Ch. 30

Tsunade looked around at the four nin, then said, "Let's start with Sasuke…"

As everyone waited in anticipation to see what Tsunade was going to say, she pulled the cover off the box on the table. Inside was a new Konoha headband. She picked it up and held it out to Sasuke. "Due to your actions recently, the council considers you to be not only a powerful shinobi, but also a trustworthy one... They're willing to reinstate you as a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf."

Kakashi looked a little taken aback and Sakura looked to be in a more shocked state. Naruto looked shocked, but in a joyful way.

Tsunade continued, "I was originally supposed to ask you if you wanted to return to the village after you woke up, but you're awake now and Kakashi has informed me that you've already decided to come back."

Sasuke looked at the headband and slowly took it from Tsunade. As he stared down at it, he saw Naruto handing him something out of the corner of his eye. He turned and looked down to see that it was his old headband.

Sasuke looked at him and said, "You've kept that all this time?" Naruto smiled and said, "Of course I did. I never throw away good memories…"

After a small pause, Sasuke gave a small smirk then said, "Fine, I'll hang onto it…"

Kakashi and Sakura wore small smiles as they took in the moment.

Tsunade wore a smile as well, but as much as she wanted to bask in this once in a lifetime moment, she still had tons of stuff she had to bring them up to speed on.

She said in a firm voice, "Now that that's settled, I, Tsunade, the 5th Hokage, reinstate you as a official shinobi of the Hidden Leaf." Sasuke nodded then placed the new headband on his head. He looked down at his old headband for a second, then tied it around his upper left arm using only his right hand.

Naruto said in a semi-confused voice, "You're gonna wear both of them at the same time?"

Sasuke looked down to his left arm at his old headband as he replied. "Yeah. This one so that I don't forget the past," then he looked up to his new headband and said, "and this one so that I remember to focus on the future… I may be moving ahead with my life, but that doesn't mean I'm letting go of everything that came before…"

Kakashi and Tsunade glanced at each other, Naruto wore a pensive expression, and Sakura looked like she was in a pensive state of admiration. Sasuke had finally been able to move on with his life. Somehow he had been able to move on from his dark past and focus on the future. Whatever happened with the Sage had to have been pretty extreme…

Tsunade decided to break the silence that was hanging over the room and get back to relaying the intel. "Great! Now that you're officially Leaf shinobi, let's bring you and Naruto up to speed." The two nodded as Tsunade continued. "First off, there's unrest in the area surrounding the Sound…" She nodded in Kakashi's direction and gave him the floor.

Kakashi nodded, then said, "When my team got dropped off at the Sound, we found out that around half of the population had left after the news of Orochimaru's death…"

Sasuke gave a small eye squint while Naruto's eyes widened. Naruto looked at Kakashi and said in a confused voice, "Where did they go?..."

Kakashi replied, "Right now, they're causing unrest in the surrounding villages. The Hot Water, Frost, and Waterfalls villages are being attacked at random by some of these shinobi and it has been rumored that a group of them is headed to the Rain to try to take down Hikan, which we know would be a suicide mission. The villages under attack are faring pretty well, but they're on edge, especially since they have to protect their civilians who aren't shinobi."

Naruto said, "So at this point, the Sound shinobi are just annoying to have to deal with?... "

Kakashi replied, "That and they're causing unrest in the surrounding villages. Villages like the Stone and the Grass are wondering if they'll be attacked next, so they're on high alert."

Naruto and Sasuke gave nods of understanding, then Kakashi continued. "The people who didn't leave the Sound are being led by Suigetsu, Jugo and Karin, although they don't have the iron grip Orochimaru had…" Naruto nodded in understanding while Sasuke let out a small grunt.

Kakashi turned to Tsunade, then said, "I think that's everything I needed to say…"

Tsunade looked at Naruto and Sasuke, then said, "Any questions?" Naruto and Sasuke both looked at each other, then nodded to show that they didn't have anything to ask.

Tsunade nodded, then said, "Next issue. We recently had to send word to all of the villages, letting them know that Sasuke had returned to the village. We had to let them know so that we could clear his name in regards with Hikan's attack. Needless to say, they were pretty angry that we didn't feel obliged to share; however, most do believe that he had nothing to do with the attack two days ago. We have his aid at the Cloud and Stone to thank for that. Most villages have Hikan as their leading suspect. Problem is nobody has any proof that it's him and he's denying all allegations. He has the support of the people of the Rain so our hands are tied…"

Sasuke wore one of his usual blank expressions while Naruto let out an audible sigh, then said, "He's been a step ahead of us this whole time…"

A small silence fell over the room. After a while, Tsunade said, "Yeah… He's covered all of his bases… We can't make a move….. What's worse is all of the villages are now on edge because if he had the audacity to attack us, he could attack anybody…"

As the deafening silence dragged on, Kakashi said, "Let's move on…"

Tsunade gave a slight nod then said, "Last thing… When Hikan came here, he told me to deliver a message."

Tsunade now had Naruto and Sasuke's full attention. She let out a small sigh, then said, "He wanted us to know that the attack on the village wasn't personal." Sasuke slightly tilted his head to the side while Naruto said, "What?..."

Tsunade shook her head and said, "Yeah, he said the only reason he attacked was to get a message across. He said that the peace we're working so hard for, it's not worth it. He called it a 'false' peace or a façade."

Naruto said, "What does that mean?" Tsunade replied, "I have no idea, but he made sure to point out that it was our willingness to help others that left us so open to attack…"

As Naruto and Sasuke tried to make sense of the cryptic message, Kakashi said, "I think he's saying two things here. The first is that our willingness to help others can be a weakness, and the second is that the peace that we've been working for since the war isn't real."

Naruto said, "But that doesn't really let us know exactly what he's thinking… Those two things you just stated are general ideas…"

Tsunade said, "Yeah, we know. The only other thing we have to go on is that he also said he would put this false peace to the test…"

Sasuke turned to face Tsunade while Naruto wore a more concerned expression and said, "What does he mean by that?..."

After a long pause, Kakashi said, "We have no idea….."

Naruto let out a loud sigh as he put both hands behind his head and said, "What's this guy planning?..."

A prolonged silence fell over the room. Hikan had proven to be a serious threat and now he seemed to have some other plan that no one knew anything about.

After a few more seconds of silence, Naruto said in a semi-angry voice, "I wish I could just go over there and beat it out of him…"

Kakashi said, "So do we, but he's got a diplomatic barrier around him…"

As soon as Kakashi said that, the five heard a voice hiss from across the room, "Then use that to your advantage…"

The heads of the 5 nin swiveled to the doorway. The door was closed, but in front of it was a small white snake that was slowly transforming into a man… Orochimaru.

As looks of shock crossed everyone's faces, Sasuke said with a sneer, "I knew you had to still be alive you resilient son of a bitch…"

Orochimaru gave a small smile, then said, "What can I say… I'm always prepared for the worst, including my untimely demise… I'm glad you knew that…"

Everyone's faces grew stern as they realized the snake Sannin was back in the picture. Hopefully he hadn't come back just to cause more trouble.

Tsunade stood up behind her desk and said, "How'd you do it?..."

Orochimaru wagged a finger and said, "Sorry Tsunade. You should know by now that even my secrets have secrets…"

Kakashi said in a serious voice, "Why are you here?"

Orochimaru replied, "I'm not actually here to be honest. I'm currently back at the Sound reclaiming control, but if you're asking about the reason for my visit… I just wanted to give you all some advice…"

Kakashi quickly replied, "Why help us?"

Orochimaru replied in a voice that showed he expected them to already know the answer. "Well, Hikan double crossed me and you guys are the ones most likely to be able to stop him…"

After a short pause, Sasuke wore a smug grin and said, "Not as much fun when you're on the receiving end of a snake bite is it?..."

Orochimaru couldn't help but wear a small smile as he said, "Maybe not…but as you can see, the snakebite wasn't enough to kill me…"

Kakashi interrupted and said in a firm voice, "Get to the advice you were gonna give us."

Orochimaru smiled, then turned serious and said, "Hikan is an extremely intelligent shinobi. In all my time working with him, I never once knew any of his plans. However, there was one thing that he could not hide. His obsession with Naruto…"

Everyone in the room wore semi-confused expressions. After a few seconds, Naruto said, "But I thought he said this wasn't personal…"

Orochimaru looked over to a map of the shinobi world and said in a serious voice, "I don't know what this is to him. Maybe it's personal. Maybe it's not... Maybe it's a game to him..." He turned back to everyone in the room and said, "To be honest, I haven't the slightest idea what his endgame is, but I think that even I wouldn't like it, hence my visit..."

As a tense silence fell over the room, everyone started thinking about what Hikan's endgame could be. They had no idea and they needed answers.

Kakashi looked over to Orochimaru and said, "You said something about Naruto using the diplomatic barrier to our advantage when you first showed up… What did you mean by that?"

Orochimaru smiled, then said, "It's obvious… Naruto is the hero of the 4th Great Ninja War. That alone gives him a level of diplomatic power. The election ceremony for Hikan was held yesterday. Diplomatically, Naruto could be sent to congratulate Hikan on his election. His true goal; however, would be to get some answers from Hikan…"

Kakashi turned to Tsunade who was already looking at him. After a short pause, Naruto said, "It could work…"

After a few moments of pensive thought, Kakashi looked at Tsunade and said, "What do you think?..."

Tsunade gave a slight shoulder shrug and said, "I don't know what to think, but we need answers…"

As Kakashi stood there pondering the idea, Sasuke said in a firm voice, "Naruto has to do it, but if he does it, he has to do it alone…"

Tsunade replied in a semi-irate voice, "That's ridiculous! The only thing we know about Hikan is that he has a Sharingan, a Rinnegan, and he's dangerous, and you think the best idea is to send in Naruto alone? Maybe if he had a squad or someone accompanying him diplomatically, but surely we can't send him in alone?"

Kakashi looked at Sasuke as he waited for an answer.

Sasuke said in a monotone voice, "If anyone else goes with Naruto, Hikan will know even if we try to hide their presence. If he really is obsessed with Naruto, he'll be willing to talk to him…but only if he's alone. Not only that, if Naruto goes alone, it leaves more people here to defend the village in case of another attack."

Tsunade let out a sigh of exasperation. She was thinking about what Sasuke had said, but she was still unsure as to whether this was a good idea. Hikan was dangerous, calculating, precise... For all they knew, he could be ready for Naruto to arrive and already have a plan in place.

Kakashi stayed blank faced. He was obviously thinking about it, but his expression revealed nothing of what he was feeling.

Sakura wore an expression that showed her worry. Hikan was not only dangerous, but fearless. And now Naruto was thinking about going into his territory…alone.

After a few moments of silence, Orochimaru said, "Well, I've said all I have to say, so I'll leave you all to figure out what to do…" He noted the headband on Sasuke's forehead, then turned to him and said with a hiss, "Congratulations on your reinstatement…" Sasuke's expression remained the same, then the five watched as Orochimaru turned into a small white snake and forced himself under the office door.

After a few more moments of silence, Kakashi finally spoke up and said, "We have to make a decision…"

Tsunade paused, then said, "This is risky… Very risky…"

Naruto looked through the office window at Konoha. It was now nighttime and the city was lively with lights and sounds. The only place that looked bare was where Hikan had destroyed…

After a moment, he turned to Tsunade and said, "You're right. This is risky, but what if he's planning an attack against another village. Or even worse, another attack on our village."

Naruto continued in a voice with a hint of urgency. "We need any clues we can get as to what his next move will be. So although this is risky, he's too dangerous for us to not make a move. If he really is obsessed with me for some reason, then we have to use that to our advantage… So it's a risk I'm willing to take…"

Tsunade slowly sat down and looked over to Kakashi who was already looking at her. She could tell that he was already on board with the plan and that he was waiting for her opinion. She let out a small sigh then said, "Fine, but if we do this, we do it right…" Tsunade turned on her laptop and waited for it to start up.

Naruto said in an inquisitive voice, "What are you doing?..." Tsunade gave a slight head tilt and said, "I'm sending an official email to Amegakure. I'm letting them know that the hero of the 4th Great War will be arriving tomorrow morning to congratulate their new leader. If he wants to be a diplomat, we'll force him to play by diplomatic rules. We'll have the email as proof of goodwill so that he if he tries anything, we have our own diplomatic barrier…"

Naruto gave a small smile then slowly nodded. "I'll get ready to leave tonight."

As Naruto turned around, Tsunade said in a firm voice, "Naruto, you better be very careful…" Naruto gave a firm nod then looked at everyone. Their faces showed that they understood the gravity of the situation. Kakashi looked serious, Sasuke looked pensive, and Sakura looked a little worried.

Naruto could understand everyone's tense mood, so he decided it would be best if he just left to get ready. He said in a low voice, "I'll go get my gear ready."

Kakashi said in a serious voice, "What you're wearing is fine. You're not going as ANBU, you're going as the war hero."

Naruto thought about it for a second then nodded. He had gotten so used to going on ANBU missions that he was in the habit of putting on his ANBU outfit whenever he had to leave the village. It felt like a nice change not to have to change into his ANBU uniform. He actually liked the new jumpsuit, so getting to keep wearing it was a plus. He looked over to the clock hanging on the wall. 7:35 PM. He let out a small sigh then said, "I'm gonna head back to my apartment. I'll hightail it to the Rain in the morning."

Sasuke said, "I'm gonna go meditate at the monument. Naruto, I'm still crashing with you later." Naruto responded with a simple nod.

Tsunade looked up from her computer and said, "Ok. I'll send the email by tonight. Rest up. You're gonna need it…" Naruto nodded as he walked over to the door and pulled it open. Sasuke walked out first, then Naruto followed. He stopped short of closing the door and looked at everyone one last time. He said in a reassuring voice, "Everything's gonna be ok…"

The statement didn't do that much to dispel the tension in the room, but it helped a little. As Naruto stepped out, he clenched one fist as he resolved himself to get some answers tomorrow.

Author's Note

PLEASE feel free to leave reviews on this story. I do enjoy reading reviews and if I see good ideas as to where the story can go, I do listen to them. Reviews are not only very encouraging but they also help me get better. Be sure to drop a follow and a favorite because I will be updating this story consistently. This story will be completed. Believe it!