Chapter XIV

Team 7 Arc V

"Is that you, Naruto?" came the raspy voice of the shades guarding the innermost sanctum of the gate he was pursuing. Naruto stopped wading through the river and looked ahead. His garnet hair fluttered in the otherworldly wind as he narrowed his eyes at the host of shades before him.

"What happened to your hair?" one asked.

"Kurama's chakra," Naruto answered slowly, his gaze fixed on the wispy, smoky figure of Sasuke Uchiha. Next to Sasuke, Shikamaru Nara and Neji Hyuga leaned against the wall idly, their eyes trained on Naruto. "When I used too much of it, it seeped into my physical body and changed some of my genes. Because Kurama was more attuned to the Uzumaki due to my mother and Mito Uzumaki, his chakra brought out my Uzumaki traits."

"You do look like a proper Uzumaki now," came the small voice of Nagato, who watched him with his Rinnegan, appearing behind Neji in a small flash of light. "My mother would approve."

"What is this?" Naruto questioned as more and more flashes of light formed in front of the sanctum's gates, revealing shades of people he once knew and lost. "You all are dead. You should be in Pureland. Why are you here, in this wretched place?"

"We are in Pureland, brat," came Tsunade's raspy answer. Her normally youthful appearance had faded, revealing her true, yet still beautiful, form. "But by Izanagi's decree, shades of our souls are summoned here. Anyone who chooses to cross the River must confront their past before they can think about changing it."

The silence that followed was loud. Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly. The Konoha 11, Sasuke, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Nagato, Konan, Zabuza, Haku, Obito, Old Man Hokage, Dad, Mom… The shades gathering before him were all people who had influenced his life and whom he held dear. Not for the first time, Naruto cursed Izanagi in his head. The gloomy cliffs on either side of the sanctum cast deeper shadows, heightening the tension. Naruto took a step forward and shook his head emphatically. "I'm doing all of this for you! I won't fight you!"

"Oh, Naruto… you must," came Minato's soft answer, his normally bright blue eyes dulled by the situation. "If you do not have the conviction to face what lies beyond that door, then you must do this."

"Dad…" Naruto's voice choked as he tore his eyes away from his father. His shoulders shook as he tried to stop the tears. "I can't. I can't. I'm trying to save you all! How can I—?"

"Naruto!" Tsunade shouted, interrupting him. Her hazel eyes blazed with characteristic fervour as her blond hair fluttered in the gloomy breeze. "Genin Uzumaki, as your commanding officer and Hokage, I order you to fight us!"

"No…"

More and more shouts filled the room. All the people dearest to him continued barking out orders, desperation seeping into their voices. Their eyes pleaded with Naruto. He took a step back, sweat breaking out on his forehead. He swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Suddenly, through the cacophony of shouts, a soft and delicate voice cut through the commotion.

"You are not alone."

Naruto turned and saw three chakra constructs approaching from the direction he had come. A fair-skinned woman with long, straight black hair and bangs framing her cheeks walked forward first. Wearing a simple dark purple blouse and a red plum skirt, she smiled softly at him and at a few shades on the other side. She was followed by a tall man with spiky short orange hair and piercing blue eyes. He wore a long black robe with a red line running down the centre, armour covering his mid-section, and a pouch attached. He carried a large sword on his shoulders with practised ease. The third person, not as tall but broad-shouldered, had ebony-coloured skin and black eyes observing the situation impassively. His short blond hair fluttered as he walked languidly toward Naruto.

Naruto had never met these people personally but had seen enough pictures. He had even met one of their bodies. "Mikoto Uchiha… Yahiko… Dekai…"

Mikoto stopped smiling at the shade of Sasuke in the distance and turned to him, her eyes softening infinitely more than Naruto thought possible. "They are not real. They are not the real people you know. They rest peacefully in the Purelands. These shades are… impure imitations at best."

"Yeah. You don't need to worry, kid," Dekai's gruff voice continued as he stood absolutely still, watching Minato, Kushina, and a few of their generation in the distance. "This is the last trial, kid. You know what must be done."

"And… and what about you three? How? What?" Naruto garbled the words. Yahiko's blue eyes crinkled as he smiled.

"We are here because you still have some support up there." Yahiko pointed toward the heavens. In this accursed place, there was no sky, only perpetual gloom. Yet, Naruto understood Yahiko's message. "And our sensei—not the imitation there—thought it best for us to answer the call."

"Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked reverently, trying not to look at the imitation shade of his old master among the others. "He… he sent you three?"

"Yes," Dekai answered, hiding a small smile at Naruto's nickname for Jiraiya of the Sannin. "You already knew about your other sibling students. You met them. We thought it best that you met your other sibling students as well."

"And… you're here to help me pass the final trial?" Naruto's voice still held a reverent tone. His blue eyes were wide, and he looked like a kid again.

Suddenly, the pinwheel of the Sharingan formed in Mikoto's eyes. Yahiko's sword glowed as chakra flowed through it, and Dekai's fists shimmered with golden chakra. Mikoto answered for the three. "Yes. Succeed. Make this nightmare end, child."

Naruto sat quietly for a moment before he started to chuckle. His chuckle developed into raucous laughter not too soon after. He stood up to his full height and nodded at his sibling students. He turned back to the horde of imitating shades and slammed his hands together, gathering his chakra for the last trial. "Team Jiraiya! Are you ready for your last mission?"

"I am."

"Aye aye."

"You bet."

That day, Yomi shuddered.

Konoha's Grand Council was an imposing figure. 25 Clan Heads and their chakras combined was a suffocating presence. By their very nature, the Clan Heads were counted among the very strongest and best shinobi that Konoha could offer. It was expected of them to be the very best from their clans. Each Clan Head was supposed to be the epitome of the ideals followed by their clans. This was a tradition that dated even before the Warring Clans Era when life was much harder than it was today and a Clan Head's decision could make or break a clan. Several clans had gone extinct due to ill-made decisions by illogical Clan Heads. However, the 25 civilians who stared back at the Clan Heads did not shudder or shrink back at the towering chakra that was being released by the Clan Heads. These were the best among the best among the civilian population of Konoha. They looked after the economy, industry and administration of the village. There was little they were intimidated by. Even Shinobi like the Clan Heads barely warranted a raise of the eyebrow. Shinobi often forgot, but the civilians controlled everything else in the village. Food, weapons manufacturing, clothing, essentials. Without the Shinobi, the civilians had no protection, but without the civilians, there were no Shinobi at all. 5 delegates of the Fire Lord sat stiffly observing the legislative assembly of Konoha assemble at the order of the Hokage. A tense silence ensued as the Hokage's advisors and the ANBU commanders entered the Council Room.

"An Akuryo?" Came the derisive snort of Hiashi Hyuga, breaking the tense silence that enveloped the room. A disbelieving emotion fluttered over Hiashi's face as his white eyes narrowed at the report in front of his designated desk. His incredulity was clearly shared by many among the Grand Council.

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a bit of smoke from his mouth before setting it down gingerly. He stapled his fingers together and leaned forward, looking at the entire council with a critical eye. "Yes. Special Jonin Uzumaki engaged with an Akuryo possessing a half-Uchiha girl by the name of Junko who had abducted Chunin Obito Uchiha. According to his report, the Akuryo had deceived Chunin Uchiha by befriending him and then came to his residence to abduct him today afternoon. Special Jonin Uzumaki who had suspected the Akuryo went to my old colleague, Kagami Uchiha who is learned in these matters and Kagami confirmed Uzumaki's concerns. Consequently, Special Jonin Uzumaki engaged the Akuryo and exorcised the spirit from Junko Uchiha."

"Akuryos are myths." Came the flat rebuttal from Fugaku Uchiha. His beady eyes were blazing with the typical Uchiha temper. "Junko Uchiha is a war orphan from the Second Great Ninja War. It is possible that she had latent mental problems that were ignored which caused her to lash out, but to say this episode was that of an Akuryo is absurd."

Hiruzen said nothing at first. He observed Fugaku quietly. The Uchiha clan's political position was getting more and more feeble every day. Their public perception was a mess of contradictions. They were respected as a noble clan and as a founding clan, but their involvement in the Police Force had earned the ire of many in the village. And with the Third Great Ninja War having dwarfed the Second and the First by proportions not imagined, many of the Shinobi resented most of the Uchiha, who were stuck on patrol duty in and out of the village as the leading force behind the Police Force. Fugaku could not afford such a strike against his clan's reputation, indeed. Hiruzen leaned back on his chair, observing Danzo from the peripheral of his eyes. 'It is odd that he hasn't deigned to speak yet. Usually, by now he would be frothing at the mouth…Did he know something?'

Hiruzen pointed towards the visitor's gallery. Beside an anxious Minato, a bemused Orochimaru and Jiraiya stood a monk from the Temple of Amaterasu. "Head Priestess Nanami, your verdict?"

Wearing the traditional pair of the red hakama and a white kosode, combined with red hair ribbons, Head Priestess Nanami was the very picture of a cold and focused Priestess. Her sleek hazel eyes flickered to the Hokage before turning back to the council as she bowed slightly. "Lord Hokage is correct. The Temple has found signs of possession from within her. She has been exorcised successfully, but it is clear that she was undoubtedly possessed."

"But that's absurd and how –"

"What I want to know is, how did this Uzumaki know about the Akuryo in the first place if all the eyes of the Hyuga and Uchiha couldn't figure it out? Our dogs and the Aburame bugs detected nothing either." Tsume Inuzuka, with her bushy and spiky hair interrupted Fugaku's angry reply as her face grew more and more dangerous. Her fangs were beginning to show.

"The Barrier Unit detected nothing either," Inoichi murmured loudly. The tension in the room only thickened at the end of the two statements. Everyone's head swivelled slowly towards Kushina Uzumaki, Clan Head of Clan Uzumaki who was clearly not paying attention to the proceedings at play. Hiruzen's eyes twitched as he observed Kushina doodling something on her report copy with a pen as she hummed silently, ignoring the rest of the conversation entirely.

'Akuryo. Psshh.' Kushina laughed mentally as she continued to doodle intently. She was having a very intense fight between two stickmen on her report. Based on what she had heard about the battle between Naruto and Hanzo, Kushina believed that her drawings were a somewhat accurate representation of what had happened during that battle. Her auburn red hair glowed brightly as it swayed in the night wind she continued to ignore the rest of the council and continued to draw. She hadn't even bothered to come in her formal Clan Head attire, instead wearing the kitchen dress she had been wearing when she received the summons to come to the council earlier that night. 'Whatever. Naruto got it handled, so why are we here anyway?'

"Kushina." Came Hiruzen's exasperated voice as he interrupted Kushina's train of thought. "Can you please at least act like you care about your position in this council?"

Kushina perked up and looked at the council members who were training their eyes on her. Kushina rolled her eyes and exhaled some of the air she was holding inside. "Sorry. Was distracted."

"Lady Uzumaki, what can you tell the council about your clansman?" Murakomo Kurama leaned forward on his desk. His golden brown eyes glinted dangerously and hypnotically, barely restraining the powerful Kurama Clan Kekkei Genkai that hid beneath it. "He has had a run of luck these past few months since the village took him in, hasn't he? Defeating Hanzo himself! And now, taking out an Akuryo that no one sensed. This surely cannot be a coincidence. Have we taken a spy into our custody without even knowing?"

"That's absurd! I interrogated him personally!" Inoichi raised his voice before Kushina could retort against the allegation. "He is not a spy! Nor does he have ill intentions against Konoha!"

"Lord Yamanaka, your clan's techniques are not known to be infallible, despite their usefulness." One of the civilian magnates pointed out with a calm and measured voice.

"That's entirely correct. Sleeper agents could bypass your interrogation Inoichi." Murakomo agreed as he nodded his head thoughtfully before he turned back to Kushina. "We should take Naruto Uzumaki in for questioning. These strings of coincidences are too much to ignore…."

"You can't do that!" Kushina cried out, anger dripping from every syllable she uttered. "He had done nothing but been an asset for Konoha."

"Yes." Shikaku Nara nodded, his pineapple hair bobbing slightly as he leaned back on his chair. "But you cannot deny that his entire presence here has been one lucky coincidence after another. He somehow showed up in front of a Konoha platoon on the verge of being wiped out, defeated the enemy ninja and followed them back here. Then he asked for asylum and coincidentally found family back here. Up until this point, I don't think anyone has any reason to be suspicious. But afterwards, we learn that he is strong enough to be a match for Minato in the battlefield. And then he goes on to defeat Hanzo. And now we understand that he can detect Akuryo when the entire village fails at that task. Kage Level Shinobi do not appear out of thin air. We would have heard a whisper of him or a description of him at least once before he arrived on our gates. Tell me Kushina, did you know about any Red Haired S-rank Shinobi who used chains in his fights?"

"No, but –"

"There you go." Shikaku pointed out as he trained his eyes on the Uzumaki Clan Head. "This situation is entirely troublesome, but you cannot deny that something is fishy here."

"Why does this even matter? Despite his past, if he is a service to the village, then we should just let this entire thing go. We should be thanking the young man." Came Nakama Hatake's input on the matter. "Lord Nara, I will have to side with Lady Uzumaki on this matter. It is entirely possible that he could have kept his head low. We all know about the tales of old hermit shinobi monks who hide out in the mountains that could give any Kage a run for their lives. Yet we know nothing about them. Why should this young Uzumaki be different?"

"Troublesome," Shikaku muttered. "We are at war. And I am Jonin Commander. It is my duty to think about every possibility, Lord Hatake."

Suddenly, a thick chakra enveloped the entire Grand Council. Radiating a density that was nearly impossible to match, a few of the Clan Heads scratched their throats through the pain. The civilians choked and started to fall to their desks. Even the ANBU Commander fell to his knees. The only ones not affected at all were Hiruzen and Tsunade, both of whom watched the proceedings with a calm gaze. Even Danzo flinched a bit at the sheer density of the chakra being emitted by Kushina Uzumaki. Her eyes had transformed into feline-like slits and her hair was rising against gravity, swaying tantalizing in the glow of the night. Affable and friendly as she was, many people forgot about her status as the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki. The Jinchuriki were the ace of the villages. They were the last line of defence and the first line of offence. And Kushina had trained her entire life to be a veritable war machine for Konoha. She was dangerous in the most destructive of terms. Wisps of air left Kushina's mouth as she began to speak. "No one will touch Naruto Uzumaki unless it is clear that he is working against the village. He had done nothing in favour of that, and so we shall treat him as a normal shinobi of Konohagakure."

The fact that she had leaked a bit of the Nine Tail's chakra into her voice made her sound menacing and demonic. Kushina was not one for calmly spoken words, but she was a master of threats and knew when to weaponise calmness to make her point known. As if by instinct, several Clan Heads released their own chakras. Hiashi's ocular nerves bulged as he activated his Byakugan, and Fugaku's eyes turned crimson red. Tsume grew more and more animalistic as her fangs glinted ferociously and bugs started to swirl around Shibi. Before the situation could devolve any further, two other people released their chakras. Compared to what even Kushina was emitting, these two dwarfed everyone else several times over. The floor cracked as Hiruzen and Tsunade released their chakra and killing intent onto the council as well. A few of the civilians fainted and sheer gravity forced all of the Clan Heads to fall down to their knees, toppling several of them from their chairs.

'This…..this chakra.' Minato gasped from the visitor's gallery. Though he was far from the main chamber and wasn't bearing the brunt of the Hokage's wrath, he could still feel its suffocating power. He clenched the veranda and tightened his grip over it. His own chakra was impressive, but as Hiruzen's power silenced anyone who disagreed, Minato was reminded of a very apt phrase. 'Beware the old man in a profession where men die young.'

"Enough." The Third Hokage's voice was silent, yet none dared question it. His normally warm chakra signature felt like someone was suffocating them and not letting up. Flashes of death and war passed by the onlookers. The Third Hokage had slain the Second Raikage and had personally destroyed the Land of Sky. The Third Hokage had led Konoha to victory in the First and Second Great Ninja Wars. As the Council suffocated under his chakra, they were reminded exactly why Hiruzen Sarutobi was called the God of the Shinobi, a moniker he had inherited from the First Hokage. Tsunade's glare into the council accentuated Hiruzen's already potent chakra. Her chakra was dense, as befitting the leader of the Senju, and felt like the warm breeze next to the shores before a tsunami rose up from the waves to consume you. "This is the Grand Council of Konoha. All of you shall act within the limits of your station or not at all."

"Talk about actions before logic and due process is even dictated is treason. Any who speak of it sets themselves against the legitimate authority of the Charter of Fire and are the heirs in spirit to the disorder of the early days of the village, who plunged our country into rebellion and chaos." Hiruzen declared softly, yet with an authoritative voice. His voice like a whisper filtered throughout the entire council, and was heard by everyone. "Let there be no confusion. Naruto Uzumaki shall be monitored and all protocols regarding refugee shinobi shall be enacted upon him. Unless he is declared guilty before the law, his right as a Konoha Shinobi is ordained by all that we hold holy and dear. No one here shall alter this fact."

Naori exited the Hokage's office with a pensive look on her face. Her lone non-Sharingan eye flickered towards the Senju Clan Compound where her new charge was being kept. The Hokage had been irritable, and Naori could only guess how the Council meeting had gone. Putting some of the strongest people in the village together was always a recipe for angry shouting and screaming matches. The hilarious stories of how council meetings devolved into fights were something that every ANBU ever stuck on guard duty for the council loved to share in ANBU headquarters, despite the insistence of the ANBU Commander to stop such rumours and talk. But the recent topic of the council – Naruto – was a troubling one. Her previous assignment had been to watch over Naruto whenever she wasn't on a separate mission. A few days prior she had been given garrison duty in one of the fortresses near the Land of Hot Water to defend against any Kumo shinobi coming near the position. She had returned only two hours prior and was already saddled with a more permanent assignment, as it were.

You are to be Special Jonin Uzumaki's overseer in everything. I would like to extend my thanks to Naruto for protecting Obito from a threat that went undetected right underneath our noses, but Shikaku raised good points that me and my students already discussed. You were there as well. At least during this time of war, I cannot slip up just because I like the young man. Should he prove without doubt that he is trustworthy then your assignment will come to an end.

The doubt that continued to filter among the higher-ups about Naruto continued to irritate Naori, who had seen Naruto fight for her and her squad with his life on the line back in Ame and in the Land of Wetlands. And now her new assignment meant that she was basically confined to the missions that would be assigned to Naruto. Shuffling, Naori stood still for a few seconds before she sighed. 'Might as well get started.'

She turned and started to walk towards the Senju Compound. Leaning against the left pillar of the entrance gate to the compound, one Naruto Uzumaki was nonchalantly munching down on some Dango on a stick. He waved at her and said, "Hey! Naori! Long time no see!"

"You saw me only a few days ago." Naori sighed as she rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn. The mission in the Land of Hot Water, while not challenging, had been tiring. She had expected to give her report to the Hokage and hit the sack. "And you got into trouble the moment I stepped out of the village gates."

Naruto's blue eyes sharpened as he looked at her. Naori blinked and felt slightly intimidated by that sudden look before she collected herself. Naruto rubbed the back of his neck good-naturedly. "You can't tell me that deciding to save Obito was the wrong decision could you?"

'No, I can't.' "No. Still, with all that has been going on, you have very few friends among the governing bodies of the village." Naori pointed out softly, as her violet hair danced in the moonlight. "And to be fair they do have some good points. A Kage-level shinobi really does not appear out of nowhere. I cannot fault them for being suspicious. Your recent antics have only heightened their suspicion."

Surprisingly, a sigh left Naruto's mouth as he leaned harder on the pillar and turned his hair to the heavens, watching the moon with even more attention than before. For a while, he said nothing while Naori waited. The night breeze continued to flutter, making Naruto's spiky red hair sway and dance with the tune of nature. His azure eyes glowed like the ocean itself as Naruto continued to delve into deep thought. "I suppose I haven't given them a good reason to trust me. From their perspective, it has been rather sudden. A Kage-level shinobi is an asset during a war. But when you cannot ascertain where or how that shinobi came to be, and thus their deep loyalties, ideals and goals, then there comes a problem. Especially during wartime. Then, I think you have been assigned to watch over me. Supervise me and report back to the Hokage?"

"Well, it seems that someone smart lurks beneath that inattentive and happy-go-lucky façade you make for yourself." Naori quipped as she tried to hide her surprise. Naruto's insights had been right on the money. She walked forward, and rummaging through her pocket she handed him a cup of ramen she had bought on the way over. She smiled slightly as she saw Naruto's eyes lit up the moment they fell on the ramen. Naruto finished chewing on the dango and threw the stick onto a nearby trash can before he took the ramen cup and eyed the flavours and food details on the cover.

"I was a leader once," Naruto answered her slowly, his eyes trained on the cup of ramen. Naori kept silent and didn't interrupt. "I had friends. Dear friends that I would give anything and more. Even my very soul. They yielded to my leadership and paid the ultimate price for it. So I can understand the village's leadership and their motivation to a degree."

'They paid the ultimate price….?' Naori looked at Naruto under a new light. The redhead opened the cup ramen and fumbled over to a village tap where he filled the cup with water that he was heating using fire chakra. The goofball then started to slurp the ramen with no sense of decorum at all. Every time Naori met and spoke with Naruto, she was only filled with more questions than answers. He was an enigma. But at least, she got to know something. He was a leader once. And he had most probably committed some mistakes that led to the deaths of the people under his wing. Sighing softly, she leaned back against the wall as well as Naruto fumbled back towards the compound gate. "Just who were you before me and Naka met you, Naruto?"

Naruto stopped slurping from his ramen. A melancholic glint grew in his eyes as he looked at the moon once more. "I'm a failure. I'm a man stuck in the past. I'm a man who wants to do the right things. That's it. Nothing more Naori. Everything else in past is simply hurt, danger, failures, and grief. This is the most peaceful I've been in a long time. I have Kushina. I have Tsunade, even though she's a grumpy old bat in the mornings. What Dan sees in her I don't know. I have an apprentice. And Obito and Kakashi are here too, despite Kakashi being a brat of the highest order. You, Ichigo and the others are also here. I haven't been happy like this in a lifetime."

Noari smiled a bit. "That's sweet. I'm glad you take me and the others as reasons for being happy, Naruto."

Naori paused a bit before she continued. "Did you know that Mr. Namikaze vouched for you at the council meeting?"

Naruto raised a delicate eyebrow. "Really? Despite our rather scintillating spar, I believed that he didn't particularly like me."

'Well, if what Ms. Kushina said was true, then yes, I suppose Mr. Namikaze wasn't fond of the coincidence of finding a Uzumaki relative in the middle of the war. Though I think he never had anything personal against Naruto.' Naori tilted her head to the side, thinking about Naruto's statement before shaking her head slightly. "According to Lord Hokage, he was impressed and touched by the lengths you went to protect his students. He told me to give this scroll to you. Mr. Namikaze gave it to the Hokage and he gave it to me to pass on to you."

Naori rummaged through the scrolls pockets on her Jonin vest and handed the appropriate scroll to Naruto. Naruto eyed the scroll with some trepidation before sighing and putting his cup of ramen on one of the road pillars and then took the scroll gingerly from Naori's hands. He opened it slowly, reading through every line carefully before he finally reached the end of the scroll after a few minutes. Naori raised a delicate eyebrow. "I don't mean to sound like I'm prying, but I am curious. What did he say?"

"He formally put in a Jonin sensei's acceptance of another Jonin taking one of their students as an apprentice," Naruto answered softly, his eyes matching his tone. Soft and gentle, as if he couldn't believe what he had just read. "He approves of me taking Rin as an apprentice and has extended an invitation for Team 7 training days when he is in the village. He's asking me to come for dinner with Kushina and Team 7 this weekend."

"Well, that's kind of him. Right?" Naori prodded Naruto gently. Naruto nodded and handed the scroll back to her. As his overseer, she would be forced to keep a detailed archive of all the communications Naruto would receive and give out. Naori gingerly put the scroll back into her scroll pocket on her vest and looked back at Naruto. A slight sheen of wetness could be seen in Naruto's eyes, surprising Naori. "I didn't know you were so eagerly chasing after Mr. Namikaze's approval."

Naruto chuckled slightly at the teasing remark. "In a way, yes I suppose. I was accepted so readily by Kushina. It hurt not to have what I assume to be my future cousin-in-law not do the same."

"There's more to it than that." Naori rebuked Naruto gently, folding her arms, and tilting her head to the side slightly. "I know you well enough by now to see when you're starting to hide something, Naruto."

"No." Naruto shook his head sadly. His eyes pierced Naori with a glaze of sadness that she hadn't seen on anyone else other than embittered veterans of the older wars and the Warring States Era. "You don't know me at all Naori."

"You are getting attached, Naruto." Came the grunting voice of his eternal companion. Naruto almost couldn't bear to look at Kurama. After his death, he was always translucent, but he was barely holding on now, almost faded. In his mindscape, Naruto sighed, and looked up, seeing Kurama's once deep red but now translucent bluish eyes peering at him with curiosity. "You know what we will need to do in the end. What you will need to do, brat. So take it from me, don't get attached to new people. People you never knew in your original life."

Naruto looked away, unwilling to answer the hyperbolic statement. It was true, however. And knowing what he needed to do in the end, made his will fumble at times. "I never said that I wouldn't get attached Kurama. You know who I am. It's hard for me to not get attached."

Kurama's eyes, which were once so full of hate and malice looked at him with pity. Which was ironic. Kurama was the one among the dead between the two of them. And he was the one who was pitying the living. "I know brat. That's why I worry about you. I knew it was impossible for you not to get attached to people you once knew. But you are also getting attached to new people. The Uchiha bitch, Minato's little kunoichi student, and now that former Akuryo. Brat, don't make me spell it out for you."

"I knew the risks when I opened the door, Kurama," Naruto answered with a melancholic voice. His hand stretched forward, trying to softly rub one of Kurama's swishing tails, but flinched back as the hand went right through the ghost of Kurama. Kurama's gaze softened. He crossed his forelimbs and knelt down in Naruto's mindscape, bringing his translucent snout down to head level for Naruto. "I knew…."

"You knew in your head." Kurama rebuked softly, his tails swishing slightly. "Your heart, however, did not. It still does not. Your heart is your greatest weapon and your greatest weakness, Naruto."

"I know." Naruto sighed as he fell on his back onto the floor of the mindscape. "I don't, I don't even know where I am going with all of this now. The village is suspicious of me. And I still don't have the operational freedom I need to pursue Madara, Zetsu and the others. Kanabi Bridge is coming within 9 months. When…..When the time comes, I don't know what I would do if I hadn't finished what I started, for everyone."

Kurama sighed and nuzzled Naruto slightly. It wasn't an actual nuzzle, considering Kurama's transparent and ghost like form, but it helped Naruto calm down a bit. Kurama looked at Naruto directly, addressing him. "There's no point moping around brat. You'll only die a bitter man if you give into a panic like this. Get yourself ready on the double."

"Kurama…" Naruto started, still looking down, at his mindscape, not looking at Kurama directly. "Do you think I did the right thing? Starting all of this? Would it mean anything if I failed in the end?"

"Naruto. Everything that you thought had meaning every hope, dream or moment of happiness…none of it will matter if you succumb to the Door's vision without succeeding." Kurama murmured, his voice soft for one such as him. "But does that mean what we want to do is meaningless? Does that mean that there was no point in us trudging through heaven and hell and back to save everyone?"

Naruto did not answer the hypothetical question. Kurama trudged forward, his voice getting more and more deep as he continued to speak with more and more certainty in his voice. "It was not! Every action we commit to serves to help save the world, one soul at a time. Every action we commit to has meaning because we who turn the wheel back refuse to give up on them. To give up on this forsaken world. Our fates, Naruto, are sealed in stone. But if we can trust in every soul we save, then, beyond anything else, with or without us, I am sure we will succeed."

Naruto chuckled weakly as he finally looked up and gazed at Kurama's ghostly visage face to face. "When did you become a motivational speaker, furball?"

"The moment we unlocked the seal together, brat."

And with that, two old friends laughed into the night.

In Another Realm at the Same Time

Hiding in one of the many block systems that made up of the Kamui dimension was a tedious and ultimately futile task, Kakashi reflected as he dodged another Zetsu clone that crept up on him. How long had it been? Days? Months? Years? Since he had sacrificed himself into this void of a realm to defeat Zetsu. 'Well it can't dwell on it too long…that's Black Zetsu's signature coming up close….'

Standing up, Kakashi leaned on of the blocks before standing up to his full height. His characteristic gravity-defying silver hair had dulled a bit, and his flak jacket was torn up. Still, though, Kakashi held his head high. His two eyes flickered to Black Zetsu's position. Staring at the beast who had orchestrated the entire war to begin with, Kakashi's eyes transformed into the two eternal Mangekyo that had been gifted to him with Obito's last dying breaths. Zetsu and Kaguya had taunted him, believing him unable to master the two Mangekyo in any short amount of time to be a threat. But Kakashi had proven to himself and his students why he had deserved the moniker of 'once in a generation genius'. Not even Madara Uchiha or Itachi Uchiha mastered the Susanoo by activating it the moment they unlocked it. If it wasn't obvious, Kakashi was proud of his Susanoo. 'Still though…Don't have enough chakra yet to manifest one. Kamui Shuriken will have to do…..'

"There you are Hatake!" Black Zetsu snarled at him as soon as it spotted him. Kakashi's eyes widened a fraction in surprise. During the first fights that they had shared in this dimension, Black Zetsu was annoyingly talkative, but after some time it had practically turned mute. To hear its voice after so long was disconcerting to Kakashi.

Still, he refused to let such a moment go to waste. "Yo! Sorry for disappearing from you after our last fight. I got lost on the road of life."

Black Zetsu snarled at him quietly before its face turned to an insidious smirk that made Kakashi narrow his eyes. "Ah yes. Just like your student, it would seem."

"My student?" Kakashi muttered quietly, all humour having dissipated almost immediately. "What about them, Zetsu? It's just the two of us here. Or is the isolation making you mad? Honestly, I think I used Kamui in a mind healer's office once. I'm sure you could find some psychological tips in one of the books that I must have teleported into this dimension."

The bland tone of Kakashi's made Zetsu twitch before it recollected itself. "You mean to tell me you didn't feel it? Hah. Well, it would seem that this dimension doesn't report back to its creator, hmm…that would have some advantages for the future."

"Talk straight, Zetsu," Kakashi murmured warily as he raised two Kamui Shurikens in his hands, getting into a stance, ready to fight within a second if need be. "Or not at all."

"Time has been altered." Zetsu grinned at him maliciously. "Do you not feel the changes in this dimension? It is yours after all."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. 'It's true. I did feel a wave and then the dimension has not felt the same ever since. But that was….hours? days? Months ago. What does he mean by time being altered…oh. Oh! Naruto! You did it!'

Despite the mask, Zetsu could see a grin forming on Kakashi's face. "You knew of that plan, I presume."

"Ask me nothing then I will tell you no lies," Kakashi said with a deadpan tone as he flippantly flipped the bird at Zetsu as he pocketed his shuriken and went back to reading his beloved Icha Icha.

"He didn't go back alone. Things have followed him."

"Well then, it's a good thing then that his favourite sensei is going to break and jump over Space to help him then, hm?"

A/N: A lot of things in this chapter! Politics, bonding, and hints for the future! Hope you caught them all! See you next time! Would love more reviews and comments! I always love reading them!