A/N: Friendly reminder to all of you still reading that I warned you about canonical couples for a reason.

If by any chance you don't want to see canon couples, the door is literally over there. Don't whine and complain because this doesn't cater to you. Go find something else. And if you're gonna complain anyway, do not get snippy with me. I do this on my own free time, of my own will. I do not have to sit here and listen to bullshit.

Rant over. Enjoy the chapter.


The next day was tense, as the king had called the staff in for another round of questioning.

Luckily, Shien was needed elsewhere - Naruto needed her to help him put together several pieces for Sasuke's coronation, which would be in a little over a few weeks. It was disquieting to think about him becoming king so soon, but as she understood, the king was desperate. Obviously, he was afraid of something... but what could Fugaku Uchiha, the man who currently held Fire with an iron fist, possibly fear? He was the Fearless King, the one who led their country through the skirmishes of civil war, who had been an unstoppable force with his then-fiancee, who was herself trained in combat. His oldest son was intelligent, clever, a shoo-in for the king to usher in the Era of Peace, and his younger son was very skilled in wielding lightning and fire, something not very many others of his clan were able to do.

What kind of force could he have to worry so much about? From what she knew of the man, she figured that she didn't want to know the answer to that question.

She mused about this for a while that morning, until by the afternoon she just couldn't stand it anymore.

She turned to Naruto and asked, "Why is the king so frantic about going through us to root out a traitor?"

Naruto frowned and paused in his work. He remained silent.

She turned to glance at him, and noticed him watching her with a troubled eye.

"You... you promise you won't tell anyone?" He asked in a hushed voice.

She scrunched up her nose and nodded. "Of course. Why?"

"It's a bit of a... sensitive topic," he coughed. "From what I understand, Sasuke's dad is super stressed right now because of orders from his great-grandpa."

"Great-grandpa?" She asked incredulously. "Do you mean-"

"Madara Uchiha. Supposedly he's not quite dead." Naruto sighed, glancing upward. "Sasuke swears up and down he's seen him around, but I've never caught a glimpse. He says that apparently he lives up in one of the tallest towers above the chapel, but nobody knows for sure."

"What- that- but-" She sputtered. "How in the world does he get up and down, then? I've never seen any entrance to the towers!"

"That's because he doesn't want people goin' up there and seeing him," Naruto explained patiently, with a nod towards the big double-doors at the end of the room. "The staircase is hidden somewhere only the king and queen know. Sasuke's asked a million times, and he still doesn't know."

"That's... rather strange," she observed with a shaky frown. "I thought he died years ago."

"That's what everyone says," Naruto replied with a strange gleam in his eye, "but Sasuke is insistent that he's still alive. He's seen him in person before, I guess."

She shook her head, stunned.

Tsunade had told her the tale of how her grandfather had died against Madara in the skirmishes forty-something years before, when she was only a teenager. She'd vowed with thinly-veiled hatred that she would avenge her beloved grandfather by taking down the kingdom that Madara had created, and instead instill the government Hashirama had wanted - she would be the first Hokage in the city's history, completely doing away with the monarchy for good.

Of course, Tsunade had said it in a spark of anger after learning of Sakura's rocky past with Sasuke's family, and even now she admitted that, if anything, she would probably just crown a new king and queen, one that she was sure would govern fairly. Sakura had joked many a time that she would make a good queen, but the blonde woman deflected every time with a strange look in her eyes.

She gazed out of the window she was washing with a sinking feeling in her heart.

"Auntie, what will we do now?" She thought in despair. "What can we do against one of the most powerful shinobi to ever live? If it is true, then all hope is lost!"


"Tsunade-sama, an urgent message from Hatake," Temari reported as she handed the woman a note.

"Oh, excellent!" She exclaimed, unfolding it. "He must have found the identity... of the..."

As she read, her joy faded into shock.

"Deidara has been captured?" She sputtered, her brow arching in anger. "And so has Hidan?!"

Temari could only watch, dumbfounded, as the woman's face suddenly twisted in rage, and she slammed her fist down on a folding table. It cracked in half from the impact, and the girl jumped when it fell to the tent floor in two pieces.

Tsunade paused in her anger and stared at the table for a moment in shocked disbelief. Apparently she hadn't even realized she just did that.

"Dammit, that was my only table," Tsunade took a moment to mutter, disappointed, before she shook her head violently. "This is ridiculous! We need to double our efforts. No, triple our efforts! We cannot leave them!"

"What do you suggest?" The sandy-haired girl managed to ask, her shock still palpable on her face.

Tsunade's eyes gleamed as she pointed to her. "I'm sending you and Shikamaru on another little reconnaissance mission for me. Go into the capital and scope out the castle. If you can, slip away to the dungeons. I need you to report back to me about any weak links in their defenses."

"Yes, ma'am." Temari saluted her and strode quickly out of the tent, sparing the broken table another quick glance.

Tsunade sighed harshly, falling down onto her bedroll. She stared sadly at the table pieces, muttering to herself. "I liked that table, too..."

She shook her head for a moment. "No. Focus, Tsunade. You need to get all hands on deck to rescue them."

As soon as Rin came into the tent, she stood again.

"What's happened?" She asked in alarm, pausing to stare in puzzlement at the broken table before her eyes widened at Tsunade's sagging posture. "Have we been found out?"

"No, much worse." The blonde sighed heavily once more. "Deidara and Hidan have been captured. We need to rescue them, otherwise we won't stand a chance against them. Our deal with Akatsuki will be off for good. We can't afford to do the invasion without Pain's help."

"What do we need to do?" The brunette asked.

"I need to create several teams to scope out the capital. I've already told Temari to go with Shikamaru, but I need about four more." She muttered, pacing around the tent. "Obviously, I can count on Itachi to spy with Kisame, but then we have the risk of them being spotted and recognized..."

The brunette watched her shuffle around for a few moments before finally grabbing her arm.

"Tsunade, please, calm down." She ordered. "Sit down, have a drink, and we can talk this out."

"Fine," the woman replied, flopping down onto her bedroll. She took out her water bottle and took a few hefty gulps before popping the top back on and setting it down with a satisfied noise.

When Rin gave her an expectant look, she sighed.

"Alright, I'm calmer," she announced. "Go call Ino and the soldiers. Be prepared to write a note to Itachi."

"And Hinata?" She pressed.

Tsunade thought about it for a few moments before sighing. "Yes, I suppose we must."


A/N: The plot thickens... once again.

Please tell me what you thought.