Welcome back to the story. Sorry for the delay, can you say writers block! It's been a hell of a ride with a lot of fun twists and turns, and I'm happy to have been able to share my imagination with you. At the moment there are three more chapters remaining to this story, once again, I appreciate everyone of you.
Disclaimer - I do NOT own Naruto
-Chapter 35: The Enemy-
A month later found the former Konoha nins, now leaders of Namigakure, in a very important strategy meeting. Currently though Gaara stared at the door to the room, his anger rising by the moment, "He is getting worse."
Zaiaku shook his head, "Yup, last night he didn't even come home" his cheeks tinged pink as he looked at Sakura, "I got in pretty late too."
The redhead then noticed his sister looking anywhere but at them, "this is your fault you know," He cocked an eyebrow when she glared at him defiantly.
Suddenly the door flew open, gathering everyone's attention, "Sorry, I'm late," came the voice of Naruto. He quickly entered the room and gave Temari a giant smile, she turned red and gave a sly one in return.
"Naruto!" Shouted Sakura oblivios to the exchange, she recieved a nudge from her ice-nin. "What was that for...?" she asked in confusion. Zaiaku leaned over and whispered something in her ear that made her go crimon, "oooooh."
Zabuza cleared his throat, "Now that we're all here..." he paused and shot a seething glare at his former student, "Momiji-san has some very vital information from Konoha."
The head of the Haruno household gave a nod, "Right, according to our spies in the leaf village, Danzou has completely usurped power from Tsunade-sama and Sarutobi-sama."
"Did he say how he managed to subjugate two Kage?" questioned Asuma, "the old man is too stubborn to let one man take control."
Naruto nodded, "On top of that, Tsunade and Jiraiya aren't weaklings either." He scrunched up his face in thought, "That means he has leverage."
"And quite a bit of it too if he's pressed them all into being good little ninjas," agreed Kakashi, "the real question is what are we going to do about it?"
A man with flaming red hair looked at him wide-eyed, "Are you crazy? This is still Konoha, we can't beat the leaf village!"
"Ken!" shouted Zaiaku. After recruiting an ample amount of ninja, Zaiaku had gotten bored, so he decided on forming his own version of the mist seven swordsmen. Ken was his second in command, "You will show respect to Kakashi." The red haired man bowed his head slightly, embarassed at his outburst.
The copy ninja waved away the reprimand, "Saa...I kind of agree."
"Also they haven't been identified as a threat yet," stated Shikamaru with a slight frown, "it would be simple to have the three come here and allow Konoha to simply be on it's own."
"There's one last bit of information," interupted Momiji as she cast a glance to the three boys, "the men in black cloaks have been seen walking safely within the village walls. It seems they have been hired by Danzou and the council."
"..you're wrong," came a slightly raspy voice from a masked ANBU at the door, "those men are not for hire, no matter how much you offer. They have their own motives." He slowly reached up and removed his mask, revealing...
"Orochimaru!" shouted Naruto, his power being released almost instantly. He narrowed his eyes when he felt a point at the back of his neck, "I should've smelled you from a mile away."
The second masked man merely smirked, "just shut up and listen, dobe." Like Naruto, he felt cold steel being pressed to his spine, "that's a very cold greeting, but to be expected."
Zaiaku glared and pressed the point of Shimotsuki further, causing a bit of blood to trickle down the blade, "How did you find us? And how did you get inside? Speak quickly or I will kill you." Ken was flanking him with his twin, chinese style, war-swords drawn.
"Lower your weapon Sasuke-kun," cooed Orochimaru, "we're already dead." Sasuke's face showed no emotion as the Naruto he had his blade to poofed away. "You've become more dangerous than I could have imagined," stated the snake sannin as an engraved, three pronged, kunai was pressed to his back.
"Talk before we start splitting you open," snarled Zabuza as more shinobi flooded into the gigantic room
"Your guards are pretty good, considering they're forming missing-nin," stated Sasuke as he twirled a kunai and slid it into his holster, "but not a match for us. As for finding you, we'll we just had to follow the bread crumbs." He turned his, now, unmasked eyes on Sakura, "Hello there, Sakura." A slight pressure was on his back, Shimotsuki was now at least half an inch into his flesh, "Keep that up and I'm going to bleed to death."
Sakura pulled her lover's weapon from the Uchiha's back, then pressed a glowing green hand on it, "I won't let you die," she whispered. A smirk crossed Sasuke's face. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Zaiaku gripping his sword tightly, the look on his face nearly broke her heart. "Not right now anyway," she amended, "you have information for us." She removed her hand and gripped the ice-nin's, which was still wrapped around Shimotsuki's white leather handle, his grip slacked slighty at her touch. "But when it's time," she paused and slammed the blade into Sasuke's shoulder with such force, she pulled Zaiaku off his feet slightly, and pinned the Uchiha to the large wooden table, "I'll gladly watch you pass from this place. Not for hurting me, but for manipulating me to hurt the man I should've been loving all along." In one final act of spite, she leaned down to his ear while twisting the sword, "You lose."
Orochimaru watched the exchange in amusement, "Outside of this room you are a valuable asset Sasuke-kun, in here you're just a plaything."
"That is enough. Sakura-san, Zaiaku, please let him up," came the voice of Gaara, as they complied he turned to the snake sannin, "You have information. That is the barganing chip for you lives at this point, either you reveal it or we will dispose of you." He gave a nod to Hinata and Neji, both of which landed blindingly fast strikes on the sannin's arms, shutting down his chakra circulatory system.
Naruto took his spot at the end of the table, "No more mixing words snake," stated the blonde, "talk, or I will turn you over to Ino-chan."
A dark laugh came from Orochimaru, "This is quite intimidating, if I didn't have my own plans I would join your little village." His smirk remained as a kunai was pressed to his jugular vein, "Yes yes, information. Here it is, Akatsuki is going to use Konoha to find you three, then burn it to the ground." After a short pause he continued, "Danzou sent them a message after hearing of their desire to capture the three vessels," a disgusted look crossed his face at the old man's name, "he told them that in exchange for their help in subjugating the citizens under his rule, he would give them all the information files on you that he has. Including the top secret ones."
Naruto snorted, "There's no such thing."
"I know that, you know that, and unfortunately for Danzou," his psycho grin coming back in full force, "Akatsuki knows that."
It was quiet as the information was digested, "You told the Akatsuki it was a lie," came the voice of Shikamaru, "I'd say they caught you and the traitor trying to flee the country or to infiltrate it. You bargained for your life, much like you're doing here." He laced his fingers together and rested his chin on them, "so now they are using you and Danzou to find out where we are, then they'll use Konoha's forces to attack us and hopefully weaken us to the point of surrender or annihilation."
"After seeing your shinobi, and the talent in this room, you've shown me that this village is capable of destroying Akatsuki and Konoha in one fell swoop," replied Orochimaru, "The question is then...will you? Because for now, they are one in the same."
Naruto frowned at the thought, "Take them to the holding cells, we'll decide what to do with them later." Once the two were taken away he turned to the group, "Looks like we're at an impass."
"Burn Konoha to the ground, or wait for them to do the same to us," stated Zaiaku as he placed his sword on the ground and sat on his pillow, "decisions like this are never easy."
The nine-tails vessel gave a nod, "We'll make it as a group, it's the-"
He was cut off by Kakashi, "No, we won't."
"What are you implying," questioned Gaara
The remaining ninja stood, "We've come to the conclusion that it's time for Namigakure to select it's first Kage," stated Momiji with a hint of amusement in her voice
"And much to my utter dismay," interjected Zabuza as Anko punched him in the arm, "We've selected the three of you." At once the entire room bowed to the boys
The three of them sat in silence. Zaiaku was the first to speak, "No thanks," he stated and stepped behind Sakura and Momiji, throwing an arm around both of them."I have enough responsibility, and with training my squad, that doesn't leave time for Kage-esque duties," he finished with a lopsided grin, "I can accept a council position, that's all."
"That applies to me as well," stated Gaara as he stepped in between Neji and Hinata, "I will fill the role as council along with Zaiaku. With managing the financials of the village my time is spread too thin as it is." He shot a smirk at the former Hyuuga heiress, "I am under strict orders to not overwork myself."
Naruto watched them in bewilderment as they both kneeled down and placed a fist to the ground, "From this day forth we pledge our lives," started Gaara
Zaiaku picked up where he left off, "To the protection of the Village Hidden in the waves, and to the protection of the Shodaime Namikage."
"Uzumaki Naruto," they Chorused. The rooms occupants emulated them, "Hail Uzumaki Naruto, Shodaime Namikage!"
"Kami-sama help us," groaned Zabuza, causing eveyone to burst into laughter
Naruto turned his head to hide the tears that were welling up, 'Congradulations Kit, you deserve it,' growled the Kyuubi
The blonde turned to his audience, 'oh crap they're waiting on orders!' He quickly composed himself, "We'll discuss what to do about this situation tomorrow, see to your village assignments for the time being." He heaved a sigh as his shinobi filed out of the room, his shinobi, 'that sounds nice,' he thought. He looked up as he heard a click, indicating the room was locked.
Temari grinned at him like a cat, "congradulations, Namikage-sama." Then the desert nymph walked infront of him and sat on the large wooden table and crossed her legs so that the split in her skirt showed as much skin as possible. She rested her elbow on her knee, then her chin on her now propped up hand, "What are you thinking?" He responded with a growl, and in a flash he was over his desk and over her. "Namikage-sama!" she shouted in mock horror, "I'm scandalized that you think me such an easy woman!"
"Good!" exclaimed Zaiaku as he eyed his squad, "Very good!" He lifted his wooden practice sword to eye level and ran his index and pointer fingers down the dull side, "Now for the final test," he stopped his hand several inches from the tip, "You each have to land one blow on me." He grinned as the swordsmen set upon him
Sakura watched in amusement as her boyfriend fought off six of the seven with ease. Ken then set in on him and they both became a blur of practice weapons, "better watch out Zaiaku-kun, Ken-san might be taking your place!" she exclaimed as the orange haired man used his superior weight to knock the ice-nin backwards.
Ken looked like he had just seen a demon, "Sakura-san don't say that!" he shouted. After training with the white haired young man, with an affinity to ice, he had learned of an unusual quirk. Zaiaku apparently gets quite anxious when he's faced with someone who might be as good as he is with a sword. The orange haired man had no time to react as his sensei disappeared from sight, then, everything went black.
"Finally!" shouted Sakura as she returned Ken to conciousness. "Honestly Zaiaku-kun," she chided, "You play too much when you're training your men."
The ice-nin scratched the back of his head at the comment then turned to his slightly banged up squad, "I do?" He rested his bokken on his shoulder and sighed, "Well you heard the pretty lady, no more taking it easy on you! Alright dismissed!" He gave a slight chuckle at the groans and grunts coming from them, "Now to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, dear Sakura-hime?" As he leaned down to give her a kiss she placed her fingers over his lips, "hm?"
"You stink," she replied and covered her nose with her remaining free hand, "go take a bath." A giggle emitted from her as he pouted and began towards the baths. She bit her lip for a moment in thought, then sprinted towards her house. After snatching a change of clothes and a towel she bolted from the door.
"and where are you going?" questioned Momiji with a cocked brow, "didn't you take a bath a few hours ago?" She watched as her daughter turned red, "Ah, Zaiaku-kun is done with practice isn't he?" the silence confirmed her answer, "I don't wanna know, so just go." The Haruno Matron sighed and picked up her bottle of sake, then she ran her finger over the picture of her husband, "Our little girl is in love," a smile crept onto her lips, "he's a good man...he reminds me a lot of you, strong, funny, and very handsome." She took a long swig, "Needs a haircut though," she then scrunched up her nose, "Now Momo's boyfriend, that kid is just wierd."
Meanwhile Zaiaku was whistling to himself as he slipped into the hot water, 'this feels great.' He gave a wide yawn and slipped to the center of the bath, 'You're being very quiet Shiva-san, is something wrong?' He recieved no response, 'must be asleep.' His eyes shot open when he heard soft splash of water, like someone was trying to sneak into the bath, "Hello?" He slid his hands into the first seal of his winter shower technique, "is someone there?" He stiffened as a soft hand came into contact with his back.
"Yes," came a quiet female voice, "there is, and there always will be." Sakura pressed her forehead to his back, "If I talk will you just listen?" she watched as he turned his head slightly and nodded, "Thank you." She dipped a washcloth into the water and ran it along his back, "I can't do much for you," she stated and re-wet the cloth and continued, "I can't take away the bad that's happened to you, or the things you've seen and done." She placed a hand on his shoulder, indicating for him to kneel down, "I can't stop what's happened to you that caused you to take a name like Zaiaku," a smile crossed her lips as the man she loved shuddered under the warm water going over his scalp, "but this is what I can do for you. I can wash away the blood that stains your hands and I can heal the wounds that cover your body." She pulled his wet hair to the side and kissed his ear slowly, "and I can show you that you are everything to me."
"Sa-Sakura-hime," he stammered as his eyes closed involuntarily. He allowed himself to be guided to the steps, "I-I..." he stammered, 'she always could make me shut up,' he thought. He heard her issue a soft whimper as they became one, after a moment he tentatively kissed her lips, "are you ok, Sakura-hime? This...this doesn't...have to happen now."
She shook her head at his unspoken request for her to stop if she was in pain, "Feels good," was all she could muster inbetween kisses moans of pleasure
The next morning Naruto was overwhelmed with complaints of the men's bath being locked, "Now what in the hell?" He looked up as the shinobi from the previous metting gathered, "Anyone know why the bath house was locked last night?"
"I resent that accusation!" shouted Zaiaku as he lept from his chair and pointed a finger at the Namikage, a red faced Sakura gripped the back of his jacket and pulled him back down to his seat.
Momiji, whom was on his left, leaned over and cupped a hand around his ear, "We're going to have a nice chat later."
It quieted down after that. Finally the last of the group walked in the door, "Ah..I'm late," stated Kakashi lazily as he pocketed his book and took his place at the table. "So what is your decision Namikage-sama," he questioned with a slight tilting of the head.
Naruto scanned the room at the now grim faces, "Shikamaru," he called. The lazy genius unrolled a map of fire country on the large table, "Now," stated the blonde, "from this point on, Konoha is the Enemy."
End Chapter 35: The Enemy
Read and Review - I drew the Zaiaku/Sakura scene out a bit, but I don't think it constitutes an M rating at all. Now on to more pressing matters, what has happened to the two sannin and Sarutobi. And why has Orochimaru and Sasuke turned themselves in? What is their motive? And will wave country succeed in destroying the Akatsuki, without setting the village of the hidden leaf into a blazing inferno. Finally, do not worry, There will be a Gaara/Hinata scene, though I am not sure how intimate it will get.
Preview Chapter 36: Debts Paid