Author's Notes
Some people were wondering why I didn't just make Naruto go ahead and have to kill Sasuke – I decided early on that since he's out of the village, it would make little sense. Also, since Naruto is a little darker in this one, he's sort of given up on Sasuke (temporarily). I needed Naruto back in Konoha for some time to turn back to his old self and find his humanity, so Kakashi was the easiest mechanism for that.
Chapter Two: Beware the Maelstroms
Naruto chose his words carefully. "I'm a ninja." Okay, maybe not so carefully. But he tried?
Emiko giggled. "Oh Naruto-kun, your humor is as surprising as ever."
The Tomb had an archaic system for assassins. Because psychological distress was often common, they permitted a single individual to be the 'key.' That one person, if trustworthy enough, could keep all of the secrets of a shinobi. Psychological trauma is the number one reason for casualties at home; a ninja that loses it is deadweight for the village, and this was the insurance. Having at least one person with whom someone could speak to about everything: all the missions, the secrecy, and most importantly, the shinobi's opinion on things. Tomb assassins spent years perfecting the art of following orders, ignoring one's own convictions, and being absolutely ruthless. The key was the only mechanism to let those aspects out.
"I-I'm not kidding." A fourteen-year-old Naruto blinked at the beautiful woman before him.
She breathed softly. "You're being serious?"
"I've joined the Tomb training program, and as a part of that, my cover is to be working at this ramen shop."
The shopkeeper couldn't believe it. "Naruto, this is… unreal." The clueless, clumsy, idiotic man before her was… a ninja? "I-I see… Do you want to talk about it?"
The young boy nodded. They took the rest of the day off, and Naruto explained the whole process to her. She had to take an oath not to tell anyone unless Naruto was in mortal danger, and they placed a small seal on her leg. It wouldn't monitor her, wouldn't control her in any way. The only function was to alert the Tsuchikage in case a key told someone about any of the black ops programs. After all, shinobi wouldn't even use the keys if the seals were malignant. The key was usually the closest person a ninja has, so Iwa ninjas made sure the seal wouldn't do anything to cause the key pain.
That was the first and last time Naruto had a key. He looked at the leaf that fell in his hand. Emiko was killed on the route back from Kiri, acquiring more supplies for the ramen shop. On this very road, coincidentally. Crushing the leaf, he smeared it across the ground with his foot. It had been a long time since he last thought about her…
…
"Listen up, runts. I'm getting too old for this crap. The Chuunin Exam is going to be starting in one month. That means it's two months until the final event, when lords from all over the world will be coming to watch the genin duke it out."
"Ibiki, we know. We've been through the Chuunin Exams." A tired blonde sighed. "We know you've been paranoid ever since the last one, but I promise Orochimaru won't invade us this time."
There were couple chuckles that went around the room.
Ibiki's glare only worsened. "You think this is a joke!" The room became dead silent. "That's it! Drills for everyone. Every day for a month until the exams start. GOT IT?" And he stormed out of the room.
"Ino, why couldn't you just keep your mouth quiet? Some of us want to be Jounin in a couple months." A cherry blossom punched her friend lightly. "They're only held once every three years, and considering neither of us passed last time, we need to train. How on earth are we going to do that with this new routine we're stuck with?"
The sentiment around the room seemed to echo Sakura's thoughts. "Shut up, forehead. You were laughing with the rest of us."
Sakura groaned as she packed her bags.
"Hey where are you going? I thought we were going to go train?"
"I know, I just can't today – I have to go get my medical license from Hokage-sama and pass the graduation test."
Ino bit her lip. "Oh, all right. How long do you think that will take?"
"Ino, just go train without me! It could take hours; I don't really know. This is really important though, so I'm going to have to bunk training today."
Ino nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Oh – and good luck!"
'Ino sure is acting really weird today. I wonder what's going on…' Sakura left for the hospital, leaving a nervous Ino behind.
…
"Sakura, it's good you came." Tsunade said hurriedly. "Sit down, sit down."
"I wouldn't be late for my test – I'm not Kakashi-sensei." She joked.
"Hey now, I was punctual this time!" Kakashi entered the room, and Jiraiya followed close behind him.
"What happened to the test?" Sakura's perplexing stare wasn't lost on the granddaughter of the Shodaime.
"Here." Tsunade gave her a card that had a smiling Sakura on the front. "It's your medical license. No test. I waived it. You're one of the best medical ninjas I've taught."
Sakura's relief quickly changed to worry. There weren't many reasons why Jiraya-sama, Kakashi-sensei, and she, a Chuunin, would all be called simultaneously. In fact, there were only two: her former teammates. "Is this about Sasuke or Naruto…" she murmured just loud enough for her mentor to hear.
"Naruto." Tsunade filled in. "Jiraiya's spies have been tracking all over the world – given the threat of Akatsuki around, we had to verify his statuses periodically, or at least make sure that the organization still hadn't found him."
Sakura tried to rattle her memory. She had received the explanation the day Sasuke and Naruto both left the village, and given her state, she wasn't absorbing much that day. "Akatsuki… that's the group that wants his…" she pointed to her general naval area.
"The nine-tails, yes." Tsunade replied. "Jiraiya's spies have verified that, to date, the group has not managed to seize Naruto. Which leaves one of two possibilities. Either he's very well hidden – so well that even our spies haven't even been able to find him – or," Tsunade seemed to pause here. "Or he's dead." A small silence seemed to choke the life out of the room. Everyone awaited Sakura's reaction, and based on the glances, Sakura assumed they had arrived at this conclusion long before today's conversation. This was the real reason they had called her: a courtesy because she and Naruto had been one of the few people who had been close, for Naruto at least.
"Isn't there any chance he really is just hiding really well? What if he pretended to be a civilian? Or he just moved really far away! Or – or he – " Sakura's eyes were begging for an explanation, but the adults in the room merely looked down, as if purposefully avoiding her gaze. "Or he defeated them! What if he's been training?" Okay, that last one seemed a little too ridiculous, even for her. But she was desperate.
"Girl, hiding from this group is no game. It's near impossible. There aren't many places on the planet you can go. They've captured six of the Jinchuurikis already, for all corners of the world. The safest place he could be is with us." Jiraiya finally responded. "And even if he could hide from them, my spy network is quite accomplished. I have spies in nearly every country. Hell, outside of Iwa – which, let's be honest, they'd kill a Konoha ninja without a beat – there isn't really any place I couldn't find you. Someone would have said something. He's really caught between a rock and a hard place; the only way he could be protected is if someone carefully watched him and took care of him. That could only happened in a hidden village full of powerful shinobis. But there are very few shinobi villages that would accept him after getting to know him, given his… complicated past."
"Why would nations care if he had the Kyuubi in him? The nine-tails didn't even hurt other villages! It seems like they'd actually appreciate it – don't tons of other villages hate us? Wouldn't they take him in?" Sakura couldn't accept it. There was no way Naruto could be dead.
"It's not just the Kyuubi." Tsunade began.
"Tsunade-hime…" Jiraya interrupted.
"It's okay, Jiraiya. There's no point in hiding it any longer, given Naruto's… likely state."
Sakura, on the other hand, was completely confused. Something about Naruto's past that was more complicated than the nine-tails fox? Something worse than having the most terrifying demon in memory in your belly?
"Sakura, Naruto was the product of a… complicated relationship. And, naturally, this is classified. I have decided you may be privy to this knowledge because you were his team mate, and he loved you. More than you could realize." Tsunade spoke gently and softly. The words had their impact. Sakura wasn't accustomed to her sensei being so caring. "Naruto was the son of the Yondaime."
The words rang in her head for almost a minute. 'The YONDAIME! The Yondaime? The Yondaime…' Her mind tried emphasizing the phrase in every distinct way possible, but no matter how she said it, it just didn't compute. She just couldn't process the knowledge she had received.
"You can imagine why we didn't even give him the same last name as his father. The Yondaime killed many people during the war, and numerous villages would love to get their hands on his son. When you last saw Naruto, he was barely thirteen, on the precipice of hitting puberty. His facial structure would have changed, he would have grown… If he were alive today, the resemblance would be uncanny. There would be few who wouldn't eventually realize the connection." Tsunade finished.
Sakura barely heard a word – or if she did, she didn't register anything. 'Stupid Naruto! You're just a dead-last! You're nothing compared to Sasuke-kun. Naruto-baka stop trying to show off! Chya – Sasuke-kun is soo cool!' Memories flashed through her mind in rapid sequences, and an overwhelming sense of guilt built up inside of her. 'All those times… all those times…' She looked down; her medical license was getting wet. Why was it wet? She could worry about it later. "So… what are the odds that Naruto is dead?"
Silence.
"Over 90%" Kakashi replied.
Sakura lost control – she couldn't hold it in any longer. As she openly bawled, her legs gave way and she quickly met the ground. "Dead, dead, dead…" Was all she could repeat, over and over.
Through a small crack in the door, an ANBU mask observed the seen, having heard everything. 'RELEASE!' As Ino's body came to life once more, she made sure the ANBU was knocked out. He would never have known what had happened. She quickly escaped through a window and headed for the training grounds. 'Holy shit…' Was all she could think. As she remembered witnessing Naruto beat Neji, she thought about Sakura – rooting for Naruto during the exams. 'Poor Sakura…'
…
"So, now that Sakura is gone, what was the real reason you called us here?" Kakashi turned and faced not the Godaime, but Jiraya.
Jiraiya chuckled. "Sharp as ever, Kakashi. Everything I told Sakura is true, and I believe it. There is another problem, however, that worries me."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. She didn't like where this was going.
"Four members of Akatsuki have shown up dead – just within the last three years. Someone is assassinating them. The technique is impeccable..." He laid out their pictures on the table. "Kisame. Deidara. Sasori. Hidan. S class criminals. All taken out during a mission. And most recently, an attempt was made on Orochimaru's life. I was initially curious as to why this individual – or group of individuals – would target our favorite Sannin… My spies discovered that he was originally a part of Akatsuki as well."
"Orochimaru?" Whatever Tsunade had been expecting, it wasn't this. "I really souldn't be surprised, given the kind of scum he is. So some mysterious force is slowly picking Akatsuki apart? I don't understand, why is this a problem? Surprising, yes. Intriguing, sure. But problematic?"
"Akatsuki has gotten exceedingly close to acquiring all of the bijuu. There are three remaining: Naruto, Killer Bee of Kumogakure, and Roushi, of Iwagakure. Whoever is orchestrating this scheme not only knows of Akatsuki and their goals, but is extremely capable. We're talking about someone capable of squashing characters like Uchiha Itachi. We have no idea who these people are or what they want. My spies are terrified to get close. Not to mention they can't. Akatsuki hasn't revealed anything as to who's behind this stuff."
Kakashi stepped in. "In other words, you're worried that… this group isn't doing this to stop Akatsuki to save the world… They're doing it because Akatsuki is their competition, and now that Akatsuki has nearly accomplished the goal and done all the work for them, they want to finish the job?"
Jiraiya nodded, and the three of them sat in silence for a long time. The possibility was frightening, but it didn't seem all that probable. Certainly, it was possible that there was a larger struggle going on between them and another group, but there were also three other explanations.
1) Akatsuki was struggling in an internal coup – the weakest members were getting weeded out because, now that the job was mostly done, they didn't want to split the prize anymore. Who would want to split the nine bijuu amongst different people when a single ninja could retain all that power?
2) Someone, or some group, was in fact taking out these ninjas because they were ideologically opposed to Akatsuki and their goals.
3) A different group, Akatsuki's competition, wanted the prize instead, and they were strong enough to take out nearly half of the organization.
4) Various villages had separately and unknowingly killed the ninjas – after all, all of them were famous missing nins in the bingo book with high rewards. It wouldn't be unusual for one or two to go in such a manner.
"Of the various options, one and two seem the most favorable. The problem of course, is that if there really existed some group who was not evil, then why wouldn't they seek shinobi assistance?" Tsunade contemplated.
"Well, they could be undercover. It's not like they could go to a different village to seek assistance, I mean it's not like all of us have a great mutual understanding and a cooperative framework set up exactly." Kakashi mused.
"To be honest, anything but number three is fine – but number four is skeptical – if there really was a major assassination, the bingo book would have to be altered. It would be all over the shinobi news. The fact that no one knows means someone else is at play here." Jiraiya mulled.
"The worst part of it is that most of our mid-level to high-skill ninjas will be taken up for the Jounin exams." Tsunade admitted. "We're more vulnerable than usual."
…
"Naruto-kun, this is Roushi. He, like you, is also a Jinchuuriki." The Tsuchikage smiled.
Naruto stared incredulously at the man. He was… well, older. He held the fire-monkey bijuu. With the unique capabilities of his bijuu, Roushi managed to perfect his own elemental style: lava manipulation. Naruto held out a single, skeptical hand. "Hey. I'm Uzumaki Naruto."
"Roushi." The man simply introduced himself. "I will be your tutor. Thank you, Tsuchikage-sama." The Tsuchikage left, cheerful as ever. "So, you're from the Leaf."
"I was born there." Naruto corrected.
"Why come here?" Roushi began. "Why here, when every other village in the world would love to get their hands on you? The strongest of all bijuus?"
"This village accepts me. It doesn't kill me. That's more than I can say for any other place."
Roushi chuckled. "The people of Iwa are strong. You share in their determination, the will to survive. So tell me, Naruto." Naruto didn't like the way he said his name. It was ripe with provocation and sneering arrogance. "Why do you fight? To protect those who are precious to you?"
Naruto thought about Iruka-sensei, Sakura-chan. He couldn't afford to. That aspect of his past was long gone. "Most of those people are dead. Or at least, they'll never see me again. I fight to preserve myself."
Roushi stroked his short beard for a while, his eyes twinkling. "Perhaps one day…" He smiled, and that was the moment he accepted Naruto as his pupil.
Days crawled into weeks, which turned into months, which sped into two full years. Over that time they had grown inseparably close, but the older Jinchuuriki never clarified his statements. Rather, he would only add more 'Perhaps one day…'s. Despite their rocky start, the man taught Naruto everything he wanted and more. About elemental manipulation, about fighting, and about living. The man's love for Iwagakure was unlike anything Naruto had seen. He understood the pain of being a Jinchuuriki, and managed to overcome it, retaining friends, family, and his capacity to love. Slowly but surely, the man was making a rather large crack at Naruto's determination to remain cold and isolated.
Over the months, the prankster Naruto would come out, in real form. They'd run through the village together as civilians would watch and cheer. Through all the muk, mud, and grime that Iwa soil was known for, the older man kept smiling and pushing forward, for Naruto's sake. It was only after a year of training that Naruto understood why he agreed to tutor Naruto: the man was dying. Nothing to do with the spiritual fire-monkey that lay sealed inside him; it was a genital defect.
As the conditions worsened, he'd often just watch Naruto rather than spar with him. They had developed a routine by that point: breakfast, prank of the day, lunch, training, dinner, training, sleep. No matter how bad his health got, Roushi never wavered on the prank of the day. Until that fateful day when, he, too, simply disappeared.
"Naruto." He said suddenly one night over dinner. "I think you're getting to that day," he began, referring to the fateful 'one day' that he kept alluding to. "You need to find out why it is you fight. Self-preservation, while necessary, is not a sufficient condition to drive a person. Deep inside, despite all your denials, lies a compassionate heart." Naruto frowned. He didn't like where this was going. It sounded too final. The man pulled him into a hug. "It has been a pleasure teaching you." Yup, definitely too absolute.
The next morning, the man was gone. It was another two years before Naruto found out what happened to his sensei, but by that time, Naruto had only reinforced the notion that love, like most other feelings, was a peripheral distraction that served no real purpose. Any attachment he managed to form seemed useless. Peace was an intrinsic good, regardless of emotional considerations. And peace was formed through strength. Which made his goal rather simple, regardless of what his old Sensei may have said.
When he finally became privy to his sensei's last mission, Naruto immediately adopted it himself: Roushi decided to use his last strength to try and put an end to Akatsuki; Kisame captured him, extracted the bijuu, and left him to die. Naruto read the Tsuchikage's report over and over until it was irrevocably imprinted in his brain. Roushi's body was torn in five pieces – each limb separated from the torso and the head removed from the body. The blood was drained out of him, leaving behind a deflated sack of skin and bones, dried to a crisp. That day, he spent hours huddled over a waste bin vomiting repeatedly.
It was a moment unlike any other. Unable to grasp at reality, unable to feel his own body, Naruto aimlessly walked around the village. He was overwhelmed with the magnitude of the situation. Though he had always known that this group existed, that someday he may have to face them, it was constantly a distant one. Even in his brief encounter with Itachi and Kisame, Jiraiya soon wafted him away and saved the day.
But now? There was a tangible impact on his life. And these bastards would pay. He would take each of their bodies and recreate what they had done to his sensei. With precision.
…
A shadowy figure appeared at the door.
"You…"
"Me." The voice calmly replied. A crimson katana gleamed in the dark, but the figure didn't bother to remove it from its sheath.
"Come to finish the job?" The tension in the man's arm loosened. He had to leave this body. He needed a quick escape into a second one. He looked around. Yes… yes, Kabuto would do well.
Kabuto suddenly toppled over, dead. "You weren't thinking of switching bodies, now, were you?"
"I suppose it's silly to ask why you're here, especially at a point when it's patently obvious."
"Hn…" The shadowy figure made a lightning fast motion, blurred by the darkness, and the room was filled with an emerald glow.
My chakra… I can't… "This jutsu… how did you come by it?"
The figure didn't speak, merely waiting as the jutsu took its effect. It was a kinjutsu developed by Iwa nins during the first great shinobi war – an ancient one long deemed useless by more advanced, modern techniques. But it had one crucial advantage: it was a completely anonymous jutsu. No chakra signatures, no peripheral imprints, nothing. The cost? No access to one's chakra coils for a full month. Pricy, yes, but Orochimaru was a necessary victim, and he couldn't take any chances. He watched as the paralysis took its toll. The body collapsed, barely able to move. The paralysis slowly spread – from the extremities first, slowly spreading in, until even the lungs would eventually cease all function.
I have to use that jutsu. Orochimaru slammed his hands into the ground, activating a summoning seal. As the Manda appeared, Orochimaru's body began turning increasingly snake-like.
'He's fusing with the Manda? Spiritual beings might be immune… This may pose a problem.' Without chakra, there weren't too many options left. Naruto wasn't sure how much chakra the Manda had, but it must be a fair amount. Orochimaru, however, couldn't use any of his own either.
'I have to use that seal…' Unlocking the seal on his left shoulder was a pain, particularly after a kinjutsu, but there was little choice. It activated a reverse summoning seal, transporting them to Naruto's mindscape, in front of the Kyuubi's gates. It was a sealing-based genjutsu that required a tremendous amount of the Kyuubi's chakra pre-sealed. Using such a large portion, Naruto found he could replicate its evil chakra's paralyzing effects, crushing the enemy's will.
"Do you know what foxes eat, Orochimaru?" Came the Kyuubi's dark voice. "Foxes." The floodgates opened, and the Kyuubi's chakra stormed out, devouring the Manda. The ploy worked: Orochimaru separated from its body instantly, leaving a molten skin of the Manda on the floor. It had already retreated.
Naruto turned his eyes to the writhing man on the floor. His kinjutsu would have robbed the man of all his chakra by now. He stepped closer – enough to see the whites of the snake ninja's eyes, smirking all the while.
"W-why…" the man rasped out. It would be the last word the snake Sannin would ever speak.
Stepping into the light, the blone-haired shinobi openly laughed, knowing full well the dying man below him could still hear. Death was irreversible at this point – he had three, four minutes tops. No medical care would change a thing. He bent over, close to Orochimaru's ears. After all, the man had but a minute of life left. Speaking barely above a whisper, Naruto hissed into the dying snake's ear, "I like to see the weak die."
Unsheathing his katana, Naruto adeptly made five cuts, severing Orochimaru's limbs and head from the torso. The blood began pooling out. Using the crimson weapon, Naruto smeared his victim's blood over his chest, activating yet another seal. Orochimaru's blood began draining out of his body, quickly flowing into Naruto's own. It was an ancient seal Naruto acquired with great difficulty – the ability to store an opponent's blood. Blood was very useful for a variety of crucial tasks: jutsu replication, seal activation, chakra identification. One could never predict when it would be useful. As he drained the blood, Naruto spat on the deflated body of his most recent kill.
'Green saliva.' The after effects of the blood seal. He would be absolutely vulnerable for the next three days. The seal operated by redirecting the body's own life-force to maintaining and storing the enemy's blood and chakra; thus, any damage that occurred over that seventy-two hour window would be permanent – from the smallest of scars to even losing a limb, no one could undo the damage. Medical jutsus were based on working in coordination with the body's natural chakra to rehabilitate shinobi, but with a temporary nullification of chakra, it would be impossible for Naruto to recover.
Looking at his Leaf forehead protector, he chuckled at the irony fate had dealt him. A large gash going through the middle of the leaf symbol, not unlike the ones missing ninjas purposefully did to symbolize their status. Of course, Naruto had been a missing nin for nearly seven years at this point, so perhaps it didn't matter all that much.
…
A month's worth of chakra was a long price to pay, but that's what seals were for. And frankly, it wasn't his first time using this technique. Naruto had slaved over the scrolls contained in the libraries of Tsuchigakure, and in accordance with their alliance, Kumogakure's scrolls as well. Kinjutsu and sealing techniques came naturally to him. Kumogakure was particularly useful in learning to control the Jinchuuriki – with Killer Bee's rather eccentric guidance, the Kyuubi's chakra was successfully under his control.
Before entering the Leaf, however, he had two missions: access to the hidden scrolls of Sunagakure to hone wind manipulation; understand how to completely eliminate the Kyuubi, but retain its chakra. Indeed, this was yet another reason he began hunting down Akatsuki (asides from the fact that they were actively hunting him). Honestly, their pursuit of him didn't bother him too much. The fights had been dangerous, no doubt, but it was useful to sharpen his skills. Nothing like a murder attempt to really get the adrenaline pumping.
That brought him back to his current predicament. As an undercover Leaf shinobi, it wouldn't do well if he only had his broken forehead protector with him. He was considering posing as a missing nin instead. It would certainly free him to act more… naturally. The other major dilemma was the ordering of his priorities. He decided the hunt for Akatsuki could wait; Suna and advanced elemental manipulation was more important.
'I wonder if Gaara still remembers me… This should be fun.'
…
Naruto slowly walked along the road. Travelling without any chakra was such a pain. The road to Suna would be another three weeks journey. He stared at his clothes. Pretending to be a civilian may be the most miserable task in existence. No using trees, no chakra… travelling at the pace of a snail. Everything about it screamed misery.
Suddenly, a kunai whizzed past him. Naruto had seen it coming from a ways, so he angled it so as to make it appear as if it had just barely missed him. 'Goddamit. What now.'
"Halt!"
"Is there a problem, Shinobi-san?" Naruto looked at the man in front of him. His hair, unruly. A dog next to him that was far larger than an average dog. But the paint marks uniquely distinguished him. 'Inuzaku Kiba? Heh… The odds of meeting you here.'
"What village are you from?"
Naruto debated the odds of telling him he was from Iwa. No, the chances that Kiba would angrily interrogate him or even try to attack him for his affiliations were too high. He didn't know many other villages well enough to pull it off. "Inuzaka-san, I am insulted. I come from Konoha, of course."
Whatever he was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. "A-ah, I see. I'll need to see proof of identification."
"You see, shinobi-san, that's particularly problematic because, well, some bandits stole everything I own. I'm a simple merchant doing my usual route. After all, the best ports are in Kiri. Is there any other way you could possibly verify my identity?"
Kiba thought carefully. "I need your help for something first. Have you seen any assassins come by here? They'd be clad in all black, usually carrying some form of katana?"
'So he saw the shadow clones…' "Yes! Yes – they had a rare, red sort of katana. They asked me if I wouldn't mind parting with my marine log – it has all the information regarding incoming ships and outgoing merchandise. I, I really shouldn't even have it, but I managed to bribe a portsman for it. I needed a particular package of rare spices…" Naruto scratched his head, ashamed. It was a standard tactic: admit to a small crime, showing that you're being honest, to earn trust. That way, the mark leaves you alone, scot free to go.
Kiba mulled over this. "I could have you arrested for illegal business practices, you know."
Naruto mentally smiled. He had bought it. Now for the cherry on top. He got on his knees and openly started weeping. "Please, please you can't! I-I had to! My daughter is getting married in two months, and we can't afford the dowry. There was no other way, please! I swear I will never again. In fact, I won't even go to Kiri to pick it up – I'll just go straight back to Konoha. Please!"
"All right, all right. Get up. You'll be fine. Just think of this as your last warning."
Naruto wiped his tears and nodded. "Thank you, shinobi-san."
As he continued walking, he cursed himself for activating his shadow-clone seal. He had placed various seals around his clothing for emergencies such as this, but now it had all been for waste. He needed the clones to find out intelligence about Konoha, and whatever they did they certainly alerted some trouble. He had to dissipate them. He frowned as the intelligence rushed into his head. His clones had been too careless. Activating shadow clones through a seal wasn't nearly as effective as a fresh copy using his own chakra. 'Ah well…'
Kiba paused, before returning to his team. 'That face… Where do I know that face from…'
…
One month had passed by surprisingly quickly for Nara Shikamaru. The special Jounin sighed as he looked at the clouds. There just wasn't any time anymore. 'Troublesome…' No, no time at all – especially now that the preliminaries of the Jounin Exams were about to begin. Unlike the Chuunin Exams, the Jounin test was intravillage; they couldn't risk foreign participation. Even the Chuunin Exams, despite the low level capabilities that most genins had, tended to get out of hand rapidly. One could only imagine the logistical nightmare for the ANBU team. Not to mention, after the last invasion of the Sound/Sand, security had been revamped and escalated.
And the worst part of it all? He was a proctor and architect of the entire exam. Yup, all three stages. The Godaime trusted in his… what did she call it? His "analytical abilities and tactical intuitions." Combine that with some of her masochistic influence, and the product was a truly gruesome outcome. He stared at the designs for the three rungs. Day after tomorrow was the big day.
A single sigh permeated the field. 'Troublesome indeed…'
…
Why on earth they had low-level Chuunin guard the giant gates of Konoha, Daisuke would never know. Why he had to be the one to do it during the night shift – that he knew very well. His supervisor hated him. Daisuke cringed at every noise the forest made; every crack of a branch, howl from a wolf sent shivers up his spine. 'Sometimes, Kami-sama just doesn't have any pity…'
CRACK!
The Chuunin blinked. Twice. That was not in his imagination… was it? Silence resumed in the night, and he returned to his duties of guarding the gate.
CRACK!
"O-Okay, whoever this is. This isn't funny."
Silence greeted him once more. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. Could this be genjutsu? "Kai!" Nothing around him seemed to change, until –
CRACK!
He couldn't take it anymore. "Okay – seriously! Who the hell is there?" If he was going to die, it was going to be with a fight. He wasn't going to go out weak. No. Definitely not. He ran into the forest thrusting a large fireball in front of him to illuminate the area. In the decades that followed, Daisuke would never again mention this incident – not to anyone. He would silently decide that the shinobi life was not for him, and, like his parents had suggested, he would start a simple merchant business. Yes, a safe and boring merchant business.
A cloaked figure stood by a tree stump, hovering over a dead body. CRACK! An inconceivably quick movement separated the head from the spinal column and the rest of the body. Blood gushed out, but the figure used a jutsu to make the blood rise out of the body and… was he eating the blood! Daisuke couldn't tell, but the other four limbs were already severed. What remained was a hollow, blood-less body… a sack of skin and bones.
"W-W-Who a-a-re you?" He gathered every scrap of courage his body contained.
The figure steadily approached him. Quietly, almost floating above the ground, it glided towards him until it was but a few meters away. It slowly reached for its pockets – Daisuke couldn't take that chance. He threw a shuriken, aiming straight for its head, but the shuriken seemed to miss. 'What? My accuracy has been near perfect…'
Finally, the figure paused, irked by the shuriken. He couldn't take anymore chances. Daisuke got on his knees and began praying. "Please, please! Have mercy!" He opened his eyes when he felt a thud next to him. The figure had been reaching for its passport. He looked up. A blonde haired individual with blazing azure eyes stared at him with such an intensity that he could barely breathe. Looking at the passport, he quickly verified its legitimacy.
Name: Naruto Uzumaki.
Rank: Genin
Village of Origin: Konohagakure no Soto
Warrants: None
Daisuke sighed. He was a leaf ninja. 'Genin? Doesn't seem like any Genin could possibly' –
As if reading his thoughts, Naruto whispered, "You will never speak of this day again, understood."
Daisuke only nodded dumbly.
"You will resign from the taskforce in one week."
Again, a nod.
Naruto thought about it… Better not to take any chances. As the blackness consumed Daisuke, Naruto stared at the seal he had placed on him. It was faint – almost indistinguishable from a birthmark. For the next week, the man would be but a hollow body, merely following Naruto's every instruction. After that, it would erase itself, leaving but a memory charm that would block the entire week from recollection and instead replace it with an entirely fabricated story. After four months it would be so seamless, none but a Fuinjutsu master could even notice anything awry in his mind.
Quickly, Naruto took Daisuke's passport. He only needed the original copy to forge a new one. A new name… that's what he needed. Naruto remembered his first kill. 'Itoku Sujin, I owe you one.' A nameless prisoner Naruto had been ordered to murder. He didn't know anything about the man – what he did to earn his sentence, if he had a family, or where he was from. Silently, and forcefully, Naruto slit his throat with just his claw-like nails. That was the first of many gurgling screams he'd hear.
…
"Kazekage-sama." Naruto said teasingly.
Gaara's lips twitched (smiling was still a new thing, and he wasn't quite comfortable with it yet – baby steps, baby steps). "Naruto-san. You need not use such terms when speaking to me."
Naruto softened, smiling. "How have you been, Gaara?"
"I have been well. The village has done well, and all is fine. You have taken too long to respond to me."
"Yes, Tsuchi has me running around like a headless chicken."
"I was unaware your allegiance had altered."
Naruto paused. Gaara was safe to trust, probably. And even if he wasn't, he couldn't tell anyone that truly mattered. "Yes, after the Sasuke incident, I had no choice. I couldn't bear facing Konoha once more. Sometimes a new beginning is just what one needs."
Gaara nodded, as if understanding. Maybe he did; Naruto couldn't tell, but it didn't matter. Gaara was one of his few, genuine friends. Even though they hadn't spoken in years, it was as if nothing changed. "Indeed. What brings you to Suna?"
"Well…" Naruto smiled. "With any luck, I will soon be named Tsuchikage."
Gaara's eyes widened. "That is indeed good news. We will, of course, alter our treaty allegiances if this materializes."
Naruto nodded. "As will we. But that isn't why I've come here today. I was hoping you could help me out with elemental manipulation… The awkward thing is I can't use any chakra for about another week – it's kind of a long story. I was hoping to peruse through your scrolls, hopefully, just to get the theory down."
"Of course, in exchange for one thing." The kage paused.
"You can have two conditions, because I need to ask another favor of you: do not inform Konoha that I was hear. They can't know."
"I see… two favors, then. Firstly, in four months, Temari is getting married. I would like you to be there, in person."
"Of course, congratulations are in order. Who is she getting married to?"
Gaara smirked. He wasn't sure if Naruto understood the magnitude of the request he was asking. "Nara Shikamaru." He let his words sink for a bit.
"I see. Very well, I will be there." This was going to be very tricky. Avoiding all the leaf ninjas that would be arriving… it would mean he'd have to wait until after that point to assassinate Kakashi, if necessary. "And the second?"
Gaara dismissed his guards. After they were completely alone, he continued. "I want to know what you know regarding Akatsuki and their members." His whispers weren't lost on Naruto.
As a ninja who learned to read 'underneath the underneath,' Naruto knew Gaara wasn't asking for no reason. He had a pointed purpose: he was suspicious that Naruto was behind this. "Yes, your instincts are correct." He quietly verified. "I've been killing them off, slowly."
"So the reason you cannot use chakra for another week…"
"It's the result of a kinjutsu I used to eliminate Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin." A silence overtook the room as Gaara processed his words, but unlike many conversations, it felt more natural. It wasn't an alienating, choking silence, but a peaceful one. "I heard they took the demon out of you. How have you been?"
"I sleep better now. It is… refreshing." Gaara chose his words carefully. "While their attack on Suna was most unwelcome, I cannot help but feel these outcomes are for the best. The Jinchuuriki is a poison, and I'd rather rely on my own strength."
Naruto smiled, nodding. He knew what that felt like. He had grown sick of relying on the Kyuubi's chakra with less and less control of his own actions. That was the original reason he sought out Killer Bee. "I'm glad you're taking this so well."
"Why are you doing this?"
Naruto sighed. He owed it to Gaara to at least be honest with him, considering he was going to look at their scrolls. "I'm eliminating those who threaten my life. It's as simple as that. This group, what they're doing to us Jinchuurikis… it's unconscionable. It took me years to make any friends at all, and after 19 years, Gaara, I have two friends. You, and Iruka-sensei."
"There will always be complications in life, and there may always be people who will try to kill you… Do they all deserve a death sentence?"
"No." Naruto curtly answered. "But self-defense is always justified, regardless of the circumstance. If death can be avoided, that would be ideal, but sometimes it can become unavoidable."
"Just make sure you are not consumed by your revenge."
Naruto smiled. He wasn't sure if he was faking it – part of his double life became super natural to him after a while. "All of these individuals are S ranked criminals, responsible for veritable genocides. In the worst case scenario, my revenge does something helpful for the world. In the best case, my life has some modicum of normalcy after all this." Naruto got up. "And to answer your question, I'm not consumed… at least, not yet. I would never actively hurt one of my friends – either of them." Naruto grinned.
…
"Orochimaru and Konan are dead, too. What's interesting is that their deaths are exactly one month apart. This was the same for Kisame and Hidan's deaths – also exactly one-month difference. I'd say our killer has a pattern, here." Jiraiya informed.
"It doesn't make any sense as to why one month is the crucial timeframe that he needs to wait. I've ruled out all poisons – most ingredients take two weeks to grow, some as long as two full years. There's nothing that fits the exact one month peiod." Tsunade sighed.
They hadn't made any progress as to whether this coincidental disappearance of Akatsuki members was helpful or not.
"Pull up the surveillance field for the last two months. I want to go over everyone with a shinobi-level chakra."
Surveillance fields were fairly common among most hidden villages – an overwhelmingly large chakra field that covered the whole village. It wasn't very useful for offensive purposes, considering the sheer strength of maintaining it alone took thirty villages in the intelligence division. Rather, it was used to detect everyone who entered and exited. And, since it reacted mainly to chakra, any shinobi would stand out due to higher than usual chakra levels.
The only problem with Tsunade's strategy? Naruto's chakra was completely burnt out when he entered Konoha thanks to his kinjutsu. Tsunade slammed her fist on the table. "If only I could get access to any of the dead bodies… I'd be able to find out exactly what happened…"
…
Naruto settled into his apartment. He was surprised at how nice it was; after living in the worst possible situation for years at Konoha during his childhood, he almost forgot the village had nice places to live. It had everything he could have asked for – two bedroom, two bath, beautiful penthouse view, wonderful living room with a moonlight roof that let him see the night sky to boot.
And the best part? It was in the red-light district – deep in the red-light district. This would be the base from which Naruto would operate. Naruto unrolled some of his greater Fuinjutsu scrolls for references. By the time he was done with this place, it would be his own sealed fortress.
'First the door…' This was definitely going to be a long couple nights. Chakra seals as a first level of security was an all-right initial step to ensure a certain modicum of security. Chakra signatures were particularly difficult to forge, but it was possible with a magnification method. Medical ninjas used them in particularly tense situations when the body had the nasty habit of rejecting foreign chakra sources, so by taking a part of the patients' DNA, they could amplify the natural chakra present in it by injecting their own chakra and letting that DNA grow, thereby having a veritable 'artificial' source of the patient's chakra. This was a rather lengthy process, but someone truly determined to access his secrets could do it within a day.
There were two solutions to this: one, he would make the requisite chakra fairly large. It wasn't particularly a problem for him, considering his chakra reserves. The second, real clincher, would be another, nearly identical chakra seal right next to the first, only this would take the Kyuubi's chakra. If only the first were activated absent the second, well, the intruder would be in for a nasty surprise. 'Couple of my favorite jutsus ought to do the trick.' He smiled at how devious he was being – almost like the old prankster himself was back.
Of course, based on this circuitry of seals he was building, the chakra would have to be replenished every weak or so. Security seals weren't meant to be used on a regular basis. Chakra seals, for example, were meant to be a one-time ordeal, usually when an heir was inheriting something. As a security system, it would take a fair share of energy, but when you have a monstrous chakra coil system, combined with an actual monster's chakra, certain things naturally came to you.
A particularly handy seal he learned at Tsuchi was the sensor. Since most ninjas at Iwagakure had earth affinity, they were trained to sense enemies approaching. Naruto manged to alter the jutsu into a seal, that not only tracked movement within a certain confine, but also triggered other seals depending on how close on got. This way, if someone did somehow manage to get inside, he'd know exactly where they went – down to the exact steps.
The next major project he had to work on was his 'safe.' Long-term assassination missions like this one were frequently unsuccessful, so all Tsuchi ninjas kept a small safebox, just in case of any… complications. That way, the next person wouldn't have to start from scratch and could use the intel gathered by the prior assignee. Naruto looked at his 'safe'. It was Tsunade's necklace. He had placed a single seal on it, such that if he were to die in combat, it would disappear to his drop site, the place shinobi usually kept their safe. Naruto learned the hard way, however, that a drop site wasn't particularly useful because usually, the reason the mission was unsuccessful was one's cover was blown.
So, he learned to keep it on his own body – so he wouldn't have to worry about going back to his apartment to retrieve anything. Everything he needed would be on his own person.
As he scanned his apartment for plausible drop site locations, he finally settled on a perfect location. The refrigerator. He smiled as his own obsession of food guided his spywork. Most spies kept drop site locations dangerously personal – the bed, sacred locations, etc. The trick was to pick something as close to random as possible.
Next, the emergency seal. In case anything went wrong, he would incinerate everything contained within his apartment. The entire chakra network would evaporate, the seals would self-destruct, and most importantly the drop site would be transported back to the Tsuchikage.
Naruto smiled. He loved the feeling of setting up a new base.
…
The rookie 9 and Gai's team were gathered for the first time in a long time. The reason? Shikamaru's 'engagement celebration.' When asked at the prospect of having an actual bachelor's party, Shikamaru just shivered. "No, Temari would kill me," came the standard response.
Although the actual announcement had been months ago, Team 8 had been out on a mission for some time, and it didn't seem right to have the party without them.
"Congratulations, you old dog!" Chouji smiled.
"Hey, now!" came the objection from Kiba.
All present rolled their eyes. "We didn't mean it like that, Kiba-kun."
"You guys will never believe me on this, but for some reason, on this mission – just randomly, in the middle of Kirigakure, I could have sworn I saw Naruto – bahahaha." Kiba chuckled.
Sakura nearly choked. "Who was he?"
"Well, you know the assassins we were tailing all of a sudden? They apparently robbed this poor guy blind – well, he was a merchant that wasn't exactly being completely business kosher, if you know what I mean. But that's Kami-sama's karma, if you ask me."
Shikamaru, not missing a beat, asked "Why was it strange to see a merchant in Kiri? Given their ports it seems almost natural."
Kiba nodded after swallowing his drink. "Yah, but apparently he told me he was from Konoha. Seemed crazy that a civilian would come all the way there unaccompanied by anyone. He was just, you know, walking here, all by himself. That path has bandits all over. You'd think an experienced merchant would know that."
"But he had no chakra signature or anything?" Ino bumped into the conversation now.
"Nope! I tried sensing any semblance of chakra, but nothing. So I just let him go."
Sakura fake-laughed. "You sure you weren't just dreaming?"
Ino darkly stared at her, giving her the 'Why are you fake laughing?' look. Sakura returned with the 'Later, not here.'
"Well, anyways, the Chuunin Exams start tomorrow, and some of us get to be the lucky proctors that participate in the madness." Ino yawned. "Sakura and I need to get some rest. Good night! And congrats, Shika!"
As they waved their good byes, the two best friends exited together, prepared to finally discuss what had happened.
"I know you eavesdropped on the conversation." Sakura flatly began.
"Well damn, Sakura. You cut right to the chase." But upon looking at her best friend's face, her demeanor changed entirely. She hugged Sakura tightly. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." She didn't mean for her intrusion upon the conversation, and Sakura knew it. "And I'm sorry for eavesdropping, too," she hastily added.
Konoha was beautiful at night. The full moon above them lit the way easily, and Ino could see the tears on her friend's face. "Maybe he's alive… Maybe that merchant that Kiba saw – " Sakura began, but stopped herself when Ino tightly squeezed her hand. A little too tight.
"Don't. Don't go down that path, Sakura. You'll only torture yourself."
They stopped. They had reached the young Haruno's apartment. Sakura nodded. "Y-yeah, you're probably right. Anyways, we have to be in tip-top shape tomorrow, or Ibiki-san will murder us."
"Let me sleep with you tonight." Ino offered.
Sakura smirked. "So you can eat some more of my dango? Screw you, Ino-pig."
Ino feigned anger. "Stupid forehead! Try and do a favor and this is how you're treated." But she couldn't help smiling. Insults were good. Insults meant Sakura was getting over it.
…
Shikamaru sighed. If his mother or (shudder) Temari were to see him here, they'd beat him into a pulp. Recently, he'd developed a rather nasty habit of… enjoying the fruits of the forbidden red light district. By the end of today, the first phase of the Chuunin Exam would be over. He sighed, grumpily at that. With that, Sakura and Ino would be free for his latest project: the Jounin Exams. 'What a mess…' Why he'd been chosen to proctor, he had no idea. Taking a sip of sake, he tried to focus on the strippers in front of him. They were okay, he guessed. There was this redhead, very provocative. Sexy, even. Then there was this hot blonde that had long, beautiful locks.
Shikamaru shifted so as to avoid his… reaction. His focus shifted to the drink in front of him. He groggily blinked. Sleepy? He frowned. Uh oh. The blonde slowly walked towards him. 'Drugged… just my luck.' He tried to lift his hands, but his body was unresponsive. 'Crap…' was the last thought before the sweet embrace of unconsciousness welcomed him.
…
Shit! The Chuunin Exams – how could he have forgotten? He could have easily just forged a Suna passport and entered village. It would have been virtually unnoticeable given the chaos of the whole situation. And if his guess was right, then Kakashi would either be participating in some way or serving as an ANBU guard.
He'd need to gather more intelligence regarding the ANBU schematics; no doubt they would have changed everything after his Chuunin Exam. Orochimaru was rather brilliant to utilize the chaos of the exam to plot the invasion. Naruto glanced over the drugged Jounin. Nara Shikamaru.
He smiled at his own luck – honestly, he wasn't expecting to find too much intel in the red light district, but he figured he'd have to sell his cover; to do that, he needed to be seen in the red light district. But walking around, only to find a Jounin, was too good to pass up. The truth serum would be wearing off in a couple minutes, so Naruto poured Shikamaru another glass and forced the man to drink it. He had a couple more crucial questions to ask. Every man had a weakness. That's what Roushi always said. The key was to find and exploit it. Who knew Shikamaru shared the same weakness as Jiraiya?
Hurriedly, Naruto secured his surroundings. Atop the Hokage's monument, Naruto hid behind the giant heads of the former Hokages. He was just far enough behind that he couldn't be seen from below, but close enough to the edge so that if an emergency did in fact come up, he could simply jump off and escape. He was a fan of the worst situation planning; it saved his butt on numerous occasions. He stared at the recently drugged Jounin.
Truth serums were tricky little buggers. A subconscious that was actively fighting could take malleable questions and answer them improperly on purpose. Drugging the person even more so as to repress the subconscious would be even more useless, as it would just dull the person into a dazed stupor, incapable of rendering any intelligible answer. Instead, Naruto found through personal experience that direct, yes-no questions were the best precisely because they couldn't be misinterpreted.
"Are you responsible for planning the Jounin Exams?"
"Yes."
"Is there a physical copy of the plans – on any form of paper or other writable surface?"
"No."
"Did you memorize the plans?"
"Yes."
"With whom did you plan the exams?"
"Tsunade-sama."
"Anyone else?"
"No."
"Is Kakashi involved in any way in the Chuunin Exams?"
"He is a proctor."
"Anything else?"
The drugged man shook his head.
"What stage of the exam is he proctoring?"
"The preliminaries."
"Why?"
"To weed out those who pass the Forest of Death but don't deserve to."
Naruto smiled. The guy was cheeky. To evade the answers even when completely drugged; he had to hand it to him. "Why was Kakashi chosen, and why that stage?"
"I don't know."
"Draw out the plans for the exam." Naruto commanded. Shikamaru's use was rapidly declining, as he got most of the information he needed to know. The real question, then, became what to do with him. Since he was proctoring the exam, it would attract too much attention if he simply went missing, or turned up dead. Normally, he'd risk it, but given his future as Tsuchikage, he couldn't afford to harm relations with Konoha. He smiled. That is, until he invaded the village and crushed them.
That left two options. Place a memory seal on him and force him to forget the abduction entirely, in addition to implanting false memories, like he did for the Chuunin at the gates. But he couldn't risk that for an experienced Jounin – not one that visited Tsunade on a regular basis. No, she'd discover the seal well enough, and even if in the best case she couldn't remove it, she'd know something was up. In the worst case, Shikamaru would regain all his memories, and the gig would be up.
Or, he could keep Shikamaru in his apartment, neutralized all the while, and he would find a way to impersonate the Nara. The other variation of this could be some form of mind-control. Given the options, impersonation seemed to be the easiest. This one didn't seem particularly easy, either. Naruto, smart as he was, was not a genius like Shikamaru. Mimicking all the mannerisms would be extremely difficult. Mind control jutsus required extensive preparation, a vast amount of chakra, and more importantly, decreased in efficacy with distance. There wouldn't really be a way to control him properly from far away. He briefly considered using genjutsu, but his proficiency with genjutsu was miserable, and given his friendship with Hinata or Neji, that would arouse suspicions.
It seemed the best option would be neutralizing the man while Naruto impersonated him. The major disadvantage was that it shortened the timeline for his mission dramatically. He'd have to assassinate Kakashi within a matter of days, and escape Konoha. Once he was back in Iwa, he'd be safe.
A kunai whizzed past Naruto's face, cutting a single blonde hair.
"Uzumaki-san."
Naruto blinked. Twice. "Konosuke? It appears your target is in Konoha as well?" Naruto questioned.
"Indeed. None other than the infamous Hatake Kakashi. Is that your target?"
Naruto hesitated, and then nodded. "Yes. A strategist – Nara Shikamaru." Naruto's mind, meanwhile, was racing. Why would the council give the two of them the same kill order? Was he supposed to kill the other competitors as well?
"Finish him." The man ordered. "Or you'll lose." He smiled. "After all," he placed his hand on a storage scroll, and Kakashi's body popped out. "I've already got mine."
Naruto's eyes went wide. He had to kill Konosuke now. There was no other day. Naruto lunged, when suddenly Konosuke turned into a pool of water. 'Genjutsu. Crap. He's already trapped me. It must have been when he threw the kunai to distract me.' Konosuke was a phenomenal genjutsu expert who perfected not only using other senses to trigger genjutsu as well. His ploy was rather ingenious. Using genjutsu, rather than a truth serum or persuasion, he used Naruto's reaction to understand the truth.
"So, the rumors are true. You are out to kill my target."
"What! Konosuke, the council gave you and I the same target."
He paused. "Then explain to me why my father warned me that you were out to stop my ascension to Tsuchikage."
"How could he know that when we haven't spoken even once? I'm telling you this is a set-up."
Naruto's fellow Iwa-nin reached for his shuriken. "Even so, Uzumaki-san, I cannot return to Iwagakure empty-handed."
…
Sakura sighed, exhausted. The Chuunin Exam was always a pain – but this one was particularly so. Even for no one participating, the exam meant a huge amount of missions, bustling, and foreigners. Because many Jounins and ANBU were required to stand guard for the duration of the exam, everyone who didn't participate had to pick up the slack in terms of missions. More importantly, Konoha was extremely vulnerable during this time, so anyone with even the slightest modicum of authority was extremely on edge.
But this one in particular drove her to near collapse because of her part: a proctor. Ibiki's annoying exercises, stupid training programs, endless rehearsals, and "motivational" speeches had all paid off, as the first stage went off without a hitch. And in two days, the Jounin Exams were beginning. She was going to rest for the next two days, making sure she'd be in top shape.
These days, between thoughts of how close Team 7 used to be, how rapidly her life was changing, and the upcoming exams, Sakura barely had any time for herself. She chuckled as she saw the Hokage's monument. She could still imagine it freshly painted by a ridiculous, orange-clad ninja. She'd go up there often enough – to glance at the stars, get a different perspective on the village, or just enjoy the view.
…
A shuriken cut the Jounin's throat, right before a golden flash stuck its blood-red katana into an Iwa nin's chest. Digging further, Naruto cleanly gouged out the man's heart, ensuring a kill. 'I'm sorry, Konosuke-san.' Naruto frowned; he had underestimated Konosuke. Naruto wanted to end it quickly, but he forgot to factor in the hostage. He needed Shikamaru's intel, but Konosuke, given his genjutsu prowess, did not.
Carefully, he unsheathed his blade. The man's dying gargles came out, ragged and belabored. He didn't have time to worry about his former friend. Former classmate. Former ally. No, he had a ninja to take care of. Given the blood loss, he only had a couple minutes before Shikamaru would be dead.
Ashamed, he shook away the thought from his mind. He didn't really have an option to feel guilty right now. Naruto had to accelerate the bleeding – make sure the Nara died, so as to frame Konosuke. That would be his in; yes, he'd frame the Iwa nin to earn trust. It was a perfect plan. Given the general absurdity of most shinobi battles, even an observant medical ninja would ignore some details. He wouldn't be caught.
"Hey! Who are - " She stopped.
He almost jumped. A pink haired woman approached him, wearing a medical ninja's clothing. The resemblance, even after seven years, was unmistakable. The situation couldn't have been worse. She'd recognize it if he tried to kill the man.
"N-Naruto? Naruto is that you?"
"Sakura-chan…" he hesitated. Fuck it all. "Help me heal him. He's been attacked."