"I was with a fox..."
"Mhm, and where is this fox now?"
He removed his paws out of surprise that she didn't question his sanity.
"You believe me?"
"Should I not at this point?" Tsunade didn't spare him a glance while she was busy mushing up more herbs on a leaf to put on the wounds.
"Well I don't know where he is, but he sensed the danger before I did."
The med wolf's ears perked up and she turned her head slightly to the raven.
"Explain."
"…He said that I should get back to the pack but by then it was too late." The Alpha's ears dropped down as his tail remained motionless.
"Could he be working with the Tsuy-"
"NO!" Sasuke jumped to the fox's defense a little too quickly.
Tsunade let out a low growl for the wolf to watch it before she realized what was going on.
"You zinged with a fox!" Sarcasm ringed in her voice with a chuckle to follow.
"Yes I did?"
"Well then maybe you should consider the fact that your precious fox might have set you up."
"Watch your tongue Tsunade."
"You're so quick to defend a fox rather than your own pack."
The Alpha turned away and bit back another growl. No matter how much he wanted to object deep down he knew she was right. He hung his head and sunk into deeper shame and utter lost at the situation.
Tsunade grumbled at the male's gloomy state and remembered his struggle with mating season.
"Look I know that's your 'mate' now but the pack comes before mates. Especially ones not of our breed!"
"I know, I know... I'll set this right and prove to you Naruto had nothing to do with this."
"Naruto huh? And how do you plan on doing that?"
"I'm going to speak with Senbei."
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Tsunade chortled until she saw the wolf was serious.
"Oh no, you aren't joking are you?"
"I'm not."
"Fine, then at least take some of the scouts with you. Preferably Gaara and Lee to make sure you don't do anything stupid."
Sasuke nodded as the med wolf returned back to her medicine.
"I'll find out what happened I promise."
"Good because as of right now if he wanted to do a full on attack none of us would make it."
He left with those words to pile onto his conscious. Luckily the pack was about checking on each other seeming to be ignoring him. He didn't mind the silence while searching around for Gaara. It gave him time to think on the situation though that didn't help. He only ended up eventually getting frustrated that he couldn't find the crimson furred wolf anywhere. He headed off to the wolf's home den to see if he was there instead.
"Alpha?"
Sasuke turned around to see the canine he had been seeking for sitting there on his hind legs eyeing him coldly.
"When did you...never mind. I need your assistance to-"
"Why should I help you Uchiha? You've heard what's happened right? What people are saying about you?"
"I know but hear me out first. If we don't talk to Senbei now and figure out what caused this he might attack full on next time."
"Hm, so what's is your plan then?"
"Find the problem and fix it."
"That won't bring back Itachi's children…"
The Alpha's heart took another blow and he fought to hold it together.
"I know it won't okay! But it could stop further bloodshed."
Gaara dipped his head as if to think about it for second and nodded.
The raven let out a relieved sigh as the ginger eyed him with distaste still. They both left in silence to get Lee and of course he was all for helping. No more than those two would be needed because any more than that would look like the wrong notion.
They left immediately while the pack continued to cater to each other's needs. Upon entering the Tsuyoi territory the grass, trees and wild life seemed to die down as they reached the wasteland part of the mountain.
With no green in sight and just barren land covered by hard dirt the territory looked uninhabitable. Ebony jagged rocks protruded out of the ground as if spiking out of the earth.
Lee let fear seep in causing him to bump against Gaara making the cherry wolf snarl at him.
"Hush." Sasuke hissed back at the two as they approached a turning point into a deep hole in the mountainous wall. Howls, hungry growls and disturbing laughter echoed from the opposite side of the apparent cave like place.
"Well are we going to go in with our tails between our legs?"
"Why would you say something like that Gaara? Be confident. The power of our youth should be-"
"Lee we are both 6 seasons old while Sasuke is pushing 7. Nothing about us is youthful!" Gaara berated his friend on instinct.
"Gaara if you're going to bitch about this you shouldn't have come." The Alpha spoke up as they headed towards the cave entrance in a line.
"Says our 'attentive Alpha'. With that said I'm sure you've noticed that we haven't run into any patrols!"
"Why would they need patrols now?"
Sasuke's question lingered in the long empty cavern entrance as their eyes adjusted to the dark. They couldn't help but wince as the light came back in full force to blind them. Once their orbs adjusted to the brightness they were met with an arena like opening with the sun shining smack in the center above from the open oval cut out of the sky above.
Silence fell upon the place as the three intruders were met with an onslaught of wolves eyeing them from all over the place. One wolf in particular with a small bone his mouth was resting on top of a black jagged rock ledge smack in the center against the shadows of the cave walls.
Only his pale eyes could be seen amongst that small patch of darkness.
Sasuke's own onyx eyes fell on the lurking pair.
"Senbei." The Alpha didn't notice he was growling till Gaara stepped beside him to signal that they were extremely outnumbered.
Other Tsuyoi wolves had begun to surround them with hungry distorted faces.
"Can we eats' them!?" someone from the Tsuyoi pack screamed in an eerie high pitched voice earning murmurs of approval.
"No." came the deep spine tingling voice of their heartless Alpha after he'd cracked the bone in his teeth.
Senbei jumped out from amongst the shadows he seemed to be one with. The pack cleared a path for the larger wolf to come through. He's rumored to be of dire wolf descent which would explain his abnormal size.
"Look who's in the wrong place at the wrong time again?" Senbei cooed out in that taunting threatening voice earning a strange sadistic roar of laughter from his followers.
"Why'd you attack my pack?!" Sasuke demanded over the noise, not picking up on the comment.
"Learn some manners mouse pet! You're in my domain now. As for your question…I didn't attack your pack directly now did I?" He let out a twisted laughter knowing what he'd done.
Gaara acted on angered impulse and launched at the sinister wolf only to be taken down in a blur of fur and teeth by one of Senbei's many guards.
"Let him go!" The raven panicked upon seeing the guard's teeth lock over the crimson wolf's throat as he squirmed.
"Manners Uchiha, manners. You have no right to demand anything of me." Senbei circled the frightened Alpha, keeping the onyx eyes locked on him as he broke him off from lee.
"In fact it's downright insulting!" He said cockily with a rather barbarous grin to follow while he circled one last time for the raven to see that the emerald wolf was missing.
"Lee!" Sasuke's fur stood on edge from the hungry eyes baring down on him.
"If you hurt him I swear I'll-"
"You'll what? Can you count? The red head is down and the pathetic one is missing."
"Why…what did I do to you?! Why are doing this-"
"My son you idiot. That's why." Senbei had a certain sharp tone in his voice when he snapped at the wolf. He sat there on his hind legs and let his large tail swish back and forth somehow aggressively.
"Y-Your son?! I haven't seen your son!"
"LIAR!" The Tsuyoi Alpha roared in fury earning a symphony of different howls from the others mockingly.
"I tell no lies!" Sasuke growled back at the wolf.
"Really now? Pet, could you come here for a minute." Senbei turned his head and upper body to the shadows where he was before. A pair of familiar azure appeared in the black empty space.
The fox himself strutted out from amongst the darkness beneath the jagged rock ledge. He had a blank bored expression on his face when he made his way over through the path made for him.
"Naruto?" Sasuke muttered in disbelief when his supposed 'mate' approached and took Senbei's side.
"You know my mate?!" He hunched down to attack the Uchiha Alpha but the fox casually stepped in between them.
"He doesn't know me like that. Calm down big boy." Naruto licked the Tsuyoi's rough muzzle playfully for him to chill out for once.
The raven didn't know how much more he could take. While all he knew continued fall apart his brain couldn't even begin to process why it was.
Senbei cooled down with a snarl to the trespassing wolf.
"Naruto what is this?" Sasuke asked while he resisted from letting his voice crack.
"I don't know what you mean." He swayed back to his spot beside Senbei without recognition.
Gaara stopped squirming once he saw the unbelievable hurt on his pack leader's face.
"Now Naruto please recite what you told me?" He grinned mockingly with that barbarous grin again.
"He killed your son-"
"No I didn't, you did!"
Senbei acted faster than Naruto could have predicted. He easily immobilized the raven wolf causing as much pain as possible by pressing his larger paw against the other canine's throat, forcing him to gasp for air.
"Senbei stop!" Naruto groaned at his supposed mate's quick temper.
"You do not speak when my mate is speaking!" Senbei leaned his head down to whisper those words harshly into the wolf's ear before jerking away from the Uchiha.
By the time Sasuke got up coughing the larger Alpha was back at the fox's side again.
"He killed your son for crossing into his territory."
"Uchiha you may speak."
"I didn't kill your son! Naruto did! In fact he did it protecting one of the children from my pack!"
"Oh really, where is the child then?"
"You killed him."
Surprisingly Naruto appeared to be taken aback by what he'd just heard.
"You did what?!" The fox turned to the larger wolf with an appalled look for that wasn't part of the plan at all.
"Your only defense is a dead child? Hardly a coincidence. You're lying again!" He ignored his mate's question on purpose. He didn't get why his little fox cared in the first place.
"Then where is Ibuki?" The Uchiha Alpha held his ground upon seeing Gaara start to struggle again.
"Ibuki?" Senbei tilted his head to the side in confusion and clear annoyance.
"He means the little one." Naruto informed with his departure to go get the girl.
The raven watched as his traitorous mate returned with his niece in his mouth by the scruff of her neck apparently waking up from a nap.
"Ibu-"
"Back off Uchiha! This is also mine!"
"Let her go! I didn't kill your son!"
"You've rudely come into my home, raised your voice and now you accuse my mate of treachery?!" Senbei's voice rained down in his heavy profound tone while he stalked towards the Uchiha Alpha.
"Uncle Sasuke?" Ibuki whimpered tiredly when onyx fluttered open to see her uncle backing up. Tears started to flow from the little girl's eyes as she squirmed around to get loose.
"Uncle Sasuke help me!" she mewled out dreadfully and wriggled with all her might.
Senbei turned around to advance on the whimpering child but Naruto let out a snarl for him to not even try it. The Tsuyoi Alpha backed off with a grunt, returning to the raven intruder.
Sasuke didn't know what to do. He just stood there frozen, helpless and terrified.
"My son was a prodigy-"
"Uncle Sasuke help me! He killed-"
"Silence!" Senbei hissed at the little girl, forcing her to look away and cry softly.
Naruto rolled his eyes and took the child back to the shade beneath the rock ledge to protect her. He'd also left to avoid the betrayed and somehow uncomfortable stares that Sasuke was giving him.
"Now as I was saying, my son was a prodigy! I will never have another like him! We Tsuyoi have respected you for all these years and never once touched your heirs no matter how much we wanted too. I thought that would be common sense but I see now that we were wrong."
"Senbei listen to me-" The raven tried to get him to see the truth but the wolf kept on going.
"We should have eradicated you weak rodents a long time ago-"
"I'm begging you to listen to me before you do thi-"
"Three days from now at the full moon we will go to war at the river! And believe me when I say this Uchiha it will not be our blood painting the streams! If you even try to hide we will find your elders-"
"For one second just listen to me!"
", and we will kill each and every one of them as well!" Senbei bellowed his threatening words of death in a malicious tone. His pack grew louder with heart racing growls and blood curdling laughter.
Adrenaline rushed through the smaller Alpha's body. When Gaara was let up off the ground he was joined by Lee tumbling out of nowhere.
"Leave while you can mouse pet."
A gray cloud came over the place blocking out the sun as Senbei glanced up to the heavens. When the gray fluff covered the last patch of light all the three wolves could see were the blurring outlines of the enemy around them.
A flash of lightning struck followed by thunder igniting the glowing eyes as the Tsuyoi wolves started to snap their jaws at them.
Sasuke, Gaara and lee were booking it out of the place by then when the rain began to poor down. All they could hear while they retreated was Senbei's maniacal laughter along with his gang of sick followers.
Naruto was cuddling up the crying wolf child under the jagged rock feeling regret for her lost.
"Don't be afraid…it's just thunder."
