Chapter Ten: War

Naruto had always liked visiting the Sand Village. He had always been welcomed there as an honored guest, but this time, as he and his team were being escorted through the sandy streets, Naruto didn't like the Sand Village as much. There was an air of hostility that he hadn't felt since he was young and the feeling made him squirm. "Quit shaking," Shikamaru snapped beside him. Naruto nodded and clenched his fists to steel himself.

Beside him was Shikamaru, and Boruto, and behind them were Sai, Shikadai and Ino. Kakashi had stayed in the village along with Hinata in case things went downhill during this meeting. "Do we know who was killed?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru shook his head. "No, we don't. They wouldn't release that information."

"Right," Naruto muttered. He didn't want to believe that things had gone so poorly during the mission that Sasuke had killed someone, but he also didn't want to doubt Gaara just yet. "When is the meeting with the Daimyo?"

"Tomorrow," Shikamaru answered, sounding slightly annoyed. Naruto knew that the man had gone over all this with him earlier, but none of it had stuck. Naruto's head was spinning with everything that was happening and he didn't want to believe that they might be on the verge of breaking their alliance with the Sand.

The group was put to a halt before the Kazekage estate and Gaara stepped forward to greet his guests. "This is quite a mess, Naruto," he said.

Naruto nodded. "Yes, it is," he said. "Where are my ninja?"

"They are being held in the prison until their release can be negotiated, but we should not have this conversation out here." He motioned to the gathered Sand shinobi and Naruto nodded. Gaara led them inside. Once they were out of the view of the villagers, Temari ran to embrace her son and then her husband. She had been visiting Gaara in the village when all hell broke loose and hadn't been able to contact her family in Konoha during the week and a half that followed the attack.

Shikamaru had debated against bringing his son, but Shikadai was an important part of the Sand-Leaf relations and alliance. Coming without Shikadai would have proven to Gaara that they didn't trust this meeting. Shikamaru had relented, but he didn't like it, and Naruto knew why. If it came down to the worst case scenario, that family would have to choose sides.

After a brief talk in the hall, Gaara moved the meeting to a large conference room. Naruto made quick note of the people that Gaara had brought. There was Temari and Kankuro, of course, and Ibiki stood at the door, looking worse for wear. There were also a handful of Black Ops and two elders. Naruto reminded himself to visit Chiyo's grave if he had the opportunity before he left.

"Alright," Naruto said, bringing the idle chit-chat to a close. "What happened? Or, what do you think happened? Who is dead?"

"The murdered man is Dai of our ANBU division." Kankuro said.

Shikadai's eyes widened, but Naruto help up his hand to silence the young man before he could speak. If that was the reaction, then it was clear this was someone important, but Naruto couldn't quite place the name. "And you think Sasuke killed him," Naruto stated carefully, trying to both not offend the Sand and not indict Sasuke for the crime.

"Sasuke was found with Dai's blood on his clothes and body and fingerprints on the recovered knife," Kankuro said just as carefully. "Not to mention the eyewitnesses from both villages that saw Sasuke stab him."

"What was the Sand doing in unclaimed territory?" Shikamaru asked, taking over. Naruto felt that was best.

"We don't have to answer that," Kankuro said. "What were your men doing in the territory?"

"We were following a lead on a terrorist organization," Shikamaru explained. "We were told that there would be a meeting of this group in that vicinity."

"I see."

"What would be beneficial now is if we could talk with our own men about the attack," Shikamaru said. "We need to hear their story and what happened according to Sasuke. I assume he hasn't faced any charges as of yet."

"Not yet," Kankuro said. "I will take you to them." The group stood and Naruto followed silently. He stopped when a hand grabbed his arm. Beside him, he could almost feel Shikamaru's hand tighten around his weapon, but Naruto stilled him with a glare. They didn't need more blood on their hands.

"Go on," Naruto said.

Shikamaru looked as if he was about to protest, but instead, he went silently, leaving Naruto and Gaara alone in the room.

"I don't want to believe that you sent a team to assassinate my men," Gaara said, "but that's what it's looking like, Naruto."

Naruto frowned. "I really think I should talk to Sasuke before I make any statements."

"Don't talk to me like we're Kage, talk to me like we're friends. Did you send a team to assassinate my men or not?"

"You know I didn't," Naruto said. "I would never. We were following a lead that we got from a terrorist organization. What happened was an unfortunate misunderstanding, and I am truly sorry, but we did not seek out your party."

Gaara nodded. "These are uncertain times, Naruto… And you are chasing ghosts."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you sit here and act like there's some grand conspiracy about the world."

"You don't believe me about the Tsuchi?" Naruto asked. "You can't be serious!"

"I am merely stating what I feel, Naruto," Gaara defended. "You've yet to offer proof that this group exists."

"You think I'm making this up?"

Gaara shook his head. "You know that's not what I meant. I simply mean that it could be possible that this Tsuchi group you're chasing isn't as big as you want to believe it is."

"Were you not attacked?" Naruto asked, remembering the brief statement made about the Sand.

"I was and then I healed. There is unrest, Naruto. The world cannot stay at a standstill forever. The Mist is planning something."

Naruto shook his head. "I need to talk to Sasuke," he said. "Something is happening, Gaara, and it's bigger than all of us." He didn't stay in the room. Why was Gaara acting like that? Why was he making such ludicrous statements? Of course they weren't just chasing ghosts! This went deeper than any of them knew.

Or maybe I really am paranoid… Naruto thought after a moment. Could it be true that the Tsuchi was not the powerhouse organization they had all been led to believe? Naruto didn't want to admit that he might be chasing shadows in an attempt to make the last six years of his family's life mean something. If Himawari had been taken away from them for some grander scheme that they had to stop, then maybe it meant her kidnapping wasn't meaningless. Maybe it meant their lives hadn't fallen apart for nothing.

These thoughts stayed with Naruto as he was led to the prison and down where Sasuke was being held. He looked down at his friend, who was sitting in the cell and his head in his hand. Shikamaru and the others had gone to interrogate the rest of the squad, leaving Naruto to handle Sasuke. "You could escape whenever you felt like it," Naruto said.

"I know," Sasuke answered without looking up. "And they know that. The fact that I'm still in here at all should show them that I mean no harm."

Naruto pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of the bars. "What happened, Sasuke?"

"He killed himself," Sasuke said bluntly. He hid a knife in a handshake and stabbed himself while I was still holding his hand."

"Are you sure you didn't react to the presence of a knife and kill him," Naruto asked. He didn't want to accuse Sasuke of anything, but he needed to make sure he saw this from every angle.

"There are hundreds of different ways I could have subdued him without the use of lethal force if I needed, and you know it. I wouldn't have panicked," Sasuke said.

"Sarada was there."

"Which means I would have done everything in my power to avoid a fight," Sasuke said. He finally turned to Naruto. "You know I didn't do this."

Naruto nodded. "Yes, I do, but they don't."

"Then I'll plead guilty," Sasuke said.

"What? No!" Naruto snapped. "How would that help anyone? If you're in here, the Tsuchi can have free reign! I'm not as strong as I was when I had Kurama."

"War is what they want," Sasuke explained. "They want to create unrest and eventually they want us all at each other's throats. We can't let that happen. This looks bad, Naruto, but let me face trial with the Sand. I'm innocent, but let them feel like they came to that conclusion on their own."

"What if they sentence you to death?" Naruto asked. "If they think war is coming, the Ninja World will want to be rid of you first."

"That's a bridge we'll cross if we get there. You know Gaara wouldn't do that."

"The Wind Daimyo might," Naruto said.

"If I'm here, they won't start a conflict because they know that they can't really keep me in here. They knew the only reason I'm still in this cell is to humor them, and they know that if they start something with the Leaf, I will escape and wreak all kinds of havoc."

"I don't like it," Naruto muttered. "It's like I'm leaving you here as a warning to the Sand."

"You are," Sasuke said without feeling. "It's for their own good and the good of all our people as well! The Tsuchi wants war, so we should be doing everything in our power to prevent it! If their plan rests on civil unrest, then we must do everything in our power to keep the peace, even if that means I have to sit in prison for a few months."

"I need to discuss this with Shikamaru," Naruto said.

Sasuke shook his head. "No. The others have to believe that you believe I committed this crime. They have to believe that I confessed. You have to make this choice now, Naruto."

Naruto looked at the ground. If they left Sasuke here, the Tsuchi could potentially attack other places in the Land of Fire. If they fought for Sasuke, they might risk ruining the relationship the Leaf and the Sand had. "What if they decide to start something because you killed an ANBU captain?" he asked. "If you confess to the crime, they'll know I sent you."

"Your orders weren't to kill anyone," Sasuke said. "If it comes to that, I will just say I went rogue. The team had nothing to do with it."

"This will ruin any reputation you've managed to gain after the war," Naruto argued.

"I'm okay with that," Sasuke said. "We don't need another war, Naruto, and if the world keeps going in this direction, that's exactly what we're going to get! Is that what you want?"

"No," Naruto muttered.

"Good. Now tell Shikamaru I plan to plead guilty of the of the crime and that I wouldn't tell you anything else."

"I don't like it."

"Then fight the Sand!" Sasuke snapped. "By all means, do that! Destroy everything the world has worked to accomplish because you don't want me to rot in prison!"

Naruto sighed. Sasuke made a good point, even if he didn't like it. "Very well." He stood. "Sasuke, be careful, okay? And I won't let you rot in here."

"You act like I can't escape any time I want," Sasuke said. "Now go, Naruto, and stop worrying so much about me. Make sure the team gets home, okay?"

"Right." Naruto stood and walked out of the prison room where Shikamaru was waiting.

The man looked Naruto over and frowned. "What did he say?"

Naruto closed his eyes. He didn't have to feign the emotion he was feeling. He couldn't believe he was doing this. "He killed the ANBU captain," Naruto said. "It was a moment of weakness. Sarada was there and he thought they were being threatened."

"You're kidding me," Shikamaru said. "Is he serious?"

"I think so," Naruto said quietly. "I don't want to believe it either, but he's going to confess to the crime."

"Naruto, if he's doing this to prevent a conflict, don't let him," Shikamaru snapped. Naruto hid all emotion from his face. He should have known Shikamaru would see right through this plan and call them out on it. "The Sand needs to know what's really happening and they can't know that if they think Sasuke is the enemy."

Naruto sighed and lowered his voice to speak. "Then I will talk to Gaara about it privately, but we need to at least let the Wind Daimyo believe he has won this round."

Shikamaru bowed his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose with an annoyed sigh. "I thought I'd never have to feel like the world was falling apart around me again," he said quietly. "Fine. What is your plan?"

"Let the Sand think Sasuke did it. He'll cooperate as long as the Sand doesn't attack us. They know they can't actually contain him, so that should keep them away from Konoha for a while. After that, we need to figure out how this happened."

"The information came from Ino," Shikamaru reasoned. Naruto nodded.

"You don't think she's a turncoat, do you?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "No. I don't think she is. What I do think is that Akuma must have a powerful mental jutsu and we need to get a jump on this. We need to get ahead of him and get actual information."

Naruto nodded. "But we can't head back. We need to talk to the Wind Daimyo."

"Not if Sasuke is going to convince him that he did the crime," Shikamaru said. "We can leave tonight if we tell them that we're handing Sasuke off to them and that he's their problem now." Naruto bit his lip. It still felt like they were sacrificing Sasuke for peace. Shikamaru seemed to see Naruto's hesitation and frowned. "Sasuke will be fine," he said. "Now we have to worry about the village and the people in it, okay? We can worry about Sasuke later; and honestly, we don't even have to worry about him. He can worry about himself."

Naruto stood in the interrogation room with Ibiki sitting across from him. Shikamaru was there as well and the three looked worn. Sasuke would be held for trial in the Sand village. They had left under the assumption that they would be called back on the day of his trial that had yet to be scheduled.

"What do we do?" Naruto asked Shikamaru. They still had Akuma but they were afraid of letting anyone near him. No information that could be gathered from the man would matter in the slightest if they couldn't trust the person gathering it. "We have to get ahead of this! We have to know how big they are and what they're next move is so we can stop it!"

"We still have Sarada," Shikamaru said with a shrug. Naruto nodded. She had been allowed to come back to the village along with the rest of Sasuke's team.

"She's still young," Ibiki argued, "and inexperienced with interrogation. I don't think we can trust her to go in."

Sasuke could do it, Naruto thought, but didn't voice it. He knew it would do them no good to speculate on resources they no longer had. "What about me?" Naruto asked. Ibiki and Shikamaru turned to Naruto sharply.

"That would be suicide. If you are compromised, we would never be able to trust you until he's dead, and even then, we don't know how his jutsu actually works."

"We have to do something," Naruto argued. "Let me go in."

"Into his mind?"

"No, just to talk to him," Naruto said. "Let me go into the room."

Ibiki sighed. "I don't know. We don't know how Ino got compromised. I don't think it's a good idea."

"Yes, it is. Shikamaru will go in with me," Naruto said. Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes with a nod. Naruto smiled. "See? As long as we're watching, we can keep up with it. We can handle this, guys. All we need to do is make sure that we get this information we need."

"He's a master manipulator," Ibiki said. "I don't like it."

"Manipulation doesn't always work. As long as we don't let him use any jutsu, we should be okay."

Naruto listened to Ibiki and Shikamaru discuss before his mind wandered. They were treating him like he was toxic and going into that room could be certain death.

"Fine," Ibiki said. "Just be careful in there, Lord Hokage."

Naruto nodded and stood. "I will…"

Author's note: SUPER SHORT! Sorry, sorry! But I wanted to update!