The Uzumaki Name
Naruto was never supposed to come with him on this training trip. He was supposed to be kept within the village's boundaries until the Akatsuki were dealt with. Of course, that plan flew out the window once it was evident that the council was more concerned with bringing Sasuke Uchiha back than Naruto's safety. To them, a jinchuuriki could be replaced but not an Uchiha.
To keep Naruto safe, Jiraiya proposed taking Naruto with him out of the village to train him. Tsunade had agreed with him, but the elders had put up a fight saying that letting a jinchuuriki be kept within the village's boundaries. In a last-ditch effort to convince them, Jiraiya told them about Akatsuki.
In the end, Tsunade had told them she was the Hokage, and they were only informing them that Naruto would be leaving the village with Jiraiya.
Jiraiya was starting to think that maybe this had been a bad idea.
They were being followed, and Jiraiya could not disciform who it was; nor could he shake them off. He just hoped that his message reached Tsunade fast enough.
//\\//\\//\\
"Look here, you brat Tsunade doesn't want us to step foot in the Hidden sound village, so we aren't crossing into their territory even by accident."
Gaara could tell by the pout that Naruto was sporting that he did not want to admit that he had lost this argument. For the past forty minutes, Naruto and Jiraiya had been fighting about the best route to take. It had stopped being an argument thirty minutes ago now. It was just Naruto refusing to follow any type of order Jiraiya gave him.
Naruto's reluctance to once again be in Land Fire territory was understandable. From what Naruto told him, how he left wasn't the best, and the risk of running into one of his comrades was high. Gaara understood this, but he doubted that Jiraiya understood how much it pained Naruto to be close to Konoha. The fear of having your freedom taken from you is one that only a few people can understand.
The One-Tailed Beast was not helping the situation with his constant ranting as to how if Gaara would just give him control, he could kill them, and their problem would be over.
"Don't you want to make Mother happy?"
There was a point in which hearing that phrase would have been all that Gaara needed to let go. But he wasn't the same loved starved boy. Now he knew that there were more like him out there. Now he had Naruto.
"You aren't my Mother. You never were."
Not wanting to continue talking with The Tailed Beast, Gaara refocuses on Naruto and Jiraiya' s argument. The argument, by the looks of it, was nowhere near its end.
Gaara could already feel a headache come his way.
"Naruto," The blonde's head snapped in his direction "There's no other route. Not unless you want us to turn back the way we came and travel by boat to our next destination."
The look of ultra betrayal on Naruto's face would have been hilarious wasn't for the actual despair that he saw in his sky blue eyes.
Throwing his arms up in the air Naruto turned away from him. "Fine, we'll cut through the Valley of the End."
Later Gaara would understand why Naruto didn't want to set foot in the Valley of The End.
//\\//\\//\\
Naruto knows that no matter how much he hates setting foot in the Valley of The End, it was the best route they could take. But he wasn't about to say that out loud. No sir.
Everything will be okay.
At least that's what Naruto was telling himself. But he wasn't fooling anyone, much less himself.
The meat thought of being in the Valley again after everything that happened with Sasuke felt wrong. But most importantly, it served as a reminder. A reminder of his short-comings, had he been stronger, maybe then Sasuke would have stayed by his side.
But as Aki-nee-chan always said, there's no point in crying over the 'what ifs,' life is too short to waste it on lamenting something that didn't happen.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto forced himself to keep moving forward. He won't let the past control him. Not when he finally was free.
Well, as free as he will ever be at least.
//\\//\\//\\
"If we keep moving at this speed, we'll pass through the Valley of The End before dawn. From there the village Hidden in the springs is less than one day away, we can rest there for a couple of days before we make our way to the Village Hidden in the Clouds."
Gaara nodded his head once Jiraiya finished explaining their new travel plan. They had taken a break three hours after they entered the Land of Fire territory. However, Jiraiya had been adamant about eating as they moved. Gaara figured it was because of the terrain; they were an open target. But he just thought that they had nothing to worry about, at least not in the Land of Fire. Anywhere else, Gaara might have agreed that he could risk choking if it meant they had a cover.
Naruto, on the other hand, was close to breaking down. The closer they got to the Valley of the end, his memories of that fateful day became more vivid. Sasuke's words had been a constant loop in his head ever since he woke up in that hospital bed. Knowing that he'll once again be in the same place as where Sasuke had shattered him with his Chidori, was making it hard to breathe. He only hoped that Gaara and Jiraiya didn't notice anything.
You just have to keep it together until we reach the village.
//\\//\\//\\
"We should attack now."
"No, we're to wait until further instructions are given."
"Patience, you must have patience."
"Damn, and here I was about to agree with blondie."
"Fuck off fish face."
//\\//\\//\\
Gaara didn't know what he expected to see when they got to the Valley of the End. Sure, he had learned how the Valley of the End came to be, but one thing was reading about it in a book, and the other was seeing it. While he knew that this once was the battleground for two s class shinobis, the scars left behind their battle, even centuries later, are visible.
Yet he was pretty sure that the damage on the two statues was recent. Gaara, himself didn't give it much thought. As long as they weren't in danger, he could care less about whoever fought in the Valley of the End or why they fought.
Gaara didn't know that the real battle he could care less about was the same battle that left Naruto with a scar that doesn't seem to heal. It's a battle that will always hunt Naruto's dreams. That day Naruto didn't only lose a fight; he also lost a part of him.
Sasuke without knowing it had taken a part of Naruto with him. And in that regard, maybe it had been for the best that whatever Naruto felt for Sasuke hadn't evolved into love. At least that's what Naruto hoped.
Setting foot anywhere near the Valley of the End had been a mistake. Naruto was sure of that.
Back in Konoha, Naruto had gotten used to having panic attacks in the safety of Aki-nee-chan's Okiya. That is not to say that every single panic attack Naruto had taken place in the Okiya. He wasn't that lucky.
Shikamaru had found him curled up on the dirty floor of an ally, not being able to breathe. Naruto couldn't tell you what had triggered that specific attack, but he guessed that it had been a combination of things. It could have been the nightmare he had of Haku or the way Sakura had all but blamed him for Sasuke leaving. Maybe it was Kakashi-sensei's refusing to spend any more time than he needed with Naruto. It could have even been the fact that he had seen Lee and Neji bicker in a way that reminded him of how he and Sasuke used to bicker. In the end, all Naruto knew was that on his way back home, his vision had started to darken around the edges, and breathing became difficult. Naruto only had time to duck into an ally before the panic attack took full effect.
Naruto didn't know how much time had passed. When he finally calmed down, he was no longer curled into a ball but sitting up against the wall. And to his surprise, Shikamaru was next to him. For some minutes, neither of them talked; Naruto because he was too tired even to speak and Shikamaru because he did not know what to do for once. Later once Naruto could walk, they came to the silent agreement that Shikamaru would walk him home.
A few days later, Shika came knocking on his door, wanting to talk about what had happened that night. It hadn't been easy for Naruto to explain to Shika that after Team 7's Wave mission and Sasuke leaving something in Naruto had broken. Aki-nee-chan knew about the nightmares he had about killing Haku. Still, Naruto had never gone into detail like how he did with Shikamaru. After their talk, Shika kept an eye out for any signs of a panic attack.
But there was no Shikamaru or Aki-nee-chan to help ground him.
Gaara didn't know what was happening. One moment Naruto was walking behind them, and the next, he was on the floor trying to breathe. For a moment, Gaara was sure that they were under attack. That was the only possible explanation for Naruto suddenly not being able to breathe. Yet the moment he tried to touch Naruto, he realized that they weren't under attack.
Naruto's bright blue eyes were clouded, almost as if he was under a genjutsu. His breathing was erratic, and he was shaking all over.
What broke Gaara was how Naruto flinched away from him. It reminded him of how Tamari and Kankuro hesitated whenever he got too close to them, even after breaking free of the Ichibi's control. Not even when the Ichibi had taken control had Naruto flinched away from him.
While Gaara had to control his emotions for the Ichibi not to get the upper hand, Jiraiya had finally snapped out of it.
Jiraiya didn't know what to do; he didn't expect to see Naruto just fall to his knees while repeating "make it stop" repeatedly. He knew that Naruto had been through some messed up situations, but nobody told him that it had taken a toll on his mental health. He was sure that Tsunade would have made sure to get Naruto the help he needed if she knew about his condition. But yet again had anyone bothered to ask Naruto how he was holding up?
"Naruto, can you hear me? I need you to breathe, please. Can you breathe with me?" Jiraiya was praying that his voice came out steady.
What was he supposed to do? Jiraiya had seen war veterans go through something similar, but he was never the one to help calm them down. There had always been someone that knew how to handle the situation better than him, but now he regretted never paying attention. For now, he just needed Naruto to start breathing normally.
"Come on, gaki, breath for me." There was no response from Naruto or even a sign that he was heard. Seeing how touching was out of the question, all Jiraiya could do was talk to Naruto until he calmed down. And for what seemed to be an eternity, that was all Jiraiya did.
When Naruto finally calmed down, all he managed to say before he passed out was a small I'm sorry.
//\\//\\//\\
When Naruto next awoke, he was in a small inn. At first, he had been confused; he was confident that he had passed out in the Valley of the End. So, where was he?
It turns out that Jiraiya was too paranoid to set camp in the middle of an open field. Instead he had asked Gaara to fly them on his sand to the closest village. Take no Mura was a small village located in the Land of Hot Water. At least that's what the note Gaara had left for him said. It also told him that neither Gaara nor Jiraiya had wanted to leave him alone; they had to buy more rations and clothes for the trip.
Naruto knew that the moment either one of them came back, he would have to explain what had happened again at the Valley of the End; that would mean that he had to tell them everything .
To mentally prepare himself for The Talk, as he was calling it, Naruto took to exploring the inn. He was hoping that like the last in there stayed in; there would be an empty room where he could dance. And if he was lucky, he might even find out if they had some delicious ramen around. After having walked around the inn for quite sometimes, Naruto knew that it was time to give up. Sighing, he turned back towards his room. Today was going to be a horrible day for him.
"Why do you look so defeated?"
Naruto snapped his head in the direction the voice came from. There to his left was a beautiful blue-haired lady. Naruto could feel his face blushing after realizing that he was seen sulking just because he couldn't find a room to dance. (In retrospect, he could have just stayed in his room, but Jiraiya's risk walking in on him dancing was too high.)
Rubbing his neck, he left out a sheepish laugh, not knowing what to say. The young lady just smiled at him. Neither of the two said anything, and the silence was driving Naruto crazy. Yet, for some weird reason, Naruto felt like he should get away from the bluenett.
Having been lost in his thoughts, Naruto failed to notice that the bluenett had gotten closer to him, it wasn't until he felt her place something in his hair that he came back to reality.
"You shouldn't wander around all by yourself; you never know what dangers lurk around." With those parting words, the young lady walked away from Naruto.
There, on top of his head was an origami flower crown.
//\\//\\//\\
"Bring them to Amegakure; we will extract the beast here."
As the blue-haired woman finished reading the message, her teammates said nothing. After all, no matter what they might believe or think it won't make a difference, they had been given their orders.
The world will be reborn.
//\\//\\//\\
By the time Naruto had made it back to his room Gaara had returned with food. Both of them had sat down to eat while they waited for Jiraiya to return. It had been the most awkward dinner Naruto had ever had.
Naruto knew that Gaara wanted to ask him about his panic attack, but couldn't word his concern and curiosity properly. If Naruto was honest, he was glad that Gaara had never really learned how to express any emotion, other than anger and hatred, properly. But then again, Naruto himself had never really learned how to voice his rage correctly either, so they complemented each other in a way.
"But..you know," come on say it "the panic attack wasn't only because of Sasuke. During our first mission outside the village, we met a boy named Haku. He thought that he was just a weapon to be used and that he was a monster. Yet everything he did was to protect his precious person, and in the end, he died protecting them. During that mission, Sasuke was willing to take a fatal blow for me. I thought that him being willing to risk his life to save me meant that he cared. But then Orochimaru marked him, and well, you know the rest."
For the first time since he started to speak, Naruto looked at Gaara. Everything he left unsaid, the pain that Sasuke brought by living him behind, the guilt he carried about not being able to save Haku, knew that Gaara heard it. For a long time, they just looked at each other, but at the same time, it felt as if they had been communicating without having to talk.
Gaara knew what growing up without anyone to care for you felt like. He knew how it felt not to know love, and the love he knew was twisted into hatred. On the other hand, Naruto knew how it felt for someone to care for you, Aki-nee-chan had been a god sent after all she had made lying in a village where everyone hated you bearable. And when they had met, both of them understood that had their lives been different, their places could have easily been interchanged. Had Gaara's uncle stood up against the Kazekage, maybe Gaara would have known what love felt like. Had Aki-nee-chan not saved Naruto, perhaps he could have given in to all the anger and hatred he buried deep inside.
//\\//\\//\\
Their stay in Take No Mura hadn't been long. Once Naruto managed to convince Jiraiya that he was perfectly healthy, they returned to the road. Of course, Jiraiya had made him promise that if he felt unwell to speak up if he felt unwell in time. Gaara had been forced to make the same promise.
Their next destination would be the land of Lighting, once there, they would stop at a couple of different villages, and from there, they would head back to the Land of Fire. At least that had been their plan.
//\\//\\//\\
Everything had been going according to plan. They had traveled the Land of Lighting with zero problems, aside from the handful of times Jiraiya was thrown out of a hot spring after spying on the women there. During those times, Gaara and Naruto would pretend as if they didn't know Jiraiya. In most cases, they would be the ones exposing his perverted behavior.
During their time in the Land of Lighting, Gaara and Naruto had gotten closer. While they had been able to talk to each other about their childhood after Naruto opened up in Take No Mura , something had shifted.
It had started with Naruto humming and singing along to whatever tune he could remember when it was just the two. Then it was Gaara initiating physical contact. The first time it had happened, Naruto had gotten so faster he dropped his cup of ramen. Gaara had only touched his cheek. But it hadn't been by accident or with a layer of sand coating his skin; he had deliberately poked Naruto's cheek. And by the time they left the Land of Lightning, there were no secrets between them.
Gaara had used their time in the Land of Lighting to understand why his heartbeat would increase whenever Naruto smiled. Or why every time Naruto talked about his feelings for Sasuke made him see red. Simultaneously, the more Naruto talked about what liking someone felt like; the more Gaara understood his own emotions. He had planned to tell Naruto how he felt once they had made it back to Suna that way. If Naruto rejected him, they wouldn't have to be around each other afterward.
In retrospect, he had been naive to think that everything would go according to plan.
They hadn't seen the attack coming, none of them had.
//\\//\\//\\
It was a sunny day; there was no cloud in the sky. Naruto had been humming Gaara's favorite tune, low enough that only Gaara and he could hear it. A small amount of Gaara's sand was floating around them. Naruto had gotten the idea that he could similarly control the wind to how Gaara controlled his sand. Somehow Naruto had gotten Gaara to go along to his plan and let him practice with his sand. While Gaara would control a small amount of sand, Naruto would try to gain control of it by trying to control the air around it.
Maybe had Naruto not been so concentrated on trying to control the sand via air. Gaara hadn't been so fixated on watching Naruto's face and how it seems as if Naruto's hair was made of sun rays. Or how the sky paled in comparison to Naruto's eyes, they would have seen the bomb coming.
Jiraiya had just turned to warn them when the bomb detonated. The explosion had sent him flying into a tree a few feet away. Simultaneously, Gaara had been fast enough to lift a shield of sand around Naruto and him.
"Oi Pervy sage you okay?" Naruto yelled as Gaara lowered the shield.
It was hard to see around them due to the amount of smoke and dirt in the air. But what they could see was the silhouette of someone standing about 10 feet away from them. It was hard to tell if the person was a man or a woman.
"We meet again, Naruto Uzumaki."
//\\//\\//\\
Itachi Uchiha never thought that he would end up where he was today. He won't lie and say he regretted his choices, but he had made his bed, and now he had to lay on it. Yet as he stared into Uzumaki's terrified eyes, he wondered if Sasuke was aware of what he was about to take away. Will it be a repeat of that fateful day?
" Itachi. "
The Ichibi's jinchuuriki had ready his sand for any oncoming attack. Still, Itachi was sure that the red-head wouldn't be able to attack and defend at the same time. At least he wouldn't be able to protect two people at the same time.
"Uchiha! If you want to get to them, you will have to get through me first." The Sanni exclaimed as he made his way over to where the jinchuuriki were. But before he could get any closer to him, two figures appeared in front of him.
"I'm afraid we can let you pass," Kisame said. "But don't worry once they're done with the Jinchuuriki, they won't be mixing any body parts. You, on the other hand, might be left with some missing limbs."
" Konan? "
//\\//\\//\\
They hadn't been ready to face three S rank missing-nin, Naruto knew this. But that didn't mean they would go down without a fight or at the very least without finding out what they were after.
Yet no matter how many clones he made, that explosion obsessive nin would blow through them. But his main concern was the puppeteer; after all, no matter how fast his body might burn through the poison on the men's weapons, it was still slowing him down. It was almost like the time he fought against Haku, but at least back then, he knew that Haku wasn't trying to kill him.
Gaara, on the other hand, found himself having to defend two different fronts at the same time. While he tried his best to protect against the explosives, the blond hair missing-nin threw his way. He would also have to defend against the Uchiha's attack. Sasuke Uchiha had been fast, but this older Uchiha put him to shame.
The Ichibi was getting reckless; he was itching to fight. And had Naruto not been here, Gaara wouldn't have hesitated to let the Ichibi take control.
Let me out. You won't be able to protect blondie otherwise.
Come on. You know you want to~ just give in to me.
"Ohh whisker is getting angry~" Hearing the blond missing nin's voice made Gaara realize that he wasn't the only one fighting to keep the beast inside.
Naruto didn't want to ask the fox for help, but he wasn't strong enough to fight two S rank missing-nin by himself. While he wasn't sure how much of a difference using the Kyuubi's chakra would make, it was worth trying. And it hadn't been a mistake; he could already feel the poison in his bodywear off. The red-haired puppeteer knew this too.
"Sasori, my man, need a hand? Maybe a bit of an explosion, yeah."
Gaara wasn't sure if Naruto recognized him as a friend, not a foe. But what he did know was that if he could keep the blond missing-nin busy, there was a chance of beating the puppeteer.
"Sand Bullett"
//\\//\\//\\
Itachi was sure they had underestimated the two jinchuuriki. Instead of going into a panic after losing the protection of the Sannin, they stood their ground. Not only had they stood and fought, but they were getting the upper hand.
"Deidara." Itachi knew he didn't have to say anything else. The blond would know what to do.
Sure enough, soon, Deidara took to bombarding the Sand Jinchuuriki nonstop. As for Itachi, he was on the other side of the battlefield in a blink of an eye.
"Sasori, I'll take care of the Kyuubi."
//\\//\\//\\
Someone was shaking him, couldn't they see he was trying to sleep. He moved to slap the hand away, but no matter how many times he hit the hand, it wouldn't budge.
"Oi, dobe wake up already."
"Sasuke?" Naruto was dreaming; there was no way Sasuke was trying to wake him up. The only way that would happen was if Naruto had somehow sleepwalked into Orochimaru's hideout.
"Dobe, if you don't get up, I will use my fireball jutsu on you."
"If I open my eyes, you'll disappear." Naruto wished he wasn't pouting, that would be embarrassing.
"What are you talking about?" Dream Sasuke scoffed. "Get up already; my leg is going numb."
"I don't have to get up. It's not my fault your leg is numb."
"Dobe your heavy head is on my lap, if I get up your head hits the ground."
That made Naruto bolt up. Maybe he did end up in Orochimaru's place. It was that, or he had utterly lost his mind because there sitting next to him was Sasuke. He even had that annoying smirk on his face that made him look 100% more like a teme.
"where are we?"
"were home dobe where else could we be."
"Home?"
"Yes, home, now come on Aki-san must be waiting for us."
Naruto was in a daze, Sasuke was still acting like his usual self, but they were holding hands, and Sasuke would sometimes kiss his cheek. By the time they reached their 'home,' Naruto was sure that his face would be flushed for the rest of his life.
"Sasuke?"
"Mn"
"Why did you leave the village?"
"Naru, you're a civilian, and it's against the law for me to discuss anything ninja related with you."
What? A civilian?
“What do you mean what? You gave up your headband after the wave mission.”
That was impossible the Third wouldn’t let him, something about how the will of fire lived within him.
“You must have been having a nightmare, maybe you should spend some time in the greenhouse to ground yourself.”
Greenhouse?
Sasuke being thoughtful?
Naruto smiled, "This isn't real. You're not my Sasuke."
//\\//\\//\\
When Naruto opened his eyes, although there was no difference, he was surrounded by darkness.
"Gaara? Pervy-sage?"
Silence answered his calling. Had they left Gaara and pervy sage behind? Had he failed at protecting them too? He had been too weak to do anything. Once again, he had been useless. His eyes stung, but he wasn't going to cry. He didn't deserve to cry, not after having been so weak.
"Why are you crying?"
"Who's there!" Naruto wasn't sure where the voice came from, but he did know that they were able to see him.
"Are you afraid? Has the fear of death taken hold of you?"
Death? Were they planning on killing him?
"Where's Gaara? Jiraiya?"
"The sannin is no longer a concern, as for your friend, well, you will soon join him."
No longer a concern? Had they defeated the pervy-sage? No, that's impossible; pervy-sage is one of the legendary Sannin he wouldn't go down that easily.
Jiraiya couldn't be dead.
The old pervy-sage is fine. He's probably planning a way to get us out of here. Naruto thought to himself. Us; me and Gaara. Gaara and me. They have him somewhere else, and if I can get to him, then we might be able to make a run for it before pervy-sage gets here.
At least that's what Naruto tells himself to help diminish the dread and panic he felt.
//\\//\\//\\
There was no way for Naruto to tell how much time had passed between the time he woke up to now. All he knew was that at one point, someone else had entered the room and just stood there and looked at him. No matter how many questions he asked, none were answered. After a while, Naruto had grown tired of not getting anywhere and had just started talking about his life back in Konoha.
Not the best idea he had, but it made the time go by faster. Plus, it's not like he was giving them any top Konoha secrets. All he told the person was that the village hated him and exiled him continuously. At one point, he had also gone on a rant about how dancing with fans wasn't as easy as it looked and how Aki-nee-chan deserved the world.
Whoever was listening to him must have gotten annoyed and left halfway his rant on why ramen was the best dish.
Afterward, what seemed like an eternity, someone entered the room again. This time Naruto was ready to get some answers.
Just as Naruto was about to speak, he something hard and heavy crushed into him. Whatever they threw at him was alive, and very much human.
"Na..ru..to"
Suddenly it was as if Naruto's mind was running on overtime.
"Gaara?"
//\\//\\//\\
When Gaara had come too, he had been surrounded by his sand and the Ichibi yelling at him to wake up. There were other voices too, but he couldn't focus on them no matter how hard he tried. Just as his mind was starting to clear, he was being drenched.
His sand was useless once wet. Their captors knew this and took full advantage of it.
One moment he was submerged underwater, and the next he's in Naruto's arms.
Naruto had told him about how he was treated and about what one of their captors had said. While Naruto wasn't willing to believe that Jiraiya could be dead, Gaara wasn't as naive. Their attackers had been watching them for a while. They knew when and where to strike. They had been outnumbered from the very beginning. It was also evident that one of their captors knew Jiraiya.
Jiraiya, whether they liked it or not, couldn't help them.
"We know that they're after the tailed beasts. From what the Ichibi could pick up, they have succeeded in obtaining the Nibi, Yonbi, and the Gobi. My seal seems to be damaged somehow, making it hard for them to extract the Ichibi. They need the Ichibi to extract the Kyuubi.
"So we need to find a way to escape but also destroy this whole place to prevent any more jinchuuriki losing their lives."
//\\//\\//\\
Their plan hadn't been the most foolproof, it wasn't a plan, but there hadn't been many options to choose from.
Jiraiya wouldn't have approved of their plan.
Naruto and Gaara had agreed that the best course of action was to let the Ichibi and the Kyuubi take partial control. They would both make a deal with their tailed beast, which allowed them to damage as much as they wanted, but Naruto and Gaara would be given back control once they deemed it fit.
After all, no matter how powerful their captors were, subduing two tailed beasts wreaking havoc wasn't going to be a walk in the park.
//\\//\\//\\
So this is how he was going to go.
Naruto couldn't help but smile at the irony of it all. All his life, Naruto had aimed to prove that he wasn't a demon or a monster, yet here he was surrounded by the rubles of the destruction he caused. Granted, the blood that had been spilled was not innocent, but their end hadn't been pretty.
The Kyuubi seemed to have had some anger pent up after having been sealed for so long. Although Gaara had help with the destruction, as much as he could before he had been subdued. Naruto had lost what little control he had of the Kyuubi. Seeing Gaara being pinned down by blades and surrounded not being able to do anything, had made Naruto see red.
Naruto couldn't recall anything afterward, but Naruto had been too weak even with the Kyuubi in full control.
"You're worthy of the Uzumaki name." Pain said as he stopped in front of Naruto, "Just like Uzushiogakure, you too fought until the very end."
Pain pointed his blade at Naruto's heart, slowly pressing it in. "I'll make sure to tell you're story."
The clouded sky was the last thing Naruto saw before his whole world went dark.
As he looked at the sky, Naruto only wished that Aki-nee-chan wouldn't let grief consume her.
//\\//\\//\\
Sasuke, I never got to see Sasuke again.
//\\//\\//\\