Chapter 5: Of Rumors

A/N (REUPLOAD): *Hopefully fanfiction is working so that you guys can see this chapter, seems there was a site glitch going on when I first uploaded this that wasn't letting everyone see this chapter. Also I'm going to cross-post my stories on AO3 (Archive Of Our Own) even though I've held off on using that site for years (too many zany tags to me lol), but I know this won't be the last time fanfiction messes up for some reason and I want to be able to post to a wide range of readers if this chapter glitch happens again.

Anyways, I'm uploading it again now in case anyone missed it the first time I posted it with some edited changes. I figured I use the time to re-read through it and fix/add some things based on suggestions and post again once fanfiction got their act together to allow people to see new chapters again.*

Naruto

"So you brought your lover along, huh? A Hyuga too, well known for their clan's visionary capabilities. Love and death go hand in hand though, you know that right?" Madara questions.

'Madara' or whatever the hell his real name is doesn't look like he actually wants to attack him, more like just pass along news.

Or maybe just be fucking annoying.

"You're on the hunt for Sasuke Uchiha, correct? I can tell you right now you're wasting your time and breath searching for him. He's already learned the truth about Konoha, about what has been done to his clan for the sake of so called 'peace'. He'll be back for his revenge on the village after he takes care of some prior business." He explains.

Naruto's eyes narrows. He's being specifically vague on what exactly this 'business' he has to take care of is.

"Consider this merely a warning for now. Not just that Sasuke can't be saved, but that you'll be kidnapped soon enough like the rest of your fellow jinchuriki. Your beast will be extracted and then we'll toss your body away." Madara relates.

And then he's gone in a flurry of wind.

Quickly Naruto turns back to bed only to see Hinata no longer there, form of her apparent sleeping clone disappearing in a puff of smoke. The outline of her figure instead resides in the shadows just by the window, opalescent eyes gazing sharply into the darkness. The area is still now though, only the white of the moon washing over the few trees and rocks visible on the landscape.

"Who was that?" She murmurs out when neither can sense his chakra signature any longer.

Naruto pauses, waiting for the restlessness of his heart to slow. To concentrate.

"He goes by Madara Uchiha, but that could be an alias." He eventually responds.

"You knew this was coming, you didn't need his warning. I can find him faster than you ever will, let me take over and end this chase for good." Kurama scoffs.

Kurama saying that just reignites the sensation of his chest being on fire, sweat beading at his forehead down to his neck. The room grows blurry as he feels his skin grow prickly and hot, clenching his teeth. How is he supposed to stop Sasuke at this point? Stop war from erupting between the nations all over again?

Stop more deaths from happening?

He hears Hinata's footsteps approaching, pearl orbs steadily resting on his figure. She moves to sit back against the edge of the bed, taking his trembling hands in her own.

"Naruto, focus on my voice. Breathe. You're okay." She instructs him.

'In and Out. In and Out.' He copies her pattern.

"This isn't just for you to hear Naruto. Kurama, I sense you want to rush into the situation, though that is just going to get Naruto killed and you captured. I know...I know you and Naruto aren't on the best terms nor have you probably been on good terms with any human you have been sealed into over the years, but Naruto wants what's best for you. You could truly strengthen each other working together." Hinata relates.

"No matter how much she knows on my history, it won't change the fact we can't be friends. In fact, YOU should be against Konoha as well after how so many of it's people have treated you all these years. They only have recently changed their opinions of you after saving the village from further destruction." Kurama mentions after a long pause.

"It's not impossible for us to be friends, you know! I just as much as you want to get rid of the Akatsuki and all my enemies; I'm not wasting time dwelling on the past like you. We should pay attention to the same goals we share." Naruto reiterates.

This is the second time Hinata has helped him forge a proper conversation with Kurama much to his surprise (and probable frustration), it's made the fox beast at least wonder about alternatives besides using another path of bloodshed and violence.

And really, he's sure Kurama is tired of having to go down such a path. Together they could be an unstoppable force and he's sure deep down Kurama must sense this too.

"One day you and I are going to truly team up." Naruto declares.

"...You're so sure of that, unlike my past jailers who only wanted me for power." Kurama eventually considers.

And unlike them as well, none of his comments have truly stuck, dissuaded Naruto from changing his opinion of him. He no longer sees him as just a beast, a first for him.

Maybe that is what makes him pester Naruto so much wanting him to see reality, and yet still he hasn't broken him.

Perhaps he truly needs to start hearing him out...

"Thanks." Naruto croaks out when the panic attack resolves, forcing on a smile despite how queasy he still feels.

"The...The last time I felt overwhelmed like this was when I nearly broke the seal on Kurama. It was my Dad who came to me then before I gave in; a final fail safe measure for the moment I felt like completely giving in to rage." He remarks.

Hinata nods at him to go on, settling back against the sheets and Naruto follows suit, lavender to blue watching each other.

"I did a bit of research on him as well, or I should say what I read what I managed to find that wasn't locked away. Your Father did a lot for the village and even in death managed to help you." She smiles.

Naruto shrugs, unable to hide a snort. The first thing he did when he saw his Dad was punch him straight in the gut, anger and upset blended together that he is the reason Kurama is within him.

"Heh, well believes in me, you know! Despite not watching me grow up, he trusts that I can help restore peace between the nations eventually. I wish...I wish he had told Old Man Third or even Kakashi-sensei to watch over me just a bit more in the event of his death though. Keeping his and Mom's identities a secret, nobody to talk to on basic childhood lessons, those nights alone..." He trails off.

'Why am I telling her this?' Naruto frowns, realizing he's started blabbering about nonsensical things.

Hinata rolls over close to him, enough for him to smell the vanilla and blossom of her lotions and he feels his stomach flip. "You carry so many burdens on yourself Naruto when you don't need to, your past doesn't define your future no matter what others may say or think of you still."

Her expression hardens, pushing herself to continue.

"And in another time I would've been bolder, as it stands I was too afraid of disobeying Father, of finding the right words to say to you without going completely red or fumbling over my words..."

Naruto grins cheekily despite the seriousness of this conversation, propping his head up on his hand. "Well, you still turn red; that hasn't changed!"

Hinata wrinkles her nose, squirming as she averts her eyes. "N-No, I don't! At least not as much!"

He reaches out a hand before Hinata shuffles away, pulling her towards him. "We should really get back to sleep."

Already he feels just a bit better, glad Hinata doesn't seem to mind his ramblings.

'If Hinata had tried to talk to me back then, I probably would've just been confused as to why. Or maybe thought she had an ulterior motive.'

Anyways, none of this is really important right now, is it? But then thinking of his late Father truly being the Fourth Hokage, of Kurama's earlier words in regards to the village...

As much as he's tried to, he can't completely erase these memories. Strangers who once frowned upon him now smiling at him from ear to ear isn't the easiest thing to just put aside. Their trust is foreign and really he can't be sure if this trust in him will last if they knew about his crueler thoughts...

'You're our hero now! You saved us!'

Hinata's breathing evens out against him and he forces himself to shut his eyes.

There's still the Akatsuki, Sasuke, these knots in his chest having Hinata so comfortably near him like this...

'Stop worrying about it!' He reprimands himself.

But the same one thought circles a final time before he's able to bury it once more.

'People you trusted lied, kept secrets from you to find out on your own.'

And Naruto grits his teeth, hearing Kurama's faint snicker before he can fully drift off.

It is only the reminder that he isn't afraid of him, that things aren't as bleak between them or for the future that finally gets him to quiet.

-X-

Hinata

It's cloudy when they awaken, gray going on for miles blotting out the sun. Naruto is surprisingly up before her, casually slurping at a bowl of ramen while clicking through Kumo's morning news.

"There isn't much even for these stations to report on besides the weather and the Raikage leaving for the summit you know." Naruto mentions as Hinata joins him at the table following his gaze outside.

It doesn't smell of rain, but she senses storms will arrive later in the day hopefully after they've already left.

Yamato greets them for a proper breakfast and the Inn's lounge, coffee in hand already half finished. If he didn't get much sleep either, it isn't obvious from his typical flat expression.

"They're heading for the Land of Iron." He mutters once they've all gotten their selected orders.

"Where's that?" Naruto questions, stirring absently at his tea while eying Hinata. They went in and out of sleep, talking about their families, their fears, old secrets/stories, and really their ultimate goals for the future...

Night seems like the only time they have to themselves to discuss such things before the reality of daylight sets in.

"An icy/snowy country composed mainly of samurai rather than the shinobi lifestyle. It makes sense to use their country as meeting location given their neutral stance on affairs that affect the rest of the nations more than them." Yamato explains.

Naruto nods, moving to take a long sip of his drink now.

"I don't believe at this point I'll be able to change the Raikage's mind based upon what we've learned so far from Sasuke's actions. Though, I'm wondering if we can come to a compromise that wouldn't have to result in his death." He thinks aloud after a moment.

Yamato arches a brow, peering over to Hinata on what to make of that. "I don't understand; Sasuke is a danger not only to those who try to cross him, but to you as well. He won't hesitate to kill on you on sight if you try to get in his way. In fact, it seems like he's helping the Akatsuki in their goals."

Hinata purses her lips, not letting her own thoughts fall into the air at seeing Naruto's clenched hands.

Sasuke doesn't want to be saved, Naruto will just have to witness that for himself...

"Sasuke dying isn't exactly going to solve anything either. People will be after his Sharingan dead or alive." Naruto points out.

But he knows what Yamato means, none of his usual tactics are going to work this time.

"We should focus for now on this apparent upcoming summit in the Land of Iron. Each Kage from every nation will be there and there's a good chance based on the pieces of gossip we've picked up that Sasuke will be waiting somewhere in the shadows as well. While we ourselves weren't invited, this is a good way to connect with them on their plans for dealing with the Akatsuki as well as hopefully prevent further international crises from breaking out." Hinata relates, wanting to switch to a safer subject.

Yamato polishes off the rest of his coffee and eggs, nodding his agreement.

"Let's meet at the center square in 30 minutes. Finish up breakfast and then check out of the hotel; make sure nobody is tracking you before you head out." He instructs.

Naruto picks with the remnants of toast on his plate, brown to black crumbs a stark contrast to the white of the plate. She doubted anyone was going to take them seriously at the Summit, especially not if Sasuke attempted a direct attack in the middle of it.

"What else can I do Hinata?" Naruto murmurs, cobalt eyes focused on his slowly disintegrating bread.

He himself is a jinchuriki after all, and being one in of itself is part of the reason this meeting is even occurring.

And right now as far as he knows, capturing him next is the Akatsuki's primary objective.

"Do what you do best Naruto; don't give up." Hinata states softly and this at least brings a small grin to his lips.

Housekeeping is already nearing their door as they walk down the hall, not missing the long stare she gives Naruto in particular. Even with the transformation jutsu in place he can't help but stick out from his posture to his unabashed way of speaking.

Amber eyes fall to her when she realizes she's been caught staring, nodding in Naruto's direction. "Your Husband?"

Hinata blinks, shaking her head quickly before she feels any warmth against her cheeks. "No, just traveling together."

There's no need to give her any details beyond that.

If anything, she could be a disguised shinobi too.

And it doesn't look like she fully believes her anyways from the way she studies her oddly. She shifts from foot to foot before moving to fold at her clean linens and towels absently to give her hands something to do.

"Oh, sorry for the assumption. It was the way he looked at you in the dining hall earlier that made me think you were another passing by honeymooners. We get them more often at this time of year that want to see a different terrain from their homes, how the thunderstorms look at night to the rolling clouds at sunrise. Though I suppose if you're coming from the mountains you've seen all the sights here plenty of times before." She reasons.

Hinata simply nods politely, maneuvering past her service cart. Her gaze burns at her back, curiosity and suspicion swirling about her demeanor. The sooner they get out of Kumo's territory, the better.

It isn't until she's back safely behind the locked door of their room does the weight of her words abruptly sink in, heartbeat drumming in her ears.

'What look?'

-X-

Sakura

"Why did you tell her?!" Sakura hisses, gritting her teeth not to curse. She jabs her fist into the nearest tree, crumpling it into a mess of cracked branches and leaves.

As soon as she tells Kakashi-sensei about her plans, he runs and blabs it to Lady Tsunade and Shizune!

"Lady Tsunade only woke up a few days ago, you're putting extra stress on her body when it's still in recovery mode!" She goes on, scowling at Kakashi's lack of a response. She can easily picture her master's expression of anger and exhaustion, guilt seeping in that she is now part of the reason it will take her body longer to heal worrying over her.

And amid that there is probably disappointment too, that she didn't trust her enough to come to her about this choice she was going to make...

'She would've talked me out of it.' Sakura knows.

The beginnings of a cold breeze gently tickling her face reminds her to calm down, that there is no use lamenting or complaining about what has already been done. Orange to scarlet leaves crunch underneath her feet, still fresh with the dew of the night. Konoha's streets will soon be filled with the markets opening in just a little over an hour, nerves tingling that they head out already.

"You're her only student and this mission will involve causalities at some point or another. It wouldn't be right to leave her in the dark. You still consider her the acting Hokage, correct?" Kakashi finally voices.

"Of course! No matter what Danzo may say, he is not officially the 6th Hokage to me!" She spits, lowering her voice as it echoes against the trees.

That man had spies around every corner, daring anyone to question his new authority or talk out against the many supposed grand policies he wants to implement that will mark Konoha's strength to the other nations...

In her opinion, he was going to plummet Konoha into even further disarray if he got his way.

Kakashi nods and she follows his gaze beyond the mountain ranges. " I received the update from Yamato shortly before coming here. Team Samui is heading for the Land of Iron, that is where the Summit is being held."

Sakura takes in a slow breath then, enjoying this last final scent of the woods, of these thickets of grass and wildflowers...

Of home.

"Ready?" Kakashi asks not that he even needs to seeing her forge ahead.

They don't take a break until the sun fully disappears into a blanket of gray, air much more blustery and freezing.

At some point it started snowing.

"Let's stop for lunch." Kakashi advises and she follows his lead to the treetops.

In the far distance she sees the jagged teeth of the 3 wolves, they've gone so far but it seems so minuscule now knowing it will take a day or more to truly reach the mountain pass.

The summit will already have began by then.

"How do you want to proceed Sakura?" Kakashi questions, somehow still able to eat at his sandwich and ration pill without removing his mask (or at least not when she's looking).

Sakura pauses, mulling over her next words carefully. For too long her heart has been the one to dictate her actions first before her mind can have a say. It has led her into danger too many times, only Kakashi-sensei is here with her now if plans go awry...

And while she is glad for the moments her heart has led her to give comfort to a man on his dying breaths or to a child nervous about a surgery that will save an infected limb, her heart won't get to call the shots this time.

"The way we should go about this is slowly and methodically. Based on all that we know right now, we can come to the conclusion Sasuke isn't working alone. As strong as he may be, taking on a jinchuriki along with chunin to jounin level shinobi that were working to prevent him from taking the Eight Tails isn't something he could've managed alone." She reasons.

Kakashi nods his agreement to this all, gesturing for her to continue.

She gathers a bundle of leaves then for an impromptu demonstration, they are mainly frozen and laden with snow but they will prove her point anyways.

"An important factor to any team is trust, trust that can be easily broken." Sakura explains, taking one of the frozen leaves to another jabbing the icy point in until it crumbles in her hands.

"Sasuke at this point will go to any lengths necessary to exact his vendettas. I'm sure he wouldn't hesitate to betray anyone of his teammates if the opportunity arose to get more power or get him closer to these goals of his." She finishes, verdant eyes resting again on obsidian.

Sakura crushes at the remaining leaves, letting the wind carry them back into the forests or to the icy tundra below.

"You want to burn his bridges and connections right under his nose so to speak." Kakashi muses and Sakura feels a small grin etch her lips.

"Metaphorically speaking yes, that's one way to put it." Sakura hums.

It's the earliest action they must take, shake the foundation of Sasuke's leadership and influence on others.

The roar of the wind abruptly grows louder, whistling and scattering up snow to leaves and Kakashi gives her their old hand signal from their days as Team 7.

'Someone's approaching.' She knows.

And in a sharp contrast to all the whites and greys surrounding them she sees hair a startling crimson red leaping through the trees just to the left of them. Their attire matches with the symbol of the Akatsuki she's sure, watching them through the opening in the branches before taking cover.

"Hurry up, Sasuke is going to be pissed if this stupid Kage meeting or whatever is over by the time we get there!" She yells to someone behind her.

'A woman's voice.' Sakura notes.

Before her heart can whisper or jump to any conclusions it is silenced, nodding to Kakashi.

They've just found their first lead.

-X-

Naruto & Hinata

"Do you recognize of any of those people Yamato-sensei?" Naruto questions, voice nearly swallowed up by the rapid gusts of wind. Almost just as he had gotten the urge to somehow impede the Raikage from attending this meeting, from declaring Sasuke be officially made a wanted criminal, did he bite back the decision.

"I'm ready to get this over with! Justice will be served for what that Uchiha did!" A growls as he announces himself to the guards before they let him pass.

"Never look weak in front of your peers young or old. No matter your position or stance in life don't beg, Sasuke wouldn't do the same for you." Kurama sneers.

It's strange to actually consider Kurama's advice feasible in this situation.

Weakness, especially in view of all the Kage will make him only look the fool.

"You're right, see there are things we can agree on!" Naruto chuckles.

"Besides each Kage representing their village, I know a few of their advisors on standby yes." Yamato murmurs back answering his earlier question and putting him back to their current situation at hand.

Hinata meanwhile keeps her gaze focused on the Mizukage's bodyguard, specifically to his eyepatch as old stories bubble to life she's heard whispered and repeated through both the main and branch families of a man from Kiri who holds their clan's dojutsu within his right eye...

A knot settles in her throat, there is no proof yet this is the same man from said stories but he matches to the descriptions given of him.

'Ao.' That was his name.

The Iron guards stand perched at the main entrance stoically as each Kage goes in one by one, this vantage point they currently have is about as far as they're going to get without giving away their location.

It is only once the gates slam shut behind all of them does Hinata perk up, activating her byakugan.

"There's someone closing in fast from the right." She whispers urgently and Naruto follows her line of sight quickly, electricity pulses through the air and it becomes clear to them both Sasuke is near.

Sure enough his raven black hair comes into view, disposing of the first guard that questions his business in the area. Naruto stiffens, watching as the second guard falls easily to his chidori despite doing his best to evade it.

'He didn't even hesitate to kill them when he could've easily put them in a genjutsu to stop them.' Naruto frowns, gut coiling as if he was the one who had just been stabbed.

Hinata purses her lips though doesn't look away from the grisly sight. Instead she burns into her memory, that she and Naruto as much as they want to can't save everyone.

"We're not going to engage when we don't know whose with him yet." Yamato warns seeing Naruto move to stand, but he brushes him off with a single glare.

"No, we shouldn't just stand by and continue to watch him murder innocent people! As much as I dislike it, the Raikage has a point that Sasuke can only be stopped through force right now!" Naruto snaps in return.

Yamato produces a blockade of wood before he can leap down, dark eyes hard and impatient at his stubbornness. "This isn't a matter to argue on! Lives are going to be lost, any shinobi or officer knows the risks involved when they choose to go into these fields! Not only that, my job is to protect you from making any rash decisions!"

Hinata grips at his shoulder, pulling him back as well. "We don't want to draw so much attention to ourselves just yet either Naruto! Danzo is within those walls too and I'm sure he is still under the impression you're in Konoha and not just a few feet away while-"

The rest of what she wants to say gets stuck on her lips, a burst of fire shooting right by them skimming her shoulder and she winces at the sight of scarlet quickly staining at her cloak.

"...What was that?" Naruto breathes out in shock, assessing her arm for any other injuries.

He eases her down back into the brush more out of sight and Hinata watches as his eyes soon mirror the red of her blood.

Sasuke attacked them...

Attacked Hinata.

"I'm fine! This is a minor injury I can heal." Hinata mentions, burn already healing up at her use of medical ninjutsu.

Still, she can see the blue of Naruto's eyes completely washing away to a total crimson as his nails and teeth become more pronounced. Vicious.

"I'll handle this." He states, tone deeper and sharper than she's ever heard before.

"I thought I killed all these Iron guards." Sasuke mutters, hands crackling now with electricity about to set the entire tree aflame until Naruto abruptly jumps down to greet him properly. Confusion and surprise flicker in his expression before his own features fill with malice to match Naruto's own.

"You didn't." Naruto voices to his earlier statement, Kurama's voice booming in his ears blocking out everything else.

"Ready to make good on that promise you mentioned earlier of teamwork?" Kurama questions.

Now is the perfect opportunity for them to put to the test if they can truly work together.

"We can make him pay."

-x-

Hello November! My doctor adjusted my medications, so I felt well enough to write this week granted I feel like this chapter is a bit on short end though I didn't want it to drag on nor did I want to go fully into the Kage's discussion of the Akatsuki since I'm altering things. I hope I better balanced out Kurama and Naruto's relationship so that it doesn't feel so dark and unbalanced going forward.

I feel pretty sure now what I want to do with Sasuke in terms of his characterization, but mainly I'm in this for creating more NaruHina interactions that are plausible throughout these arcs lol! Let me know your thoughts as always!

Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow!