CHAPTER 6

The feast was overwhelming with food and drinks; wines flowed freely, and cups were never emptied. The exotic performers, who called themselves Hana no Sabaku, danced in a seductive manner to the tunes of strange music that made it both unique and memorable.

Naruto and the others were seated in the main table together with the Chief of Shinkirōgakure by their side. To honor the coexistence and trust between villagers, no weapons were allowed in the event; all guests would have to leave it in their rooms.

The dancers approached Sasuke, attempting to seduce and attract his attention. He paid no heed to them and drank his wine instead.

"Sasuke–dono, you must catch yourself a wife. Noble women in this village seem to follow you around. I'm curious, has any of them captured your eyes and your heart?" the Chief chuckled, especially on the dancers' effort to seduce the Uchiha.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not here to hunt a wife," he answered.

Disheartened by the Uchiha's comment, the dancers stopped their advances and approached the Hero of Konoha instead. Naruto smiled and gulped nervously as they pursued him. He shook his head to the dancers, refusing their advances. They understood and moved on to entertain the other guests.

"My apology for I didn't know how much this lady of yours is meant to you. It seems she's someone special. I understood the need to love and dedicate you heart to one woman, but looking at your situation – the both of you," the Chief then glanced to Naruto, "I thought it would be a great opportunity to take more than a wife; perhaps concubines or mistresses to assist in building your clan?"

"I can't say for Naruto, but I can assure you that I'm not a womanizer, and I'll do no such," Sasuke declared and continued, "Your assumption is wrong. Our missing friend is a dearest pupil of the Godaime, a best friend of someone, a skillful kunoichi and–"

"–and a member of Team Seven," Naruto chimed in to remind his friend that the team's bond still matters.

"You've listed many things, but what is she to you?" the Chief asked his honorable guests.

Naruto sat in silence. He refused to answer because he did not know where he stood when it came to Sakura – a friend or a lover? Maybe a very close friend? He glanced at Sasuke, who was also very quiet, perhaps thinking about his relationship status with Sakura too.

Does he even know about my feelings for Sakura-chan? he wondered.

"Your silence is as good of an answer as words," the Chief chuckled and smiled slyly. "To be in love with a woman who is in love with another man; friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love."

Those very words earned the attention of Konoha's strongest heroes. They watched as the Chief swirled the wine in his glass, and then took a sip of it.

"There's an old saying in Shinkirōgakure: a bond between old souls is ancient – older than any known history itself. These are the words left by my ancestors – from one generation to another," he paused, "I'm sure your friend has a reason to go on her own way. Her bond must have been stronger than blood because it represents her will to protect those whom she loved."

Naruto pondered on the old man's words, sensing the familiarity on its wisdom, but could not put a finger on where he had heard it before.

The bursting sound of the door opening steered his thoughts away. A nightguard intruded the feast and rushed his way to the front.

"Daichi-sama, we're in trouble!" the nightguard panicked. "T–There's a huge monster at the main gate – sharp teeth and all muddy!"

The Chief and his men immediately stood; they were shocked and in disbelief. Some scratched their bald heads in confusion as this was the first time the village was under attack by a mud monster.

Naruto immediately looked over at Sasuke, who was placing his hand over his mouth, focusing anywhere but the Chief. It might be a figment of his imagination, but was that a hidden smile on his friend's face?

"There's no casualty," the nightguard further informed. "The creature was roaring, swinging its arms around, and throwing mud all over on us; it's very slimy and disgusting. It's moving north as we speak."

"We must make haste and aid your men to capture this creature," Sasuke suggested.

"You're our guest. It would consider rude to have you protect us."

"In time of crisis, now is not the time to discuss etiquettes or mannerism. Your people are in danger. By the looks of it, you need all able bodies and the help you can get to protect them."

The Chief could not argue the difficult situation he was in. Shinkirōgakure was – indeed – shortage of warriors. Thus, all he could do was to nod and accept the assistance.

Sasuke climbed on the table, making himself known and heard.

"Gather all of your capable men to the north fortress. Organized a group of ten to have them guide the women and children to a safe location. Jūgo – take the Sands to the rendezvous point and aid the men. Shikamaru and Naruto – tail the creature from behind, but do not attempt to attack it. Based on zero casualty, the creature hasn't hurt anyone – yet. Best not to harm it and observe what it needs," he commanded and turned to the Chief. "Daichi-sama – you and I will be stationed at the watch tower in the north; we'll watch and guide them from above."

"Thank you, Sasuke–dono."

Naruto could do no further, but to admire Sasuke in awe. This was what a Hokage should be: prompted in response, provided quick strategies, and protected those who were not able to protect themselves. True, his nakama has all the packages in becoming a great Kage, yet he got a feeling that the raven hair shinobi was putting up a façade, and that the current attack on Shinkirōgakure was nothing but a ruse.

"What the fuck is Sasuke up to?" Shikamaru cursed while pacing the floor.

Fear that there would not be enough time to prepare, Naruto tossed all his weapons onto the bed, and then randomly selected them to carry with.

The moment he saw that cocky grin on Sasuke's face, he knew it was an act of charade. His nakama must have known about the faux intel from the beginning. Oddly, he was the one who supposed to trick the Uchiha into telling the truth about Sakura but caught himself being played by instead.

Yet, something did not add up to his account. If Sasuke knew from the start, why did he insist on going through this mission?

Unless he knows something that I don't, Naruto thought.

Naruto-yo, it's that water boy – one of Sasuke's men, said Kurama, who was now trying to sense the location of Sasuke's chakra.

"Shit, the mud monster is Suigetsu; he's a distraction."

He looked at Shikamaru with worried eyes.

"We can't risk Sasuke or Suigetsu getting captured. It won't reflect good on Konoha or the Shinobi Alliance. We're good as dead if the Chief found out who the responsible person behind this attack is," Shikamaru paused, wheels turning in his head. "Sasuke told us not to harm Suigetsu, but to tail him and observe what he needs. To be specific, Sasuke wants us to cover him."

It was a lame way to ask for help too. Pressure and stress, Naruto shook his head. Not only did the Uchiha managed to trick him, but he was also far behind on his own scheme.

"It's good that Suigetsu hasn't hurt anyone yet," Shikamaru commented. "We have to follow Sasuke's plan. The main priority is not to let anyone learn what he's up to, not even the Sands. He's the closest person to find Sakura."

Naruto summoned two clones.

"If Sasuke is not on that tower, one of my clones will transform into him," he said.

"This is troublesome, but I can't afford to get that fish guy getting caught and risk the diplomatic relationship between several villages. I must be out there. If something happens, I need to be the middleman."

He nodded, and sighed at the thoughts of possible diplomatic mess they could be in. He then grabbed his weapon pouch and ran out to the hallway, leaving his clones to Shikamaru. His first search would have to be in Sasuke's room, which was located on the other side of the wing. Fortunately, Kurama sensed otherwise.

He's in deep underground level. There must be a tunnel underneath this fortress.

He rushed down several stairs, cursing along the way as he followed Sasuke's path ahead.

Thanks to the Sharingan, Sasuke could run through the underground tunnel in pitch darkness without wasting any time. He depended on Suigetsu's distraction to buy him enough time so that he could investigate whatever this tunnel would lead him to. Hopefully, it would lead to the answers of the mysterious seal.

According to Jūgo, there were two guards stationed deeply underneath this fortress; and having two best sensory shinobi guarding in darkness meant that there must be a secret hidden in this village – away from the public's eyes.

"She should have reached already," he deemed as he rushed through the concrete labyrinth. The tunnel spiraled downward, about ten-levels deep. The air has gotten thinner; and as he reached the bottom floor, someone was already waiting for him.

"Sasuke," Karin beamed his name with joy, "it works! These pink balls are amazing! Where did you get these from?"

He studied his nakama's handiwork – the two shinobi that Jūgo had mentioned was now in a knockout state. The pink balls he had given to Karin belonged to Sakura. He found it in her office when he was rummaging through her stuff for clues years ago. Kiba had yelled at him for playfully tossing it in the air. He said that the pink balls were powerful sleeping grenades with 24-hours effectiveness. Sasuke did not know how handy the bomb was until now.

"Well done," he praised out loud, not technically meant for Karin, but she squealed with delight in response.

He walked over the guards and turned his attention on the vault instead. There was neither lock nor alarm mechanism. Its safety was relied on its weight, which was too heavy for one man to open. It would be easier to burn it down with a flick of Amaterasu, but he would not want to risk diplomacy ties. Without wasting anymore time, he pushed the massive handle in anticlockwise movement with all his strength, until a click sound was heard. Karin then helped him with the vault's door, using every ounce of her strength to open it. The door was finally opened – wide enough for them to slip in. As they entered the vault, they found themselves in a hall full of shelves – filled with books and scrolls.

Sasuke strode towards the restriction section. As soon as he found the forbidden sign, he started his search.

"We need to find scrolls instead of books. Ancient texts were written in scrolls; at that period, books haven't existed yet," he explained as he ran his fingers against several of its spines. "Find and take anything that is related to symbols."

They passed several shelves, moving deeper into the vault. They finally found a section they were looking for – ancient scrolls stacked in the pigeonholes, protected behind glass door from dusts and cobwebs.

"This should be it," he muttered as he opened the glass door and took a scroll out. He did a quick glance on the scroll before dumping it into his bag.

Karin followed as what Sasuke instructed. She used her flashlight to aid her in selecting the scrolls before dumping them into her backpack. As she quickened her pace, she sensed a disturbing presence. She looked over her shoulder, but no one was there. She widened her sensory range for precaution; nobody was in the vault except for her and Sasuke. And just as she was about to grab another scroll, she felt it again. This time, the unknown presence did touch her radar, and it did not feel like chakra at all.

"Sasuke," she called in a low voice.

She pointed her flashlight to a peculiar floor on the darkest section of the vault. As she brushed the dust away, she found a strangely designed and vintage iron-knob. It has a tiger head with pull-ring in its mouth. She tried to open the trapdoor, but it would not budge.

Sasuke moved to her side and used his Kusanagi sword as a pivot to lift the door open. Cold ancient air escaped, brushing his pale skin. He activated his Sharingan and found that there were more spiral stairs leading into darkness. Immediately as he took the first step, Karin stopped him.

"Something is telling me that we shouldn't go down there," she warned. Her voice trembled in fear, wishing not to go any further.

"The more reason we should," he insisted, curious as to what had touched her chakra sensory.

Without a second thought, Sasuke took another step into the unknown.