he rested him against the trunk of a tree and sat down next to him. He chugged some water and wiped the sweat from his brow. He looked at Naruto. He seemed so peaceful, like he was sleeping. If only, Sasuke would give anything for him to just be sleeping. He took one of Naruto's hands.

"We're almost there Naruto. Just hold on." Suigetsu came bursting back out of the woods.

"It's Leaf ninja! There are three of them." Sasuke let out a sigh of relief. He was glad they weren't going to have to worry about fighting anyone.

"This may make things easier for us. We need them to find Naruto." Sasuke thought for a moment. He climbed to the top of a nearby tree and started making hand signs.

"Fire ball jutsu." Sasuke shot a giant fireball into the air. There's no way they would miss that.

xxx

Sai, Sakura, and Kakashi all looked up when the sky brightened.

"What was that?" Sakura looked at Kakashi.

"Looked like some type of jutsu, we had better check it out." The three of them started making their way through the forest towards the location they had seen the light.

xxx

"That was the best you could come up with?" Sasuke didn't bother to answer.

"Just hide." The two of them put some distance between them and Naruto but remained where they could see. They melted into the darkness. Sasuke had lit the top of the tree Naruto was under on fire for good measure.

"I think I see something!" It was Sakura. "I think I see a person…wait a minute…it's Naruto!" Sakura's relief at seeing him quickly turned to anger. "He better have a good reason for all the trouble he has caused, if this is one of his pranks…" She didn't finish her sentence. Her anger transformed into anxiousness. Something wasn't right, Naruto wasn't moving. They all came to a stop in front of him. Sakura leaned down and started to check him over. "Maybe, he is just asleep." She didn't sound convinced. "Something's wrong, his physical body is fine, but he seems to be in a comatose state, this is beyond me, we have to get him back to the village and quickly."

"How did he get here? None of this makes any sense." Sai said.

"It doesn't matter now, what matters is that we get him back to the village. Sai, go on ahead and have a medical team ready." Sai nodded and took off into the night. "Sakura, help me get him onto my back."

Sasuke had felt a wave of relief wash over him when the Leaf shinobi who appeared from the darkness were his old teammates. They would do everything in their power for Naruto. He could trust them.

"We will follow them at a distance." Sasuke whispered to Suigetsu. "We can't let them see us."

Kakashi and Sakura moved as quickly as they could with Naruto. Sakura kept a hand on Naruto, lending her chakra to strengthen him. Whatever battle he was fighting; he was growing weak. He was fading.

"Kakashi, we have to pick up the pace, we're losing him."

"Are you sure it won't make him worse? I could go faster but it will be harder on him."

"If we don't get him back soon, it won't matter." Kakashi nodded his understanding. They sped up. It took a few hours to make it back to the village, when they arrived Tsunade, Shizune, and a few other members of the medical corps were waiting for them. Sai was there as well.

"Bring him here! Quickly!" Tsunade ordered. Kakashi, with help, quickly but gently laid Naruto onto the gurney they had brought. Tsunade worked swiftly to assess his condition as they moved. "This is not good; he's barely breathing, and his heartbeat is faint. Where did you find him?"

Kakashi scratched his head and let out a nervous chuckle. "Underneath a burning tree actually..."

"Whaaaat? Forget it, you can it explain it to me later, we have bigger concerns. Shizune, get Captain Yamato and have him meet us at the hospital."

"Yes, my lady!" Shizune took off running.

Tsunade shot off orders so fast Kakashi didn't think his sharingan could follow her. Every command she made was met with yes, my lady and someone taking off running. When they burst through the doors of the medical center Sai and Captain Yamato were waiting.

"I think something is wrong with the seal keeping the nine tails at bay, it's the only thing that makes sense." Yamato had started checking over the seal before Tsunade had finished her sentence.

"You're right. It looks like seal has been significantly weakened and portions are missing. This is very serious. I can tighten it back and repair it, but it is going to take me some time. I don't know how much longer Naruto can hold on. I'm amazed he has survived this long. He is fighting the nine tails internally, keeping it from breaking free and killing him in the process."

"What do you need from us?" Tsunade asked.

"Get him into a bed and put him on heavy sedation. I'll need you and Sakura to continue to strengthen him with chakra. If he is going to make it through it is going to take all of us." Everyone nodded their agreement. "Let's get started then."

They got Naruto transferred into a bed, and fluids started along with heavy sedation. Yamato used his wood style to restrain Naruto and started working. Tsunade and Sakura sat to either side of the bed maintaining a steady flow of chakra into Naruto. It was going to be a long night.