Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and I am making no profit from this story, it is only for entertainment.

Chapter Summary: In which Konoha fends off the invaders but at what price?


Chapter 36: You Come Into My House? Attack My People?

Naruto appeared close to where he'd sensed Inoichi, Hayate popping up immediately after. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the Oto nin that noticed their appearance. He tore a kunai from his pouch and sliced it through the air.

"Fūton: Kazekiri no jutsu!"

Blades of winds emerged from the edge of his kunai and cut through the approaching Oto nin with ease. They fell into heaps of blood and bone and Naruto couldn't find it in himself to care about the overkill. He was pissed.

He'd woken up stiff and cold in a random room in the hospital. It had taken him a second to get his bearings but when he did, he swore he would kill Kabuto with his own two hands. That was when he sensed the start of the attack. He'd shunshined to the arena as fast as he was able with the remnants of the drug coursing through his system and the moment he'd seen the white feathers, he'd switched to commander-mode. He had to save as many people as possible and while he could take down a great number of Oto nin fighting, he knew the biggest problem was that they were under-prepared. He would be more useful coordinating the defense even as he itched to help his fellow shinobi.

He didn't know why Kabuto hadn't just killed him but he would make that traitor regret it.

Hayate whistled from beside him.

"Damn, I'd love to see what you could do with a real blade."

"Maybe another time," Naruto replied shortly. "There he is."

Inoichi took down his opponent swiftly and sunk a kunai into the neck of one that tried to creep up behind him. Naruto ran up to him and grabbed his shoulder, dragging him away from the fight. He nodded to the man's clansmen as they covered their retreat.

"Naruto, what's going on?" The man demanded as Naruto let him go in one of the tunnels that weaved through the stadium. "Why didn't you sense this coming?"

"I was drugged shortly before the preliminary round," Naruto gritted out. "We have a traitor."

"Fuck," Hayate muttered beneath his breath.

"Inoichi, I need you to coordinate the defence," Naruto continued. "We were caught by surprise. Hokage-sama is dealing with Orochimaru and we can't get to Shikaku or any of the strategists right now. We need to do something."

Inoichi opened his mouth to reply but a massive crash rang through the air. Naruto scrambled to the entrance to watch in horror as three giant snakes brought down a huge part of Konoha's walls. He could sense Suna and Oto nin start to move past them and enter the village. His fists clenched as he felt more and more lives snuffed out as the snakes moved further in.

"We need Jiraiya to deal with those snakes," he said quickly, turning to Inoichi. "I can tell you where to find everyone and where to send them if you make the connection. We need our resources to be distributed effectively if we're going to save anyone."

"I agree," the Clan Head nodded.

"Hayate, you need to watch over us and stop anyone from getting close."

"Yes, sir," Hayate nodded.

"Naruto, I can only connect to a couple people at a time with this technique," Inoichi said hurriedly. "Without my equipment, that's as much as I can do."

"That will be enough if we choose the right people."

Inoichi nodded and sat on the ground, crossing his legs and lifting one arm. Naruto sat opposite to him and closed his eyes, feeling the man's hand on his forehead.

"Shindenshin no jutsu."

Naruto felt something pushing at the edge of his awareness and he tried to relax and allow the presence in. It was strange and hard to describe; he felt Inoichi's presence enter his mind and occupy some of the space. The hand faltered on his forehead and he frowned.

"Inoichi?" "Inoichi?"

He flinched as his voice echoed through his mind, something that had never happened before. He couldn't remember his thoughts being so loud.

"Sorry, sorry, there's just….just so much…"

Inoichi's soft voice reverberated through his head.

"How can you live like this?"

Naruto was confused for only a moment before he realised. Inoichi was feeling the influx of information from his sensing abilities. He had been dealing with it since he was three so it didn't affect him but to someone who was not used to it, it could be a bit much. He tried to filter out what he could sense to spare Inoichi from unnecessary chakra signatures.

"We need to focus," he said firmly. "Jiraiya is 400 metres north-west of our position. He needs to deal with the snakes at the walls."

He felt Inoichi's mind stretch out to where he could feel the Sannin. The connection faltered.

"Is that what I think it is? You can feel people dying?"

"Inoichi, we need Jiraiya."

The man may have been a Clan Head and respected jounin but it appeared that he hadn't been prepared for Naruto's abilities. He couldn't blame him; even Naruto was overwhelmed by what he could sense at times.

"Jiraiya, you need to deal with Orochimaru's snake summons. There are three at the main gate."

The connection was broken so quickly that Naruto didn't really get a sense of Jiraiya's mind. He quickly moved on from that thought; there was so much more work to do.

"There is a group of civilians being cornered by four Oto nin outside of Hirahata park. Kayama and Yamada are closest."

Eventually he and Inoichi got into a rhythm and the sounds of the battle around them faded away as they moved around the shinobi of Konoha like shogi pieces. Naruto only hoped that they were making a difference.


"Come on, we're almost there!"

Rio waved a hand at the family running behind him. The mother had her young son clutched to her chest while the father held tightly onto his teenage daughter's hand. He'd managed to get them out just before the house collapsed from an Oto nin's attack. Three chunin had jumped in to deal with them so Rio had focused on getting them out of there.

It can't have been long since the attack began but Rio felt like it had been hours. The civilians had become a blur of shape and colour as he trapped himself in a cycle of 'find them, escort them back, drop them off and back out again'. The academy chunin were in charge of the safe house at the Hokage Mountain and he occasionally caught glimpses of Iruka-sensei. He didn't have time to stop and say hello; every minute he wasted was a minute he could have spent finding more people to help.

They entered the massive doorway in the side of the mountain and Rio waved them ahead of him, stopping for a moment to catch his breath. Sasuke was already there waiting for them as the scout and Sakura soon joined them from the rear.

"Okay, where now?" Rio panted.

At the start they had just been grabbing every civilian that crossed their path, but now they had to go further and further to find them.

"Team Seven, head to the West Market!" Aiko-sensei called out to them.

"Yes, sensei!"

Rio groaned as they headed back out into the village. Sweat was pouring down his face and had long soaked his t-shirt which was sticking uncomfortably to his skin. His calves burned and he was starting to feel light-headed. They were trained to run for miles and miles but this was pushing the edge of his limits. He dreaded to think of the state Shikamaru was probably in.

"How do they even know where to send us?" Sakura gasped as she jogged next to him.

"Probably the same way the chunin keep appearing every time an Oto nin gets near us," Rio shrugged.

It'd been very strange the first time. They'd been escorting three families to the Hokage Mountain when they'd been ambushed. They hadn't even had time to raise a kunai when two jounin had flung themselves off a roof to tackle the enemy. They made short work of them before turning to their team.

"Team Seven, right?"

"How'd you know?"

"The eye in the sky," one of them grinned. "Keep up the good work."

With that cryptic response they'd run off to who knows where. They'd only seen the higher ranks for brief moments at a time. When Rio had a chance to breathe his mind always wandered back to Nii-san. Was he out fighting like everyone else? Where was he? He'd never heard that tone from Nii-san before; it sounded similar to his 'telling-off' voice but there was no emotion, only an expectation that his word would be followed without question. He had noticed how Hayate had snapped to attention and followed Nii-san's orders immediately despite the fact their ranks couldn't have been much different. Another piece of the puzzle to unravel when their home wasn't being attacked.

Rio knew he was a good genin. He even knew he could cope under battle conditions; between Wave and the incident in the Forest of Death, he knew he was prepared for life as a shinobi.

He had underestimated what a real battle was like. Wave had been like a spat in a playground compared to this. Around every corner of the village there was fighting or death. Some houses and shops had been reduced to rubble and Rio had long lost the sick feeling in his stomach whenever he spotted the body of someone he knew. The smell was a mix of smoke and blood and fear and he could taste the violence in the air with every breath. He knew he would break down at some point, how could he not after watching his home be violated and crushed, but not right now. He had his job to focus on.

He glanced up at the giant toad in the distance battling a snake that looked very familiar. There had been three but the toad had managed to beat the first two. He hoped it killed that last snake quickly; the memory of almost being eaten hadn't left him.

They finally came up to the West Market and Rio scented the air for the civilians. He located them in the third alley to the left and led his team towards them. Rounding the corner, he smiled at the toddler in the arms of what must be his older brother.

"Hi," he said gently. "We're genin of Konoha. You're safe now."

The older boy looked back at him distrustfully.

"Is there anyone else around?" Sakura asked over his shoulder.

The boy swallowed and hugged the toddler tighter. He couldn't have been older than academy age. Rio tried not to think of what might have happened to leave them alone in this alley.

"We are going to take you to the Hokage Mountain, okay?" Rio held out a hand. "Will you let us do that?"

The boy paused for a moment before he finally nodded, stepping forward.

"There are more people in the buildings," he said quietly and Sasuke and Sakura took off from behind him.

"Thanks," Rio smiled brightly. "That's a big help."


Naruto tore himself from Inoichi's grip, panting heavily as he covered his eyes with the heels of his hands. This was officially the worst headache of his life. He didn't have to look over at the Clan Head to know he was in a similar state.

It was over. There wasn't much more he could do. The Konoha forces were rounding up the last of the Oto nin and he'd instructed those he could to let the Suna nin go. He'd hoped they'd managed to spread the word. He knew he technically didn't have the authority to order that but he was also the only one who knew the full story. He knew Shikaku would be on board the minute he told him everything and that was enough for him.

"You okay?"

Hayate was looking down at them, bloody katana in hand. Not many Oto had clicked on to their location but the four who had managed had been quickly taken care of. Naruto had a new appreciation for kenjutsu.

"I am going to sleep for a week."

Naruto couldn't stop his huff of amusement at Inoichi's response. He shared the sentiment but knew the hard work was only beginning. He could still feel the odd Oto nin running around and only about half the civilians had made it to the Hokage Mountains so far. The wall was badly damaged and they'd lost good people. Too many good people. There was so much to do.

"Shikaku wasn't exaggerating about you."

Naruto managed to pull himself into a sitting position and slowly pulled his hands away from his face, wincing at the light of the early evening.

"What?"

"Choza and I meet up with him a couple times a week and since your promotion, you're a big topic," Inoichi mirrored his position. "Shikaku really likes you, kid. Even I knew you were special the day you came into my shop and showed me those seals when you were younger."

"I don't do much," Naruto muttered, fighting down a blush.

"Kid, I've been inside your head," Inoichi scoffs in good humour. "I don't think anyone else could survive how much information you process every second. How do you sleep?"

Naruto didn't exactly want to admit that he tended to just collapse out of exhaustion every once in a while.

"We need to regroup," he said instead. "The bulk of the fighting might be done but we need to start piecing the village back together."

He fought to his feet, Hayate grabbing his elbow to steady him. Inoichi had an easier time standing and Naruto suspected that there could still be some drugs in his system. He'd have to get that checked at some point. Who knows what Kabuto put into his body?

"You're right. Where's the Hokage?" Inoichi agreed. "Everyone will probably head to the Hokage Tower but we can meet up with him on the way and see if he wants anyone else present."

Naruto catalogued the chakra signatures around them, frowning as he cast a wider net. It wasn't there. He had felt Orochimaru fleeing the village at one point, his chakra much weaker than it usually was, so he knew the Hokage had beaten him. He shrugged Hayate off and started running towards the last place he'd felt the man. The barrier was gone; the four signatures that maintained it had left with Orochimaru.

"Naruto?"

He finally came to the dais and his heart sank at the sight of the fragile body lying on the ground. He was already surrounded by ANBU and jounin as Naruto pushed his way through, the sight not sinking in no matter how much it burned into his retinas. He didn't even notice the presence of Kakashi and Genma nearby.

"Jiji?" He whispered.

He had never seen the man look so thin and frail. Wrinkles were etched deeply into every line of his face and liver spots climbed up his leathery skin until they were hidden by the remains of his Hokage robes. His eyes were closed and his face was slack, as if he was sleeping. He was so pale and as Naruto reached out to touch his hand, it was cold.

Naruto and the Hokage had their differences. Their relationship had never recovered from the aftermath of the Uchiha massacre and the deeper Naruto dug into Konoha's history and dealings the less he'd wanted to repair it. He knew the fallacies and hubris of the man and this had led to more than one disagreement. Naruto had ended up trying to avoid him in the end. They hadn't been close since he was eleven.

But there was the tiniest part of him, hidden in a place he didn't know existed, that was ripped from him the moment he couldn't feel the man's chakra. The Sandaime was supposed to last forever; he was always supposed to be there, just like he'd always been. It hadn't even occurred to him that Orochimaru would beat him, that even someone like him could have need help.

A drop of water fell onto the Hokage's cold hand and Naruto blinked, sending another tear falling. He brushed it away abruptly and stood, taking a deep breath. The Hokage was gone; that meant they had to pull the village together themselves. He turned to Tora, her mask unreadable but Naruto read the grief in every inch of her posture.

"Please protect his body until either the funeral or the Commander gives you a new order."

She nodded once, signalling her team to converge on their position. Naruto looked towards Inoichi and Hayate, both pale and unmoving.

"We need to go to the Hokage Tower," Naruto forced his tone to be neutral. "We need to tell them what happened."

Inoichi shook himself out of it but Hayate's eyes were latched onto the pale form of their former leader.

"Hayate, go help secure the village perimeter," he said firmly, finally drawing the man's dark eyes towards him. "Don't say anything before the official announcement."

He glanced back at the body.

"Although I'm sure a lot would have heard by now," he trailed off quietly.

It took a minute to tear his own eyes away but he eventually did, following Inoichi away from the stadium.


Rio tipped his head back against the cool rock, taking one breath after another. He knew there were still civilians out there but he couldn't move. He'd reached his limit. Sasuke on his left was quieter than usual and Rio suspected he may have fallen asleep; Sakura was fighting back tears next to him and he emphasised heavily. If he had anything left in his body, he would probably join her.

"It looks like my cute little genin worked super hard."

Rio's head snapped up with energy he didn't know he had. Kashi stood a few feet in front of them and he frowned at the tears and blood stains that were littered across his uniform. His mask and hitai-ate were snugly in place and his posture was as slumped and relaxed as it always was.

Rio supposed that the sight of something so normal could be comforting. As it was, the sight of his godfather finally tipped the balance, a reserve he did know was there opened, and the tears began to fall. He was quickly wrapped in warm arms and it took a second to realise what was happening. Kashi was hugging them; Kashi never hugged them. Kashi wasn't a touchy person in general and Rio was cool with that. He respected his godfather's space. This was kind of nice.

"I'm so proud of you," Kashi murmured beneath his breath, muffled slightly by his mask.

Rio grasped onto his jounin vest and sank his head into the man's shoulder, quieting his sobs. There was a sense of embarrassment at the tears but he couldn't stop them now if he tried. He was a shinobi; he was trained to deal with death and blood and violence.

Things were somehow different when it was his home. There were going to be people he saw every day that he would never see again. There were going to be shops and paths and buildings he would forget. There was just a sense of loss that he didn't know how to deal with. He'd never lost anyone before, no one he actually knew.

Maybe he was just tired. He couldn't even begin to think that the preliminary round had been just this morning. It felt like a lifetime ago.

"You can rest now," Kashi gave them one last squeeze before he let go, still crouching in front of them. "Leave the rest to the adults, okay?"

On any normal day, Rio would be furious to be dismissed like this. Nii-san had been involved when he was Rio's age, why should it be any different for him? He was technically an adult. Right now though, he couldn't find it in himself to be anything but grateful.


Naruto crossed his arms as he waited next to Tsume, the last of the members finally making it to the meeting room. He and Inoichi had been one of the later ones to arrive and every second felt like it was dragging on. He could feel them coming and he just wanted them to go faster.

Shikaku and the ANBU Commander were in deep discussion at the front of the room, their heads bowed together. Inoichi had migrated towards Choza on the opposite side of the room whereas Naruto found himself standing with Tsume and Shiba. Hiashi stood off by himself in one corner and a representative of the hospital, Kusushi, peered from behind his glasses to examine the room. Naruto kept one eye on the man; his large beige overcoat could hide anything and Naruto wasn't about to be surprised again. Ushijima from the Registry department sent him a nod while in stark contrast Jiraiya in the other corner wouldn't meet his eye. Naruto was there as the head representative of the Mission Assignment Desk.

The head of the Police finally made it and Shikaku turned to them, every inch of the Jounin Commander and the Right Hand of the Hokage. His characteristic laziness was absent; Naruto wasn't sure he liked it no matter how many times he'd complained about getting stuck with the man's work.

"I'm sure you've all heard about Hokage-sama," he began abruptly. "Until the next Hokage is selected, we need to make do and support the village as best we can. We cannot afford to wait."

"We need a headcount," Kusushi began, stepping forward. "We are dealing with the current influx of patients and we can compile a list but I'm sure there are still many missing."

"We also need to get a head count specifically for the shinobi forces," Naruto added. "I can't assign and arrange missions until I know if they're available for them or not."

"So the first order of business is finishing up the search," Shikaku nodded. "Tsume, Shiba, Hiashi, you need to mobilise your clans. You have the best skill sets for finding people. The Nara will head to the hospital and provide herbs and supplies; Choza, set up a refugee area for people that have lost their homes at the Hokage Mountain and provide them with meals, blankets, anything you can. Inoichi, I need you to coordinate with the Barrier team and get Konoha secure again; send the rest of your clan to help the Akimichi."

"Jiraiya can help with that," Naruto added, ignoring the look from the Sannin. "He can use fūinjutsu to aid the Barrier team."

"Wouldn't you be better for that?" Jiraiya said with his large frame sagging. He was much quieter than usual, his larger than life personality almost completely absent.

"I'm going to help the search teams," he replied shortly. "I can sense survivors."

"Are you also the one who ordered that we should let the Suna shinobi go?" The head of the Police piped up, his brown eyes narrowed.

"Yes, I did." Naruto crossed his arms. "Do you have a problem with that, Ogawa-san?"

"They attacked our village!"

"They did," Naruto nodded. "And there will be repercussions for it that I'm sure Suna will agree to without a fight. They've just lost their Kazekage, after all."

"Naruto," Shikaku reprimanded.

"I'll explain it at an official meeting," Naruto waved it off. "Right now, we've got bigger problems. Ogawa-san, you need to patrol and make sure there are no looters taking advantage of the situation."

"I don't need you telling me how to do my job," Ogawa snapped.

Naruto rolled his eyes. He was one of the ones who decided that Ogawa should have the job. He was an excellent police chief but he could still be a little sensitive. He was a stocky man who hadn't quite managed to get past chunin but since the police only dealt with civilians it hadn't mattered much. The ANBU handled any errant shinobi. With his buzz cut and permanent scowl he wasn't the most approachable but Naruto had heard nothing but praise from Ogawa's subordinates.

"Enough." The ANBU Commander stepped forward. "Ogawa, just do it. The ANBU will round up the remaining Oto nin for interrogation. We will also provide security in case anyone decides to take advantage of our weak state."

"Once we have the final lists of dead and wounded, my team and I will update the Registry and the rest of the departments. We will also work with Communications to notify the families and Public Relations will start planning the funeral," Ushijima stated calmly, unaffected by the tension in the air.

He'd always been the stoic sort.

"I'll start organising missions once the Registry gives me the go ahead," Naruto nodded. "We'll need rebuilding, clean up, civilian support and external missions just to start with. Once the rebuilding and cleaning progresses a bit, we can look at expanding our missions to more normal operations."

"What about the dead Oto and Suna nin?" Choza spoke up.

"We don't have the room in the morgue," Kusuchi pointed out. "They're going to become a health hazard."

"We can burn them," Hiashi spoke up for the first time.

"Yes to the Oto nin, but we shouldn't desecrate the Suna shinobi," Naruto insisted, drawing all eyes back to him. "We need to give them back."

"What is with you and Suna?" Ogawa exploded. "Are you a traitor to sympathise with them so much?"

"That is enough, Ogawa!"

Naruto looked at Inoichi in surprise.

"Naruto has done more for this village than any one of us could hope to know!" The Yamanaka thundered. "He's the one who put you in your position! He's never once let this village down! The opposite cannot be said of us!"

There was a long moment of silence after his outburst.

"Yamanaka is right," the ANBU Commander said evenly. "He has been training my forces for five years and I would trust him with my life."

Naruto wasn't sure how to react to this. He'd never seen the man's face; he was always wearing a mask. He didn't even speak to him much; twice a year at the most and never for very long. He didn't know what he'd done to earn it.

"Naruto's loyalty was never in question," Shikaku said sharply, casting a glance his way. "Do you have anything further to say?"

"I…I have storage scrolls, designed for carrying bodies," he started hesitantly. "They're a modification on the bounty hunter scrolls. I say we should store the Suna shinobi and hand the scrolls over during the negotiation for the new peace treaty."

"We'll go with that for now," Shikaku nodded. "We can always change it later. Distribute them to the Clan Heads in charge of searching. For the Oto nin, see if they match the Bingo book or can be identified then take them outside the walls. Non-clan chunin can handle it; find ones that know doton to dig the pit."

"Non-clan jounin can start taking missions once the headcount is finished," Hiashi added. "We need the funds to rebuild and we can't let other villages know that we're weakened."

"Naruto and I will handle that when it comes," Shikaku nodded.

"The genin should get a break," Tsume pointed out. "The pups are bound to be exhausted and this has been a lot for them. They can rejoin when Naruto starts assigning missions."

"I'm with Tsume on this," Inoichi agreed. "We have enough personnel that we can spare them for a few hours."

"Okay, is there any other business?"

"For the search teams, the triage centre is just outside Konoha Hospital. We ran out of room in the emergency department so speak to the medics wearing a black and red band around their arm. They'll tell you where the patient is going," Kusuchi spoke up.

Shikaku nodded.

"Good luck out there," he said, his stiff frame finally softening. "You can all handle the shift patterns with your respective groups. They've all been through a lot; we need to make sure we don't push some of them over the edge."

"There are going to be so many psychological evaluations after all of this," Inoichi commented, Choza patting his shoulder sympathetically.

"Let's hope that's our biggest problem," the Nara said tiredly as the rest of them filtered out of the room. "Wait, Naruto."

Naruto stopped, calling after the Clan Heads that he will deliver the scrolls immediately. The ANBU Commander had just vanished. He turned to face the man as the door shut on the final person.


"What happened?"

Naruto knew what the man was asking about it. He considered feigning ignorance for a brief moment before his entire being sagged. He couldn't fool a Nara.

"Yakushi Kabuto drugged me and hid me in an abandoned storeroom in the hospital somewhere," he admitted reluctantly. "By the time I woke up, Orochimaru had already made his move and the genjutsu had been cast. I fucked it."

"Naruto." Shikaku walked over to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "No one could have known about Kabuto. That kid has been hanging around the hospital since he came to Konoha as a child."

"I should have known!" Naruto harshly brushed Shikaku's hand off his shoulder. "Fucking hell, Shikaku, Orochimaru kidnapped and tortured me just so he could get into Konoha! I was the last line of defence and I failed!"

"Maybe that's on us for depending on you so much," Shikaku sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Naruto, your sensing ability is one of the most powerful things Konoha has seen for years but it's not invincible. You are not all-knowing as much as everyone thinks otherwise and your sensing is not all-powerful. Everything has its weakness."

"I know!" Naruto yelled. "That's the problem!"

His chest heaved as the words tried to unjumble themselves in his head.

"Kabuto didn't use chakra," he said quietly. "That's why I didn't sense it coming. He just used a syringe."

Before Shikaku could speak, he barged onwards.

"You know what I learned from being stuck with anti-chakra seals?" he chuckled weakly. "I've grown so dependent on my sensing abilities that I have no physical awareness without them. My sight, hearing, smell, even my sense of touch are all weaker than they should be and without my sensing, I'm no better than a genin."

He threw his hands up and started to pace.

"I mean you've seen it! Everyone has! It's like I'm not even looking at you half the time! Kazuya likes to describe it as if I'm looking at something only I can see and the worst part is that I can't tell you when I'm doing it! I have no idea anymore! I can't even switch it off! I don't think I would even if I had the option!"

His steps quickened with the pace of his words.

"Don't get me wrong, ninety percent of the time it works for me, you know? Orochimaru himself won't even chance it! I'm a one-man deterrent for Konoha's enemies."

"So what's the problem?"

At Shikaku's simple question, Naruto stopped short.

"I don't know," he said quietly.

His thoughts were so mixed up. He didn't know what his point was. He didn't know how to feel. He hadn't had time to think. He'd been kidnapped, then had Orochimaru to deal with, then Kazuya to worry about, then this whole attack, now he had to find survivors and organise missions and make sure the kids are okay and-

"Naruto!"

He looked up into his friend's eyes, Shikaku's dark eyes shining with worry. He gradually became aware of his heaving chest and the tears pricking the edge of his vision. Fuck, he didn't have time to panic.

"Kid, I think you should get some rest. You were discharged from the hospital only this morning." His grip on Naruto's shoulder tightened. "Everyone would understand. "

Naruto looked back dully. Would he even be able to sleep?

"I'm fine, Shikaku," he gently brushed off the Nara. "I'm just stressed, like everyone else probably. I can do my job."

"What's going on with you, Naruto?"

"It's not important," he sighed, taking a step back from Shikaku. "I need to get those scrolls to the teams and help the search."

He ignored Shikaku's calls behind him.


The teams worked into the early morning and the body count continued to rise until they finished at noon the next day.

Sixty-seven Oto nin were thrown into a deep pit five hundred metres from Konoha's walls. Ten chunin with katon took six hours to completely burn away the remains and the pit was closed over until it looked like it had never been there at all. A small engraved stone was placed on the ground as a reminder as to what happened there.

Thirteen Suna nin were placed into scrolls and they were stored in the Communications department until such a time as that Konoha could make contact with Suna and broach the topic of a new peace treaty.

Seventy-four Konoha civilians died that day and the last body found was that of Hagane Tenjirou. The bodies were returned to the mourning families and the funeral was held the same day as the one for the shinobi, the second day after the attack. It was well attended by the remaining citizens. There was a chill in the air that was not normally present in early August. Their names would not be placed on the Memorial Stone but they would be commemorated and listed on a board at the entrance of the Hokage Tower and administrative offices so that all who entered would see their names and be reminded of what happened that day.

Nine Konoha shinobi were killed, including two jounin, four chunin, two genin and the Sandaime Hokage. They were placed in a scroll and given back to the families for a proper burial. The funeral was held the second day after the attack on the roof of the Hokage Tower, amidst a drizzle that darkened the sky and cast a shadow over the village. A massive white blanket was set out and the pictures of the fallen were propped up in a line with the Sandaime's elevated on a stand covered by a forest green blanket. All shinobi not on duty or confined to the hospital attended, and soon the white blanket was covered in white lilies as they each laid down one for their fallen leader and comrades. The sea of black varied in size throughout the day as shinobi came off shift and came to pay their respects. The names of the nine would be engraved onto the Memorial stone in the days following the funeral.


Fūton: Kazekiri no jutsu – Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique
Shindenshin no jutsu – Mind Transmission Technique

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