"In a way, Sarutobi Hiruzen represented all of us," the fire temple monk intoned. "He carried the burning Will of Fire for us, and so in honouring him we honour all the fallen."

Which was a fancy way of saying that there was no time to do funeral rites for everyone who had died, Naruto thought gloomily. Not that ninjas had ever had much of a ritual for death: It was too common an occurrence to be treated as anything other than a normal part of life. Even so, the fact that it was only the Hokage's portrait on display at the outdoor wake did not sit well with him. It reminded him far too much of what Gaara had told him during the chūnin exams, about how the lives of ordinary shinobi were measured and found wanting. About how it was only considered an injustice to slay those with power.

Next to him, Sasuke made a small 'hm' sound, almost as if he was agreeing with him.

Naruto glanced towards the crying boy who stood near the centre of the funeral gathering, dressed in the exact same formal black robes as everyone else, and found that he did not have it in himself to feel bitter. Aside from Shikamaru's teacher, Sarutobi Asuma, the Third was the only family the boy had ever had. From his perspective, Naruto supposed, it was not the Hokage who had died, but a kindly old grandfather. He wondered what that would have been like, to grow up with someone like that as guardian. But then, perhaps it was not so different from how he had grown up with Jiraiya.

Not that Jiraiya was anywhere to be seen, of course. Whatever mission he was on was apparently more important than his old teacher's funeral, never mind the attack on the Village itself.

"In closing, when we lost the Third, we all lost a part of ourselves," the bald monk said. "I would now like to ask the Hokage's closest friend, Shimura Danzō, to say a few words."

Naruto was instantly shaken from his thoughts, a note of alarm running down his spine. He had not expected his father's enemy to show himself, much less speak at the funeral wake. Almost nobody he had asked knew much about Danzō, if they were even willing to admit that they had heard of the shadowy shinobi at all. And yet, there he was, in full view of everyone: Half his face wrapped in bandages and leaning on a cane as though he was just a tired war veteran speaking at the funeral of an old friend.

"Sarutobi and I did not always see eye to eye," the enigmatic shinobi began. His one eye glanced towards the other council members, who stood to the side just slightly behind him. "In fact, everyone who knew the two of us would call that a severe understatement." He smiled slightly, which resulted in more than one look of shock from the older generation. "Indeed, I always considered him quite the colossal fool. Always too trusting towards our enemies, ever naïve, taking one risk after another..."

The female village elder, Koharu, scraped her throat.

"...but no one can deny that we were close friends," he continued. "In fact, I liked to think of myself as his shadow – the darker half that he lacked, thinking thoughts and advising actions that he would not permit himself to consider." The half of his face that was not covered by bandages seemed to become despondent at the thought. "He saved me many times during the dark days of the first great shinobi war, which was when I truly got to know my long-time friend and rival. I was always frustrated by my inability to keep up with him, and I fear that it made me quite vexing to be around, though Sarutobi never did seem to mind. I was finally able to return the favour by saving his life when the Sand so cowardly attacked and destroyed the very home in which he worked and lived, but unfortunately he did not heed my advice to expel these traitors afterwards. Indeed, when I called for a motion to remove the Sand's forces, the council overruled me. I failed to protect him then, and I shall have to bear the shame of that for the rest of my life."

"Danzō," the old woman said. "Now is not the time."

"On the contrary," said Danzō, "this moment has been far too long in coming!" He struck his cane onto the speaking dais, and the small wooden tap seemed to reverberate throughout the gathering, for all that there were no walls to produce an echo. "You were told that this betrayal was sudden and unexpected. In fact, it was nothing of the sort. Our loyal Anbu informed us well in advance that the Sand's forces had infiltrated our home, including none other than the Doom of Tanzaku herself, Elder Chiyo of the Honoured Siblings, as well as their most deadly secret weapon – the host to the one-tailed demon of the sand, Gaara of the Desert!" Gasps of shock went up from amongst the funeral ranks as Danzō pronounced this, but he was not yet done. He pointed a gnarled and unsteady finger directly at Naruto. "Their plan to unleash the demon right in the middle of the Chūnin Exams would have doomed us all, if not for the actions of this one brave hero. Uzumaki Naruto slew the beast and with a single stroke of his sword saved the Village, and for this act of purest heroism the council sought to condemn him and take away his well-earned promotion!"

All around him heads turned to face Naruto in a mix of admiration and astonishment, and it was all he could do to stammer and turn away. Lord Danzō was clearly exaggerating events for his own purposes, and yet Naruto could not imagine why his father's enemy was publically praising him. He could not possibly think that he might manage to turn Naruto over to his side, could he?

"And that is not all," said Danzō, a dangerous expression forming on the visible half his face. "You were told that the Kazekage's remaining forces managed to escape from the Village, after our regular forces were pulled back so that Morino Ibiki's Anbu could deal the finishing blow, but in truth-"

"Enough," said the old woman. "Shikaku!" Shikamaru's father formed a handseal and his shadow shot out, binding Danzō and rooting him to the spot. "It was agreed that you would speak about your friendship with the Third, not to make a political speech and reveal Village secrets. Can you not restrain yourself for even one moment?"

"Apologies," said Danzō. His cane fell out of his paralyzed hand, unable to maintain his grip upon the simple wooden instrument. The fight seemed to have gone out of him, and he suddenly looked older than ever. "Please forgive me. I am still in grief and spoke rashly. I did not intend to say as much as I did." He looked down at his cane, which lay there uselessly. "The Third and I, we enjoyed seafood together. Whenever we got into an argument, I'd sit there fuming in my office, and then Sarutobi would knock on my door with a bowl of Hijiki while smoking that blasted pipe of his, smiling and asking if he could come in. He knew I could not resist." He swallowed. "We really were... close friends."

When Shikaku released his shadow binding technique, Danzō staggered and nearly fell onto the dais. He had to find his cane before he could walk again, limping off in full view of everyone.

"She could have stopped him earlier," Sasuke said. "No way that wasn't planned."

There were hushed murmurs going on all across the crowd now. Some of the funeral attendees were still casting furtive glances at Naruto, which he did his best to ignore.

"Thank you," said the bald monk, "Lord Danzō, for that, ah, heartfelt eulogy." He cleared his throat. "Now, everyone will have the opportunity to pay their respects to the Hokage. Please take one white chrysanthemum each and place it at the base of his portrait, and then say a silent prayer, like so."

Naruto went through the ritual as ordered, barely even balking at the fact that they were being instructed on how to grieve for a man they hardly knew. Once the procedure was over, a briefer version of the process was repeated to commemorate the death of Lord Hyūga Hiashi, who along with his father had apparently been assassinated in his own home despite having sealed himself in while being guarded by Hyūga branch members on all sides. Naruto had no idea how that was even possible, but the thought filled him with dread, for it surely meant that the Enemy had engineered it somehow.

He glanced towards the gathered Hyūga clan, who for once in their lives were wearing black like everyone else instead of white. He tried to spot Hinata amongst the crowd, but from his angle she was impossible to distinguish from the identically dressed family members who surrounded her at all times.

A part of him wanted to walk over there and ask her how she was holding up, but he already knew from harsh experience that there was no chance that that would end well. She was the Lady Hyūga now in name if not in practice, and the absolute last thing she needed was to be seen running off crying from her father's funeral because he said something stupid.

The last part of the funeral ceremony was dedicated to their teacher, Hatake Kakashi, the second coming of the White Fang. It was said that he had been slain during a cowardly attack on the hospital, sacrificing himself to protect the wounded from a vastly superior force despite being mortally injured himself. His friend and rival, Maito Gai, was invited to give a brief eulogy, but it had to be cut short as the eccentric man descended into blubbering halfway through and could not continue.

Apparently Kakashi had lived in the shadow of his father, the legendary Hatake Sakumo, who had taken his own life in shame after failing an important mission. He had taken up his ancestral blade only reluctantly, vowing to never make the same mistake. These were all things that Naruto had never known about him. He remembered accusing his teacher of keeping people at a distance, always coming late to every meeting, but in truth Naruto had made no real attempt to reach out to him either. It left a rotten, sinking feeling in his gut, like he had failed his teacher simply by following his lead. After being lectured so many times for failing to follow orders, doing what he was told had turned out to be fatal.

Lee and Tenten were mentioned only at the very end, as just two more names amongst the fallen. By that time their teacher Maito Gai was no longer anywhere to be seen.

"They didn't even mention Sakura," Naruto muttered when it was finally over.

"Of course not," said Sasuke. "She's not dead."

"I know, but she was at the hospital during the attack, and I don't know where else she could be. She'd never have abandoned her teachers, and with all those explosions and so much rubble..."

"Naruto." Sasuke touched his shoulder and turned him around until the two of them were facing each other. There was a strange sheen to his grey eyes, as if they still held onto some of their power even when his Sharingan was deactivated. "She's not dead."

"Yeah," said Naruto, feeling some of the tension slip away from his shoulders. "You're right."

Sakura was tough. One way or another, she would find a way to survive.

Sasuke glanced at the rest of the funeral crowd, who were exchanging polite conversation and sharing memories of the deceased, as was customary for such occasions. "We should probably join them."

"Probably," Naruto agreed.

"Wanna ditch them and go somewhere quiet to play cards instead?"

"That sounds pretty good," Naruto admitted. "But I was thinking we could maybe add some fairly hefty underage drinking to the mix."

"That's a terrible idea," said Sasuke. "Let's do it."

They began to make their way to the gate, but before they even made it halfway there a scarred and grizzled bear of a man pushed his way out of the crowd and made their way towards them. Sasuke let out a loud sigh before Naruto could do the same. "What do you want?"

"Sneaking off, are we? Heading out of the Village to join your friends in the Sand, perhaps?" Morino Ibiki narrowed his eyes at them. "Don't think for a moment that I don't know what you two have been up to. First you're seen chatting with the Kazekage's heirs, sharing secrets and who knows what, and then next I know we're under attack and all our defences are mysteriously disabled." He leaned his massive scarred face in closer, and his breath was hot as he whispered in Naruto's ear. "I know it was you."

Naruto recoiled. "That – that's ridiculous! I was fighting the Sand, in case you forgot. I'm the one who killed the Kazekage's son, which is what started this whole stupid war in the first place!"

"So you are," said Ibiki. He jerked his head sharply in the direction of the dais where Danzō had stood. "He certainly seemed to appreciate your assistance there. Been making friends, have you?"

Naruto opened his mouth, and it hung there for another good second. "You – you're accusing me of working with the Sand and of working with Danzō to destroy the Sand? That doesn't even make sense!"

"You're right of course, of course," Ibiki said soothingly. "I only wanted to test your reaction. Silly old Ibiki, being paranoid as always! But, please, try to see things from my perspective, if you can." He held up his fingers and started counting. "First, you kill the Kazekage's son, after I explicitly tell you not to kill anyone, thereby winning Danzō's support. Second, you start to evade our loyal Anbu, who are after all only there to protect you, while holding secret meetings with the Sand. Third, during the attack, the Konoha armoury is mysteriously demolished, and afterwards a sacred artefact is reported missing – only for you to be seen carrying that exact same artefact immediately afterwards. Care to explain that one?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Sasuke. "The Uchiwa Gunbai has been in my family's possession since the moment it was created. I simply found it gathering dust in my attic and decided to lend it to my friend here." He folded his hands behind his back, projecting a casual air. "I don't see how I could possibly have stolen something that was never yours in the first place. Perhaps it was an error in your records and you only thought I had donated it to you? I understand the Anbu experience a great many bureaucratic errors like that, always thinking that the possessions of others belong to them..."

Ibiki bared his teeth in what could almost, with some serious imagination, be interpreted as a smile. "You think that just because the Third is dead, you no longer have to fear me? The Anbu still answer to me whether I get orders from the Hokage or not. All I have to do is invite you children over to my place for a pleasant chat, and then we'll find out how much the two of you really know."

"You could do that," Sasuke said easily. "Of course, being the Lord Uchiha you would have a hard time trying to simply make me disappear. You could try your luck with Naruto, but his close childhood friend Hinata is head of the Hyūga clan now, and I am given to understand that they have a seat on the council as well. I suppose it all depends on how much you think you can do unseen, given that their eyes watch us at all times, or how good you think our genjutsu defences really are. You only get one chance, after all."

"Such cleverness," said Ibiki, still baring his teeth in that horrifying smile of his. "Clever little children with clever little plans, imagining that all their cleverness will never catch up to them." His black leather gloves creaked as he flexed his fingers. "You know, it's true, I don't have a bloodline limit like you noble clan people do. I don't have all-seeing eyes, I can't regenerate a hand after it's been blown off and I don't store an army of bugs up my arse. But let me tell you a little secret: All those fancy abilities, all these descendants of whomever and long lost heirs of who gives a crap, it never helps them one bit. In the end, it's just them, me, a hammer and a lot of screaming." He leaned forward until the carved-up slab of meat that was his face was right in front of them, and Naruto swore he could smell rotten meat upon his breath. "Whether it's you, Danzō, or Uchiha friggin' Itachi, papa Ibiki always gets his prey."

And with that he was gone, vanished with the body-flicker technique. The effect was diminished slightly by the fact that Naruto had learned to track such movements by now, and was able to spot Ibiki vanishing back into the funeral crowd to sample some of the traditional refreshments that were currently being served. Even so, Naruto's heart was beating fast enough that he was not sure whether even Kurama's chakra would be able to regenerate the years that had just been shaved off his lifespan.

"That man," said Sasuke, contemplatively, "enjoys his work way too much."


In another, distant part of the village, in an abandoned structure that was shielded from prying eyes, one of Naruto's shadow clones completed the seals for the summoning technique. A moment later there was an expulsion of air as the cloaked and hooded form of Shino manifested in front of him.

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes." The strange boy adjusted his spectacles, which shrouded his face unnecessarily in the darkness of the Uchiha shrine. "My allies are in position. We only have to wait for the signal."

Naruto took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. His summoning scroll lay spread out on the cold floor beside him, each of the names of his comrades inscribed with blood therein. There was no logical way that the Council could know of their gatherings if they did not even see them enter the seal-lined temple walls, but he could not help but feel that it was a bit pointless if they were already under suspicion. He recalled his late father's words, about how the most important skill for any ninja to possess was the ability to remain hidden, and how it was his friends who would pay the price if he did not.

Have I already failed? When the Sand went after Kakashi-sensei, did the Enemy somehow make that happen to try and put a stop to our investigations? Is Sakura gone now because of me?

He felt a lurch inside his stomach, as if an invisible rope was pulling on his very core, but his chakra instinctively resisted the attempt to summon him. "That's Sasuke's signal," he said. "Do it."

There was no visible reaction from Shino, but he must have instructed his insects to do as they were bid, because when Naruto cast the summoning technique again he felt no foreign chakra resisting his pull. One by one, his classmates appeared in front of him, each casting making the Uchiha shrine feel a little less foreboding with their presence. However, seeing them all lined up like that also made the gaps in their ranks all the more painfully obvious.

"Your original body left a transformed copy of me behind," said Sasuke. He shook off some of the insects that were still clinging to his body even as they returned his chakra to him. "As far as the Anbu know, the two of us are just a pair of teenagers playing cards and getting drunk."

"Hinata-sama was unable to extract herself," Neji said. "We will have to proceed without her."

Naruto nodded. "Shikamaru?"

The sharp-faced Nara clan heir had appeared in a crouching position when he was summoned, and he did not rise to meet Naruto's eyes as he spoke. "I guess. It's not like it really matters."

Chōji shot his listless friend a worried glance. "I think what Shika means is that our dads already knew about our last meetings, so they probably suspect us anyway. But nobody saw us leave."

"Same here," grunted Kiba. "If mum notices I'm gone, she'll probably just assume I ran away like dad."

"Okay," said Naruto, breathing a sigh of relief. "In that case..."

"Hold on," said Ino. She was still dressed in her black funeral robes and looked uncharacteristically severe because of it. "We're still missing someone."

"I already told you, Ino, I'm not summoning your stupid boyfriend!" Naruto had been suspicious of that guy ever since he had tried to sell them those stupid information cards, and the fact that he had been there at the hospital when Sakura had gone missing did not exactly help his case. "For all we know, he could be the traitor."

Sasuke frowned. "You think Ibiki was right, then? About the Sand getting help from the inside?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, never mind the fact that someone was interfering with Ino's technique or that Hinata's father was murdered right inside his own home, think about it from the Sand's perspective: They were outnumbered four-to-one. Would you really pick a fight like that if you didn't have some kind of trick up your sleeve?"

"Now hold on just one moment," said Ino. "Let's not forget whose boyfriend it is you're so casually talking about! Kabuto has been nothing but an absolute lifesaver since even before Sakura went missing, and I'm pretty sure I would have noticed if he was thinking traitorous thoughts the whole time."

"Sure," said Sasuke, "unless you were too busy admiring a different part of his body to pay attention to what was going on inside his brain."

"Now you listen to me, Uchiha Sasuke!" Ino shoved her head right in front of Sasuke's face, though she had to stand on tiptoes to do so. "I know you think you're pretty hot shit, and Sage knows Sakura never said or thought otherwise, but whatever messed up sexless relationship you had with her doesn't give you the right to act like you own the place!"

"Uhm," said Naruto, "technically, we are in the Uchiha shrine, so..."

"You stay out of this!" Ino jabbed her finger in his face as she spoke, sounding just as hoarse as the day when Naruto had shoved Kurama's burning chakra down her throat. "You two may have known Sakura for a few years, but I've known her my whole life. I'm the one who taught her to stand up for herself when she was bullied because of her forehead, who got her to open up to others and who showed her how to arrange a Cosmos with Fujibakama when she was five years old..." Her voice caught. "If someone has taken her, then I'll burn my way through the five great nations to find her, and if you two get in my way then I'll destroy you too. My daddy is the head of Intelligence so I can either find out what he knows or I can let him know what you are up to, but either way – the choice is up to you!"

There was a brief moment in which nobody dared say anything, only Ino's angry laboured breathing echoing off the temple walls to dispel the silence that would otherwise have reigned.

At last Shikamaru let out a groan from where he was crouched on the stone floor. "Now you people see what I have to deal with all the time. In fact, if anything I'd say she's gotten even more troublesome..."

Naruto ignored him. "Well, it's not like it matters anyway, because Shino's bugs aren't in place to drain Kabuto's chakra. So you can threaten us all you like, Ino, but..."

"Actually," said Shino, "I anticipated the possibility of you changing your mind and have positioned my allies so as to allow for maximum flexibility in our decision making process."

"Fine," said Naruto, throwing up his hands. "We'll talk to him for a bit. But we're not gonna discuss any of our secrets in front of him, got it? There's gotta be some limit on how dumb we're willing to be."


A few moments of preparation later, a surprised Yakushi Kabuto popped into existence in front of them.

"Hi," said Naruto. "Welcome to our secret conspiracy that is specifically meant to discuss the possibility that people like you are secretly our enemy. Please do not use this information to instantly doom us all."

"Uhm, pardon me," the grey haired young doctor said. He adjusted his spectacles to better take in his surroundings, looking for all the world as though he was genuinely befuddled. "I'm afraid Ino did not tell me very much. We're here to discuss what truly happened during the attack on Konoha, correct?"

"Yeah," said Naruto. "Like specifically, what happened in the hospital that caused Ino's technique to fail, Sakura to disappear and Tsunade of the Sannin to nearly die while you got away without a scratch."

"I did not come away without injury," Kabuto said softly. He turned to face the flickering torchlight, parting his collar to reveal faded burn wounds that extended all the way down to his chest. "When I heard of the attack I made my way to Tsunade-sama's office immediately, but I never saw who cast the fireball technique at me. It took just one hit... I only barely managed to stem the bleeding before I passed out, and perhaps that was for the best because the enemy did not seem to think me worth finishing off." He looked away. "I'm afraid I'm not much of a fighter. Or a healer, for that matter."

Naruto inspected the scar begrudgingly. Sakura did not know any fire jutsu, which certainly helped his case, though Naruto supposed that as a doctor he might have been able to fake such an injury.

"His thoughts match up with his words," said Sasuke, who was not even trying to hide the fact that he was using his Sharingan to stare directly into Kabuto's soul. "Though he is thinking some unseemly thoughts about how good Ino's behind looks in those rather form-fitting funeral robes."

"That's exactly what I would be thinking about," Naruto said dourly, "if I wanted to avoid suspicion."

"Enough of this," Neji snapped. "Are you people physically incapable of taking anything seriously?" His Byakugan was activated and the veins around his eyes were bulging with chakra, making him look more furious than he had since his fight with Sasuke during the Chūnin exams. "My comrades are dead. Our village was attacked and our Hokage assassinated right underneath our noses while we were helpless to do anything about it. Instead of pointing fingers at each other, we should be discussing how to take the fight to the Sand and burn their entire worthless Village to the ground!"

"We are taking this seriously," said Sasuke. "This is just how Team Seven deals with stress. Our teacher, who I'll remind you also died, used to behave the same way."

"Our teacher was eccentric as well," Neji said bitterly. "And now his team is down to one. These days, he does not seem so jovial any more. Did I begrudge Lee the fact that Gai-sensei always favoured him? No. It is only natural to spend more attention on those who have need of it. But, all the same, I can't help but wish that..." He stopped when he noticed Sasuke looking at him. "Never mind. It does not matter."

"The hell it doesn't," growled Kiba, whose eyes had been getting wilder and wilder as Neji talked. "We were helpless, huh? Couldn't do nothing? I don't know about you, white eyes, but the rest of us were fighting for our lives while you were hiding back in your fancy clan compound. What the fuck were you doing while we were out there getting our asses kicked?"

"You have a problem, Inuzuka?" Neji turned to face the feral ninja, his pale eyes radiating pure murder. "You think I don't blame myself? You think I don't curse myself for my inaction, every minute of every hour of every single day? I trusted in Lee and Tenten to take care of themselves when the time came, but if I had known for even one moment that this would be the outcome..."

"Ah," said Kabuto, "if I may give my opinion?"

"You stay out of it!"

"Look," Naruto tried, "Neji wasn't wrong when he said we shouldn't blame each other. Uhm. Now would be the time when we try to learn from our mistakes, so that we can prevent anything like this from happening ever again. If we'd all just worked together from the start like I wanted us to, then maybe..."

"You shut up too," Kiba snarled. "You and your friggin' plans, and all your... talk. If you hadn't gone and traded our secrets away, then maybe..." Tears started to form in his eyes, but he blinked them away. "Maybe Akamaru wouldn't have..."

"You didn't even show up to those meetings," Naruto protested. "You blew us off and said the whole thing was a waste of time! I don't have any secrets of yours to give away."

"Wait," said Neji. "Akamaru? You're upset about your bloody dog? That's what this is about?"

"Akamaru was a member of our team! He was better than – dogs are better than people. They never judge, or betray you... they trust you even if, if you don't deserve it." Kiba swallowed. "I should have been the one to..." The boy tore his gaze away, but it was no longer possible to hide the tears. "Not that you'd ever understand! You, who abandoned his own friends. Tenten and Lee didn't have a clan, right? They never had any money, or power... No wonder you didn't think they were worth anything!"

Neji's Byakugan flared until Naruto swore he could see light radiating from it with his naked eye. There was a storm, a nexus of pure pressure with the Hyūga prodigy in the centre that hurled everyone and everything away from it. Naruto felt himself being thrown against the temple walls like everything else in that place, his ribs buckling as invisible hands pinned him in place and crushed all the air out of him.

Opposite Neji, only Kiba remained standing, straining and howling against the storm like a feral beast. Red lines were running along his skin as his fingers grew claws and his eyes turned yellow, pure nature chakra seeming to run through his veins for all that he had not swallowed his secret soldier pills.

Kabuto tried to step between them, but an invisible force picked him up and hurled him away like so much trash.

There was a flash of motion as Kiba vaulted along the walls and across the ceiling, his movements unlike anything human. Cracks appeared in the stones behind him as Neji thrust his palms forward in quick succession, but Kiba was impossible to predict and Neji could not land a single hit. The feral ninja landed right behind Neji, his claws tearing towards his unprotected skull until a blast of pure force erupted from Neji's back that sent Kiba's body hurtling into the opposite wall with bone-shattering force.

Neji calmly turned around, and extended a single finger in Kiba's direction.

Chōji's arm shot out from a corner of the shrine, and a moment later Neji's entire body was enveloped by a meaty fist which had been expanded to an impossible size. At the same time Shikamaru's shadow latched onto Neji's feet and locked him in place, while Ino formed the seals for her mind-body-switch technique.

"Okay," said Shikamaru, an apprehensive look on his face. "I think that's quite enough of-"

There was another blast of force that sent Shikamaru flying backwards, and at the same time Chōji's fist started to tremble. One by one his giant fingers began to be pried open, his bones creaking audibly and his face contorting in pain while Neji stood there completely motionlessly. As Chōji was forced to dispel his technique with a scream, Ino's hands were suddenly thrown off kilter, causing her to miss entirely.

There was a roar as Kiba pulled himself free from the wreckage of the wall he had been rammed into, and Naruto realized in shock that his transformation was now complete. More than just fangs, his entire visage had taken on a canine aspect, as if part of Akamaru's soul had returned to him and joined with his. As Kiba howled, pressure seemed to build up around him, chakra radiating from his body like a cloak and pouring from his mouth until Naruto could see it with his naked eye, condensing and gathering there to form a purple ball of pure destructive energy.

That's...!

A wave of pure darkness shot forth from the other side of the room, enveloping Kiba and Neji both. The next moment there was a muted scream from where Neji had stood while a detonation reverberated hollowly within the shroud that had enveloped Kiba. When the darkness pulled away Neji was lying on the floor in the centre of the shrine, clutching his forehead and whimpering softly, while Kiba's body was covered entirely by insects as the hooded form of Shino loomed over him.

"You are in my house," said Sasuke, staggering forward from the shadows with one hand covering his left eye. "This is my home, my family's religious shrine... and you will show it some fucking respect."

As if to punctuate Sasuke's point, a part of the ceiling crumbled and rained fragments of rock down upon the ground. Naruto himself had dropped to the ground earlier, he realized belatedly, the pressure from Neji's technique having vanished the moment Sasuke's darkness enveloped him and Kiba.

What... the hell... was that?

"Shino, just how much nature chakra have your insects been injecting Kiba's body with these last few days?" Sasuke lowered his left hand, and Naruto blinked in shock as he saw that his Sharingan was leaking blood. That could not possibly be a good sign, he thought, though he was not sure why it felt like such a crucial piece of information. Like there was something about it he had once known but had subsequently forgotten, leaving only a grim association lingering within his mind...

"My comrade expressed a desire for 'enough power to tear through the Sand and kill that bastard Kankuro myself'," Shino said calmly. "I could think of no good reason to refuse him."

"I can see a pretty good reason right fucking there," said Sasuke, pointing at the small crater in front of Kiba's body. "Kiba, I don't know if you can still hear me, but your problem was never a lack of power. I could have helped you too, you know, if you had ever asked. But you always told people outside your team to butt out. If you hadn't been so self-absorbed, you might have realized that the reason Neji couldn't help you was because he was busy saving Hinata, who is also on your team. Instead you allowed yourself to get taken captive and relied on Naruto to save you. Naruto, who, by the way, you also insulted. Kiba... If you're looking for someone to blame, you only need to look at the person who Akamaru trusted so completely."

Lying on the ground, Kiba whimpered softly.

"Speaking of comrades..." Sasuke shot a glance at Naruto. "Thanks for the assist."

"I was a little busy maintaining my sixteen shadow clones," said Naruto, realizing the truth of it as their memories came back to him. "Each of which was distracting the Anbu so they wouldn't notice your shrine exploding from the inside. You're welcome."

"I suppose I'll have to pay someone to repair the sealing network after this," Sasuke muttered, glaring at the ceiling as he made his way towards the dais which was used for religious sermons. The rest of the battered and motley group shuffled after him without thinking, instinctively straining to hear what the last Uchiha was about to say. "We are Konoha's most talented generation, every one of us prodigious in their own right, and yet we've all suffered at the hands of the enemy. If you want to know how we could fail so badly, the answer lies all around you. The Sand might have been cruel and they might be mad, but they worked together, fighting as a single unit. If we want to beat them, we'll have to do the same."

Sasuke cast his gaze around the hall, the Uchiha guardian spirit roaring up behind him. Its painted fire spreading out along the walls in crimson bands, as though the whole group was surrounded by flame and Sasuke was the only thing standing between them and the source. "Sakura has been captured, and if I'm honest, that's the only thing I care about right now... that and revenge. If you want to get in on some of that, then I suggest we work together and divvy up the tasks." He turned towards the Nara clan heir. "Shikamaru, if you're feeling useless, then work with Chōji and Ino and find out what your parents already know. Naruto, you'll do the same with your godfather once he returns. In the meantime, work with Kabuto and see if he can get you into Tsunade's office to find out what happened there. Shino..."

Naruto watched his teammate work in silent wonder. All the others were listening to him breathlessly, even the ones who he had yelled at and fought only moments ago. None of them seemed to think twice about it. To Naruto, it seemed a more impressive power than any of those that had been shown before.

Sasuke... whatever it is you've got, I don't have it. You better not turn out to be evil, do you hear me? You'd better not make me fight you in the end. Because the truth is, I don't think I could save Sakura without you.

If things were to turn out like that... I'm not sure I would be able to do very much at all.