Chapter 1 Missing

Travelers from a different dimension ascend upon a realm engulfed in a war that ended centuries ago, all that is left is the fear of a world below them. Bringer of wind to bestow heaven and bringer of darkness to conceive power to destroy everything in its path, wind and darkness, heaven, power reveal their true path marked by the fate place upon them. Joined by six with a fate to bring destruction battle within their hearts, their fates are destined to become one. Two worlds, one destiny, eternal love forged and the fate to change the course of history in their hands….

-Unknown-

(Location: Valley of the End border of the fire country)

The large valley with the wide lake was completely destroyed. The ground was shattered and covered in cracks, as if it was torn apart by a powerful force. What was once known as the Valley of the End was now an almost unrecognizable landscape due to the raging battle taking place there. One could only identify the valley by the colossal stone statues of Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara that towered over the great waterfall. Both statues bore the gesture of peace and unity, as these were the ideals rooted in the foundation of the hidden leaf village of Konoha when Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara originally created it.

On this day, a deadly battle between two young individuals was taking place beneath the statues of Konoha's founders. They were obviously the ones responsible for causing the destruction around the valley. Both were the same age, but they had different ideals and goals, and as a result, it appeared that one of them was going to have to lose their life. The genin with messy spiky hair, cerulean eyes, and whiskers on his cheek could easily be identified as Naruto Uzumaki due to his unique orange jumpsuit. The other combatant was Sasuke Uchiha, a young man with raven black hair. Sasuke's eyes were colored crimson with three tomoes, signifying the fact that he was currently using his clan's bloodline limit, the Sharingan.

Neither teen looked like their normal self, as they had unleashed their superior forms in order to defeat their opponent. Naruto, the jinchurikki of Konoha and the host of the nine tails fox demon, was now covered by the demon's blood red chakra cloak with one tail. His facial features had changed so that his whiskers were now wider and darker, and his eyes were no longer cerulean, but crimson. Sasuke was in the second level of the heaven curse seal, thanks to the legendary sannin Orochimaru, who marked him with the seal during team seven's encounter with him at the forest of death during the chunin exams. He had large wings on his back, making him look like some kind of half human, half dragon beast.

Their battle had been severe and fearsome and they knew that they were almost at their limit, especially Sasuke. The Uchiha knew he couldn't stay in level two for too long, as he had been warned by Sakon of the sound four when he was about to take his curse seal to the next level of power. He needed to finish this fast, or else he could forget his goal of going to Orochimaru in order to get the power he needed to kill his older brother and fulfill his revenge. Killing Itachi and the restoration of his clan were his only purposes in life, and no one was going to stop him, not even his former rival and best friend. He wasn't going to lose to him, not to the former dead last of the shinobi academy. He was going to make sure to defeat him right here.

His thoughts were interrupted by a flashback, and the words of a certain somebody hit him like a cold blade piercing his flesh. Looking at Naruto had resurfaced something that Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's brother and the one responsible for the slaughter of the Uchiha clan, had said to Sasuke on that horrible night.

"You can unlock magenkyou sharingan too, however it requires one thing….your best friend….you must kill him."

That was all he had to do in order to gain the next level of the sharingan, the ultimate form of the dojutsu. Gaining the magenkyou sharingan would bring him one step closer to becoming powerful enough to kill his brother, no doubt about it. But no matter how many times Sasuke denied it, he knew deep down that the death of the blonde jinchurikki would truly affect him. The person he had considered an idiot, a dead last, a weakling, and a rival was now someone who he could call his best friend. This is probably due to the fact that both shinobis have experienced the same thing, they have felt true loneliness and how painful it can really be. Was he really willing to go through with what was necessary to gain the true power of the Sharingan? It seemed that at some point in between the middle and the end of the battle, Sasuke had answered this question with an affirmative, and swore to break his bonds with Konoha and his team.

"I'm an avenger I will see this through the end…."

Naruto was also having a conflict with his inner self. The fight was hurting him a lot physically, but it was the injuries to his heart that were hurting him the most. The act of fighting the one he has considered his best friend and even a brother was truly painful. He never wanted this to happen, not like this. He knew that either of them could lose their lives in this battle, but he needed to do this in order to knock some sense into his friend. What he was doing was crazy, leaving their village to join a mad man like Orochimaru. He understood that Sasuke wanted to get strong to have his revenge, and even Naruto hated Itachi after learning about what he did to his younger brother, however Sasuke's actions were rash and unacceptable.

Naruto would not just let Sasuke throw himself to some treacherous snake in order to gain power. Sasuke was one of the few people who accepted Naruto for who he really is, not for the horrible burden that he carried, and as a result he has become a very precious person to Naruto. With all his strength he will beat Sasuke up, and bring him back to Konoha, even if it's the last thing he does, because Sasuke is a friend and Naruto always stands up for his friends. On top of everything else, there was another reason why Naruto wanted to bring Sasuke back to the village, which was the promise he made to his pink haired teammate, and the girl he likes, Sakura Haruno.

"Naruto this will be my only request….please bring Sasuke-kun back!"

Sakura's desperate pleas and cries hurt Naruto a lot, knowing how much he likes her, and it hurt even more to know that she liked Sasuke and not him. But he promised Sakura to bring Sasuke back for her, for himself and the sake of team seven. To keep the bond he has forged with them safe and sound forever.

"I promise you Sakura-chan I will bring him back that's a promise of a life time believe it!"

"Promise of a life time….I will make sure to keep it, I never go back on my word, it's my shinobi way."

"Naruto…." Sasuke said in a soft growl, his anger proof that he was ready to end their fight.

"Sasuke…." The whiskered jinchurikki was feeling the same way too, he will make sure to save Sasuke from going to Orochimaru.

Not another word was said as they knew that words would not finish this long and tough battle. They would finish it with the strongest technique each had at their disposal, passed down to them by great shinobis. Naruto would use his rasengan, taught to him by the sannin Jiraiya, the mountain hermit, but originally created by his former student, the fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato. Sasuke would use his chidori, taught to him by the copycat shinobi Hatake Kakashi, the man who has copied over a thousand jutsus, as well as a fellow wielder of the Sharingan. Kakashi's Sharingan was still a mystery to the raven haired youth since he wasn't a member of the Uchiha clan.

"Chidori". The level two curse seal Sasuke formed a black colored variation of the chidori with his right hand.

The one tail Kyuubi Naruto extended his right hand and created a spinning sphere of chakra, only this time instead of being its original blue color, it was purple. The color change was obviously due to the fact that Naruto was using the demon fox's red chakra, though it was a mystery why it was purple instead of being red.

"Rasengan…"

Once their attacks were formed, they gave each other one last look before moving to deliver the powerful blow that would end the fight. Sasuke took flight using his long, dragon wings while Naruto jumped high, his goal to defeat the chidori and his best friend. Failure was not an option for either of them. The mighty collision was just seconds away as the shinobis closed in on each other, each of them confident that their technique would defeat the others.

"Naruto!"

"Sasuke!"

BOOM!

The explosion was incredibly loud and it echoed throughout the valley. A large black sphere formed from the collision, and grew to engulf both Naruto and Sasuke. As the shinobi waited for the explosion that would end the fight, they stared into each others eyes, and it seemed that in that moment they came to respect each other and treasure their bond. Sasuke was too stubborn but the blond jinchurikki wasn't ashamed of admitting it. Naruto remembered when they had sparred for the first time at the academy and how badly he had lost to the Uchiha. Sasuke had made him look like a complete fool in front of everyone, especially in front of Sakura.

On that day, Iruka had told them about the crossing fingers handshake which symbolizes respect towards the opponent. The handshake was a way to keep honor among fellow shinobi. As if they had read each others minds, they both gave a smile, remembering that day as they performed the cross finger shake, the only difference being that they were smiling unlike last time. The explosion that both shinobi were waiting for never came, and before they realized it, their bodies started to disappear before completely vanishing as the black sphere swallowed them. The only proof left of their fight was the destroyed valley.

(Scene change)

(Location: forest region not too far from the Valley of the End)

Hatake Kakashi was running as fast as he could, managing to reach the border of the fire country in an incredibly short time. He was shocked when he found out from the fifth Hokage, Tsunade of the sannin, that she had sent three genin and one newly appointed chunin to retrieve Sasuke from the group of sound ninja that came for him. He felt terrible with himself for letting this happen, for he had known of Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry and how fast things could go from bad to worse, and yet he had chosen not to pay attention. He was the one to blame in this situation, for he had not been a good sensei and leader for his team. If he had not ignored the obvious issues of his genin team members, specifically those of Sasuke, then maybe this could have been avoided.

Next to Kakashi was Pakuun, one of Kakashi's summons and the best tracker among the shinobi hounds. Pakkun was currently assisting Kakashi in his search for Naruto and Sauske. Just by looking at the path in front of him, he knew very well where they were, the Valley of the End. Kakashi noted that it was ironic that the fight between Naruto and Sasuke was taking place here, as it was this very same spot that hosted the fight between Hashirama and Madara many years ago. Kakashi pushed aside his thoughts and concentrated on going full speed to his destination before something happened that could not be reversed. Deep inside, Kakashi knew he would never forgive himself if something happens to them.

Pakuun sniffed, never losing his targets scents. "We're almost there."

Kakashi nodded, his visible eye gazing ahead. "Please let me make it in time. Naruto, Sasuke…."

Unfortunately, Kakashi had a terrible feeling in his gut, and his intuition was telling him that he was too late. He was relieved when he finally made it to the valley, however he was immediately taken aback by the destroyed landscape, considering the fact that it was surly the result of his students battle. He looked in every direction for a sign of the two genin, but they were nowhere to be seen. Kakashi and Pakkun jumped down to the area where the stone statues of Konoha's founders were located, drawing the masked jounin's attention to some holes in the legs of the statue, which were scars from Naruto and Sasuke's battle. Kakashi grimaced at the thought of how intense the battle must have been.

He erased the thought and looked at the small dog "Well Pakuun?"

"Their scent ends here."

"What?"

"Both of them, Naruto and Sasuke's scent ends here, it doesn't lead anywhere…"

"They couldn't have just vanished into thin air" Kakashi was still looking everywhere, hoping to find any sign of them.

"It goes dead here, they must be at the bottom of the river."

"Or they could have been dragged by the current". The copy shinobi was still confident that he would find them.

"That can't be. Their scent completely ends here. I'm beginning to think that they actually did vanish into thin air. I'm sorry Kakashi."

He lowered his head in shame "It's all right Pakuun you did your best…."

"How am I going to explain this to Hokage-sama?"

The masked jounin decided to keep searching for a little while longer, scouting the valley for any sign of his two students, however it wouldn't be long before he finally gave up and left with a defeated expression under his mask. If Pakuun's nose couldn't find them, then they weren't going to be found at all. Naruto and Sasuke were gone, and they would officially be declared MIA as soon as Kakashi reports the news to Tsunade in Konoha. Today Kakashi was going to pay another visit to his friend and teammate Obito at the heroes' memorial stone, and he will tell him how he has failed to protect his precious people once again.

Once the copy ninja and Pakuun had left the valley, taking the road back to the hidden leaf village, something began to move from the ground. It was a large man with what appeared to be a giant venus fly trap on his head, with one side colored black and the other colored white. The mysterious being is known as Zetsu, and is a member of the criminal organization Akatsuki, as signified by his attire which is a black cloak covered in red clouds. Zetsu had watched the entire fight between Naruto and Sasuke and he was truly confused at the conclusion of said fight.

"What just happened?" said white Zetsu.

"Beats me, they seemed to have vanished out of nowhere" replied black Zetsu.

"It seems it happened when both of their attacks crashed together, it's a possibility."

"The big question is how are we going to explain this to leader-sama?"

"We just tell him what we saw…."

On that note, Zetsu went back into the ground without leaving evidence of ever being there.

(Scene change)

Naruto felt like he had been sleeping for a while when he suddenly remembered the recent events. He remembered his fight with Sasuke, however he couldn't seem to remember the outcome. Naruto slowly opened his eyes, getting up in a way that looked like he had been resting forever. He realized he was no longer wrapped in the nine tails cloak. He chose no to look around at his surroundings because something else drew his immediate attention, the figure of an unconscious Uchiha laying beside him, no longer in his level two curse seal form. The whiskered blonde immediately assumed the worst and was scared that he may have killed Sasuke in the fight. Naruto instincts brought him over to Sasuke, where he started to make attempts to wake the Uchiha up. "Damn it….is he….no it can't be"

"Come on Sasuke wake up you can't be…."

Naruto was at the brink of tears as he shook Sasuke over and over without any signs of life from the raven haired teen. He would never forgive himself if he killed his best friend. Naruto growled in anger, not ready to give up on his friend. He raised his hand and slapped Sasuke's face hard, hoping that it would be enough to wake him up, however this yielded no results, making Naruto even more desperate. Without thinking to check Sasuke's pulse, Naruto readied his hand for another "wake-up call".

"No, Sasuke wake up!"

Naruto put a little more effort into this slap than the last one, however Sasuke didn't react at all, at least that's what Naruto thought. However, he was made aware of the truth when a fist was sent to his chin, sending him to the ground. The attack was quite strong, and sent Naruto to the ground quick, leaving the blond jinchurikki with a pissed off, yet comical expression, as he got up. While Naruto was momentarily angry on the outside, in reality he was incredibly happy to see that his friend was alive. Sasuke, however, didn't share the same feelings as Naruto, and he was currently glaring daggers at the blond genin. It was hard to take him seriously though due to the big red imprint of a hand on his right cheek, courtesy of two strong slaps from one Naruto Uzumaki. Soon, both shinobi found themselves engaged in a glaring contest, but the mood was so light-hearted that one might have thought that the two had forgotten they were trying to kill each other just moments ago.

"What the hell is wrong with you? That hurt you stupid moron!" shouted an enraged Sasuke.

"I could ask you the same thing you bastard! My chin is hurting a lot!"

"You were the one that slapped me twice! You deserved it!"

"I thought you were dead! I was trying to wake you up!"

"Well I'm not. Don't you remember when we took basic medical lessons at the academy? Couldn't you have just checked my pulse?"

The whiskered blond sweat dropped after realizing his mistake. "Well I….kind of forgot about that." said the blushing blonde.

"You're such a loser…."

"I dare you to say that again!"

The Uchiha glared at Naruto, he hadn't forgotten about the fight, and he was well aware that somebody still needed to die. He needed to finish this for good so that he could resume his journey to Orochimaru's hideout. Sasuke got ready to launch an attack towards his former teammate, but the attack never came as he fell on one knee. Sasuke had given his all in his last fight, and was now completely exhausted. It was impossible for him to continue the fight in his condition, and he was lucky that Naruto was probably in the same boat too.

"Damn it I'm out of chakra, and my body feels like it's on fire. I was in level two for too long…."

"Sasuke!" Naruto went to his friend. Concern was written all over his face.

"I'm fine!" Sasuke snapped, backing away from the blond.

"Don't be like that. I was just worried okay? I used up all my chakra in the last fight and I'm sure that you're exhausted as well."

"Naruto.." his tone was soft but it still held anger "get it in your head that I'm not going back to Konoha. You will have to kill me if you want to send me back…."

The blond jinchurikki glared "I'm bringing you back whether you like it or not! I wasn't lying when I said I would break every bone in your body if I had to!"

Sasuke tightened his fist, giving Naruto an upset look" I hate you…"

The blond genin didn't see the punch to his mouth coming, and fell to the ground with a broken and bleeding lip. Naruto glared at Sasuke from his now seated position on the ground, however he had no means to fight or defend himself against the Uchiha, even with the Kyuubi's chakra. Not only did Naruto doubt that he had a chance at beating Sasuke right now, but he didn't even desire a fight with Sasuke.

"Damn it he still wants to fight…."

"No matter what you say about bonds, you will never understand me. You will never feel the pain I'm going through. Severing my bonds with you and the village is not something I want to do, but it's something I must do, because it's the only way for me to focus on my goal. I can't have any ties to you or Konoha if I want to kill Itachi and restore my clan…"

Naruto was still panting with exhaustion. "Trust me Sasuke, I do know. I do understand how you feel, what you're going through. You're important to me because you're one of the few people that accepted me and acknowledged my existence as something other than the demon within me. You have become my best friend Sasuke, not to mention my first and only true friend, and that's why I would never let you go to that bastard Orochimaru."

Naruto's response only fueled the Uchiha's anger, causing Sasuke to wind up for another punch, however he couldn't help but pause when he suddenly became aware of his surroundings. It took a minute for Naruto to realize that Sasuke's punch was not coming, as Naruto had immediately shielded his face to lighten the blow, and had not noticed when Sasuke had taken interest in elsewhere. Naruto lowered his guard, and soon found himself following Sasuke's line of sight. Naruto gasped out loud at what he saw, and the first thing that came to his mind was that he must be dreaming. The first thing that Naruto and Sasuke noticed was that they were in a dark gutter with two tall buildings on each side, indicating that they were certainly not in The Valley of the End anymore.

The Uchiha was confused and shocked, as evidenced by his expression. "What….what is this place?"

"I was just about to ask the same question, we should check this out."

The raven haired teen glared at Naruto, suddenly remembering their conflict. "Why should I go with you?"

"Do you really want to fight now or do you want to figure this out with me?" Naruto made a good point.

Sasuke stood quiet in thought, coming to the conclusion that Naruto was right. Fighting right now was not a good idea, especially when neither of them had a clue where they were at the moment. The last thing they could remember was their battle at the Valley of the End, but this place didn't look anything like it. Sasuke gave a sigh of frustration as he had run into another road block, and would now need Naruto's help to find out where they were. Both shinobi had accepted the fact that they were not dreaming, so it was time to figure out what was going on. As they walked out of the dark gutter, their eyes widened as they were greeted with a sight that was truly out of their world.

What they were seeing was huge city, filled with tall buildings and technology that they had never seen before. It was completely different from any village or town they had ever encountered. They saw advanced vehicles of transportation that hovered over the ground or just floated in midair. It was as if they had somehow been transported to a futuristic city. The next thing that caught their attention was the people. Not only did Naruto and Sasuke notice the unusually large mass of people, but also the contrast of their clothes to the clothes of the civilians of Konoha. The clothes that these people were wearing were unlike anything the two shinobi had ever seen.

Both Naruto and Sasuke found it amazing that such a place could exist without them having seen it before, or even heard of it. The incredible visuals in front of them, combined with the fact they were seemingly transported to a new world, was truly freaking out both shinobi. They were starting to wonder if they were even still in Fire Country.

Some of the strange city's civilians started to take notice of Naruto and Sasuke. Some thought that the two shinobi were just poor people, as they looked very dirty, and their clothes appeared to be unrecognizable rags. Others took note of the fact that the two shinobi were not normal and started discussing it from a distance.

"Where the heck are we?" Naruto was the first to recover from the shock.

"This is real right?"

Sasuke didn't even reply, as he was still shocked at what he was seeing. This city was so different from Konoha or any of the other villages and towns he had ever seen. He finally managed to calm himself when he realized that staring in awe was not going to answer any questions or solve any problems.

"Let's ask someone to tell us where we are…."

The blond genin nodded in agreement with the Uchiha. Although they were in a confusing situation, a part of Naruto was happy. He wasn't fighting with Sasuke, and didn't have to worry that the Uchicha would run off to go to Orochimaru. For now, at least one problem was solved. He erased the thought from his mind, knowing that he could face that problem later if they found out where they were. Naruto knew that Sasuke would continue with his revenge no matter what, and Naruto would be prepared to stop him when the time came. Putting that thought aside, he went to the nearest person to find answers to his questions. The man that Naruto approached seemed to be in his early thirties.

"Excuse me sir?"

The older man gazed at Naruto and Sasuke and frowned slightly at their presence after seeing their dirty clothes, bruises, and the odor being emitted from them. They certainly weren't the most pleasant sight at the moment. He didn't like this one bit. The man wasn't a bad person, but he wondered why he should have to waste part of his precious time talking to a bunch of street bums, even if they were young.

"Yes can I help you?" his tone was filled with disapproval and even had a hint of anger in it.

Naruto gave him a silly grin, ignoring his expression and tone. "Would you mind kindly telling us where we are?"

Sasuke gave a nod, waiting for the man's answer. The sooner the Uchiha found out where he was, the sooner he could go to Orochimaru and gain the power to avenge his clan.

After hearing Naruto's question, the older man gave both shinobi a bewildered look. The man raised his eyebrow, and some of his anger faded, though he was still slightly flustered. The question had certainly caught him off guard.

"Are you two lost?"

"Something like that" Naruto still had a silly grin on his face.

"My, you two really are lost if you're asking a question such as that. You're in Cocoon, the city of Bodhum specifically."

"Huh what….?" Both shinobi thought at the same time.

The older man noticed their blank expression. It was as if the man was speaking a foreign language. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yeah there is, what did you just say?" The blond jinchurikki wanted to make sure he heard right.

The man frowned and started to get a little impatient "I said you are in the city of Bodhum, in the beloved world of Cocoon."

"What is he talking about?" Sasuke gave a mental growl. He had never heard of such places before.

"Bodhum? Cocoon? What?" Naruto was in the same boat.

"You two don't seem to be from around here" The older man could see their blank expressions, indicating that they were thoroughly confused.

"You got that right" sweat dropped the blond.

"Are you from a different city?"

"You can say that again" muttered the blond genin.

"I see….are you from the upper region of Bodhum, or lower?"

"Um...neither? Not quite sure..." the whiskered blond sweat dropped while the Uchiha was getting frustrated.

"Then you're definitely not from Bodhum. Are you from Eden or maybe Palumpolum?"

"Eden? Palumpolum? What the hell I don't know any of those names!" Naruto shouted mentally.

"He's not making any sense" thought the Uchiha. He was getting very annoyed.

The man sighed. "I apologize but I cannot stay any longer. I have a business meeting in this city and I can't afford to be late. Now if you'll excuse me."

"Wait! Can you at least give us some directions?"

He gave another sigh. "I'm sorry but I'm already late to my meeting. If you're ever in Palumpolum, you can search for me. My name is Bartholomew Estheim."

The two genin watched as Bartholomew left, fading into the distance and blending in with the massive crowd. The two shinobi now faced a dilemma. They were alone in a city that they had never heard of, and based on the advanced technology that filled said city, they were possibly alone in an entirely different world. Naruto didn't even want to look at Sasuke, knowing that he was probably either angry, annoyed, frustrated or even a combination of the three. He started walking in a random direction, hoping that he was headed towards something that would help the two shinobi get back to Konoha, but deep down, he knew it was hopeless. At least Sasuke was still following him, which meant Naruto was not completely out of luck.

(Scene change time skip)

The two shinobi were now walking down a street where there were less people. Neither of them had spoken a word since Bartholomew dropped the bombshell on them about the place they were currently staying. In their minds, they were still asking themselves where they were, but no answers came. Sasuke finally reached his limit. He had been quiet for far too long, and he was too upset and frustrated to let this go without complaining. The Uchiha needed to put the blame on someone, and unfortunately for Naruto, he was the only person nearby.

Naruto gasped as he was grabbed by his collar and slammed against a nearby wall. Some of the city's civilians were staring at the display, but nobody was going to interfere. Naruto gazed into the angry onyx eyes of Sasuke, and he knew he was in trouble. This could easily turn into a fight, and he didn't want to risk the life of anybody passing by.

"S…Sasuke….?" Naruto choked through the Uchiha's strong hold.

"You….what the hell did you do?"

"Why are you blaming me? I'm as confused as you are!"

The Uchiha let the blond go, giving an angry cry in the process. "Just what the hell is this place?"

"I don't know….I've never been here. We've never even heard of this place before."

"Cocoon... That's the name of this world, and that man said this city is called Bodhum" replied the raven haired teen.

"Well if there's one thing I know, it's that we're no longer in fire country. What kind of country is this anyway?"

"Hn…."

"It doesn't make sense. One minute we were fighting at the Valley of the End, and the next minute we're in a strange city that none of us have ever heard of." Naruto sighed.

"We should ask people if they know a way to get back to the fire country."

Naruto grinned" That's strange Sasuke, I thought you were going to Orochimaru? He's in the hidden sound village if I remember correctly."

"Tch, I do know. You can ask people for a way to get back to Konoha, while I will ask for a way to get to the sound village."

"Wait, what are you saying?"

"What do you think? We're parting ways from here on out."

"You're leaving again…." Naruto wasn't happy in the least.

"You should've known that by now."

"I won't let you Sasuke! I will stop you right here if I have to." Naruto got into a fighting stance.

The Uchiha snorted. "Do you really want to fight when we don't even know where we are?"

The whiskered jinchurikki knew that Sasuke was right, he asked Sasuke the same question a while ago. Now wasn't the time to fight, they needed to work together to find a way back to their village. The chances were pretty high that he may lose the Uchiha and never see him again, however Naruto really wanted to go home. Was he willing to risk losing Sasuke to Orochimaru? Naruto gave Sasuke a determined look, and chose not to leave his fighting stance.

"I have a better plan. How about I knock you out and drag you back to the village?."

"You should learn to use your brain more often."

"What was that?" snapped the blond. He didn't appreciate being made fun of.

"Think for a moment. How are you planning to bring me back to the village if you don't even know how to get yourself back to Konoha?"

"I…." He was at a loss for words.

"The truth is you don't have a real plan and you'd be wasting your energy for nothing."

Naruto stood in silence as Sasuke was right again. What good would fighting Sasuke be if he couldn't even bring the Uchiha home after victory. He knew the truth, but he was too stubborn to admit it. Once again, Naruto pushed thoughts of getting Sasuke back to Konoha aside. First he had to find a route that will get him out of this city and moving towards the fire country, and eventually the hidden leaf village. Once Naruto had accomplished this, he could begin to think about saving Sasuke again. For now, Naruto could at least cherish the fact that Sasuke wouldn't be visiting any evil sannin while in this strange city.

The raven haired teen turned and began to walk away. "Get strong Naruto..."

"Hmm….?"

Sasuke looked at him. " I want to fight you again…."

Naruto nodded. "You too Sasuke, and the next time we fight I hope it won't be because Orochimaru helped you, but because you got strong on your own."

"Hn…."

The Uchiha finally walked out leaving the blond jinchurikki with his thoughts. Naruto wasn't going to give up, in fact the word wasn't even in his vocabulary. There was still hope for Naruto to bring Sasuke back to his village and stop the Uchiha from going to the snake sannin. Naruto swore to save his friend and he wasn't going to let it go. Once Sasuke was out of sight, Naruto took a deep breath and began his own search for a way to get back to home. Once he figured that out, he planned to bring one Sasuke Uchiha with him, whether he liked it or not.

Little did either of them know that their adventure had only just begun….

To be continued