The captain honestly wondered if all ninja were insane. Of the ones who went into the mine only to blow themselves up he had no doubts. But he was wondering about the leaf nins who had survived. As soon as he and his men had felt the mountain begin to shake they had run for their lives. That might have seemed a bit cowardly but it had turned out to be the right decision. The entire area around the mine entrance had simply collapsed and sunk inwards. He and his men had been lucky. The three leaf nins who had made it out just as the ground was shaking? Well he though they had to have received the personal blessings of kami. But the way they were behaving…
XXXXXXXXXX
Kakashi stood there. It had been almost an hour and he was still numb. He had talked to the captain and had him send another messenger bird to Konoha with a special coded message he had written. His duty now was to get his team back to the village as fast as possible. Fortunately none of them had any serious injuries, nothing beyond cuts and bruises. Those among his team who had survived at least.
Please forgive me Obito, he thought. I failed my teammate yet again, and because of that your clan has died out. I truly am lower than trash. For the second time in his life he'd been forced to let a member of his team be buried alive. Rationally he knew there'd been nothing he could have done to save him. It was miracle enough that he'd gotten himself and the girls out alive. But in his heart he felt just as he had all those years ago when he'd saved Rin but lost Obito. I was his leader ad his sensei, I should have saved him somehow. It's all my fault. It had been an hour since the mine had been blown up and Kakashi knew that they should have been on their way back. But he felt too numb to do anything more than just stand there and grieve.
Tayuya had been pacing behind him the entire time. She was upset at what had happened, but her connection to Sasuke had not been strong, it was only natural that she had taken the loss better than they had. She was finally done waiting though and stalked up to him.
"Aren't you the sensei here?" She whispered harshly to him. "Shouldn't you be helping her right now instead of just standing there like you really were a scarecrow?"
"You should leave her alone Tayuya," Kakashi replied wearily. "She's grieving in her own way."
Tayuya nodded, that was obvious enough. "I understand that she's grieving and you are too. But we're still ninja, and we're still on duty, aren't we supposed to grieve after the mission is complete?"
"That's true," he couldn't deny it.
"Then start acting like the team leader damn it!" Tayuya said angrily. "I know I didn't get along with him, but I'm sorry he's gone, I am. But I've lost teammates before. Even if it hurts you can't just stop and forget everything else." She stomped past him and went over to Sakura.
Sakura's hands were bleeding and she was panting, clearly exhausted. But she pushed aside another boulder. She turned to begin pulling off some more rocks when Tayuya grabbed her by the arm and roughly began hauling her back to where Kakashi was.
"What are you doing?!" Sakura screamed at her. "I have to rescue Sasuke! He's trapped down there!"
Holding firm to one arm Tayuya reared back and slapped across the face with her other hand. "He's dead Sakura!" Tayuya screamed into her face. "Sasuke is dead! Accept it! He's dead and buried under a million tons of rock and there's nothing you can do about it!"
"Liar!!" Sakura screamed and tried desperately to yank herself free. "You probably just wish he was dead! I know how you hated him!"
"I never hated him," Tayuya kept dragging her back despite Sakura's desperate efforts. "I never liked him any, but I would never have wished this on him. Whether you like it or not Sakura the fact is he's gone now and there's nothing you can do about it. This mountain is his grave site."
"Don't say that!" Sakura wailed. "He can't be gone he can't, not Sasuke! Sasuke can't just be dead!"
"And why not?!" Tayuya demanded harshly. She knew she was being a bit hard, but honestly both Kakashi and Sakura were failing to behave like ninja. Even if your heart was being torn out of you a ninja was expected to complete the mission. "Was he a kami? Was he an immortal like out of the stories? He was a ninja just like you and me, and we both know that this is how it ends sometimes for ninja." Tayuya glared over at Kakashi. "Will you help me here sensei?"
Kakashi sighed and nodded. Despite his own feelings Tayuya was right. "Sakura, I'm sorry, but there is no way anyone could have survived that. Sasuke is gone."
Sasuke is gone. Somehow hearing Kakashi say those words brought it home to her. The boy she had loved for all these years was really gone. She was never going to see him again. Wordlessly she collapsed and dropped to her knees and began to weep.
Tayuya knelt down beside her and gently placed her friend's head on her shoulder as she put her arms around her. "It's all right Sakura, it's all right."
XXXXXXXXXX
As his teammates mourned him Sasuke came awake in a cell more than a thousand miles away.
"Good, I see you're finally awake."
Sasuke sat up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. He quickly realized that his wrists and ankles were chained. He was lying on a simple cot in a dark room with just a single lit candle. "Where am I and who are you?"
The man remained in the shadows where Sasuke could make out nothing more than his outline. "You are somewhere safe Sasuke. You needn't worry; you're quite safe I assure you. I am a friend and mean you no harm."
He held out his arms and let the chains rattle around. "If that's true then take these off me."
"I will in a bit, but first I want you to hear my offer."
"Whatever it is my answer's no," Sasuke told him.
"Just like that?" The other man sounded disappointed. "You don't even know what it is I'm offering you."
"I know you've kidnapped me and chained me up," Sasuke spat back.
"Yes a bit extreme I know, and I apologize to you for that. But I couldn't very well call you up and ask you to come in for an interview now could I?"
"Whatever it is you're hoping to get from me I'll never give it to you. I am an Uchiha and a ninja of the leaf."
"Oh, you're a ninja? In that case I'll just let you go. A ninja wouldn't be interested in what I have to offer. I am very sorry for the inconvenience, I was under the impression you were an avenger. Was I wrong?"
Sasuke stared hard into the shadows, wishing there was someway he could see who this man was. "I am an avenger," he answered. "What of it?"
"I can give you what you want most. If you will join with me of your own free will I will give you great power and the chance to fight your brother."
"You'll help me find Itachi?" Sasuke couldn't keep a trace of eagerness out of his voice.
I have him. "I can do better than that. When you are ready I can arrange for the two of you to meet. You'll have your chance for revenge, but only if you serve me as my apprentice and agree to carry out my orders whatever they may be. If you will serve me I will give you the power you crave as well as your chance for revenge."
He would tell Sasuke a good bit of truth along with a great many lies. One thing he intended to keep well hidden was the reason for why Itachi had done what he had. He needed Sasuke to continue to despise and hate his older brother. He needed him to continue to believe his clan had been massacred solely due to Itachi's mad ambitions and need to test himself. I will have to be very careful to keep Sasuke's survival an absolute secret until the time is right.
"Just who are you?" Sasuke asked.
The man took a couple steps forward and came into the light. He had on a black robe with red clouds. That wasn't what made Sasuke gasp though. His eyes were red, he had the sharingan. "I am Uchiha Madara, but from this point on you will refer to me as master."
XXXXXXXXXX
Sarutobi sat in his office staring down at the decoded message from Kakashi. This is a tragic day; it truly seems we have come full circle. On his desk was a letter with a simple message. It was five words:
Come home, all is forgiven.
The door to his office opened and Danzo entered. "You sent for me Lord Hokage?" Though they were old and bitter rivals Danzo gave the man the respect that he was due.
"I have just received news that Uchiha Sasuke is dead," Sarutobi said in a weary voice.
Danzo stiffened. "Is it certain? Could there be a mistake?"
"The message is from Kakashi, if there were any doubt at all he would have said so. No, I fear that Sasuke truly is dead."
Danzo carefully nodded. A ninja's life was never certain, the possibility that Sasuke might die on a mission had always been acknowledged.
And prepared for.
"Do you intend to activate the contingency plan?" Danzo asked.
Sarutobi looked at him. "Is there a choice?"
Danzo hesitated, but shook his head. "This will make things… difficult."
Sarutobi chuckled dryly. "I never knew you were capable of such understatement." He nodded to the message on his desk. "Send that out by black letter immediately."
Danzo glanced at the piece of paper. "Do you want it encoded first?"
"No, if it were to be intercepted no one would be able to guess its meaning."
XXXXXXXXXX
Naruto and Hinata were just sitting down to dinner when there was a pounding on the front door. When Naruto answered it he was shocked to see Sakura standing there in tears.
"Sakura-chan? What's wrong?"
Wordlessly she threw herself onto his chest and began to cry. The moment they'd returned to the village she'd realized he was the one she needed to see. More than Ino, or even her parents it was Naruto she needed right now.
Instinctively Naruto put his arms around her and tried to comfort her. "Sakura-chan, what, what happened?"
Sakura lifted her teary eyes to look into Naruto's. She saw the kindness and strength she needed there. "He's gone Naruto-kun, Sasuke is gone." She put her head back down and began to weep against his shoulder,
Naruto felt as though someone had just kicked him in the stomach. "No way, Sasuke? Sasuke can't be dead." Once before he'd thought Sasuke has died. On that mission to Wave he'd thought Sasuke had sacrificed himself for him. Since that time he had always known that any of them could die at any time. It was a fact every ninja understood, but that mission had driven it home for Naruto the way words in a classroom never could. But somehow he had just never thought Sasuke would ever die. He'd sort of imagined the teme would live forever.
Still holding tight to Sakura he suddenly realized he was crying.
XXXXXXXXXX
Hinata stood there respectful and silent. She wanted to tell them both how sorry she was for the loss of their teammate and friend, but some how speaking now would seem like intruding. The two of them were holding each other and didn't seem to need or want anyone else.
They almost looked like a couple.
XXXXXXXXXX
The state funeral for Uchiha Sasuke was a massive affair. Almost the entire village turned out to mourn him. Many of them could not help but be reminded of the funerals that had taken place not too long ago following the attack. In its own way this was an even more melancholy affair. The tragic loss of a single life and the sad end of one of Konoha's greatest clans.
XXXXXXXXXX
Two Weeks Later
An ANBU agent in mask and cloak arrived at the gate. He presented and ID and papers to the guards. Seeing they were valid he was permitted to enter the village. The ANBU made his way to the tower, moving at a good clip but not so fast as to draw any special notice.
Outside the Hokage's office he spoke to the secretary. "Can you please inform the Hokage that ANBU agent 66322 is reporting in as ordered?"
The secretary nodded as she called the Hokage on his private line. "He will see you," she informed him. "Please go right in."
"Thank you."
The Chunin thought nothing as the ANBU entered the Hokage's office and quietly shut the door behind him.
Sarutobi sat patiently behind his desk. He was slowly puffing on his pipe. "It has been a very long time hasn't it?"
"It has," the man agreed calmly.
"Please remove your mask."
"As you wish Hokage-sama." The ANBU removed the mask and stood there looking at his Hokage with a calm and unreadable expression.
Sarutobi slowly nodded. "Welcome home Uchiha Itachi."