Chapter 3: Forbidden Acts

Tsunade stood on a balcony adjacent to her office, looking out over the village that was hers to command and protect as dusk gave way to night. In the office behind her Jiraiya leaned against the wall, half hidden in shadow. He was staying so still that a person less experienced both with Jiraiya himself and as a shinobi would have thought that the sannin was asleep. Tsunade knew better.

"So, how do you think they're taking it?"

Jiraiya stirred at the question, the first time he had moved in nearly ten minutes, before replying.

"I'd say they're all feeling as if the light bulb's just turned on."

Tsunade nodded as she thought about the meeting that had occurred earlier that day, and the information revealed.

:Hokage's Office, earlier that day:

"This mission will have one objective only; to find, and give aid to, Naruto."

The reactions from Tsunade's statement varied. Some blinked in surprise, other's gasped, and still other's looked as if everything suddenly made sense.

Tsunade waited until everyone had once again calmed before continuing, saying, "Now, you will leave in one week's time."

She held up her hand to stop various protests so she could continue.

"I suggest you follow the river. Gai tells me that is how Naruto escaped. How far he followed the river is unknown, but I suspect he stayed within it's current for some time."

"Excuse me, Hokage. But isn't one week too long?"

All eyes shifted to Neji, who had spoken, before shifting back to Tsunade.

"True. If I had my way you'd all be leaving tonight. However, two of this company need more time to heal, and a week should be enough time for both Sasuke and Lee to be strong enough to travel."

Tsunade saw both Lee and Sasuke frown at that sentence, and she perfectly understood. To be told that you were holding back a mission was a serious blow to any shinobi's pride, and so much could happen in a week for shinobi that it was an unbelievably vital amount of time. In this mission particularly, a week could be disastrous. Akatsuki could find Naruto any moment and be half way across the continent in a week. Or Orochimaru could mobilize his entire village, hunt down Naruto, kill him, and return to the Hidden Sound without anyone noticing a thing in a week.

"Sasuke, Lee, I realize that being the cause of this missions delay is a strain on both of you, but you both need rest. Sasuke, your body is still recovering from both the curse seal and your fight with Naruto. Lee, you left the hospital soon after an operation that was a tremendous shock to your system and entered combat with a special jounin of the Sound. Not only that, but you opened one of the gates during that battle."

Lee shifted uncomfortably as all eyes turned to him in surprise. Gai stepped up behind Lee and placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. Tsunade, seeing this, snapped off her next words furiously.

"Don't reassure him, Gai! I have little doubt about whose influence led Lee to leave the hospital early like he did, and he's incredibly fortunate to be able to use a crutch right now! Entering a high level shinobi battle so soon after a life threatening operation was unbelievably risky, but opening one of the gates during that battle was close to SUICIDE!"

Tsunade had moved to her feet, and was leaning forward, hands clasped into fists and pressed against her desk. With a visible effort, the fifth Hokage calmed herself and sat back down. She waited a moment to let her words sink in before continuing in a calmer voice.

"Sasuke, Lee, you two may be holding this mission back for a week right now, but a week's nothing compared to how much you would slow down your companions if you left now."

Both shinobi looked somewhat chastised. With a nod at them both, Tsunade finished speaking on the subject.

"Over this week, you two are to rest. Stay in bed the first few days. After that, you can walk around, but absolutely NO training, for either of you."

Both Sasuke and Lee blinked as Tsunade's expression suddenly became hard and angry.

"Make no mistake, that is an order. Disobey it, and you'll suffer the consequences."

The two shinobi's nodded once and Tsunade's expression softened somewhat.

"Alright then, back to the mission."

As everyone nodded, Tsunade's finely tuned senses caught the impatience and anxiety of two people hidden in a corner of her office, behind a screen. Well, hidden wasn't truly the word. Probably several of the stronger shinobi knew that the two were there. This was proved when Neji spoke up.

"One moment, Hokage. Before we continue, could you tell us who's behind the screen?"

Several of the other genin gasped and looked closely at the only screen in the office. Their attention switched back to Tsunade when she answered.

"I suppose so. These two will be accompanying you on your mission." She then called over her shoulder, "You can come out now."

The screen was shoved roughly to the side, revealing the two that had crouched behind it. They were both of an age, and in their teens, about sixteen or seventeen. They both bore a certain resemblance to each other, signifying a close blood relationship, possibly brother and sister, and they were both dressed in clothes suitable for the desert.

The young man of the two was somewhat heavy set with muscle, with dark red hair, and dark brown, nearly black eyes. He was of average height for someone his age, and was dressed in a gray shirt, and a gray brown pair of pants. The pants ended just short of the traditional pair of shinobi sandals. A mantle of light brown leather hung over his shoulders, and strapped to his back was a pair of odd bundles wrapped in bandages.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as the boy looked quite familiar, but Sasuke couldn't place the face with a name so he considered the girl next.

She had blond hair, a shade or two lighter than Naruto's, drawn back into a single knot on the back of her head, and was dressed in a long sleeved robe, the color matching that of the boy's mantle. The robe was slit up both sides to the waist, revealing a pair of white canvas pants, which bunched slightly over her own pair of black sandals. Strapped to her back was a long, thin object that was also wrapped in bandages.

Her, Sasuke recognized immediately, and she revealed the identity of the boy as well.

"Temari and Kankuro, the older siblings of Gaara."

The two nodded with no small amount of apprehension at Sasuke's statement. For several seconds silence and tension filled the room as the two Sand nins, who were oddly missing their forehead protectors, studied, and were studied in turn, the Leaf nins.

Then the silence was broken when Tsunade said, "Now, before anyone asks what they're doing here, these two arrived earlier today and requested amnesty from their village. In exchange, they offered their services as shinobi, as well as some information about recent events in the Sand village." At this point Tsunade stood up from her chair, pushing it back and walking over to a map on the wall.

"It seems that the Sand has exiled Sabaku No Gaara. They tried to kill him, and were almost successful. However, Gaara, like Naruto, was able to escape and fell into a canyon with a river."

She paused as she studied the map.

"These two will accompany you in your search for Naruto."

Temari and Kankuro glanced at each other, frowning. They weren't here to search for Naruto. They were here to try to help Gaara.

It seemed that they weren't the only two with that thought as Iruka spoke up.

"Pardon me, Hokage. But why will they accompany us? I'm grateful for their help, but..."

He glanced at the two, distrust showing clearly in his eyes. Sand and Leaf may have been allies, but the Sand was part of the reason for Konoha's current situation of war recovery.

In response, Tsunade said, "This is the river Naruto fell into, and where." She took a chakra filled fingertip and touched a spot on the map. "And this is the river Gaara fell into, and where." She touched another spot on the map with another chakra filled fingertip.

Shikamaru spoke then, his voice rather troubled. "You're not serious..."

Tsunade didn't bother to respond verbally to his question, or the confusion she could feel coming from some of the other shinobi. Instead, she started to trace the rivers with her finger, leaving a glowing streak of chakra to mark the path that Tsunade followed. After a moment, it became clear what her point was as her fingertips drew closer and closer together, until finally, the two tips met where the two rivers intersected, about three hundred miles from Konoha.

Tsunade turned from the map to see realization in every face in the room. She moved back to her desk, speaking.

"Yes. It isn't certain that Naruto and Gaara have met, but it is extremely likely, especially with the connection those two share."

Everyone listening blinked in surprise. Comprehension dawned in the faces of the older shinobi present, while the younger shinobi glanced at each other, silently asking, (What connection?)

With a sigh to belie just how old she really was, Tsunade sank into the chair of the Hokage. She could feel every eye in the room on her, and the information she was about to reveal felt like an incredible weight on her shoulders.

"The connection Naruto and Gaara share is the one thing they truly have in common."

She opened her mouth to continue, but Iruka interrupted, his voice panicked.

"Hokage, you can't! It's forbidden!"

Tsunade fixed the chounin with an angry glare.

"Today's a day for doing forbidden things Iruka! It's forbidden to aid a missing nin, yet that's exactly what I'm planning, and that's exactly what you're here to do! Sarutobi forbid anyone to talk about what really happened to the Kyubi as a way to protect Naruto! I will not tarnish the old man's memory by endangering other shinobi by sending them after Naruto without the full knowledge of what they're getting themselves into!"

Tsunade stood up angrily, yelling right over Iruka's protests.

"The Akatsuki are after Naruto and Gaara, and the only one here who can truly handle them is Jiraiya, and even he can't take them all! Now with two demon vessels in the same area, you'll have to deal with at least four of the Akatsuki's strongest, which means Itachi!"

Iruka's mouth closed with a snap, and Tsunade fell back into her chair with a huff, both acutely aware of the rather choked silence coming from the younger shinobis present.

"Iruka, they deserve to know. True, it is Naruto's secret to tell, but we've lost the luxury of allowing him to tell it."

The young chounin hesitated before he nodded sadly to Tsunade's softly spoken words. Tsunade then spoke softly once again, filling the silence with the words that the village of Konoha had been forbidden to speak of for over ten years.

(I'm so sorry Naruto...)