Because I am a shut in with a lot of time on my hands due to the whole COVID situation, and am quite sick myself, I am tossing together the next chapter of this story to finally kick off of the cliffhanger from the last one. It is 1:30 AM and I am high on coffee and sugar, so let's get this started!

"The Rinnegan was delivered successfully to the Namikaze Naruto while he was in Nami no Kuni. I saw an opportunity and I took it. It took the creative use of a genjutsu, Kamui, and an absurd amount of chakra, but the second stages of the plan may continue," a deep, baritone voice spoke from the shadows, its body hidden behind a veneer of darkness save for a glowing, red eye and a swirling orange facemask.

"I still do not see where the Namikaze is a part of your plan, Madara," a man with a lifeless voice and orange hair replied, staring with half-lidded Rinnegan eyes at the facemask before him. He narrowed his eyes fractionally in calculation as he noticed the red-eyed man step out from the shadows to cross the room and pick up a small, clay figurine of a toad off of the mahogany desk in the corner.

"There was a prophecy made many years ago, that said that a student of a particular man would either save the world, or destroy it," he said, lifting up the toad figurine and examining it before crushing it into dust and watching it fall to the ground, "And the Namikaze has learned from this man, like you. I have given him the eyes that you also possess because he will be a central piece in our plan for peace. The eyes were dangerous to leave lying around in Ame for so long, after all, and soon he will either join us or we will take them back, but he will not lose them."

"Mmh..." the orange-haired man stopped for a moment to think stoically, then continued, "And what if he becomes too strong to recover his eyes? If he refuses to join us and we must kill him? Why not control him like you did the jinchuriki of the Sanbi?"

"Ahh, Nagato-" Madara started, immediately being cut off.

"Nagato is dead. I am Pein now," the orange haired man interrupted. Madara nodded insincerely.

"As you say. His blood is the same as yours. You are both Uzumaki, and even you cannot manage all of the power that the Rinnegan gives you without succumbing to it despite being purer in blood than he is. He will be strong, but you and I together will be stronger. He carries one of the beasts we need to complete the plan, and so when the time comes the only way for him to survive its extraction is to give it willingly. The only way for him to do that is with the Rinnegan. When he joins us, he will need to be proficient enough in its use to separate the beast's chakra from his own. We have to give it to him now or else he will not be strong enough. His willpower is strong. I tried to control him and it was as if I had to be in direct focus to get him to move. Besides, it will be better for us if he joins willingly," Madara replied, resting his hand on the desk and leaning on it.

"I understand, but I do not see why you think he will willingly join our cause. He has been vocal about his views on peace, and he knows Pain, but he will not agree with our methods, especially after you caused the death of his father" Nagato replied.

The masked man crossed his arms in thought for a moment before replying, "Are you unsure of our ability to remedy that situation were it to occur?"

Pein's response was almost immediate, and predictable, "No. I am a god. If he refuses to join us then I will show him the power of Pein."

Madara's eye glinted as he grinned behind his mask. He knew just which strings to pull.

Naruto bolted back towards the village as quickly as he could, nearly stumbling several times as his improved chakra control and the flashes of chakra he saw in the corner of his vision blinded him, the Rinnegan's ability to see chakra new to his sense of sight and his bloodline requiring chakra to move at his immense speeds. His ability to think quickly was still there, but slowed, and his control over his speed was shot. His first attempt at running had him bolt straight into a tree, after which he struggled to control his turns and shifts in speed. When he was around halfway back to the village, he figured out the right amount of chakra to use with his improved control and found a running pace, but the bursts of chakra still blinded him and he was still struggling to react to trees in time. The closer he got to the village, the more fearful his eyes made him. He scrambled up to the door of the house and crashed through it on accident, still unable to control his speed while walking.

"Take this!" he heard someone shout, just in time to nearly catch a kunai to the face courtesy of Anko, who had missed by a hair as he managed to make it inside too quickly for her to hit, he tried to walk toward her as she recovered from her combat stance and instead slammed into her at a normal shinobi's jogging speed, taking them both down to the floor.

"Shit! I'm sorry, Anko, but we need to talk," he said urgently, standing up and starting to drag her towards a room before she or anyone else could see his eyes and notice the difference. The others in the room watched them blur towards the hallway in apprehension, still shocked over the suddenness of his appearance and his crash with Anko on the floor. The shinobi in the room stood up and took up better strategic points in the room, just in case.

In a guestroom, Naruto dragged Anko too far inside and had to struggle to move back to the door and shut it without smashing through a wall. He successfully locked it and put a privacy seal up before turning around to see Anko sitting on the bed, looking at him strangely.

"Naruto-kun, what has you so afraid? Why are you acting so weirdly?" the violette asked, looking at his face in genuine fear as anything that could cause him such a shock would spell disaster for the genin and the villagers of Nami no Kuni. She examined his fear-stricken features for a moment before recoiling in shock as the purple of his eyes caused a pit to form in her stomach. If he had different eyes but he was afraid, something very not good had happened.

"You see them, right? Right. I found a suspicious cave and checked it out while I was on patrol. Something... I heard a voice and I couldn't control myself. I just... touched something and I heard more talking and when I fought it, suddenly it stopped and now I have these new eyes and..." he sounded terrified, like he could hardly hold in his hysteria, so Anko approached him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Naruto-kun, you need to calm down. Nothing has ever made you this... terrified before, not even when that man invaded the village so long ago. I need you to take a deep breath and tell me what happened," she stressed, sitting him down on the bed and taking a seat close next to him.

"Right... Right, okay. Fine. I'm fine. I went to a cave on the outskirts of the village because it looked suspicious. I knew it wasn't a genjutsu because I could feel that it wasn't, but something kept telling me it was wrong. Some voice in my head just wouldn't stop telling me what to do. I... had to go in and find something even if I didn't want to. There was this orb in a small body of water there, and I reached out and touched it. It shocked me for a long time, but when I finally wrestled free, I had the word 'Fated' burned into my hand and suddenly my eyes were like this. It scared the shit out of me, so I sprinted here as best I could. My... my techniques are shot. I can run faster with the same amount of chakra, but my chakra control is different and I can't make decisions as quickly," he explained rapidly, breathing heavily as he glanced around the room with his eyes bolting from one object to the next, trying to shake off the chakra signatures that were so brightly blinding him.

"This isn't good," Anko said nervously, watching his eyes dart around in fear. She realized that he was most likely in shock, and so she resolved herself and pushed forward. He was a shinobi. He would follow orders if they were given. She finally decided on the course of action and ordered him, "Naruto-kun, I need you to return to Konoha. I want you to go as quickly as you can without injuring yourself. You need to report directly to the Old Man and ask him to get your eyes examined. I don't know what happened to you, but you need to get checked out by a medic who the Hokage trusts. Do you understand?"

"Back to Konoha? Yes, back to Konoha. I'll need to get checked out back in Konoha. I can get there I think. Back to Konoha... What about you? You and the genin and the mission?" Naruto replied, his eyes still darting quickly but settling on Anko's face as she patted him on the cheek to get his attention.

"You will be okay. I know something very frightening happened and your eyes are different. Something got the drop on you and you don't know who or what they were, but whatever they did, it isn't really hurting you and you seem to still be safe. You aren't thinking clearly because your body is in shock. I need you to snap out of it and get to Konoha to be checked out. The mission will be fine. I will help Kakashi and his team with no problems on my own. You know how strong I am," Anko soothed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a calming hug, which he returned after a few seconds, and then stopped to kiss him on the cheek.

"You're right. You'll all be fine. I'm just... Thanks, Anko-chan. I'll make it to Konoha as quickly as I can and see a medic," he replied calmer than he was before. He squeezed her tightly and then stepped back to look her in the eye for a moment before moving past her and stepping out of the room. He sneaked out of the back to avoid having his eyes seen by the genin and was swiftly on his way to Konohagakure, although only as quickly as he could manage.

Anko let out a sigh and finally allowed the pit in her stomach to drop, letting herself finally think that if the person who had incapacitated Naruto had been more malicious, the blond would have died.