Chapter Seven edited 9-Mar-2010.

Blinded

Chapter Seven - Tsunade Interfers...Slightly

Naruto sat on the Hokage's desk quietly, thinking. Sai knew he would be with the Fifth for about an hour and had excused himself, using the time to visit the library.

"You're rather quiet," Tsunade commented lightly as she finished a general check-up of the chuunin.

"Mmm," Naruto replied distractedly, but offered nothing further.

He was thinking about the short conversation between, Sai, Sasuke and himself. Thinking about the oddness that was Sasuke. His teammate had never been an easy one to read and, at times, understand. But without a visual image of Uchiha's expression, Naruto was finding it hard to gauge his teammate even more. And how could Sasuke be a complete bastard one moment, and be offering to help him the next?

This was one of the tougher aspects of being blind, Naruto thought; he hadn't realised how much he relied on people's expressions to understand them. Especially Sasuke who, the young chuunin thought, had the vocal expression range of a log. Sure his facial expressions weren't that much better, but Naruto had learnt that it was all about the Sharingan user's eyes and the fierceness of his scowl or smirk; something he would never have learnt if they hadn't spent as much time together as they had being in the same team. Though, Naruto thought, maybe he wasn't giving his teammate enough credit…he could definitely tell if Sasuke sounded angry, bored, indifferent or amused. However that was hardly helpful since he had enough experience dealing with Sasuke to know that something like an angry tone could be negated by an amused smirk.

"What are you thinking about, brat?" Tsunade finally prodded the teen again. "I've practically finished your check-up and you've barely said anything."

"Oh," Naruto jerked slightly, startled out of his thoughts. "I just never really noticed how much I depend on people's faces to tell me what they're thinking and what they mean, y'know?"

"Ah," the Hokage nodded, understanding. "It's easier to lie with your voice than it is with your expression, so humans naturally focus more on faces and body language."

"That doesn't make me feel better at all, old hag!" Naruto grouched. "I hadn't even thought about how people could lie to me better!"

"Haah, that wasn't my intention to bring that to mind, but now that you've mentioned it…you will need to be more careful in that regard."

"Huh?" Naruto frowned. "How am I supposed to know if someone isn't being straight with me if the only thing I can go by is their voice?"

"It is particularly challenging," Tsunade conceded as she began to pack away her instruments. "Especially so with people you don't trust or don't know very well. But your friends and team have no reason to hide anything from you."

Naruto hummed noncommittally, causing the Hokage to frown slightly. "What made you wonder about this?"

"Sasuke. He's difficult to understand at the best of times, but today…"

"Right then," the older ninja settled behind her desk comfortably, watching the teen. "There's nothing to discuss about your condition so let's talk about whatever has you wondering about your teammate. Maybe I can help you figure it out?"

"Jeez, you do anything to get out of work," Naruto laughed despite the smack upside his head, frowning a moment later as he tried to recall what had been said. "I don't remember much of what we spoke about before we started sparring…except Sasuke saying something like…um, something about ruining my life and my dream. I suppose he was talking about becoming Hokage."

Really… Tsunade's eyes widened at this sneak glimpse in to the Sasuke only Naruto seemed to know.

"Do you mean…he feels responsible for your loss of vision?" she probed, intrigued beyond merely helping the teen understand.

"Yeah," Naruto replied slowly. "I asked him if he felt guilty."

The female Sannin didn't understand. "Why would he feel responsible? None of you could have foreseen your enemy using such a technique."

Naruto's voice fell rather quiet as he continued. "I got a bit upset after that. I think I may have made Sasuke feel worse 'cause he sounded a bit funny."

Funny..? Tsunade didn't get the chance to delve further in to that rather cryptic description since the teen was talking again.

"But what is bothering me is when Sai came to help me out after training. That bastard was a real bastard! Not a moment earlier he was complaining to Kaka-sensei about not getting any training because of me and saying that our spar was hardly training at all…and then when Sai comes to help me, Sasuke was all saying he could help me because we're teammates. And I was like, what the fuck?! He had just been a total prick, and now he's offering to help me out?! So I says that that's not necessary since Sai's living with me and helping me, and you should have felt that bastard's chakra then! He must've been super mad at me brushing him off like that 'cause his sig was burning y'know? Me and Sai went and had ramen then. I would've asked Sasuke if he wanted to come but he had been a real prick to me. God, he makes me mad sometimes!"

Tsunade was an excellent ninja, especially so since she was letting Naruto's unrefined language slip without punishment just this once. She was good at reading underneath the underneath; and that's what she was trying to do right now with Naruto's heated and often confusing explanation of the earlier conversation. The Sannin didn't know the young Uchiha particularly well, but she knew of his and Sai's mutual dislike. Did the clan survivor resent Sai helping his teammate? But that didn't make a whole lot of sense to the Hokage. Aiding a blind Naruto must surely register as an inconvenience and little more, regardless of their rivalry and friendship. Wouldn't Sai helping Naruto be a relief? But this wasn't particularly important to Tsunade when something much more odd and intriguing grabbed her attention.

"What did you mean when you said that you could feel Sasuke's chakra signature burning?" she asked, pretending only vague interest. "Do you mean as in when you can sense a ninja nearby, or recognise someone's signature?"

"Yes and no," Naruto waved his arms around in an attempt to clarify. "I can just feel what that bastard is feeling sometimes from his chakra signature, like if he's really angry or frustrated."

"Are anger and frustration the only emotions you sense from him?"

"Course not! It's like having something else to check against to figure him out…like an expression he can't hide…I suppose."

How incredibly interesting…

"And you can sense Sasuke's feelings all the time?"

"Well obviously if I'm not sort of near him like physically. And not when he suppresses his chakra. But no, not all of the time."

Tsunade knew Naruto was going to become suspicious about her questioning of this particular topic if she prodded him any further but she pressed on regardless. "And does Sasuke know you can identify his emotions in this way?"

The young chuunin wrinkled his nose. "I guess so. I mean I yell at him about it sometimes 'cause it can be hard to focus when his anger and emo-ness is leaking out everywhere, y'know? Hey, are we finished? Sai should be back soon."

The Hokage had barely registered the abrupt change in topic when Shizune knocked at the door politely before leading Sai in to the office. After a flurry of action, in which Naruto managed to attach himself to Sai and bid goodbye to Tsunade and her assistant until tomorrow, Tsunade was finally alone with her thoughts. She wouldn't have been so interested in Naruto's insight in to Sasuke's surface emotions if it wasn't so rare. Not uncommon in that it didn't happen often, since the female Sannin could name several ninja in Konoha who have the same sort of insight in to a fellow ninja's chakra; it was unusual in the fact that the phenomena existed at all between the two boys. Tsunade would have understood if it was Sasuke who could read Naruto's emotions through chakra, but this wasn't the case.

Such a connection, Tsunade recited to herself, was the result of a deep bond that could never be severed; and a ninja would unconsciously open themselves to this special comrade. Which is why she was extremely surprised to learn that it was Sasuke who viewed the bond between he and Naruto as deep and everlasting, since it was Sasuke who had opened the connection; though Tsunade suspected the teen had no idea of the way he had dropped his guard for his teammate. The new information that Sasuke valued Naruto to such an extent made her think of the once defected Uchiha in a different light. It also threw a new angle on Naruto's vague description of Sasuke's reaction to Sai's aid.

Sasuke, Tsunade realised, perceived the ANBU ninja as a threat. She didn't know whether to find this hilarious or alarming due to the fact that if Sasuke and Naruto shared such a deep bond of friendship…why would he view Sai that way? Unless, she answered herself immediately, unless Uchiha wasn't confident about the strength of Naruto's side of the bond. But again, Tsunade didn't know whether to laugh or sigh at this thought; had Sasuke suddenly forgotten how diligent and committed Naruto had been in bringing his teammate back home? What he had put himself through to rescue his friend? And since when were Uchihas not confident?

"It's none of my business," the Hokage muttered to herself eventually, admittedly grudgingly.

But that doesn't mean I'm not going to watch to see what happens...and maybe intervene a little.

"Shizune!" Tsunade suddenly screamed.

No matter how many times her assistant came bursting in to her office with a kunai drawn, it never failed to amuse the Sannin. Her smirk fell off her face when Shizune's wary expression morphed in to a scowl. Okay, the Fifth thought, maybe five times a day was the limit.

"I need you to do something for me," she explained quickly, relieved that her assistant seemed somewhat mollified by this. "Can you tell me if there are any A rank or higher missions that haven't been completed or assigned to any ninja as of yet?"

"Let me check, Hokage-sama," Shizune bowed slightly to excuse herself before leaving.

Tsunade sighed contentedly as she retrieved a half-empty bottle of sake from her desk drawer. She supposed she could've found out the information she had sent her assistant to discover herself, but what was the point of being Hokage if she couldn't palm off her work to her subordinates? Not that what I'm doing could really be described as work.

Shizune returned a few moments later, frowning at the sake bottle before speaking.

"The only high rank mission still available is a B assignment escorting a feudal lord to his wedding in Grass Country."

"Why is that a B rank mission?"

Tsunade wasn't entirely sure if she really wanted to know. She was well aware that many of Konoha's more wealthy clients would purchase a rank above what their situation required…something that irked the Fifth to no end since it often left her with pissed off genin gardening or cleaning. Hardly work to challenge and hone their skills.

"Uh," Shizune checked her clipboard of information, grimacing at what she read. "There's a note here about jealous suitors of the princess he is to marry sending mercenaries and ninja to prevent the wedding from taking place."

"Haaah, well I guess if that's true than the rank can't be helped. We will have to send a team then."

"Since we can't send Kakashi's team on any missions at the moment, I assume you want to send a chuunin team-" at the Hokage's nod Shizune continued "-and that leaves Team Eight, though they will still require a cell leader."

Perfect. Tsunade sighed heavily as though she had reached her decision after a lot of thought.

"I suppose we'll have to assign Sai then."

Shizune appeared horrified by the suggestion. "B-But Sai is assisting Naruto! We could send Kakashi instead-"

"Not possible," the Hokage interjected, hiding her glee. "He and Sakura have been doing minor jounin assignments. It'll have to be Sai."

"Okay," her assistant agreed hesitantly. "But who will you replace Sai with?"

Tsunade rubbed her chin in a charade of mulling over available and suitable candidates before waving her hand lazily. "Send Sasuke a message detailing his new mission."

"What?! Uchiha Sasuke?!"

Tsunade frowned at her friend and assistant. "Yes Uchiha Sasuke. Do you know any other Sasukes in our village?"

"Well no," Shizune replied hurriedly. "But-"

"Then send Uchiha Sasuke a message detailing his new mission."

"O-okay."