The Empire of Fallen Leaves

by Buddycomplex

Naruto Uzumaki was not ready to pay the price. Neither for the millions of life's lost on the battlefield nor during the supposedly peaceful times after. Nothing changed. Same old death, same old game. With the difference that he was the one to decide who might survive. (AUish)

2. Chapter 1: Sulfur

The Empire of Fallen Leaves

Second Version

Arc 1: The Seed

Chapter 1: Sulfur

"How bad is it?", he asked, even though he wasn´t sure if he wanted an answer.

The clock on the wall was moving slowly, reminiscent of his one mission in the Land of swamps where he was stuck in one hell of a swamp and moved a centimeter per hour. He was still convinced that it was an evil chakra powered swamp, but well no one believed him. However, the actual problem lied in front of him. Starring at the door, not bothering to move one inch and a furious subordinate behind him made this situation not exactly bearable. Rubbing his neck, a habit he had when he was stressed or extremely nervous, seemed to enrage her only further.

"You will survive, so stop asking me every two seconds. It´s not like you will die because you do your work for once. So work, Hokage-sama." she growled and pushed him into his spare office.

Naruto was not a happy man, but Sakura wasn´t all that happy either so he sat down on the old office chair, marred by his dear predecessors and looked with a grim expression at the papers in front of him.

"Have fun.", was the last thing she said before she left.

"Like hell!", he shot back, but in the end, he was alone in a room filled with papers and his own very depressing aura. He knew what he would read as soon as he looked at the documents. He wished he could put off everything for another day. Hopefully on a day where he would be either to ignorant to care or very close to slitting his own throat with a rusty kunai. He rubbed his eyes, as the stress was getting to him. He seriously needed a good night worth of sleep. The current situation in Konoha was only marginally better than a slum in Kumo.

Ever since their financial break down, his village was only getting by somehow. It was embarrassing to say that they were in severe need of financial aid. Suna was helping them, but ever since his fall out with Gaara, the funding decreased, and it hit Konoha hard. At most they got ten D to B rank missions a month. Something they had easily cleared in a day during their better times. Adding to that the traders became less, fearing the bad selling conditions could ruin their business. Only big companies still traded with them and became the monopolist in his village, something that ruined the local stores, which meant less money for Konoha.

With the downfall of the financial sector, even Ninjas had trouble to keep on living their comfortable life outside the taxing missions. Ever since that happened, Naruto established a fixed amount of money for his military to pay his ninjas and other fundamental things.

He needed a solution for this. The economic crises couldn´t go any further than this or Konoha would end up in shambles. The 6th Hokage however had initiated a plan to lead Konoha back to its former glory.

Soon enough, they could be a self-sustaining little nation again.

Feeling optimistic, he stood up and looked outside the window and looked down on his beloved Konoha. He was the Hokage, the most powerful person in this village. So why did he feel so insignificant?

It happened during his routine controls. Something he took up shortly after the fourth World war. It proved to be necessary as some smuggler established their base somewhere in Konoha and even during daytime drugs were sold openly on the streets. Since the Ninja force was overworked and couldn´t manage overseeing the civilian sector, Naruto had ordered to open a civilian representative police force. Basically, they did the work the once so mighty Uchiha clan had.

For a certain time, the local crimes were reduced, and Naruto was able to sleep better, but it quickly changed after the next big wave of poverty hit. He knew that his civilian officers were all too willing to accept the dirty money of the drug rings.

He resented them for their foolish acts but arresting his corrupt subordinates could spark a possible civil war, something that wasn´t exactly needed now. Especially since his reputation was at rock bottom. Konohas citizens hated him. He was sure of it. At least they had a reason now.

Konoha couldn´t take another hit.

It would be like beating someone who was already rendered immoveable. A shame no one would take for now. At least not in the near future.

Naruto wasn´t exactly sure, why other nations have not attacked the once mightiest Ninja village of all times yet, but he knew it was all a matter of time.

Lost in thoughts he walked down the main street, watching the empty stores that lined up. One after another, with withered facades and faded closed signs that hung in front of every door. Sometimes Naruto was lucky and spotted a weak light behind the curtains, but it was lulled in a desperate silence, an abstract situation as the main street used to be the liveliest place in Konoha. It reminded him of a ghost town. Like the former Uchiha district, that had been turned into a refugee center after war. No one was surprised by the sudden stream of war refugees, as Konoha itself came relatively unharmed out of the whole endeavor and became a popular place to stay. Now even those refugees had left the village hidden behind the leaves. As he moved towards the crossroad, that either led to the districts in the south or to another shopping passage, he noticed a small crowd gathering in front of the only market that was still open and led by a large company from Iwa. To think that a company from Iwa would take over the local market. Iwa was not even known for their economic strength, yet they now surpassed Konoha in that area.

As he got closer, some civilians noticed him, and their stares were exactly the same. He could feel the hatred, the disgust and the never-ending scorn, that was rightfully directed at him this time. While he was not the Kyuubi anymore, he was still a monster in their eyes. Of course what happened wasn´t entirely his responsibility, but a scapegoat was needed. Not to mention that it also was a part of his job description. Sakura tried to cheer him up so many times now, wanting him to forget about the hatred his citizens confronted him with, but it was to no avail. You might want to say useless. She tried over and over again and Naruto could finally walk by without being close to tears. At first it had been self-punishment, then it became his power, as he refused to be brought down by something like that. He had lived through worse.

Five years ago, they would have worshiped him, as he was the bright leader like his father, his iconic symbol of leadership and self-sacrifice. Now he only let himself seen by the normal citizens, to have them remember that he was still present.

That was the past, but it still left a bitter feeling, but he would hang on.

Hinata stood on top of the grassy planes, her face was turned towards the ground and her glossy night-blue hair casts a shadow on her finely cut features. A small gust of wind messed up the silken strands, but it did no harm to her beauty. One could say she was without equal in that regard and appeared even more lovely with her tear-streaked cheeks. What disrupted the placid picture, was the blood that dripped from her hands, small crescent marks evident on her fair skin. A staggered breath left her supple lips and the agony she felt showed on her whole posture. She felt miserable. The Hyuuga heiress had long ago realized, that she was not suited for the harsh life that ninjas led. That she stood here, on the cemetery to stare at the graves of the deceased, who were once her beloved, her whole world, after such a long time, proved it. As strange as it sounded, she just felt alive when she was close to the dead. Not even the pathetic number of missions she did, could give her the same feeling of being alive. Hinata was tired of the living, she was tired to see anything at all. Had her only remaining friend not stopped her from gouging out her eyes of the socket, she undoubtedly would have done so.

He was her only true friend left and the only one who could light up the world with his vibrant and brash personality. That man was a cherished treasure amongst the web of lairs that was spun through her hometown.

A true hero, even if he wasn´t aware of it.

Unlike Hinata, Sakura spent her days at the hospital or the research center 731, she oversaw. She was a very busy women and never had any time to spare to mourn her losses. Even her best friend and Hokage was a hand full, as well as another thing on her checklist that needed her attention. While the hospital worked fairly self-sustaining now that she had done some reformations together with Naruto, so she could focus on her research center that mostly tried to get their sewage in check, since it had suffered during the war and was neglected after it, which proved to be fatal, as the growing population produced more effluence than Konohas sewage could manage, which released a tornado of bacteria and viruses, that struck more than one citizen down with the flu or something else. Back then it had led to an overload of the hospital capacities. They managed to push it back by sending the harmless cases to the surrounding doctors in other towns or villages, but it left it's traces.

Closing the survey, that was handed to her when she had entered the sterile hallway of the hospital after reprimanding her superior, she took a careful breath to get her circulation work faster. Even Sakura was reaching her limits, even though she was trained to be able to take many hospital shifts, but the doubled work coupled with the research center took its toll. Cracking her spine to loosen herself, she stood up, purposefully ignoring the papers that covered her desk, courtesy of her foulmouthed secretary and some doctors. Work can be done tomorrow, she though, when she looked at the moon, that shone with a somber light through her window. Her biological clock told her, it was already way past the normal working hours, but it happened from time to time, when she was engrossed in her work.

She could still do everything tomorrow, time wasn´t rushing her, as sad it sounded. For now, it didn´t matter how fast she worked. The result would be the same.

With a heavy sight she closed the door to her hospital office and turned around the key.

The light humming of electricity that ran through the old and worn fluorescent lamps contrasted the otherwise ghostly silence that the hospital housed. If she was any other kind of women, she would have bolted out of this complex, but she had seen worse. As it stood now, the sides had turned and she was now that kind of monster, that made even herself run, if she were to meet herself in the empty hallways. Not to mention that her irresponsible Hokage would be the first to turn around and run away as far as possible. Ghosts and Naruto just didn´t go well.

When she reached the entrance hall, the kunoichi noticed the doctor and two nurses by the water station, who were on duty for the night shift, chatting away the rest of their time. Under other circumstances she would have told them off for lazing around while on duty, but this night was strangely quiet and only one child with a light fever was admitted to the hospital.

Escaping the white walls that usually surrounded her these past days felt like a bliss, especially since the cold and refreshing wind hit her face, something Sakura really missed. Maybe she should ask Naruto to give her a mission outside the borders of Konoha to change the pace. Before that she needed to shape up however, desk duty made her skills rusty. Not that she couldn´t still throw one hell of a punch, but it was lacking the shattering speed.

Stretching her sore limbs, made her realize, that she needed to vent the rest of her rather sparse energy to be able to calm down enough to sleep. The last few days had been rather unsettling. Therefore, she leaped to the roof of a nearby civilian housing, her soft thumps when she jumped on top of another building, were barely even heard, aside from a few patrolling ANBUs.

The house where she lived was far away from the hospital, far away from the Hokage tower and far away from any civilian housing district. In fact, it was located at the outskirts and only a few meters away from the giant wall that protected Konoha from enemies. It was a small, cute house with roundish walls and an equally roundish roof, like the constructions in Suna, only with a wooden outlay. It was a present from Naruto after they had successfully become their own nation. Sometimes she felt bad for having such a comfortable accommodation when some of their fellow citizens of Konoha wouldn´t know where to sleep every other night. Naruto had ensured her that it was alright for to keep the huge house, she deserved it.

"No one has the right to disagree. They shouldn´t either. After all you are the one, who heals them.", was all Naruto had said back then with his trademark grin plastered to his face, still looking like the childish naive idiot that he was years ago. Though those times had passed long time ago.

Now tired from the little sprint, she was more than ready to hit the sheets and succumb to the comforting darkness. In a daze, similar to being half awake, she opened the door, only to stumble through the entrance hall. Discarding her shoes at the entrance, she moved towards her kitchen to get something to bite before sleeping like a comatose patient. The instance where she reached for the door handle to her bedroom, she noticed him.

The overbearing and potent chakra washed over her, activating her ninja instincts and made her react instantly. She was wide awake now and ready to take on the intruder.

The enemy sat down on her dining table with an ease that implied that it wasn´t the first time that the someone was inside her house. Smirking at her, as if he knew that she wouldn´t dare to attack him and he was right.

Sakura lowered the kunai and dropped the fighting stance.

"Sasuke."

Sakura watched her old teammate and a wave of old memories flashed with an agonizing sense of nostalgia.

"It´s been a while, Sakura.", Sasuke replied and stood in front of her, his ever stoic face close to her own.

"Yeah it´s been a while.", she whispered absentmindedly, as her eyes were focused on Sasuke.

Only a split second later she felt his lips on her own and the silken sheets caressing her back.

Shikamaru Nara was a lazy man. Even ten years of war and the current situation in Konoha couldn´t change that. That was because he trusted his Hokage. Trust that was indestructible. He knew many of his peers had long time ago forsaken their Hokage, but he also knew it was not Narutos fault. The situations forced his hand and made him do inhuman things. He was no believer of those rather unscientific things, but it was destiny, that made him do it.

Even if said man was struggling against it or outright refused it, there were more than often no other choices left. Naruto Uzumaki was a good Hokage in terms of power, but what he lacked was his political prowess.

Therefore, Shikamaru did his best to balance his Hokages shortcomings with his own abilities. Sakura proved to be very helpful in that aspect as well, but their effort gave pathetic results, as the situation in Konoha marked their failure.

The jonin let a heavy sigh escape from his lips and cloud watching became once more dull, seemingly gray and lifeless as opposed to the sky that he watched as a child. It always happened when he thought about those things. Ever since his teammates ceased to be on earth, shortly followed by his clan, his life was dull and empty.

In his nostalgic mood, Shikamaru looked at the imposing forest of deers, that his family had been tending to ever since the founding of the village. It was a part of his legacy, but he wished that the woodwork would just disappear, even though taking care of the deers, that used to live in the forest, was the only thing besides shougi that could shake them out of their lazy moods.

Not that he could burn it down. It was an important outpost and the only place where the great wall did not encase Konoha entirely as the defense was always provided with highly aggressive deers when needed. He remembered how some clan children used to say that an evil being was living there and cussed at the deers that made them aggressive to outsiders as a result. Well, he was sure that Hidan was still yelling obscene things. If it enraged the usually calm deers, that was another matter.

A shy deer, probably one of the last ones left, peeked from behind a bush and watched him with big tearful brown eyes. In the same moment an all to familiar chakra signature exploded, shying away the deer and made him tremble. He hadn´t felt an outburst of chakra like that, ever since war ended. Either Konoha was under attack, or something happened that could make someone carry that much hate in his chakra.

Shikamaru was no sensor, but that wasn´t needed either, as anyone, even civilians would be able to tell from which direction the destructive mass of chakra came from. It wasn´t to far away, but it took a few minutes for him to reach his place of destination. The fluctuations of chakra roughly came from the Uchiha district, literally a hazard for all kinds of illnesses. In front of the giant gates stood his Hokage, enraged and ready to slaughter. A red-faced Sakura had slung her arms around Narutos body to hold him back, thought it took her all to suppress the man, who was known as the One-man-army.

Shikamaru hurried and covered the last few meters, before dropping to the ground in front of Naruto. That man was not surprised by the sudden appearance of the Nara, as he probably sensed him from a mile away.

"Get out of my way. The lil´shit is mocking me. Me!", Naruto yelled, his hair stood up and canine like fangs penetrated his lips, a sign that his Hokage could barely hold himself back.

His gaze wandered to Sakura, who held a syringe in her hand, ready to inject a clear fluid into the blond's body. The only drug that made Naruto feel remotely sluggish, but the other broken syringe on the floor told him that it hadn´t worked well the first time.

"Naruto," Shikamaru addressed him carefully, gaining the enraged man's attention for a second, a second Sakura used to push the needle into his carotid artery.

A few deep breaths later, Narutos eyelids dropped, a clear indicator that the drug worked this time.

"Naruto, what happened?", the second in command asked, trying not to raise his voice, though shit must have hit the fan, since Naruto had barely any outburst like that anymore. Not since war ended.

"Look at it, Shikamaru. Look at them. What do those guys look like, huh?.", Naruto spilled breathlessly and pointed at a small entourage that stood calmly in front of the gates of the Uchiha Clan compound. Shikamaru had noticed them before, but disregarded them, as Narutos craze was a more pressing matter at that time, than four strangers.

Looking at them, it dawned on Shikamaru, why his superior seemed to be ready to destroy everything in close perimeters.

In front of him stood three prisoners, who belonged to the royal prison, their shackled wrists and ankles were the most notable thing about them. The fourth man was an ambassador of the daimyo, Shikamaru recognized him from the last visit of the royal court, back then they had tried to convince his Hokage to stay with the fire nation.

He was a cunning man, with an incomprehensible hatred towards Konoha and its Hokage. Naruto got more than once in an argument with him, thus his overt reaction was not really surprising anymore.

One of the prisoners shifted and Shikamaru was able to see the badge sewn into the thin cloth that prisoners wore and almost gagged out of reflex. It was now all to obvious.

They were death-row convicts sent to die inside Konoha.

Murasaki, the ambassador, took a step forward, now that Naruto had been taken care of and smirked, infuriating Naruto once more. Preparing insults to spit at the man, Naruto came to a halt, curtsey of Sakura who kept his mouth shut.

"Still as barbaric as ever. Not that I expected anything else from the likes of you.", said Murasaki, his voice sounded like the overly arrogant guy he was. The man let his eyes wander over the masses that had gathered around them as soon as the prisoners were led into the city. A heavy hit for Narutos authority. Not that it helped his reputation, especially the loss of control wouldn´t look good either.

"As I already said before, these three prisoners have been sentenced by the daimyo himself to stay as refugees at Konoha. Should there be any resistance from either side, the trading routes between Konoha and other countries will be closed off or sanctioned by heavy taxes. As the law of Konoha states, all refugees shall be incorporated to the Uchiha Clan compound.", Murasaki finished and took out an official document, signed by the fire lord himself. With a swift motion Sakura took it, rudely ripping it out of the ambassador's hand and handed it to Naruto. The Hokage almost destroyed the scroll in seething anger, but still opened it. Shikamaru watched as the usually tanned face of the Uzumaki paled, becoming almost as white as the paper he was holding onto. The stern look Naruto gave it, told him everything he needed to know.

It had been a trap. Everything had been set up. Naruto couldn´t refuse or act against the threat the daimyo made. If the last trade routes were cut off from Konoha, because the Hokage was too prideful to submit to their former benefactor, a civil war would quiet possibly erupt. The trading routes were the last things that managed to provide Konoha with some sorts of a future. Having measly three death-row convicts stay at the Uchiha compound was nothing. There was no other option, but to relent, even though it was just a power play from the daimyos side. Naruto had to give his answers fast, another clever ploy to parade the whole event in public, or else the bystanders had another rumor to spread.

"What´s taking you so long? It should be an easy yes or no. It depends on you, though I advise you to go with the favorable offer, after all those criminals will die soon either way. Maybe a little faster, if they stay in this village.", the ambassador said, twisting the expensive ring that was too small for his chubby fingers. "How many died because of it? I can´t seem to remember."

"Roughly a half million in five years", yelled one of the bystanders, making Naruto growl.

The ambassador raised his brow, pretending to be surprised. The exact number of victims was well known at the capital.

"That means every year about 1369 citizens pass away and roughly 27 find their end every day. Do your math. The number of deaths should make up one third of Konohas population, though I have not included other circumstances. I will ignore the number of K.I.A ninjas and deserters for now."

Shikamaru was speechless. Anger bubbled up. How could this swine talk like it was so easy to reign?

It wasn´t Narutos fault, that they died.

"Well, it must be hard to lead a village, when an epidemic virus rampages through the village and the Hokage is forced to keep them prisoner inside the Uchiha compound. Althought it is no excuse for being useless as a leader. Konoha has become a village for corpses."

They couldn´t do anything. Brute force wouldn´t work this time. So, their only choice was to register the death-row convicts and watch the smug expression of the ambassador, when he left through the mighty gates of Konoha, which was a mockery in itself.

"I am so gonna give this Daimyo and his lill´cronies hell on earth, believe it.", growled Naruto, balled his fist and blood dropped on the dusty path.

Only a half hour later, after the whole endeavor, one Sasuke Uchiha strode through the village, wandering around the Uchiha compound like a caged tiger, while thinking whether he should enter his old home or not. Should he risk it? How would Sakura react? What would Naruto do? He didn´t know, except that his brother would shake his head, if he knew about his stupid attempt. In the end, he still jumped, grabbed a hold of the low built roof of the wall and hurled himself to the other side, landing gracefully at a small shack for gardening tools. The lone ninja at the main entrance, a low ranked chuunin one most likely, barely paid any attention. It was not like anyone would just enter the hazard of the epidemic center on his own free will.

Sasuke moved, away from the outskirts of the Uchiha district, his destination was much farther ahead, somewhere close to the temple. He didn´t expect to find much, but maybe he was lucky and Konoha had not cleaned out their hidden room, though the chance was slim.

As soon as he got closer to the living spaces of the district, a vile stench hit him and only a second later he met with hell on earth. He had to take another look, yet it remained the same, but it left him in disbelieve, anger and disgust. Sasuke would never openly admit it, but he was horrified. The Uchiha district was reminiscent of a ghost town before he left Konoha, but now it was worse than every nightmare he could remember. Almost worse than the last war. And it was reality.

He saw them, a bundle of corpses, their rotten flesh giving of a foul stench. Here and there a hungry child or a women gone mad, wandered mindlessly through the street and didn´t even so much as to flinch when they stepped on the slimy flesh of the corpse. Sasuke didn´t need to look any further to know that the whole compound would look like that. The buildings smeared with blood, excrement and other unidentifiable substances, rubble next to the bloated and corroded bodies and the unmistakable fear and hopelessness replaced his memories of his old home. In the same moment, he wanted to turn around, he noticed a mother who sat at one of the walls to support her back and scoped her child into her arms. Blood appeared in small bubbles on her lips that soon turned into a reddish foam. She hugged the small child as tenderly as she could, trying to show her love towards the squirming toddler.

She choked a few times, before her body went limp, the spasm passing through her on more time and her arms lost all strength to support the child. Before Sasuke even comprehended the situation, the kid was dropped down to the hard stone path, hitting it with the headfirst and stopped moving. Sasuke didn´t need to check the kids' condition to know that it joined its mother.

What was going wrong with Konoha?

The contrast between the world inside the compound and outside it clashed, it was absurd. Forgetting about the actual reason he entered his home, he turned around and speed up. Whatever it was, he was searching for, it wasn´t worth it to look at that. To face his defiled home.

Just what had become of his home?

"I haven´t felt as angry as today ever since Sasuke became a Nuke-nin again!", Naruto seethed. Sakura was reminded of a raging bull, like the old Raikage. Shikamaru looked indifferent towards the outburst, however.

Sakura let her gaze wander to the door, that would lead her to the labs, but she fought down the urge to take up the work from where she had left of. They only needed a tad little bit more time, and they could finally achieve results, that hopefully helped Konoha to regain its former glory. Not only that, but she was also more than eager to leave department 731. Her place was with the hospital.

"We must do something. It can´t go on like this, or Konoha won´t be standing in another year."

Naruto took a seat, he was already tired when he got up this morning and the doubled amount of the drug, Sakura pushed into his system did the rest. How would he be able to function properly?

"Well, since the death-row convict problem interfered with our meeting earlier, I had no chance to tell you, that we have been able to conclude the origin of the virus."

This got Narutos attention. His posture straightened and all drowsiness was gone. This was the first achievement from that department for a long time and Naruto knew it was crucial for the future of Konoha.

"Based on the certain pattern the virus was created, we concluded that we were dealing with an artificially mutated pathogen. My team and I searched at the archives for medical reports that include pathogens with the same symptoms and similar structure. Apparently, the virus has wiped out a small secluded village on the border between fire and earth country. Due to its closed off position, the illness was not spread any further.", Sakura kept a firm pace as she jutted down her notes. She knew how Naruto would react as soon she had finished her report. Better get over with it and face the incorrigible Hokage.

"Approximately two years later Orochimaru encountered that place and brought the pathogen back to Konoha to study it. As it seems he also did his fair number of experiments with it, but he never finished it, as he became a renegade in the middle of his research. Which means the virus has not even reached its full potential. It has not mutated on its own yet, but we must take safety measures, as I have no doubt it will evolve into an even more aggressive pathogen."

There was no need to mention, that the outbreak of the lethal virus was somehow related to the Snake-Sannin. Even ten years after his demise, his shadow was haunting them.

"Even more aggressive? ", said Shikamaru, who had been silent up until now. Sakura turned away from Naruto to face him. The lazy Nara planted himself on a chair, close to the medical and scientific supplies and rested his head on the cool glass.

"Yes, I can´t predict how it will evolve. Only that it will."

Naruto stared at the ugly plastic flowers that stood on the table. A foolish attempt to make the room seem friendlier, even thought it was totally out of place.

"What else?" muttered Naruto, his focus straying from the plastic Helianthus, otherwise known as sunflower. Ino had told him about that once.

"We were able to determine the base structure of the pathogen and will most likely able to create an antibody, but only to ease the symptoms and expand their lives for a few days at most.", she replied, checking her notes once more to see if she had forgotten anything.

"Some good news for once.", Shikamaru said and stood up. "How long will it take to get a whole batch ready?"

"We will be finished by the end of this month, I presume. Only when everything goes well and we don´t encounter any problems, however."

"Failing is not an option, Sakura. Do you understand that?", his face of determination didn´t betray her expactations. Her friend reacted the same way she predicted.

"I can´t promise anything Naruto and you know that.", she shot back. "Creating an antidote for poison is not exactly easy, but with an almost completely unknown virus it´s trial and error."

Narutos face darkened at the prospect of another failure. He wasn´t sure if he could take another hit. He desperately wanted to help his citizens. He would do anything to change just a little bit and to bring back a small part of Konoha.

"Then we have to take other measurements to stop the spreading of the virus.", spoke the Hokage, getting a shocked reaction of his subordinates. "I can´t have the daimyo making fun of Konoha."

"You don´t mean...", Sakura never finished the sentence. Her face visibly paled and it took a few seconds to regain her composure, though her shaking hands still indicated her shock. Maybe it was fear.

The few seconds she used to compose herself, were entirely differently used by Shikamaru. His analytical mind processed it and came to the same conclusion Naruto had.

"We must do it again, Sakura. There is no other choice.", Naruto tried to convince his former teammate, despite the fact he did not need her consent. He was the one man standing above everything in Konoha. There was no council to complain or discuss important war matters with. It was just him and his two advisers. However, they were only that. Advisers.

"Annihilating the Aburame-Clan was one of the worst choices we made, yet you want to do it again?", Sakura screeched, slamming her palm at the desk, that stood no chance against the kunoichi. She was angry -no, furious-, disappointed and ashamed. Ashamed, because she gave her consent back then. It was inhuman, something she was already used to, but it still aggravated her, that she had been partly responsible for slaughter.

"We were able to reduce the numbers of infections by the Aburame clans' eradication, isn´t that right?", Shikamaru challenged her with a sharp gaze. "It had been your idea, too."

"So what? I... made a mistake. We should have searched for another way. It is true that the insects probably carried the pathogen, and it was the most logical move, we could have made, but now you also want to slaughter the Inuzuka? What about Kiba? HE is your friend, even though we decided to kill his best friend's clan. You would be killing him too. Him and his daughter!"

"We can´t bother ourselves with something like that. We are ninjas and Konoha comes first.", Narutos bright blue eyes blended into an icy cold gaze that transfixed on her. She felt like a trembling prey, caught between a wall and a predator and there was no way out. However, Sakura steeled her resolve.

"Sometimes, you´re so much like Danzo and I can´t help but to think that he is sitting directly in front of me.", she spat, her voice laced with venom.

"Don´t go there, Sakura or I will forget myself.", Naruto growled, his fingers clasping around the armrest. Visible dents stood out from the metal and Sakura instantly knew that her superior would bash her head to pulp if she took it any further.

With a more focused tone, Naruto continued.
"We need to take action against the Inuzuka clan, since they are in close contact to their ninken and have been quite possibly affected by the virus. This safety measurements are taken with the profound knowledge that the Inuzuka clan had a fair number of members submit to the illness. Therefore, it is logical to assume that they are a potential hazard for the virus Shi-8. In addition, all animals inside Konoha as well as in close perimeters are to be killed."

"This is insane." Sakura shook her head in disbelieve. "Do you know how many people you are killing with this? It´s a genocide if this goes on, Naruto!"

"Quiet!", Naruto shot back. "Like you have the right to talk. You are the one who conducts human experiments."

"On your orders, you fool!"

"So?", his whole demeanor changed. He challenged her. It was a simple power play and under other circumstances she was sure it would not have worked.

But it did. Naruto did not become Hokage for no reasons, although the circumstances were different from what she had ever expected.

"So troublesome. Sakura, you know there is basically no other way around it, right?", Shikamaru spoke up, easing the tension slightly, but not completely.

Naruto watched her. She only nodded slightly. She had agreed to it before, but the last time she agreed to the extermination, she barely managed to take it. "It´s an entirely different matter, if you cut up criminals and other scum, but killing your allies is too much for me.", she said back then.

Almost a year had passed, and she was still hung up on that. They had done worse things on the battlefield, but he guessed it was justified by that. Morals didn´t apply when you were fighting in a war. Naruto had learned it the hard way and his noble ideals that ruled his life were crushed in a matter of seconds.

"You can vote now, not that it matters. The decisions lie with me in the end. Neither of you will be held responsible for whatever happens in the future.", the Hokage stated.

Sakura voted against it, but he expected nothing else. He even felt the oppressing anger she felt towards him. Shikamaru surprised him, however.

"Why don´t we wait a little longer? It´s does not like a day or two matter anymore. Results will be the same for now, so we can look for alternatives in the meantime. Even though it´s troublesome, I would do it myself."

"Don´t worry, Chome, my assistance and I will search for a solution. If it´s possible, we will find it.", Sakura yelled, entirely thrilled by the prospect of having more time to hinder the eradication.

"Fine, we´ll go with that, but if there is nothing by the end of the week, we will proceed with the plan. ", Naruto relented and stood up. The meeting was one of the more difficult ones. Sakura was still visibly angry at him. They had fall outs like that on regular basis. Despite their close friendship, it seemed that they drifted apart. Sometimes Naruto even got the feeling that she despised him.

For some reason she stayed loyal to him, but he wondered more than once, if that was actual loyalty.

When he left the conference room, Shikamaru followed him closely. Sakura stayed behind. Naruto caught a last hateful glance directed at him, before the door fell close.

"Don´t think about it too much. Sakura will come to understand it one day." , Shikamaru assured him and walked away in the other direction, towards the entrance hall.

The Hokage had another destination for now. He headed toward the research wards in hopes of finding Sakuras assistant Chome. On his way, he took a look through the windows of the viewing platform, that was hermetically cordoned and saw the researcher running around like a bee stock. They only stopped, to check the vitals of their 'patients' and then hurried of to another purposefully infected person. With their monstrous and bulky safety suits it looked grotesque, whenever they closed in with a syringe, ready push this needle into their circulatory system.

The patients were laid out in a similar fashion to a sickbay, giving enough spaces to run between each subject. Said experimentation objects were strapped by their limbs to their beds, eyes covered with a thick leather cloth. Their heads were fastened in a metal system, to keep them steady and the torso was also wrapped in the thick leather stripes, layered with a light metallic outline to give more stability.

Though it had the side effect of cutting deep into the flesh and splashing the edges of the restrains in red.

A body in row six, the third test subject, suddenly convulsed. His head shook and even broke through the bracket. His torso snapped back and pushed upwards, trashing around like a madman. If he could hear the sounds through the barrier, Naruto would have heard how the spine snapped and the subject choked. He could have heard the pain filled screams and might have even felt some kind of empathy. The simple rug the subject had been wearing ever since his arrival to that department was once more covered with fresh blood from sub-dermal wounds, not visible to anyone. A white, almost transparent fluid exited through the nose and mixed with startling red.

The movements suddenly stopped. As if the puppeteer had simply dropped his grotesque doll in the middle of the play because he was bored with it, leaving an unsatisfied audience.

Only now, a researcher came by and checked the corpse. By the end of the day Naruto was sure that there would be a report, that stated the cause of this mans death. More annoying paperwork.

The scientist shook his head disapprovingly, as if he wanted to show his disappointment with the dead subject in front of. It reminded Naruto of a parent scolding his child, as absurd as it sounded. It was even visible through the bulky protective suits. Two other gray suit wearers hurried by at the command of the first one and together they released all restraints from the dead body and placed him on another bare. They disappeared into one of the rooms further to the right, a room they called the morgue, even though it was just place where they gathered the corpses for the time being. At least until they found another place to for them to be incinerated. Soon after their venture to the morgue, another flock of scientist and medic-nins reentered the sickbay with another subject. It was still able to walk and struggled against the firm grip of his torturers. Not that it could hinder the iron-willed scientists.

Leaving the viewing platform, he noticed that watching the tortured souls had left a bitter taste behind. As he strode trough the pristine white corridor, a hard contrast compared to the brownish colored floor from the dried blood of the victims just a room away.

It never mattered who they were, but a few of them were refugees who came to Konoha to search for new home, some were prisoners and others...well they came from another place.

Naruto arrived at a glass door, labeled with Research Center Department 731.

Entering the room, made him realize once more, how critical their situation was. The hectic atmosphere easily surpassed the one in the hospital. Machines made strange noises and bickering between the scientist was heard throughout the room, that was exclusive for the researcher working with the patients.

He looked around, his eyes wandered restlessly until he spotted the sought-after brunette. With long and almost hesitant strides, he walked over to the busy women, who was staring intensely at a test tube with a strange copper colored substance in it.

"Chome.", he spoke to gain her attention. He saw her shoulders twitch, before she turned around with an undefinable expression.

"So, you really came.", she stated almost monotonous. He knew from Sakura that it was Chomes coping mechanism for working at the Research center. She was devoid of every emotion as long as she stayed within these walls.

"Yes, there is no other choice.", he replied with a similar professionalism, despite the fact that he wanted nothing more than to cry like the child he was never able to be.

Chome was not exactly an attractive person, according to Sakura she wasn´t the best mother either and left her children often home with her husband. She was said to be a distant person and Naruto could attest to that. All of that did not matter however. She was genius when it came to researching. That made her valuable. More valuable than the future and love of her kids.

If it meant to save Konoha, it was indeed a very small price to pay.

She turned around and walked towards a small refrigerator set on top of a file cabinet. Chome hesitated. He noticed her uneasiness, the first slip of emotions she had ever since Naruto got to know her.
"Do it. We don´t have much time left.", the Rokudaime urged her. Almost at the same time he said that she overcame whatever made her hesistate and she opened the refrigerator to pull out a small jar, labeled with various danger-signs. The clear fluid in it sloshed around and Narutos face darkened.

"I don´t know what you are planning, Hokage-sama and forgive me for my rude behavior, but don´t fuck this up. Don´t let everything we have done, be in vain.", she whispered and shot a last look at him, before Chome went back to work and did her very best to ignore the towering presence of the ninja.

"I promise.", said Naruto and cringed inwardly.

He hated this phrase much. He hated the fact that he promised something yet again.

He was sick of it.

When Sakura woke up that morning, she thought that everything she had lived through the past ten years, had been all but a scary and very disturbing nightmare. She thought for the first time in an eternity that she was happy and content in her life. She was simply able to forget everything that rampaged through her hometown. Every bad decision she had made in her life suddenly did not matter. Sakura was able to think about having a family without the thousand bad things she had done, weighing on her.

It was not because of Sasuke, definitely not because she loved him once. No, it was the simple release, he gave her.

As she laid in her bed back then, feeling the rather subdued heat Sasuke was emitting, she was reminded that she was essentially betraying Konoha, but it did not feel bad. It was her very own form of rebellion. A protest the current Hokage, although it was a quiet one and could not exposed to anyone under any circumstances.

Their night had not been gentle, it was not even romantic in the slightest, but it meant so much more to her. The shackles Naruto and Konoha placed on her loosened and she felt free. Only Sasuke could give her that feeling. Because he was the opposite to Naruto.

As already written, it was not because she loved him, it came not even close to the truth. She detested him, but he was free. Something she desired more than anything, but her sense of duty tied her to Konoha.

Maybe it was just an excuse, but she couldn´t leave Naruto alone either. She was responsible for him. Everything he did, was by extension also something she did.

At least she told herself the same phrase repeatedly.

She was responsible, so she had to stop Naruto whatever it took.

That man was no monster, but he was close to becoming one.

This sense of duty was what kept her in the room inside the research center, even though Naruto and Shikamaru already left. Sakura just could not move, not even an inch. It was too much, and she had no idea what she could do to stop her old teammate. Especially since she held no real power over him, even if she was his adviser and led two facilities. She would have never thought the abundance of a council would lead to something like this.

"Damn it Naruto, what are you making me do?"

With an eerie feeling in her gut, she stood up and went outside of the room. She couldn´t just sit there, instead she should get on with her work and find a solution. Before leaving the center however, she spotted one of her workers lazing in the entrance hall.

"Oi you!", She yelled, startling the young man, who had been mentally absent. "Tell Chome to head to the library and leave all experiments she is currently working on to others. "

The shocked scientist saluted and hurried of without a second glance.

Sakura herself made her way towards the Hokage tower, where the highly dangerous books and scrolls were located.

She took the time to get to the tower to relinquish her reserves. This day was particularly shitty and she needed all the fresh air she could get. Maybe she could grab some dangos along the way and have a nice tea to accompany it. Something that would occupy her at for a few seconds.

At the same time Sakura left the research center, Sasuke jumped from one rooftop to another, a genjutsu hiding his appearance. He looked like a no name chunin, that somehow managed to survive the last war. Only a few of them survived the war, as this military group took the brunt of most attacks.

Sasuke however didn´t know that, since he left Konoha again, shortly after Naruto terminated the council and only after that Konohas military was able to reorganize itself. Currently the largest branch of ninjas was made up of genins, who would be promoted very soon, leaving Konoha with basically no genin.

That´s why the disguised Sasuke grasped Shikamarus attention, who stood in the shadow of a few trees and watched the running man intently.

It was three in the morning and Naruto stood in his office, gaze directed towards the ninja academy, where he spent an important part of his life. He never only saw the building, but also the memories he made there. There had been a great number of good memories he still cherished now, but it was also a symbol for his own inhumanity.

Naruto was aware, probably better than anyone, that he was changing. No, he already changed and it got only worse.

The ninja academy meant a future to those who wanted to walk the path of a ninja, but since he held the power as a Hokage, more children died almost instantly after their first C-Rank mission. To counter that Naruto had even come up with an extra exam before they were allowed on a C-Rank mission. It was to no avail. They died either way. Some civilians even joked about the academy, spreading rumors about it.

"It´s a death trap, either you die, while you´re in the academy or you´ll die after that.

Doesn´t matter, don´t cha think so, too?"

Usually, they belonged to an anti-Hokage faction, which have been rising like beansprouts ever since war.

Naruto knew he held a current monopole of power in Konoha, which unnerved some factions and made them do drastic things, but recently there were no signs of actions from them. Which unnerved him in response.

What was a Hokage without the people to reign them?

A mindless puppet thrown aside. He made no illusions, that he was at fault too. Naruto was a beacon of hope during war, made promises and wanted to give all humans a better life after war.

Now he knows better, it was just too late.

The air shifted behind him, announcing the arrival of his most trusted ANBU.

The man stood still, head bowed, mask in place and his posture crouched in a way that allowed him to strike instantly, if they were suddenly attacked. The perfect soldier.

"Sai", Naruto spoke and at the mention of his name Sai pulled of the mask and revealed his pale, unmoving face, littered with scars. If Naruto hadn´t known what happened to Sai during war, he would have been shocked by the scars, that everyone with a tad bit knowledge about knifes, knew that they were done by Sai himself. The angle those scars were placed, proved it.

"The time has come. We must do it now or Konoha won´t stand for another month. Iwa will declare war soon. Their military has been completely revived if our intelligence is anything to go by."

Naruto sneaked a glance towards the academy. More of them will die. He knew it already.

Sai´s face remained unmoved. Ever since Inos death, he stopped trying to understand emotions and closed himself of once more. Even if Naruto missed his weird friend, it was favorable this time. Emotions could destroy everything he had worked for the last five years; they were not needed.

If his plan failed, it was all in vain. It wouldn´t matter if they could find an anti-dote for virus that razed through Konoha, because Iwa would be on their way, knocking an Konohas gate and annihilate it, if Konoha did not surrender immediately. Deaths were impossible to avoid for now, the only thing that prevented them from attacking Konoha was ironically the virus after all. Out of fear to get infected, the company they established in Konoha was run by desperate citizens of Konoha, but most of the profit went to Iwa. Naruto knew that it had been an attempt by their enemies to take over Konoha from the inside and they almost reached their goal, but they entirely underestimated the economical laws of Konoha and were stopped for now. It gave them some time, not much, but at least enough to work out a plan.

"Sai, we will now start with mission Sigma-E. You have a day to prepare, but after that you will work according to the protocol for Sigma-E. This is an S-ranked mission and essential for the future of Konoha. Failure is not allowed. Use all means to achieve the goal and don´t get exposed."

Naruto knelt down to his subordinate, looking at him intently.

"Don´t mess up, Sai. No one must know about this mission. Ever.", he growled, a shadow casting his face in an ominous atmosphere.

Sai felt Narutos callused hand on his own and in the next moment he noticed the cold glass in his hand.

"Take it, when the time arrives.", the Hokage whispered, stood up. His frame towered above the Anbu, and if it had been anyone else, they would have felt like a miniature man in front of a god. A ruthless one, nonetheless. One last analyzing look was thrown at Sai, before he turned around and dismissed his ninja.

If Sai had stayed a little longer he might had been able to hear the last words, Naruto muttered under his breath.

Fail the mission and return Sai, I will kill you myself.

Sakura was tired. Tired, angry, and frustrated. The library offered many solutions to all kind of problems. Just not her problems. She was aware, that this kind of epidemic problem had never been an issue in Konoha before, which was the reason, why they were so far behind in prevention and protection against this kind of virus.

For a moment she even contemplated, whether she should travel to Suna, who have dealt with epidemics before, or not? The only thing that stopped her from packing her things and head to their allied village was the strained relationship between Naruto and Gaara. It was by an extension also her fault, but Naruto never told her the real reason why the former best friends got into such a heavy argument. Whenever she tried to get some answers, Naruto got strange.

The kunoichi couldn´t describe it. It was weird. Naruto was angry, yes, she got that much, but there was also guilt. So much guilt, it seemed as if it was eating her friend from the inside.

The last time Naruto offered some information about Konohas situation with Suna, he said that only a thin threat of former friendship and loyalty stood between a Suna and Iwa alliance.

It was a terrifying thought. Sometimes she wished an adviser still held a high political power in Konoha. Not even her doubling chief post, did anything to sway Narutos mind. It just meant, that she oversaw the minor paperwork. Aside from that, being the head of the hospital had somehow turned into a part-time job, taking another huge chunk of her political influence away. Since the department 371 was officially only a cover project, it couldn´t be used to counter the force Naruto was, as it was still kind of an underground organization for now.

Naruto really had created a real monopole of power, with him in the center.

Shikamaru always said, that Naruto was just not made for politics, but it was quite the opposite in reality, at least in her opinion. Maybe her friend was not made for outside politics or the economical part, that came with being a Hokage, but for anything else he was perfect. He was charismatic enough to lead more than one nation through war, managed to forge alliances and gave home to the refugees. It was just that no one in Konoha, not even Naruto could have predicted what would happen to Konoha after the war. Everyone, from citizens and back then the still active council to the clan heads, everyone thought it was the right choice to make. Even after the epidemic spread through Konoha more than a year later, no one had doubts that Konoha could deal with it somehow. Naruto was able to exercise control over the mass, avoided a mass-panic and temporarily set Konoha on the right path again. It was proved later to be of no avail, but no Hokage would have been able to fight against the disasters.

Not the Shodaime nor the Godaime, who both excelled at medical ninjutsus.

Sakura understood that nothing could have been done. They choose the only possible path. Shikamaru had been at a strategically loss, at the time things got worse. Sakura realized that she was barely able to do things without Shizune or Tsunade to aid her. In return Naruto became someone, he never wanted to be.

She could not understand, how Shikamaru could still trust the blond Hokage so much, while she was battling with so many doubts about her friend and former teammate.

"Sakura-chan", a small voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Y-yes!"

Sakura instantly shot up and smoothed the wrinkles in her trousers. "Yes, Hinata?", she asked.

The petite girl chuckled and held out her arm. It took Sakura second, to realize that Hinata tried to hand her a scroll from the S-class sector.

She took the scroll clad in red silk and returned to her desk. It caught her attention the same instant as she took notice of the small seal in the middle of the scroll.

"I thought, I had seen everything from Orochimaru. Where did you get this from, Hinata?"

"It was hidden in another scroll in the B-Class jutsu-section. I just found it, because a genin asked for a poison-type B-jutsu."

Sakura gave her comrade a quick nod. No wonder that they couldn´t find it, though it was strange that they found it now. She quickly untied the scroll and found nothing. Absolutely nothing. No chakra that could indicate that someone hid the content with a genjutsu, no smell that Kiba might be able to track down. Nothing. Why would anyone hide an empty scroll? This only meant that there was another way to hide the content. She was not talking about this child trick with the lemon and the invisible writing. That would be rather dumb and not safe at all. She had a guess, how it might happen. However, there was only one person who could answer that.

"Hinata, tell Chome to return to work, when she comes back. I need to go somewhere. Do you mind looking at other scrolls, that are empty?"

"T-that´s no problem. I must reorganize some scrolls anyway.", the Hyuuga replied.

Sakura didn´t even wait for Hinatas response. With the scroll in hand, she stormed out of the library.

Something didn´t fit right with Sakura. How was it possible that the scrolls popped up out of nowhere with no content at all?

"What is the meaning of this!" she yelled and threw the scroll on his desk. Naruto looked up from his work, one eyebrow raised in question. In front of him was a furious Sakura. He could feel her anger, as it came off in waves.

"It´s an empty scroll.", he answered her, making her in return even more furious. He knew that she wanted to know why there were empty scrolls littered all over the library, but this only concerned him and no one else.

"An empty Scroll used for Fuinjutsu!", she shot back, her breath labored out of anger. "You retracted the writings, didn´t you!"

Naruto leaned back and gave her a challenging look, but she wouldn´t have any of it. Instead of backing down at some point, like she did every time something of great magnitude happened, she crossed the distance between her and her superior. The physical distance. The emotional distance was much too far and impossible to cross. At his nearly arrogant snort, she hesitated a second and stared at him.

Was this person really Naruto? Her longtime friend? The one person who once cared for Konoha and it´s citizens. The one person who did everything for Sasuke. Who cried for a very long time after Kakashi passed. Who wanted to give up after the disaster that caused Inos premature death? Who risked his life over and over again for one smile directed at him.

Naruto had become compliant. Lifeless and weak. Stubborn and egoistical.

"We need everything Orochimaru has ever written down. We need every single clue we can get."

Waiting for a reply proved to be fruitless. Naruto simply shrugged and turned back to his desk work.

"Every scroll that has no content, could be the key to all our problems. We could save Konoha and return it to its former glory. We could save the humans that still haven´t given up on you."

Naruto did not react. The only movement that came from him was the slow breathing and the fluent motion of his pen flitting across the paper in front of him.

"Naruto!" Frustrated by the one-sided conversation, Sakura spun around, about to leave the room with a dejected, hurt and hateful expression plastered on her face.

The very next moment, stone and wood split and shattered with a deafening sound, dark and hollow, like bones and swords clashing.

Before the dust from the attack settled, another hit landed, and the outer wall collapsed under the continuous chakra output. Sakura knew she had missed him by a hair. As if she could actually touch the man known as the one-man army. He wouldn´t even have to use Hiraishin to evade her chakra powered fists.

"Make another move and you´ll be branded as a traitor for attacking the Hokage.", Naruto declared. His voice reverberating and the underlying furious tone was not missed by Sakura.

"I am already a traitor!", she shot back. "I already have betrayed Konoha by siding with you."

"Why don´t you just forget Konoha? To save Konoha, we have to destroy it, don´t you agree?"

"You´re sick!"

"Just like you, Miss 731."

This time it was Sakura who did not speak another word. Guilt shut down her vocal cords. She never denied it, that she was as much at fault as Naruto, but it always had been an unspoken rule, that neither of them would make it a point in their ever-constant arguments.

"How could you?", she finally whispered after a long tense moment. The air around them was thick enough to cut it with a blunt kunai.

"Says my friend who intended to kill me a mere minutes ago."

"I am not strong enough to kill you."

"But you intended to", Naruto insisted, his voice stern and low like a predator. "I could feel your killing intent the moment you came through that door."

The Hokage took a few steps forward, ignoring the debris in front of his feet and the sparks that came from a cut wire and brightened the room slightly for a few seconds before the room darkened again. The eerily silence made her skin crawl and she suddenly regretted that she attacked him.

"Well, it is nice to see, that you are still so invested in the future of Konoha.", Naruto suddenly smiled and returned to the boyish man she once befriended.

Despite his smile, the shock and fear she felt a moment earlier did not leave. Instead, it became even more intense. This situation was so wrong.

"We'll let me look for the key seal to unlock the scrolls. It might take a short while."

"Yes. Hokage-sama."

His younger self imagined a glorious and heroic future as Hokage, on par with the Fourth. He wanted to lead and bring happiness to all who needed it. Then war happened and he found himself in a position, where never wanted to end up again. If he could change the past, then he would have done everything to avoid becoming Hokage, instead of accepting the position with a smile. He´d rather kill his old self and spare a lot of peoples, enemies or not an encounter with him. Maybe he should have gone down during war as a hero, instead of fighting dead itself. There was nothing he could do now.

He was the Rokudaime Hokage now. Not Kakashi, not Tsunade, not Danzo nor Sasuke.

Every single one of them would have been better.

The past few years had made him distrustful, weak, and selfish. He was aware, that he lost many qualities, that a good Kage should possess.

He knew that he lost himself in self-pity far too often.

Naruto was not fit for the position as the Hokage anymore. He needed a successor, but who would be stupid enough to take over?

Konohamaru, his self-proclaimed rival, was no longer able to pursue the career as a shinobi. He never made it past the genin level before the war left his traces. After a particular vicious attack from traitorous Yamanaka, nothing more than a drooling bag of bones was left from the young Sarutobi. It had just been bad luck for the genin, to come across the traitor on his way to the camp. It had been bad luck that, the young boy had finished his duty a few minutes earlier than usual.

Konohamaru was in no way fit to become anything. They were just waiting for his death now. Maybe he should have granted him an honorable death, after the mind frying.

Since Sasuke became a deserter right after war once more, he wasn´t exactly an option for the position, although Naruto was sure, that Konohas citizens would rather see the last Uchiha take over, than another day under his regime.

Sakura was strong, immensely so, but she was needed elsewhere. Her abilities made her valuable but forcing her to take up the mantle would aggravate the situation even more.

Shikamaru, while insanely intelligent, lacked the power, motivation, and the charisma to make an acceptable Hokage.

Why was he still fighting for Konoha? If he wanted, he could level the hidden leaf like Pain had done, a decade ago. Eradicate the problem in its entirety. After that he could disappear from the face of the earth. Let others take over the land of fire.

He held no love for Konoha. Not anymore. There was maybe once a time, where he would have done almost everything. Currently he wondered why he put up with struggle and pain that accompanied his way to the top. His love for Konoha was nonexisting.

"There is one missing.", Sakura stood once more in front of him. The same contempt in her eyes, she carried for quite some time. Whenever she looked at something else, it would vanish, and he would start doubting that she was even capable of looking like that. That´s why it hurt even more, when she looked at him like that. It was an unsettling and searing kind of pain.

"What is missing?", he asked purposefully. He wanted another reaction from her. Everything else was better than that. Irritation crossed her face. Goal achieved.

"One of Orochimarus sealed scrolls is missing. He numbered them.", she stated matter of factually, as if he knew everything about every damn scroll that madman had created.

"The scrolls are from a raid led by Jiraiya twenty years ago. He was also the one who sealed them. I have no idea, what exactly is written there, nor why he sealed them. He just let me know about them in case Orochimaru would make any trouble."

Again, Sakuras gaze contorted.

"You could have told us.", she accused. "They might be valuable and help fighting the virus."

"They mostly hold theories and knowledge from other nations, that can´t be used. I had Shikamaru check them before war. He would have said something by now."

"Why seal them?"

"Because they could be still dangerous in the wrong hands. They belonged to Orochimaru after all. Can´t be too cautious, don´t you agree?"

A pregnant silence followed. Neither of them knew how to proceed. The situation was already difficult as it could be.

It might cause the last string of trust between them to snap.

During war, Naruto at least knew where he stood with Sakura and Sasuke, but now it was like constantly walking around eggshells. Quite sturdy if in the right position, yet so easy to break.

"Why do keep being so distrustful of me, Naruto? Do you think that I would use the scrolls to destroy Konoha or something?"

In the same moment she bit her tongue at her hypocrisy. It did not go unnoticed by the blond Hokage. Yet he abstained from pointing it out. For split moment she wondered why.

"Resume your work. You probably only overlooked the missing scroll. Let Hinata help you with that.", he commanded and rose from his chair and simply vanished. The lingering chakra of the Hiraishin dissipated seconds later.

Shikamaru was not an infiltration specialist. He could plan an infiltration just fine, but he usually let the experts do the work. His talents were more useful in other areas. Therefore, Ino was the one person to go to when he needed some infiltration done. After her death, Sai took her place and did an okay job, but never reached the proficiency of his late teammate. Since Sai apparently left on an extended mission, issued, and sealed by his Hokage himself, he had no other choice but do the work for once. Shikamaru didn´t trust any other ninja to do the job, nor did he trust them enough to keep it a secret, until his suspicion has been proven.

For that reason, he found himself, hidden in the shadows, -thank his clan-jutsus and the moonlight for that-, staring at a person he thought he would not see in this lifetime again. He took a step back. This was getting too risky. He was in no way prepared for that man. Not that he ever would.

Only Sasuke Uchiha would dare to stand out in the open, perfectly in sight for the naive shinobi, that would most likely attempt to attack the last Uchiha.

Yet the place was reclusive enough that the regular patrol wouldn´t notice. If Sasuke Uchiha wanted to be seen, he would be seen. If he didn´t, no one except one man perhaps would do so.

What the Uchiha wanted was no secret. The most prominent character trait was enough to know what could be achieved with coming here.

Sasuke Uchiha was an avenger. Naruto his target. That was a no-brainer. Any ninja worth his salt would know that.

How ironic that history had the tendency to repeat itself.

Now the real struggle would be to remain undetected. Shikamaru wasn´t sure whether he could do that or fail gloriously.

"Sasuke.", a voice called out. An all too familiar one. Still in her medic-nin garb, Sakura entered the hidden clearing. "I think Naruto suspects something."

While Shikamaru was only able to see her from a strange angle, the pink hair was evident enough. No genjutsu was in place, it would have alerted at least one or two patrol units. Chakra in the woods was always a reason to check out. Even if it was in the end just some genin playing with their chakra coils.

Sasuke snorted slightly at the mention of the blond's name. More reaction than he had seen at the Uchihas face during the last hour watching.

"Just give me what I asked for and he has nothing to suspect anymore."

Sakuras stance hardened and even from his position he could see the tense muscles, signaling that she was ready to fight, if the Uchiha decided to act now. Against the still unknown agreements.

"One wrong move and I will take you down, Sasuke. That is a promise.", she growled, yet slipped her fingers into the inside of the scrub.

Shikamaru knew, that she was strong enough to take out the Uchiha, if needed, but that would only happen under the forfeit of her own life. Had Sasuke posed a threat after war, she would have taken care of her old teammate. That both parties were still alive, meant that the Uchiha had no intentions destroying his hometown for now.

With caution, she pulled out the mysterious object and handed it to him. She, however, did not let go of it.

"Tell me, that Naruto will know nothing of this."

Sasuke reached for the scroll, eyes blazing red with the sharingan. Maybe it was an instinctual reaction.

"Only if you don´t let go.", was his almost monotone reply and the chakra of the nuke-nin flared. A daring move. This would put Sakura under a lot of pressure. It was her fault for letting him notice, that she feared for her place in Konoha.

With another growl, that would have made any other man cower in fear, she jumped a few steps back, leaving the scroll with Sasuke and gave him one last glance.

"You should get out of Konoha as fast as possible. Naruto will kill you if he sees you."

Without waiting for a reply for her warning, Sakura sprinted away, slowly becoming unrecognizable in the woodwork.

"I know you´re there, Nara."

Shikamaru only now dared to swallow the spit. He was busted anyway. Slipping out of the shadows, he faced the stoic and highly dangerous nuke-nin.

The mangekyou spinning like windmill from Yugakure.

Completely entranced in the motion, realizing only seconds later, that he was caught in a strong genjutsu, Shikamarus body collapsed. Shikamarus eyes twitched and moved from one place to another, reacting to the scenes shown to him. Consciousness slowly fading.

He was now at the Uchihas mercy.

Naruto stared at his subordinates. He felt like he was supposed to laugh. Someone must have come up with an elaborate plan to prank him. Sixty-four genin, some more experienced than the other, stood in front of him. Stances slouched and even less than refined than him at their age. Maybe it would be another thing he could tick of his list of things he was hypocritical about. The younger ones still had this look of arrogance plastered on their face, making them distinguishable from the others, aside from the age difference. The older genins faced him with mixed reactions. While he still got the look of admiration from few and in between, most showed their lack of respect for him. It did not matter that he had fought hard in the war, they knew him only after that.

"Young seeds of Konoha", he started, the speech lacking the emotions he poured into years ago. The rest got swallowed in the monotony of iteration. He had given the speech so many times now. Not only to genin advancing to chunin, but also to future jonin.

The chunin exam did not exist in the same way, he had known from his childhood anymore. Nowadays it only meant pitting the kids against each other. No ninja village would be dumb enough to send them into the lair of a monster. It had long lost it´s original purpose.

A light murmur traveled through the rows and second later, a distressed Hinata pushed herself through the gathered mass.

Ignoring the offended genins at their treatment- they seriously held no respect for superiors anymore-, Hinata continued her way up to the stage. The last time he had seen her like this, - frantic and nervous-, had been during the final battle during war.

Back then, she had been on the sidelines, far away from the heavy battle. She was an heiress after all.

As she reached him, he could see the wondering faces of his subordinates. Usually no one interrupted the long speeches of the Hokage unless the situation absolutely required his presence. Hinata leaned over, a light blush covering her porcelain face, and whispered few words with a shocking effect in his ear. Her breath brushed over the nape of his neck and surprisingly it felt like the shinigami himself was breathing down his neck. Aside from the light blow, he felt nothing but the numbness spreading through his body. What was he supposed to think? How was he supposed to act? How should he feel?

Stumbling over his words, Naruto ended the promotion ceremony and hurried after the Hyuuga. They needed to get to Hokage Tower as fast as possible. He needed confirmation. He desired the opposite, though.

The blond Hokage grabbed Hinatas wrist, a startled noise escaping her rosy lips. Before another reaction followed, he let his vast chakra reach for the seal in his office and only a split second later, he stood upright and tense in the room.

Shikamaru corrected his posture, straight and determined. Sakura was right beside him. Her gaze held Narutos for a second, before wandering to Hinata.

Wary glances were thrown around. Naruto wasn´t sure how to proceed. Never had anything like this happened to him before. At least not from this person.

Hinata walked around the Hokage desk, with grace only a Hyuuga could manage and watched his two advisers intently. Nodding slightly. It could have been mistaken as a greeting.

Two cold blades closed in. Slicing the first layer of skin slightly. Not a gulp was heard. It would have been foolish. The moment she had done so, they would have cut her throat open. Even if she had been fast enough to grab for a kunai as well, she could do nothing for now. The kunais meant, that one wrong move could be her end. It did not matter that they had been comrades in arms for years now or friends since the academy. They were ready to kill. Ready to erase her existence. She was an enemy now and no mercy shall come to a foe.

"Explain."

She didn´t know if it was directed at her.

Narutos lips were pressed in a thin line, like he wanted to prevent an outburst.

Her mind was still stumbling, trying to piece things together.

"What?", her voice was barely audible, but the way Narutos eyes turned into slits, let her know it was the wrong question.

They were at a stale mate. Anything could happen from now on.

Her brain raced, going through different situations. She couldn´t help herself. She was a rational person to the core. At least it kept her from bursting into tears. It hurt to be accused. From Naruto, nonetheless. Her mind provided her with the only thing she could have done to incur his wrath.

"Sasuke", Sakura said. It was audible enough to make Naruto tense. Their friendship shattered, like the wall in this office had done a few days ago, but unlike the wall, she did not think their friendship could ever be mended. Not with Naruto acting like a tyrant. Not with her being a traitor.

Shikamaru shifted slightly, did not press the sharp edge of the kunai further in her skin. Hinatas grip remained the same.

Wordlessly Naruto circled around his wooden desk and pulled out some drawers. She knew this procedure, after all she had been present to few and even did it once.

The wetness spread over her forehead. She figured that even her diamond shaped mark was covered in the black ink, that Naruto diligently traced on her skin. At least her big forehead was useful for once, she mused and thought about her long-deceased friend. Sakura wouldn´t need a mirror to know how it looked. It was a bastardized version of the caged bird seal. From now on she was officially enlisted as a prisoner.

"You could have at least listened to me, before deciding. Am I really that untrustworthy?", she whispered, the tears that had been shimmering in her eyes, now fell freely.

"Are you going to say you aren´t?"

Surprisingly it had not been Naruto who answered, but Shikamaru. The adviser took a few steps back, the kunai to her throat no longer needed. Hinata moved as well. They now formed a half circle around her and looked down on her. It was like one of her worst nightmares.

"I did what I thought what the best for Konoha would be!", she exclaimed.

"So fucking Sasuke helped Konoha? How? Mind to explain that to me. I fear that I am just to dumb to understand.", hissed back. Hinatas cheeks tinted slightly red at the brash word choice of her superior but composed herself quickly. Shikamaru stayed impassive, but she knew his mind was racing with possible reasons and the possible outcomes for this situation.

Sakura barely reacted to the rightful accusations. She had been aware of what she had done the whole time. She knew she was right. Even if it meant to branded as traitor. Naruto lashing out at her, should have been expected.

"How did you know? That I had an affair with Sasuke? It was Sai, wasn´t it?", she shot back. Sakura had nothing to lose. She had no family waiting for her. Her last real friendship broke apart mere seconds before. Sadly, enough she was still valuable. It was the only thing that stood between her and her death. So, Naruto would not kill her, not even with her betrayal. That was the reason why the bastardized version of the caged bird seal was planted on her forehead. It was the reason why Naruto moved and placed his hand palm on the painted skin and pushed an abhorred amount of chakra into the scribble. Binding her chakra with his own, completely overpowering her.

Her tears ran dry. She was no longer his best friend. She was only a traitor. A coward in his eyes. She was not Sakura Haruno to him anymore.

"I´d rather want to know what you gave him. I heard some scroll. What was written on it? Mind tell-"

"I refuse.",her gaze didn´t stir away from his angry glare. "You branded me, without even listening to me. Why I did what I did. So, I refuse."

Maybe she still believed to much in the good side of him. Even though he branded her. So she never expected him to slap her in the face with the back of his hand.

She didn´t fall over despite being on her knees and the force behind the slap. Her cheek was stinging, but nothing could compare to the heavy weight on her chest.

"Take her away. I need time.", for a short moment the old Naruto flashed in his eyes. The one who would feel sorry for what he did. The one who would have believed in her. But too much time had passed, too many things happened, and life simply continued. Naruto adapted to an uncaring and cold facade, colder than Sasukes back then. Colder than the Sasuke from this time.

Sakura knew that the current personality of her old former friend was also her partly her doing. She had expected him deliver. Ever since Pain, everyone expected him to take everything in a stride. Naruto had made it so easy to believe that he could shoulder the burdens of war on his own. She hadn´t been there for him. None of them had. None of them had been there when Jiraiya died that fateful day. No one had been there to comfort the blond Hokage. They just assumed that he was able to deal with it on his own.

In hindsight it had been stupid to think so. However, while she was able to admit that she had been partly responsible for his cold demeanor, the change wasn´t only from that. Naruto was lonely. The loneliest man walking on earth. While he did seek companionship of either sexual or platonic nature from time to time, he never got past the barriers he set up on his own.

Shikamaru grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up. Hinata took her place on the other side. They would be the one to take her to prison. It was a solemn feeling being taken away by two of the remaining members of their little group. The two persons who had shared her sadness, whenever one of them had their name engraved on the memorial stone.

Sakura was no longer one of them. She was a prisoner. A traitor.

She was left alone in this world.

When Naruto entered the clearing, he was not surprised to see him there. He expected him to be there, bathing in the spare light the day still had to offer. When the wind picked up, a few leaves twirled, Naruto thought for a moment that everything was okay. That no one was knocking at Konohas gate, asking for the village of the hidden leaves. That he would go home and see his teammates sitting at his kitchen table, food ready to devour. He imagined them with the same clothing, the same hairstyle, and the same height, like they wore during their genin days. Of course, it was a beautified version of what had been back then, but a spark of happiness at the thought of it still spread through his body. Maybe he should invent a time travel jutsu and try once more. Do it all over again. Tempering with time was dangerous, he knew that, but a time travel jutsu that exceeded the capacities of the Hirashin was all but a naught dream. He was allowed to dream from time to time, no matter how ridicules it was.

The soft jingle of bells, swaying in the wind, brought him back from his daydreaming.

He focused his attention once more at the man in front him. The spiky brown hair he knew from his childhood had grown longer and were greasy and looked like no one had taken care of it for a long time. The clothes were just some hastily thrown over blankets to keep him warm. Underneath a shirt and lose fitting trousers with holes covered the body. Iruka looked horrible. But the one thing that got Naruto the most, was the glassy gaze zoned on the memorial stone, going up and down, reading ever engraved names over and over again.

The Hokage did not make a step towards his former teacher.

"Sakura betrayed Konoha."

Naruto did not expect an answer. Iruka had stopped talking to him, shortly after war reached its peak. For some reason Naruto still turned to him, whenever problems arose and he couldn´t erase them with a powerful punch. Things that emotionally overwhelmed him.

Like her betrayal. Deep down he had known, it had been only a matter of time, before another friend would go behind his back. Sasuke did so twice, and he had shared a deep bond with him at some point. He thought of him as a brother, so it shouldn´t be really surprising that another one would follow. He had waited for the civilians to revolt or Gaara to break the last lock that had sealed their friendship.

It still felt like it actually never happened. Like, Sakura would still stand in his office and scream at him either about something serious or trivial. He refused to deal with the issue on hand today. Whatever Sakura had given to Sasuke, it would have no effect on Konoha. If you knew Sasuke like he did, then there would be only a few things the Uchiha would do next. Naruto knew that the information Sakura sold, would at most harm Naruto. Because Sasuke seeked revenge. Naruto was his target and only him.

Naruto knew with certainty that Sasuke would only attack him, if it ever came to that. There was just no way it could happen. His traitorous friend might attempt to, but he had no chance at succeeding.

For today, Naruto wouldn´t waste another thought on it. He refused to be worried. He would not care about it.

Naruto waited a few minutes for Iruka to react at the sentence he had spoken only a seconds before. However, nothing changed. Iruka still stared at the memorial, mind still in the past and a mangled body in the present.

He didn´t even gave an evident of recognition at the suffocating smell that wafted over the clearing and made Narutos skin crawl. He was all to familiar with it. Scenes of war and mindless slaughter replayed in his head.

His body went rigid. Milliseconds later and, like someone flipped a switch, Naruto was alarmed and prepared for battle.

He hadn´t felt like this since war and relished in it for a moment. When his body engulfed in a slight golden shimmer, an indicator for an oncoming Hiraishin, he left the memorial clearing in a flash.

He stood in front of a wall of black smoke. He smelt no burnt hair and flesh. He heard no panicked screams; he was so familiar with.

A strong wind redirected the black cloud in his direction, and he could no longer breath. Before he took another gasp, he was already perched on a tree farther to the side and out of the way of the smoke, that made his throat feel raspy and dry. His eyes actually started to tear, and he could feel the ash settle down on his skin, smudging his skin, hair and clothes. His expression darkened and his gut told him, nothing good would come out of it.

The Inuzuka compound stood in flames.

Chakra powered, apparently and painfully hot, so hot, that Naruto could feel the heat from his save place. Only silhouettes could be seen through the crackling fire. Why hadn´t he noticed earlier? Who had done this? Where were his troops, who were responsible for this sector?

The next thought made his blood freeze. Where were the Inuzukas?

Shouldn´t they evacuate?

Something didn´t fit right with the situation, but he figured that he should at least contain the fire. A clone puffed into existence next to him, but only nodded before heading off to the Hokage tower with a hiraishin.

Naruto lifted his head. He couldn´t smell burnt humans or animals, only their remains. It was hard to spot the difference, so it took a while, but it was like it had been left there for a while already. In fact, it smelled weirdly sterile. Was it a genjutsu? No, the fox would have taken care of anything invading his chakra system.

Returning back to the ground, his left hand ran through the quick motions for an earth jutsu. The ground shook, as if a giant rose from its deep slumber, but sturdy earth walls rose from the ground, one after another and closed off the clan compound from the surrounding forest.

Still, worry did not leave his face. Sure, he had ordered that the Inuzuka Clan would be annihilated, if no cure was found before the time limit, but he hadn´t given out the order yet. This wasn´t supposed to happen. Was it Sakuras doing? That was rather unlikely.

Naruto had bought himself time by creating the walls, but when he saw still glowing ash getting swirled through the air, he knew he had to take matters in his own hand.

He couldn't wait for those, who had specialized in water ninjutsu to put out the flames. He lifted his hand, like he would hold a kunai to slash through his enemy, with the difference that a sharp and fast gust of wind was emitted during the downwards motion. The slight ripple in the air was the only indicator that something happened. A few agonizing seconds later, the walls he had erected before, fell and buried the shambles of the clan compound under their weight. Dust and ash blew towards the sky and returned to the ground, reminding him of a more sinister version of the land of snow. He could feel the fire simmer silently under the debris, but the biggest threat was taken care of for now. He would have some of the newly reinstated Chuunin finish the job.

Still no reinforcement in sight. His left eye twitched in annoyance and anger. Was every single soldier incapable? Even his clone hadn´t popped out of existence yet.

This day couldn´t get any stranger. Too many coincidences for a day, at least for his liking.

The inkling of distrust, that he had hidden away after the disaster with Sakura, sparked again. Taking a deep breath to concentrate, - the air now clearer, but still heavy with the smell of fire – he let his mind wander and search for chakra signatures. A large mass of chakra concentrated near the new bunkers. It felt like the whole Ninja population had been gathered there. He could feel the heartbeats, slow, barely noticeable. Like they were sleeping. How could that be?

The civilians acted normal, he couldn´t feel any oddity in their life forces. Whatever that meant, the civilians were most likely not involved. Naruto couldn´t make heads or tails out of it. Just a millisecond before he would have undoubtedly headed towards the bunkers, but a sudden and overwhelming chakra source startled him. Chakra he was all too familiar with. It still held the same dark proportions, like seemingly every single member of this particular clan had. His inner Ashura wailed like a child. Even his demon companion became agitated for the first time in years and pushed it´s body against the barrier, Ashuras Chakra had built, that protected him to the still somewhat toxic chakra of the beast.

Naruto felt like he was battling against the pressure of a waterfall. He knew things would only go ugly from here on.

The military had to wait. They were no match for him either, so it was safer for them to stay asleep or whatever happened to them. Naruto still sent a low powered clone in the direction of the bunkers. He summoned the power of the Hiraishin and flashed through Konoha even faster than the blink of an eye.

Up until now, everything had been going according to the plan. Sasuke was nervous. There was simply too much at stake to fail now. He had never been one for Justice in the name of others. Sure, he cared enough to punish all those who had wronged him, but this time, things were not only personal, but necessary. He didn´t dare to take a deep breath, fearing that the virus that haunted Konoha would somehow end up in his body. It was still one of his least worries, though it remained in the back of his head.

No, what worried and almost scared him the most, was what was about to happen next. Despite their rigorous planning, most moves were made with the assumption on how the current Naruto would react, if a certain situation arose. While the plan was elaborate and complex, it still felt flimsy and unpractical at best.

Sasuke wasn´t sure if they could trick a trickster in his own game.

The Uchiha hated to admit, but Naruto had become too strong to be defeated by regular means. It was like fighting Kagura all over again, butt naked and almost starved to death. Not very good odds in his opinion. His eyes flickered over to his comrades; fear written in every feature. They weren´t weak by normal standards, but a fighting a monster of its own class, would be their certain death. Yet they stood beside him. He hadn´t expected that. Sasuke was a loner, he didn´t seek companionship, but he still found himself able to trust them. Team Taka belonged to him. Naruto, however had lost most of their former friends. The once so charismatic Ninja, who had made even Sasuke believe him, was left alone. It was a tragedy. Sasuke couldn´t find another word for it. But it would be a huge advantage for them.

In a span of a few hours, the sharingan wielder had gone through so many emotions, more than he knew he was capable of.

Did he hate Naruto?

Yes and No.

It was confusing. He hated the present Naruto, but somewhere underneath the years of bitterness that had been added to Narutos character, he was still the blonde idiot from their genin days.

So instead of dodging the tri-pronged kunai, he snatched it out of the air. No one expected such a daring move, not even Naruto. Midair, the blond Hokage switched direction, using the sword Sasuke aimed at him as a springboard to propel himself a few meters away.

A quick glance told Naruto, that he was farther to the west, than he originally thought, but not very close to the woods. He stood on a crossroad, that had been turned into a market square, whenever the harvesting season came.

"What are you doing here?", Naruto snarled at the man who had been his comrade once. "Go or I will maim you."

The chakra that was coming from the blond's body was pulsating, actually heating the air.

Sasuke, the special kunai still in hand – a dangerous move -, remained stoic and abstained to answering obvious questions and threats.

They were at a stand-off, as long as no one moved, but it was only a matter of seconds, before the next attack was hurled at their respective enemies. The atmosphere was tense. Tense enough to cut right through a bijuu dama. Narutos eyes wandered behind his archenemy, where Sasukes devoted followers stood, like they were waiting for their death. They had positioned themselves in an odd angle, creating a half circle around their leader.

Deciding that he would have a much easier time, if he took out the redheaded women first, - her chakra chains proved to be fairly irritating during war -, he might be able to end the battle earlier and without any disturbances. At least not more than already present. His clone he had sent it´s merry way few moments earlier, did not cease to exist yet, so he had no memories of the situation in Konoha. No matter how it stood, he would have to fight the problems on hand first, before taking care of everything else. Dragging out the stand still any longer would do nothing to ease the situation. Naruto was roughly aware of what the members of the Team Taka were capable of. It would be the first strenuous fight in a long time, but he was confident that he would at least be able to grind them to dust.

Surprisingly it was not Naruto who made the first move, but the raven-haired rouge. Swinging the sword in a high arc, Sasuke forced Naruto to jump back. Sasuke was fast, immensely so. Another blow, that might have severed the head of any other ninja, slashed through the air. Avoiding the next few blows aimed at him, made Naruto get bored of their usual habit of squabbling, before beating the shit out of each other. Reaching for his weapon pouch, he almost missed that Sasuke had flung his tri-pronged kunai back at him. Grabbing it out of the air made him abandon his previous plan. Sasuke had ripped of the seal he needed to activate the Hiraishin. However, Naruto had been using the Jutsu for years now. Sasuke was not the first one to discover the weakness behind the technique, but until now no one had lived to tell the tale. It would be no different for Sasuke. Narrowing his eyes at his enemies, maybe to intimidate them or make them reconsider their plans, he assessed the situation. Things wouldn´t suddenly turn for the better when he thought about the next possible attacks. He never had been one for thinking too much on the battlefield. Why change something that had worked for him and even brought him through a Ninja World War?

So, without further ado, Naruto launched forward. The cold feeling of the staff that slid slowly along the skin, had him shiver for a second. Sasuke reacted instantly and coated his sword with paper-thin lighting chakra. Sparks flew across the clearing when the staff and the sword hit. The eternal mangekyo sharingan spiraled madly and Naruto could feel the chakra needed to build the gigantic armor of Susanoo.

"This will end today, Naruto.", Sasuke growled, his features darkened and took a hint of the malicious color from the avatar that had already half-formed.

Pushing out a powerful wind jutsu, he jumped back once again. Pulling out the power only the Kyuubi could provide him with, he stood there in the darkness, as golden flames licked and tugged at his body. Increasing the power output, Naruto headed towards his fiend. It was reminiscent of a star getting sucked into a vortex of a black hole. A fist hit; another one was blocked. A kick in the gut held enough force to send Sasuke crashing in his huge form into the Konoha wall. No building was left standing in the way. Susanoo might have absorbed most of the impact, but the last kick still left Sasuke dizzy for a moment. It ached in his fingers to end the fight now, disregarding if he would come out as a winner or not. Sasuke had always been competitive by nature, especially when it came to the Uzumaki, but this was one fight he never wanted to fight. He hadn´t even dreaded the fight with Kaguya or Itachi as much. Kaguya had been almighty, but Naruto had been fighting alongside him, just like Sakura and Kakashi. When he fought Itachi, he had been consumed by rage and was incapable to think about anything else. Wiping blood from his chin, he steadied himself. He had to go all out if he wanted to have a chance. The form of his avatar wavered and lost form for a second, making the chakra construct look like a chakra cloud.

Only dust remained the next second, where Sasuke had been standing.

The Uchiha was determined to keep the attention of the Hokage. He had to protect his team for their plan to work.

Sasuke rushed ahead, the Susanno reformed around him once again and he felt the power rush coursing through his body.

Naruto countered the onslaught of attacks, but his mind was focused on something else. He knew something was not right with the way Sasukes minions had not interfered yet. Whatever it was, he would halt their plan permanently.

Another chakra-induced metal rod shot from his sleeve and slammed into the torso of his enemy. Any other person would have suffered internal bleeding from the force of the hit and the burst of chakra. Sasuke was just momentarily stunned and shook it of a second later, but it had been enough time for Naruto to act. With a smirk directed at the disorientated Uchiha, Naruto disappeared in a golden flash and reappeared behind the rest of Team Taka. It had been a somewhat expected move, but it took them almost a split second to long to react. Suigetsu blocked the deadly hit with his sword and Karin stumbled towards the safety her teammates provided. An enlarged fist came crushing down, where Naruto had been standing seconds before.

"This is getting nowhere.", he said, more to himself, but it still alarmed the other, that something big was about to happen. The intensity of the fox chakra rose, making them feel like they were suffocating. Sasuke knew that he had to keep the Hokages focus on himself.

Narutos coat fluttered behind him, cut into ribbons by one of Uchihas humming chakra powered sword slashes.

A bastardized version of the rasengan razed through the earth coming towards him, creating deep lines like the fox demon himself had run his claw through it. When he felt the stinging pain in his arm, he realized it had been laced with wind chakra.

His appendage became numb. It was now useless. He hadn´t even scratched his nemesis. It was pathetic. Sasuke was aware that there a been gaps in their abilities ever since the war ended, but he hadn´t known how far apart they had been.

Three little spinning rasenshuriken gathered around Narutos head, similar to the truth-seeking balls, that slowly appeared, growing faster in size, the heavier the chakra pressure got. Sasuke had no idea what was going on in the tyrant's head, but no matter what it was, it could only mean that Naruto wanted to end things as fast as possible. He had seen this spiel on the battlefield once, Naruto was getting bored.

Sasuke readied himself for an attack that might as well could be his end. He had to play his last cards if he wanted to stand a chance.

"Last warning, Sasuke. Go and never return.", the blond Uzumaki spat, but it did not seem like he wanted to let his former friend flee. There was a murderous glint in his eyes, subtle but still present.

"You never gave your experiments the chance to choose. Why the change of mind, Naruto? They are basically the same as me.", Sasuke growled. He knew it hit home. It had been a sensitive matter for the Hokage and something horribly disturbing for him. "I am talking about the Uchiha test subjects. Had fun with them?", Sasuke added in spite.

Sasuke expected Naruto to scream at him, lash out with every single jutsu known to humanity or something along the lines.

The sad smile, felt so out of place, that Sasuke forgot that Naruto was a monster in almost every way. He looked so much like the younger, innocent version of him, that Sasuke needed a moment to break out of the stupor.

"There is no going back anymore.", was Narutos reply, and Sasuke briefly wondered, if they should continue with their plan. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt the wind pick up, laced with chakra, that was surprisingly gentle in nature.

His chakra construct expanded, rising to full power. At the same time, his hands moved, but it did not feel all too familiar. Never again after war, had he been forced to use this jutsu. It was his strongest technique, made to counter the Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken of Naruto.

Why was he using the jutsu, even though it would likely destroy half of Konoha at least?

His Sharingan-eye bled, tainting the collar of his shirt.

Susanno raised its arms and a powerful arrow of lightning formed, reverting the colors around them to black and white.

Wind was now tugging wildly on their clothes and the blazes of yellow chakra almost blinded Naruto. It all stopped abruptly, just a quarter second before their jutsus were unleashed, surely ripping Konoha apart.

Blood flowed and splattered on the floor in unsteady waves. They could hear flesh getting torn apart and the squelching when the wetness oozed from the wound. The sound was all too familiar to the spectators of the battlefield. It was most definitely a critical hit. While logically there was most likely no difference between a critical and a non-critical hit sound wise, a Ninja knew it somehow.

Narutos blood had drained from his face, except the blood trail that trickled from his mouth, joining the gush of red, that painted his chin. Hinata, whose heavy breathing could be heard even from the distance, stood in front of her Hokage. Her palms still raised high, coated in blue chakra and her legs placed in a strategical manner that would provide her with stability. A fighting stance that would be deadly, if used by a Hyuuga. She had aimed to kill him.

Narutos gaze was unfocused, either from the hit or from talking to the fox demon. No one could tell, but the blond, despite being barely conscious, slammed his hand against her temple. Naruto had gained the ability to bind his chakra to himself during war, even if the attack had already dispersed or interrupted. Therefore, the mass of chakra, that almost equaled his feared Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken, hit the Hyuuga Heiress with full force.

Her body stayed intact, not even a scratch appeared on her face, but even before the flat hand of Naruto met with her face, wind chakra had already done the job.

His limp body fell to the ground an eerie silence filled the atmosphere. They were back to square one.

Sasuke stared at the corpse and then back to Naruto. He had killed her without any hesitation. Somewhere in his mind, his brain told him, that it had been out of instinct, but Sasuke knew better. He deliberately launched that attack on her.

"She was your friend.", Sasuke said, no emotion in his voice, but was still shocked out of his mind. It contrasted so much with the Naruto who had chased after him for years and yet with a flick of his fingers he had killed another.

Sasuke jumped backwards, wanting more distance between each other. For several reasons, like strategical advantage and because he couldn´t stand the presence of the other.

"Sasuke, we have to do it, while he is recharging from the last jutsu.", Karin neared from his side. Suigetsu rested his sword on his shoulders and was for once silent and spared them his useless remarks.

Juugo remained stoic, but from the clenching motion, Sasuke could tell that Juugo was fighting for control.

"Then take your position, I will try and get Naruto close enough for it to work.", Sasuke replied and lifted his chakra coated sword.

He reappeared with a shunshin in front of his foe. The corpse was still there, but it strangely enough only looked like she was sleeping. Naruto was hunched over her, but more from exhaustion than terror at the thing he had just done. Her attack apparently did more damage than they had thought.

"I knew that she was working with you. She was the only one who could have stolen the scrolls from the library. It would be illogical to ask that from Sakura. Only Hinata had the chance to do that and she was the only one other than Shikamaru who could have done that and had reason to.", Naruto explained. Blood still came in gushes from his mouth, slurring the words, but it became less and less, the longer he spoke. "Hinata had every right to kill me, I guess. I let her clan getting killed, erased the Aburame clan and planned to do the same with the Inuzuka clan." Naruto still wondered what happened at the Inuzuka compound and why his shadow clone had yet to pop. Thing were getting too complicated for his taste.

"You most likely asked Sakura for medical advice or something regarding the Research center. A healing jutsu for your eyes maybe? I know that Amaterasu had burned your eyes during war. Sakura most certainly would be able to help you."

Sasuke watched, how Naruto straightened himself, but Sasuke could see, that it took effort to do so.

"You have thrown her into prison with a seal on her forehead.", the raven stated.
"You even know that. Damn, your networks must be huge. So many traitors…;" Naruto did not finish what he was about to say. Sasuke felt the shift in the air and Naruto was not slouched in the same place anymore. As fast as he could, Sasuke turned around and stormed after the man, that couldn´t resemble a demon any more than that. The coat of the bijuu flickered into existence again and for a moment it seemed that Naruto was running a long dark tunnel.

Sasuke went after him, this felt more like a game of cat and mouse. Barely in time the Uchiha reached his team, who had moved away from each other in the same moment, the tri-pronged kunai appeared in their line of sight. Naruto slashed through the air with the truth-seeking staff and almost landed a solid hit on Suigetsu if hadn´t dematerialized himself and used the broad side of the Kubikiribocho to shield his teammates, though the thick skin of Juugo still split.

The edge of a blade, cold and unrelenting pricked the skin of his neck, and halted him in his step. Slowly raising his hands, a sign of surrender, Naruto turned around and Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his former friend. Naruto could have taken every single one of them out in the moment he had needed to get there. It was still a chance for their plan to work, nonetheless.

"Do it!", Sasuke bellowed, it was nerve wrecking to wait for something to happen and he knew that they had to do something before Naruto could. Karin was the first one to move and assumed her position with the right-hand seal. Her male teammates followed closely after.
"This better work.", Suigetsu spoke up, as he stabbed his legendary sword in the earth and moved his hands to form the correct seals. Juugo grunted in response. He was the most anxious out of the three since he barely had the control necessary for it to work. The Hyuuga girl had been originally planned to take his place. He really hoped that he wouldn´t ruin everything they had worked so hard for.

Juugo reached out with thick threads of chakra for his teammates and felt Karin latch on his energy circle and connected his chakra with Suigetsu. The jutsu had been a Uzumaki jutsu only, but after many failed attempts of Karin to make it work like it was supposed to, they realized that it simply wouldn´t do like that. So, they came up a solution, that increased the instability of the jutsu, but the power as well. It was like walking on a tight rope, but it was their only chance. That or they had to wait for Narutos natural death, but given his Uzumaki heredity, they were in for very long and very dark times. Defeating him by regular means was not possible.

The crossroad, where they had waited for their trap to come into effect, lit up in another light, when glowing red lines started to emerge from each of their feet and started flow in the direction of the other post, while more and more lines descended from the first one. The strain of maintaining the jutsu was visible. Karin had been the only one not to stagger, when her line reached Suigetsu and Juugos line melted together with hers. Juugos face was as white as a sheet of paper and Suigetsu had trouble maintaining his physical form.

Sasuke watched the line crawl towards them, following a weird pattern, that looked like gibberish to him. He had left everything about Fuinjutsu to Karin, she understood things like that better than most.

From the side, he saw her nod at him, a silent subtle sign, that he should move out of the range of the seal. The curled ends of the sealing jutsu were about to reach his shoes. Naruto had already red lines crawling up on his feet, inching upwards with every breath. Apparently the jutsu would only stop until his whole body was covered in the scraggily lines. There was no way to escape the vines anymore. He was rooted to the seal. Sasukes calves tensed, and he expected that his body had already left the close perimeters of the circle. Yet, he still stood there, unable to move and the glowing line a millimeter away.

"Jump, Sasuke!", Karin screamed, her eyes wide in panic, but the Uchiha wasn´t even able to look at her direction.

"Got caught in your own trap, huh?", mocked Naruto and Sasuke knew that he had this silly smile in his face, he didn´t have to face him to know.

"Shut the fuck up.", Sasuke growled in response, but it came out slightly unclear due to his immobile state. He still held the sword in the same position before the ritual had started. He was sure he could at least get another scratch on the man in front of him, even if could not move. He just had to overpower the jutsu.

"No! Don´t leave the formation, Suigetsu." This time, it was Juugo who yelled. Sweat run down his pale face and his hair was plastered to the forehead. "Don´t abandon the plan."

Suigetsu sneered and reached for the Kubikiribocho. Like that ass for brains knew what to do.

"He is right. You shouldn´t leave your post. The seal is too unstable. Even I can see that much.", responded a man, moving from the shadows. Hands hidden in the pockets and his posture slightly slouched, as if it was too exhausting to walk.

"You´re that deer dude."

Suigetsus remark went ignored. Instead, the blond Uzumaki turned as much as his current position allowed. The sealing matrix had already traveled up to his waist. The markings on Sasuke were close behind.

"Hokage-sama", Shikamaru bowed slightly in the direction of his leader and focused his attention on the traitorous Uchiha, who he still had imprisoned in his shadow jutsu, but dropped it immediately when he saw, that Sasuke would go nowhere.

"Shikamaru, what has ha-", Naruto couldn´t finish what he was about to say, because a scream, loud enough to shatter his eardrums, interrupted him. The ninjas present turned to the source and saw Karin sobbing on the ground, hands tensed in the same position, that were used to maintain the sealing.

"Look", she whispered. "Look"

This time she pointed at the blurring lines of the sealing matrix. Naruto had only mediocre understanding of sealing rituals, but he almost instantly knew that the sealing had destabilized and was about to break, possibly blowing up tracts of land if it was unleashed. Karin had most likely taken the backlash of the destabilizing seal to protect her teammates. In a swift motion he put his hands, flaming with golden chakra on the ground and poured massive amount in the sealing construct. This would only buy them time, but not much. He had no idea what would happen if the sealing lines covered him completely. He felt the glowing line under his eyes, stinging them slightly from the radiance and closeness. Sasuke had done the same as Naruto and transferred his chakra into the seal, but Naruto couldn´t hope for Sasukes support in the matter for long. The sealing had already crawled up to the hairline and disappeared under the unruly raven strands. It was only a matter of seconds before something would happen to him.

"That Nara´s jutsu", Sasuke spit out, it took so much concentration to maintain the seal, that it was difficult to form a proper word. He spoke just in time, as the red lines glowed brighter than before, and Sasuke got sucked into the seal. It was like the Uchiha had jumped from a cliff with a heavy stone tied around his feet.

"Fuck", Naruto hissed under his breath, fear settled in his stomach. Despite that he forced himself to remain calm and ignored Suigetsus outbursts or the grunts of Juugo. The lines, that were blurred, were closer to where Sasuke had been standing, so that might explain why Sasuke had disappeared earlier than Naruto. Maybe Shikamarus shadow jutsu had affected the sealing matrix as a whole? But the Nara was a cautious man. Things did not add up. Blood and sweat dropped down on other parts of the matrix, but nothing changed.

"That´s it! I´m gonna destroy this shit!", Suigetsu exclaimed, but was halted by Shikamaru, who had expected this to happen. Suigetsu was an impatient human, he was most likely the first one to lose formation.

"We have to dismantle it, but until we have a solution, we have to our best to keep it stable or else none of us will live to see another days.", Naruto tried keep the former Kiri ninja at bay.

Narutos thoughts were racing, but he couldn´t find a solution to this disaster. In the back of his head, he heard the familiar ringing sound. It was like an instinct, when a seal malfunctioned, it appeared and warned him. He guessed it came with being an Uzumaki. The faster the ringing, the closer the seal was about to break. Currently he could barely make out the pause between each sound. Heat crawled over his scalp, as if a fire was burning his hair. His hands, his arms, and legs glowed red. He was too late. He could do nothing for them, yet Naruto did not stop pushing as much chakra into the seal as possible. Then there was suddenly nothing. It was not even black or white. There was just absolutely nothing. It felt like someone had ripped the ground open and let him fall.

Absentmindedly he noticed a red string in his hand. He tugged on it and more appeared, wrapping it around his arm.

Then he closed his eyes.

The remnants of Team Taka fell to the ground, their consciousness fading each second. Someone would take them to their cells later.

The intricate design of the seal was burned into the earth, shimmering every so often, and would be turned into a memorial in the distant future. Shikamaru sat down from exhaustion. Even he had been pushed to his limits this day. Turning the whole army immobile, directing everything, and countering the things that went wrong with his plan, was strenuous enough that he refused to stand any longer. He had not expected a result like that. Who could have known that a simple shadow bind jutsu could interrupt the balance of the seal. Theoretically it shouldn´t have been possible, but he wasn´t well versed in seals. Hinata's dead hadn´t been planned either.

Seriously, everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong.

Only taking out Sakura, who still had been loyal to Naruto, despite everything, had been a stroke of luck.

"Why is Sasuke sealed away as well? He could have been a profitable ally.", the raspy voice of Kiba Inuzuka interrupted his situation assessment.

Shikamaru thought a while

"Naruto or Sasuke. They would have ruined us in the end.", Shikamaru started to explain. "The world does not need monsters like them. They wreak havoc and cause so much misfortune. If neither of them had prepared their strongest jutsus, Hinata would be still alive."

Kiba came to a halt, next to the battered Nara and gritted his teeth as tears ran down his face. His younger counterpart would have a breakdown at the death of his old teammate, but this Kiba was too used to death, although it still hit hard.

"Only a monster can kill another monster. We needed Sasuke to kill Naruto. The only problem was that Sasuke would have most likely stayed alive and we still had one monster left to deal with."

Shikamaru did not need to continue with his explanation, because Kiba understood.

Things would have been repeated, like a vicious circle. They were as dangerous as the bijus, if not even more than them, so they had to be sealed like them.

"Let´s go. The civilians have started a revolt and I am worried about my daughter", Kiba urged Shikamaru, who stumbled a bit when he stood up. He had expected something like that, and he knew he had to take responsibility. He was the highest ranked Ninja in the village. Everything that would happen from now on, would be his responsibility.

"How troublesome."

Words from me regarding this story:

Honestly, I wrote this after I felt deeply unhappy with the Naruto ending and I think you can see the type of edgy kid I was while writing this story. While I still think it could be a great story though I am not sure if I can or will write more of it. It has been years since I last did anything resembling a story, but ELF (as I affectionately call it) kind of remained dormant in the back of my head. It took me, a fairly slow writer, ages to even come up with words that seemed appropriate to use. And it shows. The language is awkward, the thought process is awkward, and the storyline might be just edgy for the sake of being edgy. And despite all that, I still, to this day, kind of like ELF and did not want it to gather dust on my PC. That is the reason why I posted this. Nothing more and nothing less. Am I going to continue this story? Considering my track record of not finishing any story…unlikely. While I am not struggling as much with the English language as I did back in the day of writing this, I still cannot procure any form of energy to do so.

So, I would like to apologize and simply thank you for reading this wall of text.

Thank you.