3

The Legend

Professor Jean Colbert was restless. He knew that there was no way that a human could have been summoned by the spell.

Throughout the afternoon, he had locked himself in the Academy's library, immersing himself in the ancient texts housed on imposing rows of thirty-meter-high shelves that spanned the cavernous hall. The nagging question gnawing at his brain begged for answers.

Despite the wealth of knowledge contained in the myriad encyclopedias detailing Halkeginia's history from ancient times, there was no mention of summoning fellow humans. Not even the books Louise must have studied in preparation for the ritual mentioned such a thing.

Of course, he had expected it to be inconceivable. Yet, the boy being here at all was proof of the contrary. How else could a peasant have shown up if not with a Summon Servant spell?

So, he kept on digging: farther and farther into the library's farthest reaches… and, eventually, he found exactly what he was looking for.

In the Fenrir Library, a section off-limits to students, he happened to come across a well-worn tome.

"I haven't checked this one yet, have I…?"

He blew off the dust from the front cover of the book, coughing a little from the debris in the air, and set it down on the table. His eyes scanned the pages, the light of the candle pushing against the gathering darkness, as he sought the answers to the questions that had arisen earlier that morning.

"Ah!" There might not have been any clues as to what he was originally looking for, but Jean Colbert was nonetheless shocked by the discovery he made: he recognized an ink engraving of an unmistakable rune—the very same one that Louise's familiar had carved on his left hand!

"I…" After regaining his composure, his face hardened. "I have to tell the headmaster about this!"

After that day's debacle, Naruto was somewhat optimistic that his beloved mistress (a term he would use very liberally) would soften up a bit more. After all, she had helped him clean up the mess her botched spell had caused. Sure, her lack of both experience and enthusiasm had made the whole thing a lot more complicated than it needed to be, but it was the attempt that counted anyway.

He remembered the route they had taken some time ago, the one that had led them to the dining hall. He had begun to make a mental map of the academy in the night, during his failed attempt at fleeing, though without a way home, that now seemed redundant.

The sheer expanse of the place was still mind-boggling to him, all the more so when compared to the academy back at Konohagakure. The Uzumaki gazed at the landscapes of undulating greenish hills through the archways of the corridors with his hands in his pockets, taking in the muted hues gently illuminated by the soft light. Going by the sun's current location in the sky, it must've been about noon when they finished cleaning up Louise's mess.

Louise had remained remarkably aloof the whole while, ever since they had left the classroom.

It was kind of strange. After all, she'd gone out of her way to help him without asking anything in return, and she'd even blushed back then. Yet now it seemed like nothing had really changed.

So, Naruto took the obvious route: trying to break the ice.

"So… about the nickname, Louise the Zero…"

The girl's shoulders tensed up briefly, before she suddenly speeded up her pace. Naruto had no trouble keeping up as they made their way along the halls.

"Don't let it get to you," Naruto said, "I've been there too, y'know?" "Nobody believed I could be a great shinobi, but I kept working really hard, believing in myself and—"

"SHUT UP ALREADY!" With a low growl and an aggressive stomp that took the ninja of Konohagakure by surprise, Louise twisted around to face him. "'Don't let it get to you'? 'Work really hard'? What do you know?" her voice was barely a whisper, "Huh?! Answer me!"

Her hair fell in front of her eyes, making it difficult to tell what she was thinking. "Don't you think I've tried just as hard as anyone else? I've devoted countless hours to trying to cast a single spell—one that won't end up in me blowing all I'm trying to achieve to bits and the only thing I managed to accomplish was worsening the explosions!"

She fell silent for nearly a minute, her breathing shallow by the outburst, while her familiar just stared at her, a look of dismay on his face.

"The summoning was my last hope to prove everyone wrong…" she closed her eyes. "And all I got was a stupid peasant who doesn't know anything!"

With that sudden outburst, she promptly turned on her heel and stomped off down to the dining hall. "No more meals until I say so, got that?!"

But Naruto wasn't willing to throwing in the towel so easily. After all, he'd never done it before, and it wasn't about to be the first time that he'd entertained such a possibility.

"Hey!" So he reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder, turning her so that she was facing right at him. Louise's hazel eyes shot open, taken aback by the bold move, and a hint of red tinged her face from the suddenness of it all. "I get why you're doing this, but putting up walls all around you and shutting down everyone won't magically make things easier!"

The Vallière girl just stared at her familiar, her face beet-red and her mouth hanging open as though she had forgotten how to speak. "You even listenin'? C'mon say something!"

"T-T-T-This f-f-f-familiar…" she spoke quite awkwardly, as if her tongue had got all tied up. "H-h-how d-dares he to a-address his m-mistress in such a way…"

Naruto, completely oblivious, leaned in a bit closer. "What's the matter? Your face is all red again. Got fever or something?"

Before he could so much as blink, Louise had whipped out her wand like it was a sword and jabbed it at him. Blue sparks crackled from the tip, sending a chill down his spine.

"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU IDIOT!"

"W-WAIT, WHA—!"

KA-BOOM!

A blinding flash of light and a deafening blare of noise rocked Naruto's world right into unconsciousness after he was hit square in the face by the blast from just a few inches away.

But despite her anger, the noble girl couldn't help but wince as she walked away from her familiar. Why's he trying so hard to be nice?

A little lightheaded, Naruto regained consciousness a few minutes later, only to hear some idle chatter and a few sniggers coming from around him. He'd spent the last few minutes stretched out on the ground face first on the concrete floor, smoke rising from his back.

"What is that thing?"

"Oh… gross…"

He then spotted two girls, both wearing brown cloaks, looking at him like they'd just stumbled across a dead cat lying at the side of the road.

"Is he alive?" the blonde one asked.

"Yuck, don't look."

He let out a frustrated grunt in response. "Aww, shaddap, y'know…"

Both of them walked away, visibly upset by his attitude, though he couldn't give less of a damn. Though, he caught some remarks about the way peasants showed less and less respect to their superiors. What's the deal with these entitled brats, anyway?

Actually, scratch that. What's her deal? Naruto peered around, hoping to spot her, but she must've slipped away while he was down for the count.

A pair of boots stopped inches from his face, prompting a confused Naruto to look up, still a bit dazed. It was a girl about her age, leaning gently towards him with an angelic smile at the corners of her lips. She had straight black hair, with bangs cut in a horizontal line across her forehead, which reminded him of Hinata back at Konoha, though her hair reached down to the nape of her neck. She sported a maid uniform, complete with a silky white apron and headband.

The maid tilted her head, an owlish little gesture, as she spoke in a gentle, soft-spoken manner. "You're Miss Vallière's familiar, correct? Are you all right?"

He gave her a sheepish grin. "Seen better days."

As the maid fixed his cut with a sticking plaster, Naruto winced for a moment.

He rubbed the sore area awkwardly as she finished, looking away from her gaze, down at the ground. She stood there quietly for a while, smiling at him as he sat on the old wooden box, sitting cross-legged like he was on a chair, her kind blue eyes meeting his, a calm pools of blue.

"You should take more care, that's certainly a nasty wound you've got there," she said politely as she tilted her head to the side and held both hands together down to her waist.

He watched her close her eyes, her smile like a beacon—the warmest gesture he'd seen in a while, and kept his lips tight for a moment.

In the end, Naruto couldn't muster up the courage to tell her the truth.

The girl was by far the friendliest person he'd come across since arriving, apart from Louise's teacher, so he didn't want to risk doing something that might come across as too farfetched by telling her what had really happened at the Samurai Bridge.

After all, it's not easy to explain to someone that you come from another world without sounding like you're completely out of your mind.

Then he broke the silence.

"You know about me?"

"A little," she nodded, "There's been a lot of buzz around the academy about the peasant who was summoned as a familiar."

"Y-You're a mage too?" he asked, a hint of a frown on his face.

"Oh, no!" she replied, visibly taken aback for a moment, before regaining her composure and smiling again. "I'm just a peasant like you, serving the nobility here, helping out with whatever domestic duties are needed."

Naruto grinned again, "The name's Uzumaki Naruto, but you can just call me Naruto, nice to meet ya."

"That's a strange name," she commented, looking a bit puzzled.

"It is?"

"Yes. Never heard anyone with that kind of name," then she smiled. "My name's Siesta, nice to meet you too, Naruto-san."

"Did you just use honorifics?" Naruto blinked, taken aback.

"Oh, yes!" Siesta nodded. "My family uses them quite a bit."

His smirk widened as he rubbed the back of his head. "Really? Well, in my village, we do the same thing!"

"It's a bit of a family thing," Siesta explained, "It was taught to us by my grandpa."

"Ohhh," Naruto nodded.

"I have to say, I really admire how you don't let the nobles intimidate you, Naruto-san. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to them like that."

Naruto scoffed, sourly, "Bah! Who'd ever let a bunch of self-important brats who think they're all that just because they know a few magic tricks scare them? And don't even get me started with that Louise shorty!" he spat as he leaned against the wall while making grandiose gestures with his arms, "I ain't got a clue why that girl's always so sulky! I was just trying to cheer her up, and next thing I know, she suddenly nukes me to friggin' hell and back!" He finished his rant, resting his chin on his palm as he heaved out an exasperated breath.

"Well, I can't comment on Miss Vallière, but the majority of mages are highly trained from an early age. They're very proud of their status and abilities and view commoners, who don't have the same status or skill set, with disdain." She suddenly looked afraid, her eyebrows drawn together in a worried frown. "If you were to anger a noble, you wouldn't stand a chance."

The ninja looked at her, a thoughtful frown spreading across his face.

He was perplexed by how people with such remarkable abilities could turn a blind eye to the suffering of their fellow men, who were helpless to defend themselves.

Surely, a true ninja would never do that!

They do their damnedest to defend their villages, which includes the civilians who are unable to defend themselves!

"Are you in the mood for something to eat?"

He leapt to his feet, a grin on his face as he looked at Siesta.

"Nah, but thanks a lot for caring. I'd love to thank you in some way."

"Oh! Don't worry about it!" she just gave a little shake of her head, with a kind of sheepish grin on her face.

"Don't worry, there must be something I can do."

Surely it wouldn't be worse than having to do Louise's laundry, would it? The gal seemed a hell of a lot less overbearing than Louise ever was, which made him more than happy to do her a solid and lighten her load, even if it was just a little.

Siesta tilted her head, bashfully, in spite of her smile. "Well, you could help me to carry the cakes to the dinning hall, it's tea time."

She gestured towards what looked like a large, wheeled metal cart carrying plenty of packages. Naruto made a guess and figured the treats were stored there.

No big deal, he thought. It wasn't the first time he'd delivered meals. He'd done odd jobs of the like for the Old Man Ichiraku when he was short on cash to pay for his ramen.

"All right, then, let's do this," The Uzumaki went over to the cart, loosening his shoulder as he did so. Before he carried them, he took a quick gander and was struck by how tantalizing and finely detailed each one looked.

"Man, they sure go out of their way to spoil these guys, eh?" He pouted, his eyes closing into thin lines.

"Ah, very careful, Naruto-san!" Siesta exclaimed as he looked at her, confused, "Those cakes are very expensive and for nobles only!"

"Yeah, yeah!" he groaned as he sealed one of the packages, "I ain't hungry anyway."

As he strolled through the dining hall, pushing the cart, Naruto's mind wandered back to Siesta. First, the honorifics, then that black hair. She told me her grandpa taught them, so I wonder… He was snapped out of his train of thought when he heard some loud chatter at one of the tables.

The male mage in particular stood up like a real show-off. He had blonde curly hair, a frill-trimmed button-down white shirt, purple pants, and white shoes. A rose even poked out of one of his pockets. Who even carries something like that around with them instead of more useful stuff?

The whole getup made him look like he was straight out of one of Pervy Sage's novels! Naruto bit his tongue, struggling to keep himself from laughing his ass off at the guy.

From what he could tell, his buddies were having a good laugh at his expense.

The whole scene made him feel rather nostalgic, oddly enough; it brought back memories of all the get-togethers he had thrown at his apartment with his own colleagues back home. He spotted two people: the same chubby teenager who had a bit of a spat with Louise back at the classroom; the other was a scrawny kid with orange hair and glasses.

"Hey, Guiche, who you going with now?"

"Yeah! Who's your girlfriend."

He reached a hand up to rub his chin, a sly smile playing on his lips.

"Go out?" he questioned, his voice sounding annoyingly melodious as he spoke. "I don't have any particular regard for any one woman. As they say, a rose blooms for the pleasure of many."

Naruto just stood stock-still, gaping at him in disbelief at the sheer corniness of it all. Beds of sweat were dripping off his face. Oh, brother, he's actually comparing himself to a rose? Is this guy for real or is he that stupid? One of his eyes twitched. That… that doesn't make sense!

That was when a strangely shaped bottle fell out of his pocket. It hit the chair and rolled around on the ground, rattling as it slid across the floor. The purple liquid puddled around the crystal.

The ninja lingered for a moment, considering whether he should do something or just leave it. The blonde kid was so engrossed in chatting with his friends he hadn't noticed what happened with the bottle, and neither had any of his friends.

Maybe I should tell him…

"Oi!" he exclaimed. "Something fell outta your pocket, dude!"

He didn't turn around. He didn't even do so much as notice him there!

Ignorin' me, eh? He frowned.

He walked up to them and picked up the bottle, moving with a lackadaisical gait, one hand in his pocket.

"You dropped this, Blondie," Naruto did his best not to spit out the words with annoyance, but it hardly worked.

The mage snapped a murderous glare his way, knocking the bottle to the ground and then jumping to his feet to meet him. Naruto did not flinch at the intimidation, if he flinched at all. His only surprise was how suddenly he had sprung from his seat.

"What are you talking about!" he exclaimed. "This isn't mine!"

Naruto managed to keep his composure despite a vein pressing against his temple.

"Can you stop spitting on me?"

For no apparent reason, Guiche's buddies abruptly raised a fuss over the bottle.

"Oh, yes! That's the perfume Montmorency uses, isn't it?"

"Yeah! Montmorency uses that vivid purple color to create a perfume that's just for her!"

"If you've got that in your pocket, it means you're seeing Montmorency now, right?"

They all turned to look at Guiche, and they all had these amused grins on their faces.

Meanwhile, the man of the hour went from red to blue in record time, almost as if his oxygen had been cut off when he turned to his side.

A pretty girl with long chestnut brown hair and a brown cape got up and walked over to him. Her aggressive stride immediately brought to Naruto's mind the not-so-great times Sakura had roughed him up, so his first instinct was to step back.

"Lord Guiche…" She had tears in her eyes, her chocolate brown irises crinkling at the corners. "I knew it, you and Montmorency are…"

The blonde was clearly very nervous, sweat beads rolling down his temples as he tried to come up with at least a plausible explanation.

"T-This is all a misunderstanding, Katie! Y-You're the only girl I have eyes for!"

SMACK!

Naruto cringed at the sharp sound of the girl's hand landing on Guiche's cheek. The echo of the impact rang through all the way to the other end of the hall.

"That perfume is more than enough proof of what's happening! Goodbye!"

The girl ran away in tears, bumping into Naruto's shoulder on her way out. He was so dumbfounded that he didn't even have the energy to glare at her.

But it didn't end there.

"GUICHE!"

Another girl stood up and strode over to Guiche. Naruto remembered her: the blonde girl Louise mocked when he arrived in Halkeginia.

Maybe it was the sheer ferocity in her eyes as she growled Guiche's name in a way that was almost demonic, but the ninja felt the air around the room suddenly become colder and moved right out of her way to avoid getting caught up in her rage.

He'd seen that sort of look before and wasn't willing to get involved.

If Guiche had been panicking before, now he seemed genuinely frightened for his own life.

"M-M-Montmorency!" the words were like jello in his mouth, "T-T-This… This is a misunderstanding! All I did was accompany her on a long trip to the forests of La Rochelle, I swear!"

Everything suddenly fell into place for Naruto: this guy has no shame at all.

"Wasn't that brown-haired girl your girlfriend?" he asked, his eyes closed to thin lines.

"M-Mind your own business, peasant!" Guiche barked.

"Wait just a moment!" Montmorency shot Naruto a sideways glance, looking curious. "Peasant, can you tell me more?"

"Mm-hmm!" he nodded, "Okay!"

"Montmorency! You're not seriously considering—"

"Be quiet," her murderous glare made him do so, she then glared at Naruto, "Explain. What did he say?"

Naruto pointed at him accusingly, "He was telling a girl with brown hair and a brown cape that she was the only girl he had eyes for, it was really corny!" he said nonchalantly.

Guiche winced as Montmorency shot him a look that could kill. "Is that so?"

"P-Please, Montmorency!" he stammered. "Don't frown and mar your beautiful face with anger, it doesn't suit you!"

But before he could react, the girl had already scooped up the perfume and proceeded to douse it all over Guiche's head.

"GOODBYE!" she yelled and stormed off.

A few seconds passed in silence, which was then broken by Naruto's uncontrollable laughter. While Guiche tried to wipe his face with a handkerchief.

"HAHAHAHA!" Naruto pointed at him, his mouth spread into a wide grin. "YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW, SERVES YOU RIGHT, HEART-BREAKER!"

But the noble wasn't at all appreciative of the laughter. As he pulled himself up to his feet, putting the handkerchief back in his pocket, he suddenly looked over at Naruto. As it turned out, he was a few inches taller than the shinobi thanks to his lanky frame. He was giving the whiskered-blonde a look which would have frozen most people in their tracks, but Uzumaki Naruto only stood his ground, matching the noble's glare and looking defiant.

"You peasant…" Guiche hissed, "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

Guiche stomped over to him, and the two stood face to face, mere centimeters apart.

The seconds crawled by as the tension in the hall became more and more palpable. Guiche was completely baffled by this peasant's confidence in ignoring a noble. Whiskered like a fox with those gaudy clothes, the peasant stood there, silent and unflinching, as if challenging him to do something about it.

"Have you forgotten your place? You're just asking for trouble…" A vein was pressing against Guiche's eyelid as he reached into his pocket and grasped the rose by its stem. There was a strained smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Naruto gave a sort of grimace as he finally took his hands out of his pockets, his eye sockets narrowing to slits. "Hey, I ain't gonna take a rain check just because you were two-timing. If you wanna blame someone, look in the mirror. You're the one who can't keep it on your pants."

Guiche's friends had a good laugh at the quip, but it only added fuel to the fire. The smile he was forcing on himself—an attempt to look more civilized than the ruffian he was dealing with—was on the verge of cracking, starting with a twitch.

"Listen, server—" A frown tugged at Naruto's brow. "—I pretended to not know anything when you put the bottle on the table for a reason. It wouldn't have killed you to go along with it."

"I ain't your server, you moron," Naruto spat out the words like they were a mouthful of acid.

Guiche was seething with rage but managed to stop himself before he gave in to it. A sudden realization saved him from acting on impulse.

"Oh, I know who you are," he snorted, scornfully.

Naruto gave a slight raise of an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. There was a lull in that hung in the air for a few seconds, until Guiche spoke again.

"I believe you are the peasant that Louise the Zero summoned, if I'm not mistaken," Guiche flashed a victorious grin as he tilted his head backwards, looking at Naruto like he was little more than the dirt under his feet.

The shinobi's already serious expression suddenly darkened with barely disguised outrage. He unconsciously clenched his hands into fists.

It was then that Siesta rushed over to him, grabbing at his left arm as if she was in a great deal of distress. When Naruto turned to look at her, her face was pale and her eyes were wide with fear.

"Naruto-san, you need to apologize!" she exclaimed. "I told you that you shouldn't make nobles angry!"

"Why should I apologize?!" Naruto shot back, at a loss. "It's this guy's fault for going around playing the field!" he finished, pointing at the noble.

Guiche wasn't about to let that remark fly by without a response.

"Why you…" He clutched his rose tightly and held it up threateningly in the peasant's direction. "I shall have to give you a lesson on how to address your betters!"

Siesta recoiled, grasping her chest as she let out a helpless cry. "Epp! He's going to murder you!" Before Naruto even had a chance to do or say anything, the maid abruptly turned on her heel and hightailed it out of there, shouting, "You're going to get yourself killed! And me with you!"

"What?!" Naruto blurted out. "Siesta?!"

"The maid is smart, you know…"

As the sound of the laughter carried to Naruto, he quickly turned his head to face the crowd of students that were all laughing at him. Guiche stood in front of them, almost as if he were orchestrating the laughter.

"She knows to fear my magical power," he stood up and stretched his arms out to their full length to strike a grandiose pose. "You, on the other hand, are quite the fool!"

The blonde mage snorted, "Bah! Since you were summoned by that worthless Louise the Zero, I can't say I'm surprised."

Naruto made a clicking noise with his tongue while baring his teeth.

"Think you're so tough, pretty boy?"

Not too far away, Siesta eventually came across Louise, who just happened to be making her way around the hall, much to the maid's good fortune.

"Ah! There you are Miss Vallière!" The black-haired maid paused, resting on her knees as she took a moment to catch her breath.

"There's quite the crowd in the dinning hall," she noted confused, "Did something happen?"

Siesta nodded quickly and, as she collected herself, looked up at her. Her eyes teared up a little with concern.

"Naruto-san's in grave danger!"

The mage's hazel eyes opened wide. "What?!"

As the image of the peasant and Guiche materialized in the reflection of the large mirror mounted on the wall of the headmaster's stately office, both of them facing each other in the center of the dining hall, Jean Colbert turned to the elderly man with wispy silver hair and beard, a look of concern flitting across his face.

"Headmaster, shouldn't we stop them?" he wondered. "We could use the Bell of Sleep or something. "

Osmond, on the other hand, remained surprisingly composed. His lanky, weathered hands, peeking out of his black, hooded cloak, rested together in a thoughtful gesture as he opened a pair of eyes marked by the passage of time.

"A little bit excessive to stop a fight between children, don't you think?" he commented, in a way typical of him, despite the gravity of the situation.

"But sir… the peasant stands no chance against a mage!" he said.

"Guiche de Gramont. I think he's the son of that womanizer, don't you?" Osmond shook his head, sighing. "It seems that skirt-chasing may be a quality that runs in the family."

The bespectacled teacher gazed thoughtfully into the mirror as the green-haired secretary discreetly positioned herself behind the two men, her face maintaining a neutral expression. Colbert, his forehead glistening with beads of sweat, brought his hands to his chin in a contemplative gesture.

"He has a gift for Earth magic, which is why this concerns me, Headmaster. They're still young and act without thinking, so if he doesn't watch his step, he could seriously harm or even kill the other."

The elderly headmaster gave a sideways glance, the creases at the corners of his eyes deepening. "Mister Colbert, don't you see?" The teacher looked at him in confusion, not grasping what he was saying. "There's a very good reason to let them fight. Listen…" Osmond reached out to take the sketch of a right hand that Colbert had apparently traced based on the diagram he had found in a book. "If the peasant that Miss Vallière summoned is indeed the legendary Gandalfr, this altercation should confirm it, right?"

Then it became clear to him: assuming the boy was indeed the legendary familiar, it would seem there was no cause for concern. The Gandalfr should have no difficulty in winning something as brainless as a childish squabble, would it not?

Nevertheless, Colbert kept a close eye on the mirror, his mind still clouded with a bit of concern.

At that moment, an unmistakable shrill voice assaulted Naruto's ears.

"Familiar!" he looked back to spot a familiar sight: Louise fuming as she strode purposefully towards him. "Just what do you think you're doing?!"

"Yo, Louise," Naruto greeted her with a casual wave, keeping his eyes shut in that unique way of his. It was unfortunate that Louise was not in much of a mood for it.

"Don't give me that! Stop doing things without my permission!" she said firmly, pointing her finger at him as if she were giving a house pet a good scolding. "Now, apologize to Guiche in this instant!"

Stuffing his hands in his pocket, Naruto made a pouty face and looked away.

"Hell no! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"I don't care! Apologize!"

"I won't!"

"You idiot! There's no way a peasant can beat a mage!"

"Well," he turned to face Guiche, "I won't know 'til I try!"

"Well, well, well…" Guiche shot him a cocky smile. "Even your master is trying to save you now." He reached up and touched his forehead in a gesture that seemed a bit overconfident. "I'll be lenient and give you one last chance to apologize! How about it?"

Naruto's response was short and to the point: he raised his middle finger at him. "Bah, screw you and go choke on those damn roses of yours, ya womanizer!"

"Stop it!" Louise shouted, "Why are you so stubborn?!"

"I'll kick this guy's ass, and then make sure he doesn't look down on anyone else, especially you!" Naruto glared at him, blue eye blazing with determination.

The mage's face softened, turning into a concerned look. "Huh?"

"Then a duel it is!" he pointed at Naruto. "I'll see you at Vestri Courtyard!"

"Bah!" Naruto grinned defiantly. "I accept it!"

"That…" Louise lips twitched. "That idiot!"

When she heard Kakashi's report on the dire aftermath of the summit, Tsunade momentarily feared she was still stranded in some horrifying nightmare.

She'd been trapped in a haze of unconsciousness for two whole months in the wake of Pain's rampage in Konoha and had only recently returned to the land of the living a few hours ago. There, in a wooden makeshift chamber, she was met with a distraught squad of shinobi, with the most visibly anguished among them being her own pupil, Haruno Sakura.

"What do you mean he's gone?!" she demanded, sitting up in bed and almost causing the empty plates that Shizune had brought her to fall off the bedside table. Her blonde hair, normally tied back in two ponytails, was now cascading down her back as she suddenly lurched forward..

"He's gone," Sakura's voice was unusually subdued as her gaze fell upon the tatami mat. "He clashed with Sasuke-kun. Both are gone. Disappeared."

"Sakura…"

Tsunade looked at the kunoichi with the utmost sympathy in her eyes. She understood the emotional turmoil the poor girl was dealing with. After all, her own teammates had gone down the same road, resulting in a catastrophic fallout that ultimately led to both splitting.

She'd stepped in to mentor the girl, in hopes of avoiding the same fate that befell Jiraiya and Orochimaru. And now, they were both grappling with the fallout of their own tragedies. Each had lost the teammate they loved most.

The rest of the motley crew didn't look any better. Kiba, who stood behind the remaining members of Team Seven, had his arms crossed across his chest, his forehead wrinkled in frustration.

Lee was trying to hold it together, but he had tears streaming down his face. While the more level-headed and seasoned team members, Sai and Yamato, managed to stay calm throughout the tense exchange, it was clear they were also struggling to keep their emotions in check, especially the former ROOT agent.

"Whiskered bastard…" he growled, "How dares he dyin' like this?"

Akamaru, his canine companion, concurred with a bark.

Yamato couldn't help but sigh despondently, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "It's my fault, I should've been more careful to make sure he wouldn't go anywhere."

Kakashi met the Hokage's gaze, standing in his customary stance—hands tucked away in his pockets.

"We can't afford to dwell on our losses." His single visible eye narrowed to a more stern expression. "There's a war on the horizon…"

All the ninjas in the room tensed up at that.

"That's based on the intel I got from our allies in Sunagakure. If Naruto is truly gone, the Nine-Tails should be resurfacing somewhere else in the world in a few years, so we have time…" He made a brief pause, looking at his student with a sad expression. Then he went on with what he was saying. "We can't let the Akatsuki get a hold of it. It'd be best if we hide the Eight-Tails too, seeing as he's been located."

Kiba chimed in, "I hate being a downer, but isn't the Nine-Tails Fox like... walkin' mass destruction? I doubt it's gonna just agree with us and hide, without trying to kill us all before. I mean, it came awfully close to flatten the village sixteen years ago, didn't it?"

"That's why…" Kakashi placed a hand on Yamato's shoulder. "We got Tenzou here. I believe we can keep the Nine-Tails from causing any trouble with his ninjutsu skills."

"A Fourth Great Ninja War, huh?" Tsunade said, frowning.

Somberly, Kakashi nodded. "I'm afraid so. Reports say that the masked man, the one they call Tobi, declared war on the nations at the last Five Kage Summit."

Kakashi couldn't help but shudder at the memory of the man in the spiral-shaped orange mask.

As Tenzou managed to restrain the man with his Wooden Style ninjutsu, and Kakashi stood by his side, a Lightning Blade sparkling in hand, threatening to pierce the bastard's exposed spine. Kakashi couldn't shake the haunting feeling that their respective Sharingan, for reasons he couldn't fully grasp, might be connected in ways he couldn't even begin to fathom.

How can something like that be possible?

Just as the Copy Ninja was about to continue his train of thought, Sakura politely held up her hand, asking for the floor and prompting everyone to pause and shift their attention to her. Her sensei snapped out of his trance-like state and looked at her quizzically. Her face had changed, looking more resolute than before, in stark contrast to her low spirits after they returned from the summit.

"I don't think neither Naruto nor Sasuke-kun are dead," she stated succinctly.

Her master gave her a compassionate look, remaining quiet for a moment, "Sakura…"

"Seriously?" she grunted, turning on her heels to face all the shinobi present in the room, her eyes all lit up with indignation. "Are we all just gonna give up like that? Naruto would've never just throw the towel like that if something like this happened to any of us! Those who just abandon their comrades are worse than scum, right?!"

"Sakura…" Sai opened his mouth, faltering as he muttered, "Naruto-kun's disappeared after clashing with Sasuke-kun so…"

The kunoichi came stomping furiously before his eyes, taking the ROOT agent by surprise,"You weren't even present there!" after that she turned around once more, moving her arms in exaggerated gestures and speaking clearly at the same time, "Kakashi-sensei and I were the only ones there! Just because he vanished that doesn't mean he's dead! They could be out there somewhere, and they could be in need of our help, Naruto at least!"

At the end of her tirade, she exhaled sharply, curling her lips into a tight line before proceeding. "We have to at least try to find him, first. More so because…"

The copy ninja stiffened. The moment the Uzumaki dropped to the level of the bank of the river beneath the Samurai Bridge flashed in his mind.

"Sakura, your…"

Tense, Sakura gave him a nod.

"Naruto got cut by the kunai I was planning to use to kill Sasuke-kun," she said, grimly.

The whole room went quiet after that, with Shizune in particular tensing up, holding Tonton tightly in her arms. After a few moments, she was the one who broke the silence, tentatively speaking to the younger girl. It was she who showed Sakura how to entrench a regular kunai with a particularly deadly poison, after all.

"Sakura, how powerful was that poison …"

"Kakashi-sensei, you told me that my kunai would never work on Sasuke-kun because he'd must've been granted immunity against most poison by Orochimaru," She looked at her sensei straight into his only visible eye, "I did take that into account; my aim was never to kill him with that kunai, not in the slow way, at least."

"Sakura, what on Earth are you saying?" Kakashi's frowned worriedly.

Before explaining, the girl flinched again. "I was targeting his chakra network," she said with a deadpan tone, "It wasn't easy to get the herbs I needed, but I managed to create this infusion that should at least disrupt someone's chakra control to the point they're unable to mold chakra," she paused for a moment, as everyone in the room, even Kakashi looked floored, "How do you neutralize someone capable of taking down multiple formidable ninjas when the difference in skill is abysmal? The answer is easier than you think: you don't.

"Not in a fair and square fight, at least. You take away his power and suddenly, you're in more even ground—he's no longer a powerful shinobi. All that's left is grabbing a kunai—" she gestured a finger going through her throat "—and he's done for. I was planning to kill two birds with one stone, which is why I doused my kunai on it. Sasuke-kun going blind from overexerting his Sharingan had done the harder part for me…"

She stopped, her face contorting with pain, "But I ultimately failed… and Naruto had to pay the price…"

The scale of Sakura's actual plan soon became apparent to everyone in the room, and it left them visibly shaken.

Finally, Kiba stepped up, his eyes wide, "So… Naruto…"

"If he's still alive, and out there, he still got his taijutsu skills," Kakashi said, as if trying to reassure the boy's peers. "So long as he doesn't fight anyone too strong, he can manage."

Silence settled over the room, punctuated by a sense of uncertainty. One thing was clear: Sakura's words resonated, and if there was a chance Naruto might still be out there, it would've made sense to consider looking out for him, before it's too late.

If only they had a clue about the mess Naruto had just gotten himself into.