34. Having a little break now, so I have one day to write as much as possible before school starts and I'll be writing half asleep at night..?
Dear CoolBeansSir (Guest),
Hello again good sir! I make it a point to reply all my reviewers, so for readers who use the guest function I reply at the top of each new chapter. It might take a month, but do look out for the reply!
P.S. If you have an account, feel free to review while signed in, I'll reply you the moment FF sends me an email notification (though it's been a little off the past couple of months, I've been manually checking.)
Hmm as surrogate brothers? Why not real ones (contemplative face) I mean they could pretty much shift in with her, they're already family. As to your idea, I've noted it down, more news down below on it!
"Let us continue, from the Lord Uchiha's demand for a public execution. Following that, we have to debate on follow up action with regards to the ROOT members, Aburame-sama will also address council."
Tsunade knocks her gavel once to signal the opening of debate.
Hatake-sama rises smoothly and Inuzuka-sama aborts her motion to speak.
"Do you think you're being a little excessive, Uchiha-sama?" his mask twitching as his lips move but his grey eye cold, without compassion.
"Hell no," Inuzuka-sama launches herself out of her seat snarling, a mouth full of canine incisors on display, "I second Uchiha-sama's motion. We should make an example out of him."
Around the table are nods in agreement, it seems almost like a no-brainer but the council is fully made up of ninja, Tsunade is their only voice of reason.
"But how will the civilians react to such news? Will it create unrest?"
She watches the Hyuga Clan Head bite his tongue and hold back some very choice words.
"I fail to see how the affairs of the shinobi half of the village has anything to do with the civilians, Hokage-sama. I believe we should proceed. If the publicity of the event discomfits them, they may choose not to attend."
Her eyes sweep over the council members in the room, thinking to herself.
The Elder Council is gone, the Civilian Council is weakened, the Ninja Council has monopoly. It's even worse that I agree with them.
Where is my voice of dissent?
"Isn't it good that we have a unanimous decision once in a while, Hokage-sama?"
This facsimile of a scowl and smile on her face as the Lord Nara speaks up – the male is just dying to get the meeting over and done with.
That's what's wrong with ninja. They don't think too heavily of lives and deaths.
She sighs.
Is it wrong..?
"Very well. It is decided that Danzo will be executed in public. Now. Any suggestions as to the method?"
"Cleanly would be good," the youngest council member nods, self-assured.
Tsunade watches Haruno's concerned eyes flit over to the Uchiha.
"I concur. Excessive violence would unsettle the villagers."
"We need to send the message that such actions will not be tolerated. We still have to maintain the moral high ground."
Agreement among the council members – great on the surface, darn I thought sensei said they bickered like children?
Like something worse has yet to come.
Nothing happens, though.
"…not limited to treason…"
They have a public execution along with an address by Aburame-sama.
"…set an example that we will not tolerate…"
Death by chakra exhaustion to make sure the ex-councilman has no chance to try any funny tricks.
"…for the safety of our village…"
The councilman crumples from his kneeling form to a sprawl on the floor.
"…the will of fire in all our investigators…"
Slowly, curling up into a ball like a millipede would if poked, his arm on full display for the people at the front row.
"…remain vigilant that this will not repeat itself…"
The Aburames part of the execution squad have their hands outstretched because apparently you trust people more when you can see their hands.
"We will also open an inquiry into the Uchiha Massacre due to suspicions…"
Then the Aburames bow and retreat back into the crowd, allowing Aburame-sama to finish his speech.
"For the next three months, we open the gates once more to recall the absent Uchiha Itachi to explain himself. After this period, a lack of response will have him marked as KIA rather than MIA. We have reason to believe that he was forced to flee, rather than be guilty of abetting murder."
The young Uchiha walks beside the contingent of ninja hauling Danzo's body off the stage, Tsunade understands that he intends to partake in the cremation.
For him to settle his demons.
"We will also begin re-integration efforts for clans to reclaim the ROOT members who were wrongfully taken from them."
The non-clan children will be assimilated into the main forces with enough delay – they're children, almost all children, after conditional therapy and unsealing.
His delivery is flawless, without a trace of blood-thirsty vengeance, the civilians take this as even-handedness, accept it readily as if ninja have ever shied from taking lives.
Tsunade turns away from the huge crowd as the attendees disperse, hands in clenched fists as she marches back to her office.
There's still work to be done but at least without Danzo in the way, Orochimaru is safely back and she can find out what in hell happened to the Uchiha.
"Jiraiya, is there any news on Itachi?"
The spymaster crosses his arms and shakes his head, indeed it is concerning that Konoha's foremost spy hears not a single peep from the missing-nin after sending a new request to all his informants.
"It may take more time for the news to reach the Uchiha, depending on where he is."
It's been exactly a week since the execution but by the theory of interconnectedness, the message could have gone and come back with a living breathing Uchiha Itachi at Konoha's doorstep.
"I don't like the silence. Once you've made preparations I want you to take Naruto to the Summoning Realm. Stay there and teach him whatever I don't care, but I want our Jinchuuriki out of the village."
He observes her fingers crinkling the sheets of paper on her table and concludes, "You don't trust Uchiha Itachi. You think he is guilty."
She raises her hand to support her cheek, glancing idly down at the ANBU reports from that night.
Scarce but all alleging wounds in line with the known fighting style of the then Uchiha Itachi.
Quick, painless deaths via stabs, occasionally interspersed by a brutal burning.
Itachi was supposed to be a pacifist, but his list of kills obviously speaks otherwise.
So, what is wrong with this genius?
"I think he had a god-complex. From the style of killing, he obviously believes that he had a right to kill them and that some deserved to die. For a ninja he may have been a pacifist, but his kill style fits that of a practised killer. Someone very used to, very good at killing. Someone who believes in peace via war."
"You mean like any of us, Tsunade-hime?" comes Jiraiya's dry rejoinder.
She knows she has no right to judge the Uchiha as she has but that doesn't stop her from judging him anyway
"I would have left the children."
"And let an entire force of vengeful Uchiha brats grow up to descend upon him? Please hime, you know, I know and Orochimaru knows, we wouldn't have. You barely stopped him from killing my students in Ame then."
She laces her fingers together, closing her eyes and ending their discussion with silence.
"My order still stands. You will leave as soon as possible. We don't know when the Uchiha will appear and if he will be hostile."
The Toad Sage sighs softly before biting his thumb and drawing blood.
Pressing the bleeding limb to the strong oak table in the Hokage's office, ignoring Tsunade's flinch, he summons his private messenger.
"Kosuke, I'm leaving you here with my teammate okay? You'll be our link while I'm with my little disciple in the realm."
The little red toad salutes sharply, goggles around its neck shifting just slightly, "Aye, Jiraiya-sama. You're going to Mount Myoboku? The elder sages have been wanting to see you for a while, Shima-sama has wanted to see your little one since forever. It's good, it's good, I would like to see him too, someday."
Jiraiya allows Tsunade to give her orders and brief the toad on protocol, he takes his leave to find his blonde student.
[his heart aches, his second blond student. "Ne, Ero-sennin, why do you think Yondaime-sama had to seal the Kyubi into me?"]
["He was your father, Naruto. And he believed in you and your strength that you inherited from your mother."]
How could he have told the child that as Hokage, Minato couldn't have asked of another parent to do what he couldn't?
"I want you to bring in Uchiha Sasuke for a psychiatric evaluation. How did he react back then when his clan was massacred?"
Kisame-san arrives the day after Naruto leaves, gasping for air so hard his gills are rippling.
Sakura is awake at the 4 am when the Mist-nin stumbles into the gates requesting an immediate audience.
"Itachi sent word, Akatsuki will be moving on Konoha in less than a week from now. They're coming for the Kyubi. It's something huge, a full-out frontal assault."
Kotetsu-san dropped by her house as a courtesy but had already gone by the homes of all the other ninja clan heads.
"I'm going to find Lord Uchiha, council has been called. Would you like to come with me, Sakura-sama?"
She allows herself to be picked up and flashstepped to Sasuke's home.
Unsurprisingly, Sasuke is dressed and out of the house, sensei with him when they arrive.
"I will bring them from here, you should retake your post, Kotetsu."
The eternal gate guard bows stiffly before obeying – faced by that likely prospect of being the first to die in the possibility of an invasion.
They file into the room alongside the ninja council members, noting the presence of the Mist-nin within the chambers.
He doesn't wait for them to be seated, nor for the Lady Hokage to motion him to speak, simply rattling off what he knows and what he doesn't and that, "You all need to be ready for war in a week."
Sakura and Sasuke, sitting squished in the same chair because Kisame-san took one share their looks of incredulity.
"Itachi sent me to warn you. Because you all recalled Itachi, the Leader-sama intends to use it as a surprise attack on Konoha. He wants you all to be prepared because he will have to attack to kill this time."
Sakura is a civilian council member, not a ninja one – of course she shouldn't be here discussing war plans with people three, four times her age and neither should Sasuke.
But she also knows that the organisation Itachi-san is part of wants Naruto and well, Naruto isn't in the village.
Sasuke knows that too, sure it's a secret, but they're teammates and they don't hide things from each other.
Lady Tsunade is calm when handling the entire situation.
"Hoshigaki-san. The first thing you should do is convey to the Uchiha that Uzumaki Naruto is not in the village. We say this not just to direct their attention, but because he is out of the village. There will be no point in attacking Konoha."
The clan heads murmur among themselves, it sounds almost like she's intending to sacrifice to draw the attention of the main attacking force.
"I know full well this is buying time, Uzumaki will eventually return to the village. But if we can get this information to their organisation through choice sources, we can delay the attack enough to prepare."
The blue-skinned man nods jerkily, and ANBU melts out of the shadows to offer him paper and a pen.
"Commander Nara, scale back the acceptance of mission requests, add a few layers of paperwork to slow down the process. We want to keep as many Jonin in the village as possible. Take more of the kidnaps/missing cases. Lord Aburame, Inuzuka, Hyuga, send more of your clan members out for the missions within the boundaries of Fire Country. From now till the attack, we will maintain our borders strictly."
The Hokage doles out tasks easily, like she expected war to come knocking.
"Lord Akimichi, Lord Haruno, with your civilian contacts, find out if an army has been amassing anywhere, sudden increases in supply requests, loaning of transport, mass recruitment drives, etcetera."
She ought to protest, these go against the terms of my treaties, but it's not true, is it?
She, like all the other merchant heads, are party to their own politics, so she only nods and agrees.
The week drags by with an uneasy silence, Itachi-san sends no more word, Kisame-san is correct to believe that his former partner must be under strict scrutiny.
Many ninja on long term deployment are withdraws, back to Konoha.
Genin teams are kept within the border and ANBU are kept within the village.
Even the civilians notice the heightened state of alert, the sudden increase in population density and the dreadful chill in the air.
But nothing comes and Tsunade-sama's patience is wearing very thin.
Eventually, people began questioning the recalls, murmuring discontentedly at their decrease in income (Because well, not everyone is a loyal Konoha puppet. Some actually try to make a living.)
She briefed the ANBU first, let them hang around the village and give disapproving looks to the drunk Jonin in bars by the dozen.
Then, she levelled a sneer of disgust at said Jonin when she decided she would brief them – a week after that.
If only for the Lady Hokage to make them stop moaning and requesting for more and further missions, then for her to vent her frustrations by smashing another oak desk with her fist.
Shizune-senpai giggles softly as she recalls the scene she escaped from while struggling to hide her laughter, "You should have seen the look on the Jonin's face!"
The young lady is surprisingly unburdened by the impending attack – she takes it as it comes, because, "We don't know if they will come. For now we've prepared as best as we can, we can only hope."
Sakura smiles and heals the bruises along the arm of a civilian male, asking questions and filling in forms.
As Shizune attends to the other patients, Sakura is increasingly concerned by the rising rates of civilian injury.
"A ninja hurt you?"
"I just bumped into him."
"She nearly killed you with a kunai?"
"I swear I didn't do anything!"
"These burns don't look like normal fire from a stove, do you work in a weaponsmith?"
"What about these injuries? How did you hurt youselves?"
"Wait, please, talk to me, stay a little longer so I can heal you."
Ninja-inflicted civilian injury.
Because having so high a proportion of the population being militarily trained, all in the village at the same time changes the atmosphere.
The clashing chakra natures instinctively put the ninja on an edge, the concentration of people who do not hide their chakra natures leads them to be suspicious of those who do.
Or as they think, 'hide', ignoring the fact that they are in a village with civilians who do not have reserves sizable enough to be sensed by those not trained.
Sakura thinks it's regrettable and distasteful – it carries over when the next patient she's treating is a ninja who looks at her like she's a threat.
He looks like he would rather be treated by anyone else other than me.
Outwardly she pastes a smile over her frowning countenance, speaking clearly, "I'll be using healing chakra to help aid your recovery, please, if you can feel my chakra, do not resist."
She extends her hands, not her chains (they set off those who came back from long-term infiltration missions.) and they glow green.
First, she places her hand over his burnt palm, allowing him to get used to it, letting him watch his chakra burnt skin gradually become smooth.
"See, Chunin-san? That is all I will be doing. Now, I'm going to do deeper healing, your tenketsu were hurt as well."
This ninja is one of the better ones.
Another in the Jonin-specific wards might have killed her without the intervention of another patient whom she healed.
She faints when the Chunin's healed hand closes around her neck with such force, eyes wide in terror and panic.
There is obviously something wrong with a world like this, Sasuke thinks.
He stares up at the white hospital ceiling.
A world where his Itachi-nii can't even come home even though it's never been in doubt that he was innocent.
A world where a Chunin nearly kills Sakura-nee for trying to heal him.
A world where Naruto has to hide because he is a Jinchuuriki – not that he had a choice in that either.
A world where Kaka-sensei isn't even on time for something like visiting Sakura-chan.
A world where suddenly the medics are called in for emergency briefings and all ninja patients are chained to their beds with no exception.
It certainly sucks to be strapped in the bed next to Sakura-nee's and not even be able to hold her hand and tell her to wake up.
Finally when the hospital window slides open, he hears the click and a gust of cool air comes in through the window.
"You're late, sensei. Can you check and see if Saku-"
His words are caught in his throat when his locks eyes with those eyes not so different from his.
The shadow of the hood cannot hide the red spinning eyes carved into the face with permanent weary lines – the whistle of the wind does not help in silencing the soft exhale, "Little brother…"
In his binds, Sasuke cannot explain why he grips the sheets in terror – those words caught in his throat.
Looking over the black coat embossed with red clouds in white trim, those pleading words caught in his throat.
He feels calloused fingertips brushing away tears he didn't even know he was shedding – mouth open, only a choked noise escaping the cage of his voice box.
In the next moment, Itachi's eyes melted into a shape not so different from Sensei's.
He closed his eyes the second after their foreheads met, only catching the shortest glimpse of red bleeding into black what, since when can that happen?
When he opens his eyes again, blinking, Itachi is sitting at the dining table, smiling.
"Daydreaming again, little brother?"
Sasuke stops chewing absently on the chopsticks between his teeth, flushes at being caught and resumes eating his dinner.
Itachi laughs, a rich, deep laugh, "You should sleep early tonight, hmm? Tomorrow will be a long day."
He can't remember a time where he had Itachi all to himself anymore, this is the first and he relishes it.
He doesn't remember being so small that Itachi could cradle him in his arms – the only time he did that was when he was a baby.
Not that he remembers but the baby pictures are more than enough proof.
Baby pictures?
Itachi tucked him into bed and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
He fell into a blissful sleep.
It's reasonably cold when she wakes up and that's nigh impossible in Konoha's climate, not to mention, she thought Senpai signed that written promise to reduce the hospital's electricity usage so the air conditioning was at a regulated 25 degrees Celsius.
Sakura groans as she curls in on herself, protecting her tender nape.
She peeps out from between her fingers, meeting the worn visage of her usual ANBU guard.
"Sakura-sama, it is a relief that you are awake."
Some days you wake up in bed and think to yourself – what are you doing?
It's dark, wherever they are, she tells him, "Report please, Tenzo."
He snaps to attention even as she heals his wounds, oh nasty, nasty, broken bone by heavy impact.
"Approximately 26 hours ago Konoha was infiltrated by Uchiha Itachi who attacked you and Uchiha-sama. He tampered with the warning systems so all forces were trained on him. In the meantime, six more ninjas invaded the village, one of which used an unknown jutsu to flatten the village. From the Hokage Tower, spanning a 10-kilometre radius out the structures have all been completely destroyed."
"Tsunade-sama?"
He shakes his head.
"The last orders I got from her were to protect you and Uchiha-sama. Once you awoke you were to report to the Hospital immediately, but the ninjas summoned animals thoroughly and destroyed the hospital. She led the surviving Jonin to combat the invaders but the odds did not look good."
Obviously they aren't in the best position, but she still has to ask, "Is the temperature the doing of the invaders? They must be using some water-based jutsu?"
He nods, "We're in a dome made by my Mokuton. It is a blessing that there are so many of Hashirama-sama's trees everywhere, we have yet to be found. Outside is a perpetual surveillance jutsu made of chakra rain."
"Rain?" she murmurs.
"Tenzo, I want you to keep watching over Sasuke. When he wakes up he will be disorientated like I am, do not let him leave. I will find Tsunade-sama."
He nods, signalling that he will obey.
With a small burst of chakra, he forms her an umbrella, "Better for the invaders to think it is my signature rather than yours."
She steps out into the rain, an odd, breeze-less rain.
If they're using a surveillance technique like this, there must be someone far away from Konoha co-ordinating attacks. Can't be that the people engaging in battle are holding this technique simultaneously.
Konoha is flat.
Barren and really, flat, completely bulldozed over, the sight awes her.
Sighing, stepping out into the light shower, keeping to the sides – there's just not much cover in an open field.
She ducks down as a summon flies past overhead.
Observing the flying creature keenly, she notices that most importantly, the bird thing's eyes are purple with rings.
The colour of the fabled Rinnegan.
She closes her eyes to think and yet when she is done she chooses to lower her umbrella.
Sakura stands in the rain and waits.
Waits as one by one the invaders enter her field of vision in the vast expanse, each holding a hostage.
First Hinata-chan, battered and palms burnt in the arms of a female with a small bird on her shoulder. The next male, bald and powerfully built, has Shika-chan limp, draped over a mechanically adorned arm. The third has hair a little like Ino-chan's, a similarity emphasised by how Ino is hauled up against his chest. The fourth is a little different from the rest, rounded face with hair neatly gelled back – holding roughly onto Shibi-sama. The fifth has long hair, flowing like a cascade of lava (destructive destructive), a kunai at Tsunade-sama's throat.
She has barely begun to move, Shika-chan she thinks, before even Hina-hina or Shibi-sama, let alone the Hokage whose debts Naruto had to pay for – there's hand on her shoulder, a deep, almost theatrical voice ringing in her ears.
"You who has been spared from the wrath of a God. Do you now understand the futility of your actions?"
Each hostage is dropped carelessly, their bodies hitting the ground without a sign of life and Yuurei loses it.
Her chains sprawl outwards, stabbing all invaders through and winding around them like Boa constrictors – she ignores the immense pain of her now broken right shoulder.
The man could have done much worse, she doesn't stand a chance in hell, but hell if she were to just let them walk away like this.
Her vision blurs a little, her Kabuto chain hurries to heal her arm and bone, she can only ignore the wet warmth of blood trickling down her arm, seeping into her torn sleeves.
Sakura forces her own chakra through the chains, their chains are all spiderweb cracked and she is afraid.
"Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder."
It's not her affinity, she's never used it before, but she forces her chakra through and the enemy does not, cannot(?) stop her.
Each of them act like a point, from them the ripples that reach out and she realises they are conducting chakra away from themselves.
She feels it, the lightning crackling across her skin and racing down her arms in large arches – the man holding her does not even flinch.
Desperation overtakes the scowl on her face because obviously Ninjutsu won't work on them if they're just going to divert her chakra away.
Her left arm forms a scalpel and she targets the tendons in his legs, she misses.
It's ridiculous, they play her like a cat and mouse but Sakura is certain that the man she's attacking never sees her – she's in his blind spot ninety percent of the time.
Then the round faced one butts in, hands outstretched and dissolving away her chains and then scalpel.
Their eyes.
Their eyes are all the same, all the Rinnegan.
"How are there so many of you with those eyes?"
A hand catches the leg she had been aiming for an unprotected back and she's flung into a collapsed wall.
She struggles to stay awake even as the man strides towards her.
The one, the clear leader, the only one who has spoken, stretches out his hand again. "Bansho Tenin."
The next moment she's flying towards him and this black rod that slides out of his sleeves.
She notes with an almost detached curiosity how the other five just look on apathetically.
"I will end things here," the spiky orange-haired male says, just as she comes within hearing range.
The rod passes through her chest, her rib bones yielding with ease to the weapon that slides between them.
While he's holding onto her, a single-hand chokehold, she pulses again, rasping, hoping it'll work but it, sputters, her chakra is being given back out to the environment – it won't even graze the invaders and then, it hits her.
"You're not real," she breathes.
1st March! I'm sorry it's a day late, I'm so beat. Going to sleep after posting this, I'll vet and everything tomorrow or something, please feel free to come back then to read a less grammatically incorrect version.
(Vetted as of 2nd March)
Right! Bad time to be thinking about it, but I wanted to ask you all if you think we should start a Chains side-story. Over the past few years, I've had quite a few little story bits that readers want to see, but I haven't been able to write them into the story to become part of plot.
(Because uh, fluff is not plot, fluff is gratuitous but everyone's favourite?)
All the things I would write in the side story would be part of canon in Chains, and everything that happens in them might affect/will affect what happens , the prompt list stands as:
1. More Shikaku POV
2. Shikamaru & Kabuto on "Who's the better sibling?"
What do you all think? Should I start a separate place to collate all the side stories, giving the corresponding chapter number from here as needed, or should I write them in a interludes as I have done before?
Do give me your thoughts and reviews, I do appreciate them! (Please answer question above :) )
Yours,
Kayo.
