Chapter 2: Decision
Karin frowned as she sat alone in the tree branch overlooking the village of the Leaf, and watched the scene with that loudmouth ninja and his team play out. Those ANBU idiots that had taken Sasuke away were out of her sight, but she could still detect them with her chakra sense easily enough. From the looks of things, Sasuke wasn't in any danger at the moment, which gave her plenty of time to formulate a rescue plan.
The problem was that after Sasuke had been taken a day ago, she didn't have that much manpower to work with. Or, to be specific, she had absolutely none.
Suigetsu had taken off shortly after she had told them the Leaf ninja had apparently grabbed Sasuke. Thanks to that idiot's fight with the former Mist ninja, he was in no condition to mount a rescue attempt. Karin could have forced him to stay, but what was the point? The effort would have only worn her out, and once the water freak had fully recovered, he would have just forced his way out anyway.
As for Jugo, without Sasuke around to control him, Karin didn't want to be within a hundred miles of that nut job when he finally lost it. While he had been in favor of going after Sasuke, sending him of all people into a battle and not expecting something to go wrong was wishful thinking. In the end, she had Karin him in the opposite direction of the Leaf ninja while saying she would circle around and take them from the other side. Quite frankly, Karin would be happy if the man never entered her life again.
But without those two, there wasn't much she could do. A one-woman rescue attempt was bound to fail. Karin supposed she could gather up some of Orochimaru's old followers and use them, but no one she could boss around would be of much help. Besides, that would take too long.
When it really comes down to it, all I can do is wait, she told herself. An opportunity might present itself if she kept her eyes and ears open. Then again, she supposed Sasuke could always escape on his own.
After letting out a remorseful sigh at her current predicament, Karin checked the time, then decided it was best to leave. The mixture of chemicals she had applied on her skin to hide her scent would be wearing off in a few minutes, and it was her last dose on hand.
--
Naruto could only stand motionless. No paralysis jutsu had been applied to him; he had been frozen by the sheer amount of shock running through his mind. The old mummy, he couldn't have said what Naruto thought he had just did. Sakura was shouting something, but Naruto couldn't make it out over the din his own thoughts.
Execution…that man had said execution.
What in the hell was he talking about?
WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON?
"NARUTO SNAP OUT OF IT!" someone far away yelled before a gloved hand slapped him hard enough to send Naruto spinning into the ground.
When Naruto stood up, he found Kakashi still sitting on his butt, Sakura standing over him like some annoyed mother with her hands on her hips, and the ANBU…the ANBU had all disappeared, along with Sai. However, it was the missing unconscious body of Sasuke that finally got Naruto back on his feet.
"Sakura? What-what the heck happened?" he asked while looking around.
The other ninja grabbed Naruto's hair to stop him from quickly looking back and forth. "You zoned out, that's what happened!" she yelled. "Those bastards took Sasuke and left. Sai too, Danzou said he needed to de-brief him or something."
Naruto blinked while the information processed. "But…but what the hell was all that crap about an execution?" He reached up to take Sakura's hand off his head, then looked past her to his part-time teacher and squad leader. "Kakashi, what the hell is going on?"
After Naruto released her hand, Sakura also looked at the man, and frowned. "Yes sensei, explain, please," Sakura threatened as she cracked her knuckles.
When he didn't get an immediate reply, the knucklehead ninja tried again, a bit more forcefully this time. "Kakashi-sensei, what the hell is that bastard talking about?" Naruto demanded as he jumped in front of the tired ninja's face.
After pushing Naruto away, Kakashi sighed, and matched Naruto's gaze with his one good eye. "As Sasuke's teacher, his betrayal of the village is my responsibility. To account for not being able to keep him under control, I will be the one to kill him tomorrow."
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Naruto fumed. "What do you mean execution? We went out to bring Sasuke back to Konoha so that he could rejoin our team! Not kill him!"
Kakashi merely shook his head. He kept the sadness at seeing one of his students become aware of the dark reality of a ninja from showing on his face. It was a horrible thing, the loss of innocence, but all ninja had to experience it eventually. For Naruto and Sakura, that time was a bit later than most. But, it had come all the same. "No. Despite what you thought, this has always been the goal of Sasuke's retrieval. Public execution is what awaits any ninja who turns away from the village."
Knowing what was about to happen, Sakura quickly grabbed into Naruto's arm before he could swing a punch. You mean he knew…all this time… Sakura tightened the grip on what she had on her hand, and then quickly remembered that it was Naruto she was holding, and loosened up. "Kakashi," Sakura finally spoke up, her tone hiding her emotions. "What was that man talking about? Tsunade sent us to bring Sasuke back to the village. She never mentioned anything about this."
"Because we knew how you would react," Kakashi told her. He frowned at the girl standing over him as it slowly dawned on her. "Just what did you think we were going to do? Sasuke sold out his comrades for power. Do you honestly think that such a think can be forgiven?" There was more to it of course, but in Kakashi's book, that was all they needed.
The smallest hint of anger in Kakashi's tone snapped Naruto's hold on his temper. "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! THE HOKAGE WOULD NEVER-" No, she had sent them off with this mission. She had…Tsunade had tricked Naruto into killing his best friend! "WHY? WHAT ABOUT ALL THAT RULES AND COMRADE STUFF YOU TALKED ABOUT? WAS THAT ALL IT WAS? TALK?" Naruto demanded.
"No," Kakashi told him with an even tone. "But, if a shinobi betrays his comrades, then he deserves to die! That is a law of the ninja that I do agree with wholeheartedly." He sighed and shook his head. "Sasuke isn't your friend Naruto. He stopped being your friend two and a half years ago when he shoved his fist through your lung in the Valley of the End."
He had been hoping that the mission would have brought about another confrontation between the two, and Naruto would be forced to finally see that. "He spent two and a half years with Orochimaru, a master of manipulation that not only can bring people to his causes, but twist them in such a way that they practically worship him. Do you honestly think he's the same person you met at the academy?"
Once again, Sakura found herself needing to keep Naruto from attacking Kakashi. Despite his demands to let him go, she simply pulled Naruto close to her. "Calm down. Naruto…there has to be some other explanation." Teacher would never have done this…not this, not to Sakura, and definitely not to Naruto. "Let's go see Tsunade, there has to be something else going on here."
Sakura just wished she sounded more certain of that, and only felt as uncertain as her voice made her sound.
--
The trip to the Hokage's mansion was a short one. Neither said anything to the other. Naruto had his one-track mind set on something, and Sakura knew that any assurances that everything would turn out all right from her would be completely hollow. Naruto ended up storming past the people that called out to him in greeting, and that left Sakura making apologies in his wake.
After getting past the guards, Sakura followed Naruto as he stormed up to the door of the Hokage's office, and kicked it open. "HEY OLD HAG! I GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU!"
For once, Sakura didn't look over Naruto's shoulder with an apologetic expression, but one that mirrored the knucklehead's own. At least, she did for a second, until she noticed the signs of depression on her teacher's face and body. Something had happened, something bad.
When the old woman just sat at her desk, Naruto jumped over to land right in front of it. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"
"Naruto stop it!" Shizune told the boy fiercely. Then, her expression changed to one of realization, and quickly became as downcast as her teachers. "…Oh no."
Naruto simply shot the girl an angry look. "What's all this about Sasuke getting executed? HEY! Are you listening to me old lady?"
There was a long silence as Naruto glared at the woman. Tsunade continued to simply stare at her desk. Shizune looked over to her 'little sister' with an apologetic expression, and Sakura found herself dreading what was coming.
"Jiraiya's dead," Tsunade finally told him without looking up.
The announcement was enough for Naruto to loose all of his anger. "………what?"
Seeing that Tsunade was in no condition to explain, Shizune took it upon herself. "A short time after you left on your mission, Master Jiraiya came and informed Lady Tsunade that he had found the location Akatsuki's leader. He then volunteered to go on a scouting mission, and was able to convince her to let him go. A little while ago, one of his toads came to inform us of his death."
Tsunade sighed at Shizune's interpretation of events. The old creature hadn't said that exactly, but with only one arm, and outnumbered as he was… The old woman closed her eyes as she felt the tears start to come again. Why? Why did I let him go? You stupid fool, you told me to bet everything on your death. Don't you know I always win when something terrible is about to happen?
"But…the old perv…I…" Naruto mumbled to no one in particular. "How did…how'd it happen?"
Once again, Tsunade remained silent, and Shizune found herself answering the question. "Naruto, there's some things Jiraiya left for you in the event of his… The toad waiting to give them to you saw everything. If you really want to know, you should ask her. She's on the second floor, third door on the left." It would also give both him and Tsunade time to clear their heads, at least, she hoped.
When the boy didn't even more, Sakura put her hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, you should go do this now. I'll catch up to you in a bit, okay?"
He only looked over at her with a dazed expression, and then finally nodded after several seconds of just staring at nothing.
As soon as the door slammed shut behind her friend, Sakura whirled around on her teacher and 'elder sister' with a frown on her face. There was still something that needed to be done, and the anger over it gave Sakura the focus she needed. "There's still something I need to talk to you about, and it is not going to wait. What the hell is going on with Sasuke?"
Shizune flinched at Sakura's demand. So that's what Naruto had been so mad about earlier. "Sakura-"
"NO! Now I understand that this is tearing you up inside, but I am not going to let you just sit here and let you feel sorry for yourself when there are things to be done!" the pink-haired medic ninja yelled. "For two and a half years I've done nothing but train, and train, dreaming of this day. Naruto and I did everything we could to try and save Sasuke from Orochimaru, and Itachi, and in the end we were the ones he needed protection from!"
Her anger spent, Sakura slumped in front of the woman and sighed. The crushing guilt that had been held back by her rage hit the girl full force, making Sakura feel as if she could barely stand. "Teacher, you're the Hokage. You have to be able to do something. Please."
Tsunade sighed and leaned back in her chair. She understood how Sakura felt. Sasuke had been Sakura's goal for these past few years, the one thing she used to drive herself forward at a pace far beyond the norm. Now that her dream had become a nightmare, she was completely lost, her willpower had been shattered.
Yes, Tsunade understood that feeling all too well.
The thing was: Tsunade wasn't completely against the end of the Uchiha clan. As the granddaughter of the First Hokage, her family had been privy to the secret history of the Leaf Village's rise, the story behind the Valley of the End, and the secret of the Sharingan. While no Uchiha had been able to use the bloodline trait to its fullest extent since the clan founder, the world would be much better off if such a thing were to disappear entirely.
"This is about more than just Sasuke, student," Tsunade told her. There were traces of despair still in her voice, but this newest crises was helping her to focus. "Danzou is attempting to use this incident to rally the council behind him, and take control of the village. He already has a great deal of support thanks to my stance on Naruto, if I intervene on Sasuke's behalf, I will be playing right into his hands."
The old cripple was certainly taking advantage of the situation to its fullest. With Jiraiya gone, a great deal of council support went with him. He had been the one old Sarutobi had wanted to be the next Hokage after the nine-tails incident, and after his death: his successor. When Tsunade took power instead, she didn't have that kind of backing thanks to the lack of an endorsement her old teacher.
"What I can do however, is at least give Sasuke a fair trial," Tsunade finished. It wasn't much, but no one would question the Hokage doing that. It would delay his death by a day at least.
Sakura's fist slammed down on Tsunade's desk and sent nearly all the papers on it scattering. "That's the same thing as doing nothing! He's a rouge ninja! A fair trial ends with Sasuke's head cut off and his body dissected for research on what Orochimaru did to him!"
A hand on her shoulder made Sakura look back to see Shizune sanding behind her, with most of the papers that had just been blown away held in her hand. "There's more at stake here than just Sasuke's life. If Danzou is able to take control of the village away from Tsunade…I can't even imagine how horrible the repercussions will be."
There was a long pause before Sakura finally hung her head down. For a moment, she tried to see things from Tsunade's vantage point. The old woman truly did seem to have lost her fighting spirit, and Sakura could understand why.
But still, Sasuke couldn't wait another twenty some years for her to get over another death of a loved one. If there was anything to be done, Sakura would need to be one to do it. "You do what you have to teacher, and I'll do the same."
After watching Sakura turn her back to Tsunade and walking out the door, Shizune turned back towards her mentor. "Why is it that I have the feeling she's going to do something very stupid?"
Shizune had a point, Tsunade reasoned. It took about two seconds to figure out just what Sakura was probably considering. Tsunade opened her desk to pull out the Hokage's seal, and a blank scroll. "Shizune, I need you to deliver a message to the captain of the ANBU."
--
After opening the ornate wooden door, Naruto peered inside the room to see the strangest frog he had seen to date. There was definitely a feminine look about her, and was she wearing…lipstick?
Beside the old toad, there was a pair of scrolls, one fat and almost as tall as he was, and the other almost twice his height. Naruto recognized the thicker one as the summoning contract for toads, but he had never seen the other one before in his life.
"Oh, you must be that Uzumaki boy," the old toad croaked. "Well, come here kid, I got some things to give ya."
--
Like every time he needed to be along with his thoughts, Kakashi found himself at the black monument that bared Obito's name.
After he had gotten some feeling back into his legs, Kakashi had gone to the Hokage's office to give his report, and then came here. But like every other time, he couldn't think of what to say to his departed friend, and so Kakashi remained silent as he stared at the marble.
A part of Kakashi was angry with himself for keeping the reason behind their mission a secret from Naruto. While there were the shinobi that ascribed to the need to know ideology that only allowed ninja to know enough to get by and complete the mission, the masked shinobi wasn't one of them. After all, if a man knew the reasons behind his actions, then he would fight that much harder to see the job completed.
But then…if Naruto had known what was going to happen, Kakashi was certain the boy would have told them all to go to hell. What it really came down to was that Naruto should have never been sent after Sasuke to begin with.
Kakashi sighed, and looked back up at the clouds. But as long as he was wishing for a change in history, why not go back to the Valley of the End? If Kakashi had caught Sasuke back then, then the boy would have only faced prison time and re-education in the way of the Leaf. New Genin running off rather than face the hash life of a ninja had been a common occurrence during the war, and ways had been invented to bring stay children back into the fold.
The memory of the mission played itself back in his head. Once again, he had failed to save a comrade with the Sharingan. It was no wonder he had imagined Obito looking down on him. For the second time in my life, I must watch an Uchiha die.
--
Sakura looked down at the backpack on her bed and the shoulder bag next to it. For the third time in a row she checked to make sure everything was inside. Okay, sleeping bag, change of clothes, medic supplies, rations should last for a few days, camping gear…that looks like all of it.
She looked over to Sasuke's sword that was sticking out of her duffle bag, something she had kept since retrieving him from that burning building. Everything in that bag had been a bit hard to get, but a few hours of looking through some of the village's old storehouse had let her find what she needed. The people of Konoha never threw anything out it seemed.
She zipped up the bag, and sighed before putting it over on the ground.
With everything ready, all Sakura could do was stand there.
Could she really do this?
…Could she really NOT do this?
Sakura clenched her fists in an attempt to take hold of her determination, and pull it up from the depths of her stomach. Tsunade's plan for saving Sasuke had about as much chance of happening as Hinata asking Naruto out on a date. If Sakura didn't do anything tonight, then Sasuke was going to die in the morning. He was going to die, because she brought him back to Konoha.
Another bit of doubt slipped into her mind and reminded her of reality of what she was about to do. She was about to abandon her friends, her teammates, her family; all for a boy who probably wanted nothing more than for her to shrivel up and die right now. More than likely, as soon as Sasuke was able to, he ditch her and head out on his own…and that was if he was feeling generous.
So, the choice was living in the village while having to deal with the fact that she had a hand in killing one of the closest friends she ever had, or giving up everything for a chance to save him. Just a chance, no guarantees.
But then, that really wasn't much of a choice at all.
Sakura picked up her backpack and put it in place, then grabbed the bag that held the things she had picked up for Sasuke, along with some extra medical supplies. After taking one last look at her home, she headed for the exit…
…and was stopped by a knock on the door.
"Hey Sakura, you decent?" Naruto asked before barging into her room with his hands obscuring most of his vision. After all the horror stories the old pervert told Naruto about getting caught peeping, he had no intentions of making the same mistake his master had. As to the getting caught part anyway, Naruto had no intentions of giving up the pastime of watching naked girls.
Sakura flinched at the sudden appetence of her teammate. "N-Naruto? What're you doing here?" What the heck was even doing in her HOUSE? Didn't he have ANY manners?
…Oh yeah, of course he didn't.
The ninja in question sighed in relief, and disappointment, when he saw Sakura was indeed fully clothed. "I couldn't sleep, so I took a walk around the village to think, and saw your light was on. I thought you were having the same trouble and…well, I thought…you know."
Oh…Naruto, the girl thought before setting everything down and taking a seat on her bed. A part of her wondered why the hell he had to show up now. Leaving Naruto right after one of the few people that believed in him from the get go just died was on the top of the list of reasons not to go.
Sakura absolutely hated herself for choosing between them at all. But, she reminded herself that Sasuke was going to die, and Naruto was just depressed.
It still didn't make things any easier…especially when the blond was stand right in front of her with the same depressed expression on his face from before.
She blinked at noticing the large scroll set across his back; it looked like the same one Jiraiya sometimes wore. Sakura sighed, and motioned for him to sit next to her. "Do you want to talk?"
A joke popped into his head about Sakura actually inventing him into her bed, but Naruto couldn't bring himself to say it. Instead, he just nodded, and sat down next to her. "I talked to Ma toad…she's the one old Lady Tsunade said was waiting for me," he clarified after seeing her confusion. "She told me a lot of stuff."
Lots of stuff didn't even begin to cover it. Aside from the toad summoning contract that Naruto was now responsible for, the old frog had given him a brief explanation about the giant rollout poster that controlled his demonic seal. Although, perhaps brief was too strong a word. The old amphibian had merely explained what it did, not how to work it. When he had asked her about that, she had said that the only three people who knew that were the Third and Fourth Hokages, and Jiraiya himself.
The there was what she said about the guy who'd killed the old man. That had been a real shocker.
Sakura hoped that he had been told it had at least been quick. A stupid consolation to wish for, but all she could do under these circumstances. "Naruto…I'm so sorry."
The girl's hand reached over to hold Naruto's, and he smiled. "Back when we went on our first trip, and he was teaching me the Rasengan. I…I really started to get into it. Not the training part, but…" Naruto paused to let out a sigh. "There was this one town we were at, and I saw this dad and his kid buy one of those popsicle things that's really two that you can pull apart, then break it half an share it with each other. It…it got me feeling real down because I had missed out on stuff like that. Then, later that day, when I was all tired from training, he brought one to share with me.
"I think…I think that was the first time in my life that I actually knew what it felt like to have a father."
Sakura gave him a little smile. "Hey what about Iruka-sensei, you keep saying how you and him are pretty close, right?"
The question seemed to brighten him up a little. "Well…yeah," Naruto admitted. But, it wasn't quite the same. Never having a parent of his own, all Naruto had done was speculate during those times when Iruka had treated him to ramen. Those times were special, and he did look up to Iruka in that way for the most part. It was just…that time during the Rasengan training; it was like Naruto had been given physical proof or something.
For some reason, Naruto felt a bit lighter just being next to Sakura. It felt good to smile a little bit, despite what had happened. Not wanting to be brought down again so soon, he looked around Sakura's room for something to joke with her about. This being the first time he had actually been in it, he was a little disappointed at the lack of embarrassing things, or even a tiny mess.
Then, something in the corner caught his eye. "Hey, what's with the bags? You going somewhere?" Naruto joked.
Reading Sakura's flinch as proof that he had found something, Naruto looked back at the things. Maybe she was one of those people that just took forever to unpack or something. Not something to be really fidgety about, but then again, girls were touchy about the strangest things.
"That's weird, I don't remember you carrying two bags," he told the girl. As Sakura froze in what looked like fear, Naruto wondered if she would kill him if he looked in her stuff. Then he just figured injuries would heal, and jumped towards the mystery pack.
"NARUTO, DON'T YOU DARE!"
What is it, your laundry? Naruto thought as he opened the thing up, and froze.
A black shirt with the red and white paper fan insignia of the Uchiha clan was right underneath the wooden sheath of the sword that Sasuke had been carrying with him.
Sasuke… Naruto blinked at the image, and the memories it brought to mind. Sasuke, when the old lady had mentioned Jiraiya, Naruto had forgotten all about him. Grief had pushed everything else out of his mind.
"Sakura…what're you doing with this?" Naruto asked with more than a bit of dread showing on his face and voice. He looked back at the girl with an eyebrow raised up questioningly.
The girl sighed, and then looked back at Naruto with a resolute frown on her face. "We both know the answer to that Naruto."
With his suspicions confirmed, the bit of dread Naruto had been feeling quickly became outright panic. What the hell was going on? What was Sakura thinking? If Sakura and Sasuke ran off…No! He didn't even want to think about that.
"But…but," Naruto replied as he tried to find a reason to return Sakura to the land of the sane. "Sakura, I thought you said Tsunade-"
"Look! Teacher does have a plan to save Sasuke, and it might have worked with the old Hokage, and under normal circumstances. But this isn't either of those!" Sakura told him in harsh tones while keeping her voice down. "That crutch walking, one-eyed bastard is trying to usurp control of the village. Him and Tsunade are going to have it out over this, and with a paper-thin defense at best, Teacher is going to loose. That means Sasuke dies!"
After taking a breath to calm herself down, Sakura continued in a much more level voice. "I'm going to make sure to get him out of there before that happens. Just…please don't tell anybody until tomorrow or something."
Naruto frowned and crossed his arms as he looked down on the pink-haired kunoichi. "I can't believe this."
With the other ninja's expression as it was; Sakura tightened her fist. A quick blow to the gut and a touch to the back of Naruto's neck with her chakra focused in the right way would put Naruto to sleep and give Sakura plenty of time.
"How could you do this without telling me?" Naruto demanded.
Sakura quickly clamped her hand down on his mouth. "Shut up you idiot! Do you want to wake everyone up?" A rather stupid reason for Naruto to be quiet considering that at least one of Sakura's parents must have been awake to let Naruto in.
"Sakura-"
"Shush!" the kunoichi ordered fiercely as she held a finger up to Naruto's lips. Once Sakura was finally certain that Naruto wasn't going to start yelling again, or even try and stop her, she removed her finger, and sighed. "Naruto. Just…just stay here tonight. When my mom comes in tomorrow, just say I knocked you out or something. I've got to get going."
As the girl got up turned her back to him, the blond ninja reached out to grab her arm. "Hold on a second!"
"Naruto-"
"You think I'm just going to let you do this-"
Sakura tightened her fist. She really was going to have to do it. It wouldn't be that bad, he'd be awake in a few hours. Part of her screamed not to do it, that Naruto needed her. Another part told her just as loudly that Sasuke did as well. It either was one, or the other. She hated it!
"-and not take me with you?"
Naruto's question stopped Sakura cold. She looked back on the boy. For a small moment, her heart soared with the declaration that he was willing to go with her. But, the reality of the situation came crashing down on her. She couldn't ask him to do this.
While Naruto had been the one championing Sasuke's retrieval the most, Sakura had been the one to make it happen. She had defeated Sasori and got him to give her the information pertaining to Sasuke's location originally. That in turn had lit a fire under Naruto, which had eventually led to tracking down Itachi, and eventually finding Sasuke.
If Sakura had never started the ball rolling, they wouldn't be at the point they were now.
"Naruto, let me go. Then just go to sleep," Sakura ordered in a whisper.
"I'm going to let you do this alone," he told her.
"Naruto!" Sakura replied as she spun around and slapped his arm away. "Don't you get it? After I do this, I'll be a missing-nin, just like Sasuke! I can never come back to the village. If you come with me, your dream will die. Naruto, if you come with me, you will NEVER BE HOKAGE!"
With Sakura spelling out the situation for him, her declaration struck him harder than any blow. For the first time in his life, Naruto was speechless. She was right of course. Now that he actually stopped to think about it, Naruto had never thought of what would happen when he actually got Sasuke out of the detention facility.
…Just like he never thought of what would happen when he brought his friend back to Konoha.
If he went in to break Sasuke out and they got discovered… No, even if they got away clean and not a single person saw them do it; everyone would know Naruto would have a hand in it. At best, it would go back to those days like two years ago, and at worst…he'd be taking Sasuke's place in a cell.
Sakura let out a silent sigh of relief as she saw Naruto slump with the heavy realization. While the reality of what he had been about to do sunk in, Sakura took the opportunity to collect her things, and then headed to the door.
"Fine."
Naruto's voice made Sakura turn around and look back at the boy. She frowned in confusion. "What?"
"I said fine," Naruto clarified. He looked back up at the girl next to the window with determination in his eyes. All in all, it had taken him a total of ten seconds to reach his decision. "If being Hokage means that I'll have to sell out my best friend…then I don't need it!"
"…N-Naruto."
"Come on, we have to go and save Sasuke…for real this time," the teenager said before grabbing Sakura's arm and pulling her out the door along with him.
The emotional part of Sakura told her to stop him, just use her super strength to fling the boy back and knock him out; it was for his own good. All he would have to do was wait around for a few years for those idiots on the council to die off. Then when Naruto's generation came to power, the generation that believed in him, the position of Hokage would be his for the taking.
But then, that was the same voice that told her simply bringing Sasuke back to the village would make everything right again.
She quickly crammed that voice into the back of her mind to shut it up.
Instead, Sakura listened to the more rational side of her mind. So Naruto was going with her. Maybe it was for the best. If Danzou really did wrestle the power away from Sakura's teacher, Naruto would be spending the rest of his life inside a very cold, dark, and lonely cell.
--
An hour's worth of travel gave Naruto plenty of time for second thoughts. While such things usually went against his choice of lifestyle, this time he couldn't help it.
Naruto was about to betray The Village Hidden in the Leafs. He didn't make any excuses, or try to dress it up. In a few hours, fail or succeed, there was no way he would never be able to return to Konoha again. Even worse, all the people he had been able to gain acceptance from would hate him once more.
It was ironic really. When Naruto had first started chasing Sasuke, he had done it because he wanted to go back to the way things used to be. Now, things were going to do that, just...things were going to go a bit further back than Naruto had intended.
As they cleared the forest and Naruto could make out the prison's location, he started to wonder if he could really do this. If he just stood by and let Sasuke die, no one would be able to question his loyalty to the village, not even those old geezers on the council. When they passed on, which looked like it was going to happen any day now, Naruto's claim to the Hokage title would be assured.
Still, in the end, Naruto knew he couldn't go though with it. Sakura was counting on him. Plus, when it really came down to it, Sasuke was the first connection Naruto had ever made, and the most important to him.
Naruto cleared such thoughts from his head as they reached their destination.
"Well, this is it," Sakura said as she looked down over the rocky slope, then turned back to face Naruto. "Are you sure about this?"
After running up next to his partner, Naruto looked over the edge of a gigantic crater, and studied the layout of Konoha's High Security Facility. Just from seeing it from the outside, Naruto could tell why he had never heard of anyone escaping the place; and why Sakura had asked such a question.
Konoha's prison was a small fortress, built at the bottom of a crater with a steep cliff, and set atop a lake of boiling lava. The only way in was a tower on the far side of the pit. Built right on the rim, it had a bridge half a kilometer long that connected the building to the main facility.
The actual jail was in the center of the lava. The building took up nearly the entire island, and had a work yard for hard labor in the back. Naruto found himself wondering just what kind of work people could be doing in this place, but quickly pushed such thoughts to the side. He couldn't afford to become distracted now.
"Do you remember what I said?" Sakura asked as she handed the large duffle bag with a red cross on it over to Naruto. If anyone recognized him, which was pretty much a guarantee Sakura could just pass him off as her assistant when questions were asked.
Luckily, Sakura had served duty at the jail's clinic a few times before, so she knew the basic layout and security procedures. Her presence there wouldn't cause suspicion, and they would be able to get in without any problems. After getting Sasuke, escaping would be a bit more time consuming with Naruto added into her original plan, but still doable.
"Yeah," Naruto answered as he watched the bridge to the prison fold up and retract.
The heat coming off the magma pit hit the two ninja full force as a gust of wind blew across their faces. With both their minds, set, the two shinobi headed around the mouth of the fiery lake, and towards the end of their lives as Leaf Ninja.