Fear.

Pain.

Loss.

Hatred.

The emotions flowed into him as he pulled the chains.

He gritted his teeth, trying to bear the weight of it all.

He could see them. The tears they'd shed for the things they'd lost.The aching they felt in their hearts.

It was so much, too much.

"Naruto." he could hear Sasuke's voice in the distance as he fell to his knees.

"Ahhhhhh!" he screamed in anguish as the emotions assaulted him. Tears pricked his eyes.

He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on when he felt a different emotion.It was a warm, tiny flicker at first.It felt familiar to him.

He could also see red threads swirling, coming together, knot by knot, link by link. Initially it looked like the red of the Uzumaki but it slowly morphed into threads that formed a scarf.

"Naruto kun" He could hear her voice. ""I used to always cry and give up... I made many wrong turns... But you - You helped me find the right path. I always chased after you... I wanted to catch up to you... I wanted to walk beside you all the time. I just wanted to be with you. You changed me! Your smile is what saved me! That is why I'm not afraid to die protecting you! Because... I love you."

"Hinata." he said her name softly.

The words echoed in his brain.

"I love you...I love you...I love you.."

Like before when he could feel the emotions flowing into him, he felt Hinata's feelings flowing in through the chains.They stood in such stark contrast to the emotions he'd just felt, they were bright and warm.She cared deeply for him. She'd been there, all along, cheering him on. Loving him.

"Naruto." he heard another voice pulling at his consciousness

"Mom."

"In order to counter hatred. You have to fill yourself with love."

"Love." he repeated the word, as though it was foreign.

It began slowly at first but he felt it growing. It was warm.Hopeful.He had to fight back. Even though he had seen many dark times, he'd also come to know love.He'd formed bonds and had people that were important to him.

He managed to stand tall again, his resolve increased tenfold.

"Kurama!" he reached out.

The fox responded, increasing his power.

"Grraaahhhhhhh!" he pulled with all his might until he finally managed to pull the power of the chains into himself.

"Now!" Sasuke gave out before dashing forward towards the creature.He made a beeline for the beast's body, his sword drawn.

He slashed it's body a few times and the chains fell, revealing Karin's body once more.

Sasuke caught her mid free-fall before tapping her forehead with this index and forefinger.

"Release!" he commanded.

Immediately there was a whooshing sound as Karin's body convulsed.A white orb floated from her body and materialized into a man atop the altar.

Naruto recognized the man as the one he'd seen in his dream.

Karin's eyes fluttered open .

"S- Sasuke." her voice was weak "W-where am I?" She looked and saw Naruto and the others, her eyes finally coming to rest on the man. "You." she attempted to get up and fell limp again. "Dammit." she cursed.

"It seems as though he used some kind of technique to preserve his consciousness." Sasuke said, looking at the man who was translucent as he stood atop the altar.

"Naruto. The only way to defeat him is to seal him."Kurama spoke from inside.

"Sasuke! We have to seal him!" Naruto shouted from his place.

"I know." his friend replied.

Naruto looked at Sai who nodded in understanding.

Once more, he created multiple clones of himself. Sai drew an equal number of lions.

The lions and the clones attacked.

The man parried , evaded and struck both the lions and the clones until only two lions remained.

The lions gripped him by the arms, preventing him from moving

"These things are useless against me" he said "Only those with Uzumaki blood can seal me away."

"Good thing I'm here." came Naruto's reply as the lions transformed into two of his clones.

Sai dashed quickly to the altar with his scroll while Naruto's original wove the signs for the seal.

Realizing what was happening the man thrashed and flailed, trying to escape the fate that was going to befall him.

"Crimson Diadem Seal!"

At the utterance, the man began to get pulled into the scroll. The clones on either side of him disappeared with a "poof" and the watched as the man disappeared before their eyes.

Then there was silence.

It was over.

Naruto and Sasuke walked over to the orb that still hung above the altar.

Unlike before when he was going to use force to try to get the orb down, this time he had a sense of what to do.

He took the orb in his chakra cloak and gently pulled it down, setting it on the ground.

Their energy was still very strong.

"Release!"

The orb glowed orange before many tiny orbs started floating out. The tiny orbs spread out across the room and landed on the floor.

Slowly they began materializing again, retaking their human forms.

The people looked around the room dazed and in a wonder. They varied in appearances and age.

"Mission complete." Shikamaru said "We need to get these people back to their homes.They must be from various villages."

"Yeah. But they're also all from here." Naruto said "They share the blood and feelings of this land."

Naruto spotted Hinata among the recovered people. He smiled at her and she blushed like always.

"Hinata. Are you alright?" he asked.

"Mmm" she answered with a nod "Thank you for saving me."

"You saved me too." he replied honestly.

She looked at him. She wasn't sure what he meant.

Sakura turned and walked outside.