Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I'm sometimes up due to insomnia all the way into sunrise. And then I sleep like two hours. It's pitiful.

Sanaki Naoto had been an advisor of Iwa's long-standing Kage for twenty years. She'd always been loyal, hardworking and trustworthy when it came to the tasks appointed to her by the old man. Iwa was her home and its people were her family, and she did everything she could to keep her family together and safe. Family was everything to her.

So it was, during that day of the Flash's massacre of Iwa's thousand-man Shinobi-army, that her world fell to pieces. Her brothers, her husband, and even her two daughters had perished that day. At first, she'd refused to believe it. It was only weeks before that she'd taken her girls out to dinner, congratulating the younger one for having recently become Chuunin. Her older daughter, Sanaki Sachi, was going to retire her forehead protector and marry the civilian boy that she'd been dating. Her brothers had been top-ranked ANBU and her husband had been a respectable Iwa-Jounin.

And they'd all been murdered in cold-blood by one monstrously powerful, blonde Shinobi.

Or so the report had told her, but reports could've been written wrong. There was no way one Shinobi could do that. What had she done to deserve this? The gods wouldn't have been so cruel to take away everything that she'd cherished, would they? It was a dream. It wasn't possible. They'd come back with a different report. An enemy's scare tactic. A genjutsu. Anything.

Burying the news under piles and piles of possible alternatives, Naoto had gone to the Council Meeting in hopes of having some of those possibilities verified. It was only when Onoki began talking about cessation and treaty that she'd started to realize that it was all true.

The man who'd proposed to her and been with her through thick and thin was dead. Her beloved daughters who she loved more than anything were dead. Her brothers - annoying, teasing but loving - were dead.

They were all gone.

Sanaki Naoto had a breakdown then.

Onoki had been more than understanding, giving her time to recover and even visiting her personally despite his worsening back. She'd appreciated his concern and his care, but his words of comfort fell on empty ears.

That night, as she strung the ropes on the overhang of her bedroom, she suddenly recalled some pieces of the report. The man who'd taken everything from her, Namikaze Minato, was being dubbed Hokage and hero of Konoha. He was being given everything. Love and family.. life, while her own loved ones lay dead. And then she'd lost the will to end herself so pitifully. Doing so would be spitting on the death of those she'd held dear. They would still be dead and the Yellow Flash would still be living on in prosperity. Tearing down the noose, she'd found something new to cling on, something other than family. It was not fair that such a despicable man got away with causing so much pain. It was not fair that she suffered while he reaped the fruits of her suffering. She wasn't going to let him do it.

Sanaki Naoto swore that night that no matter how long it took or what further sacrifices she'd have to make, he would meet a premature death and be buried into the ground just like her loved ones.

Namikaze Minato would pay.

It was with grim satisfaction when, several years after the War, the news of the Nine-tails' attack on the hidden Leaf and the death of Konoha's Fourth Hokage reached her ears. Justice had been served in the form of one of the worst natural disasters in the Five Nations. Justice.. such a hollow justice. As her satisfaction faded - as her life goal was suddenly achieved - her spirit went limp. It was an empty victory. They were still dead. Aito, Sachi, Akiko - her husband and two daughters - were still dead. She was still alone, but she would live on in their name. The years had dulled her grief, and she'd no longer considered suicide. Still, it was an empty life, void of real happiness or purpose. The men who'd courted her - they held no meaning to her. They brought her no happiness, and her patriotism lost its colors.

The days blurred into weeks, weeks into years, and she aged. She didn't even notice it happening, not that it mattered anyway.

And then, a month ago, Konoha was attacked during its recent tenure as hosts of the Chuunin Exams. They didn't know how and they didn't know why, but the invasion into Konoha by the infamous Sage of Snakes, Orochimaru, had brought one boon to the battered village: Namikaze Minato was alive.

The fires of her spirit were suddenly set aflame against years of dormancy, and Naoto immediately pushed for his assassination. The Yellow Flash was a danger to the balance of power between the five nations. The very fact that the man was alive spat on the graves of the faithful thousand that had died nearly twenty years back. Such a menace must be stopped. She'd look around as her fellow Council Members. She knew some of them agreed with her. She knew that, if push comes to shove, they'd support her stance on the issue. But Onoki, the old fence-sitter, had denied them. The Flash was dangerous, he'd said. Attacking the Leaf, even in its weakened state, could cause unwanted conflicts, he'd said.

Naoto had been barely able to contain her rage. In his fear of war, the old man had forgotten the pain that his village had suffered.. what it meant to bring justice to those who brought about that suffering. The heartless old bastard.

After the meeting, Naoto had called for a secret meeting with those who she knew sympathized with her. The Yellow Flash was going to die if it was the last thing they did. He had a son - Uzumaki Naruto: a weakness and potential leverage. They had connections with the most powerful criminal organization on the continent. S-rank criminal or not, the Council and the Akatsuki shared a common goal.

After a week of meetings and communications, a plan had been formulated. They were to split their forces: one to attempt direct assassination of their target and another to capture their target's son. If the former failed, the latter would act as a fail-safe to bend the former Hokage to their every whim. She couldn't wait to see the man lose his loved one and suffer the same pain that she did.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned her attention to the Shinobi kneeling before her. "Report."

"Yes, Sanaki-sama. He's wiped out most of the squads sent to engage him. The Legendary Sannin Jiraiya is with him too. They've also somehow managed to find and defeat our Akatsuki allies, and they're still heading toward Ame."

"Even the Akatsuki couldn't touch them.. as expected of the Leaf's Yellow Flash. And the nation of Rain. Hmm." Naoto mused. "Are they aware of our movements toward the secondary objective?

"No. At least.. not that we know of." The messenger replied.

"Good. See that it remains that way. We should retract any more attempts at direct assassination. Let him believe that he's fended us off."

The messenger bowed. "I will notify everyone immediately."

Naoto licked her lips as the messenger left. She could almost imagine his agony at the loss of his son and it was.. stimulating.

-Intermission-

Marechiyo Omaeda was the kind of man people usually called a 'Grunt'. He was large, half bald, weighed more than twice the average man and could make children cry with a simple sneer. More than his skills as a Shinobi, it was these qualifications that'd gotten him the spot as leader of his gang of mercenaries, and they were now under hire by some mysterious organization.

He wasn't exactly sure what the organization was or even what it sought to do. Such information weren't usually reserved to hired swords, even if they had years of tenure. The man didn't mind. As long as his crew got paid, he really didn't need to be asking unneeded questions

Looking like a grunt had a few quirks. One of those was that people generally underestimated his intelligence. Those who did so sometimes learned the hard way that Marechiyo Omaeda wasn't one to be easily fooled.

No amount of threats, money, or seductive attempts made a difference when it came to his mission objectives.

He did what he was told and he was proud of that. Marechiyo Omaeda was nothing if not loyal. And smart. And strong. Omaeda smiled at the thought. I'm the perfect human being.

He almost felt bad for those who dared cross his path. Almost.

Omaeda turned to the newest member of his squad. "Oy! Newbie!"

The pink-haired teen stared at him placidly. "Yes, commander?"

"We're moving in. You haven't done any drills with us before so here's the plan. We're to cause as much of a ruckus as possible, but we are not to engage the enemy. It's a scare tactic ya see. The Shinobi of this village are big softies. They won't kill us if we don't really threaten them, and will probably lock us up at worst. Remember. Loud noise, lots of fire and lots of running around. Kill a few people. Guerilla stuff ya know?"

The newbie nodded. "We're to draw as many of the village's defenses as possible."

"Aye." Omaeda was impressed. "You're a smart kid aren't you? What's your name again?"

".."

"Don't give me that look, you little twit. Your commanding officer is asking you a question."

The newbie bowed. "My apologies. It's Haruno Sousuke, commander."

"See that wasn't so hard, was it?!" The squad commander nodded. "Sousuke! If ya die or get caught, we're not gonna come back for ya. Got it?"

Sousuke sighed loudly. "I know what I'm doing commander."

"Good kid." Omaeda patted a large hand on the young Shinobi's back before turning his attention to the rest of his squad. "LET'S MOVE!"

-Intermission-

He had several facts in his hands. First, his brother was a member of a criminal organization known as the Akatsuki. Second, the Akatsuki's most powerful members wore black cloaks with red-clouds, an information that was surprisingly well-concealed. Third, Konoha had exclusive access to information on the Akatsuki via whatever connection his brother had with the Fourth and the Sannin. He'd inferred their correspondence based on their attempts to placate his desire to take vengeance against his brother.

Fourth: the people of power within the Leaf were keeping a lot of secrets from the rest of the village, and his brother's non-guilt was probably one of them. Why else would the village's Legendary Sannin and its former Fourth Hokage vouch for him - a man who was considered one of the village's worst criminals?

Something was up, and they wouldn't give him the details. He couldn't rule out any possibilities of manipulation and deception. The fact of the matter was that the Leaf couldn't be trusted. It was something he should've realized sooner, but didn't due to the village's constant attempts to pamper him for being the 'last Uchiha'.

The Leaf was no longer an option. He was going to take the head-on approach and find out what he could about the Akatsuki for himself.

It'd been surprisingly easy too. He'd simply asked around for telltale signs of black cloaks and red clouds. Word of his inquiries somehow reached the ears of those he was seeking.

They'd come to him, as he'd expected. If worst came to worst, he had the Fourth's kunai to use as a failsafe against danger. He wasn't stupid. He knew what it did. And Namikaze Minato, being the honorable man that he is, would appear to rescue him.

He was met by someone sent to feel him out and he'd convinced the man to vouch that he was not an enemy and worth being hired by the Akatsuki. The Sharingan helped.

Then he'd met Kakuzu.

Having cut his hair short and dyed it pink, he'd manage to avoid being recognized as the brother of the notorious Uchiha Itachi. He was sure there were many who coveted his eyes and his blood, but he wasn't so sure he could fend them off. Better an alias than risk being captured by poachers.

Still, Kakuzu had somehow been able to see through his disguise, and had been more amused than anything at the genin's confessed desire to seek revenge against his brother. "I understand the reason for your disguise, but you can be rest assured. However much I covet the income that you'd bring, Itachi's productive value is much too high to be worth this risk. If you can beat Itachi, then you might as well take his place. If not, then Itachi remains in his position. It's no loss to us. If you're willing to work for the Akatsuki, who am I to deny you? Labor is labor." -he paused. -"We do happen to have an assignment for you, but let's discuss your terms of employment first. Payment is to be received after the completion of the objectives we give you and will be based on what we deem acceptable. You're a missing-nin. You don't get to make wage demands. Now as to where you report to receive your pay..."

After hashing out the details, Kakuzu turned to leave, pausing only for a few moments at the door. "And kid. You need to work on your Sharingan before you try it on an agent of the Akatsuki. You're nowhere near as good as your brother." With that the man was gone.

After the debriefing, he was led by the same agent who he'd thought he'd snared in his genjutsu, and had been stuck along with a mercenary squad under the command of one Marechiyo Omaeda. They'd then convened with some other squads of Shinobi for a brief meeting before heading off to the hidden Leaf village. He'd seen a flash of Iwa's forehead protector from among some of these other squads.

He already knew that Iwa were sending assassins to murder Naruto's dad. It was something the man had discussed with his son to prepare him for Iwa's maneuvers. Naruto had then in turn discussed it with his friend: conversation was natural between the two, and the subject had been an eventuality waiting to happen.

Iwa Shinobi meant only a few possible objectives, the most likely being Namikaze Minato, the Yellow Flash, and Uzumaki Naruto, his son.

Underneath his well-controlled facial expression, Sasuke's mind rankled with worry.

He had to find Naruto.

He had to warn him before the dope did anything stupid to get himself caught.

-A/N-

I need to learn to stop rambling.

See you next update.

Toodles!~