Here's chapter 12.
The poll is now closed. Fu will have the Chakra Mode.
I would like to thank Pokemaster12 for checking this chapter and helping with the romance scene. He largely rewrote the kiss; it's a lot better than what I wrote.
I don't own Naruto.
Team Asuma stood before Tsunade in the Hokage's office, Asuma in front of the desk and Shizune stood to the side of her mentor's desk. They had just returned to the village and Asuma was giving the report to their Hokage.
"After the battle, we interrogated the captive; we discovered that the assassins were hired by a lord from the Lord of Honey who was attempting to seize power. He had no other ninja in his employ and was easily taken into custody." Asuma finished his explanation of the mission's events. Shizune was still in shock over the fact that the lead Assassin had the Raijin no Ken. Most had assumed it lost forever, in the hands of Hanzo the Salamander.
"A lord trying to seize power is fairly common, but it's a bit surprising that the lead assassin turned out to be a traitor from our own village. Did you manage to recover the blade undamaged?" Tsunade said, her gaze turning to the green haired girl.
"Yes, Lady Hokage. And here's the body of the thief." Fu said as she pulled out two scrolls. She walked forward and laid the one containing Aoi's corpse on the table and opened the other, revealing the famed weapon. "Here, it is rightfully yours and I'm sure you want it back." with that, she handed the sword to their leader. The Sannin was silent as she looked at the blade in her hand for a few moments before activating it. She gazed at the glowing, yellow blade before deactivating it and closing her eyes.
"Thank you. My granduncle's sword… it's not only a powerful and precious village treasure, but also a family heirloom." Tsunade said, looking at the Jinchuriki. "You must realize what this means, to the village and to me." Tsunade said.
"Of course, Lady Tsunade." Fu replied.
"Then you understand what it means that I'm granting it to you." Tsunade said with a smirk as she extended the hand holding the blade back to the girl, much to the shock of everyone else in the room.
"Milady, are you sure about this?" Shizune asked.
"Yeah, I mean, not to sound ungrateful, but are you sure you want to give away something that means so much to your family?" Fu asked as she looked at the sword.
"Yes, I'm sure. From what I've seen and been told by Jiraiya, you're one of the most skilled kenjutsu practitioners in the village. My granduncle would want this sword to be used to protect the village, not sitting around gathering dust on a stand somewhere, and who better to wield it than the one who retrieved it." Tsunade said. Fu took the sword and looked at the blade for a moment. Though she had wanted to keep the sword, she didn't think she'd actually be allowed to.
"Thank you, Lady Tsunade. I'll do my best to prove worthy of your faith in me." Fu said with a smile.
"I'm sure you will." The Hokage said with a smile of her own. "Ok, you're all dismissed."
The group left the office, Asuma was last out and he closed the door before turning to his team. "Alright. After a mission like that, I'd say it's time to celebrate." He said with a grin.
"Yeah. Time for some barbeque." Choji said.
"Sound good?" Ino asked their temporary teammate.
"Yeah, in fact, it'll be my treat." Fu replied.
"You sure about that? You know how much Choji eats." Ino said.
"I just turned in a 15 million Ryo bounty." Fu said. "Besides, you know what just happened, I'm in a really good mood."
"Alright then, it's all on you." Asuma said, his grin widening. "I hope you don't regret this later." For the first time, he was going to be able to fully enjoy their after-mission celebration. He usually couldn't, knowing what it was going to do to his wallet.
"Hey, guys. Take a look at this." Sakura said as the three rested to recover their strength. Naruto and Yamato came over and stood on opposite sides of the girl as they looked at the picture book Sai had left behind, hoping to find out something about him. On one side was a boy with black hair and on the other cover was a boy with white hair. On each page they fought an enemy and on the following page, the boy used their fallen opponents weapons and armor. At the center where it seemed the two boys should meet, the white haired boy's page was empty and the black haired boy's face was blank.
"So, it's a story about two boys who growing up as they fight their enemies." Yamato surmised.
"It looks like it. They both have the same kind of story." Sakura replied.
"The black haired boy looks like Sai… think this is supposed to be the story of him and his brother?" Naruto asked.
"That seems to be the case." Yamato answered.
"So, they were meant to meet at the center… but were they supposed to fight each other or…" Naruto said. Suddenly, Yamato's eyes widened and he stood up.
"My clone just located their base, let's head out." the jonin said and Naruto and Sakura nodded. Minutes later, they were dashing across the lake surrounding the island where Orochimaru's base was located, using their chakra to run on the water's surface. Naruto was ahead of the group, followed by Sakura and Yamato.
"Naruto…" Sakura said, a determined look on her face. Naruto turned his head slightly and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "We'll save Sasuke this time."
"Sakura…" Naruto began, choosing his words carefully as Sakura's expression became questioning. "How far are you prepared to go?"
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. Yamato turned his head slightly to look at the blond.
"Exactly what I said. Sasuke's not just going to come back with us." Naruto said.
"How can you say that?" Sakura asked. "He-"
"Sakura." Naruto cut her off. "Sasuke willingly left. He willingly abandoned us and the village for the sake of power. He's not going to come back just because we came to get him. You need to be prepared to fight him with everything you have. He's not going to hold back. If you hesitate, if you hold back just because you love him, he will kill you."
"He… he wouldn't…" Sakura muttered, caught completely off guard by Naruto's words.
"Naruto's right." Yamato said and Sakura turned to him, her eyes wide. "I hope it doesn't come to that. But it's likely that a confrontation with Sasuke will turn to violence. You need to be prepared for that."
Naruto looked at Sakura. She was obviously struggling with what she was hearing. "I know it's not something you want to hear, but you weren't there when we fought at the Valley of the End. He's not going to hold back just because we were a team." he said in a low voice. Sakura didn't respond.
"Sakura, if you aren't prepared to fight him with everything you have, you'll be a liability when we meet him. If that's the case, it would be best if you stay back." Yamato said. Sakura's face quickly ran through several emotions before settling on a slight scowl.
"… I won't… I'll fight him if necessary, and we will save him." Sakura said, her eyes hardening with determination again. Naruto sighed and turned his turned his gaze forward as they ran towards the island.
Sai, Kabuto and Orochimaru walked through a hall in the Snake Sannin's base, into a large room. The room was dark, lit only by a pair of candles which rested in the eyes of a snake statue at the center of the room. Sitting under the statue, cloaked in shadow, was the wayward member of Team Kakashi, Sasuke Uchiha.
"You're late." the Uchiha said. "Orochimaru… did you forget you were supposed to teach me a new jutsu this afternoon?"
"You fail to mind your mouth, as always." Kabuto admonished, annoyed at his lack of respect.
"Oh please, do calm down. Instead of training, I brought you a little gift." Orochimaru said with a smirk. "He's a shinobi from Konoha… I figured you could bathe in nostalgia, talking about your old village."
Sasuke opened his eyes, his Sharingan visible even in the darkness. "Whatever…"
"Hi, there. I'm Sai. You must be Sasuke Uchiha." Sai said with his fake smile.
"Go away." Sasuke replied coldly. Sai didn't seem bothered by Sasuke's rudeness, and was his usual imperturbable self.
"Even if I force myself to smile… I guess I'm just easy to hate. Naruto hated me right off the bat too. But between the two of you, I think I'll get along with you better." Sai said. Sasuke simply glared at him. Sai's smile fell as he felt an oppressive presence from Sasuke before his eyes widened in fear and suddenly fell back, caught in a demonic illusion of the Sharingan.
"Sasuke!" Kabuto yelled. Sasuke didn't respond. Sai wiped his brow and realized he was sweating. He was shocked to realize he was afraid, even though he was supposed to have fully suppressed his emotions.
"I wouldn't bother him if I were you." Orochimaru said, his smirk widening as he watched. "He's even worse than me."
"I've got nothing to say to this loser. Train me, now." Sasuke said as he stood up, showing no respect for the Snake Sannin.
"I've heard about you from Naruto." Sai said as he recovered, Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "He still wants to bring you back, even after three years."
"He's still around?" Sasuke asked.
"Kukuku… ah yes…I fought him just a short while ago… he's improved quite a bit… he may even be stronger than you, Sasuke." Orochimaru smirked. Sasuke glared at the Sannin for a moment.
"Naruto views you as a brother… and Sakura cares deeply about you. That's what they told me." Sai said.
"… There's only one person I care about. My real brother… and all I want to do is kill him." Sasuke replied.
"All right, let's go." Orochimaru said to Sasuke as he pulled out the envelope Sai had given him. "Kabuto, make a dossier from these." Sasuke Body Flickered away and the Sannin walked to the training ground after Kabuto took the envelope.
"These?" Kabuto asked. He had long been curious about the envelopes contents. His eyes widened as he saw what was inside; profiles on all ANBU loyal to Tsunade. He flipped through them until he found the profile for Yamato.
Team Yamato hid outside of Orochimaru's base. It was a seemingly deserted area filled with large boulders and dead trees. As they hid, Yamato turned his clone into a pair of seeds. He then explained that they responded to his chakra and instructed the two teens to eat them so he could track their chakra. After they did so, they prepared to infiltrate the base.
"We'll conduct the infiltration in file." Yamato said. "Me first, then Sakura and Naruto at the rear."
"What's our method of infiltration?" Sakura asked.
"We'll use an earth technique to approach from underground." Yamato answered. "Naruto, can you sense anything in the base?"
"No." Naruto replied, eyes narrowed in frustration. "My jutsu works through the wind, I can't sense anything underground. I could use it once we're in, but that jutsu broadcasts my presence to sensors and dojutsu users. If I used it to see into the base, Sasuke might see my chakra with his Sharingan and our cover will be blown."
"Alright, then, we're going in blind." Yamato said with a nod before making a hand sign.
Sai and Kabuto walked through the halls of Orochimaru's base. These were more well lit than the area Sasuke had been in. Kabuto stepped in front of the ROOT operative and opened a door.
"Here we are, come inside." Kabuto said. Inside the room, Kabuto placed the envelope on the bed and walked over to light a candle. "This is your room. When we don't have anything for you to do, we expect you to quietly behave yourself in here. We'll call on you when something comes up." Kabuto said. Sai watched him walk back to the door and closed it from the outside, showing him a key. "Sorry to do this, but I'm going to have to lock this door from the outside. After all you're… well, you understand." Kabuto said before closing the door and locking it. Sai listened to Kabuto walk away before he got on with his real mission.
Team Yamato had tunneled their way to Orochimaru's base, only to find a wall of solid stone preventing them from moving any farther.
"Exactly as expected, their base is surrounded by hard rock." Yamato noted.
"So let's find a crack and get to work." Naruto replied. Yamato nodded and proceeded to look for and find a small crack in the wall. He placed his finger on the crack and created a branch that entered the crack and expanded, eventually creating a large hole.
"Let's find Sai first, this way." Yamato said as he led the teens towards their traitorous third member.
Kabuto walked through the halls, organizing what he needed to do for the rest of the day in his head.
"Well then, better get to work on that ANBU bingo book. I don't need anymore nagging from Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto said before he looked at his hands and realized something; he had left the envelope back at Sai's room. "Heh… if I keep this up, I'll probably be told how someone with blood type A would have made a better servant." with that, he turned around and made his way back to Sai's room.
Inside Sai's room, the ROOT ninja stood by the table, holding his ROOT edition of the bingo book, which contained information on all ninja Danzo believed to be a threat to Konoha. The page he was staring at belonged to none other than the same boy the rest of the team came to rescue, Sasuke Uchiha. In truth, rather than help capture Kabuto or rescue Sasuke, Sai's mission was to assassinate the rogue Uchiha.
As he read the avenger's profile, he heard someone outside. He quickly hid his bingo book back in his backpack and turned to see the door as it opened. Yamato peered into the room from the opening.
"Look who we have here." Yamato said before opening the door and entering the room, followed by Naruto and Sakura. Sai soon donned his fake smile.
"The Hokage-controlled ANBU, impressive as always, to think that fake corpse wouldn't fool you…"
"Here, we found this, it's yours right?" Sakura asked, handing him h the picture book. His smile faded and he took it.
"Thank you." Sai said.
"Why don't you tell us what's going on here?" Yamato asked. "You're real mission was always to act as a go between for Danzo and Orochimaru, wasn't it?"
"I knew you were up to something from the moment I saw you." Naruto said with a glare. "What's Danzo after, working with Orochimaru? Is he planning to overthrow Konoha?"
"… You're correct. There's no reason to hide things anymore, since you caught me." Sai said with a completely carefree tone. "We're going to destroy Konoha as it exists today."
"Keep talking." Yamato ordered, pointing a kunai at him.
"I was ordered to act as a liaison between Orochimaru and Lord Danzo, and also, to spy on Orochimaru and for Lord Danzo."
"You're joining up with Orochimaru while intending to betray him? That's dangerous." Sakura said.
"Actually, he'd be an idiot not too." Naruto noted and Sakura turned to him, obviously surprised. "Orochimaru is notorious for betraying everyone who works with or trusts him, including his own subordinates. He'd just betray them as soon as he has no further use for them. You shouldn't work with someone like him in the first place, but for someone planning to, it'd be stupid to expect him to keep his end of a bargain."
"That's correct. I was the best candidate for this mission. The ink I write with becomes small, living animals, which safely take the information back to Lord Danzo."
"What did Danzo give Orochimaru? There's no way he would just trust you like that." Naruto said.
Sai's smile didn't falter as he answered. "He sent with me the information on all of the ANBU loyal to the Hokage as a peace offering, including their real names, families and abilities."
All their eyes widened at this. "You-" Naruto began angrily, barely able to keep his voice down.
"Fortunately for you, however, it seems Kabuto left it with me. I have it right here." he continued, reaching into his backpack and pulling out the envelope. Danzo never had any intention of allowing Orochimaru to keep that information.
"Sai, do you understand what you're doing? Do you realize how many lives will be lost if Orochimaru attacks again?" Sakura asked.
"I'm just following my orders." Sai replied.
"Sai, you…" Sakura began with a scowl.
Sai cut her off, his expression unchanging. "'Sai' was just my codename for this mission, I am no one. I am simply Danzo's tool, I do not exist, so anything you say to me will just be wasting your breath."
"Like I asked you before, why do you care about that book? Why do you keep drawing?" Naruto asked and Sai's smile faded. "Because you can't erase the bond you had with you're brother. We've already seen the whole thing. Danzo uses the same method as the Hidden Mist Village to kill off your emotions. You killed-"
"No." Sai interrupted. "I made that book as a present for him. I decided to take extra time to finish it, and he died from an illness." Sai's false smile returned. "We weren't related by blood, but he always praised my drawings. The final pages, at the center are what I wanted to show him the most, but since he died, I can't remember what I wanted to draw." Sai said.
Minutes later they were all outside, standing around Sai, who was tied up in wooden tendrils.
"Too bad, Sai, you'll be staying out here with my clone." Yamato said.
"This is our best chance to save Sasuke." Sakura said determinedly.
"I wouldn't count on that." Sai said. "I met Sasuke earlier. He's always with Orochimaru and he no longer cares about you, or Konoha. Why do you two want to save him so badly? No one has ordered you to."
"Sai, think back to when you were with your brother. How much did he mean to you? What would you have done if it meant saving his life?" Naruto asked. "We want to save him because of our bond with him."
"Your bond?" Sai asked with widened eyes.
"You keep that book because you can't break the bond you had with your brother, and we want to save him because of the bond we share with him." suddenly, Naruto, Sakura and Yamato all sensed approaching danger and jumped back, avoiding a hail of kunai.
"Sai, looks like you got caught." Kabuto said as he suddenly appeared before them. "Since you didn't betray us, I'll trust you." With that, he channeled his chakra into his hand and cut through the wood. "You should run while you can." Sai sat there for a moment vanishing in an Ink Body Flicker. "It's useless you know."
"You think you can take us all at once?" Naruto asked with a glare.
"That's not what I was talking about. I really pity you guys." Kabuto smirked. He was trying to buy time with the conversation. "People change, Sasuke's no longer how you remember him."
The trio of leaf ninja's danger senses flared simultaneously. They jumped back and a hand reached out of the ground where they had stood moments ago. A deathly pale ninja rose from the earth, his eyes lacking irises and pupils. The reanimated shinobi followed by two more undead ninja.
"You sick son of a bitch." Naruto snarled, recognizing this as the Dead Soul Technique.
Kabuto chuckled. "Language… and I prefer to be called a scientist." Suddenly, he jerked and his eyes turned briefly in stared off in the distance briefly. "It seems I've no time to play around."
"Good, neither do we." A voice said from behind him. Kabuto turned just in time to see a Naruto clone with Rasengan right behind him. The clone plowed the Rasengan into his back, causing him to cry out in pain before flying towards the undead shinobi, who dodged the man as they charged towards leaf ninja. Two of them double teamed Naruto, who blocked their attacks before ducking as one lunged at his. As he dodged the attack, he summoned two explosive notes and threw it to the zombie as it sailed over him. It latched onto its leg as Naruto grabbed a punch aimed at him from his other attacker. He threw it at the other, attaching the other note to its back as he did so. When the two collided, he detonated the notes using a one handed hand sign.
Meanwhile, Sakura dodged attacks from the remaining zombie before Yamato restrained it with a wooden tendril from his palm, allowing Sakura to decapitate it with a kunai.
They turned to Kabuto, who lie motionless on the ground. Sakura kneeled before the downed medic and checked him over before scowling. "It's another corpse, the real one must have been using them as a distraction." She said before turning to her teammates. "We need to find the real one, quick."
"No need for that." Naruto said, surprising the others as he looked at a boulder. They followed his gaze and saw Sai walk from behind the boulder with the real Kabuto, restrained by several ink serpents.
"Sai?" Yamato said, obviously caught off guard.
"Why are you helping us?" Sakura asked in a similar state.
"I just wanted to make it clear whose side I was on." Soon, Kabuto was in the same position Sai was in moments ago, sitting, wrapped in wooden tendrils.
"So, what made you change your mind?" Naruto asked.
"You were right." Sai answered simply. "I can't erase my bond with my brother. I want to understand more about bonds, and about emotions. Because of that, I want to observe you. The bonds you and Sakura share with others, and of course, with Sasuke." Naruto and Sakura smiled as they heard this, glad that they seemed to get through to the ROOT ninja. However, their smiles fell into frowns when Kabuto began chuckling.
"I really pity you… you don't understand Sasuke at all." Kabuto said, still chuckling.
"Where is Sasuke." Yamato questioned. Despite his situation, Kabuto didn't seem the fazed in the slightest. The medic-nin paused before answering.
"He should be finished training by now. There are many rooms scattered around throughout the base. You may find him by running through them haphazardly." Kabuto said before smirking. "However, you can awaken a snake when searching through the bushes. Though most of the rooms are empty, you may happen upon Lord Orochimaru's quarters."
"We would have been found out by now if there were any sensors. Are there any other dojutsu users?" Naruto asked.
"No, just Sasuke. Actually, there isn't anyone else here of any importance aside from myself, Sasuke and Lord Orochimaru."
"What about experiments?" Naruto asked.
Kabuto's face twisted into a cruel smile. "None you need worry about, the subjects in this base are… indisposed." Kabuto said. His abilities were the only thing that kept the experiments in that base alive.
"Thank you for answering so candidly." Yamato said.
"Oh, no need to thank me." Kabuto replied.
Yamato created a clone to watch over Kabuto and the leaf ninja reentered the base.
"If Sasuke just finished his training, then right now, he's not with Orochimaru. If there aren't any other sensors or dojutsu users here, then there's nothing stopping me from using my jutsu to find him." Naruto said. "But if he as lying, or if Sasuke is with Orochimaru…"
Yamato nodded. "How much have you recovered since your battle with Orochimaru?" Yamato asked.
"I'm at about 80% right now." Naruto replied.
"… Either way there's risk. Flare your jutsu, shut it down the moment you find Sasuke." Yamato said. Naruto made a hand sign and closed his eyes and an almost unnoticeable wave of wind, saturated with chakra blew through the base. Through his Wind Dragon's Vigilance, he sensed everyone in the base. Several of the rooms contained chunin level ninja, he resisted the urge to grimace when his senses reached the experiments Kabuto had spoken of earlier, the less said about their condition, the better. Then, he located one individual with kage level chakra reserves lying on a bed. The chakra lacked the dark and corrupted feel of Orochimaru's chakra… it had to be…
"Found him." Naruto said when he opened his eyes and deactivated his technique.
"And Orochimaru?" Sai inquired.
"I couldn't sense him anywhere near the room." Naruto replied.
"Alright, worst case scenario and Sasuke doesn't come quietly-" Yamato began and Naruto resisted the urge to scoff at the notion of Sasuke returning peacefully. "-at the very least, we've already taken out Kabuto. If we get separated and something happens, just flare your chakra. I'll sense it through the seeds inside you. Lead the way, Naruto."
Unbeknownst to them, Sasuke had seen the flare of chakra. The tomoes of his Sharingan spun wildly in his open eyes.
Outside, Kabuto sat, guarded by Yamato's clone. He mentally chuckled at the thought that he had been captured so easily, but then, he'd been taken by surprise by someone he thought an ally and wasn't at full strength yet, while the ROOT operative was fresh.
Kabuto smirked and began to chuckle. "And just what's so funny?" the Yamato clone asked. His eyes widened as he was suddenly impaled by the Kusanagi from behind. The clone fell and turned brown, transforming into a lifeless hunk of wood as Orochimaru stepped forward.
"My my, you seem to have gotten yourself into quite the predicament, haven't you, Kabuto?" Orochimaru smirked.
"I was taken by surprise. It seems Sai had something of a change of heart."
"I see…" Orochimaru replied, his smirk fading at the mention of Sai's betrayal before using the Kusanagi to cut Kabuto free.
"You knew they'd be able to follow us this easily?" Kabuto said as he stood.
"Of course. This little reunion should prove an interesting test for Sasuke."
"Naruto's improved a great deal. Perhaps it would be prudent to finish him now?"
"… No. Thanks to him and Konoha, two Akatsuki have fallen. It would be best to let him eliminate a few more. Once I have the Sharingan's power, it will be easy for me to take care of him. Besides, I find him amusing, it would be a shame to simply kill him now."
"So, he was the one who killed Sasori?"
"No, his prey was his new partner." Orochimaru replied. "Speaking of which, we'll have to look into that event once we're done here. Let's hurry, we don't want to miss out on the fun, do we?" Orochimaru asked with a sinister tone.
As the leaf ninja ran through the candle lit hallways of the base, Naruto in the lead, followed by Sakura and Sai with Yamato bringing up the rear the oldest of the group suddenly stopped and jerked his head back where they entered the base.
"I can't sense my clone, something must have happened." Yamato said with a frown. Sakura opened her mouth to say something when the ANBU ninja and Naruto's eyes widened, their senses warning them of impending danger. "Get back, Now!" Yamato yelled as he grabbed Sai while Naruto grabbed Sakura and both jumped back. Barely a moment later, the ceiling of the base was destroyed in a huge explosion. As the dust began to clear and sunlight began to filter down into the ruined, open area that had once been a hallway, the leaf ninja, stood unharmed.
"So, it was you. I thought I recognized that chakra. It's been a while, Naruto." a familiar voice rang out and the others looked up at their attacker and Sakura's eyes widened. "And Sakura's here too."
"Sasuke…" Sakura said, barely above a whisper as she stared at the man she loved. Sasuke stared down at the group impassively.
"I see Kakashi's not here. And you seem to have replaced me." he noted as he saw Yamato and Sai. "Why are you here?"
"Sasuke…" Naruto said as he looked up at him. After two and a half years, he was finally face to face with the one he considered a brother, the first friend he'd ever had. "Why else? To bring you back."
"Hm, I thought I made it clear to you last time, Naruto. I already severed all my ties to that pathetic village." Sasuke said with no emotion, causing Sakura's eyes to widen while Yamato and Naruto's narrowed.
"If you sever all your bonds, then you'll become desperate to make another." Sai said.
"I severed them because I already have one bond that's far more important. The bond of hatred with my brother." Sasuke said.
"How can you say that?" Sakura asked. "Doesn't the village or the time we spent together mean anything to you?"
"There's only one thing in this world I care about." Sasuke replied.
"Your revenge. You live for nothing but vengeance against Itachi." Naruto continued for him with a glare.
"Hn. It got through that hardhead of your's after all. That's right, I live solely for my revenge."
"You don't have to shoulder that burden by yourself. We could have helped you, everyone could have been there for you." Naruto said.
"And what good would that have done me? How would the help and support of a bunch of worthless fools like your friends have done me any good?" Sasuke countered. Naruto's eyes narrowed at the insult to his home. "There's nothing in that village for me. All they ever did was hold me back. Outside of the village, I've finally got the power I needed."
"And for that, you were willing to turn to someone like Orochimaru, even though he's planning to take your body?" Naruto asked.
"If he happens to take over my body, then so be it." Sasuke replied, shocking the others. "I decided long ago, no matter what I had to do, as long as it ended with Itachi's death, I would do it. If he takes my body, and uses it to kill Itachi, then that's fine with me. As long as my ambition is achieved, what happens to me or this world doesn't matter."
"Sasuke, please." Sakura pleaded desperately as she took a step forward. "We can help you. You're not the only one who's grown stronger since you left. There's no need to stay with Orochimaru, to throw away your life like that. You don't have to fight us. Please, come back." Naruto already knew what Sasuke's answer would be.
Sasuke looked at the pink haired girl, his expression unchanged by her pleas. "You haven't changed. you're still annoying." Sasuke said, his tone making it clear he really thought that. Last time he'd said that he was being sarcastic, this time, he meant it.
"It's like I thought." Naruto said and the others turned to him. "We'll have to take you back by force."
"Hn… and what can you hope to do?" Sasuke replied. "You think you can match the power of an Uchiha? No matter how much you improve, you're still the same loser you were three years ago."
Naruto grinned. "We'll just have to see about that, won't we? I'm not the loudmouth brat I used to be. Besides, we were about even the last time we fought." Naruto said. "Do you remember how our last fight ended?"
"I remember. You redirected your last attack so it would only scratch my forehead protector, and I let you live after you lost consciousness." Sasuke said.
"If you severed all your bonds, then why didn't you kill me then?" Naruto had wondered about why he was still alive. He knew Sasuke had been trying to kill him throughout the fight and held no delusions that the Uchiha had a change of heart or spared him because they were friends, so why not finish him after he lost consciousness?
"On a whim… I spared you on a whim… and so I wouldn't be playing by his rules." Sasuke said in a bored tone as he reached for his sword. The avenger slowly drew the blade. The sound of the metal sliding against the wood ringing throughout the otherwise silent soon-to-be battlefield. The three male Konoha ninja tensed, preparing for battle as Sakura's eyes widened, realizing he wouldn't listen to reason. "And this time, at my whim, you'll lose your life." The Uchiha suddenly shot forward in a burst of speed, faster than most could follow. He appeared before Naruto and swung his sword. The blond sidestepped the blade extended the index and middle fingers on his right hand, creating a sword of wind. Sasuke's eyes widened, his Sharingan seeing the otherwise invisible sword and jumped back as the blond made an upward slash, narrowly avoiding the wind sword.
Naruto summoned his Hisho Taichi and charged forward, channeling wind through his sword. His eyes widened slightly as lightning coursed through Sasuke's sword and a chirping sound was heard emanating from the blade. The avenger pushed off the ground launching himself at the blonde and locked blades with him.
"Hm, flowing wind chakra through your blade? You're the first to block my Chidori Katana." Sasuke said. Naruto jumped back and stabbed his sword into the ground and made a hand sign, activating his sensory technique, Sasuke's eyes narrowed as the Sharingan allowed him to see the chakra infused wind that surrounded them. Calling on the power he had left Konoha for, black marks spread across the avenger's skin from the back of his neck.
Naruto's eyes narrowed as he saw the curse mark spread, remembering their last fight, before he disappeared. He reappeared high in the air and inhaled deeply, his chest puffing out, before he slammed his hand to his stomach three times, firing three Air Bullets at Sasuke. The Uchiha jumped back to avoid the cannonball sized blasts of wind, only for Sakura to jump out of the dust cloud, bringing her fist down towards the Uchiha.
Sasuke jumped back to avoid the attack, seeing how much chakra she had put into her fist, only for his eyes to widen as her fist impacted the ground and created a large fissure.
Sai completed a drawing and summoned several ink lions while Yamato created a wooden tendril to restrain the Uchiha, their attacks coming at him from both sides.
"Chidori Current!" Sasuke unleashed a wave of lightning from his entire body, destroying the tendril and ink animals. His gaze turned to Sakura, his eyes showing he was serious about killing them. He appeared behind Sakura in a burst of speed, his sword held in a reverse grip, and swung his sword, Sakura turned her head but was too close to dodge.
'Sasuke…' Sakura thought with a look of despair as the sword drew closer. It was just like three years ago, she couldn't even follow his movements. 'Your eyes… you're really trying to kill me… ' She was saved when Naruto appeared, blocked Sasuke's attack with his own sword and pushed her out of the way. 'Sasuke… what happened to you?' Sakura thought as she realized Naruto had been right.
The Uchiha jumped into the air as countless wooden tendrils burst from the ground. The Sharingan allowed him to dodge the attacks easily, flipping from tendril to tendril and slashing through a few before firmly planting his feet on one and vanishing in a burst of speed. He reappeared before the jonin, his sword held in a reverse grip, and slashed.
Yamato ducked, the sword sailing just inches over his head and skipped back, and made several hand signs before raising his hand, his open palm pointed at the Uchiha. "Wood Style: Silent Strangulation Jutsu!" His arm transformed into a wooden tendril that quickly sped toward the traitor of Team 7. Before he could dodge, a pair of hands burst from the ground and grabbed his ankles locking him in place as the tendril reached him, it branched out into several smaller tendrils, wrapping around his arms, legs and torso. The hands holding him in place burst into smoke and Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
Sakura charged forward, pulling her fist back as she prepared to knock out her lost love, having realized that she can't hold back against him. Without moving, the Uchiha closed his eyes, focusing on molding his chakra, before unleashing a more powerful Chidori Current, destroying the tendrils holding him in place and electrocuting Sakura, sending her flying back. He leapt forward preparing to slash Sakura only jump back to avoid a wind blade from Naruto. He turned to the blond, and swept his hand, covered in lightning through the air.
"Chidori Senbon!" The Uchiha fired dozens of needles of lightning at the blond, using his Sharingan to target pressure points. Naruto held his sword before him, pointed straight at the ground.
"Tempest Formation!" A protective whirlwind formed around the Jinchuriki and obscured him from view, the needles dispersed upon contact. When the whirlwind fell, the blond had vanished.
The Uchiha's eyes widened as his senses warned him of danger and he flickered away, barely avoiding a powerful gust of wind from behind, which tore through the ground where he stood a moment before. When he reappeared, standing above them on the edge opening in the base he created, he jumped into the air to dodge a wind blade from the blond, who stood near the wall on the other side of the battleground. Naruto clawed his fingers and swept his hand through the air. "Shredding Wind Palm!" Unlike the Beast Wave Palm, instead of one large blade, this technique created over a dozen crescents of wind the size of the blond's hand which flew towards the avenger. Sasuke flipped through the air, twisting his body to around the wind blades before landing and facing the blond.
Naruto and Sasuke disappeared from sight, using nothing but pure speed as they moved to engage each other. The clang of metal meeting metal heralded their reappearance as their blades clashed. The two then engaged each other in a fierce sword fight, neither gaining the ground, a fact which frustrated the Uchiha. He remembered the power the blond had used when they fought last time, and despite the fact that he was using the curse mark and his Sharingan, he still didn't have the upper hand on his former teammate.
Naruto ducked under a slash and attempted to sweep Sasuke's legs out from under him, but the rogue Uchiha jumped back before vanishing as several ink serpents appeared to restrain him. When he reappeared, he was forced to dodge a dozen senbon from Sakura before a tree suddenly grew from behind him and restrained him with its bark, locking him in place. He looked up and Naruto emerged from the tree with a kunai. Sasuke smirked and responded with a genjutsu of his own, the blond was suddenly impaled from all sides by spikes in an illusion of the Sharingan. Sasuke was released from the illusion and Naruto stood before him paralyzed, his eyes widened in shock, the kunai still in his hand. Sasuke made a slashing motion with his sword, prepared to take the blonde's head off.
The Uchiha's eyes widened as Naruto suddenly grabbed his wrist. Sasuke realized that he'd been tricked with a shadow clone as the clone made a stabbing motion with its kunai. He grabbed clone's wrist and prepared to free himself when he sensed the real Naruto in the air above him and turned his head just in time to see him finish inhaling in preparation for a jutsu. 'Fire Style: Searing Migraine!' Naruto fired a small fireball at Sasuke. Sasuke could only watch as the fireball sped towards him, hit the ground in front of him and explode into a firestorm. The Uchiha and the shadow clone were consumed in the blast.
Naruto's eyes widened as he sensed what happened within the fire just before it started to clear. His comrades mirrored his reaction when the fire cleared to reveal Sasuke, standing at the end of the small crater created by the attack with a pair of burnt, hand-like wings shielding him. The wings unfolded, revealing his level two form.
"Wha… what is…?" Sakura asked in shock as she saw what Sasuke had become.
"This is the second stage of the curse mark." Naruto answered with a scowl as he saw Sasuke in his most powerful form.
"So, it came to this after all." Yamato said with narrowed eyes.
Sasuke glared at Naruto. He was certain he could take the other three without using the curse mark's power, but Naruto alone was strong enough that he would have to go all out against him. "I'm done, with you and Konoha. Here and now, I'll sever those bonds once and for all."
Sasuke quickly ran through hand signs before breathing out a massive fire ball at the four leaf shinobi. The Shinobi scattered as the fireball approached. Sasuke appeared before Naruto and locked blades with him, the curse mark's full power gave him an advantage in strength and the blond was pushed back. After a brief exchange of swordplay, the blond blocked a downward slash and was kicked in the stomach by the avenger, strong enough to send him flying into the wall, only to turn to smoke on impact.
Sasuke turned just in time to see Naruto complete a series of hand signs.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!" Naruto unleashed a massive ball of fire of his own. The Uchiha Body Flickered out of the way. Naruto turned to where he sensed Sasuke as he heard a sound he had only heard once before, a sound reminiscent of a thousand birds flapping their wings. Sasuke finished charging a corrupted version of the Chidori and charged at the blond, the mass of black and white lightning in his hand close to the ground. The Flapping Chidori damaged the ground as he quickly closed the distance.
Yamato's eyes widened the moment he heard the sound and he slammed his hand to the ground, summoning a wall of wood to protect the Jinchuriki. At the same time, Naruto formed a Giant Rasengan in his right hand and shot forward as soon as it was complete.
Sasuke thrust his Chidori forward and plowed through the wooden barricade, only for his eyes to widen as he saw the Rasengan, his eyes allowing him to see how much power it held. His expression turned to one of rage as they closed the distance between them. They thrust their attacks towards each other and collided in an explosion of power.
Sakura, Yamato and Sai shielded their eyes as a white light consumed their vision. Sasuke's attack held out for a few moments before being overwhelmed by the sheer destructive force of the oversized Rasengan. The orb of light exploded and the Uchiha was sent flying back half way across the battlefield before his feet dug into the ground and he slowed to a stop, kneeling and clutching his left hand in pain. The lower half of his left arm was broken and bleeding. He was now at a severe disadvantage. His eyes turned to his blond ex-teammate, his gaze full of fury.
'How… how can he have this power?' Sasuke thought to himself. 'How can he be stronger than me? He's nothing but the dead last.'
"It's not too late, Sasuke." Naruto spoke up. "You can still turn back." Sasuke glared at the blond. "Kakashi probably told you this before, but Sasuke, don't let yourself be consumed by revenge." Sasuke simply continued to glare for a few moments.
"What do you know? You never had a family, you don't know what it's like."
"I do, maybe not completely, but I do understand." The other leaf ninja looked at him, slightly surprised while Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You know I was an orphan, I grew up not knowing anything about my parents. I even thought for a while they abandoned me, for the same reason I was hated by everyone. You know why that is, don't you, Sasuke?" Sasuke remained silent. "Now I do know, I've been told so much about them, from their sensei and student. And do you know what the first thing I found out about them is?… I found out that the man responsible for their deaths is still alive." The eyes of the Leaf ninja widened at that, but Sasuke's expression didn't change. "I found out that their last act was to protect me. I'm sure you can guess how I felt about all of that. So I do know what it's like to know one person took everything away from you, and I know what it's like to want revenge. But I didn't let it control me and I didn't abandon anything, because those precious to me are more important to me than that. Besides, killing him won't bring them back." He looked straight at the Uchiha, avoiding eye contact for obvious reasons. "You said you threw away your bonds so you could focus on getting the power you needed to kill Itachi, but I didn't throw away mine and I still became strong. I became strong to protect those precious to me, and from the looks of it, I finally surpassed you." Naruto's gaze hardened. "I'm giving you one last chance, turn away from this path. If you continue this way, then you have no future." He wasn't kidding. He wasn't going to try to convince him to return again after this.
Sasuke closed his eyes, before he looked up at the blond and smirked. "I already told you, there's nothing left in that village for me."
Naruto's eyes narrowed before he shrugged "… Fine. To be honest, I didn't expect you to turn back anyway. The time for talk is over."
"How right you are." A sinister voice rang out before an enormous snake burst out of the ground behind Sasuke, its mouth open as it closed in on the Uchiha. Sasuke turned around, his eyes wide as he disappeared into the serpent's mouth. Naruto made a move forward only to jump back as the Snake Sannin burst from the ground, his Kusanagi ready to impale him. "My apologies, Naruto, but I can't allow you to abscond with my protégé at this stage." Orochimaru smirked.
Naruto's eyes narrowed and he charged forward, the Sannin made no move to defend himself and was cut in half in a single slash, only for him to turn into a mud clone as the giant snake vanished in a burst of smoke, the Kusanagi doing the same a moment later. Naruto grit his teeth in anger before extending his senses to the maximum range and finding nothing. The traitors were gone.
"Naruto… are they…?" Yamato began.
"Gone… I can't sense them." Naruto answered. He clenched his fists before taking a breath and turning to Sakura. She turned away from the rest of the team, keeping her pained expression hidden as tears fell from her eyes. "We've still got six months to try and save him, Sakura."
"… Yeah… you're right." Sakura said as she turned and wiped off her tears.
Yamato waited a few moments before deciding it was time to head out. "Let's go."
They spent the rest of the day traveling on their journey back to their home. They spent the rest of the day traveling at full speed through the trees. As night fell, Yamato summoned created another house for them to rest in. They all sat together in the same room.
"Sai, what exactly was Danzo planning?" Naruto asked.
"… I was sincere in my desire to help you bring Sasuke back, but the truth is, that mission was a front." Sai said and the other teen's eyes widened. "My true mission was to use that to infiltrate Orochimaru's organization and assassinate Sasuke Uchiha."
"What?" Sakura asked in shock.
Yamato cupped his chin in thought. "I see… so Danzo wasn't betraying the village, he was helping it in the way you would expect from a militaristic hardliner."
"Yes, he never planned on allowing Orochimaru to keep the information in that folder." Sai continued.
"You said you were really planning on helping us, why?" Naruto asked.
"I told you. You were right, I want to understand emotions, and the bond that I had with my brother." Sai said as he looked at Naruto. "Danzo taught us that emotions are a weakness that eventually leads to war, but it was your desire to protect what's precious to you that made you the way you are. I can understand why they would lead to war, seeing Sasuke, but you have someone who took everything from you too, and you weren't overcome by hatred." Sai gave his fake smile. "You're a lot like my brother. You're just as tenacious as he was and you take threats against those close to you the same, though a you're a bit more dignified. He also didn't believe in ROOT's teachings on emotions." Sai continued before his eyes suddenly widened. The others looked at him curiously as he quickly grabbed his backpack and tore through it, pulling out his book. He opened it to a particular page and looked at it in deep concentration.
"What is it?" Sakura asked, a quizzical expression on her face.
"I finally remembered." Sai said as he took out his brush and began to draw. The others looked at him curiously as he continued to draw, finally he finished and revealed what he had drawn for them all to see. It was the unfinished page of the book, but now, the two brothers were the holding each other's hands with smiles on their faces. "I wanted to show it to him…" Sai now wore a genuine, but sad smile. "The picture of our dream… to be free of ROOT." the others smiled at him. It seemed the pale teen was on his way to regaining his emotions. That didn't mean they fully trusted him yet, but they wanted to help him, no one should have to go through what those in ROOT did.
Later that night, they were about to head to bed.
"Sakura, can I talk you for a second?" Naruto asked.
"Huh? Sure." Sakura answered.
"Good, come on." Naruto lead Sakura outside and made sure they weren't being followed. "Sakura… when we fought Sasuke, you held back. I saw it on your face, you didn't believe he would kill us until he came at you."
"I know… it won't happen again next time." Sakura replied dejectedly. She was disappointed with her performance during the mission, not to mention the outcome of the battle.
"Sakura, I want you to understand exactly how this could turn out." Naruto said and Sakura's expression turned to curiosity. "Let me ask you something… if worse comes the worse, are you prepared to kill Sasuke?" Sakura's eyes widened as she gasped and she took a step back.
"Wha-…what?" she asked quietly. "Naruto… how could you say that?"
"Do you remember what I told him if he continued like he is now, than he has no future, I wasn't talking just about Orochimaru taking his body." Naruto explained, he paused as Sakura was still in shock over his question. "Back there, he really tried to kill you, and remember, he said he only spared me on a whim. Sakura… when we fought at the valley of the end… he used Chidori on me. It went all the way through my right lung… and he was smiling… the only reason I'm still alive is because of the Kyuubi." Sakura's expression turned to horror as she heard that.
"That… that can't be…" She knew he couldn't have known about the Kyuubi then… which means he had honestly expected him to die.
Naruto closed his eyes, choosing his words before looking up at Sakura again. "Sakura… if he would do that to us, imagine what he would do to any other leaf shinobi? Sasuke's a missing-nin. Normally, if we brought him back alive, he'd be executed. The only reason he's being spared is because Grandma Tsunade's being lenient, probably because of us. Tell me, what will happen if he ever killed another ninja of our village, and don't tell me he wouldn't do it. What would happen if he committed some crime at the order of Orochimaru in another country?"
"… Lady Tsunade couldn't be lenient, either because he went too far or because those he hurt wouldn't stand for it."
"He's the first friend I ever had and I know how easily I could have wound up in his shoes. That's why I want to save him and I'll keep trying as long as I can. But I'm also prepared, and you should be too, for the chance that he may one day be completely lost to the darkness or become a true threat to the village. If that happens, all we'll be able to do is kill him before he falls any farther or hurts anymore people than he already has. Do you understand?" Sakura was silent for a long time before she finally responded.
"… Yes…" She said weakly as she recalled what Sasuke had been like at Orochimaru's base.
"I'm sorry you have to hear this, but it's the truth." Naruto gave her a few moments to process her thoughts. "Let's head back."
The rest of the journey home was uneventful, though they all noticed Sakura wasn't particularly talkative, neither additions to the team asked about it. A little over a day later, they arrived back in Konoha, they went straight to the Hokage tower and Tsunade's office.
"I see…" Tsunade said as Yamato finished his report. "Well…"
Naruto gave her a determined look. "We're not giving up."
"Heh," Tsunade smiled. "Alright, you're all on standby for now. Unless you're looking for more missions, you can all head home."
Naruto walked through the village, heading to the compound he shared with his girlfriend. He thought of the mission and his conversation with Sakura. He didn't like it and hoped it didn't come to it, but the way things were going a good chance that they would have to kill Sasuke. As he closed in on his home, he suddenly stopped and tensed for a moment, feeling something touch him.
It took him a second to realize who it was, and that was only because he had activated his sensory jutsu. When he recognized Fu's signature he smiled. That smile became even wider when he felt her arms wrap around his waist from behind, and a chin coming to rest on his shoulder. He gently placed his hands over the ones holding him, absently noting they were invisible along with Fu's face.
"You know, it's a crime that such a beautiful girl would hide herself like this. Why don't you come out and let me see your pretty face?" His answer was a giggle that seemed to come out of no where. He turned around within Fu's arms, and wrapped his own arms around the invisible girl who had previously been behind him before she suddenly shifted into view. Fu's arms moved away from his waist and wrapped around his neck, a warm smile on her face as well.
"Welcome back, Naruto." Fu closed her eyes and began to lean into the blond Uzumaki. In turn, Naruto reciprocated her gesture, only instead of leaning up like Fu did, he leaned down. When their lips touched Naruto took a moment to enjoy the feel of her lips against his.
However, the chaste kiss wasn't enough for Naruto, who had been away from Fu for over a week. Holding her in his arms again made him realize just how much he had missed Fu. The warmth that came from embracing her, the feel and taste of her lips, it sparked a passion in the blond that soon consumed his being.
He opened his mouth and began to deepen the kiss. His tongue licked Fu's lower lip, asking for permission to enter. Fu, experiencing the same feelings he was, opened her mouth and let her tongue meet his in an intricate dance. Eventually, Fu backed off, allowing Naruto's tongue to enter her mouth. She moaned as he began to exploring her, which spurred Naruto on and made him kiss her that much more passionately.
Fu could feel her legs turning to jelly from the passion of the kiss. Her legs gave out a moment later and Naruto's arms tightened their hold around her waist to keep her from falling. She couldn't believe how amazing the kiss was. It was mind blowing, their desire for each other intensified by the fact that they'd been apart for the first time since they became a couple. Her hands found their way into Naruto's hair as she began kissing him back just as hard.
The kiss ended with the only reason being that the two were running out of oxygen. Fu breathed deeply, her face flushed red as she snuggled her head in Naruto's chest and tried to get her breathing and heart rate under control. "If this is how were going to meet after not seeing each other for so long, then maybe we should stay away from each other more often," Fu said jokingly.
She could feel the rumble of Naruto's chest when he chuckled. "But if we did that I would miss you too much. Besides, we don't need to stay away from each other for such a long period of time, just to enjoy moments like this." With that he raised Fu's head from his chest and kissed her again, just as passionately as the one they had shared moments before.
"I finished... cleaning up... the main house and... the library." she informed Naruto after the kiss had ended, her breathing hard and her face flushed. It took a few moments to recover, but when she regained enough of her mental functions to speak again she pouted. "I had to do all that work by myself."
Naruto grinned at his girlfriend. "Well, I guess I'll just have to make it up to you won't I?"
Fu had a grin of her own. "Really? What do you have in mind?"
"You'll just have to wait and see."
"I look forward to it." The green haired girl said before sharing a chaste kiss and separating. "So, how did your mission go?" Naruto's face fell slightly. "Oh…"
"Yeah… it was a failure. We met Sasuke, but he, Orochimaru and Kabuto got away. I had to reveal a lot more of my skills than I'd have liked, but I kept some secret. I think we were able to get through to Sai."
"That's great. From what Ero-sensei told us, I wouldn't wish what those of ROOT go through on anyone."
"How was your mission?"
"Well, the mission I was sent on when you left went great. The assassin turned out to be Aoi Rokusho and I got his bounty, not to mention a keepsake."
"That so? What kind of keepsake?"
Fu smirked. "Guess."
Naruto thought about it a moment, but with how little she'd told him about the mission so far, only one thing came to mind. "You mean the Raijin no Ken?" he asked, obviously surprised.
"Yeah. I actually just got back from another mission earlier today. We had to wipe out a group of bandits that had been plaguing a town about half a day from here."
"Well, sounds like you've had better luck than I've had. Let's talk more at home, we've still got a lot to work to do with the place." Naruto grinned. Of course, when he said 'they', he meant their clones. Naruto took her hand in his and the pair returned to their home.
In her room in the Hyuuga compound, Hinata stood with her back against a wall, a troubled expression on her face as she thought about a certain blond, lost in her thoughts. Earlier that day, she had been training with her team, and she had barely been able to concentrate, her enthusiasm and focus falling to a low not seen in years. Her teammates had worried about her, and although he didn't say anything about it, Shino had correctly guessed what as wrong with her. She had assured them she was fine, but this was far from the truth.
Her admiration of the blond had soared when she had heard the truth about him. But, along with that admiration came an almost overwhelming sense of guilt. She had always watched him, ever since he saved her from bullies when she was young. She still remembered that day clearly.
She had run away from her family's compound in tears, having once again lost to her younger sister and knowing that her father had lost faith in her. She accidentally bumped into one of a trio of kids who recognized her as a Hyuuga. They immediately assumed that she, like most Hyuuga, thought she was better than 'commoners' like them and began to insult and degrade her, forcing her onto her knees and making her apologize again and again. That was when Naruto came. He refused to allow them to bully her, even though he didn't know her, and fought for her even though he was outnumbered.
She had been watching him ever since that, following him and making sure he never discovered her, certain she would faint and afraid of how he would react. She knew he was treated like an outcast, like she was within her clan, but she hadn't known until then just how great his burden really was. When she found out that almost the entire village had once believed he was the Kyuubi and just how badly he was treated because of it, she realized how much he had craved to have people close to him. The knowledge had caused her to fall into a state of depression, realizing how, despite the fact that he had inspired her to get become strong, despite the fact that he was largely responsible for her becoming the confident kunoichi she was today, she had never been there for him. It wasn't until his fight with Neji that she had really done anything for him, all because she had been to shy to speak up and let him know that she truly loved him.
She had heard that Naruto had returned to Konoha about two weeks ago when she returned from her last mission, though she hadn't yet seen the blond and she had heard that he had been promoted the special jonin. She had barely been able to hide her joy, knowing that the blond had grown that much and that many now saw him as the great person she always knew he was, though she was sure at least Shino, Kurenai and Neji noticed she was happier than she should be. But then she had heard rumors… rumors that he was already in a relationship with their village's newest kunoichi, the Jinchuriki from Taki.
Perhaps it was naivety on her part, or maybe she just didn't want to consider it, but she hadn't thought much of the fact that he had been traveling with a girl for the past two years. 'What if it's true?' she thought. 'What if he really is in a relationship already? He's been with her for the past two years and she must have experienced the same loneliness he has…' she clutched her chest, her heart aching as she thought of Naruto with someone else. 'No… They… they're probably just rumors... I'm sure they just have the same kind of friendship Naruto has with Gaara.' The blue haired girl assured herself. 'I have to tell him how I feel…'
In the headquarters of ROOT, Sai knelt before Danzo, having just finished giving the war hawk another report.
"It's very unlike you to fail." The old man noted as he looked down at his subordinate, an emotionless expression.
"I have a request." Sai said.
"A request?" Danzo questioned.
"May I keep this name and keep working with Naruto for a bit longer?" Sai smiled, unlike his previous smiles, this one held traces of genuine emotion. Something the leader of ROOT took notice of. Danzo wondered what was going through his subordinate's mind.
It didn't matter; he kept his ear to the ground and knew of the Jinchuriki's relationship. Something he, of course, didn't approve of. He also didn't approve of the fact that the Second Hokage's sword had been given to someone whose loyalty hadn't been proven in his eyes, nor the fact that she now inhabited the Senju clan compound and had access to their secrets. He had intended to order Sai to work with and keep an eye on them anyway.
Fu because he trusted her less than he did most of the inhabitants of the village (outside of ROOT, he truly trusted no one), and Naruto because he was the heir to the Uzumaki clan, a fact many had forgotten due to his status as Jinchuriki and the fact that the clan had been wiped out years ago, and he had been given the Senju clan's legacy. If his father's identity became common knowledge in addition to that, he would become very influential within the village.
"Very well, though, you'll have to ask Tsunade. If she allows it, I want weekly reports on the progress of the Jinchuriki."
"Yes, Lord Danzo."
"And remember, emotions lead to hatred, and hatred leads to war."
Within a large chamber in cave that served as an Akatsuki lair, 'Tobi' stood along with the silhouettes of two Akatsuki members: the Rinnegan bearer and the only female member. They were looking at the massive form of the Sanbi. The beast lay in the center of a ring of six pillars of rock. The ground surrounding the beast and the pillars were covered in seals which kept the Biju contained and unconscious.
"I trust the repairs are proceeding as expected." Pain asked as his silhouette turned to face the masked figure.
"Of course." Madara answered, having no reason to keep up his guise with only Pain and Konan present. "Konoha has become more of a problem than anticipated. The Kyuubi and Nanabi Jinchuriki have flourished under Jiraiya's tutelage."
"Shall we make their capture our priority once the statue is repaired?" Pain asked.
"… No… Konoha's Will of Fire will demand that they do everything in their power to protect them. We would have to face the entire village. It would be best to focus on the other Jinchuriki first, though we may wish to turn our attention to them if they continue to interfere." Madara said. "Have Itachi and Kisame located the Rokubi?"
"Yes, the Jinchuriki is traveling in the Land of Birds. They should have him by the end of the week." Pain said.
"Good." Madara replied. "Once repairs are complete, we will seal both Biju immediately. As soon as the Sanbi and Rokubi are sealed, have Kisame capture his original target." Pain nodded before he and his partner faded out of existence. Madara spared the demon one final glance before he vanished in a vortex centering on his eye.
I hope you liked this chapter. I want to keep Sasuke's storyline canon, at least until Itachi's death, so they had to get away.
JackOfBladesX suggested I go with a five stages of loss theme for Hinata's reaction to Naruto and Fu's relationship. I thought it was a great idea, so that's what I'm going with. Thanks again, JackOfBladesX. Obviously, she's currently on stage 1: Denial.
Please review.