Author's Note: This chapter is quite intense really. I'm not trying to bash any characters here, just liked to say that but some people have harsh opinions of others and for a character that I think doesn't forgive easily, they come out quite viciously sometimes.
I don't want to reveal too much here so read on! I'll ramble more in the end notes.
Shikamaru was on guard duty.
One that he totally did not sign up for, but as things have been happening lately, he'd simply been threatened–or as Naruto would like to say: persuaded–into doing the job.
So he stood outside the room currently occupied by the two jinchuurikis, cursing their existence under his breath. Because he knew the headache he'd soon have to face when Suna shinobi came swarming at their location due to the colossal outbreak of chakra from the inside of the room not too long ago.
Shikamaru knew vaguely what Naruto was upto. The blond had said something about repairing Gaara's seal that kept the bijuu imprisoned inside him, but nowhere in that explanation had Naruto mentioned just how exactly he would be achieving that. And he sure as hell hadn't forewarned Shikamaru about how he was going to completely dismantle the seal and build it anew.
"Hey you!" some Suna jounin barked, and Shikamaru tried his best to ignore the existence of the man.
More footsteps joined the sole jounin and in no time, an entire squad of shinobi was standing before Shikamaru, eyeing him like he was a particularly disgusting species of insect.
"Hi," Shikamaru said, expression carefully blank. "How may I help you?"
A kunoichi with long black hair, stepped forward, narrowing her eyes at the door Shikamaru stood in front of.
"What's going on in there? What are you Konoha shinobi up to?"
Shikamaru shrugged, "My friend's in there. I was just standing here basking in the sun. Not much dry, hot air in Konoha you know? I find it oddly pleasant."
"Oh yeah?" The jounin from before looked thoroughly unimpressed, "Then move out of the way lad. We'd like to meet your friend."
Shikamaru looked straight at the man, "My friend is changing his clothes and unless you'd like to see his naked butt, it'll be in your best interest to stay where you are."
He gracefully moved out of the way, and waited patiently for them to make a move. The jounin atleast had the decency to look sheepish though he hid it behind a cough.
"Oh um," the man said. "Okay then. We will... er, wait here then. Till he's done. Shouldn't take too long."
A few shinobi murmured their suspicions but Shikamaru's deceptively uncaring attitude gave nothing away. Instead, he shouted through the door saying,
"Naruto! These nice Suna folks want to meet you. Hurry up with the dressing up, will you?"
"Yes! Ah, yes!" Naruto's equally loud voice made it through the door. "Just trying to put on this... tight t-shirt! You know how tricky those can be to get on."
Shikamaru hid a smirk expertly when one of the jounin nodded slightly in agreement and continued with his impassive stance while they waited for Naruto. A few things falling and scraping drew the attention of the ninja outside but the threat of seeing someone nude inside made them stick to their places. Thankfully, before anyone could get too antsy to throw decency out the window and barge in, the door flew open and Naruto stepped outside - with a tight black t-shirt to stay true with his cover story. He grinned at the assembled jounin,
"Sorry for that... er... delay. I like to experiment with my clothing alot. It's a whole process you realise? Picking up the trousers that are not too itchy, and just tight enough fit comfortably while still allowing unhindered movem–"
The Kunoichi of the group snorted, "We get it, you're particular about what you wear. But that doesn't mean we're interested in your fashion related opinions."
"Damn," Naruto grumbled. "And here I thought I'd give y'all my make-up tips next."
Shikamaru, with much difficulty, kept a smile off his face.
"So, what's the matter? Not that I don't mind your esteemed presence, but I'm guessing there's a reason y'all are here."
Another shinobi straightened up and stepped forward. This one had two ugly scars running down his right cheek and beady brown eyes.
"Our sensors informed us about a chakra fluctuation here. A huge outflow of it. It disappeared as soon as it had appeared though. We must investigate the source of it," he paused, scanning Naruto's frame critically, before he decided something to himself. "I think there might be an artifact in here. This hotel's notorious for hiding seals without legal authorization. I suggest you two to find better lodgings."
Naruto nodded sincerely at the man, the perfect picture of ignorance and innocence, "Understood, shinobi-san. We'll just leave for now and come back to collect our things later. You can go inside and check for anything sketchy."
The squad of shinobi shuffled inside, but the kunoichi stood firmly where she was. Naruto thought she'd seen through their bullshit but she made no move to give them away. The blond shared one look with Shikamaru and both hurried downstairs and out the inn they'd rented a room in, just to reseal Shukaku in Gaara.
The moment Naruto turned the corner, a fist of sand collided with his torso and he fell on his ass. Shikamaru raised a bemused brow when an irate Gaara came into view, glaring daggers at Naruto.
"What the fuck was that Naruto?" Despite the anger clearly oozing off of Gaara, his tone was emotionless. Shikamaru respected that.
"What was what?" Naruto asked, standing up while cradling his bruised body part.
"You threw me out the window."
Both of Shikamaru's brows went up at that.
"It was necessary," Naruto replied in the utmost serious tone he could muster.
"You threw me out the window. Without any warning whatsoever. I ought to kill you for this."
Naruto looked at Shikamaru for help but the Nara was not on his side.
"You definitely should," he told Gaara. "If I understand correctly, Naruto just attempted murder. You're within your rights to kill him."
Gaara nodded his head in approval.
Naruto cast him a dubious look before rolling his eyes at both of them, "So funny guys. Ha-ha. Now can we get going? Those shinobi won't find anything in the room. I made sure of it but I don't want to take any chances if they come back to interrogate us or some shit."
"I guess I can put a hold on my plans to put an end to your existence," Gaara said reasonably and Shikamaru snorted. Naruto started walking and the two fell in step beside him.
"I can't hear him anymore," Gaara mumbled later, when they were sitting in a small restaurant.
"Then the seal worked." Naruto grinned brightly and maybe Gaara's smile was a small, tiny thing but it was just as effective as Naruto's exuberance.
"All thanks to you Uzumaki."
"Are you sure I can't accompany you?"
Sakura asked Sasuke as he strapped on his kunai pouch, a frown worrying her features.
"No," Sasuke replied, not unkindly. "The Hokage was quite clear in his message. Only I am supposed to meet him."
"Well, I can still try to convince him–"
"Sakura." Something in Sasuke's voice made her stop and listen, "I... appreciate everything you've done for me these past couple days but I think I can handle myself now. Trust me, alright?"
Her lips thinned into a straight line but she nodded at him and stood down for now. She had to let Sasuke deal with some of the recent developments by himself. She knew how aversed to help he really was and she didn't want to force her aid onto him if he didn't ask for it. But she didn't have a good feeling about this meeting yet she couldn't really do much about it expect trust Sasuke to keep his cool.
"Get going then," she said, handing him his forehead protector. "You don't wanna be late for this."
Sasuke threw her a meaningful look before accepting the offered piece of metal and rushed out the door.
Sakura waited for ten minutes before getting too restless to sit still.
"Oh for fuck's sake," she mumbled agitatedly and grabbed a bag, filled it with snacks and went straight to Ino's.
She needed a distraction.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was more apprehensive about the upcoming confrontation than all the shinobi wars he'd fought and bled in. It was going to be difficult but it had to be done. After all the people he'd failed, he couldn't afford to not do the right thing now.
His student, Jiraiya, stood beside his chair. For once the Sannin had a grim look on his face and every once in a while Hiruzen could feel a distinct stream of disappointment directed at him. He thought he deserved it.
By the side of the room, on a comfortable chair sat the Yamanaka clan head. The man was incredibly sombre and unlike Jiraiya, he wasn't hiding his looks of discontent towards the Hokage.
A knock on the door indicated the arrival of the final member of this gathering and Hiruzen called out a soft "Come in".
Sasuke walked inside, immediately on-guard due to the palpable tension drifting within the room. Hiruzen discreetly activated all his privacy seals, one's that even Danzo was unaware of and beckoned the stone-faced boy to take a seat. Sasuke sat on the chair beside Inoichi without so much as a head nod towards the leader of the village.
"Sasuke-kun. How are you doing today?" Hiruzen tried to ask amiably but even years of conditioning couldn't keep the stiff tone out of his voice.
Sasuke frowned at him, "I'd appreciate it if we could just get to point, Hokage-sama. I don't think anyone's in a mood for idle chit-chat."
Hiruzen's neatly folded hands found themselves rubbing at his temples and he braced himself for the upcoming conversation.
"Very well," he said. "Before we begin, Sasuke, I just want you to know that I'll be completely honest with you today. I haven't been much of that before but no more. What I say is going to be the truth and while you may need proof of it, I'd like you to trust me if you can."
Sasuke nodded hesitantly, all his attention solely on the Kage.
"Your brother, as you may know, committed a heinous crime all those years ago and massacred your clan."
Sasuke frowned again, not sure if he knew where Hiruzen was going with this.
"Yes," he replied, "What about it?"
"The truth is Sasuke-kun...bthat Itachi–he did that, he massacred your clan not for some heartless test of his strength. He did it on the orders of the village elders. He did it because I was too incompetent to prevent it."
Inoichi stiffened, waiting for some reaction now that the bomb had been dropped. But none came.
Sasuke stared at the Hokage, uncomprehending and unblinking.
"Itachi murdered everyone. He killed them because he is a sick bastard," he said matter-of-factly.
Hiruzen gulped and looked wearily at Sasuke, the insurmountable guilt weighing down on his eyes.
"No, Sasuke. Itachi was a wonderful young man that I have failed many times over. He was 13 when he was forced to kill his own clan, his own parents. The Uchihas... they were not happy about how they were treated within the village. Made outcasts and considered with disdain. All because I didn't take any steps towards inspiring unity within the village. Didn't do anything about clearing the Uchihas' names after the nine tails attacked Konoha. Please try to remember Sasuke, was there a time when you felt like your clan was always unhappy, your father was angry?"
Sasuke still looked painfully confused but he managed to nod, "Yes. I was... seven. But I remember things changing. Father and Itachi having constant fights. Shisui and Itachi...sneaking out in the middle of the night."
Hiruzen sighed, "Yes. That was when the tensions between the Uchiha clan and the rest of Konoha reached a culmination and the Uchihas started planning a coup to overthrow the village authority and start a full blown civil war within Konoha."
Sasuke's hands gripped his thighs, trying desperately to come up with a scenario different than what Hiruzen was painting. Because this... he didn't think he could live with this truth. He didn't want to.
"Itachi was a double-agent at this point. Itachi and Shisui. But they both were loyal to Konoha before their clans. And I think your father knew that, somewhere he was aware that his son wasn't going to support him. The council and I discussed solutions. Anything to de-escalate the situation. The clan elders and your father weren't interested in negotiations or discussions. It was too late. I was too late. I should've realised when things started going downhill, but I didn't. And then the village elders decided upon another strategy to prevent the looming civil war."
Sasuke stared at the floor, unable to look at Hiruzen's face. His face was incredibly pale and his sandals tried to dig into the floor.
"Massacre," he muttered, horrified and hysterical. "That was their solution."
Hiruzen stayed silent for a long time.
"Yes," he said finally. "It was the only choice we had left."
"Only choice?" Sasuke asked softly, seemingly to himself before he faced Hiruzen again, eyes morphed into the Sharingan. His three tomoes whirled threateningly in the sea of red and neither Jiraiya nor Inoichi stood up for their Kage.
" Only choice?! " He repeated with a tinge of disbelief, "No! You had several choices. Heaps and heaps of options. You could have given my clan another location to establish our district. You could have run inter-clan relationship campaigns. You could've given my clan the autonomy they desired. You could have handed a seat in the council to my father. Hell, you could've gone knocking on every single fucking door in Konoha and told every person that the Uchihas weren't goddamn evil! You could've done so much but instead you chose to kill off hundreds of innocents, including children who had no idea what was going on and now you have the audacity to say you had no choice?" Sasuke took a deep breath, he was standing now, his chair forgotten in his bubbling rage and he calmed himself from lashing out.
"Well guess what Sarutobi," Sasuke muttered bitterly. "Your will of fire? It doesn't even exist."
Hiruzen took it all with a hard face and mourned the loss of respect from this boy who had once regarded him with awe.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke," The Hokage said, making eye-contact with him, refusing to back down from an apology.
Sasuke didn't acknowledge it, but he sat down again and shut his eyes tightly.
"Who killed Shisui?" Sasuke asked through gritted teeth.
Hiruzen knew the truth now. He knew what had happened that night at Naka river. Itachi had told him and Hiruzen couldn't not trust his word after all the boy had done for Konoha.
"He killed himself."
Sasuke let out an agitated breath again and Inoichi asked softly,
"What are you feeling right now?"
Sasuke ignored him. "Why did he do that?"
"Because he believed it was the best course of action. A village elder was behind his eyes. They had a special ability and said elder had already acquired one of his eyes. The other one he handed to your brother and... then he threw himself into the Naka river."
Sasuke's eyes opened and the Sharingan was still spinning madly but they looked a little different now, a darker red, sharper tomoes. There were tell-tale signs of tears in them and Sasuke kept them at bay.
"This elder. What happened to him? Is he dead?"
Hiruzen hesitated and didn't give an answer so Sasuke turned his attention to the Sannin who had failed to say even one word throughout the entire meeting.
"What happened to him?"
Jiraiya shook his head, "He's still alive. We didn't know the extent of his crimes until now."
"What is his name?"
"Danzo Shimura," Hiruzen said with almost aching feel to it.
Sasuke bit his lip and all of them could feel the killing intent that flowed out of him unrestrained.
"I will kill him," he decided.
"Sasuke..." Inoichi began and this time the boy listened. "Please don't do anything drastic. We are working towards bringing this man to justice. He's just too well-protected right now. If the information we have proves true, it's likely that Danzo has a small army at his command and any action to bring him down individually will only result in your death. I know we adults have no right to ask this of you but please have some faith in us. I promise you that I won't sit back until I've seen Danzo's head rolling on the floor."
Sasuke grunted but said nothing to assure the man that he was convinced by those words.
"So Itachi was ordered to kill the clan. And he accepted this mission?"
"He did," Hiruzen said quietly. "I want you to know that Itachi loved you. He still does. He fought tooth and nail to keep you alive. He was ordered to kill everyone–including you–but he refused to do so. He's been protecting you Sasuke."
"No, he's not," Sasuke replied firmly. "But I have to wish to discuss this further with you. I just want answers. Did you order him to join the Akatsuki too then?"
"Yes," Hiruzen answered promptly. "To spy on the Akatsuki and give us intel on the inner workings of the terrorist organisation."
"Alright. Did you order him to torture me with Tsukuyomi the night of the massacre?"
Hiruzen's head creased into a small frown, "No, I did not."
"Did you order him to tell me to pursue revenge against him?"
"...I didn't."
"Did you order him to plant ideas into my head. To tell me to get Mangekyou Sharingan by killing my goddamn best friend?"
"No–Sasuke. Why are you asking me this?"
"Because you seem to believe that my brother did no wrong. That I should forgive him and accept him. But you have no clue the shit Itachi's pulled all these years. No clue."
Hiruzen didn't rub his temples. He didn't sigh. But he just looked at this young man and he knew no amount of regret could ever make things right. He couldn't magically fix this twisted relationship between the two brothers.
"Are we done here?" Sasuke asked coolly. "Or do you have another layer of secrets that you wish to keep from me for another decade?"
"No, that's it," Hiruzen replied, wishing for this to be over as much as Sasuke did.
"Good then. I'll be taking my leave," he stood up, and walked towards the door. Fisted hands by his side and shoulders taut.
"Sasuke," Hiruzen couldn't help but call out, and he was grateful that the boy did halt to hear these words, "Itachi did do some things that were horrible but he was - is - a good man."
Sasuke snorted, bitter through and through.
"No, he's not a good man Sarutobi, but you're even worse and I'm glad really," he twisted the door's handle and stepped outside, "that you won't be my Hokage for much longer."
Hiruzen couldn't help but agree.
Author's Note: For those of you who are worried, Itachi and Sasuke will reconcile at some point but it will be an uphill battle. The focus will remain on Sasuke for a bit longer before it goes back to Naruto again. I hope that's not an issue! Ofcourse, this short arc will also have Naruto–infact he's going to play a pretty major role in it but I think it's only appropriate to give Sasuke the spotlight for these few chapters.
I hope his reaction wasn't too mellow or too out of character. He's still repressing alot, only letting his anger show. His psyche will be explained better in the next chapter!
Thank you so much for reading. I appreciate all of you. 3
Hope you have a wonderful day!
(Go drink water y'all.)