Naruto stood in front of the one man he despised more than any. The annoying orange mask seemed to mock him, as it always did, and the visible eye burned with fury. Standing with Tenten, Lee, Shino, Sai, Kaguya, Nagato and Zetsu made him feel a little stronger, yet no matter what, Naruto always felt the feeling of fear crawl into him. His fear certainly didn't dissipate any when he knew he was not happy.
"You called, Master Tobi?" Naruto asked, spitting master out like a vile curse word. There was nothing he hated more.
"It's been so long since we've seen you," Tobi said with a smirk in his voice. "You could be kinder. A simple hello would even be welcome."
"Hello, Mater Tobi," Naruto corrected. "What do you need?" He glared at the man with more hate than he'd felt in his life. He would have given everything in that moment to try and kill him. It wasn't that simple, however. There was a reason none of them had tried. After a certain example, Tobi had made it quite clear that he was much stronger than them.
"That's better," Tobi said, removing his mask to reveal a delighted smile. "And I understand from Kaguya you wish to have special treatment? Shall I give Tenten, Lee, Shino and Sai some as well?"
"No, Sir. You can give it all to me," Naruto said, clenching his jaw.
"Master," Tobi corrected, eyes flashing. His smile returned a moment later, a twisted, disturbing upturn of his lips. "I see. I'll be expecting you back in an hour."
Naruto nodded, knowing the wait was as gracious as Tobi was ever going to get. He was thankful he at least got some time before it all began.
"And Naruto," Tobi said calmly, but his warning was clearly heard. "Don't ever do that again. Never go against me, or I will make sure that girl, Hinata, was it? will not live to see another day."
"Of course, Master," Naruto muttered. "Thank you for being gracious with me."
"You're my best man, Naruto. If I simply killed the people you love, it would crush you. I'm not fool enough to get rid of some of my hold against you. I'll have no problem next time, however. Cross me ever again, and I'll order that girl's death. Is that clear?"
"Of course. Forgive me, Master. It will never happen again. You have my complete loyalties once again." Naruto turned to take his leave, but stopped when Tobi laughed humorlessly.
"Oh, Naruto. I wish I had your complete loyalty. But you and I both know that will never happen, now will it? You are weak, and care too much for people." Tobi waved a hand to dismiss Naruto. Naruto followed Tenten, Lee, Shino and Sai out, glancing back at Tobi. As the man replaced his mask, Naruto saw--what? Was it jealously? Or was he just seeing things?
"Sorry, Naruto," Tenten whispered. She looked away from Naruto guiltily. "You're taking our punishment too."
"Only 'cause I wanted to," Naruto replied. "Don't worry about it. You guys were only there disobeying because I was. It was my fault, not yours."
"But!" Tenten yelled, trying to convince Naruto to let her take her punishment, but Naruto shook his head.
"Please, Tenten. I don't want you guys hurt," Naruto said softly. "I'll take the punishment if it means you guys are unharmed."
"And you trust Tobi to not hurt us?" Shino inquired quietly. "You think he won't take us and punish us while you're gone?"
"Yes," Naruto said, surprisingly strong. "He may not be a great guy, but I trust his words. He's never lied to me before."
"What's stopping him from doing it now?" Sai asked, eyes flashing. "You trust the man who has us held locked up in this place? The man who's using the ones we care about to keep us here and working for him?"
"Sai, drop it. I said I trust his words. Never him. This isn't the first time it's happened. I think he likes keeping me in my place and that's enough."
"Happened before?" Sai asked, voice rising each second. "And when were you going to tell us you were protecting us like that all along?"
"Everything I protected you from was my fault," Naruto said with a shrug. "Now quiet down or Tobi will come to see what's up. Go rest, all of you, and never mention this again."
Before anyone could say another thing, Naruto walked off in the direction of his room. He shut the door softly and sat down. Without thought of anything other than Konoha, Naruto spent the hour staring at his ceiling.
And then it was time.

YESSSSSS!!!!!!!! Tobi revealed!!!! I was getting tired of the he. Anyway, hope that satisfies you. I'll be going on a trip, leaving tomorrow, and though its only 5 days, I don't know how soon after I'll be wanting to write, so I don't know. It might be a week or so before I update again. Oh. I might actually update while I'm there though, cause I might get bored...my friend I'm staying with will be doing school while I'm there, so ya know...no fun just sitting there. I hope you liked this part. Love you all!