Chapter Ten
Konoha was just as hot as it was the day before they left, with the sun mercilessly burning though dry and warm wind. Aside from the guard at the gate, and several other people who were sneaking about the shadows in futile attempts to escape the worst of the heat, the streets were empty.
Naruto, not losing a second when they landed on their feet between three small frogs who were empathically frowning at the general mood, didn't bother with a disguise as he walked by the guardhouse without glancing sideways. Two chunins got up on their feet, confused and ready to attack. Sasuke understood Naruto's hurry, he was finally able to do something, after many months of helplessness, but making a ruckus was not a good idea now. The regular sharingan will do, he decided and glanced back to where one of the guards was grabbing for his pouch and the other one for the radio. They were both keeping their eyes mostly on Naruto, but that was high enough to catch the waves of illusion. A second later, convinced that they got on their feet for nothing else but to stretch, both guards sat back calmly.
What a couple of idiots. Even if it was someone trying to impersonate Naruto, all it would take was to stop and sense his chakra. No one else has that fierce quality in it; it would be easy to recognize it even if the sinister aura coming from the Kyuubi wasn't lurking just under the surface.
Ahead of Sasuke, Naruto was picking up his pace, almost but not quite running. The only thing that was stopping him was, probably, that he knew that people were off the streets but possibly watching outside though the windows and he didn't want to them to panic. Seeing the Hokage without his robe and ANBU following him, running around the village would doubtlessly have attracted attention.
Which wasn't a bad idea.
At the big crossroad near the bridge, Naruto took a turn to the right. Giving up on watching the surroundings for the stupid rush moron, Sasuke closed a little bit of the distance between them.
"Where are you going?"
Naruto glanced at him without slowing down.
"To the police station." He explained impatiently, as if there was something logical about it. "It's there, isn't it? That basement-hall where the traps are."
Most likely, the box with the demon sealed inside it was there, in the basement. The station was the epicenter of all events inside of the Uchiha clan, something that belonged to them and was completely under their control. It was the most logical place to hide something as dangerous and brought in for the purpose that was common for all the clan families. Sasuke couldn't imagine anyone would want to take it home, regardless of it being just as much of a threat so close by.
He thought because the original form of the seal he had found in his father's things had notes that marked it used and usable for the location basement was on that it was a room that was sealed. Hopefully, it wasn't the entire room, just the box inside.
"And what are you going to do once you get there?"
This time, the glance Naruto gave him was puzzled. "I'll get rid of it."
"How?"
Naruto slowed down a little then. "Well, it's a box of some sort, right? We just need to get it."
"Naruto…" You stupid fucking moron, Sasuke's mind supplied but he couldn't say it, especially not in the middle of the street. "All we know is that when they decided to take it to Konoha, the demon was in a box. Maybe that is not the case any longer, and even if it is, the seal is leaking. Simply moving it might work, but what if it doesn't?"
While he was talking, Naruto finally stopped. He was getting angry again, but at least he was listening. "You mean, moving it might set it free?"
"I have no idea. We need to make a back up plan before we go there."
Naruto clamored: "Well, can't you seal it again? Only better?"
Sasuke ignored the little wince Naruto made in the middle of the word 'seal', but the part of him wondered if he would ever be able to talk about sealing without thinking about what had happened last night. He grit out, because Naruto was making it all look so simple: "Not without putting a seal together first."
"No, no way! That takes too much time." Naruto seethed. "I can finally… I can't just sit and wait…" Instead of trying one more time to express just how much he disliked not being able to do anything, again, Naruto froze. "If there's a possibility for that thing to leak more or whatever, I have to evacuate people."
Sasuke took a breath more freely then. He was afraid Naruto would insist on going into an insane mission to save the day. That would be needlessly risky, but he would have to follow. Once again, the realization of just how much Naruto had changed hit him.
Already turning to continue down the street that will take him to the Uchiha district, Sasuke informed him: "And I have to find something that can serve as a container and put that seal together."
"Sasuke!" Naruto called behind him; a little anxious tilt in his voice, very uncharacteristic for Naruto's 'hero mode', made Sasuke stop in place. He won't try to say something stupid, right? Not here, in the middle of the street, with people living and working nearby watching them through the windows?
He had to turn, and when he did, Naruto was looking back at him, frowning. Yes, whatever he had in mind was private. Better to remind him of that.
"Yes?" Sasuke asked. He had left Naruto's title hanging in the air, but even without it, it sounded as if he was waiting for orders.
Luckily, Naruto took the hint. "I'll send you some help." Without a moment of further hesitation, he turned to run into the direction of the Hokage tower over the rooftops. It didn't matter if people would worry now – they would be herded out of their houses soon anyway.
Sasuke followed his example. One of the buildings he had to pass on his way home was the police station, so he spared a couple of minutes to make a thin barrier on the door. If Naruto changed his mind about waiting, it couldn't stop him from coming inside, but it would warn Sasuke about it.
***
The missing pages from the notebooks and journals were something Sasuke had noticed before, but back then he was looking for the ways to discover why were those extremely dangerous fire based traps placed indoors. Now, when he was more interested in the plans his clan had for the overthrow they were planning, the pattern was obvious.
Even though business of similar and even same nature to the one clan had in other places was neatly written and left in those notes, everything regarding the trip to Granny's abandoned city was missing. They considered the code clan was using unbreakable, and as far as Sasuke was aware, it was. There was no one left in the world that would be able to read and find out information written on these papers; no one but Sasuke. A little bit he had found on the strange seal before was all information that was left in the papers Sasuke had in the house.
Finding the container to seal the demon in was also very important, but it was physical job. Making a new seal demanded concentration and mental strain, so Sasuke decided to take care of that first.
He took the original scroll, the one he had found the seal drawn on before. Small handwritten notes on the side were pointing out that it's the model-seal and numbers marking the exact position. Sasuke took a map of Konoha, even though he did that before, and calculated location again, but there was no doubt. It marked the end of the basement in the police station.
Looking through it, all clauses seemed equally important. He'd need the one for sealing off evil definitely, and also the other standard ones for storing up great amounts of chakra. He would have to stick to the way those inventing the original seal worked out the identity confirmation, because there were no specifics on the type of the demon or his strengths and weaknesses; nothing to help him. Breaking contract was fine, too. But the solutions for feeding the seal were not good at all.
The main feeding source was surrounding nature, but the alternate source… Clause was one of the smallest ones. It was marking the preferred source for feeding seal symbol for power and leadership, and as a specific human.
Sasuke set up and blinked several times to chase lingering images and patterns of the ink from the scroll in front of him. That should make Naruto's committee happy. He had nothing to do with this entire situation. The seal has definitely leaked, and it leaked on the clause for alternate feeding. That is why the demon always went back to try to feed on Naruto, because it basically had an address within its reach.
The clause connecting the Hokage to the seal was not active, but it was there, it existed. The link was strong enough to smell Naruto through it. In fact, that might explain why it weakened just as Naruto became the Hokage. It was the power, Naruto's own and the power of Kyuubi just on the other side of the wall, an enormous amount of chakra just outside of reach, too tempting for a demon trapped for so long not to struggle more forcefully.
Whenever it managed to reach out thought that little crack, it went straight for that source. But the Kyuubi seal was keeping enough of Naruto's energy in reserve, which was saving Naruto and making the demon go for the nearest tempting chakra and life force that was forming it. There was no time at the moment, but Sasuke was sure that if he asked Sakura, she would tell him all of the victims had more chakra then was usual.
A subtle disruption of the outer barrier announced an arrival, most likely the help Naruto promised. When the visitor landed softly in the back yard, Sasuke wasn't displeased to recognize Naruto's advisor, Nara. There was no love lost between them, but at least he won't have to repeat himself three times at every turn.
He opened the door before his visitor got to them.
"A demon?" Shikamaru questioned when Sasuke gestured him to come inside. "Do you know what kind?"
It was as easy as that. Sasuke shared information in short informative sentences, and with the undivided attention he was getting, they went thought the most important parts before even reaching the table with the documents spread on it.
The rest of the seal formed quickly between them, and for the container, Shikamaru suggested one of the bigger bowls his clan was using for storing plants they were collecting in their woods. It had a fixable lid, so Sasuke agreed that it was a good idea.
***
The streets were empty when Sasuke and Shikamaru passed them on their way, but around the Hokage tower, a number of people remained. Naruto was trying to reason with them when they arrived. Because it would probably not be a good thing to jump over their heads, Sasuke murmured so only Shikamaru would hear: "I'll find another way in."
Leaving one of Naruto's most trusted consultants to help him should be enough. If Nara couldn't think of a way to deal with a bunch of displeased shinobi, no one could.
Aside from the people on the stairwell, the tower was almost empty. In the private Hokage quarters there was a glint of two familiar chakra signatures. Sasuke slipped through an opened window on the second floor and went right there.
"What's with those people outside?" He asked when Sakura and Hinata looked up at the sound of the door opening.
Sakura brightened with a tastelessly wide smile, considering the situation. "They don't want to leave if the village is in danger. It took us a minimal amount of time to complete the evacuation, but a couple of them just won't go."
Ah. She was taking it as loyalty to Naruto.
"The further away they are when we do this, the better." Sasuke told her.
"Yeah, Naruto said that, too." Sakura sighed. "And then he said I have to go, too – right after he asked me for the fifth time if someone died last night. What's up?"
She's better off gone. Everyone is better off gone. Only Naruto, because of the seal Sasuke made the previous night, can face this thing. But Sasuke had to stay, because there to seal that thing again might arise, and he wasn't confident that Naruto could do that on his own.
Instead of trying to explain everything, he gave her a box full of all documents he managed to gather since he was appointed this mission. "Take these. If something goes wrong, you will need it to know what's going on. Don't allow anyone to rush back into the village before you read them. Nara knows, but it would be better if someone else does as well."
There was not much chance that the demon, once free, would remain in Konoha when there was no one there. Maybe it will go back where it came from, maybe just seek out people to feed. But they were unpredictable, and if it decided to stay around, this will give people some time.
It was just for the last resort, though. If Naruto and Sasuke failed in getting rid of this thing, there was little chance someone else would succeed.
Sakura took them and momentarily started digging into the box.
Hinata, from her position next to the huge bookshelf close to the door, said: "Naruto looks well. Your trip seems to have done us good in more ways than one."
Her tone was quiet, probably because of the inappropriate familiarity she showed by using Naruto's name in the Hokage tower. When Sasuke looked at her, the smile she was wearing was almost playful, if soft. Sakura's short snicker confirmed Sasuke's suspicion – they somehow knew what he had to do. Maybe Naruto just told them.
Sasuke didn't answer, not that anyone acted as if they were expecting him to, content to look around the office. There were more books in it than in the history section of the public library, but not enough light for studying. The only furniture aside from the bookshelves was a big desk Sakura was leaning against, and comfortable brown chairs.
Soon, the distant buzzing sound coming from the crowd outside subdued. Two pair of steps climbed the stairs.
"…and I don't like lying, anyway." Naruto was saying in the hallway.
"You would rather them die then lie a little?" Shikamaru answered, his voice almost scorning. "You can't be honest all the time. There will always be people who will see things differently."
"You lie to them." Naruto offered, walking through the door. "I'll work on keeping them safe."
Shikamaru didn't bother answering him. Instead, he spoke to Hinata. "Do you have it?"
She nodded and produced one of familiar dishes of Nara's property. It had light brown antlers engraved and painted on the sides, faint enough not to unbalance inking of the seal. Both bottom and the lid were blank. The sealing Sasuke put out together was not meant for keeping anyway, just for getting rid of the demon, so it should do well enough.
"It contained roots of Akayajio." Hinata informed them when Sasuke took the bowl from her.
Sakura, not even bothering to stop with listingthe documents in the box Sasuke had given her, offered absentmindedly. "Akayajio is good for making poison reach the bloodstream faster."
Shikamaru frowned, and Hinata averted her eyes. Sakura didn't even notice the reactions she caused. Naruto was really worried. Now was not the time to deal with Sakura's obsession, though.
"If you start now," Sasuke said. "By the time I finish inking the seal, you should be far enough."
Sakura gave a hug first to Sasuke and then to Naruto, her eyes still shadowed from the reading and Hinata wished them luck before Shikamaru hastened them out. Sasuke was already preparing his kit.
It took him almost an hour to finish. There were too many clauses; he needed to be careful. Naruto was pacing his office like a trapped animal until Sasuke sent him out to take a look around the village just in case someone remained behind. Naruto glared – with the full right to do so; the method Konoha was using for complete evacuation was flawless. But he left anyway, making many clones before he even left the office. The lack of huffs and muttering did wonders for Sasuke's nerves.
***
It was dusk when Naruto and Sasuke landed on the first step of the police station. Even the slowest of the villagers were supposed to be far enough by then; at least in the first populated place. The day behind them felt as if it lasted for too long already, like all the days full of achievements did.
Naruto said nothing when Sasuke undid the barrier on the front door, but he was already clenching his fists in anticipation while he was waiting for him to undo the other, stronger barrier sealing off the basement entrance.
"The traps are mostly fire based." Sasuke warned, luring some chakra into his eyes to activate sharingan. Naruto gave him an annoyed, impatient look and stepped in first. A standard gap of ten seconds would be enough, Sasuke decided. They weren't talking about it, but in enclosed space, they could disturb one another. When the third huge flame licked the stairwell at the beginning of the hallway, it was time.
Not using the advantage of starting on the higher ground would be a waste; Sasuke used the spot a few millimeters above one of the traps on the right wall to prolong his jump. The distance he managed to cover was almost to the half, but the maneuver was predicted. When he used his left hand to redirect his weight to the right direction, a bouquet of extremely hot blue flames burned him. If he was a moment slower, his hand would have been burned down to uselessness.
Instead of taking a second to look around at patterns of the flaring fire around, as his every instinct scream at him that he should, Sasuke remained in the middle of the hall, where he had landed, in a crouch. Naruto's passing had left a fierce tail, but if there was some repetition Sasuke's sharingan would have caught it.
A roll forward triggered a wire – probably poisoned, considering that it was made to wrapped itself, not cut. To avoid it, Sasuke had to fight his first urge to jump high in the air and instead took the position next to the wall.
Traps Naruto triggered finally subdued, which made the rest of the path easy for Sasuke to finish. Without the fire, even through the thick smoke, he could see traps' setting off clearly, so avoiding them was not too hard. The speed he needed cost him some chakra, though.
Leaned against the door at the end of the hallway, Naruto was waiting. When Sasuke landed close by, he took a close look him before saying: "Asshole." It probably meant he got hurt. Sasuke decided not to mention his burnt palm. "These things are creepy."
Naruto was gesturing on the walls on both sides. Ugly pictures of demons were painted, in quality and colors wasted on such damp and dark place. Sasuke shrugged and settled to undo the complicated locking seal on the door.
The room behind was as huge as the training ground for genins behind the memorial and windowless, of course. The switch for light was covered in spider web when Sasuke found it in the dark. The lights hesitated for a moment before blinking to life. Sharingan was quick to adjust, so it didn't take more then part of a second before Sasuke realized.
The room was almost entirely empty. In fact, aside from the completely bare wooden table in the middle, there was nothing inside.
"Sasuke? I don't see any demons." Naruto said, and added: "Nor boxes."
He walked around Sasuke and then around the room, almost as if he was expecting that the demon was hiding in a corner. But every part of the room was clearly visible in the strong white light, and there was nothing inside. The thing was moved somewhere else.
"What's this?" Naruto interrupted the silence. He was leaning over the table, so Sasuke went to see. There was a single piece of paper lying on the flat wood. "Drawings? What the hell?"
It was a message written in clan code, Sasuke knew that on the first glance. But the closer inspection discovered that it was his family's variation of the code. With sharingan, copping someone's handwriting was easy, but in the combination with the code…
"What?" Naruto demanded. "What's that? What does it say?"
A new lungful of air was only partially helpful. Sasuke forced out: "It says I'll take care of it."
Even though he couldn't quite rip his gaze of the symbols written on the paper, Sasuke saw Naruto with a corner of his eye blink and frown.
"I'll take care of it? Take care of what?" He was wondering aloud. "Is that a riddle? What a weird demon."
That successfully made Sasuke look straight at Naruto. "The message is not from the demon, you idiot. It's from Itachi."
Naruto opened his mouth in a silent oops. After a moment, he recovered. "Well, then it's definitely a riddle. Do you know how long it took me to understating why your brother made me swallow a crow?"
Sasuke ignored him.
He should have known that Itachi was here. The entire point of the massacre was to prevent the rebellion, wasn't it? It was unlikely that Itachi didn't know about the exact plan. And it was improbable that he would've left something so dangerous in Konoha. He would have wanted to get rid of it himself.
"But he didn't."
"What?" Naruto asked, leaning a little closer. Sasuke took a step away, out of sheer fear he would lean in for support. He was feeling a bit weak.
"He didn't take care of it." Naruto frowned stupidly, so he snapped: "He took it out of Konoha to God knows where and the thing is still killing people here! How am I supposed to find it?"
His voice was becoming more unsteady with every word. Sasuke wondered, with the part of his mind that wasn't busy fighting the need to yell, why was he still reacting so strongly on the mere mention of Itachi's involvement.
"Geez. Calm down." Naruto said, attempting again to stand closer. Sasuke moved further away. "Itachi was not exactly a moron, you know. I'm sure he left clues in case something happened before he managed to get rid of it – like it did."
And if he didn't? There was no doubt he was sick and intending to die of Sasuke's hand so the power he obtained wouldn't be wasted, but what if Sasuke found him too soon? This day was turning into just one more reason to regret everything he was; one more reason to hate himself for not knowing how to listen.
This time not giving him a choice, Naruto leaned in quickly, grabbing Sasuke's forearm. "We're going out now. You need some air."
Not willing to be led out like a faint girl, Sasuke dig his heels into the ground until Naruto rolled his eyes a little and let go. It was better without the constant temptation to do something stupid.
They simply walked out; the traps couldn't be triggered from that side.
***
It was already early in the morning, but the signals for directing and redirecting groups of returning villagers to Konoha were still echoing off the deaf hour. Naruto had refused to give out the order for them to come back until way after midnight. There were thousands of clones running around the entire evening, mostly searching inside and out of the Uchiha district, but a healthy amount of them also looking in the other areas Naruto felt that were a possibility.
Later, he first sent out a message for some of the Hyuugas to return. The clan elders sent a younger daughter from the main branch and several of her constant companions. Sasuke grit teeth and glared a lot, but he couldn't say anything about a load of Hyuugas having insight in every little thing that was left of his family.
Naruto called for an emergency meeting of the committee for the six in the morning. There was nothing actually that urgent, but he was full of adrenaline and also disappointed because they couldn't find anything. Sasuke lingered in the tower as well, because with his mind refilled with Itachi's images and intentions, he didn't want to go back to the empty house.
Most of the night, Sasuke spent in the private Hokage office; the one that was so full of books and scrolls, he was sure Naruto was not even using it. The view was better then from the main office, because it was facing the Hokage Mountain instead the front of the tower. From the chair behind Naruto's desk, Sasuke could clearly see the tip of Kakashi's nose. But instead, he found himself watching the framed picture on the table. They were so young… And in all honestly, Sasuke wasn't sure who had a more ridiculous expression on his face, himself or Naruto. It was Sakura's fault they turned out that way, she was chattering some nonsense about how she will now have a picture with the love of her life, which was really annoying and it made Naruto jealous.
In the hallways, people were rushing at all sides at once. Sakura was making an announcement on a lower floor to calm down the village; there were representatives of every clan in there, their distinctive chakra signatures were something Sasuke could feel without even trying.
When the first gray light colored the sky gray, Naruto walked into the office. He looked barely somewhat better then he did before Sasuke sealed chakra inside him. It was not really a wonder; the mental strain of having all those clones must have been really big. Otherwise, Naruto seemed to have found a moment or two to change his clothes, but soft cotton made him appear like he was preparing to snuggle into his bed, not have an important meeting.
"There you are." He said through a yawn. Sasuke thought how it would be proper of him to stand up to let Naruto have his own chair, and decided it's too much trouble. Naruto didn't seem to mind much, but instead of taking one of the guest armchairs, he hoped up on the desk. On Sasuke's side. "This place is not empty for your entertainment, you know."
"It's not?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow. He liked that office. The impression it was giving was cozy and official at the same time, and Naruto's junk on the table made it also feel familiar. Naruto himself sitting in the middle of it, propped back on his arms, with his eyes narrowed down at Sasuke just made it better.
"No, it's off limits. You need to have a special permission to be here." A playful smirk replaced Naruto's narrowed look. "And that's not a proper way to great the leader of the village, either. Stand up."
Fairly sure Naruto was jerking him around, Sasuke stood up from the chair anyway without a word. Just that, without stepping away, made him stand so close to the desk, he was practically brushing Naruto's left leg. In the burnt down Konoha, Naruto's body heat shouldn't have been so tempting to steal some of it, but the advantages of it were too familiar.
"That's better." Naruto smiled to make things worse. "We need to go to the meeting room now. But before that, you owe me something."
Even though the tone Naruto had used for the last sentence made Sasuke want to pin him down to the table and flee the room at the same time, he focused on the previous one. "We? You want me to attend your committee meeting?"
"They will demand details. I don't feel like explaining things." Naruto rationalized, which translated to I still have no clue about sealing.
To make sure it wasn't just because Naruto was feeling lazy, Sasuke suggested. "Nara can do that part."
"Shut up, Sasuke." Naruto returned, still smiling. "I was thinking about last night and there is a thing I don't like about that entire thing."
No doubt, he was talking about the last night they spent out of Konoha and not about the one that was slowly fading outside. "A thing? I was sure you weren't conscious enough to remember details."
Naruto's smile turned into a smirk. He didn't take the bait. "Oh, I was. And so I remember there wasn't any kissing."
With a flesh of understanding, Sasuke flinched a little. He meant to step back, but Naruto moved before he could and grabbed his forearms.
"Naruto." Sasuke said. He wanted it to go out warningly, but it came out uncertain, so Naruto just raised his eyebrows. He'd have to try harder. "No."
Despite the refusal this time being sure and harsh, as the warning should have been in the first place, Sasuke let Naruto drag him nearer.
"Not a lifelong commitment, Sasuke." He said, almost whisper while leaning closer. His eyes were still playful, but there was something else underneath it, something darker and impossible to miss while looking at Naruto's face from just a few inches away. "I'm just asking for a kiss. To make the experience complete, you know?"
"It was not supposed to be that kind of experience." Sasuke said, satisfied he was still sounding firm, despite of his blood that was cursing wildly from Naruto's warmth and closeness. "I thought we were clear on that."
Anger made Naruto's mouth utterly kissable. His words ruined it. "Maybe you can have sex with people without getting emotionally involved, but for normal people, that is not exactly easy!"
His grip on Sasuke arms was as firm as steel. It would leave bruises like Naruto would never have managed using fists; and Sasuke was not even trying to get out of it. There was no way he would say that aloud, but he was emotionally involved, not to mention physically attracted. After all, that was the main reason that this was a bad idea.
"But then, you had so much exercise." Naruto was glaring, his bright eyes glittering from the morning light outside. "Maybe if I go visit your favorite part of Konoha once or twice, you won't have to deal with unreasonable demands like this one."
Sasuke closed his eyes before the picture. A room, with a rented bed and a rented lover inside, fucking Naruto blossomed within his mind. It was so wrong. Naruto was not meant for casual sex, he was not the type to use others – he would have tried to save people who were selling themselves, anyway. He would have chose one, and fell in love with him. The possibility, that idea…
It made him jealous.
So Sasuke ignored the soft nasal sound that he let out without permission, opened his eyes, and kissed him. Naruto was stiff from the surprise for a single moment only; and then he opened his mouth and kissed back. He tilted his head and slid his tongue over Sasuke's; accepting and offering at the same time. Stimulating bitterness of the kiss ignited a fire in Sasuke that seared all the barriers between his body and his brain, so there was no going back, no retreating.
Sasuke traced Naruto's thighs until his fingers were high enough to dig into Naruto's hips. When he yanked him closer, Naruto let go of his forearms finally and grabbed the back of his neck, with some hair painfully stuck under his palm, to keep Sasuke from breaking the kiss. That determination just made his gasping reaction on the full body to body contact get lost in Sasuke's mouth. But when he slid lower off the table, rubbing their crutches violently together, Naruto cut of the kiss just in time to catch Sasuke's groan that escaped.
Naruto found his way up the chin to his ear, and bit into the earlobe. His breath was intoxicatingly warm and lively, but once he recovered from the lack of Naruto's clever tongue in his mouth, Sasuke's brain cleared up a little.
"Meeting." He gasped, hating the need clearly spelled out all over the sound.
It took a moment, but Naruto bit once more, this time higher at the ear shell so it would hurt for punishment and pushed himself up on the table again. "Yeah…"
Not wanting to do it at all, Sasuke stepped away and around the table. Naruto got off the table to walk to a conveniently hidden coat hanger behind one of the bookshelves. There was a single cloak handing there, the red and black one, and Naruto put it on.
"After we finish explaining what the alarm was about and what you found out in the last week," Naruto said, clearly trying to sound like the leader he was supposed to be, which was ruined with his still sped up breathing and flushed face. "I will explain my idea about how we will sneak into the Rain country and make a visit to some of the Akatsuki's old bases."
Rain country was so weak after the last shinobi war, sneaking in would be easy. It would be so easy, it's was almost a waste to try.
"Sneak in?" He questioned as Naruto opened the door and walked out first.
"Well, we will not as much 'sneak in' as we will go to make an official business visit…" Naruto grinned, even while squinting against the rising sun in the hallway that had windows facing east. "But as they won't know the real reason we will be there, it's as good as sneaking in."
Closing the door behind him, Sasuke thought about the plan. It was better than to make the big effort into getting all that way there in secret, and people there might not even question too much him asking around his brother. It should be fine, as long as Itachi actually left something to base their investigation on.
Naruto was already walking down the hall, so Sasuke followed. There was not much use in making plans before he heard Nara's plan, and anyway, he was very curious about this committee and the famous meetings.
That morning surely was revealing.