Chapter 2: The Talk

A/N: If you're confused as to why I wrote chapter three as chapter one, even though the fanfic takes it as chapter three, the prologue and bio was supposed to be one chapter together as chapter 0. Either way, just read the headings to make sure you're on track. BTW, even though its Christmas break and all that, updates would probably be slow because not only am I doing nanny babysitting (sunup to sundown), I'll also be having my wisdom teeth removed. Oh Joy.

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"Okay, Rie, let me get this straight," Tsunade said in a voice that hinted that she was having some serious PMS, " Seven years ago, when you were ten and Sasuke was seven, Itachi had come to the Hidden Cloud village and slew everyone except for you, because you were in the middle of your Chûnin exams."

"Yes Hokage," Rie amended, "that is correct." Sasuke and Rie were sitting in front of the fifth hokage's desk. Sasuke was silent, gripping his hands tightly together so hard that his knuckles were white.

"But…" Tsunade prompted.

"But when I became the Raikage's number one bodyguard at age twelve, Itachi had come back. The Raikage had offered help, but I knew Itachi would kill them instantly. So for three years Itachi had hunted me down. Besides," Rie paused to give a smirk, "I had an ace. I learned how to use the Byakugan. As anyone would know, the Byakugan can't be copied, so it was my best hope."

"How did you learn Byakugan, anyway?" Tsunade asked.

"I'm not about to tell, with all due respect." Rie answered. "Either way, because he didn't know I had it, I was able to injure him enough to run away. For extra caution, I used psychic power to call two vultures, which would leave when Itachi died."

"Which they did, when I killed him." Sasuke added, as if to make himself known.

"While running away, I had remembered the third Hokage granting me solace here should I ever need it. Which I shall, because," Rie gave a dramatic pause here, "the Raikage is hinting at war if you don't give back our Shinobi."

Tsunade chocked and spat out her sake when she heard this.

"What Shinobi?" Sasuke asked for Tsunade. Rie was almost glad when she heard that they didn't know. But this also meant that she would probably be searching for the Shinobi anyway.

"When I last checked through carrier pigeon, the count was 50 people, maybe more. The only reason I'm here is because I flew with my birds. Either way, the Raikage is saying that if we don't get our Shinobi back by the sakura festival; get ready for a full-fledged war." Rie finished, leaning back. Sasuke grinned inwardly to himself. She's an Uchiha alright. Silent, deadly, and sneaky were the main traits in the family. Keeping his cold stare in the real world, he asked the question everybody had.

"So, what are we going to do?" Sasuke asked. Tsunade pondered on this, which meant she was taking in some more sake. After about three gulps, she finally answered.

"Both of you realize," Tsunade said, eyeing the two, "that this is a very bad thing. I'm barely hokage, and here I am with a war threat. So, I'm going to have to give you this mission: investigate the Konoha land for the Shinobi, and bring them back, dead or alive."

"What rank would this be considered as?" Sasuke asked, in a tone that implied that the rank was the only reason for doing this.

"This mission is a class B mission, but you'll need to take Naruto and Gaara. Start at the border, and work your way in." Tsunade thought for a moment, trying to think of anything else. "Oh, yes," she interjected, "if it's possible, I need you to bring in whoever's responsible for this. Any questions?" The Uchihas were silent. But they both knew one thing about this mission.

They needed more people than that.