ANBU's headquarters, Basement, Women's quarter, late afternoon…
Konan sneezed. She still hadn't been given any clean clothes since they locked her up. With the constant dampness of her cell, it was no wonder that she had caught a cold. The wire netted door opened. The rugged woman that had handled her when she arrived was here again. Her red-tattooed face, her crazy, spiky hair and her deep, broken voice gave Tsume Inuzuka the fiercest looks among all of Konoha's kunoichis.
"Stand up, bitch! Get off your ass and come over! You've just been granted the right to take a shower."
"Go away, dyke."
"What was that?" Kiba's mother voice had dangerously risen
"You heard me. I can't help it if you look like a butch lesbian, lady…."
Tsume went over to Konan and firmly grabbed her by the hair, making her stand up in the bargain.
"I'd watch my mouth if I were you, woman! A traitoress is walking dead meat. Never forget this."
Tsume held Konan's arm behind her back, forcing her to walk forward.
"Damn! You reek as bad as a used tampon! Are you on your period or something?" she asked mockingly to the prisoner.
Konan glowered and uttered more insulting words about Tsume's mannish appearance. They arrived in the shower. Konan undressed and put herself under the hot water spray, rubbing her creamy, delicate skin with a soap lump.
"Who allowed this?" she asked her jailer who hadn't stepped out
"Someone important wants to see you today"
The blue-haired woman's face took back this familiar ice cold expression "My nephew again?"
"No"
"Then who?"
"You'll know soon enough. Now hurry up and put those clothes on" Tsume said as she handed her a pile of clean garments
Konan dried up and dressed. She thought it might be time to try a surprise evasion but the woman splashed her with water again.
"Just in case you have funny ideas" Kiba's mother said with a smirk
Konan remained impassive and went back to her cell. Who would like to see her? Danzo? No, it would just incriminate him. An ANBU rep maybe… But it didn't take long before she saw him entering her cell. Out of all people, he was the one she expected the least to visit her. The pineapple haired bastard himself! He was accompanied by a taller, dark haired, neutral-faced man with sunglasses. She didn't greet them. It wasn't a courtesy visit.
"What do you want?"
"I came to negotiate. No need to get defensive." Shikamaru said
"My answer is no."
"And my deal is if you help us, you might have a chance to be happy again and that's not an empty promise. Come with us and you will know what I am talking about."
"Go away."
"You're mistaken. I am not making a request."
The man with the sunglasses went to her and grabbed her the same way Tsume did earlier while Shikamaru blindfolded her.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"
"Be quiet and do as we say. We won't harm you, at least not know" the man behind her said.
She had no choice. She let them lead her to another part of the basement, at least so it seemed to her.
Earlier this afternoon…
"What do you want to do with her?" the Hokage asked "How could she possibly listen to you when she told me to take a hike?"
"Your offer was too mild, Naruto. You want her to forgive you right?"
"Yes."
"Then you have to get serious and offer something that could actually prompt her into considering it."
"And what do you suggest, Mr Smartass?"
Shikamaru scowled at that crack but made his suggestion all the same.
"You're joking."
"I'm not"
".way."
"Now that is stupid. I don't even get why you haven't proposed this in the first place."
"Shikamaru's right" Shino intervened "You can't get your aunt to listen if you come to her with half-hearted offers. That was the first thing you should have told her about."
"Honey, do you hear that?" the Orange Flash asked Hinata who was carefully keeping mum "Those two are asking me to open the Gates of Hell! You know we can't ensure anything if we do this! It's asking for unnecessary, hazardous and hardly controllable trouble."
"We know that. But as it is, we don't have any other options. If you want to take Danzo down, you have to get Konan into cooperating. Give her the real thing and she will be proven wrong about you. Then you can negotiate with her on a serious scale."
Naruto pouted and then tried to ponder. That was no easy decision. Of course he had thought of this at once when Konan was brought into custody. But could he possibly jeopardize Konohagakure for the sake of his only family tie? There was a time when he would do anything for anyone close to him, even for that bastard of Sasuke. But now that he was in charge, everything was different… He went to gaze through the window and let his mind wander for a while. Contemplating the village he always wanted to protect, he wondered if it was worth it. The sun was declining a bit but it was still a bright spring day with a lush of blossoming trees. The wind blew gently and caressed the smooth tiles of the roofs. Without warning, the film of Naruto's memories rewound and settled on that day… The day he finally caught up with Sasuke… The day he knew what that wrinkled douche of Danzo meant when he said that bounds only bring pain and hate. Admitting, the old fossil was right was hard enough for the Rokudaime to clench his fists.
"Shit!" he let out
Five years ago, the Akatsuki's hideout…
"Stupid kid!" Tobi said "You know not what you're doing! You may have defeated your brother; you are still no match for me."
"We'll see about that!" the youth said defiantly. The Chidori was shrieking in his hand, his membranous wings were spanned to their maximum, his red eyes glowed with hatred and his now long bluish grey hair flowed in the unhealthy wind that surrounded him.
"Sasuke!!!" Naruto screamed "You can't do this on your own! Let us help you!" He tried to break free, but the hold of Juugo was too much even for him.
"Shut up, moron! This is my fight! I will deal with you right after!" the demonic faced Uchiha shouted.
Behind a menacing Tobi, a weakened Konan was watching. Hadn't the Uchiha kid busted in when her master was about to snap her neck, she'd be dead right now. Taking advantage of the confusion, the blue haired woman discreetly crawled towards a hidden exit.
"The woman is getting away!" Karin shouted, feeling Konan's chakra disappear. Suigetsu was keeping Sai and Yamato in check. Kakashi lay on the ground at Juugo's feet, knocked out by a powerful blow at the temple. And Sakura was restrained by the dagger Karin held at her throat.
Tobi turned around and removed his mask.
"Fire Style: Fire Breath"
A large fire cone aimed at Konan and set her on fire. But instead of screaming in agony, the paper duplicate was simply turned to cinders in a heartbeat. Konan had gotten away. Tobi turned back towards Sasuke and prepared to receive the Uchiha heir's attack. This is when they saw his face for the first time. All the Konohans present, were too dumbfounded to even think of interloping. Seeing Obito Uchiha had totally stunned them shitless.
"You think no one can defeat an Uchiha, child? Well you're about right, except for another Uchiha!"
"Shut up and die!" Sasuke said before lunging at his opponent, drawing out his katana. Tobi didn't even move and got slashed across the torso only to laugh heartily. Taking a chakra moulding stance, Obito launched his own Mangekyo Sharingan but Sasuke could easily break through it. The Chidori scorched a huge hole through Tobi's body while Sasuke attacked him mentally through his eye-technique for him not to regenerate from the attack. Tobi grinned.
"Child, you just blew up your last chance to survive. And if I die from this, you will follow me soon after."
Sasuke didn't answer and brutally removed his arm from his uncle's chest, provoking an unsightly blood geyser. Tobi fell back and didn't move anymore. And this is when Sasuke felt it. An exponentially growing pain was extending from his neck as a familiar voice resonated in his head.
'Sasuke-kun, the cursed seal I gave you has a major side effect. For each and every time you use the Level 2 of the seal, you destroy more and more cells in you body. Use it too much in a single battle and your entrails will be reduced to mash. The internal damage is irreversible. Never forget this."
Orochimaru's words resonated again and again as the world around him began to vacillate and shiver. The taste of iron was now invading his mouth and his heart was aching like hell. He gave in to the ground. This battle had used up to much and he was now paying the price. All of a sudden, a pair of arms embraced him. Naruto was holding him.
"Sasuke, look at yourself! You pushed yourself too far."
"Hold him Naruto I will heal him"
"It's too late Sakura" the Uchiha boy said to the medic as he was slowly taking back his true form "I am dying"
"Sasuke…" Kakashi had woken up and was looking in on his former student
"Kakashi-sensei… You were right… Nothing remains once vengeance is done… I feel so… empty inside…"
"Sasuke-kun, hang in there! You're not going to die!" a teary eyed Sakura said, already realizing the cold hard truth "Please stay with us! Don't leave us, don't leave me!"
The dark haired boy's team mates soon joined in and also gathered around their dying leader, not saying a word.
"Naruto… Please, fulfill your dreams. At least yours weren't foolish. I did everything for my vengeance but I don't get to enjoy it… I've been stupid enough to think I could get away with all this… I was sorely mistaken….Thank you… for having been… my only…friends…all of you…" Sasuke let out his last breath and eventually died.
That was when Juugo threw one of his random tantrums and transformed into a gruesome, out-of-control monster. Naruto remembered the horrible feel of Juugo's blood on him… How he impaled him with his Rasengan… The fates of Suigetsu and Karin… The red haired girl with glasses who had boasted about having slept many times with Sasuke and now bearing his child… The fearsome rage of Sakura upon hearing Karin got where she never could… How his pink haired friend virtually tore the girl to shreds… Naruto also saw how Sai dealt with Suigetsu as he claimed to finish Sasuke's task and kill Naruto… How Sai pushed him in that pool of melted steel, causing Suigetsu to literally evaporate…
He wanted to rescue his dearest friend, he eventually did. But he had been too late. Nevertheless, he did bring back Sasuke's corpse to Konoha – or rather what was left of it – where he was incinerated. The Uchiha clan was no more. 3 years later, Naruto was officially installed as Konoha's 6th Hokage, just like Tsunade had wished upon retiring. After the destruction of Konoha at the hands of Pein, she had overexerted her powers. And, despite her superhuman resistance to physical harm, it took her considerable time to rejuvenate. And even then, she felt that time would catch up to her soon, the unfortunate side effect of her powers. Thus, the 5th Hokage left Konoha for good this time, entrusting the village to her protégé.
And now, Naruto was at last reunited with the last person he considered family, save from Umino Iruka. The only person he couldpossibly save. But she didn't want him.
'What was I thinking?' the Hokage thought 'After all, she saw me kill Pein and I'm expecting her to do as if everything was fine… But I give her that, the consequences might be even worse than the current situation…'
"Do what you deem the best" Naruto said without turning to his comrades
"Naruto…"
"But I demand to be present when you show it to her."
"I won't forget" Shikamaru answered "Let's go, Shino. It's time."
Naruto waited for his generals to leave and then punched another window broken. Hinata darted to his side.
"Dear, calm down! You know there was no other valid choice"
Naruto didn't answer and hugged Hinata tight.
"Hinata, if I ever did a mistake, would you still love me?"
"Of course I would! What a question!"
"No I mean, if I made a really big mistake…"
"Naruto, I told you before. What I like about you is you're never giving up, even when you make mistakes. And that, in my eyes, is true strength."
Naruto kissed her passionately. She was the one he could rely on whenever he felt weak. At that moment, he thought himself the luckiest man on Earth.
Outside, near the ANBU headquarters…
"Rare of you not to be accompanied by Chouji, Shikamaru" Shino said
"Chouiji and Ino are on their "cleaning" mission with Sai. We still need information about ROOT's ramifications and Danzo's schemes."
"By the way, I didn't say everything back then. There is something I think we shouldn't bring up until it is absolutely confirmed."
"What is it?"
Shino confessed what he had learnt from Sai himself. Shikamaru felt as if he received another 100 tons anvil on him.
"This can't be… It was all for nothing, then."
"Not really. At least, he is now much less powerful as he used to be. But then again, this is unverified. This is why we need to have more news from your team mates as well as from Kakashi and his team once they're back from Otogakure."
"Right" Shikamaru inhibited the information he just heard to focus on the present problem.
Somewhere below the ground floor of ANBU's headquarters…
They had been walking like that for quite some time. She had no idea where they were leading her. It was clammy in there. She had heard several doors unlocking and none of her guardians exchanged a single word during all the time they walked. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice. One she really didn't want to hear.
"So you finally got her to cooperate as I can see."
"Well since she wouldn't actually cooperate, we just forced her." Shikamaru answered.
"What are you doing here? I told you I don't want to speak to you!" Konan inquired angrily as they took off the cloth that covered her eyes.
"And I told you that you are in no position to command anything, aunt Konan. And considering your situation, consider this treatment as an unusually great favor."
He looked nervous and ill-at-ease. 'What is he up to?' she thought
"Shikamaru, Shino, are you sure of what you're doing?" Naruto asked
"We have kept him in herefor many purposes. Even ones we didn't know about before we captured Konan" Shino answered
"Yes and anyway, we can't leave him here forever." Shikamaru added
They were in one of these chambers that were carefully kept secret from public knowledge. One of these rooms of ANBU's basement where only a few people were allowed. That one was somber and eerily silent, covered with dark green tiling. A small team of medic-nins was there and keeping a rack of tubes, very similar to the ones Pein used to store his 6 bodies. Inside, she could make out the bodies of various people. Certainly a way of conserving dead bodies or anything such…
"What have you led me here for?" she asked, not liking this situation which made no sense to her whatsoever. Naruto turned to her and looked unusually serious. He didn't answer and simply switched on the light of one of the tubes, where she could make out the shape of a man.
"Come here, aunt Konan. Pein is waiting for you."
At the mention of her lover's name, Konan shivered. No. Not possible. He… He's couldn't possibly…She slowly made her way toward the strange capsule. There he was, completely naked and in a perfect state of conservation. An electrocardiogram signaled he was still alive. She fell to her knees and crept towards the man-sized tube. He was there and alive.
"You…you…how?... It's impossible! It can't be! I saw him die! Die in my arms at your hands! I'm sure you just cast some genjutsu on me or something like that!"
"You don't believe it, Konan? Then dispel it. No one will stop you." Shikamaru said.
Konan took a standard chakra moulding stance "Kai!" she shouted
Nothing happened. It was no genjutsu. It was reality. Konan was here completely dumbfounded. Tears were coming at her eyes. She did nothing to stop them from falling. She didn't care. It was too much for her to take. She cried for a while before being able to say something without sobbing. She turned to her nephew, glaring.
"How dare you play with my hurt like that? Pein is dead! I saw him die, I felt him all cold and dead in my arms when I buried him! This is just a fucking lie! It's not even Nagato's body, it's Pein's first body! Are you going to tell me you raised him from the dead or something like that? He had a huge hole in him! Where is it?" she thundered
"We followed you when you went to burry him. We have searched your hideout and found out the body of Nagato. Have you ever opened up the tube where he laid, lady Konan?" Shino asked
"No. He always forbade me to do this. Why?"
"Because said body had died a long time ago. The tube was hermetic and thus protected it from rotting up too quickly yet it was decayed."
Konan twitched and stared at the dark-haired man for a while. Nagato had died a long time ago then… But that was not the point.
"It doesn't explain anything." She said in her icy tone
"Actually, we wanted to learn more about Pein's bloodline limit and we unearthed his corpse when you left. When Lady Tsunade put some chakra in his body to analyze said bloodline, she noticed that his corpse was regenerating. She has ordered Shizune and her medical subordinates to heal him as if he were still alive. And Pein woke up. He was seriously weakened but he did wake up although unable to fight. Thus we have put him here in a state akin to hibernation. The Rinnegan has been analyzed and we found out its powers also allowed a state of clinical death without the owner actually dying if they are cured soon enough. You should be aware of this since Pein killed all the shinobis whose bodies he possessed. Still we couldn't afford to have him here alive without restraining him efficiently. Hence, we eventually created a seal that has nullified the Rinnegan in him. Hatake Kakashi-san has painted all the runes you see here." Shino explained
In her confusion, she hadn't exactly paid attention to it. His body was tattooed with a set of intricate runes and signs that ran from his shoulder blades down to his thighs.
"So it means… he's no longer able to use his chakra right?"
"Precisely. His bloodline limit is constrained as long as this seal is on him." Naruto put in.
Suddenly, a feeble moan was heard. All three turned to the tube and saw Pein eyes flutter open. Konan approached the tube and looked at him. More tears were coming to her eyes. Pein looked at her and managed to fully open his eyes upon recognizing the familiar visage of his lover. His eyes were still concentric gray rings but were lighter than usual. Pein uttered her name but but he couldn't do much more and soon went back into lethargy.
"Why have you kept him here?" Konan asked between two sobs
"For many purposes. One of which being to fathom the entirety of his bloodline limit as we told you before. But let's not dwell on this. Here is the deal. I offer you to fully wake up Pein if you agree to help us taking Danzo and his affiliates down." Shikamaru said, earnest.
"Why…why would you do this for me?" Konan asked the Hokage
It was the first time she addressed her nephew in a non-aggressive tone. Naruto felt something melt inside of him but tried to retain his serious stance.
"I've never had a family, aunt Konan. You're my only relative left. And no matter what you've become, no matter what you've done in the past, I don't hate you. And I just want to rekindle our relationship. But since you hate me for what I did to your lover, the only way for you to forgive me is to do this."
'Not to mention, if you help us, me and Temari are safe from harm…' Shikamaru thought.
Konan looked away and closed her eyes.
"You're doing it to take Danzo down."
"It's not the most important part. Not to me and not to you either. You could facilitate our task but if you don't, you'll just stay there until your execution. But if you do help us, the death sentence might just turn into something else as I already told you."
"Naruto, I don't allow you to ever play with me on that one. If you're lying to me, I'll destroy you in one way or another. And by the way, what do you mean by 'something else'?" she asked cautiously
"Well, given your status and that of Pein, I just can't let you roam completely free. If I let you both go, you will also have your powers sealed away so that you can't use them any longer. Putting it shortly, you'll become a regular human just like Pein is now."
Konan's eyes widened.
"You wouldn't."
"What did you expect? One always has to pay for their past misdeeds. But I give you a second chance, aunt Konan. And if you accept, you and your lover will be free to go wherever you want to. "
Konan didn't answer. All this time, she thought Pein was gone forever, but now it looked like all this mourning, all this grief had been for nothing. And they were proposing wake him up… She didn't know what to do right now. All this time she had hated her nephew in remembrance of what her brother-in-law had done to her sister. But Naruto never actually hated her. He just wanted her to like him and feel he had a family after all, even though his parents were dead. She felt ashamed. Naruto looked at her right in her eyes, smiling. She was so confused that she couldn't talk anymore.
"And I never come back on my word, it's my nindo. And I am always true to it. But I need to know something before we go any further."
"What?"
"Will you forgive me if I do that?"
"Possibly." Konan said after a pause, not looking at him
"I don't take this as an answer. I asked a yes or no question." Naruto ordered coldly.
"If you really hold your promise, then yes I shall forgive you. But I will never forget."
Naruto showed her a sweet smile. He wanted to hug her but he felt her coldness reaching his skin. She just wasn't ready for that. Maybe she never will be after all.
"That's all I wanted to know. Consider my offer and give me an answer tomorrow. Shino, Shikamaru, take our prisoner back to her cell."
Konan was blindfolded once more and this time didn't fight the grip of Shino on her and meekly followed them back to her cell. Back there, Konan said something to the Smoking Genius:
"I saw your face. You were carefully waiting for my reaction when we were over there. I assume you are no stranger to this, are you?"
"Correct." Shikamaru answered before closing Konan's cell
"What's your interest in all of this? I almost killed your precious little Sand girl last week so it's quite strange to see you helping in this deal. I suggest you answer truthfully to my question if you want things to go your way."
Shikamaru flinched. She had outguessed him.
"Since Danzo is the main target in this bargain, I suppose it also has something to do with him. Now answer my question." Konan added
"Shikamaru, you don't have to." Shino warned. Shikamaru looked at him and considered turning away. But knowing that Konan also hated him, maybe even more than she hated Naruto, it wouldn't be wise to lie to her at this very moment.
"Well, to be true, there are two reasons why I helped. First, I want to unseat Danzo like everyone here does. Second, if you help us, it might just prevent Danzo from blackmailing me and Temari."
"Blackmailing you about what?" Konan asked
"You don't need to know this. On your answer tomorrow depends your fate and that of Pein since, if your answer is negative, not only will we dispose of you but Pein will stay in his tube until his actual death. You are the only one who can help him in seeing the daylight again. Never forget this. Good night."
With that Shino and Shikamaru left Konan alone to ponder.