"You are the traitor."
Zabuzza looked back in panic as the others moved away from him. "My Lord Hokage I assure you I am completely loyal to you."
Orochimaru smiled serenely. "As you were to the Mizukage?" He held the gem of the kitsune firmly in a fist. Red chakra flowed around him, fully covering him. "There is no point in denial your accomplice has already betrayed you."
Zabuzza shot a glance towards Kisame. "Sorry Zabuzza," the shark ninja said. "But there was never any way it was going to work."
"True," came the Hokage's lazy reply. "Even if you could somehow manage to steal the gem from me you have no idea how to work it. As for killing me, do you think that little sword you carry could actually end my life?" He laughed. "I am Orochimaru! I am immortal!" He directed his eyes back towards a very nervous Zabuzza.
"Please allow me to explain."
"By all means." Zabuzza was about to speak. "But not to me."
All at once Zabuzza's body shook and burst into flame. He howled in agony as he crumpled to the ground. The others in the room took further steps back. Orochimaru remained seated and enjoyed the spectacle. "If you feel the need to explain yourself you may do so to the death gods down in whichever hell will accept you." As the body continued to burn Orochimaru turned his attention elsewhere. "Kisame, I wish to thank you for your service."
"My pleasure my Lord." He bowed.
"Good bye."
The Mist nin's face shot up and before any words could be spoken he too began screaming as his body burst into flame. The others stared at the Hokage. All of them wondered if they were next. Their fear was thick and palpable and seeing it pleased him.
"No need for the rest of you to worry. I never trusted either of them and this way is just simpler." He got up from his throne and approached the two piles of ash that were all that was left of them. "Now all my closest helpers are all Leaf nins." He gave all of them a wide and fearsome grin. "And I know I can trust all of you. That is all that I want from you, all I have ever wanted from you. I want your loyalty and to be able to trust you. A very small price for all that I have given to you." Reaching down into each ash pile he removed a minute sliver of crystal. Touching each to the gem they were instantly absorbed. "Well now we are all done for today. You may all leave now, except for you Sarutobi-sensei. I wish to speak with you for a bit."
Except for Sarutobi they all bowed and departed.
XXXXXXXXXX
A pair of arrows came out of the forest. The ninjas all dodged and avoided them easily.
"So much for an easy rest of the day." Naruto sighed. "All of you wait here I'll deal with this."
Sasuke immediately jumped to his side. "Please sensei let me deal with it! I can handle this easily!"
Naruto's first instinct was to say no. This was their first patrol and he wanted to keep them safe while they learned what being ninja was really all about. But then he reconsidered. They would have to get their hands dirty sooner or later and the tour was up in a couple more days. He wasn't doing them any favors by keeping them all in glass cases. He nodded. "All right."
Sasuke grinned and jumped away before his sensei could change his mind. Sakura, not surprisingly rushed up to him worried. "Naruto-sensei are you really going to let him do this alone? I know Sasuke-kun is the best but what if he runs into more than he can handle?"
"Don't worry Sakura. If there were ninjas out there I'd be handling it. But I've been here before, those arrows probably came from one or two civilians." He shook his head. "They should know better by now but they never seem to learn."
Haku peered into the forest. "It seems that they now have."
In less than a minute Sasuke had finished the mission. He was leaping back out of the forest. Two trophies in one hand and a smile on his face. He came to a halt in front of his team and proudly dropped the two heads onto the ground. "There were only two of them; they were no problem at all."
"Very good job Sasuke." Naruto said as he took out a map.
"Oh Sasuke-kun I am so proud of you!" Sakura squealed, not put off in the least by the blood covering him or the presence of two severed heads a few feet away.
"How do you feel about killing people for the first time?" Naruto asked.
"No big deal, just like sheep." He said simply.
Naruto nodded and kept his thoughts to himself. The first time he's killed he'd been a little bit past his eighth birthday. He hadn't been able to sleep for a whole week. He'd heard about the new academy training methods. One being that each student was required to kill sheep with a kunai. The theory was that it would help the students deal with the reality of killing. Naruto had thought the theory that slaughtering a sheep was the same as slaughtering a man foolish, but now he had to wonder. From the look of things Sasuke was just fine with it.
"What are you doing sensei?" Sakura asked as she saw him studying the map.
"Looking for the nearest village."
"Why?" she asked.
It was Haku who answered. "He intends to carry out general order 4."
Sakura looked a bit embarrassed to have let that slip her mind. Sasuke by comparison seemed thrilled. "Great! More action. You are going to let us help aren't you sensei?"
Naruto nodded. "Of course it'll be good training. Now come on it's this way."
XXXXXXXXXX
"I now have two openings within the circle Sarutobi-sensei. I could use someone I trust in one of those positions."
Sarutobi calmly puffed on his pipe as he answered. "Come now Orochimaru we both know that there is no one you really trust, not even your former student."
Orochimaru giggled. "Yessss, that is true. But the members of the Circle are trusted more than any others.' He smiled. "After all, they have more to lose. Come now sensei, wouldn't you like to be young again? Wouldn't you like to wake up in the morning and not feel the ache in your bones? Would you not like to look at your image in the mirror and see a young healthy man staring back at you? Wouldn't you like to feel the same boundless energy that you once had? Would you not like to have unending days with which to study new jutsu? Why do you refuse the gifts that I offer you?"
"Because Orochimaru I am ninja."
Orochimaru frowned, he had never liked when his sensei tried to sound philosophical. "As am I, as are the rest of the members of the Circle."
Sarutobi shook his head sadly. "Then let us say I simply do not wish to pay the price for what you offer me."
"The only price I ask is loyalty to your Hokage. Are you not all ready paying that price? It seems to me you are simply not getting the full value for what you pay."
"That may be Orochimaru, but I still do not desire the gifts you offer."
Orochimaru sighed and shook his head. Sarutobi was such a stubborn old fool, but he did love him. "Very well, I leave you to your retirement. When you finally realize the value of my offer you need only ask and I will grant it to you."
"Thank you Hokage-sama." He bowed and left the throne room.
Orochimaru watched him go with a smile, certain that eventually the old man would some to his senses.
XXXXXXXXXX
They'd found a small village about two miles from where the attempted ambush had taken place. It was not much to look at. Just a little farming community. He counted twenty simple homes and estimated there might be perhaps a hundred people living here, if that. Naruto had no idea if either of the two men who had fired the arrows had come from here. But it didn't matter. It was bad enough that the few remaining ninjas were trying to fight the occupation. Civilian opposition was not going to be tolerated. He would carry out general Order 4 and hopefully get the message through to these people that fighting Leaf shinobi was a hopeless proposition.
He turned to his students. "Sakura and Haku I want you to circle around to the south end of the village and keep out of sight. When Sasuke and I herd them in that direction I expect you to catch them." They both nodded and got moving without a complaint. "Sasuke I want you to use your fire jutsus and help me kill as many as we can and make the others run in the direction of the others."
"Got it sensei." Sasuke was eager.
Naruto took another look at their target. He saw three small children playing while a grandmother watched over them. He cringed inward. He hated this! He hated fighting people who he knew couldn't fight back and who were, probably, guiltless. But he'd been in the field long enough to know that you had to follow orders whether you liked them or not. That was the duty of a ninja and of a soldier.
Sakura's voice came over the radio communicator. "I am in position."
"I am also in position." Haku stated.
"Stand by we are about to commence." He turned to Sasuke. "Want to lead?"
Sasuke nodded eagerly. "Thank you sensei." He began casting a fireball jutsu.
Naruto gritted his teeth and reminded himself he was only following orders.
XXXXXXXXXX
Minato sat in the rose garden on one of the wooden benches. He shut his eyes and breathed in the scent that filled the air. He loved this place. Whenever he was here he could reach out and embrace so many wonderful memories. This was where he had proposed to his wife, where he had taken his only son to play as he watched over him. Kushina was gone now and Naruto was far away in Lightning country for the time being. You would be so proud of him my love. He has grown into a great shinobi and a good man. He imagined how much she would have loved to have been there to watch Naruto grow and to have loved him. But she had not survived his birth. Minato had made sure to give Naruto love and attention and to make sure his son never doubted just how very much he was treasured and loved. He loved his son so much it frightened him at times. There was nothing he would not do to protect his precious son. But now he was wondering just what he was saving his son for? What sort of life would he have as he got older? He was all ready a shinobi of the Leaf and he was considered by one and all to be a genius of the Namikaze clan. His future was bright. But would that future ever hold anything but war and death?
Looking about the rose garden it was easy to imagine all the world was as peaceful as this one spot on the Namikaze estate. It was easy to forget the horrors of the world. Horrors that Konoha and its Hokage had inflicted. Twelve years, twelve years of unending wars. Ever since the day the Hokage had saved the village from the nine tailed demon he had led them from one, 'necessary,' war to another. Each one seemed to promise a real and lasting peace just as soon as one last threat was annihilated. But there never seemed to be an end. Except perhaps now peace might finally be at hand. All the lands from the sea to the western mountains had been conquered and only in Lightning and grass was there still any resistance to the New Order. Once this last opposition was eliminated perhaps there really could be peace. After all who was left to threaten Konoha? Perhaps his son might get to enjoy what he'd only dreamed of, a life without constant war.
XXXXXXXXXX
"I am very proud of all of you." Naruto said to them. Not surprisingly Sasuke just nodded his acknowledgement. Sakura blushed and squealed in delight at his praise. Haku smiled and thanked him. Naruto looked at the smoldering ruins of one more unimportant village that had been swallowed up in this war. The bodies were scattered all about. Some had been killed with kunai, some with senbons, some had burned, and some had been torn apart by wind. As a military operation it had been neat and clean. Looking at the bodies of the children he knew that in reality what had happened here was anything but clean. I followed my orders that is all that matters.
"All right let's get back to base camp I have a lot of paperwork to file on today's patrol." His students laughed at his distress and they quickly got moving.
