A/N: Increasingly short, but the action is starting up again soon! Enjoy!
Chapter 33: Startling News
The next day was tense, as the king had called the staff in for another round of questioning. Luckily, Shien was needed elsewhere - Naruto needed her to help him put together several pieces for Sasuke's coronation, which would be in a little over a few weeks. It was disquieting to think about him becoming king so soon, but as she understood, the king was desperate. Obviously, he was afraid of something... but what could Fugaku Uchiha, the man who currently held Fire with an iron fist, possibly fear?
She ruminated about this for a while that morning, until by the afternoon she just couldn't stand it anymore.
She turned to Naruto and asked, "Why is the king so frantic about going through us to root out a traitor?"
Naruto frowned and paused in his work.
She turned to glance at him, and noticed him watching her with a troubled eye.
"You... you promise you won't tell anyone?" He asked in a hushed voice.
She scrunched up her nose and nodded. "Of course. Why?"
"It's a bit of a... sensitive topic," he coughed. "From what I understand, Sasuke's dad is super stressed right now because of orders from his great-grandpa."
"Great-grandpa?" She asked incredulously. "Do you mean-"
"Madara Uchiha, and no, he's not dead." Naruto sighed, glancing upward. "Sasuke swears up and down he's seen him around, but I've never caught a glimpse. He says that apparently he lives up in one of the tallest towers above the chapel, but nobody knows for sure."
"What- but-" She sputtered. "How in the world does he get up and down, then? I've never seen any entrance to the towers!"
"That's because he doesn't want people goin' up there and seeing him," Naruto explained patiently, with a nod towards the big double-doors at the end of the room. "The staircase is hidden somewhere only the king and queen know. Sasuke's asked a million times, and he still doesn't know."
"That's... rather strange," she observed with a frown. "I thought he died in the Battle of Konohagakure approximately fifty years ago."
"That's what everyone says," Naruto replied with a strange gleam in his eye, "but Sasuke is insistent that he's still alive."
She shook her head, stunned. Tsunade had told her the tale of how her grandfather had died against Madara in the skirmishes fifty-something years before, when she was only a teenager. She'd vowed with thinly-veiled hatred that she would avenge her beloved grandfather by taking down the kingdom that Madara had created, and instead instill the government Hashirama had wanted - she would be the first Hokage in the city's history, completely doing away with the monarchy for good.
Of course, Tsunade had said it in a spark of anger after learning of Sakura's rocky past with Sasuke's family, and even now she admitted that, if anything, she would probably just crown a new king and queen, one that she was sure would govern fairly. Sakura had joked many a time that she would make a good queen, but the blonde woman deflected every time.
She gazed out of the window she was washing with a sinking feeling in her heart.
"Mother, what will we do now?" She thought in despair. "What can we do against the most powerful shinobi to ever live? If it is true, then all hope is lost!"
"Tsunade-sama, an urgent message from Hatake," Temari reported as she handed the woman a note.
"Oh, excellent!" She exclaimed, unfolding it. "He must have found the identity... of the..."
As she read, her joy faded into shock.
"Deidara has been captured?" She sputtered, her brow arching in anger. "And so has Hidan?!"
Temari could only watch, dumbfounded, as the woman became enraged, slamming her fist down on a folding table. It cracked in half from the impact, and the girl jumped when it fell to the tent floor in two pieces.
Tsunade paused in her rage and stared at the table for a moment in shocked disbelief.
"Dammit, that was my only table," Tsunade took a moment to mutter, disappointed, before she shook her head violently. "This is ridiculous! We need to double our efforts. No, triple our efforts! We cannot let them go!"
"What do you suggest?" The sandy-haired girl managed to ask.
Tsunade's eyes gleamed as she pointed to her. "I'm sending you and Shikamaru on a little reconnaissance mission for me. Go into the capital and scope out the castle. If you can, slip away to the dungeons. I need you to report back to me about any weak links in their defenses."
"Yes, ma'am." Temari saluted her and strode quickly out of the tent.
Tsunade sighed harshly, falling down onto her bedroll. She stared sadly at the table pieces, muttering to herself. "I liked that table, too..."
She shook her head for a moment. "No. Focus, Tsunade. You need to get all hands on deck to rescue them."
As soon as Noh came into the tent, she stood again.
"What's happened?" Noh asked in alarm. "Have we been found out?"
"No, much worse." The blonde sighed heavily once more. "Deidara and Hidan have been captured. We need to rescue them, otherwise we won't stand a chance against them. Our deal with Akatsuki will be off for good. We can't afford to do the invasion without Pain's help."
"What do we need to do?" The brunette asked.
"I need to create several teams to scope out the capital. I've already told Temari to go with Shikamaru, but I need about four more." She muttered, pacing around the tent. "Obviously, I can count on Itachi to spy with Kisame, but then we have the risk of them being spotted and recognized..."
Noh watched her shuffle around for a few moments before finally grabbing her arm.
"Tsunade, please, calm down." She ordered. "Sit down, have a drink, and we can talk this out."
"Fine," the woman replied, flopping down onto her bedroll. She took out her water bottle and took a few hefty gulps before popping the top back on and setting it down with a satisfied noise.
"Alright, I'm calmer," she announced. "Go call in Aika and the soldiers. Also, be prepared to write a note to Itachi."
"And Hinata?" Noh pressed.
Tsunade thought about it for a few moments before sighing. "Yes, I suppose we must."
A/N: For those of you who guessed it, yes, Madara is behind this entire thing! And yet there's still more. If you've guessed it from these hints alone, again, please don't spoil it yet!
Tell me what you thought. See you next week!
