Chapter 49
Tsume made her way toward the council room. She was a little tired because she had been doing patrols with members of her clan. She understood why but everyone was doing overtime, so she was a little cranky when an ANBU came to her and told her that she was requested. She just decided to get it over with so that she could get some sleep and check on her children. She remembered that Hana took Kiba to get a check up on his arms.
She entered the council room and noticed that it wasn't the full council. There was Shikaku, Choza and the elders.
"Am I early?" Tsume asked.
"No. Shikaku, Choza and yourself are the only ones that we need to speak to." Homaru said.
"Okay. So, why are we here?" she asked.
"As you know, we have upped the security due to the infiltration of two men. Those men were Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha." Koharu explained.
"The clan slayer? Was he after his brother?" Tsume asked.
"He was after Naruto." Homaru answered.
"What?" She asked, fully alert now. "Why is he after Naruto? Where is he?"
"Naruto was selected by Jiraiya for a mission. The two made contact with him but Jiraiya was able to keep him safe. The two are continuing the mission. Naruto is fine and safe." he explained. Tsume was still concerned but she did trust Jiraiya more than she trusted Kakashi. She calmed herself down but Shikaku noticed something with the elders.
"That's not all, is it." he asked. Tsume and Choza looked at him and then at the elders. "It was brief, but I did see Might Guy dragging a restrained Sasuke through the gates. Why was that?" The two let out a sigh before looking at the three.
"Sasuke is being held in prison until his trail. Not only did he go AWOL, but he is being charged with attempted murder." Koharu said.
"Attempted murder against Itachi?" Choza asked confused. The two did not answer him but the look they gave him said volumes. It didn't take long for Shikaku to figure it out and hoped that Tsume did not. However, after a short while Tsume did get it. She realized that Sasuke left the village to chase his brother for revenge, something he would have never achieved at his level. She also knew that Sasuke would have been pissed that Itachi was focused on Naruto rather than him. Knowing how much Naruto has shredded his pride,
Tsume spun around and began to stomp out of the room only to freeze up. She couldn't move and she knew why.
"Let me go Shikaku." Tsume demanded seriously.
"Tsume, you need to calm down." Shikaku said.
"The hell with that!" she exclaimed. "This boy has crossed a line and I will be the one to show him what consequences that brings!"
"If you do that, it will not change anything. The boy is already in jail and he will lose his forehead protector. Beating him up is unnecessary." he argued.
"It will make me feel better." Tsume snarled.
"Tsume," Koharu called out, getting her attention. "I know that you have no reason to trust us to do the right thing. However, we are just as upset that Sasuke would even attempt such a thing. We will not allow him to escape the consequences for this. We ask you to trust us to do this." Tsume was still pissed but the tone that she said those words with did calm him down. Seeing that, Shikaku released her. Tsume turned back to the elders. She narrowed her eyes at them.
"You promise me that he doesn't get away for these actions? I also want Kakashi to be punished as well. He knew the consequences if he didn't control his charge." Tsume said.
"He will be punished as well. We guarantee it Tsume." Homaru said. Tsume nodded and thanked the elders. She let out sigh of relief. She loved that blond like he was a member of her family, but he sure came with some baggage.
XXX
Sakura was happy today. She was about to do a solo examination today. It was something that she worked herself up for since she started coming to the hospital. She had learned a lot for the nurses and doctors who taught her. She was even considering learning for Io-sensei to become a combat medic. She still wanted to go out on missions and stuff. Either way it was time to focus up.
She entered the room where she was going to do the check-up when she was surprised at who she was checking on.
"Ino?" Sakura asked surprised. Ino was also surprised at who she was seeing. Sakura gave her a quick look over and saw that she was sporting some nasty bruises on her shins and fists. She looked back at Ino only to see that the blond was giving her a nasty look.
"What are you doing here?" Ino asked rudely. Sakura was really put off by the tone, but she calmed herself and acted professionally.
"I'm a volunteer here. I am here to give you your check-up before you see the doctor." Sakura explained.
"I refuse." Ino stated.
"Excuse me?" Sakura asked confused.
"I don't wish to be checked upon by you. I wish for another nurse, now." the blond said with an edge. Sakura was shocked by this and a little annoyed. She didn't understand why she was acting like this, but she had other duties. While Ino ruined her first solo exam, it would not be her last.
"Very well, I will inform the head nurse." Sakura said and turned to leave.
"Yeah, you do that." Ino spat. Sakura did not say anything and walked out of the examination room.
XXX
Sasuke sat in his cell, rage in his eyes. He so wanted to activate his Sharingan and leave this cell, but these damn cuffs cut off his chakra. He also noticed a seal on the ground and it only made him glare more. He didn't know what it did, but he knew that loser had something to do with it. Naruto Uzumaki was a name that Sasuke had grown to hate as of late.
Sasuke would never admit to anyone that he was jealous of Naruto. Naruto knew an art that he could not get his head around and it made the idiot strong. Not only that, he seems to get even stronger learning Sealing Jutsu, strength that he could have used. He had been personally trained by the village's top jonin and somehow, some way, that loser was able to keep up with him. It was infuriating to him and a hit to his pride.
Naruto would continue to shred his pride when he defeated him in front of the village. That loser had the nerve to defeat him, the last Uchiha. He should have been on his knees, begging him to stop hitting him. Then there was Gaara. He should have won against that monster. It didn't matter what he used; he should have won. Yet again, Naruto was the one to stop Gaara. Not him, Naruto!
Now that loser had Itachi's attention. Why him? Why was he so damn important?! It should be him that Itachi should have focused on. He was the avenger. His ambition was to avenge his clan and there was no way that Naruto was going to take that from him. So, in his mind, Naruto had to be removed. If he did it, then Itachi would focus on him. He was within his right to do what he needed to complete his ambition. He had no reason to feel any guilt in his actions. The village thought otherwise.
In theory, he should have kept quiet about his actions, but that scared bastard insulted him. He played with his anger over Naruto. This made him reveal his actions when he met up with them. The elders were not happy with him and placed him in this cell. They informed him that he was being charged with attempted murder and going AWOL. They promised that he would never wear the Leaf symbol again. As if he wanted to.
"So, this is the last Uchiha?" a voice said. Sasuke looked up to see an elder. However, this was not the same elder that put him in this cell. He had black, shaggy hair, and his right eye was bandaged. He also had an x-shaped scar on his chin. He wore a white shirt, with a dark grey robe over the top of it covering from his feet, to just over his right shoulder. His right arm was missing, and his left hand held a cane. "A shame that he could not live up to expectations."
"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke demanded.
"I do not give my name to future traitors." the elder said. Sasuke snarled and glared at the man.
"If you're here to give me another lecture, then you've wasted your time." Sasuke spat.
"I came to look at the rotten fruit that threatens to make our great tree sick. Despite our disagreements, Hiruzen made the right decision in nurturing our future. I refuse to allow his good work to be ruined by such a petty child. I will personally make sure that you are stripped of our symbol and thrown in the darkest of holes." he said before turning around and leaving, merging with the shadows of the prison. Sasuke just glared hard at the area the elder was standing. It's been a while since someone spoke to him like that. It was something he did not enjoy.
Sasuke did not care if he lost his symbol. He did not care about the Leaf Village anymore. The village was a crutch that was holding him back. All that training and talk of camaraderie meant nothing if did not give him the power to get vengeance. Avenging his clan was all that mattered, and the Hidden Leaf was not providing him with the power needed to achieve it. If this village wouldn't give him the power, then he would go to someone who can.
XXX
Sakura was checking on Asuma while Haku was checking on Kurenai. The two were still hospitalized but got good news that they would be leaving soon. Sakura took her fingers off Asuma vein and looked at him with a smile.
"You are getting back to full strength. I'm still surprised that your lungs are still very good, especially with all that smoking." Sakura said.
"Sarutobi trade secret." Asuma said sarcastically. Kurenai rolled her eyes at the joke. Haku had also finished his examination and faced the two.
"Well, you are both able to leave but the doctor still wants to observe you for another day." Haku said. This made Asuma groan and Kurenai smirked at his frustration. Sakura was also amused by their interaction and wondered if the two were dating. That's when Sakura remembered what happened earlier today and had a question for Asuma.
"Asuma-sensei is Ino angry at me or something?" she asked. The bearded jonin looked at her.
"Why are you asking?" he counter asked.
"Well, I was trying to give her a check-up today and she totally gave me attitude. She refused to allow me to check on her and she had some nasty injuries on her shins and fists. I don't know what I did because we haven't spoken to each other since we were assigned teams." Sakura explained. Asuma sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"It's nothing that you did Sakura. Ino is just being childish. Your battle with Hinata at the chunin finals was not something she expected to happen. She's very jealous of your growth." Asuma explained. Sakura was surprised by this explanation as was Kurenai. The female kunoichi was about to say something but they were interrupted by the doctor entering the room.
"Oh, Sakura, Haku, are you done with the check-ups?" the man asked.
"Yes doctor." the two said. He nodded at them before looking at Asuma. The jonin saw the seriousness on his face.
"Is something wrong doctor?" Asuma asked.
"I would hope not but since you are her sensei, I felt that you should know about Ms. Yamanaka." the man said.
"Is this about the bruises doctor?" Sakura asked.
"I wish it was just that. The bruises are bad but so are the cracked fibula on both legs. Then there is the fracture in her wrist. These are pretty serious injuries for just training." the man explained. Asuma was not pleased with what he was saying.
"Training? Is that what she told you?" Asuma asked seriously.
"It is and I believe she was telling the truth. I figure that I would inform you as you were here. I have already sent someone to inform her parents to come and see me so that I could explain the situation to them. Still, I recommend that you keep an eye on her. She's likely to hurt herself if this continues." the doctor said.
"Thank you for informing me." The doctor nodded and motioned for the two to follow. They left the room and a frustrated Asuma.
XXX
Naruto's eyes opened and was immediately annoyed at where he was. It was a familiar sewer that he had no wish to be in. It meant that he was within his mind and someone brought him here. With annoyance, he got up and began to make his way to said person. It took he a while before he came upon a large gate the was being held closed by a piece of paper. It had the word 'seal' on it. Naruto glared at the gate before speaking.
"Alright fox, get out here!" Naruto shouted. An ominous feeling washed over the blond as footsteps got closer. Two red eyes and rows of teeth suddenly appeared. Naruto would look at this with more annoyance, which whatever was behind the gate picked up on.
"Pretty brave with me behind this seal, brat!" the voice said.
"Yeah, yeah, you're all big and scary." Naruto said mockingly. That made the two red eyes narrow but Naruto didn't care. "So, why the hell am I here?"
XXXXX
Authors' Notes
Hello everybody and I hope that you are safe. Anyway, here is a new chapter. I wanted to focus on what was happening in Konoha before my other chapters focused on the "Search for Tsunade" arc. I also wanted to start a new story for Ino because of an idea that came to my head. It will definitely be a surprise. Any way, enjoy the new chapter.
