Donning a tattered grey hoodie, obviously having been through a lot, he was coated in blood. While patches of his hair were still fluffy, he was coated in sweat and grim. A yellowed bandage was around his hands, both stained with red in the middle of his palm as the cause of desperate summoning jutsus. His eyes were dark, still a haunting coal-black which made Menma shiver when they looked down at the flame-for-brain's smaller form. Annoyance had pressed the boy's lips into a permanently thin line, which seemed to loosen once he noticed the guard standing at the post.

"Oh. Menma."

"Naruto!"

Naruto passed out.

--------------------

Naruto's Mindscape

Familiar yellow-green walls greeted him when Naruto opened his eyes. A low growl was sounded from behind the large cage in front of him, a tag with kanji for SEAL omitting an ominously vulnerable aura. After Zabuza's death, his mind had reverted to the way it was before he graduated from the academy: gloomy.

Large red eyes stared at the black-haired boy through the thick bars of the cage. There was only silence as the roof of the tunnel started to cave in, water falling at an alarming rate through the cracks in the far-away ceiling. Even so, the competition continued, though both Kurama and Naruto were thoroughly soaked.

It was a few minutes before either said anything. The air was tense, suffocatingly so, and the slight traces of KI that the Kyūbi was emitting were sending chills down the raven's spine.

The rain stopped mid-fall, and Naruto's eyes widened as his breath caught in his throat.

"Naruto... Foolish boy," The fox's voice was boomingly familiar, and it was then that Naruto truly realized how bad he had fucked up. His hands drew the Ram while trembling, and he clenched his eyes tightly while he tried to bring forth the lush forest which had previously held the Kyūbi no Kitsune.

After a second, he opened one eye slowly. The rain was still stuck, the cage still stood tall, and the hallway still spanned as far as he could see.

"The choices you have made while I was in my slumber were quite.." a narrowing of eyes is all it took for the fox to make Naruto's planned words slip his tongue. The boy was unnervingly silent as Kurama eyed him up and down. "... undesirable. It seems my container, even after so many years of torment, has not matured enough to bear my presence. Come to me again, when you are ready."

Naruto was about to retort, but like many times before, a hole opened beneath him and he was sucked into the abyss below.

...

Kakashi kept a close eye on Naruto in the hospital bed in front of them as Minato whispered to him.

"... dormant," Minato finished, worry for his son glistening in his eyes. Kakashi looked down again at his former sensei (he had grown quite tall over the years, and though it was only slight, his forehead reached just above his sensei's), blinking slightly. "Do you have any idea why? Is it because of the resealing?"

Kakashi hummed in thought. "While we were in Wave," he decided to ignore the blond's glare of death. "The Kyūbi was awakened when Naru-kun was stabbed," he grimaced painfully at the memory, Obito's eye already becoming watery at the thought. "It was like the fox's chakra was used to stitch his stomach back together; it looked like an emergency situation because when his fourth tail was released, he went... crazy."

His lame finish did nothing to stop his sensei from practically exploding with anger. "Why did you leave that out of the report?!" His hiss was still quiet, but it was doused in a healthy amount of venom. Kakashi winced. "That is an important factor! The fox is almost uncontrollable at that stage! Unlike Menma and Naruko, I haven't trained him in the chakra's use. Even with their control, once they reach..." the Hokage paused. "reached four tails, I'd have to subdue them before they went on a rampage. How did you break him out?"

Kakashi shrugged lazily, but hearing Minato's distress now, he understood that the situation was direr than it had originally seemed. "He came back on his own, just before he had subdued the Demon of the Mist," if you had killed Zabuza, Naruto wouldn't have left to train with that monster, his mind supplied. He brushed off the jealousy lightly, a knot tying itself in his stomach. "He didn't seem very tired afterward, mostly just in a bout of shock. He also seems to have a good relationship with the demon, so I wouldn't worry too much about it."

Just as Minato was about to snap that no, there is no such thing as a good relationship with the demon. It had destroyed our village! and the whole spiel, Naruto stirred. The two men glanced at him, and with Minato's quick goodbye and disappearance, Naruto opened his eyes.

"K-Kaka-sensei?" His voice was hoarse, though he smiled appreciatively when the older passed him a glass filled with tap water. Kakashi sat down next to his brother's bedside, the uncomfortable fold-out chair making him adjust with a grunt.

"Aa," Kakashi's voice, as always, was muffled by his mask. His eyes glistened. Naruto smiled bashfully, an unhidden blush spreading across his face. Kakashi was content. "You cut your hair," the jōnin noticed mildly, wavering as he brought his hand up to the genin's hair. He roughed it up a bit, earning a bit of an annoyed huff from the younger.

"It was long," the admittance was quiet, but made Kakashi eye-smile nonetheless. They fell into a comfortable silence for a few seconds, and just as Kakashi was about to strike another topic, Naruto spoke. "So, uhm, how long have I been asleep?"

"Only a night. We just had to patch you up a bit, since you seemed pretty tired." Naruto sighed thankfully, placing a hand over his heart.

"Who's come to visit me?"

Kakashi frowned slightly, furrowing his brows in playful thought. Of course, he knew exactly who. The entire time the raven was asleep, he had protected the door from the outside as to document who and when they entered the room. Well, he wasn't about to tell Naruto that, though. "Hm.. Well, Minato-sensei and I kept watching over you back and forth. Menma was only here when he dragged you, but seemed pretty scared, so he left quickly afterward," Naruto's smile wavered. Kakashi clapped his gloved hand over the smaller's shoulder in sympathy. "Orochimaru-sama is out on a mission. Sai-kun just came back this morning, so he's resting up. Itachi still hasn't returned, and Naruko said she'd meet with you when you woke up."

The silverette prayed that Naruto hadn't noticed who he had pointedly left out, but for once, he didn't like his cute little student's exceptional observation.

"And what about... Satsuki?" Kakashi pursed his lips at the innocent question.

"Satsuki..." the jōnin's pause was dramatized, even if he hadn't meant for it to be. Naruto leaned forward in anticipation. "Things are complicated," it was obvious that Kakashi had lost touch with his graceful wording since he had left ANBU, with how choppy his sentences were. The disappointment was clear on the Uchiha's face. Kakashi let another sympathetic smile be portrayed by his single eye, coaxing a small one from Naruto in return.

There was another silence, though not as comfortable as before. Kakashi awkwardly drew his hand back from Naruto's shoulder, before clearing his throat softly. Naruto looked up. "Yeah?"

"Well, if you're ready, we should head out now. I'll get you something, y'know, as a returning home gift," Kakashi's words were enthusiastic. Naruto beamed, less forced than before, and flipped the bedcovers off while following Kakashi out of the door.

...

They decided to walk around the Uchiha marketplace, as almost all clothing was embroidered with the uchiwa somewhere in its article.

Naruto chatted away happily, very happy to be spending some time with his brother. Kakashi liked to think he listened to half of it at least as he skimmed through his Icha Icha book, flipping the page every minute or so. Naruto's favourite grey hoodie had been torn to shreds with irreversible damage, and while it could never be replaced, the brunette would obviously need a new wardrobe. They skimmed through many shops, never staying too long. Every time Naruto would find something interesting, Kakashi would chuckle at the younger's excitement. With how mature he acted, the jōnin had almost forgotten that Naruto was still fourteen (he was still with Zabuza when his birthday had passed). They lost track of time, and the appointment time they had with Minato had come and gone.

They settled on something simple. A navy-blue sweater with two stripes of orange running down the shoulders and a newly sharpened set of kunai. Naruto adored both gifts, and after a bone-crushing hug that made Kakashi start choking, they rushed off to the Hokage tower after they realized that their appointment was a whole two hours ago. They entered through the tallest window, a signature Kakashi move, and greeted the Yondaime innocently.

...

Minato growled, a dark smile crossing his face. "Kakashi..."

"Sorry we're so late sensei," Kakashi chirped. "We ran into three black cats today! We got lost walking through the alleys before I realized we could just jump the roofs," the lie was obvious, but it rolled off of Kakashi's tongue easily.

Minato's eyebrow twitched, but he kept silent. At least he had his paperwork to keep him company... "I won't beat around the bush. There is a reason I wanted to speak to you today. First, could you show me your training leave license?"

Naruto handed over an envelope. Kakashi noticed it as the one he had given his student back in Wave after the heat of the battle was over. Minato opened it and inspected its contents, sighing.

Each jōnin sensei were given training leave passports, useable until three years after the team had been formed. Each was for a student if they had a passion that they had to train outside of Kohona for, and the passport was valid for a year. After the year, and when the ninja had returned to the village, they were able to apply for mastery through the contract that was included in the envelope. Naruto had left to learn kenjutsu, so he had the option to fast-track his way into mastery.

"You know that before you can apply for mastery, you'll have to take the chūnin exams?"

Naruto smiled softly. "Do you think I could apply for individual evaluation? I don't want to wait another six months for the chūnin exams again."

Minato hummed. "I could probably pull some strings. You only used half of your passport time, have you learned enough in kenjutsu?"

Naruto shook his head. "I came home early because my caretaker in Wave passed away. Until Orochi-jisan comes home to finish his lessons with me, my training is being put to a halt," his explanation was without gloat, to Kakashi's satisfaction. He was confused at the way his own mood lightened, though, when Naruto explained that Zabuza had died. He squashed it down quickly, almost hissing to himself. Nobody noticed his inner turmoil.

"Alright then. I'll apply you for individual evaluation, though you might not hear back until two weeks' time. I'll keep you updated," the Yondaime smiled brightly, and Kakashi could already tell where Naruto had gotten it from. Though the Uchiha's hair and eyes were black, unusual colours compared to those of his parents', there were obvious similarities between him and the Uzumaki-Namikazes. "You're both dismissed. Shoo, I still have some work left to do."

The sun was setting slightly, and Kakashi couldn't help but smile. Today had been a good day, but now, he needed to tell Obito all about it. "I'll walk you home," he nudged the boy gently, to be replied with a grin.

"Sure. I haven't seen Tou-san or Kaa-san yet anyways," there was a familiar pit in the bottom of his stomach. He wondered what his parents would think of him now, after what Satsuki must have told them. He hoped they didn't hate him.

As if Kakashi could read his mind, the silverette raised a hand and gently squeezed the brunette's shoulder as they exited through the window again (much to Minato's dismay).

...

Naruto slid open the door to his house. He could hear running water, and the chatter of his parents further inside. He swallowed nervously, his throat suddenly dry.

"I'm home!" His call was weaker than he expected, but it was enough to gain the attention of the household. Mikoto beamed brightly, abandoning her dirty dishes to run and squeeze Naruto by the waist. He hugged back, basking in the warmth of his mother.

He watched his father stand up from the table, anxiousness pitting itself at the bottom of his stomach. He still grinned brightly though as Fugaku clapped him on the back lightly, a loving look glistening at the back of his eyes.

"My sweet little boy is back!" Mikoto pulled away, Naruto feeling only slightly disappointed at the leaving warmth. "How have you been? Oh my gosh, you cut your hair!"

He blushed as she played with his hair, the weight now leaving his shoulders. If Satsuki had said anything, it was obvious that they didn't care. "O-Oh, um, well, it was getting really long. Every time I use the Kyūbi's chakra, it gets really long," his parents stiffened for a second, but it left as quickly as it came. If Naruto had not been so sensitive to his surroundings, he would have thought he had imagined their hesitation completely. There was an uncomfortable silence, so Naruto decided to break it. "Where's Satsuki? She doesn't normally stay out this late."

His father frowned. "She moved in with her boyfriend about a month ago."

Boyfriend?!

Fugaku smirked and ruffled the boy's already messy bed head. "We were just about to visit you at the hospital, gaki! Why are you home so early?"

Naruto huffed at his father's comment, before sighing. "I was hoping to see nee-chan or nii-san, but..." his voice trailed off. He changed the subject. "Kakashi-sensei said we have a team meeting tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get to see Satsuki there," the smile was held back, but warm nonetheless. Mikoto kissed him on the forehead.

"Are you hungry? I made dinner!" Naruto felt slightly guilty, but he was too tired to force himself to eat more.

"No thanks, I went out to eat with Kaka-sensei," he rubbed the back of his head innocently, even though they knew he was anything but. "I'm very tired, and I have to wake up early tomorrow. I think I'll just head to bed."

His parents didn't complain, and called a series of 'goodnight's after he left upstairs to change.

He stepped into the bathroom, facing the mirror. He almost saw a ghost of Satsuki behind him (and she had the same expression as when Team 7 was leaving for wave. Tired, full of confusion, and most importantly, glossed with fear). The raven rubbed at his eyes, untying his hitai-ate and setting it on the counter as he brushed his teeth and hopped into the shower. The water was cold, and pricked his skin to the touch, but if it would get rid of these memories he would take one any day.

His bedroom was just how he had left it, organized. He was too tired to change into his pyjamas, and collapsed onto the bed in his bathrobe. The light switched off, and he fell into a dreamless sleep.

...

The team was in front of him, almost exactly how he remembered it. Naruko and Menma were bickering, though now Menma donned a chūnin vest and Naruko had less-orange-less-blinding outerwear. Sai was leaning over his scroll, painting intricate designs onto the rice-paper with his delicate paintbrush.

And Satsuki... Naruto's breath caught in his throat.

She, like him, had cut her hair. It was spiky, like a duck's butt, pulled back into a Nara-like ponytail. The ears of her hair framed her face along with her bangs, and her normally laid-back demeanor as he remembered it was replaced with something more solemn. The Copy Ninja still hadn't arrived, leaving Naruto to the hungry lions in front of him.

The darker side of him wondered how they would react.

The more reasonable side screamed at him to turn back while he still could.

He was still debating, but by the time he had made his decision (to return home and leave this headache-waiting-to-happen for another day), Naruko had spotted him.

"Naruto!"

All occupants of the training grounds turned to face him, and suddenly, he felt his heart drop. Satsuki's frown deepened, and she leaned over to Menma to whisper in his ear. Something stabbed the younger Uchiha right in the heart, and he would have crumbled had it not been for his imouto-by-blood dashing up to him and squeezing him by the abdomen.

Naruto cracked a smile, ruffling her hair in mild discomfort. "N-Naruko..."

"Wow!" She looked him up and down in amazement, as if he was some sort of legend or dream and that he wasn't really there. He cleared his throat softly, breaking her out of her stupor. "Come greet everyone else!" Her excitement was misplaced, and he was all but dragged over to the rest of the team. Though her smile was bright, and Sai's paintbrush kept gliding without fail, there was an eerie silence that had blanketed them. Thank god he had decided not to bring his mask today.

Fifty-eight seconds was all it took for Satsuki to finally break the silence.

"Naruto?"

Naruto stilled. Sai's hand stopped, his interest piquing as the brunette scrambled to get his mind together. His inner-turmoil was masked, though, and there was nothing but a bored face to front for him (though the edge of pain was still there, and was always going to be).

He noticed a familiar sword sheathed at her waist and almost scowled. He knew that the sword wasn't his anymore, since he had left it with his hitai-ate back in Wave, but a flicker of childish jealously sparked within him.

"Nee-san, how have you been?" She settled on shooting him a crooked smile, palming Menma's hand into her own. The Kyūbi's container was aware that he had hurt the fellow Uchiha very much, but he was unwilling to say anything about the topic until both of them were ready.

"Well... Menma has been helping me through your and Itachi-nii's absences," right, he almost forgot that Itachi was still out on his mission.

Suddenly, he stilled, remembering his father's words from last night. No way...

As if on cue, Kakashi poofed into existence beside them, earning a high-pitched "YOU'RE LATE!" from Naruko and Menma, and disinterested glares from the other three. Kakashi smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in over-exaggeration.

"Ah, gomen gomen. I ran into a black cat, and while taking the long way around, got lost on the road of life!" He chuckled lowly, fakely. Naruto frowned, having already gotten used to the older man's genuine laugh. Nobody else seemed to notice though, so he left it alone. Kakashi started speaking again, breaking Naruto from his train of thought.

"Minato-sensei canceled the mission for today. While it could have been some good exercise, I'm mildly sure we could have just taken a D-Rank for that, ne?" The team shivered. "Why don't we go out for breakfast instead? We have to catch Naruto-kun up on all the hot gossip!"

Satsuki, being the party-pooper she was, was about to deny the polite invitation in favour of going home with her boyfriend; however, by the time she had raised her hand slightly, Kakashi was all but dragging the five students away to the barbeque restaurant down the street.

...

They had a booth, three people sitting on either side. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai sat to the right while the others sat to the left. The team waited for their food patiently.

"Really sensei? Barbeque first thing in the morning?" A familiar whine left Satsuki's mouth.

"At least we didn't get ramen," Naruto grumbled, tapping his chopsticks against the wooden table in annoyance. Naruko scowled, swatting him on the backside of the head. Menma snickered, while Sai stayed silent. It almost felt like old times again.

The food was placed in front of them gradually, and they took no time in digging in. Kakashi waited until their heads were down before bringing the food to his mouth, earning frustrated shouts from Menma and Naruko. As they got more comfortable with each other, they explained what had happened over the six months he was away. They laughed, cried, and blushed at all respective parts, and anything that mentioned Menma and Satsuki's relationship earned a glare from Naruto. Once they were finished, Naruto explained his training in great detail, but of course, glossing over the parts that were more than just a bit gruesome (they were eating, after all). The afternoon came and went, and they were leaving the diner just before supper time. 

...

"-and then I said, 'Oh Zabu-nii~'" Naruto moaned, grasping at a disgusted-looking Kakashi. "'Please forgive me, for I have sinned!'" And, though his teammates couldn't see Zabuza's tomato-red face, they started dying with laughter at Kakashi's blatant disregard for Naruto's sexual appearance. Naruto huffed proudly, letting go of Kakashi's arm.

The silverette decided to glance at his watch, taking notice of the late time. He sighed, rubbing a hand down his clothed face and punching the jinchūriki in the arm lightly, earning an embarrassing yelp. "Maa, while it's nice that we're all are getting along again, I have a meeting with my friend in about-" he glanced at his watch again briefly. "-five minutes. Farewell my cute little students. Ja ne!" With a poof of smoke, Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. The group glanced at each other weirdly.

"I wonder if he's going to help an old lady cross the road again," Menma drawled, picking at his nails with disinterest.

"Or if he's going to get stopped by a cute girl and dance!" Naruko shouted incredulously, crossing her arms in a childish manner and blowing her bangs out of her face.

"I'm betting on the traffic one, he hasn't used that in a while," Sai smiled fakely as always, but you could see traces of a bulged vein on his forehead. The group got worked up just thinking about it before Satsuki broke the annoyed tenseness that had surrounded them.

"Well, I think me and Menma should be getting home now. It was nice seeing you, Naruto," she smiled lovingly and ruffled his hair (even though he was taller than her). He smirked, and with the tautness from his opinion of her sister's relationship, he retorted.

"It's Menma and I, Satsu-chan. I thought you would get it by now!" He taunted, eliciting a hard can to the head (still not sure where she's getting those... wait, is that tomato sauce?) and a short bout of laughter from Naruko.

They parted ways. The night ended peacefully.

...

Three Weeks Later - Hokage's Office

The Yellow Flash grinned at his son. "Good news! The request for your individual evaluation came in, and it's been accepted. Ibiki-san, Anko-chan, and Genma-san will be testing you tomorrow."

Naruto nodded, his face flushing in happiness. Finally... He had had enough of the teasing that Menma and Satsuki poked at him, even though he knew that he was stronger than both of them. "What are the tests going to be?"

"Now, Naruto, while you are my son, I can't tell you that," The Hokage looked thoughtful. "But what I can tell you is that it will be different definitely, because it'll take only a week. You'll be staying in Konoha as well, gomen," Minato's apologetic tone was referring to how the other genin got to travel to Suna and back. Naruto shook his head, still pleased that he was getting the opportunity to be tested at all.

"That's fine. I did enough traveling when I was in Wave," Minato's smile faltered at the mention of his training trip, and while the blond did mean to ask about the situation of his son's... Kyūbi cloak healing... he wasn't going to do it right now. The Yondaime bounced back, ruffling the raven's hair and sending him off to rest up for the next day.

...

Next Day - T&I Underground

Ibiki smirked at the singular genin in front of him, who shivered. The scar across the man's face was nothing compared to Zabuza's shark-like features, but the confident demeanor he gave off was making him uncomfortable. Suddenly, a blank sheet of paper was placed in front of him and his head was shoved downwards to face it.

He tried looking up, but his head was forced once again. He could hear a piece of paper being slapped onto the blackboard a few feet away.

"Gaki! You need to write everything from this paper onto yours. If you look up, you fail. If I see you cheat by using your dōjutsu, or any other techniques for that matter, you fail. If you talk, you fail. You have an hour."

The sound of footsteps which led to the front of the room indicated Naruto that his proctor was still watching him. He wracked his brain for possible strategies, before blinking at his new plan.

He still had long, sharp nails from when he had last used the Kyūbi's chakra. Thinking quickly, and not wanting to waste any time, he slit his thumb and made a few hand-seals under the desk. He had noticed the Ibiki was too tall to see everything happening underneath the desk, mainly between the bottom and his thighs.

He struggled to keep his chakra stable and evenly distributed through his body as he pressed his hand against the cold metal bottom of the desk and summoned the smallest snake in his contract: Hebi. It was a young garden snake, and using his palms to cup the smoke as not to draw attention, the snake fell into his hands gracefully.

Its tail traced words onto Naruto's skin. It was too weak of a summon to talk yet. Why have you summoned me?

He pointed forward, hands still under the desk. More words were traced into his skin. Do you want me to eat the man? I apologize, master, but I am quite small.

He almost groaned. While Hebi was a quick-worker, it was quite stupid. He mimicked writing with his hands, panicking internally as he was starting to be able to feel the suspicion rolling off of Ibiki in waves.

Do you want me to tell you what is written on the paper?

Naruto made a thumbs up. He brought his hands out from underneath the desk, and ignoring the shivers that went up his spine at how the snake made its way down his leg and into his boot, got his pencil ready to start writing. Hebi's tail traced the words on his ankle, and within 2 minutes of the alarm, he held out his paper for Ibiki to take.

Ibiki glanced from paper to paper, still not allowing Naruto to raise his head. Once he was satisfied, he grunted lightly.

"You've passed. Anko will be here soon for your second exam stage."

...

Anko had brought him upstairs into one of the interrogation rooms. She handed him a form, and with a quick grunt of 'sign the agreement and read the information', he found out that he was going to be tortured and interrogated for five days (a/n: MILD. mild torture. mostly genjutsu. konoha is not satanic.), and in order to move on to stage three, he would have to keep the information on the second sheet secret to himself and himself only.

Naruto swallowed nervously. If he were to tell the information, he would fail the exam and would be denied the right to individual testing again. He signed quickly, memorizing the info and handing back the sheet. "So... Anko-nee... when do we start?"

"Right now."

The raven's eyes widened. She brushed his shoulder, and he felt pressure around his back before it disappeared. Anko suddenly laughed. She doubled over at his expression, before wiping her eyes in mirth. He glared, annoyed.

"Just kidding! We start tonight. Pack your shit and go home, get some rest. You'll need it," her eyes glinted dangerously. He shivered, but did as he was told. Just as Naruto was about to exit, she spoke again. "I expect you to be back by 7! A minute late, and you'll be disqualified. Hope Kakashi hasn't rubbed off on ya," her drawl was faded, but he scrunched his face down at her anyways.

...

As he walked through the streets (while pointedly ignoring the whispers of "I heard the monster is becoming a chūnin!" and "He's so proud of himself, flaunting like that! Just because he's a ninja..."), the snow started the fall around him. He sighed happily, and though there was already lots of snow on the ground from the previous week, he appreciated the nice weather and walked down the pathway to his apartment.

An ANBU stepped in toe beside him. He stopped, staring into the Gecko mask with confusion.

"Hokage-sama wishes to see you in his office as soon as possible," the man's voice was gruff and unnatural, probably the result of a throat injury. The words were soft, almost pitiful, but before Naruto could ask why, he had disappeared again. A pit formed at the bottom of his stomach as he hopped the roofs towards the prominent tower in the distance. The raven wondered why the Yondaime would need him. His hopes ran high: Maybe to check in on him? Maybe to congratulate him?

Something is wrong.

The air around him was shifting as he came closer to panicking every step he took closer. Why is he so scared?

...

He ended up hopping through the window Kakashi-style. His family was there, along with Menma (who was holding a sobbing Satsuki) and Kakashi (who looked as grim as ever, but his face was downtrodden... what's going on?). The Yondaime looked up at him over his shoulder, and motioned him to sit in the familiarly comfy chair that sat in front of the messy desk. He noticed the seals placed around the office, and his throat tightened.

"Naruto..."

His biological father's voice was soft. Too soft. Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"W-What's going on?"

"Itachi... Itachi-kun was found dead on the outskirts of Konoha."

And Naruto's world collapsed around him.

-------------------

and done!!!!! wow that was acc rlly fun. cliffie, as i love, bc im a bastard!!! wow this shit is gonna start picking up reall fast so get ready.

i will have to re-read jarods story again but i do have a bit of a different plan from his. idek why im calling it a re-write at this point, since it will prolly b rlly different. my wording is eloquent ik. this was almost 3 times as long as any chap ive written, so i was kinda afraid i put too much into it for u guys to read it all. im not so worried tho. 0000 words is a lot.

anyways new update soon! im super stoked, and im almost done the chap for my new story coming out. shameless self-promo, but heads up for "Crushed in a Bed of Red Roses (For the Sharingan who Passed)" bc its about time travel and kakashi and kamui if ur into that stuff

thats all for now my gremlins, im gonna start coming up with nicknames for you guys. peace!