Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I make no profit from this, you no suey.
(AN): It's been a while since I've been in the editing game. I went and finished up the first chapter of Imperium instead. Anyway, back to business.
Edited: October 22, 2015
"You may have the same eyes as your brother, but you perceive things differently. You do not value Itachi's sacrifice. Instead you just throw your anger at anything and everything. You have wasted the Uchiha clan's sacrifice." – Shimura Danzo.
Kakashi's voice was as cold and chill as winter night.
"Akatsuki".
Two men stood before him, wreathed in black cloth marked by red clouds. The hunchbacked one eased forward slightly while the straight-backed blonde one stuck a hand in a pouch by his side. Great straw hats obscured their facial features.
"We have no business with you." The hunched Akatsuki member growled out, voice low and rough. The blonde one hummed in assent.
Yamato shifted, plain brown eyes staring at the two nukenin, hands carefully loose. Sai's hand dipped into his pocket, wrapping around a brush and tiny bottle of ink, his pale face absent of his false smile. Naruko pressed her lips together, Kyuubi enhanced senses full of the cloying scent of blood and oil. Sakura took a single finger in her hand and cracked the joint, steadily going from finger to finger, each popping noise painfully loud in the silence.
The air was tense and heavy, Deidara's conspicuously empty sleeve flapping in the breeze.
A hand rose up to jostle a hitai-ate, pushing it up to reveal scarred tissue and a Sharingan eye. Deidara gazed with disgust at the doujutsu. A long bladed tail shot out from beneath the hunched cloak, swinging at the copy-nin with a gleam.
The Hatake moved, spinning to the side, whipping out a kunai and slamming it into the stabbing tail, sufficiently deflecting it with a shower of sparks.
Deidara smirked, right hand dipping into his pouch. Scattering at the nukenin's strike, the Konoha nin fell into battle-ready stances.
"Get out of here." Sasori growled at his partner. Glaring, the blonde pulled a lump of clay from his pouch and molded it in a single hand.
"I don't think so, Sasori no danna." Deidara replied flippantly, dropping a clay centipede to the ground.
Sasori's tail lanced at his partner, poison covered blade missing the younger nukenin's cheek by mere inches. "You are nothing but a liability to me here." The former Suna-nin spat condescendingly. "The Kazekage crippled you. Now you are nothing. I can't be bothered to protect your pitiful life."
Naruko's eyes cut across from the hunchbacked figure to glare at the bomber.
The blonde sneered. "Whatever you say, Sasori." Disrespect dripping from every word. Mounting back onto his owl sculpture, the blonde man slowly rose and wheeled to the north.
Naruko immediately bounded after Deidara, leaving Yamato calling at her to come back.
Kakashi couldn't spare a glance as he continued to lock eyes with the famous renegade. "Sai." The jounin muttered, Sharingan spinning. "Go after Naruko. Bring her back. Now is not the time."
Nodding silently, the Root member tore open a scroll before slamming his ink brush to the page and scrawling out the tapestry of a hawk. With a murmur of "Chōjū Giga" and a burst of chakra, the painting sprung to life. Leaping onto the back of the bird, Sai directed it after the two blondes and took off over the dunes.
Sasori rumbled. "I hate waiting or making other people wait. This ends now."
"Then go." Yamato hissed. "There is nothing keeping you here."
The legendary nukenin stared at him before giving a minute nod. "Another time then, little leaves." Scraping along, Sasori turned to leave.
"Oh ho ho!" a wizened voice giggled. "I'll admit antiques should be left up on the shelf. But I couldn't pass up the chance to meet my cute grandson's face again."
The long steel tail spun, deflecting a series of incoming kunai and smashing aside a clattering puppet. Sasori twitched with agitation. "If you're going to oppose me, then I guess I have no choice." The puppeteer growled. The black cloak shredded, ripping and tearing to blow away in the wind. A grotesque figure was revealed, crouching on four limbs with a garish orange mask adorning his back. The nukenin's steel scorpion tail arched from the gaping mouth of the mask.
"Will you become another part of my collection, Chiyo-baa-san?"
It was the echoing of steel on stone that roused him from tracing the sigil of his family over and over, picturing his father in his mind. Hinata's time of visitation had run out, Juugo had fallen silent long ago, and even Suigetsu and Karin's arguments were subdued.
Sasuke turned dry eyes to the door of his cell, giving a slow blink as he recognized a figure in red with long white hair. Jiraiya stared at him curiously, spurring Sasuke to hastily bundle his father's uniform in order to prevent recognition.
Narrowing his eyes at the motion, the Sennin gave a shrug before spinning to unlock Juugo's cell.
Rising to his feet, Sasuke watched Jiraiya step over to release Karin before cautiously stepping out of his cell. Juugo mirrored the motion after a pause, following the Uchiha's lead. Karin and Suigetsu joined them, sending wary glances at the Sennin, tensing. The Uchiha shook his head in warning.
Coughing into his fist, Jiraiya drew Sasuke's attention from his team. "Tsunade has persuaded the Council to hold your trial tomorrow morning."
Sasuke ran a tired hand through raven locks, lips twitching in slight amusement. "I can freely assume that Team Seven is outside the village then."
Jiraiya snorted at his astuteness, turning to stalk down the hall. "Let's get out of here." The Sennin called, sending Sasuke into motion after him. Team Taka followed his lead, trailing at his heels with suspicious looks at the shadows around them.
The group was led back through the prison complex, Jiraiya stopping a moment to toss a ring of keys towards the warden.
The warden - a woman this time - Sasuke noted, caught them easily and watched the group with unabashed interest. Or perhaps - more accurately - stared at the Uchiha with interest.
Chuckling, Jiraiya dismissed the interest in his charge as purely carnal before pushing open the steel vault door guarding the prison and slipping out into ANBU headquarters.
Suigetsu smirked at Sasuke, and Juugo rolled his eyes. Karin glared back at the woman before pushing the rest of Taka through the door. Sasuke barely caught the warden's hand dart towards a brush out of the corner of his eye and he frowned.
The door screeched shut behind the group, Jiraiya huffing at their lax pace. Pushing Sasuke along with a hand on his back, the Sennin shoved him through ANBU headquarters in half the time it had taken Tenzo to get him through when he'd been brought in.
Sasuke didn't even have time to intimidate the rookies.
Striding through the underground labyrinth, Jiraiya chose a random side passage the group came across and stopped next to a ladder. Turning to regard the group with a glare, he spoke one order "Behave."
Suigetsu rolled his eyes before leaping onto the iron rungs and scrambling up towards the surface. Karin and Juugo followed in short order, but when Sasuke went to climb to the surface, a hand wrapped around his bicep and spun him to face the white haired man's dark eyes.
Jiraiya gazed at him silently, searching for something in the depths of the Uchiha's eyes before releasing him and nodding towards the ladder. "If you make her cry, I'll kick your ass."
Sasuke was proud of the sheer lack of twitch he gave at the Sennin's statement, only bolting up the rungs in record time.
Seeing the sun for the first time in weeks sent stabbing pains along Sasuke's optic nerves. Blinking away the pain, the Uchiha peered about. Suigetsu and Karin were still rubbing at their eyes, while Juugo shadowed his with a palm over his forehead. Grass rustled in the breeze and Sasuke frowned as he recognized a red bridge arching over a small stream.
As the Sennin heaved himself out of the hatch in the ground behind them, the Uchiha wondered if Jiraiya had chosen this particular locale to emerge into on purpose. The significant glance that the Sennin sent Team Seven's former training ground was not lost on the Uchiha, who scowled and folded his arms.
"Get moving." The Toad Sennin ordered the group, striding off over the red oak planks. Sasuke huffed and tucked the bundle of his father's uniform under his arm before he followed the older man through the streets of Konoha.
The glances the raven received as the group pushed through the streets were enlightening. The first emotion to grace anyone's face was usually surprise. Villagers and shinobi alike would draw away in shock and recognition, eyes darting to the back of his now worn white haori to check for his clan's uchiwa fan in confirmation. What they did after that was varied.
Civilians generally turned smug and elbowed their compatriots in the side. Murmurs of "I told you so" would barely reach the Uchiha's ears as they stared at him with covetous eyes. A smaller subset of civilians would turn away in fear or disgust, whispers of "snake" and "traitor" making Juugo's eyes narrow dangerously.
Sasuke was beyond caring, it was the reaction of Konoha's shinobi force that mattered to him. Genin would shove by his group and guide with nary a glance, most too young to even be aware of his existence. How the chuunin and jounin responded to his presence was worrying though. Dark murmurs and sparks of killing intent stabbed at them, making Taka tense and draw closer to their leader while Jiraiya's face went blank and cold.
It was a chuunin that stuck his leg out to trip up the Uchiha, single brown eye sneering and his empty left socket gaping. Sasuke stumbled slightly, and a hand shot out to grip his elbow and steadied him.
Coal black eyes pinned a chubby face framed in spiked brown locks before Sasuke nodded in thanks at Chouji. Straightening, he followed Jiraiya for ten steps before turning back to stare at his new follower.
The Akimichi clan heir gazed back at the Uchiha clan heir with a blank mien. A silent moment passed between them before the brown-haired chuunin gave a slow determined shake of his head. Sasuke blinked in surprise before a tiny smirk curled the corners of his mouth.
Your loss.
Team Taka plus two sprung back into motion, turning the corner and entering the main marketplace. Sasuke wondered again at the motives of his guide. It appeared the man was deliberately displaying his presence to the village at large. When Kiba shouldered up to him and began glaring back at his particularly loud detractors, Sasuke realized that was exactly what Jiraiya was doing.
A low hum of insect wings brushing against one another alerted the Uchiha to Shino's quiet presence.
With a squeal, a certain blonde Yamanaka leapt onto his back before being yanked off and engaging in a shouting match with Karin. Ino dragged along a reluctant Shikamaru, who took one look at the people staring at the last Uchiha before declaring "How troublesome", and falling in behind Juugo to stare up at the clouds.
Hinata and Neji glided out of a nearby weapons store, giving Sasuke regal nods before Hinata took a position by his side, with Neji a socially-expected few steps behind. The Uchiha matched their poised expressions, the three looking for the entire world like the heirs of two of Konoha's noble clans out for a stroll with a Hyuuga branch family servant. Neji's patently cold eyes made it obvious he was perfectly aware of the symbolism of it all.
Lee burst forth from the crowd, running straight towards Neji with an excited expression before Tenten snagged the back of his collar. Whispering furiously in the green-clad chuunin's ear, the weapons mistress jerked her head towards the rear of the group. The two sidled up to Suigetsu, who watched the show with a highly amused expression.
Kiba snagged a brown haired genin as the boy ran past, whispering something in his ear that made the genin go white with fear before gripping Konohamaru's shoulder in a clawed hand and steering him along.
When the Sennin sent a smug look over his shoulder at Sasuke, he confirmed the Uchiha's suspicions that what had happened was deliberate. By the time Sasuke and his group pulled out from the market and turned to head towards the Hokage's tower, the village was abuzz with rumours.
Konoha's clan heirs and some of the most talented shinobi in their generation had come over to the Last Uchiha's side in an impressive show of force. Said Uchiha doubted their parents would be pleased at how that would reflect on their clans. By having their heirs openly associate with a prisoner, it would appear that the shinobi clans were affording Sasuke some measure of favour and protection. To abruptly turn around in a day and reject him after that would reflect badly on the clans' judgement and conviction.
In the absence of overwhelming evidence against him, it politically predisposed them to pardoning him. And when Hinata's lips twitched in satisfaction, Sasuke realized that forcing that conclusion had been their plan in the first place.
The old woman looked nostalgic as she leapt away from a swinging steel tail. "Still playing with Hiruko, Sasori-chan?" she called playfully.
Kankuro pulled three scrolls from his back, rolling them out before forming a hand seal. "Karasu!" the Kazekage's sibling barked, a puff of smoke bursting from one of the scrolls. "Kuroari!" signaled a second explosion of smoke. "Sanshou!" The wind blew away the smoke, revealing three rattling puppets, two vaguely humanoid in shape with multiple arms, the last one resembling a wooden and metal salamander. Twitching his fingers, Kankuro sent Karasu and Kuroari into a circling motion around the legendary Sasori while shifting Sanshou into a more defensive stance.
Kakashi muttered to the remaining members of his team. "It would've been easier to fight him another day, but since Suna made a move we should reinforce."
Yamato nodded in agreement while Sakura looked slightly apprehensive at encountering her first S-ranked opponent that would seriously attempt to kill her. Orochimaru had simply played around with them when they fought him.
The white haired jounin circled around the engaging puppets.
Kankuro's motions were far more cautious now that he knew he was facing the creator of the weapons he was using.
Yamato focused a seal, whispering to Sakura before narrowing his eyes at the Hiruko puppet.
Kakashi drew up next to the old woman and the Kazekage's brother. Before he could begin to formulate a strategy, Chiyo spun to gape at him. "K-Konoha no Shiroi Kiba!" Several things happened in that moment.
Chakra flared and with a snarl of "Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu!" Yamato's arms morphed into wood before snapping at Sasori's puppet, binding the surprised nukenin with wood tendrils.
Kankuro clenched several of his fingers, Karasu's four arms and Kuroari's six arms detached from the puppets and spun to point their shoulder joints at Hiruko before hidden blades folded out and speared towards the nukenin.
Howling in rage, Chiyo dove at Kakashi screaming "You dare! I'll get vengeance for my son, White Fang!"
Sasori manipulated Hiruko's bladed tail into brushing aside Kankuro's attack before bringing the steel limb down to sever Yamato's wood tendrils. His movements were not enough to deter Sakura, who had charged in with her fist cocked back.
Punching forwards with all the strength Tsunade had become famous for, the pink-haired medic's fist shattered the Hiruko puppet in a single strike.
A shadow burst forth from Hiruko as the frame of his puppet collapsed. Sasori straightened from a crouch, the surprisingly young red-haired male regarding his destroyed puppet with some regret before turning to watch his attacking grandmother and the white-haired jounin she was attempting to murder. "Enough, grandmother." Sasori ordered, and the old woman ground to a stop in surprise, doing a double take at the young Sasori. "Konoha's White Fang died two decades ago."
Chiyo's face regarded him with surprise before growing pained and regretful. "Oh Sasori, it's been twenty years since I've seen you, and you haven't aged a day." she whispered to herself. "To have gone so far as to turn yourself into a human puppet?"
The red-haired man ignored his grandmother turning to regard Kakashi. "Allow me to introduce myself, Sharingan no Kakashi. I am Akasuna no Sasori. Your father murdered my parents." He stated amiably, as though discussing the weather. Pinning the group of shinobi arrayed against him with a blank look, he gave a slow smirk. "Allow me to show you my art."
With a burst of smoke, the nukenin revealed his pride and joy as a puppeteer. "This is my favorite human puppet."
Chiyo and Sasori breathed the name of the puppet simultaneously, one in pride and the other in fear.
"The Sandaime Kazekage".
"This is where you'll be staying." Jiraiya declared with a flourish, pushing open the door to the small bricked house.
Sasuke thought it was rather quaint; something a small family might have lived in. Sans the bars on the windows and the guards posted around the property.
"It's for the very special prisoners." The Sennin whispered theatrically, voice still loud and carrying. "There are even some helmets inside for those special people."
"Well it's good to know where you stay when you're in Konoha then." Sasuke replied tartly. "Thanks for lending us your home for the time being. Don't forget your helmet while you're showing us the inside."
Kiba guffawed as Jiraiya sent a scowl at the Uchiha. Shaking his head, Jiraiya fixed the non-prisoners with a glare before shooing them away. "This is as far as you go today kiddos."
Konohamaru fled as soon as the order left the Sennin's mouth, dashing down the street to reunite with his team. Yawning, Shikamaru scratched the back of his head before sighing at Sasuke. "Watch yourself tomorrow. Naruko and Sakura would be too troublesome if you get yourself killed." Kiba grinned, ruffling the Uchiha's hair. Sasuke slapped the hand away, and the Inuzuka barked in amusement. "Watch your ass, Uchiha. I want to fight with you someday."
Glomping the raven with a squeal, Ino pinched his cheek before rushing Shikamaru and Chouji out the gates. "Good luck, Sasuke-kun!" she called. Chouji chuckled before throwing in his own farewell. "Let's go out for barbeque sometime Sasuke-kun." Team Ten vanished, Kiba on their heels.
Shino readjusted his glasses before nodding silently at Sasuke and departing. Neji gave him a blank look before nodding slightly. "Watch yourself Uchiha. I'd like to fight you as well."
"Yosh! As would I Sasuke-kun! Let us burn with the fire of youth!" Lee shouted, grabbing Sasuke's hand in a furious and one-sided handshake before rushing off to the training grounds. Tenten shrugged, not particularly familiar with the last Uchiha. "Good luck, Uchiha-kun." she offered, before leaving with Neji.
Bowing formally, Hinata gave him a small smile before departing. As far as she was concerned, words weren't really necessary any longer.
As the last of his escort vanished, Sasuke was left staring after them with looking thoroughly ruffled and confused. "I…what?" he muttered blankly, not used at all to the affection they had shown him. He knew he should have expected less hostility, given that there was no record of crimes against the villages hanging over him, sans desertion. And that no one had died because of him this time around. But he was totally not expecting the friendliness they were showing him.
Suigetsu bent over laughing at the look on his face before Karin punched the back of the Kiri-nin's head. The two started off arguing again, while Juugo looked up at the sky with a long-suffering expression.
Taking pity on the stunned Uchiha, Jiraiya set his hand on Sasuke's shoulder before spinning him and pushing him towards the house that they would be staying in. It was very cozy, all traditional architecture mixed in with the necessary additions to make the place an ideal building to hold important prisoners for trial with dignity.
The white-haired man abandoned the group at the door, leaving them to explore on their own. Suigetsu immediately stalked off through the halls, determined to find something to amuse himself with. Biting her lip uncertainly, Karin stared after the Kiri-nin and back at Sasuke before decisively nodding and setting off after the Hozuki.
Juugo stuck to Sasuke's side like a burr, silent presence comforting as the Uchiha wandered aimlessly through the halls. Stumbling into a study, Sasuke took in the couch pushed against a large window that overlooked a carefully tended garden. Sinking into the cushions, the raven kicked off his zori before sprawling and shielding his eyes from the sun with an arm over his face.
Juugo regarded him silently before drifting over to peruse the books. Selecting one that looked mildly interesting, Dokonjō Ninden, the orange-haired teen dropped into a leather armchair before cracking the book open and basking in quiet companionship. He almost missed Sasuke's contemplative murmur.
"Good luck, huh?"
He met her under the moonlight.
"It's been a long time Sasuke." The blonde stated, blue eyes watching him with an unreadable look.
He grunted in reply "Hn. So it has, dobe."
A spasm of pain flashed across her features, turning her face cold. "You don't have the right to call me that anymore."
Spinning red Sharingan turned to regard her. His pale face twitched into amusement as he stood, hands dripping moisture from the glistening stream he'd been washing them in. "I don't remember having asked your permission in the first place, Naruko." He declared, watching her through lidded eyes.
Her expression turned painfully nostalgic. "Yeah." The blonde agreed. "You were always a bastard like that." Silence hung between them, only marked by the slow lap of water on rock and the chirp of crickets.
"Why did you leave?"
Sasuke blinked slowly at the question, taking the first of many steps towards her. Stalking in a circling motion, his crimson orbs never left her sky-blue. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean." He answered in a low tone.
Humming, the girl shook her head and closed her eyes. Blonde strands arched in the moonlight, glittering pale. "You know what I mean, Sasuke." Naruko sighed, slowly opening her eyes to pin him with a glance. "Why did you run out on the war? What happened to Akatsuki?"
Lips thinned. He drew closer, still circling, tomoe lazily tracking around his dark pupil. Sharingan flared into Mangekyo, red starburst written into onyx. "These are Itachi's eyes you know." He stated softly.
Naruko's brow furrowed in confusion.
"He and I had different visions of the future. But now, nothing is really that clear. I don't have a vision of the future. I see only the past now."
The blonde's pale pink lips parted, eyes glimmering with realization.
He found his gaze drawn to the sight.
"Tobi comes by sometimes." The raven warned conversationally. "Never at night, since I warned him I didn't want to be disturbed at night. He tries to convince me to join his crusade again."
Naruko's eyes shone in the dark. "And will you?" she asked.
Shrugging, Sasuke circled again, closer. "Who knows?" the Uchiha muttered, still staring at Naruko's lips. Those lips opened again, pale pink tongue darting out to moisten her lips.
"Will you come back home?"
Blinking, he stared incredulously. "I'm an international criminal, dobe. That choice isn't open to me anymore and you know it. Even if it was, I'm not interested in rejoining the village that destroyed my family."
The girl looked completely unsurprised, eyes trailing down to stare at his padding feet. "I just had to ask I guess. For old times' sake at least." She watched those feet glide closer and closer until they stopped in front of her. Turning her gaze back up, blue met crimson.
Breath mingling, Sasuke stared down at Naruko and mused at how utterly crazy he felt at the moment. Maybe the moon was turning his thoughts strange and fey. He was absorbed in the scent of green apples, and he silently applauded whomever had developed the shampoo she was wearing.
Pale light illuminated her face, whisker birthmarks feral and poignant. His eyes tracked a wayward blond strand that hung over her face. Sasuke's hand moved seemingly on its own to tuck the strand behind her ear, fingers tangling in her wild mane.
Naruko's eyes went wide, pink lips trembled slightly and he was utterly undone. The Last Uchiha leaned in, wrapping his arms around the girl to pull her closer and bring his mouth to hers in a searing kiss. A gasp escaped her, and Sasuke took the opportunity to slip his tongue between into her mouth, his tongue seeking hers. Naruko stood in the circle of his arms stiffly before completely melting, hand coming up to claw at his back and pull him even closer.
Sasuke would never forget the way Naruko tasted.
It was the first of many meetings in the moonlight.
Black cloak billowing in the wind, the red-haired nukenin smirked. "What's wrong, Chiyo-baa-sama?" Sasori tossed his head. "Are you so choked up that you can't even speak?" Crouching, the puppeteer drew his arms to the side. "That's okay. It's our first reunion in twenty years." The Sandaime Kazekage human puppet curled over his shoulder, joints creaking ominously.
"Sasori, what you've done is… how terrible." Chiyo breathed, eyes wide.
Kakashi tensed, turning his focus from the formerly homicidal grandmother to the Akatsuki shinobi.
Sasori merely chuckled. "So what? Are you telling me a retired old hag about to keel over is going to avenge him?" Nodding at the Sandaime's modified corpse, the redhead snorted. "How admirable."
Eyes narrowing, the old woman drew herself up to all her short height. "Even if I'm about to die, I just have to remember the past. I have too many regrets to die just now." Voice rising with every word. "Especially when I see that my grandson has become a villain! You betray the village and attack three Kazekage!"
"Three?" Yamato muttered, sending a sidelong glance at Sasori.
"Orochimaru may have been the one to kill the Yondaime Kazekage, but I know your companions were behind it." The wizened woman accused, pointing her finger at her grandson.
"Easy. I don't know anything about the Yondaime." Sasori teased. "It is true that Orochimaru was my original partner in Akatsuki, and we accomplished a lot together, but-"
"You." Sakura interrupted, catching the nukenin's eye. ""If you worked with Orochimaru, you must know all about him. I have a lot of questions for you!"
Sasori rolled his eyes, tracking back to watch the suddenly moving Hatake. Kakashi circled back and forth, Sharingan eye spinning slowly. Sasori smirked before declaring "I don't have time to talk about dead men to dead men. Now let's do this."
A hand arched forward, sending the human puppet at the copy-nin with an intimidating clatter.
Crossing the distance in a flash, Kakashi's eye widened in surprise when chakra strings attached to the back of his limbs and pulled him to the side. Glancing over at Chiyo in shock, the old woman only frowned before barking "Move!"
Sasori's arms crossed, chakra strings pulling at the human puppet and releasing poison-tipped blades from its sleeves. The suddenly dangerous arms swung at Kakashi before being intercepted by the broken Hiruko puppet's bladed tail by another jerk of Chiyo's hands. The steel tail shattered in a single strike. Then Sasori was diving to the side, dodging a wooden lance courtesy of Yamato. His Kazekage puppet retreated, hands slapping aside Karasu's new offensive with a twitch of its master's fingers.
"Don't let any of his blades cut you. They're poisoned!" the old woman warned the group.
Chuckling, Sasori gazed at his grandmother. "Not bad, Chiyo-baa-sama. But let's see how you deal with this." The nukenin swiped the air, chakra strings oscillating. The Kazekage puppet swung its left arm forward, panels opening along the limb. Seals inked onto the panels glowed blue before hundreds of wooden hands pushed forth, summoned from extra dimensional space. Traveling in a twisting wave, the hands darted towards Chiyo before arching in midair to strike at Sakura.
Yamato slashed his hand across, wood rising from the dirt to meet the rush of hands, delaying them long enough to give Sakura time to leap away before the hands crashed into sand. A cloud of sand sputtered up, obscuring the wooden pillar.
Crooking his finger, Sasori pulled pipes from several of the wooden arms and released a poisonous cloud of fog. A whistle of wind alerted the nukenin to an incoming blow, and he slipped under Kakashi's kick before pulling back on his strings and sending the Kazekage puppet leaping towards the copy-nin, blades gleaming in the sun.
Yamato was preoccupied with throwing up wooden walls to prevent the poisonous purple smoke from blowing across the battlefield while Sakura bit her lip in thought.
Kuroari intercepted the human puppet, the two colliding in a flurry of limbs.
Sneering at Kankuro, Sasori clenched his fist before reopening it and turning his palm in a circle. The Sandaime Kazekage lashed out, blades sinking in and destroying Kuroari.
Kankuro grit his teeth, sending Karasu around the human puppet and towards its wielder.
Sasori laughed, releasing the chakra strings from the human puppet and lashing them onto Karasu. His former puppet ground to a stop, making it easy prey for the Sandaime Kazekage.
Sighing in regret, Chiyo drew a small scroll from her pocket and slowly unraveled it. A burst of smoke and chakra revealed two puppets that made Sasori blink in surprise.
Turning his attention from the now broken Karasu, the red-haired man smirked. "I must admit, I didn't expect you to trot out those obsolete tools. I made those puppets Chiyo-baa-sama. I know all their secrets."
The old woman's lips twitched. "Not anymore. It's been a long time since you left these ones behind with me." The male puppet pressed its right hand to the female puppet's right, and the two drew apart, dark wire stretching between their palms. "You'll find there are a few additions to" Nodding at the male, "'Father', and" Chiyo tracked her eyes to the other puppet "'Mother'."
And then the two puppeteers moved.
"Fast." Kakashi muttered, eyes tracking the puppets as they flashed across the distance, Father and Mother puppets whirling around the thousands of arms that stretched from the Kazekage's left. The wire between them sliced effortlessly through the arms, slicing around closer and closer to the Kazekage puppet.
Sasori frowned before yanking back on his chakra strings, causing the left arm of the human puppet to detach and the Kazekage to fly away from the offensive couple. Another finger twitch brought forth a spinning buzz saw in place of the left arm.
Father and Mother chased after the Sandaime, who fled until it was brought to a stop when a wooden wall rose from the sand and cut it off. Forced to engage, the Sandaime Kazekage met Father and Mother in a flurry of sparks.
Sasori and Chiyo hurriedly slashed through the air, making their puppets dance. Eventually the two separated, revealing the Sandaime's chipped and cracked selection of blades and saws. Father and Mother did not escape unscathed, Father's bladed whip torn and tattered, and Mother's katana broken off at the hilt. The two were still connected by the stretch of steel wire between them, and Chiyo drew them away.
Sasori sighed before the red-haired nukenin widened his eyes at the suddenly close sound of chirping birds. Spinning to the side, Sasori took in the charging Kakashi, who stabbed towards him with a hand wreathed in lightning. A slow smirk curled his lips, making the Hatake's Sharingan eye widen. Kakashi tried to pull away too late, blades exploding from Sasori back to slice along Kakashi's arm.
Clenching at his bleeding arm, Kakashi drew back to stand behind Chiyo.
"That's my special blend of poison." Sasori declared cheerily. "It will take you three long and painful days to die." Sweat beaded along Kakashi's forehead, the poison already taking its toll. The former ANBU pushed away the sudden exhaustion that burdened his limbs.
"Don't move too much, Sensei!" Sakura shouted. "It'll make your blood move faster and spread the poison more quickly!"
"Smart girl." The nukenin drawled. "But." Twitching his finger, the Kazekage puppet's mouth clicked open, a dark cloud crawling from the orifice. "It's not going to be enough to deal with this." The smog circled around the puppeteer and his puppet. "Let me introduce you to the Iron Sand. The most feared weapon in the history of Sunagakure. Will you witness my performance?"
"You should get out of here, Hatake." The old woman ordered her enemy's son. "You don't stand a chance against this. Especially in your condition."
Kakashi blinked away the darkness that hazed the edges of his vision. "In Konoha we have a saying: 'Those who disobey the rules are trash, but those who abandon comrades are worse than trash'."
Cutting her eyes toward the copy-nin, Chiyo chuckled. "Soft Konoha shinobi. It's your choice in the end."
Growling "You're too slow!" Sasori threw his hands to the side. The cloud of iron fillings convalesced into small compact balls. Offering his palms to the sky, the nukenin hissed "Setetsu Shigure!" and the iron pellets launched towards the old woman almost faster than the eye could perceive.
Forming a seal, Yamato gave life to a defensive wall that arched between the two and the iron balls. Colliding with a series of hollow thunks, the capsules reduced the wall to splinters before continuing to slam into sand where the copy-nin and old woman stood, throwing up a cloud of grit.
The dust settled, revealing the two crouched behind the Father puppet. A glowing blue shield was formed in front of the puppet, and Sasori chuckled. "I see you've been messing with them. He's gone through a few upgrades since he last played with me." Panting, Chiyo deactivated the shield before twitching her fingers. The Father puppet shook in place, joints creaking and the old woman frowned.
Calling "I've pumped his body full of iron sand. As long as I have the Sandaime Kazekage, he's useless." Sasori turned his focus to Yamato. "And you are getting in my way far too often." Iron fillings flowed back into a cloud, rising from the sand. "I'm going to attack all of you at once." He warned, the cloud forming into a group of blades. "You won't escape again. One puppet can't protect this many people. What are you going to do, Grandma?"
Iron lanced down, peppering the group with blades. Sand exploded upwards, hiding his targets from his sight. "This is a technique that I forbid myself from using." Chiyo rasped from within her cloud. "I swore I'd never need it again. But I guess life isn't that simple…"
Wind blew away the sand, revealing the group shielded by figures in white. Sasori grinned in appreciation while Kankuro stared in awe at the white puppets, his Sanshou shattered by the attack and forgotten at his feet.
"I'd heard rumours." The redhead admitted. "But to witness it in person! The technique that you conquered a castle with..." It was Kankuro that completed his statement, voice a whisper.
"Shirohigi: Jikki Chikamatsu no Shū."
Suddenly, with a wrenching shriek the Sandaime puppet began to implode on itself. "What?" Sasori shouted, yanking back on his chakra strings. The puppet refused to budge, splintering into pieces and becoming useless. Tracking a furious gaze towards his enemies, Sasori's blood boiled at the smug look Kakashi wore, his Sharingan mutated and twisting.
"Kamui." The doujutsu ended prematurely, Sharingan fading to three tomoe before the copy-nin collapsed to the dirt.
Sasori's human puppet was rendered unusable, and then a fist slammed into the side of his face.
Sasori collapsed into a pile of limbs, puppet joints clacking as his body was separated and dismembered. He didn't move. Sighing in relief, Sakura dashed over to her sensei before checking the man's pulse. Kankuro was still peering at the white puppets in awe, not daring to get close enough to touch. Yamato relaxed before wiping sweat from his brow and staring off over the horizon.
"You know. If you were just gonna fight it out back here, you could've let me fight that guy instead of sending this pasty bastard after me." Naruko rose from over the hill, jerking her thumb back at the emotionless Root member. Sai smiled as Sakura jumped.
"Naruko!" the medic growled. "Help me get Kakashi-sensei up. We need to get him to Suna. He's been poisoned." The blonde's face turned serious and she sprinted the distance, crouching beside the Hatake with Sai standing behind her.
"It's useless."
Sakura froze, slowly turning her head to stare at Sasori's body. Wooden limbs rolled in the dirt, reattaching to the man's torso with a pop. His head slammed back onto his neck backwards, before rotating to pin the group with a scowl. "I'm not that easy to kill."
"He's become a human puppet." Chiyo stated in a tone of regret.
Beginning in a reverent tone, Sasori breathed "True art is beauty that endures the test of time. Eternity. I have become the greatest art!" he finished with maniacal laughter.
"Those puppets you inherited from the first puppet master, Mozaemon are certainly impressive… but," A lazy chakra strand snapped a scroll from a contained built into the back of his puppet body. Opening the right side of his chest, the cavity glowed blue with the hum of pure chakra. The scroll was opened with a flourish, red shadows streaking forth to darken the sky above.
"I used these to conquer an entire nation." Sasori declared with relish. "I surpassed you and Mozaemon a long time ago, Chiyo-baa-sama. Behold my performance of a hundred puppets! Akahigi: Hyakki no Sōen!"
"This will be the finale." Chiyo called out. "Are you prepared?" Sasori leaned forward, chakra string humming. "Here he comes!"
The red puppets leapt forward aggressively, Chiyo's white puppets deemed the most dangerous.
Gritting his teeth, Kankuro glared at the nukenin. Shouting "Don't underestimate me!" the brunette lashed chakra strings at the group of puppets, wrenching several from Sasori's control and turning them on their brethren. The heated look Sasori gave him told him the master puppeteer hardly appreciated the Kazekage's brother messing with his masterpiece. Kankuro sneered in reply.
Whirling through the crowd of swinging blades, Sakura punched out at the red puppets. They collapsed easily beneath her blows before dismembered limbs rose from the dirt to strike again. Scowling at the tactic, the medic dodged between the poison tipped stabs. Further punches demolished puppets to the point of uselessness.
Arching streams of living wood spun through the air, whipping out at any puppet that dared get too close to Yamato or the unconscious Kakashi. Panting at the exertion, the Mokuton user formed a series of seal before spitting "Suiton: Hahonryū!" Water swirled on the ANBU's palms, blades of water shooting out at Sasori's puppets. Wooden chests and weapon bearing limbs cracked underneath the concussive force.
Ink lions howled, biting down on the scarlet figures as Sai painted out various beasts and brought them to life. Black and white snakes slithered from the page of his scroll, wrapping around Sasori's puppets and binding them in place for his mauling lions to destroy. Sasori focused on the pale teen, the sudden swarm of puppets overrunning the raven until a blue-eyed blonde stepped between them. A lazy smirk curled about Naruko's face as she brought her hands into a cross shaped hand seal.
"So that's the way you want to play it?" the girl laughed. "Let's see how you like this: Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A veritable army of blonde clones flooded the desert plane. A cry of determined voices rang from the crowd of Kage Bunshins as they rushed forward to engage Sasori's puppets.
White figures smashed through the puppeteer's red figures, old woman and unnaturally young man glaring at one another. Their hands were a blur of motion as they weaved the puppets back and forth. As Chiyo's ten puppets thinned the overwhelming numbers of Sasori's hundred puppets, she couldn't help but feel that with each destroyed puppet, his control and skill in using the remainder increased. The abrupt disabling of two of Chikamatsu's collection and the renewed pressure that drove her offensive into a defense confirmed her fears.
A red puppet dove past the barricade of white figures, poisonous katana spearing out at Chiyo. The old woman drew back reflexively, but knew she was far too slow to dodge. Sasori's puppet ground to a halt, blade trembling before flying backwards to assault the redhead's puppets.
Involuntarily, Chiyo tracked her gaze to a sweating Kankuro. The Kazekage's brother shook with exhaustion, the struggle of seizing control from Sasori becoming more fatiguing with every destroyed puppet.
Yamato wasn't in much better condition, his jutsu entirely defensive. A wooden dome sprung over the ANBU and the unconscious White Fang's son. Regarding the other combatants with an apologetic look, the brunette took cover with Kakashi from the hail of blades.
Sakura and Sai crouched behind Naruko, worn down by the rigours of continuous combat. "This is too much." The medic groaned, wiping away sweat. Sai nodded breathlessly in agreement, his hand cramped from continuous use of his ink beasts. Even Naruko was beginning to show exhaustion, summoning wave after wave of Kage Bunshin draining her reserves. "This can't go on," Chiyo whispered, before her fingers twitched.
Bursting with laughter, Sasori regarded the battle with glee. He'd truly been worried for a while that he might lose the fight. The sudden appearance of the blonde who seemed to be able to summon unlimited amounts of shadow clones seemed to turn the tide against him. But he'd worn down the girl in the end. And if he was not mistaken, she was a jinchuuriki as well. Which was perfect for him, since it would free him from his obligations to Akatsuki to bring them a jinchuuriki. He doubted the organization would care all that much if he brought in a different one than the one he'd been assigned. A jinchuuriki was a jinchuuriki, as far as Sasori was concerned.
A sudden wrenching pain filled his mind, destroying the track of his thoughts. His remaining red puppets dropped listlessly to the ground, chakra strings fading as he staring in shock at the twin katana emerging from his chest. The blades had slammed through his heart, fatally wounded the only remaining mortal part of him. Incredulous eyes trailed up to stare at his grandmother. Her lips moved, his eyes reading them as they formed "I am so sorry that it came to this, Sasori." His head creaked on his neck, rotating to discover the puppets his grandmother had killed him with.
Father and Mother.
"You let your guard down at the end, Sasori." Chiyo called as she drifted closer, guilt written into her face.
Blood leaked from his pierced core, poisoned purple. Smiling wistfully, Sasori leaned his head back to stare into the purpled sky of dusk. "So I die." He muttered. "An incomplete being. Not a human, but not a puppet either." Cradled in the arms of the makeshift parents he had crafted decades before, Sasori turned his face towards the pink-haired medic.
"There are three vials of antidote to my poison sealed in the top scroll on my back. Use it to save your sensei and your teammate." Blood trickled down Naruko's arms, shallow cuts littering her skin. Chuckling sardonically, the redhead blinked. "To the victor the spoils."
Sakura nodded slowly, stalking around to retrieve the mentioned scroll. Running over the wooden dome Yamato had created, the Haruno shattered it in blow. Glaring down at the sheepish ANBU, she unsealed the antidote before injecting Kakashi with one. Reaching to place her hand on his forehead, Sakura's hand glowed with green chakra.
Kakashi gasped as he was forcibly dragged back to consciousness, pulling his hitai-ate down over Obito's eye. Yamato pulled the copy-nin to his feet, helping the man limp over to the dying Sasori.
Sakura stabbed Naruko in the arm with the second vial of antidote before respectfully handing the third to Chiyo. Sakura bowed to the surprised elder before slapping the back of the loudly complaining blonde's head. Naruko scowled before opening her mouth to shout.
"You asked for information on Orochimaru." Sasori sighed, and the blonde's mouth snapped shut.
Staring at the nukenin with undivided attention, Naruko motioned frantically. "Where's Orochimaru?" she growled, narrowing feral red eyes. Kakashi gazed at her in concern at the upsurge of Kyuubi chakra into the teen's system.
"Lying face down in a shallow grave I imagine."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"It means he's dead."
"Who killed him?" Kakashi interjected, giving Sasori a hard look. The dying man simply looked amused. "Itachi's little brother did him in. Uchiha Sasuke."
Sakura gaped in shock before grinning. Naruko laughed in relief. Sai twitched, wondering how such a development would affect Danzo. Kakashi slowly smiled while Yamato blinked in surprise.
"So where's Sasuke now then?" the blonde burst, reaching forward to shake the man before thinking better of it. Sasori gave her an unnerving look, staring at the leaf symbol carved into her forehead protector significantly. The silence stretched long before the nukenin brought it with a rasp, head falling forwards as he said his last words.
"Uchiha Sasuke was taken into the custody of Konohagakure nineteen days ago. He's on trial for desertion tomorrow morning."
Thus did Akasuna no Sasori perish, one bloody evening in the desert sand.
"What?" Sakura whispered, fists clenching at the feeling of sheer betrayal and disbelief that flooded her chest. Naruko's face fell carefully blank, whisker marks swelling and darkening. Expression filling with anger, Kakashi connected the dots and glared at the message scroll to the Kazekage.
"I'm going." The blonde declared, spinning to face the North.
Growling "Me too." Sakura did the same.
"You can't!" Yamato sighed. "We have a mission to deliver a message to the Kazekage!"
"Fuck the mission!" Naruko shouted, pinning Yamato with an enraged red-eyed glare. Yamato stood, slowly tensing as he prepared to summon Mokuton to subdue the bijuu's chakra.
"That won't be necessary." Sai stated expressionlessly. "I'm sure that Yamato-sempai and I can complete this mission alone."
Kakashi blinked at Sai in surprise before he cocked his head, hiding the flood of suspicion. "If we go back to Konoha without you, it's a crime of abandoning the mission. We could get in a lot of trouble."
Naruko shook in place, fists clenching impatiently.
"Don't worry about it. If it's a favour to Naruko, I'm sure Gaara can fake the excuse that he requested those two stay behind a few days." Kankuro offered.
"The only question is, are you going to rat us out?" Sakura hissed, regarding the brunette ANBU member. Sighing, Yamato shook his head before pointing to the North. "I won't, so just get out of here."
Throwing Kakashi over her back, Naruko ignored the pained gush of air that left his lungs.
"Thanks Yamato-taichou!" Sakura called. "You know what they say about teammates and the rules." Without waiting for his response, the trio bolted over the dunes, determined to make it home by first light.
"Those who disobey the rules are trash. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash." Sai quoted, a real smile stretching across his face. "Come taichou; let's help our allies clean up this mess."
"My grandson isn't a mess!"
Body surging with energizing red chakra, Naruko's strides ate up the distance before her. Slitted red-eyes gleamed in the night with anticipation and determination.
Just you wait, Sasuke! I'm coming!
A hand slapped over his mouth, jarring him from sleep. Sasuke tracked wild eyes to focus on three men crouched over him. Featureless white masks looked down at him. The Uchiha twisted, hands coming up to punch at his captors. Two of the three broke off; gripping his arms with iron force and shoving them back into the mattress.
"It would be better for all those concerned if you did not live to stand trial." The third one informed him, voice carefully blank. Sasuke eyes narrowed in fury as the man slowly drew his katana from its sheathe on his back. Aiming the glimmering point at the Last Uchiha, the man intoned solemnly.
"All for Konoha."
Then the katana lanced down, fire sliding into his flesh. Sasuke's eyes widened in pain, a muffled groan echoing from his throat. The man cocked his head at the sound before withdrawing the blade and stabbing forward.
Again and again, hot pain streamed across his mind. Losing count after the fifth stab, the world went dark. Sasuke heard the faint sigh of "It is done." Before the hands clenching his arms released him. The taste of blood was one the back of his tongue.
His mind skittered away into oblivion.
He met her under the moonlight.
Shafts of light stabbed through the cracks in the roof of the cavern, illuminating the dark with a corpse light. Sasuke stumbled forwards, legs shaking as he beheld a bed of blood. Knees collapsing under him, he crawled the remainder of the distance before cradling the side of her face with one hand. Her skin was cold.
Dazed blue eyes fluttered open, tracking sightlessly over the ceiling back panic flooded her face. Her eyes darted about before settling on his features and slowly relaxing. "Sasuke?" she croaked, blood bubbling from the corner of her lips. A trembling hand reached toward his face, and he caught it with both of his, his hands fire against her icy skin.
"I'm here." He breathed, coal black regarding her with a hint of hysteria. The blonde chuckled, and the Uchiha slid an arm under her head to prop her up slightly. Grinning a bloody smile, she tucked her left hand into the warm embrace her right enjoyed within his grip.
"I never really expected to go out like this." She wheezed, eyelids fluttering. Sasuke jostled her, shaking Naruko from the grip of the sleep she craved so badly at the moment. Muttering "You're not going to die dobe." Sasuke gave her a fierce look.
"Yeah." She rolled an eye at him. "I kinda am." She had no idea why she felt like bursting out in laughter, morbid amusement rising in her throat. "No, you're not!" he hissed back, desperation in his tone.
"Alright." She chuckled, pulling a hand from her grasp to cup his face. "I'll promise not to die if you promise me something in return. I always keep my promises."
"What is it?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Promise me that you'll protect Konoha. That you'll finish this war." His eyes went wide and shocked.
"I can't, Naruko!" his tongue felt unusually thick, blood rushing in his ears as she frowned.
Naruko's face rippled in pain, and she coughed up blood, crimson trailing down her cheeks. "P-Promise me Sasuke…" A burble of blood as her eyes fluttered shut.
"Yes! Anything! Just don't you die on me dobe!"He choked out a sob. Shaking her slightly until her eyes cracked back open.
"Heh," A chuckle "You always came through in the end."
"Dobe!" he barked.
"I promise not to die." She breathed, blue eyes regarding him with a soft look. They both knew it for a lie, but chose to let themselves believe in it for a moment. Sasuke gusted a sigh, trailing a finger down the side of her face. Coughing again, Naruko rolled her head to the side to peer around the cavern. "Where's the boy?"
"The boy?" Sasuke frowned, voice ringing with confusion. Naruko favoured him with a panicked look. "The boy!" she rasped, hand splaying over her stomach. "Go find him!" the blonde ordered. Sasuke gently lay her head back down before rising to his feet and stalking around her in a circle.
The Uchiha frowned in confusion before looking back at the blonde with confusion. He took in the hand sprawled over her stomach and had a moment of horrified realization. By the swell of her distended stomach to the spray of blood between her legs and the chunks of gore that splattered the ground, he knew.
Pounding echoed in his skull as his stomach clenched. Sasuke's hand shook as he pressed a palm to his forehead. NONONONONO rang in his ears, denial and realization warring within his mind before his track was shattered by a soft rattle. "Sasuke?" the blonde called desperately, shaking hands clawing desperately at the air.
Ice slammed through him, numbing everything. He was barely cognizant as he knelt down next to her, taking her hands in one of his before tucking an errant blonde strand behind her ear. "It's fine. He's just sleeping." He heard come from his own throat. Pressing his forehead against her chilled one, he smiled. "Everything is going to be fine."
Naruko's face relaxed in pure relief. "That's good." She breathed.
Sasuke wrapped an arm around her, pressing a soft kiss to her lips before whispering. "It'll be fine. I'll make sure he ends up a good shinobi of Konoha."
The blonde's lips curled into a smile, blue eyes staring into coal black. "That's good." The blonde rasped again. Sky blue orbs gazed at his pale face with love and adoration until the life faded from them, turning them listless.
Sasuke drew away, staring at her body before blood trickled from his eyes. Black fire washed over her body, filling the air with the smell of burning flesh. The Uchiha ignored it, standing vigil until the body of the woman and the boy collapsed into little more than white ash.
Mechanically withdrawing a leather sack from his pocket, he knelt on the stone and slowly scraped the ash into the sack. It was a task that took hours, early evening fading into the dead of night. The moon shone directly overhead, pale mocking light shining directly down on him as he tied off the now ash filled sack.
Pressing his lips to the leather, he allowed more honest tears to run down his face, washing away the dried blood that caked his cheeks. His voice was a pained whisper in the night.
"I think I would have named him Itachi. Would you have approved, Naruko?"
Sasuke would never forget the press of leather against his mouth, ash shifting beneath the surface as the cremated remains of the mother and their son mingled.
It was the last of many meetings in the moonlight.
He woke up with his face pressed into the floor, cheek sticky with dried blood. By all the Ancestors, Sasuke was tired. Eyes fluttering, he wheezed out a sigh. Early morning sunlight streamed through the open curtains, lighting up his closed lids to a warm red glow. The Uchiha felt like he was going to die. But he'd made a promise. He'd fought and bled and died for a second chance.
Get up.
Fingers scrabbled on the hardwood as he fought to claw himself to his knees. Weakened from blood loss, his arm collapsed beneath his weight. Flopping down with a surge of pain through his gut, the Last Uchiha lay on the floor, life bleeding away.
Get up.
Again he struggled, pulling his knees under him. Succeeding in making it to his knees, he slowly pushed up. A wave of vertigo rolled through his brain, making him dry heave and collapse back to the floor.
Get up.
Just you wait, Sasuke! I'm coming!
"Naruko." He breathed into a puddle of his own blood, struggling to rise. The third time he rose, swaying uncertainly on his feet. Pressing a hand to the wall, he leaned into it before taking slow halting steps to the door. Sliding the screen to the side, he stepped out in the hall before steadying himself with a hand on the frame.
Two doors down, a bleary eyed redhead wandered out of the bathroom. Scrubbing at her eyes, Karin replaced her glasses before turning to go back to her room. The girl took one look at the blood-soaked and shaking Sasuke before letting out an unholy shriek.
Suigetsu's door slammed open, the Kiri-nin roaring in anger, dressed only in his boxers. Sasuke stumbled slightly before righting himself, drawing Suigetsu's attention. Cursing, the white-haired nin pushed past the stunned Karin to search the bathroom for medical supplies.
Shaken from her stupor, the redhead dashed the distance to Sasuke. Rolling up her sleeves to reveal bite scars, Karin was just beginning to offer her arm to the Uchiha when Juugo rounded the corner. A panicked expression slid onto his face and the orange-haired man leapt the distance, crossing it in a flash. Steadying the shaking Uchiha with a hand on his back, Juugo looked into Sasuke's room with a murderous expression.
"Here Sasuke-kun. Bite me." Sasuke immediately complied, sinking his teeth into the skin of her arm. Karin involuntarily winced, watching as the Uchiha lit up with a faint green shroud of chakra. Several of his cuts steamed closed, rapid cell division stimulated by the healing chakra. The effects of the healing bite faded more quickly than it should have, and Karin collapsed before being scooped up by and entirely silent Suigetsu.
"I can't heal it all." The redhead wheezed. "My chakra has been sealed." Sasuke straightened before tearing his blood soaked haori off. "It's fine." He stated. "You've healed anything that was life threatening." Juugo sighed in relief before taking a roll of bandages from the occupied Kiri-nin. "Have a quick shower, and then I'll wrap you up."
Sasuke nodded in assent before striding down to the bathroom. "Thank you, Karin." He called as an afterthought before stepping into the bathroom. The redhead smiled before Suigetsu snorted. The two glared at each other, though it was far less heated than usual.
The hot water stung his cuts, washing the blood away to cloud at the bottom of the shower and slowly drain away. Involuntarily wincing as he quickly ran a bar of soap over his wounds, he leaned his forehead against the shower wall. He hadn't been expecting an assassination attempt, and the list of culprits was reasonable motive and capability was not large. The Hokage, one of the council members, or a group of shinobi with a grudge. Of the three, he deemed one man more likely than the rest. Shimura Danzo.
That he'd been stabbed so many times and survived was suspicious enough. It could have simply been an accident of fate, but Sasuke had long ago stopped believing in coincidences. There was some greater plot afoot.
Turning off the blast of water with a sigh, the Uchiha dried himself off with a fluffy white towel. The towel quickly stained with his blood before he wrapped it around his waist. Stepping out into the cold hallway, he padded back down to his room before slipping inside. Juugo was waiting, and quickly wrapped bandages around his wounded torso. Silently frowning in concern, the orange-haired man stepped out to allow him to dress in privacy. The stained towel dropped to the floor, leaving Sasuke to shiver in the cold naked for a moment before he threw on his father's uniform.
Sasuke idly wondered if Itachi had allowed the coup to succeed, and given his brother's illness, if he might've ended up dressed in his father's clothes eventually anyway.
Gliding back into the hallway, he found the members of Taka hastily dressed and waiting for him. "I think you should go to the hospital Sasuke." Juugo rumbled, worry evident in his expression. Karin offered her vocal agreement while Suigetsu looked to the side and grunted "You should."
The Uchiha's hand slashed through the air, silencing the three. "I will not." He declared. Continuing at the rebellious looks they sported "I cannot afford to show weakness at this critical juncture. I must maintain the political momentum I garnered yesterday when the clan heirs rallied in my favour."
"Come." He decided. "It is enough for now."
"We are gathered today to discuss the crimes of one Uchiha Sasuke, nukenin of Konohagakure." Tsunade recited the tiredness of reading from a script evident.
Sasuke sunk into his chair, inwardly smirking at the burst of mutterings that accompanied that appearance of the Konoha Military Police Force uniform and the nostalgic black jacket of the Uchiha Clan Head. The room was arrayed with him in the center and a semi-circle of judges stretched from edge to edge of his vision.
The three members of the Hokage's Inner Council sat directly before him; Danzo's face was blank with Homura and Koharu mirroring him. Sasuke ignored the familiar burn of hate in his chest and only smiled mockingly at Danzo before raising his chin to stare the Hokage who sat on a raised dais.
"So gathered we sit in judgement: The Council of Konoha, the Jounin Commander, and the Hokage. Speak in affirmative if you sit in judgement, or declare your proxy." Taking a deep breath, Tsunade took up a brush to mark the responses for the purpose of the record.
"Representative of the Aburame Clan?"
"Clan Head Aburame Shibi present in judgement, Hokage-sama." A man in dark glasses and a high-collared outfit replied, spiked black hair and thin moustache evident.
"Representative of the Akimichi Clan?"
"Clan Head Akimichi Chouza present in judgement, Hokage-sama." The portly, spiky red-haired man answered, samurai outfit stretched around his frame. He quietly munched on a cookie, staring unreadably at Sasuke.
"Representative of the Hyuuga Clan?"
"Clan Head Hyuuga Hiashi present in judgement, Hokage-sama." Hiashi murmured, regarding Sasuke with a carefully emotionless façade. He could see the slight hint of pity in the man's eyes though, and the Uchiha knew that it would be to his advantage to play on it.
"Representative of the Inuzuka Clan?"
"Clan Head Inuzuka Tsume present in judgement, Hokage-sama." A feral woman barked, scratching her one-eyed canine companion behind the ears. Kiba's mother looked remarkably like her son, down to the red fang tattoos inked into her cheeks.
"Representative of the Nara Clan?"
"Clan Head Nara Shikaku present in judgement in both my capacities as Clan Head and Jounin Commander, Hokage-sama." Shikamaru's father drawled, the lazy man's scars stretching across his features as he leaned back in his chair to stare at the ceiling.
"Representative of the Sarutobi Clan?"
"Jounin Sarutobi Asuma present in judgement in lieu of the currently underage clan heir, Hokage-sama." Grinning cheerfully at Sasuke, the man mimed vomiting. Sasuke repressed a glare before taking in other clan heads. The man was annoying, but more likely than not on Sasuke's side.
"I, Senju Tsunade sit in judgement as the last of my clan in addition to my duties as Hokage." Tsunade uttered, marking down another tick on the record before continuing down the list.
"In terms of lack of representatives and conflict of interest in this case-" the blonde Hokage began before Sasuke cut her off.
"Clan Head Uchiha Sasuke present as the defendant, Hokage-sama." His voice clear in the silent courtroom. Asuma sent him an amused look while the Inner Council regarded him with disapproval. Chouza paused with a cookie halfway to his mouth, mimicking the rest of the individuals in the room in staring at the Hokage.
Tsunade's blank brown eyes stared into Sasuke's equally blank black ones. Hey eye tracked over his form, absorbing the way he filled in his father's uniform. The room hung on the moment, fully aware of the history of enmity between their two clans. Finally, the blonde gave a sharp nod and ticked something off on her record.
"So recognized."
Koharu sputtered in outrage before Danzo set his hand on her shoulder and sent her a slow shake of the head. Homura readjusted his glasses in false nonchalance.
"Representative of the Yamanaka Clan?"
"Clan Head Yamanaka Inoichi present as Chief Interrogator. I delegate my voice in judgement to the Head of the Akimichi Clan, as is historical diction." A tall blonde man strode up to Sasuke's shoulder, voice reverberating clearly. Blue-green eyes tracked to stare down at Sasuke.
"Mitokado Homura, Advisor to the Hokage?"
"Present and sitting in judgement, Hokage-sama." The elderly man with glasses peered at the Uchiha, stroking his beard in thought.
"Utatane Koharu, Advisor to the Hokage?"
"Present and sitting in judgement, Hokage-sama." The old woman sighed, watching Sasuke through narrow eyes.
"Shimura Danzo, Advisor to the Hokage?"
"Present and sitting in judgement, Hokage-sama." Danzo rumbled out. His single visible eye met Sasuke's ice cold stare unflinchingly.
"All are present and accounted for." The Hokage declared. "Yamanaka-dono, if you would." Inoichi formed a series of hand seals with a quick nod, before his left hand lit up with a blue shroud. Setting the chakra wreathed hand on Sasuke's head; he turned to face the Hokage's dais. The Yamanaka's lie-detecting technique stretched over Sasuke's brain, settling into place.
"Introduce yourself for the record, Uchiha-dono." Tsunade ordered, watching Sasuke closely.
"Introduce myself?" he murmured, voice loud in the quiet room. A flare of dark amusement rolled up from his stomach as the Uchiha stared back at the blonde. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan," he parroted his words from yesteryear when Team Seven had just formed, amusement colouring his voice.
Several of the clan heads looked indulgently entertained. His voice went abruptly cold as an orange mask flashed through his mind. Tracking his gaze down to stare at Danzo, he rose his chin and finished chillingly "and kill a certain man."
"Truth." Inoichi stated, surprised at the cold certainty that rung in the last statement.
"You stand accused of treason against Konohagakure. Records of defection to Otogakure indicate you wished to serve Orochimaru. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty." He stated firmly.
"Truth." The Yamanaka confirmed his belief in the statement.
"I hardly consider myself a servant of Orochimaru, considering I later went on to kill the man and confiscate his files to send them to Konoha."
"Truth."
A low hush of murmurs rose at the statement, and Sasuke was honestly surprised that they were mostly of shock. Evidently Tsunade and Asuma had failed to share that tidbit of information with the Council at large. Only the Hokage's Advisors looked unruffled, Danzo likely being informed by his spies and going on to inform his colleagues.
"You wish to state that you went to Otogakure for the express purpose of killing nukenin Orochimaru and stealing his research for the benefit of Konoha?" Tsunade questioned.
"No, simply that I am not and never was that man's servant." After all, a student is far different than a servant.
"Truth."
"Very well. You stand accused of treason against Konohagakure. Records of your defection indicate that you wished to gain power to revenge your clan. Is this true?"
Sasuke noticed the lack of question regarding innocence immediately. Tsunade's face was as blank and cold as ever, but the Uchiha had the feeling that the Senju didn't wish to see him buried in a shallow grave, despite personal disagreements.
"That is true."
"Truth."
"Explain." The Hokage ordered.
"As this council is well aware, when I was a child my elder brother destroyed our entire clan down to leaving me the last member in the village. I grew up hating my brother and wishing to avenge my family on him. When Orochimaru offered me the chance to train under him, and I, frustrated by my lack of progress within the walls of Konoha, accepted his offer."
"Truth."
"So you were motivated by gaining revenge?" Several frowns had begun to crawl over the faces of his judges, and Sasuke knew the moment was leaning away from him. He shrugged.
"Itachi made it a point of his life to psychologically torture and scar me every time we met since the massacre. Even as a child, I was mentally scarred. Having received little to no psychological counselling as should have been provided to me within Konoha, is it so surprising what happened is what happened?" the Uchiha questioned rhetorically, purposely phrasing his statement to exclude Itachi's actions under Kabuto's Edo Tensei.
"Truth." Inoichi confirmed, the man's face squirming with the sense of shame that was evident to different degrees on the faces of the Clan Heads. Sasuke grinned inwardly as favour of the court swung back into his favour.
"So it is your life's ambition to kill Itachi?"
"It is not."
"Truth."
Frowning in confusion, Tsunade leaned forward slightly. "You declared that you wished to kill someone before going on to state your entire life was motivated by your intention to kill the man who betrayed you."
"Itachi has never betrayed me." Sasuke's statement slackening the faces of his judges with shock.
"Truth." Inoichi mumbled, caught up in his own surprise.
"This man killed your entire family and destroyed your life, how is that not betrayal?" Tsunade muttered rhetorically, cocking a curious brow at the raven.
"Ah." Sasuke hummed as he leaned to the side to prop his cheek on an open palm. The picture of relaxation. A poisonous smile twisted his lips, eyes lighting in morbid amusement.
"Well, allow me to tell you a story about the Kyuubi no Youko, the Uchiha clan, and the Konoha Council."
Voice toxically sweet, he began. "Once upon a time there was a very big, very bad demon that attacked the village. After the Yondaime Hokage heroically defeated the Kyuubi, the Sandaime Hokage took up his post again."
"Truth." Inoichi sputtered, looking disoriented. His expression was present at varying levels among Sasuke's judges. Hiashi was the most stoic, only quirking his eyebrows in question.
"Yet all the people of the village were confused."Why did this happen?" they asked. So the Hokage's personal advisors decided they were going to investigate the matter." Sasuke nodded with fake seriousness. "After spending a very short time thinking it over, they decided they were going to believe what was for all they knew, purely historical fantasy about a relationship between the Kyuubi and the Sharingan. So what did they do?" Clapping his slowly, his expression entirely false glee, Sasuke finished in a hiss. "You guessed it! They decided they were going to lock all the Uchiha up in their compound like a bunch of animals!"
"Truth." Ino's father breathed, staring at the Inner Council in shock. Even Tsunade's face was twisted in surprise as she drilled a hole through the back of Danzo's head with her eyes.
"Now Uchiha Fugaku was not very pleased with this development as you can imagine. For six years, he argued and pleaded with the Hokage's Advisors. 'We had nothing to do with it!' he said. 'You have no proof that the Sharingan could do something as mystical as control a bijuu'. 'What happened to justice?' Yet the Council ignored him, until he finally grew desperate and said 'I do not want my sons to grow up in a village where they are treated as second class citizens because of ignorant bias.' So he called together the men and women of his clan and told them that they must overthrow the Hokage. Only then would they be permitted to have equal rights like any other citizen in Konoha."
"Truth."
"Once the Sandaime Hokage learned of the coup, he was very eager to negotiate with the Uchiha clan. And Uchiha Fugaku was very eager to negotiate with him. He wasn't a traitor after all; he simply wanted a better world for his children. The Hokage and the Clan negotiated, yet a certain group of advisors continuously blocked every compromise they could come up with. They had made their restrictions and by the Will of Fire, they were going to stick to them."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's personal diary had been very enlightening in regards to the circumstances surrounding the downfall of his clan. It was one of the very few reasons that Sasuke had been glad to become the Hokage.
"Truth."
"Eventually, time ran out.'This can't go on forever' Fugaku cried. And the Hokage's Advisors agreed. So Shimura Danzo summoned Uchiha Itachi before him, and gave him his final order. After much discussion by themselves, the Advisors to the Hokage decided to order in the name of the Sandaime Hokage for ANBU Captain Uchiha Itachi - a boy of thirteen - to murder his entire family."
"…Truth." A croak.
Instant pandemonium.
"Hokage-sama, this is outrageous!"
"What right-"
"Completely unnecessary!"
"Silence!" Tsunade roared, leaning back in her seat. The blonde's face was composed, but Sasuke could see the slight tremor in her fingertips. He knew the rest of the room could see it too.
"Continue." She whispered.
"But of course, Itachi loved his little brother very much. So he lied to Sasuke and told him that he had acted alone. He accepted disgrace in the place of honor, and hate in the place of love. And despite that, Itachi would likely die with a smile on his face. Because he had done what he thought he needed to make Sasuke strong and protect him from the elders."
"Truth."
"The last thing Itachi did before fleeing the village was to go down on his knees before the Hokage and plead for his little brother's life. He was shocked to discover that the Hokage had given no order to exterminate his clan at all, and that he had been blatantly lied to by the Hokage's Advisors. Nonetheless, Sarutobi Hiruzen promised to protect Itachi's brother. "
"Truth."
"Yet eventually the Sandaime died, leaving Sasuke unprotected. So Itachi returned to Konoha, warning the Council 'I am alive. And if you touch my brother I will spill any and all Konoha secrets I know to rival nations.' And so Sasuke was safe, for a time."
"Truth."
"So I ask you, Council of Konoha. Whom was it that betrayed whom? Did I, in my own pain and loss, betray the village by defecting from it? Or did Konoha, in allowing and perpetuating a gross injustice against everyone in my family, betray me?"
Furious coal black eyes stared murderously forward at the Inner Council. Koharu and Homura were stunned speechless. Danzo opened his visible eye before leaning forward to stare coolly back.
"The fact that Itachi told you such secrets makes him a traitor to Konoha."
"Don't talk you about Itachi!" Sasuke roared, rising to his feet. Inoichi's right arm came up to clench at his shoulder, holding him back. The heads of Konoha's clans tensed, but didn't look entirely sure as to who they should be prepared to fight.
"No!" he spat. "Let's talk about you, Shimura Danzo. Let's talk about the actions you've taken in regards to one of Konoha's two founding clans. Let's talk about what you've done to one of Konoha's four noble clans."
"I have only ever done what is necessary for the protection of Konoha." The elder defended, unable to respond to the authority of heritage Sasuke was drawing on.
The Uchiha choked in rage. "What was necessary?" His voice deepened to a dangerous snarl as he clenched his fists. Sasuke was repressing the instinct that hammered in the back of his mind. You killed him before, you can do it again.
"Is that so? Tell me then, Honoured Elder!" Sasuke made a sarcastic growl. "How necessary was it for you to harvest the doujutsu of my family for your personal use? I hear cousin Shisui's eye works especially well, seeing as how that was the one you implanted in your right socket. It holds the place of honour! The other ten merely wallow in your right arm!"
"Truth."
Hiashi gave a visible start, Byakugan activating as his shot his focus toward the bandaged man. The shock and disgust on his face, flooded into sudden hostility, hand coming up to brush along his forehead where a Branch Family seal would have been located if he was a Branch Hyuuga member. "How necessary was it for you to order for the death of every man, woman, and child in my clan? Not just the conspirators and not just the adults. But every single person, including me?"
"Truth."
Pointing his finger towards the blonde Hokage, who frowned in surprise before tensing in expectation of a barb her way. What came next shook the woman to the core.
"How necessary was it for you to play around with the grave of Senju Hashirama, the Shodai Hokage, Tsunade's grandfather, making deals with Orochimaru, so you could have some of his cells for your personal use?"
"Truth."
"No." Sasuke decided lowly. "We're not going to talk about how necessary what you did was while we sit here in judgement of me. Shimura Danzo! I name you child-slayer and desecrator! Traitor and murderer!" The Uchiha declared, voice rising with every word to end in a ringing shout:
"How dare you judge me!"
Her feet hurt. Her lungs burned and her eyes ached. She wondered if her feet were bleeding. But that didn't matter, since she was home and nothing was going to stop her from finding him. Sakura and Kakashi had fallen behind, blocked by desperate Chuunin who had likely been warned on who to specifically keep away from the courtroom.
Naruko leapt around one man's outstretched arms, feet pounding along the wall as she ran along the horizontal surface. She was so close, she knew. Spying a set of double doors at the end of the hall, she lowered her shoulder and charged through.
The door burst inward, startling the individuals gathered within. A bunch of stuffy adults were arrayed in a half circle, Tsunade-baa-chan sitting on some sort of gimmicky throne. Sending her a look of pure betrayal, the blonde knew the Hokage got the message by how she went milk-pale. Eyes darting about the room, she took in a tall blond-haired man that stood in the center who had a hand on his head.
Darting across the room, Naruko launched herself at Sasuke. Throwing herself at the raven, the two collapsed back in the chair with a loud whoosh of air from Sasuke. The Uchiha found himself going from a moment of confrontation to a moment with a very energetic blonde girl in his lap. Naruko grinned in amusement before freezing at his smell in her nose. Lightning and forest and the cloying smell of his blood.
Naruko went from energetic to territorial in a flash of red eyes, clawed hand slashing at Inoichi automatically. The man withdrew in a hurry, watching the red eyed blonde warily. Frantic fingers touched over his face, tracing around a black ink seal that she knew did not belong, before slipping into his shirt from below with absolutely no regard for propriety or their audience. Nimble hands slid over the bandages encircling his abdomen and Sasuke watched in fascination as her face went from worried to positively murderous.
A hand slapped a seal over the girl's forehead. The fight fled the blonde as the demonic energy that was fuelling her vanished. Blue eyes glazed tiredly but refused to leave his black ones, even when Jiraiya lifted the lethargic girl from his lap. Naruko squirmed weakly, watching Sasuke until the Sennin carried her back into the hall and shut the doors behind them.
Silence hung in the courtroom until Inuzuka Tsume coughed into her fist. "Right then." The woman grinned lecherously at the Uchiha. "Let's get this show on the road."
Sasuke settled in his chair, the interruption having settled his raging emotions. Face cold and expressionless, the Uchiha regarded the Hokage.
Pressing a hand to her forehead, the blonde squeezed her eyes shut and whispered to herself "What a madhouse." Snapping them back open, she stared down at her sensei's teammates with chilling brown eyes.
"Shimura Danzo." She declared. "Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. In light of the recent testimony given by one Uchiha Sasuke, I am forced to strip you of your position due to mental instability."
"Tsunade, you -" Koharu barked, spinning to glare at the Hokage. Tsunade interrupted, face especially merciless.
"While your actions have not been treasonous in and of themselves, especially given the Sandaime did not see fit to charge you in light of the Uchiha Incident, I cannot charge you with sedition. However, giving the order to slaughter the uninvolved innocents of one of Konoha's most treasured clans is clearly not the choice of someone mentally sound."
Clenching her fists, the elderly woman rose and flounced from the court in disgrace, followed closely by her childhood teammate. Danzo rose to trail after them, mind already spinning with counterplots before Tsunade shattered his thoughts.
Her voice cracked like a whip. "Shimura Danzo, you on the other hand have engaged in crimes against Konoha. Illegal experimentation in regards to the Kekkei Genkai of Konoha is treason of the highest order. I order ANBU to take you into custody, and we will sit in sentencing of you at a later date."
Nodding at a masked man hunched against a nearby wall, the ANBU nodded before shooting a senbon at the elder. The poison tipped needle sent Danzo collapsing into unconsciousness to be dragged away by a platoon of Konoha's Black Ops.
Sighing, the blonde Hokage massaged her temples before turning back to Sasuke.
"Due to recent information regarding the Uchiha clan and the involvement of Konoha in its destruction, I move that we dismiss all charges against Uchiha Sasuke and vindicate Uchiha Itachi. All in favour?"
A chorus of "Yea"s filled the air.
"All those against?"
Dead silence.
"So be it. Uchiha Sasuke. I, in my capacity as Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure declare you and your brother innocent."
Sasuke nodded silently before rising to his feet.
"There is one other matter to attend to." Wry amusement coloured Tsunade's voice. Sasuke sunk back down, staring up at the Hokage.
"At the beginning of Uchiha Sasuke's trial, he made certain claims in regards to recognition. Thus I move that we officially recognize him as head of the Uchiha Clan. All in favour?"
"Can we do this? Itachi-san is the elder brother." Shibi stated. Sasuke pinned the sunglasses wearing man with a stare before muttering:
"Itachi is deathly ill with an incurable disease and sterile because of it. Under law he cannot inherit the Clan."
Tsunade frowned before sighing. "I say again, all in favour?"
The clan heads responded in the affirmative before Tsunade asked for those against. None spoke up.
A self-satisfied look flittered over the Senju's face.
"So be it. Welcome, Uchiha Sasuke, to the Council of Konoha. I officially declare this court adjourned."
(AN): 13700 words after a bit of a trim. I decided to hop back to work with this while I was waiting for Ajax to show his face again so we can continue work on our collaborations.
Two Founding Clans: The Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan. These two clans were extremely powerful and warred against one another until they signed a peace treaty and founded Konoha.
Four Noble Clans: The Uchiha, the Hyuuga, the Aburame, and the Akimichi. All powerful and influential clans who likely have ties to feudal nobility.
Ino-Shika-Chou: The Akimichi – Nara - Yamanaka connection. Due to the status of the Akimichi as a noble clan while the other two are not, as well as the oath one takes to become head of the Akimichi ("…In order to protect both the Yamanaka and the Nara clans and to protect Konoha…"), I would speculate that prior to the founding of Konoha, The Nara and Yamanaka were vassal houses to the Akimichi. Or lesser houses