Welp, here's the newest (and last…) chapter! It's been awhile since I've written anything, so… sorry if the chapter's not that great… I'd originally planned to write more than this, but I just haven't had much motivation and I've been working on some other projects lately, so I'm sorry to say that this will be the final chapter. Other than that, I don't really have anything else to say about this chapter, so let's just get on with it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. (Obviously.)

The Many Worlds Theory

Chapter 8 - Never Us

Ducking beneath the swing of a blade, Naruto quickly rose with an uppercut; knocking the bandit to the floor as he continued to run through the complex. He couldn't believe that he could let her be taken.

'Left, down, right, straight,' he thought as he followed the instructions he'd been given. Moving quickly through the halls, he made his way into the basement of the building, stopping before a single door at the end of a hall. 'There.' Running to it, he quickly opened the door to find a dimly lit room; the pungent mix of must and metallic odors instantly assaulting his senses. Peering into the room, he felt as his blood ran cold.

There, on the far wall, was Ino. As he slowly closed the distance between them, he saw small cuts that lined her body through the rips in her clothes; her hair frazzled and covering her face. Kneeling down to her, his voice barely escaped his body. "Ino?" he whispered. He watched as she slowly looked up at him, her eyes dull; vacant.

"Naru...to?" she slowly questioned. He could see it on her face. He could hear it in her voice. She hadn't just been taken, she'd been taken.

He could feel as his anger began to bubble. Like bile burning his throat, it stung his very being to see and know what they'd done to Ino. He wanted to find Gato. He needed to find him. No… he needed to kill him.

Then… nothing.

Like watching through a window, Naruto saw as his body was covered by the red chakra of Kurama. He saw as the chakra crawled across his skin like water flowing over a bed of stone before hardening into plate-like pieces. From each plate flowed another until his body was covered in a crimson veil of armour.

He saw as he bent down to Ino. He could see that those vacant eyes were regaining their life, but he also saw the confusion and slight fear that plagued her face as she stared at him. Yet he could do nothing. He could feel as his body moved and yet he could not control it. He watched as he released Ino from her bindings and picked her up; the crimson aura beginning to engulf her too as her wounds began to heal.

He felt as he took what seemed like a single step and arrived outside. Setting Ino down, he turned towards the complex before, yet again, everything went black.

Naruto gasped for air as he opened his eyes. Looking around, he found himself alone in a forest. Shaking his head, he attempted to remember what had transpired earlier, but found it all to be rather fuzzy; like a blurry picture.

"Naruto," he heard from behind him.

Turning around, he saw his partner-in-crime. "Sasuke," Naruto acknowledged. "What happened?"

"You destroyed Gato's base of operations. Do you remember what happened? When the rest of us caught up, then the entire place was gone; wiped out. Ino was unconscious and you were nowhere to be found, so we had to have Pakkun track you down," Sasuke answered, pointing to the dog that sat a few meters away.

"I-" Naruto began, attempting to try and remember. "I don't know. I don't remember. I remember that I found Ino and then… nothing."

Sasuke stayed silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Naruto, before we head back, you should know that… during Ino's time there… she was-"

"I know. I know what happened to her. Let's just go," Naruto said as he got up, the anger he had felt before beginning to bubble up once again.

He still couldn't believe what had happened to Ino. Inoichi closed his eyes for a few seconds as he calmed his breathing. Opening his eyes, he almost glared across the table at the younger blond. "You promised," he all but whispered, looking at the three male members of Team Seven.

Naruto's fists tightened as his brow furrowed. "I know. I failed her."

"No you didn't. I did," Kakashi said from beside Naruto. "As an instructor, I should have noticed earlier."

The younger blond averted his gaze, looking over to the bookshelf to his right. "I made a promise. I swore to protect her, but… when the time came, I wasn't able to-" Naruto stopped as something caught his eye. Getting up from his chair, he felt himself compelled to advance towards it.

Inoichi and Kakashi could only watch in confusion as Naruto seemingly rose in a daze; walking towards the Yamanakas' bookshelf and pulling out a single book. It was leatherbound; rather large in comparison to the other books. Inoichi recognized it as a book that was given to him by Minato all those years ago; back when he'd only just become the Fourth.

"What is this?" Naruto asked, turning around to the two jonin.

"It was a gift from your father," Inoichi responded. "It's about-"

"The Many Worlds Theory," Naruto finished, his eyes glazed over and his brows furrowed, like he was attempting to forcibly recall forgotten memories.

Sasuke's ears instantly perked up at Naruto's words. "Naruto. Is that-"

"Yeah… I think it is." Naruto began to sift through the book; his eyes darting from page to page as flashes of memories began to appear in his mind. Scrolls, seal formations, everything from those last few moments of his others' life. He felt the book fall from his hands as he grabbed at his heart. He felt cold as his heart throbbed; like it had been struck. His knees soon followed, buckling as he fell to the floor.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, dashing to the blond's side. Helping Naruto sit up, Sasuke saw as the boy's brows furrowed once again.

"I remember, Sasuke," Naruto told the Uchiha through ragged breaths. "I remember why we came back." He gave a weak laugh through the pain. "It wasn't for us. It never was."

"What are you talking about?" Kakashi asked as he crouched down to the two.

"The reason why Sasuke and I came back. It wasn't so that we could get stronger. It was to pass on the technique; to stop everything at its root. We came back for the Hokage."

Naruto layed back in bed as he thought of what was to occur the next day. Over the past month, he, along with Sarutobi and the others that knew of his memories, had recreated everything needed for the technique that had originally brought him and Sasuke back. By this time the next day, Sarutobi would, having performed the technique, be dead; while he, and the others that helped, could be incarcerated for treason. It was a small price to pay for possibly being able to save the lives of an infinite amount of people.

He smiled as he brought a small locket up to his face; a gift from Inoichi. Opening it, he stared at the picture of Ino smiling inside. He hadn't seen her since they'd arrived back from Wave. From what he heard, she was still readjusting to men; the trauma from her time captive causing her to break down whenever she came in contact with a male. All of these lives that he would save by doing this and yet he was unable to save her from the horrors she'd faced.

"Shit," he chuckled woefully as a small tear rolled down to the sheets beneath him.

He closed his eyes as he felt the flare of chakra from the top of Hokage Rock die down. It was done. The ANBU would likely find Sarutobi's body any moment now and if they somehow found evidence of the others' involvement, they would likely be taken in within the hour. As Naruto opened his eyes and stood up from his bed, he heard a knock from his front door.

'That was… really quick,' Naruto thought as he went to open it, only to find a familiar blonde standing before him.

"Hi," she whispered.

A small smile began to grow on his face as he spoke her name. "Ino."

Well, that's the end folks. I know it's really short and it all happened pretty quickly, but I just haven't had the time or motivation to work on this along with my other projects and responsibilities.

IMPORTANT: If you wish to perhaps continue this or do anything of the sort then please feel free to contact me and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

ALSO, if you wish to see my other projects, please head over to my YouTube channel: Hikaru Kin