Chapter 9- The Bleakest Of Times

"The true Soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,

But because he loves what is behind him."

-G.K. Chesterton

This Chapter's Theme song:

Anson Seabra – "Broken"

A sprawling camp hid itself within the shadow of a valley. Despite the installation's size, not a single sound nor plume of smoke nor ray of light escaped from its perimeter. Dark green tents were lined up neatly like headstones in a graveyard, not one of them rustling to give away the possibility of anyone being inside.

A single figure walked under the dim light shed by the bone white moon that hung in the sky. The only proof that the shadow had even passed by were the incredibly light indents in the mud, ones that you would miss if you weren't looking for them. A long black cloak enveloped the figure from head to toe, concealing his every movement and characteristic.

Without giving a hint as to what it was going to do, the ant-like being suddenly dashed into one of the tents. The flap barely crinkled at its passage, "You finally made it dobe?"

Naruto scowled at his old teammate, team seven might have been back together for four years now but that didn't mean anything when their sensei had died not even two months ago, "Shut it Sasuke, I'm not in the fucking mood."

The raven haired Uchiha narrowed his eyes at the last Uzumaki, not missing the dark bags hanging under his eyes. Sasuke began again, without a hint of emotion in his voice, "Nightmares again?"

The early years of the war had been encouraging, but ever since Kakashi had died it just seemed to be death after death. Kakashi's demise had already been hard enough on the young blonde's psyche but when word of Konohamaru's death had reached him, the young blonde had begun to degenerate even further, shunning everything and everyone, "It doesn't matter… Now why the hell did you call us together Baa-chan?"

Team seven had become the de facto elite reserve force, the fact that Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto had been called to action together meant something big was going on. Tsunade, despite her 'strength of a hundred technique', was looking just as weathered by the war as everyone else.

Sasuke had long since given up on trying to stop his hair from growing. Meanwhile Sakura kept her hair extremely short and only let the length get to a certain extent on the top where it mattered little. All three of the soldiers of team seven wore the same clothes; a padded black shirt with cargo pants and steel tipped boots, over which they wore light weight silver armour and a black cloak. The only way they could be differentiated from each other were their headbands which no longer held the emblem for the hidden leaf village but instead were the official Allied Shinobi Forces headbands. Sakura's was a dark crimson, Sasuke's a navy blue and Naruto's a burnt orange.

As soon as Tsunade was certain all three of the people before her were pFaying attention she begun, "It has been confirmed by our scouting team that the enemy has begun building… Something. We're not sure what it is exactly, but it involves a lot of chakra conductive metal and electric parts, either way we cannot, under any circumstances allow the construction to follow through! You'll be meeting up with the scouting team at the given location, good luck and… get back here alive, understood?"

Sasuke scoffed before grabbing the scroll from Tsunade's outstretched hand, he flicked it open and closed in one swift movement, the activation of his sharingan barely perceptible to those around him. The last loyal Uchiha's exit was silent and swiftly followed by his teammates, leaving the aged Tsunade on her own in the tent.

As soon as she was sure the group had left, she slumped down into the uncomfortable chair of her makeshift command centre, dark brown eyes settling upon the papers and maps sprawled out before her. The last Senju grasped at a rugged and slightly cracked cup, sipping the horribly thick instant coffee that sat in it, relishing each and every drop.

Her eyes caught sight of one of the maps buried under the others, gently parting them with the back of her hand. It had once been a beautiful painting of Konoha from above, now it was marred by huge red circles with 'damaged' written over the top of them. The last time the map had even been touched had been when the word 'Abandoned' was inscribed at its top by a trembling hand that Tsunade recognised as her own, "Those kids… What the hell are they going to do with this world when I'm gone? We adults were meant to prepare it for them and then give them the task of doing the same for the next generation… Instead past mistakes have caught up to us and have ruined this beautiful place…"

Bitter winds and darkness didn't slow team seven's advance in the slightest, an almost invisible layer of chakra coating their bodies under the cloaks.

The cloaks they wore weren't just for show, Naruto had developed them at the beginning of the second year of the war with the help of the research and development team which he had spent most of his days with back then. The cloaks were multi-faceted and multi layered; they had five layers, three of which were extremely thin but durable chakra steel woven cloth, the other two were layers of paper encased by the cloth. The first paper layer, which was closest to the outside of the cloak, was a complex sealing array that completely hid the chakra of anything that was underneath it, even to a byakugan. The second was an even more complex sealing array that served to boost the chakra capabilities of the wearer.

The trio came to a complete halt next to a small alcove before heading inside. The seemingly completely ordinary hole in the side of a cliff was much more than met the eye, something obvious to Sakura and Naruto when their comrade simply walked through one of its rounded walls. Sakura was about to follow until she noticed her blonde teammate was hanging back, "What are you doing Naruto?"

The orange loving soldier shifted nervously, not daring to look his teammate in the eye, "I-I was thinking I'd stay out here, stand guard."

Sakura frowned at the illogical response, waiting outside would make them more likely to get attacked rather than reduce the chances. For a second she couldn't make heads nor tails of the jinchuriki's actions, that was until she remembered just who they were meeting up with, "Naruto, you're going to have to face them at some point, there's only so much you can do to never talk to them… It's been long enough hasn't it?"

The pink haired cherry tree brought a gloved hand out from under her cloak, placing it softly upon the twenty-year old's shoulder, his dark blue eyes finally coming to look into her lime green ones. Her face looked to be in more pain than he was, the corner of her eyes looking as though they were about to leak tears, her brow furrowed from the strain of holding them back. Sakura and Sasuke had been the only people keeping Naruto from losing it since Kakashi's death, though one pushed him forwards much more than the other, "Yeah… I suppose you're right."

The pair entered the secret room which had been dug out using earth jutsu and concealed using a powerful genjutsu. The room was rather large, several crates stacked up in one of the corners, atop which was sat a man clad in similar clothing to team seven. The figure's relaxed posture almost oozed disrespect as he looked down upon Sasuke who had already approached him and begun speaking to him, "Hmph, the old bitch sent team seven did she? Must think this is really important, either that or she thinks we can't handle it?"

The man's demeaner and clothing were ragged, spikey brown hair leaking out from under his hood as an animalistic sneer graced his slightly shadowed features, "Seems you're just as bitter as always Kiba."

Said man's thin black eyes flicked towards the source of the words, Sakura. A light growl escaped from the doggish soldier as he hopped down from his perch. Pushing past Sasuke, the wild Inuzuka stomped towards Sakura, but his eyes were looking straight through her and at the person behind her, "Sakura. Naruto. You're in my territory right now, you put a foot out of line, and I'll end you like any other enemy, got it?"

The words Kiba spat out were like venom, his voice coming out in a quiet hiss like a snake. It had been a long time since the Inuzuka had been the young and carefree boy he had once been. He had started to break down when his sister had died, though his mother had kept him afloat, but when Akamaru was killed by Madara swiftly followed by Tsume's death at the hands of Hana's reanimated corpse, he had tipped over the edge, "We're here to complete a mission Inuzuka, not to play 'let's resolve our petty feuds'."

Kiba flashed a glare back towards Sasuke but settled down a little as he walked past Naruto and began looking out of the alcove, "Hinata and Shino should get back soon, we'll talk then… And Naruto, watch your damn mouth around my wife, got it?"

Naruto nodded emotionlessly at the brutal words, coating the bubbling hatred in the pit of his stomach with cold apathy. Kiba and Hinata's relationship was a rapidly settled affair, most of them were during in times of war. Kiba had confessed to the Hyuga in the pit of his despair, when he hadn't a clue what he was saying and yet Hinata had responded in kind, her hopes of a future with Naruto quashed by his grief and hate filled words. Before the week was up, they were 'officially' married, not that it meant much anymore. There was no ceremony, simply a hastily drawn up contract and a pair of poor-quality rings, but it was more than most could hope for in the times they lived in.

Just as Kiba had said, Shino and Hinata didn't take long in arriving. As they entered, the already silent room seemed to grow into a void that sucked in all sound. The young Hyuga was very different from the last time Naruto had seen her, gone was the long hair and baggy black clothes, instead her blue hair had been chopped short, not like when she was small, but still reminiscent of it. Naruto barely got a glimpse under her cloak, but it was obvious the clothes she wore hugged her like a second skin.

Naruto was snapped out of his observations as Kiba dashed passed him, carelessly shoving his shoulder on the way. The Inuzuka didn't think twice about embracing his white eyed wife before pushing back slightly and scanning her for any injuries from head to toe, "Hinata! Are you okay? You didn't push yourself, did you?"

The shyness that once clung to Hinata's aura like a plague was gone, her back was straight, chin level with the ground, however her white eyes seemed less faultless than they once had. Her pale complexion was not the one of beauty it once was, now it seemed unhealthy especially added to the dark lines under her eyes. When tainted white clashed with a terribly dark blue Hinata couldn't help but shift uncomfortably, a hand shifting under her cloak to hover over her stomach, "I'm fine Kiba-kun… We're fine…"

Shino approached Naruto suddenly, the buzzing from under his cloak the only thing that made him notice he was even there. Almost nothing had changed about Shino, there was little there to change in the first place, though his round black glasses had been replaced with sleek square ones instead, "Naruto-san. I am glad to see you are in good health."

Shino had always been hard to read, even more so for Naruto because he wasn't that good at knowing what people were thinking, but since the beginning of the war the pair had grown slightly closer. Perhaps it was because the young Uzumaki had grown a lot better at reading people or perhaps it was because Shino had opened up to him a little, or maybe it was all of the above, either way they were firm friends, "Good to see you too Shino and you don't look too bad yourself."

There was a shift in the buzzing coming from Shino's hive, something about it told him that the silent man knew exactly what Naruto was doing; trying to hide his pain, something he had grown accustomed to doing a long time ago, "Right, less of the chitchat, it's time we talked about our plan of action."

Sasuke was intent on having this mission done and over with, obviously he was itching to get back to camp and his two teammates knew exactly why. That might have been why they obeyed their default leader as swiftly as they could, "We all already know the location of our target, but more details are necessary, I'm guessing you two have that?"

Shino stepped forwards, joining the group which had gathered around a crate covered in papers, one of which was a meticulously drawn blueprint of a building. The whole thing was square in design but reached up several stories, nine in total, each one labelled with different entry points, some of which had red crosses over them, "There is only one way of getting into the tower: this balcony located on the third floor. Anything higher is impossible… Why you ask? Because there are seals preventing us from climbing up the walls using chakra and any of the lower entry points are heavily guarded. Conclusion: this entry point is likely a trap meant to trick potential invaders into taking."

Sasuke leaned over the plans, his arms crossed over his chest as his eyes and mind soaked in all the information available to him, "I could take three of us up to the top floor on Garuda, however that would leave three of us at the bottom of the tower… I suggest those that stay at the bottom serve as a distraction…"

Sasuke looked up at the people before him just in time to feel his collar get grabbed by a clawed hand, "YOU BASTARD! You think I don't know what you want?! Hinata, me and Shino stay at the bottom while you three go up and have a risk-free trip?!"

Sasuke blinked coldly down at Kiba, unfazed by the threat of the Kanin-like man's glare, "I had planned that organisation simply because it makes the most sens-"

Before Sasuke could finish he sense Kiba's fist flying towards his face, reacting quicker than anyone in the room could follow Sasuke grabbed the arm that was at his neck and pulled it into him, twisting his body to the side and yanking as hard as he could. Kiba didn't have any time to react as he was flipped through the air and came crashing down violently onto the table that they had gathered around.

Kiba was about to launch himself to his feet only to come face to face with the pointed end of a katana, "I suggest you cool off mutt. If you're so insistent then I, Hinata and Naruto will head to the top while you, Sakura and Shino provide the distraction. This way the balance shouldn't be thrown off too badly."

Kiba growled in anger, but he did calm down, agreeing with the compromise, though whether that was because of the blade at his throat or because he was actually satisfied with the outcome, only he knew, "Good, then the plan will begin tomorrow, My team will have to sneak our way to the base of the tower from the ninth floor and set explosive tags at specific location all the way down. Kiba's group will set off explosives at a convenient distance in order to draw the enemies' attention. For now, we can rest. I think all of us are pretty tired for today."

With that Sasuke left the room, heading out of the alcove and with him went the tension which had slowly been rising. Hinata and Shino moved towards Kiba, making sure that he was alright while Naruto left the room as well. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen, but that was a good thing in Naruto's opinion, he needed to be alone for now.

The jinchuriki's soft footsteps sunk into the earth beneath him carelessly as his hand reached up to his chest, a faint pain blossoming in his heart before disappearing just as swiftly as it had appeared. Naruto came to a stop next to a felled tree, letting out a long and tired breath. Flashing a look around the greenery the young blonde confirmed that there were no bright white Zetsu nor reanimated corpses coming for him.

Naruto settled himself upon the form of the felled tree, his body sinking into the green moss that rested upon its surface. His eyes closed for barely a second but as soon as they did, a flash of Kakashi's dead body burned itself into his retina. His eyes were singed back open as tears burned in the corner of his eyes, a light sobbing escaping his lips.

He sat there wallowing in his sorrow, alone… Or at least he thought he was alone, suddenly a pair of warm arms wrapped themselves around him from behind. At first the blonde soldier tensed, but when he felt a weight rest itself on his shoulder and a soft breath caress his right ear, he relaxed, "Oh, Naruto… You really mustn't do this to yourself… There's nothing you could have done…"

Said young man half-heartedly placed one hand over the top of the arm that was wrapped around his waist while reaching back to gently take hold of the hand that was resting on his left shoulder, "I… I could have done something… I could have saved Kakashi… Could have saved Konohamaru… Could have saved Kiba's family… I-I…"

The broken man was suddenly span around, his nose almost touching the one of the person who had been holding him from behind. Bright lime green stared into blue eyes, strands of pink and blond hair lining both visions. A hot breath caressed Naruto's lips making him shudder slightly, but his eyes never wondered from the ones before him, "Naruto… You are the most caring, most loyal and most amazing man I have ever met! But that's also why I worry so much about you, you always blame yourself for things that are completely out of your control! So please, stop worrying about what you couldn't have prevented and can't change and instead worry about what you can prevent and change…"

The young girl before him slid her hands up his arms, his neck and stopped at his cheeks. Her thumbs caressed her comrade's whiskers tenderly and with the soothing motion, he couldn't help but let his eyes close. However, this time there were no horrible images, instead the only thing that existed in that moment for Naruto was the warmth of her breath and fingers. So, when that warmth grew closer and closer, he couldn't not notice.

The poor tortured soul opened his eyes only to find that his vision was completely obscured by the face of the person before him, her soft lips resting upon his own. He stayed stuck in that instant for longer than he cared to notice, the unfamiliar feeling of such tender affection melting away his cold heart. When they parted it suddenly felt as though a void of freezing cold was placed between them. Naruto couldn't help but be entranced by the pink tinted cheeks and fluttering eyelashes that were before him, "S-Sakura… I thought… Y-you and Sasuke…"

Sakura looked back towards the target of her affection, a slightly sad look tinting her eyes, "Naruto, it hasn't been him for a long time… Such a long time… I wasn't sure myself… But after he abandoned us… Abandoned me… I think even then I was beginning to know what my heart truly felt… And with every time you stood up for me, protected me and went after Sasuke time and time again, all of that for me… How could I not care for you? How could I not want to see you smile when you're crying? How could I not want to be by your side when you put your life on the line for others?"

With each word the bold pink haired kunoichi edged back towards her teammate, wrapping her arms back around him and embracing him in the most tender hug he had ever felt. She brought her face back before his, this time her lips were mere inches away from his own and as she began to talk it felt almost as though she were tickling his tender lips with a feather, "When you have the kind of heart that cares little for itself and everything for those around you, how could I not want to share however much life I have left with you? Especially when I see how much care you place upon me? How could I not… How could I not want to share all of my remaining experiences with you?"

The huskiness that hitched in Sakura's breath was enough to drive the young red-blooded man before her mad, something which was sealed when her lips pressed down on his own once again. Even though neither of them would sleep much that night, it was still the most peaceful night they had had in longer than either could remember.

When morning came the group of six gathered in front of the alcove, fully kitted out and prepared for what was to come. Wordlessly Sasuke summoned Garuda and hopped upon its back, throwing a look back towards the group. At some point Shino had moved to stand next to the summoned eagle as the silent trio watched on at the two pairs before them. Kiba was clasping Hinata's shoulder and babbling on like a mother who was sending off her child to school for the first time, "You have your explosive tags? Extra ration bars? Emergency flares? Kunai and-"

Hinata brought her hands up to clasp her husband's which were rested on her delicate shoulders, "Don't worry Kiba-kun, I've got everything, and I'll be fine, Naruto-san and Sasuke-san will take good care of me."

A light growl exited from the doggish man as he flicked a glare towards Sasuke who was sat on his friendly eagle summon, "They goddamn better, else they'll have me to answer to!"

Meanwhile an almost identical situation was going on but the roles were reversed, Sakura was doting on Naruto, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything, "Remember if things get too hairy out there you guys can retreat and we'll try again, don't push yourselves, understood?"

Naruto chuckled lightly, the first one that had escaped his lips in longer than anyone could remember, "Sakura, you're not my mom! Don't worry I'll be fine, worst case scenario I'll break out the old fuzzball-" "Don't! You know what'll happen if you do, that cloak doesn't hide his chakra, if you use even a tiny bit of it Madara will sniff us out within the hour…"

Naruto looked down at the ground like a scolded child before nodding sadly to which Sakura couldn't help but respond with a hug and a swift kiss that only those with sharp eyes caught, "It's about time we left so… Good luck!"

And with that both groups set out to do their job, the barely audible sound of fapping wings carrying one group off while the other dashed off through the trees. The silence atop Garuda was palpable, you might have been able to cut it with a knife even, but Sasuke much preferred to use words, "So, You and Sakura, hm?

Naruto was suddenly taken aback, spittle escaping his mouth instead of the words which he wanted to, eliciting a slight chuckle from the woman sat behind him on the eagle, "Y-you? W-wha? I don't have a clue what you're talking about!"

Sasuke smirked slightly, not that Naruto could see it from where he was sat, "Come now, no need to be shy, you certainly weren't last night."

The young blonde shinobi turned as red as a tomato as he realised just what his teammate was saying, "J-just why the hell did you hear anything!? Were you spying on us, you pervert ?!"

Sasuke himself couldn't help the light laughter that escaped his lips, it had been a while since he had been able to get this sort of reaction out of his rival… It was a pleasant change from the usual, "Oh believe me, If I hadn't applied a sound blocking seal the white Zetsu and reanimated corpses in the tower would have heard you!" "Pfft!"

Hinata couldn't handle it anymore as an explosive burst of laughter escaped her throat, to which Naruto could do nothing except pout. It took a while for all of Garuda's passengers to settle but once they had two of them noticed something was off. Hinata wiped a tear away from her eye as her slow chuckling started to morph. Tears from her laugher had morphed into tears of sadness which filled her eyes and poured freely down her cheeks. Even Garuda sensed something was off as it began to simply hover in place, "Hinata? W-what's wrong?"

The young woman who had seemed so confident last night was seemingly reduced back into the weak and defenceless child she had once been, "I-I'm sorry… It's… It's just that I'm a bit jealous of you two…"

Both Naruto and Sasuke were taken aback by the words, though one showed it much more than the other, "I don't understand, you two look really good together, he seems to care a lot for you?"

Hinata shook her head from side to side, tears flying off in the process, her hands reach down to cup her belly, her already rather emotionless tainted white eyes twisting into a dead grey, "Y-you don't understand… He doesn't care about me… Not anymore… N-not since we found out that I'm… Rather he only cares about his child…"

Sasuke and Naruto's eyes widened to the size of saucers, the revelation was completely unexpected, especially because the couple hadn't been together that long, though it was true that there weren't really any contraceptives anymore, not since Konoha had been abandoned… Sasuke frowned slightly, though she was in the early stages, the young Hyuga was still pregnant and that was dangerous in more ways than one… The main issue however was that it was well known that pregnant kunoichi had much more volatile chakra, that and chakra exhaustion was a much bigger issue for them, "You-You mean… you're pregnant?"

Hinata nodded slowly, her vision fixed on the back of the eagle, her mind barely registering the hand that suddenly found itself placed upon her shoulder, "Hinata, you've been through a lot, uh?"

Naruto had turned around of Garuda's back and was now facing the pale Hyuga, a sad look on his face. The words that came out softly and tenderly had the kind of tone that she had wished to hear for many years from the exact person that she had wished to hear them from. However, the irony and sadness of the situation just broke her even more… Her heart's desire was right before her and yet there were too many variables that made her dream a complete impossibility… And yet that didn't stop her from leaning forwards and placing her cold and ragged lips upon the lips of the only person she had ever truly loved.

The kiss was over barely after it had started as Naruto pulled away in shock, for a split second the young jinchuriki could see the whirlpool of distress and despair in the grey eyes before him, but he blinked and it was gone, replaced by a look of shear regret, "I-I'm sorry… I-I shouldn't h-have… Sorry…"

Naruto's mind couldn't process just what was going on, for years he had thought himself alone, thought his love one sided and yet two people he had held a candle for suddenly revealed their attraction to him in as many days. Sasuke didn't say a thing while Naruto tried to reassure Hinata that it was fine, but he couldn't get another word out of her, so the rest of the flight was experienced in an awkward silence.

The group arrived at their destination and then it was only a question of waiting for the signal from the distraction team. A few minutes passed by in silence, one which was suddenly disturbed by Hinata, "L-listen Naruto-kun, a-after a-all of th-this is over… Let's… Let's talk alright?"

Naruto turned around, gazing into Hinata's hopeful eyes before opening his mouth to give a response only to be cut off before he could even start, a huge explosion going off in the distance. Almost as soon as the thunderous sound stopped reverberating throughout the forest and tower, Garuda was dispelled, and the trio began free falling towards the upper most platform of the tower.

All three landed without a sound, swiftly and wordlessly moving into action, signalling each other to move forwards. It didn't take them long to sneak into the empty hallways of the jagged tower, crates and building supplies lining them on each side, giving the trio a multitude of places to hide. A group of three white Zetsu and two reanimated shinobi dashed passed, obviously heading out to deal with the distraction, which was perfect as the infiltration team managed to follow them through the tower.

Managing to avoid being spotted while tailing their marks and setting up explosive tags along the way was a lot of effort but the unlikely trio was used to extremely dangerous and hard to deal with situations. It was only when they reached the third floor up that something unexpected happened.

Two reanimated corpses began discussing with each other, something which shouldn't have been possible, from what the allied shinobi forces had gather, the reanimated corpses' personalities were completely sealed away ever since Madara had taken charge of them in order to avoid the exact same thing that he had done himself, "Report? What is going on?"

The other reanimated shinobi begun to explain that there was a group of shinobi fighting some of their forces a way away, however the pair's conversation was interrupted when a sudden siren began blaring throughout the entire fortress, "Shit."

Sasuke cursed under his breath as he saw the group of enemies before him shift into action. The sound of dozens of footsteps approaching them from behind and the group before them moving in meant that the infiltration group were trapped like rats, "They must have found some of our tags… On my mark…"

Sasuke raised his hand into the air, fingers prepared to enact a chopping motion. Adrenaline began flooding their systems, their heartbeat quickening and resounding in each of their ears. Muscles tense and minds sharp, all that was missing was Sasuke's signal… Any second now… Any second… Sasuke? And with that his hand came down like an executioner's axe setting off a chain of events that were irreversible.

Sasuke turned on the group of white Zetsu approaching behind, unleashing a devastating fireball upon them, meanwhile Naruto and Hinata leapt at the two unexpectant reanimated corpses, two seals slapped on their chests before they could even react. Naruto turned to the white Zetsu on his side and slashed forwards as though he were holding a katana, his voice barely audible with the surrounding racket, "Wind release: Vacuum Katana!"

If the light was just right and the imaginary onlooker squinted very hard, he or she might just make out the slightest glint of the invisible blade of air held between the young Jinchuriki's hands, which didn't hesitate to cut down its foes.

When the dust settled, not a single enemy was left standing, though that didn't mean the group could relax as the noise of the battle would soon draw more of them, "We need to move, Hinata! Our cover's blown either way so use your Byakugan, we need an exit route, right now!"

The young woman nodded, veins bulging around her eyes sickeningly as they pulsed with chakra. Her eyes didn't seem to move but her vision was traveling down every corridor at a break-neck pace, "I've got it, follow me."

And with that the group set off again, running down the twisting and turning corridors, placing explosive tags in a much more erratic way than before. Thanks to Hinata's eyes the trio barely came across any enemies before reaching the exit which was on the first floor.

Naruto was sprinting at the back of the group, flashing a look at Hinata's back, his mind momentarily thinking of her actions and words on the back of Garuda. His eyes then flicked to Sasuke who had acted unlike he had ever seen him act before, his eyes then flashing behind them to check that there was nothing nor someone following them. Suddenly a sound echoed out from in front of him and everything went into slow motion.

The dark stone and metal of the hallway barely registered under his feet as he felt as though the ground had disappeared from under them. His heart felt as though it stopped then and there. His eyes narrowed as the only things he could see was the sharp contrast between light and darkness. Two shadows had collided before him, their forms burning into his mind, one broken and contorted and the other large and hunched over, "HINATA!"

In a split second Sasuke's Susanoo phased into existence, black flames coming to life with vigour. Sasuke's lips parted and his voice thundered out like a crack of lightning "BLAZE RELEASE: SUSANOO KAGUTSUCHI!"

Naruto dove towards the distant figure of Hinata which had been carelessly tossed away like a ragdoll, her figure resting up against a tree with blood leaking everywhere. The broken soldier brought his shaking hands towards her form, scared to touch anything in case it made her condition deteriorate. Deep down he knew she wasn't going to survive, all four of her limbs were twisted at awkward angles. A few ribs stuck out through her cloak, the fleshy red and white contrasting grimly with the black. It felt as though a thick clot of something was stuck in his throat as he tried to swallow, "H-Hinata? N-no… I-I'll g-get S-Sakura… Y-you'll be f-fine… I'll f-fire the d-distress flare…"

Hinata's breathing, if it could be called that, wheezed out of her lungs. Through the excruciating pain that she must have been in, a smile still managed to grace her lips… Another smile on another dead comrade… Naruto shook his head from side to side trying to rummage through his bag for a flare, "N-Naruto-kun… P-please… Don't b-blame y-yourself…"

The young blond looked up at Hinata's broken form just in time to hear her last breath wheeze out of her throat as her grey eyes begun to slowly cloud over. Before Naruto could even process what was going on, a sealing array begun crawling over her visible skin. The young soldier's mind barely registered what the seals meant in time to leap away from her corpse as it detonated violently, bits of flesh and other bits that didn't bear thinking about scattered around the clearing like a morbid firework, "NOOOO!"

The last of nine jinchuriki fell to his knees, tears running away from his vacant eyes mixing in with the blood that tainted his cheeks. Naruto's mind unconsciously registered a voice calling out to him, but he didn't react to it, not until a hand came and slapped him across the cheek. His misty eyes came into focus as he looked up at Sasuke who peered down at him with a slight frown upon his brow, blood trickling down from his right eye as the mangekyou sharingan span around in its socket, "Naruto! Think of how Sakura will feel if you die here!"

Naruto shook himself up at the words, standing to his feet as he flashed a hate filled glare back towards Hinata's assassin, though he was suddenly taken aback at its shape. A huge hunchback creature towered above them, fighting Sasuke's Susanoo to a stand-still. Its disgustingly mutated body writhing around as though it had something under its skin trying to escape, screaming faces pushing their indents into the pale white skin reminiscent of white Zetsu, "I can't sense this thing's chakra and my flames don't seem to affect it!"

Naruto breathed in a deep breath and closed his eyes before they suddenly shot back open, orange patches tainting his skin. His pupils had morphed from their usual round shape to rectangles and his iris rather than dark blue were a burnt orange. Even with his mangekyou sharingan active Sasuke struggled following what happened next as Naruto drove a fist into the mutated abomination, grasping at its flesh like a hook. The head of the beast, which looked the same as a White Zetsu save for its size looked down at the thing that had just harmed it only for it to suddenly begin to panic.

At first the creature tried to jump away but the arms of the Susanoo wrapped themselves around it, Sasuke understand his teammate's plan. After it realised it was trapped it began beating down on its purple captor, unable to dodge or shift the weight of the blows, Susanoo began to crack as Sasuke fell onto one knee from the strain, but it was all in vain. Horrible boils of stone began running up the body of the beast as its features grew more and more toad like until it was completely frozen in place.

As soon as Sasuke was sure that the strange Zetsu wasn't going to suddenly start moving again he let his Susanoo disappear. The backlash from his jutsu made the last loyal Uchiha topple forwards, but he was swiftly caught by a blank faced Naruto. The blonde soldier looked back grimly at the tower before forming half of a ram seal, which was swiftly followed by a huge series of explosions climbing its way up the dark tower, "We need to get out of here."

It didn't take long for Naruto to shake off any potential pursuers despite having Sasuke's weight slung over his shoulder and soon enough the duo had returned to the alcove. The pair limped into the secret room pathetically, three pairs of eyes were suddenly on them as Naruto helped Sasuke to sit down on a crate.

Shino's hive buzzed strangely, as though it already knew exactly what had happened. Slowly Naruto begun to walk towards Kiba who was deadly silent, however Sakura lunged at her lover before anyone could do anything, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Thank god! You're okay, we thought something might've happened when we heard the tower's alarm go off!"

Sakura backed away from her new lover before looking around behind his shoulder, her eyes falling on Sasuke questioningly as he silently looked at the floor before going back to Naruto who she suddenly realised had blood coating his torn cloak, "H-hey… Naruto? Where's Hinata?" "Yeah Naruto, where. The Hell. IS MY GODDAMN WIFE?!"

Kiba was stood a few feet away from Naruto, his fists clenched white at his side as a trickle of red blood dripped onto the ground, his hair was standing on end and fangs were borne. Naruto could barely look him in the eyes, but he did so anyway as he parted his dry lips to talk, Sakura stood by his side with a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Everything was going fine… Everything was going according to plan… But they must have spotted one of our explosive tags… The alarm went off and Hinata was leading us to the exit… And then… And then… She… She's dead…"

Kiba's already narrow eyes became as small as pin pricks as he dove forwards, his hand came forwards like a spear, nails pointed like claws. Sasuke tried to get to his feet, activate his sharingan, but his body didn't listen, he had used too much chakra. Kiba was one of the fastest Konoha shinobi around, except for Sasuke or Naruto when using sage mode. Naruto didn't have a chance to react as his impending doom came closer and closer to his chest, and despite how much Shino wished he had trained his speed more it was impossible for both him and his insects to intercept the attack.

Naruto was certain his once good friend was about to kill him. Instead his vision was suddenly flooded by a sea of pink cherry blossom petals. Hot red splashed across his form, his trembling arms coming forwards to catch the figure of his saviour.

Naruto carefully laid her down on the cold stone floor, his trembling hands coming over to try and cover up the disturbing hole in her chest. The pink haired kunoichi's strength of a Hundred seal pulsed and wrapped itself around the young girl's body but almost as quickly began to fade. Blood leaked from her mouth as she coughed, lips trying to curve up into a smile but failing, "N-Naruto… I-I know it's late… B-ut… I-I…I l-lov-"

And with that her bright lime green eyes unfocused and clouded over, Naruto's mind shut down.

The great nine tailed fox raised its snout as its bright red eyes focused down upon its host, its broken form kneeling in water that was slowly rising to its neck. Its claws reached forwards, their owner not failing to understand that if it wanted freedom there would be no time easier than that instant. However, it refused to do so, its hatred long since buried beneath respect. A sound suddenly reached the furry creature's ears, a dripping sound… Drip, drip, drip… Its huge red orbs looked up only to see a red crack in the ceiling of its host's mindscape, drops of red liquid falling down and tainting the water below, "Little pup… Just what are you-"

The fox's voice was cut off as it felt a horrendous pull at its chakra, one that it had only felt when its host had tried to takes its chakra for itself, though this time there was something much more sinister about it. Red eyes looked down at the small human form, bright red pooling around it, "You're… Nhg… Have you finally started to hate? This isn't… Ngh… This isn't like you Naruto…"

Naruto's body exploded with vile red chakra, worse than anything Sasuke had ever felt from his teammate. Kiba's eyes widened, his mind still reeling from the shock of killing the wrong target, "I-I didn't-"

Shino could barely believe his eyes as he watched Kiba's head fall off his shoulders, the Aburame's shaded eyes flashed back to Naruto only to see that he had barely even raised his hand. Condensed chakra had flown forwards and ended Kiba's life in a split second. Shino looked down at his two dead comrades, have black markings starting to crawl over their exposed skin like insects.

Shino's vision was completely obscured as his glasses were coated in a thick substance. His hand shakily reached up to remove his glasses, even though he already knew exactly what had covered the room. What the young insect wielder saw was like a scene pulled straight out of hell. The four walls of the makeshift room were covered in bright red blood, bits of flesh and organs that were slowly melting into goop mixed in. However, Naruto who stood in the middle of all this was completely unblemished, the red-hot chakra that surrounded him evaporated it before it even touched him.

Shino had raised and trained his hive of kikaichu beetles to be able to devour a tailed beast's chakra, just in case, something which came in use when they had had a run in with the ten tails, something which would surely come in handy when they would face it again… However, this vile chakra that was emanating from Naruto didn't belong to a tailed beast. Not anymore. It was as if he had stolen his beast's chakra and infused it with his own rage and hatred, something unheard of…

Just as Shino, and Sasuke who had wiped the blood away from his eyes, begun to fear the blond might suddenly turn on them too, he collapsed on all fours. A horrid scream followed by sobbing was the only sound the young blonde made. Shino shared a glance with Sasuke before cautiously approaching the broken jinchuriki. He gently placed a hand on his back, discreetly slipping a paralysis seal onto his neck, and with that the blond was out like a light.

Shino slung the blonde onto his shoulders despite his hive's protests, shakily walking towards Sasuke who had since stood upon his own shaky legs, "Sasuke-san… We must leave this place… Swiftly…"

All the Uchiha did was nod as they dashed out of the alcove, heading in the opposite direction of their headquarters. They would keep heading in that direction until they were certain that no one nor nothing was following them.

Sasuke bit his lower lip, he had just lost a teammate, but Shino had just lost two… He flashed a glance back only to see the Aburame placing another pair of sunglasses upon the brim of his nose, "Worry not Sasuke-san. Naruto-san is in a much worse place than I am… Make two mates and then to lose them both in the same day…"

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, he knew? His mind strained to think back, adding to the physical pain, but Shino had been strangely close to Garuda before they left, hadn't he, "You had one of your Kikaichu follow us, didn't you?"

The slight inclination of the dark-haired man's hooded head was all Sasuke needed. It made sense, Shino had had the time it took for Naruto and him to get back to think over his teammate's death. That was how Sasuke reasoned it, it was what he hoped, and that Shino wasn't just an apathetic psychopath. Flashing another look back the raven haired Uchiha barely spotted the slight glimmer of a clear liquid trailing behind his conscious comrade. He almost wanted to curse himself for thinking such a thing as he looked back to where he was going, "Sasuke-san… What happened today… No one must know the truth… Not about what Naruto did, nor what Kiba did…"

Sasuke closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, he hated this situation, he hated himself, he hated Kiba, he hated it all! Naruto had been happy, truly happy for the first time since he had met the annoying blonde brat… And with his happiness Sasuke himself had been truly happy… He had been hopeful, because if Naruto, as broken as he was, could find happiness then there was a chance that he himself might be able to as well… But his hopes had been crushed… A sigh escaped from his lips before his vocal cords begun to vibrate, "I… I think you might be right about that Shino…"

And here ends the 50 (Now 60, yay!) follower special! With this we got a little glimpse of what made Kamen into the broken man that he is now.

For those that could not tell, this was the turning point for Naruto, the moment he stopped being a 'true soldier'. After all the time he spent trying to break the cycle of hatred, it finally broke him…

Just in case any of you were confused as to why corpses kept exploding in this chapter; it's because every single soldier of the Allied Shinobi nations has had their body engraved with a seal that disassembles their DNA upon their death so that Madara can't get his hands on anything to turn them into his reanimated minions. The side effects being a pretty gory end and a closed casket funeral, if you get one at all… I hope you don't find this chapter too hard to read, contents wise that is…

This chapter really did hit me in the feels, even as I was writing it, so I hope it had the intended effect on you too.

Anyways, review answer time!

Tygreezy25: I chuckled to myself when I read your review, true enough Kamen and Menma do have certain similarities, but they're also very different. Menma was consumed by his hatred, Kamen was broken by it. Either way, just as there is a reason Menma was named Menma, I gave Kamen his name for a reason. In Japanese Kamen means mask, you can take more than a few educated guesses as to why I chose the name.

XT3100: I'll start by answering with this: Kamen knows who he is, he knows his sins all too well. The fact of the matter is he doesn't acknowledge his pre-war self. He can no longer comprehend how he could have once been that person. His seventh Hokage self that he talks to is representative of his younger self, who strived for nothing more than being acknowledged, even if he needed to become Hokage for that to happen. Otherwise, full power Kamen is still a little way off, he has 9 years of tricks up his sleeve to reveal.

Hi Exclamation Point: I'm glad to know you think it's well written, even now I still feel like it's a little sloppy but hey, just means I gotta work harder. As for Kamen and him having multiple partners… After this chapter I hope you can understand why that would not happen. The scars from what happened between him, Sakura and Hinata in this chapter run deep.

As a little bit of a side note, I've been working on another Naruto fanfiction called 'A Soldier in Another World', which is going to be an Isekai. I know cliché AF but I can't help but want to explore the possibilities.

Now so far I haven't written much of it, but I have a sizeable chunk of the plot already nailed down in my mind. So question is, would you prefer I focus on 'The Mask Of Turmoil' (bearing in mind I probably will still post chapters with a rather sizeable delay) or would you prefer I also work a little on 'A Soldier in Another World', which would mean that you get more to read, just that it wouldn't be related to this fanfiction.

Depending on the general opinion of your reviews, I'll choose whether or not to publish the prologue of 'A Soldier in Another World'.

As usual, don't hesitate to review the story and I'll try to answer them at the end of a chapter, as long as it doesn't spoil the plot. Bye for now!