He awakened with the press of gentle water against his cheek, cold and soothing, though the obvious sound of crunching stones by his head disturbed his memory of having been alone; and he drew upwards pushing himself back while drawing a kunai from his back pouch. Already prepared for an attack within his village boundaries- it would not be a single occurrence. However, in opening his eyes he found a towering figure staring down upon him under a recognizable curtain of endarkened black hair and imposing glowful irises, instinct had him lower his weapon slightly for the sight as familiarity came upon him drawn from their conversations. 

He wore a pair of simplistic trousers as he did within Konoha's cellar, no shirt; highlighting the obvious burn marks from chains upon his wrists with some scars behind, cuts still bleeding red from the mistreatment of his jailers. Although he wore no sandals there was no indication on his face from discomfort, he stood straight with a rested stoic expression firmly bearing down upon Naruto's uncomfortable figure as the genin forced himself to stand- still wary that he may be attacked from the powerful man. Finding himself far shorter than anticipated in conjunction with the Uchiha; and this was in comprehension that he had fought Madara previously- he knew how he had stood in comparison during the war, had he shrunk?

Nonetheless, he pushed away the selfish want to be tall and made a brief glance around the area he had found himself waking up within- criminal Uchiha and all. It remained the riverbank nearby the training field by all simplistic appearance, however the training logs which had once stood as if in a reminder had disappeared. The sun shone bright down onto the both of them, and in looking about his eyes flinched against the bright light in unwant as he desired the calming darkness which the rain had brought with its clouds and soothing rhythms. 

Naturally, by intergained caution he kept most his attention upon the man afore him, who had done nothing in action, only continued to evaluate his own movements as if in a judgement of character. They ended up staring at each other for want of comprehension or so it was made to seem by the swift in their environments from a cause unknown unto both shinobi. Yet, Madara made to sigh has hand firmly arrested upon his hip and the direction of his gaze placed firm in undermining Naruto's very position before him.

Naruto felt his gaze fall to the ground once more, pity and clogging uncertainty taking his mind. He had chosen his course as it were, there was no way to return, no reason to do so. Yet, glancing around at the unfamiliar terrain and knowing it to be that of a different time entirely had his instinct grasping at a thin thread and pulling tight. His posture shifted, a sense within himself not at all birthed from rationality had him wishing to run. "Only a weak man runs from a better life; be there any consequence."

The aura around them was solem, obscured into a heavy atmosphere by the knowledge of where they were, and in the presence of one another. It were unexpected even unto himself, yet in the grasp of such a aura- Naruto felt the gripping similarity of his childhood need to lighten an area with the most optimism he could- it warmed at the depths of his chest and the curvature of his cheeks as he grinned upon automatic influence. "Ha!- well since I'm not leaving I guess that means you just called me a strong shinobi!" It came frothing from the same joyful optimism he had possessed in his youth- that same feeling of childhood which he did not know he still held; bubbling as foam within the pit of his abdomen in a glee he had almost missed expressing. 

Still, even as he made the joke he saw Madara still in his movement, before he skipped the rock he'd chosen against the water and it clicked soft against the shore of the other side; Madara turned to face him then, however wavering from the firm stoic express Naruto had expected Madara wore a smirk which stretched to his eyes nearly appearing as a smile upon a man so typically reserved in emote. "Sounds like a compliment!" He let himself finish, grinning as he did so.

"Perhaps Uzumaki." It was then that Madara began to walk, passing by Naruto- unintentionally confirming their irritating height difference as he did so, though he obviously bore not a care as he entered into the forest. It was then that in close glance that Naruto looked to find the large circular hole-shaped scar around Madara's chest- painfully outlying itself and hardly moving whence his biceps did; it appeared such a drastic wound that in staring upon it cerulean irises shone in a sympathy for the pain the man must still endure for the internal scarring none could see.

It was absently done, he had no particular thought crossing his mind as his emotions ran rampant within his mind, and as they clogged like linked chains within his chest, still his arm outreached as the man made to pass; his fingers glazed against the bumped tissue, not surprised by the feel of creases and divots, smooth and roughened upon the light touch of his index. Though, he came to comprehend that Madara had stopped moving, his chest hardly even rose underneath his finger- in addition his back had straightened to be postured. Hesitant; Naruto let himself look up to the man's vision, close near the stars of midnight irises as the sunlight glowed gallantly against Madara's black hair- turning it navy within her light, Naruto found his breath stutter at the sight; similarity so stark he could hardly wipe the recollection of Sasuke from his mind. 

Yet, afore him, even with the precious intimidation the man portrayed by his own figure and the history of his name, no glare burned in the darkened gaze. Naruto kept the stare between them for the calm in the silence they both sustained. In sync they breathed, Naruto licked at his lips for the dry sensation suddenly arising, his eyelashes fluttered down in uncertainty- just for a moment, still his eyes found another scar just underneath the one he traced; without a care for his already made protrusion he traced that one as well, it was longer and smoothened, obviously, far older than the one thatr was obviously made by Konoha in their brimming -grotesque, ire, so it naturally could not have been made during the war. 

It stood as a slash nary upon the heart but near enough below to seem as if it had struck the organ, as Madara breathed in deeply, Naruto found himself once again looking to the man's face in silence- his mouth suddenly too dry to speak, his throat clogged. He lifted his hand as uncertainty came awash upon him, he already knew his cheeks were stained in pink for the action.

Still he was merely stared at for the infraction, Madara made no movement against him, but he did reach forward himself and grab Naruto's hovering wrist as if curious for the appendage. Eyebrows coiling as he stared upon it, twisting his visage into the same frightful one Naruto could recall from the battlefield- sharpened and unyielding, yet a frown curved his lips downwards instead of remaining stoic as he had seen in previous. 

It was an unnerving situation, albeit safe enough for Naruto not to push fast against the man; as it were, he was smart enough to conclude that without the aid of Sasuke he would not have been able to win against the co-founder of Konoha, he would have allowed himself to be trampled without a consideration for all the people he was inadvertently sending to oblivion's illusion. Thus, fighting him presently would do nothing but cause a potentially early death, so he stood under the scrutinizing gaze he was given and met it forcefully with his own- lightened only by the shine of sun sparkling his cerulean irises into an illusion of azure tranquility.

By his own crushing aura Madara bore him down with the ease of an obvious experience, still he managed to filter in a smirk within the blaze of his stare; his chin tilted upwards, and Naruto flinched in slight at the fact that the man appeared to glow underneath the witness of the sun, his skin, his hair, his midnight irises sparkling- so bright as if stars were entrapped, yet what caught the Uzumaki's' attention was the glitter of his teeth as his amused smirk stretched over his cheeks and enhanced his already majestic figure into an imposing- handsome one. 

The hand around his wrist tightened slightly "by the proportions of time, a new dimension is created par every decision made, this stands adjacent by the manner of one simplistic choice differing from what had been in ours, that is what you agreed to, do not falture for the quaking fear you harbour. As I will not." He coiled in resentment for the mild scolding, yet comforted by the admittance that the other man felt apprehension for their circumstance.

A question did come to mind though, one brought by a juxtaposition "-but you said you could choose-" he wished to continue already an anger had crept into his tone, for many different reasons- which he did not think he needed to justify. However, Madara interrupted him with the same blazing confidence he always produced under the egotism that Naruto could hardly juxtapose:

"-I said, in a clarity you obviously were ignorant unto; that the jutsu is only to a time frame of the possessors choice- not in fact a complete choice of time Uzumaki, do pay attention." He sighed then, as if it had been an easily made point which a child could comprehend, Naruto grit his teeth at the obvious annoyance the man displayed, but flushed at his own lack of focus in turn. He felt, rather than paid attention, to the man as he let go of his wrist and walked once more to the bay.

He found himself pondering at what types of choices were possible in choosing a time- and then, what a man such as Madara would have chosen for himself; if he could dictate exactly. He resisted the urge to ask, for the sake of his own minimal pride. Still, he bit at his lip for a moment in wonderance of how a time such as the era of the First Hokage would hold him should they know of his possessing the Kyuubi.

Regardless of his own annoyance towards the man, Naruto focused his attention onto Madara, whom was staring about the place in an obvious evaluation of plausible threats surrounding their minimal area. For a mere second, the sharpened eyes narrowed upon one tree before he stepped backwards only a fraction and was attacked by a small shinobi wielding a katana blade- Madara moved to his side as the boy touched the ground with one foot still aloft, grasping firm at the shaft of the blade, pulling it forward and kicking out the child's legs from beneath him so that the youth only fell into the water; unharmed. 

Naruto stared for the image, surprised that the cruel war villain he had heard so extensively about in the academy, and fought upon the war field, had just used a tactic of mercy. "Boy, attacking a man much your elder is nary wise. I spared your life, do put it to a clever use." Then, without the consideration of putting his back to a plausible enemy, Madara turned from the water's edge and walked once more towards Naruto; who found himself more comfortable around the same man whom had just bruised his wrist in a harsh grip, after having witnessed the unexpectedly kind act. Less certain then Madara's obvious confidence, he did look towards the spared youth with a curious cerulean gaze of sympathetic warning, though the boy appeared to already be assured and he merely stood and jumped once again into the opposing trees.

Afore him, Madara heavily sighed clearly already exasperated with a thought Naruto could not fathom. "We are obviously within the Era of Warring States, I suggest we focus ourselves on travelling to Konoha -should it exist, before we- or rather I, are noticed by more antagonistic clans." About to argue merely for the sake of not being ordered, Naruto snapped his mouth shut in compliance to the suggestion; it was a good idea by all accounts, and he had no other option as it were. 

He only nodded his assent however, already having embarrassed himself in front of the Uchiha, and slightly aggressive to the fact that the man was almost giving him an order, and so comfortably. Still, he followed without protest as they entered into the forested area, knowing well that Madara would understand the route far more then he would, even if they were technically in a different time, and parallel; obviously the man had no intention of attacking him, so Naruto let his mind sway slightly into relaxation at that comforting thought.

~0~

Birds, it was easily the first thing Naruto came to notice upon entering the greenery, a chorus of sweetened birds sounds around them all fluttering beautifully in a symphony. Though the trees and bushes were densely packed their sounds resonated clear in the air and Naruto grinned to the peaceful aura it produced, the leafs were filtering in the streams of sunlight a beams of light; and the sight was one Naruto actually found pretty despite his current detest for the alit world. Currently, they were jumping among the branches- slowly however, and Madara had taken the lead pace in the simple explanation of "many traps lay on the floor and upon the log, stray behind as to not get ambushed." Yet again it had been an obvious order, irritating under the instincts of his skin, but he had followed under the comprehension that the man had actually said so in an odd consideration, by his own knowledge- the Uchiha afore him had a higher capability to notice hidden traps for his experience in having done so.

"Hey, how are you sure Konoha is even set up?" It was a weak question, more of a diversion from the continual silence that had accompanied them thus far; it had begun to crawl underneath his skin, prickling as maggots and making only for a continual discomfort, especially following their confrontation previously. Though he was already explicitly aware that the man did not speak much for the sake of conversation as he so often kept himself to silence, still he did know that when pressed even the stoic Uchiha leading them would make an answer. 

Much to his own surprise, he had to halt rather abruptly as Madara did- nearly colliding directly with the man's slightly bleeding back, and in avoidance he twisted his foot to alter his direction so that he could land next to- instead of on- the man; as Naruto saw it, criminal or not- the man was already in enough pain simply moving through the trees, he had no desire to make it worse by slamming into his back by manner of his own clumsy nature. Thus, they both stood on a single branch, Naruto once more explicitly aware of their height difference as he stood only to the man's shoulder, and he pouted a little for the sight, knowing it was childish to do so. Madara did not see however, as he stared ahead of them glaring at the tree forward- Naruto looked too but unlike the last time the Uchiha had stared upon a tree no shinobi seemed to be in hiding.

"There is no guarantee for anything." The man appeared so clam within their environment, even in his uncertainty for their destination. As if he stood within the surroundings of his own comfort, standing bleeding from multiple wounds upon his back and bruises from shackles around his wrists; it were for a moment, a brief loss of control for his thoughts, but Naruto found himself admiring Madara's clear strength of person; after all, the man had lived through several wars, the deaths of his family, betrayal by his clan, imprisonment from what had previously been his village, and torture. There weren't much else for the man to experience in terms of pain. 

Naruto blushed for the straying of his thoughts however, quickly embarrassed for the small warmth in his gut; one which he knew to be an attraction unto the man's strong will of character, there were not many men or women who could deal with so much and still stand so proud in their skin from his own experience. "You hold a kunai yes?" He startled from his thoughts, and his blush dimmed upon his cheeks for the question.

"Yes?" Madara merely held out his hand in expectation, but Naruto did not trust the man enough to retrieve the weapon; for it was one matter to follow him through the forest, it was another to gift him with a blade, so he glared at the hand afore him with narrowed eyes.

He received a sigh in return, "it is for the explosive tag on the tree ahead, if one pierces the centerfold of the seal then it breaks and cannot detect a chakra passing, however, one needs to see the center of the seal- thus the chakra running through the sign in order to break it. So less you have developed a sharingan within the past year-" Already his hand had pulled out the blade, and by the end of his sentence it had been placed into the large pale palm. Irate already for the logic integrated within the baritone of the man's explanation. His fingers touched briefly unto the calloused hand, and with previous thoughts still circling; he felt the flush arise to his cheeks once for the contact due to their previous encounter. His partner seemed not to notice as he threw the weapon with ease- a reddened sharingan blazing bright for merely a moment, until the tip clanked into the wood, but nothing further occurred and Madara jumped ahead with no incident- as did he. A slight more trust to the man as he followed.

.o0o.

Hunting; as for according to his guide, the village was at least another day's travel from their current location, thus Madara had asked once again for a weapon within his pouch and he had given it without a complaint. It was a slight bit degrading but he had been told- rather asked, to find some edible herbs and flammable wood which lay around the area while Madara hunted. Indeed, he would have found it insulting to remain the one behind; if he were not already adapted to growing and picking plants, gardening was his hobby and he had been intrigued with the process since he had been first left in his small apartment. 

Thus, the simple action of plucking clear herbs and avoiding the poisonous ones was familiar in itself, and Naruto felt more comfortable within the small campsite they had set up in doing so. Truthfully, the aspect of hunting did not appeal to him, for though he would eat meat the thought of killing an innocent animal himself was a heafy one- unless absolutely necessary of course. There was no evidence of previous rain upon the forest branches, or the ground, which he felt was in luck as Madara would have an easier task in hunting. While he could keep a careful eye for traps upon the forest floor without the worry of slipping.

"You found much." He did slip regardless of the dry wood beneath him, but in luck it was only slightly, and it was on the wide tree branch they were using for camp as Madara's voice reached him unexpectedly. Though in greeting the man, he grinned wide to stretch his cheeks painful, already in the process of crouching down to place the planks of wood found next to their makeshift fireplace, his eyelids curved upwards in welcoming the other shinobi's return. He made no answer to the statement made, for he had, still he did look to the simple hare held by one leg over Madara's wide shoulder; he turned his eyes away to the stone pit- which had yet to be set to burn.

He altered the topic, which was not difficult as there hadn't been much of one as it were. "Do you want me to take first watch?" He was willing, as it was, Madara had done the most for them both within the day; whilst injured, and by his own standard, Naruto believed he deserved a rest. Upon him remained a rather whisterful smile he hadn't the care to erase from his lips as it stayed when in the comforted presence of another; and though unwise. 

Naruto knew the Uchiha across from him had gained his trust. Madara had yet to gaze at him with the same judgement as those whom only saw him as the container of the Kyuubi- of all people plausible, Naruto would have bet silver at Uchiha Madara- the very same man who had declared a war for the tailed-beasts, to force a disgusted judgement upon him with his burning night irises in a juxtaposition to Sasuke's, yet he had not through their many conversations, nor did he no. If anything the man wore a less crippling expression then his former friend, he had to wonder if it was a comprehension amongst all Uchiha.

Without his notice, his mind drifted away. Drifted upon the visage of the younger Uchiha: His scowl in complexity as they fought at the bridge anger frothing from the man as blood dripped in a smooth stream down his cheek to contrast his ivory tone. Dirt smeared over his face from the fight he had just forced and won, the break in his voice as he spoke in an uncontrolled yelled octave Naruto had never before seen or heard him use. Sasuke's body had shaken from the explosive amount of chakra he had allowed himself to use, yet the burn of his sharingan had still blazed bright. Kakashi and Sakura had stood behind him upon the ripples of water they'd both created. They were saying nothing, simply staring upon each other in a face-off that meant nothing onto either of them as they both understood it could not be won by another other then an attack. He missed Sasuke.

Madara spoke, shuttering his thoughts of grief to a halt; "It would be appreciated." It was an answer, one he had forgotten he was waiting for, so he nodded his complacency. Across from him, to cook the animal Madara sat with a blanketed face of ever recognizable stoicism, though in preparing the herbs he had gathered Naruto took notice of the fact that there were several strained lines underneath the mans eyes- a burden of strain no doubt. His baritone rang roughened amongst the evening birds:"You are alluring, Uzumaki." Naruto twitched in his actions, for the obvious compliment, retracting automatically, yet leaning towards the unusual flattery as he had never heard its like before. However, in spite of the freely given compliment Madara himself made no indication that he had spoken; attention focused upon the meat he cooked above the fire- blocking the smoke from rising with a long wooden plank. Naruto knew his eyes were wide, his cheeks felt hot as did his chest for the warmth of receiving kindly spoken words; even if the Uchiha had not meant it as such.

Coiling his fingers around his pants, his eyes found the burn of the fire more intriguing then looking into midnight. "You can just call me Naruto." Continuously being referred to by his clan name held no appeal, as he had never known his family in a true sense, thus he felt more welcomed by the name he had been given. Unto him, the simple name Uzumaki was known mainly as an insult when a shop-keeper threw him out, or when he was condemned out of sight by a jouin he did not know. He met Madara's eyes in that moment, finding that he was being stared at through a shade of shadowing bangs, it gave off such an intense aura Naruto nearly turned entirely from the stare. "...Um, if you want to..." It felt only appropriate to validate his overly friendly request with the same uncertainty he harboured for saying so.

However, in his own hesitant determination he felt himself swallowing his tongue for a thought of what to say. He had never been one to receive a compliment, and thus, he did not know how to properly respond to one; immediately, his idea was to give one in return, but he had no true ideal of what that should be- indeed, embarrassment crawled upon his spine at the very consideration of being candid and saying he found the man attractive in character and will. Then, as he considered it, if Madara had declared him as 'alluring,' was that not a synonym of sorts to 'attractive?' Naruto knew himself as no genius with words, strategy or jutsu, though he was nearly certain the two were related in context. 

A burn once again came onto his cheeks and even his hands began to shake as his eyes fell to the herbs he was messily tending: Had he just been called 'attractive?' It was sheer chutzpah for him to assume such an outlandish laudation. He shook himself: And he was about to ask for the true context; when he came to note that his company had begun to drift into sleep- no sound of his gentle breathing, and his eyelids were near open in caution, but his chest only rose as one in dark sleep would. He shut his mouth for the sight, and focused instead on observing their surroundings. Deciding he could ask later.

o0o.

Madara slept against the curvature of the tree, his hands -limp- hung over his lifted knees while his head hung back on the bark- untensed the stern reality of his visage faded into a soothed express; one which could nearly be claimed as calm. Still, be it by reputation or the shifting of his muscles as he breathed- the man retained the impression of a warrior in a constant anticipation of a fight. Naruto sat next to the veteran, keeping purposefully still and silent; he was watching the night sky as he could between the gaps between the leafs and large branches.

Yet, his eyes wandered without pretext to the man beside him as he slumbered, especially whence the fragile light of the moon came to shine down upon his abbess-toned hair, embrightened by a gentile glow which sparkled upon each thread as if sunlight caught upon water. His skin shone under the beauty too, a delicate glow which outlined all his scars and wounds while making obvious shadows to trace the many muscles he possessed. 

Naruto forced his eyes to the heavens once more, finding tracings of the stars he used to so frivolously gaze upon as a bitter child of circumstance; his lips curved upwards as an idle thought slipped so seamlessly by; he could see the sparkling peeks of stars within the sky only without the clouds obscuring and when the moon was kind enough not to shine too bright. Yet, he could always see the glimmer within Madara's irises regardless of how bright the moon reflected- and even under the too bright glow of the sun, a shimmer remained: The man truly was the night incarnate.

There was a grunt, a grumble, as beside him Madara began to face the trials of waking, Naruto watched in first observance as he smacked his lips delicately together and rolled his head around in a stretch, much as his hand came up to aid the action. Stretching came natural to the man in first waking as his biceps strained momentarily alongside his abdomen and legs; this all before the man even made to stand. He did grumble when he did so however, which Naruto found rather amusing for a man of such widespread infamy. 

He found an endarkened gaze upon him as Madara prodded the fire into resparking, he had not truly noticed the gaze at first for his attention had been distracted by the shine of the moon illuminating the man afore him in an ethereal glow, it captured his full stare. Yet, the experienced Uchiha did find the eyes watching him from the blond; who remained still and staring, blue irises giving a beauticious sparkle as a water's ripples within the beauty of the moon's tranquility. Neither really paying heed to the fact that they were both in silence and doing nothing more then watching the other; by his own manner, Madara obstructed his own vision, turning himself towards the sparking fire. Naruto did not avert his gaze, once again witnessing the fire's glow playing upon the man's ivory skin had captured his attention, his arm's movements as he prodded the fire and the kindling within- seemingly brooding and uncaring as he did so.

Then he continued with the fire. Naruto sat against the tree and merely wandered at his own feelings as they coiled about with no definitive truth to cling upon, he knew not how he felt to be trapped in the unknown. Therein, he merely sat with a large sigh to escape him, watching the movements of the man nearby there was little else to contemplate. "You will need to change your clothing." It was an unexpected notice, and he shifted his attention directly to the back facing him, twitching slightly at the layered wounds scabbed over his back, the product of his own village's willful torture. 

Then shook himself astray from the thought and looked down onto the flamboyant orange he wore, showful and obvious; in a world surrounded by enemies it would do nothing save kill him through notice. A nervous grin broke free to the acknowledgement, for though he agreed, he knew nothing of the time period; save that it was at least a century previous to his own.

He made no answer to the statement, only gave a rather vague nod. More curious by the expression filtering upon Madara's normally stoic visage; for it had shifted, and though experienced in empathy, Naruto could not put an emotion to the appearance portrayed, though were he to maintain a guess it would be best described as melancholy. To watch, it was a fierce man of gile shifting into a feeling he could well comprehend, and though it was an error of judgement Naruto knew his perception of the Uchiha at that moment had alternated- if only slightly. Then, as he spoke once again- Naruto felt a dramatic sympathy weigh upon him in uncertainty of how to explain. "My clan, what was their fate?" Once again, he made no question however clearly it was asked in context, Naruto found the fire interesting then, knowing he had to explain if only for morality. The man had already known his clan was gone as it were, but he had not asked for why, nor how.

He drew in as deep a breath as he might: "They were killed, massacred by one of their own." It was as simplistic as one could make the entire horror sound, yet still, Naruto wondered if he should incline the full truth onto the man whom had once been their leader. To look up, he found midnight staring upon him, blackened by a darkened frown and a still hand which moved to do nothing; merely hovered within the air. Was it disbelief, Naruto did not know, still the man made no move; to speak, deny, make an attack. Perhaps under his own vision of perception did he see the flickering twitch of his cheeks, the tensing around his eyes as his mouth turned jagged into a scowl. 

Anger: So prominent, Naruto knew he could have recognized it so simply merely as the face he saw damaged in the mirror every evening, further- embittered anger. He choose to continue- not for the sake of morality, rather for the sake of Madara himself, because under Naruto's perception; he deserved to know. "Apparently, there was a coup being planned within the clan; something which had been going on for years because of the villages's mistreatment. Konoha knew that something was occurring however, and sent in a spy- he was then tasked with the mission of killing his whole family." It was impolite, though he played with the pieces of wood broken off from the branch, letting his fingers play along the rough feel and his eyes avoid the stare he could sense lingering.

"A brave man." Was all the word he received in return, Naruto paused unto the reaction; having expected a response, an ire, a sadness- depression, a cohesive response unto learning of your relatives deaths- not a quiet then a calm as if he had announced an expectation. Too much pressure came to the fore, and he inadvertently snapped the piece of bark within his grasp into many pieces, his eyes clenched tight at his own internal reckoning; for he did not know Uchiha Itachi, yet, he thought of him in much the same way as Madara had just proclaimed, in spite of his actions. 

"For one man to make balance after all Tobirama had done to uproot chaos... Indeed, I doubt the clan made much action in defence. Still, I suspect he perished." It was a hidden question once more, though Naruto knew what the man asked, and it weren't as if the man had been killed by the village in addition, as sacrifice: It was as if he had killed himself by Sasuke's measure as a means of rest. Very slowly, he shook his head, and watched his own hanging bangs as they swayed along with the motion. Contemplating for a moment; 'or perhaps the clan did not attack him at all.' Wandering upon Madara's sickening words brought only a bile to his throat, the horror within the ponderance was further then grotesque.

"As far as I know, he joined the Akatsuki as an informant for Konoha afterwards." He paused with the question at his lips, vibrating with the want to ask at Madara's perspective for the approximation he had made. Though, they were kept in silence, Naruto had no knowledge of his thoughts, a piece of himself was resolute upon the idealization which he had formed of the man; a dangerous practise for any shinobi to maintain, however, he had been honest thus far. "You don't think the clan attacked him?" It was implicated, heavily, with how he spoke; yet, Naruto could not come to envision a whole family of powerful shinobi not taking action against an attacker posing a significant threat. Still, to have the consideration burned at the front of his mind as a cruel possibility especially when made by a man who had known them as well as Madara.

"I have no doubt they did." He drew away from the fire and brushed his hands together as if there were ashes upon them when there clearly weren't. "However, one must know my clan from within to comprehend their methods, you; would not understand." Naruto stared onto the indigo hair facing him, glaring in ire at the words determination already fronting at his stubborn want to comprehend; for once, not merely for the sake of his deceased friend, or even in respect for Itachi's sacrifice and memory, in this instance he was curious- wanting to know, for the sake of the very man before him. Naruto had a deep desire to know all that he might about the Uchiha because it was respectable to know- civility unto their memory; especially if they had all died in a deluded type of self-sacrifice as Madara had implied.

Naruto stood, crossing his arms and forcing his voice into a solid one demanding an action. "Then make me understand." He was faced then with one midnight iris staring down unto him, peaking through curtaining hair contrasted stark against pale shone skin. Then, Madara turned towards him his arms crossed at his chest; yet Naruto found himself suddenly shuddering, for in place of the glare he had expected, a soft. 

Indeed, the softest expression he had ever seen was fitted perfectly across the mans face- a gentle smile which curved his lips so sweetly upwards his cheeks only just responded to the action, while his eyes were closed crescent moons for a moment before he opened them to reveal the same starfell sky Naruto had grown accustomed to; now gentle and softly made, a melancholy- in contrast to the threat he had always felt was hidden deep within previously. A thousand stars- peeks of light, glimmering within the man's eyes and Naruto gasped for the beautiful vision it made, as his smile curved as a glowing moon against the endarkened night.

"They are harsh people. Take consideration, our kekkei genkai is invoked by adoration or hatred; prospect, what churning our minds might have unto one of our own slaying us- do we fight? Do we lay in wait for death? Do we revel in betrayal? Pain ourselves in killing our own?" Spoken with an endeepened baritone, harbouring a tinge of anger clearly integrated with the sound of comprehensive sympathy. That is what the Uzumaki came to understand, in listening to an explanation which explained nothing; he grasped what the Uchiha leader had been saying nonetheless. And left it to stand in the calm of their silence, without infracting upon the grief hidden within. Though; by that hovering knowledge, he questioned if Sasuke had come to understand as well, and if his brother had known- whilst determining he absolutely had.

With that, without conversation, Naruto sat leant upon the bark behind him- congregating over the information now ablaze inside his mind. What, with knowledge he weren't certain he was glad-tied to have, or not.