Guys, I am terribly sorry for the delay of over one entire year. I've just...gotten lazy. Yes, I admit it. I just got lazy. I haven't died, or given up on the story. I kept thinking about what to do in this story, and where to take it. I'm not saying I've completely decided exactly how it's going to work, but ... I'm back, okay? Also, I've noticed that center-aligned text is kind of annoying to read, so I've decided to try and switch it to the classic left-aligned style. Let me know which one you guys prefer. Also, let me know which one you guys prefer. Long chapters or short chapters? Long chapters will take longer to update, and short ones can be constantly posted. Alright, let's go CHAPTER 5!

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"Sasuke! Sasuke!" Karin shook Sasuke's body as it gave no response. "Hey, get up!"

"Calm down, you're acting like he's dead."

"What if he is?!"

"He's breathing! Are you retarded?!"

"Shut the hell up!" Karin shot up and punched Suigetsu in the mouth as his entire jaw turned into water and dripped on the floor.

"Mmmmfffpppphhhh!"

"Sasuke! Bite me!" Karin put her arm between his teeth.

"Karin. Calm down. He'll be alright. He has all the Tailed Beasts in him, so the absoption, exhaustion, and the fighting probably tired him out. Plus, that also means that he won't die because he has the Tailed Beasts' power in him. So, relax." Juugo stated.

Karin calmed down and removed her arm from Sasuke's teeth.

"The more important question is...where's Orochimaru?" Juugo asked.

Suigetsu managed to get his jaw back together. "Last time I saw him, he was going toward the alliance."

"Alright, let's go."

"Wait! Sasuke-"

"He'll be fine, Karin."

Karin hesitated, but listened to Juugo. "Fine. Let's go."

The three jumped off to find Orochimaru.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Sakura was healing Neji. She was still shaken up and desperately trying to keep her composure, but she stayed strong for duty. "Don't think about it now, Sakura. Focus, focus, focus. Focus!" Sakura thought to herself.

"Thank you, Sakura." Neji said, fully healed.

"Sure thing, Neji. You almost died there. Good thing you're okay!"

"He did die."

All five of them (Hinata, Sakura, Tenten, Lee, and Neji) looked up to the person who said that.

"Gai-sensei!"

"What do you mean, sensei?"

"I sensed Neji's chakra completely vanish. Even if a person becomes unconcious or falls in a coma, their chakra is still present and the flow of energy throughout their body can be sensed. Neji's completely went to zero."

"Yeah. I remember my vision and hearing beginning to distort. I was losing my senses and falling unconcious. The seal on my head is also now gone, meaning I really did die."

"But how can that be?" Hinata asked.

Gai had a look on his face that expressed neither happiness nor sadness. It was a look of admiration, yet a look of guilt with a hint of confusion. "Madara Uchiha..."

"Gai-sensei, what happened?" Lee asked.

There was a moment of silence.

Gai turned around with his back facing them. "We'll talk about this later. There is still work to be done. I'll go and check up on Kakashi!"

The five of them watched as Gai jumped away.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru and Minato were giving each other a stare. It wasn't a stare of hate or ill will, but a stare that they both suspected something and were thinking the same thing.

Hiruzen commented. "Minato. Orochimaru. What's the matter?"

"Something is not quite right." Minato said.

"Sensei, what do you mean?"

"Kakashi, when Madara extracted Naruto's power, did you notice something unusual about that?"

"You noticed it too, huh?" Tobirama stated.

"What's the matter? Did I miss something?" Kakashi asked.

"This battle has really taken its toll on you, didn't it, Kakashi? Even in your younger days, you would have noticed." Minato said.

"...I don't understand..."

"I'll explain." Tobirama elaborated. "When Madara absorbed Naruto's power, did you feel anything unusual?"

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto had his Toad Sage chakra activated when Madara absorbed his power. However, Madara was only after the Nine-Tails. Regardless, he absorbed Naruto's chakra as well. But..." Minato seemed confused.

"I could slightly feel Madara returning Naruto's Sage chakra back to him. Though it was very slight, I wonder why he would do that." Tobirama finished Minato's explanation.

"What?" This shocked Kakashi. "Why would he do that?"

Orochimaru decided to speak. "It was probably because he never trained in Sage mode, so he couldn't control the Sage power, and decided to give it back to Naruto."

"But that doesn't explain why Naruto would die from it! The Sage chakra would have kept him alive!" Hiruzen stated boldly.

Kakashi's eyes widened. "If that's the case, then he's still got to be somewhere around here!"

"If he was, I would have sensed his presence". Said a voice from a few yards away.

"Gai!" said both Minato and Kakashi.

"It seems as though Madara had a trick up his sleeve. Neji is alive."

"...!" Kakashi was in shock. "How? He was stabbed right through the torso. I clearly sensed his chakra fade away."

"Exactly..."

The whole crew had a moment of silence.

"There is only one way to find out." Orochimaru started to form some hand seals.

Most of them recognized those seals.

Hiruzen asked. "Orochimaru! What are you doing?!"

"Minato." Orochimaru held out his palm. "I'll need a sample of the chakra of the Nine-Tails that is inside of you."

"What is this about? What are you trying to do, Orochimaru-san?" Minato was confused, along with the rest of the men.

"I'll try to resurrect Naruto as an Edo-Tensei to see if he really is dead or not. Of course, I'll need a sample of his chakra to do so. The two halves of the Nine-Tails inside of both of you were linked, so his chakra signature is present within you."

"Orochimaru! You're going too overboard!" Hiruzen stated.

"Sensei, you're still the same soft old man. What I have here is a valid solution to simply find out if he's dead or if he isn't. If he resurrects in an Edo-Tensei form, then he is dead. If he does not, then he is still alive."

"..."

"Well, Minato? Will you cooperate? After all, he is your son." Orochimaru still had his hand out.

"Alright." Minato grabbed Orochimaru's hand. "Let's do it."

He surged chakra into Orochimaru.

"How much chakra do you need?"

"Just a sample will suffice."

Orochimaru released Minato's hand, formed some more seals, and slammed his palm on the ground. Seal markings sprouted along the surface of the ground from where his palm touched.

A puff of smoke appeared, and many small paper-like objects started to appear and take on the form of a human. The men watched with close attention what seemed to be slowly forming into Naruto's feet, legs, waist, torso, shoulders, arms, neck, and then head. The figure slowly took on color, and his eyes were closed.

"I-it can't be..." Kakashi was in despair.

"So...his time really did come at such a young age." Hiruzen said sadly.

Minato just watched with a sad look.

The figure was complete, and Naruto's body stood there with his eyes closed, not moving. Suddenly, his body went limp and he fell to the ground. He started to lose color and suddenly collapse back into the paper-like substance that all Edo-Tensei resurrections are made of. This caught everybody off-guard.

"As I thought." Orochimaru said with a slight smirk.

"What does that mean?" Kakashi asked.

"He isn't dead, of course."

"So, he's alive! Naruto's still alive, right?!" Gai asked.

"..."

"Well? He is alive, right?" Minato asked.

"Don't put words in my mouth. I never said he was alive. I just said he's not dead."

"What does that mean? If he's not dead, he's got to be alive somewhere around here!" Gai persisted.

"There is another state between life and death that I'm sure you all are aware of." Orochimaru stated.

"What are you talking about?" Tobirama asked sternly.

"It's known as Limbo."

This surprised everyone.

"Limbo?" Kakashi repeated.

Tobirama scoffed. "Hmph. Don't be absurd. That's just a myth."

"On my quest for immortality, I've done quite a bit of research about life and death. Years of experimenting with test subjects, producing formulas, and mixing forbidden jutsus, have led me to the understanding that there is indeed a state of 'limbo', where a human is in a state of partial consciousness, even after their body has completely ceased function. I've had test subjects report thinking, dreaming, and feeling at a very relaxed state. Of course, I have no record of anybody ever making it back from this state. The reports I've gotten are from after I've resurrected the subject with Edo-Tensei. It's safe to assume that he is still in the process of dying. This subject still remains quite a mystery, as researching something that you can never traverse is almost impossible. However, I'd say that the boy won't make it back. He's done for."

Kakashi, Minato, and Gai looked down with sad expressions. Hiruzen closed his eyes. Tobirama kept his stern look.

The sun was starting to rise.