The Kage all sat at the U shaped table, bodyguards above and at their backs. Mifune sat at a table placed at the opening of the U, along with two attendants. Ay looked at the gathering and was unimpressed. Children. Two of the five Kage were children. One was an old man with half his body in the grave. Only two of the five existing Kage were actually worth being considered formidable. At least, according to Ay, the Raikage. Team Kurabi had sent word Tsunade was not the sitting Hokage, a casualty of the Akatsuki attack on Konoha. They wrote the sitting Hokage was one Naruto Uzumaki, the last student of Jiraiya and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.

If he'd ever manage to achieve a level of symbiosis that Kurabi had, the boy would be a powerhouse. But power isn't the sole qualification of a Kage and this wasn't the time to learn on the job. At least the other child Kage had experience… in Suna. But experience all the same. Minato's brat or not, and Ay thought it so obvious he wondered why Konoha had bothered to keep it a secret, the only people that didn't know existed within the village for Sage's sake, if the boy couldn't keep up he'd be run over.

Mifune made the introductions and called the meeting to order.

"I will begin." Gaara said evenly but before he could continue he was interrupted by Oonoki.

"To be a Kage so young, things are different now, Kazekage, Hokage. Quite the accomplishment. You both must have been trained well. Except, Kazekage, in the terms of etiquette."

"Likely so, it is why I can be here as the Kazekage." Gaara replied back, still no emotion in his voice.

"Tsuchikage-sama, there is no reason to make fun of him." the Mizukage said. "Please, Kazekage-sama, continue."

"I am a former jinchuuriki, one captured by the Akatsuki. I should be dead, it is thanks to the former and sitting Hokage that I am not. I consider the Akatsuki to be especially dangerous. I requested assistance from all five Kage, only the previous Hokage answered my call. For such a dangerous group, our response has been too slow." Gaara finished

"Foolishness. If we cannot even protect our jinchuuriki how can we exist as an example to other villages? It was only logical to handle this secretly. To work together for such an aim is absurd."

"And yet, we have been called together anyway" Naruto started, "except potentially all but one Bijuu has been collected by the Akatsuki. Absurd or not, the destination was the same, and instead of being proactive we are now reactive as said organization is even closer to their goals." Oonoki bristled at the upstarts retort.

"Hokage-sama is right." the Mizukage stated, agreeing with the logic of the young blond.

"Besides, saving face and prestige are such old fashioned beliefs, ones that have only aided our enemies by keeping us apart." Gaara added.

"But, with that being said, it takes time to learn to control a Bijuu. Even if they have them and have sealed them, future jinchuuriki will not be an immediate threat given the time needed to train them." the Mizukage offered.

"That assumes they want nine new jinchuuriki. A reasonable assumption but an assumption all the same." Naruto countered.

"If they do not want new jinchuuriki then what do they want, Hokage?" Oonoki questioned.

"The nine bijuu were once one entity, the Juubi. The Sage of Six paths separated the Juubi into the bijuu we know today. The Akatsuki may be attempting to reunite the nine so they can have a jinchuuriki of the Juubi, one far more powerful than any existing jinchuuriki could be. Now, are they an immediate threat?"

"Sage of Six Paths? Juubi? You speak of myths as if they were actual facts. Maybe you weren't ready for the position." Oonoki spat.

"Believe what you wish, Tsuchikage-dono, it doesn't change my argument. We can't be sure of their goals so we can't be certain of a timetable. We've delayed long enough and with Kirabi-san potentially captured we must not delay." When Naruto finished the room was flooded with a spike of killing intent, Naruto immediately lifted his hand, signaling for Anko and Kakashi to not move. The other guards were in motion some going toward the Raikage, with his guards holding them off, and others standing in front of their respective Kage.

"This is a place of discussion." Mifune said, evenly. "Please return to your seats." Seeing they had done so, Mifune continued, "Raikage-sama, do you have something you wish to say?"

"Konoha, Kiri, Suna, and Iwa; the Akatsuki was comprised of rogue ninja from your villages. And our investigations discovered some of you even used them."

"Used them?" Gaara said in shock but the Raikage didn't respond.

"I don't trust any of you and I had no intentions of discussing this with you is to question your loyalty."

"You mean like pretending to sign a peace treaty just so you can kidnap a little girl with the goal of repeatedly raping her when she reached sexual maturity? That kind of loyalty?" Naruto spoke, his eyes were cold as ice causing the occupants of the room to tense once more. "Or do you mean when you attempted to kidnap my mother with the intention of doing the same, Raikage?" Naruto had known about the Hyuuga incident but his naive ignorance never allowed him to reach what the end goal would have been for Hinata. But Hashirama's memories of the Warring Clans Era killed that ignorance and knowing his friend and his mother were both at risk of that fate… he did not have a high opinion of the current nor past Raikage. He certainly wouldn't have his loyalty questioned by the man.

The Raikage was rendered speechless, never assuming either of those incidents would be brought up and especially not by her son. But he was a proud man and wouldn't back down, not to an untested child. But before he could respond Naruto continued,

"The former Kazekage and the current Tsuchikage both hired the Akatsuki, that's what the Raikage meant."

"Of course I did. The villages were heading toward stability and disarmament. But to do so hastily was to risk leaving your village vulnerable. Training shinobi takes time and with the Raikage ignoring the direction others were going, the Akatsuki was a convenient counter. Distrust leads to mistrust so if you are here to question our loyalty acknowledge how your goals to acquire powerful ninjutsu was a cause in this." Oonoki lectured. Ay simply sneered at the august Kage.

"With that being said, I trust Kiri least of all. You people seek no diplomatic ties and there is even a rumor the Akatsuki began there." The Mizukage looked visibly pained, even as her hair obscured her eyes. She took a breath to steady herself before she spoke.

"There was speculation that Yagura was being manipulated into starting the bloodline purges. I believe said person was a member, if not the leader of the Akatsuki."

"Even more reason to distrust you, not even your Kage are insulated from them!" Ay barked. However each Kage was distracted from his outburst when Naruto slammed his foot on the ground and a clone emerged. With a wave of his hand, the clone and his guards left. He could see each Kage looking at him awaiting an explanation but Ay decided to verbalize it. "What was that? It's mighty dangerous performing a jutsu in this room."

Naruto didn't even bother to fight the eyeroll. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro would never attack him. The elder Kiri shinobi might but given their recent upheaval, both would prioritize Mei's protection and she wouldn't get involved unless he proved himself a threat. If Kurotsuchi was unharmed, Oonoki would take a wait and see approach and Akatsuchi wouldn't move without orders. Realistically, only the Kumo shinobi would directly attack him and as good as C and Darui both are, if he had designs on attacking Ay they'd be dead before they could put up an adequate defense.

"Sasuke Uchiha is here but Konoha handles its own so I set my team to meet him." Ay looked livid in response but Naruto continue, showing no concern for the large man. "Mifune-dono, if you have anyway to contact your samurai I'd request you pull them back. I mean no offense but I'd like to avoid unnecessary casualties." Mifune nodded and gave a single nod to the man standing to his right.

"I'm not sitting here when that little punk that abducted B is running around."

"And here I thought the Akatsuki were a pressing threat. Must not be if we can end a Gokage Summit for a personal grudge." Oonoki spoke dismissively but the other three Kage agreed with the sentiment.

"Fine! But let's get this over with!" Ay barked, intimidating exactly no one.


"So, what's the plan?" Anko asked as the trio ran to intercept the Uchiha. The hallways were wide enough to allow for the three to run with Naruto at the head, Kakashi and Anko flanking him at his back. They were making haste, believing Sasuke may attack any on sight.

"The boss doesn't know much about his team but they have a sensor and currently she's better at it than him." the Clone said as they took a quick turn that would lead them to one of the open areas.

"How can you tell?" Kakashi inquired.

"When a sensor gets into the range of another, they know. It's a chakra fluctuation thing but hers was much more subdued than my own. Boss was surprised she was there, she was surprised I found her as fast as he did. As for the other two, I can't really say but Boss created me with one intention. Sasuke either surrenders or he dies and there won't be any speeches given today."

"Oh, it's 'Get down or Lay down" time! I'm liking Hokage-sama more and more." Anko cheered. The trio continue to traverse the hallways until they finally ran into Team Taka. Sasuke looked bloodthirsty and had clear signs of having fought previously. The signal for the samurai to retreat had come too late. The area they were in had high ceilings, much different from the hallways. It also had many pillars, throughout. The red haired girl, a likely Uzumaki Naruto thought looked out of sorts but the other two seemed ready to fight if need be.

"So, you came yourself, Naruto? You shouldn't have, yours will be the shortest reign of any Kage in history!"

"Sasuke-kun, that isn't the person I sensed, it's a clone." Karin spoke.

"You were too much of a coward to face me yourself? It doesn't matter, I'll crush you and then all of Konoha! You'll all pay for what you did to Itachi, to my clan!"

"Surrender or be executed Sasuke." The wood clone spoke.

"How arrogant! Your beast couldn't help you last time and it won't save you now. Susanoo." Sasuke said and an incomplete of form, just a ribcage and an arm formed. The wood clone wasted no time, his orders were clear. He formed the snake hand sign and willed his chakra to create a counter jutsu, the Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees. As he didn't need to make many, the jutsu acted fast and Naruto wasted no time flooding the room, sans where Kakashi and Anko were standing, with pollen.

The presumed Uzumaki and the blue boy fell. The large boy and Sasuke both attempted to put up a fight, Sasuke dashing toward the clone. All three Konoha nin jumped back, avoiding the swipe of the ethereal arm and preceded to create more space between them, a close distance battle didn't favor them. The wood clone performed the Wood Release: Underground Roots Jutsu and immediately willed the roots to bind Sasuke. The Avenger was momentarily taken off guard as his defense hadn't immediately rendered the wood inert, even managing to impede him.

This only enraged the Uchiha as he pumped more chakra into the construct, causing it to develop a second arm. Sasuke didn't visibly react to the further development of his ultimate defense, the agony the jutsu put his body through and the attempt to fight off the pollens effects, as it was still in the air neutralized whatever triumph he would have felt for his accomplishment. Instead he lumbered forward, intent on dispelling the clone and killing Kakashi and Anko.

The clone continued its assault as more and more wood spikes or vines emerged to stop the Uchiha. Sasuke was getting frustrated he couldn't close the distance, even more so that his vision was starting to blur and he felt unconsciousness starting to onset. In a moment of haste he forced more chakra into his Susanoo but his body wasn't prepared and the sharp spike of intense pain caused the jutsu the falter and Sasuke to fall to his knees. None of the Konoha nin wasted time, Anko being the quickest on the draw. Her kunai sailed through the air.

Sasuke noticed the kunai but it was too late as it left a deep gash on the right side of his torso. Reflexively he unleashed an Amaterasu and the wood clone countered with multiple wood pillars, giving the Konoha team time to avoid the intense flames. Sasuke grabbed his side, the cut was deep, potentially but not immediately fatal. He knew he needed to get to Karin and headed toward her as fast as he could. Unfortunately, his body was taxed to its limit, being forced to use Susanoo to the extent he had along with his grueling battle with Kirabi meant Sasuke wasn't at peak condition. His chakra coils were straining, his eyes were as well. All this left his reactions dulled, making him barely react in time to dodge Kakashi's high kick. But in his move to avoid the attack, he only caused his wound to worsen. Now he was in a bind. Kakashi was between him and his medic, the clone and Anko were likely behind him.

He prepared himself to activate Susanoo one last time before he felt something grab him and pull him toward the ground. He assumed it was the same jutsu Kakashi used during the genin exam until he saw the eyes of Zetsu and relaxed as the Akatsuki member extracted him from an untenable situation.

"What the fuck was that?!" Anko shouted.

"Mah, mah, Anko-chan, I'm guessing it was another Akatsuki member. Unfortunately, I know nothing about him."

"Neither does the boss. And why was Sasuke running back toward his team when he got injured? Even if one were a medic, they are unconscious." The clone observed.

"Good question, Clone-kun. Anko-chan and I can restrain these three. You go back to the Summit."

"Hai, hai. Oh, and Sensei, the blue one looks like a Hozuki so you might want to entrap him in an earth dome."

"Good thinking, now off with you." Kakashi said with an eye smile. And the clone took off.

"How does he know what a Hozuki clan member looks like?" Anko questioned.

"I haven't the faintest idea."


When Zetsu ended his Mayfly jutsu Sasuke and he were away from the fighting but still several hundred feet from the Gokage meeting room. Sasuke channeled katon chakra to his hand and used it to cauterize his wound, biting back a scream in the process. Everything hurt. His mind was starting to clear from the pollen but the tremendous amount of pain was creating its own haze. He reminded himself why he had to do this, that it was for Itachi and his clan. It was only his dedication to justice that kept him moving.

Zetsu wondered where Tobi was as the kid was clearly near his limit. This was supposed to help him awaken his Susanoo to near completion but progress had been minimal, as the construct was still skeletal in appearance. But orders were orders and he was tasked with making sure the boy got to the five Kage. He sunk back into the walls to keep watch. He was initially meant to distract the Kage but given the younger Uchiha's state, that wouldn't be necessary.

What started as a limp, turned to a walk until he was running again, with great effort. But his purpose dulled the pain, he simply wouldn't allow it to stop him. Nothing would stop him from getting justice for Itachi. It became a mantra, he repeated it with every step. It was his only purpose, to punish Konoha for their sins. Not even Naruto would stand in his way. As the leader and protector of Konoha, he'd have to die first. Sasuke continued to run, his Sharingan activated as to not fall into any traps, he'd been sloppy and couldn't afford to make any more mistakes. His Susanoo would need to be his trump card, revealed at the last possible moment to strike Naruto down. His new Mokuton wouldn't save him now that Sasuke knew what to expect.

The Uchiha steeled himself as he rounded the corner to enter the final hallway, moving at speeds beyond what his body's condition should allow. He felt his body alight with anticipation as he knew the confrontation was nearing, subconsciously putting a hand on the hilt of his sword. And then, at once, his forward progress stopped. Standing in the hallway, thirty feet from him was his intended victim. Naruto was standing there waiting on him. The blond's face showed no emotion and his arms were crossed at his chest. Sasuke gripped his sword tighter, only to be blasted with Naruto's killing intent. It didn't affect Sasuke like his experiences with killing intent in the past but he had to admit it was impressive, strong enough to crack the floor.

What Sasuke didn't know and didn't realize until he felt the pain in his back was that Naruto's killing intent was meant to mask a chakra spike from the wood clone behind him. The clone unleashed a Water Release: Gunshot drilling the Uchiha and hurdling him forward. The clone followed after Sasuke but the Uchiha couldn't pay it any intention as the real Naruto met Sasuke with a Rasengan to the stomach. Agonizing would be an apt description of how the jutsu felt but the avenger wouldn't relent.

Mustering up his chakra, Sasuke planned to launch an Amaterasu at Naruto before the blond could dodge but his line of sight was forcefully altered when the clone grabbed Sasuke from behind and bent backward, forcing Sasuke to see the ceiling of the hallway. In his distraction and anger, Sasuke didn't realize he'd lost something during the exchange until the Clone stood upright again and Sasuke's chokuto, covered with wind chakra swept across his throat. His last view was of Naruto holding his sword in a reverse grip of his left hand, the cut coming from the opposite side. The internal bleeding caused by both Anko's kunai and the Rasengan along with the severed arteries in his neck, nothing could save the Uchiha heir. He closed his eyes, never to open them again. At seventeen years of age Sasuke Uchiha died in the Land of Iron. A traitor, criminal, failure. Only one in the meeting room could see what transpired and he was impressed at the display.

Naruto bent down to his friend after requesting his clone retrieve Gaara. He was ambivalent about what he'd just done. Not because he thought there was another way, Sasuke had demonstrated there was not but because of how much of a waste this all was. Three lifetimes thrown away in pursuit of revenge masquerading as justice. It was all a waste. But at one time this man was his friend, one of his first and for that reason he'd spare a few words.

"In life struggle, in death peace. Be at ease with your precious ones, Sasuke. Let go of your grudge, Indra. Your ambition is not greater than the collective wills of the Shinobi Nations. Let this be the end, let it be enough." Naruto collected the scabbard of Sasuke's sword and sheathed it just as Gaara entered the hallway. He saw the body and understood what Naruto wanted; he saw no need to make his friend request it directly. He summoned his sand and crushed the Uchiha's body completely, leaving nothing behind but faint traces of blood in his sand. He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, the two looking into each other's eyes for a moment. No words were needed. Naruto nodded and head back into the room with his fellow Kage. Internal upheaval or not, he still had a village to represent.