Author's Note: Love all the response to my last chapter. Hope you guys enjoy this one just as much. This is unbetaed.
Chapter 09: New Heights
Konohamaru walked out to find the ANBU who was assigned to guard him standing outside his door. It was unsurprising, but he had hoped he would take a break to sleep. He began to walk down the hallway, but it seemed that the ANBU didn't want him to.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.
"For a walk," Konohamaru said as he continued to walk away. As he walked, the same ANBU appeared in front of him, almost as if he'd teleported. "It was my understanding that you were not jailors, but guards." The ANBU didn't respond, but he didn't make way for Konohamaru to walk. "All I want is a walk. You can come with me. I won't talk to anyone but you."
It seemed that was well within his rights, because the ANBU stepped aside and allowed Konohamaru to pass. He allowed Konohamaru to stay a few feet ahead, but made sure he was keeping well away from any other people. The streets of the Village Hidden in the Mist were…well…misty. It wasn't very surprising, but Konohamaru wondered how the people of the village could stand it. The visibility was good enough that they could see where they were walking, but poor enough to make leaving the house annoying.
It wasn't thick enough to escape within, but it was thick enough to prevent Konohamaru from getting a good understanding of what the layout of the village was like. He was surprised that no one was out and about. Even at night in Konoha, there were always people at bars or restaurants, drinking late into the night.
"Where is everyone?" he asked out loud, knowing the only person who could answer was the ANBU guard. He didn't answer, of course. That would give Konohamaru too much information on the village, apparently. He could almost roll his eyes. They were afraid to let them know too much. There was definitely something unusual going on.
He still had one plan. A variation of the Shadow Clone Jutsu that he'd developed that was perfect for this situation. It had only one drawback.
"Hey!" the ANBU yelled from behind him, running to Konohamaru and turning him around. "What's with that spike in chakra?" he asked angrily. "What were you planning?"
"Nothing!" Konohamaru swore. "I just felt a chill, is all." The drawback to the jutsu was that it involved a noticeable spike in chakra.
"We're going back," the ANBU guard insisted, and Konohamaru didn't argue. Instead, he allowed himself to be escorted back to the Mizukage Palace by the ANBU guard. Or, at least, he allowed his clone to be escorted back. The real Konohamaru was crouching on the roof of a nearby shop, concealed by the dark of night and the mist.
His Substitution Clone Jutsu allowed him to create a clone a fair distance away from his body and then using a form of the Substitution Jutsu to switch the real him and the clone. That substitution, however, caused a spike in chakra that even non-sensory types could feel sometimes. Still, it was useful in the midst of battle; or in escaping captors.
He transformed into an average looking woman, hoping that if he was stumbled upon, it wouldn't arouse suspicion. He pulled off his Leaf headband and placed it in his pocket, assuming the identity of a female Mist civilian. He slid down the tile roof and jumped to the ground, landing with an audible 'oof.'
He was slow, quiet, and careful as he investigated the village. He walked miles in the opposite direction from the Palace, and he wasn't able to detect anything anywhere. There was no noise, no activity. Either everyone was sleeping at the same exact time, or the village had become a ghost town. The longer he went without seeing anyone, the more cautious he got. He started keeping to the shadows, even though he was already concealed by the fog. He took back alleys more often than main avenues.
He wasn't going to get any answers like this. He had to find someone and interrogate them about the state of the village – hopefully a shinobi. He found the nearest apartment building and crawled up the side using his chakra. He didn't want to just walk up, because he would be less protected by the shadows and more noticeable.
He quietly entered the first apartment through a window and looked around. Sure enough, a woman was in bed alone. She was old and large around the waist, obviously not a current shinobi. Konohamaru left the apartment as quietly as he entered, going to the next window. This time, there were two bedrooms – the first contained three kids and the second contained a married couple. Konohamaru didn't want to risk waking up more than one person. He needed a single ninja.
The third and fourth apartments proved no more profitable. He abandoned that building and moved on to the next, which also failed to meet his needs. It was the last apartment in the third building which finally had the single ninja alone, sleeping in his bed. Konohamaru began by placing a temporary seal on his chakra. He'd learned the seal from Sasuke, who had spent a long time learning the old Uzumaki sealing techniques.
The man's eyes opened when he felt the kunai against his throat. He tried to scream out, but Konohamaru's hand covered his mouth. His scream was muffled, but still loud enough to cause a problem. "You scream and you die," he said, his voice coming out high-pitched. He remembered that he'd transformed into a woman before. The man nodded in his grip. "I will keep my kunai to your throat. If you do anything to alert suspicion, you will die. Do you understand? The man nodded. Konohamaru pulled his hand away and was relieved that the man kept his promise. "What rank are you?" He'd seen the headband on the table outside the bedroom, so he knew the man was a shinobi.
"Ch-Chunin," the man whispered.
"What's your name?" Konohamaru demanded.
"A-Arichi," he said in the same low tone.
"Why is everyone inside?" came Konohamaru's first question. He had no time to jump around the issue.
"Lord Mizukage issued a curfew," the man whispered, shaking in fear. If he shook anymore, the kunai would draw blood.
"Why is the Mizukage so careful to keep the visiting ninja away from the population?" Konohamaru asked. He was giving up his cover, but they needed answers. He didn't know how much time he had.
"Th-The resistance," the man gasped. "I had nothing to do with it! I swear! After the rebellion–"
"What rebellion?"
"The Nakamura Rebellion," the man answered frantically. "Sho Nakamura planned Lord Mizukage's assassination, and was driven away from the village. Ever since then, he's ended communication outside of the Land of Water."
Konohamaru was a little dumbfounded. He knew there was an assassination attempt, but this was a whole other story. There was fighting – a battle. This wasn't a single person deciding to kill his leader, it was a coalition of people who wanted to overthrow him. There was only one relevant question that the information begged to be asked.
"Why did they rebel?"
"Lord Mizukage expanded the Mist's territory," the man said. He wasn't calming down, which concerned Konohamaru, but it wasn't a priority at the moment. "They claimed he was becoming a dictator. He influenced the daimyos and ran the entire nation."
"What happened to the other rebels?" Konohamaru asked.
"The Nakamura clan was annihilated," said the man. "All those who stood with them were either killed or imprisoned. Most of the ones who were imprisoned died anyway."
"Is there still a resistance?" was Konohamaru's next question, but before the man answered, he felt a kunai at his throat, in the same place he was holding one to the man's. The last voice he heard was of his ANBU guard who he'd abandoned. Or so he thought.
"You shouldn't have done that," he said, his tone of voice dangerously low. The metal's bite was sharp and cold, and Konohamaru's world ended.
The trip back to the Hidden Leaf Village was much quicker than the trip to the Sand had been. Naruto attributed it to not needing to slow down for the caravan since they were returning alone. It hadn't been long after they'd arrived that it was time for them to leave, and it came all too soon for Naruto. This time when he left Suna, he wouldn't return – at least not in the foreseeable future.
It was nice to have Shiminama and Temari joining them, if not for Shikamaru then for Naruto. One of the hardest parts of deciding to leave Suna was leaving those had become his family. While he still left behind Kankuro and other friends he'd acquired in Suna, most of his family was coming with him. It was an exciting new chapter in his life, and he was glad that they were able to be a part of it.
Shikamaru and Shiminama stayed apart from the group for most of the first day, catching up on a lot of things they'd missed in the last twenty years. Neither was paying Temari any attention, both incredibly mad at her for keeping them apart. When Naruto found out that Shiminama was Shikamaru's daughter, he couldn't say he was surprised, but he was happy they would have each other from now on. Even if it was a wrench in his marriage to Ino with his ex and lovechild coming to their town, it would be worth it if they cultivated a father/daughter bond.
Naruto and Gaara were currently enjoying each other's company on their walk. They'd made such great timing the first day that they decided they could move forward at a much more leisurely pace. Sasuke was off with Lee and Neji pretending not to be pissed off that Gaara and Naruto were walking awfully close together, while the genin were walking a little ahead, talking about whatever they talked about.
He turned to his husband, who was being his usual, quiet self. "I can't wait to meet everybody! You haven't seen them since the war! You should see them! It's like everyone has kids all of a sudden!" Naruto immediately realized something. "You haven't actually been to the village since our chunin exam, before it was rebuilt, right?" Gaara shook his head. "I can't wait for you to see it."
They continued on, occasionally talking more about Konoha. At one point, Naruto asked Gaara how things were with Kankuro, trying to figure out who was behind the attack, but neither Gaara nor his brother were able to figure out who the culprits were. It was incredibly disconcerting, considering it was a coalition who attacked, not just a single person. That meant that Suna had enemies who were powerful and anonymous.
The trickiest part about the attack was figuring out their affiliation. The culprits didn't wear village headbands, nor did they have any identifying traits. Most were more than familiar with swords, but Naruto didn't know of a village that used swords as their sole ninja weapon. It was even more unsettling not knowing the group's reason for attacking.
They were about a day away from the village when they found the lake. It was nice and spacious, with enough water for them to all have a healthy drink. As Chief Medical Ninja of the village, Sakura had enacted a policy that all ninja carry a small supply of iodine. A few drops would decontaminate water in under an hour; it was an invaluable tool for many ninja now.
Naruto inspected the trees around the lake and was happy to notice three tall trees with relatively few branches and leaves. It would be perfect for chakra control exercises. He recalled when Team 7 was on their first major mission to the Land of Waves and Kakashi taught them how to walk up trees. Sakura picked up on it pretty quickly, but he and Sasuke took a long time to master it.
"Team 4, assemble," Naruto called to the large group of people eating by the lake. Saki, Shikamira, and Mino got up and approached him, leaving their lunches behind. "I'm going to give you a lesson today, so pay attention." Naruto was pleased that they seemed to give him full attention. The three genin watched as he walked over to the tree and began to walk up it, pooling up a small bit of chakra on the soles of his feet.
He couldn't see their faces as he walked up the tree, perpendicular to the trunk, but if they were anything like the reactions he, Sasuke, and Sakura had when they watched Kakashi walk up the side of a tree for the first time, they were pretty amazed. When he reached the first branch, he turned onto it and walked on its underside before turning to face his students.
"Today, you will all learn to climb trees without using your hands," he stated. They didn't look as amazed by this as he would have expected, but they were intrigued nonetheless. He chalked it up to two of them growing up with shinobi parents. He grew up in an orphanage, Sasuke was orphaned at an early age, and Sakura's parents were civilians.
"Whenever a ninja prepares to use a jutsu, he or she must first release chakra," Naruto began his lecture. "This will be very similar, except instead of gathering your chakra in your hand signs, you will gather your chakra at the soles of your feet." He jumped down off the tree. "Watch what happens when I concentrate too little chakra on the foot." He began to walk back up, but when he pulled chakra away from his foot, he fell off the tree, managing to land safely anyway. "Here's what happens when I concentrate too much." He began climbing again and then halfway up, he pooled more chakra than necessary, causing the bark to break and concave inwards. He pushed back and flipped in mid-air, landing gracefully on the ground. He turned back to face his students. "You have as long as you need. As captain of the mission, I feel we are more than ahead of schedule. We can stay for a day, as long as no one else minds."
When he posed the question to the others, it was only Sasuke who objected, but Neji quickly convinced him to not put up a fight. Naruto was grateful for that; he didn't need to make this situation any worse than it was.
Shikamira was the first of his students to achieve the perfect chakra balance and climb the tree. She waved tauntingly at Saki as she sat on the bench and stuck her tongue out, which only made the pink-haired girl angry. The next time she tried, the tree almost cracked in half because of the amount of chakra she was expelling. Mino, meanwhile, was making progress, but not at the same rate Shikamira had.
Naruto went to begin eating his own meal, having already set his students up for a day of training. He sat with Gaara while eating his miso ramen, the two talking about menial details of friends back in Suna. Naruto learned that while he'd been away, another instructor at the academy got engaged, and one of Gaara's military advisors was expecting a second son.
It was in the middle of eating with his husband that Naruto noticed Shikamaru giving him a small glare. It wasn't even so much a glare as it was a frown, but Naruto still got the impression that Shikamaru was angry. He couldn't imagine why, but he took the first opportunity that Shiminama left him to get more water to approach him.
"Is everything okay?" Naruto asked the brunet.
"No," he said simply. "It's not." Naruto briefly wondered what Shikamaru was so obviously pissed off about, but Shikamaru answered the question before it passed his lips. "You didn't tell me about Shiminama."
"I didn't know she was your daughter," Naruto defended, slightly offended that Shikamaru would think he could do that. If he knew for a fact that Shikamaru was Shiminama's father, he would have made sure Shikamaru found out. At the very least, he would have urged Temari to tell him. He looked over at Gaara, who was approaching them. "Neither Gaara nor I knew that, and I doubt that Kankuro knew either. Temari kept it to herself until after she told you."
"You honestly didn't believe that Shiminama was my daughter?" Shikamaru asked. He obviously was skeptical. "Didn't the timing seem weird to you?"
"I didn't ask," Naruto said. "None of us did, right Gaara?" Shikamaru looked to the new addition to the conversation, and after a moment of silence, Naruto followed. He waited for Gaara to answer, but he didn't.
"Naruto didn't know Shiminama was your daughter," he told Shikamaru. "You have no right to be angry at him." Naruto didn't like the way that Gaara avoided the question.
"Gaara?" Naruto asked.
"I didn't ask," Gaara confirmed. Naruto had a momentary relief until he continued. "Kankuro did. And she told us." The first thing Naruto felt after that bombshell was shock. They all knew the truth? The next thing he felt, almost immediately, was hurt. He was the only adult in the family to not know of Shiminama's parentage. They didn't trust him enough with that information – not even his husband of eighteen years. The last thing he felt was anger. But it wouldn't be okay to get into a fight about this here and now.
He must have been shaking from anger, because Gaara didn't object when Naruto led them to a more private area to fight about this. He didn't want to make their marriage so public that they'd fight there, but he didn't want to let Gaara think he'd let this go.
"How could you do that to me!?" he yelled at Gaara, who had his usual expressionless look on his face. "We've been married for half our lives, and the entire time, you've kept this kind of a secret from me?"
"It wasn't my secret to tell," Gaara said simply. "When someone tells me something in confidence, I don't have the right to tell anyone I want."
"I was the only person to not know!" Naruto yelled, ignoring Gaara's assertion. "Do you realize how much of an idiot I feel like right now? The entire time, you all lied to me?" He scoffed. "When did you find out, anyway?"
"It was before you came to Suna," Gaara admitted. "When you showed up, we didn't think it was wise to tell you about her, out of fear you'd tell Shikamaru. After we got fell in love and got married, I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to endanger yourself by reconnecting with Shikamaru to let him know."
"This went on that long?" Naruto asked. The anger was slowly being overcome by hurt again, and he didn't like feeling like he was going to cry. "The entire time we were together, you were keeping secrets from me." He closed his eyes, not wanting Gaara to know how much it hurt him to know that. Gaara could tell anyway. "I don't think I can forgive you for that."
"What would you have done if I told you?" Gaara asked.
"I don't know," Naruto admitted. "But you robbed me of the opportunity to do something. To do the right thing. Look at what happened because of the lies and secrets! Shiminama hasn't spoken to Temari since she found out, and neither has Shikamaru. They both feel robbed of time together, and do you know why?" Gaara was silent. "Because they were." Naruto was done talking to Gaara. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to hit him or just cry, but he knew he couldn't stay there anymore. He ran off in the opposite direction from camp, knowing that being around the others wouldn't help in the slightest.
It was all a lie. They had promised no more lies. He finally got far enough away from the others that he decided to sit against the trunk of a tree. The only thing he could think about was the last time Gaara lied to him.
Naruto embraced Gaara, savoring the feeling of their bodies flushed against each other. He almost didn't think he'd see this again. He pulled off his mask to give his lover a chaste kiss, but he couldn't linger. He had a mission, and too many people had died that day.
"Kujaku?" Naruto asked quickly. He had to know before he left. "Is she alive?" He didn't notice the hesitation when Gaara nodded. The glow of the forest fire was cast upon his pale face. He had worry lines, and Naruto could tell that the bags under his eyes were even more visible than usual. With a deep relief, Naruto reluctantly tore himself from Gaara's embrace. "Where is she?"
"She's in the medical tent," Gaara said, nodding towards the tent. Naruto moved towards it, but Gaara stepped in front of him. "You can't enter. They need to do their job." Naruto nodded in understanding. "Besides, you have a mission." Gaara rarely spoke to him with such urgency, but Naruto understood. This mission was vital to the very existence of the Land of Wind, and therefore of Suna.
It was only when he returned to the village off a victory that he'd learned the truth. Gaara had lied to him about the death of one of his comrades. He knew that if she had died, Naruto wouldn't be willing to go off into the mission. The death was his fault, and he thought about it every day. He forgave Gaara for lying to him, and he understood why he decided to do it. From that day on, however, they'd promised no more lies, and no more secrets.
He heard a rustling in the brush behind him, and was unsurprised to see Sasuke standing by a tree when he turned around. He rolled his eyes and turned back. He didn't need to deal with this right now.
"They're done climbing trees," Sasuke informed him. Naruto hadn't noticed that the sun had already set while he'd been contemplating that mission. "You missed dinner."
"I'm not hungry," Naruto told him. He saw a smile tugging at Sasuke's face, but he thankfully didn't comment. Sasuke knew that Naruto was never not hungry.
"He lied to you," the raven stated a moment later. Naruto's head snapped up, and he glowered at the raven.
"Were you eavesdropping?" he accused angrily. Sasuke responded by rolling his eyes.
"It was obvious from the start why Shikamaru was mad at you," he stated simply. "Then in the middle of your conversation, you got very angry with Gaara, talk to him in private, and don't come back? It doesn't take a genius to put the pieces together."
"I'm not talking about my marriage with you," Naruto said, contrite that Sasuke had figured out his marital woes. "You can just go back to camp."
"I can't leave the captain of the mission alone," Sasuke said with a smirk. "Team Neji's mission is to guard you." He moved over to the tree trunk that Naruto sat against and sat down with him. His back was to the tree as well, and he was at a different angle. "Do you remember that time we fought the Ice Release user Haku?"
"Don't do this," Naruto pleaded. He was too tired to go down memory lane with Sasuke. He knew what the Uchiha wanted, and his spat with his husband just made it that much more annoying.
"I asked a question," Sasuke said. "I'm not talking about Gaara anymore." Naruto rolled his eyes. No, you're talking about us. He wasn't sure which was worse.
"Yes, I remember," he said with a sigh. "What about it?"
"They remind me of us back then," Sasuke admitted. "Saki is just like her mother."
"And I guess Shikamira is just like you?" Naruto asked. If Sasuke was going to compare Team 4 to Team 7, it was the only other connection Naruto could make. Shikamira already knew her father's shadow jutsu, just as Sasuke knew the Uchiha's fire release jutsu. They were both leagues ahead of their teammates.
"No, I'd say Mino is more like me," he decided after a moment. "He has the Rinnegan, and a potential that needs to be tapped in. Shikamira's a bit of a slacker. She took a break for about three hours to watch the clouds.
"I'd say that's more like Shikamaru," Naruto said with a chuckle. After a minute, he decided to pose a question. "How is Mino doing with his Rinnegan training?"
"I'm actually surprised," Sasuke admitted. "He started off last week with no particular talent with it, but he is now starting to get the hang of it. He's mastering summons quicker than I did. It'll only be a matter of time before we switch to elemental release techniques."
"Where did his Rinnegan come from?" Naruto asked suddenly. It was a question that needed an answer, but he couldn't see one.
"It's an implant," Sasuke began. "That much is obvious. His mother is confident that he had the eyes when he was born, but she passed out during childbirth. That means that someone implanted the Rinnegan in the time between his birth and when she woke up. Or she could be lying."
"You're not saying something," Naruto observed. After a moment's hesitation, Sasuke continued.
"His eyes are Madara's," Sasuke said, catching Naruto's full attention. Naruto shifted so that he could look at Sasuke. "There are only two sets of Rinnegan eyes in this world – Madara's and my own. We don't know what happened with Madara's Rinnegan after Obito was killed. Someone had to have found his eye and the other one stashed away somewhere to implant into Mino."
"There is another Rinnegan," Naruto admitted after a moment. He promised Tsunade he wouldn't tell, but he had to. If either he or Sasuke were to deduce where Mino got his Rinnegan from, they needed to know the truths. "When Harame attacked the village during our wedding, he had the Rinnegan." Now it was Sasuke's turn to be shocked. Slowly, bits and pieces started fitting together in his mind.
"What do you want from our village?" Tsunade yelled at Harame over the roar of the wind. The hurricane was destroying building by building, house by house. Civilians and shinobi alike were unable to avoid the debris flying around. This attack would go down in history as one of the worst on the village.
"I want vengeance," Harame replied in an equally loud, demanding voice. He held out his hand towards Naruto, and blank papers flew out of the sleeves of his robe. They flew with the wind, towards Naruto. He barely had time to use a substitution before the paper bombs went off.
The log had been flying in the storm before he had used the jutsu, so he was now in the air above the battle. Tsunade's seal had been released, and the markings ran around her face. She was going to use too much chakra trying to protect the village while fighting. She needed to leave this to Naruto.
He began a Rasengan, but Harame absorbed it using the Rinnegan's power. When Tsunade tried to punch him a split-second later using her immense strength, he was able to use his Rinnegan to push them both away. He had mastery over the Rinnegan in addition to his Storm Release and his other jutsu.
Lightning struck nearby, and Naruto could see a spike of Minato's hair crumble from the mountainside. He was enraged that this man was destroying his village for all the wrong reasons, but he wouldn't understand. No matter how many times Naruto told him the truth, Harame had been brainwashed.
"I didn't kill Nagato!" Naruto tried to assure him. "Nagato sacrificed himself for the village."
"And so the village shall be destroyed," Harame promised. "But not before it watches its hero – the man who destroyed the plans of my parents and my guardians – die." It wasn't until the next group of paper bombs managed to blow up Tsunade that he had finally relented.
"I'll do anything!" Naruto promised him. "Just spare the village." He couldn't allow them all to die. This man wasn't like Pain, who revived his victims, nor like Obito, who had pure intentions. This man had evil intentions, and he couldn't be turned. And Naruto was running out of time.
He looked back towards Tsunade who was bleeding out from her wound. If Sakura didn't get here soon, she would die. But he and Tsunade had spoken about Naruto becoming the next Hokage, and Naruto knew what a Hokage would have to do. He would have to give up everything for the village, even his own life.
It's what my father did. That was the thought Naruto had when he spoke next over the storm. It was what The Second did, and the Third, and even Granny. Jiraya sacrificed himself for the village, as did all the other heroes that the village of Konoha had produced. If all he had to do to protect the village was die…
"I'll die!" Naruto yelled out. The words seemed to take Harame aback a bit, mostly due to the way that Naruto sounded so resigned to it. "I will die, but please spare the village that did nothing to Nagato or to your mother. For the sake of my master, who was your parents' teacher. For the sake of my sensei who is your guardian's comrade. Please allow me to save my village!"
It was ridiculous. Naruto was one of the most powerful people in the world. He could even defeat Harame if he wanted to. But at what price? Every second that they spent fighting was another second that Tsunade's life was fading. It was another civilian being destroyed by the artificial lightning, another building flooded by the torrential downpour. He'd seen his village completely obliterated once, his friends all dead. He wasn't about to gamble the second chance Nagato had given them.
Besides, Harame was a strong foe. He fought at a kage level, and had easily surpassed his parents and his guardians. He inherited something from all of them – Yahiko's Storm Release, Konan's Paper Jutsu, Nagato's Rinnegan, and Obito's rotten will. He was easily a stronger foe than any of them.
"You have two days," Harame promised, having achieved what he wanted. "I want evidence, and I want it to be painful. If either of those conditions aren't met, then you won't be here to protect the village next time."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Sasuke asked Naruto. "If Harame had the Rinnegan, I should have been told." He paused as he recalled something. "Before we left the village, you said you'd told me everything!"
"Tsunade ordered me not to talk about it," Naruto said defensively. "Besides, it wouldn't have done you any good. He was stronger than just a Rinnegan. I told you everything that mattered."
"He was so strong that even you couldn't defeat him," Sasuke said, his voice containing a mixture of bitterness and skepticism. "You had to fake your own death to protect the village, right?"
"You have no idea the threat he posed," Naruto told him. "You weren't here when Nagato destroyed the village. Everyone was dead or dying – Kakashi, Choza, Tsunade. People were killed for not knowing where I was, or for standing their ground and refusing to give me up to Akatsuki. It took years for the village to rebuild. I couldn't let that happen again. It would have been worse this time."
"Worse?" Sasuke asked skeptically.
"Had I not died, he would have killed every last man, woman, and child in the village, shinobi or civilian. Until his death, I couldn't reveal myself to the world."
"You don't think we could have protected the village?" Sasuke asked.
"I was only able to defeat Nagato by unleashing the Nine-Tails," Naruto argued, standing up. "If the village hadn't been destroyed by then, it would have been destroyed in our battle. Fighting Harame would have destroyed everything I want to save." Why couldn't Sasuke understand? It wasn't the best decision, but it was what was necessary. If he didn't do what he did, the entire village and everyone in it would be gone. If Naruto had the power to stop that, it was his responsibility to do so.
"You destroyed it anyway," Sasuke said in a strained voice. "You destroyed us."
"The lives of everyone in the village against our relationship," said Naruto adamantly. "I loved you, Sasuke, and it killed me to leave you, but I had obligations." He turned his head to look at him. "I thought you understood."
"I do understand," Sasuke insisted. He paused for a moment before continuing. "You give up your entire life for the sake of the village. Even at the expense of your family." He shook his head. "It's Itachi all over again."
"No," Naruto insisted quickly, realizing what a touchy subject it was. Sasuke hated being reminded of the hell Itachi put himself through for the village. "Itachi's situation and mine are totally different."
"The only difference is that you made your death seem like an accident in a mission," Sasuke said bitterly. "You didn't leave a way for me to avenge your death." He gave Naruto a painful look. "I already lost everything once 'for the sake of the village.' You made that happen again. I just hope it doesn't happen a third time, because I don't think I could handle that." Sasuke stood up and left Naruto contemplating his marital problems, among other things.
He never made the connection between his actions and Itachi's, but he could see where Sasuke drew the parallel. And knowing what Itachi's actions caused, Naruto was all the more grateful that there was no way for Sasuke to avenge his 'death.' Thinking about the situation like that added another layer of guilt that Naruto wondered if he'd ever be able to strip off.
Naruto stood up and left, deciding to return to camp for the night. He was so angry. He was mad at Sasuke for not understanding why he did what he did. He was mad at Gaara and Temari from keeping secrets. He was even a little mad at Shikamaru who thought that Naruto could keep such a huge thing from him. When he got back to where camp was set, he ignored everyone and entered his tent, lying down to go to sleep.
When he felt Gaara's arms wrap around him when the redhead retired, he pushed him away. "I'm not ready to forgive you yet," he admitted. He was thankful that Gaara didn't push him.
When the body was thrown in front of him, Jiraya almost threw up. The first thing he had to do was hold his hand out sideways to stop Iruka from approaching the Mizukage. The situation was tenuous at best, and it wouldn't do to aggravate it any more. Iruka and Jiraya exchanged a glance, but he reluctantly stepped down. Choji and Shio were similarly quiet.
"Your comrade decided to ditch his bodyguard, and look what happened," Lord Mizukage said loudly. There were Hidden Mist jonin in attendance that day, along with a group of ANBU and the five people assigned to guard the Konoha nin. "He was snooping around, putting his nose into things he should have left alone. In doing so, he was killed by a rogue, who has since been apprehended and imprisoned."
Jiraya wasn't dumb, and neither were his teammates. If the Mizukage knew that Konohamaru had been snooping around, then it was the Mizukage who had him killed. Jiraya had managed to gather a good deal of information about the planned uprising and assassination attempt, but he had managed to stay under the radar. Iruka had also managed to collect intelligence that Jiraya had missed. Neither of them was conspicuous, and both still lived.
The question he had which he was sure would go unanswered was whether Konohamaru was killed because he was sloppy, or because he got further than Jiraya and Iruka. Had he stumbled upon something that they missed? Jiraya wished he knew what Konohamaru knew, but his sensei's grandson was lifeless, lying on the cold marble floor.
I'm sorry, Sarutobi-sensei. Konohamaru was the last Sarutobi besides Shio, who would be staying in Kiri as a spy. For the first time since the village's creation, there would be no Sarutobi in the village walls. Even worse was thinking about how he could possibly tell Tsunade and Naruto. And would they be so rash to provoke the Mist further.
"Master Jiraya, I wish to see you alone," Lord Mizukage announced, standing up. ANBU guards came to escort Jiraya to the Mizukage's office, where the old man sat down with Mika and Yumi, the two most senior guards who seemed to always be doing something important for the man. The door was closed behind Jiraya, and the Mizukage motioned for him to sit in a chair. Jiraya obliged – there wasn't much else he could do.
"I respect you, Master Jiraya, but do not mistake that for liking you," he said plainly. "You are one of the great Sanin, student to the mighty Third Hokage and teammate to the Fifth. You are obviously a very high-ranking ninja in your village. I feel like speaking to you is congruent to speaking to Princess Tsunade. Am I correct in assuming that?" Jiraya nodded, and the Mizukage leaned forward in his chair, a glower on his face. "I will not take snooping in my country lightly.
"I was under no obligation to accept your presence in my village," he continued. "In fact, I only did so to show good faith with your village and your Hokage. The world is dangerous now, and enemies are not something I wish to have more of. However, coming into my village and searching for information…" He paused for a moment. "It almost seems like an act of war."
"Konoha has no desire for war," Jiraya said immediately. "Not with you, nor with any of the Great Nations. We are a peaceful nation, and have been since the Third Shinobi World War."
"Oh, I see that plainly," the Mizukage said with the same ugly look on his face. "Your village has been the most powerful since then. It's had the best economy, and despite the Sand and Sound's invasion, Akatsuki's destruction of your village, and Harame's attack, you have remained the world's greatest power. Why would you want to upset the status quo?" Jiraya didn't answer; he figured the question was rhetorical.
"You and your allies will leave immediately," he said angrily. "My desire for peace between our villages is the only reason you are not all dead for this serious breach in trust and friendship. You are now unwelcome here, and any subsequent visit will be met with hostility." He stood up, slamming his hands on the table. "From this day forward, diplomatic relations between Kiri and the village of Konoha and its ally Suna are over. Do not enter our nation or our village, and do not disrupt any foreign missions by our ninja. If you do, I will treat it as an act of war, and you will be begging for the mercy that Orochimaru, Pain, and Harame showed your village."
While Jiraya didn't want to further inflame relations between the villages, he felt the need to speak up. "Then consider the same of us. There's a reason that Konoha is the world's greatest power. Shinobi like myself are of the same level as you, Mizukage, and we still have ninja who are stronger. Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha of the Rinnegan to name a few. Copy Ninja Kakashi and The Green Beast Rock Lee. That's not even including Lady Hokage and I, two of the three legendary Sannin. If you decide you want to start a war with us on top of your approaching war with Iwa, then expect the same treatment you just threatened us with. You'll recall the Fourth Shinobi World War well, right? The war in which the strongest ninja fighting on all sides were born from Konoha?" He was glad that the Mizukage looked a little less certain. He figured that was the best place to leave him, not waiting to be dismissed.
When the door shut behind Jiraya the Toad Sage, Lord Mizukage turned to Mika and Yumi. "They must leave the village alive, lest we incur Konoha's wrath. But before they are off this island, I want them all dead."
Author's Note: Konohamaru died!? I know, I hated myself for killing him off, but it was necessary to the story. It was the first major character death of many to come. Well, not many, but another one or two. The next chapter will be the final chapter of the "Introduction Arc," and will feature the fallout of Konohamaru's death, along with some nice action and some sweet drama.
Review and let me know what you think!