Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1.
AN: Chapter title: Face to Face Again!
Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer resided in his office. At least for now. This would be the first time he had left it for a prolonged length of time since the attack on the Hidden Leaf had been successfully repelled. At this moment, he awaited in a well-furnished lounge for the arrival of his fellow Kage, and his rather high-profile prisoner, in Rasa of the Hidden Sand. Kikyo Castle remained under heavy guard by his available ANBU Black Ops, the Chunin and Jonin he trusted to not fail such a critical task. Ibiki had also already cleared any Shinobi present of any and all suspicions.
As well as he could at least. Torture and Interrogation was, like every other branch of his Shinobi Corps, understaffed and overworked at the moment.
'I should have expected he possessed so many spies in my ranks. Despite himself, what he's allowed himself to become from his ambitions, he still possesses a powerful force of personality, a magnetic aura that draws people to him, urges them to follow him even to their own detriment. He always possessed charisma just like Jiraiya's own. It was foolish of me to believe he had lost it to his sadism. The depths Orochimaru's agents have reached within the village have almost made me desperate enough to rely on Genin for this task. And I still do not know if I can even trust them.'
Hiruzen had been alone with his thoughts long enough for him to reflect on things he had been too busy to concern himself with. Orochimaru was chief among them.
His former pupil had established a network that had rooted itself deep within the ranks of not only his Shinobi but seemingly every facet of the Hidden Leaf. He had created for himself an unprecedented pipeline of information any foe of the Hidden Leaf would have paid him a small fortune to possess even a faction of.
'Not even Shimura's Root can be fully trusted anymore. All the reports he received painted Kabuto Yakushi as a loyal operative. He was supposed to be an exceptional agent, a master of intelligence gathering and deep cover assignments, but even he's been proven to be one of Orochimaru's countless subordinates. And there's no telling where exactly he was on any network, what roles he served or how many even reported to him, who reported to them, and this madness only continues as we uncover more of Orochimaru's web. Yakushi's entire team still needs to be reviewed off of that information alone, the patients he treated at the hospital reassessed, the clients he took missions for, everything we can use to piece together any of his movements in the past few years needs to be gone over with a critical eye. And the same needs to be done for so many others. No matter how slim the chance may seem, everyone in a position that could prove advantageous must be considered a possible traitor. And that is far too many to keep this operation covert, prevent a mass panic in the Shinobi Corps once it gets out. The more people who know, the bigger the risk becomes of open violence on Shinobi by Shinobi, will extend to betrayals during missions at a time I cannot afford to garner a negative reputation, and my forces will tear themselves apart out of nothing but paranoia and distrust. I can't trust something like this to more than a handful of Shinobi yet I need a near impossible amount of information gone over as soon as possible. And with no idea of who has and who hasn't been compromised by Orochimaru or one of his unknown agents.'
'I've barely stemmed the bleeding from the attack as of now. If I give the idea that traitors dwell among us, give a voice to the suspicions so many already privately hold, I'll lose complete control of the narrative and be forced to play catch up. If I allow it to get to that point, the lies people hear will become more valuable than any truth and the truth will be worth less than any lie. And doubts will, inevitably, turn to me. Accusations will come against me sooner rather than later and I'll become a conspirator, an ally to the enemy. I could be the spark that causes the Hidden Leaf Village to ignite its own funeral pyre.'
If he didn't have excellent control of himself, he would have sighed, would have reached to cover his tired eyes.
Thoughts such as these had hounded him since the first inklings of an attack had reached him, the idea that Orochimaru could play a part in it.
'But I can't allow this to continue, let it go unaddressed to the extent that I have. In the near future, I must be able to commit to decisive action. To do that, I must have an idea on who has turned against the village and who has not. From there, I can begin to undo the damage Orochimaru has done. But I have no actionable intelligence even now. An influx of prisoners from the Sound and the Sand that still need to be processed, our own dead needs to be attended to, and I'm ignoring the most pressing problem I can't let fester: Naruto.'
The solution to his dilemma was obvious. Was so painfully obvious yet he couldn't use it, couldn't dare to consider such a thing in nothing short of absolute desperation. Even then, it was hard to imagine.
'If I give this mission to Naruto, hand it off to him and his army, I'll provide him a level of access a majority of Jonin could only dream of. He'll provide the results I need in perhaps mere days but…No. This must be handled internally. If I allow him access to such a vast amount of information and my worst fears are proven true, I would face a foe I would have no chance of defeating either on the battlefield or off it. All because of my own shortsightedness in the past. It is better to find another solution, to exhaust all other options, before I decide to entrust such information to Naruto. Not when I'm still unsure where his loyalties lie.'
His eyes turned to the door off to the side, his thoughts having strayed but his senses still alert. Rasa was being escorted from his refurnished cell, would be before him in a few minutes.
'Perhaps?' He almost wanted to discard such lunacy, such a near idiotic idea, but he could not truly deny it. 'It seems that I am perhaps that desperate. I wish it was not the case but it is not as impossible as I would believe. Merely foolish. If nothing else, he desires vengeance against Orochimaru for his trickery, would perhaps prove himself as a valuable ally due to a common foe between the two of us.'
Even as he thought such things, he could not believe such a thing, could not believe even in his old age he had imagined something so irrevocably idiotic.
'It's the height of lunacy but it is perhaps all I can do. It's not as if I can call forth my own army like Naruto can. I doubt Enma would…'
His eyes actually widened.
The solution to his dilemma was rather obvious when he ceased being so narrowminded, deluded into thinking he had to pick a lesser of two evils. It was so painfully obvious that his own blindness to it astounded him, made him question if his mind had not truly gone with age.
"Enma…" He could not deny such an idea. It almost seemed too simple even. It was too perfect, too thorough, of a solution for him to not have considered it already.
It was too unbelievably simple to have never been considered.
'Yet simplicity is deceptively complicated.' He could only allow himself a rueful grin as he shook his head. 'Especially for those in my position. I've allowed myself to think in nothing but spirals, think only of the worst case scenarios, think of how every outcome can prove detrimental to the village. If I allow these thoughts to rule me, I will never make a decision.'
He would have laughed if he thought it deserving.
'Yes. A simple plan is the best.' He made a note to summon Enma later, to see if such a thing he intended to ask of him was even feasible. 'Perhaps I could even ask Jiraiya to lend a hand as well. The Toads of Mount Myoboku have always been loyal to the Hidden Leaf. Now should be no different.'
He allowed himself a short laugh.
"This quiet time has been more eye-opening than it should have been. I was supposed to finish my preparations to speak with Rasa yet I've realized my own paranoia instead."
Hiruzen did not rise from his seat as the door opened at last. His guard comprised of ANBU Black Ops broke away from their silent pursuit, their mission to oversee the arrival of the Kazekage complete at this moment. The Jonin he had entrusted the task of escorting the high-profile prisoner were dismissed from where they stood at the door with a wave of his hand.
The door closed behind Rasa. Seals inked across the surface of the door and the wall took on a soft glow as they were locked from the outside. It sealed the two inside.
It left the two alone, able to speak privately as Kage to Kage, as prisoner and his warden.
Hiruzen had seen it fit to have a new set of the Kazekage's ceremonial robes delivered to the village by a messenger from the Hidden Sand, had allowed him the privilege of wearing such clothing as afforded by his position.
"Rasa. Please, join me." Hiruzen gestured to the chair across from him. Dark eyes were focused on him as their owner complied, as he dropped into the seat bereft of the visage of a stern and proud man Hiruzen had met not so long ago. He had expected as much.
It did not take long to discover that the man had been misled by Orochimaru, had been guided by his former student's hand while blinded by his own near rabid ambitions.
"It is pointless to waste time here, neither yours or mine. This meeting is for you to state your demands." Leaving Rasa in near complete isolation save for his thoughts and irregular messengers from the Hidden Sand for days had broken down his desire to talk around the point.
"I would advise you to refer to it all more favorably when discussing this with your people, pick something with less hostility than demands. Consider calling all of this the formalization of a new treaty between the Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf and the Shinobi of the Hidden Sand." Hiruzen drew out a scroll from his sleeve, placed it within reach of the Kazekage. "A rough draft of things, something for you to occupy your time with once we're done here."
Rasa did not reach for the scroll.
"Why bother with this farce?" Rasa's words didn't possess hostility, only an exhaustion brought on by his own thoughts. "You're well in your rights to execute any prisoners and send their corpses back to the Hidden Sand, force my village to pay reparations for the attack, fund your reconstruction with them. No one would challenge you now. Not after my failure."
"This little skirmish of ours isn't something I'm willing to destabilize the balance the world gained from the last war." Hiruzen silently unsealed another scroll from the seals in his sleeves, set it on the table as well. "And, even if I did want any further retribution, taking it I would only provide even more opportunities for your former partner."
He gained the desired response.
Rasa's eyes gained a spark of life. One motivated by hatred, by rage, by the pride of a man who now knew he had been tricked, had been rendered nothing but a moving piece of a greater scheme by another.
"Yes, I believe Orochimaru hoped for either the Hidden Sand or the Hidden Leaf to be left too weak to protest any outlandish claims he would make after the attack." Hiruzen produced another scroll from the seal. One of the many he had concerning his traitorous student. "If you can understand Orochimaru's true goal from this attack, then you must also understand why I have decided on this course of action. I will not provide any opportunity for the Hidden Sound to rise any further than it already has. While still beneficial to the Hidden Sound, it has not gained the opportunity to supplant any of the current great powers from the damage done to the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Sand. Overall, the less they gain from this, the better for us all."
"And you would go so far as to let Sunagakure recover from this attack?"
"I would be agreeable to such a thing."
Rasa did what Hiruzen had expected of him: He choked down a laugh.
"Really? You would allow your enemy to grow strong again? You would be naïve enough to let your enemy, their leader no less, go after they commanded an invasion of your village? You would allow me to leave with my army, encourage me to build another even? A respected leader such as yourself would deny your Shinobi their right for vengeance against the murderers of their comrades, those who had certainly freely slaughtered Shinobi and civilian alike? You would allow those who sought nothing but your utter annihilation to live?" Rasa's disbelief brought a sigh from Hiruzen, he even went so far as to pinch the bridge of his nose. He desperately wished for his pipe, for the chance to perhaps ease his nerves as he dealt with a child in the body of a man.
"It disappoints me to know young man are still as shortsighted as you, makes me almost wish that I was dealing with the Tsuchikage instead. Stubborn old men can at least understand why the other can be so uncompromising." Hiruzen leaned back in his seat, knew he would be here for longer than he originally planned. He would at least be comfortable as he dealt with the man.
"I have no intention of allowing you to emerge from this mess you've made without consequence Rasa. Believe me when I say that was never my intention. Simply because I do not wish to weaken your economic standing any further does not mean I refuse to see to it you are unable to commit to something this outlandishly foolish again. I'll be executing some of your Shinobi, imprisoning others, and any of those slain or captured possessing Kekkei Genkai will not be returned to the Hidden Sand. Most will likely need to be executed but I have no doubt some will manage to escape only to make some appearance years from now with a change of allegiance. As for the Hidden Sand itself, I truly intend to use you and your village as a testing site for one of my more problematic Shinobi, allow him to do as he pleases to you and your people for the foreseeable future to gauge his behavior and the like. I will be instructing those proficient in such a thing to construct a model for his behavior using his actions to your people."
Hiruzen would not deny he took some joy in seeing the once near mockery on Rasa's face shift to outrage, to shock, to disbelief at the words he spoke.
The small pleasures in this life were rather important after all.
"Naruto Uzumaki will be allowed to do most of what he desires once he enters the Land of Wind, doubly so once he enters Sunagakure proper. Short of him executing thousands of your people in some grandiose expression of cruelty, I have no reason to issue an order to stop him or to set any additional guidelines post those I will give him before he departs. In this meeting I had hoped for the two of us to work together to create that set of guidelines for him to follow. Unfortunately, I see there is no chance of compromise between our two mindsets. We are simply destined to be opposed on all matters."
He should have brought his pipe with him. He would make sure to bring it to any future meetings.
"Speaking of Naruto, you should expect some rather graphic executions. He seems particularly fond of crucifixions, at least from his actions in the Land of Waves. Which you, like the other three Kage, are already aware of. Beyond that, we have little meaningful information to provide for you. The boy is so secretive that even the simple fact on if he even bothers to keep prisoners is relatively unknown. Of course, with the exception of those scheduled for execution. Your Jinchuriki will no doubt aid him in any endeavor but, if it pleases you at all, he has gained a greater measure of control of the Ichibi. Since his encounter with Naruto during your failure of an attack, he has exhibited a remarkable level of sanity."
He unsealed two scrolls, one heavily edited version concerning Naruto and one containing an abundance of information on Gaara. He simply rolled both across the table to Rasa, found no small amount of enjoyment in the numb shock he accepted them both with.
"I expect Naruto, judging by his impressive Chakra reserves and the ingenious Fuinjutsu that contains the Kyubi no Kitsune, has several thousand of those peculiar clones of his still held in reserve. He'll no doubt make use of them to control both the Hidden Sand and the Land of Wind itself. Depending on how thorough he is, and how committed the boy is, you may become nothing but a puppet leader or be removed when you're no longer deemed useful to him. When could such a time come? I'm afraid we have no information on that particular topic."
He honestly didn't know what Naruto would do across the years he intended for this rather insane and unprecedented assignment to span. He hoped he would stretch himself thin or, at the minimum, reveal more of his unknown capabilities to those who would be tasked with observing him.
At best, Hiruzen hoped it would provide a guideline for what exactly Naruto intended to do when the boy spoke of becoming Caesar, could perhaps provide an example for what exactly this Uzumaki Empire he constantly proclaimed himself leader of entailed.
"Why tell me any of this?" Rasa could do nothing but hope for an answer. He seemed to at last understand that this meeting was a mere formality, his chance to compose himself as his entire world suffered from upheaval after upheaval.
"To allow you to maintain your dignity as a Kage of course. This would all be pointless if you were in such a state that your Shinobi had no reason to respect you, to obey the orders you issue. It would simply cause me more problems in the long run if I neglected to give you time to prepare yourself for the future that awaits you." Hiruzen feigned a sudden epiphany. "Ah, it almost slipped my mind. My old age is surely catching up with me." He chuckled. "I haven't told you anything about your children. As you no doubt saw, my ANBU Black Ops agents secured them during the attack. I know you care little for them beyond their capacity to host the Ichibi so I've decided to hand them over to Naruto, allow them to join their brother during their remaining time in this village. Perhaps they could even gain a position similar to his, whatever it is. Or perhaps they'll be executed. Regardless of what happens to them, it is something that will come to past given enough time."
Seeing his fury, his disbelief, the myriad of emotions passing over his face was far more amusing than it should have been.
He should be trying to be diplomatic with his fellow Kage but a case could be made to treat him in such a matter. He had foolishly launched an invasion of the Hidden leaf, had been too blinded by his ambitions to understand he was nothing but a puppet for Orochimaru, and had raised his Jinchuriki into an unstable mess prior to his confrontation with Naruto. Rasa, for all his lauded genius, was made a fool by his ambitions, was too easily misled when he saw a path to power. He had been a man too swept up in his own strength, thought himself undefeatable because of the trials he had already overcome, the struggles he had already triumphed over in the Land of Wind.
He had been blind to reality for too long.
"It is pathetic to pursue peace in this world. War is inevitable in the world of the Shinobi. All that matters is that the strong strikes first, that the strong crushes all others before they can have the same done to them!" The words the Fourth Kazekage had so loudly declared during their battle was more than proof of such a thing. Hardship and strife had turned him into a fool unable to see the larger picture, the larger game at work around him.
Age had opened Hiruzen's own eyes to some of it yet the full board was something few if any could ever see. Too many acted from within shadows cast by other players, others were too unpredictable to plan for.
"I see." The man could say nothing else, there was nothing he could do in his position.
"Yes, but onto other matters at hand. I believe the last piece of business here would be the Daimyo. They've become rather disgruntled with their treatment during the invasion. You understand how these men function just as I do. They'll expect you to bow and apologize to them, swear a new oath of loyalty, soothe their egos and their pride with gifts. Once that is done, things will return to normal. If they seek anything unreasonable I'm sure you can convince them Orochimaru used Genjutsu or the like to control you."
He withheld the desire to outright laugh at Rasa's grimace at the very suggestion of falling prey to Genjutsu, of truly being rendered a puppet of Orochimaru in their eyes.
'Yes, it's the little things that make life worth it.' Hiruzen would find enjoyment while he still could.
Not much of the future would be enjoyable for him after all.
'The little things.'