I don't own Naruto. But if I did, Hinata's hitai-ate would be orange, for obvious reasons.
To anyone wondering why all the bijuu were girls last chapter, I figured that since they were all once part of the same creature at one time, they had to all at least be the same gender if not species. And since I made the kyuubi a female here, I had to do the same with the rest.
Chapter 37: The Eve Of The Uchiha's Fate
After a lot of running, Naruto, Hinata, Tsunade, and Akane made it back to Konoha. Waiting for them at the gate were the guards Izumo and Kotetsu, along with Kakashi, Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Kurenai, and Shizune. Everyone smiled to see the others return safely, although you couldn't see it on Shino's face. Before they could say anything, Tsunade held a finger to her lips, telling them to be quiet, before gesturing to a sleeping Akane. Everyone nodded and decided to save it for later, and everyone except Izumo and Kotetsu left for Naruto's apartment.
"Where's the Uchiha?" Tsunade whispered to Kiba and Shino.
"He's contained as well as blindfolded. My insects, Akamaru, and Anko-san are standing guard as we speak." Shino answered quietly.
"Good enough for now. But it's going to get worse for him." Tsunade whispered in response.
Nobody else said a word until they got to Naruto's apartment. Naruto and Hinata entered while the others waited outside. They all wanted to talk and felt that for the girl's sake it was better to do that away from her so they wouldn't wake her. Naruto gently placed the little girl on her mattress and put the blankets over her. Hinata patted her head and Akane seemed content and relaxed. The two adults smiled and quietly went back outside.
Everyone stood at the base of the building together before they decided to actually discuss what was on their minds. "So what exactly happened out there?" Kakashi asked for everyone.
Tsunade chose to answer, using a fabricated story to guard Akane. "Sasuke and the last member of the Akatsuki tried to take the kyuubi from Naruto. Naruto fought off Sasuke and rendered him one arm less and drained of a lot of blood. Then the Akatsuki member, Madara Uchiha, tried to finish off Naruto, but he used the kyuubi to kill him." Technically it wasn't a complete lie.
"Are you sure about that?" Kakashi asked Naruto. "If he's been alive all this time, maybe he's just playing dead."
Naruto shook his head. "No way. I cut off his head myself then baa-chan burned the body. Nobody can play dead that well. Besides, it turned out that the kyuubi's chakra was his weakness, and getting it into him in even a small way was enough to kill him. Trust him, the geezer's dead."
"Wow Naruto, you must be the strongest person on the planet to pull that off." Kiba remarked.
Tsunade nodded. "As of this moment, Naruto Uzumaki is an official jounin. And first thing tomorrow, I'm declaring him my successor."
"Why not now?" Naruto asked.
"I need to get that registered and I'd rather wait until after I get some sleep myself first." Tsunade said, trying to hold back a yawn. "After that, Sasuke Uchiha goes to trial. Just a formality before he gets punished."
"How bad do you think it's going to be, sensei?" Sakura asked, earning her a few looks.
"It's going to be bad. Don't delude yourself thinking otherwise, you hear?" Tsunade told her.
Sakura nodded. "I know. He's a criminal and needs to suffer for it. I was just curious." She then turned to face Naruto. "By the way, thanks for keeping your vow, even if you didn't have to anymore."
"I never go back on my word." The blonde shinobi stated confidently. "I'm just glad you're not trying to beat me senseless for hurting him."
"I'm not that way anymore, and besides, it's not like you two would just waltz in together holding hands and laughing."
Naruto got a sour face. "Thanks Sakura-chan, now I'm going to have that for a nightmare tonight."
"Well, I think we all could use some sleep. We can discuss more before the Uchiha's trial." Tsunade offered, unable to hold back a yawn now. "Night gaki."
"Night baa-chan."
"Good job Naruto. I'm sure you're father would be proud." Kakashi said, proud of the student he barely did anything for years ago.
"Thanks sensei. I sure hope so."
Sakura gave Naruto a friendly hug, which still bothered Hinata to see. "I owe you one Naruto. You're a good guy." She then mouthed 'And you're a lucky girl' to Hinata, making her grin.
"That's what I've been tried to tell you for years Sakura-chan." He told the pink-haired medic as she let go.
"I'm glad you got back alive, Naruto-san. It wouldn't have been good for your daughter to lose a parent so soon." Kurenai added.
"I never had any doubts. You always triumph when it matters the most." Shino stated.
"Guess having you as hokage won't be so bad after all." Kiba remarked.
"Thanks guys, now if you don't mind, I'm exhausted." Naruto told them.
"Alright, see ya tomorrow." Kurenai said as they all walked away and waved goodbye.
Naruto turned to see Hinata going upstairs towards the apartment. "Hey Hinata, shouldn't you be going to your family?"
She gave him a loving grin. "That's exactly what I'm doing. Coming?"
Naruto smiled back and joined her. Both went inside and immediately went to Naruto's front room. Not bothering with undressing or anything, they just collapsed on the couch and went to sleep in each other's arms.
Morning came too soon for most people in Konoha and today was going to be a memorable day indeed. Tsunade dragged herself into her office and opened a bottle of whiskey that she had been given on her birthday courtesy of Akane's paint job on the monument. Which was still there by the way but faded. Her stash wasn't even one-eighth depleted yet. Tsunade grabbed Naruto's record, added in the new information about his skills and abilities, and changed his status from chuunin to jounin.
"One step closer to your dream kid. And soon, you'll be there." A knock was heard at the door. "Come in."
Naruto and Akane entered. Hinata was at the Hyuuga compound for the moment letting them know she was back. "Hey baa-chan. Thought it might be good to come by. And isn't it a little early to be drinking?"
Tsunade shrugged. "It's five o'clock somewhere."
"But not here." Akane stated innocently.
Naruto chuckled. "She's got a point, baa-chan."
The hokage sighed in defeat. "Well, good thing you're here. The promotion's official. You're now a licensed jounin. And I'll tell the council you're my successor after the trial. Come here every day at four so I can instruct you what to expect from being hokage."
Naruto nodded. Akane looked curious. "What do I get? I was part of the fight too. Do I get to be a jounin?"
"Sorry Akane-chan. You still have to go thru the academy and become a genin first."
"No fair. I was the one who killed Evil-Eye-jiji you know. Don't I get anything?" Akane asked, crossing her arms and looking ready to pout.
"You will, just not the same thing your father gets."
"Well what is it then?"
Tsunade had to carefully think of a good answer, having none beforehand. "We'll surprise you with it later."
Akane looked liked she didn't want to wait. "Fine."
"Hey baa-chan, now that Sasuke's back, what are you going to do with him?" Naruto asked, sounding very professional about the issue.
Tsunade told a deep breath and rested her chin on her clasped hands. "Well, so far all the high-ranking ninja who know about it now are calling for a quick execution. However, we have a standard process to follow when we recover traitors. We take them to the courtroom and give them a trial, mostly as a show of formality so the civilians won't think we're complete barbarians. There the traitor is given a chance to defend themselves, and anyone who knew the traitor beforehand is requested to give testimony. So you, Sakura, and Kakashi need to be there. A few civilian council members and ninja council members listen in and come to a decision. But ultimately, the final outcome is mine alone. The testimony and council votes are just to make sure I don't make a rash or biased judgment."
"Any idea what they might vote on?" Naruto curiously asked.
"I have a feeling that the ninja members will do here what they generally do in all these cases, and that's call for something severe. Most ninja don't allow villians a second chance, and given Sasuke's circumstances, I see no reason why they wouldn't do the same here. It's the civilians that worry me."
Naruto groaned. "Don't tell me they still kiss his ass and worship the ground he walks on just because of his eyes and name."
Akane looked sickened. "They kiss his... butt? Yuck!"
"Not literally Akane-chan. It means they always treat him like he's some kind of daimyo." Naruto told her.
"Why?"
"It's because of those eyes of his. They're afraid that if they don't cater to him he'll decide to go join some other village that will." Naruto explained.
"Which is exactly what he did anyway." Tsunade added. 'What a bunch of idiots. On the surface it sounds good, but anybody so petty they're willing to throw away their home because someone else offers something too isn't worth trying to keep ahold of. Hell, even Orochimaru couldn't keep ahold of the Uchiha. Only an idiot would think Sasuke is redeemable at this point.'
Akane snorted. "Hmmph. What a teme." Naruto couldn't help but snicker, and even Tsunade smiled.
"Anyway Naruto, I can't guarantee it, but I have a feeling that there's a chance the civilians won't be too much of a problem. With Danzo, Homura, and Koharu no longer in power, they can't sway the rest into following them like sheep. Oh, that reminds me, there's someone who wanted to tell you something. She's down in the interrogation ward; better take a look later. But with those three gone, the civilians can actually come to their own opinions. Maybe it won't be the most convenient one for us, but at least there's a chance."
Naruto nodded in understanding. "Thanks baa-chan. I'll be sure to be there."
"Am I supposed to be there?" Akane asked.
"Well, you did say he tried to beat you up in Wave. So yeah, in case that comes up so you can confirm it." Tsunade told the young girl.
"When is it?" Naruto asked.
"I've already set the notices out throughout the clans. It should start at 4:00 pm today." Tsunade answered.
"Okay then, we'll see you at four. Try to be sober by then baa-chan." Naruto teased.
"It takes more than one bottle to affect me gaki." The hokage yelled as the two left. Once they were gone, she took another sip. "Something tells me that kid's going to do just fine."
Shizune came in about two minutes later. "This early Tsunade-sama? Think of your health."
"Hey, the sooner I can't do this job, the sooner Naruto can."
Naruto and Akane slowly walked down to the interrogation ward. As they went down the halls they came across Anko, who was relieved from guarding Sasuke's cell for a while. "Hey guys, what brings you two here?"
Akane eyed her dango stick. "Got another one?"
Anko shook her head. "Sorry kid, last one. And you're not going to fight me for it this time."
"I can try." Akane teased.
"Akane-chan, you're already grounded. Do you want it to be longer?" Naruto asked. Akane settled down. "Good girl." He then turned his attention back to Anko. "The hokage said someone down here wanted to see me."
Anko looked upwards as she tried to recall something. "Oh yeah, I think I know what she meant. Come this way." She then finished off the dango before Akane got too tempted to try and take it anyway.
Anko led them to a room with a large viewing window. Inside, one could see Dansue sleeping against the wall next to a black tent. Naruto sensed he should recognize the girl but couldn't. "Who's she? I don't know her."
"Well, when that scumbag Uchiha came by the other day trying to draw you out, he used her and her little brother to keep others from following you. He tricked them and they fell for it completely. Also, they claim to have been rejects from that ROOT project Danzo used to have."
Naruto thought of Sai for an instant. "So what do they want with me?"
"Go ask her. Don't worry, there's knock-out gas valves armed and ready if they try anything." Anko stated.
Naruto cautiously went inside, after telling Akane to wait with the snake jounin, and slowly walked towards Dansue. The electric girl must have heard him, for she started stirring and opening her eyes. She saw someone new wearing orange clothes. "Are you the one who got rid of Danzo-teme?"
"I guess you could say that. Thanks to me and Shizune-nee-chan, we stopped him from killing the hokage and he was executed for it."
Dansue beamed and stood up, then embraced Naruto tightly. He was surprised and tried to squirm his way out but it was hard. "Thank you. That son of a bitch ruined our lives and I've been wanting to kill him for years. Thank you, and sorry for helping the duck-ass earlier."
Naruto now managed to pry her off. "You're welcome, anything else?"
"Yeah. As soon as Ichi-chan and I finish doing time here, we'll pledge ourselves to you for the rest of our lives."
"You don't have to-"
"Yes I do!" Dansue forcefully cut him off. "You've earned it. If it wasn't for you, me and my little brother might have been sent to some snake guys to be experimented on. You saved us from an even worse hell than Danzo-teme put us in. And now Ichi-chan might be able to become a normal little boy sometime soon. How can I not pledge myself to you? I'm yours to command from this day forth."
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well, thanks. Just do what you gotta do for now. I'll see you later then."
"Do you have to leave so soon?" Dansue asked, hoping to convince him to accept her.
"Yeah, I gotta go be with my fiancee then go to a trial. Catch you later." Naruto then left the room.
'Why are all the good ones taken?' Dansue asked herself with a sigh.