Rosuto Rakuen (Lost Paradise)
XXXIII. The Race
By: Datenshi No Uzumaki

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“To unlock the Gate of Light, you will need to place the Mirrors at the alter of those temples… but there is a catch.” They all looked at the pale man with anticipation.

“And, what is it?” asked Naruto.

The Snake like man closed his eyes, and sighed inaudibly. “You’ll need to place them at the exact same time, in their respectful Temples.”

“At the same time? But then that means we would have to…” Tenten trailed off, and the other also understood.

Gaara closed his pale green eyes. “There needs to be four teams that need to go to the temples with a mirror.”

“There also needs to be constant communication between the teams.” Pointed out Tsunade.

Naruto then looked around the room. “Then who will be the teams?” He questioned.

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The skies were getting darker, as the sun was setting over the horizon. Naruto held his breath, as he watched the sun go down. From afar he could see an airship flying away to the direction of the sun. The blond brought up a hand to his chest, and he clutched on to the hidden pendant that was under his shirt. A hand gently fell on to his shoulder, and squeezed in reassuringly. Naruto didn’t have to turn to see who it was, and he pressed his cheek upon the hand.

“Just have faith on all of them, Naruto. They’ll be fine.” A deep voice said, and a comforting tone. The blond Senmin nodded, without a word.

“Think of it this way.” The older Uchiha stepped up beside his master, staring at the sun. “We’re close to finally putting an end to this war.”

Sasuke pulled the blond gently into his arms, as he wrapped it around the petit teen’s shoulders. “You’ll fully awaken your powers as Ten’yo, and you’ll find Rakuen, with us always by your side.” The blond slowly took in a deep breath, and then let it out shakily and slowly.

“Are you guys ready?” The Senmin-Shugorei team turned their heads to see the older siblings of the blond Uzumaki. Sakura waved to them. “We’re about to set off to the direction of where the Gate of Light may be.” Hinata and Sai, the pink haired young woman’s Shugorei, stood close to her. Gaara was further to the side, with his Shugorei, Neji and Lee.

Naruto pulled away from Sasuke, and nodded his head. “Let’s get this over with.”

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From the cliff they stood from, they could see the harsh winds encircling a building by the mountainside. Kiba raised a hand as a shield from the sunrays, and he narrowed his eyes slightly. “There it is guys, the Ancient Temple of Winds.”

Tenten bit her lip, staring at the raging tornado staying on one place. “And how are we to get through that defense and place the mirror in the temple?” Shino took a step forward without a word. The girl with her hair up in twin buns glanced at the Senior Seibyou.

Gai tightened his hands into fists and pumped them up into the air. “Do not worry my friends! With the Youth we have burning within us, we will go through any challenges!” Then he laughed out loud, with his hands on his hips. Kakashi sighed, bringing a hand to his temple and rubbed it. The three younger Soldiers sweat dropped at the overly enthusiastic man.

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“Well, the Ancient Temple of Waters doesn’t look so bad.” Spoke out Ino, as she looked over the airship down below. They were somewhere in the middle of a giant lake, with the water temple sitting at the center. Around it were waterfalls leading into the temple. If they have gone by boat to the temple, the boat would have been sucked into the center by the force of the water currents, and crushed by the jagged rocks below, and surrounding the temple.

Chouji glanced at his Senmin. “You shouldn’t underestimate it, Ino.” He glanced at his partner that stood at the other side of their Senmin. “Right Shikamaru?” The only response he got was the usual muttered ‘troublesome’.

There was a snort from behind, and the Senmin-Shugorei team turned to see the Suna Siblings. The older blonde walked up to the side and smirked. “Prepare yourselves kids. There is most likely going to be some… bumps in the way.” Said Temari.

Kankurou grinned. “Oh won’t this be fun.” The two Shugorei had to hold back their mistress from attacking their comrades in the mission to the comment of being called a ‘kid’.

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They could hear the low rumbles of the ground from afar. They stood miles away from their destined point. There was sand everywhere, and harsh winds with sand surrounding the temple. The worst of it all was the endless tremors of the earth at that area. Tsunade sighed, and brushed her bangs from her face. Jiraiya smirked at the challenge. “This will be easy.”

Orochimaru shook his head and walked forward. “You say that now, but soon you’ll cry and whine about it later.”

The white haired man huffed, and started to pace faster than his partner. “No I won’t! You think you’re greater than me?”

The snake like man rolled his golden eyes. “I don’t think it, I know so.” Then the two began a race towards the direction of the Temple of the Earth.

Tsunade sighed again, and placed her hands on her hips. “Boys…” She shook her head. “You’d think they’ve stopped acting childish, but they’re still the same as always, even at this age we are in.” She went to run after her Shugorei, but then the blonde woman lost her balance once they entered the start of the trembling ground.

Orochimaru was there by her side, and caught her from falling to the ground. The blonde woman looked up at the dark haried pale man, and smiled at him as thanks. Jiraiya appeared and snorted. “Show off.” He muttered. The other two adults rolled their eyes at the white haired man.

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The group of Ranshin stood at a good distance from the volcano. The six ex-Akatsuki members stared as lava flowed out into small trails from the mouth of the volcano. Tobi ran up to the edge of the cliff and placed a hand over his one eye from the orange mask. Below was a valley, covered in a sea of molten lava. The area around them was dead and charred from the boiling hot heat that radiated from the sea of lava. “And the Temple is at the center of that volcano?” Tobi wondered out loud.

Kisame grunted, and crossed his arms. “Oh what joy… we’ll have to cross this thing, and climb up to the top of that volcano.”

Deidera shook his head, and ‘Tsk-ed’ at his companion. “Why go there by foot, when we can fly, un!” He opened his hand, and a small clay model of a bird came out. He grinned at his fellow ex members.

“We should be cautious.” They all looked at the one member with the Venus flytrap head.

Kakuzu raised a brow. “Why is that?”

Zetsu then pointed out to the sea of lava, and they saw giant skeleton like sharks pop out from the molten magma, roaring out loud. Hidan chuckled, and glanced over at Kisame. “Oh look, your long lost relatives.”

The shark-like man instantly placed a hand on his sword, and glared hard at the silver haired man. “What was that?”

Deidera sighed. “Guys, we need to hurry, un. I thought we made a bet on who was going to the alter first, un.” Then with a signal, the clay bird became big enough to carry the six of them.

Kakuzu hurriedly and went on to the bird. “Yeah, time is money, people!”

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It was raining where they were. Naruto sat close to the entrance of the cave he and their group found. He was staring out, watching the rain pour. Though there were rain clouds, he could still see the torn sky above. Naruto sighed, and looked down to finish wrapping his arm with a bandage.

After he and his siblings with their Shugorei left Konoha, they fought through many waves of Youkai and Oni, as they searched through the lands for the hidden Gate of Light. When night came, and a storm rolled in, they search for shelter, as the last village they passed by was days away, and that was the only closest one. Lucky they stumbled into a dry and vacant cave, at the base of a cliff, surrounded by thick forestry.

Everyone was definitely tired, as they just fought off some stray Oni about the area. There were a few injuries on them, but their resident Kitoushi easily healed them. Itachi came up to his Senmin, and plopped down beside the small blond with a flask of water. “Here.” The blond thanked his Shugorei, and drank the offered water. “We shouldn’t be staying here long. We still have to search for the gate. I’m sure the others are close to the Ancient Temples.”

Naruto looked up at the older Uchiha. “You’re right. There’s no time to waste.” The two turned their heads at the red head Uzumaki. The young Hokage stood close to the rain, looking up at the sky. “Nyo could also be searching for the Gate, and could try to find away to destroy it.”

“But where can we find it? We nearly searched all through out this country, and there is no sign of where it could be.” The blond sighed, feeling exhausting roll over his lithe frame.

“Don’t give up, yet.” The three near the entrance turned their head to see Sai walked up to them. The pale young man looked down at the small Uzumaki, and smiled. “The prophecy is not fulfilled. You’ll find it, Naruto-kun.” He said reassuringly. Naruto smiled brightly to the Shugorei, and nodded.

“You’re right!”

Sakura and the others came out from the depths of the cave, and neared them. “Then, shall we continue?” The pink haired girl asked. They all nodded, and ran out into the rain in their own teams.

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“Why is it we are always stuck in situations like this?” Naruto whispered, as he and his Shugorei hid in the branches of the trees. The watched as high-level Oni passed under them, searching. The blond held his breath when one of the Oni looked like it was staring at them.

Sasuke glanced at over to his brother. ‘I guess we were right in assuming that Nyo is also searching for the Gate too.’

Itachi frowned. ‘I wonder how the others are fairing.’ There was a loud sneeze, and the two Uchihas looked at the guilty looking blond, who laughed nervously. Then the team sprinted away from their spot, being chased by the Oni and Youkai around the area. “Don’t waste chakra in fighting them. We still need to find the Ga-!”

Naruto turned around, looking around. “Itachi!?”

There was a blast heading towards the blond. “Naruto!” The whiskered boy turned his head, but was pushed to the ground by his Shugorei. “Dobe, what were you thinking?” Sasuke reprimanded his Senmin.

“But Itachi! He just disappeared!” The blond exclaimed.

“What? What do you-” Then the two felt themselves being sucked all of a sudden into the ground in a loud pop. When they felt that they were able to catch their breath, and their insides weren’t being sucked inside out, they opened their eyes and realized they were no longer in the thick forest.

“Where are we?” Naruto tightly wrapped his arms around the Uchiha.

“We found it.” The pair turned their heads to see the missing Uchiha, standing with his back facing them. They looked passed him to see a very long set of stairs leading to a very large white marble arch, with two stones on each side of it. They looked around the place, and found and empty black void all around.

Naruto jumped up, looking shocked. “Where is this place?” He shouted, his voice echoing all around.

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Reaching the temple was hard, but trying to get the mirror to the altar was even more difficult. Ino and her Shugorei were panting exhaustingly, as they watched the Sand Siblings have a go at the ‘Almighty Guardian’ of the Temple. When they reached the center of the old and dank temple, they thought they were home free in reaching the altar. But then one of the statues came to life, and prevented them from getting to the altar.

“Wind Element: Slicing Winds!” The female Suna sibling waved her giant fan, and unleashed hard cutting winds at the giant enemy. Many debris and dust were picked up, surrounding the area of their opponent. There were only small dents on the stone monster. Temari growled. Kankurou raised his hands, and his large puppets went after the stone monster. The puppets struck the temple guardian, but it counterattacked with its powerful hits. Then Temari swung her fan, unleashing more powerful winds.

Shikamaru turned to his Senmin. “This is our chance to set the mirror, while it’s distracted.”

Ino looked at her Guardian. “But the others. We haven’t heard word on whether they are close to the altars. Don’t we have to place them at the exact same time?”

“But we have to at least get close to the altar.” The lazy Shugorei replied. “Look, as those two fight the Temple Guardian, Chouji and I will back you up in case that thing notices us.” The blonde bit her lip, but saw the reassuring stares from her Shugorei.

“Oh shit!” Kankurou cursed as the temple guardian was suddenly surrounded by water. Then a giant ball of water gathered over its head, then it was released towards the Sand Siblings. The puppeteer raised his arms quickly, and one of his puppets turned into a shield, blocking the water attack. The young man struggled to push back

“Wind Element: Slicing Winds!” The wind attack hit the stone monster, pushing it off balance, and causing it to stumble. The two siblings grinned at one another. But then the two felt their ankles being tugged, and the fell backwards to the ground, only to see a giant ball of water missing them, and hitting the opposite wall. The two sat up, and glared at the pineapple head that had a hand seal up. They shadowed arms wrapped around their ankles.

“Troublesome.”

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It may have looked menacing, but the Akatsuki were not deterred, for they knew they have seen scarier things than this ugly Temple Guardian. Balls of fire were being thrown everywhere, but they easily dodged the attacks from the stone monster. Tobi, Zetsu and Deidera stood close to the altar, with the mirror in hand. The blond male turned away, staring at the altar, with carvings and a place fitted for the Star Mirror.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Tobi laughing hysterically at the scene of the other ex-Akatsuki taunting their enemy. Zetsu stood silently by the overly excited young male. Deidera sighed, and then pulled out a ComLink. “We’re ready and in standby, un.”

“Watch it!”

Hidan smirked at the in coming ball of fire, and then easily swing his scythe to neutralize the fire. “Easy.”

Kakuzu appeared beside the silver haired male. “Show off.” He grunted.

Then another ball of fire headed their way, but Kisame’s sword was swung at the fiery attack, also neutralizing it. The silver haired male looked at the money-loving male. “Ask who’s the show off now.”

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The Heisei Trio all jumped away as the Temple Guardian swung its giant arm to them. Kakashi and Gai released jutsus at the stone monster, but it blocked them all with its own wind attacks. Kiba landed and turned his head to growl at the annoying enemy. “Why can’t it just give up?”

Tenten snorted, and then lifted a windmill shuriken. “You can’t just ask an enemy to give up, baka.”

“Do not worry you hip young fighters. Leave it to us more experience Seibyou, while you wait by the altar with the Star Mirror!” Gai turned his head towards the two teens, and flashed them a blinding smile.

Kakashi shook his head, but then placed a hand on the band around his eye. “Gai is right, wait there with the Mirror.” Shino appeared, and lifted his arms to release more bugs at the temple guardian. “Leave it to us.”

The canine teen went to protest. “But-”

“We’re ready, and in standby, un.” A voice sounded in their communication devises.

Tenten frowned, and turned to the Inuzaka. “Let’s go Kiba, I’m sure they’ll take care of it. Just watch my back, okay?”

“This is Ino, and we’re standing by too.” Another voice said in the device.

Kiba blinked his eyes in shock. “InoShikaCho even got to altar before us? No way!” The canine boy then grabbed the female’s arm, and dragged her to the altar. Seeing this the stone monster went after them, but the others unleashed more Justus to prevent the monster from stopping the younger fighters.

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Tsunade sighed, watching as her Shugorei fought the temple guardian, as if they were competing in power. “Honestly, how old are they?” She simply walked around the scene, taking her time to the altar, at the other side of the giant room in the center of the temple. It really wasn’t any trouble getting to the temple, but they got delay, all because the two old men decided to have a verbal spat out of no where. The blonde woman smiled her self, reminiscing about the old days, when they went through times like these, as they were younger.

She ignored the loud explosions and crashes. Tsunade wasn’t really worried. They were grown men, and they weren’t called the Legendary Sennin for nothing. She stepped over a few rocks, and rubbed her ear when she heard the loud cursing and shouts from a certain white haired man. When she reached the steps to the altar, she heard the transmission from the other teams.

“We’re ready, and in standby, un.”

“This is Ino, and we’re standing by too.”

“Tenten here. Ready when you are.”

The blonde woman cursed, scowling. “Damn, there goes my vacation to the casinos when this is over.” The woman stepped up to the altar, and stared at the carvings and imprints. She lifted the Star Mirror and saw her reflection in it. “All set. Get ready for countdown at signal.”

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The three stared at the giant archway. Naruto ran around it many times, and under it. The twin Uchihas just watched their master run around like an innocent and curious child. Sasuke turned his head to his brow, which was holding the ComLink and pressing buttons. “Still no signal?”

Itachi shook his head. “No… where ever this place is, I doubt it is even in the mortal plane.”

The younger Uchiha furrowed his brows. “But then… how did we get here then, where ever this place is?” Itachi shook his head, not knowing.

“Man… I wish Neechan and Niisan were here.” The blond said, as he plopped down to the ground in front of his Shugorei, facing the large arch. Then in two large pops, two groups appeared standing confused. Naruto widened his eyes, and gasped. He jumped up from his spot, and ran to his siblings. “Neechan! Niisan! You’re here!”

Sasuke and Itachi just stared at the blond’s siblings with their Shugorei in disbelief. “How?”

“This place… it must be in tuned to Naruto.” Itachi replied, looking around. “My only guess is that we were close by to this gate, and it heard Naruto, since he is the Ten’yo. So when he wanted to find the place, we came here. Then when he wanted Gaara-sama and Sakura here, they appeared here.” They continued to watch their blond master.

Sakura stared at the huge arch that almost rivaled the Gate of Darkness in size, back in the demon realm. “That’s the Gate of Light?” She exclaimed in awe.

“Yosh! Now there is nothing that can stop us from defeating Nyo!” Lee shouted enthusiastically. Neji had to roll his eyes at the younger teen.

Hinata stared in wonder at the four stones on the archway. “Then all we have to do is wait for when the others place the Mirrors.”

“The problem is that we don’t have a signal in the ComLink to tell them we found the Gate, so that they can place in.” They all turned their heads to the older Uchiha.

Naruto’s expression fell. “What?”

Sakura took her younger brother’s hand. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

“Sadly, we don’t really have that much time.” Sai replied, glancing at the siblings.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion echoing in the void, and the ground below then began to shake violently. They all lost their balance and fell to the ground. Then there was a crack in the void, and they widened their eyes as three figures fly into the place. Naruto widened his eyes, recognizing the figures. “No…”

The three figures landed on the ground, a distance away from them. Then they lifted their head, and smirked. “Guess who’s back?”

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Tsunade frowned, waiting for the voices of any of her brother’s children. She looked up from the ComLink to see Orochimaru and Jiraiya sprawled on the ground, along with the stone debris from the temple guardian and from the old temple the ruined as they fought. “Why is no one picking up?” She mostly said to herself.

Orochimaru sat up, and looked at his Senmin. “They haven’t found the Gate yet.”

The woman shook her head. “Even so, they would have replied and answered back.” The woman became worried.

“You’re such a worry wart, you know that Tsunade-chan?” Jiraiya sat up, grinning cockily at his Senmin. The woman scowled. “They’re all grown people now. They can take care of themselves, and fight pretty well. They are after all Arashi and Tomoe’s children. And they have members of the great clans of Konoha as their Guardians.” The woman knew he was right, but she bit her lip from saying anything else.

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Naruto stood close to the arch, using his easy control on elements to revert any elemental attacks their enemies cast on his friends. It turns out that Nyo’s henchmen recovered from the last time they met, and found the Gate. Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo were ordered by their master to destroy the Gate any way they can. Then the Senmin-Shugorei team took on each of the three. It seemed like Karin had a bone to pick with Itachi, so the Uchiha twins went against the female, which she was badly losing in.

Gaara stood there at one side of the place, with his arms crossed as always, as he calmly and silently commanded his Shugorei. Neiji and Lee were dancing around Suigetsu and his giant sword that they recognize was Zabuza’s back in their first big mission in the Water Country. The silver haired teen was frustrated with the two, moving around swiftly, and giving precise hits without getting a scratch.

Sakura was at the other side, standing there as she watched her Shugorei fight the big man. It turned out the man went crazy and bloodthirsty when Sakura activated the Byakugan for Hinata, the trail of blood smeared on her arm. Sai unleashed his ink jutsu, while Hinata swiftly hit the man in his Jyuuken points.

Without a doubt, the blonde knew there was nothing to worry about. But then he frowned, and he looked above him to see the top of the arch. ‘Don’t you think, with that crack in this realm, you might be able to get a signal in the ComLink?’ The voice of the Nine Tailed Fox sounded in his head. “Kyuubi, you’re a genius!”

‘Well, I do try.’ The blond snorted at the reply of the Kitsune, and pulled out the ComLink. He gasped with excitement to see that indeed there was a signal. ‘One step close to finally putting and end to these wars.’ He pressed a button.

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“Naruto here. We found the Gate.”

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Tsunade looked up, and smirked. Orochimaru and Jiraiya looked at their Senmin and watched as the woman moved to hover the Mirror of the indention of where the mirror will be placed. “Ready?”

“Hai!” There were three shouts.

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“3”

“2”

“1”

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The ground shook once more, and all the teens fell, loosing their balance. There were loud cracking sounds echoing around them, and they saw cracks growing all over the black void. Then light passed through it, lighting the dim area a bit brighter. Then the fore stones lighted up brightly in colors of red, blue, green and yellow. They all felt a beat that pulsed out from the arch, causing everything around them to become silent. They watched as slowly all the rays of light from the cracks in the dark void moved to touch the white arch.

Then the emptiness under the arch shimmered into a white light. Naruto stared with large eyes and in awe. He slowly closed his eyes, and felt comforting warmth radiating from it. He could suddenly hear soft, melodious voices calling out to him. The boy opened his eyes in surprise when he felt the Ten Stone of Tengoku come out from him, and encircle him. He saw the stones glowing along with the gate. “Are… are you telling me to enter that way?” He whispered softly. The stones sparked, and the blond gave a gentle smile. Then slowly he took small steps towards the light of the archway.

The boy was oblivious to his surroundings. He didn’t see the three servant of Nyo suddenly get up from the group, running towards the blonde. He didn’t hear his friends and family calling out to him. Everything was like in slow motion, as Naruto’s friends and family got up to chase after Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo. They fought to prevent the three from harming the blond.

Naruto smiled widely, as he reached a hand to the light.

“NARUTO!”

Crystal blue eyes widened, as blood splattered in front of him. Suddenly the boy felt his breath stop, and his heart rate slowing. His body was slowly draining and becoming weaker. Naruto looked down to his chest to see a blade protruding through him. The boy widened his eyes more when he saw the pendant showing, and cut loose from the string around his neck. Then the silver pendant started fall.

“NARUTO!”

Tears started to fall, as he slowly turned around. He saw the blurred faces of his friends and siblings. The last he saw, before he fell back, were ebony eyes

‘I’m sorry…’

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“Uzumaki-kun!”

Bright blue eyes widened, and the blond shot his head up, staring at the stern face of a young woman. Blinking his eyes, the boy found himself in the classroom, with students staring at him, and some giggling. Naruto looked up and smiled nervously at the teacher. “Sorry, sensei.” He said meekly, shrinking back and blushing in embarrassment. Then the bell rang, and Naruto sighed out in relief. He got up to run out with the rest of the students, but was stopped by his teacher.

The woman sighed, and pushed up her glasses to the bridge of her nose. “Uzumaki-kun, I know how well you are doing in all your classes. You are one of the top students in your grade, but would it kill you to maybe pay attention once in awhile?”

Naruto bowed his head. “Sorry, sensei…”

The woman placed a hand on her hip. “I know you’re a hard working student, and I admire that in a student. It’s just, I’m a picky person and I get really irritated when a student doesn’t act like they are really paying attention. Maybe, You should approach a different method, and not make it so obvious.” The blond boy looked up at the teacher, blinking his eyes in confusion. The woman chuckled, and patted his shoulder. “Don’t make it a habit, okay? Now off you go. You wouldn’t want to miss your lunch period.”

The boy oddly eyed the teacher, and ran out of the room. When he ran past the door, Naruto got this strange feeling, and looked to the side of the hall. It was slightly empty, with a few students chatting and walking to the stairs to head to the courtyards for lunch. ‘Something…’ The blond shook his head, and headed to his usually spot for lunch.

“Naruto…”

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((Wah! Please don’t hate me! I’m so sorry for the long waited update, but school got in the way! I also had a writer’s block, and I was distracted with helping a friend with her story and Manga ideas. Sigh. Also I’m really sorry for the shortness of this chapter, and it’s lameness. I rushed it, and tried to squeeze what every idea I can from this empty brain of mine. I didn’t feel like correcting my grammar mistakes and spelling yet. I wanted to give this chapter as soon as I can. But I’ll be sure to edit it as soon as I can. Sorry again!

But do not fret, school is over for me, and I’m in summer break! Also my brain started to cook up back the plot for this fic! I promise you that I will definitely finish this fic this summer! I’m determined!

So the ending sucked, and you’re left with a cliffhanger! Gasp! Naruto is back in the other world? Or, was all that happened a dream? What!? No!! That can’t be it! Wah! You’ll just have to find out in the next chapter. And, did anyone catch the familiar scene towards the end? Hm…

Just so you know, I’m rewriting this story for my friend, but I’m rewriting it with original characters, and revising it to be different from this fic. Also, along the way with studying for classes, I started on a new story, but I won’t post it up yet, until I finished with this fic. The summery to the new SasuNaru fic is in my profile. Interested in it, please message me about it.

Any hoot, I’m very very very very grateful to all the reviewers! I was strongly encouraged by you to keep on continuing on this fic. I won’t abandon it, I promise you that! Thank you all, and I really love you guys! You are the best! And I hope you continue to read and review!))

-Datenshi no Uzumaki